Sound Familiar?

Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. [Romans 1.28]

Homosexuality and alternate sexual lifestyles are NOT THE PROBLEM! They ARE sin, but there is something that causes them that is the real problem.

According to Paul, the root cause of God's abandonment of them into gross sexual deviance can be found here:

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles. [Romans 1.21-23]

Their sin was idolatry. Instead of submitting to God, they pursued human knowledge that manifested in their worship of idols.

Let me relate another incident we read today in the OYCB that may shed further light:

About that time, serious trouble developed in Ephesus concerning the Way. It began with Demetrius, a silversmith who had a large business manufacturing silver shrines of the Greek goddess Artemis. He kept many craftsmen busy. He called them together, along with others employed in similar trades, and addressed them as follows: “Gentlemen, you know that our wealth comes from this business. But as you have seen and heard, this man Paul has persuaded many people that handmade gods aren’t really gods at all. And he’s done this not only here in Ephesus but throughout the entire province! Of course, I’m not just talking about the loss of public respect for our business. I’m also concerned that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will lose its influence and that Artemis—this magnificent goddess worshiped throughout the province of Asia and all around the world—will be robbed of her great prestige!” [Acts 19.23-27]

Here in Ephesus, their idolatry had progressed to the point that it had become a major industry for that area. In other words, their economy had fallen dependent upon their idols. The problem with Paul's preaching was not so much the truth about Jesus Christ as it was that "faith in Jesus' (and not their idols) would wreck their economy.

Following the passage above Paul notes:

At this their anger boiled, and they began shouting, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” [Acts 19.28]

Okay, here is where I am going to ruffle some feathers... I am going to make an undeniable association between “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!” and "We believe the science!"

In both chants, a wholesale departure from faith in God through Christ is displayed.

The "We believe the science!" people are certainly not unlike the Ephesian idolaters because if people looked to God alone to miraculously heal them, where would the HUGE medical/pharmaceutical industry be? Imagine a world where people go to church to get well instead of the doctor. It would devastate the medical industry.

The Ephesian idol makers were simply serving a need. Innocently enough, it is certain many of them were not even necessarily opposed to God, but fell into their trade through familial association or because of community need.

The bottom line is: their uproar was purely economic in nature with no real argument for the goddess Artemis' interaction with their lives. Their relationship with Artemis was monetary in nature.

Question: Was it Paul's responsibility to safeguard the jobs in Ephesus by preaching a watered-down version of faith? Obviously not.

Here's another question: Is it yours and my responsibility to safeguard the jobs of the medical industry by preaching a watered-down version of faith? (Here is what that watered-down version of faith sounds like: "I believe in God, but he uses medicine.")

You see, there would have been no riot in Ephesus had Paul preached, "You should believe in God, but its okay to keep your idols." just like there is no riot going on today because the church is preaching, "You should believe in God, but its okay to keep trusting medicine."

The closest thing we saw here in the USA was during the pandemic of COVID-19 when people of faith insisted on prayer for the sick and those "in the know" chanted, "We believe the science."

So, back to the opening passage of this writing... Paul pointed out that the people of Rome had so departed from pure unadulterated faith in God alone that God gave them over to gross sexual sins... 

SOUND FAMILIAR?

Father, help us to see the undeniable association of gross sexual sins with idolatry. May we be challenged to live lives pure in faith without dependence upon anyone or anything else.