Romans 1:19-23 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.
Today's scriptures point out the rebellious nature of mankind. Even in the beginning when man was close to the initial act of creation, people chose their own way. They knew creation was a product of God and his nature because God made himself plain to them. Mankind and all that is was created by God and through God; yet, even from the very start, man chose not to honor God by giving him the respect due The Creator. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him. Even in the Garden, this Spirit of self-will raised its ugly head. Now the serpent was more crafty than any of the wild animals the LORD God had made. He said to the woman, “Did God really say, ‘You must not eat from any tree in the garden’?” The woman said to the serpent, “We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch it, or you will die.’” “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil." (Genesis 3:1-5) To be like God, to replace God in the universe and in existence, entered the heart of man almost from the beginning of creation. Instead of being subservient to God's authority, man became his own master, placing himself above God, choosing his own path, not God's way. Of course this decision brought God's immediate judgment, for the cancer of sin entered into existence with man's anti-God choice. To Adam he said, “Because you listened to your wife and ate from the tree about which I commanded you, ‘You must not eat of it,’ “Cursed is the ground because of you; through painful toil you will eat of it all the days of your life. It will produce thorns and thistles for you, and you will eat the plants of the field. By the sweat of your brow you will eat your food until you return to the ground, since from it you were taken; for dust you are and to dust you will return.” (Genesis 3:17-19) Our mortal bodies will all return to the ground eventually unless Jesus returns to rapture us to heaven, and even then we will be changed from the mortal to the immortal. This shroud of flesh will be left here to turn to dust. The wrath of God, the just response to sin, to rebellion, has been revealed from heaven since the beginning of time. Man faces the consequences of sin every day: the struggle to exist and then eventually death. Man is without excuse, 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. The intricacies of life itself should be testimony enough for us to know that a divine eternal entity created all that we see.
But as we know, from creation onward, people chose not to respect God's will and authority. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Instead of honoring and respecting THE GOD they could see around them, they chose to honor and revere gods made from their own imaginations. These gods were chosen to honor their own fallen state. They begin to honor things God had made such as the sun, moon, stars, men, women, animals, serpents. They worshipped distorted perversions of God such as gods and goddesses of wind, war, sex, and the like. The friezes on their temples displayed gargoyles: grotesque human and animal figures, something of their own making for them to fear or worship. From the beginning, their hearts became so wicked, so anti-God, that they were willing to serve anything except the God of creation. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Even the children of Israel were caught up in idol worship. After God delivered them from slavery in Egypt through mighty supernatural events, they chose to serve their idols rather than God. When Moses went up Mount Sinai to worship God, the Israelites quickly turned to their own gods, made from their own hands. They willingly worshipped something they created rather than praising the God of creation, who made all things out of nothing. They were willing to lift up a golden calf made by Aaron from items they carried out of Egypt, rather than worship the God who allowed them to cross the Red Sea on dry land. Jesus came to reveal the one true God that delivered the Children of Israel. He said: Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. (John 17:3) Yet the heart of man is desperately wicked. God will provide miracles in people's lives, and they will know it; but soon, too soon, they will return to something they have created. This is the curse of man's sinful heart; and for that, God reserves his judgment. Before God commissioned Noah to build the ark, he saw the sinfulness of the world: And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Genesis 6:5)
In our modern world, most humans do not turn to actual physical idols to worship. But our lives are filled with idols that we do not recognize as such. Most of us would not find the meaning of life in some sort of image that we revere. No, what we consider the essence of life revolves around our involvement with the many diversions in life: work, entertainment, recreation, social activities, our commitment to getting ahead in life. Our days are busy, our nights are short. After our overly filled days, television and our electronics devices keep us up far into the night. We spend our time engrossed in these activities. Often our souls feel famished, out-of-sorts, empty, despite our hectic existence. We question the purpose of life: is this all there is? At times, when we feel a need for something more, we might attend a religious service or read an inspirational book or listen to some guru on public television. In many ways this is akin to idol worship. We go somewhere to find God in something. We go to some temple, church, book, or person to find God. We hope God or something like him will be there. We long for food for our souls, manna to satisfy and to comfort, peace in this chaotic world, a reason to live other than participating in the mundane activities of life. Of course this search to find God in something or in someplace is also idol worship. The Bible says that those who are new creatures BY FAITH IN CHRIST have a relationship that is INTIMATE and constant. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Corinthian 5:17) As new creatures in Christ, we are forever in God's presence. We are not idol worshippers, those who have to stand or bow before an idol. We also are not those who have to fill their lives with worldly clutter to find meaning. No, we have a God who defines the meaning of life by saying to all who are born again, "I am with you always. You are mine. I will never leave you." He gives us this hope with a still small voice. (I Kings 19:12) We are not idol worshippers. We do not fill our lives up to avoid his voice; we do not wander someplace to find him. No, He is with us always, to comfort, to guide us through life. Jesus said, "And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” (Matthew 28:20) Since God has made it plain to us that He is God, and He has sent his Son to save us from sin, let us worship him wholeheartedly while it is yet day!
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