Breaking the Rules
ROMANS 1: 18-32 (July 13)
Not everyone is a big fan of rules. Take my children for example ... they let me know time and time again just how much they DON'T like my rules.
My explanation to them ... I am sorry about that, but it is my job as your parent to guide you, teach you, and make sure you are learning how to live a life that is pleasing to God.
I also remind them that I love them, and that is WHY I give them rules. It is my responsibility as a loving mama to do so.
One of my older boys told me some years back, after he had been living on his own for some time, that he appreciated my rules in retrospect. He said he didn't particularly like the rules of my household, but the boundaries I set for him made him feel safe.
To me, that was a compliment. It made me feel like I had done a decent job.
As Paul continues this letter to the Romans, he is describing to them about all the people who have been breaking the rules that God put in place.
Their behavior gives us the explanation we need for WHY we need the gospel. We are simply lost without it. We get a clear view of how the wrath of God comes down from heaven against the wickedness of our sinful lives.
How does God show his wrath? Some of the examples used in this letter are:
He gives men over to uncleanliness
He gives them over to their vile affections
He gives them over to their sinful minds
In extreme cases, we have seen where he breaks through into our history when he is extremely displeased at our sin, such as the flood (Gen. 7), the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 19), and the punishment of Korah, Dathan, and Abiram (Num. 16:32)
The greatest question for Paul seems to be how they could deny the truth when it is so obvious all around them. We see the earth and sky, created by him and proof of his presence. Through all he has made we get the chance to see his invisible qualities, his eternal power and divine nature. So how could you NOT know God?
And if you KNOW God, how can you not WORSHIP him? These sinful people of history knew God, but they let their minds take them to a place where they created a new image of what he was like, and this made them very confused. (I see the enemy at work here, just like he is with us today.)
Instead of worshiping God, the made idols out of the things he had created (people, birds, animals, reptiles.). They carried out the sins of their hearts, even the sexual sins they knew to be shameful.
When my kids don't listen to me after I have told them time and time again, I sometimes let them go ahead and make their mistake so they can learn from it. God did the same thing. After they repeatedly sinned against him, he abandoned them to all their shame and desires.
It was kind of like this: If you think I am foolish, then I will leave you to your foolish thinking. Enough is enough!
Sometimes, as moms we just get enough. We lose our patience and get frustrated by the lack of obedience in our children. The same is true for that ultimate parent, our Father in Heaven. He'd had enough, so he left them to their own sins and consequences. He was tired of them Breaking the Rules.