“21 For though they knew God, they did not glorify him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became worthless, and their senseless hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles. 24 Therefore God delivered them over in the desires of their hearts to sexual impurity, so that their bodies were degraded among themselves.”
In this section of Romans 1, Paul shifts to using verbs in the past tense to describe what has historically happened to those who remain in their unrighteousness. Paul describes a people that claim they “knew” God, yet did not live lives that supported that claim. Paul speaks a warning to people in this position. No one will be excused for robbing God of His glory. We have every reason to be grateful to God. Why? Because God clearly reveals His divinity and power in His natural revelation, through creation, through all that He has made. He demands our worship!
The phrases Paul uses in verse 21 mirror language used by the Old Testament prophets to warn Israel of their impending destruction for their unrelenting idol worship. This kind of warning was frequently proclaimed to Israel when they went astray and is detailed throughout the Old Testament. When they remained unrepentant, often what followed was God’s judgment. Paul uses this language on purpose, to show that there is historical evidence for what happens when we insist on dwelling in our unrighteousness. God will give us exactly what we ask for, and it leads to our destruction. When we are left long enough to pursue our evil heart’s desires, left to our own destruction by God, it will affect every part of our lives. It will saturate our thinking, and ultimately it will see us become worthless.
Those who suppress the truth and live in unrighteousness do not merely rob God of His worship, they worship other “gods”. There is no such thing as a human being who does not worship. The real question is what we worship? When we turn our hearts away from God, it is because we are focusing our heart, and our worship, on something else. The idols that Paul mentions do not exactly correlate with the idols in modern life. Still, the same principle applies when we turn our hearts to material possessions (money, sex, status, careers, respect, etc.).
God does not approve of His people worshipping anything other than Him. The first two of the Ten Commandments give great detail of this.
“Do not have other gods besides me. Do not make an idol for yourself, whether in the shape of anything in the heavens above or on the earth below or in the waters under the earth. Do not bow in worship to them, and do not serve them; for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God, bringing the consequences of the fathers’ iniquity on the children to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me, but showing faithful love to a thousand generations of those who love me and keep my commands.” — Exodus 20:3-6
Romans 1:24 is particularly frightening. We are told that God delivered those who persisted in evil over to the desires of their hearts. We know that this will ultimately lead to their destruction. Pharaoh in the time of Moses is a great example of this. God let Pharaoh pursue the desires of his own heart, and in doing so, Pharaoh’s heart was hardened towards God. Paul is telling us that God will do the same to any who continue in unrighteousness.
In verse 24, Paul specifically mentions that God delivered them over to sexual impurity. Sexual sin is a consequence of an unrighteous lifestyle. Our society today champions sexual freedom of all kinds. Christians know this is sin, for which there will be consequences, but perhaps the consequence is the sin itself. This verse also says, “…their bodies were degraded among themselves.” (v. 24b) Sexual promiscuity brings physical degradation upon the body, (sexual diseases, destroyed relationships, discontentment, etc.) and it brings spiritual degradation upon the soul, destroying the temple of the body and distorting God’s intentions as set forth in Scripture: Sex between one man and one woman in the context of marriage.
If you are one who would call yourself a Christian, yet are continuing in some secret sin, this warning applies to you! Do not let this warning go unheeded, lest God turn you over to the desires of your heart. Paul is telling us that there are at least two things that we can be sure of: (1) God, through His Son Jesus, has provided a way to be saved from the coming judgment of our sinful lifestyles, and (2) Those who do not respond appropriately will be judged, and it will lead to their destruction and eternal damnation. Don’t let yourself be one who heard the good news of the gospel and rejected it. Respond to the gospel of Jesus by turning from your sinful ways, confessing that Jesus is Lord, and having faith that Jesus’ perfect sacrifice is enough to cover your sin. Praise God for the gospel and for Jesus, the Savior of all those who come to Him!