Prayer: Create a pure heart in me, O God, and put a new and loyal spirit in me. Do not banish me from your presence; do not take (the power of)[1] your holy spirit away from me. Give me again the joy that comes from your salvation and make me willing to obey you. Then I will teach sinners your commands, and they will turn back to you. Spare my life, O God, and save me, and I will gladly proclaim your righteousness. Help me to speak, Lord, and I will praise you (Psalm 51:10-15, GNT). Amen.
Main Scripture: Romans 1:18-32, “Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.”
Associated Scriptures:
Not so the wicked! They are like chaff that the wind blows away. Therefore, the wicked will not stand in the judgment, nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous. For the Lord watches over the way of the righteous, but the way of the wicked will perish (Psalms 1:4-6).
But these, like natural brute beasts made to be caught and destroyed, speak evil of the things they do not understand, and will utterly perish in their own corruption, and will receive the wages of unrighteousness, as those who count it pleasure to carouse in the daytime. They are spots and blemishes, carousing in their own deceptions while they feast with you (2 Peter 2:12-13, NKJV).
But the Lord is my refuge; my God is the rock of my protection. He will pay them back for their sins and destroy them for their evil. The Lord our God will destroy them (Psalms 94:22-23, HCSB).
Correlative Quotes:
One of the things we did not make plain in that message was why we need salvation. Salvation from what? What's the problem? The answer in the book of Romans is resoundingly this: We need to be saved from the wrath of God. Look at (Romans 1:18), "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." This is given as the reason why we need saving. God is very angry at our unrighteousness and the way we suppress and distort the truth to justify ourselves.[2] – John Piper
The vile immoralities depicted here are the natural result of turning from the Holy One. The picture of heathenism in its unspeakable obscenities is not over-drawn, as anyone acquainted with the lives of idolatrous people will testify. The awful thing is that all this vileness and filthiness is being reproduced in modern high society where men and women repudiate God. If people change the truth of God into a lie and worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator, the whole order of nature is violated; for apart from the fear of God there is no power known that will hold the evil desires of the natural heart in check. It is part of the very nature of things that flesh will be manifested in its worst aspects when God gives men up to follow the bent of their unholy lusts.[3] – H. A. Ironside
Can human beings do anything more evil than what we read in Romans 1:18-31? Is there something worse than rejecting God’s glory and serving idols? Do we ever go farther in our transgression than telling the Creator who gave us life that we will not bow to His guidelines for governing our lives? Yes, there is something worse than worshiping images—misusing the Lord’s gift of human sexuality, murder, and the other vices that Paul lists. One final act of depravity is more heinous than all others— approving wickedness and those who practice it, even when we know it is sin, makes us deserving of death (vs. 32).[4] – R. C. Sproul
Study:
“…the righteous will live by faith” (vs. 17). However, the unrighteous will live by the desires of the flesh (Galatians 5:16-21). Seeing is “not” necessarily believing. We see the creation of God all around us, yet we don’t believe that it was He who created it. Unbelief is caused by man and not by God. Mankind did not begin his existence by worshiping idols but by worshipping and following the God that created him. As created creatures, we were innocent beings under the direction of our maker (Genesis 1:15-17). But seeing that the fruit of this world is more appetizing than a world we cannot see, we chose to fulfill the cravings of our own flesh and not the desires of God. We chose the satisfaction of our own hearts rather than God’s desires for us. Our actions were motivated by self-satisfaction.
They have chosen their own ways, and their souls delight in their abominations; so, I also will choose harsh treatment for them and will bring upon them what they dread. For when I called, no one answered, when I spoke, no one listened. They did evil in my sight and chose what displeases me." (Isaiah 66:3-4).[5] – H. A. Ironside
Man purposefully “suppresses the truth” (vs. 18). He has the witness of God within him in the form of his conscience, knowledge, and an ability to reason. He has the proof of God externally in His creation and the witness of those who has received eternal life (vs. 19). So, mankind is without any excuse (vs. 20). He has always known God. But instead of worshiping something that is unseen, he has chosen to worship what he can see, can learn, and can reason on his own. “Professing to be wise, they became fools” (vs. 22, NASB).
Mankind has changed the perfect image of God that cannot be seen or touched into those things that are made by his own hands (vs. 23). Leviticus 19:4 describes God’s feelings about idols when it says, “Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods; I am the Lord your God.” 1 John 5:21 gives us the New Testament perspective, “Little children, guard yourselves from idols.” The idols to which God refers are not just the icons carved by hands, but anything that becomes more important to us than God.
Just as Mankind exchanged the glory of God for objects of their own creation (vs. 18-23), they also replaced their knowledge of God for a self-absorbed and destructive lasciviousness. Since their lives were corrupt, God “turned them over to their own desires” (vs. 24, NASB) due to their complete rejection of Him. Their sin could still have been forgiven if they had turned to God and recognized Him as their Lord and Savior, but their hardened hearts impeded this choice.
If this wasn’t bad enough, they compounded their sin by approval of those who committed the sins. My wife was watching a television program where future brides choose their dresses. I stopped a moment to see what was happening. The bride-to-be came out of the dressing room in, what I thought, was a beautiful gown. The mother said, sarcastically, “That looks like something a virgin would wear.” Her statement, as well as her tone, suggested that she was sure her daughter was not part of that class of person. From the remarks of the others sitting there and her daughter’s own unwillingness to deny it, it was obvious that she wasn’t a virgin. The dress was discarded.
Not only do people choose to sin and not fear any consequences, but they are also disdainful of those who are living a life searching for a continued relationship with God.
In one sense, verse 32 brings chapter one to an end with a very bleak view of human nature. The point of the last half of the verse is to show that many people not only do things that they know deserve death, but also entice others to do them and approve when they do. "Although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them." In other words, the end-point of depravity is not just the suicidal love affair with sin but the desire to bring others with you to destruction. It's not just that people choose death for themselves in the passion of sin, but that they become Dr. Kevorkians at the spiritual level and assist others in eternal self-destruction by approving their sin.[6] – John Piper
Summary Statement:
Paul says one more word of condemnation. He says that even though people know such moral vices are wrong, they not only practice them but congratulate others who do so also. Paul is not saying that encouraging others to sin is necessarily worse than committing the sins themselves. Instead, he seems to be arguing that we are as equally bent on damning ourselves as we are on delivering other people to damnation (cf. Calvin). The knowledge Paul is referring to here is undoubtedly that to which he has already forcefully made reference in 1:19, 20, 21, and 28. People know via their conscience—which itself is sparked through God’s creation—that such sinful behavior will result in ultimate punishment. But, says Paul, even though they know this firm decision of God, i.e., his immutable decree to punish sin, they continue in it nonetheless.[7] - Greg Herrick
Lessons within the Lesson:
What kinds of things do people worship instead of God, and why?
Romans 1:18-32 introduces us to a major issue in this letter. What is this subject and how is it described?
There are two types of sins mentioned in verse 32. How are they related?
Verse 32 says that those who commit these sins are worthy of death. Describe the type of death mentioned here.
[1] Author’s note: In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came to the saints and not in as we see in New Testament conversion. We cannot lose the Holy Spirit once we have been born again but we can lose His power. That power can only be restored through confession and the resulting reinstatement of fellowship.
[2] John Piper, How Does the Gospel Save Believers: Part 1, used with permission By John Piper. ©2015 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org.
[3] Harry A. Ironside, Lectures on the Epistle of Romans, studylight.org/commentaries /isn/view.cgi?bk=44&ch=1.
[4] R. C. Sproul, Approving Evil, by R. C. Sproul, ligonier.org, 800.435.4343. ligonier.org/learn/devotionals/approving-evil/.
[5] Harry A. Ironside, Lectures on the Epistle of Romans, studylight.org/ commentaries/isn/view.cgi?bk=ro&ch=1#1-17.
[6] John Piper, Doing and Endorsing Evil, , used with permission By John Piper. ©2015 Desiring God Foundation. Website: desiringGod.org
[7] Greg Herrick, 4. Study and Exposition of Romans 1:18-32, © 2015 bible.org, All Rights Reserved, bible.org/seriespage/4-study-and-exposition-romans-118-32 bible.org/seriespage/4-study-and-exposition-romans-118-32.
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