A Chosen Foolishness
Romans 1:18-32
📖 Scripture
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,
19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.
20 For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.
22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools
23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another.
25 They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones.
27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.
28 Furthermore, just as they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, so God gave them over to a depraved mind, so that they do what ought not to be done.
29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;
31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy.
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.
📝 Scripture Summary
The wrath of God is being revealed against all godlessness and wickedness by which people suppress the truth. Even though God’s eternal power and divine nature have been made plain to them, they neither glorify nor thank God but exchange His truth for lies and follow their sinful desires. Therefore, God gives them over to a depraved mind.
💡 Memory Verse
For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written: “The righteous will live by faith.”
– Romans 1:17
🔎 Reflection
Suppressing the Truth (1:18–23)
God’s eternal power and divine nature can be seen in creation, but when people embrace wickedness, they suppress the truth. They recognize God’s hand in the world, but they do not glorify or give thanks to Him. They claim to be wise but foolishly worship idols that look like human beings or animals rather than worshiping the Lord. Those who do not believe in Jesus are able to detect the power and nature of God, but they ignore the truth when they choose godlessness. As Christians, we know and have experienced much of God’s eternal power and divine nature, but we, too, should be wary because we can also suppress the truth when we choose sin and idolatry over God.
When have sins or idols tempted you away from God and suppressed the truth about His goodness and grace? How does knowing God’s power and nature drive us away from suppressing the truth?
The Severity of Sin (1:24–32)
Paul describes the severity of many kinds of sin and the harm they produce. The consequences of sins like sexual impurity and murder may be obvious, but Paul also mentions subtler sins such as envy, gossip, arrogance, and disloyalty. Any of these sins can ruin not only the person engaging in them but also the people around them. Scripture warns those who know that their actions deserve God’s judgment yet continue in their sins and even approve of others who practice them. God does not force us to comply to His will but those who continue in sin and encourage others to sin will meet severe consequences for their actions. To those who truly repent, however, God freely offers forgiveness.
Ask the Holy Spirit to reveal the sinful tendencies in your life that may be less obvious. Confess and repent of these patterns and ask for the grace to know Him and love Him above all else.
🌟 Today’s Inspiration
“God has given us his church to remind us of truth on days when we’re prone to forget.” – Bethany Broderick
🙏 Prayer
Dear God, I am in awe of Your eternal power and divine nature. I confess that there are times when I have allowed idols to tempt me away from You. Please reveal any sinful tendencies in my life and help me fight their pull. In Jesus’ name, amen.
✍️ Essay
Surrounded by Truth
People who do not know God can still experience a glimpse of His eternal power and divine nature in a thunderstorm, in the rising and setting of the sun, and in the beautiful diversity of plants and animals. Christians can encounter God’s divine nature through all these things but also through other believers. The Holy Spirit dwelling within each follower of Jesus can prompt us to speak the truth in love to encourage our brothers and sisters and to correct them.
When sinful patterns including envy, gossip, and arrogance start to arise in us, the people who know us best can recognize and call out the behavior we may not even realize we have adopted. This requires trust and vulnerability, not only on the part of the sinner, but also on the part of the one calling out the sinful behavior. Such conversations are possible when close relationships have been built over time on a strong foundation, cultivating a willingness on both parties to give and receive love and truth.
I am grateful to have family members and friends who love the Lord, and I am open to their correction and rebuke. It can sting a bit at the time, but I welcome their words and actions because I know they love me and desire the best for me. I experience God’s goodness and grace when they speak the truth. They catch me when I falter in my walk with the Lord and help me in the sanctification process of becoming more like Christ.
Written by Ahreum Kim