Creation SUPPRESS
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Weeks theme: creation.
Every lesson we will use a key word to think about a different aspect of God’s act of creating.
Review:
Lesson 1: FAITH- who’s word will you trust?
Lesson 2: GLORY- Creation is telling you something about God. God exists and He is GLORIOUS
Lesson 3: PURPOSE- God’s purpose in creating you is to honor, serve, and have fellowship with Him.
Lesson 4: BROKEN- Because we are sinners by birth and by choice our relationship with God is broken.
Lesson 5: SUPPRESS
Our key verse today is Romans 1:18
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
The wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men...
What is wrath?
The meaning of this word has two parts.
Anger- God hates sin. When we sin we anger a holy God.
Punishment- this is the idea of judgement. Eventually everyone will stand before God and he will punish them for their sin.
When we sin we store up for ourselves God’s wrath. God’s wrath is against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of mankind.
What is ungodliness and unrighteousness?
Anything that goes against God’s standard of righteousness.
Illustration: One day we will have to stand before God in judgement. When God judges us, what standard of right and wrong will God use? Will God use your standard or definition of what is right or wrong? Or will God use his standard of what is right or wrong? Which standard matters most? God’s standard does! Ungodliness and unrighteousness is anything that does not meet God’s standard.
18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth.
What is does it mean to suppress the truth?
Suppress means to hold someone or something back.
Example: Volunteer camper, three counselors to suppress them or hold them back.
This is what is means to suppress something. God says that sometimes we are guilty of suppressing the truth by or because of our unrighteousness.
What truth is he talking about?
Context: the truth of creation.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
Remember back to our less about GLORY.
1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.
The creation is telling us something about God. What is it? God exists and he is GLORIOUS.
Here in Romans 1 Paul tells us two other truths about God that creation reveals. In fact Paul says these truths about God are plain or obvious, you can’t miss it! It is right out in the open, under your nose, in plain sight.
What truths about God does creation make plain and obvious?
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
So the creation, the things that have been made by God- what things have been made by God?
These things reveal something obvious and plain about God.
God’s eternal power
We have been enjoying the beauty of God’s creation here in South Africa. Especially, all of your mountains. They are majestic and beautiful. I can’t stop taking pictures of them. How did those mountains get there? What kind of power would it take to make a mountain?
6 the one who by his strength established the mountains, being girded with might;
2 Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down to the place that you appointed for them.
What’s the point?
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
When you look at the mountains there is something obvious about God that you should recognize and acknowledge as true. Whoever made those mountains is a being of incredible power. Can you make a mountain? Did you exist before the mountains were brought forth? Can you form them or cause them to rise or fall? God can! He has eternal power so much so that he can form mountains. Creation speaks plainly that God is powerful.
There is a second truth that creation teaches us about God.
19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them.
20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
2. Divine Nature
Creation teaches us that there is a being out there that is not like me. There must be a god, a being of divine nature, that exists who is the source or cause of everything else.
In other words where did everything come from? Where did matter come from? How did we go from non-matter to matter?
There must be a divine being who exists outside of time and matter who caused everything we see around us. Creation came from somewhere. And as we study creation and the complexity of it, as we see that creation is not random chance, but rather it is wonderfully made and designed, we come to the logical conclusion that there must be a creator and a designer, and He must be divine.
Illustration: watch on the beach. If I go walking along a beach and I discover a watch with all of its parts and pieces working together in perfect harmony in order to tell the time. My first thought is, wow, whoever designed this watch was really smart. I don’t think, wow, after billions of years this watch just randomly happened form together.
When I look at the mountains and the valleys, the trees and the birds, the baboons and the penguins, the ocean and its tides and currents I don’t think, wow, after billions of years all of this just randomly happened to form together. I think, wow, whoever designed all this is really smart and really powerful and He must be more than merely human. He must be divine.
Creation teaches us that there is a divine being who is eternally powerful. And it is plain and obvious, it is right there under our nose.
So why do some people reject the truth that there is a God? Why do some people believe in evolution that this all just happened by chance and by accident?
Because some people SUPPRESS the truth. The hold it back. And why do they hold it back? Because of their unrighteousness.
These people love their sin. They love living their lives however the please. They don’t want to acknowledge a God who created them, who they are accountable to. They want to go on and live ungodly and unrighteous lives.
19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil.
20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.
People suppress the truth, they hold the truth back, because of their unrighteousness. Because they love darkness. So they choose not to acknowledge what is plain and obvious and right in front of their nose so they can continue doing evil.
28 And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done.
Listen to some of the evil deeds of darkness that people love.
29 They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips,
30 slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents,
31 foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless.
32 Though they know God’s righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.
Remember back to lesson 4: BROKEN. We are born sinners, and we choose to sin, and because of our sin we have been separated from a holy God.
Now we learn that because of our sin we deserve God’s wrath. Our sin causes God’s anger and one day God will pour out his judgement for our sin. What we deserve in judgement for our sin is death. Eternal death- separation from God forever in hell. Unless we have our sin problem solved and dealt with one day we will face God’s wrath, we will have His judgement. But, here is the good news.
9 The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.
Here is the point of today’s lesson. Stop suppressing the truth. Stop holding back the truth of God’s Word because of your unrighteousness. Stop loving darkness instead of light. Stop hiding in the darkness of your sin. How do you do that? Here is what you must do if you do not want to face God’s wrath one day. You must REPENT.
What does it mean to repent? Repentance means to change your direction or to change your thinking. It means to change your thinking about your sin. It means that you stop loving your sin, it means that you stop hiding in darkness, but instead you come into the light of God’s truth and allow your evil deeds to be exposed.
It means you must turn from your sin and turn to God.
Be sorry for your sin- realize you have offended a holy God. Realized you have failed to live up to the purpose for why God made you. Realize this and be sorry. See your sin as God sees it and be sorry.
Be willing to change- repentance doesn’t mean that you have to live perfectly for now on. It means that you are willing to change. It means that you want to stop living in your sin and instead live for God.
Friends you have a choice today- will you continue to suppress the truth of God? Will you continue to hold back what is clear and plain and obvious so you can keep living in your sin? Or will you repent? Will you in sorrow over you sin be willing to change? Will you turn from your sin and turn to God? If you are willing to repent and turn to God, God will offer you mercy and forgiveness. But, if you continue to suppress the truth and harden your heart all you have to look forward to is God’s wrath.