How Bad Is It?

We are continuing on in our study in the book of Romans.

So if you have a copy of God's Word, go ahead and turn there.

We're looking at Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

It's a continuation of what Matthew discussed last week in the first couple verses of Romans chapter 1.

Romans 1 · chapter mention

Romans chapter 1, verses 28 to 32.

Romans 1:28–32

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice.

They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.

They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents.

Foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die,

they not only do them, but give approval to those who practice them.

Let's pray.

Lord, your Word exposes us for who we truly are.

We pray that you might use it this morning, even simply the reading of your Word,

to show us our need of Jesus.

And Father, that you might work a miracle in our hearts,

that we might trust Him, that we might serve Him.

But Father, that we would love Him.

And we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Imagine you've just witnessed a new movie trailer.

And you know movie trailers.

They're all the exciting parts about the movie.

And this movie trailer, whether you see it with your family,

or you happen across a movie poster that captures all these visual images,

it's a coming-of-age story, whatever that means,

where a young man has grown out of poverty, gone off to war, made a name for himself.

He returns home.

He gets involved in politics.

He's charged with murder and found not guilty.

Not just once, but twice.

He starts a new business.

And that new business is ultimately his demise.

Not financial ruin, but his business partner has murdered him.

Sounds incredible, right?

I'm watching that movie.

There's so much in there.

Whether it's silver screen or real life or a podcast or a story,

I want to know more.

Now that's the real life story of the great-grandfather of William Faulkner.

You know that guy that you were supposed to read in high school,

and maybe you did or maybe you didn't.

Now what some have argued that made Faulkner great was he was a great storyteller.

But he was telling stories that he knew by heart,

or he had heard retold so many times that he was really familiar with them.

And he used elements of his great-grandfather's life in most of his works.

And so he could tell so well because he had heard it over and over again throughout his life.

Now whether you read Faulkner in high school or not,

or whether you enjoy him now,

you have to appreciate good storytelling because it's an art.

And whether it's your granddad who tells stories or spins yarns,

whether they're true or not true,

storytelling captures our imagination with words.

And we get trapped in this world.

And yes, they use rhetorical devices or ancient ideas

ideas of how to capture audiences and hold their attention.

Storytelling takes work.

And I'm convinced that often the best stories are the ones that are real life,

just like the great-granddad of William Faulkner.

Whether in written form, fiction, true life, a radio story, a podcast,

the best storytellers do all these same things.

They draw us in,

and they use those words to paint pictures that we can see and that we can enjoy.

Now the Bible is no different.

In fact, if you want to know good stories,

ask these kids that were just promoted.

They'll tell you the good stories of the Bible if you don't know them.

And they're the ones that we're generally familiar with.

But when we come to this section of Romans,

it's not the storyteller that we think of that is often that good.

We don't think that Paul is in the list of like Leo Tolstoy,

or Jane Austen, or Tolkien, or Lewis.

We don't put Paul's name in that section.

We don't compare him to Faulkner, or Stephen King, or R.L. Stine, or Paul Harvey.

But he is a grand storyteller,

especially in this part of Romans.

And so this morning, we're going to look together at this grand story of both God and man.

And as we do so, we're going to do the things that we did in elementary school.

We're going to dissect it and look at all those sections of a great story.

A great story has things like this.

Setting the stage, an introduction.

Then there's a plot twist.

And of course, don't forget the conclusion.

So we're going to see how Paul does that in Romans this morning.

So the very best place to start is not here at the section which we've just read.

But in fact, let's go back to verse 25 that we looked at last week.

So if you have your Bibles, turn back a few pages.

Or sections.

Because they exchange, and they is all of mankind.

People.

The truth about God for a lie.

And worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator,

who is blessed forever.

Amen.

Man's kind at this point, as Paul is setting the stage for this grand story,

here in the beginning part of Romans,

we can't say that that relationship or that story is going very well, can we?

At least from verse 25, it seems to be going extremely poorly.

In fact, if we look at God's law, they've been derailed by the first commandment.

They didn't even get to the other ones.

They've exchanged worship of God for something else.

Now look at verse 28.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God,

God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

Instead of worshiping God as they know that they should,

that they're reminded of in the first commandment,

they've done this instead.

They did not acknowledge God or see fit to do so.

They didn't approve of giving him his due worship,

the deference, the honor that he is owed.

Paul's reiterating what he said back in verse 25.

They've exchanged the worship of God, the true God,

for something that's fake, for something that God has made.

They're not faking of themselves, but we shouldn't worship them as such.

And by doing so, they've effectively said that God is worthless.

Imagine that.

God, who we are supposed to worship, now is worthless.

Now you can imagine, Paul is walking them through history.

And as he does so, and we have arrived at this conclusion,

that they're saying God is worthless,

it is not going very well in setting the stage for the story of God and man.

Look back at verse 21 with me.

This isn't anything new.

They knew him, but they did not honor him or give thanks to him.

They launched into that foolish thinking headlong and darkened their hearts.

Or verse 24, that God gave man over the darkness of his own heart,

and it's culminated in this serving creation instead of the creator.

This story is not looking very good.

Now, remember up to this point, Paul is setting the stage for the story of God and man.

And we see it is not going very well.

But a reader, or Paul's audience, based on what we heard last week,

they can look at that sin of exchanging natural relations for man and woman,

and say, I don't do that, so this surely can't be about me.

This story, this rift that's growing between God and man, that ain't me.

And I'm okay.

And then Paul enters this plot twist.

With any good story, the background simply sets up for what's going to advance the story.

It's the preliminary work.

But what is this plot twist?

Because the reader, or the audience, goes, hey, that ain't me.

But Paul is going to turn his attention to all of us, whether they engage in that or not.

You can't go bebopping along and think this isn't about you.

The reader, whether or not they fall into the sexual sin that's described earlier,

knows that it's just about him.

Or maybe the absent-minded reader forgets the story in the Gospels,

where the man stands up and says what?

Thank you for not making me like that man, a sinner.

And if you know Jesus' response, you know what's coming from Paul.

It's not going to go well for you either.

Look with me at the end of verse 28 through 30.

God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.

They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, and malice.

They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness.

They're gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil,

disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Gosh, that is a long list.

All told, there's something like 20 some odd different sins that are listed in here.

And at first, it seems like it's just this random collection.

But they differ when we compare them to what we saw last week.

Last week, sin was flagrant, public, visible.

This week, it's not necessarily so.

But we see something else.

We see that there is this pervasive nature of sin.

It extends to everyone.

So that man that stands up and says,

Thank you, Lord, for making me not like him.

Then turns and sees this list and realizes,

Oh, this is really about me.

As one writer has said,

We're at the saturation point of sin.

They have filled.

They have filled the earth.

They were commanded to fill the earth.

Mankind was at the beginning to do what?

Be fruitful and multiply.

And then take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

To fill it.

To fill all of creation.

And here, we have the reversal of this.

They filled the earth to the saturation point with evil.

With unrighteousness.

With things that are against God's law.

How bad is it?

It's real bad.

It's as wide and deep as water in the sea.

And it's everywhere.

And there is no escape.

It's everywhere.

If you've lived in Colorado for any amount of time,

especially on the south side of Colorado Springs,

you know something about wide and deep as far as the eye can see,

especially in the month of September.

It's not heat.

Thank goodness it's not humidity.

It's something a lot more sinister than that.

It's tarantulas.

Tarantulas.

If you know about tarantulas on this side,

and if you've spent any amount of time outside from here and south,

you know about tarantulas.

And I'm not talking about one tarantula.

I'm talking about wave upon wave.

You can see them from the sky if you're flying really low.

Tarantulas.

The spiders that'll bite you.

In theory, they won't kill you, but it's still stinking hurts.

Tarantulas are everywhere.

One is bad, but wave upon wave of male tarantulas searching for their mate

as they come north from New Mexico or Arizona.

I don't know where they come from.

That's way worse.

One is bad.

Wave upon wave is worse.

Sin is bad.

We've learned that last week.

But sin described here is way worse.

It's reached this fulfillment where there is wave upon wave

that there is inescapable.

Sin is reaching to every corner of every heart.

And Paul groups them here in verses 29 and 30.

He says there's some kind of order.

And we said at first glance,

it doesn't seem like there is some kind of order.

But he starts with unrighteousness in this other list,

showing how far the reach of sin is.

And wave upon wave, there's more and more.

That next grouping shows that full brunt of wickedness,

that humanity has a problem,

and it's not just internal.

It's not one type of sin,

but there's all kinds of sin.

And then there's the crescendo,

the final wave that makes it even worse.

They're defined by sin.

They should flee from these things,

but instead they are known by them.

It's who they are.

How bad is it?

It's not just visible sin,

but it's sin that touches every part of our lives

and every part of every human's life.

We can't say with that man,

thank you for not making me like this sinner.

But instead,

we have to deal with our own sin.

When we talk about sin,

we're talking about God,

breaking God's law, right?

But there's an aspect that's much larger than that.

The theologian R.C. Sproul called it cosmic treason.

In doing so,

he's drawn us into an aspect

that's much more deeply personal.

Yeah, fraud is bad,

but when I sin,

when I murder my friend or my father,

that is much worse.

It's a betrayal.

Fraud is wrong,

but treason kind of hits differently.

The Bible describes this as enmity,

and there's reconciliation that's needed

for that enmity that comes from sin.

We're made enemies of God,

and God has to reconcile us

because we've broken that relationship

in this treasonous act.

As we think on this,

there are a couple practical things

that we should seek to accomplish

because right now,

the story is not looking good.

The one-time Colorado pastor,

A.W. Pink, said this.

He wrote extensively

on the righteousness of God,

and we realize how much God hates sin,

and that's unique to us

because we have wayward hearts.

He says,

when we study this,

we should think about these three things.

The first is,

when we do this,

it should reorient our hearts

because our hearts are wayward,

and thinking about this,

we see how often

and how prone we are

to deal with it lightly

and think it's,

eh, it's not that big of a deal.

We gloss over it.

We make excuses for sin,

but that's not the picture

that Paul gives us.

The second thing we should do

is recapture a sense of the fear of God,

and I'm not sure I know

what we mean by fear in this day,

but it's fear in the sense

of remembering that He is the Creator

and that we are the creature,

that we approach Him

with a holy, reverent awe,

that He is completely different than us

because when we lose that,

we have to recapture the sense

that we are completely made in His image,

and we are dependent upon Him.

How often do we need to ask ourselves,

are we truly in awe of God?

Not very often.

The third thing for the Christian is,

are we praising Him

for being delivered

from His righteous punishment against us?

He said this,

how reluctant we are

to meditate on His wrath towards sin

becomes a test

of our attitude towards God.

He encourages us,

He encourages us,

even to this day,

that each of us needs to be

more prayerfully on His guard

against devising an image of God

in our own image,

that we think of God like us

instead of how He really is.

Paul reminds us

that this list,

these things that we shrug at

and think aren't that big of a deal,

I mean, after all,

is that big of a deal?

Haughty?

I don't even really know

what that word means.

Is that that big of a deal?

It is because God says so,

and Paul reminds us of that.

And we have to take Him at His word

when it comes to the story

of God and man.

When it comes to the story

of how we deal with sin,

even in our own hearts.

Now there's a plot twist

that we've just identified.

It goes from setting the stage

of sin is present in this world

to the plot twist of,

oh, we can't go bebopping along,

that sin is even in our own hearts.

And then it seems like Paul concludes it

with this,

that it's real bad.

Sin is really bad.

Paul concludes in these final verses,

though they knew God's righteous decree,

that those who practice such things

deserve to die.

They not only do them,

but give approval to those who practice them.

Paul reminds us that mankind

has to know about God's righteous requirements.

He has to know about God's righteousness.

righteousness.

But not only did they not practice

that righteousness that God requires,

they then encouraged others to do it.

And that's worse

because we've gone from partaking in sin,

knowing what's going to happen,

to then encouraging others,

cheering them on from the sidelines

and saying,

yeah, you go do that too.

Or you go do that.

Knowing full well

what is to come for them.

That's what makes it worse.

It's knowing

that there's a penalty coming,

a just penalty,

a known penalty.

It's not some shifting scale,

some sliding rule

of what's going to happen,

and I'm trying to figure that out.

No, we've known the rule

from the beginning,

God says,

from his word.

We've known the rule

from Deuteronomy that we read.

It's been clear.

It's something that God

told his people of old.

It's not a shifting standard.

It's clear from what we read

earlier in our service.

It's clear from what happens

in the garden.

It's clear from what happens

to God's people all along the way.

It's clear even under those kings

who led God's people astray

to worship things that were untrue.

It is clear.

It's clear from God's own son,

his witness.

It's clear that sin

is breaking God's law.

It's clear that it's cosmic treason,

that we are enemies of God,

and we have to have something

to reconcile us,

to restore us to right relationship.

That's clear.

Clear that we deserve

the righteous penalty for sin.

You and me.

Isaiah reminds us of this

in chapter 59.

He writes this,

Your iniquities have made

a separation between you

and your God.

Your sins have hidden his face

so that he does not hear.

For your hands are defiled with blood

and your fingers with iniquity.

Your lips have spoken lies.

Your tongue mutters wickedness.

And then he'll go on later

and say these famous lines,

Their feet run to evil,

and they are swift

to shed innocent blood.

This is the type of story,

both in Paul and even in Isaiah,

that leaves us deeply unsettled.

Because at this point in the story,

we're at the conclusion.

But we walk away from the story

not knowing necessarily what to do.

And you look at the story

and wonder,

there's no good end to this.

I know this is an unpopular opinion,

but a few years ago,

there was a movie that came out

by Cormac McCarthy,

No Country for Old Men.

And the movie follows along,

and you walk away from the movie

wondering what happened.

Where is the resolution?

Where is the white knight coming in?

Some will argue there is resolution.

I don't think there is.

The same is true

if you think about

what we've gone through in Judges.

You have humans doing absolute wickedness

to other humans,

and you're left thinking,

what is going to go on?

And you're left with these words.

For there was no king in Israel,

and everyone did what was right

in their own eyes.

The same is true

when you come to this section

of Romans 1.

And even more so

when we think about

what's gone on from 18 to here,

verse 18 to here.

You're left thinking,

what is going to go on?

There's no hope.

There's no conclusion.

There's no resolution.

We're just left

knowing that

man has broken God's law,

and we're left kind of wanting.

What am I supposed to do with that, Paul?

Are you a great storyteller or not?

But,

in the famous

words of Paul Harvey,

the radio storyteller,

he had a famous line

that he closed

each radio segment with.

Now you know

the rest of the story.

And he did that

because when he would

tell his stories,

he would leave out

a certain element

that would make you

think about the story,

and then he'd flip the script,

much like Jesus

in the parables.

He would draw

the Pharisees in,

and then he would

reveal to them

something that they had missed.

And Paul Harvey

does the same thing

when he introduces

either the name of the person

or a crucial element.

The same is true

here in Romans 1.

If we just left it at this,

we would miss

the rest of the story.

It's just like we famously do

with something in Romans 3.

The wages of sin

are death,

but there's something

that comes after,

and if we miss that part,

the gift of God

is eternal life.

We've missed

that big part of the story.

And here in Romans 1,

it's not the whole story.

There's something

that comes later.

Thankfully,

Paul is that good storyteller,

and he'll follow that up

with all that comes in Romans,

exposing and looking

at this beautiful gift

that is Jesus.

Now earlier,

I read part of Isaiah 59,

but that's not

even the whole story either.

The Puritans called Isaiah

the gospel of Isaiah

because of this.

What follows

what I read in chapter 59

is this.

The Lord saw it,

and it displeased him.

There was no justice.

He saw there was no man

and wondered

why there was no one

to intercede.

Then his own arm

brought salvation,

and his righteousness

upheld him.

He put on garments

of vengeance for clothing

and wrapped himself

in a cloak.

According to their deeds,

he will repay.

Wrath to adversaries,

repayment to his enemies,

so they shall fear

the name of the Lord

from the west

and his glory

from the rising of the sun.

That picture's pretty bleak.

Where's the hope?

Where's the rest

of the story?

It's this.

And a redeemer

will come to Zion,

and those in Jacob

who turn from transgression

declares the Lord.

What Isaiah captured

is that redeemer

has come,

that God doesn't leave us

here in this.

He makes a way for us.

He sends his own son

to take on

the righteous punishment

that is required

by the law.

That's bad.

It's really bad.

It's death.

That those who put their faith

and trust in him

do not receive that death.

for my sin,

for your sin,

for anyone of us

that would believe in him.

Have you,

will you,

put your faith in Christ?

Will you continue to do so,

or will you think

day by day

that I'm really not that bad?

And then the witness

of Romans 1 tells us,

no, it's you too.

It's all of us.

Will we see our sin

more and more?

Will we not grow

discouraged by that,

but see the glory

of Jesus' sacrifice

as more beautiful

than anything else?

Will we trust him

because of that?

Now you know

the rest of the story.

The setting shows us

sin is everywhere.

He introduces this plot twist

to show us

we can't escape.

None of us can.

He concludes,

but then doesn't tell us

the rest of the story.

The rest of the story

that Christ has come.

Now we know

the rest

of the greatest story

ever told.

Let's pray.

Lord,

we're thankful

for your word

in reminding us

that we are sinners,

but we are not left there.

That you have sent your son

to redeem us.

Father,

if we put our faith

and trust in him

for the forgiveness

of sin,

that he has righteously

fulfilled the requirement

of the law.

And he has truly

borne the punishment

for our own sin.

He died,

and he was raised again.

May we do that this day.

In Jesus' name,

Amen.

Amen.

Thank you.