Vazquez Counseling

Tonight, our Precious Holy Spirit drew me to Romans 1 where the Apostle Paul writes:

“Paul, a bondservant of Jesus Christ, called to be an apostle, separated to the gospel of God which He promised before through His prophets in the Holy Scriptures, concerning His Son Jesus Christ our Lord, who was born of the seed of David according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of God with power according to the Spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead. Through Him we have received grace and apostleship for obedience to the faith among all nations for His name, among whom you also are the called of Jesus Christ;

To all who are in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints:

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for you all, that your faith is spoken of throughout the whole world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of His Son, that without ceasing I make mention of you always in my prayers, making request if, by some means, now at last I may find a way in the will of God to come to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift, so that you may be established— that is, that I may be encouraged together with you by the mutual faith both of you and me.

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also.

For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, ‘The just shall live by faith.’

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools, and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.

Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due.

And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (New King James Version)

You have most likely noticed the current polarization of our society, whether you are on the Right or the Left. Based on the reading from Romans above, I believe it is abundantly clear what godly beliefs are vs. what evil beliefs are, and how properly distinguishing between them is the key to the spiritual discernment that will lead you to Eternal Life. Choose wrongly, and you will pay an eternal consequence. As I’ve stated before, our Blessed LORD invites people to enter into His Kingdom. He never coerces; He never drags anyone, kicking and screaming, into the Kingdom. Our LORD wants people who willingly love, worship, and honor Him.

Many people believe God is a killjoy, that He doesn’t want us to have any fun, or have free will when it comes to whom we choose to love, or have the freedom to choose whether or not women should allow their unborn children to live. These are choices that people face everyday. Our LORD, however, demands holiness from us, so for the Christian, the choice is clear in each one of these scenarios and many others like them.

To choose the right things in life is our mandate from God. If we choose to do the wrong things, our LORD most definitely gives us the right to choose those things. The enemy of our souls, the father of lies, continually chooses to do wrong. He is so far gone that he will never choose to follow God, no matter the consequences. Truly, the enemy’s fate was sealed at the Cross of Calvary. Now, he is in a race against time to defeat our LORD and take out as many of God’s people as he can before the End. The enemy can never win because he is fighting an omnipotent, infinite God with his finite power and his finite mind.

So, I ask you, as you go back and re-read Romans 1 very carefully, which side do you choose, the side where God will welcome you into an Eternity with Him, or the side that leads to eternal damnation and torment? The choice is clear, and let me let you in on a secret that many people who are lost don’t yet realize: in Christ, there is complete freedom, freedom from sin and the freedom to enjoy the infinite number of gifts that our Precious LORD gives us. Amen.