Rom
1:17-20 (NIV) For in the gospel a righteousness from God is revealed, a
righteousness that is by faith from first to last, just as it is written:
"The righteous will live by faith."
18 The
wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and
wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may
be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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.
NOTE: God has
revealed two things to us, verse 17 purports of
"a righteousness from God" and verse 18 of "the wrath of
God." A righteousness appears as a gift since it is from God. It is obtained by faith in all cases. The phrase "first to last" could
mean status or could be referencing the two major covenants, but the phrase is
still quite clear. The only way to
obtain "a righteousness from God" is by faith.
The wrath of God,
also revealed to us (verse 18), suggests a trait, since it is of God. It is not necessarily a gift since it is
being revealed against men who
are godless, wicked, and suppress the truth.
God says that what may be known about him is plain. God says that he has made it plain. Plain has a number of meanings, but here the
meaning is that it is obvious and clear.
What is plain are God's invisible qualities--those which would seem to
be not clear since they are invisible--his eternal power and divine
nature. God says they are clear from
creation and are understood from creation.
Therefore, at judgment time, God will tell men that they are without
excuse. Apparently those who argue that
what is clear to them--random process of nature to create life out of
immaterial matter--will be an insufficient argument in God's eyes. They will be charged with suppressing truth,
because creation is obvious and clear.
God seems to be
using the teleological argument or argument by design. The complexity of life argues against
creation by random forces.
Mathematically, the probability for even the simplest cell to form by
random forces is astronomically low.
But, men would prefer to believe in chaotic elements than to believe in
God, and so they suppress the truth and are without excuse.
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