When They Knew God

Chapter One

In the days of old, Adam’s sin caused the race of man to become lost and alienated from our Creator. I need you to picture that God would have been completely justified had He decided not to have any more dealings with man. Yet God chose a bloodline from among the children of Adam to preserve mankind. This was the line that God communicated with from Seth to John the Baptist and when it reached Moses, He gave them civil laws that caused them to identify with that which He called sin. Of all the people in the world it was simply that bloodline God chose to deal with. This was His testimony . . .

Romans 1:18-20

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;

19 Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

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:

This is the part that must not be overlooked. “That which may be known of God is manifest (made known) in them. For God Himself has revealed it to them.” Paul goes on to say that the invisible attributes of God can be clearly seen and understood by the things that He made.

We must consider that God the Father is very thorough in all He does. He is able to boast of having manifold wisdom. He is not a liar. If He states that He has revealed Himself to man in the early days of human history, then we can certainly believe that He did so in a way that could not be repudiated. We cannot escape the manner of our creation. The Lord indeed was thorough in His making of man. He placed within us a “knower.” It is called conscience or spirit. It is the invisible hidden man of the heart who knows there is a God and that He is the only true and living God. The spirit of man is the candle of the Lord, searching all the inward parts of the belly (Proverbs 20:27). This candle is the enlightenment given to the race of man at creation and is the means by which Adam knew God and was able to maintain fellowship with Him.

Romans 1:21-22

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.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Man refused to retain God in his knowledge; therefore, He gave them up to their own lusts. If you look back at the first world, Noah, with whom God communicated, lived in the midst of a perverse generation. In that world there were only eight souls whom God considered partakers of His divine mercy. If only eight souls out of millions survived the first world, why is it so hard to believe that only a few will survive this one?

Genesis 6:5-8

5 And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.

6 And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart.

7 And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.

8 But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.

I Peter 4:17-19

17 For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?

18 And if the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?

19 Wherefore let them that suffer according to the will of God commit the keeping of their souls to him in well doing, as unto a faithful Creator.

Man was and is without excuse. God manifested Himself to man but was rejected. Even though the knowledge of Him was put away, it is His mercy and His mercy alone that is able to save or redeem this lost creation. The point being that no matter how perverse the world became in the days of Noah, the Lord preserved a few unto Himself. Similarly today, the Lord has reserved for Himself a few good men.

THE CHARACTER OF A FOOL

“The fool hath said in his heart, THERE IS NO GOD”(Psalm 53:1). Who is the fool? Let us truly examine the aspects of a fool as taught by the scriptures.

FOOL, FOOLISH, FOOLISHLY, FOOLISHNESS

1. aphron NT:878 signifies "without reason" (a, negative, phren, "the mind"), "want of mental sanity and sobriety, a reckless and inconsiderate habit of mind" (Hort), or "the lack of commonsense perception of the reality of things natural and spiritual... or the imprudent ordering of one's life in regard to salvation"

(from Vine's Expository Dictionary of Biblical Words, Copyright (c)1985, Thomas Nelson Publishers)

A. A Negative Mind: The lack of commonsense perception of the reality of spiritual things due to inconsiderate and reckless thinking.

Romans 1:21-22

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.

22 Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools,

Consider this as one of the spiritual definitions of the word fool. The term negative simply means that which replaces or interferes with the worship and declaration of the preeminence of God. Anything that does not declare God as God is negative or iniquitous. It is iniquity that will not allow the mind of a fool to even consider the truth that is within his own spirit.

Romans 1:19

Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.

Therefore, he will not give that Truth free course in his life.

B. The Imprudent Ordering Of One’s Life In Regard To Salvation:

The power of the Gospel is that the Word is Spirit. It is the Spirit of God. When the Word is revealed it is able to penetrate the hardened heart and work its way to the conscience (knower). The Truth is given so that we may structure our lives accordingly. It is not a wise man, but rather a fool who will hear the consequences of sin or the rejection of Christ and continue to walk therein. He cannot say that he did not know the way.

WE WILL NOT OBEY

Jeremiah 6:16

Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for your souls. But they said, We will not walk therein.

The Lord has instructed me to warn His people. I am to admonish Bible Teachers International and the Body of Christ to go back to the old landmarks of salvation. It is time to return to true holiness - that lifestyle which is acceptable unto God. It is time to enter into the rest of the Lord, to cease from our labors and give ourselves completely over to His will and purpose.

The trouble is, most of the Sons of God do not believe in a rest for the soul. Most believe in a continuous struggle with sin, lust and worldly pursuits. This is due to the failure to walk in the Spirit. Christ has already overcome these desires. We are overcomers when we walk after the Spirit and not after the flesh.

In addition, some simply refuse to let go of the cares of this life. They are obsessed with achieving all the world has to offer. They have forsaken the purpose of God and are in hot pursuit of their own desires. In essence, they have said, “I know and understand the path you placed me on, but I refuse to walk in it.” This attitude is nothing new to the Lord. It is the same one to which Israel responded with “We will not walk therein,” and it will be dealt with in the same manner as God promised to deal with them.

Jeremiah 6:17

Also I set watchmen over you, saying, Hearken to the sound of the trumpet. But they said, We will not hearken.

The Lord has called some of us unto Himself to receive a revelation of His Word. We are instructed to give that revelation to the people of God and to proclaim it when and wherever He allows. We are to sound the trumpet and proclaim that there is a great and terrible day of judgment coming upon the world. It is an urgent cry that I feel in my heart for the Body of Christ. So urgent is the cry that God has allowed me to experience some of the horrors of Hell, just to ensure that I would not lose my fervency in the mission. But who is it that has believed the report? There are many who have pulled away the shoulder at the cry for righteousness and rest for the soul! There are those who prefer to play Russian roulette with their souls. They, too, have said, “We will not harken.”

Jeremiah 6:18-19

18 Therefore hear, ye nations, and know, O congregation, what is among them.

19 Hear, O earth: behold, I will bring evil upon this people, even the fruit of their thoughts, because they have not hearkened unto my words, nor to my law, but rejected it.

Hear, O congregation of the righteous, the Lord will bring evil upon the children of disobedience. The Lord will even visit their thoughts and give them over to evil influence. This is why it is so very dangerous to reject the Lord when He is reaching out to us. It is within His power to give us over to our own minds and imaginations. Such imaginations are under the influence of man’s archenemy, Satan. He is the father of lust and lies. There is no telling where we would end up if such a thing were instituted in our lives.

The greater tragedy is, however, if God were ever to give us over, it would be virtually impossible to return to Him, for it would take strong intercession to provoke God to have any more dealings with such an individual who allowed his mind to stray and venture so far from Him. It would take the drawing power of God to retrieve such a one, for to be a reprobate is to be alienated from the faith.

Jeremiah 6:20

To what purpose cometh there to me incense from Sheba, and the sweet cane from a far country? your burnt offerings are not acceptable, nor your sacrifices sweet unto me.

The work we supposedly do in the service of the Lord is fruitless if we refuse to walk in the righteousness of God. He is by no means impressed with any of us. He is only impressed with Himself.

Jeremiah 6:21

Therefore thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will lay stumblingblocks before this people, and the fathers and the sons together shall fall upon them; the neighbour and his friend shall perish.

This is the bottom line. It is God’s response to all unrighteousness. He is the Lord. He sets the premise as to how we are to serve Him. His criteria are righteousness and love for one another. This is the fullness of all that Christ is. Anything that is separate and apart from this premise is vanity. The soul that rejects the mind of Christ will perish.

Consider the words of our Lord . . .

St. Luke 12:46-48

46 The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers.

47 And that servant, which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

48 But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more.

In this passage, the Lord informs us that the Sons of God (who are now the servants who know the will of their Master) will be punished more severely than unbelievers who never knew the Lord.

While writing this, a thought came to mind concerning the experience I had in Hell. I can discern now an attribute of eternity. I actually experienced the absence of time. It is also the absence of hope. It is everlasting torment, without the possibility of relief. That is the destiny of those who choose to disobey the Lord.