Romans 1.21-The Rebellion, Ingratitude, Ignorance and Spiritual Incapacity of Mankind
Sunday June 17, 2007
Romans: Romans 1:21-The Rebellion, Ingratitude, Ignorance and Spiritual Incapacity of Mankind
Lesson # 26
Please turn in your Bibles to Romans 1:18.
This morning we will continue with our study of Romans 1:18-32, which is divided into two sections: (1) The basis for Gentile guilt (1:18-23). (2) The results of Gentile guilt (1:24-32).
In this passage, Paul states three reasons why the entire Gentile world is unrighteous and condemned before God and thus in need of salvation and God’s righteousness: (1) They suppress the truth (1:18). (2) They ignore God’s revelation in creation (1:19-20). (3) They pervert God’s glory (1:21-23).
In Romans 1:18, Paul writes that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth of God by means of their unrighteousness.
Then, in Romans 1:19, Paul writes that the reason why God has revealed His wrath against the heathen Gentile world is that they have rejected knowledge of Him that He has made available by observing creation.
On Thursday evening we studied Romans 1:20 in which Paul writes that knowledge of God is acquired by observing creation.
This morning we will study Romans 1:21, in which Paul presents four results of mankind rejecting God’s revelation of Himself in creation, namely, he writes of mankind’s rebellion and ingratitude towards God as well as their ignorance and spiritual incapacity.
Romans 1:18-19, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.”
Romans 1:20, “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
Romans 1:21, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
The causal clause “for even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or given thanks” explains why the entire human race is without excuse before the Supreme Court of heaven, which is that they have no adequate defense as a result of observing and comprehending God’s revelation of Himself in creation.
“Even though they knew” is the verb ginosko (ginwvskw) (ghin-oce-ko), which in context means, “to acquire an objective experiential knowledge” of God.
The verb ginosko refers to an objective experiential knowledge of God in the sense that the human race is not only objectively aware of Him through the observation of His creation but also they have in fact experienced His wisdom, power, and love in every moment of their existence.
Instead, they failed to acknowledge Him even though it has been Him that has enriched, sustained and provided for them all their lives.
“They did not honor” is composed of the objective negative adverb ouch (ou)x), which means, “never” and the verb doxazo (docavzw), which in context means, “to worship.”
Even though the entire human race has observed through creation God’s invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature they did not possess an attitude of deep respect and awe for God.
Even though the entire human has observed through creation God’s invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature, they never responded and esteemed the excellence of the Person of God as manifested through His attributes.
Even though the entire human race has observed through creation God’s invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature, they never possessed an overwhelming feeling of reverence, admiration for God.
Even though the human race has observed through creation God’s invisible attributes, eternal power and divine nature, they were never filled with admiration, amazement and awe.
Even though God revealed Himself through creation to the entire human race, they did not manifest an attitude of deep reverence, respect and awe of God.
Worship is adoring contemplation of God as He has been revealed in creation, by the Holy Spirit in the Person of Christ and in the Scriptures and is also the loving ascription of praise to God for what He is, both in Himself and in His ways and is the bowing of the soul and spirit in deep humility and reverence before Him.
Psalm 2:11, “Worship the LORD with reverence and rejoice with trembling.”
“Give thanks” is the verb eucharisteo (eu)xaristevw) (yoo-khar-is-the-o), which in context means that the human race never gave thanks and showed their appreciation to God for who and what He is and what He accomplished through creation and what He had done for them.
Psalm 9:1, “I will give thanks to the LORD with all my heart; I will tell of all Your wonders.”
Romans 1:21, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
The adversative clause “but they became futile in their speculations and their foolish heart was darkened” presents a contrast to worshipping and thanking God in response to God’s revelation of Himself through creation.
“They became futile” is the verb mataioo (mataiovw) (mat-ah-yo-o), which in the passive voice means, “to be given over to worthlessness, think about idle, worthless, foolish things.”
“In their speculations” is composed of the preposition en (e)n), “in” and the noun dialogismos (dialogismov$) (dee-al-og-is-mos), which means, “thinking through by personal thought, deliberation and inward reasoning.”
The passive voice of the verb mataioo indicates that the human race as the subject received the action of becoming ignorant from God in the sense that God gave them over to thinking about worthless and vain things as a result of rejecting worshipping Him as the Creator.
Psalm 10:4, “The wicked, in the haughtiness of his countenance, does not seek Him. All his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’”
This principle of God giving man over to believing what is false will be illustrated during the tribulation period when God will give the unbeliever over to a deluding influence so as to be deceived by antichrist.
2 Thessalonians 2:11-12, “For this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they will believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.”
In Ephesians 4:17-19, Paul discusses the vain lifestyle of the unbeliever.
Ephesians 4:17-19, “So this I say, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, being darkened in their understanding, excluded from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart; and they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness.”
“In the futility of their mind” refers to the fact that the unbeliever consumes himself in the pursuit of goals that are purely selfish, in the accumulation of that which is temporary and in looking for satisfaction in that which is intrinsically deceptive and disappointing.
The unbeliever makes plans and resolves everything based upon his own thinking and thus becomes his own authority and follows his own thinking to its ultimate result of futility, aimlessness and meaninglessness.
The unbeliever is self-centered and empty since a life apart from a relationship with Christ is a life of futility.
Ecclesiastes 1:14, “I have seen all the works which have been done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and striving after wind.”
The unbeliever is futile in his thinking because Satan has deceived him.
2 Corinthians 4:3-4, “And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.”
“Being darkened in their understanding” refers to the fact that they been deceived by Satan and are totally and completely ignorant of divine viewpoint, which is characterized in the Scriptures as “light.”
“Hardness of heart” means that the unbeliever is totally unresponsive to God because they refuse to accept the truth of God as revealed by the Spirit in the Person and Work of Jesus Christ.
“Having become callous” refers to the fact that the unbeliever is insensitive to the things of God as a result of rejecting the truth of God as it is revealed not only in creation but also in the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The phrase “have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness” signifies that the unbeliever is involved in all types of immorality as a result of being unresponsive and insensitive to the truth of God as found in the Gospel of Jesus Christ.
Romans 1:21, “For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.”
“Heart” is the noun kardia (kardiva) (kar-dee-ah), which refers to the dominant lobe of the soul, the right lobe and is the mental activity or function of the psuche, “soul.”
“Foolish” is the adjective asunetos (a)suvneto$) (as-oon-ay-tos), which means, “without understanding, stupid” and pertains to a lack of capacity for insight and understanding and is the result of failing to properly use one’s mental capacity.
Therefore, as a result of rejecting God’s revelation of Himself in creation and worshipping God as Creator, the heart of each member of the human race lacks capacity for insight and understanding and fails to properly use their mental capacity.
1 Corinthians 3:20, “For the wisdom of this world is foolishness before God. For it is written, ‘He is THE ONE WHO CATCHES THE WISE IN THEIR CRAFTINESS.’”
“Was darkened” is the verb skotizomai (skotivzomai) (skot-id-zo), which is used in a figurative sense to describe the mental and spiritual incapacity of unregenerate human beings to understand the truth of God as revealed in creation.
1 Corinthians 2:14, “But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised.”
This word skotizomai refers to the fact that the human race has been deceived by Satan and is totally and completely ignorant of divine viewpoint, which is characterized in the Scriptures as “light.”
The passive voice of the verb indicates God acts upon the human race’s rejection of the revelation of Himself in creation in the sense that He gave them over to having no capacity to understand spiritual matters.
Romans 1:20 teaches us that ignorance is rooted in man’s rebellion against God and is therefore a choice and that people who don’t know God have made that choice.
This passage also teaches that once man had rejected God’s revelation of Himself in creation, he had fallen from his true relation with God and was no longer capable of truly rational thought and is out of touch with reality, having no capacity whatsoever to comprehend spiritual matters.