Bible Study Romans Part 36-Professing Themselves to be Wise

If you’ve ever caught yourself thinking, “If I can’t see it, I won’t believe it,” Romans 1 has something to say to you, and it isn’t gentle. We open the Bible to Romans 1:18-22 and walk through Paul’s argument that God’s wrath is revealed against ungodliness because people suppress truth they already have access to. Not access through secret visions or hidden codes, but through what is “clearly seen” in creation, where God’s eternal power and divine nature are discernible if we are willing to look honestly.

We talk about the famous “I went to space and didn’t see God” attitude, and why our dependence on the five senses can become a trap. The study leans into natural revelation: stars, forests, living systems, and the sheer durability and order of the world as evidence that points beyond itself. From there, we challenge evolution and theistic evolution as more than scientific claims, framing them as potential escape hatches from the implications of a Creator who has authority over our lives.

We also define materialism and respond to the kind of public atheism represented by Richard Dawkins, then pivot to cosmology with the Big Bang and the uncomfortable question of origins. If the universe had a beginning and matter comes into being, “something from nothing” starts to sound a lot like the Genesis claim. Paul’s conclusion lands hard: when people refuse to glorify God and refuse gratitude, thinking itself becomes distorted, and “professing themselves to be wise,” they become fools.

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Transcript

Welcome And Why Scripture Matters

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Welcome to the program Study in the Chapel. God's Word is supreme at Chapel Ministries. We consider it absolutely essential to a proper relationship with God. We study it, we love it, we rely on it every minute of every day. The following program is an edited recording of the regular Bible studies we hold, and we decided to share these with you in the hope that you too will be able to find inspiration, encouragement, and ultimately salvation through discovering Christ in Scripture. Our intention is to travel all the way through the Bible. It will be a challenging journey, but one that will undoubtedly bring you to a decision. Through this study, you will be faced with either believing or rejecting what God has said to us. It is our intention to provide you with enough knowledge to make an informed decision about God and his word. We strongly encourage you to listen intently and diligently, because though at the moment you may not realize it, these things are truly a matter of life and death. In fact, these are matters of eternal life and eternal death. Never treat what God has said lightly. There is truly nothing more important to you. Now join us as we seek God's will through his inspired word.

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We

Why We Move Slowly In Romans

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have decided to start studying the letter to the Romans. We did that about two or three months ago, and we are making our way slowly through the first chapter. There is so much doctrine, so much important doctrine here in this letter that we need to learn, especially here in the first chapter. The reason why it's taking us so long to get through it is because Paul is basically laying down all of the basics of the arguments that he will unfold through most of the first half of this letter. So that's why we're taking our time, making sure that when we come across these things again in this letter, we will be prepared, we'll understand what he's talking about, and we'll be able to move forward with him. So we're still in the process of unpacking verses 18 and 19. And today we'll add 20 and 21, and I think we also add verse 22. So today we're moving relatively fast. Here we go. I'm going to read from chapter 1, verse 18 on through down to I think 20. I read out of the King James. Please follow along in your Bible. You're going to notice a little bit of difference between your Bible and what I'm reading because the English language has updated quite a bit since the 16th, 17th century. That's why there's a difference between them. I like the King James for no special reason. You find a Bible that works for

Reading Romans 1:18-20

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you. Romans 1:18. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it to unto them. Verse 20, for the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

I Went To Space And Saw No God

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Cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin Gagarin, after his first ever manned space flight, is quoted as saying, I flew into space but didn't see God. Of course, all these many years later, some are now claiming that he didn't say it, but that the government, the Soviet government, said he said it in order to proliferate their atheistic views. Well, someone said it, and I suspect many have thought it.

The Five Senses Trap

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You see, we foolish humans live our lives strictly through our five senses. They rule our actions, our thoughts, our appetites. But you see, these aspects of our humanness were never meant to be our dominant vehicles of perception, but that is now our reality. Now you may ask me, if not our five senses, then what is supposed to be our guide to the world around us? Well, our spirits, by design, our spirits were supposed to be our way of perceiving. By original design, our physical bodies were never meant to be much more than transportation tools and occasional channels of expression, and of course, the primary means of reproduction. But all of that was to be subservient to our spirits. Our spirits were to be the principal agent of perception and reaction to all that surrounded us. That's all gone now. Nowadays, if we can't see it, touch it, smell it, whatever, we refuse to believe it. And this isn't new. Jesus himself became frustrated with this same attitude. For one time he exclaimed, John 4 48, Except ye see signs and wonders, you will not believe. Later on, a crowd expressed the human position this way, John 6.30. They said therefore unto him, unto Jesus, what sign showest thou then that we may see and believe thee? That's it, isn't it? Maybe the garden wasn't in Missouri, but we all seem to have the show me state attitude. Unless we see it, we don't believe it. To us, our only valid window on truth is our physical senses. We've completely lost contact with our spiritual sides. We find it impossible to perceive God because our essential spiritual senses have atrophied.

Creation Makes God Clearly Discernible

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But Paul says that's not going to get us out of trouble with God, for the invisible things of Him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even His eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Just because God is a spirit and spirits aren't perceived with our eyes doesn't mean we can brush God off. We can't say, well, God must not be doing anything because I can't see him doing anything. Isn't that always the lament of the doubting crowd? How can God let this go on? We've heard that a lot lately, haven't we? How can God let that war in Palestine continue? Or why is he letting those poor people in Africa suffer through that drought? Why isn't he doing anything? He must not care because it looks like he's letting all those people starve. We fall back on our assumptions that if we can't see something happening, then it must not be. It gives us an excuse to lash out because we're angry. Well, Paul says, be careful, don't think that way, because God doesn't want you accusing him just because his work isn't obvious. Verse 20, for the invisible things of him or his invisible things from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godheads, so that they are without excuse. God's ways, though happening outside our view, are no less real. They are clearly seen. God's actions are not hidden from us. We can see, we can perceive them fully. That's what God's word says. The original word means not just clearly seen, but clearly discernible. That's what the word means. We can see them and process them. If you're looking, you can see God's hand in everything. You are without excuse. And Paul says that has been the case from literally the beginning. That's how the King James puts it, from the creation of the world, being understood by the things that are made. All you need do is look at the perfection of nature, Paul is saying. Look around you. Everything works. Storms come and earthquakes come and people screw things up, disaster after disaster, and the world just absorbs it and keeps on ticking. Doesn't that prove to you that someone is looking out for us, someone powerful, someone with godlike abilities? Well, it should. If it doesn't, you are without an excuse.

Evolution As An Excuse

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Evolution is your attempt at an excuse, but it is nothing short of ludicrous. To believe in evolution, even theistic evolution, which is a belief in most of the tenets of evolution, but that states that God is the one causing all of the evolving, that God is the one who started and is maintaining evolution. That's theistic evolution, taking evolution and injecting God into it. It's nonsense. Pick aside. Don't be a chicken. No one can have their cake and eat it too. Theistic evolution is as outrageous a theory as Plano evolution. Why? For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse.

Look Up And Look Down

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Look up at the stars. You don't need that James Webb telescope. It's nice to have, it's doing a fantastic job of proving that God is incredible. But there's plenty to see with the naked eye that will make your jaw drop. Look down at the forest floor. No need for a microscope. Stare at a colony of ants working on a rotting log for about 20 minutes. Only an eternally powerful God who's in charge of it all can possibly make all of this and then keep it going all this time. The amplified Bible's version of verse 20 puts it perfectly. For ever since the creation of the world, his invisible nature and attributes, that is, his eternal power and divinity, have been made intelligible and clearly discernible in and through the things that have been made, his handiworks. So men are without excuse, altogether without any defense or justification.

When Knowledge Turns Into Ingratitude

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Verse 21, because that, we're back into King James now, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. Paul, what are we doing here? We're talking about God's wrath. Paul is describing how we got here. Earlier he said we are justified by the power of God, which is the gospel, in which is revealed a righteousness of God. So what? Why do I need a righteousness of God? Because for the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness. But why is God's wrath revealed? Well, among many other things, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath showed it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. Verse 21, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened. You think I go on about evolution? Where do you think I learned it? Paul is as fed up with the smarty pants crowd as I am. Verse 22. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. Because when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. And that is bringing God's wrath. In the beginning, we were afraid of God. All the way through the first several centuries, we were afraid of God because we knew he was there, we knew he was powerful, we knew that if we upset him, we'd have held a pay. Literally. Along comes Noah and Noah's contemporaries, and they forgot all that. And it's been that way ever since. We are disregarding God, we are disrespecting God because we pretend that He isn't in the midst of us. The typical scientists will go on and on about life on this planet, and they'll use words like magnificent and elegant. They'll describe the complexity of it as beyond our current understanding, but then ask them who's responsible for such things, and they'll tell you that it happened by chance. They won't put it that way, but that's the summary of their argument. If you sat and listened to an evolutionary biologist discuss the various levels and stages and nuances of how a whale became a bear, and then asked him or her where the whale came from, they'd go back one step to some previous amphibious-ish mammal. Then you ask them where the amphibious-ish mammal came from. They'd expertly describe some less sophisticated predecessor creature in the deep. Ask where that one came from, more quick and confident answers. Then if you cut to the chase and said, okay, what was the first living organism and how did it come into being? And then they'll you know become a little irritated with you and say, Well, we're really not sure about that, but it's really not important because you know, look around you, the magnificence, the elegance, the sophisticated beauty. Then if you dare say, so if we're not sure where or how life began, could it be God? Get this radical out of here. I came to give a scientific-based discussion on stuff, and you let this caveman in here to ask me about fairy tales.

Materialism And The Dawkins Mindset

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You've ever heard of the famous British evolutionary biologist Richard Dawkins? His name is one of those that comes up most often when the subject of arrogant materialist scientist is discussed. By the way, a materialist scientist is one that adheres to the philosophy, of course, of materialism, which is the belief that matter is the only true fundamental reality, and that everything that exists, includes seemingly non-material processes such as thought and emotion, are simply a matter of the coming together and interaction of various physical materials. In other words, there's no such thing as the supernatural, just the natural. God had nothing to do with creation. Even he is a construct of the material in our brains, coming up with a fable to help us sleep better at night. Yeah, these are those kinds of guys. And Richard Dawkins is their poster child. Here are a few things he has said in the past. First, let me quote Paul and then Dawkins. Paul says, For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even as eternal power in God heads, so that they are without excuse, because that when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish heart was darkened, professing themselves to be fools, professing themselves to be wise, they became fools. That is the biblical view of things as expressed by the Holy Spirit through the Apostle Paul. Now, some quotes from Richard Dawkins. This is how a materialist sees things as represented through the words of Richard Dawkins. Quote Faith is one of the world's great evils, comparable to the smallpox virus, but harder to eradicate. Here's another one of his lovely thoughts. Quote, Faith is belief without evidence and reason. Coincidentally, that's also the definition of delusion. Just one more. I have a bunch of these, but I'll make this one the last one. Quote. To be fair, much of the Bible is not systematically evil, but just plain weird, as you would expect of a chaotically cobbled together anthology of disjointed documents composed, revised, translated, distorted, and quotes, improved by hundreds of anonymous authors, editors, and copyists unknown to us and mostly unknown to each other, spanning nine centuries. Now let me say, I really don't mind someone criticizing things that they're familiar with. If you spent the time analyzing what you're going to give your opinion on, then fine, I'll hear you and respect you. But there is absolutely no way anyone who spent even just a few hours objectively studying the Bible could describe it this way. Listen, he may be brilliant about some things, but this is not one of them. This is something he has spent almost no time researching, and yet the world takes what he says, even about things he knows nothing, as if it were valid. Chaotically cobbled together, disjointed, distorted. And listen, I wouldn't characterize those as terms coming from a scientist in scientific analysis. They're just mean and derogatory, whose only aim is to belittle and debase something that absolutely frightens him. For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against. All ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness, because that which may be known of God is manifest in them, for God hath shown it unto them. For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead, so that they are without excuse. The more you study the universe, the more liable you are for the truth. When you see the impossible to conceive intricacy of what's holding all this together, you are digging yourself an ever deeper hole when you claim it can't be God.

Big Bang And Genesis From Nothing

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For years, astronomers and physicists have tried to refute the Big Bang theory. Why? What do they have against the Big Bang theory? Well, the problem with the Big Bang theory is that it scientifically proves there was a beginning to the universe. So? Well, science hates when facts line up with what God says, because God said in the beginning he created the heaven and the earth. The basic premise of the Big Bang theory makes this statement from Genesis really hard to deny. Plus, without getting into too many details, if you're a materialist, if you believe that all that matters is matter, if everything can be explained materialistically, meaning everything is just some sort of arrangement or rearrangement of existing materials that exist in the universe, no miracles, no divine intervention, then the Big Bang makes you look like a fool. Because it says the Big Bang theory says that all material in the universe had a beginning. It all came into being at some finite point in time. That is a scientific theory. What's your point? If you believe that everything can be explained with materialism, how did the universe come into being? You can't say as yet some unknown combination of material came together because before the Big Bang there was no material. That is a scientific principle, and that just so happens to agree with the biblical account. When God created the universe, it was out of nothing. According to the Big Bang, the universe was created out of nothing. Science and Genesis agree. In the beginning, God created the heaven and the earth. The original word is bara, and it literally means to create from nothing. So if you understood the Hebrew and you read that sentence in Hebrew from Genesis, you would know that it meant first there was nothing, and then there was the universe. Guess what? That's exactly what the Big Bang says. Scientifically, the Big Bang was the beginning of everything, including all material elements that make up all other material elements. Before the beginning, there was no material. There were no material elements, right? That's what the theory says. There was nothing. Then what made those elements at the beginning? God couldn't, there couldn't have been anything material because there wasn't any. And nothing material made things. It hadn't come into existence yet. Before the Big Bang, science now tells us no materials existed. Something can't make something else if it doesn't exist. The smarty pants people will say to you, well, then who made God? God is not material. God is spirit. God wasn't made. He existed as a spirit. He didn't need material and doesn't need material. To exist, he needs nothing because he's a spirit. The Big Bang theory says something created the universe out of nothing. Dangerously close to what Genesis says. Starting to see why, if you're a materialist, you don't like the Big Bang.

No Excuse And A Warning About Wrath

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If you work on the James Webb telescope, no excuse. If you're a microbiologist, no excuse. If you were a part of a human genome sequencing consortium, no excuse. Why would you say that, John? Because in each of those endeavors, I am sure the invisible things of God were clearly seen by you, being understood by you, by the things that are made, those things you observed, even his eternal power and Godhead. I mean, seriously, when staring at the perfection, sophistication, and grandeur of those things, those things that you work with, what else can you attribute such things to, except the eternal power and Godhead of God? You cannot tell me, knowing the things you know, that you really think this is all the result of random acts of materialism. Look, you may not be prepared to believe in the gospel quite yet, but surely you have to think there's something out there big enough to be called God that fits the description of the biblical God. The one that's so powerful, he made everything out of nothing. And you know that because you're looking at your science reports. You know that something that looks that sounds just like God had to have done that. You're no, you have no excuse. That's exactly what Paul is saying. These things are clearly seen by the things that are made, the things that are made around us are clearly seen. What do you care about what I believe in? Because I don't want wrath, God's wrath, coming upon you. And this is how it will happen. When you disregard the power of God, then he's very easy to turn your back on. If you think you're more powerful than whatever made the universe, then you will rebel against anything anyone says he said. God made it all, and there can be no other explanation. And please listen to me. There's a lot more at stake here than your reputation. This section of Romans chapter one is not simply Paul taking pot shots at atheists. He's delivering a warning. He's saying that you're risking the wrath of the one who made all those things that now baffle your scientific mind on a daily basis. The one who arranged in six days all that you see and work with does not like your attitude. Should you really anger someone that powerful? Verse 21 because that, when you knew God, you glorified him not as God, neither were you thankful, but you became vain in your imagination, and your foolish heart was darkened. And listen,

Professing Wisdom And Becoming Fools

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this isn't limited to scientists. I pick on them a lot, but you boobs who follow their every word are just as bad. Verse 22 modified to fit my current narrative. Professing yourselves to be wise, you too, you and those scientists, became fools. I mean, how else can you describe someone who sees all of this grand truth and power about God and still reject him? Someone who rejects his commandments becomes an accomplished, unapologetic sin and rebel in the face of someone powerful enough to make all of this. They're fools. There's no better word for it. God has told you what happens to people like that, and yet you still turn your back on him. You go around sometimes sneering, sometimes snickering when the religious guy in the office starts talking about the Bible. You're acting like a fool when you disregard and disparage the truth. The Bible itself tells us the fool has said in his heart, there is no God. You'd have to be a fool. I mean, okay, way, way back you might be able to forgive such behavior. They didn't know as much about the universe as we do today. I brought it up earlier. Have you seen those web telescope photos? Have you seen those sophisticated graphic renderings of the way proteins work in the body? There's no way we can see all that magnificence and say there's no God without looking like a fool when we do so. Oh, and they'll go around and quote Neil deGrasse Tyson or Richard Dawkins or Bill Nye, the science guy, and really think they're being clever. They'll share Carl Sagan's view of the origin of the universe and think in so doing, they'll impress you. And sometimes they do. But you know what? Professing themselves wise, they become fools. Look, I know their colleagues and most of their neighbors and the regular Joe in the street won't call them a fool, but that doesn't matter. Paul didn't say they would be labeled a fool. They said they are fools, labeled or not. And one day that will come to light. In fact, all sinning is foolish. All rebellion against God is foolish. Even if you tell me that you 100% are certain God created the universe, but you continue in your sin, you've not come from underneath that fool status. Now, we could go on for hours on this one point. There's an inexhaustible supply of illustrations of how men profess themselves wise and in turn become fools. But again, I just don't think this is one of those things that people need explained to them. It comes down to what you think is wise and what you think is foolish. If in those things you agree with God, you're still listening to me. If you agree with the Grass Tyson and Dawkins and Nye and Sagan, you've long since jettisoned this lesson. You think I'm the fool, and this is a waste of your time. Your wisdom is too precious to be exposed to such tomfoolery. Now I've stayed with this because I want those that agree with God to see how deeply entrenched this is. I want you to see how accurately the Word of God assesses the human condition. I hope you're there because I want to go to the next verse, which isn't a whole lot different.

Closing And How To Stay Connected

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But I think it'll have to wait. We've been at this for a while, and it's probably a good time to stop. More on this next time. See you then.

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We hope this study has blessed you. God's word is a great treasure, and it's our belief that a thorough, purposeful study of it will bring all of God's children to an understanding of his eternal plan of redemption. It is our prayer that this will be so for all of our listeners. Please join us again soon. New content is being added all the time, so make sure you check back often. For more information on Chapel Ministries, including our YouTube channel and podcasts, please visit www.chapelontheweb.com. And if God has laid it upon your heart to share materially with us, we encourage you to follow the links to our secure giving page. Please note, Chapel Ministries is not an IRS registered nonprofit organization, and your donations to this program are not tax deductible. It's our hope that you do not rely on taxing authorities to decide for you who is worthy of your generosity.