Romans Chapter One Lesson 19
Review:
#5. 1:21c From that rejection man sinks into
human speculations;
1st
consequence: "they became futile"
"in
their speculations"
- to deliberate, used for inward
reasoning, not an imagination word but a think word; speaks of inner
deliberations or reasoning
What
should you as a Christian think when you see on the news or in the newspaper
reports about debates in the political arena, either party; what about on the
world scene, in the UN?? Or as this week with the hearings for the Supreme Court.
and their foolish
heart was darkened.
foolish heart = indicates the result of the continual influence of the sin nature on
one's thinking;
- "heart" kardi,a is used of the totality of the inner life;
mental or intellectual aspect, emotional aspect, or the volition;
The focus of the context here is primarily on thinking,
one's mentality;
"foolish" avsu,netoj = unintelligible, without insight
*** Need to note a
Principle that God has established, that if one is negative to God and His
truth it will lead to the darkening of the mind, blotting out their ability to
perceive the light of truth, when perpetuated over a period of time it leads to
scar tissue, a hardening of one's attitude and thinking about God and DVPT in
general.
- Without a source of light, that is, God and His word,
DVPT, we have no ability to perceive and understand reality.
What is their profession?
That they are wise when in reality they can't get it together!
Step #6.
professing = fa,skw -> affirm, assert, allege
- they are asserting or alleging that they are wise, (sofo,j - wisdom)
What the reality is, having rejected the light of creation
re: God and suppressed the truth.
"they became fools" mwrai,nw (aor pass
What the reality is for those having rejected the light of creation
re: God, and
suppressed the truth is that
"they became fools" mwrai,nw (aor pass
- the word group that this word is
a part mwroj, [13]; mwria [5] calls our attention to those whose
perspective is distorted because they fail to take God into account in their
thinking, to take Him seriously.
- Jesus called the Pharisees blind fools for their complete
insensitivity to God's values; Mt
- Professing to be wise becomes the claim of deceived
people, 1 Cor 3:18
- This deception leads to moral bankruptcy Psa 36:3 as they become fools.
To human vpt wisdom, even the cross is foolishness! 1 Cor
In what sense can one who affirms wisdom really be a fool?
- Man becomes a fool precisely because he has made his
ideas, his opinions, his speculations the standard/rule of his life, instead of
the will of God.
We
are making conscious decisions as a society, as a nation to leave God totally
out of the picture, and we wonder why we're heading down the slippery slope
into a sea of degeneracy!
Can
we say that a man is really intelligent when he rejects and ridicules the
Bible?
#7.
"and 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."
- Exchanged, swapped what should be the object of their
worship, the glory of the incorruptible God; who is not liable to decay or
corruption, is imperishable;
- God, is totally
unlike what mankind has turned to for worship, an image in the form of
corruptible man; that is subject to decay, corruption and is perishable.
Another way of looking at this section Rom 1:18-25
Distinctives
of Unbelief
1. Suppression of Truth
2. Perversion of Truth
3. Perversion of one's life 1:24-25