The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, majestic, and full of splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him and what came to my mind and heart in Romans 10:18,
As Paul discusses how one is born into God's family, he points to faith, Romans 10:9, and how faith is arrived at: through the gospel message, Romans 10:14-15. As Paul looks at it, he observes that not all have accepted the gospel message and their failure to do so is not due to them not hearing it.
He says, "Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ." Romans 10:17. As Paul considers this he points out that the message of the gospel is heard by everyone, as the creation itself speaks God's message. He then quotes Psalm 19, "Their voice has gone out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." "They" refers to the creation: "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge. They have no speech, they use no words; no sound is heard from them. Yet their voice goes out into all the earth, their words to the ends of the world." Psalm 19:1-4.
No one will appear before the judgment seat of God and be able to use an "ignorance" defense. God has insured all have had an opportunity to join his family as he has communicated his message to all. Whether directly through prophets, through the Scriptures the Holy Spirit has produced, through apostles, through evangelists, through teachers and even through the creation itself, all have had an opportunity to "hear" God's message and have an ability to respond by embracing him or rejecting him.
David says in Psalm 2 that the fool says in his heart, "there is no God", Psalm 14:1. On the other hand John says, "to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God..." John 1:12.
If anyone chooses to advance an argument against God, as I heard one popular comedian atheist say not too long ago, "If God wanted us to believe in him, he should have left us more evidence", he will sadly find it is woefully inadequate, as God has left us all we need. The problem is not information, the problem is the human heart. As Abraham told the rich man, "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead." Luke 16:31. I am reminded of what Jesus told Nicodemus, "This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil. Everyone who does evil hates the light, and will not come into the light for fear that their deeds will be exposed." John 3:19-20.
God has provided us all we need. The rest is up to us to embrace or reject. May we all embrace the message God has for us!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
Trevor Fisk
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