Romans 1.18-32 in the New King James Version says:
- Quote :
- 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 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, 21 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. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 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.
28 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; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 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.
- thanks to BibleGateway.com
Same sex marriage has been in the news lately. It's homosexuality, which according to the Bible, is an abomination. It is sin and wickedness. There is nothing good that can be said about same sex realationships, except to say that it is symptom of a greater problem.
Our Bible text says that the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against who? Against those who practice ungodliness and unrighteousness. Those that suppress the truth in unrighteousness. The text goes on to say that they are without excuse because God is clearly revealed in creation.
Sometimes I sit here and watch the squirrels outside my window. I see how meticulous they are as they get ready for the winter. And then to see their coat fluff up as it get's colder. I see the insects busy doing the things they do, like the bees polinating the plants. I see the trees come to life in the spring, and die in the fall as winter approaches, except the evergreens. And I am mindful of the fact that God created all of it. By looking at creation you can know that God is. And whenever I have any doubts, I just look at creation. Sometimes near sunset I go to a park and listen to the birds as they sing. There is no greater symphony than the sounds of God's creation. Verse 20 of our text says,
"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." So God has made himself evident in the the things that we see in creation.
Even though God has made Himself evident, the people being talked about in the text, eventhough they know by the things that are made, they ignore Him. And, look at this. Verse 23 of the text states that they,
"changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things." Verse 25 says,
"who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen." This is called "idolatry." So the greater problem is idolatry.
What is the result of this idolatry? Verses 26 & 27 states,
"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." The result of idolarty is God gave them up to "vile passions." In other words, homosexuality. And, according to verse 28, He "gave them over to a debased mind," to do all kinds of wickedness and sin, who doing such wickedness and sin, and those who give approval to those who practice such are deserving of death.
Now, how is this a message to America? Simple, America is an idolatrous nation. The church in America is an idolatrous church. America and the churches in America celebrate Christmas and Easter, which are idolatry. You can read about Christmas here:
http://sonofdavid.myfreeforum.org/about234.htmlAnd you can read about Easter here:
https://wayoftruth.forumotion.com/general-discussion-of-religious-topics-f15/the-truth-about-easter-t29.htmThere are a list of sins toward the end of our text. One is covetousness, another is envy, and another is pride. Put them together and you get the worst case of greed imaginable. Let me tell you, I do not want to be near a woman when she's inflicted with these three, and she looks in the mirror and sees her first gray hair. The first thing she does is shriek, "AH - A GRAY HAIR!!!!"
She falls into a depression,
and calls her employer and says she can't make it today, "I'm not feeling well." Then she immediatley runs out to the store to get a bottle of dye. Then when her hair turns purple, she runs to a beauty parlor and pays a hundred dollars to get it fixed. Then she goes home, curls up in a chair watching soap operas, and pouts the rest of the day. Then her husband comes home not knowing what had happened that day, and says, "Honey, how was your day?" I would not want to be that guy. She screams, "YOU WOULDN'T UNDERSTAND!!!!!"
Husbands, if that ever happens to you, get out of the house, get in your car, and just go. Get a motel room for a couple days. It might be safe to go home then.
The problem with writing, and you not seeing me tell this story in public, is you don't hear the voice inflexion, and the humor in my voice. I think you see the point though.
That is called vanity. And men are getting just as vain these days. Did you ever see that commercial where a good looking bottle blond comes to the door and asks for some milk? The guy becomes Superman. He jumps out the window, onto a truck or bus, gets to the store and picks up, "Just For Men," and a gallon of milk. He gets rid of the gray hair, and comes to the door with the milk, all in 30 seconds.
Americans are obsessed with appearance, and with the accumulation of things. Guys have to have a new sports car to impress the ladies. And she has to be Pamela Anderson, not Phylis Diller.
Gals have to put tons of make-up on to atrract George Clooney. Us homely guys don't have a chance.
And when the guys find their Pamela Anderson, and the gals find their George Clooney, they get married and experience fire and brimstone on earth.
But greed doesn't just show up in pursuit of that "perfect" relationship. It shows up in American business practices too. There's a company that has a profit of 4 billion dollars per year, and still find the need [or the greed] to raise their rates. And, if you make a 4000 dollar loan to buy an old car, you wind up paying closer to 8000 dollars back because interest and other fees. It's in sports too. What baseball player is worth 10 million dollars per year? For that amount of money, Ryan Howard should hit 20 home runs every week, and guarantee that he will never get hurt.
Greed shows up in every aspect of American life, including religion. Tell me why a church has to build a 27 million dollar building, complete with a volleyball/basketball court, and a swimming pool. And look at all the books being sold in the name of religion. And their are singers who get paid a lot of money to sing gospel music. And the price of Bibles go from 20 - 120 dollars, and maybe more by now. Then there's the sales of cruises and trips to Israel. Religion in America has become a multi-billion dollar industry. Jesus once cleared the money-changers out of the temple, and I think He should do it again.
I could go on and on about the wickedness and sin in America, but I believe I made my point. How can we expect God to bless America with all this wickedness and sin in her?
What do you think?
