Romans 1
I was scanning the headlines this
morning when I read, Pope Shock: Says Church Should Stop Obsessing Over Gays, Abortion …. Intrigued by the caption, I read the
story and was not shocked by what Pope Francis actually said. I’d sum it up
like this, “Stop obsessing over a few pet sins and recognize that we are all
sinners.” He wasn’t saying Christians shouldn’t care about such issues, but wants
us to recognize that they are not the only issues.
In Romans 1 Paul uses the sin of
homosexual behavior to begin a dialog intended to help his readers understand
the sinful human condition. Many Romans at Paul’s time viewed homosexual sex
with disgust, and they saw it as an activity that undermines society. In fact,
Caesar Augustus once castigated the Roman Senate for their avoidance of having
children saying, “What shall I call you? Men? But you aren't fulfilling the
duties of men. Citizens? But for all your efforts, the city is perishing.
Romans? But you are in the process of blotting out this name altogether! . . .
What humanity would be left if all the rest of mankind should do what you are
doing? . . . You are committing murder in not fathering in the first place
those who ought to be your descendants!” Once can imagine Paul’s original
readers, agreeing with Paul on this point saying, “You tell ‘em, Paul!”
But Paul didn’t stop with homosexuality.
He went on to explain that God gave mankind over to our debased mind because of
our sin, and in the end he pointed out that sin goes beyond the things we
personally are offended by and includes all the things that offend God – and that
list is convicting: envy, murder, strive, lying, gossip, slander, insolence,
disobedience to parents, and ruthlessness.
So what is the point? It is this: as
much as we may want to cherry-pick which sins are worse than others, in the
end, they all condemn us. But God has acted in a most remarkable way by revealing
the gospel which is the power of God for the salvation of all who believe – no matter
their sin, no matter their past. When it comes to our behavior or our efforts there
is no hope of salvation. It is only in the power of God’s Son, Jesus, revealed
by his resurrection for the dead, that we have life and forgiveness for all
sins. Thanks be to God for His grace!
Lord, help me live in the gospel and not
pretend other’s sins are worse than mine. Rather, help me share the gospel that
gives pardon. Amen.
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