Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Reformer Joe | 31999 | ||
Romans 1 does not just talk about nature attesting to God's glory; it is an indictment of humanity because of their response to that revelation. It goes much farther than saying merely that God is obvious from nature. God is obvious, and man in his unrighteousness suppresses that truth. You are right that the revelation of nature does not teach us our need for salvation. Nature reveals God and His attributes. Man responds by not giving Him the glory, which leads to a downward spiral of sin, idolatry, and approval of others who commit the same acts (Romans 1:18-32). In addition, God gives us our conscience, which is an inward revelation of God's will. You are correct in stating that neither the conscience nor God's revelation in nature is the gospel. Revelation in creation and conscience cannot SAVE us (which agrees with Romans 10:14), but it does INDICT us and CONDEMN us, shutting us all up under sin. The gospel (i.e. the message of salvation) is not part of natural or "general" revelation (i.e. revealed to all humanity), but rather special revelation (i.e. revealed by the Holy Spirit primarily in the proclamation of His written Word). That preaching of the gospel is what Romans 10:14 is referring to. Those people who have not heard the gospel cannot be saved, because the gospel has not been preached to them. They are still condemned, however, because God has revealed Himself and his requirements of perfect obedience to all human beings, both outwardly and inwardly. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23), whether they have heard the gospel or not. People do not go to hell for rejecting Christ; they go to hell for sinning against God the Father. And everyone falls into that category, and everyone knows deep, deep down at some level that they fall into that category. They are just denying the truth. I don't see how you could hold that I am on shaky ground with Romans 1. The chapter is very clear to those who will accept what it says. I would encourage you to go back and read Romans 1-3, without presupposing that there are people truly ignorant of God. If you can take the chapter in its entirety and show me how it doesn't apply to all humanity and its response to a clearly self-revealed God, I would love to hear your interpretation. --Joe! |
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2 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Morant61 | 32001 | ||
Greetings Joe! Excellent post my friend! A little outline I have used in the past on Romans 1-3 is this: Romans 1 - The Pagan is lost because he rejects the testimony of nature itself. Romans 2 - The Jew is lost because he rejects the testimony of the Law. Romans 3 - Therefore, there is none righteous for we all have sinned. You made an excellent point, the purpose of Romans 1-3 is to utterly condemn us and point us to the way of faith in chapter 4. Your Brother in Christ, Tim Moran |
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3 | Will unbelievers be raised from Sheol? | Rev 21:8 | Reformer Joe | 32011 | ||
Exactly! I would add that Gentiles, too, are self-condemned according to chapter 2 because they do by nature the things that are found in the law, demonstrating that we all possess an innate sense of what is right and what is wrong (Romans 2:14-15). --Joe! |
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