February 04, 2008 Romans 1:19

02/04/2008

Romans 1:19 - 23 (HCSB)

¹⁹Since what can be known about God is evident among them, because God has shown it to them. ²⁰From the creation of the world His invisible attributes, that is, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what He has made.

As a result, people are without excuse. ²¹For though they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God or show gratitude. Instead, their thinking became nonsense, and their senseless minds were darkened. ²²Claiming to be wise, they became fools ²³and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man, birds, four-footed animals, and reptiles.

This passage explains the “general revelation” of God. That is, God has created all things and displays His handiwork (and His glory) in them. Therefore, no one can say “there is no god.” Paul says here, that people who claim there is no god have no excuse because of the general revelation of God in nature.

How can you look at the stars and think it is all an accident of physics. How can you look at a forest and think it is all chance. How can you look at a new-born baby and think this is the end of a long line of quirks of nature? How does one cell of my body know it controls memory and helps me to formulate this sentence, while another cell in my body works in concert with thousands of other cells to move my fingers to hit the “e” key when I desire it to?

How can one cell of my body perceive the aroma of food but not comprehend it while another cell identifies that sensory response as a steak grilling on a fire? How can we subscribe to the laws of thermo-dynamics *and* human evolution at the same time?

The second law of thermodynamics states “The total entropy of any isolated thermodynamic system tends to increase over time.” In more common vernacular, things always tend to degrade over time. This is in direct contrast to evolution which says things improve over time.

God has revealed Himself to us in the intricacy of nature and even in our own bodies. If we fail to acknowledge there is a God at work in all existence, then we have denied the general revelation of God. The result is, our thinking becomes nonsense.

While nature is the general revelation of God, Jesus Christ is the specific revelation of God.

Paul is saying here that the gentiles have been given the general revelation and that he intended to make that revelation complete by sharing with them the specific revelation of Jesus.

Will you take time today to look out your window and ponder that tree, cloud, bird or whatever and thank God for His creation and for giving us the general revelation of His glory.

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