All About the Bible
3 - God Revealed
God is a God who communicates. He has not hidden himself away in a dark corner. He is knowable. It would be understandable then for God to reveal His presence in a variety of ways. The Bible is one important way He has done this. There are other ways too. God's revelation of himself may be divided into two categories. The first is general revelation. This means that God has revealed himself in Creation.
Mankind has no real reason to deny God's existence because the created world around us declares it. It is as though God is waving and saying "Hello"! The Bible says in Romans 1: 20, "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse". How do we account for the variety, colour, splendour and glory of all that we can see around us? The whole of creation speaks of an intelligent architect. It is no surprise that people hide behind theories like evolution which argues that the world evolved from some grand explosion and primeval slime. Evolutionists really hope this is true because it removes all sense of accountability to a creator God. God is the true origin of species. The scripture is clear on this. We read in Psalm 19: 1, "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of His hands". Creation has design which suggests a designer, and colour suggests an artist. The DNA code implies a code giver with intelligence. The laws of nature means a lawgiver was involved. As someone rightly said, "God has left His fingerprints all over the universe". That the world has an intelligent creator satisfies all logic and reason. The law of cause and effect is all around us. The house you live in just did not appear from nothing. It was designed and built. To say it wasn’t would be illogical and unreasonable. Yet Atheists want us to ditch logic and reason when it comes to the origin of the world. Something never comes from nothing. Creation is the work of the master architect, God himself.
There’s a second aspect to general revelation. Immanuel Kant once said, "Two things strike me with awe: the starry heavens above and the moral law within".
This moral law within is the second testimony to God's existence. It is the work of conscience. We all have one. What is it?
John Calvin put it well when he said, "Distinction between virtuous and vicious actions has been engraved by the Lord on the heart of every man".
The Bible says in Romans 2: 14 – 15, "Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not know God’s moral law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their conscience bearing also witness, and their thoughts now accusing now even defending them". The conscience is a sensitive piece of internal equipment. It can be damaged by taking in wrong information, and silenced by constantly turning a deaf ear to it. Make sure that you handle it with care. Scripture tells us that the Jews had the law in their possession given by God in the form of the Ten Commandments.
The intriguing fact is that non-Jews, or Gentiles, who didn’t possess the Ten Commandments on two stone slabs clearly had them inscribed on their hearts. Human morality throughout the world reflects the moral requirements of the Ten Commandments. Somehow people everywhere recoil against murder, thieving, lying, and they feel guilty when they do wrong. Now this should be no surprise to us because we are all created in the image of God. The moral law is a reflection of God's perfect character and standards for mankind. God says, "You shall not steal". Why do you feel guilty if you do steal? There is that nagging accusing voice inside that is telling you what you did was wrong. This is evidence of a higher moral being to whom you are accountable and whose image we bear. This is evidence of God's existence who wrote these very laws on your heart. Your conscience is simply reminding you of this! Why do you feel good when you do the right thing? Conscience is commending you because in this case you have conformed to the moral law given by your creator. R C H. Lenski made this point, "Conscience holds us accountable to God. Drop the idea of God and the vitality of conscience is destroyed. Ideas of right and wrong do not bind the conscience; the idea of God and judgement does". The accusing aspect of the work of the conscience reminds you of the predicament you’re in without Jesus Christ as your Saviour. Sin is breaking God's law. We have all done this. So, we are all sinners. Conscience gives us that sense of guilt when we have sinned. Our sin needs to be forgiven by the one we have offended, namely, God himself. God has made provision for this in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross.
The wages of sin is death, but Jesus the sinless one bore our sins in His own body on the cross. He died in our place bearing the punishment due to us. Repentance and faith in Him delivers us from sin and an accusing conscience.
The limitations of creation and conscience are that neither categorically proves the existence of God, nor can either of them save us from sin and guilt. They are pointers to the feasibility of Gods existence, and they argue logically in favour of His existence. They are evidence that the concept of a moral supreme creator God is reasonable. They both reveal mans accountability, and the need of forgiveness for our sin and rebellion. Since the entrance of sin into the world through Adam’s disobedience man has never found God by studying creation. Also, He has often silenced and perverted the voice of conscience, and brought himself into a condition where the conscience has become numb. General revelation is inadequate of itself to bring men to God and salvation. A more complete revelation is needed.
There is value in general revelation. It reveals God's goodness to us. The moral law of God, expressed in the Ten Commandments, has provided a firm basis for moral government in many societies in the world. It is held evil back and promoted good amongst men. It is provided orderly government, and helped us to differentiate right from wrong.
General revelation shows that God is there. He is there whether man recognises it or not. Man needs to see this and acknowledge that God is there.
General revelation reinforces mans accountability. The Bible indicates the purpose of general revelation when it says in Acts 17: 26 – 28, "From one man He made every nation of men that they should inhabit the whole earth, and He determined the times set for them and the exact place where they should live. God did this so that men would seek Him and perhaps reach out for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us. For in Him we live and move and have our being".