Scripture Reading:

Romans 1

Romans 1:18-32; Psalms 19:1-6; Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28; Romans 3:9-12; James 2:10-11

The Gospel | Romans 1:18–32

TEXT

18 First, The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.

24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.

26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, nomercy. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.

1. What has God revealed to mankind about Himself? How has He done this? (v. 20; see Psalm 19:1-6)

2. How should people respond to God as a result of this "natural revelation"? (v. 21)

3. What is the result of their failure to respond as they ought? (v. 22)

4. What is God's response to the evil acts listed in this passage? (vv. 24, 26, 28) How is this an expression of wrath? (v. 18)

5. Why do people continue sinning if they know that "those who do such things deserve death"? (v. 32; see vv. 18, 21-22,28)

6. Who do you think Paul is writing about in this passage?

7. What is mankind's general attitude toward the truth about God? (vv. 18,25)

8. One response to vv. 26-31 would be to think that we are pretty good in comparison to others because we are guilty of only a few of these sins.

What do the following passages have to say about that?

Matthew 5:21-22, 27-28

Romans 3:9-12

James 2:10-11

9. As an illustration of how total mankind's rebellion against God is, compare the description of human behavior found in this week's passage with the Ten Commandments (Deuteronomy 5:6-21). How well does man live up to God's standard?

Apply

□ Do you think most people would agree with

Paul's evaluation of the human condition?

□ From this passage, how would you answer the argument that it is unfair for God to condemn people to Hell who have never heard the gospel?

□ Which of the acts that Paul lists as symptoms of mankind's sin and depravity are considered acceptable, even as a source of pride, by people today?

□ Is the revelation of God in creation sufficient to bring about faith and salvation? Why or why not?

Commentary

In this section, Paul explains why it is that we need the salvation which he refers to in 1:16-17, why it is that we need a righteousness that comes from God rather than ourselves. For it is only as we recognize our sinfulness that we can truly accept and appreciate the forgiveness God offers us in Christ. It is only as we understand that God hates and punishes sin that we will see a need to be saved from his wrath.

“The wrath of God is being revealed”

One of the key ideas in Romans is that God does not simply ignore or overlook sin. There will be a future "day of God's wrath" when those who do not repent will be punished (2:5-8); those who know Christ will be saved from this wrath (5:9). But not only will God judge sin in the future, He is actively engaged in opposing sin now. His wrath is being revealed (present tense).

“of God . . . from heaven” Both of these phrases emphasize that God's wrath is personal. The consequences of sin in the life of the unbeliever are not merely the result of an impersonal process of cause and effect in a moral universe; they are the manifestations of God's anger against sin.

“who suppress the truth” men do not merely ignore the truth, they do everything they can to actively hinder it (although this opposition may be subtle or disguised rather than open).

vv. 19-20 “God has made it plain to them” Paul makes it clear that men do not sin out of ignorance. God has plainly revealed Himself to them, even to those who have never heard the gospel. The created universe speaks eloquently of God's power and divinity (see Psalm 19:1-4). Therefore, all who die apart from Christ will be condemned, not because they never heard the gospel, but because they failed to respond to God's revelation of Himself in nature. To the extent that they knew the difference between good and evil, they chose evil. They are without excuse.

v. 21-22 “although they knew God” Paul repeats that all men have a knowledge of God. Not only that, they are accountable to Him: they are responsible to worship and give thanks to Him. But instead they reject Him in favor of foolishness.

“their thinking became futile . . . .

Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools” Those who reject God often think themselves to be wise, sophisticated and enlightened. In contrast, they view Christians as naive, superstitious simpletons. But exactly the opposite is true (see 1 Cor. 1:20-27; 3:18- 20, Psalm 111:10, and Isaiah 55:8-9).

“their foolish hearts were darkened”

The word "heart" is a comprehensive term for a person's whole inner life; the mind, emotions, and will. When a person rejects God, every aspect of his or her being is affected.

v. 23

One example of the foolishness and darkness of men's hearts apart from God is that they choose to worship things which are far inferior to Him. Instead of worshipping the God who is immortal and incorruptible, they choose to worship pictures and statues of things which die and decay (see Isaiah 44:9-20).

v. 28

v. 32

“just as they did not think it worthwhile” Men do not lack knowledge of God because they lack opportunity; rather they deliberately choose not to know Him because they do not think it "worthwhile". They prefer other things to God. As a result, they lose the ability to discern between right and wrong; their minds and their consciences become defiled (see Titus 1:15-16).

“although they know . . . that those who do such things deserve death” Again, men do not sin out of ignorance. With full knowledge that what they are doing is wrong, and that the penalty of sin is death, they continue to choose sin.

v. 24 “God gave them over” This phrase is repeated in verses 26 and 28, and emphasizes the fact that God is personally involved in opposing sin. Because men reject Him, God allows them to wallow in their sin and to degrade themselves. In effect, their punishment is to be allowed to continue sinning, to be permitted to fully express the "sinful desires of their hearts". However, God's purpose in this is merciful; He desires that in experiencing the full consequences of their sin, they will see their error and repent (see 11:32).

vv. 26-27 Paul further expands on the effects of rejecting God. The examples of sexual immorality which Paul describes as "shameful" and “unnatural” are lesbianism and homosexuality. In Paul's time these were not only accepted, but even regarded as superior forms of physical love.