Comments on Romans 1:16–32
Romans 1:16–32 (NASB 2020)
16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.”
The good news of Jesus Christ is the power of God for salvation. Salvation requires righteousness. (Matthew 5:20) Righteousness is unattainable. (Matthew 5:48) It cannot be bought by moral living, virtuous works, or obedience to rules, rites, and rituals. (Ephesians 2: 9) Righteousness (salvation) is the gift of God. (Ephesians 2:8) That’s the good news. By the grace of God, we are given at no cost what we could never earn or buy. (2 Corinthians 5:21 & Romans 6:23)
Just as a side note, this good news is for both Jews and Gentiles. There is only one gospel. (Galatians 1:6-9) There is only one group. Father broke down the wall between Jews and Gentiles and made the two into one. (Ephesians 2:11-15) We are all one in Jesus Christ. (Galatians 3:26-29)
The good news is the power of God for salvation because in it the righteousness of God is revealed. That righteousness is what was given to us in Jesus Christ (see 2 Corinthians 5:21 again). It is appropriated through faith (Ephesians 2:8) and it is lived out through faith. (Colossians 2:6)
Eternal life is attained through the power of God. It is a gift by His grace. It is appropriated by faith and not by anything we do, refrain from doing, or by doing more good things than bad.
Unfortunately, many refuse to accept it. For some, it is too easy to be true, for others it seems like foolishness to rely on faith in someone they cannot see, still others simply want to go their own way because their senses tell them it’s best. In their unrighteousness, these people suppress the truth. Unrighteousness itself suppresses truth since it refuses to acknowledge God, who defines truth. Many stubbornly refuse to change their minds and agree with God.
In the early chapters of Romans, Paul lays out the effects of rejecting the truth. These chapters contain a lot of bad news as the Apostle lays out in clear terms the result of rebellion.
The remainder of chapter one can be heavy reading, so it is important that we understand about whom the Spirit is speaking. This is not written to those who are in Christ. They are the righteous children of God. It is not written to you if you have faith in Jesus Christ as your hope of righteousness. Rather, this is written to those who have put their trust in themselves to know what is best and right. Those who trust in moral living, and those who, for whatever reason, have chosen not to believe God.
Romans 1
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of people who suppress the truth in unrighteousness,
19 because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, being understood by what has been made, so that they are without excuse.
God has revealed Himself in creation. One need only look at the order of the solar system, the intricacy of the ecosystem, the wonder of human consciousness, the predictability of behavior in sub-atomic particles, or the Duck-billed Platypus. One can see from each of these things and myriad more that all that exists did not come into being by chance.
When people reject the truth and insist on defining it themselves there are terrible consequences. These destructive consequences “reveal the wrath of God” as we read in verse 18 and find again in John 3:36 (NASB 2020) “The one who believes in the Son has eternal life; but the one who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him.” Notice here that obedience is synonymous with belief. Obedience and belief are one and the same. Christ-life is dependent life. It is faith life. Therefore, Jesus could say that the work of God is to believe on the One He has sent. (John 6:29) It is as if unrighteousness pulls back the covers that hide God’s wrath, revealing it in the awful consequences of disobedience/unbelief.
Romans 1
21 For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their reasonings, and their senseless hearts were darkened.
People, when they are truly honest, know in their heart that there is a God. The consequences of suppressing that truth and choosing to trust themselves rather than Him has deep and lasting effects on their minds and further darkens their hearts.
Romans 1
22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools,
23 and they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible mankind, of birds, four-footed animals, and crawling creatures.
24 Therefore God gave them up to vile impurity in the lusts of their hearts, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for falsehood, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Replacing the one true God with a god of one’s own making is disastrous. It sets in motion events that result in long-term damage and perversion of mind and body. What’s more, the enemy holds in bondage those who elect to live by their own rules and ideas.
Romans 1
26 For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; for their women exchanged natural relations for that which is contrary to nature,
27 and likewise the men, too, abandoned natural relations with women and burned in their desire toward one another, males with males committing shameful acts and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error.
So deep are the effects of flaunting the truth about sin and righteousness that it leads to unnatural attitudes and actions. Things that are abnormal and go against natural design become sought after and viewed as normal. Isaiah prophesied about this sort of thing in Isaiah 5:20 (NASB 2020) “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness…” He made clear the result of such perversion of truth in Isaiah 5:24 (NASB 2020) “…So their root will become like rot, and their blossom blow away like dust; For they have rejected the Law of the LORD of armies, And discarded the word of the Holy One of Israel.”
Romans 1
28 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a depraved mind, to do those things that are not proper,
29 people having been filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, and evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice; they are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, unfeeling, and 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 approve of those who practice them.
Note that even in such extreme and devastating cases of rebellion Father does not force anyone’s hand. He gives them the freedom to choose their own path. Scripture phrases this as “giving them up” or “giving them over.” This can be seen as Father simply not intervening to prevent them serving whatever or whomever they choose to worship. When God is out of the picture, a different set of rules apply. The law of sin and death. Bondage to sin and service to the god of this world.
Instead of bondage and rules, those who choose to trust Him find freedom. Galatians 5:1 (NASB 2020) “It was for freedom that Christ set us free; therefore keep standing firm and do not be subject again to a yoke of slavery.
They discover that righteousness results in life that never ends. Matthew 25:46 (NASB 2020) These will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”
They find themselves free from sin and its devastating consequences. Romans 6:17–18 (NASB 2020) “But thanks be to God that though you were slaves of sin, you became obedient from the heart to that form of teaching to which you were entrusted, and after being freed from sin, you became slaves to righteousness.
They live a new kind of life where the Spirit of God is joined to their spirit. 1 Corinthians 6:17 (NASB 2020) “But the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with Him.”
They discover that their heart is drawn to godly things. Philippians 2:13 (NASB 2020) “for it is God who is at work in you, both to desire and to work for His good pleasure.”
It will likely take time for some old habits and mindsets to change, but those who are in Christ will be transformed by the renewing of their minds as they grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord.
Romans 12:2 (NASB 2020) “And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.”
2 Peter 3:18 (NASB 2020) “but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”
