← Back to sermon library

This morning we're going to look 
at the persistent problem of idolatry. The persistent problem 
of idolatry. I want to read Romans chapter 
1 verses 18 to 32 and then look specifically at the guilt of 
the Gentiles as given here to us by Paul in Romans chapter 
1. Actually beginning in verse 16, 
for I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is the power 
of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first 
and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of 
God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, the 
just shall live by faith. For the wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who 
suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of 
God is manifest in them. for God has shown it to them. 
For since the creation of the world, His invisible attributes 
are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, 
even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. 
Because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, 
nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and 
their foolish hearts were darkened. professing to be wise, they became 
fools and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an 
image made like corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals 
and creeping things. Therefore, God also gave them 
up to uncleanness in the lusts of their hearts to dishonor their 
bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for 
the lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the 
creator who is blessed forever, amen. For this reason, God gave 
them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged 
the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise, also the men, 
leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for 
one another. Men with men, committing what 
is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their 
error which was due. 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, being filled 
with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, 
maliciousness, full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They are whisperers, backbiters, 
haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, 
disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, 
unmerciful, who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who 
practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same, 
but also approve of those who practice them. Amen. Well, let 
us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
the Word of God. We thank you that it's profitable for many 
things in our lives, and we pray that you would help us now to 
receive these things. We pray for the ministry of the 
Holy Spirit to be at work in our minds and in our hearts. 
We know that apart from Christ we can do nothing and that means 
as well to receive with thanksgiving the word of truth. So please 
send forth the Holy Spirit to lead us, to guide us, to instruct 
us. As well we pray again that you 
would cleanse us from all sin and from all unrighteousness 
and everything that casts a darkening influence over our minds and 
hearts. We pray, Father, that you would cause us to see your 
glory and to love you, to be devoted to you, and not to be 
drawn off to idols, not to be taken from the path by our own 
lusts, but help us, Almighty God, to resolve to pursue you 
with all of our strength. And we pray these things through 
Jesus Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, in the Book of Acts, 
in the second missionary journey, we see the Apostle Paul goes 
to Athens. And it's very intriguing. As 
Paul is in Athens, it says that his spirit was provoked within 
him when he looked around the city and saw the idols. For Paul, 
it wasn't just a time to marvel at the accomplishments of men 
with their architecture. I would imagine us today would 
go over to Athens and be somewhat marveled at or be marveling at 
the sorts of things that man can accomplish. But for Paul, 
it provoked his spirit. And interestingly enough, that 
word is often used of God in the Old Testament, where the 
children of Israel provoked him. They engaged in what the prophets 
called harlotry. They turned from the true and 
the living God, and they went a-whoring after false gods. And that always caused God's 
anger to be displayed to the people of Israel. Very often, 
as you read the prophets, you will see that is the condemnation. That is what is in their crosshairs, 
so to speak. So it shouldn't surprise us when 
Paul begins the book of Romans and he starts to address the 
universal condemnation because of sin. He starts with Gentiles. 
And one of the primary things that we ought to consider in 
this particular chapter is idolatry. See, very often we look at passages 
like these and we come down to, say, verse 29, being filled with 
all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, 
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness. They 
are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God. We read that list and 
we say, that sounds just like what we saw on CNN. We read that 
list and we say, that's just like what's going on in Canada. 
We read this list and we say, that's really what it's like 
there in the United States of America. And we forget the emphasis 
of the apostle. These things are the result of 
previous idolatry. In other words, if we look at 
our culture, we don't necessarily have a homosexuality problem. We don't necessarily have a drinking 
problem. We don't necessarily have a crack 
problem. We have a theological problem. We have an idolatry problem. 
Whenever man rejects the true and the living God, these are 
the sorts of things that then issue forth. Now, I want to make 
sure you understand. I think homosexuality, crack, 
drink, all those sorts of things, are problems, but they are symptomatic 
of a much larger problem. The first thing Paul addresses 
in the chapter is idolatry. And I say that this is a persistent 
problem, not only for man the creature, but even for man the 
Christian. John ends his first epistle Not 
with a celebration of love, not with a celebration of peace, 
not with a benediction of grace, but John ends his first letter 
with little children, keep yourselves from idols. He's speaking to 
Christians. He's talking to believers. He 
is speaking to those who are blood-bought by the Son of God. 
And nevertheless, the believer has to take heed. The believer 
has to be on guard. The believer has to keep himself 
from idols. So let's look at Romans 1, verses 
18-32. It won't be a detailed exposition 
of every jot and tittle, but just the major categories. that 
we see. The first thing we ought to consider 
is the thesis of the book in verses 16 and 17 and then secondly 
the guilt of mankind in verses 18 to 32. Now specifically Gentile 
mankind because Paul will address moral people and Jews in the 
next chapter. But the overarching section beginning 
in chapter 1 at verse 18 and concluding in chapter 3 verse 
20 is man's problem. It is man's plight. It is the 
reality that man has gone astray from God. So Paul, before he 
sets forth the good news, which he starts in Romans 3 at verse 
21, he shifts up. He says, but now the righteousness 
of God is revealed. Romans 1.18, the wrath of God 
is revealed. Romans 3.21, but now the righteousness 
of God is revealed. Before he gets into the good 
news, he sets forth the bad news. We ought to remember this pattern 
in our evangelism. So often we present Jesus as 
a help to a happier life. You know, believe in Jesus and 
you'll get some satisfaction. Believe in Jesus and you'll get 
some peace. Or worse yet, believe in Jesus and you'll get new cars 
or new houses. Believe in Jesus and you'll enjoy 
health and wealth and prosperity. That is to strip the good news 
of its goodness. When we don't present the bad 
news, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness 
and unrighteousness of men. You are a sinner who stands in 
need of God's grace. The good news is good because 
the bad news is so horrible. And we want to make sure that 
we emphasize that and be Pauline in our presentation of the gospel. 
So 118 to 320, the universal guilt of all mankind before the 
living and true God. Notice Paul's purpose in Romans 
1.16. I am not ashamed of the gospel 
of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone 
who believes, for the Jew first and also the great." Paul has 
a conviction. God has demonstrated power and 
in this gospel the righteousness of God is revealed from faith 
to faith as it is written, the just shall live by faith. And 
that righteousness is that which God demands and which God gives 
by His grace through the gospel of Jesus Christ our Lord. And 
as I said, he begins with a presentation of the bad news And that leads 
us to consider the guilt of mankind. I want to look at five things 
this morning. First, the revelation of God's 
wrath. Secondly, the reason for its 
manifestation. Thirdly, the descent into idolatry. Fourth, the consequent practice 
of idolaters. And fifth, the judgment of God 
upon idolaters. So several things to look at 
this morning. Let's note first the revelation 
of God's wrath. Verse 18, for the wrath of God 
is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness 
of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Now, I think 
the order is conspicuous. Some commentators disagree. They 
say ungodliness and unrighteousness are just two things. There's 
no particular order, but the context demonstrates otherwise. Ungodliness precedes unrighteousness. In other words, what man thinks 
about God, whether he loves Him or rejects Him, affects the way 
that he lives. That is simply to say that theology 
is practical. What a man considers concerning 
God affects the way that he lives, either for God or against God. So Paul says ungodliness and 
unrighteousness. Then he deals with ungodliness 
vis-a-vis idolatry. And then he deals with all of 
the categories of unrighteousness in terms of particular vices. 
But note that word. He says the wrath of God is revealed 
from heaven. It's a lot different than some 
of the presentations of the gospel where persons come along and 
say, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. That's not 
necessarily the case. If you are outside of Christ 
and you continue impenitent and you continue to reject God, I 
would suggest that hell is not a wonderful plan for your life. 
It is a just and righteous punishment from a holy God. Paul does not 
begin by speaking of some undefined, nebulous sort of love that we 
have the prerogative to just cast upon whoever we want. No, 
he starts with the wrath of God. God is angry with the wicked. 
Every day, Psalm 711. God hates the workers of iniquity. 
Psalm 5-5. You say, well, those aren't popular 
verses today. It does not matter what is popular. 
It matters what is true. We need to be honest and accurate 
and open in our dealings with sinners. As we present the gospel, 
if we come and just, you know, pronounce God's love upon everybody 
without any discrimination whatsoever, we are not honoring God. Paul 
begins with wrath. It is revealed from heaven. Murray 
defines wrath this way, it is the holy revulsion of God's being 
against that which is the contradiction of His holiness. See, that's 
an important aspect of God. He's holy, He's righteous, He's 
just. The prophet says his eye is too 
pure to behold any evil. We get it in our minds that, 
you know, God will just wink. God just understands. God just 
knows. God just, you know, He'll pardon 
me because, you know, He's nice and He's God and He's good and 
all those sorts of things. God is full of wrath and anger 
and enmity toward those who continue and persist in sin. and in rebellion. That's why if you are at peace 
in sin, if you are at peace in rebellion, if you are at peace 
estranged from God, may the Lord Most High awaken you to see the 
danger that you find yourselves in. Remember John 3.36. He who 
believes the Son has everlasting life. He who does not believe 
the Son shall not see life, but what? But the wrath of God abides 
on him. Present tense. Right now, even 
while you're enjoying creaturely comforts, you may have a good 
steak, you may have a good potato, you may have a good wife, you 
may have a good child, you may have a nice home, and that is 
what tricks you or deceives you into thinking that all is well. 
But Jesus says in John 3.36, the wrath of God abides on him. You need to take notice of these 
realities. The Bible informs us. The Bible 
instructs us. The Bible gives us the absolute 
truth concerning God, judgment, and the way of escape through 
the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. So Paul tells us, wrath is revealed 
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Notice in verse 18, who 
suppress the truth in unrighteousness. God made man in his own image 
and ever since the fall, man has sought to eradicate himself 
of God. He suppresses truth and unrighteousness. Isn't that the case? Why do you 
think the sorts of culture wars we find against the Christian 
faith? Why do you think the sorts of things we see done to the 
people of God? Man can't get to God, so he gets 
at his representatives on Earth. Man suppresses the truth in unrighteousness. Kids, that means he holds it 
down. And while holding it down, he 
somehow deludes himself into thinking that it must not be 
there. I'll deny it, and that'll make it go away. Sort of like 
when I was a kid, if I heard a noise, I would cover my face. Never thinking through the implications 
of that. When I cover my face, it doesn't 
make the noise disappear. It makes me more vulnerable. 
I never thought through that at, you know, five or six or 
whenever the last time I was. Maybe it was last week I covered 
my face because I heard a noise. Suppress the truth and unrighteousness. 
Atheists say it's the problem of Christianity that we live 
by faith. They live by faith too. It's 
just a reversal. They suppress truth and unrighteousness. They disbelieve in the living 
and true God. So they put faith elsewhere. 
You see, Paul's point is clear. The wrath of God is targeted 
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. who suppress the truth 
and unrighteousness. Now notice the reason for its 
manifestation. Because God has revealed himself 
to mankind. Have you ever met someone who 
said, I would believe in God if there were some evidence. 
There is no shortage of evidence. God has made it manifest to man 
and within the heart of man, and yet man suppresses that truth 
in unrighteousness. Notice what Paul says, the unbeliever, 
the Gentile, those outside of the special revelation of God, 
notice what Paul says they know concerning God. In the first 
place we see that God's presence is inescapable. Verse 20a. Such that it leaves men without 
excuse. You've heard the word apologetics 
before. It means to give up. Well, that's the precise word 
that Paul uses here in verse 20. So that they are without 
excuse. The revelation that God gives 
to us through the created order is inescapable. Man can try to 
suppress the truth and unrighteousness. Man can write thousand page volumes 
on a philosophical justification for atheism. Man can engage in 
the sort of wish mentality to just think God away. But he can't! This is why it's folly, brethren, 
to spend hour upon hour upon hour trying to prove the existence 
of God. Every person out there knows 
that God exists. That's Paul's point. Their problem 
is that they're suppressing the truth in unrighteousness. We 
need to point that out to them. We need to encourage them to 
seek the Lord God through Jesus Christ. Come to the scriptures 
and learn what the world is all about. Notice, he says that man 
knows God's eternal power. Verse 20, for since the creation 
of the world, his invisible attributes are clearly seen. And by that, 
invisible attributes being clearly seen. It means the Creator. As 
He creates this world, as He makes man in His own image, such 
that they are able to resonate with the creation around them, 
God is stamped all over the creation. You can't escape Him. That's 
Paul's point. But notice in verse 20, being 
understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power. Man knows this. Man understands 
this. Man has this idea concerning 
God. As well, man knows something 
of God's deity and his godhood, Paul says. And man knows something 
about the righteous judgment of God. Look at verse 32. Who, 
knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice 
such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but 
also approve of those who practice them. They know that. It's righteous 
with God to judge. It's an amazing thing how we 
forget this, isn't it? You tell somebody that God has 
promised to send impenitent sinners to hell and people say, that's 
not fair. And yet they'll see on the 6 
o'clock news that a violent pedophile was released by a lenient judge. It is fair. It is righteous for 
the judge to punish the offender. And sinners, deep down in their 
heart of hearts, know this to be the case. Paul tells us. So 
those are three things that the unbeliever knows about God. He 
knows his eternal power, he knows his deity, and he knows it's 
righteous with God to judge those who continue in sin. So man knows 
that God exists, he knows particulars about God. Now notice what it 
says in verse 21, still continuing this theme of the reason for 
its manifestation. Note what Paul says, because 
although they knew God. Hasn't he just displayed this? 
Hasn't he just demonstrated this? Hasn't he just said This is man's culpability? They 
knew God, and yet, this is how they respond. They don't glorify 
Him as God, nor are they thankful. You've met these people, haven't 
you? You may be these people this morning, perhaps. You know 
God exists, but you don't glorify Him as God, and you're not thankful 
to Him. This is wretched. This is wicked. This goes back to what we read 
in Revelation 15. God is worthy to be glorified. God is worthy to be thanked. God is worthy to be praised. 
God is worthy to be adored and worshipped. You see, and yet, man knows that 
this God exists, man knows these particulars about him, but they 
don't glorify him, nor are they thankful to him. It's a wretched 
condition that man finds himself in Adam. We ought to be very 
thankful for the grace of God, because this certainly describes 
each and every one of us who are saved. It's not we were smarter, 
we were better, we didn't suppress the truth as much, no. We were 
wretched, dead in our trespasses and sins, and God in His mercy 
and in His grace pulled us out of that heap of mess. We ought 
to praise God, we ought to worship God. But you see what Paul is 
saying, the wrath of God is revealed from heaven. Why? Because men 
knew God and they didn't glorify Him as God. Nor were they thankful. You see brethren, there is a 
lot of problems in society. or there are a lot of problems 
in society. Abortion, sodomy, euthanasia, 
those are horrific things. But do we ever cry out to God 
and say, Lord, men don't glorify you. Men do not honor you. I mentioned this when we considered 
the Decalogue. You know, we rightly read or 
preach or write or protest concerning murder. concerning the seventh 
commandment, concerning those things that just bring trouble 
to society. Where is our desire for that 
first table? Where is that desire for the 
glory of God? Where is the desire that men 
would thank the Lord and praise Him? That men would bow the knee 
to the One who is worthy? Would it ever be our case, in 
the way it was with Jeremiah, to even pray, Who would not fear 
Thee, O King of the nations? For indeed it is Thy due. Jesus 
taught us to pray first and foremost with reference to the name of 
God. We run into His presence and 
say, give me food, give me forgiveness, give me protection. Those are 
legit in their place, but the priority in the Lord's Prayer 
is theological in nature. God's name, God's kingdom, God's 
will before we get to us. You see, when we look at a society 
that looks like what Paul describes here in Romans 1, yes, we ought 
to be grieved about kids that hate their parents. Yes, we ought 
to be grieved about the fact that we engage in some wicked, 
abominable sexual practices. We ought to be grieved when we 
see a homosexual pride parade. But we ought to be grieved that 
men are idolaters. Men have rejected God. This is 
what happens to Paul when he stands in Athens and he sees 
the city given over to idols. His spirit is provoked within 
him. Certainly they had all sorts 
of sin in their city. I mean, we're talking Athens 
in the first century. It was no bastion of holiness 
and righteousness. It's one of the faulty thoughts 
that we have. Oh, you know, our society is 
so bad. So was Paul's. So was every age since the fall 
of man. We just hear about it a lot quicker 
because we have the internet. The same wickedness is out there, 
we just get better at doing it with our technology. But Paul 
sees a city given over to idolatry, and what does he do? His spirit 
is provoked within him. So what does he then do? He stands 
up on the Areopagus and he preaches, God, God the Creator, God the 
Governor, God the Redeemer, through our Lord Jesus Christ. He didn't 
say, get rid of your idols. He realizes that to bow the knee 
to the Lord Jesus Christ means to get rid of your idols. You 
see the priority with the apostle. This is what happens. Men know 
God. Men suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Paul brings this implication 
in verse 21, because although they knew God, they did not glorify 
Him as God nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts 
and their foolish hearts were darkened. You see, if someone 
ever says to you, why is God angry with people? Why is there 
wrath at the end of history? Why is there hell? Because men 
knew that God existed and they didn't glorify Him as God, nor 
were they thankful to Him. You get bent out of shape if 
you give a gift to somebody and they don't fawn all over you 
for years. If you're one of those insecure 
husbands, remember that, honey, I gave you that gift, I gave 
you that gift, I gave you that gift. When she comes home, I 
did the dishes. Did you see? I did the dishes. 
What's the implication? You need to thank me because 
I'm a dish-doer, right? We get bent out of shape if persons 
don't glorify us or they're not thankful to us. God is glorious. God is the only being in this. He's not in creation. He's outside 
of creation. The only being worthy of worship 
and adoration and praise and glory given unto Him. It is perfectly 
consistent with His holy character to target all ungodliness and 
unrighteousness with His holy wrath because men knew Him and 
yet men did not glorify Him. Men knew Him and yet they were 
not thankful to Him. Now notice in the third place 
this descent into idolatry. Verses 22 and 23, professing 
to be wise, they became fools. Legitimately, sophomores, right? 
That's what a sophomore is. It's a wise fool. If you're a 
sophomore in school right now, that's what that means. It means 
a wise fool. At your age, that's what you 
are. You're a wise fool. You say, well, that's offensive, 
Pastor, but that's just the etymology of the word. Sophomore. Blame 
whoever developed that word. This is what Paul says. Notice 
in verse 22, "...professing to be wise, they became fools." 
Isn't this atheism at its core? Those reasoned arguments for 
the non-existence of God, they profess themselves to be wise, 
they write big books, they go on teaching tours, they are fawned 
over by the huddled masses, and yet they are fools before a holy 
God. They are foolish and engaged 
in folly as those who profess themselves to be wise." Notice 
what he goes on. He says, "...and they change 
the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible 
man and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things." 
You know, it's interesting. Paul is not innovative here. 
Paul is not creative here. Paul is simply applying scripture 
to a different context. Psalm 106 describes Israel this 
way. They made a calf in Horeb and 
worshiped the molded image. Thus they exchanged their glory 
into the image of an ox that eats grass. They forgot God, 
their Savior, who had done great things in Egypt. Paul is simply 
bringing to bear upon these Gentiles, in Romans chapter 1, what has 
always been the case. For man and Adam, to know that 
God is, and to suppress that truth and unrighteousness, to 
profess himself to be wise, all the while being a fool and exchanging 
the glory of the incorruptible God for some creature, to worship 
some thing, to worship something that is bound by time and space. Jeremiah 2, 11, has a nation 
changed its gods, which are not gods. But my people have changed 
their glory for what does not profit. Isn't that ultimately 
what idolatry is? It is to exchange the glory of 
God Most High for that which does not profit. For those of 
you here who have engaged in this, you sought something else 
prior to coming to Christ. You saw it in sex, you saw it 
in power, you saw it in work, you saw it in family. Some things 
are good things, but our attachment to them can render them into 
an idol. Or it might have been crack, 
it might have been who knows what. Do those things satisfy? Do you wake up after a night 
of that sort of debauchery saying, man, I feel fulfilled? No, not 
typically. You engage in the walk of shame, 
you engage in the sort of guilt, you have all that pent-up emotion 
because you have spent yourself on an idol. This is what Paul 
is saying. They exchanged the glory of the 
incorruptible God for the creature. You're not supposed to worship 
the creature. You're not supposed to give your 
time and devotion to the creature. That doesn't mean neglect your 
wives and kids, neglect your husbands and kids. That's not 
what that means. Devotion in a religious sense. One man is 
well observed. We can see what we worship when 
we look at where we spend our time and our money. Those are 
two great indicators of that which we worship. If you were 
to look at North American culture and you saw which sort of internet 
sites were most frequented, you would conclude that in North 
America pornography and sports are worshipped because of the 
time and the money devoted to them. It's an exchange of the glory 
of the incorruptible God. For what? Paul gives concrete 
expression to this, into an image made like corruptible man, and 
birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things. You say, 
who would ever do that? Israel, when they danced before 
the calf at Horeb? Persons today, when they dance 
before whatever it is, they love more than God? You see, this 
is nothing new, and it's nothing that is absent from our own culture. Douglas Moos says, This tragic 
process of human God-making continues apace in our own day, and Paul's 
words have as much relevance for people who have made money 
or sex or famed their gods as for those who carved idols out 
of wood and stone. Thus, as verses 24 to 31 show, 
the whole dreadful range of sins that plague humanity has its 
roots in the soil of this idolatry. Does everybody get this? I want 
you to see this. Ungodliness, unrighteousness. Notice. The consequent practice 
of idolaters. Notice in verse 24, Therefore 
God also gave them up to uncleanness and the lust of their hearts, 
to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the 
truth of God for the lie, and worshipped and served the creature 
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. There 
is a priority involved. We reject God and then we end 
up abusing men. We reject God, then we're given 
over to all manner of wickedness. You could go through prophet 
after prophet after prophet to see this connection in the Old 
Testament. When Israel's prophets came to condemn them, there's 
a close association between a rejection of the first table of the law 
and a rejection of the second table of the law. Jesus says, 
you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, 
mind, and strength. You shall love your neighbor 
as yourself. Upon these two, hang all the law and the prophets. 
Guess what happens if you reject the first? You're not going to 
practice the second. When you look at a society that 
is filled with sex and violence and all the sorts of things that 
we have, again, those are symptomatic and they are problems, but the 
essence, the root, the problem as theological in nature is a 
rejection of God. Men do what they do because they 
did not glorify God as God, nor were their hearts thankful. That's 
the progression, the consequent practice of idolaters. Paul indicates 
the practice of sexual immorality. You know what the best way to 
preach the gospel to a homosexual is? Preach the gospel to them. Now, some say, well, you know, 
of course that's what we do. Not necessarily. We could preach 
moralism to them. Let's just take it down a notch. 
Let's say somebody who steals candy bars. You gotta stop stealing 
candy bars. That's not the gospel. That's 
law. The law prepares for the gospel. Just to tell somebody to stop 
doing what they're doing isn't gospel. Gospel is that God is 
in Christ reconciling the sinners to himself, reconciling the world 
to himself. The gospel is Jesus Christ paid 
it all. The gospel is Jesus lived and 
died and rose again. The response to that gospel by 
the grace of God is to look and live. When that sinner looks 
and lives by God's grace, when he looks at that brazen serpent, 
when he is healed, when he is justified, then you tell him, 
stop stealing candy bars. Stop engaging in lewdness. Stop 
engaging in that sort of heinousness. Now, I'm not suggesting we never 
tell somebody to stop doing bad things. But don't get it in your 
head that that's somehow evangelism. I shared the gospel with somebody 
because I told them to stop, you know, stealing candy bars. 
No, you share the gospel with someone when you tell them that 
Christ lived, Christ died, Christ rose again, and all who look 
to Christ will have everlasting life. In essence, or in some, 
we are not preaching moralism. I would rather that you leave 
from this church saying, you know, Butler tells us to look 
to Christ, and then stop stealing candy bars. Not just go stop 
stealing candy bars. You can get that at the Lions 
Club, you can get that at the Moose Lodge, you can get that 
anywhere. The Christian gospel is not moralism. The Christian 
gospel, as Paul says in Romans 1.16, is the power of God. unto salvation for everyone who 
believes. Your problem isn't that you just 
need to stop stealing candy bars. Your problem is that you're an 
idolater and you need the living and true God to save you from 
your sins. Owen says it this way, we really 
try hard to convince men of particular sins. And he says, but they're 
nothing but sin. The church can be good at this. 
You shouldn't do this, you shouldn't do that. Again, there's place 
for the law. We should preach the law. Do not leave here saying, 
Butler says, go steal candy bars. I'm not saying that. The gospel, 
the power of the blood of Jesus. in whom we have redemption through 
His blood, not through our moral reform, not because we stopped 
stealing candy bars. You're not going to go to heaven 
because you stopped stealing candy bars. You're going to heaven 
because Jesus Christ paid it all. You're going to go to heaven 
because Jesus Christ bore the wrath of God for His people, 
because Jesus Christ did everything that the Father says so that 
we receive that righteousness when by God's grace we believe. 
So the consequent practice of idolaters, the practice of sexual 
immorality, notice in verse 28, the rejection of God. And even 
as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge. In some 
ways, this is one of the most offensive in this whole list. 
They did not like to retain God in their knowledge. Isn't that 
described, man? We oftentimes think of the brazen 
sins out there, the crack and the this and the that. They didn't 
like to retain the knowledge of God in their minds. You actually 
think that in a created universe, where God the Creator has made 
you and sustained you and gives you life and breath and all things, 
where God creates the food that goes down your gullet, where 
God creates the water that goes into your system, you actually 
think it's okay to not want the knowledge of God in your head? 
There's an instance in the prophet Jeremiah where God, through Jeremiah, 
condemns the people and he says, they turned the back to me. You understand the imagery, don't 
you? You're talking to your kid and 
you're mid-sentence and your kid turns from you. That's turning 
the back. What does it do when you see 
that? Oh, I'm just so happy that my 
kid's an insubordinate, rebellious jerk. No, you see, turn around. Show me the respect that is due 
to me. They turn to me the back, God 
says through Jeremiah. And here I think this is something 
of that. And even as they did not like 
to retain God in their knowledge, I've just got too many things 
on my plate, I've got too many things to think about, I've got 
too much going on in my own life to give any thought to this God. 
It's like Psalm 10.4, the wicked in his proud countenance does 
not seek God. God is in none of his thoughts. You oftentimes think the converse 
of that, for the believer, those who have been saved by God's 
grace, God is in their thoughts. They think about God during the 
day. They trace out scripture in their 
minds and in their hearts. I'm not saying they're not doing 
their work. Not saying that they sit on mountaintops and just 
meditate, but God is in their thoughts. If it is a characteristic 
of the ungodly to push God out of their thoughts, what ought 
to be a characteristic of the godly? It is to have God in their 
thoughts. It is to live. Coram Deo, in 
the presence of God. It is to think through those 
things that are most important and to calculatedly live in light 
of this living and true God. They didn't like that. They don't 
want that. Psalm 14, the fool has said in his heart there is 
no God. They are corrupt. They have done abominable works. 
There is none who does good. And then notice the various vices 
are indicated in verses 29 to 31 and then in verse 32 we see 
that this is a universal problem. Calvin calls this the summit 
of evil. Verse 32, who knowing the righteous judgment of God 
that those who practice such things are deserving of death, 
not only do the same, but also approve of those who practice 
them. It's not enough that we are damning ourselves. We want 
to try and take everybody else with us. Murray says, to put 
it bluntly, we are not only bent on damning ourselves, but we 
congratulate others in the doing of those things that we know 
have their issue in damnation. I mean, how sick is this? How 
perverse is this? How bad is verse 32 in our society? It's not enough that I'm going 
to try and pave my way to hell. I'm going to take as many people 
with me as I can. When I see them engaged in lawlessness 
and debauchery, I'm going to congratulate them. I'm going 
to approve them. Think about this as a parent. 
If you are not fearing the living and true God, you are not worshipers 
of this God. You are not praisers of this 
God. You do not keep this God in your thoughts. What are you 
doing? You're approving your children's activities. You are 
approving the same sorts of things that Paul is talking about here. 
We are bent not only on damning ourselves, but congratulating 
on others who are on that path with us. You hear it in the jokes 
of men. You know, heaven doesn't want 
me and hell is afraid I'll take over. What are you going to take 
over in hell? What is it that you're going to take over in 
hell? The most pain, the most suffering, the most weeping, 
the most gnashing of teeth? And look at the jokes of men. 
Yeah, I don't want to go to heaven. I want to go to hell where all 
my friends are and where there's going to be this big party. This 
is just folly and foolishness and wickedness and a celebration 
in ungodliness. It's not enough that we damn 
ourselves. We want to fill hell with persons just like ourselves. Now notice fifthly and finally 
the judgment of God upon idolaters. You see this in verses 24, 26, 
and 28. God gave them over. It's terrifying, 
isn't it? God gave them over. God gave them over three times. In other words, when we profess 
to be wise and we are in reality foolish, when we know that God 
is, but we suppress that truth in unrighteousness, and we don't 
glorify God as God, nor are our hearts thankful, what's God's 
response to that? God gives them over. I would suggest when you see 
a society that looks like verses 29 to 31, you ought not to think 
liberty. You ought not to think freedom. 
You ought not to think sexual revolution. When you see a society 
that looks like verses 29 to 31, you ought to think judgment, 
God's judgment. I marvel when I hear Christians 
say, do you think if we keep going like this, God's going 
to judge us? What do you mean going to judge us? Abortion, 
sodomy, euthanasia, again, just the big three. Let alone drive-by 
shootings, you know, drug use. And, you know, I paint all those 
horrible things, but what about the self-righteousness? That's 
bad, too. God condemns self-righteousness. 
Polished people that show up at church, look like they have 
everything going on, and yet they are dead to the Lord God 
Most High. When you see societies like this, 
the question is not, are we going to be judged? The question is, 
or rather the declaration is, this is evidence that God has 
given us up. He's given us over. Van Til describes 
hell as a soundproof exclusion chamber. And it is, in a sense, 
similar to what we find here. God gives them up. You continue 
in your rebellion, you continue in your folly, you continue in 
your lack of glorifying God and being thankful, then God will 
judicially heart it. God will give them up to vile 
passions. Verse 29, as they did not like 
to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them up. Back in 24, 
therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness. So we see 
the people exchange the truth for idols, God gives them up. 
The people exchange the truth for a lie, God gave them up. The people exchanged the natural 
use for the unnatural. What happens? God gave them up. 
Again, Psalm 106. Therefore, after highlighting 
the idolatry of Israel, Psalm 106 verses 40 and 41, The wrath of the Lord was kindled 
against his people, so that he abhorred his own inheritance, 
and he gave them into the hand of the Gentiles, and those who 
hated them ruled over them." You see, essentially, Paul is 
rehearsing what was true in the nation of Israel. This is true 
respecting the Gentiles. In his presentation of the good 
news, he starts with the bad news, that God's wrath is revealed 
from heaven. against all ungodliness and unrighteousness 
of man. He then gives specific detailed 
information as to what that ungodliness looks like. It looks like men 
who knew God but rejected Him. It looks like men who profess 
themselves to be wise but they are in reality fools. They are 
men who have exchanged the glory of God for something that is 
creature. And then all of the unrighteous 
practices that follow as a result of their pre-commitment, or of 
their fundamental commitment to oppose the living and true 
God. You see, I believe that the Apostle's argument here is 
impeccable, sets the stage for what he'll do in Romans 321, 
but now the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to 
faith. What are some things that we ought to learn as we enter 
into a new year? We wonder what to preach, you 
know, as we're entering into a new year. Should it be happy? 
Should it be peppy? For me, it should be idolatry. 
This is a perennial problem. This is an issue. This is a reality. Not just with your neighbors 
next door, but as we look through some concluding observations, 
I think it's a problem that all of us have to deal with. Where 
do we spend our time? What gets our energy? What is 
most special to us? In the first place, we ought 
to consider the effect of idolatry. What effect does it have upon 
the worshiper? There's a great book by Greg 
Beal called We Become What We Worship, A Biblical Theology 
of Idolatry. And he points out, as we read 
in Psalm 115, that What you revere, you resemble, 
either for ruin or restoration. Let me just repeat that. What 
you revere, that means what you worship, you resemble, you become 
like, either for ruin or restoration. Do you notice in Psalm 115 what 
it says concerning those who worship idols? Those who worship 
them become like them. You ever think that's a curious 
explanation for idols? They have ears, but they do not 
hear. They have eyes, but they do not 
see. They have noses, but they do 
not smell. They have mouths, but they do 
not taste. You ever notice the indictment, 
say, of the prophet Isaiah upon Israel? Hearing, you will not 
hear, and seeing, you will not see. Why is that? Because they're 
committed to idols, they become like their idols, and as a result, 
they're going to reject the word of the prophet. This is a reality. What you revere, you will resemble, 
either for ruin or restoration. When we revere and worship God, 
what should be happening? We should be being conformed 
under the image of his son. We ought to be growing in the 
grace and in the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. We spend time 
with God, we worship God, we praise God, we honor God, we 
love God. What should we look like as those 
who spend time with God? When you spend time with Baal, 
guess what? You like to have sexual intercourse. 
outside of marriage. When you spend time with Baal, 
you're full of emotion. When you spend time with Baal, 
the center of operation is below the waist. When you spend time 
with the idols described in the scripture, you become like them. 
What's another indictment of Israel through the prophets? 
And again, Beal teases all this out in beautiful detail. What's 
another thing that prophets often say to the children of Israel? 
You stiff-necked. Use stiff neck. What else is 
stiff neck? Animals that need yolks, don't 
they? Things like calves. Isn't that what Israel danced 
around in front of God at Horeb in Exodus 32? They became like 
what they worship. The man who's addicted to drugs 
or the man who's addicted to whatever the particular, we can 
actually see transformation coming over him or her. You can see 
them becoming like that which they worship. The effect of idolatry 
is degrading upon the person. It doesn't have a remedial benefit. 
You don't worship the idol and become better. You don't worship 
the idol and become more fulfilled, a better you. No, you become 
degraded by that thing which is false. You pour your efforts 
and your energies into that and you end up being like it rather 
than like God. The types of idolatry. There's 
a whole bunch of different things we can worship, isn't there? 
I think of the types of idolatry formally. There's a theological 
rebellion, isn't there? What's the first commandment 
say? You shall have no other gods before me. To worship anything 
that is not God is idolatry. To reject the true and living 
God for Molech, for Baal, for Asherah, modern state for comfort, 
for peace, for security, for family. To substitute the living 
and true God with anything else is theological rebellion. Then 
there's theological innovation, and I think this is where churches 
need to be very careful. The second commandment forbids 
us from worshiping the true God in a false manner. You see, we 
are to worship the true God truly. We're to worship the one and 
only God the way that he describes in the scriptures. We're not 
to be innovators, we're not to be creative, we're not to forsake 
those things that he has determined are acceptable worship and substitute 
in its place those things which bring me happiness. That's a 
problem, I suspect. And then there's theological 
utilitarianism. Worshipping a God to get what 
we want. Garden variety utilitarianism. What brings me the most joy, 
the most happiness, and the most pleasure? I saw this with Ahaz 
recently in 2 Chronicles. You don't need to necessarily 
turn there, but king of Israel, Ahaz. He sacrificed to the gods 
of Damascus, which had defeated him, saying, Because the gods 
of the kings of Syria helped them, I will sacrifice to them 
that they may help me. Seems a logical position, doesn't 
it? The gods of Syria help Syria, 
so I'll throw some sacrifices their way, so I'll get a little 
bit of that help. It has the semblance of a logical 
coherence to it, but it's theologically wrong. It's wicked. It's utilitarian. It's seeking to get things, and 
whichever God promises, I will be right there with my hand out. 
I love what the chronicler says concerning this practice. He 
says, because the gods of the kings of Syria helped them, I 
will sacrifice to them that they may help me, but they were the 
ruin of him and of all Israel. In Paul's words, God gave them 
over. What are some responses by the 
believer to this perennial problem of idolatry? In the first place, 
we need to know the truth. I wonder how many people out 
there are worshiping an idol under the name of Yahweh. You 
say, well, that could never happen. That's precisely what happened 
at Horeb. See, people say, I love Jesus. 
Well, someone has to ask the question, what Jesus are you 
talking about? Because the Jesus that is oftentimes 
depicted out there, and I don't just mean at that neighbor's 
house, I mean out there and can be entertained in here, is not 
the Jesus that has any resemblance to the Jesus of the Bible. This is a reality. If we don't 
know God, we're not going to worship him. If we don't understand 
Him, if we don't know Him in His being, in His attributes, 
if we don't understand the scriptural presentation of God, and I'm 
not saying you need to be John Owen before you can worship. 
You need to pass a 300-question test and write 10 essays before 
you come in here and work, and I'm not saying that. Brethren, 
when did the church adopt the mentality that it's the least 
amount of information that we need? What's the fewest propositions 
I can believe and be okay? That's the wrong question. Don't 
I get to grow in this knowledge? Don't I get to learn? Don't I 
get to get into the scriptures and understand this God so that 
I can love Him and worship Him accordingly? We need to exercise 
caution. This is how John ends his first 
epistle. I've already pointed it out. 
Little children, keep yourselves from idols. There is false religion 
out there. And when John says that in 1 
John 5.21, we think heathen idols, we think pagan idols, we think 
totems or sticks or stones or whatnot. But John in 1 John is 
dealing with the anti-Christian heresy, dealing with anti-Christ. John's point is probably more 
doctrinal. Little children, keep yourselves 
from the idols of those who deny that Jesus has come in the flesh. 
Keep yourselves from the idols of those who deny that Jesus 
is the Christ. Little children, keep yourselves 
from the idols of a preacher who goes up and makes up lies 
about Jesus. As well, the idol of Mammon. 
You know, if we were in Ethiopia or in the Sudan or somewhere 
else, we'd still need to preach against the idol of Mammon. Sin 
is sin no matter where you're at. But in an affluent North 
America, we gotta guard our hearts here, brethren. It's not wrong 
to work hard. It's not wrong to be compensated 
for hard work. The Bible puts that upon the people of 
God. Do you see a man who excels in his work? He will stand before 
kings. What's Paul's point to Timothy 
in 1 Timothy 6? Command those who are rich in this present 
age. He doesn't say, tell them to get rid of all their money, 
divest themselves of all their loot and shave their heads and 
go sing at the airport. He says, command them not to 
be haughty, not to trust in uncertain riches, but to share with those 
in need. So there's a doctrine of hard 
work, there's a doctrine of recompense in the Bible that God is pro 
But there's also within us that tendency that C.S. Lewis spoke 
of. You see a man, and he's making 
his way in the world through hard work and prosperity and 
diligence. Lewis says, what is imperceptible, 
though, is that the world is often making its way in his heart. So be careful. You cannot love 
God and man. The third place is response by 
believers, necessity of exercise and caution, The idol of self. We saw this in 2 Timothy 3 too. 
Men will be lovers of themselves. Beal quotes David Wells on this 
point concerning self. So I think this is the last idol 
to die for all of us. You say, I don't worship sticks, 
I don't worship stones, I don't worship money, I don't have any, 
I don't worship sex, I don't worship drugs, I don't worship 
all those things. But there's something very fond about that 
person looking back at you in the mirror. There is something 
in us that is devoted to that person in the mirror. There is 
that attachment, and certainly there ought to be this love yourselves 
sort of mentality, not, you know, I'm great and selfie sticks and 
the whole spiel, but this devotion and narcissism that oftentimes 
entangles up souls is something that is idolatrous. Listen to 
Wells. Much of the church today, especially 
that part of it which is evangelical, is in captivity to this idolatry 
of the self. This is a form of corruption 
far more profound than the list of infractions that typically 
pop into our minds when we hear the word sin. We are trying to 
hold at bay the gnats of small sins while swallowing the camel 
of self. It is idolatry as pervasive and 
as spiritually debilitating as were many of the entanglements 
with pagan religions recounted for us in the Old Testament. 
That this devotion to the self seems not to be like that older 
devotion to a pagan god blinds the church to its own unfaithfulness. He says, the end result, however, 
is no less devastating because the self is no less demanding. It is as powerful an organizing 
center as any god or goddess on the market. I think he's nailed 
this. The contemporary church is whoring 
after this God as assiduously as the Israelites in their darker 
days. It is baptizing as faith the 
pride that leads us to think much about ourselves and much 
of ourselves. I love what Paul says in 2 Corinthians 
5 in terms of Christ and his gospel. and he died for all that 
those who live should live no longer for, not Baal, not Asherah, 
not Mammon, but should live no longer for themselves. This is a perennial problem, 
brethren, for all of us. As well said, it is as pervasive 
as reading through a 1 Samuel, or reading through a Judges, 
or reading through Chronicles, and seeing Israel going a-whoring 
after these false idols. We are wrapped up in ourselves. We are narcissistic. We love 
ourselves. We tend to ourselves. We pamper 
ourselves. We cater to ourselves. The glory 
of the Christian gospel tells us it doesn't have to be that 
way. You see, to worship this creature 
is as bad as worshiping any other creature. There is this fine 
line between a biblical estimation of oneself and a healthy care 
for oneself and the devotion that is condemned by God. Little 
children. Little children, keep yourselves 
from idols. We need to be careful in this 
area. Of course, we can mention the 
idol of pleasure, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God. That 
kind of goes hand in hand with self, doesn't it? We love ourselves, 
so we love pleasure. We love ourselves, so everything 
has to go well for us. We love ourselves, so we sort 
of manipulate life and control everything to bring mass pleasure 
to ourselves. The only antidote to idolatry 
for the believer is the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus, 
keep me near the cross, sought to be our daily plea. God, I 
feel this tendency. I sing it when we sing 400. I'm 
prone to wander, prone to leave the God that I love. It's a Christian 
who wrote that particular hymn. Prone to wander, prone to leave 
the God I love. Lord, in heaven, in 2016, at 
the throne of grace, we're going to pray, Lord, keep us from this. Keep us from this devotion to 
self that is unholy and ungodly and unrighteous. Lord, keep me 
from this devotion to pleasure. And certainly, God, keep me from 
Baal. Keep me from Asherah. Keep me 
from Molech. Keep me from that which is not 
God. Brethren, we need to be as prayerful 
about these sorts of things as we are for all the other sins 
in our lives. Lord, help me not to look upon a woman alas. Lord, 
help me not to be proud in my heart. Lord, help me to keep 
the Sabbath day holy. Lord, help me to be subordinate 
to governing authorities. Why do we pray those things but 
we'll never pray, God, keep me from idols? Keep me from those 
things which are determined to bring me down. That ought to 
be our plea. So the antidote for the believer 
is the cross of Christ. The antidote for the unbeliever, 
guess what the answer is? The cross of Christ. Believe 
on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved. This is the 
most certain way of killing idolatry in your life, is to come to the 
Lord. I love what Paul says in Thessalonians. We have, by the grace of God, 
Turn from our useless idols to the true and living God. Isn't 
that beautiful imagery? We have turned from our useless 
idols to the true and living God. The only way to make that 
turn is by grace, looking unto Jesus Christ, the author and 
finisher of faith. Believe on Him. The Bible says 
you will be saved. Do not persist in rebellion. 
Do not persist in idolatry. Do not continue to revel in that 
which is not God. This is a sad and pathetic picture 
that Paul paints concerning man. This is man in Romans 1. He's 
not describing dogs. He's not describing animals. 
He's not describing oxen. He's not describing beasts. Sure, 
I've told you before, when R.C. Sproul said something on KKLA 
concerning the wickedness of babies. He said, babies are worse 
than a viper, worse than a rat. And everybody freaks out and 
says, what do you mean, R.C. Sproul? How could you say my 
little baby's worse than a rat? You know that a rat does what 
God made rats to do? Rats do not reject God. Rats 
do not sin against God. Rats do not rebel against God. But of babies, and I'm not picking 
on babies this morning, I'm trying to illustrate a picture here. 
Psalm 58, they go estranged from the womb, speaking lies as soon 
as they are born. It is terrible that we are described 
in Romans 1. This is us. This is how we look. This is what we're about. Suppressing 
truth. Rejecting God. Pursuing wickedness 
and evil. This is terrible. This is, in 
many respects, the cesspool of the entire scripture. And that's 
because it describes man and Adam. Man and sin. Romans 3.21. But now the righteousness of 
God is revealed. Through the cross of our Lord 
Jesus, the scripture says, believe and you will be saved. This bad 
news precedes the good news, but the good news is most blessed, 
most wonderful, and most glorious. God takes the degraded bale worshipper, 
God takes the degraded drug worshipper, whatever worshipper it was, and 
he delivers them. He frees them. He gives them 
life eternal. He sets them on a new path. Do 
you remember this? You people here that are converted, 
that have been by grace saved? What were you before? What have 
you become? What has God's grace in your 
life done for you? It has set you free. It has brought 
liberty. It has brought peace. It has 
brought joy. It has brought contentment. It has brought safety, stability, 
security. All the stuff we tried to fetch 
from the idols before and we came up wanting. Only in Christ 
is peace given. Only in Christ is peace secure. Only in Christ is peace provided. And it is by grace through faith 
in Him. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank you for the word of God. We pray that you would go 
with us now. We pray that you'd watch over 
us as individuals, as families, as a church in this coming year. Let us take John's admonition 
to heart. Let us keep ourselves from idols 
by your grace and for your glory. We pray the gospel would be proclaimed 
throughout the earth today. We pray that many would come 
to know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior. And we pray this 
in his most blessed name. Amen.