Romans 1:24-32: "Giving Them What They Want"

From v. 18-23, Paul has explained that God's wrath is being stored up and poured out on all unrighteousness, and that man has been given ample evidence to believe in him. Yet, man's condition has been exposed as he seeks himself and other worldly things instead of God who is due all the honor and glory. Paul will continue his theme of man exchanging what is rightfully God's, for something of this world. We continue to look into the hearts of unregenerate man (as once I was).

This next section can best be summed up by C.S. Lewis when he says, "[The lost] enjoy forever the horrible freedom they have demanded, and are therefore self-enslaved" (The Problem of Pain). People can scream and rant about, "how can a loving God send anyone to hell". However, we learn in this section that God is merely giving them what they have been asking for all along. We can see God temporarily doing this to Israel in the OT. "But My people did not listen to My voice and Israel did not obey Me. so I gave them over to the stubbornness of their heart, to walk in their own devices" (Ps. 81:11-12). What we will see from this section is Paul going out of his way to show his readers the depravity of man and left to himself how he will self-destruct.

Paul begins v.24 by stating that "God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity". This section begins with "therefore". This referring back to what was previously said about man exchanging the glory of God for man made idols. As their desire for sin and impurity increased, God finally gave them over to their desires. He in fact gave them what they wanted. God does this by removing his hand of protection and unleashing the earthly (natural) and heavenly (supernatural) consequences on them. MacArthur says, "When God abandons men to their own devices, His divine protection is partially withdrawn. When that occurs, men not only become more vulnerable to the destructive wiles of Satan but also suffer the destruction that their won sin works in and through them." The phrase "gave them over" connotates the idea of patience. God does not just abandon us when we are truly seeking and we fail. God continually gives us evidence of Him, and patiently waits for us to acknowledge Him. However, there comes a time when God will no longer wait for you and will give you over to your worldly desires. This is clearly spoken of in Proverbs 1:23-28, "Turn to my reproof, behold, I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I called, and you refused; I stretched out my hand, and no one paid attention; And you neglected all my counsel, and did not want my reproof; I will even laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your dread comes, when your dread comes like a storm, and your calamity comes on like a whirlwind, when distress and anguish come on you. Then they will call on me, but I will not answer; They will seek me diligently, but they shall not find me." What sobering words to heed. We must not presume on God's grace, or He will give us over to our sin.

"The lusts of their hearts" refers to the strong worldly desire for "impurity". This usually has a sexual connotation to it, however, can refer to any strong craving for something that is not Godly. Paul is saying that God gave them over to unhindered and unbridled passion so that "their bodies might be dishonored among them." God removed His hand of restraint and allowed them to indulge in what they craved. MacArthur explains further, "When men seek to glorify their own ways and to satisfy their bodies through shameful indulgence in sexual and other sins, their bodies, along with their souls, are instead, dishonored. When man seeks to elevate himself for his own purposes and by his own standards, he inevitably does the opposite." I Cor. 6:13 speaks of this dishonoring of the body, "The body is not for immorality but for the Lord; and the Lord is for the body." Just as man had exchanged God for idols, man exchanged the proper use of his body to glorify God, to practice in debase sexual practices.

As man's rebellion grows he ultimately "exchanged the truth of God for a lie". MacArthur explains it this way, "Having suppressed God's truth in unrighteousness, rebellious man submits himself to untruth, a lie. The basic divine truth that fallen man suppresses is that of God's very existence and therefore His right and demand to be honored and glorified as sovereign Lord." This is also true in the sense that man is telling himself a lie. If we look back to verse 22 we see that man professed to be wise. That is, they thought they had the wisdom and what they were doing was truly going to give them what they wanted. Instead, men are lying to themselves. They live under the illusion that they are their own destinies and have no one to answer to, and therefore, have the right to look for their fulfillment of pleasure however they feel. This is the ultimate lie, that there is no God which leads to men worshipping and serving "the creature rather than the Creator".

Reading through this section you can start to see the pattern as man exchanges the sinful for what is right and God allows them to see the consequences of their sin. God will in fact try to use these consequences to drive men to their knees to come back to Him. We can see in that in v.23 man exchanged the glory of God for an image and God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts. In v.25 man "exchanged the truth of God for a lie" and God gave them over to degrading passions. Paul further explains what these degrading passions were. Degrading comes from the Greek word atimia and means dishonor or disgrace. These dishonorable and disgraceful acts were homosexuality as we can see in v.26-27. Men and women "exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural." Here we can see that God clearly lays out homosexuality as a sin. The "natural" function described here is in which man and woman participate in intercourse. To have relations with the same sex is to twist and pervert which was created as natural by God. This is clear proof that no one is born into homosexuality as many would defend. Instead, God gives man over to his perverted and unnatural lusts, and he seeks out more perverted and unnatural acts to carry out. What is interesting to note in v.27 is that God warned us of the consequences of such acts by saying, "receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error." Is it any wonder why AIDS is rampant throughout the homosexual community? Is it any wonder why lives are ruined by choosing an "alternative lifestyle"? I think God has made it very clear that homosexuality is man's way of dishonoring the body God has given him, and is completely unnatural. Shame on those in the "church" that look to defend this behavior.

The last thing that Paul tells us God gave man over to is a "depraved mind" in v.28. This comes from man's inability to give God the credit he deserves, as we are told, "they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer". Because man refuses in his heart to acknowledge God, despite all the evidence he's been given inside himself and outside himself, God allows them to continue in their behavior and allows the natural consequences to take place. Paul begins a list, although not exhaustive, covering a multitude of the sins man commits as he is given over to his depraved mind. This list explains all the sins that would describe the current condition of our world. How often do we see unrighteousness? greed? gossip? etc. Paul seems to have come around full circle from v.18 as he reiterates that what makes these sins even more heinous is that "they know the ordinance of God". What makes man so "foolish" and "depraved" is that even though they know it's wrong and goes against what God has set out as natural and right, they still do what is wrong. And not only that, but they "give hearty approval to those who practice them".

Paul has and will continue to paint man as a pretty bleak picture. He is doing all of this so that we might grasp what God is trying to save us from. It is so we can get a true and horrifying picture of what we are (if not a Christian) or what we were (if we are a Christian). This is how the gospel is presented. We must include the ugly and horrible truths of mankind so we can help them understand their need for a Savior.