Roma 1:21

Filipino Cebuano Bible

21 kay bisan nanagpakaila na sila sa Dios, wala nila siya pasidunggi ingon nga Dios, ni magpasalamat kaniya; hinonoa, maoy ilang gihinuktokan ang mga hinunahuna nga walay dapat hangtud gingitngitan na lang ang ilang habol nga mga salabutan.

Bible Verse Review
  from Treasury of Scripure Knowledge

when: Romans 1:19, Romans 1:28, John 3:19

they glorified: Romans 15:9, Psalms 50:23, Psalms 86:9, Hosea 2:8, Habakkuk 1:15, Habakkuk 1:16, Luke 17:15-18, 2 Timothy 3:2, Revelation 14:7, Revelation 15:4

but became: Genesis 6:5, Genesis 8:21, 2 Kings 17:15, Psalms 81:12, Ecclesiastes 7:29, Isaiah 44:9-20, Jeremiah 2:5, Jeremiah 10:3-8, Jeremiah 10:14, Jeremiah 10:15, Jeremiah 16:19, Ephesians 4:17, Ephesians 4:18, 1 Peter 1:18

their foolish: Romans 11:10, Deuteronomy 28:29, Isaiah 60:2, Acts 26:18, 1 Peter 2:9

Reciprocal: Exodus 32:4 - These Leviticus 7:12 - a thanksgiving Deuteronomy 29:19 - though I walk 1 Samuel 2:12 - knew 1 Kings 16:13 - vanities 1 Kings 16:26 - their vanities Job 31:27 - my heart Psalms 10:4 - thoughts Psalms 14:1 - abominable Psalms 14:4 - Have Psalms 31:6 - lying Psalms 53:1 - said Psalms 94:11 - General Psalms 99:8 - their inventions Psalms 106:29 - with their Psalms 107:31 - Oh that men Proverbs 2:13 - walk Proverbs 14:6 - scorner Isaiah 29:14 - for the wisdom Isaiah 44:18 - have not Isaiah 45:20 - they Isaiah 50:11 - all ye Jeremiah 3:17 - walk Jeremiah 4:14 - How long Jeremiah 9:14 - walked Jeremiah 10:8 - brutish Jeremiah 23:16 - they make Jeremiah 33:18 - General Ezekiel 14:5 - estranged Ezekiel 20:25 - I gave Daniel 3:3 - the princes Daniel 5:23 - hast thou Hosea 7:15 - imagine Luke 1:51 - the imagination Luke 17:17 - but Acts 14:15 - from Acts 14:16 - suffered Romans 1:31 - Without understanding Romans 1:32 - knowing Romans 10:19 - foolish 1 Corinthians 3:19 - the wisdom 1 Corinthians 3:20 - that 2 Corinthians 10:5 - down Galatians 5:19 - Adultery Ephesians 5:8 - ye were Colossians 2:8 - philosophy Colossians 3:15 - and be 2 Thessalonians 2:11 - for 1 Timothy 5:5 - a widow James 2:20 - O vain James 4:17 - General 1 Peter 2:15 - foolish Revelation 9:20 - and idols

Gill's Notes on the Bible

Because that when they knew God,.... Though they had such a knowledge of the being and perfections of God, yet

they glorified him not as God. They neither thought nor spoke honourably of him; nor did they ascribe those perfections to him, which belonged to him; they did not adhere to him as the one and only God, nor honour him as the Creator of all things out of nothing, and as the sole Governor of the universe; they did not glorify him by the internal exercise of fear of him, love to him, or trust in him, nor by any external worship suitable to his nature, and their own notions of him, Seneca is an instance of this, of whom Austin f says,

"that he worshipped what he found fault with, did what he reproved, and adored that which he blamed.''

Neither were thankful; neither for the knowledge of things they had, which they ascribed to themselves; nor for their mercies, which they imputed to second causes:

but became vain in their imaginations; the vanity or their minds was the spring and source of their evil conduct; which may design the wickedness of their hearts, and the imaginations thereof, which were evil, and that continually; the pride of their natures the carnality and weakness of their reasonings, and the whole system of their vain philosophy; and hence they ran into polytheism, or the worshipping of many gods:

and their foolish heart was darkened; where they thought their great wisdom lay: darkness is natural to the hearts and understandings of all men, which is increased by personal iniquity; Satan is concerned in improving it, and God sometimes gives up the hearts of persons to judicial blindness, which was the case of these men.

f De Civitate Dei, l. 6. c. 10.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Because that - The apostle here is showing that it was right to condemn people for their sins. To do this it was needful to show them that they had the knowledge of God, and the means of knowing what was right; and that the true source of their sins and idolatries was a corrupt and evil heart.

When they knew God - Greek, “knowing God.” That is, they had an acquaintance with the existence and many of the perfections of one God. That many of the philosophers of Greece and Rome had a knowledge of one God, there can be no doubt. This was undoubtedly the case with Pythagoras, who had traveled extensively in Egypt, and even in Palestine; and also with Plato and his disciples. This point is clearly shown by Cudworth in his Intellectual System, and by Dr. Warburton in the Divine Legation of Moses. Yet the knowledge of this great truth was not communicated to the people. It was confined to the philosophers; and not improbably one design of the mysteries celebrated throughout Greece was to keep up the knowledge of the one true God. Gibbon has remarked that “the philosophers regarded all the popular superstitions as equally false: the common people as equally true; and the politicians as equally useful.” This was probably a correct account of the prevalent feelings among the ancients. A single extract from “Cicero” (de Natura Deorum, lib. ii. c. 6) will show that they had the knowledge of one God. “There is something in the nature of things, which the mind of man, which reason, which human power cannot effect; and certainly what produces this must be better than man. What can this be called but “God?” Again (c. 2), “What can be so plain and manifest, when we look at heaven, and contemplate heavenly things, as that there is some divinity of most excellent mind, by which these things are governed?”

They glorified him not as God - They did not “honor” him as God. This was the true source of their abominations. To glorify him “as God” is to regard with proper reverence all his perfections and laws; to venerate his name, his power, his holiness, and presence, etc. As they were not inclined to do this, so they were given over to their own vain and wicked desires. Sinners are not willing to give honor to God, as God. They are not pleased with his perfections; and therefore the mind becomes fixed on other objects, and the heart gives free indulgence to its own sinful desires. A willingness to honor God as God - to reverence, love, and obey him, would effectually restrain people from sin.

Neither were thankful - The obligation to be “thankful” to God for his mercies, for the goodness which we experience, is plain and obvious. Thus, we judge of favors received of our fellow-men. the apostle here clearly regards this unwillingness to render gratitude to God for his mercies as one of the causes of their subsequent corruption and idolatry. The reasons of this are the following.

(1) The effect of ingratitude is to render the heart hard and insensible.

(2) People seek to forget the Being to whom they are unwilling to exercise gratitude.

(3) To do this, they fix their affections on other things; and hence, the pagan expressed their gratitude not to God, but to the sun, and moon, and stars, etc., the mediums by which God bestows his favors upon people. And we may here learn that an unwillingness to thank God for his mercies is one of the most certain causes of alienation and hardness of heart.

But became vain - To “become vain,” with us, means to be elated, or to be self-conceited, or to seek praise from others. The meaning here seems to be, they became foolish, frivolous in their thoughts and reasonings. They acted foolishly; they employed themselves in useless and frivolous questions, the effect of which was to lead the mind further and further from the truth respecting God.

Imaginations - This word means properly “thoughts,” then “reasonings,” and also “disputations.” Perhaps our word, “speculations,” would convey its meaning here. It implies that they were unwilling to honor God, and being unwilling to honor him, they commenced those speculations which resulted in all their vain and foolish opinions about idols, and the various rites of idolatrous worship. Many of the speculations and inquiries of the ancients were among the most vain and senseless which the mind can conceive.

And their foolish heart - The word “heart” is not infrequently used to denote the mind, or the understanding. We apply it to denote the affections. But such was not its common use, among the Hebrews. We speak of the head when we refer to the understanding, but this was not the case with the Hebrews. They spoke of the heart in this manner, and in this sense it is clearly used in this place; see Ephesians 1:18; Romans 2:15; 2 Corinthians 4:6; 2 Peter 1:19. The word “foolish” means literally what is without “understanding;” Matthew 15:16.

Was darkened - Was rendered obscure, so that they did not perceive and comprehend the truth. The process which is stated in this verse is,

1. That people had the knowledge of God.

(2)That they refused to honor him when they knew him, and were opposed to his character and government.

(3)That they were ungrateful.

(4)That they then began to doubt, to reason, to speculate, and wandered far into darkness.

This is substantially the process by which people wander away from God now. They have the knowledge of God, but they do not love him; and being dissatisfied with his character and government, they begin to speculate, fall into error, and then “find no end in wandering mazes lost,” and sink into the depths of heresy and of sin.

Clarke's Notes on the Bible

Verse 21. Because that when they knew God — When they thus acquired a general knowledge of the unity and perfections of the Divine nature, they glorified him not as God - they did not proclaim him to the people, but shut up his glory (as Bishop Warburton expresses it) in their mysteries, and gave the people, in exchange for an incorruptible God, an image made like to corruptible man. Wherefore God, in punishment for their sins, thus turning his truth into a lie, suffered even their mysteries, which they had erected for a school of virtue, to degenerate into an odious sink of vice and immorality; giving them up unto all uncleanness and vile affections.

They glorified him not — They did not give him that worship which his perfections required.

Neither were thankful — They manifested no gratitude for the blessings they received from his providence, but became vain in their imaginations, διαλογισμοις, in their reasonings. This certainly refers to the foolish manner in which even the wisest of their philosophers discoursed about the Divine nature, not excepting Socrates, Plato, or Seneca. Who can read their works without being struck with the vanity of their reasonings, as well as with the stupidity of their nonsense, when speaking about God? I might crowd my page with proofs of this; but it is not necessary to those who are acquainted with their writings, and to others it would not be useful. In short, their foolish, darkened minds sought God no where but in the place in which he is never to be found; viz. the vile, corrupted, and corrupting passions of their own hearts. As they did not discover him there, they scarcely sought him any where else.