Worship Service: The Peril of Unbelief -- Mike Cooper

Paul opens with a hard word. The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who “suppress the truth.” The text says God has already made himself plain. Creation itself shows his eternal power and divine nature, so humanity stands “without excuse.” Knowing God, people did not honor him or give thanks. The result lands right in the heart. Speculations turn futile, foolish hearts go dark, and, “professing to be wise, they became fools.”

The exchange runs through the whole passage. People exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for images. They exchange the truth of God for a lie. They worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator. In response, God gives them over. First to the lusts of their hearts so their bodies are dishonored. Then to degrading passions that twist what is natural into what is not. Finally to a depraved mind so that what is “not proper” becomes normal, celebrated, and contagious.

The list Paul lays out is not just for “out there.” Unrighteousness, greed, envy, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, arrogance, disobedience to parents, unloving, unmerciful. The text says they know such things deserve death, yet they not only do them but give hearty approval to those who practice them. That is what approval of sin looks like when a heart has been handed over. Consequences follow. That is justice. A holy and just God would not be good if he winked at evil.

The stories Israel knew underline it. Sodom and Gomorrah did what was right in their own eyes and were wiped out. Pharaoh hardened his heart until God said, in effect, have it your way, and the cost landed in his own house. That is what “God gave them over” looks like when stubbornness runs its course. Discipline is not cruelty. It is mercy with teeth, meant to turn a person back before permanent ruin sets in.

Still, the text does not end with a closed door. God’s kindness keeps calling. The gospel named earlier in the chapter is the way out of the spiral. The Lord does not coerce. He calls. He offers real forgiveness and real freedom, and he does it now, before the habit of sin becomes a harness and the day of reckoning arrives. A church that hears Romans 1 will stop pretending about pet sins, stop approving what God condemns, and turn to the only Savior who can make a dark heart new.

Key Takeaways

• 1. God’s wrath is right and real [29:12] God’s holiness demands that evil be named and judged. If he never brought consequences, he would not be good. His wrath is not a tantrum but the settled, just response of the Judge of all the earth. Remembering that steadies believers when culture calls evil good. [29:12]
• 2. Creation leaves humanity without excuse [31:02] The world keeps preaching even when a Bible is closed. Order, beauty, and moral sense point to a Maker whose power and nature are clear enough to obligate worship and thanks. Ignoring that witness does not erase it, it only deepens guilt. [31:02]
• 3. Idolatry always reorders desire downward [38:56] When the Creator is traded for created things, loves get bent. God’s “giving over” is letting a person ride the road they chose, and it never lifts them up. That path dishonors bodies, confuses minds, and turns bedrooms and boardrooms alike into places of self-rule. [38:56]
• 4. God may give sinners what they want [49:00] Pharaoh’s story warns that stubbornness, repeated long enough, can be confirmed. A hardened heart feels strong until the bill comes due in the most painful currency. Today is the day to yield, not after the losses stack up. [49:00]
• 5. Sin practiced and praised invites death [47:41] Paul does not stop at behavior. He points to the cheering section that normalizes it. Doing evil and approving it are both symptoms of a mind gone dark, and the text ties them to death. Repentance means stepping out of the crowd and back under God’s good rule. [47:41]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [22:58] - Romans 1:18-32 read
• [25:29] - Consequences and justice in life
• [29:12] - God’s holiness and real wrath
• [31:02] - Creation’s witness leaves no excuse
• [34:51] - Claiming wisdom, becoming fools
• [38:56] - God gives them over
• [39:59] - Sodom and Gomorrah warning
• [45:43] - Culture tries to rename sin
• [46:11] - The vice list unpacked
• [47:41] - Practicing and approving evil
• [49:00] - Pharaoh’s hardened heart lesson
• [54:35] - Freedom and deliverance offered
• [58:47] - Reckoning and hell without repentance
• [60:43] - Free will and choosing God

1. According to Romans 1:20, how does creation itself point to God’s nature, and why does this leave humanity “without excuse”?
2. What three things does Paul say people “exchanged” in verses 23-25, and what were the consequences of these exchanges?
3. The sermon mentioned that “approval of sin” is as dangerous as practicing it ([47:41]). How does Romans 1:32 describe this dynamic?

1. Why do you think Paul includes a list of specific sins (e.g., greed, envy, gossip) at the end of this passage? What might this reveal about the connection between rejecting God and everyday behavior?
2. The sermon compared Pharaoh’s hardened heart to humanity’s stubbornness ([49:00]). How does God’s response to persistent rebellion (giving people “over” to their desires) reflect both justice and mercy?
3. Romans 1:24-28 repeats the phrase “God gave them over.” What does this imply about the relationship between human choices and God’s judgment?

1. In what areas of life (e.g., relationships, work, entertainment) might you be “suppressing the truth” about God to justify a personal desire or habit? How can you confront this honestly?
2. The sermon warned against rationalizing sin as “not that bad” or “just my thing” ([51:37]). What is one attitude or behavior you’ve normalized that Scripture clearly calls unrighteous? What step will you take to repent?
3. How can you actively “honor God and give thanks” (Romans 1:21) in a culture that often celebrates self-rule and rejects accountability? Name one practical way to do this daily.
4. The passage warns about approving sin in others ([47:41]). When have you stayed silent or even encouraged someone’s harmful choices to avoid conflict? How can you lovingly speak truth instead?
5. God’s kindness calls us to turn to Him “today, before the habit of sin becomes a harness” ([54:35]). What recurring sin feels hardest to break? How will you rely on Christ’s power—not willpower—to overcome it this week?