Presented to Alberni Valley Ministries 05 October 2024 and the Nipawin Corps, 07 June 2009, by Major Michael Ramsay
This is the 2024 BC Version.
To view the 2009 Saskatchewan edition, click here: https://sheepspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/06/appeal-of-creation-genesis-1-romans-1.html
We
just completed a few months of looking at the book of Mark. Did everyone have
an opportunity to read it on their own? Susan thought that Romans would be a
good next book to look at and as I have written a book on Romans for The
Salvation Army I was inclined to agree. (You can read the book here: http://www.sheepspeak.com/ebooks.htm
)
So
this week I get to welcome you to our first stop on this journey through Romans.
This is an exciting stop as we can see both Romans 1 and Genesis 1 from this
vantage point. Romans 1:20:
For
since the creation of 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.
This
reminds me of a time when my wife Susan and I served as Officers in Nipawin,
Saskatchewan. After a day of dealing with another vandalized window at the ministry
centre, packing boxes for move day, and writing sermons, we decided to take a
short walk in God’s creation. We were depressed, stressed and then… It was
amazing. As we walked, our spirits immediately lifted. We strolled around the
trees in some of the small forests there. This very beautiful part of the
country reminds me in many ways of where I grew up. The trees are not nearly as
big nor the forest as thick, but t is quite beautiful.
When I
was a young adult my friend Dan and I went hiking almost every weekend. I lived
in Victoria. He would pick me up after I finished work on Friday nights and we
would drive up island as far as we could go, finding new areas to explore. It
was a lot of fun. One often experiences the power of God in these times.
Stepping
out into the wilderness can be like peeling an orange. Much of our life, it
seems, has become a peel hiding the beautiful fruit of the Lord’s creation. Our
cities and towns have added ever so many layers over God’s creation.
We
have our warm houses and our heated cars – Susan’s car even has heated seats
that Heather likes to turn on! – our paved streets, telephone lines and other wires
obscuring the view or more and more being buried beneath the ground; and on the
prairies there are ATVs, snowmobiles, and some fancy farm machinery that make
life easier but also changes the simpler ways we would otherwise work and play.
In our society today we also have the imaginary worlds of television, video
games, social media, the Internet, and other entertainment avenues adding a
further peel of distance from the realities of God’s creation.
Social
barriers obscure God’s creation as well. Our education systems let us think
that we have solved most of the world’s mysteries all on our own. Our political
system leads us to believe that we have absolute control over our own destiny
and that we should actually do as we see fit in our own eyes (cf. the sin of Judges,
21:25). We seem to believe western democracy’s line that the majority is right
the majority of the time. As we move further and further away from God’s
creation physically, spiritually, emotionally, intellectually, and practically,
we are enticed more and more to believe the old serpent’s lie that as humankind
evolves our “eyes will be opened, and we will be like God” (Genesis 3:5).
Stepping out into God’s creation removes the peels from society and allows us
to taste the fruit of the Lord (Psalm 34:8). If we don’t do this from time to time,
we can fall into the trap described in Romans 1: 18−23 of ignoring and
suppressing the obvious truth of God:
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. For
since the creation of 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 men are without excuse.
For
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.
Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of
the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals
and reptiles.
Acclaimed
to be wise, Sigmund Freud – the father of modern psychology– actually believed
that society had progressed beyond God. He hoped that civilization would
quickly progress even further and move beyond its “illusion” of religion the
same way one should outgrow a “childhood neurosis.” Freud had faith that
eventually humankind would indeed do this. He thought that “nothing can
withstand reason and experience and the contradiction that religion offers to
both is all too palpable” [1].
Moving
beyond the ‘illusion’ of God and religion, for Freud, “would be an important
advance along the road which leads to being reconciled to the burden of
civilization” (P. 41). Freud was not alone in denying the existence of God. Our
society seems to want to progress beyond God’s creation -- as if that were
possible.
Karl
Marx says of religion, “Man . . . looked for a superman in the fantastic
reality of heaven and found nothing but the reflection of himself.” [2] He says
religion is the “opium of the people” and “the abolition of religion as the
illusory happiness of the people is required for their real happiness” (P. 42).
Marx,
Freud, and many others who have had a profound influence on the world even into
the 21st century seem to have chosen to reject God. Even though, as Romans 1:20
states, “… since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities − his
eternal power and divine nature − have been clearly seen, being understood from
what has been made…”
God
loves us so much that He made it obvious through this life and all He created
that He is God; all we have to do is peel back the artificial barriers we
create in life, taste the fruit of Jesus Christ and see that He is good. As
important as the peels are and as beneficial as many of our modern manmade
developments are, it is just as important to take the time to actually see and
taste God’s creation and know how good He is (Psalm 34:8).
We
read the creation account in Genesis 1, which reminds me of a love letter of
sorts akin to the Song of Solomon. Look at how poetically the creation story is
related to us in Genesis 1.
· First,
on Day 1, our Heavenly Father creates light and day and night and then,
· on Day
4, three days later, after creating this environment, He lovingly creates the
sun and the moon and the stars to be placed within that light (Gen 1:13-19).
· Next,
on Day 2, our loving creator makes the water and the sky and, three days later,
· on Day
5, He makes sea creatures to be placed in this sea. Next, He makes birds to
soar into the skies God made for them (1:4−8, 20−23).
· On Day
3, our Heavenly Father gathers together the waters to create dry land.
· On Day
6, He creates plants and animals to be placed on this land that He made for
them. God then creates man and woman in His own image (Genesis 1:9−13, 26−7),
blesses them and graciously assigns them the job of filling the earth and
taking care of it (Gen 1:28−31). The Lord loves His creation: it is good, and
He loves us too.
It is
obvious that God loves us but – too bad – the story of creation and of Adam and
Eve doesn’t end here. As we know, Adam (the first man) disobeyed God and he −
instead of taking responsibility for his actions ̶ blamed the woman, Eve, and even
God.
When
confronted with his sin Adam said to God, Genesis 3:12, “The woman you put here
with me – she gave me some fruit from the tree and I ate it.” And lest we think
the woman was any better than Adam, she responded, in Genesis 3:13, that “the
serpent deceived me, and I ate”. This was The Fall. With humankind’s sin, we separated
ourselves from God’s creation and from God.
Now
God, of course, had a remedy for this. He really does desire that all the
people of the earth be blessed as He blessed Adam and Eve. Genesis 12:1−3
promises that all the nations of the earth will be blessed through Abraham. And
God is faithful to that promise. God sends His only begotten son to die and
rise again on the third day, so that we might live and so that we might be
reconciled to God and His creation.
So
the, as we go about our lives, let us take a moment away from our busyness; let
us walk outside, and as we walk let us take in the abundant beauty that
demonstrates God’s love for us. Let us peel back all that blocks the view of
our hearts; let us notice each other, our family, our friends, our animals, our
gardens, our plants, and all His creation. Let us notice the sun today and the
stars tonight. Let us notice all of this around us; then let us bow our heads
and lift our voices in praise of our God because He loved us so much that He
sent Jesus Christ, His only begotten son, so that all barriers to salvation would
be removed. Now we can be fully reconciled to Him.
Monday
was Orange Shirt Day, Truth and Reconciliation Day. Many of us from TSA walked
along with the crowds to Tseshaht First Nation where we were invited to join in
a meal and entertainment as a step towards reconciliation with our brothers and
sisters here. As we stroll down the road of Romans through Bible Study a little
further in the next few weeks and months, we will consider the eternal
reconciliation up ahead at Romans 3:23 and elsewhere. For today. I encourage us
all to step outside into the Lord’s glorious creation and thank Him so much for
that reconciliation with Him, each other, and all of creation that He offers to
us all through Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection.
Let us
pray.
Posts
