28 Furthermore, since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, He gave them over to a depraved

29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,

30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.

— Romans 1:28-32

Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!

— Isaiah 5:20

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.

2 Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way, though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High.

5 God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved; God will help her when morning dawns.

— Psalm 46:1-2, 4-5

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace, mercy and love from Christ to you.

Humanity’s suppressing truth, corrupted worship, and shameful lusts compound into depravity. A depraved mind is wholly unfit to discern right from wrong. Everyone has been guilty of something on the list of the 21 sins listed in Romans 1:29-31. Apart from God, nothing is sacred, and no one is safe. When God gave sinners over to a depraved mind, their thoughts lead to deadly obsessions. This is the tragic dead end of a Christless life.

“Although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, Paul wrote, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them.” At the end of this downward slide of abandoning God, people “approve” and derive pleasure from evil. Approval here means celebrating error as truth and defining truth as error. Sin’s grip on humanity characterizes beauty as ugliness and ugliness as beauty. (Inspired by BSF’s Study of Romans)