Romans 1:32

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:32

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

32 Who [hostis] knowing [epiginosko] the judgment [dikaioma] of God [theos], that [hoti] they which commit [prasso] such things [toioutos] are [eisi] worthy [axios] of death [thanatos], not [ou] only [monon] do [poieo] the same [autos], but [alla] [kai] have pleasure [suneudokeo] in them that do [prasso] them.  KJV-Interlinear

32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.   ESV

Who, ‘hostis,’ referring to all people, who are knowingly committing sins, knowingly ignoring Gods mandates, knowingly disregarding Gods mandates, knowingly rejecting the truths of life that are portrayed as so obvious that they are considered to be natural or basic to human common sense, and common knowledge.

Knowing, ‘epiginosko,’ means to know fully, or instinctively, or knowing inceptively, which simply means that they have known from the very beginning of their transgression.  People do not engage in sinful activity and then suddenly discover that what they are doing is wrong.  Surprise. 

They knew it from the beginning, before, during and after and continue to know that their activity or thoughts or whatever it is, was and is wrong.

There are no excuses.

So, whether you are telling little white lies, engaging in alternative patterns of life, have your nose drifting higher than others, ignoring Gods mandates, or tossing bombs into public places, you know, that what you are doing is wrong.  And all of the arguments and justifications and excuses are just an additional part, the pretend part, of that transgression.

The judgment of God, ‘dikaioma,’ refers not to the actions of punishment, but refers to the opinion and viewpoint of God.

The world is full of opposites like right and wrong, up and down, good and evil and so forth.  No one can live in this world and not know the depravity of poverty, the opulence of wealth, the courtesy and manners and decency as opposed to disrespect and bias and prejudice and so forth.

The world is saturated with evil, but it is also saturated with truth, which offsets and counters evil.

And not only does everyone know these things, they likewise know the penalties of sins and rejection of truth. That penalty is death, but not a physical death, but a death which is a separation from truth.  And when you separate from truth then you separate yourself from God.

The worst separation from God comes to the unbelievers and the Lake of Fire.

However, even believers can and do reject truth, and their penalty is loss of reward, as well as loss of Gods grace to some extent in this life.  Life can be harsh and cruel and when you have no one in your corner, or rather I should say, when you drive truth out of your corner, then it is just that much harder.

And it is not the matter of saying, you poor thing, it is a matter of, they knew what they were doing, wanted what they were doing and therefore, get and deserve the repercussions of what they have done and are doing.]

There are no innocents in life, no excuses in life.  People do what they do because they want to do them, decide to do them, and then do them.  And, they go in with the full knowledge of all that is involved.

Romans 1:31

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:31

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

31 Without understanding [asunetos], covenantbreakers [asunthetos], without natural affection [astorgos], implacable [aspondos], unmerciful [aneleemon]:  KJV-Interlinear

31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  ESV

Without understanding, ‘asunetos,’ means that a person lacks insight, lacks perspective, lacks knowledge, and in other words they lack the necessary information in order to know something, and in this case, they do not know doctrine, do not know truth, and therefore are fools.

Covenantbreakers, ‘asunthetos,’ means they are faithless, treacherous, breakers of agreements.

Without natural affection, ‘astorgos,’ means incapable of the things that come or should come naturally, like affections, empathy, sympathy, commitment.

Implacable, ‘aspondos,’ means the refusal to listen, the refusal to hear the other side, unteachable, stubborn.

And unmerciful, ‘aneleemon,’ means without compassion, unmerciful, merciless.

So, when the door of a negative attitude is thrown wide open, then these things which we have studied, rush in, into the empty vacuum of the mind.

The mind is a sponge that thirsts for information. Your volition decides which information to allow in to the soul.

Bible doctrine fills up the soul with the right stuff such that is does not thirst, does not hunger, becomes contented and fulfilled.

Rejecting Bible doctrine opens up the soul to the wrong stuff which does not fulfill, does not bring contentment, and leaves the soul lacking all that is really needs.  The soul starves with perpetual hunger and thirst and eventually dies from its own depravation.

While we have some semblance of restraint in this world, then evil cannot have its way, totally.

But one day, God will remove all restraint, and that will demonstrate the extremes in horror, that people are really capable of.  What the world and history has seen thus far, is nowhere close to what the world will see in the Tribulation.

With all of the horrors and evils in this world even now, the world population is still growing by leaps and bounds.  But when the Tribulation begins, then in those just seven very short years, the world population will be reduced to near extinction.

That is the real difference between what people do now and what people are really capable of.

Every person who disregards Bible doctrine, is in effect a co-conspirator and an aid to that which is coming.

Every person who pursues Bible doctrine now, cannot stop the future, but can be separated out from the masses and be fulfilled and completed in themselves for their better and phenomenal now and forever.  And, may even become an example for others, who too, just might advance in their spiritual lives.

Your spiritual life is centered on your spiritual growth and your advancement in Christ, fulfilling your responsibilities and obligations for life.  You are not going to make the world a better place, but you may just help others along in their spiritual lives.

This is the devils world and making a better devils world is a contradiction in terms, and an impossibility, for evil is in itself self-destruction.  And there is no such thing as a better self-destruction. But then fools will argue that it is.

Romans 1:30

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:30

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

30 Backbiters [katalalos], haters of God [theostuges], despiteful [hubristes], proud [huperephanos], boasters [alazon], inventors [epheuretes] of evil things [kakos], disobedient [apeithes] to parents [goneus],  KJV-Interlinear

30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,   ESV

The biggest mistakes that anyone can ever make, is taking God for granted, and assuming that they have nothing more to learn.  The entire thrust of the Bible is to communicate doctrine, to teach doctrine, and to have the individual learn doctrine.  From the gospel to the greater depths of the spiritual life and beyond, all come from the detailed instructions provided by the word of God.

To ignore them, or to presume that you know them, or to remain indifferent toward them is the fools greatest folly.

One has only to look around the see the phenomenal design that God has provided in this world and then recognize the even greater design that He has provided each one of us.

From the most beautiful of people, to the most talented in athletics, in the arts, in the area of intellect and more, God designed it all from nothing but dust.

Look around and say to yourself, God made me and God made them, from dust, and here we all are.  That is our true equality in this physical life.

But in the spiritual world, the differences of this world pale to the differences that will occur when people resist growing up in their spiritual lives, due to the vast array of sins that are more than willing to enter in and take over their souls.

Yesterday, we studied several sin categories, that many will miss the point, in presuming that they do not apply to them, when every one of them applies to the believer who does not take God and the spiritual life seriously.

You do not have to engage in sexual misconduct in order to be a sinner, every disregard of Gods mandates means that you are cheating on Him.  And that is a far more serious transgression than fooling around with silly girls or boys.

And yet there are many more sin categories that can easily be misconstrued as the errors of others, when it is our responsibility to not evaluate others, but to evaluate ourselves.

God is more than able to evaluate everyone and does not need your help.  If He is gracious with you, then He will be gracious with everyone.

Your first order of business is to remember that God owes you nothing, and that you can earn nothing, and that you will never deserve anything.  And yet God deals with you, based on doctrine, not your sincerity or looks or talent, which by the way you did not deserve or gain or earn for yourself, either.

The only thing that stands in the way of God building you into far more than you are capable of yourself, is your refusal to be taught, to learn, to advance in your spiritual life.

And when the vine fails to produce fruit, which simply means when you fail to produce in your spiritual life, then the vine, meaning you, are torn out of the ground as worthless and replaced with someone else who will produce.

This parable has nothing to do with salvation , but has only to do with your loss of eternal reward.  And when the rewards being offered are infinite, then the loss is therefore infinite.  And what kind of fool throws away an infinite treasure?

Slanderers, speak evil of others who are not present. They are cowards unwilling to face their victim.  They speak publically so all can hear, unlike the whisperers who speak in secret.  Cowards all.  Judgmental without the right to judge.  Presuming guilt without even a fair hearing.

Haters of God, is a title that applies to all who are indifferent, who are disobedient, who disregard truth and Gods mandates.  Many are the people who justify themselves, elevate themselves, and yet are the worst of the worst of those who hate God.

Insolent, means disrespectful.  To disrespect is to presume that you are better.  And yet if you pick up two handfuls of dust, from the same ground, which is the better handful?

Haughty is pride.  Not the pride of some legitimate accomplishment, which in itself is a good thing, but the pride of arrogance of oneself.  It is inordinate self-esteem, a conceited attitude, a disdain toward others, a presumption of superiority or entitlement.  It is a presumption that someone owes them recognition, or even that the world owes them something.

Boastful, is the person who claims or presumes something that they do not rightfully possess or are not entitled to.

Inventers of evil, are those who justify sin, and then justify even more sin.  They disregard truth and replace it with untruths.  They promote false ideas as truths, even to the point of stating that it is Gods will.  All religions and most politics, all alternative lifestyles or beliefs, are nothing more than inventions of evil.

Disobedient to parents, is the very first stage of rejection of authority, and ultimately the rejection of the ultimate authority, who is Christ.

There are only two environments in which you can live your life.

The first is of this world, wherein you reject truth or attempt to compromise it to conform to your definitions of truth, and from which you will fail miserably.

The second environment is the spiritual life, wherein you must, repeat, must abide by Gods mandates and design.  Which by the way, is extremely easy to accomplish.  It takes far less energy to follow Gods way, than it does to reject it.

There is no third environment.

You are either following Gods very strict yet easy set of rules, or you are not.

Romans 1:29

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:29

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

29 Being filled with [pleroo] all [pas] unrighteousness [adikia], fornication [porneia], wickedness [poneria], covetousness [pleonexia], maliciousness [kakia]; full [mestos] of envy [phthonos], murder [phonos], debate [eris], deceit [dolos], malignity [kakoetheia]; whisperers [psithuristes],  KJV-Interlinear

29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,   ESV

When a person turns away from God, either by outright rejection or simply through pretense, then the door to a wide array of sins is thrown open.  And the vacuum of the empty life draws them right in, to that empty life.

Paul now lists the many sins, beyond sexual indiscretions, that are prevalent throughout society.

Unrighteousness is the general statement, followed by a list of several of the more common sin categories.

Remember that all sin is against God.  God it truth, therefore all sin is against truth, and therefore sin is not truth, or is a misapplication against truth.  Likewise, all things that are against truth, are sin.  Rejection of truth is in itself a sin.  Disobedience to God is a sin.  Ignoring Gods mandates is sin.

All of the following categories can be applied to ones dysfunctional relationship with God.

Fornication, refers to the general category of all types of illicit sexual activities, or illicit activity as opposed to legitimate activities.  Misguided lust or passion or desire.  Whereas, the proper passion and desire should be directed toward truth.

Wickedness, refers to the desire to injure others.  Someone has done you a wrong and you want to get even by bringing or causing harm against them.

Covetousness, is the desire of having that which belongs to others.  Spiritually mature believers inherit the universe and more.  Anyone who desires to have things, is in conflict with the rights of those who should receive things from God.  God blesses those who are obedient to Him.  The disobedient still want blessings but are not entitled to them.  Therefore, they covet that which they are not entitled to.

Maliciousness, or licentiousness, is a reference to the preference to doing that which is wrong, as opposed to desiring to do that which is right.

Envy, is a reference to the uneasiness, pain and discontent over the happiness or prosperity of another.  Mature believers are blessed, while others who refuse to pursue the path to spiritual maturity, envy those who do.  And this is true of any and all temporal blessings that others have, regardless of their spiritual status.   The non-spiritual person lacks the capacity of understanding as well as the will for acquiring it.

Murder, means more than just the taking of a life, it also incorporates the hate against another, for whatever reason, to wish ill will against them for no good reason.

Debate, is the art of discussion in making the lies of the world equal with truth.  The attempt to justify false things.  Whereas, truth needs no such discussion.

Deceit, involves fraud, misdirection, falsehoods used in order to misguide and mislead others into seeing things your way.  The attempt to hold office at the expense of others.

Malignity, is the intentional misinterpretation of the words or actions of others so as to discredit them or to put them in a bad light.  Self-promotion at the expense of others.

Whisperers, is the form of malicious gossip done in secret.  It is innuendoes that suggest suspicion or wrong doing or something less than acceptable by the gossip or society in general, with no particular or specific example.  They plant the seeds of suspicion or wrong doing in order to bring harm.

Romans 1:28

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:28

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

28 And [kai] even as [kathos] they did [dokimazo] not [ou] like [dokimazo] to retain [echo] God [theos] in [en] their knowledge [epignosis], God [theos] gave [paradidomi] them [autos] over [paradidomi] to [eis] a reprobate [adokimos] mind [nous], to do [poieo] those things which are [katheko] not [me] convenient [katheko];  KJV-Interlinear

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 

ESV

When the Bible says one, two, three, then the fool will inevitably say, the Bible does not say one, two, three.  Because the fool lacks knowledge, because the fool refuses to learn knowledge, and therefore the fool presumes knowledge that is inaccurate and just plain wrong.

And by rejecting Gods word, which is the doorway through which you have to pass, in order to understand what is and what isn’t, then you become a victim of your own decisions.

Lacking truth, means lacking discernment, means lacking orientation to life, and that all leads to worse and worse decisions and circumstances for yourself.

And when you do this for long enough, then God will in fact give you up to your own bad choices.

One to of the best examples of this is Pharaoh.

When Moses came to him and demanded that the people be let go, Pharaoh refused six times.  In every case, the Bible tells us that it was Pharaoh who hardened his own heart.

As we have learned from our study in Ephesians, the hardening of the heart is a callousing over of the soul.  Do this for long enough and the soul becomes blackened out, so to speak.  Once a soul is blackened out, then light can no longer enter.  What remains is death for the individual.

But in Pharaohs case, the next four plagues ended with God hardening Pharaohs heart.  Pharaoh should have been dead after the sixth plague, but God kept him alive for the remainder of the plagues, just to teach us all a very important lesson.  Continued rejection of truth, leads you into a no mans land that you cannot return from on your own.

God is always there, but for some people, there is a line across which they cannot return.  Not because of Gods decision or action, but because of their own hardness of soul and defiance against truth.

Often times the lies of ones beliefs are more important than the living truth of life. And that is a very sad thing.  It takes a very stubborn attitude to get yourself in to that situation, but then it is all of your own doing, never Gods doing.

If you were ever walking out in the desert, all alone, hungry and thirsty and poor, and then entered into a phenomenal banquet with every imaginable food and beverage, and then walked into a Christmas party with every imaginable gift for you, and then walked into a treasure of enormous wealth, and decided to walk away from it all, then that is the perfect example of the fool. 

A fool finds excuses to reject Gods provision and blessings, so that they will end up with nothing and less, all the while believing that they can do better on their own.

Pursuing a self-appointed arrogance or righteousness of personal standards, is the quintessence of sin and evil.

And that is the real risk that everyone takes when they refuse to obey Gods command to learn Bible doctrine, daily.

The word for convenient, ‘katheko,’ means to reach to or to accomplish.  And it is stated clearly here, that whatever you are doing in order to accomplish your own purpose, is not accomplishable.  You cannot achieve your purpose by means of any worldly means.

Romans 1:27

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:27

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

27 And [te] likewise [homoios] also [kai] the men [arrhen], leaving [aphiemi] the natural [phusikos] use [chresis] of the woman [thelus], burned [ekkaio] in [en] their [autos] lust [orexis] one toward another [eis] [allelon]; men [arrhen] with [en] men [arrhen] working [katergazomai] that which is unseemly [aschemosune], and [kai] receiving [apolambano] in [en] themselves [heautou] that recompence [antimisthia] of their [autos] error [plane] which [hos] was meet [dei].  KJV-Interlinear

27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.   ESV

Too many are insulted when it is said that God turns away, but look around and see the crimes of humanity and likewise see no shout or warning cry from heaven that all can hear.  And so God lets humanity choose his own course of lifestyle and does not interfere, except to warn of the repercussions, while humanity ignores the warning.

And whose fault is that?

Long ago, a city names Sodom, was destroyed due to its sins of the extreme.  Homosexuality ran rampant, along with many other forms of perverted activity.  The word, sodomy, came out of that time in history and today is considered a felony.

However, when society is examined these days, these types of unnatural human interaction, as the Bible calls them, are treated as the new normal lifestyle.  So much so, that there are numerous television shows and movies that portray it as natural.  And so society has accepted the unnatural as natural.

Note that unnatural social activities are sins and nothing more.

There are many categories of sin, none are more or less better or worse than others.  A sin is a sin and a violation is a violation.  Sin has nothing to do with being saved or preventing one from being saved.

Ones volition and decision to believe in Christ is the issue in salvation, not lifestyle.

Needless to say that all people who are saved, were sinners prior to being saved.  And since we have a requirement to confess our sins, throughout our spiritual life, then we are still sinners after salvation, as well.  So, salvation does not stop or prevent sin or any human activity.

What is important to note is, that when you engage in sin on a regular basis, then your spiritual life has a tendency to get overlooked, and that is where the great loss of purpose exists.

To engage in sin and then accept it as normal, places a barrier in front of objectivity and learning, in that when truth is taught, it is difficult to accept that truth which you violate.

Abnormal human activity is one of the biggest preventions of objectivity in seeing truth.  Not that a person does not see it, because they do, they just refuse to acknowledge it.

There is no such thing as a victimless crime, or sin, for that matter.  One uncorrected violation leads to another and to another and so on, until it all seems normal and acceptable.

Adam and Even took only a single bite out of a piece of fruit.  Most folks would say that God over reacted to that.  But again, sin unrestrained, produced everything that we have seen in history.

God is truth and any violation against truth is a step in the wrong direction that leads to total ruin.

And when humanity continually chooses the path of ruin, then God allows that to happen.  And when truth is repeatedly rejected, then God lets it all go its own way.

The very worst example of all of this bad human activity will occur in the Tribulation, when God removes all restraint against sin and then the world will be unrecognizable, because in seven very short years, humanity will utterly destroy itself to the very brink of extinction, from his own devices, whereas humanity has survived many thousands of years under Gods grace.

So, no argument in the world can justify any rejection of truth, not even if the argument seems innocent.  Only fools believe in the innocent argument.

Romans 1:26

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:26

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

26 For [dia] this [touto] cause God [theos] gave [paradidomi] them [autos] up [paradidomi] unto [eis] vile [atimia] affections [pathos]: for [gar] even [te] their [autos] women [thelus] did change [metallasso] the natural [phusikos] use [chresis] into [eis] that which is against [para] nature [phusis]:  KJV-Interlinear

26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;  ESV

I know that some are having difficulty in believing that God does turn away, but that disbelief or resistance to believe something is just what we have been studying here.  And in this verse, God does give them up.  Why?

For the reasons that we have been studying in these last several verses.

God provided us with the written scriptures so that we can learn truth and orient correctly to life. But arrogance in people turns into resistance toward the scriptures and in so doing they have only one place to go, which are the lies of the world.

From the very simple things, like not believing something that is written in the Bible, to the more grotesque things of life, like pursuing unnatural lifestyles or patterns of life, everything begins with resistance toward the written word. And when you resist the word, and refuse to learn, then you have nowhere to go but down in life.

And for this cause, which is exactly how this verse opens up, God gives you up, which simply means that he turns away from you, and lets you go your way.

Rejection of Bible doctrine, may seem like a simple thing, but that repeated pattern of life, throughout ones life, can and will turn you into a despicable person.

The example given here, is of women actively engaged in unnatural sexual relationships. But this is only an example. Almost everything that people do when they are outside of the will of God, becomes in a sense, unnatural.

And, sooner or later, the unnatural becomes acceptable behavior.

Whether the bad behavior is in regard to prostitution, or homosexuality, or other social activities that are generally frowned upon, these things are just as bad as criminal behavior, or prejudicial behavior, or any deceitful behavior, or even the simple behavior of refusing to listen to truth.

The whole point of this verse, is that when you refuse to engage in a daily study, meaning that you are not learning the way you are supposed to be learning, then you have only one path to follow, which is the wrong path for life.

And when you continue down the wrong path of life, you surround yourself with all of the dysfunctions of life, which eventually will see your losing all contact with God and truth and reality.

This is a very dangerous thing for the individual.

We all know that unbelievers will go to the Lake of fire, because they have rejected Christ. God does not want them to go to the Lake of fire, but he allows them, because that is their choice.

But these verses are directed toward believers in Christ, not unbelievers, and what believers in Christ risk losing, are their spiritual livelihood and resources and growth, and all of the benefits of the spiritual life. And that too is running a huge risk, because all of the spiritual benefits of the spiritual life extend into eternity, and far beyond this life. And losing something that is infinite is a huge loss.

Romans 1:25

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:25

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

25 Who [hostis] changed [metallasso] the truth [aletheia] of God [theos] into [en] a lie [pseudos], and [kai] worshipped [sebazomai] and [kai] served [latreuo] the creature [ktisis] more than [para] the Creator [ktizo], who [hos] is [esti] blessed [eulogetos] for [eis] ever [aion]. Amen [amen].  KJV-Interlinear

25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.  ESV

Without a daily Bible study, you have no idea as to whether God has given you up, or whether He is still there for you.  For God does turn His back on those who do not comply with His mandates.  And assuming that He is there, when He is not, is a huge mistake.  This was explained in the last verse. 

With a daily study, you can know with certainty that He is there for you.

But why does God turn His back on people?

Because they have turned the truth in to a lie, and worship the things of the world rather than the things of the spirit.

So, what does that mean, exactly?

Well, there are only two opinions in existence, Gods word and everything else.

Gods word is truth and everything that falls in line with truth, is truth also.

But when you are out of fellowship, then all of your thinking is a lie. 

Certainly lies are lies, but then truth taken out of context, compromised, mixed in with lies, and so forth, becomes the lie too.

Lies convince you that whatever it is that you do, you are doing good, or that it is ok, or so long as no one is getting hurt, or so long as you don’t get caught, then it is ok.

Lies distort decisions, conclusions, reason, logic, and make all manner of philosophies into perfectly normal beliefs.  Lies accept the false, as noble.  Lies make sincerity or good intentions as acceptable practices.  Lies make defining your own spirituality into a good and acceptable thing.

But too, lies push people to the absurd, like worshipping rocks or the moon, or their work or other secular things, placing them ahead of God and Christ and doctrine.

The spiritual life is a narrow path.  It is life in fellowship, by means of doctrine, through Christ.

Everything else is a false path and from it you cannot see or benefit from the spiritual side.

God is always close by, but when you continually pursue life the wrong way, then He will sooner or later simply let you go your own way and leave you to yourself.  This He does because it is you walking away from Him, not Him walking away from you.

He waves goodbye, but you never even see Him waving as you continue on your way into the false.  And probably thinking all the way, that you are doing His will.

How do you know that you are not in Gods will?

You do not participate in a daily study.

You do not confess on a regular basis in order to be in fellowship.

You do not ponder or think about the daily study material or information that you have learned (probably because you have not learned anything).

You do not apply doctrine to your daily life, because, again, you haven’t learned it.

You do not comply with the many mandates concerning your spiritual responsibility, accountability, obligation.

Your spiritual resolve is not genuine or consistent, but more superficial if anything.

And these are just to name the very basic things that you do not do.  Trying to substitute other things or activities because they make you feel better, are further proof that you are out of Gods will and at great risk of being left to your own devices. 

And if or when this happens to you, then the fault is all yours.

Romans 1:24

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:24

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

24 Wherefore [dio] God [theos] also [kai] gave [paradidomi] them [autos] up [paradidomi] to [eis] uncleanness [akatharsia] through [en] the lusts [epithumia] of their own [autos] hearts [kardia], to dishonour [atimazo] their own [autos] bodies [soma] between [en] themselves [heautou]:   KJV-Interlinear

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,   ESV

Jesus Christ controls history. He controls history in three ways. First, He controls history directly through the will of His own power. He created the universe.  He created life, and so forth.

Second, He controls history indirectly through doctrine.  Man learns doctrine and abides by its rules and principles for the perpetuation of self and humanity.  The Laws of Establishment are an integral part of divine control and doctrine.

Third, God controls history by His permission, allowing the free will of man to function without interruption and unhindered.  Man thinks and makes decisions.  God allows those decisions, even when they are terribly wrong.  God never coerces anyone.  He warns of the consequences, but never forces anyone to change or go His way.

God is truth.  God makes the lies of this world clear. But man has to want to see the truth, and if man does not want to see truth, then there is nothing that can be done, except to keep on making truth available and then perhaps one day the person will come around.

Then there comes a time when God simply knows that nothing is going to change.

You and I cannot make that decision, because we cannot see into the soul of others, and we cannot see in to their future.  But God has all of the facts, past, present, and future.  And even though God knows from eternity past, that someone will fail, He still aids them, with truth during their life, until they have sufficiently demonstrated their permanent resistance, and then allows them to go their own way.

God never forces anyone down the wrong path.  But God will let people choose the wrong path, on their own.

But remember one important principle, people are without excuse.  Truth is always available and everyone, one way or another is aware of truth, just as they make their wrong choices, in rejecting truth.

All eyes are wide open, as it were, and no one can later on say, that they did not know, or that no one told them, or that no one warned them, or if they had known the results, then they would have done things differently.  Not so.

Lusts, impure hearts, and dishonored bodies, speak of wrong intent, wrong thoughts, and wrong results.  Their entire essence is wrong, from beginning to end.  They wanted something, they decided for it, and they did it.  And this is a picture of a total life collapse of the individual who rejects truth.  This is a picture of anyone's life, when Bible doctrine is ignored or rejected.

God has rules.  The rules of life are strict but very simple to follow.

It actually takes more effort to reject truth and keep on rejecting truth, than to follow truth.

The rewards of rejection are harsh.  The rewards of compliance with doctrine are phenomenal.

Why then is it so difficult for most of the world to see this?

And the answer is that it is not difficult, it is arrogance and the forces that drive it, and the persons resolve to pursue evil.

Humanity has experienced every circumstance imaginable, in history, and in every situation, there are people who have chosen against truth, but too there are those who have chosen for truth, so right choices are always possible.  No circumstance, or situation makes truth or right choices unattainable.

Truth and right choices are always within reach.

Romans 1:23

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:23

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

23 And [kai] changed [allasso] the glory [doxa] of the uncorruptible [aphthartos] God [theos] into [en] an image [eikon] made like [homoioma] to corruptible [phthartos] man [anthropos], and [kai] to birds [peteinon], and [kai] fourfooted beasts [tetrapous], and [kai] creeping things [herpeton].  KJV-Interlinear

23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.  ESV

Anytime you substitute something else in place of God, that makes you a fool. That includes idols, but also resistance to obey His mandates.  Any substitution, whether in attitude or in the object of your praise, says that you prefer something else more than you prefer God.

Now, God is life.  God is truth.  God invented, designed, created everything in this universe.  God sustains everything, even life itself.  And He does it in spite of the overwhelming opposition that is directed toward Him.

Your reluctant attitude means that you know more than God knows. That you are equal to God.  That you have discovered something that God overlooked.  That your beliefs, which are based on, well, your beliefs, are more real to you than reality.

A rock, or a sculpted thing, wood, an animal, a bird, a cosmic object, snakes, even the image of man himself, are not life, not truth, are not even capable of inventing anything, let alone hearing you, or seeing you, or speaking to you, or interacting with you in any way, shape or form.

And yet people who pursue these things, have discovered that rocks or animals or sculptured things are somehow smarter and more capable than God.

The next time you walk past a tree, ask it for financial advice, or even a sandwich.  Perhaps it can give you the time of day or eternal life.

Perhaps you will discover some secret to the universe that somehow no one else in history has discovered, or that not even God knows.

They say a fool is born every minute.  If so, then this world has got to be jam packed with fools.

What does that say about humanity and their interest in truth, or in Christ?

Romans 1:22

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:22

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

22 Professing themselves [phasko] to be [einai] wise [sophos], they became fools [moraino],  KJV-Interlinear

22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,   ESV

The wise are teachable and they want to learn Bible doctrine.  They pursue learning.  The fool always has an excuse, avoids learning as required by the Bible, is therefore unteachable, and always has a better idea as to what life is all about.

There are only two types of people in this world, the wise and the fool. 

If you started your study of the Bible at the age of ten, and studied every day until you were a hundred, then you would have almost 33,000 studies under your belt.  And even then, you would not learn all that the Bible has to teach.

I would bet that most of us, if not all of us, will never have that many studies to claim for ourselves.

Just going to church once a week for those ninety years would add up to over 4600 studies, assuming that we did some actual studying in church.  And even then a lot of folks cannot claim that much consistency.

Typically folks are busy in their young years, burdened with responsibilities in their middle years, and then they begin to think about God as their older years approach.  And as you get older and older, and if you are not bitter with life, then God begins to take on some importance.

And for those who actually knuckle down and learn, then they become surprised as to just how much they have missed out in life.  And they kick themselves because life could have been so much more fulfilling, and after realizing that all of this life could have easily been for nothing if God had called them home before they began their daily studies.

Bible doctrine fills you up with the substance of life.

Lack of it, means running around with nothing in your head.

Your objective in life is to learn and prepare for the next life.  Everything in this life is necessary, because it adds to your understanding and keeps you on track with responsibilities and such, but that all has to be surrounded with a core of Bible doctrine.

No doctrine, means fool, empty headed, a vacuum as far as your thoughts go.

Doctrine inculcated into your soul by means of learning, results in wisdom, preparation, completion, and being a winner in spirit and in life.

What you think is what you are.

What is in your mind, dictates what you think. 

And how does information get into your head?

Romans 1:21

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:21

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

21 Because [dioti] that, when they knew [ginosko] God [theos], they glorified [doxazo] him not [ou] as [hos] God [theos], neither [e] were thankful [eucharisteo]; but [alla] became vain [mataioo] in [en] their [autos] imaginations [dialogismos], and [kai] their [autos] foolish [asunetos] heart [kardia] was darkened [skotizo].  KJV-Interlinear

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.   ESV

God is truth. God is real.  Learning God and truth means adding substance to ourselves.  Ignoring God and truth means making ourselves empty and meaningless.

If there is something real that is in front of you, and you refuse to acknowledge it, then you are the fool.  The Bible is real.  God is real.  And Gods mandate for us to learn and grow, are real.

And the rejection of stubborn refusal makes people today, no different than people who have lived throughout the ages.

To not honor God means to disregard Him and His words, especially His mandates.

No honor means no respect.  No honor means no recognition.

And when something that is real is rejected, then that means something unreal has to gain the attention that the real thing did not receive.

And the result is emptiness, vain, futile, ‘mataioo.’

And when there is nothing of substance as far as thinking goes, within the soul, then a vacuum opens up and foolishness rushes in to fill up the empty space.

Foolishness means that you lack the ability to understand.  If you have no resources then you have nothing to work with, and that makes you impotent in life.

And this all refers to the heart, or the thinking functions of the soul.  Truth is light.  Truth is orientation.

And when there is no light, then there is only darkness.  And this darkness is an absolute darkness, wherein you cannot see anything.  No orientation, no path, no course, no map, no plan, nothing.

So, it is extremely important to recognize God, and then recognize His mandates, and then recognize His plan for your life and then move forward in your life.  Otherwise you have nothing.

Romans 1:20

Copyright Ó 2014 J. Neely

Romans 1:20

http://www.dailybiblestudy.org

20 For [gar] the invisible things [aoratos] of him [autos] from [apo] the creation [ktisis] of the world [kosmos] are clearly seen [kathorao], being understood [noeo] by the things that are made [poiema], even [te] his [autos] eternal [aidios] power [dunamis] and [kai] Godhead [theiotes]; so [eis] that they [autos] are [einai] without excuse [anapologetos]:  KJV-Interlinear

20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.  ESV

The word for creation, ‘ktisis,’ means from the beginning.  It does not refer to the assembly or invention of the actual creation of anything, but is a reference to the beginning of humanity, namely since Adam.

Therefore, from the outset of the human race, which means beginning with Adam and then Eve, and from them, every generation that has lived on this planet since.

Humanity has known of the invisible things of God.  The invisible things, ‘aoratos,’ refers to those things which cannot be seen or heard, or felt, or tasted, or smelled, or otherwise detected in any manner whatsoever.

And those things are herein defined, namely Gods eternal power and divine nature. 

Nothing of God can be measured or detected or even discovered by man.  And yet, by means of His divine power and nature, He is seen and known by means of the evidence that exists within nature and of creation which is all around us.

We have in this world, opposite sexes, both male and female, there exists plants and fish and animals and birds and so many things that defy the imagination.  Even the vastness of the sky and the sun, moon, and stars beyond, speak of a divine design and God Himself.

But Paul also makes it very clear that even the Godhead has been known from the beginning of the human race.

Christianity is unique in that there exists one God, which refers to the divine essence of God, but three persons. 

The divine essence refers to the ten attributes of God, namely omniscience, omnipotence, omnipresence, eternal life, righteousness, justice, veracity, immutability, love, and sovereignty.

Each of the members of the Godhead, possesses these attributes.  They all three are co-equal, co-infinite, and co-eternal.

History is filled with examples of multiple gods having this or that attribute or power or domain.  Examples of conflicts between the gods.  Examples of man challenging the gods and either winning or losing, or showing them a thing or two.  All of which are arguments designed to water down or negate the importance and role of God.

But, what these stories really do, is point out that man has a knowledge of God, and a knowledge of His divine essence, which is something that man cannot discover. 

And yet by means of the world around, plus the information and stories that were handed down from generation to generation, beginning with Adam, and even by means of various other things as they relate to peoples that had long since moved around the world and were totally removed and separated from Israel and the Middle East, God and things about Him, are still known.

And these invisible things that cannot be known, are known by means of the things that have been made, ‘poiema,’ through the workmanship of that which is. 

Which is to say, that all things that exist have obviously come from someone who invented, designed and made them.

So, man has no excuse or basis for not knowing God and the truth that exists in this world.

This simply means that all choices that go against God and truth, are openly made by people, in total disregard of God and truth.  People make their choices on purpose, in preference to their sin natures.