The Great Exchange

June 3
The Great Exchange: Studies from Romans 1 by Pastor Brad Reiches

"And exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for...corruptible man...They exchanged
the truth of God for a lie...exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural."
Romans 1:23,25,26

Glory for corruption. Truth for lies. Natural for unnatural. When we don't like something we "exchange" it.

1. "And exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man..." WHY? Because they decided not to "honor God" any longer. "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God" (see verse 21). They did the opposite of what Joseph did:

"How then could I do this great evil and sin against God." Genesis 39:9

2. "For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie" (see verse 25). WHY? Because they decided they didn't like the truth. To embrace the truth is to acknowledge moral responsibility. To accept Biblical truth is to admit to the "our part" of Biblical Christianity.

"For it is not the hearers of the Law who are just before God, but the doers of the Law will be justified." Romans 2:13

3. "They...exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural" (see verse 26).

It is so very important to understand that the human conscience is something completely different from the "conviction of the Holy Spirit" (see John 16:8-11). The conviction of the Holy Spirit comes from an "unchanging God" (see Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8) grounded in and affirmed by His "unchanging word" (see Psalm 19:7; 89:34; Proverbs 30:5-6). The human conscience however, is culturally defined* and as such, is as changeable as the ocean shores (see Jeremiah 17:9; Proverbs 28:26).

Pastor Reiches points out some of our most human falabilities regarding the truth of God and his observations are worth applying to our own reasoning, for if we allow ourselves to do so, we will rationalize away the very foundation upon which our salvation is based.

Rather than making our foibles the bedrock of what we believe and how we live our lives, may we instead anchor ourselves for time and eternity to the truth that sets us free. May we hold fast to the salvation that is Christ's "unspeakable gift" (II Corinthians 9:15) so we may have the unfathomable privilege to "rule and reign" with Him for eternity.