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Preaching the Living WORD through the Written WORD - 2 Tim 4:2 - |
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THE RENUNCIATION OF GOD (Rom 1:19- 23) Pastor I.
THE REVELATION OF THE EXISTENCE
OF GOD (19-20) A. An Internal Revelation (19) 1.
Paul now explains how man has
suppressed the truth (Rom 1:18). However, in order to suppress the knowledge
of God, one must first possess the knowledge of God. 2.
Man was created by God with an
innate knowledge (gnostos - clearly
recognizable) of God’s existence. God manifested it (phaneros - made known) to man in that, he is able to reason the
existence of God through the internal witness of conscience (vs. 19 cp. Rom
2:14-15) and the external witness of creation (vs. 20). a)
The Scriptures . . . both assume and declare that the knowledge
that God is, is universal (Romans 1:19-21, 28, 32; 2:15). God has inlaid the
evidence of this fundamental truth in the very nature of man, so that nowhere
is he without a witness. (Strong, Systematic Theology,
Vol. I, pg. 140) b)
Paul makes it abundantly clear that not only is there a
revelation that proceeds from God, but that it penetrates human minds so that
they have a real knowledge of God. (Sproul in
loc.) c)
… he said, in them rather than to them, for the sake of greater
emphasis… he seems here to have
intended to indicate a manifestation, by which they might be so closely
pressed, that they could not evade; for every one of us undoubtedly finds it
to be engraven on his own heart, (Calvin in
loc.) B. An External Revelation (20a) 1.
Not only did God give man an
internal witness but he also gave him an external witness. The external
witness is the creation (ktisis -
sum total of what has been created) of the world (kosmos). 2.
Of what exactly does creation
give an external witness? It is an external witness of three aspects of God: a)
Invisible attributes (aoratos - unseen things; i.e.
attributes) b)
External power (aidios dunamis - everlasting and
unceasing power, c)
Divine nature (theiotēs - only usage in NT) does
not mean “Godhead” as KJV suggests, but means, “God-likeness,” “divinity”, or
all that makes God God. d)
All of these can be distinctly
identified as God’s fingerprint impressed upon His creation. 3.
These aspects of God are being
clearly understood (nooumetha -
pres pass part - noeō -
perceive or comprehend with the mind) by man’s common reasoning. C. An Inexcusable Revelation (20b) 1.
Because these witnesses of the
existence of God are so clearly perceived, man has no excuse (anapologētos - unable to give an
argument) to be an atheist. 2.
The evidence for the existence
of God is so strong that God holds all men accountable and guilty. 3.
These internal and external
witnesses are considered General or Natural Revelation. a)
General Revelation is God
revealing certain truths about Himself to all mankind through conscience,
creation, and providential control. b)
Special Revelation is the
divine revealing of truth through Jesus Christ, Scriptures, Holy Spirit, and
the Gospel. (1)
In contrast to General
Revelation, which is available to everyone, Special Revelation is available
only to those who have access to biblical truth. (2)
Furthermore, General Revelation
can only condemn, but Special Revelation is necessary for salvation. II. THE REJECTION OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD (21-23) A. A Rejection of God (21a) 1.
In verse 21, we see the initial
downward spiral of depravity. Man knew God but rejected Him. 2.
Man knew (aor act part of ginōskō - possess
information about or acquaintance, lit. “having known”) God, not necessarily
in the sense of a personal relationship, but at least in the sense of a
knowledge of His existence. 3.
God was rejected in that they
did not honor (doxazō -
glorify) or acknowledge His rightful status as God. 4.
God was also rejected in that
they did not give thanks or the credit due to Him as Creator in the creation
and rule over all things. B. A Reception of Foolishness (21b-22) 1.
As a result of rejecting the
knowledge of God, their “speculations” (dialogismos
- reasoning or judgment) became meaningless and worthless (mataioō) and they were unable to
think correctly in regard to God and His truth. 2.
In addition, their hearts,
which were senseless and foolish, were darkened (skotizō - absence of light) in a religious and moral sense.
When man does not retain God in his knowledge, man does not retain knowledge
itself. 3.
Man not only received and
welcomed foolishness, but he became dogmatic (“profess” - phaskō - speaking with certainty,
declare) in his darkened wisdom. 4.
Though man viewed himself as
wise, in reality he became moronic (“fool” - morainō). 5.
God declares that the
individual who says there is no God is a fool in his thinking and behavior
(Ps 14:1-3; 53:1-3). C. A Reception of Idolatry (23) 1.
Those who rejected God and
became foolish in their thinking embraced idolatry. The out-workings of man’s
depravity had begun. They exchanged (allassō
- change one for another) the true worship of God for the worship of idols. 2.
Paul is no doubt describing
pagan idol-worship. But Paul apparently takes his example from the OT (cp. Ps
106:20; Isa 44:9-20). 3.
The one true God is described
as incorruptible (aphthartos - not
subject to decay or mortality) in all his glory. Those who rejected the
knowledge of God traded the one true God for images (eikōn - representation or statue, 4.
The corruptible images that
Paul describes are of man, fowl, quadrupeds, and reptiles. III. PRACTICAL OBSERVATIONS A. There is no such thing as a true atheist. Both conscience and
creation leave the atheist without an excuse. Therefore, believers must
witness to the atheist and allow God to speak to his conscience in secret. B. It is not just the unbeliever who becomes moronic and darkened
when he does not retain God in his knowledge. The believer also falls into
foolish and sinful behavior when he fails to incorporate God and His truth
into his life. C. A believer is admonished not to fall into idolatry, which is
worshipping and glorifying anything or anyone else rather than God. Idolatry
is also exchanging the revealed knowledge of the one true God (1Th 1:9) for our
culture’s false perception of God (i.e. “God-to-me”). |
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