Introduction
You may attend a church where the sermons involve criticism of government and political figures, and focus on current social media events and trends. Alternatively, you might encounter sermons in which the pastors try to engage the congregation with inappropriate jokes about the Word of God, Bible characters, or even the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God and the Savior of our souls. In this blog, we aim to encourage readers to distance themselves from such talks and behaviors. Instead, we should concentrate on what the Word of God teaches us, distance ourselves from the things of the world, and, as Christians, focus on doing the work of God and on endurance in good works, as the Holy Spirit teaches us in Romans 2:6-7. Which states that the Lord “will give to each, according to his works; to those that indeed, according to endurance in good works, are seeking glory and honor and incorruptibility, eternal life.” This means that the Lord’s judgment is fair and compassionate, and even during times of judgment, the Lord’s mercy remains present. He calls all humans to repent and return to Him, and His mercy is always waiting. For anyone who seeks to follow the teachings of the Lord God Almighty, He has many blessings in store. The Lord God Almighty sees the hearts of all humans; what their hearts seek is open to His eyes.
Separate Yourself from the World
The Bible instructs us in many places to avoid mingling with the sinful aspects of the world and to separate ourselves from them. In this section, we will highlight two Scripture passages that clearly convey the importance of not associating with outsiders who engage in sinful behavior. Furthermore, it is important to remember that the Lord God Almighty is the ultimate judge of all humanity.
1 Corinthians 5:9-13: “I wrote to you in my letter to have no company with fornicators; not at all meaning with the fornicators of this world, or with the covetous and extortioners, or with idolaters; since then you would need to go out of the world; but now, I wrote to you not to keep company, if anyone that is named a brother is a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner; with such a one no, not to eat. For what have I to do with judging those outside? Do you not judge those that are within? But those that are outside God judges. Put away that evil from among yourselves.”
Ephesians 5:3-12: “But fornication, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as also is proper to saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, or crude joking, which are not fitting; but rather giving of thanksgiving. For this you know, realizing that no fornicator, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things comes the wrath of God upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, be not partakers with them. For you were once darkness, but are now light in the Lord; walk as children of light (for the fruit of the light is in all goodness and righteousness and truth), discerning what is well-pleasing to the Lord; and have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them; for the things being done by them in secret, it is shameful even to speak of.”
In 1 Corinthians 5:9-12, we learn that God judges those outside the faith. The world is inherently sinful and dwells in darkness. Within our churches, we should refrain from publicly criticizing political figures or members of the media. Instead, our focus should be on teaching our Christian family to live in the light and encouraging our fellow believers to refrain from sinful behavior. As true followers of the Lord Jesus, we should not associate with those who claim to be believers but still indulge in worldly sins. We must distance ourselves from them, as their false teachings can contaminate our families.
In Ephesians 5:3-12, we learn that we should not imitate the sins of the world or dwell on its evil deeds. We should avoid even naming or discussing these sins among believers. Instead, we are called to expose the darkness through the light of the Gospel. This means that Christians should avoid being filthy, making crude jokes, or living in sexual immorality. Additionally, we do not need to point fingers at specific individuals in the world or follow them on social media to understand their lifestyle.
As Christians, we must understand that the wrath of God is directed toward those who practice sinful behaviors. No one on this earth can escape God’s wrath if they do not repent and turn to the cross of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, for the salvation of their souls. The knowledge of the Creator exists in all humans; no one can argue that they do not know about God. To highlight the just and righteous judgment of the Lord God Almighty, we will present our comments on Romans 1:16-25 in the next section.
The Judgment of God Is Right
In the Book of Romans, the apostle Paul, guided by the Holy Spirit, addresses the believers in Rome. In Romans 1, he speaks of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God. Through Paul, the Holy Spirit communicates important messages to humanity about ungodliness and unrighteousness, explaining how sin can lead people away from the Lord God Almighty and allow dark influences to enter their lives. In this section, we share our comments on Romans 1:16-25 and encourage all readers to consult the entire chapter and reflect on its message.
Romans 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes; both to Jewish first, and to Greek.
Comments Romans 1:16. “For I am not ashamed of the gospel.” Let all readers pay attention to what the verse tells us; for being an apostle, he has no shame in spreading the good news. You, as believers, when you read this verse, think of yourself as well. Will you do everything you can to proclaim the good news to the people you meet?
“For it is the power of God unto salvation ...” By the power of the Lord God Almighty, salvation for humankind comes only from the Lord God Almighty. There is only one way for humans to be saved, and that is through the Lord Jesus Christ.
17 For therein is revealed a righteousness of God from faith to faith, as it is written, And the righteous will live by faith.
Comments Romans 1:17. “For therein is revealed a righteousness of God ...” Remember, the gospel has been proclaimed to humans; the righteousness of God has been proclaimed in the gospel. The righteousness of the Lord God Almighty has been shown when humans have true faith and come down to worship and beg for His mercy. The mercy will be shown to that heart, and that heart can feel and realize the mighty power that has come down. And their hearts can feel that righteousness.
“And the righteous will live by faith.” When the heart has been touched by the mercy of God Almighty, that heart will lead the person to follow the teaching and meditate on the Holy Word. When a person meditates on the Holy Word, their behavior will follow the teaching, making them become righteous for following and doing the work.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hinder the truth by unrighteousness;
19 for the manifest known of God is among them; for God has revealed it to them.
Comments Romans 1:19. “For the manifest known of God ...” All humans, within themselves, have the knowledge of the Lord God Almighty. Human eyes, ears, and feelings can notice the Creator of all. When they look at themselves, the first thing that comes to mind is who created them. And when their eyes see the things around them, the same question will come to their minds. Also, the ears can hear the sounds that make the mind think about who created all these sounds. The heart of every human will have a whispering voice that reminds them to think about creation.
“For God has revealed it to them.” When the Lord God Almighty created all humans, He also gave them the intelligence to understand that everything happens for a reason. Nothing is by accident; all in humans points to the same thing, and no one can ignore the mighty power that created all things.
20 For the invisible things of Him, from the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being understood by the things made, both His eternal power and divinity, for them to be without excuse.
Comments Romans 1:20. “For the invisible things of Him ...” The blind can feel because the Lord God Almighty can be felt, not just seen. His mighty power can be felt in the soul itself. Even if the physical body is not complete, His eternal power can still be felt through the soul.
“Both His eternal power and divinity ...” The holy power and magnificent mercy have been shown all around all human beings by the Creator who created them all. Therefore, all humans have no excuse.
21 For having known God, they glorified Him not as God, nor gave thanks; but they became futile in their reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Comments Romans 1:21. “For having known God ...” Humans have knowledge about the Lord God Almighty because they all have received intelligence. However, when humans notice their intelligence, the rebellious heart arises in their minds, and instead of giving thanks to the Lord God Almighty, they give thanks to humans. The knowledge from the Lord God Almighty becomes not true knowledge for humans; instead, humans choose to worship humans.
“But they became futile ...” When the dark influences human minds that dark mind itself makes humans reject the Lord God Almighty as God.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and they changed the glory of the immortal God for the likeness of an image of mortal man, and of birds, and four-footed, and creeping things.
Comments Romans 1:23. “And they changed the glory of the immortal God.” When humans let the dark guide their minds, they cannot hear the voice of the Lord in their own hearts anymore. But the dark gave them the idea, and their hearts accepted it and believed that the Lord God Almighty had become nothing to them. With their own hearts, the dark convinces them that the Lord God Almighty had no power to save them.
“For the likeness of an image ...” After the mind lets the dark control the heart, they turn to darkness and imagine the Lord God Almighty to be all sorts of things, even putting the Lord God Almighty on the same level as animals and creeping things of the earth.
24 Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to dishonor their bodies between themselves;
Comments Romans 1:24. “Therefore, God gave them up in the lusts ...” When the heart has turned against the Lord God Almighty, the Lord Himself also leaves them to their own ways. But at any moment, if they repent and return with humble hearts, He forgives them and takes them back.
“To dishonor their bodies ...” When there is no room for God in their hearts, it makes their own instincts change and turn against what they were created for. The heart gets controlled by the lust of the body, making humans act abominably towards one another.
25 who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed to the ages! Amen.
Comments Romans 1:25. “Who changed the truth of God into a lie ...” When humans let the dark mind control their thoughts, the Lord God Almighty in their hearts turns to be as the things that have been created.
“Rather than the Creator ...” When the dark takes control of the human mind, the Lord God Almighty becomes nothing for that mind, and it makes humans blaspheme without fear, even deep in the human heart knows that it is a true God in this universe. When the dark mind controls a person’s mind, the Lord God Almighty becomes nothing to that mind.
Conclusions
The righteousness of God has been proclaimed in the gospel of the Lord Jesus. Everyone has inside them the inherent knowledge of the Creator and is responsible for seeking Him. If they heed the voice of the Holy Spirit calling them, they will be led to repentance in the name of His beloved Son, Jesus Christ. The Lord God Almighty is a righteous judge who does not show favoritism. He is merciful even in His anger and willingly receives and forgives all those who have sinned against Him. As Christians, we must understand that the Lord God Almighty is the judge of His creation and alone has the authority to judge. We should strive to live holy lives and share the good news of the gospel of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, and the eternal life found through faith in Him with others, without judging anyone. While it is biblical to condemn sin in general through the Word of God, we should avoid publicly pointing fingers at individuals and naming their specific sinful behaviors. Let the Lord God Almighty judge His creation.
Meditation Tasks
- We encourage all readers to reflect on their interactions with the world in light of the Bible, particularly on their social media activity and the media personalities they admire, who can become idols in their lives.
- Additionally, we encourage readers to check out our blog article, “There Are Two Types of People in the World” and “How to Live as a Christian in Today’s World?”