INTRODUCTION:

q       The Occasion – Fourth of July

o        Thankful for the blessings of God on this nation

o        Mindful of the dangers of forgetting those blessings

§         Psalm 9:17 – The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God.

q       The Context – Romans as a book of doctrine

o        Chapters 1-3 – Sin

§         Chapter 1 – the Gentiles guilty

§         Chapter 2 – the Jews guilty

§         Chapter 3 – all men sinners before God (3:10, 23)

o        Chapters 4-5 – Salvation

o        Chapters 6-8 – Sanctification

q       The Emphasis of this Passage

o        Deals with the Gentile nations (v.20)

o        Deals with those who knew God (v.21)

§         Special application to America

q       The Lesson of this Passage

o        Precept One: “Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you.” (James 4:8)

o        Precept Two: Turn away from God, and He will turn away from you.

§         1Samuel 15:23 – “…Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.”

§         Hosea 4:6 – “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.”

I.                     MAN MOVED AWAY FROM GOD

A.        He Gave No Glory to God (v.21)

1.    Though he knew God; Note: all nations knew God if you trace their history back to the time of Noah

2.    They did not glorify God

3.    They were not thankful; an unthankful heart is a sign of the last days (2Timothy 3:2)

B.        He Changed the Glory of God (v.23)

1.    He transformed the glory of God into something else

2.    In his understanding, he gave God a body

3.    This path always goes downhill quickly

a.         Man

b.         Birds

c.         Fourfooted beasts

d.         Creeping things

4.    Our desire to visualize God is a form of idolatry

5.    Exodus 20:4 – “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth:”

C.        He Changed the Truth of God (v.24)

1.    He changed the truth of God into a lie

a.         Consider the other versions of the Bible

b.         He did not “exchange” the truth of God for a lie as is taught in most Bible versions

2.    He worshipped and served the creature

3.    Note: notice the progression

a.         In the previous point, man brings God down to the level of man

b.         In this point, man brings the creature up the level of God

D.        He Removed the Memory of God (v.28)

1.    He did not want to think of God

2.    So, he tried to remove God from his memory

q       Psalm 10:4 – “The wicked, through the pride of his countenance, will not seek after God: God is not in all his thoughts.”

3.    Examples

a.         Removal of prayer from the schools

b.         Removal of Ten Commandments from public

c.         Removal of “under God” from the pledge of allegiance

E.        He Took Pleasure in the Wickedness of Man (v.32)

1.    His knowledge

a.         Of the judgment of God

b.         Of the sins worthy of death

2.    His pleasure

a.         In the sins themselves

b.         In those who commit these sins

3.    Ephesians 5:12 – “For it is a shame even to speak of those things which are done of them in secret.”

II.                   GOD MOVED AWAY FROM MAN

A.        He Hid His Glory From Man (v.21-22)

1.    As man gave no glory to God, so God did not show His glory to man

2.    He became vain in his imaginations

3.    His foolish heart was darkened

4.    He became a fool while professing to be wise

B.        He Gave Them Up to Uncleanness (v.24)

1.    As man gave God the shape of a body, so God gave man up to dishonor their bodies in uncleanness

2.    God gave them up to uncleanness

3.    They were unclean through the lusts of their own hearts

4.    They followed their lusts to dishonor their bodies

C.        He Gave Them Up to Vile Affections (v.26)

1.    As man gave his heart to worship the creature, so God gave man up to vile affections (feelings of the heart)

2.    They changed the natural use into that which is against nature

D.        He Gave Them Over to a Reprobate Mind (v.28)

1.    As man tried to remove the memory of God from their minds, so God gave man over to a reprobate mind

2.    They did those things which are not convenient

3.    They were filled with all unrighteousness

E.        He Assigned Them to Judgment and Death (v.32)

1.    As man took pleasure in the wickedness of men, so God will judge them with wicked men

2.    They will face the judgment of God

3.    They are worthy of death

III.                  HOW TO MOVE BACK TO GOD

A.        Fear the Judgment of God (v.32)

1.    Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.

2.    Ecclesiastes 12:13 – Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.

B.        Acknowledge the Hand of God (v.28)

1.    Proverbs 3:6 – In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.

C.        Exalt the Truth of God (v.25)

1.    John 17:17 – Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.

D.        Recognize the Loftiness of God (v.23)

1.    John 4:24 – God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.

E.        Give All Glory to God (v.21)

1.    Revelation – 15:4 Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy: for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest.

CONCLUSION:

1.         Pray for our nation

2.         Stand against the evils in our nation

3.         Guard ourselves from the sins of our people

4.         Return to God in those areas where we are guilty