22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.
26Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. 27In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion.
28Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. 29They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, 30slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents; 31they are senseless, faithless, heartless, ruthless. 32Although 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. (NIV)
Main Points and Discussion Questions
1. One form of God’s judgment against sin is the proliferation of sin itself. (vv. 24, 26, 28)
Discussion Question 1A. What is the essence of sin? (vv. 23, 25, 28) What, in contrast, is humanity’s obligation with respect to God?
Discussion Question 1B. How does sin “contain" the wrath of God within itself?
(v. 27b, compare with Rom 6:23; Isa 59:2; Ps 38:3-8; Isa 1:4-6; Isa 57:20-21; Jer.17:9; Pr 5:22; Jn 8:34)
2. Sin manifests itself in sexual activity that is outside of God’s design. (vv. 24-27)
Discussion Question 2A: What is God’s design for human sexuality? (Mk 10:6-9; 1 Co 7:2-4; Eph 5:22-33; Heb 13:4)
Discussion Question 2B: Why, then, is homosexuality described as an “unnatural relation” and a “perversion”?
3. Sin manifests itself in many different ways, both obvious and not-so-obvious.
(vv. 28-32)
Discussion Question 3A: What misconceptions of sin do we find in our secular culture and even in “evangelical Christian” culture, and how do they fall short of the portrayal of sin shown here in verses 18 to 32?
Discussion Question 3B: What would you say to someone who thinks that some parts of the Bible, such as this one, should be overlooked or ignored because they are too “negative”?
Next week: Romans 2:1-16
To prepare for this study, read the above passage plus the following:
Matthew 7:1-5
Matthew 16:24-27
Matthew 25:31-46
