8/13/23 - Not Ashamed! - Romans 1:8-23 - Pastor Jason Fritz

The apostle Paul minces no words in proclaiming his attitude toward the work of Jesus on the cross… For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile. Romans 1:16 Can you say the same? There is power in the gospel because it brings salvation to all who believe. And yet, many don’t believe. In fact, some don’t believe there is a creator God.    How does this happen? Paul explains... For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Romans 8:21 Rejecting God ends in idolatry. Notice the progression…"They knew God but they did not honor him as God…” One of the ways we stop honoring God is to withhold giving thanks to Him. When you stop acknowledging God you become futile in your thoughts. You begin to say things like, “We evolved from nothing!" You begin to act like there is no one there to hold you accountable for your self-centered and destructive actions; so you do whatever you feel. The light, that is the goodness potential of your heart, goes dark when you dismiss God. The sad thing is when you attempt to close the vast gap between you and God you fool no one but yourself. You think you’ve got it all figured out.  Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles. Romans 1:22-23 Rather than worship God, they worshiped something else. This is because we were made to worship. They began with idols that look like humans, but then things digress into birds and animals and then eventually they end up worshiping slithery things. The end result is that man places himself under the authority of lizards and snakes. (Interesting that Satan appears in the garden as a snake.) It will always be man’s tendency to close the vast space between God and himself. Any attempt to do this apart from Jesus leads to some form of foolish idolatry. Remember, idolatry is the elevation of anything or anyone to the place of ultimate worth above God. Even good things can become idols. So beware. Have you been suppressing the truth about God because of your sinful actions? If so, you will be under God’s wrath. But his wrath (unlike human anger) is measured and controlled and balanced with love. This is why Paul is eager to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ because it has the power to save!