What does Paul mean about God allowing people to be given over? In Romans 1:28 he wrote “And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper,”
Our ability to make choices is often our downfall. God will most certainly let us go down the paths we choose and allow the consequences of our actions to be laid upon us when the day of reckoning comes. We will be allowed to be given over to the world.
In our verse above, Paul describes what happens when God simply “throws up His hands” and allows us to experience the “rewards” of being the unholy men and women we have chosen to be, letting our lusts lead us down to destruction. This is indeed the wide gate and broad road spoken of in Matthew 7:13.
When our minds become depraved—or reprobate in other translations—it means our conscience has become dull to the conviction of the Holy Spirit. We still have knowledge of right and wrong, but our hearts are no longer interested in such discernment. Paul referred to this in 1 Timothy 4:12 as having a conscience seared with a hot iron. Our moral compasses are skewed and the desire of self is now in control of our actions.
As we continue in sin, we lose the ability to feel the spiritual pain caused by our actions. Just as when as the ability to feel physical pain can result in death, losing the ability to feel spiritual pain can also lead to death. Jesus warned his disciples to not fear those who can only kill the body, but fear the One who can kill both body and soul (Matthew 10:28).
This hardening of the heart caused by repeated, unrepentant sin can lead one to such a destination. And it doesn’t matter how many worship services, Sunday school classes, and small group meetings one attends, if his or her heart is in this condition, their willingness to hear the Truth will lessen over time to where it is nothing more than mere words. What God created in each of us, the spiritual system, will slowly lose the ability to detect the damage being done (Hebrews 3:13). The lusts of the world will consume us.
Where are you today? Is there a particular sin that still has control of you? You have the choice to be free from this sin if you would only earnestly choose to do so. Sometimes it means making tough decisions about the things you watch, the websites you visit, and the people and places you hang around with. He may have given you over, but He hasn’t given up on you.
God will always provide for you an escape from whatever temptation you face (1 Corinthians 10:13).
You just have to take that first step. He is waiting for you and loves you more than you can imagine. For more information about this topic, go here.
