Can someone know that God exists apart from the Bible? Yes, in fact, the Bible itself says very clearly that God reveals himself to all people. God's glory is revealed in creation:
"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork" (Psalm 19:1 ESV).
God's goodness is revealed by his provision and preservation of humanity. He continues to provide the things we need to live, such as food and the means necessary to grow it.
"In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness”
(Acts 14:16-17 ESV).
God's law is written on our hearts. All people have a degree of moral awareness, though this is suppressed and distorted by sin.
"For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus" (Romans 2:14-16 ESV).
This revelation to all is referred to as general revelation, since it is revealed generally (without exception) to all. General revelation is unlimited in who receives it, but limited in what it reveals. Wayne Grudem writes, "People can obtain a knowledge that God exists, and a knowledge of some of his attributes, simply from observation of themselves and the world around them" [Wayne Grudem, Systematic Theology: An Introduction to Biblical Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 1994), 121]. The Belgic Confession, one of the three major teaching documents of the Christian Reformed Church, defines general revelation as follows:
"We know [God] by two means: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity" (Belgic Confession, Article 2).
Special revelation is God's specific self-revelation through his own speech (personal address), his self-revelation in Christ the Incarnate Word, or through his words of self-revelation spoken through the prophets and apostles.
"Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own" (Belgic Confession, Article 2).
The limitations of general revelation are important to note. Saving faith involves the obedient response to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ (Romans 10:13-17), whereby the just penalty for our rebellion is incurred by the sinless Son of God and we receive his righteousness. The gospel of Jesus dying in our place and for our sins is not revealed by general revelation, and therefore, general revelation is not sufficient for producing saving faith, which is the trusting response to this gospel. Again, the words of Grudem are helpful:
"The repeated occurrences of the 'rain and fruitful seasons' mentioned in Acts 14:17 may even lead some people to reason that God is not only holy and righteous but also loving and forgiving. But how the holiness and justice of God can ever be reconciled with his willingness to forgive sins is a mystery that has never been solved by any religion apart from the Bible. Nor does the Bible give us any hope that it ever can be discovered apart from specific revelation from God. It is the great wonder of our redemption that God himself has provided the way of salvation by sending his own Son, who is both God and man, to be our representative and bear the penalty for our sins, thus combining the justice and love of God in one infinitely wise and amazingly gracious act. This fact, which seems commonplace to the Christian ear, should not lose its wonder for us: it could never have been conceived by man alone apart from God's special, verbal revelation" (Grudem, 123).
No comments:
Post a Comment