God has spoken. Man has no excuse for sin.
John 15:22 “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin.”
Notice the importance of Jesus’ words. They judge sinners. Jesus said this earlier in the day that He said these words recorded in John 15:22. John 12:48 “He who rejects Me and does not receive My sayings, has one who judges him; the word I spoke is what will judge him at the last day.” The same reasoning applies in both instances. Jesus spoke. The only reason one would reject His word is that they have sin in them. His word became the occasion for the revelation of their sin. There is no excuse for the creature who rejects the word of his creator. This reminds us of Romans 1:20. “For since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so that they are without excuse.” The apostle Paul explained how God’s wrath is revealed against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men. It is revealed in the fact that God has revealed Himself, and they suppress the truth that God has spoken or revealed Himself.
God came and spoke to Adam and Eve. In speaking to them, He spoke to all of mankind, to them, and to us. “From any tree of the garden you may eat freely; but from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat from it you will surely die” (Genesis 2:17). Had He not spoken to us, we would not have sin. But that word judged all mankind, even us, for God’s Word also says, “Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned—for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law” (Rom. 5:12-13). And so we are without excuse for our sin. For Paul also wrote, “Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; because by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin” (Rom. 3:19-20). Jesus’ words are the words of God. They are like the law to us. They are spiritual. They show where the Spirit of God is working and where He is not working. God has spoken to us in His Son. Are we listening to Him?
Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com
