Man Without Excuse

Psalm 19 and Job 12 tell us that man is without excuse for knowing of God.

You’re referring to two passages in the Bible that speak to the idea that nature itself testifies to the existence of God, so humans can perceive His divine nature and have no excuse for not believing:

Psalm 19:1 says, “The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands.” This suggests that one can look at creation, like the sun, moon, and stars, and see evidence of God’s glory and handiwork.

Similarly, Job 12:7-9 states: “But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you. Which of all these does not know that the hand of the LORD has done this?”

The passages argue that nature, animals, and all of creation testify to having been created by God. Therefore, the reasoning goes, that humans have this natural testimony all around them and have no justification for denying God’s existence and power as the creator of everything.

So in short, Psalm 19 and Job 12 present the “no excuse” argument - that the natural world provides obvious evidence of the existence of God as its creator, so humans who deny God’s existence are “without excuse.” They have all the proof they need in creation itself. That’s the basic argument these verses make.

Ecclesiastes 3 tells us that man wrote a yearning for him in our hearts.

You’re referring to Ecclesiastes 3:11, which says:

“He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the human heart, yet no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end.”

In this verse, the author of Ecclesiastes speaks to the idea that God has placed a sense of eternity and a yearning for something more in every human heart.

The verse suggests that while we cannot fully understand everything God has done in the world and throughout time (“no one can fathom what God has done from beginning to end”), He has given humans a fundamental orientation and desire for the eternal. There is a deep longing for meaning, purpose, and connection with God woven into human nature by God Himself.

So in a nutshell, yes Ecclesiastes 3:11 conveys the idea that God has written a yearning for Himself on every human heart. We have an inborn thirst and desire for the eternal that only God can fulfill. This points to the way God has intentionally created mankind to seek after and know their Creator. The longing for eternity comes from Him.

Romans 1 affirms this.

Yes, Romans 1 directly affirms the ideas expressed in Psalm 19, Job 12, and Ecclesiastes 3 about God revealing Himself through creation and writing an innate longing for eternity into the human heart.

Specifically, Romans 1:19-20 states:

“since what may be known about God is plain to them, 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.”

Here Paul echoes Psalm 19’s argument that God’s eternal power and divine nature are clear from creation, so no one has an excuse for denying God.

Then, in Romans 1:21, Paul explains what happens when people reject this natural revelation:

“For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Paul argues here that people innately “know God” through what He has revealed in creation and their conscience, but they suppress that truth, leading to futile thinking and spiritual darkness.

So in summary, yes - Romans 1 explicitly backs up the idea from Ecclesiastes 3 that God has implanted knowledge of Himself and a yearning for eternity in every human heart, and the idea from Psalm 19 and Job 12 that creation renders all people “without excuse” for denying God. Natural revelation means no one can ultimately claim ignorance of their Creator.

These explicit unseen qualities built within man may explain how there seems to be a natural moral code exhibited by him throughout the world. There appears to be a consistent call for justice and morality nearly everywhere.

Excellent point! Yes, the innate knowledge of God and longing for eternity that the Bible says is instilled in every human heart provides a compelling explanation for the common moral code and call for justice observed across humanity.

The reasoning would go:

God exists and has implanted general revelation about His existence and attributes within creation and the human conscience (Ps. 19, Rom. 1, etc.)

Part of that revelation relates to God’s moral character - concepts like justice, rightness, goodness, truth, etc.

Having been made in God’s image, humans have a latent, intuitive understanding of God’s moral character embedded in their nature.

Therefore, there is an underlying, universal moral code wired into mankind that echoes God’s moral excellence. All people have a basic grasp of justice, virtue, rights, goodness, etc.

This explains the widespread moral values observed across very diverse cultures - people groups everywhere value justice, have taboos against crimes like murder, esteem unselfishness, and so on.

These common moral notions point back to the shared image of God. And that all humans cannot live up to these standards also fits the biblical narrative of the Fall corrupting, but not obliterating, God’s image in man. So in short, yes, the Bible’s teaching on general revelation and God’s image provides the best explanation for universal moral instincts!