In Paul's epistle to the church at Rome, he presents the gospel. It is, he says, "the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes" (Rom 1:16). "In it," he goes on to say, "the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith" (Rom 1:17). So, how is the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel? Easy, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth" (Rom 1:18). Wait ... what? The gospel reveals the righteousness of God because it shows God's wrath? Well, yes. Paul says that God's wrath is (righteously) revealed against "all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men." That is, in their relations with God ("ungodliness") and their relations with men ("unrighteousness"), humans make God angry. How? By their suppression of the truth in their sin. So Paul sets out to explain the problem.
According to the text, God made His attributes abundantly clear to humankind as seen in nature (Rom 1:19-20). They rejected Him. Hang on ... follow the logic here. The problem is not with God; the problem is with humans. The problem is that "although they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened" (Rom 1:21). So we're here at the baseline problem. Refusing to acknowledge God, humans obtain futile thinking and darkened hearts. That's the beginning. From there it gets worse. Interestingly, from there it could be a description of America in the last 60 years or so. First, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts (Rom 1:24). In America, the decade of the '60's was what is commonly called "the Sexual Revolution." "Follow your lusts. If it feels good, do it. We don't really care about God; we're cutting loose and indulging our desires." They substituted the creature for the Creator and served themselves (Rom 1:25). So God took the next logical step. "God gave them up to dishonorable passions" (Rom 1:26). What dishonorable passions, specifically? Women exchanged "natural relations" and men gave up "natural relations with women" and homosexual behavior became the norm (Rom 1:26-27). As in America. The LGB-alphabet-soup started and expanded. Marriage was torpedoed in favor of "same-sex mirage," an undefining of the recognized, longstanding, traditional definition of marriage. Sexual mores deteriorated until "anything goes." But the text didn't stop there. "And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done" (Rom 1:28). "A debased mind." The Greek is ἀδόκιμος -- adokimos. Literally, it is "not approved, not passing the test, rejected." How did that look in our recent history? This insanity is most clearly seen -- following the line from the Sexual Revolution to the Homosexual Revolution to this point -- in the "T" of LGBT. It is in the largely embraced notion that a girl can be a guy and a guy can be a girl. It is in the total rejection of biblical truth and even biology with "I feel" for truth. Paul offers a whole list of illustrations (Rom 1:29-32) that we live with today, but the idea that "gender affirming" means "rejecting your biological reality" is the clearest, latest example of a mind that has rejected truth.
Now, hold on. Before you get your knickers in a twist, think about what this means. This means that a campaign of Christians to make transgenders biologically sound or homosexuals into heterosexuals or the sexually immoral into good little boys and girls misses the point. The idea that the problem is these behaviors misses the biblical problem. It is not behavior at all. It is rooted first and foremost in the rejection of God. So if we want to be helpful to sinners (like us), we don't do it by beating them over the head or trying to stuff them into "conversion therapy" like they're smokers we want to fix. We need to give them Jesus. We need to show we're followers of Christ by our love and we need to make disciples. We don't do that by embracing their errors, but we also don't do it by passing laws that lock them up. We do it by the power of the Spirit giving them the good news (gospel) that there is salvation from God for all who believe. We live lives reflecting Christ and share the message that all have sinned (including us), but we can be justified by God's grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus (Rom 3:23-26). Ultimately, we do it by being what God calls us to be -- lights in the darkness -- and giving them the gospel. Not psychology. Not programs. Not righteous indignation. Jesus.
4 comments:
Two thoughts.
It's interesting to see that the L/G of the alphabet soup folx are starting to push back against the T's. They realize that if the T's become entrenched that it eliminates the G's and the L's, because if there's no gender than there's no homosexuality. (Side note, doesn't the term homosexual seem to indicate that we're talking biological sex, not gender?) We see news reports of T's being upset that gay men don;t want to date/have sex with women who've T'ed into "men".
Nancy Pearcey deal with this really well in several of her recent books. Especially Love Thy Body and the recent one about masculinity.
outstanding post Stan, and your last paragraph spot on!
I know that every generation of Christians has believed they will be the last before He returns, but I think the big difference between now and then is the breadth. Cities and nations and empires have fallen to God's wrath with their acceptance of homosexuality. But this depravity seems to have no borders. Most of the world seems to at least tolerate it, if not fully embrace it. It makes me hopeful that we really be seeing His return soon. But we must not fall into the same trap that has befallen Christians since the time of Paul, even with the end looming, we must be spreading the truth that is Jesus Christ. In fact, the looming end should push us even harder to spread His Truth before it is too late.
Your application of Romans chapter 1 to our nation’s recent “sexual history” is very accurate--from the promotion of “Free Love” in the 1960s (popularizing the Pill and abortion-on-demand) to the proliferation of uncloseted homosexual activity that followed that decade to the more recent rejection of one’s created personhood. (I’m old enough to have been alive for all of that, and I also remember the Moral Majority and its failed attempts to reverse the spreading immorality.) I am sure there are additional moral slides ahead for the U.S., but no matter what new adverse trends develop, your conclusion is true--only as individual hearts are regenerated will futile minds be transformed and bodies restored to healthy living. May the Holy Spirit work in our nation to bring salvation and healing to its citizens--individually, if not collectively.
P.S. At first glance at your title for today’s post--“America in Romans”--my mind misread it as “Americans in Rome.” I was expecting a “when in Rome…” themed essay. :) Then, I thought that "America in Ruins" (like one sees in Rome) was also applicable.
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