But not only are we guilty because we ignore the evidence within us when it comes to creation. Paul also provides a second piece of evidence that we are guilty when he charges that we are guilty because we ignore the evidence revealed by our rebellion. We see Paul reveal this piece of evidence to us in Romans 1:24-32. Let’s look at it together:
Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.Now to fully understand what the Apostle Paul is communicating here, we first need to understand what the phrase ‘gave them over” means. This phrase literally means to hand over or give up to what someone wants or desires. Paul’s point here is that God responded to all of humanities foolish choice to leave God out and live as though He did not exist by taking a step back. Instead of immediately stepping in and stopping humanities selfish rebellion and rejection of Him by ignoring His existence, He stepped back. God withdrew in order allow humanity the freedom to decide what would happen next.
And what happened next is the first of three evidences of rebellion that serve to prove our guilt. And that first piece of evidence is that we rebelled against God by rejecting God’s design for worship. God stepped back and allowed humanity the freedom to fully express their desires when it came to worship. And their desires were bent toward impurity, which refers to a state of moral corruption. And that moral corruption resulted in their bodies being dishonored among them, which literally means to be deprived of honor or respect. Now a natural question that arises here is how exactly does humanity deprive honor or respect from one another through the impurity that comes as a result of rejecting God’s design for worship?
Paul provides that answer in verse 25 by explaining that humanity exchanged the right and true response of worship for God for the false worship of something other than God as God, which is idolatry. You see, when we worship the creation instead of the creator, two things occur that result in our humanity being deprived of honor and respect. First, when we worship the creation instead of the creator, we lose the dignity and respect that we were designed for. All of humanity is created in God’s relational image. We are created for relationships. We are created for a relationship with God and we are created for relationships with one another. So when we worship the creation instead of the creator, we are not reflecting God’s relational image as it was designed to be reflected.
Second, when we worship creation instead of the creator, we end up participating in acts of worship that deprive us and others of respect and dignity. History and humanity is filled with false and idolatrous religious systems that require degrading, damaging, and destructive acts of worship, especially involving sex, that are inhumane, unjust, and deprive others of the dignity and respect that they were created for. Paul then paused to express his worship to the Lord, who he explains is to be praised and will be praised for all eternity.
Paul then provides the second of three evidences of rebellion that serve to prove our guilt when it comes to leaving God out and living life as though He does not exist in Romans 1:26-27:
For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and 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.In these verses, Paul reveals for us the reality that as humanity chose to foolishly leave God out and live as though He did not exist by rejecting God’s design for worship, God responded by taking another step back. Instead of stepping in and stopping humanities selfish rebellion and rejection of Him, God withdrew in order allow humanity the freedom to decide what would happen next.
And what happened next is the second of three evidences of rebellion that serve to prove our guilt in that we rebelled against God by rejecting God’s design for marriage and sexuality. The phrase degrading passions here refer to the passions that we have when it comes to sexual intimacy with others. Paul explains that humanity chose to exchange and abandon the truth of God’s design for marriage and sexuality, instead moving to a place where they burned in their desire for one another.
You see, sex is like a fire. When you have a fire in the fireplace, the fire functions as designed; it provides warm and a nice atmosphere to be experienced. But if you start a fire in the middle of the living room floor, you burn the house down. The fire becomes extremely destructive because it is burning where it was not designed to burn. What I find interesting here is that Paul, who was very familiar with all the Old Testament passages that expressively forbid homosexual activity, did not quote a single Old Testament verse to prove his point.
Instead, he pointed to God’s design within the created order. In God’s created order male and female body parts are divinely designed to experience intimacy with members of the opposite sex, not the same sex. Paul did not need to be a Bible thumper to provide evidence of humanities rebellion; he simply pointed to God’s divine design. Maybe we should keep that in mind the next time we have a conversation about homosexuality. Instead of talking about what we are against, let’s talk about what we are for and what God is for, which is His divine design of sexuality within a one man one woman for one lifetime marriage relationship.
Paul’s point here is that any sexuality outside of God’s design, whether the destructive sexuality that was occurring in false and idolatrous worship in verses 24-25; whether it is heterosexual sex before marriage; whether it is heterosexual sex in addition to sex within marriage, or whether it is homosexual sexual activity, which Paul specifically describes here in verses 26-27 is evidence of rebellion through our rejection of God’s design for marriage and sexuality.
When Paul states that those who rebel and reject God’s design for marriage and sexuality receive in their own persons the due penalty of their error, he is revealing us the reality that the rejection of God’s design for marriage and sexuality provides the evidence that proves that they are guilty of leaving God out and living life as though He does not exist. And it is that guilt that provokes God’s perfectly just and right response to that rebellion.
Paul then concludes this section of this letter by providing the third of three evidences of rebellion that serve to prove our guilt when it comes to leaving God out and living life as though He does not exist in Romans 1:28-32. We will look at that piece of evidence tomorrow.
In the meantime, are you guilty of leaving God out and living as though He does not exist because you have rebelled against God's design for worship? Are you guilty of leaving God out and living as though He does not exist because you have rebelled against God's design for marriage and sexuality?
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