There are several phrases that we usually don’t want to be on the receiving
end of. They are:
* Have I not made myself clear?
* How could you have missed this?
* Do I need to point out the painfully obvious to you?
* You have no excuse
Typically when such phrases have been said to us we are being lectured to
about some area where we fell short by not meeting our responsibility. As if
realizing that we are in trouble isn’t enough, our discomfort gets
compounded by us being told that we had all the information we needed to
carry out the task and we still didn’t do it.
While such phrases unsettle us when we hear them from people, there are few
verses as unsettling in the bible as ones in which God is telling mankind
that they have no excuse. Two such examples are found in the books of Romans
and John and both contain that truth that God has revealed Himself in a way
that is very clear, and therefore mankind is without excuse when it comes to
acknowledging who He is and how He has revealed himself. Let’s take a look
at each one:
18 The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the
godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their
wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because
God has made it plain to them. 20 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 people are without
excuse. Romans 1:18-20
18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19 If you
belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not
belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the
world hates you. 20 Remember what I told you: ‘A servant is not greater than
his master.’[
<https://www.biblegateway.com/
720b
my teaching, they will obey yours also. 21 They will treat you this way
because of my name, for they do not know the one who sent me. 22 If I had
not come and spoken to them, they would not be guilty of sin; but now they
have no excuse for their sin. 23 Whoever hates me hates my Father as well.
24 If I had not done among them the works no one else did, they would not be
guilty of sin. As it is, they have seen, and yet they have hated both me and
my Father. John:15:18-24
Powerful. Challenging. Piercing. Unsettling. God saying to those who don’t
believe in Him, “You have nothing you can say to defend yourself. You knew I
was there. You suppressed the truth. I made it plain to you who I was and
you knew my nature. You understood all of this but you would not acknowledge
Me in your hearts. But I didn’t give up on you. I sent my Son to reveal my
truth. But you rejected Him as well just as you have rejected my children –
those who have believed in my Son. What more did you need? Nothing. You are
guilty of sin because my Son Jesus came right into the world from heaven. He
spoke words that should have pierced you. You should have heard His voice.
He performed miracles that showed His divinity – you should have considered
them and believed. But you did not know Him or me. You rejected Us and the
work of The Holy Spirit. You are without excuse.
We live in a world today that is filled with excuses that pile higher than
the mountains. I don’t see that getting any better. It would seem that the
party-line for much of humanity has become, “It is not my fault and how dare
you accuse me”. That is why the words from God that I have referenced will
be forever etched in the record of God’s communication with humanity. There
is nothing that He does not know, including that over time we would become
much more apt to say that there was no clear evidence that He existed. He
has settled that argument once and for all and will settle it personally
with anyone who comes before Him with such an excuse.
For believers, we dare not get boastful. If you are honest with yourself
then you know it is incredible that you came to believe. Most believers
can’t even explain how it happened and are quick to identify themselves as
ones who spent a fair amount of time rejecting God. God it the only one who
can point the finger at those who should “get it” (although we love to do
so). He has given us a different job and that is to earnestly strive to help
others to get it – to know Him – and to not give up on them. We can praise
God that we will never be told by Him that we rejected Him and are without
excuse, but He will consider what we did with the message of eternal life.
Will we have any excuses about that?
For Him,