Widespread Evil is the Result When God is Abandoned
Thinking about Romans 1:28-32.
And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them. (Romans 1:28-32)
Paul concludes Romans 1 with the devastating effects of suppressing the truth, rejecting God, and elevating self.
Sometimes people look at all the evil in the world around us and ask, “Where is God?”
Paul points out that the problem lies with us - God did not leave us; we left Him. The Gentile world had the truth, but they chose to walk away from what was right and do things their way.
The evil everywhere you look in this world results from our rejecting and abandoning God.
They did not like to retain God in their knowledge.
Some Bible translations read, “they did not see fit to acknowledge God.” They had the truth in their possession, but they suppressed it. The truth of God didn’t fit their lifestyle, desires, or wishes - so they held down what was true and left God behind.
The idea then is that they did not think God worthy to be kept in their knowledge. They had come to such a high opinion of themselves that they had a low opinion of God. - Barnhouse, Romans Vol 1, 282
This was a conscious choice on their part - they knew what was right and true, but they chose their own path.
God gave them over to a debased mind.
For the third time, the text says, “God gave them up/over” (Romans 1:24, 26). Because they had no desire to follow the truth or serve God, God “gave them over” to their passions and thoughts.
What follows is a list of sinful behaviors characteristic of people who had not “retained God in their knowledge.”
We should not draw sharp distinctions between similar words in 1:29-31, since Paul was using the whole list to convey “in a comprehensive way the wickedness of human beings.” - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 67-68
The list can be broken down into three groups:
Being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, and maliciousness.
Full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and evil-mindedness.
They are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, and unmerciful.
Paul is painting a general picture of what the world as a whole is like because they reject God.
God will judge those who practice and approve of these things.
Those who practice the things mentioned by Paul and those who approve (or encourage) those who practice such things deserve death. They knew God’s righteous judgment but went ahead and did what they wanted anyway.
“Death” evidently does not refer to the penalty for a crime under an actual law code (capital punishment), but to the ultimate penalty for sin at the final judgment (eternal condemnation). This must be the case, since many of the wrongs mentioned in 1:29-31 would not result in the death sentence under any system of ethics or law. - Pollard, Truth for Today Commentary, 68
Romans 1:18 taught us that the wrath of God cannot be separated from the gospel of Christ. After detailing all of the evil that is possible because people reject God, Paul returns to this same point about the righteous judgment of God.
There was no question: the Gentile world was guilty of sin and deserved death from the righteous Judge of all the earth.
Once again, keep in mind that these things are being said in light of Paul’s theme in Romans.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)
Some might be tempted to think that people who practice the kind of things mentioned here in Romans 1:29-31 are beyond the reach of God - but that's not true at all.
Some Christians in Corinth had formerly practiced some of the sinful behaviors mentioned by Paul in Romans 1.
Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9-11)
It was in a world steeped in sin that the gospel of Christ was taken into all the world (Mark 16:15-16). Paul didn’t think, “If only our world were a little more moral, then the gospel of Christ could really take hold!”
Perhaps we are guilty of doubting the gospel of Christ - which is God’s power to save. It was in a world that had rejected God and turned to their own passions that the church grew rapidly.
Maybe one reason why so many churches today are dying a slow death is that the power of the gospel of Christ has been forgotten.
Christians, let us never doubt or forget the power of the gospel of Jesus Christ!