Theory Of Knowledge

Why did Socrates say "I know that I know nothing" and what did he mean by it?


It is a self-contradiction if he said that because he claims to know something—that he knows nothing! I doubt he would contradict himself so easily though. He also said, “To commence learning, you must admit your ignorance.” If one knows nothing, would they know it? Socrates was a believer in God as the was Plato and Aristotle though not so formulated as the Hebrews had. The Bible says, “Anyone who thinks he knows something doesn’t yet know as he ought to know.” The Genesis of all learning then is realized ignorance. The more educated you become, the more you realize you do not know and need more education!

If he did say it, he was referring to being skeptical and starting from scratch and not assuming anything. All knowledge begins in faith. You have to believe you know something to know anything. Uncertainty is the starting point and beginning of a discovery of knowledge and often its outcome. We may find out we know squat about something we claim to know something. We will discover all knowledge is contingent beginning by accepting a presupposition we cannot prove or disprove.

Faith Is a Start

We must attempt our commencement somewhere.  NB:  the principle is that where you start has a lot to determine where you'll end up!  Athanasius said that the only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point.  Paul says we progress "from faith to faith."   But today we see Secularists screaming "Down with God, up with man!'  They seek to dethrone Him and exalt man.  The Bible assumes unapologetically that God exists, and if it appealed to any authority figure or discipline it wouldn't be the final arbiter of truth, which it claims to be (e.g., if we appealed to a historian to verify the narrative, historians would be the authority not the inspired Word of God).  Scripture says a man has no excuse (cf. Rom. 1:28) and suppresses the truth.  The Bible says that denial of God stems from the heart of man that is depraved (cf. Psa. 14:1), and there is a God-shaped vacuum only filled by God!  So man is searching (really for the benefits, not the Benefactor) and has an innate sense of eternity, but that doesn't mean he'll find Him unless he is willing to do His will and diligently searches for Him with all his heart (cf. John 7:17; Jer. 29:13; Isa. 55:6).

When someone challenges your faith saying, "I don't believe in God!' Retort back as a comeback that objective truth is true regardless of belief or not.   Something isn't true because it's believed nor false because of denial.   We cannot wish God out of existence--He's the God who will not die!  We may not see Him but we don't see the wind either--we can see what it does though!  Likewise, with God, we cannot see the invisible, but we can see Him at work in the world and in our lives!  Just like when the sun comes out we can see everything else, so it is when God opens our eyes and we see with the eyes of our spirit and heart! Faith is not a throwback to our need for a father figure, a projection of an authority figure, nor to fulfill a psychological need to believe; the skeptic has a psychological need not to believe--his lifestyle may be at stake!

NB:  Science is inappropriate for finding or proving God; He's not tangible, audible, nor visible, and certainly won't subject Himself to our tests, test tubes, and experiments.  We cannot measure two feet of His love nor weigh a pound of His justice--these things are metaphysical!   But we know they exist, nevertheless!   Remember:  doubt is not the opposite of faith, but merely a sign of courage and intellectual integrity.  NO one has perfect faith.  Learn to doubt your doubts. Doubt, in essence, is an element of faith, for there's a doubt-faith continuum with various degrees of the certitude we all progress through on our way to the Celestial City as pilgrims.  We all must take the LEAP!  

The Bible says in Prov. 1:7 that "the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge"--that's what we must seek.  In other words, if we don't know God or assume Him in the equation of life, we can know nothing for certain--it's all relative and all truth, morals, and values are only relative and not fixed, objective, universal, absolute, and eternal.  No God--no truth!  When we remove God from the metric of our life we lose our bearings and the moral compass we need, a sense of "ought."  This leads to erosion of the moral fiber of society and finally its demise or takeover.

All knowledge is contingent and must begin somewhere.  We know the Lord as a gift of faith and revelation:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!"  The proof of the pudding is in the eating!  We don't believe in the sun simply because we can see it in the sky, but because we can see everything else.  Scientists also assume things they cannot prove; all knowledge begins with some presupposition or premise that cannot be proven.  Scientists and Secularists (those who believe in naturalism or that every event has a natural explanation and that science is the ultimate arbiter of truth in the physical world) both of these persons are people of faith the same as religious people--they just presuppose something different.  You can be religious without even having a religion!  But Secular Humanism is when someone is trying to be good without God in the calculus, giving himself the praise, glory, and honor.

Now let's assume you know that fire is hot!  Either you took it by faith or found out the hard way, empirically!  But that knowledge depends upon the senses you have being accurate and that you're not delusional or imagining things.  You may be dreaming!   But in saying it is hot, you're assuming that hot is an accurate description and you are intelligible and communicable.  But when you touched the fire, your suspicion turned to experience and experience as well as rationalism and revelation are ways to arrive at knowledge.  Skeptics like to say that they have facts and the naive and religious have faith, but in reality, both are people of faith and will be accountable for what they do with it.

When you have faith in someone and they betray you, you can lose some faith or break faith completely.  You can also lose faith by finding out by experience you are right--then you have knowledge.  Knowledge is defined as "justified true belief."  A belief is some idea we hold concerning our reality.  There is no universal belief but there is the universal, absolute truth!  Don't confuse the two.  In the seventeenth century, it was justified to be in a geocentric solar system, and in the fourteenth century, you were justified to believe in a Ptolemaic one as well as flat earth!  The Copernican revolution changed our ideas of science just as the Reformation did about theology.    Experiment or scientific empiricism is what changed everything!   This requires measurement, observation, experiment, repeatability, testing, hypothesizing, and controlling of variables.  You may also need laboratory conditions and/or a test tube.

Now, theology is considered the queen of sciences and Christianity the mother of modern science! Sir Francis Bacon is considered the "father of the scientific method."   Why?  Because they were first to actually know something in a metaphysical way, making sense of the physical universe and making it possible in their worldview to have a rational study of nature.  The Bible actually says that there are laws to nature (naturally what you'd expect from a Divine Lawmaker) in Job 38:33, and in several passages, it's ahead of the scientific knowledge of its day to prove its divine origin and inspiration.

Now, infinite regress is impossible in math, logic, and philosophy!  It's impossible to cross infinity, like trying to run an infinite distance in a finite time span.  But God is timeless and lives independent of it as being eternal (He created time as the corollary of space and matter).  It is known in the kalam cosmological argument for God that everything that begins to exist (in time) has a cause--this is logical.  The universe began to exist and ergo had a cause--I daresay God!   We cannot say, for instance, that life evolved because we have to start with the assumption that life was in existence in the first place.

We believe in God because we are convinced and see it as a rational and reasonable choice; thus we take a leap of faith and "experience God" as good.   Our faith transfers to a properly basic belief or a kind of knowledge based on experience--like finding out fires are hot! How many don't really know that yet!   We see the direction the evidence is leading, going with the flow and preponderance and making a decision to exercise our sense of faith, even if we don't have all the evidence (like juries often do) and may not have any "smoking gun" evidence either.  No one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!  But God doesn't force faith, it's a gift for us to exercise.  We are not exhorted to exercise blind faith or lend credence without a valid reason or evidence.

Faith has a reason with some being more valid:  I want to believe it; I have vested interest in it; it will cost me something (a job or grade not to believe it); everyone believes it; it's always been believed!  We must believe rationally, for God respects our minds and doesn't expect intellectual suicide or for us to kiss our brains goodbye!  Our faith is defensible in the open marketplace of ideas, even the public forum, and public square!  God requires no one to believe what seems irrational or unreasonable!  We believe something just like a jury does--we are convinced by the weight of evidence and see the big picture.

Now that newborn or beginning faith has room to germinate, it must be tested, tried, and proved as to whether it's genuine, saving faith, or bogus faith that gets choked on weeds, being distracted or has too thin of a soil. Faith grows, but it's still faith because we aren't asked to have perfect faith, only sincere faith.  If we knew everything perfectly then we'd have knowledge, and faith is what pleases God.  For God is not going to reward us according to our faith, though, but what it produces--its fruit!  God doesn't want our achievements in the flesh, what He wants is us and this entails obedience.  A disobedient Christian is a contradiction in terms!  We must "trust and obey."

Now, faith the size of a mustard seed is all that's necessary, but we can ask for more faith and Jesus can help us with our unbelief (cf. Mark 10:9).  The point of faith is that we don't believe in faith, for faith doesn't save, Christ does--it's the object that matters!   It is to no avail to have strong faith in a lie or be deceived into fanaticism.  Sincerity matters, but it's no everything and someone can be sincerely wrong.  Paul said (cf. Rom. 10:2) that Israel had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge--they were sincerely wrong!

There's no excuse not to believe: there's ample evidence for the willing but never enough for the unwilling.  The real reason people don't believe is that it's a choice and they don't want to believe (cf. John12:37).  We all must choose Whom we will serve--we're all servants, it just differs who our master is!  The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart.  Sin makes man rebellious and stubborn, unwilling to obey or please God.

Finally, you must start somewhere: How about first base?   In every truth claim, you begin with a premise you can't prove. Knowledge has its beginning, but don't jump to the conclusion that everything had a beginning, then nothing would exist because you'd have the problem of infinite regress or crossing infinity--there was a beginning, just as the Bible says!   You either start with man and explain everything else, (Homo mensura, or "man is the measure of all things), or you begin with God and explain man!  The Bible doesn't start out, "Once upon a time," but  "In the beginning God."  Every journey of faith begins somewhere and God says to begin with Him in our calculus focused on Him.

In other words, we don't rationalize to God, but reason from Him.  You can neither prove nor disprove Him, you only can offer evidence and arguments, neither being conclusive, but possibly compelling or convicting.  Either there was just the material cosmos or there was God!  Either God created everything or it evolved by some fluke or accident of nature; there's no other choice except the Eastern philosophy of Maya or that the cosmos as an illusion.  God hides (cf. Isa. 45:15) with just enough light for the searcher to see and just enough darkness for the trifler not to see.

In sum, a seasoned believer has been there and done that so to speak and has a faith tried as if by fire and knows in Whom he believes and his calling, gifting, marching orders, and mission in life.  He isn't likely to be tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine (cf. Eph. 4:14).  He may have ups and downs in feelings or moods, but his faith has a foundation and is steadfast.  Sometimes he is called to act merely in faith and walk with the Lord in the Spirit, having fellowship during the hard times.  For we walk by faith, not by sight!  Faith can be seen as knowledge in action; it's not how much we believe but how well we obey.  (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7).

Is Knowledge Power?

"I know from experience what a passion for God they have, but alas, it is not a passion based on knowledge"  (cf. Rom. 10:2, J. B. Philipps).   
"...I do not want you to be uninformed"  (1 Cor. 12:1, ESV). 
"So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, to him it is sin"  (James 4:17, ESV). 
"Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge"  (Prov. 12:1, NASB). 
FOREWARNED IS FOREARMED! 


Sir Francis Bacon, who formulated the scientific or empirical method, said that "knowledge is power"; which he got from Prov. 24:5, NASB, which says, "A man of knowledge increases power."  Some think that its a virtue to be ignorant and that ignorance is bliss, so to speak; however, God condemns the neglect of knowledge as culpable and will hold us accountable for what we could've known and should've known better for.  Paul says in 1 Cor. 8:1 that "knowledge puffs up, but love edifies," and I'm sure he's talking about worldly knowledge, not knowledge of the Lord, which is about the Lord of love.  We are never to get arrogant and think we're smart as Paul says in Romans 12 but to think of others as more important than ourselves.



Knowledge is not the measure of a man and has no inherent virtue unless properly applied and shared.  The knowledge in the body as a gift isn't meant to be for the sake of the recipient, but also for the benefit of the body at large.  A wise man stores up knowledge, Proverbs says.  You never know when you might need some info and when something might come in handy--a useful education is a wise investment of our resources and God may give us the opportunity to use it to His glory.  Note that scripture wasn't written to increase knowledge (trivia, facts and figures, info about it), but to change lives! 


We live in the age of anti-knowledge, where truth is relative, and tech-savvy people who think they can ignore the rules and conventions of centuries of input and research to gain skill in rightly handling knowledge.  The president himself seems to be rejecting knowledge, wisdom, and even understanding, as he nominates cabinet members who seem to me to be unqualified, except ideologically.  You don't want to surround yourself with a bunch of yes-men and sycophants in the situation room at zero hours.  We are close enough to nuclear midnight as it is, to be taking chances on the inexperienced and those who even despise and mock experience.  To be ignorant of your ignorance is the epitome of foolhardiness.  To begin learning, said Socrates, you must admit your ignorance!  



The correct use of knowledge is called wisdom.  It's also knowledge put into action!   Don't let your bro stumble because of your "knowledge."  We, who are strong, ought to bear with the weaker bro and not to allow him to fall because he is less enlightened and doesn't quite see the light of day.  Some people do have wisdom beyond their years, while others are retarded and have never grown up.  The weaker bro needs to grow in knowledge, and the wise guy needs to grow in love.  Don't allow your so-called knowledge become an occasion of stumbling.  


I actually believe that the president doesn't realize the inaccurate statements he's made, and what damage control he's had to do unnecessarily--often the problem is in delivery or communication ability and public relations control.  In my humble opinion, and I don't normally play the psychobabble card, but he seems a little off, unbalanced, or out of touch with reality to me and that he actually believes these gross distortions of the truth, like the idea that 3 to 5 million "illegals" voted for HRC to defeat him in the popular vote. [Note:  no humans are illegal!]  The fact is that he should be cognizant of, is that he doesn't have a mandate to reform America, and America is highly divided on account of him; despite a brief honeymoon, he's managed to stir debate, protest, and partisan schisms.


Are we entering a new age of protests a la the 60s?  Is this the new norm?  Are we going to have the ignorant tyrannize us for the entire administration?  He does tend to use strong-arm and scare tactics like a godfather or thug in the underground.  The fact is that his base lives in an alternate universe of denial of the facts and they are completely taken in by a colossal propaganda program and don't even know it--I witnessed this personally myself watching interviews of people who are Trump supporters and they were asked how things were going for them!


Gnosticism is heresy:  we aren't saved by being enlightened with secret knowledge only accessible to an inner circle or a crowd of fortune seekers.  God's gospel is straightforward, simple, clear, and not ambiguous or obtuse; however, we aren't saved by knowledge per se--Christ didn't teach anything in secret to be later revealed by those "in the know."  There is no scoop or skinny to be disseminated to secret disciples!  We don't need to "discover" the truth; on the other hand, he opens our eyes to the truth that sets us free (cf. John 8:32).  


A word to the wise is sufficient:  "The lips of the wise spread knowledge..." (Prov. 15:7, NASB).  Only true ignorance, where one couldn't possibly have known, is an excuse; however, no one can claim insufficient evidence to believe in God--all are found guilty as charged!  Caveat:  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction"  (Prov. 1:7, NASB).  Though never an end in itself, we begin with God as the foundation of all knowledge.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Fighting God

"There is no wisdom, no insight, no plan that can succeed against the LORD" (Prov. 21:30, NIV).

On the road to Damascus Jesus confronted Saul that it was "hard for [him] to kick against the goads." (Cf. Acts 26:14, ESV).   The NLT says, "... It is useless for you to fight against my will."  God's will is stronger than ours--He's the Almighty! He gets His way!   His power "works mightily in us" (cf. Col. 1:29).  We have a will, but God decided our nature, and we act according to our nature, which God has the power to manipulate.  

If everything seems to be against us, perhaps we are going the wrong way ourselves!  For God is at work within us, "both to do and to will of His good pleasure" (cf. Phil. 2:13).  He will make us willing on the day of salvation (cf. Psalm 110:3).  God's will overcomes ours and it is vain and futile to oppose God:  "... For who can resist his will?" (Rom. 9:19, ESV).

When God decides to save us, He doesn't just help us to believe (we cannot believe apart from God, as it says in John 15:5 that "apart from [Him] we can do nothing"), but He makes believers out of us (quickening our spirit with faith), by virtue of irresistible grace, called the effectual call of God (cf. Rom. 8:30).  When we call someone they may or may not respond, but when God does it, the result is guaranteed and efficacious. Jeremiah proclaims "...[Y]ou are stronger than I and have prevailed..." (Jer. 20:7, ESV).  We must not find ourselves contrary to God!

We must not find ourselves contrary to God's revealed or preceptive will (which can be thwarted), because God will find a way to work out His plan regardless:  "If he snatches away, who can stop him?  Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (Job 9:12, NIV);  "... No one can hold back his hand or say to him:  What have you done?"  (Dan. 4:35, NIV).  God gets His way:  "... 'Surely, as I have planned, so it will be, and as I have purposed, so it will happen'" (Isa. 14:24, NIV); "For the LORD Almighty has purposed, and who can thwart him [going against His decreed or secret will]?  His hand is stretched out, and who can turn it back?" (Isa. 14:27, NIV); and finally, "'Have you not heard?  Long ago I ordained it.  In days of old I planned it; now I have brought it to pass...'" (Isa. 37:26, NIV).  Even the Gamaliel recognized the futility:  "'... You might even be found opposing God!'..."  (Acts 5:39, ESV).

God accomplishes His will in us:  He will "equip you with every good thing that you may do his will, working in us that which is pleasing in his sight.."  (Heb. 13:21, ESV).  God will accomplish His will with or without our cooperation, and it is our privilege to be the clay in His hands, our Potter.  For this reason, we ought to stop fighting God or kicking against the goads and get with the program.  We are made to do His will and this is the only way to find fulfillment (in His will).  Our wills follow our minds and God can change our minds and give us a "knowledge of the truth" (cf. 2 Tim. 2:25, NLT).

Isaiah wondered:  "O LORD, why do you make us wander from your ways and harden our heart so that we fear you not?..."  (Isa. 63:17, ESV).  God can "uphold [us] with a willing spirit" (Psalm 51:12, ESV).   It is for our own good that we pray the prayer of relinquishment and put ourselves in God's hands, praying that His will be done through us willfully, with our cooperation.  Wycliffe's tenet applies:  "All things come to pass of necessity," and we must realize God's sovereignty, that He is in complete control, working all things for our good (cf. Rom. 8:28) if we love Him. It is important to know that we are aligned with God's will, to know whose side we're on; it is vain to fight God the Almighty One, for He is stronger than us, His creatures, and there is not even "one maverick molecule in the universe," according to R. C. Sproul!

"...'The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will...'" (Acts 22:14, NIV).  Christians are exhorted to seek His will and have the unique privilege of knowing it.  We also pray in His will and all our prayers are answered if they comply to His will (cf. 1 John 5:14).   One petition of the Lord's prayer is for God's will to be done.  God's will is laid out to us in Scripture and revealed and illuminated through the ministry of the Holy Spirit.   Even Paul tells the Greeks:  "For I have not hesitated to proclaim to you the whole will of God" (Acts 20:27, NIV).  We are responsible for what God has opened our eyes to; to whom " much is given, much is required" is the principle (cf. Luke 12:48).

Jesus said that those who do the will of God are His brother, mother, and sister!  (Cf. Matt. 12:50, NIV).  And so it is paramount that we seek, know, and do God's will.  Why?  "... For whoever does the will of God abides forever" (1 John 2:17, NIV); "you need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised"  (Heb. 10:36, NIV);  "... [That] you may stand firm in all the will of God, mature and fully assured"  (Col. 4:12, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Friend Of Publicans And Sinners

"The righteous should choose his friends carefully, For the way of the wicked leads them astray" (Proverbs 12:26, NKJV--italics and boldface mine).

"...to depart from evil is understanding"  (Job 28:28, NASB).

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil"  (cf. Proverbs 8:13).

"You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean" (cf. Lev. 10:10).

"A people without discernment will come to ruin"  (cf. Hosea 4:14).


Jesus was called the "friend of publicans and sinners" but did not say that of Himself ("You are my friends if you do what I command you," Jesus, in John 15:14, ESV), it was only assumed since He went where they were and was not afraid to get down and dirty with mankind. Jesus said that His friends were those who obey Him.  But it's the sinners who admit it that are closer to Him than those who think they're righteous   He was with them but did not condone their behavior, nor alter His mission to save man from sin.  He was not influenced by their sin, which is not something we can boast:  "Do not be deceived:  'Evil company corrupts good habits'" (1 Cor. 15:33, NKJV).  Note that He saved and loved us before we were His friends.

Are we to justify our friendship with the world as being like Jesus?  He who is the friend of the world, is the enemy of God, according to James 4:4. If we spend most of our time with sinners and little of it with God's people, who will influence us the most?  Jesus could be exposed to sin and no corrupted by it because He is holy, but we are highly influenced by our surroundings and environment, not to mention the kind of people we choose to associate with.

We can not justify watching sinful programs that are indecent, lewd, suggestive, disgusting, and risque, because we are "friends of sinners" (like Jesus).  Show discretion in entertainment choices.  Don't be like Demas who loved this present world and departed from the faith.  God has given us a discerning mind to know good and evil and we are to use it, to be wise as serpents, but innocent as doves.

You are what you think about.  It is also said that you're not what you think you are, but what you think you are. "Keep [guard] your heart with all diligence, For out of it spring [flow] the issues of life" (Proverbs 4:23, NKJV).  "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he," Prov. 23:7    Be aware of the wiles of the devil and don't be ignorant (cf. 2 Cor. 2:11). "Come out from among them and be separate."2 Cor. 6:17.    

We are all vulnerable and susceptible to Satan's influence: He is the god of the media, entertainment world, academia, and even this world-system, and we are not to be influenced by this, but come out of it and be separate--that is what holiness is about.  "....without holiness shall no man see the Lord..."  (cf. Heb. 12:14).  We are to be cheerful that He overcame the world (cf. John 16:33).   He who walks with the wise will become wise, according to Solomon and a "companion of fools suffers harm."   Soli Deo Gloria!

Prerequisite For Learning

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (Proverbs 1:7, ESV).
"To begin learning you must admit your ignorance."  --Socrates

"Uncertainty is the prerequisite for learning and often its result."  (Author Unknown). 

We pray to God to open the eyes of our heart and enlighten us, as the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit to believers only.  Jesus praised the Father that these things were hidden from the "wise and understanding and revealed them to children" (cf. Matt. 11:25, ESV).

Augustine of Hippo said that we believe in order to understand and all knowledge begins in faith:  We must start somewhere with some proposition that we cannot prove--it is not a matter of faith vs. reason or facts vs. theory, but which set of presuppositions you are willing to accept and/or whose authority you accept. Most of what we have learned has been by accepting the authority of the mentor or teacher.

It has been said that education is going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of your ignorance.  Plato wrote that Socrates said that to begin learning you must admit your ignorance. To learn you must be teachable:  Having a receptive attitude, a willing spirit, an open mind, an obedient and needy heart, and readiness to apply what you learn in expectation of learning in humility of mind and a spirit reverent of the Word.  

We can learn from anyone, not just professors--God can speak to you through any member of the body of Christ, even a child as Augustine professed. We are exhorted to edify one another in Christ. We don't have to agree on everything either to be used by God in the edification of each other--God will ultimately lead us in the right direction if we trust Him.  The question is: Are you listening because God is teaching? The requisite for learning is not having a high IQ, being worldly-wise or savvy, sophisticated, or scholarly, but having the right mindset or frame of mind. Spiritual truth can only be learned in spiritual manners.

We will never arrive at the truth if we think we've already arrived!  We must be willing to admit that even we could be wrong!  It is not enjoyable to be wrong, but everyone needs to stand corrected at some time.  No one has a monopoly on knowledge or knows all the truth, and no one can speak ex-cathedra or pontificate for the body at large.  We don't have popes who are the vicar of Christ on earth!

The eye cannot say to the ear that he has no need of him because all members must coordinate their efforts together and work in harmony and unison (stressing unity, not uniformity).  If someone refused to admit that he could be in error or misinformed, that person thinks he knows it all, and no one likes a know-it-all!  Knowledge tends to puff up according to 1 Cor. 8:1 and we must learn to apply what we know or it is merely theory and truth gone to seed.  We don't seek knowledge for its own sake or as an end in itself, but as a means to an end.

Knowledge can be dangerous!  You can know just enough to misuse it and misapply it. Many students of the Word know enough to be dangerous:  They haven't learned they shouldn't be quarrelsome, divisive, argumentative, contentious, or judgmental when people disagree.  We must learn to agree to disagree without being disagreeable and find common ground to keep in fellowship. 

Some people are only half-educated and think they know all the answers.  The more educated you get, the more you realize the need to be educated and you realize that God puts no premium on ignorance (which is not a virtue). Contrary to popular opinion, ignorance is not bliss!  We will be judged for willful ignorance or knowledge that we had the opportunity to know and refused (missed opportunities, etc.).   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Legitimate Fear Of God

"The fear of the LORD is to hate evil...." (Proverbs 8:13a, NKJV).
"Then those who feared the LORD spoke to one another,
And the LORD listened
and heard them;
So a book of remembrance
was written before Him
For those who fear the LORD
And who meditate on His name" (Malachi 3:16, NKJV).

What does it mean to put the fear of God into someone?

The fear of the Lord and knowing Him go hand in hand.  Our intimacy with the Almighty depends upon our ongoing relationship as we learn to fear Him and give Him the reverence He deserves in every aspect of our lives as we give Him complete ownership of them.  Fearing God does include a healthy awareness that God can destroy both body and soul in hell, but we are to love Him at the same time.  

You can distinguish the two but not separate them because they are both necessary to a healthy respect and reverence.  We don't live our lives in terror of punishment but in view of God's benevolence and love. Love is a greater motivator than fear! Perfect love casts out fear!  

As A. W. Tozer said, "What we think about God is the most important thing about us,"  So we must have a doctrinally accurate view and interpretation--a saving faith entails correct or sound doctrine--we cannot have a false image of God or put Him in a box, as if we could label or define Him! God deserves our fear and no man does!  Without fearing God you can know nothing for certain and everything would be relative:  "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..." (Prov. 1:7a, ESV).

Fearing God recognizes the seriousness of sin and a quickened conscience that doesn't want to take advantage of grace.  Fearing God is also defined as having a sense of awe in much the way a child is awed by the world he is discovering and asks many questions out of curiosity.  Job 28:28 says, "... Behold, the fear of the Lord, that is wisdom, and to turn away from evil is understanding."  

Indeed, to fear God is to hate evil or hate what He hates and love what He loves.  The closer we walk with God the more we learn to fear Him and don't want to abuse or take advantage of His grace.  God isn't looking for a people who serve Him out of fear, but out of love and if we do fear God in the right way, we have no fear of man. We don't become Christians just for a ticket out of hell!     Soli Deo Gloria!

The Appearance Of Wisdom

It would seem that "holy" men like Mahatma (Mohandas) Gandhi or the Dali Lama of Tibet have reached a level unattainable by the average person.  But religiosity is not what God seeks.  Asceticism is condemned by Paul in Col. 2:23 and its show of holiness because the person thinks he is giving up something for God and doing Him a favor by impressing Him of his holiness--these types have a "holier-than-thou" attitude condemned in Isaiah 65:5.  Severe denial of pleasures or the good things in life is not the answer--God has given us richly all things to enjoy (cf. 1 Tim. 6:17) and we are not to refuse anything if received with thanksgiving--God is the source of all good things and blessings.

We are not any better because we give up something.  But fasting is a temporary abstinence of something for the sole purpose of humbling oneself to God and seeking His guidance or deliverance in a trial or difficult time or decision time--not to be practiced for its own sake as a measure of spirituality.  The purpose is to learn and practice self-control in all things, not just our eating habits as some allege.  Martin Luther practiced extreme self-flagellation, and if anyone could've benefited by such a lifestyle it would have been him--he took it to its logical conclusion and found out it didn't work nor impress God.

Faith is what pleases God, not religiosity--He tests our faith as if by fire and brings trials our way to force action.  There are plenty of athletes who have a lot of bodily self-discipline but aren't even saved.  Jesus didn't come to make us good people who have good habits, but to make dead people alive who enjoy the more abundant life He promised.  Abstinence of pleasure or the good things in life is not taught (I'm not talking of sin); for instance, there is no case for teetotalism.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Sun That Melts The Butter Hardens The Clay

We must never forget our Maker and that we are just clay in the Great Potter's hands to use us for His purposes--God will fulfill His purpose for you, with or without your cooperation because He is sovereign and is Lord of all, whether we accept it or not; it is just a matter of our enjoyment and glorification that matters. "...as I have planned, so shall it be, and as I have purposed, so shall it stand" (Isaiah 14:24).  We are always to be prepared to meet our Maker says Amos 4:12.  God doesn't have a Plan B or other emergency exit, backup strategy, or alternate route to take--it's up to us!

We must never forget that adversity, suffering, testing, tribulation, heartbreak, ordeals, tragedy, crisis,  trouble, and trials will come to all believers and Christ didn't even exempt himself from them!   Our crosses pale in comparison to His!  He is our exemplar and we need to bear the cross and follow Jesus as part of what we signed up for.  It is our crucible and God knows as Job says, "The LORD knows that way that I take when He has tried me I shall come forth as gold."  God never promised us a bed of roses and we must acknowledge that without a cross there is no crown.  If we have a "why?" to our suffering and see Jesus with us, we can bear almost anything!  There is a place for negative stress, even a psychiatrist will admit that--if we have an easy life we become soft.  Don't pray for an easy going life, but to be made strong!  "Been there, done that!"  Knowing the "why," we can bear any "how."

It is the crises of our daily grind that molds our character to become more Christlike and God does it for our own good, as a parent disciplines a child he loves.  God has good intentions: "Behold, the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans for wholeness and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope"  (Jer. 29:11, ESV).  Some of us learn only from the school of hard knocks, while the wisest ones learn from Scripture and take God at His Word.  We don't want to learn life's lessons the hard way.  It is pruning and not a punishment that God uses to develop our character. God punished Jesus for our sins, and we are not punished for them too.  (It has been said that experience is what happens in you, not to you.)  Suffering is par for the course.

We have a will to exercise according to our desires at the moment, but God is in charge of the circumstances.  God made our natures that sanguine, melancholy, impetuous, impulsive, introverted, happy-go-lucky, ad infinitum, and we act accordingly. We are not the captains of our souls nor the masters of our fate. God knows how to manipulate and orchestrate events to get His will done and can change our minds; for instance, it may have been your notion to never get married, but you discovered God had other plans!   If a man can change a ladies mind, certainly God can.  "I do not like crises, but I like the opportunities they afford"  (Lord Reith).

The flip side of butter being melted by the same sun is being hardened like clay.  We can become bitter or better as they say.  Habakkuk experienced the worst of experiences when he seemed to have lost all but made a hymn to the joy that he still had God and if we have Him we have all we really need--sometimes we have to get to the end of ourselves or lose everything to discover this:  "Behold the goodness and severity of God" (cf. Rom. 11:22).   His confession was simply:  "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will joy in the God of my salvation" (Hab. 3:18).  Note that God reserves the right to have mercy on whom He will have mercy and to harden [i.e., judicial hardening] whom He will harden (cf. Rom. 9:18).  Remember what God did to Pharaoh and know that God can do the same today.

God is in control of the hearts of kings to make them do His will according to Proverbs 21:1 (ESV) which says:  "The king's heart is a stream of water in the hand of the LORD, he turns it wherever he will."   God leaves nothing to chance--Albert Einstein noticed that "God doesn't play dice with the universe."  It is equally said that God doesn't leave one out of His control and that there is not one maverick molecule in the universe.  God doesn't just reign like the British monarch, but actually rules over all ("For kingship belongs to the LORD, and he rules over the nations," says Psalm 22:28 and in Isaiah 40 God says the nations are but a "drop in the bucket" to Him.)

Let me add that God works on us to the very end and doesn't give up, we are always a work in progress and won't be glorified in this life, which is only a training ground, a test station, or proving grounds for glory.  You may ask the silversmith when he is done refining the silver:  when he sees himself in it!   The sculptor takes away everything that doesn't look like his subject--his icons!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Why Doesn't God Answer All Our Questions?

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways," declares the LORD.  As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9, NIV).
"Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!  How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!" (Romans 11:33, NIV).
"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever" (Deut. 29:29).

Wouldn't it be hunky-dory if God answered all our questions?  But wait a minute, we are assuming we have the capacity to apprehend God.  God is the ultimate mystery to never be fathomed!  The medieval theological maxim still holds water:  "The finite cannot grasp (or contain) the infinite."  We cannot plumb the mysteries of God, as it were.  This is called the profundity or incomprehensibility of God doctrinally speaking.  Our limited minds can no longer understand  God's motives than if we tried to explain the Internet to an ant.  The only info we need is enough to have faith, and faith is what pleases God and without faith, it is impossible to please Him (cf. Heb. 11:6).  The more we know the more responsible we are and if we knew all the answers we would ultimately be on a par with God Almighty Himself.

The supreme example of a man who demanded answers from the Almighty was Job.  He kept asking God "Why me, Lord?" But God countered:  "Who are you Job?"  God was saying:  Who do you think you are?  Let me ask you a few questions?  God is simply too profound to explain Himself.--the the profundity of God.  God had questions for Job to answer just to humble him and put him in his place.  God is not accountable to anyone and for anything He does.  He depends on nothing and no one for His existence.   Nebuchadnezzar said, "Who can stay His hand, or say unto Him, 'What hast thou done?'"  He stands alone, and who can oppose him?  He does whatever he pleases" (Job 23:13, NIV).

If God answered all our questions, we would not have faith, but knowledge.  However, John 16:23 says:  "In that day you shall ask me nothing." What Jesus seems to be referring to is that we will be satisfied with the knowledge that He gives us and the answers He does give to us about our loved ones and related subjects.  If God were obliged to answer all our questions, there would be no end to the inquiry.  Our questions would keep us from having faith and taking that "leap of faith."

Job was satisfied in seeing God or in having a revelation of Him, that humbled him and made him realize that even he had self-righteousness ("Therefore I despise myself and repent in dust and ashes," according to Job 42:5).  In spirit, all our questions will be answered, but technically they won't and cannot be.  We are finite and our minds cannot contain God's infinity.  Answering all our questions is akin to answering all our prayers, or doing miracles on demand--they weaken, not strengthen faith. We don't want all our prayers answered our way because we don't know what is best for us and would mess up our lives in the process--thank God all your prayers weren't answered the way you wanted.

Miracles only give a thirst for more miracles and don't make faith--actually, faith makes miracles. The key from Job is to know God, not know why He does everything.   Quite frankly, it may be none of our business!  He doesn't owe us; we owe Him!  And so in conclusion:  Just like Job's inquiry, we have to realize who God is and who we are, and not presume on His wisdom in withholding info from us (remember what Satan said to Eve, that God was withholding a secret?)--some things are better off not knowing. In sum, God is too kind to be cruel, too wise to make a mistake, and too deep to explain Himself.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Knowing When To Change

VERSES TO PONDER:
"When I think on my ways, I turn my feet to your testimonies"  (Psalm 119:59).
"Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD'  (Lam. 3:40).
"There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death"  (Proverbs 14:12).
"... Consider your ways" (cf. Haggai 1:5,7).

This is just as much a confession as it is a doctrinal post.  It seemed like Providence was smiling at me and I took my cue on schedule.  God allowed me to make a fresh start or to have a clean slate once more.  As you will see we have to be willing to step out of our comfort zone (in faith as Abraham did to be the father of the faithful).  As a word to orient you:  I had the biggest to-do list of my lifetime--trying to fit a week's job of organizing and moving into one day (it took over 12 hours!). But the reward was worth it in the end.

A radical change of lifestyle is a sign of a true conversion, for that is what conversion means (change).  "Behold, all things are become new"  (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17). When we heed God's call on our life in His timing it is aided by the grace of God, so it is not in the energy of the flesh.  I'm not against reform or making new resolutions, but they are usually done in the energy of the flesh, and not of God. While we are in the mood, you could say, why don't we take the opportunity to change all our bad habits one by one!  Like Amos talked about in Amos 6:13 saying:  [paraphrased by me] "You boast about accomplishing 'nothing' by your own power!"  Paul said he "ventured not to boast, but of what the Spirit did through [him]," (cf. Rom. 15:18).  

It is clear in Hosea 14:8 that our "fruit" comes from Him.  Our disposition, demeanor, temperament, and personality type are God's gift to us--not our gift to God (He is the Potter, we are the clay).  He doesn't owe us anything and all is of grace!  Isaiah says in chapter 26 verse 12 that all that we have accomplished He has done through us.  God rewards us for working through us as His vessels of honor.  "... [You] have done for us all our works" (Isaiah  26:12b).  Jesus said that "apart from [Him] we can do nothing"  (John 15:5).

There is a "window of opportunity" that we must recognize when God is blessing us to do His will and we are to "seize the day" (carpe diem), as it were.  It gets harder and harder to stop a bad habit or vice the more we "try" to stop and it only gets more ingrained in us as if we were getting "programmed."  I'm not claiming that it is smooth sailing, but Isaiah says, "When you pass through the waters I will be with you" (cf. Isaiah 43:2).  Some people literally don't know when to quit or have gone too far.

My moving experience was sort of an Abrahamic "episode" you might say, because of the parallels. I was "called" to leave my room because I was on the list.  I didn't want to go at first because I was content (or stuck in a rut) to be where I was (maybe complacency too) and had everything the way I wanted after ten-plus years of being there.  I didn't even want to check out the new room but was talked into it.  When I saw it that this was a "promotion" I jumped the chance to better my fortunes because they believed I had paid my dues, however, I wasn't worthy of myself (they say I deserve it because I've been here so long--but what did I ever do?).  Now that I am all settled in, and it was the hardest work I have ever done to move all my stuff and prioritize my belongings, I realized what a blessing it was and was overcome with gratitude to God realizing that the goodness of God leads us to repentance (cf. Rom. 2:4).  

Now, this new attitude of gratitude has spilled out into other domains of my life and it shows.  Moving is usually the time people get rid of excess baggage and personal effects, and reevaluate their lives, putting them into perspective--their values, that it.  We tend to "accumulate" in more than one dimension of being.  Sometimes we don't realize how much we have till we move. Was I willing to part with some of these things or not?  I was forced into an assessment or an inventory, as it were.  Abraham had to shed all idols, and only take what was necessary and what was God's will--no idols--a tall order in those days of idolatry.

Now, why do you hear about so many people testifying that it was easy for them to "quit?"  Because they did it when God convicted them and when He was giving them the grace to do it in His power of the Spirit.  Repentance comes naturally when prompted by the Spirit and is not forced--we want to change and don't feel we are forced to.  Once true repentance or genuine repentance--versus spurious repentance or regret--(always accompanying the flip side of saving faith) only then can conversion transpire, and as Jesus gets the "passkey" to our inner sanctum or sanctuary of our soul and we allow Him to clean house, as it were, the more He is allowed, the easier it gets to yield more to Him.  If there is something that we are withholding and unwilling to surrender, that will paralyze our walk and God will have to deal with these "lordship issues."

When I got moved to a bigger and better room where I reside, I felt it was time to take inventory and take stock of what paraphernalia I actually needed.  It was a shock at how much "stuff" I had been holding on to just because I didn't like to throw things out!   It would have been postmortem embarrassment to realize someone actually going through my personal belongings and being able to judge what kind of person I was.   

Matthew Henry said to live each day as if it were your last.   I want to be ready and have a "clean house" when my time comes.  Corrie ten Boom always said to "hold things loosely." A. W. Tozer writes of the  "Blessedness of Possessing Nothing," meaning that nothing possesses you--and you realize that you are only the steward of God (do you control and manipulate it or does it control you?), and you are not a materialist guilty of idolatry.   

Obadiah says that Israel shall "possess their possessions [we don't possess people!]." We manipulate things and love people, we don't manipulate people and love things! There is a point of fanaticism (being a "fan" to the max) or when we idolize someone, putting them on a pedestal, and we are too devoted to people too--our sole celebrity or object of worship should be Jesus!  There is a certain freedom and inner catharsis or release when we give back to God of what He has given out of His bounty as our provision.  "It is more blessed to give than to receive," as Jesus said (cf. Acts 20:35).


Another godly trait I determined to undertake as I moved was to get organized:  "For God is not a God of confusion, but of peace" (1 Cor. 14:33).  It made me even feel more godly:   My friend and fellow veteran and resident says he worked in a warehouse twenty years and learned that for everything there is a place and a place!  I took his advice seriously as I moved and found out as I did it as a man "on a mission" it was actually a joy to work so hard and work up a sweat like I never had before--labor can be rewarding if we know the why and have a purpose.  I wanted to make my room presentable as if Jesus Himself were to be my visitor!   I changed the decor and took this into consideration.  Case in point:  I even got rid of some possibly offensive CDs!

Doing things God's way and not your way is the only way:  Jesus said, "I am the way...."   It is not one of several ways, nor the best way, but the only way!  The key to staying in fellowship with our Heavenly Father throughout the day, as Brother Lawrence wrote about in his book,   The Practice of the  Presence of God, is to keep short accounts of when we get convicted and to do things God's way and according to the light we have, of which we are responsible for.  We are not people-pleasers" in the least, but when we are approved of God, there is inevitable approval by God's people and the world will not understand our motives, which are not as selfish as theirs are.

Another thing that contributed to my attitude was gratitude to God for this new room and that I was finally getting some respect it felt like a whole new "born-again" (it is like a new beginning and new world to get to know) experience with my move because I used it as an opportunity to rededicate myself to being a better man and develop healthier coping skills and mechanisms and to have good habits, not bad--would you believe that the power is there to do this because the timing is right. I try to write when I feel the juices flowing  (when the Spirit moves), as it were, and when in the mood and the Spirit are calling me--and not to be disobedient to the heavenly "vision" of exercising my spiritual gift.

In summation:  If you don't change when God is convicting you---then you may be like a drinker or smoker who claims he can't lick his vicious habit, in actuality, vice.  You cannot do it in your power, so you might as well do it with God!  Clean up your act and make your lifestyle presentable to God for ready inspection.  It is like God told Hezekiah to "get his house in order."  In other words "Be ready!" Death is a promotion and a door to a superior way of living!  We never know when our master will come or our time is finally up and we shall meet our Maker.  "...[Prepare] to meet your God, O Israel" (Amos 4:12c ).  Soli Deo Gloria!

How Important is Knowledge?

Note that I am referring to the average Joe believer and not the one called into the ministry who must utilize all the tools of the trade and prepare himself by studying.  Knowledge is usually a byproduct and not a goal to see how smart one can become; there is little correlation between education and spiritual maturity or growth.  If there was I would certainly be rated a great believer, simply by virtue of my knowledge.  Knowledge must be accompanied by wisdom and understanding.  "For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth men should seek instruction--because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty (Mal. 2:7).

Because in much wisdom there is much grief, and in increasing knowledge results in increased pain"  (Eccl. 1:18).  The meaning of what Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is required" applies in that the more we know, the more responsible we are, especially in our sinning and ministry.  The goal, Hosea says, is to "go on to know the LORD"  It is better to know the Author than to know the Bible, no matter how vital this is.  But don't get the fallacious impression that ignorance is bliss!  "The fear of God is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding" (Ps. 111:10).

1 Cor. 8:1 says that "knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." God hates arrogance and conceit.  We overestimate our place in the body and our importance when we know a lot and don't relate to the less informed.  We may think of them as a poor specimen because they aren't as clued in as we are and it may be a source of pride.  We are not to reject knowledge per se, but it is not the goal, it is the means to an end, and not the end itself.  We must always ask ourselves, "Why do I need to know this?"  For instance, I don't learn Greek, because I can't justify it, even though it would be a source of pride and I could brag.  I asked a friend of mine why he was taking this course and he really hadn't thought about it--it seemed to satisfy idle curiosity it seemed.

Hos. 4:6 warns the priest that has rejected knowledge (it comes with the territory). And "since they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD" God will not answer their prayers and let Himself be found by them.  For some brethren, it is more pleasing to God that they serve in a soup kitchen or charity than take a theology course to think they are "educated" and "informed" (i.e., a person should know his gift and how  God uses him in the body).  People erroneously think that "knowledge is power" and this only applies to the right kind used wisely and of spiritual knowledge, otherwise it puffs up (cf. 1 Cor. 8:1).

The man of God knows who God wants him to hearken to and submit to.  There are many courses over the internet, for instance, and one must exercise caution and discretion.   I like the prayer warrior who replied that he didn't have theology on prayer, he just prayed!  Another teacher said, "I don't need another book on prayer, I just need to pray, and I won't find the time, I must make time!  Most of us know enough, we just aren't applying enough.  The proverb that "curiosity killed the cat" has some validity, in that one may get too enamored with the intellectual side of Christianity and lose its main focus, which is seeking God and doing His will which will glorify Him.

Some people are converted to the program and not to Christ--and this is another danger.  If one is too intellectual and not practical, he may be in love with the idea of God, rather than God.  God is not looking for some genius to discover His truths (I have been told that I'm the brains behind the program and I don't take this as a compliment, because God is looking for a man after His own heart--it is no accolade to be smart in some one's eyes, but to be able to be a spiritual or spiritual leader is another thing)--He's looking for an open mind, willing spirit, and needy heart to search the Scriptures ("Keep your heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life," according to Prov. 4:23; cf. Prov. 23:7)  The question is whether a person's heart is in the right place, not how smart he is.

We want to know what God showed you in the Scriptures, not what the experts say:  Jesus was contrasted to the Pharisees who quoted the authorities and never footnoted His sermons, but said, " You have heard it said, but I say unto you."  "No man ever spoke like Jesus," cf. Matt. 7:29.  To be called a scholar is more of an insult than a compliment because he doesn't have first-hand knowledge of the Lord, but only knows what he has read in books.  "Of making many books, there is no end, and much study wearies the body" (Eccl. 12:12).

It is so refreshing to talk to a believer who doesn't read any book but the Bible,  in contrast to him.  We need believers with more than a second-hand knowledge of the Lord.  There is knowledge we all can commend: the knowledge of the Lord, which must be contrasted with knowledge about the Lord.  This comes from our daily walk in the Spirit.  Experience, indeed, is the best teacher, and we should always need someone who has been there and done that or has gone through the school of hard knocks, as it were.

To sum up in a sentence:  the gift of knowledge is a gift and we should try to be like them who have been filled with wisdom, knowledge, and understanding, not emphasizing and elevating knowledge, but not despising or rejecting it either--it has a place--we are to love God with all our mind, too.  Soli Deo Gloria!