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You'll notice in your worship folder that there is no title for today's sermon. The reason for that is I wasn't certain until a little while ago that I would be preaching. Because we have been on high alert for the baby All week and we have had a couple of times where we were all set to go to the hospital and the contractions just stopped so it's been that way for a few days and.
So I didn't want to put a title in and then that not be what you heard so if you want to write a title down on the back or in the bulletin the title of today's message is living a. That's not it. That's last week.
It's living a Romans six life in a Romans one world. That's what took the today's title is living a Romans six life in a Romans one world now. We are going to read two passages. For today and that that's sort of become the new tradition since I ended Genesis each week.
We've had two passages to compare and this week. We're going to do the same. We're going to read Romans chapter 6 1 to 14 and then we're going to go backward to Romans chapter 1. Beginning at verse 18 to the end of the chapter.
So I would like it if you would to please stand with me as we read the text beginning as I said again in Romans chapter 6 verse 1 Paul begins with a question. What shall we say? Then are we to continue in sin that grace may abound by no means?
How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do we do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death in order that just as Christ Was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father.
We too might walk in the newness of life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified With him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.
For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. We know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again death.
No longer has dominion over him for the death. He died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to God. So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness but present yourself to God as Those who have been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
For sin will have no dominion over you since you are not under law But under grace and now over to Romans 1 beginning in verse 18 for the wrath of God is Revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness Suppress the truth for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them for his invisible Attributes namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made so they are without excuse.
For although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking in their foolish hearts were darkened claiming to be wise they became fools. And they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of the hearts to impurity to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. Because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshipped 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 exchanged natural relations with those that are contrary to nature and 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 and Since they did not see fit to acknowledge God God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness Evil covetousness malice they are full of envy murder strife deceit maliciousness their gossips slanderers haters of God insolent haughty boastful inventors of evil Disobedient to parents foolish faithless heartless ruthless.
Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. They not only do them But they give approval to those who practice them Father in heaven. I thank you for your word Lord this morning as we consider your word and the juxtaposition between How we are to live and where we are to live Lord I pray that we would be given the insights of these verses and How we ought live in this world.
I Pray for the believer Lord that this would be a time of edification challenge growth Maybe even repentance and I pray Lord for the unbelievers that are here and there must be Within a room this size those who have not yet bowed the knee to Christ that they would see that there is only one Path which leads to righteousness and life and that is the path of the cross Jesus tells us To take up the cross and follow him.
Lord may we see that command as not just being for those of the first century. But those of all times who follow Christ. And it's in his name we pray. Amen, do you ever feel like the world has gone crazy?
Little bit. It's hard to look at the world the way that it is right now and Not wonder to ourselves. How did we get here? Things that were once hidden behind closed doors things that were once Only talked about in hushed tones and in private conversations are now displayed throughout the world with wanton abandon and pride and Anyone unwilling to celebrate the the depravity of man is now being called bigoted and out of touch.
Saw a video this past week of a Young girl my heart broke. Because she was convinced that she is a wolf. She wears a mask that is shaped like a dog's face. She wears a headband that has a dog's ears and she speaks with great confidence Into the camera with no shame and and and and no sarcasm.
It's very serious that she understand or that we understand that she considers herself to be trans species. Now most people see such a thing. And we're rightly heartbroken. We're heartbroken for someone whose mind is so confused.
Yet we are being told that we're not allowed to feel bad for this person. We're not allowed to consider this to be bad at all. We're not allowed to pray that they might have a awakening or have some form of change.
No. What we are supposed to do instead is we're supposed to glorify them for their courage and their ability to live out their truth. That's what we're supposed to do. We live in what some have called a post-christian America.
If you're unfamiliar with that term post-christianity is the situation in which Christianity is no longer the dominant civil religion of a society but has Gradually assumed values culture and worldviews that are not Christian.
I Would agree with that our world has very very quickly not necessarily gradually But very very quickly adopted Standards and morals and ethics that have no founding in the Christian worldview. I want to go ahead and read another quote about post-christianity.
Post-christianity is the loss of the primacy of the Christian worldview in public affairs. Especially in the Western world where Christianity had previously flourished in favor of alternative worldviews such as secularism nationalism environmentalism organized atheism sometimes militant as well as other ideologies such as veganism and ethical veganism that are no longer Necessarily rooted in the language and assumptions of Christianity amongst many other ideologies.
They previously existed in an environment of ubiquitous Christianity. Think about this those of you who are over 50. You remember a time? when Christianity and the ethics of Christianity were at least the norm of society.
You remember times when shops and and and Stores were closed on Sunday. All right. This was a ethical thing. I'm not saying right or wrong. It was an ethical thing based upon a particular understanding of an ethical norm.
I Was watching a television show just this past week and it was filmed. It was it was from the 80s 80s or a time when I grew up so I tend to have some nostalgia for that period and I was watching an 80s television show and in the television show one of the ladies was Propositioned to live with a man and she said I can't do that.
We would be living in sin and I thought first of all how many people today would even know that phrase living in sin. How many people would even understand that a person living in a in a in a Relationship with another person in a home not married sleeping in the same bed pretending to be husband and wife playing house.
That's actually wrong. That that's living in sin. There was a time when we had a word for that a phrase for that we call it living in sin. Even the people on television knew that it were wrong. Not anymore.
Not anymore. As I said, we've given way to a post-christian society. The language traditions and values of Christian thinking are being intentionally eradicated from the marketplace of ideas. If anyone wants to know what this looks like on a practical level, you really not need look too far.
Just go across the pond if you go Into Europe you'll find that attendance and public worship has dropped so much in many European countries that some churches have been converted into nightclubs some into bars some into breweries and some even into mosques.
Doug Wilson who is a Presbyterian minister. Some of you know him some of you have great opinions of him some not so much. I'm only going to quote one thing. He said. He said we live in demented times simple enough.
He says we live in a place where someone burning down a building is considered free speech. But saying the burning down of a building is wrong is violence. Isn't that amazing? Thomas Sowell Who is an economist said this?
He said we seem to be moving steadily in the direction of a society where no one is responsible for what he himself did but we are all responsible for what someone else did and the prophet Isaiah pronounced this judgment upon this type of society when he said in Isaiah chapter 5 verse 20 woe to those who call evil good and Good evil who put darkness for light and light for darkness who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.
There's really no better way to describe our current climate. There's no really better way to describe our current society. We are a place that has made an inversion. We have made an inversion of light for darkness.
We have made an inversion of truth for lies. We have made an inversion of depravity for virtue and. The saddest reality is that this thinking is not limited to the political sphere. This thinking is not limited to the secular realm if there is such a thing.
It's been brought into the church. One need not search very far to find preachers. Feeding the culture what it wants to eat. One preacher who is on the popular social media outlet tik-tok boasts hundreds of thousands of Listeners and he openly proclaims himself as a gay preacher.
He openly pronounces that Jesus was not sinless. In fact, he calls Jesus a racist. He says Jesus has the same sinful tendencies that you or I have and the same Failures that you and I have and Jesus is just becoming better the same way.
We're all becoming better. And guess what this guy's a preacher. People go to this man for spiritual advice instead of burning him at the stake. Don't get mad. I didn't say we ought to. I just said that's the difference between now and 400 years ago.
400 years ago. This wouldn't been tolerated. But now it's celebrated as believers in Christ. We are called to live in a way that does not conform to this world. Romans chapter 12 verse 2 do not be conformed to this world.
But what be transformed by the renewal of your mind. As the world goes further and further into the realm of darkness. We are called to remain a beacon of light. Not become part of the darkness. You see that's the danger is the church in many ways has adopted the darkness rather than being the light.
We've adopted the attitude of the darkness. We've adopted the culture of the darkness we've adopted the entertainment of the darkness. We have stopped being the light and we've satisfied ourselves. With the idea that that's okay.
It's okay because hey, we're saved we have our ticket punched. We have our hell insurance intact. So it's okay if we live like the devil. So here's what I want to do in today's sermon. I Want to look at two things.
I want to look at how we are called to live and Then quickly I'm going to consider where we're forced to live. See Roman six tells us how we're supposed to live but Romans one I think is a picture of where we're being forced to live and Then we're going to ask the question.
How do we do both? How do we live the Roman six life in the Romans one world? So, let's look at Romans six. Paul begins with a question. This is by far the book of the Bible that I have that I have taught from the most and spent the most time in and Every time I read it.
I learned something new and It's a wonderful wonderful writing of the Apostle Paul. I believe it's his magnum opus as one might as one has said and in Romans chapter 6 He asked the question. What shall we say?
Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound. That sounds like a that sounds like a weird question. Because it sounds like why would you even ask that question? But if you understand the argument that Paul has made in chapters 1 through 5.
Then you understand why he has built up to this question in in in chapter 6. And the reason why is because Paul begins Romans 1 2 3 by expressing the universality of man's sin. In Chapter 1 he talks about the sin of man of idolatry and turning from God knowing God's there But not worshiping God and all of those things and in the result of that we're gonna look at that in a little while.
And then in chapter 2 he talks about those who have the law. But don't do what the law requires specifically the Jewish people and he begins to address them and how even though they have the law. They're not doing the law either so he gets a chapter 3 and says what's the result every person both Jew and Greek are all?
Under sin. Everyone's a sinner. And by the way, that's not a good thing. People always say oh, it's okay. Everybody's a sinner that don't make it right and that don't make it any less worthy of damnation.
Paul gets to Romans 3 and he says there's none good. No, not one. There's none who understands. There's none who seeketh after God all have turned aside all have gone their own way. The venom of asps is under their lips and the way of peace.
They have not known. There's no fear of God before their eyes. Ain't good, but then he begins to talk about how this sinful wretched humanity can be made right with a holy God and The only way a sinful wretched humanity can be made right with a holy.
God is by a holy Savior. Who came and gave himself a ransom a propitiatory? Sacrifice to pay the penalty for their sins to take upon himself their Badness and give to them his righteousness. That's how we are saved and Paul says this righteousness is received not of works but of faith alone.
He uses Abraham in chapter 4 as the example of justification by faith alone in chapter 5. He goes all the way back to Adam and he says you're in two categories. You're either in the category of Adam or you're in the category of Christ and in Adam all die.
But in Christ all are made alive and you have to trust in Christ if you're going to be justified and that's Paul's argument up to chapter 5 and Then he gets to chapter 6 and he asks this question and the reason why he asked this question is because the natural result of anyone.
Who hears that we are justified by faith alone is the question then? Well, does it matter how I live if? I'm justified by faith alone. Does it matter how I live. In fact this was one of the arguments that Martin Luther had to deal with in this in the Early portions of the Reformation where he was still Engaged with the Roman Catholic Church before he was put out of the Roman Catholic Church and before Lutheranism began to spread.
He was still a monk in the Roman Catholic Church and he began to teach Justification by faith alone and some of his leaders said if you live a man if you leave a man to live by faith alone. What will you give him?
To assure him. He has to have works to assure him his works are what he fought and he says no his assurances in Christ. And a man lives by faith alone in Christ alone. But immediately Luther began accused being accused of saying that you can live.
However, you want to live. Then if you're justified by faith, then you can live. However you want. And the answer is absolutely not. Because if you're justified by faith that faith will show itself in a life of faithfulness.
It will not be bare belief, but it will be a life lived for Christ. So the same argument Luther is dealing with in the 17th century or 16th century rather it's the same argument. That Paul is addressing here.
What shall we say? Are we to continue in sin? So that grace can abound. And the answer is Different in different translations. The King James says God forbid. The ESV says by no means. The Greek says Megan a or Megan oita which means The may is the adversative and Ganay or ganoita is the is the root of the idea of being.
And the idea is may it never be. May it never even come into your mind. May this thought never even be allowed to grow in your head. May it never be that you think that because you are justified by faith.
That you can continue in sin with the idea that the more I sin the more grace will abound such as foolishness. May it never even enter our minds. And then he asked another question. Do you not know? That all of us who have been baptized into Christ have been baptized into his death.
Now understand this. Paul is not telling us that baptism saves. I know this is a debate in an argument among people baptism is not Something that affects our salvation as causatory. But it is something that is resultant of our faith.
We believe and are baptized and so baptism is a picture of our having entered into union with Christ in his death and resurrection. This is one of the reasons why I believe how we baptize actually can matter.
I'm not saying if someone pours it's not a legitimate baptism, but I am saying there's a reason why we put someone under. And and and I always tell him I hold you for a second. By the way, if I am baptized you yet get ready.
Because I put you down and I hold you there for a second to make sure the walk. I don't like people coming up with a dry spot. I'm gonna hold you make sure you get it all and then I'm gonna bring you back up.
Because that's a picture buried with him raised to a new life. Raised to walk in the newness of life. And then he goes on verse 5 if we've been united with him in a death like his we will be united with him in A resurrection like his.
That's the promise that we have if we died with Christ. We're going to raise with Christ. And we know that our old self was crucified With him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin here.
This church you are not a slave to sin. Now am I saying you don't battle sin. No am I saying that sins not part of our flesh. No, but you're not a slave anymore. One of the things that I think and I'm a Baptist y 'all and I'm a Baptist who believes in eternal security.
I'm what saved all we say. But I will tell you this one of the damnable things about once saved always saved it has convinced us That we have no power over sin. That doctrine of once saved always saved has convinced people that they have no power to live a holy life.
You have a power to live a holy life and he lives within you and he's called the Holy Spirit. And every time we say oh I just don't have any power to live this whole and you run to Roman 7 thinking Roman 7 is your answer it ain't.
Roman 7 is not the answer. Because everybody wants to go to Roman 7 and hear where Paul says well the things I want to do I don't do the things I do do I don't want to do and all those things they want to use that as their excuse.
First of all, I think that's a bad understanding of that passage and second of all. And second of all remember this Roman 7 comes after Roman 6 where Paul has already said you're not a slave. Paul's already said you're alive in Christ and in Romans 8 He says by the Spirit you have the power to walk by that spirit.
So don't let Roman 7 become the excuse. You know I'm saying We're called to live a life that glorifies God and today. We're not going to go into all that yet. Well, yes, do we fail? Yes, you fail. Do we live in a flesh that's tempted by sin?
Yes but we we live in that defeated mindset all the time and We wonder why we don't have victory over our sin because we've convinced ourself that there's no victory available. Let me tell you something.
I ain't charismatic, but I can say victory by the way when you're charismatic. It's not victory. It's victory. It's no. Oh just right to the R victory and We can live in victory. We can live in that because he says so he says in verse 8 if we have died with Christ.
We believe that we also live with him. That's in the present tense. We live with him. And we know that Christ being raised from the dead will never die again. Death no longer has dominion over him for the death.
He died he died to sin once for all but the life he lives he lives to God. So you must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God. Notice he says you had to do that's imperative. That's a command.
The indicative is you've died and were raised now. The command is you got to figure that out how to live that way. You got to consider yourself that way. The the reality is it's happened. But the the command is now we got to live that out.
So verse 12 tells us he says let therefore sin not reign in your mortal body. To make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness. But present yourselves to God as those who've been brought from death to life and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.
This includes every member you got. This ain't just talking about your phalanges. That's your fingers. Okay, so now. This ain't just talking about your hands your members. That includes your eyes. When you're all by yourself in front of your computer in the middle of the night.
That includes your mouth when you're on the phone talking about someone to someone right present your members. Present your members as instruments for righteousness not unrighteousness. None of us. Well, let me say it a different way.
I Think every one of us would be shocked If we were driving on Emerson past the strip clubs and we saw one of our men walking into the strip club. Because we'd say boy, he's presenting his members to unrighteousness, right?
But there's so much more online than there is on Emerson. There's so much more sin That comes out of our mouths. That we don't even consider sin because we're so used to it notice verse 14. Sin will have no dominion over you.
You know what that means. You don't have an excuse. Now, I'm not saying you don't have forgiveness. You can have forgiveness repent and and and receive forgiveness. I'm not saying that but I'm saying you don't have an excuse.
Pastor I just couldn't help it. No, we can't help it. But we've allowed our culture to tell us we don't have to we've allowed the world to tell us it doesn't matter. Hey guys, it doesn't matter where you get your appetite.
Why don't you come home for dinner, right? How many guys have said that and excused their lusts for that? I'm not talking about her. I'm just asking for prayer. How many times have we used that to excuse gossip?
And by the way. If you don't think gossips that big of a deal when we get to Romans 1 and we read through the list of sins. Guess where gossip is next to hatred of God it literally says gossip and Then hatred of God and the same sentence the thing that bothers me.
Is that in so many churches we've stopped preaching on sin? We have stopped because we have decided that the better way to win people to Christ is to try to tell them to have a better life with Christ the life of blessing a life of prosperity a life of abundance rather than to say come to Christ you Wretched devilish human being and find in him the only one who can save your dirty soul.
Well, nobody wants to hear that. Okay. We still got to preach it. Again, we might live in a Romans 1 world, but we can't do what Romans 1 people do. We can't replace the truth. For a lie, and that's what I want to do.
Now. I want to turn our attention over to Romans 1. We've looked at Romans 6 we see how we're called to live. We are called to live as people who are not under the dominion of sin. Does that mean we're going to be perfect?
No, but does that mean we have an excuse for sin? No, Paul says are we to continue in sin? No. Now we go over to Romans 1 now. Romans 1 is much earlier in the book and Paul is Paul is giving in this chapter in this beginning at verse 18.
He is giving a visual of humanity's nature which is in Opposition to God. But not in opposition to God in the sense that they simply say no God, but rather what they do. Is they? Exchange God for something else in fact if you wanted to if you're in your Bibles and you're going from 18 to 20 or 18 to 32 and you're interested in like One word that sums up everything in verses 18 to 32.
The word is exchange. And you can see that because first they exchange the truth for a lie. They worship the created things rather than the Creator who's blessed forever. Amen, then they exchange God's rightful ordering of men and women and women and men and.
Then at the end they exchange again The truth for a lie because it says not only do they do these wicked things. But they give approval to those who do these things. So it's a series of exchanges and it's always the exchanging of truth for lie.
Righteousness for unrighteousness natural for unnatural. That's the exchange and what is it? What are we seeing? Well verse 18 tells us it says we're seeing the judgment of God. Says the wrath of God is revealed From heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
What truth do they suppress verse 19 for what can be known about God is plain to them because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes namely his eternal power have been clearly perceived.
Ever since the creation of the world and the things that have been made so they are without excuse. Understand this no man has an excuse before God. No man has an excuse before God. You say what about people who've never heard of God before?
The Bible says what can be known about God? Namely his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly perceived in the creation of the world. No one can say they don't know God exists. No one can even say that they don't know what the law of God requires.
Because the Bible says in chapter Romans chapter 2 that the work of the law is written on their heart but instead of Worshipping God, what do they do they exchange? The worship of God for the worship of idols for all that they knew God.
They did not honor him or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thanking their foolish hearts were darkened claiming to became be wise that became fools. They exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images reserve.
Resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creepy things everywhere you go and all of these societies of people that are far from God. What do you always find idols? Mike's preaching through right now first Samuel and what do we see in first Samuel?
We see other nations and what do they have worship idols. Dagon and all the other gods. They're worshiping idols. It is the nature of man to exchange the true God for something else whether it is a stone statue a gold Medallion or something that they can worship other than God.
They do not want the God of the Bible. Years ago. Friend of mine went to the reason rally. It's in Washington DC. The reason rally is an atheist Gathering Group of atheists get together and they call it the reason rally.
It's the unreasonable rally as far as I'm concerned because atheism atheism is unreasonable according this verse. It's beyond excuse. Any man who says he doesn't believe in God is a fool. But it's called the reason rally and Eric is the guy's name.
Eric's my friend he went up there and He began to talk to the people trying to share the gospel. But he also surveyed them and asked some questions and one of the questions he asked. He said if it could be proven To you.
Beyond shadow of a doubt if it could be proven that God exists would you worship him and Every one of them said no. That if it could be proven that God exists, would you worship him and they said no. You see it's not that they don't know that God's there.
They have replaced him for the worship of something else. In fact, well, you know what most people worship. Self there's a picture online this week of a young girl. She says I can do all things through me who strengthens me.
She's holding a sign. Wearing some kind of sports uniform look like maybe soccer and she's holding a sign. It says I can do all things through me. Who strengthens me? You see this is the world that we live in we live in the world that has turned a side the truth and has Chosen to worship the creature rather than the Creator.
What happens in such a society beloved what does God do to such a people? Well first according to this passage something else happens first. God gives them up to a debased mind. That's what happens and we see this three times.
First one is in verse 24. Therefore meaning everything that I just said results in this that's what therefore means therefore God gave them up in The lust of their hearts to impurity to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.
The phrase God gave them up is used in verse 24 verse 26 and again in verse 28 God gave them up. You ever been talking to somebody and they just sound so out of their mind. It seems like they had been given over to crazy.
Well, there it is. The first thing we see God gives them up to lust. What do we see dishonoring of their bodies? Exchanging the truth about God for a lie worshiping serving the creature rather than the Creator.
Second thing verse 26 God gives them up to dishonorable passions. And now we see the exchanging of the natural for the unnatural and Yes, there is a reference here to homosexuality. I don't want to dive into that because that's just part of a bigger picture by the way.
Homosexuality is not the grievous of all sins. But what it is it is a picture of a mind that has been turned from the natural to the unnatural. That's what it is. It's it's it's it's the result a society that welcomes in a and and Glorifies homosexuality is a society that has flip-flopped the natural for the unnatural.
And that's what it says. It says for this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. Their women exchange natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. Somebody said well, that's a little ambiguous.
It's not in the context. But okay verse 27 not ambiguous at all men gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another. Men committing shameless acts with men receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error.
No doubt what that means actually until about 40 years ago. There was no doubt and Then a lot of new way a lot of newer scholars came along and said well Paul wasn't really talking about homosexual. I Paul was talking about Pederasty and he was talking about pedophilia.
He wasn't really talking about two men and a committed Homosexual relationship because that's good. That's righteous. That's holy. No, it ain't. And the guys who argue for that Are trying to twist Paul's words into something that does not resemble what he meant at all.
So what we see is first the dishonoring of themselves and impurity and we see Idolatry and that's God giving them up and the next thing we see is the dishonorable passions and what comes along with that is a exchanging of of the very nature of natural ways of things and then in verse 28 and since they did not see fit to Acknowledge God God gave them up to a debased mind.
To do it ought not to be done. What does that look like beginning in verse 29? We see it. They're filled with all manner of unrighteousness evil covetousness malice. Envy murder strife. Deceit maliciousness.
I mean honestly, I don't have to go through each one of these. But just stop for a minute and just think about it. Don't we live in one of the most covetous societies in all of history where everywhere we look there are more and more pictures of Things that try to entice us to want things that aren't for us.
Whether it's pictures of other men's wives scantily clad on a magazine cover or a Picture of something that we can't afford and we want to spend all of our money on it rather than supporting our families.
We live in the most covetous society I can imagine we have we have digital images everywhere. We look we we have murder everywhere. We look you say what do you mean? We have murder everywhere. We look we kill 3 ,000 babies every day and abortion murder is everywhere.
We look. We walk we trample our feet through the blood of babies every day and we don't we just wipe our feet off and we go Home don't think anything about it. I just had Gossip slander and hatred of God all in the same sentence.
Don't forget that. What's the number one sin that we find in churches? It still is gossip because people. You I'm too sanctified to look at porn, but I ain't too sanctified to talk about sister. Sarah.
We ain't got a Sarah in here. Do we just don't make sure? If we do I apologize. We have one little little Sarah with it that's the point right is we we have our favored sins and This list doesn't allow for that.
This list doesn't allow for us to say. Oh, well, our sins are better. Haughty boastful inventors of evil always thought that was an interesting inventors of evil people so bad. They got invent new ways to be bad disobedient to parents foolish faithless heartless ruthless.
But verse 32 is the key to all of this in my opinion verse 32 harkens back to Isaiah 520. Because verse 32 says though they though they know God's righteous decree. So, by the way people who live evil lives are not ignorant that's key.
Though they know God's decree. That people who do this deserve to die. By the way, the wages of sin is death, right? We all deserve to die but Though they know that the ones who practice such things deserve to die.
They not only do them. But they give approval to those who do them. Beloved that that to me says it all because that's when you know that the world you live in has been flipped upside down. When the things that are that are by nature Understood as wholesome and righteous and good are now bad.
I Saw a picture. Somebody posted and it was I thought it was great. It said 50 years ago, this was counterculture and it had a picture of excuse the expression hippies. Right. They said 50 years ago. This was counterculture and it was a group of hippies like a Woodstock type picture.
It says but today this is counterculture. There was a man and a woman with four kids sitting in church. That's counterculture today. Counterculture is doing what you're doing today. You're doing what the culture says is stupid.
You're doing what the culture even the Christian culture says is unnecessary. How dare we how shameful that we have people who call themselves a Christian who cannot and will not Go and sit in the local church serve the body with the gifts God has given them and exalt God through song and listen to the Word of God.
Why is this counterculture because it is? What we're seeing today is we're seeing a culling of the herd. The reason why churches are becoming less and less frequently attended unless it's a big megachurch.
It's like six flags over Jesus. Those are still well attended but what we see in the churches that are becoming less and less attended is Because cultural Christianity is no longer the norm and therefore being a cultural Christian no longer has value.
There was a time if you wanted to run for office man. You had to join first Baptist downtown if you wanted to be a part of anything. You had to be part of the social culture, which was the church. That's gone.
And you know what? There is a little blessing in that. Because the blessing is now the people who are here are the people who know they need to be here and want to be here. Rather than doing it for some foolish social reason.
But I will tell you this the more that happens the harder it is going to be to do what we're doing right now and We must be prepared to live a Roman six life and a Romans one world because that's where we are if You can't see Romans one and look out your window and see the the the drag Queens reading books to kids at this at the at the at the libraries and you can't see the churches with with effeminate gay men pastors with rainbow robes standing up and preaching and saying something ain't wrong with that then you are blind that Is an inversion of the truth.
And that's where we are and we got to learn how to live in this. We learn what to do. I give you three thoughts and we'll close number one. We have to acknowledge the passing of cultural Christianity.
We got to just acknowledge that we're not in the same place. We were 50 years ago 80 years ago Jack. We're not in the same world you grew up in right. If we don't acknowledge that then we're fooling ourselves.
Number two, we have to recognize that our lives are intentionally out of step with culture. We are Intentionally countercultural. I ain't trying to rob your word, but I know counterculture name it a church and all but but we're intentionally Counterculture, right?
That's what we are called to do is to live. You know when my younger kids are finally getting to the age. Where they understand some things about the world. And they'll bring me something daddy. Can we do this daddy?
Can we watch this daddy? Can we play this daddy? Can we and I say no, I don't want us to do that. I don't want us to watch that. I don't want to why? Now. You may choose with your kids to just say because I said so but let me tell you that's a teachable moment.
It's a moment to tell them why? We don't do that or we don't listen to that or we don't want to engage in that. Because we are called to live a different life and if your lives are engaged in everything this culture has to offer.
Then let me just say to you right now. That is not glorifying God. If your life is engaged in everything this world has to you don't want to eat everything. This world is trying to feed you finally and thirdly.
We have to understand that the Christian life is a gospel. Saturated life. It is a holistic and I don't like that word because it's been absconded with by the you know the Eastern philosophy. But the word holistic simply means of the whole or all-inclusive and the Christian life is a holistic life.
What is first Corinthians 1031 say? Everything you do whether eating or drinking you do it all how? To the glory of God, let me tell you something gentlemen when you open up that porn website. You're not doing that to the glory of God.
Let me tell you something men and women when you're gossiping on the telephone. You're not doing that to the glory of God and I'm not just picking out porn and gossip today. It's just what it's on my mind.
That sounds weird. It's what's it's what's it's the sins. I'm it's it's just easily pointed to sins. But there's all kinds of sins that we try to sanctify. You understand? How do we live a Roman six life.
We live a gospel saturated life. We know that when I am at work I'm still a Christian at work. When I'm at the grocery store, I'm still a Christian at the grocery store. I don't just do my Christian duty on Sunday morning for two hours and then go back to a normal secular life.
No, I live a life devoted to Christ and the gospel every day all day and When I fail which I will I live a life of consistent repentance also. I'm not saying you're going to be sinless. I'm not a Wesleyan and I don't believe in sinless perfection.
But I will say this the life of the Christian is a life that's lived in repentance. So the question of today for all of us is one of two things. Either we're Christians who need to figure out what it is.
We're struggling with in the world and repent or you're not a Christian yet. You're still part of this world system and you need to turn from it and turn to Christ. But everybody here has something to face.
Amen. We all have something we could consider. Where am I in this message? If I'm a believer, I should be living in light of Romans 6 in the midst of Romans 1 and if I'm a not a believer I'm still stuck in Romans 1.
But you can repent. Today is the day of salvation. Turn from your sin and turn to Christ and he will save you. Let's pray Father I thank you for your word. I thank you for your truth. I thank you for the reality Lord.
That though these are evil days You have given us the Word of God whereby we can have light in the darkness and I pray for the believers here Lord that they would by your mercy and grace seek after the light and Lord for those who have not yet come to you Lord that you would draw them to your glorious light today Help them to abandon the darkness.
I Pray it in Jesus name Amen.