Romans Explained Part 1 | Heathens, Hypocrites & JesusÀpẹrẹ

| Romans 1:25-2:2 | Heathens & Hypocrites

Host: Welcome to Through the Word, leading you on a journey through the entire Bible, one chapter at a time. Today, Kris Langham guides us through the New Testament book of Romans. Now to Pastor Kris.

Welcome back to court. We left off in Romans 1 with Paul’s case moving from the godless to the wicked. The content today is PG-13, so cut this off now if the kids are listening.

We pick up in verse 24, when we exchanged God for idols and truth for lies. Losing God meant losing morals. So “God gave them over” - to lusts, to impurity, to dishonoring their bodies. God gave the human body honor - they dishonored it.

Now we’re talking about sex, but let’s be clear. In the Bible, God made sex good. And whatever you believe, I hope we can all see that sex is powerful. Think about it. Sex has the power to create a living human being. It has the power to express love profoundly, and to make a person feel amazing. It can drive a person’s desire and will.

But misused, sex also has the power to destroy a life, the power to express vile hatred. It can drive a person to destroy convictions, break promises, and lose all faith and trust with the ones they love.

Sex is powerful, and regardless of your faith, it should not be taken lightly.

Now bringing the Bible back into this equation, God also made sex holy. That means it is set apart - it has a special place. It’s like fire. Fire is powerful and awesome - in it’s place. But if you fail to respect its power, if you ignore the rules and set your house on fire, it can destroy everything you hold dear. In the Bible, sex is holy, and set apart for marriage. Outside of that, the fire destroys.

But when mankind exchanged God for idols and truth for lies, God’s rules were forgotten and holiness was lost. In verse 26:

“Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error” (Romans 1:26-27).

This verse is dangerous without full context. Please read it for yourself, but read the whole message. This part is about what happens, in verse 28, when we don’t think it “worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God.” When God’s just not worth the time.

And Paul doesn’t single out just one sin. Verse 29:

“They’ve become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They’re full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (1:29-32).

Look around the court. The excuses of the godless lie empty. The deeds of the wicked open for all to see - like secret web searches now revealed - and they sink into their chairs like so many Ashley Madison users. Caught - with no way out.

And then there are the religious - sitting in the jury box, ready to jump up and shout guilty! So Paul turns to the jury, and in chapter 2:

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things” (Romans 2:1).

Shock fills the courtroom. Paul set them up. Every smug, self-righteous hypocrite in the world. Every believer who ever used Romans 1 to judge and condemn. Paul says you are condemning yourself. Turns out Ashley Madison’s list has some religious people on it.

This case - is not closed. Don’t walk out now - this is about to get good.

Host: Thanks for joining us for today’s quick audio guide. You can find the full audio guide for this chapter and hundreds more on the Through the Word app and website. Our apps are free, so tell a friend. We’re listener supported, so thanks for giving. Kris Langham is the founder of Through the Word ministries and pastor of Refuge Long Beach in Long Beach, CA. And remember, faith comes by hearing, and hearing Through the Word (Romans 10:17).