So having dealt with the effect of sin on man’s intellect he moves on to the effect on our sexuality, and we move into what is now a most controversial area. Before we go any further we need to say few things. First, the end goal of all this is that we realise what a great salvation we have, but in order to do that we need to realise what an absolute mess we are in, indeed what an absolute mess we are. Secondly, the goal is not to leave us in condemnation (Rom 8:1), but to lead us to salvation. And thirdly, Paul is using the various examples he gives as examples of the effects of sexual depravity. They are not an exhaustive list, they are not necessarily the worst sins (though they are definitely bad), but they were prominent in his day.
The start of this verse is truly frightening, “God gave them over ..”. Now note the next bit, “in the sinful desires of their hearts ..” Note also that this follows on from the intellectual abandonment of God, “therefore”, ie since they chose to worship the created rather than the creator. In the same way, the belief that we are just the product of chance, that we are no different from animals, is instrumental in our behaving worse than animals, in our descent into sexual depravity. If we believe we are created by God, if we believe we are ultimately answerable to God, then we will act differently than if we believe we are just a product of chance and answerable to no-one.
So God gave them over. This is a judgement on our sin, it is part of “the wrath of God is being revealed ...”. Being given over to sexual sin leads people to degrade their bodies with each other, and this includes all sexual sin, heterosexual sin as well as homosexual, which Paul will use as the prime example shortly. Consider the things that people do, the effects of drunken or drug fueled behaviour, and it leads to the degrading of humanity. We are meant to honour our bodies, and to value them, but sexual depravity has the exact opposite effect.
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