Romans 1:18-23 The Message
Ignoring God Leads to a Downward Spiral
18-23 But God’s angry displeasure erupts as acts of human mistrust and wrongdoing and lying accumulate, as people try to put a shroud over truth. But the basic reality of God is plain enough. Open your eyes and there it is! By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see: eternal power, for instance, and the mystery of his divine being. So nobody has a good excuse. What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines you can buy at any roadside stand.
The Word of God for the Children of God.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Although They Knew God …
Since God has revealed Himself to us from the beginning, it forces us to make a choice being we can either glorify Him as God or we can choose to walk away.
Paul describes this dilemma from the very beginning of time.
Our track record is we chose not to acknowledge God so our thinking became frivolous and impractical.
The result was a foolish, dark, and hard heart concerning God.
This condition of a hardened heart is a process. If we claim to be wise without recognizing God as the sovereign creator of all things, we are fools. This leads to looking to other things to satisfy our deep needs. It’s a sad day when we exchange the glory of God for made-made idols.
It is easy to look at this and think that we would never make and worship idols such as primitive civilizations did.
But as our society progresses, so do our idols.
According to Timothy Keller, in his book Counterfeit Gods, an idol “is anything more important to you than God, anything that absorbs your heart and imagination more than God, anything you seek to give you what only God can give.” 1 1 Keller, Timothy. Counterfeit Gods. New York: Riverhead Books, 2009
Modern-day idols are just as prevalent but more disguised.
Work, money, family, and material possessions have the potential to be idols.
Everything and anything we exalt above God is the modern day idol.
Idolatry starts with ingratitude.
When we aren’t thankful to God, then it is a slippery slope into not glorifying Him as God and when we do that our focus shifts from Him to something else.
Paul said, this is the mark of a fool.
Since the truth of God is written on our hearts (Romans 1:19), we crave a true connection with God.
If we ignore this desire, we shut off our hearts and minds to knowing Him relationally.
Without the spirit connection, then the best we can do to fill that yearning is with perishable representations of it.
In Our Own Image …
Romans 1:18-23 New American Standard Bible 1995
Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth [a]in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident [b]within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not [c]honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and [d]crawling creatures.
There is something wrong in our lives when we need an image or an icon to worship God.
We must understand that God forbids this (see Exodus 20:3-5). He does not want us to relate to Him that way.
We must also understand that sometimes people can become idols in our lives.
Maybe someone was instrumental in bringing us to Christ or we have great admiration for a certain pastor or leader.
But is that person becoming an idol?
Are they taking the place of God in our lives?
Of course, God will use people to impact us spiritually.
But every person will, at some point, fail to measure up to all the expectations we have.
And because we sometimes make idols out of others, our faith is shattered when we discover they are human like we are.
In the parable of the sower, Jesus talked about seed that grew up quickly.
But because it had no root, it quickly withered (see Mark 4:16-17).
16 In a similar way these are the ones on whom seed was sown on the rocky places, who, when they hear the word, immediately receive it with joy; 17 and they have no firm root in themselves, but are only temporary; then, when affliction or persecution arises because of the word, immediately they [a]fall away.
This represents people who don’t get a good foundation spiritually.
They don’t build their faith on Jesus Christ and His Word.
Something or someone became an idol in their lives, and that idol failed to measure up to their ideal.
So they give up, because the foundation they built on was faulty.
We need to build our foundation on Jesus Christ.
Idols also can be ourselves.
Romans 1:21 tells us, “Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused” (NLT).
The first creature that people substitute for God is themselves.
Ultimately, all idolatry comes down to people worshipping themselves.
They want to be in control.
Humanity is incurably religious.
There is something deep within us that wants to worship, but if we can make a god in our image, by our standard, thus call our own shots, then we are happy.
That’s because, for all practical purposes, we have formed a god in our own image – we have successfully put ourselves in the place of the one true God.
Idolatry can be living for our senses and appetites as well.
The apostle Paul wrote, “There are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ. They are headed for destruction. Their god is their appetite, they brag about shameful things, and they think only about this life here on earth” (Philippians 3:18-19 NLT).
Jesus also warned about pursuing empty lifestyles.
He asked, “Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing?” (Matthew 6:25 NLT).
For many people, the answer is almost indelibly, invariably – no.
Is there one thing that you would absolutely refuse to give up if God were to ask it of you?
Is there one thing that would cause you to say, “Take anything but this, Lord”?
If so, then that thing, that pursuit, that passion just may be an idol in your life.
Here’s the good news though, knowing Jesus fills that hunger inside of us for a connection with God.
When we know Jesus, we stop looking for something else.
Today, I pray that you may experience Jesus in a way that deeply satisfies you.
To the glory of God, the Father, may you fill your God-shaped hole with the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and find true joy in this process.
In the name of God, the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit,
Let us Pray,
Heavenly Father, the world is becoming increasingly evil, and the rejection of Your gracious offer of salvation, by faith in Jesus Christ, seems to have saturated this fallen world. But You are a God of infinite mercy and grace, Who is not willing that ANY should perish, but that all should come to repentance and faith in Christ. Thank You that every man has the free-will to accept Your offer of salvation, by trusting in Jesus, Who willingly died so that they might live. I pray that many, who are in the valley of decisions, would turn to Christ and trust in You today, for the forgiveness of sins and life everlasting, and use me I pray, to touch the lives of some with the good news of the gospel of God. In Jesus’ name I pray, Alleluia! Alleluia! Alleluia! Amen.
Glory be to the Father,
and to the Son, and to the Holy Ghost;
as it was in the beginning,
is now, and ever shall be,
world without end. Amen, amen.
Loving God, Living God, Loving Hope, Living Hope, Loving Living Life His Way! "Many things are possible for the person who has hope. Even more is possible for the person who has faith. And still more is possible for the person who knows how to love. But everything is possible for the person who practices all three virtues." - Brother Lawrence (1605-1691), Practicing the Presence of God (1692). 