I started out this Romans Blog with stressing the importance of knowing God and through Him your life would be successful. You are loved by God, called by Him and offered the free gift of eternal life through His son Jesus. The only thing you must do is believe and accept this gift.
Paul starts out the first few chapters of Romans building his case as to why we need a Savior. Paul was obligated to everyone to preach the good news of the kingdom of God because He knew it was the power of God for the Salvation of everyone who believes ( Romans 1:16 ). In the past few verses, Paul is simply building foundation to support this argument. Belief and acceptance of this gift is the one thing in this life that will determine our outcome of success.
However, in Romans 1:28, Paul tells us that mankind did not retain God in our knowledge and what resulted was a depraved mind. The King James Bible calls it a reprobate mind and the Amplified Bible says that it is a base and condemned mind. Meaning that they are void of judgment and unable to discern or distinguish the truth. At some point the a long the way, when one is completely reprobate, the Spirit will no longer draw this person unto himself.
Becoming base and condemned in your thinking is an issue that starts with the heart. It is a step by step process. The first step is not recognizing God even though He has revealed himself to us. The second step is not giving Him thanks or glorifying Him as God. ( Romans 1:21 ) Once on this slippery slope we abandon ourselves to the degrading power of sin. Over time that sin hardens our hearts to the truth of God, His Spirit of conviction and His gift of grace. Once our hearts are hardened and our minds base and condemned we are past the point of hope.
Many people are afraid that at some point they have been guilty of this sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. However, in the same way as becoming reprobate is a process, so is being drawn towards the Lord. It starts with a heart that is willing and ready to accept the drawing of the Holy Spirit. It is opening your heart to know Him and choose him. Today, I pray that you consider Him worth knowing and set your face towards that end. Jeremiah 29:13 promises us, "You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart."
