For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts.Because knowing God, they didn’t glorify him as God, and didn’t give thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened.Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.because that, knowing God, they glorified him not as God, neither gave thanks; but became vain in their reasonings, and their senseless heart was darkened.
6 sermons cite this verse
… so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. But their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore, God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts, the sexual impurity, for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and they worshiped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever praised. Amen. Because of this, God gave them over to shameful lusts that ought not to be done. even though women exchanged natural relations for unnatural ones. In the same way men abandoned natural relations with women and were inflamed with lust for one another, men committed indecent acts with other men and received in themselves the due penalty for their perversion. Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, he gave them over to a depraved mind that ought not to be done. They've become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed, and depravity. They're full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, and malice. …
… In such a way that verse 21, right after this, in case we didn't get it in verse 18, 19, 20, it says, for although they knew God, you have knowledge of God. So wherever you're unreached, you're an unreached person, you have knowledge of God. but second you have rejected God you've rejected God verse 21 for although they knew God they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him but they became futile in their thinking and their foolish hearts were darkened claiming to be wise they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things the story is for every person on the planet. They have knowledge of God, including the unreached, and have rejected God. If you're unreached, you have an inherently sinful nature that rebels against the knowledge of God that you have, and you turn aside from the one true God to other gods. Now this looks different in different places. If you're unreached in West Africa, you maybe practice voodoo in your attempts to appease and direct evil spirits around you. Maybe you're unreached in India where you offer incense every day to a host of gods in your home that you've crafted with your hands. …
… In Jesus' name, amen. Romans chapter 1, verses 21 through 23. Romans chapter 1, verses 21 through 23. Follow along as I read. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. But they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. At the end of last week's message, we came to the sobering conclusion. See it there in your Bibles in verse 20. So they are without excuse. The they refers most particularly to the Gentiles. Gentiles, this section 18 through 32 in chapter 1, is thinking about the non-Jewish world, though there are a lot of echoes, as we'll see, to the Old Testament. So the Jews could also be guilty of these things. But mainly he's thinking about the Gentile world apart from Christ. And then chapter 2, he's going to turn his attention to the Jews. They, that is the nations of the world, all peoples know something about God. That was his argument. The light of nature shows that there is a God. He is invisible. He is eternal. He is powerful. He possesses a nature unlike ours by means of this general revelation. So not saving, not the special revelation in Christ and in his word, but the general revelation, which is communicated to us through the things that have been made, and God taking that implants within us a seed of divinity. …
… Let's look at verse 21 through 23. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God, or gave thanks to him. What does it mean to glorify God? That means to mirror his majesty and essence in everything we do. We're made to glorify God. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God, nor gave thanks to him. But their thinking became futile, or futile, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Wrong worship, wrong living. And although they claimed to be wise, man have we seen that over the last two weeks They became fools. This word fool in the original language, no kidding, is the word moron. And they exchanged treasure for trinkets, right? The glory of God, of the immortal God, for images made to look like a mortal human being, birds and animals and reptiles and creepy crawlers. Oh, hey, we don't do that. There's no idolatry here. Oh, we worship sex. We worship fame. We worship success. Need I go any farther? …
… Romans 1, 21 through 25. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. But their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their heart to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the creator who is forever praised. Amen. So this is the reality of sin in every person's heart. In my heart, in your heart, and in every person around the world. We have all sinned against God. turned from God's ways to our own ways, from God's truth to our thoughts, all of us have. Which then leaves the truth number three. There are no innocent people in the world. …
In Romans, chapter 1, we have a further description of the fallenness of man. Listen to the words of Paul in Romans 1, verse 21. For even though they knew God, and this is universal, everyone with a rational mind must postulate a cause for the massive effect of the universe, a cause for personhood that must be personal, a cause for morality that must be moral, a cause for righteousness that must be righteous. So they knew God. They did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Professing to be wise, they became fools." It's not that they're not religious. They are. The next verse says, they exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures. They worshiped idols. Yeah, man is an inveterate worshiper, but it is his nature to reject the true God because he doesn't want accountability to God's moral law, and to invent a God after his own making in the form of some animal, some created creature that he perceives in some sense as less than himself. …