The word abandoned means, “to leave completely and finally; forsake utterly; desert.” It is an action that no one wants to experience. We see families torn apart because the father or mother has abandoned them. We see children in orphanages because no one wants them as their own. They have been abandoned by all family members. It is also a word we never would associate with God unless we study the scriptures. I hear many quotes from the verse in Hebrews 13:5 that states, “He will never forsake us or leave us.” They use this verse to cover everyone to give them assurance God will be with them in any situation, but that is not what it is saying. This verse was written to those who are His people. Those who have given their lives to Him and are seeking to serve Him and obey Him.
In Romans 1:24, God gives them up, He abandons them. The beginning of the verse points us back to the previous verses where they have suppressed the truth because they were determined to yield to a rebellious will. They knew about God, but they deliberately suppressed the truth about God, by exchanging the truth and glory of God for a lie. They were worshiping the created things rather than the creator. The writer then uses the phrase “who is blessed forever. Amen.” It was customary to show reverence when mentioning His name. He is giving God His rightful place separating himself from those in the previous verses.
Romans 1:24-25 “Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.”
Paul intentionally places this warning at the beginning of the book of Romans. Some might read part of the letter and stop. Paul wants all who read his letter to get this. It is one of the most sobering passages for mankind. You cannot read it without being confronted with the rebellious corruption of the human race. They were choosing to live lives marked by uncleanness, and shameful lusts, that led them to perverse sexual activity. They were living contrary to God’s design for their lives, men with men, and women with women. They burned in their lust one toward another. This lifestyle brings the judgment of God when they refuse to forsake their sin and follow Him. When anyone refuses to forsake their sin over and over, to reject God, again and again, He will eventually forsake them. When a person is turned over by God, to his sins, he has reached a point of no return. This is a tragic reality that has occurred to nations, cultures, denominations, and individuals. This is what happened to Sodom and Gomorrah in Genesis 19. A frightening reality that could have been avoided if they would have followed God.
These verses explain the moral decay in the world around us. When men and women decide they can do as they please, and determine how God will treat them, they are totally wrong. God and God alone determine right and wrong. He is the creator and He is the judge. There are those who believe because He is a God of love, He would never allow anyone to suffer in Hell forever, but they do not understand the holiness of God. They have taken verses out of context and made them fit their life. They may feel it serves them well here, but it will not in the hereafter
Romans 1:26 “For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature:”
Roman 1:27-28 “And likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust one toward another; men with men working that which is unseemly, and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meet. And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
The person who refuses the truth about God, who picks and chooses the attributes of God, he will apply to his life, has chosen to move on a path away from God. He is like the boat the man pulled up to the dock but forgot to anchor to the dock. He decided to relax for a bit and soon drifted off to sleep. Without realizing it, he was drifting further and further out into the water. Each current caused the boat to be pulled downstream, taking it so far from the shore that the dock could not be seen. Those who continue to reject are moving further away into the darkness of sin. Each of us needs to learn from this the sobering truth, that no one stands still in their relationship to God. We are either drawing closer to Him or drifting further away from Him.
God is the only one who knows when a person reaches this point, but when they do divine abandonment happens. Verse 24 gives us a severe judgment issued by God. He delivers them over to deeper and deeper sins. When he “gives them over,” He is not just letting them drift away from the dock, He is giving them a shove in the direction they chose. He is taking an active role in this severe judgment.
The thought of God abandoning us is frightening, as it should be, but there is a remedy. We have the choice to follow Him or reject Him. If you have ever thought that God would not walk away from you, you have not read the Bible. In Genesis 6:3, he gives a warning that he will not always strive with mankind. There is coming a day of judgment that He controls. He controls the timing and judgment. If we are living a life pleasing to Him, we can look forward to that day. It will be a great day for His children, but the worst day of all for those He has abandoned because they left Him.
Excellent. Powerful.