The Lie

For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things. Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen (Rom. 1:18-25).

This passage is Paul's initial description of the problem of sin. He goes on for a couple of chapters in Romans on this topic, but this is the first cut. The problem: The suppression of truth. What truth? Man knows who God is but refuses to honor or thank Him. As Man cut God out of His rightful place and assumes it himself, Paul says he "exchanged the truth about God for a lie." The Greek text isn't quite as broad. It actually says that Man exchanged the truth about God for the lie. What is the lie? The lie that all humans fall into is to worship and serve the creature rather than the Creator.

Horrible, isn't it? Don't you wish those evil humans would get that straightened out? Are you aware that you and I, believers, suffer from the same problem? We're clearly aware of the problem of the lie, but that dastardly error will constantly try to sneak into our thinking, and we need to be conscious of it.

A popular question is when people wonder how it is that a loving God could send people to Hell. Clearly the premise of the question begins with the notion that people are deserving of God's love and not deserving of Hell. That is "serving the creature rather than the Creator." What is your mental response? Is it to try to come to some appeasement of poor God, or is it to recognize the justice of punishing the creature?

Many times Christians will run into statements in the Bible that have God doing things that they find distasteful. "God couldn't do that," they complain. This is another instance of serving the creature rather than the Creator. "God would not do what I think He shouldn't do." Or, to put it another way, "My understanding of what God will or will not do is superior than what He has said." When I refuse to submit my understanding of God to what God has said, it is serving the creature.

Lots of Christians complain that God choosing to save some and not others or God destroying the Canaanites means that God is not fair. The story of Uzzah, struck dead for touching the Ark of the Covenant, is so incomprehensible to some Christians that they have to relegate it to myth or explain it as a misunderstanding of the people at the time. "He scared himself to death," I've heard them say, "and people attributed it to God." You see, the creature deserves better. The creature has the right to be chosen. The creature shouldn't suffer God's immediate wrath. We are serving the creature rather than the Creator.

Humans have a problem. They want to elevate themselves above their Maker. Unfortunately, it's a human problem. We who should know better often suffer from that very same problem. We concur with God in the inner man, but then have problems with God because He does whatever He pleases. "That's not fair!" We dare not offer such a fist in the face of God! It would be wise of us to rethink our outrage on behalf of the creature and clear the decks to fight for the honor of the Creator.