Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts, to sexual impurity, for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Daily Devotion © 2014 by Ray Stedman Ministries. They are gossips,(L) 30 slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;(M) 31 they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love,(N) no mercy. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other’s bodies. When people think that they are going to find that fulfillment in sex, God says to them, Look, it won't work. • “God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper” (verse 28, NASB). Does it increase our awe and gratitude for God's grace to us, and therefore our compassionate care for others? They have become filled … It is a deep-seated craving inherent in every human being. The wickedness at work among human beings follows a process which is identified in this passage by the thrice-repeated phrase, God gave them over. That is what we call worship. Many people think this account describes all the evil things men do, and then says that God washes his hands of evil people because they are so filthy and dirty. (F), 26 Because of this, God gave them over(G) to shameful lusts. 29 They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. Romans 1:24. But because men run after other gods and refuse the testimony of their own hearts and do not glorify or thank the true God, God removes his restraints from society so that what is done in secret is allowed to break out into openness and acceptability. Amen. That's really the problem that man has. 32 Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death,(O) they not only continue to do these very things but also approve(P) of those who practice them. Subject to permission policy, all rights reserved. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. Most modern Bible versions say, “God gave them up” (e.g., ESV, NKJV). (H) Even their women exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. Romans 1:24-32 New International Version (NIV) 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity. Only God can give that fulfillment. 24 Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. 27 In the same way the men also abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. You may ask, Why is it that sex always seems to be singled out as the sign of God's judgment Many Christians have wrongly concluded that sexual sins are the worst kinds of sin. Copyright © 2019 by Zondervan. That is not what this says. NIV Reverse Interlinear Bible: English to Hebrew and English to Greek. God has abandoned man. That is why the highest description of the relationship with God possible to a believer is found in the words of Jesus in John 14-15, You in me, and I in you (John 14:20). Romans 1:28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them up to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done. There is good reason why God allows sexual practices to come to the surface. Father, I see how accurately these words describe our own times. 26 Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts. That is the mark of the wrath of God at work. This phrase identifies what is going on in our culture. But what both are really after is not sex at all; they are after worship. Men committed shameful acts with other men, and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.(J).