Romans 1:28-31

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.  Romans 1:28-31 ESV

Once again we see man rejecting God in favor of sinful pursuits, and God allowing man to do so.

And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done

A debased, also interpreted reprobate, mind is one that is unacceptable, evil, lower in quality ... God created man in His own image, yet (as we have seen in vs 24, 26, and 28) He surrendered us over to the lusts of the flesh because it was what we wanted ... darkness and separation from God is what we chose.

Paul uses a very strong word to describe just how bad our situation really is...filled. This literally means to cram (a net), completely, fully - simply as full as something can get. In our lost state we are filled with all manner of unrighteousness.

1 John 5:17 reveals to us God's thoughts on unrighteousness - "all unrighteousness (wrongdoing) is sin." - and Paul has laid out in this chapter that this unrighteousness has affected our heart and our mind...what we desire and how we think. We are utterly and completely lost, without any reliable compass.

Once he has very thoroughly laid out the fact that we chose this path, how completely lost we are, and how at enmity with God we are, Paul describes what all flows out of this sinful heart and mind.

evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.

While we may say to ourselves "I might not be perfect, but I'm not evil, I've never murdered someone," - we must realize that any and all of these are unrighteous, sinful in the eyes of God. We also must realize that doing these things is not what make us sinners, these are actions that flow out of the sinful hearts and minds that God has surrendered us to. 

Fixing or eliminating any these in our life will never restore our hearts and minds...God has to do that...and it requires blood to be shed, a perfect sacrifice to be made. Thank You Jesus!

If you feel led to share any thoughts or wisdom on these verses please do so! I look forward to growing through any thoughts you might share!