Excuses. We all make them. I certainly do. No matter what stage of life we are at, we often find ourselves falling into this action. I’ve made excuses for why I haven’t completed a task for the day pertaining to the business I own. I have many excuses for those times I haven’t loved my wife as Christ loved the church, laying down my life for her, (Eph. 5:25) explaining it away with an action or word that she said that might have offended me. I make excuses for my lackluster guidance as a father and spiritual leader in my home. Excuses come naturally to all of us. And what is an excuse? Oxford Languages simply says “An excuse is an attempt to lessen the blame, or seek to justify or defend a fault, offense, or injustice.” Wow. When we understand the true intention of an excuse, we start to realize how serious a sin excuses can be.
Yet, setting aside the examples above, there is an excuse that that crosses all genres. It affects all peoples, believers, non believers, both sexes, and all ages. It permeates all social classes, races, and geographical areas. This excuse is no respecter of status, money or power. There is one excuse that seeks to justify injustice, that desires to put offense on a pedestal, and elevate our faults atop a podium. It’s an excuse that is often not verbalized, yet visible in our actions.
It is the excuse of pride. The prideful idea that we are in control of our own destiny, that God is not the Creator of all, that we are the sweet spot of righteousness, and that the Sovereignty of God is a concept that we can lightly toss around in conversation akin to casual conversation we have with friends about the weather or our favorite sports team.
Now, if you’re a follower of Christ, and I suspect most reading this proclaim to be just that, you might raise an objection. Hey, wait a minute! I believe God is sovereign! I believe God is the Creator of all! I know I’m a sinner! I must confess: I myself shout those objections and also confess those truths with my mouth. Yet the excuse of pride is sneaky, my friends. It is an excuse that is rarely verbalized, rather seen through our actions. We live everyday professing these truths, yet our actions tell a different story. The way in which we speak with our spouse and children. Our interactions with our coworkers, especially the guy in the office who really gets under our skin. The way we make private selfish financial decisions. Our selfishness with our “free time”. How we secretly regard those who have offended us. The list is endless. Our actions shout from the mountain tops that we do not truly believe Christ is King of Kings, (1 Tim 6:15) and Lord of Lords, (Rev. 17:14) Creator of Heaven and Earth, (Gen 1:1, Jn 1:3) the Author of our Salvation, (Heb. 3:10) and our desperate need for a Savior. (Jn 14:6)
Pride forces us to make excuses. Albeit not always verbally, but in our actions pride coerces us to defend our faults, and attempt to lessen our blame. What is the antidote for this disease of rebellion? Of course it is the Gospel. It is the meditation on the infallible and inherent Word of God. (Rom 5:8, Pslm 1:1-2) Yet even in the graciousness of God, living in a time in history where the Word of God is accessible to all, in His good pleasure, God showers us with a common grace that forces the believer and non believer alike to be without excuse. What is this grace I speak of? Read on.
Last fall I walked outside to my backyard. It was a perfect fall day. It was a cool and crisp October weekend. Partly sunny, low fifties temperature with a slight breeze. The smell of leaves and autumn was in the air. I walked over to one of the two maple trees that shade part of my backyard deck. Over the course of eight years, I had removed ten large dead or dying trees on our property. This maple along with its partner, was one of three healthy trees that survived the wrath of my chain saw. As I looked up, I was awestruck by the beauty of the leaves. Fire red, with hints of bright orange, yellow, and emerald rays hit my eyes.
If you have lived for any amount of time in a four season state, you understand the beauty of the color change in the trees from summer to fall. In fact in Michigan, there is a planned route that takes you around the perimeter of the entire lower peninsula at a certain time of the year that allows you to see the leaves change colors at their designated times. It’s really quite breathtaking. Yet for those of us who have seen this change season after season, we can become desensitized to it’s beauty. On this day when I gazed at the tree, I was struck with a thought: Even in the fallen world of sin and death, God brings beauty. You see, because of the sin of our Father, Adam, sin and death entered the world, and that sin and death has spread to all men and through nature itself. (Rom 5:12) That sin and death is why we have our own physical and spiritual deaths, as well as why animals and nature itself finds itself in a cycle of death and new birth. As the length of daylight and temperature changes, trees stop their food making process. The chlorophyll breaks down (the life blood of a tree) and green color disappears in the leaves. The beautiful colors we see in our midwestern trees is a result of death. The leaves, for a lack of a better term, are starving to death. Yet, even in this principle of nature, the cycle of death caused by sin, we see beauty. We know as believers that one day creation will be released from this grip of sin and death, (Rom 8:21) yet even in this sinful state, we see a host of vibrant colors that are pleasant to the eyes and senses. This is a common grace of God. Common insomuch, that this beauty that reflects the Glory of God, that points us to an all powerful and sovereign Creator, is available to those who believe and even to those who do not.
This is the grace I speak of that forces every single person on earth to have no excuse. No excuse for pride, no excuse for our sin, no excuse for our not needing a Savior. God stated it clearly through Paul, in Romans 1:20: “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, both His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.”
Notice a few phrases in that verse. “divine nature”, “clearly seen”, and “understood by what has been made” are important and integral to our understanding of nature not only glorifying God, but pointing us to Him in and of itself. (Job 12:7-10) Paul makes a bold statement that God’s eternal power and divine nature are clearly seen in His creation. Both believer and unbeliever alike are without excuse. God has not hidden himself in Creation, as the Creator, yet instead creation cries out at the handiwork of God. (Psalm 19:1)
Later that month, I found myself on my hunting property in northern Michigan. It’s situated about four hundred yards from the shores of Lake Huron. There’s a small portion of the beach that is completely covered with smooth lake stones. My brother and I have nicknamed it “Pebble Beach”, not to be confused with with the famous golf course!
I like to walk that beach and pray. I find the beauty and serenity of that spot a perfect fit for prayer and meditation. As I was walking the shoreline just a few weeks removed from my maple tree experience, Luke 19:40 entered my thoughts as I looked down at the ground. After Jesus descends from the Mount of Olives, the people and disciples are praising and rejoicing shouting “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord!” (Luke 19:38) The Pharisees demand that Jesus rebuke his disciples, I suspect because what they were shouting was a messianic prophecy of Psalm 118:26, yet Jesus responds this way: “I tell you, if these men were silent, even the stones would cry out!”
I once had a Pastor tell me years ago “I’m going to praise God as often and as loud as I can. I don’t want no rock taking my place!” That has always stuck with me. So now, twice in one month, the Holy Spirit had revealed a biblical truth to me: I am without excuse. I have no foundation on which to justify my ignorance, my sinful actions, or my denial of who God is. I am not allowed to try and lessen my blame for my faults. I cannot and will not consciously or subconsciously deny the Creator of all things. So be encouraged, friends. Even in our rebellion and sinfulness, even in our worse obtuse and ignorant attitudes, God has given us a creation that cries out in worship. A creation that glorifies his goodness and mercy. A creation that leads us to the Creator. A Creator that saves us, redeems us, and sanctifies us. We are all without excuse, let us live each day as such.