A YARDSTICK FOR LIVING

Romans, Chapter 1, Verses 18-21

By David Woodbury

In the early part of chapter 1, Paul has introduced himself and affirmed his belief in Jesus and his desire to be the bearer of this news to all humanity, regardless of their station in life. He has also introduced his belief in Christians being justified by faith, i.e. being put right with God by simply believing in redemptive death and resurrection of Jesus as the only means of their salvation. He now goes on to outline the fact that God’s presence has been visible to those who truly seek him.

18For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them. 20For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse, 21because, although they knew God, they did not glorify Him as God, nor were thankful, but became futile in their thoughts, and their foolish hearts were darkened.  (Romans 1:18-21 - NLT)

There is a sense of human denial about truth. If we cherry-pick some of the translations we come up with precis - It is not that they do not know the truth, (JB Phillips)- By taking a long and thoughtful look at what God has created, people have always been able to see what their eyes as such can’t see (The Message) - They knew all the time that there is a God, yet they refused to acknowledge him. (JB Phillips)

No matter how developed and civilized humanity becomes, the reality is that it will always need a benchmark to evaluate its conduct and lifestyle. Paul is writing about those who have totally rejected any form of a yardstick against which they can measure their conduct and behaviour, not only leading to implicit unrighteousness but worse still, trying to supress any form of goodness or righteousness. Such behaviour will inevitably arouse the righteous anger of God. Humanity can only gain a true and authentic perspective of itself as it perceives the holy character of God and comes to understand his righteous will.

The Old Testament time and time again warns against humanity setting its own yardstick based on human perception and behaviour. There is a recurring text: “In those days Israel had no king; all the people did whatever seemed right in their own eyes. (Judges 17:6 - NLT)” Somewhere in the development of humanity, it has to set a baseline for conduct and behaviour that is beyond a self-determined, human standard. Perhaps the great fear of humanity is the unbridled license which comes when humanity refuses to accept any authority save its own desires.

Paul is aware that God’s pure-white righteousness stands in stark contrast to the evil present in humanity and that through this visible righteousness humanity is made painfully aware of God. Such a light emphasises the great need of humanity to be put right with God. Paul will go on to contrast this focus on humanity’s great need with the light that shines from the redemptive life, death and resurrection of Jesus.

Implicit here in this passage in the whole section is a certain understanding of human wrongdoing, and in a day when sin is sometimes dismissed as a foolish preoccupation with the consequences of natural impulses, it is valuable to recover something of the apostolic conception of sin. Sin is neither an act nor even a series of acts; it is that state which makes wrong conduct possible, the condition of mind and spirit whose consequences become apparent in action.

From creation, God has revealed himself to all humanity through the world which he has created. His eternal power and divine nature have been clearly visible to those who would seek him. Such a revelation leaves honest people without an excuse for not knowing God.

There are certain laws at work in our world that are unbreakable. If you break the basic laws of agriculture your harvest will fail. If you flout the laws of healthy living your body will suffer. Paul is saying that there is a created and moral order, God has ordained which is visible to all humanity and from this order we are given an awareness of the creator.

There is a compelling argument to the presence and reality of a supreme being in the world around us. While science is daily discovering new facts the reality is that with every discovery comes more unknowns. Humanity can know the reality of God’s existence if they are willing to take a long and thoughtful look at what he has created. All the laws of nature that hold life and nature together witness to his eternal power and divine nature (v20b). While this may seem incomprehensible to the human mind the reality is that we are dealing with a God whose power and mind is beyond our comprehension. Consequently, he cannot be fully comprehended by the human mind and an element of simple faith is required to encounter him.

There are many ways in which God reveals himself to humanity, whether it is the created world in which we live, our conscience, through sacrificial human love or simply to the miracle of birth. God reaches out to those who truly seek him and endeavour to encounter him. The reality may well be that if humanity cannot intentionally encounter God then it may well be that they have closed their eyes and hearts to him.

The NLT translates v21 as follows: Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused.

In many ways, our cultures today are little different from the cultures of Paul’s day. It seems that people will always need a higher power to which they can relate; it somehow seems to be the nature of humanity. Their decision, agreement with, and compliance to that higher power will inevitably be reflected in their lifestyle choices and behaviour. While we may look at some of the deities worshipped by eastern religions the reality is that in the western cultures the higher powers of money, fame, sex, political power etc. has resulted in groups of people who are willing to sacrifice the norms of ethical behaviour and compassion to comply with their higher power.

The reality is that the higher power we choose must inevitably impact, in a significant way, the lifestyle that flows as a result of that choice. Whether we like it or not, the reality is, our choice of a higher power will inevitably decide our destiny, both here and in eternity. There is an inherent and lethal danger in choosing a higher power other than God. The further we move down the philosophy; that believes that humanity itself has all the answers and is the only authority to whom we are responsible, our minds became dark and confused (v21).