Paul's Epistle to the Romans, Part 2: No Excuse

Romans 1:18-32

Paul has given us a summary of the gospel and its impact in his own life. Now he begins to unpack and defend it. The first order of business is to eliminate human preconceptions of self-righteousness that we inevitably bring to the table. Paul needs his readers to understand that they have nothing of worth to offer God, because all of humanity has failed to live up to God’s standards and are therefore guilty.

Here in the last half of chapter one we see the first leg of Paul’s argument; that all men have dishonored God by refusing to give Him the acknowledgement He deserves. Instead of worshiping their creator, men worship creatures that He has made. This is particularly heinous, because God has given enough revelation in nature for man to at least admit that He exists. Yet, they refuse to do so, preferring a lie to the truth.

As punishment, God has given man up to dishonor and depravity. They have been cursed with every form of evil practice imaginable. Noteworthy is the fact that God did not cause these reprehensible behaviors in man. He simply removed His divine restraints and allowed man to indulge in his own penchant for wrongdoing to the maximum measure possible.

This section is a sobering commentary on the deplorable state of humanity. It is simultaneously a glorious vindication of God’s righteousness in condemning man. Often, when God must pass judgment on us for wrongdoing, our self-focused flesh would seek to rise up and accuse God of injustice. Paul’s argumentation here eviscerates any such attempt to call God’s honor into question. It is a scathing rebuke upon men and women for their heinous natures.

And, for Christians, who have been granted respite from the whirlpool of destruction that Paul describes here, it is a stinging reminder that even we who have been born again are often guilty of the core evil that is at the heart of man. That is, we fail to value our Creator more highly than what He has created. We elevate the things of this world to a level of importance they do not deserve, and in the process, we deprecate God’s worth in our affections.

We do not have to fear the horrific divine judgment Paul describes here. But, that very act of grace that has freed us from such a fate should drive us to give God His due out of gratitude for what He has done for us.