Living in a Perverse World (Philippians 2:12-16)
Part 1
All good things must end. We talk about a christian worldview I don’t really need to rehearse what’s
going on in the world. You know that it’s inescapable. You don’t need
information about the disappointments in our culture and the disappointments in our world.
You don’t need to know that everything is upside down as in Isaiah chapter five. Bitter has
been swapped with sweet and good has been swapped with bad. We’re living in an inverted and
upside down world but I want to give you a perspective biblically so you can understand
what’s going on. The first thing I want to say is you have to understand this. What is
happening in our country and largely in our world is a divine judgment. I just want you to
mark that in your mind it is a divine judgment.
Joe biden is not in charge of this. God is our congress and our senate and the
people who run this nation and whoever is behind the wizard of oz pulling the strings
that does not have the final sovereign say over this nation or over any nation
in the world. So we are experiencing the judgment of God on our nation. It’s not as if we’re
waiting for it. It’s not as if it’s nearby we’re in the middle of this judgment.
I want to show you that by having you open your bible to Romans Chapter 1 and this is
just an introduction for you.
How do you know when a nation is under judgment? How do you know you be sure?
The answer to that is, you can know and you can be certain and I’ll show you how.
Romans chapter 1 verse 18
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men,
who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness any nation, any association of human beings that
constitute a culture if they turn away from the truth in unrighteousness
will receive the wrath of God. Now the wrath of god comes in many forms there is eternal wrath, that’s hell there
is eschatological wrath that would be all of the expressions of wrath in the book of revelation.
All the judgments that fall on the earth that you know of in the time of the tribulation that’s eschatological wrath.
Our Lord talked about that in his sermon on the second coming in matthew 24 and
25. So there’s eternal wrath, eschatological wrath. There’s a kind of cataclysmic wrath. Massive earthquakes,
Massive floods the most massive being the genesis flood. Where God literally drowned the entire human race
with the exception of one family. There is sowing and reaping wrath. Whatever you sow you reap. There are
consequences to sinful behavior that are built into that sinful behavior so there are many aspects of the wrath
of God It works inexorably. It works inevitably. It works justly but there’s another kind of wrath.
That’s what’s being talked about in Romans 1. This is the wrath of abandonment. This is historical in
Acts 14 the Bible says God allowed all the nations to go their own way.
The history of the world is the history of nations going their own way and consequently experiencing the
wrath of divine abandonment. That is what is in view in Romans 1:18. The wrath of God revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness because that
which is known about God is evident within them. For god made it evident to them 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.
This is the perfect place on the planet to to connect with that right God by his creation has put
himself on display to the degree that his eternal power and divine nature are manifest and anyone
who rejects him is without excuse. Men do and nations do and cultures do and that’s the cycle of human history.
Even though they knew God verse 21 (Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God,
neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
They did not honor him as god or give thanks because they became empty in their speculations.
Their foolish heart was darkened professing to be wise, they became fools. Exchanged the glory of the
incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptable men, of birds and four-footed animals. And crawling
things. They’ll substitute anything for the true God including animals idols of all kinds.
So what you have here is the wrath of god unleashed all the time through human
history upon every people that suppress the truth in unrighteousness and the truth concerning God.
Which may be known by the creation in chapter 2 of Romans says by the law of God written in the
heart so they’re also without excuse. They reject what is revealed.
They know there must be a God. They don’t honor him. They don’t give thanks. They become empty in their
understanding and their foolish heart is darkened. They profess to be wise but they are actually
fools. They exchanged the incorruptable God for some other deity of their own making.
Then Romans 1:24 is the key therefore what happens when a nation abandons God.
Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts,
to dishonour their own bodies between themselves.
Therefore god gave them over. This spells out what this wrath is God gave them over now
remember this is historic this is not looking at the future this is
looking at history. God gave them past tense over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity so
that their bodies would be dishonored among them when this wrath goes into place. The first thing
you will see is a sexual revolution. When God abandons a culture you will see
them sink to a low level of lust and impurity and the dishonoring of their
bodies. The first thing that happens when a nation is under judgment is a sexual
revolution verse 25.
Romans 1:25
Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator,
who is blessed for ever. Amen.
Says reminding us why it happened they exchanged the truth of god
for a lie worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator, who is blessed forever amen
Look back to 1970’s and 1980’s and remember when the sexual revolution began that
was step one in the abandonment of this society by God himself.
Step two comes in verse 26
Roman 1:26 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change
the natural use into that which is against nature:
For this reason again looking back at verse 25 because of their rejection of
God for this reason God gave them over to degrading passions for their women
exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural.
Romans 1:27
And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another;
men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error
which was meet.
In the same way also the men abandoned their natural function of the woman burned in their desire toward
one another men with men committing indecent acts. Receiving in their own person the due penalty of their error
when God abandons a society. The first thing that happens is a sexual revolution inevitably followed by a
homosexual revolution.
You have it described in verses 26 and 27. and interestingly enough it starts with the female side of that
and lesbianism because when God abandons a nation the instinct the strongest human instinct there is the
instinct of women mothering their children is perverted. This is that severe a blow. This level of
judgment on human culture and human society. Then you have the male homosexuals
in verse 27. Committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of
their sins. There’s an immediate penalty. You would remember that as the aids epidemic.
It’s built in it’s a venereal disease that is built in because that kind of behavior will have
built in its own punishment as well as being evidence of the abandonment of God.
Why does this happen because they didn’t see fit to acknowledge God any longer. Verse 28 they
keep going back these verses to the reason they rejected God. They rejected God. They rejected God.
First there’s a sexual revolution followed by a homosexual revolution verse 26 and 27 then look at the middle
of
Romans 1:28
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind,
to do those things which are not convenient;
Here’s step three. God gave them over to a depraved mind.
A depraved mind is a mind that doesn’t function sometimes it’s translated a reprobate
mind but the greek word means non-functioning. That’s when you’re a man and you think you’re a woman it’s a kind
of insanity. It’s an insanity that is such an insanity it begs the issue of reason to
even think people would do this. The reason people are doing it is because they are under divine judgment
God has let them have a reprobate mind so when you see all of this transgender activity.
When you see them want to make laws to protect transgender identity. You know it is absolute and
total and utter insanity. You know we’ve reached the reprobate mind people can’t
think reasonably. Which means there’s no way back to sanity there’s no way back.
Because it is a divine judgment on them. God doesn’t interrupt the course of their thinking down this
path of sexual revolution and homosexual revolution to the kind of insanity that we see with transgenderism
I used to wonder what in the world the reprobate mind could be? We’re living in the middle of it.
It is insane! It is irrational! It is ridiculous! Yet it is so strongly in
our culture that the society and its leaders are making laws to protect the
people. Who are absolutely insane that’s the reprobate mind so this is
judgment and out of that depraved mind what are you going to get?
Well you’re going to get
Romans 1:29 to Romans 1:31
29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;
full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,
30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,
31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:
All kinds of unrighteousness all kinds of wickedness all kinds of greed. Evil,envy,murder,strife,deceit and
malice that’s the greek word kakia which means generic general evil gossips.
Slanderers haters of God.
Insolent is an adjective meaning:
Audaciously rude or disrespectful; impertinent or impudent.
Presumptuous and insulting in manner or speech; arrogant.
Deviating from that which is customary; novel; strange; unusual.
Arogant and Boostful. Inventors of evil and disobedient to parents. Without understanding,
untrustworthy, unloving and unmerciful.
So what is that? That’s what you see every day on the news. That’s just the way people are. That’s
the way they live.
Romans 1:32
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death,
not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
Says they know the ordinance of God. Look at our nation. There”s not a
dearth of reality or truth this nation was really founded with. The knowledge of
the Word of God. The bible. It’s had it in its entire 200 plus years.
They know the ordinance of God. They also know that in the ordinance of God that those who practice
such things are worthy of death but they not only do the same but they give hearty approval to those
who practice them. You have a president who is a Roman Catholic and who is advocating the insanity
at the third level of divine judgment as if this is normal.
What you see in our country is the unfolding of the judgment of God in Romans chapter one. So mark it down there
is no group of senators or congressmen or anybody else who is going to reverse
this. This is not reversible. This is divine judgment.
Now in the middle of that you might be saying to yourself. I hope the Lord
remembers his people. In the midst of this I hope he doesn’t get so carried away with judgment. That he misses us.
“Only one life to live and soon is past
Only what’s done for Christ will last!”
Hoping to make the time I have left count for the glory of God.
Living in a Perverse World (Philippians 2:12-16) Part 1