INTRODUCTION

Romans 1:19-25

• 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.
• 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.
• 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 worshipped and served created things rather than the Creator-who is for ever praised. Amen.

Today we have only THREE POINTS:

I. Mankind has plenty of information about the Creator, yet always rebels.

Eye witnesses taught early man about God.

Adam and Eve. Of course they knew God. Even had conversations with Him in the garden. The descendents of Adam and Eve were long-lived. The oldest man who ever live, Methuselah, lived to be 969. Adam himself lived to be 930 years old.

Methuselah was the son of Enoch (famous for walking with God and vanishing into Heaven) and the father of Lamech (father of Noah), whom he fathered at the age of 187. A close reading of the dates in the Old Testament reveals that Methuselah is said to have died in the year of the Great Flood, but the Bible does not say that he was among those who died in the flood.

How old was Noah when the Flood came? Genesis 7:6 says he was 600 years old when the Flood came. So he would have known the famous ancestors who lived during those 600 years. Whom did Noah know? He knew people who knew Adam. The knowledge of God was well preserved historically.

After the flood, Noah's sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth, and their descendents, would have been very familiar with the God-knowledge of their father. Noah lived 350 years LONGER after he exited the ark. When the Tower of Babel was built, Noah's grand-children did it in a spirit of rebellion against what they knew to be true of God (Genesis 11:1-4)

• 1 ¶ Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.
• 2 As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.
• 3 They said to each other, "Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly." They used brick instead of stone, and bitumen for mortar.
• 4 Then they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth."

What was sinful and rebellious about the Tower of Babel? Two things.........

1. The purpose of the tower was not merely to be TALL. These ancient ziggurats were always used to worship the sun, the moon and the stars, and astrological symbols were inscribed on the top floor, open to the brilliant sky of the Middle East of 4000 years ago. It was a place of man-made idolatry, and a rejection of the One who made the sun, moon and stars.

2. The purpose of the tower was to "make a name for ourselves." This has nothing to do with becoming well-know to other peoples, because there were no other peoples. At this point in time all mankind lived together, and they had one language. To "make a name" has to do with worship. We often read in the Bible about God's name, and how important it was...

Ge 12:8 "From there he (Abraham) went on towards the hills east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. There he built an altar to the LORD and called on the name of the LORD."

Ex 20:7 "You shall not misuse the name of the LORD your God, for the LORD will not hold anyone guiltless who misuses his name."

De 32:3 "I will proclaim the name of the LORD. Oh, praise the greatness of our God!"

Ps 8:9 "O LORD, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth!"

The people who built the Tower of Babel were abandoning the Name of God, and creating their own name, that they would elevate and worship. How majestic is OUR name in all the earth! Man-made religion would be the "name of the game" from now on! And that's the way it is with our rulers today. They don't rely on God to be our Lord and Savior, but they think they can fix the world by government programs. They think we can be our own God.

Creation (Outer Space and Our Beautiful Planet) taught, and still teaches, about God.

• 1 ¶ For the director of music. A psalm of David. The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
• 2 Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they display knowledge.
• 3 There is no speech or language where their voice is not heard.
• 4 Their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world. In the heavens he has pitched a tent for the sun,
• 5 which is like a bridegroom coming forth from his pavilion, like a champion rejoicing to run his course.
• 6 It rises at one end of the heavens and makes its circuit to the other; nothing is hidden from its heat.
• Psalm 19:1-6

What has God revealed about Himself from the beginning of time, through Creation and Conscience?

• 1. His existence.
• 2. His power and glory.
• 3. His intelligence and wisdom.
• 4. His immortality.
• 5. His righteousness and holiness.
• 6. His kindness, goodness and love.
• 7. His worthiness of thanks and worship.
• 8. His Singularity (monotheism, not polytheism)

Conscience has always spoken to us about God.

Mankind not only knows that God exists, but that God is good. We also know innately that there is such a thing as good and evil. And we do evil, in spite of our knowledge. Conscience makes us know that we are sinners, and that we are out of fellowship the the holy God who made all things.

In spite of all the knowledge....

• 1. People did not glorify and worship God.
• 2. People did not give thanks to God.
• 3. People's thinking became futile.
• 4. People's hearts became darkened.
• 5. People claimed to be wise, but in reality became fools.
• 6. People worship idols that looked like animals.
• 7. People exchanged the truth of God for lies.

II. God allows people to make choices and reject Him.

The Prodigal son is a good example (Luke 15:11-12).

"Then He said: "A certain man had two sons.12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.

The prodigal son made a choice to take his money and leave, and his father gave him the money and let him go.

People are responsible before God to make moral choices, and God constantly allows us to be faced with temptations that demand we make choices. YOU and I, not just people in books, must make decisions. Shall we obey God, or shall we dis-obey? Shall we follow Christ, or shall we go our own way. Shall we do this, or shall we do that. For example, here's a story about a true event in a person's life, that illustrates choices that any of us may have to make:

Here's a true story...

I was born in Auckland, New Zealand in June 1963. I grew up in West Auckland and that is where I now live. I was the eldest of three. Even though I have many fond memories of my childhood, my parents separation when I was 12, shall we say, ended a period of anxiety in my life. I went through school and university. Then left to have a career in the computer industry.

I met my wife, after one unsuccessful marriage, at a function for singles. She is from China and was living with her daughter and parents. My wife is thirty nine. We married, and gave birth to a beautiful daughter, who is now three years old. Eighteen months ago we discovered she was pregnant. I felt a mixture of emotions, including fatherly happiness, and was more than ready to take on this new responsibility. My wife however did not feel the same as this was not part of her plans. We had never discussed pregnancy or having another child. She fairly much immediately decided on abortion, and had her mind set on it.

Our relationship did have its problems, but we both loved each other and are dedicated parents. My reaction was one of disbelief and a sense of panic. There were many reasons why we could have this child. For me abortion was the last option on the list. We were taking the life of our unborn child. I could see that this was a ride I did not wish to go on.

I put my trust in the universe that she would not go through with it. My wife did not see it this way. I think she saw it as some benign operation. She expected me to be there for her. I could not. We had to wait nearly three weeks. The abortion occurred in the same manner of someone having a tooth pulled. I have seen changes in my wife since, a loss of confidence and increased expressions of anger. She has a couple of times expressed regret at the decision. I still wonder where she keeps her sadness. For me I now constantly live with thoughts of the abortion. I wish it would go away. I feel it has kicked the foundations out from our family structure.

I love my wife but every time she does anything or say anything there is a sign around her neck saying ‘I killed your child’. I find it hard not to treat her with some degree of contempt. And here is the women I chose to spend the rest of my life with. I feel emotions of deep sadness and of anger. I feel a helplessness and a constant questioning of what I could have done differently.

I find it difficult to concentrate or find much interest in normal things. Thank God for my daughter. My use of alcohol has increased and I have taken up smoking. Some of my behaviour has degenerated to something less than desirable. I am now facing charges of reckless driving and failing to give a blood sample. I am angry at this system that let this happen.

My wife received little or no counselling and I did not even exist. What the law states and reality are two totally different things. There seems to be absolutely no recognition of the psychological wreckage that can be caused by the abortion, termination of pregnancy, killing of ones own unborn child.

What effect it is having on society we can only guess I instinctively knew that this was not a good thing. Sure, I understand my wife made a choice. But I also know that this was a human in its own right, and at three months the same as anybody else - except smaller. Its own disadvantage was that it depended on an environment to survive. It was denied that.

I realize I need healing. I am not sure how far I have gone towards that. God somewhere plays a part. Writing this, talking to the right people, reaching out, all will help. When my case comes up I will get a chance to quietly say how it has been for me... abortion and the father.

What could I do?
A beautiful gift was given
And cherished
Hoped for
And waited for
Then Taken.
I am sorry.
But the price will always be too high.
Go well my little angel.

III. Those who leave the God of the Bible proceed to idolatry and sexual immorality.

There are numerous examples in the Bible of how those who wander away from God almost always end up in sexual immorality. The opposite is also true. Those who love sexual immorality will wander away from God.

The story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-13):

"Then He said: "A certain man had two sons.12 And the younger of them said to his father, 'Father, give me the portion of goods that falls to me.' So he divided to them his livelihood.13 And not many days after, the younger son gathered all together, journeyed to a far country, and there wasted his possessions with prodigal living."

Prodigal is the Greek Word "asotos," and refers to debauchery. After leaving his father, the prodigal son spent all his money on wine and adulterous women.

The story of Solomon (I Kings 11:1-10):

• 1 ¶ King Solomon, however, loved many foreign women besides Pharaoh’s daughter-Moabites, Ammonites, Edomites, Sidonians and Hittites.
• 2 They were from nations about which the LORD had told the Israelites, "You must not intermarry with them, because they will surely turn your hearts after their gods." Nevertheless, Solomon held fast to them in love.
• 3 He had seven hundred wives of royal birth and three hundred concubines, and his wives led him astray.
• 4 As Solomon grew old, his wives turned his heart after other gods, and his heart was not fully devoted to the LORD his God, as the heart of David his father had been.
• 5 He followed Ashtoreth the goddess of the Sidonians, and Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
• 6 So Solomon did evil in the eyes of the LORD; he did not follow the LORD completely, as David his father had done.
• 7 On a hill east of Jerusalem, Solomon built a high place for Chemosh the detestable god of Moab, and for Molech the detestable god of the Ammonites.
• 8 He did the same for all his foreign wives, who burned incense and offered sacrifices to their gods.
• 9 ¶ The LORD became angry with Solomon because his heart had turned away from the LORD, the God of Israel, who had appeared to him twice.
• 10 Although he had forbidden Solomon to follow other gods, Solomon did not keep the LORD’s command.

Since WW2, America has been leaving God, and increasing its love of sexual immorality. TV has moved from "Leave It to Beaver," and "The Andy Griffith Show" to the homelife of Playboy Bunny girls. Extreme violence and sex dominate the movie industry. The lyrics of many of the popular songs on the radio are impossible for Christians to listen to. Instead of "I love you, let's get married and have a family," it's "Let's have sex right now." The tabloid magazines that we see at the checkout cash register at the grocery store are full of photos and gossip about the immoral behavior of America's movie stars and pop music stars. But Americans buy these tabloids by the millions.

The point is: those who leave God will usually rush head-long into sexual immorality of one kind or another.

Aldous Huxley (1894-1963), a leading atheist/evolutionist of fifty years ago, explained why evolution was so popular with him and his colleagues (Quotes from Huxley's book, "Ends and Means"):

"I had motives for not wanting the world to have a meaning; consequently I assumed that it had none, and was able without any difficulty to find satisfying reasons for this assumption . . . Those who detect no meaning in the world generally do so because, for one reason or another, it suits their [purpose] that the world should be meaningless" (Ends and Means, 1946, p. 273).

"For myself, as, no doubt, for most of my contemporaries, the philosophy of meaninglessness was essentially an instrument of liberation. The liberation we desired was simultaneously liberation from a certain political and economic system and liberation from a certain system of morality. We objected to the morality because it interfered with out sexual freedom . . . There was one admirably simple method of confuting these people and at the same time justifying ourselves in our political and erotic revolt: We could deny that the world had any meaning whatsoever" (ibid., p. 270).

Summary and Conclusion:

• 1. Mankind has plenty of information about the Creator, yet always rebels.
• 2. God allows people to rebel against Him. He let's them go.
• 3. Leaving God leads to idolatry and sexual immorality.

As Christians, what are we supposed to do about this situation?

1. Be busy sharing the Gospel with those around us. But realize that when we evangelize anyone we must have the power of the Holy Spirit at work. Only God can change the human heart. Only God can take your preaching of the Gospel and give it power.

2. Rededicate ourselves to God, and make a commitment to censor our TV sets, and our movie and reading choices. Be careful lest the world around us tempt us away from God.