The uniqueness and relevance of the Gospel in Romans:

"...The obedience that comes from faith..." (Romans 1:5)

Salvation is by grace through faith alone. Obedience is always the result of authentic faith.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: 'The righteous will live by faith.'"

- Romans 1:16-17 (NIV)

"We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."

- 1 John 5:19 (NIV)

Explanation for the evil that exists in our world:

1. The Suppression of Truth.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse."

Romans 1:18-20 (NIV)

God’s existence is undeniable, but the world system suppresses this reality!

"Now we see how the astronomical evidence supports the biblical view of the origin of the world. . .the essential elements in the astronomical and biblical accounts of Genesis are the same. Consider the enormousness of the problem. Science has proved that the universe exploded into being at a certain moment. It asks, what cause produced this effect? Who or what put the matter and energy into the Universe? …And science cannot answer these questions. For the scientist who has lived by faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance; he is about to conquer the highest peaks; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been there for centuries."

-Robert Jastrow

"Lord, our Lord,

how majestic is your name in all the earth!

You have set your glory

in the heavens.

When I consider your heavens,

the work of your fingers,

the moon and the stars,

which you have set in place,

what is mankind that you are mindful of them,

human beings that you care for them?"

Psalm 8:1,3-4 (NIV)

"I am not ashamed of being both a scientist and a Christian, because Christianity gave me my subject. What I am amazed at is that some thinkers today continue to ask us to choose between God and science. That’s like asking people to choose between Henry Ford and engineering as an explanation for the motor car. When Isaac Newton discovered his law of gravity, he didn’t say, “I’ve got a law, I don’t need God.” No. He wrote the Principia Mathematica, arguably the greatest work in the history of science. Because he saw that God is not the same kind of explanation as the scientific explanation. Agency does not compete with mechanism and law."

- Dr. John Lennox

"I want atheism to be true and am made uneasy by the fact that some of the most intelligent and well-informed people I know are religious believers. It isn't just that I don't believe in God and, naturally, hope that I'm right in my belief. It's that I hope there is no God! I don't want there to be a God; I don't want the universe to be like that. My guess is that this cosmic authority problem is not a rare condition and that it is responsible for much of the scientism and reductionism of our time."

-Thomas Nagel University Professor of Philosophy and Law, Emeritus, at New York University.

We make monsters and call them noble. We make cowards and call them cautious. We make avarice (greed) prudence, and call lust an appreciation for beauty.

"...and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised..."

Romans 1:25b (NIV)

No one likes to be reminded of their idol worship. At a fundamental level, rejecting God is not a philosophical issue but one of autonomy.

2. The reality of idolatry.

The fundamental sin in this world is not breaking the rules but exchanging the Creator for created things.

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."

Romans 1:21-23 (NIV)

Once you suppress the truth of God, your heart looks for something to give you what only God can give you: Security, Hope, Meaning, Significance, Purpose.

“The reason why I play golf is I’m trying to glorify God for all that He has done in my life. So, for me, my identity isn’t a golf score. Like Meredith told me this morning, “If you win this tournament today, if you lose this golf tournament by ten shots, if you never win another golf tournament again, you’re still going to be the same person, loved and adored by God.

Meredith always… prays for peace because that’s what I want to feel on the golf course, is peace and have fun and just feel His presence.”

- Scottie Scheffler, Master’s Tournament 2022

When the central anchor (God) is removed, all other human desires become disordered, exaggerated, and driving. 

When an entire culture evicts God, in any single area of life, destruction begins and principle of reaping and sowing kicks in.

3. The depraved mind.

"The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,"

- Romans 1:18 (NIV)

Orgē (Greek): a settled, eep seated, and abiding opposition to evil.

Thumos (Greek): explosive and sudden anger

"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires..."

"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts..."

Paradoken (Greek): punishment that’s a granting of what we are pursuing, that leads to demise, in hopes of repentance.

"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."

- Romans 1:24-25 (NIV)

God’s judgement on ungodliness is often to give us what we want. To see its futility and turn to Him.

“When the gods wish to punish us, they answer our prayers.”

- Oscar Wilde, An Ideal Husband Act II

"Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires..."

Epithumia (Greek): lusts, overdesire, all-controlling drive and longing.

What are you chasing that you truly believe if you catch it, your life will be complete?

"Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error."

- Romans 1:26-27 (NIV)

Para-phusin (Greek): against nature or design.

The reason Paul highlights same sex-practice is because it serves as a vivid illustration of humanity turning away from God’s intended design.

Where are you violating God’s design?

What are the idols in your life?

Are you willing to repent?

Why do you judge the homosexual for not repenting? Homosexuality is a sin, but so is:

"Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them."

Romans 1:28-32 (NIV)

Romans 1:18-27 is a masterclass in gospel diagnosis:

We reject God at the center. Suppression

We look to created things for salvation. Idolatry

Our internal desires and external relationships unravel as a result. Disorder and Giving Over.

Every single person needs the Gospel. Jesus redeems.

First: If you are struggling with sexual sin, repent.

Second: For the Christian, the Bible is our authority, given for human flourishing.

Third: The cross is the place you find God’s mercy.

We know that we are saved by grace through faith. But our idols can still destroy the lives Jesus offers us.

God does not want to destroy our desires. He wants to elevate them.

True repentance requires yielding what we cling to, trusting that what God hands back to us in its place will be infinitely greater.

Make A Decision