Man decided that the Creator and Lord of the universe did not exist (Romans 1:18-22). Man ignored, distorted, and (in some cases) even covered up evidence, trampling their own laws in order to create a universe in which God was not necessary (Romans 1:23). Philosophers argued whether or not the Lord was necessary for man to be morally good, arriving at the conclusion that He was not. Man celebrated his liberation from God and His Word, making himself god and arbiter of his own morality (Psalm 2:3). The gift of sexuality was perverted. Man decreed that indiscriminate sex was fulfilling and healthy, and that faithfulness in marriage was an obsolete and oppressive notion (Romans 1:24-25). Man has suffered ever since from a wide array of social maladies that statistics have linked to single parenthood.

Once man decided that some of the Word of the Lord was wrong, the logical conclusion was that the entirety of His Word was wrong. So, man forsook any semblance of God’s authority over our lives. Man decided that homosexuality was natural and healthy, and should be celebrated, promoted, and taught to children. And, year in and year out, the CDC reports that around 95% of new AIDS cases each year are the result of sexual contact between men (Romans 1:26-27).

And, since man deified himself, he has made it his priority to break down whatever traces of the Lord’s love for His creation remain. Man fills himself with evil, in the name of social liberation, the religion of humanism, and entertainment. Man hates his fellow man, while feigning compassion, brutally murdering babies, of all people, in the name of convenience, and maliciously attacking those who try to help as intolerant, hateful, and bigoted. News reporting has been replaced with gossip and outright lies. Mankind cheers as God is maligned, and his people are mistreated. Public libraries feature “Drag Queen Story Times,” and our institutions of higher learning and cultural commentators discuss whether or not pedophilia is an acceptable form of human sexuality (Romans 1:28-32). After all, why should the pedophiles be left out if the Bible was wrong about sexuality, homosexuality, polyamory, etc.?

What Romans 1 has laid out for us is the logical conclusion of the rejection of the Lord. Christians all along the way have warned the world of the consequences of rebellion. And, all along the way, we have been branded ignorant, backward, hateful, bigoted, fill-in-the-blank-phobic, and intolerant. Meanwhile the faculties, think tanks, and legislative bodies of the world lament the current state of affairs, wondering why people don’t care for each other anymore, why we used to be able to leave our doors unlocked at night, and why people don’t seem to know how to behave. It’s not difficult to see. It’s the logical conclusion.