You Cannot Rationalize God...

It's a no-win scenario, an exercise in futility, and will be to no avail trying to argue someone into the kingdom--they have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts.  There's no smoking-gun proof of God (otherwise everyone would believe)--God is only pleased with a leap of faith to know Him. It's not a step into the darkness but into the light!   Evidence in itself is not always conclusive but only one argument for or against a proposition.  What one has to do is to go in the direction of the evidence and believe in the preponderance of the evidence. Many a jury has decided a verdict without all the evidence being in, and even of having no direct evidence but only circumstantial.

But one must be willing to go where the facts lead with an open mind just like in science without presupposition.  If you are not willing to admit even the possibility of God no amount of evidence will convince you. In fact, without God the First Thinker we cannot believe in thought!  First comes the thinker, then the thought, then the object, then the action with the object; thus the link in the chain must begin somewhere. The Bible attributes the First Thought to Jesus ("In the beginning was the Word....").   Infinite regress or passing the buck into eternity (a is caused by b, b is caused by c, c is caused by d, ad infinitum) is impossible and cannot go on forever without some point of the beginning--if there was no beginning there would be no chain according to logic.  We cannot believe in a beginning (Big Bang) without a Beginner!  That's like believing in a bullet being shot from a gun without a shooter.

The maxim goes without saying:  "A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."  Jesus had performed many miracles and yet they demanded some sign that they couldn't resist--a biggie miracle. The man of God must not be quarrelsome, contentious, judgmental, divisive, or argumentative!  We seek an open door not to close them--bridges not walls! Let God open them and look for opportunities!  Some discussions will turn into arguments and are not worth the adrenaline and generate more heat than light!  Note:  yet they will not believe, it's not that they can not believe (cf. John 12:37). 

Many philosophers have offered "proofs" of God but these are only arguments that the strengthen the faith of the faithful and soften the ones of the infidel but God still requires faith, not proof--He doesn't need to prove Himself to us.  The Bible never attempts to prove God but assumes Him.  You cannot force a person to believe because it's not a matter of the intellect but of intellectual pride.  They say that the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart!  All in all, we only accept the facts that suit our opinions and there is no one with perfect objectivity.

Did you know that you cannot prove anything!  Try proving the Mona Lisa is beautiful to the ignorant or the sun to the blind man or the harmony of an orchestra to a young person.  Some will deny the beauty of a sunset though this is almost universally accepted.  We believe in the sun, not just because we can see the sun, but we can see everything else!  You cannot prove the rainbow is beautiful to those who know how to debate.  What if they don't like colors or are color blind?  Everything isn't a matter of logic or math where everything is contingent upon one undeniable proposition or self-evident truth.  That's why in the beginning there was logic (the Logos or Jesus known as the Word).  There are two basic assumptions that all knowledge is based upon the law of noncontradiction and the law of causality.  Without these two laws, we couldn't know anything!

The point is that all knowledge is contingent, except God's!  In fact, everything is contingent except God.  We all depend upon something or someone but God!  We must all be willing to accept or believe in something we cannot prove, a presupposition or theory; for instance, evolution is founded upon an unproven and unprovable theory.  It's never a matter of faith versus reason but which set of propositions we are willing to accept. Those who think science has undermined the Bible neither understand the Bible nor science--which is based on the biblical worldview and owes its existence to Christians.  We all have faith!  No one believes in "nothing!"  Just like no one worships "nothing!"  Everyone has a god or God.  If you do not worship the living God, you worship some other god.  We have a choice as to what we choose to place our faith in, though; for instance, secularists have bet the farm on the assumption that science has all the answers.

There are classic "proofs" of God including creation itself because it had to come from something or someone and couldn't have created itself, the existence of purpose (everything seems to have it)--hence a "Purposer," the appearance of design implying a Grand Designer, the existence of beauty needing an Artist, and even the obvious fact that we see order everywhere from sub-atomic to galactic and we know that nothing can be in order without an Orderer,  the existence of cause and effect or causality necessitating a First Cause or causa prima (cosmologically thinking) because infinite regress is impossible (the chain cannot go on forever but must have an origin)--in other words nothing just happens by itself, the moral or character argument that necessitates a Standard of right and wrong and explaining where our values and conscience came from, the most obvious proof of God is the miracle that takes place in the heart of an individual upon finding God and being converted; i.e., changed lives that cannot be denied.

And so there is ample proof for those who want to believe but God isn't going to force Himself on anyone.  There is never enough proof for the hardened in heart, stubborn, and unwilling.  But one can never disbelieve for lack of evidence!  If a person is a sincere searcher of the truth and the answer and willing to accept God and the consequences of knowing Him.  Remember God is no man's debtor and will reveal Himself.  God will authenticate Himself to the earnest searcher as promised.  The problem is that people deny the God they do know and the evidence that they have been aware of and simply choose a life of sin and rebellion against God going their own way and doing their own thing.     Soli Deo Gloria!
    

Do You Know Him?

"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:17, NIV). 

Salvation is not achieved nor earned but received as God opens one's eyes to the true identity of who Jesus is, as Peter exclaimed:  "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the Living God."  And the Father had revealed this to him to open his eyes to spiritual truth.  Faith is not in the acquiescence of the identity of Jesus nor of agreeing with church dogma, but in living out this faith and making it real in our hearts as we fall in love with our Lord in a lifelong relationship and experience. There is so-called story faith or head belief and then there's something a few inches lower:  heart belief or acceptance into the heart.

To know Him is to love Him is the old cliche, but this is scriptural since we must follow on to know Him in reality (cf. Hos. 6:3) and Jesus equated knowing Him with salvation. Of course, it goes without saying that to know Him is to love Him.  Not just knowing His identity but accepting its ramifications and to obey Him as He demands. If we love Him, we will obey Him--the only test of faith is obedience though (cf. Heb. 3:18-19).   There is no salvation without obedience.  Faith must be demonstrated by works or otherwise, it is suspect and empty talk.  As James did say that dead faith (without accompanying works) cannot save.  The Reformers taught it plainly: "We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone."  Faith must be authenticated by works or its spurious and suspect.

We show others that we know Him by our testimony and life witness which should never be jeopardized by sin.  We ought to freely show our faith, not privatizing it, but then again not flaunting it nor wearing it on our sleeve--let God open doors to share your story.  Once you have a story you will be surprised at the opportunities God gives to share it.  This is where faithfulness comes in and faith and faithfulness are the same words in Hebrew which is appropriate. Faith cannot be divorced from faithfulness for the "righteous shall live by their faith" (fulness)--Hab. 2:4. We prove we know Him by living out our faith and sharing it and showing it's not just pie-in-the-sky or wishful thinking but has a common application to everyday, mundane life.   So, what's the gospel according to you?   If we say we know Him and do not obey Him we are lying!

We must know Him in that He is real to us and we recognize and acknowledge His presence:  "He is there, and He is not silent,"  according to Francis Schaeffer.  When we know Him we will see Him in action as "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform" (according to hymn writer William Cowper).  Salvation is not only knowing Him but it is an ethic of proving this to others:  We must know Him and make Him known.  The ultimate proof of knowing Him is the miracle of a transformed or changed life--this is the whole point of salvation. Changing lives is Jesus' business!   If there's no fruit there is no faith and good soil always produces fruit! Colossians 1:10 says that we grow or increase in the knowledge of God as we bear fruit in every good work!

It is important that we acknowledge that the important fact of salvation is not that we know Him but that He knows us (cf. Gal. 4:9).  He knew us before the world was even created and this is called "foreknowledge" by theologians and scholars.  For whom He knew, He predestined!  This means that God ordered and arranged the events in our life so that we would get saved!  And for whom He predestined He called (cf. Romans 8:29)!  This means that God individually reached out and wooed us to salvation.  And for whom He called He justified or saved!  And finally, the terminus of the chain of salvation:  For whom He justified He glorified.  This means God sees the whole event as one unbroken and linked chain that cannot be separated.  And it also means no one gets lost in the shuffle; there is no one who was called that didn't get justified and no one justified that didn't get glorified.  In the final analysis, this the ultimate proof of our security in Christ that our salvation is a done deal or a fait accompli.  

Knowing the Lord is more than acquired information or teachings about Him as at an academic level:  We must experience Him and relate to Him on a personal level; i.e., we convert our knowledge about God into the knowledge of God.  When we finally know Him we are not immune from knowing about Him, but we know Him on a level above that.  We are never excused from knowing about Him and becoming believers or disciples entails matriculating in the school of Christ to dedicate one's life to the lifelong pursuit of the knowledge of God and its application.  It's not enough to know; we must apply our knowledge and turn our creeds into deeds!  You can know a lot about God and still not know Him!  In the seventeenth century, it was every gentleman's hobby to be conversant in the Bible and basic holy talk.  Today even in the churches it seems like no one wants to talk about the godly or holy but only to engage in the mundane and secular.

Finally, if we want to boast we should boast in the Lord.  As Paul said, "I venture not to speak but of what  Christ has accomplished through me" (cf. Rom. 15:18).  What hath God wrought?  We praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done, is doing and believe He will do.  But Jeremiah 9:24 says that if a man should boast he should boast that he knows the Lord!  This is more to be braggadocious about than riches, wisdom, or strength.  Soli Deo Gloria!   

The Call To Lordship

Lordship salvation has been a matter of debate for decades even among well-meaning evangelicals.  Some maintain that requiring a lordship decision is tantamount to demanding works in exchange for salvation (which is supposed to be a gift of grace).  We can do nothing to earn, deserve, nor pay back our salvation, which is a monergistic (one-sided) enterprise of God not a synergistic or cooperative affair between us and God. Salvation is all God's work and we don't help Him or prepare ourselves for it as Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is of the Lord." Jesus Himself demanded the utmost loyalty and surrender in His invitation to follow Him on to know Him (the essence of salvation and its application).  We must make a one-time full surrender (as well as daily renewals) to His will for our lives and be willing to follow on to know Him wherever He leads--this was a well-nigh impossible demand that actually discouraged seekers who were not wholehearted followers but merely curious or simply admirers or wanted the fringe benefits of being a follower without paying the cost--which could be the ultimate sacrifice of laying down one's life for the sake of the Name.

In other words, we must be willing to go wherever He leads and do whatever He demands without reservation--holding naught back.  Anything less is only being a halfhearted disciple.  We must be gung-ho for the Lord and seek Him with our whole heart.  We don't do God any favors by "accepting Him" because we must accept Him for who He is without dividing His offices of Savior and Lord.  We trust as Savior and submit as Lord.   Actually, the terminology of "accepting" Him is unbiblical and only made up to domesticate the gospel call and make it more palatable to the unbeliever.  Jesus never made it easy to become a Christan or disciple (interchangeable terms in Scripture) but actually discouraged some.

We have more of a problem of false disciples with a false assurance that we do with believers who lack assurance.  Assurance is not an automatic fruit and there are degrees of certitude of one's salvation as one matures in Christ.  That's why the only way we can be sure of salvation is to realize it's a sole enterprise of God and we contribute naught. Assurance is a matter of coupling the Word of God with the internal evidence and conviction of the Holy Spirit ("The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God," cf. Rom 8:16).  If we had to do anything we'd fail!  Lordship, then, is more trusting God through thick and thin and even when the chips are down!  Knowing that if the Lord got you to it, He'll get you through it!

Jesus will not save those He cannot command according to A. W. Tozer!  The command is to repent and follow Him!  We must be obedient for that is the only measure of faith--not emotions, accomplishments, nor success! The mandate is to obey the gospel (cf. Rom. 1:5; 16:26; Acts 6:7; 2 Thess. 1:8).   As Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  The two are correlated and cannot be separated as doctrines but only distinguished--they are eternally linked and juxtaposed in Scripture.  Hebrews 3:18-19, HCSB, says, "And who did He swear to that they would not enter His rest, if not those who disobeyed?  So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief."  I want to point out that disobeying God doesn't cancel our salvation but the only ones who obey are believers.  We must obey the gospel to be saved!  But the measure and standard of our faith is its obedience, not its achievements or success, for God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness according to Mother Teresa (Saint Teresa).

He is Lord of all (Acts 10:36; Rom. 10:12) and we don't make Him Lord, for God made Him both Lord and Christ (Acts 2:36).  God the Father has given Him all authority (cf. Matt. 28:18) and we must do the same and follow suit!  He is Lord and we must obey and submit like the hymn goes, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus...."  If we don't receive Him as our Lord we are rejecting Him; we know Him for who He is! We don't "try Jesus" or give Him a chance to prove Himself; we must take the leap of faith into the light!  There's no other way except by faith!   In short, we must bow to His lordship and be willing to pay the cost of discipleship (for He stressed that we must count the cost!).  He has given His Spirit to those who obey Him (cf. Acts 5:32; Heb. 5:9).  

Jesus simply cannot save us if He is not our Lord and that means Lord of all, not withholding anything back or having any reservations or hesitations to follow Him bearing our cross which pales in comparison to His.  When they ask, "Who's the boss?" we should unreservedly answer that Jesus is the master of our fate and the captain of our soul!  We have surrendered the ownership of our lives to His control and our destiny and future are in His hands!  This is not the gospel in vogue today but it is the biblical one.  It is not easy-believism which is simply an acknowledgment and it is not cheap grace which justifies the sin and not the sinner!    In sum, when we call Him Lord we are admitting that we are His slaves; the point is that everyone is a slave and we only exchange masters from being the slave of sin to being the slave of righteousness!   In fact, the more enslaved to Christ, the freer we really are.  Soli Deo Gloria!