ODJ: apathetic

October 7, 2014 

READ: Romans 1:18-32 

Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks (v.21).

In December 2011 an article was published that analysed a group of Americans called the “spiritually apathetic”. Their attitude could be summed up as: “So what?” The article presented the following sad statistics:

• 44 percent spent no time seeking “eternal wisdom”.
• 19 percent said, “It’s useless to search for meaning”.
• 28 percent said, “It’s not a major priority in my life to find my deeper purpose”.
• 18 percent denied that God has a purpose or plan for everyone.

Paul once uncovered spiritual apathy among the people in Rome. Here’s a glimpse of their downward spiral: they knew God; He powerfully revealed Himself in their conscience and in creation so that no one would be without excuse. Yet they refused this wonderful knowledge and turned their back on Him (Romans 1:18-20). They knew of God, but they refused to worship Him. Their indifference led to ingratitude and their ingratitude led to ignorance (1:21-23). Then they exchanged the truth of God for lies (v.25). These lies manifested themselves in worshipping the creature rather than the Creator; man rather than God.

The last step in this downward spiral was the total refusal of the knowledge of God. The only power that could break this spiritual apathy was the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and they could only appropriate this power through faith in Him.

Many in our world are apathetic to the things of God, and the only way we can stir them to zeal and fervency is through winsomely and graciously preaching the power of the cross of Jesus Christ.

This is the good news: Jesus came and died for all our sins so that we might be restored to a relationship with our heavenly Father.

—Marvin Williams

365-day plan› Acts 2:1-13