Paul laid out some powerful truths about the corrosive effect of sin in his letter to the church in Rome. In Romans 1:21-32, we see the progressive erosion of character caused by unconfessed sin. A progression that can cause people to stray so far from the truth that they actually hate God and encourage others to as well.
Verse 21 shows that the starting point of the downward spiral is failure to give God the glory he deserves. Lack of fellowship with our Heavenly Father and failure to feed on God's Word allows our thinking to become poisoned with Satan's lies. Our hearts begin to darken. We then try and create God into our own image (v.23) and we begin to pursue things outside of His will. Now the downward spiral picks up speed and we open ourselves up to every kind of wickedness at our disposal (v.24-31). Notice how God doesn't cause this steady progression toward evil; but when people reject him, he allows them to live as they choose and experience the natural consequences of their sin (v.24, 26, 28). People who reject God's ways in the name of personal freedom now become slaves to sin.
These verses penned nearly 2000 years ago are just as true today as they were in Paul's time. Unconfessed sin is a steady downward spiral that leads to death and destruction. But praise God that through his grace and his mercy, we have a way back to Him through the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
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