Are We Living in Romans 1:18-32?
“That which has been is what will be, that which is done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there anything of which it may be said, ‘See, this is new?’ It has already been in ancient times before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10 NKJV).
One must conclude that reading Romans 1:18-32 is like reading this morning’s newspaper. Just this morning I read from KNEWZ news, New York, that a recent poll revealed that only 20% of Americans believe the Bible is the literal word of God. Romans 1:28 reveals God giving people over to a debased mind, and the reason for it was because “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge.” What does a “debased mind” mean? It means this: the mind becoming so calloused to sin that it can’t tell the difference between good and evil. “Woe to them who call good evil and evil good” (Isaiah 5:20). Our nation has/is passing laws protecting sin and criminalizing righteousness.
Where is God in all of this? He is telling us the same thing He told the Roman society: “You suppress My truth, so I’m out of here. You made your bed, I’ll just let you sleep in it, and suffer the consequences.”
It starts with a sexual revolution (Romans 1:24), advances to lesbianism (Romans 1:26), advancing further to homosexuality (Romans 1:27). These things have become so common and accepted in our society that our government has passed laws protecting these sins.
People wine, cry and lament when our society goes “haywire” with massive drug use, mass murders, child abuse, etc.. But that’s what happens in a nation that suppresses God’s Truth. It happened in the 1st century, and it’s happening again in the 21st century. Is this new? No, “It has already been in ancient times before us.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9-10). Again and again, countless times, we see the Bible reveal reality. This prophecy is playing out before our very eyes. We are reminded of the words of the inspired apostle, “Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted. But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived” (2Timothy 3:12-13, Legacy Standard Bible).
My encouragement to you is to remain faithful to God’s Word in spite of the world in which we must live for a little while longer. Be one of the “few” who are saved (Matthew 7:14).
Toby Miller