The Great Exchange!

GodThoughtsWired!                     Friday, June 10, 2011

Evangelizing the Church in the Age of Delusion

THE GREAT EXCHANGE!

STUDIES FROM ROMANS 1

 "And exchanged the glory of the
incorruptible God for...corruptible man...
They exchanged the truth of God
for a lie...exchanged the natural function
for that which is unnatural."
-Romans 1:23,25,26, bold mine 

Glory for corruption. Truth for lies. Natural for unnatural. When we don't like something we "exchange" it.

1. "And exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man..." (see verse 23). Why? Because THEY DECIDED not to "honor God" any longer. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God" (see verse 21). They did the opposite of Joseph:

"How then could I do this great evil
and sin against God?"
-Genesis 39:9

2. "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (see verse 25). Why? Because THEY DECIDED they didn't like the truth. To embrace truth is to acknowledge moral responsibility. To accept biblical truth is to admit to the "our part" of biblical Christianity.

"For it is not the hearers of the Lawwho are just before God,
but the doers of the Law will be justified."-Romans 2:13

3. "They…exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural" (see verse 26).  It is so very important to "understand" that the human conscience is something completely different from the "conviction of the Holy Spirit" (see John 16:8-11). The "conviction of the Holy Spirit" comes from an "unchanging God" (see Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8) grounded in and affirmed by His "unchanging word" (see Psalm 19:7; Proverbs 30:5-6).

The human conscience however, is culturally defined and as such, is as changeable as the ocean shores (see Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 28:26).

"Professing to be wise, they became fools." 
-Romans 1:22