I am going to tell you a story and I would like for you all to play along. When I give a line of good news, you shout, “Alright!” But when I share a line of bad news, you say, “Oh no!”
A man went up in an airplane (Alright!)
But the airplane didn’t have an engine (Oh no!)
But the man had a parachute (Alright!)
But the parachute wouldn’t open (Oh no!)
But there was a haystack under him (Alright!)
But there was a pitchfork in the haystack (Oh no!)
But he missed the pitchfork (Alright!)
But he missed the haystack too (Oh no!)
The End!
“The Airplane Ride” by Dr. John Feierabend is a humorous story that alternates back and forth between good news and bad news. Has anyone ever come to you and said, “I have some good news and some bad news. Which would you like first?” How many of you are bad news first people? How many of you are good news first people?
The Book of Romans is a bit like the airplane ride—it alternates back and forth between good news and bad news. You probably know that the term “gospel” literally means good news. But you may not know that the gospel also implies some bad news. As Paul expounds the gospel throughout the epistle, we will see how he highlights the good and bad news.
Paul ended the previous portion of the letter with a climatic statement of the good news of the gospel, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes…” (1:16-17)
This next section of Paul’s letter (1:18-32), he emphasizes the bad news of the gospel. Here, he gives the counterpoint to the salvation that God offers through the gospel. Those who believe in Christ receive salvation, what about those who don’t believe? Only by fully understanding the bad news can we fully appreciate the good news! Let’s take a look at this sobering text!
God’s Wrath to those who Suppress the Truth
Just as Paul announces that the “righteousness of God” is revealed from faith for faith in verse 17, he warns that the “wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” in verse 18. This is not only a reference to the final destiny of unbelievers in hell, but it refers to God’s ongoing activity of holding people accountable for their sin. This is consistent with God’s character in the Old Testament. When Adam and Eve disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit, God punished them by evicting them from the Garden of Eden. When Cain murdered his brother Abel, God banished him to be a restless wanderer on the earth. When Moses disobeyed God by striking the rock, God prohibited him from entering the promised land. When the Israelites habitually broke God’s law by worshiping idols, God repeatedly sent them into exile to serve as slaves to foreign powers.
Yes, God is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love, but he is also a God of wrath, which is an extension of his attribute of justice. If God did not punish sin, he could not be just. And if he was not just, he could not be God!
Especially important for Paul is his insistence that God’s wrath falls on people who “suppress the truth,” which refers to people who are aware of God’s truth but actively seek to twist it, cover it up, and shut it up. Every human being has some knowledge of God. He has revealed himself to all of us through what theologians call “general revelation” which encompasses the created world and human conscience. Everyone has enough knowledge of God through creation to be held accountable for their sin.
Isn’t it fascinating to think about how God reveals himself through the created world? Have you ever laid on your back and gazed up at the stars on a clear summer night? Those stars came from somewhere. Have you ever stood on top of a tall mountain and looked out over the fields and forests, hills and hollows, and rocks and rivers? They all came from somewhere. Have you ever pondered the intricacies of the human body? How our eyes adjust to different shades of light and the instruments in our inner ears keep our bodies balanced! Those abilities come from somewhere—they point us to God.
Isn’t it also interesting to consider how God reveals himself through the human conscience—our innate ability to recognize right from wrong? This is why children feel guilty when they lie or steel before they have been taught that these behaviors are wrong.
Yes, God’s invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived by everyone in the world. Therefore, there is no excuse for not believing in God. And yet there are still so many who suppress God’s truth because of their sin. (20) The bad news of the gospel is that God’s wrath is against everyone who suppress God’s truth through their sin.
Three Categories and Consequences of Sin
After Paul announces God’s wrath on those who sin and suppress the truth in verses 18-20, he goes on to explain just how they do it in verses 21-32. The rest of the passage is dominated by a thrice repeated sequence “they…exchanged…so God gave them over…” In each case, people put their own “god” or sin in place of the truth God has revealed to them. And God responds by “handing them over” to the consequences of the choice they have made. Paul focuses on three categories and consequences of sin: darkened hearts (21-23), dishonored bodies (24-27), and debased minds (28-32). (Moo 60)
Darkened Hearts (21-23)
The first category and consequence of suppressing God’s truth is darkened hearts. Although people knew about God, they refused to acknowledge him as such. They refused to glorify him or thank him for anything he had done. They essentially ignored God and pretended like he did not exist. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for inanimate objects carved into images of humans and animals. They traded the worship of the one true God who created heaven and earth for a bag of cheap trinkets that can be purchased at a flea market! This shows how their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they were really just fools!
Unfortunately, this type of idolatry is rampant in our culture today! It is astounding how superstition still abounds! People put their trust in all sorts of trinkets and charms: Statues of Buddha, angel figurines, dreamcatchers, rosery beads, tarot cards, or “positive energy.” There is no power in these things! They can’t hear us or help us!
As a punishment for idolatry, God “gave them over” to the consequences of their choice. It never ceases to amaze me how unbelievers who refuse to worship God or want anything to do with him, still ask questions like “Why didn’t God save my job? Why did God let me get cancer? Why didn’t God protect my child?” The real question is, “Why would anyone expect God to offer his presence or power to someone who refuses to glorify him, thank him, or even acknowledge him?” Idolatry darkens people’s hearts, and this choice incurs its own consequences!
Dishonored Bodies (24-27)
The second category and consequence of suppressing God’s truth is dishonored bodies. In verses 24-25, Paul shows how idolatry ultimately leads to immorality—the disruption of God’s intention for sexual relationships. His words “the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies with one another” refer to sexual sins in general (that is, any sexual encounter outside of a monogamist heterosexual marriage.) This includes such practices as pre-marital sex, polygamy, adultery, pornography, masturbation, bestiality, and all forms of sexual assault.
In verses 26-27, Paul focuses on to the specific sin of homosexuality, which represented the most graphic inversion of God’s intention for human sexual relationships. Homosexuality was rampant in the Roman Empire (fourteen of the first fifteen Roman Emperors practiced homosexuality) and represented the greatest offense to Jewish sexual sensibilities. As Jewish and Gentile believers in the church at Rome looked around their society, they would have seen homosexuality practiced and encouraged at every turn. (Boa and Kruidenier 55)
Paul calls homosexual practice “dishonorable passions” (26) and “shameful acts” (27) because it is a rebellious reversal of God’s natural order, and it, like idolatry in the preceding section, receives the due penalty for its error.
Now I know that it’s taboo to call any sexual practice sinful in our modern “sexually liberated” American society, but the Bible consistently affirms that all sexual activity should be limited to a monogamous heterosexual marital relationship! God established his model for sexual relationships in the Book of Genesis, it is reinforced in the Law of Moses, illustrated in the Old Testament narratives, affirmed by Jesus in the Gospels, and reiterated by Paul here in the Book of Romans and his other epistles. Any sexual activity outside the established biblical pattern is sinful against God.
As homosexuality has become a more pervasive and socially acceptable in American society, the Christian church has struggled in its response to this issue. On the one hand, some Christians and churches have responded with hostility and even hatred toward gay people. But God calls us to treat all people with dignity, respect, and love. On the other hand, some Christians and churches have abandoned the clear biblical teaching and have given their approval to sexual practices that God’s Word identifies as sin!
So, how should we respond? What do you if you, like me, have gay friends and family members? Here it is: Always love everyone, but never give approval to sin!
Debased Minds (28-32)
The third category and consequence of suppressing God’s truth is debased minds. Turning away from true knowledge of God means cutting ourselves off from an accurate understanding of the world and our place in it. No wonder that people don’t understand the moral stances that Christians take on the basis of God’s truth! After focusing on idolatry and sexual sins, Paul provides a broad list of vices so his readers would know that he was not picking on pet sins. His list covers the full gamut of sinful activity—from murder to disobeying one’s parents—including envy, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, and arrogance. Every person who reads this letter would be convicted of at least one of these sinful behaviors. No one is exempt from sin.
In verse 32, Paul concludes this section of his letter with a chilling remark about the bad news of the gospel: Sinners who suppress God’s truth deserve death! And he suggests it is worse for a person to “approve” those who practice sins than to do them oneself. (Moo 63) It is bad enough to practice sin, but it is even worse to bring damnation on other people’s souls by telling them that their sin is OK.
Friends, this is indeed the bad news of the gospel—that even one sin against our eternal holy God deserves eternal punishment in hell. Furthermore, in all of my years of pastoral ministry, I have never met anyone with a perfect track record when it comes to idolatry, sexual sin, or one of the other sins on Paul’s list. Some of us are really honest and generous people, but maybe gossip or envy is our Achilles heel. Some of us are humble and compassionate, but maybe we struggle with sexual sin. We’re not all guilty of every sin, but we are all guilty of committing some of these sins.
This is why we all desperately needs God’s grace and forgiveness. But to repent from our sin, we must first acknowledge that what the Bible calls sin is actually sin. Unfortunately, many people in our culture try to rationalize or redefine sin, which is a form of suppressing God’s truth. May we always be willing to submit ourselves to God’s definition of sin, so that we might repent and find redemption through the blood of Jesus Christ.
The good news of the gospel is that Jesus died on the cross to forgive us for all of our sins. If we put our faith in Jesus, he will save us from God’s wrath now and for eternity! If you haven’t yet trusted in Jesus as your Lord and Savior, please do it before it is too late! Now that we have a better understanding of the bad news of the gospel, I hope we appreciate just how good the good news of the gospel is!