Romans 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Opening: What is the most deadly poison in the world? If you ask scientists, they will tell you that it is not snake venom, nor black mold, nor even radiation poisoning. The most deadly poison they say is not cyanide, arsenic, or strychnine. It is Botulinum toxin. A tiny particle – 1 nanogram, a billionth of a gram … and a gram is 1/30 of an ounce – will kill you.

There is something even more deadly than Botulinum toxin, and what makes it so deadly is that it can creep up on you. No, I’m not talking about Covid or the Flu.

The deadliest thing ever was introduced to our species not by a monkey or a sheep, but by a snake in a garden. This deadly thing is idolatry.

What makes idolatry so deadly is that it’s sneaky. Idolatry turns the truth of God into a lie. Idolatry tells us to not worship the God Who made us, the God of the Bible, but to worship created things. In the Gym that I visit each week there is a mirror that stretches along one of the walls – a HUGE MIRROR. I was walking on the treadmill the other day , and watching people working out with weights while looking in the mirror. There is one woman who is there quite frequently. She’ll work out for a while, then stop, turn and stare at herself in the mirror. I wondered what she was looking at. As I wondered the Lord spoke to my heart, saying: “She’s worshiping her idol”.

Our text defines idolatry.

WORSHIPED and SERVED the CREATURE MORE than the CREATOR

It is God Who made us. The Psalmist wrote:

Psalm 100:3 (AP) Know that the LORD HE IS GOD: It is HE WHO MADE US, and not we ourselves; We are His people and the Sheep of HIS PASTURE

It is God Who created us, created this world, and all that is in it. The Scripture says:

Psalm 24:1 (NKJV) The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, The world and those who dwell therein.

As Creator, God deserves our respect and our worship. He is the Owner of all things, including us. As such, God expects us to serve Him. And yet, so often we expect God to serve us. We ignore God until we have a need in our lives, then we call out to God and demand that He fix what ails us. We want Him to wait on us, instead of what the Scripture says. God wants to bless us. The Scripture says:

Psalm 27:14 (ESV) WAIT {qāvâ, kaw-vaw’ look for with expectation} for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; WAIT {qāvâ} for the Lord!

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) but they who WAIT {qāvâ, kaw-vaw’ look for with expectation} for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

As God’s creatures, His creation, we have the right to LOOK FOR the Lord when we are tried. But we must always remember.

He is THE LORD!
He’s not our Servant.
He’s not our Genie.

He is the CREATOR and SOVEREIGN over all.

This means that we are to put God first in our lives. When we

WORSHIPED and SERVED the CREATURE MORE than the CREATOR

then we have fallen into idolatry. When we put ourselves first in all things, we are guilty of idolatry.

Idolatry Worships The Human Above The Holy

Romans 1:26-27 For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature: 27 And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompence of their error which was meet.

In idolatry we ask ourselves, “What pleases ME most” as opposed to “What has God said?”

Idolatry began in the Garden of Eden, and was introduced into this world by Satan who took the form of a Serpent. Satan is called “the Great Dragon, the Devil, and that Old Serpent” in Revelation 12:9 and 20:2. He has the power to possess those who are open to his ways. In Ezekiel chapter 28 God condemns the King of Tyre:

Ezekiel 28:1 (ESV) … Thus says the Lord God: “Because your heart is proud, and you have said, ‘I am a god, I sit in the seat of the gods, in the heart of the seas,’ yet you are but a man, and no god, though you make your heart like the heart of a god ….

The King of Tyre made an idol of himself, making himself out to be “a god in the seat of the gods”. The King was following a pattern that the Devil, that old Serpent followed in the Garden of Eden. As God chastises the King of Tyre, He says:

Ezekiel 28:12-17 (ESV) … “You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. 13 You were in Eden, the garden of God; every precious stone was your covering… You were an anointed guardian cherub. I placed you; you were on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire you walked. 15 You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you. 16 In the abundance of your trade you were filled with violence in your midst, and you sinned; so I cast you as a profane thing from the mountain of God, and I destroyed you, O guardian cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire. 17 Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor.

The God Who made the King of Tyre, and Lucifer the Arch Angel, made these creatures with wisdom and beauty. Lucifer the Angel was “the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty … in Eden, the garden of God”. Lucifer was given a great job. As an Arch Angel, he was “on the holy mountain of God; in the midst of the stones of fire”. Lucifer ruled the other angels as an Arch Angel, just as the King of Tyre rule a great kingdom that God gave him. Both Lucifer and the King of Tyre began to look at themselves, and forget their purpose. In forgetting their purpose, they stared at their beauty. “Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor”. They forgot who made them.

And God cast them down!

The King of Tyre lost his kingdom because of idolatry. Lucifer lost his position as Arch Angel over the other angels. And so it is with all who move into idolatry, worshiping the creature rather than the Creator. When you misplace your God and make yourself a god, then your life falls apart.

Romans 1:26 For this cause GOD GAVE THEM UP unto VILE AFFECTIONS: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:

Word Study: The phrase “GAVE THEM UP” is the Greek paradidōmi (pro. par-ad-id’-o-mee), which means “to give into the hands of another, to transfer custody to another to be judged, scourged, or condemned”. The word is used in Matthew 4:12 when it states “John the Baptist was CAST INTO PRISON {paradidōmi}”. The woman who looks at herself in the mirror and begins to worship herself, to set her pleasure above the will of the God Who made her. Fixated on herself, God paradidōmi, turns her over to what she is pursuing. These are not godly desires but “VILE AFFECTIONS” {atimia pathos}, “disgraceful or dishonorable suffering passions”. Though this is what the woman pursued, wanting it, it brings with it its own suffering and pain. It is not what the woman was designed for, but something lesser, without actual created purpose.

It is AGAINST NATURE, against created order.

Romans 1:27 And LIKEWISE also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, BURNED in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet.

Word Study: The man that begins to worship himself rather than the Creator Who give him life is “LIKEWISE” turned over to another. They “BURNED” in their lust. This is the Greek ekkaiō (pro. ek-kah’-yo) which means “to set on fire, to burn out”. The picture here is of the man or men who, dousing themselves with gasoline, strike a match and immolate themselves. The “BURNING” they initially chase in passion eventually takes its toll on the creature. Satan through idolatry has convinced them that such behavior is not only normal, but beneficial … but in reality it is destructive and damning.

Sexual Sin Is Not The Only Idolatry

Though God is calling out the LGBTQ+ lifestyle in these passages, He is condemning ALL FORMS of idolatry. It is easy to look at these passages and say with a sense of superiority, “Well, I’m not homosexual or lesbian, so it has nothing to do with me”. But it does. In the next verse we read:

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Let’s look at that first phrase: “they did not like to retain God in their knowledge”. The idolater does things without any consideration of God. They do not want to “RETAIN” {Greek echō, to have and hold} God in their “KNOWLEDGE” {epignōsis, the knowledge you have in daily life}. They lived their lives divorced from God. Pastor Chuck Smith wrote in “The Gospel According to Grace”:

“Man becomes perverted because he doesn’t want to retain God in his mind. He refuses to glorify God as God, and he seeks to make a god after himself. God gives him up to these vile affections because he has rejected the truth of God within his own heart.”

The idolater always asks the question “What do I want?”, but never asks “What does God want me to do?”

In the marriage, the idolater puts himself or herself FIRST, ignoring the needs of the partner. The idolater doesn’t see the partner as a gift from God, or made in the image of God. That person is just there to fulfill THEIR needs.

In the family, the idolater does not discipline the children, setting standards that they must keep. Children are either ignored, or spoiled. They are raised without any direction from the Word of God.

In the community, the idolater has no concern for what God would have them do for others. The idolater is always looking out for number 1, for what he or she can get.

In the Church, the idolater is constantly moving from congregation to congregation, looking to where he or she feels best served. The question is never asked “Where is God leading me to attend and serve?”, but rather “Which Church will best cater to my wants and desires?” The idolater is often easily offended by clear scriptural teaching – and wants as little of it as possible.

In The Kingdom of God the idolater does not heed the call of Christ, Who commanded those He has saved:

Matthew 16:24-26 (ESV) Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. 25 For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. 26 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul?

Idolatry is self satisfaction, but Christianity is first of all SELF DENIAL. We are not gods. He alone is God. What we do, we do to serve Him, not ourselves. Christianity is to TAKE UP YOUR CROSS. Idolatry is comfortable, myself laying in a recliner all the live long day. Christianity is uncomfortable. It is standing with Christ in the Light of God.

Isaiah 2:5 … come and let us walk In the light of the LORD

1 John 1:7 … if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin.

Jesus was hated for walking in the Light of God. We will be hated for walking in the Light of God. We are to “FOLLOW CHRIST”. We FOLLOW Him, not LEAD Him. We go where Jesus bids us go, and avoid the things He tells us to do. We want to retain God in our knowledge if we are saved. God warns those who reject Him for their own idols:

Isaiah 50:11 … all you who kindle a fire, Who encircle yourselves with sparks: Walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks you have kindled— This you shall have from My hand: You shall lie down in torment.

If you reject God, and cling to yourselves, becoming idolaters, God tells us that He will turn us over to another.

Romans 1:28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;

Word Study: Rejecting God and His call to salvation, refusing to heed Him but instead becoming their own gods and goddesses, God turns them over to a “REPROBATE MIND”. The word translated “REPROBATE” is the Greek adokimos which means “something rejected, cast away, discarded as unfit”. When you will not put God first in your minds, making His will and His Word a priority, God will turn away from you.

Fill your minds with God and Christ and you will do divine things. Empty your minds of God and Christ and you will do useless and harmful things.

Where Does The Troubles Of This World Come From?

Romans 1:29-31 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful:

Someone once asked me, “If there is a loving God, why is there so much evil in the world?” Here you have your answer. The reason there is so much evil in the world is that people refuse to repent and turn to Jesus. They choose instead to build their own gods and goddesses. If God is not in your life, if your heart is not filled with Jesus, then you can BE FILLED WITH ALL else.

God in His Word warns us against idolatry. Our Lord Jesus said:

Luke 14:25-26 (ESV) Now great crowds accompanied {Jesus}, and he turned and said to them, 26 “If anyone comes to me and does not HATE his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple.

Word Study: I have heard preachers try to explain away Jesus’ use of the word “HATE” in this passage. I have heard them say “Jesus really didn’t say HATE, but LOVE LESS. You need to love others LESS than Jesus. That’s all He was saying.” Beloved, God chooses His Words very carefully. The word rendered “HATE” is the Greek miseō (pro. mis-eh’-o), which literally means “To DETEST or HATE”. Jesus used the word repeatedly in texts like:

Matthew 5:44 … do good to them that HATE (miseō) you …

Matthew 10:22 … you shall be HATED (miseō) of all men for My sake

Luke 6:22 … Blessed are you when men shall HATE (miseō) you …

John 15:23 … He that HATES (miseō) Me HATES (miseō) My Father

You get the point. The word HATE (miseō) just means “to HATE or DETEST”. So what was Jesus saying when He said the saved need to HATE (miseō) their father, mother, wife, husband or children? The Fifth Commandment of God is to honor our father and mother (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16; Matthew 19:19; Ephesians 6:2). Jesus didn’t mean to dishonor any of our family, or even our own life. But what He was saying is

Don’t make an idol out of your family, of out of yourself. Love Jesus so much more than you love anyone else, even if your family thinks your service to Him is hateful to them.

Not far from this Church there is another gathering of professing Christians. The pastor of that flock believed the Bible, and upheld its teachings until his son came out of the closet and openly professed he was homosexual. At that point the Pastor did a 180 turn and began to preach that homosexuality was perfectly normal, that “Love is love” no matter how it is expressed.

But what does God’s Word say?

The Word of God is always right, and Christ is always right. Jesus defined marriage as one man and one woman. The pastor of that Church is an idolater, as is the pastor of every church that affirms what God condemns. The Scripture says:

Romans 3:4 … let God be true but every man a liar

The further a nation gets from God, the greater the anarchy and lawlessness reigns. People know that sin is wrong. But we believe if we create a law like Roe Vs Wade or Obergefell v. Hodges, and get the majority to say that it’s fine, then God will overlook it. We think that we can name a month of the year after evil, and build television stations dedicated to that which God condemns, then it will be all right. Beloved, when you sin, you sin against the Lord, and your sin shall find you out (Numbers 32:23).

King David thought he could get away with murder and adultery.

Nathan brought his sin to light.

Queen Jezebel thought she could spread idolatry throughout Israel.

Her payday came, and dogs ate her for lunch.

Samson though he could play with prostitutes because he was strong.

Delilah gave him a bad haircut, and the Philistines an eye exam.

Israel thought as God’s Chosen they could chase after idols.

They were chased out of their homes and land for their foolishness.

When King Solomon looked over His Kingdom, he wrote:

Ecclesiastes 3:16-17 (ESV) …. I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. 17 I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work.

Dear ones, you cannot get away with sin. You cannot get away with idolatry. You may think you can, but there is coming a judgment day. On that day you will stand before God, and your life will be examined.

Do you know Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior? Have you repented of your sin, your idolatry, and turned to Him Who gave Himself for you? Or are you putting off Jesus so you can continue in the darkness of idolatry and sin? Our last verse notes:

Romans 1:32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Those who pursue sin are “WORTHY OF DEATH”. A judgment day is coming. Which Judge will you stand before? If you reject Christ Jesus as Lord and Savior, you will stand before a Great White Throne, and will go into a Lake of Fire for all eternity. But if you put down your idols, and turn to Him Who died for you, calling Him “Lord”, then you have eternal life. Our Lord Jesus said:

John 3:16-21 (NKJV) For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. 18 “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. 19 And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. 20 For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. 21 But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.

May God the Holy Spirit lead you to put down your idols, and turn to Him Who loves you so. Amen and Amen!