25 They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

26 For this reason God gave them over to dishonorable passions. Even their women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones.

27 Likewise, the men abandoned natural relations with women and burned with lust for one another. Men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their error.

— Romans 1:25-27

You shall not lie with a male as with a woman; it is an abomination.

— Leviticus 18:22

9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who submit to or perform homosexual acts,

10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.

11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.

— 1 Corinthians 6:9-11

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and salvation from Christ to you.

Paul in Romans 1:26-27 mentioned “God gave them over” the second time. God gave them over to shameful lusts. Why did God remove His restraint and abandon people to shameful lusts? Because they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped created things rather than the Creator. If we are unrepentant, our human nature, corrupted in the Fall, will devolve into corrupted worship-giving glory to the objects of our selfish desires rather than rightfully worshipping God.

Paul used homosexuality to illustrate cascading shameful lusts that result when God’s wrath comes against the wickedness that suppresses revealed truth. Scripture condemns homosexuality, but even general revelation reveals God’s natural design for reproduction through the sexual union between a man and a woman. Paul clearly communicates that unrestrained freedom to pursue human lust invites suffering. When God releases sinners, lusts become destructive passions.