Romans 1:32

Who knowing--from the voice of conscience, Rom 2:14-15

the judgment of God--the stern law of divine procedure.

that they which commit such things are worthy of death--here used in its widest known sense, as the uttermost of divine vengeance against sin: see Act 28:4.

not only do the same--which they might do under the pressure of temptation and in the heat of passion.

but have pleasure in them that do them--deliberately set their seal to such actions by encouraging and applauding the doing of them in others. This is the climax of our apostle's charges against the heathen; and certainly, if the things are in themselves as black as possible, this settled and unblushing satisfaction at the practice of them, apart from all the blinding effects of present passion, must be regarded as the darkest feature of human depravity.

On this section, Note (1) "The wrath of God" against sin has all the dread reality of a "revelation from heaven" sounding in the consciences of men, in the self-inflicted miseries of the wicked, and in the vengeance which God's moral government, sooner or later, takes upon all who outrage it; so this "wrath of God" is not confined to high-handed crimes, or the grosser manifestations of human depravity, but is "revealed" against all violations of divine law of whatever nature--"against all ungodliness" as well as "unrighteousness of men," against all disregard of God in the conduct of life as well as against all deviations from moral rectitude; and therefore, since no child of Adam can plead guiltless either of "ungodliness" or of "unrighteousness," to a greater or less extent, it follows that every human being is involved in the awful sweep of "the wrath of God" (Rom 1:18). The apostle places this terrible truth in the forefront of his argument on justification by faith, that upon the basis of universal condemnation he might rear the edifice of a free, world-wide salvation; nor can the Gospel be scripturally preached or embraced, save as the good news of salvation to those that are all equally "lost." (2) We must not magnify the supernatural revelation which God has been pleased to make of Himself, through Abraham's family to the human race, at the expense of that older, and, in itself, lustrous revelation which He has made to the whole family of man through the medium of their own nature and the creation around them. Without the latter, the former would have been impossible, and those who have not been favored with the former will be without excuse, if they are deaf to the voice and blind to the glory of the latter (Rom 1:19-20). (3) Wilful resistance of light has a retributive tendency to blunt the moral perceptions and weaken the capacity to apprehend and approve of truth and goodness; and thus is the soul prepared to surrender itself, to an indefinite extent, to error and sin (Rom 1:21, &c.). (4) Pride of wisdom, as it is a convincing evidence of the want of it, so it makes the attainment of it impossible (Rom 1:22; and compare Mat 11:25; Co1 3:18-20). (5) As idolatry, even in its most plausible forms, is the fruit of unworthy views of the Godhead, so its natural effect is to vitiate and debase still further the religious conceptions; nor is there any depth of degradation too low and too revolting for men's ideas of the Godhead to sink to, if only their natural temperament and the circumstances they are placed in be favorable to their unrestrained development (Rom 1:23, Rom 1:25). The apostle had Greece and Egypt in his eye when he penned this description. But all the paganisms of the East at this day attest its accuracy, from the more elaborate idolatry of India and the simpler and more stupid idolatry of China down to the childish rudiments of nature worship prevalent among the savage tribes. Alas! Christendom itself furnishes a melancholy illustration of this truth; the constant use of material images in the Church of Rome and the materialistic and sensuous character of its entire service (to say nothing of the less offensive but more stupid service of the Greek Church,) debasing the religious ideas of millions of nominal Christians, and lowering the whole character and tone of Christianity as represented within their immense pale. (6) Moral corruption invariably follows religious debasement. The grossness of pagan idolatry is only equalled by the revolting character and frightful extent of the immoralities which it fostered and consecrated (Rom 1:24, Rom 1:26-27). And so strikingly is this to be seen in all its essential features in the East at this day, that (as HODGE says) the missionaries have frequently been accused by the natives of having forged the whole of the latter part of this chapter, as they could not believe that so accurate a description of themselves could have been written eighteen centuries ago. The kingdoms of Israel and Judah furnish a striking illustration of the inseparable connection between religion and morals. Israel corrupted and debased the worship of Jehovah, and the sins with which they were charged were mostly of the grosser kind--intemperance and sensuality: the people of Judah, remaining faithful to the pure worship, were for a long time charged mostly with formality and hypocrisy; and only as they fell into the idolatries of the heathen around them, did they sink into their vices. And may not a like distinction be observed between the two great divisions of Christendom, the Popish and the Protestant? To test this, we must not look to Popery, surrounded with, and more or less influenced by, the presence and power of Protestantism; nor to Protestantism under every sort of disadvantage, internal and external. But look at Romanism where it has unrestrained liberty to develop its true character, and see whether impurity does not there taint society to its core, pervading alike the highest and the lowest classes; and then look at Protestantism where it enjoys the same advantages, and see whether it be not marked by a comparatively high standard of social virtue. (7) To take pleasure in what is sinful and vicious for its own sake, and knowing it to be such, is the last and lowest stage of human recklessness (Rom 1:32). But (8) this knowledge can never be wholly extinguished in the breast of men. So long as reason remains to them, there is still a small voice in the worst of men, protesting, in the name of the Power that implanted it, "that they which do such things are worthy of death" (Rom 1:32).

Next: Romans Chapter 2

Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rom_1:32

Who knowing the Judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

The displeasure of God with all who are pleased with sin

I. Sinners do things which they know are displeasing to God. The heathen do things which God has forbidden by the law of nature; the Jews those which are forbidden by the God of revelation: both, therefore, do things which they know must be displeasing to Him. And this is true of all men now. They know that God forbids them to love themselves and the world supremely; but they do both. God forbids them to disobey His commands; but they do disobey them. God forbids them to disbelieve and reject the gospel; but they do disbelieve and reject it. And they will persist in displeasing Him, notwithstanding death appears to be their certain doom.

II. They take pleasure in seeing others take the same path to ruin. It will be easy to account for this if we consider--

1. That they love one another. They are all by nature possessed of the same selfish heart. And it is therefore reasonable to suppose that, notwithstanding the great diversity in their external conduct, they love one another because they are sinners, and not saints. Christ says repeatedly, that sinners love those that love them. And He tells His disciples that this selfish spirit is essential to their character. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own. Men of the world universally approve the spirit of the world, and are pleased to see one another act it out without the least reserve; though they know it is infinitely displeasing to God.

2. As sinners possess one and the same selfish and sinful heart, so they are heartily united in opposing one and the same holy and benevolent cause. The greatest nations have been, and still are, united in their views, and feelings, and conduct, towards the Church of Christ. As all sinners wish that Gods gracious designs may be defeated; so they have pleasure in seeing any of their fellow men doing what they think has a tendency to frustrate them.

3. Those who do things which they know are displeasing to God, take pleasure in seeing others do the same. Those who disbelieve the existence of God are pleased to hear others say that they believe there is no God. Those who disbelieve the inspiration of the Bible are pleased to hear others say that they believe it is a cunningly devised fable. Those who disbelieve the doctrines of the Trinity, of atonement, of total depravity, of regeneration, etc., are always pleased to hear others say that they disbelieve all these doctrines. Those who disbelieve in the Sabbath, who practise tavern haunting, vain and sinful amusements, like others to do the same. Those who are ambitious love to see others ambitious. Those who are worldly minded love to see others worldly minded. Those who despise all religion love to see others despise it.

III. Improvement.

1. If sinners love to do things which they know are displeasing to God, then they never refrain from doing anything merely because they know it will be displeasing to Him. They know what is pleasing to themselves, and they mean to do what is pleasing to themselves, though they know it will be displeasing to God. They are like disobedient children and servants, who will always do what is agreeable to their own corrupt heart, though they know it will be disagreeable to their parents or masters, unless they fear their displeasure. It is the fear and not the love of God that restrains sinners from doing any evil action or pursuing any evil course.

2. If sinners love to do things which they know are displeasing to God, then, though they do a great many things which He has required, yet they never do anything merely for the sake of obeying or pleasing Him. They labour to please themselves, and not Him.

3. If sinners love to do things that they know are displeasing to God, and take pleasure in seeing others act from the same principle, then no external means nor motives are sufficient to restrain them from sin, and induce them to love and please God. They sin with their eyes wide open. They know what would please God, but they do not desire to please Him.

4. If sinners not only do things which they know are displeasing to God, but take pleasure in seeing others do the same things, then they are guilty not only of their own sins, but of all the sins of others, which they see and approve. And the approvers are often more guilty and criminal than the actors. Parents who allow their children to profane the Sabbath, to game, to attend balls and haunt taverns, are more guilty than their children that do these things. Executive officers, who see and approve of those who break the laws of the land, are more guilty than the actual transgressors. The reason is, that in all these cases the approvers know more than the actors, and are under stronger obligations to condemn and restrain those who are under their care, than the transgressors are to refrain from their evil courses.

5. If men are guilty of all the sins which they know and approve of, then we may see what it is to be guilty of national sins. It is to approve of those sins, which the majority of a nation commit and approve of. And, in this view, it is easy to see that one nation may be guilty of the sins of another nation. (N. Emmons, D. D.)

The heinous guilt of taking pleasure in other mens sins

From the beginning of Rom_1:18 to the end of Rom_1:31 we have an abridgment of the lives and practices of the whole heathen world. And yet, as comprehensive as this catalogue of sin is, it is but of sin under a limitation; sins of direct and personal commission. Is not this a sufficient comprehension? For is not a mans person the compass of his actions? Or, can he operate further than he does exist? Yes; he may not only commit sins, but also take pleasure in the sins of others. Which implies, first, that thus to take pleasure in other mens sins is a distinct sin from all the former; and, secondly, that it is much greater--the furthest that human pravity can reach. For surely, that sin that exceeds idolatry, monstrous unnatural lusts, etc., must needs be such a one as must nonplus the devil himself to proceed further.

I. What it is that brings a man to such a disposition of mind as to take pleasure in other mens sins.

1. In order to show this I shall premise--

(1) That every man naturally has a distinguishing sense of what is fit, and what is not fit to be done--the candle of the Lord, which discovers to him both what he is to do and what to avoid.

(2) That there is consequently upon this an inward satisfaction, or dissatisfaction, after a good or an evil action. And this, no doubt, proceeds not only from the real unsuitableness of sin to the nature of man, but also from a foreboding fear, that evil will follow the doing of that which conscience disallows, which, no question, is the voice of God Himself, speaking in the hearts of men, and by secret intimations giving the sinner a foretaste of that direful cup, which he is like to drink more deeply hereafter.

(3) That this distinguishing sense of good and evil, and this satisfaction and dissatisfaction is a principle not easily extinguished. It is founded in nature, and the great important end that God designs it for shows the necessity of its being put beyond the danger of being torn up by ordinary violence.

(4) That that which weakens this principle is an inferior, sensitive principle, which receives its gratifications from objects clean contrary to the former, and which affect a man much more warmly and vividly than those which affect only his nobler part, his mind.

2. From these considerations we naturally infer--

(1) That no man is easily brought to take a full pleasure in his own sins. For though sin offers itself in never so alluring a dress at first, yet the remorse of the soul, upon the commission of it, infinitely overbalances those transient gratifications it affords the senses. The fine colours of the serpent by no means make amends for the smart and poison of his sting.

(2) That as no man is easily brought to take a full pleasure in his own sins, so much less easily can he be brought to take pleasure in those of others. The reason is because the chief motive that induces a man to sin--the gratification of his sensitive part--cannot be had from the sins of another. For certainly another mans intemperance cannot affect my sensuality any more than the meat and drink that I take into my mouth can please his palate.

3. What, then, are the causes that corrupt the mind of man as to take pleasure in other mens sins?

(1) A commission of the same sins. This is imported in the words, They not only do the same things. It is acquaintance that must give delight in actions, as well as in persons. And it is trial that must begin the acquaintance. None look with so much pleasure upon the works of art as artists. In like manner no sober man can look with complacency on drunkenness. No; he must first be a practitioner. It is possible, indeed, that a sober or a chaste person, through ill will, envy, or spiritual pride, may be glad to see the intemperance and debauchery of some about him, but he rejoices not in it, as in a delightful object, but as in a means of his neighbours ruin.

(2) A commission of them against the conviction of conscience. The persons charged in the text are such as knew the judgment of God, that they who committed such things were worthy of death, such as broke through all mounds of law, and laughed at the sword of vengeance, which Divine justice brandished in their faces. For God has set a flaming sword not only before paradise, but before hell; and conscience is the angel into whose hand this sword is put. But if now the sinner shall not only wrestle with this angel, but throw him too, his heart lies open, like a broad road, for all the sin in the world freely to pass through.

(3) Continuance in them. For God forbid that every single commission of a sin should so far deprave the soul and bring it to such a condition. David and Peter sinned against the dictates of their conscience; yet we do not find that either of them delighted in their own sins, and much less in other mens. Before a man can come to be pleased with sin, because he sees his neighbour commit it, he must have had such a long acquaintance with it as to create a kind of friendship; and we know a man is naturally glad to see his old friend wheresoever he meets him. It is generally the property of an old sinner to find a delight in reviewing his own villainies in the practice of other men. An old wrestler loves to look on the lists, though feebleness will not let him offer at the prize. An old huntsman finds a music in the noise of hounds, though he cannot follow the chase. An old drunkard loves a tavern, though he cannot go to it, but as he is supported by another, just as some are observed to come from thence. And an old wanton will be doting upon women when he can scarce see them without spectacles. Their great concern is, that the vice may still go on.

(4) That meanness and poor spiritedness that naturally and inseparably accompanies all guilt. Whosoever is conscious of sin, feels, whether he will own it or not, shame and depression of spirit. And this is so irksome that he is restless to rid himself from it; for which he finds no way so effectual as to get company in the same sin. A vicious person, like the basest sort of beasts, never enjoys himself but in the herd. Company, he thinks, abates the torrent of a common odium by deriving it into many channels; and, therefore, if he cannot wholly avoid the eye of the observer, he hopes to distract it at least by a multiplicity of the object.

(5) A certain, peculiar, unaccountable malignity. This we see in those who secretly rejoice when they hear of the calamity of their neighbour, though no imaginable interest can be served thereby. And as this occurs in temporals, so there is no doubt but that with some it acts the same way also in spirituals. So he acted who made a poor captive renounce his religion, in order to the saving of his life; and when he had so done, presently ran him through, glorying that he had thereby destroyed his enemy, both body and soul.

II. The reasons a mans being disposed to do so comes to be attended with such an extraordinary guilt.

1. That naturally there is no motive to tempt a man to it. The lesser the temptation the greater the sin. For in every sin, the freer the will the more sinful the act. If the object be extremely pleasing, though the will has still a power of refusing it, yet it is not without some difficulty. Now this pleasure springs from the gratification of some desire founded in nature. An irregular gratification it is often; yet still the foundation of it is, and must be, something natural. Thus drunkenness is an irregular satisfaction of the appetite of thirst; and covetousness a boundless, unreasonable pursuit of the principle of self-preservation. There is hardly any one vice but what is the abuse of one of those two grand natural principles; namely, that which inclines a man to preserve himself, or to please himself. But now, what is, or can be, gratified by another mans pursuit of his own vice? All the pleasure that naturally can be received from a vicious action can immediately affect none but him who does it. And therefore the delight that a man takes for anothers sin can be nothing else but a fantastical, preternatural love of vice, as such, a delighting in sin for its own sake. If a man plays the thief, says Solomon, and steals to satisfy his hunger, though it cannot wholly excuse the fact, yet it sometimes extenuates the guilt. But when a man shall, with a sober, diabolical rancour, enjoy himself in the sight of his neighbours sin and shame, can he plead the instigation of any appetite in nature inclining him to this? No, for he may as well carry his eyes in another mans head, and run races with another mans feet, as directly and naturally taste the pleasures that spring from the gratification of another mans appetites. Nor can that person, who accounts it his recreation to see a man wallowing in his filthy revels, allege for a reason of his so doing that it leaves the least relish upon the tip of his tongue. What can we then assign for the cause of this monstrous disposition? Why, that the devil and long custom of sinning have superinduced upon the soul new, unnatural, and absurd desires, that relish things not at all desirable. In fine, there is as much difference between the pleasure a man takes in his own sins, and that which he takes in other mens, as there is between the wickedness of a man and the wickedness of a devil.

2. A second reason is, from the boundless nature of this way of sinning. For by this a man contracts a kind of a universal guilt, and, as it were, sins over the sins of others; so that while the act is theirs, the guilt of it is equally his. Personal powers and opportunities of sinning comparatively are not great; for at greatest, they must still be limited by the measure of a mans acting, and the term of his duration. But now, for the way of sinning which we have been speaking of, it is neither confined by place nor weakened by age; but the bedrid and the lethargic may, upon this account, equal the activity of the strongest sinner. A man, by delight and fancy, may grasp in the sins of countries and ages, and by an inward liking of them communicate in their guilt.

3. It presupposes and includes in it the guilt of many preceding sins. For a man must have passed many periods of sin before he can arrive to it, and have served a long apprenticeship to the devil before he can come to such a perfection and maturity in vice as this imports. It is the wickedness of a whole life, discharging all its foulness into this one quality, as into a great sink. So that nothing is, or can be, so properly and significantly called the very sinfulness of sin, as this.

III. What kind of persons are to be reckoned under this character? In general whosoever draws others to sin. But to particularise--

1. Those who teach doctrines directly tending to a sinful course (Mat_5:19; cf. Mat_15:5-6). Now these are of two sorts.

(1) Such as represent actions that are sinful, as not so--e.g., Antinomians, who assert that believers cannot sin.

(2) Such as represent many sins much less than they are--e.g., those who assert that all sins committed by believers to be but infirmities.

2. Such as endeavour to allure men to sin, either by formal persuasions (Pro_7:13-22), or by administering objects and occasions fit to draw forth a mans corrupt affections; such as are the inflaming of a choleric person into a fit of rage against his neighbour, the provoking of a lustful person by filthy discourse, books, and pictures.

3. Such as affect the company of vicious persons. For otherwise, what is there in such men, which they can pretend to be pleased with? For generally such sots have neither parts nor wits. It is clear, therefore, that where a man can like the conversation of debauched persons, amidst all the natural grounds of dislike, it can proceed from nothing but the inward affection he bears to their lewd humour. It is this he enjoys; and for the sake of this the rest he endures.

4. Such as encourage men in their sins. This may be done--

(1) By commendation. No man commends another any further than he likes him. He who writes an encomium Neronis is but a transcript of Nero. From whence we see the reason of some mens giving such honourable names and appellations to the worst of men and actions, and base, reproachful titles to the best.

(2) By preferment. None certainly can love to see vice in power, but such as love to see it also in practice.

IV. The effects of this sin.

1. Upon particular persons.

(1) It quite alters and depraves the natural frame of a mans heart.

(2) It peculiarly indisposes a man to repent and recover himself from it. For the first step to repentance is a mans dislike of his sin; and how can we expect that a man should dislike that which has taken such possession of his affections, that he loves it, not only in his own practice, but also in other mens?

(3) The longer a man lives the wickeder he grows, and his last days are certainly his worst. To delight in other mens sins is most properly the vice of old age, and may be truly called the old age of vice. For, as first, old age necessarily implies a mans having lived many years, and withal, this sort of viciousness supposes the precedent commission of many sins, so it has this further property that, as when a man comes once to be old, he grows every day older and older; so when a man comes to such a degree of wickedness, as to delight in the wickedness of others, it is more than ten thousand to one if he ever returns to a better mind. Tiberius is a notable instance, who was bad enough in his youth, but monstrously so in his old age; and the reason of this was because he took a particular pleasure in seeing other men do vile things. And, therefore, let not men flatter themselves that though they find it difficult to combat an ill practice, yet that old age shall do that for them which they in their youth could never find in their heart to do for themselves, for a habit may continue when it is no longer able to act. The longer a blot continues the deeper it sinks. And it will be found a work of no small difficulty to dispossess and throw out a vice from that heart where long possession begins to plead prescription.

(4) Many perish eternally who never arrived at such a pitch of wickedness as to take any pleasure in, or indeed to be at all concerned about, the sins of other men. But they perish in the pursuit of their own lusts, and often not without a considerable mixture of dislike of themselves for what they do.

2. Upon communities. Some mens taking pleasure in other mens sins will cause many men to sin to do them a pleasure, for--

(1) It is seldom or never that any man comes to such a degree of impiety as to take pleasure in other mens sins, but he also shows the world, by his actions and behaviour, that he does so.

(2) There are few men in the world so inconsiderable, but there are some who have an interest to serve by them.

(3) The natural course that one man takes to serve his interest by another is by applying himself to him in such a way as may most gratify and delight him. (R. South, D. D.)

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The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom 1:32. Who, knowing the judgment — Δικαιωμα, the righteousness, or righteous judgment, or appointment; of God — And because God’s law is founded in righteousness, and is the rule thereof to us, the word is often used in Scripture to denote an ordinance, statute, or particular law, Num 27:11; Num 31:21; and in the plural, the appointments, or institutions of God moral, or ceremonial, Luk 1:6; Rom 2:26; Heb 9:1; even those which were purely ceremonial, Heb 9:10. Here the word signifies the law of God written on men’s hearts, called by philosophers the law of nature, and by civilians, the law of nations. For the Greeks could know no other law of God, being destitute of revelation; that they which commit such things are worthy of death — God hath written on the hearts of men not only his law, but the sanction of his law. For the fear of punishment is inseparable from the consciousness of guilt. Further, that the heathen knew that the persons guilty of the crimes mentioned here by the apostle merited death, is evident from the laws which they enacted for punishing such persons with death. Not only do the same — Allow themselves in the practice of these sins; but have pleasure in them that do them — Approve, encourage, and patronise them in others, and even take pleasure in their committing them. This is the highest degree of wickedness. A man may be hurried by his passions to do the thing he generally hates. But he that has pleasure in those that do evil, loves wickedness for wickedness’ sake; and thereby he encourages them in sin, and heaps the guilt of others upon his own head. In this stricture, Dr. Macknight thinks “the apostle glances at the Greek legislators, priests, and philosophers, who, by their institutions, example, and presence, encouraged the people in the practice of many of the debaucheries here mentioned, especially in the celebration of the festivals of their gods.”

Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

1:32 To encourage others to sin is worse than sinning oneself (Jas 3:1; cp. Testament of Asher 6:2: “The two-faced are doubly punished because they both practice evil and approve of others who practice it; they imitate the spirits of error and join in the struggle against mankind”).

Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

Rom 1:32. Δικαίωμα, [judgment.—Eng. ver.], the royal, divine, principle of justice, that God approves of virtues, hates vices, visits the wicked with the punishment of death, and justly and deservedly so, in order that He may show that He is not unjust. For whilst He punishes the guilty with death, He Himself is justified [is manifested as just]. This Royal rule is acknowledged even among the Gentiles.—ὁτι) viz. that.—πράσσοντες· πράσσουσι) [those that commit or practise.] This verb, which is repeated after the interposition of ποιοῦσιν [do], accurately expresses the wantonness of profligate men, which is altogether opposed to divine justice. ποιοῦσιν)—they do such things, even with the affections, and with the reason. The same distinction between these two verbs occurs,[20] ch. Rom 2:3.—θανάτου, of death) Lev 18:24, etc.; Act 28:4. From time to time every extremely wicked generation of men is extirpated, and posterity is entirely propagated from those, whose conduct has not been so immoral.—ἀλλὰ καὶ, but also.) It is a worse thing, συνευδοκε͂ιν, to approve [of the evil]; for he, who perpetrates what is evil, is led away by his own desire, not without an argument of condemnation against himself, or even against others,—(Comp. thou that judgest, Rom 2:1), and at the same time shows his approbation of the law.—Comp. with this, ch. Rom 7:16; but he who, συνευδοκεῖ, or approves, with the heart and with the tongue [that which is evil], has as the fruit of wickedness, wickedness itself; he feeds upon it; he adds to the heap of his own guilt the guilt of others, and inflames others to the commission of sin. He is a worse man, who destroys both himself and others, than he who destroys himself alone. This is truly a reprobate mind.—ἀδόκιμον and ΣΥΝΕΥΔΟΚΟῦΣΙ are conjugate forms.—See Rom 1:28, note. The judging, in ch. Rom 2:1, is the antithesis to the approving here. The Gentiles not only do these things, but also approve of them. The Jew judges indeed, thereby expressing disapproval; but yet he does them.—τοῖς πράσσουσι, them that do them) themselves, and others.—Comp. Isa 3:9.

[20] ποιέω to do or make. πράσσω, to commit or practise.—ED.

Bengel's Gnomon of the New Testament — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1860) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_1:32. Οἵτινες] quippe qui, of such a character, that they, cannot be the specification of a reason, as in Rom_1:25, and cannot consequently be intended to repeat once more the laying of the blame on themselves, since Rom_1:32 merely continues the description of the wickedness. It rather serves to introduce the awful completion of this description of vice; and that in such a way, that the Gentile immorality is brought clearly to light as an opposition to knowledge and conscience, and is thereby at the last very evidently shown to be wholly inexcusable (comp Rom_2:1).

ΤῸ ΔΙΚΑΊΩΜΑ Τ. ΘΕΟῦ] i.e. that which God as Lawgiver and Judge has ordained; what He has determined, and demands, as right. Comp Krüger on Thuc. i. 41, 1; and see on Rom_5:16. Paul means the natural law of the moral consciousness (Rom_2:15), which determines: ὅτι οἱ τὰ τοιαῦτα πράσσοντες Κ.Τ.Λ[564] This ὅτι κ.τ.λ[565] therefore is not to be treated as a parenthesis.

ἘΠΙΓΝΌΝΤΕς] although they have discerned (comp on Rom_1:28), not merely ΓΝΌΝΤΕς; but so much the greater is the guilt.

ΘΑΝΆΤΟΥ] What in the view of the heathen was conceived of as the state of punishment in Hades (comp Philippi and Weiss, bibl. Theol. p. 277), which was incurred through vice and crime, Paul designates, in accordance with the truth involved in it (comp Plat. Rep. p. 330 D), from his standpoint as θανάτος, and by this he means eternal death (comp 2Th_1:8); not temporal (Bengel, van Hengel, Mehring); or execution (Grotius, Hofmann); also not indefinitely severe punishments,[570] the misery of sin, and so forth (so even Fritzsche and de Wette).

συνευδοκ. τοῖς πράσσ.] they are consenting with them that do them (comp Luk_11:48; Act_8:1; 1Co_7:12; 1Ma_1:60; 2Ma_11:24). They not only do those things, but are also in their moral judgment (so wholly antagonistic to conscience has the latter become in the abandonment unto which God has decreed them, Rom_1:28) in agreement with others who so act. Bengel well remarks: pejus est συνευδοκεῖν; nam qui malum patrat, sua sibi cupiditate abducitur, etc., and how sharply are we otherwise ourselves accustomed to see and judge the mote in the eye of another! (Mat_7:3). This climax[572] to the description of immorality, moreover, is neither to be referred with Grotius and Baumgarten-Crusius to the philosophers, who approved of several vices (paederastia, revenge, etc.) or regarded them as adiaphora; nor with Heumann and Ewald to the magistrates, who left many crimes unpunished and even furthered them by their own example; but, in harmony with the quite general delineation of Gentile depravity, to be taken as a general feature marking the latter, which is thus laid bare in the deepest slough of moral perversity.

The πράσσοντες and πράσσουσι are more comprehensive than the simple ποιοῦσιν (do), designating the pursuit of these immoralities as the aim of their activity. See on Joh_3:20. Comp Rom_2:3; Rom_7:15; Rom_13:4; Dem. de cor. 62: τί προσῆκον ἦν ἑλέσθαι πράττειν κ. ποιεῖν.

[564] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[565] .τ.λ. καὶ τὰ λοιπά.

[570] Melancthon says well against this view: P. non loquitur de politica gubernatione, quae tantum externa facta punit: verum de judicio proprio in cujusque conscientia intuente Deum.

[572] The climax lies necessarily in ἀλλὰ καὶ (in opposition to Reiche, Comm. crit. p. 6).

Meyer — Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament — English translation by Peter Christie, edited by Frederick Crombie (T&T Clark, 1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Vv. 32. “Who, knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but applaud those who do them.”

The relation of this verse to what precedes has been very generally misunderstood, hence probably the corrections of the text attempted in some MSS.

The most serious misunderstanding is that of Ritschl. This theologian regards the men to whom this verse and the four following (Rom 2:1-4) refer as forming a class by themselves, and wholly different from the sinners described from Rom 1:19 onward. The men who repress the truth, Rom 1:18, are according to him divided into two classes: “those who through heathenism have quenched the feeling of divine revelation (Rom 1:19-31),” and “those who, while judging the immoralities produced by paganism, nevertheless take part in them by their conduct (Rom 1:32 to Rom 2:4).” But it is easy to see that this construction is devised solely with the view of finding the development of the idea of divine wrath, Rom 1:18, in the passage Rom 2:5 et seq., and not in the παραδιδόναι, giving over, of Rom 1:24; Rom 1:26; Rom 1:28 (see p. 168). This construction, proposed by Ritschl, is impossible.

1. Because judging with a view to approve, Rom 1:32, is not the same thing as judging to condemn, Rom 2:1-2.

2. On account of the obvious relation between the terms of Rom 1:32: though knowing the judgment of God, and those of Rom 1:28: they did not keep God in their knowledge.

3. The uniform sense of the pronoun οἵτινες, as people who, forces us to seek in the description of Rom 1:32 the justification of the judgment described from Rom 1:28.

Far, then, from indicating a change of persons, this pronoun expresses the moral qualification by which the individuals just described have drawn on them so severe a punishment. It is an exact parallel to the οἵτινες of Rom 1:25. The latter justified the judgment of idolaters by recalling to mind the greatness of their offence. The former in the same way justifies the punishment which has overtaken the resistance of man to the revelation of moral good (Rom 1:28 a): “They had well deserved to be given over to this deluge of iniquities, they who had acted thus toward God when He revealed his will to them.” The terms which follow and explain the pronoun they who, set forth this radical iniquity through which men quenched the sentiment of moral truth revealed in them; comp. Rom 1:28 a Τὸ δικαίωμα, strictly, what God establishes as just; here: His just sentence; ἐπιγνόντες denotes the clear discernment which men had of it. The word recalls the γνόντες τὸν Θεόν, knowing God, of Rom 1:21: moral light was produced in them as well as religious light. The words following indicate the contents of that sentence which God had taken care to engrave on their heart. What appeals to God’s justice do we not find in the writings of Gentile historians and philosophers! What a description in their poets of the punishment inflicted on malefactors in Tartarus! The phrase worthy of death has been applied by some, and recently again by Hofmann, to the punishment of death as executed by human judges. But this penalty would suit only one term in the whole preceding enumeration, viz., φόνος, murder; and the τὰ τοιαῦτα, such things, does not allow so restricted an application. Death therefore here denotes death as God only can inflict it, the pains of Hades, which the Gentiles also recognized, and which Paul, designating things from his own point of view, calls death. The second part of the verse leads from the offence to the punishment. It is the mind deprived of discernment, to which God has given up men, in its most monstrous manifestation; not only doing evil, but applauding those who do it! This is true to fact. Had not the Caligulas and Neros found advocates, admirers, multitudes always ready to offer them incense? The not only, but even, rightly assumes that there is more guilt in approving in cold blood of the evil committed by others, than in committing it oneself under the force and blindness of passion. Such a mode of acting is therefore the last stage in the corruption of the moral sense.

The reading of the Cantab. would signify: “They who, knowing the sentence of God, did not understand that those who do such things are worthy of death; for not only do they do them, etc.”...This meaning would be admissible, but the contents of the sentence of God would remain absolutely unexplained, which is far from natural. The reading of the Vatic. would give the following translation: “They who, knowing the sentence of God, that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only doing those things, but approving those who do them.” The construction in this case demands the doubling of the verb εἰσίν, are (first, as verb of the proposition ὅτι, that those who; then as verb of the proposition οἵτινες, they who). This construction is very forced; it is very probable, as has been supposed, that the reading of B is only an importation into the apostolic text of a form of quotation found in the Epistle of Clemens Romanus. This Father, quoting our passage, says: “They who practice these things are abominable in the sight of God; and not only they who do them (οἱ πράσσοντες), but those also who approve them (οἱ συνευδοκοῦντες).” The “did not understand,” and the for added by the Cantab., appear to be mere attempts to correct the reading of the Vaticanus. In the whole of this chapter the apostle evidently distinguishes two degrees in the sin of the Gentile world; the one active and internal, the other passive and external; the one a natural result of depraved instinct, the other having the character of unnatural monstrosity. The first is chargeable on man, it is his guilt; the second is sin as a punishment, the manifest sign of God’s wrath. This great historical fact is developed in two aspects. First, from the religious point of view: man quenches his intuition of the Divine Being, and clothes God in the form of an idol; his punishment in this connection is self-degradation by monstrous impurities. Then in the moral point of view: man quenches the light of conscience, and as a punishment his moral discernment is so perverted that he puts the seal of his approbation on all the iniquities which he should have condemned and prevented. This is the worst of corruptions, that of the conscience. Thus is fully justified the great thought of Rom 1:18 : The wrath of God displayed on the Gentile world to punish the voluntary darkening of the religious sense (ungodliness) and of the moral sense (unrighteousness), which had been awakened in man by the primeval revelation of God.

Frédéric Louis Godet — Commentaries on Luke, John, Romans, and 1 Corinthians — English translation (T&T Clark, Edinburgh, 1870s–1890s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Rom_1:32

Who well knowing the righteous judgment of God; that is, although they well know, etc. They were (οἳτινες) such as who. The heathen whose acts had been just described, are declared to be, Men who although they knew the righteous judgment, etc., (δικαίωμα) decree, a declaration of what is right and just; and δικαίωμα τοῦ Θεοῦ is the declaration of God as to what is right and just. The import of this declaration is contained in the clause, that they who do (πράσσουσι, commit) such things are worthy of death. By death here, as often elsewhere, is meant punishment, in the general meaning of that word. It expresses the penalty of the law, and includes all evil inflicted for the satisfaction of justice. Paul therefore teaches that the heathen knew they deserved punishment for their crimes, or in other words, that they were justly exposed to the wrath of God, which was revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. The source of this knowledge he explains in the following chapter, Rom_1:14. It was a knowledge written on their hearts, or included in the constitution of their nature; it was implied in their being moral agents. As he had before shown that the impiety of the heathen was without excuse, inasmuch as they had a knowledge of the true God, so here he shows that their immorality was inexcusable, since their sins were not committed in ignorance of their nature or desert. This passage also shows that the judicial abandonment of God does not destroy the free agency or responsibility of men. They are given up to work iniquity, and yet know that they deserve death for what they do. The stream which carries them away is not without, but within. It is their own corrupt nature. It is themselves. Notwithstanding this knowledge of the ill-desert of the crimes above enumerated, they not only commit them, but approve of those who do (or practice) them. This is the lowest point of degradation. To sin, even in the heat of passion, is evil; but to delight in the sins of others, shows that men are of set purpose and fixed preference, wicked. Such is the apostles argument to prove that the heathen are all under sin, that they are justly chargeable with ungodliness and unrighteousness, and consequently exposed to the wrath of God.

Doctrine

1. The punitive justice of God is an essential attribute of his nature. This attribute renders the punishment of sin necessary, and is the foundation of the need of a vicarious atonement in order to the pardon of sinners. This doctrine the apostle assumes as a first principle, and makes it the basis of his whole exposition of the doctrine of justification, Rom_1:18.

2. That sin is a proper object of punishment, and that, under the righteous government of God, it will be punished, are moral axioms, which have a self-evidencing light, whenever proposed to the moral sense of men, Rom_1:18, Rom_1:32.

3. God has never left himself without a witness among his rational creatures. Both in reference to his own nature and to the rule of duty, he has, in his works and in the human heart, given sufficient light to render the impiety and immorality of men inexcusable, Rom_1:19, Rom_1:20, Rom_1:32.

4. Natural religion is not a sufficient guide to salvation. What individual or what nation has it ever led to right views of God or of his law? The experience of the whole world, under all the variety of circumstances in which men have existed, proves its insufficiency; and, consequently, the necessity of a special divine revelation, Rom_1:21-23.

5. The heathen, who have only the revelation of God in his works and in their own hearts, aided by the obscure traditionary knowledge which has come down to them, need the gospel. In point of fact, the light which they enjoy does not lead them to God and holiness, Rom_1:21-23.

6. Error (on moral and religious subjects) has its root in depravity. Men are ignorant of God and duty, because they do not like to retain him in their knowledge, Rom_1:21, Rom_1:28.

7. God often punishes one sin by abandoning the sinner to the commission of others. Paul repeats this idea three times, Rom_1:24, Rom_1:26, Rom_1:28. This judicial abandonment is consistent with the holiness of God and the free agency of man. God does not impel or entice to evil. He ceases to restrain. He says of the sinner, Let him alone, Rom_1:24-28.

8. Religion is the only true foundation, and the only effectual safeguard for morality. Those who abandon God, he abandons. Irreligion and immorality, therefore, have ever been found inseparably connected, Rom_1:24-28.

9. It evinces, in general, greater depravity to encourage others in the commission of crimes, and to rejoice in their commission, than to commit them ones self, Rom_1:32.

10. The most reprobate sinner carries about with him a knowledge of his just exposure to the wrath of God. Conscience can never be entirely extirpated, Rom_1:32.

Remarks

1. It lies in the very nature of sin, that it should be inexcusable, and worthy of punishment. Instead, therefore, of palliating its enormity, we should endeavor to escape from its penalty, Rom_1:18, Rom_1:32.

2. As the works of God reveal his eternal power and Godhead, we should accustom ourselves to see in them the manifestations of his perfections, Rom_1:18-21.

3. The human intellect is as erring as the human heart. We can no more find truth than holiness, when estranged from God; even as we lose both light and heat, when we depart from the sun. Those, in every age have sunk deepest into folly, who have relied most on their own understandings. In thy light only, God, can we see light, Rom_1:21, etc.

4. If the sins of the heathen, committed under the feeble light of nature, be inexcusable, how great must be the aggravation of those committed under the light of the Scriptures, Rom_1:20.

5. As the light of nature is insufficient to lead the heathen to God and holiness, it is one of the most obvious and urgent of our duties to send them the light of the Bible, Rom_1:20-23.

6. Men should remember that their security from open and gross sins is not in themselves, but in God; and they should regard as the worst of punishments, his withdrawing for them his Holy Spirit, Rom_1:24-28.

7. Sins of uncleanness are peculiarly debasing and demoralizing. To be preserved from them is mentioned in Scripture as a mark of the divine favor, Ecc_7:26; Pro_22:14; to be abandoned to them, as a mark of reprobation.

8. To take pleasure in those who do good, makes us better; as to delight in those who do evil, is the surest way to become even more degraded than they are themselves, Rom_1:32.

Charles Hodge — Commentary on Romans (1835), First Corinthians (1857), and Ephesians (1856) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Verse 32. Who, knowing the judgment of God] δικαιωμα, the grand rule of right which God has revealed to every man, the knowledge of which he has, less or more, given to every nation of the world, relative to honouring parents, taking care of their own offspring, keeping their engagements, c., c. In the worst states of heathenism this great principle has been acknowledged but, through the prevalence of corruption in the heart, this law, though acknowledged, was not obeyed and the corruption increased so that those were highest in repute who had cast off all restraints of this kind; so that they even delighted in them; συνευδοκουσι, highly applauded, and gladly associated with those transgressors: which argues the very highest pitch of moral depravity.

1. THE preceding chapter gives us one of the finest views of the Gospel of Christ, to be met with any where. It is God's method of saving a lost world, in a way which that world could never have imagined: there is nothing human in it; it is all truly and gloriously Divine; essentially necessary to the salvation of man, and fully adequate to the purposes of its institution. Though it is an extension of the old covenant, yet it is almost wholly dissimilar; being as different from that as the person is from the picture which represents it, and as the substance is from the shadow projected by it. It is a scheme as worthy of God as it is necessary for man; hence there are no excluding clauses in it-it is for the Jew and for the Greek; for the wise and for the unwise; for all the nations of the universe, and for all the individuals of those nations. He blasphemes God who holds the contrary.

2. As God never does any thing that is not fitting, suitable, and necessary to be done, he has not made an unnecessary display of his mercy and goodness in the incarnation and death of his Son-all this was necessary, else it had not been done. But how does the necessity appear? In the deep-rooted and widely extended corruption and profligacy of the nations of the earth. Of these the apostle gives a most affecting and distressing picture.

(1) Almost every trace of original righteousness had been obliterated.

(2) The proofs of God's eternal power and providence, so manifest in the creation and preservation of the universe, were wholly disregarded.

(3) A vain philosophy, without right, principle, or end, was substituted for those Divine truths which had been discovered originally to man.

(4) Their hearts were contaminated with every vice which could blind the understanding, pervert the judgment, corrupt the will, and debase the affections and passions.

(5) This was proved in the most unequivocal manner, by a profligacy of conduct which had debased them far, far below the beasts that perish; and the apostle here gives a list of their crimes, every article of which can be incontrovertibly proved from their own history and their own writers: crimes which, even bad as the world is now, would shock common decency to describe. See the whole of the second, third, sixth, and ninth Satires of Juvenal.

3. So completely lost were the heathens to a knowledge of the influence of God on the souls and the necessity of that influence, that they asserted, in the most positive manner, that man was the author of his own virtue and wisdom. Cicero, Nat. Deor., lib. iii. c. 36, declares it a general opinion that, although mankind received from the gods the outward conveniencies of life-virtutem autem nemo unquam acceptam Deo retulit-"virtue none ever thought they received from the Deity." And again:-"This is the persuasion of all, that fortune is to be had from the gods; wisdom from ourselves." And again:-"Whoever thanked the gods for his being a good man? Men pray to Jupiter, not that he would make them just, temperate, and wise; but rich and prosperous."

JUVENAL, on this point, speaks thus:-

Monstro, quod ipse tibi possis dare: Semita certe

Tranquillae per virtutem patet unica vitae.

Sat. x. v. 363.

The path to peace is virtue; which, I show,

Thyself may fully on thyself bestow.

In the same stain, HORACE, EPIST. lib. i. E. xviii. v. penult.

Haec satis est orare Jovem, qui donat et aufert:

Det vitam det opes: aequum mi animum ipse parabo.

To Jove for life and wealth I pray,

These Jove may give or take away;

But, for a firm and tranquil mind,

That blessing for myself I find.

Thus, they became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened; and professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. See Madan's Juvenal, vol. ii. p. 53.

4. By all this we see what the world was, and what it would have continued to be had not God sent a Divine revelation of his will, and established a public ministry to proclaim and enforce it. Were man left to the power and influence of his fallen nature he would be, in all places of his dispersion on the earth, what the apostle describes in the 29th, 30th, and 31st verses of this chapter. Ro 1:29-31

Reader, magnify God, who has called thee from such deep darkness, to the marvellous light of the glorious Gospel of his Son; and walk as a child of the light and of the day, in whom there shall be no cause of stumbling.

Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Who, knowing the judgement of God, etc. Though this passage is variously explained, yet the following appears to me the correctest interpretation, — that men left nothing undone for the purpose of giving unbridled liberty to their sinful propensities; for having taken away all distinction between good and evil, they approved in themselves and in others those things which they knew displeased God, and would be condemned by his righteous judgment. For it is the summit of all evils, when the sinner is so void of shame, that he is pleased with his own vices, and will not bear them to be reproved, and also cherishes them in others by his consent and approbation. This desperate wickedness is thus described in Scripture:

“They boast when they do evil,” (Proverbs 2:14.)

“She has spread out her feet, and gloried in her wickedness,” (Ezekiel 16:25.)

For he who is ashamed is as yet healable; but when such an impudence is contracted through a sinful habit, that vices, and not virtues, please us, and are approved, there is no more any hope of reformation. Such, then, is the interpretation I give; for I see that the Apostle meant here to condemn something more grievous and more wicked than the very doing of vices: what that is I know not, except we refer to that which is the summit of all wickedness, — that is, when wretched men, having cast away all shame, undertake the patronage of vices in opposition to the righteousness of God.

John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.

(32) Knowing.—Again the word for “full or thorough knowledge.” With full knowledge of the sentence of eternal death which is in store for them.

They show that it is no mere momentary yielding to the force of temptation or of passion, but a radical perversion of conscience and reason, by the fact that they not only practise such things themselves, but in cold blood commend and applaud those who practise them.

With reference to the truth of the description which is here given of the ancient pagan world, see Excursus C: On the State of the Heathen World at the Time of St. Paul.

Judgment.—Just decree or sentence.

A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. who knowing] The Gr. relative is same word as Rom_1:25, where see note. Thus what is here stated of the world of sinners is, as it were, the condition for the special vices just enumerated: men are such because they resist conscience.

knowing] The Gr. is strong, well knowing. The witness of conscience is here intended, enforced by traditions of primeval truth and by the majesty of creation.

the judgment of God] Rather, His ordinance, His statute of retribution. It is not necessary to understand that they explicitly know that the statute is “ordained of God.” God, as a definite Object of thought, may be to them as if He were not; but a voice not their own bears witness to the eternal difference of right and wrong, however broken that witness may be. They are aware, however imperfectly, of a “statute” whereby impurity and cruelty are evil and condemnable.

death] The extreme penalty of the Divine “judgment.” It is in fact “the death that cannot die;” whether the transgressor estimates it so or not.

have pleasure in] Rather, feel with them and abet them. This is certainly a greater depth of transgression even than personal, and thus perhaps solitary, wrong-doing. It indicates complete victory over conscience, and complete callousness to the moral ruin of others. On the whole of this terrible passage, see as a Scripture parallel Tit_3:3. On that verse Adolphe Monod (Adieux 1) remarks: “For a long while I found it impossible to admit this declaration; even now” (on his death-bed) “I cannot understand it in its fulness. But I have come, by God’s grace—very slowly indeed—to see this doctrine more clearly, and sure I am that, when this veil of flesh shall fall, I shall find in it the perfectly faithful likeness of my natural heart.”

The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who knowing the judgment of God,.... Either of the law of God, the law and light of nature, by which they might in some measure know the difference between good and evil, and what was right and wrong; or the judiciary sentence of God against sin:

that they which commit such things are worthy of death; at least of corporeal death:

not only do the same, but have pleasure in those that do them; all which greatly aggravated their wickedness, since they sinned against light and knowledge, with approbation and good liking of their own sins, and took pleasure in the sins of others. The Jews have a saying (p),

"that no man is suspected of a thing but he has done it; and if he has not done the whole of it, he has done part of it, and if he has not done part of it, he has thought in his heart to do it, and if he has not thought in his heart to do it, , "he has seen others do it, and has rejoiced".''

And if such a man is a wicked man, how much more wicked are such who commit sin themselves, and delight in the sins of others? now from this whole account we see the insufficiency of the light of nature to guide persons in the way of salvation; what need there was of a divine revelation; and how impossible it is that such men should ever be justified before God, by any works of seeming righteousness done by them; which the apostle had in view, in giving this account of the depraved nature and conduct of the Gentiles, and of those among them who professed to be, and were the wisest and most knowing of them.

(p) T. Bab. Moed Katon, fol. 18. 2.

Next: Romans Chapter 2

John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.

32 Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.

Ver. 32. Have pleasure] Or they patronize, applaud, and approve, συνευδοκουσι this is set last, as worst of all; it comprehends all kinds of consent. (Theop.) To hold the bag is as bad as to fill it. The law of God requires not only our observation but our preservation, to cause others to keep it, as well as ourselves; and to rebuke, at least by a cast of our countenance (as God doth, Psa 80:16), those that violate it. There is little difference, faveasne sceleri, an illud facias, whether thou commit sin or consent to it.

John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who knowing - That the Gentiles had a moral sense, or were capable of knowing the will of God in this case, is clear from Rom 2:14-15. The means which they had of arriving at the knowledge of God were, their own reason, their conscience, and an observation of the effects of depravity.

The judgment of God - The word “judgment” here denotes the declared sentiment of God that such things deserved death. It does not mean his inflictions, or his statutes or precepts; but it means that God thought or judged that they which did such things ought to die. As they were aware of this, it showed their guilt in still persevering in the face of his judgments, and his solemn purpose to inflict punishment.

Were worthy of death - The word “death” in the Scriptures is often used to denote punishment. But it does not mean here that these deserved capital punishment from the civil magistrate, but that they knew they were evil, and offensive to God, and deserving of punishment from his hand; see Joh 8:51; Rom 5:12-19.

Have pleasure ... - They delight in those who commit sin; and hence, encourage them in it, and excite them to it. This was a grievous aggravation of the offence. It greatly heightens guilt when we excite others to do it, and seduce them from the ways of innocence. That this was the case with the pagan there can be no doubt. People do not commit sin often alone. They need the countenance of others. They “join hand in hand,” and become confederate in iniquity. All social sins are of this class; and most of those which the apostle mentioned were sins of this character.

If this revolting and melancholy picture of the pagan world was a true representation, then it was clear that there was need of some other plan of religion. And that it was true has already in part been seen. In the conclusion of this chapter we may make a few additional observations.

1. The charges which the apostle makes here were evidently those which were well known. He does not even appeal to their writings, as he does on some other occasions, for proof; compare Tit 1:12. So well known were they, that there was no need of proof. A writer would not advance charges in this manner unless he was confident that they were well-founded, and could not be denied.

2. They are abundantly sustained by the pagan writers themselves. This we have in part seen In addition we may adduce the testimony of two Roman writers respecting the state of things at Rome in the time of the apostle. Livy says of the age of Augustus, in some respects the brightest period of the Roman history, “Rome has increased by her virtues until now, when we can neither bear our vices nor their remedy.” Preface to his History. Seneca, one of the purest moralists of Rome, who died in 65 a.d., says of his own time, “All is full of criminality and vice; indeed much more of these is committed than can be remedied by force. A monstrous contest of abandoned wickedness is carried on. The lust of sin increases daily; and shame is daily more and more extinguished. Discarding respect for all that is good and sacred, lust rushes on wherever it will. Vice no longer hides itself. It stalks forth before all eyes. So public has abandoned wickedness become, and so openly does it flame up in the minds of all, that innocence is no longer seldom, but has wholly ceased to exist.” Seneca de Ira, ii. 8. Further authorities of this kind could be easily given, but these will show that the apostle Paul did not speak at random when he charged them with these enormous crimes.

3. If this was the state of things, then it was clear that there was need of another plan of saving people. It will be remembered that, in these charges, the apostle speaks of the most enlightened and refined nations of antiquity; and especially that he speaks of the Romans at the very height of their power, intelligence, and splendor. The experiment whether man could save himself by his own works, had been fairly made. After all that their greatest philosophers could do, this was the result, and it is clear that there was need of some better plan than this. More profound and laborious philosophers than had arisen, the pagan world could not hope to see; more refinement and civilization than then existed, the world could not expect to behold under paganism. At this time, when the experiment had been made for four thousand years, and when the inefficacy of all human means, even under the most favorable circumstances, to reform mankind, had been tried, the gospel was preached to people. It disclosed another plan; and its effects were seen at once throughout the most abandoned states and cities of the ancient world.

4. If this was the state of things in the ancient pagan world, the same may be expected to be the state of paganism still. And it is so. The account given here of ancient pagans would apply substantially still to the pagan world. The same things have been again and again witnessed in China, and Hindostan, and Africa, the Sandwich islands, and in aboriginal America. It would be easy to multiply proofs almost without end of this: and to this day the pagan world is exhibiting substantially the same characteristics that it was in the time of Paul.

5. There was need of some better religion than the pagan. After all that infidels and deists have said of the sufficiency of natural religion, yet here is the sad result. This shows what man can do, and these facts will demonstrate forever that there was need of some other religion than that furnished by the light of nature.

6. The account in this chapter shows the propriety of missionary exertions. So Paul judged; and so we should judge still. If this be the state of the world, and if Christianity, as all Christians believe, contains the remedy for all these evils, then it is wisdom and benevolence to send it to them. And it is not wisdom or benevolence to withhold it from them. Believing as they do, Christians are bound to send the gospel to the pagan world. It is on this principle that modern missions to the pagan are established; and if the toils of the apostles were demanded to spread the gospel, then are the labors of Christians now. If it was right, and wise, and proper for them to go to other lands to proclaim “the unsearchable riches of Christ,” then it is equally proper and wise to do it now. If there was danger that the pagan world then would perish without the gospel, there is equal danger that the pagan world will perish now.

7. If it should be said that many of these things are practiced now in nations which are called Christian, and that, therefore, the charge of the apostle that this was the effect of paganism could not be well-founded, we may reply,

(1) That this is true, too true. But this very fact shows the deep and dreadful depravity of human nature. If such things exist in lands that have a revelation, what mush have been the state of those countries that had none of its restraints and influences? But,

(2) These things do not exist where religion exerts its influence. They are not in the bosom of the Christian church. They are not practiced by Christians. And the effect of the Christian religion, so far as it has influence, is to call off people from such vices, and to make them holy and pure in their life. Let religion exert its full influence on any nominally Christian nation, and these things would cease. Let it send its influence into other lands, and the world, the now polluted world, would become pure before God.

Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

This passage in the present Greek versions is rather different from the Vulgate: but the text of the Vulgate is conformable to the most ancient Greek manuscripts, of which some are more than twelve hundred years old. Greek: Oitines to dikaioma tou theou epignontes ouk enoesan oti oi ta toiauta prassontes azioi thanatou eisin, ou monon de oi poiountes auta, alla kai oi suneudokountes tois prassousin. See Var. Lect. Mill. in hunc locum et Prolegom. 41. 42.

George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).

Knowing the judgment of God; i.e. his just law and statute, or his justice in punishing sin and sinners. This the Gentiles knew by the light of nature, and by the examples of God’s justice in the world.

That they which commit such things are worthy of death; the barbarians of Melita judged murder worthy of death, Act 28:4; see Act 23:29; 26:31. The heathen also had some knowledge of future and everlasting punishment, as appears by their writings: and were persuaded that the sins be dementioned, and such like, did really deserve it.

Have pleasure in them that do them; or, patronize and applaud such; see Psa 10:3. This is set last, as worst of all; it is the highest degree of wickedness: such come nearest the devil, who take pleasure in evil because it is evil.

Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Knowing the judgment of God—There are two knowledges ascribed by the apostle to the heathen as ennobling man’s nature, yet aggravating his guilt. One is the knowledge of God’s existence, and the other the knowledge of a just retribution. The knowledge and the wicked conduct go hand in hand. Yet man awakes to this consciousness distinctly after the guilt is incurred, and after his becoming inextricably involved in the meshes of destruction. Without a divine aid there is no hope for a single individual.

Worthy of death—The capital punishment under the divine government.

Have pleasure—They not only deliberately follow every temptation to sin themselves, but they delight in seeing others committing equal sin. So that they love sin not only for the pleasure it yields, but also for the very sake of its being sin. Total depravity (if the phrase must be used) is not true in the sense that man is as bad a being as possibly can be, a total black; for a mortal race so bad would naturally destroy each other, and so could not long exist. But it does mean that man is totally destitute of that love to God which his Spirit only can inspire, and totally unable to attain salvation without that Spirit through the grace of Christ. Yet this does not deny to man’s nature a conscience, aesthetical faculties, nor a susceptibility to the impressions of truth and to the influences of the Divine Spirit. Indeed, man’s soul is adapted for these influences, so that there is a truth in saying that “man is a religious being,” and even a truth, to be carefully guarded, in Tertullian’s maxim that “The human soul is naturally Christian.” Man sins and rejects the Gospel and the Spirit against his own nature. Christianity is the true complement to humanity. And just because man possesses these qualities his apostasies become guilty. Without them he might be, like brutes, or like created immutable fiends, incapable of responsibility. A possibility of becoming good, in some part of the individual being, is requisite in order to an accountability for being bad.

Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Who (oitinev , with its usual significance, as before) knowing the judgment of God, that they which practise such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also have pleasure in them that practise them . In this concluding verse the main point of the whole argument, with which also it began (ver. 19), is repeated, viz. that all this sin was in spite of better knowledge the original knowledge of God revealed, as above set forth, to the human race, and (as is implied further) an inward witness of conscience still remaining, however stifled, even in the most corrupt society. By axiov yanatou is not meant "deserving of capital punishment;" Divine judgment is evidently implied. There is no need to inquire what conception of future retribution the heathen themselves may be supposed to have had, or to have been capable of entertaining. St. Paul constantly denotes by yanatov , in a general and comprehensive sense, the penal consequence of unatoned sin due to the Divine dikaiosunh . (cf. Rom_6:21-23 Rom_8:6, etc.) It is to be observed that in the latter part of this verse the distinction between prassein , meaning habitual practice, and poiein , is not shown in the Authorized Version. The evidence of the "reprobate mind" is not simply that such things are done occasionally under temptation, but that they are the habits of people"s lives. And still more: such habits are not only participated in by those who have knowledge enough to perceive their guilt (auta ppoiousin), but even condoned and approved (suneudokousi toiv prassousi); there was no general protest or indignation in society against the prevalent abominations; and those familiar with the writers of the Augustan age must be well aware that this was so. Here we have the final proof of the prevalence of the adokimov nouv , the climax of the picture of general moral degradation. "Ideo autem sic interpreter, quod video apostolum voluisse hic gravius aliquid et sceleratius ipsa vitioram perpetratione perstringere. Id quale sit non intelligo, nisi referamus ad istam nequitiae summam, ubi miseri homines contra Dei justitiam, abjecta verecundia, vitiorum patrocinium suscipiunt" (Calvin).

The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

Not only do the same, but have pleasure in those that practice them - This is the highest degree of wickedness. A man may be hurried by his passions to do the thing he hates; but he that has pleasure in those that do evil, loves wickedness for wickedness' sake. And hereby he encourages them in sin, and heaps the guilt of others upon his own head.

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.

The apostle here closes the chapter with the blackest character that could be given of the Gentiles sin, namely, That although by the light of nature, and the dictates of natural conscience, they knew that their adulteries and unnatural lusts did deserve death, and expose them to the wrath of God, yet they not only committed those sins themselves, but took a real pleasure and delight in those that committed them. Now this was the top and height of their wickedness. It is a greater wickedness to approve and applaud sin, than it is to act and commit sin; to delight in sin, is worse than to do sin. A man may fall into sin by the policy of the tempter, and the prevalency of temptation, but by considerations may be brought to a sense of his folly, and repent that he not only approves and applauds, but takes pleasure and delight in the wickedness of others; this demonstrates such a strong affection to sin, as brings a man nearest to the devil in sinning.

Learn hence, 1. That there is in God an avenging justice, engaging him to punish sin with the eternal death of the sinner.

2. That there is that evil and malignity in sin, which deserves the judgment and sentence of eternal death.

3. That this desert of sin, as also the vengeance of God upon the sinner, is sufficiently made known to all men; to some by the light of nature, to others by the superadded light of scripture.

4. That notwithstanding this discovery of sin’s desert of divine wrath, yet multitudes of sinners everywhere do not only commit wickedness themselves but delight in it, and in them that do it, which lays them under an aggravated guilt, and will both heighten and hasten their condemnation; Who knowing the judgment of God, that they who do such things, are worthy of death, not only do the same, but take pleasure in them that do them.

William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. “Who, knowing the righteousness of God that those who do such things are worthy of death, not only do them but take pleasure in those who do them.” This is the darkest conceivable climax; when people not only commit indiscriminately the most atrocious crimes, but take delight in those who do these things; “birds of a feather flock together.” The very presence of the good is a withering rebuke to the bad. Murderers love the company of murderers. Libertines, debauchers, harlots, thieves, liars, blasphemers, swindlers, and obscene, vile reprobates all love the company of one another. Carnal church people, both clerical and civic, love to lean to their own sect. If you ever expect to get to heaven you would better see that you actually love the society of the most holy people you can find. If this is not so, you are a long way from the pearly gates.

William B. Godbey, Commentary on the New Testament (1896–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

who, knowing the ordinance of God, that they that practice such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but also consent with them that practise them . [All were not guilty of all these sins, but each was guilty of some of them. Though many of these evils still exist in Christian lands, they do so in spite of Christianity; but then they existed because of idolatry. Lard observes that the Gentiles, starting with the knowledge of God, descended to the foolishness of idolatry. At this point God abandoned them, and they then began their second descent, and continued till they reached the very base and bottom of moral degradation, as indicated in the details given above. The Gentiles had traditions and laws, founded on original revelations, declaring these things sinful; and, though they knew that death resulted from sin, yet they not only defied God and persisted in their sins, but even failed to condemn them in others; yea, they encouraged each other to commit them. Such, then, was the helpless, hopeless state of the Gentiles. When they were justly condemned to death for unrighteousness, God revealed in his gospel a righteousness unto life that they might be saved.]

J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.

32. Who knowing the judgment of God. The ordinance or decree of God condemning such sinners. That ordinances is next stated. It is that those who do such deeds are worthy of death. The heathen moralists admitted this. Yet in spite of this knowledge they not only continued in their vile sins, but took pleasure in them. No deeper degree of depravity can be found than when men call evil good, and cherish it. This dark picture of heathen vices, from verse 18 to 32, is not overdrawn. It is fully confirmed by such heathen writers as Tacitus, Horace, Seneca, and Juvenal. The conclusion, from these facts, is that all such guilty persons are under condemnation.

B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.

They understand the regulations of God

"They know how God wants them to live"

that those who practice such things

Here "practice" refers to continually or habitually doing things that are evil. AT: "and that those who keep on doing wicked things" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

are deserving of death

"deserve to die"

these things

"these kinds of evil things"

who do them

Here the verb "do" refers to continuing to do things that are evil. AT: "who keep on doing evil things" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)

translationWords

die

unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.

32. οἵτινες κ.τ.λ. define once more the root of the evil—rejection of known truth—here as to the fixed judgment of GOD on such acts and persons.

τὸ δικαίωμα = the just decision or claim, cf. Rom 2:26, Rom 8:4; Luk 1:6, not so much of the judge as of the legislator. The word and its cognates used of a judge seem always to imply acquittal.

πράσσοντες. Practise—methodically and deliberately. ποιοῦσιν = commit the acts, without necessarily implying deliberation. συνευδοκοῦσιν, join with deliberate and hearty purpose. There is a true climax. A conspiracy of evil is worse than isolated actions, because it indicates the set tendency of the heart. Cf. S. H.; cf. Luk 11:48; Act 8:1; Act 22:20. N. the Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs, Ash. Rom 6:2, καὶ πράσσουσι τὸ κακὸν καὶ συνευδοκοῦσι τοῖς πράσσουσιν. Charles regards this passage as the original of our verse here.

Cambridge Greek Testament for Schools and Colleges (Cambridge University Press, 1896; 21 vols, various authors incl. Carr, Maclear, Plummer, Farrar, Lumby, Moule, M. R. James, Simcox) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32.] The Apostle advances to the highest grade of moral abandonment,—the knowledge of God’s sentence against such crimes, united with the contented practice of them, and encouragement of them in others.

τὸ δικαίωμα τ. θ.] the sentence of God, unmistakeably pronounced in the conscience.

ὅτι κ.τ.λ.] viz. that they who do such things are worthy of death; this is the sentence, and must not be enclosed in a parenthesis, as in Wetstein, Griesbach, and Scholz.

θανάτου, what sort of death? Probably a general term for the fatal consequence of sin; that such courses lead to ruin. The word can hardly be pressed to its exact meaning: for many of the crimes mentioned could never be visited with judicial capital punishment in this world (as Grot.): nor could the heathen have any definite idea of eternal, spiritual death, as the penalty attached to sin (Calov.),—nor again, any idea of the connexion between sin and natural death. “Life and Death,” remarks Umbreit, “are ever set over against one another in the O. T. as well as in the N. T., the one as including all good that can befall us, the other, all evil.” p. 246

The description here given by the Apostle of the moral state of the heathen world should by all means be compared with that in Thucyd. iii. 82-84, of the moral state of Greece in the Peloponnesian war: and a passage in Wisd. 14:22-31, the opening of which is remarkably similar to our text: εἶτʼ οὐκ ἤρκεσε τὸ πλανᾶσθαι περὶ τὴν τοῦ θεοῦ γνῶσιν, ἀλλὰ.…, ver. 22, and again ver. 27, ἡ γὰρ τῶν ἀνωνύμων εἰδώλων θρησκεία παντὸς ἀρχὴ κακοῦ καὶ αἰτία καὶ πέρας ἐστίν.

Henry Alford, The Greek Testament (1849–1861) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.

32. οἵτινες: see on ver. 25 above.

τὸ δικαίωμα: prob. in the first instance (i) a declaration that a thing is δίκαιον [τὸ δικαίωμα τοῦ νόμου = ‘that which the Law lays down as right,’ Rom 8:4]; hence, ‘an ordinance’ (Luk 1:6; Rom 2:26; Heb 9:1, Heb 9:10); or (ii) ‘a declaration that a person is δίκαιος,’ ‘a verdict of not guilty,’ ‘an acquittal’: so esp. in St. Paul (e. g. Rom 5:16). But see also note on p. 31.

ἐπιγνόντες: ἐπιγινώσκοντες (B) 80, WH. marg.

ποιοῦσιν … συνευδοκοῦσι. There has been some disturbance of the text here: B, and apparently Clem.-Rom., have ποιοῦντες … συνευδοκοῦντες; and so too D E Vulg. (am. fuld.) Orig.-lat. Lucif. and other Latin Fathers, but inserting, non intellexerunt (οὐκ ἐνόησαν D). WH. obelize the common text as prob. corrupt: they think that it involves an anticlimax, because to applaud an action in others is not so bad as to do it oneself; but from another point of view to set up a public opinion in favour of vice is worse than to yield for the moment to temptation (see the quotation from Apollinaris below). If the participles are wrong they have probably been assimilated mechanically to πράσσοντες. Note that ποιεῖν = facere, to produce a certain result; πράσσειν = agere, to act as moral agent: there may be also some idea of repeated action.

συνευδοκοῦσι denotes ‘hearty approval’ (Rendall on Act 22:20, in Expos. 1888, ii. 209); cf. 1 Macc. 1:57 συνευδοκεῖ τῷ νόμῳ: the word occurs four times besides in N. T. (Luke, Epp. Paul.).

ἀμφότεροι δὲ πονηροί, καὶ ὁ κατάρξας, καὶ ὁ συνδραμών. τοῦ δὲ ποιεῖν πὸ συνευδοκεῖν χεῖρον τίθησι κατὰ τὸ λεγόμενον, εἰ ἐθεώρεις κλέπτην, συνέτρεχες αὐτῷ. ὁ μὲν γὰρ ποιῶν, μεθύων τῷ πάθει, ἡττᾶται τῆς πράξεως· ὁ δὲ συνευδοκῶν, ἐκτὸς ὤν τοῦ πάθους, πονηρίᾳ χρώμενος, συντρέχει τῷ κακῷ (Apollinaris in Cramer’s Catena).

St. Paul’s Description of the Condition of the Heathen World

It would be wrong to expect from St. Paul an investigation of the origin of different forms of idolatry or a comparison of the morality of heathen religions, such as is now being instituted in the Comparative Science of Religion. For this it was necessary to wait for a large and comprehensive collection of data which has only become possible within the present century and is still far from complete. St. Paul looks at things with the insight of a religious teacher; he describes facts which he sees around him; and he connects these facts with permanent tendencies of human nature and with principles which are apparent in the Providential government of the world.

The Jew of the Dispersion, with the Law of Moses in his hand, could not but revolt at the vices which he found prevailing among the heathen. He turned with disgust from the circus and the theatre (Weber, Alisyn. Theol. pp. 58, 68). He looked upon the heathen as given over especially to sins of the flesh, such as those which St. Paul recounts in this chapter. So far have they gone as to lose their humanity altogether and become like brute beasts (ibid. p. 67 f.). The Jews were like a patient who was sick but with hope of recovery. Therefore they had a law given to them to be a check upon their actions. The Heathen were like a patient who was sick unto death and beyond all hope, on whom therefore the physician put no restrictions (ibid. p. 69).

The Christian teacher brought with him no lower standard, and his verdict was not less sweeping. ‘The whole world,’ said St. John, ‘lieth in wickedness,’ rather perhaps, ‘in [the power of] the Wicked One’ (1Jn 5:19). And St. Paul on his travels must have come across much to justify the denunciations of this chapter. He saw that idolatry and licence went together. He knew that the heathen myths about their gods ascribed to them all manner of immoralities. The lax and easy-going anthropomorphism of Hellenic religion and the still more degraded representations, with at times still more degraded worship, of the gods of Egypt and the East, were thrown into dark relief by his own severe conception of the Divine Holiness. It was natural that he should give the account he does of this degeneracy. The lawless fancies of men invented their own divinities. Such gods as these left them free to follow their own unbridled passions. And the Majesty on High, angered at their wilful disloyalty, did not interfere to check their downward career.

It is all literally true. The human imagination, following its own devices, projects even into the Pantheon the streak of evil by which it is itself disfigured. And so the mischief is made worse, because the worshipper is not likely to rise above the objects of his worship. It was in the strict sense due to supernatural influence that the religion of the Jew and of the Christian was kept clear of these corrupt and corrupting features. The state of the Pagan world betokened the absence, the suspension or with-holding, of such supernatural influence; and there was reason enough for the belief that it was judicially inflicted.

At the same time, though in this passage, where St. Paul is measuring the religious forces in the world, he speaks without limitation or qualification, it is clear from other contexts that condemnation of the insufficiency of Pagan creeds did not make him shut his eyes to the good that there might be in Pagan characters. In the next chapter he distinctly contemplates the case of Gentiles who being without law are a law unto themselves, and who find in their consciences a substitute for external law (2:14, 15). He frankly allows that the ‘uncircumcision which is by nature’ put to shame the Jew with all his greater advantages (2:26-29). We therefore cannot say that a priori reasoning or prejudice makes him untrue to facts. The Pagan world was not wholly bad. It had its scattered and broken lights, which the Apostle recognizes with the warmth of genuine sympathy. But there can be equally little doubt that the moral condition of Pagan civilization was such as abundantly to prove his main proposition, that Paganism was unequal to the task of reforming and regenerating mankind.

There is a monograph on the subject, which however does not add much beyond what lies fairly upon the surface: Rogge, Die Anschauungen d. Ap. Paulus von d. religiös-sittlichen Charakter d. Heidentums, Leipzig, 1888.

If the statements of St. Paul cannot be taken at once as supplying the place of scientific inquiry from the side of the Comparative History of Religion, so neither can they be held to furnish data which can be utilized just as they stand by the historian. The standard which St. Paul applies is not that of the historian but of the preacher. He does not judge by the average level of moral attainment at different epochs but by the ideal standard of that which ought to be attained. A calm and dispassionate weighing of the facts, with due allowance for the nature of the authorities, will be found in Friedländer, Sittengeschichte Roms, Leipzig, 1869-1871.

Use of the Book of Wisdom in Chapter 1

1:18-32. In two places in Epist. to Romans, ch. 1 and ch. 9, there are clear indications of the use by the Apostle of the Book of Wisdom. Such indications are not wanting elsewhere, but we have thought it best to call attention to them especially at the points where they are most continuous and most striking. We begin by placing side by side the language of St. Paul and that of the earlier work by which it is illustrated.

Romans. Wisdom.

1:20. τὰ γὰρ ἀόρατα αὐτοῦ ἀπὸ κτι-́σεως κόσμου τοῖς ποιήμασι νοούμενα αθορᾶται, 13:1. καὶ ἐκ τῶν ὁρωμένων ἀγαθῶν οὐκ ἴσχυσαν εἰδέναι τὸν ὄντα οὔτε τοῖς ἔργοις προσέχοντες ἐπέγνωσαν τὸν τεχνίτην.

13:5. ἐκ γὰρ μεγέθους καὶ καλλονῆς κτισμάτων ἀναλόγως ὁ γενεσιουργὸς αὐτῶν θεωρεῖται.

ἥ τε ἀΐδιος αὐτοῦ δύναμις καὶ θειότης· 2:23. [ὁ Θεὸς ἔκτισε … τὸν ἄνθρωπον … εἰκόνα τῆς ἰδίας ἀϊδιότητος* (Cod. 248 al., Method. Athan. Epiph.; ἰδιότητος א AB, Clem.-Alex. &c.) ἐποίησεν.]

18:9. τὸν τῆς θειότητος νόμον.

εἰς τὸ εἴναι αὐτοὺς ἀναπολογήτους· 13:8. πάλιν δὲ οὐδʼ αὐτοὶ συνγνωστοί.

International Critical Commentary — older volumes (1896–1929), various authors — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.