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.
When the Apostle Paul wrote these words, he gave to all Christian, in all times and in all places, a really good insight into the tenacity with which ungodly men will pursue their ungodliness. Sadly, many Christians turn from Paul’s words today because they seem to be a little harsh, unloving, and intolerant. However, if we take the time to look around at our culture today, we will see that Paul was right on the mark.
As you well know, there is a push on in Australia to legitimise homosexuality. This began many moons ago with basic equality laws and it is coming to a head with the current push to allow homosexuals to marry. Now, we have written elsewhere on these topics, so we will not cover that ground again.[1] The points to be highlighted here are those in the title, which fall in line with Paul’s warning.
Rebellion: The first point to be considered, because it is the fundamental point to be grasped if Christians are going to move to victory, is that all unregenerate sinners are rebels at heart. Again, this may seem unloving, but these are not my words or, in the first instance, my point of view. This is the revelation of the facts given to us by God Himself.
Paul begins his discourse in verse eighteen by noting that the ungodly suppress the truth of God. Paul then goes on to show that the knowledge of God is available to all because God Himself made it available. This is what leads to Paul’s disturbing conclusion – They know their deeds are worthy of death because they contravene God’s law, but they do them anyway and encourage others to follow.
It is fundamentally important that we grasp this point. Sinners are rebels. They do not want to give up their sin. So addicted to their sin are they that they will encourage others to join them so that they can have an easing of the pangs of conscience and a greater justification for their actions – “Well, they are doing it too!”
An example of this rebellion occurred last night (26/08/16). Michael Kirby was interviewed on Lateline. Michael Kirby, a retired High Court Justice, is a homosexual and he is using his “clout” to push his particular barrow. During this interview, of which only short snippets were glimpsed, Mr Kirby advocated that the politicians should decide the matter of homosexual union and not have it decided via a plebiscite. He went on to say that if the Parliament decided against the proposal that was fair enough because it would be overturned later. Here, in the flesh, is the rebellion.
It seems to be a forgotten fact that the Parliament did vote, the Parliament did decide and their decision was an overwhelming, No! In September 2012 the Australian Parliament voted, 98 to 42, to reject same-sex marriage. Ever since then the narcissistic rebels have cried foul, agitated, introduced Bill after Bill, thrown their lollies on the floor time after time, and acted like spoiled children attempting to bully their way to victory.
Proof comes from the opening lines of the Sydney Morning Herald: “Advocates will shift their focus to legalising same sex marriage at the state level, after Federal MPs yesterday voted down a bill which would have allowed gay couples to marry.”[2] Not happy with the democratic vote of the Federal Government, the rebellious ones set their sights on a different group of politicians. This shift in focus no doubt resulted in the ACT introducing its own legislation, which led to a High Court challenge by the Federal Government.[3]
Thinly veiled in Mr Kirby’s statement is the fact that the homosexual minority[4] is going to continue their push until the Australian Government submits to their will. The Government can vote and defeat the Bill this time and the rebels will keep at it.
This rebellion is exactly why these people are targeting Parliament. They know that they are in the minority and that most people in this country do not support their stand. Thus, they do not want a popular vote of any kind and they most definitely do not want a popular vote that is binding. They want to use coercion and bullying tactics to manipulate the weak political situation for their own end.
In this, we also see the duplicity of the rebels. They speak of democracy and equality, but they will walk over both to attain their goal.[5] They respect not the people or the Parliament, because they respect not the One Living and True God.
Ignorance: Paul notes that those who rebel against God and His order will be extremely keen to have the positive support of others. They want a mutual society of sycophants so that they can justify their actions and feel justified by the company they keep. However, there are many who are also duped into giving hearty support because they do not look with God’s eyes and therefore do not really understand the essence of the argument or what is at stake.
We came across such a situation today. We had a lay-by at a particular little shop, a favourite of my wife’s. We have been there many times. Today, upon entering, we saw a rainbow flag hanging on the door. When we had finished our business, the comment was passed to the owner that it was disappointing to see that flag. She responded by saying that “the shop” believed in this and that was that. The interesting part was no sooner had the words fallen from her mouth than she said, “I do not want to talk about it.” Whoa up! You display the flag, which is a political statement and then you do not wish to engage on the topic. Hmmm!
Anyway, thankfully she was unable to restrain herself and started by stating that ‘people who “love each other” should be able to get married.’ The question was sent back to her, “What is love?” This was responded to by another affirmation that she desired no discourse. Then, she interjected that ‘marriages fail, often with children in the middle, so why not allow homosexuals to marry.’ Well, that caused some head scratching! If marriages fail and children get hurt, should she not be advocating that marriage and procreation be banned, rather than advocating the broadening of marriage? After all, we are aware of several cases already involving homosexual couples that have parted ways and then enter a battle over custody of the children. In short, allowing homosexuals to marry will not resolve this problem; it will only create more and unique cases for the courts to figure out.
Refraining from silence, the last effort on the shop keeper’s part was to speak of “equality”. Our reply was that equality does not exist and that to approve homosexual marriage would be to actively discriminate against heterosexual marriage. We received a bewildered, “no!” in reply.
The point to be made here is not that we enjoy harassing helpless shop keepers, but rather that there are people who are roped into supporting the rebels without having any clear understanding of the issues. They have been blinded by the “love” words and calls for “equality” without every realising what these terms are being used to veil. The conversation reported above was interesting because it was almost as though the shop keeper was reading from prompt-points written by a homosexual propagandist; yet, she clearly had no depth of understanding as to the real issues.
This is, of course, exactly what the rebels desire. They seek to capture followers by feigning exploitation, by emotional heart-string pulling, and the claiming of injustice. They do not want the truth to be known because that would be a very inconvenient truth for their cause. Thus, for the Christian, the lesson is that we need to understand the issues well so that we can poke holes in these false reasons and clearly demonstrate what is at stake. We need to put God’s word before these people, but we need to also understand the issues and concepts so that we can explain the errors.
Death: Paul’s reference to death is often explained away as only referring to the last judgement and the consigning of the wicked to Hell. However, such an understanding seems to be contrary to the whole thrust of Paul’s argument. Paul seems to be speaking of those presently engaged in activities that contravene God’s law. His point is that they are not only flouting God’s law but also the penalties (death) that are prescribed by God’s law.
Understood in this way, we must see that these rebels are dead in trespass and sin (Ephesians 2:1) and that they, therefore, bring an air of death to all that they do and touch. This stands to reason. If life, full and abundant, is in Jesus the Christ then those who deny Jesus and rebel against God must be devoid of life and be the harbingers of death.
So it is in the current case. We have seen either explicitly or implicitly how these rebels have killed or are killing the political process, democracy, truth, language, justice, morality, and law. With the demise of these elements, we will see our culture and nation begin to atrophy until the emaciated carcass finally collapses and falls to the earth dead.
Are we exaggerating? No. Not even a little bit. God judges sin. Proverbs 14:34, often quoted, states, “Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people.” Paul, in Romans 1, tells us that homosexuality is a great sin, indeed the greatest, and therefore a great disgrace. If it is a disgrace, then it will not lead to exaltation, but to deprecation. Already, we see that this nation is failing and it will continue to spiral downwards as long as we tolerate sin. Recently, I spoke to a lady who was bemoaning her mother’s negative attitude to everything. We asked her to pause and think about the standards that her mother grew up with and the type of society that was and is now. It did not take long for the “penny to drop”. Our children are not safe on the streets. Murder is an everyday occurrence and we are no longer aghast at its reality. We have no faith in Governments. Drug addiction is rife. Family violence is rife … need any more be said.
Equally, if we understand Paul’s words correctly, we must grasp that homosexuality is not only a sin, but a judgement – God handed them over or gave them up. Thus, rampant homosexuality and its willing embrace tells us that our nation is already under God’s displeasure; to further legalise homosexuality and establish it as a norm is surely to beg disaster.
The Humanists will repudiate such a notion because they do not fear God. Yet, the truth of God’s judgement is borne out by empirical examination: Name one nation that has prospered and blossomed after embracing homosexuality? The once mighty West is but a shadow of its former self. We have more strife than ever before. What of Rome? What of Sparta? What of the once mighty Greek states? All embraced homosexuality. All are like the Dodo.
Brethren, let us not be duped. The current remonstrations are not about justice, equality, or tolerance. The rebels are rebelling against God. Ignorance fuels their cause because they and this nation will not listen to God’s word. Death will be the end result, because they reject Jesus Christ, the author of life.
Now, understand well, this is not a prophecy of doom, as such. It is a prediction based on God’s word. If the nation does not repent and forsake these evils, we have no reason to hope for a bright future. However, Jesus saved us and has left us on earth to be Light and Salt as His witnesses. So it is, brethren, that we have the ability to change this nation and to bring days of prosperity and blessing. Yet, such hope is conditional. It is conditioned by our repentance, the forsaking of our sin, the courage of our hearts to stand for Christ in these dark days. It is conditioned on our willingness to shine the Light of Christ and spread the Salt of Christ.
We do not speak here of mere religiosity or religious fervency, but of the heart submerged in Christ and His word by the grace and presence of the Holy Spirit; the life that has no higher or greater purpose than to glorify God. A life that loves Jesus and obeys His commands. A life that hungers and thirsts for righteousness. A life that is clad in the armour of God. A life that, therefore, hates evil and delights in the fear of the Lord.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] See: https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2015/06/marriage-is-life-ap-version/; https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2015/03/equality-and-coercion-the-antipodes-of-humanism/; https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2015/02/the-hypocrisy-of-humanism-stephen-fry-and-his-blasphemy/; https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2015/07/nonsense-in-the-name-of-god/; https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2012/11/the-slippery-slope-homosexuality-to-polygamy/.
[2] http://www.smh.com.au/national/gay-marriage-bill-defeated-20120919-266a8.html accessed 27/08/16.
[3] For a critique, see: https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2013/12/the-high-court-and-homosexuality/.
[4] A recent statistic showed that the number is approximately 1.2%, not the widely publicised 10%
[5] See: https://www.reformationministries.com.au/blog/2015/06/catchphrases-of-doom/.