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The Only Sin
Romans 1:18-32
The only sin today is to
call sin "sin." If you do, you are labeled as intolerant. A man may be sick
but he's not sinful, he may be weak but he's not wicked, he may be ill but
he's not evil, and even if he were to tell people that what they're doing is
wrong, they would say that they have some excuse. It would be environment,
it would be genetics, it would be, ignorance, but nobody wants to be blamed. Well, we're going to learn
something today about the wrath of God, the judgment of God. Verse 18: "For the wrath of
God is revealed." The wrath of God. Now we hear about the love of God and
God is love--infinite, boundless, measureless love, God is love. But this
God of love is also a God of wrath and when you love righteousness, you hate
sin. The doctor who loves health hates microbes and germs and, when you love
children, you hate child abuse. So, you see you cannot have a God of love
without also having a God of wrath. And if you just take the love of God,
you only have half of the story. He's not a half baked God. Now God is love, but when
you take half of the truth and try to make half of the truth all of the
truth, then that half of the truth becomes an untruth because you've
distorted it and it's not balanced. So verse 18 says, "The
wrath of God," God's burning anger against sin," and the end of v. 20 says,
"so that they are without excuse." There's one thing that God will not
accept for sin and that is an alibi or an excuse--he will accept a
confession and he will forgive, but there is no excuse, man is inexcusable
in his sin. 3 steps to sin in our text: Step number one, man's
willful self-determination. v. 21 They want to get rid of the
thought of God. Step number two, man's
wicked self-deception. v. 18 'hold the truth in
unrighteousness' vv. 22-25 He blinds himself, and thus
he deceives himself. Step number three, man's
woeful self-destruction. Self-determination leads to
self-deception leads to self-destruction. And the rest of this chapter tells
about that destruction. What is that destruction? Well, it comes in several
stages. First of all, people who
turn from God almost always become sexually perverted. Verses 26 through 27: "For
this cause..." Well, let's go back to verse 25: "They changed the truth of
God unto a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the creator
who is blessed forever and for this cause God gave them up to vile
affections." Now what is he talking about when he says vile affection? v. 26-28
"For even their women exchanged their natural use into that which
against nature 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 recompenses of their
error which was mete," or fitting, "and even as they did not like to retain
God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind." Now what God is talking
about here is the sin of sodomy and the sin of moral perversion. Notice how
God calls this sin. Actually he begins up in verse 24. He calls it
uncleanness, he calls it lust, he calls it dishonor in verse 24. In verse 26
he calls it vile affections. In verse 26 he said it is against nature. In
verse 27 he says it is unseemly. Over in the Old Testament in Leviticus
chapter 18 verse 22 the Bible says, "Thou shalt not lie with mankind as with
womankind. It is an abomination." I've been amazed as I've read those who
want to practice this perversion. Some of the fancy footwork they've done to
try to explain away the plain meaning of God's word. As a matter of fact,
the explosion of sexual perversion that we've seen today is one of the great
signs that we're living in the last days and that we're ripe for judgment.
Our Lord said in Luke chapter 17 that the last days were going to be like
the days of Noah and the days of Jesus says, "As it was in
the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the son of man, they
did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage until
the day that Noah entered into the ark and the flood came and destroyed them
all. Then again likewise, also, as it was in the days of Lot, they did eat,
they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded, but the same
day that Lot went out of As it was in the days of
Lot--Lot, you will remember, lived in the society that had glorified sodomy
and sexual perversion and God destroyed ancient Some say, that's not like Ezekiel chapter 16 verse
48: "Behold this was the iniquity of thy sister Sin that used to slink down
back allies now struts down main streets. I will get letters for this
calling me a bigot. But if it's in the Bible, take your argument up with
God. I am honor bound to preach God's word. You see, a nation that
cannot distinguish about moral perversion is a nation on its last legs. Isaiah chapter 3, verses 8
and 9: "For Pornography is flooding I was running thru the
neighborhood not far from my house one time, getting some exercise, and came
upon a magazine laying off to the side.
It was as filthy as it gets.
I pick up trash when I see it anyway, but I wondered if I should pick
this up. But I don't want
someone else seeing it. So I
wadded it up tight in my pocket.
My heart was already racing because of running, and though I'm at rest now,
it is only increasing. I'm
thinking, if I have a heart attack out here they're gonna find this in my
pocket! And magazines that used to
be the main thing with porn...they are nothing today, because of the
internet. You used to have to
ask for it behind the counter, but now it's readily available to anyone in
private. Lord help us! It is perversion of a
beautiful thing. Do you think
God is against sex? God is in favor of sex. God made man a sexual creature,
God made Adam and Eve and when he gave Eve to Adam he said that is very
good. And when God says, "Flee fornication," when God says, Thou shalt not
commit adultery," when God says, "Thou shalt not lie with man as with
woman," he's not trying to keep us from sex, he's trying to keep sex for us.
It is God's wonderful gift. The devil is a pervert. He has no raw materials.
He can only take that which is from God and pervert it. ill.--God invented music
and the devil comes along and perverts it.
The internet is invented [not by God, but Al Gore] and the devil
perverts this tool that can be used for good.
God invents the beautiful thing of sex and the devil perverts it. So they became sexually
perverted in our text and then they became socially perverted. Now look in verse 28: "And
even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them
over to a reprobate," that means a decadent, "mind." And oh, if we don't
have a reprobate-minded society today. "God gave them over to a reprobate
mind to do those things which are not convenient, being filled with all
unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full
of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters
of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient
to parents without understanding, covenant breakers without natural
affection, implacable, unmerciful." Man, when he turns his back from God,
becomes not only sexually perverted but socially perverted. The world
becomes a madhouse and we live in our self-made cells and lock ourselves in
at night while the hoodlums roam up and down the streets and our wives and
our daughters are afraid to go out at night and walk up and down the streets
and we have the kind of mayhem like we have today. Man becomes sexually
perverted, then he becomes socially perverted, and then he becomes
spiritually perverted. Look in verse 32: "Who,
knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy
of death. Not only do the same, but they have pleasure in them that do
them."
We have begun to entertain
ourselves. How do we entertain ourselves? Sitcoms about drunkenness and
perversion, immorality and adultery, and the devil has a pipeline right into
our homes because not only do we do these things, we have pleasure in them
that do them. We make them the most admired people in Now folks, I am
brokenhearted for Now, that's the bad news
that makes the good news good. The good news is the gospel. That's what
Romans is about, the gospel, and the word gospel means good news. That's the
reason as long as God has a heart thumping in my chest, as long as God gives
me a voice, I want to be a gospel preacher, I want to be able to tell it
clearly, plainly, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you'll be saved. I want to commit now what Every sin will be forgiven.
He will come into your life, radically, dramatically, and eternally change
your heart, put his spirit in you, and he will not only change you but he
will empower you and then when time to go to heaven comes, when you die or
when Jesus comes, he'll take you to heaven to be with him for eternity. And if the worst happens in
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NOTICE! Our sermons are free to download, copy and paste, edit and use as you see fit...but only our free subscribers get the newest messages, featured sermons, and some free gifts we shower on them from time to time! Help keep this service free by recommending it using the links above the sermon
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All Sermons and PowerPoint Slideshow Presentations ©Copyright Jerry Shirley and Grace Notes Ministries® unless otherwise credited. These resources are yours to use freely, but only in public worship services or private study groups and devotions. They may not be sold, republished or retransmitted in any form without written permission.