Romans 1:25

They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is forever worthy of praise! Amen.

Berean Standard Bible

Follow its threads on the canvas →

Study note

Setting — Paul writes to the church in Rome, mid-argument, having already stated that God "gave them over" in v.24. This verse is the escalation: the handover produces the worship of the creature.

The words — μετήλλαξαν (metēllaxan) marks a deliberate, active exchange, not a drift. The prefix μετά- signals movement away from one thing and into another, making the act intentional.

The thread — Habakkuk 2:18 calls idols "teachers of lies," and Jeremiah 13:25 ties the same exchange to forgetting God. 1 John 2:15 restates the dynamic in positive terms: loving the world excludes the Father.

Why it lands — It names a pattern, not just a historical error. The reader is asked to check whether their own "truth" is a lie they have chosen, and whether their devotion runs to the created thing rather than the Creator.

Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.

The Greek words

King James Version

Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

Cross-references

Habakkuk 2:18 What use is an idol, that a craftsman should carve it—or an image, a teacher of lies? For its maker trusts in his own creation; he makes idols that cannot speak.
Jeremiah 13:25 This is your lot, the portion I have measured to you,” declares the LORD, “because you have forgotten Me and trusted in falsehood.
1 John 2:15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
Isaiah 44:20 He feeds on ashes. His deluded heart has led him astray, and he cannot deliver himself or say, “Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”
Amos 2:4 This is what the LORD says: “For three transgressions of Judah, even four, I will not revoke My judgment, because they reject the Law of the LORD and fail to keep His statutes; they are led astray by the lies in which their fathers walked.
2 Corinthians 11:31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus, who is forever worthy of praise, knows that I am not lying.
Jeremiah 10:14 Every man is senseless and devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols. For his molten images are a fraud, and there is no breath in them.
Romans 9:5 Theirs are the patriarchs, and from them proceeds the human descent of Christ, who is God over all, forever worthy of praise! Amen.
Romans 1:23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images of mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
1 John 5:20 And we know that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true—in His Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.