Sin’s Downward Spiral
Have you ever known a stubborn person who was determined to do things their own way, or perhaps raised a child like that and finally said, “Okay, have it your way,” letting them face the consequences? This is what God does when He gives someone over. Throughout Scripture, God yields people to choices and outcomes: in the Old Testament, He handed Israel’s enemies over for destruction (Exodus 23:31, Deuteronomy 7:23–24), yet He also gave Israel over to her enemies when she proved unfaithful (Leviticus 26:25, Judges 2:14, 6:1).
Similarly, in Romans 1:24–32, Paul writes three times that God "gave them over": first to impurity through the lusts of their hearts (v. 24), then to degrading passions (v. 26), and finally to a depraved mind (v. 28). Looking closely at Paul’s words reveals why God does this, what it looks like in practice, and how we can avoid these same consequences in our own lives.