“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting” (Romans 1:28).
The first thing we see here is “They (which is the unbelieving) did not acknowledge God any longer.” This tells us that they know there is a God, but they choose not to recognize Him as God any longer. The unbelieving make the first move by turning away from God. It is then that God lets them do what they want to do. He no longer strives with them.
God then gives them over to a “debased mind” (NKJV) or as in the KJV “reprobate mind.” The Greek word translated reprobate in the New Testament is Adokimos, which means literally unapproved, that is rejected, and did not pass the test.
The definition of “debased” is “To lower in character, quality or value; to degrade, adulterate; to cause to deteriorate.”
Debased is often used in the context of two things; Coins and people. To debase a coin is to replace some of the precious metal in the coin with a metal of lesser value. To debase a mind is to replace the knowledge of God with the things of the world. When God sees that they no longer acknowledge Him as God “That they do not pass the test.”
He allows them to continue in their path of destruction. They don’t fill their mind with the word of God through the preaching of the word or through the study of the written word of God but they go after the lusts of the world.
“To the pure all things are pure, but to those who are defiled and unbelieving nothing is pure; but even their mind and conscience are defiled” (Titus 1:15).
“As they choose not to continue in the knowledge of God, which alone guides our minds to true wisdom, the Lord gave them a perverted mind, which can choose nothing that is right” (John Calvin).
Those with a debase mind have a corrupt way of thinking because their minds have been watered down with the way that the world thinks. Can a Christian make debased decision? Yes we can. We need to keep our minds saturated with the Word of God so that our decisions aren’t watered down with the world’s view.
I believe in these last days we are seeing a great deal of chaos and confusion in the world. People are so disorganized these days they have trouble scheduling appointments and planning their days. They continually have to change their schedules because of conflicts, and thus spread their chaos to others who have to change their planned out schedule to accommodate them
I am also noticing that more people are showing signs of OCD. Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is a disorder of the brain and behavior. OCD causes severe anxiety in those affected. Obsessions are typically accompanied by intense and uncomfortable feelings such as fear, disgust, doubt, or a feeling that things have to be done in a way that is “Just Right.” They want everything to be perfect.
Let’s keep our minds filled with the Word of God and don’t let the ways of the world water down our way of thinking. There is so much chaos in the world today, that it is hard to imagine what it will be like after the Rapture of the church.