What Does Romans 1:22 Mean?

Professing to be wise, they became fools,

Romans 1:22(NASB)

Verse of the Day

The Psalmist tells us that it is the fool who has said in his heart 'there is no God' despite being surrounded by the amazing beauty of God's creation, its complex functioning, and the intricate construction of everything within it.

The fool who refuses to confess an eternal Creator, is prepared to dismiss the evidence that is encapsulated in the vast heavenly testimony of the starry heavens above with the warming, life-giving properties of the sun and the rejuvenating and invigorating coolness of a moonlit sky.

Paul expands the evidence of our great Creator God, by adding that each human being has been endowed with an inner conscience which alerts our innermost soul to a sense of right or wrong, good or evil. It is that still, small, inner voice of principle which is designed to prompt us toward doing what is good and resisting what is evil.

The testimony and truth of God is also recorded in His written Word, and clearly outlines His gracious redemptive plans and eternal purposes for the salvation of fallen man. And yet, there are multitudes that disclaim the Scriptures, deny the proof of His creation, suppress their God-given consciences, mock those that believe the truth, and refuse to acknowledge that there is a God Who created the world and made man in His own image, to Whom we are all accountable.

The invisible qualities of His eternal power and divine nature are all around us, for those with eyes to see, and are clearly understood by what has been made. Yet there are those that deny His existence and proffer their own flawed theories, while clinging to their limited imaginations. In so doing they profess to be learned and wise and yet they demonstrate themselves to be fools.

Men delight to theorise about a big-bang which took place billions of years ago, deep-sea vents, a deep-hot biosphere, or a primordial soup that evolved into life as we know it. They speculate that we came from stardust or that alien beings seeded us here: "Claiming to be wise, they became fools." Professing to be smart, they showed themselves to be simpletons.

The Lord laughs at the pagan world for their frenzied attempts to nullify His creation and their pitiful perversions of His clearly stated truth. Their attempts to disprove God is inexcusable because of the tremendous evidence in the sky above, the earth below, the waters beneath, the inner conscience, and His written Word.

Every man has a knowledge of God, Who alone is the source of true wisdom and knowledge, but man's prideful refusal to acknowledge the truth and glorify God is a path that leads to a twisted mindset, futile imaginings, moral insensitivity, a seared conscience, and the finality of inevitable death, destruction, and separation from God.

The book of Romans lays out the clear path of condemnation and destruction that foolish and rebellious men choose to pursue, when they refuse to acknowledge the truth, but praise God that Paul also goes into great detail on how to be saved by grace through faith in Christ and details the many privileges that are ours in the Lord Jesus, our God and our Saviour.

My Prayer

Heavenly Father, thank You for the amazing book of Romans and the clear way that it explains, step-by-step, the depravity of fallen man and consequences of sin. It also tells in detail, that our sins are forgiven by grace through faith in Christ, and how we may live in the power of the indwelling Spirit. I pray that many whose eyes are blinded to the truth, whose consciences have been seared, and whose foolish hearts have bought into Satan's deception, will turn from their wicked ways and call out to Christ for the forgiveness of their sins and life everlasting. In Jesus' name, AMEN.

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