And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them over to an unfit mind, to do those things which are not proper, having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, violent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the righteous requirement 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 1:28-32 (LSB)
Earlier in the chapter, Paul has just explained that men know that God exists because He (God) has made it plain (evident) to them. But people suppress the truth in unrighteous, and God in turn judges them. “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men (Romans 1:18).”
The passage above comes at the end of this section and wraps up the judgment or wrath of God against these ungodly people. What does judgment look like?
“God gave them over to an unfit mind…”
God makes people insane as a judgment against their ungodliness. Does that sound familiar in this post-COVID-19 world?
If truth is that which comports with reality, then insanity (at least how I am using it) means that one does not arrange their life and behave in accordance with the truth.
And what does this unfit (insane) mind lead to?
“…to do those things which are not proper.”
Our culture is now filled with death. Our society is plunging itself headlong into the abyss of destruction with no restraint. The LGBT alphabet soup movement seeks to normalize every perverse act under the sun while demonizing marriage between a man and a woman (traditional). Drag queen shows for children are the norm, as groomers attempt to sexualize children in order to encourage them to throw themselves into the meat grinder of sexual perversion. More and more children are encouraged to identify as “trans” and go forward with self-mutilation.
Our current society worships death and destruction. This surely is the wrath of God being poured out against the ungodliness that we have pursued for many years.
Finally, Paul says that they (the wicked people committing all of these acts) know the righteous requirements of God and that these acts deserve death. And yet, they not only do them but encourage others to do the same and applaud the current state of massive rebellion into sexual depravity and sin.
God reveals the truth. Wicked people rebel against that truth. The level of their rebellion has reached a fever pitch. Even the most basic truths are rejected. Freedom and liberty are evils of white supremacy while slavery to a tyrannical state is righteous. The death penalty for rapists, child molesters, and murderers is seen as inhumane, while infanticide (murdering the preborn in abortion) is righteous. Heck, even math (i.e., 2 + 2 = 4) is seen as hateful.
How Should We Then Live?
If it is evil in your sight to serve Yahweh, choose for yourselves today whom you will serve: whether the gods which your fathers served which were beyond the River or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you are living; but as for me and my house, we will serve Yahweh.
Joshua 24:15 (LSB)
Wherever we find ourselves, in the midst of a culture of death that serves the gods of this world, we must serve the Lord. We are set apart – holy unto the Lord. Our children will not fit in with the public school children, and that is by design. We teach them to serve God in all that they do.
We go to church on the Lord’s Day. We sing heartily unto the Lord. We hear God’s Word preached, and we obey His voice. We commune with God in the Lord’s Supper.
Whatever we do, we do it all to the glory of our God and King!
And whenever and wherever we have occasion to do so, we push back against the tide of zombies who believe the lies of Satan, scouring the land to destroy everything that is good and lovely.
When we have the opportunity, we testify to Christ and share the Gospel with those same zombies, trusting that God will transform some of them into children of light. He will remove their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh, and they will join our ranks in proclaiming the good news that “the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).”
This is our service to God. These are our good works.
Soli Deo Gloria!