I was recently teaching about the difference between general and special revelation and came upon this helpful statement from Robert Lightner.
“God’s revelation in the world does not possess power to alter man’s conduct. Also, it is very limited and restricted in its extent and purpose. God did not give it to correct man but to communicate to him his need for correction. Neither does the revelation of God in the world include the cure or the basis for cleansing man’s sin. Only God’s revelation in the Word provides these necessities. Furthermore, the revelation God gave of Himself in nature and in the conscience of man is limited. Man’s lost condition, his need of a substitute for his sin, and Jesus Christ as the only Saviour from sin are only revealed in Scripture. Neither does general revelation tell man how to live. Even to our first parents God had to speak before they knew what to do and how to live. The beauty and splendor of the garden did not communicate such knowledge to them.”
Robert P. Lightner, The God of the Bible: An Introduction to the Doctrine of God (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1973), 53.
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