Giving Over Them to a Depraved Mind

A Knowledge System That Discarded God

(Romans 1:28-32)

Humanity has driven God out of their knowledge system. Based on their own experiences, they tested God and rejected Him as “disqualified.” Not only has the creature—who should be tested by God—dared to test Him, but they have also discarded Him from their lives.

1. A Permitted Fall
Once humanity crossed the threshold of arrogance, God gave them over to a “depraved mind.” He abandoned them so that their reason, which rejected God, would face its own miserable reality. There seems to be no situation more desperate than this. However, what God desires is not the destruction of humanity. He wants them to recognize their desperate state in that abandonment and come to repentance.

2. The Ruin of Character
Humans abandoned to a depraved mind commit all kinds of sins and even find pleasure in them. They seize what belongs to others through greed and malice, hate to see others succeed, and love to fight. At times secretly and at other times publicly, they slander others without hesitation to lie. Haters of God, they delight in the suffering of others, exalt themselves, and frequently utter false promises and boasts. They are busy researching evil deeds, they ignore authority, and they have neither the will to understand others nor the heart to keep their promises. One cannot expect human affection or compassion for the suffering from them.

3. A Society That Encourages Evil
This wickedness does not remain with the individual but builds a solidarity of darkness. Those who practice evil encourage others to do the same, thereby spreading wickedness and gaining boldness through it. They try to prove their own righteousness, but in reality, they are acting as messengers of the devil, promoting evil in the world. We, who have been brought to life through the sacrifice of Christ, must not entrust ourselves to this worldly knowledge. We must honor God as the beginning and the end of our reason and realign the center of our lives through constant repentance. We must keep God at the center of our lives.

Overseer Sung-Hyun Kim