American Thinker:
By M.B. Mathews
Matt Walsh’s latest book, Church of Cowards. A Wake-Up Call to Complacent Christians rips contemporary Christians a new one. Before he discusses the theologically sound aspects of the Christian church in America, he takes many of them to task along with their perverse theology. He admonishes Christians for their craven cowardice in the face of woke liberalism and perverse sexual ideologies. Walsh’s justifiable diatribes are spot on. The Church in America must get aggressive about removing secularist practices. Among the complexities of the book, Walsh has this to say about pastors officiating at gay weddings:
When a large evangelical church in Colorado set out to become more “welcoming” recently, it decided that including open homosexuals in every level of leadership and ministry was the best way to achieve that goal. The Pastor also invited church ministers to “follow their hearts” on the question of officiating at gay weddings. This sort of welcome is increasingly common in churches around the country and to what end? You have only welcomed the world into the same unbiblical, relativistic view it had already long since adopted and proclaimed. Indeed, you have not welcomed the world at all. The world has welcomed you.
Walsh asks us to imagine that a “heathen horde” comes to America from a foreign land, looking to vanquish Christians and Christianity, so they look for a church where they can slaughter some Christians. A man directs them to one but the heathen are confused because the church looks more like a post office or a medical clinic. They go inside and find what looks like a “rehab center for wealthy drug abusers.” The heathens enter and find people in casual clothing sipping coffee: more
I’m not sure I would even call some of the churches he is talking about as anything but Christian in name only. Many are as secular as any earthly social organization. Christ is not welcome in these churches and they as a whole are beyond shaming and urging to change.
If any within them hear anything from God it should be come out from among them and be separated.
The church is being dragged ever leftward. Even in reformed circles, the influence of BigEva(TGC/SBC elites, etc) have been so detrimental.
A true Christian always puts God before man.
True charity begins when we start telling are own family members that they are living in sin and to repent and turn back to God.
It is not judging someone if you are trying to save someone’s soul to eternal damnation; it’s called charity.
Stay away from these so-called Christians who condone sin.
Most of the churches in my area are just business’ pushing a product to make money. The touch on a little scripture but cherry pick parts and ignore other parts. The end of time laid out in Revelations is being played out around us.
Christians are admitted sinners seeking redemption. Church isn’t intended to be a safe space or a comfort zone. In fact, it should challenge us to get us out of our comfort zones.
Misfits and scoundrels seeking affirmation have infiltrated the churches –in both the pews and the pulpits. Can I take up my cross as a hermit?
Walsh describes the exact same problem Paul saw in the earliest church. In the body of Christ (church) of the 1st C.
Read the espistles.
2 Timothy 4:1-5:
“4 I solemnly exhort you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: 2 preach the word; be ready [a]in season and out of season; correct, rebuke, and [b]exhort, with [c]great patience and instruction. 3 For the time will come when they will not tolerate sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance with their own desires, 4 and they will turn their ears away from the truth and will turn aside to myths.”
The End Times are upon us as prophesied in the Bible. Roughly 27% of the Bible is prophecy, and much of it has been fulfilled since 1948 when Isreal was restablished as a nation.
The essay Walsh might have written would be about the falling away of many in the body of Christ, as prophesied. It is a major indicator of where we are in the Biblical chronology. The books of Acts, Timothy, Titus, etc are filled with warnings to the Church, especially to its leaders, about teaching false doctrine and seeking to lead people to their own “church”.
Walsh’s essay is well-intentioned, but he speaks to the wrong people and calls them “cowards”. Like our government at this time; these “ministers” are not cowards, they are doing this intentionally.
“No weapon that is formed against thee shall prosper; and every tongue that shall rise against thee in judgment thou shalt condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the Lord, and their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord.”
Isaiah 54:17
“They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.”
Mark 16:18
Every church that closed for COVID should STAY closed.
They CLEARLY had no faith in God.
And are not strong enough in faith to stand up against evil Men.
“Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.”
Acts 5:29
…if they don’t belive this Word, then they are not Christian.
“16 Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
17 Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.”
Matthew 7:16-17
It’s really that simple.
God is the Word and the word is God.
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”
John 1:1
Christ is the Word incarnate.
“And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.”
John 1:14
…if you believe the Word, you belive on Christ, and can truthfully say you’re a Christian.
If you do NOT believe the Word, you are NOT Christian.
Seems MANY churches by their ACTS demonstrated they did not believe the Word.
Therefore, they demostrably have no right to say they are followers of the Word Incarnate, Christ, and are therefore cannot say they are Christian.
…it’s really as simple as that.
…I’ve wondered (for a long time) why the leaders of the true Church don’t rebuke the “ministers” of “churches” who have clearly fallen away (if they were ever Believers in the first place), and deny their membership in the Church. There is probably a Biblical lawsuit for that, I would think. Misappropriation of Christianity?
I’ve wanted the courage to picket some churches on a Sunday in the way pro-life have picketed abortion clinics.
AbigailAdams APRIL 24, 2022 AT 12:07 PM
“…I’ve wondered (for a long time) why the leaders of the true Church don’t rebuke the “ministers” of “churches” who have clearly fallen away (if they were ever Believers in the first place), and deny their membership in the Church.”
…if they actually READ their Bible, they already HAVE been rebuked.
By God Himself.
But they may be too vain, too lazy in the Word, or too “New Testament ONLY” to realize that.
“1 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.
2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”
Jeremiah 1-2
…but as far as the NEW Testament goes, Christ covered it THERE as well…
“15 So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs.
16 He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep.
17 He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep.”
John 21:15-17
…he must really mean it to have repeated it thrice, and as the last discussion John recorded in his book of the Bible at that prior to the Lord ascending.
…do you think that pastors that feed their flocks on watered-down Word are what He meant?
“6 I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel:
7 Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ.
8 But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.
9 As we said before, so say I now again, if any man preach any other gospel unto you than that ye have received, let him be accursed.
10 For do I now persuade men, or God? or do I seek to please men? for if I yet pleased men, I should not be the servant of Christ.
11 But I certify you, brethren, that the gospel which was preached of me is not after man.”
Galatians 1:6-11
…It would appear that His answer to that would be NO…
It is very easy for each of us to miss the fact that we have ALL been inculcated or groomed to accept, expect and allow a more liberal/secular and promiscuous attitude in ALL areas of our lives. This has been a cascading effect on successive generations. Some areas being affected more than others, depending on any predispositions, familial preferences and exposure to all types and means of subject matters which diminish the very Emunah (Trust or ‘faith’) which we are to have in the WHOLE ETERNAL WORD of YHWH. If reduced only by a jot or tittle, then Satan has won a battle in the war. The more battles he has won, the less subtle he needs to be, until, as today, he can walk around in plain sight without anyone pointing or even turning their heads.
It all started in the Garden and continues even unto today, with the religions of man being the most culpable for accepting the false narratives which have been foisted upon the whole world. Words like faith, believe, love, truth and others have been so watered down as to mean anything an individual can rational-lies himself to believe are acceptable in YAH’s sight. It is all based on the same lie of Satan from the beginning: ‘Hath Elohim said…’. We are so ready to believe the lies over The Truth of YHWH, which is from Everlasting to Everlasting. It does not age, it cannot be paused, modified, adjusted or changed. There is Echad (One) people, Kingdom, Way, Truth and Life and they are all defined by YHWH.
YHWH is merciful and patient beyond measure! But He has set forth a day and time which He MUST begin judgement, and The Day of YHWH is approaching quickly. All judgement has been put into the Hand of His Son Yahshua and when your theology, eschatology, etc… are not matching with the reality of what is coming, please keep the thoughts below in your notebook (physical or mental):
– House of Israel, Ephraim, Samaria, House of Joseph, Lost sheep, prodigal son are all speaking of the nations/gentiles, catholocism and her daughters, all derivations of christianity
– Ephraim was ‘divorced’ and sifted through the nations as a means to fullfill promises made to Abraham
– Being divorced by YAH, the only Way for the ‘lost sheep’ to be grafted back INTO Israel (enter marriage covenant) is for Yahshua (the husband) to die. This is all clearly stipulated in the Torah, which is the bulk of the ‘marriage covenant’
– Whether you call it new or renewed, it is still the same ‘marriage’ covenant requirements
– The religion of christianity is a contrived man made construct using the age old method of mixing the Truth of YHWH with the dark heart of man, and putting the words, doctrines and traditions of men above the Way of YHWH
– The religion of rabbinic judaism is a self serving pale shadow of what it should be, putting the words of men above the Word of YHWH
To judge by any other standard than His Word/Torah (written and in the flesh) is an abomination to Him
Deut 10:
12 And now, Israel, what doth יהוה thy Elohim require of thee, but to fear יהוה thy Elohim, to walk in all his ways, and to love him, and to serve יהוה thy Elohim with all thy heart and with all thy soul,
13 To keep the commandments of יהוה, and his statutes, which I command thee this day for thy good?
14 Behold, the heaven and the heaven of heavens is יהוה’s thy Elohim, the earth also, with all that therein is.
15 Only יהוה had a delight in thy fathers to love them, and he chose their seed after them, even you above all people, as it is this day.
16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
17 For יהוה your Elohim is the mighty one of the elohim , and Sovereign of sovereign, a great El, mighty, and terrible, which regardeth not persons, nor taketh bribes:
18 He doth execute the judgment of the fatherless and widow, and loveth the stranger, in giving him food and raiment.
19 Love ye therefore the stranger: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt.
20 Thou shalt fear יהוה thy Elohim; him shalt thou serve, and to him shalt thou cleave, and swear by his name.
21 He is thy praise, and he is thy Elohim, that hath done for thee these great and terrible things, which thine eyes have seen.
22 Thy fathers went down into Egypt with threescore and ten persons; and now יהוה thy Elohim hath made thee as the stars of heaven for multitude.
Just as YHWH did with Israel the first time, He will once again bring His Israel out from ALL Nations which they have been driven. What many term as the Greater Exodus.
Jer 16:14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith יהוה, that it shall no more be said, יהוה liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, יהוה liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.
Amen, Matt.
When I first started attending an interfaith gospel centered church in 1975 most of us were young and single with a few young families and we were a church that accepted a lot of freaks and refugees from the drug ridden early 70’s. It saved my life because we accepted everyone as they were and accepted us all as sinners in need of God’s grace. I met my wife there who was an ex Catholic as did many of my friends and we all grew up in a good accepting church environment that really preached the true gospel. Unfortunately, as we matured and got older, we started to drift slowly but surely away from that environment and got bigger and forgot about God or didn’t know we did and thought it was all about us and not God and had bigger and better programs that made us look good in the eyes of man and we thought we were really hot stuff, and our shit didn’t
stink, believe me we weren’t. We got too big for our britches and finally it came crashing down in the early 2000’s. We used to accept people as they were but forgot about grace and started looking down on the new generation of freaks and misfits as if they weren’t worthy to be in our church. One of my good friends got smacked upside the head by God one Sunday morning when he looked up into the balcony and saw a really freaky, tattoed chick and said to himself, “What is she doing in our church.” God told him, “Wayne why are you looking at her that way, remember you used to be a freak as well and I saved gave you a good life, she deserves the same grace that I showed you back when you were young.” We became what we hated about church the most and had to repent of our sins of ingraditude and unforgiveness. Shortly after that the church broke up in 2004 and we all went our separate ways, most of us still believing in God and his grace and mercy because he saved us when we needed to be saved the most when we were still young and didn’t know beans about the true gospel. I am still good friends with a large remnant of those people having grown up with them and their families and am extremely thankful for everything we went through in order to still be here and still believe in God, even more now because of all the things he did for us. Out of that group of friends of 12 guys who I have known since 1975 we started a book club about 2007 or so that meets once a month reading good books (and hardly any Christian crap), really good books of all kinds that make us think and we’re having more fun and being more real with one another than when we were in the same church for nearly 30 years together. And our book club is named after one of our founding members and is a book and wine climb that can get rowdy at times, but I know that God still loves us even as we are and approves of us just like Jesus did with his 12 disciples who for the most part were major screwups just like us in need of salvation. We call a lot of the so-called Christian churches Churchianity and Christian jerks because of their emphasis on self-righteousness and you better believe like we do or you’re not good enough for us. I can’t stand prigs and those who treat the gospel as theirs and theirs alone and not God’s revealed truth because all they all ever do is scare people into becoming Christians who fall away at the first incidence of being tested to believe that God is real. And God forbid that people suffer, I have learned more from suffering than I otherwise would have by going thru the things that I’ve gone thru and knowing that God has always provided everything that I needed and still does on a daily basis.
About the only time most of see one another anymore is at funerals since we’re all in our late 60’s and early 70’s now. I just went to another funeral 3 weeks for the wife of one of my friends who passed away from cancer a month or so ago. And I found out she was only one month older than I am. We’ve become all the old guys and gals now in the church, time passes for everyone, and we hope to leave a godly legacy behind for our kids and our grandkids.
Stay right with God, but drop religion like a hot rock.
One has nothing to do with the other. One is the Creator.
The other is shame, and dogma, and threats and money grubbing and control and fear and many kinds of sick behavior. You can trust God, but not religion.
grayjohn APRIL 24, 2022 AT 2:08 PM
“Stay right with God, but drop religion like a hot rock.”
…you do have a point, but the difficulty with that is also that it would be in defiance of the Bible.
“Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching.”
Hebrews 10:25
“And I will give you pastors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding.”
Jeremiah 3:15
“11 And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers;
12 For the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ:
13 Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ:
14 That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive;”
Ephesians 4:11-14
“14 Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord:
15 And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him.
16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”
James 5:14-16
…and pretty much all of Leviticus, Timothy, etc., usw, and so forth.
…so it seems that God’s word says that at least SOME of the worship of God must be done in a brotherhood of believers, which the Bible names “The Church”…
“12 For as the body is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one body, being many, are one body: so also is Christ.
13 For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.
14 For the body is not one member, but many.”
1 Corinthians 12:12-14
…so it’s somewhat unavoidable to have to worship in a body of some kind with fellow believers, and with someone appointed to lead the body of believers, if the Bible is to be obeyed.
A lot of ceremony and such that was purely the invention of Man and used by Religion to control people and milk them for money can be eliminated, true…BUT you cannot avoid the subject entirely.
Worship of Christ is not “just me and God”.
“For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.”
Matthew 18:20
It has to include the body of Christ as well, his Church. If you go to Heaven, you will be with them anyway when He comes for His Bride, so best to figure out how to get along now…
“And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.”
Matthew 24:31
I am closest to God when I am out in my garden and fruit grove tending to and watching His gifts to us grow and synthesize vitamins and other beneficial chemicals like miniature chemical synthesis labs.
I only go to Mass to thank Him and to add support for only that Church (which can no longer perform Mass in Latin thanks to the commie Pope). Too many others have turned secular or into social clubs.
Here is an excellent succinct summary of Truth regarding those who cast the false accusations against Shaul (Paul), saying that he teaches against The Word of YHWH.
https://vineyardjc.com/pauls-false-accusers/
Blindness in part has come over ALL Israel, both Judah (rabbinic judaism) and Ephraim (christianity, et al). You cannot even understand that Judah puts the cart before the horse and Ephraim sits in the cart with no yoke for the horse.
Eccl 1:3 What profit hath a man of all his labour which he taketh under the sun?
4 One generation passeth away, and another generation cometh: but the earth abideth for ever.
5 The sun also ariseth, and the sun goeth down, and hasteth to his place where he arose.
6 The wind goeth toward the south, and turneth about unto the north; it whirleth about continually, and the wind returneth again according to his circuits.
7 All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.
8 All things are full of labour; man cannot utter it: the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.
9 The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun.
10 Is there any thing whereof it may be said, See, this is new? it hath been already of old time, which was before us.
11 There is no remembrance of former things; neither shall there be any remembrance of things that are to come with those that shall come after.
Eccl 3:14 I know that, whatsoever Elohim doeth, it shall be for ever: nothing can be put to it, nor any thing taken from it: and Elohim doeth it, that men should fear before him.
15 That which hath been is now; and that which is to be hath already been; and Elohim requireth that which is past.
In Matthew, quoted below, Yahshua convicts the pharisees by the Torah in one breath, yet, in the next breath, according to christianity, is saying that Lev 11 and other commandments no longer apply!?!? Who’s religion thinks that they can abrogate, change and improve the Eternal Word of YHWH? Hmm, let me ponder this for just a moment. (***Hint: judaism and christianity).
I apologize for the sardonic tone, but, really!?!? Can you not see how far from the settled, from everlasting to everlasting, Word of YHWH your religion has become? I am in no way asking you to blindly trust what I am sharing with you, but, TEST IT!!! Not against repeated and watered down religious doctrines of men, but by the AWESOME WORD of the Sovereign Creator of ALL THINGS. If you have a desire for the Truth of the Way of Life, you will see that you have been misled, at best.
No one has the power to convict another person to raise up fruit, that is YHWH’s pay grade. We can only cast the seed of His Word and pray that it find good soil. YHWH will reap where He did no sow. I am only striving to cast that good seed, but you have to want Truth more than anything for Him to tend your soil.
If you read the Ezek 22 section quoted down below Matthew, multiple times, and consider the how weighty that matter is and add in the TRUTH that YHWH declares diverse weights and measures to be an abomination. How exactly does He weigh and measure Judah differently than Ephraim?
Matt 15:1 Then came to Yahushua scribes and Pharisees, which were of Jerusalem, saying,
2 Why do thy disciples transgress the tradition of the elders? for they wash not their hands when they eat bread.
3 But he answered and said unto them, Why do ye also transgress the commandment of Elohim by your tradition?
4 For Elohim commanded, saying, Honour thy father and mother: and, He that curseth father or mother, let him die the death.
5 But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me;
6 And honour not his father or his mother, he shall be free. Thus have ye made the commandment of יהוה of none effect by your tradition.
7 Ye hypocrites, well did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying,
8 This people draweth nigh unto me with their mouth, and honoureth me with their lips; but their heart is far from me.
9 But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
10 And he called the multitude, and said unto them, Hear, and understand:
11 Not that which goeth into the mouth defileth a man; but that which cometh out of the mouth, this defileth a man.
12 Then came his disciples, and said unto him, Knowest thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?
13 But he answered and said, Every plant, which my heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up.
14 Let them alone: they be blind leaders of the blind. And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch.
15 Then answered Kepha and said unto him, Declare unto us this parable.
16 And Yahushua said, Are ye also yet without understanding?
17 Do not ye yet understand, that whatsoever entereth in at the mouth goeth into the belly, and is cast out into the draught?
18 But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man.
19 For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies:
20 These are the things which defile a man: but to eat with unwashen hands defileth not a man.
Ezek 22:25 There is a conspiracy of her prophets in the midst thereof, like a roaring lion ravening the prey; they have devoured souls; they have taken the treasure and precious things; they have made her many widows in the midst thereof.
26 Her priests have violated my law, and have profaned mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane, neither have they shewed difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from my Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them.
27 Her princes in the midst thereof are like wolves ravening the prey, to shed blood, and to destroy souls, to get dishonest gain.
28 And her prophets have daubed them with untempered morter, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Sovereign יהוה, when יהוה hath not spoken.
I believe that we have been living in an unprecedented season of Grace. That season is coming to an end. God is pouring out His Spirit and ushering in a time of separating the wheat from the chaff. Holy Spirit fire will burn the false church to the ground, and His purified, unified, church will rise up. And we don’t need a building, or a denomination to be a church. People are hungry for TRUTH! Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ provides it. Believers are called to stand, IN LOVE, unwaveringly and uncompromisingly, for righteousness, everywhere we are. That will be the light, the “evidence” if you will, that brings the lost, and the deceived, into the Kingdom of God.
Most of the “Christian” churches that aren’t already taken over by faggots or communists are run by personality preachers who sell absolution to anyone, often on the cheap. No standard Christianity is literally a goddamn sick joke.
we are doomed
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https://www.amazon.com/Harbinger-II-Return-Jonathan-Cahn/dp/1629998915/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1R896OE94FA72&keywords=the+harbinger+ii&qid=1650862693&s=books&sprefix=the+harbinger+II%2Cstripbooks%2C82&sr=1-1
.
I’ll explain how this relates to this post later on in this comment.
Romans 1:18-32
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.
Read verse 28 again: Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.
God gives these people up to their depraved minds. Why? Because they have rejected God, “they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God”.
He gave them over (24 and 26), He gives them up (28). Read verse 18 again: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness.
The wrath of God. He gave them their chance to choose the Truth (20, 21, 22, 25, 29-32) and they rejected him. At this point, they are not redeemable and God gave them over to their choice they made freely. God’s wrath is holy; he allows man to make their choice. Now, they receive the “penalty for their error” (27).
How does this relate to this post? One glaring fruit* of a person who God has given over to a depraved mind is the teaching of a false god, a false bible and a false religion. Scripture warns people to not change the Bible (Revelation 22:18-19)
18 I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this scroll: If anyone adds anything to them, God will add to that person the plagues described in this scroll.
19 And if anyone takes words away from this scroll of prophecy, God will take away from that person any share in the tree of life and in the Holy City, which are described in this scroll.
*Matthew 18:6
6 “If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.
Yes, this verse is often used when talking about children, but it also means all of humanity. Humans are God’s children when we become Christians. False teachers cause many Christians to stumble.