| Topic: |
Religions > Bible |
| User: |
"Carl" |
| Date: |
08 Jul 2007 03:13:36 PM |
| Object: |
Faith |
The following is a brief exhortation on faith in Jesus Christ by Vernon
McGee. It is a good reminder upon where the Christian focus should be.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Faith
by J. Vernon McGee
The only thing that God asks of you and me is faith. Faith is more than
intellectual assent. It includes that, but it is also personal trust in God.
Faith does, however, rest upon knowledge.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans
10:17)
The only condition of salvation is faith-it's to believe God. It rests upon
one foundation: the integrity of God. We believe Him. We take Him at His
word; we believe in God.
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
It's the same old illustration we have everywhere that "?saving faith?" is
mentioned. It is always used with a preposition, either the preposition eis,
"?into,?" or the preposition epi, which means "?upon.?" To be saved means to
put your trust either "?into?" or "?upon?" Christ. You can stand by a chair
from now until judgment day and say, "?I believe this chair will hold me
up,?" but faith is not exercised until you sit in it, trust your whole
weight to it-believe into it, if you please, or believe upon it-and when you
do that, then the chair is holding you up.
At this moment you say you believe in Christ. But how do you believe in
Christ?
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and
tremble! (James 2:19)
The demons believe and tremble, but they are not saved. Is this faith? And
among some Bible-believing folks in our day it has become just sort of a
little intellectual assent to something. Oh, friend, that's not salvation.
It's not until you and I come and trust ourselves to Jesus Christ that we
are 100 percent saved.
.
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| User: "SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim" |
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| Title: Re: ***** Faith |
08 Jul 2007 05:45:27 PM |
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HEY CARL, ***** JESUS CHRIST, WAS YOUR GOD SITTING ON HIS FAT, LAZY ***** WHILE
THIS HAPPENED?
THE COLD-HEARTED ***** CHRISTIAN GOD COMMITTS MURDER.
BRIDGEPORT, Conn. -- A third child who was riding in a van that rolled into
a pond in a Bridgeport park on Wednesday died Thursday, a hospital spokesman
said.
Jayden Wilson, 6, died just before 2 p.m. at Yale-New Haven Children's
Hospital, spokesman Mark D'Antonio said.
He was the nephew of Michelle McIntosh, 39, who was killed in the accident
along with her son, 2-year-old David McIntosh, and 3-year-old family friend
Julia Boyd.
Julia's aunt, Leonara Henry, told Eyewitness News that the girl's mother had
been driving in the car behind the van driven by McIntosh Wednesday.
Henry said that Julia wanted to ride with her friend, David, in the van. She
said that Julia's mother jumped into the water after the van.
"She tried to save her daughter. She jumped into the lake, but the water was
so cold and dirty that she could not see anything," Henry said.
McIntosh got out to talk with friends following her in another car about
where to set up their holiday picnic at Beardsley Park in Bridgeport on
Wednesday morning, police said.
She chased the van as it started to roll and was dragged for a short
distance, losing her shoes as she climbed in and tried to stop the vehicle,
police said.
It rolled 60 or 70 yards down a steep hill and into a pond, where it was
submerged in 15 to 20 feet of water for up to 25 minutes.
Investigators said they do not believe foul play was involved in the deaths
of the woman and three children.
"All of the evidence we have at this point definitely points to it as an
unfortunate, horrible accident," Bridgeport police Capt. Lynn Kerwin said.
"
Police said Thursday that they are continuing to investigate why the van
began rolling toward the water.
Deputy Police Chief James Honis said that while police are unsure what gear
the van was found in, he said that the emergency brake was not deployed.
Jayden had been the lone survivor and remained in critical condition before
dying at Yale-New Haven Hospital Thursday, Kerwin said.
"I'm numb," Michelle McIntosh's husband, David, said in an interview with
The Associated Press on Thursday. "It's like I'm still waiting for them to
come back."
David McIntosh said his wife planned find a spot to picnic and then return
to the house, less than a half-mile from the park, to get him and their
other children.
Michelle McIntosh, who worked in the financial aid office of Monroe College
in New York, was a dedicated mother who took the children for swimming
lessons and to soccer games, family members said.
"If my kids fell on the ground and get a scratch, she's at the doctor's with
them," David McIntosh said. "If they cry, she takes them to the doctor."
Michelle and David McIntosh were childhood sweethearts who emigrated from
Jamaica, Plummer said.
Besides her husband, McIntosh is survived by three daughters.
"She was very loving. She's always there for us. It's just like last week,
she was there at my graduation for high school. She always loved her kids.
She was always there for us, getting us out of situations and helping us,"
said McIntosh's daughter, Jenille.
The elder David McIntosh, a 40-year-old government auditor, said his son
sometimes got out of his car seat.
"Probably one of the kids was eager to get out of the car and touched the
gear or something," David McIntosh said.
The Bridgeport police scuba team pulled the victims out and rescuers tried
to revive them before they were taken to hospitals, where they died.
"It's a real tragedy for a family in Bridgeport," Mayor John Fabrizi said.
"A day of sorrow for all Bridgeporters."
Fire Battalion Chief Ismael Pomales said people nearby tried unsuccessfully
to stop the van, and that fire personnel were not able to reach those
trapped inside.
"It's horrible," Pomales said. "We've had children die before. That's
probably one of the toughest things for any rescue person to deal with."
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| User: "old man joe" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
09 Jul 2007 07:30:34 AM |
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On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:13:36 -0400, "Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote:
The following is a brief exhortation on faith in Jesus Christ by Vernon
McGee. It is a good reminder upon where the Christian focus should be.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Faith
by J. Vernon McGee
The only thing that God asks of you and me is faith. Faith is more than
intellectual assent. It includes that, but it is also personal trust in God.
Faith does, however, rest upon knowledge.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans
10:17)
The only condition of salvation is faith-it's to believe God. It rests upon
one foundation: the integrity of God. We believe Him. We take Him at His
word; we believe in God.
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
It's the same old illustration we have everywhere that "?saving faith?" is
mentioned. It is always used with a preposition, either the preposition eis,
"?into,?" or the preposition epi, which means "?upon.?" To be saved means to
put your trust either "?into?" or "?upon?" Christ. You can stand by a chair
from now until judgment day and say, "?I believe this chair will hold me
up,?" but faith is not exercised until you sit in it, trust your whole
weight to it-believe into it, if you please, or believe upon it-and when you
do that, then the chair is holding you up.
At this moment you say you believe in Christ. But how do you believe in
Christ?
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and
tremble! (James 2:19)
The demons believe and tremble, but they are not saved. Is this faith? And
among some Bible-believing folks in our day it has become just sort of a
little intellectual assent to something. Oh, friend, that's not salvation.
It's not until you and I come and trust ourselves to Jesus Christ that we
are 100 percent saved.
yet another salvaltion by good works gospel where faith is something
to conjure up by sitting in a chair... which is your good work so that
you get the glory for the doing.
since grace means unmerited favor, you've merited grace only by your
action... which must come first... otherwise salvation does not take
place.
Jacob, David, Jeremiah and John the Baptist were fetuses when God
saved them by grace alone... where was their decision to sit in a
chair ? are there 2 gospels ? one for filling conditions and one for
grace alone ?
believing comes after salvation, not before. Acts 13:48 so that
God in Christ gets the glory.
************************************************
" believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved "
Acts 16:31
" and as many as had been appointed to eternal life, believed."
Acts 13:48
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| User: "Jim" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
09 Jul 2007 10:48:03 AM |
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On Mon, 09 Jul 2007 08:30:34 -0400, old man joe <not@home.com> wrote:
On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:13:36 -0400, "Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote:
The following is a brief exhortation on faith in Jesus Christ by Vernon
McGee. It is a good reminder upon where the Christian focus should be.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Faith
by J. Vernon McGee
The only thing that God asks of you and me is faith. Faith is more than
intellectual assent. It includes that, but it is also personal trust in God.
Faith does, however, rest upon knowledge.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans
10:17)
The only condition of salvation is faith-it's to believe God. It rests upon
one foundation: the integrity of God. We believe Him. We take Him at His
word; we believe in God.
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
It's the same old illustration we have everywhere that "?saving faith?" is
mentioned. It is always used with a preposition, either the preposition eis,
"?into,?" or the preposition epi, which means "?upon.?" To be saved means to
put your trust either "?into?" or "?upon?" Christ. You can stand by a chair
from now until judgment day and say, "?I believe this chair will hold me
up,?" but faith is not exercised until you sit in it, trust your whole
weight to it-believe into it, if you please, or believe upon it-and when you
do that, then the chair is holding you up.
At this moment you say you believe in Christ. But how do you believe in
Christ?
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and
tremble! (James 2:19)
The demons believe and tremble, but they are not saved. Is this faith? And
among some Bible-believing folks in our day it has become just sort of a
little intellectual assent to something. Oh, friend, that's not salvation.
It's not until you and I come and trust ourselves to Jesus Christ that we
are 100 percent saved.
yet another salvaltion by good works gospel where faith is something
to conjure up by sitting in a chair
Which only proves the entire illustration flew over your head. Looking at
the chair is symbolic of intellectual assent - whereas sitting in the chair
is symbolic of faith/believing.
... which is your good work so that
you get the glory for the doing.
since grace means unmerited favor, you've merited grace only by your
action... which must come first... otherwise salvation does not take
place.
Jacob, David, Jeremiah and John the Baptist were fetuses when God
saved them by grace alone... where was their decision to sit in a
chair ? are there 2 gospels ? one for filling conditions and one for
grace alone ?
believing comes after salvation, not before.
The Word of God proves you're a liar.
Acts 16:30-31 (NLT) He brought them out and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be
saved?" {31} They replied, "Believe on the Lord Jesus and you will be saved,
along with your entire household."
Acts 13:48
It doesn't say believing comes after salvation - it's only your twisting of it
that does that.
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| User: "Jim" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
08 Jul 2007 09:54:25 PM |
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On Sun, 8 Jul 2007 16:13:36 -0400, "Carl" <saints@nettally.com> wrote:
The following is a brief exhortation on faith in Jesus Christ by Vernon
McGee. It is a good reminder upon where the Christian focus should be.
May God bless,
Carl
my website -- http://www.nettally.com/saints/
my blog -- http://www.anniemayhem.com/cgi-bin/wordpress/
---
Faith
by J. Vernon McGee
The only thing that God asks of you and me is faith. Faith is more than
intellectual assent. It includes that, but it is also personal trust in God.
Faith does, however, rest upon knowledge.
So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. (Romans
10:17)
The only condition of salvation is faith-it's to believe God. It rests upon
one foundation: the integrity of God. We believe Him. We take Him at His
word; we believe in God.
He who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of
those who diligently seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6)
It's the same old illustration we have everywhere that "?saving faith?" is
mentioned. It is always used with a preposition, either the preposition eis,
"?into,?" or the preposition epi, which means "?upon.?" To be saved means to
put your trust either "?into?" or "?upon?" Christ. You can stand by a chair
from now until judgment day and say, "?I believe this chair will hold me
up,?" but faith is not exercised until you sit in it, trust your whole
weight to it-believe into it, if you please, or believe upon it-and when you
do that, then the chair is holding you up.
At this moment you say you believe in Christ. But how do you believe in
Christ?
You believe that there is one God. You do well. Even the demons believe-and
tremble! (James 2:19)
The demons believe and tremble, but they are not saved. Is this faith? And
among some Bible-believing folks in our day it has become just sort of a
little intellectual assent to something. Oh, friend, that's not salvation.
It's not until you and I come and trust ourselves to Jesus Christ that we
are 100 percent saved.
Good article Carl. And for anyone interested - www.ttb.org is the official
J. Vernon McGee website.
.
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| User: "SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
09 Jul 2007 05:46:03 AM |
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for anyone interested www.crockofshit.com is the real website of christian
nutcases
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| User: "You Think" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
10 Jul 2007 07:51:19 PM |
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"SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim" <killgod@killgod.com> wrote in message news:Lloki.6017$Od7.944@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
.. Faith
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not
seen." (Hebrews 11:1) It is synonymous with trust. It is a divine gift
(Romans 12:3) and comes by hearing the Word of God. (Romans 10:17)
It is the means by which the grace of God is accounted to the believer who
trusts in the work of Jesus on the cross. (Ephesians 2:8) Without faith it is
impossible to please God. (Hebrews 11:6) It is by faith that we live our
lives, "The righteous shall live by faith." (Habakkuk 2:4 ; (Romans 1:17)
Ephesians 6:10-20 NIV
Ephesians 6
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against
the devil's schemes.
12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,
against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil
comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done
everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with
the breastplate of righteousness in place,
15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel
of peace.
16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can
extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the
word of God.
18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and
requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the
saints.
19 Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be
given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel,
20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it
fearlessly, as I should.
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| User: "SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
10 Jul 2007 08:15:19 PM |
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Ephesians 6
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.
would that be the mighty power when the ALL-POWERFUL god sits on his FAT,
LAZY *****, laughing his sick sadistic ***** off while children are being raped
and murdered?
death to the child-killing christian god
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| User: "You Think" |
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| Title: Re: Faith |
10 Jul 2007 07:35:30 PM |
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"SheBlewHimDidYouBlowHim" <killgod@killgod.com> wrote in message news:Lloki.6017$Od7.944@newsread1.news.pas.earthlink.net...
.. Unbelief and Its Consequences
(Romans 1:18-32 NASB) Unbelief and Its Consequences
18 For ?a?the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who ?b?suppress the truth
?1?in unrighteousness,
19 because ?a?that which is known about God is evident
?1?within them; for God made it evident to them.
20 For ?a?since the creation of the world His invisible
attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly
seen, ?b?being understood through what has been made, so that they
are without excuse.
21 For even though they knew God, they did not ?1?honor Him as
God or give thanks, but they became ?a?futile in their
speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
22 ?a?Professing to be wise, they became fools,
23 and ?a?exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an
image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed
animals and ?1?crawling creatures.
24 Therefore ?a?God gave them over in the lusts of their hearts
to impurity, so that their bodies would be ?b?dishonored among
them.
25 For they exchanged the truth of God for ?1?a ?a?lie, and
worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, ?b?who
is blessed ?2?forever. Amen.
26 For this reason ?a?God gave them over to ?b?degrading
passions; for their women exchanged the natural function for that
which is ?1?unnatural,
27 and in the same way also the men abandoned the natural
function of the woman and burned in their desire toward one
another, ?a?men with men committing ?1?indecent acts and receiving
in ?2?their own persons the due penalty of their error.
28 And just as they did not see fit ?1?to acknowledge God any
longer, ?a?God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those
things which are not proper,
29 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed,
evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are
?a?gossips,
30 slanderers, ?1??a?haters of God, insolent, arrogant,
boastful, inventors of evil, ?b?disobedient to parents,
31 without understanding, untrustworthy, ?a?unloving,
unmerciful;
32 and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who
practice such things are worthy of ?a?death, they not only do the
same, but also ?b?give hearty approval to those who practice them.
[1]
1:20
1:20 invisible attributes. This refers specifically to the two mentioned
in this verse. by the things that are made. The creation delivers a
clear, unmistakable message about God's person (cf. Pss. 19:1-8; 94:9;
Acts 14:15-17; 17:23-28). His eternal power. The Creator, who made all
that we see around us and constantly sustains it, must be a being of
awesome power. Godhead. That is, His divine nature, particularly His
faithfulness (Gen. 8:21, 22), kindness, and graciousness (Acts 14:17).
they are without excuse. God holds all men responsible for their refusal
to acknowledge what He has shown them of Himself in His creation. Even
those who have never had an opportunity to hear the gospel have received
a clear witness about the existence and character of God-and have
suppressed it. If a person will respond to the revelation he has, even
if it is solely natural revelation, God will provide some means for that
person to hear the gospel (cf. Acts 8:26-39; 10:1-48; 17:27).[2]
1:21-1:23
Every man knows there's a God, but men choose to suppress the
truth and deny God exists because they don't want to give glory
to Him as God. You see, if there is a God, then I am required to
submit to Him. But my flesh doesn't want to do that, so I'll
suppress the truth I see all around me. I'll say God doesn't
exist-even though the heavens and stars scream at me, "Yes He
does!"
We can fall into this same error as believers. Knowing God, we can fail
to glorify Him as God. How? By insisting on our own way, by saying,
"God, I believe in You, and now I'm telling You what I want You to do.
You better solve this situation, take care of this problem, grant this
request, or heal this sickness. I'm naming it. I'm claiming it."
He's God. We're not. He knows things we can't know and sees things we
can't see. Therefore, for me to rub the lamp of faith and expect God to
become my genie is, in a sense, blasphemous. Father knows best.
Therefore, my part is to talk things over with Him, cast my cares upon
Him, and have faith that He will do what's right-even though I might not
initially agree or understand.[3]
There is no such thing as man moving upward. These verses contradict the
hypothesis of evolution. Man is not improving physically, morally,
intellectually, or spiritually. The pull is downward. Of course this
contradicts all the anthologies of religion that start with man in a
very primitive condition as a caveman with very little intellectual
qualities and move him up intellectually and begin moving him toward
God. This is absolute error. Man is moving away from God, and right now
the world is probably farther from God than at any time in its history.
The fact of the matter is that every primitive tribe has a tradition
that way back in the beginning their ancestors knew God. Dr. Vincent in
Word Studies in the New Testament says, "I think it may be proved from
facts that any given people, down to the lowest savages, has at any
period of its life known far more than it has done: known quite enough
to have enabled it to have got on comfortably, thriven and developed, if
it had only done what no man does, all that it knew it ought to do and
could do." No people have ever lived up to the light that they have had.
Although they had a knowledge of God, they moved away from Him.
"They glorified him not as God." They did not give Him His rightful
place, and man became self-sufficient. In our day man has made the
announcement that God is dead. In the beginning the human family did not
suggest that God was dead, they simply turned their backs upon Him and
made man their god.
"Neither were thankful." Ingratitude is one of the worst sins there is.
You recall that the Lord Jesus healed ten lepers, but only one returned
to thank Him. Only ten percent were thankful, and I believe it is less
than that today.
"Became vain in their imaginations"-they even concocted a theory of
evolution.
"Their foolish heart was darkened." They moved into the darkness of
paganism. You see living proof of this as you walk down the streets of
Cairo in Egypt or of Istanbul in Turkey. In fact, all you have to do is
walk down the streets of Los Angeles to know that man's foolish heart is
darkened.
"Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools." The wisdom of man
is foolishness with God. Man searches for truth through logical
reasoning but arrives at a philosophy that is foolish in God's sight.[4]
1:19-1:27
The ungodliness of mankind 1:19-27
1:19-20 These verses begin a discussion of "natural revelation." Natural
revelation describes what everyone knows about God because of what God
has revealed concerning Himself in nature. What He has revealed about
Himself in Scripture is "special revelation." The creation bears
testimony to its Maker, and every human being "hears" this witness (cf.
Ps. 19).43
"Napoleon, on a warship in the Mediterranean on a star-lit night, passed
a group of his officers who were mocking at the idea of a God. He
stopped, and sweeping his hand toward the stars, said, 'Gentlemen, you
must get rid of those first!'"44
Four things characterize this revelation. First, it is a clear
testimony; everyone is aware of it ("it is evident [plain]"). Second,
everyone can understand it. We can draw conclusions about the Creator
from His creation.45 Third, it has gone out since the creation of the
world in every generation. Fourth, it is a limited revelation in that it
does not reveal everything about God (e.g., His love and grace) but only
some things (i.e., His power and deity). Natural revelation makes man
responsible to respond to his Creator in worship and submission. However
it does not give sufficient information for him to experience salvation.
That is why everyone needs to hear the gospel.
"Utter uncompromising, abandonment of hope in man is the first
preliminary to understanding or preaching the gospel."46
1:20 Ever since the creation of the world, two invisible characteristics
of God have been on display for all to see: His eternal power and His
divinity or Godhead. The word Paul uses here means divinity or godhood.
It suggests the character of God rather than His essential being, His
glorious attributes rather than His inherent deity. His deity is
assumed.
The argument here is clear: Creation demands a Creator. Design demands a
Designer. By looking up at the sun, moon, and stars, anyone can know
there is a God.
The answer to the question "What about the heathen?" is this: they are
without excuse. God has revealed Himself to them in creation, but they
have not responded to this revelation. So people are not condemned for
rejecting a Savior they have never heard of, but for being unfaithful to
what they could know about God. [5]
1:21-23 Honoring God as God and giving Him thanks (v. 21) are our
primary duties to God in view of who He is. Mythology and idolatry
have resulted from man's need to identify some power greater than
himself and his refusal to acknowledge God as that power. Men and
women have elevated themselves to God's position (cf. Dan. 2:38;
3:1; 5:23). In our day, humanism has replaced the worship of
individual human leaders in most western countries. Man has
descended to the worship of animals as well (cf. Ps. 106:20). This
is perhaps more characteristic of third world countries.
"This tragic process of human 'god-making' continues apace in our own
day, and Paul's words have as much relevance for people who have made
money or sex or fame their gods as for those who carved idols out of
wood and stone."47
Note the allusions to the creation story in the threefold division of
the animal kingdom in verse 23.
1:24-25 The false religions that man has devised and to which Paul just
referred constitute some of God's judgment on mankind for turning from
Him. False religion is not in any sense good for mankind. It is a
judgment from God, and it tends to keep people so distracted that they
rarely deal with the true God.
"God's wrath mentioned in Romans 1 is not an active outpouring of divine
displeasure but the removal of restraint that allows sinners to reap the
just fruits of their rebellion."48
It is active in another sense, however. God gave man over (v. 24; cf.
vv. 26, 28) by turning him over to the punishment his crime earned, as a
judge does a prisoner. The third characteristic of man in rebellion
against God that Paul identified after ignorance (v. 21) and idolatry
(v. 23) is impurity (v. 24). Here Paul evidently had natural forms of
moral uncleanness in view such as adultery and harlotry. He went on in
verses 26-27 to describe even worse immorality, namely unnatural acts
such as homosexuality.49
Mankind exchanged the truth of God (v. 25; cf. v. 18) for "the lie"
(literally). The lie in view is the contention that we should venerate
someone or something in place of the true God (cf. Gen. 3:1-5; Matt.
4:3-10). Paul's concluding doxology underlined this folly.
1:26-27 Because mankind "exchanged" the truth for the lie God allowed
him to degrade himself through his passions. The result was that he
"exchanged" natural human functions for what is unnatural. In the Greek
text the words translated "women" (thelus; v. 26) and "men" (arsen, v.
27) mean "females" and "males." Ironically the homosexuality described
in these verses does not characterize females and males of other animal
species, only human beings. Homosexuality is a perversion because it
uses sex for a purpose contrary to those for which God created and
intended it (Gen. 1:28).
"This need not demand the conclusion that every homosexual follows the
practice in deliberate rebellion against God's prescribed order. What is
true historically and theologically is in measure true, however,
experientially."50
AIDS, for example, is probably the consequence of man's rebellion
against God rather than a special judgment from God. The "due penalty"
is what man experiences as a result of God giving him over and letting
him indulge his sinful desires (cf. 6:23).51
"Sin comes from the mind, which perverts the judgment. The effect of
retribution is to abandon the mind to that depravity."52
"A contextual and exegetical examination of Romans 1:26-27 reveals that
attempts by some contemporary writers to do away with Paul's
prohibitions against present-day same-sex relations are false Paul did
not impose Jewish customs and rules on his readers; instead he addressed
same-sex relations from the trans-cultural perspective of God's created
order. God's punishment for sin is rooted in a sinful reversal of the
created order. Nor was homosexuality simply a sin practiced by idolaters
in Paul's day; it was a distorting consequence of the fall of the human
race in the Garden of Eden. Neither did Paul describe homosexual acts by
heterosexuals. Instead he wrote that homosexual activity was an exchange
of the created order (heterosexuality) for a talionic perversion
(homosexuality), which is never presented in Scripture as an acceptable
norm for sexuality. Also Hellenistic pederasty does not fully account
for the terms and logic of Romans 1:26-27 which refers to adult-adult
mutuality. Therefore it is clear that in Romans 1:26-27 Paul condemned
homosexuality as a perversion of God's design for human sexual
relations."53 [6]
The God of the Bible, in contrast to some pagan religions, is in
sovereign control of everything, including evil, which he uses to
accomplish his good purposes (cf. Job 1-3).
Third, the Bible sometimes speaks of God "hardening" people's hearts
(see Rom. 9:17-18) or even sending them strong delusions (2 Thess.
2:11). However, on closer examination, we discover that God did this to
those who had hardened their own hearts (Exod. 8:15) and who "did not
believe the truth" (2 Thess. 2:12). God uses even their depravity to
accomplish his purposes. God permits lying as a judgment on evil.
God, for his own purposes of justice, allowed Ahab to be deceived by
evil spirits to accomplish his sovereign and good will.
John 7:3-10. Bible critics have sometimes appealed to this text to show
that Jesus lied. This is a serious charge, since it would not only be a
divinely approved lie, but one told by God himself in the person of his
Son. Jesus' unbelieving brothers challenged him to go up to Jerusalem
and show himself openly to be the Messiah (7:3-4). Jesus refused,
saying, "I am not yet going up to this feast, because for me the right
time has not yet come" (vs. 8). But later Jesus did go (vs. 10). Jesus
did not go openly, as the brothers had suggested, nor at the immediate
time they suggested. Further, John 7:8 relates that Jesus said he was
not yet going. "He remained in Galilee" before he went up. [7]
Man has a revelation from God, but he flagrantly flaunts it by defying
the judgment of God against such sins. He continues to practice them and
applauds and approves those who do the same. [8]
---------------------------------------------------------------------
a Rom 5:9; Eph 5:6; Col 3:6 b 2 Thess 2:6f 1 Or by a Acts 14:17; 17:24ff
1 Or among a Mark 10:6 b Job 12:7-9; Ps 19:1-6; Jer 5:21f 1 Lit glorify
a 2 Kin 17:15; Jer 2:5; Eph 4:17f a Jer 10:14; 1 Cor 1:20 a Deut
4:16-18; Ps 106:20; Jer 2:11; Acts 17:29 1 Or reptiles a Rom 1:26, 28;
Eph 4:19 b Eph 2:3 1 Lit the lie a Is 44:20; Jer 10:14; 13:25; 16:19 b
Rom 9:5; 2 Cor 11:31 2 Lit unto the ages a Rom 1:24 b 1 Thess 4:5 1 Lit
against nature a Lev 18:22; 20:13; 1 Cor 6:9 1 Lit the shameless deed 2
Lit themselves 1 Lit to have God in knowledge a Rom 1:24 a 2 Cor 12:20 1
Or hateful to God a Ps 5:5 b 2 Tim 3:2 a 2 Tim 3:3 a Rom 6:21 b Luke
11:48; Acts 8:1; 22:20
[1]New American Standard Bible : 1995 update. 1995 (Ro 1:18). LaHabra,
CA: The Lockman Foundation.
[2]MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic
ed.) (Ro 1:20). Nashville: Word Pub.
[3]Courson, J. (2003). Jon Courson's Application Commentary (870).
Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[4]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:653). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson. 43 43. See Bruce A. Baker, "Romans 1:18-21 and
Presuppositional Apologetics," Bibliotheca Sacra 155:619 (July-September
1998):280-98. 44 44. Newell, p. 29. 45 45. "His invisible attributes . .
.. have been clearly seen" is an oxymoron. 46 46. Newell, p. 27.
[5]MacDonald, W., & Farstad, A. (1997, c1995). Believer's Bible
Commentary : Old and New Testaments (Ro 1:20). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.
47 47. Moo, p. 110. For a relevant exposition of verses 21-22, see
Francis A. Schaeffer, Death in the City, pp. 79-123. 48 48. Mounce, p.
80. 49 49. Natural here means in keeping with how God has designed
people, and unnatural refers to behavior that is contrary to how God has
made us. 50 50. Harrison, p. 25. 51 51. See P. Michael Ukleja,
"Homosexuality in the New Testament," Bibliotheca Sacra 140:560
(October-December 1983):350-58. 52 52. Henri Maurier, The Other
Covenant, p. 185. 53 53. David E. Malick, "The Condemnation of
Homosexuality in Romans 1:26-27, " Bibliotheca Sacra 150:599
(July-September 1993):340. Pederasty is a form of sodomy between males,
especially as practiced by a man with a boy. See also Sherwood A. Cole,
"Biology, Homosexuality, and Moral Culpability," Bibliotheca Sacra
154:615 (July-September 1997):355-66.
[6]Tom Constable. (2003; 2003). Tom Constable's Expository Notes on the
Bible (Ro 1:18). Galaxie Software.
[7]Geisler, N. L. (1999). Baker encyclopedia of Christian apologetics.
Baker reference library (434). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Baker Books.
[8]McGee, J. V. (1997, c1981). Thru the Bible commentary. Based on the
Thru the Bible radio program. (electronic ed.) (4:655). Nashville:
Thomas Nelson.
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