STEPS THAT LEAD TO DESTRUCTION

Rom. 1:18-32

By David J. Riggs

Intro.
   A. In Rom. 1:18-32, Paul gives the step-by-step procedure of the  
      fall of the Gentiles.
   B. The same steps have been followed by many today--by certain
      individuals, societies, various segments of society, and       
      sometimes by whole nations.

I. Rom. 1:18
   A. Paul begins by declaring the revelation of the wrath of God.
      1. The idea of the wrath of God is not a popular concept in our
         society.
   B. The wrath Paul describes is not an arbitrary or irrational     
      passion.
      1. Though God is indeed angry, His anger is provoked by, and
         directed against, the evil of men.
      2. God's wrath is revealed against man's ungodliness and
         unrighteousness.
   C. These evil men suppress (hold down) the truth by
      unrighteousness.
      1. The truth would have more success in the hearts of men if
         there were not were evil people who suppress it.

II. Rom. 1:19-20
   A. Verse 19 -- The next verse shows how God has shown it to them.
   B. We can't literally see God, but we can see Him (even His       
      invisible attributes) as He is declared in the things which He 
      made.
      1. The more man examines living things, the more he sees how
         complex they really are.
         a. These complex things demand intelligence; and not only
            that, but tremendous intelligence. In them, the power of
            God is revealed.
   C. Verse 20 states, "Being understood by the things which are
      made."
      1. The axioms: "Anything made, demands a maker; a design
         demands a designer; a building, a builder" have never been
         refuted.
         a. We can understand that if there is a universe, there is a
            Creator who made the universe. The universe cries out
            loudly about its maker. Psalm 19:1-4a
         b. We can understand that if there is life on this earth,   
            there is a giver of life.
            (1) The axiom: "Life came from life" has never been
                refuted."
            (2) A certain scientist put together what he thought
                was life, and said, "See, life can be produced
                without a life-force." One of his students said, "I
                beg you pardon, sir, but you are the life-force
                behind this thing."
   D. Anyone who does not believe in the existence of God, is without
      excuse.
      1. When people are not persuaded by the evidence, it does not
         indicate an insufficiency in the evidence. The insufficiency
         rather is in them.
      2. Modern intellectuals surmise, "You haven't convinced us
         there is a God; therefore, your proof is insufficient and
         terribly weak."
         a. Their disagreement and opposition is not with us, but
            with God.
         b. God says the evidence is sufficient, and He holds all
            accountable.

III. Rom. 1:21
   A. "Because, although they knew God."
      1. Again, Paul reaffirms that men "knew" God.
         a. The problem is not failure to honor what was not
            known, but a refusal to honor what was clearly known.
         b. Many people don't want to know God because if they
            knew God, they recognize they are subject to a Supreme
            Being who requires certain things of them.
         c. They don't want to obey God, so they devise in their
            own minds that God does not exist.
      2. Paul added in verse 28, "...They did not like to retain God 
         in their knowledge."
         a. God expects us, once we know Him, to retain Him in
            our knowledge.
         b. The wicked do not like to think about God. Psalm 10:4
   B. "They did not glorify Him as God."
      1. God wants us to glorify Him. In fact, our very purpose for
         existence is to glorify Him.
      2. We were not put here to make things pleasant for ourselves
         and enjoy life to its fullest.
      3. 1 Cor. 6:20
         a. We glorify God by our works. 1 Pet. 4:10-11
         b. The flip side, we can deny Him by our works. Titus 1:16
   C. "Nor were thankful."
      1. After our labor and toil to obtain our needs, we should
         remember that it is God who gives all. 
      2. We, as Christians, ought to be especially thankful. We have 
         a knowledge of truth; we are children of God. Matt.         
         13:16-17; 1 John 3:1; Col. 3:15,17; Heb. 13:15
      3. We should not only be thankful, but express our gratitude to
         God.
         a. It is in Him that we live, move and have our being. 
         b. All blessings flow from Him. James 1:17
   D. "But became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts 
      were darkened."
      1. Their reasoning becomes futile because their primary premise
         is faulty.
         a. Their thinking ends in darkness because they abhor light
            at the beginning.
         b. Had they first acknowledged the clear presence of light,
            the fatal process of reasoning would have never begun.
      2. When we begin to reason out in our own minds the answer
         to life's most perplexing questions, we become fools.
         a. Jer. 10:23 -- We take this to mean that man cannot
            direct his steps in the proper way. He cannot, when he
            relies on himself alone.
            (1) Our schools of higher learning, in and of
                themselves, have provided nothing.
            (2) When they fail to recognize the proper place of the
                Eternal God, they become darkened and futile in
                their reasoning.
         b. We are warned. Col. 2:8; 1 Tim. 6:20-21

IV. Rom. 1:22-23,25
   A. The foolishness of man is manifested in the exchanging of the
      glorious God for idols.
      1. Think for a moment how foolish idolatry really is.
         a. An idol can't think, speak, hear, move. It has no power
            to act, or to provide aid. Isa. 44:15-17
         b. Yet, in every generation men have worshiped these
            things.
         c. Why would one trust in these, rather than the Great
            Eternal God?
      2. Just because we don't bow down to an idol does not mean
         we are not idolaters. Eph. 5:5; Phil. 3:19; 2 Tim. 3:4
         a. If we are putting our own interest and pleasures first,  
            we are just as much idolaters as those ancient people    
            were.
   B. "Worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator..."
      1. Higher learning today has led man to humanism, which is the
         basis of communism.
         a. Humanism defined: "1. Theo. the tenet denying the
            divinity of Christ. 2 Ethics. a. The doctrine that man's
            obligations are limited to, and dependent alone on, man
            and human relations. b. the doctrine that man's nature is
            perfectible through his own efforts without divine
            grace." (Webster's New Collegiate Dict.)
      2. "Mother nature," that mysterious fictional character, is
         becoming very prominent now days.
         a. Just the other day, I was watching a wild-life program,
            and the narrator talked about how mother nature had
            designed a certain animal to do certain things.
         b. "Mother Nature" is not a person; she can't think, hear,
            speak, react to man's problems; she can't provide aid.

V. Rom. 1:24,26-28
   A. They rejected God, and He abandoned them to do as they
      pleased.
      1. They didn't want to know God, or to think about God, so
         God just turned them over to their own foolishness and
         debasement.
   B. When man moves away from God, he succumbs to gross
      immorality.
      1. Someone has said, "If we teach our young people that they
         are nothing but animals (over millions of years they evolved
         from the lower primates), we shouldn't be surprised if they
         begin to live like animals."
   C. "Receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was
      due."
      1. This refers to the degeneracies and the disease brought on  
         by such practices.
      2. Obey God and live. Disobey God in these gross immoralities,
         and you will have aids or some other kind of killer disease.
   D. Read: 26-32
      1. Deep down in their hearts they know that God punishes such
         things.
         a. They do them anyway and enjoy seeing others do them.
      2. They may laugh when they and others do this wickedness,
         but God Himself will have the last laugh. Eph. 5:6; Gal.    
         6:7-8

Concl.
   A. It is easy to see the steps of digression in this text.
      1. First step: They glorified Him not as God, neither were
         thankful.
      2. Second step: Became vain in their reasonings.
      3. Third step: Turned to idolatry.
      4. Fourth step: Began to engage in gross immorality and
         wickedness.
         a. Man is not born totally depraved, but he becomes that
            way himself.
         b. An individual is not born with the wrong genes which
            makes him a homosexual. Through his own degeneracy
            he becomes that way himself.
   B. Let us take heed regarding the first step, and the others will 
      not follow.
      1. Let us glorify God. Express our gratitude to Him. Retain
         Him in our knowledge.
      2. When we do so, these others things will not be part of our
         lives.

Chart:
Steps of Digression
                                           
First step: They glorified Him not as God, neither were thankful.
                    
Second step: Became vain in their reasonings.
                  
Third step: Turned to idolatry.
                   
Fourth step: Began to engage in gross immorality and wickedness.