Hell On Earth Part 2

1. They did not want to retain God in their knowledge—1:28

a. The Lost Mind is a choice—unless under the conviction of the Holy Spirit, the lost mind wants nothing to do with God or the things of God.

(1) Lost minds naturally hate God--Rom 8:7
(2) They are beyond being able to understand God—1 Cor 2:14
(3) Lost minds are by nature Children of Wrath—Ep 2:2-3

(a) They are willing slaves of the “Prince of the power of the air”
(b) They are the “children of disobedience”
b. They could not stand the holiness of God, and they hated His law, so they did not like to retain even the innate knowledge of Him (conscience) that all men have.
c. Lost minds are defined by the foolish mind of Proverbs—Prov 1:7

2. God’s judgment on the lost mindèSince they don’t want God…

a. God Gave them over—
(1) the same term used for handing over a prisoner to his sentence-- This abandonment is a judgment of God— Since they don’t want a mind attuned to spiritual and moral reality, God lets the consequences of evil take their course.

(2) Reprobate (debased) the Greek word refers to a metal that had not passed the test--useless metal because it contained too many impurities
(3) The root word--always used of being approved of God for faithful service—passing the test for a pure metal— 2 Tim 2:15, James 1:12
(4) The word here--means NOT approved, having not passed the test, a mind that is full of impurities.
b. The Wrath of Abandonment (MacArthur)

(1) This abandonment is the result of sinful rejection of God and His Truth, 2 Thes 2:7-12
(2) Other Examples: Prov 1:22-23
(3) Psa 81:11-12
(4) The Lost mind is worthless, not because it is incapable of great and even beautiful things, but because its impurities twist it beyond repair, except through salvation.

3. The Chickens come home to roost

a. The first result of a debased mind—debased lives—to do those things which are not convenient;, are not fitting; (NKJV), to do what ought not to be done. (NIV)
(1) Once a person is given over to a debased, reprobate mind, there is no limit to the sin they will do except the limitations placed on them by their own limited resources--until God decides to cut them off permanently.
(2) Prov 23:6 -7

b. The Second Result of a Debased Mind--A Debased Society

(1) The prime meaning of this passage is the decline of human society in the beginning, as mentioned last week.
(2) This pattern of decline has been repeated many times, particularly in the history of Israel
(3) The supreme lesson-- a debased, degenerate society is the natural result of debased minds who reject God and His way.

c. A debased society is hell on earth—Rom 1:29-1:31, but we should not be surprised.

d. We have rejected God and His ways

(1) God says marriage is one man, one woman, the world says there are no boundaries
(2) God says that men should be the heads of their households and that they should take care of their families--too many men do neither, nor make any effort.
(3) God says Prov 14:34 Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people....But the sins of America are not a reproach, instead many people openly praise some of the most wicked things we do.

(a) Politicians praise "a woman's right to choose"
(b) Politicians and leaders praise "sexual diversity"
(c) Our government funds so-called "art" which is sacrilegious, pornographic and just plain sick, and many people applaud our open-mindedness
(d) The largest entertainment company in America openly laughs at traditional values, and most believers say, "ho hum"
(e) One of the preachers at the Heath High funeral said one of the most profound things I have ever heard said about abortion-- "We slaughter children by the millions, why should be surprised when they begin to slaughter one another?"

e. Woe is pronounced on a society where everything is upside down, and our society is just like That—Isa 5:20

3. The Sin of Toleration—1:32

a. We Can Make No Peace With Wickedness—Jer 6:14 “….They have also healed the hurt of My people slightly, Saying, 'Peace, peace!' When there is no peace…”

b. Thoughts—
(1) One of the nicest things some people think you can say about a man is that he is tolerant. Tolerance is a highly praised attribute in our society.
(2) One of the meanest things you can say about a man in our society is that he is intolerant—an intolerant man is thought to be just plain ignorant, bigoted, and stupid.
(3) As with most lies, there is a degree of Truth in this concept of society. We should be gracious and tolerant in small things, and we must make allowances for people in some cases and in some areas. We need to be ever ready to be merciful and compassionate.
(4) However, this stress on toleration is a lie—when it comes to the Christian being tolerant of sin and of societal disintegration, we are NOT to be tolerant of evil, and we may make no peace with evil.
(5) If we take no stand, we really have taken a stand—we have declared to the world that we do not care, and we have tacitly approved wickedness.
(6) As this passage in Romans 1 has condemned the sin of mankind, as this passage has told us of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against the sin of man, as God has specified in detail the sins with which He is most displeased, we come now to the saddest sin of all—toleration of sin by people who know better.

c. How do we tolerate sin?

(1) We tolerate sin when we speak in favor of it, or at least tolerantly of it.
(2) We tolerate sin when we say nothing—Adam for example—Ezek 3:18-19
(3) We tolerate sin when we do nothing.

d. Knowing—Those who commit such things— Eph 4:31, Titus 3:3, 1 Cor 1:11, 1 Cor 3:3, 2 Cor 12:20, Gal 5:20.
(1) Through conscience, nature, and the teachings of Godly people, lost man knows what is wrong, he just ignores it.
(2) "...Are worthy of death..." lost man also knows that he is condemned, he just does not want to face it.