“Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.” – Romans 1:32
What Paul wrote in the second half of Romans 1 might as well have been written directly to and about our modern American culture. We have become a people who know so much and yet are completely darkened and foolish in thought. God is not widely worshiped, honored, or thanked. Instead, he is loudly and proudly rejected or reduced to a cartoonish imaginary figure. We know so much about creation and the creatures all around us that many have come to functionally worship those rather than their Creator! We indulge in and applaud every kind of lustful sin and appetite, claiming those things define who people are.
Followers of Jesus must not fall into this dark, sinful, and foolish pattern of thought! It doesn’t matter what our culture says, does, teaches, or mandates. Those who call Jesus Lord must be careful to obey God’s righteous decrees. We must NOT give approval to those who reject them. This is a serious challenge for Christians navigating our culture today. We must not only reject sin in our own lives, we must be extremely careful not to approve of sin in the lives of others. We must not put our stamp of approval on the greed, cruelty, or sexual immorality that are widely celebrated in our culture. We must not falsely declare that because God is gracious, merciful, and loving He is OK with sin of any sort.
God is holy and righteous. We must be holy and righteous. And we must hold firmly to His holiness and righteousness in all that we say, do, or give approval to. Take a few minutes to carefully read Romans 1:18-32. Consider whether you have accidentally or intentionally given approval to any of the sins described there in order to keep peace or gain popularity in your family, community, school, or work. Christians must be loving at all times, but we must also clearly hold to, and present, God’s holy, righteous standard. #FollowJesus