What Did You Know and When Did You Know It?

“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. Romans 1:18-22

You have heard these questions a lot lately, haven’t you? The President of the most powerful and wealthy nation in the world, with more intelligence resources available to him than any man on the globe, has answered these questions, “What did you know, and when did you know it?, concerning the numerous scandals of his administration with, “I just found out about it in the newspapers like the rest of you. Certainly, and can I sell you the Brooklyn Bridge?
In truth these questions are relevant to you and to all men, according to this astounding declaration of God in Romans 1. All men will be judged on what they knew, and when they knew it. The astounding statement by God, the Judge of all in the Great and Final Judgment, says without equivocation that all men are without excuse, for what may be known about God is PLAIN to them, because God has made it PLAIN to them. No excuses like, “I did not know you existed!; or, “The evidence of the natural world never told me you created it!; or, “I had no idea how or where to find you!  The excuses go on and on. But not one excuse can stand the scrutiny of plain Scripture. They are all bogus based on the overwhelming evidence God has provided in his creation. God says no one is without excuse who does not glorify God as God, nor give him thanks. All obfuscation of this PLAIN evidence that God is, churned up by the foolish thinking of unbelieving man, is nothing but a charade; God exposes charades.
The declaration of God in Romans 1 is truly astounding for it shows the type of thinking of all atheists, agnostics, and every false religionist who denies by mouth and deed any acceptance of the one true God revealed in Scripture. They may claim vociferously that there is no God, or that the universe is not created by him, or that the true God is not the God revealed in Scripture, but none of these claims can withstand the evidence which God says he makes plain to them; consequently, they must suppress the truth knowingly, but nevertheless, damningly. This purposeful suppression, while claiming innocence, results in futile thinking, darkened hearts, and all the perversity which saturates their life as a result of their distortions and corrupted affections.
I rather think this God-diagnosis in Romans 1 of non-believing man, is not as clear to us as it is to him. We regularly observe the “certainty and even bombastic nature of the world’s unbelief as somewhat intimidating, and we too often grant such skeptics “respect for their unbelief as though their arguments have some merit in the courts of logical truth. God is not swayed as we are tempted to be. There are no coherent excuses which they can construct, which will be an embarrassing revelation for them at the Judgment. “Stop living out your charade, God says to them, “as though you have some intellectually sound argument for such errant thinking. By repeating a lie to yourself over and over, which is a prevalent practice in our society, until the lie becomes your truth, you will never make a lie anything more than it ever was; a lie never changes its character!
Thanksgiving Day is not alone as the time to glorify God and give him thanks. Every day in this regard is Thanksgiving Day for the one who accepts the plain truth of God from his creation and revelation. Still, this is a day when we are afforded a great privilege and rich opportunity to gather around dinner tables with family and loved ones and together glorify a merciful and compassionate Father in Heaven while giving him thanks. To not glorify him or give him thanks is simply to say, “I do not know you! And, “I do not care to know you.
Giving glory and thanks to God is a joyfully conscious acknowledgment that the God who made you and revealed himself to you is your God, intimately and assuredly, and you will neither shun him or hate him, but love him with all your heart , soul, and mind.
What a magnificent theme for this day! The mercies of family, food, clothing and shelter may capture your thanksgiving words, thoughts and prayers today, but none of these wonderful mercies compare to glorifying and thanking God for who he is; and that his greatest gift to you is his Son, who in his ultimate sacrifice gave you life; and that in abundance.
Happy Thanksgiving!