House of Hope Online

June 25, 2025

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The word of the Lord today is one from the archives that He gave on March 5, 2017, but it is even more relevant as we consider the matters of today’s world.

The Apostle Paul in Romans 1 and 2 teaches us a valuable lesson about exchanging the glory of God for our own glory.  Paul describes how mankind has been aware since the creation of the world of the power of God yet denies it in favor of self-focus and self-promotion.  It feels like Paul was prophesying about 2023 when he penned these words.

Romans 1:

 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,

 19 ¶ because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.

 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.

 21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,

 23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

 24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, that their bodies might be dishonored among them.

Note what is told in verse 20: the glory of God has been evident from the creation of the world until now.  His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen and understood.  Mankind has no excuse for denying the glory of God.  Verse 23 explains that we exchange the glory of the incorruptible God for an image of corruptible man, of birds, four-footed animals, and other creatures.  In other words, we worship ourselves, our abilities, and the creatures instead of the Creator.

How do we worship ourselves?  We worship self when we refuse to acknowledge God in any area of our life.  Failure to acknowledge Him is exchanging His glory for our own glory.  When we take pride in raising our children, we fail to acknowledge God’s grace, without which we could not raise them.  When we point to our hard work as a reason for success, we fail to acknowledge that God made a way for us.  Many are willing to work, but doors of opportunity do not open for everyone.  Therefore, we should glorify God for any blessings that have come.

There are grave consequences when we exchange the glory of God for our own glory.  Read on in Romans 1:

Romans 1:

 25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

 26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

 27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

 28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

 29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; [they are] gossips,

 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

 32 and, although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. (NASB)

Failure to acknowledge God leads to corruption of the mind and to all unrighteousness: greed, envy, deceit, slander, hatred, arrogance, boasting, and disobedience.  Verse 20 uses the phrase “inventors of evil.”  It is sobering to realize that some are even trying to “invent” the next great evil.  Verse 31 states that failure to acknowledge God causes us to proceed without understanding, trust, love, and mercy.

In exchanging the glory of God for the glory of mankind, one not only practices all sorts of evil, but also gives hearty approval to those who do the same thing.  It is easy to look into the world and judge those who commit evil and give their approval to others who commit evil, but Romans 2 quickly warns us against passing judgment.

Romans 2:

 1 ¶ Therefore you are without excuse, every man [of you] who passes judgment, for in that you judge another, you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things.

 2 And we know that the judgment of God rightly falls upon those who practice such things.

 3 And do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment upon those who practice such things and do the same [yourself,] that you will escape the judgment of God?

This scripture convicts me today as it relates to the current issue of transgender rights, and those who advocate for them.  For me it is a simple issue:  God creates us, and being transgender suggests it is okay to reverse what God has done.  Genesis 1:27: “…male and female, He created them.”  Therefore, I think it wrong to encourage the transgender person in this way of life because the implication of sex change is either that God got it wrong, or He really did not create us.  Either way, we are exchanging the glory of God for the glory of corruptible man, in violation of the scriptures.

The same could be said of other issues, such as abortion and same-gender attraction, but Romans 2:1 teaches we are without excuse for passing judgment.  It says further that we who judge practice the same things.  Now, you might be thinking: “I am not a transgender, or homosexual, so I do not practice the same things.”  However, the phrase “practice the same things” refers to the bigger issue of exchanging the glory of God for the image in the form of corruptible man.  In other words, transgenderism is merely the physical manifestation of the larger sin: that we worship our minds or our bodies more than incorruptible God.  Therefore, if we take credit for any success and fail to give glory to God, we are committing the same error as the transgender: we are exchanging the glory of God for the glory of mankind.

None of this is in support of being transgender or homosexuality because Romans 1:25 says when we exchange the truth of God for a lie, God gives us over to degrading passions.  But instead of judging the individual, we should judge only whether the activity is right or wrong according to the word of God.  Jesus taught us this lesson in John 8:11 when He chastised the Pharisees who condemned the woman adulterer, but He also told the woman: “…Go your way. From now on sin no more.”  In other words, refraining from condemnation of the individual does not mean the behavior is acceptable, it just leaves room for the conviction and correction by the Holy Spirit when the sinner repents.  Repentance means agreeing with Jesus that it is sin and then turning away from it.  I have a feeling that the woman adulterer repented because Jesus saved her from being stoned to death.

The problem with the debate in today’s world is that transgender and gay advocates want all to consider their behavior as acceptable for those who are inclined toward it, and some extremists want that to be taught to our children at an early age.  That simply is not possible for those of us who believe that the Bible is the Holy Spirit-inspired, inerrant word of God.  The King James Version of Proverbs 22:6 teaches us to “Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”  Therefore, as Christians we should oppose public policy that requires teaching that runs contrary to the word of God.  However, we should not fear or get angry over what the world is teaching.  Proverbs 22:6 requires us to train up the child.  It is our responsibility, and once we train our children in the way they should go, God promises they will not depart from it.  Praise Jesus!

Unfortunately, today’s debate over transgenderism is more outraged over biological men taking trophies away from women in the world of athletic competition.  That is the least of the issues with which we should be concerned.  The issue is exchanging the glory of God, who made us male and female, for the glory of man, who thinks he knows better than God, or denies God’s existence even though His attributes, power, and divine nature have been clearly seen since the creation of the world.

Further, we must guard against hatred and judgmentalism in our hearts as we acknowledge and intercede for the kindness, forbearance, and patience of God to lead us all to repentance. 

Romans 2:

 4 Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?

 5 But because of your stubbornness and unrepentant heart you are storing up wrath for yourself in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God,

 6 who WILL RENDER TO EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS:

 7 to those who by perseverance in doing good seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life;

 8 but to those who are selfishly ambitious and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, wrath and indignation.

 9 [There will be] tribulation and distress for every soul of man who does evil, of the Jew first and also of the Greek,

 10 but glory and honor and peace to every man who does good, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

 11 For there is no partiality with God.

As we remain firm in our commitment to the word of God, we need not stress over others who commit sin or those who give hearty approval of those who commit evil.  Instead, we should have compassion for the misled, or those who are unaware of, or reject, the Gospel in the same way we have compassion for others who struggle with sin.  We should intercede with love for their repentance, and trust that God will render righteous judgment to the unrepentant.  More importantly, we should repent of our own sin, which although it manifests differently perhaps than the transgender or homosexual, nevertheless it is the result of exchanging the glory of God for the image of corruptible man (self).

Father, please pardon us for judging others while we commit the same, larger sin of denying your glory in favor of our own self-image.  Help us to remain compassionate for all of us who fall short of Your glory, as we pray for your kindness and forbearance to lead us all to repentance.  Jesus said in John 8:12 after telling the woman to go and sin no more, “I am the Light of the world, the one who follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the Light of life.”  May we follow Jesus by the urging of the Holy Spirit and always have the Light in our lives.  In Jesus’ name, we pray.  Amen.