Down to Earth But Heavenly Minded

Verse 1. Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God, 

Paul has identified himself as both a servant and authorized representative of Jesus set apart for the gospel of God. Now he begins to explain, in the middle of his introduction, what the gospel of God is.

Verse 2. which he promised beforehand through his prophets in the holy Scriptures,

First, Paul writes, the gospel of God is not a new thing that has popped up since Jesus’ death and resurrection. Instead, the gospel had been promised by God long ago through what his prophets wrote in the “holy Scriptures.” Paul’s readers would have understood the holy Scriptures to include the books we refer to as the Old Testament.

Paul does not give examples of the promise of the gospel in this brief verse, but he is consistent throughout his writing in insisting that the Scriptures were always pointing forward to the coming of the Messiah and salvation through Him for both Jewish people and Gentiles

Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. (Galatians 3:7-9)

New Testament books such as Hebrews go to great lengths showing how the Scriptures of the Old Testament were filled with predictions and descriptions of Jesus Christ.

Verse 3. concerning his Son, who was descended from David according to the flesh 

Paul is so eager to begin teaching about the gospel of Jesus Christ that he seems unable to even wait to finish the opening greeting to his letter. He has written that the gospel is something God promised long ago through His prophets in the Old Testament Scriptures. Now he continues that the gospel is about Jesus Christ.

Jesus, as a human being, was a direct descendant of King David. That will become important to Paul’s case that Jesus is the Messiah because of the prophetic Old Testament promises that one of David’s descendants would sit on the throne of Israel forever.

When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’” (2 Samuel 7:12-16)

In the following verse, Paul will show that Jesus was more than just a fully-human man.

Gospels such as Luke and Matthew also provide a genealogy of Jesus to demonstrate that He comes from this Davidic line. The theme of proving that Jesus is the Messiah, and the One promised by the Jewish Scriptures, is also found in books such as Hebrews.

Verse 4. and was declared to be the Son of God in power according to the Spirit of holiness by his resurrection from the dead, Jesus Christ our Lord,

Paul, having just begun the greeting to his letter, is already sidetracked by proclaiming the gospel to his readers. He has said Jesus Christ is the focus of the long-ago promised gospel—the “good news”—from God.

Jesus, as a human being “according to the flesh” (Romans 1:3), was a direct descendant of King David. Now Paul adds that the resurrection of Jesus from death to life proves that He was more than just a man. That event, predicted by Jesus Himself,

He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay. (Matthew 28:6)

This established that He was in fact the Son of God. It was a declaration by the power of the Holy Spirit of God—”the Spirit of holiness”—that Jesus, as God’s eternal Son, was in fact God. Who else could have raised Jesus from the dead but God’s own powerful Spirit?

Already in verse 4, Paul has established the truth that Jesus was fully human and also fully God. As God’s Son, Christ has reigned with God the Father forever. It is only right, then, that we should bow to Him as “Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Verse 5. through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations,

After declaring who Jesus is—both man and Son of God, resurrected from the dead and deserving of the title “Our Lord”—Paul returns to identifying himself to his readers. It turns out that Paul’s identity cannot be separated from that of Jesus.

It is through Jesus that Paul has received grace, which is unearned favor, as well as apostleship, which gives Paul the authority to speak on Christ’s behalf. Paul has been sent by Christ, for the sake of Christ’s name—or for the sake of His honor—to bring about the “obedience of faith.”

That’s a very specific phrase. Paul will be completely clear about what this does not mean. He has not been sent by Christ to get people to obey the law of Moses. He has been sent to bring about obedience to faith in Christ. In other words, Christ calls people to believe in Him. To refuse to believe in Jesus is to disobey that call. Believing is obedience, both in becoming a Christian and walking in Christ throughout our lives.

Paul has been sent to bring this about among “all the nations.” Paul’s unique mission, given to him directly by Jesus, was to carry the good news about salvation through faith in Christ to all the non-Jewish peoples of the world.

Here’s what Jesus said about Paul in Acts 9:15: “He is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel.”

Verse 6. including you who are called to belong to Jesus Christ,

In the previous verse, Paul boldly declared his mission in life, given by Christ Himself, to carry the gospel to all the nations of the world. More specifically, he was called to “to bring about the obedience of faith for the sake of his name among all the nations” (Romans 1:5).

Paul now adds that his mission field, his target audience, includes those called to belong to Christ in Rome. In other words, Paul’s point in writing this letter is to lay out exactly what it means to obey Christ’s call to believe in Him. Paul is preparing to present a clear and thorough description of the good news that all can be forgiven for their sin and made right with God forever by faith in Jesus and what He accomplished when He died on the cross.

The words that follow will form the most complete picture of Christian theology given in the New Testament.

Verse 7. To all those in Rome who are loved by God and called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

The opening of Paul’s letter was sidetracked momentarily by his eagerness to begin talking about the gospel of Jesus. Having successfully identified himself as Jesus’ representative sent to proclaim the gospel to his readers, Paul now moves on to describe exactly who this letter is for.

He is writing to everyone in Rome at the time who is both loved by God and called by God to be saints. According to John 3:16, God loves the world, including all of those in Rome at this time. Beyond that, Paul understood that God had called those reading his letter to be “saints” or “holy ones.” In the New Testament, all who believe in Jesus carry the title of “saint.”

So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, (Ephesians 2:19).

It is not a name meant only for those who are thought to be especially righteous Christians. Because believers are “in Christ,” and Christ is holy, we are all officially “holy ones,” as well.

Paul concludes the opening of his letter with his standard blessing. He used it often, but it is meaningful. He pronounced upon his readers grace and peace from both God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. The mystery and beauty of the Trinity is that God is one in three persons, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Verse 8: First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

Having completed the opening greeting of his letter (Romans 1:1–7), Paul launches into some personal words to the Christians in Rome. His letters to Christians and churches in various cities often begin with a declaration of his gratitude for those to whom he is writing.

The reason for Paul’s thankfulness for the Romans is that their faith is proclaimed in all the world. In other words, the Christians in Rome have become famous far and wide for believing in Jesus. This is exactly Paul’s mission in life, given to him by Christ Himself: to see belief in Christ spread to all the nations of the world (Romans 1:5). So, it is not surprising to hear him thank God through Jesus Christ for this.

We should take note of Paul’s prayer life. He is modeling for us that prayers to God, including giving thanks, happen through Jesus. Most Christians have formalized this practice by ending our prayers with “in Jesus’ name.” We do this because our access to God the Father is possible only because we are “in Christ.” We could never approach God on our own, in our sin, without Christ.

Verse 9: For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you

 Paul has just declared how he thanks God for his readers, the Christians in Rome (Romans 1:8). Now he calls on God to be his witness about what he is about to say to them. In other words, Paul wants to make it abundantly clear that he isn’t lying to them. If God chose to speak about this, Paul says, He would back me up.

Paul is not being frivolous or light-hearted about God, either. He adds that he serves God with his spirit in proclaiming of the gospel of God’s Son Jesus. In other words, serving God by preaching Christ is Paul’s whole life. He is being absolutely serious when he says that God would back him up on what he is about to say.

And what Paul is about to say is that he prays something about his readers, the Christians in Rome, “without ceasing.” In this case, we should take “without ceasing” to mean “regularly and continually.” This does not mean literally every second of every waking moment, of course. Rather, it implies that Paul does not take days off from praying for this thing, and it is important to him that his readers understand that. The following verse reveals what it is that he asks God for.

Verse 10: always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God’s will I may now at last succeed in coming to you.

Concluding his thought from the previous verse, Paul now reveals what it is that he prays when he mentions his readers to God. Paul asks God to allow him to visit Rome. Apparently, traveling to Rome and seeing these people in person is something Paul has longed to do for quite some time. In fact, it sounds if he has set out to come to them previously before being prevented in some way.

Paul again models for us how to pray, in this case for something that you deeply wish to happen. He asks God if it may come to pass by God’s will. Paul recognizes that the circumstances of his life, including where he will or will not go on his travels, is not something that is within his control alone. It must also be God’s will in order for something like this to come to pass. In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul will offer an example of something for which he prayed, and which God declined.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10.)

Paul prays earnestly, regularly (“without ceasing”), and submissively for what he wants, waiting to see if God will allow for it to happen.

Verse 11. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you—

Paul has made clear in the previous verses that he really wants to come to Rome to see his readers in person. He has submitted this desire to God in regular, ongoing prayer, waiting to see if it is God’s will (Romans 1:8–10).

Now he describes why he is so eager to come and visit the Christians in Rome. He cares about them, and he wants to bring to them a spiritual gift of some kind that will strengthen them. This likely means that Paul wants to come and exercise his spiritual gifts of evangelism and teaching to help them to be stronger in Christ. Or perhaps he means to give them some kind of supernatural blessing that will help to make them stronger.

Paul seems to be aware that he has some unique ability that could build up the Christians in Rome in some way if only he could see them face to face. His motives are unselfish, although he will go on to say in the following verse that he knows them and they would be able to encourage each other.

Verse 12: that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith, both yours and mine.

Paul cares deeply for the people to whom he is writing this letter. He has expressed his deep desire to travel to Rome and visit them in person. In part, he wants to help strengthen them by giving to them, or serving them with, some kind of spiritual gift (Romans 1:11).

Now Paul acknowledges that he knows the encouragement would be mutual. Both they and he would end up being encouraged by each other’s faith. Trusting God can sometimes feel like a hard and lonely road. It is not meant to be walked alone. Seeing how others trust God encourages and challenges us. It reconfirms what we know to be true and helps to renew our commitment to continue in the “obedience of faith” (Romans 1:5).

This is one reason the writer of Hebrews put it this way: And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. (Hebrews 10:24–25)

Paul’s meeting with the Christians in Rome will have to wait, however.

Verse 13: I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that I have often intended to come to you (but thus far have been prevented), in order that I may reap some harvest among you as well as among the rest of the Gentiles.

Paul has been describing his passionate desire to come to Rome to spend time with the Christians there in person. In fact, he has been praying “without ceasing” that it would be God’s will to allow him to come to them (Romans 1:8–10).

Now he keeps going, apparently meaning to make sure his readers believe how serious he is about this. He is not being polite by saying, “Oh, we should get together sometime.” His intent to come and visit them has been prevented up to this point. Paul understands these preventions to be God exercising His will to keep Paul from going to Rome until the time is right.

Paul adds to his list of reasons for wanting to come to them: he wants to reap a harvest among them and the rest of the Gentiles. This is a metaphor that Paul often uses to describe leading people to Christ. He wants to come to Rome to see more people put their faith in Christ to be forgiven for their sins and welcomed into the family of God.

After all, as Paul will write in the following verses, this is the very purpose of his life.

Verse 14: I am under obligation both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to the wise and to the foolish.

Paul has given several reasons for why he wants so badly to come to Rome. He wants to strengthen the believers there with a spiritual gift (Romans 1:11). He wants to be mutually encouraged, along with them, about each other’s faith in Christ (Romans 1:12). In addition, he wants to lead many more people to faith in Christ, both among this group of readers and among other Gentiles: the non-Jewish people of the world (Romans 1:13).

Paul describes himself as being under obligation not just to Christ, but also to the people Christ has sent him to reach with the gospel. So Paul understands himself to be obligated both to Greeks—meaning those who speak Greek and fit into Greek culture—and to barbarians—meaning everyone else. In general, Greek civilization classified other cultures as “barbarians,” considered less sophisticated and educated than the Greeks. Perhaps that’s why Paul adds that he is under obligation both to the wise and to the foolish.

Paul himself, though Jewish by birth, was also a product of the Greco-Roman culture. He was educated, articulate, and possessed all the rights of a Roman citizen. It would not be unusual for someone with his background to look down on those thought of as “barbarians.” Paul didn’t take that view. He believed himself to be obligated to all people groups, everyone “loved by God and called to be saints” (Romans 1:7).

The bustling metropolis of Rome likely contained representatives of all the known people groups in the world. No wonder Paul longed to reap a harvest in that city. He imagined he could continue to carry out his evangelism mission on a large scale and with great, lasting impact.

Verse 15: So I am eager to preach the gospel to you also who are in Rome.

Paul concludes this section about why he wants to come to Rome to see his readers in person. This is a desire he often expresses when writing to churches with which he had been involved

But since we were torn away from you, brothers, for a short time, in person not in heart, we endeavored the more eagerly and with great desire to see you face to face, because we wanted to come to you—I, Paul, again and again—but Satan hindered us. (1 Thessalonians 2:17–18).

He has given several reasons, including his desire to see people from multiple cultures come to faith in Christ. He has been praying for the opportunity to go, but so far God has prevented it from happening (Romans 1:13–14).

Still, as Paul writes now, he remains eager to preach the gospel to his readers in Rome. Christ Himself gave Paul the mission to preach about Christ to Gentiles from all nations.

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. (Acts 9:15).

Since so many of those nations and people groups were likely represented in the world city of Rome, it seemed to Paul to be a natural destination for him. He was thinking strategically about how best to distribute faith in Christ to all peoples.

Verse 16: For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.

Many Bible teachers describe this famous verse, together with the one which follows, as the central theme of the book of Romans. Paul, in the previous verse, expressed his eagerness to come and preach the gospel in the great, multicultural city of Rome.

Now Paul declares boldly that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Perhaps he sensed that some of the Christians in Rome were tempted to be ashamed about it. There may have been very few Christians in Rome. The great truths about Christ seemed new and absurd to many people. Christians were being persecuted. It’s one thing to believe the gospel; it’s another thing to take the risk of preaching it to strangers.

Paul will have none of that. The gospel message is nothing less than power from God, for everyone who believes it, to be saved. Anyone, everyone, who puts their faith in Christ and his death for their sin on the cross will be justified—will be made right with God—and welcomed into God’s family. If that is all true, and Paul had staked his life on it, then what is there to be ashamed of?

Paul continues that this salvation from God by faith in Christ is for the Jew first and also for the Greek. In this context, “Greek” is similar to the meaning of “Gentile,” as a references to all the non-Jewish people in the world. Why for the Jew first? Paul will spend a lot of time on that concept in this letter. Jesus said simply that “salvation is from the Jews” (John 4:22). Paul’s letter will show that God prioritized the Jews first in revealing that all can be saved by faith in Christ. Though they rejected that message as a nation, many Jewish people did indeed trust in Christ for their salvation, starting with Jesus’ 12 Jewish disciples.

This explains in part why Paul often began his work in a new city by preaching in the Jewish synagogues before moving on to preach to the Gentiles.

When they arrived at Salamis, they proclaimed the word of God in the synagogues of the Jews. And they had John to assist them (Acts 13:5).

It’s true that Christ sent Paul to preach to all the nations, but He also commissioned Paul to preach about Him to the children of Israel.

But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of mine to carry my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children of Israel. (Acts 9:15).

Verse 17: For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

This, together with the previous verse, is often referred to as the central theme of the book of Romans. Paul has declared boldly that he is not ashamed of the gospel. Why? It is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes (Romans 1:16).

Now Paul describes what the gospel does. In the gospel, the righteousness of God is “revealed,” in one sense, in that it is given to human beings by their faith in Christ. In other words, God declares human beings to be righteous in His eyes because of their faith. The words “from faith to faith” likely mean that this declaration of people being righteous is by faith from first to last, from start to finish.

As Romans will make abundantly clear, people cannot be declared righteous before God by following the law. Good works and ritual obedience do nothing to make us right with God. And if we are not declared righteous in God’s eyes—a condition referred to as being “justified”—then we cannot be with God. We are separated from Him forever because of our sinfulness. However, according to the gospel, Christ died to pay the penalty of death and separation from God for our sins on the cross. When we trust in Christ, God sees us through Christ and declares us to be “righteous” or “justified.”

Paul put the same idea this way in Philippians 3:8–9: “that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.”

This is God’s gospel: God’s “good news” for humanity. Paul quotes Habakkuk 2:4 to show this is not a new idea: “The righteous shall live by his faith.”

Verse 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 verse begins a longer section describing God’s attitude and actions toward human sinfulness. These verses could be considered an answer to the questions, “Why is the gospel such a big deal? Why do human beings need to be declared righteous by God? What do we need to be saved from?”

The previous verse showed that God declares righteous those who come to Him by faith. Later Paul will show that faith must be in Christ and His death for our sins on the cross. Now, though, he shows God’s attitude to those who don’t come to Him by faith in Christ.

Instead of God’s righteousness, it is His wrath—God’s righteous anger and judgment—that is revealed against sin. God’s wrath comes from heaven, from His essential nature and existence, not some created thing or place. God is angry against human ungodliness and unrighteousness. Human beings, apart from God, use their lack of righteousness, their sinfulness, to suppress or hold back the truth about who God is.

Unrighteous people—which includes all of us by nature—don’t want to know what is true about God, and they don’t want others to know or believe that, either. This verse is extremely important for understanding why some people seem so resistant to belief. In short: they don’t believe because they don’t want to. The problem is not that truth is unavailable; the problem is that truth is being suppressed.

Verse 19: For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.

The previous verse began with what should be a frightening statement. Paul said that God is angry at human sinfulness. In fact, God’s wrath is revealed against all the ungodliness and unrighteousness of humanity, a terrifying idea since God is all-powerful. Human beings who are not righteous before God do not want to know the truth about Him, so they suppress it, holding it back from themselves and others (Romans 1:18).

Now Paul shows that such an attempt to avoid knowing about God is useless. Human beings cannot claim to have missed what God has revealed about Himself in nature. The “them” referenced here are those people who suppress the truth in order to disobey God. This verse says, in no uncertain terms, that God has made Himself plain to those who deny Him, or who disobey Him. Their disobedience is not a result of ignorance; it’s caused by rebellion.

The following verses will give more details on what God has revealed to everyone through His creation.

Verse 20: For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

According to the previous verses, those who are unrighteous before God do not want to know about Him, so they try to suppress the truth about God. To some extent, this is true of all human beings, since we all sin. Romans 3:23 says, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Paul has shown that God has plainly shown what is knowable about Him to everyone (Romans 1:18–19). How has He done that? This verse answers that it is obvious from what He has made.

Specifically, Paul asserts that human beings can easily know at least some things about God by looking at creation. We should look at what is visible around us in nature, what God has made, and arrive at some obvious conclusions about what is not visible. Adding one and one together, we should understand from nature that God has eternal power and a divine nature. David said something similar in Psalm 19:1–6.

 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. Day to day pours out speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words, whose voice is not heard. Their voice goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them he has set a tent for the sun, which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber, and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy. Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them, and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

After all, Paul seems to be saying, what kind of power would it take to make the world and all that is in it? Such a feat would require “eternal power,” or endless and inexhaustible power. Such a Creator must also be divine and not merely human. He must be God, in other words. Human beings should look at creation and decide there must be a God who made it, a God we must answer to on some level.

Especially in our era, some might argue that reaching such a conclusion by looking at nature is not a given. After all, the prevailing alternative theories about the origins of our universe may lead someone to decide that just the opposite is true: There is no God. God does not accept that argument. This passage is especially important when viewed in context with Jesus’ comments in Matthew 7:7–8.

 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened.”

God gives every single person enough knowledge that they should seek Him. Those who respond by seeking God will always find Him.

If human beings do not “work out” the basic nature of God from what is seen in creation, and seek Him from there, they are simply “without excuse.” They are willfully ignoring the obvious. God insists that He has made it plain to human reasoning and that to decide otherwise is to suppress the truth we know by nature.

Verse 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.

This section began with Paul’s declaration that God’s wrath is revealed against human unrighteousness. In particular, this wrath comes because God has made Himself plain enough to mankind that nobody has an excuse for ignoring Him. We may choose not to seek Him (Matthew 7:7–8), but we cannot pretend that we did not have enough evidence (Romans 1:18–20). The rest of the section will explain why that is and what God is prepared to do about it.

“Why” humanity is able to deny a God who is so obvious starts with the fact that human beings refuse to see who God is. We make a willful choice to ignore His hallmarks in the creation that surrounds us every day. In other words, we reject Him first as Creator.

Now we see that rejecting God as creator leads to a refusal to honor or give thanks to God. After all, why honor a God who did not make the world? And if God is not the creator, why would we assume that He is the provider of all we need? Why give thanks to God for what we believe we have developed and acquired for ourselves?

If we do not understand God as the creator and provider who must be worshiped, we cannot arrive at a right understanding of how the universe works. Our thinking about everything is futile, worthless from the square one. Futile thinking leads to wrong conclusions and, eventually, to darkened hearts. Everything we end up believing is based on wrong assumptions about the universe and our place in it.

For example, many will decide that a universe which God did not create and does not sustain is without meaning or purpose. That conclusion often leads to hopelessness and nihilism: the belief that life is meaningless.

Verse 22: Claiming to be wise, they became fools,

David wrote that the fool says in his heart, “There is no God” (Psalm 14:1). Paul writes here that fools often have something in common: They believe themselves to be wise. This often-cited verse carries profound implications for how we, as human beings, understand our relationship to God.

Paul is describing the downward spiral, falling further away from God, through which humanity naturally descends into unrighteousness. This is true of all of us by nature. It begins with rejecting what we ought to know about God through creation (Romans 1:18–20). Having rejected the idea of God as creator, why would we honor Him or give Him thanks? Having rejected Him as provider and the One who must be worshiped, how could we arrive at any right understanding of the universe?

When you start from false assumptions, you all but guarantee false conclusions. Trying to live as if God is not the sovereign Creator can only lead to disaster. That starts with the way we think and reason. In an attempt to dismiss God, or to explain away all He has shown of Himself, we go to great lengths twisting our minds and our arguments. As a result, while we think of ourselves as “wise,” we’re really just becoming more and more foolish.

At this point on the downward spiral, or the ladder of unrighteousness, human beings can’t even think correctly, and have grown dark in our hearts toward God. It gets worse from there.

Verse 23: and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

Paul is describing how humanity becomes so desperately unrighteous and earns God’s wrath against our sinfulness. So far, he has shown that in spite of the fact that God has made some things about Himself obvious in what He has made in creation, unrighteous human beings (Romans 3:23) refuse to see Him there (Romans 1:18–20). Having rejected Him as creator, why would we honor Him? What would we give Him thanks for providing for us through His creation? We wouldn’t. Of course, this leaves us to ponder the universe as if there is no God. That leads us to all kind of worthless conclusions. Our thinking becomes futile, and our hearts becomes dark. Even worse, in the midst of our foolishness, we think we possess great wisdom. Our view of the world is upside down (Romans 1:21–22).

The next step down on this ladder of unrighteousness is that we begin to worship the creation instead of the Creator. We refuse to give God credit and instead we honor created things. That’s not right. As Paul describes this idol worship, we trade the glory of the immortal God for images that look like mortal people and animals.

In other words, God has revealed Himself by what He has made as a glorious and eternal being. We should see this in the beauty of creation (Psalm 19:1).  The heavens declare the glory of God,and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. How could He who made that not be a glorious being Himself? Look at how long creation has gone on and on beyond the lifespan of men. How could He who made that not have an existence longer than everything that exists?

Humanity, however, having rejected the creator God, creates our own, lesser versions of the mortal things He has made, and we worship those. We worship our pale version of the creation instead of the creator of it all.

Verse 24: Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves,

Paul has been describing human unrighteousness as a progression, showing how rejecting one aspect of God leads to ever greater rejections of Him. In spite of the fact that God has made his existence and basic qualities obvious through what He has made in creation, humanity in our sinfulness refuses to see Him there (Romans 1:18–20). Because we hide our eyes to the truth of Him, we do not honor and worship Him as God. Since we have rejected Him as God, we do not give Him thanks for all He provides.

Because we have rejected the truth that He is creator, provider, and Lord over all, we cannot come to any right conclusions about how the universe works. The result is that our thinking becomes worthless, and our hearts grow dark to even the possibility of the one, true God. Still, we long to worship something and so create images made to look like people and animals. We foolishly worship our images, thinking that we have become quite wise (Romans 1:22–23).

Now Paul describes God’s response. This, interestingly, involves God “stepping away,” in a sense. In His great anger, God gives humanity over to our animal urges. The idea seems to be this: If we are willing to worship images of animals, God will allow us to live like animals in our relationships with each other. This particularly applies to issues such as sex, but the deeper meaning applies to all of our behaviors. God’s design for sex between a man and woman in marriage, established even before sin entered the world.

We read in Genesis 2:23-25, “Then the man said, “This at last is bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh; she shall be called Woman, because she was taken out of Man.” Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife, and they shall become one flesh. And the man and his wife were both naked and were not ashamed.” This is a great and beautiful gift.

In response to human idolatry, God specifically gives humanity over to the full indulgence in the corruption of this gift.

This may not sound like much of a punishment, at first. On closer inspection, though, we should consider the amount of human misery resulting from unchecked expression of human sexual desire, in all of its corrupted forms. The consequences of God stepping aside and letting us reap the natural results of our own foolish choices with respect to sex, is impossible to overstate.

Verse 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.

Paul began this section in Romans 1:18 by declaring that God’s wrath is being revealed against humanity’s ungodliness and unrighteousness. However, all of the verses since that one have simply described humanity’s rejection of God as creator, provider, and Lord.

Only in the previous verse is God described as taking action against humanity for our sinfulness. That action comes in the form of inaction: of God simply getting out of the way and letting us do as we please. At first glance, that action doesn’t sound like a punishment. He is said to have given us up to our sexual lusts. In other words, apparently God stopped restraining the human impulse to control our sexual desires. To our modern ears, in our confused thinking, that almost sounds like a good thing.

The result, though, is untold amounts of misery as we have expressed our unchecked sexual desire in all its forms both with and against one another for generation after generation. We may not connect the pain with those actions, but God seems to do so. He seems to view allowing us to fully indulge in our sinful desires as a consequence unto itself.

And why did He do it? Paul writes that it was God’s direct response to two things. First, unrighteous, pagan humanity traded the truth of God for a lie (Romans 1:21–22). It seems Paul is saying we traded the truth that God is the creator for the lie that all of creation arrived in some other way.

Second, we began worshiping and serving the creatures God made instead of the One who made them all (Romans 1:23). God takes idol worship personally. The first two of his Ten Commandments to Israel are that they should have no other gods before him and not worship or serve any image of any created thing.

 “You shall have no other gods before me. “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. 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, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.” (Exodus 20:3-6).

Paul, apparently wanting to distance himself even from the idea of setting God aside to worship nature, concludes this sentence by saying that the creator is blessed forever!

Verse 26: For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature;

Paul has said that God, in His wrathful response to human ungodliness and unrighteous, gave humanity up to the unchecked expression of our sexual lust and impure desires. As a result, unrighteous human beings increasingly dishonored their bodies together (Romans 1:24).

Paul’s words here are not a blanket condemnation of sexual desire and expression. God gave those things to humanity as a gift to be enjoyed between husband and wife, even before sin entered the world (Genesis 2:23–25). Like anything else, there is a God-honoring time and place for sexual expression

For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, (1 Timothy 4:4😉

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. 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.  (1 Corinthians 7:4–5).

Sexual desire and activity—within their intended use—continue to be God’s gift in this way. What Paul is describing is the unchecked corruption of this beautiful gift.

Now Paul describes God giving humanity up to sexual desire and activity of another kind: female homosexuality. The result, as Paul describes it, is that women trade natural male/female sexual relationships for ones that are contrary to nature as God designed it. The following verse will apply the same condemnation to acts taken between men.

Again, Paul pictures this as an expression of God’s wrath against unrighteous humanity. This is in direct response to two things mentioned in the previous verse: Rejecting the truth that God is creator and worshiping His creation, instead. God’s release of humanity from sexual restraint came in response to our worship of the false gods of creation and not Him as the maker.

Verse 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.

Paul has revealed some remarkable things in this section. God’s wrath is actively being expressed against humanity in very specific and surprising ways. For instance, God is said to have responded to our refusal to acknowledge and worship Him as creator, and our worship of created things, instead, by giving humanity up to our own sinful desires (Romans 1:18–23).

Specifically, Paul seems to have said that God removed some restraint within human beings about how we express our sexual desires with and to each other. Unchecked, we as the human race, have fully indulged our lusts by dishonoring our bodies together. This applies to all forms of sex outside of marriages between men and women.

God has also given us up to homosexual passions, leading women to have sexual relationships with other women (Romans 1:26) and, now, men to have sexual relationships with other men. This “giving over” by God resulted in men being consumed with passion for other men and indulging that passion without shame.

Paul adds a note that, in the case of male homosexuality, men have received some kind of penalty for their actions “in themselves.” It’s not clear what this means. What is clear is that even though God has given humanity up to these desires and sexual actions of all kinds, He still holds us responsible for our choices to indulge in the corruption of sex as it was intended for us by Him. That, too, is part of the expression of His wrath. In large part, the consequences of those actions are natural—they are the expected result of such an unnatural practice.

As normalized as sexual sin is in our culture, it seems to have been even more normalized in Paul’s day. It was built into the worship of all kinds of pagan gods and idols. Paul has not written Romans to condemn sinners as irrevocably lost—otherwise, all of us would be lost (Romans 3:23)! He has written to present the joyful gospel message that all can be forgiven and redeemed through faith in Christ, no matter our sinful choices, past and present.

Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

Verse 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.

In prior verses, Paul pointed out that humanity has been given more than enough evidence of God (Romans 1:18–20). Despite not having any excuse, those who reject God fall further and further into foolish thinking to justify their attitude (Romans 1:21–23). As a result, God demonstrates wrath on mankind. However, the expression of that wrath takes a form we might not expect. It turns out that, at least on this side of eternity, God has expressed His wrath by allowing human beings to be consumed with the desire to do unrighteous things out of a debased mind.

In other words, God allowed humanity free reign to express their sin unchecked. The result is nothing more or less than the natural system of cause and effect: we experience all of the painful consequences that come with our choices. In the previous verses, those sinful desires and actions were sexual. Now, though, God is described as allowing human beings to give full vent to all kinds of sinful desires.

Is this really an active punishment from God, or has God merely allowed humanity to follow our rejection of Him to its logical conclusion? What’s clear is that the limits God has set are shown to be for our good and not for our harm. The best earthly results happen for those who will acknowledge Him in how they live sexually and in relationship to each other. Great harm comes from indulging in the sins about which God has warned us.

Verse 29: They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

In this passage, Paul has pointed out how mankind has no excuses for rejecting God. God has made Himself plain enough, in creation itself, that we ought to seek Him (Romans 1:18–20). Those who twist their minds in order to ignore that evidence simply become more and more foolish (Romans 1:21–22). This leads to general idolatry (Romans 1:23), and then to God’s wrath. In particular, this wrath is expressed when God steps aside and lets us suffer the natural consequences of our sin. This begins with mankind’s most pervasive temptation: sexuality (Romans 1:24–28).

Now Paul begins to list other ways in which humanity expresses our rebellion against God. God, for His part, has responded to our refusal to acknowledge Him as God by giving us up to indulge in all of these sins and to experience the natural, painful consequences of living outside of His direction for us. These sins are no different than those mentioned earlier, in that sense.

Humans who reject God become filled with all kinds of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, and malice. Our desire to do wrong to get what we want rages unchecked. We are fully willing to hurt others to get what we want, leading us to be full of envy, murder, strife, deceitfulness, and maliciousness. We also gossip freely, an action the Bible always holds as a great evil.

Does this mean that every non-Christian person habitually does each and every one of these things? Clearly not. However, humanity as a whole is certainly guilty of all of these things and much more, because of the sin that is in each of us individually.

Verse 30: slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

Paul is building a terrible list of all the ways humanity’s refusal to acknowledge God has led to consequences. The majority of those are simply a matter of cause and effect. God steps aside, and allows us to “have it our way,” resulting in pain and suffering. Humanity’s general attempt to ignore God results in all kinds of sin, which brings all the misery that God warned us about.

By nature (Romans 3:23), human beings are slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, and disobedient to parents.

One interesting thing about this list is that it seems to combine what we often categorize as “little sins” along with “big sins.” Paul’s point is that all of them are evidence of a refusal to acknowledge God. Our sinful desires, actions, and consequences reflect our unrighteousness before God. It’s no wonder that He has turned us over to experiencing all the consequences of living apart from Him. He punishes us by giving us what we think we want.

The question Paul will answer is this: Is there a way out of our part in all of this unrighteousness and back to God?

Verse 31: foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

Paul’s long “vice list” concludes with this verse. He has compiled examples of the sins indulged in by those who reject God with their minds and then with their words and actions. Contained within some of the sins on this list are the naturally painful consequences that come with a life spent apart from and in rebellion against God (Romans 1:29–31). These are the end result of ignoring God’s obvious presence in creation (Romans 1:18–20), and testing our minds to reject the truth (Romans 1:21–24).

Paul wraps up the list with four items that begin with the letter “a” in the Greek, bringing his point home with a flourish of alliteration. In Greek, the letter a is a negation, much like the English prefix “non-” or the suffix “-less.” Paul describes the human soul that rejects God as asynetous, asynthetous, astorgus, anel󠄓eēmonas. One could paraphrase this as “senseless, faithless, loveless, merciless.”

First, persons who reject God become debased in their minds (Romans 1:28) and so live in foolishness or without understanding. They have no hope of coming to the right conclusions about life because they have rejected God as the source of life and the giver of wisdom.

Second, we godless humans are faithless. The Greek word asyunthetous refers to someone who will not abide by a treaty, who won’t keep his or her word: literally, a “covenant–breaker.”

Third, mankind devoid of God’s presence is heartless or without affection. We lose the ability to love each other even at the most basic level when we refuse to acknowledge or love God.

Finally, we are ruthless or without mercy. Without God’s example to follow, we become unmoved by the suffering of others, even those to whom we ourselves are bringing pain.

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.

Paul is referring to the long list of sins he has compiled in the previous verses. These are sins we participate in when God “steps aside,” giving us what we think we want. When we ignore His truth, and twist our own minds, we suffer the natural consequences of those choices (Romans 1:18–28). This leads to sin and all sorts of moral decay (Romans 1:29–31).

Here, Paul circles back to the idea that mankind does not do these things in total ignorance. He declares again that human beings, by nature, know these things are wrong. More than that, Paul insists that even when we directly know that God has announced that those who behave in this way deserve to die, we keep doing these things, anyway! More than that, even, we also applaud other people who practice these sins.

This is Paul’s short-hand condemnation of the sinful nature of mankind. However, looking at how Paul continues this discussion in the next verse (Romans 2:1), what he is really saying is “this is us.” Paul’s readers may have been tempted to think, “this is just about unbelievers, not us.” Those religious Jews who followed the law, as Paul had once done himself, often thought of everyone else as belonging in the picture of sinful living that Paul has painted in Romans 1:18–31. In the following chapter, however, Paul will reveal that he has, in fact, been describing all of us—even those who attempt to live under the authority of the law of Moses.

It’s not that we all do each of the sins listed by Paul in the previous verses. It’s that the same root of sin rules in the hearts of each of us, expressing itself in some of these ways, if not others. Paul intends for us to find ourselves in his list of sinful words, actions, and lifestyles. We are all sinful, and we all deserve death.

End of Chapter One