September 3, 2026 • 26 mins
If you’ve ever wondered why the Bible speaks so plainly about the wrath of God, Romans 1 won’t let you treat it like a leftover doctrine from a harsher age. Dr. Timothy Mann presses the central question: does God have a right to be angry with mankind, and if so, why is anyone born under condemnation? The answer, Paul says, begins with revelation, not rumor. God has made what can be known about Him evident, both within us and through the world around us.
We unpack Romans 1:19–23 and the idea of natural revelation or general revelation: the Creator’s fingerprints in creation, the inner witness of conscience, and the inescapable conclusion that people are “without excuse.” Along the way, Dr. Mann brings in memorable illustrations, including Helen Keller’s remarkable response when first told about God, plus biblical moments where Paul speaks to Gentiles and philosophers about a God who “is not far from each one of us.” If you care about Christian apologetics, the relationship between science and faith, or why gratitude matters spiritually, this message lands with weight.
The second half builds a cumulative case from the order and intricacy of nature and the staggering scale of the universe, then turns toward the gospel. The rejection of God’s revealed light doesn’t stay theoretical, it leads to rejecting Jesus Christ Himself. Yet the tone is not despair but urgency and hope: God draws seekers to the good news, and we’re called to respond personally, not just intellectually.
Listen, share it with a friend who asks hard questions, and subscribe so you don’t miss the next message. If this helped you, leave a review and tell us: where do you see God’s revelation most clearly today?
How can we pray for you? Text us and tell us how the episode helped you, as well.
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Episode Transcript
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SPEAKER_00 (00:00):
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the
(00:02):
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
Our mission is to help you buildyour life on the unshakable
foundation of God's word.
Rooted in Scripture, anchored inthe grace of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Each week, Dr.
Mann opens the Bible to bringclarity, conviction, and
encouragement for everyday life.
Today on Foundations of Truth,Dr.
(00:23):
Timothy Mann continues ourjourney through Romans and
examines why the wrath of God isnot an embarrassing doctrine to
be explained away, but part ofthe Bible's verdict on
humanity's rejection of itscreator.
And here with today's message,does God have a right to be
angry?
Is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_02 (00:40):
So the question, why is everyone born under God's
wrath and condemnation?
That deserves attention.
And it's those very questionsthat the Apostle Paul answers in
Romans chapter 1, verse 19through 23, where he explains
why God is justified in hiswrath against all sinful men.
I mean, the question is thisdoes God really have a right to
(01:03):
be angry?
Does God really have a right tobe angry with us?
Does God really have a right tobe angry with mankind?
Well, in Romans 1, verse 19through 23, the Apostle Paul,
the Holy Spirit, gives thesereasons why they and every
person born except Jesus Christfully deserves to be under God's
(01:24):
wrath.
We're going to talk about that.
Let's read the scripture and seewhat it says.
We'll pick up in verse 18.
I'm going to read all the waydown through verse 23, but we're
going to look specifically at 19through 21 today.
For the wrath of God is revealedfrom heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousnessof men who suppress the truth
and unrighteousness, becausewhat may be known of God is
(01:47):
manifest in them, for God hasshown it to them.
For since the creation of theworld, his invisible attributes
are clearly seen, beingunderstood by the things that
are made, even his eternal powerand Godhead, so that they are
without excuse.
Because although they knew God,they did not glorify him as God,
(02:11):
nor were thankful, but becamefutile in their thoughts, and
their foolish hearts weredarkened.
Professing to be wise, theybecame fools, and changed the
glory of the incorruptible Godinto an image made like
corruptible man, and birds andfour footed animals and creeping
things.
This is the word of God.
SPEAKER_01 (02:33):
So does God really have a right to be angry?
That's the question.
The Holy Spirit answers that forus in the text.
SPEAKER_02 (02:44):
First of all, God is justified in his wrath against
sinners because of therevelation of himself to
mankind.
Because of the revelation ofhimself to us.
Now you need to understand thismorning, just contextually, that
Romans 1, verse 18, all the waydown through chapter 2, verse
16, pertains especially toGentiles who did not have the
(03:08):
benefit of God's revealed word,as did Israel.
Israel, of course, was doublyguilty because as a nation, she
not only rejected God's naturaluniversal revelation of Himself
and creation and conscience, buteven rejected His unique written
revelation through Scripture.
What about this revelation?
(03:28):
It's a gift.
It really is.
Verse 19 shows us because whatmay be made known of God is
manifest in them.
It's evident in them.
For God has made it evident inthem or to them.
Paul's point here is that evenapart from his written
(03:49):
revelation, that which is knownabout God is evident.
With even among pagans, evenamong the heathen, so to speak,
pagan Gentiles.
Why?
Because God made it evident tothem.
The Lord testifies here throughthe Holy Spirit that his outward
visible manifestation of himselfis universally known by man.
(04:13):
For since the creation of theworld, his invisible attributes
are clearly seen.
Clearly seen.
He's made it known.
It's evident within them, hesays in verse 19.
It's manifest in them as well aswithout them, outside of them.
All people, that's what thescripture's saying.
All people have evidence of God,and what their physical senses
(04:37):
can perceive of him, their innersenses can understand to some
extent.
I mean, you go back in the OldTestament.
The Philistines both saw andacknowledged God's power, as did
the Canaanites, as did theEgyptians, and every other
people who's ever lived onearth, the rebels who built the
(04:58):
tower of Babel both saw andacknowledged God's greatness.
And every other people,including the wicked inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
All men, all people knowsomething and understand
something of the reality and thetruth of God.
And the fact is this, they areresponsible for a proper
(05:20):
response to that revelation.
And any wrong response isinexcusable.
SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
That's what the scripture says.
They're without excuse.
It's inexcusable.
SPEAKER_02 (05:38):
Baptist theologian Augustus Strong wrote, The
Scriptures both assume anddeclare that the knowledge that
God is, is universal.
God has inlaid the evidence ofthat fundamental truth in the
very nature of man so thatnowhere is he without witness.
(05:59):
Now the scriptures teach, weknow under, we understand this
to be true, that unregenerateman, the person who does not
have the Holy Spirit of God,who's not been saved by his
grace, has no help and iswithout God in this world,
according to Ephesians 2.12, butit's not because he has no
knowledge of God.
It's because he naturally, he orshe, every person naturally
(06:21):
rebels against that knowledge ofGod that he has.
That's why.
As the Apostle Paul was alreadyattested, we see that.
We saw that in verse 18.
Sinful mankind naturallysuppresses God's truth with his
own unrighteousness.
Now, no one can find God on hisown initiative.
(06:43):
No one can find God by his ownwisdom or by his own searching.
Yet God has not left you to yourown initiative.
God has not left man to theirown initiative and
understanding.
But what he has done is he hasgraciously provided abundant
evidence of himself.
He's done that.
(07:08):
The Bible says that.
Therefore, because of that, noperson, therefore, can plead
ignorance of God.
Nobody is ever going to standbefore God someday and say, I
just didn't know.
I had no idea.
They're not going to be able toplead ignorance of God.
Because, totally apart fromScripture, totally apart from
(07:32):
Scripture, God has alwaysrevealed Himself and He
continues to reveal Himself toman.
God is perfectly just, andtherefore, because He's
perfectly just, He cannot andwould not rightly condemn those
who are totally ignorant of Him.
But as the Apostle Paulunequivocally asserts here, no
(07:53):
person can rightly claimignorance of God.
And as well, no person canrightly claim that God's wrath
against him is unjust.
Just as a person won't be ableto say, I didn't know.
They also won't be able to say,Well, that's just not fair.
Your judgment against me is justnot fair.
(08:16):
Because I didn't know.
No.
The scriptures are very clear.
Every person is accountable forthe revelation of God that may
lead one to salvation.
One of the prominent earlychurch fathers after the
apostolic age, Tertullian, saidthat it was not the pen of Moses
(08:37):
that initiated the knowledge ofthe Creator.
The vast majority of mankind,though they never heard the name
of Moses, to say nothing of hisbook, know the God of Moses
nonetheless.
It's amazing.
A disease left Helen Keller as avery young girl without sight,
without hearing, and withoutspeech.
(08:58):
And through Anne Sullivan'stireless and selfless efforts,
Helen Keller finally learned tocommunicate through touch and
even learned to talk.
And when Miss Sullivan firsttried to tell Helen about God,
the girl's response was that shealready knew about him.
She just didn't know his name.
(09:19):
A girl who was blind, who wasmute, and who couldn't hear, was
deaf.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Already knew God.
Just didn't know his name.
SPEAKER_02 (09:31):
That which is known here in the scriptures, that
which may be known about Godcould be rendered that which is
knowable.
That which is knowable.
Now, obviously, none of us, noperson, cannot know everything
about God there is to know, evenwith the perfect revelation of
Scripture.
We're finite, He is infinite.
But Paul's point here is thatthat which is capable of being
(09:53):
known about God, apart fromspecial revelation, is indeed
known.
It's known by fallen mankind.
The characteristics of God thatare reflected in his creation
give unmistakable testimony tohim.
Points to him.
When ministering at Lystra, Paultold his Gentile audience about
(10:17):
the God who, quote, who made theheaven and the earth and the sea
and all that was in them.
He went on to explain that inthe generations gone by, God
permitted all the nations to gotheir ways, and yet he did not
leave himself without witness,in that he did good and gave you
reins from heaven and fruitfulseasons, satisfying your hearts
(10:39):
with food and gladness.
Now I know life is not easy allthe time, but I don't see
anybody in this room thismorning who's suffering.
Not really.
Oh, we may have our troubles andwe may suffer physically a
little bit.
We may have some hardship.
I really don't see anybody who'smissed a meal.
I'll just tell you.
Looking at me first.
The very goodness of lifetestifies to the goodness of the
(11:03):
God who provides it.
The goodness of life.
SPEAKER_00 (11:07):
Thank you for listening to Foundations of
Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
Your generosity helps make itpossible for this Bible teaching
to continue reaching listenersaround the world with the truth
of God's word.
Thank you for partnering withDr.
Timothy Mann at Foundations ofTruth.
If you'd like to give a gifttoday, you can do so online and
get more biblical resources atfoundationsoftruth.net.
(11:31):
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
Now let's return to Romanschapter 1 and today's message.
Here's Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_02 (11:38):
On his next journey, Paul told the pagan philosophers
on Mars Hill at Athens.
He said in Acts chapter 17, hesaid, While I was passing
through and examining theobjects of your worship, I found
an altar with this inscriptionto an unknown God.
What therefore you worship inignorance, this I proclaim to
you.
The God who made the world andall things in it, since he is
(12:01):
Lord of heaven and earth, doesnot dwell in temples made with
hands, neither is he served byhuman hands as though he needed
anything.
Since he himself gives life toall and breath and all things,
and he made from one everynation of mankind to live all
the on the face of the earth,having determined their
appointed times and theboundaries of their habitation,
(12:22):
that they should seek God, ifperhaps they might grope for him
and find him, though he is notfar from each one of us, for in
him we live and move and exist.
In other words, God controls thenations.
God controls their boundariesand their destinies.
(12:47):
And even more remarkable thanthat, if that wasn't enough, the
apostle Paul says, because Godhas graciously chosen to make
himself known and approachable,he is not far from each one of
us.
That's what the scripture says.
And John says of Jesus Christ inJohn chapter 1, verse 9, John
(13:09):
says this of Jesus Christ.
He says, the true light whichcomes into the world enlightens
every man.
He was not speaking about thesaving knowledge of God, which
comes only through faith, but ofthe intellectual knowledge of
God, which comes to every humanbeing through God's
(13:32):
self-manifestation in hiscreation.
And every person, every singleperson has a witness of God.
And therefore, because of that,every person is accountable to
follow the opportunity torespond to him in faith.
They're accountable.
What's the content of thisrevelation?
SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
Well, it says, for since the creation, verse 20,
for since the creation of theworld, his invisible attributes
are clearly seen.
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
Even his eternal power and Godhead.
These particular attributes thatyou can perceive in part through
your natural senses are God'seternal power and his divine
nature.
God's eternal power refers tohis never failing omnipotence.
God's divine nature, of course,is his kindness and graciousness
(14:26):
as reflected some of the thingswe've talked about already.
God's nature, God's naturalrevelation of himself.
It's not obscure, it's notselective, observable by only a
few perceptive people who areespecially gifted.
No.
(14:46):
His revelation of himself withinyou and through creation can be
clearly seen by everyone.
Being understood, it says,through what has been made.
It's amazing.
Even in the most ancient oftimes, long before the Hubble
telescope, Brother Ron, wasmade.
(15:06):
Brother Ron was all involved inthat with NASA all through the
years.
Even before the Hubble telescopewas made and invented, the
greatness of God was evidentboth in the vastness and in the
tiny intricacies of nature.
Men could look at the stars anddiscover the fixed order of
their orbits.
(15:26):
They could observe a small seedreproduce itself into a giant
tree, just like the very one itcame from.
They could see the marvelouscycles of the seasons, the rain
and the snow.
They witnessed the marvel ofhuman birth and the glory of the
sunrise and the sunset.
Even without special revelation,David had and could say that
(15:47):
they had seen that the heavensare telling the glory of God and
the expanses declaring the workof his hands.
Psalm 19, verse 1.
Some birds are even able tonavigate by the stars.
If hatched and raised in awindowless building, if shown in
an artificial sky, theyimmediately are able to orient
themselves to the proper placeto which to migrate.
(16:10):
The archer fish is able to firedrops of water with amazing
force and accuracy, knockinginsects out of the air.
The bombardier beetle, mypersonal favorite.
I love it.
It separately produces twodifferent chemicals, which when
released and combined actuallyexplode in the face of an enemy.
(16:31):
And yet the explosion neveroccurs prematurely and it never
harms the beetle itself.
Hey, there's some great videoson YouTube of that.
You need to watch it.
It's awesome.
It's really cool.
No wonder David declared thatpower belongs to God.
No wonder.
One of my favorite quotes of alltime, Robert Jastro, an
(16:53):
astrophysicist and formerdirector of NASA's Goddard
Institute for Space Studies.
He said this.
Now we see how the astronomicalevidence supports the biblical
view of the origin of the world.
That's why he's former director.
The essential elements in theastronomical and biblical
(17:15):
accounts of Genesis are thesame.
Consider the enormousness of theproblem.
Science has proved that theuniverse exploded into being at
a certain moment.
It asks, what cause producedthis effect?
Who or what put the matter andenergy into the universe?
And science cannot answer thesequestions.
(17:38):
For the scientist who has livedby his faith in the power of
reason, the story ends like abad dream.
He has scaled the mountains ofignorance.
He is about to conquer thehighest peak.
And as he pulls himself over thefinal rock, he is greeted by a
band of theologians who havebeen there for centuries.
(18:00):
At any given time, there's anaverage of 1,800 storms in
operation in the world.
The energy needed to generatethose storms amounts to the
incredible figure of1,300,000,000,000 horsepower.
By comparison, let me put it inperspective for you.
By comparison, a largeearth-moving machine has 420
horsepower and requires hundredsof gallons of fuel each day to
(18:23):
operate.
Just one of those stormsproducing a rain of four inches
over an area of 10,000 squaremiles would require energy
equivalent to the burning of 640million tons of coal to
evaporate enough water for sucha rain.
And to cool those vapors andcollect them in clouds would
(18:43):
take another 800 millionhorsepower of refrigeration,
working day and night for 100days.
Agricultural studies havedetermined that the average
farmer in Minnesota gets407,000, 510,000 gallons of
rainwater per acre per year freeof charge.
(19:04):
The state of Missouri, wherePatty and I used to live for 13
years, it has some 70,000 squaremiles and averages 38 inches of
rain a year.
That amount of water is equal toa lake 250 miles long, 60 miles
wide, and 22 feet deep.
The U.S.
Natural Museum has determinedthat there are some at least 10
(19:25):
million species of insects,including some 2,500 varieties
of ants.
There are over 5 billion birdsin the United States, among
which some species are able tofly 500 miles nonstop across the
Gulf of Mexico.
The Earth, now check this out.
The Earth is 25,000 miles incircumference, weighs 6
(19:47):
septillion, 588 sextillion tons.
Now I don't know who weighed it.
And it hangs unsupported inspace.
It spins 1,000 miles per hourwith absolute precision and
careens through space around thesun at the speed of 1,000 miles
per minute and in an orbit 580million miles long.
(20:12):
The human heart that you haveinside your body is about the
size of your fist.
An adult heart actually weighsless than half a pound, and yet
it can do enough work in 12hours to lift 65 tons one inch
off the ground.
A water molecule is composed ofonly three atoms.
If all of the molecules in onedrop of water were the size of
(20:34):
one grain of sand, they couldmake a road one foot thick and a
half a mile wide that wouldstretch from Los Angeles to New
York.
Amazingly, however, the atomitself is largely space and its
actual matter takes up only onetrillionth of its volume.
I don't know what you think, butI believe beyond any shadow of a
(20:55):
doubt, except to a mindwillingly closed to the obvious,
it is inconceivable that suchpower and intricacy and harmony
could have developed by anyother means but that of a master
designer who rules the universe.
There's no other way.
It would be infinitely morereasonable to think that I could
(21:17):
take all the pieces of my watchapart, put them in a bag and
shake them up, and eventually itwould become a dependable
timepiece.
It would make more sense tobelieve in that than to think
that the world has evolved intoits present state by chance.
That's just crazy.
I mean, that's dumb.
There's no other way to even arank pagan has enough sense to
(21:41):
discern with the psalmist thatsurely the one who made the ear
and the eye is himself able tohear and see.
That's what the scripture says.
If we can hear, then surelywhoever made us surely must
understand, seeing and hearing.
If we as creatures are able tothink, then surely Surely the
mind of our Creator must be ableto reason.
(22:03):
Ladies and gentlemen, listen,men and women are judged and
sent to hell, not because theydo not live up to the light
evidenced in the universe, butbecause ultimately that
rejection of that evidence leadsthem to reject Jesus Christ.
That's where it leads them.
The Bible says in John 16,verses 8 through 9, the Holy
(22:25):
Spirit will convict the worldconcerning sin and righteousness
and judgment.
Jesus said concerning sinbecause they do not believe in
me.
But if a person lives up to thelight of the revelation he has,
God will provide for his hearingthe gospel by some means or
another.
In his sovereign, predeterminedgrace, he reaches out to sinful
(22:48):
mankind.
The Lord Himself declaredthrough Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33,
11, he says, As I live, I takeno pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but rather that thewicked turn away from his way
and live.
2 Peter 3:9, God does not desirefor any to perish, but for all
(23:11):
to come to repentance.
I believe that he will give tothose who will believe the
privilege of hearing the gospel,and he will bring them to
himself.
Jeremiah 29, 13 says, You willseek me and find me, the Lord
promised, when you search for mewith all your heart.
Because the Ethiopian eunuch wasseeking God, the Holy Spirit
sent Philip to witness to him.
(23:32):
And the Bible says, upon hearingthe gospel, he believed and was
baptized.
Cornelius, because Cornelius, aGentile centurion in the Roman
army, was a devout man, one whofeared God with all of his
household, gave alms to theJewish people, prayed to God
continually.
God sent Peter to him to explainthe gospel.
And the Bible says while Peterwas still speaking, the Holy
(23:52):
Spirit fell upon those who werelistening to the message and
they were baptized in the nameof Jesus.
The Bible says, because Lydiawas a true seeker of God, she
heard the gospel.
And the Bible says in Acts 16,14, the Lord opened her heart to
respond to the things that wasspoken by Paul.
God's revelation is clear.
Everyone is accountable, andthey have enough.
(24:14):
They have enough to follow onafter God if their hearts are
open to it.
And God will take them to thegospel, and he will draw them to
himself, and he will save themby his grace.
Every man's accountable, everyperson's accountable.
Do you see God for who he is?
I mean, truly.
Are you rejecting him?
(24:37):
No, I believe.
Maybe intellectually.
But are you following Jesus?
Are you loving the Lord JesusChrist?
Are you spending your life forhim?
SPEAKER_00 (24:47):
Thank you for joining us today for Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thisepisode again or get more
biblical resources or give afinancial gift, you can do so
online atfoundationsoftruth.net.
Foundations of Truth is madepossible in part by the generous
support of AMN Plumbing, proudlyserving Daytona Beach, Ormond
(25:09):
Beach, Port Orange, and NewSmyrna Beach communities.
Also Cat Care Clinic of OrmondBeach, providing compassionate,
feline-focused veterinary careand Luther Rice Seminary,
equipping men and women throughbiblical and theological
education.
We're grateful for theirpartnership in making this
ministry possible.
If you've been encouraged by theteaching of Dr.
Timothy Mann on foundations oftruth, here's an opportunity to
(25:31):
meet him in person.
Join Dr.
Mann Saturday, September 19th,10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at From My Library to YoursChristian Bookstore in Port
Orange for a special authorevent featuring his book, Saved,
Understanding God's Work in Us.
There'll be book signing,conversation, and brief talks
with a QA at 10 15 a.m.
(25:52):
and 1 15 p.m.
That's Saturday, September 19th,at the Pavilion next to Massage
Envy in Port Orange, Florida.
Welcome to Foundations of Truth, the
(00:02):
biblical teaching ministry ofDr.
Timothy Mann.
Our mission is to help you buildyour life on the unshakable
foundation of God's word.
Rooted in Scripture, anchored inthe grace of the gospel of Jesus
Christ.
Each week, Dr.
Mann opens the Bible to bringclarity, conviction, and
encouragement for everyday life.
Today on Foundations of Truth,Dr.
(00:23):
Timothy Mann continues ourjourney through Romans and
examines why the wrath of God isnot an embarrassing doctrine to
be explained away, but part ofthe Bible's verdict on
humanity's rejection of itscreator.
And here with today's message,does God have a right to be
angry?
Is Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_02 (00:40):
So the question, why is everyone born under God's
wrath and condemnation?
That deserves attention.
And it's those very questionsthat the Apostle Paul answers in
Romans chapter 1, verse 19through 23, where he explains
why God is justified in hiswrath against all sinful men.
I mean, the question is thisdoes God really have a right to
(01:03):
be angry?
Does God really have a right tobe angry with us?
Does God really have a right tobe angry with mankind?
Well, in Romans 1, verse 19through 23, the Apostle Paul,
the Holy Spirit, gives thesereasons why they and every
person born except Jesus Christfully deserves to be under God's
(01:24):
wrath.
We're going to talk about that.
Let's read the scripture and seewhat it says.
We'll pick up in verse 18.
I'm going to read all the waydown through verse 23, but we're
going to look specifically at 19through 21 today.
For the wrath of God is revealedfrom heaven against all
ungodliness and unrighteousnessof men who suppress the truth
and unrighteousness, becausewhat may be known of God is
(01:47):
manifest in them, for God hasshown it to them.
For since the creation of theworld, his invisible attributes
are clearly seen, beingunderstood by the things that
are made, even his eternal powerand Godhead, so that they are
without excuse.
Because although they knew God,they did not glorify him as God,
(02:11):
nor were thankful, but becamefutile in their thoughts, and
their foolish hearts weredarkened.
Professing to be wise, theybecame fools, and changed the
glory of the incorruptible Godinto an image made like
corruptible man, and birds andfour footed animals and creeping
things.
This is the word of God.
SPEAKER_01 (02:33):
So does God really have a right to be angry?
That's the question.
The Holy Spirit answers that forus in the text.
SPEAKER_02 (02:44):
First of all, God is justified in his wrath against
sinners because of therevelation of himself to
mankind.
Because of the revelation ofhimself to us.
Now you need to understand thismorning, just contextually, that
Romans 1, verse 18, all the waydown through chapter 2, verse
16, pertains especially toGentiles who did not have the
(03:08):
benefit of God's revealed word,as did Israel.
Israel, of course, was doublyguilty because as a nation, she
not only rejected God's naturaluniversal revelation of Himself
and creation and conscience, buteven rejected His unique written
revelation through Scripture.
What about this revelation?
(03:28):
It's a gift.
It really is.
Verse 19 shows us because whatmay be made known of God is
manifest in them.
It's evident in them.
For God has made it evident inthem or to them.
Paul's point here is that evenapart from his written
(03:49):
revelation, that which is knownabout God is evident.
With even among pagans, evenamong the heathen, so to speak,
pagan Gentiles.
Why?
Because God made it evident tothem.
The Lord testifies here throughthe Holy Spirit that his outward
visible manifestation of himselfis universally known by man.
(04:13):
For since the creation of theworld, his invisible attributes
are clearly seen.
Clearly seen.
He's made it known.
It's evident within them, hesays in verse 19.
It's manifest in them as well aswithout them, outside of them.
All people, that's what thescripture's saying.
All people have evidence of God,and what their physical senses
(04:37):
can perceive of him, their innersenses can understand to some
extent.
I mean, you go back in the OldTestament.
The Philistines both saw andacknowledged God's power, as did
the Canaanites, as did theEgyptians, and every other
people who's ever lived onearth, the rebels who built the
(04:58):
tower of Babel both saw andacknowledged God's greatness.
And every other people,including the wicked inhabitants
of Sodom and Gomorrah.
All men, all people knowsomething and understand
something of the reality and thetruth of God.
And the fact is this, they areresponsible for a proper
(05:20):
response to that revelation.
And any wrong response isinexcusable.
SPEAKER_01 (05:30):
That's what the scripture says.
They're without excuse.
It's inexcusable.
SPEAKER_02 (05:38):
Baptist theologian Augustus Strong wrote, The
Scriptures both assume anddeclare that the knowledge that
God is, is universal.
God has inlaid the evidence ofthat fundamental truth in the
very nature of man so thatnowhere is he without witness.
(05:59):
Now the scriptures teach, weknow under, we understand this
to be true, that unregenerateman, the person who does not
have the Holy Spirit of God,who's not been saved by his
grace, has no help and iswithout God in this world,
according to Ephesians 2.12, butit's not because he has no
knowledge of God.
It's because he naturally, he orshe, every person naturally
(06:21):
rebels against that knowledge ofGod that he has.
That's why.
As the Apostle Paul was alreadyattested, we see that.
We saw that in verse 18.
Sinful mankind naturallysuppresses God's truth with his
own unrighteousness.
Now, no one can find God on hisown initiative.
(06:43):
No one can find God by his ownwisdom or by his own searching.
Yet God has not left you to yourown initiative.
God has not left man to theirown initiative and
understanding.
But what he has done is he hasgraciously provided abundant
evidence of himself.
He's done that.
(07:08):
The Bible says that.
Therefore, because of that, noperson, therefore, can plead
ignorance of God.
Nobody is ever going to standbefore God someday and say, I
just didn't know.
I had no idea.
They're not going to be able toplead ignorance of God.
Because, totally apart fromScripture, totally apart from
(07:32):
Scripture, God has alwaysrevealed Himself and He
continues to reveal Himself toman.
God is perfectly just, andtherefore, because He's
perfectly just, He cannot andwould not rightly condemn those
who are totally ignorant of Him.
But as the Apostle Paulunequivocally asserts here, no
(07:53):
person can rightly claimignorance of God.
And as well, no person canrightly claim that God's wrath
against him is unjust.
Just as a person won't be ableto say, I didn't know.
They also won't be able to say,Well, that's just not fair.
Your judgment against me is justnot fair.
(08:16):
Because I didn't know.
No.
The scriptures are very clear.
Every person is accountable forthe revelation of God that may
lead one to salvation.
One of the prominent earlychurch fathers after the
apostolic age, Tertullian, saidthat it was not the pen of Moses
(08:37):
that initiated the knowledge ofthe Creator.
The vast majority of mankind,though they never heard the name
of Moses, to say nothing of hisbook, know the God of Moses
nonetheless.
It's amazing.
A disease left Helen Keller as avery young girl without sight,
without hearing, and withoutspeech.
(08:58):
And through Anne Sullivan'stireless and selfless efforts,
Helen Keller finally learned tocommunicate through touch and
even learned to talk.
And when Miss Sullivan firsttried to tell Helen about God,
the girl's response was that shealready knew about him.
She just didn't know his name.
(09:19):
A girl who was blind, who wasmute, and who couldn't hear, was
deaf.
SPEAKER_01 (09:26):
Already knew God.
Just didn't know his name.
SPEAKER_02 (09:31):
That which is known here in the scriptures, that
which may be known about Godcould be rendered that which is
knowable.
That which is knowable.
Now, obviously, none of us, noperson, cannot know everything
about God there is to know, evenwith the perfect revelation of
Scripture.
We're finite, He is infinite.
But Paul's point here is thatthat which is capable of being
(09:53):
known about God, apart fromspecial revelation, is indeed
known.
It's known by fallen mankind.
The characteristics of God thatare reflected in his creation
give unmistakable testimony tohim.
Points to him.
When ministering at Lystra, Paultold his Gentile audience about
(10:17):
the God who, quote, who made theheaven and the earth and the sea
and all that was in them.
He went on to explain that inthe generations gone by, God
permitted all the nations to gotheir ways, and yet he did not
leave himself without witness,in that he did good and gave you
reins from heaven and fruitfulseasons, satisfying your hearts
(10:39):
with food and gladness.
Now I know life is not easy allthe time, but I don't see
anybody in this room thismorning who's suffering.
Not really.
Oh, we may have our troubles andwe may suffer physically a
little bit.
We may have some hardship.
I really don't see anybody who'smissed a meal.
I'll just tell you.
Looking at me first.
The very goodness of lifetestifies to the goodness of the
(11:03):
God who provides it.
The goodness of life.
SPEAKER_00 (11:07):
Thank you for listening to Foundations of
Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
Your generosity helps make itpossible for this Bible teaching
to continue reaching listenersaround the world with the truth
of God's word.
Thank you for partnering withDr.
Timothy Mann at Foundations ofTruth.
If you'd like to give a gifttoday, you can do so online and
get more biblical resources atfoundationsoftruth.net.
(11:31):
That's foundationsoftruth.net.
Now let's return to Romanschapter 1 and today's message.
Here's Dr.
Timothy Mann.
SPEAKER_02 (11:38):
On his next journey, Paul told the pagan philosophers
on Mars Hill at Athens.
He said in Acts chapter 17, hesaid, While I was passing
through and examining theobjects of your worship, I found
an altar with this inscriptionto an unknown God.
What therefore you worship inignorance, this I proclaim to
you.
The God who made the world andall things in it, since he is
(12:01):
Lord of heaven and earth, doesnot dwell in temples made with
hands, neither is he served byhuman hands as though he needed
anything.
Since he himself gives life toall and breath and all things,
and he made from one everynation of mankind to live all
the on the face of the earth,having determined their
appointed times and theboundaries of their habitation,
(12:22):
that they should seek God, ifperhaps they might grope for him
and find him, though he is notfar from each one of us, for in
him we live and move and exist.
In other words, God controls thenations.
God controls their boundariesand their destinies.
(12:47):
And even more remarkable thanthat, if that wasn't enough, the
apostle Paul says, because Godhas graciously chosen to make
himself known and approachable,he is not far from each one of
us.
That's what the scripture says.
And John says of Jesus Christ inJohn chapter 1, verse 9, John
(13:09):
says this of Jesus Christ.
He says, the true light whichcomes into the world enlightens
every man.
He was not speaking about thesaving knowledge of God, which
comes only through faith, but ofthe intellectual knowledge of
God, which comes to every humanbeing through God's
(13:32):
self-manifestation in hiscreation.
And every person, every singleperson has a witness of God.
And therefore, because of that,every person is accountable to
follow the opportunity torespond to him in faith.
They're accountable.
What's the content of thisrevelation?
SPEAKER_01 (13:54):
Well, it says, for since the creation, verse 20,
for since the creation of theworld, his invisible attributes
are clearly seen.
SPEAKER_02 (14:01):
Even his eternal power and Godhead.
These particular attributes thatyou can perceive in part through
your natural senses are God'seternal power and his divine
nature.
God's eternal power refers tohis never failing omnipotence.
God's divine nature, of course,is his kindness and graciousness
(14:26):
as reflected some of the thingswe've talked about already.
God's nature, God's naturalrevelation of himself.
It's not obscure, it's notselective, observable by only a
few perceptive people who areespecially gifted.
No.
(14:46):
His revelation of himself withinyou and through creation can be
clearly seen by everyone.
Being understood, it says,through what has been made.
It's amazing.
Even in the most ancient oftimes, long before the Hubble
telescope, Brother Ron, wasmade.
(15:06):
Brother Ron was all involved inthat with NASA all through the
years.
Even before the Hubble telescopewas made and invented, the
greatness of God was evidentboth in the vastness and in the
tiny intricacies of nature.
Men could look at the stars anddiscover the fixed order of
their orbits.
(15:26):
They could observe a small seedreproduce itself into a giant
tree, just like the very one itcame from.
They could see the marvelouscycles of the seasons, the rain
and the snow.
They witnessed the marvel ofhuman birth and the glory of the
sunrise and the sunset.
Even without special revelation,David had and could say that
(15:47):
they had seen that the heavensare telling the glory of God and
the expanses declaring the workof his hands.
Psalm 19, verse 1.
Some birds are even able tonavigate by the stars.
If hatched and raised in awindowless building, if shown in
an artificial sky, theyimmediately are able to orient
themselves to the proper placeto which to migrate.
(16:10):
The archer fish is able to firedrops of water with amazing
force and accuracy, knockinginsects out of the air.
The bombardier beetle, mypersonal favorite.
I love it.
It separately produces twodifferent chemicals, which when
released and combined actuallyexplode in the face of an enemy.
(16:31):
And yet the explosion neveroccurs prematurely and it never
harms the beetle itself.
Hey, there's some great videoson YouTube of that.
You need to watch it.
It's awesome.
It's really cool.
No wonder David declared thatpower belongs to God.
No wonder.
One of my favorite quotes of alltime, Robert Jastro, an
(16:53):
astrophysicist and formerdirector of NASA's Goddard
Institute for Space Studies.
He said this.
Now we see how the astronomicalevidence supports the biblical
view of the origin of the world.
That's why he's former director.
The essential elements in theastronomical and biblical
(17:15):
accounts of Genesis are thesame.
Consider the enormousness of theproblem.
Science has proved that theuniverse exploded into being at
a certain moment.
It asks, what cause producedthis effect?
Who or what put the matter andenergy into the universe?
And science cannot answer thesequestions.
(17:38):
For the scientist who has livedby his faith in the power of
reason, the story ends like abad dream.
He has scaled the mountains ofignorance.
He is about to conquer thehighest peak.
And as he pulls himself over thefinal rock, he is greeted by a
band of theologians who havebeen there for centuries.
(18:00):
At any given time, there's anaverage of 1,800 storms in
operation in the world.
The energy needed to generatethose storms amounts to the
incredible figure of1,300,000,000,000 horsepower.
By comparison, let me put it inperspective for you.
By comparison, a largeearth-moving machine has 420
horsepower and requires hundredsof gallons of fuel each day to
(18:23):
operate.
Just one of those stormsproducing a rain of four inches
over an area of 10,000 squaremiles would require energy
equivalent to the burning of 640million tons of coal to
evaporate enough water for sucha rain.
And to cool those vapors andcollect them in clouds would
(18:43):
take another 800 millionhorsepower of refrigeration,
working day and night for 100days.
Agricultural studies havedetermined that the average
farmer in Minnesota gets407,000, 510,000 gallons of
rainwater per acre per year freeof charge.
(19:04):
The state of Missouri, wherePatty and I used to live for 13
years, it has some 70,000 squaremiles and averages 38 inches of
rain a year.
That amount of water is equal toa lake 250 miles long, 60 miles
wide, and 22 feet deep.
The U.S.
Natural Museum has determinedthat there are some at least 10
(19:25):
million species of insects,including some 2,500 varieties
of ants.
There are over 5 billion birdsin the United States, among
which some species are able tofly 500 miles nonstop across the
Gulf of Mexico.
The Earth, now check this out.
The Earth is 25,000 miles incircumference, weighs 6
(19:47):
septillion, 588 sextillion tons.
Now I don't know who weighed it.
And it hangs unsupported inspace.
It spins 1,000 miles per hourwith absolute precision and
careens through space around thesun at the speed of 1,000 miles
per minute and in an orbit 580million miles long.
(20:12):
The human heart that you haveinside your body is about the
size of your fist.
An adult heart actually weighsless than half a pound, and yet
it can do enough work in 12hours to lift 65 tons one inch
off the ground.
A water molecule is composed ofonly three atoms.
If all of the molecules in onedrop of water were the size of
(20:34):
one grain of sand, they couldmake a road one foot thick and a
half a mile wide that wouldstretch from Los Angeles to New
York.
Amazingly, however, the atomitself is largely space and its
actual matter takes up only onetrillionth of its volume.
I don't know what you think, butI believe beyond any shadow of a
(20:55):
doubt, except to a mindwillingly closed to the obvious,
it is inconceivable that suchpower and intricacy and harmony
could have developed by anyother means but that of a master
designer who rules the universe.
There's no other way.
It would be infinitely morereasonable to think that I could
(21:17):
take all the pieces of my watchapart, put them in a bag and
shake them up, and eventually itwould become a dependable
timepiece.
It would make more sense tobelieve in that than to think
that the world has evolved intoits present state by chance.
That's just crazy.
I mean, that's dumb.
There's no other way to even arank pagan has enough sense to
(21:41):
discern with the psalmist thatsurely the one who made the ear
and the eye is himself able tohear and see.
That's what the scripture says.
If we can hear, then surelywhoever made us surely must
understand, seeing and hearing.
If we as creatures are able tothink, then surely Surely the
mind of our Creator must be ableto reason.
(22:03):
Ladies and gentlemen, listen,men and women are judged and
sent to hell, not because theydo not live up to the light
evidenced in the universe, butbecause ultimately that
rejection of that evidence leadsthem to reject Jesus Christ.
That's where it leads them.
The Bible says in John 16,verses 8 through 9, the Holy
(22:25):
Spirit will convict the worldconcerning sin and righteousness
and judgment.
Jesus said concerning sinbecause they do not believe in
me.
But if a person lives up to thelight of the revelation he has,
God will provide for his hearingthe gospel by some means or
another.
In his sovereign, predeterminedgrace, he reaches out to sinful
(22:48):
mankind.
The Lord Himself declaredthrough Ezekiel in Ezekiel 33,
11, he says, As I live, I takeno pleasure in the death of the
wicked, but rather that thewicked turn away from his way
and live.
2 Peter 3:9, God does not desirefor any to perish, but for all
(23:11):
to come to repentance.
I believe that he will give tothose who will believe the
privilege of hearing the gospel,and he will bring them to
himself.
Jeremiah 29, 13 says, You willseek me and find me, the Lord
promised, when you search for mewith all your heart.
Because the Ethiopian eunuch wasseeking God, the Holy Spirit
sent Philip to witness to him.
(23:32):
And the Bible says, upon hearingthe gospel, he believed and was
baptized.
Cornelius, because Cornelius, aGentile centurion in the Roman
army, was a devout man, one whofeared God with all of his
household, gave alms to theJewish people, prayed to God
continually.
God sent Peter to him to explainthe gospel.
And the Bible says while Peterwas still speaking, the Holy
(23:52):
Spirit fell upon those who werelistening to the message and
they were baptized in the nameof Jesus.
The Bible says, because Lydiawas a true seeker of God, she
heard the gospel.
And the Bible says in Acts 16,14, the Lord opened her heart to
respond to the things that wasspoken by Paul.
God's revelation is clear.
Everyone is accountable, andthey have enough.
(24:14):
They have enough to follow onafter God if their hearts are
open to it.
And God will take them to thegospel, and he will draw them to
himself, and he will save themby his grace.
Every man's accountable, everyperson's accountable.
Do you see God for who he is?
I mean, truly.
Are you rejecting him?
(24:37):
No, I believe.
Maybe intellectually.
But are you following Jesus?
Are you loving the Lord JesusChrist?
Are you spending your life forhim?
SPEAKER_00 (24:47):
Thank you for joining us today for Foundations
of Truth, the biblical teachingministry of Dr.
Timothy Mann.
If you'd like to hear thisepisode again or get more
biblical resources or give afinancial gift, you can do so
online atfoundationsoftruth.net.
Foundations of Truth is madepossible in part by the generous
support of AMN Plumbing, proudlyserving Daytona Beach, Ormond
(25:09):
Beach, Port Orange, and NewSmyrna Beach communities.
Also Cat Care Clinic of OrmondBeach, providing compassionate,
feline-focused veterinary careand Luther Rice Seminary,
equipping men and women throughbiblical and theological
education.
We're grateful for theirpartnership in making this
ministry possible.
If you've been encouraged by theteaching of Dr.
Timothy Mann on foundations oftruth, here's an opportunity to
(25:31):
meet him in person.
Join Dr.
Mann Saturday, September 19th,10 a.m.
to 2 p.m.
at From My Library to YoursChristian Bookstore in Port
Orange for a special authorevent featuring his book, Saved,
Understanding God's Work in Us.
There'll be book signing,conversation, and brief talks
with a QA at 10 15 a.m.
(25:52):
and 1 15 p.m.
That's Saturday, September 19th,at the Pavilion next to Massage
Envy in Port Orange, Florida.
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