GOD’S REVELATION OF HIMSELF
by Cornelius R. Stam

Romans 1:18-20 declares that God has revealed Himself to man in creation.
Not that we can learn His plan of salvation from creation --
far from it. But the creation: the glory of its star-studded heavens, the
beauty of its flowers and sunsets, the sun and rain and crops to supply us
with food, and the unchangeable laws of nature, all show forth, not only
the existence of God, but His power, His love, His justice, so that man is
a responsible being and, as Verse 20 says, "without excuse" for the
deplorable condition in which he finds himself.

A believer, talking with an atheistic evolutionist one day, took out his
watch, looked at it and put it back into his pocket, saying: "I have a
wonderful watch; it keeps perfect time; never misses a second."

"What make is it?" the atheist asked.

"Oh, no make," answered the Christian.

"Well, who manufactured it?"

"Oh, nobody; it just put itself together somehow."

"Nonsense," said the atheist, "A watch can’t just come into existence.
Somebody had to design it and somebody had to manufacture it."

"True," said the Christian, "yet you expect me to believe that this
universe, with its billions of stars and planets, all working together in
perfect order, just came about by itself; that it had no Designer, no
Creator and no one who keeps it running? Isn’t that nonsense?"

No wonder Paul says that the godless are "without excuse," including even
the vast majority of "religious" people, who salve their consciences by
giving a small part of each week or each day to the performance of some
religious rite but keep God out of their businesses, their politics, their
social relationships -- their hearts.

But thank God, as He has revealed His power and glory in creation, He has
revealed His mercy and grace, His plan of salvation, in the Bible, where
we read how "Christ died for our sins" (I Cor. 15:3), so that we might
have "redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins according to
the riches of His grace" (Eph. 1:7).