Romans 1:22 Commentary and Bible Study

‘Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.’ Their rejection of God was in their estimation grounds for pride. All manner of substitutes took the place of the living God, and for these, men could claim credit. What they knew of God was revealed to them by him, but what took his place was something which they came up with themselves. They claimed independence from God and they constructed a world of explanations for themselves and all around them, which was entirely the product of their minds, and they claimed that this was superior to anything that they had received from above. Wisdom is therefore a matter of dispute between God and man. According to him, it is the highest form of wisdom for mankind to accept what God tells him about reality, his origin, and his destiny. But man wants something he can boast in, and therefore he invents his own story, and he strives for independence from his Creator.How foolish can human beings be without God! The human race has become ungrateful, insulting, casting God out of his kingdom as far as they are concerned, and therefore it is now limited, subjected entirely to earthly things. But as far as God is concerned, I become intellectually dull, foolish. I am also emotionally dull and unfeeling. My emotions have become utterly unsophisticated. They cannot operate towards God, only towards earthly fleshly things. I have become spiritually depraved.I could be the most brilliant professor in this capital city, but viewed spiritually, I am pathetic, I am dull, I have reduced myself, I cannot think above a certain ceiling. If I try and become a kind of expansive philosopher. I shall talk utter nonsense, because in that area, I am dull. My intellect is dulled, my emotions are dead, and I am spiritually bereaved. I am opposed to God, and my heart is hard. That is true of every one of us if we do not acknowledge him, thank him, seek him, love him, have his pardon and forgiveness by the gospel of Jesus Christ.