Village Schools of the Bible

ROMANS: Heart & Soul of the Gospel
A Devotional Study of Romans
by Max Frazier, Jr.

Romans 1:18-32: Condemnation of the Heathen World

VERSE EIGHTEEN:

The wrath of God revealed

a. The wrath of God is His holy aversion to all that is evil, and His purpose is to destroy it.

b. The wrath of God is revealed in three ways:

1.It is revealed in the Bible - it is revealed right alongside the love of God - John 3:16
2.It is revealed in the cross of Christ - the place where God reveals His righteousness is also the place where He reveals His wrath
3.It is revealed in the natural world. It is from heaven (Romans 1:18). It is a standing revelation ("is being revealed continuously")

c. The object of God's wrath:

1.Ungodliness - sin against the being of God - direct disregard of God
2.Unrighteousness - sin against the will of God - wickedness of conduct.

The unrighteous man lives as if there were no will of God revealed.The ungodly man lives as if there were no God.

d. HOLD THE TRUTH - restrain, hinder (see 2 Thessalonians 2:6)

VERSES 19-23:

The wrath of God deserved

a. BECAUSE - in verses 19, 21:

1.God had shown them His manifestations (verse 19). Everyone has the same revelation. It is the evidence of creation
2.They knew God, but did not glorify Him (verse 21)

Seven steps downward - verses 21-23:

1.They knew God, but refused to honor Him
2.They were not thankful for God's goodness to them
3.They began speculating foolishly
4.Their minds became senseless and darkened
5.They thought they were wise
6.In reality, they had become very foolish
7.Instead of worshiping the eternal God, they preferred idols patterned after moral man (see Isaiah 44:12-17)

VERSES 24-32:

The wrath of God inflicted

a. WHEREAS GOD GAVE THEM UP

1.God gave them up to the lusts of their hearts unto uncleanness; they became depraved in heart (verse 24); the lie is the idols they made (verse 25)
2.God gave them up to shameful passions (verse 26); that state of unnatural appetites in which all normal instincts are left behind; goes from "between themselves" (verse 24) to "in themselves" (verse 27)
3.God gave them up to a reprobate mind (verse 28); reprobate means "tested and found to be no good"

b. Verses 29-32 - 9 phases or development states of human sin

1.All injustice - selfishness, enthroned against all rights of others
2.Destructiveness - wickedness in hostile activity
3.Covetousness - itch for more
4.Malice - desire to injure
5.Full of envy - hate that arises in the heart toward one who is above us, who is what we are not, or possesses that which we cannot have, or do not choose the path to attain
6.Murder
7.Strife - beating down in wrangling and contention
8.Guile - "a bait for a fish" - to beguile means "to catch with bait"
9.Malignant subtlety - taking all things in an evil sense

c. Verses 30-31 - kinds of people sin makes

1.Secret slanderers (verse 29) - privately peddling evil reports
2.Backbiters - open slanderers
3.Haters of God - show and feel hatred toward God
4.Insolent - people taking pleasure in insulting others
5.Proud - haughty pride toward others
6.Boasters
7.Inventors of evil things
8.Disobedient to parents
9.Without moral understanding (see Matthew 13:14-15, 19, 23,51); without any understanding of divine things; having no proper moral discernment
10.Covenant breakers - faithless, bound by no promise; it does not intend to carry out its pledges
11.Without natural affection - affection for friends and family
12.Implacable - not willing to consent to a truce or cease hostilities
13.Without mercy

d. Verse 32 - the human conspiracy or agreement of wickedness of man against God

1.They know they are under divine condemnation and judgment
2.They persist anyway
3.They applaud others

DEVOTIONAL THOUGHTS:

With this particular passage Paul begins his discussion on the nature of man. His purpose is to show the serious condition man is in as he is contrasted with a holy and righteous God. And the picture Paul begins to paint is not a very pleasant one. As I read these verses I was drawn back to the truth Jeremiah stated in Jeremiah 17:9, "The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?"

A few years ago, while attending a conference of International Messengers in southern Poland, I had the opportunity of visiting Auschwitz, the scene of that infamous Nazi death camp where nearly 3 million people perished. As Greg and I walked through the hallways and corridors of those barracks that now held a museum of memories of those who died there, our hearts pondered the reality mentioned by both Jeremiah and the Apostle Paul. How could man be so cruel to his fellow human beings? What kind of madness would drive someone to cause the destruction those buildings and pathways we were traversing had seen in the not so distant past?

More seriously we reflected upon the question of whether such events could ever happen again? Sadly we determined that the answer was yes, it could happen again. For, in the absence of God and a morality that flows from God, man's heart can be incredibly cruel. The listing of sins in this passage by the Apostle Paul includes those familiar to all of us. The degree to which we practice them may differ one person to another, but we know gossip. We know arrogance. We know disobedience to parents. We may have even invented ways of doing evil just to strike back at another or to get our own way. Outside of Jesus Christ, our lives demonstrate the truth-statement of David, "Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5). And, as Paul will state later in this book, even after knowing Christ as our Savior, we still wrestle with the question of sin's control over us.

Is there an answer? A few years ago I had the privilege of reading a book written by Robert Bork entitled, SLOUCHING TOWARD GOMORRAH. Mr. Bork is an outstanding Christian jurist, having been nominated for a seat on the United Stated Supreme Court, only to have his nomination defeated by a Senate Committee because of his conservative interpretation of the United States Constitution. In this book, Judge Bork describes the moral slide that the world in general and the United States in particular is descending. He asks the question if anything could stop that slide. He concludes: "What may be feasible is a moral regeneration and an intellectual understanding capable of defeating modern liberalism. In a discussion of that possibility with friends, we came up with four events that could produce a moral and spiritual regeneration: a religious revival; the revival of public discourse about morality; a cataclysmic war; or a deep economic depression. Though there was increased social discipline during the Second World War and perhaps even more, during the Great Depression, we may safely drop the last two items on that list, as, to say the least, social policies lacking broad public support." so, if we eliminate options three and four, then those first two options should intrigue us as believers. Yes, the Church is still key to the changing of lives.

QUESTIONS TO PONDER AS YOU READ THESE VERSES:

1.Why is God angry with our sinning world? (verses 19-23)

2.What is God's response to our sinning world? (verses 24-28)

3.How do these verses fit our world today? In the light of these strong statements of condemnation, what should be our response and our responsibility to the world we live in? (verses 18-32)

4.Is there a relationship between a religious revival and a revival in the public discussion and understanding about morality? If so, why?

5.What could be your role in bringing about a revival in your community?

Romans 1:8-17 Return to the Table of Contents Romans 2:1-16