Rebelling Against God's Design for Relationships...

This week, we have been looking at a section of a letter in the Bible where we saw a man named Paul provide for us a timeless and true piece charge that proves we are guilty of having a problem when it comes to a relationship with God by leaving God out and living as though He does not exist. Paul explained that we provide the evidence that proves that we leave God out and live as though He does not exist when we ignore the evidence within us when it comes to creation and when we ignore the evidence that is revealed by our rebellion.

As Paul concludes this section of this letter, he provides 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:

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Here we see Paul reveals for us the reality that as humanity continued to foolishly leave God out and live as though He did not exist by rejecting God’s design for worship and then marriage and sexuality, God responded by taking a third 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 that humanity did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, but continued to come to the conclusion that they did not need to recognize God. So instead, they continued to ignore God and live as though He did not exist which results in the third of three evidences of our rebellion that serve to prove our guilt in that we rebelled against God by rejecting God’s design for relationships. The phrase a depraved mind here literally means a worthless way of thinking. And it is that worthless way of thinking that results in us failing to experience the relationships with others that we were created and called to live. Our relationships with others are not right; they are at odds with how God designed them to be.

Paul then unpacks the evidence that proves that humanity at odds with how God designed our relationships with others to be with a list. Now let’s at that list that was written over 2,000 years ago again, and as I read that list ask yourself this question: Has anything changed?:

being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Has anything changed? Are these not the same issues that plague the human condition and society today, regardless of location. In every culture and continent you see this list repeat itself, because the reality is that the rejection of God’s design for relationships is the evidence that proves humanities guilt. And what is the nail on the coffin is the very last sentence “although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”

Paul’s point here is that although humanity intuitively understands in a clear way God’s design for how we are to relate to one another, they instead choose to reject God’s design for relationships that is evidenced by the behaviors on the list. In addition, while humanity intuitively understands that their selfish rebellion deserves a guilty verdict that results in eternal separation from God, they do not feel guilty.

Instead, Paul states that humanity gives hearty approval to those who join in on such behavior. Humanity stands up and applauds and encourages one another to leave God out and live life as though He does not exist. “Yooo hooo; just ignore the big guy upstairs; just do whatever you want, because life is all about you and what you can get, regardless of how that impacts others”. However, the reality is that when we reject God’s design for relationships, it reveals the evidence of our rebellion and proves that we are guilty of leaving God out and living life as though He does not exist.

So, are you guilty? Do you leave God out and live life as though He does not exist? Now you might be here and you may be thinking “Well Dave I am not like those people. I don’t ignore God, I just believe that I am a good moral person and because I am a good moral person I don’t have a problem with God. So, am I guilty?” We will answer those questions next week.