October 28
“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 give hearty approval to those who practice them.” (Romans 1:32)
“Therefore you are without excuse, every man or you who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself, for you who judge practice the same things.” (Romans 2:1)
Yesterday we quoted some verses from Romans 1 that talk about the depravity mankind falls into when they do not see fit to acknowledge God. Some of the more prominent characteristics of such a society is their unnatural sexual preferences, something we are seeing rising to prominence and acceptability in our culture today. Mankind is so lost in this regard and has turned God’s creation, their own bodies, into instruments of perversion and degradation. And they revel in it so, but it is to their own dishonor and destruction. And it is to be expected.
The problem comes, however, when we in the church, the Body of Christ, begin to accept and practice these same behaviors that are a sign of judgment on the world. Is there no God? Is the God of the Bible false? Is there no gospel? Is there no such thing as sin anymore and no more need for salvation? Is there no heaven and no hell? Is there no judgment and no consequences for sin? If no to these things, then I suppose nothing really matters. But if yes, and I say reality is a resounding YES, then we need to be separate as Christians and not accept, condone, or participate in these things.
I believe that when we accept these things as Christians, when we ourselves behave immorally and tolerate immorality amongst us, when we view pornography, when we lust after others, when we say these immoral behaviors are okay, when we refuse to warn sinners who participate in them, when we refuse to speak up or speak out against them, then we become as the men Paul describes in verse 32, “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.”
We must not participate in these things. We cannot as Christians accept these things and condone them. We cannot be fooled or carried away by the immoral laxity and rampant perversion of our day. We cannot lose sight of our Anchor, Christ, and His holy word that He has given us through His apostles and prophets, righteous men of old of whom the world is not worthy.
Nor can we judge and condemn others who do practice these things. The goal here is to maintain very high standards of morality while maintaining compassion and an urgency to reach those who are trapped in immorality and other sins with the saving message of Jesus Christ. There is judgment to come, and in that judgment God will not wink the eye at the depraved behaviors of our day. Nor will He just pass over our evil behavior when we commit it as Christians. Remember these words of judgment. Remember how God thinks of these sins and what the true cause is, mankind’s rebellion against God. Remember that these behaviors are evil, and if we participate in them, even something seemingly harmless like viewing pornography and gratifying our flesh, we are giving hearty approval to and joining in with those who are under the condemnation of God. Let’s be part of the solution by being holy ourselves and reaching out to these people, not giving them hearty approval and encouragement, resulting in their destruction.