Darkened Mind, Darkened Behavior

Good morning, everyone. For those who haven't met me, I'm Simon. I'm the vicar here.

And if you don't know, I arrived only a few weeks ago. And very warmly welcomed. Thank you very much.

And I arrived to see, wonderfully, that scheduled was a whole summer's worth of teaching.

And I thought, brilliant, what a gift. And from this day onward, we are going to be looking at the mighty book of Romans.

Romans. Brilliant, I thought. Together, we are going to explore the breadth and the depth of God's love for humanity expressed through Jesus Christ.

Brilliant. If you're new to these things, the book of Romans was written by St. Paul to the Christians living in Rome in about 57 AD.

And I can tell you, it's epic. It's huge. It's wonderful. And through history, lives have been transformed as they've grappled with this book.

Arguably, the whole of Western civilization has been shaped by it due to its central role that it played in the Protestant Reformation.

And so I thought, what an opportunity to preach also to start the series off. Brilliant.

And then I looked at the verses that had been allocated to me. Less brilliant, I thought.

Because they contain, if you spotted them amongst others, two subjects that the wider church seems to have got increasingly uncomfortable talking about.

And so I have to warn you this morning, it's going to feel a bit like doing a deep dive straight into the marine pool.

OK. Whereas my temperament would be to sort of dip a toe in gently and gradually sort of get myself used to it.

This is going to be a plunge. And rather we led by my temperament.

We are going to be led by the word of God as it is written, as it is directed.

So this is a warning. It's going to be like a deep dive into a cold pond.

It will be a shock at first, but we will leave glad that we did it.

OK. Are you ready? OK.

So the first of these topics in our passage that has become increasingly difficult to talk about is sex.

Now, there is a story told of a youth worker in a church who rang up the vicar to ask him whether he'd be able to come along to his youth group

and talk to the young people about sex and relationships.

It was on a Wednesday evening, some weeks ahead.

So the vicar thinks for a little while.

He looks at the family diary with the hope that there might be a clash.

But there wasn't.

So he felt obliged to agree to the talk.

And so after putting the phone down, he went to the family diary and he wrote,

Talk at youth group about, oh, I can't write sex.

I'll write sailing instead.

Then I'll know what I mean.

Perfect.

Anyway, a few weeks later, the obviously very conscientious youth worker rang up the vicarage again

to check that everything was still OK for next Wednesday.

This time it was the vicar's wife who picked up the phone.

Hi, I was just checking your husband was still OK to do the talk on Wednesday.

The vicar's wife replied, I'll just check.

Let me just check the family diary.

Yep, he's written.

What?

What's he doing talking that about?

He's only done it twice.

The first time he was sick.

The second time his hat fell off.

The church's reluctance to talk about sex and God's intentions for it over the past many decades

has led us into a real mess.

As society's views on sex have veered away from the biblical vision,

there's been a lot of, let's call it, defensive scrabbling about to try and work out what the church should be saying

and believing about such issues.

And so now the church, both nationally and globally,

stands divided on issues of sexuality and relationships.

And there's been a lot, you've probably been aware of them,

a lot of recent discussions and debates in the Church of England,

particularly under the banner of living in love and faith,

that have quite frankly been ugly and divisive.

And it's because this topic is both deeply personal and life-affecting,

especially for those whose sexuality and sexual experience is not necessarily straightforward,

or that of the majority, let's say.

And I'm aware that there will be people here this morning,

or if you're listening in on the recording,

for whom this is your experience.

Or you're here and you're thinking of a family member or a friend

who identifies as LGBTQI+.

People with different views to those of traditional Christian thinking on sexual ethics,

I have to say, have often been demonised,

scapegoated, and sometimes even abused

by those who supposedly represent the loving God of the Bible,

who after contact with church,

have felt more stigmatised and more marginalised,

more shamed, rather than less.

So I want to begin this morning,

in as much as I can in my capacity as an all-day minister in the church,

to say, sorry.

You know, we have often failed to treat people as Jesus would have done.

And we want to repent of that,

and learn to dialogue and love each other

in a much more constructive and healthy and loving way.

So if you do identify as LGBTQI+,

I want to say you are welcome here,

as we together sit under the word of God

to be instructed and to be given a vision

of God's loving intentions for our lives.

And so as this passage that Sonia read for us

talks about sexual behaviours,

as well as many other behaviours

that may take us outside of God's intentions for us,

I want you to know

that we are all being put under the spotlight.

All of us are to come under God's word.

And that there is good news, again,

for all of us in Jesus Christ.

And I'll do my best this morning

to explain why it is that St. Paul

seems to single out sexual behaviour,

in particular, as part of a wider point,

a wider argument that he is making

as he writes to these Christians in Rome.

So again, just as we start this series,

it's probably worth us setting the scene a little bit.

Paul is writing to Christians that he's never met.

They are mainly Gentile Christians.

What I mean by that is that they are

non-Jewish followers of Jesus.

So as Paul, writing, we think, from Corinth,

seeks to encourage them

by expounding and explaining

the good news of Jesus, the Gospel,

he's particularly keen to demonstrate

how this Gospel,

which is essentially a belief in a Jewish Messiah

beginning amongst Jewish people in Judea,

how can that be good news

to those without that heritage?

And so he also has to set the scene as he begins.

And before he gets to the good news,

and before we get to the good news, folks,

he has to outline just how bad the situation is

for the whole of humanity.

Which brings us to our second topic

that has become very difficult to talk about.

The wrath of God.

Let me read verse 18 for us.

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven

against all the godlessness and wickedness of people

who suppress the truth by their wickedness.

Now, many of us will be hearing that,

and immediately the question is,

how does the wrath, the anger of God,

how does that fit with a loving God?

Again, in the church's reluctance

to talk about this aspect,

this difficult aspect of God,

many have decided it is better actually

to redraw what God is like,

rather than face up to the fact

that references to God's divine anger,

fury, judgment,

occur over 600 times.

throughout the Bible.

The fact that God is loving

means that he also must get angry.

It's because he loves so intensely

that he hates all that hurts

the ones he loves.

Now, any parent amongst us

will have an impression of this.

Because if anyone hurts or bullies our child,

are we apathetic?

Ah, never mind.

No.

We too are hurt and jealous

to protect our loved one.

However, God's anger is not like your or mine anger

because we will often,

at least I do,

will flip into anger

or when our egos have been bruised

or because of some past trauma

that's been triggered.

So our wrath, as it were,

is often uncontrolled

and misdirected.

not God.

His steady anger

against all that might destroy

his good creation,

it's more like a furnace.

Steady, controlled,

but incredibly hot.

And it is a fire

against injustice.

That's what he is angry about.

We're told in the passage,

they use this term,

we're told his wrath

is against all the godlessness

and wickedness of people

who suppress the truth.

And that word wickedness,

it could just as well be translated

injustice.

And again,

when we see

the results of wickedness

in our world,

and we've been praying about

some of the consequences of them,

aren't we angered?

Surely it is hardwired in us

to recognise

what is right

and what is wrong.

And Paul says

that is so.

Verse 19 and 20,

it says this,

since what may be known about God

is plain to them

because God has made it

plain to them.

For since the creation

of the world,

God's invisible qualities,

his eternal power

and divine nature

have been clearly seen,

being understood

from what has been made

so that people

are without excuse.

Paul,

writing that,

is taking us

all back

to the first pages

of the Bible

where, again,

the foundational truths

are

that God made humans

in his image.

And part of being made

in God's image

is that we are each given

a God-shaped

sense of right and wrong,

a sense of a divine power

that is working

beyond us.

So you might be asking,

well,

how come then

there are atheists?

How come there are people

who deny

that God exists?

Well,

Paul tells us

why there are atheists.

He explains what happens

and he explains it

as if it's an outworking

of the wrath of God.

God's image

because atheism

is a self-prescribed,

if you like,

it's a self-chosen

punishment

from God.

Again,

thinking about being a parent,

you may have got

to the point

where no matter

how much you tell

your child

not to do something,

the only thing

that will stop them

doing it

is letting them,

by their own experience,

taste a bit

of the consequences

of their action.

Is that right?

And obviously,

a good parent

holds that within

the boundaries

of safety.

But allowing small people

to get a taste

of the consequences

can actually be

an expression of love

by a parent

because we want them

to grow,

we want them to understand,

we want them to see

whether they're going

to learn from that

or not,

an open question.

And obviously,

God,

ultimately,

God is the perfect version

of that parent.

He allows the choices

of wicked humans

to take their course

whilst he steers them away

from complete annihilation.

He lets them taste

their own injustice

because no matter

how many times

and how clear he is,

and Scripture gives

a great long story,

a history of that,

we will not listen.

And so Paul,

recognising this,

presents a picture,

a kind of downward spiral

of what happens

when we're given over

to the consequences

of our thoughts

and actions.

Let me just read those

in verses 21 to 23.

For although they,

that is,

fallen humanity,

although they knew God,

they neither glorified him

as God

nor gave thanks to him,

but in their thinking

became futile

and their foolish hearts

were darkened.

Although they claimed

to be wise,

they became fools

and exchanged the glory

of the immortal God

for images

made to look like

a mortal human being

and birds and animals

and reptiles.

So do you see

how failure

to acknowledge God

and give thanks for him

and to him

leads firstly

to futile thinking

and then darkened heart.

It affects our thinking

and our emotions.

And then we begin

to overestimate

our own wisdom.

Actually,

they're making us foolish.

and then we begin

to exchange

created things

and putting them

in the place

of the creator.

We as humans

begin to worship idols.

That's the language

the Bible talks about

when we replace

something that's

supposed to be God

and worship

the living true God

and replace it

with things

that have been created.

Let me just get my

prop here.

I've found

that

in the past

that the idea

of us

being a mirror

us as humans

being a mirror

to reflect

God's truth

and beauty

to be a really useful one

when we think

about being created

in the image of God.

And I have to say

I have used this

as an illustration

in the past

and I've taken that mirror

as a reflecting

all God's goodness

and I've then smashed it.

I've smashed it

to show that

this is what we

when we reject

the knowledge of God.

And it's a good

illustration

because what happens

then is shattered.

Although you can see

glimpses of God's goodness

it is ruined.

The image is ruined

and it just has

to be replaced.

But I'm not going

to inflict to you

or the host team

with the mess

that that is going to make.

It's a health

and safety nightmare.

But instead

and probably more

in keeping

with Paul's argument

I'm going to take

this mirror

you can imagine

I might darken it

as it were

so it becomes less clear

and instead of having

a mirror

I am going to place

an image

of a created thing

onto it.

For the sake

of those listening

and those in the back

of the church

who can't see

I have placed

a picture

of George Clooney

lowless

onto my mirror.

Other sex icons

are available.

I use that term

advisedly

I have to say.

So what happens now

if we look

into the mirror

and we see

this image

men if you look

at it

and you think

oh yeah

it's a bit like me

you're deluded.

Women if you look

at this image

and you start swooning

then that's just

a testament

to the truth

I'm about to explain.

You see

one area

in which Paul says

that this downward

spiral happens

in a particularly

poignant way

is in the area

of our human bodies

and in sex.

Because in the

Garden of Eden

again back to the

beginning of the Bible

he made humans

to reflect his image

and what he tells us

is that God

created mankind

in his own image

in the image of God

he created them

male and female

he created them.

And there's something

about this

complementary

nature of male

and female

that speaks

of the diversity

within the Godhead

itself.

And Paul

here and elsewhere

in his writings

in the New Testament

often holds up

marriage

as particularly

important

in reflecting

and imaging

this

God

that we are now

in a covenant

relationship

with.

In fact

he says

in Ephesians

that this mystery

that's being

imaged

that's being

reflected

in marriage

even if sometimes

faintly

is the picture

of Christ

and his bride

the church.

So it's a really

important image.

So if you start

exchanging

parts of that image

out

you're going to get

at the very least

a distortion

of the original

picture

that was being

painted by God

who created us.

And

to come back

to George

if you put

a George Clooney

image

in the place

of for example

your spouse

you start

distorting the love

that is supposed

to be between

a husband

and his wife.

The husband

gets jealous

the wife

starts thinking

adulterous thoughts

and taking

to its extreme

and although

I'm doing it

jokingly

the marriage

falls apart.

You know

I am only

teasing you

with Mr. Clooney

but if we

start idolizing

others

and thinking

about that's

what life

is for

and worshipping

them

it will send

our desires

into meltdown

it makes

our thinking

futile

it darkens

our hearts

and it will

send our desires

into meltdown

and it will

join this

downward spiral.

And the fact

is

let me place

it down there

God gave

each of us

sexual desires

actually as a

taste of what

it means to

yearn after

him.

Why did God

give us sex?

Why did God

give us sexual

desires?

That longing

that we

have for

intimacy

of a loved

one

the Bible

says it's

only a taste

of what the

Bible promises

is to come

a perfect

intimacy

with the

God who

made us.

So sexual

desire was

given to us

as a gift

as an imprint

of this longer

term

greater

longing.

So even

if in this

life our

sexual desires

are only

partially met

or we've

never met

even more

so in

that yearning

we get a

sense that

sex cannot

be an

end of

itself.

It points

us beyond

that desire

to the

possibility

of an

eternal

marriage.

And if you

remember Jesus

tells us that

we won't

actually be

married in

heaven in

the new

creation

because again

it's because

the earthly

marriage is

only really a

pointer

towards what

will be

fulfilled.

And so even

in the best

marriage where

there's this

covenantal love

between two

corresponding

complementary

individuals,

male and

female,

even when

that's

mirrored,

even where

there is

mutual

intimacy,

nakedness

and the

thrill is

experienced,

it still is

nothing compared

to what that

sex points

to,

finding its

fulfillment in

the arms of

our ever-loving

God when we

see him face

to face.

And that is

why through

the ages the

church has

only sanctified

that one

picture,

that one

image of

marriage between

one man and

one woman and

has encouraged

celibacy elsewhere

so that all of

humanity's desires

can be directed

towards the groom

who made us for

ourselves and for

whom we are

made.

And so to do

otherwise is to

draw a different

image, is to

draw a different

picture from

what we were

created to

reflect and

one that has

come from our

own dimmed

imaginations and

distorted desires.

Now, if that

jars with you,

as it will do

for many of you,

I expect it also

did with Paul's

first readers.

You see,

Christians in

Rome would have

been living in a

society where

sex was used to

promote a very

different picture of

life.

You know, the

historians will

tell us, you

know, women and

even children were

used by the

powerful really as

sort of sexual

trophies.

And Greco-Roman

attitudes to sex

paint a very

different picture to

what is on Paul's

mind as he writes

to them.

And Paul,

remember, is

steeped in this

Jewish heritage,

believing in the

created order of

the image of God

being reflected

particularly in

marriage.

So this critique,

as he writes this

letter, of

alternative uses of

sex would have

clashed with the

surrounding culture,

where they were

living.

To accept Paul's

viewpoint would have

been to really

kind of stick out

and be a minority

view.

It would have

almost been like a

rebellion against the

prevailing culture.

And I feel that

that's the same

increasingly today.

Today, sex is used

to prop up

various ideologies.

You know, sexual

liberation tends to

go hand in with

this sort of

hedonistic dream,

doesn't it?

You know, live for

your own happiness.

You know, that's the

thing we kind of

idolize in a way,

isn't it?

Our own happiness.

Or part of the

personal fulfillment

fantasy, you know,

we can have it all.

Or it's also part of

the picture of

individualism, isn't

it?

And self-definition.

Many use sex as a

central expression of

their personal

identity.

But these are all

alternative pictures

for sex.

And for all their

gloss and glamour

often, they have

major limitations

and large

shadow sides.

You know, the

cracks quickly

show where these

pictures are lived

out and the spiral

takes root.

We increasingly live

in a fatherless

society.

Increasingly,

children are growing

up across split

families.

Our society is

full of broken

and bruised

relationships.

And it seems to

me that the less

commitment there is

alongside sex, it's

normally the women

who end up at the

brunt of receiving

abuse or get cast

aside.

So much for sexual

liberation.

And I know that

marriage itself is

open to abuse.

It too is subject to

the effect of

godlessness.

forgiveness.

But when it's

modelled on the

sacrificial,

compassionate love

Jesus has for his

church, who he

wants to see

honoured and

beautified, and

that love is then

returned, it really

does allow both

husband and wife

to thrive.

I was interested to

read, back last

November, I came

across an article in

the Spectator

magazine.

So that's a

completely secular

magazine, a news

magazine.

And the title of

the article was

Marriage is the

Real Rebellion.

And the article was

bemoaning the decline

of marriage, and it

was recognising the

strength marriage

offers in society,

and particularly the

protection it offers

to people, particularly

women, that is often

lacking when that

covenantal, legal

love is missing.

So just as I stop

talking about sex for

a little bit, I'll

just render this.

It's a well-worn

analogy, but sex is

like superglue.

It is designed for

bonding two

corresponding people

together within a

loving, lifelong

union.

And when you try and

tear those two

people apart, or put

glue in the wrong

place, it causes a

lot of tears and a

lot of tears.

But lest we think we

can point fingers at

those who have lived

out those alternative

images for sex, Paul

swiftly moves from

like this sort of

case study to show

us that it is

actually part of a

much bigger, broader

picture of a

downward spiral, and

one that actually we

each contribute to.

Let me just read

again verses 28 to

32.

Furthermore, just as

they did not think it

worthwhile to retain

the knowledge of God,

so God gave them over

to a deprived mind, so

they do what ought not

to be done.

They've become filled

with every kind of

wickedness, evil, greed,

depravity.

They're full of envy,

murder, strife, deceit,

and malice.

They're gossips, slanderers,

God-haters, insolent,

arrogant, and boastful.

They invent ways of

doing evil.

They disobey their

parents.

They have no

understanding, no

fidelity, no love, no

mercy.

Although they know God's

righteous decree that

those who do such

things deserve death,

they not only continue

to do these very

things, but also

approve of those who

practice them.

You see, we're all

actually quite good at

deceiving ourselves into

thinking, well, okay,

at least I'm not as

bad as that person or

them over there.

In fact, in the next

chapter, if you read

on, Paul calls out the

religious types who

judge others whilst

breaking God's law

themselves.

But what I struck back

as I read that sort of

litany of sinful

behaviours, even our lack

of love and lack of

mercy, for which I'm

daily guilty of,

demonstrates where our

sort of natural human

tendency lies.

We are all, in our own

rights, in trouble.

We are heading for

divine judgment.

We are part of the

picture that God is so

angry about.

The injustice that is

causing, as we've

already used the

illustration, earthquakes

earthquakes across the

world, destroying

lives.

Again, Paul writes in

chapter three, there is

no one righteous, not

even one.

All have turned away.

We are all rightly

deserving of God's

wrath.

Now, I realise some of you

are thinking, I like last

week's vicar.

What's wrong with it?

Didn't he have a bad

half term?

You know, last week was

all kind of Holy Spirit

coming, speaking our

language.

So much more palatable

than this stuff, right?

Well, I spoke then, and I

spoke in previous weeks,

about the sense of our

church increasingly

desiring to be blown by

the Spirit of God, to see

spiritual renewal, right?

That's kind of on our

heart as we journey

forward.

And perhaps you desire

that in your own heart,

a spiritual renewal, a

new life, fullness of

life you've never

experienced before.

Well, folks, that

spiritual renewal will

only happen as we

increasingly become

reliant on the grace of

God.

Not in our own sense of

goodness, not on our

track records, no, on

our sense of dependency

on God for his

goodness, his ways, his

righteousness.

And so actually to be

convicted of our sin, of

our own wickedness and

godlessness, and to

repent, to turn to God

and cry out to him for

help.

For us to recognize our

own need to be rescued

from this downward spiral

of godlessness and

wickedness.

that we're all

contributing to, and to

have it redeemed, to

have it rescued.

That is at the heart of

what God is calling us to

recognize, particularly

through God's words this

morning.

I'll say it now.

I remember my experience

of coming to faith when I

was a music student in

London, and hand in hand

with sort of hearing the

word of God spoken and

understanding about Jesus,

actually became a

recognition of this

downward spiral.

And I distinctly remember

walking through the streets

of London, and suddenly the

advertising hoardings, I

could suddenly sort of see

all the sort of powers at

work that were sort of

selling stuff, sex included.

I was like, wow.

My eyes were suddenly

open to the sort of powers

and the evil that was

about.

But at the same time, my

heart was coming alive

because I recognized, oh

my goodness, I'm part of

that problem.

I put myself in the

center of life and getting

people to revolve around

me.

What happened if I put God

in the center?

And it kind of came side

by side, but I remember

distinctly a sort of a

mind change, transforming of

the mind and my heart that was

both aware of the depths of

depravity, but also the

wonders of God's love that

came and rescued me and all

of humanity.

Because that is what

happened.

We know that God's desire

for us is good because he

sent his son Jesus, who left

the Father's eternal embrace

to come down to earth to

rescue people, people like you,

people like me, lost in the

depths of darkness.

And Jesus lived the perfect

life, and yet he chose to

identify with us.

And he chose also to become a

recipient of God's wrath.

He took upon himself the

consequence of human

godlessness, and he took it

to its kind of final degree.

He experienced betrayal.

He experienced torture.

He experienced death.

He was killed by the vilest

wickedness and injustice.

And as he died, as he was

torn from the life and love

of his father, he cried,

my God, my God, why have you

forsaken me?

But he did this for me.

He did this for you in our

place so that we might never

have to face the full

consequences of our

godlessness and wickedness,

so that we might never have to

be torn from the love of our

father.

Because, as we know from the

story, Jesus, in his perfect

obedience, he conquered death.

He rose to life, and he

promised that those who

believe in him would be

redeemed and would share his

status as an eternally loved

daughter or son of God.

He would make us spotless.

He would make us like the

perfect bride.

God.

And it's because of Jesus

that we can now know, in

this life and into eternity,

this love that the Father has

for us.

His Holy Spirit pours that love

into our hearts, and he unites

us with God.

He immerses us in his love.

And as that love flows from

heaven, we are increasingly

remade to fulfill God's

intended picture for life

on this earth.

And that grace, that

undeserved kindness of God

that demonstrated to us in

Jesus, and the power of the

Holy Spirit, that is

spiritual renewal.

That's the thing we're after,

folks.

That is taking what is dead

and making it alive.

What is dark and shining a

light into it.

And so, as I come to a

close, and before we pray,

I just want to give you a

moment to sit before God.

Well, maybe just allow the

Holy Spirit to speak further

what he's already been saying

this morning.

You know, there may be some

of you amongst us who are,

who even as I've spoken,

and have become convicted of

where there are aspects of

your life which actually

have become part of this

downward spiral.

That you're actually

contributing to the

injustice that hurts God so

much.

If that's you this morning,

then you might just want to

spend these moments just

calling out to God for

forgiveness.

Turning to Christ, asking for

him to redeem, to make

better what is broken.

And for all of us, that

actually our lives, as we

move from here, might become

in step with the Spirit, as

Paul writes elsewhere in his

letters.

That actually the compassion

that God shows us might flow

out in compassion to others.

The mercy we receive from God

might make us more merciful.

The love we receive might make

us more loving.

And I'm also aware, just

Phil, a nudge to share, you

know, there are people, as we've

already said today, have come

here this morning with such

grieving hearts because death

is part of the brokenness of

our lived experience.

And I just feel the Lord wants to

say, I know that.

I know how terribly painful it is.

And I want to be there with you.

And I want to show my love, even

in that dark place.

So come, Holy Spirit.

Come amongst us.

Do that work of convicting.

Pouring out compassion.

Would you show each of us the step

we next need to take towards the

light, towards the life.

Would you remake us in your image?

And wherever we have distorted that

in our minds, in our hearts, in our

behaviour, thank you, Jesus, that

your grace is enough.

And that you desire us to, wherever

we're at, to pick up our mats and

follow you.

So, Lord Jesus, thank you that you've

come into this dark world, whether

there is death, whether it's pain, and

whether it's injustice.

And thank you, as the book of Romans

goes on to say, that you didn't just

come to die for the good people, the

people who have sorted out.

You came to die for sinners.

And you came when we were sinners.

You've come just at the right time,

where we need rescuing.

So we hold out our hands once more and

say, Lord, we need you.

We need your grace and your love,

where we are so lacking.

Fill us once again.

Fill us for the first time.

Fill us for the hundredth time with

your love and grace, that we might be

people restored in your image to love

and serve those around us.

Thank you, Holy Spirit.

Amen.

Amen.