We’re continuing to look at Paul’s view of Christless society in the book of Romans. He’s talking about those who have refused the knowledge of God.
Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.
Romans 1:28
This is an interesting verse. It literally says that these people did not approve of God in their knowledge. They know what God would require of them, so they would just rather not think about Him.
Because of this, God yielded to their wishes and allowed them to operate with a worthless way of thinking. This is the cause of what we see in our society right now.
Simply put, the knowledge of God is not politically correct. As soon as we start talking about God’s way of doing things, those who have rejected God try to shut us down. It seems like we can tolerate any belief system except Christianity.
What we get as a result, is a society that looks just like what Paul describes here.
They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Romans 1:29-32
I don’t think I need to describe each of these things individually. You get the point. But I do want to talk about a couple of them that I think are very applicable to our generation.
The first is envy. We live in a very envious society. That’s the basis of our advertising industry. They show us what others have and what we should want. Then we spend money we don’t have to buy things we don’t need.
Another area is deceit. This is rampant in our day. Now that I’m a senior, I get many annoying phone calls. People call, who claim to be the IRS, police, or other government agencies, who are scammers just trying to get me to give them cash.
Another big issue is God-haters. In my experience, there are very few true atheists. I, personally, have never met a true atheist. What do I mean by that?
I think a true atheist is someone who put all the facts together and came to a conclusion that there’s no God. Instead, what we see are people who look at the hurt that they or others have gone through. Then, as a result, conclude that they can’t believe in a God who would allow that to happen.
I’ve even talked with a nationally known atheist. But it was clear from the conversation that she was a God-hater rather than a true atheist. There are many in that condition, who simply like the label of “atheist”.
In all of this, I think it’s the last phrase that says it all. Those who do things that are obviously wrong are approved and applauded. That’s the basis of much of our entertainment industry.
Just look at the TV shows and movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the gaming scenarios we participate in. Many of them promote, or allow, a celebration of evil actions. Murder, hatred, and the occult are the themes in much of our cultural activities.
As Christians, we need to be careful to continually guard our spirits. Spending time in the presence of the Holy Spirit is needed to keep ourselves clean from the sin that’s all around us. We must be the light of Christ shining in our darkened society.
Question: How do you keep yourself set apart to God in this culture?
© 2020 Nick Zaccardi
The Spirit and the Word 