“They are backstabbers, haters of God, insolent, proud, and boastful. They invent new ways of sinning, and they disobey their parents” (Romans 1:30 NLT).
We may have a tendency to rush past these references to the insolent or arrogant (CSB) individuals who are mentioned here in Romans 1:30. This is especially true in light of the more prominent behaviors that appear throughout Romans 1:29-31. But a cursory glance at this reference might overlook the highly inappropriate conduct that is described for us within this passage. For instance, this word identifies…
- “…one who behaves with humiliating and unconscionable arrogance to those who are not powerful enough to retaliate.” (1)
- “…one who, uplifted with pride, either heaps insulting language upon others or does them some shameful act of wrong.” (2)
- “It describes the man who is wantonly and sadistically cruel and insulting. Aristotle describes it as the spirit which harms and grieves someone else, not for the sake of revenge and not for any advantage that may be gained from it, but simply for the sheer pleasure of hurting. There are people who get pleasure from seeing someone wince at a cruel saying. There are people who take a devilish delight in inflicting mental and physical pain on others. That is hubris (G5196); it is the sadism which finds delight in hurting others simply for the sake of hurting them.” (3)
To borrow a phrase that appears in the following chapter of this epistle, we might say to those who engage in such behavior, “…you are treasuring up for yourself wrath in the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5).
Another related characteristic is pride. Pride is emblematic of those who consider themselves to be superior to others or those who possess an inflated opinion of themselves. That attitude subsequently reveals itself in the form of arrogant, contemptuous behavior towards others. While there may be many contributing factors that help explain those responses, the important thing is to identify these attitudes and prayerfully seek God’s enablement to remove them from our lives.
Paul the Apostle will later provide us with an effective way to guard against pride later in Romans 12:3: “I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one” (CSB). Another, more direct, incentive appears in the Biblical book of Proverbs: “Pride comes before destruction, and an arrogant spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18 CSB).
(1) F. F. Bruce, The Letter of Paul to the Roman [p. 81] quoted in Notes on Romans 2025 Edition, Dr. Thomas L. Constable https://soniclight.com/tcon/notes/pdf/romans.pdf<s/mall>
(2) Rich Cathers, Romans 1:24-32. (n.d.). https://bstudy2.calvaryfullerton.org/45%20Rom/2008/45%20Rom%2001d.htm
(3) Barclay, William. “Commentary on Romans 1”. “William Barclay’s Daily Study Bible“. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/eng/dsb/romans-1.html. 1956-1959.