The Results

When I was in elementary school, our school would participate in a track meet with several other Christian schools. My favorite event was the softball throw…I know that's not a real track event. We were too young to do the shot-put so we did this instead. I was never good at the sprints because I was incredibly slow, so the softball throw was my redemption for all the races that I was terrible at. I was always pretty good, but I usually finished somewhere between 2^nd place and 4^th place. When I got to 6^th grade I knew that this would be my last year of competing in the softball throw, so in the weeks leading up to the track meet I threw hundreds of softballs. I worked on getting a good run before the throw, picking the correct trajectory, and using my whole body to generate as much power as humanly possible to throw that ball. My first throw of three at the track meet was perfect. I was one of the first ones to throw, so I had to sit there and watch all of the other competitors make their attempt before I found out that I had finally taken first place. It was the crowning achievement of my life at that point. I was the softball throw king.

As stupid as that story was, it illustrates perfectly what these verses are saying. Results are not coincidental. If I hadn't put in the extra work, I would have probably finished in the same position that I always did. Somebody once said the definition of insanity is doing the same thing and expecting different results. In the same way when we fail to grow spiritually, we fall into the same temptations and sins that we always fall into. When you are spiritually fit, temptation can only do so much. When you choose to ignore the reality of God and his love for us, the results are disastrous. Check out these verses.

Romans 1:24-32

 ²⁴Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

 ²⁶Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. ²⁷In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.

 ²⁸Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. ²⁹They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, ³⁰slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; ³¹they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. ³²Although they know God's righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

In verse 24 when Paul says therefore, he's referring to previous verses which I covered in my blog yesterday. Let me summarize. As a result of man's selfishness, idolatry, and failure to recognize who God really is, you are now being controlled by sexual sin. Sexual sin usually comes from two different places. For men, self-gratification or the need to feel good is the motivation for sexual sin, while for women, sexual sin is usually the result of an attempt to fill a void of love in their life. Ultimately, however, both of these areas originate from the same place. Selfishness and this "love void" come from a failure to acknowledge who God is and what he is capable of. Selfishness as I mentioned in the previous blog is one of those things that really blinds us to God's existence. We want what we want so badly that we are willing to turn a blind eye to the truth. If God does not exist, what is the point of serving others? If God isn't real, why would we do anything other than what makes us feel good. In the same way, ignoring God's existence leads to a love void. That void is where God's rightful place is in our lives. Trying to fill that void with romantic relationships will never work.

Sexual sin is no stranger to the church. It is one of the most challenging things to overcome as a new believer and one of the easiest ways to stumble for a mature Christian. It is one of the most challenging sins to conquer because it originates from the very essence of who we are as sinners: selfish and needy. The only way to fight sexual sin is to cultivate a relationship with Jesus Christ.

Doing this blog has been a challenge for me because it takes about 1.5 – 2 hours per entry. I hate to disappoint anybody that expected differently, but that is more time than I'm used to spending on personal study every day. I've noticed however that since I've chosen to spend more time in His Word, I've been more receptive to His voice. When we take time to develop that relationship with Jesus, temptation doesn't have the power in our lives that it does when our relationship ends in a just a simple knowledge of God. And as Paul says in verse 29, this sexual sin is just a gateway to a list of other sins. He says, "although they KNOW God's righteous decree" along with the results of their sin, they not only continue to do them but encourage others to participate in their sin. Don't be ignorant to think that you can successfully be a half-hearted Christian. Either you are in all the way, or eventually you will fall into the trap of sin. Take time to pray, to study the Word, and to worship. Then you can safeguard yourself against temptation and ultimately sin.