They know the truth about God because He has made it obvious to them. For ever since the world was created, people have seen the earth and sky. Through everything God made, they can clearly see His invisible qualities—His eternal power and divine nature. So they have no excuse for not knowing God.
Romans 1:19-20
When God gives men up then there will be downward slide – nothing will prevent it. There is a natural tendency toward ever increasing sin. A few years ago it started with “Why be married in church?” then it progresses to “why be married?” Those who have never heard the gospel or been told about Christ’s love for them still have an innate sense of wrong and right. God has placed it there. He has declared his mysteries and I believe he has declared his gospel in the heavens. That’s incredible. It is a mind blowing fact but I don’t have time to tell you about it now. That is a major portion of the God’s Awesome Book seminar. There is not space to tell the full story here.
But you can go to my website and find the series of Nuggets I wrote on The Message in the Stars .
But let’s ponder for a moment Romans 1:19 – 20. How can you blame someone who’s never known truth? There is no one in world who doesn’t know the truth. Rather they know and they have rejected it. They have chosen to believe the lie. Otherwise missionaries shouldn’t go to far flung people groups with the gospel. It would be better to leave them in their ignorance, some would claim, missionaries make men feel guilty. Hey the truth is they are guilty already, they need to know the good news. Everyone knows the bad news. There is an inner part of us that tells us something is not right.
Let me share two stories or testimonies with you. Mine and Hugh Heffner’s. Now you are wondering, aren’t you? Do I have your attention now?
August 19th 1973 was the day I became a Christ follower and had my sins forgiven. The day I began the process of believing (and keeping on believe) in the Christ. What was interesting was I was a self-confessed atheist. I went to church for the first time and heard a presentation concerning evolution and creation. For the first time I heard facts that disturbed my evolutionary world view. But what was interesting (and the part I want to share here) is that when I heard the truth I knew it was the truth deep within. I knew too that it was uncomfortable. I knew this information was correct but also that being true it left me foundationless and WITHOUT EXCUSE. Knowing this was true I knew also I was guilty. If this was true I didn’t have a defence before the judge.
Back in the 1970s, (ya I know that was before the hills got dusty) Hugh Heffner was being interviewed about his Playboy empire. During the interview as Heffner was explaining his philosophy the interviewer adopted a new angle based on what Heffner had been saying. The interviewer asked the question “when is your daughter going to become a bunny Hugh?” Heffner had been talking about the freedom of the sexual revolution etc. Hugh Heffner went through a number of adjustments and didn’t answer for a long time. Finally he confessed “That is the one area of my philosophy I haven’t been able to work out. I don’t want my daughter to be a bunny.” Written on the tablet of Hugh Heffner’s heart is the law of God. He is without excuse just like everyone else on earth. Hugh Hefner who allows and encourages men to do to other men’s daughters what he is not willing to be done to his own.
Hugh Heffner can chose to suppress the truth by wickedness but he still knows the truth about God because He has made it obvious to him. So he has no excuse for not knowing God.
I am too blessed to be stressed and too anointed to be disappointed!
Ian Vail
The needle of God’s law brings with it the thread of God’s gospel.
David Pawson