The Whole World Swallowed up in Sin

Romans 1:14-32

 14 I am debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.

 15 So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are at Rome also.

 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.

 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith.

 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

 19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

 20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

 21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

 22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

 23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

 24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

 25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

 26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

This passage is a terrible indictment of sinful men. Many sins are listed here but we can see the emphasis is on sexual sins.  We are living in a hyper-sexualized era. From infidelity in marriage to the sexual exploitation of children. From ancient times perverted sex has been an integral part of idolatry. Modern idolatry takes many forms, such as the “green movement”, which is nothing more than worship of nature or the creation rather than the Creator. We will look at modern sexual idolatry. This presents itself  in the form of the perversion of all things that are good and wholesome. The cultural shift to normalize same sex marriage and the push to convince us that one can change their “gender” at will. I believe many are aware of the impossibility of this, but some are convinced that they have the power to overcome the creation of God. As we see the current situation, please notice:

1. The POWER of the Gospel – it is the power to:
   1. CAUSE the sinner to halt – People are so busy with the things of this life that they can avoid the discomfort of thinking of eternity. God has placed within each of us the innate knowledge of our sinfulness. At least one time during their life God will speak to the heart of a person drawing them from the things of the world to Himself. He does not force them to repent of their sins and receive Jesus as Saviour, but He brings them to a point where they must make a decision; life or death, darkness or light, Heaven or Hell. 
   2. CONVICT – Hebrews 4:12 For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. God has placed within each one a certain and sure knowledge that God exists and we are responsible to Him. The Gospel brings conviction. Paul tells us that the law made it clear that his sin was “exceeding sinful” Romans 7:13 Was then that which is good made death unto me? God forbid. But sin, that it might appear sin, working death in me by that which is good; that sin by the commandment might become exceeding sinful. Human beings are by their very nature religious.  God has provided an unescapable witness for His existence and His power. Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse: It isd a truth that all worship something, either the true God or any other thing that Satan can deceive one into accepting as the object of their worship. 
   3. CONVERT – Romans 1:16-17 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. 17 For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith. The greatest miracle is when a sinner comes to Jesus by faith, accepting Him as their Saviour.  At that moment God gives a second birth, a spiritual birth.  Man is a triune being, he is body, soul and spirit.  When we are born physically we have physical life and our soul inhabits our body, but the spirit is dead. The second birth is when the Holy Spirit using the Word of God gives spiritual life to the repentant soul. 
2. The PERVERSION of Sin
   1. The PROGRESS of Sin – James 1:14-15 But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed. 15 Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.  The sinner left to his own devices will grow bolder in his sin.  His conscience will be silenced by repeated acts of sin. ! Timothy 4:1-2 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils; 2 Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron; A man doesn’t start out with the grossest of sins, but over time and with many acts of sin their tolerance and desire for sin is increased. We can see this at work in our present day society, according to a recent news report 25 % of youth now say that they are homosexual, bisexual, transgender or some other perversion. There has been a precipitous increase in this phenomenon in the past few years.  It defies logic that it is a natural occurrence, it is drive by satanic forces at work in the world. The boldness of sinners has increased greatly, consider: 2 Timothy 3:13 But evil men and seducers shall wax worse and worse, deceiving, and being deceived. 
   2. The POWER of Sin – the power of sin is to capture and enslave its victims. 2 Timothy 2:25-26 In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; 26 And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.  So many in our society today are addicts, some to drugs but a large are addicts to sexual perversion. Time fails us to make a comprehensive list of all the perversions that plague the world today.  While perverted sex is not a modern phenomenon, it is rampant today.  Perhaps the most troubling aspect today is that perversions of all types are being “main streamed”. The popular culture from entertainment to government to education is engaged in promoting the ungodly as good and the godly as old-fashioned, out dated and evil. This indoctrination has drawn many into the slavery of carnal desires that the unsaved have no ability to counter.  As with many drugs the need to satisfy the craving demands an every greater dose.  That which is exciting is soon too mild to satisfy the addict.  With sex this manifests itself with an increasing of the perversions practiced.  We now see many things that have come up in the last few years, things such as transgenderism and even those who say that the “identify” as animals. The Biblical ideal of a man and a woman forming a family through marriage is now considered abnormal. 
   3. The PRODUCT of Sin – Death:
      1. Physical – universal – Hebrews 9:27 And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: Benjamin Franklin is quoted as saying “there are only two things in this world that can be counted as certain, death and taxes.”  Some have figured a way out of taxes, but death is certain.  For the Christian death should hold no fear @ Timothy 1:12 For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day. 
      2. Spiritual – eternal Revelation 20:11-15 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them. 12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works. 13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. 15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire. This death, the second death is what one should fear.  It is an everlasting death.  In the Lake of Fire lost souls are always dying and yet are never obliterated.  
3. The PRIDE of the sinner – The root of sin can be seen in the fall of Adam and Eve in the garden.  Satan appealed to their pride. Genesis 3:5 For God doth know that in the day ye eat thereof, then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil. The most common religion today is humanism or the worship of man, which is really the worship of self.  Pride motivates the sin of rebellion against authority. God is the ultimate authority and therefore is the ultimate object of rebellion. 
4. The PRESSURE to confirm – The result of the pressure to conform to the world is seen in the vast increase in the number of people, especially young folk, who have fallen into the trap of sexual perversion. Homosexuality, transgenderism, promiscuity among other sins are increasing on every hand.  The trends defy all historical patterns. They are the result of our situation with the rapid communication, of TV and the internet. The old saying that “a lie can run around the world before the truth puts his boots on, but truth will come marching in” holds a lot of truth.  God’s Word is truth and will be verified in the end.  Much sorrow and loss will be the result of conforming to the fashion of the moment. The ultimate goal of those who promote and practice all types of sexual perversion is not to be accepted or even to be elevated above the normal but it is that all participate in their sin.  Notice in Romans 1:32 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Compare this with the account of the angels who entered Sodom to rescue Lot.  The men of that wicked city would not be content until they had forced themselves upon them. Evil is never sated, its perverse desires and demands always grow greater and more wicked. In our present day we have seen the progress of sin and perversion.  What was universally condemned only a few years ago is now held up as the paragon of virtue. We are engaged in a spiritual war. We must recognize this fact and reject the wisdom and morality of the world and cleave unto the Word of God, in belief and in practice. We must become obedient in all aspects of our lives.  The hope for our nation is found in 2 Chronicles 7:14 If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land. This is the answer. While I exhort all Christians to vote and participate in the political life of our nation, there is no hope in politics alone, we must first have a revival among God’s people. Those who hold office must be first obedient to God if we are to enjoy the blessings of God.  Let us dedicate ourselves to prayer and service to God. Let the revival begin in us.