who knowing the righteous judgment of God, that they who do such things are worthy of death, not only practise them, but have fellow delight in those who do [them].
The verse closes Paul's account of how humanity drifted away from God. It ends not with ignorance but with applause. Men who know what God has decided about such conduct still do it — and go further, cheering on others who do the same.
What "knowing" Means Here
The word Paul uses is not vague awareness. It carries the sense of personal recognition:
In some passages this compound word, especially as a verb, means "certain personal knowledge, and the recognition of the truth of a thing that follows from it." It is "recognising because we know." See Matthew 7:16, 20 … Romans 1:32.
Knowledge That Changes Nothing
Knowing about judgment does not, by itself, change how people live. That is the sting of this verse.
They are not ignorant of God's righteous judgment against such things, or of the truth that those who do them are worthy of death. They know this. The testimony of intelligence and conscience leaves them no escape. But it makes no difference to their evil course. They know that they will reap as they sow, yet go on sowing the abominations to which they have yielded themselves. Not only this, but they enjoy the evil of others, finding pleasure in the very thought of sin, and encouraging it by friendly company with those bent on it. How bold, how arrogant, how debased, how enslaved is the creature who was once "made in the image of God"!
Approval Without Temptation
Approving the sins of others is a step beyond committing them. A person swept along by his own desire at least has an appetite driving him; the spectator has none, and still sides with the wrongdoer.
Natural conscience knew that God judged such things to be worthy of death according to the just requirements of His nature. Still, they not only did them. They took pleasure in those who did them, even when their own lusts were not carrying them away.
No Shelter in "God Gave Them Up"
Earlier in the chapter God hands people over to what they have chosen. Some treat that as an excuse: if God abandoned them, who can blame them? The verse itself answers it.
It is true that in His governmental dealings God has given men over to the vices they love. He has done so because they have turned away from Him and have chosen to indulge their lusts. But despite this, they have in them by nature (such is the make-up of their being) a sense that God is just in sentencing them to death. They know they deserve to die. They know the sentence that condemns them to die is entirely just. This is true of the lowest, of the most degraded and abandoned. None, then, can excuse themselves, or their sins, in God's court on the ground that He gave them over to judicial blindness.
Where the Approval Is Loudest
If conscience knows the verdict, rulers and lawmakers might look like the exception. Paul's closing line refuses that comfort, and the ancient historians agree.
Someone may ask: were there not rulers, kings, and magistrates who made laws against wickedness and punished crime? "Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." So then, as now, the rulers or chiefs are the most wicked of all. For proof we have only to read any of the ancient historians. Leave man to himself, and the more power he has, the greater his wickedness … Crowds rushed together into amphitheatres to feast their eyes on cruel wickedness.
The Same List Later
This list of evils is not left behind in the pagan past. Paul's description of the last days repeats it almost word for word, this time among people who claim to follow God.
Scripture reveals that "in the last days there will come times of difficulty" (2 Timothy 3:1). Then follows, almost word for word, the same description of the professing church that Scripture gives of the pagan world under the sentence of a debased mind (compare 2 Timothy 3:2-5 with Romans 1:28-32). … At the same time there is a form of godliness. It may be something very beautiful to attract the eye, but there is rottenness and dead men's bones inside.
Summary
- Known. The word for "knowing" means personal recognition, not a vague hunch.
- Kept. That knowledge changes nothing on its own; they know they will reap as they sow, and go on sowing.
- Cheered. Worse than doing evil is enjoying it in others, with no desire of their own pushing them.
- Excused? Being "given up" by God is no defence; even the most degraded still admit the sentence against them is just.
- Everywhere. The pattern runs from ancient rulers and crowds at the arena to a religion that looks beautiful outside and is rotten inside.