The Essence of Man’s Sinfulness (Part 2)

Romans 1:24-25

²⁴ Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, ²⁵ who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

Through the lusts of their own hearts - Or, in consequence of their own evil and depraved passions and desires. He left them to act out, or manifest, their depraved affections and inclinations.  Used metaphorically in Scripture, “the heart” does not represent the emotions or feelings, as it generally does in modern usage, but rather the whole thinking process, including especially the will and man’s motivation. In its broadest sense, the heart represents the basic nature of a person, his inner being and character.

In our day, the basic ungodliness of man is nowhere more clearly exposed than in the popular admonition to do one’s own thing. Man’s “own thing” is sin, which characterizes his whole natural being. Self-will is the essence of all sin. Although Satan was responsible for their being tempted to sin, it was the voluntary placing of their own wills above God’s that caused Adam and Eve to commit the first sin.

Men reject God because their preferences, their lusts, are for their own way rather than God’s. Lusts translates a Greek word which can refer to any desire but was most often used of carnal desire for that which was sinful or forbidden.

Speaking about believers as well as unbelievers, James declared that “each one is tempted when he is carried away and enticed by his own lust” (James 1:14). Because even Christians are tempted to desire their own sin above God’s holiness, Paul warned the Thessalonians about falling into the lustful passions that characterized pagan Gentiles (1 Thess. 4:5). He reminded the Ephesians that “we too all formerly lived in the lusts of our flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, even as the rest” (Eph. 2:3).

To dishonour - To disgrace; (Rom. 1:26-27) was a general term for uncleanness and was often used of decaying matter, especially the contents of a grave, which were considered by Jews to be both physically and ceremonially unclean. As a moral term, it usually referred to or was closely associated with sexual immorality. Paul lamented over the Corinthians “who [had] sinned in the past and not repented of the impurity, immorality and sensuality which they [had] practiced” (2 Cor. 12:21). He used the same three terms to introduce the list of “deeds of the flesh” that are in perpetual conflict with “the fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:19-23). He exhorted the Ephesians: “Do not let immorality or any impurity or greed even be named among you, as is proper among saints” (Eph. 5:3; cf. 1 Thess. 4:7).

The effect of men’s rebellious, self-willed impurity was that their bodies might be dishonored. When men seek to glorify their own ways and to satisfy their bodies through shameful indulgence in sexual and other sins, their bodies, along with their souls, are instead dishonored. When man seeks to elevate himself for his own purposes and by his own standards, he inevitably does the opposite. The way of fallen mankind is always downward, never upward. The more he exalts himself, the more he declines. The more he magnifies himself the more he diminishes. The more he honors himself, the more he becomes dishonored.

No society in history has given more attention to caring for the body than has the modern Western world. Yet no society has caused more degradation of the body. The more human life is exalted for its own sake, the more it is debased. In tragic irony, the same society that glorifies the body has no regard for the body, the same society that exalts man incessantly degrades him. The world echoes with demands for men’s rights; yet books, movies, and television often portray brutality and murder as all but normal, and sexual promiscuity and perversion are constantly glamorized.

Because humanism rejects God, it has no basis for man’s dignity. And therefore in the name of humanism, humanity is dehumanized. While lamenting man’s inhumanity to man, fallen men refuse to recognize that in rejecting God they reject the only source and measure of man’s dignity. Therefore, while loudly proclaiming the greatness of man, modern society abuses man at every turn. We sexually abuse one another, economically abuse one another, criminally abuse one another; and verbally abuse one another. Because they reject the God who made them and would redeem them, “the hearts of the sons of men are full of evil, and insanity is in their hearts throughout their lives” (Eccles. 9:3).

The well-known founder of a contemporary pornographic empire is said to have commented: “Sex is a biological function like eating and drinking. So let’s forget all the prudery about it and do whatever we feel like doing.” That such thinking is not the modern invention of a sophisticated “world come of age” is clearly seen in the fact that Paul confronted precisely the same thinking in Corinth nearly 2,000 years ago. A common saying in that day was “Food is for the stomach, and the stomach is for food,” and the apostle intimates that it was used even by some Christians to justify sexual immorality, comparing eating to sexual indulgence. Both were claimed to be merely biological functions, which could be used however one might choose. Paul’s stinging reply to that perverted reasoning was, “The body is not for immorality but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body” (1 Cor. 6:13).

As the apostle goes on to explain in that passage, sexual immorality not only is sin against the Lord but is sin against one’s own body (v 18). That is his point of the present passage. The body that indulges in sexual impurity is itself dishonored; it is debased, disgraced, and degraded. Between themselves - Among themselves; or mutually. They did it by unlawful and impure connections with one another.

Newspapers abound with reports of senseless beatings for no other purpose than the perverted fun of it. Brutal wife and child abuse have become epidemic. The Indianapolis Star reported that child molesters have their own national organization called NAMBLA (National American Man Boy Love Association) that publishes a newsletter for members. One of the shocking things the article mentioned was that at a large seminar to discuss prevention of child pornography and related crimes, a man interrupted the proceedings and loudly defended his and other men’s rights to indulge in such perversion. Lately NAMBLA has been in the news again because it is becoming more bold and open about its activities. 

(Verse 25) – That is the legacy of those who have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. Having suppressed God’s truth in unrighteousness (Rom. 1:18), rebellious man submits himself to untruth, a lie. Who changed the truth of God - This is a repetition of the declaration in Rom. 1:23, in another form. The phrase, “the truth of God” is a Hebrew phrase, meaning “the true God.” In such a case, where two nouns come together, one is employed as an adjective to qualify the other. Most commonly the latter of two nouns is used as the adjective, but sometimes it is the former, as in this case. God is called “the true God” in opposition to idols, which are called false gods. There is but one real or true God, and all others are false.  Into a lie – That is. into idols, or false gods. Idols are not infrequently called falsehood and lies, because they are not true representations of God; (Jer. 13:25; Isa. 28:15; Jer. 10:14; Ps. 40:4).

The basic divine truth that fallen man suppresses is that of God’s very existence and therefore His right and demand to be honored and glorified as sovereign Lord (see vv. 19-21). Scripture often speaks of God as being the truth, as Jesus declared of Himself (John 14:6). Isaiah described a pagan who held an idol in his hand but was too spiritually blind to ask what should have been an obvious question: “Is there not a lie in my right hand?” (Isa. 44:20). Through Jeremiah, the Lord declared to apostate Judah, “You have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood” (Jer. 13:25). To forsake God is to forsake truth and become a slave to falsehood. To reject God, the Father of truth, is to become vulnerable to Satan, the father of lies (John 8:44).

Tragically, as in the Corinthian church of Paul’s day, many people who claim the name of Christ today have succumbed to the world’s self-oriented view of morality. An advice columnist to singles received a letter asking how Christian singles can deal with their sexual desires and still uphold their Christian beliefs. The columnist referred to a woman on her staff who conducts Christian singles retreats, who replied that such decisions were up to each couple to make for themselves. If having sex before marriage would harm their relationship or compromise their personal value systems, they should refrain, she said. Otherwise, sex in a loving relationship is all right without the sanction of marriage”.

When men turned from God and His truth, Paul goes on to say, they then worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. The creature - Created things, as the sun, moon, animals, etc.  As the apostle had just pointed out, they found themselves foolishly and wickedly worshiping lifeless images of their own making, “in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures” (v. 23).

Perhaps unable to continue discussing such vile things without “coming up for air,” as it were, Paul inserts a common Jewish doxology about the true God, the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. Paul could not resist adding that refreshing thought in the sea of filth he was describing. That word of praise to the Lord served, by utter contrast, to magnify the wickedness of idolatry and all other ungodliness. Who is blessed forever - It was not uncommon to add a doxology, or ascription of praise to God, when his name was mentioned; see Rom. 9:5; 2 Cor. 11:31; Gal. 1:5. The Jews also usually did it. In this way they preserved veneration for the name of God, and accustomed themselves to speak of him with reverence. “The Muslims also borrowed this custom from the Jews, and practice it to a great extent. Tholuck mentions an Arabic manuscript in the library at Berlin which contains an account of heresies in respect to Islamism, and as often as the writer has occasion to mention the name of a new heretical sect, he adds, ‘God be exalted above all which they say’”.

Amen - This is a Hebrew word denoting strong affirmation. So let it be. It implies here the solemn assent of the writer to what was just said; or his strong wish that what he had said might be—that the name of God might be esteemed and be blessed forever. The mention of the degrading idolatry of the pagans was strongly calculated to impress on his mind the superior excellency and glory of the one living God. It is mentioned respecting the honorable Robert Boyle, that he never mentioned the name of God without a solemn pause, denoting his profound reverence. Such a practice would tend eminently to prevent an unholy familiarity and irreverence in regard to the sacred name of the Most High; (compare Exo. 20:7).

Man’s sinfulness is a matter of record.  The problem is that men want to deny that essential sinfulness.  I need to preach the sinfulness of man, because it is only in that context that the solution of God, the gospel of Jesus Christ, is valid and efficacious.