Everybody Knows It, they Just Don't Want To Admit It
Everyone Knows—They Just Don’t Want to Admit It
Romans 1:19-21
By Brother Charley Buntin
Sunday School Teacher
Trace Creek Baptist Church
Ø Review—God is angry at the suppression of the Truth —Rom 1:18 "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness…”
Ø Interesting verse—John 3:2—“we know”—Nicodemus, speaking for perhaps the entire Sanhedrin, confesses that they knew at least that Jesus was someone special
1. God has revealed Himself to all men: All people Know—“…19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them…”
a. What may not be known even by the saved
(1) God is unsearchable—Rom 11:34-36 ""For who has known the mind of the LORD? Or who has become His counselor?" 35 "Or who has first given to Him And it shall be repaid to him?" 36 For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen."
(a) His works—Job 9:10, cf Jn 20:30-31, , OT—Job 5:9, 11:7, Ecc 3:11
(b) This is the answer to what is, for some, a troubling passage: John 21:24-25 "This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true. 25 And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen."
(i) How is it that even the God-man, whose active ministry lasted perhaps 3 and a half years, fill the world with books of His works?
(ii) Simple answer—because in His Godhood, He is eternal, and He has done all the works of God—Creation, Providence, etc.—Micah 5:2
(c) His deep things—Job 11:7 ""Can you search out the deep things of God? Can you find out the limits of the Almighty?"
(d) His greatness—Psa 145:3
(e) His understanding—Isa 40:28
(f) How He moves in the affairs of men—Dan 2:20-28
(2) Are these “mysteries” as some churches call them?
(a) First, and this is very interesting, the word “mystery” does not occur in the OT—
(b) A mystery is not something unknowable—it is something previously unknown which is now being revealed.
(c) There were times when Jesus withheld information from the crowd and revealed it only to certain of his disciples (Mat 13:10-11, for example), but from the completion of Christ’s mission on earth, the New Testament is not about withholding information, but about God revealing himself fully, even down to giving us a roadmap of the future in Rev. chapters 4-22
(d) Revealed, revealing, and to be revealed mysteries— Mark 4:11, Rom 11:25, Rom 16:25, 1 Cor 2:7, 1 Cor 15:51, Eph 1:9, Eph 3:3, Eph 3:4, Eph 3:9, Eph 5:32, Eph 6:19, Col 1:26, Col 1:27, Col 2:2, Col 4:3, 2 Th 2:7, 1 Tim 3:9, 1 Tim 3:16, Rev 1:20, Rev 10:7, Rev 17:5, Rev 17:7
b. What may not be known by lost people (unless they become saved)
(1) Him personally, by experience-cf Jn 8:55, Jn 16:3
(2) His way of salvation—Rom 3:17 "And the way of peace they have not known.""
(3) His ways in any other way—Heb 3:10 "Therefore I was angry with that generation, And said, 'They always go astray in their heart, And they have not known My ways.'"
(4) The Things of the Spirit—1 Cor 2:14
c. So, What MAY be known of God?
(1) What kind of knowledge?—The word here ãíùóô’í, gnoston, is a member of the gnosis word family, knowledge by experience—and it is usually used to describe something familiar to the one knowing: Acts 15:18 ""Known to God from eternity are all His works."
(a) This is experiential knowledge—but, how and to what extent, do all human beings know God by experience? There are many who profess to be His who seem to have no experiential knowledge, how is it that all men possess it?
(b) Theological balance is required here
(i) The universalist finds salvation for all in this idea, regardless of faith—That is a false doctrine, because many will be lost.
(ii) The theological liberal finds a “divine light” within every man, that all men are essentially good—this doctrine is a fantasy, and I fail to see how Scripture, reason, or experience can create in the mind of anyone the absurd idea that man is naturally good.
(iii) The hyper-Calvinist says man does not know, and cannot know anything at all about God—this is a gross distortion of the truth—though not able to save himself, man is not totally cut off from any hint of knowledge of God—we are not robots or clones.
(c) What lost man may know
(i) He has created each and every one of us, and He knows us personally—Ps 139—this experience leaves us wired to believe in our Creator
(ii) God has given each human being a conscience—Rom 2:14-15
(iii) God has given each man a certain amount of knowledge through Jesus, who is the light of the world—John 1:4, 5-9, 3:19, Titus 2:11
(iv) Believers themselves are a witness of God—Mat 5:13-16 ""You are the salt of the earth…14 "You are the light of the world…16 "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
Isa 43:10 ""You are My witnesses," says the LORD, "
Isa 43:12 "… you are My witnesses," Says the LORD, "that I am God."
Isa 44:8 "…You are My witnesses. Is there a God besides Me? Indeed there is no other Rock; I know not one.'"
(v) The Heavens declare the Glory of God—Ps 19
(vi) Christ, in His earthly ministry, fully revealed the character of the Father—John 1:14-18, 1 Tim 3:16
(vii) So, the Truth is out there…
b. “What may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.”
(1) Revelation: “…is manifest…” present tenseè the revelation of Himself is continual, God keeps up the revelation to men and to man, even to death’s door, even until just before the second coming.
(2) God has shown it to them—aorist—they are given the key to this knowledge at conception, though they begin early to deny it and reject the evidence they see, there is no one, except those physically and mentally hindered beyond all communication—and interestingly, the story is told of Helen Keller, blind, deaf, unable to understand. When Ann Sullivan, the teacher, finally got through to her by using hand signs, one of the first things Ann taught Helen was about God, and Helen Keller signed back to her: “I knew about Him, I just did not know His Name…”
2. What All People Know, but don’t want to admit—“…20 For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse…”,
a. “for”—Paul again ties this all together with what came before. Indeed, everything in this verse answers the questions raised about 19, which answers verse 18, etc.
b. “Since the creation of the world…”
(1) Since time began (and there was a point at which time came into being—2 Tim 1:9, Titus 1:2) God’s handiwork is clearly visible to all that can see.
(2) The Angels knew about God’s creation, and they must have been created early on, as they cheered the works of God and sang over them as He was doing them! Job 38:4-7!
(3) Adam and Eve were “hand-made by God,” He conducted the wedding and gave the bride away—Gen 2:18-25, and they could and did converse with Him.
(4) Cain knew it—Cain even talked personally with God—Gen 4
(5) Enoch walked with God
(6) Noah both spoke with Him and followed Him
(7) And so on, down through the ages
c. “His invisible attributes “ Literally, “the invisibles of Him…”
(1) This word only applies to God
(2) The invisibles
Col 1:15-16 "He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him."
1 Tim 1:17 "Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, to God who alone is wise, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
Heb 11:27 "By faith he forsook Egypt, not fearing the wrath of the king; for he endured as seeing Him who is invisible."
(3) But, what about the visible manifestations of God?
(a) Jacob’s Wrestler—Gen 32:24
(b) The men at Abram’s tent—Gen 18
(c) The Man standing opposite Jericho—Josh 5:13-14
(d) The Angel of the Lord seen by Samson’ parents—Jud 13:2-24
(e) The Burning Bush—Ex 3:2ff
(f) The Pillar of smoke by day and fire by night—Ex 13:21ff
(g) The issue of Christopanies—the visible manifestations of God have been accomplished by the Son (The Angel of the Lord, etc., and the Spirit—in the form of a dove.
John 1:18 "No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him."
d. “are clearly seen,” present tense—What may be known of Him is clearly seen all the time, without interruption, without a break in the great eternal school of God. Yet, lost man ignores Him!
e. “being understood by the things that are made” “being understood” is a present participle—again, the possibility of putting it all together is present and active—and man won’t do it. All man has to do is look around him and he should see it.
f. “His eternal power and divinity…” The deep things of Him, the great weight of Who He is—all of this is available to anyone who will only look.
3. Suppression of the Truth—21 because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened."
a. Remember Rom 1:18—it is man’s ungodliness, his hatred of who God really is, and man’s unrighteousness, man’s love affair with his own sin, these are the things that cause man, in his sin, to suppress, to hold down, to ignore, Truth.
b. Sin against the knowledge of God—
(1) Lost man knows a great deal, or may know, if he will only look
(2) Lost man who claims not to know anything about God is therefore willfully ignorant—he is stupid on purpose!
(a) Scott Adams, the cartoonist who writes “Dilbert,” the all-too-realistic comic strip about workplace idiocy, has a theory: everyone is stupid
(b) The best of us say and do stupid things
(c) Many smart people are stupid in at least one whole area of their life—relationships, work, money, habits, something…
(d) Some people are so clueless that they are what Adams calls “Professional Idiots,”
(e) Then, there are some people who raised stupidity to an art form—
(f) Spiritually, this fits
(i) Even the best of God’s people do spiritually stupid things
(ii) Many Christians, true believers, have one or more areas in their life where they make the same mistakes over and over again—the definition of insanity
(iii) Most lost people fit into the professionally stupid category
(iv) Then there are some lost people who raise eternal idiocy to an art form,
c. Though they had felt His hand in their own creation (Pa 139), though they could see His Hand in nature, (Ps 19), though they heard His voice in Conscience (Rom 2:15-16), though they hear His Word from God’s own people, they still rejected Him, and they do so now.
d. So, having this knowledge of God as creator, what did they do with this knowledge? How do they suppress this great truth?
(1) Not glorifying God by honoring and thanking Him.--they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful
(a) They did not glorify Him as God.....God is worthy of all glory, but men do not glorify Him Psa 29:2 Give unto the LORD the glory due to His name; Worship the LORD in the beauty of holiness..
(b) Instead, they create “gods” of their imaginations—Psa 50:21 "… You thought that I was altogether like you…”
(2) “…nor were thankful…” In spite of the evidence of creation and of the conscience within them, they were not thankful to God for His Providence on their behalf—Luke 17:11-19
(a) Jesus often thanked His Father—Mat 11:25, Lk 10:21, 17:9, 18:11, John 11:41
(b) Paul often thanked God—Rom 1:8, 1 Cor 1:4, Phil 1:3, 1 Th 2:13, 2 Th 1:3, 1 Tim 1:12, 2 Tim 1:3, Philemon 1:4
(3) “…and their foolish hearts were darkened…”—having become the Devil’s fool, the heart of man becomes desperately dark, and the darkness gets worse as lost man systematically cuts himself off from every bit of light, every witness of God, every hand of mercy. There are dozens of references to this darkness in the New Testament—here are a few:
John 1:5 "And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it."
John 3:19 ""And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil."
John 8:12 "Then Jesus spoke to them again, saying, "I am the light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life.""
John 12:35 "Then Jesus said to them, "A little while longer the light is with you. Walk while you have the light, lest darkness overtake you; he who walks in darkness does not know where he is going."
John 12:46 ""I have come as a light into the world, that whoever believes in Me should not abide in darkness."
2 Cor 6:14 "Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness?"
Eph 5:8 "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light"
Eph 5:11 "And have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them."
Eph 6:12 "For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places."
1 Th 5:4-5 "But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. 5 You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness."
1 Pet 2:9 "But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light;"
1 John 1:5-6 "This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."
1 John 2:8-9 "Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining. 9 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now."
1 John 2:11 "But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
posted by Major B @ 8:32 PM
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