Evolution Of Faith

The so-called "Great Quest" (as Billy Graham calls it) commences when one realizes his life is a vacuum and void of meaning and purpose, and he is searching for answers (sometimes one seeks the benefits and not the Benefactor, though).   Only God can fill this emptiness that man has and one has to want answers and to believe--no amount of evidence will convince one who is unwilling or just doesn't want to believe. The inception of faith is when one is willing to listen, whether initially agreeing or not, and to not turn a deaf ear to the gospel message--this is receptivity.

Faith grows as one understands the message due to enlightenment by the power of the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who is at work in the heart. One then agrees with the message intellectually or acquiesces, and the Roman Catholic Church stops here, as to its definition of faith--this is the step to acceptance of Christ.  But there must be a surrender of the will and willingness to obey.

The person has to want to believe in his heart for God to reveal His will and that person can come to Christ as he is, but he will not stay that way. A changed life is the only validation of salvation.  One must accept Christ as He is and that means in His lordship, not just head belief. Believing in the heart changes you from the inside out and involves a penitent faith and turning from the old ways and decided to follow on to know the Lord in discipleship--following Him.

Faith consists of knowledge of the true gospel message, assent to its validity and appropriateness, and trust and reliance on its precepts. We must trust in the person and work of Christ.  That is, that He is the unique one and only Son of God, the God-man and that He accomplished our salvation in toto, on the cross, when He pronounced, "It is finished."  It's a done deal and we accept it as a gift, not doing any pre-salvation work to qualify us for grace--it would be justice if then, but we do not earn it, nor do we deserve it, and we can never pay it back--we're forever in God's debt.  We were debtors who couldn't pay our debts.  The qualification for salvation is to realize our state of being unqualified!

Saving faith commences when one can unashamedly confess Christ openly before man, for if we are ashamed of Him, He will not confess us to the Father--Christ condemns the lukewarm pretender who stays neutral and doesn't make his stand known--it is better to be wrong than neutral, for then Christ can have something to work with.  But this is not all:  we must progress to a serving faith, which is when we begin to truly follow Him as Lord and Savior.  When we are mature we truly have a living relationship and fellowship with our Savior and own Him as our personal Lord.  We must be willing to speak out for Christ as his mouthpiece and as ambassadors of reconciliation because He has no voice through which to speak but ours.  Note that genuine faith is a living faith that grows and is not stagnate, static, nor inert.  It progresses from giving up, to surrender, to commitment. 

The mature Christian serves Christ through his spiritual gift and is both mission-oriented towards non-believers and ministry-oriented towards believers.  A non-serving Christian is a contradiction in terms.  The mature Christian life is one of faithfulness, not success in the eyes of the world--neither worldly success nor lack of it is a calling card of a believer.  The key is to attempt great things for God, but expect even greater things from Him--it's not what you do for God that counts, but what He does for you.  All the works we do are simply God working through us as vessels of honor ("... [You] have done for us all our works," according to Isa. 26:12, ESV).  Thank the Lord that we are not called to success, but to faithfulness, according to Mother Teresa of Calcutta (now canonized).

Faith is simply knowledge put to work and we don't achieve it, we receive it!  Faith must be seen and visible to be real, because the heroes of faith were men of action.  Anyone can say he has faith, but it must be demonstrated to be real.  Faith and works can be distinguished, but never separated:  James would say, "I'll show you my faith by my works," while Paul would say, "I'll show you my works by my faith."  If you don't have good works, your faith is suspect; however, works are no substitute for faith.  We are not saved by works, but unto works, which are foreordained (cf. Eph. 2:10).  We are not saved by works, but not without them either, because James said that faith without works is dead, and that kind of faith cannot save: the formula of the Reformers was that we are "saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

In summation, faith isn't necessarily something you have, but something you show; it is seen! It is said we must turn our creed into deeds. Works confirm our profession, or it is a bogus profession and we are Christians in name only or nominal believers--there's a difference between the profession of faith and the reality of faith.  Bonhoeffer said that "only he who believes is obedient, and only he who is obedient believes"--true faith manifests itself in obedience only!  It has been wisely said, that "faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying despite the consequences!"  The purpose of faith is to produce fruit:  No fruit, no faith, period!  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Meditations Of My Heart

Meditate on these verses noting the usage of "thoughts."

"... Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature"  (1 Cor. 14:20, ESV, emphasis added).

"...[H]ave the same mindset as Christ Jesus"  (Philippians 2:5, NIV).

"For the word of God is alive and active.  Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12, NIV, emphasis added).

"... [A]ll his thoughts are, "There is no God"  (Psalm 10:4, ESV, emphasis added).

"They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them"  (Romans 2:15, ESV, emphasis added).

"The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his hearts was only evil continually"  (Gen. 6:5, ESV, emphasis added).

"... [H]ave you not then made distinctions among yourselves and become judges with evil thoughts?"  (James 2:4, ESV, emphasis added).

"But Jesus, knowing their thoughts, said, 'Why do you think evil in your hearts?..." (Matt. 9:4, ESV, emphasis added).

"Finally, brothers, whatever is true ... think about these things"  (Philippians 4:8, ESV, emphasis added).

The heart in Scripture refers to the innermost being of man, his affections, will, and intellect.  In Psalm 19:14, David prays that the thoughts of his heart be acceptable in God's eyes.  Man is whatever he thinks about all day, some poet has written.  Another has said appropriately, you aren't what you think you are, but what you think, you are!  Jesus said  (cf. Matt. 15:19) that "out of the heart come evil thoughts." The lips reveal what's on the heart, that's why David prays that the words of his mouth and the meditations of his heart be acceptable in God's sight.  Quoting Psalm 139:23, David prays, "Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts." We keep no secrets from God. Proverbs 23:7 is pertinent:  "As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he." Jesus said that all is open and laid bare to Him whom we must give account.  In other words, God wants us to get our thinking straightened out!  We are to love God with all our minds, too.

Why are thoughts so important to our walk?  They are to be godly and have the divine viewpoint.  We are not to think like the world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our mind (to conform to the image of Christ), according to Romans 12:2.  It is not sufficient to be content with Bible knowledge if it doesn't sink into our minds and make them in the image of Christ and to learn to think like He thinks, "we have the mind of Christ [Scripture]"  (1 Cor. 2:16). Our minds are finite and Christ's is infinite and we will never peg Him nor have a handle on everything He thinks, but we are to grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (cf. 2 Pet. 3:18).

The devil likes to destroy our thinking process with lies from the world, and only the study of Scripture can prepare us to fight them.  "For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world.  On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ"  ((2 Cor. 10:4-5, NIV, emphasis mine).

Your worldview is your mental outlook (how you interpret the world around you and its events) and it must be Christian or what is known as the Judaeo-Christian worldview, as opposed to the Secular Humanist or Postmodern ones so prevalent in academia today.  It is a sad fact, for instance, that the average teen believer now actually believes truth is only relative and there is no "absolute truth." Jesus came to bear witness to the truth (cf. John 18:37-38).  "...Everyone on the side of truth listens to me" (John 18:38, NIV).

Jesus claimed to be the incarnation, embodiment, or personification of the truth and He claimed you will and can know it:  "You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free" (cf. John 8:32). Man's learning can be called "true," but only Scripture is "truth." That's why truth transforms and has the power to change lives. That's why Jesus said:  "Sanctify them by the truth, thy word is truth"  (John 17:17, KJV). This is where we must take our stand and show our colors--there is knowable absolute truth and we are responsible for it, as revealed in Scripture.

No one can claim ignorance and no one has an excuse (cf. Romans 1:20).  Just like Paul said in 1 Cor 13 that when he was a child he thought as a child, and so on; it is time to think like a man of God and this doesn't just simply being content to be impeccably correct theologically (it is far more urgent to have your heart in the right place), but thinking like Christ as it relates and applies to the world around us  (i.e., "to understand the times" per 1 Chronicles 12:32).  Our thoughts are vital, for Christ must first be in our minds before He can be in our hearts, likewise doctrine.

At the Ocean Grove Conference Center in New Jersey the inscription over the speaker's platform reads (boldface added):

SOW ...                           REAP
a thought                          an act
an act                               a habit
a habit                              a character
a character                        a destiny

IT IS OF PARAMOUNT IMPORTANCE TO PUT A PREMIUM ON THOUGHT CONTROL.


Soli Deo Gloria!

Jesus Incognito

"[To] reveal his Son in me so that I might preach him among the Gentiles.." (Galatians 1:16, NIV, emphasis added).
"Whatever you did, for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me"  (Matthew 25:40, NIV, emphasis mine).
Jesus interposed His Father's will over His:  "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house [about my Father's business]?" (Cf. Luke 2:49, NIV).
"... A prophet is not without honor, except in his hometown and among his relatives and in his own household"  (Mark 6:4, ESV).

According to English legend, King Arthur would sneak among the common people, without his regalia, just to find out what they really thought and to get on the same page with empathy--Jesus did far more than that in humbling Himself to the point of death on a cross (cf. Philippians 2:7ff).  We are to have this same mind in us, as was in Christ (cf. v. 5)!  We should be aware of the fact that Jesus is loose and at large in our midst invisibly via the Holy Spirit residing in believers:

Jesus "came unto His own and His own received Him not," according to John 1:11; He was a man on a mission to seek and to save that which was lost (cf. Luke 19:10)--the lost sheep of the house of Israel, who had gone astray--He saw them as sheep without a shepherd. He didn't promote or advertise the fact that He was the Son of David or the Messiah, but He never denied it either.  He was known to use figures of speech when preaching, so as to confuse the religious leaders, especially the party of the Pharisees.

They had to ask Him bluntly:  "Are You the Messiah, or are we to look for another?"  He didn't always beat around the bush, but spoke plainly, and not in parables to keep the secrets of the kingdom known only to the sheep, but many were not willing to accept Him for who He was.  They called Him the son of Joseph, the prophet from Galilee, the carpenter, or as a snide remark: Mary's son, the Nazarene, even just the carpenter, or the teacher (rabbi).

Only once did He openly proclaim His rightful place as Messiah, and that was during the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday, as we call it now.  It had been written that Israel would not see their messiah until they shouted, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD."  The Pharisees were getting nervous about His popularity and were worried that if He were left alone, that the whole world would go after Him.  They were worried about Job One, which was protecting their turf and influence over the people as their teachers and guides, but they did it out of jealousy and a jaundiced eye, which even Pilate saw at Jesus trial before him.

Jesus had foretold many times of His crucifixion and resurrection, but the disciples were dense and were clueless as to His real identity until they actually witnessed it on Easter morning.  Peter had confessed Him to be the Son of the living God, but this was more of a theoretical interpretation than actual application, though they had worshiped Him on occasion, their basic attitude was, "What manner of man is this?"  He gave signs, according to John's record, that He was God in the flesh, and His miracles were not helter-skelter, nor for personal gain, selfish motive, nor showy.  To prove His identity beyond doubt, there was no biggie miracle that couldn't be denied, and even King Herod thought he'd get a show from Him like He was a clown or magician--but Jesus never did miracles on demand.

The Christian is likewise called to be Christ incognito:  We are His mind to think Christlike thoughts; His heart to love others through; His voice to speak His message of love; His hands through which He can help others.  As St. Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa) has said, "He has no hands but our hands, and no feet but our feet" to help others.  Note that some Christians are known to take this to the extreme and get a messianic complex, which can border on mental illness or delusion. People often pray for Jesus to help them and don't realize that He uses believers to answer prayers and to fill in for Him incognito.

When you've done it for the least of these His brethren, you've done it for Christ; for He said, "I was in prison and you visited Me, I was hungry and you fed me."  We don't want to go to the other extreme and deny that Christ is at work through our brothers and sisters in the Lord, either.  On the one hand people will want to know the gospel according to us, and on the other hand, we don't want to deny that the Lord Himself is at work through His children as vessels of honor: Just as Isaiah 26:12 (NIV) says:  "... [All] that we have accomplished you have done for us." The King James Version renders it:  "[For] thou hast wrought all our works in us."

The point is that not only are we Christ incognito, but we are to serve Christ as if He were incognito and undercover and at large!    We are being renewed in the image of Christ, who is the replica, icon, or express image of God Himself.  Christ is God with skin on, you might say, and we can put the gospel in shoe leather by living it out and making it real to others:  Only when you love the gospel, long to make it known, and desire to live it out, do you actually believe it--it's not a matter of pure acquiescence, intellectual assent, or agreement.  Those who have bowed to Christ are the ones He can use for vessels of honor and complete His mission, whose marching orders are given in the Great Commission--our raison d'etre or reason for being!

Our testimony must be for real, and not a masquerade, sham, nor facade; that is, we cannot be nominal Christians or believers in name only who have a bogus profession and no reality to back it up--there is a contrast between the reality of faith and the profession of faith and viva la difference! We represent Christ in our daily walk and people observe us and judge Him by our testimony and witness.  We are Christ's ambassadors who have authority to speak in His name! "... We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God"  (2 Cor. 5:20, ESV).   When they see Christ in us, it has an impact on the unbeliever, because Christ becomes real to them lived out through us as a testimony that cannot be denied.

We can make Christ real by living up to our testimony and that means walking the walk, not just talking the talk.  When they realize we are Christians they will watch our every step and judge our testimony to see if they are more righteous than us.  But be glad that we have God's stamp of approval and He promises to use us for His glory as vessels of honor and "He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake."  Remember the words of Paul in Colossians 1:27 saying, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." Finally, Paul says in 2 Cor. 13:5 (ESV, emphasis mine) a word of caution: "Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith.  Test yourselves,.  Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?--unless indeed you fail to meet the test!

As believers, we know that Christ said He'd never leave us nor forsake us and that He'd be with us always, even to the end of the age (cf. Matt. 28:20).  There is the promise that wherever two or three are gathered together in His name, that Christ is present incognito (cf. Matt. 18:20)!  Our spiritual eyes are opened and we see Jesus as present in Spirit.  The eyes of our heart are opened and we are to keep our eyes on Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith (cf. Hebrews 12:2).   "But we see him who for a little while was made lower than the angels..."  (Heb. 2:9, ESV, emphasis mine).
Soli Deo Gloria!

Taking God Out Of The Equation

"Woe to those who call evil good and good evil..." (Isaiah 5:20, NIV).
"O that they were wise, that they understood this, that they would consider their latter end" (Deut. 32:29, KJV).  
"There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death"  (Proverbs 16:18, KJV).  
"In those days there was no king [standards] in Israel.  Everyone did what was right in his own eyes"  (Judges 21:25, ESV).

In other words:  Without God, all values are up for grabs!  Everyone believes they are sincere and that sincerity is what matters; it is part of the equation, but not the whole solution, because you can be sincerely wrong--we need more than sincerity, we need to be absolutely right because there is an absolute standard and Judge that we are accountable to.  Man claims his goals or ends are justified, but the means to them must also be just in God's eyes!  The logical conclusion of academia indoctrinating students that we are evolved animals is that we tend to act like animals!  As atheist Albert Camus said:  "The absurd is sin without God."  Consequently, there is no basis for a moral compass! 

It is commonly assumed in academia that there is no absolute truth, and this proposition is widely accepted by students--but they confuse truth with belief:  There is no absolute belief, but there is, nevertheless, absolute truth, that is objective and remains true whether believed or not, and doesn't matter who believes it or who doesn't.  You just can't rule God out of the equation, like in eliminating variables in science or voting for some unobjectionable choice.  

Since Socrates claimed that "the unexamined life is not worth living," we must search our own hearts and find ourselves, as it were, to know what we actually do believe in and in what we base our faith, because everyone believes in something and everyone worships something, even if they don't believe in God.  Is there anything you will die for or stand up for and defend to the death, because of conviction and commitment?

Note that an opinion is something you hold, while convictions hold you and something you are willing to die for.  If you don't stand up for right and wrong, do you think you'll stand up for Jesus?  Edmund Burke, a philosopher, said that the only thing needed for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.  There is something everyone can do to neutralize evil in the world, even if it's being a prayer warrior!

Rome fell due to a collapse in morality, as perversion became the norm, and it has been wisely put that when a nation loses its gods it cannot survive--no matter the religion, religion is necessary for morality, for there is no need for it otherwise, when each man does what is right in his own eyes.  All truth is God's truth and meets at the top (Augustine and Aquinas), and all religion does have an element of truth, and even false religion is but a distortion of the truth and not the opposite of it; however, "no lie is of the truth" (cf. 1 John 2:21)!

When we take God out of the reckoning man loses his moorings and anchor to weigh in on society and to set standards to live by--ethics and values only become what society approves of, and are a matter of consensus and public opinion; however, often the voice of the people is the voice of the devil (Vox Popoli, Vox Diaboli)!

Today we see an absence of faith in absolute moral principles, and this is called moral relativism. No truth equals no virtue, according to Socrates, and Postmodernism has made truth a short-term contract and posits that there is no Truth with a capital T.  There is a reason why nihilism is the biggest fad or direction of today's young people, they really don't believe in anything!  This is dangerous territory according to Dostoyevsky:  "If there is no God, all things are permissible."  They will tell you that something just doesn't work for them and this is the ultimate test, not whether it's true (classic pragmatism).

William James was the founder of pragmatism, which was further delineated by John Dewey, said that you cannot test the truth of an idea, but only its usefulness--what matters is whether it works.  We have no basis of truth and principle without God and everything is up for grabs, as one says, that may be true for you, but not for me.  Caveat:  "If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" (Psalm 11:3, ESV).

The ideas of skepticism, cynicism (the most prized modern virtue), and humanism, ( or homo mensura, i.e., man being the measure of all things, originated by the Greeks of antiquity) are not new--there is nothing new under the sun because the devil isn't creative, but only keeps recycling old lies, as the father of lies.  When you don't have some standard and put yourself as the standard, it is tantamount to making yourself God and becoming His judge by your personal standards, which are subjective and variable over time.

he very concept of justice and mercy must come from somewhere, and we all appeal to some standard to judge them by, just like Plato reasoned that God is the ultimate good. since there must exist something to judge goodness by. Beauty remains after the rose fades, and if we have these senses of right and wrong instinctively by nature, there must be a higher sense governing the universal moral order from which it originated:

In other words:  Where did good faith, fair play in sports, unselfishness, courage in battle, integrity in personal dealings, altruism, generosity with money, trustworthiness, honesty in relationships, genuine joy and happiness, etc. come from, if not some absolute standard?  How did we get these ideas?  We are essentially appealing to some divine standard or norm of moral right and wrong (like when someone buds in line and we are offended or upset at the injustice).  Appealing to a higher sense sounds a lot like appealing to God, a Higher Being, or Higher Power.

This is highly ontological in that we would have no idea of a God if there was none--where did mankind get the original thought, which is so universal?  We see virtue as well as evil in every civilization, and this is collaborated by the biblical record of the war between the two and the ultimate triumph of good over evil--our sense of right and wrong demand there be a hell for wrongdoers, and if you've ever gotten angry at someone you may have wished he go there, even if you doubted God's existence!

Some believe in moral relativism because they conceive of a situation of being forced to decide between raping their daughter and witnessing her torture, but God doesn't hold us culpable for coerced choices but only freewill ones.   God is the one that allowed it to happen for His purposes and we must not doubt His long term witness seen in light of eternity.

Denying absolute morality goes nowhere since everyone would agree, that is of sound mind, that rape and incest are always wrong under all circumstances without exception (which lays to rest the theory of situation ethics, whereby someone could justify himself).  Hitler justified himself, and we don't want to absolve him of his "evil" in the process, by saying that his sincere belief that Jews were the problem and the "final solution" was the answer was justified.

There is no limit to the evil man is capable of and the only restraint is God's Holy Spirit, who will only stand for so much before judgment is inevitable. (Note:  2 Thess. 2:7 says, "... Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way.")  "The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: Who can know it?" (Jeremiah 17:9, KJV).  The Bible says in Proverbs 14:34 that "sin is a reproach unto any people" and it doesn't matter whether they approve of it or not, God is the final judge and arbiter of how much He lets the man get away with (e.g., Sodom and Gomorrah).

Man needs a sense of "ought" and, without God, this is problematic; ethics become nebulous.  Man will always try to justify himself and his purposes and set standards he believes he can achieve:  He will say that he wants the greatest good for the greatest number (i.e., utilitarianism) and believes the ends justify the means in achieving it; or he can believe that it just doesn't matter whether something is true, for who can determine this?

But what matters isn't whether it works and is practical or not; and this is the crux of the problem: Christianity isn't true because it works, because many untrue things work (e.g., yoga and TM); but it works because it's true--"Taste and see that the LORD is good" (cf. Psalm 34:8); find out for yourself! And where I'm coming from, truth matters and is worth knowing and defending.  The New Morality of today is dangerous too, even though it sounds sincere, in saying that all that matters is the motive, such as being with the intention of love or helping someone when its none of their business. People think something is a responsible  decision if they can justify it!

What is the answer?  The world faced this issue at Nuremberg after WWII, when they were bringing the Nazi war criminals to justice because they claimed to be following orders and only doing what their society had approved of and they asserted sovereignty in determining this standard.  The only way they found they could convict them was to appeal to some "natural law" or what may be called "transcendent law" that we all know by nature and are responsible to beware of, regardless of what the government says or tells us to do--would you rape your sister if the government said it was sanctioned in their new morality?

The Bible confirms this principle in Romans 2:15 because it says clearly and dogmatically that God's law is written in the hearts of man, and he has a conscience to convict him by the gift of God--we are not unconscionable animals but in God's image!  We cannot act like animals observing the law of the jungle and believing in the survival of the fittest, but that the strong ought to help the weak as the humane thing to do--this is what we are meant to be (noble creatures that are in God's image).

The only solution to man's dilemma is to know the resurrection power of Christ, who is in the business of changing lives from the inside out or transforming them miraculously.  What He's done for others, He can do for anyone who seeks Him, repents, and taps into this supernatural power; the trouble is that Secular Humanists deny the supernatural as the foundation of their worldview and won't even go there or give Christ the opportunity in opening the door.  The doors of academia are basically closed with secular worldviews in control.

The Bible isn't just inspiring like Shakespeare is but can change lives and we don't need to defend it, no more than a caged lion, which can defend itself.  POW's during WWII on the Malay peninsula had resorted to savage-like living, until they found a New Testament and decided to read it, with the result that it civilized them.

An anthropologist on Papua New Guinea asked what a native was reading while stirring his pot:  He said he was reading a Bible and the scientist said that modern man has rejected that book and he's wasting his time--the answer was that he'd be in the pot, were it not for that book! When someone asks you to prove that the Bible can change lives, just tell them that they can prove it themselves by only sincerely, with an open mind, willing spirit, and needy heart, to read it for themselves, and the results will speak for themselves.

In summation:  Only in Christianity do we see the synthesis of right motives and means unto right end results.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Finding Meaning In LIfe

"If we are to know how to live, we must find out what God is like"  (Plato).

Saint Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, concluded:  "Our hearts are restless until they rest in Thee."

"... The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love"  (Galatians 5:6, NIV).

"It's not what you do, but how much love you put into it"  (Mother Teresa of Calcutta).

"The only really happy people are those who have learned how to serve"  (Albert Schweitzer).  

There is meaning in life, in fact, the only worldview that offers meaning in suffering is the Christian one!  It is important what you believe because ideas have consequences and we are admonished by Paul in 2 Cor. 10:5 (ESV) to "take every thought captive to obey Christ [pursue divine viewpoint]."

When we ascribe to a so-called worldview, or mental outlook (i.e., Judaeo-Christian, Postmodernism, Secular Humanism, New Age, or even Marxism); i.e., we interpret reality, not as it is, but as we are. Only God is objective and all true knowledge must originate with Him because He is omniscient or pansophic.  If you assume evolution, for instance, and this is the linchpin that holds all secular worldviews together, then there is no God, no Lawgiver, nor Judgment Day, and no hell to shun, nor absolute moral values, and neither is there any absolute truth to boot.  This is commonly referred to as moral relativism and the denial of Truth with a capital T.  Just like the cynical Pilate who asked Jesus: "What is truth?" Jesus didn't just tell us the truth, like when He made pronouncements ("Truly, truly, I say unto you..."), but was the very personification of truth itself and made it knowable through Him.

You can never know anything by making man the measure of all things and the reference point or starting point of knowledge; you must begin with God and explain the universe, not with man and explain God away ("In the beginning God...").  Humanism deifies man and dethrones God, and Postmodernism considers all knowledge relative, except what relates to their metanarrative, interpretive framework, or worldview, i.e., Christian ideas!  All secular worldviews have this in common:  They are diametrically opposed to everything Christianity stands for.

Communists must affirm unequivocally that a "Supreme Being, Creator, or Divine Ruler [i.e., God] "does not, cannot, and must not exist."  Man has irrefutable evidence for God and is without excuse (cf. Rom. 1:20); however, he suppresses this fact for moral reasons--he simply doesn't want to believe, because it's uncomfortable.  "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge..." (cf. Romans 1:28).  Augustine, in his Confessions, wrote:  "You made us for yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in you."

They refuse to "let a divine foot in the door" and begin with the presumption that the supernatural is impossible, by placing ultimate faith in the scientific method and personifying science, bringing about "scientism," whereby pronouncements are declared that aren't related to science, but philosophy or religion, for example ("The cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be," says Humanist of the Year (1981) recipient, astronomer Carl Sagan).  Science has become a religion, with people only putting faith in the natural and the observable.

Without the church as the "pillar and ground of the truth" (cf. 1 Tim. 3:15), we lose the anchor and value system by which to judge right and wrong, and morality becomes elusive and truth becomes a short-term contract.  Truth is relative, they say, well relative to what or to whom?  No matter which belief system you ascribe to, it isn't a matter of faith vs. rationalism or reason, but of which set of propositions you are willing to accept by faith as presuppositions.  Both systems require faith--for "all knowledge begins in faith: Socrates said that "to begin learning you first must admit your ignorance." Augustine also said similarly, "I believe in order to understand."  When we have faith, God opens our eyes and illumines us, without God we would know nothing for sure.

The viewpoint of youth today, and many do not know what they believe, is that Christians have kissed their brains goodbye, and are ill-prepared to answer the attacks on their faith; they don't even think it's defensible, and can survive in the open marketplace of ideas.  A worldview basically answers these three questions:  Where did I come from?  Why am I here? And Where am I going? The secular interpretation is that we came from blue-green algae or even nothing at all, and have no meaning or purpose in living but to seek fulfillment of instincts, and are headed toward oblivion or nothing but food for bacteria.  Jean-Paul Sartre said that "without reference to God, man is a useless passion."  Famed atheist and mathematician Bertrand Russell said that "unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is useless."  We were put on this planet for a purpose, to make a contribution, to leave a legacy that will outlast us.

The only worldview that gives man dignity and purpose is Christianity.  We are created in God's image and are not animals (they want to think they're animals so they can live irresponsibly like animals).  The very word "purpose" is repugnant to secularists, who deny the Anthropic Principle, for instance, that demonstrates purpose and design in nature that is perfectly suitable for mankind.  A life without purpose is lived in vain and is a waste, going nowhere!  God put us all here for a purpose as part of His plan and glory:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and to enjoy Him forever," says The Westminster Shorter Catechism (ca. 1646), which refers to Isaiah 43:7, which says God created man "for His glory."

We are here to make God look good and be fulfilled in Him. As Blaise Pascal, French mathematician said, "If man is not made for God, why is he happy only in God?   If man is made for God, why is he opposed to God?"  As Jesus said, "... I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly"  (John 10:10, ESV).  The eternal life with Christ begins at the point of entry into salvation (cf. John 5:24, ESV, emphasis added):  "Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has [present tense!] eternal life.  He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life."

The only way one can find true meaning in life is to know Christ because He is our Creator.  The Bible is our celestial beacon, divine GPS, and owner's manual and has everything we need to know for salvation and meaning.  We all need to know we are important, have an impact, and have an identity or are somebody that counts.  The Bible answers all these questions and gives us motivation to live to please others and God, not ourselves: A life lived selfishly is suicidal.  Pascal, famed scientist and philosopher, said that there is a "vacuum-shaped hole in our heart that only God can fill." You not only matter, but are more important to God than the whole universe or cosmos.

God is a person to be known, is personal, and gets personal and knows us personally as persons, so intimately that He numbers our hairs! We alone have a God that is knowable and not aloof and impersonal, like Allah. Muslims emphatically deny the capability of knowing God personally and of having a personal, living relationship and fellowship with Him, that inspires and motivates life and living in the here and now, but in the light of eternity.  Suddenly, when you see you have a divine purpose in being alive and can accomplish God's will, life becomes an exciting journey and relationship and even a challenge that other religions don't have.  We grow in our knowledge of God and never gain definitive knowledge of an infinite Being.  "The finite cannot grasp the infinite," says the classic maxim.

As a logical conclusion, when you deny God, you have no basis for meaning in life or to do anything but "eat, drink and be merry [cf. Isaiah 22:13]." Man then just exists, he doesn't live life to the full. Twentieth-century philosopher Will Durant asks:  "Can man live without God?"  This is the dilemma of the modern man who seems to think that "God is dead," as Friedrich Nietzsche falsely and shamelessly postulated; he was saying we didn't need Him to explain the cosmos or to find relevance--that God doesn't matter anymore.  Without God, there is no anchor on the soul, and man has but a bleak outlook and is hopeless.  We all need a sense of "ought" and understand the times to know what to do (cf. 1 Chronicles 12:32); who knows?  We may have been born "for such a time as this"  (cf. Esther 4:14).

The problem with man today: "Men have forgotten God," according to Alexander Solzhenitsyn, even if he professes a religion or even Christianity, he is a practical atheist or one who lives like one, despite a bogus profession of faith, he is only a nominal Christian or one in name only.  Man will find that there is no basis of ethics without Him, and man is free to make up his own value system or ethics as he goes along, to suit his own interpretation and situation, like:  "Listen to the God within!" Or, "If it feels like the truth to you, it is!"

Caveat:  We must beware of following Israel's footsteps in the time of the judges:  "Everyone did what was right in his own eyes"  (Judges 21:25, ESV).  It is similar today, in that people lack a moral compass, and think that morals are determined by convention, consensus, or community standards--and evolve over time.  God is the moral center of the universe and He is our Judge, we are not His judge--we answer to Him, He doesn't answer to us!  Yes, Isaiah was also right on and on the same page:  "All we like sheep have gone astray, we have turned each one of us to his own way"  (cf. Isaiah 53:6).

Rick Warren lists four purposes to live for:  as a member of His family; a model of His character; a minister of His grace; and a messenger of His good news.  We all need a philosophy of life and an interpretative framework to view the world around us and put things into perspective.

If you've ever pondered:  "Who am I?" Or, "Do I matter?" Or even, "Am I important?"  The answer is in knowing God through His revelation in Christ.  In my day people used to take time-outs and "find themselves."  You can never get found if you don't admit you're lost! You were born to fit into God's intricate plan, not for God to approve your plans--you have the destiny to be realized in Christ!

A word to the wise is sufficient:  Psalm 11:3, ESV, says, "[I]f the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?" Without God as our reference point, we lose all footing and orientation in society, and no civilization has ever been able to maintain ethics without the aid of religion, and "no society has ever survived the loss of its gods," according to playwright George Bernard Shaw. No nation has been able to maintain morals without the aid of its religion, according to Will Durant. Has the rise of Secular Humanism, which is a religion without God, eradicated Christianity from the public arena and marketplace of ideas;?

Have we come full-circle from the 1925 Scopes Monkey Trial, in which it was argued that the minds of children should be kept open and they should be taught about the theory of evolution, just to be fair?  Now, they won't let the Christian view get its point across as a viable belief system and worldview that gives meaning to all of academia and its disciplines. We must not concede everything away and lose to the Postmodernist and Secular Humanist by default and give up the ship without a college try and fight.

Let me conclude with a quote from scholar Carl F.H. Henry: "The Christian belief system, which the Christian knows to be grounded in divine revelation, is relevant to all of life." Soli Deo Gloria!

Finding Our Calling

The following verses are pertinent to finding God's will for your life:

"One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much..."  (Luke 16:10, ESV).

"... Well done, thou good and faithful servant..."  (cf. Luke 19:17, KJV).

"Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is"  (Eph. 5:17, ESV). 

"For I know the plans I have for you, ' declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future"  (Jeremiah 29:11, NIV). 

"It's in Christ that we find out who we are and what we are living for.  Long before we first heard of Christ, ... he had his eye on us, had designs on us for glorious living, part of the overall purpose he is working out in everything and everyone"  (Ephesians 1:11, The Message).

"For everything, absolutely everything, above and below, visible and invisible, ... everything got started in him and finds its purpose in him" (Colossians 1:16, The Message). 

"Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established" (Proverbs 16:3, ESV).

"There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death"  (Proverbs 16:18, ESV).

"Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand"  (Proverbs 19:21, ESV).  

"Unless you assume a God, the question of life's purpose is meaningless."  (Bertrand Russell, mathematician, philosopher, atheist, author of the famed book, Why I Am Not A Christian).


God has uniquely gifted everyone for the ability to know His will, but it isn't an automatic given to know it, though Acts 22:14 says it has been granted Paul to know His will.  We must search for it and be willing to do it or we will never know it.  "If any man wills to do His will..." (cf. John 7:17).   Obedience and willingness are provisos to finding out God's plan.  If we are not obedient in what He has revealed, we will not be given more light.  Most people blindly go through life, the blind leading the blind, and never find their true calling--they exist, but don't live. We are meant to live for something bigger than ourselves and for something that will outlast our lives--every chord we play strikes some note that will vibrate throughout eternity, but some of us march to the beat of a different drum than the light of Scripture.  "When a man's folly brings his way to ruin, his heart rages against the LORD" (Proverbs 19:3).  Man ruins his life, then blames God, or he is a success and congratulates himself!

This life is but a dress rehearsal and a tryout for the real thing in heaven, or a stage set for eternity, and we are meant to find out what we are here for. People who don't know their purpose attempt too much! Attempt great things for God, and expect greater things from God!  The Bible is our Owner's Manual and has everything we need to know for fulfillment in life!   Many people live as if they will never die, and die as if they never lived, and don't find purpose until their later years!  What a pity that the common man sees nothing more to live for than the Epicurean philosophy of "eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die" (cf. Isaiah 22:13) school of thought.  We are not to live just in the "here and now," but in "light of eternity," and "it ought to be the business of every day to prepare for our final day," according to commentator Matthew Henry.  We have the ability to see and expect the future, but with that comes the downside or drawback of being capable of worry.  We should never live in the past of regret, nor in the future of worry (paying dividends on bills we don't owe): These are the two thieves of our time and when we don't live life to the fullest it is usually this to blame.

Now, most people never even find out what they are good at, much less, their true calling in life: "God in heaven appoints each man's work" (John 3:27, NLT).  It is often said: "You missed your calling" with tongue-in-cheek.  The best we can hope for in life is to find out His will and plan for our lives, and it is never too late for God's best--He is in the business of changing lives and transforming them into the image of Christ. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come" (2 Cor. 5:17, ESV). Christ is still in the resurrection business and can change our lives from the inside out--we don't just turn over a new leaf, but start afresh with Jesus in charge--we are changed from the inside out.

There is no greater joy, than in doing the Lord's work, but there is a curse on anyone who is slack in doing it (cf. Jeremiah 48:10).  The happiest people, it has been put, are those who are too busy trying to meet other's needs and make them happy, that they don't have time to worry about their own.  The sure recipe of a wasted life is to live it for yourself--get your eyes off yourself and live for God's will, whatever the calling--there are many callings, but the same Spirit (and that's what counts!).

Many people experience a dramatic conversion and their whole life turns around or heads in a new direction after finding Christ:  Look at how prison radicalized the life of Chuck Colson (dirty-tricks and hatchet man for Pres. Nixon, turned philosophical apologist for the faith), for instance! God puts us through the fires of adversity to make us better people, and no one is exempt, not even Christ exempted Himself. Our crosses pale in comparison to His and we should be aware that adversity, trials, sufferings, discipline, and misfortune happen to all of us and are meant for our good, and Christ can turn even the most diabolical atrocity into something good:  "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20). God orchestrates all events, even historically, and never loses control of His Plan. (Romans 8:28, ESV says:  "And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good....")  We can do nothing to thwart His intentions and make God resort to a Plan B.

The most important link to finding God's will is seizing the day (going for it!), or carpe diem, or seeking God's will and recognizing it when you see it in the light of Scripture.  God will open doors, we just have to be ready to step into His will (cf. Isaiah 22:22).  When God opens a door, the impossible can become possible, because all things are possible with God (cf. Luke 1:37).  When I first became a believer, I didn't understand why my brothers in the Lord were so concerned about what God's will was:  "What would Jesus do?"  As we mature we have a greater desire to please God and live for Him and His glory: "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever" (cf. The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).  "[E]veryone] who is called by my name, whom I created for my glory, whom I formed and made"  (Isaiah 43:7, ESV).  We must learn to live for Christ and not ourselves, to please others, not ourselves!

How do you know that you were not "born for such a time as this?" (Cf. Esther 4:14).  Living on purpose is the only way to live, says Rick Warren, and life makes no sense without purpose.  Life is an intricate plan of God and we are to fit into God's plans, not ask Him to fit into our plans! This is the origin of the Protestant work ethic.  When we are engaged and engrossed in God's work everything else is put into the right perspective:  "... I am doing great work, so I cannot come down..." (Nehemiah 6:3, KJV).  Motivation is primed by the right orientation:  "... [F]or the people had a mind to work" (Nehemiah 4:6, NKJV).  We want to be like Jesus at the end of our lives and be able to confess:  "... I have finished the work which You have given Me to do"  (John 17:4, NKJV).  MISSION ACCOMPLISHED!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Where's The Joy?

"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold"  (Job 23:10, NIV).  

"I have told you this so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete"  (John 15:11, NIV).  

"He also brought me up out of a horrible pit,
Out of the miry clay,
And set my feet upon a rock,
And established my steps"  (Psalm 40:2, NKJV).

If you are a melancholy believer, or one who seems glum, sullen, or dejected, in the pits, in a depressed funk, despondent, or have the doldrums, and don't know how to snap out of it you are a bad advertisement for Christianity, if you're really happy and full of joy, tell your face!  There may be periods of depression when one wallows in self-pity, has a pity party, or withdraws, (even Elijah got depressed), but one must learn how to bounce out of it.  Paul exhorts us in Philippians 4:4 to "rejoice in the Lord always."  " Nehemiah says "... [The] joy of the LORD is your strength." There are some key elements to finding joy amidst the hard times--and He does make us experience hardship:  "You have fed them of the bowl of tears, You have given them tears to drink in great measure"  (Psalm 80:5, NKJV).

This is to develop our character to mold it after Christ's image, which cannot mature without adversity, hardship, discipline, trials, and even temptation--but remember Christ was honest enough to warn us and they are inevitable as a "coming of age" spiritually.  Christ didn't exempt Himself from trouble, and our "crosses" pale in comparison to His.   If you don't know why you are suffering or you think you don't deserve it, be like Job and throw a spiritual fit and cry out to God with your case and complaint.  It's okay to throw a spiritual temper tantrum or fit! Some people are just more vulnerable to getting the blues or even depression, but this doesn't need to define who you are.

There is a methodology or method to the madness, for rebounding from depression, when it is time to seek the Lord and His presence--there is a time and season for every purpose under the sun.  God is in the business of sharing His joy!  When we sin and grieve the Spirit it can show and spread like wildfire.   Every believer has been called to do God's work and if he knows his calling, he can find joy in doing the Lord's will and in being in the Lord's will. There's always joy in doing God's work with a smile and finding fulfillment in that.  When you live for something bigger than yourself you will have a different perspective on life.  Real living begins when we commence serving others and get our eyes off ourselves.  We shouldn't just exist, but live!  Work for something in life that will outlast it.  If you know how God uses you and what your spiritual gift is, you are on the way to finding joy in the Lord and knowing how to spread it as a messenger of the good news with a positive testimony.

When we are in a depressed funk, or "downcast" as Psalm 42 and 43 call it, God seems to be MIA and we need to seek the face of God. We are to seek the Lord and His face or presence.  The whole business of the Christian life is to seek God, not just when we feel down.  Even Job wondered about the whereabouts of God: "Oh, that I knew where I might find Him"  (cf. Job 23:3).  God is never far from each one of us according to Acts 17:27.  He may be no further than the mention of His name! Did He not promise:  "... Behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age" (Matt. 28:20, ESV). Remember that where ever two or three are gathered together in His name, that Jesus promises to be among them (cf. Matt. 18:20).  The Holy Spirit dwells in us to be our Comforter and Enabler to live in His power and to overcome trials and the enemy.  Jesus is the Good Shepherd who seeks His lost sheep and brings them to green pastures and to give them rest.

It is a joy to see God at work in others and to share in the blessings by association.  This is an encouragement for us to do the Lord's will and to be profitably engaged in spreading the Word. There is vicarious joy, just like parents relive their childhoods through their children. Remember, we are all on the same team and we must know the real enemy, the devil, who prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour (cf. 1 Pet. 5:7).  We learn to "rejoice with those who rejoice" (cf. Romans 12:15).

We really must learn to find joy despite our circumstances and to be strong in our faith, for the Lord must test our faith:  "Behold, I have refined you, but not as silver; I have tried you in the furnace of affliction" (Isaiah 48:10, ESV).   God wants to see if it is genuine and will stand the test of time, and isn't a facade, sham, or masquerade--only sincere, even if imperfect, faith will do.  Learn to rise to the occasion and above your circumstances:  Experience is not what happens to you, but what happens in you! Paul was in prison and rejoiced in the Lord with such testimony with Silas that the jailer got converted in Acts 16.

Joy is contagious and a great testimony, and that is more motive to seek it to be a light and river of life to others, who need to be encouraged.  This is so that we acknowledge joy in the Lord, not in circumstances, which can change.  Joy is something on the inside that is not dependent on happenings like happiness is.  Paul learned to be content in whatever situation he found himself in (cf. Philippians 4:13).

When you know God is with you, everything becomes bearable and that is one of Christ's names:  "God with us." Also, it is written in Isaiah 43:2 (ESV):  "When you pass through the waters, I will be with you ...."   We are to seek the Lord and His presence "as a deer pants for flowing water, so my soul pants for [God]" (Psalm 42:1, ESV).  Mother Teresa of Calcutta, now canonized, says that "true holiness consists of doing God's will with a smile." That is, if we are happy, we should tell our faces!  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Successful Church...

This topic is problematic because everyone has their own idea or definition of success, and it isn't always the opposite of failure--there is wiggle-room or spiritual no-man's-land where it is not definitive either way, but only a value judgment call by subjective members or observers.  Success doesn't necessarily imply numbers or high membership rolls, though this may be an element or sign of success, as it keeps a tally on the numbers in Acts, for instance, going from 120 in the Upper Room to 5,000.

Some megachurches are failures at being what a church body is meant to be--a family, an organism and not an organization, and an open door to the Great Commission.  If it isn't in the process of fulfilling the marching orders of the Great Commission, it is a failure.  Numbers is a byproduct when we aim to do God's will, not when we specialize in gathering "crowds."

We must be able to participate and interact with fellowship and service in the body according to our gifts, and not just observe others doing the work of ministry and mission on our behalf.  We are all called to be ministers of reconciliation and to contribute according to our unique gift or gifts and not be passive, but active in the church.  And that implies we don't worship by proxy or vicariously.

The purpose of the church is given in the Great Commission to evangelize, equip for ministry, and build up the body of Christ to fulfill the mission to the world. The onus and responsibility for the Great Commission aren't just the pastor's but shared by all--each with a different gift, but the same Spirit. The church's job description involves discipleship, worship, and fellowship, and even one-on-one mentors.

Only when the body is functional and not ultimately dependent on any ONE gifted teacher or preacher, that even might have the charisma or be celebrated, do we have a genuine church--we don't want to build cult-like followings or personality cults, based on the teaching of one individual, no matter how gifted. Some megachurches are just crowds and you can get lost in the shuffle going there, being completely incognito or unnoticed. One should always wonder what he or she can contribute to the church's ministry to the believer or mission to the lost.

The church is to be obedient to God's Word and not try to focus on being like the world at large, or be the "church of what's happening now." There are many fads that spread throughout the body and some churches don't think they are in tune with the times if they don't follow the latest thing.

How does a church grow?  By the faithful preaching of the gospel, the power is in the gospel message and it should never get old to preach or to hear.  Paul strove to know nothing but Christ and Christ crucified. The lost should be able to come to the church assembly and be convicted and find out the way of salvation--this is the raison d'etre of the church!

The church's function is twofold:  pastoral and prophetic to the body, while its ministry is to them, its mission is to the world.  They should have a relative message to the world and an edifying message for the believer.  Prophecy entails interpreting the times and making people aware of what's going on in the world, not foretelling, but forthtelling.  This is because the church is the "pillar and ground of truth" (and all truth, according to Augustine, is God's truth), and Christians are to be the salt and light in the world, but not of it (cf. John 15:19).

Being faithful is more important in God's eyes than success in the eyes of the world; small churches can be successful because God can require some just to be faithful in little, according to their opportunities and gifts.  The most important sign of a successful church is a church that is alive and vibrant and it is apparent that the Spirit is moving in the body and speaks through the preachers with edification. Jesus severely rebuked the church of Laodicea for being "lukewarm" or lackluster and lackadaisical in their worship, which was tepid and lacked spirit--We must worship "in spirit" (cf. John 4:24):  "God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth."

If people confess that they met God or that they sensed the moving of the Spirit during worship, God is alive in that church--there are many a moribund church that needs revival, on the other hand.  If the individual members are healthy and walking with the Lord, the byproduct will be a healthy church. We want to be careful that we don't get so seeker-sensitive that people become converted to the program, instead of converted to Christ.

Don't ever lose track of keeping the main thing the main thing, our fulfillment of the Great Commission.  This is why the social gospel is a misnomer, and we are not to turn stones into bread, to use metaphoric language.  The church is in the business of changing lives through Jesus Christ and doing it one person at a time, and no one is beyond the reach of God's grace. It is a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints. and no perfect people need to apply.

Samuel said to Saul that "to obey was better than sacrifice" and this means avoiding the Dance of the Pious or going through the motions.  There are too many Christians "playing church" and even see it solely as a social event and/or opportunity to make friends. We are to obey in Spirit and in truth and according to the Spirit of the law, not the letter of the law, as in legalism. God is still looking for that church willing to do His will--trust and obey.  This can only be done when believers realize their duty doesn't end at church attendance;  which is one of the biggest misconceptions in the body.  Caveat:  the church should never get complacent and feel it's arrived at success--there's always room for improvement; perfection is the standard, direction is the test.

The purpose of the church is manifold to be done as a family united in Christ:  The mission of the Great Commission to the lost, discipleship of the members to train for the ministry, and the fellowship of the believers, whether members or not, and most of all to offer a vehicle for worship as a community in Christ in corporate worship as a body unified in spirit and purpose (mission statement).  It has been well said that a great Christian has a great commitment to the Great Commission and the Great Commandment.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Romanist Dogma Of Free Will

Meditate on the following (emphasis added):

"So then it is not of him who wills, nor of him who runs, but of God who shows mercy" (Romans 9:16, NKJV). 

 [W]ho were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God [we don't will ourselves saved]"  (John 1:13, NKJV).

"For to you it has been granted on behalf of Christ, not only to believe in Him, but to suffer for His sake"  (Philippians 1:29, NKJV). 

"... And as many as had been appointed to eternal life believed"  (Acts 13:48, NKJV). 

 "... [But] the elect have obtained it, and the rest were blinded [hardened]"  (Romans 11:7, NKJV, emphasis added).

Luther was an Augustinian monk, and Augustine said that we are "free but not freed." We maintain our power to make choices as humans, but we have lost our liberty--we are slaves to sin, and, as he said, we are unable not to sin (non posse non peccare)--a double negative.  It's like being in jail and having the freedom to play cards, but not to walk outside for recreation at will--there is a limit to freedom and it's not absolute.  We are slaves to sin and our sin nature. We are free to choose our own poison and are, what has been termed by theologians, voluntary slaves--we love our sin and have no natural inclination to seek God or to love Him and only a work of grace in our hearts changes it from a "heart of stone to a heart of flesh" (cf. Ezek. 36:26).

We are still free to act according to our desires, but they are the wrong desires.  As Ovid, the Roman poet of antiquity wrote:  "I see the better things and I approve them, but I follow the worst."  The law of God is written on man's heart and he is culpable for breaking it (cf. Romans 2:15).  Romans 3:11 is God's pet peeve:  "[N]o one understands; no one seeks for God."

Most believers have wrongly assumed and appropriated the Catholic view of free will, that we have the capability to gain entree to God's grace or admittance into His presence by the merit of a positive attitude and willingness to cooperate with Him in our salvation, known as a pre-salvation work; however, "Salvation is of the Lord" [not of man alone nor of man and the Lord as in a cooperative or synergistic venture] (cf. Jonah 2:9). That statement of Jonah is the summation of Reformed theology and we must never think that we would've responded to the gospel call without God's wooing. We have lost the inclination to please God and do His will. We were elected unto faith, not because of it (known as the fallacious prescient view repudiated in Romans 8:30), because this would be grounds for merit. "No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draw him" (cf. John 6:44).

In today's humanist worldview man is exalted and seen as having the free will to do as he wishes or wants to.  Martin Luther told Erasmus in his tome, The Bondage of the Will, that "free will" was too grandiose a term to ascribe to our power of choice or to make decisions from our depraved, fallen volition.  You must define terms when you speak of free will, because we do have the power to disobey God and to choose our desserts, but we cannot believe in Christ apart from God's grace and work in our heart.

Adam and Eve had free will and blew it: they had the power to sin and the power not to sin, while a fallen man can only sin and is unable not to sin. Adam made the choice for us to disobey God in our place, and we are in Adam and held accountable for his failure and this is known commonly as original sin--this inherited virus which is our birthright as humans--we have remained human, but are no longer good, but maintain solidarity in Adam and we share his predicament he had the fall--i.e., the natural inclination to good has been forfeited.

In defining total depravity, one must take into consideration that the mind is corrupt and faulty, the emotions are perverted and easily swayed by evil and corrupted, and the will also is defiant and disobedient to God and this means our whole nature--intellect, emotions or heart, and will or volition--is depraved and there is nothing meritorious or righteous in us to be worthy of salvation--"... And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6, NKJV) and "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jeremiah 13:23, ESV).

God is able (He's omnipotent and you cannot limit God) to make the unwilling, willing according to Scripture:  He works irresistible or efficacious grace in our hearts according to His will ("For it is God who works in you, both to do and to will of his good pleasure," cf. Phil. 2:13). God never makes us do anything we don't want to do (that is coercion or determinism when we don't have input), and there is no outside force working on us like we're puppets on a string or automatons.  We all act according to our nature, and God is our Maker and preordained and predetermined our nature, whether melancholy, choleric, or sanguine, for example.

If you think about it, the will have very little input into a decision compared to other uncontrollable factors like circumstances, DNA, and the environment (the old nature vs. nurture debate).  It is a fallacy to assume we need free will to be saved, we need wills made free!  "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed"  (cf. John 8:36).  We are not "born free" as some postulate, but born into a state of slavery to our sin nature. Left to ourselves, we would not choose Christ, as Pascal said:  "I would not have searched for Thee, if Thou hadst not found me."

Our freedom is a curse because we choose the evil and the wrong course and God must intervene and change our heart, by taking the initiative and making the first move of grace.  We are free to act as we choose according to our nature, just like a dove naturally eats seeds and a raven goes for the carrion.  Our will is free in that we act voluntarily, and not by compulsion.  We're voluntary slaves!   God remains sovereign in spite of our free will and we cannot thwart His decrees or will and upset His plan--our freedom doesn't restrict God's sovereignty:  "...Who can resist His will?" (Cf. Romans 9:19).

To think that we can act independently of God's will and disturb His plan is blasphemous and exalts man and dethrones God--this is the agenda of Secular Humanism, which believes man is the measure of all things and is the starting point of our understanding of reality, and not God the source of all truth ("In the beginning God...").

St. Augustine of Hippo said, "We are free but not free."  This isn't a clever play on words but saying that we do as we choose but have lost our liberty.  It's like being in jail and having the freedom to do anything according to the rules.  Our natures are corrupt and we act according to our natures that need regeneration by God to a new birth of faith and repentance.  We are free but in our depravity we choose evil!  Apart from God's intervention and grace no one would get saved and believe. 

In summation, God never coerces us to do anything we don't want to do--that's determinism, not destiny.  We have input unlike the blind fate of Muslim kismet.  However, God is able to make the unwilling willing and to change our hearts and minds to do His will for He is stronger and can influence us for the good--it's when He withdraws His grace that we turn evil.  We must confess as did Jeremiah in Jer. 20:7, NKJV, "...You are stronger than I, and have prevailed (cf. Isa. 63:17; Phil. 2:13).  It is said that He compels us to come in (literal translation of the Greek elko or woo).    Soli Deo Gloria!

The Blame Game Extraordinaire

"Put away the pointing of the finger!" or, as Isaiah 58:9, ESV says it:  "... If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness." When I was a child, psychiatry was really into the blame game, there were no bad children, only bad parents. Every one of our problems was conveniently someone else's fault!  When there is estrangement in a relationship it is not our place to condemn the other party as being the recipient of the blame and to pinpoint blame on them.  In our relationship with God, on the other hand, our estrangement is completely our fault, we are the ones who moved and disobeyed God--He stayed the same and didn't move.

We have multiple personal relationships that are complicated and involve more than any one person could get a grip on and manipulate. Both parties are to blame for any domestic dispute, brotherly rivalry, family feud, or even unfriendly business competition or venture. When you blame someone and point the finger, three fingers are pointing back at you. You are saying that you are a victim and totally innocent and had nothing to do with instigating the misunderstanding and breach of relationship or alienation of affection, and you are alone in the position of holiness and innocence whereby you can impartially judge the motives of the other person involved in the misunderstanding (for most disagreements are simply a failure to communicate).

God alone is objective and impartial and able to make a judgment of culpability.  We are responsible for starting something that spiraled out of control and all the consequences, forgiven or not. Unless you are perfect, you share the blame and there is plenty to go around. There is a good reason not to get involved in a domestic because they are so complicated and not so readily resolved, as to blame--both deserve their fair share of culpability. When you are in the habit of blaming people for problems it shows a lack of responsibility and insight into the real nature of the issues, people, and problems.

An example of politicos playing the blame game is saying that things have gotten worse under Obama, a Democrat, and this is a reason to put Republicans in charge; the truth is that every bill proposed by the president has gotten nowhere in a gridlocked Congress, held captive by Republicans, who have stymied him from Day One, and have made it their mission statement to obstruct and discredit him and his legacy.  There is always another side to the story that they don't want you to know and are merely putting a spin on the news.  Soli Deo Gloria!