Romans 1:24-32: The Unrighteous Given over by God

Introduction

Outline

Romans 1:1-17 - Introduction

Romans 1:1-7 - Introduction

Romans 1:8-15 - Paul's Thankfulness and Desire to come to Rome

Romans 1:16-17 - Our Eschatological Hope in the Gospel

Romans 1:18-3:20 - The Unrighteousness of Humanity

Romans 1:18-23 - The Wrath of God Upon the Unrighteous

Romans 1:24-32 - The Unrighteous Give over by God

Romans 1:24-27 - The Unrighteous Given up to Sexual Sin

Romans 1:28-32 - The Unrighteous Given up to a Debase Mind

Purpose of Book

The purpose of Romans is the righteousness of God

Main Point

God, in His wrath, actively and personally gives people over to the sins they desire

Summation & Diagnosis

Paul’s argument that the Gentiles are unrighteous continues in this passage. Remember, Romans 1:18-3:20 reveals how all people are unrighteous and fall short of the glory of God. As we saw in Romans 1:21-23, Scripture is clear - the Gentiles have exchanged the glory of immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, and creeping things.

Failing xto give God glory is the root of sin and now we see what the outflow of this rejection leads to - God gives people over to their sins. In these verses, we read “God gave them up” three times. This giving over is not passive on God’s part. He actively gives them over to their sins as the outworking of His wrath. Rejecting God as the sovereign Creator is a personal rejection of God and He responds with just judgment. Romans 1:24-32 can be broken up into two sections. In Romans 1:24-27, we plainly see that homosexuality is unnatural. Then in Romans 12:28-32, Paul lists out a host of sins they were given over to in their rejection of God.

Romans 1:24-27 - Exegesis

Let us turn our attention to the first passage where we will see God giving over people to sexual sin:

24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature; 27 and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error.

It is easy to take these verses as their own passage, but we must keep the previous verses in mind to understand Paul’s argument fully. The word “therefore” in Romans 1:24 is a connector between Romans 1:22-23. Thus, we cannot simply start with Romans 1:24. We must move back a little to understand how to move forward. Romans 1:22-23 tells how people thought they were wise, but were really fools. Why? Because the Gentiles have exchanged the glory of immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, animals, and creeping things. Now, Paul gives a very real example as to how this occurs.

We see that God gave them up. Again, this is active. The wording “gave them over” was often used in a judicial context. Paul’s point is God is a just judge who gives people the just judgment they deserve. This is personal giving over to judgment, not abstract. Humanity willingly rejects God and as a result God reveals His wrath by personally, not impersonally, handing them over to the dishonoring their bodies. Our God is not a deistic God. He did not create the universe and then sit back to see what happens. He is personally active in all of His creation. This certainly includes us as believers, but it also includes unbelievers.

Now the focus becomes even more narrow on how God gave them up - He actively gives them to the lusts of their hearts to impurity. First, God gave them over to what was in their own hearts. Lusts, or desires, are not inherently evil, but it is in this context. The sexual desire, which we shall see what that is specifically in the following verses, that the Gentiles lusted after was forbidden by God and it was unrighteous. Second, what did this desire lead to? Impurity/uncleanness - specifically unnatural sexual immorality as an idol.

Now we come to the end of verse 24 which answers the question, why did God give them up to impurity? To the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves. This means they lacked respect for the created order. God’s creation for sexual intimacy is clearly revealed in Genesis 1. However, the Gentiles have rejected this order and engaged in sexual idolatry leading to sexual license. Remember, this giving up was an act of God. God does not simply retain people who reject His lordship. So, He gives them over to the desires of their hearts and removes the restrains for the natural sexual relationships. This is a divine punitive act by God, but it is not spiteful or vengeful. God, in His gracious goodness, gives His creation over to their animalistic desires if they reject/suppress Him.

Why does all of this happen? Why does God give up the Gentiles to the lusts of their hearts in a judicial manner? Because they exchanged the truth about God for a life and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. This is a stronger restatement of Romans 1:22-23. At the core of their unnatural sexual beliefs was a lack of understanding of the “truth about God.” Romans 1:20 already spoke to this truth - they have rejected the Creator they can plainly know. They do not honor Him or give thanks to Him. Once again, the root of idolatry rests on a failure to give God glory.

What was a result of this rejection/suppression? These people worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator. God demands exclusive worship from His people. They are not to worship any other god or any other idol. Our God is a jealous God as Exodus 20:5-6 states:

5 You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

Yet, God demands worship from all the people He has created. One day, every person will worship God by bowing the knee to Christ and giving the Father glory. Philippians 2:9-11:

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

These Gentile individuals have not worshiped God. Instead, they trade the glory of the immortal God and worship the creature. A terrible idolatry is afoot, but Paul ends this verse with a doxology. The Scriptures point to the glory of God regardless of the failure of Gentiles to worship Him by their unnatural sexual acts. Regardless of the sexual beliefs of culture Paul praises the one true Creator. So, Paul removes himself from cultural belief by rooting His worship, not in the creature, but the Creator! A wonderful doxology in the midst of sexual perversion.

Now, in verses 26-27 Paul will specifically identify the sexual uncleanness God gave people over to in verses 24-25. Exchanging heterosexual monogamous relations in the created order for homosexuality is the example Paul uses for how people exchange the glory of the immortal God for idolatry. Now again, God personally and actively gives them over to this behavior. As these verses reveal, homosexual acts, whether committed by women or men, are unnatural and unclean. These individuals are given up to unnatural desires and behaviors regarding sexuality, which is the the due penalty for their error.

Romans 1:24-27 - Conscience

These 4 verses have become highly controversial in today’s culture. Yet, they were also controversial in Paul’s context. Lesbianism was looked upon negatively in that culture, while homosexuality among men was looked upon more positively. Now we must remember, Paul is using homosexual acts as an example of the Gentiles rejecting God and His created order. To have a proper understanding of biblical sexuality we must travel to Genesis. Genesis 1:26-28:

26 Then God said, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” 27 So God created man in his own image, in the image of God he created him; male and female he created them.28 And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

In God’s creation, we see the natural created order for sexuality - between one man and one woman who are married. These verses, often referred to as the Edenic Covenant, tell of the role that humanity was supposed to fill in Eden. Three commands start verse 28 - Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth. Reproduction was a part of the Edenic Covenant. Adam and Eve were suppose to enjoy one another in sexual intimacy which would produce offspring. God’s good design was for marriage to be the place for covenantal life-long fellowship between one man and one woman. Marriage also included a sexual element for intimacy and reproduction. Reproduction is obviously only capable between a man and a woman. This is why Paul can outrightly state that homosexual acts are unnatural. Homosexuality goes against God’s design to be fruitful, multiply, and fill the earth. Thus homosexuality is a rejection of God’s created order/design.

Second, homosexuality is a sign of a culture that has turned against God. However as we have learned from this passage, it also is a sign of God personally giving both individuals and a society over to their sins. This is not God pulling back and becoming a deistic God. No, in fact it is quite the opposite. Society runs from God and He, personally and punitively, gives them over to homosexuality.

So, it is between culture and God’s Word that we find ourselves. Have we ever felt the pull to lessen homosexuality because we personally know someone who is living a homosexual lifestyle? Do we truly see that this is God giving people and society over to their sin?

Romans 1:24-27 - Use

One of the biggest reasons Christians change their view on homosexuality is because they know someone who is living a homosexual lifestyle. I’m sure we are all well too familiar with these situations.

In light of this, I want to help us take a deeper step in our dealings with the homosexual agenda. First, Scripture is clear - homosexuality goes against the created order found in Genesis 1 that Paul writes about here in this passage. Paul does not condone sexuality in general. No, in fact he writes about it elsewhere. 1 Corinthians 7:1-5:

Now concerning the matters about which you wrote: “It is good for a man not to have sexual relations with a woman.” 2 But because of the temptation to sexual immorality, each man should have his own wife and each woman her own husband. 3 The husband should give to his wife her conjugal rights, and likewise the wife to her husband. 4 For the wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. Likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. 5 Do not deprive one another, except perhaps by agreement for a limited time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer; but then come together again, so that Satan may not tempt you because of your lack of self-control.

As this passage makes clear, God designed marriage for the expression of sexuality - both physical and spiritual. So, Paul’s argument sets itself squarely on the reality that homosexuality is unnatural and unbiblical.

Second, we need to see homosexuality beyond behavior. All too often our conversations regarding homosexuality are surface-level. Yes, they are living in sin, but there is so much more to it than simply living in sin. They have rejected God who can be known and as such God is personally and punitively giving them over to sin. So, the wrath of God is being applied to individuals and societies as He gives them over to homosexuality. This allows us to see the spiritual component behind the sinful behavior. 1 Timothy 1:8-11:

8 Now we know that the law is good, if one uses it lawfully, 9 understanding this, that the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their fathers and mothers, for murderers, 10 the sexually immoral, men who practice homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound doctrine, 11 in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with which I have been entrusted.

Paul gives a list of sins that are contrary to sound/healthy doctrine. What was one of them? Men who practice homosexuality. An acceptance of homosexuality promotes unsound/unhealthy doctrine within the church and should be rooted out. So, let us not simply see homosexuality as a “behavior issue”, but let us see into the spiritual realm where God is actively giving these people up to their sin as they rebel against Him. Let us pray that their active rebellion against God turns to zealous obedience from the heart!

Romans 1:28-32 - Exegesis

Now let us turn to Romans 1:28-32 where we see God giving up people to a debased mind and what that encompasses:

28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. 29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, 30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, 31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

Our first question when we look at verse 28 is simple - who is the “they.” An understanding of “they” will largely influence your interpretation of the passage. Is the “they” the homosexuals in Romans 1:24-27 or is “they” speaking to all Gentiles in verse 21:

21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.

I believe it is best to view the “they” as all Gentiles who reject God in connection with Romans 1:21, not simply limiting this text to those who are engaged in homosexual behavior. As Romans 1:18-21 states, all Gentiles knew about God and failed to glorify Him. Now, Paul restates that truth - they did not see fit to acknowledge God. All Gentiles, who have an understanding of God’s eternal power and divine nature, do not seem fit to acknowledge God and suppress the truth about Him. These individuals have examined or tested the reality of God, but have rejected Him. In essence, they considered God unnecessary to their lives. They simply believe they do not need Him. Since they have come to this conclusion, God gave them up to a debased mind. Ironically, those who have examines God and have rejected Him are then given over to a mind that is debased/worthless unable to discern the will of God. God truly gives people over to their own desires.

As a result of God giving them a worthless mind, they do what ought not to be done. Again, this does not simply mean homosexual behavior - although as the previous passage notes, it certainly includes that type of sinful behavior. What ought not to be done then? Humanity not giving glory to the immortal God. Instead of living to worship and honor God, these Gentiles exist to worship idolatrous images and the creatures of creation.

Paul next gives an extensive list of these sins in verses 29-31. Now, it could be easy for us to look at all 20 of these items individually, but that would be missing the point. The list can be broken down into three primary sections. First, they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. These four words describe the wickedness of humanity. It is important to note that unrighteousness is the beginning of this list. This intentionally draws us back to Romans 1:18:

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.

This is a reminder that these Gentiles reject God as the Creator and they are His creatures. The list that follows is a reminder of what characterizes humanity who forget they are His. Those who reject God at their core are unrighteous, evil, greedy, and malicious. These words reveal the absolute wicked heart of humanity apart from Christ Jesus.

The second section of this list reveals sinful Gentiles are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. This section reveals that the Gentiles are not just unrighteous and wicked per the first section, but are also full of unrighteousness and wickedness. The hearts of those who have rejected God are absolutely full of wickedness. Sadly, these same characteristics can be seen in people today who do not see fit to acknowledge God.

Finally, the list closes with 12 characteristics of sinful Gentiles. They gossip and slander - whisper or outright state confidential rumors of others. The following six sins express the depths of sin: haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, and disobedient to parents. These do not need to be separated because they all point to the depths of the sinful heart. Lastly, they are foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Dunn writes these as senseless, faithless, loveless, merciless. The weight of this list is great. The depths of depravity in the Gentiles is overwhelming. Paul ensures that no Gentile escapes the reality that they are by nature set against God and His wrath pours out on them.

Though the weight is great in the list, the greatest weight falls in verse 32 - Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. Now, here is why it is important to correctly establish “they”. If you believe the they refers to those engaging in homosexuality, then the application of verse 32 is only for those who approve and practice homosexuality. However, as I stated earlier, I believe “they” refers to all unrighteous Gentiles. Thus, anyone who approves or practices any part of Romans 1:24-31 deserve to die. To me, the issue is not limited to homosexual behavior, but to all the sins Paul mentions in this passage.

With that stated, what is God’s righteous decree? Romans 1:21-23:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

All people, even with the lack special revelation (teachings given exclusively in Scripture), can know of God’s judgment. They know this because of general revelation (what can be known of God via creation). Again, Scripture is clear that all the Gentiles knew God. However, the rejected Him and glorified mere images.

What is the result of denying God’s righteous decree? Death - those who approve sin and those who practice sin. Eternal death awaits those Gentiles who practice sin and approve sin. Why do those who approve face the same consequence as those who practice? It is one thing to commit a sin in a moment of passion. They are overtaken by sinful lists. It is also damnable for the one who encourages others to actually commit those sins.

The Gentiles did not have the Sinai Covenant, yet God still held them responsible for sin. Though the Gentiles did not have the Sinai Covenant, there was still enough evidence given by God to reveal He disproved of their sin and they knew it would lead to eternal death through the knowledge given to them through general revelation.

Romans 1:28-32 - Conscience

This vice list is absolutely overwhelming. You can feel the weight of sin as Paul writes this all down. These Scripture reveal the totality of sin, depravity, and rebellion of the Gentiles. Though they knew God they rejected Him. As a result, gave them up to a debased mind. This is a prison. Their minds are given over to corruption and they cannot be righteous or do righteous deeds. Their minds are held captive by sin because God has given them over to their desires. Joel Beeke writes:

The Puritans taught that the conscience functions as a spiritual nervous system, which uses guilt to inform us that something is wrong and needs correction. Failing to heed the warnings of conscience can lead only to the hardening or searing of the conscience, which in the end will bring us to destruction. Sibbes compared the authority of the conscience to a divine court within the human soul, where it serves as witness, accuser, judge, and executioner.

The sin laden Gentiles knew God, yet they rejected Him. They knew their sins were abominable to God, yet they continued in His disapproval. The third section of this list proves how far their rejection went. Just listen to this list once more. Can we not see how depraved sinful Gentiles truly were?

Gossip and slander - they falsely spoke privately or publicly about others Haters of God - active Insolent - violent Haughty - arrogant and proud Boastful - braggadocios and self-centered Inventors of evil - show creativity in performing evil Disobedient to parents - sin that destroys the home Foolish - void of understanding Faithless - covenant breaking Heartless - lacks compassion for others Ruthless - unmerciful

Aren’t Gentiles the same way today? These specific sins are clearly still seen in our society. Nothing changed from Adam’s time to Noah’s generation. Nothing changed from Noah’s generation to Christ. And nothing changed from Christ’s time to when Paul wrote this epistle. All have fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). So, with that in mind I’m going to read this list once again, but this time instead of thinking of the unrighteous Gentiles ask the Spirit where you in your sin are drawn towards in this list.

Gossip and slander - they falsely spoke privately or publicly about others Haters of God - active Insolent - violent Haughty - arrogant and proud Boastful - braggadocios and self-centered Inventors of evil - show creativity in performing evil Disobedient to parents - sin that destroys the home Foolish - void of understanding Faithless - covenant breaking Heartless - lacks compassion for others Ruthless - unmerciful

As we have learned, the root of sin is a failure to glorify God. I think this also reveals how in our flesh we are faithless. Don’t we fail to live as the Spirit desires us to live? Don’t we daily sin against God even with special revelation? Don’t we feel our wandering heart running away from Him?

Romans 1:28-32 - Conscience

Our faith cannot be in ourselves. As the hymn Come, Thou Fount states - prone to wander, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Isn’t this our struggle? Aren’t we prone to wander? We all have various reasons for why we wander, but don’t you feel the inner struggle of wandering from God? Our faith in our salvific process cannot be founded in ourselves. It HAS to be founded in the Lord Jesus Christ. So, as I read that list maybe the Spirit convicted your heart of something. You are wandering from God in someway. You’ve proven yourself to be faithless. Now what?

2 Timothy 2:11-13 says:

11 The saying is trustworthy, for: If we have died with him, we will also live with him; 12 if we endure, we will also reign with him; if we deny him, he also will deny us; 13 if we are faithless, he remains faithful — for he cannot deny himself.

Did you catch that last part? If we are faithless, He remains faithful. God will always, always, always remain faithful to His covenant and the promises found in the covenant. Maybe you find yourself in a season of faithlessness. You haven’t denied God, but you are dealing with issues of faithlessness. You’ve given into sin over and over and over again. The promise is that God will remain faithful because He cannot deny Himself. He will not revoke the eternal covenant He made with you when you became His. It is IMPOSSIBLE for this to occur. So as we look at that list of sins and feel the conviction of the Spirit we can simultaneously be encouraged because God will not deny His faithfulness despite your faithlessness. Confess and be encouraged!

As we close, we must be on constant guard to never approve unrighteous and wicked living. If we do, we must seriously check our hearts. Scripture is clear that even to affirm any of the sins in Romans 1:24-31 is spiritually dangerous and leads to eternal death. Let our hearts constantly be before the Throne where He will help us to see His righteousness unlike the unrighteousness of the world.