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22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen. ~ Romans 1:22-25
Today, we return to our study of Romans 1 where we have learned that when we reject God and His culture, our thinking becomes futile and our hearts have become darkened. It is at this point that the needs of others around us become of no concern to us. Selfishness causes us to lose compassion and awareness of the struggles and needs of others around us. Numbness toward God translates into numbness toward the sincere needs of others.
In v.22-23 of today's passage we read, "22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."
When we claim to be wise, we are trying to be God. The result of such is we become fools. This literally means that we lose touch with reality. Sinful man who refuses to accept the truth, destroys his God-given ability to discriminate. It is in this context that illogical thinking takes over. Once we have abandoned the ability to think logically, every thought becomes captive to what is wrong. In this context, truth cannot be perceived accurately by the one who has rejected God. And, the biggest fool of all is the one who has rejected the light, gone into the darkness, and now rationalizes that the darkness is light, and the light is darkness.
The word translated here "fools" is the word from which we get our English word "moron." The "wisdom" of the fool is limited to one sphere. He is wise in his own conceited self-styled perception. My dad once accurately said, "Son, some people are so narrow-minded, they can look through a key hole with both eyes."
This leads rebellious man to "exchange the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles."
Since we were created to worship, we will always worship something. And when we reject worshipping God, we will worship things. We call this idolatry. That which we worship will always be a substitute for God. This is an attempt on fallen man's behalf to make God seem to be less than what He is. When we reject God, we essentially end up worshipping self. This is the way Satan operates; he does not get us to follow him, he gets us to follow self. And, when we follow self, we are indirectly following him.
In v.24-25 of today's passage we read, "24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen."
Due to the Fall, man has no capacity to restrain his sinfulness. There's only one force in the entire universe that can restrain evil and that is God. This is why our worship of God is so important, because what we worship defines us. The problem is when we reject God too much, there comes a point that God no longer restrains the enemy from us. The more God lets go of a person, the worse it gets.
Since the Fall, man has been trying to remove the consequence of his sin. Think about all the medicines that have been invented to stop venereal disease. But, venereal disease is God's way of stopping immorality. And as soon as we began to get the upper hand on venereal diseases, we are freed up to do whatever we want. And, it is then that we reap the results. So in a very real sense, without hurling fire from heaven, without some cataclysmic event, God pours out His wrath on a day-by-day basis as He gives man up to the destructiveness of his own sin. Man's ill-informed passions become the very instruments of God's wrath.
Beginning in v.24, the Apostle Paul uses a four word phrase to get his point across. The phrase is: “God gave them up.” This phrase is repeated in v.26 and v.28. The phrase used here describes the essence of man's sinfulness. When God lets man go, man always goes directly to moral uncleanness. As indicated in the previous verse, God gave man up because man rejected the revelation of God. And, since we were all created to worship, when we have rejected God, we end up worshipping self. This is the essence of sin.
The essence of man's sinfulness is discovered in the many expressions of his impure heart. Sinful and unbelieving man was and is being given over to the rottenness that is within him. We were given over to what we desired: a God-rejecting heart.
As indicated at the end of v.24, when we reject God, we end up dishonoring our own bodies. Our vile hearts, apart from God's presence in our lives, is the reason that man becomes sexually perverted. The phrase, "the degrading of their bodies with one another," is the lust of their hearts. Unsaved man who has rejected God's culture, perverts God's intended use for his body.
"They exchanged the truth of God for a lie." The lie is: God doesn't have to be obeyed or honored or glorified. Satan first pushed this lie in the Garden. Adam and Eve believed this lie, and, they gave into a posture that constantly tempted them to believe God is not good. This is at the very root of sin, the very essence of sin, the suspicion that God is not good. So, mankind deserved punishment. And, everyone is without excuse.
