Read Romans 1:18–32
Although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor
gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their
foolish hearts were darkened.
Romans 1:21
Man knew God; this is clear. But man did not want to know God
or honor Him as God. Instead of being thankful for all that God
had given him, man refused to thank God or give Him the glory He
deserves. Man was willing to use God’s gifts, but he was not willing to
worship and praise God for His gifts. The result was an empty mind
and a darkened heart. Man the worshipper became man the philosopher, but his empty wisdom only revealed his foolishness.
Having held down God’s truth and refusing to acknowledge God’s
glory, man was left without a god; and man is so constituted that he
must worship something. If he will not worship the true God, he will
worship a false god, even if he has to manufacture it himself! This fact
about man accounts for his propensity to idolatry. Man exchanged the
glory of the true God for substitute gods that he himself made. He
exchanged glory for shame, incorruption for corruption, truth for lies.
Something to Ponder
What are some of the false gods that tempt you away from worshipping the one true God? How do you turn away from false gods?