The Word Made Plain

Guest (Male): Welcome to the Word Made Plain with senior pastor Tony Clark of Calvary Chapel Newport News in Virginia. Currently, Pastor Tony is teaching through the book of Romans. Please open your Bible to Romans chapter 1 verses 28 through 32.

Tony Clark: Turn with me your Bibles to Romans chapter 1 and we're going to be looking at verses 28 to 32 or we're going to finish up this chapter. As we continue to go verse by verse and chapter by chapter through the book of Romans on Sunday mornings and as you know, we're in 1 Samuel on Wednesdays going through that Old Testament on Wednesdays and just awesome awesome awesome time we have of going through God's word. And Lord, we pray that you will prepare us now to hear from you. We pray that your Holy Spirit would teach us, forgive us, Lord, of our sin, clear our hearts and minds and our conscience of those things that will keep us from hearing from you.

And Lord, I just pray that nothing distracts or hinders us from hearing the word of God. Soften our hearts to the truth of your word. Lord, let us filter life through this word, Lord. Help us to see Jesus in the pages of scripture. Help us to see your mercy, your grace, your forgiveness. Help us to see your judgment as well. Oh God, help us we pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Romans 1 looking at verses 28 to 32. The title of this message is, do you approve? Do you approve? Now, the word approve means in the dictionary to officially agree to or accept as satisfactory.

It is so important that we define this word because we are going to see this world from God's perspective and it will not be a pretty picture. We will see the heinous things this world is involved in that will bring God's wrath upon it. I'm sure that there were believers in Rome at this time who were saying, Paul, we're not participating in these things you're talking about. And he will turn around and ask, well, but do you approve of those things that they're doing? This is the subject of these verses. Now, by way of background, the last time we were together, we saw when a society refuses to worship the true and living God, he will give them up to uncleanness in verse 24 to dishonor their bodies with each other.

They exchanged the truth about God to worship idols in verse 25. For this reason, God gave them up to vile passions to turn to female and male homosexuality and do that which is against nature in verse 26. Paul said that they began to do what is shameful and received the penalty of their error which was due in verse 27. Now, we pick up this incredibly sad predicament of this world in verse 28. Look what it says there. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind to do those things which are not fitting.

Because this fallen world has decided that they didn't like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind. What a sad state the world is in. God gave them up in verse 24 to uncleanness. Then God gave them up to in verse 26 to vile passions. Now, God is given them over to a debased mind in this verse. Now, what does it mean to have a debased mind? The Greek word is adokimos adokimos and it means not standing the test. The word was normally used to describe the metals that the refiners rejected because of the impurities found in them.

These metals were discarded. They were rejected. The person with a debased mind is a person who has rejected God and his word to guide their lives. Their minds rejected and discarded anything that has to do with God in the Bible. And thus this person is rejected by God and deserves his wrath. So because of this debased mind, they began to do those things which are not fitting. Now, surely someone was thinking, what are those things that are not fitting in the eyes of God? And Paul in the remainder of this chapter will list 24 specific sins that are not fitting in God's sight.

Now, before I go through this dismo list of things that are so prevalent in our society, I I want you to see the progression because no one just falls into this state by accident. It is a deliberate turning away from the true and living God. It is a constant and continuous of rejecting God and his word. Now, this verse said that they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. We also saw how God has given everyone the knowledge about him in verse 19 through their conscience with the Ten Commandments. Then we saw how God gave mankind the knowledge about him through number two, creation.

Now, this knowledge about God that is given to every human being, they did not like to retain. I'll have to draw your attention to the word retain. The Greek word is echo and it means to hold on to to hold on to a possession like something is treasured or prized by you. And I just wonder, is this happening to you? Is the knowledge of God slipping through your hands? Are you having thoughts of no longer retaining God in your knowledge? If this is happening to you, run to and run back to God before you find yourself in the condition of our society Paul is describing in these verses and we're living in right now.

Don't allow some atheistic professor at some college or university or some neighbor or co-worker cause you to no longer want to retain God in your knowledge. Don't allow some internet site cause you to reject the word of God because I'm seeing this all the time. Because of the internet, there's a myriad of sites on there of atheists, agnostics, skeptics who are mocking the Bible, showing what they consider as apparent contradictions in the Bible which they're not. But they're showing you these things or or some Hebrew Israelite or someone of that nature is coming trying to get you not to retain God in your knowledge.

I want to encourage you. I want to plead with you to run to and run back to the God of the Bible before you end up participating and being involved in those things we're going to be talking about. Now, it is time to look at those things which are not fitting. Look what it says there in verse 29. Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil minded, evil mindness. They are whisperers. Oh, I just got to stop right there. It's enough. In just that verse alone, the first thing that stands out uh is how Paul said being filled.

The Greek word is playrao. It's an amazing Greek word. It means a total control or meaning that people different people would use playrao in a different kind of way depending upon who the person is. For example, uh uh they will use playrao to uh speak of how alcohol totally controls an individual. They would say playrao. That person is playrao with alcohol. He's filled. He's totally controlled by alcohol. Bakers will use playrao to describe how salt permeates meat and gives it flavor. And and that's they would say that meat is playrao with with seasonings, with salt giving it flavor.

Sailors will use the word playrao to to describe how wind will fill the sails of a boat and carry it to its destination. So different people will use this word, but it it means total control, permeate, fill or to cram into. That word means. This word was used uh like I said to describe all of these things by these different types of of people. See, once a person's mind is debased, reprobate is the Old King James. You might have heard it having a reprobate mind. Then it becomes filled, total controlled to the point of overflowing in these things we're about to see in the following verses.

And so being filled with all unrighteousness which is the uh uh opposite of uh uh of righteousness. Unrighteousness is the opposite of righteousness. The Greek word for unrighteousness is adikia adikia. It's the same word used in verse 18. We saw how it meant sin against our fellow man. The next sin is sexual immorality. Porneia is the Greek word where we get pornography from which covers all forms of illicit sexual activity. He says wickedness, covetousness. Covetousness means to be materialistic or to want something that belong to someone else, to be greedy for gain. So this word has also uh been used to describe greed, not being satisfied with what you have.

Maliciousness, kakia is the Greek word and it means a desire to cause pain, injury or distress to another and and attack motivated by pure malice. Then he says full of envy and murder and strife and deceit. I wish I had time to get into all these. Evil mindedness. They are whisperers or gossiperers talking about a person in in a negative way behind their back. Oh, we got a lot of that goes on today because people are cowards today. They're afraid to step to the person. So they will blast them and gossip and talk about them in a negative way behind their backs because they're cowards.

You will never say that stuff in their face. That's that's the word used here. This describes our country, just this one verse very accurately. And all of this is going on. All of this is going on in the church, let alone in our society. This is why 1 Peter 4:17 said that judgment must begin at the house of God. We as God's people are unfortunately involved in these sins and I just read one verse. It gets worse. Look at verse 30. And backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents.

You know what a backbiter is? It's a It's It means to slander someone's reputation. Haters of God. This society hates God. You know why? Because God speaks against the way that they want to live. They hate God and everything that has to do with him, his word, the Bible, his people, the church. Jesus said in John 15 and verse 18, he said if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you. Then it said this this world is violent. He He mentions violent here. This world, especially our country, is violent.

I am appalled and ashamed and I want to put my head in the ground when other countries around the world are forbidding their people to come to America because they say America is too violent. I I'm I'm shocked at that. But then again, I'm not. Violence, violent. I'm just amazed at this. Every day a string of new cases of violent acts are reported. Jesus said in Matthew 24 and verse 37, but as the days of Noah were, so also will be the coming of the Son of Man be. In other words, the last days before he returned will be just like in the days of Noah right before God's judgment uh came upon it with a worldwide flood.

So that will mean we need to know what the days of Noah were so we can compare to see if today's time is like the days of Noah. Well, we can do a quick comparison. Genesis 6:11 says right before the flood, the earth was corrupt before God and the earth was filled with violence. Just a few verses up from this verse. Genesis 6:5 says, then the Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth and that every intent of thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. Wow. This is the same thing Paul is describing in Romans 1 and what we're seeing today in our world right now.

He said they are proud. This speaks of being prideful in in your sin and in your rebellion against God. Watch this. Watch this. You're going to understand the pun and the pun is intended. You know, people say something they say no pun intended. No, this pun is intended. Prideful in their sin and rebellion to the point where they will parade it all around for all to see. Another word that describes this arrogance is insolence. You may have a translation that may translate it insolent. Insolent means to be violently arrogant. And we're seeing those in this condition being violent towards those who disagree with them and their lifestyle.

Then he said there are boasters making claims of being superior in intellect and intelligence. We see this uh in college professors and and higher learning boasting of being too educated to believe in the God of Christianity. Inventors of evil things coming up with new ways to carry out their heinous sins. The internet has placed a porn site in everyone's hands. Sex toys and sex dolls can look and act and feel like real humans. I could go on and on with the new inventions man is coming up with to to fulfill his reprobate or his debased mind.

I don't have to tell you you agree there's disobedience to parents. When the authority of God is tossed out, then parental authority is not far behind. And what's so sad about this is that so often the parents have set the bad example for their children to see. I just I just got to know parents, are you setting a bad example for your children to see? So when they grow up and do just like you, don't try to rebuke them for because they learned it from you. They grow up and drink and become an alcoholic and and struggle with alcoholism and all that sort of stuff and they learn to drink from the beer and the wine bottles in your refrigerator growing up.

So don't don't get after them for something you taught them. It It's very simple. We We have significant others. I had to make sure I I said that right. You know, back in the day I used to say boyfriend or girlfriend, but that's old. Now it's significant other. Living at your house in front of your children, you're drinking, getting drunk as I mentioned, high at home and sometimes with your children. I'm I'm baffled at that that that folks are doing these things with their children. So often our children's disobedience to us is directly linked to the example we lived in front of them.

Parents, yes, we sin. We do. We sin. We make mistakes. But you need to understand, you need to repent and own up to it and ask your children for forgiveness. This way they will say, you know what? My parents were not perfect, but when they messed up, they always asked us for forgiveness. See, and that will let them know and teach them that when they mess up, they can ask God for forgiveness. It's teaching them something. But when you come do as I say, not as I do and I'm the parent around here, you're the child.

When you come with that kind of mess, they're going they're going to rebel against you. And you're going to wonder why. Because of the bad example you set in front of them. Oh, I've done things myself that I'm ashamed of that my children have seen and known about. And I try to go to them and ask for forgiveness because I I know I'm not perfect. See, and they know and they understand the fishbowl that they had to grow up in because of what I do here at this church. And they and they understood and I was constantly asking them, can you forgive me?

I'm sorry. I didn't You know. We do. We mess up. We We sin. We We fall short of his glory. And we got to humble ourselves and just say, you know, cuz see when we come off like like you know like like my dad used to say like our poop don't stink, you know. So my dad while I was talking to him yesterday, he said something that I was just like, wow. I can't believe another story. But we we we mess up. We mess up. I need to ask for forgiveness because if you don't, they will stop respecting you which will lead to disobedience to parents like we're reading about here.

Look at verse 31. It continues undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful. Undiscerning or unable to discern spiritual and moral things which will lead to uh the thinking that evil is good and good is evil like Isaiah 5:20 says. Untrustworthy. The Greek word is and it means a covenant breaker. It is translated, watch this, as untrustworthy because you're known not to keep your word or you can't be trusted to keep your word. You Did you know that the Bible calls marriage a covenant? Listen to this verse. This verse every time I read it, it rocks me to the core.

Malachi 2:14 it confirms this truth. It says, yet you say for what reason? Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth with whom you have dealt treacherously, yet she is your companion and wife by covenant, by covenant. In other words, God was telling the nation of Israel that he has been a witness to how they were treating the wife of your youth or your wife by covenant. I believe that God is a witness to how we as Americans have been treating our wives and he is appalled. The divorce rate is at an all time high in the church, let alone in our society to the point where this world thinks very little of marriage.

They'd rather play marriage or as we used to say growing up play house. You remember how you used to play house? Put on your You try to put on your parents' clothes and try to act like you you're the parent and you know always the little siblings always They They're always the kids, you know. And you And you're you're you're playing house. And people want to play marriage without a piece of paper that say who needs a piece of paper or a certificate. Because this way you can leave as soon as there's signs of trouble.

Something they learned from us our generation. And God said that he is a witness. He's a witness to all of this. He sees it all. Then he says that the people will be unloving. People are just flat out mean. That's what I'm just going to say it. People are just flat out mean and nasty. Jesus said in Matthew 24:12, and because lawlessness will abound like it is now, the love of many will grow cold. Because we have seen unspoken violence on TV, social media and through movies, we have grown cold towards those suffering in this world.

Then he says unforgiving. Oh, unforgiving. Nowadays if you blow it and sin, this society will crucify you. It's called cancel culture. We're called to be forgiving, but today in our society this is seeing less and less and the church it is even worse. That's why sayings came about. We We We're known to shoot our wounded. You know, we see people hurting in the church and we don't we don't We talk about them. We gossip about them. We don't reach down and help them. No. Says unmerciful. Now, mercy by way of definition is not getting what you deserve.

So unmerciful means being cruel, being harsh. Now, this next verse is the one that will close all of our mouths and it is the crux of this whole message.

Guest (Male): If the Word Made Plain has been a source of inspiration and encouragement to you, why not consider becoming a Word Made Plain giving partner to keep this listener supported program on the air? As a giving partner, you join forces with Calvary Chapel Newport News' kingdom vision of spreading the gospel of Jesus Christ. You can make your tax deductible gift online at calvarynn.org or send your gift of any amount to 15553 Warwick Boulevard, Newport News, Virginia 23608 and receive a gift from Calvary Chapel Newport News as our thank you. In addition to your financial support, we ask that you pray for the Word Made Plain broadcast that it touches hearts and generates change in the lives of people around the world.

We pray you've been blessed by God's word today and hope you'll tune in next time to hear the Word Made Plain.