(Rev. H. Hoeksema was first editor of the Standard Bearer)
Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful; but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened.
Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,
And changed the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
Romans 1:19-23
The passage speaks of what may be characterized as inexcusable madness. Rather, it speaks of the inexcusable madness of unrighteousness.
Let me illustrate. Imagine that in a dark night a car is approaching a railroad crossing, while a fast train is coming down the tracks, rapidly nearing the road upon which the car is traveling. Some five hundred feet from the crossing, a large sign tells the driver that the railroad crossing is near. The driver sees that sign. A little farther, the driver reads another sign: stop, look, and listen. He reads that sign. The signal lights are flashing, and the bells are ringing. The driver sees and hears it. He hears the shrill whistle of the train. But he drives on with the inevitable result that the car is smashed and the occupants are destroyed. What is this? It is madness. Yes, but it is madness for which there is no excuse.
Or imagine that in the city there is a third rail, highly charged with electricity. A large sign warns of the presence of that rail. It is properly fenced off, to keep anyone from stepping upon that rail. Yet someone, in spite of the warning and in spite of the fence, climbs over that fence and steps upon that rail and is killed. What is this? Madness, you say. But it in inexcusable.
This illustrates what man does with the living God. That train is the almighty God, who holds His course, who does not change His way, who never stops. That living rail is God, who is a consuming fire for all who set themselves against Him. That mad driver is the sinner. The signs and signals are the things that are seen of God. These things are clearly seen. Yet natural man goes on, clashes with God, and is destroyed. This is inexcusable madness.
The text calls our attention to this inexcusable madness from a threefold point of view. It tells us, in the first place, what this madness is, namely, "that when they knew God they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful." In the second place, it tells us that this madness is inexcusable, when it says, "that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them." In the third place, the text tells us of the first result of the madness. It does not tell us the complete result. But it tells us what is the first result of this madness. This first result is that man "became vain in (his) imaginations, and (his) foolish heart was darkened."
The madness is that man knew God and glorified Him not as God. The apostle is speaking of man, that is, of the world as it lies in darkness, of the world as it lies apart from the gospel, as it does not have the light of the gospel. He is speaking of the world in which he is called to preach. We may say that he is speaking of the heathen world. Of this heathen world the apostle says that it knew God. Their foolishness and idolatry are not to be ascribed to natural darkness. It is often presented this way. It is often presented as if the heathen stand with outstretched hands waiting for the gospel. This is not the heathen world according to Romans. The apostle is speaking of the world apart from the gospel. Of this world he says that it knew God.
When the apostle says that the heathen world knows God, he means, in the first place, that they know that God is. In the second place, they know that God is of everlasting power. The apostle says this in verse 20: "for the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead." By the eternal power of God the apostle simply means the power by which He is able to do things. They know it. They know that God is and that He is of eternal power. Of course, the apostle means to say too that they know that that stick which they put in the ground is not god. They know that.
But they know more. They also know the divinity of God. God's divinity is what distinguishes Him from all creatures. God's divinity is that which distinguishes Him from all that we see. As divine, He is not of this world. As divine, He is distinct from everything. As divine, He is wholly other from all that is called creature. The heathen know this. Man knows this. Man knows God's divinity. God's divinity is what is called His holiness in Scripture. God's holiness is that virtue in Him by which He demands that He must always be served, worshiped, glorified, praised, and thanked. Men know this.
Men know that God is not off somewhere in heaven. They know that there is power that surrounds them, a spiritual, living power that surrounds them, and that demands of them that they glorify Him. This is the train of my illustration. Men know this. Yet they do not glorify God, and thank Him.
To glorify God as God is to acknowledge that God is God, that He is good, and that He must be praised and worshiped. To give thanks means practically the same thing, only with the acknowledgment that from this God we receive all things. The food we eat, the water we drink, the air we breathe, all things, we receive from Him. The heathen knew this. They were conscious of the everlasting power and divinity of God.
Sin is not ignorance. Sin is corruption by which man refuses to acknowledge God, because he loves unrighteousness. If a man loves unrighteousness, he cannot, will not, and cannot will to glorify God. He will not give thanks because, as the apostle tells us in verse 18, he holds the truth under in unrighteousness. Therefore, he refuses to go along with this power. He goes his own way.
This is madness. It is madness because, no more than that train, God will not stop. The truth does not change because we do not want it. God goes on, everlasting power, everlasting divinity. The sinner crosses this everlasting power and divinity. It is madness because the sinner knows that, coming against this power and divinity, he must be crushed.
But, perhaps, there was an excuse. The apostle shows, in verse 20, that no man has an excuse to run against the living God and be crushed. An excuse is something which weakens or even removes the blame for a fault. If a man does not reach a certain place in time, although the sin of being late is there, yet it may be excused. The man may not have known; he may have been misinformed; he may have been detained so that he could not come on time. Therefore, he is excused.
So, perhaps, this man who runs against God has an excuse. After all, God is invisible. The apostle says so in verse 20. Philosophers say that God cannot be seen - He is invisible - and, therefore, cannot be known. The atheist says, "Because we do not see God, there is no God."
But the apostle takes this excuse away. He shows that man is inexcusable. God has done something that makes him inexcusable. What is it? Why is man without excuse? The apostle explains that the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Verse 20 is an explanation of what the apostle mentions in verse 19, where he has said, "that which may be known of God, is manifest in them, for God hath shewed it unto them." That which may be known of God, or, as the original has it, that which is known of God. This means that what is known of God is manifest in them. Notice that the apostle does not say that it is revealed unto them. It is manifest in them. It is manifest in their heart and mind. The apostle does not mean to say that they have a revelation of God in nature as it is frequently explained. It is manifest in them. God made it known to them. There is not a man that does not know that God is. God makes known unto man His eternal power and divinity.
The apostle explains this. "For," he says, "the invisible things of God from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made." By the invisible things of God, the apostle means all the virtues of the divine being. You cannot see God. God is hid. He is hid behind the vail of the material things. The essence of God is not seen. But the invisible things of God are seen, the apostle says.
This seems to be a paradox. The invisible things of God are seen. How? By the things that are made. The things that are made are the vail behind which God is hid. But that God is behind the vail is seen. The reason is that all these things are words. They are words of God. When God made these words, what did He speak about? There was not anything to speak about except Himself. But the apostle says that the invisible things of God are seen. They are not merely declared. The apostle says that man sees them. The apostle does not mean to say that man may know God, if he only takes notice of these things, but that he may also not know God, by not taking notice of them. No, the apostle means that man must know God. How does he know God? God brings these things into his heart and mind.
Creation is not a dead book. It is a living testimony. Through it God brings the invisible things of God into his heart. Just as He brings the living testimony of the gospel into the hearts of His people, so He brings the living testimony of creation into the heart of man.
For this reason the invisible things of God are clearly seen. For this reason it is a good remedy, even for the Christian, to escape from this sophisticated world for a time (for we live in a very sophisticated world) and go to the woods, lie on his back, and say nothing. Do not say anything, do not spoil it by talking, just look up at the sky, listen to the birds, and look at the trees, the flowers, and the grass. This will be the testimony: "God is! God is eternal in power and eternal in Godhead! God must be praised!"
They know God; they know His eternal power and Godhead; they know that he must be glorified and praised.
We would say that if man knows God in His power and divinity and that he must be glorified and praised, the expected result would be that man will glorify and praise Him. Just as when the driver of that car sees the signs and signals, and hears the train, the expected result would be that that driver step on the brake and stop the car. But the apostle says that the expected fails. Man knows God and that God must be praised and thanked, but man does not give thanks.
Why not?
In principle, the apostle gives the answer in verse 18: They hold the truth under in unrighteousness. Man wants unrighteousness. Now what does He do? He begins to talk. The apostle says that they became vain in their imaginations. Or, according to the original, they became vain in their own reasoning. Man began to philosophize about God. They set aside God's testimony concerning Himself because they wanted a god after their own heart. They did not want to let God tell them who He is. Then they began to philosophize. They said, "We will develop our own system of wisdom." This is philosophy. Philosophy says, "We will determine our own God." This is philosophy. This is also the philosophy for which we take off our cap. All philosophy is foolish because it does not want God.
What is the result? The apostle says that man became vain. He became vain, empty, void of the knowledge of God. Man may reason the knowledge of God away. Not in his deepest heart, for there he must know God. But man may reason so long that he reasons the knowledge of God away. Especially over generations man may reason so long that he reasons the knowledge of God away. He becomes vain. This is what the apostle means: Knowing God, he did not glorify and thank Him, and he became vain. He became vain with respect to the knowledge of God. He became vain, empty, with respect to the knowledge of God.
What was the result? The result was that as soon as they so reasoned with regard to God, they clashed with the wrath of God. That wrath of God struck them. Their foolish heart was darkened. God showed them that their wisdom is foolishness. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools.
You understand, God showed them the foolishness of their wisdom when He cast them down before the image of corruptible man, and birds, and beasts, and creeping things. God said, "If you will not serve me, then I will make you fools." How does this become evident? By their idolatry. God made man foolish, and man made a picture of a corruptible man, and of an ox, and of creeping things. He said to that image: "Thou art my God. From thee do I expect help and deliverance and salvation." They changed, in their mind and heart, the glory of the uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and fourfooted beasts, and creeping things.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, the apostle says, in the light of this explanation of man. I would be ashamed of it, if the gospel had nothing to say to this man who so holds the truth under in unrighteousness. I would be ashamed of the gospel if it did not have a remedy. But it has. For in it is revealed the righteousness of God which is by faith in Christ Jesus.
I would be ashamed of this gospel if I had to come into this world and offer to this world this righteousness. For then it would be hopeless. Man does not want righteousness. He loves unrighteousness. All history shows that man does not want righteousness. God's invisible things are clearly seen. Although this is not the gospel, it testifies of this one thing: man does not want righteousness. He holds the righteousness of God in nature under in unrighteousness. If I offer to this man the righteousness of Christ, he will also hold this truth under in unrighteousness. If he holds the righteousness of God revealed in nature under in unrighteousness, he will hold the righteousness of God revealed in the gospel under in unrighteousness.
But the gospel is not an offer. It is the power of God unto salvation. Just as God takes the testimony of nature and carries it into the heart of man, so He takes the testimony of the gospel concerning His Son and carries it into the heart of His elect.
I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ. For it is a power. It is the power which the
sinner needs to save him from the death in which he holds the truth under in
unrighteousness. THE STANDARD BEARER Vol. 73; No. 8; January
15, 1997
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