“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 worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.” - Romans 1:24-25
Be forewarned. Reading Romans 1:24-27 will make some people very uncomfortable, if not angry. Just know it is God’s words and not my own; and I share them here with love and humility, not judgment or hatred. This passage teaches us that when we reject God and replace God we not only exchange deity for idolatry; but we exchange what is natural for what is unnatural and what is pure for what is impure.
When the Apostle Paul refers to homosexual practice as unnatural he doesn’t just mean it goes against nature itself. He is referring here to God’s intention for the human race. What is natural is God’s divine design for men and women. God refers to these unnatural desires in verse 24 as “impure” and He refers to them in verse 26 as “dishonorable.” In Scripture, anything that is against the will of God is impure and dishonorable. That is the definition of sin – to go against the will of God. The point is that there is a divine design to manhood and womanhood that should not be rejected, refused, or replaced.
Please understand that Paul was not elevating homosexuality (that is homosexual practice) above any other sin, and neither am I. He was simply emphasizing this is a physical illustration of our spiritual condition. All of us have desires that have been warped as a result of sin and our fallen nature. All sin comes from idolatry and we are all idolaters.
When we replace the worship of the True God with a false god, we will just naturally renounce the will of God and elevate our own desires above God’s desires. Instead of saying to Him, “Not my will but Yours be done,” we will end up saying, “Not Your will but mine be done.”
Father, may I always be surrendered to Your will for my life, even if it goes against how I feel. Help me to live a pure and holy life. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Topics: God's Will
