Many, who read the book of Romans, are so impressed with the condemnation of sin in the first chapter that they miss the point Paul is making. As we have noted, he begins with a strong statement about faith, which he makes the total factor of a Christian's life. We are not tin soldiers, marching to orders, nor are we robots, doing all the right things, repeating all the proper phrases, and carrying out the right rituals at the right times. We are a people whose faith in God, and in His will for us, His love for us, and His infinite wisdom, have our lives directed every hour by a consciousness of His presence. The just live by faith...their lives are by faith from first to last. It is not a belief, it is a way of life.
I have restated this because, as we progress into the last part of chapter one we need to be reminded that Paul is still talking about faith. He is emphatically stating that men have all the evidence they need to know God, but they choose not to! We will talk later about "how" men can know God, but my emphasis here is on the fact that many do not believe, nor worship and obey Him, because they choose not to.
I have mentioned in another paper the statement by Jesus to a group while He was here on earth: "You cannot believe on me, because you are not my sheep." I have been impressed by this statement since I first discovered it. What Jesus is saying is very simple. "You are not the kind of people who want what I want...who are willing to live the disciplined life of righteousness...who really belong in my flock; and so you can't have faith in me, because you don't choose to."
We often overlook the fact that Paul's list of sins in Romans 1 includes a lot more than obvious sexual misbehavior. He throws in greed, envy, gossip, and deceit. How many of us are tripped up by these things? If our faith fails us at times, part of the reason is that we do not want to recognize our sins, and change into the life God directs. Faith begins as a matter of choice. Paul paints with a broad brush, which includes anyone who wants to continue their own selfish life-style, instead of choosing to honor God and His way of righteousness. We are not just talking about heathens, idolaters and
perverted sexual behavior.
This is the first problem with weak faith. It is for this reason that so many today, even religious leaders, are striving to reject the Biblical record, and cast aspersions on the teachings of Jesus Christ. The message of Christ does not fit into the life-style they choose to follow. If there is a standard which condemns your behavior, rather than defend the behavior, it is much easier to say the standard is invalid, and the source is spurious.
Finally, I want you to note a serious statement by the apostle at the close of chapter one. He says, "...they not only continue to do these things, but approve of those who practice them." Because Christians are supposed to be loving and caring people, many conclude that we should condemn no one, but rather that we should welcome all with open arms regardless of their behavior. Here, Paul says that is not so. We should not reject any who want to belong to the Lord, but this, in no way, means we should tolerate, condone, or approve of behavior that is expressly contrary to His will.
