LIFESTYLE CHOICES – Part 1

Romans Chapter 1, verses 22-27

By David Woodbury

Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God they worshiped idols made to look like people and birds and animals and reptiles. (Romans 1:22-23 - NLT)

What happened was this: People knew God perfectly well, but when they didn’t treat him like God, refusing to worship him, they trivialized themselves into silliness and confusion so that there was neither sense nor direction left in their lives. (MSG)

Perhaps Paul rightly calls them fools and how often is it that wordy wisdom discloses the foolish. We live in a day of word-spin where words are crafted and manipulated to appear wise. We listen, and at times can’t find the words to disagree, yet knowing in our hearts that we are listening to foolishness. The true seeker after authentic spirituality needs to be very astute in today’s world.

These verses must bring into sharp focus some of the rituals found in areas of the Christian Church. Perhaps the reality is that people find it somewhat less demanding to focus on a visible plaster or stone statue rather than on an invisible God. However, life has taught us that the easy way out is rarely the best. To focus our attention and belief on an invisible God requires a good deal more effort than a plaster or stone statue.

So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. (Romans 1:24-25 - NLT)

Here is one of the scariest passages in the Bible; people being abandoned by God because of their commitment to an erroneous and corrupt higher power and the choice of a resultant lifestyle. They have locked their lives and their lifestyles to an idol and it will inevitably be reflected in their behaviour, a behaviour which draws the anger of the creator God.

There is no more frightening and fearsome scenario than this image of God turning his back on a group of people. It is an image that should powerfully motivate all evangelical Christians to redouble their efforts to alert people in the danger of decision, lifestyle choice and compliance with an erroneous higher power.

26For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due. (Romans 1:26-27 - NLT)

When Paul speaks of God abandoning men to uncleanness, the word abandon has no angry irritation in it. Indeed, its main note is not even condemnation and judgment, but wistful, sorrowful regret, as of a lover who has done all that he can and can do no more. It describes exactly the feeling of the father when he saw his son turn his back on his home and go out to the far country. (William Barclay – The Daily Study Bible)

To what does God abandon these people?  The reality is that they are abandoned to their own free-will. The truth is that God gave humanity the gift of free-will and he will not and cannot interfere with it. Free-will clearly indicates that all individuals have the right to make choices; choices between what is good and what are bad, choices between what is and isn’t loving. Humanity must choose what is good and what is loving. A compelled goodness is not really goodness at all and a forced love, in reality, is not truly love at all. In the final analysis, if human beings choose to turn their backs on God there is nothing he can do about it. They have chosen, by an act of their own free-will, a path of wilful disobedience and destruction and must then suffer the consequences of their own choices.

When we read these words from Paul we might be forgiven for thinking that here was censorious moralist who was over-stating the situation and interpreting it in a sense of linguistic embellishment. However, any reading of Roman history from the day reveals a scene of moral corruption and sleaze virtually unparalleled in the history of humanity. The reality was that it was an age of unparalleled luxury and unparalleled immorality.

In his first letter to the Thessalonians Paul goes on to expand his thinking on this matter: 3 It is God’s will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong or take advantage of a brother or sister. The Lord will punish all those who commit such sins, as we told you and warned you before. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life.8 Therefore, anyone who rejects this instruction does not reject a human being but God, the very God who gives you his Holy Spirit. (1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

Any biblical view of sexuality within the Bible needs to commence with the creation narrative. Genesis 1:27 being the foundation for our understanding of God's view of sex. 26 Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.” 27 So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. (Genesis 1:26-27 – NLT) The basic form of humanity, as created and ordained by God, was the union and fellowship of a man and woman. It is not man and man, or woman and woman, but a man and a woman. The basic design of God's creation was for man to share humanity with the opposite sex.

As uncomfortable as it may be we cannot ignore the Word of God in this matter. Either we believe that the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God; and that they only constitute the divine rule of Christian faith and practice (Salvation Army doctrine 1), or we don’t.  When Paul wrote to the early church in Corinth he was very clear on the issue:  9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – NLT)

However, we need to understand these words in the context of Paul’s writing for he goes on to explain that those who trusted in the sacrificial death and resurrection of Jesus and know their sins are forgiven suffer no condemnation: 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-10 – NLT)