The Reprobate Mind

Scripture

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.

~Romans 1:28, KJV

Quote

This world is riddled with evils, mysteries and troubles beyond human grasping or fixing.

~Timothy Keller

Joe David’s sermon yesterday morning inspired a lot of discussion in our small group. No one can solve the mystery of evil. One doesn’t need a Ph.D. in theology to look around the world and realize something is desperately wrong. The existence of evil is one of the most vexing challenges a Christian–or any person, for that matter– must grapple with. It’s occupied the minds of great Christian thinkers since the beginning, including St. Augustine (354-430). Augustine did not believe that evil was a created thing because God is good and He could not create evil. Evil, then, is the act itself of choosing the lesser good. To Augustine the source of evil is in the free will of man: evil began when Satan and later Adam and Eve turned aside to lesser things. This turning away from God became this essence of evil.

In Romans one, this turning from God, refusing to even acknowledge His existence, give Him thanks or glory leads to a greater darkness. It is like a man standing in the mouth of a cave: he has light on one hand and darkness on the other. If he turns away from the light and walks into the cave, the further he goes the darker it gets. If he goes deep enough into the cave, there will be no light at all. It he stays in this deep darkness long enough, he may lose his ability to perceive light. There is a point in man’s rebellion where there is no return. You and I don’t know exactly where this point is and we don’t want to know. The REPROBATE mind is one that cannot discern good from evil. Isaiah said, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter.” [Isa.5:20] Woe is a exclamation: the root word means to hollow out as in a warning such as STOP! It means that judgment is ahead and cannot be averted unless one repents and turns around. Are sexual perverts beyond redemption? Can they turn from their deviant behavior? I would say yes if and only if they acknowledge their rebellion. What are the odds? My guess would be not good because they reach a place where they no longer recognize good from evil. How can anyone repent of an evil they do not see or recognize? I’ll let you answer this one.

We did have an interesting discussion and we have an excellent small group. If you don’t have a group, you can join our group.

This is my Monday January 27 blog but I am posting early. It may contain mistakes because I am anxious to get home and it has not been proofed properly [hours after it being written]. Hope you have a great day and week.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *