Romans 1:30 - Printer Friendly

ESV: slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

NIV: slanderers, God-haters, insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey their parents;

NASB: slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

CSB: slanderers, God-haters, arrogant, proud, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,

NLT: They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents.

KJV: Backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

NKJV: backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents,

Paul is building a terrible list of all the ways humanity's refusal to acknowledge God has led to consequences. The majority of those are simply a matter of cause and effect. God steps aside, and allows us to "have it our way," resulting in pain and suffering. Humanity's general attempt to ignore God results in all kinds of sin, which brings all the misery that God warned us about.

By nature (Romans 3:23), human beings are slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, and disobedient to parents.

One interesting thing about this list is that it seems to combine what we often categorize as "little sins" along with "big sins." Paul's point is that all of them are evidence of a refusal to acknowledge God. Our sinful desires, actions, and consequences reflect our unrighteousness before God. It's no wonder that He has turned us over to experiencing all the consequences of living apart from Him. He punishes us by giving us what we think we want.

The question Paul will answer is this: Is there a way out of our part in all of this unrighteousness and back to God?

Romans 1:18–32 describes why God rightfully condemns humanity and some of what He has done about it. Humanity's fall is pictured as a downward progression. It starts with rejecting God as creator, refusing to see what can be known about Him by what He has made. We also reject that He is our provider and stop giving Him thanks. We worship His creation instead of Him. Finally, God acts by giving us over to the unchecked expression of our corrupt sexual desires and all other kinds of sin. In part, He expresses His wrath by giving us what we want and condemning us to suffer the painful consequences.

Romans 1 introduces Paul and his purpose in writing this letter to the Christians in Rome. As servant and apostle of Jesus, Paul's mission in life is to preach the gospel of Jesus to all people groups, both Jews and Gentiles. He hopes to do so in Rome soon. Paul is not ashamed of the gospel. It is God's power for the salvation of all people by faith in Christ. We need to be saved because God is angry with us. Because of our sin, humanity has rejected Him as creator and provider. We worship created things, instead. In response, God has given us over to indulge in all kinds of sinful practices that lead to misery now and His angry judgment later.

Romans 1 begins with Paul's introduction of himself and his mission to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. After telling the Christians in Rome that he is eager to come see them and preach the gospel there, Paul declares that the gospel is God's power to save everyone who believes in Jesus. We need to be saved, because our sin has earned God's wrath. As a whole, humanity has rejected God as creator and provider. We worship creation instead of Him. In response, He has given us over to the full indulgence of our sinful desires. We are guilty and deserve His judgment.

The book of Romans is the New Testament's longest, most structured, and most detailed description of Christian theology. Paul lays out the core of the gospel message: salvation by grace alone through faith alone. His intent is to explain the good news of Jesus Christ in accurate and clear terms. As part of this effort, Paul addresses the conflicts between law and grace, between Jews and Gentiles, and between sin and righteousness. As is common in his writing, Paul closes out his letter with a series of practical applications.