 Hey smart Christians welcome back. I was asked to cover a passage in Romans chapter 1 verse 28 and at first well first of all when you first think of the passage when you first look at anything okay this is pretty straightforward just to kind of give an understanding but then when you just do a little bit of research and just see wait a second there might be a little bit more to the text and so let's cover this particular passage and see what it actually says. At first glance when you look at the thing that normally comes to mind will be well this word that's not even here in the ESP but you'll see it in the King James version this word that we call reprobate says and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not be done. Now when you look at that word you're going to notice the word reprobate or debased and you see the word reprobate that will show up typically in a King James version or new King James version and so the question that's going to show up or asked be asked is what does it mean to be a reprobate now what I want to do is I want to go ahead and pull it up what we've got all three kind of there in comparison in Romans 128 and so we'll see and even here's the King James version on the left side and even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge God gave them over to a reprobate mind and then over here in the ESB debased mind and so sometimes the words become how we read our Bible what we see it as will be subject to the translation that we have and so to kind of figure out what this word means reprobate let's go with that that word reprobate because that word is kind of taking on taking on a meaning of its own even in Western culture today we will still use that term reprobate what does that word mean well interestingly enough the word really doesn't show up a lot in the Bible if we go to the Old Testament and we're going to use the we'll use the NASB in this case we're looking at different translations but in the NASB with that word reprobate is there let's see what it says in Psalm 15 for as a matter of fact let's start in Psalm 15 1 oh Lord who may abide in your tent who may dwell on your holy hill he who walks with integrity and works righteousness and speaks truth in his heart he does not slander with his tongue nor does evil to his neighbor nor takes up a reproach against his friend in whose eyes a reprobate is despised but who honors the Lord who fears the Lord he swears to his own hurt and does not change and so we see this word reprobate here this word reprobate comes from I'm sorry this word reprobate comes from the Hebrew word maas which means to reject that word here is used it doesn't really make sense because to reject is a verb but it says in whose eyes a to reject now there's a cousin to this word in in the Greek and so I think we ought to go to the Greek and look at this as well and see how this is posed in the Greek which might help as well let's go back to it over here in the in the uh uh the New Testament Romans 1 28 the word that's used here for this word reprobate is a document well this word is based off of the word takimas so let's go ahead and click on this word and let's just see exactly what this word means uh in the Greek initially if we just look at the root of the word takimas it means to prove to test to verify to examine well that's the root of the word but then let's go down to the B dag and let's look and see what the word adakamas is which is the word we're talking about let's click on it and let's just find out what it tells us let's make a little bit bigger so you guys can see over here and let's make a little bit a little bit bigger now this word means not standing the test then unqualified worthless well these are adjectives and that can be a problem because if we're talking about an adjective it doesn't seem like that's what this is speaking of here what is a reprobate a reprobate we're speaking of a noun but it's giving us an adjective and so a person who is unqualified is that what a reprobate is okay a person who is rejected okay well the way the word is really used is to speak of one what God does to them but also how they are now the reason why I'm bringing this out is because it actually leads us into really what God is saying and there's some some bit of theological importance here in the passage so now and I know we're taking a long route to look at what this word actually means but I think it's going to be helpful so let's go back to it and let's start a little bit further before we get to verse 28 let's start in let's start in verse 26 for this cause God gave them up unto unto vile passions or vile affections for even their women did not change for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature and likewise also the man leaving the natural use of the woman burned in their lust one toward another men with men working that which is unseemly and receiving in themselves that recompense of their error which was meat of course that's the king james version of saying so let's go over here and it says and the men likewise gave the natural relations with women and they were consumed with passion for one another men committing shameless acts which men with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty of their error and here we go in verse 28 and since they did not see fit to acknowledge God God gave them up to a debase or reprobate mind to do what ought not be done now so God gave them up to a debase or to a reprobate mind the adjective but typically when we describe reprobate we also use it in the sense of a noun now what we're talking about here is what God did reprobate means to reject and so God rejects them God passes over them God just leaves them as they are but I want you to notice something about the passes that I think makes a big theological statement says even they did not like to retain in God their knowledge God gave them over to their rejected their debase their reprobated mind to do those things which are not convenient meaning these people had their own choice to do what they want to and they would not they would not adhere to one the natural rule the natural order of things in this case men with men women with women and so forth and God gave them oh just left them like they are well this seems to indicate that there might have been a bit of choice on their part why am I bringing that up well some people bring up this issue as to whether a person can choose to do right or choose to do wrong or we are just enable incapable of doing right in other words we're incapable of choosing the Calvinist would take the position that we are totally depraved so much so that we are unable to choose right and thereby also to choose God others take the stance that who don't have that view is that mankind is not incapable but just unwilling that mankind is not incapable but just unwilling and so therein lies the issue well it seems to be that they have the ability to choose and so since they chose something other than the natural use of things God left them in that state God decided I'm going to leave you like you are and I'm not going to change I'm not going to do anything with it I'm not going to fix your mind because you are so debased you are so you have as a matter of fact even to borrow the the word as user you have so rejected the natural order things which is also good use of the word you have so rejected those things that I'm going to leave you as a rejected person now maybe it's not saying all of that but there there seems to be something that's there that seems to indicate that person's natural ability to choose although they seem to naturally choose these people especially choose something vile something just utterly sinful let's go back to it verse 29 says being filled with unrighteousness fornication wickedness covetousness maliciousness full of envy murdered debate deceit malignancy whispers backbiter's haters of God despite despiteful proud bolsters and vendors of evil things disobedient parents without understanding covenant breakers without natural affection implacable unmerciful who knowing the judgment of God that which commits such things they are worthy of death not only do they not only do the same but have pleasure in them that do them and so these people understand and know the difference between right and wrong but they choose wrong as a matter of fact they choose to not only indulge in it but they have great pleasure as the bible says and so they even give approval to those who practice such things which we see now we see people who are involved in all sorts of things who also not only want you to accept what they're doing they want you to give approval to others who are doing the exact same things as a matter of fact not give approval but let's promote it let's celebrate it and let's promote it we see that in the sexuality of americans of people in canada people in europe people in south africa south america in europe all over we see this happening in courses what the bible says and so god has left them in their choice to do so which is why i say and i'll never fight someone who will say that we don't have the ability to make choices we do we absolutely do we see that here they made their choices and god left them in their choices but then there are others though who god seemed not to believe in the choices because their choices weren't as vile as these people and so the problem is that the word has kind of become the the norm or has has gained some usage but the use of the word reprobate varies it's an adjective but sometimes we use it as a noun to call a person you are a reprobate or an adjective to state that that's the kind of mind that you have either way that person if a person is a reprobate if a person has that sort of thinking god has stated that he has left them now the question is going to be though i don't have the answer or is that to say that the people even in the future after romans is that to say that god will do the exact same thing with them i probably wouldn't go that far because we see people who once looked at like that who once felt that way acted that way who have come out of that lifestyle who have come to see christ and we know that that's only a work of the lord which means that that god did not leave them in that state and so there's a difficulty with this particular passage is that he isn't just speaking of those at that time and prior because it couldn't be going forward because we see people or the people that we see who had this change in their life is it that they were just not as reprobate as these people and so i'll let you make your judgment i'll let you make your your decision but it seems there's a lot of different things that we can pull out of that but uh going into and seeing what the the meaning of the word and how it's used uh can be a little bit more confusing at times but i think it's safe to say that these are people who at that time and prior who just would not uh yield they are so violent in their lust and their passions but then again we do see that here today and so therein lies a little problem don't you see therein lies a little bit of problem because maybe this attitude is still here and then and if that's the case what do we do if that attitude is still here and if there are people who are so reprobate who are so debased in their thinking that they will not come is that to say that we we don't witness to them that we don't share the gospel with them that we don't try well the problem is we just don't know who that person is we don't know how far gone the person is we don't know how far committed the person is because there are people who seem to be committed to sin who end up coming to christ and then there are some people who seem like they might listen but they end up digging in even further so we just don't