WITHOUT EXCUSE by w.

International Tract and Missionary Society · Oakland, California · Apr 22, 1889

FromSigns of the Times, Vol. 15, No. 16.

WITHOUT EXCUSE.

By w.

ROMANS 1:18-20.

"For the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness; because that which may be known of God is manifested in them; for God hath showed 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."

We have already seen how men "hold the truth in unrighteousness." By their own wicked lives they hinder the progress of the truth in themselves and others. For their unrighteousness the wrath of God is revealed from Heaven against them. That God will punish the ungodly is as evident from Scripture as that there is a God. "The Lord will take vengeance on his adversaries, and he reserveth wrath for his enemies. The Lord is slow to anger, and great in power, and will not at all acquit the wicked." Nahum 1:2, 3.

But God does nothing rashly. He will not punish men for the commission of deeds which they had no means of knowing were wrong. He is righteous, and never will this be more manifest than when his judgments shall have been executed upon the heads of the wicked. Then will the redeemed be constrained to say: "Great and marvelous are thy works, Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways, thou King of saints. Who shall not fear thee, O Lord, and glorify thy name? for thou only art holy; for all nations shall come and worship before thee; for thy judgments are made manifest." Rev. 15:3, 4.

That God is righteous in executing judgment upon the ungodly, is shown by the apostle in the statement that he has revealed himself to all men. This has been done independently of written revelation, so that none can make lack of education an excuse of not knowing God. In nature God is seen. Rom. 1:20 may be paraphrased thus, to make the meaning more apparent: "For ever since the creation of the earth, the invisible things of God, that is, his eternal power and Godhead, are clearly manifest, being revealed in the things which he has made; so that men who do not acknowledge him are without excuse."

The psalmist says: "The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament showeth his handiwork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, without these their voice is heard." Ps. 19:1-3, margin. Here is evidence that is open to everybody. "There is no speech nor language," therefore their silent yet powerful testimony is borne alike to all nations. Even the poor Indian

"Sees God in clouds and hears him in the wind."

Everybody who sees the heavens must know that they were created by some power, and that that power must be greater and more glorious than the things created; so that the possession of the natural senses should be sufficient to show anyone the folly of worshiping inanimate nature.

In the forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah the prophet shows the folly and blindness of those who worship graven images. Read verses 9-20. A very similar idea is conveyed by the tradition concerning Abraham when he was at home among his heathen relatives. It is told that Abraham's father was a maker of images, and that one day when he was absent Abraham destroyed all that were made, with the exception of the largest one, and in the hands of that one he placed a large stick. Of course Abraham was taxed with having destroyed the gods, but he said that the largest god had done the mischief in a fit of anger. "How can you mock me?" retorted Terah. "Have idols reason?" Then Abraham answered, 'Do not your ears hear what your mouth speaks?' But Terah, infuriated at him, took him to Nimrod, that he might be punished. 'If you will not worship the gods of your father,' said the king, 'then worship fire.' 'Why not water,' replied Abraham, 'which puts out fire?' 'Well, then, worship water.' 'Why not, rather, the clouds which hold the water?' 'Very well, worship the clouds as well.' 'But why not, rather, the wind which blows the clouds away?' 'Well, worship the wind.' 'Why not, rather, men, who can resist the wind?' But now Nimrod lost patience, and told him that he spoke only folly. Fire was his god, and he would throw him into it—'and,' added he, 'may your God come and save you from it.'—Hours with the Bible.

Of course this is simply tradition, and may never have taken place; but the same ideas must have presented themselves to more than one thoughtful mind among the heathen. Everyone who, like Abraham, turned from his father's idols to serve the Maker of heaven and earth, must have first seen the folly of worshiping objects which had no power of will.

It was to the visible creation that the apostle first directed the minds of the heathen when attempting to teach them the way of life. When the men of Lystra were about to sacrifice to Paul and Barnabas, the apostles cried out: "Sirs, why do ye these things? We are also men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein. Who in times past suffered all nations to walk in their own ways. Nevertheless he left not himself without witness in that he did good, and gave us rain from heaven, and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness." Acts 14:15-17.

Still later, when Paul stood upon Mars' hill, he said to the Athenians: "God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands; neither is worshiped with men's hands, as though he needed anything, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things. . . . For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man's device." Acts 17:24-29.

This appeal to the things that are made, was the only way that the heathen could be convicted of the folly of idolatry. But how could they from nature learn righteousness? They could not; but when their minds were awakened to the fact that there is a God above all things that are made, the next thought would naturally be, "What must we do in order to please him?" And when a soul in sincerity asks that question, God will not leave him in ignorance. As Paul said to the Athenians, "He is not far from every one of us." God will send a messenger with the revealed word to those who accept all that is taught them by the revelation of nature. Or he can work independent of human agency, by his Holy Spirit, applied to them directly, as in the case of Abraham. This much we may be sure of, that God is not cramped for means to carry on a work that he has begun. And since he has given a revelation of himself that speaks a universal language, he can easily bring the one who heeds that silent voice into circumstances where he can learn the way of God more perfectly.

The first chapter of Romans should of itself be sufficient to show all those professed Christians who teach what they call the "larger hope," the baselessness of their scheme of probation after death. They say that such a probation is necessary in order that the heathen who have not had a chance in this life, may have a fair chance, not realizing that in so saying they are charging God with injustice. God has given all men a chance. He has made a revelation of himself in language that can be understood by the most ignorant of the heathen; and the fact that some among the heathen have turned to God simply from the force of this evidence, shows that all might if they would. God did not arbitrarily choose Abraham from among the heathen, to make him the father of the faithful, but he chose him because he already acknowledged God, and in the midst of idolatry was faithful to all the light and knowledge that he had. "To him that hath shall be given, and he shall have more abundantly; but from him that hath not shall be taken away even that which he hath." The truth of the first part of this statement is attested by many instances recorded in the Bible, from Abraham down; the last part will be more apparent as we consider the next verses in the book of Romans.

One thought more. If the heathen are without excuse for their wickedness, what shall be said of those who dwell in a land where the gospel is preached, and where the Bible is within reach of everyone? They cannot say that they have not been called, for on every side there is the voice of God calling, "Turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" When at last they stand before God, not having on the wedding garment of his righteousness, which he offers freely to all, they can utter no word of excuse; they will be speechless.