What Is Man And His Dignity Worth?

"Where is the one who makes us smarter than the animals and wiser than the birds of the sky?" (Job 35:11, NLT).
"Everyone who is called by My name, Whom I have created for My glory..." (Isaiah 43:7, NKJV). 
"The purpose of man is like the purpose of the pollywog--to wiggle along as far as he can without dying; or, to hang to life until death takes him."--Clarence Darrow, the Scopes monkey trial of 1925 
"There is something about the way God is that is like the way we are."--J. P. Moreland and Scott B. Rae, Body and Soul 

IF YOU WONDER WHO YOU ARE, READ!


What makes us human?  Is man a cosmic accident that came from blue-green pond scum (algae) or is he the result of purposed design?  Are we mere grown-up germs?  A fluke of nature?  Are we from nothing, with no meaning, going nowhere?  Our Declaration of Independence declares we have "certain unalienable rights," "endowed" by our "Creator."  If the State granted us rights, the State can take them away!  Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes didn't attribute any more significance to man than to a baboon!  Even Darwin pondered whether he could "trust the convictions of a monkey."

The reason Secular Humanists are so eager to make us out to be nothing but animals is that they want to live irresponsibly like animals.  If you believe you are an animal, you will act like one.  Some Greeks of antiquity, namely Protagoras, believed man was "the measure of all things [Homo mensura]."  Even at the tower of Babel man sought to make a name for himself (cf. Gen. 11:4).

It is the Christian worldview that gives man dignity, being in the image of God (imago Dei), and a "living soul," (cf. Gen. 2:7), and this dignity is extrinsic (God is the source, not us) since it is because of our relationship with God-man is presently in a fallen state and this image is marred and defaced; nevertheless, it's still there--man alone has an ego issue.  History is the story of the "devolution" of man; even though we have increased in technological knowledge and expertise, we have not solved the basic problems that haunt us, namely: hatred, jealousy, lust, greed, pride, and selfishness, et al.  

Only after we get saved, do we have the capability to overcome our sinful nature and to be renewed in the image of God.  We must remember that "all men are created equal," as our Declaration of Independence says, and we have no right to look down on our fellow man, just as the Bible declares that "all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (cf. Rom. 3:23).

What does it mean to be in God's image?  We all have intelligence, self-consciousness, dignity, value, worth,  purpose, and meaning, a heart set on eternity, and are designed to bring glory to God.  We have many traits in common with God:  namely, that we are spiritual; rational; emotional; social; intellectual; creative; communicative; reflective; intuitive; interpretive; noble; moral; and ethical beings.  Note that only man can plan, worry, regret, appreciate beauty, enjoy something bigger than himself, appreciate music, and find fulfillment.

We, alone, are made to know God and are the only creatures capable of having fellowship with Him.  God has chosen to glorify Himself through man (cf. Isa. 43:7).   As John Piper interprets man's purpose from The Westminster Shorter Catechism:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God by enjoying Him forever."  We are not mere creatures, but His children who will be joint-heirs with Christ.  Christians are destined to become like Christ (cf. Col. 1:27) and to share in His glory (cf. 1 Pet. 5:10; Psa. 84:11). Man has a destiny:  "You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor" (Psalm 8:5, NIV).

Bildad in Job 18:3, NLT, says:  "Do you think we are mere animals?  Do you think we are stupid?"  Man is the only creature capable of self-analysis, and self-criticism, as well as being a problem solver and able to pass on the information gathered to succeeding generations--he doesn't start afresh each time, but can accumulate a body of knowledge and wisdom--animals know things, but man knows he knows.  Man is not solely driven by and captive to instinct, though he does possess the drive to self-preservation, propagation, and nourishment.  But our relationships are unique, since we are capable of falling in and out of love and know the ebb and flow of emotional ties, and show signs of the nobility of character such as knowing about fair play, sportsmanship, courage, bravery, honesty, truthfulness, integrity, justice, good faith, altruism, and all fifty-two known virtues.

In other words, we have a desire to be like God and this is only fulfilled through Christ.  The logical conclusion of being in God's image is that we have rights bestowed by Him and no government has the right to take them away.  But since we are in God's image, and are fallen creatures, we are capable of disobeying God and committing evil in His sight for which we are culpable and responsible.   We alone know right from wrong (cf. Rom. 2:14-15).  Man alone will be judged and held accountable (cf. Rom. 14:10, 12).  Man alone has rights: "denying justice to a man," (Lam. 3:35); "and to deprive the afflicted among my people of justice," (Isa, 10:2); "As God lives, who has deprived me of justice" (Job 27:2)--all vv. from HCSB.

The prevalent worldviews today deify or exalt man and dethrone God and make Him irrelevant or unbelievable; they start with man and explain the universe rather than with God, the Creator, and explain creation.  Where you start determines where you'll end up!  They rule God out of the equation from the get-go and don't even consider Him in their solution.  When you take God out of the reckoning, man becomes his own judge and lives irresponsibly with no concept of right and wrong--for without God "all things are permissible," according to Fyodor Dostoevsky--consequently, man is no mere creature of habit.

The ultimate worth of mankind is that God became a man and thought we were valuable enough to die for and restore a relationship with--God didn't die for animals--they weren't bad enough!   This leads us to the uniqueness of man's nature:  the desire to know God; for man alone is a religious creature, who builds cathedrals and chapels and has been nicknamed Homo religiosus, or the religious man.  Man alone has a conscience that makes him aware of right and wrong and is therefore culpable to God.  Wouldn't you be surprised to see a monkey erecting a chapel or praying to God?

The ultimate image of God (and this is not the replica of God--God sees Himself in us and relates to us in a mutual way--but the icon of God), is manifested in his ability to reflect and reason; in his conscience and ability to discern good and evil, having a sense of guilt in wrongdoing; consciousness of morals and values; in his desire to know God and have a relationship with Him and this conviction that he belongs to God and can worship and praise Him.  Even in man's scientific name, Homo sapiens is Latin for "the wise man." 

t is said that man alone, in contrast to animals, has the will to obey God, the intellect to know Him, and the heart to love Him.  In short, we were made to have a relationship with God!  Man is the magnum opus of God's creation.   And it's because of the imago Dei that we have rights, not the government, and if we're are descended from hominids, when did those hominids acquire rights?   Soli Deo Gloria!

A Legitimate Testimony Or A Misrepresentation?

"... And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ" (Romans 8:9, NIV).
"For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God' (Romans 8:14, NIV).
"I can do all things through him who gives me strength" (Phil. 4:13, NIV).
"To the law and to the testimony!  If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isaiah 8:20, NKJV).

Some churches require would-be members to give their testimonies as a condition for joining the assembly of believers.  Too often this gets out of control and people get carried away glorifying their past sins and want to portray themselves as the worst sinner since the apostle Paul, the chief of sinners.  Sometimes testimonies do the opposite of the spectrum and are just watered-down bios of about their so-called spiritual journeys (just giving the facts of baptism, going to a crusade, reading the Bible, raising your hand, responding to an altar call gives no details worth knowing about how to get saved--these don't save!), but leave out the essentials: (1) What was their life like before getting saved?  (If they don't know how to get saved, how do we vouch for their salvation?)  (2) How did they come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ?  (3) What is their life like now that Jesus is in charge?  These three questions are crucial because they nurture and feed the seeker so that he can get saved too.  This is one of the best opportunities to present the gospel one may ever encounter and it's a shame that one misses the chance to materialize it and seize the moment.  Just letting them think they've jumped over one more hurdle does them no favors in the long term--it's short-sighted!

How they went to church since a child and grew up in the faith and seemed to inherit salvation is irrelevant or paraphrastic, (this is nice to know, but not a testimony)--I want to know how they got saved!  The words sin, repent, and saving faith all by regeneration or a born-again experience by the Spirit is a requisite.  To be remiss to mention them is a sin of omission because sin is missing the mark or falling short of the ideal of God' biblical standard.

If anything is worth doing at all, it's worth doing right and well.  I know that the elders may be convinced of their conversion, that they are believers and saved by virtue of personal fellowship, but this is the church's opportunity to judge and discern--just talking the talk and using the jargon of the church doesn't make one a believer. What I'm saying is that if it's just an introduction to get to know the person, and then a vote up or down, based on whether they like the person, it shouldn't be called giving salvation testimonies, because they aren't biblical--these are life stories, church histories, or religious experiences.  It's not just the church's opportunity or ratification of the elders' decision, it's a special occasion for the prospective member.

I am especially suspicious of those who are too shy to even read a testimony to the church, though some may disagree on this nonessential point, because Paul said explicitly in Romans 10:9-10, NIV, this proclamation:  "If you declare with your mouth, 'Jesus is Lord,' and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved, for it is with the heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved."  This says nothing about proxy testimony for the shy.  Also, note that Jesus expressly said in Matt. 10:32 that whosoever acknowledges or professes Him before others, He will acknowledge before the Father in heaven. Of course, this doesn't mean you can get legalistic and deny membership on this basis, but it should be encouraged because it's for their own assurance and sooner or later they will have to profess Christ orally before men. Remember, it's always the devil who's trying to get into the fellowship some other way besides through the gate and some churches sure make it easy for him to worm his way in.

Those too shy at heart must realize that God doesn't give a spirit of timidity according to 2 Tim. 1:7!   A real sign of the Spirit is a bold and fearless testimony!   I realize some people are not gifted at public speaking and are shy by nature, but God changes that and its membership shouldn't be made as easy as talking the talk without any fruit or even explanation of how the conversion happened in detail.  Saying something like, "I was saved when I was five!" means nothing to the seeker or member wondering how to get saved--no one just gets saved by osmosis or because they were born into the right family--it's a turnstile, not something inherited.  We don't get saved en masse like being a member of the right church either, God doesn't save churches or families, but individuals.  It can become a meeting whereby members are just getting to know the prospects and voting on whether they approve of them or not, without any doctrinal information exchanged.

Good testimonies are not just a few lines of Christian lingo showing one has grown up in the faith and has earned the right to become a member, but an illustration of the gospel:  what it was like before salvation; how one got saved; and what's it like afterward that's made a difference.  These are the essentials of biblical testimony and to omit them is a dereliction of duty and indicates a lack of guidance.   If a church is to fail to train in giving biblical testimony, then it shouldn't call them testimonies, but life story or church history, because they are serving another purpose, the prospects are being admitted because the elders believe them, and it's assumed they are already believers and there should be no reasonable objections.

Voting by the church assembly is unnecessary in light of the fact that they are already virtual members when the elders deem them saved, unless testimonies are to be taken seriously they are futile, but serve as a time to get to know the person better, but not any concrete evidence of salvation.  In Revelation "they overcame by the word of their testimony" (cf. Rev. 12:11, NIV); this is not just clinging to some childhood experience like telling the people you were saved at five or even that you responded to an altar call (the church may not believe in them)--this has no inherent spiritual impact or convicting power!  The overcoming power is in the gospel (cf. Rom. 1: 16) and the experience one has with it through the Spirit (cf. Phil. 4:13).

The dynamic of church membership should be straightforward and not pretend to be what it's not (they're not fooling God, who sees through the veneer and masquerade)--it shouldn't be majority rule, for it is seldom the voice of God.  The accord of the elders and unity of the body one in the Spirit and mission should pass judgment, with the personal rights:  "I dissent, I disagree, I protest," according to our legacy a Protestants.  

We need to adjourn the methodology of welcoming members aboard by virtue of talking the talk and knowing some jargon, but be forthcoming about what we are doing and teach the biblical way including renouncing sin, having saving faith, and regeneration by the Holy Spirit; for we are members of The Way--let's proceed like we know it (and I'm not being nitpicky), instead of performing a sham for God, trying to make people feel good.  Call it what it is (and it's not certifying salvation), and do it the right, biblical way.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Just Be Yourself

In Shakespeare's play, Hamlet, Polonius says, "To thine own self be true."  This is one of the most famous quotes from Shakespeare and even misquoted and misinterpreted.  We don't want to try to be someone else, of course, unless we aspire to be like Jesus, like all Christians do, but we still retain our personal identity and should never forget who we are--our roots and calling. God hates hypocrites and duplicity!  It wasn't long ago that kids idolized Michael Jordan and chanted, "I want to be like Mike!"  It is never advisable to live as someone else, live a lie, nor to live in sin, but being true to thine own self implies being true and having integrity too. 

The prerequisite to being yourself is knowing yourself, one of the twin goals of the Greek philosophers of antiquity:  Know thyself; know God--they are correlated.  This is why Socrates' dictum from his trial articulated this well: "The unexamined life is not worth living."  We all need to take inventory and get a spiritual checkup to find out where we stand in Christ and be honest with God with no skeletons in the closet.  We must find out what we're made of and what we are in Christ to be of use to God's service.

Bruce Jenner took this advice and became Caitlyn; however, he didn't go far enough--once he found out what or who he was, he should've been convicted and repented of his sin and asked God to transform his nature.  If you have tendencies to be an arsonist or a thief, you don't live them out under the pretense of being true to yourself.  What is wrong for others is wrong for everyone and God is the moral center of the universe, not us.  Taking God out of the picture leads to being a sinner, no matter how true to yourself you are.  Shakespeare was a Christian and quoted the Bible hundreds of times in his plays and sonnets, and there is some truth to what he wrote in Hamlet.  

Does character count?  Paul said that nothing good dwells in him and the good that he would do, he doesn't do.  Ovid said that he knows the good and approves it, but doesn't do it.  The point is that we don't have the power to conquer sin without Christ in our metric.  I'm glad that the Holy Spirit is a restraining influence on the sinners of the world, to keep them from being as depraved as they possibly could be or would be if they could.

Being true to yourself necessitates honesty with yourself and being open about who you are, good or evil.  Jenner wasn't necessarily given bad advice, but his problem is not that he chose to be a transgender, but that he doesn't know Jesus.  Hypocrites are those who act a role they really aren't and put on a show for others to see as a deception--wearing a mask in a play.  "Why is it that I know what is right, but do what is wrong?" (Leo Tolstoy's character Pierre says in War and Peace). 

God is looking for honest people (even if they don't measure up to their own standards), and sometimes that honesty is costly and we cannot put a price on our integrity.  When they say, "What you see is what you get," they are being human, for God is not looking for ideal people but real people.  Jesus came to save sinners and to call them to repentance. Jenner needs to humble himself before God and realize his helplessness to be the man God intended him to be.

As Christians, we should think outside the box and put others first, and live for something bigger than ourselves--the community of believers, the body of Christ.  There is a point at which so-called tribalism becomes evil, like when we deify a political party and follow it right or wrong; we should never forget that we belong to Christ first as citizens of heaven, and He has primary authority over our lives.  Individualism is evil, though we are individuals.  When we exalt ourselves and think we don't need anyone, we mock God who designed us to need community as social beings.  As Christians, we have the mindset to give back to society and the church and want to contribute, not just be focused on what we can get out of the system.

No one is autonomous and self-sufficient but God!  He needs no one and nothing, but we are ones in need of Him and others.  The Victorian Englishman was known as a self-made man who worshiped his creator!  This is the epitome of individualism, and also believing that God helps those who help themselves, like Ben Franklin and John F. Kennedy said, is bad theology--for God helps the helpless and those who are in need, even destitute--this is quoted by politicians as an argument against a nanny-state, public assistance, entitlements, and even social safety nets.  Some people are not in a position to help themselves or to turn their lives around for the good.

If our nation believes everyone has the right to life, it would follow that they have a right not to starve to death and to be fed adequately--for even prisoners are granted three square meals a day.  Christian, transcendent law entails equal opportunity, and no bias towards the rich or big business either.  They talk about social engineering for the poor or redistribution of wealth to their advantage, but what about social engineering favoring the rich or corporations, and redistribution of wealth their way?

Many today follow the so-called Iron Rule, or that "might makes right" and the law of the jungle should prevail (from the Darwinian theory of the survival of the fittest).  People want to take care of themselves first and be as independent as possible--look out for Number One!   The Christian ought to be about something bigger than himself.  The first lesson one learns upon knowing Christ is that it's not all about them!  Christians learn to love others as members of the same body of believers. God doesn't approve of Lone Ranger Christians or lone wolves who think they can go it alone and be a one-man-band for Christ--the key to authority is that everyone is under authority and accountable from the top all the way to the bottom, and those who refuse to be under authority have no authority for Christ.

In other words, good leaders are first good followers and good teachers are first good students.  But we never reach a point of graduating from the School of Christ that we have enrolled in for the remainder of our lives, but must learn that we are always works-in-progress and others should be patient with us because God isn't finished with us yet--as He promised to bring our sanctification to completion (cf. Phil. 1:6).  The mature believer has taken himself out of the equation of life; for humility is not thinking less of himself, but thinking of himself less.

We need to be true to ourselves, but this is in light of being true to God and what His Word tells us, not listening to what the world says and its conventions, traditions, and customs--don't live a lie!  They say to be yourself, but most people haven't discovered who they are and are searching for some identity, known as an identity crisis to find themselves.  We must be found by God and changed by His grace, for our sin nature has no power over sin, since it's the slave to it.

In this day and age, many people are coming out of the closet and declaring their sins without shame, and our culture thinks it's the right thing to do to accept them the way they are, when they need to repent of their sin:  "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand!"  The message of sin, repentance, and faith has been lost and today it seems that anything goes and people are living to please themselves and doing what is right in their own eyes: (Isaiah 53:6, NKJV) "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his own way."

The "what's-in-it-for-me" gospel has come into vogue and we need to realize that the Christian life is a surrendered, relinquished, obedient, exchanged, and a substituted life through Christ's power (cf Gal. 2:20).  God gave us ego and a will, and as soon as this is realized there is the peril of putting them first and before God-exalting or deifying them instead of God, i.e., not giving God His due.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Is History Just Bunk?

"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference."--Nelson Glueck, archaeologist
"What experience and history teach is this--that people and governments never have learned anything from history, or acted on principles deduced from it."--Georg W. F.  Hegel
"I don't know much about history, and I wouldn't give a nickel for all the history in the world."---Henry Ford 
"Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."--George Santayana   "A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts."--Paul Johnson, historian  
"It is not now the man of faith, it is the skeptic, who has reason to fear the course of discovery."--Ibid. 

Henry Ford had no respect for the academic discipline of history and called it bunk!  History is not circular or cyclical, but we must learn the lessons again, or relearn from our mistakes the hard way.  You cannot relegate the study of history to consisting of the narrative of man's inhumanity to man, nor of the survival of the fittest; there is a divine input and factor to be reckoned with. Biblical history is linear: it has a starting point, a direction, a climax, a culmination or consummation, and a climactic ending point or conclusion.

In Stephen Hawking's book,  A Brief History of Time, he referred to time beginning at the Big Bang as it has become popularized, [posited as the corollary of space and matter] (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9; Titus 1:2; Gen. 1:1).  There was a beginning to everything that exists in time and space, except God Himself, who had no beginning and is, therefore, eternal and unbound or defined by the time/space continuum in which He created and we are imprisoned and confined so to speak.  History is important because Christianity is the only faith grounded in history and fact, and its historicity has been vouched for by over 25,000 archaeological digs and over 5000 manuscripts proving the veracity and fidelity of scriptural transmission to give us an accurate text, with much corroboration. It is deplorable that when a secular historian is a contrarian to a biblical scholar, the former is assumed the unbiased one.

Modern man tends to interpret history in the so-called uniformitarian way or denying any supernatural intervention such as the Deluge or Noah's flood.  Christianity is history and history is God's story in a manner of speaking--it has a storyteller.  If you could "dehistoricize" the Bible, it would be completely discredited, even if one legitimate, proven error was found in its portrayals of events, persons, or places.  But even secular historians will not deny that the coming of Christ changed the course of history and that He is the dominant figure in Western civilization.  I wonder if the disciples had any presentiment of the place they'd occupy in world history and of the history of the Church, as narrated so accurately and faithfully by Luke in Acts.

I heard that the present administration has no regard for history and is relatively ignorant of it; the error is that they fail to see any meaning in history or its inherent worth as an academic discipline.  We should not resort to the cynicism of Karl Marx, who said that the point is not to interpret history, but to change it!  Change isn't always good, and change for change sake is evil and one must be willing and ready to go forward, not backward and relive our errors and mistakes of the past.  What is the scope and view of history from God's eye?  It is nothing but creation, fall, redemption, judgment, and finally eternity in heaven or hell.  The Bible picks up the story as going from generation to degeneration to regeneration!

Yes, history is headed toward a climactic conclusion and resolution and it's up to us to interpret the times and act accordingly and appropriately, knowing what to do!  It used to be that secular historians and scholars would even doubt the historicity of Jesus Christ, but none would risk his reputation by alleging that stance today, because the evidence is overwhelming and the corroborating evidence so convincing and even conclusive, that secularists must realize that Christ and the Christian faith must be reckoned with and explained or accepted, because they cannot be dismissed as legend or myth--the great question of history that must be answered by all is this:  "Who is Jesus?"  He is the center point and focuses of history, the Bible being all about Him, and He will bring it to a head, and everyone's judgment of Him will be the criterion for his eternal destiny.  The Christian experience is real because it's based on verifiable, historical fact and can be tested by subjective, personal experience--as they say, the proof of the pudding is in the eating or "Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8, ESV).

The great comfort of the faith is that we can be assured that God is in absolute, complete control and we can know that there will be a future for all believers with Him.  Josh McDowell sums it up quite well in that the resurrection is the central fact of the faith, and it's based in history as objective fact, and it is either the most wonderful event in history or it's the cruelest hoax ever perpetrated on mankind.  According to D. James Kennedy, the resurrection is arguably the best-attested fact of antiquity.  If one looks at the evidence with an open mind with no preconceived notions or bias, there are "many infallible proofs," as Luke wrote in Acts 1:3.  The downside is that there is never enough evidence for the skeptic, but ample evidence for the sincere seeker of truth. God and truth are inseparable, and that is why the Bible's veracity and fidelity are so paramount to the faith--one cannot disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

It's important to interpret history in light of Scripture, because secularism sees us as progressing towards perfection and utopia, while we are really headed toward world-wide confrontation and war, culminating in one-world government by the Antichrist before Christ ushers in his reign during the Millennial Kingdom, coming after a Great Tribulation and judgment of God on the nations.  What is history then?  It's the ultimate unfolding, progressing of God's redemptive, judgmental plan for all mankind in real time.  It makes a difference what one makes of history--it's HIS STORY!

Caveat:  Secular worldviews jeopardize our future with such interpretations as seeing us heading toward and evolving into utopia and globalism; or that tomorrow belongs to Islam; or that history is the judge; or that it's a dialectic of class warfare; and even that there is no purpose or meaning to it and it's not worthy of our serious study.  We must persevere with faith in Providence, that our Forefathers adhered to and believed God is ultimately in control and good will triumph over evil in God's timetable.

In sum, the whole Christian concept and worldview of history are dependent on the veracity, reliability, credibility, fidelity, and accuracy of the Bible, which is a historical document from cover to cover. All in all, such concepts as God punishing our nation or smiling upon us with blessings, are foreign to the secular outlook on history, which removes God from the equation and reckoning, trying to declare God dead or irrelevant to history.   We can be thankful that the God of faith is the God of history, who orchestrates it, and doubting its historicity is mere hyper-criticism--it's never been proven erroneous, so why not trust it?

NOTE:  IT'S A SAD COMMENTARY ON OUR TIMES THAT SO MUCH EVIDENCE IS AVAILABLE AND THE BIBLE HAS ALWAYS PROVEN TRUE TO ITS FACTS AND HISTORICAL ACCOUNTS, YET WHEN THERE IS A DISCREPANCY WITH A SECULAR HISTORIAN, THE BIBLE IS THE ONE THAT IS QUESTIONED AND HELD UP TO SCRUTINY.  WHY IS THAT WHILE THE BIBLE HAS PROVEN SO RELIABLE IN ITS FACTS AND HISTORY, THAT SOME DOUBT ITS SPIRITUAL AND MORAL VALUES?  Soli Deo Gloria!

Seeking God's Glory

 "... [W]ithout holiness no one will see the Lord" (Heb. 12:14, NIV).
"... We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son..." (John 1:14, NIV).
"No one has ever seen God, but the one and only Son, who is himself God and is in the closest relationship with the Father, has made him known" (John 1:17, NIV).
"Everything comes from God alone.  Everything lives by his power, and everything is for his glory" (Romans 11:36, TLB).
"The glory of God is a human being fully alive."--Irenaeus
"My eyes have seen the glory of the coming of the Lord..."

According to the divines who wrote The Westminster Shorter Catechism around 1646, "the chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever" (or, as John Piper says, "... by enjoying Him forever").  We were put on this good earth to glorify God (cf. Isa. 43:7), and we bring Him the most glory while enjoying Him and doing what we were created to do, not resisting our Maker's intention or calling (cf. Isa. 45:10); for He is the Potter and we are the clay, being fashioned into vessels of honor and dishonor, but nevertheless, whether we cooperate or not, to bring Him ultimate glory--namely, the manifestation of the Shekinah, the cloud of God's glory, seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

Note that even the wrath of man brings glory to God (cf. Psalm 76:10).  Also note that God's glory is not a reflected one like the moon reflecting the sun's light, or like Moses' face reflecting God's, but is originating from itself, and a self-sufficient radiance, expressing itself.  It has to do with the transcendent majesty of God's presence. It was shown to the inner circle of disciples (John, James, and Peter) at the preview of his glory at the Transfiguration, and was hidden from the world while Christ was incarnate before His resurrection and would be restored (cf. John 17:5).

We have all fallen short of the glory of God (cf. Rom. 3:23), it's not a sin not to be as glorious as God, but not to bring Him glory as we ought, and becoming what would glorify God to the max.  We must learn to acknowledge the glory of God, as this is a pet peeve or complaint of God and shows our true nature.  The problem with man is that they've exchanged the glory of God for images or icons and idols!  We are meant, as believers united and in union with Christ, to share in God's glory, but the glory of His presence and salvation, will He give to no other to share (cf. Isa. 48:11).

We all fall short of the glory of God (cf. Rom. 3:23; 1:23) and after salvation, we regain glory step by step, as we are conformed to the image of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 3:18).  The goal of the Christian is the Beatificfic Vision or the manifested revelation of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, seeing Him by faith in the here and now through the eyes of our spirit--in Glory, we shall see Him as He is and become like unto Him; as the disciples beseeched to see the Father and it would suffice, Jesus told them that seeing Him was the same experience--but we do see Jesus (cf. Heb. 2:9).

Meanwhile, it's our duty to do everything to the glory of God (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31).  Abraham likewise grew in faith, giving glory to God (cf. Rom. 4:20). In fact, we are predestined "to be to the praise of His glory" (cf. Eph. 1:12, NASB).  Jesus will share His glorious nature with us as we are fit for the inhabitation of resurrection bodies in His likeness.  This is when we are glorified in Glory or the third heaven upon entrance.  We either seek God's glory or are put to shame because of our sins in neglecting it as a dereliction of duty, there's no middle ground or limbo, that would be a neutral territory--one must decide for or against the glory of God manifested and put to full display at the cross and resurrection of Christ on our behalf--viz., the gospel message.  The sad commentary on man is that Satan has blinded the eyes of them that believe not to the glory of Christ, who is the express image of God (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Remember:  "The Son is the radiance of God's glory [the fullness of the Godhead; cf. Col. 2:9] and the exact representation of his being [the icon]..." (Heb. 1:3, NIV).   And so: where is the glory of God?  Just open your eyes and look, it's everywhere (where isn't it?)--God's divine imprint is in all of creation, for the "heavens declare the glory of God," (cf. Psalms 19:1).  The glory of God is so awesome, that it will be the light of the New Jerusalem.  We are to live for and recognize God's glory as Jesus did:  "I brought glory to you here on earth by doing everything you told me to do" (John 17:4, NLT).

This means that we ought to do what we are wired to do and use our gifts: opportunities; relationships; energy; resources; learned skills; talents; abilities; spiritual gifts; and even passions for the purpose God gave them to us.  John Piper said that God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him!  Don't just exist but live life to the full and live for your God-given purpose in life.  Glorify God by being all you can be and what you were designed for and called to do; for the happiest people are those who do God's will cheerfully and God will smile on them as He sees Himself in us.    Soli Deo Gloria!

A Shame Unto A Man

"A person may think their own ways are right, but the LORD weighs the heart"  (Prov. 21:2, NIV).
"... The LORD does not look at the things people look at.  People look at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart" (1 Sam. 16:7, NIV).

Paul seemed dogmatic that it is a shame for a man to have "long hair," (this begs the question as to why it's a shame for a woman not to have hair as a covering), but what does that mean to us in our enlightened age? Note that it's not a condemnation or sin!  Are ponytails evil per se because someone deems them to be long hair?  Does the converse hold true, that it's an honor to have short or no hair?  Hair should not be the issue! But still being bald for a man is also a shame or embarrassment, but it's not sinning.  Note that what's long hair is relative and subjective too!

Actually, standards of right and wrong don't evolve with time (but styles and conventions do!), but we must understand that what was wrong then is still wrong, and God never sanctions the right to do what is wrong--neither in our eyes nor the eyes of others, but awareness of right an wrong in society's standards and norms do change with the times as to what is accepted as "normal".  When I was young The Beatles transformed the image of where hairlines were appropriate, it was now okay to have hair over the ears, and bangs were "in."  This was considered to be "long hair" by some and the phrase and song went, "Long-haired, freaky people need not apply!'  Who claims the divine right to judge the actual length at which hair is too long for a believer?  And it should not be an issue at all for the infidel!  Actually, there was a time when having hair over your ears was too long for some critics.  They told The Beatles to get haircuts, and they said, they had just got one!

What we have is a difference of opinion and a disputable matter, and Christians are not to quarrel over questionable matters, per Romans 14:1, but leave room for a person's own conscience, to decide for himself what his convictions are, as his faith is between him and God--knowing he will be judged by God (this applies to areas where the Bible is silent and gray areas).  (Note that the Bible also says women should cover their heads in worship services, and no one enforces that convention today.)  So much of our dress code is according to custom and style of the age, which does change. It used to be shocking to see a woman in a pantsuit or wear jeans!  We have no right to look down on a brother who has what we consider to be long hair,  for he is God's servant and is accountable to Him, not us.  The Bible nowhere condemns boys or children from having long hair, and also bear in mind that men of the Nazarite vow never had a razor touch their head (e.g., Samson, Samuel, and John the Baptist).

When we judge a man by appearance we are being like men who look on the outward appearance and not the heart--what really matters is where his heart is, not his looks.  Unbelievers who have long hair need Christ, not a haircut!  God doesn't hold their hair against them, but that they need to repent of sin (singular or in general), not sins (a certain one in particular) and receive Christ as Lord and Savior.  Legalists see sins, not sin.  Men are in a state of rebellion against God and long hair is only a symptom of their alienation.  Remember, we are not in Moses' seat and able to judge a man by his outward dress or looks, but leave room for God's justice.

If the Word is faithfully taught, the person in question will someday see the light and his eyes will be opened, and he will not dress or wear his hair to please the girls or the culture, but God.  In other words, the cure or panacea is to preach the Word and let it do its transforming work in all of us as works-in-progress.  As an application, whenever men act or appear effeminate in anything they are an abomination unto God and as men grow in the Lord they do become more manly and conformed to the image of Christ.  We need not get caught up in machismo or thinking that Christianity is all about how much a man we are, a true man is a gentleman for number one, and all men are manly in some way or manifestation--we have no right to compare ourselves in this manner and should be the man or woman God made us be.  The heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart!  What the Bible does adumbrate is that when we lose our godliness, we also lose our manliness, and a true man is a gentleman, not a strongman or bully.

In the final analysis, if a brother's only apparent or visible flaw lies in his hairline, I wouldn't press him on it, but give him the benefit of the doubt.  All in all, hair is not the measure of a man, though it's given as glory to a woman.  Caveat:  We have no business looking down on our brother; it's wrong to label our brethren, such as referring to one as being the long-haired one or in need of spiritual guidance by virtue of the fact.  In sum, let's not be like a Supreme Court jurist of Christianity over our brethren and merely utter superficially, when we get our eyes off Jesus:  "I may not be able to define long hair, but I sure know it when I see it!"     Soli Deo Gloria!

Of Give-And-Take

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?  For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand" (2 Chron. 29:14, HCSB).  
"... Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8, NKJV).
"...' I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go'" (Isaiah 48:17, NKJV).
"And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth..." (Deut. 8:18, NKJV).  
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21, NIV).

We are all recipients of a multitude of blessings, even unawares, and owe it all to our Lord, who has freely given us all things to be used for His glory and are really just loaned to us--we must be good stewards of them.  "THE earth is the LORD'S and the fullness thereof;.." says Psalm 24:1, KJV.  Yes, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills says Psalm 50:10.  We are not to become materialists thinking that our life consists in the abundance of our possessions.  Actually, the less we own the more we realize what God has blessed us with.  A. W. (Aiden Wilson) Tozer wrote a germane book on the subject called The Pursuit of God, and one chapter is called "The  Blessedness of Possessing Nothing." Abraham had to come to the point of giving up Isaac before he could possess him.  Christians likewise have nothing, yet possess all, as Paul says.   Some people have to be stripped of their paraphernalia and personal belongings before they realize it all belongs to God, and we must be thankful--even for small things.

Concerning the things of the world, and we ought not to love the things of the world, we should echo Paul, who said that none of these things move him (cf. Acts 20:24).  We are all rich!  Real riches consist in the abundance of our blessings of all manner, not just our material possessions; actually, riches are better measured by the fewness of our wants, not the abundance of our material goods--the man who dies with the most toys doesn't win, but he missed the boat!  The idea is to get focused and to realize what God wants to bless you with and go for it from there.  The person who covets everything cannot find happiness in belongings, and we ought to be possessors of our possessions, and not let them control us as slaves.  Money is a cruel taskmaster, for people who have a lot of it still want more, and you cannot serve God and mammon, according to our Lord.  Just ask a millionaire how much money would make him happy and content; he'll tell you that it's just a little more!  Paul urges us to be content with what we have and learn to be thankful in all circumstances. 

God does promise to take care of our physical needs but not necessarily our felt needs or wants; however, some people are twice blessed because God blesses all in some ways and is good to all according to Psalm 145:9.  Jesus did indeed say that it's more blessed to give than to receive (cf. Acts 20:35), and people who realize this are fulfilled givers, and grace-giving is done sacrificially and with purpose and faithfulness.  Paul added that God loves a cheerful giver in 2 Cor. 9:7.  If we give out of the wrong spirit, it cannot be blessed, knowing even that it's not the amount per se, but the motive and faith, knowing that God multiplies the gift exponentially and uses it for His work.  It is indeed a privilege and pleasure to know that we can contribute to God's work in the kingdom.  In God's economy, it is in giving that we receive!

God blesses us in like manner as we bless others, so be sure not to cheat God!   God gives freely to us and we are to freely give in return, and this is the grace of giving and taking--sometimes it can be humbling to receive as well, but it's always an honor to be the giver, for God is the Giver of all blessings (cf. James 1:17), for God "gives generously to all without finding fault" (cf. James 1:5, NIV), and He has no hands to give other than ours.

We are never to look down on the less fortunate or those "down on their luck" as they say; for God is the maker of the poor as well as the rich, and to despise the poor is to insult God.  The wisest people are those who have experienced hardship and have roots not too be envied, and come from humble backgrounds.  These people hopefully will never forget that God is the one who makes one rich (cf. Deut. 8:18).  God teaches us to profit and shows us the way, when we are blessed (cf. Isaiah 48:17, NKJV).  Always aware that prosperity isn't a sure sign of God's favor.  When one is rich it doesn't mean he can waste money or show no respect for it, but must always remember the value of a dollar.

I do not believe in prosperity theology, or that we must cash in our spiritual lottery ticket after salvation, and God will always prosper His children in a material way.  But whatever task we are called to do, He will bless and make sure we have the means to do it and we will be successful in that venture in His name.   Money is only one measure of prosperity or success, and shouldn't be the litmus test of a person's faith or walk with God. If you love money, you'll never have enough.   Because he who is faithful in little, will be faithful in much, and to whom much is given, much is expected, as Jesus said.  In God's economy, it is the poor who are rich in faith (cf. James 2:5), because wealth can be anesthetizing and bring on more angst about financial woes, exigencies, or expectancies--since wealth makes one tend to feel independent of God and even oblivious.  Wealth per se doesn't bring happiness, for you can have everything to live on, and nothing to live for!  We must not strive to become rich, but let God bless us in our service to Him--do that in life that you feel you can best serve God faithfully, not that which brings in the most income. 

Paul did learn the lesson of being content both in need and in plenty!  God wants to bless us but sometimes our hands are already full of the world's goods, and we have no place for His provision and abundance.  God is good to all in some ways, and to some in all ways, but no one can say God is not good or that they haven't been blessed.  Give what you are blessed with, for instance, some people have time to spare and can volunteer or donate time as a commodity or venture for God's work.  We are never happier than when we are doing God's work with a smile. 

One of God's attributes is His generosity, and we are to mimic that and become channels or conduits of His blessings and provision.  We are to render to God that which is God's, according to Jesus, and this doesn't mean that only spiritual things belong to Him, but everything is His and we have it on loan as stewards who will be evaluated for our faithfulness when we are called to account and evaluated.  The greatest gifts are God's Son, His Word in the form of the Scriptures, the Comforter, and of course, eternal life:  we are to appropriate these as blessings and pass them on. 

God gives us more insights when we pass on those given to us because this is good stewardship of the mysteries of God.  Remember the principle:  Give and it shall be given to you!  This is the key to opening up the doors of heaven's bounty. It's best to be focused on the spiritual (cf. Col. 3:1) because we ought not to lay up treasures on earth, for where our treasure is, our heart will be also (cf. Matt. 6:19-20).  We don't want to become slaves to materialism and equate happiness with it, for our joy should be in the Lord and doing His will--as it is written:  "Rejoice in the Lord."  

The chief virtue of receiving God's bounty is to give thanks! It's a reward in itself, bearing the gift of God.   It is important to know that the Lord doesn't give like the world gives (cf. John 14:27), for "the gifts [referring to spiritual gifts] and callings of God are without repentance," according to Rom. 11:29.  Job noted that the Lord gives and takes away (cf. Job 1:21), "...[S]hall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10, ESV), but God is no man's debtor and His tests and pruning are for our good.  Paul noted in 1 Tim. 6:17, NKJV, that "[God] gives us richly all things to enjoy," including "our daily bread." 

Paul exhorts us who give in Rom. 12:8, NKJV, to give "with liberality."  I would be remiss not to mention the main thing:  To give of ourselves to the Lord; for we are God's and His desire is for us.  There is a direct correlation between the two:  receiving with thanksgiving puts us in the spirit to give as unto the Lord and to give gracefully because we know what Thanksgiving is from experience and want to pass it on--grateful people are those inspired to become givers and a blessing to others.  If you are not thankful, try the grace of giving and receiving thanks, till you feel compelled to give and become grace-oriented, and if you are thankful, express it in giving too--you'll find a grateful heart and the gift of giving as the result.  And in conclusion focus on this:  Ask and it shall be given unto thee," so also on the flip side "give to him that asks" in return.  (Cf. Matt. 5:42).  

Only Christianity shows us how much God loves and it's sacrificial, costing Him His Son; we too can show our love sacrificially, for we can give without love, but not love without giving, says Rick Warren.  Fellowship is mutuality, which is defined as the art of give-and-take!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Are We Too Bad For Salvation?

"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9, NIV).
"All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away" (Isa. 64:6, NIV).
"'Come now, let us settle the matter,' says the LORD. 'Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool'" (Isaiah 1:18, NIV).
"The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV).
"I see better things and I approve them but I follow the worst."--Ovid

We are prone to play the "let's compare" (cf. 2 Cor. 10:12) game and suit ourselves by looking down on our fellow man as our inferior who doesn't measure up. As long as we can find someone worse than us we feel secure in our "holiness" or inherent goodness. After all, many of us believe God grades on a curve! Compared to the likes of Adolf Hitler, the paradigm of evil incarnate, we appear to be saints and godly enough to feel smug and self-satisfied in our goodness. But our goodness is from God and not our gift to Him, but His gift to us. Our goodness doesn't benefit God, but we are mere vessels being used for His greater good and glory, whether of honor or dishonor, we are manipulated and used by God's providence. This is a never-ending comparison and relativity since there's always someone we can thumb our nose at, no matter how wicked we are--even in the prisons there are self-righteous bullies who think they are the moral center of the place. We are all in jail, in a sense, but do not realize our depravity and need of a way out and salvation through a Savior. We cannot set ourselves free, and we weren't born free, but in bondage and slavery and can only be unbound by the power of the cross. "... Where sin abounded, grace abounded much more" (Rom. 5:21, NKJV). John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners to expound on this motif.

How bad are we? Metaphorically, we are as far from God as a blind person comprehending the beauty of nature and hearing a symphony, if one is deaf. God is in another dimension and we are God-conscious and feel a tug to know He's there by instinct. No one has an excuse not to believe in Him and God's knowledge is plain to all. We must realize how bad we are to be good, according to C. S. Lewis, and we don't realize how bad we are till aim to be good. It's like thinking you can quit tobacco anytime, but when you try to quit you can't because it's got more power over you than you realized. We don't have the freedom of will to cease sin on our own, but are slaves to our sin nature and need to be set free by the Son (cf. John 8:36).

According to the doctrine of total depravity, we are as bad off as we can possibly be: every part of our nature is corrupt and affected adversely by evil and sin, including our emotions, mind, will, and body--all that we are. As far as our will goes, we are stubborn and hard as a stone, and God must turn our hearts into ones of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26). We don't think clearly because of sin and are blinded by Satan to the truth of the gospel. Our emotions are attuned to the lower nature and have lost their purity. Our bodies are dying and do not bring glory to God either apart from grace, no matter how well we treat them. In sum, we are bad, according to D. L. Moody, but not too bad to be saved! We all have feet of clay; we all are a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde--we all have a dark side no one sees.

The qualification for receiving eternal life is to realize you can't qualify! "Therefore I abhor myself And repent in dust and ashes" (Job 42:6, NKJV). We can't earn our salvation, we cannot pay it back, and we don't deserve it either. We cannot rationalize our way back to God by philosophizing or thinking; we cannot moralize our way back by good deeds, and cannot emotionalize our way back by our feelings. We must be sincere, but sincerity is not the whole equation, we must be willing to do God's will and repent of our sin, renouncing and denouncing it, in order to follow Christ in obedience and trust. God has reckoned all to be dead in sin so that He can have mercy by grace on us all. We don't get saved because of our intelligence, morality, emotions, wisdom, or even philosophy--or any accompanying affiliation or party membership. We must not deify a person, group, or even party, for this is idolatry.

We must echo the wise words of William Jay of Bath, who said that he is a great sinner, but he has a great Savior. It is only in realizing that we are sinners and are spiritually bankrupt before God that we can value Jesus as our Savior. The closer we get to God, the more we become aware of our shortcomings and sins. Samuel Rutherford said to pray for a lively sense of sin because, the more sense of sin the less sin. Remember the words of George Whitefield: "There but for the grace of God, go I"; which he uttered upon seeing a man going to the gallows. Paul said in 1 Cor. 15:10 likewise: "I am what I am by the grace of God."

This is the point, just because someone seems like a worse sinner than you are, doesn't necessitate him being further from finding God; sometimes the prostitutes and tax collectors are closer to God than the Pharisees of the world. Just because your sins may be more civilized, polite, concealed, or refined doesn't make them less serious: better off the ignorant cannibal in the South Seas than the informed bully on Wall Street! The Greek admonition to know thyself goes hand in hand with knowing God. Why do you think the Law was given? To convince you that you cannot keep it and need a Savior! The Bible tells it like it is; how we are and how God is and how to restore the relationship. Once you've seen your nature for what it is, you'll realize it's not a pretty picture. The closer we get to the Spirit's illumination, the clearer becomes our blemishes.

Note that depravity is not what the world espouses: Secular Humanism postulates the inherent goodness of man and that he can be good without God! All goodness comes from the Source of all Goodness, God, and the definition of evil and temptation of Eve is how to be good without God in the equation, noting that evil is a parasite on good and distorts or perverts it; to find our own values, virtues, wisdom, and enjoyment without God in the picture. Humanism originates from the Greek philosopher Protagoras who said that "man is the measure of all things" ("Homo mensura"); thus exalting and deifying man, and dethroning God as irrelevant and even nonexistent--up with man; down with God, the credo. Their aim is to make a name for themselves and live for this world and life only, thus taking away the motive for reconciling with God. Their conclusion is that no deity will save them and so they must save themselves (cf. Humanist Manifesto II, 1973). Thus, the issue is whether one chooses to believe in himself, or in God for salvation.

Psychiatrists are starting to refer to "sin" again, according to Karl Menninger, MD (who penned Whatever Became of Sin?), and this means he knows right and wrong and is culpable unto Judgment Day. It only takes one sin to make a man a sinner, as violating one part of the Law is an infringement on the whole of it. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners (as theologians say). Martin Luther said that man doesn't see his sin, and it's our job to inform him. When Paul said that "all have sinned," he was putting us all in the same boat, with no grading on the curve--we all have been put under the scrutiny of God and found wanting. Caveat: "... Your sins have been your downfall" (Hosea 14:1, NIV); "...[S]in lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it" (Gen. 4:7, NKJV).

The worst sinners are those who are confident in their personal righteousness and see no sin; the self-righteous, goody-two-shoes sinners of the world. It is vital to realize our sinfulness because it implies our responsibility and helplessness before God and smashes our sense of self-righteousness and shows our rebellion. Many must first realize they're lost and need salvation as a requisite for getting saved from sin. Trusting in your own intrinsic goodness leads to death, for God is the moral center of the universe and the final Judge will meet one-on-one with everyone to give an account of themselves. In sum, let me emphasize that it's not that we are good enough to get saved, but bad enough to need salvation. There's hope for everyone. DON'T WRITE ANYONE OFF AS TOO FAR GONE! Soli Deo Gloria!

The Postmodern Theological Threat

"Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?"  (1 Cor. 14:8, HCSB).
"...[I]n the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth"  (1 Tim. 3:15, NKJV).


Postmodernism has not only infiltrated ("crept in unawares") our institutions of higher learning among elitist types but now clerics are being infected with its heresies.  Their goal is to completely revamp, retool, and rework the church with their distorted concept of "truth."  Postmodern Christianity, aka the "post-conservative" or the "Emerging Church movement," is gaining converts--if you can call them that.  This avant-garde wave of pseudo-evangelism is not so much against churches per se, as against the authority of churches, and especially the established Church, especially Romanism. They firmly believe in keeping faith privatized as much as possible--the jury is still out on whether they are truly evangelical and spread the Word, or if they are just leaches and proselytizers on other existing churches and believers.

This philosophy insists truth is relative, incommunicable, unknowable, subjective, and certainly not universal or absolute.  They extend this to theology in saying that no pastor can be certain of his teachings and rightly present them as dogma or in a dogmatic way, but must leave room for disagreement and personal interpretation. They must admit they could be wrong; it's just true for them, and that's just their interpretation!

Typical Postmodern inquires:  Why not sing ballads from The Beatles, such as "All You Need Is Love?"  Why does the pastor get to preach and the churchgoers don't?  Shouldn't church be democratic and not exclusive, but as inclusive as possible, open to all faiths?  Isn't all truth relative?   What does this passage mean to you, as opposed to what is meant?  (When you do surgery to the Bible's text and eliminate propositional truth you can believe anything and become subject to no one's authority, wisdom, or guidance.) They are not against God, just anyone person telling them what to believe about Him.  Consequently, they resent authority (which they see as leading to controversy, which is always to be avoided), and authority figures, but all in the name of collegiality and getting along singing "Kumbaya".

You might hear them as if they have come full circle in the Protestant mainstream church saying:  "I don't believe in the inspiration of Scripture anymore!"  They way they now "follow Jesus" is by the teaching of the church!  This is a reversion to pre-Reformation days when the Roman Church held absolute power and authority over all dogma and the parishioners were bound by church dogma and faith itself was even defined as a simple agreement with church dogma.  It was the Reformers who set us free from this authority and gave us the right to interpret the Bible ourselves; however, with this privilege comes the responsibility to interpret it correctly, as 2 Tim. 2:15, NKJV, declares "... rightly dividing the Word of truth."  We are no longer slaves to the church's interpretation and dogma, and that is meant to mean that churches are now autonomous and compete with each other for the truth--competition meant to keep them honest.

What else do they believe, or not believe in Postmodernism?  They believe that if something works for you it is true for you--truth is personal or subjective and we must find our own truths--relativism.  What the logical conclusion is that we will have churches teaching such heresies as there is no hell to shun because some people prefer not to believe in it and it doesn't work for them.  Some Christians prefer not to see God as the Judge, but only as a doting, indulgent Father that is a genie.  Interpreting the Word no longer depends upon learning and the science of hermeneutics, but of sharing ignorance and Christians deciding what they believe the Bible means and what it means to them, not what the author meant.  This is all the result of believers being ignorant of basic doctrine and not knowing what they believe or being learned in how to arrive at truth objectively.

We don't go to Bible study to become dependent on the teacher, but to arrive at a point of maturity, possibly being able to start one ourselves, by virtue of learning how to learn and study.  We cannot kiss twenty centuries of scholarship goodbye because of some newfangled philosophy of uncertainty and hermeneutic of skepticism and doubt.  Postmodernists deny that we have arrived at an orthodox gospel yet, or that we know the truth at all as a group, but must keep the door open and challenging.  It is dangerous to posit that someone else's truth has no power over you.  

Pragmatism is about what's practical and what works, not what's true, just as the usefulness of an idea is tested by results, not truth, which we don't have the right to ascertain for another, according to Postmodernists.  That's why they may say:  That doctrine doesn't work for me, so, therefore, it's invalid.  Go for whatever works for you, rather than be a seeker of the truth.  But Jesus came to bear witness of the truth, and those of the truth will listen to Him (cf. John 18:37)!  Many things that are not true work: illicit drugs, such as cannabis; yoga; TM; hypnotism; astrology; channeling; crystals; Ouija boards; karma; and even reincarnation. These methodologies do work for some and give them purpose and meaning in life, but they are not true.  The point of Christianity is that it is not true because it works--and it does work--but that it works because it's true!    Viva la difference! 

Postmodernist Christians have denied the power of the living, abiding Word, the very foundation of our orthodoxy--scholarship of our church history, and even the inerrancy and infallibility of the Word, opening it up to misinterpretation and any stand for dogmatism of any doctrine as being in vain.  They claim to be evangelical, but believe that, if they convert atheists to theists, they are converts! The ultimate truth is said to be unknowable (cf. John 8:32 which says that "you shall know the truth"), and we cannot boast of having arrived at orthodoxy or even the gospel yet.  There is an underlying contempt for all certainty, and truth is said to be ambiguous at best, even unworthy of debate--all controversy is inherently evil.  They deny the basic premise of Scripture that God alone delimits and defines the Truth, and it's not subject to or open to debate but is absolute, universal, and eternal.

To conclude: Christians are to love the truth, seek the truth, know the truth, and desire to live it in out in love by consequence. Nonbelievers "reject the truth" and refuse to "love the truth so to be saved" (cf. Rom. 2:8; 2 Thess. 2:10).  We need Christians who will "contend earnestly for the faith (cf. Jude 3, NKJV) and recognize heresy creeping in by virtue of having a foundation in the truth.  The best witness a Postmodernist believer can utter is that they think Jesus "has worked for them." Buddhists say this of Buddha.  Caveat:  refusing to acknowledge, defend, and consequently know the truth is a sort of unbelief.  A word to the wise:  Never forget that there's eternal, knowable, universal, absolute, objective Truth with a capital T.    Soli Deo Gloria!

"Many Waters Cannot Quench Love" (Compare SOS 8:7, KJV)

"This is how we have come to know love:  He laid down His life for us..." (1 John 3:16, HCSB).
"God's love was revealed among us in this way:  God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him" (1 John 4:9, HCSB).
"Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits"  (Psalm 103:2, ESV).
"What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?" (Psalm 116:12, ESV).
"I am the good shepherd.  The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep" (John 10:11, HCSB).

When we survey the cross of Christ we see the unbounded, unrestricted love of Christ to the max, both human and divine intermingled, cooperative, and coexisting to full expression.  Oh, to know the love of God manifest in sending His Son:  "to know this love that surpasses understanding" (Eph. 3:19, NIV).  The concept of God's love must be seen in light of the fact that Jesus laid down His life for us, and it was not only sacrificial but generous.  God truly offers His love to a wayward world (cf. Titus 2:11) through the substitutionary death of His Son on the cross.  While we were enemies, He died for us (cf. Rom. 5:8)!

We often think that we merit God's love, but we don't and we are unworthy. The more unworthy our self-appraisal, the closer we are to God.  It is said that "love that reaches up is worship, love that extends outward is affection, but love that stoops is grace" and God condescended to us in reaching out and down to us when we didn't deserve it.  We have no claim on God's love and friendship, yet He offers it freely.  It is free, but not cheap!  God expects us to offer ourselves as living sacrifices; i.e., living our lives to His glory and service.  We must surrender to God's love, and the refusal of the love of God is the epitome of Sin, according to Karl Menninger, M.D.

When we resist God's love, we become callous or hardened in our souls and insensitive to His ministry in our hearts and cannot love others: God wants to love others through us!   The extent of God's love is demonstrated by all the people He can reach through us--no ethnicity, category, or class of man is excluded.  In this day and age politics plays a vital role in our social life and we must realize that God loves Democrats as well as Republicans, even if they are wrong--God doesn't love us because we are right or moral or decent, respectable and distinguished citizens who have achieved the American dream, God loves the have-nots as well as the haves; the proletariat as well as the bourgeoisie!

Financial prosperity is not the litmus test of God's love and approval--the wicked also prospers, if they are wise and play by the rules.  But we believers must realize that our reward is not in this life and the unbeliever's reward ["portion" in ESV] is in this life (cf. Psalm 17:14).  Prosperity theology, or that God guarantees and promises financial gain as a result of piety is heresy, and we are not to think of godliness as a means of gain in this life (cf. 1 Tim. 6:5).  "But godliness with contentment is great gain" (1 Tim. 6:6, NIV).

The uniqueness of God's love is that we cannot escape it: no matter where we go it follows us; angels and demons cannot separate us from it; the stars have no power over us; death and hell cannot divide us from it; we ourselves cannot outlast it or negate its power over us.  The Hound of Heaven chases us down and dogs us till He finds us!  God is in love with us and is determined to express it through Jesus living in us!

We can find out for ourselves by experience as we know the love of God (2 Cor. 13:14).  The proof is in the pudding and we are challenged to invite Christ into our hearts so we can know it for ourselves.  Indeed, the love of God is shed into our hearts according to Rom. 5:5.  The primary fruit of the Spirit is love (cf. Gal. 5:22), and the "only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love" (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV). The point is not that we loved God, but that He loved us and "we love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19).  That's why Karl Barth was asked what was the most profound truth in Scripture:  "Jesus loves me!"

God's love must be seen characteristically and can be qualified:  it's universal, in that it applies to all without discrimination, favoritism, or partiality--God is no respecter of persons; it's gracious, in that we don't deserve it, can't earn it, nor ever be able to pay it back; it's sacrificial, in that it cost Christ His death on the cross on our behalf; and it's beneficial, in that we receive multifold bounties and blessings by virtue of being reconciled to God and recipients of the love, that has fringe benefits or perks--it pays to know God!  The wonderful news is that God loves us despite ourselves, and knew all about us before we were born, so He is never surprised by our behavior and can love us eternally--God loves us anyway.

Realizing our unworthiness and being grateful for God's love is the first step to finding God in Christ through the substitutionary death of Christ on the cross by virtue of grace via a personal exercise of faith in the person and work of God's Son.  In effect, at the crucifixion, Christ was reaching out His hands and saying, "This is how much I love you!"  It was not the nails that kept Him on the cross, but His eternal love!  And this is the crux of the matter:  Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on! God saves us to be in turn a blessing (cf. Zech. 8:13)!

In the final analysis, there's no one God cannot love or reach out to through us when He lives in us by the Holy Spirit's anointing. The heart of the matter, it's said, is that its a matter of the heart!  In sum, the essence of God's nature is love, and to know God is to know the love of God; love defines Him and it is written thus: "God is love" (1 John 4:8, 16).

   Soli Deo Gloria!