Sunday Recap for 02.10.19 Romans 1.28-32 Big Picture Question: What Does It Mean to Acknowledge God?
Sunday, February 10, 2019, Evident Grace Fellowship looked at Romans 1:28-32:
Romans 1:28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
From those verses, we pursued this Big Idea:
Big Idea: Acknowledge is Power aka What Happens When We Don’t Acknowledge God?
God Gives Us Up
We are Filled
We Give Approval
God Gives Us Up
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
God promises to hand over any who do not acknowledge Him to a debased mind. A debased mind is the opposite of the original purpose that God had for the mind. In light of this promising and warning, we should ask ourselves, “How can we acknowledge God?” To answer that, I offer these 5 ways to acknowledge God.
5 Ways to Acknowledge God
- Profess faith in Jesus Acts 16:31
- Give God thanks for all things: good and bad. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
- Recognize His sovereignty to command, prohibit, and allow what He will. Proverbs 16:1-4
- Pursue knowing Him more intimately each day. 1 Chronicles 16:11
- Acknowledge God before the world in word, deeds, and mission. Matthew 5:14-16
We are Filled
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
Paul then lists sins that naturally flow from a debased mind. Paul calls them “all manner of unrighteousness” and notes that instead of being filled by the Holy Spirit, they are full of envy, murder…”
We Give Approval
32 Though they know God’s decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Part of the evidence that God has handed over those who do not acknowledge Him is that those people not only sin, but they give approval to those who practice them. God says that those sins merit death, the promise of sin from the Garden of Eden.
Big Idea: Acknowledge is Power aka What Happens When We Don’t Acknowledge God?
God Gives Us Up
We are Filled
We Give Approval
Truth: Acknowledging God in every area and circumstance of your life enables you to most enjoy a Spirit-filled, God-approved life.
Application: Live knowing that God intends to bless you through your personal and public acknowledgment of Him.
Action:
Profess faith in Jesus Acts 16:31
Give God thanks for all things: good and bad. 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Recognize His sovereignty to command, prohibit, and allow what He will. Proverbs 16:1-4
Pursue knowing Him more intimately each day. 1 Chronicles 16:11
Acknowledge God before the world in word, deeds, and mission. Matthew 5:14-16 “