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Romans 1:29-31 NASB

NT

Romans 1:29-31

nasb

29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are a gossips, 30 slanderers, 1 a haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, b disobedient to parents, 31 without understanding, untrustworthy, a unloving, unmerciful;

Block Diagram

Romans 1:28-32

mine

1:18-32

And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God

Cf

any longer,

God gave them over

to a depraved mind,

Ac/Res

to do those things

Ac/Res

which are not proper,

Id/Exp

a) being filled with all

a) unrighteousness,

Id/Exp

b) wickedness,

c) greed,

d) evil;

b) full of

a) envy,

Id/Exp

b) murder,

c) strife,

d) deceit,

e) malice;

[S]

Gn/Sp

c) they are

a) gossips,

Id/Exp

b) slanderers,

c) haters of God,

d) insolent,

e) arrogant,

f) boastful,

g) inventors of evil,

h) disobedient to parents,

i) without understanding,

j) untrustworthy,

k) unloving,

l) unmerciful;

and although they know the ordinance of God,

Csv

that those ... are worthy of death,

Gn/Sp

who practice such things

Gn/Sp

a) they not only do the same,

[P]

Id/Exp

hearty

Ac/Man

b) but also give ... approval to those

who practice them.

Gn/Sp

phrasing

notes

Notes

In the previous verse we saw Paul's main thought - God gives these people - who have rejected the general revelation that He has made clear, and have suppressed that revealed truth, and exchanged it for human lies - over to a depraved mind. This act of God also has the same result as what caused it initially - them falling further into their depraved lifestyles and choices that put them in this position in the first place. Paul describes these things as that "which is not proper," and here gives a relatively random list. We see it broken up roughly into three sections - first, what they are filled with, second, what they are full of, and third, what they themselves are. Douglas J. Moo says in The New International Commentary on the New Testament, "A general logical sequence matches this structure. The first four nouns are rather general in their focus, the next five revolve around envy and its consequences, while the last twelve begin with two words depicting slander, move on to the four that focus on arrogance, and conclude with six less closely related. Throughout the list, Paul focuses on social ills, leaving out sins relating to sexual conduct and, for the most part, sins against God directly. The purpose of this recital, which is the longest of its kind in the NT, is to show the general scope of social evils produced by the 'unqualified mind' to which God has handed sinners over. The harm done by people to other people is thus added to idolatry and sexual perversion to complete Paul's sketch of the world outside Christ." While much can be said about each item in this list, it would be good to focus on a few specific points that I think are important to elaborate on. While Paul's focus in chapter one of Romans is more on the unbelieving gentile who has never heard of God like Israel has, this whole passage is also universally applicable. This list describes an unbelieving Jew as much as it describes an unbelieving gentile, and Paul will make that case in chapter 2. First is the term "haters of God." We cannot claim to love God, while we are in the state described here. Regardless of what our mouths say, if this list describes us, our actions prove us to be "haters of God." That is why Jesus could say that, if you love Him, you will keep His commandments (John 14:15), and John could say that "this is the the love of God, that we keep His commandments" (1 John 5:3). A husband can say that he loves his wife 100 times a day, but if he abuses her physically or mentally, always insults her, and sleeps with prostitutes, no woman in her right mind will believe what comes out of his mouth. Yet, we expect God to believe us when we sin willfully and intentionally the one moment, and proclaim our love for Him in the next. The worldly saying holds true here - actions speak louder than words, as Jesus pointed out - "Why do you CALL me 'Lord, Lord,' and DO NOT DO what I say?" (Luke 6:46). Do you call Him "Lord, Lord," while not doing what He says? Luke 6:47-49 Everyone who comes to Me and hears My words and acts on them, I will show you whom he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid a foundation on the rock; and when a flood occurred, the torrent burst against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who has heard and has not acted accordingly, is like a man who built a house on the ground without any foundation; and the torrent burst against it and immediately it collapsed, and the ruin of that house was great.”