Romans 1:28-32

I think we are here.  Some of the things I read about in the news seem to get more bizarre by the day. Things appear to be flipped upside down, and standards of morality that once seemed obvious are increasingly questioned. At times, it can feel as though wrongdoing goes unchecked while those who try to uphold what is right are criticized for doing so.

As I read this passage, there is one line that stands out to me:

“They refuse to understand.”

There is a difference between someone who doesn’t understand and someone who refuses to understand. One describes a lack of knowledge; the other describes a condition of the heart.

It is hard to reason with a person who has already decided there is no God, no accountability for their actions, and no heaven or hell. Yet our unbelief does not determine what is true. Truth remains truth whether we acknowledge it or not, and Scripture teaches that there will come a day when each of us will give an account before God.

We cannot make people see who do not want to see. As we have heard it said, “When you argue with a fool, that makes two fools.”

I think that is part of why Solomon lamented in Ecclesiastes that with much wisdom comes much sorrow. The more clearly you see something, the more painful it can be to watch others refuse to see it. God Himself said that His people perish for a lack of knowledge.

Still, we must tell the truth whether people accept it or not, because God needs His witnesses in the land. Jeremiah was such a witness. He was commissioned to speak to people who would repeatedly refuse to listen. Even he became frustrated at their hard-heartedness and exclaimed in Jeremiah 20:8–9:

“When I speak, the words burst out. “Violence and destruction!” I shout. So these messages from the LORD have made me a household joke. But if I say I’ll never mention the LORD or speak in his name, his word burns in my heart like a fire. It’s like a fire in my bones! I am worn out trying to hold it in! I can’t do it!”

Only you know what you know—others may take some convincing. But our responsibility is not to force people to believe. Our responsibility is to faithfully speak the truth, live the truth, and allow the Holy Spirit to do what only He can do in the human heart.

Consider these sobering words God spoke through Jeremiah:

“Your wickedness will bring its own punishment. Your turning from me will shame you. You will see what an evil, bitter thing it is to abandon the LORD your God and not to fear him. I, the Lord, the LORD of Heaven’s Armies, have spoken!”
‭‭(Jeremiah‬ ‭2‬:‭19‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

Notice that God says their wickedness would bring its own punishment. Sin carries consequences within itself. God was warning His people that turning away from Him would eventually produce bitter fruit in their own lives.

This was true for the people of Israel then, and the principle remains true for us today. We would be wise to learn from history rather than repeat it.

The world around us may change. Culture may redefine what it considers right and wrong. People may refuse to understand. But none of that changes our assignment.

Know the truth. Live the truth. Speak the truth in love. And leave the convincing to God.

May we learn from history, remain faithful witnesses, and walk uprightly before Him.