Results of the Wrath of God: Romans 1:28-32 Introduction This morning we will finish Romans 1. First let us reestablish where we are. o Having introduced the theme of the revelation of the wrath of God and having given the reasons for the wrath of God, o We are now in the segment of Romans 1 that deals with the results of the wrath of God. We have been observing, through Paul s eyes, the progression of sin. o First humanity suppressed the truth about God. As a result, when they began to act as if there was no God, their foolish hearts become darkened. The foolishness of denying God o became a spiritual affliction on humanity, particularly on the heart of man, which is immersed in darkness. Because they rejected God, o because they turned their back on the light of the truth of God, they were relegated to walk in darkness. The next step in that progression was idolatry. o Men chose to worship the creation over the creator. They worshiped idols made in the image of God s creation. Idols that cannot hear them, cannot see them, and cannot impart to them a moral code for life. Ultimately the worship of idols led to an obsession with themselves. o A mentality prevailed that said, I will do whatever seems right and feels good to me. At this stage, man has become his own moral judge. o The next natural step in that progression is sexual immorality. First in the name of idol worship Humanity began to promote and practice illicit sexual encounters. However, what is born in the temples of false gods, eventually finds its way into the fabric of society All restraint, in regards to human sexuality, was stripped away. They exchanged the truth of God for the supreme lie, o The lie that something anything could take the place of God. And they worshiped the creature more than the Creator.
The next step in this downward progression was sexual perversion. This is the escalation of sexual immorality. o Sexual immorality dealt with natural sexual acts that were engaged in without restraint. o However sexual perversion deals with unnatural sexual acts that were, once again, engaged in without restraint. We spent a lot of time on that subject last week and I m not going to rehash it again this morning. That brings us to the final passage in the chapter. o In this morning s reading we will see God give them over one final time. And Paul will follow that declaration with a list of the kinds of sins that he is talking about. Then we will conclude with the fact that, not only do they do these things but they promote this kind of activity, taking delight when others do them too. Text: Romans 1:28-32 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, 31 Without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Verse 28 28 And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient; Just like in the previous 2 weeks our lesson today starts with God turning humanity over o to the next deeper level of depravity, which, in this case, is the final step in the downward progression of sin. This time the reason for the escalation is that o they did not like to retain God in their knowledge
o so God gave them over to a reprobate mind. What is not readily apparent in the English translation o is the word play that is present in the Greek. The Greek word for did like o has to do with putting a person to the test for the purpose of finding if the person tested meets the standard for approval. o What Paul is saying is that the human race has put God to the test. They had the knowledge of God, from nature itself, so they measured God to determine if He was the kind of God that they would want to serve. And, in their arrogance, they decided that God didn t meet their standard for the kind of God they wanted to serve. Humanity disapproved of God. They tried him and found him lacking. They did not like him. They did not approve of him. They found it fruitless to retain God in their knowledge. Because humanity disapproved of God, o God turned them over to a reprobate mind. The Greek word for reprobate means disapproved, or, literally, that which has not stood the test. It was used of coins that were substandard. o They did not approve of God so God gave them over to an unapproved mind. The strength of this wordplay can hardly be expressed in English. o We don t put the degree of emphasis on the whole unapproved idea that the Romans or Greeks did. One translation that seeks to convey the strength of what Paul is saying put it this way: Since they cast out the knowledge of God, God gave them over, to an outcast mind. An outcast mind, an unapproved mind, a reprobate mind: o What these terms are trying to describe is the condition of humanity that no longer has any reservations at all regarding sin. They have tried God and they found him lacking. o They have replaced him with their own sense of right and wrong o And they have discovered, in their folly, that there are no limits to what they can self-justify.
o Because they are their own moral judge, because they do what seems right to them, they can do anything that they want, without reservation. They didn t approve of God o so God turned them over to a mind that approves of any kind of wickedness. The reprobate mind is explained, in the passage, by what does and what it plans to do. o It doesn t approve of God but it approves of those things that are not convenient. o Not convenient indicates that the things that they did were offensive even to their own moral sense of right and wrong. Religion is the backbone of morality, o and the rejection of religion is the mother of immorality. The downward progression of sin leads humanity to the place o where he violates even his own sense of righteousness. Many commentators believe that the point here is that humanity o eventually loses the distinction between right and wrong. After indulging in all kinds of lusts, o including unnatural lusts, men eventually lose even the morality taught by nature and conscience. They no longer even think the things they commit are wrong. o Since they did not want to retain the knowledge of God, God allowed them to lose all knowledge of good. Their mind was purged of all sense of morality, which caused them to do all kinds of evil things. In the context of this passage, reprobate does not mean one who has committed an unpardonable sin or who is beyond hope of salvation. If so, the whole human race would be beyond saving o since Paul places the human race as a whole in this category. Of course, once someone reaches the place o where he loses the distinctions between right and wrong, he no longer knows enough to repent and be saved. Because he doesn t even realize, anymore, that what he is doing is wrong. He is incapable of listening to nature and conscience because his mind has been so distorted. o It is still possible, however, for him to come to a realization of right and wrong
through the preaching of the Word of God and the convicting power of the Spirit of God. This is why the gospel message is so important. o We started this passage with the proclamation that Paul would never be ashamed of the gospel. o Why? Because it is the power of God unto salvation. It has the ability to cut through the confusion about right and wrong and cause the kind of conviction of sin that leads men and women to genuine repentance. 29 Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers, Next Paul launches into a detailed list of the kind of sins he has in mind. There is no apparent order here and no system of classification. o This kind of list is typical of Paul. He starts by saying that these men and women are filled with all unrighteousness. o In other words, they are not half-hearted about their sin. They were fully given over to it. This is their primary pursuit in life. o They have rejected God and, as a result, they pursue unrighteousness with all of their energy. The list that follows serves to demonstrate the kind of things that those who reject God find acceptable. First of all they are filled with unrighteousness. o This is a comprehensive word. It speaks of unrighteousness in general. o Many commentators feel that it includes everything that comes after it. The rest of the list helps define this word: unrighteousness. The next word is fornication. o This has been broadly covered in the last two weeks. Sexual immorality, both natural and unnatural, reigns in a wicked society. The next word is wickedness. o It speaks of that which is evil. That which is sinister and vile.
o When the devil is called the evil one this is the term that is used. The term denotes a complete kind of evil. Next is covetousness. o This term relates to the consuming desire for more. It is that sense of desire for more and more that is never satisfied. o It is selfishness unlimited. This covetous person pursues his own desires with a complete disregard of the effect on other people. o He does not care about others. He is a complete egotist. o Paul is talking about one who is never satisfied. He is always anxious to have more of something, and no matter what he gets he remains unsatisfied. o Which is, of course, an excellent illustration of Paul s point that the sinner is handed over to his sin. Evil is its own punishment. It is never satisfied. Next is maliciousness. o It indicates a condition of moral evil. It is the evil habit of mind. o The malicious mind delights in evil thoughts and imagining new ways to participate in and perpetuate evil. The next word is envy. o Even among the evil, even among the malicious, there are disruptive, divisive, desires. o Evil people are not a happy band of brothers. They are fractured and divided among themselves. Evilness doesn t just separate man from God, o it drives wedges of separation o between evil people. So they envy one another which fractures and divides them. Next is murder. o Murder is the logical result of both envy, which comes before this, and debate, or strife, which follows it.
The depraved heart has no respect for the sanctity of human life. It thinks nothing about spilling the blood of its fellow man. Next is debate which means strife or contention. o It implies that these evil people delight in strife, they take pleasure in contention. o It doesn t mean that all debate is evil, but these evil men and women have a nature that enjoys strife. The next word is deceit. o The word here is basically bait as in bait that is used for fishing. o It is a mentality that schemes and connives ways to be deceitful. There is nothing straightforward about sin, and sinners do not hesitate to deceive one another if their self-centered purposes can be advanced. o They are deceitful in their dealings. The next word is malignity. o This is conscious and intentional wickedness. We use this word, malignant, to define a dangerous, uncontrollable, unstoppable disease process. o Evil has so pervaded their minds that it is like a cancer: it is malignant. It is pervasive, persistent and pathologically life threatening. The final word of verse 29 is whisperers. o It is a term which, in this usage, plainly refers to slander. One whispers what one does not wish to be heard openly. o This is not straightforward slander, it is more deceitful, a behind-the-back kind of slander. They whisper malicious things about one another. 30 Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, Verse 30 begins with Backbiters. o This is a unique word. It is not a well-known term,
some even go so far as to say that Paul may have coined it himself. The meaning is clear enough. It is an elaboration on the whispered slander that preceded it. o Evil people are prone to speak evil of others. o But they don t even do that in an honest up-front kind of way. o They go around behind someone s back to tear them down. o They are back-biters. Next is haters of God. o This is another unique word not found anywhere else in scripture. These evil people hate God. They have rejected God and that rejection has turned into the powerful emotional motivation of hate. Next is despiteful. o This word relates to pride. Despiteful refers to a lofty sense of superiority where the despiteful person treats everyone else o as if they are beneath him. Next is proud. o Like the preceding word it denotes a contempt for everyone except oneself. Next is boasters. o This is derives from a word that means wandering and apparently goes back to the extravagant claims made by wandering men: merchants with something to sell, snake oil salesmen who claim to heal, and wanderers in general with their tall tales. o The word includes the thought of evil intent. This is exaggeration with evil intentions, not just harmless, amusing, exaggeration Next are inventors of evil things. o They invent ways of doing evil. This suggests a certain ingenuity in devising wrong.
o These people are not content to go on in the established paths of evil, but are eager to strike out on new and worse ways. The final phrase of verse 30 is disobedient to parents, o In a world which took very seriously the obligation to honor one s parent s this was seen as a grievous sin. o It implies a lack of gratitude and a contempt for family bonds and a general rebellion against authority. 31 Without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful: Next is Without understanding. o This means without intelligence. It refers to those who act stupidly. o Does this mean that it is a sin to be unintelligent? That is doubtful. o What Paul seems to be saying here is that it is a stupid thing to cut oneself off from God. Sin is stupid. o To engage in wickedness and evil demonstrates that an individual is not too smart. Next is covenant breakers. o This phrase is concerned with the breaking of agreements. These evil men don t keep their word. o It goes without saying that when people enter into solemn promises, they should do what they say they will do. o The very fabric of society is undermined when people cannot be trusted to keep their word. But such things do not trouble the wicked. o They will say or do whatever they need to say or do to further their personal agenda. Next is without natural affection. o There are some human affections that are just natural. Children should love their parents, husbands should love their wives,
families should love one another and siblings should have a natural love for each other. o But these evil people don t have these natural affections. They aren t subject to these absolutely normal affections. The next word, implacable, means that they cannot be satisfied. o We ve previously seen a word in this list that carried a similar meaning. They have an insatiable desire for evil things. Next is unmerciful. o Once again this is a word that is only found here and nowhere else in the New Testament. It means without pity or without mercy. This is the final vice in the list and it really expresses the very depths to which humanity has sunk. The person who shows no mercy has sunk as low as he can sink. Where no mercy is given, no mercy can be expected. o They have removed themselves from the most basic expression of love: mercy. 32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Who knowing the judgment of God. We come back to the thought that these sinners do not act out of ignorance. o Granted that no evildoer ever understands all the implications of the wrong he is doing, it still remains that he knows enough to know that he is doing wrong. This is the point that Paul has been stressing throughout this chapter, o God has revealed enough of himself for people to know what is right and what is wrong. We conclude with the affirmation that they know the ordinances of God. o They know that God condemns these evil practices. o That s why they have rejected God because they couldn t live this way and honor God. o They may have lost the distinction between right and wrong, but they are not without guilt. o They know that God doesn t approve of their actions. o This is why they have to distance themselves from him. o This is why they are God-haters, as Paul described them earlier.
The penalty for sin is death, and they know it, Not only do the same. Here s the problem: o Their knowledge of God didn t stop them from pursuing this kind of life. o Their knowledge of the judgments of God hasn t stopped them. o The specter of death and hell hasn t slowed them down. o Knowing these judgments, they continue to do the same things. They continue to engage in these sinful acts, even though they know the consequences. But have pleasure in them that do them. Paul saves the final, crowning offense, for last. Not only do these sinners do evil things, o but they also take pleasure in other people who do them. The Greek means that they applaud such practices. o They celebrate evil. o They promote it. o They take pleasure in seeing others engage in it. o Evil becomes entertainment In Rome it was the coliseums where men fought to the death Close Throughout history in a varity of ways the wicked have found occasion to turn evil into entertainment They take pleasure from those that do evil They don t just support these kinds of sin, they enjoy seeing them in the lives of others. o They applaud those who practice this wickedness in all of its various manifestations. Instead of repenting of their own sins o and seeking to turn others away form their own bad decisions, o they, instead, promote wrongdoing by encouraging others to do it. o This is the epitome of defiance of God. They know it is wrong. o They know the penalty is death. o Yet they continue to do such things. o And they take pleasure in seeing other engage in these wicked acts. o That underscores the enormity of their offense against God.
This sinful progression is an accurate portrayal of human history from the Book of Genesis onward. o It is a downward progression. o In fact, the Bible describes the last days as particularly evil. The degenerative principle demonstrated in this chapter also applies in every society and every age. o Occasionally in history, a society founded on high moral principles has emerged, but it has always followed this downward path. o As a society breaks down morally, it becomes more and more conducive to the sins described here. o For this reason, many of these sins are more prevalent and more openly accepted in our day than in times past. o Because of this, many of them are given as signs of the endtime. This degenerative principle is evident in individual human lives as well. o If a person refuses to walk in the light he has, he will grow progressively more sinful. o It is impossible to stay the same after encountering truth. One must either accept it and draw closer to God or reject it and stray farther from God. o This does not necessarily mean that every wayward individual will live out in detail every step or every sin listed, but the potential is certainly there. o If we have learned anything in the first chapter of Romans, We have learned that It is a dangerous thing to reject God, to reject the knowledge of God. It is a dangerous thing to presume to judge God. To arrogantly say, well I ve tried God and found that he is lacking. Ive tried that reliogion stuff and it doesnt work Thats a dangerous place to be The progression of sin is natural. o One stage naturally leads to the next.
o The journey was the result of the natural escalation of their sin. Furthermore, the progression is always downward. o This downward progression into the depths of degradation begins with what may seem to be small sins: refusal to worship God and unthankfulness. o People become depraved because they refuse to walk according to the light given them. Without the restraining grace of God, mankind never improves morally or even remains stable. If left alone by God, man will always fall deeper and deeper into sin. Thank God for the gospel of Jesus Christ. o It is the power of God unto salvation! The natural, downward, progression of sin is a sure thing. But it doesn t have to be final. o There is grace and mercy at the cross. There is forgiveness and new life in Jesus Christ. There is hope, there is always hope, of a new life, new direction, and newfound purpose for living. All of it is found at an altar in the presence of God,