Origins Of Morality

If there was no morality or justice, we would not know it. Likewise, if there was no meaning to the universe, we would not know it. Does a fish know it is wet? Do animals know they are incapable of moral decisions because they don't have the equipment in that they don't have a will able to obey God? They are oblivious to Him.  Because we have a mind and a will we are capable of moral action. Animals are not responsible nor culpable. 

Many have heard of the saying, "There oughta be a law!" (or on sports, "There oughta be a rule!)  Well, it is to this sense of "ought" that I am addressing here. Everyone believes some things are wrong and some things are right. Have you ever heard of a society that honored cowardice or selfishness?

It was the principles of morality that were attractive to some pagans as they converted to Judaism. The Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle were embarrassed with the immorality of the "gods," e.g., Mars and Venus had sexual intercourse with mortal women. The morality of Judaism attracted many Greek God-seekers or God-fearers. In antiquity might made right and no one questioned the authority of the government to set standards. It was the Judeo-Christian ethic that brought the values we have today. Christians ended the gladiator fights and slavery. It would be another world had Jesus never been born. All the major Universities of Europe and the first 150 American Universities were started by Christians. Hospitals, relief organizations,  orphanages, charities, and humane societies and temperance leagues were influenced by Christians.

Before the Ten Commandments, there was the Hammurabi's Code, but there was no uniform code. People were generally ruled by whim and conscience. The law of the land was an eye for an eye. Jesus put an end to that and brought morality to a new level--loving our neighbor. The Dark Ages saw the "seven deadly sins" (lust, anger, jealousy, greed, envy, gluttony, and sloth) as the evil to avoid according to the Pope. Christian life was performance-based then before the Reformation.

The Golden Rule that Christ taught is the epitome of morality that we can only hope to emulate. Today most people are cynical and believe in "do unto others as they do unto you," (Brazen Rule) or "do unto others before they do unto you" (Iron Rule).  They think recompense and comeuppance. It is like Hindu philosophy that good and bad karma works out our fates or good karma cancels bad.

Of course, there is an element of truth in all religious systems. Islam believes morality is arbitrary because Allah's decrees can change. Without an absolute standard such as God's holiness, there can be no morality. The Christian God is not arbitrary, capricious, nor whimsical, but dependable and immutable. But we know intrinsically that morality exists as absolute standards (is there ever an instance where rape is moral; once could argue when one had no choice, but this isn't justification, just a moral dilemma)?) Justice, love, courage, and mercy have always been admired; while cowardice, lying, and stealing have always been despised. God gave everyone a conscience and we are responsible to Him. "They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness..." (Rom. 2:15).

Today some modern philosophies teach to do what feels right for you. This is nothing but the old apostasy of Israel in Judges 21:25; 17:16 which is described: "Each man did what was right in his own eyes."

The reason behind morality is responsibility. "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind" (Luke 10:27). We are not free to make up our own rules as we go along--we always make up a system we think we have kept (acc. to D. James Kennedy). Animals are not responsible to God for moral behavior but we are in the imago Dei (image of God).

When we become the source of our values it is nothing short of blasphemy--it is God's prerogative as the Judge of all mankind. The summation of ethics is to follow Christ, the great mandate of salvation. Today they teach the children they are animals--is it any wonder they act like them?  Soli Deo Gloria!

Ethics With A Capital "E"

I realized the way our qualms or principles evoke reactions in others watching Gunsmoke. A common criminal who had stolen golden relics from a church went into a bar and when the prostitute saw them he said, "Don't you have any principles?" He retorted, "I have as many as you!" Next, he held up the bartender but noticed he was wearing a crucifix. He couldn't do it, but said, "You don't know how close you came to being killed." He later became a Christian.

Julian Huxley's Religion Without Revelation reveals how you can be moral and not believe in God. The New Morality or situation ethics justify wrongdoing but the Bible's teachings are immutable and rock-solid. We are to imitate that which is good and not evil. Without God morality is just consensus and if there is no judge or judgment day why not eat, drink, [and be merry] for tomorrow we die" like the Bible says? If you just want to be a nice guy or an ethical person, any [ethnic] religion will do, but this is for the seeker of God. For instance, Buddhism is so popular because you can be good without God. (Buddha was an atheist.)

What about the unlearned, unsophisticated person--does he/she have any discernment? We all have the ability to make value judgments by the moral compass God has given us. Like Jiminy Cricket said, "Always let your conscience be your guide." Martin Luther said it is neither right nor safe to go against conscience. But the conscience can be wrong if it isn't enlightened by the Word of God. Alexander and Hymenaeus ignored and rejected their conscience and thus made shipwreck of their faith: A word to the wise is sufficient.

Do not be confused that the Christian life is a philosophy or a code of conduct or system of ethics; one can lead a very moral life and still not be saved. Being a Christian is knowing Jesus personally and having a relationship with Him.

Why do universities that believe in relative morality (What's right for me) even teach ethics? Because it's good for business. Orthopraxy is the name for putting into practice what you believe and how correct it is, just like orthodoxy is right believing, orthopraxy is right doing. Everyone has a code of conduct, their own conscience, so to speak; even criminals have a prison code! But what I'm concerned with is the Christian perspective; that of perfection, which no one can satisfy. ("Be ye perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.").  Perfection is the standard, the direction is the test.

Christians believe morality stems from God's immutable character and are therefore immutable and not arbitrary or changeable. James is the book dedicated to ethics because it's theme is the faith you have is the faith you show. "I will show you my faith by my works" (James 2:18). God has redeemed "a people zealous unto good works," (cf. Titus 2:14).  The admonition to follow Christ is the decision every Christian has made and Paul has some insight when he says "Abstain from every form of evil." "By their fruit, you shall know them."

Nowadays people think ethics are relative (I believe in absolute moral values) and we can make up our own rules as we go along. I believe in absolute morality because it is the only system of ethics compatible with faith in a righteous and moral God. The statement, "All truth is relative" is itself relative and of no value and is a truth statement.   Have you heard of the professor who introduced his class by saying, "You can know nothing for certain." One student replies: "Professor, are you sure?" He answers, "I AM sure."

I have heard it said that the summation of Christian ethics is to overcome evil with good (Rom. 12:21). Jesus made famous the Golden Rule: "Treat unto others the way you would have them treat unto you." This is an impossibly high ethic that no one has completed to perfection.  "The Christian life is not hard, it's impossible"--only Christ has fulfilled it.

But the idea wasn't unique. The Jews had heard of the great Rabbi Hillel who said that you must not do anything to others you wouldn't want to be done in return--that this summed up the Law. Confucius was asked to sum up his teachings with one word and he did: "Reciprocity." Buddha's rule was called the Silver Rule because it was slightly easier and it was in the negative: "Don't do to others what you don't want done to you." The Golden Rule was also in the Old Testament. In Obadiah, it says, "As you have done, so shall it be done to you." It's the highest ethic.  This is the reverse of said rule. Solomon also had a word of wisdom that will suffice: "Do not withhold good to others when it is within your power."  Solomon also said we should return evil for evil:  "Don't say, 'I'll do to him what he did to me; I'll repay the man for what he has done.'" (Prov. 24:29). Americans mostly live by the Brazen Rule:  "I'll do to him as he has done to me."

Finally, the famous physician Hippocrates said in his famous oath, "First, do no harm." Unfortunately, some people go by the Iron Rule:  "I'll do to them before they do unto me, or might makes right."   We want to go the extra mile and do some good, not just avoid evil. Faith is a verb that does good deeds. We are not saved by our good deeds, but we are not saved without them either--we are saved unto good works (cf. Eph. 2:10).

To sum up, Micah 6:8 is a good Old Testament paradigm of ethics: "He has told you, O man, what is good and what does the Lord require of you, but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God" (When my pastor asked me my philosophy in a verse, that was the one. The definition of the Christian life from Paul could very well be this: "I am crucified with Christ, nevertheless I live, and yet not I, but Christ who lives in me, and the life that I now live, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). Thus the hallmark of the Christian is love as Jesus said to the disciples: "By this shall men know that you are my disciples, that you love one another.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Apologetics For All Believers?...

"...Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have..." (1 Pet. 3:15, NIV).

"Casting down arguments, and high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God..." (cf. 2 Cor. 10:5). 

Some overly zealous believers get carried away and went on a tangent, becoming experts on the shroud of Turin or on documented near-death experiences, but the focus should be on the gospel, for it is the preaching of the cross that has the power. Don't get me wrong, every believer should know his way around the block theologically and apologetically and have a working knowledge of all basic doctrine.   It is not good to have zeal without knowledge (cf. Rom. 10:2; Prov. 19:2).

Note that doctrine is not too arcane for the run-of-the-mill believer. The man of God handles the mysteries of God faithfully.  "They must keep hold of the deep truths of the faith with a clear conscience" (1 Tim. 3:9, NIV).  But this is not for everyone because it takes a certain aptitude to comprehend some of these finer points and theories of science. We are not to twist Scripture  (cf. 2 Pet. 3:16) or to be carried about by every wind of doctrine (cf. Eph. 4:14). 

Paul tried to reach out to the eggheads of Athens and had no luck so to speak. He later said that he strove to "know nothing but Christ, and Christ crucified" (cf. 1 Cor. 2:2).  The KISS principle of keeping it simple is valid. The awesome theories of quantum mechanics and general relativity blow me away, but this is how some find God.

Let's not knock it just because it's out of our league! The principle is that "Ignorance is not bliss!"IN fact, "Knowledge is power" (Sir Francis Bacon, cf. Prov. 24:5).   "Where there is no vision the people perish" (Prov. 29:18).  Hosea says that the "people perish" for "lack of knowledge" (cf. Hos. 4:1). Ignorance leads to ruin (cf. Hosea 4:14).     Soli Deo Gloria!

Why Is There Affliction?

A word of introduction: No religion has a complete and definitive solution or raison d'etre for suffering and adversity; God never explains Himself to Job, but just reveals Himself. (Without adversity, there wouldn't be any faith or character, either.) Buddhists claim to have an answer that we are all an island and deserve what we get from "karma" and must work off via the noble eightfold path. They say we should use our own bootstraps and work off our own "karma;" we aren't each other's keeper. (Buddhists believe in the eightfold path of enlightenment which is the middle way between the extremes of asceticism and sensuality.) The logical conclusion is that suffering is our own "karma" (we deserve it) because everyone is an island. However, we are our brother's keeper and we are members one of another.

Charlie Riggs of the Billy Graham team tells the anecdote of a master sculptor chipping away at a piece of marble. A passer-by asks what he is making: "A horse!" "Well, how can you get a horse out of that?" The sculptor says, "I just chip away everything that doesn't look like a horse." It is the same with us. God is pruning us to see His own image or icon (the imago Dei) in us. We are a work in progress. You've probably seen the acrostic PBPGIFWMY which means, "Please be patient, God isn't finished with me yet." Yes, sufferings, trials, temptations, afflictions, and discipline or chastisement, and adversity inevitably come to all believers (according to Riggs). Remember, Christ didn't even exempt Himself from them. He doesn't expect any more out of us than what He endured.

Isa. 48:10 says, "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction. Did you know that God's Word is refined seven times like silver? Every time it is refined more dross or impurities are removed. When the laborer sees himself in the silver he is done; so when God sees Jesus in us. If the heat is too hot or it is in the furnace too long the silver will be ruined. We are like clay in God's hands, He is the potter. The same sun melts the butter and hardens the clay. It is only when we go through affliction do we find out what we are made of. "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the Lord delivers him out of them all." "When you pass through the waters I will be with you...when you walk through fire, you will not be burned" (Psa. 34:19; Isa. 43:2).

Lee Strobel quotes Corrie ten Boom: "No matter how deep our darkness, He is deeper still." Suffering is an argument against God, but it is a cheap, inadequate explanation and actually proves God more than disproves Him. Case in point: Objective evaluation of rightness and wrongness is an appeal to a higher authority, i.e. God. Strobel also says that suffering is just as likely to sow agnosticism as faith, everyone acts or reacts differently. It is the highest honor to suffer for Christ; in fact, He left us an example that we should follow in His steps. Remember, if you don't suffer to succeed, it is because others have; if you do suffer to succeed, it is so that others won't.

The BIG question since the days of Job has been, "Why do bad things happen to good people?" Actually, there are no good people if you think about it; also, "Why do good things happen to bad people?" Scripture says that even Jesus learned obedience through suffering--He didn't exempt Himself. Suffering is a privilege as Paul wrote, "For it has been granted unto you on behalf of Christ...to suffer for Him." Suffering is a calling: "I want to know Christ...and the fellowship of His sufferings." Paul was proud that he bore the markings of suffering for Christ.

Finally, God comforts us in our affliction so that we can be a blessing to others in the same predicament (2 Cor. 1:3-4). HE IS THE GOD OF ALL COMFORT. Remember, we are members one of another, and if on member suffers, all do. Jesus learned obedience by what he suffered. I will close with a famous quote by C. S. Lewis: "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pains...It is God's megaphone in a deaf world."    Soli Deo Gloria!

Debating The Atonement?

Is it necessary to quarrel about the Atonement--that is, its extent, purpose, or design? Some of the problems are due to mere semantics and definitions. Some very conservative Calvinist theologians consider this a litmus test of orthodoxy. Today we have what is called four-point Calvinists. They do not adhere to or affirm the L of the acrostic TULIP, I mean the doctrine of the limited atonement or particular or definite redemption. They do not like to be called Arminians, who were declared heretics at the Synod of Dort in 1618. Their formulation was that the Atonement is sufficient for all but efficient for some. They believe that Christ died for Judas' sins.

One has to realize that we contribute nothing to our salvation. God quickens faith within us and thus faith is a gift. It is not a meritorious work as Rome believes. Salvation is either of God, of God and man, or of man. Jonah 2:9 says, "Salvation is of the Lord." Remember that Jesus said, "It is finished."

He was not making salvation possible for all, but assured for the sheep, for whom He laid down His life. I've heard it said that Christ died for all indiscriminately, but we have to receive it. If Christ was punished for Judas' sins, then why should he suffer in hell? Arminians believe the Atonement made salvation possible for all, but certain for none. It makes it both indefinite and unlimited. In what way does the Atonement avail for the non-elect?

Salvation is for everyone in the sense that if they believe they are saved--but God decides who believes. We believe because of our election; we are not elected because we believe. Acts 13:48 says, "As many as had been appointed to eternal life believed." N.B. that the appointment or election came first (c.f. 2 Thess. 2:13). Is. 53:12 says, "...He bore the sin of many..." (note that it could have said "all" but named the sub-set).

It is not necessary to understand the Atonement to be saved. We are not saved by our theory of the Atonement either. We must pray as if everything depends on God, and witness as if everything depends on us. We should not let our doctrine hinder our witness--keep it simple. Some doctrine is not meant for babies in Christ. May we get our "meat in due season."

Logic will make it clear that Christ laid down His life for His "friends." He only prayed for believers in His great intercessory prayer in John 17:9:  "I pray for them, I pray not for the world."  God knows ahead of time who will believe. There is a legal principle of double jeopardy. God predestines the salvation of His elect. Universal atonement leads to a conclusion of Universalism (redemption and salvation for all).   1 John 2:2 leads to this conclusion if we use that as a proof text--"And He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world." (Here the world refers to Jews and Gentiles included who believe, not everyone indiscriminately.)

Atonement means reconciliation. All are not saved or reconciled, ergo the Atonement has to be definite or limited to the elect. It is good news that no one who believes will be left out. The Arminian makes possible the salvation of all, but certain for none--it could've been that no one got saved! Au contraire, Jesus said, "It is finished." The plea is that Jesus died to offer you salvation contingent upon faith.  NB:  We are not saved by our theory or view of the atonement!  Let me finish with stating that we are never saved by our theory of the atonement, and it is the immature believer who balks at learning the things of God in depth.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Loving Jesus

Every believer will tell you that he loves Jesus--in fact, there is a biblical curse on everyone who doesn't. But how do you know that you love Jesus? You will love the brethren and your brother whom you can see. Anyone who looks down or despises his brother or hates him cannot love Jesus. If we love the Lord we will love the Word. We will also have a burden for souls.

To know Him is to love Him and our love grows as we grow in Christ. Our goal is to fall in love with Jesus. Jesus said, "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments." Obedience is the key and the test. Loving Jesus without knowing Him would be mere sentimentality and that is not the goal. Loving Jesus is the ultimate response to knowing Him. We must turn our knowledge about Him to knowledge of Him by applying the Word and being a doer of the Word.  As Richard of Chichester said, "To know Him more clearly, to follow Him more nearly, to love Him more dearly"this goal is ours to aim for.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Knowing The Holy Spirit

Knowing the Holy Spirit is not an academic issue, or up to one's mental gymnastics or acumen, or facts to be memorized. One can ace the seminary course on the subject and still not know Him. And to not know Him is to not know God the Father or Jesus. God gives us discernment of spirits and tells us to test the spirits. Only with experience do we learn not to grieve the Spirit or to quench His fire.

He is the conviction, the enabler, the teacher, the guide and comforter (we can sense His illuminating power every time we read the Word). Are you sensitive to when the Spirit is speaking to your heart? Some Christians readily go from talking about something the Spirit blesses to a worldly subject. Like Jesus rebuked Peter telling him that he minded earthly things. If we would rather talk about our favorite football team than things spiritual or about Jesus, we must scarcely know the Holy Spirit, though there is a time and place for this.

In sum, knowing the Spirit cannot be taught; but it is learned by experiencing Him. Like God's love--once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on!

Finally, it is not how much you know about the Spirit, but whether you experience Him and have this experiential knowledge. A little knowledge of God is better than a whole lot about Him. We must grow in the knowledge and grace of Jesus Christ through the Spirit through His gifts and fruit. As we learn to be led by the Holy Spirit we know Him better.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Limited Healing?

In the Western world, we first go to the doctor when we are ill and our security depends on our health insurance. But in the third world, they are forced to believe in God for miracles because there are no medical doctors. They have revivals in Nigeria and Argentina, for instance, where people instantly get healed of whatever ails them (teeth replaced, limbs restored, weight loss, eyes healed, leprosy cleansed, etc.). I have heard of instances where the dead are raised (in the name of Jesus, of course).

There is a tendency to be skeptical and incredulous, as it doesn't seem plausible to some. This is not wrong per se, but God rewards faith. Jesus said, "Nothing shall be impossible unto you." Also, he said, "Be it done unto you according to your faith." And, "If you ask anything believing..." He also said that we shall do greater things. You can't limit God or put Him in a box.

"By His stripes we are healed," said Isaiah and Peter. "Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows." (Is. 53:4) I've heard it said that the reason we don't see more miracles in the Western world is that we have HMOs. Asa was guilty of seeking the help of physicians instead of seeking the Lord for healing. God is no man's debtor and doesn't have to heal us, he may choose to leave us with a cross to bear like Paul's thorn in the flesh. Ps. 103 says that He heals all our diseases. There is no disease that God cannot heal.

However, Paul and Peter couldn't heal everyone. Look at Joni Eareckson Tada, the quadriplegic who isn't healed, yet God has used her to His glory. These cases are for God' will and glory. One reason we don't get healed is that we are concealing some sin. James 5:16 says, "Confess your sins one to one another and pray for one another that you may be healed..." There is also a place for the anointing of oil (James 5:14).

To say that God is only interested in our spirit is nonsense. 3 John 2 says, "Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul."  Soli Deo Gloria!

What About The Evidence?

Every good scientist knows that the lack of evidence does not mean the evidence or proof of a lack. Bertrand Russell (an atheist who wrote a book, Why I Am Not a Christian), was asked what he would say to God if he were wrong, after all. He would retort: "Why didn't You give us more evidence?" The great legal expert, erstwhile atheist, and Harvard professor, Simon Greenleaf was challenged to consider the evidence. He became a believer! There is evidence (not proof though) against God. God has not coerced belief but has left it an open question. (If faith wasn't required, you could no more deny God than the sun.)

For instance, the problem of evil; there is no easy answer on either side--so don't claim that you have all the answers, because God requires faith ("For without faith it is impossible to please God...") and you don't need all the answers to take the leap of faith. However, an honest scientist must be willing to follow the evidence no matter where it leads, leaving his presuppositions behind. However, there is NO SUCH THING AS TOTAL OBJECTIVITY WITH MANKIND.

Lee Strobel calls Christian belief a "properly basic" belief because the proof of the pudding is in the eating. Christ can be experienced. N.B. that Einstein was not an atheist, but even philosophized about Him: "God doesn't play dice with the universe." Another famous scientist, Blaise Pascal said, "...earth indicates neither the total absence of God nor his manifest presence, but rather the presence a hidden God." The Bible says, "O that I knew where I might find Him" (Job 23:3). God wants to be found, but not by triflers, he promises in Jer. 29:13 that if we seek with our whole heart we will find Him. God's pet peeve with man is that he doesn't seek. We must admit with Isa. 65:1 that God is found by those that aren't looking for Him. Actually, He gets the credit. He found us--we didn't find Him!

But remember that faith is a choice. If someone says to prove God exists, tell him to prove He doesn't. Either way, it takes faith; there are no laboratory conditions for God! God wills that if you want to deny Him you can. One philosopher has said, "If there is no God, why is there so much good? And if there is a God, why so much evil? You have the ability to explain away God if you so desire. God has given us just enough light to have faith, and just enough darkness to deny Him if we want to. "But men loved darkness rather than light..." Where there's the will God will bless as He says in John 7:17, "If anyone wills to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine, whether it is of God...."   Remember this from Isaiah: "Truly You are God who hide Yourself... (Is. 45:15).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Doctrine That Important?

Everyone has a doctrine, it is just a matter of how accurate it is. Jesus' doctrine was right but the Pharisees hated His doctrine, though they loved doctrine per se.  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. One can know very little doctrine and be very good at applying what he knows and be a very good Christian.

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). 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.

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, 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.   Soli Deo Gloria!