Dec. 23, 2012
M.Kelly
Romans 1:28-32
Romans 1, the latter half gives us the reason why the world is the way it is.
God has given man up to himself to do what ever he pleases. They exchange the truth of God for a lie. The lie is "you will be like".
Man idolizes self, seeks to glorify himself and seeks other men to honor himself. He takes the place of God.
God gave them over, three times mentioned in this chapter with horrifying consequences.
Depraved means not standing the test not fit. Sin is the punishment for sin. It also means worthless or useless. Man is futile in his thinking.
What does the depraved mind look like. There are 21 characteristics of a depraved mind listed in this chapter. It is not an exhaustive list. The word "all" is applied to the first four characteristics.
Man is filled with all, full of....he is filled to overflowing with unrighteousness. Opposed to God as the One who defines what righteousness is. Man determines what is right and what is wrong.
He delights in the things listed here. We can see this is what man is when we look at man in our culture.
It is not a ruling force in the life of the Christian but it is a remaining force.
All sin is a direct personal attack on God Himself. Prov. 3:19
Paul deals with general sins and then he hits particular sins.
Coveting~ advantage which one does not have. The desire for more of what one does not have. Wealth posses men instead of men possessing wealth. It's greed for anything that one does not have. It's never being satisfied with what one has. No satisfaction.
The next five characteristic man is "full" of. The first four it was "all".
Christian maturity is not seeing sins in other people but seeing sin in ourselves. We need to let the Word point to our sins not others. When we focus on other's sins it's only proof that we are worshipping ourselves.
Envy~evidence of worshipping and serving self. Wanting applause, recognition that others are getting. We feel that we are worthy of these things.
Satan told Eve, you will be like God...envying God Himself. Envy is its own punishment....it consumes a man. Prov 27:4; Envy can lead to murder. Murder is envy turned up. Titus 3:3; We must battle envy and to battle it we must identify it. 1 Pet. 2:1-2;
Murder~everything that leads to murder is included here....hate, etc. Murder is one of the sins we commit most often and one of the sins that we are on the path of most often. When someone slows us down in our agenda we tend to murder them in our hearts. Matt 5:21-22; Prov. 18:21; Anger if turned us would lead to murder. Anger, envy, bitterness etc murders over and over again in the heart. Actionable murder commits the act once. So murder in the heart is just as bad as the act. Heb. 12:15; Eph 4:31-32;
Strife~quarrelsome, pugnacious, explodes easily, wrath right under the surface. Prov. 14:17; Prov. 14:29; Prov. 15:18; We see this everywhere including in ourselves.
Deceit~it's a fishing term. Misrepresenting one's self for advantage. Flattery is deceit. Prov 26:24-26;
Who can stand before this list??? We are all guilty! The Gospel reveals who man is. There is no Gospel if we don't understand what we are first in relation to God's righteousness.
Malice~spite, revenge, wishing harm or evil on someone. Unforgiveness leads to bitterness which leads to malice or revenge.
Gossips~whispering about others. Sowing devision. "If all people knew what was said about each other there would not be a single friend in the world." Prov.20:19; 2 Cor 12:20~Paul is afraid he might find these things in the church! He doesn't too!
Slander~tearing each other apart. Picking others apart piece by piece. Exaggerating things to have people not think highly of a person. It all serves self. The gossip thinks he is revealing things about another but in reality is revealing things about himself.
Hater of God~it's his nature! All the sins in the list which is not exhaustive is hatred toward God.
Insolent~extreme pride, arrogant, confident to the point where they believe they can do no wrong. Their opinion alone should have the highest place above others. They have lost touch with reality.
Becoming indignant when opposed or questioned.
Treating others with contempt because of our superior nature.
Arrogant~ Thinks highly of himself. James 4:8-10; Luke 18:10-13; 1 Pet 5:5-6;
Boastful~a vagabond...an impostor....a wonderer....an imposter that wonders into someplace where they don't belong. Breath through your nose! If you breath through your nose you can't speak at the same time! "You will be like God."...we want others to see us as the source of knowledge! Prov. 17:28
Inventor of evil~discovering new ways to justify evil and not get caught. Man looks for way to justify his evil...make a law that makes it right.
Disobedient to parents~Man is born to live by laws. Parents are manifestation of that truth. Parents are the authority to the child. Ex. 20:12; Prov 20:20; Duet 21:18-21; Eph 6:1
Without understanding~has nothing to stand on because he exchanged the truth for a lie.
Untrustworthy~not worth trusting, not a covenant keeper, without honor
Unloving~without natural affection towards family....think of abortion. People who are self centered will be unloving to anyone who gets in his way.
Unmerciful~not able to forgive others for their trespasses
Paul's first concern as he begins to articulate the Gospel is the depravity of man. This list is our call to repentance! We are in need of righteousness in order to stand before God.
V. 32 Don't we live in a world where we see men whole heartedly approving the things in this list?
Lessons
1. Perfect Human relationships are impossible. We expect too much from others. We must deal with each other in reality, find our all in God Himself and not in other men.
2. Let us see our blueprint for work of sanctification. What ought we to be working on in our lives? We can start with the list in Romans. Eph 4:22-24
3. Let us be charitable to one another.
We need to be patient, merciful, understanding, compassionate etc. All of these are undeserved. Col 3:12-15 It all points to the grace of Jesus Christ and what we have been forgiven. Ought we not to forgive our brethren. Eph 4:30-32
Look at what we have been delivered from! These things deserve the wrath of God and we have been saved from it. We need to offer mercy to others.
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🎁Marsha🎄
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She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins." (Matthew 1:21 ESV)
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