Romans 1:28,29 - God gave them up to a debased mind

1:28

We get the third “God gave them up” in this verse, the previous two were in 1:24 and and 1:26. People chose to refuse to acknowledge God, so He gave them up to a debased mind. 1:24-27 have been dealing with homosexuality, we should take on board what it says, but we should also note that homosexuality is not the only sin! Paul has used it as an example of the depravity of man, and God’s judgement upon man. 1:18-23 dealt with man’s refusal to acknowledge God, or give thanks to Him. Here we are back to essentially the same root problem, and its effects are described in a much broader way. Why does it say “a debased mind”? The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom (Prov 1:7). It is the essential foundation of true understanding. If we reject God then we are building on a foundation of sand, with the inevitable results.

1:29

The verse begins with the most general of evil: “all manner of unrighteousness”. Rejecting God leads to a general collapse in an individual and in a society. The list then gets more specific. “Evil, covetousness, malice”. “Evil” is, of course, fairly general, but then we get to covetousness and malice. In Romans 7 Paul will use covetousness as an example of how sin can rule in a person. Gossip also gets a mention. We may think that covetousness and gossip are not the greatest of sins, but they can be at the root of other sins. Coveting something can lead to someone taking evil actions (stealing, violence etc), and it is one of the ten commandments. Gossip can be a spark that leads to all sorts of trouble.