Romans 1:28-32 And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind,
to do those things which are not proper, they
have become filled with every kind of wickedness, evil, greed and depravity.
They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit and malice. They are gossips, slanderers, God-haters,
insolent, arrogant and boastful; they invent ways of doing evil; they disobey
their parents; they have no understanding, no fidelity, no love, no mercy. Although they
know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only
continue to do these very things but also approve of those who
practice them.
Having returned from our Caribbean cruise (which, I hope that you enjoyed the digital photos that I took and included with the posts from sea), I continue my study of “Theism” verses “Atheism” in the search to understand the debate and educate myself further on the facts, feelings, logic and reasoning, so that I can be a better communicator and witness for the Lord. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us, “in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. That is the goal. I have found, both in studying and experience, that in the debate between belief in God and unbelief, human psychological prejudice is a key component.
Having returned from our Caribbean cruise (which, I hope that you enjoyed the digital photos that I took and included with the posts from sea), I continue my study of “Theism” verses “Atheism” in the search to understand the debate and educate myself further on the facts, feelings, logic and reasoning, so that I can be a better communicator and witness for the Lord. 1 Peter 3:15 tells us, “in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect. That is the goal. I have found, both in studying and experience, that in the debate between belief in God and unbelief, human psychological prejudice is a key component.
John 3:19 This is the judgment, that the Light has come
into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their
deeds were evil.
Sproul highlights that the list of human violations of divine law in the Bible verses above, does not indicate that man’s problem of psychological prejudice is a mild one; that the judgment of man upon God was the judgment that God was not worthy of human consideration. The error of the human mind does not proceed from a mere logical miscalculation, it was not an error flowing our of logical reasoning, but a deliberate evaluation of the worth of the knowledge of God. The error of the pagan is not accidental, but clearly deliberate. The “not seeing fit” per Romans 1:28 is an obstinate refusal to acknowledge that which is manifestly evident and true in the content of the knowledge of God revealed in creation. Not only is God’s existence known, but His attitude towards evil is likewise made manifest. The pagan knows the penalty for his evil, however, their rejection is seen not only in that they blatantly practice what they know to be evil, and know will be punished, but they applaud and encourage others to participate in their madness with them. Christian writer JohnMurray
remarked on Romans 1:32 that “We are
not only bent on damning ourselves but we congratulate others on the doing of
those things that we know have their issue in damnation.” Sin in the lives of rational beings on an
irrational foundation: the refusal to acknowledge as true what one knows with
clarity to be true.
Sproul highlights that the list of human violations of divine law in the Bible verses above, does not indicate that man’s problem of psychological prejudice is a mild one; that the judgment of man upon God was the judgment that God was not worthy of human consideration. The error of the human mind does not proceed from a mere logical miscalculation, it was not an error flowing our of logical reasoning, but a deliberate evaluation of the worth of the knowledge of God. The error of the pagan is not accidental, but clearly deliberate. The “not seeing fit” per Romans 1:28 is an obstinate refusal to acknowledge that which is manifestly evident and true in the content of the knowledge of God revealed in creation. Not only is God’s existence known, but His attitude towards evil is likewise made manifest. The pagan knows the penalty for his evil, however, their rejection is seen not only in that they blatantly practice what they know to be evil, and know will be punished, but they applaud and encourage others to participate in their madness with them. Christian writer John
Romans 1:25 For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and
served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
Sproul illustrates by asking: Where on earth could we go to find a person free of covetousness? Where could we go in pursuit of a man without envy, insolence, boastfulness, and haughtiness? No, the evils illuminated and elucidated in Romans 1:28-32 are “normal” and “typical” of men everywhere. They are manifestations of the normal irrationalism of the most sophisticated society. Why? Psychological prejudice against God. To translate mankind’s response to the knowledge of God into contemporary categories of psychology is not a difficult task. The basic stages of man’s reaction to God can be formulated by means of the categories of trauma, repression and substitution. We’ll look at that next post, as we prepare not just for the birth of Christ, the “Savior of the world”, but also “God with us”, God incarnate – literally God in the flesh.
Sproul illustrates by asking: Where on earth could we go to find a person free of covetousness? Where could we go in pursuit of a man without envy, insolence, boastfulness, and haughtiness? No, the evils illuminated and elucidated in Romans 1:28-32 are “normal” and “typical” of men everywhere. They are manifestations of the normal irrationalism of the most sophisticated society. Why? Psychological prejudice against God. To translate mankind’s response to the knowledge of God into contemporary categories of psychology is not a difficult task. The basic stages of man’s reaction to God can be formulated by means of the categories of trauma, repression and substitution. We’ll look at that next post, as we prepare not just for the birth of Christ, the “Savior of the world”, but also “God with us”, God incarnate – literally God in the flesh.
John 1:14 And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we
saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.
Learn, love, live.
In Christ, Brian
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