Romans 1:28 - Is Being a Reprobate Irreversible?

Romans 1:28 - Even as they refused to have God in their knowledge, God gave them up to a reprobate mind, to do those things which are not fitting. -- World English Bible translation.

Some have thought that this scripture applies to a class that God has eternally condemned, and who cannot repent or ever come back to God since God [Jehovah] gave them up. Is this, however, what is being spoken of here?

The Greek word from which the word "reprobate" is translated is Adokimos. This word means:

not standing the test, not approved
properly used of metals and coins
that which does not prove itself such as it ought
unfit for, unproved, spurious, reprobate

The New American Standard renders the word "Adokimos" as "depraved," thus a "depraved mind," a mind that has become lowered from its original intentions.

As such, in Romans 1:28, it is describing the condition of mankind as condemned in Adam (Romans 5:12-19), which, as far as our flesh is concerned, includes you and I, and every other descendant of Adam. This can be seen from Paul's statement in Romans 2:1: "Therefore you are without excuse, man, whoever you are who judge. For in that which you judge another, you condemn yourself. For you who judge practice the same things." At one time or another we all have practiced the things that we should not practice, and have fallen short of the glory of God due to sin. (Romans 3:23) Paul is laying the background for what he presents later, as he states: "We previously charged both Jews and Greeks, that they are all under sin." (Romans 3:9) All mankind are under the condemnation of sin, and, as such, have been turned over to a mind that falls short of the glory of God, falling short of proving itself to as it ought to be. (Romans 3:23) This includes both you and I, and everyone else who has descended from Adam. We are born into this world under the subjection to its present sun of futility/vanity in an unjust, crooked, condition. (Ecclesiastes 1:2,3,13-15; Romans 8:20), under the bondage of corruption. -- Romans 8:21.

The apostle Paul, speaking of mankind as represented in the first parents, Adam and Eve, says that "knowing God, they didn't glorify him as God, neither gave thanks, but became vain in their reasoning, and their senseless heart was darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, and traded the glory of the incorruptible God for the likeness of an image of corruptible man, and of birds, and four-footed animals, and creeping things." (Romans 1:20-22, WEB) As a result, God "gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to uncleanness" (Romans 1:24, WEB), and thus God subjected the creation to vanity under the bondage of corruption, the corruption that is now in the present evil age through lust. (Romans 8:20,21; Galatians 1:4; 2 Peter 1:4)

Being made crooked by God (as a result of the sin of Adam), all mankind are dying by means of Adam's sin. (Romans 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22) According to Ecclesiastes 1, however, that which God has made crooked, unjustified, cannot be made straight. Does this mean that there is no hope at all for mankind, that all mankind, made crooked in Adam, can never be made straight? As dying in Adam, this is true: none can be made straight, and it from this standpoint, the standpoint of the present sun and its vanity, that we read the statements in Ecclesiastes. But God sent his son Jesus to take Adam's place as an atoning sacrifice (Romans 3:25; 5:12-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22; 1 Timothy 2:5,6; 1 John 2:2; 4:10), and thus he becomes to us the "last Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45), the means by which God can bring regeneration to man. (Titus 3:5) Thus, the promise is of a new sun, a sun of righteousness (justness, straightness), who will arise with healing in his wings. This new sun of righteousness will replace the present sun of crookedness/vanity that is spoken of in Ecclesiastes. -- Malachi 4:2.

Man's nature was not originally sinful. God originally made man with a design to be morally upright, straight, righteous, in perfect alignment [justified] with God's righteousness. (Ecclesiastes 7:9) He had no flawed character, but his character was in perfect accord with likeness of his Creator. He was "crowned with glory", and had not at that time fallen "short of the glory of God." (Psalm 8:5; Romans 3:23) Nevertheless, although Adam was created incorrupt, he was corruptible, that is, there was a possibility of his becoming morally corrupt, which he did, and thus he brought mankind into a "bondage of corruption." (Romans 8:21) It is only after Adam disobeyed, in serving the creature rather than the Creator, that God "gave them [mankind, as represented in Adam and Eve] up to a reprobate [depraved] mind." (Romans 1:28) Ever since then, mankind, alienated from God, are, by nature, children of disobedience, children of wrath, whose flesh by nature is sinful. -- Romans 8:3; Ephesians 2:2,3.

The first judgment upon mankind was represented in Adam. For man's own good and harmony, God gave a simple command by which Adam could prove his loyalty, his love, his obedience to his Creator. The command, in effect, was a covenant with Adam, and by extension, Eve. Had they obeyed, they could continued to live on forever; if they disobeyed, they would die. Such a command would be needed in order for the intelligent creature to acknowledge the source of power, the source of righteousness, etc. Such a command was necessary for mankind's own good, so that harmony and peace could be maintained. Without such a command, creatures with freewill would be forever in chaos, with many claiming the right to rule over mankind.

Most know the Bible narrative. One of the angels decided that he would exalt himself to be "like the Most High" (Isaiah 14:14), and proposed witchcraft, cunning (crafty) wisdom, by means of a different covenant with Eve, with the thought that such disobedience would not bring her death, but that she would become wise like the ELOHIM [probably referring to the angelic spirit beings] if she ate of the tree, and also with the claim that the Creator was deceiving her, and keeping her from something that she should be seeking to have. Thus he implanted a desire in Eve for that which God had commanded against. Eve could have thought many things, but she pondered over what the serpent had told, until she developed in herself the lust to eat that fruit. (James 1:14,15) Eve ate, thinking thereby that she had done something good, and had become wise. Professing to be wise, Paul says, they became fools. -- Romans 1:22.

Adam could have passed the test. He had the means to pass. He could have chosen to obey, but he didn’t have enough faith and love for his Creator. He didn’t have enough experience. He didn’t have enough confidence in his Creator. Adam was created "good" -- in the full glory of God until he chose to disobey; when Adam disobeyed, mankind then became "vessels of wrath made for destruction" (Romans 1:25-31; 9:22), became by nature "children of wrath," "sons of disobedience," (Ephesians 2:2,3) and all mankind in Adam fell short of the glory of God, and are condemned as sinners and to its penalty in Adam. -- Romans 1:25-31; 3:23; 5:15-19; 1 Corinthians 15:21,22.

Adam, although he was incorrupt before he sinned, was corruptible. Adam became corrupt, unjust, crooked, not straight, when he sinned. On the other hand, Jesus, as a man, proved himself incorruptible; he proved his love and loyalty to God beyond any shadow of a doubt, and thus he put on incorruption, bringing life and incorruption to light for mankind. As such, he is the incorruptible seed, the Logos of God who lives forever (1 Peter 1:23), the life-giving spirit, father to the human race in the sense of his taking Adam's place as the "last Adam." -- 1 Corinthians 15:45.

When one becomes a follower of Jesus, and receives the holy spirit, he, in a sense, has two minds, the depraved mind of the flesh is still with him, but as a new creature in Christ he also has the mind of the spirit. (Romans 8:5-7; Colossians 2:18; 3:2) The new creature, the new man (2 Corinthians 5:17; Romans 4:24; 6:6; Ephesians 4:22; Colossians 3:9,10) is walking after the spirit, not the sinful flesh. Nevertheless, a battle of the minds takes place, whether to be in subjection to the mind of the spirit, or whether to be subjection to the mind of the flesh, carnally minded. (Romans 6:19; 8:6,7; 1 Corinthians 3:1,3;4; 2 Corinthians 10:4) It is the new creature, the new man, with the mind of the spirit, not the body of flesh with its depraved mind, that God recognizes and deals with, although the blood of Jesus covers the sins of the flesh, by whose death the old man is reckoned as dead, it is the new creature that is alive, and the new creature is expected to rule over the body of flesh and its depraved desires. -- Romans 6:6,11; 1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Corinthians 5:10; Galatians 2:19,20; Colossians 3:3-5.

However, God subjected his human creation to a bondage of corruption, crookedness (the opposite of justified), vanity, and futility, that the lessons of such a subjection might be learned once for all time, but not without hope. (Ecclesiastes 1:2,13; Romans 8:20,21) To keep this from getting too long, I will sum up by saying that the Bible account reveals that God created man sinless and upright, an earthly image of himself; that man sought out various inventions and defiled himself (Genesis 1:27; Romans 5:12; Ecclesiastes 7:29); that all being sinners, the race was unable to help itself, and none could by any means redeem his brother or give to God a ransom for him (Psalm 49:7,15); that Yahweh in compassion and love had made provision for this; that accordingly, the Son of God became a man, and gave mans ransom-price; that, as a reward for this sacrifice, and in order for the great work of atonement to be completed, he was highly exalted, even to a plane above the angels; and that in due time he will bring to pass a restoration of the race to the original perfection and to every blessing then possessed. These things are clearly taught in the Scriptures, from beginning to end, but this theme is reiterated from different standpoints several times in Paul's letter to the Romans.

Today, many may work in prisons with hope of rehabilitating or changing the way that criminals think so as to make them better citizens. Of course, the rehabilitation that the world offers is rehabilitation to the common reprobate condition of mankind. The reprobate mind cannot make straight another's reprobate mind. Nevertheless, mankind's noble attempts at trying to rehabilitate those who are deviant according to the reprobate mind standard does provide an illustration of the much grander rehabilitation that is to take place in the Millennial Age. What man cannot do, God can do as a result of the ransom sacrifice of Jesus.

Nevertheless, there will be those who, in the coming age of favor, will willfully refuse to be rehabilitated so as to have their name written in the Book of Life that will opened to them at that time. (Isaiah 26:10; Revelation 20:12-15) There remains no more sacrifice for sin for them. -- Hebrews 10:26.