#24. Romans 1:18-20 - The Three Charges (Indignation Series, Part III)

Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

For God’s indignation is being revealed from heaven on all the irreverence and injustice of men who are retaining the truth in injustice…

God’s indignation is revealed on irreverence and injustice, yes, but now we must consider the elephant in the room:

What about the last clause of the verse?

Doh, yes, you know the one – the one that I’ve been not-so-subtly avoiding? Yes, the irreverence and injustice, while not mankind itself, are indeed qualities that are owned by mankind. This is shown in the word “of men,” anthropon. The Greek noun is written in the genitive case here, which, essentially, describes the previous noun. It contextualizes it, just as the phrase “of God” contextualizes “indignation” at the beginning of the verse. It indicates that irreverence and injustice are attributes currently found in humanity.

This is where we come into play. Paul presents the problem first, instantly engaging us in his words (I, unfortunately, have not paced myself as swiftly.) There is a problem – a war is on, and you are the casualty. God is decimating his worst enemy, Sin, and you are in the line of fire, because Sin is currently manifesting this issue in you, using you as a human shield.

This is given to us with three different charges, which will be considered from Rom. 1:19-23. These are, simply:

1)    That we retain the truth of God in injustice

2)    That we do not glorify or thank God as God

3)    We change God’s glory into the likeness of corruptible beings

In the text itself, the structure can be shown in the following image. Each reason is provided with a short explanation, showing that these three reasons display the domino effect: irreverence gives way to injustice.

Part One: The First Charge

All of the irreverence and injustice of men are considered in verse 18, but this is not all God has to say concerning the men themselves. God transitions into His quarrel with mankind: though all men have had some truth revealed to them in some way (whether in or out of scriptural text, as we will observe in the next two verses,) all men’s attitude toward the truth is continually lacking. They are retaining the truth in injustice. There is hardly any appreciation for the magnitude of life anymore, especially in this day and age. Most of us are desensitized to it all. Violence (and our observance of it in every-day media) has become commonplace. Disparate folk lack our sympathy. It’s “every man for himself,” whether we want it to be this way or not. Many crimes are justified. Many crimes are not. Our political systems are in shambles. Issues from The Wire haven’t been resolved – only masked. And death looms over our flesh, ever apparent, this existential dread seeping in among every critical thinker throughout the last 6,000 years.

What is the cause of all of these horrible realities? In short: ultimately, it’s God (Lam. 3:36-38, Job 1, Is. 45:7.) If God hadn’t created Satan, there’d be no one to tempt Adam. If God hadn’t made Adam corruptible, there’d be no way for Satan to tempt Adam. There are hundreds of considerations like these to be understood in the text, and, of course, Romans will properly convey God’s authority to us, especially in these coming verses.

In this example, God would have no way to reveal His indignation if there were no disrespect or unrighteousness. This has led to a sect of people called “antinomians,” who believe that man must actively keep trying to sin in order for God to achieve His purpose. This is a scary over-extension, and a twisting of the consideration at hand. Paul himself will argue directly against this ideology in Rom. 6:1-11. While it is true that man’s sin does provide God an outlet to display aspects of His character, these are a temporary means to an end – not something we are entreated to persist or delight in. There is no point in scripture where God ever allows, gives slack toward, or exonerates Sin herself.

Now, relatively speaking, God’s indignation as such is revealed on the men who are retaining the truth in injustice. This word “retain” is katecho, and its elements are “DOWN-HAVE.” The prefix kata highlights the restrictive nature of the “having” that is occurring. In other places, the Concordant version translates this word as detain, or detaining, which, I believe, most closely emulates the original thought.

It’s no fun being detained (unless you’re having sex.) This word does not simply mean to “remember something wrong,” or to be “slightly off” in your understanding or something. It is to know the fact, and actively disagree with it. You know it – it is there, you have been exposed to it, but you actively and intentionally disagree with it. To God, this is as foolish as denying the fact that 1 + 1 = 2. God is not referring to your “inability to understand the kenosis of Christ,” or the “desire to watch The Dark Knight instead of read your Bible this evening.” He’s not referring to one’s inability to understand something. If He were, it would be as illogical as anger toward a blind man because they are unable to see. This isn’t “oops, I was mistaken, God!” It is a willful, unabashed disagreement with plain, declared truths concerning Him.

I’m sure we can consider a million examples in today’s society (I don’t doubt that you have 55 examples floating around in your brain at this moment,) but I would first realize that the example with Israel that we considered earlier during our five-part consideration of Romans 1:16 is perfect for our purpose. The Israelites knew that God had rescued them, and had heard their cries. They saw, with their own eyes, the Red Sea being parted. They even testify to this fact at the end of Exodus 14. Yet by the time they reach Mt. Sinai, they have completely reversed their understanding of these supernatural, heroic deeds, and instead bash Him for somehow “forgetting” about them and leaving them stranded in the middle of nowhere. They intentionally turn around and make new idols, and accredit God’s great deed to another god.

This detains the truth. The truth is among them (likely among the faithful Israel, who must have been horrified by Aaron’s actions in that moment,) but it is detained in injustice. This is the same word used earlier in the verse, and through this we can already observe some proof exonerating God’s indignation. Why is God’s indignation being revealed from heaven on irreverence and injustice of men? Because they detain the truth. They keep the truth from being unfolded properly. Men are simply the vessels for this dark power.

Of course, the modern-day example I submit for the irreverence and injustice of mankind can be found in our local churches. These men, like God, hate sin, sure – this is evident in churches today that talk all about “purging sin” and constantly atoning and confessing sins in order to “cleanse” themselves. Yet these same men commit sin by denying God’s methodology as laid out here in Romans! They are so caught up in trying to follow Israelite theology that they inadvertently place themselves under the Mosaic law that no man can follow – and are thus primed to take part in its consequence. While these men that do this may be nice men, the unfortunate reality is that they will not accept Paul’s evangel when it is presented to them. Men prefer this traditional view of God, the ceremonial baptisms or the rigorous visits to church every Sunday. God’s statement rings true: men retain the truth in injustice. His evangel, to most of these people, fall on deaf ears, and are either seen as ridiculous, or a small consideration.

Throughout the next two chapters, Paul is going to explain what the Old Testament has already shown: that men are incapable of pleasing God with their own acts (Acts 17:25.) The reality is that, through sin, there are those out there that perceive the truth in their own (unjustified) way. It is this lack of care or understanding which has led to the fast degeneration of our society (the doctrine of eternal torment corrupting the moral qualities in every poor sap who believes it.) The simple truth is that men are irreverent, or disrespectful, toward God’s perspective, and as such could never please Him in our flesh. This is how God views humanity apart from the aforementioned faith – disrespectful, and ignorant.

What “truth,” specifically, is God referring to? I already alluded to it already throughout this article, but please, don’t take it from me. Take it from God, Who explores this in the next verse. In fact, I will frame it thus: God gave us the claim, in 1:18a, and then provided Exhibit A in 1:18b. He now provides the support for Exhibit A, in Rom. 1:19-20.

For God’s indignation is being revealed from heaven on all the irreverence and injustice of men who are retaining the truth in injustice, because that which is known of God is apparent among them, for God manifests it to them. For His invisible attributes are descried from the creation of the world, being apprehended by His achievements, besides His imperceptible power and divinity, for them to be defenseless…

This is a larger slab of text, but I feel it necessary to consider this as a cohesive whole, lest we lose the thought. The “truth” spoken of in verse 18 is that which is known of God. Men may not know His heart, but they have certainly had ample time to learn of Him. The reason we must consider this as a cohesive whole is because we must know exactly what “that which is known of God” that has appeared to man, for (gar) God manifests it to us.

The words “apparent” and “manifest” are in the same school of thought. “Apparent” in Greek is phaneron, and its elements “APPEARED.” “Manifest” in Greek is phaneroo, and its elements are “MAKE-APPEAR.” This yet again highlights, simply, the sovereign nature of God. It is our allotment for things to appear to us, and authority is His to make those things appear to us. In this example, God has made-appear His invisible attributes, which God then directly associates with His achievements, His power, and His divinity.

This gives us a clearer picture as to what, exactly, God has revealed to us – the answers are staring us in the face. To “descry” means to “catch sight of.” Thus, we “see” His invisible fingerprints on all creation! We witness life, sustained, against all odds in a vast, expansive universe. Nature is a clear indication of this idea, the constant, vibrant rhythm of the natural world buzzing daily on a macro and microscopic level. Everything that could be described in the world today is described at the start of the Old Testament, with the creation of this earth (day 2, for example, draws a clear delineation between waters in the atmosphere and waters on the earth. How, pray tell, would Moses, when writing Genesis, know that the atmosphere is primarily structured with water apart from a Divine Creator? Yet man would not believe it until their own studies proved it in the 17^th century, over 2,000 years later!)

The energy of the universe is constant. We witness the universe continually powered – but by what? Energy, fundamentally, requires a power source for generation, transference, or transformation. All sorts of energy – quantum energy, dark matter, nuclear energy, gravitational energy, all energy – requires a source to kickstart it. That the universe was brought about by happenstance (through, say, some “Big Bang,” or by the random appearance of a common ancestor which magically became sentient, which happened to kickstart an accidental evolutionary process) is denied by simple science.

Intelligence should not be. Emotions should not be. Science has shown that our flesh carries the same minerals as rich soil. Soil, of course, has no intelligence, and no emotion. The patterns of the universe – the inherent laws of physics (which are never broken, in spite of all the memes,) laws of time, laws of nature – are His fingerprints. It is, with so much evidence on our hands as to the ordered structure of all creation, borderline irrational to presume that this careful, organized universe is completely accidental. There isn’t a fathomable number that we could produce that would indicate the probability that a Big Bang would produce… well, anything that would lead to this life, and even if one could propose a number, we would still be left with the question as to Who or What made this “bang,” for the bang itself (which, according to our favorite atheist scientists, is a massive force of energy.)

When we consider the observable, provable facets of our universe, we see a design. “Design” denotes a “Designer.” “Law” denotes a “Lawmaker.” There has never been a documented instance of a specific, patterned design spurring from “nothing,” and, to this day, it is nigh impossible for man to wrap their heads around this idea. The notion that we are an accident is, in truth, far less probable than that of a Deity crafting the orders of the powers that be.

Every respectable scientist must admit, at some point, that there’s some a fine, critical balance in weather patterns, tectonic plates, climates, habitats that sustain all types of animals, the taxonomic rank of the animals themselves (kingdom, phylum, class, etc.) and the fact that even single bacterium can hold entire ecosystems within themselves, of smaller classifications which we can only partially classify, and more. His fingerprints are all over creation, displaying His power – dunamis, Greek element “ABILITY,” a singular attribute denoting His sheer scope, and grandeur, giving us such an intimately crafted world within this tiny dot in the vast expanse of space – and His divinity – theoites, element “PLACERSHIP,” which is a summation of God’s divine attributes – righteousness, wisdom, personality, transcendence, and so on, all contextualize God’s attributes.

We can see these things, for they are apparent to us. When someone looks at another person, and judges that person based on looks alone, the learned of this world would say that this “someone” is being shallow. This is because looks do not define a person. They may contextualize cultural aspects of a person, but you have no way of knowing if that person would desire to be defined by those cultural aspects or not until you talk to them.

The same is true of God.

You do not need to literally see God’s face in order to recognize His attributes, any more than one needs to see your face to see your attributes. I may be able to see a pretty lady at the park, but this tells me nothing about her quirks, her passions, her dreams, her practices, her qualities, her drive, her baggage, and more. These aspects of her character can only be understood by considering her words and actions.

Similarly, we can clearly see the handiwork of God in every little detail of the earth. From a universal perspective, this tiny blue dot is home to plenty of different environments, from the terrestrial to the aquatic, the polar to the heat, the urban to the subterranean. This attention to detail alone provides plenty of information about God – His attention to detail, His careful craftsmanship, His ability to place life in any seemingly-desolate place.

Of course, we may best understand God by considering His words and actions (which is why we are reading Romans.) A simple example of this can be found in the opening lines of Genesis, where we continually read of Elohim speaking, and then acting, in forming the second earth which we dwell on today (more on the “second earth” in “Let’s Talk About the Eons, Part I.”) Throughout Genesis 1, we read that God considers these actions He commits (which are spurred by His declarations) to be good. This tells us more concerning Him – first, He is a man of His word. When He declares, “Let there be light!” He then makes light come to be. When He says He’ll do something, He does it. And, moreover, the action He is committing (making light) is itself an unfathomably powerful action (anyone who has studied the light spectrum cannot even begin to unravel its layered complexity.)

It is nigh impossible to list all of God’s various invisible attributes, but they are apparent to us, and we are foolhardy to ignore them at any time. Typically, our ignorance stems from things we want or strive for that do not come to pass. We (understandably) get caught in our feelings, and take the stance that God either cannot do what we want to occur in a given moment, or that God doesn’t like us, which leads to His withholding our desired goals. Yet when we consider His word, and His attributes, found in His beautiful, mesmerizing universe, we find that neither of these reasons drive God’s decision-making. Instead, it is with a “good” end-goal in view that God enacts any and all story beats in His tale, whether we immediately see its purpose or not.

The heavens are recounting the glory of El, And the atmosphere is telling of the work of His hands.

Day after day is uttering a saying, and night after night is disclosing knowledge. There is no audible saying, and there are no words; their voice is unheard. Yet into the entire earth their voice goes forth, and into the ends of the habitance their declarations.

For the sun, He has placed a tent in them, so it is like a bridegroom going forth from his canopy; it is elated like a master, to run its path. From the end of the heavens is its going forth, and its circling around goes on their ends, so that there is nothing to be concealed from its warm penetration.

-          Psalm 19:1-6

Now, to return to the initial piece of evidence God brings: how are we retaining the truth in injustice?

Simply put: all of the information I’ve briefly summarized in this article is well-known among almost any learned community. The truth of these ordered patterns and careful detail is readily apparent to anyone with a brain. Yet the very fact that God’s name is detached from His creation, either by the atheist that simply doesn’t believe in Him at all, or the Christian that does not apprehend evil’s purpose and denies His plan for this critical aspect of the story, highlights an unjust, or twisted retention of the information provided.

God lists this reason first because it serves as the gateway to the other two reasons. If this issue were resolved – if we properly attributed all of creation, the perceived “positive” and “negative” aspects, as His, while keeping His goal for all creatures in mind – then the other two issues stated can no longer be. This charge plays a role in the very first sin on Adam’s part. His little fruit shenanigans occurred because he attributed authority to his lady friend, while together with his lady friend denying God’s wisdom and understanding (being the impact that eating this fruit would have on them.)

That this issue has not been resolved is readily apparent, and God is ready to use this piece of evidence first toward those that cry that they were “never introduced to Him” during the Day of Judgment. The manifestation of these attributes is to leave men defenseless. This willful misconduct – a willful disrespect – will be confronted by God directly. Reverence? Gratitude? Just because we sin does not mean that we cannot display or genuinely enact these things. That these are not displayed in creatures whose entire goal is to display these acts indicates a willful ignorance to them, and thus toward the One that designed us for them.

When one realizes that their will is not free, they usually try to relieve themselves of the blame for their own actions. “Well, God made it like this, so it’s not my fault.” Yet if this were true, all would be exonerated on that Day of Judgment, and none would be brought into the second death. Yet this first piece of evidence is designed to remove this sort of defense (it is not the only kind of defense being removed, but it’s the biggest one I can think of at the moment.) God intentionally designs us to be disposed toward reverence and righteousness – and the fact that we choose the opposite is caused by Him, yes, but it reveals an infection in us that must be removed. In that, we must be blamed and charged, or we are not able to be healed.

Afterword: “Godhead”

Goodness, no, “Godhead” is not the word used here in Rom. 1:20. This verse is typically referenced by Christians to go, “Look! There’s ‘Godhead’ in the Bible, so this is why I believe in the Trinity!” Yet any true truth-seeker can note here that no discussion of man’s theological “trinity” is in view in Romans 1:18-23, or even its surrounding context.

The word is divinity. Its elements, as previously stated, are “PLACERship.” While the word theos, “God,” is the root of this word, the translation “Godhead” does not account for the word’s suffix, being “ship.” This denotes a summation of the qualities of God, which have been in Paul’s verbiage throughout Romans 1. It is completely by man’s reasoning and inference that the term ‘Godhead’ gets turned into one of a trinity, when the only use of this term does not even sort of consider the concept.

(to be continued)

- GerudoKing