Depravity of Man: Romans 1:18-32

For the Wise
(Who are foolish)

I. We have been revealed God's eternal power and divine nature ---> His Existence

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the:
1. Godlessness
2. Wickedness
Of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness/unrighteousness.(Rom 1:18)

*How are they suppressing the truth? or What have they've done?

The have suppressed the plain knowledge of God's existence revealed unto us.
What may be known about God is OBVIOUS [plain] to them, because God has made it plain. (Rom 1:20)

*And what makes God's existence SO obvious? or How has he made it plain/obvious?
God tells us that His creation is plain evidence of His existence, power and Glory.
His eternal power and divine nature [what may be known, which are His invisible qualities] have been clearly seen (mind you these are invisible qualities), being understood from what has been made (the creation) so that men are without excuse. [Note: the greek word used for Creation, ktisis means original formation (properly the act; by implication the thing, literally or figuratively): - building, creation, creature, ordinance.] (Rom 1:20)

So that come judgment day, no one can stand in God's presence and claim ignorance.

II. Knowing God Exists we choose NOT to believe in Him or thank Him for creating us.
*What did man do instead?
We became futile in our thinking and our foolish hearts were darkened. (Like when Christ came, the Light came into the world but man chose the Darkness, the darkness of sin.) (Rom 1:21)

III. We Choose Idols over God
*What are the implications?
We became fools. (The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, thus the rejection of the Lord is the beginning of Foolishness.)
We exchanged God's glory for Idolatry of images resembling man, birds, animals and creeping things. (Rom 1:22-23)

IV. Because of this God has given us over to
a. Sexual Impurities
Since humans exchanged the Truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created beings, God has given/granted us the desires of our iniquity-filled hearts and gave us over to sexual impurities for the degrading of our bodies (Promiscuity perhaps? which can lead to STDs?)
Just in case you still haven't gotten why He does this: "because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen." (Rom1:25, ESV, emphasis mine)

b. Shameful Lusts
Because of our Idolatry, which leads to sexual impurities and these lead to shameful lusts, shameful sexual desires which include homosexuality (both in men and in women, v.26-27) and they received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion (the men who committed indecent acts because of their homosexuality)

c. Depravity of mind
Since us humans didn't think it was important to retain the knowledge of God, in other words we rejected the plain knowledge of God's existence, He gave us over to a depraved mind. (v. 28)
You see the thing is that apart from God, sin (Transgression of the law) takes a hold of us, invades our feelings, our desires, our actions and our thoughts and everything acting through sin is depraved, evil, shameful and an insult to God. That is why we need Jesus sooo much! because apart from God, under the reign/slavery of sin we die both physically and spiritually(Eph 2:1).

*The Result of our depraved mind?
We became filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. Filled with envy (covetousness), murder, strife, deceit and malice. We became gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. (v.29-31)

5. The Conscience?
Even though in our heart of hearts we know that what we do, that is so evil and unrighteous, deserves the death penalty we continue to do these things and also approve of those who practice them. (v.32)

Yikes!!
Horrible Stuff! Is there anything Good we should look forward to, say hmm some Good news? Some HOPE???

Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.
For by works of the law(good deeds, trying to keep the 10 commandments) no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. (because sin is transgression of the Law)
But now the righteousness of God has been manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear witness to it--
the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction:
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. (Rom 3:19-26)

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life." John 3.16

SO, now that you know you're sinner...what can you do? or better yet, what does God commands us to do?
REPENT, turn away from your sins, and Put your FAITH in Christ Jesus the Lord and Saviour who died on a cross bearing your sins and resurrected beating death and sin, so that there could be a way to be JUSTIFIED before God and be forgiven of our sins. And so what after that? One is Born Again, by the Holy Spirit and as a born again you can finally have a relationship with the Unchanging Creator of this universe the Lord, Almighty, Amen! (Mark 1:15, Luke 13.3, 13:15)