July 2004

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Christian Chronicles, July 2006 - Volume 7, Issue 125

The Editor's Pen

There is no miracle greater than the miracle of the Word of God itself (Himself). That such a God as ours could reveal Himself to mankind through the written Word, and use that same Word to hide Himself from unbelievers is simply amazing. In all the religions of the world, there is no writing anywhere that even remotely compares to the Old and New Testaments in terms of literary magnificence or doctrinal exposition. Other writers of other books claim no Divine inspiration, nor should they. Yet, the Bible makes that claim simply and unashamedly, and then proves itself by both the fulfillment of prophecy and an incomparably absolute harmony of doctrine. Composed of sixty-six individual books, the Bible is yet one Book. Each of the sixty-six has its place in the whole, yet each stands alone as well. The Bible is a vast tapestry of the incorrigible sinfulness of man and the infinite and glorious mercy of God, offered both freely and justly to all who will receive it by His grace through faith.

Of all the books of the Bible, none rises to the heights of Paul’s letter to the church at Rome. The first eight chapters present a theological foundation for all that is indeed the Word of God, explaining how a just God can remain just, while forgiving sin, even as He also executes Divine judgment upon every sin, from the slightest to the most egregious. No expositor can do this epistle justice in either a small publication such as ours or in a multi-volume commentary. The first eight chapters of Romans constitute an indictment, evidence, conviction, the death penalty, and its execution; yet, culminating in eternal life. No human author either could have or would have conjured up such a faith as ours. And if he had, he could never have explained so very much in so little space as Paul did in everything he wrote, but especially in his letter to the faithful saints at Rome.

It is our earnest desire and fervent prayer, not to provide an exposition of the Epistle to the Romans in such a tiny space as that available to us, but merely to touch upon a few of its more significant points without proving ourselves to be an embarrassment to God, or to bring the reproach of the world upon the name of such a God as Him who called us without merit and saved us, calling us by His own name, and now glorifies Himself in the lives of sinners.

Perspectives

“For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek, for in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith’” (Rom 1:16-17—NKJV)

Some texts omit the words “of Christ” concerning the Gospel that Paul speaks of here. But since it is the power of God for salvation, it is not wrong to mention the title of the One who provides our salvation. Jesus is “the Christ” (Mt 1:17 & 58 other references), and in that office, He has provided salvation for all who will believe. Paul is not ashamed of this Gospel, because it was this which lifted completely the burden of guilt for his having persecuted the Church and sought its destruction. It was this Gospel which brought the very power of God to bear in executing judgment against every sin; yet also in saving those who have been proven guilty of sin, making our God both just, and the Justifier of the one who believes in this Christ of whom he writes.

Paul concludes his introduction to this letter with the verses above. That is, he announces that he is going to present this Gospel of Christ in its theological entirety. In this epistle, the apostle proves that the entire world is guilty of sin, presents and proves the doctrine of justification by faith, and succinctly but completely explains our sanctification through union with Christ in His death and resurrection. Paul accomplishes this unimaginable task in only eight chapters; whereas men have tried to expound upon Paul’s letter in whole volumes, and sets of volumes, and have consistently failed to rise to the majesty and clarity of Paul himself. Paul’s purpose in these first eight chapters is to reveal the righteousness of God, and then to impute this same righteousness to every sinner who believes the Gospel, making those who were the enemies of God His dearest and most prized possession. In all of the Bible, the Epistle to the Romans is unique in its presentation of the depth and scope of theological truths. Paul is not ashamed of this Gospel of Christ because it is the most magnificent and glorious truth ever given to a rebellious and God-rejecting world. It is a message of righteousness and of grace, where the two meet, in the spirits of men made holy by a loving and longsuffering God.

In the first eight chapters of the Epistle to the Romans, Paul covers the whole range of issues relating to our salvation and our eternal security. Starting in 1:18, Paul begins an extensive array of indictments that covers virtually every form of sin in which man might engage. It is in this section that he deals with the issue of homosexuality (see separate article on 1:24-27), but he also addresses every other form of evil that man does, all stemming from the fact that man, in one way or another, has worshiped and served that which God has created rather than God Himself. Paul shows that the barbarians, those who worship many gods in various ways, stand condemned. He shows that those Gentiles who are self-regulating moralizers, who follow a form of law, but who do not attain to the righteousness of God, are also condemned. Everyone who judges someone else on account of some sin is himself also guilty. Then he shows that the Jews, who have both the Law and the prophets of God, are guilty as well. He concludes this first section in 3:19-20, arriving at the problem that man faces in being unable to do or be anything remotely close enough to the righteousness of God to get to heaven on his own merit. The Law was not given as a means by which one might attain the righteousness required for entry into heaven, but was given to reveal the inherent sinfulness and depravity of man.

Paul goes on to show that justification must be by faith, using Abraham and David as examples of those whose faith was accounted to them for righteousness. Such righteousness is not found in ordinances, or even in the law of Moses, but is by faith alone. He shows that because of the faith that justifies, we have had our inherited enmity against God nullified, and have gained peace with Him. By union with God in His death and resurrection, the penalty of the Law has been executed upon us as well, and our old self is to be reckoned as already dead, that we should no longer live in sin who are dead to sin.

Paul also deals with the continuing sin in the life of the Christian (7:15-25), declaring that even he himself could not do that which his spirit wanted him to do, because he was weak through the flesh. But by faith, we are made free from the law of sin and death on account of the indwelling Holy Spirit, who intercedes for us even when we cannot know how to pray as we ought to pray, so that God works all things in our lives for our good according to His purpose. He concludes this most important chapter in the Bible (Chapter 8) with the theological proof that nothing can separate us from the love of God: not tribulation, distress, persecution, famine, nakedness (see Gen 3:7), peril, sword, death, life, angels, principalities, things present, things to come, powers, height, depth, nor any other created thing (including ourselves), can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. It is clearly a letter of promise, and not of condemnation!

Mid-East Update

A man will cut off his nose to spite his face. The leaders of Hamas are proving this daily. No one can doubt the sincerity of Hamas in its desire to better the daily lives of the Palestinian people by ending the corruption that the Fatah Party has practiced for decades and longer. Hamas’ intention was to bring stability and hope to an embattled people who were being systematically robbed by their own leaders. It was this clear desire that allowed them to win the elections that have spawned a new round of escalating violence between Israel and the Palestinians.

Actually, Israel has no bone to pick with the Palestinian people. Rather, Israel’s contention is with the elected leaders of those people, the military group Hamas.

Israel would make peace with the Palestinian people, throwing generosity into the bargain. But one cannot negotiate peace with a despotic regime. With the whole world, a few Arab states excepted, halting its aid and demanding a recognition of Israel and a renunciation of violence, the Palestinians under Hamas continue to insist upon Israel’s destruction and its own possession of all the land that they consider to be their ancestral home. The problem is, the ancestors of others, prior to the Palestinians’ possession of that land, owned it. God gave it to Abraham and Isaac and Jacob as an eternal possession. What is going on here is similar to a landowner being locked up in jail for five years, only to find upon his release that an interloper had come in and claimed that land for himself, refusing to return it to its rightful owner. God, though He had promised the land to Jacob and his descendants forever, had taken Israel out of the land, but only with a promise of restoration at some point in the future. It was never the Palestinian people’s right to claim that land in the first place. They are the interlopers in this situation, not Israel. This they cannot or will not understand. Nevertheless, many Palestinians would forswear war in favor of peace, understanding that the world body will not permit them to displace Israel.

Yet, in spite of the clarity of the situation, Hamas is holding fast in the vain hope that the world will change its mind and push the Jews into the Mediterranean. They, like so many other historical regimes, do not reckon with the might of the Israeli God, but push arrogantly and rebelliously forward on the path to their own destruction.

What neither the world nor Israel can grasp is that God is going to punish them both severely for agreeing to surrender even a particle of dust from the Promised Land in exchange for peace with those who are in direct opposition to the promises of God, who is not answerable to Palestinians, other Gentile peoples, or Israel in the gifts and decisions He makes. Israel is acting with worldly wisdom, and the world is acting with a benevolence that gives the lie to the promises of God. Guaranteeing Israel’s security, the world is taking security from the Israelis by diminishing its frontiers, shrinking its borders, and making self defense a practical impossibility.

It is not at all unusual, however, to see the whole of mankind acting in rebellion against the promises of God, as if His eternal might and sovereignty do not extend down through the millennia to today.

So many look at the shifting sands in the Middle East, fretting daily over the events of that day, whether they bode well for an early rapture, or intimate that we might be here for a long time yet in a vain quest to settle the thorny issues that divide Jews and Gentiles in the Middle East. It is not the ebb and flow of daily struggle that ought to concern us, but the direction and end toward which we are inescapably turned. The world might wring its collective hands in despair from day to day, alternating with some sort of universal bi-polar ecstasy over the prospects for immediate peace. The world is shaping up steadily for the fulfillment of prophecy, and that means an early rapture, whether today or ten years from now. The ebb and flow of daily events ought not make us either giddy or fearful. The path is sure, and the destination, already written.

Fruit of the Vine

Seeing that Paul began his Epistle to the Romans with reference to the Gospel, it should be obvious that the starting point to evangelism is here.

Paul does not start at the Cross, but he doesn’t take long in getting there. He begins with a swift indictment of the whole world, from the primitive barbarians to the sophisticated Pharisees among the Jews. His conclusion is that the law cannot save anyone, but that salvation must come by faith in the One who paid sin’s penalty for us, and who now imputes the righteousness of that One to us. From that point forward through chapter eight, Paul explains the theology of salvation—the reasons why faith is effective in procuring the imputation of the righteousness of God. Every question that can be asked concerning salvation can be answered in the first eight chapters of Romans, but the message of the cross is simple enough for even the most uneducated Christian to grasp and to attest: We sin; the wages of sin is death; Jesus died, paying our penalty for us; we believe; He imputes His righteousness to us. The central point is Calvary. Salvation comes when we cover our sin with the blood of the Cross, and when we testify to others, our conversation must not be about ourselves, but about God; not how he made us better or richer, but how He paid our sin debt. That is the root that germinates in the word of reconciliation: I sinned, He died, I believed, He saved. No other message saves men from the penalty of their sins. It’s that simple.

Romans and the Established Christian OMM

If one accepts the principle of types and shadows, then there is much that bears on this discussion of the apostate church. Woman is a type of the Church, and marriage is a type of the relationship between Christ and the Church. Those two types are readily understood and accepted by conservatives, and substantiated by Scripture. Thus, wherever either woman or marriage are mentioned in the Scriptures, there is a spiritual application either to the Church or to the relationship between Christ and His bride. In some instances, the application is not as clear as in other references, but then, there is much in the Bible of which we have only a vague understanding and differences of opinion. But it cannot be denied that the doctrine of types and shadows is true, and the types of both woman and marriage are well-established (cp. Eph 5:15-32).

The reason that wives are instructed to be submissive to their husbands is that they represent the Church in relationship to Christ. If wives are not to be submissive, then neither is the Church to be submissive. It is a very important principle, but one that the devil has persuaded many women to resist in recent decades. Many women feel like second-class citizens of heaven, but the honor truly is theirs if they have the wisdom to see it. Wherever wisdom is anthropomorphized in the Scriptures, it is declared to be a woman, which we shall see repeatedly in this article. Submission is voluntary; subjugation is forced. Husbands are not to subjugate their wives, but wives are to submit. It is merely a matter of order, and is arranged as it is so that the type can be found to be true. When a wife submits to her husband, she subordinates herself. She places herself lower in the order, and that, willingly; and that, by faith. It takes far greater wisdom to be a wife than a husband.

Our most essential Scriptures today are found in the book of Proverbs. The first nine chapters of Proverbs have much to say, when the type is applied, about the apostate church. It is the difference between the virtuous wife and the harlot.

There are four kinds of women described in the Scriptures: the wise woman and the foolish woman, the virtuous wife and the harlot. Obviously, the true Church is both the virtuous wife and the wise woman, and the apostate church is both the foolish woman and the harlot. That harlotry is used throughout the Scriptures as describing the state of the unfaithful or the worldly is evident, for many Scriptures speak of Israel in that way when God's people are unfaithful to Him, preferring the things of the world to the things of God. This is a foundational truth. Throughout the OT, whenever Israel is unfaithful, she is called adulterous (Ezek 6:9; 16:1-34; Mt 12:39; Mk 8:34-38).

Now, with this type in mind, let us go through some of the passages in the book of Proverbs.

The first chapter identifies wisdom as a woman. Verse 20 says, "Wisdom calls aloud outside; she raises her voice in the open squares. She cries out in the chief concourses, at the openings of the gates in the city she speaks her words: 'How long, you simple ones, will you love simplicity? For scorners delight in their scorning, and fools hate knowledge. Turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you.'" James says, "If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind" (1:5-6).

Chapter two is profound concerning the apostate church. Beginning at verse 10 "When wisdom enters your heart, and knowledge is pleasant to your soul, discretion will preserve you; understanding will keep you, to deliver you from the way of evil, from the man who speaks perverse things (Allow me to interject a brief passage from Galatians 'I marvel that you are turning away so soon from Him who called you in the grace of Christ, to a different gospel, which is not another; but there are some who trouble you and want to pervert the gospel of Christ.'), from those who leave the paths of uprightness to walk in the ways of darkness; who rejoice in doing evil, and delight in the perversity of the wicked; whose ways are crooked, and who are devious in their paths; to deliver you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words, who forsakes the companion of her youth, and forgets the covenant of her God. For her house leads down to death, and her paths to the dead; none who go to her return, nor do they regain the paths of life- so you may walk in the way of goodness, and keep to the paths of righteousness" (2:10-20).

There are several comments that should be made in regard to those verses. First of all, there is grave danger in going to those who have become apostate. They have left the paths of righteousness, seeking their own righteousness. Their message is perverse. They are perverts. What they do publicly, they should do in a dark closet, where no one can see, but they are proud. Wisdom delivers us from the apostate church; it does not draw us into her realm, but keeps us from her altogether. She has forsaken the companion of her youth. There were few apostates in the early Church, because Christians were being persecuted and killed for their faith. After Constantine, it became socially acceptable to be a Christian and the gospel was perverted, but before 312 A.D., Christians mostly held true to their faith. Now, the house of a harlot does not necessarily lead to death. A man can go in there and have his senses pleased and depart. But one cannot go to the adulterous bride of Christ and expect to be blessed or to find salvation or to be fruitful. An apostate is one who has departed from that which he previously held. The apostate church has departed from sound doctrine, turning to her own reason and sensuality.

We are to be wise. Chapter three tells us how to go about the business of wisdom "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and depart from evil" (3:5-7). "Happy is the man who finds wisdom, and the man who gains understanding; for her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, and her gain than fine gold. She is more precious than rubies, and all the things you may desire cannot compare with her. Length of days is in her right hand, in her left hand riches and honor. Her ways are ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace. She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her, and happy are all who retain her." (Prov 3:13-18).

Chapter four is pretty explicit as well "Get wisdom! Get understanding! Do not forget, nor turn away from the words of my mouth. Do not forsake her, and she will preserve you; love her, and she will keep you. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom. And in all your getting, get understanding. Exalt her, and she will promote you; she will bring you honor, when you embrace her. She will place on your head an ornament of grace; a crown of glory she will deliver to you... Do not enter the path of the wicked, and do not walk in the way of evil. Avoid it, do not travel on it; turn away from it and pass on. For they do not sleep unless they have done evil; and their sleep is taken away unless they make someone fall. For they eat the bread of wickedness, and drink the wine of violence" (4:5-9, 14-17).

Obviously, the context shows that the way of evil has not so much to do with deeds as with wisdom and its lack. Note the reference to communion in this passage, the bread of wickedness and the wine of violence. There is no greater evil that a person can do than to deprive someone of the gospel and commit them to eternity in hell fire. There is no greater violence that man can do to man, but that is precisely what the apostate church does. Now let us turn to chapter five.

"My son, pay attention to my wisdom; lend your ear to my understanding, that you may preserve discretion, and your lips may keep knowledge. For the lips of an immoral woman drip honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil; but in the end, she is bitter as wormwood, sharp as a two-edged sword. Her feet go down to death, her steps lay hold of hell. Lest you ponder her path of life- her ways are unstable; you do not know them. Therefore hear me now my children, and do not depart from the words of my mouth. Remove your way far from her, and do not go near the door of her house, lest you give your honor to others, and your years to the cruel one; lest aliens be filled with your wealth, and your labors go to the house of a foreigner; and you mourn at last, when your flesh and your body are consumed, and say 'How I have hated instruction, and my heart despised correction! I have not obeyed the voice of my teachers, nor inclined my ear to those who instructed me! I was on the verge of total ruin, in the midst of the assembly and congregation.' ... For the ways of man are before the eyes of the Lord, and He ponders all his paths. His own iniquities entrap the wicked man, and he is caught in the cords of his sin. He shall die for lack of instruction, and in the greatness of his folly he shall go astray" (5:1-14; 21-23).

The lips of an immoral woman drip honey. Oh, they massage your ego and in their oily craftiness they massage away your wealth. Take a quick peek at Heb 4:12-13 "For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account." The words of an immoral woman are as sharp as a two-edged sword. Again, a house of prostitution does not necessarily lead to death or to hell, even today, but the apostate church certainly does both. We are to remove our way from her. We are not to go near the door of her house. Lest we give our years to the cruel one. Who is more cruel than the deceiver who speaks lies? Solomon had no idea of the type he was presenting, for the Church was a mystery, but God knew, didn't He?

There are a couple of brief passages in chapter six "A worthless person, a wicked man, walks with a perverse mouth; he winks with his eyes, he shuffles his feet, he points with his fingers; perversity is in his heart, he devises evil continually, he sows discord. Therefore his calamity shall come suddenly; suddenly he shall be broken without remedy. These six things the Lord hates, yes, seven are an abomination to him: a proud look, a lying tongue, hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that are swift in running to evil, a false witness who speaks lies, and one who sows discord among brethren... For the commandment is a lamp, and the law a light; reproofs of instruction are the way of life, to keep you from the evil woman, from the flattering tongue of a seductress. Do not lust after her beauty in your heart, nor let her allure you with her eyelids. For by means of a harlot a man is reduced to a crust of bread; and an adulteress will prey upon his precious life. Can a man take fire to his bosom and his clothes not be burned? Can one walk on hot coals and his feet not be seared? So is he who goes in to his neighbor's wife; whoever touches her shall not be innocent" (6:12-19; 23-29).

Twelve through fifteen constitute a stern warning, do they not? A perverse mouth. The seven hateful things are all marks of apostate churches. The apostate church flatters and cajoles, and builds beautiful buildings with fancy trappings and entices with seducing words. One cannot engage with her without suffering the dangers inherent in her. We are the bride of Christ, and when we engage with the adulterous church, the devil's bride, if you will, we are not innocent. God is not partial. Neither is He a respecter of persons.

Chapter seven rises to heights of profundity to which few other Scriptures attain. Let us review the entire chapter. "My son, keep my words, and treasure my commands within you. Keep my commands and live, and my law as the apple of your eye. Bind them on your fingers; write them on the tablet of your heart. Say to wisdom, 'You are my sister,' and call understanding your next of kin, that they may keep you from the immoral woman, from the seductress who flatters with her words. For at the window of my house I looked through my lattice, and saw among the simple, I perceived among the youths, a young man devoid of understanding, passing along the street near her corner; and he took the path to her house in the twilight, in the evening, in the black and dark night. And there a woman met him, with the attire of a harlot and a crafty heart. She was loud and rebellious, her feet would not stay at home. At times she was outside, at times in the open square, lurking at every corner. So she caught him and kissed him; with an impudent face she said to him 'I have peace offerings with me; today I have paid my vows. So I came out to meet you, diligently to seek your face, and I have found you. I have spread my bed with tapestry, colored coverings of Egyptian linen. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon. Come, let us take our fill of love until morning; let us delight ourselves with love. For my husband is not at home; He has gone on a long journey; he has taken a bag of money with him, and will come home on the appointed day.' With her enticing speech she caused him to yield, with her flattering lips she seduced him. Immediately he went after her, as an ox goes to the slaughter, or as a fool to the correction of the stocks, till an arrow struck his liver. As a bird hastens to the snare, he did not know it would cost his life. Now therefore, listen to me my children; pay attention to the words of my mouth: Do not let your heart turn aside to her ways, do not stray into her paths; for she has cast down many wounded, and all who were slain by her were strong men. Her house is the way to hell, descending to the chambers of death."

Where do you find most churches? On the corner. Do you know why a prostitute stands on the corner? If she stands in the middle of the block, she attracts men from only two directions, but if she is on the corner, she draws from four directions. Of course, four is the number of the things of the earth. In the apostate church there is no light. It is all darkness. She is loud and rebellious, and can often be found in public, declaring her own righteousness and scorning those to whom she ought to be bringing the good news of the cross. Churches love to protest against every form of sin (except self righteousness). And look what the apostate church says. Peace offerings. Vows. Visitation Tuesday (or whatever day they choose) to diligently seek those whom they would destroy. Tapestry and incense - all the trappings of wealth and "promise." Love. Let's all love one another and have an orgy of love. But her love is sensual, not spiritual. Her husband is not at home. The Church's Husband is not at home. He has gone on a long journey, and He has taken our redemption price with Him, to return to us on the appointed day. What magnificent parallels, eh? All who were slain by her were strong. Her house is the way to hell. Can it be any clearer? Yes, it can, and it will be shortly.

Chapter eight takes a different turn. It speaks of the wise woman, the true Church. Let us read briefly from it, and that without commentary, because none is needed. But in chapter nine, it all comes clear.

"Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice? She takes her stand on the top of the high hill, beside the way where the paths meet. She cries out by the gates of the city, at the entrance of the doors: 'To you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men. O you simple ones, understand prudence, and you fools, be of an understanding heart. Listen, for I will speak of excellent things, and from the opening of my lips will come right things; for my mouth will speak truth; wickedness is an abomination to my lips. All the words of my mouth are with righteousness; nothing crooked or perverse is in them. They are all plain to him who understands, and right to those who find knowledge. Receive my instruction, and not silver, and knowledge rather than choice gold; for wisdom is better than rubies, and all the things one may desire cannot be compared with her" (8:1-11).

The rest of the chapter is very profound, and you should read it. Now let us complete this little study in Proverbs with a look at chapter nine.

As with chapter seven, let us read the entire chapter. "Wisdom has built her house, she has hewn out her seven pillars; she has slaughtered her meat, she has mixed her wine, she has also furnished her table. She has sent out her maidens, she cries out from the highest places of the city, 'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here!' As for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 'Come, eat of my bread and drink of the wine I have mixed. Forsake foolishness and live, and go in the way of understanding. He who corrects a scoffer gets shame for himself. Do not correct a scoffer, lest he hate you; rebuke a wise man, and he will love you. Give instruction to a wise man, and he will be still wiser; teach a just man, and he will increase in learning. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding. For by me your days will be multiplied, and years of life will be added to you. If you are wise, you are wise for yourself, and if you scoff, you will bear it alone.'

"A foolish woman is clamorous; she is simple, and knows nothing. For she sits at the door of her house, on a seat by the highest places of the city, to call to those who pass by, who go straight on their way 'Whoever is simple, let him turn in here'; and as for him who lacks understanding, she says to him, 'Stolen water is sweet, and bread eaten in secret is pleasant.' But he does not know that the dead are there, that her guests are in the depths of hell."

The apostate church says many of the same things that the true Church says. She just changes it enough so that there is no truth in it, and so that those who enter therein will not be saved. Bread, a symbol of the Word of God. Water, a symbol of the Holy Spirit. One Gospel is true; the other is false. The apostate church is a harlot. In fact, she is that great harlot of Rev 17. She is abominable to God and dangerous to His children. Many today no longer regard His teaching. There is no justification in departing from faith and turning to the more beggarly elements of the law and one’s own righteousness. It is simply wrong. The apostate church is certainly foolish, hypocritical, perverse, evil and dangerous. She professes to be His people, but her preference is her own reason. The true Church is both a very wise woman, and the bride who awaits her Groom faithfully.

Abusing Rom 1:24-27

At Christian Chronicles, we do not condone any form of sin. Every Christian has habitual sins that he is unable to root out of his life. It was true of the Apostle Paul (7:15-25), and it is true of every one of us. Some sins are more open to public view than others, and some are very private, known only to ourselves. Jesus’ half-brother, James, tells us (2:10) that if we commit a single sin, we are guilty of every sin. This is a fundamental truth, and one that cannot, in honesty, be ignored. The implications are enormous, as Paul says very plainly in 2:1-2. If we judge a person for a sin, and if we ourselves are found sinners, then we are guilty of the same sin for which we judge others. When Adam and Eve ate the fruit in the Garden of Eden, it was not the actual eating of the fruit that was the sin. Rather, it was the rebellion in the heart against the Word of God that compelled them to eat the fruit that was the sin. Wherever there is a commandment, the heart rebels (Rom 7:9), and we are found sinners by that rebellion, whether we actually do the sin or not. When once we determine to do it, we are then already guilty of having rebelled against God.

Is it wrong, then, to say that homosexuality is an abomination before God? Not at all. The Scriptures themselves are very clear in the matter (Lev 18:22; 20:13). The world may say what it will, but the Scriptures say what they say, and there is no more to be said about that. There is much, however, that may be said about abominations. And this is the problem with those who scream “Abomination!” at homosexuals. Let us look at some of the things that the Bible declares to be abominations:

· Any creature of the sea without fins and scales (Lev 11:10-11)

· Birds of prey (Lev 11:19)

· Snakes (Lev 11:41-42)

· Carved images, and their silver and gold dressings (Deut 7:25-26)

· Serving other gods will destroy a city (Deut 13:12-15)

· Astrology and séances (Deut 18:9)

· Cross-dressing (Deut 22:5)

· Devising evil against your neighbor (Prov 3:27-32)

· Lying (Prov 6:16-19; 12:22)

· Dishonest scales (Prov 11:1; 20:10, 23)

· The sacrifices of the wicked (Prov 15:8; 21:27)

· The thoughts of the wicked (Prov 15:26)

· Pride (Prov 16:5)

· Injustice (Prov 29:27)

· Pork chops and bacon (Isa 66:17)

· Infidelity (Ezek 22:11)

· Whatever is highly esteemed among men (Lk 16:15)

Before we begin screaming about the abominations of others, we should consider our own. In the first chapter of Romans, Paul devotes four verses to homosexuality. That is a lot, even by Paul’s standards. Immediately after he speaks of homosexuality, he speaks also of a depraved mind. However, when he is speaking about a depraved mind, he is not talking about homosexuality. He has finished with that, and is about to present the deeds of the depraved mind, and they are these: things which are not proper, unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil, envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossiping, slander, hatred of God, insolence, arrogance, boasting, scheming to do evil, disobedience to parents, lacking understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, and approving of those who do such things.

It is a shame that open homosexuality has become such an issue in our cities and states, and indeed, in the world. But not so much because homosexuality is an abomination, but because all of the other abominations have been made somehow all right because we have this one upon which to focus our indignation and self-righteousness.

Did you notice, in reading that list of things that depraved minds produce, that all of the evils mentioned caused harm to someone else? Homosexuality is a sin against one’s own body, and a sin against God. But one must question whether sinning against oneself is worse than sinning against someone else. If we are to be indignant over this one sin, when it affects no one but the persons willingly involved, ought we not be all the more indignant against those who commit wickedness against others?

When compiling the bulleted list above, only the word “abomination” was searched. But there are many other grievous evils that civilizations commit corporately. Among the reasons that Israel was given to Babylon in captivity, for example, was their oppression of the poor, usurious interest rates, severe penalties for inabilities to repay what was owed. There was no mercy in Israel, and God was not merciful with Israel. The treatment of a nation’s poor is not a political issue at all, but it is a theological issue, and one that ought to be addressed by every nation in the world. When treatment of the world’s poor results in the lining of the pockets of despots, by other despots, there is a greater evil in the world than homosexuality. “Whatever is highly esteemed among men”: to read such as this ought to shake us to our roots. If everything that man considers to be noble or worthy is an abomination before God, then that speaks to our moral values and standards. If the things espoused by men as right are wrong, then how are we to know what we should do, or by what standard is man to govern himself?

To pull verses 24-27 out of the context of the whole of the passage in Romans (1:18 - 3:20) is to lose sight of the depravity of mankind as a whole, and to turn all of God’s wrath against the one sin described in those four verses. It is not improper to speak against homosexuality as an abomination, because the Bible declares it. But to wage war on it is to make it a worse sin than any of the other things that the Bible declares are abominable. When any society stands up for that which is righteous and good, it cannot be a bad thing. But when it is used as a prop for self-righteousness, then it cannot be a good thing.

The point of Paul’s indictment of homosexuality was not to single it out, but it was to illustrate the result of something far more sinister, revealed in the verses immediately preceding it: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things” (1:18-23).

When men deny in their hearts what their hearts know to be true of God, their hearts are immediately darkened, so that they cannot see or know truth. They exchange the truth for the lie, that man is to be glorified, and not God, and their thanklessness leads to all manner of evil and depravity. The first lust is not the lust of the flesh, but the pride of life that leads to other vices. The first lust of the flesh has to do with the flesh itself, however, and the greatest perversion of that lust is that which denies the right use of the body. But it is only the first in a long list of evil results, and ought not be construed otherwise. It is a great evil indeed, but not nearly as evil as that which spawned it, the denial of God and the knowledge of God, placing self above God, which was Lucifer’s first sin (Isa 14:12-14). God alone is God, and worthy to be worshiped as God, and every false god leads to all manner of evil. Beware the deceitful heart! (Jer 17:9)

Rom 12: 1-2

“Therefore I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God,
to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God,
Which is your spiritual service of worship.
And do not be conformed to this world,
but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
so that you may prove what the will of God is,
that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”

How lightly we consider these verses, and how heavily laden they are with impact and importance! What we usually present to God is a few hours a week; some, perhaps, a couple of hours a day. Even ministers spend at least half their time in worldly ministering to carnal saints. But Paul urges us to present our entire beings to God’s service. The fact that we are not to be conformed to the world is almost ridiculous to most of us. How shall we function, if not according to the rules of the societies in which we live? Shall we serve God and starve?

Our citizenship is not going to be in heaven someday; it is there today (Phil 3:20). Our minds should be transformed. That is, formed across the great divide between heaven and earth, so that the way we look at earthly issues should always be from a heavenly perspective. But the pull of the world is strong, and we are weak. And the price of non-conformity to the world is very high, and the world continues each year to increase that cost. It is not as high as the cost of non-conformity to the Word of God. This is why Paul had such a difficult struggle with sin, and it is why we do. We want to serve God, but gosh, who will feed our families?

So many believe that being a “good Christian” is about being good. It is not. If it were, we could actually be good. Being a “good Christian” is about serving God. The KJV calls the living sacrifice of our bodies our “reasonable service,” which may be preferable to the NASB. True worship, though, is spiritual service, so one cannot say with surety which is better. The point is, we are in the world, but not of the world, and the world continually attempts to seduce us to itself. And we also seduce ourselves to it. We cannot all be pastors and teachers, else who would the pastors and teachers serve? But we can each have an individual ministry through which we each serve God throughout each day, and to that are we called.

That Which I Will to Do

There is not a born-again Christian anywhere in the world who does not have a deep-seated desire to do good and to avoid even the appearance of evil. At the same time, there is in each of us as deep-seated a desire to do evil, to gratify the flesh, to grab onto that which is worldly, and to hug it to our breasts with warm affection. God loves the first person in us, and the second person is dead already, having been crucified with Christ. How perverse is it, then, to want to walk in the corruption that is death? Yet, it is as real as the desire to do well.

Paul complained that there was nothing good that dwelt in his flesh because “to will” dwelt there also. He willed to do good, but the will to do evil overcame the will to do good, making of him a “wretchedly” evil man. He, like us, hated the evil that was Saul, while God loved the saint who was Paul. Paul wished to be Paul, but more often than not, he was Saul.

There are those among Christians who believe that they should present a “holy” appearance before the lost and the saved. Oh, yes, we should! But only if we are holy. To paint ourselves as holy when we are as wretched as Paul paints an unreal picture of Christianity to both the lost and the saved, and serves not as an encouragement to them to do better, but as a discouragement because they cannot do better, any more than we can. Does this mean that we should sin so that others won’t see their own sin in such a negative light? Of course not! We should not sin at all, in private or with others. Paul never encouraged anyone to sin. On the contrary, he argued vehemently against it in all of his letters.

What we should do, however, is understand that we are not sinners because we sin, but that we sin because we are sinners. Paul was not shy about admitting the same about himself, and we give a completely wrong idea of Christianity when we say that we can live sinlessly. When we do as Paul did, and acknowledge the sin that is in us, the person to whom we are ministering relaxes, feeling not that he must “put on airs” before us, but can let his hair down and just be honest with himself and with us. The ones to whom we speak know that we sin, and they know that they sin. We’re all in the same boat in that regard, saved or unsaved. The only difference is in our attitude toward the sin that is in us.

Paul concludes the passage (Rom 7:15-25) by saying, “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.” Let us not be hypocrites, deceiving only ourselves. Let us rather glorify God and let ourselves be known as honorably honest, encouraging rather than discouraging saved and unsaved alike, attesting to the love and mercy of God, and showing His goodness in ourselves. Paul said, “Imitate me...” (1 Cor 4:15-16; 10:23-11:1).

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