The Devastating Exchange – Romans 1:21-25
Bethel Baptist Church, David Rising
Romans 1:21-25; April 19, 2026 Sunday AM
The Devastating Exchange
To understand the gospel of Jesus Christ we must understand not only the love of God but also the justice of God – His holy and right actions of judgment against those who violate His perfect standards.
The consequences of rebellion against God are terrible and they are real.
Last week in our study of Romans we began to see His wrath against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of mankind.
We were reminded in Romans 1:18-20 that God has expressed and continues to express His wrath against the sinfulness of all those who are lost in their sins.
The problem with this world is not lack of information or technology, ignorance, racism, or the many phobias that we hear thrown around. Rather, the problem with this world is a spiritual problem within the heart.
God has put a knowledge of Himself into the heart of humanity, but that truth is suppressed and the consequences are devastating.
God has made it clear to all that there is a God and that He is powerful and the Creator. This knowledge God made known in our hearts is also on full display every day in the world around us.
This knowledge of God renders every human being without excuse. That is the verdict of Romans 1:20 – without excuse.
Every day the news brings us a tragedy that illustrates the sinfulness of mankind. God is not absent, and Paul is making the case in this chapter up through 3:20 that the whole world stands guilty before God. Romans 3:19 says precisely this.
In our verses for today, verses 21-25, we will show that humanity has rebellion against God and has made a devastating exchange. The result is that everything is turned upside down.
Opening prayer.
We pick up today at verse 21, which flows out of verses 18-20. Let’s hear 18-21:
Romans 1:18–21 (NKJV) “18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.”
In the first part of verse 21, we see that those who are outside of Christ …
1. Do Not Glorify God (1:21a)
Humanity does possess the knowledge that there is a God but when they refuse to acknowledge this, they head down the wrong road.
Verse 21 repeats the point of verse 19 – “although they knew God….”
If you told your unsaved friends that they actually do know God in some way, many will push back. Some might admit it. They might say that there must be a higher power, but it may only go so far.
Though the text speaks about “them” and “they,” the reality is that we were all born this way: depraved, sinful, apart from Christ. It is not a pleasant thought to ponder, but the scripture teaches this truth.
Even though they knew God, still they refused to give Him glory (οὐχ ὡς θεὸν ἐδόξασαν).
How does someone give God glory?
We acknowledge Him. We recognize Him. We speak the truth about Him. We lift up His name above our name. We deflect the focus from us to Him.
We sing to Him our praises. We listen to Him in His word.
We recognize His sovereign rule over this world and over our lives.
Those apart from Christ do not give Him glory, and second, they …
2. Do not Thank God (1:21a)
Mankind apart from Christ does not thank God.
To give thanks is to thank God for what He has done and who He is.
Lost humanity does not acknowledge God and does not give Him thanks.
A thankless person is a self-centered person. Self-oriented people believe THEY are the reason for all of their successes. And yet, when things go wrong, it is always someone else’s fault.
A thankless spirit can invade our minds and make us very small.
It may be easy to read this list and point the finger, but we as Christians still struggle with the flesh and these issues also.
Those individuals who are outside of Christ do not give God glory nor do they give Him thanks.
Notice, third, the next step down:
3. Futile thoughts
but became futile in their thoughts,
ἐματαιώθησαν ἐν τοῖς διαλογισμοῖς αὐτῶν
They became futile in their thinking. KJV ‘became vain in their imaginations.’ The language here suggests strongly that idolatry is the focus:
The use of the word ματαιοῦσθαι (mataiousthai, to become futile) in verse 21 provides a clue that their foolishness refers specifically to idolatry since it echoes the idolatry of Israel and the Gentiles in Jer. 2:5 and Wis. 13:1, respectively.[1]
(Schreiner, T. R. (1998). Vol. 6: Romans. Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament (87). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books.)
Futile thinking is worthless thinking. The end result is zero.
In the context of idolatry, it is pondering and focusing upon something that amounts to nothing.
I would add that so many of our fears and anxieties are these things as well – they come to nothing. A waste of time.
To replace God with an idol, and then to worship it, is the height of absurdity. It is futility.
We see in verse 21 another step down:
4. Dark hearts
and their foolish hearts were darkened.
καὶ ἐσκοτίσθη ἡ ἀσύνετος αὐτῶν καρδία.
Not only is their mind a mess, but also their heart is dark.
That is a problem!
Our heart is the center of our lives, where our desires and motivations begin. Those desires feed our motivation and end up with plans and then action.
The heart, which should be full of truth and the right sense, now is senseless, dark, and without any moral perception, missing spiritual discernment and in the end is dead. The lights are off.
And where does this lead? Fifth, verse 22:
5. Became fools
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools,
φάσκοντες εἶναι σοφοὶ ἐμωράνθησαν
This is the ultimate self-deception. Mankind, thinking he or she is on to something, being most wise, on top of it all, ends up being the fool.
We have probably read some of their books. The cover and topic seem riveting, but the answer is foolishness.
The downward spiral of suppressing the truth about God leads one to become a moron (μωραίνω). That’s what the word sounds like.
In 1 Corinthians chapter 1 Paul says the world perceives the message of the cross as foolishness. But, of course, it is just the opposite: the wisdom of God (1:18-24).
And so while the world boasts in its wisdom apart from God, the truth is just the opposite: foolishness.
The progress downward continues in verse 23 where we see a …
6. Devastating Exchange (1:23)
23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Here is the ultimate reversal: turning God into an idol. Idolatry.
Idolatry replaces God with a thing that somebody makes with their hands.
Psalm 135:15–18 (NKJV)
15 The idols of the nations are silver and gold,
The work of men’s hands.
16 They have mouths, but they do not speak;
Eyes they have, but they do not see;
17 They have ears, but they do not hear;
Nor is there any breath in their mouths.
18 Those who make them are like them;
So is everyone who trusts in them.
This is a devastating critique of idolatry.
Not willing to give God glory, instead mankind changed God’s incorruptible glory into a man-made image, a likeness which is corruptible.
If you can make your god with your hands or if you can destroy your god by dropping it or misplacing it, it is no god at all. It is an idol and the end result of suppressing the truth about the true God.
Paul gives examples of idolatry here: birds, animals, and creeping things.
It is interesting that the 10 Commandments begins by focusing on these very things – having no other god before the true God, not making a graven image.
Why? Because this is our natural tendency apart from God’s grace.
Our most basic responsibility as humans is to recognize Him as God and give Him honor and glory.
When God rescues us through Christ by His grace, it is not simply to give us a home in heaven, but that we might give Him honor and glory forever and ever.
Those who rebel against God turn other things into god, and submit to them.
This is the devastating exchange – replacing God with anything else and expecting a blessing.
Notice now in verses 24-25 the sad reality of this:
7. God gave them up to uncleanness (1:24-25)
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
This is the first of three times we see this same phrase, “God gave them up” (24, 26, 28). It is a frightening thing to think that God would do this, but He did.
Seeking their own way, mankind is now given the green light, so to speak, to pursue what they desire. God hands them over, He gives them what they desire. He locks in their choice, so to speak.
Always getting what we want is not a good thing.
Paul describes here a few examples of uncleanness. We’ll see more next time as we go farther down this chapter.
What sinful humanity does among themselves comes from a heart filled with sinful desires.
The result is that they dishonor their bodies among themselves.
Notice that sin is not isolated but exercised in community. They dishonor their bodies among themselves.
And while their sin affects others, the text says it is dishonoring their own bodies. God created our bodies to be used for His glory and His purposes, but not so among those who are given over to uncleanness.
Verse 25 returns to the description from verse 23 and repeats it for emphasis adding a few more details.
Not only do they exchange the glory of God for an idol, but they exchange the truth for a lie. Or, literally, ‘the lie’ (τῷ ψεύδει).
God’s truth is not desirable, and so mankind accepts the lie.
What is ‘the lie’?
The lie is the essence of what the serpent proposed to the woman from Genesis 3:
“Has God indeed said…?” (Genesis 3:1).
This is a question raising doubt and then the serpent gives an alternative to what God said. The serpent said “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:3).
Did God say not to eat of that one tree? Yes
Did God say the penalty for eating would be death? Yes
Did God keep His word? Yes.
Did the serpent lie? Yes.
Genesis 5:5: “So all the days that Adam lived were nine hundred and thirty years; and he died.”
Paul gives us the theological answer about this in chapter 5 where we see that as sin entered into the world, death also entered into the world and was passed on to everyone (Romans 5:12).
When people die, we usually want to know the medical cause. The theological answer is that sin entered into this world and death is now a reality as it has been since Genesis 5.
This is why the gospel is so powerful because Christ answers the dilemma of sin and death.
Romans 1:25 tells us that this devastating exchange is now a world that does not worship God but rather worships what God created – the creature.
If you study false religions and you will find plenty of them featuring idolatry involving creatures.
What Paul has laid out for us here in verses 21-25 is part of his long argument to prove that all the world is locked in sin and stands in great need.
In chapter 5 Paul will explain that this slavery to sin is also the result of inherited sin through Adam. Both are true, and both render mankind guilty before God.
There is hope and that hope is in Christ.
Application
1. Do Not Love the World (system)
1 John 2:15–17 (NKJV) 15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. 17 And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
On the other hand…
2. Love the World (people)
John 3:16 (NKJV) 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.