Sermon Notes - Romans 1:18-25 - God's Truth - Littleby Baptist Church - July 28, 2024

1.        We ended last week with a great reminder.

a.        One that I pray daily or close to it.         

2.        Romans 1:17

a.        ‘The righteous will live by faith.’

b.       We as followers of Jesus.

c.        Those that would be included in who Paul has called Saints in his letter to the Romans.

d.       Not because we are perfect, but because of the power of our God.

e.        It is through His power that salvation is offered to each person who walks this earth.

f.          It is through the work of Jesus that we have the Hope of a life eternal that is beyond anything we can imagine.

g.        It is because of this Hope that we are righteous and that we are to live by faith.

h.        That we are to trust in our Jesus.

i.          Remembering that He is in control.

j.          It is humbling to realize that we bring absolutely nothing to the table.

k.        It is all God.

l.          Which is why we are to live by faith.

m.     To abide in Him.

n.        Let Him guide our steps.

o.        His love for us is so great.

p.       That He will never leave us or forsake us.

3.        Our challenge is to come to God as empty as we can, trusting that He has our best interest at heart.

a.        Not easy.

b.       But what we should stive for if we want His will to be done in our lives not ours.

4.        Let’s continue…

5.        Romans 1:18

a.        Big change from verse 17 where the righteous live by faith.

b.       Here we find that the wrath of God being revealed to those who are godless and unrighteous.

c.        The Gospel message that Paul is proclaiming to the Roman church helps those who have faith to be set apart, to be righteous.

d.       At the same time, it reveals wickedness when people suppress the truth.

e.        When we think of the truth that is Jesus Christ, one can either accept Him or reject Him.

f.          Accepting Him brings salvation, an amazing gift that we do not deserve.

g.        Rejecting Him, suppressing the truth of who He is and what he has done, brings horrible judgement.

h.        Accept Jesus the one the Father sent through Faith or experience God’s wrath being revealed.

i.          It is one or the other.  

6.        Romans 1:19

a.        What can be known about God is evident, it has been revealed to us.

b.       Simply look outside and you see God.

c.        He has revealed Himself to us, to the entire human race through creation.

d.       There should be no doubt that God exist.

e.        Simply seeing His creation should be enough to know that He is an awesome God.

f.          Denying that God created the world and everything in it, is suppressing the truth and results in the revealing of God’s wrath.

g.        That was true to the pagans of Paul’s day.

h.        It is true to those who teach the big-bang theory or some other form of creation and evolution today.

i.          It is true to those who distort the word of God.

7.        Romans 1:20

a.        Psalm 19:1-6

b.       We may not be able to see the face of God.

c.        But we see Him around us.

d.       His eternal power.

e.        His divine nature.

f.          The sun gives us heat and light.

g.        Water that can sustain us or take a life.

h.        The peace that comes at the end of the day during the sunset.

i.          The refreshment that comes with the dew in the morning.

j.          God has revealed Himself to us in so many ways.

k.        We are without excuse.

l.          God is real.

m.     This has been revealed to every human through God’s creation.

n.        The question is will we pay attention.

o.        Will we open our eyes and see it or suppress it?

p.       Accept the Gospel or the wrath of God?

q.       Those are the choices before each of us.

8.        Romans 1:21

a.        Some people recognized that there was a God.

b.       That some grand being created all that there is.

c.        But they did not honor or worship Him.

d.       They did not Thank God for what He had given them.

e.        Over time as they suppressed the truth and rejected God, their hears were darkened.

f.          A sad state to be in.

g.        The more one turns away from the truth, the more one embraces lies.

h.        The more one rejects God the easier it is to take suppressing the truth to the next level.

i.          John 3:19-20

j.          God can and does change hearts, but sadly we see people slide down the path of rejecting God and His truth.

9.        Romans 1:22

a.        Scripture tells us that the fear of the Lord leads to knowledge and wisdom.

b.       The world tells us that wisdom can be achieved in many other ways.

c.        Here we see that those that claim to be wise, while rejecting or suppressing God’s truth are fools.

d.       Refusing to acknowledge that God exists when you look at creation around us, is foolish.

e.        Refusing to worship the One True God and having faith In Jesus, results in an eternity in agony. Foolish.

f.          Realizing there is a God and choosing to worship some man-made fake god or idea instead of the True Almighty is Foolish.

10.   Romans 1:23

a.        Those that suppress the truth are choosing idols over God.

b.       In Paul’s day having household idols in the shape of some animal was very common.

c.        Today, it might not be so obvious, but we have a lot of idols that take the place of God.

d.       They may not be shiny objects we bow down to.

e.        But we have things that we put between us and God.

11.   It is easy for us to look outside of these walls and think this is for everyone outside.

a.        But we need to remember that Paul is writing to the Saints in Rome.

b.       Followers of Christ in the Roman Church.

c.        He is not calling any of them out specifically like we see in the Corinthian letters.

d.       But he is still pointing out things that they need to be aware of.

e.        Things that they had to be careful of letting creep into the church.

12.   We need to make sure we do not let worldly thoughts and beliefs wrongly influence us.

a.        We have seen it happen in recent years.

b.       Churches and denominations that have once held Biblical beliefs on marriage, no longer do.

c.        Churches that used to teach that Jesus was the only way to the Father, now say there are multiple paths.

d.       Recently we have even seen a new house church in Mexico that says Jesus may be a male or a female.

e.        Individuals who let sports or other activities be more important than their faith in Jesus.

f.          We have to hold on to the truth so that we are not led astray.

g.        So that we do not suppress the truth.

13.   Those that turn from God will not like the outcome.

a.        On this side of eternity or the other.

14.   Romans 1:24-25

a.        When one rejects God over and over again it gets easier to ignore God’s call to you.

b.       The CSB says ‘delivered’, but a better translation would be that God hands one over to their desires.

c.        Genesis 19 is a good example of this.

d.       The angels came down to Sodom and Lot convinced them to stay with him.

e.        The men of the town wanted to abuse the angels.

f.          They refused Lot’s daughters.

g.        They were obsessed.

h.        They were trying to break down the door.

i.          But the angels struck them with blindness.

j.          This was not God forcing them to sin.

k.        It was simply God letting them continue in the sinful ways they had been living.

l.          Reject God long enough and wickedness will consume your desires.

15.   It is the Creator that is to be praised forever.

a.        It is God who is worthy of all of our worship and praise.

b.       He is the One who created all that we can see and touch.

c.        Jesus is the one who died on the cross for us.

d.       Jesus is the one who rose from the dead giving all who believe new life.

16.   The world around us declares the truth that God is real to all who are paying attention.

a.        We need to open our eyes and see God’s awesomeness.

b.       We need to make sure we are holding on to His truth.

c.        Ensuring that we stay focused on Him.

17.   If your focus has been on an idol.

a.        Whether it is one in the church or outside of it and you want to turn to Jesus.

b.       I would love to pray with you.

c.        The alter is open if you would like to join me during our final song.