TEACHING NOTES ‌ Introduction ‌How does a culture spiral out of control? How do behaviors once considered wrong become accepted and encouraged as right? In the first chapter of Romans, Paul lays out the steps in the process of depravity. Once a culture gets to a certain point in the process, moral chaos is inevitable. ‌ The Process of Depravity ‌Step 1: Reject God and Suppress Truth ‌Step 2: Embrace Lies and Idolatry ‌Step 3: Embrace Sexual Immorality ‌Step 4: Moral Chaos ‌ Romans 1:28 ESV 28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. ‌ Acknowledge God = Grk. echo en epignosis ho theos - they did not recognize God as their God. This is not an act of ignorance, but a conscious choice to reject the idea God exists and replacing Him with ourselves. ‌ God gave them up = Grk. theos paradidomi autos - God handed them over. ‌ Debased mind = Grk. adokimos nous - a worthless or unqualified mind. Paul is saying that God gave people over to their own lack of understanding. Without God and His moral standards, we are left to our own ideas. When our ideas don’t work, we simply create new ideas to live by, and the process spirals into chaos. ‌ Outline of Paul’s Argument 1. ‌People rejected God and truth. ‌2. God gave them over to their own gods. ‌3. God gave them over to their own desires. ‌4. God gave them over to their own deception. ‌ Romans 1:29–31 ESV 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ‌ Filled with all manner of unrighteousness = Paul’s phrase here indicates that everything he is about to list falls under the category of unrighteousness—which is anything that violates God’s standards of what is right and good. ‌ Evil = Grk. poneria - wickedness, intentional sin, lack of moral values ‌Covetousness = Grk. pleonexia - greediness, unable to be satisfied ‌Malice = Grk. kakia - depravity, intentional/planned evil ‌Envy = Grk. phthonos - jealousy, hatred for those who have more ‌Murder = Grk. phonos - killing without justification ‌Strife = Grk. eris - contention, quarreling, conflict ‌Deceit = Grk. dolos - treachery, slyness, trickery, cunning, manipulation ‌Maliciousness = Grk. kaoetheia - malevolence, mean-spirited ‌Gossips = Grk. psithyristes - tale-bearer, one who whispers against another ‌Slanderers = Grk. katalalos - speaking ill of others, defaming others ‌Haters of God = Grk. theostyges - those who despise God ‌Insolent = Grk. hybristes - violent/insulting toward others ‌Haughty = Grk. hyperephanos - arrogant, proud, loves to be seen ‌Boastful = Grk. alazon - one who loves to brag ‌Inventors of evil = Grk. epheuretes kakos - thinking up new ways of severe evil ‌Disobedient to parents = Grk. apeithes goneus - refuses to be persuaded by their parents, rejection of authority ‌Foolish = Grk. asynetos - senseless, without understanding, dull-minded ‌Faithless = Grk. asynthetos - untrustworthy, refusal to agree ‌Heartless = Grk. astorgos - without natural affection, unloving, hardhearted ‌Ruthless = Grk. aneleemon - unmerciful, no compassion ‌ Romans 1:32 ESV 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. ‌ They know God’s righteous decree = Again, as in Rom. 1:21, Paul says that all people have a basic idea of the existence of God and morality. When people sin, even if they are not religious, they know that they are doing something wrong. ‌ Those who practice such things deserve to die = One of the main ideas that Paul teaches in Romans is that “the wages [result] of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Adam and Eve were not threatened by death until they sinned and were exiled from the tree of life (eternal life). The outcome of sin is destruction and death. ‌ They give approval = Not only do these people commit such sins, they also give approval to others who do the same. In modern culture, after a sinful behavior becomes popular the next step is to force everyone to endorse it. ‌‌ How Evil Becomes Acceptable ‌ Step 1 - Raise Awareness ‌Promote a certain behavior/lifestyle as acceptable or normal in the public arena through activism and the media. ‌ Step 2 - Change or Create Laws ‌Provide legal protection and benefits for those practicing the behavior/lifestyle. ‌ Step 3 - Punish Dissent ‌Penalize anyone who disagrees with the behavior/lifestyle. ‌ Conclusion How can we avoid going mad? ‌1. Worship and serve God faithfully. ‌2. Guard against materialism. 3. ‌Exchange your desires for God’s desires. 4. ‌Renew your mind daily with God’s Word. ‌ Romans 12:1–2 ESV 1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. ‌