All under the sin
Paul paints the background for a significant statement in Romans 1 beginning in verse 18. There are several connections, all leading to one conclusion. It is not about a one-sided “condemnation” of the world, but about outlining a much larger problem, by which believers are also affected. However, we do not read anything about this until chapters 2 and 3. Paul spans a larger arc until he says:
“Now what follows from this? Are we [Gläubigen] ahead of others? Absolutely not! For we have before accused Jews as well as Greeks to be all under sin, as it is written: There is none righteous, not even one! There is none that understands! There is no one who earnestly seeks God. They all shun Him and have become useless at the same time. There is no one who shows kindness; there is not even one!”
Rom 3:9-12 (cf. Ps 14:1-3)
So when we read in chapter 1 of Romans about the unrighteousness and unrighteousness of men, it is not a “condemnation of the world.” Anyone who reads this as if the world is being criticized in a one-sided way has not grasped the context. Paul continues to write and in chapters 2 and 3 he broadens the scope to include all of humanity. Or, to put it another way, the whole world is out of joint, and everyone is affected. There are no righteous ones, not even one. Neither do we.
One might note here that Paul could have said this more simply and quickly after all. That’s true, of course. Could we perhaps do something more with the short version today? However, he is writing to a first-century church, and in his letter he takes into account the understanding that is alive in that church. It can be assumed that Paul wrote in a way that his listeners understood. Just as the talk of the “wrath of God” ties in with the ideas of its readers, so too the other references are to be understood in the context of the time. The better we understand the context in the text and the better we realize that Paul wrote a church letter, the more relaxed we can approach the text.
The rescue from the wrath
Earlier, in the first chapter of Romans, the apostle spoke of His desire to preach the gospel in Rome as well.
“i am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is a power of God unto salvation.”
Rom 1:16
“For God’s righteousness is revealed in it …”
Rom 1:17
“For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all unrighteousness and unrighteousness of men, who hold down the truth in unrighteousness.”
Rom 1:18
From this we see that Paul contrasts salvation with the wrath of God upon this world. Read in context, it concerns salvation from this wrath. It is the righteous judgment that will take place on earth one day. The contrast is clear – whoever trusts the gospel, that is, whoever trusts in God’s own righteousness that He worked through Jesus, will be saved from this wrath on earth. However, this statement is only the transition to a new section.
What can be learned about God
The unrighteousness and unrighteousness of people is shown by holding down the truth in unrighteousness. What does that mean?
“Men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is knowable about God is manifest among them; for God has revealed it to them: For His invisible features have been made comprehensible and manifest in works of deeds since the creation of the world (namely, His imperceptible power and divinity), that they might be without excuse.”
Rom 1:18-20
The linking words (conjunctions) “because”, “since” and “thus” are highlighted in bold. They redirect to an explanatory subordinate clause. From these words it is easy to see that Paul is building up reasons and thus formulating explanations. The truth is held down in unrighteousness because they know about some of God’s nature, for God has made it clear to them.
“How?” you might ask. Paul thereby refers to God’s invisible traits and that these can be derived from nature and the world since the creation of the world. In particular, it points to God’s imperceptible power and divinity. I imagine that when I read this, the congregation in Rome all nodded in agreement. This corresponded to their understanding of the world. For the Romans, this was a clear case – this is how the world works.
Can we assume that people who encounter “God in nature” today also start from this general, often diffuse understanding of God?
Paul speaks of God’s imperceptible power, whereby all things grow and flourish and by which life is sustained (cf. Acts 17:23-25). As overwhelming as nature is, some have an inkling through it that One is above us. This speaks of His divinity. That is why missionaries sometimes report that they bring people into contact with the God of the Bible for the first time, and then the reaction comes “I always knew this God existed, and now I have come to know Him.”
The Living God and Human Religiosity
Paul now describes what was done with this knowledge of God by many people:
“Because, knowing God, they do not glorify Him as God or give thanks to Him, but have become vain in their conclusions, their incomprehensible heart is also darkened. Pretending to be wise, they have become foolish, changing the glory of the incorruptible God into the likeness of an image: of corruptible man, of winged men and quadrupeds and reptiles.”
Rom 1:21-23
The knowledge of God, who sustains everything and is above everything, escapes people if they do not glorify Him as such or thank Him. Religiosity finds its origin here. Instead of thanking God, you make your own god – in the form of a human or an animal. Thus, there were and are many idols that people have created for themselves. For Paul, this is something like the perversion of truth. In addition, it is also ineffective and superfluous. In the Bible, therefore, the distinction is made from these things to the “living God.” The “living God” is an expression found from the Torah (Deut. 5:26) through the prophets to the New Testament (1 Tim. 4:9-11). The living God is known from His works. He is not dead, like idols made of wood and metal.
A scarecrow in the cucumber field
The book of Jeremiah reads flawlessly how the living God stands in contrast to the idols of his own making:
“For the ordinances of the nations – it is an idol that gave them. Yes, their idols are wood, which one has cut out of the forest, a work of artist hands, made with the carving knife. They decorate it with silver and with gold. With nails and with hammers they fasten it so that it does not wobble. They are like a scarecrow in the cucumber field and do not speak; they must be carried, for they do not walk. Do not be afraid of them! For they do no evil, neither can they do good. None is like unto thee, O LORD. You are great, and great is your name by your might. Who shall not fear thee, O King of nations? For this is your due! For among all the wise men of the nations and in all their kingdoms there is none like you. They are all stupid and foolish; the instruction of nothingness – wood it is. Thinly beaten silver is brought from Tarsis, and gold from Uphaz, the work of the artisan and the hands of the goldsmith. Purple and red is her garment; they are all but the work of artisans. But the LORD is in truth God. He is the living God and an eternal king. Before his wrath the earth trembles, and his anger the nations cannot endure. 11 So you shall say to them, ‘The gods who did not make the heavens and the earth will disappear from the earth and from under this heaven.'”
Jer 10:3-11
This passage is a good illustration of the environment in which Paul also still frequented. Although Jeremiah lived many years before Paul, the world was still exceedingly religious at the time of the New Testament. With temples and altars was not stingy and there were various cults up to the emperor worship. Against this background it can be well understood that Paul wrote of everyday idols. Whoever was a Jew and whoever followed Jesus experienced in it a tension with the living God who made heaven and earth. The idolaters worshipped the creation instead of the Creator (Rom 1:25).
The aberration has an effect
Whoever does not honor God, He now lets him go his own way. Three times in the rest of the chapter the apostle mentions the consequences of godlessness, of being without God:
- “Therefore God gave them up in the desires of their hearts…” (Rom 1:24)
- “Therefore God gave them over to dishonorable passions …” (Rom 1:26)
- “And just as they did not consider it approved to have God in knowledge, God gave them over in their unproven mind to do what was not proper” (Rom 1:28)
He who is “rid” of God does what he wants. This would be a neutral statement in itself, but Paul uses it negatively here. There are three things that the apostle mentions here. We will take a closer look at these. Here it becomes clear in what way man moves away from the knowledge of the only God.
