Romans 1:21-2:4
Preached November 16, 2008, Grace Family Church of Americus
Though they know God's decree, that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them. (Romans 1:32)
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Snippets from the sermon transcript:
I will wear this quote out from this pulpit, because it is of utmost importance…..The very first sentences of John Calvin's "Institutes of the Christian Religion" reads:
"Our wisdom, in so far as it ought to be deemed true and solid Wisdom, consists almost entirely of two parts: the knowledge of God and of ourselves........ "[The] infinitude of good which resides in God becomes more apparent from our poverty. In particular, the miserable ruin into which the revolt of the first man has plunged us, compels us to turn our eyes upwards; not only that while hungry and famishing we may thence ask what we want, but being aroused by fear may learn humility."
Man has one big problem. The Scriptures clearly state that man knows about God. He knows the character and nature of God from Creation, and from Conscience. Now, that knowledge is not theological knowledge (which is actually what Calvin speaks of above, where the children of God attain Wisdom)….but revealed knowledge that is sufficient to cause a man to question his state before this Creator God. So the part about knowing enough about God to come to Him is not man's greatest problem. It is not to be laid upon God the blame that men go to Hell. God has shown Himself to them. All mankind knows God good enough to know that there is wrath to come for disobedience. Man's greatest problem is not a lack of knowledge of God….but refusal of the knowledge of self. The nature of man was so corrupted in the Fall, that all men in their fallen state assume that their disobedience will somehow be overlooked by God, or that their disobedience is not deserving of His wrath. And so the great predicament of man is summed up in Romans 3:18….there is no fear of God before their eyes. Fallen man does not fail to fear God because we do not know God…..we fail to fear Him because we do not…or rather we will not know ourselves.
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