| SUMMARY: | The Apostle Paul states the main idea of the first major section of this book (1:18-3:20), namely, that God’s wrath, that is His just punishment of sin, is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness. This is so because God has revealed Himself to the world, but the world rejected this revelation. As a result, God’s response is to allow the world to reap the natural results of this rejection of Himself; idolatry, sexual perversion, and a reprobate mind. |
| I. The Declaration of God’s Wrath | VERSE 1:18 | |
| A. The Action: | For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven | (18a) |
| B. The Object: | against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, | (18b) |
| II. The Reason for God’s Wrath | VERSES 1:19-23 | |
| A. The Revelation Given: | ||
| 1. The Statement: | because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them. | (19) |
| 2. The Explanation: | ||
| a. The Evidence: | For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, | (20a) |
| b. The Guilt: | so that they are without excuse | (20b |
| B. The Revelation Rejected: | ||
| 1. The Starting Point: | For even though they knew God, | (21a) |
| 2. The Steps Downward: | ||
| a. Step One: | they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, | (21b) |
| b. Step Two: | but they became futile in their speculations, | (21c) |
| c. Step Three | and their foolish heart was darkened. | (21d) |
| d. Step Four: | Professing to be wise, they became fools, | (22) |
| e. Step Five: | and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. | (23) |
| III. The Results of God’s Wrath | VERSES 1:24-32 | |
| A. Immorality: | ||
| 1. The Judgment: | Therefore God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, | (24a) |
| 2. The Result: | so that their bodies would be dishonored among them. | (24b) |
| 3. The Reason: | For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen. | (25) |
| B. Sexual Perversion: | ||
| 1. The Judgment: | For this reason God gave them over to degrading passions; | (26a) |
| 2. The Explanation: | ||
| a. Lesbianism: | for their women exchanged the natural function for that which is unnatural, | (26b) |
| b. Homosexuality: | and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one another, men with men committing indecent acts | (27a) |
| 3. The Result: | and receiving in their own persons the due penalty of their error. | (27b) |
| C. A Reprobate Mind: | ||
| 1. The Reason: | And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, | (28a) |
| 2. The Judgment: | God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, | (28b) |
| 3. The Results: | ||
| a. Their Character: | being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; | (29-31) |
| b. Their Hardness: | and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them. | (32) |