Romans 1:22 (KJV)

Passage

Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Nearby Context

Romans 1:20 For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:

Romans 1:21 Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.

Romans 1:22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Romans 1:23 And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.

Romans 1:24 Wherefore God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own hearts, to dishonour their own bodies between themselves:

Study Lenses

The verse centers on "professing", "themselves", "wise", "became", and "fools". It is saying that the verse draws attention to "professing" and "themselves", so its meaning should be read from those terms before moving to application.

The nearby context moves from verse 21's "Because that when they knew God they..." into verse 23's "And changed the glory of the uncorruptible...", so "professing" and "themselves" belong inside that flow. In Romans context, the local focus is righteousness by faith, union with Christ, life in the Spirit, and God's covenant faithfulness.

A plain takeaway is to answer the verse's own emphasis on "professing" and "themselves" with trust shaped by these words, not by a vague optimism outside the passage.