Romans 1:28-32 - Depraved mind

28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;
32 and 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.

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Filled With Unrighteousness

Vs. 28 - And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,

“did not see fit to acknowledge God ” - This echoes verses 21 and 23. They “did not honor Him as God” and “exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for... incorruptible.” The truth is out there - “that which is known”, and “His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly seen.” God is not hiding. He is not keeping secrets about Himself from us. To be sure, there is lots of things we won’t be able to comprehend because He is vastly beyond us. We are finite; He is infinite in every way. We can refuse to believe in God - that is our choice.

“ God gave them over ” - Echoing verses 24 and 26. Why would God allow them to fall away? Why didn’t He stop them? Those types of questions are common. I ask you, would you rather be free or be a robot? Would you rather make your own decisions, or would you prefer to have your choices programmed into you?
Some of the great science fiction stories (in books and movies) including the “I, Robot” series from Isaac Asimov, or the “Terminator” movies, or the “Blade Runner” movie (based on a story by Philip K. Dick) deal with the problem of artificial intelligence and autonomy. The writers are acutely aware that machines do not have souls, and therefore should not be allowed to make certain moral decisions. Asimov came up with the clever three prime directives of robotics, to make sure that the machines would not supplant humans, always protecting humans.
The artificial intelligence of the machines began destroying human life in the Terminator movies. Decisions were based on raw data and protection of the machines rather than the value of the creators of the machines. War between machines and humans was the result. Human life has more value than machine “life” no matter how smart or capable the machines became.
God does not want you to be a programmed machine, doing only what you’ve been told. That is not a relationship. Our pets, dog and cats, have more autonomy than that! God has allowed us free rein in any decision tree we come to in life. We can choose His way, or go our own. Each has consequences. In any case, God ‘gives you over’ to your decision - allows you to live with the consequences of your decisions.
Some decisions will lead to depraved behavior. Some will lead to peace with Him. If you develop a habit of making decisions leading away from God, the “giving over” becomes a habit that deforms the conscience, leading you deeper and deeper into things which are not proper.

Vs. 29-31 - being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful;

“being filled...” - I mentioned earlier that Paul was not picking on homosexuality (vss. 26, 27) as he described their impurity or degrading passions. In verses 29-32, God provides a list of twenty-two (22) sins in which Paul describes “a depraved mind” - see the list below. A ‘Cliff Notes’ version is seen in 1 John 2:15-16: “Do not love the world nor the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” This is the kind of list that should start with the phrase ‘includes, but not limited to the following’.
The sins are the symptom of the illness that infects us. The illness is the sin nature we inherited from the ‘Original Sin’. It is almost as if the sins do not matter because they are the acting out of the way we are. It does not matter if you do not murder another person if you are arrogant - both show you are a sinner and need salvation.
Some of the sins on the list are personal, internal, and perhaps never visible to the people around you. The ‘visibility’ or public display is unimportant, for it is sin, period. God knows your sin, even if you will not acknowledge that fact.
Some of the sins on the list are inter-personal - the way you treat others, the lack of value you place on others. These sins may be committed, and observed by others. The disapproval that may arise is witness of your sin, but only the record kept by the Lord is important.

Vs. 32 - and 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.

“they know the ordinances of God... practice such things worthy of death... do the same” - Even though the people know what is being done is wrong, both in the short term and for eternity, they do it anyway. This is the Biblical definition of ‘fool’.

“hearty approval” - The depraved mind is the logical conclusion of active rebellion and passive indifference to God. The depraved not only act out the sin nature, but also encourage and tech others how to do the same. The sins are celebrated! Examples: Gay pride parades. Shouting out your abortions (encouraging women to brag about having an abortion). Spring break week bacchanal. Vilification of Christians. Personal destruction of those who disagree with the main stream media.
Some of the strongest language in the OT and NT is spoken against people who lead others into destruction. See: Mark 9:40, 42; Isa. 5:20-23. Paul is almost furious in the letter to the Galatians regarding teachers who are leading people away from the true gospel. See also: Matt. 7:15-23, 24:4-5; 2 Cor. 1:13-15; Col. 2:8; 2 Tim. 3:1-7, 4:3-4; Tit. 1:15-16; 1 John 4:1-6; 2 John 1:7-11.

If you start considering the attitudes of non-believers starting with verse 19 through verse 32, you see a death spiral - going from indifference to God, to disbelief, active opposition, to celebrating their disobedience, to urging others to join them in sin.
The attitudes go from being centered on God to chaos.

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(this assumes that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ are not rebellious to the point of defiance. Most believers are not ‘in your face’ to God)

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The list of sins:
(including, but not limited to the following:)

• unrighteousness - violating law and justice (especially God’s)
• wickedness. - depravity, evil purposes & desires
• greed - desire to have more, covetousness, avarice
• evil - ill-will, desire to injury, break laws
• envy - jealousy
• murder - killing others, slaughter
• strife - wrangling, contention
• deceit - guile, to mislead
• malice - bad character, malignant subtlety
• gossip - secret slander
• slanderers - defamers
• haters of God - exceptionally impious, and wicked
• insolent - prideful, insulting others
• arrogant - placing self above others, overweening self-estimation
• boastful - empty pretender (on the other hand, it’s not bragging if you can pull it off)
• inventors of evil - plotters of wrong things and actions
• disobedient - not compliant
• without understanding - unintelligent, stupid
• untrustworthy - covenant breaking, faithless
• unloving - without natural affection
• unmerciful - without mercy (unable or unwilling to see that compassion is needed.)
• hearty approval - to be pleased together with, consent, agree

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End of Chapter
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Romans 1:26-27 - Trading Natural for Unnatural

26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,
27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
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Indecent Acts

Vs. 26 - For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural,

“For this reason” - They rejected God’s truth. They chose to go their own way. Being “wise in their own eyes, and clever in their own sight” (Isa. 5:20, 21) they make choices which violate God’s standards, and suffer the consequences.

“God gave them over” - It is no surprise when someone becomes addicted to alcohol, cigarettes, drugs such as marijuana, meth, coke, etc. God does not force a person to become an alcoholic, a drug addict, or addicted to pornography. God warns us that these activities are bad for us. On the other hand, He does not prevent the effects to take control of someone who will not listen.

That is the idea expressed in the fried egg commercial: “You do the drugs and this is what will happen to you.” When the ravages begin to take over the body and mind, no one can legitimately say, “I had no idea this would happen.”

As bad as the effects of alcohol, drugs, or sexually transmitted diseases may be, the eternal perspective of the result of rejecting salvation through Jesus Christ is far, far worse. Jesus was clear, believing in Him had benefits for the here and now, not just in a nebulous future. He came that we might have life, and that in abundance. (John 10:10)

“their women exchanged” - This is third time in just a few verses (vss. 23, 25, 26) the word “exchanged” is used. We do not turn to and beleive in nothing when rejecting one way of ordering our lives. We do not operate in a spiritual vacuum - we always live out our lives based on some principle. Whether you choose Christianity or atheism, Judaism or Islam, naturalist or nihilist, your belief system is the paradigm used to make life decisions. God here uses sexual mores to illustrate when people reject His principles they take up others. God is not picking on women in this verse, because:

Vs. 27 - and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.

“in the same way also the men” - These two verses show that God does not approve of a homosexual lifestyle. In verse 26, above, women ‘exhanged the natural function for that which is unnatural’. In this verse, ‘men abandoned the natural function for... men with men committing indecent acts’.

There are many people who claim it is none of our business what others want to do. We cannot, should not, be telling others how to live their lives. It is their personal life, and not ours. The claim is the strictures against homosexual behavior are written because of the times and places where written, and really don’t apply to us. In the very narrow sense of you must live your life; I cannot live it for you, you must make the decision of how you will live.

However, ‘All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness’ (2 Tim. 3:16), and written for all time, not just for first century Middle Eastern cultures. I do not believe Paul is picking on homosexuality because it is a particularly egregious sin. There is no difference between adultery and homosexuality and murder and theft - these are all sin, and sin leads to death.

“receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error” - Spiritual and physical penalties are exacted. The conscience is dulled, becoming incapable of telling right from wrong. The mind and body become addicted - many want to treat addiction like a disease. I cannot think of any disease as a good thing. Likewise, anything that will destroy the mind, spirit, and body is not good for you or me.

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Romans 1:22-25 - Exchanged Truth for Lie

22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

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We Become Fools

Vs. 22 - Professing to be wise, they became fools,

“Professing to be wise” - That is: wiser than God. The height of arrogance is to decide human knowledge and reason is the ultimate end of what can be known or understood. Philosophers and scientists may choose to ignore God, but it is not without consequences.
I saw a bumper sticker the other day, “Science is Real”. Based on the other stickers on the vehicle, I am guessing the owner has decided God - or faith in God - is not real. There are several writers that have expounded on this subject far better than I can. (See: C.S. Lewis, “Mere Christianity”; Nancy Pearcey, “Total Truth”; Francis Schaefer, “How Should We Then Live”; R. M. Weaver, “Ideas Have Consequences”.)
Professing to be wise, many wise words and sayings have been written based on the belief man is the measure of all things. This “wisdom” leads us away from God, making it deadly.

“They became fools” - From Unger’s Bible Dictionary: The word fool “is used in Scripture with respect to moral more than intellectual deficiencies. The ‘fool’ is not so much one lacking mental powers, as one who misuses them; not one who does not reason, but reasons wrongly. In Scripture, the ‘fool’ by way of eminence, is the person who casts off the fear of God, and thinks and acts as if he could safely disregard the eternal principles of God’s righteousness. (Psa. 14:1; 92:6; Jer. 17:11; Pro. 14:9)” (See Note 1). This reminds me of the comedian Red Skelton. One of his ‘characters’ was the Mean Little Kid, who would say, “If if I dood [sic] this, I’ll get in trouble.” After a few seconds pause, “I’ll dood it anyway.” This type of unreasonableness can also be likened to: “Don’t confuse me with facts. My mind is made up.” The sense is the person knows the right thing to do, and rejects it in order to do as they please.
The word used here for ‘fool’ is similar to a Hebrew word meaning ‘rebel’, and similar to the Greek word from which we have derived ‘moron’.

Vs. 23 - and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

“Exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image...” - Worshipping an idol in lieu of Holy God. Most of the pagan gods were represented by a physical image - an animal, bird, person, or some combination of these. See the story of the “golden calf” (Exo. 32:4). Several other gods show up in scripture: Baal (1 Ki. 14:23; 2 Ki. 23:7); Dagon (Jud. 26:23-30; 1 Sam. 5:1-7); Ashtoreth (1 Ki. 11:5; Jud. 2:13; 2 Ki. 23:13). Often the worship of these false gods involved licentious behavior - substituting sex acts with a temple prostitute for the worship and relationship with God Almighty. Before we get all uppity, feeling superior to those pagan religions, realize that human nature has not changed. Now we worship ‘science”, ecology, nature, etc. For example, we idolize polar bears, spotted owls, snail darters; we bow to global warming, abortion, political power, etc. Some of these are images in the sense a representation of something that takes the place of worshiping God.
I just watched an interview with the famous author Orson Scott Card (“Ender’s Game”) in which he noted that everyone has a religion - it may be a belief in God, or some other god, or “science”. Many science fiction authors have their characters and world systems rejecting God Almighty - maybe not explicitly, but rejecting even so. Likewise, detective stories and murder mysteries seldom have a faith in God. They may believe in themselves and their personal prowess, but not in God.

Vs. 24 - Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.

“gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity“ - Be careful of what you wish for; you may actually get it. Go to Exo 7:10-12:29, Pharaoh refused to listen to the requests to let the Israelites go. The common phrase is “Pharaoh hardened his heart”, and at least once the Lord hardened the heart. The Pharaoh was pre-disposed to rebel against the Lord’s commands. At some point, God lets him have his way. But that way leads to death (See: Exo. 11:29ff; 14:26-31)
For some reason, when we reject God our predilection is to give in to baser lusts: sex, drugs, rock-n-roll, parties, etc.

“their bodies would be dishonored” - It is reasonable to think that addiction to sex, alcohol or drugs is destructive to the body, or mind, or even the soul.

Vs. 25 - For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.

“they exchanged the truth of God for a lie” - The Truth: God created us to have a loving relationship with Him. This is a two-way relationship - God loves us and cares for us. We can love and worship Him.

The lie: Humans don’t need God, and can get along very well - we can determine what is best for our bodies, our minds, our souls.
A line from the poem ‘Invictus‘ by W. E. Henley is often quoted to show fierce independence from God, “I am the master of my fate: I am the captain of my soul". It is to show resilience in the face of disaster, to defy an intractable and vengeful God. This saying only holds true for as long as you are alive. At some point in the future you must face the Lord God at His judgement seat. Your ‘captaincy’ or ‘mastery’ will determine the ultimate fate of your soul. “And as much as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgement.” (Heb 9:27) You have no control over what happens next. You face the Living God and the Lord Jesus Christ. If your ‘mastery’ meant you accepted Him as Lord and Savior, you spend eternity with Him in glory. If your ‘capataincy’ meant rejecting His freely offered gift of life, your fate is sealed and separated permanently from God. (See: Rev 20:11-15) No arguing. No debating. No bargaining. You have made a decision and you will live or die based on it. This is why professing to be wise is so scary. It may be said, “He chose poorly”, or better yet, “You have chosen wisely”. (See note 2)

Note 1: Unger, Merrill F.; “Unger’s Bible Dictionary”; Moody Press; 1966.
Note 2: From “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.” ***