4/14/24 “Total Eclipse of the Truth”
“Total Eclipse of the Truth”
Romans 1:18-32
How many of you saw the solar eclipse on Monday?
I was outside of the church snapping a few pictures and listening to the neighborhood dogs talking to each other…
Although I’m not sure if they were barking because of the eclipse – or because they saw some weird human wandering around the church property.
The skies were a bit overcast on Monday, but I was still able to get a couple of clear shots between the passing clouds.
Here in Wisconsin, we experienced about 85% coverage of the sun, which made for a slight darkening – but really nothing more than that.
However – if we would have been 400 miles south in, say, Indianapolis, we would have experienced 100% coverage of the sun – which would have resulted in about 5 minutes of complete darkness.
I’ve enjoyed looking at some of the pictures from people who were in the 100% coverage zone – known as the “Path of Totality.”
Just out of curiosity, did anyone here travel down to the “Path of Totality” on Monday?...Maybe some of our FB viewers live in the Totality path – if so, let us know in the comment section.
Well, solar eclipses are definitely unique events – they only come around once in a blue moon (No pun intended 😊)…and people do get pretty excited about them.
I heard on the news that some East Coast folks were spending $2,000 for a single plane ticket to take them into the Path of Totality – basically to experience 5 minutes of darkness in the middle of the day…I hope it was worth it for them.
Today’s passage of scripture talks about a different kind of eclipse – it refers to a spiritual eclipse.
A spiritual eclipse is when someone allows the lies of Satan to block (or Eclipse) the truth of God in their life.
When we allow sin to take hold in our lives, our world becomes darker and darker as the light of Christ becomes less and less visible.
When someone chooses to continue to live in disobedience to God, they are in danger of falling into a dark and sinful ‘Path of Totality’ – where they will no longer be able to see the light of the SON in their life.
…Son, here, spelled S.O.N.
Just like on Monday when millions of people traveled to areas where the solar eclipse would be the darkest …
…Spiritually – there are millions of people who have (And continue to) run to where the darkness of sin has its greatest effect.
In the physical world, it’s a known reality that in our universe, darkness doesn’t really exist by itself as a unique physical entity…
…darkness is simply the absence of light.
How true this is spiritually as well – when we choose to run from the light of truth revealed in God’s Word, we find ourselves blinded by the darkness of Satan’s lies…
Just as darkness is the absence of light, Satan is the absence of everything that is holy, and good, and righteous in this world…
He promises humanity that something wonderful awaits them through the portal of sin – but that is a lie….
A tactic of deception that he’s been using for millennia.
All that awaits an unrepentant heart is heartbreak, misery, and pain.
This is the spiritual backdrop to which the apostle Paul writes this powerful passage of scripture that we are looking at today.
It is a passage that – quite honestly – is very difficult to read…and – trust me - even more difficult to preach on.
It’s a passage that has become a lightning rod of division – not only between Christians and the current culture – but, sadly, within the walls of Christianity as well.
These 14 verses in the book of Romans have been under attack since the day they were written…
Why?.... because man’s sinful nature does not like what it hears.
We do not like to face the fact that without the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, we are a hopeless, powerless, and depraved creation that craves darkness over light.
Only through the power of the SON - and His radiance – are we able to stand our ground against the pull of sin and disobedience in our lives.
In verse 18 (Romans 1:18) Paul gets right to the point regarding God’s attitude toward disobedience.
We are told that “The wrath of God is being revealed against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness.”
If it were just up to us – without the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives – we would long for a total eclipse of the truth…
..We would desire this spiritual darkness – and we would desire it ALL the time.
The prophet Jeremiah reminds us of our naturally sick condition when he says “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)
There are many pulpits around this country – and yes, plenty of them in this area – where you will never hear a sermon preached on today’s passage.
Man simply does not want to hear about God’s wrath…we naturally don’t want to visualize God being angry.
Not exactly a message that will fill the pews…or the offering plate, for that matter.
We want to hear about God’s love for us…and His grace…and His mercy.
THOSE are the attributes of our heavenly Father that we like to meditate upon.
…And God IS all of those things. He IS love – and He DOES convey unlimited grace and mercy to mankind.
…But that’s only half the story.
Not only is God all-loving…but He is also all-Holy…and He is all-Righteous…and He is a God of Justice.
It would be contrary to His very nature for God to embody something other than all of these forementioned attributes - all at once – all the time.
The holiness of God is to such a degree that it prevents Him from even being in the presence of sin and evil.
The prophet Habakkuk reminds us of this truth when he says, “Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong….” (Habakkuk 1:13)
As one commentator put it: “God’s attributes are balanced in divine perfection. If He had no righteous anger and wrath, He would not be God, just as surely as He would not be God without His gracious love.”
Nowhere is this balance seen so vividly as in John chapter 3.
In the beloved verse 16, we are reminded that “For God so loved the World….”
And then at the end of chapter three we read: “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on him.”
This is why the recognition of sin in our life – and the confession & repentance of that sin – is so important.
This is why the Holy Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write the verses that we are looking at today – they are for our benefit!
Verses 19-22 reveal the truth of God’s fingerprint being all around us!
I don’t know if they still do this, but back in the day, when a baby was born – one of the first things they did was dip the baby’s fingers and toes in ink and then press them to the birth certificate.
This was to validate that the baby’s name on the certificate matched up with a physical marker of identification.
The same holds true of God.
His physical markers of identification are all around us – in other words – His fingerprints are all around us.
When people were staring at the sun and the moon on Monday – they were looking at the fingerprint of God.
When you woke up this morning and looked out your window and saw the trees, and the grass, and the birds…you were looking at the fingerprint of God.
When you turn and look at the person next to you in the pew right now – you are looking at the fingerprint of God.
Paul tells us that it makes God angry when we deny His hand in creation – in His bringing forth this world and everything in it.
Verse 20 (Romans 1:20) is one of the most important verses in the Bible…That’s your que, underliners and highlighters…you know what to do here.
This verse says that God’s creative power is clearly seen all around us…so much so, that to deny His hand in creation is tantamount to engaging in a disobedient act of intellectual deception….
In other words, you’re in denial.
Take a look at your watch this morning (If you’re wearing one)
A watch screams…a watch-maker.
A house screams…a carpenter
An automobile screams…a manufacturer
…and creation screams – a creator.
Have you ever considered the complexity of nature?
How even the single cell literally has intelligent language written into the DNA code, providing information to the cell as to its function and purpose.
Where did this complex information come from?...Not to mention - where did the single cell itself come from?
There are so many components of a cell that need to be fully developed in order for it to function and replicate.
There is simply no way for this kind of complexity and interdependence to originate on its own - out of lifeless, inorganic elements.
In 2009, Dr. Stephen Meyer wrote a book called “Signature in the Cell.”
In it, he shows how many scientific advancements are pointing toward a designer and a creator – that even a single cell is so advanced that it could never have originated on its own.
Last Wednesday, I spoke on this topic at Community Christian School in Baraboo – and I gave the students this illustration.
Suppose you painted a picture for your mom for Mother’s Day.
You spent lots of time & energy making it…and it turned out just as you’d hoped it would.
You also write a note for your mom telling her that you love her and that you hope she likes the painting that you made for her.
You wrap up the painting and present it to her on Mother’s Day.
Your mom opens it up and says, “What a beautiful painting!”
But she doesn’t acknowledge you for giving it to her – not even a simple ‘Thank You’…
She even reads your note, and still doesn’t believe that you were the person behind the painting…she doesn’t believe that anyone made it for her – she simply behaves as though the painting just appeared out of nowhere.
How would you feel about that?...(Of course, all the students at CCS said they’d be pretty upset with their Mom’s reaction and disbelief)
Well, that is exactly how God feels when we purposefully ignore His handiwork in creation.
God loves us so much that He made this beautiful blue planet for us to have dominion over – and He wants us to acknowledge His fingerprint in the world around us as well.
I love how Paul reminds us of the fingerprints of God being all around us in Colossians 1:16 “For by him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him.”
Next - we come to verses 24 – 32.
Folks, these have become some of the most polarizing verses in all of scripture.
…But they really shouldn’t be.
There is really nothing confusing whatsoever concerning the contents of these verses – rather, modern society is behind the wave of reinterpretation that we see happening today in regard to these “controversial” passages.
These verses are an indictment of the human condition when it chooses to leave God out of the equation of life.
They are a reminder of our inherent sinfulness that dominates the mind and body of man when the Holy Spirit is not welcome in our lives.
They are a description of the manifestation of unchecked sin in the world…
Paul begins this description of depravity by focusing on sins of the body – specifically in verses 24-28 – the sins of sexual impurity and homosexuality.
Verse 24 (Romans 1:24) speaks of “Sexual Impurity”
The word for impurity (Akatharsia) was a general term for ‘uncleanness’ and was often used to describe decaying matter – as in the contents of a grave.
In other words, sexual sins are used of Satan to entrap people into habits and lifestyles of degradation and moral decay.
This verse is referring to ALL sexual sins – not just homosexuality.
Paul here is speaking of any sexual relationship that is outside the boundaries of a marital union between one man and one woman.
When reading this passage in Romans, don’t we always have a tendency to gloss over verse 24 and skip ahead to the verses that deal with homosexuality…
We don’t want to hear about premarital sex being a sin…or flirting with someone other than our spouse as being a sin…or pornography as being a sin.
I recently heard that the porn industry makes over 13 billion dollars annually…that’s more than the NFL, the MLB (Major League Baseball) and the NBA…COMBINED!
According to a recent Barna poll, over 75% of men who identify as Christian view pornography on a regular basis…and over 20% of women who identify as Christian view poernography.
Folks, this is an epidemic. This is the ‘elephant in the room’, so to speak, in the modern church.
This is why discipleship and accountability in the church is so important!
Men especially – find a brother in Christ to be held accountable to in this area…and they can be accountable to you.
Accountability is the key to victory over sexual sin…Satan knows that if he can keep your sexual sin private – you’ve been beaten.
But once we open up about our struggles in this area – Satan no longer holds the advantage…confession leads to cleansing…which leads to healing…which leads to a life of consistent victory rather than one of consistent defeat.
Verses 26 & 27 (Romans 1:26-27) are the lightning rods of the modern era.
These verses are a large part of the reason why entire denominations are dividing and why there is a great deal of disunity within congregations all across this country – and the world, for that matter.
According to the latest Pew Research polling, 54% percent of self-described Christians now believe that Homosexuality should be accepted in the church.
..of that 54%, 40% are men and 60% are women.
If we go back just a few generations, the percentage of self-described Christians who believed that homosexuality should not be accepted in the church rises above 95%...so, what happened?
Why is something that the church has believed for the past 2,000 years suddenly being discarded - to the point that a majority of self-described Christians now believe the exact opposite to be true?
Well…one thing is for certain…the truth of God’s Word hasn’t changed.
What has changed has been the culture around us – and its acceptance of homosexuality - as well as the associated sexual perversions that often accompany it…
And it is these new cultural norms that have infiltrated the Church…This is the ecclesiastical tragedy of our day.
God’s Word has always stayed the same – it is mankind who is currently flocking in droves to the spiritually dark sexual ‘Path of Totality’.
The ‘Alphabet Soup’ acronym of inclusion is nothing more than Satan’s goal of eclipsing the truth of God with deception and lies.
As a body of believers, we must continue to stand on God’s holy, unchanging, inerrant, infallible, Word of truth…
Lastly, from verse 28 through the end of the chapter, Paul focuses on the end result of disobedience and sin.
If someone continually rejects God and His truth, He will eventually turn them over to experience the results of a life without grace…
This is a dreadful thought.
Paul talks about envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice, slander, pride, disobedience, senselessness, heartlessness, ruthlessness…all of the hallmarks of humanity without the Holy Spirit’s protection…
To me, this sounds like a place called Hell.
It sounds like the spiritual state that man naturally wants to wallow in when we don’t have proper spiritual eyesight.
Some people level the accusation against God that He sends people to Hell…
But if we look at the natural inclination of man -we quickly notice that away from God’s presence is where man naturally wants to be.
We naturally want to do things our way, to be our own god.
This is also what a once highly respected Angel by the name of Lucifer wanted as well…he wanted to be as powerful as God…and because he rebelled against God, he will be spending all of eternity in torment and pain…
DO NOT MAKE THE SAME MISTAKE!!!
If Satan has deceived you into believing his lies…if you’ve bought into his total eclipse of the truth…there is still time to make things right with God!
THAT is the good news.
The good news is that through Jesus Christ, ALL of your sins can be forgiven – and you can be changed…forever!
2 Corinthians 6:2 says “…I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”
Only through the name of Jesus can we be perfectly healed, forgiven, and delivered!
Let’s Pray.