Romans 1:28-31

Well, I'm up and running again! Paulos, here is my last installment regarding Romans 1, unless you raise some issues I should consider for which I need to respond. May your heart again be captured by the God-man Jesus who is our Passover Lamb. Grace to you, brother!

Timotheos

Romans 1.28-31

²⁸ And just as they did not consider God as worthy to be known, God handed them over to a debased mind, that they might do things that are not fitting, ²⁹ being filled with all kinds of unrighteousness, wickedness, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and ill-will. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, braggarts, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ senseless, faithless, loveless, and merciless. ³² Although they know God’s righteous requirement that those who practice such things deserve death, they not only do these things, but also they give their approval to those who practice them.

Just as with the other 'giving over' sections this one begins with the emphasis on idolatry, the penalty for which is God giving over to a debased mind. There is a play on words here, so that just as humanity did not consider God (dokimazo), God gives humanity over to a mind that is unable to consider (adokimos). Thus, since humanity did not evaluate God rightly, God gives humanity over to a non-evaluating mind. This darkened thinking then leads to all kinds of sins. This fits the pattern seen with the other 'giving over' sections that idolatry is the heart of the sinfulness, and leads to more, and more sinfulness. Thus the other sins mentioned above and here are resultant sins, which come from idolatry. Thus, sinful action is the result of idolatry, the chief of all sins.

Paul ends this section with a theme that began this section, that is the universal understanding of God. Just a God has disclosed himself in creation (1.19-20), God has disclosed universally the requirement for those who sin. This universal disclosure of God's requirement leads to more idolatry just as the universal disclosure in vv. 19-20 was the basis for idolatry. What I mean is that God has made his requirement for sin known, and did humanity affirm God's requirement? No. Humanity made itself God, and did the things God forbid, and not only did humanity do the forbidden things, they gave approval to those who did them. Thus, humanity set himself over and against God's requirements. God says detestable things deserve death. Humanity says, "Well done."