Psalm 14

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Psalm 14
• Sermon
• Pastoral Prayer

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Sermon Title: Atheism Is a Moral and Not Merely Intellectual Condition

Scripture: Psalm 14

I. Atheism Is Moral and Not Intellectual

A. The Hebrew of Psalm 14:1 reads simply "no God" — implying a willful rejection ("no God for me") rather than a reasoned conclusion

1. The word for "corrupt" (nabal) means to be aggressively perverse — active wickedness, not passive unbelief
2. Psalm 14:3 depicts a conscious, purposeful turning away from God and toward sin

B. Psalm 53 is nearly an exact duplicate of Psalm 14, and Romans 1 functions as an exposition of both — the repetition emphasizes the importance of the point

C. Romans 1:18–23 confirms that atheism is a conscious suppression of truth

1. God's invisible attributes are clearly perceived through creation, leaving all without excuse
2. The suppression of truth is carried out in unrighteousness — a moral, not intellectual, term
3. One must work hard to be an atheist; we are by nature theists — atheism is what is unnatural

II. We Are All Atheists

A. The psalmist uses emphatic repetition to stress universal human wickedness

1. Psalm 14:1: "there is none who does good"
2. Psalm 14:3: "all have turned aside… there is none who does good, no, not even one"
3. The overtly wicked described in verses 1 and 4–6 are a subcategory of all mankind

B. Romans 3 reinforces that all are equally condemned — sin is the great equalizer

1. G.K. Chesterton, when asked "What is wrong with the world?" replied: "Dear Sir, I am. Yours, G.K. Chesterton"
2. Dietrich Bonhoeffer: nothing we despise in another is entirely absent from ourselves
3. John Owen (The Mortification of Sin): any internal sinful inclination, if left unchecked, has the potential to become the most heinous manifestation
4. Losing the doctrine of original sin removes the great equalizer and opens the door to totalitarianism

C. Application: atheism is not rejection of a vague "intelligent designer" — it is a personal affront to the one true God of Scripture, the God who personally made us for himself

1. Two kinds of people exist: atheists and Christians
2. Ancient paganism and modern atheism share the same root — making gods in our own image rather than submitting to the God who made us in his

III. The Way Out of Atheistic Living Is God

A. Psalm 14:7: "Oh that salvation for Israel would come out of Zion!" — the answer to universal sin is not better arguments but salvation

B. 1 Corinthians 1:22–24: wisdom and salvation in the cross are inseparable

1. Jews seek signs, Greeks seek wisdom — but we preach Christ crucified
2. Wisdom apart from the cross is ultimately foolishness; true wisdom is the cross

C. Augustine: "I must believe in order to understand"

1. This is not a blind leap of faith but a surrender of the mind to the mind of God revealed at the cross of Calvary

D. The Creator-creature distinction: only God exists as the one independent being; all creatures are by nature dependent

1. Sin introduces the illusion that we can know as independent creators rather than as dependent creatures
2. Only the illumination of the Holy Spirit — enabling us to see Christ as he truly is — breaks this illusion and restores us to knowing God as his image-bearers