“Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves: Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.” (Romans 1:24–25, KJV 1900)
I have mentioned this before, but I worked in the printing industry for over twenty years. Much of this was in engineering and design of equipment. I would often be in conferences discussing the engineering design applications with various clients. Sometimes, we would enter into discussions where the client would specify the design and I knew it just would not work. Often, after discussing the design for hours, I would say, “Ok, it won’t work, but go ahead and do it your way.”
In a way, that is the Problem Paul is talking about here with the depravity of man. God gives those who do not honor Him, or give thanks and have chosen to worship the creation rather than Himself, over to their own evil desires. Man’s sinister and darkened hearts love evil rather than the truth. So, He removed restraint and let them follow their own sinful passions. These sinful passions took their full course in their lives, leading to the vilest outcomes. Thus, sin binds them and brings forth death. The result is a multitude of people with the same evil bent, dishonoring themselves in their bodily passions.
However, let us look at this passage from a more positive perspective, at least as far as it concerns those who do honor and worship God. In contrast to those who do not recognize God, to us who do worship Him, He grants power to restrain the evil desires of the flesh. He provides restraint. This does not mean that the faithful never sin, but that God works in His faithful by His Spirit to keep them from the rampant control of the flesh. We therefore should seek to honor God, to worship Him, and to walk by faith, knowing that He will always lead us on the path of righteousness.
Renewing the Heart 