Indifference: The Revealed Wrath of God
Romans 1:28-32
September 2, 2007
In the days of Samuel, the children of Israel once again rejected God.
1 Samuel 8:4-7 “Then all the elders of Israel gathered together and came to Samuel at Ramah; and they said to him, “Behold, you have grown old, and your sons do not walk in your ways. Now appoint a king for us to judge us like all the nations.” But the thing was displeasing in the sight of Samuel when they said, “Give us a king to judge us.” And Samuel prayed to the LORD. The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to the voice of the people in regard to all that they say to you, for they have not rejected you, but they have rejected Me from being king over them.”
Of course then Samuel related to the people
That rejecting God for a human king would not be in their best interest.
1 Samuel 8:12-18 “He will appoint for himself commanders of thousands and of fifties, and some to do his plowing and to reap his harvest and to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. “He will also take your daughters for perfumers and cooks and bakers. “He will take the best of your fields and your vineyards and your olive groves and give them to his servants. “He will take a tenth of your seed and of your vineyards and give to his officers and to his servants. “He will also take your male servants and your female servants and your best young men and your donkeys and use them for his work. “He will take a tenth of your flocks, and you yourselves will become his servants. “Then you will cry out in that day because of your king whom you have chosen for yourselves, but the LORD will not answer you in that day.”
And so it was obvious that it was not in the best interest of the people
To turn from God in order to follow a human king.
Their life would work best if they would stay devoted to the LORD.
But the people answered Samuel.
1 Samuel 8:19-22 “Nevertheless, the people refused to listen to the voice of Samuel, and they said, “No, but there shall be a king over us, that we also may be like all the nations, that our king may judge us and go out before us and fight our battles.” Now after Samuel had heard all the words of the people, he repeated them in the LORD’S hearing. The LORD said to Samuel, “Listen to their voice and appoint them a king.” So Samuel said to the men of Israel, “Go every man to his city.”
People, because they rejected what was in their best interest,
And because of their insistence,
Were given over to a plan that was not in their best interest.
We saw it in the garden as Adam and Eve rejected God’s warning not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.
We saw it in Noah’s day as the people refused to listen to Noah.
We saw it in Lot’s day as he told the men of Sodom and Gomorrah, “Please do not act wickedly.”
We saw it in Moses day as the people refused to take the promised land, instead wanting to stay in the wilderness, or go back to Egypt.
We saw it in the days of Jeremiah as the people refused to repent, and put away their false gods.
We saw it in Jesus day as the people refused to accept the invitation of Jesus to “Come to Me, all you who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest.”
And as Paul pointed out last Sunday, we still see it today.
IT IS THE WRATH OF GOD REVEALED
IN THAT HE ALLOWS MEN TO RECEIVE FULL CONSEQUENCE
OF THE SIN THEY SO DEEPLY LONG FOR.
Last Sunday morning we saw men steadfast in idolatry.
Romans 1:24-25 “Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Because men lusted so greatly for their impurity.
Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie.
Because they worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator.
“God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity,”
His wrath was revealed
In that He allowed men to worship gods that cannot save.
Sunday night we saw men and women steadfast in homosexuality.
Romans 1:26-27 “For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
Because the women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural
Because the men abandoned the natural function of the woman.
Because they wanted it so bad.
“God gave them over to degrading passions…receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.”
And His wrath was revealed in that He allowed them to engage
In a lifestyle that will not only destroy their hope, but also their flesh.
It is the wrath of God revealed by what He allows.
HERE WE SEE PAUL’S THIRD EXAMPLE OF GOD’S REVEALED WRATH.
INDIFFERENCE
Webster says to be indifferent is to be “Unconcerned or apathetic” it is to view important things as though they have no importance.
#1 THE DESCRIPTION OF INDIFFERENCE
Romans 1:28a, 32
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer,”
“acknowledge” is actually one English word to translate two Greek words.
ECHO (ekh-o)
“to have; to possess; to hold fast”
It was even used as a pregnant woman “as having conception”
EPIGNOSIS (ep-ig-no-sis)
Which is a strengthened form of GNOSIS
GNOSIS = “a seeking to know, an inquiry, or investigation”
That was the form that Paul used in Romans 1:21
Romans 1:21 “For even though they knew (GNOSKO) God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
But here Paul uses an intense form.
EPIGNOSIS = “denotes exact or full knowledge, or recognition”
AND SO THE POINT HERE IS THIS.
We are talking about a people
Who had a limited, general knowledge of God
(because of conscience and creation)
But who willfully refused to have a deeper full knowledge of God.
They were content with surface information,
They don’t want to know God in a more intimate way.
They could care less.
Instead of seeking out the deep things of God,
They chose to embrace the fleshly lusts of the world.
THIS IS OBVIOUSLY NOT THE CHRISTIAN HEART.
Philippians 3:8-11 “More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.”
A true Christian has a deep yearning to know God personally.
They are not satisfied with a surface relationship.
They are not satisfied with just a biographical sketch.
A true Christian wants to real knowledge of God.
Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.”
And that word “hunger” is a good word to describe a Christian.
They hunger for the things of God.
BUT THE INDIFFERENT PERSON DOES NOT.
They don’t really care about knowing any more of God.
Prayer…
Bible study…
The Fellowship of Obedience…
The Fellowship of Suffering…
THEY HAVE NO INTEREST IN THOSE THINGS
“they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer,”
(literally: “they did not see fit to have God in knowledge,”)
THEY ARE SEEN IN SCRIPTURE.
Jeremiah 2:8 “The priests did not say, ‘Where is the LORD?’ And those who handle the law did not know Me; The rulers also transgressed against Me, And the prophets prophesied by Baal And walked after things that did not profit.”
Jeremiah 4:22 “For My people are foolish, They know Me not; They are stupid children And have no understanding. They are shrewd to do evil, But to do good they do not know.”
Jeremiah 9:3 “They bend their tongue like their bow; Lies and not truth prevail in the land; For they proceed from evil to evil, And they do not know Me,” declares the LORD.”
Jeremiah 9:6b “…Through deceit they refuse to know Me,” declares the LORD.”
They are too in love with the lusts and pleasures of this life
To seek a true and personal relationship with God.
“they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer”
AND THAT IS CERTAINLY BAD ENOUGH.
But if you look to the end of our passage,
Paul reveals that they have taken their indifference to a whole new level.
They almost have militant, aggressive, indifference.
Verse 32, “and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
Now that is pretty telling verse as well.
WE ARE NOT DEALING WITH THE IGNORANT.
Paul said these, “know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death,”
“ordinance” translates DIKAIOMA (dik-ah-yo-mah)
“a concrete expression of righteousness”
• Certainly a person who has had religious training.
• Or it could be the uneducated person who simply has an understanding of righteousness in their heart.
Romans 2:14-15 “For when Gentiles who do not have the Law do instinctively the things of the Law, these, not having the Law, are a law to themselves, in that they show the work of the Law written in their hearts, their conscience bearing witness and their thoughts alternately accusing or else defending them,”
It is interesting that most of the attributes listed in verses 29-31
Are universally condemned as wrong.
And most governments have laws geared around these truths.
THE POINT IS:
These people know the difference between right and wrong,
And they also know something else.
“that those who practice such things are worthy of death,”
They know their wickedness deserves punishment.
BUT DESPITE THEIR UNDERSTANDING,
LOOK AT THE LEVEL OF THEIR INDIFFERENCE.
“they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.”
“approval” translates SUNEUDOKEO (soon-yoo-dok-eh-o)
SUN = with EU = well DOKEO = to think
(literally – “to think well of”)
Acts 8:1 “Saul was in hearty agreement with putting him to death. And on that day a great persecution began against the church in Jerusalem, and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles.”
This is why I would say their indifference is aggressive.
It is bad enough to disregard God’s commands personally,
But to openly approve of, and encourage others to do the same
Takes their indifference to a whole new level.
A SOCIETY IS AT THE DEEPEST POINT OF DEPRAVITY WHEN WICKEDNESS IS NOT ONLY PRACTICED BUT ENCOURAGED.
Psalms 50:16-21 “But to the wicked God says, “What right have you to tell of My statutes And to take My covenant in your mouth? “For you hate discipline, And you cast My words behind you. “When you see a thief, you are pleased with him, And you associate with adulterers. “You let your mouth loose in evil And your tongue frames deceit. “You sit and speak against your brother; You slander your own mother’s son. “These things you have done and I kept silence; You thought that I was just like you; I will reprove you and state the case in order before your eyes.”
They are those who not only cast aside God’s word, but also:
Are pleased with a thief
Associate with adulterers
Engage in slander and deceit
AND EVEN WORSE
“You thought that I was just like you”
It is seen in the Corinthian church.
1 Corinthians 5:1-2 “It is actually reported that there is immorality among you, and immorality of such a kind as does not exist even among the Gentiles, that someone has his father’s wife. You have become arrogant and have not mourned instead, so that the one who had done this deed would be removed from your midst.”
Instead of reproving an adulterer,
He Corinthians were patting him on the back.
THAT IS THE GREATEST LEVEL OF INDIFFERENCE.
INDIFFERENCE DESCRIBED,
It is those who not only reject a deeper knowledge of God,
But also who encourage others to do the same.
AND I THINK OUR WORLD CAN BE FOUND HERE.
A society that encourages:
Drinking Adulterous Sex
Gambling Homosexuality
Abortion
So first The Description of Indifference.
#2 THE DANGER OF INDIFFERENCE
Romans 128b-32
Now you will notice a key phrase in verse 28. “just as”
“just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over”
God is responding to man in the like manner
That man has responded to God.
When we draw near to God, He draws near to us.
When we seek God, He allows us to find Him.
But when man pushes God away…
Man was indifferent toward God,
So God in turn becomes indifferent toward man.
He just quits caring (in a sense).
EVER WONDER WHY IT SEEMS LIKE GOD JUST DOESN’T CARE ABOUT IMMORALITY IN THIS COUNTRY?
It is yet again the tragic picture of God allowing men
To live in the cesspool they desire.
2 Chronicles 15:2 “and he went out to meet Asa and said to him, “Listen to me, Asa, and all Judah and Benjamin: the LORD is with you when you are with Him. And if you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if you forsake Him, He will forsake you.”
2 Chronicles 24:20 “Then the Spirit of God came on Zechariah the son of Jehoiada the priest; and he stood above the people and said to them, “Thus God has said, ‘ Why do you transgress the commandments of the LORD and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken the LORD, He has also forsaken you.'”
INDIFFERENCE IS DANGEROUS
BECAUSE IT PROVOKES A LIKE RESPONSE FROM GOD.
You quit wanting to know of God
God quits trying to get you to know of Him.
AND IS THIS NOT DANGEROUS?
John 6:44 “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.”
BUT PAUL GETS EVEN MORE DESCRIPTIVE.
“God gave them over to a depraved mind”
“depraved” translates ADOKIMOS (ad-ok-ee-mos)
“unapproved, rejected, worthless”
It was a term used of worthless metal that did not stand the test.
Jeremiah 6:30 “They call them rejected silver, Because the LORD has rejected them.”
If man will not use his mind
For the purpose of seeking, and knowing God,
Then God responds by giving his mind over to depravity.
YOU SAY: WHAT IS THE CONSEQUENCE OF A DEPRAVED MIND?
“God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”
The result of bad thinking is bad action.
The result of immoral thinking is immoral action.
The result of depraved thinking is depraved action.
“proper” translates KATHEKO (kath-ay-ko)
“becoming, convenient, fit”
ACTION SO DEPRAVED IT DOESN’T EVEN FIT, AT ALL, EVER
And to make sure you get his point, Paul gets specific.
Verses 29-31 “being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;”
Most of these are obvious to us in meaning.
Paul is just painting a general picture of what he means
When he mentions the deeds of depravity.
BUT LET’S LOOK AT THE END OF THE LIST
These are especially revealing sins.
“disobedient to parents”
Extreme depravity is manifest in a child, or youth,
That refuses to obey their parents.
It is in direct opposition to the original order of God.
“without understanding”
This is really just depravity at it’s most basic form. It is the inability to even perceive the difference between right and wrong.
No longer are they immoral, they are amoral.
They don’t even recognize the difference.
“untrustworthy”
Is a word that means “a covenant breaker”
“unloving” translates ASTORGOS (as-tor-gos)
“hard-hearted towards kindred, without natural affection.”
It is the depravity of a mother who shows no love for her child. It is the depravity of a child who shows no love for his elderly parents.
It is a person without the most basic and most natural love.
“unmerciful”
The King James adds a word “implacable” which means “truceless”.
It is a person who rejects the plea for mercy.
These attributes are exactly opposite of what is natural behavior.
And the reason is because men have rejected God.
HAVE YOU EVER WONDERED WHY THIS WORLD HAS SO MUCH EVIL IN IT?
First, because man is bent on evil.
Romans 3:10-18 “as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD; ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.” “THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING,” “THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS”; “WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS”; “THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.” “THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES.”
Man is naturally evil.
But God provides natural checks and barriers
To restrain man’s evil nature.
BUT WHEN A PERSON WILFULLY DISREGARDS THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD
MAN RUSHES HEAD LONG INTO EVERY FORM OF WICKEDNESS,
EVEN INVENTING NEW EVIL ALONG THE WAY.
“And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”
AND THIS IS THE DANGER OF INDIFFERENCE.
If a person willfully rejects God,
They are given over to practice all these vile and evil deeds
And ultimately it leads to the rightful punishment.
(32) “those who practice such things are worthy of death”
Galatians 5:19-21 “Now the deeds of the flesh are evident, which are: immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these, of which I forewarn you, just as I have forewarned you, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”
Revelation 21:7-8 “He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. “But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”
Revelation 22:14-15 “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life, and may enter by the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs and the sorcerers and the immoral persons and the murderers and the idolaters, and everyone who loves and practices lying.”
• Man rejects God.
• God allows man to reject Him.
• This results in depravity.
• Depravity results in wickedness.
• Wickedness results in death.
GOD’S WRATH IS REVEALED IN THAT HE ALLOWS MEN
TO HAVE A DEPRAVED MIND AND TO PRACTICE SUCH WICKEDNESS.
GOD’S WRATH IS BOTH REAL AND REVEALED.
It is revealed in the impurity of those who insist on worshiping false gods.
It is revealed in the degrading passions of those who insist on homosexuality.
It is revealed in the depravity of those who refuse the true knowledge of God.
And these are just three examples.
DON’T BE A PERSON UNDER THE PERMISSIVE WRATH OF GOD.
GOD’S PLAN IS FOR YOU TO DENY YOURSELF
AND FULLY SUBMIT YOUR LIFE TO JESUS.
BE SAVED FROM THE WRATH OF GOD.
Romans 5:8-9 “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
