WTM JOURNAL
by Yuri Solomon Creation absolutely and adequately proves God, yet it is insufficient to redeem man and in fact can only result in his condemnation (Rom. 2:14-15.) The fact of God's existence is a firm reality without the least bit conciliation. Men's denials of this reality are but an attempt to escape the tormenting gaze of God and the cold fact of His ever-present wrath. Yuri Solomon holds degrees from Gospel Ministry Outreach Theological Institute and the College of Biblical Studies. He is author of the book Biblical Masculinity. More info @ www.wordtalkonline.orgThe Adequacy and Inadequacy of Creation
7/05/2007 / Christian Apologetics
The problem is that men want to believe something other than what is so painfully obvious. All of their so-called evidences are but elaborate constructs attempting to protect their false presuppositions (2 Cor. 10:5.) Practically speaking, the thief knows that stealing is wrong. This knowledge is resident in the fact that he appalls the idea of someone taking what belongs to him. Yet he rations that stealing will ultimately benefit him, denying the reality of divine justice. Or take for instance the adulterer who believes that there is personal benefit in his infidelity in spite of the immediate personal guilt and the long term loss of trust that hangs in the balance. He too, believes there is a path to fulfillment apart from what he knows is right. Likewise, unbelief is a denial of reality as an attempt to forego human responsibility toward God. When humans view creation the messages are undeniably apparent: God exists, God creates, God is all powerful, and God is angry.
However it is this forth message that so repels the human embrace of God as to condemn all of mankind. That is the message of "His wrath". When we see earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanoes, hurricanes, tornadoes, diseases, and all sorts of death and destruction, the hearts of man faint and cry out surely this is not God. His wrath as such begs the question, "Why is God so angry?" Herein is the inadequacy of creation to lead men to redemption, as well as the very meaning of total depravity.
Men can accept God as existing; that adds meaning to life. Men can accept God as creator; that explains all things that exist. Men can accept God as powerful; that legitimizes Him as a God who can provide peace. However, men cannot accept the universal wrath of God. It is too much to acquiesce to the fact that the wrath of the almighty would be behind babies and elderly women dying in floods and avalanches, that even birth defects are orchestrated by God. Such a God is simply too much to stomach and men won't stand for it. Yet the bible is even clear on this, "And the LORD said unto him, Who hath made man's mouth? or who maketh the dumb, or deaf, or the seeing, or the blind? have not I the LORD?" (Exo 4:11.) It is that a man's heart will not allow him to accept God as He is, because to do so must result in our own self condemnation. As Isaiah says, In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up... Then said I, Woe is me! for I am undone; because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips: for mine eyes have seen the King, the LORD of hosts (Isa 6:1&6.) A man cannot of a natural accord condemn himself; he will first condemn God. As God points out rhetorically to Job, "Wilt thou also disannul my judgment? wilt thou condemn me, that thou mayest be righteous?" (Job 40:8)
The first response is not atheism but religion of a sort a type of paganism. Like the Israelites at the foot of Mt. Sinai, men seek to have a god that they can identify with. They want a god that is less lofty, not as awesome as is the God of Sinai and more subject to the affections of humans. So the primary response to the wrath of God is to form a deity in our own image and likeness, a god of our imagination rather than the God of reality. In doing so the sharp edges are dulled so we can better handle him. The preferable qualities are affirmed and the distasteful ones are rejected. A god who is always kind and never angry, who always loves and never hates, and who always shows compassion and never condemns is carved from the carnal desires of men to the ignorance of God's self-revelation as set forth by the scriptures.
So here in is the case, a man is consumed with self-preservation at the cost of reality. So on it goes that a man exchanges the truth of God for a lie, the lies of paganism, hedonism, and atheism. He goes on and on until even the screaming rationale of creation is obscured by the awful noises embraced by his corrupt heart. Yet it is God who personally and purposely cursed creation that men might come face to face with their own immorality, inadequacy, and the infuriated deity. One who cannot embrace the personal condemnation of creation cannot embrace the personal compassion of Christ.