Romans 1

Roman 1: 18-23

Paul says God's wrath is against the ungodly.  For they surely have known God's greatness.  He has not hidden it.  Men knew God but did not glorify God, they were not thankful.  They said they were wise but became fools for they changed the image of God into images made by men.

So here is what I see in these 5 verses.

God has revealed himself to us.  There are some that know or have known about God but choose instead to walk the other way.  They know and see all that God has done for them but refuse to give God thanks and honor for what He has given.  They have trusted in themselves and now worship other things such as other people or animals.

God has revealed Himself to us.  "His invisible attributes are clearly seen" (vs 20)

What are His attributes?

First what is an attribute?

Websters dictionary says:

1 - an inherent characteristic

2 - an object closely associated with or belonging to a specific person

3 - a word ascribing a quality

syn- quality

So what does it say about His attributes? (vs 20)

 "His eternal power and Godhead"

So how is His eternal power clearly seen?

-Prove, beyond a shadow of a doudt, tht God did not make the universe.  He made the heavens and the earth and all that is in between.  We could talk about the "Big Bang Theory" but that is a subject for another time.

How does God prove His Godhead or Divine Nature?

First in His Son dying on the cross.  He also led His children, the Israelites out of Egypt.  It's His love for all of us.  We know it and feel it, just some choose to reject it.

So what has happened to those that have rejected God?

Read vs 24-31

God gave them over to all there lusts of heart.  They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, even though they knew the truth.  They also knew that in the end they will die to themsleves.  They even approve of others who practice as they do.

Romans (Paul) even talks about that God gave them up to vile passions.  (Have you noticed that vile and evil use the same letters?)  Paul describes this as a woman with a woman, and a man with a man. (Homosexuality)  Yes, it was alive and kicking even 2000 years ago.  But what does Paul say about that? (vs 27) "And receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due."

You can decide for yourself what that means.

Paul continues that what they are dong is wrong and they deserve death.  Yet they continue in their sin.

OK, so what about us?

We know these things that were mentioned in vs 29-31 are wrong and yet we do some of them.  Maybe not all but some and some of us approve of others doing the same things we do.

So do we not deserve the wrath of God?  Don't we deserve His punishment of death?  Read the list again, surely you are on there somewhere.

And this is what Paul is saying in that first chapter of Romans, that all of us are desirving of death.  How then, shall we ever get out of this?

Let's look at chapter 2.