God Gave Them Up: Judgment in Hope (Romans 1:24-25)

THE FIRST GREAT EXCHANGE They exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. Where did this first exchange of truth take place? It took place in the Garden when the woman believed the Serpent’s word over the Word of God. Hold on to that, because that’s going to matter for the rest of our text. And Adam, in turn, believed the voice of his wife over the voice of God. EXCHANGING TRUTH: AN ALTERNATIVE WORD So, first, in the Garden, they exchanged that which they perfectly knew to be true, and chose to believe something else. Why? Because that something else seemed more desirable. God’s clear Word said: The day you eat of this tree you shall surely die — because for you, it is the fruit of death. Well, I don’t like the sound of that. So, another comes in and offers an alternative word. You won’t surely die. Rather, eating this fruit will grant you something you don’t have right now. It will make you like God. Well, that word certainly sounds preferable. I’ll chose to believe that one. That’s what temptation does. It offers you something you don’t currently possess, and it says, this is preferable. And you can have it! Don’t deny yourself. DISHONORABLE USE Our bodies were given for one use and one use only — they were given to us for the glory of God. Any other use is misuse. Any other use is dishonorable. Because it’s to use your body for something significantly less — indeed, infinitely less — than that which they were designed and given to you for. THE SECOND GREAT EXCHANGE The first great exchange was the most horrific appalling exchange ever. Mankind exchanging the glory of God for a copy of a copy of a corrupted copy — Mankind exchanging the truth about God for a lie — Mankind handing over Creator as unworthy of their worship in order to worship the creature instead. It’s impossible to exaggerate the magnitude of this exchange. It seems utterly impossible for there to be a greater exchange. There certainly could never be a more horrendous exchange. But thanks be to God, it wasn’t the last great exchange! The God who handed mankind over to their sin, will hand over His own Son for their sin. Romans 8:32. He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all. It’s the exact same word as that of God’s judicial judgment that Paul uses 3 times in Romans 1. Therefore, God gave them up. For this reason, God gave them up. And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up. The most glorious exchange to cover the most horrific exchange. In mankind’s exchange of God, we desired God to be not — we desired God to be dead — we desired God to be … crucified. God gave His one and only Son over to our desire — and he was crucified. And on that cross hung the one thing that will restore any of us to the truth about just who God is — the king we demanded for ourselves … versus the King who bore our crown of thorns BARABBAS It’s really the account of Barabbas. We are the insurrectionists set free in exchange for the One who had done nothing wrong. The One who honored and served His Father was handed over to be crucified, while you and I who rebelled are set free.