01.5.7. Punishment On Degraders Of Their Bodies
Chapter 5vii - Punishment On Degraders Of Their Bodies
God’s punishment is being revealed against those who degrade their bodies to satisfy their hearts’ evil passions; and as their punishment, they are given over to their unrestrained desires (Romans 1:24-27). Sins are the fruit of sin; evil acts come from the source, man’s evil nature. The heart, its thoughts, and the imaginations of the thoughts are evil (Jeremiah 17:9; Genesis 6:5; Genesis 8:21). Contrary to modern day psychology, corrupted man defiles society rather than a polluted society corrupting man. One cannot deny that either reacts powerfully on the other, but the corruption in both man and society has the same common source-solidarity with Adam in original sin.
Sin is not an evil monster (anything unnatural or monstrous) that creeps on man from without; it is the manifestation of a monstrous nature which comes from within man. There is in every person a degenerate propensity to everything that is evil, but that does not mean there is an equal tendency for every kind of sin. Therefore, the noncommittal of a particular sin is not for the want of a depraved principle, but it is because of either God’s restraining providence from without or His restraining grace from within. At whatever stage we contemplate the sin nature, from the womb to the coffin, it wears the stamp of depravity. Hence, man’s depraved nature must be viewed in a threefold way:
(1) in its connection with Adam (Romans 5:12),
(2) in its formation in us (Genesis 5:3), and
(3) in its fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:19-21). Man by nature can do nothing but sin. If there were no Satan to tempt or evil example to imitate, there is an innate principle in man so that he cannot cease sinning. Depraved man must do what his depraved nature wills, because he not only has the love of sin to motivate him but also the law of sin to constrain him. (See Jeremiah 9:5; John 3:19; Romans 8:2; 2 Peter 2:14.) Every person coming into the world of mankind is a transgressor from the womb. “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born, speaking lies” (Psalms 58:3). Not only is every person alienated from God as he comes into the world, but his mother conceived him in sin (Psalms 51:5). That means as soon as one begins to exist, he is a child of wrath corrupted by original sin. Hence, he has the guilt of the first sin which has been imputed to him, and he has the nature of sin imparted in him. The subject of depravity is hated by the unregenerate, including the religious unregenerate. Those who oppose the truth of the depravity of infants born into the world make statements based on human reason:
(1) They say that infants are simply in the same state as Adam before the fall. (2) They declare that Adam’s sin is no reason why God should impute it to infants.
(3) They assert that it is absurd to think that by one man’s disobedience many should be made disobedient.
(4) They question, since sin is voluntary and birth is involuntary, how can an infant be a sinner?
(5) They argue that an infant being accounted guilty of a sin he did not commit is against all sense of justice.
(6) They say that a just God would never appoint a person to hell for original sin. (7) They believe that children are safe until they reach the age of accountability. Such statements satisfy human reason, but one must not lose sight of the fact that human wisdom and Divine wisdom are on a continual collision course. The outcome has always been and always will be that those who assert themselves to be wise shall be made foolish by Divine wisdom (Romans 1:22).
Deliberately committed sin (Romans 1:22-23) becomes debasing and disgusting (Romans 1:24-27). Having turned their backs on the continual witness of God in nature, the Gentiles could travel only one direction-down. Their downward course has brought them to the lowest stage of depravity in which they not only practice the worst sins described in Scripture, but they also approve those who practice them. Now, we can understand the meaning of the depraved, undiscerning heart being darkened (Romans 1:21). The witness of God in nature never deviates. It is as though one day took up where the preceding one left it. The Psalmist said, “THE heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge” (Psalms 19:1-2). The silent witness of nature creates no heterodoxy. On the other hand, language is different; because in the realm of human responsibility, man creates heterodoxies while saying they are only a matter of semantics. It would be wonderful if men were as consistent in their witness of God’s objective message in Scripture as nature is in its renewal every day and night in its universal proclamation of its message.
Romans 1:24 begins with dio, a conjunction which may be translated “therefore,” “for this reason,” or “on account of.” Hence, God gave the Gentiles over for these reasons:
(1) their apostasy from God’s punishment being revealed from heaven against every kind of ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, and
(2) nature’s consistent revelation of God’s power and deity, which was evident in them. The Gentiles had both an objective and a subjective witness which rendered them inexcusable before the God of creation. God’s punishment is never operative except in His retribution for sin. Here it is against a life of uncleanness, which presupposes the existence of uncleanness, and the penalty consists in the fact that God “gave them over” (paredoken, aorist active indicative of paradidomi, which means to give over, abandon, or deliver up) to a life of uncleanness because of the lusts of their hearts (Romans 1:24). The two prepositions en and eis in the Greek text must be carefully studied in order to properly understand and translate Romans 1:24. “For this reason God gave them over because of [en, the instrumental of cause] the lusts [epithumias, instrumental feminine plural of epithumia, a noun which means lust, desire, or passion] of their hearts [kardion, ablative feminine plural of kardia, the source of their corrupt passions] for the purpose of [eis, accusative of purpose, which denotes action] immoralities [akatharsian, accusative feminine plural of akatharsia, impurity or immorality] to be degrading [atimadzesthai, present passive infinitive of atimadzo, dishonor, treat shamefully, or degrade] their bodies among [en, instrumental of association] themselves” (Romans 1:24 -translation). The degrading lifestyle of the Gentiles did not originate with God’s abandonment; however, God was not completely passive in the terrible development of human degradation. God positively withdrew His restraint, as He did with Pharaoh.
Furthermore, God’s abandonment cannot mean a mere permission; it was not a single abstention (neither for nor against), seeing that He positively withdrew all restraint. Having been left to themselves, the corrupt stream that carried them further into degradation was not from without, but it came from within their depraved hearts. As a result, that which was in their hearts by the power of Satan ran wild when God’s restraint was removed. The attitude and action of God in relation to guilt must be contemplated in order to understand punishment. God’s attitude is expressed in His wrath (Romans 1:18). Wrath is God’s antagonism to everything that is evil. The present tense and passive voice of apokalupto, “is being revealed,” pertaining to punishment, proves that God continually brings man’s sin to light. God’s action, which is a manifestation of His attitude, is stated in the expression, “God gave them over.” The Divine verdict on such apostates from general revelation is that the ones practicing such things are deserving of death (Romans 1:32). If men do not retain just thoughts of the glory of God, they will not retain a just idea of the natural honor of man. As a result, they will dishonor themselves as they have dishonored God.
Persons given over by God for the purpose of immoralities exchange the truth of God for the lie (Romans 1:25). This is evidenced by their worshipping and serving the creature rather than the Creator. Having declared themselves independent of God, God gave them over to passions of dishonor, evidenced among both women and men. The Bible represents homosexuality as the lowest form of human life. Scripture in the Old Testament portrays it as abomination: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination” (Leviticus 18:22). “If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death...” (Leviticus 20:13). Although any kind of sexual perversion is an abomination to God, the unnaturalness of homosexuality makes it the lowest form of life. Surely we have not forgotten Sodom and Gomorrah (Genesis 18:1-33; Genesis 19:1-38).
Either practicing or excusing homosexuality is sin. Sodomy is the rejection of God’s design for this world, another illustration of the abandoned ones exchanging God’s truth for the lie. Religious idolatry is expressed in terms of sexual perversion (Ezekiel 16:1-63). The heterosexual relationship of marriage was designed for the propagation of the human race, and it is given as the nearest human illustration of the intimacy which God provides for man with Himself in the covenant of grace (Ephesians 5:22-33). Therefore, whoredom is the concept applied to worshipping other gods; but sodomy is the rejection of any concept of a god to whom man is accountable.
Operating from a Biblical foundation, it is imperative that Christians speak definitively about a number of questions being asked today:
1. Is anyone born a homosexual? The answer is “no”. Adoption of a perverted life-style manifests God’s having given that one up to the evil passions of his heart and his exchanging the truth of God for the lie. Medical reports of research concerning homosexuality can never make the eternal word invalid.
2. How should Christians deal with homosexuality? Sins must be called by Biblical names. Euphemisms, such as “gay” and “another life-style,” do not offend Sodomites. Religionists with their sweet nothings give nothing the Holy Spirit can use; furthermore, their thinking they are more caring and loving than God benefits no one.
3. How should assemblies deal with homosexuals? They must excommunicate any member practicing sodomy. No one is of value who does not value God and His truth.
4. What should the attitude of Christians be toward the judicial decisions regarding sodomy? No law passed by men that establishes sodomy as an acceptable, alternate life-style can be honored by Christians.
5. What should the attitude of Christians be concerning sexual diseases? The answer is given in Romans 1:26-27 -“For this reason God gave them over to passions of disgrace; for even their females exchanged the natural function for that which is contrary to nature, and likewise also the males having left the natural use of the female they were inflamed in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameless acts and receiving in return [present active participle of apolambano, to receive in return] the punishment [antimisthian, accusative feminine singular of antimisthia, punishment] in themselves required by their error which was being proper [edei, imperfect active indicative of deo, necessary, right and proper, or necessity brought on by either circumstances or conduct]” (translation). Venereal diseases, including AIDS, are a manifestation of God’s punishment brought about by immoral conduct (v. 27). God’s wrath is being revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness as a warning to the living, but that does not indicate that their punishment stops with death.
6. Is there a contradiction between Romans 1:1-32 and 1 Corinthians 6:9-10? The latter passage states: “Or have you not known that unrighteous ones shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators nor idolaters nor adulterers nor effeminate men [malakoi, nominative masculine plural of malakos, an adjective used as a pronoun describing persons who are perverted by allowing themselves to be misused homosexually] nor homosexuals [arsenokoitai, nominative masculine plural noun of arsenokoites, a male who practices homosexuality]...shall inherit the kingdom of God” (translation). Paul described some of the Corinthians’ former position in those verses: “And some were these things; but you cleansed yourselves, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11 -translation). According to 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, God saves whom He pleases, such as Rahab the whore, Paul the religious murderer, etc., but those He saves do not continue in the sins from which they have been delivered. The saved are separated from their sins: “...he [Jesus Christ] shall save his people from [apo, dative of separation] their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Therefore, receiving homosexuals into assemblies, ordaining them to the ministry, condoning their life-style, etc., is nothing short of blasphemy.