Only fools say in their hearts,
"There is no God."
Psalm 14:1
Today’s verse prompts two important questions: What do fools say? And why does it seem like there are more fools than ever?
In the first chapter of Romans, the Apostle Paul described why it’s foolish to say there’s no God. He says …
What can be known about God is plain to [all], because God has shown it to [us].
Ever since the creation of the world his eternal power and divine nature, invisible though they are, have been understood and seen through the things he has made. So [those who don’t know him] are without excuse.
For though they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him. [Rather] they became futile in their thinking, and their senseless minds were darkened.
Claiming to be wise, they became fools.
Romans 1:19-22 NRSV
How does Paul say that God should be known? Through creation.
But what’s the dominant creation story in our culture? It’s a story that involves only atoms and molecules, and requires of lots of time and chance. And what it doesn’t require is God.
It’s been said that whoever controls creation, controls culture. Our world’s dominant creation story is naturalistic. We apparently don’t need God. And without God, we’re getting more and more naturalistic – should I say, carnal – results.
Think about this …
If everything must has a purely naturalistic explanation, then miracles can’t exist.
If miracles don’t exist, then the Bible is unreliable.
If the Bible is unreliable, then we don’t need to follow the Law, because that’s an unreliable component of an unreliable book.
When we have no God or Bible or Law, there is no Ultimate Truth.
When there is no transcendent standard, there is no ultimate right or wrong. Everything is relative. You can pick and choose what seems right to you. In other words, you can become your own god.
But what if God is real? What if his eternal power, invisible though it is, really should be plain to us all? What if God’s divine nature can be understood through the things he has made? What happens if we reject a God who is really real?
The Apostle Paul suggests that our world will become futile in its thinking. Are you seeing increasing futility in our world?
And what happens to a culture when minds are progressively darkened? Behaviors are increasingly coarse, and I know I’ve been tempted by habits that thrive in the dark. How about you?
I don’t know about you, but I am ready to shuck a lot of the things that are being called wise. And I’m ready to go back to some of old truths even if some people label them foolish and outdated.
Why?
Because God is timeless and changeless and gracious and true. I want his “best,” rather than the world’s “good.”
In Christ’s Love,
a fool … for Christ
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