Disagreeing And Pressing On

"Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another, and working together with one mind and purpose"  (Philippians 2:2, NLT).


Sometimes it behooves us to merely agree to disagree and realize the reality that we aren't always going to be in 100 percent agreement on everything, all the time.  If we find that we are never disagreeing, maybe we don't discuss enough topics or explore new areas--broaden your horizons!  Sometimes it's a shock to newlyweds when they have their first disagreement or spat and think it's all over.  This is only the beginning of a relationship, not the end of a honeymoon.  Relationships have their give and take and both sides have something to say and contribute; no one is all right all the time and can't ever be wrong, because no one has a monopoly on the truth, and we all need each other.

If you've never disagreed with your friend or made friends with someone you disagree with, you haven't lived.  If you find that you always agree, then you may just be a yes man and not doing any independent thinking.  You may find out that eventually you may disagree with even the greatest of Bible teachers or pastors and God can show you something new--for even no prophecy is of any private interpretation.  Something is not correct just because a great theologian, teacher, or preacher says so, we must be ever diligent to study the Word ourselves and take our own responsibility.

We must never have our minds so made up we don't want to be confused with the facts, knowing when God may be trying to speak to us through someone we least expect--even the voice of a child!  Historian Paul Johnson said, "A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts!" Some have a tendency to make their facts fit their theories--just the opposite of what we should do!  Socrates himself said that "to gain knowledge one must admit ignorance."  Caveat:  Even you could be wrong!  It's also said that education is merely going from an unconscious to a conscious awareness of our ignorance!  When we become arrogant and think we know it all, or no one can teach us anything, we must be humbled by God, for "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (cf. James 4:6).

Our friends aren't just the ones who concur with us all the time, for an honest criticism is more valuable than flattery or a kiss on the lips from an enemy.  Some people are merely casting nets for themselves, trying to be everyone's friend.  Life isn't a contest to see how many friends we can manage--but how close, intimate, trustworthy, honest, etc. they are!  It is rare to be 100 percent in sync or always on the same page!  And remember:  It is our pride that gets hurt when we don't want to admit we are wrong.  Show me someone who never apologizes and I'll show you one of great pride and no real friends.  Sometimes the disagreement is merely a failure to communicate, and resultant of using the same lingo, but different dictionaries: you must find out where they're coming from and what they mean by their terminology to instigate the understanding.

In building relationships you need a starting point to be the foundation; for instance, in marriage, you should be equally yoked, because romantic feelings may fluctuate and make for a rocky marriage.  In church we assume members are saved, and this makes for a beginning of a relationship without interrogating everyone.  In politics, no matter how alienated we may become, we should never demonize each other or become polarizing, because there's always some middle ground, even if it's hard to define, such as patriotism and humanity.  In the final analysis of a long-term relationship, we need common purpose, goals, interests, and plans to make it last.

In relationships, its important to stimulate the other to think for himself and to learn something new, which implies they haven't thought it before.  Now, the Bible urges us to live harmoniously and to be one in the Spirit:  "Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace [keeping the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace]"  (Eph. 4:3: NLT). The only thing that counts is the expression of love, which means we learn from and teach each other in our relationships.  Aurelius Augustine (often with the appellation "Saint"), Bishop of Hippo, had a famous dictum:  "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, [negotiables] liberty; in all things, charity. Christians will find that they must never compromise with the devil or make concessions to the truths that unite us, believers.  We must never "give the devil an opportunity."

We must learn to pick our battles as Gen. George S. Patton said, that we should never engage in a fight where we have nothing to win or gain from.  We must fight the good fight and that entails sticking up for the truth as we know it.   Jude 3 admonishes us to "contend for the faith once and for all delivered unto the saints."  If we don't stand up for right and wrong and even take our stand, what makes us think we would stand up for Jesus?  Don't ever compromise your core values just to remain friends, but you can still be friends and you don't have to treat them like an enemy just because you disagree on vital issues.  The best testimony we have as a church body is our expression of love: "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love..."  (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV).

We need to learn to work out our conflicts and disagreements and come into harmony as a body, which gives us a testimony to the world, which will see what Christ's love can do.  When two disagree, they must both realize that they could be wrong (if you are unwilling to admit you could be wrong, you'll never arrive at the truth!), and this may humble a person, especially the type that likes to be right all the time and doesn't like to admit being wrong.  Both can be wrong in any given argument or quarrel, but both parties cannot be right!  They can both be partially right or partially wrong though--truth is seldom black and white in some issues with no middle, neutral or gray area.  But in any case, we must be willing to be tolerant of the other's opinions and leave room for disagreement without trying to be dogmatic on everything.  We will find out that we can learn something from everyone and that we don't know it all!

There's more to spirituality than being right all the time or having impeccably sound and correct doctrine; it's more important that our hearts be in the right place, and we learn to love those we don't always agree with too.  Remember this one lesson in engaging in disagreements: the devil's chief strategy is to divide and conquer!  People's pride will drive them to fight about minor issues simply because it is hard to admit being wrong, but if you've never admitted being wrong, you've never lived to know better either.  You begin to learn from others when you realize you don't know it or, or should I say, that you've arrived.  

The joy of fellowship is that we have come to agreement in the Spirit, not just intellectually. Some battles generate more heat than light and are not worth the adrenaline!  For instance, don't get into heated political discussions in church where we are gathered together to honor the Lord and be in agreement as a body spiritually; leave room for disagreement and give people their space and right to disagree.


One important concept is to learn that there is a difference between opinion and conviction and we should never confuse the two:  we hold opinions; convictions hold us.  People will die for their convictions, but seldom, if ever, for their opinions.  And so much disagreement is because people have the wrong worldview, which they probably learned in school in a secular setting, and is thus the secular worldview prevalent in academia.  If the foundations are strong and healthy, the branches will be too!  I must mention that many churches are negligent in this duty to teach the foundations of a worldview and parents are woefully prepared for the task, and pawn the problem off on the church, which assumed it was the family's domain.

We are never to engage in petty squabbles nor let them define who we are, but to grow in our learning experience, learning to set aside our personal agendas for the sake of the truth, which we are to speak in love for the sake of the Name. We should never become contentious, judgmental, argumentative, nor divisive!  Churches have been known to split over minor differences, but mainly churches part due to church politics and control problems over who is the leader of such and such group as its spiritual leader, and they just use the argument as an excuse or guise.  When push comes to shove, we must realize that some controversies are not productive nor fruitful, and are godless, but we should indeed engage in godly controversies--what if the Arian heresy had never been condemned at the Council of Nicea in AD 325?  What if the canon had never been closed at the Council of Carthage in AD 397?

In summation, what is fellowship, but harmonious relationship and agreement in Spirit? One definition is two fellows in the same ship!  We tend to only agree with friends but Jesus says to agree with our adversary (cf. Matt. 5:25)!  What's more, often there's more to agree with than disagree and we can always find commonalities or common ground to fellowship about something.  To walk together hand in hand, we don't always have to see eyeball-to-eyeball (our degree of intimacy will vary): you don't have to agree about everything, and then open yourself up to disappointment or set yourself up for failure

Finally, Amos tells us good advice about being in a harmonious relationship:  "Can two walk together, except they be agreed?"  (Cf. Amos 3:3).  The NLT puts it:  "Can two people walk together without agreeing on a direction?" Only engage in disputes where you have something significant and worthwhile to gain; some just generate more heat than light!   The point is to be friendly, you may discover you have more in common than you realized!   The point is that we will not always jibe with each other, but must learn to disagree without being disagreeable!   Soli Deo Gloria!   

Putting God On Trial

"I will give them a heart to know Me, for I am the LORD, and they will be My people, and I will be their God, for they will return to Me with their whole heart" (Jer. 24:7, NASB).   "... 'There is no accountability, since God does not exist'"  (Psalm 10:4, HCSB).  

The Bible assumes the existence of God and is not apologetic; it makes no effort to pander to those who doubt His existence and offer proof. When asked point-blank for evidence to support God's existence, but the skeptic on the defensive and ask him what evidence he's found that God doesn't exist!  Christians put the Lord on trial all the time when they try to "prove" Him or offer evidence in order to convince the skeptic or to argue someone into the kingdom by rationalization or presentation of proofs.  There are indeed several ways to make it seem reasonable to believe in God, but a God who demands evidence isn't worth our worship.  The fact should be obvious and people are without excuse for not believing in God (Christianity isn't about believing in a God, but in the God who is there!); people know the truth and they foolishly suppress it (you have to know it to suppress it!).

When we try to prove God the skeptic is in the position of being the judge ascertaining whether there's enough evidence to convince him.  The power of witness and conviction is in the use of the Word of God, not in our clever argumentation and rationale.  People don't realize it but they claim they know that there is no God, when this is a logical contradiction, which cannot be proved (a universal negative).  Atheism is irrational and intellectually bankrupt and has no basis in fact--the only reason people deny God is out of moral concerns, not intellectual ones--all their questions might be answered and they still wouldn't believe, or they could witness miracles and still not believe.  One must realize that all knowledge begins in a step of faith in which he cannot prove the premise; scientists are people of faith just as much as religious people, they just bet the farm that science has the answer and not God.

Faith is a gift of God and God expects us to use the faith we have if we are to get more; they are all judged according to the God that they did know and the moral principles they were aware of--our works.  God can make a believer out of the most stubborn person and melt his heart into godly faith and repentance from stone to flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26), as it were.  When we judge God by weighing the evidence we put Him on trial and say He needs our approval and judgment to be legit.  Evidence is only for the believer to strengthen faith that is already there to help him realize the reasonableness of Christianity, as John Locke termed it, just like miracles strengthen and support faith, but note that faith doesn't come from miracles, but miracles from faith!  This is a paradox!

No one can disbelieve in Christ due to lack of evidence, and there is never enough evidence for the stubborn and unwilling skeptic, who is on a power trip or mind game and is engaging in intellectual arrogance, not intellectual honesty.  God promises to bring faith by the hearing of the Word, i.e., preaching!  We should never break faith in the Word as the means to faith, and not our clever proofs.  God needs to open hearts and quicken faith within them for the person to come to saving faith.  Just head knowledge won't do, because God requires believing in the heart with a love for the Lord.  If anyone loves not the Lord, he is anathema, Maranatha, under a curse till Christ comes, according to 1 Cor. 16:22.  We must realize that faith is given, not achieved and those who do believe are not smarter, wiser, more virtuous, nor intelligent than the infidel, but brought to faith by the grace of God and not their own merit or presalvation work.  Grace from beginning to end, as Christ is the Author and Finisher" of our faith.

When the gospel is preached, the Holy Spirit falls on those listening and does a work of grace in their hearts--for we are all given a measure of faith and receive the same faith (cf. Rom. 12:3; 2 Pet. 1:1).  Acts 18:27 says that we "believed through grace,"  and this was not because we were out-argued or intellectually convinced, but our hearts were changed by grace.  We have nothing to boast of in God's presence!  Faith is not a work or that would be the beginning of merit-based salvation!  Jesus said that the "work of God is that you believe" in Him, and we are not saved by works of righteousness that we have done (cf. Titus 3:5), but by His purpose and grace alone.  As Paul said, "grace reigns through righteousness," in Romans 5:21 (which means it's irresistible and sovereign).

In the final analysis, God is our judge--we are not His judge!  We are the ones on trial and have been found guilty as sin in need of redemption, justification, reconciliation, and propitiation.  The only ones who find the truth are those who admit they're lost and could be wrong.  Christianity is fact-based and based on historical records, not fable, myth,  hearsay, or man's origin and we don't need all the facts nor all the answers to come to faith, God expects a leap of faith to enter the kingdom and we must trust the Lord for the answers and come to know the Answerer (as Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the LORD is good," or that the proof of the pudding is in the eating)!

Our assurance is not based on conjecture, but a certainty, as sound as the Word itself.   Bertrand Russell was asked what he would say to God, should he be wrong: "Why didn't you give more evidence?"  He admits there is evidence, after all!  Like I said, there is never enough evidence for the hardened, stubborn heart who doesn't want to obey God, for Jesus said, "If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know..." (cf. John 7:17).  The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart! "The fool has said in his heart that there is no God..." (cf. Psalm 14:1, emphasis mine).   Where's the skeptic's heart, not how smart is he?   Just like Paul said in Romans 1, that people refuse to acknowledge God and be thankful and their foolish hearts are darkened--they became fools!

The fact is that God exists and people foolishly suppress what they know about Him due to the calloused hearts.  Paul makes it clear in 2 Tim. 2:25 that repentance precedes knowledge of the truth and Augustine asserted that we believe in order to understand--faith precedes reason!  In other words, we don't argue the way to God, but accept Him as a given and proceed from there to make deductions.  God is the beginning point, not man as the Word says, "In the beginning God..."  Athanasius said it well, "The only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point.  Proverbs 1:7 makes my point too: "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge..."  We commence with God, we don't conclude with Him!

To explain just why we cannot engage in a battle of wits or evidence, is because people always interpret evidence in light of their worldview and the evidence they already accept and assume is true--what they do is "file" it away till they can reconcile or answer it to the satisfaction and worldview; they don't want to believe it or God would open their eyes (cf. John 7:17).  We cannot reason to God, but with God on our side, we reason from God ("In the beginning God..."), for the Bible and logic are OUR weapon!  Remember the ancient axiom:  "All knowledge begins in faith."
 Soli Deo Gloria!         

What Makes Us Human?

Man is not an animal; they want you to believe that because they want to act like animals! We are stewards of the animal kingdom, not part of it.   However, man has no inherent dignity, but only as extrinsic from God, being imago Dei, or in the image of God--bearing the image and likeness of God as His icons, so to speak.  There isn't much worth in being a grown-up germ or glorified monkey!  Even Darwin scoffed at the idea of trusting the convictions of a monkey.

 One news magazine published an article that said we are all "lucky to be here!"  Some biologists believe this Great Lie that man has evolved from the ape (sometimes called the "naked ape"), as a credo that is really a "time-honored, scientific tenet of faith." That means the only reason some scientists believe it is because it's so universally accepted and for such a long time--only recently have serious issues and doubts been raised (in fact it doesn't even fit the definition of scientific theory).   There is no fossil evidence for evolution either, and Darwin said that if the theory were correct, there would be!

It has been said that evolution is unproven and unprovable--it's never been observed, and no one has ever been able to create a new species, much less pull off an origin of life experiment.  Even if you have a primordial soup (where did this soup come from?) perfect with methane, ammonia, water, nitrogen, etc., and jolt it with electric shocks, the simple amino acids formed (the building blocks of protein, which is necessary for life) are destroyed simultaneously by the oxygen in the atmosphere, and they have proved that the early earth atmosphere had oxygen present. Truly, the Achilles' heel of evolution is that they cannot explain what life is, nor explain how it originated--if they have to add an intelligent input, that would prove only that a Creator was in charge.

Now, what does this image mean to us?  Man is like God and God formed us in His image, we didn't form God in ours!   There is a bona fide similarity because God is a person, we are too, and able to communicate with each other; we have a mind to know God, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him--animals don't but are driven by instinct.  Man is capable of rebelling against God and going his own way, and he does!  The obvious truth is that if we are persons, God has to be greater than a person or a person Himself to a greater degree in order to create us!  Except for our sin and limited nature, whatever we are as persons, you can say about God.

How are we like God then?  We are rational, emotional, communicative, moral beings, that have dignity, purpose, and meaning in life.  We can relate to God as a person because of this--God is just perfect, infinite, immutable, almighty, invisible, omniscient, holy, etc., and God is Spirit, while we have bodies!    Originally Adam and Eve had no sin, and were innocent, not knowing good and evil, nor what that means, but now they are guilty before God as sinners in need of redemption, and this image is marred and will be restored someday in glory.  Being like God, we are creative and have an imagination that can be communicated and enjoyed.

How do we know we are not animals, that we're unique?  Have you ever observed an animal of any species building a chapel, or communicating with God in prayer?  Do animals have a conscience, and feel guilty when they've disobeyed or sinned?  Animals have a will of their own, for sure, but not to disobey or obey God--animals are oblivious to God's presence and dimension.  Only man has the ability to reflect on the past, present, and future, making plans, etc., and to criticize himself or see himself through other people's eyes objectively.  Man alone is rational (you can reason with him, and he can reason and learn from it), and is able to communicate all thoughts and feelings, in written, verbal, and body language.  Man alone judges and this is because he has a conscience that knows right and wrong by nature; you don't call something crooked if you don't have some idea of what straight is.  Man has discernment, ability to distinguish spirits, and insight; however,  animals have instinct--they're basically creatures in heat, seeking food and shelter, only to perpetuate their kind. Do animals appreciate art and design, though they may be beautiful, none appreciate it, except in the opposite sex for the mating ritual?   Do you realize that man alone can enjoy something vicariously?  Man can accumulate and increase a body of knowledge and pass it on to succeeding generations and builds civilizations and cultures.  Animals stay at the same level of learning (by instinct) their full lives and never increase in knowledge generation after generation. Animals can mate for life, but they do not fall in and out of love, it's a basic instinct, hormones, and testosterone in action, not the soul or spirit.  Animals, such as dogs and cats can show similar qualities of love and affection but have no desire on the abstract level with God (or ideas, learning, wisdom, causes, etc.), and that dimension of the relationship.

Now, God says in Genesis One that He breathed into Adam the breath of life and he became a living being (soul)!  This is the distinction:   God has only given man the concept of eternity and the hope of eternal life in his heart, he alone ponders the afterlife and looks for answers to life's spiritual dilemmas. Aren't you glad that you aren't some grand fluke of nature, or cosmic accident, but have a reason for being and purpose in life?  And so it's not as simple as the proverb:  To err is human, to forgive divine!   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Jesus And The Samaritan Woman

You may have heard of Good Samaritan laws, whereby the one who attempts to give reasonable aid to a person ill, injured, or in peril is exempt from legal liability--physicians cannot be sued for malpractice!  The point of this episode with the Samaritan woman is to learn to reach out beyond our comfort zones and sphere of influence when the Spirit leads, and to be ready for that opportunity when the door opens--and we should never think anyone is unredeemable or beyond hope or salvation.  The story unfolds as Jesus goes one-on-one with the woman of ill repute and shows that he is not prejudiced, though the disciples seem to be.

The Jews despised the Samaritans (it was a slur word used in a derogatory manner).  They were said to worship at the wrong place (Gerizim, not Zion) and only accepted the Torah's first five books, known as the Pentateuch.  They were seen as worse than Gentiles because they were half-breeds or hybrid Jews and had a religion of syncretism or mixture with foreign gods.  (Prejudice is not based on reason, but emotion, and especially not experience, and shows ignorance or not being up on what you're down on!)

However, Jesus knew they could be saved too and the Great Commission would include them (cf. Matt. 28:19-20; Acts 1:8; Mark 16:15).  Jesus wasn't ignorant of where she was coming from and didn't speak down to her but reached out to her, knowing where she was spiritual.  The woman was not only a Samaritan, but an outcast due to being divorced five times, and Jesus showed concern for her soul, not trying to pick her up or come on to her.  She noticed that they had something in common ("our father Jacob") and she tried to change the subject when it got personal, but then she noticed Jesus was prophesying.  This was the local meeting place and it was high noon, not the regular time for drawing water, and it looked suspicious from the get-go.

Jesus asked her for water but knew she was thirsty! But what she really needed was Him!   She demurs and hesitates because she didn't think Jews had any dealings with Samaritans--but this one was different and it piqued her interest.  True to himself Jesus was self-advancing or promoting and offered her living water, of which she was ignorant, and this was when Jesus broke the ice and got through to her: it's all about Him and her eyes are opened!

She was confounded, her friends and the disciples were too, who didn't know about the living water that was necessary for spiritual life.  You could say she was taken aback when her spiritual eyes were opened when she saw the light.  Jesus knew what manner of woman she was, yet He treated her with dignity and respect and was polite, not chauvinistic--unheard of in that day.

She changed the subject to worship after Jesus spoke of her husbands and showed signs of guilt and shame, but Jesus accepted her (it's vitally important that we accept the people we're witnessing to and see where they are coming from and relate to it).  The tone of the dialogue shifts to the spiritual and she wonders about where to worship (a legitimate query), but Jesus tells her it's not where but how one worships.

Finally, she shows discernment and is penitent, opens the door to her heart, and accepts Jesus for who He is (you must accept Him on His terms!).  She looked for validation and assurance and Jesus gave it to her.

Jesus makes the final point to the disciples:  the real food in life is doing God's will!   In other words, you will always have the stamina and ability to do God's will, so get with the program!   God's will is fulfilling and rewarding and the only safe place to be!  There is more to life than the mundane (going to the well) and the profane or secular, but the spiritual dimension.

By her witness, there was an evangelistic explosion in Sychar and many came to faith, as she was probably the first evangelist.  The converts wanted to see for themselves and this revival shows how important witnessing is and that God can multiply our efforts, though they may be only one person at first or at a time.

There are several lessons from this episode at Jacob's well:  don't be prejudiced; don't flaunt your faith, which turns people off before the door is opened by the Spirit; don't privatize or be ashamed of your faith either, no matter how small; we all can find a need and fill it and be useful for Jesus in our sphere of influence and circle of friends; we should know the good news and be ready to share it--be prepared like a Boy Scout; we need to relate and listen to people as well as preach and tell the good news; we must learn to personalize our witness to the situation and person and be able to adjust; finally, we need to get the "can't-help-its" or the urge to preach eagerly (cf. 2 Cor. 4:13; Acts 4:20).
Soli Deo Gloria! 

The God-hypothesis

"And because they did not think it worthwhile to have God in their knowledge, God delivered them over to a worthless mind to do what is morally wrong" (Romans 1:28, HCSB.
"And since they did not like to retain God in their knowledge..."  (Rom. 1:28, NKJV).

Fools and infidels are seldom convinced by argument, though there are many "proofs" of God's existence, and you cannot argue someone into the kingdom!  God must do a work of regeneration and make a believing heart of flesh from the stubborn heart of stone.   Secularists have tried to rule God out of the universe by deifying man, and dethroning God, but God will not die!  God is real and alive since He can be found by those who seek!  God cannot be described, defined, nor put in a box and made one-dimensional; however, you can know Him, since He's a personal God that loves us.  It is misleading to say you can prove God, but certain arguments lead us in that direction; however, you cannot disprove God either, for that would be the logical impossibility of proving a universal negative. 

Modern scholars believe it's no longer necessary to invoke God to explain the cosmos since evolution gives them intellectual fulfillment and a way to understand nature apart from God or what they refer to as the God-hypothesis.  Actually, evolution was a working hypothesis at first, then it was championed as a scientific theory (actually it doesn't qualify as one); and finally, it's being touted as unquestioned scientific fact.  But there are reputable scientists who do not adhere to this theory.  God is more than a hypothesis, or working conclusion to account for a set of facts.

God can be experienced and seen with the spiritual eyes, once God opens them.  Love is real and changes lives and Christians experience the love of a personal God.  God invites the skeptic to "taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8), and it's true because the proof of the pudding is in the eating.  There are no unsatisfied customers of Christ, those who have been regenerated unto new and more abundant eternal life.  How can one account for all the changed lives of those who experience Christ in a personal way, except by the fact that God is real, and not imagined?  It's not a matter of self-hypnosis, or being conditioned since people come to know him from all situations and backgrounds--anyone can be saved!

On the other hand, according to Sir Arthur Keith, "evolution has not been proven and is unprovable"--no one has witnessed it nor recorded it.  There is no fossil evidence of missing links or transitional forms.  It is simply a "fairy tale for adults" (Dr. Duane Gish), and a "time-honored, scientific tenet of faith" (Dr. David Allbrook).  Evolution has become a religion and the basis for the Secular Humanistic worldview.  By today's scientific standards, it doesn't even "qualify as a theory" (Dr. Karl Popper, scientist).

God is real and is the God who will not die, contrary to what Nietzsche said, "God is dead," meaning irrelevant.   Christianity is not just about the God who is there, but about God in us!  Christians experience a personal encounter with the Almighty but they must take the leap of faith first and then God will authenticate Himself to you.  He doesn't have the patience for triflers or for the insincere. God is no man's debtor and will make Himself known to those who earnestly seek Him, and it must be by faith because it's impossible to please God except by faith (cf. Heb. 11:6). Christianity is not just pie in the sky, nor wishful thinking, but based in history--if the fact of the resurrection were false or a hoax, the faith would fall apart.

"Christianity is Christ," according to John Stott, and we disembowel it by removing Him--in other religions, you can remove the founder and the faith remains intact (Islam remains the same, Buddhism the same, etc.). The ultimate proof of God is in His incarnation as the Son of God in a manger and dying on a cross, and rising from the dead to manifest His divinity and deity.  This bears witness of His claims, is consistent with them, and is evidence for them.

If Jesus is the Son of God, and this is who He claimed to be (and equal to the Father), then the existence of God is proved consequently.  But there is no final proof we can cite for the so-called theory of evolution--it remains a figment in the imagination of scientists who refuse to acknowledge God and are seeking some alternative worldview.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Kenosis Of Christ

The title refers to the "emptying" of Jesus (the kenosis in Koine or common,"vulgar" Greek) or when He "made Himself of no reputation," NKJV, in the sense of laying aside His glory and independent usage of divinity, as He functioned as a man with all the limitations that go with it.  Christ never stopped being God, nor did He lose His powers as God, but only did what the Father told Him to do, following the interposed will of the Father.  Philippians 2:7 (NLT) says, "Instead, he gave up his divine privileges...." Christ's glory is that He laid aside all His glory and humbled Himself, even to the death on a cross as a criminal.

Some may object to this ignominious death, (thinking that it's repugnant to have Christ "defeated" by man) but it was the pleasure of the Father to judge sin in this manner.  We all ought to learn a lesson in humility following His example.  Just to make a point about true service, Christ took a towel and washed the disciples feet, and they were all taken aback, Peter even objected, thinking this was not fit the Lord's dignity.  When Christ said that we also ought to wash each others' feet, we get the lesson that, in God's economy, the way up is down just like John the Baptist said, "He must increase, but I must decrease"  (cf. John 3:30).

Peter failed to see Christ as the servant of the Lord and that greatness is in how many people you serve, not how many serve you.  Christ himself said that he came, "not to be served, but to serve and to give [His] life a ransom for many" (cf. Mark 10:45).  This gesture of foot-washing showed that we must be willing to humble ourselves, for humility comes before exaltation.  There is no caste system nor superstar believer in the body, but all are "one in Christ" (cf. Col. 3:11; Gal. 3:28; 1 Cor. 12:13).  There are no "untouchables" and neither is anyone beyond redemption.

All believers are called to become  the servants of Christ; at the bema (or Judgment Seat of Christ) we all look forward to hearing Christ pronounce:  "Well done, thou good and faithful servant...."  Albert Schweitzer was right:  "The only happy people are those who have learned how to serve."   I call this humiliation of ourselves in Christ's service as the "order of the towel," and the question should not be how high we can aim, but how low we can go--nothing is literally "beneath" the believer.  Whosoever humbles himself as a child shall be great in God's kingdom (cf. Matt. 18:4).   Service is the keynote of Christ's ministry, for He went about doing good (cf. Acts 10:38).   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Can Man Live Without God In The Picture?

I'm not saying what would happen if there were no God (Acts 17:28 says, "For in Him we live and move and have our being..."), but how man's worldview is affected without a foundation in God--we must begin with God and explain the universe, not begin with the universe and explain God away!  Athanasius said that the only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point.

Man cannot survive without conceiving of God; His manifest reality is known to every tribe, nation, and tongue or civilization.  Man isn't naturally an atheist or agnostic, but religious to the core; he has been dubbed Homo religiosus or the religious being.  They also call him Homo divinus, or the divine being (in the image of God or Imago Dei).  Man is meant or hard-wired for worship, and if he doesn't find God, he will worship someone or something else, which is idolatry.  There is a gap or vacuum that must be filled and only God can adequately do the job.  Pascal did say that only God can fill this empty space and Augustine said that we are restless till we find our peace or rest in God.

When you take God out of the reckoning, man becomes uncivilized, as witnessed and documented in Romans 1, where God gives man up to his perversions.  Yes, we need God, He doesn't need us!  We can only find our fulfillment in Him and serving Him.  There is indeed purpose in life when one knows the Lord and serves Him; the chief end of man, according to The Westminster Shorter Catechism, is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"--taken from Isaiah 43:7, which says we're created for His glory.  We are the icons of God, bearing His image to the world and God has something to say through us; we are His voice to spread the Word, not angels!

Without God, man has come from nothing, has no meaning in life, and is heading nowhere!   We must be able to answer the ultimate questions of life to have meaning and fulfillment:  Where did I come from?  Why am I here?  Where am I headed or going to?  What is man's destiny?  Is there a difference between right and wrong?  The Bible answers all these questions and science cannot because they are out of its domain or turf.  Science cannot make philosophical, religious, ethical, nor metaphysical judgments--neither can it make any value judgments, it is the "know-how," not the "know-why."  Yes, science is limited and we must not put our ultimate faith in it to solve all our problems or answer all our questions.

The scientific method doesn't apply to the metaphysical answers to the physical and to the spiritual, religious, ethical, nor moral domains.  For example, you cannot measure three feet of love, nor five pounds of justice, yet they exist and are real.  Love exists, yet you cannot prove or disprove it either!  In science, you have to have laboratory conditions, be able to measure, observe, and repeat an experiment with variables and controls to get a working hypothesis and finally a theory, and then a scientific, verifiable fact.

Note that it's only because of the Christian worldview that science was made possible and the first scientists were Christians--there's no final conflict between science and the Bible, which is not a science text, but has no scientific absurdities or erroneous ideas.  Where it does make scientific claims, the info is correct and has been proven ahead of its time--such as the discovery of the water cycle, and ocean currents, the fact that the earth is round and is hung on nothing in space!   When science alienates Christians and becomes their enemy, they become unscientific and dogmatic, which is not scientific.

When we try to establish ethics without God, it is impossible to have a foundation.  Fyodor Dostoevsky said that without God all things are permissible or up for grabs.  God is the source of absolute truth with a capital T and if there is no God, there can be no absolute Truth!  And so, without God, man is like a ship without a rudder with no anchor nor moral compass!  We are a law unto ourselves and each of us can make up our own ethical system as we go along, and morality is simply what we decide it is as a group, and it changes over time as we get more "civilized."   The Ten Commandments are then obsolete and too binding for our free lifestyle, which has no restraints nor limits.

"Law is merely the majority vote that licks all others," to quote Oliver Wendell Holmes.  The Bible says in Psalm 11:3 that "when the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  We have then lost our moral fiber as a nation and become free spirits, each man doing his own thing and what is right in his own eyes, the way Israel did before it had a king (cf. Judges 21:25).  God cares a lot about right and wrong and we have His moral law in our hearts in the form of conscience (cf. Rom. 2:15)--unfortunately, some choose to ignore it do evil.  We were meant for something better than anarchy and an immoral, unethical society.

The end result is that man worships himself, fame, fortune, power, popularity, success, possessions, and even does hero worship, all of which are unfulfilling false gods and idolatry, that cannot meet man's inner longing for a relationship with God, not merely acknowledging or knowing He exists.  Jesus promised abundant life to all sincere seekers and God will authenticate Himself to everyone who diligently searches for Him (cf. Heb. 11:6)--He's not playing cosmic hide-and-seek, but will not reveal Himself to triflers!

And so the biggest question and issue facing man today is whether he can live without God, according to humanist historian/philosopher Will Durant, and our government becomes the highest law, in the land and is accountable to no one as final Judge.  Consequently, there is no Judgment Day, no Lawgiver, and no Ruler of man, no hell to shun, and no motive to be good, all because man doesn't put God in the equation.

Just like Friedrich Nietzsche declared God dead, or irrelevant and unnecessary, we must find out for ourselves the hard way, because man refuses to listen to the modern-day prophets and heed what Scripture says; man is ultimately headed nowhere and history has no meaning or purpose, with no climax, conclusion, or consummation either.  Man becomes a glorified ape or hominid, without the dignity of being in God's image, having any restraint on evil, and being able to communicate and know Him.    Soli Deo Gloria!

In Control Of Your Thinking Process

"... They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5, CEV).

Martin Luther supposedly said that you cannot control a bird from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from making a nest in your hair!  We cannot be responsible nor even control what thoughts enter our minds--they could be from the devil, just as Jesus told Peter, "Get behind Me Satan!"  However, we must rein in our thoughts and get a grip on our thought life, which can only happen by the power of the Spirit to restrain.  Our thoughts and thought life are important indicators of our obedience to Christ.

David was concerned about his thought life when he prayed:  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight..."  We can indeed control what we choose to meditate on and what words come out of our mouths, for Jesus said that which comes out of the mouth is what defiles a man (cf. Mark 7:15).  There is a correlation between our thought life and our spiritual life and obedience.  Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:5 that we capture our rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.  There is a direct connection here!

We need to do more than just get our thinking straightened out, in getting a Christian worldview--we need to get a grip on our thought life and be heavenly minded.  Proverbs 4:23 says that we should "keep [our] heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life."  Again, similarly, it is written in Prov. 23:7 (KJV) that if we "commit [our] works unto the LORD, [our] thoughts will be established."

First things first:  we dedicate our minds to Christ and commit to doing His will in an obedient life and God cleanses our minds and give us a pure heart:  "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things [including our thinking] are become new!" (2 Cor. 5:17, KJV).  "...but let God transfer you into a new person by changing the way you think..."  (Rom. 12:2, NLT).  ("Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.").

It is important to note that we are not to be so heavenly minded we are no earthly good.  We are not purely spiritual creatures, meant to live on cloud nine with our minds preoccupied and not to ever be ethical, practical, applicable, nor recreational.  We need to apply our thoughts to everyday situations and be a witness of our thoughts, not keeping them to ourselves--this is where sharing and witnessing come in.  One must conclude that if we only expose ourselves to junk we will exhale the same, just as the axiom goes: garbage in equals garbage out (GIGO).

Proverbs 1:7 says a fool despises wisdom and knowledge: The Bible emphasizes wisdom and increasing in knowledge:  "Knowledge is power"(cf. Prov. 24:5) according to Sir Francis Bacon and a fool feeds on trash, while the wise are hungry for the truth (cf. Prov. 15:14).  Why?  Because we become byproducts of what we expose ourselves to.  "A man is what he thinks about all day," said one poet.  It has also been said that "you are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are!"  We are basically the sum total of our thoughts and resultant thought life, which defines our character and personality.

We all need to take inventory of our thoughts and get regular spiritual checkups, and catch ourselves making mistakes in our thinking, like three thought wasters of time:  dwelling on the past with regret; misinterpreting the present with angst, and anticipating the future with worry.  If we are making a mistake in our thinking we ought to correct it and replace it with more therapeutic and healthy or balanced thinking--this is sound mental health!  All three (regret, angst, and worry) work together to rob us of our joy and steal time and energy and can lead to depression or melancholy--being in a depressed funk or in the doldrums, as it were.

Note that the psalmist complained to God of his mood swing in Psalms 42 and 43 and didn't even know why he was downcast and so glum. And in Psalm 143 the writer complains that his depression deepens!  Being discouraged is a form of depression as well as the blues, and everyone is vulnerable or susceptible--no one is immune, it's only being human--as the song by Neil Diamond goes, we're all subject to the blues now and then!  Thinking negative thoughts is destructive to mental health and we should always see the bright side and the silver lining behind the cloud--thinking negatively is a bad habit and there is always a positive spin on a problem--actually, earth has no ill or dilemma that heaven doesn't have the cure or answer to--it's a matter of faith and facing our problems with courage and seeing the lighter side sometimes.

In conclusion, bear in mind that the Word of God is capable of judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart and shows us what we are made of and our true selves, pulling no punches and sparing no reprimand where appropriate (cf. Heb. 4:12).  The Bible speaks to every attitude and frame of mind and addresses every issue we can face--Christ fully relates to us in every dilemma and fortunately intercedes for us.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Why Does Evil Exist?

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good"  (Prov. 15:3, ESV).

God didn't create evil but did make it possible for it to exist by virtue of giving the gift of free will to innocent sentient creatures and to Adam and Eve.  Evil entered the human race via the Fall instigated by Satan.  There are many who wonder why doesn't God eliminate evil; Robinson Crusoe answered that question to Friday:  Why doesn't God get rid of you?  The point is that God is in the process of doing something about evil--He made you and me!

God has no hands to help but ours; no mind to think with but ours; no voice to speak through but ours; and finally no heart to love through than ours.  The dilemma of God being almighty and good poses the question of why does there seems to be no justice and why do the good suffer.  First of all, there are no good people--we are not basically good, but evil in God's estimation.  Second of all, why do good things happen to bad people, not why do bad things happen to good people?  Without evil in existence, or its possibility we all would be automatons with no will of our own to choose to obey or disobey God freely.

God did give man a chance in the Garden of Eden and he blew it--Adam represented all of mankind and we would've done the same thing (the original sin prefigures all sin and is a denial of God's attributes one by one.  The proverbial apple showed the entirety of the sin question:  Adam rejected God's authority; he doubted His goodness; he disputed His wisdom; he repudiated His justice; he contradicted His truthfulness; he spurned His grace (source unknown).

 Edengate, as it has been dubbed as the very first cover-up and God didn't hide from Adam, but Adam from God in shame, because he knew he had done something wrong and felt guilty.  God cleansed their guilt and wiped it away by clothing them in skins.  This was the prototype sin and we should all see ourselves as doing ditto.  Adam sought his own goodness, delight, and wisdom, having rejected God's.  That's the epitome of sin:  man's declaration of independence from God!

When asking why do the good suffer, the real question should be why are they blessed?  God gives man less than he deserves punitively.  God is good and so there is a standard of Supreme or Ultimate Good (per Plato) and God is omnipotent, almighty, and plenipotent. God is also just, kind and good; so why do we suffer?  There is an invisible conflict between good and evil (evil has been dethroned at the cross and Christ reigns), but the mop-up effort and consummation are in process. In the end, God will turn the wrath of man to praise Him (cf. Psalm 76:10).

In the meantime, we find ourselves in the enemy-occupied territory--the devil's turf or domain!  We fight evil from the vantage point of victory, not for a victory--Christ already won the battle!  Evil must exist and it's not the counterpart of God nor it's opposite, but a parasite and perversion of good (it couldn't exist in its own right).

Without God, there can be no evil or sin and without the possibility of evil, there can be no good expressed, for we only see and behold goodness in contrast to evil and sin.  Someone said that one might ask:  Do you see the evil and say "why?"  Or do you see the good and say "why not?"  We see good in light of evi; we have the opportunity for good with evil; we endure short-term evil for long-term good; realize that there can be no objective evil without objective good.   In the final analysis, we must not lose faith in the fact that God will someday settle the score and mete out justice at Judgment Day; justice delayed is not justice denied!    Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Goody-Goodies

"Trust in the LORD and do good, Then you will live safely in the land and prosper"  (Psalm 37:3, NLT).  

"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit [motive]"  (Prov. 16:2, ESV).

"Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever"  (Psalm 37:27, NLT). 

"For who sees anything different in you?  What do you have that you did not receive..." (1 Cor. 4:7, ESV).

"All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one good, not even one"  (Rom. 3:12, ESV).  

"Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?  Everything under heaven in mine"  (Job 41:11, NLT).  

This is the dangerous lie of New Age worldview or mental outlook:  "You do not become good by trying to be good, but discovering the good inside."  

God alone is good by definition and He invites us to let Him authenticate Himself, as the proof of the pudding is in the eating:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!  ..."  (Cf. Psalm 34:8).  

We are to repent in the manner of ceasing to do evil and learning to do good, but Jeremiah 13:23, NLT, says that the evil cannot do good:  "Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots?  Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil." The problem in a works religion is that you never know how much is enough!  I am not against works per se, but only those done in the energy of the flesh without the Spirit's enabling.  What I mean is that you can distinguish faith and works, but you cannot separate them, God has made them go hand in hand and not to be divorced.  (Mark 10:9 says, "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.")  Therefore, man can do nothing to please God, or gain His approbation by good behavior, but can only be used by God for His purposes.   On the other hand, a Christian is one whose mind thinks for Christ; whose heart loves for Christ; whose voice speaks for Christ; and whose hand helps for Christ.

There is no inherent goodness in man, in the Fall we have ceased to be good, but haven't ceased to be human.  Our dignity and goodness are extrinsic due to being in the image of God and we are merely enabled by the Holy Spirit to do good.  We all have feet of clay and a dark side to our character, but Jesus sees through the veneer and loves us despite this fact just the way we are.   The problem with man is that he thinks he can be good enough to be saved--au contraire, we are never good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation, and we cannot know how bad we are until we've tried to be good, and we must know how bad we are to be good (the catch-22 of C. S. Lewis fame).  We are in a dilemma and under the delusion, we are good and must be convicted of our sin--man doesn't see his sin without the work of God (cf. John 16:8).

The reality is that God doesn't grade on a curve--we're all in the same boat and have fallen short of the glory of God.   Man is mistaken to compare himself with others and do not realize the majesty, glory, and goodness of God that should humble him. Of course, you may look like a saint, comparing yourself to the likes of a ruthless dictator or tyrants like the leader of North Korea, or Hitler, if you know your history!  We tend to look down on the likes of Judas and think we are much better, but George Whitefield said it best when he saw a man go to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I." To humble believers, it must be pointed out that they were not saved because they were good in any way; for nothing in them merited salvation!  In a works religion, you never know how much is enough; and the ironic thing is that "man is incurably addicted to doing something for their salvation," according to Charles Swindoll.

We are not called to be goody-two-shoes, or people who are do-gooders with an affectation or pretense (note that these are slur words and used in a derogatory manner).  Our good deeds spring from faith, as the direct fruit of the Spirit and as a result of walking with the Lord in fellowship (fulfilling all that He has ordained for us to do per Eph. 2:10).  Good deeds automatically follow saving faith and are its evidence, not its substitute.  Works are fruit, and no fruit implies no faith.  We shall know them by their fruits, by the way, and so we are fruit inspectors (cf. Matt. 7:16).

Some merely get converted to the program, not to Christ and are not spiritual at all but just out to make an impression as a people-pleaser.  We ought to do everything in the name of the Lord and to His glory, and then there will be justified reward for our efforts (note that the success is up to God). There are many do-gooders out there who have gained a reputation and name for themselves, but it cannot be rewarded due to the motive behind the deed.  Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart and sees motives (cf. Prov. 16:2; Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2).  We are not in a position to judge where someone is spiritually, but there are many wolves in sheep's clothing out to devour the flock and lead it astray, and their chief methodology is that they try to do good and be good without God in the equation.

There is no such thing as good without God, who alone defines goodness and is good (note that this is the essence of God and not just a description of His acts).  Our righteousness is as "filthy rags" according to Isaiah 64:6, and that means that it's useless and good for nothing. Lost man's good deeds will not be rewarded on Judgment Day, for they fall short of God's standards.  Our righteousness must be God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isa. 45:24; Hos. 14:8; Isa. 26:12; Rom. 15:18)!  We don't give God anything in our good deeds but only are used by Him as vessels of honor to bring Him His glory.  Yes, it's ironic that God rewards us for working through us!  Even if we could be good, it would profit God nothing, for He alone defines and delimits what it is. God has nothing to gain--the glory belongs to Him despite us.

The only good that counts is that done in the power of the Spirit. Remember that Jesus said that no one is good but God and we mistakenly think we are good.  Genuine saving faith produces works or it's not validated; as the Reformers taught: We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone!  Works must be the byproduct and prove the reality of faith, otherwise, it's bogus and suspects.

James says that faith without works is dead; you can have worked without faith, but not faith without works!  It must be stressed that we are not saved by works, but unto works, we are not saved by works, but not without them either!  If we had to do some good work, we'd fail! James would say that he'll show you his faith by his works, while Paul the converse:  showing you his works by faith.   Or it's also been said that Paul teaches that works must spring forth from faith and James teaches that faith must be proved by works.

Note that Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, it is said, but dead people alive!  He came to give abundant, eternal life (cf. John 10:10) in the Spirit and to share His life with us as we live for Him, not ourselves--we are never out to get the spotlight, the attention, or the applause of others, but to bring glory to Christ in all we do.  Don't celebrate or boast that you are doing something for God, but that He is using you for His glory!  If you boast, boast in the Lord, according to 1 Cor. 1:31. We are enabled by God himself;  Jesus told the disciples:  "Apart from Me you can do nothing"  (cf. John 15:5).  Elihu sums it up in Job 35:7 as follows:  "If you are good, is this some great gift to him?  What could you possibly give him?" And yet again the LORD speaks to Job in Job 40:11, saying, "Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine."   Soli Deo Gloria!