“For all who have sinned apart from the law will also perish apart from the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law” (Romans 2:12 NET).
Romans 2:12 marks our entry into a critical portion of this epistle. As discussed earlier in our look at Romans 1:20, God conveys the reality of His existence through general revelation, or the natural world around us. Even though there are many who have never encountered God’s Word, we are still immersed in a natural world that points to His existence. While general revelation doesn’t tell us everything there is to know about God, it does reveal the existence of a Creator who is worthy of recognition.
One philosophical argument that highlights this idea is known as the cosmological argument for God’s existence. We can summarize this argument in three points:
- The universe had a beginning.
- Anything that has a beginning must have been caused by something other than itself.
- Therefore, a First Cause (or Creator) must exist to explain the fact that the universe began.
We can illustrate this idea on a personal level. For example, if you are reading this sentence, then it means you must exist. However, that wasn’t always true, for there was a time when “you” began. The point is that you did not create your own existence as a human being; instead, your existence was caused by others. This is not only true of human beings; it is also true of every finite thing that exists.
The cosmological argument is built on the premise that it is impossible for something that has a beginning to create its own existence. That line of reasoning goes like this: “nothing” cannot produce “something” (like our universe) because “nothing” is “no-thing” and doesn’t even exist. Instead, some other agent must have been responsible for bringing the universe and our natural world into being.
If a finite universe exists, then it must have been caused (or created) by something other than itself. This causal relationship requires that a “Beginner” (or First Cause) of the universe must exist as well. To put it another way, we can’t have a Creation without some kind of Creator.
In considering this idea, we should guard against the error of stating that everything needs a cause. The cosmological argument does not state that everything needs a cause; it states that every finite thing (or everything that begins to exist) must have a cause. In other words, everything that begins to exist must have a cause to explain its existence.
This is important, especially when we encounter the question of who or what caused God. A First Cause must ultimately be uncaused or self-existent. As an eternal being, God is the uncaused, First Cause that explains the existence of every finite thing that exists.