OUR FATHER WHO WE NEED TO GET TO KNOW  

The book of Romans chapter 1 verses 26 - 32 continues with the Apostle Paulˋs indictment of mankind in our fallen state.

We humans, who were meant to be rulers over the works of the hand of God and to be crowned by God with glory, got into a position where we discarded the knowledge that we had of the incorruptible God and debased ourselves by worshiping objects made out of the stuff of creation including ourselves. This inversion of the nature of Godˋs highest creation caused us to become subjects  and victims of the prevailing rulership of the kingdom of rebellion and in response, God, respecting our free choices, relinquished us into the domain of those who were in open defiance of the creator.

Under this dominance, we humans began to manifest the rebellious actions against our God and we found ourselved involuntarily being induced into contravening the pattern that should have corresponded to the devine nature in whose image we were created.

26 For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For, even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. 27 Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, 30 backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; 32 who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.

The wholesale ingestion of the rebellious nature in both our physical expressions and our minds changed us from being generative, supportive and loving beings into recalcitrant nihilists who could not help but give expression to all the deeds and attitudes that we knew would invite the judgement of God.

The astonishing thing is that it was for us in our condition that Christ died to redeem us out of the bondage we had sold ourselves into and all we need to do be retrieved out of the kingdom of rebellion we were born into is to voluntarily believe in the authenticity of the salvation offered by Christ. Once we are redeemed, we can then voluntarily submit ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus as willing members of the kingdom of God rather than living in the kingdom of God by compulsion.

In all this history and redemptive action, God gets people into his family who come to him by their own free will and if any people prefer to stay out of Godˋs family, they are also not compelled in any way and are free to do anything they desire to do.

Amen.

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