My God, Wherefore Art Thou?

Pascal mused:  "What can be seen on earth indicates neither the total absence of God nor his manifest presence, but rather the presence of a hidden God;" and "I would not have searched for Thee if Thou hadst not found me."  The spiritual have dry periods when they had to search for God and wonder about His presence too:  "... How long will You hide Your face from me?"  (Psalm 13:1, NASB).  It's all about seeking God--being found--"I was lost, but now am found!"  We don't find Him: Isaiah 65:1 (NASB):  "I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me; I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me...."  He was abandoned on the cross and knows what separation from God feels like.  There is no temptation we can face that He hasn't been victorious over and can deliver us from.  Feeling alone?  God sometimes removes Himself to see what's on our heart, as He did to Hezekiah (cf. 2 Chronicles 32:21).

Francis Schaeffer wrote a book about God and declared: He is there and He is not silent.  God doesn't cater to triflers (cf. Heb. 11:6), but only those who sincerely and diligently seek Him with their whole heart and are willing to do His will.  We need to listen with the ears of our spirit and see with our hearts, as God opens up our deaf ears to hear Him.  "What we do see is Jesus" (cf. Heb. 2:9, NLT):  "The eyes of [our] understanding being enlightened" (Ephesians 1:18, KJV).  We need God to open the eyes of our hearts and see with our spirits (cf. Psalm 119:18).  When Jesus came He couldn't convince the skeptics and cynics no matter what sign He performed, they didn't want to believe (cf. John 12:37)!

You must want to believe or you won't, God doesn't make you do something you don't want to do, though He can change your mind and make you willing--this is a divine paradox of His sovereignty and providence.  People who know God see Him manifest everywhere, while the natural man or unbeliever doesn't see God even if He were right in front of his face.  The fact is that God's fingerprints and impact are everywhere and all we have to do is look.

Job felt abandoned by God and rightly so, he was undergoing a test of faith from God being administered through the hand of Satan.  Elihu wondered why no one asks, "Where is God, my Maker, who gives songs in the night?"  (cf. Job 35:10).  There does come a time when it is fitting and proper to wonder whether we are walking in the Spirit and or with the Lord.  We are to walk by faith, not by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7), but we are to examine ourselves on a regular basis (especially during the Lord's Supper) and see whether Christ is living through us.  When we see Christ living in us and we have an exchanged life, not just a changed life, we have the ultimate proof of God's presence. Romans 8:16 says, "The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God."

When we are saved, it doesn't mean we have found God--the spiritual journey has just begun.  Seeing God's face is the main business of the Christian pilgrimage.  We initiate our search as believers, for the Bible clearly says that no one seeks God (no unbeliever, cf. Rom. 3:11).  When people "seek" God, they're looking for the benefits, not the Benefactor: peace of mind, the answer, prosperity, deliverance, fulfillment, or purpose--they don't want God!  Christians don't see with their physical eyes, but with their souls.  When we are saved, we don't just gain the Benefactor, but blessings as fringe benefits.  They want what they can get, or what He can do for them.   God has a blessing in mind for us, which we cannot pay back, don't deserve, and can't earn or ingratiate ourselves for.  It's a blessing to serve Him (cf. Psalm 103:2; 116:12; Rom. 11:35). Elihu declares the despair of Job:  "For he has said, 'It profits a man nothing that he should take delight in God" (Job 34:9, ESV).

Some may ask the believer, "Where is this God of yours?"  We are His hands, feet, voice, heart, and mind on earth and are to do His bidding and work for the lost--He lives in our hearts!   When God seems far, we may doubt Him, but it's only so that we can learn to seek Him.  David asked in Psalm 10:1 (NASB):  "Why do You stand afar off, O LORD?  Why do You hide Yourself in times of trouble?"  The psalmist goes on to say the wicked are too proud to seek God, they seem to think He's dead and there is no God.  What's is appalling today, is that many professing believers say they believe in God, but live like there is no God--they are so-called practical atheists!  Our job as believers who know the Lord is to make Him known and seen through us!  The world will not deny God is with us when they see God in us!

Isaiah proclaims in Isaiah 45:15 (NASB):  "Truly, You are a God who hides Himself...."  God doesn't force Himself on anyone and will only reveal Himself to those who seek Him:  "But from there you will seek the LORD our God, and You will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul"  (Deut. 4:19, NASB; cf. Jer. 29:13; Isa. 55:6;). There is a window of opportunity when God opens the door, so to speak, and we must "seek Him while He may be found" (cf. Isa. 55:6).  "Call upon Him while He is near: (cf. Isa. 55:6).  Job was in despair and came to doubt God's presence, though he was a godly man:  "Oh that I knew where I might find Him, That I might come to His seat!"  (Job 23:3, NASB).  We're in good company if we have searched for God because even Job did!

God is no man's debtor and no respecter of persons:  All who seek Him will find Him without any iffy reservations.  Psalm 9:10 (HCSB): "... You have not abandoned those who seek You, Yahweh."   But He demands sincerity, heart, and soul.  Where is God?  He is here, never yo forsake us; finding Him makes us realize:  He was there all the time!  God is never MIA (missing in action)--never doubt the whereabouts of God the LORD Shammah (cf. Ezek. 48:35),  "the One who is there."  When they say, "...Where is your God" (Psalm 42:3, NASB), we are to reply, "Where isn't He?  Christianity is about the God who is here and about the God who is in us.

Don't forget Jesus' name: "God is with us" (Immanuel).  The point of salvation is the restoration of our relationship with Him, and to put God in us (cf. 1 Cor. 3:16; Col. 1:27; Eph. 4:6)!  Cognizance is our responsibility and fault--grieving Him and not acknowledging His presence.  Point to ponder: Guess who moved?  God asked Adam where he was!  Hint to heed: Practicing/exercising of your spiritual gift will kindle the fire of the Spirit within!

A word to the wise is sufficient: Wise men still seek Him!  "Be still and know that I am God" (cf. Ps. 46:10).  Soli Deo Gloria!

Sin Is "In"

"In Adams fall, we sinned all"  (The New England Primer).   
"God be merciful to me, the sinner"  (cf. Luke 18:13, NASB). 
"This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief"  (1 Tim. 1:15, NKJ). 
"... 'For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance'"  (Matt. 9:13, NKJV, cf. Luke 5:32).  


We must present the bad news of sin before the good news of Christ!  In other words:  Get them lost first!  The people are enslaved to sin and must be set free, self-help is no help, they need supernatural intervention by God's Spirit on their hearts.  It is sad that people think sin demonstrates their freedom, it only proves and shows their slavery.  We are all in the same boat, lost in sin just like one drowns in 700 feet of water as well as seven feet.  It is not the evangelist's job to convict of sin--that's the prerogative of the Holy Spirit!  Jesus came to save us from our sins (cf. Matt. 1:21) and was not aloof from sinners but reached out to them, getting down and dirty with common men.  

Sin is the way to go if you want popularity or to be cool; being holy is being square, uncool, or naive.  You have to be savoir-faire and know your way around the block, wise to the ways of the world, known as being streetwise or familiar with the game called life.  People nowadays believe that moral principles have evolved and adultery is no longer wrong, but anything goes if you can make up half-baked excuses for it or self-justification or rationalization.  Psychology won't even admit to the existence of sin.  Why?   Because Albert Camus said it best: "The absurd is sin without God!"  Dr. Karl Menninger, America's Freud and a Christian psychologist and psychiatrist, wrote a book entitled Whatever Became of Sin?

Psychology tends to see sin as mere deviance from the so-called norm (which is arbitrary, not absolute).  It seems like sin is creeping back into our vocabulary as we search for the answer:  we have found all the questions, according to G. K. Chesterton, now is the time to find the answers!  I believe we cannot solve our personal problems, and sin is the culprit, but we can manage them and get them under control--there's no such thing as sinless perfection in this life, because all Christians are merely works-in-progress, at varying stages of maturity and development.

Sin is sometimes called by pretty names to make it more palatable:  mistakes, poor judgment, weakness, bad habit, or even falling short of our own standards, not to mention God's, whose standard is the ultimate measure and judgment of sin.  We tend to glamorize sin and are becoming immune to its effect and influence, or even shock value as we see murder, rape, theft, etc., on TV and don't blink an eye because we are used to it and it doesn't offend us anymore--it seems okay to observe sin, but not do it?  The problem we have today in reclassifying sin and in not calling a spade a spade, as it were, is that we get enticed and drawn in unknowingly and become insensitive or immune to its influence.  If you were to take your bottle of rat poison and label it as candy in your cabinet, don't be surprised if your kids eat it--by changing labels and not coming to grips with what it is, we make it all the more dangerous!

Sin is our birthright and no one is immune from it--it's universal and no one can escape its clutches or power except by the grace of God in salvation.  The unbeliever has no power over his sin nature and can only sin, while the Christian has the ability to refrain from sin, as he has the ability to still sin at will.  We have become inoculated from sin, so we are unaware of its full impact.  Sin can be defined as our Declaration of Independence from God and a virus that affects everyone, for the Bible states:  "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God"  (cf. Romans 3:23).  The first step to solving a problem with sin is admitting you have one, and the problem with sinners is that they don't see or admit their own personal sin--they justify themselves, which is the normal reaction.

We all have fallen short of God's ideal standard set by Christ in living the perfect life of obedience--the word, hamartia in Koine, or common Greek, means to "miss the mark" and is a marksman's word.  We aren't expected to be as "glorious" as God, for even Adam wasn't, but we miss the standard of the Law of Moses, which sets the precedents for all good and moral behavior and ethics for us to live by.  Sin is indeed a disease and we are all affected, no one is immune: we all have shortcomings, even by our own standards, and no one even lives up to his own expectations.

The command by God is to repent and turn from our wicked ways and follow on to know the Lord; we must renounce and denounce our sin and confess it, or say the same thing about it as God does, not some lame excuse for what we do in self-justification, which is our tendency. Sin has been our downfall:  "... For you have stumbled because of your iniquity"  (Hosea 14:1, NKJV).   We all can admit that there are things we "ought to have done," or have done something that wasn't God's will. 

Remember the words of God to Cain in Gen. 4:7:  "Sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it."  Sin is self-destructive and may be seen as a virus that has affected all mankind.  The point in seeing ourselves as sinners is to awaken us to the fact that we cannot save ourselves, we cannot keep God's Law, and we are powerless over it; this ought to make us see our need for salvation, not make us just resolve to do better or take a self-improvement course, as it were, lifting ourselves up by our own bootstraps engaging in a mere do-it-yourself proposition of good works or deeds.

Repentance is more than turning over a new leaf, reforming ourselves, making a resolution, or vowing to do better next time, but a change of heart, mind, and will from the inside out, that results in a change of behavior to prove its reality--that it's not bogus.  The purpose of God laying down the Law was not to show us a way of salvation, but to show us how bad we are and we are bad enough to need salvation; we should be suing God for mercy, not trying to save ourselves by good behavior, morality, ethics, philosophy, religious ritual, or good works or deeds--the essence of religion (works-based, not faith-based).  Pray for a lively sense of sin, says Samuel Rutherford, because the more we get it, the less we sin--gross sinners aren't aware of the degree of their depravity, while saints have a fine-tuned and sensitive conscience, that notices minutiae of sin.

Man is not basically good nor inherently good, but lost this at the Fall of Adam, and is basically and intrinsically evil through and through--if sin or evil would be yellow, we'd be all yellow--and it is affecting his entire being, which needs salvation--mind, heart, and will.  Note that even the will is stubborn and recalcitrant and needs salvaging by God and God must melt the heart and make one willing to believe by His wooing and drawing of the Holy Spirit.   We all "enjoy" our solidarity with Adam--yes, sin is fun and games for a limited time, then new sins must be found; Hebrews 11:25 says that there is pleasure in it for a season.  Theologians have analyzed man's nature and found him wanting:  He is not a sinner because he sins; rather, he sins because he's a sinner--we all born sinners and cannot escape our birthright; i.e., we sin and err from the womb (cf. Psalm 58:3).  Sin made its entree in Adam's fall and we confirm that sin by repeating it ourselves, showing we are no better.

Psychologists tend to blame society and the environment or even one's parents for our sins, but this is a cop-out, and escaping our duty and responsibility.  The first sin was committed in a perfect environment!  We all know better and don't need a lecture to tell us we are sinners:  Ovid said, "I see the better things and approve them, but I follow the worst."  It has been said, though, that we are great sinners, but Christ is a great Savior.  When we see ourselves as real sinners and unworthy in God's sight, we realize Christ is a real Savior.

We all have feet of clay and no can really clean up his act; we don't do any pre-salvation work (however, the work of God is to believe in Christ and this is all God's doing!) and we don't prepare ourselves for salvation, but come as we are in faith for our "healing" to be made whole, and God will do the transforming of our person to be made new in Christ's image. However, this is the catch-22 according to C. S. Lewis:  We must see how bad we are to be good, and we don't know how bad we are till we have tried to be good!  It's like finding out how addicted to cigarettes you are only after trying to quit, and realizing for the first time that you are not in control of your cravings.

No one fools God, for He sees through the veneer and all of us are in the same boat of being called sinners--He has leveled the playing field and demands repentance from all ("... but now God commands men everywhere to repent," according to Acts 17:30, NKJV).  Christians are justified, but still, sinners (cf. Gal. 2:17).   In the last analysis, sin is not just a shortcoming or weakness, but a sign of evil and a direct consequence of Adam's sin, as we have inherited this tendency to sin and cannot escape our birthright, except by the grace of God, who doesn't just whitewash us, but transforms us---a miracle in itself from the inside out.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

What Is Religion?

Christianity has been referred to as a religion, but to be accurate, it's a faith, because faith is essential to its schema of salvation and redemption; while Muslims don't put faith in Allah in the same respect but rely on their good deeds to earn merit; likewise for all so-called religions, which are really works-based salvation (all religions refer to salvation in some vein or aspect).  Works are vital to our faith, but spring from it, and do not substitute for it.  True faith will produce good fruit or good deeds as proof of its reality and that it isn't a mere profession or bogus, but saving and genuine, sincere faith.  

If you compare the world's so-called great faiths, you will realize Christianity stands out as unique and it wouldn't fit the standard definition of religion at all. The concept of grace is unique to Christianity! It's a real insult to the Christian to say that he "got religion" to explain his conversion experience, which is a miracle of transformation and a change from the inside out, not a mere turning over a new leaf or making a resolution to change habits or vices!  Any religion will do if all you want to do is mend your ways and some methodology of doing it; but Christianity alone gives the power to change and the motivation to do it; however, the change doesn't all come at once, the believer is a work in progress and God is working in him to perfect him into the image of Christ.  

To compare:  Religions are works based, and merit-oriented, and don't give any assurance or security to its adherents; Christianity, on the other hand, has both the assurance of salvation and the security in that state of grace;  religion is, in general, knowledge of a creed, based on human achievement, and done in the energy of the flesh, giving man the glory; but Christianity is grace-oriented, and merit has no place in it, it is done by the power of God in us and is based on divine accomplishment; religion is a big to-do list and tells you what you must do, basically in a fear of disobedience (Islam is called the religion of the sword and Islam means submission);  Christianity is about it all being done on our behalf by Christ on His finished work on the cross--it's a done deal or fait accompli!

It is no wonder that religion is characterized by doing good works because man is "incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation [Charles Swindoll quote]."  But if we had to do a work, we'd mess it up, so it's a good deal that it's by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone!  When Jesus was asked what work to do in John 6:29 He said that the work of God is to believe in the One whom He has sent.  Anyone from the feeble-minded to the intellectual can have simple faith and get saved, because it's all by grace and the gift of God (cf. Acts 18:27; 2 Pet. 1:1; Rom. 12:3; Eph. 2:8-9; Phil. 1:29). 

We Christians don't boast in ourselves or in our flesh, as if we did something, but boast in the Lord because of what He has done. We don't attempt to gain the approbation of God or to ingratiate ourselves with Him.  We don't attempt to reach out to God and to strive to get in touch with Him reaching upwards;  in contrast, God reached down to us and condescended to our level.  It may be a surprise to know that only Christianity is based on history and facts  (archaeology, history, and even science) that have yet to be disproved, though many have tried.   Christianity is based on FACT, that no reasonable jury would object to if given the evidence for its case!  Search for yourself:  No so-called religion is based in historical fact--without the fact of the resurrection, there would be no Christianity! The Bible doesn't start out:  "Once upon a time."  Neither is it based in myth or unfounded, unsubstantiated stories without any evidence to corroborate them. 

Religion is the best man can do and Christianity is the best God can do--it's too wonderful for words and it's not something we would've dreamed up or imagined. In a nutshell, religion is a do-it-yourself proposition and lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps; Christianity is about a transformed life and new beginning of an exchanged life, not just a reformation or change, and all this is accomplished by God, not in our own power of the energy of the flesh.

In sum, even in Christianity works play a role; we are not saved by them, nor without them, we are not saved by good behavior, but unto good behavior.  We are saved unto good works according to Ephesians 2:10.  In religion, though, you must do works legalistically, or do them out of necessity, for your salvation--i.e., in order to win God's favor; in Christianity, you are already saved--you are demonstrating your salvation by your deeds and you want to do them out of gratitude; therefore you please God, having gained His favor, not to gain God's graces--the motive and attitude changes; viva la difference!  Religion can sanitize the soul; however, Christianity salvages it! Do you want to know a creed or a Person?    Soli Deo Gloria!  

Rules Of Engagement

"... This cup is the new covenant in My blood.  This do, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me"  (1 Cor. 11:25, NKJV). 

God is a God of order and design, not the author of confusion and chaos ("Let everything be done decently and in order," 1 Cor. 14:40), and everything He plans comes to pass, and everything that comes to pass, does so of necessity, according to John Wycliffe's tenet--God wastes no time and resources and leaves no margin of error; He doesn't play dice with the universe.  God's Plan will be accomplished according to the good pleasure of His will and glory; with or without our cooperation.  God has no Plan B or no backup!  He cannot fail, for He is sovereign as His prerogative is due to His omnipotence and omniscience, even knowing the future.  We have the privilege and honor to share in His glory and work, which we do as vessels of honor doing His will.

God is not arbitrary, capricious, nor whimsical, but methodical and orderly in all He accomplishes and desires.  His election of us was not random as if we got lucky!  It was according to His purpose, good pleasure, foreknowledge, and will.  God is sovereign because He has all power over His creation, and our freedom doesn't limit His sovereignty, and His sovereignty is not limited by our freedom!

Communion is the opportunity to represent our union and solidarity with the body of Christ and to share in His presence as a fellowship, restoring fellowship and keeping us focused on His death on our behalf till He comes for us in glory.  We must share in Christ to be one with Him and to have communion with Him.  Everything, including the Lord's Supper, is to be done properly, in order, and decently as if there were a protocol of good manners in His presence.  Communion requires faith and faith is what pleases God, not our feelings, which can vary like a weather vane in a whirlwind. It doesn't really matter what dogma you hold concerning the Lord's Supper, because it merely is a symbol of the New Covenant Christ made by shedding His blood, and the body that was bruised and striped on our behalf and given for us!

Christ gave His ALL, and He demands that we take up our crosses, which pale in comparison, and follow Him in obedience.  He doesn't expect of us anything He didn't do Himself!  Christ certainly doesn't expect our pity and isn't looking for sympathy for His passion, and He didn't exempt Himself from suffering either, though He didn't deserve any.  It wasn't karma He was suffering, but unjust and cruel treatment He didn't deserve, but it wasn't the nails that kept Him on the cross; His love for us kept Him nailed and on the cross, though He could've saved Himself, we wouldn't be saved then.

In celebrating the Lord's Supper we reflect on the forgiveness and mercy of God in sending the Passover Lamb, Jesus, to make propitiation for our sins, we also realize His omnipresence that He is with us as His name implies (God is with us!).  We get convicted by the Holy Spirit of our sins but realize that if we confess them He is ready to forgive and forget them.  God's mercies never end! As we partake of the emblems we are admonished to examine ourselves and our walk with the Lord, and this is something we should learn to do on our own as we mature in the faith--to constantly practice the presence of God, not just in church or during the Lord's Supper.  Confession should be a matter of keeping short accounts, not saving them up for communion!  But we are to tarry for one another and be patient with the weaker brother or newborn believer, reflecting on God's patience and long-suffering for us!

Caveat:  Just like it was a serious breach of holy protocol for the High Priest to enter the Holy of Holies with unconfessed or unrepentant sin under penalty of death; so God must bring judgment on any individual who doesn't regard or discern the body of Christ and partakes of the Lord's Supper in an unworthy manner, showing no respect because God is holy and we are to treat Him with all regards to His presence with us in the person of Christ at communion to illustrate our direct access to His throne room.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Jesus Wasn't A Great Moral Teacher

"I and the Father are one"  (John 10:30, NIV).  

Many skeptics refuse to think of Jesus as anything but a moral teacher and even an example or model for man, denying His deity in the process.  But Jesus didn't want to be known as just a great moral teacher or example, but as our Lord and Savior--He didn't leave us that option!  If He were not who He claimed to be, He wouldn't be great at all, but evil and an impostor. When I say that He was not a great teacher, I'm saying He wasn't particularly that, limiting Him--He was that and more!  And so the title is not contradictory according to the law of noncontradiction:  nothing can be something and not be something at the same time, in the same sense!

Jesus could have been a demon who had powers to deceive, but could a demon say the things He did and can a demon open the eyes of the blind  (cf. John 10:21), as they murmured?  His wise reflections and teachings are not the rantings and ravings of a madman, but the Words of God. George Gordon, Lord Byron said that "if ever man were God or God-man, Jesus was both."   His personality is as normal and balanced as anyone who ever lived, and the moral precedent He set has never been equaled, excelled, nor surpassed, neither by predecessor nor by follower and worshiper.

C. S. Lewis has said that He was either a liar, lunatic or Lord; there is ample proof He wasn't legend and no one in their right mind would call Him the devil!  If He were a liar, wouldn't the disciples have had him pegged and figured out after three years?   Lunatics and imposters, like Elvis impersonators, are easy to spot and can be ruled out because their lives belie their claims and they don't have the credentials.

Jesus didn't just say He was the Son of God, but proved it by His life and good works, especially miracles.   Even famed atheist Bertrand Russell didn't begrudge Him the highest of morality and principle!  John Stuart Mill, considered by some scholars to be the most intelligent man who ever lived, called Jesus the guide of humanity, though he was no Christian.

If a psychologist were to analyze Him, and he is beyond our ability to analyze or peg, he would find a perfectly balanced person who is well adjusted and with no inner conflict, issues or baggage.  He has all the traits of a normal person and besides that, the ideal man's personality with no flaws whatsoever--He's the ideal standard to judge by, the most well-adjusted personage known!  There's absolutely nothing abnormal about Him and certainly no evidence of mental illness or tendency at all.

You can tell something about a person by their followers, and Christ not only laid down the highest ethics in the Golden Rule but also served as the highest incentive to practice it!  The disciples were of high moral fiber and laid down their lives for their testimony; it is a known fact that people will die for what they believe is true, but not for a known lie!  The disciples were in a position to verify and know whether He rose from the dead or not, and died as martyrs to test the veracity of their claim.

We don't refer to Jesus in any human category:  Not just Jesus the Great, which sounds quite insulting and doesn't behoove Him,  nor just the Exemplar of mankind to live by or martyr to inspire us to a good cause.  He is not just our example or leader, which He is, but also our Savior (that was His mission!).  If you don't accept Him for who He is (God come in the flesh), you are rejecting Him; you cannot declare you are willing to accept Him as your teacher or guide only without reference to His offices as prophet, priest, and king and His authority as Lord and Savior.  We come to Him on His terms, not vice versa!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Pure Religion

Scripture speaks of "pure religion" in James 1:27 and also in Acts 26:5 Paul mentions being from the so-called strictest sect of his religion, in Galatians Paul mentions the Jew's religion.  James says that if you cannot control your tongue, your religion is vain.  It has been said that Christianity is not a religion:  Is this a contradiction?  A contradiction violates the law of noncontradiction, which states something cannot be something and no be something at the same time and in the same manner of speaking. If two people say the same thing that seems contradictory but use different dictionaries, they are not violating the law of noncontradiction!

We say that Christianity is not a religion, in the sense of contrasting it with all other religions; they all involve reaching up to God and trying to gain His approbation by good deeds or works done in the flesh.  Christianity alone deals in grace without merit and salvation by faith without works alone for salvation!  There is such a departure from works religion that Christianity should be called a "faith," for we walk by faith and not by sight; our faith is given and not achieved, for then it would be meritorious--and we believe that salvation is by grace alone without meriting it (cf. Eph. 2:8-9).  James mentions "pure religion" and even if one had pure religion and didn't have faith it would be vain; for without faith, it's impossible to please Him (cf. Hebrews 11:6).

It is an insult to say that we "got religion" when trying to explain away our transformation of character and conversion experience.  Being born again is a miracle in itself and is evidence of the truth of the gospel message.  But note that our experiential knowledge is also based on the objective, historical fact of the resurrection of Jesus, which has "many infallible proofs" according to Luke 1:3.  It is not "pie in the sky," nor wishful thinking, but based in reality.  What He's done for you, He can do for others!  It is our job and calling to spread the Word and win souls (Proverbs 11:30 says that whoever wins souls is wise).  Our marching orders are to fulfill the Great Commission, as well as live by the Great Commandment, and to practice the Golden Rule as our ethic.

Religion says "do" while Christianity says "done."  It's that simple, and you can never know whether you've done enough in religion and therefore, you can never know for sure if you are saved or will enter Paradise, Nirvana, or Heaven, or wherever you aim to go.   It's not religion that saved us, but Christ.  The Bible doesn't save--even believing it or admitting it's the Word of God--and faith doesn't save, for it can be misdirected and the object of the faith is what's important.  It's Christ alone who saves and He accomplishes it by grace through faith.  Religion is largely a man's achievement, while Christianity is God's accomplishment.  It also isn't the amount of faith that saves, but merely the object that saves us, when it's placed in Christ alone.

And so Christianity shouldn't be referred to as a religion, but a relationship with God via a walk of faith with God in fellowship.  According to the dictionary, it's a religion, but Christians use a different dictionary for spiritual words, and it is to make a point that this contrast of the use of the word is made.  You can have all the religion in the world, and you won't please God unless you have faith in Christ!  The good works you do in religion are in order to please God, gain His approbation or good graces; while in Christianity you perform good works out of gratitude because of God's salvation of your soul and works are a "therefore," not an "in-order-to," like religion, strictly speaking in my definition.  Note that Christianity is the only "religion" with a knowable God that wants to have a relationship with us and we can personally know, trust and believe in.

If you don't worship the Lord, you will find something to worship, your job, your possessions, yourself, your lover, fame, fortune, power, success, careers, relationships, celebrities, heroes, entertainment, material goods in general, what have you.  John Stott has called man Homo religiosus, or a religious being--we were made for the worship of God and can only become fulfilled doing that.  Dostoevsky has said, "We cannot live without worshiping something." Worshiping anything or anyone besides God is idolatry! 

But our souls are restless, according to Augustine, until they find their peace in God.  Pascal said we all have a God-shaped blank only He can fill.  Secular Humanists claim they aren't a religion; however, the courts have ruled otherwise: they are a religion without God, and they are, by definition, very religious too.  Freud has called religion a neurosis, or even psychosis, but this doesn't explain the power of a changed life that testifies to its reality.  By the way:  Even atheism has been declared a religion by the Seventh Court of Appeals!

We were made for God and will only find happiness and fulfillment in doing His will and in knowing Him! And so all believers ought to strive to have "pure religion" as our standard (perfection is the standard, while the direction is the test per Matt. 5:48), though we'll never achieve it (cf. Psalm 119:9:96) it's an ideal because the Christian life itself is not hard, it's impossible! In sum, Christianity is so unique that it shouldn't be classified as a religion, but in contrast to it as faith or relationship with the living God! The reason religion is so popular and widespread is that people are incurably addicted to achieving something to get saved!  We tend to be "works-oriented" and put pride in ourselves and our achievements.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Muhammad Versus Jesus

Muhammad was only a 25-year-old camel driver when he married a rich woman 15 yrs. his senior and went on to marry other women afterward.   Muhammad was a man of many flaws, and by no means the ideal guide for mankind to emulate or worship.   Muslims emulate Muhammad as the superlative man, even though he had many flaws:  he had a "vision" to plunder the passing caravans, and latter amassed an army of 10,000 to conquer with the sword (therefore the faith is known as the religion of the sword).  Thus he was a thief and a murderer, but he justified himself by claiming divine revelation and visions.

Jesus remained celibate and faithful to His calling.  Jesus even challenged His accusers to find fault with Him and to point out some sin--they were speechless and at a loss for words.  While Jesus performed some 40 recorded miracles, Muhammad did none, and, when asked why, said that Allah could if he willed it. Jesus conquered hearts with love and laying down His life of His own initiative, while Muhammad used the sword to force conversion.  Muhammad was known as an apostle and prophet, but Jesus was known as a King, and Messiah, Christ, or Anointed One.

You could remove Muhammad from Islam and the religion would remain intact; however, removing Christ totally disembowels Christianity, because Christianity is Christ, all else is the circumference.  Jesus was a miracle worker and teacher as well, but Muhammad wasn't neither.  A point in fact:  Blaise Pascal said that any man can do what Muhammad did; while no man can do what Christ did!  People who compare the two don't realize that there is no comparison at all--no contest, Muhammad is out of his league!

We don't even say "Jesus the Great" because that's a huge understatement and is really insulting to His glory; Muhammad used armies and conquered people, but he was not on the scale of Napoleon, Julius Caesar, nor Alexander the Great; today the legacy of Jesus surpasses that of any mortal or founder of other religions.  With all due respect, Muhammad never claimed to be God, but only His final prophet for all mankind; Jesus claimed deity and proved it with many infallible proofs for anyone with an open, objective, and a willing mind. The most important fact of all:  Muhammad remains in his grave while they never could find Jesus' body (the grave remained empty), and He had witnesses to His resurrection from the dead.

In the final analysis, Jesus stands alone, not to be compared, but contrasted.  He's not merely Jesus the Great, that's an insult, but God in the flesh, as He claimed to be.  Anyone can claim to be God, but do they have the credentials?  If someone lived His life, he would not belie his claim;  however, Jesus has never bee, and never will be, surpassed--He's unlike and superior to all his precursors and predecessors, likewise no follower nor disciple has ever, but worshiped Him, much less equaled Him.  He laid down the highest ethics, no one can dispute, and is also the highest motivation to do it!

Even His enemies were unable to charge Him with sin (cf. John 8:46), and He basically died because of the truth:  He said He was the Son of God. the only hypothesis that fits the facts and claims without contradiction--if someone lived like Him, he should be believed on and worshiped, not crucified!   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Age Of Innocence

 "Moreover your little ones and your children, who you say will be victims, who today have no knowledge of good and evil, they shall go in there, to them I will give it, and they shall possess it"  (Deut. 1:39, NKJV).  
 "For before the Child shall know to refuse the evil and choose the good..." (Isaiah 7:16, NKJV). 
"... 'Yes. Have you never read 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?'...." (Matt. 21:16, NKJV).

John Locke, father of modern empiricism, said that children are born tabula rasa, or with a blank heart or slate, that is impressionable and innocent!--thus all knowledge is learned by experience and we don't inherit any.   The Bible clearly says that we are conceived in sin and that we err from birth, telling lies (Psalm 58:3, NKJV, says, "The wicked are estranged from the womb; They go astray as soon as they are born, speaking lies").  This native tendency is called original sin and is the effect of Adam's sin.  We aren't sinners because we sin, rather we sin because we are sinners, theologians say.  We sin, precisely because it's our very nature and we act according to our God-given nature.  God chose our nature, whether sanguine, choleric, melancholy, impetuous, or happy-go-lucky!

We are not born free, but in bondage to sin, and must be set free (As John 8:36, NKJV, says, "Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed").   We don't need free wills, but wills made free.  The will is depraved to and is not in a state of neutrality able to weigh the pros and cons of following Christ--we need to be wooed into the kingdom (cf. John 6:44, 65) and convicted of our sin and brought to faith by regeneration (cf. 2 Thess. 2:13, which implies that regeneration precedes faith!).

Our nature is determined by God, just like a dove's nature is to eat seed and a vulture to eat carrion, we act according to the nature God gave us, and we are true to nature and to the character that God didn't even ask us our permission before giving it to us.  What if you had been born in India, do you think you'd be a Baptist?  What if you had been born in abject poverty in the Horn of Africa, what would've been your chances of surviving, or what if you had been born in a Muslim nation and had virtually no freedom or opportunity to be anything except Muslim?

God recognizes that children don't know good and evil, though they are still sinners.  Jonah was told that there were 120,000 in Nineveh that didn't know their right hand from their left!  After the spies had come back from Canaan, Joshua was told that the nation would suffer for forty years in the wilderness due to cowardice and a whole generation would be punished--except those who were "innocent" as Deut. 1:39 says.  Basically, God had mercy on all those under twenty years old, even though Jews consider the right of passage into adulthood at about 13 for boys and 12 for girls.

Some teach that God sends children to hell if they're not baptized, but there is no place in hell for children.  Isaiah 7:16 says that there is a time when children don't know to choose the good and reject the evil before adulthood, and God has mercy on them accordingly.   Jesus, Himself, said that the kingdom of God belongs to the children of the world, and we are to receive them, even someone who accepts them in His name accepts Him.  Woe to those who cause a child to stumble in the faith, because their angels constantly behold the face of the Father in heaven.

We have a lot to learn from children, who have not reached the age of accountability yet, because Jesus said that God has ordained praise from their lips (as Matt. 21:16, says, "... 'Out of the mouth of babes and nursing infants You have perfected praise?"),  and we can see the love of God in their hearts  (cf. Psalm 8:2).  Saint Augustine said that it was the voice of a child saying, "Take and read, take and read," that was his spiritual wake-up call and motivated him to repent of his lascivious and debauched lifestyle.

Yes, God does speak through children and they can utter wise statements that are timely.  Yes, forbid them not, as Mark 10:14 says to suffer them not, for such is the kingdom of God.   Soli Deo Gloria!     

But I Have Called You Friends

"Act as free men, and do not use your freedom as a covering for evil, but use it as bondslaves of God" (1 Peter 2:16, NASB).  

NOTE:  WE ARE SIMULTANEOUSLY SERVANTS AND FRIENDS, WITH AN EASY YOKE AND LIGHT BURDEN, BUT THE MORE ENSLAVED WE ARE TO CHRIST, THE FREER WE ARE IN THE SPIRIT.  

Abraham was called the friend of God, according to Scripture (cf. James 2:23), and Jesus said in the Upper Room that He did not call the disciples servants anymore, but friends (cf. John 15:15).  We are a very privileged group.  However, we are not called to be sidekicks or buddies of the Lord in the same vein as our fellow equals and peers in this world.  As believers, in reality, we are still servants of the Lord and at the Bema of Christ He will say, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."  However, what fulfillment to finally enter into the joy of the Lord.  We are merely the stewards of God's blessings:  time, resources, money, gifts, talents, opportunities, relationships, skills, and any other blessings He bestows.  But Jesus invites us to be His friends and if we do what He commands: loving the brethren, (the yoke and cross of following His will for our lives), then we will receive a full reward (per 2 John 8) and not lose out on His divine favor.  God is partial to no one and doesn't play favorites (cf. Acts 10:34, Rom. 2:11), and some believers will be saved by the skin of their teeth and lose reward, due to be disqualified (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27), or their works being burned up in the fire that tests their purity (cf. 1 Cor. 3:10ff).

The Koine (biblical or common Greek) word doulos (bondservant) should be "slave."  But it shouldn't have the connotations it does today with cruelty.  Slaves were owned by their master, not just in their service. Christ has bought us (cf. 1 Cor. 6:20).  Jesus made it clear that we are only His friends if we obey Him (cf. John 15:14).  Obedience and faith are correlated and can be distinguished, but not separated.  We show our faith by our obedience; likewise, we obey by walking in faith (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7).  Jesus said no one can be owned by two masters, we must decide whom we will dedicate our life's service to --mammon or Christ.

Slaves are Christ's freemen, while freemen are Christ's slaves:  "He who was called while free, is Christ's slave.  You were bought with a price"  (1 Cor. 7:22-23, NASB). We can be each other's servants, but they don't own us--Christ owns us and deserves the title Kurios or Lord, as we defer in obedience, allegiance, and loyalty.  Becoming a Christian entails giving up the ownership of our lives, being willing to do His will in our calling.

Paul and other disciples referred to themselves commonly as bondservants in their epistles, and those are they who could be set free and decide to stay in slavery or service voluntarily, out of love for their master or the job itself.  The whole beauty of it is that it is a voluntary initiative like Paul not getting married when he had the right to money for preaching;  we don't have to give up our so-called rights or privileges to serve a lowly or humble role.

But in the end, after the rewards are given out at the Judgment Seat of Christ, it will be worth the effort and sacrifice to have served the Lord and done only what was required, no matter how much effort we made, it was only what ought to have done and we will not even deserve a reward, but one will be given by grace anyway.  For that is what grace is:  you don't earn it, cannot pay it back, and you didn't deserve it in the first place; on the other hand, mercy is not getting what we do deserve!

When the apostles called themselves bondservants of Christ, they were taking a special calling to serve Him in exchange for the privilege of the greater reward; they didn't have to make themselves bondservants, (by definition, this is voluntary), and they enjoyed the service of the Lord's work in the kingdom of God. Paul, Peter, James, and John the Elder all referred to themselves this way and they knew what they were getting into, and followed the calling despite the downside and pitfalls.  Paul even said that while he was poor the church could be made rich.

In God's economy, greatness is correlated with how many you serve, not how many servants you have, for even Jesus came serving (cf. Mark 10:45), and much more are we called to serve, walking in His steps.  It is indeed a promotion to be called into the ministry, despite the fact that it means a life of service, not glory or riches in this world, because the reward is in the next life to be handed out according to what we have done in the flesh (cf. Rom. 2:6) in service to God by the power of the Spirit, who is our divine enabler! 

The whole concept of service is that Christians live an exchanged life of Christ living through them as His hands to serve, feet to go, voice to preach, and heart to love  (for Jesus has no hands, etc., to change the world other than ours)  for Him in missions and ministry.  As Paul said in Galatians 2:20 that he no longer lives, but Christ lives through him.  Christianity isn't so much about copying or mimicking Christ as having Him live through us and in us as He takes ownership and control of our lives.  

As far as our service goes, we are still servants and stewards who will be rewarded accordingly, but as far as our relationship goes, we are the friends of God too, for God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality--what He's done for others He can and will do for you!  Don't forget that Jesus is not ashamed to call us brethren and we are now family with God as our Father, to whom we address prayer in Jesus name.  In fact, anyone who does the will of God is His brother, sister, or even mother (cf. Matt. 12:50)!

In God's economy and in the service of the Lord, the more you humble yourself, and the more sacrifices you make, the more reward in heaven--humility comes before exaltation and promotion--unlike the apostles who wanted to be first in the kingdom, but didn't know what they were getting into, and would have to drink of the same cup as the Lord to prove their worthiness to sit with Him in the kingdom of God.  Case in point:  Take the example of John the Baptist, who said in John 3:30 that Jesus must increase and he must decrease!

Therefore, the way up is down, apparently, because John was the greatest mortal ever born and he lived the life in the wilderness deprived of any luxury and gave his life as his final witness, while he lived such a life of deprivation and asceticism.  Indeed, it is a promotion to become a martyr and die for the Lord, not a disgrace, but an honor to be considered worthy of suffering for Christ's sake in kingdom work.  Soli Deo Gloria! 

Man's Accountability

"...Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"  (Gen. 18:25, NKJV).
"So then each of us shall give account of himself to God"  (Rom. 14:12, NKJV).
"For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself"  (Romans 14:7, NKJV).
"... 'There is no accountability, since God does not exist'"  (Psalm 10:4, HCSB).

If there is no God, man is not accountable--there's no Judge, no Lawgiver, no Executioner of final retribution and justice. The government would be the highest law, and standards would differ from state to state, subject to local opinion or custom.   In short, man would be a law unto himself.  Is responsibility a delusion then?  If there is no God, all things are permissible, according to Dostoevsky!   If there is no Judge, why worry about justice or answering to anyone.  However, the whole system of Western government is based on the premise of natural or transcendent law from God given to man in his conscience, and, since we are in His image, we are mere stewards of God and accountable for His blessings and will be held to account at Judgment Day.

"Man has forgotten God," according to Solzhenitsyn, and the chief question and issue of our day, according to William Durant, is whether man "can live without God."  Nietzsche said that God was dead, that we had killed Him, or that He was irrelevant if He does exist!  To the unbeliever, God is in none of His thoughts, and even if there is a God, he lives as a practical atheist, or as though there is no God--this is the dilemma:  Are Christians going to see the light and be the light, or let society rot and fall apart at the very foundations?  The beauty of the church is the sense and reality of belonging to a family where we are concerned for each other and can share with each other our burdens, blessings, gifts, and talents. Man is not a law unto himself, however, so he can live with the morals of a beast if he chooses, even if he sees himself as one.  (The purpose of government is to put a lid on and restrain evil in society, securing and maintaining our freedoms and rights--note that God confers our rights, and the government derives its power from the consent of the governed, and its main purpose is to keep evil at bay.)

However, God is not dead, He's more alive than ever before and will not die; He is the one who is there and we must reckon with Him, whether we want to or not. If there is no God, there are no absolutes either, and no standard of right and wrong beyond our subjective feelings. Many great atheists have tried to kill God or make Him irrelevant, but God lives on in men's hearts, for Christ founded a kingdom of hearts, not armies or wealth.

Man is too proud, however, to seek God and justifies himself and his sin.  What does this worldview entail and what is the logical conclusion?  We always invent a system of ethics that we feel or believe we can keep, and that doesn't condemn ourselves.  If there is no God, man has no hell to shun, nor fear of a Day of Judgment, and there is no Lawgiver to tell us right from wrong--man is the highest being and we have no one to give an account of ourselves to.

In short, man is an animal and has the right to live like an animal morally.  (Man then cannot be in the image of God, since there is no God, and therefore has no unique, intrinsic nor extrinsic dignity, the image of God implies a lot:  not only dignity but meaning and purpose; we're wired spiritually and rationally; we are also emotional, communicative, and moral beings that are fulfilled and made complete in Christ (cf. Col. 2:10); however, we are not replicas of God--Jesus is the only express image or icon of God.)

Having no Lawgiver implies we can make up our own rules as we go along and there are no absolutes--no God means no absolutes, but all is relevant (principle, morals, truth, and values)!  Having no Judge means we can get away with murder without fearing retribution!   Caveat:  Christianity doesn't endorse "going rogue" or philosophy of "each man for himself" in a "law of the jungle," where it's "survival of the fittest"--we are all family in Christ and ought to have vested interest in each other.   Soli Deo Gloria!