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Romans 1:21b–23
… but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened (Rom. 1:21b).
In the verses we are considering today, Paul finally begins to discuss the consequences of mankind’s sinful rejection of God. But while the apostle already has informed us that the just wrath of God is being “revealed” from heaven in response to the human proclivity to suppress the manifest truth of God, what we see in today’s passage are not the results of divine judgment. Paul will begin dealing with God’s specific actions against human sin in the verses we will examine tomorrow; today he is simply showing us the natural outworking of rejection of God.
According to Paul, our suppression of the truth of God, our unwillingness to worship Him, and our failure to thank Him render us “futile” in our thoughts, darken our hearts, and make us “fools.” Simply put, these acts of defiance constitute a rejection of true wisdom and an embrace of foolishness. “Having rejected the truth about God that God has revealed to all human beings in nature (and later through Jesus Christ and the Bible), human beings have been left to their own mental devices, which are, however, inadequate for working out or discovering reality,” Dr. James M. Boice writes in his commentary on Romans. “We will not have God. So, having rejected God, we can use our minds only to rearrange error.” He points out that in the Greek language, the word fool carries the idea not just of intellectual folly but of moral folly, or wickedness. That is why the Bible tells us, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God’ ” (Ps. 14:1a).
Furthermore, rejecting God does not render human beings a-religious, for we are incurably religious beings. But as Boice notes: “The fact that people are religious does not prove that we are all seeking God. It proves the contrary. It proves that we are all running away from God. Although we are unwilling to know God and do not want Him, we are nevertheless unable to do without Him and try to fill the void with our substitute gods.” As Paul says, we change “the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.” Having spurned the Creator, we find nothing left to exalt except the creation. And so we fall into all the forms of idolatry known to man, perhaps the ultimate expression of humanity’s wicked foolishness.
Coram Deo Living before the face of God
As you interact with non-believers, remember what today’s passage teaches about them: They are lost in error and in the dark as to the truth. They desperately need the “light” of the Gospel. Therefore, pray for the work of the Holy Spirit in their hearts to draw them to Christ. And expose them to the Word of God as you have opportunity.
For Further Study
- Isaiah 42:16
- John 3:19–21
- John 12:35, 46
- 1 Peter 2:9
- 2 Peter 1:19