Fallen man holds the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). To understand this phrase, imagine holding an empty and sealed bottle under water. It is a deliberate action and requires constant effort.
All people have some knowledge of the truth about God and His commandments. This knowledge is sometimes called the light of nature because all people naturally have it, including those who have never seen the Bible. It is also called general revelation because it is revealed to all people in general. It does not reveal the way of salvation, but it is clear enough to leave all without excuse (Romans 1:20). Yet fallen man wilfully submerges this knowledge under a sea of unrighteous thoughts, aims, desires, and actions.
From time to time an unbelieving person with common sense points out the folly of suppressing what is obviously true, but the powerful corruptions of human nature demand that the truth be suppressed again. This explains why a theory such as evolution, despite its extreme mathematical improbability and unscriptural character, continues to have such a wide-spread influence today. It claims that the universe did not need an intelligent, almighty Being to create it. Evolutionary theory, therefore, appeals to those who do not like to retain God in their knowledge (Romans 1:28). It appeals to those who dream of pursuing their sinful desires without any fear of punishment.
Again, the light of nature teaches that men and women are different, and that it is a shame for men to have long hair (1 Corinthians 11:14). Yet today, to assert basic truths like these in public is to invite almost universal condemnation.
However, the world has witnessed a far more daring, wicked, and foolish attempt to suppress the truth: the rejection and crucifixion of the Lord Jesus Christ. He had declared Himself to be “the truth” and that He had come into the world to bear witness to the truth (John 14:6 and John 18:37). Yet fallen men demanded that He be put to death, that His tomb be sealed, and that a band of soldiers stand guard to ensure that His body remained out of sight.
But where did this attempt to suppress Him who is Truth begin? In the world? No! in the visible Church – in an ecclesiastical assembly of priests, scribes, and members of the Old Testament Church! The builders of the Church demanded that He be rejected forever (see Matthew 21:42). [Some builders in New Testament times have demonstrated the same readiness to suppress truth, but this is a subject for another post.]
In John 3:19, we learn why even those brought up in the visible Church may suppress the truth: “And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” All have a strong preference for darkness (error and corruption) rather than light (truth and holiness), no matter how intelligent, educated, and well-trained they may be. “Sin in the heart, as William Shedd observed in a sermon, “is the source of error in the head.”
But how futile was the attempt to keep Incarnate Truth in the grave! He gloriously rose from the dead on the third day, triumphing over all enemies of the truth. He then commissioned His apostles to disciple all nations and teach them to observe all things whatsoever He had commanded them. Unbelieving Jews and Gentiles stood by helplessly as the gospel spread throughout the Roman Empire. The truth had triumphed. So it will be with every truth that is being suppressed today.
“His name shall endure for ever: his name shall be continued as long as the sun: and men shall be blessed in him: all nations shall call him blessed” (Psalm 72:17).
Rev C J Hembd