Summary
The text in Romans 1:27 (“receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error”) is sort of ambiguous as to what the error in view is, as well as what the penalty (or negative result/consequence) for said error is. As I see things, things make the most sense if you view this clause as being inclusive and broad in its application rather than exclusive and specific.
Content
The interpretive challenge: identifying the specific referents for the error and the penalty
There are two fundamental questions when it comes to interpreting the latter part of verse 27:
- What is the error in view?
- What is the penalty in view?
Most translations leave things a bit ambiguous here in verse 27: see here for a comparison of translations of this verse across Bible versions. This is a actually a good thing, since the Greek itself is ambiguous.
ὁμοίως τε καὶ οἱ ἄρσενες ἀφέντες τὴν φυσικὴν χρῆσιν τῆς θηλείας ἐξεκαύθησαν ἐν τῇ ὀρέξει αὐτῶν εἰς ἀλλήλους, ἄρσενες ἐν ἄρσεσιν τὴν ἀσχημοσύνην κατεργαζόμενοι καὶ τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες.
The latter part of verse 27 is a participial phrase modifying the subject of the sentence, οἱ ἄρσενες. This verse actually has several different participles, such that a very literal translation would be:
And in the same way, the men also, having abandoned [aorist active participle] the natural use of women, were inflamed [aorist passive indicative] in their desire for other men, with the men committing [present middle participle] indecent acts, and receiving [present active participle] in themselves the penalty which was was proper [imperfect impersonal, from δεῖ] for their error.
In any case, the last part of the sentence (τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν ἣν ἔδει τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν ἐν ἑαυτοῖς ἀπολαμβάνοντες) does not specify exactly what the penalty is (τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν—accusative here, that which is received), nor what their error is (τῆς πλάνης αὐτῶν—genitive here, modifying τὴν ἀντιμισθίαν).
Since it is decidedly ambiguous in the Greek, leaving it ambiguous when translating it into English is a good choice.
You’ll note that of the translations, the NLT actually does not leave things ambiguous, but chooses to interpret in its translation, making the penalty explicitly/specifically tied to the homosexuality. This is typical of the NLT, which is a highly interpretive translation. Like the little girl from the Longfellow poem, when the NLT is good, it is very, very good, but when it is bad, it is horrid. The NIV is much the same, although it is somewhat less interpretive overall.
The issue with this is that it makes it seem like the text could not at all support taking the error as the idolatry/unbelief mentioned earlier in the passage, with the penalty in view then being removal of restraint such that the people in question are given over to the unnatural sexual desires (compare our past discussion re: God’s removal of restraint). Some interpreters in fact think that is really more what is in view here. For example, you might have a look at these posts on the Hermeneutics StackExchange:
These takes are completely different from the interpretation that the NLT’s translation forces. So, what are we to make of all this? Which way ought we take things?
We do not need to make an exclusive choice in interpretation here
I actually do not view this as an exclusive choice at all. Verse 24 directly says that as a result of their unbelief and idolatry, God gave them over to the shameful behavior relating to homosexuality (and compare also the first part of verse 26). But this new sinful behavior had negative consequences of its own too, in turn. In a manner of speaking then, the clause “receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error” is serving to speak to “all of the above”:
- Because of their idolatry, God gave them over to the unnatural lusts involved in homosexuality (verse 24 and 26a)
- But also because of this shameful behavior, additional negative consequences too will follow
To the extent that the error is “suppressing the truth” (Romans 1:18), the penalty is “handing them over to a reprobate mind” (Romans 1:28); to the extent that the error is specifically “abandoning natural relations,” then the penalty is the natural results of such degrading behavior (see below—the result of sin is always death, and sexual sin specifically comes in for special reproof). This concept of compounding choices and consequences is akin to the virtuous cycle of spiritual growth, but the opposite—a feedback loop of depravity.
Hopefully this explanation makes sense. It can take a bit of squinting to see how the all the bits fit together, but the passage really does make the most sense if you view this clause as being inclusive and broad in its application rather than exclusive and specific.
The penalty for sin generally: death
To go a bit deeper into what sort of “general consequences” come from sinful behavior (like the degrading of one’s body in unnatural sexual relations, as in this specific context):
The wages of sin is death
Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.
The Bible is very clear that sin leads to death. There are actually three aspects of death. When Eve ate from the tree after being tempted by Satan, she did not immediately die physically (hence Satan’s selection of this half-truth angle of attack), although now she inevitably would eventually. However, she did immediately die spiritually—she was instantly cut off from the perfect fellowship with God she had enjoyed up until this point. And this action of hers—absenting a Savior being judged in her place, as foreshadowed by the animal skins God gives in Genesis 3—would lead to eternal or (“second”) death—separation from God in hell.
For believers, sin separates us from God until we confess and restore our relationship with Him; it does inherently cause spiritual death. And if we keep on sinning despite mounting divine discipline, one of the other two types of death will inevitably come into play too. Either God will take us out of the world due to our exceedingly poor witness for His Name (the so-called “sin unto death”), or we will harden ourselves to the truth enough that we actually stop believing (apostasy).
So sin is serious business. We do not at all lose our salvation the moment we sin (or anything even remotely close to that), but should we ever give ourselves over to it completely such that we turn our backs on God, well, the Bible says:
9 Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.
9 Don’t you know that evil people will not receive God’s kingdom? Don’t be fooled. Those who commit sexual sins will not receive the kingdom. Neither will those who worship statues of gods or commit adultery. Neither will men who are prostitutes or who commit homosexual acts. 10 Neither will thieves or those who always want more and more. Neither will those who are often drunk or tell lies or cheat. People who live like that will not receive God’s kingdom.
Not inheriting the kingdom of God means not being saved: being subject to the second death.
Sexual sin specifically
The passage we just quoted from in 1 Corinthians 6 is quite relevant to our specific context here in Romans 1, for it also goes on to describe the severity of sexual sin specifically:
13 The body is not meant for sexual immorality, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! 16 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit.
18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body. 19 Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.
13 […] The body is not meant for sexual sins. The body is meant for the Lord. And the Lord is meant for the body. 14 By his power God raised the Lord from the dead. He will also raise us up. 15 Don’t you know that your bodies belong to the body of Christ? Should I take what belongs to Christ and join it to a prostitute? Never! 16 Don’t you know that when you join yourself to a prostitute, you become one with her in body? Scripture says, “The two will become one.” (Genesis 2:24) 17 But anyone who is joined to the Lord becomes one with him in spirit.
18 Keep far away from sexual sins. All the other sins a person commits are outside his body. But sexual sins are sins against one’s own body. 19 Don’t you know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit? The Spirit is in you. You have received him from God. You do not belong to yourselves. 20 Christ has paid the price for you. So use your bodies in a way that honors God.