Marital Bliss

When God created Eve, God saw that Adam was a lonely person and it was not good. NOTE: It is not being single that is bad but being alone in the world for God made us to be social creatures.  He attempted to find some help fit for him among the animal kingdom but none were sufficiently able to do that so he decided to create Eve also to be in God's image after Adam to meet his needs.   We are "complete in Christ," not complete in our mate!  Then they can realize that Eve is equal and partner in life, not his subordinate or inferior. He was not meant to take orders from Adam but to challenge him to keep him on his toes and make him realize that he is not supreme even though he was first created. You could say that Adam was the crown of God's creation but Eve was God's finishing touch. God's last creation was Eve therefore you could say that his best creation was Eve--he could not improve on her! God's last word!  Actually, beauty was perfected in Eve, not Adam, because I think he saw that she was beautiful. He was created for Adam, not Adam for Eve--to get that straight. 

Now people think that it is not good for a man to be alone meaning that he ought to be married to be happy or to have a woman as his companion. There's a difference between solitude and loneliness.  You can be a happy and fulfilled solitary man! If you know God that is!  You can have much company and still be alone in life you can be around people and be lonely and you can not have many friends and be lonely. Paul was single and he saw a marriage as a concession made to man because of his lust [not because he would be lonely!] and his weaknesses and you are better off being single if you can handle being signal without burning and lust.  He saw being single as a calling from God in a special gift (celibacy).  God did not intend to make it a special spiritual milestone when they become married as a graduation, prize, trophy, or award from God or as demonstrating extra spirituality.   

Now, I can say in my life I'm glad that I was divorced because that's when God gave me a spiritual wake-up call into service and I renewed myself spiritually and made a recommitment to my life. Paul is right when he said that when you're married your loyalties are divided you cannot devote your whole life and time to God. You have divided loyalty to your family and wife. The cares of this life have a danger to choke out kingdom duties and obligations or service.  This takes away from God's time. But I believe celibacy is a gift and the church should not enforce it like they do on the Catholic priest. 

There will come a time when marriage will be forbidden says in the prophetic word of the Bible among priests and preachers. When people are married, they usually refer to their spouse as their better half or their inspiration or reason for living but they must not see their spouse as an idol or a person that takes the place of God in their lives or even someone they worship, in other words.  It also says in the Bible when you find a wife you find a good thing and obtain favor from the Lord; this is a blessing and we should be glad and praise God when we find a wife for this is God's will for us.  People can get married apart from the Lord's sanction authority, purpose, or permission. They want to do their own thing and refuse to listen to advice like when they are unequally yoked or living in sin. 

Counseling is also called for when such a one may be living in disobedience and is considering marriage. It is important when you're married to find the right one or Mr Right or conversely Mrs Right. That does not mean they are perfect but they are meant for you you're you're man or your woman when God gave you they're more than just a friend they're they are an advisor, an advocate, an intercessor a counselor, a confidant, and intimate companion to share life with.  

In sum, marriage is a partnership of two equals seeking God's will for them as a team and having unity and oneness of spirit and spiritual goals; therefore, God has decided to use both together to accomplish his will, and bliss in marriage is only found this way or they will be fighting God and his will! Soli Deo Gloria! 

How Shall We Then Live?

"And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8, ESV).
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people [Israel] whom he has chosen as his heritage!" (Psalm 33:12, ESV).
"There is no accountability since God does not exist" (Psalm 10:4, HCSB).
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people" (Prov. 14:34, NIV).
"To this, you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21, NIV).

Note: Christianity is composed of two things: orthodoxy or believing right, and orthopraxy, or doing right. Orthodoxy has to do with ethics or right conduct, answering the question, "How shall we then live?"

My title was also the title of a book by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, of L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. It is a big issue of how believers should apply their faith and fulfill their marching orders. We are not meant to either flaunt it or privatize it, though our faith offends no one if we do keep it to ourselves. However, it's not a matter of personal preference to propagate our faith, or "shove it down other people's throats" as some call it--it's the Great Commission, mandated by our Lord Himself.

We are to live out our faith, and only those believers who desire to live it out and share their faith are obedient--the only way to keep it is to give it away! We are, in essence, to live forthright, honest, exemplary lives as proof of our profession, which is the reality of our faith. The faith we have is the faith we show! We must never lose focus of our first order of business (Job One), that we are here to make a contribution and fulfill God's will, and must heed the spiritual wake-up calls to read the signs of the times.

As American citizens, we have the awesome task of being witnesses amid people who've already heard (territory Paul would've balked at entering, to sow where someone else had been). People already have preconceived notions of our faith and are prejudiced--we must be all the more ready to be "not ashamed" "in debt" and "ready" as Paul proclaimed in Romans 1. The door is indeed often closed and we must pray for the open door or opportunity to live out our faith as examples. Unfortunately, there's often just enough darkness not to see, and enough light to see, but only to the willing and obedient. That's the rub: Man is by nature stubborn and in defiance of God's authority, especially in the political realm, which seems to be Satan's turf, and so it takes moral courage and grit.

The biggest error is to think we can usher in the kingdom and that America is somehow God's chosen nation. Governor William Bradford of Plymouth indeed set out to "advance the kingdom of Christ," (cf. Jer. 29:7) but our nation has no right to usurp Israel's place in God's scheme of things and the overall plan for the ages. This is the church age and the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, and we are here primarily to save souls, not the nation.

But if Christians do get their so-called act together and repent, pray, and stand up for the truth, God will bless our nation and rebuke the devil's intervention, and may perhaps relent of His divine wrath, punishment, and even curse--yes, God can and does curse nations, even Israel (cf. Deut. 28). We can not call something crooked if we don't have an idea of what straight is. And we should never turn a deaf ear to the evil in the land and be too timid or inhibited to speak out about crimes against humanity or whatever form evil manifests.

But by and large, we can expect the blessing of God if we follow godly paths of righteousness in our nation; for the Word says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality and will bless us for the sake of His people. But we must also note that God has promised to bless those nations who bless Israel as God's chosen people, promising Abraham that He'll bless those who bless him. We cannot maintain an anti-Semitic attitude or policy and expect God's approbation--this doesn't mean whether they are right or wrong politically or morally!

Believers are called to rise to the occasion and stand up and be counted for the Lord, and that means taking stands for the truth and being loyal to God, and even courageous to the point of civil disobedience and public stands when the state's policies are immoral, unethical, or unscriptural. We must maintain the highest standards of conduct and hold our government accountable and be equal to the challenge! Who knows, as it is written in Esther 4:14, maybe we were born for such a time as this?

We must be careful not to idolize our party (i.e., "my party, right or wrong!"), identity, candidate, or policies to the point of demanding our highest allegiance and unwavering devotion. God is not a member of a party since He cannot be limited or put in a box or labeled, and it is often the case that Christians deify their party or candidate at the expense of losing all sense of decency, morality, and even ethics. Remember, only God deserves our homage and ultimate loyalty; we only pledge allegiance to a nation "under God."

We must learn to draw the line and know where the limits are. Sometimes the law is in direct violation of divine principles, but we will never realize this if we are blinded by the following party, person, or policy above God. Augustine of Hippo said something very noteworthy for our time: "An unjust law is no law at all." "Woe to those who decree unjust laws," (cf. Isaiah 10:1). Remember the words of Scottish Presbyterian minister and author Samuel Rutherford, in his book, Lex Rex, (i.e., the law is the king), that delineated limits to the power of the king or any government as being subject to the rule of law--and this goes back to biblical precedent, not just democratic--this book upset the political landscape and applecart. In a similar vein, Will Durant, a historian, said, "No society has been able to maintain morality without the aid of its religion."Also, Edmund Burke noted: "'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing."

Christians always reserve the right to peaceful protest and even defiance of evil law, and this is fully realized in the slogan of the Reformation: I dissent, I disagree, I protest, attributed to Martin Luther. In a crisis of evil, many ask, "Where's God?" but we should be asking, "Where's the church?" We must never forget that we have dual citizenship, our home is in heaven and we are only passing through with our spiritual green cards on a mission. God doesn't burden just one individual to change the world for Christ but will transform it through the corporate activity of the body of Christ and the church at large. One task of the church is to equip and help believers find their calling and gifting so this can be implemented. It's a shame when unbelievers lead the way and do what we should be doing by nature (cf. Romans 2:14-15).

NB: God did something about evil--He made you! Our mission to counter social injustice has not been rescinded. Note the words of a famous Christian philosopher, dramatist, theologian, and journalist--known as the "prince of paradox": "What's wrong with the world? I am. Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton." The words of John Donne come to mind: "Don't ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." We must turn our creeds into deeds, thus proving our testimony by actions, which can speak louder than words--true faith always expresses itself!

We must expose, openly declare and wave our Christian colors and not permit evil to win by default. We must also learn not to just bemoan evil, but to challenge ourselves to see the possibility of good beyond the gray clouds. Evil always presents an opportunity for good, because that's why it exists as the counter and contrast of good, which we can then highlight and see clearly in juxtaposition.

Thus, Christians have a Second Great Stewardship as salt and light, to heal and preserve society as well as caretakers of the earth, and we must pay our dues, live up to our faith, and be worthy of the name of Christ, touching the world for our Savior, all so that no one will have anything bad to say about us, and we can win them over by our witness.

Even though Francis Schaeffer wrote a book by this title too, showing its importance, the question we all must answer is: "How shall we live in light of eternity?" Jesus didn't tell us to close shop and stop working to wait till He comes but Matthew Henry said that we should live each day as if it's our last! Jesus told us to occupy till [He] comes and be ready! But we are to be ready and watch for Christ's coming and live our life to have maximum impact on eternity. We aren't seeking to be remembered but to be obedient.

We see eternal results in everything; all we do strikes a chord that will vibrate for eternity. Everything will either be rewarded or not and in time we can be disciplined for what we do if not in God's will. Paul said that to him "to die is gain" not as a death wish but he meant that he saw eternity in a better light than imagined ("what no human mind has conceived"). He only said this because he had a clear concept of heaven with no misconceptions or delusions to live the good life.

Living in light of eternity inspires us to do good deeds and to have a good testimony to the world at large so they get saved as a result. It helps us in our trials, seeing that they are only temporal and serve an eternal purpose. In short, we become purpose-driven. We prove and validate our faith by our deeds--the faith we have is the faith we show and authenticate. The more we see Jesus coming soon, the more eager we will be to show our faith also because we will see the urgency of the Great Commission relative to our personal lives.

Thus, we will want to pass it on and become contagious Christians. We will be eager to make others ready and to stop living for the moment and the here and now. What we look forward to affects our worldview and how we interpret life in general. When the "Desire of all nations" comes at His Parousia, we will be transformed to become like Him, but we can have a taste of the good things to come now: "Taste and see that the LORD is good." But now we can see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living (cf. Psalm 27:13, KJV).

We are simply pilgrims, aliens, foreigners, and even strangers in this life and to the world, and passing through, not meant to make ourselves at home here--we don't belong here! But God has a place for us in His plan. God has an eternal purpose for our lives that He will fulfill and not give up on us. We are on a spiritual journey too, growing in our relationship with Christ--Reality 101. We should not cling to our mundane lives but see that our spiritual lives take precedence; however, we do not live with our heads in the clouds or on cloud nine. What matters is how our relationship with Christ is growing. It is wrong to think that we should live as if we go around once and should grab all the gusto we can. We must have an eternal bucket list that involves our beatific vision of God in glory.

Having a true focus on Christ, keeping our eyes on Jesus orients our life and sets the priorities to have spiritual value. However, we ought not to be so heavenly-minded we are no earthly good. We must not be known as mere secluded saints but actively involved in the real world. We can enjoy this life, but without sin, and thank God for the blessings that it gives to all in common grace. We can enjoy life to the max as Jesus promised: "I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full [more abundant life]" (John 10:10, NIV). On the other hand, we ought not to "love the world nor the things of the world" because the more we do, the less room we'll have in our hearts to satisfy our spiritual appetites to enjoy all the good things He gives us richly as a blessing for stewardship (cf 1 Tim. 6:17).

The good life has universally been defined as an ethical one: our duty to God and mankind. We do this by loving God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves as exemplified in the parable of the Good Samaritan. "Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8, HCSB). This is achieved by a true sense of "oughtness." Knowing and believing the right doctrine or having one's thinking straightened out is orthodoxy while living right and practicing what one believes and applying it is orthopraxy--both are necessary for the good life (which is not achieving the American dream!).

In the final analysis, when our lives are given their final audit and we go one-on-one with our Maker to face God in the Bema or Judgment Seat, we must ask ourselves whether we are faithful stewards of the blessings God has given us and whether we used them to have an impact. We all will pass on some legacy and people will tend to judge our lives, but what matters most is what Christ sees in us. He isn't going to ask us about our achievements but our obedience and we will realize that success doesn't matter to God because it belongs to Him anyway (cf. Deut. 8:18), but what matters is our call to faithfulness. Praise the Lord, life is good! Soli Deo Gloria!

Doing A Great Work Part III, The Servant Of All...

 "Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD pondereth the heart," (Prov. 21:2; cf. 16:2).

"The LORD searches every heart and understands every motive behind the thoughts," (cf. 1 Chron. 28:9).  

To be great in God's kingdom, we must be willing to become the servant of all. But some aren't even willing to work or be servants but think labor is beneath them when Jesus didn't excuse Himself from getting down and dirty with working, ordinary-class men in their daily tasks. We must not strive for the most visible, most rewarding, most important, most prestigious, most self-serving, or most profitable, but the most humbling!  The goal is to have a heart of a servant as Christ did who took up the towel to wash feet (a foot-washing ministry) and gave us the example of the order of the towel or doing what is without any inherent dignity.  All work has dignity!  Our dignity is in serving Christ and doing His will no matter the task.  

We must recognize that in God's economy the way up is down!  As John, the Baptist, said, "He must increase, but I must decrease."  this is the way to be filled with the Spirit, to empty yourself first.  We must remember that we are co-laborers with Christ who was our example and showed the way of humility and doing God's will. God sees the motive why we are doing something and tests the heart, for we must be more righteous than the Pharisees who were out to make a good impression as people-pleasers. We are to be collaborators with the body of Christ to accomplish God's will, not our agenda.

The church must have a mission and a vision ("Where there is no vision, the people perish") in order to be focused on God's will and to do be motivated. We must do God's work God's way.  We all have a gift and must not envy that of another, we are to work together as one body in the same Spirit, though we have diversities of ministries.  This is a way of walking worthy of our calling.  We are doing God's work because God chose to use us as vessels of honor to do it, not because we are worthy or can do anything on our own, for apart from Christ we can do nothing. Paul said that he would venture not to boast of anything but what Christ had accomplished through him.  All our good works and our fruit are from Him who enables us. Our righteousness is not our gift to God, but His gift to us.

We ought not to focus on what others are doing and look to our labors in the LORD without judgments.  We are not the fruit examiners of everyone's fruit! In the end, it's not about us, but all about Jesus as we must first say "No" to ourselves before we can say "Yes" to Jesus. To be good leaders as many aspire to be, we must first be good followers.  It is said, that we must not strive to be a person of success, but a person of value! Knowing this, that our labor in the LORD is never in vain but will be rewarded.

We must acknowledge that God sees the heart and motive of all we do (cf. 2 Chron. 16:9; Prov 21:2).   Knowing this:  Each of us does our part but it is God who appears front and center in directing all events for His glory as the main event, we must remember it's all about Him and forget ourselves.   In the final analysis, it's not what we are doing in or labors for the LORD that defines us but how well we do it (a task well worth doing is worth doing well, as unto the LORD!) it all matters whether we are doing it as unto the LORD and in the name of the LORD,  and to the glory of the LORD.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Doing A Great Work I

"...' I am carrying on a great project and cannot go down. Why should the work stop while I leave it and go down to you?''" (Neh. 6:3, NIV).
"But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded" (2 Chron. 15:7, NIV).
It's all in a nutshell by a sermon William Carey preached, titled "Expect Great Things From God, Attempt Great Things for God."

Mother Teresa of Calcutta said that we don't do great things, just little things with great love. It's not our achievements that God is pleased with, but our faithfulness. Mother Teresa also said that God doesn't call us to success, but to faithfulness. Indeed, he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much as Jesus said. We are all to give an account of our stewardship and will be rewarded according to our works--not our faith. Jesus said that He had finished the work God gave Him and was ready to enter His glory in John 17:4. Nehemiah boasted that he was engaged in "a great work" for the Lord and wouldn't be interrupted. Jeremiah warns against doing the Lord's work with slackness (cf. Jer. 48:10)!

Some people are performance-oriented and will say at Judgment Day that they did great works in the Lord's name, even casting out demons; however, their faith was in their works, not the Lord! Misplaced faith, though big, doesn't save--it's the object that matters. All achievements are eventually outdone and eclipsed, all records will be broken, all reputations will fade, all tributes will be forgotten, and trophies will be lost or decayed, but what we do in the Lord's name in His power (that are ordained for us to do per Eph. 2:10) will not go unnoticed nor unrewarded. These good deeds will not be in vain. Isaiah said in Isa. 49:4, NIV, "But I said, 'I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the LORD's hand, and my reward is with my God.'" Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:58, NIV, "...Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

There has been much evil done in the Lord's name (the Catholic Inquisition, the Salem witch hunts, the Crusades, and the Thirty-Years War et al.) but what is done in the Lord means in the right spirit and in the power of the Spirit. I'm not against good works, just those done in the power of the flesh.

In the final analysis, no one will be able to boast of his works that God did through him but will give glory to God for being a vessel of honor, as Paul said in Romans 15:18, KJV, that he would not "dare to speak of any of those things Christ hath not wrought by [him]..." or venture to mention anything but what God accomplished through him." In sum, we're all "doing a great work," if it's done in the Lord, and we ought not to belittle anyone's task or gift for without Christ we can do nothing (cf. John 15:5). Soli Deo Gloria!

Doing A Great Work II...

"LORD,  ... all that we have accomplished, you have done for us," (cf. Isaiah 26:12, NIV).

"... your fruitfulness comes from me," (cf. Hosea 14:8, NIV).

"But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for the finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus--the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God," (cf. Acts 20:24, NLT).

"But none of these things move me, neither do I count my life dear unto myself, so that I may finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus," (cf. Acts 20:24, KJV).

"I venture not to speak of nothing but what Christ has accomplished through me," (cf. Romans 15:18).  

 Nehemiah was not a prophet, nor a priest, nor a king, and he did no miracles, in fact, he was like any of us (he was only a cupbearer to the king), and did what we can do when the LORD blesses our work and we are called to do His will and we realize and fulfill our mission.  The book has no miracles, prophecies, nor great teaching, revelation, or wisdom, or poetry, but it shows God's quiet hand at work behind the scenes in the everyday work of the LORD.  Things we can do if we have a work ethic like his! 

But he was in a funk because he mourned for the city of David, Zion, the Jewish capital of Jerusalem, that it was in ruins. His depression became known to the king and he had the audacity to ask permission to take a leave of absence to repair his beloved city.  What do you know? His request was granted. The Jews were in exile but soon to return to the Promised Land and Job One was to rebuild the Wall. We see in this book of Nehemiah that he is the greatest motivator in the Bible, for he got results and the people worked for him with godly zeal. When we dedicate our work and effort to the LORD, we also get blessed in the fruit of our labors. 

We can see the hand of God upon him throughout the book even though it is not mentioned in particular. The one time that it does seem to give God the glory is when it says that the wall was rebuilt in only fifty-two days, a miracle in itself. Nehemiah was not a micromanager but he knew that when people believed they were doing God's work that he would get results.  He probably thought that if he didn't do it, that it wouldn't get done  He saw a need and fulfilled it; a key to success!  Thus the value and necessity of the work.  He saw that it was God who opened the doors for him to even get to first base and this was obvious: the LORD was with him from the get-go. He knew to abide in Christ so to speak or to walk with God as they said in the Old Testament. Though he was obedient to the heavenly vision, he knew he would get and did get opposition. He had enemies!  

When they tried to interrupt him while at work, he said, "I cannot come down [from the wall] for I am doing a great work."  He saw the LORD's work as a great and grand one and that it brought Him glory. The point is that he was obedient for faith and obedience are linked: Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  And he was like Habakkuk, who said, "The righteous shall live by faith [their faithfulness]."  (cf. Heb. 10:28; Romans 1:17).  We must see that faith and faithfulness are the same Hebrew word and they cannot be separated, only distinguished; they go hand in hand!   

This great motivator and leader of men knew how to inspire as well; to give the men a work ethic! "The people had a mind to work!"  That's what you call having the mindset for the LORD's work.  When the people faced opposition and enemies on the wall, even as they worked, he told them: "Fight for your families..."  People have to be able to put things into perspective and have a reason to fight. Remember the words of Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem Charge of the Light Brigade that goes:  "Ours is not to reason why is our to do and die." That kind of attitude seems glum and depressing but that is often the only motivation the world will give you. 

We must see that God's work is our privilege and we can take part in accomplishing His will to bring Him glory.  The Westminster Shorter Catechism says, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy him forever."  We are to "trust in the LORD with all our heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding, in all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall direct thy paths."  (cf. Prov. 3:5-6).  We must understand that all that we accomplish is by God's working in us and He did it through us as His instruments of glory or honor; as Paul said, in Romans 15:18, "I venture not to speak of nothing but what the Lord has accomplished through me." 

In sum, nothing can give you the doldrums faster and more seriously than knowing the will of God and not being able to do it, and nothing can bounce you out of it faster than getting to work doing His will and making yourself useful in the kingdom work and God's will or completing the calling and mission God gave you; therefore, if your calling is to climb rocks, hope for rocks and even that you will die doing God's will and what you enjoy, just like they asked Saint Francis what he would do if only he had one hour to live while he was doing his gardening at the convent, and he said that he would finish his gardening!  Soli Deo Gloria! 

How Shall We Then Live?...

"And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2, KJV).
"And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8, ESV).
"Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD, the people [Israel] whom he has chosen as his heritage!" (Psalm 33:12, ESV).
"There is no accountability since God does not exist" (Psalm 10:4, HCSB).
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin condemns any people" (Prov. 14:34, NIV).
"To this, you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps" (1 Peter 2:21, NIV).


Note:  Christianity is composed of two things: orthodoxy or believing right, and orthopraxy or doing right. Orthodoxy has to do with ethics or right conduct, answering the question, "how shall we then live?"


My title was also the title of a book by Dr. Francis A. Schaeffer, of L'Abri Fellowship in Switzerland. It is a big issue of how believers should apply their faith and fulfill their marching orders. We are not meant to either flaunt it or privatize it, though our faith offends no one if we do keep it to ourselves. However, it's not a matter of personal preference to propagate our faith, or "shove it down other people's throats" as some call it--it's the Great Commission, mandated by our Lord Himself.

We are to live out our faith, and only those believers who desire to live it out and share their faith are obedient--the only way to keep it is to give it away! We are, in essence, to live forthright, honest, exemplary lives as proof of our profession, which is the reality of our faith. The faith we have is the faith we show! We must never lose focus of our first order of business (Job One), that we are here to make a contribution and fulfill God's will, and must heed the spiritual wake-up calls to read the signs of the times.

As American citizens, we have the awesome task of being witnesses in the midst of people who've already heard (territory Paul would've balked at entering, to sow where someone else had been). People already have preconceived notions of our faith and are prejudiced--we must be all the more ready to be "not ashamed" "in debt" and "ready" as Paul proclaimed in Romans 1. The door is indeed often closed and we must pray for the open door or opportunity to live out our faith as examples. Unfortunately, there's often just enough darkness not to see, and enough light to see, but only to the willing and obedient. That's the rub: man is by nature stubborn and in defiance of God's authority, especially in the political realm, which seems to be Satan's turf, and so it takes moral courage and grit.

The biggest error is to think we can usher in the kingdom and that America is somehow God's chosen nation. It's true that Governor William Bradford of Plymouth set out to "advance the kingdom of Christ," (cf. Jer. 29:7) but our nation has no right to usurp Israel's place in God's scheme of things and the overall plan for the ages. This is the church age and the kingdom of Christ is not of this world, and we are here primarily to save souls, not the nation.

But if Christians do get their so-called act together and repent, pray, and stand up for the truth, God will bless our nation and rebuke the devil's intervention, and may perhaps relent of His divine wrath, punishment, and even curse--yes, God can and does curse nations, even Israel (cf. Deut. 28). We can not call something crooked if we don't have an idea of what straight is. And we should never turn a deaf ear to the evil in the land and be too timid or inhibited to speak out about crimes against humanity or whatever form evil manifests.

But by and large, we can expect the blessing of God if we follow godly paths of righteousness in our nation; for the Word says, "Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord." God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality and will bless us for the sake of His people. But we must also note that God has promised to bless those nations who bless Israel as God's chosen people, promising Abraham that He'll bless those who bless him. We cannot maintain an anti-Semitic attitude or policy and expect God's approbation--this doesn't mean whether they are right or wrong politically or morally!

Believers are called to rise to the occasion and stand up and be counted for the Lord, and that means taking stands for the truth and being loyal to God and even courageous to the point of civil disobedience and public stands when the state's policies are immoral, unethical, or unscriptural. We must maintain the highest standards of conduct and hold our government accountable and be equal to the challenge! Who knows, as it is written in Esther 4:14, maybe we were born for such a time as this?

We must be careful not to idolize our party (i.e., "my party, right or wrong!"), identity, candidate, or policies to the point of demanding our highest allegiance and unwavering devotion. God is not a member of a party since He cannot be limited or put in a box or labeled, and it is often the case that Christians deify their party or candidate at the expense of losing all sense of decency, morality, and even ethics. Remember, only God deserves our homage and ultimate loyalty; we only pledge allegiance to a nation "under God."

We must learn to draw the line and know where the limits are. Sometimes the law is in direct violation of divine principle, but we will never realize this if we are blinded by following party, person, or policy above God. Augustine of Hippo said something very noteworthy for our time: "An unjust law is no law at all." "Woe to those who decree unjust laws," (cf. Isaiah 10:1).    Remember the words of Scottish Presbyterian minister and author Samuel Rutherford, in his book, Lex Rex, (i.e., the law is the king), that delineated limits to the power of the king or any government as being subject to the rule of law--and this goes back to biblical precedent, not just democratic--this book upset the political landscape and applecart. In a similar vein, Will Durant, historian, said, "No society has been able to maintain morality without the aid of its religion."Also, Edmund Burke noted: "'All that is necessary for the triumph of evil, is that good men do nothing."

Christians always reserve the right to peaceful protest and even defiance of evil law, and this is fully realized in the slogan of the Reformation: I dissent, I disagree, I protest, attributed to Martin Luther. In a crisis of evil, many ask, "Where's God?" but we should be asking, "Where's the church?" We must never forget that we have dual citizenship, our home is in heaven and we are only passing through with our spiritual green cards on a mission. God doesn't burden just one individual to change the world for Christ but will transform it through the corporate activity of the body of Christ and the church at large. One task of the church is to equip and help believers find their calling and gifting so this can be implemented. It's a shame when unbelievers lead the way and do what we should be doing by nature (cf. Romans 2:14-15).

NB: God did something about evil--He made you! Our mission to counter social injustice has not been rescinded. Note the words of a famous Christian philosopher, dramatist, theologian, and journalist--known as the "prince of paradox": "What's wrong with the world? I am. Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton." The words of John Donne come to mind: "Don't ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee." We must turn our creeds into deeds, thus proving our testimony by actions, which can speak louder than words--true faith always expresses itself!

We must expose, openly declare, and wave our Christian colors and not permit evil to win by default. We must also learn not to just bemoan evil, but to challenge ourselves to see the possibility of good beyond the gray clouds. Evil always presents an opportunity for good, because that's why it exists as the counter and contrast of good, which we can then highlight and see clearly in juxtaposition.

Thus, Christians have a Second Great Commission, to heal and preserve society, and we must pay our dues, living up to our faith and being worthy of the name of Christ, touching the world for our Savior, all in order that no one will have anything bad to say about us, and we can win them over by our witness.

 
Even though Francis Schaeffer wrote a book by this title too, showing its importance, the question we all must answer: "How shall we live in light of eternity?" Jesus didn't tell us to close shop and stop working to wait till He comes but Matthew Henry said that we should live each day as if it's our last! Jesus told us to occupy till [He] comes and be ready! But we are to be ready and watch for Christ's coming and live our life to have maximum impact on eternity. We aren't seeking to be remembered but to be obedient.


We see eternal results in everything; all we do strikes a chord that will vibrate for eternity. Everything will either be rewarded or not, and in time we can be disciplined for what we do if not in God's will. Paul said that to him "to die is gain" not as a death wish but he meant that he saw eternity in a better light than imagined ("what no human mind has conceived"). He only said this because he had a clear concept of heaven with no misconceptions or delusions to live the good life.

Living in light of eternity inspires us to do good deeds and to have a good testimony to the world at large so they get saved as a result. It helps us in our trials, seeing that they are only temporal and serve an eternal purpose. In short, we become purpose-driven. We prove and validate our faith by our deeds--the faith we have is the faith we show and authenticate. The more we see Jesus coming soon, the more eager we will be to show our faith also because we will see the urgency of the Great Commission relative to our personal lives. 

Thus, we will want to pass it on and become contagious Christians. We will be eager to make others ready and to stop living for the moment and the here and now. What we look forward to affects our worldview and how we interpret life in general. When the "Desire of all nations" comes at His Parousia, we will be transformed to become like Him, but we can have a taste of the good things to come now: "Taste and see that the LORD is good." But now we can see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living (cf. Psalm 27:13, KJV).

We are simply pilgrims, aliens, foreigners, and even strangers in this life and to the world, and passing through, not meant to make ourselves at home here--we don't belong here! But God has a place for us in His plan. God has an eternal purpose for our lives that He will fulfill and not give up on us. We are on a spiritual journey too, growing in our relationship with Christ--Reality 101. We should not cling to our mundane lives but see that our spiritual lives take precedence; however, we do not live with our heads in the clouds nor on cloud nine. What matters is how our relationship with Christ is growing. It is wrong to think that we should live as if we go around once and should grab all the gusto we can. We must have an eternal bucket list that involves our beatific vision of God in glory.

Having a true focus on Christ, keeping our eyes on Jesus orients our life and sets the priorities to have spiritual value. However, we ought not to be so heavenly-minded we are no earthly good. We must not be known as mere secluded saints but actively involved in the real world. We can enjoy this life, but without sin, and thank God for the blessings that it gives to all in common grace. We can enjoy life to the max as Jesus promised: "I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full [more abundant life]" (John 10:10, NIV). On the other hand, we ought not to "love the world nor the things of the world" because the more we do, the less room we'll have in our hearts to satisfy our spiritual appetites to enjoy all the good things He gives us richly as a blessing for stewardship (cf 1 Tim. 6:17).

The good life has universally been defined as an ethical one: our duty to God and mankind. We do this by loving God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves as exemplified in the parable of the Good Samaritan. "Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you: to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8, HCSB). This is achieved by a true sense of "oughtness." Knowing and believing right doctrine or having one's thinking straightened out is orthodoxy while living right and practicing what one believes and applying it is orthopraxy--both are necessary for the good life (which is not achieving the American dream!).

In the final analysis, when our lives are given their final audit and we go one-on-one with our Maker to face God in the Bema or Judgment Seat, we must ask ourselves whether we are faithful stewards to the blessings God has given us and whether we used them to have an impact. We all will pass on some legacy and people will tend to judge our lives, but what matters most is what Christ sees in us. He isn't going to ask us about our achievements but our obedience and we will realize that success doesn't matter to God because it belongs to Him anyway (cf. Deut. 8:18), but what matters is our call to faithfulness. Praise the Lord, life is good! Soli Deo Gloria!

How Shall We Then Live?...

"And be not conformed to this world; but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Romans 12:2, KJV). 
Francis Schaeffer wrote a book by this title too, showing its importance.  The question we all must answer:  "How shall we live in light of eternity?"  Jesus didn't tell us to close shop and stop working to wait till He comes but Matthew Henry said that we should live each day as if it's our last!  Jesus told us to occupy till [He] comes and be ready!  But we are to be ready and watch for Christ's coming and live our life to have maximum impact on eternity. We aren't seeking to be remembered but to be obedient. 

We see eternal results in everything; all we do strikes a chord that will vibrate for eternity.  Everything will either be rewarded or not, and in time we can be disciplined for what we do if not in God's will.   Paul said that to him "to die is gain" not as a death wish but he meant that he saw eternity in a better light than imagined ("what no human mind has conceived"). He only said this because he had a clear concept of heaven with no misconceptions or delusions to live the good life.

Living in light of eternity inspires us to do good deeds and to have a good testimony to the world at large so they get saved as a result.  It helps us in our trials, seeing that they are only temporal and serve an eternal purpose.  In short, we become purpose-driven.  We prove and validate our faith by our deeds--the faith we have is the faith we show and authenticate.   The more we see Jesus coming soon, the more eager we will be to show our faith also because we will see the urgency of the Great Commission relative to our personal lives. We will want to pass it on and become contagious Christians.  We will be eager to make others ready and to stop living for the moment and the here and now.  What we look forward to affects our worldview and how we interpret life in general.  When the "Desire of all nations" (cf. Haggai 2:7) comes at His Parousia, we will be transformed to become like Him, but we can have a taste of the good things to come now:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good." But now we can see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living (cf. Psalm 27:13, KJV).

We are simply pilgrims, aliens, foreigners, and even strangers in this life and to the world, and passing through, not meant to make ourselves at home here--we don't belong here!  But God has a place for us in His plan. God has an eternal purpose for our lives that He will fulfill and not give up on us.  We are on a spiritual journey too, growing in our relationship with Christ--Reality 101.  We should not cling to our mundane lives but see that our spiritual lives take precedence; however, we do not live with our heads in the clouds nor on cloud nine.  What matters is how our relationship with Christ is growing.  It is wrong to think that we should live as if we go around once and should grab all the gusto we can.  We must have an eternal bucket list that involves our beatific vision of God in glory.

Having a true focus on Christ, keeping our eyes on Jesus orients our life and sets the priorities to have spiritual value.   However, we ought not to be so heavenly minded we are no earthly good. We must not be known as mere secluded saints but actively involved in the real world.  We can enjoy this life, but without sin, and thank God for the blessings that it gives to all in common grace. We can enjoy life to the max as Jesus promised:  "I am come that they may have life, and have it to the full [more abundant life]" (John 10:10, NIV).  On the other hand, we ought not to "love the world nor the things of the world" because the more we do, the less room we'll have in our hearts to satisfy our spiritual appetites to enjoy all the good things He gives us richly as blessing for stewardship (cf 1 Tim. 6:17).

The good life has universally been defined as an ethical one: our duty to God and mankind.  We do this by loving God with all our hearts and our neighbor as ourselves as exemplified in the parable of the Good Samaritan.  "Mankind, He has told you what is good and what it is the LORD requires of you:  to act justly, to love faithfulness, and to walk humbly with your God" (Micah 6:8, HCSB).  This is achieved by a true sense of "oughtness."  Knowing and believing right doctrine or having one's thinking straightened out is orthodoxy while living right and practicing what one believes and applying it is orthopraxy--both are necessary for the good life (which is not achieving the American dream!).

In the final analysis, when our lives are given their final audit and we go one-on-one with our Maker to face God in the Bema or Judgment Seat, we must ask ourselves whether we are faithful stewards to the blessings God has given us and whether we used them to have an impact. We all will pass on some legacy and people will tend to judge our lives, but what matters most is what Christ sees in us. He isn't going to ask us about our achievements but our obedience and we will realize that success doesn't matter to God because it belongs to Him anyway (cf. Deut. 8:18), but what matters is our call to faithfulness.   Praise the Lord, life is good!    Soli Deo Gloria!

The Post-ethical Society

"Nothing good ever came from Christianity." --Madalyn Murray O'Hair, atheist activist or should I say "anti-theist?"  
"Morality is a nebulous thing; listen to the God within." (New Age philosophy)
"The summation of Christian ethics:  "Follow Me," Jesus
"The test of an idea is not whether it's true, but whether it works." --John Dewey, father of American public education and philosopher-author of A Common Faith
"Ethics is about not getting caught."  --Author unknown
"Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a disgrace to any people" (Prov. 14:34, NIV). 
"Morality is merely an extension of self-interest." --Karl Marx
"The Law of God is engraved in man." --John Calvin
"...[T]he propitious smile of Heaven" that fall only on that nation that does not "disregard the eternal rules of order and right which Heaven itself has ordained." --George Washington from Democracy in America by Alexis de Tocqueville as quoted by David Noebel.  
"If we are not governed by God, then we will be ruled by tyrants." --William Penn
"Morality is not based on private opinion, but transcendent truth.  Morality is merely responsible decision-making [to the secularist]" --Charles Colson
"There is a way which seems right unto a man, but the end thereof is death" (Prov. 14:12; 16:25, NIV). 
"All a mans' ways are right to him, but the LORD weighs the heart" (Prov. 21:2, NIV). 
"... Hate what is evil; cling to what is good" (Rom. 12:9, NIV). 
"Let all things be done decently and in order" (cf. 1 Cor. 14:40).
"A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart" (Prov. 21:2, NIV).  
"Who stands fast?  ..., not the man whose final standard is his reason, his principles, conscience, virtue but God." --Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a martyr in his own right during Nazi regime who opposed Hitlerism

By way of intro, Kant's moral argument for God is as follows: ethics exist, to be possible, justice must exist, because it must occur in the afterlife; therefore a Judge must exist; the one who is capable to render it must be all-powerful and all-knowing.

READ ON TO SEE HOW OUR MORAL LAXITY HAS DEVOLVED INTO MORAL PARALYSIS AND MORAL DEPRAVITY, DUE TO LOSS OF BIBLICAL VALUES AS OUR ANCHOR.

We have inherited a post-ethical world that doubts the very existence of any objective, absolute, and universal morals and ethics, but that they are only relative to society, culture, time, person, and situation.  This is called moral relativism and the ethics of situation-ethics.  Kant pondered the very existence of ethics too and concluded that they don't exist if one rules out God from the equation--they both necessitate the other. Kant reasoned that God must exist for ethics to be possible.   "If God does not exist," goes Dostoevsky's dictum, "then all things are permissible."  But we know ethics do exist and guilt is real, whether psychologists can explain it away or not.  We are responsible, moral creatures that will have to give an account of ourselves to God at Judgment Day.

Secular Humanism has ruled God out and will not let a Divine Foot in the door to interfere with their personal mores and standards of behavior, which allows them to live like animals because they believe they are, in essence, animals. You can rise no higher than your image of yourself!  And what you think about God, according to A. W. Tozer is the most important thing about you.  The thing about ethics to realize is that where you begin determines where you'll end up.  Doctors still take the Hippocratic Oath, but their interpretation of it is purely humanistic.  The basic command is: "First, do no harm!"  Christianity is the only worldview that gives dignity to man and thus purpose, meaning, understanding, and legitimate goals.


We are not headed toward a utopia and man is not perfectible, contrary to modern thought.  They reason that if a man is perfectible and always evolving then so is society.  The truth is that we now have more knowledge but less wisdom and that is a dangerous combo. Most people today believe they have a right to make up their own code as they go along and whatever "feels right" to them is the right thing to do.  This all started going into a downward spiral after the teaching of Dr. Timothy Leary, who said, "Turn on!  Tune in! Drop out!"  A whole generation was lost in the quest to find themselves and gave no credence to religious feelings or interest.

The formula of Secular Humanism was "down with God, up with man!"  We deify man and dethrone God.  This kind of thinking goes back to Protagoras saying, "man is the measure of all things" or Homo mensura in Latin, WHEREBY WE BEGIN WITH MAN TO MAKE OUR CONCLUSIONS. NOTE THAT ATHANASIUS, FATHER OF ORTHODOXY, SAID, "The only system of thought Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point."  The conclusion of the matter is that without God there is no anchor to weigh in on and to tie everything together with, no grounds for commonality and unit and no common thread or unifying factor.  If there is no God, then there are no moral absolutes and all values, principles, ethics, and standards are relative.  In essence, this is to say that if we let ethics be the result of personal decision and whim, it's the same as denying any ethics at all--if there is no universal standard, there is no standard; this will lead to utter chaos and destruction of society, for no society has survived the loss of its gods, according to George Bernard Shaw.

There are many ethical systems and most people seem to think the ends justify the means, which is pure pragmatism and what communists embrace.  The New Morality says all that matters is the motive of love or good intent, not the results.  In reality, the motive and the end result must be righteous and pure in God's eyes for it to be ethical. Politics without principle is one of the Seven Deadly Sins named by Gandhi--that is our present reality, in which pragmatism and expediency rule.  And to most people, the Golden Rule has degenerated into the phrases:  He who has the gold, rules! Might makes right! Do unto them before they do unto you!  (Iron Rule).  It is a proven fact that Americans follow the Brazen Rule, which says treat unto others the way they treat you!  They certainly don't go high when others go low, but stoop to their level and are a no better example of righteousness. Our contemporary intelligentsia believes ethics evolve with time and are suitable only for the age they are in, but morals are timeless: what was right in Moses' day, is still valid today--God's principles and laws don't waver, because God is immutable and never whimsical, arbitrary, nor capricious.

The whole premise of having ethics is that we are in God's image and are obliged to act like He would, just as Plato observed:  If I want to know how to live in reality, I must know what God is really like!  The good news is that Jesus came to explain God to us and to show us the Way!  We have no excuse not to know the highest ethic achievable:  The Sermon on the Mount highlighted in the Golden Rule.  But this can only be realized by believers living in the Spirit.  The Christian life has not been found unworkable and failed, but found difficult and not attempted.  Christianity is not the first choice of many because it demands so much--denying yourself, giving up all, and following Christ no matter the cost.  In religion, you can be good without God, and are already considered good by nature.

We have a president with no moral compass, it's alleged, is it any wonder that our nation is becoming numb to ethical dilemmas and growing apathetic and calloused toward ethical issues, with a gradual normalization of wrong?  When you have everyone doing their own thing, chaos results and it turns out like Israel before it had a king:  "Everyone did what was right in their own eyes" (cf. Jdg. 21:25). Our nation is in moral paralysis and it has little or no sense of "ought" to judge our laws by, which are only the vested interest of those with the most money, loudest voice, and most influence with the rich and powerful and/or ruling class.

People have traded morals for practicality and we live in a market-driven and results-oriented society that is not truth-centered or oriented.  According to pragmatism, the value of an idea is its result, not its truth, which cannot be ascertained.  They say we must be results-oriented.  The rich and powerful have succeeded, by and large, in eradicating God from the public arena and common marketplace of ideas, and the Christian voice has been muffled and nearly silenced, and even fallen for Satan's lies, as the Evangelical Right turns a deaf ear to political mischief.

Alas, the day when our nation decides that anything goes and we are answerable to no one and there's no Higher Power we are held accountable to--a day when God is dead in our nation, or no longer relevant and believable. We are approaching that day now when all we get is lip service and an occasional nod to God to satisfy the so-called Evangelical Right, who believe they represent God but have hijacked the faith. In the final analysis, morality matters simply because God is the moral center of the universe--He is our judge, we are not His judge.

The ultimate questions we must inquire concerning are:  Does man have a purpose?  Can man live without God?  Has man forgotten God?  The idea of Secular Humanism is being good without God, a religion without God in the picture.  We must rise to the occasion and fly our Christian colors and vociferously proclaim and spread the word of our Great Commission. CAVEAT:  God is the only reliable anchor of society, the glue that holds it together via His divine institutions family, church, government--all meant to curtail and keep evil at bay.

A word to the wise is sufficient from Saint Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo: "Government is not a necessary evil, but necessary because of evil."  But then again, as an afterthought, I daresay our Bohemian and iconoclastic president has defied all norms of expectation and seems to be more of a Teflon president than Reagan, getting by with his unconventional M.O. without losing any of his loyal, devoted "base."      Soli Deo Gloria!

How To Live The Good Life...

"If I want to know how to live in reality, I must know what God is really like." --Plato

Most people have dreams and fantasies, maybe even a bucket list of things to do in life in order to feel fulfilled or complete.  How about a bucket list of doing God's will?  Achieving the American dream isn't the answer to life; you can have everything to live on and nothing to live for!  The problem has never been dreams or wishes but in how to achieve them; most people end their lives in frustration have never "found themselves" or what God's will was for them.  We must be purpose-driven to have an impact and focused on our goals with a chord that will vibrate for eternity.

Not just to be remembered, but to be a game-changer.  According to the Bible, God has an intricate purpose and individual tailor-made plan for each of us, and if we are in God's will, walking by faith, we will find it to be the safest and most blessed place to be found.  We are hard-wired to work in our calling and to worship God.  He is interested in our whole being (heart, mind, body, soul, spirit) and its holistic health, not an unbalanced life that isn't worthy of our walk and has no testimony. 

Even Christians can have a secular worldview and not think biblically.  The goal in life is not just to be a goody-goody or to seek pleasure (you only go around once, grab all the gusto you can!), because God isn't primarily concerned with our "happiness," (which depends on happenings), but with us glorifying and enjoying Him.  There are intrinsic rewards and incentives in finding wisdom, which is more precious than rubies (cf. Prov. 8:11).   The result of the moral life is one of confidence and a good reputation, which is more valuable than riches too.

We all ought to seek a life beyond reproach so that the infidel has nothing evil to say about us (cf. Eph. 4:1).  One blockage to good thinking is not to have a Christian worldview; we all need to get our thinking straightened out and learn to think clearly, which will result in sound discourse and dialogue.  When we do find fulfillment and joy in life we become contagious and it shows.  Many people claim inner joy but haven't told their faces!

Plato thought of three inputs to our will, which control our ways:  desire, emotion, and knowledge.  We must make sure that we seek truth and feed on knowledge, wisdom, and understanding and even have a thirst for the Word, and we must have worthy ambitions and desires in life, and also the fulfilled person has his emotions in check.  But most people just are about as lazy as they dare to be and take the path of least resistance--the easy way out!

We must not ever pray for an easy life, but for God to increase our faith and strength. Remember, all a man's ways seem right to him, but the Lord weighs the heart (cf. Prov. 16:2).   The study of ethics is about living the good life and we find it by practicing our ethics (putting our creed into action) and believing in miracles from God.   What we do is expect great things from God, but we must attempt them too, as William Carey would say.  Aim high, then!

God is the moral center of the universe and we all must have a moral compass and show moral fiber, for character counts!   But there is a danger to reducing Christianity to a system of ethics, a rule book, a catalog of rules, or a list of dos and don'ts.   We must never lose focus but keep looking onto Jesus and cultivate that personal relationship with Him.  Our ethic shows our character and the faith we have is the faith we show: we demonstrate, validate, and authenticate our faith by turning it into deeds, otherwise it's suspect and spurious, even bogus and hypocritical. Turning our knowledge into action is faith, demonstrated in obedience.   But avoiding sin and immorality is not all there is to Christian ethics; its summation is to follow Christ in full renewing, ongoing surrender.  We must not only cease to do evil, but do good!

Upon following Christ, now we don't go by feelings, but when doing the will of God, we'll have a peace that passes all understanding.  The person who really knows Christ knows how to live and live in reality.  Knowing truth is a matter of repentance and of being oriented to reality--only God can set us free form delusion (cf 2 Tim. 2:25).   Life in Christ isn't always a religious high or on cloud nine, but varies with the task, for God always fills us and anoints us for His work.   We must know and learn the real formula for feeling good:  know right, think right, do right, and finally, to feel right.  Doing the right thing should make one feel right.

God is good, but being good without God is evil and a parody of the real thing.  Now, I must conclude with the standard Jesus set (the Golden Rule):  the highest ethic of all and the highest incentive to do it.  We will never be perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect--that's the standard, but the direction we go is the test!  Remember, God has great expectations for us and wants us to attempt to move mountains with our mustard-seed faith!   We all have unrealized potential and should actualize the innate worth we possess, not to let it be dormant and thus waste our lives.   Soli Deo Gloria!

An Incentive To Live The Good Life

"The heart has reasons the mind knows not of."  --Blaise Pascal
[No nation has been able to maintain] "a moral life without the aid of religion."   --Will Durant, humanist and historian.  
"God must exist for ethics to be possible."  --Immanuel Kant
"If God does not exist, all things are permissible."  --Fydor Dostoevsky
"For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:  'Love your neighbor as yourself'"  (Gal. 5:14, NIV).  
"...The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"  (Gal. 5:6, NIV, emphasis mine).  
DEFINITIONS:  RELIGION IS KNOWLEDGE OF A CREED; CHRISTIANITY KNOWLEDGE OF A PERSON

Some philosophers reduce moral living to living the good life (however they define it!), but this is impossible without getting one's thinking straightened out and beginning to think clearly to do it.  The path to enlightenment is not an easy one (Jesus said the truth would set us free) and once we've found it we want to share as contagious believers--you'll want to pass it on!  Our goal in life must not be our own happiness, but to unselfishly seek the happiness of others and to glorify God. The goal is spiritual and moral goodness which will have fruit, not to be on a blind pursuit of happiness which can have no anchor or moral compass but have the problem of excess or abuse.   Man always seems to do what is right in his own eyes,  but the Lord sees the heart and considers motive. (Cf. Prov. 16:2; cf. 21:2)  Happiness can be seen as the fruit of moral and right living as the byproduct not aim.   We all ought to live beyond reproach in order to have maximum influence and impact with our lives--to make a difference!

Ethics, then, is about the good life.  But goodness without God is evil because it's a sham.  Many have pondered, "How shall we then live?"  I'm not just talking about being a goody-goody or do-gooder but living a fulfilling life that counts.  If you just want to be a good person, any religion will do! Everyone has a religion or faith, and to some, they reduce Christianity to a code of conduct or ethics or make it simplistic like "My religion is the Golden Rule." We must not reduce Christianity to the universal fatherhood of God and the universal brotherhood of man--it's simply knowing God and then making Him known, which brings Him glory and will be rewarded.  According to John Stott, Christianity is Christ, all else is peripheral or circumference.   But the valued spiritual life is about a relationship, salvation being the restoration of it, not just studying Him academically.   We don't study or read the Bible to increase our knowledge but to change our lives.

We soon discover that there's a moral center to the universe--God!   And that without Him life makes no sense!  Without God in the picture there's no basis of absolute right and wrong and character doesn't count--it's all relative.  But we all are convicted of the moral and divine order of the universe; that's why we see justice, love, fair play, courage, integrity, etc.).  But we all have the same weakness as far as morals go:  we tend to justify ourselves and hope we don't get caught or no one will know our flaws or faults.  We are a moon with a dark side no one sees!  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde!  Being a Christian isn't about rules or a list of dos and don'ts but dedication and commitment to Christ, who said, "Follow Me!"  Even Plato realized that to know how to live in reality, we must know what God is really like.   We experience God and grow in the knowledge of Him as we put it to use and apply what we know:  "Now that you know these things, blessed are you if you do them."  (Cf. John 13:17).

Now a good person learns to live according to faith, not feeling, which can be as variable as a weather vane in a storm.  There's no walking around on cloud nine or on some spiritual, perpetual high either.  He doesn't necessarily feel on top of things all the times, or even in control, but keeps the faith--he does 't go by feelings.  He doesn't know all the answers or what's going sometimes but knows the Answerer and the One in control.   He learns to know right leads to thinking right, which leads to doing right and finally feeling right.   The good life is the byproduct of being focused and living on purpose to glorify God and never for oneself.  The only truly happy people, according to Albert Schweitzer, are those who've learned to serve.  We never know how bad we are until we've tried to be good, and we cannot be good without realizing how bad we are!            Soli Deo Gloria!

A Sense Of Oughtness

"Love must be sincere.  Hate what is evil; cling to what is good"  (Rom. 12:9, NIV).
"Do not be overcome with evil, but overcome evil with good"  (Romans 12:21, ESV). 




We are all born with an innate conscience capable of discerning right from wrong and applying abstract laws and rules to specific and concrete situations.  Romans 2:15 says our conscience either excuses or accuses us:  We all know God's law (natural law) but we flaunt it!  Knowing better we still do wrong:  "I know the better things and I approve them, and I follow the worst" (Ovid, Roman poet). Paul said, "...Who will deliver me from the body of this death?"(Rom. 7:24).   "For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing"  (Rom. 7:10, ESV).  None of us satisfies or fulfills our own expectations and standards--we all stand self-condemned.  There are as many systems of ethics as there are worldviews, but basically, the Christian one assumes man is not basically good, but inherently evil and needs revelation and salvation from God to be convicted of right and wrong.



There is no such thing as perfectionism, or reaching a state of sinless perfection (cf. Prov. 20:9; Ps. 119:96). We all do things that we should've known better not to do!  The law of Moses was given to convict us and show we cannot meet God's standards of righteousness, not to be a code of conduct to live by and earn salvation by merit.  The requisite for salvation is to realize you cannot save yourself by good behavior and you need a Savior because of your sin, that you have fallen short of God's glory and standard.




Ethics with a capital E is nebulous for those who deny God--they dodge the no-absolute-truth thesis: "The absurd is, sin without God," said Albert Camus.  Dostoevsky said that without God all things are permissible!  Immanuel Kant said that God is necessary for ethics to be possible.  The Nazis justified themselves socially and didn't think we had the right to try them for war crimes, but the allies appealed to "natural law."  In academia, they teach you that ethics is about the good press (spin) and not getting caught!   Social studies and psychology teach you to have good reasons for what you do and to have responsible decision making, as you make your own choices in life.



In antiquity, might made right and there was no universal ethic, and that is why Pilate asked, "What is truth?"  Jesus claimed to be the epitome or embodiment of truth and also the way and the life to live. Postmodernists dodge the ethics issue, by saying there is no absolute truth and it is a nebulous thing to have one standard for everyone, as it evolves with society and situation (ethics).  In other words, ethics are only relative!  Today most students judge the usefulness of an idea, by its consequences or results, not its truth value--is it practical?   Christians are urged to "overcome evil with good," and as the summation of ethics:  "Follow Me [Christ]!" We are held to a higher standard and are the witness of Christ in the world as lights in the darkness and salt to preserve it and add flavor.

Christianity is not a list of dos and don'ts, nor a system of ethics; it's a living relationship of knowing a personal God.  Ethics is the application of right doctrine and living it out by faith as our duty to God and man (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV, which says:  "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.").  The faith you have is the faith you show!  The law is written in all men:  "The work of the law written in their heart, their conscience"  (cf. Romans 2:15).  People try to make up their own voluntary initiatives or codes of conduct to live by, but they are always ones they think they have kept or can.  Christian ethics is based upon the exemplary, unequaled personality of Christ as the one to emulate, and He has no flaws--what a standard!



We all need a moral compass, and Humanists insist that they can have ethics without God, but Humanism is precisely that: Being as good as possible without God--which is a definition of evil. New age people will tell you to listen to the inner voice and to be in touch with yourself, and tolerance is the key, so don't be judgmental; if it feels like the truth to you, it is!  the codes of conduct range from the Golden Rule (cf. Matt. 7:12), to the Brazen Rule of reciprocity or tit for tat, to the Silver Rule of not treating others the way you don't want to be treated--a negative Golden Rule, to the Iron Rule of treating others as a bully, where might makes right, and the survival of the fittest or social Darwinism is the rule.  Most nonbelievers design their own ethics and don't adhere to an absolute standard of morality.  Something they can comply with to their standards.



In the final analysis, the only true morality or ethics is when the motive, as well as the end result or goal, is pure and good: the means to the ends must be right, because the means do not justify the ends; and utilitarianism, or the greatest good for the greatest number, is another evil that has justified the murder of millions in communist countries.  The premise that secular worldviews have is that man is basically good and can redeem himself, or lift himself up by his own bootstraps.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Christian And Science

"Do you know the laws of the universe?  Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).  
There is "no final conflict" [between science and Scripture]." --Francis Schaeffer

The National Academy of Science defines science as "The use of evidence to construct testable explanations and prediction of natural phenomena, as well  as the knowledge generated through this process ... and scientists gather information by observing the natural world and conducting experiments." --Dr. Jeff Myers in Understanding the Faith. It is my premise that science does not have all the answers but is only one avenue or vehicle of knowledge and truth, for all truth is God's truth, as Augustine said. In other words, you cannot measure three feet of love or six pounds of justice--values and principles are not subject to scientific analysis.  Scientists have faith in the reliability and predictability of the laws of the universe, while Christians believe in God of the universe who made the laws.  How can there be laws without a Lawgiver?  The first modern scientists laid its foundations assuming there's a God, how can they now deny the one they assume?  Basically, there are disciplines other than an empirical investigation to arrive at the truth:  ethics, mathematics, philosophy, and religion are all outside the scientist's parameters.

We can indeed learn by experience and empirical investigation, but rational thought and revelation are two other avenues of learning. All knowledge is contingent and springs from faith, not just religious!  Even music, art, and mathematics are beyond the scope of science and depend upon insight and rational or creative thinking.  There is objective truth that is true regardless of belief and true for everyone all the time, and then there is an opinion or subjective truth, such as one saying that broccoli tastes good. You cannot prove anything that isn't true, logical, and verifiable. 

Science wouldn't have been founded without an assumption of the Christian worldview of an orderly, predictable, and governed universe.  In fact, the first modern scientists were believers.  But today science has gone too far--they perpetuate the idea they can solve all man's problems.  Moreover, secularists use science for non-scientific endeavors and to solve problems which lie outside its province.  Many things simply cannot be answered by science: ethics, for example, is not in its domain.  Basically, science gives the know-how, not the know-why. Science takes things apart, while religion puts them together, it's been said!  But many things are not subject to scientific analysis, such as history and one-time events of the past, such as creation.  They weren't there and science relies on observation, repetition, measurement, and experiment!

Scientists have been known to make philosophical statements such as astronomer Carl Sagan said, "The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be."  Science doesn't give us answers to the ultimate questions, such as the meaning and purpose in life, and our final destiny.  What's so sad is that people put their faith in science when science is based on faith!  Scientists assume there's no God without evidence.  People that think science contradicts faith don't understand either.  Einstein said that science without religion is lame, and religion without science is blind!

It's not all a matter of facts or reason versus faith (and God doesn't ask us to leave our reason behind), but which set of presuppositions one wants to accept from the starting point of one's worldview.  Both sides have faith!  There's no smoking gun evidence either way. The mystery of life, of which science has no answer, can be answered by faith in God who causes all life to grow. In fact, there's no strict definition of life--science doesn't know what it is in essence!   But what we do know is that life comes only from life (biogenesis, which means spontaneous generation, or producing lifeforms from nonlife matter is impossible), as surely as DNA comes only from DNA!  Cloning is not producing life from nonlife, but another way of reproduction.  This begs the questions of where the first life and DNA came from if not God!  Experiments to achieve life fail to come off and this is the Achilles' heel of evolution.   Infinite regress is impossible--the chain of events had to start somewhere (notably a First Cause).  The Bible makes it plain that God created life and it's His gift and comes from Him, the Source and Author of life.

Teaching science dogmatically and ruling out God from the get-go is not scientific.  Scientists need to learn when they are becoming unscientific and venturing into scientism, or of harnessing science for unscientific means! Scientists must be aware that there is "scientific evidence" for the existence of God:  DNA; the anthropic principle; the Big Bang; the Second Law of Thermodynamics or entropy; and biogenesis!  The Bible is not a science textbook, but where it does make statements about scientific principles, it is right on--there are no scientific absurdities. They cannot explain away these phenomena!   All in all, true science doesn't contradict Christianity and there's no reason believers cannot become scientists.  (Though archaeologists have attempted in vain to disprove the Bible's historical accuracy, it has not yet controverted a biblical reference!)  

In conclusion, science sometimes seems to be at odds with the Bible, but it is always been proven wrong when at variance and the Bible correct after all, such as that the earth was the center of the solar system!  To name some examples of the Bible predating science:  the ocean currents, the anthropic principle, the beginning of time, the water cycle, the round earth to name a few notables!  According to Paul Little, in 1861, the French Academy of Science issued fifty-one scientific facts that "controverted the Scriptures!'  Today, none of these so-called "facts" are believed!  Someday, scientists will have to admit what theologians have been espousing--that "In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth."  Soli Deo Gloria!