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Pathways Through Paul
Daily Devotional
Yesterday we saw that those men who didn't want to follow God were given over by God to reprobate thinking. As a result of their worthless thoughts, they began to do things that were not "convenient". "Convenient" simply means "appropriate". In other words, rejection of God's pure thinking leads to a man's failed thinking which then ultimately leads to that man's unfit lifestyle.
Verses
29-31 list out 23 different sins that men commit once they start following their own lusts. They include actions that men may take (fornication, murder, breaking covenants), things that men may say (boasters, whisperers [gossips], backbiters [slanderers]), and thoughts that men may have (covetousness, haters of God, unmerciful). All of these are rooted in lust (vs 24), and lust comes from a mind that doesn't want to think God's thoughts.
Verse 32 sums up the warped mind of the God-rejecter. He knows that God judges sin. Remember that verse 18 stated,
"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness".
This is something that men know naturally because it is revealed from Heaven, not just from the pages of Scripture. Verse 32 takes it a step farther and says that this man also knows that those who commit these sins deserve to die. People tend to believe that there are "big" sins and "little" sins. For example, they might think that if someone commits murder that maybe he or she would deserve to die, but no one would deserve to die just for being a gossip, or envious, or disobeying his parents. Yet God says that people who commit such things as are listed in verses 29-31 deserve to die. Paul repeats this idea in Romans 6:23 where he writes,
"For the wages of sin is death."
Ezekiel 18:20 reads,
"The soul that sinneth, it shall die".
The "size" of the sin isn't the issue. The fact that it IS sin is the issue. Here's the really bizarre part of verse 32: knowing what he knows, this man keeps committing these sins, and also enjoys being around others who are habitually committing them. What an indictment of his mind! How foolish! Yet his actions indicate that he is so hardened towards God that he doesn't care what He thinks about him or their companions, or what punishment and destruction await them.
While this passage is specifically dealing with the unsaved, I believe there is a lesson here for the Christian as well. Don't turn away from God because you don't like what He has said in the Bible or done in your life. Once you find God to be unsatisfactory, your mind will turn from the Lord, and your actions will soon follow.
Pastor Mark J Montgomery
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