Divine Abandonment

Abandonment

(Romans 1:24-25)

God does not indefinitely tolerate those who persist in evil while failing to acknowledge their wrongs. His way of dealing with them is paradoxical: He accepts their demand and gives them over, leaving them under the power of sin.

1. This Is Not “Okay”
“Giving someone over” is a stark and intense expression. When God withdraws His protective and nurturing hand, the individual is left to pursue sin without restraint, accelerating rapidly toward a state that deserves judgment. Evil thoughts, once entertained continually, eventually become uncontrollable. Deceptive acts, once repeated, lead to the loss of all restraint. Because punishment does not fall immediately, such a person assumes, “It must be okay.” Yet that very condition is itself a terrifying punishment.

2. We Must Mourn
The human heart is easily swayed by the lusts of the flesh, but we are called to master them. When these lusts are manifested outwardly, uncleanness emerges—and this is what we call sin. Sin assaults human dignity and strips away the honor. Yet, instead of mourning over sin itself, people tend only to fear the personal fallout it may cause. Modern humanism claims to uphold human dignity, but by rejecting the truth that serves as its only safeguard, it ultimately degrades true humanity.

3. We Must Repent
God’s act of giving sinners over is, in most cases, not intended to abandon them forever. Even through such abandonment, God desires that they repent. Humanity has come into this world in order to repent—and this may well be the final opportunity. But for those who persistently refuse repentance, God gives them over so that they must make their final choice: whether to choose God or to choose hell. Therefore, let us no longer follow the lusts of the heart, but follow the truth of God. Let us remember His grace and move forward in the path He leads.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim