God Has Made Himself Evident to Us!

"For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them." - Romans 1:18-19

Alright! So... we get to move from the righteousness of God... to the wrath of God! That's always fun!

Let's look at these verses in reverse-order... I think they'll actually make more sense to us if we do it that way!

"because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them." (1:19)

What does this verse mean? How has God made Himself evident to us... through us? In one word: Conscience! God gave each and every one of us a conscience. This is the tool, which God has given to man, that speaks truth to the heart. How do you cause a person to feel the conviction of sin and the need for repentance? You go to the conscience! Don't try to battle with them in a sparring match of intellect, but rather go directly for their conscience, which will then say, "truth" to the heart.

The conscience is also the governing factor which tells us that things are wrong. What do I mean by this? I mean that we can look at murder and automatically see that it is not alright. Murder is wrong! But how do we know that? God has revealed His standards to us through our conscience. A group of people from completely different backgrounds could all get together and come to the conclusion that stealing is wrong. Is it because our laws say that stealing is wrong? No, but rather because something deeper within ourselves understands and comprehends the injustice of taking something which is not your own. Who is the very epitome of justice? God!

The character of God is shown to us through His Word as well. He has revealed Himself through Scripture, as we talked about yesterday, and has made known His hatred for wrongdoing. The Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) are the standard which God gave, in the Old Testament, for His standard of goodness. Has anyone ever kept all of the commandments of God? No! This is one of the ways that we can know something about our God. He has a standard of perfection, which none of us can attain to!

Don't lose hope on that point, though... because here's what else we learn about God, in the New Testament... We learn that God's standard was kept by His Son, Jesus Christ, and that the innocent blood that He shed on the cross paid the penalty for all of our sins. So, we learn that God is just, through His laws, but that He is merciful, because of His plan of redemption through His Son. He sacrificed what was most dear to Him on our behalf... And through this we see another attribute of God... His love and grace!

So, in light of what we know about God... let's look at verse 18 now. "For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness." God is Holy! Sin cannot dwell in His presence. The wrath of God is poured out upon the souls of those who do not confess their sins and repent of them. Those who would choose to continue in unrighteousness have no excuse for their behavior... they have been given a conscience, just like you and I have.

So, what do we do about this? First, we make sure that our conscience hasn't been seared by the world... that we aren't letting things slip under the radar of our conscience and allowing ourselves to do the things which, deep inside, we know aren't right. Do you think your conscience has been numbed by the things that you have allowed to creep in and gain a foothold in your life? There is hope! Pray and ask God to revive your conscience! Ask Him to make you more aware of the things in your life which are detrimental to your spiritual health. This may take some work on your part... it's not always fun, getting rid of the things that God shows us that are poisoning our hearts. Sometimes it's quite painful, and a bit of a struggle, to let go of things that we want, but that are keeping us from knowing Him better... I am not unfamiliar with this kind of struggle! If you need any encouragement on this matter, please feel free to e-mail me.

Secondly... we must appeal to the consciences of others! This is our greatest tool in showing people their need for a Savior. Take all of the supports, on which they stand, out from under their feet. The average person is going to think that they're a pretty good person... but if you show them, through the Ten Commandments, that according to God's standards they aren't quite measuring up... their conscience will then relay this truth to their heart. They will begin to feel the conviction of sin, and this is when we can share the Good News! We can then show them the way out! That there was a penalty for their sins, and that Christ took that penalty and punishment upon Himself so that we wouldn't have to... that the Scriptures say that if we confess our sins and repent of them (turn away from them), God will forgive us and make us clean, through His Son! This is such wonderful news to the soul that has been made aware if its predicament! If a heart if soft enough to understand the weight of its sin, and to feel remorse because of its offenses against God, then repentance is the next logical step.

God has truly made Himself known to us! His Word is clear... Jesus is The Way, The Truth, and The Life! No man comes to the Father, except through Him! (John 14:6)

I hope this hasn't been too confusing for anyone. If you have questions or if something didn't make sense... then please, feel free to e-mail me! There's no such thing as a stupid question! Any question that I can help you to answer, I would welcome the opportunity! That being said...

Grace and Peace, Dear Friends!

Questions or Comments? E-mail me at afflquestions@yahoo.com .