18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
21For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
27and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
The gospel is the power of God and is used to bring salvation to anyone. It reveals the righteousness of God starting in faith and ending in faith. V16, 17
God has been revealed to all mankind since creation. Every aspect of his power and divinity are inherent in creation and every man has had the chance to understand and accept Him. V20
There are those who are unrighteous, who suppress the truth, that do not honor God or give Him thanks, who have dark hearts and futile thinking. They think they are wise but are fools and replaced God with mere symbols and images imitating His creation. V21,22,23
Because these people rejected God, He did not stop the influence of lust to turn their hearts impure. He did not stop them from dishonoring their bodies. He gave them up to their passions, exchanging love with the opposite to love with the same. He did not stop them from receiving the consequences and the curses that quickly follow these sins. He gave them up to their own minds, filled with evil and malice, covetousness and unrighteousness, envy and strife, murder and deceit. They became gossipers, slanderers, liars, thieves, cheaters, murderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless, and worse of all, inventors of evil. Though they understand their punishment, their curse, their death sentence, they continue in their lifestyle and encourage others to do the same. They exchanged God’s truth for lies. They did not see fit to acknowledge their holy Lord and so God let them follow the path they wanted. V24-32
God is not a God of dictatorship. He is not a puppet-master. He will not make someone do what they do not want to do. Those that want to have sex when they want, those that want to feel miserable, those that want to chase the money, those that want to be prideful, those are the people that are allowed to. Where does God stop you from doing so? When has He tied you to your bed so that you cannot get up and go buy drugs? When has He in any way kept you from what you want?
You were arrested? As a consequence of your own actions, doing exactly what you wanted to do! You were in a car wreck? Again, your actions are responsible not God. Will you curse God for Him allowing you to do what you want and so incur the consequences? You think He should let you have sex as much as you want but not actually get AIDS or pregnant? You think you should be able to sit on your butt all day and get promoted in your job?
Have there been instances that you felt God supernaturally working to keep you from pulling the trigger on that gun or from going to that party or from walking to that street corner? That is not a God that keeps you from what you want, that is a God recognizing that you do not truly want that! God knows you inside and out and can feel your hurts. He knows that you are trying to fill holes that you will never be able to fill. He’s trying to save you. Beware that you do not reject His rescues, because you have no guarantee that they will continue to come. Your heart may harden and His voice may fade away.
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