Romans Chapter One Lesson 23
Review:
"And
just as" kaqw,j just as, exactly
as; says that in the same way that
sexual immorality pervades society as a result of rejection of the light of God
in creation, in the same way this 3rd and final indication of the wrath of God
is directed toward that same rejection of light and we find here an impact on
man's thinking and its consequences in a list of sins in 29-31.
- what this section does is fill in the blanks for us as to
what is the unrighteousness of men, [horizontal]
Several Observations:
1. Man
has not just somehow become sidetracked by other issues and simply lost sight of
or interest in God.
2. They
have put God to the test, they have examined Him, rem;
they knew God [v.21] and they concluded that God was unnecessary in their life.
3. In
their view, according to their standard, God did not measure up, didn't meet their
specifications;
4. So
they refused to approve Him as God, to honor Him as God, and therefore to
worship Him as God.
- What you hear today, the modern disclaimer is
that God as creator is an unnecessary hypothesis, its
an infantile understanding that is no longer needed by man, we've come of age!
Hey it’s the 21st century!
From
here and vs:21 we can conclude that man's mind cannot
properly function as God has designed it to without the light of God;
One
thing that Paul makes clear over and over, is that; Crucial to man's conduct is the
function of the mind, and the conscience.
12:2
- The word for mind = nouj is used of the ability to reason and having a
conscience; especially as related to
moral issues
>
What this disapproved mind does is noted in the last phrase;
"to do
those things which are not proper"
** The
logic here is this; They have examined God and found Him worthless to their
knowledge....therefore God gave them over to a worthless disqualified mind.
Illustration: African Ant
So
what's Paul saying here? Therefore
they're given over judicially to a disapproved mind to do what?? To live lives, to think thoughts, to be such
creatures as not proper/fitting for man created in the image of God.
<
- This whole list shows the chaos of sin in the
life of those who reject the light of God and suppress the truth.
- This whole list shows the chaos of sin in the
life of those who reject the light of God and suppress the truth.
- Need to recognize that it says these sins
reside in all men, present in each, all have a sin nature, but they are not
manifested overtly in the same way or to the same extent in each one.
#1
"unrighteousness" avdiki,a
is
the antithesis of righteousness;
This
is not the first on the list by accident; this word in a very real sense
encompasses the rest of the list;
The
important thing to remember is that the activity described by
avdiki,a is the result of
ungodliness, it is rooted in the failure to have a right relationship with God.
#2 "wickedness" ponhri,a
active
evil; refers to what is sinister, and
vile; it describes one who is not satisfied with being evil themselves but
desires to make others evil also.
#3 "greed" pleonexi,a refers to the
itch for more; the insatiable desire to acquire more;
Its a desire for more that is so intense that it
motivates the individual to disregard the rights of others.
#4 "evil" kaki,a, often txlt malice;
speaks of an attitude that motivates one; comes from kakoj > evil;
Its a more general term that describes any attitude
that motivates one to harm, to injure one's neighbor!