Romans 1

However, most of the Jews rejected Jesus; and in the end they had Him put to death on a cross.⁸ Therefore, God appointed preachers like Paul to go and preach the Gospel to the Gentiles, that is, to all the other people in the world. That’s why Paul says here that the Gospel was first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.

Paul was not ashamed to preach the Gospel. In Paul’s time, to be a Christian was difficult. Christians were despised and persecuted. Christ Himselfhad been hung on a cross as a criminal. In the beginning, most Christians belonged to the poorer classes. Many were slaves; many others were in trouble of one kind or another. In the eyes of the world, to be a Christian was a shameful thing.

But Paul was not ashamed, nor were the Roman Christians ashamed—even under the most severe persecution. Why should they be ashamed? They had received the power of God for … salvation.

Are we ashamed of the Gospel of Christ? Are we afraid of what men will say and do to us? Do we hide our faith? Why should we? The Gospel is the power of God, the power to live eternally. But if we hide our faith and deny the Gospel, that power, that eternal life, will go out like a candle (see Matthew 10:32-33 and comment).

17 God’s RIGHTEOUSNESS has been revealed in His Son Jesus. Jesus never sinned; He was in every way pure and righteous (Hebrews 4:15).

We too, by FAITH, can share in that righteousness. There is no righteousness naturally in us (Romans 3:10-12); but through faith we can obtain the righteousness of God (of Christ). If we do not obtain that righteousness, God, being righteous Himself, cannot accept us (see Hebrews 12:14 and comment). Without having obtained that righteousness through faith in Christ, we cannot be saved. That’s why the Gospel is so important: It is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; because when we believe it, we are considered righteous by God and are accepted into His kingdom.

The righteousness of God is not given to us only so that we might obtain salvation; it is also given that we might daily lead righteous lives here on earth. We must lead righteous lives by faith. That is, having become followers of Christ through faith, we must now live like Christ through faith. Faith is essential, not only at the beginning of our Christian lives but every day thereafter. To confirm this, Paul quotes from the Old Testament prophet Habakkuk: “The righteous will live by faith” (Habakkuk 2:4).

18 Just as the righteousness of God has been revealed in the Gospel of Christ, so also is God’s wrath against all godlessness and wickedness of men revealed clearly to all men. The first and greatest sin of all is godlessness, that is, a refusal to acknowledge and worship the one true God. “Godlessness” is putting man in first place instead of God. It is trusting in man, in oneself, rather than in God. All the sin and unrighteousness of man springs from this one source: namely, godlessness—that is, the refusal to believe in God (see verses 29-31).

19-20 God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature have been clearly revealed through the things that He has created. All men can see these qualities of God. With their own eyes they can see the mountains, the stars. Who made all these things? Without God, how could all these things have been created? Only God could have done this (Psalm 19:1-4). Yet men suppress the truth by their wickedness (verse 18), and deny the existence of God. For this reason men are without excuse (verse 20).

21 For although they knew God, men rejected Him. All men, even though they deny God, have some natural knowledge that He exists. All men have the knowledge that if there is a creation, there has to be a creator. But that knowledge has been suppressed; men’s hearts have been hardened and their understanding has been darkened (see Ephesians 4:17-18). Men prefer to deny God, because then they can do what they please.

22-23 Therefore, instead of worshiping God, men worship idols. Men worship the creation instead of the Creator. Some men even worship stones. Such is the wisdom of the world!

Yet men of the world consider themselves wise! They call the Gospel of Christ foolishness. Paul wrote to the Corinthians: For the message of the cross (that is, the Gospel of Christ) is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God (see 1 Corinthians 1:18-21 and comment).

24 Therefore, what did God do to these ungodly men? He gave them over. In other words, He left them alone; He let them remain in their sins (see Ephesians 4:19). God let them fulfill the sinful desires of their hearts.

Three times Paul writes: God gave them over (verses 24,26,28). From our own experience we know that small sins give rise to big sins, and that soon these turn into ever bigger and bigger sins. The more we sin, the farther we get from God. And when, through sin, we draw away from God, He draws away from us—that is, He “gives us over.” If we confess our sins and draw near to God, He will draw near to us (James 4:8).

25 Idol worship is the chief sign of god-lessness. To worship idols is to worship created things rather than the Creator. To worship an idol is to worship a false god, a demon (see 1 Corinthians 10:19-20). Idol worship is the number one sin against the true God. The first two of the ten great commandments in the Old Testament concern idol worship: You shall have no other gods before me. … You shall not make yourself an idol (Exodus 20:3-6).

One further thing: An idol is not only something made out of metal or stone or wood. An idol is anything we love more than God—whether it be money, possessions, fame, power, honor, or family. When we love these things more than we love God, then we are guilty °f idol worship. These things—though good in themselves—have become for us idols.

26-27 Paul here talks about homosexuality. According to Paul’s teaching, for women to lust for other women, and for men to lust for other men is a sin.⁹ It is unnatural; it is against God’s plan for men and women. And to satisfy such lust by committing unnatural acts with members of the same sex is even a worse sin. When men, in particular, commit indecent acts with other men, they are liable to get a number of serious, even fatal, diseases, such as AIDS. (of course, promiscuous behavior between the sexes can result in such diseases as well.) Such diseases are the due penalty for their perversion (verse 27).

28 Notice that man’s first sin is to worship and serve created things rather than God (verse 25). Since they do not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, God “gives them over,” and they fall into various bodily sins (verses 26-27). Now, in verse 28, God “gives them over” to a depraved mind. The mind is the source of evil in a man. All of our evil thoughts and desires arise in our mind. Therefore, when any man’s mind becomes depraved, then all of his thoughts and desires become depraved also. One can’t get worse of f than that!

God never causes a man to do evil. But when a man denies God and begins to worship idols, then God has to let him go. Man is free either to accept God or to reject Him; God has given man that freedom.¹⁰ But once a man completely and deliberately rejects God, there is no way left for him to be reconciled with God; that man has taken himself out of the reach of God’s grace and mercy.

29-31 Paul here gives some examples of various sins. It is easy to see such sins in other people, but it is not so easy to recognize them in ourselves. We don’t like to see ourselves as being wicked or evil. But if we examine ourselves closely, we will likely find in ourselves some of these same sins: greed? envy? deceit? Are we gossips? slanderers? Are we arrogant? boastful? Are we full of murder? “No, no, not murder!” we say at once. But look again. Jesus taught that to get angry with our brother is like murdering him! (see Matthew 5:21-22 and comment). Do we not get angry with our brother from time to time? Or our sister?

Therefore, let us examine ourselves. These sinful works are not just in people whom we like to call “evil.” These sins are in ourselves. And only the blood of Christ shed for us on the cross can cleanse us from these sins.

32 In Romans 6:23, Paul says: For the wages of sin is death. Sin, in one way, is a kind of work—a work that we do for Satan. And Satan pays us a wage for that work—and the wage is death. But even knowing that, men continue to sin. Take, as two small examples, the excessive drinking of alcohol and the smoking of cigarettes. Both of these activities do great harm to one’s body, and can lead to fatal illnesses. But even knowing that, people continue to smoke and drink. They will certainly receive the “wages” of their sinful habits!

It is bad to commit these sins. But it is even worse to approve of those who commit them. The reason is this: it is possible for a man himself to fall into sin unknowingly; but when one “approves” of sin in others, it is always done knowingly. The man who does this is depraved indeed.