Backbiters, Haters of God and More Romans 1:30

Paul the apostle told the church members in Rome about people who did not “glorify” or “thank” God and “did not like to retain God in their knowledge”. “God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”, and “for this cause God gave them up unto vile affections” which included, “all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers”. In chapter one and verse thirty of Romans, Paul shared with the church members how these people also became, “backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters” and more where we read:

Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

The verse begins, “Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, ...” Paul began with the word, “backbiters” or “defamers or evil speakers”, “haters of God” which refers to “hateful, impious and wicked toward God”, “despiteful” which means “insolent, lifted up with pride and do shameful acts of wrong”, “proud” which refers to “showing oneself above others, overtopping conspicuous above others, haughty, treating with contempt and preeminent”, “boasters” or “empty pretenders, vagrancy or braggarts”. Paul identified “defaming people, hating God, insolence, haughtiness and bragging” as other “sins” into which people who reject God fall.

The verse continues, “... inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,” Paul added the word, “inventors” which means “contrivers or discoverers” “of evil things” or “bad nature, thinking, feeling, acting, wrong and wickedness”, “disobedient” which means “not compliant and contumacious” “to parents” which refers to “fathers and mothers”. Not only were these people involved in the previous “sins”, but “contrived wickedness” and were “not compliant” to their mothers and fathers.

When we meditate upon these words of Paul, we discover more “sins” which were against God. Those who refuse to acknowledge God and reject His ways become “evil speakers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, braggarts, contrivers of wickedness and non-compliant to their parents”, and yet, all of these “sins” are able to be forgiven when a person receives Jesus Christ as their “Savior and Lord”. None of these “wicked ways” are in alignment with God's best for our lives, and should we practice them, let us turn to Jesus Christ, ask for forgiveness and repent of all our “sins”.

Next time Paul tells the church members how these are, “without understanding, covenant breakers, without natural affection” and more, so read ahead, and we shall join together then,

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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