Hope For A Prodigal Planet (Romans 1:26-32)

A sermon preached at Hebron Baptist Church, Denham Springs, Louisiana on August 23, 2009 by pastor Joe Alain.

Scripture Reading: Romans 1:26-32
Thus far, in Romans chapter one we have seen clearly that man needs God because . . .
1. There is moral order in the world and because . . .
2. Of man’s fatal attraction to God-substitutes.
Our text today continues to show our need for God because of . . .
3. Sin’s Enslaving Power. In seeking to be free, man apart from God becomes enslaved. Only in Christ are we truly free persons. Central Idea of the Text: Paul described the inevitable downward sinful progress that follows a person who has suppressed the truth about God.

Life Application: Abandoning God leads to being enslaved to sin. Our only hope for true freedom is to abandon ourselves to Christ.

Key Word:
Abandon: 1 To withdraw from. 2. To give up to the control or influence of another person or agent. 3. To give oneself over unrestrainedly (Webster’s).

As we consider this passage this morning, I want to use the story of the Prodigal Son as a backdrop, the canvas for this text. If you remember the story of the Prodigal Son (Luke 15:11-24), there was a progression of events at work in the story.

1. The son wanted to live independently of his father.
He was restless and rebellious. He demanded and received his inheritance and promptly left the father’s home in search of what he thought was real living.

2. The son discovered that life apart from the father was not all that he thought it would be. Freedom came with a high price. In fact, in the far country the young man quickly squandered his inheritance and found himself broke, friendless, and desperate with seemingly no way out of his predicament. His destitution led to desperation and the ultimate, degradation of his person, expressed by living in a pig pen.

3. But something beautiful happens in the story because the young man finally comes to himself, he comes to his senses.
He hits rock bottom and realizes the error of his ways. He remembers how good he had things when he was in his father’s house and he repents of his sin against his father and God and he determines to return to the father’s home.

4. What he finds when he returns home is probably not what he expected. I’m sure he expected a long lecture and some punishment. But the loving father with outstretched arms received and restored him to full rights and privileges of
son ship. There was redemption and rejoicing. The father was there all along waiting for his son to return home. I believe there was never a day that went by that the father thought “maybe today my son will come home.” What the son discovered when he returned was grace and mercy instead of harsh words and judgement. Because the son was convicted of his sin and confessed his sin to God, there was restored communion with his father.

It is with that progression of events as a backdrop that I want you to view Romans 1:26-32. How does the story of the prodigal son relate to our Scripture? We will consider this passage in three parts. First, I want to deal with this truth presented in our text of . . .

1. Abandoning God
This section of Scripture illustrates man’s independence from God. Here is independent living unrestrained, apart from God’s moral law. Here is a dark picture of life lived when one abandons God.

It’s important to understand this phrase repeated three different times, “God gave them over.” In what sense does God ever abandon people? Why would God do such a thing? The truth is, we abandon God who in turn abandons us to our determined (it’s a choice) course of action. Like the father in the story, God lets us go into our distant countries. He respects our free will. The awesome reality is that God will let us go. He will give us what you want even when He knows that our chosen course of action may bring us great harm.

This is the best way to understand these three “God gave them over” statements (1:24, 26, 28). Why does God allow people to continue in a course of action even though is may be harmful to them? Just as the father in the story allowed his son to go, even giving him his inheritance, so God will allow us to go and live independently from Him even though He knows that this course may lead to harm. Why does God do that? Because He hates us? No, because He loves you, and God will respect your free choice to reject Him. For God to override your free will, He would have to suspend His character, something that is impossible for God to do.

There is a dangerous piece of worldly wisdom that people buy into sometimes. It goes like this. “Well, God will let me know when I need to stop going down this path. God will stop me.” But the reality is, God may not stop you. He may let you continue on down the path that you have chosen. And if God is dealing with you right now about your present course of action, it’s a wake up call to you. God is saying stop, look around, listen! God may be trying to get your attention.

The truth of our text is that we can abandon God and He in turn will abandon us to our freely chosen course of action. C. S. Lewis said: “The lost enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved.” Abandoning God though is not without consequences. When we abandon God,
we live . . .

2. An Abandoned Lifestyle
That abandoned lifestyle is graphically portrayed in these verses.
In declaring our freedom from God and His moral law, we become enslaved to sin. Let me say several things concerning verses 26-27. First, it is clear that Paul is referring to homosexuality. This is not now nor was it then some new sin. It was common practice in the pagan world. Most of the early Caesars were homosexual. So it is not a new sin.

Second, it is also clear that from the Bible’s point of view, homosexuality is a perversion of God’s natural order (see the contrast between natural and unnatural). To pretend that it is normal is to plainly contradict God’s moral order. But it is also clear from this larger passage that all sin is a perversion of God’s design! Sexual immorality is but one expression of abandoning God and His moral law. All sin is dark because it is life lived in the dark.

Without God we are enslaved to our sinful nature expressed by any number of sins. What is a person capable of who has suppressed the truth about God? The answer – anything! Some people today are making great attempts to normalize sinful behaviors in order to make them feel good about living in the far country. We call sin an alternative lifestyle and here’s the truth – it really is! Living apart from God is an alternate lifestyle.

The prodigal son who abandoned his father was now living an abandoned lifestyle, completely unrestrained by moral constraints. He was really living it up. I can imagine that the prodigal son experienced everything life had to offer. He went to the Vegas of his day. The problem is what happens in Vegas does not stay in Vegas! And it certainly does not bring life. Living without God is not freedom, it’s enslavement to a new master, sin. It’s a delusion that does not bring rest, but only ruin.

What hope is there for a person who has abandoned God and is living a lifestyle of reckless abandon? Our only hope is the Gospel of Christ. Your only hope is . . .

3. Abandoning Yourself to Christ
Only God in Christ is able to liberate us from the enslavement that sin has over us. The Gospel of Christ is the power of God (1:16-17) to set us free from our sin. Our great need then is to come to our self, to come to our senses, to trust in Christ who is our liberator. Jesus came “to proclaim freedom for the captives and release for the prisoners” (Is. 61:1; Lk. 4:18). Jesus is the truth that “will set you free” (Jn. 8:32).

So how do you get off the treadmill of despair, break the chains of sin? There’s hope for prodigals today. As the prodigal son went through several clear stages that brought him back to the Father’s house, so the way back for you is made clear in Scripture. The first thing that is needed is . . .
(1) Conviction of Sin
Have you come to your senses? Do you sense that you are in the far country? Alienated from God and His life?

The second thing that is needed is . . .
(2) Confession of Sin
He knew that his sin was against his father and God Himself. The evidence that he was making a true confession was that he actually got up and made his way back to the father’s house. Confession is coming clean with God. Are you ready to do that? To be honest with God?

The result of the prodigal son’s confession was that there was . . .
(3) Communion with the Father
The son was welcomed and restored by the father. The father threw a party for his son. Once he was lost, but now he was found.

Summation and Invitation
Today, you are either a believer, you’re set free from sin, you’re saved or you are still living enslaved to sin. If you’re saved, it is because God has saved you in Christ. Now, He wants you to take this powerful Gospel of Jesus to people who are still enslaved by sin. The Gospel is the only cure for the sin sick soul. The Gospel has the power to break the chains of sin that bind us. Nothing else will dispel the darkness.

If you’re not saved today, you’re either in one of two places in your life. One, you’re in that distant country and right now things don’t seem too bad. But I can tell you, things are going to progress downward for you. Why do I say that? Because that’s how sin works. Sin always takes you farther than you want to go and keeps you longer than you want to stay. Some of you may think, “I’ve got this under control. I can handle it.” But entertaining sin is like playing with a rattlesnake. You’re odds are not good. Eventually, you are going to get bit! And the truth is you are powerless to overcome sin yourself. So you make promises to God that you are not going to do __________ (Fill in the blank). But what happens? You end up going deeper and end up under more condemnation. It’s a vicious cycle.

The other spot you may be in today, is that you are at a place where you can hear God speaking to you. You’re convicted about your sin. You know this is not the life that God designed for you and you like the prodigal in the far country are longing for something better, you are longing to be in the Father’s house because you were created for something far better than what you are living. You were created for eternity.

If that is where you are today, why not now confess your sin to God. He already knows where you are, but He wants you to realize where you are. That’s what confession really is. It is not telling God anything that He does not already know. It’s telling Him what He wants you to know. He wants you to be honest with Him about where you are.

If you’ll do that, God will immediately do two things (1:16-17). (1) First, He will rescue you from your sin, that’s what “salvation” means and that’s what we need. And (2) second, God will initiate a new relationship with you. He will make you “righteous.” No longer will you be at war with yourself and with God, but God will consider you a son, a daughter, a member of the family of God.

How could God do that for me? How could God forgive me? Because of God’s great love and mercy, that’s how. It’s called grace! What the prodigal son experienced, you too can experience today. God is here and He is not here to judge and condemn but to save. “For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (Jn. 3:17). It doesn’t matter how dark your sin, it’s all dark. God will forgive you. Prodigals can come home. The Father waits with outstretched arms. Will you come?

For His Glory!
Pastor Joe