What Is Agnosticism?

"Faith is being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see" (Heb. 11:1).  We can know and Paul said he would rather have us not ignorant. 

Agnostic (Greek root) and ignorant both mean the same thing and come from the Latin root for ignoramus. Intellectually honest people often subscribe to this tenet of faith (and all positions about God require faith) and admit that they don't know and can't prove there is or isn't.  This is true:  You cannot prove either way.  If you could put God in a box and define Him, limit Him, or even prove Him beyond a doubt there would be no place or basis for faith.  It is faith that pleases Him and without faith it is impossible to please Him (cf. Heb. 11:6).  "He that cometh to God must believe that He exists..." (cf. Heb. 11:6).  No one knows all the answers or can prove their position; Christians are not alone, but have taken a leap of faith in the direction of the evidence and seeing the preponderance of the evidence in God's favor like a jury would make a decision without having literally all the evidence at hand, but only enough to grant no reasonable doubt.  

We are all agnostics in one way or another at some time, because we have faith and not the knowledge to get saved, but afterward, there is a so-called "properly-basic belief" or experiential proof (the proof of the pudding is in the eating!).  God reassures us and as Christ lives in our hearts "the Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God"  (Rom. 8:16).  We have the witness inside.

But to get to the point of knowing the truth that sets us free from our slavery to sin, we have to be willing to do His will and admit we could be wrong.  As a scientist is willing to go where the experiments lead and eliminate all preconceived conclusions.  The notion that there are no miracles possible is a preconceived idea, for example.  There is enough evidence to believe if you want to and never enough if you don't. In other words, it is a moral issue and not an intellectual one because the Bible does have the answers to all the questions and no one is going to come up with some question to make Christianity come tumbling down.  The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart is what Rick Warren says.  What kind of soil is what Jesus describes people as, the seed of the Word sown by God is the same, but the condition of the soil is different and some people just don't respond because of the hardness of their hearts or blindness of their souls.

The reason you can't prove God is that it would be reversing a universal negative and disproving that: Could you say that there are no little green men without knowing it all or being everywhere to test your theory?   It is impossible to prove a universal negative.  You have to be omniscient or pansophic (knowing everything) in other words be God Himself!   Being an agnostic is philosophically bankrupt and an invalid position because there is sufficient evidence in nature, philosophy, logic, and in the Bible itself to give witness and testimony of God--there is even an innate knowledge of His existence that is muffled or destroyed and therefore Romans 1:20 says that "they are without excuse."  Chuck Swindoll says you practically have to teach kids not to believe.

Most people really disbelieve because they want to justify their lifestyle, like believing they are animals so they can live like one and not feel accountable to anyone.  They say that believers have a psychological need to have a "father figure" but they too have a psychological need not to believe and don't see it.  It is very convenient for them to doubt or deny God because it would change their lifestyle. What's the worst part is that most agnostics don't know why they don't believe but are very superficial in their reasons and haven't thought out their position--this is nothing but blind faith, which is not knowing why you believe, but going by gut feeling or emotion--they just feel there's is no God because of their bad experience or bad encounter with a Christian.

It seems only logical that one should consider the consequences of being wrong:  Pascal's wager challenged people to realize that you've got nothing to lose and eternity to gain by believing and nonbelievers will go to hell if they are wrong, believers will only be annihilated or absorbed into the cosmos as an animal if they are wrong.  Who's got more to lose?

God looks upon neutrality with more disapproval than other stands and it is the position of the coward to not be willing to stick his neck out or go out on a limb.  When you have an encounter with God you are never the same afterward.  Neutrality is like being "lukewarm" described in Revelation 3:19 where Christ spews them out of His mouth because they won't take a stand for Him or even against Him.

I like to get a hold of unbelievers who have blind faith--they can't defend their beliefs and don't have a leg to stand on, having more questions to answer than they can ask. Actually, it takes more faith to not believe than to believe!  As Norman Geisler well wrote:  "I don't have enough faith to be an atheist [or agnostic I would say]." Finally, agnostics don't have the answers but only doubts--we may not know all the answers but know the one who does.  Just as Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (the German Shakespeare) said, "Tell me your certainties, I have enough doubts of my own."  Soli Deo Gloria!

Strange Fire...

God speaks of His Way, he is deadly serious: My way or the highway!

God is really big on instructions, so it follows that He likes it when we follow them.  The book of Leviticus is a "how-to" book, you could say, (or God's instruction manual--Torah, for instance, means revealed instruction) just filled with them.  It is reasonable to assume that a godly person follows instructions and doesn't try to do things his way.  Like some are wont to say:  If all else fails read the instructions!  This is bad mentality and disastrous spiritually as Nadab and Abihu found out when God consumed them with fire for offering a sacrifice their own way and making a fire their way which God called "strange fire" and God judged immediately He was so angry.   They became examples of those who "do it their way."  Frank Sinatra became famous for singing "I Did It My Way" and I'm sure that now after he has died that his song led many astray and that he was dead wrong!  It is a serious thing to disobey God's instructions and we are responsible for what we have the opportunity to know as David found out when the transported the Ark of the Covenant and when it tipped the person bearing was struck dead because He didn't follow protocol.  What do you think Bible?  "Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth." Disclaimer:  The Bible is more than an instruction manual, praise the Lord!

God is a God of order, design, and precision and instruction, not chaos or confusion.  We become more godly (God wants you to get organized and be orderly!) by following this pattern and God making us in this image of Christlikeness.  We cannot have everybody doing their own thing as it says in the last verse of Judges:  "In those days there was no king, everyone did as he saw fit [what was right in his own eyes]" (Judges 21:25).  Jesus said there was a "way" and He was it.  Knowing Jesus is knowing the way and the first believers were called followers of the Way. 

In the Army you learn that there is your way and the "Army way"  and you learn this lesson pretty fast--you become a quick-study!  "There is a way which seems right to a man, but the ends thereof are the way of death" (Prov. 16:25).  "For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, "They are a people whose hearts go astray and have not known my ways."  Do you know the Way? In another passage it says:  "But my people do not know the rules of the LORD" (Jer. 8:7).  Jesus is the logos or logic behind the cosmos and God has a plan for everything under heaven according to Proverbs 16:4:  "The LORD works out everything for his own ends--even the wicked for a day of disaster."

People that don't know God are always offering "strange fire" before the Lord and trying to please Him their own way by good works, ritual or religion, morality, philosophy, ethics, etc.  and not by faith alone.  Nothing that the unbeliever does can please God, for it is all dirty and filthy rags in His sight according to Isaiah 64:6.  Do it God's way or don't do it at all because there is no reward for man's way or works.  God only rewards what He does through us as His vessels of honor.    Finally, the reason God gives instructions is to test our obedience and see if we are serious about being His followers:  Israel repeatedly refused and failed to follow instructions--isn't this something we learn in kindergarten?

Jesus condemned the Pharisees, though they followed the instructions, for the same reason God judged Amaziah, (he followed the law, but not with his whole heart).  The Pharisees were culpable for externalizing the law and going the motions, as it were, and not doing it from their heart.   Today, in our churches we see many who have "memorized the Dance of the Pious" also and have no inward reality--this is exactly what Malachi rebuked Israel for in being frauds at worship.  We are to love God with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength.  No one achieves this perfectly in time but in eternity we will be glorified to have the capacity.

What is sin, but doing something our way instead of God's way ("We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way..." (Isaiah 53:6).  It is vain and useless to fight God and do it your own way because God is never frustrated and knows what He is doing and can turn curses into blessings and make everything turn out for the good (cf. Rom. 8:28).   Job 42:2 says:  "I know that you can do all things, and no plan of yours can be thwarted."  As William Cowper said, "God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform."  Soli Deo Gloria!

Speaking Your Mind on Profanity

I am not speaking theoretically but from the trenches of spiritual warfare and realizing the outcome of these positions.  I've had OJT or "on-the-job training" and have felt blessed by my stands.  Once when I applied for a job a profane word slipped out and she said the interview was now over.  I learned my lesson and hope to teach others that they can be judged by the content of their language.  As believers, we are always on display like we live in a glass house. Do not tolerate bad language especially from fellow Christians or those who claim to be.  Sometimes we can say more by our silence (like Jesus did) than by saying something and someone has said that he has often regretted his speech, but never his silence.  These verses may apply:   "...but a man of understanding holds his tongue" (Proverbs 11:12); "...but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue" (Prov. 16:1).

Let me point out that the best witness against foul talk is clean and articulate talk that isn't peppered with profanity. You don't want to jeopardize a witnessing opportunity by bringing up a pseudo-issue like this that might bring extra cleavage, so have a tolerance level and know when it is time to speak and when to keep your peace.  As Christians we don't talk wholesomely because we have to, but because we are cleansed and want to. God will rebuild us:  "...I will wait for my renewal to come" (Job 14:16).  Solomon's admonition:  "Do not let your mouth lead you into sin" (Eccles. 5:6).

Too many Christian have grown lax on their tolerance of people's language, no matter how foul it becomes, thinking they are being "nice" by not saying anything--they have developed an "anything-goes" mentality because of overexposure.  They are confirming them in their sin that it is acceptable and fine and doesn't offend. To take no stand on an issue is nothing but cowardice if you really believe that potty mouth is okay, they use it yourself!  If not take a stand and let the person have a piece of your mind (try not to condemn or judge though) and let them know.  You are doing them more of a favor by being honest, even if it "offends" them.  Remember we are to be "holy" and this cannot be in the presence of filth. In other words, don't be a fickle chameleon that changes like a weather vane to whatever kind of people you are around--that's hypocrisy. I can usually tolerate a little creative vulgarity or gutter talk, but when they carelessly use God's name frivolously or in vain (I do not mean cursing or cussing, but invoking Christ), I feel compelled to object:  On one occasion someone did just that and I said, "Please WATCH your tongue!"  It worked!

If you wouldn't talk that way in church you shouldn't be two-faced and approve of it at home or place of business or leisure.  There is no neutral territory--you are either for or against it.  It is like being lukewarm and Christ not knowing where you stand.  Christ can give you the nerve to stand up for Jesus and not condone such talk.  For Jesus said in the Beatitudes that the pure in heart shall see God.

"Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in thy sight O God" (cf. Psalm 19:14).  "...keep watch over the door of my lips" (cf. Psalm 141:3).  "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth"  (Eph. 4:29). Even David was known to pray for a clean mind:  "Create in me a pure heart O God" (cf. Psalm 51:10).  God commands us to watch our lip and if we cannot control our tongue James says our religion is worthless (cf. James 1:26).

At least say something or let them know you a Christian when the time comes to take your stand:  Don't just keep on pretending you don't notice.  There is a difference between an occasional slip of the tongue ("No man can tame the tongue" per James the Great) and someone deliberately trying to shock and offend you or someone else.  When I was in the Army I had to take my stand against drill sergeant in Basic Training and was summarily shipped to another company that had a Christian captain in charge.

In summation,  I am forgiving, sympathetic, and understanding and wise enough not to make rash judgment calls, but there does come a time when you must speak up or forever hold your peace--it's like having the moment of truth (what kind of person are you?).  I've come to the time when I just couldn't take it anymore and had to object.  But bear in mind that the goal is to witness and let them know what kind of person you are, in other words.  Soli Deo Gloria!

To Complain Profitably

Meditate on these verses to commence the study:

"O God, listen to my complaint" (Psalm 64:1a NLT).
"Those in error will then believe the truth, and those who constantly complain will accept instruction [i.e., doctrine or teaching]"  (Isaiah 29:24).

If you read the book of Numbers you will realize the main theme is the "murmuring" or grumbling of Israel and how they were not content--they wanted to go back to Egypt (representing the old way of life) and eat onions and garlic and eat fish, to boot!  They had become connoisseurs all of a sudden and critics.  And so God gave them their request and then sent leanness into their souls (cf. Psalm 106:15).  We may actually get what we want and suffer the consequences because we don't know what is best for us.  Getting our way is not the best way; that is why we pray for God's will to be done.  We are incapable of running the universe, or even our own lives.

The issue with complaining is to whom you do it and it is not evil in itself.  Habakkuk complained to God and Job never once attributed wrongdoing to God no matter what.  God wants to hear our complaints in the right spirit, but it can be contagious if we tell others and try to leave God out of the equation.

Paul said that he had learned the secret of being content in Philippians 4, but don't confuse this with complacency!  There's always room for improvement and we are never to entertain ideas of perfectionism or having "arrived."  The bad thing about Israel's complaint was that they had become rebels and refused to listen to Moses and God.  They listened to each other and not the leadership that God had appointed over them.  This showed sheer lack of faith and insulted God after all He had done for them.  Only Joshua and Caleb "believed" God and were granted the privilege of entering the Promised Land of Canaan.

The spiritual significance of Moses not being allowed to enter because of his one act of disobedience in striking the rock (representing Christ) twice instead of once was that we know that He didn't arrive as he wanted to and didn't make it to the goal but had to allow Joshua to lead the people to the Promised Land as a type of Christ.  Moses wanted to be like Christ to the people and saw the significance of this role and opportunity.  Moses complained to but he had faith and never wavered in it--though he certainly had a temper which God chose not to restrain.

Tell the Lord how you feel and He will surely listen with sympathy to your plight or dilemma.  We must get in the habit of directing our peeves to God because He is the only one who can solve them.  God does complaints as one would say nowadays!  He is saying:  I'm all ears just speak up, and I'll listen to your case.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Who Is Our Leader?

Look to Joshua for someone to emulate:  "I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly" (Joshua 14:8).  The best leaders are, first of all, good followers or disciples or Christ.

Remember the sitcom "Who's the Boss?" This is the spiritual dimension.

By definition, I don't mean who makes the policies like the senior elder dictates something, but who leads spiritually and only Christians can do this. The leader in the office of leadership may not be the de facto leader as we will see.  I went to a Bible study and they told me that I was the de facto leader though I was not the teacher!  I believe that Christ alone is the cornerstone, which was rejected by builders, and He manifests Himself in His body the church through all believers in their gifting.

Many believers seem to idolize and put their favorite preacher on a pedestal when he is human and makes mistakes like everyone else.  "To err is human" applies to everyone but Christ.  Even the Supreme Pontiff of Rome is not perfect, though he claims infallibility when speaking ex-cathedra or from the chair of Peter.  Popes have contradicted each other, as Martin Luther testified at the Diet of Worms.  The biggest problem we have today is that sheep are too easily misled and led astray by false prophets and heretics and yes, false teachers.  Some have sufficient charisma to lead, if possible, even the elect astray.  Chuck Swindoll says that if we only "drink of one fountain," we lose our perspective (we can get brainwashed because we can get into the habit of letting others do our thinking for us).

The job of the teacher is to equip the saints for ministry, not to make them dependent on them--i.e., disciple them so they can do likewise.   Sheep need a shepherd and don't know the way instinctively--they must be taught.  We all need to learn to think outside the box and step out of our comfort zone to explore new vistas of opportunities where God wants to use us.

It is not necessary for a good preacher to have "charisma" as I have referred to, but to be faithful and know the Lord.  One can have a fine reputation of being a preacher and hardly know the Lord.  A good preacher and leader never goes over the flock's head or loses them while trying to "wow" them with their scholarship or expertise and education.  He is not a hireling who sees his calling as a "job" but should recognize it as a noble calling that not too many get.  Many preachers have not been called of God, unfortunately.  The hireling (who sees it as a "job" and is in it for the money or thinks religion is a means of financial gain), according to Jesus, cares nothing for the sheep.  Notice that Jesus asked Peter if he loved him and then asked him to feed His lambs and sheep (reaching believers at all levels of growth and having something for everyone from milk to meat).

To answer the said title question:  We are all leaders in our element (everyone can become a teacher in some domain even if only in the family); we are all stewards of this gift and the best leaders have learned to be followers, so they know the score and how the game is played, as it were;  we just have to find out what God has called us to do.  Jesus is the Head of the church, not some man in charge.  Jesus indwells all believers and He alone is the cornerstone and true Head of the body.  He works through all of us as we exercise our gift.  We all have different domains or turfs and would be awkward trying to do someone's else's calling--he'd really be on the spot, as it were!  We all have at least one gift according to our abilities for the benefit of the body and edification of the local church. No one can say that a fellow believer is useless of no value to the body--just wait till they find out who they are in the Lord!

By way of example, one believer may be anointed to pray and another to give announcements and pray and another to minister musically as a worship leader.  Sometimes they seem to steal the spotlight and outshine the pastor, but that is their gift and one must not compare (whoever invented the "Let's compare rule book?") ourselves with each other or be jealous of another person's gift or talents.  Some preachers are jealous because worship leaders are known for stealing the show.  Caveat:  Distinguish between personality and temperament and spirituality and what is "of God:"  Charisma or charm can be deceitful and has led many astray!

The more we have the more responsible we are because we are only stewards of Christ and for the building up of the body of Christ--not necessarily our personal gain or benefit.  It is an honor to be a vessel used by God for His glory and to be rewarded, to boot.

It is wrong, in my take of doctrine, have one person dictating the policies or affairs of a body because Christ works through the body as a whole and they are to work together as one in Christ--this shows unity, not all agreeing with one person.  Sometimes it seems like you have been upstaged or shown up and made to look bad (like when it seems like someone left a hard act to follow), but the key is to be yourself the way Christ loves you and saved you and to know how He uses and blesses you--too many Christians are completely in the dark as to their spiritual gift or even what talents they have.

"Take me to your fearless leader!"  In Judges (it said that they had no king and therefore did their own thing--this is the last type of leader type) three types of leaders or judges were given:  prophets, priests, and warriors.  Priests stand in the gap for sinner and saint; prophets proclaim the Word from God to man; warriors are the practical workers who do God's bidding and calling and do the "dirty work" that no one else wants to do--often the thankless jobs! Jesus' threefold office was namely prophet, priest and king and He is the final judge, to boot.

A spiritual leader doesn't mean he is on a different plain spiritually speaking but that God uses him as a leader to enlighten and encourage--the gift of encouragement is vital to the church and is in a great position to be in for an aspiring leader--if one desires the office of bishop or elder he desires a good thing but should be aware of what it entails.  Some of us are natural followers and bless through following rather than leading.

Who the "boss" is may not be the spiritual leader:  Spiritual leaders usually edify and lift the spirits of the body and these may not coincide.  I think of the relationship of husband and wife--he is the head but not necessarily the "boss" or spiritual leader. In antiquity "might makes right" but today we believe in universal right and wrong because Jesus is the personification of truth itself; He didn't just tell us the truth--He became it!  They need each other and she may be more "spiritual" than him.  Just because she is subordinate doesn't imply inferiority because Christ is subordinate to the Father and not in the least inferior--they are coequal members of the Godhead.  They say the man is the head but the wife is the neck that turns the head!  Sometimes a great sermon inspires me but sometimes what I needed to hear was in a worship song or hymn and it spoke to me as I was singing.  The person who picked that song was led by the Spirit just as much as the pastor preaching with an anointing.  We are all in this together and must realize that we need each other.

The Christian life is not about walking around on some spiritual high or in the memory of some experience--and God doesn't exist to give us experiences.  Usually, the filling of the Spirit is when God is equipping us for ministry and not for our own personal gain.  We are said to "walk in the Spirit" on the other hand, because Christianity is a faith walk.  The question one needs to ask is where they sense and feel God with them and how does God use them?  As mature believers, we learn to see Jesus in our brethren and see Him becoming real to us in our life and walk.  "But we see Jesus..." (Heb. 2:9).  And again "Looking unto Jesus, the Author and Finisher of our faith..." (Heb. 12:1). Seeing Him and having our spiritual eyes opened is a breakthrough to maturity.  When you see someone do a good deed don't you see Jesus at work?  Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that God has no hands but our hands, and no speech but our speech if you know what I mean and follow me.

In conclusion, never underestimate your impact and influence on others: "It's a good life!"   The goal is to be faithful and make a lasting impact with a legacy, not to accumulate wealth in this life--work for eternal wealth!    Soli Deo Gloria!