God gave them over

Romans 1:18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse. 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; 32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.

Romans chapter 1 describes the judgment of God in a way not normally understood. We usually comprehend the fact that as a just and holy God, He punishes sin, but this chapter teaches far more. It teaches that God, in His wrath can abandon a society (turn His back on them), allowing the people to pursue the sin they crave. He gives them up or gives them over to the sin they cherish most. When this happens, this will not merely BRING the wrath of God, it IS the wrath of God.

Romans 1 is a New Testament passage that mirrors many found in the Old Testament that speak of God’s dealings in this way. One such passage is Judges 10: 13, 14 where we read, “13 Yet you have forsaken me and served other gods; therefore I will save you no more. 14 Go and cry out to the gods whom you have chosen; let them save you in the time of your distress.” Haunting words, aren’t they?

This is why, now that the votes have been counted, millions of Christians in America are waking up this morning with a great measure of sadness in their hearts. This is not because their faith in God has been shaken. That is not true at all. Their sadness arises from the fact that though a deeply divided nation, America as a whole (by means of the choices made) has clearly abandoned God, and this by itself is a sure sign of God’s judgment. God is saying, “alright then, if that is what you want, go for it.” As Justin Taylor commented, “It’s possible to hope in God, believe that King Jesus is still on the throne, and still be deeply disappointed.”

Yet for all who seek refuge in God, He shows His great mercy. The Name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous run into it and are safe.

May God bless America… with repentance.

Here is Dr. John Macarthur with a message from the year 2006 entitled “When God abandons a nation.”

The Big Picture

I re-read the book of Revelation this week. We often get bogged down in all the intricate details but the book was written for Christians in all ages (often times) under heavy persecution and the big picture is clear – no scheme of man can thwart the triumph of the Lamb.

Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, tonight when the votes are counted, and forever.

All hail the Lamb upon the throne.

“… there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is Sovereign over all, does not cry: ‘Mine!'” – Abraham Kuyper

Miscellaneous Quotes (54)

“There is no pit so deep but Christ is deeper still.” – Corrie Ten Boom

“He that is down needs fear no fall, he that is low no pride; he that is humble ever shall have God to be his guide.” – John Bunyan

“He whose head is in heaven need not fear to put his feet into the grave.” – Matthew Henry

“Learn to know Christ and him crucified. Learn to sing to him, and say, ‘Lord Jesus, you are my righteousness, I am your sin. You have taken upon yourself what is mine and given me what is yours. You have become what you were not so that I might become what I was not.’” – Martin Luther

“Faith is the accepting of what God gives. Faith is the believing what God says. Faith is the trusting to what Jesus has done. Only do this and you are saved, as surely as you are alive!” – C.H. Spurgeon

“God’s love is unconditional for those He intends to adopt as His children. He does not make us meet a condition (faith) before He will love us, as the Arminian affirms. Rather, He meets the condition for us in Christ by doing for us what we are unable to do for ourselves, that is, giving us everything we need for salvation, including a new heart to believe. (Ezek 36:26).” – John Hendryx

“This little expression, ‘It doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you’re sincere,’ is a monstrous lie.” – R.C. Sproul

“The greatest enemy of hunger for God is not poison but apple pie. It is not the banquet of the wicked that dulls our appetite for heaven, but endless nibbling at the table of the world.” – John Piper

“If you know Christ and him crucified, you know enough to make you happy, supposing you know nothing else. And without this, all your other knowledge cannot keep you from being everlastingly miserable.” -George Whitefield, in a sermon on 1 Cor. 2:2 in 1739, in The Sermons of George Whitefield (ed. Lee Gatiss; Crossway, 2012), 2:238

“The devil is a better theologian than any of us and is a devil still.” – A.W. Tozer

“You will find all true theology summed up in these two short sentences — salvation is all of the Grace of God — damnation is all of the will of man.” – C. H. Spurgeon

“If we once get above our Bibles and cease making the written word of God our sole rule both as to faith and practice, we shall soon lie open to all manner of delusion and be in great danger of making shipwreck of faith and a good conscience.” – George Whitefield

“Nothing serves to verify the intimacy and constancy of the Redeemer’s preoccupation with the security of his people, nothing assures us of his unchanging love more than the tenderness which his heavenly priesthood bespeaks and particularly as it comes to expression in intercession for us.” —John Murray, The Epistle to the Romans (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1968), 330.

“Those who give much without sacrifice are reckoned as having given little.” – Erwin Lutzer

“… you resemble what you revere, either for ruin or restoration.” – Greg Beale

“Our responsibility is to get God’s word to their ears. Only God can get the word from their ears to their heart.” – Albert Mohler

“God does not forbid sexual sin because he’s a killjoy, but because he opposes what kills joy.” – John Piper

“Jesus was not just a prophet but the fulfillment of all prophecy.” – Kevin DeYoung

“How do we bring glory to God? The Bible’s short answer is: by growing more and more like Jesus Christ.” – Sinclair Ferguson

“I want people to fill their minds with passages of Scripture while they are well and strong, that they may have sure help in the day of need. I want them to be diligent in studying their Bibles, and becoming familiar with its contents, in order that the grand old Book may stand by them and talk with them when all earthly friends fail.” ~ J.C. Ryle

“The Lord’s mercy often rides to the door of our heart upon the black horse of affliction.” – Charles Haddon Spurgeon

“Prayerless souls are Christless souls, Christless souls are Graceless souls and Graceless souls shall soon be damned souls. See your peril, you that neglect altogether the blessed privilege of prayer! You are in the bonds of iniquity, you are in the gall of bitterness. God deliver you, for Hisname’s sake!” – C. H. Spurgeon

“Salvation is not verified by a past act, but by present fruitfulness.” – John MacArthur

“All our afflictions, all our temptations are to make heaven more desirable, and earth more loathsome.” – George Whitefield

“When a rape results in a pregnancy, this means that we are now dealing with three people instead of two. Two of those three are innocent, and one of them is guilty. Take a case of violent rape. The pro-choice ghouls want to do two things — first, they want to go easy on the guilty one, refusing to execute him, while executing one of the innocent parties for something his father did, and secondly, they want to make out anyone who objects to this arrangement as the callused one.” – Douglas Wilson

“The only thing that we have earned at the hands of perfect justice is perfect punishment.” – R.C. Sproul

“When God writes our names in the ‘Lamb’s Book of Life’ He doesn’t do it with an eraser handy. He does it for eternity.” – R.C. Sproul

“Missions exists because worship doesn’t.”
“Prayer is a war-time walkie-talkie, not a domestic intercom.”
“The call of God does what the call of man cannot. It raises the dead.”
“Suffering is not just the price many must pay, it is God’s strategy for victory.” – John Piper

“To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves.” – Will Durant