God gave them over to their depraved minds. Man is now filled with every kind of wickedness, although they know they deserve death because of these sins. Yet, man cannot overcome his sins, and he continues to sin and approve of other sinners.
12a) Because they rejected Him, treating God’s knowledge as worthless.
b) Not retaining God’s knowledge is the initial, active choice to reject Him; a depraved mind is the resulting, permanent condition—a corrupted compass unable to discern truth.
13) Culture approves sin through media celebration, legal endorsement, and social pressure; people approve it to quiet their guilty consciences, validate their own choices, and avoid accountability. Ultimately, it’s easier to approve sin than to go against it. And, humans want the easier path always.
14) God turned my thinking toward Him, and I realized that His way is the only way. I continually have to meditate on God’s word to avoid sinful actions, habits, and behavior.
15) My family. At family gatherings. With random people I meet. When I mention lung cancer. It’s all by, for, and from God and by His grace alone that we even have breath in our bodies.
It’s scary to think of what Paul describes, and I think our culture has come to that — to knowing we do wrong and we do it anyway and to approving of wrongdoing (such as homosexuality). We must stand up for God every chance we get.
Note the more common sins: envy, pride, unloving, unforgiving. We all feel these things in our lives most likely on a regular basis. It’s how we choose to respond to them that sets us apart as God’s children.
These 21 sins are meant to describe fallen humanity.
When we reject who God is, we fall into this state of depravity.
Therefore, nothing is more important than a right relationship with God.
In Romans 1:28–32, Paul reaches the climax of his indictment against human rebellion. After detailing the descent into idolatry and physical dishonor, he shows how rejecting God ultimately results in the complete collapse of moral reasoning, social harmony, and personal accountability.
1. The Corrupted Mind (v. 28)
Rejection of True Knowledge: Humanity “did not see fit to acknowledge God”—literally testing God’s knowledge and rejecting it as worthless.
Judicial Abandonment: In response, God gave them over to a “depraved mind” (or disqualified, corrupted intellect). Because the mind’s moral anchor was removed, it lost its capacity to discern right from wrong, leading humanity to commit “what ought not to be done.”
2. The Catalog of Moral Decay (vv. 29–31)
Relational Ruin: Paul unleashes a barrage of 21 specific vices to show how a depraved mind destroys human relationships.
Heart Conditions & Public Actions: The list moves from internal attitudes (envy, malice, greed, deceit) to public destruction (strife, murder, gossips, slanderers).
Rebellion Against Order: It highlights vertical and relational rebellion—people become haters of God, insolent, boastful, and disobedient to parents.
Character Breakdown: Verse 31 outlines total ethical bankruptcy: foolish (without spiritual understanding), faithless (untrustworthy), heartless (devoid of natural affection), and ruthless (unmerciful).
3. The Climax: Celebrating the Rebellion (v. 32)
Knowing the Truth: People are not ignorant of God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve death.
Corporate Approval: The ultimate depth of depravity is not merely committing these sins, but actively giving hearty approval to others who practice them—creating a culture that normalizes, celebrates, and encourages rebellion against God.
Conclusion
Romans 1:28–32 reveals that the final stage of rejecting God is a completely corrupted mind that not only destroys human relationships through widespread wickedness, but actively celebrates the very behavior that brings divine judgment.
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Since the people abandoned God, He gave them over to their sins, which included sexual impurity, lusting for others of the same sex, and He gave them over to their depraved minds.
9a) “God gave them over”. God did not try to stop them from their sins; He let them make their own choices. The progression moves systematically inward: from physical lusts of the heart (v. 24), to degrading shameful passions (v. 26), and finally to a completely corrupted mind (v. 28). God gave humanity over to receive what they rightly deserve.
b) God attempts to stop us from our own sinful nature until it gets to the point He becomes too angry. God’s wrath is often not an immediate bolt of lightning, but a passive, judicial abandonment. He honors human free will by stepping back and removing His restraining grace, allowing people to experience the natural, destructive consequences of their own chosen sin.
10a) Scripture presents marriage as God’s sacred image (Genesis) and covenant bond (Ephesians); replacing God with idols fractures that spiritual union, inevitably corrupting physical, bodily purity (1 Corinthians, Jeremiah).
b) That it’s ok to do what you “feel” even if it is wrong. Going your own way or doing your own thing is acceptable. Culture claims sin is harmless self-expression, personal truth defines morality, autonomy brings freedom, and ultimate fulfillment is found in satisfying earthly desires rather than God.
11) Dear Lord Almighty, I pray for those who suppress your truth, that they find you, that their minds are open to who you are and your greatness. I pray you work in their hearts to bring them back to you. In Jesus’ name, Amen!
We need to remember how even a little sin can fester and bloom into a powerful sin, from physical to our mind. We need to always be wary of idols in our lives.
God allows us to sin because He is angry, not because He is kind.
Bible scholars believe Paul wrote this from the city of Corinth, which was a haven for immoral behavior in the ancient world, especially sexual immorality.
Homosexuality was openly accepted in the Roman world. Nero married a boy himself. It is here that Paul condemns male and female homosexuality (he uses a different word than man and woman because the nature of the sin is so egregious).
Homosexuality carries a penalty, too, be it disease, mental, or otherwise, Paul says.
The freedom to disobey is God’s rightful judgment of mankind.
Now, further penalty beyond the physical is the mental.
Debased here means that which does not pass the test. Men tested God (a big no-no) to see if He met man’s idea of what a God is/should be. Since God did not allow sin and meet man’s specifications, God was not approved. This is a debased mind.
In Romans 1:24–28, Paul describes the terrifying consequences of rejecting God’s revelation. These verses highlight the active judgment of God: “giving humanity over” to the very desires and idolatry they chose over Him.
1. The Divine Retribution: God “Gave Them Up” (vv. 24–25)
Judicial Abandonment (v. 24): Three times in this chapter (vv. 24, 26, 28), Paul writes that “God gave them up.” This divine judgment is not God actively forcing people to sin, but rather removing His protective, restraining grace and permitting humanity to experience the natural, destructive fruits of their own choices.
The Root Cause (v. 25): The ultimate tragedy is the fundamental trade: exchanging “the truth about God for a lie.” When people worship and serve created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised—moral breakdown inevitably follows.
2. The Distortion of God’s Design (vv. 26–27)
Dishonorable Passions: Abandoning the Creator distorts the physical order He instituted. Paul highlights homosexual behavior as a vivid, tangible example of humanity departing from God’s original creation blueprint (Genesis 1–2).
Consequences of Sin: Paul notes that abandoning God’s natural order brings a “due penalty” within themselves—referring to the immediate, inherent relational, emotional, and spiritual ruin produced by living contrary to God’s design.
3. The Depraved Mind (v. 28)
Refusing Knowledge: Because people “did not see fit to acknowledge God,” God handed them over to a “depraved mind” (or disqualified, corrupt mind).
Doing What Ought Not to Be Done: When the mind rejects its true authority, its moral reasoning breaks down, leading to choices that run completely counter to human flourishing and divine righteousness.
Conclusion
Romans 1:24–28 shows that God’s wrath often manifests by letting humanity have what it wants; when God is rejected, moral boundaries dissolve, human relationships fracture, and the mind loses its ability to discern ultimate truth.
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Those who did know God ignored Him and became fools. They, instead, made idols.
6) Those who did know God ignored Him and became fools. They, instead, made idols. Humans refused to honor or thank God, resulting in empty reasoning, darkened hearts, arrogant folly, and trading His eternal glory for man-made idols.
7) They exchanged God’s glory for worldly things. They worshipped created things rather than the Creator. Humanity exchanged the eternal, majestic glory of the immortal God for worthless images shaped like mortal humans, birds, animals, and reptiles.
8 ) Good question. Myself, others, things. I think as long as you recognize you are putting other things before God and work to change it, you are working at putting God central in all things. Recognizing when you are putting things before God is the key to changing it!
I think the key is to not ignore God. When we focus on God (read His word, pray, do Bible study, etc), we can avoid human idols.
Man did know God; he just refused to glorify Him. Therefore, we have no excuse when we make idols for our dark hearts.
Note how important gratitude is here. How grateful are you for what God has given you? And, how often do you remember such?
It’s no wonder we are fools with dark hearts.
This behavior of ours is worthy of God’s wrath upon us. Then we suffer the consequences of our sins.
In Romans 1:21–23, Paul traces the fatal downward spiral of human rebellion. Having established that God’s power and divinity are clearly seen in creation (vv. 19–20), Paul explains how humanity actively rejects that light, moving from internal ingratitude to outward idolatry.
1. The Internal Rejection of God (v. 21a)
Willful Ignorance: Despite “knowing God” through general revelation, people deliberately refuse to glorify Him as God. They withhold the reverence, worship, and devotion due to their Creator.
Absence of Gratitude: A failure to acknowledge God inevitably produces an ungrateful heart. Denying God as the Source of life leads people to view their blessings as self-earned or coincidental.
2. The Mental and Moral Decay (vv. 21b–22)
Futile Thinking: When the human mind decouples from its Creator, its reasoning becomes empty, circular, and flawed. Philosophical systems built on the denial of God ultimately crumble into vanity.
Darkened Hearts: Rejecting spiritual light naturally invites moral darkness. The “foolish heart”—the center of human desire and will—loses its spiritual discernment and moral compass.
Intellectual Arrogance: Humanity’s rejection of God is often masked as intellectual enlightenment. Claiming superior wisdom, culture, or philosophy apart from God, human beings actually descend into fundamental folly (“claiming to be wise, they became fools”).
3. The Tragic Exchange: Idolatry (v. 23)
Trading Glory for Images: Human beings are inherently worshiping creatures. If they will not worship God, they will not worship nothing—they will worship anything.
Degradation of Worship: Paul highlights a tragic trade: exchanging the majesty of the incorruptible, immortal God for perishable, crafted idols modeled after mortal men, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.
Conclusion
Romans 1:21–23 demonstrates that rejecting God never leads to human enlightenment, but rather to empty intellects, moral darkness, and the absurdity of trading the Creator’s glory for creation’s idols.
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God makes it plain to humanity that He exists (his eternal power and divine nature), so people are without excuse for not believing.
3) Wrath is God’s holy, righteous hostility/hatred against sin. He reveals it because humanity suppressed His obvious truth revealed in creation, leaving them entirely without excuse.
4) Suppress means to deliberately hold down, stifle, or crush truth. People suppress God’s truth to indulge self-rule, avoid moral accountability, and embrace sinful desires.
5a) The natural world clearly reveals God’s invisible attributes: His eternal, divine power, transcendent majesty, creative wisdom, and sovereign control over all creation. It also reveals God’s love for us and how He has thought of everything we need (such as pets) and given them to us freely. I love nature. I love rainbows. I love sunrises and sunsets. All of these things remind me of God and to put Him above all things in my life!
b) The natural world cannot reveal God’s specific plan of redemption, mercy, or the gospel of Jesus Christ. These saving truths are fully discovered through God’s written Scripture and Jesus Christ, the true Light.
Romans 1:20 is one of my favorite Bible verses because it comforts me when I think of those who don’t know God that it’s a choice because God is all around us each and every day, every hour, every minute, and every second.
Just an interesting take I had “back in the day” if you are curious: HERE
God’s wrath (which we deserve) is righteous; our wrath is most likely not.
Fun Fact: God’s wrath is mentioned frequently in the New and Old Testament.
Humans do reject God’s truths.
God is in nature. He does not hide Himself.
People can see God’s eternal power and His divine nature in creation.
In Romans 1:18–20, Paul transitions from proclaiming the gospel (vv. 16–17) to exposing why humanity desperately needs it. These verses lay the foundation for universal human accountability before a holy God.
1. The Revelation of Divine Wrath (v. 18a)
Active Reality: God’s wrath is not an uncontrolled temper, but His settled, holy opposition to sin. It is currently being revealed from heaven against all human ungodliness and unrighteousness.
Ungodliness and Unrighteousness: “Ungodliness” refers to a wrong posture toward God (failure to revere Him), while “unrighteousness” refers to the immoral behavior that naturally flows from that broken relationship.
2. The Deliberate Suppression of Truth (v. 18b)
Active Resistance: Humanity does not suffer from a lack of information, but a lack of submission. Unrighteous people “suppress” (deliberately hold down or stifle) the truth about God to continue living according to their own sinful desires.
3. General Revelation: God Made Known in Creation (vv. 19–20a)
Plain Evidence: What can be known about God is “plain to them” because God Himself has shown it through the created universe.
Invisible Qualities Made Visible: Though God is invisible, His “eternal power and divine nature” are clearly perceived through what has been made—from the macro scale of the cosmos to the intricate design of nature.
4. The Verdict: Humanity is Without Excuse (v. 20b)
No Valid Ignorance: Because creation renders God’s existence and power unmistakably clear, no human being can plead ignorance before God’s judgment seat. Everyone possesses enough light through natural revelation to be held accountable.
Conclusion
Romans 1:18–20 proves that humanity’s fundamental problem is not ignorance, but willful rejection; creation clearly reveals God’s power and divinity, leaving all people without excuse and in absolute need of His saving grace.
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God promises to bring together His people (Judah and Israel) into one land, one nation, with one king. They will be God’s people, and He will be their God.
David will be king over them. They will keep God’s decrees. They will live forever in the land God gives them. God will make an everlasting covenant with His people.
11a) God told Ezekiel to take a stick of wood and write on it, ‘Belonging to Judah and the Israelites associated with him.’ Then take another stick of wood, and write on it, ‘Belonging to Joseph (that is, to Ephraim) and all the Israelites associated with him.’ Join them together into one stick so that they will become one in your hand.
b) It illustrates how God promises to bring together His people (Judah and Israel) into one land, one nation, with one king.
12) The covenant of peace and our eternal salvation that God is speaking about that will be everlasting is the New Covenant granted to us by our belief in Christ. Jesus is an ancestor from the line of David.
13a) God will dwell with us forever. He will always be our God. He will make His people holy forever.
b) Christians can be role models to others of what God can do in their lives since He has done so much in the lives of His people. There is a different way to live than what culture says, and Christians can demonstrate this in their daily lives.
14) The knowledge that He is always with me, working for me and through me, and everything is for my good and will work for good. I also know that circumstances are temporal, but He and His promises are forever. I’ve learned that God loves us so much that He always cares for us, comforts us, and provides for us. He is always there when we need Him. Nothing is without His knowledge. He guides us and protects us always.
Great lesson on how God always watches over His people and works for good in their lives.
Ephraim refers to Israel here since Ephraim was the largest and most powerful tribe in the Northern Kingdom. We see this a couple of times in the Old Testament.
Despite the people having been scattered, they are all still God’s people. All would be restored.
Purity, cleansing, and relationship with God are all the result of the New Covenant.
Ezekiel had previously said David would be the king (Ezekiel 34:23-25).
While we can see Jesus in this passage, the clear reference is to David. We reason this because God would not have said David specifically if He hadn’t meant him.
That being said, God does seem to describe the New Covenant here with his reference of peace (Ezekiel 34:25 and Isaiah 54:10), everlasting (Ezekiel 16:60, Isaiah 55:3, and Hebrews 13:20), and the multiplication of His people (Ezekiel 36:10-11).
The sanctuary is referring to the temple, as Ezekiel continues to outline in Ezekiel 40-48.
God is alive, and Israel is His people.
This passage, centered on the prophetic sign-act of joining two sticks, succinctly outlines God’s plan for the complete political and spiritual restoration of Israel.
The analysis can be broken down into four key movements:
Ezekiel saw a valley of bones while in the Spirit of the Lord. The Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones to come back to life. He did as commanded, and the bones obeyed.
The Lord says these bones are the bones of the people of Israel. God will bring them back to Israel, so they will know He is God. He will breathe His Spirit in them so that they will live.
8 ) Ezekiel saw dry bones in a valley. His answer reveals that He knows that God can do anything He wants, and God knows everything.
9a) The Lord told Ezekiel to prophesy over the bones to come back to life. He did as commanded, and the bones obeyed. The bones came together. Tendons and flesh appeared on them and skin, but there was no breath in them.
b) The second time Ezekiel prophesied, the bones came to life fully with breath.
10a) The Lord says these bones are the bones of the people of Israel. God will bring them back to Israel, so they will know He is God. He will breathe His Spirit in them so that they will live.
b) What has God NOT done? Everything is from God. He has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams, and while I have my own problems and issues, He is the One behind it all.
I love this visual of God giving life to bones, like He gives us life via the Holy Spirit. So powerful!
Note that the bones were just lying around. This means they did not receive a proper burial, so the people who died were most likely disgraced.
This was a resurrection by God, a restoration of life. God’s words gave the bones life.
We can be reborn with God’s words, too.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 is about God’s promised restoration of Israel. God was referring to the restoration of His people from Babylon and Assyria, but many believe it speaks to the Second Coming, too.
Ezekiel 37:1-14 presents the powerful vision of the Valley of Dry Bones to deliver a message of radical hope to a despairing Israel. The analysis breaks down as follows:
In essence, the passage is God’s dramatic answer to Israel’s hopelessness, demonstrating that no situation is beyond His power to restore. He can bring back His people from a state of national death, renewing them both physically (returning them to the land) and spiritually (indwelling them with His Spirit).
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Ezekiel then relays God’s promises to His people. God will bring them back home, cleanse them from their sins, give them a new spirit and flesh, and He will give them the Holy Spirit within. They will be His people, and God will be their God. They will prosper because of God’s desire to keep His name holy.
God will restore His people so that all (the Israelites and the other nations) will know He is God.
5a) God will bring them back home, cleanse them from their sins, give them a new spirit and flesh, and He will give them the Holy Spirit within. He will ensure they are abundant.
b) When Jesus died, all believers received the Holy Spirit as their guide in this world.
The promises in Ezekiel 36:24-30 are considered by Christians to be a foundational Old Testament preview of the spiritual realities of the New Covenant, which is fulfilled in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The passage provides a rich blueprint for what happens in the heart of every person who experiences salvation.
The prophecy in Ezekiel moves beyond a mere physical restoration of national Israel to describe a deep, internal, and spiritual transformation that directly parallels Christian salvation:
The themes in Ezekiel 36 echo throughout the New Testament. Here are some of the most prominent connections:
6) Grief over our sin can help us not to sin again and to repent, turn to Jesus, and live our fullest lives. It makes us humble, knowing all is by the grace of God, and this grief is profitable because it leads to a deeper gratitude, a more passionate worship, and a greater love for the God who saved us not because we were good, but because He is gracious.
7) I hope others see God in me when they look at me and see His goodness and glory. God has provided for me, protected me, comforted me, and guided me when I’ve needed it. He has turned me towards Him. And, Jesus has saved me for all of eternity, a true gift from God. The result is more appreciation for God and hopefully more converts to Jesus.
God promises to bring His people back to their land and cleanse them spiritually (via the New Covenant). He will give them a new nature, along with the Holy Spirit. God will bless the land. This work would be a powerful testimony to the nations around Israel of God’s absolute power.
This passage is a divine promise of Israel’s complete restoration, moving from physical return to deep spiritual renewal. It can be analyzed in three succinct parts:
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Ezekiel tells the Israelites the word of the Lord. He says that the people were unclean, worshipped idols, and shed blood in the land. Therefore, they faced God’s wrath. God dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; they were judged according to their conduct and their actions. God is punishing His people because they have defiled His name. He will show the nations that He is holy so that they will know He is the Lord.
3a) They defiled the land by their conduct and actions. The people were unclean, worshipped idols, and shed blood in the land. They defiled God’s holy name. Therefore, God dispersed them among the nations, and they were scattered through the countries; they were judged according to their conduct and their actions. God is punishing His people because they have defiled His name. He will show the nations that He is holy so that they will know He is the Lord.
b) Other people said, “These are the Lord’s people, and yet they had to leave his land.” This observation and belief by the other nations was a profound profanation of God’s name because it implied a critical failure on God’s part.
The core of the profanation lay in the perception that the God of Israel was either powerless to protect His own chosen people or that He was unfaithful to the covenant He had made with them. In the ancient Near Eastern context, the fate of a people was directly linked to the power of their deity. A victorious nation had a strong god, while a conquered and exiled people had a weak or non-existent one.
Therefore, when the nations saw Israel, who were known as “the people of the LORD,” driven from their promised land, they concluded one of two things:
This international mockery directly challenged the character and reputation of God. His “name,” which in Hebrew thought represents the totality of a person’s character and attributes, was being dragged through the mud. The very people who were meant to be a testimony to His greatness and power had, through their sin and subsequent punishment, become a source of ridicule against Him.
I love the emphasis of how our behavior can (and does) affect how others view God. It’s so crucial for us to set a good example so that other may know Him, too!
Disobedience to God was like a defilement of the land. Therefore, they were judged and scattered among the nations.
This exile was seen by the other nations as God rejecting His people. God wanted to be seen as the only God. So, when Israel would turn to Him again, it would honor God.
Ezekiel 36:16-23 diagnoses the theological crisis caused by Israel’s exile. The passage lays out a clear chain of events:
The central point is that God’s honor is paramount. His future restoration of Israel will serve as a definitive, public demonstration of His sovereign power and faithfulness, compelling the very nations who scorned Him to recognize His true identity as the LORD.
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8a) Jesus is the First and the Last. “I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.”
b) Jesus is there always and he will be there always once I have passed. He is omnipresent, and whenever I need him, he is there.
9a) Oh, gosh, so much. World events, wars, crimes, murder, the breaking of the 10 commandments, the move towards agnosticism, so many things that are evil and not of God. I think all evil impacts us in some small way because we are all connected. Evil infiltrates people, which then permeates outward. Evil tends to make me wary and guarded.
b) It keeps me from freaking out every day and worrying about things I cannot control. I am at peace and can be more peaceful with others knowing that God has got it. One day, we will all be with Christ. That is comforting, indeed!
Without Christ, you have no hope, and I see those people who live with no hope, and their lives are utterly sad. Christ and his return is what we as Christians hold onto to get us through the tough times. Will you share this with others?
Revelation was written for the express purpose of revealing what is to come so that the church could be prepared for what is to come. The time of the writing was, needless to say, tumultuous, and moral decay was everywhere. This book reminded Christians about their eternal hope in Christ Jesus.
God alone is in control of our lives. Surrender to Him, and you will feel an indescribable peace in your life. God determines history; the devil is merely a player.
Understanding what will happen allows us to live today.
When you think there is nothing left, remember there’s always the Triune God!
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