Romans 1:32
Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them. Who knowing the judgment of God, that they which commit such things are worthy of death, not only do the same, but have pleasure in them that do them.
The verse is to be read and weighed with everything specified in Romans 1 and given in its full force, as part of the wrath of God revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men and women who hold the truth in unrighteousness. Particular notice is to be taken of it together with the gospel as the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believes, the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith, the just living by faith, and that which may be known of God manifest in men because God has showed it to them, applied to ministers who preach the Word, to churches needing a thorough work, and to every family needing conversion, calling for being sanctified through belief of the truth. Romans 1:18-32 gives a true description of the world before Christ's second appearing, describing people who persist in vile practices and destroy themselves through corrupt habits and who will not have eternal life.
Romans 1:28-32 describes what happens to those who resist the Spirit of God step by step almost imperceptibly until spiritual blindness takes the place of light, because they do not like to retain God in their knowledge God gives them over to a reprobate mind to do what is not fitting, filled with all unrighteousness, envy, deceit, pride, disobedience, covenant-breaking, and lack of mercy and natural affection, though knowing the judgment of God that those who commit such things are worthy of death yet not only doing the same but having pleasure in those who do them. When people cease to recognize God, they also cease to respect other people and become more strongly inclined to evil, and love of sin leads them to attribute their own traits to God, and that false picture of God strengthens sin. Rejecting God's precepts leads people to practise the sins that brought judgment upon the heathen, so that sin no longer appears sinful to them and they give free rein to lust. People who know God's judgment against sin are accountable when they practise those sins and take pleasure in them, including lustful conduct that brought judgments upon the heathen, since rejecting God's precepts makes sin seem acceptable and righteousness undesirable.
The verse shows that God judges backbiting as deserving death, classing backbiters with haters of God, inventors of evil things, those without natural affection, implacable, unmerciful, and those full of envy, murder, debate, deceit and malignity. When the Holy Spirit is provoked to depart, people are led to do what they once saw clearly to be decided sin, to misconstrue and ridicule solemn Scripture warnings and every appeal and reproof, to despise the entreaties of the Spirit, and to disobey the commandments of God they once vindicated, until truth is no more truth to them and no pleading can reach them. The verse describes families who claim to be sons and daughters of God, fathers and mothers especially, who have their names on the church record yet are not laborers together with God and fail their accountability as faithful, exemplary believers. It gives their true experience and exposes a work greatly neglected in churches and home life that cannot be neglected without guilt, showing a class who need to become cleansed from every species of iniquity, whose knowledge of the truth does not cleanse them because they do not understand and obey the sanctifying grace of God in the home.
The verse means holding truth as supposed belief while denying it in works, failing to let practical truth sanctify the heart of the receiver and failing to obey the truth in righteousness. The verse places grave responsibility both on those who engage in evil and on those who approve of it. Those who unite in calling the actions of an unrighteous man just and righteous become partakers of his unrighteous deeds, and by passing by his evil propensities without reproof they strengthen evil in him and deceive him and are united with him in the sin, and they will share his punishment when it is administered in the presence of an assembled universe.