"In his pride the wicked man does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God" (Ps. 10:4, NIV).
"There is no fear of God before their eyes"[no place for God in their worldview] (Rom. 3:18, ESV).
"The only system of thought where Christ will fit into is the one where he is the starting point." --Athanasius, Father of Orthodoxy
A chaplain was once told by a recruit that he had tried religion already and it didn't work for him, according to a famous anecdote, and then the chaplain retorted with the comeback that he had tried religion too--for fifteen years and it didn't work for him either; then he tried Christ! Another anecdote: A soldier in battle noticed the bravery of the padre and told him that if that's what Christ can do for you, then he wants Him too. There's a difference between religion and Christianity and I just want to make the point that a lot of people don't try Christianity, not because it has failed people and found wanting, but that it's difficult and people don't want to commit!
The reason that Buddhism and Secular Humanism are so popular is that you can be good without God and that these faiths require no personal sacrifice--Christ demands that we give up or deny ourselves and follow Him, wherever He may lead. That's what Humanism is: deifying man and dethroning God and goodness without God. They all contend that you can be good without God, so why invoke a Deity? Islam is also popular for geopolitical considerations.
Yes, but God's standard is high and He raised the bar, and He looks at the motive--is it to gain the approbation of man or some other ulterior motive, bolster his pride, or to unselfishly please God? Man cannot please God in the power of the flesh and all his righteousness is considered garbage or a menstrual rag in His sight. Yes, in the eyes of mankind you can be good; look at Ted Turner donating $1 Billion to the UN, for example; but his motive wasn't to please God or do His will, but to bolster his self-righteousness and ego in the eyes of others. The whole issue of goodness is that evil is the distortion of good and a guise of it and may contain the appearance of good, but it isn't. Evil is privation or distortion of good (it's a parasite); it cannot exist independently. It's just good enough to deceive and inoculate from the real thing!
But the problem is that you cannot explain "good" apart from God. Just like they say your morals or ethics by the same token. A moral or ethical person may not even believe in God for that matter. But where did goodness come from but the source of all goodness--God? God is the "moral center of the universe" and demands man's repentance and high morality, and gave him a moral compass, and he has no excuse to sin but culpability, which is for anything against God's nature, the virus affecting all mankind, and our so-called Declaration of Independence from God--our birthright from Adam. According to Dostoevsky, "if there is no God, all things are permissible."
God is the Supreme Good according to Plato and the Ultimate Good as the standard of all, by which we measure our achievement. He is the source of all goodness and blessing. The problem with man is that he thinks he's all right and doesn't need Him, that he is already good, and Christians are called to be a light and show that they fall short with the help of the conviction of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God in the heart as seed implanted.
A person may say he can be good without God so why invoke a Deity, for what reason? As Bertrand Russell said, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." Christianity is not an AA pledge, the turning over of a new leaf, or a self-improvement course, but trusting Christ to make you into a new person from the inside out and a transformed individual. It is an insult to say that a believer has "found religion" since there are so many contrasts between the do-it-yourself proposition of religion and the work of grace in Christ. The primary difference between religion and Christianity is "do" versus "done."
In Christ, the work of salvation is a done deal and accomplished fact to be availed by the believer in faith. Christ sets us free from the power of Satan, sin, and self and gives us the power to live in the Spirit availing ourselves of this transforming power--"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection," cf. Phil. 3:10. He's still in the resurrection business! Paul said that he counted all else rubbish or manure in comparison to knowing Christ as his personal Savior.
Christ does all the work from start to finish--we cooperate as works in progress. "Salvation is of the LORD," (cf. Jonah 2:9). We just let God do His thing and have His way with us. The biggest proof of the resurrection of Christ was the transformation of the timid, disillusioned, and cowering disciples and especially what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus--his testimony was heard in very high places far and wide across the Roman empire.
In sum, Christ didn't come to make bad men good (goody-goodies), but to make dead men alive; Christ makes us good from the inside out we are transformed into new creatures in Christ, it wasn't a matter of human effort, turning over a new leaf, or an AA pledge, or New Year's resolution, but a surrender to God in Christ and a receiving of a new life as a gift in return. There are a plethora of religions based on human achievement--but you never know where you stand! Christianity is based on God's accomplishment! Bear in mind that our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isaiah 45:24)! Soli Deo Gloria!
"There is no fear of God before their eyes"[no place for God in their worldview] (Rom. 3:18, ESV).
"The only system of thought where Christ will fit into is the one where he is the starting point." --Athanasius, Father of Orthodoxy
A chaplain was once told by a recruit that he had tried religion already and it didn't work for him, according to a famous anecdote, and then the chaplain retorted with the comeback that he had tried religion too--for fifteen years and it didn't work for him either; then he tried Christ! Another anecdote: A soldier in battle noticed the bravery of the padre and told him that if that's what Christ can do for you, then he wants Him too. There's a difference between religion and Christianity and I just want to make the point that a lot of people don't try Christianity, not because it has failed people and found wanting, but that it's difficult and people don't want to commit!
The reason that Buddhism and Secular Humanism are so popular is that you can be good without God and that these faiths require no personal sacrifice--Christ demands that we give up or deny ourselves and follow Him, wherever He may lead. That's what Humanism is: deifying man and dethroning God and goodness without God. They all contend that you can be good without God, so why invoke a Deity? Islam is also popular for geopolitical considerations.
Yes, but God's standard is high and He raised the bar, and He looks at the motive--is it to gain the approbation of man or some other ulterior motive, bolster his pride, or to unselfishly please God? Man cannot please God in the power of the flesh and all his righteousness is considered garbage or a menstrual rag in His sight. Yes, in the eyes of mankind you can be good; look at Ted Turner donating $1 Billion to the UN, for example; but his motive wasn't to please God or do His will, but to bolster his self-righteousness and ego in the eyes of others. The whole issue of goodness is that evil is the distortion of good and a guise of it and may contain the appearance of good, but it isn't. Evil is privation or distortion of good (it's a parasite); it cannot exist independently. It's just good enough to deceive and inoculate from the real thing!
But the problem is that you cannot explain "good" apart from God. Just like they say your morals or ethics by the same token. A moral or ethical person may not even believe in God for that matter. But where did goodness come from but the source of all goodness--God? God is the "moral center of the universe" and demands man's repentance and high morality, and gave him a moral compass, and he has no excuse to sin but culpability, which is for anything against God's nature, the virus affecting all mankind, and our so-called Declaration of Independence from God--our birthright from Adam. According to Dostoevsky, "if there is no God, all things are permissible."
God is the Supreme Good according to Plato and the Ultimate Good as the standard of all, by which we measure our achievement. He is the source of all goodness and blessing. The problem with man is that he thinks he's all right and doesn't need Him, that he is already good, and Christians are called to be a light and show that they fall short with the help of the conviction of the Holy Spirit using the Word of God in the heart as seed implanted.
A person may say he can be good without God so why invoke a Deity, for what reason? As Bertrand Russell said, "Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless." Christianity is not an AA pledge, the turning over of a new leaf, or a self-improvement course, but trusting Christ to make you into a new person from the inside out and a transformed individual. It is an insult to say that a believer has "found religion" since there are so many contrasts between the do-it-yourself proposition of religion and the work of grace in Christ. The primary difference between religion and Christianity is "do" versus "done."
In Christ, the work of salvation is a done deal and accomplished fact to be availed by the believer in faith. Christ sets us free from the power of Satan, sin, and self and gives us the power to live in the Spirit availing ourselves of this transforming power--"I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection," cf. Phil. 3:10. He's still in the resurrection business! Paul said that he counted all else rubbish or manure in comparison to knowing Christ as his personal Savior.
Christ does all the work from start to finish--we cooperate as works in progress. "Salvation is of the LORD," (cf. Jonah 2:9). We just let God do His thing and have His way with us. The biggest proof of the resurrection of Christ was the transformation of the timid, disillusioned, and cowering disciples and especially what happened to Saul on the road to Damascus--his testimony was heard in very high places far and wide across the Roman empire.
In sum, Christ didn't come to make bad men good (goody-goodies), but to make dead men alive; Christ makes us good from the inside out we are transformed into new creatures in Christ, it wasn't a matter of human effort, turning over a new leaf, or an AA pledge, or New Year's resolution, but a surrender to God in Christ and a receiving of a new life as a gift in return. There are a plethora of religions based on human achievement--but you never know where you stand! Christianity is based on God's accomplishment! Bear in mind that our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isaiah 45:24)! Soli Deo Gloria!
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