#27. Romans 1:24-25 – There’s More?? (Indignation Series, Part VI)

Part II: The Conduct of Humanity

Wherefore…

Yes, there’s more! Yeah, verses 18-23 may have hit you hard, but for most of us, it’s not so easy to accept any of this. God might have come out of the gates swinging with “Your reasonings are stupid,” but unfortunately, this does not invalidate the reasonings. Stupid? Maybe. Unimportant? Not quite (or God wouldn’t mention them here at all.) For example, if irreverence and unrighteousness are inherent in us, and our day to day lives, then Who is really at fault, there? It’s not like we made ourselves, hmmm?

Or, assuming irreverence and unrighteousness are inherent in us, then… well, maybe God thinks your reasoning is stupid, but you sure as hell don’t! Maybe you’ve got five mouths to feed and fourteen bills to pay, a family member just died, and you are continually functioning with 2-4 hours of sleep every day. Maybe you just found out you’ve got cancer. Maybe you’re depressed. Maybe you’re having problems at work. Maybe a buddy just backstabbed you. Maybe you’ve been stuck in the hood, or you’ve been nihilistically spoiled. There’s so many things we’re all dealing with every day, and they suck ass. I think I speak for many in saying that if God – this righteous God – keeps letting the worst atrocities on earth occur, like murder, or theft, or poverty, or rape, or racism, etc., then He’s kind of asking for some irreverence!

Or, maybe you’re thinking what I initially thought – what does this have to do with me? I admit that I wondered this during my self-righteous Christian years; I believed that, because I was in church and because I was praying to God at the pulpit, that this automatically exempted me from the “idolatry” charge God was bringing up to all men. I failed to consider that the religious institutions themselves, which I was (then) a part of, had me placed front and center as one detaining the truth in injustice, not glorifying God as God with my vain reasonings, and changing His glory into the likeness of an image of a corruptible man. At the Calvary Baptist church I was in, this was the norm!

But even for a non-Christian, the question still rings out, because there doesn’t seem to be any coverage of the issues we would care about. Like, sure, (mostly) no one likes finding out they’re worshipping a false deity, and that sucks and all, but the previously-stated issues, murder, poverty, and rape are some pretty big problems that God didn’t seem to consider at all, there. All He’s focused on is this truth He’s going on about. From this point of view, what do God’s gripes in Rom. 1:18-23 have to do with us?? We’re all a little more depressed with the disturbing realities of more practical issues we’re worried about which are necessary for survival, like food or shelter or clothing. Threats which hinder our relative survival or social goals (key word: ours, not God’s,) weigh on our minds far more than anything else. As helpful as Rom. 1:18-23 are, they certainly don’t ease our minds on any practical issue – and, to many, simply stresses us out. We need resolutions to our immediate problems, and if no solution is readily available, then we demand to know why.

Well, these issues will begin to be put to rest, when we consider what God says next. The rest of Romans 1 will consider the effects of the charges leveled against us, and it begins with this “wherefore.” In order for the gravity of these charges to sink in, we must see the causal effects of this disposition. We must be shown the damage it causes in order to appreciate why a righteous God stands so firmly against irreverence and injustice. We will be shown, in this chapter, that a lack of respect for and dismissal of this truth is the root of our problems.

Let’s cover a few things, before we begin. First, I remind you that we are still covering the third reason that Paul is not ashamed of the evangel – a statement made in Rom. 1:16. He is currently considering the backdrop for the evangel, which itself will be unveiled in Rom. 3:21-4:25. Many who believe in hell will say, “If you’re not being saved from ‘hell,’ then what are you being saved from? What could be worse?” And while permanent burning is certainly less inviting than God’s indignation, I will remind any rational reader that that’s a good thing. It is a good thing that God can control Himself. Something being “worse” than the other is no sane reason to believe it. That is a fear driven mindset, not a love driven mindset.

No, it is the irreverence and unrighteousness that we are being saved from. We have been shown what irreverence and unrighteousness will always be met with: indignation from God. After being shown its effects (and some very critical details throughout chapters 2 and 3, which I will not get into now,) we will be shown how impossible it is for us to defeat these enemies on our own. Avid God-fanboys will note that God already shows us, in practical examples, how impossible it is for us to defeat Sin on our own, throughout the entirety of the Hebrew scriptures and our daily lives. But we need some kind of end-goal to be working toward, so there’s my mini compass for you; it ends in 58 verses, where Paul concludes with the now-proven fact that no man can attain righteousness of his own accord.

In the meantime, let’s take a look at the structure of the next few verses. We will be shown three separate but inter-connected effects of the three charges – the first in 1:24-25, the second in 1:26-27, and the third in 1:28-32. This is a larger three-fold structure, so I have no photo to easily provide without quoting the rest of the chapter, but I may provide a structure anyway during the last article concerning chapter 1, after we’ve considered the intricacy of each verse. In the meantime, let’s begin with the first effect and those who are afflicted by it.

Wherefore God gives them over, in the lusts of their hearts, to the uncleanness of dishonoring their bodies among themselves…

At the beginning of 1:24, 26, and 28, God states that He gives us over to these three effectual issues that we will consider – starting with the first one, here. It is critical to note, right here at the beginning of Romans, that God takes credit for these three acts. This is not a matter that can rationally be debated. God specifically, explicitly says that He gives man over to these three effects of irreverence and unrighteousness (which itself are two enemies inherent in all men.)

This tells us a few things. First, that these effects are established by God highlights His authority over these effects. Many believe that God is not in control of Sin – that Sin is an external force imposing on God and His creation. Those that believe this are adhering, fundamentally, to the idea that there exists another creature in the universe that is more powerful than God, being able to dominate so much of His universe. It is, rationally, a concession that there is another God. This obviously, *ahem*, breaks a few rules. Yet here, we see a powerful Deity imposing His limitations. If God did not have sovereignty over the three points we are about to consider (the first of which is documented in the verse above,) then He could not possibly give us over to these things. This is His decision, clearly and definitively – not ours.

Some may argue that this verse does not deny free will, and God is simply giving us over to His enemy because “we are asking for it by changing His glory.” Yet God Himself repeats over and over again that He is faithful toward mankind – not dismissive (Lam. 3:22-23, Ps. 145:17-19, Is. 46:10, 1 Cor. 1:9, 1 Tim. 2:4, 2 Tim. 2:13.) He doesn’t give up on us.

A much more rational (and consistent) interpretation is to believe directly what He says, and follow the train of thought. If these effects are a critical part of the stage, setting up the dark background by which the evangel can shine, then God must be in absolute authority over the irreverence and unrighteousness, as well as its effects, or He would have no ability to use it to prepare the evangel without a strong probability of failure. Moreover, He… well, He just blatantly says that He’s in control of everything a wealth of times (Prov. 16:33, Is. 45:7, Acts 17:25, Rom. 9:16-24, 11:36,  Eph. 1:11, etc.)

As the dark backdrop for the evangel includes these effects found in Rom. 1:24-32, it’s important for us to recognize them – that these points are also resolved in the evangel and the evangel’s effects in our lives. This first effect above launches us into a downward spiral. The lusts of our hearts are in view, but no – this is not sexual innuendo. The word “lust” here, epithumia, is rather misleading in every translation (yes, even the CLV.) The word is often translated various ways based on its context, but the etymology of the word doesn’t imply anything sexual, as the term “lust” has come to be known today. The word should simply read “desire.” This can be seen most clearly in Luke 22:15, where Jesus uses this word “lust” of Himself–

And He said to them, “With lusting I lust to be eating this passover with you before My suffering.”

It is critical to make this discernment. Too often language is dominated by modern connotations, when it should be preserved. Of course, there is a different intent with each man’s desire, but the word should not be editorialized to fit anyone’s moral agenda. “Lust” is, in and of itself, not a bad thing, and it can only become such through a specific context. The word is simply desire. The verse may read,

Wherefore God gives them over, in the desires of their hearts, to the uncleanness of dishonoring their bodies among themselves…

It is in the desires of our hearts to dishonor our bodies among ourselves. This is the absolute fact of the heart ridden with irreverence and unrighteousness – a desire to dishonor the body. This is a terribly unnatural catch-22. We want to stop sinning, but the desires of our hearts prevent us from doing so. Instead, we’re given over to the sin which further alienates us from God, leading to greater sin. This vicious cycle, apart from Christ, is unable to be penetrated (side note: God set it up this way on purpose, and no, He’s not just duping you. There’s a reason for it, as we’ll get to.)

- GerudoKing