Romans 1:26-32

Romans 1:26-32 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.  They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are 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.

In this passage Paul lays out the extent and pervasiveness of mankind’s sin.  He begins with the sin of homosexuality, calling it shameful and unnatural.  In the last sentence he declares that all of the mentioned sins deserve death and yet people will not only do these things, but also approve of those that practice them.  In America today we are seeing this very thing happen as even some who profess Christ approve and endorse homosexuality as well as some of these other sins.  While true Christians still have a sin problem that grieves them, they do not object to and disregard the Word of God in favor of worldly standards.  To do so is nothing short of rebelling against the law of Christ and the standards of morality that are given for the New Covenant believer.  This amounts to being ashamed of Christ and his words, and Jesus said he would be ashamed of anyone who was ashamed of him or his words when comes back to judge the world.  It is sad and amazing today to watch supposed men of God waffle and be ashamed to stand up for Jesus Christ and the truth of the Word of God in their ministries.  Beware of following them… If you profess Christ, read the Scriptures and do not be ashamed to affirm all that it teaches including this passage in Romans 1.  

See:  Luke 9:26, 1 John 1:8, 1 John 2:4, 1 Cor. 9:21