Roaming Through Romans Lesson 5: Romans 1:26-32

Page 20, week 4. We'll look today, Lord willing, at Romans chapter 1, 26 through 32. We'll get to have some Moher music in the background, just to sort of set the stage. So yeah, so page 20, Romans chapter 1. We'll actually begin Romans 1.26.

I have 25 written there, but as I've been proofreading these before we have our study each week, I realize that should have said Romans 1.26, not Romans 1.25. We looked at 1.25 last time. Let me read maybe just verse 26 and 27 to start us off. Romans chapter 1 verses 26 and 27.

For this reason, God gave them up to dishonorable passions, their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature. And the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving of themselves a due penalty for their error."

Now you'll remember perhaps that during this section of the book of Romans beginning at verse 18 through verse 32, Paul is specifically addressing Gentiles and the sins of Gentiles. Not to say that these sins don't exist within the covenant community of God. In fact, he'll say in chapter two, they do in fact exist, because he says unto them, you who say that one must not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who say one must not rob temples or have idols, do you rob temples? So he accuses them of doing the very same sorts of things. But his focus in chapter 1 verses 18 through 32 is to expose sort of the pagan heathen lifestyle that was rampant in Rome. at the time, and he's showing that you guys are sinners, and then he'll turn the attention towards the Jews.

He'll do that, but that's chapter two, so it's kind of reminding us of where we are and kind of where we're headed, and he's building up an argument that everybody needs Jesus. That's essentially what he's doing here. He's showing everybody needs Jesus. The Jews, the Gentiles, everyone needs Christ.

But right here, he's still dealing with the Gentiles in our context, and You can see, of course, some of the sins he is addressing specifically here in verses 26 and 27. We could say these, of course, are the sins of homosexuality in verses 26 and 27. But now at the top of our lesson, point one.

God is the creator. He knows how his creatures are to live. He just stated that at the end of verse 25. that they worship and serve the creature rather than the creator. God is the creator. And so therefore, what is one of the most grievous ways we can sin against God? So if God is the creator, and he has told us how we are supposed to live, how his creatures are supposed to live, what is one of the most heinous ways we can sin against him? Yes, yeah, worshiping the world instead of Him, and telling Him in essence, right, I know you created me, but I know how to live my life.

I know what I'm really, I know how I'm really designed to act. I know what is really gonna be most profitable for me. I've taught a lot of youth, and the example I always give to them when I used to teach the youth is, Y'all all know, now they didn't even know, it makes me feel old, right?

But they didn't even know who Steve Jobs was anymore, they're forgetting who Steve Jobs was, but you know, he invented the iPhone, Apple, and all that, right? So, he's the creator of the iPhone. And he's dead now, but he created the iPhone. Imagine, you know, you have an iPhone, and your husband gives it to you, or a friend gives it to you for your birthday, and you're really excited, it's your iPhone. You can see why I'm normally teaching this to youth, to them, that's like the greatest thing in the world, like iPhone, right?

But y'all, you just have phones, you're used to it. But imagine it was just really special. Wow, I got a phone, I finally got this, I can call my friends now or whatever. So you get your phone, you're really, really excited, and then your friend or your husband, whoever it is who gives you this phone, they say, well, aren't you so excited? Oh, I'm so excited, it's gonna be a great defense mechanism. When people come to my house, I can throw it at them really hard and it can beat them up with my phone.

I mean, you could do that, but let's say Steve Jobs appears to you and he says, I didn't design the iPhone for you to use it as a defense device. I designed it so that you could call people and text people and get a hold of people and all these other things. So to some extent, you're welcome to use it like that if you want.

But as the creator of the iPhone, I am telling you that it is not what it is made to do. It is not going to be used well if you use it that way. It's going to be silly. It's going to be a waste, right? You don't use the iPhone as a defense mechanism.

I guess as a last resort, maybe you try. But the point is, it's made for a different purpose. And that's sort of what we do to God when we say to him, I know you created us and I know you're telling me how I'm supposed to live and the design you have for my life and the way that I'm supposed to conduct myself, but I'm just going to go do something totally different. Well, to some extent, you're at liberty to do that if you'd like.

Now, of course, it's sin against God, but he is telling you this isn't going to work. It's not a good idea. You know, you don't use an iPhone to screw in a screw. I mean, if you want to try, go for it. But God is telling you, this isn't what it's made to do, and it's going to backfire.

That's sort of what you see happening here, right, with this particular sin that he's addressing of homosexuality. He's saying, this isn't what you're made to do. You're spitting in my face. I told you you were designed a certain way, and you're trying to live contrary to that design. So, are homosexual desires and actions natural? What do you think, according to verses 26 and 27? Yeah, they're not natural, right? So, verse 26 and 27 are very clear. They say they are not natural.

Point three, is homosexuality a sin? Yes, right? Yes, it is a sin. Point four. This could be controversial, but we need to consider what the scriptures teach. Is homosexuality worse than other sexual sins? The answer is yes, it is worse than other sexual sins. That's why Paul brings it up here as an example of the heinousness of this particular activity. So why or why not? Well, we'll get into the why or why not here. We have, I have this little point A there under point 4.

It is a reversal of the blank order. The created order. So it's a reversal of the created order. That's what makes it particularly heinous. All sin is heinous, wicked, and we'll talk about that, but this is particularly wicked in that it is a reversal of the created order. It's not just lusting after someone, but lusting after someone of the same sex. This evidences God's blank, God's wrath. It evidences God's wrath. He's using this as an example of God's wrath being poured out on a group, on a nation, on a people. And so that's what he's been doing since 118. Now, I wrote a little more. I always go through, I've been editing as I go. So Lord willing, if I ever teach this again, it's always room for improvement. So I added this into a future study, but here's what I wrote.

Let's say you have two cups of clear water. It's going to sound like a math question, which if you're like me, he's going to make you probably have some PTSD, right? But I know, Debbie, you'll love it. So you put a single drop of green food coloring into the first cup of water, and you put 10 drops of green food coloring into the second cup of water. Which of the two cups of water would contain green water? They both would, right? One had one drop, other one had 10 drops, but they're both green. Which of the two cups of water would contain greener water? The one with 10 drops.

What's my point? Both are green, but one is greener. Okay, all sin is sin, but some sins are worse than others. They're all wrong, they're all wicked, but some are worse than others. Just like that cup is green, but this other cup is greener. They're both green, but one is greener than another.

So when it comes to sin, we can say that all sin is equally wrong. There is no gradation of wrongness. It is either right or it is wrong, right? This thing is wrong, and this thing is wrong. They're both wrong. Thinking of stealing someone's car is wrong, Stealing someone's car is wrong Which one is worse? Actually stealing someone's car. They're both wrong equally wrong, but one is worse There's a gradation of a worse and you know bad and less bad.

So But not all sins are equally bad. There is a spectrum of bad So that was something I added for, you know, just a future lesson, but I think it's helpful Now in saying that, and I think the Scriptures very clearly teach this actually, it's just we don't hear it very often, but I would make this caveat. Where the Scriptures speak clearly about a gradation, we can speak clearly about a gradation of sin. But it's not always so easy as And if you look at our larger catechism, we'll talk about this sort of thing.

There are all sorts of things that factor into something. So, for example, a person's position factors into how heinous a sin is. because if a person is an elder in the church and they do the exact same thing that somebody who's a baby believer in the church does, some sin, it's worse in the case of the elder. Why? Because of their position.

Not many of you should be teachers, James 3.1, right? And so it's not just as cut and dry as we might want to make it out to be, But we can acknowledge, appropriately, gradation of worse among sin. All is wrong, but some are worse than others.

So, why is homosexuality listed first here in Romans 1, 24, 26, and 27? Because it is a blank example of God giving people over to their sin. It's a climactic example. It's kind of a pinnacle, a climactic example of God giving people over to their sin. Do you think most people today in our country believe homosexuality is wrong?

Why or why not? We can have different opinions on that, but I can tell you what I looked up on a poll, which I don't know how they get their facts, but presuming they're not just making stuff up, apparently to a recent Gallup poll it said 64% of the United States of America say homosexuality is acceptable, that it is not wrong. 64% of the United States of America, according to this poll.

What I also found interesting is, I didn't know this, 12% think cloning humans is OK. So there's that. 12% of people think that you can clone humans, and that's OK. But there are 64% say that it is OK for these sorts of things to happen, and that it's not sent. It's not wrong.

Now, why or why not? Wherever you land on this, I guess, I am persuaded that this poll is probably somewhat accurate, that probably the majority of those in our country would say it is OK and acceptable. Why is it the case that people think this way? There are probably all sorts of reasons, but I wanted to list at least two possible reasons that people think that this activity is okay and this way of thinking is okay. I think this is one big reason, okay? This is point A under point six.

Some believe that the state determines morality. Since the civil authorities have largely placed their stamp of approval on homosexuality, many professing Christians, and we could even say churches, have too. As Christians, we must remember that God, not man, determines blank and blank. God, not man, determines right and wrong, blank and blank.

So I don't know if what I'm saying there makes a whole lot of sense, but I really do think, in the United States of America at least, and maybe this is true other places, but I think it's really true here, what the government says is right or wrong, we tend, as a culture, to believe is what is morally right or wrong.

So if the government says this is legal, we say it must be okay. If the government says this is illegal, we say it must be wrong. So if the government says, you know, tomorrow churches need to stop meeting, for no real reason whatsoever, I think a lot of people would probably, hey, we can't be, you know, the government said it, therefore it must be wrong. If the government said, you know, that Basically 2016, when the government said it was okay to have homosexual marriages, I think a lot of people said, well the government gave it the thumbs up, we have to too.

It's okay, because they determine what is right and wrong. They determine morality. I think a lot of people have that ethos, that kind of way of thinking in their minds in our country. But another reason is, some believe that popular opinion or culture determines morality. If it's what the majority seem to say is right, who are we to disagree?

As Christians, we must remember that if we have God on our side, we are always in the majority, okay? Not numerically, but qualitatively, right? We always have the right side if we have God on our side. So we need to remember that when we're having issues with different people, whether it's this issue or another issue, If you're on God's side, you are on the right side, even if you're by yourself. Why? Because you're on God's side. So if the presidents and the people in power and whoever else are saying something and it's contrary to God's word, you're right if you're on God's side.

So what is the solution to homosexuality? Well, this is important. We need to keep this in mind. Top of 21. It's not blank. It is to blank. It's not heterosexuality, okay? The answer to homosexuality is not heterosexuality. The ultimate answer is to blank of your sin.

It's to repent and turn to Jesus Christ. It's to repent in turn of Jesus Christ. This is just another sin. That's what people need who are living in this sin, just like I need for the sins which I am prone to indulge, and you all need for the sins that you all are prone to indulge, right? We need to be repenting of them.

Sometimes I think it might be the case that people have this thought process, and I'm not thinking of anybody in here, but we can think this way, right? This sin needs a special solution. We can talk about blatant murder, okay? Somebody murders somebody. You know what that person needs?

They need to repent and trust in Jesus. They don't need a special solution to solve their particular sin. They have the same needs that we have. Now, I'm not saying if you were counseling them you wouldn't give some specific advice, well maybe you should think about this Bible verse or maybe you should pray this way or something, but we all have the same problem and what it is is we need to be repenting and trusting in Jesus. So Romans 1, 28 through 31. Let's go ahead and at least maybe read the first verse.

John Murray begins this section writing, In the preceding verses, the delineation of the retribution meted out to apostasy had been restricted to sexual vice. The reason is very likely that the apostle regarded the homosexual abominations as the most overt evidences of the degeneracy to which God in his wrath gave over the nations.

This means that while homosexuality is a particularly blank sin, particularly heinous sin, there are many other sins that manifest themselves when an individual and society are given over to God's wrath. So, he's about to list a ton of sins. I think I've, I honestly can't remember, I want to say I counted it was 17. I didn't count it, recount it recently, but I think he lists something like 17, you can double check me on it, sins here. in verses 28 through 31 that manifest God's wrath. The first sin listed in this section is a sin of the blank or blank life. We could say it's a sin of the mind or thought life. So the first sin he mentions is a sin of the mind or thought life.

Look what he says in Verse 28, "...and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God..." That's where it all starts, right there. They won't acknowledge God to be the only true God and worship and serve Him. That's where it all begins. They won't acknowledge God. So it begins in the mind or thought life.

"...they did not think that God was worthy to be contemplated and dwelt upon..." And this is convicting, I think, for... I mean, I don't know how... It's not that you praised God for your sanctification. Do you see this in the world around you? Certainly we do, right?

The world is not enamored with God. I mean, broadly speaking, the world does not care about thinking about God. Going to Bible-believing churches is not much of what the world is interested in doing, and, you know, blaspheming God in many different ways is happening all around us. Lack of concern for the soul and eternity and all these things.

But then this, we have to ask this question of the two. Do you see this in your own life? And I think we, I think I see this in my own life, and I imagine we could all relate in some measure. You know, why is it sometimes it's not the case praise the lord but why is it that many times we we don't we just don't even really want to think about like it's hard to get yourself to start thinking about god that should be the first you should just you should just thinking about god should be the most natural thing in the world to us as as redeemed people um it isn't because of our sinful nature but um thinking about god dwelling upon god wanting to pray to god I think we all do those things, praise the Lord, and God is faithful. He's growing us.

We don't need to lose hope, but I think we can all say, There are ways in which I don't have an active pursuit of acknowledging God. I want to acknowledge Him as soon as I wake up in the morning. I want to have thoughts of Him running through my mind as I go to bed at night. And to some extent, I hope we can say we do at times and at different degrees, but we can also say, I see this lack of acknowledgement in my own life, right?

I see where I have room for growth. So I want to be acknowledging God more. I want to be thinking upon Him more. I want to be dwelling upon Him more. I want to be thinking his thoughts after him. So just, you know, in your own way you can think for yourself as to where, you know, if in your own heart maybe, you know, are you acknowledging God as much as you ought to be acknowledging him?

And I think we all have to say no, and we have to ask God to help us to think about him, and to want to think about him, and to desire him more. But B, as a result of their unwillingness to acknowledge God in their minds, God removed his restraints and gave them over to a blank mind. gave them over to a blank mind. This is verse, yeah, 28, debased mind. So he gives them over to a debased mind. Theologians sometimes call this the blank effects of the fall. This is the noetic effects of the fall. Theologians might call this the noetic effects of the fall. N-O-E-T-I-C. Noetic. effects of the fall.

This means that sin has tainted not only the actions, but the thoughts of a person. When a person does not believe in God, it is not because they are more blank, rational, that's what goes in that blank, it's not because they're more rational or scientific than us, it is because they cannot think blank because of their sin. They cannot think rationally. So the unbeliever is not thinking about the world more rationally than you. Oftentimes, they may present themselves in that manner. I'm just scientific. Well, you're objectively denying what God says is true about his world. Therefore, you're being irrational. You aren't thinking rightly about God's world.

The unbeliever can say a lot of the what's of things, but they can't tell you the why's of things. The unbeliever can't tell you why anything exists. They can't tell you what the purpose of anything ultimately is, right? The old saying is the unbeliever can count, but he cannot account for counting.

That's for you, Debbie. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, right? They can count, right? They can do math, right? An unbeliever can do math just as well as I can. Well, probably many of them do a lot better than I can, right? But they can count. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. But why do numbers work? Why don't they change? What is all of this telling you about this world? Well, it's telling you there's a person, Triune, who created all things, and he is ordered and And that's why this world works the way it does.

So the unbeliever can count, but he cannot account for it. He cannot explain why anything is the way that it is. So they cannot think rationally because of their sin. There's something fundamentally off because of their lack of acknowledgement of the Creator.

So do thoughts in the mind stay in the mind, or do they make their way into our actions? I think we think we know that they get into our actions, right? Because that's exactly what the text is going to do. I asked that question because that's what the text does, right? It begins in the mind in verse 28, and then what do you see happening in verse 29? They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice, therefore them be murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness, right? It works its way out into the life. Then how do you see this in your own life and the world around you?

Well, you know, I don't think it's very hard to think about it. So let's say, you know, let's say I get back from work and I've had a long day, and I'm kind of tired. And then Sarah's not feeling too well, and so she needs to go rest. And I'm doing the dishes, and I'm sitting there doing the dishes, and I'm thinking to myself, I do everything around this house. I'm the hardest worker. I wish somebody knew. This is just ridiculous.

You start to think that way, and then you think it's just going to stay there, right? It's going to be fine. It's not going to affect anything else the rest of the day. And then Sarah comes out, and then I give her, as soon as she sees me, I just have this look of disappointment or frustration. and she knows something up, and then she asks you, oh, it's fine, I'm fine, right?

It's working its way out. It may not always work its way out into the most furthest form, hopefully, right? Some sort of awful action of mine towards her, but that is working its way out. And I like to use myself because I don't want to make any of y'all, put y'all on the spot, but I think when I say this sort of thing, y'all know what I'm talking about, right? You have a thought in your mind about whatever and it's gonna work its way out.

And it can be positively too, right? If I really think, if I really think the Bible is the Word of God, if I really believe that, don't you think I would read it more? Right? Because God spoke to me in a giant book and he gave me that book because he loves me? I hope I want to read that because that thought is going to have an impact on my actions. So it works positively and negatively.

So what word modifies unrighteousness in verse 29 and what does it teach us? The word in verse 29 that modifies it is they were filled. It's that word filled with all manner of unrighteousness. So filled is modifying unrighteousness. And what it teaches us, right, is that there was not just a little bit of unrighteousness in us. We were apparently, according to God's own assessment of humankind, apart from Jesus Christ, we are not just unrighteous a little bit. We're filled with unrighteousness. We're overflowing with unrighteousness. And this is not a special class of unbeliever. This is every unbeliever. Every unbeliever under the sun is filled with unrighteousness. So, I think this is a profitable study. I've done it for myself.

I would just encourage you maybe to take a moment to do that this afternoon or another day, but you can read the list of sins mentioned in verses 29 through 39, or 31, 29 through 31, and simply ask yourself, what sins are you most surprised to read in this list? I think sins that surprise maybe some of us can be things like, I think gossips, we can kind of expect that one.

We've probably all seen how gossip is destructive. boastfulness maybe a little bit, but I think things like faithfulness, sorry, faithlessness, faithlessness is mentioned as one of these sins. Verse 31, foolish, faithless. Being faithless is apparently a sin against God. Heartless, like not having a heart to want to love and care and do what I can to encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ, to call people to faith and repentance, that heartlessness, that lack of care, that's not just like a That's actually objectively, according to God, who knows me better than I know myself. That's actually sin. So there are certain sins. I think disobedient appearance is often kind of surprising because we think, you know, everybody's just a little bit disobedient. It's just the way it is. Well, it's actually a sin against God.

This list is very scathing in that it lists not just things like... When we were reading the previous section, we might have all, to some measure, been tempted to say, don't I'm not guilty of that versus 25 and 26 or whatever and we need to be humble and realize we're all just in the same we really all need Jesus right but we could have that heart tendency well that's not really where I am well there's not a single one of us who could look at this list 29 through 30 one and not pick out a few that we can say really actually are particularly obvious in my own life. I can see that one is very evident in my own life. And so it's just exposing our need for Jesus.

And that's what Paul is ultimately doing. Yes, ma'am. Is it in this verse he's saying these are sins that potentially God can give us over to the depravity of our soul, which that's what makes those sins that you're talking about, like disobedience to parents, which all, I mean, we do it, but all children, particularly when you're a parent, and being unmerciful and unfaithful, those are things that if we continue in, we can be given over to just as the sexually immoral person, is that? That's a great, you know, I have to confess, I think you're probably right. Yeah. To acknowledge God, God gave them over to a depraved mind. That's the seriousness of these sins, is that God can give you over to them. And that makes it harder, I think, harder to repent and turn from. I think that's a great point. Yeah, I think you're right. Or unbelievers are given over to that sin. I'm asking. No, I think you're right.

I mean, I actually, I have to confess, I can't say off the top of my head in my recollection of readings and sermons that I've listened to and things in preparation if I remember that exact point being brought out, but I think it's a true point. And I think it is consistent with the text, which is what, you know, of course, that's where we get our authority from is the Scripture, the text itself. And so I think that's true. Yeah, I do think in the context he's saying, yeah, if you're not repenting and seeking Christ in these areas, there is something of a warning that you know, you can be given over to these things in a very wholehearted manner. So I think that's a fair point, yeah. Thank you for bringing that out, yeah, I think that's helpful. If I get a chance and look at any commentaries, see if they kind of help me bring that out, that's good.

Top of 22. what word is used in Romans 1.32 to describe God's decree? So there's a word used to describe God's decrees in verse 32, and I want us to make note of it.

Though they know God's, some of your Bibles might just say decree, If anyone has a Bible open, does any of your Bible say, though they know God's righteous decree? Does anybody have righteous? Okay, some of y'all have righteous. Some of them omit it. It's one word in the original, and the newer ESV translations do translate it, righteous decrees. Some do not, but what was that? It says ordinance, okay.

So I looked it up because I actually threw me off because I was memorizing it and I memorized it as righteous decree. And I was like, man, how did I miss this all these years? I spent so much time or how did I not realize it was righteous decree? And then I got out my old Bible that I, this is my old Bible that I have, you know, had for many years and read many times. And I was like, oh, that's why I didn't see it was righteous decree, because they didn't translate righteous decree.

So this one in front of me has, though they know God's decree. So it made me think, I need to go look up the original and figure out what's going on here. Why are some of my Bibles saying decree, some say ordinance, and then the newer ESV translations say righteous decree. And I looked it up, and it's because it's one word, and they obviously are making judgment calls. But I really think it ought to be translated righteous decree.

I don't think it's helpful for us to explain why I think that, but I really do. It's connected to the same word that's translated righteousness that we've seen throughout the Book of Romans. It's got the same, I'll just say it, I'll pronounce it and you'll be able to hear it.

Remember how we've seen that word unrighteousness? We saw unrighteousness in chapter 1 verse 18. We've seen unrighteousness in chapter 1 verse 29. In verse 29 it says, they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness. That word unrighteousness is adikia. This word here, talking about the righteous decree, is dikaioma. So the dikia part is like the root. Probably unhelpful. I'm just trying to help us. I might have been shooting completely unhelpful. I'm sorry. Dikkiah is the root. So the Dikkiah is the root for both words.

One's a noun, you know, they're different forms of speech, but same root. So just like we have words like righteousness and, well, I finally want to put myself on the spot, justice and justify. Okay, those have the same root, just, that same root. they look a little different, and maybe if you were translating into another language, they might look totally different, but they're actually really similar, right? They have that same root. Well, this has the same root, uh, uh, dikēa. So...

Yeah, yeah, and it's true. That's a great point. That's a great point. Yes, they can be nothing but righteous. That is a very good point, Becca. You're totally right. I think the value of putting the word righteous in there is because I think Paul purposely picks a word for decree that is stressing its righteousness in contrast to all the unrighteousness we've been seeing. But you are right, all these decrees are by nature going to be righteous. So how have unbelievers been described in verse 118 and 29? I just said it, they've been described as unrighteous. So Paul is contrasting how wicked and unrighteous humankind has been and how righteous God's decrees are.

So yeah, point six there on 22, According to Romans 1.32, do you think the world would, I should have had would, the world would obey God if they just knew what He expected of them?

No, right? Because verse 32 tells you, though they know God's decree, they do know, they know what He expects of them, they just don't like it. If we had better education, could it make people obey God? We just need better education. Won't that save people? No, right? And that's the way a lot of people have thought over the course of history. We just got to get them better education. No, they won't because their problem is moral, not intellectual. The ultimate issue is a moral issue, not an intellectual one. It's the issue of the heart and our attitude towards God, not just knowing things.

If people simply knew that they were going to be judged one day for their actions, do you think this would keep them from sinning? Why or why not? Might help maybe a little bit prevent it, but what does verse 32 say? Though they know God's decree that those who practice such things deserve to die. So people, he's saying people know this. their conscience, right? In their hearts, they know this, and yet they do it. So just knowing that one day people will be judged is not going to prevent them from sinning. They have to repent and believe. They have to actually want to love God, which takes the power of the Holy Spirit to repent and trust in Jesus.

So we're not going to read Revelation for sake of time. Revelation 16, 8 through 10 show a bunch of people doing just that. They're being punished for their sin, and it's very, very grievous punishment in Revelation 16, 8 through 10, and we read that they did not repent. So they're literally underneath the punishment, and they're just going, I'm still not going to repent.

It's a hardened heart. Point eight here on page 22. This says the repletion, which is the state of being completely filled, like after you've had a meal, which is not the word I meant to put. It should have said the repetition, not the repletion, the repetition of the word practice in verse 32 tells you that these people are in the habit of practicing sin. So it's not just like these people have, we've all committed all, some measure, we've all committed different versions of these sorts of sins listed.

Every one of us has, we just have. But this word practice is important and it's used twice in verse 32 to highlight this is their lifestyle. They are living this way. This is their habit. There's not a repentance. There's no evidence of turning from it. So verse 32 tells you that these people are in the habit of practicing sin, but not of blanking of sin, not of repenting of sin. So in the habit of practicing it, but not repenting of it. This is their way of life. What was that?

That's a good point. That's a good point. It's good. It's good. It's good. Those Olympic people practiced because they wanted to win. Yeah, yeah. That's good. And I think that's good. Thank you for bringing it up. I love that, Beck. And I think it's also good, too, to remember the opposite, again, is also true, right? If we're making a habit of repenting, it's going to get easier. And because I have, speaking of habits, I have a habit of us never getting through our lessons, which is just par for the course.

So I love it. At this point, I hope we can never get through this study. But this has been a lot of fun I'd rather really just take time to hopefully get what we can out of it rather than just rush through it So I want us to stop here, but I'm gonna stop with so you look at that thing I just worked really hard on and built you just throw that in the track. No I will make this I will make this Effort I'm not gonna say promise I'm gonna make an effort for us to still get done by April 8th that'll be my goal, but Oh, no, no, this is good. This is good. No, I'd rather us, no, no, I'd rather us take time and work through it.

This is way better than just, in my opinion, anyways. But I want to close with an analogy I heard recently that reminds me of what Beckbeck just said on repentance. I found this really helpful and maybe it will encourage me and us to fight sin and repent more. This guy was talking about repentance and he said, he just wrote a book on it but anyways he said I you know when we think about repentance a lot of times it might be kind of scary like I there's something kind of frightening about this kind I gotta repent I gotta acknowledge that I've done these things or that I thought these things and I need Jesus and I'm kind of nervous because it's hard and I'm worried you know just we can have all sorts of and and He gave this analogy that I thought was helpful. He said, I remember when I was growing up, and I could relate because I've done the same thing. He said, I remember when I was growing up, I would go to the pool. I went to the pool one summer in the neighborhood, and they had this big high dive.

And I got up there, and the first time I went there, I said, this is terrifying. I don't know if I can do this. Then I jumped, and I was like, oh, that was exhilarating. And then I did it again and again and again. All summer, it was great. But then I didn't do it till the next summer. And when I got back up there the next year, I thought, I don't know if I can do this again. I'm terrified. And then he did it again. And then it was he, and he was saying, that's what kind of, I think, like we look at it, like we're on the edge of that diving board of repentance and we're looking at it like, oh, this is, this is kind of high. I'm not sure I could do this.

And then, but, but. Not that it's necessarily always fun in the same way that jumping off a diving board would be, but you do it, and then you go, oh, I actually can do that. My father does actually love me enough to allow me to pour my heart out and confess. and he actually cares about me, and he is gonna care about me, and he wants me to come to him, and now I realize, oh, I can do this, and then you can do it again. And I do think, kind of back to your point, but I think as you make that practice, it does get easier. So maybe that'll just be an encouragement to us. We'll pick back up at point six on page 22 next week, and then we'll close in prayer.