Now, let's look at what do we mean by general
revelation. Let me start with a simple question
I'd ask you. When I say general revelation, what
am I talking about? I don't mean dreams, visions,
or prophets. We'll get to those in other chapters.
Here, I mean this. What has God shown all people,
everywhere, all the time, just through the world
they live in and the conscience inside them?
General revelation is God's witness in creation
and in conscience. It is general because it goes
out to all people in all places at all times.
It is still revelation. God really is speaking.
But, and this is crucial, it is not enough to
save you by itself. How does God speak through
the world he has made? So let me ask another
question. When you walk outside and see the sky
or feel the seasons change, is God saying anything
to you there? The Bible's answer is yes. The
very first line of scripture says, In the beginning
God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis
chapter 1 verse 1. That means everything we see
carries the fingerprint of its maker. Psalm 19
says, The heavens declare the glory of God, the
skies proclaim the work of His hands. Day after
day they pour forth speech, night after night
they reveal knowledge. Psalm 19 verses 1 and
2. So in God's view, the sky is not just background
scenery. The heavens are talking. Day after day,
night after night, they are telling the truth
about God. Let's think about ordinary examples.
You see a sunrise or a sunset, the colors, the
timing, the regular rhythm they quietly preach.
God is wise, powerful, and faithful. The seasons
keep coming, seed time and harvest, cold and
heat, summer and winter. Genesis chapter 8 verse
22. That steady rhythm says someone reliable
is running this. You eat dinner tonight. You
drink clean water. You laugh with a friend. In
Acts chapter 14 verse 17, Paul says, God has
not left himself without testimony. He has shown
kindness by giving you rain from heaven and crops
in their seasons. He provides you with plenty
of food and fills your hearts with joy. Paul
goes even further in Romans. He says that what
can be known about God is plain to people because
God has made it plain to them. 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
chapter 1 verses 19 and 20. So if I sum that
up in simple language, I'd say this to you. Creation
is a constant sermon about God. It tells everyone
there is a God. He is powerful. He is wise. He
is good. You depend on him. Even the person who
says, I don't believe in God, still has to live
in a world that is ordered, rational, and beautiful.
They trust that the universe will behave tomorrow
the way it did yesterday, that logic works, that
beauty matters. Those are not random. They fit
a world made by a wise creator. How does God
speak through my conscience? Now let me raise
the next question. Does God only speak outside
us in creation? or does he also speak inside
us scripture says he speaks inside us through
conscience romans chapter two verses fourteen
and fifteen says this indeed when gentiles who
do not have the law do by nature things required
by the law. They show that the requirements of
the law are written on their hearts, their consciences
also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes
accusing them, and at other times even defending
them. So what is conscience? It is that inner
sense of ought. It is your built -in moral censor
that approves what is right, condemns what is
wrong, and makes you feel guilty when you cross
a line you know you should not cross. This is
not just something we pick up from society. Cultures
can influence how we express morality, but the
fact that people everywhere talk about justice,
fairness, right. and wrong comes from the way
God made us in his image. So when someone says
that's not fair or that was wrong, what are they
really doing? They are reaching up to a standard
higher than themselves. They are saying there
is a real right and wrong that many people, including
themselves, often break. If there is no God,
that word ought has no firm ground. Without a
holy lawgiver, you ought to do this just means
I'd prefer that you do this. But inside, we all
know that murder is not just unpopular, it is
wrong. Keeping promises is not just traditional,
it is good. That deep sense points back to a
God whose moral law is written on the heart.
So general revelation in conscience tells us
there is a holy God whose law stands over us.
We know the difference between right and wrong
in a basic way. We know we have not fully kept
what we know. That's why guilt stings. So what
exactly does general revelation actually achieve?
Now someone might ask, all right, so God speaks
in creation and conscience. What does that really
accomplish? Let me answer that in three parts.
First, general revelation makes God's existence
and character obvious. Through creation, we see
his power, wisdom, and goodness. Romans 1 .20,
Acts 14 .17, Psalm 19 .1 -4. Through conscience,
we see his holiness and his moral law written
on our hearts. Romans 2 .14 -15. Second, general
revelation takes away every excuse. Paul says
in Romans chapter 1 verse 20 that people are
without excuse. There will never be a person
who can stand before God and say, I had no clue
you were there. The problem is not that the evidence
is too small. The problem is that we do not want
to bow to the God that the evidence points to.
Romans chapter 1 verse 18 says we suppress the
truth in unrighteousness. Third, general revelation
supplies what we sometimes call borrowed capital.
Here's what I mean. Anytime an unbeliever appeals
to reason, to morality, to meaning, anytime they
say you shouldn't lie, Science must be honest.
Love matters. Justice matters. They are using
ideas that fit a world created and governed by
the God of the Bible. Those concepts are like
tools borrowed from God's toolbox. Without a
rational, moral, personal creator, there is no
deep reason to trust reason, to treat humans
as having real worth, or to say some things are
truly right or wrong. So even when people argue
against God, they are standing on ground that
only exists because God is real and has revealed
himself. So general revelation does something
very important. It makes God inescapable. It
shows that we are dependent and accountable.
It exposes our guilt when we ignore him. But
if general revelation is so clear, why isn't
it enough to save? Now this is a crucial question
I want you to feel. If general revelation is
so clear, why doesn't God just save people that
way? The answer is, general revelation is designed
to show us that we need saving, not to actually
save us. Let me be very specific. First, general
revelation does not reveal the gospel of Christ
in a saving way. Creation can tell you God is
powerful and good. Conscience can tell you you
are guilty and accountable. But the cross and
resurrection of Jesus Christ and the promise
of forgiveness by faith in Him, those do not
come from looking at a sunset or feeling guilty.
Those come from special revelation, from God
speaking in Scripture and in His Son. 2 Timothy
3, verse 15 says, The Holy Scriptures are able
to make you wise for salvation through faith
in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter 10 verses 14
to 17 says, People cannot believe in Christ unless
they hear about him, and they hear about him
through the word that is preached. Second, general
revelation cannot tell you how a sinner can be
forgiven and made right with God. Your conscience
can tell you that you're dirty, but it cannot
tell you how to be washed. The mountains cannot
tell you. There is therefore now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus. Romans chapter
8 verse 1. Only the gospel can say that. Third,
general revelation exposes guilt but does not
provide grace. The same apostle who wrote Romans
chapter 1 about God's witness in creation also
wrote Romans chapter 10 about the necessity of
preaching Christ. General Revelation leaves us
knowing that we are without excuse. Special Revelation
announces that in Christ there is mercy. So,
I'd put it to you like this. General Revelation
is a loud warning siren and a powerful pointer,
but it is not the lifeboat. It tells you that
God is there and that you are in trouble. It
does not tell you God's saving plan in Christ.
For that, we need the Bible and the Gospel. Doesn't
general revelation really lead into church tradition?
Now let's handle some objections. Like Paul does,
raise the question and then answer it. First
one, from a Roman Catholic or Eastern Orthodox
angle, but if God reveals himself through creation
and conscience, isn't that revelation supposed
to be completed and interpreted by the church's
tradition and magisterium or holy tradition?
Doesn't this all naturally flow into the one
visible church? Here is how I'd answer that.
I would say, yes, God truly reveals himself in
creation and conscience. The Bible says that
clearly. But I would also ask, what exactly does
he reveal there? Romans chapters 1 and 2 tell
us, in creation we see his eternal power and
divine nature. Romans chapter 1 verses 19 and
20. in conscience we see his law written on our
hearts and our thoughts accusing us romans chapter
two verses fourteen to sixteen so general revelation
reveals his power goodness and holiness and our
guilt it does not reveal the full gospel Then
I would point us to Romans chapter 10 verses
14 to 17. Paul says people cannot call on Christ
unless they hear of him and that faith comes
by hearing the word about Christ. And to 2 Timothy
chapter 3 verse 15 which says the scriptures
make us wise for salvation through faith in Christ
Jesus. So general revelation needs scripture
and the gospel to interpret it rightly and to
bring salvation. Historically, early Christians
did appeal to creation and conscience when they
spoke with pagans. They would say, look at the
world, look at your own heart, you know there
is a God and that you are guilty. But they did
not then say, therefore, submit to our institution
as an additional stream of revelation. They drove
people to the apostolic message about Christ.
So what is the problem if we say general revelation
plus ongoing church tradition gives us the full
picture? The problem is this. We have now made
our confidence rest not only on God's universal
witness and his written word, but also on a developing,
humanly administered authority that can change
over time. That new authority is not universal
like creation and not fixed like scripture. It
is by nature unstable. So I would gently say
general revelation leads us toward the God of
scripture and the gospel, not toward an extra
stream of revelation that stands alongside or
above scripture. Doesn't general revelation just
prepare people for new scriptures? Another objection,
often from Mormon friends, sounds like this.
We agree God reveals himself in nature and conscience.
We call that the light of Christ. But we say
this is only the beginning, meant to lead people
to latter -day prophets and additional scriptures.
Why is that wrong? I would answer this way. Yes,
God gives all people some moral and spiritual
awareness. But what does the Bible say that awareness
is for? Romans chapters 1 and 2 present it as
a witness that God is there and that people are
without excuse. It is not described as a pointer
to a new set of prophets who will rewrite or
upgrade what God has already said. Hebrews chapter
1 verses 1 and 2 tells us that God did speak
in many ways in the past through the prophets,
but in these last days he has spoken to us by
his Son. Jude verse 3 says the faith was once
for all entrusted to the saints. That sounds
like a completed deposit, not an open -ended
stream. The early church understood itself as
guarding that apostolic deposit, not waiting
for a second round of scripture that would fix
problems in the first. So what happens if we
use general revelation as a stepping stone to
justify new scriptures that can change or override
the old? We have made all revelation permanently
unsettled. If yesterday's revelation can be replaced
by today's, there is no final word. That collides
with the idea that God is wise, truthful, and
able to give a sufficient, stable revelation.
So I would tell you, general revelation should
drive people toward the once -for -all gospel
of Christ, not toward an endless chain of new,
competing scriptures. Can't science and evolution
explain nature and conscience without God? Next
objection, from a naturalistic point of view,
you don't need God to explain nature. Science
explains the universe. Conscience is just evolution
and social conditioning. Why call any of that
revelation? Let me answer that carefully. The
Bible is very clear that creation and conscience
are God's own testimony. Psalm 19 verses 1 to
4 says, The heavens declare His glory. Acts chapter
14 verse 17 says, He has not left Himself without
witness, giving rain and joy. Romans chapter
1 verse 20 says his attributes are clearly seen
in what has been made. Romans chapter 2 verses
14 and 15 say his law is written on the heart.
Now think about science itself. Science assumes
a real ordered world, stable laws of nature,
rational minds that can understand that order
and moral obligations like honesty in reporting
results. Morality assumes that some things really
are right or wrong, that justice is not just
personal taste, that human beings have dignity
that should be respected. All of that fits perfectly
if there is a rational, moral creator who designed
this universe and made us in his image. If instead
everything is just matter and energy plus blind
processes, you can say this is what happens,
but it becomes very hard to say this ought to
happen or this is true and that is false in a
deep, binding way. You can describe behavior.
Grounding oughts and truth is much harder. So
the naturalist is in a strange position. They
rely on God's gifts, logic, order, moral awareness
to function and then deny the God who makes those
things intelligible. That's what I mean when
I say general revelation exposes a kind of inattention.
Without the God who speaks through creation and
conscience, science and morality do not have
a solid foundation. With him they do. Since everyone
has conscience and sees nature, aren't all sincere
religions valid? Another common objection goes
like this. Everyone sees nature. Everyone has
a conscience. So doesn't that mean all sincere
religions that respond to those things are equally
valid paths to God? Let's ask what scripture
says. Romans chapter 1 verses 21 to 25 says that
although people know God, they do not honor him
as God or give thanks. Instead, they exchange
his glory for images and idols. The Bible does
not say many beautiful religions are equal ways
of following general revelation. It says false
religions are distortions of God's witness, swapping
the true God for created things. So general revelation
does not approve idolatry. It condemns it. It
shows that people had enough light to know God
as creator, but they chose to worship substitutes.
Now, if someone says all sincere religions are
equally valid, they are really saying that contradictory
claims can all be true. One religion says there
is one personal God. Another says there are many
gods. Another says there is no personal God at
all. They cannot all be true in the same sense
at the same time. To insist they are all true,
you either have to throw out the basic rule of
logic, the law of non -contradiction, or you
have to redefine true to mean meaningful for
that person, which is not how scripture or ordinary
life uses the word. That move undercuts the rational
and moral structure we all rely on, a structure
general revelation itself displays. So, I would
say, general revelation explains why humans everywhere
are religious, but it also explains why we are
idols makers. It does not endorse all religions
as equal. It rebukes us for twisting God's clear
witness. So, what is the real problem? Is it
lack of evidence or suppression? At this point,
I want to ask you a key question. Is the problem
that God hasn't spoken loudly enough, or is the
problem that we do not want to hear? Romans chapter
1 verse 18 says, people suppress the truth in
unrighteousness. The evidence is there, in the
sky above, in the food on the table, in the conscience
within. The issue is not neutral minds trying
their best. The issue is hearts. that do not
want the true God to be God. There is no neutral
ground. People either receive general revelation
as a witness to the true God and are driven to
seek further light, or twist that revelation
into self -worship and idolatry. When we then
add extra authorities like ever -developing tradition
or new books of scripture, we can actually move
people away from trusting the God who has clearly
spoken in creation, conscience, and his completed
word, and toward trusting human institutions
or prophets who can change their message. That
is why I keep saying, our confidence must rest
finally on God's revelation, not on human replacements
for it. So what should we do with all of this?
Let me end this with a simple, so what? First,
let creation lead you to worship. The next time
you see a sunrise, feel the season shift, or
taste a good meal, remind yourself God is speaking.
This is his kindness. Don't let it pass as just
nature. Let it turn into thanks and praise. Second,
listen to your conscience and let it drive you
to Christ. When your conscience stings, don't
only try to silence it. Recognize that God is
using it to say you are not okay on your own.
General revelation will bring you to the point
of knowing you are guilty. In later chapters,
we'll see how special revelation scripture and
the gospel shows you the way of forgiveness.
Third, use creation and conscience wisely in
evangelism. When you talk with someone who doubts,
begin where they already live. Ask them why they
trust reason, why they think justice matters,
why beauty moves them, why they speak in terms
of right and wrong. Gently show them that these
things make sense in a world created and ruled
by the God of the Bible, and then point from
that shared ground to the good news of Christ.
General revelation means nobody lives in a universe
where God is silent. He is already speaking in
the world and in the heart. But it also means
nobody will be saved by that general light alone.
For that, we need the brighter, sharper light
of his special revelation, his word written and
his son given, which we will unpack in the chapters
to come.