Category: Devotions

It is interesting, Apostle Paul observed, God made man with a conscience that is able to judge his own actions by the law which God placed in his heart. He knows good from evil, right from wrong, having a moral conscience within him. If he does wrong, his conscience gives him no peace. And if he is right, he knows there is no rebuke against him. It is a faculty of self-reflection and self-judgement that God places in man that enables him to evaluate himself honestly.

How is that possible? Because God made man in His very image – Genesis 1:26 And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

Before I became a Christian, I found myself lacking, deficient, but could not tell what was lacking! Observe how the Apostle Paul is preparing to present the gospel to the unsaved by revealing what God has marvellously done to create man with a God-given conscience. He presents to us the intimate and endearing place we have in the sight of our Creator God.

What Paul is saying is that even though a person may not know God’s law, he will nevertheless be judged by it. Even if he transgressed God’s law unknowingly, he is guilty of sinning before God. He is still culpable! But Paul is bringing a greater indictment against those who know the law of God and wilfully disobeys it. He distinguished between the hearers of the law in verse 13 with the doers of the law. Only the doers of the law would find favour in the sight of God. The hearer who has a head knowledge of the truth and is not convicted to obey it will face God’s judgement.

Our God is an impartial Judge. He is infinite, eternal and unchangeable in His justice. He judges fairly and correctly. There is no misjudgement with God. He renders to every man according to his deeds. We cannot escape the All-seeing eyes of God. All who live in righteousness will receive from Him a righteous man’s reward. All who live an evil life, obey not the truth, will receive God’s judgement – tribulation and anguish!

God is good to allow time for sinners to repent of their sins by delaying His judgement. When a man sins without restrain and think that he can get away with sin time and again, he is hereby warned. Judgement will surely come. God has withheld judgement so that he may have the opportunity to be awakened of his grave danger and quickly repent!

Truly, Jesus gave the Christian disposition as one who has a poverty of spirit and one who mourns for his sins. This is the beginning of salvation grace when men is willing to humble themselves and repent of their sins and come to Jesus Christ for cleansing. There is only one way that man can have their sins forgiven. In the blood of the Lamb!

After Apostle Paul saved, God transformed his heart, taking away all the hatred and filling it with love and joy and peace. Hallelujah! Christ lived in him, giving a total transformation. This is the power of the gospel. Amen.

Fallen men not only sidelined their Creator by worshipping dumb idols made with their own hands, but their mind become so twisted that the institution of marriage between a man and a woman that God has ordained since time immemorial was overturned. Such shameful passions of utmost perverseness was made a way of life. When such inordinate affections took place, we see in biblical history that God’s judgement was nigh. Sodom and Gomorrah were cities that God judged with fire and brimestones falling from heaven to completely consume these cities.

When men wilfully and blatantly choose to reject God after He reveals something of Himself both in nature and in His Word to them, God gives men over to their sin. This is the permissive will of God. It described God’s judicial act of handing someone over to suffer the consequences of his wrongdoing. This described the present wrath of God upon men (Rom. 1:18) who chooses to go out of the way to satisfy the inordinate lusts of their own hearts through immoral behaviour.

The person described in verse 21 as having a “foolish heart” lacks spiritual sight. He wilfully ignores God. He is an ungodly person who turned his back on God and revealed the state of his lawless heart (v22). The greatest fool of all, therefore, is a person with the greatest intelligence who disobeys God. Paul uses the Greek word “moros” from which we receive the English “moron”. There is a stubborn streak in the person described here.

This was Paul’s concern. And he is articulating in these verses the foolishness of depraved man void of the truth concerning the true God. He has made it his God-given responsibility to make the truth known to a lost world. The challenge is indeed great, where are the labourers? Let us pray that God would raise men and women to work in the ripe harvest field to usher souls into His eternal kingdom. May you be a happy volunteer. Amen.