Chapter 19
There are verses in Scripture that comfort, others that uplift and then there are verses that confront you, corner you and strip away any illusion. Romans 1:22–23 belongs firmly in that last category.
“Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.” Romans 1:22–23 (ESV)
NIV: “Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being…”
The Message: “They pretended to know it all, but were illiterate regarding life. They traded the glory of God who holds the whole world in his hands for cheap figurines…”
‘Claiming to be wise, they became fools.’ Paul isn’t describing an innocent mistake here. This is moral inversion: wisdom is performed, but folly is embraced. ‘they exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images.’ The word ‘exchange’ is central here. This isn’t ignorance; it’s a deliberate swap: The sacred for the synthetic. The eternal for the immediate. We trade the Creator for creation not because we are deceived, but because we prefer it that way. Paul’s words cut to the heart of a culture intoxicated by its own brilliance. First-century Rome was a powerhouse of art, intellect and influence. But beneath the marble façades and philosophical debates, there was a deep spiritual decay, a civilisation that bowed to its own reflection. Idolatry in Rome wasn’t just about golden statues; it was a complete worldview. It reframed divinity in man’s terms.
And as G.K. Chesterton once observed, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing — they believe in anything.”
Theologian R.C. Sproul called idolatry; “The essence of idolatry is the entertainment of thoughts about God that are unworthy of Him.”
We like to think that we have moved beyond the teachings of Romans 1, regarding idolatry as a relic of pre-modern superstition. But the gods we worship today are just better dressed. We worship influence, personal freedom, brand identity and constant self-presentation. Our idols are streamed, monetised and fed to us by algorithms. This passage fascinates me because it is both a confrontation and an invitation. It can reveal the foundations of our culture, or even of my own heart. Where have I traded the immortal for the instant? Is this the glory we traded?
It is a call to worship, not of what reflects us, but of what transforms us.
Philemon