The Danger of Stinking Thinking: Understanding Our Need for God's Grace

The Danger of Stinking Thinking: Understanding Our Need for God's Grace

Have you ever encountered someone whose logic was so twisted, so convoluted, that you didn't even know where to begin correcting them? We all have moments of faulty reasoning—what we might call "stinking thinking." But perhaps nowhere is this more dangerous than when it comes to understanding our relationship with God and the seriousness of sin.

The apostle Paul, in his letter to the Romans, masterfully dismantles every excuse, every rationalization, and every escape hatch that the human heart constructs to avoid facing the reality of our sinfulness before a holy God. His arguments, particularly in Romans chapter 3, reveal the sophisticated mental gymnastics people perform to justify themselves rather than humble themselves before their Creator.

The Foundation: The Power of the Gospel

Romans 1:16-17 establishes the bedrock truth upon which everything else rests: "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith. As it is written, the righteous shall live by faith."

This passage reminds us that salvation comes through faith alone—not through heritage, religious rituals, or moral performance. Yet the human heart constantly rebels against this simple truth, seeking ways to earn or deserve God's favor rather than receiving it as an unmerited gift.

Four Questions That Reveal Our Hearts

Paul anticipates four major objections that people raise when confronted with the reality that religious heritage and rituals cannot save them. These questions reveal the depths of human pride and our resistance to acknowledging our complete dependence on God's grace.

Question 1: What Advantage Do We Have?

If being part of God's chosen people doesn't guarantee salvation, what's the point? Paul's response is profound: "Much in every way. To begin with, the Jews were entrusted with the oracles of God."

Notice that word—entrusted. The Scriptures aren't a trophy to display but a trust to steward. Those who received God's Word were given an incredible advantage: they possessed what other nations lacked. They had access to God's thoughts, His laws, His character, and His promises. They understood the nature of the God of the universe.

But here's the sobering reality: privilege brings responsibility. Having the Bible in your hand means you've been entrusted with divine revelation. You know what other people don't know. You have access to truth that can transform lives. The question isn't whether you possess these truths, but whether you're living according to them and sharing them with others.

Many people grow up surrounded by spiritual advantages without appreciating them until much later in life. Like children raised in loving, God-centered homes who only recognize the blessing when they encounter others who lacked such stability, we often fail to comprehend the magnitude of what we've been given.

Question 2: Does Our Unfaithfulness Cancel God's Faithfulness?

This question strikes at the heart of God's character. If people fail to keep their end of the covenant, does that mean God is released from His promises?

Paul's answer is emphatic: "By no means. Let God be true, though everyone were a liar."

God's covenant faithfulness doesn't rest on human performance. Think about that. Your failures don't make God fail. Your unfaithfulness doesn't make God unfaithful. God remains true to His character and His promises regardless of human behavior.

This is remarkably good news. God's promises don't collapse just because His people do. His truth stands as an unchanging plumb line against which everything else is measured. This faithful, unchanging nature is precisely what allows God to judge righteously—He never shifts, never compromises, never adjusts His standards based on popular opinion or human weakness.

Question 3: Doesn't Our Sin Make God Look Good?

This question represents truly perverted reasoning: If our sinfulness highlights God's righteousness by contrast, isn't God being unfair to punish us? Aren't we actually doing God a favor by sinning so His holiness shines brighter?

The logic is insidious. If sin glorifies God, then sin becomes righteous. If sin is righteous, God cannot judge it. If God cannot judge it, God is not righteous.

Paul demolishes this argument by pointing out its absurd conclusion: "By no means. For then how could God judge the world?"

Yes, God can use even human sin for His purposes—Joseph told his brothers, "What you meant for evil, God meant for good." But God using evil for His purposes doesn't validate evil. God doesn't sin, doesn't tempt, and certainly doesn't need our sin to reveal His glory. His righteousness is revealed in judgment, not compromised by it.

Question 4: Why Not Do Evil That Good May Come?

This final question takes the previous reasoning to its logical extreme. If God's grace is greater than sin, shouldn't we sin more so grace can abound even more?

Paul's response is telling. He doesn't even dignify this question with a detailed answer. He simply states: "Their condemnation is just."

Some arguments are so twisted, so fundamentally opposed to truth, that they don't deserve engagement. They reveal a heart so far from understanding God's character that only repentance, not reasoning, can help.

The Serious Nature of Sin

Why does Paul spend so much time closing every escape hatch, addressing every objection, dismantling every excuse? Because we cannot appreciate the good news of the gospel until we understand the bad news of our sin.

God doesn't play games with sin. He doesn't overlook it, excuse it, or minimize it. The cross of Christ stands as the ultimate testimony to how seriously God takes sin—He sent His own Son to die in our place because of it.

The reason God doesn't immediately judge our sin isn't because He doesn't care about it. It's because, in His forbearance and love, He gives us time to find Him and find forgiveness. His patience is meant to lead us to repentance, not to make us comfortable in our sin.

A Call to Honest Self-Examination

The message here calls us to stop the mental gymnastics and face reality: God is true, and we are liars. God is faithful, and we are faithless. God is righteous, and we are sinful.

But here's the beautiful truth that follows this sobering reality: God doesn't need our righteousness—He provides His own. God doesn't excuse our sin—He forgives it through Jesus. God doesn't abandon His promises—He fulfills them in Jesus.

The invitation today is to examine our hearts honestly. To ask God to reveal the sin in our lives. To stop making excuses and start making confessions. To agree with God about our sin rather than argue with Him about it.

The Bible: Trophy or Trust?

The Scriptures you hold aren't meant to be a trophy on your shelf, gathering dust as evidence of your religious identity. They're a trust—a sacred responsibility to know God's truth, live according to it, and share it with others.

You've been given what others lack. You know the God of the universe. You understand His character. You've received His promises. The question is: What are you doing with what you've been entrusted?

True spiritual maturity means moving beyond stinking thinking to humble acknowledgment of our need for God's grace. It means taking sin seriously because God takes it seriously. It means living in the light of God's faithfulness rather than our own performance.

And ultimately, it means preparing our hearts to receive the magnificent good news that, despite our sinfulness, God has provided a way of salvation through His Son—a truth so glorious that it demands we first understand just how desperately we need it.