Serving self never takes us to God, but away from him. And if we persist in this long enough, God will finally give us over and let us have our way. So we must never forget that God will ‘not always strive with man’ (Genesis 6:3). He will not always extend mercy to us.

Most Christians would be aware of the fact that in Romans 1 we find the threefold phrase, “God gave them over”. In the important portion of Scripture, Romans 1:18-32 we find God’s judgment being poured out on the wicked and unrepentant. The three verses that contain these words are these:

-v. 24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity…

-v. 26 For this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions….

-v. 28 God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done…

When sinners keep shaking their fists at God, and spurning his mercy, his grace does not go on forever. When it is clear that some folks want to have nothing to do with God, and prefer to spit in his face, then God gives them over – to their own sins and the consequences of their sins. I have often commented on this crucial text, such as in this article: https://billmuehlenberg.com/2014/03/18/our-abandoned-reprobate-society/

But the concept of God giving people over – and the very same phrase – is found in other parts of Scripture, most notably in the psalter and in the book of Acts. Let me examine each one in a bit more detail, and offer a few thoughts from other commentators.

Psalm 81:11-12

“But my people did not listen to my voice;
    Israel would not submit to me.
So I gave them over to their stubborn hearts,
    to follow their own counsels.”

The Old Testament of course records the sad history of the Israelites, in which God keeps doing great acts of grace and deliverance for them, but they end up forgetting his goodness and refusing to heed his voice and his commands. As we read in verses 13-14:

“Oh, that my people would listen to me,
    that Israel would walk in my ways!
I would soon subdue their enemies
    and turn my hand against their foes.”

One commentator that can be featured here is Richard Phillips. He reminds us that this was his own people that God was giving over, and he says this about this text:

This is often God’s judgment on rebellious people or nations: he gives us up to the very sins and idols that we have insisted on serving. J. J. Stewart Perowne refers to this as “the greatest and most fearful of all God’s punishments.” It is terrible because it submits us to the calamities of our own folly, yet it is often needed to break our will so that God may remold it in true faith.

Historically, this “giving over” took a number of forms….

He looks at how this played out in the book of Judges. He then reminds us of the parable of the prodigal son. And then he takes us back to Paul and Romans 1. He continues:

The widespread societal championing of homosexuality, as is now happening in the once-Christian West, is so rare in history that we should suspect it as a form of divine judgement. Paul confirms that a society that intentionally rejects God’s word for sinful pleasure can expect to be given over to the service of idolatry in this way.

There is good news, however, in that the grace of God endures for those who turn from their misery back to him in faith. In this light, how remarkable is the exclamation from the heart of the very God who has just spoken of giving Israel over to sin: “Oh, that my people would listen to me, that Israel would walk in my ways!” (Ps. 81:13). Here is the heart of God for his people who turn away in sin and experience the chastisement that their restoration requires. It is the same heart that spoke with tears when Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem that had rejected him and forfeited salvation: “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem . . . ! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Matt. 23:37).

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