My Doctrine Of Cognizance

Some evangelical pastors are overly zealous about how people become aware of their salvation and think there must be a dramatic "attestation" experience. This is called "initial evidence validation" and some Pentecostal churches say that only speaking in tongues is the evidence of being baptized in the Spirit. But Scripture says, "We were all baptized by one Spirit into the body..." (1 Cor. 12:13).

Tongues (cf. Isa. 28:11; 1 Cor. 12:10) are not the only evidence of the filling or baptism: One may prophesy, one may feel great peace and freedom or relief, one may get a thirst for the Word and even a great desire or burden to witness boldly. I was one of the only persons in the Bible study that couldn't nail down my conversion date--I guess I forgot how important it would be and by the time I was asked I had forgotten. For instance, if you cannot pinpoint your salvation to the day and even time you probably weren't saved. This is balderdash! You don't have to remember the precise moment that the Holy Spirit took up residence. Beth Moore says most of us don't remember the moment the Holy Spirit took up residence.

Charles Spurgeon has written that not all of us become aware of instantaneously, but some over a period of time. Billy Graham says, "We may not know the time the sun rose but we surely know it is up." 2 Peter 1:19 says that there is a time when "the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts." We may repent one day and commit our lives to Christ another (I can remember when I repented and when I committed myself). We may walk forward to no avail and dedicate our lives or renew them many a time before that real "assurance" sticks. Isa. 32:17 correlates assurance with righteousness ("The work of righteousness shall be peace and the effect of righteousness quietness and assurance forever"). In other words, being righteous leads to producing fruit which gives assurance. "Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God" (Col. 1:10). Nota bene assurance is not a subjective thing but from the objective Word of God that we rely upon.

Many people think they got saved when they said a sinners prayer. Actually going through the motions or memorizing the dance of the pious don't save--faith does. The devil can raise his hand, walk an aisle, say a prayer, etc. But can the devil produce the fruit of love for the Lord and good deeds the fruit of repentance (Acts 26:20)? That is like the Roman position that grace comes through the action. It is called ex opere operato. For instance, they believe that the actual baptizing of infants washes away original sin and he would go to hell if not baptized. True faith is tested by its fruit and we are all fruit inspectors--ourselves first! It is the Word of God coupled with the testimony of the Holy Spirit that gives assurance. "The Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God" (Rom. 8:16).   Soli Deo Gloria!

The Miraculous Question

For any of the skeptics, I recommend Jack Deere's Surprised by the Power of the Spirit, which delivers a coup de grace to the cessationist viewpoint. God does speak today, especially in the third world where "power evangelism" is taking effect and people witness miracles and by and large don't doubt the supernatural. Argentina has been having such a revival that obese people have been reported to have instantly lost 30 or more pounds! They say that the West brought the knowledge of God and the third world the power of God.    Soli Deo Gloria!

On The Enslaved Will

Martin Luther said that the freedom of the will is a grandiose term and fit only for God. Our wills are enslaved to the old sin nature and inclined to evil. They are biased and prone to evil, not good. Luther said that man has not ceased to be man, but ceased to be good. We are only free in the sense that God doesn't force us to do evil--we do it on our own volition. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, said that we are "free, but not freed." This is not a mind game, but only stressing that we don't have liberty, though we are responsible moral agents. We concur with our evil and no one forces us to do evil, which would be determinism or coercion. We are voluntary slaves to evil. God doesn't force anyone to do something he doesn't want to do. There is no outside force pulling strings.

There are many Bible verses that stress the lack of freedom to respond to Christ on our own without the wooing of the Spirit. "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." "It is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God who showeth mercy." "Who are born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. " "The way of man is not in himself."

The freedom of the will so to speak is a curse, since we are free to do evil. Augustine said that we are non posse non peccare, which means we can only do evil. Luther said the will can only do evil, too.

According to Martin Luther, the will is enslaved to the old sin nature and not free. Augustine of Hippo said that the will is "free but not freed." He wasn't playing mind games but saying that we are responsible agents to God for our choices, but don't have liberty. He doesn't force us to do evil, because we do it on our own initiative. The freedom of the will is a curse because we can only do evil according to Luther. Where did free will help Esau? There are many Bible verses that show that man doesn't have free will as far as the ability to choose and come to Christ apart from grace(see John 6:44, 65), and the wooing of the Spirit. "For who can resist His will?" (Rom. 9:19).  "It is not of him that willeth ...." "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." "For the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps" (Jer. 10:23).

We are biased or prone to evil, not good. Martin Luther said we have not ceased to be man, but have ceased to be good. The whole matter can be summed up in the phrase: "We don't need free will--we need wills made free!" We are inclined to evil, not good--the ability lost at the fall.

This is one of the oldest debates in Christendom. The British monk Pelagius and St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo debated it and so did Luther and Desiderius Erasmus of Rotterdam. The prevalence of the doctrine of freedom of the will in today's church is due to the influence of the Wesleyan Arminians. Don't let anyone make you think that the bondage of the will is a new doctrine or that it is not orthodox, because it is the original doctrine defended by the church fathers and the reformers.   
Soli Deo Gloria!

Is The Will In Bondage?

According to Martin Luther, the will is enslaved to the old sin nature and not free. St. Augustine, Bishop of Hippo said that the will is "free but not freed."  He wasn't playing mind games but saying that we are responsible agents to God for our choices, but don't have liberty. He doesn't force us to do evil, because we do it on our own initiative. The freedom of the will is a curse because we can only do evil according to Luther.

Where did free will help Esau? There are many Bible verses that show that man doesn't have free will as far as the ability to choose and come to Christ apart from grace and the wooing of the Spirit. "For who can resist His will?" "It is not of him that willeth ..." "Who were born not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God." "For the way of man is not in himself, it is not in man that walketh to direct his steps."

We are biased or prone to evil, not good. Martin Luther said we have not ceased to be man, but have ceased to be good. The whole matter can be summed up in the phrase: "We don't need free will--we need wills made free!" We are inclined to evil, not good--the ability lost at the fall.

This is one of the oldest debates in Christendom. Pelagius and Augustine debated it and so did Luther and Erasmus of Rotterdam. The prevalence of the doctrine of freedom of the will in today's church is due to the influence of the Wesleyan Arminians. Don't let anyone make you think that the bondage of the will is a new doctrine or that it is not orthodox, because it is the orthodox doctrine defended by the church fathers and the reformers.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Does Prayer Work?...

"Prayer works," the preacher says, "so come on up and we'll pray for your needs."  (A spiritual vending machine.)   The objection I have is that TM works and yoga works, but we don't try them. Just because something works doesn't mean it is true, that is not the criterion. Lee Strobel says that Christianity works because it is true, it is not true because it works. We should pray, even if we don't feel we are getting from God what we want, as it were, our genie giving us our so-called "felt needs" or wants.

"We pray for the sake of praying," says Steven Brown "not for ulterior motives." I've heard it said that prayer is the goal of prayer!   Someone has wisely said that we should love God even if there were no heaven and fear God even if there were no hell! Well, we should have the desire to commune with God, even if we don't get our way. God is looking for a relationship, not someone just praying for needs.

The paradigm of prayer  (most clearly seen in the so-called Lord's Prayer) should always include the phrase "in Jesus' name" (it is for his sake and will that we really want to pray). Now, some preachers think their prayers are more "effectual" (James. 5:16) than others, but they are not--all Christians are righteous in God's eyes and no believer has a privileged status. Any Christian can pray without giving up and "fervently" to get his will aligned with God's. We don't change God, he changes us. You see, we are all on an equal footing in prayer--that is the beauty--God is no respecter of persons and shows no partiality.

Some say that worry works because 90 percent of what we worry about doesn't happen! Well, with that kind of logic prayer isn't as effective as worry, because I don't think anyone can say that 90 percent of their prayers were answered in the affirmative--if they are, they are not very challenging prayers. God can answer in the affirmative, negative (usually for our own good or He has something better for us)  or tell us to wait. But we should never give up hope unless God clearly says "no" like he did to Paul's thorn in the flesh.

But bear this in mind: God has arranged it so that we can explain away answered prayers if we so desire--he doesn't force us to believe, but faith pleases him. Well, prayer does work, but that is not why we pray!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Science Compatible with Faith?

Science was made possible by the discovery of a rational universe, perceived by a rational mind, using rational modus operandi. Induction, deduction, experimentation, measurement, repeatability, theory, and hypothesis make science possible. The Eastern religions don't believe in a rational universe, but in Maya or that the universe is a figment of our imagination or that it isn't really real. It was the Christian worldview of fifteenth-century Europe that really got the scientific method off to its debut. Sir Francis Bacon is considered the father of the scientific method.

All of the early great scientists (Galileo, Kepler, Copernicus, Newton, Pascal, Bacon, Maxwell, et al., were all Christians). In fact, science owes its existence to Christianity. But the ironic thing is that now science seems to be thinking that religion, in general, is the "enemy" and incompatible with the scientific method.  Every system of thought begins with some presupposition that cannot be proved.

All worldviews require presuppositions and so-called "natural science," as opposed to the supernatural, does too. In fact, it takes more faith to believe a naturalistic universe without any intentional design than it does to simply believe in a supreme being. The evidence is in favor of a deity but people are not willing to take the leap of faith in the direction of the faith because of moral issues, not intellectual problems. They don't believe because they don't want to believe, not because they can't. "Even though he performed many miracles there, they would [not could] not believe in him" (John 12:37, NIV).

Be sure to note that he who believes science conflicts with the Bible understands neither. Einstein said, "Religion without science is blind; science without religion is lame."

NB:  SCIENTISTS WHO BELIEVE THAT SCIENCE IS THE ONLY WAY TO TRUTH OR KNOWLEDGE DON'T REALIZE THAT THERE ARE DOMAINS OUTSIDE THE PROVINCE OF SCIENCE SUCH AS ETHICS, HISTORY, AND PHILOSOPHY.  THEY ARE BETTING THE FARM THAT THE ONLY WAY TO TRUTH IS SCIENTIFIC EMPIRICISM:  BOTH POSITIONS REQUIRE FAITH AND ARE BASED ON SOME PRESUPPOSITION THAT CANNOT BE PROVED.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Let's Compare What?

"For we dare not class ourselves or compare ourselves with those who commend themselves.  But they measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves among themselves, are not wise"  (2 Cor. 10:12, NKJV).

Paul advises against us comparing ourselves with each other (2 Cor 10:12)--Jesus is the one to compare ourselves to, e.g., goody-two-shoes Pharisees were proud that they fasted twice a week and could conduct long public prayers, but they were hypocrites. God wants "unfeigned," not perfect faith. It isn't the amount--but the object. We could compare fasting, witnessing, Bible studying, offerings, tithes, alms, or worship, and any other form of piety. To be called pious is not necessarily a compliment.

We all have areas were we need improvement and areas of strength. One cannot assume that because someone prays 1 hour every day he is more righteous or holy than someone that prays six times during the day for ten minutes The Bible merely mentions praying (persistently) without ceasing, not for any specified time. Muslims think they are holy praying five times daily, but that isn't "in the Spirit" as we are commanded to do. Daniel prayed three times a day and it was common for the Jews to pray at 9:00 AM, noon, and at 3:00 PM (the hours of prayer). Martin Luther prayed for three hours each day and if he was busy he prayed more. But many of us are not in his league and we need to set realistic goals. We can emulate others but Christ is the standard of perfection.

Prayer is where it's at (the action). "We should pray as we can not as we can't." "God takes our prayers as seriously as we do." "The goal of prayer is prayer (communion)," not to see what we can get out of God. It's not changing Him, but us! When I was in the Army I was very pious and zealous and would often pray over my lunch hour for an hour, but now I have learned to pray continually (always in an attitude of prayer and ready for it is sensitive to the inner voice). One thing I learned from the Navigators was to pray the Word! Psalms is almost all prayer (the first 72 are the prayers of David). Prayer is so important that it is not to be looked on as merely a duty, but a glorious calling.
   Soli Deo Gloria!

Show Me Your Faith!

We don't need another to-do list. Works are evidence of faith, not a substitute for it. Faith is something we do, no something we have. Paul would say, "Show me your good works by your faith." James would say, "Show me your faith by your good works. The only works we are to do are the ones foreordained for us (cf. Eph. 2:10). Faith has legs; it is a verb and it must be alive and grow, not become stagnate.  "[W]ho gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works" (Tit.2:14, NKJV).

In a works system, you never know how much work is enough. You can never know you are secure in Christ or are saved eternally. Martin Luther always wondered if he had fasted, prayed, gave enough away, etc. to be saved. It is important to realize we are saved by grace alone through faith alone. But not by a faith that is alone (without works). We are not saved by works, but we are not saved without them either.

Faith and works are inseparable. They can be distinguished but not separated. What we need on this earth Christ has the power to change lives from the inside out. In his book Through the Valley of the Kwai,  Ernest Gordon tells the story of POWs in the Malay peninsula that was reduced to subhuman savagery until they find a New Testament and decided to read it-- and found out that the Word of God has the power to change lives, not just inform intellects.  Paul said, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love..."  (cf. Gal. 5:6).   To some it is just interesting, to others it is life-changing. James says, "I'll show you my faith by my works," while Paul says, "I'll show you my works by my faith." To sum up, we shall know them by their fruits (cf. Matt. 7:16, 20), as Jesus said. 
 Soli Deo Gloria!

Is Morality Relevant?

I realized the importance of morality when a Christian friend of mine was engaging in road rage. He was going to give them a taste of their own medicine, so to speak. Morality is our duty to God, to others and to our self. We all have a conscience and a system or code of conduct--even prisoners have a prison code (don't steal my smokes)! Some believe that we should do to others before they do to you (the Iron Rule), or do to others as they do to you, or before they do unto you!  (Babylonian morals is tit for tat or the Brazen Rule ( or the desire to take vengeance or to get even--which belongs to God;, or not to do to others what you don't want to be done to you (the Silver Rule).

Most people will rub your back if you rub theirs--but what reward does that deserve?   However, Christ made the highest standard: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" the Golden Rule).  What goes around comes around, we reap what we sow. The Hindus call it good and bad karma. We have rights but also responsibilities to our fellow man. The basis of this is that we are created in the image of God (imago Dei).

Some philosophies like cosmic-humanism believe there is no absolute morality and everyone is moral. "All are moral because we do what feels right for us." Postmodernists believe morality doesn't exist and is only a byproduct of coercion and consensus, like everyone agreeing that broccoli tastes good. Secular humanism teaches that morality is relative. Marxism teaches utilitarianism, that the end justifies the means. Pragmatism, which is in vogue today teaches that if it works it must be Good. Islam teaches that Mohammad is the exemplar. Christ not only taught the highest standards but also gave the highest motive to achieve them. Confucius summed up morality with one word--reciprocity. J. Stephen Lang cites Rabbi Hillel being asked to sum up the law: "Whatever displeases you, do not do to others, this is the whole law." (The Silver Rule).  Nevertheless, morality is nebulous and we need divine revelation, otherwise, it is a fool's errand of speculation.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Worldview And Ethics...

There is a close correlation between your worldview and your ethics. For instance, if you don't believe in God you won't see anything wrong with free love. If you believe in jihad and Islam you will see nothing wrong with suicide bombings and terrorism. Goethe said, "Share with me your certainties, but not your doubts--I have enough of them myself." Worldview came from the German Weltanschauung.  It is important to realize we are in the image of God:  "Would you trust the convictions of a monkey's mind?" Darwin mused.

According to polls, it is reported that only some six percent Christian teens believe in moral absolutes and most non-Christian teens don't either! We all have a way of seeing the big picture or the grand scheme of things and must answer the basic questions such as: Why are we here; What is the purpose of life; and is there a hereafter (what is on the other side)? No one wants to compromise their beliefs, but there is a give and take to living in society. Science cannot make value judgments--they are out of their realm. The people that have the strongest convictions of right and wrong are those that have an anchor in their soul--such as the Word of God.

We all have to start from somewhere and thank God we all don't have to start from scratch. There is no such thing as total objectivity except with God. And we all take certain presuppositions into our equation. Leaving God out of the picture or out of the equation of life is a disaster, not liberty. We were meant for God and the highest purpose of man is to know and glorify God. (Cf. Isaiah 43:7). Soli Deo Gloria!