For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.
So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened.
-Romans 1:18-21
The Word of God teaches us that there’s no such thing as an atheist (other than the title they give themselves). V20 clearly states that an unbeliever is “without excuse” because God has revealed Himself to everyone. Furthermore, v21 reveals a secondary ‘nail in the coffin’, so to speak. The Greek word translated “thinking” (translated “speculation” in the NASB) carries with it the idea of “imagination and invention”. In other words, a so-called “atheist” has imagined a reality where God doesn’t exist. This he does continually in the face of God-given evidence to the contrary!
This should help those of us who struggle with knowing that some of our loved ones will be in Hell someday, if not there already. It helps to know that God is perfectly righteous in carrying out such a horrific sentence. I know it may not help when we think about the estate of unbelievers after death, knowing that there is no end to eternity or second chances for salvation, “just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Hebrews 9:27); however, we ought to find peace in understanding God’s integrity.
“Atheists” may well just be the greatest inventors of all time – even greater than DaVinci, Tesla, or Edison! Consider that it’s possible for most people to never perceive the physics behind electricity – that’s understandable and warrants a tip of the cap to Tesla’s inventions; however, God guarantees everyone knows the truth of His existence. To postulate otherwise is like saying the air we breathe doesn’t really exist! It’s folly, hence the point of this blog.
“There was a rich man who was clothed in purple and fine linen and who feasted sumptuously every day. And at his gate was laid a poor man named Lazarus, covered with sores, who desired to be fed with what fell from the rich man's table. Moreover, even the dogs came and licked his sores.
The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried, and in Hades, being in torment, he lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off and Lazarus at his side.
And he called out, ‘Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame.’
But Abraham said, ‘Child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things; but now he is comforted here, and you are in anguish. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us.’
And he said, ‘Then I beg you, father, to send him to my father's house— for I have five brothers—so that he may warn them, lest they also come into this place of torment.’ But Abraham said, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them hear them.’ And he said, ‘No, father Abraham, but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent.’
He said to him, ‘If they do not hear Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be convinced if someone should rise from the dead.’”
-Luke 16:19-31
This story speaks to the arrogance of fallen man, which depicts the atheist’s nature perfectly. Even if a man were to be resurrected before an unbeliever’s eyes, they would still reject God! As the writer of Hebrews wrote, if they won’t accept God at His Word, they certainly won’t accept inferior evidence (e.g., physical resurrection). This is a damning judgment on all unbelievers, which also obliterates an atheist’s claim to independence.
No person has ever justly hidden themselves behind a lie. Certainly, there’s never been an atheist who has effectively realized their proclamation that God doesn’t exist. Imagining an alternative reality is fantasy, where fictional characters give themselves names, like “atheists”.
Rejecting the truth never changes it, regardless of how determined a person may be. God is truth. He is undeniably real. All atheists are liars who, according to Holy Scripture, are deserving of God’s wrath.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. And no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account.
-Hebrews 4:12-13
Love in Christ,
Ed Collins
