Romans 1:22–23. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (ESV)
For over a century, Eerdmans has been an important institution within the broader evangelical movement, publishing both academic and popular works in Christian theology, biblical studies, religious history, social and cultural issues, and spirituality. Fully known as the: William B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, it was known as a prominent publisher since its founding in 1911, but this month has posted a reading list of books for Christians to consider for LGBTQ Pride Month. The list includes six books, one of which is currently available for preorder. That title, “In the Margins: A Transgender Man’s Journey with Scripture” by Shannon T.L. Kearns, will release in August of this year and reflects “on well-known biblical narratives—such as Jacob wrestling with the divine, Rahab and the Israelite spies, Ezekiel and the dry bones, and the transfiguration of Jesus.” “In each chapter, Shannon shows how stories have helped him make sense of his own identity, and how those same stories can unlock the transformative power of faith for those willing to listen with an open mind and stand alongside him in the in-between,” the book’s description says. Denny Burk, theologian, professor, and president of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, said, “Eerdmans joins the great falling away. This isn’t a surprise for those who have been seeing the books Eerdmans produces. But it is grievous to watch a once great Christian publisher celebrate wickedness.” (https://churchleaders.com/news/426169-historic-evangelical-publisher-posts-reading-list-for-pride-month.html/2)
Institution after institution that once firmly stood on God’s Word has progressively accommodated itself to the intellectual foolishness of the world system. Here in Romans 1, the Apostle Paul is dealing with the nature of the word system reflected in idolatry. How can intelligent people turn to idolatry? Idolatry begins when people reject what they know about God. Instead of looking to Him as the Creator and sustainer of life, they see themselves as the center of the universe. They soon invent gods that are convenient projections of their own selfish plans and decrees. These gods may be wooden figures, or they may be things we desire—such as money, power, (worldly safety) or comfort. They may even be misrepresentations of God himself—a result of making God in our own image, instead of the reverse. The common denominator is this: Idolaters worship the things God made rather than God himself. It is a tendency that we must constantly watch for in ourselves. (Barton, B. B., Veerman, D., & Wilson, N. S. (1992). Romans (p. 30). Tyndale House Publishers.)
People are religious beings, and if they refuse to let God have the place of preeminence that is rightfully His, then they will put something or someone in God’s place. We need not look further to the answer of any question about what “ought” to be done as to this dethroning of God. People tend to base their view of themselves and the belief of what “ought” to happen on their feelings. Even among professing Christians, they often answer objective moral questions not based on God’s expectations from His Word but on their own feelings. In a mistaken understanding of humility they say things like: “it seems to me” or “I feel that” or “wouldn’t it be easier if” or worst of all: “To me, God is a god of (such & such)” Instead of manifesting God’s glory in our belief, words, or actions, we dethrone God and put our own subjective feelings and understandings on their throne in a modern reworking of idolatry.
Since God has Manifested His Glory, in Romans 1 Paul continues to specify reasons why they, and every person born except Jesus Christ, fully deserve to be under God’s wrath. He has thus far outlined God’s Revelation (Romans 1:19–20), and Humanity’s Rejection (Romans 1:21) and now in Romans 1:22–23 he specifies how the rejection of God’s Manifestation of Glory is seen through 1) Humanity’s Rationalization (Romans 1:22), and 2) Humanity’s Religion (Romans 1:23).
The rejection of God’s Manifestation of Glory is seen through:
1) Humanity’s Rationalization (Romans 1:22)
Romans 1:22. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools (ESV)
In rejecting God’s clear revelation of Himself through His creation, humanity failed to honor and glorify God, failed to give Him thanks, became futile in their philosophical speculations, and became foolish and darkened in their hearts (Romans 1:19–21). Trying to justify themselves, they rationalized their sin, just as fallen humanity still does today. Claiming/Professing to be wise about God, about the universe, and about themselves, they became still greater fools (cf. v. 21d). As in the wisdom literature of the Old Testament, folly (cf. ‘their senseless minds’ in verse 21) implies moral stupidity rather than mere deficiency in intelligence. (Bruce, F. F. (1985). Romans: an introduction and commentary (Vol. 6, p. 91). InterVarsity Press.). Refusal to acknowledge and glorify God leads to a downward path: first, worthless thinking; next, moral insensitivity; and then, religious stupidity (seen as an example here in idol-worship) (Witmer, J. A. (1985). Romans. In J. F. Walvoord & R. B. Zuck (Eds.), The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Vol. 2, p. 443). Victor Books.)
David declared that people who deny God and His truth are fools (Ps. 14:1; 53:1), and it is that very foolishness that deludes them into thinking they are wise. The unredeemed person cannot think perfectly about anything. Their thinking is perverted most severely in the spiritual and divine realm, because that is where his sinful rebellion is centered. These things are also beyond their human perception and since they reject revelation, they have no hope of coming to truth in themselves. Their foolish speculations therefore go the furthest astray when philosophizing about their origin, purpose, and destiny and about the origin and meaning of the universe in which they live. The mind devoid of God’s truth has no way to discriminate between truth and falsehood, between right and wrong, between the significant and the trivial, between the truly beautiful and the monstrous, or between the temporary and the eternal. The greatest fool in all the world is the person who exchanges God’s wisdom of truth and light for the human wisdom of deceit and darkness. The irony here is intentional and heavy: people claim to be wise, to have achieved the appropriate balance between their theoretical (rational) knowledge and its practical application. But their lives demonstrate the contrary, that their conduct does not match what they know of God. The tragedy is that they do not recognize the disparity: despite this folly they still claim to be wise; their futility is the measure of their wisdom (cf. 1 Cor 1:18–25; TDNT 4:845–47; 7:521) (Dunn, J. D. G. (1988). Romans 1–8 (Vol. 38A, p. 60). Word, Incorporated.).
Please turn to 1 Corinthians 1
The late Martyn Lloyd Jones perceptively wrote, “The whole drift toward modernism that has blighted the church of God and nearly destroyed its living gospel may be traced to an hour when men began to turn from revelation to philosophy.” Thinking they are wise, they have become fools because their own speculations can’t replace the revelation they reject. These dominating worldly speculations often infect the church. Because, for example, gifted and articulate unbelievers have so long and loudly touted evolution as scientific fact rather than philosophical theory, many Christians have been intimidated into accommodating their theology accordingly. In the name of theistic evolution or progressive creationism, they not only compromise scientific integrity but also, and infinitely more disastrously, compromise God’s revelation. They accept the unfounded foolishness of unregenerate people above the flawless truth of God’s Word. In a similar approach, many Christians try to adapt God’s revelation to human speculations in the areas of the mind and soul. Intimidated by the ever-changing and mutually-conflicting theories of psychology, sociology, and anthropology, they foolishly modify or exchange the truths of God’s revelation about humanity in favor of humanity’s absurd conjectures about themselves.
In 1 Corinthians 1, the Apostle Paul explains the nature of this accommodation:
1 Corinthians 1:18-31. 18 For the word of the cross is folly to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and the discernment of the discerning I will thwart.” 20 Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. 22 For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, 23 but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, 24 but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. 26 For consider your calling, brothers: not many of you were wise according to worldly standards, not many were powerful, not many were of noble birth. 27 But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; 28 God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (ESV)
• Christians are often intimidated to speak up against so called public experts. We hide out light under a bushel intimidated of the light show that the world seeks to entertain with. But upon closer examination, it’s just smoke and mirrors. The clear, pure, true and eternal light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is God’s designed means to enlighten those in darkness. We make the mistake of boasting on our friendliness or even worse, our inherent goodness, when our only boast should be that we are loved by God, He has given us His wisdom in His word, redeemed us from our foolishness, continues to instruct and correct and only on the day we are in His presence, will we perfectly know Him and His wisdom.
Illustration: Foolishness
If you value other things more than God, if your life is really driven by another value, then you exchange the imperishable for the perishable. You trade the diamond for a peach forgotten at the back of the refrigerator. You trade the ruby for a banana sitting in the sun. You trade a bar of gold for a bolt rusting in the rain. Let’s do the opposite, along with the apostle Paul. Let’s count everything else as rubbish that we might gain Christ. Let the world call it folly. It is not. Let’s be like Secretary of State William Seward in 1867 who helped America buy Alaska from the Russians for $7,200,000. O the ridicule of the people: “Seward’s folly,” they called it. Exchanging seven million dollars for ice! Well in the last 130 years Alaska has yielded billions upon billions of dollars in resources to America. Things are not what they seem. I plead with you. Open your eyes. And do not exchange your God for anything. Exchange everything for him (Piper, J. (2007). Sermons from John Piper (1990–1999). Desiring God.).
Secondly, where we will spend most of our time, the rejection of God’s Manifestation of Glory is seen through:
2) Humanity’s Religion (Romans 1:23)
Romans 1:23. 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. (ESV)
This final reason why every person is born under God’s wrath and condemnation is human religion, reflected in the countless systems people have devised to replace the truth and the worship of God. Although fallen humanity is not naturally godly, people are very much naturally religious. According to the (1986) World Almanac, approximately 2.6 billion people in the world have an identifiable religious affiliation of some sort. Many humanistic sociologists, philosophers, and theologians maintain that religion is a mark of man’s upward climb from primitive chaos and ignorance, ascending through animism to polydemonism to polytheism and finally to monotheism. But the clear testimony of Scripture is that human religion of every sort, whether simple or highly sophisticated, is a downward movement away from God, away from truth, and away from righteousness. Contrary to much thinking, human religion does not reflect our highest endeavors but our lowest depravity. The natural trend of religion throughout history has not been upward but downward. It has, in fact, descended from monotheism. Far from being a preparatory stage in the human quest for God, these religions represent a descent from the truth and are evidence of humanity’s deepest corruption. (Moo, D. J. (1996). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 108). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.)
Along with the rebellious, proud, vain, foolish, and darkened Gentiles, many Jews had also exchanged the glory of the immortal/incorruptible God for that which is inglorious, shameful, and corruptible. They substituted the reality of the holy God for the vain image of every sort of His creatures. In their spiritual blindness, intellectual darkness, and moral depravity, people are by nature inclined to reject the Holy Creator for the unholy creature. Because something even in their fallenness demands a god, but one they like better than the true God, they devise deities of their own making. It is not incidental that the Ten Commandments begin with the admonition: “You shall have no other gods before Me. You shall not make for yourself an idol, or any likeness of what is in heaven above or on the earth beneath or in the water under the earth. You shall not worship them or serve them” (Ex. 20:3–5). Yet at the very time those and the other commandments and ordinances were being given to Moses, the children of Israel were making a golden calf to worship (Ex. 32:1–6). Paul sees it as stupid to make a god of one’s own. It is to exchange something of real worth (the glory of God) for something of no value (an image) (Morris, L. (1988). The Epistle to the Romans (p. 86). W.B. Eerdmans; Inter-Varsity Press.)
The first creature people substitute for God is himself, for images resembling/in the form of mortal/corruptible man. This abandonment of God in favor of inferior objects of worship is traced in a descending scale. “Mortal man” is the first substitution. The Creator is forsaken in preference for the creature. Scripture shows us the deification of man in the case of Nebuchadnezzar. The colossus that appeared in his dream was interpreted by Daniel as pointing to the king himself so far as the head of gold was concerned (Dan 2:38). Wasting no time, the monarch erected an immense statue of gold and compelled his subjects to bow down themselves before it (Dan 3:1). In Paul’s day the cult of Caesar had spread throughout the empire. Before long, Caesar and Christ would be competing for the homage of society. In modern times the western world has outgrown crass idolatry, but humanism has subtly injected the worship of self without the trappings. God is quietly ruled out and self is placed on the throne. (Harrison, E. F. (1976). Romans. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, pp. 23–24). Zondervan Publishing House.). Even in the modern age we have seen dictators worshiped as gods, and the Bible says this sin will be repeated climactically in the end times (2Th 2:3–12; Rev. 13:1–18). (Blum, E. A. (2017). Romans. In E. A. Blum & T. Wax (Eds.), CSB Study Bible: Notes (p. 1781). Holman Bible Publishers.)
Please turn to 2 Thessalonians 2
Instead of glorifying and worshiping God, people attempt to deify themselves. Although he doubtlessly made this alleged statement in derisive sarcasm, Voltaire was correct in observing: “God made man in His own image and man returned the favor.” Every form of idolatry is a form of self-worship, just as every form of idolatry is a form of demon, or Satan, worship. Whether these idols are fashioned out of depraved thinking or are inspired by Satan, every false god appeals to people’s fallen nature and entices them to glorify and indulge themselves. In one way or another, all idolatry is worship of self and service of Satan. A. W. Tozer wisely observed that idolatry begins in the mind when we pervert or exchange the idea of God for something other than what He really is (A. W. Tozer. The Knowledge of the Holy [N.Y.: Harper & Row, 1961], pp. 9–10).
Here in 2 Thessalonians 2, Paul explains the cosmic root of the rejection of God:
2 Thessalonians 2:1–12. Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, 2 not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. 3 Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, 4 who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. 5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. (ESV)
• In Christ’s return, His Christ’s coming (Gk. parousia), his return in glory at the end of the age to save the elect and punish the wicked, it means our being gathered together (Gk. episynagoge) to him (cf. Matt. 24:31). Here we see how the arrival of the day of the Lord and the second coming occur at the same time, as aspects of a single event. But The day of the Lord will be preceded by two events, neither of which has been fulfilled. The first prerequisite is the rebellion…In view of vv. 9–12 a rebellion of humanity as a whole against God is probably in view. Just as humanity in Adam has rejected God and has been plunged into ever greater depths of sin as a result (Rom. 1:18–32), so it will move into all-out rebellion against God when the Antichrist appears (2 Thess. 2:4). The second prerequisite, is that the man of lawlessness is revealed, elsewhere called the “antichrist” (see 1 John 2:18, 22; 4:3; 2 John 7). He will personify hostility to God and His revelation…He is the son of destruction, the one whose destiny is to be defeated and destroyed when Jesus returns (2 Thess. 2:8). (Crossway Bibles. (2008). The ESV Study Bible (p. 2317). Crossway Bibles.)
Back in Romans 1:23, an even more ludicrous form of idolatry noted by Paul is the worship of birds and (four-footed) animals and creeping things/crawling creatures. Among the many birds worshiped in the ancient world were the eagle in Rome, and the stork and hawk in Egypt. It was because eagles were often deified by Romans that the Jews so vehemently opposed their being displayed in any form in Israel, especially in the holy city of Jerusalem. Some Indigenous natives still worship various birds, as seen in their totem poles. The stylized thunderbird has become a popular symbol in modern society. In all the representations of idolatry here, they personify kingdoms of this earth in an attempt to supplant the Kingdom of God. In the OT and the ancient world, civilizations made physical representations of their gods (e.g., Gen 31:19, 34; Num 33:52; Deut 29:17) (Barry, J. D., Mangum, D., Brown, D. R., Heiser, M. S., Custis, M., Ritzema, E., Whitehead, M. M., Grigoni, M. R., & Bomar, D. (2012, 2016). Faithlife Study Bible (Ro 1:23). Lexham Press.)
Ancient idols in the form of (four-footed) animals were almost too numerous to count. The Egyptians worshiped the bull-god Apis, the cat-goddess Bubastis, the cow-goddess Hathor, the hippopotamus-goddess Opet, and the wolf-god Ophois. Many Egyptians and Canaanites worshiped bulls, some of which were buried with great riches just as were the pharaohs. Diana, or Artemis, a popular Greek goddess in New Testament times (cf. Acts 19:27), did not have the form of a beautiful woman but rather that of a gross, ugly female beast with countless nipples hanging beneath her, supposedly enough to suckle the world. Other ancient idols were in the form of such diverse objects as mice and rats, elephants, crocodiles, monkeys, and the sun and moon. Today, Hindus have some 330 million gods, which amounts to about eight gods per family. They also revere cows and countless other animals that they consider to be sacred. Verse 23 owes its wording largely to Psalm 106:20. The immediate context refers to the sin of Israel in making a calf at Horeb and bowing down to this molten image. … Paul is dealing with a characteristic sin of paganism, he resorts to OT history for an illustration. God did not and could not condone idolatry in the people he had chosen. His judgment fell heavily when there was no repentance, even to the point of desolation and deportation from the land he had given Israel (Harrison, E. F. (1976). Romans. In F. E. Gaebelein (Ed.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Romans through Galatians (Vol. 10, p. 24). Zondervan Publishing House.).
We also know from secular sources as well as from Scripture about many kinds of creeping things/crawling creatures that were worshiped, many of which are still deified in parts of the world today. Among their many idols, the ancient Egyptians worshiped the scarab beetle, likenesses of which are sold as souvenirs in that country today. The insect lives in manure piles and is commonly referred to as the dung beetle. The Assyrians became fond of worshiping snakes, as did many Greeks. The name of the Canaanite god Baal-zebub (2 Kings 1:2), or Beelzebub (Matt. 10:25), means “Lord of the flies.” Modern Hindus refuse to kill or harm most animals and insects, because the creatures might be either a deity or the reincarnated form of a human being who is transmigrating from one stage of his karma to another. Remember too that a worshiper generally considers themselves inferior to the object of worship. Created in the image and after the likeness of God, people here take a place lower than that of serpents! When people worships idols, they worship demons. Paul states clearly that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice to idols they sacrifice to demons and not to God (1 Cor. 10:20) (MacDonald, W. (1995). Believer’s Bible Commentary: Old and New Testaments (A. Farstad, Ed.; p. 1679). Thomas Nelson.).
Lest we think that contemporary, sophisticated humanity has risen above such crude foolishness, we have only to consider the monumental increase in astrology and other occultic practices during the last few decades in the United States and western Europe. Many leading world figures, including noted scientists, are said to consult their horoscopes or occult advisers for information from star movement or tea leaves before making major decisions or taking extended trips. There have always been people who worship the idols of wealth, health, pleasure, prestige, sex, sports, education, entertainment, celebrities, success, and power. When people reject God’s revelation, whatever the form of that revelation might be, they regresses through rationalization and false religion ultimately to reprobation, which, in Romans 1:24–32, Paul proceeds to relate.
(Format Note: Outline & some base commentary from MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1991). Romans (Vol. 1, pp. 87–96). Chicago: Moody Press.)
