Week 3 - Monday

God's Revelation to Man

because that which is known about God is evident within them, for God made it evident to them. (Romans 1:19)

Not everything about God can be known by man. God has chosen to keep some things hidden from us for now, things that possibly because of our limited intelligence we are not ready to comprehend. God is not hiding Himself from us though. In fact the things which are known about God, are known to us because God has deliberately made them evident. First of all God revealed Himself in creation. He created an awesome universe so that we can see His power. God has also richly provided us with everything we need for life. In addition God has placed the knowledge of Himself within human hearts, so that we might seek to know Him. These are God's natural revelations to man and they are obvious enough so that every person can know there is a God, who is both powerful and good.

There have been times when God has given additional knowledge about Himself to man. The nation of Israel is a good example of this. They were God's specially chosen people and were called by God to be His witnesses to the rest of the world. God chose certain individuals from among the Jews to be His prophets. God then used these prophets to deliver His messages to the Jews. In the first century A.D., when Paul was writing Romans, the Jews called non-Jewish people Gentiles. Even though the Gentiles had not been given the additional revelation the Jews had received, they had been given enough revelation by God to be held accountable for their rejection of Him. God's wrath against man is justified by the fact that when they reject Him, they do it even though God has made Himself evident to them. When God gives additional revelation to people it gives them a great advantage. On the other hand, once they have received more knowledge about God and then reject Him, they are even more accountable for their actions. They will be punished more severely by God than those who knew less (Luke 12:47-48). People who have heard the gospel about Jesus Christ are the most accountable of all. If a person refuses Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, God's wrath against them will be the most severe of all (Heb. 10:29-30). Not only have they rejected God's natural revelations to them and the additional revelation of the gospel. They also have refused God's Son, even though He died for their sins. Thank God for the additional revelation He has given you in the gospel. Make sure that you have taken advantage of it by receiving Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior.

Readings for today: Deut. 29:29; Eccl. 3:11; Acts 14:15-17, 17:26-27