The Progression of Unbelief
Paul's Gospel • Sermon • Submitted
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· 10 viewsAn Unbelieving world leads to the judgement of God
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Though contrary to the world (atheist) belief, God is very active within the world today
God did not create and then become a passive observer
And He is before all things, and in Him all things consist.
Col 1
God created the world in 6 days, rested on the 7th day, but that was not the end
God not only created but maintains His creation every second of everyday
This called God’s Continuing Providence (Latin word providere which literally means “to forsee”)
This doesn’t just mean “knowing the future” but it also means making preparation for the future
Verse 16-18
In God’s providence of this world though He is a Spirit, He can be clearly seen to all (lost and saved)
These first two verses will show us how God reveals Himself to the world.
We love to talk about the kindness of God
Righteousness
We love to talk about the grace of God
Wrath
But we don’t like to talk about the wrath of God
Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed. (verse 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel)
Verse 18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
Wrath
Verse 18: For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven.
Because God is Righteous He is also Just.
God is a God of Love:
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.
God is also a God of justice
He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”
“God is love”
His justice:
“His loves righteousness and justice; the earth is full of the goodness of the Lord”
“let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe for our God is a consuming fire”
John ch. 3 contains two verses of almost complete opposite
God is not just a God waiting to judge, He is a God of love.
He loves righteousness and justice;
The earth is full of the goodness of the Lord.
One of love
One of wrath
This is the God we serve.
In these verses Paul is going to speak mainly about God’s wrath which is active in the world today just as His love is.
Though we love to talk about God’s love and we should, we must also understand His justice.
There will come a day when the wrath of God is poured out on the earth (the tribulation period)
For God to be Holy and perfect
BUT there is also the present manifestation of God’s wrath on those outside the Kingdom of God
This wrath is a present reality in our world
This wrath is a present reality in our country today
It is manifest on all those who are under it
This wrath is a present reality within the “church” today
If you want a reason to thank Christ, thank Him that the wrath of God no longer remains on you.
This wrath is not selected by God but by those who choose its path
Everyone outside of Christ has the wrath of God waiting on them
Rom 1:18-20
Unbelief is inexcusable because God has given mankind enough evidence to believe the truth.
Unbelief is inexcusable because God has given mankind enough evidence to believe the truth.
The subject of God’s wrath
Verse 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth.
Notice who God’s wrath is revealed upon: men who suppress the truth
Notice how they suppress the truth: in unrighteousness
This is for anyone and everyone who lives unrighteously today.
Even if they have never been to church
How can God do that?
Verse 19 because what may be known of God, is manifest (evident) in them (among them), for God has shown it to them.
What Paul is speaking about here is called a General Revelation
This is the revelation through Creation that all people experience
There is one thing God will never accept is an excuse
Do you ever wonder why there is such an attack on Creation?
If Satan can get people to believe God did not create the world then they begin down this road
BUT it goes even further
In my theology book they have 6 hypothesis to reconcile the “Creation problem”
The flood hypothesis
Science says the earth is billions of years old
The Bible says it is 6,000 years old
Man is given a choice to believe
And even men of God try to say that the word “day” used in creation doesn’t really mean day
Or God created the world in an already “old state”
Or the days were not in chronological order
Or there was a time gap between and the rest of the book
Why can’t we just believe the mighty God of the Bible created this world in 6 days and science is WRONG
This does not mean you cannot be saved if you don’t believe God created in 6 days
My point is that those who reject a 6 day creation harm the generations to come because they automatically reject God’s general revelation (which is an act of grace)
Those that believe science over faith are teaching the next generations to follow suit
Science will never prove the Bible wrong. IT CAN NOT
Science will only have a hypothesis about Creation, but the Bible contains the facts.
When this General Revelation is given over to evolution, and science rather than faith the world is being misled
Paul’s argument is that in Creation God is evident to all people
People must choose that we evolved or there really is a Creator
Not one soul in the history of creation will ever be able to stand before God and say it wasn’t fair
People are not forced to believe, but to reject has severe consequences
How is God evident to all people?
Verse 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...
What are His attributes?
His eternal power
Creation
The sustaining of Life
The perfect balance of the earth
His Godhead
The Trinity
His Spirit
His Son
Here is what Paul is saying:
God has created this world and mankind in such a way that man can grasp enough of God’s nature that all will be without excuse.
God is just in His wrath upon those who are unrighteous because all men above the age of accountability have enough revelation to be held accountable
Paul is saying God is just to judge all people because all people have been given enough light to come to Christ.
For anyone to reject the truth is a choice to NOT BELIEVE
Verse 21-23 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. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image make like corruptible man-and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
God has manifest Himself in the world today to all mankind
Man has a choice
He can either worship a Creator
Or deny the truth and worship Creation
God has given man enough revelation to prevent him from the error of identifying created things from the Creator,
The great sin here is idolatry
enabling him to keep his conception of deity free from idolatry.
There is one thing God will never accept is an excuse
Not one soul in the history of creation will ever be able to stand before God and say it wasn’t fair
Verse 24-25 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Unbelief allows people to go deeper into their sin
Unbelief allows people to go deeper into their sin
“Therefore God also gave them up”
When a person denies the truth of God, the gospel, God’s clearly seen attributes and power and worships creation rather than the Creator God gives them over to their sin
This does not mean that God will make people sin
It means God will remove the divine influence from their life that was protecting them from serious sin
An illustration:
We learned today that God is continuously working in the world today
God is also keeping sin at bay
Just imagine a boat on a river
And God is holding that boat from going downstream with the current
When God gives them over He lets go of the boat and it drifts anyway the river wishes
Unbelief Leads to Idolatry
Unbelief Leads to Idolatry
Why would God give anyone over to sin?
because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie
because they worshiped the creature rather than the Creator
It is clear Paul is speaking about Idolatry
Idolatry is putting anything over God
animal
another human
ourselves
a material object
animal
Is this “giving over” a permanent thing?
Not in every case
God handed over his own people in the OT to bring them to repentance
In the book of Revelation the wrath of God is poured out to bring men to repentance
From what I have seen is a vast majority never do repent
The Progression of Unbelief Leads to gross sexual immorality
The Progression of Unbelief Leads to gross sexual immorality
Verse 26-27: 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.
Notice the wording Paul uses here
Natural and unnatural
It is very similar to the beginning when men reject the General Revelation of God (which is natural, creation)
This unnatural use of their body is against God’s natural created order
Many today argue (Including some denominations) that this is not a prohibition against homosexuality but I would further argue that Pauls use of the natural and unnatural is against God’s will for humanity.
Homosexuality is a departure from nature (God’s natural order)
Rejection of a Creator
The deepening of Sin
Gross sexual Immorality
The Final stage of Unbelief is Man’s hatred of fellow man
The Final stage of Unbelief is Man’s hatred of fellow man
verse 28-32 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; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful, who, knowing the righteous judgement 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”
psalm 106:20
Thus they changed their glory
Into the image of an ox that eats grass.
They became Image worshipers
For a third time Paul says God gave them over but this time to a debased mind
2 thess 10:12
That debased mind has serious implications (worthless, unqualified)
Verse 24 God gave them up to
As before God gave them over to immoral acts
Verse 25 Who Exchanged the truth for a lie
In this case God gives them over to a debased mind (worthless, unqualified)
2 thess 10:12
When sin has progressed this far the mind is unable to comprehend or practice the things of God.
Verse 26-27 God gave them up to vile passions
They not only fail to practice the things of God, they cannot understand God
women began doing what is unnatural
It is a spiritual blindness that only the Spirit can overcome
men likewise
I want you to think about this country in which we live in
receiving in themselves the penalty of their error
Think about the great division within it
Think about the explosion of the LGBT community
Think about the free reign of sin
Think about the idolatry
This is why many preachers believe we are in the last days including myself
Can it be changed? Absolutely
Will it be changed? I honestly don’t think so
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away!
We need to make ever effort to win every soul to Jesus Christ as we can because I believe if it is not our generation, it will be our kids generation that will experience the rapture.
But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come:
When we
When we
They Worshiped the creature rather than the Creator
They dishonored themselves with their bodies
They no longer did what was natural.
Evil overtakes them
Evil overtakes them
filled with unrighteousness
wickedness
greed
evil
envy
murder
strife
deceit
malice
gossips
slanderers
haters of God
insolent
arrogant
boastful
inventors of evil
disobedient to parents
wihtout understanding
untrustworthy
unloving
unmerciful
give approval to those who practice such things.
This is the wrath of God on an unbelieving world. What is the other option?
This is the wrath of God on an unbelieving world. What is the other option?
Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “But the Righteous man shall live by faith”
God reveals Himself through His invisbale attributes
There is no excuse for anyone to not.