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NOT A FOOLISH HEART (I)
THURSDAY, JUNE 17
Romans 1:18-23

Psalm 14:1-7

 

“…their foolish heart

was darkened…”

 

NOT A FOOLISH HEART (I)
 
The Apostle Paul begins his epistle to the Romans with a systematic presentation of the gospel message. While the gospel is indeed a message of “good news,” the Apostle begins with the “bad news” of human depravity ‒ and the fearful reality of God’s wrath, which is “revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom 1:18).
 
Man knows the truth about God, Paul contends, “because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them” (v 19). God has revealed Himself to mankind unmistakeably in the creation of the world. As the psalmist proclaims, “The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world” (Ps 19:1-4). This renders man “without excuse” (Rom 1:20), for “when they knew God, they glorified him not as God” (v 21).
 
We live in an age that prides itself on advancements and achievements in knowledge. The concept of “God” is by many considered an “unnecessary hypothesis.” Yet the fact remains that the more we discover and learn of the natural world, the more complexity and wonder we uncover. The more we explain, the more remains to be explained! Though it is often claimed that belief in God is “irrational,” the truth as God reveals it is that the problem is not so much with the mind (that is, with the logical and rational faculty of man), but with the will, the inclination, the heart: “The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God” (Ps 14:1).
 
Now no one likes to be called a fool. But this is no childish insult; it is a sober statement of fact. Man is a creature, and ought both to acknowledge and to worship his Creator. The Lord grant that our foolish hearts may be humbled, and our eyes opened, to see the truth of God’s Word!
 
THOUGHT: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth.” (Gen 1:1)

PRAYER: Father, humble my heart to see this truth!

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