Knowing God

Public Faith PART IV
Dr. Timothy Keller
20 October 2013

Romans 1: 16-21
16For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.  17For in the gospel the righteousness of God is revealed--a righteousness that is by faith from first to last just as it is written: "The righteous will live by faith."

18The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suprress the truth by their wickedness, 19since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them.  20For since the creation of the the world God's invisible qualities--his eternal power and divine nature--have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.

21For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.

WE CAN KNOW GOD
--Infer God's existience through what we see in nature (v19-20)

WE DO KNOW GOD
--How can something come from nothing?
--We know nothing has no beginning?
--v.19 All people suppress the truth of God's existence
--In some part of our heart, we know God is there.

WE DON'T KNOW GOD
--We don't treat God as magnificent as he is.
--We don't thank Him for everything.
--We all want to call the shots and thereby impersonate God.

BIBLICAL GOD
--Wrathful God who is angry at sin.
--Righteousness is a gift.
--We're afraid to lose control, so we suppress his soverignty over us.