God Abandoned The Gentiles?

The below passage struck me as never before:

Romans 1:24 NLT - "So God abandoned them to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired. As a result, they did vile and degrading things with each other's bodies."

If I said that I abandoned my wife and my children, wouldn't this indicate that I, at one time, held a relationship with them? Perhaps that analogy is off, or perhaps spot on, but at what point in the timeline of the world, did God abandon the Gentiles? As far as I am aware, there is no other mention of this in the Bible . . . or is there?

The verse says something other than what you assumed. The rest of the verse says "to do whatever shameful things their hearts desired." IOW God did not stop them from following their wicked ways.

I don't follow you at all.

No offense please, but did we read the full chapter? Well what made you believe "God Abandoned The Gentiles?" this?

Yes, I have read the entire Chapter. Yes, I came to the conclusion that I obviously offered.

“For 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.22 Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.”

This is why, in scripture, you will not find “non-believers” only “unbelievers”. Unbelief is active and requires volition. Everyone knows God exists but few follow Him. They are without excuse.

It's not a generalization about "the gentiles"; the context is a very specific group of people: Those who suppress the truth in unrightousness.


18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness. 19For what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood from His workmanship, so that men are without excuse.
21For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another. 25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise!f Amen.

You got it! Thank you so much! I will correct my notes asap. Thank you!

In the beginning before israel existed as a nation or even a person ( Jacob ) everyone was of a single nation and language would m talking about before the law was given through Moses before israels seventy went into Egypts land of goshen before Abraham received his promise even

“And the whole earth was of one language, and of one speech. And the LORD said, Behold, the people is one, and they have all one language; and this they begin to do: and now nothing will be restrained from them, which they have imagined to do. Go to, let us go down, and there confound their language, that they may not understand one another's speech. So the LORD scattered them abroad from thence upon the face of all the earth: and they left off to build the city. Therefore is the name of it called Babel; because the LORD did there confound the language of all the earth: and from thence did the LORD scatter them abroad upon the face of all the earth.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭11:1, 6-9‬ ‭KJV‬‬

See there was just the children of men at this point there were no separate nations at all this is even before Egypt began to rule the ancient world it’s how the nations and languages and peoples came to be divided and scattered across the world

God had created them all and allowed man to continue through man’s descendant Noah and his three sons

after this happened some time later given the genealogies we then are introduced to Abram the Hebrew

Which of course he is promised by God two things that he would give his descendants the land he showed Abraham for an inheritance and that he would bless all people through Abram if he obeyed the lord and followed where he led him

this is where God selected only abrams descendants only because tbey were his descendants Abraham was Gods friend and God made a promise to him to make his children a great nation with twelve princes and give them the land of Israel

later on his grandson Jacob , is renamed israel and has twelve recognized sons by God that formed the twelve original tribes of Israel that formed the nation of Israel.

My point to all this nonsense is that Gods wrath began to come into the world back when he was dealing g with mankind in the first generations before the flood but they had rejected him

“And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years. And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:3, 5-6, 12-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

After that later is when he chose Abraham and then later israel received tbier promised land before that everyone was gentile and no one was elect by promise but Noah and his sons had been saved by grace and through his faith

“But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“By faith Noah,

being warned of God of things not seen as yet,

moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭11:7‬ ‭

god began a relationship with all mankind in the beginning with Adam and Eve everyone dates back to their bloodline

For since the creation of the world…

“although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but they became futile in their thinking and darkened in their foolish hearts. 22Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools, 23and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
24Therefore God gave them over in the desires of their hearts to impurity for the dishonoring of their bodies with one another.

“And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence. And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth.”
‭‭Genesis‬ ‭6:5-6, 11-13‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We continually hear what God said and then we hear other ideas like in the beginning “ don’t eat the fruit you’ll die for certain !” Said God

“ you will not certainly die it will make you wise like gods “ said a crafty creature

25They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator,

who we obey is actually who we are worshipping and serving is the idea had Adam and Eve obeyed God and not eaten the fruit was different than if they followed the lie of the serpent and disobeyed Gods warning meant to keep them safe .

Man always hears Gods word and then shortly after we listen to other things we hear instead

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.”
‭‭2 Timothy‬ ‭4:3-4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

At some point God let man have thier own corrupted imaginations and devices and let them have the dominion and stepped away and just observed them from heaven

“The LORD is in his holy temple, The LORD's throne is in heaven: His eyes behold, his eyelids try, the children of men.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭11:4‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“For he hath looked down from the height of his sanctuary; From heaven did the LORD behold the earth;”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭102:19‬ ‭KJV‬‬

“They are corrupt, they have done abominable works, There is none that doeth good. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, To see if there were any that did understand, And seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: There is none that doeth good, no, not one.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭14:1-3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

He doesn’t want to destroy mankind but we keep rejecting the things that would save us from the destruction he’s warning us again and again about it’s been going on since Eden and the fruit

that’s an important chapter in Roman’s it’s telling us why we need to be born again and be redeemed and believe the New Testament

Paul is building an argument in the book of Romans. This is common rhetoric in Paul’s day. In sum, Paul is building a case for the Gospel. The first chapter shows how the Gentiles are under sin because they embraced ignorance and rejected God in spite of the revelation they had received. The second chapter shows how the Jews are under sin because, although they had the Law, they failed to obey it. Chapter 3 shows how God has offered grace to both Jews and Gentiles because all people are under sin and in need of forgiveness.

So, it’s important not to lose sight of Paul’s point. His point is that both Jews and Gentiles need the cross of Christ. The culmination of his argument is found in Romans 3

From Romans 1:26-28

These ladies are looking more and more real as the years go by, Magenta.

God simply let the Gentiles do as they please. This was at the time when the people of the world, even though they knew God, tuned away from God. It's not clear when this happened, but homosexuality was around in Abraham's day.

19 because that which is known of God is manifest in them, for God has manifested it to them.

20 For his attributes which are invisible, since the creation of the world, are clearly seen, being perceived by the things that are made, both his eternal power and divinity, so that they are without excuse;

^...Are people thinking these are sinners or believers/saved of God?

Wasn't everyone a Gentile before Abraham/Isaac (Jacob/Israel)?
Before Israel existed?

True.

Just follow that verse to its logical conclusion.

Barnes' Notes on the Bible

Wherefore - That is, because they were unwilling to retain him in their knowledge, and chose to worship idols. Here is traced the practical tendency of paganism; not as an innocent and harmless system, but as resulting in the most gross and shameless acts of depravity.
God gave them up - He abandoned them, or he ceased to restrain them, and suffered them to act out their sentiments, and to manifest them in their life. This does not imply, that he exerted any positive influence in inducing them to sin, any more than it would if we should seek, by argument and entreaty, to restrain a headstrong youth, and when neither would prevail, should leave him to act out his propensities. and to go as he chose to ruin. It is implied in this,

(1) That the tendency of man was to these sins;

(2) That the tendency of idolatry was to promote them; and,

(3) That all that was needful, in order that people should commit them, was for God to leave him to follow the devices and desires of his own heart; compare Psalm 81:12; 2 Thessalonians 2:10, 2 Thessalonians 2:12.

To uncleanness - To impurity, or moral defilement; particularly to those impurities which he proceeds to specify, Romans 1:26, etc.

Through the lusts of their own hearts - Or, in consequence of their own evil and depraved passions and desires. He left them to act out, or manifest, their depraved affections and inclinations.

To dishonour - To disgrace; Romans 1:26-27.

Between themselves - Among themselves; or mutually. They did it by unlawful and impure connections with one another.