Reflections on Romans 1:
The psychological and spiritual make up of man and sin processes in man are worked out by the apostle in this letter:
God who is the centre of all truth and the rightful centre of man's heart and worship.
The unrighteousness and ungodliness in us suppresses the truth that God is God, our creator and Father and is to be honored and worshipped and in the centre of our lives like the sun around which planets orbit.
When we do not love Him as God and see Him in the centre of all things, we start to go astray in our hearts and minds.
1) God and Who He is an inescapable fact: creation and the beauty revealed therein declares His power, glory, beauty, justice. We cannot escape from the fact of God. We must face up to Him, either worship Him or rebel.
2) We will inevitably start to worship other things. Our hearts are made to worship something: self, man, creation are some things listed that man deflects to worship in the centre of the heart, erecting idols that take the place of God in us. God points out the mechanics of the mind and heart of man: the mechanics of the need to worship.
3) The suppression of the truth of God in ungodliness and unrighteousness. Our sin nature automatically and habitually denies God and His existence in order to perpetuate a state of rebellion in us.
4) The suppression of the truth of who God is, and the desire for other Gods and then the worship of these false Gods leads to the debasement of mind and heart and body that leads to sin and death. I myself notice, when i am most tempted to sin, it is not in moments of worship where the person of God is in clear view in heart and mind. In those moments of temptation, I do not remember God - who He is, what He can do, His character and His heart towards me etc. Then my thinking without God in the centre, when my heart starts to worship creation and man and other things, the mind starts to exalt self and self justify sinful actions and thoughts.
5) In this state of falleness and denial of the truth of God and rebellion and sin, man can still vaunt himself to be wise, in proclaiming man's own wisdom and knowledge. Whilst denying the one truth of God. When we deny God and who He is, all our knowledge and wisdom becomes corrupt self justifying for corruption and sin, perpetuating the sin condition.
The inverse is also true, when we understand God, our minds - knowledge and wisdom is put right. We then 'understand all things' and can grow in wisdom and knowledge and understanding in everything rightly as God meant us to understand and know and grow in wisdom and rule and reign.
In that state of self vaunting, in the state of men proclaiming 'I am wise', corruption worsens and is solidified; in this state man can no longer find his way out of sin to God.
6) An interesting thing is that Idolatry ultimately leads to the 'dishonoring of the body' - then the inverse is true, If I worship God the Father, Know the love of Christ, the free gift of righteousness, the hope I have in Christ of eternal salvation and forgiveness, If i know His heart towards me and His value He places on me as a Son, His beloved, If I feed and depend on God as my worship, my food, my source of love and beauty and life, power and wisdom all the day, if I walk in harmony and peace with Him through faith in His blood and receive the Holy spirit, I will keep my body pure and honorable. For God says to me, I have favored you, I have chosen you, I love you, I value and honor you. Isaiah 43:4 Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. When the revelation Hits my heart of His love for Me, when God is clear in the centre of my minds eye and heart and worship, through teaching, through doctrine, through the renewal of the mind, I will keep myself clean and pure for Him.
7) God is that one truth that we cannot afford to forget, with Him everything then has its place, makes sense and is in order, without that central truth of Who He is, all humanity is off kilter. He is the mighty creator, invisible, holy, righteous, the judge of all from whom wrath comes upon all Sin, Yet from whom comes utmost mercy, love and grace for man kind. Who will judge all by our works yet save us, sanctify us, empower us by faith. Merciful and Kind, Just, Mighty, Holy and Loving.
Can we find a more detailed, descriptive, accurate and true explanation on the nature of man? Search our hearts is this not true of all of us?
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