Romans 1:30 Meaning: Haters of God or Hateful to God?

The Greek behind backbiters is katalalous. It combines kata, meaning against, with laleo, to speak. These are people who speak against others, slanderers, defamers. The wound is in the tongue; the damage is done to a reputation. Paul puts this sin first in the list of seven in this verse, as if speaking against others is the doorway to worse things.

The most debated word is theostugeis, translated hateful to God. Does it mean actively hating God, or being hated by God? The word can mean either, but most commentators here take it actively: those who hate God. That fits the context. Paul has been describing people who suppress truth, refuse thanks, and exchange God’s glory for lies. Their hearts are hostile. This word names that hostility plainly. It is a chilling diagnosis, but an honest one.

Then comes epheuretas kakōn, inventors of evil things. Not just doing wrong when it comes naturally, but putting imagination to work, thinking up new ways to harm and defy. The picture is of a mind so oriented away from God that it becomes creative in evil.

Christians across traditions have read this verse with sober attention. On the word theostugeis, some emphasize the active sense: people who hate God. Calvin and Barnes take this view, pointing to the context of rebellion and enmity. Others, like the Cambridge Bible, note that the classical Greek usage leans toward the passive sense: hateful to God, meaning abhorrent in His sight. Gill mentions both possibilities, though he prefers the active reading because the list describes what people do. What unites these readings is a shared recognition: whether we say humanity hates God or is hateful to God, the gulf between us and Him is deep, and we cannot cross it on our own.

A common misreading is to take hateful to God as meaning God has an automatic, unconditional hostility toward certain people, as if Paul is listing those whom God rejects rather than describing what sinful people actually do. In fact, the list is part of Paul’s argument that all humanity has turned away, and these sins are the fruit of that turning. The focus is on human character and action, not on God’s eternal decree. Understanding this keeps the weight where it belongs, on our need for rescue, not on speculation about who God hates.

This week, pay attention to your own tongue. When was the last time you spoke about someone behind their back in a way you would never say to their face? Katalalous, slander, is easy to justify as a prayer request or a sigh of frustration. Paul calls it what it is. Also notice the creative side of sin: the small ways you find to bend rules or justify corners you cut. The verse asks you to sit still long enough to see how far your own heart can drift from God. Then let that sight drive you back to the One who does not hate you, but welcomes you home.