Willful Rejection

Take your Bibles tonight and let's open to Romans chapter 1 and find verse 18.

! Interesting, we were in 1 Peter chapter 1 this morning, starting with verse 18. And we're going to go through verse 20 tonight and we'll just go ahead and read the text.

Verse 18, Romans chapter 1, verse 18 through verse 20. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

Because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 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.

Now, there are few chapters in the Bible that are like Romans chapter 1.

And it's because Romans chapter 1 deals, might as well just say it so harshly, not taking anything from the Word of God, but so matter-of-factly, so truthfully, with the subject of sin, Romans chapter 1.

And especially as we go along a little further, certainly further than we're going to go tonight, we get into some areas where the Bible deals with sin, a kind of sin that, quite frankly, our culture and even a large part of the world is not one to hear about.

And so, dealing with sin. And Paul's words here create, some have likened it to a courtroom, in a sense.

Kind of a courtroom. And the first group to be indicted, or the heathen, or the ungodly. First group. And so, Romans chapter 1, verses 19 all the way through verse 32, give us a survey of ungodliness.

Or heathenism. Its causes. Its, more importantly, its consequences, and so forth.

Now, when I say the word heathen, I'm not talking, and don't picture in your mind some bare-skinned men. I won't say women, too. I just did, didn't I? Bowing down to some handmade idol, you know, or some image.

I'm speaking much, or Paul, rather, speaking much broader than just that image that we have, you know, that we may have seen years ago in Tarzan movies or something like that.

Many people in this culture, in the Western culture, have a vague knowledge of the things of God. In fact, we are fast approaching a culture that is almost, other than Christ's people in this country, void of knowledge of Christ and God's word.

We have reached the point where we have become, as a nation, almost totally secularized. Even atheism in this nation is a secular kind of atheism.

Not a Christian atheism. It's not that people have looked at the God of Christianity and rejected him and said there is no God. We're talking about atheists who don't even know or have any framework in their lives or mind of the Christian God.

And yet they do know there is a God. And that's what we're going to get into as we look at this text tonight. But we're just not talking, we're not talking just about a group of people in some remote part of Africa or South America who've been out into the jungles and have no contact with civilization, who have no understanding whatsoever of Christianity.

We're talking about the heathen in the sense of the ungodly. Ungodly. And plenty of those right here in this nation. Who have a vague knowledge of the things of God and yet leave him completely out of their lives.

And those are the kind of people that the Bible is speaking of here. They're practicing heathens if you want to maybe put them in a different classification. Now Paul organizes his thoughts here in this portion of chapter 1 and really following.

Because we're not going to get into the entire thing here tonight. But he organizes his thoughts on the subject of sin into segments. And really they're progressive, I think.

And it could be said that Paul is depicting a three step or three downward steps into heathenism.

This will go out throughout this text. And so we're going to look at the first one, the first step tonight. And it is this. There is willful rejection of God's general revelation of himself.

That's a long point, isn't it? Let me say that again in case you're writing it down. And you can shorten it if you want to. But number one, this passage that I just read a moment ago.

Speaks of the willful rejection of God's general revelation of himself. Now I say general as opposed to inspired revelation.

We have right here in this book, the Bible, God's holy Bible. His inspired revelation includes his redemptive purposes and plan to save and so forth.

I'm not talking about this revelation. I'm talking about the general revelation. And Paul is addressing the responsibility, the accountability of all men, all mankind, to the general revelation of himself, of God.

All right? And so the idea here is the willful rejection of that revelation. Now to get the full impact, let's go back to the text here a minute.

And though I did not read verse 17 a moment ago, I want to go back and have you remind or remind you about verse 17. And then I'm going to just kind of go on into verse 18 again, even though I've already read it once.

Verse 17 says, For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from face to face, as it is written, the just shall live by faith.

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness. The wrath of God.

Do you see that word wrath there? You know, there's a difference between God's anger and man's anger.

In fact, the Greeks have two words that are translated anger. This one is a specific word. It is orge. And it talks about a settled anger, a settled wrath.

As opposed to the kind of anger that you and I normally experience. And that would be a different word in the Greek. It's thumos. That would be a boiling over of anger.

A sudden, sudden bursting out of anger. An emotional reaction of anger. But God does not react in anger that way. His is a settled anger.

It's a settled wrath. And so what he's saying here in verse 18. This settled, determined anger of God is revealed. Revealed and revealed and revealed.

Revealed all the way through scripture. Revealed in many other ways. And ultimately be revealed. It is an ongoing revelation of God's wrath. That comes from heaven. It's from his very throne.

And it's against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. Now who would that include? All of us.

It's a settled wrath against ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. That is, those who deserve it. You just put that in the margin of your Bible. His wrath, God's wrath, is a settled anger toward sin.

All those who deserve that anger. And we all deserve it. We all do. Wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men.

Who, and now we're getting more specific. Who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Now that's kind of a complicated little phrase to figure out.

To suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Or if we could put it another way. They suppress the truth. In the sense that they reject it because they want to hold on to their own sin.

That's the idea here. And God's wrath, his anger, his righteous holy anger. Is settled. It's settled against all those who suppress the truth.

Because they want to hold on to their own sin. Do not want to release their sin. Do not want to turn from their sin. They'd rather have sin than truth. In fact, isn't that interesting?

That the opposite of truth. In the sense is not error. And so people don't reject truth because they like the error. They reject truth because they like their sin. That's a principle taught throughout scripture, by the way.

And taught a little bit later in Romans, by the way. And we'll get to that another Sunday. So, to suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

So, his wrath is settled against those who do such a thing. All right. We're talking about heathens. Talking about unbelievers. Talking about the ungodly. And why then is God's wrath directed toward the heathen?

Well, verse 19. Because. There's the answer to why God's wrath is revealed.

Being revealed. Because. Because what? Because what may be known of God is manifest in them. For God has shown it to them.

What is known of God. Is manifest in them. Because God has shown it to them. All right. So, now we're talking here.

And this is the main point. The overarching point. There are going to be two more. But we're just going to hit this one. That is this willful rejection of God's general revelation of himself.

And under that main heading. Then we need to understand. That the ungodly. Reject. God's. Internal. Witness.

Did you know that there is an internal witness. That has been placed in every. Man. Woman. And child. Everyone. Everyone. Every man. Member of mankind.

An internal. Witness. Remember we're talking about the courtroom. Here. This is the. That's why they. Some have called this. Kind of the imagery of a courtroom. And. And. The.

The first ones to be indicted. Of course. Are the ungodly. As I've said. And so witness number one. Takes the stand. And it is the internal witness of God. The word.

Manifest. Here. In the New King James Version. I think. It is translated. Evident. Or plain.

To them. If you have an NIV. New American Standard. Used the word evident. The word manifest. Is. Not a verb. Here. It's an adjective. An adjective. And that's important.

Because. You see. It's not. That they could. Have known God. Or. Should have known God. It is not speaking of that. Which is knowable.

Or learnable. Here. Not talking about. People who've gone out. And have examined things. And have come to some conclusion. Not talking about a learnable thing. We're talking about something. That is placed in.

By God. It's already there. It is. As far as. Our part is concerned. It's completely passive. On our part. It is.

Manifest. It is. Evident. In them. Everyone. It doesn't make any difference. What they claim to believe now. And as we go along here.

In Romans chapter 1. We're going to see that progression. And the distortion. Of the truth. That many. Many have. Have seen. Because it's been clearly manifest. In them.

And also. Clearly manifest. In the creation. Which we'll get to here. In a minute. It's not. It's not. That it didn't happen. It does happen. And then it's distorted. And. And. Defaced.

It doesn't make any difference. What a person says he believes. Or. What she. Has come to the conclusion about. Concerning God. And spiritual things. The fact here.

Is at this point. That the witness. Is already there. It's there. The witness. Of the one true God. Is there. It's manifest in them. It's evident.

And so. The heathen. Are not condemned. Because they are ignorant. Of the truth. Now. That doesn't mean. We are not to give them the truth. And not to go in. To the nations.

And proclaim the truth. It's not that. But they're not. They're not condemned. Per se. Because. They are ignorant. Of the truth. And not because.

They are slow learners. Or because. They simply refuse. To. To learn it. Or receive it. It's not. Not because they don't have the opportunity. And there are many.

Scholars today. Would argue on that point. But no. No. That which is knowable. About God. We're talking about God's. General revelation. Not. Not. His salvific revelation.

From scripture. We're talking about the. General revelation of God. His eternity. And Godhead. That which is knowable. That's knowable. Because God has placed it there.

That which is knowable. Is already manifest. It's revealed. It's evident. Within them. John Phillips. Noted. Many missionaries.

Now quote him. Many missionaries. For example. Point out. That the heathen. Know more than we think. They know there is a God. They.

There are. No atheists. Among the heathen tribes. They know. That. What sin is. They know what sin is. And that they are sinners. They know that their sins.

Must be punished. They seem to fear punishment. They are afraid of death. They know that sin. Must be atoned for. Must be paid for. And they all. Seek ways.

To satisfy. The wrath. Of their gods. Whatever they believe. About God. All that's all. There. Where did it come from? Was it learned?

God placed it there. Put it there. He manifested. In them. This is why the wrath of God. Then is revealed. From heaven. Upon all. Ungodliness. Of man.

Because they have. Within them. A knowledge. Of God. That makes them. Accountable. To respond. In faith. Makes them accountable.

And so that's why. A little bit later. He's going to say. That without excuse. Maybe he's going to add. Another witness. Before we get to that part. But God has manifested. In.

Every one of us. Okay. Now. The idea. Is further reinforced. By the next. Clause. In verse 19. For God. Has. Has.

Shown it. To them. Shown it. To them. And. This is a verb. Shown. And it's a certain.

Tense of a verb. That suggests. That it's a one time thing. Once for all. And it is manifest. That is no human being.

Has ever been. Without the knowledge. Of God. The one true. God. Now many have chosen. To reject that knowledge. As they progress. In their heathenism.

And godliness. They've chosen to reject. That. That. That knowledge. But the knowledge. Is there. Nonetheless. It is there. Because God put it there.

And so therefore. The heathen of this world. In other lands. As well as in our lands. Are not blind. Out of ignorance. Or lack of opportunity. Or. Or somehow. Now isolation. No.

They are. Willfully. Ignorant. Or willfully blind. Rather. Not ignorant. But blind to the truth. Willfully. They willfully. Reject. God's. General. Revelation.

Of himself. That is within them. Secondly. There's God's. Internal witness. But there's also.

God's. External. Witness. That Paul speaks of here. You see. The witness of God.

Which is. In us. All of us. Manifest in us. Can be. Corrupted. By sin. And willful. Rejection. Of Christ.

And it. Progressively. Will be. But there is. Another witness. And this witness. Cannot be. Corrupted. By man. Though there are many.

Who have tried. And are trying. That witness. Is creation. I say. There are many. Who have tried. Just turn on. The discovery channel. And they're constantly. Trying.

To. To. To. Distort. And corrupt. The witness. Of the creation. The creation. Being the witness. Of God. And yet. They cannot do it. In fact.

They. Reveal themselves. At least. To. Those. Of us. Who. Know God. And. His son. Jesus. They reveal. To us. Their stupidity. Really.

I tell you. The further. We go. With this. This. Idea. Of evolution. And so forth. The. The. And the more. We discover. Through science. The more stupid. They become.

But. But really. This witness. Cannot be corrupted. The internal witness. Can be. Through sin. And the progressive. Nature.

Of sin. And the. Pollution. Of sin. As it grows. And distorts. The life. And the mind. It can be corrupted. But the creation. Is still the same. It cannot be corrupted.

Now. Look at verse 20. For since. The creation. Of the world. His. That's God's. Invisible. Attributes. Are clearly. Seen. Being understood.

By the things. That are made. Even his. Eternal power. And Godhead. Those things. Are understood. So that they. Are without. Excuse. Read a poem.

From Longfellow. Entitled. God's. Oldest Testament. And nature. The old nurse. Took the child. Upon her knee. Saying. Here is a storybook.

Thy father. Has written for thee. Come. Wander with me. She said. Into regions. Yet untrod. And read. What is still. Unread. In the manuscripts.

Of God. And he wandered. Away. And away. With nature. The dear old nurse. Who sang to him. Night and day. The rhymes. Of the universe. See.

God's witness. His creation. God's witness. Now. We need to understand. Two things about that. That witness. Or at least Paul. I think. Is helping us.

To understand two things. About God's witness. In creation. Number one. All. That's all of us. Here.

All of those. All of us. Out there. Everyone around the world. Everyone has ever lived. All. Are exposed. To this witness. All are exposed to.

In some. Form or another. Verse 20 again. For since the creation. Of the world. His invisible attributes. Are clearly seen. Clearly seen.

His invisible attributes. What are these. Invisible attributes. Of God. That are revealed. In creation. What are they?

Well. Let me. Just suggest. At least three. That are revealed. In creation. Number one. God's.

Self-existence. His eternal. Self-existence. Is revealed. In creation. You say.

How so? Well. You know. The law. Of cause. And effect. Do you understand that? The law. Of cause. And effect. What does it tell us? It tells us.

That. For every effect. There had to have been. A cause. You can't have an effect. Without a cause. Now. You're not going to find it.

Worded that way. In scripture. This is just simply. A principle. A law. Created by God. By the way. For every effect.

There must be a cause. You can't have an effect. Without a cause. And. I would say to you. That the only rational conclusion. That we could come to.

About the greatest effect. Around us. Creation. Is. That the cause was God. See that's revealed. In creation. The effect of creation.

Must have a cause. And the only cause. Could be God. And God. Since God. Could not create himself. Then. What? He's eternal. That's just logical.

Isn't it? You say. Should we. Come to conclusions. About the truth. Just based upon logic. And rationalism. Yeah. If God created that rationalism. That logic.

But also. Creation. Creation. Reveals. Not only his. Self-existence. His. Eternality. But.

Creation. Also. Reveals. His. Power. His. Sovereign. Power. And. You know. This attribute of God.

Is. Is. Also. Invisible. Because. We did not see him. Create the universe. Did we? We were not there. When. As.

Moses. Recorded. In. The first. Chapter. A couple of chapters. Of Genesis. We weren't there. When God. Created all things. In six. Literal days.

All right. We weren't there. And so. How is it a witness. To his power. Well. Obviously. Because. The visible creation. Is clear.

Clear to see. Clear evidence. Of the invisible power. Of God. His omnipotence. And the more. We are able. To see. Or know.

Rather. About our. The creation. The more. We see. God's. Power. Or. We should. It's incredible.

That. In our day. We have seen. Such. Advances. In. Science. And technology. And we can send. Powerful.

Telescopes. Out into space. To look. Way. Out into space. And to. See all of the. Galaxies. That are out there. Almost an infinite.

Number. Man has. Put some numbers on it. But even those numbers are. Are beyond. Our comprehension. The. Immensity. Just of our own.

Galaxy. Galaxy. It's. It's. Something we can't even. Fathom. And then to know. That there are. Literally. Thousands. And thousands.

And thousands. Of galaxies. Many of which. Larger than ours. Out there. And we're able to. With. Modern technology. Look way out there.

And see these things. And so. We know more. And. Since we know more. Than we. See. More.

We see more. Of the. General revelation. Of God. At least we should. See it that way. And so.

The visible creation. Is clear. Clear evidence. Of the invisible power. Of God. And then thirdly. Talking about his. Attributes. That are revealed. In creation.

His divine love. And perhaps. You haven't thought. About that. That the creation. The physical creation. Reveals.

The divine love. Of God. Let me ask you. Something. Have you ever.

Wondered. If the sun. Was going to rise. In the morning. Did you. Lie. Lie. Awake. At night. Worrying.

That the sun. Might not rise. In the morning. Or that it might not. Set. In the evening. Have you spent. Your days. Wringing your hands.

Worrying. Whether or not. You're going to have. Enough oxygen. To breathe. Today. Do you think. About that. Or the growth. Of. Of plant life.

Now maybe. Some of us. Wouldn't like. Our yards. To grow. But. They are going to grow. Do we worry about that? Do we think about that? Do we wonder? The order of the universe. Let's go out beyond our.

Our planet. And think about our planet. Being one. Among. Quite a number. In our own solar system. In our solar system. Being. One of. Of. Countless thousands.

In our galaxy. All of them. Revolving. And wondering. Is our planet. Going to collide. With another planet. That. That what I'm trying to say.

Is that. The very oxygen. We breathe. Is evidence. Of. The divine. Care. And love.

Of a sovereign God. And that's revealed. To all. To all. To everyone. Saved. And unsaved. Alike.

Revelation reveals. I mean. The creation reveals. This is God's. General revelation. This is the witness. That stands against. And indicts. The ungodly. The witness of his internal.

The internal revelation. Of the existence of God. The witness of the external. Revelation. And every human being. Educated. Uneducated.

Rich. Poor. Modern. Primitive. All. Are exposed. To the creation of God. And therefore. The witness of God. His eternal existence. His self existence.

His sovereign power. And his divine. Love. And care. Now the question. Of course is. And someone will ask the question.

You know. Can someone then be saved. By seeing. And worshiping. The true God of creation. Is God's revelation. Of himself. And it's such a strong witness.

That. That. Those who. Do. Who are unbelieving. And ungodly. Are without excuse. And so. Are we then to. Conclude. On the. By the implication.

That. Someone can be saved. By seeing. And worshiping. The true God of creation. Through. Witnessing. Of the creation. No. I don't think so. For example.

Someone might say. I don't need to go to church. I find God in nature. You ever heard. That. That excuse. Well. I have. Many times.

Pastor. I just. You know. I appreciate it. But. You know. I can just worship God. Out there on the lake. You know. And what they really mean. Is they find. God. Out there.

On that calm. Peaceful lake. Teeming with bass. And catfish. And. Something they can catch. While they're. Sitting there. Drinking their. Whatever. Beverage. You know.

Sitting there. On their. Forty thousand. Fifty thousand. Dollar. Bass boat. You know. I just find God there. That's what they say. Or.

You know. They say. What they really mean. Is they find God. In beautiful sunsets. Or. They find God. In. Majestic mountains. Or. They find God. Through.

Colorful flowers. And. Green grasses. And. They must attend. To those. Colorful flowers. And green grasses. On Sunday. Because that's their. Only day off. That kind of thing. But now.

Nature. Is not just flowers. Is it? Nature consists of.

Snakes. Too. I wonder if those same people. Find God. In the snakes. I wonder. I don't like snakes. I just don't like them. I. As one.

Fellow said. I hurt myself. Getting away from them. Nature has. Snakes too. In fact. Let me read something. From F. W. Borum. You may not be familiar.

With his name. He. He. Saved under Moody's. Ministry. And went to school. At Spurgeon's college. And so forth. And he wrote this. Nature consists of violets.

And vipers. Be perfectly honest. We must worship. Not only the subtle fragrance. Of the violets. But the horrible fangs. Of the viper. He must worship.

Not only the delightful. Trill of the lark. But the bloody beak. Of the vulture. He must worship. Not only the tender grace. Of the gazelle. But the dripping jaws. Of the wolf.

There is a God. Says nature. Pointing to seasons. And stars. And suns. He is eternal. In his power. But man needs.

Much more. Than that. Man needs. A personal. Redeemer. And nature. Cannot satisfy. That need. For nature.

Knows nothing. Of forgiveness. See. Nature says. There is one. Eternal. Omnipotent. Divine. Loving God. But that's all it says.

And it's not enough. You see. Mankind. Needs more than that. Man needs. A personal. Redeemer. Creation. Cannot provide. That. Man also.

Needs a moral. Code. To live by. And creation. Teaches. No. Moral. Code. Either. Does it? No. As one man said.

Nature has a voice. But it has no heart. Nature points. To the true God. But. It has no. Power. Whatsoever. No solution.

Whatsoever. To man's greatest problem. And that is sin. Creation speaks. Of a divine God. But it makes no mention. Of a savior. He won't find that.

In creation. So. There can be no comparison. See. We need to be careful. There can be no comparison. Between God's. Witness of himself. In creation. And God's witness. Of himself.

In redemption. Creation. Tells us. Of the work. Of God's. Hands. Albeit. His omnipotent. Loving hands. But. Calvary. Alone.

Reveals. The work. Of God's heart. God's grace. You see. So. No. You. No one can look. At the creation.

And worship. The God. That is revealed. In creation. And be saved. So. All are exposed. To the witness. Of God. In creation.

And then finally. All are. Accountable. Here's the big bump. In the road. For a lot of people. All are accountable. To the witness.

Of God. In creation. All are accountable. It's very clear. In verse 20. So. That. They. Are. Without.

Excuse. The light. That is. God's. General. Revelation. The light. Is there.

It's here. And it's there. In here. In creation. God's. General. Revelation. And it reaches out. To all. As Jesus.

Or John. Said. In John 1. 9. That was the true light. Which gives light. To every. Man. Coming. Into the world. Not.

The saving light. We're talking here about. About. Just intellectual knowledge. Of God. So. The light. Is always there. It's there.

For all to see. And that light. Is sufficient. To establish. The truth. According to. Here. In Romans.

Is sufficient. To establish. The truth. Of God's. Eternal. Power. And Godhead. His power. And his glory. And that light.

That general. Revelation. That light. Embraced. Will increase. Light. Bring more.

Light. That's God's. Sovereign. Grace. It will bring. More light. Leads to more. Light. Until the person. Meets. Jesus. When he or she. He hears. The gospel. Of Jesus Christ.

I remember. Reading a story. Read it again. Today. In another. Commentary. But it was. Adrian Rogers. Who told the story. Years ago. About Helen Keller. I don't know. If you've ever. Heard this story. Helen Keller.

Both blind. And deaf. And dumb. Until. Of course. Ann Sullivan. Taught her. How to speak. Communicate. And as the story goes.

Someone. Spoke with. Helen Keller. That is. Communicated with her. About Jesus Christ. Gave her the gospel. And she said.

Oh. I already know about him. I just didn't know his name. You see. Light.

Increases light. Light. Until a person. Can hear the gospel. And that gospel. Gives light. Light. Refused.

On the other hand. Brings darkness. Increases darkness. And that's. Paul's point. In verse 21. Though we're not going to get into that verse. Tonight.

But here it is. Because although they knew God. They did not glorify him as God. Nor were thankful. But became futile. In their thoughts. And their foolishness. Hearts were darkened. Light refused.

This revelation. General revelation. Manifested in. Revealed. On the outside.

Is. God's general revelation. And it. Being refused. Will increase darkness. You see. You see. Mankind. Has a double witness. I'm talking about. The heathen.

Have a double witness. The internal witness of God. Manifest in the heart. And the external witness. Of God. Manifest in creation. A double witness. And therefore. Man is doubly.

Without excuse. That's what. Paul said. Some. Deny that truth. The truth.

Of God's general revelation. And become atheists. And embrace. And choose. To believe. In theories. Of evolution. As the. As the explanation. For the.

Origin. And the existence. Of all things. To completely. Leave God. Out of that. Even though. He's been revealed. To them. And so. Some. Deny that truth. And it leads. To atheism.

Some. Distort. That truth. And it leads. To idolatry. So they begin. To worship. The creation. Rather than. The creator.

Paul. Had something. To say. About them. In verse. Twenty. Three. Look at it. And change. The glory. Of the incorruptible. God. Into an image. Made like. Corruptible man.

The birds. And four-footed animals. And creeping. Things. How. Ridiculous. But it's because. They have rejected. Willfully. Rejected.

God's. Revelation. General. Revelation. Of himself. Internally. And externally. Some. Believe. The truth. Revealed.

In God's. General. Revelation. And by God's. Saving. Grace. Have heard. The gospel. And have become.

Christians. Become. Christians. So. The first group. Indicted. And we'll see more. More. About that indictment.

And witnesses. Against them. As we go along. Not only the cause. But the consequences. Of the ungodly. We'll see that. As we go along. In Romans chapter one.

Thank you.