For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals and reptiles.
Therefore, God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves. Romans 1:21-24 HCSB
In the first chapter of Romans, Paul begins by telling the Romans the good news of Jesus Christ. He then speaks of his desire to visit Rome. In verses 16-17 Paul explains how God gives salvation to everyone who believes both Jew and Greek. He explains how God’s righteousness is revealed from faith and how the righteous will live by faith.
He goes on to explain that we are without excuse as we can see God and His creation. When you walk out and look around, you can see all that God has created. You can see the majesty of His creation. In verse 20 Paul explains how God is evident among us for His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen since the creation of the world. For this reason, people are without excuse.
The really scary part of Romans 1 is in the last few verses. Paul goes on to explain that knowing God and serving God are two different things. We can claim to know God, we can claim to believe in Him. What we must understand is that to truly know Him is to love Him. To love Him is to trust and obey Him.
If we truly know and love Him, we want to glorify Him. We are filled with gratitude for all He does for us on a daily basis. If we fail to do this, we can be turned over to our fleshly desires. Our thinking can become nonsense and our minds darkened. We can be delivered over to the cravings of our hearts.
Jesus said in Matthew 7:22-23, “On that day many will say to Me, ‘Lord, Lord, didn’t we prophesy in Your name, drive out demons in Your name, and do many miracles in Your name? Then I will announce to them, ‘I never knew you! Depart from Me, you lawbreakers!”
What’s really scary is there are many people who simply play church. They go through the motions, but their hearts are cold and calloused. Many people claim to believe, but only pray when they have an emergency. Many claim to love the Lord but refuse to obey Him.
Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, you will keep My commands.” Jesus doesn’t want lip service; He wants heart service. He wants dedication and devotion.
He doesn’t want us to just acknowledge His existence, He wants us to praise Him and glorify Him. It’s not enough to simply believe in Him. James 2:19 says, “You believe that God is one; you do well. The demons also believe-and they shudder.”
The scary thing is if we don’t glorify Jesus in our thoughts, our words and our actions, we might just find Him saying to us, “Depart from Me, I never knew you.”
If we continue to deny Him and seek to satisfy our fleshly desires, He may just give us over to our passions. In other words, He will eventually let us have our way. If our way is to reject Him, then so be it.
God never forces His love and His goodness on us, but He offers it freely. We must decide whether or not we want it. The choice is yours. What’s really scary is what happens if you reject it.
Think about this one and choose wisely.
Have a great day!