Romans 1:28
“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not convenient;”
King James Version (KJV)
Read this verse in context with translation switching:
Read Full Chapter →Because they refused to keep God in mind, He gave them over to a corrupted mind and improper conduct.
What Does Romans 1:28 Mean?
Paul names the choice and its result a third time. Because people did not see fit to keep God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased, failing mind, leading them to do what is not fitting.
Notice the correspondence: they would not retain God, so they were left to a mind that cannot hold what is good. The judgment fits the refusal. A mind that pushes out God loses its compass for right and wrong. Yet the very naming of this downward path is an act of mercy, for it calls the reader to do the opposite: to gladly retain God in thought and knowledge, where the mind is kept sound and life is kept whole.
In the Original Language
adokimos (ἀδόκιμος), 'reprobate' -- failing the test, unfit, disqualified after examination.