Welcome to the InTouch podcast with Charles Stanley for Tuesday, June 17th. No one breaks the Lord's commands without suffering the consequences. Here's part two of The Privilege Corrupted from the series, The Privilege of Knowing God. The greatest privilege in life is to know God. Through His Son, Jesus Christ.
Now I want you to turn, if you will, to Romans chapter 1. A very important chapter in the Bible. In the book of Romans, Paul gives us About all the theology that you and I will ever be able to understand and far more. And he begins in this very first chapter dealing with this whole issue of the knowledge of God. And what I want you to see in this passage of Scripture here.
Which is so very plainly given to us. That man Who has the knowledge of God has corrupted it.
Now I want you to listen carefully. It just may be that your life could change in a few moments.
So I want to encourage you: no matter how you may view evolution. No matter how you may view the Bible, God, Jesus, or whatever, I want to encourage you to listen to something. Because what I want to show you is that God has given to us in this passage of Scripture. A very clear picture. of what happens When people suppress Deny, shut out, reject, turn away from the truth that God has given to us about Himself.
So I want you to listen carefully. I want you to think about something now. Because he says in this passage, look, if you will, beginning in verse 20. Since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes and 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 themselves 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 things.
Now what in the world is he saying to us? Simply this. That man has the knowledge of God. The question is, what will he do? Will he accept the knowledge of God?
Acknowledge that God is the sovereign creator, that He needs God because of His sin, and ask God to forgive Him of His sins based on what Jesus Christ did at Calvary. Or will he not? Here's what God says mankind has done.
Now let me just point something out to you here. You listen and say amen. Whenever an individual or whenever a nation of people Or whenever a church. is willing to surrender. Willing to give up They're high.
and holy exalted opinion. Of God. Whenever an individual a nation, a church, or an institution. Surrenders. Gives up.
Forfeits. Yields their high and holy opinion of Almighty God. At that moment, They begin the downward path that will ultimately lead. to their destruction.
Now watch what happens. Because what God is warning us here is of this. That man Once he chooses to lay down. Refuse to Turn his back upon. Suppress, this is his terminology.
He says when they suppress the truth, suppress the truth in unrighteousness, that is, motivated by their sinfulness, what happens? There are four stages. The first stage is the stage of intelligence. God has revealed Himself to mankind In creation, and in his conscience.
So God gave man a great deal of knowledge here. The history of humanity began with man knowing God. Then he turns from the truth. and rejects God. Stage number one: intelligence.
God has given to man. The capacity To know him. and to understand him. But here's what he says. He says, a man chooses to abandon the truth.
Listen, it may be a little bit of truth or a whole lot of truth. In this country, if you want to hear the truth of the gospel, anyone in this nation who wants to know the truth can know the truth. The tragedy is too many people do not want to know the truth. You know why they want to know the truth? Interferes with their lifestyle.
So they don't want to know the truth. Second stage. is ignorance.
Now when a person moves from the stage of intelligence Knowing there is a God. Desiring to know this God. He moves to the stage. of ignorance.
Now, how does he get there? Look at this verse. I'm not going to tell you what I think, I'm just telling you what God says. Verse 21. For even though they knew God, intelligence, They did not honor God.
Did not honor him as God? or give thanks to God, but they became futile. empty in their speculations. And their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools.
Now think about what he says. When a person suppresses the truth, what happens? Futility. Emptiness. And so, what happens?
He says, then the heart becomes darkened. And what did Jesus say in John that third chapter? Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil. because they refuse to acknowledge the reality and the truth of Almighty God.
Okay.
So then you have a heart. That once was intelligent, believing there is a God. Who choose to suppress that truth, and now they've gone from Intelligence. Dishonoring God. No gratitude toward God.
futile in their minds and their thinking. Trying to find something that will fill up this empty place. and they've become darkened in their minds. When you read the scripture, when the Bible talks about darkness, usually it's symbolizing something evil unless it's talking about day and night. Men love darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil.
When men suppress the truth, they start from intelligence and they move down. to ignorance. They no longer know the truth because they have, listen, they have chosen to deny the real truth. And now they're trying to say, This is truth, and that is truth. But you know what's interesting?
These errors and these lies do not satisfy the human heart. And so man moves further and further downward. There is a very short step between idolatry and immorality. Very short step. Because stage number one is intelligence.
Stage number two is ignored. Stage number three. is indulgence. Listen to what he says. Beginning now in this twenty-fourth verse.
Therefore, God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity. that their bodies might be dishonoured among them. For they exchange the truth of God for a lie. Listen. They deliberately, willfully suppressing the truth, decided they choose to believe the lie.
And He says they exchanged the truth of God for lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever. Amen. For this reason, God gives gave them over to degrading passions. For their women exchange the natural function for that which is unnatural, women for women. In the same way, also, the men abound in 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. My friend? It is impossible. It is impossible.
to move from intelligence to denying God. To denying his rightful place in your life. And just staying ignorant. Ultimately, there will be indulgence. This indulgence is man's attempt to fill that big, huge, empty, emotional, spiritual vacuum in his life in which God Himself desires to reside.
You can participate in every form of sexual sin or any other kind of sin. and all you will be doing. Is moving one step further downward, downward, downward in your search and hunger and thirsting and yearning, desire to fill this big empty void, darkness in your heart. And when you get to the bottom and you have tried every earthly thing that man can do in his beastly nature or in any other nature, you will find the same. horrible vacuum empty loneliness dissatisfaction Hopelessness and helplessness because it is always at the bottom of ultimate indulgence.
How does a person get there? They get there by choice.
Somebody says, Well, that's not a part of my life, so I must be okay. No, you're not. Until Jesus Christ is your Savior and God is in your life, you're moving downward.
Now, I want you to notice twice he says the same thing. Look again, if you will, now at verse 24. Therefore, God gave them over. Look, if you will again in verse 26. For this reason, God gave them over to degrading passions.
Now, go back to verse 18 for a moment. When he said, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. That is when he says for the punishment of God. is directed toward All ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in sin and unrighteousness. When we think about the wrath of God, we usually think in terms of the heavens breaking through of some storm of God's fire and judgment upon the world.
You know what one of the forms of God's wrath is? It's far more subtle than that. One of the forms of God's wrath is that when God sees that a person has suppressed the truth. denied the truth, rejected the truth, turned away from the truth. has chosen to no longer honor God as God.
who has chosen to no longer express any gratitude toward God. And to allow their heart to become empty because They won't know part of God. And then to allow themselves to become darkened in their mind, in their heart, in their spirit, choosing to disobey God, deliberately, willfully dishonoring Him, denying His very presence. God says, I just turn them over to it. Tell me anything worse on this earth.
Being alive and having God having turned you over to that which you worship other than Him. Turned over to it. That's wrath. But it is wrath that man invites because he denies the presence of a holy God. And, my friend, all the denial in the world and all the rejection in the world, and all the arguments in the world will not change the fact that Jehovah God is God.
Jesus Christ is His Son. God created you to serve Him and to love Him and to obey Him and to bring Him glory. And to refuse that, resist that. Suppress that and choose a life of sin and darkness and disobedience. You move from intelligence to ignorance, to ignorance, to indulgence, and ultimately from indulgence to an impenitent heart.
What do we mean by that? Look, if you will, what he says. Verse 27, in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman, 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. Three times he says God gave them over, gave them over, gave them over. What is a depraved mind?
He says he gave them over to a depraved mind. What does it mean by a depraved man? A mind that can no longer make right judgments. A mind that has become so darkened Has suppressed the truth so long it cannot make right judgments. This is why.
We see the gross, wicked, vile, sinful, evil. Unimaginable things going on in our society today because those who participate in them have lost their capacity to make right judgments. And this is how far sin will take a person. When you begin to suppress the truth of righteous in your life, here's what he says. Verse 29.
Now listen to this, you can't have just one particular problem in life. Once you suppress the truth of God, all kinds of sin comes into your life. And so he names 24 different ones. Listen. Doesn't mean that a person's guilty of all of them, but there are going to be some.
Listen. Verse 29, being filled with all unrighteousness. Wickedness, greed, evil, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, their gossips, slanderers, haters of God. Insolent, arrogant, boastful, and venomous of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, and unmerciful. And then this is just how far it'll take you.
And although they know the ordinance of God, they know better. That those who worship, those who practice such things are worthy of death. Listen to that. There are a lot of folks in our society who would not want to hear that verse. worthy of death.
They not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. Listen carefully. When a person can sin and sin and sin and sin. and it appears they have no conscience. They can defend it.
Laugh it off. Joke about it. Be deceptive about it. And keep on doing it. That person may have reached the level of a depraved mind.
And then you wonder why they don't change. Once a person's mind becomes depraved, And God turns them over to their wickedness. That's it.
Well they've shut God out. Refuse to listen. Totally ignore. Reject Absolutely deny the presence of God. And God turns them over to that.
It's all over. What a tragic tragic tragic thought. to live your life. Without him. And miss.
What's your whole life? was about. I cannot encourage you enough. to ponder what you've heard in this message. And to ask God to show you where you are.
You know there's a God. Had you chosen to suppress that truth? Have you chosen just to indulge yourself in every wicked, vile thing you can in order to satisfy something in you?
Well, let me ask you a question. Isn't it strange that people who do that When you read about their lives, There's nothing about peace. Shall I? Contentment. Satisfaction Confidence.
And assurance. About life after this one. You don't hear them talking about worshiping the Father. You don't hear them talking about the Lord Jesus Christ. You know why?
Because they have so separated all those holy thoughts from themselves, they have become gods to themselves, and they will die in their idolatry and be eternally separated from God. Young person, be careful who your idol is. Only one is legitimate, and that is God. Only God is it. Only God is the object.
And so I want you to know we're not condemning you. We're trying to love you. Love you out of darkness into light. Telling you that you have an opportunity to be saved with the grace of God. The fact that you would even listen to this says there's hope for you.
He said, Well, what must I do? If you want to ask the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins because He went to the cross and died for them. Ask God to Change your life. Turn it around. that you need him.
If you simply say to him, Father, By faith. I'm asking you to forgive me of my sins. I'm asking you to come into my life, to rescue me. Save me. I give you my life today.
If you will not tell him that, He will forgive you just that fast. He will begin even now. That rescue is beginning to take place even now. and God will take you out of the lifestyle you've been living. Make you free.
Make you a child of God. That's my prayer. That's our hope. That's what the gospel is all about. It's about deliverance.
Rescuing. Hold. Help. Forgiveness, cleansing. and giving you a whole new beginning in life.
Thank you for listening to part two of The Privileged Corrupted. If you'd like to know more about Charles Stanley or InTouch Ministries, stop by intouch.org. This podcast is a presentation of InTouch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia.
