If War Is Hell!, What's Hell?

"Wicked men will hereafter earnestly wish to be turned to nothing and forever cease to be that they may escape the wrath of God' (Rev. 6:15-16, NKJV).
"When all is done, the hell of hells, the torment of torments, is the everlasting absence of God, and the everlasting impossibility of returning to his presence... To fall out of the hands of the living God, is a horror beyond our expression, beyond our imagination."--John Donne
"I believe in God and if I woke up in hell I would still believe in him."--Robert Louis Stevenson
"When you take away the doctrine of hell, society loses an important anchor."--Paul Johnson

Gen. William Tecumseh Sherman is famous for these words ("war is hell") during the Civil War and his name is synonymous with them.  People often say they went through hell on earth or similar metaphoric language to be hyperbolic.  We should never trivialize hell and think it's nothing but a jolly boys' club or where bad people can get together and have a good time.  Hell is a solitary venture for the most part because part of the punishment is facing up to who a person is without God and fellowship--learning to admit one's own evil nature.  We don't hear of hell, fire, and brimstone preachers anymore like Jonathan Edwards, who facilitated the Great Awakening in the 1740s.  Actually, Christ mentioned hell twice as much as He did heaven, so it must be real--its duration is for as long as heaven (everlasting).

People do suffer in hell but not unduly--there are degrees according to one's sins and responsibility or opportunities.  God metes out justice with nothing more nor less--punishment is not beyond that which strict justice requires.  God cannot be cruel nor unjust and He doesn't torture souls, but in their own misery, they might wish they would be annihilated rather than stay in hell.  The symbols of fire and sulfur are to highlight the misery factor.  God is everywhere by nature, even in hell, but He's not there except in His wrath and justice, not His love and mercy.  All vestiges of love and mercy are erased and the time has slipped by for them with no more chance for salvation--the worst torture that will cause gnashing of teeth and weeping will be one's own regrets and self-inflicted misery of a conscience accusing them.  No one suffers unjustly and people will know God as a consuming fire, not as their Father.  It is evidently a place of torment, but mostly psychological and not what one would make out to be a torture chamber of cruelty.

God is certainly there, but in judgment.--but God isn't cruel!  There is no praise of God and no place for repentance, for these come by the grace of God, not man's effort.  Yet, what is sad, is this is what the impenitent want--to be separated from God's love and to be by themselves.  God is the source of all goodness and love, and imagine a place without any of that!   Hell is just that--separation from God's goodness, just as Jesus cried out on the cross, "My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?"  We can be assured though that the Judge of all the earth will do right (cf. Gen. 18:25).  Jesus did say that there are degrees of punishment, for Sodom and Gomorrah will suffer less than Capernaum!  Jesus said that some sins will warrant only a few stripes!

When we picture hell as outer darkness, we must realize that God is light and in Him is no darkness!  These people have rejected God and don't want anything to do with His light!  Part of the misery of hell will be that its purpose is punitive, not correctional or for sanctification and there can be no escape--there's no hope of reform and what's worse they will be haunted by the reason they are there and will realize it's all their fault, not being able to blame anyone!  No one repents or gives God praise in hell!  But the people there are those that wanted justice, not mercy and they're getting it!  If there were no hell, there would be no justice!

Remember the words from Dante Alighieri's Inferno (Part 1 of Divine Comedy):  "Those who enter here, abandon all hope!"  Never equate hell with cruelty (God has no mean-spirited bone in His body), but a place of perfect justice, being unjust to no one!    Soli Deo Gloria!

Before Honor Comes Humililty

"Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven" (Matt. 18:4, ESV).
"Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall" (Prov. 16:8, ESV).
"For by the grace given me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned" (Romans 12:3, ESV).
"Thus says the LORD:  'Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, let not the mighty man boast in his might, let not the rich man boast in his riches, but let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows me, that I am the LORD who practices steadfast love, justice, and righteousness in the earth.  For in these things I delight, declares the LORD" (Jer. 9:23-24, ESV).   
"[A]nd submit to each other out of respect for Christ" (Eph. 5:21, CEB).

It is a cliche that when you think you're humble, then you're not!  This is the will-o'-the-wisp of virtues that we strive for but can never attain consciously.  Moses was considered the humblest man on earth in Numbers 12:3 (or should I say "meek?"), and I don't think he knew this or mentioned it. Jesus was confronted by two ambitious disciples who wanted to be Number One or Numero Uno in the kingdom and told them that He who is greatest must become humble like a child.   Diotrephes loved to be the leader (cf. 3 John 9) and was ruining his church.  Even Jesus came not to be served, but to serve (cf. Mark 10:45).  When He did the servile act of foot-washing it showed us that nothing should be beneath us!

The fact is that the way up is down in God's economy the way up is down and we must echo John the Baptist's sentiment:  "He must increase, but I must decrease" (John 3:30, ESV).  Jesus also proclaimed that many who are first shall be last (cf. Mark 9:35)!  The idea is not to promote yourself, as Proverbs says, but to let others praise you. and not your own mouth!  James 4:6, ESV, says, "But he gives more grace.  Therefore it says, "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble." The primary prerequisite to humility, then, is to confess one's pride and go from there!

Humility is an elusive goal but this doesn't eliminate our need to pursue it.  True humility is not having low self-esteem or thinking less of yourself and not thinking it's all about you; however, it's not thinking of yourself at all (knowing it's not all about you), but being teachable--putting others first!  The problem with man is his ego, this brings the opportunity to promote it and elevate it to the place God should hold in our lives.  

We are hard-wired to worship God, but if we don't we will worship someone else, most likely ourselves with an inflated ego to become egotistical.  We abhor someone fixated on himself.  No one likes someone who is arrogant or conceited and humility keeps our ego in check and prevents us from getting a big head--in Paul's case he had a thorn in the flesh to do the job.

There is no place in God's plan for selfish ambition, but we are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness.  Jeremiah 45:5, ESV, says:  "And do you seek great things for yourself?  Seek them not..." (i.e., for our personal gratification or lust).  The issue arises:  "How does one win the humility contest then?"  Jesus said that we must become as humble as a child (being teachable), so I would suggest getting to know children and learn from them (cf. Matt. 19:14, "Suffer the little children to come unto me")--they're evidently humble.  Children are not perfect, or blank slates and without sin, but we can learn from them.  

We must never be self-serving or self-centered!  We should stop tooting our own horns and be promoting of best interests ourselves; if God is blessing you and giving you fruit, it doesn't matter who criticizes you, and if there's no fruit or blessing, it doesn't matter who praises you.  We are all guilty of advertising ourselves or putting our best foot forward and not letting anyone see our so-called dark side that no one sees but God and us.

Being transparent and real and not phony and putting up a facade of being ideal is the goal, for all have fallen short of God's glory!  We cannot confess our sins too much to God, (however, don't keep dredging up old sins that are forgotten by God!).  God deletes our sins from His memory bank, but we need to keep short accounts and confess all known sins as soon as we're convicted to stay in touch and fellowship with Him.  He's all ears, but when we have persistent issues, we should confide in a trusted Christian friend (cf. James 5:16).

Satan's temptation to Eve was to "be as gods."   We can learn a lot of pride by looking at Satan:  Pride or focusing on self rather than Jesus was the first sin (cf. Ezek. 28:17; Isa. 14:14) and what God found in Satan, when "his heart was lifted up,"  and is one of the abominations in God's eyes recorded in Prov. 6:17, and so we must give God the glory and credit for our labors and not think we are anything more than unworthy servants doing God's bidding. 

We should always give praise where praise is due, and credit to whom it's due, not seeking our own well-being, but that of others and looking out for their best interest, not thinking of ourselves any more highly than we ought--but a sober and justified assessment and appraisal of our talents and gifts, valued according to the faith granted us (cf. Rom. 12:3 above).

NB:  It hurts to be humbled, and so it's always better to humble yourself than be demoted!  Instead of thinking such a high estimate of ourselves, we ought to think more highly of others and see the good in them, while we see faults in us overlooking their faults.  (One giveaway sign for lack of humility is to revolve the world around you and to use the pronoun "I" a lot like Job did in his defense in Job 29, or Paul in Romans 7).  God's looking for real men and women, not ideal ones!

In sum, we are indeed fruit inspectors, but of our fruit!    Soli Deo Gloria!

The Utter Damnability Of Sin

"You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong..." (Hab. 1:13, ESV).
"... Everyone did what was right in his own eyes" (Judges 17:6, ESV).
"All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way..." (Isa. 53:6, ESV).
"[T]he only part of Christian theology that can really be proved [is original sin]."--G. K. Chesterton, Christian apologist
"What's wrong with the world?" "I am. Yours truly, G. K. Chesterton."  
"We have done those things we ought not to have done and we have left undone those things we ought to have done."--The Book of Common Prayer (Anglican). 

God doesn't just frown upon sin or disapprove of it, He cannot stand the sight of it and it has no place in His presence (much like matter versus antimatter)--He cannot even countenance evil per Hab. 1:13.  Sin isn't a bad enough word to describe our virus of rebellion; it's the ultimate killjoy word that many preachers refuse to mention even in passing since it has offensive power, even to the elect.  It's the job description of the Holy Spirit alone to convict of sin (cf. John 16:13), but we must resort to the power of the Word of God to do the work.  We only need to be exposed to the light to see our darkness:  "the law is given to convince us that we fail to keep it," according to D. James Kennedy.

Sin has been characterized many ways to bring the point home that it's our legacy and birthright that we cannot escape--in fact, we are not sinners because we sin, but we sin by virtue of already being in sin!  Yes, we go astray and lie even from the womb according to Psalm 58:3.  To illustrate the essence of sin, one should see it as man's ultimate Declaration of Independence from the authority and government or sovereignty of God over one's life--to be the "captain of your soul and master of your fate" like in the humanist poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley.  It could be called an act of autonomy or self-rule over God-rule.   In this sense, sin is rebellion and being volitionally defiant.  We all miss achieving the perfect standard or "missing the mark" (hamartia in Greek) which was set by Jesus' perfect sin-free life of righteous obedience to the Mosaic law.

Many people feel that they don't commit many sins, but they don't realize that what we fail to accomplish or do in the Lord's name as we ought are sins of omission. "I coulda, woulda, shoulda!"  The Westminster Catechism (ca. 1646) defines sin as "any want of conformity unto or transgression of, the Law of God."  It has also been precisely defined as "any thought, word, action, omission, or desire contrary to the law of God" by Charlie Riggs of the BGEA. Clearly, all wrongdoing is sin!  What is ironic is that the closer our walk with Christ, the more clearly we sense our sin and get convicted--Samuel Rutherford said to"pray for a lively sense of sin, the greater the sense, the less sin."

Jesus revolutionized the concept of sin, since the Pharisees had merely externalized it and portrayed it only as certain behavior that can be seen, but Jesus read their hearts and said that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks, and evil proceeds in Mark 7. Proverbs 23:7 reiterates:  "As a man thinks in his heart, so is he."  Dr. Karl Menninger, MD, said that sin is the "refusal of the love of others" [namely, God's]" in his landmark book Whatever Became of Sin?  Even psychiatrists are putting it back into the equation as persons being responsible for their own choices and beginning to use the term again according to Billy Graham.  Sin is self-defeating and destructive as God warned Cain in Gen. 4:7 (NKJV):  "...And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door.   And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it" ["sin wants to destroy you, but don't let it"].

There is no way to defeat sin apart from God's grace, we are slaves to it before salvation!  The paradox is that God really wants what's best for us, and even the rules concerning sexual immorality are only for our good and to watch over our soul and it's purity and health.  Sin is just not God's plan for man, but something He permits or allows, and will ultimately judge and do away with by sending it all to hell.  The point is that if we couldn't sin we would be robots and couldn't obey God of our own free will or choice.  We either choose for or against God with our behavior and thought life.  After salvation, we don't have the right to live in sin, but have the power to defeat it, the power to live in the Spirit.

We cannot blame anyone else for our personal sins, and we certainly cannot judge Adam and Eve for the Fall and believe we would've done anything different--we all repeat their sin.  Their sin was the prototype of all sin and if we analyze it we can see as they:  spurned His grace; contradicted His truth; rejected His authority; disputed His wisdom; repudiated His justice; even resisted His grace (unknown source)!   In short, they didn't take God's Word at face value or take Him at His Word, but were, in effect, unbelievers--Eve first doubted God's Word, then questioned it, she believed Satan's rationalization, then disbelieved God's Word, then finally disobeyed it outright of her own volition in rebellion--and Adam didn't intervene or help her, but was cowardly and irresponsible--both sins.

We all have eaten of the Proverbial Apple and have duplicated Adam's sin, and become defiled by a sin nature and stand in solidarity with Adam before our salvation! Note that the first couple didn't choose evil, they chose self over God--they didn't know what evil was yet.  (Idolatry is always putting self or something in God's place or where it belongs in God's plan or order.)  Adam and Eve thought God was holding out on them, with the help of the serpent's guile and deception.  Note that many scientists blame man's problems on the environment and society, especially psychologists, but the first sin was completed in perfect surroundings--the garden of Eden. We are just like our first parents seeking our own good, delight, and wisdom--the essence of sin is selfishness.  We must look inward and blame ourselves for our shortcomings and failures, not play the blame game and point fingers--we must assume responsibility for our own sins--"the soul that sinneth shall die" (cf. Ezek. 18:4).

You could say that we are great sinners and totally depraved--not utterly depraved, since God restrains evil--though we are not as bad as we possibly could be, we are as bad off as possible.  Every element of our nature falls short and is tainted with sin, just like being a little pregnant, we cannot be a little sinful or depraved.  If sin were yellow, we'd be all yellow!  Our wills, hearts, bodies, and even intellect are stained by sin and only the blood of Jesus can cleanse us and make us clean enough to enter God's presence. It has been said by William Jay of Bath:  "I am a great sinner, but I have a great Savior." This is very humbling but also encouraging--no one is too far gone or too bad to be saved, but bad off enough to need salvation!

The catch-22 is, therefore, that we must see how bad we are to be good or repent, but we don't know how bad we are till we've tried to be good.  The terrible double whammy of sin is that it not only estranges and alienates us from God and others, but it enslaves and traps us and has power over us and the only freedom is to be set by Christ (cf. John 8:36).  Salvation is not only forgiveness of our sin but the power to overcome it and eventually deliverance from its presence.   We are not basically or inherently good, period, nor are we ever good enough to be saved; we are bad enough to need salvation!

There's just no escaping our birthright which is really a virus or disease that devours us and destroys us in the end apart from grace.  Sin becomes neutralized in effect for us when we make up pretty names for it and refuse to call a spade a spade--this is the mere escaping reality and not owning up to our sin as God sees it.   It is by grace that we get convicted of our sin, as Paul called himself the "chief of sinners" (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15) and John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. This should be encouraging because this means there's hope for everyone and no one is beyond the reach of God's grace!

The real, cold reality of sin is that we don't break God's laws, they break us, but we break God's heart in our sinning.  Just like you cannot get away with violating the laws of nature without consequence, it's likewise with God's divine laws of morality defining sin.   We can praise God that Jesus is the Answer to the sin problem:  as our Prophet, He frees us of our ignorance of it; as our Priest, He is the offering and releases us from the guilt of it; and as our King, He frees us from the power of it.

In closing, let me mention that Christians are still sinners in that they sin (cf. Gal. 2:17), but we are called "saints" because in God's eyes Christians are justified, as God is both just and the justifier of the unjust by virtue of His grace and mercy.  In His mercy we don't get what we deserve; in His grace, we get what we don't deserve!  It is a sad commentary on mankind that he grows callous to his sins and has the tendency to justify them whatever way possible to silence the conscience.  Caveat:  we must refrain from making up our own rules or standards of right and wrong as if we judge God; He judges us and is the sole moral center of the universe!    Soli Deo Gloria!

Living The Good Life--Life To The Full!

"Who knows but that you have come to a royal position for such a time as this?" (Esther 4:14, NIV).
"And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life" (1 John 5:11-12, ESV). 
"In him was life, and the life was the light of men" (John 1:4, ESV).
"Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless until it rests in Thee."--Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo (Confessions)
NB:  Aristotle, the philosopher, in his book Nicomachean Ethics, laid down the precepts of living the "good life" by the pursuance of virtuous living, describing a life of flourishing and happiness.  

There was once a front-page article in Time magazine all about Sen. Wendell Anderson, former governor, and now appointing himself the senator from Minnesota, demonstrating on the cover with a picture of the so-called "good life in Minnesota" (with him fishing on one of its lakes in a boat!).  People often confuse the so-called good life with someplace to inherit or migrate to and not as a frame of mind or mindset.  

People try to find the good life, life to the max as if it's geographical. People over-spiritualize Scripture and claim we should conquer our personal promised land and take what's ours by virtue of being saved and righteous.  Prosperity theology is fallacious and leads many astray who focus on this life and store up treasures in the here and now, which they tend to keep their eyes on, instead of looking to Jesus (cf. Heb. 12:2).

God does indeed promise to prosper us, but not always in a financial sense, it is erroneous to translate spirituality into riches or to think that godliness is a means of financial gain or advantage.  We will indeed prosper, but according to God's plan and will and whatever we do in His name to His glory (all our godly endeavors).  Jesus promised a more abundant or fulfilling and meaningful life in Christ and this is the eternal life that begins in quality upon salvation.  None can claim that serving God is futile and God doesn't reward us and make it worth our time to invest in spiritual matters.

Part of living a fulfilling and rewarding life is having an impact and making a difference--we do this by finding out our talents and spiritual gifting and being faithful--God is more interested in this than in success, which is up to Him, not us. This can make us feel good about ourselves and we become contagious believers.  One of the greatest achievements and most rewarding applause we can get is that we have had an influence on someone for the better according to God's will and glory. 

Be sure that you seek the approbation of God, not man, though!  We are indeed the hands, feet, heart, and voice of God to a spiritually depraved and deprived world.  We must realize our potential to be actualized or commissioned, and that means knowing like Esther that we were "born for such a time as this" (cf. Es. 4:14).

Opportunity is always knocking and we only need to heed the call.  We become more human by realizing our potential, and everyone has unrealized potential as well as realized potential.  Most of us are not what we have the capability and capacity of becoming in Christ.  Remember, we are here for a reason, to glorify God (cf. Is. 43:7).  Yes, we have the destiny to fulfill and God has a plan already for us to realize if we cooperate, we don't want to settle for second best or have regrets for what could've been and mourn over lost opportunities.  When we have the right mindset and worldview we see meaning and learn to see a purpose in life, which is more than the mere setting of goals, for purposes sound a note that reverberates into eternity and will even outlast our vocation or hobbies.

Part of being content in life is knowing our value to others or that we are important and fulfill a need that others can't do--that we have a unique purpose and calling from God.  We also long to have an impact and know we are accomplishing something and our labor is not in vain in the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 15:58), but God is not unjust so as not to reward it and bless our efforts done in His name.  Part of our fulfillment also comes in knowing who we are in the Lord--are we just everyone's servant or did God grant us some domain to serve Him in and be responsible for?

We must be willing to be a servant, and in God's economy, the way up is down!  But God gives us prerogatives, rights, and duties to fulfill also and we must seize the day and redeem the time for the Lord and make the most of every opportunity He grants.  We all have talents, skills, energy, relationships, gifts, resources, opportunities, assets, dignity, authority, and general makeup and attributes to use for God's glory and we must do it faithfully in His name, i.e., according to His will, not our personal agenda.

The fulfilled believer knows his orthopraxy or ethics and knows how to be a good Samaritan and good neighbor to those in need in his orbit or circle of friends.  This is where Micah 6:8, ESV, comes into play:  "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?"  We must not only know the Word and the Author but learn to apply it and be doers of the Word, translating creeds into deeds!  Christianity isn't just pie in the sky!  Nor is it just walking around on Cloud Nine, nor is it a secluded or monastic-styled virtue, separated from the real world--for we are to be in it, but just not of it, being the salt and light.

The good life consists of having the peace of knowing we are secure in our destiny and salvation in Christ and no one can take this away--not even ourselves! Don't divorce salvation from security in it!  Our walk with the Lord is not just a list of dos and don'ts, nor a catalog of rules, collection of spiritual platitudes, nor a manual of mystical ideas, nor does God exist to grant us religious experiences or highs, au contraire, we are to be real, not necessarily will we be ideal though!

The peace Jesus gives as His legacy cannot be forfeited, and it can only be known because of the finished work of Christ on the cross!  "And the peace of God, that surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Phil. 4:6, ESV).  With this peace, we can be content in every circumstance, and even give thanks and rejoice always in the Lord!   

In sum, we can only get the most out of life with Christ in it--things go better with the Lord in the equation!  SHALOM!    Soli Deo Gloria! 

God's Not Dead...

NOTEWORTHY BIBLE VERSES AND QUOTABLE QUOTES:


"The fool says in his heart, "There is no God...." (Psa. 14:1; 53:1, ESV).
"Truly, you are God who hides yourself..." (Isa. 45:15, ESV).
"Oh, that I knew where I might find him..." (Job 23:3, ESV).
"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."--Bertrand Russell
"Thou madest us for Thyself, and our heart is restless, until it rest in Thee."-- Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, Confessions
"There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which only God can fill through His Son, Jesus Christ."--Blaise Pascal, scientist
"He is there, and He is not silent."--Francis Schaeffer, philosophical apologist
"The Christian belief system, which the Christian knows to be grounded in divine revelation, is relevant to all of life."--Carl F.H. Henry
 "There are not two realities, but only one reality, and that is the reality of God, which has become manifest in Christ in the reality of the world."--Dietrich Bonhoeffer
"God is not dead; nor doth he sleep."--Henry Wadsworth Longfellow"
[If we are considered without reference to God we become a] "useless passion."--Jean-Paul Sartre


Darwin, in his book Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or The Preservation of Favored Races in the Struggle for Life, tried to explain the origin of species by means of evolution, but he never got around to explaining the great Achilles' heel of his theory, the origin of species per se and life itself. Note that evolution was first a working hypothesis, then championed as an authentic, scientific theory, and finally touted as unquestioned, scientific fact.  Origin of life experiments have always turned up frustrated and futile and have failed to come off as planned, and must be rigged to even create amino acids, the building blocks of life--cheating here indicates that there is some intelligence or design behind life and we call this God.

The use of the evidence of purpose and design to prove God's existence is known as an argument from design or teleological proof (from the Designer-God).  Friedrich Nietzsche declared that "God is dead" (metaphorically speaking) and he meant not that we had killed Him, but that He was no longer necessary and relevant to explain everything, especially life.  Believe me, the premature reports of God's demise have been greatly exaggerated--He's very much alive in His people. We believe in God who just won't die!  Science has not undermined the Bible, contrary to popular opinion. 

Spontaneous generation has been disproved by Francesco Redi and Louis Pasteur ca. 1860, and science has a principle called biogenesis, meaning that life only arises from life, not inert matter.  Heed the words of American Humanist historian and philosopher Will Durant, who says, "The greatest question of our time is not communism versus individualism, not Europe versus America, not even the East versus the West--it is whether man can live without God."   A word to the wise:  "... Abhor what is evil; hold fast what is good" (Rom. 12:9, ESV).

Saying there is no God is a hypothesis, not based on all the facts; there is evidence of His existence as well as to the contrary.  Evidence is not always conclusive, convincing, nor compelling, and one must be willing to go in the direction of the preponderance of the evidence.  Evidence is merely one argument pro or con, and one must be willing to go where it eventually leads if one is to arrive at the truth.  There is no smoking-gun evidence either way; both positions require faith, and it is just a matter of what one wishes to place his faith in--science or God. 

There is enough light for the willing to see, but enough darkness to keep the so-called unwilling from seeing.  No one will ever know all the answers or have a monopoly on wisdom, but you don't need all the answers to believe and God can do a miracle to increase our faith as the Lord did to the father seeking a miracle:  "... I believe, help my unbelief!" (Mark 9:24, ESV).  The old saying goes:  A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."

They say that God is self-evident or the necessary Being, everything that exists is dependent upon something else--going back to the beginning, one finds the first noncontingent or necessary Being, God.  There cannot be an infinite number of causes in a causal chain of events.  But according to sound philosophy, something has to be necessary or nothing would exist at all--let's call that Being God.  You can no more disprove God than prove Him without a shadow of a doubt. There is a continuum of doubt and certainty--no absolutes! One must accept and live with it.

But you can experience Him for yourself if you take a leap of faith.  The reason is that every student of logic should know that you can never prove a universal negative (e.g., to say there are no little green men you would have to know everything--be everywhere and know all!).  Saying there is no God is like saying there are no little green men, but they go one step further and are against little green men, hate them, and the people that believe in them!  Believing there's no God doesn't change the facts--He's there and alive regardless!  Why would you be against them or hate those that don't exist?  

We must weigh the evidence.  There is never enough to convince the skeptic against his will, and one can never say there's not enough evidence if you look for it. They say that if you convince a skeptic against his will, he will not change his mind.  It takes a leap of faith both ways, as Norman Geisler, professor of systematic theology at Dallas Theological Seminary, wrote I Don't Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist.  

The biggest argument against God is preying on the emotions and questioning the existence of evil if God is so good.  The reason it exists is that man is free, delayed justice is not justice denied, and if God did stamp out evil right now, we wouldn't be here either!  We can thank God for His patience!  The issue of evil is that if there is no God, there is no evil differentiated either, as Fyodor Dostoevsky said, "If God does not exist, all things are permissible."  But man does know good and evil and will be judged for his sins (cf. Rom. 2:15).  Evil partially exists to bring glory to God, for He makes the wrath of man to praise Him (cf. Psalm 76:10).  For the one who sees no God:  if there is no God, why is there so much good? No, if there is a God, why is there so much evil?  God made everything, even the possibility of evil, for His purposes, even the wicked for the day of destruction (cf. Prov. 16:4).  Skeptics ought to cease bemoaning the existence of evil, for they are evil, and realize the scriptural warning:  "Woe to those who call evil good and good evil..." (Isa. 5:20, ESV).

One must be careful not to invoke scientists to make religious or philosophical statements because science merely deals in the VERIFIABLE AND TESTABLE:  experimental, controllable, variable, measurable, observable, and repeatable.  The so-called experts contradict each other; they don't always speak for their academic discipline, which changes its opinions and so-called facts with time.  When a scientist says God is not necessary because nature could've created itself, he doesn't realize that self-creation is a self-contradiction.  It would have to exist before itself and exist and not exist at the same time!  To believe the universe created you, then who created the universe?  They like to ask who created God, but this only shows both sides deal with faith.  God by definition is uncaused and uncreated, He is the Creator, not a creature.  Both science and theology deal in the problem of origins and this must be settled by faith in either science or God as being the final arbiter of truth.

The Bible is self-attesting, appealing to no higher authority because then it wouldn't be the final delimiter of truth.  It is an appeal to circular reasoning to say that the universe always existed because it exists!  The fact is that everything in time and space had a beginning and everything that begins to exist has a cause--the Big Bang, now touted as scientific fact, had a beginning, and therefore there had to be a Beginner or a cause to that event.  God is the "uncaused cause" or "unmoved mover" (known as cosmological proof) since He doesn't exist in time, neither limited, nor defined by it, but is eternal, He needs no cause or beginning.

Philosophers have known for centuries that nothing can create or cause itself, an uncreated, eternal universe is impossible--the theory of its eternity is untenable--but God is not self-created, but self-existent ( known as aseity)--which violates no laws of science, logic, nor philosophy.  Nothing can happen just by itself!  But God is the so-called "First Cause" as it is written in Heb. 3:4, ESV: "(For every house is built by someone, but the builder of all things is God)."  He needs no cause but is uncaused because He's eternal and even created time. According to the law of the impossibility of crossing infinity, if everything had a cause, nothing could exist!

You cannot prove or demonstrate God to the person unwilling, but you can experience Him by faith (Psa. 34:8; cf. 1 Pet. 2:2, says, "Taste and see that the LORD is good").  GOD INVITES YOU TO  FIND OUT FOR YOURSELF!  Just like you cannot prove there are no little green men, but if you saw one you would know for yourself, but you couldn't prove it unless they believe your experience.  We know God by faith and there is just enough darkness for the skeptic not to see, and enough light for the sincere seeker to see.

The ultimate proof that God is alive is that Jesus is resurrected from the dead and lives in our hearts--this is a properly basic belief of personal experience, but there are many "infallible proofs" of His resurrection according to Acts 1:3.  The fact that He rose from the dead is the ultimate proof of His deity and that He is alive, namely that Jesus is God in the flesh (Rom. 1:4; Acts 17:31).  Yes, there is much compelling, cumulative, and circumstantial evidence that proves the resurrection and this fact would be confirmed by any honest, impartial jury in a court of law that examines the biblical record given by the evangelists.  Remember, juries often render verdicts without all the evidence.

It is futile to resort to claiming or appealing to authorities as to the experts; e.g., Stephen Hawking, now deceased, noteworthy, and distinguished mathematician, theoretical physicist, and cosmologist of Cambridge University, may be an atheist, but Albert Einstein was a believer in God who saw Him as a Great Mathematician, as it were.  Stephen Hawking was an avowed atheist, but he also said that "philosophy [was] dead."  Scientists have no right to make historical claims, that were one-time, such as the creation and say that God wasn't involved--they weren't there!  

These events are outside the domain or realm of scientific speculation.  Science deals with observable, controllable, measurable, and repeatable.  You cannot put God in a test tube or under laboratory conditions and measure Him no more than you can see five pounds of love or two feet of justice. Similarly, we don't measure love with a Geiger counter or radioactivity with the telephone!  In the end, you must go with the flow and direction of the preponderance of the evidence as well as experience: evidence is objective and experience is subjective--both come into play.

Realize that basic principle that all knowledge is contingent and starts in faith with some presupposition you cannot prove. If all knowledge is contingent, you could know nothing if the chain of uncertainty never ended, and so you must appeal to the beginning of the line or God Himself as the source of all true knowledge as Prov. 1:7 says, "The fear of the LORD is the beginning of all knowledge...."  This is known as the impossibility of crossing infinity (infinite regression is inherently illogical and impossible)--you must begin somewhere!  We must start with God and explain the universe, not with man and explain (away) God.

God isn't audible, visible, nor tangible but can still be known by faith-- every time we appeal to a standard of right and wrong or moral principle we are assuming there's a God!  The Christian God is a personal God that knows us and that we can personally know and have a relationship with.  Every time we make moral decisions or try to prove someone wrong we are appealing to God and are making an argument in His favor. There must be a moral Lawgiver and Legislator or arguments about justice, fair play, equity, and human rights would make no sense!   All in all, the evidence for God outweighs the evidence against God, and the premise that He exists fits the known facts and evidence better than the premise that there is no God.

The skeptic wonders where God is; however, the real issue is where isn't God?  Christians see evidence of God everywhere at every level of creation, and cannot deny it.  They are not just seeking a Father image to solve personal problems, but find Him relevant to all of life.  The point is that you cannot argue someone into the kingdom, people must be willing to believe.  Atheism is a bankrupt, irrational philosophy, and one chooses to deny God in his heart first before the intellect, as one becomes embittered and hardened against God and loves his sin.  Faith is a choice, as one chooses to believe with his will.  There's enough evidence if you are willing, but never enough for the unwilling, hardened, stubborn heart!

The good news is that God can make a believer out of anyone!  He does it by grace and does all the work of electing, choosing, calling, drawing, wooing, and regenerating us unto an unmerited faith as the work of God, by our voluntary act of obedience (cf. John 6:29; Rom. 1:5; 4:3; Heb. 3:18-19).  It's a miracle of grace in the heart that you don't need all the answers to believe in God, but can be made willing to take the leap of faith into the light.

Finally, we can know He lives, not only because of the credible testimony of others in their personal experiences, and our hearts bearing subjective witness of the presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ in our lives (i.e., He lives in us), but most importantly, verified by the objective, historical fact of the resurrection of Christ, without which we would have no experience in Christ to base our experience as alive in our hearts.  Our lives don't take a step into the dark, but a leap into the light!   The point that cannot be denied is that changed lives are a miracle and Christ changed the course of history by changing lives: "And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you..." (Ezek. 36:26, ESV).

In conclusion, God is there to be found if we search--He finds us, we don't find Him!  
"I would not have searched for Him, had He not first found me." -- Blaise Pascal

NB:  "Christianity is about the God who is there."--Francis Schaeffer      

Soli Deo Gloria!   

Contemplating Our Unworthiness

"So a man should examine himself..." (cf. 1 Cor. 11:28).


The key to grace is the right mindset toward God--true humility!  "God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble" (cf. James 4:6).  We are never worthy of God's grace (or it wouldn't be grace, but justice!), but the one qualification for it is to reckon ourselves as unworthy and unfit--just like our salvation.   Grace always goes to the lowest bidders, as it were.

The Lord's Supper is a reminder of our fellowship and longstanding salvation, whereby we renew our commitment and dedication by remembering what it's all about and the price Christ paid on our behalf.  We must see ourselves as great sinners in need of a Great Savior.  We are exhorted by Paul to examine ourselves at communion to take personal inventory of our spiritual life and give ourselves a spiritual checkup to validate our faith and salvation by seeing Christ at work in our lives and person (Christ lives in us by an exchanged, surrendered, relinquished, substituted, inhabited, and obedient life in Christ by virtue of His power--Gal. 2:20). In 2 Cor. 13:5 it says to examine ourselves frequently to see if Christ does indwell us--i.e., whether we are in the faith.  We are to be fruit inspectors of our own fruits and must test ourselves periodically--not others!

The Eucharist (Holy Communion or the Lord's Supper) is to be given to those walking obediently with the Lord in fellowship and not have any known sin to their account, which would render them carnal.  Basically, if we are enjoying a fellowship with God through Christ and discern the body, as Christ admonished, we are ready for communion. If we have repented we are clean, but we may still need a confession to update our walk with Christ.  But this privilege doesn't mean we are qualified to partake of this grace or ordinance laid down by Christ at Maundy Thursday, or at the Last Supper in the Upper Room celebrating the Passover.  The point to ponder is that we are never worthy, but we can prepare our hearts to receive the grace of God by confession (keeping short accounts and admitting sin as soon as we are convicted, which is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit).

In partaking of the communion emblems, we are to "discern the body" and blood of Christ, reckoning that He laid down His life for us and His blood sealed a New Covenant or Testament, making the Old Covenant or Testament obsolete.  Our humility ought to be such that the more unworthy we feel we are, the more we resonate with God's grace and are in a position to receive the ordinance, just like John Bunyan wrote in his testimony Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners, and Paul saw himself as the "chief of sinners" likewise (cf. 1 Tim. 1:15).  It is a fact that the closer our walk with Christ, the more aware we are of shortcomings and failures.  Getting close to God makes us all the more aware of our sins, not our success and holiness.  Samuel Rutherford said to "pray for a lively sense of sin, because, the more the sense, the less sin."

We are admonished by Paul to partake of the elements in a worthy manner (that doesn't mean we are worthy per se), but by discerning the body and being in fellowship with no unconfessed, known sin, we are ready for grace.  The Lord's Supper is more than a memorial we do to proclaim the Lord's coming, but also a spiritual exercise and checkup and discipline to make us experience group fellowship and accountability--church isn't just a private affair but we are members one of another.

In the final analysis, it's comforting to know that Christ knew what we were made of before He saved us and loves us despite ourselves, and His acceptance doesn't depend upon our behavior or performance, but totally on His grace. "Salvation is of the LORD" (cf. Jonah 2:9), not from us. There's no place for merit in our salvation, but we are saved, are being saved, and will be saved all by grace alone (sola gratia in Latin), Christ alone is the worthy one and therefore is worshiped or assigned worthiness.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Nature Versus Nurture

"What have you that you did not receive.  If then you received it, why do you boast as if it were not a gift" (1 Cor. 4:7, RSV).
"God made man upright, but they have sought out many devices" (Eccl. 7:29, RSV).
"[B]ut who are you, a man, to answer to God?  Will what is molded say to its molder, 'Why have you made me thus'" (Rom. 9:19-20, RSV). 
"But the one who did not know; and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating.  Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more" (Luke 12:48, ESV).
"The mass of men lead live lives of quiet desperation."--Henry David Thoreau


What makes us individuals is not merely the interplay of genes in action in an uncontrollable, impersonal fate, but the byproduct of the destiny of God who planned out every detail of our lives and all the contingencies.  Sir Francis Crick, co-discoverer of DNA, declared that we are not "pawns of our genes."  We are individuals and responsible for our behavior despite our genes, and cannot blame God for our wrongdoing nor think our DNA is fixed and we were born this way.  We may inherit music talent, but no God-given passion for it; just like we can have all the food we need, but no appetite; or everything to live on and nothing to live for--there are certain blessings that only God provides.

Many factors went into making us the people we are: environment; education; culture; family; friends; vocation; experience, etc.  If you had been born in Russia, you would not be the same person, only Russian, you'd be a different makeup and personality.  Isaiah 45:9 says, "Woe to him who strives with his Maker." However, no one can say he is a thief because God made him one!  We all have input into our nature and there's no iron-clad karma or law of cause and effect that forces us into some role or part in life.   A person may become a math instructor because of natural intelligence inherited from parents in the genes, but God makes him what he is and the passion and opportunity--there are manifold contingencies.   Siblings can be so different and even without natural affection for each other.  How do you explain a family where everyone is a lawyer or doctor?  I would attribute it largely to natural intelligence and family background and experience.  What is admired in that family is the legal profession and no wonder they lean that way rather than be the black sheep of the family.  God is able to work all the events and circumstances out for our good and destiny, foreseeing every possible outcome and exigency.

The point is that we have a destiny in which we participate and cooperate with God, not a fate that we have no control over and is the impersonal blind fate of kismet in Islam.  God wants to personally involve us and desires our input.  God's sovereignty is in no way, shape, or form, influenced nor interrupted, restrained, hindered, or even frustrated by man's so-called free will.  When I say free will, I mean we are never coerced into anything to do something we don't want to do, which would be determinism--we make the decision of accepting or rejecting Christ's plan for our life.  It is wonderful news that God has a plan for our lives and we can achieve a fulfilling life in Christ if we are willing and obedient.

The Christian life is a relationship of knowing God personally and growing in a living love-life.  We really fall in love with Jesus, but some have left their first love found at salvation and their hearts have grown cold.  The theory that we are pawns of our genes is because secularists believe in monism or that the only thing that exists in the natural world is matter/energy but there is something they must reckon with: intelligence and where it came from--the Ultimate, Supreme Mind behind it all; this view is called dualism and is the Christian worldview that there is a spirit world that doesn't take up form as matter/energy.  This must be pointed out because of the laws of thermodynamics;  the amount of energy in the universe remains constant, and it cannot be destroyed nor created, but only decreased in usefulness.  This is how we know that the universe had a beginning and that the energy clock began ticking at some point in the past.

How is it that two siblings can be so different and contrary?  They not only have different natural talents, abilities, and gifts, but so many variables are at play that they are still individuals and not clones of their parents nor of each other.  It is rare that a son is a real chip off the old block or in the image and likeness of the parent.  There are so many combinations of genes and DNA that there is a nil chance of there being anyone exactly like you in the whole world.  Sometimes you can look in the mirror and start seeing your parents and thinking you've become like them, but sometimes we do bear physical resemblance without any personality profile likeness too.  It is thought that we inherit our sin nature from our fathers because Jesus was born of the Virgin Mary by the Holy Spirit.  It is also true that the consequences of the sins of the fathers are passed down to the children.

But the point is that we are totally responsible for our own sins and will die for our own sins, not our fathers'.  No one can say he was on the wrong list and think God couldn't save him--he had his chances and no one is treated unjustly by God.  The people saved are those who were shown grace, not justice, while the damned were rendered justice, but no one suffers injustice from God, the perfectly Just One.  "Shall not the judge of all the earth do right?" Abraham declares in Gen. 18:25.  We must be assured that God always does the right thing and destines no one to hell, they went there of their own choice and volition, and God never made them do or think anything they didn't want to.  That is to say, that the Christian cannot give himself any credit for his salvation, while the damned can only blame themselves, for they were never without witness (cf. Acts 14:17).

It is said, as an excuse for bad conduct and to avoid the responsibility, that we can blame our genes for our sexual desires, and the sexual deviant or pervert is only captive to his nature and that he "was born this way."  They have found that drunkards seem to have less of the dopamine receptor gene, but he is still responsible for his behavior in God's sight and no drunks will inherit the kingdom of God, regardless of genes.  By this line of reasoning, you could say that you inherited a desire to commit adultery or fornication and lust more than the average Joe, so you can't help it--poppycock!  Everyone has an old sin nature and is still responsible and culpable for his sins and will be judged accordingly if he doesn't repent.   The reason is that God can transform the individual from the inside out and it's not a matter of an AA pledge or turning over a new leaf, but of regeneration by God and having a born-again experience that is life-changing and altering.  We cannot shift the blame to God for our sins!

We are indeed "fearfully and wonderfully made" and the formulae that made us is nothing short of a miracle to behold, we are surely unique, and when God made us He broke the mold!  We are all interconnected and need each other--"No man is an island" (John Donne).  Man has always gone on record as pointing the finger (which is forbidden in Isa. 58:9) and playing the blame game, trying to shift the fault to God for his own failures, misdeeds, shortcomings, weaknesses, and sins (this goes back to Adam blaming God for giving him Eve), but with God there's no excuse and man will be judged and held culpable by Him who is coming to judge the living and the dead.

We must all look inward to give ourselves a spiritual checkup and take inventory:  "The unexamined life is not worth living" (Socrates).  Remember:  Adam and Eve sinned and rebelled in the perfect environment and wouldn't take personal responsibility for their wrongdoing--they sinned because they chose self over God, they didn't choose evil for they didn't know what it was, but wanted to rule themselves and be independent; therefore, sin is the declaration of independence from God.

Even though scientists do believe we can inherit a vulnerability towards certain sins or mental illnesses, we are still responsible and cannot point the finger at God. In the final analysis, we're all hard-wired for purpose, dignity, and meaning in life and this can only be found in knowing, trusting, and obeying God, not blaming Him.  Soli Deo Gloria! 


Amen!

Our Impending Entrance Into The Promised Land

"Expect Great Things from God, Attempt Great Things for God."-- a sermon by William Carey, "the Father of Modern Missions"

Our Christian experience is a journey to the Celestial City, as John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress describes, and we must aim toward heaven to get there. But it's a solitary journey we must endure alone with only Christ as our Beacon and heavenly GPS.  Aiming nowhere gets you nowhere!  Israel's entrance into the promised land is analogous to the Christian's experience of the abundant life in Christ mentioned in John 10:10, and when Christ said in Matt. 6:33, "all these things shall be added unto you."  

In another sense, it also foreshadows our crossing of the bar into eternity to meet our Pilot face-to-face as we go one-on-one with the Lord at the Bema or Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10) in glory to determine our final, eternal reward.  But God wants to bless us in the here and now (in time as well as in eternity) and to make our way prosperous according to The Will that glorifies Him.  Indeed, our future is in God's hands (cf. Psalm 31:15, ESV).

However, some believers never experience life to the full known as the more abundant life, even though they will be ushered into eternity with Jesus upon death.  We are meant to eat the fat of the land in the here and now and to live in a land flowing with milk and honey as it were, but if we don't attain this, or sacrifice it for the kingdom's sake, there's a greater reward to go above and beyond the call of duty, such as martyrdom or missionary work.  We are all poised to enter our promised land and be blessed by God in all our endeavors as we find His will for our lives and how he has gifted us--we can be like David who fulfilled all God's purpose for him.  We can also conquer our personal demons and the archenemy, the devil, and take control of his territory with the armor of Christ, and we are more than conquerors (cf. Rom. 8:37) with Jesus and cannot lose--we are in a win-win situation.  Don't waste your life wandering in the wilderness--claim the promised land!

What it takes is to take God at His word and at face value, and to claim His promises, none of which have failed (cf. Josh 23:14).  We may seem like grasshoppers compared to the bullies of the world, but God is on our side and will fight for us.  Just like Canaan was a land filled with giants, life is full of difficulties and obstacles, but we must keep our eyes on Jesus and He will see us through the flame and it won't overwhelm us (cf. Is. 43:2; 1 Pet. 1:7).  We all have our personal giants and bullies to overcome.  We can do all things through Christ, who strengthens us (cf. Phil. 4:13).  With God, nothing is impossible (cf. Luke 1:37; Matt. 19:26) and nothing is too difficult for God (cf. Gen. 18:14; Jer. 32:17, 27)!

We honor God by observing His Word and claiming His promises by faith, living out His precepts, and following His will--this is the essence of worship.  We need have no fears with God because everything is small to Him--everything is small--neither is anything too trivial for His loving attention.  If we don't want to learn things the easy way of focusing on the Word of God, we may have to learn our lessons via the school of hard knocks and find out what it's like to be without the hedge of protection, knowing it's a frame of mind and state of grace, not a geographical place.

We must never forget who God is nor who we are in Christ.  God is no respecter of persons and there are no bullies nor giants to Him, so we are safe in His loving care.  Yes, His grace is sufficient for us (cf. 2 Cor. 12:9)!  The issue is whether we see blessings in difficulties or difficulties in blessings.  In other words, do you tend to see the evil and say "Why?" or the good and say "Why not?"  Don't question God's wisdom in trouble, as Job found out:  God is too kind to be cruel, too wise to make a mistake, and too deep to explain Himself!  

We don't have to enjoy trials, but they do bring wonderful opportunities to glorifying God in our deliverance.  Problems provide wonderful chances--they're tests.  We must never forget that God is bigger than any problem we may encounter and with God nothing is impossible.  When we connect and resonate with God's will our life will be in harmony and blessed to the full in doing God's will (cf. 2 Cor. 9:8).

The challenging question is whether we are getting what we want out of life and are we being used by God as vessels of honor? The divine order is emptying before filling, before using. Caveat:  Christians must never forget it is God who blesses them and whatever they achieve is to His glory by His power (cf. Deut. 8:18):  "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD" (cf. Zech. 4:6).  God gets all the credit and glory, but He desires to share it with us (cf. Ps. 84:11; 1 Pet. 5:10), and to give us a taste of His glory, even on this side of eternity. Indeed, we have seen the coming of the glory of the Lord.  Paul ventured to boast of nothing but of what Christ had accomplished through him (cf. Rom. 15:18).  Isaiah said that all he had done was through Him (cf. Isa. 26:12).

Never forget God is in control and His sovereignty is not limited by our freedom, while He freely orchestrates history to His glory, as He does all events and circumstances (cf. Eph. 1:11).  Our job is to spread the Word of God's glory revealed in Christ and that He has won the ancient war with the devil and our victory is sure with Him on our side. We are not fighting for victory, but from victory--Christ won and is sharing the booty with us!

We all must be tested and pass the trials for "through many tribulations, we enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22).  "Experience is not so much what happens to you, but in you--i.e., what you do with what happens to you," according to Aldous Huxley--you either become bitter or better.  The same sun melts the butter but hardens the clay!  It really matters what you do with your experience and whether you learn by it, even if it's the school of hard knocks--however, blessed is he who is taught by the wisdom of God's Word (cf. Ps. 94:12).  In short, God owes no one an explanation; He's not accountable to us, but we to Him.

But we demonstrate our faith by our works which is the evidence of its reality. Bogus faith without works doesn't save but is dead faith (cf. James 2:26).  As the Reformers' formula said, "We are saved by faith alone, but not a faith that is alone."  Works validate our faith! But, before we can take what's ours in the promised land, we must believe God's promise and that faith must be tested by fire, for it's more precious than gold or silver.  Faith is abstract and must be seen to be real, we show our faith by our works (cf. James 2:18), and are rewarded according to our works (cf. Rom. 2:6).  When God sees Himself in us we are purified, because the goal of our life in Christ is Christlikeness as the icons of God. In the meantime, we're all works in progress and God isn't finished with us yet!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Theology Relevant?

VERSES AND QUOTES TO REFLECT ON. 

"All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine..." (2 Tim. 3:16, NKJV).
"But as for you speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine" (Titus 2:1, NKJV).
"There will come a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching.  They will collect teachers who say what they want to hear because they are self-centered" (2 Tim. 4:3, CEB). 
"The lips of the wise broadcast knowledge" (Prov. 15:7, HCSB). 
"The Spirit clearly says that in latter times some people will turn away from the faith [bail out theologically].  They will pay attention to spirits that deceive and to the teaching [doctrines] of demons" (1 Tim. 4:1, CEB). 
"There will come a time when people will not tolerate sound teaching [doctrine]" (2 Tim. 4:3, CEB). 
"A wise person is hungry for knowledge, while the fool feeds on trash" (Prov. 15:14, NLT). 
"I can vouch for them:  they are enthusiastic about God.  However, it isn't informed by knowledge" (Romans 10:2, CEB).  "A wise man is full of strength, and a man of knowledge enhances his might" (Prov. 24:5, ESV). 
"Knowledge is power."--Sir Francis Bacon
"[T]hat we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine..." (Eph. 4:14, NKJV).


To the average run-of-the-mill churchgoer, doctrine and theology should be the business of clergy (theologians, pastors, teachers, serious Bible students, missionaries, and evangelists) but not them.  My contention is that it's relevant to everyone and not intended to be too arcane for the typical believer, no matter his spiritual growth or maturity level.  The communicator ought to know how to make it interesting and make applications. Doctrine merely means "teaching" and theology means the study of God, but both have become organized and systematized into volumes that have become cumbersome to many and even blase.  How can the normal churchgoer gain an interest in the deeper truths then?  It is the newborn or the immature believer who balks at the deep things of God and tends to thrive on the milk of the Word, being remiss of the solid food or meat of the Word.


To label some Christians as theologians simply because they are good at theology is to miss the boat because all believers are theologians--we are all studying God, as it were.  We cannot avoid theology, without committing spiritual suicide, and we owe a debt of gratitude to the great theologians of the past who have combated church heresy, including the Church Fathers, or those who made it their profession.  By analogy:  We don't neglect the appreciation of music because we're not musicians, do we?  We all have a latent ability yet to be discovered in the Word, as we develop our spiritual gift.  As far as I know, being a theologian is not a spiritual gift, but some people are just more studious, academic, and attentive to the Word--in short, they're better students of the Word.


In Scripture, if anyone was a theologian, it was Paul, whose compendium is laid out in Romans comprising all his basic teachings.  We would not understand the doctrines of grace apart from his inspired, studious, scholarly, and authoritative work here.  But give Paul himself some credit--he was most likely a highly gifted intellectual, well trained in Scripture, and even highly educated, and stood head and shoulders above his peers, like Peter, in this department--who admits some of Paul's writings were hard to understand (cf. 2 Pet. 3:16).


There is a command in Scripture to study the Bible, so as to be "approved unto God" and "to rightly divide the Word of Truth" in 2 Tim. 2:15.  Note that in the seventeenth century it was every gentleman's hobby to be conversant in theology and to discuss it at will and on-demand with anyone who would listen or inquire (there's sin of omission too).  This is not a passe skill but every believer ought to take an interest in biblical themes, and not so much their favorite sports teams as topics of conversation with their friends and family--knowing how to disagree without being disagreeable and to agree to disagree on occasion.


Bear in mind that if there is a God, theology is significant and paramount, but if there is no God, we are merely wasting our time on this endeavor and no one should indulge in it.  It's not just meant to be mental gymnastics or an intellectual or spiritual workout or exercise, but to aid in our maturity and understanding of God and where He's coming from in relation to us and our duty and response to Him. We must pursue this discipline because we adhere to the belief that absolute, universal truth is knowable--we are not to privatize it any more than flaunt it, but by no means are we to be ashamed of our position and relationship with God.

Reckon this:  Every other academic discipline is useless and incomplete without taking theology into account and starting from it as the pivot point.  We start with God and then proceed to explain everything else; we don't start with man or the cosmos, and then go on to explain God!  Modern worldviews such as Postmodernism want to reckon God as dead and irrelevant to man and our situation, but we must not let them remove God from the overall equation and make Him pertinent to all of life and to every discipline.


If theology seems dry and distant to some, blame the theologians who have made it the privilege of the literate, schooled, and informed, while forgetting where the average believers are, spiritually speaking.  Yes, theologians are at fault for making it dull, without application, and even blase--for this reason, many distrust theologians and have relegated their studies as inappropriate and irrelevant to their personal lives.  We all need to make it interesting and stimulate enthusiasm and gusto for the discipline, remembering that everyone is at a different level and good teachers know where their students are and don't wow them with their expertise or scholarship--and certainly don't want to appear pedantic. It is childish faith that has an aversion to theology, not the man of God.


The proper study of mankind is not man but the Godhead or theology, and how it relates to everything as the "queen of sciences."  To enjoy or appreciate the Christian or biblical worldview, doctrine must first permeate our minds, actions, decisions, and thoughts.  In sum, we owe theology more than a passing interest but a studious attempt at mastery.   Soli Deo Gloria!   

Knowing The Bible Is Authentic...

Pertinent quotes:

"Both the authenticity and the general integrity of the books of the New Testament may be regarded as finally established."--Frederic G. Kenyon, archaeologist   
"There can be no doubt that archaeology has confirmed the substantial historicity of the Old Testament tradition."--Dr. William Albright, archaeologist 
"It may be stated categorically that no archaeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference."--Nelson Glueck, the renowned Jewish archaeologist 
"There are more marks of authenticity in the Bible than any profane history."--Sir Isaac Newton
"The existence of the Bible, as a book for people, is the greatest benefit which the human race has ever experienced.  Every attempt to belittle it is a crime against humanity."--Immanuel Kant
"I believe the Bible is the best gift God has ever given to man.  all the good from the Savior of the world is communicated to us through this Book."--Abraham Lincoln
"In all my perplexities and distresses, the Bible has never failed to give me light and strength."--Robert E. Lee
 "I know the Bible is inspired because it inspires me."--Dwight L. Moody
"The studious perusal of the Sacred Volume will make better citizens, better fathers, and better husbands."--Thomas Jefferson
"The New Testament is the best book the world has ever known or ever will know." Charles Dickens, author of The Life of Our Lord


NB:  IN A COURT OF LAW, A DOCUMENT IS ASSUMED GENUINE AND THE BURDEN OF PROOF FOR ITS FALSITY LIES WITH THE SKEPTIC  (SOCRATES' DICTUM).  

We don't just have blind faith that the Bible is for real and accept it with no more credence than we would a fairy tale, legend, or myth--we have sound reasons and evidence for our acceptance of its authenticity.  The Bible is based on history and is the foundation of a faith founded in fact not fiction.  The historicity of the Bible has been established by archeology with over 25,000 digs; many have attempted in vain to disprove it but have ended up believers.  

For instance, Luke is a first-rate historian and his many facts referring to events, places, and persons have been fully accredited and not disproved in any detail.  Christianity is the only historical faith, and believers have nothing to fear from any so-called new discoveries or so-called scientific facts.  It is a sad commentary on our education system that when a secular historian says one thing and the Bible another, the Bible is held suspect, not the so-called authority.

The Bible's veracity, integrity, credibility, and fidelity have been vouched for by the facts despite centuries of attack by skeptics.  The very fact of its existence is a miracle in itself due to the many attacks on it, such as being banned and rulers, like Diocletian, attempting to wipe out all extant manuscripts.  

The Bible is known for its simplicity (for even a child can comprehend its basic theme); its clarity or perspicuity (there is no double meaning or secret truths known only to the chosen or an elite, but it's plainspoken for all); its infallibility (its inerrancy is assured in its original documents when the authors were inspired by God and kept from error);  its reliability; its sufficiency (the Bible is all we need to know about our abundant life and way of salvation--all God requires us to know); its necessity (the Bible as the vehicle of Truth is required for knowing the Way to salvation and how to live appropriately to please God in His will); its corroboration by secular sources and historians of the main facts; the Bible is not obtuse nor abstruse--it's easy to understand with the aid of the Holy Spirit as the Illuminator and Holy Guide or Beacon making the Bible our Owner's Manual and Holy GPS or Celestial Guide--there are no hidden meanings or secrets; and finally, by experience, anyone that has put it to the test has found it true and proven, because it speaks to every heart in time of need.

It is a sheer myth that science has undermined the Bible.  In fact, science wouldn't be possible without the biblical worldview, and Christianity is the mother of modern science, with most early scientists being Christian.  The Bible does make scientific statements but isn't a science document either.  There are no scientific absurdities in Scripture, and many times the Bible has been proven right where it did make a scientific statement.  For example, the Bible told of the ocean currents (cf. Ps. 8:8), the water cycle (cf.  Ezek. 47:8), the laws of nature (cf. Job 38:33) before modern science conceived of them.

What is the miracle of the Bible?  First, it was inspired by the Holy Spirit and given to man as the writers, but God is the true Author.  Second, its canonization or selection by the Church Fathers deciding which books were authentically inspired and worthy of inclusion, and afterward, closure of the canon.  Third, the transmission or copying of Scripture has been to the utmost fidelity and its reliability has been confirmed.  For instance, when the Dead Sea Scrolls were found of the 166 words in Isaiah 53, only 17 letters are in question (ten for spelling, four for style, and three remains), and they are from someone adding an implied word; and so we can be assured of at least 99.5 percent accuracy of the text (freedom from discrepancy)--since the autographs are no longer extant and we only have explainable copyist error.  Many so-called inconsistencies or variants are merely changes in style or spelling such as honor and honor, both of which are correct--but no doctrine is in question or up to debate due to text variance.  With over 5,000 Greek manuscripts, scriptural integrity and fidelity have been firmly documented.

Two authoritative and scholarly books have been written to dispel any notion of contradiction in Scripture:  Gleason Archer's Encylopedia of Bible Difficulties, and John W. Haley's Alleged Discrepancies of the Bible.  It may be categorically affirmed that no alleged discrepancy has not been clarified and addressed, and no one is going to come up with some new challenge or question after twenty centuries of scholarship by Church Fathers and theologians.  It can also be stated unequivocally that no archeological discovery has ever controverted a biblical reference and also that any unbiased jury would confirm the historicity of the resurrection and New Testament record of the early church being founded upon this fact.   According to D. James Kennedy, the resurrection is "arguably the best-attested fact of antiquity," and Luke, in Acts 1:3, says it's vouched for by many "infallible proofs."  One cannot deny the Bible's credentials when examining the evidence!

One glaring difference between Holy Scripture and the writings of other faiths (note that of twenty-six writings in the world claim to be "scripture" none but the Bible have prophecy!) and note this is the fact of the presence of the unique abundance of prophecy in the Bible; Islam's Koran only contains one prophecy--the self-fulfilling one of Muhammad returning to Mecca!  There are over 2,000 specific, predictive, fulfilled OT prophecies, and 333 concerning Christ, that meet completion in his first advent, mentioning and delineating 456 details of His life.  These are not just a few lucky guesses, but very exact in nature, detailed and explicit.  If the Bible can be relied on to fulfill prophecy and to be accurate historically, why not trust it on its spiritual truths concerning eternal life?

The most compelling reason for the Bible's authenticity is its ability to change lives and transform character to those who choose to live by its precepts.  Many stories have been told of how someone has been inspired by the Word.  We know it's inspired because it inspires us.  But not in the way that Shakespeare is inspired--you could read him all day and your life wouldn't change, but the Bible has power inherent to change your life.

The Bible claims to be inspired in the sense of being God-breathed and directly-given by the Holy Spirit with men as the writers.  Many people, who are skeptics about the power of the Bible, have never read it nor are aware of its inner and main message or point for man.  The point is that you don't have to become a believer in the Bible first to become a Christian, but God will make a believer out of you and use it to transform your life; the end result being a profound love for the Word.

Indeed, the reasonable evidence is there to be discovered, one must just have an open mind and a willing spirit!  You don't prove the Bible, it proves itself; when asked to prove it, ask them to prove it by reading it themselves!  Remember, if the Bible can be dehistoricized, it is fully discredited, and many have attempted and failed, becoming believers in the process.  In short, the Bible is historical and given by God or it's nothing.

Caveat:  As you read the Bible, it reads you; as it feeds you, it makes you hungry; its promises have been tried and found proven and fulfilled--none have failed!  Though Muslims claim the Bible's fidelity has been corrupted or compromised, there's no evidence to that premise; au contraire, God has indeed preserved His Word with ultimate integrity through the ages.  Any honest man, examining the compelling evidence (which is not easily dismissed as bogus, but must be reckoned with or explained), would concede that the Bible is based on incontrovertible facts.

Let me mention in passing that the Bible's ultimate integrity was ultimately proven by the veracity of its writers, who were in many cases called to lay down their lives as martyrs as the test of their veracity--people will die for a lie if they believe it, but not a known lie. The evidence is abundant and sometimes compelling; one cannot disbelieve due to lack of evidence, that would even stand up in a court of law--even of the Resurrection.

In review, we verify Scripture in manifold ways:  inspiration; canonization; transmission; internal consistency; historicity; corroboration; its inerrancy--it doesn't contradict any known fact; verification by witnesses; its miraculous preservation despite attempts to eradicate it by authorities; and even personal experience and testimony of the readers including martyrs.  "We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty" (2 Peter 1:16, NIV).

The most compelling evidence for the authority of Scripture is that it's its own authority--its self-attestation, for if it appealed to science or some so-called authority figure, you would be placing your faith in something other than God's Word--the comforting thing though, is that you don't have to believe the Bible to be saved (belief in the gospel precedes it), but God will make a believer out of you by regenerating your heart and its convicting power to change your life.  Acknowledging that the sense of Scripture is Scripture and it can meet all our needs, like giving a balm for every sore, an answer to every problem, because it comes from the Answerer Himself.   In response to skeptics:  have you considered the evidence with an open mind?  The believer has nothing to fear from the facts because Christianity is a religion based on fact.

In conclusion, the man of integrity must acknowledge the Bible's impeccable credentials and yet the necessity for finding the truth known in Jesus, the incarnate Word of God; we must "cater to his intellectual integrity," but not "pander to his intellectual arrogance," according to the famous remark of John Stott.    Soli Deo Gloria!