Unrighteousness, Fornication and More Romans 1:29

Paul the apostle shared with the church members in Rome about people who did not “glorify” or “thank” God, “changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshiped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever”, and he added since, “they 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; For this cause God gave them up unto vile affections”, and in chapter one and verse twenty-nine of Romans, Paul wrote concerning specific “vile affections” such as, “filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness” and more where we read:

Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,

The verse begins, “Being filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness;” Paul began with the words, “being filled with” or “made full, abounding, furnished and supplied liberally” “all unrighteousness” which refers to “each, every and the whole injustice, deeds violating law and justice”, “fornication” which means “illicit sexual intercourse such as adultery, homosexuality, lesbianism or intercourse with animals, close relatives or a divorced man or woman”, “wickedness” which refers to “depravity, iniquity, malice and evil purposes and desires”, “covetousness” or “greedy desire to have more and avarice”, “maliciousness” or “malignity, ill-will, desire to injure and depravity”. Paul identified specifically how these who rejected the truth of God involved themselves in “deeds which violated” God's law in “sexual promiscuity”, “depravity”, “greed” and “ill-will”.

The verse goes on to say, “full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity; whisperers,” Paul added the word, “full” which means “filled with thoughts and emotions” “of envy” or “ill-will as detraction and spite”, “murder” which means “slaying and slaughter”, “debate” or “contention, strife and wrangling” “deceit” which means “craft, subtlety and guile” “malignity” or “bad character, depravity of heart and life with malicious craftiness”; “whisperers” which refers to “secret slanderers and detractors”. Paul added, “ill-will with spite, slaughter, contention, subtlety, depravity of heart and slander” to his list of sins committed by those who reject God.

When we think through these words of Paul, we see how all these “sins” are results and consequences from people failing to recognize God for who He really is. When God's truth is rejected, people are “delivered” to their own thoughts and actions, and they involve themselves in “ unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity” as well as “whispering”. These “sins” are forgivable by God who sent His Son Jesus to pay for all of them when He died on the cross. No matter how depraved these “sins” may seem, God desires to “save” people from them, and when people receive Jesus as their personal “Savior and Lord” and turn from their sins, all of them are “forgiven”.

Next time Paul tells the church members how these are, “backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters” and more, so read ahead, and we shall join together then,

Until tomorrow…there is more…

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