In Romans 1:18-2:11, Paul starts out saying there are people who denied the truth of God and exchanged a lie for the truth. They were dealt with by being given over to the sinful desires of their hearts, including homosexuality. Anyone who puts their desires and thoughts in the place of God and His thoughts are doing the same thing. They will be judged for it.
Rom 1:18-20
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.
In the same way God has made known who He is to the pagans, He has made it clear to anyone who claims Christ. Instead of taking Him at His word that God is in control, that God sets the rules, people who want to justify their chosen sin place their desires above Him and His desires. God has made His holiness and righteousness obvious; God has made it clear what is right and wrong – what HE accepts and does not accept is seen in Scripture. People who desire to justify their chosen sin suppress the truth of God’s righteousness and holiness with wickedness. But people are without excuse.
Rom 1:21-23
21 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. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Although knowing who God is, what God has done and said, people who want to justify their chosen sin do not glorify God and have futile thinking and their foolish hearts have been darkened. By trying to justify what they want to do, they claim to be wise, but in fact have put themselves in God’s place, and so exchanged the true image of God for themselves, a thing created in the image of God.
Rom 1:24-25
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
Because their thoughts are more important to them than those of God’s, He has given them over in their sinful desires to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They have exchanged the truth of God for a lie. They worship and serve themselves, created things (those who claim to worship God do not, since if they did, they would obey Him).
Rom 1:26-27
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
Because they have put themselves in God’s place in their lives (by ignoring what God has said), God gave them over to shameful desires. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way, men abandoned natural relations with women and have become enflamed with lust for one another. They committed indecent acts with one another. Note that Paul did not say that they did these things in context of worship, simply that these people did those things and those things were unnatural, indecent, and shameful. He identified the desire and the acts as bad.
Rom 1:28-32
28 Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Because they did not retain the knowledge of God, but chose to use their own thoughts in place of His, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. God named that with which they were filled: every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity, envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. God called them gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful. God said they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they are senseless, faithless, heartless, and ruthless. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Notice, God calls them faithless, because they replace God with created things – and this includes themselves. But now let us look at what God says concerning the people to whom he was speaking.
Rom 2:1-4
1 You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2 Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3 So when you, a mere man, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4 Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance?
God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. People who do these things should not judge others who do them, because they would be judging themselves. People who do these things show contempt for the kindness, tolerance and patience of God, not realizing that God’s kindness leads them toward repentance.
Note, if someone does these bad things and calls others on doing the same things, they are a hypocrite and do bad. But he has not said these things are good, or even allowed. Instead, he said these things need to be repented from. He also did not say to not call the people who do these things on the sins, if the person who is doing the rebuking does not do these things.
Rom 2:5-11
5 But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of God’s wrath, when his righteous judgment will be revealed. 6 God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” 7 To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. 8 But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger. 9 There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile; 10 but glory, honor and peace for everyone who does good: first for the Jew, then for the Gentile. 11 For God does not show favoritism.
But because people who want to do what they desire have hardened their hearts, and continue to do the things which God has said are wrong, they are storing up wrath against themselves for Judgment Day. God “will give to each person according to what he has done.” It makes no difference who someone is, God shows no favoritism: those who seek God and to do what God has said is good will have eternal life; those who seek to disobey God and do what God has said it bad will have eternal death.
In fact, Paul was even clearer in stating people who confess Christ must turn away from wickedness:
2 Timothy 2:19
Nevertheless, God’s solid foundation stands firm, sealed with this inscription: “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Everyone who confesses the name o the Lord must turn away from wickedness.
Each of us will be judged. If we continue to live a life of sin (including homosexual sin), we will pay for it. If we seek God and obey Him, we will be rewarded.
Not only should we not sin, but we also should not cause others to stumble in their walk with God:
1 Corinthians 10:32
Do not cause anyone to stumble, whether Jews, Greeks or the church of God
And we need to not do like the ones that God used Jude to warn of, changing the grace of God for a license for immorality:
Jude 1:4
For certain men whose condemnation was written about long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ our only Sovereign and Lord.
Hebrews 5:9
And being made perfect, he became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey him.
We must obey God, and not continue to sin.
1 John 5:18-20
18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. 19 We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. 20 We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true—even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.
Continually sinning goes against what Christ said were the two greatest commands because if you truly loved God OR your neighbor OR yourself, you will love God with all your strength, mind, and spirit. You would be obedient to GOD rather than thinking your thoughts and feelings should take precedence over what God has said. Also, you would not lead your neighbor into sin if you truly loved them or yourself. But instead, you choose to argue and justify rather than Love and Obey.
Christ is only the savior for those who trust in His saving work – and if He is, then they will obey Him, If they do not obey, then that is evidence that He is not their savior.
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