When God's People Cause the World to Blaspheme

🔥 Introduction — The Burden

The Apostle Paul declares in Romans 2:24:

“For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you, as it is written.”

It is one thing for the ungodly world to curse the Lord out of ignorance. It is another tragedy entirely when God’s own people, who carry His name and His truth, become the reason sinners turn away from Him — sneering and mocking the very Christ who shed His blood to save them.

Church, it is possible for us to live in such a way that our lives undo our message, and our witness becomes the devil’s greatest weapon. This is the danger that weighs on me right now.

I. The Wrath of God Revealed (Romans 1:18–20)

“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness…”

The world sees God’s hand in creation—His invisible power and eternal Godhead are clearly seen—but they suppress the truth so they can live how they want. God says, “They are without excuse.”

But hear me — Paul is not just talking about the world out there. The tragedy is when those of us who possess the truth begin to smother it with our lives.

• When a holiness people hide secret sin,
• When a saint’s lips sing worship but their tongue gossips,
• When a Pentecostal neglects their altar while talking of revival—

The truth is muffled. The message becomes muddled. And the sinner shakes his head and says, “Their God is no different from mine.”

II. From Ingratitude to Idolatry (Romans 1:21–23)

“When they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”

The descent doesn’t start with scandal. It begins with a thankless heart.

• When worship becomes mechanical,
• When gratitude dies,
• When reverence fades—

The heart begins to darken. A thankless church becomes a dark church. A prayerless saint becomes an idol factory.

When we exchange the fire of His presence for the glow of performance, when we trade travail for entertainment, when we substitute anointing for aesthetics— The world smells the counterfeit and turns away, saying, “It’s all a show.”

III. God Gave Them Over (Romans 1:24–27)

Three times Paul uses a chilling phrase:

“God gave them up… God gave them over…”

God’s judgment didn’t come with lightning bolts or fire from heaven. It came as release — He simply let them have their way.

• They wanted lust more than Him, so He gave them lust.
• They wanted rebellion more than His Spirit, so He gave them rebellion.
• They wanted shame, so He let them drown in it.

Saint of God, hear me: if we persist in our own will, if we demand to do things our way, God may step back. The result? A powerless church — Pentecostal in name but not in reality.

And the watching world scoffs, saying, “Their God can’t keep them either.”

IV. The Reprobate Mind and the Respectable Sins (Romans 1:28–32)

Paul’s list of sins is sobering. He mentions fornication, vile affections, murder, hatred… but also:

• Whisperers (gossipers)
• Covenant-breakers (promise breakers)
• Disobedient
• Unmerciful

The “little sins” we tolerate in the church are listed side-by-side with the abominations of the heathen.

When the sinner sees saints devour one another with their tongues, when they watch us cheat, rage, and live double lives — The Name of God is blasphemed, not because they don’t know Him, but because we have misrepresented Him.

V. Turning the Camera on Us (Romans 2:1–5)

“Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest…”

We love to thunder against the world’s sins — and we should. But Paul says, “You are without excuse, because you do the very same things.”

The apostolic pulpit must awaken us in here, not just condemn out there. If our lives betray our doctrine, we make the Gospel a mockery.

VI. The Shame of Misrepresentation (Romans 2:17–24)

“Thou that makest thy boast of the law, through breaking the law dishonorest thou God. For the name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles through you.”

We boast of Acts 2:38, One-God truth, and holiness — and rightly so! But if our homes, marriages, and spirits are in disarray, the world curses the very Name we claim to exalt.

The greatest danger to the church is not persecution from the outside — it is pollution on the inside.

VII. How We Turn People Off

• We preach against lust, but some indulge pornography in secret.
• We condemn worldliness, but chase materialism and status symbols.
• We exalt holiness, but dress and act to draw attention to self.
• We declare unity, but harbor grudges and factions.
• We speak of revival, yet refuse to weep over lost souls.

Sinners see it. They laugh. They mock. They blaspheme — not because Jesus has failed, but because we have misrepresented Him.

We are either a window through which they see His glory or a wall that blocks their view entirely.

VIII. The Remedy

• Repentance in the House of God — “Judgment must begin at the house of God.” (1 Pet. 4:17)
• A Fresh Baptism of the Holy Ghost — Not a memory of tongues, but a present-tense fire. (Acts 4:31)
• Holiness of Heart and Body — Be a clean vessel in an unclean world. (Heb. 12:14; 2 Cor. 7:1)
• Visible Integrity — Pay your debts. Keep your word. (Matt. 5:16)
• A Love That Breaks Us — Let a burden for souls shatter coldness and indifference. (Jude 22–23)

IX. The Closing Burden

We cannot afford to furnish hell with ammunition. Every compromise, every hidden sin, every bitter word becomes a dart in the devil’s hand to pierce the heart of a sinner.

But if we repent, consecrate, and live crucified lives, the world will not blaspheme — they will believe.

“God is in you of a truth.” — 1 Corinthians 14:25

This is the church we must be — not one that turns people off, but one that turns the light on, until a dark world cannot help but see Jesus.

🙏 Final Appeal — Weeping Between the Porch and the Altar

Tonight, the altar must not be a formality. This is life and death—for us, for our children, for our city.

• If you’ve grown cold, come and fall upon the Rock.
• If compromise has crept in, repent before it takes root.
• If you’ve excused the “little sins,” confess them and forsake them.

Sinner — don’t hide behind hypocrites. Lift your eyes beyond failing men, unto Jesus, who still saves to the uttermost.

Let us weep between the porch and the altar until God’s Name is no longer blasphemed, but magnified in this city.

“Lord, purify us, so the world will see YOU and not us!”