The phrase “God gave them over” appears three times in Romans 1:24-28 and is an important concept that requires deeper understanding. This passage describes God’s response to those who reject Him and turn to idolatry and sinful desires.
The first occurrence is in verse 24: “Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves.” This indicates that God abandoned rebellious sinners to follow the lusts of their sinful hearts. He removed restraint and allowed them to indulge in sexual immorality and impurity.
The second instance is in verse 26: “For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to nature.” Here, God handed people over to shameful lusts, specifically homosexual behavior which Scripture calls unnatural.
The third mention is in verse 28: “And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.” God delivered people over to a worthless mind so they engage in improper and sinful actions.
This concept of God “giving over” ungodly people appears to suggest He stops actively restraining sin and allows people to experience the consequences of their rebellious choices. Some key points regarding this important biblical principle:
- It demonstrates that people who persistently reject God and follow sinful desires are eventually given over to those very sinful passions.
- It reveals God’s wrath in action against unrepentant sinners who continually spurn Him and engage in wickedness (Rom 1:18).
- It shows that continued, unremorseful sin leads to greater degradation and corruption as God removes His protective grace.
- It affirms God’s sovereignty and justice in punishing sin by eventually giving people over to their freely chosen sins.
- It illustrates that rejecting God’s truth and goodness leads to futile thinking and immoral behaviors under the slavery of sin.
In summary, this powerful biblical phrase conveys how God in His righteous judgment “gives over” obstinate sinners by withdrawing His restraining grace and turning them over to the destructive consequences of their wrong choices. The dire warning reminds all people of the great danger and misery of rejecting God’s truth and resisting His desire to draw all towards repentance and salvation through Jesus Christ.
1. God Gave Them Over as an Act of Divine Justice and Judgment
The phrase “God gave them over” indicates God’s righteous judgment on those who deliberately reject Him. Scripture clearly teaches that God is just and holy, meaning He cannot overlook rebellion and sin but must punish wickedness.
Romans 1:18 sets the backdrop when it states: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.” God’s wrath is directed against all godlessness and wickedness of those who suppress God’s truth.
Therefore, “God gave them over” is a form of God’s holy and just judgment on sinners described in this passage who exchanged truth for lies and worshipped creation rather than the Creator (Rom. 1:25). Though gracious and patient, God ultimately honors the choices of those who persist in evil.
He “gave them over” as a judicial act to those who continued in rejection of God. It was a condemnation of those who had already condemned themselves by their actions. As one commentator explains, “God does not push them into impurity or idolatry; He does not make them sin. He simply leaves them to pursue the natural course of their sin.”
A key aspect of God’s judgment was removing restraint and protection, as discussed further below. But the primary emphasis is that God’s giving people over to their sinful desires reflects His justice and wrath against the ungodly.
2. God Giving Them Over Involves Removing Restraint and Protection
A key element in God “giving over” people to their sin seems to be His removal of restraint and protection which allows sin to run its inevitable course. This is tied to the principle in Scripture that God sets boundaries on human sin and controls how far it can proceed (Psalm 124:1-3).
However, when God judges sinners by “giving them over” He removes those protective boundaries and allows people to freely engage in the sins they have chosen without divine restraint. Sin then progresses even further, leading to worse degradation and judgment.
It is similar to Romans 1:18 where God’s wrath is described as Him “revealing” or “disclosing” the sin of mankind. When God removes gracious restraint of sin, man’s depravity is uncovered in all its perversion. The propensity toward evil held in check by God’s grace is exhibited in full force.
Therefore, “God gave them up” means He removed restraint and impediments to sin and allowed people to experience the full consequences of their sins. Freed from divine protection, sin brings forth death (Rom 6:23; James 1:15).
3. God Removing Restraint Can Involve Hardening of the Heart
Closely related to God removing restraint is the concept of God hardening sinners in their transgression as part of His judgment. Scripture testifies that God eventually stops calling obstinate people to repentance and hardens their hearts in the sins they prefer over God.
The book of Hebrews warns, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God…Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts” (Heb. 3:12,15).
Romans 1 affirms that foolish thinking and idolatry leads to moral confusion and blurring of gender roles. This immoral path grows out of hearts already calloused toward God. Part of God’s judgment on sin is eventually cementing the hard-heartedness sinners choose when they stubbornly resist God.
The Old Testament describes God judicially hardening the Egyptian king to reject Moses’ pleas during the Exodus as punishment on Egypt’s sins (Ex. 4:21, 7:3). Similarly, God gave people over by eventually hardening the hearts of those who hardened themselves against Him.
4. It Demonstrates Sin’s Bondage When Unrestrained by Grace
An important lesson from God’s judgment of “giving over” people to their sinful desires is that it powerfully demonstrates sin’s enslaving grip when unrestrained by God’s grace. Paul teaches that “where sin increased, grace abounded all the more” (Rom. 5:20).
But Romans 1 indicates that when the abundance of God’s grace is continually spurned, He removes that grace which reveals the real control sin has on the human heart. Unchecked by divine grace, sinners descend rapidly into deeper corruption and evil.
Therefore, “God gave them up” underscores that sin is highly addictive and people are powerless to break from its bondage on their own. When God removes enabling grace, enslaving sin quickly follows. This explains humanity’s propensity toward evil when not protected by God’s restraining grace.
The downward progression in Romans 1 – from idolatry to sexual immorality to homosexual acts to other general wickedness – illustrates the rapid moral decay into which mankind descends when God takes away His hand of grace.
5. Highlights the Futility of Sinful Living
Another lesson from God’s judgment of “giving over” sinners is that it highlights the extreme futility, emptiness and despair of a sinful lifestyle opposed to God. Paul says God “gave them up to dishonorable passions” (Rom. 1:26) and “gave them over to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done” (Rom. 1:28).
When allowed to indulge fleshly desires outside God’s will, the end result for people is dishonor, degradation, foolish thinking and lack of fulfillment. Those trapped in sexual immorality, homosexuality, greed, evil, envy, murder and other sins only find meaninglessness and instability in that lifestyle.
A sinful life does not lead to the satisfaction and purpose for which humans were created. By God removing restraint and allowing sinners to have their desire, the futility of rebellion against God becomes evident. It should move all people to seek God’s salvation through Christ.
6. Giving Over Can Result in Increasing Corruption of Mind and Morals
A disturbing aspect of God “giving over” sinners to their lusts is that sin often breeds more sin in an accelerating cycle of corruption. Allowed to pursue evil desires, mankind’s default tendency is to descend into deeper depravity if God’s grace does not intervene.
Romans 1 testifies to this, indicating that idolatry led to sexual immorality which led to homosexuality and then to a broader list of wickedness summarized as “they were filled with all manner of unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:29).
The idea is that willful disobedience against God leads progressively downward into increasing corruption, not typically upward toward human enlightenment. Abandoned by God, the sinful heart grows increasingly darkened and perverse.
As people persist in evil and reject God’s truth, He turns them over to their sins and removes divine grace. This frequently results in spiral of deepening immorality and corruption as described in this sobering passage.
7. A Dire Warning Against Rejecting God’s Grace
Perhaps the clearest application from the concept of God “giving over” people to their sins is this: it demonstrates the urgent need to turn to God and receive His salvation! For those who continually reject Christ, they risk being abandoned to their desires.
Romans indicates that the alternative to being given over to lusts, dishonorable conduct, and a depraved mind is to “continue in His kindness” and patience, trusting in Christ’s sacrifice for redemption (Rom. 2:4-6).
Therefore, this passage gives a solemn warning that knowing God and His truth should lead to repentance. Persistently rejecting God’s truth and righteous standards results in Him giving people over to what they desire.
Romans 1 calls all people to pay attention to God’s general revelation in creation and turn to Him for salvation. Otherwise, there is a threat of God’s wrath which means removal of divine grace leading to slavery to sin. The solution is faith in Christ who frees people from sin.
8. Highlights God’s Sovereignty Over Human Affairs
A final implication of God “giving over” people to their sins is that it powerfully highlights God’s sovereignty over all human affairs. The repeated phrase leaves no room for thinking that people were given over by chance or randomness.
Rather, it was God intentionally abandoning obstinate sinners to their chosen path. He actively removed restraint and delivered them to their lusts. No other spiritual being or person forced this; only God exercised such authority.
Furthermore, the description emphasizes that God knew the degrading results beforehand of giving people over to sin. But in His holiness and justice, He deemed it the right judgment anyway. God remains in complete control even when He hands people over.
Therefore, this troubling biblical phrase underscores that the holy God oversees and orchestrates all human events and circumstances according to His sovereign plan and purpose. Even His judgments unfold by His design. He alone is Lord of all.
Conclusion
In summary, the disturbing phrase “God gave them over” used three times in Romans 1:24-28 conveys a form of God’s judgment against those who reject Him. In His divine justice and holiness, He hands obstinate sinners over to experience the consequences of their sinful desires.
This involves God removing gracious restraint and protection, leading to compounded corruption and confirming the destructiveness of sin. It serves as a dire warning against spurning God’s salvation in Jesus Christ. For in His sovereign authority, God will not tolerate those defiantly opposed to His lordship forever.
But even in judgment God is just and His grace continues being offered to all who repent and believe. So this biblical phrase of God giving people over highlights both God’s justice and mercy displayed in the gospel of Christ.