Scripture Reading: Rom. 1:18-32; 2:1-16
In this message we will cover the source of wickedness shown in the condemnation of mankind and the way of restriction shown in the condemnation of the self-righteous. After the introduction, Paul presents the matter of condemnation in four aspects: on mankind in general (Rom. 1:18-32), on the self-righteous in particular (Rom. 2:1-16), on the religious specifically (Rom. 2:17-29; 3:1-8), and on all the world totally (Rom. 3:9-20). Firstly, the book of Romans reveals that condemnation has come upon mankind in general. Then attention is given to two special classes of mankind — the self-righteous class and the cultured, religious class. Finally, the whole world is brought under condemnation. Whether we are good or bad, religious or non-religious, we are under God’s condemnation. Although we do not want to dwell upon the subject of condemnation, there are two points related to it that are quite important. First is the source of evil, the source of wickedness. Because of this source mankind is evil. Thus, in this message we will see the source of man’s wickedness. Second, we need to see the way of restriction. There is a way to restrict this wickedness. Since we have been saved from condemnation, we need not give it much attention. However, we need to return to it long enough to learn the source of evil and the way to restrict evil.
Now we need to consider the source of wickedness. This section of Romans (Rom. 1:18-32) reveals four elements of the source of evil.
The first element in the source of wickedness is holding down the truth in unrighteousness (1:18). What is truth? Truth is not mere doctrine or knowledge. Truth is reality; it is solid and substantial. There is reality in this universe, and the prime reality is God Himself. To say that there is no God is to speak vanity; to declare the reality of God is to speak something solid, substantial, genuine, and true. God is real. No one can deny the reality of God or disclaim the fact that He exists, for the existence of God is a reality. However, from the very beginning, mankind did not respect the reality of God, but suppressed it. They simply did not care for this reality and refused to hold it in a proper way. They held down the truth in unrighteousness, suppressing it in an unrighteous manner. In the United States today we behold evil on every side, and the newspapers are filled with wicked and shameful things. Why are there so many shameful things in the leading country of the world? Because so many people will not maintain the truth, but instead, wrongfully hold it down. This is the most significant aspect of the source of wickedness.
Although mankind knew there was God, they tested and tried Him, eventually deciding not to hold Him in their full knowledge. They disapproved of holding God in their full knowledge (1:28). Many professors and professional people do not believe in Christ. If you ask them about God, they will say, “We know there is a God, but we don’t like to believe in Him.” Such people disapprove of holding God in their knowledge. We must hold God in our knowledge, for it is dreadful to refuse to do this.
In the ancient times man knew God, but did not glorify Him as God. Neither did they thank Him, worship Him, or serve Him (1:21, 25). This is another element in the source of evil. Refusing to glorify God, thank God, worship God, and serve God is a major aspect of the source of wickedness. However, if we glorify and thank Him, worship and serve Him, we will be protected from every evil. There are so many divorces and so much immorality throughout the world today because people will not glorify God and worship Him. A man who glorifies God, thanks God, worships God, and serves God, will never divorce his wife. All divorces and immorality come from one source — refusing to worship God. Never think that worshiping God is an insignificant matter and that glorifying Him is trivial. They mean a great deal to our human living. We need to thank God. We have many things for which to thank Him. Some people do not thank God until the hour of their death. Although that is very late, it is better than nothing.
We need to realize that glorifying God, thanking God, worshiping God, and serving God are extremely important. Suppose I have a bad temper, a shameful and ugly disposition. If I try to suppress it, I will never succeed. However, if I thank and praise God continually, I will find the best method of escape from my poor disposition. Whenever you are about to lose your temper, you should say, “I am going to serve God. I don’t have time to lose my temper. God, I thank You that You are my God, that You are my Creator. Without You, I would have no being. I owe my very existence to You. I thank You, worship You, and serve You.” If you do this, you will be freed from your disposition immediately. How much we need to worship God!
Then mankind exchanged God (1:23, 25). It is terrible to exchange God, for God is the glory and the reality of the universe. When God is expressed, that is glory. To exchange God means to give Him up for something else. The people exchanged God for idols. God is glory; idols are vanity. God is reality; idols are a falsehood and a lie. How foolish and awful it was for man to exchange God for idols! Most of the people in the United States have learned not to worship visible idols, although some people do practice this. Nevertheless, many people in this country have exchanged God for their self-made idols — their future, positions, degrees, and goals. This means that their future, position, degrees, and goals have become their idols. They care for these idols, not for God. Therefore, they also have exchanged God for idols.
If we consider carefully these four aspects of the source of wickedness, we will see that they constitute the origin of every kind of evil and sinfulness.
Now we need to inquire into the result of giving up God.
The first result of giving up God is being given up by God. When you give up God, this forces God to give you up. If you let go of God, God will be compelled to let go of you. This is most deplorable. It is terrible to be given up by God. We must say to God, “Even if I let You go, don’t let me go. Perhaps I will be so foolish as to give You up. Lord, be merciful to me and never give me up.” We need to pray in this way, for it is awful to be given up by God. When a person has been given up by God, he will never do good things. He will not improve but only descend lower and lower.
According to Romans 1, God gives people up to three things. First is uncleanness (1:24). When a person gives up God and forces God to give him up, that person will be defiled, immediately becoming involved with uncleanness. Second, God gives up people to passions of dishonor, to shameful lusts (1:26). I do not like to mention these shameful lusts with my clean lips. Such people may become sodomites, indulging in evil passions and unrestricted affection, dishonoring their bodies with one another. Third, God gives people up to a disapproved mind (1:28). If you disapprove of holding God in your knowledge, God will allow you to have a mind that He disapproves. The mind of sinful men can never be approved by God. For example, God disapproves of a mind that is occupied with thoughts of divorce. Look at today’s sinful society: no one has a mind that can be approved by God. All have been given up by God to a disapproved mind, for they do that which is improper. People are so foolish and shameful in their sinful ways. Their behavior is absolutely improper. Nevertheless, they continue in sin because God has given them up to a disapproved mind.
When a person has been given up by God to uncleanness, dishonorable lusts, and to a disapproved mind, the consequence is fornication (1:24, 26, 27). Do you know the true meaning of fornication? Fornication means to violate the governing and controlling principle. This brings about confusion in order. God’s economy is one husband for one wife. This is not only God’s economy; it is His ruling and controlling principle. The people who have been given up by God will do almost anything to break this principle, violating the governing principle of one husband for one wife. The result is fornication, confusion in order. Why do people engage in this? Because of uncleanness, passions of dishonor, and their disapproved minds. When people give up God, He gives them up to fornication.
Every kind of wickedness issues out of this fornication (1:29-32). At the end of Romans 1, Paul enumerates the various kinds of evil and describes the wicked persons, such as the whisperers, backbiters, and God-haters. By this we can see that if a person gives up God, God will give him up to lusts, confusion, and every evil imaginable.
The portion of Romans on the condemnation of the self-righteous (2:1-16), along with the condemnation on mankind, shows us the way of restriction.
Now we come to the way of restriction, the way to restrict evil and wickedness. I like this part of Romans. All of us, especially the young people, need to pay our full attention to this way of restriction.
The first item in the way of restriction is knowing God by His creation (1:19-20). The invisible things of God, His eternal power and divine nature, can be apprehended by His creation. The heavens and the earth manifest the invisible things of God. Approximately 20 years ago, the brothers in Taiwan collected biographical material on the famous scientists of the past centuries. They discovered that only a small percentage of these leading scientists said they did not believe in God. The distinct majority of them believed in Him. I once read an article in which Einstein was asked whether or not he believed in God. He replied, “Your question is an insult to me. How could a scientist such as I not believe in God?” If you study science, it will tell you that there is a God.
Although I do not know science, I know a little about our human body. Many times, as I preached to people about God, I have asked them to consider their bodies. I told them, “Think how wonderful you are. Who made you?” All the hair on our physical bodies, both inside and outside, grows downward except for the hair in our throat, which grows upward. This is very meaningful. If the hair in our throat grew downward, we would die because phlegm could not be discharged. Who made us this way? Furthermore, consider the marvelous design of the human face. The mouth has been properly positioned. How awkward and how terrible it would be for our mouth to be placed between our eyes! Also, have you ever thought about the function of our eyebrows? They function as breakwaters, keeping the perspiration out of our eyes. Who designed us this way? Recently I had two operations on my right eye. The surgeon showed me an artificial eye, especially pointing to the lens and the retina. Immediately I saw that this was an exact replica of the best camera. No one can make a camera to match the human eye. Who made these things? Our teeth are also marvelously designed. Our front teeth, the incisors, act like two knives, cutting whatever is placed in between them. Then the tongue sends the food back to the molars which are like grinding stones, grinding the food into a digestible substance. As the molars grind, saliva is secreted to liquefy the food. This is marvelous. Who made it? We must say, “Lord, thank You. You are my Creator. You have made me in such a wonderful way.”
When we behold creation in general and the human body in particular, how can we say there is no God? Even an atheistic medical doctor has to confess there is an Almighty One who created the human body. Therefore, by the things made we can apprehend the eternal power and the divine nature of God. When we see God in the beauties and wonders of His creation, we have to worship and glorify Him. Knowing God by His creation is the first aspect in the way of restricting evil.
We must hold the reality of God in righteousness, approving of keeping God in our full knowledge (1:18, 28). We need to glorify, thank, worship, and serve Him (1:21, 25). It is very important to practice these four things. As a grandfather, I say a word to my grandchildren who are attending this training. I do know what is human life. Believe me when I say that worshiping God can never be wrong. The first thing you teenagers need to learn is to worship God. Nothing is more important in your human life than worshiping God. I would hate it for my children to earn millions of dollars and yet not worship God. I do not want to see my second or third generation become wealthy and yet not worship God. I would rather see them come here to learn how to worship the Lord. The greatest blessing in human life is to be trained to worship our God.
Next, we need to do things according to our nature (2:14). Some people are so spiritual that they condemn everything natural. They seem to feel that nothing natural can be good. In a sense, I agree with this almost completely. In another sense, however, I would caution you against forgetting our nature. Our original nature, as created by God, was good. Everything created by our Father, including our nature, was good originally. Of course, our nature was poisoned by the fall. There can be no doubt about this. Nevertheless, as human beings, we have a nature which God created good, and we need to act according to it. We should take heed to this nature. Although you may argue that it is not wrong to steal from others, the nature within you protests whenever you are tempted to steal. Even bank robbers will admit that, as they rob banks, their nature tells them, “Don’t do this.” However, they will not listen. It is the same with every evil-doer. Whenever they do something wrong, their nature disagrees. We need to observe the requirements of the nature within us.
In Romans 2:14-15 Paul says that when the nations who do not have the law practice the things of the law, they prove that the function of the law is written in their heart. The law of God has a function in our nature. In other words, our nature corresponds to God’s law because our nature was made by God. God’s law was given according to God’s nature, for a lawgiver always enacts a law in accordance with his own being. God created man according to what He is. Therefore, the law given by God and the man created by God correspond to one another. Thus, we do not need an outward law because we have the function of the law written in our nature. We simply need to live according to our nature.
Along with our good nature, we also have a conscience (2:15). The conscience is a wonderful entity, and we should listen to it. Although medical doctors cannot locate it, no one can deny that we possess it. Our conscience protests continually. When you argue with your parents, the conscience says, “Don’t do this.” If you offend your parents, your conscience will trouble you for three nights. Every husband seeking to divorce his wife will also be convicted by his conscience. All men have a conscience. This is a great matter. In the normal Christian life we must all take care of our conscience in a suitable way.
In addition to our nature and our conscience, we have the reasonings in our mind (2:15). Do not be so spiritual to say that our mind is absolutely useless. In our mind we have the good reasonings. Sometimes these reasonings accuse and condemn, and other times they excuse and justify. Often, as we set out to do a certain thing, we experience a conflict in our reasonings, with some reasonings saying, “Yes, that’s right,” and others saying, “No, that’s wrong.” We have all experienced this. We need to take care of our nature, our conscience, and the reasonings within us.
We have seen the five items in the way of restriction: knowing God by His creation, holding the truth of God in righteousness, living according to our nature, listening to our conscience, and caring for our proper reasonings. If we observe all these things, we will be restricted from every kind of evil. Although we all are saved and are living somewhere in Romans 5 through 8, we still need to know the source of evil and the way to be restricted from doing evil. Hallelujah, we have found it! We need to know God by His creation and hold His truth in righteousness. We need to act according to our nature, heed the voice of our conscience, and care for the proper reasonings within us. If we practice all these things, we will be protected.
