Pathway to Victory

Speaker 1

Hey podcast listeners, thanks for streaming today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory is a nonprofit ministry featuring the Bible teaching of Dr. Robert Jeffress. Our mission is to pierce the darkness with the light of God's Word through the most effective media available, like this podcast.

To support Pathway to Victory, go to ptv.org/donate or follow the link in our show notes.

Now here's today's podcast from Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 2

Hi, this is Robert Jeffress and I'm glad to study God's Word with you every day. This Bible teaching program on today's edition of Pathway to Victory.

Speaker 3

People want God to be just as fickle and changeable as we are. People want God to change his mind about adultery and premarital sex and homosexuality. God, haven't you read the polls? Don't you know the culture is changing?

People want God to change. And when they realize he's not going to change, that is when they react to the idea of a holy, unchangeable God.

Speaker 1

Welcome to Pathway to Victory with author and pastor, Dr. Robert Jeffress. From the majesty of the Grand Canyon to the intricacy of the human form, God's handiwork is on display for all of us to see.

Yet countless people deny the existence of an intelligent creator. Today on Pathway to Victory, Dr. Robert Jeffress talks about what every person can know about God by observing the natural world.

Now here's our Bible teacher to introduce today's message.

Speaker 2

Dr. Jeffress thanks David, and welcome to this Tuesday edition of Pathway to Victory. You know, planes take off for the Mediterranean every single day, but if you really want to see the Greek islands with friends who provide a truly Christian experience, then I'm urging you to travel with me on the Pathway to Victory Journeys of Paul Mediterranean Cruise. The dates are May 5th through 16th. We can't wait to show you the sights in this gorgeous region of the world where your Christian faith first took hold and spread to the rest of the world.

But that's not all. While on board the luxury cruise ship, we'll enjoy laughter, fellowship, Bible teaching, and our own Christian musicians and entertainment for the vacation you'll cherish forever. Please go online to ptv.org and reserve your spot.

Today, Paul's missionary journey in this part of the world ignited a flame that burns brightly to this day. And along those lines, I'd like to send you a phenomenal resource called An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul. This is a user-friendly Bible study tool that will open your eyes to the most prolific writer of the New Testament. As a bonus, when you respond today, I'll also include a multifolded Journeys of Paul Map and brochure so that you can easily trace the footsteps of this hero of our Christian faith. Both resources, An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul and the Journeys of Paul Map and brochure, will be sent to your home when you give a generous gift to support the growing ministry of Pathway to Victory.

Now let's transition to the most important issue on hand today, and that's our study from Romans Chapter One. I've titled today's message "What Every Atheist Knows."

Speaker 3

Paul begins this section by looking at the one group of people, quite honestly, we all have a hard time believing would be condemned by God. And that is the person who has never heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. Surely that person gets a pass. Surely that person is in a right standing with God. Guilty, says Paul. Even the person who has never heard the gospel stands condemned before God. Look at verse 18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who suppress the truth in unrighteousness.

How is it that that unbeliever who has never heard the gospel is condemned before God? I want you to notice beginning in verse 20 the three statements Paul makes about this unbeliever we think would be innocent, but in fact God says is guilty. First of all, Paul says the unbeliever has received a knowledge of God. Look at verse 20. For since the creation of the world, God's invisible attributes, that is his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through that which has been made, so that they, that is the unbeliever who hasn't heard the gospel, are without excuse.

Now this verse, verse 20, is one of the key passages in the Bible that support the doctrine of what we call natural revelation. Natural revelation is that knowledge about God that is available to anybody. That is, there are some things you can know about God without a Bible, without a pastor, without a missionary, without the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. There is some information that is available to everyone, and that's what he's talking about here. Everyone has received a knowledge of God. And again, that knowledge isn't sufficient to save us, but it is sufficient, if rejected, to condemn us.

And that leads to a second truth Paul explains in this passage: not only has the unbeliever received the knowledge of God, but secondly, he has rejected his knowledge of God. Look at verse 21 of Romans 1. For even though these people knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks. But they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened. This unbeliever received the knowledge of God. What did he do with it? He rejected it. Instead, he engaged in his own futile and dark speculations about who runs this universe.

I told you a few weeks ago about being in the green room at Fox in New York with David Silverman, the president of the American Atheist Association. We had about 20 minutes before we went on our program. We've debated on air before, but I'd never met him in person. So I thought, you know, I've got 20 minutes here. Instead of talking about the weather, which was lousy, I decided this is a great opportunity to probe the mind of an atheist to find out why he believes the way he does.

So David told me about his upbringing and so forth, and on and on and on. I said, David, is there anything that could cause you to change your mind? Is there anything that could happen that would make you believe there is a God? He said, no, absolutely nothing. I said, really, nothing? And then he corrected himself. He said, okay, Robert, here's one thing that would cause me to believe in God. If there was an end to world starvation, an end to world starvation, I would believe there is a God.

I said to David, be honest. If there were suddenly an end to world starvation, you would credit man with that, wouldn't you? You wouldn't credit God with it. He smiled and said, you're right, I wouldn't. He was saying there's absolutely nothing that would convince him there is a God. And that's what Paul is saying here. The evolutionist, the atheist, has received the knowledge of God. It's abundant. But he has rejected that knowledge of God.

Why has he rejected it? R.C. Sproul, in his book *The Psychology of Atheism*, lists three reasons that people are naturally opposed to the existence of God. First of all, all of us, believers and unbelievers alike, naturally rebel against God's sovereignty. The unbeliever doesn't like the idea that there is a sovereign God who is in control of everything. Because if that is true, then it means that unbeliever has to submit his life to that sovereign God. And the unbeliever is unwilling to do that. The unbeliever doesn't want anybody calling the shots in his life except himself.

Secondly, we rebel against God's holiness. We have all kinds of examples in the scripture of people, even believers, who were repelled by God's holiness. God is holy; we're not. We feel awkward in his presence. Remember Isaiah the prophet, when he saw that vision in Isaiah 6 of God on his throne and the cherubim flying around? What did he say? He fell down and said, "Woe to me, for I am a man of unclean lips." Or remember in Luke 5:8, when Peter saw the holiness of Christ, he fell down and said, "Depart from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man."

Now think about it. If people, men and women, who have been washed by the blood of Jesus Christ, are still afraid to be in the presence of a holy God, what about the unbeliever? We are repelled by the holiness of God. I've said it often, but I'll say it again. You know the reason an atheist cannot find God? It's the same reason a thief can't find a policeman. We're not looking. The atheist isn't looking; he's running from a holy God.

Number three, we rebel against God's immutability. God's immutability refers to his unchangeableness. You know, people change, cultures change, but God never changes. And the unbeliever rebels against that. Those of you who are parents understand this. If your children were anything like my children when they were young, you would lay down the law: this is the way it's going to be. And your child automatically accepted it, right? Ours didn't. We would lay down the law, and then they would argue, plead, cry, bargain, and do anything to get us to change our mind. But when they finally realized we weren't going to change our mind, it was...

Well, that's what happens in physics. When an unstoppable force meets an unmovable object, the sparks begin to fly. And that's the same way with people's rebellion against their heavenly Father. People want God to be just as fickle and changeable as we are. People want God to change his mind about adultery, premarital sex, and homosexuality. "God, haven't you read the polls? Don't you know the culture is changing? I know you've said this is sinful in the past, but surely you'll change your mind on this."

Or they want God to change his mind about the exclusivity of Christ. "God, don't you understand the importance of tolerance? You can't just say there's one way to you. There have to be multiple ways to you." Or, "God, surely you're going to change your mind about casting unbelievers into an eternity of hell. That's just not fair. That's not right." People want God to change. And when they realize he's not going to change, or his spokesmen are not going to change, that is when they react to the idea of a wholly unchangeable God.

Why do people reject God? They don't like God. They don't like the nature of God: his sovereignty, his immutability, his holiness. Now, what has the unbeliever done? I want you to notice here that the unbeliever has not only received the knowledge of God and rejected the knowledge of God, but the unbeliever has replaced his knowledge of God. Look at verses 22 and 23. Professing to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the incorruptible God for an image in the form of corruptible man and of birds and four-footed animals and crawling creatures.

Now, if you've ever taken a course in comparative religion, you know what you're taught in comparative religion classes. You're taught about the evolution of man's spirituality. The thesis is just as man is evolving physically and emotionally, he's also evolving spiritually. And when man was down in the slime and in his formative stages, his spiritual bent was toward animism, that is, the worship of statues and animals and other objects. But then as man evolved physically and emotionally, he also evolved spiritually. He moved up from animism to polytheism, the worship of a number of gods. And then as man continued to evolve, his evolutionary process led him out of polytheism to monotheism, the worship of one God. And that's where we are today: the evolution of man's spirituality.

The only problem with that theory is it contradicts history as well as the word of God. Because the Bible says just the opposite: man is not evolving; he is devolving. The fact is, you look at God's word, look at history. Man started with a knowledge of one God, the true God. And when he rejected that knowledge of the true God, he exchanged the knowledge of one God for the worship of many gods. The worship of many gods gave way to the worship of statues and animals and everything else you can imagine. Man is descending; he is not ascending. That is what the Bible tells us.

I mean, think about it. How absurd is it for a man to worship a fly, or to worship a cow, or to worship a wooden statue that he's made with his own hands? Does he really think those things are God? Of course not. What he has done is he has created for himself a God he can control. That's what he's trying to do. You know, Isaiah the prophet described that process in Isaiah 44:14-17. "Surely man cuts cedars for himself, and he takes a cypress or an oak and raises it for himself among the trees of the forest. He plants a fir, and the rain makes it grow." Skip down to verse 16. "Half of the wood he burns in the fire. Over this half, he eats meat. As he roasts to roast and is satisfied, he also warms himself and says, 'Ha, ha, I am warm. I have seen the fire.' But the rest of the wood he makes into a God, his graven image. And he falls down before it and worships it. And he also prays to it and says, 'Deliver me, for thou art my God.'"

Do you see the insanity of that? To take a piece of wood that you have hewn yourself and carved yourself, and once you have finished molding it, set it in front of you and bow down and say, "You are my God," it's insane. He doesn't believe it's God; he's created a God in his own image. And that's why Paul says people are without excuse.

Well, it's sure good we have ascended beyond that today. You better think again. The Hindus today have over 300 million gods that they have created. And we in the West are doing the very same thing. I have an article in my file from *Christianity Today*. It describes a group of women from mainline denominations who gathered together for a weekend retreat. They called it a reimaging conference. They wanted to reimage their concept of God. And so in this conference, they imagined God to be a woman that they named Sophia.

The reporter from *Christianity Today* was there recording what happened. He writes, "Together these women got in a circle and chanted to their new God, 'Our Maker, Sophia, we are women in your image. With the hot blood of our wombs, we give form to new life. With our warm body fluids, we remind the world of its pleasures and sensations.'" I can't even repeat what was in the rest of the prayer. In a mixed audience, after the chanting stopped, one of the attendees said to the reporter, "I can no longer worship in a theological context that depicts God as an abusive parent and Jesus as the obedient, trusting child." Another attendee said, "I don't think we need folks hanging on crosses and blood dripping and weird stuff." Another woman said, "If we cannot imagine Jesus as a tree, as a river, as wind and rain, we're doomed."

Doomed indeed. Paul says the unbeliever who is damned is damned because he has received a knowledge of the true God, he has rejected that knowledge, and he has replaced it with a God of his own making.

Okay, Pastor, you've danced around the topic now for 35 minutes. So what do you say about that person in Africa, China, Russia, or living across the street who has never heard the gospel? Are you saying that they are damned forever in an eternity of hell? I want to conclude today with four statements I want you to write down that will help you get the biblical understanding of this question. Because somebody is going to ask you this question, if you haven't already been asked, and you need to be able to answer not from your own imagination, opinion, or speculation, but from the truth of God's word.

What about those who have never heard of Jesus Christ? Four things I want you to write down. Statement number one: Everyone is guilty before God. The question, "How could God send the 12-year-old girl in China who's never heard the gospel to hell?" That question presupposes that that girl is innocent. But the Bible says she's not innocent; she's guilty. In fact, all mankind is guilty before God. Romans 3:10 says, "For there is not one righteous person among us. No, not even one." Verse 23: "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." This is the fact over which most unbelievers and many Christians stumble: the guilt of all humanity.

Ladies and gentlemen, if God sent every human being who has ever lived straight to hell, he would be completely justified in doing so. The fact that God, in His mercy, chooses to save some is a testimony of his kindness and his goodness and his grace. Everyone is guilty before God.

Number two: No one is saved apart from faith in Christ. Ladies and gentlemen, the Bible does not stutter or stammer on this issue. There are not multiple ways to be saved. There is only one way to be saved, and it is through a personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Peter said in Acts 4:12, "For there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved." It is a personal faith in Jesus. For whoever believes in him will not perish but have everlasting life. That's what Jesus said. He linked God's forgiveness with that personal belief.

You say, "Well wait a minute, what about those who haven't heard of Jesus?" Don't jump to a conclusion yet. Go down to statement number three: Everyone has a knowledge of God. And that's the whole argument in this passage: everyone has received a knowledge of God. And again, while that knowledge is not sufficient to save them, it is sufficient, if rejected, to condemn them.

Oh, Pastor, you're getting me confused now. You say everybody has the knowledge, but the knowledge isn't enough. And everybody has to believe in Jesus to be saved, but not everybody has heard the name of Jesus. How do you get out of this quandary? Statement number four: Anyone who wants further knowledge of God will receive it. That is, if a person receives the limited knowledge of God and he responds to that, he believes in a God who created this world, a God to whom he's accountable, God will respond to his response by sending the gospel of Jesus Christ so that he can be saved.

You say, "Pastor, that's preposterous. Think about how big this world is. Are you telling me that God cares about people enough that if he sees somebody whose heart is open to knowing him, he'll send the gospel?" Absolutely. I'll say that, first of all, it's technologically possible now to do it. I don't think it's any accident we have missionaries where we have them. It's no accident that Pathway to Victory is being beamed all over the world and other programs like it. Anyone who wants the light can receive it.

And remember this about God the Father: God is not trying to damn as many people as possible. He wants to save as many people as possible. And God cares about that person who has not yet heard the gospel much more than you or I could care about them. And the Bible says when God sees a heart that is open to him, he will send the knowledge of Jesus Christ so that they can be saved.

You know, there are many examples of that in the Bible. Perhaps the best one is found in Acts, chapter 10. Remember the story of Cornelius, the Roman centurion? Cornelius was a worshiper of God. He prayed three times a day. He gave his money to the poor. Now, by most people's standards today, he ought to be in heaven. He prays, he wants to know God, he gives money to the poor. But that wasn't enough to save Cornelius. But God looked at his heart, knew that he wanted to worship God. So what did God do supernaturally? He intervened. He took Peter, who was over here in Joppa, and supernaturally transported him to Caesarea to preach to Cornelius the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Cornelius heard the gospel, he received the gospel, he trusted in Christ along with all of his family, and they were saved. Ladies and gentlemen, if you want to know God, God will send the information you need to be saved. There's an old adage that says, "Light obeyed bringeth more light, but light rejected bringeth the night." Do you sincerely want to know God? Do you want to know how to have a relationship with Him? Remember what God said to the prophet Jeremiah in Jeremiah 29:13: "And you will seek me, and you will find me when you search for me with all of your heart." A sincere desire to know the one true living God will always lead you to the foot of the cross of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Speaker 2

The Bible is clear. No one will go to hell for rejecting a Christ they've never heard of. The evidence of God's existence surrounds us in the vastness and intricacy of his creation. I've come across an amazing book that will help you understand the author of Romans, the Apostle Paul, and the bold way in which he proclaimed the one true living God.

The first century was fraught with every manner of religious extremism, atheists, agnostics, and religious zealots alike. And when you truly understand the culture and times in which Paul ministered, it reveals the many ways you can remain strong in your own generation. This book is called *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*. I use this one-of-a-kind resource to prepare my sermon series because it gives so much context for the culture in which Paul ministered, and it opens our eyes to the journeys that caused the Gospel of Christ to spread like wildfire.

Let me send this book to your home when you include a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory. In addition to the illustrated guide, I'm also going to send you the *Journeys of Paul Map* and brochure so that you can clearly trace the footsteps of this spiritual hero.

Look, don't allow the time to slip by without taking advantage of these helpful resources. And thank you for giving generously to support Pathway to Victory. God will use your gift to pierce the darkness with the light of his word.

Speaker 1

David thanks Dr. Jeffress. When you give a generous gift to support the ministry of Pathway to Victory, you're invited to request a copy of *An Illustrated Guide to the Apostle Paul*. As a bonus, we'll also send you the *Journeys of Paul Map* to help you trace the paths of Paul on his missionary journeys. To make your request, call 866-999-2965 or visit our website at ptv.org now.

When you give $75 or more, you'll also receive the audio and video discs for *Grace Powered Living* featuring Romans Chapters one through eight. All of the messages come in their original, unedited form. To request your copy of the *Grace Powered Living* teaching set, call 866-999-2965 or go to ptv.org. If you'd prefer to write, jot down this mailing address: P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, Texas 75222. Again, that's P.O. Box 223609, Dallas, TX 75222.

I'm David J. Mullins. In our changing culture, the line between right and wrong tends to blur, and tragically, many define morality by their own standards rather than according to God's word. Discover what's at stake when we reject God's truth. That's Wednesday on Pathway to Victory.

Pathway to Victory with Dr. Robert Jeffress comes from the pulpit of the First Baptist Church of Dallas, Texas. You made it to the end of today's podcast from Pathway to Victory, and we're so glad you're here. Pathway to Victory relies on the generosity of loyal listeners like you to make this podcast possible.

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