OCTOBER 4, 2025 – UNRIGHTEOUSNESS

READ: Rom. 1:18–32: … who suppress the truth in unrighteousness … And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting …

Paul continues speaking about the righteousness of God revealed in the Gospel, which makes God’s Word a power unto salvation. God’s righteousness is His acting in accordance with His justice.

That means wrath and retribution over sins in the form of punishment: God’s punishing righteousness. At the same time, there is also forgiveness with God for Christ’s sake: God’s saving righteousness.

Paul first speaks of God’s punishing righteousness. This makes it all the clearer how special God’s saving righteousness in Christ is.

The deepest reason for God’s wrath lies in denying and dishonoring Him as Creator and almighty God. To Him belong all praise and honor from the whole world. But the heathen, the worldly people, have suppressed the truth—the pure knowledge of God.

They can know God through nature, the universe, their own existence, and history. Everyone sees in creation something of God’s eternal power and divinity. But they do not give God the honor, instead living for themselves and relying on themselves; thus all are guilty.

They especially deny God’s existence through the corrupt theory of evolution, honor their own idols, and thereby insult and offend God, who made them and gives them the light of life every day.

As punishment, God gives them over to unnatural immorality in the sexual sphere, including homosexuality (vv. 24,26,27), but also to many other sins (vv. 29–31). In this way, they heap up their guilt more and more. God’s wrath over this will one day be revealed.

How do you deal with the book of nature (Belgic Confession, Article 2)?

Sing: Ps. 2:1