Romans Chapter I

Romans 1:18-22 (New International Version)

God's Wrath Against Mankind

 ¹⁸The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.

 ²¹For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²²Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools,

God’s impending judgment will come whether you believe it or not. None of us knows when we will breathe our last breath here on earth and stand in judgment before a Holy God. If we have heard His message, we will not have any excuse for not receiving Him as our personal Lord and Savior.

The Holy Spirit gives testimony to us. We have the burden of receiving our Lord or rejecting Him. The more we reject Him, the easier it becomes to sin, and the harder it becomes to be obedient. We must make the conscious decision to follow Him.

How do we grow in the Lord? The only way we can grow in Him is through prayer and studying scripture. If we think we can do it without one or either, we deceive ourselves. We get to know Him intimately by practicing these disciplines. How can we get to know someone unless we spend time with them?

Romans 1:26-28 (New International Version)

 ²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
 ²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.

Many today claim that there is no mention of homosexuality in the New Testament. Here, Paul clearly states that God’s wrath will fall upon homosexuals, just like Sodom and Gomorrah. If anyone says that God made them homosexual, or there is nothing wrong with it, they are deceived. It is a sin, and they will be lost. This is not to say that a homosexual cannot repent and turn from his sin and be saved. God’s grace is able to cover “ALL” sin.

How are we to treat homosexuals? Just like we treat any other lost soul; with love, compassion, and with God’s truth. We do them no favors by accepting their lifestyle, or not telling them God’s truth. But keep in mind, they are not lost because they are homosexual, they are lost because of sin. Their perversion is the result of their un-repentant heart.

   Romans 1:29-32 (New International Version)

²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

Here, we plainly see that a believer should not, and cannot, be party to these kinds of behaviors. How many people do we see today who claim to be believers, but show these characteristics or condone others who do?  If we have Christ in us, we will not be like the world! This is a serious warning.

These verses clearly state the signs of a lost person. We should examine ourselves to see if this describes who we are. If you died tonight and God were to read an account of your life, would these verses describe you? If you answer yes to any of these, you need to get on your knees and repent. Then I would encourage you to talk to your Sunday School teacher, or pastor. Please do not put it off. The Bible says we are appointed a time to die, and after that, “Judgment.” (Hebrews 9;11) Please do not get caught unprepared.