6-27-2021
NO EXCUSE
Romans 1:18-25
Benjamin Franklin said, “He that is good for making excuses is seldom good for anything else.” I think that God would agree. Because He says those who deny His existence are without excuse.
Our text for today, Romans 1:18-25, tells us: 18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, 19 because what may be known of God is manifest in them, for God has shown it to them.
20 For 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, 21 because, 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.
22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, 25 who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.
The apostle Paul wrote this letter to the Christians in Rome. He wants them to know that all they have to do is look around, and the evidence of God's creative power is impossible to miss.
They have no excuse to believe otherwise. In other words: even unrighteous people should know there is a God, because God is revealed in the things He has made.
Psalm 19:1 says it this way “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”
The Bible is unapologetic in declaring that our world has been designed, and that there is an “Intelligent Designer” (God) who made it all.
And yet, today, many people miss this truth. They say they have an excuse, it is called evolution. If an evolutionist were to write the words of Genesis chapter one, it would probably sound like this:
In the beginning there was nothing. And nothing said to itself, “Let us become something, explode, and become an ordered universe that is governed by laws of science, physics, and mathematics.
“Let us become a universe that is able to sustain life. And it happened. All of the universe was created. Nothing became something, exploded, and became everything. And this all took billions of years…
“Then the earth said, 'Let us make life from the primordial soup.' And it was so; many chemical reactions happened over time. These chemical reactions became more and more complex, and became a living cell that could reproduce and grow.
“From this single cell came all of the different animals; the birds of the air, the fish in the sea, and the animals on the ground.
“All of this happened through chance, random processes and mutations. And this all took billions of years…
“And there was a special group of animals, the primates. And they said, 'Let us make man in our image,' and it was so. Over time, through chance mutations, the primate became a man.
“This man was special. He formed a much more complex brain than the primates before him. He could reason. He had a conscience that could tell right from wrong. He formed emotions, human dignity, and logic.
“And man was able to, through His intellect, find his purpose in life… Nothing. And this all took billions of years.” (From “Evolution: Science Or Faith?” by Jason Smith)
There are those, Paul says in verse 21 that 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.
While evolution is a scientific theory, many scientists agree (and many disagree) with the leading atheist, Richard Dawkins, who said that “evolution is a fact”. And they go as far as saying that if you question evolution, you are questioning science.
The debate usually turns to being between science vs. faith, with most unbelievers saying that science is the winner by default.
Then the next step is to call those of us who believe in God as the creator of the universe irrational and illogical, because they believe we are contradicting known, observable science.
The problem for them is, evolution has not been observed, at least not the kind of evolution that is usually believed to have happened.
The whole debate hinges on how evolution is defined and what is grouped under the umbrella of that ‘evolution.’
What evolutionists do not like to do is make a distinction between “micro-evolution” (small changes within a species) and “macro-evolution” (large changes from one species of animal or plant to another). One is from God, and the other is not.
They do not like to make this distinction because, if they do, it destroys the majority of the “evidence” for their beloved theory.
Micro-Evolution (small change) is the observed reality of variation within a kind (Gen 1:21, 24). Instead of evolution, this might better be called variation, or adaptation.
Examples are changes in Darwin’s finches, fruit flies, peppered moths, and many others. This has been observed. But, in spite of obvious changes, in every case they remain finches, fruit flies and moths.
Micro-evolution is from God. And the Bible allows for it. God created every animal after its kind. And even with change, they remain within their kind.
Macro-evolution is a different story. Macro-evolution is the teaching that through small changes, organisms and animals can jump from one species to another, such as a primate becoming a human over long periods of time through natural selection and chance mutations.
Scientists use micro-evolution to prove macro-evolution. There is a huge difference between adapting to your environment, and becoming a whole different kind of animal.
It is nothing more than speculation to say that many small changes within a species can lead to one animal becoming a completely different animal.
To say it can happen is not science. It is a statement of blind faith. Macro-evolution has never been observed in a laboratory, much less than by our own human eyes.
For Darwinian Evolution to be true, life had to come from non-life on its own at some point billions of years ago. This has never been observed in a science laboratory. And no one has seen non-living matter become alive on its own anywhere.
When Jason Smith made this point to an atheist in a debate on twitter, the atheist was quick to send an article that proved that scientists created synthetic life.
Jason said, “I don’t know if this is true or not. Even if it is, it does not help the case of the evolutionist. It would only prove this point: Making life requires an intelligent mind.
He continued, “This in no way proves life can miraculously come into being on its own by chance. As much as they do not want to admit it, if this really did happen; if life came out of non-life on its own, atheists and evolutionists believe in miracles also!”
Without a miraculous event, you cannot have evolution. Because observable science shows us that nothing can evolve from nothing.
The key to this whole discussion is, you must account for how life began in the first place. Romans chapter one tells us that looking at the observable world tells us that there must be a God.
The explanation from the evolutionist is that life started with inert matter (like dirt, or mud or stone) that somehow was acted upon by an outside force such an electrical and/or chemical phenomena.
And this outside force helped create the first forms of life on the planet. Of course you have to leave out the part of where the dirt, mud and stone came from. And where did electrical and chemical phenomena come from.
They believe an event happened where a “primordial soup” of chemicals and matter was acted upon, and life was created.
Over time (according to this theory) these simple life forms got together to form a committee and started creating more and more complex life forms.
And as these life forms became more and more complex, this process ultimately led to advanced animals and birds... and eventually to humans like you and me.
One person described the theory of evolution this way:
“From Goo To You By Way Of The Zoo.”
Evolutionists believe this is how things “evolved”, even though they have never actually seen it happen, nor reproduced it in the laboratory.
Those who believe in Evolution will tell you they KNOW how things have evolved, And yet they haven’t really proved anything except to establish that they have very active imaginations.
A heckler once mocked a Christian speaker by shouting out: “I could make a better universe than your God!"
The speaker smiled and said "I won’t ask you to make a universe. But could you just make a rabbit—just to establish confidence?"
Not all scientists believe in evolution. Many agree with Romans chapter one that the best explanation of what we see in the universe is that God is making Himself known to mankind.
Scientists who have a biblical worldview point out that most living things of this world are just way too complex to have developed step by step through evolution.
There would be no way the transitions would succeed because the complexity of the organism would never survive without all the parts that make it live and perform its purpose.
Some people have used the humble mousetrap to explain this problem. [Show it] A mousetrap has 5 interdependent parts which allow it to catch mice: the wooden platform, the spring, the hammer (the bar which crushes the mouse), the holding bar, and a catch.
Each of those pieces is absolutely essential for the mousetrap to function. [Trigger the catch – snap!]
If you remove the catch, you cannot set the trap, and you will never catch mice.
Remove the spring, and the hammer will flop uselessly back and forth. And so on. This is what is called an “irreducibly complex system”. You can't reduce any part of it and make it work.
It cannot be put together in a gradual manner. You can’t simply start with a wooden platform and catch a few mice, then add a spring, catch a few more mice then add the holding bar, etc. Everything has to be in place, or it doesn’t function AT ALL.
A step-by-step approach to constructing a mousetrap would give a useless system. All the parts have to be present and functioning… or it just won’t work. God didn't leave out any parts in His creation.
Jeff Strite tells the story of a young woman who was in a science class where they were discussing the evolution of man. As they considered how each part of the human body might have evolved, they eventually discussed the eye.
This took a up a great deal of the class time because the eye is so complicated that it is difficult to explain how it evolved in a simplistic fashion.
One of the students (who was not a Christian) said that it seemed to her that perhaps evolution might not be the best way of explaining this phenomenon. The teacher became irritated and responded: "Young lady, we're not here to talk about God!"
It annoys Evolutionists to have to accept the idea that there is an Intelligent Designer. So what is written in Romans 1:22-23 is proven true.
Again it says, 22 Professing to be wise, they became fools, 23 and changed the glory of the incorruptible God into an image made like corruptible man—and birds and four-footed animals and creeping things.
Romans 1:20 tells us there is no excuse for that: For since the creation of the world (God's) 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.
This debate really is not between science and faith, but actually “the faith of believers vs. the faith of unbelievers.”
This is in reality a philosophical debate between the Atheistic Worldview and the Theistic (or Godly) Worldview. Both sides look at the same evidence and come to two different, opposing interpretations of the evidence.
Committed evolutionists dismiss God as a possibility before they even start. Even if God was the answer to questions regarding origin, scientists who are naturalists would not allow Him to be the answer.
One atheist, Richard Lewontin, in his book, “Billions and Billions of Demons.” published in January 1997 said this: “Materialism is an absolute, for we cannot allow a Divine Foot in the door.”
Here is a summary of what this guy was saying: “Even if God is the answer, we are NOT going to allow it.”
Unbelievers are always looking for ways in which they can suppress the truth so they can do what they want.
They make up some of the most extraordinary theories and label them as true science, just so they can suppress the truth of God’s existence.
Paul says in Colossians 2:8 (God's Word Translation) Be careful not to let anyone rob you of this faith through a shallow and misleading philosophy. Such a person follows human traditions and the world’s way of doing things rather than following Christ.
He is the One who went to the cross so we could be saved. We who are Christians need to follow Him. Jesus Himself spoke of “the creation which God created” (Mark 13:19).
Believing in the theory of evolution is a way for people who reject faith in God to justify themselves.
The scripture says that is no excuse.
CONCLUSION:
A young skeptic returned from his first semester at college and visited elderly Bible teacher who had invited him over for a meal. He hadn’t been at college long, but he’d been there long enough for the professors to destroy his faith.
So as she fixed a meal, he felt he needed to inform her of that. And so he said "I once believed in God, but since studying science, I'm convinced that God is but an empty word."
She paused a moment and then said, "Well, I have not studied science, but since YOU have, maybe you can tell me from where this egg came from." She held up a raw egg she was about to use.
"Why from a hen, of course" he replied.
"And where did the hen come from? she asked.
"Why, it hatched from an egg."
"And perhaps," said the lady, "you can tell me which existed first."
"The hen, of course," he said. "So, you mean that a hen existed without having come from an egg?"
"Oh, no," said the young man, "I guess I should have said that the egg was first." "Then you mean that an egg existed without having come from a hen?"
The young man looked puzzled and then said "You’re getting me confused." She smiled and then replied: "Young man, since you cannot explain the existence of even an egg without God, can you really expect me to believe that you can explain the existence of the whole world without Him."
May we who know God glorify Him as God our creator and be thankful, and worship Him.
This sermon relies heavily on two sermons on Sermon Central:
“Evolution: Science Or Faith?” Contributed by Jason Smith on September 25, 2013 and “Intelligent Design” Contributed by Jeff Strite on October 1, 2017.
Both are excellent messages on this subject and you would do well to go to both of these sources.
