Ushering In The Kingdom

Many believers assume geopolitical considerations concerning the faith as if it's the social gospel (actually a misnomer) or political reform were the Second Great Commission. "Seek the prosperity of the city..." (cf. Jer. 29:7). This a social mandate, not a social gospel. We are its salt and light, not its savior. America is a secular nation and not a Christian one, no matter how many believers make this land their home. Always keep the main thing the main thing and save souls as Job One.

We are not to stoop to the level of radical or fundamentalist Islam and institute Christian Shari'ah law, which forces everyone to live like a Christian, whether they are Christian or not.  God doesn't expect heathens to live like believers.  We are held to a higher standard!   Our nation established freedom from religion, as well as freedom of the exercise of religion, and no sect has the right to impose its views on the others--note that secular humanism and atheism are considered religions. We may have started out with our forefathers as a predominately Christian nation, but today it is highly multicultural and diverse ethnically and religiously. We are the salt as preservatives of morality and to give meaning and enjoyment to life, and also as light to show the way and how people should live in spiritual darkness--not political darkness, but moral depravity and in need of salvation, as the Bible sanctions no specific or certain type of government or economy.

What is legal is not always moral or right and could be sin or evil, and what is illegal may be the moral thing to do in an act of civil disobedience to unjust laws. The state may recognize gay marriage, for example, but that doesn't mean God recognizes it--it doesn't become right or moral by an act of governmental decree. We cannot legislate morality, law is merely the majority vote that licks all others, according to Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, though Christians differ because they believe that God is the only Legislator and all law must comply with Him. Christians should never cease to drive basic morality in society as salt and light, but be aware that there are gray and doubtful or questionable areas where people should be free to make their own personal choices. Government is a "social contract" according to John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rousseau, whether we want to be in it or not, or knowingly or not, according to contract laws. The Bible sees government ordained by God to restrain evil in the world.

Jesus alone will usher in His kingdom and His kingdom is not of this world--we are not to get too comfortable in this life and become too much at home, for our conversation and real citizenship is in heaven! Remember, at your homecoming you are not home yet! Oliver Cromwell failed in making England a Christian nation. The Puritans also attempted to make a Christian nation and John Calvin even tried his hand at it while mayor of Geneva--both utter failures and examples that the Great Commission is to spread the gospel and change lives, not to change the government--the Bible is a beacon of light unto salvation, not a social tool for government reform.

Governor William Bradford of Plymouth Colony wanted to "advance the kingdom of Christ" when he settled here, but he misunderstood the Great Commission and the doctrine of eschatology. It is a well-known fact that the Salem witch hunts showed the failure of instituting the Christian faith and making the Bible itself the law of the land. Jesus will bring about His kingdom in due time when the body is full and complete with all His lost sheep saved.

Jesus told Pontius Pilate that His kingdom is not of this world. Pilate then perceived Him to be a philosopher or harmless dreamer, but no threat to Caesar. If His kingdom were of this world His followers would fight, but we have no such marching orders. Many misled, though sincere believers throughout history have tried to usher in the kingdom of God, and thought that the church's job was to aid in doing it. As William Bradford, Pilgrim governor in Colonial America, said that his mission was to "advance the kingdom of Christ." The Puritans also tried legislating Christianity in early America, but it failed and turned out to have evil fruit, such as hanging innocent women accused of witchcraft. John Calvin even tried to enforce biblical mandates on Geneva, like mandatory Sabbath observance and even forbidding anyone from naming children anything but biblical names.

Only Christ will usher in the kingdom of God and our marching orders are to fulfill the Great Commission, not to reclaim a nation for Christ. Yes, we are light and salt, but we must not lose focus and keep the main thing the main thing. Christians are not to dedicate their lives to the betterment of society unless God calls them specifically to this. The "social gospel is not only a misnomer but has no place in the church. We are interested in saving souls and winning people, not becoming political activists. The Bible is meant to be a light for salvation, not government reform or social activism. Everyone has the obligation to be involved in his society that behooves a responsible citizen.

Entering the kingdom is synonymous with getting saved. The whole purpose of announcing the kingdom of God to be at hand is to make people realize the urgency to repent and get ready for the second coming of Christ in glory. The first words out of John the Baptist and Jesus in their ministries was to repent. The kingdom is both present in the here and now, and future to be fulfilled at the Second Advent. Presently Christ reigns in the hearts of His followers and we shall all reign with Him in His millennial kingdom after the tribulation period. Jesus said that if He cast out demons by the finger of God, "the kingdom of God has come upon you." Salvation (the fulfillment of our redemption) is nearer now than when we first believed according to Romans 13:11.

We are to do kingdom living while sojourning on this earth as pilgrims, this is not our home and we should realize that our true citizenship is in heaven (cf. Philippians 3:20). We are just passing through and have spiritual green cards and this life is but a staging area or tryout for eternity, where each note we play has eternal vibes. We are rehearsing for kingdom living and our faith must be tested and God wants to prove our faithfulness and reward it according to our deeds done through faith by the power of the Holy Spirit (cf. Isa. 26:12; Hos. 14:8). Like Paul said (cf. Rom. 15:18), he would not venture to boast of anything, but of what Christ has accomplished through him.

We are not to seek nor store up treasure in this life nor to seek earthly fame, fortune, nor power, but to seek spiritual riches and to learn to live in the power of the Holy Spirit in God's kingdom. God's kingdom is invisible and only God knows who is in it for sure or who the elect are (cf. Mark 13:27 "... and shall gather his elect from the four winds..."). Jesus said to "seek ye first the kingdom of heaven" and this means that our number one priority is kingdom living in God's economy, and when we put God first in our lives all else falls into place. As it says, "all these things shall be added unto you."

The richest people are not those with worldly wealth, but those most content in what God has blessed them with and faithful stewards of our resources, time, talents, gifts, money, and opportunities. Someone has said that riches are not in the abundance of our possessions but in the fewness of our wants. When we seek first God's kingdom all our priorities become focused on Christ and our life is oriented in the right direction and given divine purpose and meaning. In sum, we ought to live one day at a time in light of eternity--not regretting the past, nor worrying about the future. 

Though Pilgrims made a compact to usher in the kingdom of God. or literally to "advance the kingdom of God," it failed.   Little doctrine did they know but that Christ will usher in His kingdom, and that His kingdom is not of this world. America is supposedly the "Great Experiment." They would've done a better job of it and speeded His coming (cf. 2 Pet. 3:12); we ought to always be about "hastening the day of His coming." The question is how this is accomplished. It doesn't mean passing legislation or beginning new governments such as a great experiment. Or like the Social Experiment that failed called Prohibition. Jesus gave us the Great Commission to spread the good news and make disciples, some seek the Second Great Commission to reform society to their agenda and to be a social gospel to help the needy and down and out, we must be lights and not just turn stones into bread but spread the good news.

Jesus kingdom would reign in human hearts, not on the throne of an earthly king or monarch. All authority has been given Him. Jesus is the King of kings and Lord of lords and we are to make this real in our lives, not force it on others. We don't conquer territory in the name of Christ, but hearts with love. We love them into the kingdom. "Love conquers a multitude of sins," God promised Abraham that his descendants would be a blessing and God saves us to be a blessing (cf. Zech. 8:13) and we are heirs of Abraham as believers.

We never stop expanding Christ's kingdom and when He comes the church age will cease and Satan will have a pass or permission to bring in his idea of a kingdom dominated by him and the antichrist. There have been many antichrists so to speak that had the notion to conquer the world: Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Napoleon, Hitler, et alia. The ancient Egyptian, Assyrian, Babylonian, and Persian empires all aspired to world domination, but the Spirit restrains the evil one. The spirit of antichrist is already here.

We are never to despair that God is not in control ("Blessed is the nation whose God is the LORD"). His Providence is governing all events and creatures small and great. Yes, God doesn't just reign, He rules ("For the kingdom is the LORD's, and he is the governor among the nations") not like a do-nothing king or the monarch of the UK who has no powers though they reign. But we are to receive Christ as Lord of our hearts and let Christ's kingdom grow from there by the preaching of the gospel message and living it out as witnesses. We must admit we are not in charge, nor is any earthly ruler in charge, without any reservations in our lordship decisions--submission is an issue for some.

("The king's heart is in the hands of the LORD..."). What does this mean but we owe complete allegiance and obedience to Christ. We pledge allegiance to the Lamb on the throne! No governor or ruler can do anything outside God's will or permission (cf. Lam. 3:37). We must be encouraged that the only king who is capable of ruling hearts is Jesus. He has been called the Emperor of love. Christ is indeed the only Potentate and Ruler of heaven, the entire universe, not just earth--all things visible and invisible.

We must not just render lip service to God but bow in obedience to His sovereignty. Every knee shall bow to Him! This obedience is to the command to repent and stop the charade or hypocrisy and also to put our complete faith and submission in Christ as Lord and trust as Him as Savior. Christ demands the throne room of our hearts, the pass key to our complete soul, and if He isn't there, we are there and in control of our lives, it cannot be neutral! We must give Christ the ownership of our lives.

We must remember that Satan claims the soul of the infidel and actually influences him to evil and sin, and the only way to get free from his tyranny and power is to surrender to Jesus: We must say "No!" to Satan before saying "Yes" to Jesus. It is obvious that Satan is having his heyday and we must seek to be set free. "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed." But after the church age, Satan will have his day to do as he wills: to take over the world for a period of tribulation on earth. After we belong to Christ, we are no longer in Satan's kingdom, the kingdom of darkness, and belong to God in His kingdom and are protected from the evil one who cannot touch us. Soli Deo Gloria!

"To Thine Own Self Be True!" (Shakespeare)

Did you know that God is true to Himself?  His holiness assures no conflict of interest or will and that He abides by His own nature and is true to character or always acts in character.  The Hebrew words for true, faith, and faithfulness are all related and sometimes used interchangeably. For example, in Hab. 2:4, it says, "The just shall live by his faithfulness [or faith]."   In  Psalm 31:5 is says God is a God of truth [faithfulness].  We must not divorce faith and faithfulness in our conduct and lives for God surely doesn't and we must not divide what He has joined together.  Are you true to your word? and faithful to promises?  We must feed on His faithfulness! (cf. Psalm 37:3). 

Great is God's faithfulness toward us and this even applies when we are faithless. Even when we are wayward, He cannot deny Himself and go against His nature.  God's Word is faithful and is as sure as God Himself, He exalts above all things His name and His Word (cf. Psalm 138:2).  If God went back on His Word, He'd cease being God! Not one word of all His promise He have to Moses has failed (cf. 1 Kings 8:56). He is faithful to us and even believes in us! 

God can be seen as the great Promise Keeper who abounds in faithfulness. He exercises this by believing in us that we are justified though we sin (cf. Gal. 2:17). God's faithfulness can be seen in His discipline and correction when we go astray and even in our afflictions to show us the Way and even test our faith. He doesn't intend to punish us as our sins deserve but to sanctify us and make us more Christlike. He wants us to show faithfulness to Him and even in our calling: he that is faithful in little, shall be faithful in much!  As Mother Teresa said, "God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness!" We will be rewarded by our works done in the Lord, not those done in the flesh or for wrong motives. 

You are true (faithful) to yourself when you fulfill your mission God gave you and judge yourself so God need not do it.  Also, when we confess our sins and keep short accounts (cf. 1 John 1:9) of them so we can walk in the light or in fellowship with the Spirit of Christ and also with other believers. God will not let sin slide and we should not grow lax on our attitude towards sin and show no tolerance.  We must not just dislike sins but denounce them and vow to live life with Jesus at the helm as Captain of our soul and Master of our fate.  We must keep our promises just like God is the Promise Keeper and value our integrity and not lie to one another, for it is impossible for God to do these things (cf. Heb. 6:18). 

Paul said that his aim is to "finish the race and complete the task God gave him" (cf. Acts 20:24). We don't want to leave behind half-built, derelict towers as unfinished business for our legacy when we die but to be assured we have done all God's will for us and complete the mission to say: "Mission accomplished!"   "See to it that you complete the ministry God gave you in the Lord," (cf. Col. 4:17).  Just like when King David had done all God's purpose, he died. (cf. Acts 13:36). We must realize as David did, that God's faithfulness surrounds Him and we can count on it as Jeremiah realized when he said, "Great is thy faithfulness," even while in captivity.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Beatific Vision, A Sermon Is Needed

Men have always imagined what God must be like and Christians have longed to see visions and revelations of God, known as theophanies. But no one knows what God looks like because God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24)! Moses saw the backside of the glory of Christ, who does reveal Himself, but the Father doesn't and no man has ever seen the Father. Our faith concerns the God who is there!
A child was asked what he was drawing in class: "I'm drawing a picture of God!" The child had to learn that no one can draw God, but the child answered that people will see now what He looks like. Children have an innocent faith and we are to mimic it (cf. Matt. 18:3).  It would be good to see Jesus through their eyes.  Hebrews says that we do see Jesus (cf. Heb. 2:9), and we sense His presence when two or three are gathered in His name as a promise (cf. Matt. 18:20).

He indwells each of us and we can have an existential encounter with Him as we read Scripture, fellowship, worship, or pray. Christians see the glory of God in His work on earth and will see God's glory in heaven, to our delight. The prophets who claimed they "saw God" were seeing theophanies, and not God in His fullness. We cannot bear to look at the sun in its brightness, much less look at the glory of God directly. That's one reason God reveals Himself propositionally and in the Word.

Christians want Christ to be seen in them and also to seek Christ being glorified. As Paul said in Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." He also boasted that Christ was glorified in him. We wait till Christ be formed in us and in our brethren as a sign of maturity. God will never give up making us in His image and we are works in progress (cf. Phil. 1:6).

The Greek disciples came to the apostles and said they "[wanted] to see Jesus" (cf. John 12:19); we have a much greater thing in that we have the Word of God and full revelation of the wisdom and knowledge of God in it--we're better off than being with Christ in person also, because we have the inner blessing of the Spirit. The apostles said that it would suffice to see the Father, but Jesus said that to see Him was to see the Father! All that we can know and see God is revealed in Christ! In eternity we'll see the big picture!

The infidel doesn't see God anywhere at work, but the believer sees His fingerprint everywhere, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, at work. No amount of proof will convince someone who doesn't want to do God's will or sincerely have a relationship with him; to the believer and honest seeker, there is ample evidence--no one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

In glory, we shall behold Him as He is and we shall be like Him too, able to take it in. It is said that some angels always do behold the face of God and that Gabriel "[stands] in the presence of God"; we'll have more privilege than an angel! People generally say that seeing is believing; however, believing is seeing! Don't envy those who have seen a vision or revelation, as Jesus told Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed" (cf. John 20:29). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who maintained they could see but were "blind guides," in fact, the "blind leading the blind"; think how much worse it is to think you see and be blind, or not knowing you're blind! Christ came to open our eyes and to make the blind see, and Satan has blinded the eyes of all who don't believe in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Caveat: Don't reduce God to one dimension or put Him in a box, emphasizing one aspect, like seeing Him just as: the Old, Doting Grandpa who says, "Boys will be boys;" the Kind Father; the Man Upstairs; Cosmic Killjoy; the Great Spirit; the Strict, Mean Judge; the Higher Power; or even as the Great Mathematical Mind. Whenever we have an inadequate perception of God it's idolatry and our God is too small, thinking of Him in human terms. How big is your God?  This is just as important as seeing Him. God cannot be limited, defined, or confined, and we must know that He is beyond comprehension, known as His profundity, and we will never fully apprehend His glory, nature, or essence throughout eternity ("the finite cannot contain the infinite," says the maxim).

The eyes of our heart are opened upon salvation and we can literally say we see and were blind, just like the blind man Jesus healed said, "I was blind, but now I see!" No one can argue the fact that we have spiritual eyes enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. Theologians have attempted definitions of God in vain, for He cannot be described, only known, loved, and worshiped!

It is the childish faith that seeks to know God through pictures, visions, or experiences, but the mature obedient believer clings to the Word and hears God speaking His message through it; just like Francis Schaeffer wrote: "He is there, and He is not silent!" The problem with man is not only is he blind to spiritual truth, but spiritually hard-of-hearing and turns a deaf ear to the gospel message that he does hear. Man isn't faithful to the God he does see and is without excuse.

The pagan Emperor Trajan once asked a Christian why his God was invisible and you couldn't see him (it sounded atheistic to him--just worshiping a spirit), and he was informed and given the scoop: "Look at the sun!" Trajan said he couldn't because it's too bright. "Then don't you now realize that, if you cannot behold God's creation, how much less the splendor and glory of God?" Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24).

But we don't need to see Him in order to know Him, because Jesus said blessed is he who believes and hasn't seen (cf. John 20:29). We can see with the eyes of our hearts which are opened by the Holy Spirit's illuminating ministry. We are seeing the glory of God when our eyes are opened to see how He is manifest in believers, and we see Jesus in them and they see Him in us--this is only a taste of the glory which shall be revealed to us. As Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) says: "But we see him [i.e., Jesus, with our spiritual eyes] ...."

We shall all be satisfied in heaven by beholding the face of God (in Jesus), but only because we will not be in the flesh, but without any sin to corrupt our spiritual bodies and souls. God has revealed Himself throughout the Bible in many theophanies (revelation of God, such as in the burning bush) and Christophanies (revelation of Jesus, such as the Angel of the LORD). From the burning bush to appearances as the Angel of the LORD, to Gideon and as the Son of Man, to Daniel's friends in the furnace, and to Daniel in a vision. John saw Jesus in His glory at the transfiguration and then finally at Patmos in a vision of heaven.

Jesus is how God manifests Himself as the embodiment, personification, or icon of God. When Philip (cf. John 14:8-9) asked Jesus during the Last Supper in the Upper Room to show them the Father, Christ said, that he who has seen Him has seen the Father--they are one! All that God wants to reveal of Himself is presented in the Son--all that God has to say to us and all that we can know. God is Spirit, according to Jesus, and became a man for our sake so we would have something to relate to and what to think of when we meditate on God. Jesus is analogous to the sun because He gives light to all He shines on, and makes life possible too.

Jesus has the Shekinah (glory of God), not reflected the glory of God, as Moses had after being in His presence. Jesus does not reflect light--He is light: John 8:12 says, "... I am the light of the world...." Jesus willingly veiled His glory because they couldn't behold it in full. Jesus has all the glory of the Father, there is no diminishing of it, but He voluntarily laid it aside (known as the kenosis in Philippians 2) while incarnated on earth before His ascension. Actually, Jesus shines brighter than the sun, which is only an analogy or symbol of Him.

In glory, we shall behold Him: "... [B]ut we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he [Jesus]" (1 John 3:2, ESV). Moses wanted to see God's face but God said that no man shall see His face and live [in the flesh], as Jesus told Moses in Exodus 33:23. Jesus said in His Beatitudes that the pure in heart are blessed, for they shall see God [in the NT God usually refers to God the Father].

Don't forget the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:24-26 as a promise to claim: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." What man has always yearned for is a God they can see; one that has skin on and we can relate to. Jesus is just that incarnation: God with skin on!

Jesus said that "God is glorified in Him" (cf. John 10:34) and this is when He is glorified. At His priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus besought the return of His glory after He had glorified the Father by doing all His will and being obedient in His subordination and humility. He did it by accomplishing all God's work for Him on earth that was given Him to do (cf. John 17:4). By analogy we give up our glory to share His glory and to glorify God: "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever" (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).

Everyone will bow to the glory of God, either at Judgment Day, or to become a believer and surrender the control over himself, and even others, to the lordship of Christ. We must give up the ownership of our lives and realize we owe all to Him because He purchased us at the cross with His blood. But Jesus wants more than our bodies dedicated to Him as reasonable service (cf. Rom. 12:1), He wants us (to surrender everything we have and are to His lordship)! This entails and involves giving up your personal throne and kingdom and surrender it to God's sovereignty and guidance or plan for your life--we don't ask God to bless our plans, but Him to reveal His plan.

We leave our throne to bow to His and ultimately get a crown to reign with Him, just like Jesus left His throne in Heaven to humble Himself in obedience all the way to the cross. This surrender and acknowledgment of His lordship are not only done at salvation but renewed daily, as we learn to walk in the Spirit and in fellowship with God and our brethren (cf. 1 John 1:7). We actually have more authority in Christ after surrendering our authority and this is a paradox indeed (i.e., if we are lords, we are to become servants for Christ's sake and humble and meek enough that no service is beneath our dignity). We have nothing in comparison to lose and everything in eternity to gain, including the right to rule in glory with Christ, as we go from glory to glory to an ultimate glorified state in the New Jerusalem.

He doesn't want sacrifice or offering, or even going through the motions of the rituals of worship--Jesus internalized religion to make it a matter of the heart (He said evil comes out from the heart of man) because the Pharisees had externalized it to outward obedience to the letter of the Law, and neglect of the spirit of the Law. He wants all there is of us--all of our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, strength, and wills. John was stunned at the sight of the Lord, so just imagine how we would react!

Jesus is the great Inspector General of the church and we all need to pass muster and be ready for daily inspection of our daily walk--take regular spiritual check-ups so as not to jeopardize your testimony to the world. Paul said to "test yourselves whether you are in the faith." We are to examine ourselves (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5)--not others--regularly and especially before the Lord's Supper (cf. 1 Cor. 11:28).  We are fruit inspectors--not detectives. We must examine ourselves first because judgment begins at the house of God, and when we have cast the beam out of our own eye we can help someone else with the speck in theirs.

In other words, don't throw bricks if you live in a glasshouse, because we all have feet of clay or have vulnerabilities not readily apparent--we may see the sins of others as obvious; however, we just sin differently and have no right to look down on our brother or criticize him, and we are all vulnerable to Satan's attack, which Martin Luther called the Anfectung, and we should never succumb to this nor even his accusations. If we take care of our witness and testimony, God will take care of our reputation and open doors for us--we must just be ready!

Men have always imagined what God must be like and Christians have longed to see visions and revelations of God, known as theophanies. But no one knows what God looks like because God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24)! Moses saw the backside of the glory of Christ, who does reveal Himself, but the Father doesn't and no man has ever seen the Father. Our faith concerns the God who is there!


He indwells each of us and we can have an existential encounter with Him as we read Scripture, fellowship, worship, or pray. Christians see the glory of God in His work on earth and will see God's glory in heaven, to our delight. The prophets who claimed they "saw God" were seeing theophanies, and not God in His fullness. We cannot bear to look at the sun in its brightness, much less look at the glory of God directly. That's one reason God reveals Himself propositionally and in the Word.

Christians want Christ to be seen in them and also to seek Christ being glorified. As Paul said in Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." He also boasted that Christ was glorified in him. We wait till Christ be formed in us and in our brethren as a sign of maturity. God will never give up making us in His image and we are works in progress (cf. Phil. 1:6).

The Greek disciples who came to the apostles and said they "[wanted] to see Jesus"; we have a much greater thing in that we have the Word of God and full revelation of the wisdom and knowledge of God in it--we're better off than being with Christ in person also because we have the inner blessing of the Spirit. The apostles said that it would suffice to see the Father, but Jesus said that to see Him was to see the Father! All that we can know and see God is revealed in Christ! In eternity we'll see the big picture!

The infidel doesn't see God anywhere at work, but the believer sees His fingerprint everywhere, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, at work. No amount of proof will convince someone who doesn't want to do God's will or sincerely have a relationship with him; to the believer and honest seeker, there is ample evidence--no one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

In glory, we shall behold Christ as He is and we shall be like Him too, able to take it in. It is said that some angels always do behold the face of God and that Gabriel "[stands] in the presence of God"; we'll have more privilege than an angel! People generally say that seeing is believing; however, believing is seeing! Don't envy those who have seen a vision or revelation, as Jesus told Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed" (cf. John 20:29). Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who maintained they could see but were "blind guides," in fact, the "blind leading the blind"; think how much worse it is to think you see and be blind, or not knowing you're blind! Christ came to open our eyes and to make the blind see, and Satan has blinded the eyes of all who don't believe in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Caveat: Don't reduce God to one dimension or put Him in a box, emphasizing one aspect, like seeing Him just as: the Old, Doting Grandpa who says, "Boys will be boys;" the Kind Father; the Man Upstairs; Cosmic Killjoy; the Great Spirit; the Strict, Mean Judge; the Higher Power; or even as the Great Mathematical Mind. Whenever we have an inadequate perception of God it's idolatry and our God is too small, thinking of Him in human terms. How big is your God, is just as important as seeing Him. God cannot be limited, defined, or confined, and we must know that He is beyond comprehension, known as His profundity, and we will never fully apprehend His glory, nature, or essence throughout eternity ("the finite cannot contain the infinite," says the maxim).

The eyes of our hearts are opened upon salvation and we can literally say we see and were blind, just like the blind man Jesus healed said, "I was blind, but now I see!" No one can argue the fact that we have spiritual eyes enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. Theologians have attempted definitions of God in vain, for He cannot be described, only known, loved, and worshiped!

It is the childish faith that seeks to know God through pictures, visions, or experiences, but the mature obedient believer clings to the Word and hears God speaking His message through it; just like Francis Schaeffer wrote: "He is there, and He is not silent!" The problem with man is not only is he blind to spiritual truth, but spiritually hard-of-hearing and turns a deaf ear to the gospel message that he does hear. Man isn't faithful to the God he does see and is without excuse. Soli Deo Gloria!

What Is The Christian Life About?

Everyone has a doctrine, it is just a matter of how accurate it is. Everyone is a theologian, it just matters how good of a one we are.  Jesus' doctrine was right but the Pharisees hated His doctrine, though they loved doctrine per se, they specialized in the requirements of the Law.  You cannot avoid doctrine though and it just means teaching and is usually made systematic by professional theologians. But the church fathers formulated all the major doctrines of our faith and penned the creeds we know and believe.  Doctrine separates Christians when they make it the end and not the means. 

The purpose of all doctrine is to lead us to a fuller understanding and relationship with God--not a reason to feel puffed up with knowledge. All Scripture is profitable for doctrine...   One can know very little doctrine and be very good at applying what he knows and be a very good Christian.  But just being good at doctrine is not necessarily a sign of spirituality.  We must content ourselves in our knowledge.  

The disciples were "dedicated to the apostle's teaching [or doctrine]" (Acts 2:42). In other words, knowing doctrine is a means to an end, and not the objective itself (what we apply is more important than what we believe in theory).  Don't just be content just to be theologically correct. Don't be complacent!   Some people like to divide Christians into two camps, for instance: Arminian vs. Calvinist. Both can be very fundamental, evangelical, and conservative in their beliefs. In fact, there are some Arminians that know their God far better than some Calvinists.  John Wesley was a famous English Arminian and George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards famous early American Calvinists. 

It is not a good thing to get into the habit of labeling fellow believers, which can lead to judging. You can say, "I am a Calvinist!" But I can retort, "I am a Christian!" In summary, at the Judgment Seat of Christ, God isn't going to ask you what party you were a member of or how you interpreted the atonement--but of your love for and trust in Christ. !

There are doctrines that divide (the renowned "Five Points of Calvinism," for instance) but they should be called the doctrines of grace, for they deal in salvation, namely, that salvation is of the LORD per Jonah 2:9. That means we contribute naught to our salvation, it is a gift of grace not of works.  Now, Christianity is separated and divided due to Satan's strategy to divide and conquer and they have gotten their eyes of the mission and the main thing, especially Jesus Himself, the true focus of our faith. If Christians learned what was negotiable and what wasn't, there would be no sectarianism. There might still be denominations but people would cooperate one with another and not have contentions or disputes. They would agree to disagree without being disagreeable.  It is high time we find commonalities with fellow believers: build bridges, not erect walls.   

Now it becomes necessary to define exactly what the Christian life is: the cliche that it is a relationship with Christ is too commonplace and trite and even misconstrued. What do we mean? Actually, we are talking of the thrust of our life; what motivates and inspires us, and what we love, and it should be Jesus. Two men notably walked with God in the Bible: Enoch and Moses.  So it can be said that our faith is a walk.  It could also be seen as a fellowship as it is impossible to be a spiritual Lone Ranger; we need other believers. It is an affair with Jesus, you might even call it a love affair!  One may inquire how one is getting along with Jesus and what you have learned of Him.  

Now, furthermore, Christ promised to be our friend if we obey Him, so it is an ongoing friendship too. Christ is the friend that sticks closer than a brother. Man was not made to walk through life alone with no God on His side and so we have an insurance policy. Salvation isn't really fire insurance, but with Christ, we have a hedge of protection against the evil one who cannot touch us. We have a job to do with God, a calling, so our life in Christ is a commission.  We are ambassadors for Christ to fulfill His gospel.  Christianity is a way to live but not just a philosophy or worldview but a path to know God and pursue or seek His face. 

Early Christians were referred to as followers of the Way: without the way, as Jesus claimed to be, there would be no going!   But then in a derogatory manner, the disciples were first called Christians at Antioch, or little Christs as an insult and that name stuck. God has no hands, but ours, no eyes but ours, no ears but ours, no legs but ours, and no mouth like ours on earth to do His will and goodwill. So we are Christ in disguise to some who may never know Him any other way; what is the gospel according to you? 

Christians are God's stewards of His provisions and blessing in order to be a blessing to others so that the others are blessed by association as it says, the rain falls on the wicked as well as the good.  We are examples to the world as salt and light to bring prosperity to the city we live in. Also, the very name disciple, used interchangeably with Christian, implies we are students and enrolled in the school of Christ, that we never stop learning and growing in Christ as works in progress.  But that would imply we are People of the Book as we are sometimes called! 

In sum, Christianity is a faith due to that being the means of salvation and prominent virtue, but what matters is that we authenticate or validate it with works.  Faith without works is dead and that faith cannot save.  We are not saved by works, but not without them either. James said that he would show his faith by his works and we are indeed known by our fruits. We are ordained unto good works and a called people to be zealous of good works. As the Reformers taught: we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone.

Note: I am not describing salvation such as a person with Christ as Lord or has Christ living in his heart due to repentance and faith. Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Upside And Downside Of Tradition

"... So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God" (Matt. 15:6, ESV). "So don't let anyone condemn you for what you eat or drink, or for not celebrating certain holy days or new moon ceremonies or Sabbaths" (Col. 2:16, NLT).

The Pharisees were bound by traditions that were merely the rules of men and they manipulated them to avoid doing God's will and obeying His commands. Even today Catholics defer to tradition and break with Protestants on this issue. Ever since the Counter-Reformation, at the Council of Trent (1545-63), the Romanists have deemed and valued tradition of equal status and authority with Scripture as the rule of faith--Protestants take issue with this and "dissent, disagree, protest," as they would say. Traditions are not wrong or evil per se, but only when they controvert or invalidate Scripture. There's nothing wrong with celebrating Christmas as a tradition, for instance! We only defer to tradition when it's concordant with Scripture and/or not against sound doctrine. We need to beware of adding to the Word or subtracting from it!

People basically have four reasons why they act when they don't have faith: culture (everyone's doing it!); tradition (we've always done it!); reason (it sounds logical and right!); and emotion (it feels right and appropriate!). Old traditions die hard and it's difficult to even start new ones. But remember this lesson: traditions must bow to conviction! Protestants adhere to the conviction that Scripture alone is the rule of faith, and have made this their rallying cry since the Reformation (sola Scriptura).

We don't give any man authority if it isn't in harmony with the Word--we're all subject to God's Word: ".... [For] you have exalted above all things your name and your word" (Psalm 138:2, ESV). It is wrong to base far-fetched teaching on some obscure passage with some private interpretation though, for "no Scripture is of any private interpretation" (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20). Hebrews 13:9, ESV, says, "Do not be led away by diverse and strange teachings...." We must interpret Scripture with Scripture and with the whole analogy of the Word. The Bible is its own Supreme Court! We also must observe all inferential and sound reading interpretation rules: narratives in light of didactic or teaching passages; obscure in light of the clear. We must interpret it as written: poetry as poetry; proverbs as proverbs; and narrative or history as such.

And we are not bound to observe all the traditions or commands of Scripture ("We are not under the law, but under grace" according to Romans 6:14; for instance, the Sabbath day observance laws have been rescinded and not applicable for Christians, but were meant for Israel (cf. Ezek. 20:12, 20). Don't let anyone judge you by your own tradition of a holy day: Col. 2:16 says this quite plainly. Each believer should be convinced in his own mind (cf. Rom. 14: 5). Family traditions are not necessarily forbidden--all tradition doesn't have to be religious! 

"A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart" (Prov. 21:2, NIV).
"All a person's ways seem pure to them, but motives are weighed by the LORD" (Prov. 16:2, NIV).
"[F]or the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts..." (cf. 1 Chron. 18:9).

There are many theologians who attack tradition as being unnecessary and unbinding to the believer, especially those believers of the Romanist persuasion with their numerous ones. Tradition can become a teaching aid and learning experience. John demurred to baptize Jesus but laid aside his understanding of things and trusted the Lord in obedience. Only sinners needed to repent! Sometimes it's just a simple matter of obedience to authority to our spiritual leaders. The only danger occurs when tradition is contrary to Scripture, directly contravening a doctrine. Often we defer to tradition for the sake of unity and coherence in the body.

Old traditions die hard! Even Protestants, especially Lutherans, have traditions reminiscent of Catholicism. The vestments of pastors go way back, and who would want to be the first to break that tradition? Because traditions have their pitfalls too! We all observe holy days such as Christmas and Easter, birthdays, anniversaries, even Thanksgiving Day is traditional.

However, tradition must be concordant with the Word to be binding and otherwise, it is simply a matter of personal conscience--for we ought to have the freedom to have our own convictions before God. By and large, tradition must bow to conviction! Family Christmas celebrations come to mind as a common tradition, even routines that are observed. Christmas is not biblical per se nor mandated, but that doesn't make it unbiblical, because it conflicts with nothing in Scripture. The problem comes when we put tradition on a par with the authority of the Word like they did at the Counter-Reformation (the Council of Trent, 1545-63). We don't add tradition as a replacement of Scripture!

There are many gray areas that cannot be judged as ill-advised scripturally, but the believer is to make up his own mind and feel free from being judged. The Jews at the time of Christ were burdened with the traditions of the elders and Pharisees, and the law had become a yoke they couldn't bear (cf. Acts 15:10) as a result. The point of Christianity is that it's not merely a religion of externals (do this or that), but of internals--the mental attitudes and thoughts are more important. God looks at our motives and incentives. We can become so bogged down in a tradition that we miss the boat with true spirituality. We are all creatures of habit seeking comfort zones!

Let's not get our eyes off Jesus as the true focus. Even the devil can observe tradition and look somewhat Christian--as he can "appear as an angel of light" (cf. 2 Cor. 11:4). Christianity is a matter of the heart and a spiritual matter at that. God sees the heart, while a man looks on the outward appearance. We cannot judge what happens in the heart of a believer observing his tradition, and God only holds a man accountable for what he knows, has the opportunity to know, or should know, i.e., had the opportunity to know. We ought to ask ourselves: Do we know better or not?

Sometimes churches have traditions known as rituals or liturgies, that they religiously obey during the worship service, which shows little imagination or creativity from the powers that be, and little has changed from the founding of the church--is there no room for improvement or advancement? Has the church freeze-dried the format down pat so that there's little room for the Spirit to move? The church is to be semper reformanda or "always reforming." Even though the Bible does say that all things should be done decently and in order, but that doesn't preclude freedom of the Spirit and opening the door to allow Him access.

Jesus accused the Pharisees of being hypocrites, for they "[nullified] the word of God for the sake of [their] tradition" (cf. Matt. 15:6, NIV). Jesus didn't follow the traditions of the elders to prove they weren't binding. We need to keep the main thing the main thing! We don't want to confine or bind the activity of God by our preconceived notions of what He can or cannot do. Man is by nature a religious being (known as Homo Religiosus) and will revert to his default position of security in tradition when push comes to shove or when the chips are down his real faith shines through to shed light on his inner convictions.

When Protestants stipulate that tradition has no spiritual merit or value per se, this is vis-a-vis salvation. Tradition has no part and no authority in salvation or over Scripture, of which authority is sola Scriptura or Scripture alone. Tradition doesn't trump the Bible in authority, nor is it on par with it. All in all, the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart, which only God can judge and see through its veneer.

We all observe tradition unbeknownst to us, often masked as routine, habit, or custom. Jesus said a blessing and thanksgiving before meals and the tradition of saying grace was realized--note that this was not a command! We say "Please!" and "Thank you!" out of courtesy, but this is just tradition too! In sum, don't pooh-pooh tradition by virtue of it being merely tradition; i.e., don't knock it unless you don't observe any yourself! Soli Deo Gloria!

What Do You Want From Christianity?

 People seek Christianity for a plethora of reasons.  Some are looking for answers to life's biggest questions (even the Answer), some are looking for the benefits though not the Benefactor, some are seeking fulfillment or meaning and purpose in life, some may be battling sin and want to have power it, some seek genuine salvation, some seeking a mission statement or assignment to dedicate themselves to, some are seeking mundane solutions and daily needs, some are actually searching for a way of escape from problems, some are trying to overcome sin or some hang-up or addiction, some are seeking for a job to do or task to complete, some are trying to find something they can do that will earn salvation, some are seeking a song to sing or creed to believe in, some are actually looking for truth and willing to pay the price to know it. There are many demographics of people in church who may seek these things: seekers, skeptics, cynics, nihilists, contra-Christians, infant Christians, adolescent Christians, and even your mature and informed believer.  What  do you want of your faith? 

Jesus is more than a personage to believe and that existed.  He is the God of Gods and the only perfect man who ever lived. He is more  than a moral Exemplar, or Teacher, or Leader to show us the way to live a good life.  His purpose was to die for us, not to show us morals or lessons on living.   He defined eternal life as knowing Him and the Father as it says in Scripture: Know the Lord!  He came to do all we couldn't do and to finish the work of defeating the devil's work and bear witness of the truth.  We would be blind without Him for He is the way and we would not know where to go without Him.  He is the truth and we couldn't know anything for sure without Him, and He is the life and we couldn't know how to live without Him.  Some teachers have said that we should emulate great men like Jesus but this sells Him short and doesn't do Him justice to rank Him with the so-called great men of history, though He is the central figure of Western Civilization and greatest revolutionist. Early believers called our faith the Way and sought to show the truths Jesus taught and to live in the truth.  It is a great joy to God that we abide in the truth and live accordingly. 

Jesus is a Friend,, Advocate, or Intercessor to have in our corner and to be on our side when we sin and to make sure we neve are alone.  But don't just think you are His buddy and can get on familiar terms or that God has favorites, especially you.  We are all one in Christ and there is no room for elites.  We are the servants of Christ and those who obey Him only are worthy of being called friends. We must strive to know Christ as Lord and Savior and even Judge and Teacher to not put Him in a box.  We must accept the true Christ and not another Jesus who isn't God in the flesh and receive Him for who He is: Lord and Savior. He lives in us as a substituted, surrendered, inhabited, exchanged, and Spirit-filled life!   He must be accepted as He is or we are rejecting Him; we cannot just see Him as a Savior and not submit as Lord.  Christ will not be divided. Christ seeks to live in us and that means more than someone who is company, but one who abides in us and controls us and we have Him living through us.  

Now, Christianity can be a fulfilling life if we seek God's will.  God will prosper us and equip us to do whatever He calls us to do and another thing: He will never give up on us and we are His work in progress and that means we will always grow in  our faith. We progress from faith to faith as we grow in maturity; there is no treading water so to speak as we are either backsliding or growing.  We are to have a living faith and that means one that grows.  We will go somewhere with Christ.  If you don't think or plan on going somewhere, that is still a finish line.  If you go anywhere long enough, you will end up somewhere.  So be careful that you go with God and find His will lest He say, "Okay, have it y our way and do as you will." That is a statement we don't want to hear!   For we will all have to go one on one with God and at the final audit of our lives, we will give account of ourselves. 

So what the real goal should be is to find God's will for your life and more specifically, your spiritual gift.  The only way to do this is to get out in the mission field or place of service and see what you can do and try things for experiment until you find what you are suited to and your natural gifting. We are all fulfilled when we find God's will and calling for our lives and start to progress in service with God's blessing.  Do you want to be rewarded for no labor in the Lord is in vain and when you find God's will you will be all the more motivated to do it and it won't be a chore.  It isn't a matter of your achievements though, but God's accomplishment that you trust in. Faith doesn't save, Christ does.  It's the object that matters.  That is the error of those who on Judgment Day will say, "Lord, Lord, did we not....:|" They trusted in their works, not in the Lord.  And by the way, we must neve play the "Let's compare!" game and get jealous of the ministries of others for to whom much is given, much is required. 

Our endgame ought to be to love Jesus more fully especially that it overflows and we can share Christ with others that they may see Christ in us and be converted--the main thing.  Our lives ought to be dedicated to service and only those who learn to serve will be happy in Jesus and find fulfillment.   And the byproduct of all this is that we know Christ and are able to build a loving relationship with Him. There is so much that our faith offers: we don't just have a worldview that outshines all others and answers all the big questions of life, but we can be blessed and truly find the good life by following on to know the Lord and obeying Him, for to obey is better than sacrifice. If you just want a life without problems or to be financially secure and to have the American dream, you are looking at another Jesus because the real one warned us we would have trials and tribulations in the school of Christ which comes with the territory. We must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him.    If you want a trouble-free life or the easy life, you have the wrong religion! 

Christianity is also good psychology for those with everyday problems or issues and even personal problems for Christians make good counselors and we can find out that Christ heals  us from the effects of sin and sets us free from the power of Satan over us. We don't just believe in avoiding bad behavior, but in living right and developing godly habits.   Then Satan cannot touch us! Our faith is truly a study of the soul and Christian psychology isn't about sanitizing the self or becoming a perfect person, but about the salvation of the soul. We seek not to judge but to heal and we can help each other in the body.  There is such a thing as a guilt-complex but there is real guilt also, and our faith teaches us to confess it and to become responsible for our sins and not just think anything goes and is normal for there are standard of behavior as a Christian and we must come clean sometimes and be honest with ourselves and others--call a spade a spade.

They say that religious people are the least stressed of all demographics.  Scientists think they have the truth and the only reliable truths can be known through scientific methodology, but they are as messed up as anyone else.  What  we gain as believes is the resident Holy Spirit to be our anointing and teacher so we have the mind of Christ and are open and positive to spiritual truths.  The world is blind to truth and cannot grasp or appraise the spiritual. Yes, even the Bible becomes an open book and a delight to read because we have the right Spirit to do it. The world by wisdom cannot know God!  

So what more do you want from Christ? How about affirmation that you did a good job when He says, on that day, "Well done! thou good and faithful servant." and how about when He rewards us with a promotion and says, "You have been faithful in little, you shall be faithful in much..." and finally, when the party and celebration begins and He says, "Enter into the joy of the Lord."  This is where it's at: we have a hope that no other faith has, we have assurance of salvation and a taste of it now.  

Christianity is Christ and if you remove Him, you disembowel it and it cannot avail. If all you want to be is a good person or be a do-gooder, then any religion will do.  But if you want full assurance of salvation, then Christianity is the only hope. Christianity is not just good advice or a philosophy or even just a worldview and way to live good, but a way to know God and love, serve, and relate to Him. This is the only religion that is not a works proposition, do-it-yourself proposition, or lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps.  It's not about your achievements at all, but God's accomplishments.  The devil doesn't necessarily want to make you a bad person, but as good as possible without God in the picture.  The whole point is that God solved the sin question once and for all with the cross.   We are to find our purpose in Him and "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," as The Westminster Shorter Catechism says.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

What Does It Mean To Believe In God?

  am assuming the Christian faith and referencing the Bible and the God of the Bible: Abraham believed God and it was counted unto righteousness. By faith Abraham obeyed God. (Romans 4:3; Heb. 11:8).

You don’t just believe He exits for the demons do that. And faith without works is dead: true faith is manifested and proved by good works—you are known and rewarded by your fruit. Faith is authenticated by deeds! You believe Him and take Him at His Word, trusting Him with your heart and life. You must be willing to do His will and obey His commands; surrender to the Lordship or ownership of your life. Is Christ your Lord? Do you unashamedly confess His name and stand up for Him?

True faith entails love in the heart for we believe not just in our minds as much as in our hearts. (cf. Romans 10:9–10). Do you believe the God who is and that He is with you? You don’t have to repeat a creed every day religiously but grow in your faith by obedience. In short, trust and obey! That is the only true measure of faith. It isn’t how much you believe but how well you obey. Remember, it’s not the amount of faith but the object that matters. It must be settled solidly in Christ alone.

Also, true faith is connected with true repentance—they go hand in hand and it may not be how much you believe but how thorough your repentance is. You must grow in your faith and develop a relationship with Jesus by confession of known sin and walking in the Spirit. We learn to walk by faith, not by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7). This means you need to be filled with the Spirit continually so you do not walk in the flesh and sin. This also means producing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace…. Thus, it’s not just having a sort of faith, but having saving faith that translates your creeds into deeds!

God Works In Mysterious Ways!

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands" (Psalm 78:7, NLT).
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me" (John 10:25, KJV).
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).

NOTE: IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM. MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT). Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles." (9:10, NLT). Note he said "countless miracles." Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles? Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work. The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious. They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work. For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion!

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior. His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request. That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles! Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV, that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!" The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God. Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle? What causes our motion? If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law! By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature! Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.        

Truly, O God of Israel, Our Savior, you work in mysterious ways" (Isaiah 45:15, NLT).

"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? (Job 4:7, KJV--Eliphaz to Job).

God brings good times as well as bad times (cf. Isaiah 45:7, NLT). "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things." (Isaiah 45:7, ESV). God "doesn't willingly grieve or afflict the children of men" (cf. Lam. 3:33, ESV). Job questioned God's justice after his suffering and God never explained Himself to him, but only humbled him by revealing Himself to bring him to repentance. Jesus was asked if a disaster that happened was because the victims were eviler than others, but Jesus admonished them to repent lest they likewise perish. Just because someone is suffering we are not to conclude that he is being punished by God.

Job was written to partly answer why the godly suffer, but there is no complete answer to this dilemma and we are left with the challenge to trust God for who He is and His providence working for the overall good in the end (cf. Rom. 8:28). They ask why does evil happen to good people? There are no good people! The question might as well be re-phrased, "Why does good happen to evil people?" Because Jesus said that only God is good! God is the source of all good (cf. James 1:17) and evil is just the perversion, waste, and shortchanging of good, or evil under the guise of good--humanism is merely goodness without God in the equation. Yes, one might well echo the words of the famed hymn by William Cowper: "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform."

Job was told by Zophar in Job 11:7, ESV, "'Can you find out the deep thing of God?...'" As the Latin phrase goes: "finitum non capax Infinitum." This means the finite cannot grasp or contain the infinite! The KJV asks if we canst "by searching find out God." The answer is an emphatic "No." Caveat: God is too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain Himself, a sage has observed. God doesn't owe us an explanation and isn't accountable to us; contrariwise, we owe Him an explanation and are accountable to Him! We must not be armchair quarterbacks and second-guess God! We must expect trouble in this life: "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble" (Job 14:1, ESV). "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19, ESV).

We must be encouraged to continue in the faith and to bear our cross, which pales in comparison with Christ's passion, for "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22, ESV). Remember that trials, tribulations, temptations, sufferings, tests, and adversities must inevitably come; however, Christ will be with us as we pass through the waters and the fire (cf. Isaiah 42:2). "[W]e rejoice in our sufferings," according to Romans 5:3, ESV. Remember, Christ didn't exempt Himself from any type of suffering but suffered in all similar manners and yet without sin (cf. Heb. 4:15). Christ isn't asking us to do anything He didn't do Himself!

We must not ever judge victims as being somewhat less worthy, holy, or righteous than us and believe they deserve what befalls them, as if they were suffering karma or the natural consequences of evil as Job's comforters assumed of him: "As I have seen, those who plow trouble and sow iniquity reap the same" (Job 4:8, ESV). They told him that no one innocent ever perished! Their presupposition was that the only reason trouble comes is because one is not right with God; God blesses the good and punishes the evil. Their calculus was an oversimplification, for they had not reckoned God's goodness into the equation and His profundity, that we cannot figure God out or put Him into a box.

One reason evil exists is that we see good in its contrast. God works evil into good and turns the wrath of man into His glory (cf. Psalm 76:10). Why does He work with evil? Because there's so much of it to work with! God can take the most diabolical events and turn them into good results, and we must not break faith in God that He knows best and what He is doing. Look at what Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20). Acts 2:23, ESV, says that Jesus was "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God." Someday Jesus will answer all our questions and we will know even as we are known (cf. John 16:23, ESV, "In that day you will ask nothing of me...."). Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Consensus In Science Scientific?

 Science taught or believed dogmatically or by a democratic vote of approval is not science. Despite the fact that biologists have a consensus for evolution, this is not necessitate it’s being truth in itself—they could all be biased or deceived or jumping to the conclusion. They must always be ready for new discoveries that may shed more light on some theory or discovery. The door must be kept open for new light to be shed on a subject. Just because scientists agree on a so-called “fact” doesn't make it true epistemologically. Note: Science is limited to the observable, measurable, and testable.

Because there are limits and parameters to what science can know or study, for instance, it follows that metaphysical questions cannot be answered fully by the scientific method. Science deals in the physical universe. But when scientists harness science for unscientific reasons like making philosophical or religious decrees, it’s not science but “scientism.” That is to say when Carl Sagan said, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be,” he was making a philosophical statement, not a scientific one. One example of consensus that proved fallacious was the geocentric Ptolemaic solar system.

What Philosophical Argument For God Is Difficult To Refute?...

Like Aristotle reasoned, the “First Cause” (Causa Prima) or the unmoved mover. According to the law of motion from Newton, an object at rest tends to stay at rest…. Who caused the first motion and got the ball rolling? Who banged the Big Bang? Nothing happens by itself but every event must be caused. Nothing causes itself. If you heard an explosion outside, you’d wonder what caused it—it didn't just happen by itself.

There can be uncaused causes but not uncaused events. Self-existence is not only possible but rationally necessary—the necessary Being. God is that uncaused cause because He is eternal and therefore had no beginning. If there was no first cause, there would be no beginning, but we know there was a big bang. What existed before the singularity? What existed before that? ad Infinitum. If you say, “It was just there, that's no different than saying God was just there.

If you say that something existed before that to cause it, it was either caused or uncaused and you only compound the question and must admit there has to be a first cause or self-existent force, being, or thing that is eternal. Science doesn’t generally accept the fact that matter is eternal or the theory of an eternal universe. This is often called the cosmological argument for God and refers to the law of cause and effect. The so-called kalam cosmological argument states that everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began and therefore has a cause (most believably God); also, everything in the time-space continuum has a beginning.

“For every house is built by someone; but God is the builder of all things,”(cf. Heb. 3:4). That’s why the Bible begins: “In the beginning God….” We must begin with God in the equation to remain rational. We cannot assume everything had a beginning or was caused because then there would be nothing in existence for it’s impossible to cross infinity and infinite regress is impossible—you must begin somewhere with something or someone. A was caused by B caused by C … somewhere you run out of letters.

Why Do Some People Need Evidence To Believe In God?

 You should need evidence for anything you believe or you’re being gullible. Without evidence, faith is blind faith. God doesn't expect us to kiss our brains goodbye or to commit intellectual suicide or anything.

The Bible says there is sufficient evidence in nature and there is enough to make us without excuse and the fact is plain to us (cf. Romans 1:19–20). For example, Doctor Luke says that the resurrection had “many infallible proofs.” (cf. Acts 1:3). And Psalm 19:1 says that the heavens declare the glory of God.

But God will not accommodate intellectual arrogance and expects us to search for Him and to be willing to obey Him. Jesus promised that if we will be willing to do His will, then we shall know (cf. John 7:17).

What Is More Important To You, Faith Or Proof?

 I see this as a false dichotomy. You can have faith and proof and God doesn’t expect us to kiss our brains goodbye or to commit intellectual suicide or to have blind faith (without evidence). If you put God to the test and demand your kind of proof before you’ll believe, He will not accommodate you. God needs not to prove Himself to anyone and has given all the evidence necessary in the Bible. Note: evidence isn't always definitive, compelling, objective, or authoritative.

How do you define faith and proof? Faith can be seen as trusting in what you have good reason to believe and knowledge in action; what’s wrong with that? Everyone has faith in something; faith in science is still faith. You can have faith in yourself and your own reasoning. All knowledge is contingent and begins in faith with some presupposition that cannot be proved, even in math. Proof and evidence are often used interchangeably. Proof can be seen as just an argument or reason to believe: evidence. The apostle Luke said that there “were many infallible [or convincing] proofs” for the resurrection and he was a doctor and must have known something about proof.

There are many philosophical arguments for the existence of God, for example, but you cannot either prove or disprove God beyond a shadow of a doubt; there's no “smoking gun” evidence either way and both theists and atheists are persons of faith. No amount of evidence would make you believe without any possible doubt either way. There is never enough proof or evidence for someone who doesn't want to believe something, even in religious matters.

Note: there are different categories of evidence such as in law, science, philosophy, history, and literature. In science, something isn't held as true unless it is demonstrable and observable (repeatable and measurable); these types of evidence don’t hold water for metaphysical matters and go beyond the parameters of the scientific method. In a court of law, truth (it must be beyond a reasonable doubt, not all doubt), is by oral and written testimony and considered evidence. In history, for example, corroborating texts and artifacts are considered evidence. No one can not believe in God, for instance, due to the lack of evidence of seeing all the evidence in nature and God says no one has an excuse and that this is plain to see.

Do You Have Potential To Become A Rock?

"The LORD lives and blessed be my Rock, and exalted be the God of my salvation,"(cf. Psalm 18:46). For starters, there is one Rock who is Christ (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4) but we can become rock-like like Peter.  Jesus saw potential in Simon and after his declaration of faith, renamed him Peter to be like a rock.  You've heard it said that no man is a rock or "no man is an island," (John Donne) but some people do have the steadiness of faith to encourage others and to be especially independent and able to be a light to others, to be a leader of men, a mover, and shaker.  Also, we must strive to be strong.   But that's the point;:  We all have unrealized potential and the ability to be a Daniel to stand alone or to be a David to be a man after God's own heart or to fight like he did or to be bold a prophet like Elijah. What we are in actuality or achievement and what we can become or have the potential for are not the same. 

God does give us opportunities but many of us squander them and waste the grace of God,  even frustrating it.  Peter was an ordinary fisherman who probably had no special ambition but Jesus saw something He could work with--a brazen even impetuous personality that God could use for His purposes.  What we are in actuality and what we can become potentially are two different things.  Some people just require extra grace and God is able to make grace abound even to the chief of sinners, Paul. Paul said that he would speak of nothing but what Christ accomplished through him (cf. Romans 15:18).  Remember we have nothing but what we have received by grace and what we do with it is our gift back to God. Even our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our gift to God.  

Peter was brave but he overestimated himself and underestimated the wiles of the devil to tempt or test his grit and faith. At one moment Jesus commended him, the next it seemed he was being rebuked!  But when it was showtime, Peter's love for the Lord endured and Jesus knew that if He reinstated him and forgave him for his denials, he would be all the stronger: "When you have been restored go and strengthen the others.  

We all must reach the faith of Peter ot be saved; i.e, knowing who Jesus is in reality and not believing in another Jesus. But we must not judge him, for when it counted, he showed faith and was faithful after realizing the truth.  We too can be guilty of putting our foot in our mouth and speaking first and thinking later Peter made all the mistakes we probably would've made: bragging or boasting, trying to impress, correcting the Lord, speaking blasphemy, being confronted for our testimony, and being ashamed or embarrassed, even denying our Lord; there but for the grace of God go us!  None of us are above these except for the grace of God.

In fact, grace is what sums up his life because it shows what God can do to a willing believer.  Peter actually came to the point to realize that Jesus was using him and didn't need him but that he should consider it an honor. Jesus went through the trouble to reinstate Peter three times because he had denied Him three times.  We are all too familiar with the flaws of Peter, but they are ours too.  It wasn't Jesus but Peter who had to be reassured of his love for the Lord and to verbalize it and confirm it with words. Jesus tested his faith after the resurrection by asking him to fish on the other side of the boat, contrary to his reasoning, but he obeyed simply because it was the Lord who told him to. This even hurt his pride as a professional fisherman, but he still obeyed. There is a direct correlation between love and obedience,  Peter had proven his love but needed reassurance. 

Before we judge Peter, we must realize he walked on water and was the first to realize the identity of Jesus as God's own  Son. It was for this declaration of faith that Jesus made him a leader in the church despite the fact that Paul rebuked him for playing politics with the Jews and the party of the Circumcision.  We should all see a bit of ourselves in his flaws.  

Peter's faith went through many phases: he had his shining moment of confessing Christ, his macho moment of boasting of his faith and drawing the sword, his puzzling moment of wondering about Christ's fate and outcome, his humbling moment of finding out he's not such a great fisherman, and his Spirit-filled moment of being reinstated and reassured of Christ's love. Indeed, Peter had the raw material of the makings of a spiritual leader and Jesus saw this potential and made him realize it in real-time with Him. 

Do you yourself realize you are capable of doing a lot more for the Lord than you can imagine? Few of us reach our full potential and are underachievers for God. We have all missed opportunities and failed tests of God but we must never lose our faith that we can become what we are meant to be to fulfill all God's will for our lives and be obedient to the heavenly calling and fulfill the ministry God assigned us. But some of us don't even know our spiritual gift, much less to be engaged in God's will for us. 

We must refrain from measuring ourselves with ourselves and comparing ourselves to others; to whom much is given, much is required.  Who wrote the "Let's Compare!" book?  We are to be rocks in our personal orbit and circle of influence, and not worry about the ministry of the next guy! 

The conclusion of the matter is that we have the potential to be rocks in our own right and to fulfill God's will and calling for us because God doesn't call us to success but to faithfulness--the success is up to Him to bless or not. He makes the fruit grow and have the increase. We must not have gift envy and wish we had Peter's potential, for we do but we may have different gifts but the same Spirit. We can only find out our gift by serving God in the best way we know how to, and look to see how God uses and blesses us.  We all can possess the faith of a William Carey: "Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!"  Soli Deo Gloria! 

What's The Motive When People Don't Believe?

 "Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross and then we'll see and believe..." (cf. Mark 15:32, CEB).  

The common notion is that seeing is believing, but believing is seeing!  We see by faith.  The Greeks who came to Jesus said, "We would see Jesus."  But the writer of Hebrews adds, "But we do see Jesus..." (cf. Heb. 2:3).  Jesus had performed many miracles and still the religious leaders "would not believe." Not that they could not but they refused to and would not as a choice of theirs. They couldn't deny Christ's miracles but even demanded He would do them on-demand and with some biggie miracle to cast away all doubts.  They demanded more evidence!   But Jesus would not accommodate them and the only sign He would give is the resurrection on the third day.  The fact of the matter is that no amount of evidence will convince a person who chooses not to believe.  You must want to believe!  "A person convinced against his will is of the same opinion still!" 

The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart and the Pharisees had none!  We must believe in our hearts (cf. Romans 10:9-10).  Their hearts were hardened and they could not see the love of Christ which surpasses understanding. It is with the heart that we believe, we don't just acquiesce in the mind or simply assent or agree to the truth.  Jesus wants our hearts and to enter them!  Romans 11:7 says that the elect attained unto it but the rest were hardened!  Satan has blinded the minds of those that believe not (cf. 2 Cor 4:4).  Jesus saw through their veneer and their duplicity and insincerity.  The example of Mary's anointing of Jesus was to be told throughout the world exemplifying her genuine love of the Lord. Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on! But love seeks to express itself! 

Saving faith isn't about how much we believe, for it only takes that of a mustard seed, but how well we obey. We don't believe despite the evidence but obey in spite of the consequences.  Belief is simply putting our trust in what we have good reason to believe and we are accountable for God as we do know Him. 

Should I Believe In God Even Though I Think He's A Fairy Tale?

You should check out the evidence and believe the truth; Jesus said He is the truth; do you think He is a liar? C, S, Lewis, after being converted by his friend J. R. R, Tolkien from an atheist to Christian, called the new faith “the fairy tale that came true.” Have you heard that truth is stranger than fiction? No one could have imagined a God as wonderful as Jesus. it would take a Jesus to invent Jesus! St. Anselm of Canterbury called God “the greatest possible being none of which greater can be conceived.” Whatever is greater to be than not to be, that is God. Note: Can fairy tales change your life?

Fairy tales have no historical and mostly no factual merit and begin “once upon a time” The Bible begins: “In the beginning God…” If you could succeed in dehistoricizing the Bible the faith would be totally discredited. Jesus was a historical figure documented and corroborated by dozens of secular sources outside the Bible. There is no doubt as to His historicity and any historian who said otherwise would jeopardize his credibility, The writers of the Bible went out of the way to deny writing myth, fable, or old wive’s tales but they said they were written of what they were eyewitnesses to (cf 2 Pet 1:16). Now, would anyone invent or create a God as demanding as Jesus? To deny yourself, take up your cross, and follow Him?

In sum, your eternal destiny depends upon whether you place your faith in Jesus who is God. It is not enough to just believe He exists, for even the demons do that: But this faith is the gift of God and He must open your heart and the door of faith to bring you to repentance from dead works to faith in the living God.

Note: God must open the door of faith (cf. Acts 14:27) and we believe through grace (cf. Acts 18:27) and faith comes by the hearing and by the hearing of the Word (cf. Romans 10:17), and you cannot believe in your own power: “No man can come to Me unless it has been granted of the Father,” (cf. John 6:67). or unless the Father draws him (cf. John 6:44).

Science And Faith Have No Final Conflict...

 God has given everyone a basic awareness of HImself and consciousness of eternity but some suppress the truth and go against the conscience which is a God-given moral compass and God says no one has an excuse to deny Him But just believing in God makes you no better than the devil who also believes. But faith in God is a gift and are to be stewards of it and use it to God’s glory by good works producing fruit that we are known by. However, God must open the door of faith and open the heart to bring one to faith as it’s a gift

However, it’s not wrong to believe in science because most of the early scientists who brought about the scientific revolution were believers. Sir Francis Bacon was a believer that invented the scientific method. But the fault comes mainly in biology when they propagate that we evolved from apes and this is the point of contention because it directly contradicts the Bible. One can be a good Christian and a scientist and a good scientist and a Christian. if you think they cannot be reconciled, you understand neither

However, it is a fact that some 80 percent of people believe in God so don't ‘say that most people believe in science. Only pure Secularists and postmodernists mainly don’t. The question is almost a false dichotomy because you can believe in both science and God and many great scientists do and have no problem with their faith. In my opinion, science has helped to prove God; namely, by the Big Bang.

The only reason I would say that some believe more in science than God is that they are ignorant of God and dont’ realize there’s no final conflict. The Bible states scores of scientific facts that were ahead of their time and only discovered even centuries later by science. Note: The Bible doesn’t say the earth was created 6000 years ago! The cosmos was created “in the beginning,” and we believe that was 13.7 billion years ago.

The fool twists the facts to fit his theory. Science only deals with the physical and not the metaphysical like God, which is a philosophical truth, not a scientific one. Reality is what corresponds to truth, and there are philosophical and scientific truths. To believe that science is the only reliable way to truth is not science but “scientism” making it claim philosophical truth claims that are out of the parameters of science.  Soli Deo Gloria!