Romans 1:21 (First, the bad news)
Romans 1:21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.Darkness overcomes light that enters a cave, as light is absorbed in short order and cannot reach into the depths. In a like manner, spiritual light in unregenerate man cannot reach into the depths of his heart. Man, through his senses and his ability to think, knows there is a God. However, Paul says this thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. The spiritual light that is available in general revelation is squelched and not allowed to penetrate. Men do not desire to glorify and give thanks to God. They do not want to be accountable to a creator. Men will even choose the nonsense of matter popping into being from non-being with no outside cause before they believe in super-natural creation by a creator God.
In these latter days men believe that science, which has brought amazing technological advances in the last hundred years, will solve the problem of why there is something instead of nothing without a creator God as the cause. Apart from God’s grace, man’s thinking is as futile today as it was in Paul’s day, and spiritual light still does not penetrate the hearts of men without this grace.
10 comments:
I love the example of the picture and the cave. Because grace is free so many people can't get over the idea of not being able to "DO SOMETHING".
Thanks for your comment and prayers for our son and grandchildren. They are doing well but it has been a struggle.
By the way we have quite a few trees here in our yard if that will help the cause!!!
Man's hatred of his Creator. Man's desire to not acknowledge God, nor be thankful to Him. Man's love affair with sin; it's his nature. Man not retaining God in his knowledge.
Ah, yes, life just happened as lightning struck a puddle one day. Yup, a one celled organism was born that day. After a few years an ancester of ours walked out of that puddle... with a tail.
Nope, no higher authority to answer to when I want to sin, at least that is what man keeps trying to convince himself of.
Sin, yes.
God, no.
Sin, love to.
God, hate Him.
Sin, convenient
God, inconvenient.
Sin, self gratification
God, self sacrifice.
If one is not born again, he's jsut going through the religious motions.
Good thoughts.
"Sin, love to."
Yep, and man needs to come to a point where he hates that he loves sin.
Penless, Mark, and don....
Thanks. The teaching here is that God's spiritual light does not penetrate our unregenerate hearts of stone until God's grace gives us the ultimate makeover of a heart of flesh. Arminian thinking believes that man can respond to God and see light when he is thousands of feet into a dark tunnel.
I was amazed at what a short distance light was absorbed in the tunnel above. What an illustration of the human heart to spiritual light before regeneration.
Good job of acknowledging both the good and the limitations of science.
I am so grateful that when Christ came into my life he, who is the Light, expelled the darkness and removed the scales from my eyes! Isn't it interesting the light and darkness cannot exist in the same place!
Dave
1Pet 2:9 But ye [are] a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light...only God can shed light into our darkened hearts.I thank the Lord He showed me grace.
Cristina
Speaking of light and dark, I just got a picture of a friend in Japan today, asking me to pray for her sisters. The colors they wore in the picture just happen to reflect their story.
--One is getting married soon according to Shintoism… she wore black in the photo.
--The other sister says she’s a Christian, but hasn’t been to church in a long time… her white top does not mask the black that is underneath.
--My friend (who is a mature Christian) is in the middle… she is wearing solid yellow, with no traces of “darkness.”
Swordbearer, Dave, Cristina, and Craver,
Thanks for the input. It is amazing to experience the total darkness of a cave or long tunnel. Craver interesting picture illustration.
Wayne
My blog just tagged the kitty cat.
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