The knowledge of God is essential to peace and joy. The knowledge of God produces fear of the Lord which is the equivalence to obedience to God’s commands. Where there is no knowledge of God, there is no fear of the Lord. The fear of the Lord gives hope. “Behold, the eye of the LORD is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy. To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine. Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield. For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name. Let thy mercy, O LORD, be upon us, according as we hope in thee” (Psa. 33:18-22). God’s mercy and our fear of the LORD produce hope. Without the knowledge of God, there is no hope!
An Old Testament Precept
“They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy” (Jonah 2:8). Lying vanities are idols. When we give up our knowledge of God, we are subject to idolatry. Idols are lifeless, powerless, vain, and ultimately nothing (I Cor. 8:4). To trust in idols is to abandon God. God is merciful, good, slow to anger, and gracious. When we abandon God, we forsake our own mercy because mercy comes from God.
New Testament Application
In Rom. 1:28-32, Paul shows some of the consequences of abandoning God. “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not convenient.”
The first consequence that follows abandoning God is that evil abounds. A reprobate mind is one that cannot stand the test of righteousness that comes from God. Thus, it fails and is rejected by God. But, such a mind produces all manner of evil. The five verses that follow v. 28 contain 23 sins named by Paul. When men abandon God, they abandon all restraint from sin. Instead, they indulge in sin and take pleasure in them that commit sin (Rom. 1:32). Hosea declares, “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee…” (Hosea 4:1-6). Sin is always destructive. Here is the list of sins enumerated by Paul: filled with all unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness, full of envy, murder, debate, deceit, malignity, whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, without understanding, covenantbreakers, without natural affection, implacable, and unmerciful. While this list is not exhaustive of every sin, it is representative of all types of unrighteousness. When we abandon God, evil abounds.
The second consequence of abandoning God is impenitence. Paul states, “Or despisest thou the riches of his goodness and forbearance and long-suffering; not knowing that the goodness of God leadeth thee to repentance? But after thy hardness and impenitent heart treasures up unto thyself wrath against the day of wrath and revelation of the righteous judgment of God” (Rom. 2:4-5). The human heart, hardened by sin, manifests unbelief. Consider these words of inspiration, “But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin” (Heb. 3:13). Sin hardens the human heart against the goodness of God. No wonder Jonah said, “They that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy.” Unbelief produces impenitence. The human heart will not turn away from sin. Impenitence results in being unforgiven. When we abandon God, we forsake mercy.
A third consequence of abandoning God is condemnation. Paul writes, “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). To “hold the truth” is to suppress the truth. When we abandon God, truth is suppressed and lies abound. When we abandon God, we abandon truth. “And with all deceivableness of unrighteousness in them that perish; because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness” (II Thess. 2:10-12). When we abandon the truth, our unbelief will result in condemnation before God. “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved, he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:16). Our unbelief is a self-inflicted wound that will lead to self-destruction. When we abandon God, we are hopeless!
When we abandon God, evil abounds, we are unforgiven, and without hope. “Those that observe lying vanities forsake their own mercy!”
