Romans 1

Reflection

Paul doesn’t waste much time getting into the hard and heavy issues of Romans. After a pretty standard introduction, he hops right into “the wrath of God.” So much for the cheery welcome of the first 17 verses.

Although the verses from 18-32 are less happy and exhorting than the first 17, Paul doesn’t seem to be condemning his audience, but rather warning them against the sort of things they will come to fight against. This passage is a clear condemnation of many issues even contemporary audiences will wrestle with.

I love the logical progression of Paul’s thinking. He first clearly states that “what may be known about God is plain to [the men who suppress truth] because God has made it plain to them (vs. 19).” Paul is crystal clear that what can be known about God has been revealed through his creation, and that man has no excuse for not knowing God (verses 20).

Sometimes I’ve wondered what God would say to people who died without ever being exposed to the truth of Jesus. Romans 1:20 doesn’t leave much of a loophole for those people. The Holy Spirit says through Paul that God’s qualities, though invisible to the naked eye, can be seen through creation. This reminds me of the central idea behind the Intelligent Design movement (i.e. – the irreducible complexity of creation and the unlikelihood that such complexity would result from a work of chance).

What I don’t understand is how the qualities we can see in creation would lead to an understanding of who God is and why we need him. Obviously, I can’t fully relate to this situation, because I have access to the Bible and can learn about God through other ways. But what about people who don’t have access to the Word of God? Are they held responsible to the same degree? Can they know about things like sin and redemption? Or are they expected to simply believe in the existence of God and worship him as the creator of the universe?

Paul is pretty harsh on people of the world through the rest of the chapter. He says that people knew God, but willingly exchanged the truth he provided for lies of man’s creation. Verse 22 and 23 very striking: “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.”

How awesomely sad. What a heartbreaking passage. What an image. Exchanging the everlasting glory of the Creator of the universe for images of humans and animals. It’s not without consequences either. Paul says that God basically said “alright, if that’s how you want it” when men rejected him. God gave them what they desired. And what, exactly, did humans choose instead of “the glory of the immortal God”? “Shameful lusts,” “perversion,” “indecent acts,” “depraved minds,” “every kind of evil.” Wow.

Not only that, but verse 32 says that the people who participate in these sorts of things not only know that they’re doing wrong, but continue to do these things and “approve of those who practice them.” It’s hard, but I can think of times where I’ve given approval to bad things. Not necessarily things that are bad on the surface, but certainly things that are born of the evil mind that Paul mentions.

Favorite Verses

Verse 16 – “I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes; first for the Jew, then for the Gentile.”

Verse 20 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – his eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.”

Questions

• What sort of spiritual gift would Paul have given the Roman church? (verse 11)

• What does it mean when it talks about how clearly people knew God (verses 19-23)? It seems as though people had a clear understanding of who God was and what he expected them to do in a way that most people wouldn’t today. Is Paul referring to ancient times, like the many times when the Israelites turned to foreign Gods? Or is he referring to the times at present, when people like the Pharisees almost worshiped the law rather than the Lord?