“Truth or Consequences.”

Romans 1:18-32 from the daily reading in the One Year Bible

Unbelief and Its Consequences

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, ¹⁹ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. ²⁰ 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. ²¹ For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. ²² Professing to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. ²⁵ For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

²⁶ For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, ²⁷ and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

²⁸ And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, ²⁹ being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; ³² and although they know the ordinance 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.

The heading of today’s text is:  Unbelief and Its Consequences.   As much as it is unpopular in the world’s view, there are consequences of unbelief. Hebrews 11:6 says:  Without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.    Unbelief then makes it impossible to please God. He rewards those who seek Him, so the first consequence of unbelief is loss of the rewards of God. You cannot receive from one you do not believe in. Those who question God will often ask why a loving and compassionate God would punish people or condemn them. The truth is, any punishment or condemnation is not from God. It is a consequence of unbelief. The rewards of God to those who believe and seek Him include His favor; His blessings in this life and eternal life. Jesus says: “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.” (John 10:10) He says:  “God so loved the world that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” (John 3:16)   So it is not a lack of love or compassion on God’s part, but rather it is a lack of belief; a consequence of unbelief which leads to the loss or lack of God’s blessings and rewards, both abundant life now and eternal life to come.

In today’s text it says:  The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.    Before we go any farther it is vital that we truly understand what it says and what is true about God’s wrath. The wrath of God is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. It is against the suppression of truth.   God’s wrath is not directed toward people, but rather toward their unrighteous actions. Many in the world dislike the cliché “love the sinner, hate the sin.”  But truly that is what God does. Romans 5:8 says:  God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.    God loved and loves sinners so much that He sent His Son to die for our sins. With a cost that great, how could anyone believe that God would not continue to hate the sin that cost Jesus His life?    In Isaiah 5:20 God says: Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter!  That is not a declaration of condemnation. It is a warning of the consequences of unbelief.

The text continues:  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. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.    The evidence of God is within every person; it is part of the internal consciousness of everyone to know that there is one who is greater than themselves. The evidence of God is also seen in the external creation. No reasonable person can truly believe that what is, exists without a creator. All of man’s knowledge agrees that something does not come from nothing. The natural order of things is to break down and become less organized, not to bring forth something from nothing.  The text says: …they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.    So the darkening of their hearts is not punishment from God, but a consequence of their unbelief. God is not to blame, they are without excuse.

The text concludes saying:  Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; and although they know the ordinance 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.    It is not punishment or condemnation from God, but rather the consequence of unbelief which causes people to get what they choose. God doesn’t lead them into sin and unrighteousness, but rather turns them over to their own desires and choices. No one then who suffers the consequences of unbelief should blame God. 1 Corinthians 10:13 says:  No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.    The way out that God has provided is Jesus Christ.    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begottenSon, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” When I was growing up there was a popular game show called, “Truth or Consequences.”  That could be the title of our lives. The choice is ours: Believe the truth or suffer the consequences of unbelief.

Thank You heavenly Father, Lord Jesus Christ; precious Holy Spirit for making a way out of every temptation, for all the rewards and blessings, the favor and abundant life that come to those who believe. Thank You for Your love demonstrated in the cross. May I like You, hate sin and unrighteousness, but may I be a vessel of Your love and compassion to those who would believe.  Amen.