Connect Jeremiah 8:12 with Romans 1:28 on rejecting God's moral standards. Jeremiah 8:12 – The People No Longer Blush “Are they ashamed of the abomination they have committed? They were not at all ashamed; they did not even know how to blush. So they will fall among the slain. When I punish them, they will collapse,” says the LORD. Romans 1:28 – God Gives Them Over “Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what is improper”. Tracing the Same Heart Problem • In Jeremiah’s day, Judah’s leaders practiced open idolatry and immorality, yet felt no shame. • Paul describes the Gentile world sliding into the same moral numbness. • Both texts reveal a deliberate rejection of God’s standards, not mere ignorance (see Hosea 4:6). • The result is divine judgment—collapse in Jeremiah; being “given over” in Romans. The Decline: Steps Toward Moral Insensitivity 1. Dismiss God’s truth (Jeremiah 6:16; Romans 1:18). 2. Celebrate what God calls sin (Isaiah 5:20). 3. Lose the capacity to blush—conscience calcifies (1 Timothy 4:2). 4. Experience God’s judicial surrender: He stops restraining (Psalm 81:11-12). 5. Reap destructive consequences personally and culturally (Proverbs 14:12; Galatians 6:7-8). Why the Judgment Fits the Crime • God’s holiness demands justice (Habakkuk 1:13). • Persistent rebellion shows contempt for His kindness (Romans 2:4-5). • When people refuse light, darkness deepens by God’s decree (John 3:19-20). • “Given over” is both punishment and exposure—sin’s emptiness becomes unmistakable (Jeremiah 2:19). Living Counter-Culturally Today • Treasure God’s Word as objective, binding truth (Psalm 119:160; 2 Timothy 3:16-17). • Keep a tender conscience—confess quickly when convicted (1 John 1:9). • Model holiness that still “knows how to blush” (1 Peter 1:15-16). • Expose darkness with gracious but firm light (Ephesians 5:11-13). • Hold out the gospel that rescues the depraved mind (Romans 1:16; 1 Corinthians 6:9-11). Hope Beyond the Collapse God disciplines to awaken hearts (Lamentations 3:22-23). Even when a culture refuses to blush, He still invites individuals to repent and be restored (Acts 17:30-31). |
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