Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them...For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 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.
Romans 1:24, 26-28, 32 NASBGod's response to those who are determined to reject Him, exchanging the truth of God for a lie, is to give them over to their lusts and depravities. He singles out homosexuality as a prime example of that which is unnatural, indecent and depraved. Keep in mind that if you take offense at this assessment, it is not me that you are taking offense with, but God.
The attributes of a depraved mind are:
- being filled with all unrighteousness
- wickedness
- greed
- evil
He then gives a laundry list of sins committed by the depraved mind.
- envy
- murder
- strife
- deceit
- malice
- gossip
- slander
- hating God
- insolence
- arrogance
- boastfulness
- inventing evil
- disobedient to parents
- lacking understanding
- untrustworthy
- unloving
- unmerciful
Those who practice such things are worthy of death in God's eyes. Notice that murder is on the same list as gossip. Maybe you say, "but I'm okay. I've never murdered anybody." Or, "But I'm straight." But have you ever been boastful, or disobeyed you parents, or acted in ways that are unloving or unmerciful. There is no distinction.
Keep in mind that all scripture needs to be seen in context. Out of context this whole section may be seen as hateful and judgmental. It is not. As we continue reading in Romans, we see that God's purpose is to expose the truth, then provide hope and remedy.
For my part, I recognize the sinful behavior as the works of the flesh. I will tell you the truth as it is set forth in scripture, but it is not my place to judge or condemn any person.
No comments:
Post a Comment