Theology Proper: General Revelation Series

(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law, since they show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts now accusing, now even defending them.) This will take place on the day when God will judge men's secrets through Jesus Christ, as my gospel declares. (emphasis mine)

This is how we discern that God is a moral being. Though man has been marred by sin, a natural law still resides within his heart. This shows us that the Creator must be moral.

Why Then Do Some People Not Believe in God?

Well, the natural question then must be, why do some people not believe in God if the facts are so evident? What about atheists? The reason people deny God is because of sin. Listen again to what Paul says in Romans 1:18–19:

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. (emphasis mine)

Paul says mankind suppresses the truth because of their wickedness. The practice of sin makes man suppress the knowledge of God. No one wants to think about a God that is both holy and just when they are living in sin.

Sin hardens man’s conscience which has an innate awareness of God. The conscience can be so hardened that it no longer works properly. Listen to 1 Timothy 4:1–2:

The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons. Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. (emphasis mine)

In this passage, Paul is talking about the overflow of false teaching that will continue to spread in these last days. The conduits of this teaching will be people whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron. This means their consciences are hard and have lost sensitivity to sin.

This has happened to all of us at some point. Some may have experienced this with cursing. When they were young, they felt really bad about cursing, but eventually, by practicing it, their consciences no longer were pricked by their sin. This happens with pornography, cheating, lying, stealing, etc. It is possible to harden the conscience in such a way that it no longer functions properly. In the same way, a person can deny God so much through their sin that their conscience loses sensitivity to the Divine.

Paul is essentially saying that these teachers, because of their continual practice of sin and the subsequent searing of their conscience, exposed themselves to all kinds of deception from demons. The world has suppressed the truth by sin for so long that they will believe all kinds of lies as well, even so much so that many will deny the very existence of God.

In summary:

1. The Bible assumes we believe in God’s existence because of revelation.