Rom 1:21-28 | JFB | STEP | 21. Because that, when they knew God-- that is, while still retaining some real knowledge of Him, and ere they sank down into the state next to be described. they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful-- neither yielded the adoration due to Himself, nor rendered the gratitude which His beneficence demanded. but became vain-- (compare ). in their imaginations-- thoughts, notions, speculations, regarding God; compare ; ; , Greek. and their foolish-- "senseless," "stupid." heart-- that is, their whole inner man. was darkened-- How instructively is the downward progress of the human soul here traced!

‏ Romans 1:21-28

21. Because that, when they knew God--that is, while still retaining some real knowledge of Him, and ere they sank down into the state next to be described.

they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful--neither yielded the adoration due to Himself, nor rendered the gratitude which His beneficence demanded.

but became vain--(compare Jr 2:5).

in their imaginations--thoughts, notions, speculations, regarding God; compare Mt 15:19; Lu 2:35; 1Co 3:20, Greek.

and their foolish--"senseless," "stupid."

heart--that is, their whole inner man.

was darkened--How instructively is the downward progress of the human soul here traced!

22-23. Professing themselves--"boasting," or "pretending to be"

wise, they became fools--"It is the invariable property of error in morals and religion, that men take credit to themselves for it and extol it as wisdom. So the heathen" (1Co 1:21) [Tholuck].

24. Wherefore God also--in righteous retribution.

gave them up--This divine abandonment of men is here strikingly traced in three successive stages, at each of which the same word is used (Ro 1:24, 26; and Ro 1:28, where the word is rendered "gave over"). "As they deserted God, God in turn deserted them; not giving them divine (that is, supernatural) laws, and suffering them to corrupt those which were human; not sending them prophets, and allowing the philosophers to run into absurdities. He let them do what they pleased, even what was in the last degree vile, that those who had not honored God, might dishonor themselves" [Grotius].

25. Who changed the truth of God into a lie--that is, the truth concerning God into idol falsehood.

and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator--Professing merely to worship the Creator by means of the creature, they soon came to lose sight of the Creator in the creature. How aggravated is the guilt of the Church of Rome, which, under the same flimsy pretext, does shamelessly what the heathen are here condemned for doing, and with light which the heathen never had!

who is blessed for ever! Amen--By this doxology the apostle instinctively relieves the horror which the penning of such things excited within his breast; an example to such as are called to expose like dishonor done to the blessed God.

26-27. For this cause God gave them up--(See on Ro 1:24).

for even their women--that sex whose priceless jewel and fairest ornament is modesty, and which, when that is once lost, not only becomes more shameless than the other sex, but lives henceforth only to drag the other sex down to its level.

did change, &c.--The practices here referred to, though too abundantly attested by classic authors, cannot be further illustrated, without trenching on things which "ought not to be named among us as become the saints." But observe how vice is here seen consuming and exhausting itself. When the passions, scourged by violent and continued indulgence in natural vices, became impotent to yield the craved enjoyment, resort was had to artificial stimulants by the practice of unnatural and monstrous vices. How early these were in full career, in the history of the world, the case of Sodom affectingly shows; and because of such abominations, centuries after that, the land of Canaan "spued out" its old inhabitants. Long before this chapter was penned, the Lesbians and others throughout refined Greece had been luxuriating in such debasements; and as for the Romans, Tacitus, speaking of the emperor Tiberius, tells us that new words had then to be coined to express the newly invented stimulants to jaded passion. No wonder that, thus sick and dying as was this poor humanity of ours under the highest earthly culture, its many-voiced cry for the balm in Gilead, and the Physician there, "Come over and help us," pierced the hearts of the missionaries of the Cross, and made them "not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ!"

28-31. gave them over--or "up" (see on Ro 1:24).

to do those things which are not convenient--in the old sense of that word, that is, "not becoming," "indecorous," "shameful."