WWUTT 108 What's Natural and What's Not (Romans 1:26-27)

Nature bears witness to the existence of God. We can look all around us and know that He exists.

We can know that He is eternal and divine. So likewise, because we observe nature, we can also know what is natural and what is not natural when we understand the text.

This is when we understand the text, a daily study of God's word, that we may be filled with the knowledge of His will.

Here's your teacher, Pastor Gate. Thank you, Becky. In Romans chapter 1 verses 18 through 32 this week, and I encourage you to read through the entire chapters, we're focusing on a different section each day.

As we've been looking at this section of chapter 1, we've been talking about the things that are clearly seen, that we can clearly observe with our own senses.

And the first thing that we can see from all that has been made is God's wrath.

That's Romans 1, 18, for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

We can see consequences for our actions. We can see that this is a fallen world that's been subjected to futility.

We know that God is a righteous judge who feels indignation every day. As it says in Psalm 711, we can observe that in the world.

Second thing that we can observe is God's eternal power and divine nature. As it says in verse 20, it's more than just knowing that God exists.

We know that he is eternal and we know that he is divine. And the third thing that we can clearly observe in all that has been made is what we're going to be talking about today.

Let's look at verses 24 through 27. Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie.

And worshiped and served the creature rather than the creator who is blessed forever.

Amen. For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions for their women exchange natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.

And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another.

Men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

We inherently know this. We know the difference between what is natural and what is unnatural, because we exchange the glory of the immortal

God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. God has given us over to a spirit of stupor.

And then we do what is unnatural, though we know what is natural. I was reading a story a few years ago that was in the

Atlantic. The title of the story, I haven't forgotten because it's great. You can give a boy a doll, but you can't make him play with it.

There was this study that was done with boys and girls playing with a dollhouse, and they tried to introduce gender neutral toys to boys and girls so that they would play with the toys the same.

But no matter what they did, the scientists in the study noticed that boys and girls played with the toys different.

Girls would be nurturers with the dolls, but boys would take the strollers and like ramp them off the roof and all of this stuff.

So at the conclusion of the study, the scientists came forward and said, we have concluded that boys and girls are different.

Duh. We know that. We inherently know that. A kindergartner knows that.

It's why kindergartner boys think that girls have cooties. They're inherently different. There's something naturally different.

But we live in an age and a society now where we are ignoring what is natural and chasing after what is unnatural.

And now a urologist in Massachusetts has been fired from his job because he expressed concerns about the unhealthy nature of homosexual behavior.

Parents in California are not allowed to contend with school policy that would allow a boy who thinks he's a girl from using a girl's bathroom.

If a girl has a problem with a boy being in her bathroom, she's considered the intolerant bigot.

I mean, there are some in this country, thank God, who thinks this is just absolutely mind blowing. Are we insane?

But this is a judgment upon a people who have exchanged worshiping God for worshiping things that are not

God. And for this reason, they became fools. God gave them over in the lust of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped the creature rather than the creator.

The only thing that can pull a person out of this spirit of stupor is the gospel, for in it is the power of salvation for all who believe.

Gabriel Hughes is the pastor of First Southern Baptist Church in Junction City, Kansas. Find out more online at www .utt