Today’s Sins

[516 words] Though I cannot recall the source, I remember the following illustration and its applicability to the topic at hand. Jewelers display diamonds and pearls on black cloth to create great contrast and thereby enhance the brightness of the jewels. In the first three chapters of Romans, Paul lays out the black cloth. In chapters four and five, he places the jewels on it. The black cloth is sin. The jewels are the salvation offered in Christ. Consider what Paul wrote about the sins of the Gentile world in Romans 1:18-32, and note how modern these ancient sins are. The wrath of God is being revealed (present tense participle) on all who suppress the truth and consequently live ungodly and unrighteous lives (1:18). The truth that is being suppressed relates to the nature of God, which led to a failure to properly honor him (1:20-21). Though God had revealed…