Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Romans 1:21
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
21. because that, when they knew God ] i.e. as primevally revealed, and then constantly witnessed to by the visible Creation as Eternal and Omnipotent. “ To know God ” is a phrase capable of many degrees of meaning, from the rational certainty of a Supreme Personal Maker and Lord up to that holy intimacy of divinely-given communion with the Father and the Son, to which the words of Joh 17:3 refer. In this passage all that is necessary to understand is the certainty (however learnt) of the existence of a Personal Omnipotent Creator.
they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful ] The verbs throughout this passage are aorists. The process of declension from the truth is not dwelt upon, so much as the fact that it did take place, at whatever rate. There was a time when man, although knowledge of God had been given him, ceased to praise Him and to thank Him for His “great glory” and His rich gifts; turning the praise and thanks towards idol-objects instead. We must note that these first marks of decline (failure to praise and to thank Him), indicate a subtle and lasting secret of idolatry. Man, conscious of guilt before the Eternal, shrinks from direct worship. In mistaken reverence, it may be, he turns away to “the Creature,” to address his praises there. But the result is inevitable; the God unworshipped rapidly becomes unknown.
but became vain in their imaginations ] “ Vain,” here, as often in Scripture, is “ wrong,” morally as well as mentally. “ Imaginations ” is rather thinkings: the Gr. is a word often rendered “thoughts,” (as e.g. Mat 15:19.) In Php 2:14 it is rendered “disputings;” in 1Ti 2:8, “doubting.” The verb is used in e.g. Luk 12:17, for the balancing of thing against thing in the mind. Both verb and noun, when the context gives them an unfavourable reference, indicate a habit of captious and hesitating thought such as would ignore plain testimony and attend to abstract difficulties by preference. Thus here, man, growing unused to adoration of his God, fell to independent thinking, (in however rude a form,) and “ in ” this, occupied in this, “ became vain,” went astray altogether.
their foolish heart ] “ Foolish,” more strictly unintelligent; failing to see connexions and consequences. Same word as Mat 15:16. The “ heart ” may here mean merely the intellect, as perhaps in Mar 2:6; Mar 2:8. It is almost always difficult, however, to trace in Scripture (as indeed so often in constant experience) the border between reason and conscience. “Heart” certainly includes both in the majority of N. T. passages.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Because that – The apostle here is showing that it was right to condemn people for their sins. To do this it was needful to show them that they had the knowledge of God, and the means of knowing what was right; and that the true source of their sins and idolatries was a corrupt and evil heart.
When they knew God – Greek, knowing God. That is, they had an acquaintance with the existence and many of the perfections of one God. That many of the philosophers of Greece and Rome had a knowledge of one God, there can be no doubt. This was undoubtedly the case with Pythagoras, who had traveled extensively in Egypt, and even in Palestine; and also with Plato and his disciples. This point is clearly shown by Cudworth in his Intellectual System, and by Dr. Warburton in the Divine Legation of Moses. Yet the knowledge of this great truth was not communicated to the people. It was confined to the philosophers; and not improbably one design of the mysteries celebrated throughout Greece was to keep up the knowledge of the one true God. Gibbon has remarked that the philosophers regarded all the popular superstitions as equally false: the common people as equally true; and the politicians as equally useful. This was probably a correct account of the prevalent feelings among the ancients. A single extract from Cicero (de Natura Deorum, lib. ii. c. 6) will show that they had the knowledge of one God. There is something in the nature of things, which the mind of man, which reason, which human power cannot effect; and certainly what produces this must be better than man. What can this be called but God? Again (c. 2), What can be so plain and manifest, when we look at heaven, and contemplate heavenly things, as that there is some divinity of most excellent mind, by which these things are governed?
They glorified him not as God – They did not honor him as God. This was the true source of their abominations. To glorify him as God is to regard with proper reverence all his perfections and laws; to venerate his name, his power, his holiness, and presence, etc. As they were not inclined to do this, so they were given over to their own vain and wicked desires. Sinners are not willing to give honor to God, as God. They are not pleased with his perfections; and therefore the mind becomes fixed on other objects, and the heart gives free indulgence to its own sinful desires. A willingness to honor God as God – to reverence, love, and obey him, would effectually restrain people from sin.
Neither were thankful – The obligation to be thankful to God for his mercies, for the goodness which we experience, is plain and obvious. Thus, we judge of favors received of our fellow-men. the apostle here clearly regards this unwillingness to render gratitude to God for his mercies as one of the causes of their subsequent corruption and idolatry. The reasons of this are the following.
(1) The effect of ingratitude is to render the heart hard and insensible.
(2) People seek to forget the Being to whom they are unwilling to exercise gratitude.
(3) To do this, they fix their affections on other things; and hence, the pagan expressed their gratitude not to God, but to the sun, and moon, and stars, etc., the mediums by which God bestows his favors upon people. And we may here learn that an unwillingness to thank God for his mercies is one of the most certain causes of alienation and hardness of heart.
But became vain – To become vain, with us, means to be elated, or to be self-conceited, or to seek praise from others. The meaning here seems to be, they became foolish, frivolous in their thoughts and reasonings. They acted foolishly; they employed themselves in useless and frivolous questions, the effect of which was to lead the mind further and further from the truth respecting God.
Imaginations – This word means properly thoughts, then reasonings, and also disputations. Perhaps our word, speculations, would convey its meaning here. It implies that they were unwilling to honor God, and being unwilling to honor him, they commenced those speculations which resulted in all their vain and foolish opinions about idols, and the various rites of idolatrous worship. Many of the speculations and inquiries of the ancients were among the most vain and senseless which the mind can conceive.
And their foolish heart – The word heart is not infrequently used to denote the mind, or the understanding. We apply it to denote the affections. But such was not its common use, among the Hebrews. We speak of the head when we refer to the understanding, but this was not the case with the Hebrews. They spoke of the heart in this manner, and in this sense it is clearly used in this place; see Eph 1:18; Rom 2:15; 2Co 4:6; 2Pe 1:19. The word foolish means literally what is without understanding; Mat 15:16.
Was darkened – Was rendered obscure, so that they did not perceive and comprehend the truth. The process which is stated in this verse is,
- That people had the knowledge of God.
(2)That they refused to honor him when they knew him, and were opposed to his character and government.
(3)That they were ungrateful.
(4)That they then began to doubt, to reason, to speculate, and wandered far into darkness.
This is substantially the process by which people wander away from God now. They have the knowledge of God, but they do not love him; and being dissatisfied with his character and government, they begin to speculate, fall into error, and then find no end in wandering mazes lost, and sink into the depths of heresy and of sin.
Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible
Verse 21. Because that when they knew God] When they thus acquired a general knowledge of the unity and perfections of the Divine nature, they glorified him not as God – they did not proclaim him to the people, but shut up his glory (as Bishop Warburton expresses it) in their mysteries, and gave the people, in exchange for an incorruptible God, an image made like to corruptible man. Wherefore God, in punishment for their sins, thus turning his truth into a lie, suffered even their mysteries, which they had erected for a school of virtue, to degenerate into an odious sink of vice and immorality; giving them up unto all uncleanness and vile affections.
They glorified him not] They did not give him that worship which his perfections required.
Neither were thankful] They manifested no gratitude for the blessings they received from his providence, but became vain in their imaginations, , in their reasonings. This certainly refers to the foolish manner in which even the wisest of their philosophers discoursed about the Divine nature, not excepting Socrates, Plato, or Seneca. Who can read their works without being struck with the vanity of their reasonings, as well as with the stupidity of their nonsense, when speaking about God? I might crowd my page with proofs of this; but it is not necessary to those who are acquainted with their writings, and to others it would not be useful. In short, their foolish, darkened minds sought God no where but in the place in which he is never to be found; viz. the vile, corrupted, and corrupting passions of their own hearts. As they did not discover him there, they scarcely sought him any where else.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Because; either this must be referred to the words immediately foregoing, and then it is a reason why the Gentiles are inexcusable,
because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, &c.; or else it refers to Rom 1:18, and then it is a proof of their withholding the truth in unrighteousness, because, & c.
They knew God; they had a natural knowledge of God, it was taught them, as before, by the light of natnre, and by the book of the creatures. Though this was not sufficient to save them, yet it was sufficient to save them without excuse.
They glorified him not as God; they did not conceive of him and worship him as became his Divine excellencies and perfections; see Psa 29:2.
Neither were thankful; they did not own God to be the Author and Giver of all the good things they enjoyed, and return him thanks accordingly; but referred all to chance and fortune, their own prudence and providence, the influence of the stars, &c.
But became vain in their imaginations, or reasonings. This hath chief respect to the conception and opinions that the heathen framed to themselves of the Divine Being. For though some denied there was a God, and others doubted thereof, yet generally it was acknowledged by them; yea, some owned a multiplicity of gods, and those either corporeal or incorporeal. Others acknowledged but one God, as Plato, Aristotle, &c.; but then they either denied his providence, as the Peripatetics, or tied him to second or inferior causes, as the Stoics. This is the vanity which the apostle here speaketh of. Note also, that idols, the frame of idle brains, are called vanities: see Deu 32:21; Jer 10:15; Act 14:15.
And their foolish heart was darkened: by the heart is meant the mind, their very understandings were darkened, the natural reason in them was obscured. This was a just judgment upon them for their abuse of knowledge, and pride, of which in the next verse. {see Rom 1:22}
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
21. Because that, when they knewGodthat is, while still retaining some real knowledge of Him,and ere they sank down into the state next to be described.
they glorified him not asGod, neither were thankfulneither yielded the adorationdue to Himself, nor rendered the gratitude which Hisbeneficence demanded.
but became vain(compareJer 2:5).
in theirimaginationsthoughts, notions, speculations, regarding God;compare Mat 15:19; Luk 2:35;1Co 3:20, Greek.
and theirfoolish“senseless,” “stupid.”
heartthat is, theirwhole inner man.
was darkenedHowinstructively is the downward progress of the human soul here traced!
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
Because that when they knew God,…. Though they had such a knowledge of the being and perfections of God, yet
they glorified him not as God. They neither thought nor spoke honourably of him; nor did they ascribe those perfections to him, which belonged to him; they did not adhere to him as the one and only God, nor honour him as the Creator of all things out of nothing, and as the sole Governor of the universe; they did not glorify him by the internal exercise of fear of him, love to him, or trust in him, nor by any external worship suitable to his nature, and their own notions of him, Seneca is an instance of this, of whom Austin f says,
“that he worshipped what he found fault with, did what he reproved, and adored that which he blamed.”
Neither were thankful; neither for the knowledge of things they had, which they ascribed to themselves; nor for their mercies, which they imputed to second causes:
but became vain in their imaginations; the vanity or their minds was the spring and source of their evil conduct; which may design the wickedness of their hearts, and the imaginations thereof, which were evil, and that continually; the pride of their natures the carnality and weakness of their reasonings, and the whole system of their vain philosophy; and hence they ran into polytheism, or the worshipping of many gods:
and their foolish heart was darkened; where they thought their great wisdom lay: darkness is natural to the hearts and understandings of all men, which is increased by personal iniquity; Satan is concerned in improving it, and God sometimes gives up the hearts of persons to judicial blindness, which was the case of these men.
f De Civitate Dei, l. 6. c. 10.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Because that (). As in verse 19.
Knowing God ( ). Second aorist active participle of , to know by personal experience. Definite statement that originally men had some knowledge of God. No people, however degraded, have yet been found without some yearning after a god, a seeking to find the true God and get back to him as Paul said in Athens (Ac 17:27).
Glorified not as God ( ). They knew more than they did. This is the reason for the condemnation of the heathen (2:12-16), the failure to do what they know.
Their senseless heart ( ). is the most comprehensive term for all our faculties whether feeling (Ro 9:2), will (1Co 4:5), intellect (Ro 10:6). It may be the home of the Holy Spirit (Ro 5:5) or of evil desires (1:24). See Mr 7:21f. for list of vices that come “out of the heart.” is a verbal adjective from , to put together, and privative, unintelligent, not able to put together the manifest evidence about God (verse 20). So darkness settled down on their hearts (, first aorist ingressive passive of , to darken).
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Knowing – glorified not. “I think it may be proved from facts that any given people, down to the lowest savages, has at any period of its life known far more than it has done : known quite enough to have enabled it to have got on comfortably, thriven and developed, if it had only done what no man does, all that it knew it ought to do and could do” (Charles Kingsley, ” The Roman and the Teuton “).
Became vain [] . Vain things [] was the Jews ‘ name for idols. Compare Act 4:15. Their ideas and conceptions of God had no intrinsic value corresponding with the truth. “The understanding was reduced to work in vacuo. It rendered itself in a way futile” (Godet). Imaginations [] . Rev., better, reasonings. See on Mt 14:19; Mr 7:21; Jas 2:4.
Foolish [] . See on sunetov prudent, Mt 11:67, and the kindred word sunesiv understanding, Mr 12:33; Luk 2:47. They did not combine the facts which were patent to their observation.
Heart [] . The heart is, first, the physical organ, the center of the circulation of the blood. Hence, the seat and center of physical life. In the former sense it does not occur in the New Testament. As denoting the vigor and sense of physical life, see Act 14:17; Jas 5:5; Luk 21:34. It is used fifty – two times by Paul.
Never used like yuch, soul, to denote the individual subject of personal life, so that it can be exchanged with the personal pronoun (Act 2:43; Act 3:23; Rom 13:1); nor like pneuma spirit, to denote the divinely – given principle of life.
It is the central seat and organ of the personal life [] of man regarded in and by himself. Hence it is commonly accompanied with the possessive pronouns, my, his, thy, etc.
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “Because that when they knew God,” (dioti gnontes ton theon) “Because knowing or recognizing God;” The “they” who knew God refers to all classes and races inclusive of those of Adam’s lifetime, the Noahic flood age, and Lot’s rebellious years, Gen 3:1-24; Gen 8:1 to Gen 9:29; Gen 19:1-38.
2) “They glorified him not as God,” (ouch hos theon edoksasan) “As God they glorified him not,” The drift of the learned and unlearned, from Adam’s fall, in all races, classes, and cultures was away from God, Pro 29:1.
3) “But became vain in their imaginations,” (alla emataiothesan en tois dialogismois auton) “But became vain, empty, void and self-willed in their reasonings,” from 1) amalgamation of the races, 2) to the attempt to build a tower to heaven, and 3) The Collusion of Jacob’s Sons to sell Joseph and try to hide it with lies, Gen 6:1-3; Gen 6:5; Gen 10:13; Gen 11:1-9; Gen 37:20-36.
4) “And their foolish heart was darkened,” (kai eskotisthe he asuenetos auton kardia) “And their undiscerning heart was darkened,” Gen 50:20-21, “But God meant it unto Good,” over-ruled it for Good in the life of Joseph, in spite of the foolish and darkened hearts of his brethren; Satan darkens foolish hearts, deceitful hearts, rebellious hearts, to their own destruction, except they heed the gospel message, 1Co 4:3-4; Jer 17:9; AlI the lost walk with darkened moral and ethical understanding, through inborn ignorance, of the consequences of sin, with blinded hearts. To reach such people is the purpose of the gospel, Eph 4:17-18. It is only when one is saved that his understanding is cleared up, Eph 1:17-18; 1Jn 5:20.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
21. For when they knew God, etc. He plainly testifies here, that God has presented to the minds of all the means of knowing him, having so manifested himself by his works, that they must necessarily see what of themselves they seek not to know — that there is some God; for the world does not by chance exist, nor could it have proceeded from itself. But we must ever bear in mind the degree of knowledge in which they continued; and this appears from what follows.
They glorified him not as God. No idea can be formed of God without including his eternity, power, wisdom, goodness, truth, righteousness, and mercy. His eternity appears evident, because he is the maker of all things — his power, because he holds all things in his hand and continues their existence — his wisdom, because he has arranged things in such an exquisite order — his goodness, for there is no other cause than himself, why he created all things, and no other reason, why he should be induced to preserve them — his justice, because in his government he punishes the guilty and defends the innocent — his mercy, because he bears with so much forbearance the perversity of men — and his truth, because he is unchangeable. He then who has a right notion of God ought to give him the praise due to his eternity, wisdom, goodness, and justice. Since men have not recognized these attributes in God, but have dreamt of him as though he were an empty phantom, they are justly said to have impiously robbed him of his own glory. Nor is it without reason that he adds, that they were not thankful, (48) for there is no one who is not indebted to him for numberless benefits: yea, even on this account alone, because he has been pleased to reveal himself to us, he has abundantly made us indebted to him. But they became vain, (49) etc.; that is, having forsaken the truth of God, they turned to the vanity of their own reason, all the acuteness of which is fading and passes away like vapor. And thus their foolish mind, being involved in darkness, could understand nothing aright but was carried away headlong, in various ways, into errors and delusions. Their unrighteousness was this — they quickly choked by their own depravity the seed of right knowledge, before it grew up to ripeness.
(48) The conjunctive, ἤ, is for ουτε, says [ Piscator ] : but it is a Hebraism, for ו is sometimes used in Hebrew without the negative, which belongs to a former clause. — Ed.
(49) The original words are, ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν, “ Vani facti sunt in ratiocinationibus suis — they became vain in their reasonings” [ Pareus ], [ Beza ] , [ Turrettin ] , and [ Doddridge ] ; “They became foolish by their own reasonings,” [ Macknight ]
“
Whatever the right reason within,” says [ Pareus ], “or the frame of the world without, might have suggested respecting God, they indulged in pleasing speculations, specious reasonings, and in subtle and frivolous conclusions; some denied the existence of a God, as Epicurus and Democritus — others doubted, as Protagoras and Diagoras — others affirmed the existence of many gods, and these, as the Platonics, maintained that they are not corporeal, while the Greeks and Romans held them to be so, who worshipped dead men, impious, cruel, impure, and wicked. There were also the Egyptians, who worshipped as gods, brute animals, oxen, geese, birds, crocodiles, yea, what grew in their gardens, garlic’s and onions. A very few, such as Plato and Aristotle, acknowledged one Supreme Being; but even these deprived him of his providence. These, and the like, were the monstrous opinions which the Gentiles deduced from their reasonings. They became vain, foolish, senseless.”
“
And darkened became their foolish heart,” — ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία; “ Corinthians eorum intelligentia carens — their heart void of understanding;” “their unintelligent heart,” [ Doddridge ]. Perhaps “undiscerning heart” would be the most suitable. See Mat 15:16. Heart, after the manner of the Hebrews, is to be taken here for the whole soul, especially the mind. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(21) They knew enough of God to know that thanks and praise were due to Him; but neither of these did they offer. They put aside the natural instinct of adoration, and fell to speculations, which only led them farther and farther from the truth. The new knowledge of which they went in quest proved to be fiction; the old knowledge that they had was obscured and lost by their folly. Starting with two thingsa portion of enlightenment on the one hand, and the natural tendency of the human mind to error on the other, the latter prevailed, and the former became eclipsed.
But became vain in their imaginations.They were frustratedreached no good and sound result with their speculations.
Their foolish heart.Not the same word as fools, in the next verse. Their unintelligent heart; their heart which, by itself, was endowed with no special faculty of discernment such as to enable them to dispense with the enlightenment from above.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
21. Glorified him not The intuitions by which God is known are largely the moral. Not to recognise or believe in God is not, like the ignoring a person in history or a fact in science, purely an intellectual defect, but also a moral. In his unfallen state man deeply and perfectly knew his God with a knowledge of holy love. And by that knowledge and love of the Holy One, man’s whole nature was regulated in harmony with itself and with God. By the fall that knowledge and love became primitively dim and feeble. Then man, historically not liking the holy God, nor glorifying him, nor feeling thankful, the regulator was lost, and so by apostasy from God man’s whole nature went into moral ruin, and all the depravities resulted described by the apostle in the present chapter.
Vain in their imaginations Rather, their reasonings. God being dim to their perceptions, their reasonings in regard to him became foolish and wicked.
Heart was darkened So that the twilight of pantheism first came on, and then the midnight of atheism or idolatry. In pantheism God became as a universal mist, losing his true personality and his moral attributes. Then the universal pantheistic mist was separated into parts, and the figures of finite nature-gods and goddesses emerged, and so idolatry arose.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘Because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, nor gave thanks, but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.’
Note that it was not that men did not ‘know’ God. There was something within them which made them aware of Him. That is why there is so much religion in the world. But what they did not want was to be controlled by Him in their activities and behaviour. Thus they closed their minds to the knowledge of God as He is, and refused to glorify Him as God. Note that it is seen as deliberate. True knowledge of God was not seen as convenient. Nor did they render Him thanks. Note the emphasis on the fact that they were ungrateful. They took what He provided for granted, but would not acknowledge it. So instead they became vain and empty in their thinking and in their reasonings as they sought to find ways to satisfy the emptiness within, without recourse to God. But the result of rejecting the light was that their senseless heart was darkened. They found themselves struggling in the dark and sought to come up with a solution which would satisfy their desires and the desires of the masses, without having to face up to the truth.
The word for ‘vain’ is used elsewhere to indicate a ‘corrupt’ manner of living (1Pe 1:18), while ‘vanity of mind’ results in men being hardened and giving themselves up to various types of sin (Eph 4:17-19). So their vain reasonings were not just empty or futile reasonings, they were positively sinful. A related word is constantly used in the Old Testament in connection with idolatry. Such sin led to idolatry.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Man’s Rebellion Against God Comes To Its Inevitable Fruition (1:21-25).
Paul now demonstrates how man’s refusal to know God results in man’s fall into gross sin. We have already been told about the ungodliness and unrighteousness of men in Rom 1:18. Paul now expands on that, dealing firstly with man’s ungodliness as manifested by his turning to idols, with its inevitable consequences, in Rom 1:21-27. He will then move on to deal with man’s unrighteousness as manifested by a list of gross sins (28-30).
One consequence of man’s turning away from the true God is that men have to seek an alternative which will satisfy their inner cravings, which will fill ‘the God-shaped blank in every man’s life’. And for long centuries they did this by associating the supernatural with human and animal forms. They saw these humans and animals as in some way a representation of the divine. Today we tend to do it by exalting celebrities and giving them a form of worship. In either case they lead on to the debasement of men and women.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Rom 1:21. Neither were thankful It is worthy our observation, that gratitude to God is here put for the whole of religion; and as no principle can be nobler, so none can be stronger or more extensive. Mr. Locke illustrates the next clause by the stupid folly and vanity of their idolatry. See 2Ki 17:15-17. Act 14:15. But the word , imaginations, or rather reasonings, seems more properly to refer to the sophistry of the philosophers. They did violence to their judgments, and became void of judgment: they lost their understanding, because they would not follow its direction. They put the candle of the Lord under a bushel, and the candle went out. The case is unhappily the same under any, even the clearest dispensation. The word , rendered foolish, signifies inconsiderate, in the highest and most culpable degree, as opposed to a sincere use of what means and knowledge of God they had. Their heart was inconsiderate: that is, they made no serious, conscientious use of their understanding. See Locke, Sykes’s Connection, chap. 14: p. 364 and Cudworth’s Intellectual System, ch. 4. sect. 10-31.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Ver. 21. Neither were thankful ] How then shall we answer to God our hateful unthankfulness, which is (saith one) “a monster in nature, a solecism in manners, a paradox in divinity, a parching wind to dam up the fountain of divine favours.” Woe be to our Solifugae that abuse gospel light; these put not light “under a bushel” (as the poor Paynims did) but under a dunghill; Gravis est lux conscientiae, Heavy is the light of conscience, saith Seneca; but heavier is the light of the gospel, gravior est lux Evangelii, say we. A heavy account will they give that abuse the light of nature; but much heavier they that “receive the grace of God in vain.”
But became vain in their imaginations ] Gr. , in their reasonings, disputations, discourses upon serious deliberation. They stood not to their own principles (as, that there is one God only, that this God is to be worshipped, &c.), but were atheists by night that worshipped the sun, and atheists by day that worshipped the moon, as Cyril saith wittily.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
21. ] expands ‘ without excuse , because ’
] ‘ with the knowledge above stated .’ This participle testifies plainly that matter of fact , and not of possibility , has been the subject of the foregoing verses. From this point, we take up what they MIGHT HAVE DONE, but DID NOT.
. ] They did not give Him glory ( here principally of recognition by worship) AS GOD, i.e. as the great Creator of all, distinct from and infinitely superior to all His works. Bengel well divides and “ Gratias agere debemus ob beneficia: glorificare ob ipsas virtutes divinas.” They did neither : in their religion , they deposed God from His place as Creator, in their lives , they were ungrateful by the abuse of His gifts.
] , vanus fuit , is used of worshipping idols, 2Ki 17:15 ; Jer 2:5 , and , vanitas , of an idol. Deu 32:21 ; 1Ki 16:26 al.: and hence probably the word was here chosen.
] their thoughts : but generally in N.T. in a bad sense: they became vain (idle, foolish) in their speculations.
. . . ] is not the result of ., ‘ became darkened so as to lose its understanding ,’ but the converse, their heart ( of the whole inner man, the seat of knowledge and feeling) being foolish (unintelligent, not retaining God in its knowledge) became dark (lost the little light it had, and wandered blindly in the mazes of folly).
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Rom 1:21 ff. would naturally express purpose: to make men inexcusable is one, though not the only or the ultimate, intention of God in giving this revelation. But the almost forces us to take the as expressing result: so that they are inexcusable, because, etc. (see Burton’s Moods and Tenses , 411). In Rom 1:21-23 the wrong course taken by humanity is described. Nature shows us that God is to be glorified and thanked, i.e. , nature reveals Him to be great and good. But men were not content to accept the impression made on them by nature; they fell to reasoning upon it, and in their reasonings ( , “perverse self-willed reasonings or speculations,” S. and H.) were made vain ( ); the result stultified the process; their instinctive perception of God became confused and uncertain; their unintelligent heart, the seat of the moral consciousness, was darkened. In asserting their wisdom they became fools, and showed it conspicuously in their idolatries. They resigned the glory of the incorruptible God ( i.e. , the incorruptible God, all glorious as He was, and as He was seen in nature to be), and took instead of Him some image of a corruptible, even of a vile creature. The expression . . . is borrowed in part from Psa 105:20 (LXX): . The reduplication of the same idea in shows the indignant contempt with which the Apostle looked on this empty and abject religion in which God had been lost. The birds, quadrupeds and reptiles could all be illustrated from Egypt.
With Rom 1:24 the Apostle turns from this sin to its punishment. Because of it ( ) God gave them up. To lose God is to lose everything: to lose the connection with Him involved in constantly glorifying and giving Him thanks, is to sink into an abyss of darkness, intellectual and moral. It is to become fitted for wrath at last, under the pressure of wrath all the time. Such, in idea, is the history of humanity to Paul, as interpreted by its issue in the moral condition of the pagan world when he wrote. Exceptions are allowed for (Rom 2:10 ), but this is the position as a whole. in all three places (Rom 1:24 , ; Rom 1:26 , ; Rom 1:28 , ) expresses the judicial action of God. The sensual impurity of religions in which the incorruptible God had been resigned for the image of an animal, that could not but creep into the imagination of the worshippers and debase it, was a Divine judgment. , in accordance with the conception of a judicial act, expresses the Divine purpose that their bodies might be dishonoured among them. For gen of purpose, see Winer, 408 ff. (where, however, a different construction is given for this passage, being made to depend immediately on ).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
knew. Greek. ginosko. App-132.
glorified. Seep. 1511.
but. Emphatic.
became vain. Greek. mataioomai. Only here. Compare Act 14:15.
imaginations = reasonings. See Mat 15:19.
foolish. Greek. asunetos, as Rom 1:31.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
21. ] expands -without excuse, because
] with the knowledge above stated. This participle testifies plainly that matter of fact, and not of possibility, has been the subject of the foregoing verses. From this point, we take up what they MIGHT HAVE DONE, but DID NOT.
.] They did not give Him glory ( here principally of recognition by worship) AS GOD, i.e. as the great Creator of all, distinct from and infinitely superior to all His works. Bengel well divides and -Gratias agere debemus ob beneficia: glorificare ob ipsas virtutes divinas. They did neither: in their religion, they deposed God from His place as Creator,-in their lives, they were ungrateful by the abuse of His gifts.
] , vanus fuit, is used of worshipping idols, 2Ki 17:15; Jer 2:5, and , vanitas, of an idol. Deu 32:21; 1Ki 16:26 al.: and hence probably the word was here chosen.
] their thoughts: but generally in N.T. in a bad sense: they became vain (idle, foolish) in their speculations.
. . .] is not the result of .,-became darkened so as to lose its understanding,-but the converse,-their heart ( of the whole inner man,-the seat of knowledge and feeling) being foolish (unintelligent, not retaining God in its knowledge) became dark (lost the little light it had, and wandered blindly in the mazes of folly).
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Rom 1:21. . This is resumed from Rom 1:19. They did not sin in ignorance, but knowingly.- , God as God). This is , the truth [of God, Rom 1:25], the perfection of conformity with nature,[14] where worship corresponds to the divine nature. Comp. in contrast with this, Gal 4:8 [when ye knew not God, ye did service unto them which] by nature are no Gods.-, God). [They glorified Him not as the God] eternal, almighty, and to be continually honoured by showing forth His glory, and by thanksgiving.- , they glorified or were thankful) We ought to render thanks for benefits; and to glorify Him on account of the divine perfections themselves, contrary to the opinion of Hobbes. If it were possible for a mind to exist extraneous to God, and not created by God, still that mind would be bound to praise God.-), or, at least.-) This verb and have a reciprocal force. , , are frequently applied to idols, and to their worship and worshippers, 2Ki 17:15; Jer 2:5; for the mind is conformed [becomes and is assimilated] to its object [of worship], Psa 115:8. is opposed to ; to .- [imaginations, Eng. vers.], thoughts) Variable, uncertain, and foolish.
[14] Convenientia.=the Stoic Cic. de fin. 3. 6. 21-ED.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
Rom 1:21
Rom 1:21
because that, knowing God,-The reason they were without excuse in their ignorance of the knowledge of God is. God once revealed himself to Gentile and Jewish fathers alike. [But whence came the knowledge? From God to Adam, and through angels and inspired men in subsequent ages. Some had it, therefore, in the form of original revelation and others as tradition. But in whatever form, it was the only knowledge of God that the world possessed prior to the gospel. On it, and on traditions formed from it, and the many corruptions of it, the conscience of the Gentile was formed.]
they glorified him not as God,-When the Gentiles knew God, they did not glorify or honor him as God. [This is the true source of their abomination. To glorify him as God is to regard with proper reverence his perfections and laws, to venerate his name, his power, his holiness, and his presence by words and acts, and to worship him as the Maker and Governor of the universe. As they were not inclined to do this, they were given over to their vain and wicked desires. A willingness to honor God as God-reverence, love, and obey him-would effectually restrain men from sin.]
neither gave thanks; -They were not thankful for the blessings bestowed upon them. [We thank God for benefits and blessings received, and the feeling which prompts it is gratitude.]
but became vain in their reasonings,-They were puffed up with a conceit of their own wisdom.
and their senseless heart was darkened.-The heart is the most comprehensive term for human faculties. The different powers of thinking, reasoning, perceiving, loving, hating, purposing, desiring, rejoicing, sorrowing, believing, are attributed to the heart. It is used to represent the whole spiritual, or inner, man, and all the faculties and powers of the inner man are attributed to the heart. [The foolish reasonings and the guilty misuse of the understanding gradually usurped possession of the minds of the Gentiles, the truth faded from them, and the light went out.]
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
when: Rom 1:19, Rom 1:28, Joh 3:19
they glorified: Rom 15:9, Psa 50:23, Psa 86:9, Hos 2:8, Hab 1:15, Hab 1:16, Luk 17:15-18, 2Ti 3:2, Rev 14:7, Rev 15:4
but became: Gen 6:5, Gen 8:21, 2Ki 17:15, Psa 81:12, Ecc 7:29, Isa 44:9-20, Jer 2:5, Jer 10:3-8, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15, Jer 16:19, Eph 4:17, Eph 4:18, 1Pe 1:18
their foolish: Rom 11:10, Deu 28:29, Isa 60:2, Act 26:18, 1Pe 2:9
Reciprocal: Exo 32:4 – These Lev 7:12 – a thanksgiving Deu 29:19 – though I walk 1Sa 2:12 – knew 1Ki 16:13 – vanities 1Ki 16:26 – their vanities Job 31:27 – my heart Psa 10:4 – thoughts Psa 14:1 – abominable Psa 14:4 – Have Psa 31:6 – lying Psa 53:1 – said Psa 94:11 – General Psa 99:8 – their inventions Psa 106:29 – with their Psa 107:31 – Oh that men Pro 2:13 – walk Pro 14:6 – scorner Isa 29:14 – for the wisdom Isa 44:18 – have not Isa 45:20 – they Isa 50:11 – all ye Jer 3:17 – walk Jer 4:14 – How long Jer 9:14 – walked Jer 10:8 – brutish Jer 23:16 – they make Jer 33:18 – General Eze 14:5 – estranged Eze 20:25 – I gave Dan 3:3 – the princes Dan 5:23 – hast thou Hos 7:15 – imagine Luk 1:51 – the imagination Luk 17:17 – but Act 14:15 – from Act 14:16 – suffered Rom 1:31 – Without understanding Rom 1:32 – knowing Rom 10:19 – foolish 1Co 3:19 – the wisdom 1Co 3:20 – that 2Co 10:5 – down Gal 5:19 – Adultery Eph 5:8 – ye were Col 2:8 – philosophy Col 3:15 – and be 2Th 2:11 – for 1Ti 5:5 – a widow Jam 2:20 – O vain Jam 4:17 – General 1Pe 2:15 – foolish Rev 9:20 – and idols
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
:21
Rom 1:21. The heathen did not live up to the information offered them by the things in creation. They did not respect God as he deserved, but estimated Him on the basis of their foolish imaginations, which are described in verse 23.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Rom 1:21. Because. The fact which renders them inexcusable is now stated.
Though knowing God. Although they had the knowledge indicated in Rom 1:20.
Did not glorify him as God. What worship they rendered was not in accordance with the knowledge they had. Glorify refers to praising God for what He is.
Nor give thanks; i.e., did not praise Him for all his benefits.
Became vain in their thoughts. Imaginations is inexact; thoughts, discussions, reasonings, are meant (comp. chap. Rom 2:15). The conceptions, ideas, and reflections, which they formed for themselves regarding the Deity, were wholly devoid of any intrinsic value corresponding with the truth (Meyer.) Vanity is a characteristic term for idol-worship; Deu 32:21; 2Ki 17:5; Jer 2:5; Act 14:15.
Senseless, or, without understanding, as the word is translated in Rom 1:31.
Heart. Here, as so often in the Bible, this refers to the whole inner man.
Was darkened. (Comp. Eph 4:18.) This is the culmination of the process: not worshipping and thanking God, although they knew Him, they became vain in their reasonings; this made their heart senseless, and thus it was darkened, deprived of the truth which it might have had (formerly had) from the light of nature.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
From this verse to the end of the chapter, we have a large and black catalogue of the sins which the old Heathens or Gentiles were guilty of; some of which they voluntarily committed, and others were judiciously delivered up unto (for God, without any impeachment of his holiness, often punishes sin with sin.) Their sins voluntarily committed, are here recited, and the first of them is their sinning against light and knowledge. They had some natural notices of God implanted and imprinted in their minds, and such an additional knowledge of his being and attribute, as might be gained by an attentive study in the book of the creatures; but they rebelled against this light, and thereby contracted an aggravated guilt.
Learn thence, that to sin against light and knowledge, either in the omission of duty, or commission of sin, is the highest aggravation of sinfulness: As ignorance lesseneth, so knowledge aggravateth the malignity of sin.
The next sin charged upon them was, they did not glorify that God whom they had the knowledge of: That is, they did not conceive of him, and worship him as became his divine perfections and excellencies; they did not esteem so high of him as they ought, and pay that homage and honour, to the Deity which they should.
Learn thence, That the knowledge which we have of God and his attributes, if it do not engage us to honour, glorify, and worship him, suitable to his adorable perfections, it is vain and useless in God’s account, and will but expose us to a more dreadful condemnation.
Another sin mentioned in this verse, which the Heathens were guilty of, was the sin of unthankfulness. They glorified him not as God, neither were they thankful: That is, they had not a due sense of the favours and benefits of God conferred upon them; but, ascribing the blessings of heaven to chance and fortune, to fate and destiny, to the influence of the stars and planets, to their own prudence and providence, they paid their thanks to blind fortune, for a favour which the eye of providence had bestowed upon them: It is impossible that God should receive the tribute of thankfulness, if we do not see all our mercies flowing from him.
Observe farther, the sad effect, fruit and consequence of the fore-mentioned sins. The Heathens which committed them, it is said,
1. That they became vain in their imaginations. That is, they had various opinions and vain conceptions of the Godhead. Some of them denied that there was a God, others doubted whether there was a God or no; some affirmed there was but one God, others owned a plurality, yea, a multiplicity of gods. Some acknowledge God’s being, but denied his providence; others owned his providence, but confined it, in its exercise to secondary causes. Thus vain in their imaginations, thus absorbed in their notions, and thus sottish in their reasonings, were the Heathens concerning God, his nature and worship. Well might our apostle say, They became vain in their imaginations.
And, 2. That their foolish hearts were darkened: That is, for rebelling against the light received, their minds and understanding were more and more darkened; their natural reason obscured, but because not improved.
Lord, how dangerous is it not to improve our knowledge! how fatal to rebel against the light and convictions of our own minds! it provokes thee to deliver us up to he power of spiritual darkness on earth, and consigns us over to eternal darkness in hell, where is reserved the blackness of darkness forever, as the punishment and portion of those that rebel against the light, and sin against knowledge.
Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament
Rom 1:21-23. Because that when they knew God The writings of Plato, Xenophon, Plutarch, Cicero, and other philosophers, which still remain, together with the quotations made by Just. Martyr and Clem. Alexandrinus from those which are lost, prove that the learned heathen, though ignorant of the way of salvation, were not entirely unacquainted with the unity and spirituality of God, and had pretty just notions of his perfections, of the creation and government of the world, and of the duties which men owe to God and to one another. Their sin, therefore, in worshipping idols, and in concealing the true God from the vulgar, did not proceed so much from ignorance as from corruption of heart. They glorified him not as God Did not esteem him, pay homage to him, or worship and serve him in a manner worthy of him, and consistent with those apprehensions they had, or might have had, of him; neither were thankful Grateful for his benefits. As the true God was not the object of the popular religion, no public thanksgivings were offered to him in any heathen country; and with respect to the private conduct of individuals, though there are still extant hymns in honour of the heathen gods, written by Orpheus, Homer, Pindar, and Horace, who were themselves philosophers as well as poets, we have never heard of any psalm or hymn composed by any heathen poet or philosopher in honour of the true God. It is observable, that thankfulness to God for his mercies, is here represented as a principal branch of religion, and undoubtedly no principle can be nobler, nor can any have a greater or more extensive influence. But became vain in their imaginations Absurd, stupid, and ridiculous in their reasonings, concerning Gods nature and worship; entangling themselves with a thousand unprofitable subtleties, which only tended to alienate their minds more and more from every truly religious sentiment and disposition. And their foolish, , their undiscerning, unintelligent, imprudent heart was darkened Instead of being enlightened by these sophistries, it was more and more involved in ignorance and error, and rendered impenetrable to the simplicity of the most important truths. What a terrible instance have we of this in the writings of Lucretius! What vain reasonings, yet how dark a heart, amid pompous professions of wisdom! Professing themselves to be wise Greek, , saying that they were wise; cum se dicerent, aut se dici sinerent sapientes: when they called, or suffered themselves to be called, wise men. Grotius. It evidently refers to their assuming the philosophic character, and to the pride they took in the title of wise men, or lovers of wisdom. They became fools Degrading, in the lowest and most infamous manner, the reason which they so arrogantly pretended to improve, and almost to engross. Thus the apostle finely ridicules that ostentation of wisdom which the Greek philosophers made, by taking to themselves the name of wise men. And his irony was the more pungent, in that it was put into a writing addressed to the Romans, who were great admirers of the Greeks. And changed, &c. As if he had said, As their folly and wickedness were evident in a variety of other vices, in which these heathen philosophers joined with the vulgar, so particularly in the early and almost universal prevalence of idolatry among them; for they changed the glory The unutterable glory, of the incorruptible and immortal God (the word means both) all the majestic splendours, in which he shines forth through earth and heaven, into an image, made by their own hands, like to corruptible and mortal man Which, how elegantly soever it might be formed, was an abominable and insufferable degradation of the infinitely perfect and eternal Godhead, had their folly proceeded no further. But, not content with this, they set up as emblems of Deity and objects of worship, brute creatures and their images: birds, four-footed beasts, and creeping things Even such vile reptiles as beetles, and various kinds of serpents, which creep on the dust. The learned Egyptians in particular, as is well known, worshipped dogs, snakes, nay, and even vegetables. We may observe here, 1st, That the word corruptible, applied to man, signifies not only his being liable to dissolution, but to moral pollution; and the term incorruptible, applied to God, signifies that he is not liable to either. 2d, The great evil of the heathen idolatry consisted in their setting up the images of men and beasts in their temples as representations of the Deity, by which the vulgar were led to believe that God was of the same form, nature, and qualities with the animals represented by these images. And the persons who thus changed the glory of God were not the common people among the Greeks, but the legislators, magistrates, priests, and philosophers; for they were the persons who framed the public religion in all the heathen countries; who established it by their laws, and recommended it by their example. Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Vv. 21. Seeing that, when they knew God, they glorified Him not as God, neither gave Him thanks; but were struck with vanity in their reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened.
The because that bears on the idea of inexcusableness, which closes Rom 1:20, and reproduces the feeling of indignation which had dictated the , hurtfully and maliciously, of Rom 1:18 : Yes, inexcusable, because of the fact that…How can the apostle say of the Gentiles that they knew God? Is it a simple possibility to which he is referring! The words do not allow this idea. Rom 1:19 declared that the light was really put within them. Paganism itself is the proof that the human mind had really conceived the notion of God; for this notion appears at the root of all the varied forms of paganism. Only this is what happened: the revelation did not pass from the passive to the active form. Man confined himself to receiving it. He did not set himself to grasp it and to develop it spontaneously. He would have been thus raised from light to light; it would have been that way of knowing God by wisdom of which Paul speaks, 1Co 1:21. Instead of opening himself to the action of the light, man withdrew from it his heart and will; instead of developing the truth, he quenched it. No doubt acts of worship and thanksgiving addressed to the gods were not wanting in paganism; but it is not without meaning that the apostle takes care to put the words in front: as God. The task of the heart and understanding would have been to draw from the contemplation of the work the distinct view of the divine worker, then, in the way of adoration, to invest this sublime being with all the perfections which He displayed in His creation. Such a course would have been to glorify God as God. For the highest task of the understanding is to assert God freely, as He asserts Himself in His revelation. But if this act of reason failed, the heart at least had another task to fulfil: to give thanks. Does not a child even say thanks to its benefactor? This homage failed like the other. The word , or, must be understood here, as it often is, in the sense of: or at least. The words as God also depend logically on were thankful, which we have not been able to express in French [nor in English].
Now man could not remain stationary. Not walking forwards in the way of active religion, he could only stray into a false path, that of impiety, spoken of Rom 1:18. Having neglected to set God before it as the supreme object of its activity, the understanding was reduced to work in vacuo; it was in some sort made futile (); it peopled the universe with fictions and chimeras. So Paul designates the vain creations of mythology. The term , were struck with vanity, evidently alludes to , vain things, which was the name given by the Jews to idols (comp. Act 14:15; Lev 17:7; Jer 2:5; 2Ki 17:15). The term , reasonings, is always taken by the writers of the New Testament in an unfavorable sense; it denotes the unregulated activity of the , understanding, in the service of a corrupt heart. The corruption of the heart is mentioned in the following words: it went side by side with the errors of reason, of which it is at once the cause and the effect. The heart, , is in the New Testament as in the Old (leb), the central seat of personal life, what we call feeling (sentiment), that inner power which determines at once the activity of the understanding and the direction of the will. Destitute of its true object, through its refusal to be thankful to God as God, the heart of man is filled with inspirations of darkness; these are the guilty lusts inspired by the egoistic love of the creature and self. The epithet , without understanding, is often explained as anticipating what the heart was to become in this course: in such a way as to become foolish. But was there not already something senseless in the ingratitude described in Rom 1:21? Thus the want of understanding existed from the beginning. In the form of the first aorist passive , was darkened (as well as in the preceding aorist ), there is expressed the conviction of a divine dispensation, though still under the form of a natural law, whose penal application has fallen on them.
To this first stage, which is rather of an inward kind, there has succeeded a second and more external one.
Fuente: Godet Commentary (Luke, John, Romans and 1 Corinthians)
because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened. [And they were without excuse, for when they knew God they did not worship him according to the knowledge which they had, nor did they praise him for his benefits; but they erred in their mind, thus making their whole inner man senseless and dark, not having the light of truth with which they started. The phrase, “vain in their reasonings,” means that their corrupt lives corrupted their minds, for, as Tholuck observes, “religious and moral error is always the consequence of religious and moral perversity.” As Calvin expresses it: “They quickly choked by their own depravity the seed of right knowledge before it grew to ripeness.”]
Fuente: McGarvey and Pendleton Commentaries (New Testament)
21. Therefore knowing God, they did not glorify him as God nor were they thankful, but they became vain in their reasonings, and their foolish heart was darkened. All the heathens in the world are but the apostasy of the Patriarchical church, having the true light in the days of Noah; the Mohammedans and Jews, the apostasy of the Mosaic church, and the Roman Catholics, the fallen Apostolic church; while the great Protestant denominations are going at racehorse speed the same downward trend into spiritual darkness, formality, hypocrisy, legalism and idolatry. Paul in this verse describes the first stage of apostasy from God, i. e., landing them in intellectualism; the second stage subsequently described, putting them in idolatry, and the third and last in brutality. The heathens are now in the last stage, i. e., brutality, and the Romanists in idolatry, and the Protestants in intellectualism, seeking the power of natural talent and education instead of the spiritual dynamite which constitutes the only definition of gospel in the Bible.
Fuente: William Godbey’s Commentary on the New Testament
Verse 21
Knew God; had the means of knowing him.
Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament
1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they {e} glorified [him] not as God, neither were thankful; but became {f} vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
(e) They did not honour him with that honour and service which was appropriate for his everlasting power and Godhead.
(f) As if he said, became so corrupt in themselves.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Honoring God as God and giving Him thanks (Rom 1:21) are our primary duties to God in view of who He is. When people reject truth, it becomes increasingly difficult for them to recognize and receive truth.
Whenever human wisdom sets itself against God, the result is soon seen in human foolishness." [Note: Griffith Thomas, St. Paul’s Epistle . . ., p. 69.]
Mythology and idolatry have resulted from man’s need to identify some power greater than himself and his refusal to acknowledge God as that power. Men and women have elevated themselves to God’s position (cf. Dan 2:38; Dan 3:1; Dan 5:23). In our day, humanism has replaced the worship of individual human leaders in most developed countries. Man has descended to the worship of animals as well (cf. Psa 106:20). This is perhaps more characteristic of third world countries.
"This tragic process of human ’god-making’ continues apace in our own day, and Paul’s words have as much relevance for people who have made money or sex or fame their gods as for those who carved idols out of wood and stone." [Note: Moo, p. 110. For a relevant exposition of Rom 1:21-22, see Francis A. Schaeffer, Death in the City, pp. 79-123.]
Note the allusions to the creation story in the threefold division of the animal kingdom in Rom 1:23.