Romans (2010)

Immoral degeneracy isn't the only consequence of rejecting the knowledge of God. Moral degeneracy is also very common. Religion is one form of moral degeneracy, but there are others who are very moral and upright who believe that they too have lived a fine upright life and deserve heaven. But even the most moral have also sinned. So how can a sinner get into God's heaven?

The mass media has indoctrinated most Americans with the idea that homosexuals are born that way. This is completely false. No scientific facts support this. Not one. The idea is only misplaced hope and fantasy speculation. While all sin is sin, and homosexuality is not some sort of super sin, it is still a sin, and still unacceptable and should not be made legal or the basis for same-sex marriage. This study provides documentation which shows once again that the Bible is right and modern man is suppressing the truth in unrighteousness.

God brings three increasingly harsh judgments on idolatrous cultures. The second and third relate to sex role confusion: same sex perversion and gender role confusion and distortion. This fits within the pattern of sin and judgment since the Fall. This lesson explores the causes and circumstances.

Decisions and ideas have consequences. When a person, a tribe, or a culture rejects God, the consequences are devastating. Romans 1:18-23 clearly teaches that all human beings are religious: they all know God exists. Those who reject the God of the Bible always substitute something or someone else to worship. The result is that God then gives us over to our desires. The three stages of divine judgment described in this chapter show the cultural degradation that ensues from the rejection of God.

How do we communicate biblical truth to unbelievers? On the one hand we don’t want to compromise the authority of Scripture by appealing to another authority to validate truth, but then we also don’t want to ignore evidence. We must realize the dynamics that enter into a conversation with the unsaved. We see this with Paul in Athens.

We don't witness to everyone the same way. The apostles began with Abraham when talking to Jews and Gentiles with an Old Testament background, but with the God of creation, when talking to pagan Gentiles.When Paul came to Athens, he first went to the synagogue, and then to the agora, the marketplace. There he attracted the attention of the intellectual elites, the Stoics and Epicureans. They could not understand what he was talking about when speaking of the resurrection. It did not fit their preconceived notions, their religious framework. So they asked for more. They invited Paul to address them at Mar's Hill, a rock outcropping beneath the Acropolis. There we have a tremendous example of Paul's explanation of the gospel by defining God and then man.

Also includes Acts 17:17-33