Romans 1 verses 16 through 32, these are God's words. For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith. As it is written, the just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead. so that they are without excuse, because although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God. into an image made like corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, and the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them up to vile passions, for even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust for one another. men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind. to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud. boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who, knowing the righteous judgment of God that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice them. And in this reading of God's inspired and inerrant word, we rejoice that he uses it to bring us to faith, to make us holy, to preserve us, and to bring us at last into the inheritance that Christ has won for us, and that has become ours in him. So since there isn't a midweek sermon next week, at least since we're not continuing the series in Romans, we're going back in the book of Romans almost to the very beginning because this past week the mayor of the city of Columbia declared it to be pride month, joining many people in our nation and even in many of the what purport to be churches who, as verse 32 says, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. And so those who think that they are being really existential and independent are really just fulfilling God's Word, because this is exactly what He said the display of His wrath against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men would look like. these particular sins and this particular approval. And so man in his pride is humiliated before God because he told us that this is what would be done by those who suppress the truth and unrighteousness and refused to know him. And we're looking especially at verses 24 through 32 in which it gives us these three givings up. Verse 24, God gave them up to uncleanness. Verse 26, God gave them up to vile passions. Verse 28, same language in the original, a little bit different in our English version, God gave them over to a debased mind. And in these three givings up, we are to see that to which the Lord gives us over so that we may see the great mercy of the gospel. We began reading at verse 16 so that we would see that the reason that Paul, when he comes to Rome, who earlier in the chapter, he has said their church is already famous for their faith and he's eager to meet them. And not only is he gonna edify them, but he's looking forward to their edifying him and to such an established and mature and famous church, what's he gonna do? He's gonna preach the gospel. So it's not just unbelievers or even new Christians that need to hear the gospel. It's the most mature Christians. Why? Why would he be unashamed to preach the gospel? Many people memorize that verse and they say, I'm going to be unashamed before the world to preach the gospel. And well, we should. But the apostle was actually saying, I'm gonna be unashamed before advanced Christians to preach the gospel, because you never get past the gospel. The gospel is the power of God for salvation, which keeps giving his righteousness to us, not just from faith, when we don't have it yet and he gives us faith and we get counted righteous in Jesus, but also for faith, by faith from start to finish. So that's what Christians need to hear too, and mature Christians need to hear too, is the gospel. And he says, in it, the righteousness of God is revealed. Well, why do we need to have the righteousness of God revealed to us in Jesus, in his gospel? Because the wrath of God has already been revealed against us. And so when we see this happening, it gives us opportunity for us to remember that even if we are not given up to particularly the vile passions in verses 26 and 27, we have been in the past. given up to various sins in this list of 22 different sins. And of course the list isn't exhaustive. It says filled with all unrighteousness in verse 29. But how many of us have difficulty still with pride or boasting in our hearts? How many of us have difficulty with disobedience to parents? how many of us have difficulty with being undiscerning or unforgiving or any one of these 22 things. So that we can see that if we have come into Christ Jesus and we have died to our sin and risen again in Him to walk in newness of life, and these things are no longer our masters, These things are things that are left over from a former nature. Because God's given us a new nature in Christ, we say, behold how God in his great mercy has delivered me from the wrath that I no longer identify myself. with these sins, but I identify myself with God as created in his image. I identify myself with Christ as united to him and renewed into the image of God. And not just once given a new nature, but even our catechism question, what is sanctification? The work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God. so that we see the great gospel mercy of God, that he is changing how we think, and he's changing how we feel, and he's changing how we choose, that his spirit is making us more and more like Jesus, and we shall at last be conformed entirely to Christ. And we say, this is all mercy, because I began dead in sin, I began suppressing the truth of unrighteousness. I began under the wrath and given over as a slave to my sin. And it's only the mercy of God in the gospel that has been shown to me. Well, then this is the great travesty of so-called Pride Month. Indeed, it is proud and it is boastful and it celebrates abominable sin. And all of that is horrendous and provokes even further God's wrath. but it itself is a display of God's wrath. And what it does is, rather than saying, look at how wicked and irrational and self-destructive this is, look at how dreadful it is that we are under God's wrath, look at how wonderful God's mercy is, that is righteousness for sinners, instead has been revealed in the gospel, it says, Friday month instead says, we love the sin. And it hates those who have not heard the gospel because it preaches a false gospel. It preaches that's your identity, and that's good, and that's to be celebrated. We approve of you, and you should approve of yourself. And it keeps men, women, children enslaved to their sin instead of announcing them to God. announcing to them the gospel of which the apostle was unashamed. And so we have this series of the three givings up, and then we have, as it were, the stage four of the cancer. He gave them up, he gave them up, he gave them up, and then the end stage, the approve of those who do stage. First, he gave them up to the uncleanness of their hearts, uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts, verses 24 and 25. This is very intentional language related to the cleanliness code that we recently heard preached when we were going through Leviticus. It keeps men from being able to draw near to God. It means that when they are in God's presence, they are disregarding Him as holy and are deserving of the fire. Just like when Nadab and Abihu came, they didn't come in the way that God had said. They came with unauthorized worship. The fire of God, rather than consuming the sacrifice, consumed them. And so also we had the cleanliness code that kept those who were unclean from coming near God. But that was never about whatever the substance was that had made you unclean, touching the dead body or bodily fluid or the carcass of an animal or whatever the ceremonial uncleanness was. It was a reminder. that all sin is uncleanness and that we must be cleansed in order to draw near to God. Well, giving them up to uncleanness and the loss of their hearts. So now, instead of being ruled by God's word, which tells us that we were made by him and we were made for him, We believe the lie instead of the truth. Verse 25, they exchanged the truth of God, that God is the creator of all things and especially the creator of man. And so we exist to image him according to his word for the lie. What was the lie? What was the lie that deceived Eve? Well, she wasn't Eve yet. The woman, you can be like God. And so the very first part of being given up to uncleanness and the loss of our hearts is to think that we are created, as it were, by ourselves, that we can determine our own identity and our own purpose. And we are created for ourselves, to enjoy ourselves. and therefore to do so according to our own ideas and our own laws. And in all those ways, we become like God, quote unquote, knowing good and evil. Not that you know what good is and you know what evil is, but God knows good and evil because he defines what is good by that which is according to his character. And he defines what is evil by that which is against his character. Well, the lie was that you can define what's good for you. We actually use this language now. Your truth, people say, as if you can define what is good for you according to what you think and feel and what is evil for you as that which is against what you think and feel. And so you may love them and tell them the truth and they'll say, you are a hater or you are a fearer. They use phobic or hateful. What are they doing? they're exchanging the truth of God for the lie. And sadly, our bodies, which were created for serving the Lord, for enjoying His goodness to us and glorifying Him in our service of Him, if we exchange the truth of God for the lie, everything our body does is dishonorable. So we have to see the first stage in verse 24 to 25 as the first stage and not run too quickly into verses 26 and 27. Because it's not just the perversions that verses 26 and 27 describe that are the dishonoring of our bodies. Your body is marvelous and glorious and good because it was designed for an image bearer to image God with Anytime you use such a body, such eyes to look at things sinfully, a mind to think sinfully, hands to touch sinfully, tongues to taste sinfully, ears to hear sinfully, tongues to speak sinfully, What are we, we're dishonoring our bodies and receiving in ourselves the right penalty for not knowing God. So that's the stage one, uncleanness and the loss of their hearts. Stage two, vile passions. disgraceful emotions. So not only is man's will evil so that whatever he does with his body dishonors him, even his affections become corrupted and evil. Do not listen to your emotions. Do not follow your heart. Your heart, your emotions are liars. And one of the things that we deserve, one of the things that is a symptom of not being in Christ is when our feelings operate contrary, not only to God's law, but now in verses 26 and 27, even to nature. They say, we're just celebrating love. Well, not all things that are called love, not all of the affections of the heart going out to things are good. There's love that God forbids. He says, do not love the world. Do not love sin. And so you may have these warm affections towards others, but you must not trust your affections. And in this case, God gives them over to these vile passions, women exchanging the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also men leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust for one another. And so the perversion, instead of one man covenanted with one woman, is a display of God's wrath. It doesn't just provoke God to anger. It shows that he is full of holy fury against our sin. Adultery is wicked. Fornication is wicked. But this particular perversion that he gives people up to, it's even contrary to nature. It's irrational in its design. It loses all of the benefits of the design of the man and the design of the woman and the design of marriage. It makes no physical sense. It is for generations and households and societies, literally suicidal, and yet it gets called love. And so you can see just by the irrationality of it, how the only way people could be given over even to such emotions, let alone to such actions, is if it was really a judgment from God to give us over to our sin. Well, that's stage two. The third giving up in verses 28 to 31, or sort of to the end of the chapter is, the third giving up in verses 28 to 31 is being given over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting, a dysfunctional mind. we didn't want to know God. So he said, even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, and that goes along with the suppressing the truth and unrighteousness, verse 18, and the refusing to know God, verses 19 through 23. Even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, verse 28. God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting, being filled with all unrighteousness. And here's where we see that although not contrary to nature in the same way as the perversions of woman with woman or man with man, still the list of the 22 sins are all things that are not fitting. They're all harmful. What happens when people are unforgiving with one another? What happens when we're gossips or backbiters? What happens when children disobey their parents? What happens when any of God's good design for us is disobeyed? Doesn't it harm us? Doesn't it make it unpleasant and miserable to live with one another, to live with ourselves? Doesn't it keep us from flourishing and being productive and honoring and glorifying and even enjoying God? But without the example in verses 26 and 27 of the perversions, we are much slower, much less likely to recognize how irrational all sin is. how self-destructive all sin is. And so it's actually a mercy of God to display his wrath, if by such display he gives us to see also the revelation of his gospel in Christ. But then there's that end stage after the list of the 22. It's not just pride over verses 26 and 27. but justifying all of those 22 things. And of course, all sin, not just those 22 things in verses 29 through 31. And you know, all of these things are justified. All of these things are justified in the heart of every sinner who wants to feel vindicated for his sin. But even in the society that has pushed down on the knowledge of God, even in a society that used to be marked by at least Christian morality and did have many believers in it and many faithful churches in it. As it has departed from the gospel, has departed from Christ, departed from the Lord, departed from his word, everything in this list is actually justified by the society, by the culture. And so you get to the end stage of this cancer to which God has given us over. Not only do the same, says verse 32, they know that these things deserve death, but they're doing the same, just like they know God and they push down on the knowledge of God. They don't want to acknowledge him, although it's too obvious. And so you have to spend effort to suppress that truth and unrighteousness. Back in verse 18, Everyone also knows within themselves, this is why guilty consciences feel guilty. This is why people corrupt their consciences with false philosophy and theology and morality so that they no longer have to feel guilty anymore. They never can quite get away from it because God has put it in us. And so they know the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death. But here's the end stage. Not only do they do them, but they also approve of those who practice them. And so the display of God's wrath and the approving of our sin is the backdrop for the gospel displaying God's righteousness for sinners. Not only has he had wrath against our sin, he also reveals his righteousness for us in Jesus. If we would just believe in him, he loves and saves sinners. And so there's nothing more hateful than to tell ourselves that sin is permissible, is okay, or even good. And there's nothing more hateful to someone else, especially if you can see their sin and they can't, to try to normalize it for them. to try to make them feel better about it, to tell them that their sin is okay, or even to celebrate it, loving our neighbor. means doing with him what God has done with us, calling to him to repentance and announcing to him God's righteousness freely offered in the Lord Jesus Christ, God's forgiveness, entire removal of his wrath, as he's going to say in chapter three, the propitiation that Jesus was displayed as. announcing to them or announcing to yourself as you need. to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. God has patiently endured, chapter 9 says, vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, precisely because he is making known the riches of his glory in vessels of mercy prepared beforehand for glory. So we are to see the glory of God in his mercy over against us. but certainly not by giving approval of or acceptance of sin. Nothing more hateful to a sinner than that. Let's pray. Lord, forgive us our sin and help us, Lord, to see it as you do, to hate our own sin as you hate it, to see committing sin and especially being trapped in it and bound by it and ruled by it as a display of your righteous wrath. But we thank you that you have revealed not only your wrath against our sin, but especially you have revealed your righteousness offered to us in grace and mercy in Jesus Christ. And so whether with ourselves, Lord, or with others, we pray that you would not give us over to a debased mind. but give us over to minds in which you have caused the light of the knowledge of your glory to shine in the face of Jesus Christ, so that the veil would be removed, so that our minds and hearts would function correctly, that we might be worshipers of you and grateful to you, that we might see our bodies as belonging to you, belonging to Christ, to be used honorably according to the purpose of our body's creation, according to the purpose of our redemption. And so help us, Lord, in the rest of this day to offer our bodies to you as living sacrifices. Don't let us be conformed to the pattern of this world, but grant that we would be transformed By the renewing of our minds, which we have just heard from your word, is a great mercy, and we praise you for you are greatly merciful. Now display your character, we pray, by showing us this mercy we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.