Spanning a wide arc

For a good understanding of the judgment statements in Romans 1, one must take a larger view. Only by following the apostle in his letter do his real motives come to light.

In the passage Romans 1:18-32, Paul speaks of God’s wrath against the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. This is certainly not a popular topic, and it does not seem to have anything to do with our world at all. Why, then, does the apostle speak of it? The break in the text came without notice. In the two verses before, he was talking about the gospel, and here suddenly it’s about judgment on the world?

The contrast is between the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel (Rom 1:16-17) and the unrighteousness of men (Rom 1:18). Paul will continue to unfold this contrast in chapters one through three. It is not until Romans 3:20 that this section is concluded. What does the contrast look like?

In Romans 1:16-17, the apostle wrote:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel: for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth, to the Jew first, and also to the Greek. For God’s righteousness is revealed in it by faith for faith, as it is written: The righteous shall live by faith.”

The conclusion of the next larger section we read in Romans 3:19-20:

“But we know that all that the law says, it speaks to those who are under the law, so that everyone’s mouth may be stopped and the whole world may come under the righteous judgment of God, because out of works of the law no flesh at all will be justified in His sight. For through the law comes only knowledge of sin.”

The apostle makes it clear that “the whole world comes under the righteous judgment of God.” No one is exempt. Compared to God’s righteousness , “ there is none righteous, not even one!” (Rom 3:10).

Does Paul want to “condemn” only certain groups?

The judgment statements in the first chapter are only a subset of this “whole world” that, according to Paul, comes under the righteous judgment of God. Ruthlessly, he depicts group after group. Every person gets a turn. No one is fair. This has a direct effect on understanding these judgment statements in Romans 1:18-32.

This is not about condemning individuals or certain groups, in which case everyone else would be “off the hook,” so to speak. So it is not a condemnation of the self-righteous (as if the righteous existed), of homosexuals (as if the heterosexuals were fine), or of gentiles (as if the Jews were fine). That is not his goal. He shows – group by group – that all people belong under the righteous judgment of God. Romans 1 does not give us a free pass to condemn others.

However, in certain circles that gain their identity by setting themselves apart from others (dare I say it?), this section is a highlight. I have seen it happen over and over again. However, those who read the Bible only as a justification for demarcation (See the article on the drama triangle) miss the point of Paul’s statements: No one is righteous!

The community in Rome

Now why Paul uses certain groups or contexts, certain characteristics or views, it all has to do with his target audience, the church in Rome. Although the apostle has never been there, he seems to know the makeup of the congregation as well as current challenges and problems. Paul does not write his letter as a “blind advertisement”, but he knows exactly that his letter will end up in a certain situation. He addresses those.

Specifically, he addresses the attitude of some people in the community in these chapters. He speaks of those who judge others (Rom 2:1-3) but thereby accumulate wrath for themselves. The anger at the unrighteousness of people outside the church (Rom 1:18) finds its counterpart in the unconverting hearts of some in the church itself (Rom 2:5-6).

This culminates in Paul’s insight: “For with God there is no respect of person” (Rom 2:11). So self-righteousness in the face of other people’s aberrations is not appropriate. Paul counters that it is the goodness of God that leads to repentance(Rom 2:4), not judgment – certainly not condemnation.

Anger and godlessness are not end stations

Wrath is never the goal of God. When God has a goal, it is in accordance with His nature. Anger is not part of God’s nature. Wrath and godlessness are therefore both not final destinations in the Bible – only a degenerate theology can speak about God’s final destination in such a way that it becomes “eternal death” or “endless torment”. Paul speaks about a concrete situation and about a time, but not about final things. Each text must be understood in its own context, without interpreting into it an endlessness that is nowhere mentioned.

If one can see the judgment statements from the first chapter of Romans as part of a larger statement, many threatening aspects clarify themselves. If one does not do this, then much remains hidden and ultimately left to arbitrary interpretation. Often the court statements or especially the statements about homosexuality were taken out of context and misused for own interpretations. This does not do justice to the context.

Of course, things are condemned here. The goal, however, is not to “explain” these things in it, but to use them merely as building blocks to a larger rationale. Paul’s point is not to condemn specific people, but to point out to all people that they lack the glory of God and that we are in need of His grace. For this is what the Gospel speaks of. The Gospel is a good news that has relevance for every human being.

For Paul, the situation of this world, and indeed of every single human being, is not very rosy. We do not bring our performance, our being on a par with God’s glory. None of us can do it. This is the great equalization, wherein everyone can see the grace of God. For it is not our unrighteousness that the apostle wishes to emphasize, but God’s righteousness. He only paints the dark background so that the good news can shine brighter.