God’s Anger at Sin
18 But God shows his anger from heaven against all sinful, wicked people who suppress the truth by their wickedness.[i] 19 They know the truth about God because he has made it obvious to them. 20 For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 22 Claiming to be wise, they instead became utter fools. 23 And instead of worshiping the glorious, ever-living God, they worshiped idols made to look like mere people and birds and animals and reptiles.
24 So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. 25 They traded the truth about God for a lie. So they worshiped and served the things God created instead of the Creator himself, who is worthy of eternal praise! Amen. 26 That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done. 29 Their lives became full of every kind of wickedness, sin, greed, hate, envy, murder, quarreling, deception, malicious behavior, and gossip. 30 They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents. 31 They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too.
7 comments:
Through everything God made, they can clearly see his invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God. What an awesome statement. Great reference for converstaion.
Amen
while not quite pc, Paul's words could be an editorial in today's Philly Enquirer...
it is amazing that the hearts of men and women have not changed since the days of Noah, even though we often think that what we are seeing today is "new".
Lord, grant me the wisdom and strength to not trade your truth for a lie...
CAS, true that! I've also wondered about this verse,
28 Since they thought it foolish to acknowledge God, he abandoned them to their foolish thinking and let them do things that should never be done.
I'd have to be pretty bad off if God abandones me...That's obviously not true of us who have accepted God's mercy. But its hard to imagine the eternal patience and compassion of the One, True God.
JLT, nice prayer and I totally agree about the relevance of this passage as a commentary of our culture today..
@TRM - reminds me of the parable of the wheat and the tares (Mt 13:24ff)...
"They refuse to understand, break their promises, are heartless, and have no mercy. 32 They know God’s justice requires that those who do these things deserve to die, yet they do them anyway. Worse yet, they encourage others to do them, too."
Sounds like today's leaders. I'm praying that these things would not be true about me as I lead my family!
Do I "refuse to understand" my wife? Do I "break my promises" to my children? It's sobering in a good way...
DSD, way to apply this to your life...i'll piggyback off that application and i do agree that it is sobering in a good way
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