Word of Salvation – Vol. 24 No. 21 – March 1978

 

What's Wrong With Our World Today?

 

Sermon by Rev. B. Gillard, B.A., B.D. on Romans 1:18-32

Scripture reading: Romans 1:18-32

Psalter Hymnal: 368; 94; 1; 31; 490

 

1. The Answer to The Problem.

Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,

Do you ever get the feeling that things are getting worse rather than better in the world in which we are living?

Does it seem to you as you read the newspapers and listen to the news on T.V. and radio that crimes of violence are on the increase, and standards in general have slipped?

Is it not true that there is a far greater outcry for liberalising the laws and lowering the moral standards today than there was say ten or even five years ago? Homosexuality, abortion, sex education for the very young, availability of contraceptives, lowering the drinking age and so on....! Are we not hearing an increasing amount about such things?

Hasn't the standard of movies, books and magazines greatly declined and become much more open and acceptable?

Perhaps these things have always been around. But I am sure that we would all have to agree that they have become much more open, and the climate of opinion towards them has undergone a massive change.

How do we account for this changing face of society in our Western Civilisation and Culture?

The Apostle Paul supplies us with the answer to that question in this section of his epistle to the Romans. For it seems that there is a striking similarity between the times we are living in and the times the Apostle is speaking about.

How then does the Apostle Paul account for it? He gives us the answer in Verse 18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.”

That which the Apostle Paul saw all around him in his day and that which we are seeing in our day is a manifest revelation of the righteous judgement of God.

The first thing that strikes us then is the enormous difference of outlook between the Apostle Paul, and the liberal-minded men of his and our age.

Those who are leading the bandwagon for complete freedom see it as progressiveness; breaking away from the old Victorian inhibitions, and rejecting the idea of any absolute standards. Everything now is relative; it all depends; each person becomes a law unto himself, and does what is right in his own eyes. This, to many, is the essence of progress. But, for the Apostle Paul, it is a clear sign of the judgement of God.

Three times in the remaining part of this chapter the Apostle speaks of God abandoning man to his own devices. In verse 24 he says, "God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity that their bodies might be dishonoured among them.” In verse 26 he says, "God gave them over to degrading passions." And in verse 28 he says, "God gave them over to a depraved mind to do those things which are not proper.”

So then, if you have wondered why it is that there is a great increase in violence, unrighteousness, greed, envy, strife, disobedience to authority and so on, then wonder no more, the answer is right there in Romans 1: the world is under the judgement of God.

God is withdrawing His restraining hand and allowing man to pursue the natural inclinations of his own depraved heart and mind.

I suppose we have all had the experience of trying to help a very obstinate person do something at one time or another, because we felt he did not know what he was doing. Perhaps it was an obstinate child, who just kept on insisting that he could do it himself and do it better. And in the end we finally had to say, alright, have it your own way, and we abandoned him and gave him up to his own efforts and he went ahead and made a complete mess of what he was doing. Well, that is exactly what our text says had happened to the world about which the Apostle Paul was writing.

2. Human Responsibility.

The second thing the Apostle Paul wants us to be in no mistake about is that the blame for this rests squarely upon man and not upon God.

You will notice that he says in verse 18 that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Man today likes to think of himself as the measure of all things. The future is in his hands, he must carve out his own destiny. But the Apostle Paul says men in his fallen state is an ungodly and an unrighteous creature. And I believe it is important for us to notice the order in which the Apostle expresses these things.

You will notice that he puts ungodliness before unrighteousness. Once again the Apostle would disagree with many today who would say that man's problem is only his unrighteousness. There are many who bemoan the unrighteous relationships that exist between men: racial tension and inequality; conflicting ideologies between East and West; unequal distribution of the World's resources between the rich and poor countries, and so on.

These are the real problems in our world according to many, but, the Apostle Paul does not start there. That's where he finishes. Man's greatest problem is not his unrighteousness but his ungodliness. He tries to live apart from God and find his own way and live according to the dictates of his own depraved mind and will. And the more he tries, the bigger the mess he makes of everything, and the more God abandons him to his own devices, as his well- deserved judgement.

Now it would be bad enough if man was doing this in his blindness and his ignorance. But the Apostle Paul tells us that that is not the case. The fact of the matter is man knows exactly what he is doing. But he is too stubborn and proud to humble his heart and admit it and come to God in true repentance. As a matter of fact the situation is even worse than that, it is not just that man is not ignorant, but he does not want God to poke His nose, as it were, into his affairs. The Apostle Paul brings this out in several places in this portion of Scripture. In verse 18 he said, "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness."

Can you imagine trying to intervene and help someone when you see them going wrong, and then have them tell you to shut up and mind your own business?

I know of someone who once tried to warn a friend that they were unwise in the way they managed their finances. And that person was told to shut up and mind his own business. You see they knew the truth, but they did not want to be told. They preferred to continue living the way they were, borrowing and running into debt, and they had to suppress the voice that was telling them that they were going wrong.

Well, the Apostle Paul says that's exactly the way it is with man. He suppresses the truth in an unrighteous way, so that he can go on doing the things he wants to do. In other words he is really screaming out at God and telling Him to mind His own business and to leave him alone.

You see the unconverted man is not really so ignorant about God. He is not totally blind, he knows God is there and he knows he is in rebellion against Him. The Apostle Paul leaves us in no doubt about this, because he goes on to say in the next verse, "that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. For even though they knew God, they did not honour Him as God, or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures."

No, man is not ignorant. He knows full well what he is doing. And he knows the ungodliness and the unrighteousness of his deeds. He knows the apostasy of his heart and his rebellion against God. And the tragedy is that he does not even care.

But having said all this, we still have not exhausted all that the Apostle has to say about man in his fallen state.

Not only is man not ignorant of God and aware of his rebellion against Him, he also knows that he is fully deserving of death and judgement. The Apostle brings this out in the last verse of the chapter where he says, "and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practise such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practise them."

It seems as though the Apostle can hardly believe that man's heart could be so depraved and corrupt. Not only does he do the things that he does, he says, knowing that he shall experience the judgement of God and eternal death, but he gives hearty approval and encourages others in the practice of the abominations mentioned in this chapter.

Is it any wonder then that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men? What else, we might ask, reverently, could God do? What would you do if you were in God's place? If someone continued to refuse your overtures for help and assistance, and repeatedly told you to shut up and get out and mind your own business, would you have any alternative but to withdraw from them and leave them for a time to their own devices?

But thank God all is not lost. The situation is not as hopeless and as dark as it may seem. There is hope, and the most glorious hope at that. The Apostle Paul also tells us about that in verse 16 of this chapter where he states the glorious theme of this entire epistle. As a matter of fact it is against such a dark background as this that the Apostle says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

The Apostle Paul knew that man had gotten himself into a terrible mess. But he also knew that God had provided a way out of that mess. The Apostle knew that God's way was the only way. In all the world there is no other way. And the solution is a very simple one. It only requires of man that he humble his heart, admit the folly and error of his way in seeking to live without God, truly repent of his sin, and see in Jesus the One Who died in the sinner's place for his sin and rebellion, and now offers peace and pardon.

This is still the only hope for man today. There is no other hope for him. No other beacon of light shining in this dark and darkening world of sin, than the glorious light of salvation that is found in Christ.

If you are a true believer today, then there is one thing that is for sure, you never need to feel ashamed of the glorious gospel of Christ. The world will try and make you feel ashamed of it. Young people who take a stand for Christ at school will be ridiculed. Adults at work may be mocked and told it is outdated. The standards of Christ in the moral issues of the day might be rejected. But there is one thing that everybody will discover to be true sooner or later, and that is there is no other way. The gospel of God, the good news about Jesus dying for men and offering forgiveness and a new heart to man is still, and always will be, the only solution to what's wrong with our world today.

May God grant that, if there are any here today who have never yet found that great solution to the problem of their own sin, God in His mercy will draw you to Himself and open your eyes to see the beauty and glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And may all of us who know Him never give in to despair if we see things growing worse, but be evermore diligent in proclaiming the good news and the only solution to sinners far and near. Just as the darkest hour is the hour before the dawn, so it has often been in history, dark periods and declining days have often heralded true revival in the life of God's church and renewal in the nation. Perhaps God once again in His mercy will call His church again to prayer and the darkening shadows of our age will usher in a new day of salvation.

Amen!