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I. Introduction • a) Romans 1:18-20 • “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse”
I. Introduction • b) General Revelation • i) Through conscience (Rom. 2:14-16) • Romans 2:14-16 • Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things • required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do • not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are • written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their • thoughts now accusing, now even defending them. • This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets • through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares.
I. Introduction • ii) Through creation • 1. Creation simpliciter (our focus) • 2. Creation as provision (Acts 14:17) • Acts 14:17 • Yet he has not left himself without testimony: He has shown kindness • by giving you rain from heaven and crops in their seasons; he provides • you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."
I. Introduction • c) Contrast with special revelation • i) The Bible, the life of Jesus. • ii) GR (General Revelation) is generally available, SR (special revelation) is available in special circumstances. • iii) GR only provides general information, such as God’s existence. SR provides more specific information, such as his salvation plan.
I. Introduction • d) Statements of general revelation • i) Job 38-40; Psalm 19; Psalm 104. • ii) The Belgic Confession (1561), article 2: • “We know him by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse. Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own.”
I. Introduction • iii) “Creation” in The Dictionary of Biblical Imagery, 181: • “The same view of creation that empties nature of divinity also makes it a revelation of God and leaves it filled with pointers to God. The fact that all things find their origin in the creative work of God means that everything, in some way, bears witness to the creation and is revelatory of the Creator. According to the Bible every rock and tree and creature can be said to testify of God, declare his glory and show forth his handiwork (Ps 8:1; 19:1; 104; 148). We might accurately speak of the creation as divine messenger (cf. Ps 104:3-4).” Cf. C. S. Lewis, Reflections on the Psalms, ch.8
II. How nature presents itself to us • a) Creation reliably testifies about itself. • b) Therefore, creation reliably testifies about itself when it shows itself to be created and ordered. • c) Therefore, we can validly infer from creation that there is a Creator and Orderer. • d) Scripture only explicitly states c, but c presupposes b, and b presupposes a. • e) Therefore, the idea that the interaction of everything in the universe points to God (c) presupposes that every individual element of creation can be trusted to display the truth about itself (a).
III. Analysis of Rom. 1:18-20 • a. “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness…” • i) Some think this reverses the doctrine of general revelation. But what exactly is being suppressed here? Go back to the three steps by which creation reveals itself to us. • ii) “Creation reliably testifies about itself” (a). Do those who deny God’s existence deny that the universe reliably presents itself to us? No.
III. Analysis of Rom. 1:18-20 • iii) “Therefore, creation reliably testifies about itself when it shows itself to be created and ordered” (b). Do those who deny God’s existence deny that the universe is ordered (that there are laws of physics, chemistry, etc.)? No. • iv) Therefore, the suppression of Rom. 1:18 is a suppression of c, that we can validly infer from nature’s order that there is a divine Orderer. It is not a suppression of the facts of nature, it is a suppression of the inference from the facts of nature to the existence of a Creator: it is a suppression of the recognition that there must be a God.
III. Analysis of Rom. 1:18-20 • b) “…since what may be known about God is plain to them [men], because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse.” • i) The testimony of creation is available to all people at all periods of human history. This is evident from the statement that this testimony has been present “since the creation of the world.” • ii) The testimony of creation is reliable and reveals the truth about God. This is evident from the statements that creation’s testimony reveals “what may be known about God,” and that it reveals “God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature.”
III. Analysis of Rom. 1:18-20 • iii) The testimony of creation is clear and understandable. This is evident from the statements that it has “been clearly seen,” “understood,” and “is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.” • iv) God holds people responsible for their response to the testimony of creation. This is evident from the statement that they “are without excuse.”
Conclusions • i) Thus, people who have never heard the gospel message and never read a Bible verse (i) still have some true knowledge of God through his creation (ii) which communicates to them clearly and understandably (iii), and they are held accountable for their response to it (iv). • 1) More briefly, creation’s testimony is understandable (iii) to those who do not have special revelation (i). • 2) Thus, creation is an autonomous witness to God, and its testimony is valid independently of the Bible. It does not have to be interpreted through the “lens” of the Bible before it can be considered to be a valid and reliable revelation from God.
Conclusions • ii) Science is the systematic observation of creation. Thus, Christians do not have the option of denying the claims of science. The Bible obligates us to accept science—although not uncritically of course. • iii) Since the testimony of creation and the testimony of the Bible came from the same source, and this source cannot lie (Titus 1:1-2), if some scientific truth appears to conflict with the Bible, we have misunderstood creation, the Bible, or both.
