Without Excuse

     The Bible tells us that what is known about God is evident to men through what He has created (Romans 1:19-20).

     For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse...
                            Romans 1:20 NASB

     One needs only to look around at the natural beauty of the created world to understand that there is an almighty God who has created all of this. As the above verse states, His attributes, His eternal power, and His divine nature are clearly seen, being understood through what has been made. This speaks volumes about what man understands about God deep down within his heart. Man knows that there is a holy, just God who created all things, and who cannot tolerate sin.
     Sadly the Bible goes on to say that man rejects this revelation, choosing instead to worship the creation rather than the creator (Romans 1:21-25). This rejection of God is our downfall. This is the source of all the wicked, immoral behavior we see in the world today.
     It is little wonder that the world largely rejects Biblical creationism for the lie of Darwinism. This is man's effort to deny the revelation of God that he receives from the creation around him, and rejects. Men love darkness rather than the light.

     This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil.
                                               John 3:19 NASB

     Out of the hearts of depraved men comes all manner of wickedness. Read Romans 1:21-32. Sexual immorality, homosexuality, greed, murder, strife, deceit, malice, gossip, slander, arrogance, disobedience to ones parents, inventors of evil, envy, God haters, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful, and those who may not do such things as these, but heartily approve of those who do! Those today who may not participate in the scandalous behavior of others, but embrace and encourage their sin, are just as lost and guilty as if they did. What does this say about churches who embrace deviant sexual behavior? Gay marriage, the ordination of gay ministers, and the open acceptance of the homosexual lifestyle is nothing more than the outflow of a heart that is dead to the things of God.
     We are without excuse. No one was born a homosexual, just as no one was born a gossip! We reject the revelation of God that we have received. He turns us over to our wicked passions because we would rather live selfish lives serving a god of our own invention than to serve the only true God who created us. This is nothing but gross idolatry!
     This is not only about homosexuality, reread the passage in Romans. There are many other sins listed that are just as wicked in God's sight, and He will judge them as well. What about gossip, or arrogance? How about deceit? We see more murder today than ever before, and remember that anger is seen as murder in God's eyes (Matt 5:21-22).
     Wicked behavior, and the wide acceptance of it is the result of our own choice. We cannot call it an alternative lifestyle, or claim God made us this way. The tolerance of sin in this world today only serves to show us how wicked and depraved this world really is. One whose life is filled with the sinful acts mentioned in this passage of scripture can be assured that they are dead spiritually and in need of a radical life change that can only be found in Christ.
     Our only remedy is to turn in brokenness and repentance to the Lord Jesus Christ who gave Himself to deliver us from this wicked world (Gal 1:4). Only He can set the captives free. Only in Him can we find true grace and mercy.
    
    
    

Growth In the Knowledge of Jesus.

     I was once asked by an individual what I thought about divorce and remarriage. He was confused because the bible said one thing, and the early church fathers were split on their take of the issue. 
     The role of women in ministry can also become a thorny issue to deal with. Was it a cultural issue for a specific time, or is it a command for today as well? There are about as many answers to this as there are commentaries dealing with Paul's instructions concerning women.
     My point is not to argue these issues out in this post. I prefer to let the bible speak clearly, after all it is God's book, inspired by Him, for our benefit. We would do well to clear our minds of all preconceived ideas, and come to the word of God with an open heart and mind. After all it is the will 
of God that we are seeking, right?
     As the early Anabaptist leader Conrad Grebel said "I believe the word of God without a complicated interpretation". The bible can be hard to understand in many instances, but yet God desires us to dig in and seek out the truth. He is not going to hide truth from an individual who desires to apply it to his or her life. We get into trouble when we want to know what the bible says about something, but we are unwilling to put it into practice in our lives. We cloud things up when we depend more on human tradition, and interpretation, then upon the illumination of the Holy Spirit.
     We are to grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:17-18). We need to watch ourselves so that we are not led astray by the errors of unprincipled men.
     Is it ok to use commentaries? Yes, but use discernment! They are written by fallible men, often with a denominational slant. We need to train ourselves to come to the Word with an open mind and heart, realizing that this is the last word on what is true in the eyes of God!

God's written revelation.

     We have the word of the prophets made more certain...
                                                                                          2 peter 1:19a

     God has revealed Himself to us through His word. He spoke to men through His prophets (2 Peter 1:21b, Heb 1:1), and through His apostles (Eph 2:20, 2 Tim 1:13, 2 Peter 3:16), and through Jesus Christ (Heb 1:2). God used men like Moses, Samuel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel etc. in the Old Testament, and Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, Paul, Peter, in the New. Much of what was communicated through them was written down, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and forms what we call the Holy Bible.
     We have the biblical account of creation, sin and the fall of man, the unfolding of the story of redemption, the birth, teachings, miracles, death and ressurection of Jesus, the instructions of the apostles, in short, everything that we need for life and godliness (2Peter 1:3).
     God's word reveals to us our utter sinfulness, the utter depth of the depravity that dwells in our hearts. His word shows us that He hates sin, that sin cannot dwell in His presence. We also find that He has made a way for us to be forgiven and set free from sin's power, free to live a life full of the Spirit, as we are poured out for others.
     The scriptures are the very words of God Himself (2 Tim3:16, 2 Peter 1:21). To believe them for what they really are, the words of God who cannot lie, to act upon them and put our lives in line with them, brings life and peace. To reject them, distort them, or neglect them leads one to ruin (Matt 7:26,27 2 Peter 3:16; Rev 22:18,19).
     We must be careful as christians that we test all we see and hear by the word of God. There always has been deception in the world, and it will only get worse, but there is safety found in God's word.

                                                                                     

God's revelation in His law.

     The law of the Lord is perfect.....
                                                           Psalm 19:7a

     We find that God has made a fuller revelation to man through the law. The holiness of God can be seen in the moral law, as found in the ten commandments.(Romans 7:12). In Psalm 119, the writer reflects upon the law and how wonderful it is. The goodness of the law is a direct reflection of the righteousness of the lawgiver Himself (vs.137).
     The law also reveals to us the fact that God alone is to be worshiped, and that is to be done in spirit and truth, not through the making of images. The one and only God is not to be made in the image of our vain invention.
     We can also see that He is love, and desires us to love each other. The law can be summed up in two commands, to love  God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, and to love our nieghbor as ourself. The golden rule sums it up well; treat others as you want them to treat you. Love is the fulfillment of the law.
      The  law is what shows us our fallen state, as it is through the law that the knowledge of sin becomes evident. Romans 7 is an excellent example of how the law works to drive us to Christ. We are made aware of what the law requires, and in our attempts to conform to it we become painfully aware that we have fallen short of it. The harder we try, the more we can see that we have failed. In fact we find ourselves sinning all the more! Our only hope is Christ!
    The moral law can be found throughout the scriptures, old testament, as well as the new. Just like the Jewish people of old, we who have the advantage of the Bible in our homes, and attending church where the word is proclaimed, are held accountable to the law, as we have seen it and heard it. Those who have never heard, are still accountable however, as the law has been written on their hearts(Romans 2:14-15). God has made sure that He is revealed to all, in one way or another, and has put a conscience into each one of us, that knows right from wrong. It is intereting to find out that people living in remote areas who have never seen a Bible, or heard the gospel message, still base the laws governing their communities on the ten commandments.
     Next post, I would like to discuss the written revelation of God.

The revelation of God.

     The heavens declare the glory of God.........
                                                                       (Psalm 19:1a)
     From the very beginning God has desired to have an intimate relationship with man. This can be seen from the very beginning of the world's history, when God used to walk with Adam and Eve in the cool of the evening. Sin , of course destroyed the intimacy that they shared. However that does not alter the fact that God desires that all mankind would come to know Him.
     We are told in Psalm 19, that the very creation itself shows us that there is a God. Paul expands on this theme in Romans 1:19, 20. He states that what may be known about God has been made plain to mankind through creation.God's invisible attributes, His eternal power, and divine nature are clearly seen in what He has created. The only right response to this revelation is to worship God with grateful hearts for who He is, the only, all powerful God. Sadly what man has chosen to worship is the creation instead, inventing a God of their own thinking, made to satisfy their own idea of what God should be like. This is what makes belief in the biblical account of creation so vital. The Bible says it is by faith we believe that God created the universe out of nothing (Heb 11:3). To reject this in favor of evolution or the big bang theory is to reject the revelation of God, in effect God himself. It is to elevate the creature above the creator (Romans 1:25).
     In my next post, I will discuss another aspect of God's revelation of Himself to man, the moral law.