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Response
Paul, addressing “to all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people” «to all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ. », (Romans 1:7), states that his intention is to proclaim the gospel, as in it “the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from beginning to end, just as it is written: ‘The righteous will live by faith'” (verse 17). He proceeds to contrast the righteous saints with the unrighteous Gentiles, upon whom the wrath of God is being unveiled from heaven. He enumerates the deeds of the unrighteous who have provoked God’s wrath and then mentions that “God gave them over” to three things:
• “God gave them over to the lusts of their hearts to impurity, so that their bodies would be dishonored among them” (verse 24, NASB).
• “God gave them over to degrading passions” (verse 26, NASB).
• “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (verse 28, NASB).
Among the most widely used English versions today, only the New International Version and New American Standard Bible employ the phrase God gave them over. Many contemporary Bible versions state, “God gave them up” (e.g., ESV, NKJV). The Greek term translated as “gave over” or “gave up” means “surrendered, yielded up, entrusted, or transmitted.” In this context, it signifies God completely forsaking the unrighteous. As the wicked turned away from God, He, in turn, turned away from them, no longer providing divine guidance or restraint, but permitting them to corrupt themselves as they desired. Because they refused to honor Him, He allowed them to do as they pleased, leading to their own dishonor. Being surrendered or yielded to one’s sinful desires is a form of divine judgment.
Whom did God give over to?The ungodly and unrighteous: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness” «For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; », (Romans 1:18). These are the godless and wicked, those who reject the truths that God makes plain to them about Himself. They know God exists, and they are “without excuse” in their active suppression of the truth (verse 20). They do not acknowledge or honor God, nor are they grateful to Him. Their thinking becomes futile; they cannot reason, and their hearts become dark, lacking the light of God (verse 21). They claim to be wise but are actually fools (verse 22). They worship the creature rather than God the Creator (verse 23).
What was it God gave them over to? Paul specifies three things to which God surrendered the wicked: 1) “To sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another” (verse 24). Giving their hearts’ sinful desires free rein, the wicked degraded themselves in sexual immorality. 2) “To shameful lusts” (verse 26). Both men and women abandoned the natural sexual functions and committed homosexual acts. 3) “To a depraved mind” (verse 28). The result is that “they do what ought not to be done.” The depraved mind without the light of God will naturally run to evil and, unless divinely checked, will work out the full extent of its depravity.
Why did God give them over? “God gave them over” to these things because of a choice they made to reject the knowledge of God in creation; to refuse to draw obvious conclusions from the evidence all around them of God’s existence and attributes; to decline to give God thanks; and to exchange “the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles” «And changed the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles» (Romans 1:23).
The incorruptible God was made into an image resembling corruptible man, birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things.” (Romans 1:23). Throughout history, foolish individuals have tried to lower God to their level by depicting Him in various forms and worshipping created things instead of the Creator. This directly violates the first two of the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-5). Their minds rejected the evidence of the divine nature, so as a just consequence, God abandoned them to minds unable to comprehend the truth (Romans 1:19-20).
What is the outcome of God handing them over? “They have become filled with all kinds of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant, and boastful; they devise ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; they lack understanding, fidelity, love, and mercy. Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:29-32). In the manifestation of human heart depravity, the contrast between light and darkness becomes more evident: “This is the judgment: The Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of the Light because their deeds were evil” «And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. », (John 3:19). As the Gentiles refused to acknowledge God, they engaged in unreasonable actions and
Against their own welfare, and God gave them over.
The sad fact is that sometimes God gives us what we want. God allowed the Israelites who rebelled to reap the natural consequences of their choice: “But my people would not listen to me; Israel would not submit to me. So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts to follow their own devices” (Psalm 81:11-12). In Romans 1, Paul shows how the wicked made a choice to reject God, and that choice set them on a downward spiral of increasing darkness and decreasing hope. As the godless run farther and farther from God, God intervenes less and less. The Spirit’s restraint of sin is a blessing, and if that restraint is removed, all wickedness follows.
