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“This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.” (1 Tim. 1:15, NKJV)
It never ceases to amaze me that Jesus left heaven and came into this world to save sinners. If He came to save righteous people it would be difficult to take in but sinners, that is beyond comprehension.
To be saved by Jesus we have to admit we are one of the sinners because He didn’t come for those who think they are righteous.
Soon Levi held a banquet in his home with Jesus as the guest of honor. Many of Levi’s fellow tax collectors and other guests were there. But the Pharisees and their teachers of religious law complained bitterly to Jesus’ disciples, “Why do you eat and drink with such scum?” Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor–sick people do. I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough.” (Luke 5:29-32, NLT)
If we think we are one of the good guys then we are on our own. It is when we realize we are one of the bad guys that He is willing to save us from ourselves. To be saved by Jesus we have to admit we are sinners.
To be used by Jesus to save others we need to recognize we are the worst sinner we know. If we look honestly at our self, we can see more sin in our own life than we can in anyone else’s. This humiliating fact should produce in us the humility required to talk to others about sin without judging. If we think we are better than someone, they won’t listen when we tell them about Jesus.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting;
When people don’t think it is worthwhile to acknowledge God in their lives and that life is better off not worrying about what God thinks of them then God leaves them. He delivers them over to the control of their own mind. The foolish mind that has already decided to reject the knowledge of God.
The mind that rejects the knowledge of God is thinking backwardly, has been proven unfit, and has failed the test. One of the worst things God could do to such a person is allow them to have full control of their lives.
When God gives them over to the control of their own minds they do things they ought not do, things that are unfit for a person who was created to glorify God.
Open my eyes, that I may see wondrous things from Your law. (Psalm 119:18)
The scriptures are full of wonderful, marvelous, and extraordinary truths. There is no source of knowledge or entertainment that can compare. Why is it then that we spend our time looking elsewhere?
In order to see these wonderful things we obviously have to look for them by reading and meditating on the bible. As we look, we need to ask God to open our eyes that we may see what is there but hidden from the natural eye. It is the Spirit of God that gives us spiritual vision and understanding.
A great illustration of God opening someones eyes to the spiritual reality around them is the servant of Elisha.
When the servant of the man of God got up early the next morning and went outside, there were troops, horses, and chariots everywhere. “Ah, my lord, what will we do now?” he cried out to Elisha. “Don’t be afraid!” Elisha told him. “For there are more on our side than on theirs!” Then Elisha prayed, “O LORD, open his eyes and let him see!” The LORD opened his servant’s eyes, and when he looked up, he saw that the hillside around Elisha was filled with horses and chariots of fire. (2 Kings 6:15-17, NLT)
Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.
Verses 18-25 state that God made Himself known to all people, yet most still reject Him and exchange the truth of God for the lie of Satan. Verse 26 states that there is a point where God turns people over to their sinful desires, no longer restraining them. This is illustrated by the sin of homosexuality and that illustration carries over into this verse (see vs. 26).
In error, people stray down a path in life that leads them away from God. As a result, they receive the penalty, payment, or wages they have earned and are due. When God cursed mankind and creation because of sin, He built in negative consequences to sin, which are emotional, mental, physical, and spiritual. These consequences are the penalty we are due when we sin against God and include things like guilt, unhappiness, sickness, and even death.
Christians have a very simple message for the world. Jesus is the perfect Son of God and every person is a spiritually dead sinner. God accepts Jesus and rejects everyone else because of their sin. Jesus died on the cross to pay the price for our sin. Jesus arose from the dead so we can have spiritual life through Him. Everyone who believes these things about Jesus becomes acceptable to God. Everyone who rejects these things about Jesus is rejected by God.
It is easy for Christians to get caught up in social issues, politics, religion, theology, philosophy, etc. But Jesus alone should be the focus of all that we say and do. Although, Paul is recognized as the preeminent theologian, he always maintained his focus on Jesus.
For I decided to concentrate only on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross. (1 Cor. 2:2, NLT)
In every situation, our message to the world is to always stay focused “on Jesus Christ and his death on the cross.”
For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.
God has made Himself known to all people, yet most still reject Him and exchange the truth of God for the lie of Satan. “For this reason”, at some point God turns people over to their sinful desires. He stops restraining them and gives their passions complete control of their lives. The end result is a shameful lifestyle.
God made people to worship and serve Him in righteousness. The lifestyle that naturally fits us is one of godliness. Any other use of our lives and bodies is shameful and unnatural.
Ungodliness is so normal now that it seems like a natural use of our bodies. Lesbianism is used in this verse to illustrate how unnatural our sinful desires are. Homosexuality is a lifestyle that is obviously not natural to the human body, which is clearly designed for heterosexual relationships.
When God removes His restraining influence from a person or nation the result will always be an unnatural use of the bodies He created to worship and serve Him forever.
There is so much more to life than what we experience through our bodies. All of what is presented by the world as “living life to the fullest” is a shadow of the life we can experience through our spirit.
The Scriptures tell us, “The first man, Adam, became a living person.” But the last Adam–that is, Christ–is a life-giving Spirit. (1 Cor. 15:45)
Jesus came that we might truly experience life. The lie of Satan is that following Jesus robs us of the good life. Yet, in reality, following Jesus IS the good life because He “is a life-giving Spirit.” Full, exciting, adventurous, and real life comes only through Him.
Ironically, what the world presents as living is actually producing death in us “for the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Rom. 6:23)
The Spirit of God is the only source of true life in this world.
The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as he raised Christ from the dead, he will give life to your mortal body by this same Spirit living within you. (Rom. 8:11)
who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). His first recorded lie was to Eve in the garden of Eden.
Now the serpent was the shrewdest of all the creatures the LORD God had made.
“Really?” he asked the woman. “Did God really say you must not eat any of the fruit in the garden?”
“Of course we may eat it,” the woman told him. “It’s only the fruit from the tree at the center of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God says we must not eat it or even touch it, or we will die.”
“You won’t die!” the serpent hissed. “God knows that your eyes will be opened when you eat it. You will become just like God, knowing everything, both good and evil.” (Genesis 3:1-5)
Eve believed Satan and ate the fruit, “[exchanging] the truth of God for the lie.” This was the original sin and has been the continual sin ever since.
Satan told her that she would be like God if she ate the fruit. Then she, the creature, would be worthy of being worshiped and served rather than the Creator. She could take His place in her life, worshiping and serving her own desires. It is not surprising that Satan, who was also created, would tempt in this way. His own sin was an attempt to be like the Creator God and take His throne. (Isaiah 14:12-14)
Regardless of how many creatures try to take the Creator’s place, He is the only one worthy of being blessed and praised forever.
When a statement ends with amen, it means that the statement is sure, true, trustworthy and dependable. The speaker or writer is basically putting their personal guarantee on the truth of the statement.