Romans 1 | “Paul, a slave of the Messiah Jesus, called as an apostle, set apart for the gospel of God,”

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Romans, Romans 1, Romans 1:18-32, Summary

Read Romans 1 here: Romans 1 NASB – The Gospel Exalted

Unveiling the Power of Faith and Righteousness: A Journey through Romans 1

Why this is important:  The Book of Romans stands as a majestic masterpiece, weaving together profound truths and divine wisdom. Embarking on a spiritual voyage through Romans 1, we uncover insights that unveils the power of faith, the depths of righteousness, and the transformative influence of the Holy Spirit.

The Call to Faith: Romans 1 begins with a resounding call to faith, emphasizing the importance of acknowledging and embracing the truth of God’s existence. The apostle Paul, inspired by the Holy Spirit, urges believers to recognize the divine order and eternal power evident in the creation around them. Nature itself, with its intricacies and harmonies, becomes a testament to the Creator’s magnificence.

• In the opening verses, Paul underscores the consequences of suppressing the knowledge of God.
• The human heart, veiled in darkness, is prone to idolatry and the worship of created things rather than the Creator.
• As disciples of Jesus, this serves as a reminder to anchor our faith in the unshakable foundation of God’s eternal truth.

The Righteousness Revealed: Transitioning further into Romans 1, we encounter the unveiling of God’s righteousness. The Gospel, Paul asserts, is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes. In this proclamation, we witness the transformative impact of faith, as it leads to righteousness and reveals the redemptive plan of God.

The apostle emphasizes the universality of sin, affirming that all have fallen short of God’s glory. However, the good news shines brilliantly through the darkness – the righteousness of God is made available through faith in Jesus Christ. It is not earned through works, but rather received as a gift by those who trust in the finished work of the Savior.

The Holy Spirit’s Empowering Presence: As we delve deeper into Romans 1, the narrative unfolds to unveil the Holy Spirit’s empowering presence. The Spirit is the catalyst for spiritual transformation, guiding believers into a life marked by obedience and holiness. Through the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit, we are empowered to live out the righteousness of God.

• The apostle Paul, writing under the influence of the Holy Spirit, encourages believers to yield to the Spirit’s leading.
• In doing so, we experience a radical transformation, embracing the divine attributes of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

The bottom line: Romans 1 invites us into a sacred journey – a journey that begins with acknowledging the Creator, embraces the gift of faith, and culminates in the revelation of God’s righteousness through the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit. As disciples of Jesus, may we heed the call to faith, walk in the righteousness of the Messiah, and allow the Holy Spirit to shape us into vessels of divine love and grace. In this journey, the power of the Holy Spirit becomes a radiant force, illuminating our path and transforming our lives in the image of the risen Savior.

The Wrath of God

It has been chronicled, for a long time, the evil that is rampant in our culture.  A logical question is “What is going on?” Of course, it is evil. Any number of the issues we highlight can be explained that way, at a certain level.

• Does that explain it all?
• Is there more to know?

There must be more going on, however. Please take time to read this long section of Romans 1.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. ¹⁹ For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 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. 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. ²² Claiming to be wise, they became fools, ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.

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

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

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. ²⁹ They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, ³⁰ slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, ³¹ foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

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. ^[1]

Romans 1:18-32

Here are some thoughts on my takeaway on what is going on in our culture.

• God’s hatred of sin [wrath] is being revealed. That is happening now. It is not a future issue only.  When I begin to see things through this lens, it explains a lot.
  • The wrath that is being revealed all ungodliness and unrighteousness.
  • This is comprehensive in scope.
  • There will, in the future, be a day of judgement. That will culminate God’s hatred of sin [wrath].
• Three times Paul uses the same phrase, “God gave them up”. This is in the context of God currently showing His wrath.
• When God’s hatred of sin [wrath] is revealed, there are current consequences.
  • The first way God gives us up to lust in our heart to do impure and unholy behavior. In this state of existence, it leads to the dishonoring our bodies.
  • The second way God gives us up is to the lust of our heart. One issue Paul highlights is specifically the issue of homosexuality.
  • The final way God gives us up is to a debased mind. Here Paul injects a very long list of evils to be aware of. The scope here again is very extensive.
• What should we make of this?
  • We need to see things through the lens that God’s hatred for sin is being revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness.
  • As a result, God will give large numbers of people up progressively to eventually having a debased mind. This will include many alleged Christians.
  • We must focus on spreading the good news and a call to repentance. When we think of God’s wrath, we should simultaneously be thankful for his patience in waiting to execute that wrath in order that yet more people may be saved: “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar” (2 Peter 3:9–10).
  • God’s wrath should motivate us to evangelism and should also cause us to be thankful that God finally will punish all wrongdoing and will reign over new heavens and a new earth in which there will be no unrighteousness.

This article is not an attempt to offer an extensive exegesis of Romans 1:18-32, many others have already done that. I highly recommend this detailed analysis by John MacArthur. Here is a transcript.

The key, listen to Me. Walk in My ways. The only hope for this or any other society is to hear the Word of the Lord and obey it, to hear the Word of the Lord and obey it. And I would suggest that this is not a good time for weak men preaching weak messages in weak churches. This is a time for bold and powerful strong biblical ministry that calls people to hear the Word of the Lord and respond. This is the only hope for any people for any individual.

John MacArthur, “When God Abandons a Nation”

The Greek word for “Gave up” is paradidoµmi. It means “to give into the hands of another, to give over into one’s power or use.” Since men chose to give up God and worship the creature, God could do nothing but give men into the control of the sinful things they preferred to God.

Alford, says of God’s act of delivering mankind over into the control of utter human depravity,

not merely permissive, but judicial, God delivered them over. As sin begets sin, and darkness of mind, deeper darkness, grace gives place to judgment, and the divine wrath hardens men, and hurries them on to more fearful degrees of depravity.

Source: Kenneth S. Wuest, Wuest’s Word Studies from the Greek New Testament: For the English Reader, vol. 2 (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 1997), 33–34.

What is the wrath of God? Here is a great overview from Wayne Grudem.

It may surprise us to find how frequently the Bible talks about the wrath of God. Yet if God loves all that is right and good and all that conforms to his moral character, then it should not be surprising that he would hate everything that is opposed to his moral character. God’s wrath directed against sin is therefore closely related to God’s holiness and justice. God’s wrath may be defined as follows: God’s wrath means that he intensely hates all sin.

Descriptions of God’s wrath are found frequently in the narrative passages of Scripture, especially when God’s people sin greatly against him. God sees the idolatry of the people of Israel and says to Moses, “I have seen this people.… Now therefore let me alone, that my wrath may burn hot against them and I may consume them” (Ex. 32:9–10). Later Moses tells the people, “Remember and do not forget how you provoked the LORD your God to wrath in the wilderness.… Even at Horeb you provoked the LORD to wrath, and the LORD was so angry with you that he was ready to destroy you” (Deut. 9:7–8; cf. 29:23; 2 Kings 22:13).

The doctrine of the wrath of God in Scripture is not limited to the Old Testament, however, as some have falsely imagined. We read in John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Paul says, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men” (Rom. 1:18; cf. 2:5, 8; 5:9; 9:22; Col. 3:6; 1 Thess. 1:10; 2:16; 5:9; Heb. 3:11; Rev. 6:16–17; 19:15). Many more New Testament verses also indicate God’s wrath against sin.

Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine, Second Edition. (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Academic, 2020), 245–246.

At the end of this section of Romans, it confirms the trend we see on this one issue below. Paul concludes “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.”

Consider this. Belief in holy scripture for issues like marriage being between men and woman is becoming a minority position even among alleged Christians. We could show similar trends on other issues like abortion or support for transgenderism. When alleged Christians assert that men can be women, contrary to the plan of God, we are in deep trouble.

According to Pew Research, “Among people who are religiously unaffiliated, a solid majority have supported same-sex marriage since 2004. Today, 79% of religious “nones” say same-sex couples should be allowed to marry.

• About two-thirds of white mainline Protestants (66%) now support same-sex marriage, as do a similar share of Catholics (61%).
• Support for same-sex marriage among white evangelical Protestants remains lower than it is among other religious groups. However, the share of white evangelical Protestants who support same-sex marriage has grown from 11% in 2004 to 29% today.
• About four-in-ten of those who attend religious services at least once a week (39%) favor same-sex marriage, compared with 66% who attend once or twice a month or a few times a year, and three-quarters who say they seldom or never attend.”

Where do we go from here?

• We begin to filter the evil in our culture through the lens that God’s hatred of sin [wrath] is currently being revealed as a result.
• As God “gives us up”, things will continue to get worse. The spiral is, downward. We should not be surprised as it continues in that direction.
• We are a people of hope. We must proclaim the strong message of the good news of Jesus.
• We must call on the ungodly and unrighteous to repent [change their mind and act differently].