When Paul writes in Romans 1 that “God gave them up” (vv. 24, 26, 28), it’s not a picture of God standing with a stick, waiting to punish every sinful thought or action. Instead, it reflects a sobering truth:
- The wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23).
- People who persistently walk in unrighteousness, refusing to acknowledge God, are eventually allowed to follow the path they insist on taking.
- In other words, God removes His restraining hand, and the very sin they crave becomes part of their judgment.
This is a frightening reality — that God’s “judgment” can look like letting us have what we want when our desires are against Him. The passions, distorted thinking, and shameful practices that follow are consequences built into sin itself. Sin carries its own punishment.
Gave them up to their passions, but not giving up on them
Commentator William Hendriksen notes that Paul’s description of God “giving them up” may also carry a merciful dimension — what he calls a “smiting in order to heal” (cf. Isa. 19:22). Sometimes God allows people to hit the full weight of sin’s consequences, not to destroy them immediately, but in hope that their brokenness will lead them to cry out for mercy.
It’s a sobering reminder:
- Persistent sin leads to hardening.
- Hardening leads to being given over.
- But even this act of divine relinquishment can be the dark hallway that leads to the light of repentance.
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