Can Man Live Without God In The Picture?

I'm not saying what would happen if there were no God (Acts 17:28 says, "For in Him we live and move and have our being..."), but how man's worldview is affected without a foundation in God--we must begin with God and explain the universe, not begin with the universe and explain God away!  Athanasius said that the only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where He is the starting point.

Man cannot survive without conceiving of God; His manifest reality is known to every tribe, nation, and tongue or civilization.  Man isn't naturally an atheist or agnostic, but religious to the core; he has been dubbed Homo religiosus or the religious being.  They also call him Homo divinus, or the divine being (in the image of God or Imago Dei).  Man is meant or hard-wired for worship, and if he doesn't find God, he will worship someone or something else, which is idolatry.  There is a gap or vacuum that must be filled and only God can adequately do the job.  Pascal did say that only God can fill this empty space and Augustine said that we are restless till we find our peace or rest in God.

When you take God out of the reckoning, man becomes uncivilized, as witnessed and documented in Romans 1, where God gives man up to his perversions.  Yes, we need God, He doesn't need us!  We can only find our fulfillment in Him and serving Him.  There is indeed purpose in life when one knows the Lord and serves Him; the chief end of man, according to The Westminster Shorter Catechism, is "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever"--taken from Isaiah 43:7, which says we're created for His glory.  We are the icons of God, bearing His image to the world and God has something to say through us; we are His voice to spread the Word, not angels!

Without God, man has come from nothing, has no meaning in life, and is heading nowhere!   We must be able to answer the ultimate questions of life to have meaning and fulfillment:  Where did I come from?  Why am I here?  Where am I headed or going to?  What is man's destiny?  Is there a difference between right and wrong?  The Bible answers all these questions and science cannot because they are out of its domain or turf.  Science cannot make philosophical, religious, ethical, nor metaphysical judgments--neither can it make any value judgments, it is the "know-how," not the "know-why."  Yes, science is limited and we must not put our ultimate faith in it to solve all our problems or answer all our questions.

The scientific method doesn't apply to the metaphysical answers to the physical and to the spiritual, religious, ethical, nor moral domains.  For example, you cannot measure three feet of love, nor five pounds of justice, yet they exist and are real.  Love exists, yet you cannot prove or disprove it either!  In science, you have to have laboratory conditions, be able to measure, observe, and repeat an experiment with variables and controls to get a working hypothesis and finally a theory, and then a scientific, verifiable fact.

Note that it's only because of the Christian worldview that science was made possible and the first scientists were Christians--there's no final conflict between science and the Bible, which is not a science text, but has no scientific absurdities or erroneous ideas.  Where it does make scientific claims, the info is correct and has been proven ahead of its time--such as the discovery of the water cycle, and ocean currents, the fact that the earth is round and is hung on nothing in space!   When science alienates Christians and becomes their enemy, they become unscientific and dogmatic, which is not scientific.

When we try to establish ethics without God, it is impossible to have a foundation.  Fyodor Dostoevsky said that without God all things are permissible or up for grabs.  God is the source of absolute truth with a capital T and if there is no God, there can be no absolute Truth!  And so, without God, man is like a ship without a rudder with no anchor nor moral compass!  We are a law unto ourselves and each of us can make up our own ethical system as we go along, and morality is simply what we decide it is as a group, and it changes over time as we get more "civilized."   The Ten Commandments are then obsolete and too binding for our free lifestyle, which has no restraints nor limits.

"Law is merely the majority vote that licks all others," to quote Oliver Wendell Holmes.  The Bible says in Psalm 11:3 that "when the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?"  We have then lost our moral fiber as a nation and become free spirits, each man doing his own thing and what is right in his own eyes, the way Israel did before it had a king (cf. Judges 21:25).  God cares a lot about right and wrong and we have His moral law in our hearts in the form of conscience (cf. Rom. 2:15)--unfortunately, some choose to ignore it do evil.  We were meant for something better than anarchy and an immoral, unethical society.

The end result is that man worships himself, fame, fortune, power, popularity, success, possessions, and even does hero worship, all of which are unfulfilling false gods and idolatry, that cannot meet man's inner longing for a relationship with God, not merely acknowledging or knowing He exists.  Jesus promised abundant life to all sincere seekers and God will authenticate Himself to everyone who diligently searches for Him (cf. Heb. 11:6)--He's not playing cosmic hide-and-seek, but will not reveal Himself to triflers!

And so the biggest question and issue facing man today is whether he can live without God, according to humanist historian/philosopher Will Durant, and our government becomes the highest law, in the land and is accountable to no one as final Judge.  Consequently, there is no Judgment Day, no Lawgiver, and no Ruler of man, no hell to shun, and no motive to be good, all because man doesn't put God in the equation.

Just like Friedrich Nietzsche declared God dead, or irrelevant and unnecessary, we must find out for ourselves the hard way, because man refuses to listen to the modern-day prophets and heed what Scripture says; man is ultimately headed nowhere and history has no meaning or purpose, with no climax, conclusion, or consummation either.  Man becomes a glorified ape or hominid, without the dignity of being in God's image, having any restraint on evil, and being able to communicate and know Him.    Soli Deo Gloria!

In Control Of Your Thinking Process

"... They capture every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5, CEV).

Martin Luther supposedly said that you cannot control a bird from flying over your head, but you can prevent it from making a nest in your hair!  We cannot be responsible nor even control what thoughts enter our minds--they could be from the devil, just as Jesus told Peter, "Get behind Me Satan!"  However, we must rein in our thoughts and get a grip on our thought life, which can only happen by the power of the Spirit to restrain.  Our thoughts and thought life are important indicators of our obedience to Christ.

David was concerned about his thought life when he prayed:  "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Thy sight..."  We can indeed control what we choose to meditate on and what words come out of our mouths, for Jesus said that which comes out of the mouth is what defiles a man (cf. Mark 7:15).  There is a correlation between our thought life and our spiritual life and obedience.  Paul says in 2 Cor. 10:5 that we capture our rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ.  There is a direct connection here!

We need to do more than just get our thinking straightened out, in getting a Christian worldview--we need to get a grip on our thought life and be heavenly minded.  Proverbs 4:23 says that we should "keep [our] heart with all diligence, for out of it flow the issues of life."  Again, similarly, it is written in Prov. 23:7 (KJV) that if we "commit [our] works unto the LORD, [our] thoughts will be established."

First things first:  we dedicate our minds to Christ and commit to doing His will in an obedient life and God cleanses our minds and give us a pure heart:  "Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things [including our thinking] are become new!" (2 Cor. 5:17, KJV).  "...but let God transfer you into a new person by changing the way you think..."  (Rom. 12:2, NLT).  ("Be renewed in the spirit of your mind.").

It is important to note that we are not to be so heavenly minded we are no earthly good.  We are not purely spiritual creatures, meant to live on cloud nine with our minds preoccupied and not to ever be ethical, practical, applicable, nor recreational.  We need to apply our thoughts to everyday situations and be a witness of our thoughts, not keeping them to ourselves--this is where sharing and witnessing come in.  One must conclude that if we only expose ourselves to junk we will exhale the same, just as the axiom goes: garbage in equals garbage out (GIGO).

Proverbs 1:7 says a fool despises wisdom and knowledge: The Bible emphasizes wisdom and increasing in knowledge:  "Knowledge is power"(cf. Prov. 24:5) according to Sir Francis Bacon and a fool feeds on trash, while the wise are hungry for the truth (cf. Prov. 15:14).  Why?  Because we become byproducts of what we expose ourselves to.  "A man is what he thinks about all day," said one poet.  It has also been said that "you are not what you think you are, but what you think, you are!"  We are basically the sum total of our thoughts and resultant thought life, which defines our character and personality.

We all need to take inventory of our thoughts and get regular spiritual checkups, and catch ourselves making mistakes in our thinking, like three thought wasters of time:  dwelling on the past with regret; misinterpreting the present with angst, and anticipating the future with worry.  If we are making a mistake in our thinking we ought to correct it and replace it with more therapeutic and healthy or balanced thinking--this is sound mental health!  All three (regret, angst, and worry) work together to rob us of our joy and steal time and energy and can lead to depression or melancholy--being in a depressed funk or in the doldrums, as it were.

Note that the psalmist complained to God of his mood swing in Psalms 42 and 43 and didn't even know why he was downcast and so glum. And in Psalm 143 the writer complains that his depression deepens!  Being discouraged is a form of depression as well as the blues, and everyone is vulnerable or susceptible--no one is immune, it's only being human--as the song by Neil Diamond goes, we're all subject to the blues now and then!  Thinking negative thoughts is destructive to mental health and we should always see the bright side and the silver lining behind the cloud--thinking negatively is a bad habit and there is always a positive spin on a problem--actually, earth has no ill or dilemma that heaven doesn't have the cure or answer to--it's a matter of faith and facing our problems with courage and seeing the lighter side sometimes.

In conclusion, bear in mind that the Word of God is capable of judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart and shows us what we are made of and our true selves, pulling no punches and sparing no reprimand where appropriate (cf. Heb. 4:12).  The Bible speaks to every attitude and frame of mind and addresses every issue we can face--Christ fully relates to us in every dilemma and fortunately intercedes for us.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Why Does Evil Exist?

"The eyes of the LORD are in every place, keeping watch on the evil and the good"  (Prov. 15:3, ESV).

God didn't create evil but did make it possible for it to exist by virtue of giving the gift of free will to innocent sentient creatures and to Adam and Eve.  Evil entered the human race via the Fall instigated by Satan.  There are many who wonder why doesn't God eliminate evil; Robinson Crusoe answered that question to Friday:  Why doesn't God get rid of you?  The point is that God is in the process of doing something about evil--He made you and me!

God has no hands to help but ours; no mind to think with but ours; no voice to speak through but ours; and finally no heart to love through than ours.  The dilemma of God being almighty and good poses the question of why does there seems to be no justice and why do the good suffer.  First of all, there are no good people--we are not basically good, but evil in God's estimation.  Second of all, why do good things happen to bad people, not why do bad things happen to good people?  Without evil in existence, or its possibility we all would be automatons with no will of our own to choose to obey or disobey God freely.

God did give man a chance in the Garden of Eden and he blew it--Adam represented all of mankind and we would've done the same thing (the original sin prefigures all sin and is a denial of God's attributes one by one.  The proverbial apple showed the entirety of the sin question:  Adam rejected God's authority; he doubted His goodness; he disputed His wisdom; he repudiated His justice; he contradicted His truthfulness; he spurned His grace (source unknown).

 Edengate, as it has been dubbed as the very first cover-up and God didn't hide from Adam, but Adam from God in shame, because he knew he had done something wrong and felt guilty.  God cleansed their guilt and wiped it away by clothing them in skins.  This was the prototype sin and we should all see ourselves as doing ditto.  Adam sought his own goodness, delight, and wisdom, having rejected God's.  That's the epitome of sin:  man's declaration of independence from God!

When asking why do the good suffer, the real question should be why are they blessed?  God gives man less than he deserves punitively.  God is good and so there is a standard of Supreme or Ultimate Good (per Plato) and God is omnipotent, almighty, and plenipotent. God is also just, kind and good; so why do we suffer?  There is an invisible conflict between good and evil (evil has been dethroned at the cross and Christ reigns), but the mop-up effort and consummation are in process. In the end, God will turn the wrath of man to praise Him (cf. Psalm 76:10).

In the meantime, we find ourselves in the enemy-occupied territory--the devil's turf or domain!  We fight evil from the vantage point of victory, not for a victory--Christ already won the battle!  Evil must exist and it's not the counterpart of God nor it's opposite, but a parasite and perversion of good (it couldn't exist in its own right).

Without God, there can be no evil or sin and without the possibility of evil, there can be no good expressed, for we only see and behold goodness in contrast to evil and sin.  Someone said that one might ask:  Do you see the evil and say "why?"  Or do you see the good and say "why not?"  We see good in light of evi; we have the opportunity for good with evil; we endure short-term evil for long-term good; realize that there can be no objective evil without objective good.   In the final analysis, we must not lose faith in the fact that God will someday settle the score and mete out justice at Judgment Day; justice delayed is not justice denied!    Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Goody-Goodies

"Trust in the LORD and do good, Then you will live safely in the land and prosper"  (Psalm 37:3, NLT).  

"All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit [motive]"  (Prov. 16:2, ESV).

"Turn from evil and do good, and you will live in the land forever"  (Psalm 37:27, NLT). 

"For who sees anything different in you?  What do you have that you did not receive..." (1 Cor. 4:7, ESV).

"All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one good, not even one"  (Rom. 3:12, ESV).  

"Who has given me anything that I need to pay back?  Everything under heaven in mine"  (Job 41:11, NLT).  

This is the dangerous lie of New Age worldview or mental outlook:  "You do not become good by trying to be good, but discovering the good inside."  

God alone is good by definition and He invites us to let Him authenticate Himself, as the proof of the pudding is in the eating:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!  ..."  (Cf. Psalm 34:8).  

We are to repent in the manner of ceasing to do evil and learning to do good, but Jeremiah 13:23, NLT, says that the evil cannot do good:  "Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots?  Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil." The problem in a works religion is that you never know how much is enough!  I am not against works per se, but only those done in the energy of the flesh without the Spirit's enabling.  What I mean is that you can distinguish faith and works, but you cannot separate them, God has made them go hand in hand and not to be divorced.  (Mark 10:9 says, "What God has joined together, let not man put asunder.")  Therefore, man can do nothing to please God, or gain His approbation by good behavior, but can only be used by God for His purposes.   On the other hand, a Christian is one whose mind thinks for Christ; whose heart loves for Christ; whose voice speaks for Christ; and whose hand helps for Christ.

There is no inherent goodness in man, in the Fall we have ceased to be good, but haven't ceased to be human.  Our dignity and goodness are extrinsic due to being in the image of God and we are merely enabled by the Holy Spirit to do good.  We all have feet of clay and a dark side to our character, but Jesus sees through the veneer and loves us despite this fact just the way we are.   The problem with man is that he thinks he can be good enough to be saved--au contraire, we are never good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation, and we cannot know how bad we are until we've tried to be good, and we must know how bad we are to be good (the catch-22 of C. S. Lewis fame).  We are in a dilemma and under the delusion, we are good and must be convicted of our sin--man doesn't see his sin without the work of God (cf. John 16:8).

The reality is that God doesn't grade on a curve--we're all in the same boat and have fallen short of the glory of God.   Man is mistaken to compare himself with others and do not realize the majesty, glory, and goodness of God that should humble him. Of course, you may look like a saint, comparing yourself to the likes of a ruthless dictator or tyrants like the leader of North Korea, or Hitler, if you know your history!  We tend to look down on the likes of Judas and think we are much better, but George Whitefield said it best when he saw a man go to the gallows:  "There but for the grace of God, go I." To humble believers, it must be pointed out that they were not saved because they were good in any way; for nothing in them merited salvation!  In a works religion, you never know how much is enough; and the ironic thing is that "man is incurably addicted to doing something for their salvation," according to Charles Swindoll.

We are not called to be goody-two-shoes, or people who are do-gooders with an affectation or pretense (note that these are slur words and used in a derogatory manner).  Our good deeds spring from faith, as the direct fruit of the Spirit and as a result of walking with the Lord in fellowship (fulfilling all that He has ordained for us to do per Eph. 2:10).  Good deeds automatically follow saving faith and are its evidence, not its substitute.  Works are fruit, and no fruit implies no faith.  We shall know them by their fruits, by the way, and so we are fruit inspectors (cf. Matt. 7:16).

Some merely get converted to the program, not to Christ and are not spiritual at all but just out to make an impression as a people-pleaser.  We ought to do everything in the name of the Lord and to His glory, and then there will be justified reward for our efforts (note that the success is up to God). There are many do-gooders out there who have gained a reputation and name for themselves, but it cannot be rewarded due to the motive behind the deed.  Man looks on the outward appearance, but God looks on the heart and sees motives (cf. Prov. 16:2; Sam. 16:7; Prov. 21:2).  We are not in a position to judge where someone is spiritually, but there are many wolves in sheep's clothing out to devour the flock and lead it astray, and their chief methodology is that they try to do good and be good without God in the equation.

There is no such thing as good without God, who alone defines goodness and is good (note that this is the essence of God and not just a description of His acts).  Our righteousness is as "filthy rags" according to Isaiah 64:6, and that means that it's useless and good for nothing. Lost man's good deeds will not be rewarded on Judgment Day, for they fall short of God's standards.  Our righteousness must be God's gift to us, not our gift to God (cf. Isa. 45:24; Hos. 14:8; Isa. 26:12; Rom. 15:18)!  We don't give God anything in our good deeds but only are used by Him as vessels of honor to bring Him His glory.  Yes, it's ironic that God rewards us for working through us!  Even if we could be good, it would profit God nothing, for He alone defines and delimits what it is. God has nothing to gain--the glory belongs to Him despite us.

The only good that counts is that done in the power of the Spirit. Remember that Jesus said that no one is good but God and we mistakenly think we are good.  Genuine saving faith produces works or it's not validated; as the Reformers taught: We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone!  Works must be the byproduct and prove the reality of faith, otherwise, it's bogus and suspects.

James says that faith without works is dead; you can have worked without faith, but not faith without works!  It must be stressed that we are not saved by works, but unto works, we are not saved by works, but not without them either!  If we had to do some good work, we'd fail! James would say that he'll show you his faith by his works, while Paul the converse:  showing you his works by faith.   Or it's also been said that Paul teaches that works must spring forth from faith and James teaches that faith must be proved by works.

Note that Jesus didn't come to make bad people good, it is said, but dead people alive!  He came to give abundant, eternal life (cf. John 10:10) in the Spirit and to share His life with us as we live for Him, not ourselves--we are never out to get the spotlight, the attention, or the applause of others, but to bring glory to Christ in all we do.  Don't celebrate or boast that you are doing something for God, but that He is using you for His glory!  If you boast, boast in the Lord, according to 1 Cor. 1:31. We are enabled by God himself;  Jesus told the disciples:  "Apart from Me you can do nothing"  (cf. John 15:5).  Elihu sums it up in Job 35:7 as follows:  "If you are good, is this some great gift to him?  What could you possibly give him?" And yet again the LORD speaks to Job in Job 40:11, saying, "Who has given me anything that I need to pay back? Everything under heaven is mine."   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Can Man Live Without God?

"Men have forgotten God."  (Alexander Solzhenitsyn)
"A person cannot live without worshiping something."  (Fyodor Dostoevsky)

The whole concept of modern Secular Humanism is to exalt man (glory to man in the highest!) and to dethrone God and put Him in His place, as they see it.  In other words, they proclaim:  Up with man, down with God!  Man has attempted to make a name for himself ever since the tower of Babel (cf. Gen. 11:4) and believes he can get along without God's intervention, grace, or providence.  Man is deluded into thinking he can rule God out of the universe and doesn't need Him.  

Pertinent remarks by great thinkers:  "Religion is indispensable to private and morals and public order" (Cicero); "No society has ever been able to maintain a moral life without the aid of its religion"  (William Durant).

Humanism has been defined as "religion without God."  And you don't have to be an atheist to have no place for God in your life, practical atheists believe in God, but live as though there is no God.  Psalm 10:4 (HCSB) sums it up:  "There is no accountability since God does not exist."  


Humanist historian/philosopher (and author of The Story of Civilization) Will Durant posed the dilemma we face today as the postmodern philosophy (that "God is dead") that permeates society;  and humanists try to be good without God in the equation:  "The greatest question of our time is not communism vs. individualism, nor Europe vs. America, nor even the East vs. the West; it is whether men can bear to live without God." People have no excuse not to believe in God (cf. Rom. 1:20), but they foolishly suppress the fact and are in a state of denial.  They seem to think that God is no longer relevant, that we can solve our issues and problems without His input or intervention, and that we are basically good, not evil.

We live in an age when sinners decide that they are their own judges of morality and can make their own value judgments:  "Everyone did what was right in their own eyes," much like Israel did, as recorded in Judges 21:25.  Men find themselves judging God, rather than realizing He's their judge. Now the biggest problem nations face is that of keeping the peace, and there shall be wars and rumors of wars till the end, and when we reach peace we will no longer feel we need God.  America is a so-called good nation by human standards as recorded by secular Alexis de Tocqueville, in his work Democracy in America, which he wrote after visiting the U.S, posited that our strength lies in our "goodness," and when we "ceased to be good we will cease to be great."  This is not based on biblical nor historical precedent, but only personal deduction and observation. 

Yes, America is different (we are probably the most religious nation on earth), yet we are failing on the world stage due to poor leadership and the good citizens (believers) cease to be salt and light and evil is winning by default, not because Christianity has failed, nor because its worldview is faulty, but because Christians fail to stand up and be counted, to take their stand for the right and to fly their Christian colors.  It has been said by philosophers and historians that morality in a nation cannot be upheld without the aid of religion:  George Bernard Shaw said that "no nation can survive the loss of its gods."  George Washington said, "It is impossible to rightly govern the world without God and the Bible."  Christians ought to protest the secularization of a society that seeks to eradicate God from the public square and discourse.  We cannot silence God, though!  If we try to go to war with Him we will lose and our nation will lose its blessing and providential hand.  We fight this by speaking up against the evils of society, even if it entails becoming activists and doing whatever you can to mobilize the church and equip them for the battle.  We are not to passively allow Satan to seize control!


When you take God out of the picture, there remains a vacuum that is filled with satanic activity.  When we cease to worship God, we will ultimately find something else to worship, because man is meant and designed for worship!  God is the motive people have for good behavior because you see very few hospitals, orphanages, relief organizations, leprosariums founded by infidels.  In India, they think that the suffering of man is caused by bad karma and you shouldn't interfere with another's karma!

We are at the point in our society where we don't know right from wrong and have lost our moral fiber because there's no moral compass and  God condemns those who call good evil and evil good (cf. Isa. 5:20).  There is an absolute standard to judge by and people do instinctively know right from wrong due to having a conscience and everyone is culpable to be blamed because of transcendent or natural law, which is above national law and even nations are subject to.  You could say that the new battle is against God and the new war of independence is from God!  People, in general, think that the Ten Commandments are obsolete and don't apply to a modern society and don't feel bound by them, free to make up their own rules as they go along to suit themselves.   As long as they can think of some reason to justify themselves and have good motives, the reason that they are doing the right thing. 

But goodness isn't defined by man, but by God and is in conformity with His nature. The basic diagnosis of man is that he does things his way and not God's way (as Isa. 53:6 says, "... we have turned every one to his own way...").  We cannot know good without knowing God, for He is the final arbiter of it and will judge us and our standards of good versus His.  Without God, Shakespeare summed up the essence of life as Macbeth mused:  "... tis a tale told by an idiot, full of sound and fury signifying nothing." If we are not in God's image, we are mere animals and glorified apes:  "Do you think we are mere animals?  Do you think we are stupid?" (Job 18:3, NLT)--teach man he is an animal and he will act like one.

"Without God, life makes no sense," according to Rick Warren!  If there is no God all things are permissible according to Fyodor Dostoevsky, and there can be no absolutes or standards to measure perfection by.  The world has nothing against religion as long as it remains privatized, but we are to spread the word and be obedient to the gospel without suppressing it--it's a command to obey not an option to consider. The implications of atheism are profound:  No judge to make us feel guilty; no lawgiver to obey; no ruler or sovereign to submit to, no creator to emulate, know, and love; no hell to shun; and no heaven to look forward to--how dismal and bleak an outlook!

Romans 1:18ff shows what transpires once man leaves God out of the reckoning.  In the final analysis, God will bless America by association again when the church repents and gets back on track fulfilling the Great Commission (not the Great Suggestion), and not when the church tries to implement sharia law or usher in the Millennial Kingdom, in order to "advance the cause of Christ" through legislation or government.   Soli Deo Gloria! 

Are You A Mary Or A Martha?

Any student of the Word recalls how Jesus gently reprimands Martha for noticing what Mary is NOT doing (instead of what she IS doing), and is in such a dither all over it, as she multi-tasks.  Martha thinks that work is more important than discipleship, spending time with the Lord, and studying the Word.  According to Jesus, Mary chose the better part, which was to avail herself of the rare opportunity to be tutored by Jesus nearly one-on-one at His feet.

It's not that prep work is not important, or that Jesus loved Martha less, but that she had her priorities wrong and should've taken advantage of the opportunity--seize the day!  Even though we must not be so heavenly minded we are no earthly good, one must love the Lord enough that it shows in our thirst for the Word.  Some people are too busy doing work for the Lord, that they spend little time with the Lord (in devotion, prayer, fellowship, worship, and the Word).

Whatever we do, ought to be in the name of the Lord (cf. Col. 3:17), both the so-called mundane and spiritual functions and whatever we do, we ought to do to the glory of God (cf. Col. 3:23). Revered theologians have said that to work is to pray, if done in God's name.  Bro. Lawrence wrote The Practice of the Presence of God to prove that even in washing dishes in a monastery, one could fellowship and enjoy God's blessing and company.  I recall the bricklayer who said, when asked what he was working on,  replied that he was building a cathedral.  Our outlook and orientation to what we do affect our fellowship and faith.

If we are so busy that we have no time for the Lord, our priorities are wrong and we need to get them aligned and in sync with God. Balance is the key--it's true that all work and no play make a dull person; one must exercise his faith and exhale after inhaling the Word.   Even the best students of the Word don't spend all their time in Bible study, but realize they must put it into practice--like James 1:22 said not to be mere hearers of the Word but does also.  We need to apply what we know, even in the mundane and realize that we are rewarded according to our works, not our faith. We are to "bear fruit in every good work," as we "increase in the knowledge of God" (cf. Col. 1:10);  2 Pet. 3:18 (CEV) exhorts us to "... grow in the grace and  knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ...."

It's not that washing dishes or cooking is unimportant, but that one should never let our busywork crowd out our time with the Lord--there comes a time of practicing what we preach and turning our creeds into deeds. There comes a time of putting our faith into practice!  Just like the saying goes:  The faith you have is the faith you show!   Like Paul appropriately said, "If any man is unwilling to work, he shouldn't eat" (cf. 2 Thess. 3:10).

Christianity is a very practical faith and not a mystical one that values people with their heads in the clouds or on cloud nine all the time, like the Eastern mystics who practice their piety before men with cloistered virtue.  Preaching a sermon is no more a divine or spiritual a task than digging ditches if both are done to the glory of God--they just represent different callings and one is judged by his faithfulness to his calling, not the level of prestige of the calling--and teachers shall receive the greater judgment. If one is God's dishwasher, he sees things in the light of eternity and lives for His glory--despite the occupation.

By way of application, we all must do some soul searching and examine ourselves whether we love to study the Word more than our daily routines or chores, and make sure we have the right priorities--would we rather do things for God or be with God? All believers are either Marthas or Marys and the choice is ours, and Jesus loves them both without partiality; however, Mary has chosen the better part. The problem with Martha was that she'd rather cook than learn from the feet of Jesus and she thinks that work is more important at that.  Never be too busy for God!  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Do We Need The Law?

"So the Law itself is holy, and the commandment is holy, righteous, and good"  (Rom. 7:12, CEV).
"All those who rely on the works of the Law are under a curse, because it is written, Everyone is cursed who does not keep on doing all the things that have been written in the scroll of the Law"  (Gal. 3:10, CEV).
"Blessed condition, freed from the Law, now I can sin all I want and still have remission!"  (Old antinomian ditty.)  [We are free to obey the Spirit of the Law, not to disobey.]
"We know that the law is good when used correctly" (1 Tim. 1:8, NLT).  

Does the Law serve a purpose?  Yes, if one uses it lawfully!  Don't desire to be a teacher of the Law or to lord it over others by putting them under the Law (cf. 1 Tim. 1:6-8).  The main usage of the Law is to make us realize we don't keep it, and to convict us of sin, for "by the Law is the knowledge of sin"  (cf. Rom. 3:20).  The Phillips renders it:  "...indeed it is the straightedge of the Law that shows us how crooked we are."  It was "for freedom that Christ set us free," and we are not to be entangled in a yoke of bondage again (cf. Gal. 5:12).   Israel had promised to keep the Law (cf. Ex. 24:3), when God expected them to beg for mercy and realize they could never keep it.

Scholars, including Martin Luther, have mentioned that the Law is a whip to drive us to Christ, a mirror to show us our real self, and a hammer to smash our self-righteousness.  The Law's Ten Commandments, known as the Decalogue, as the guide of moral principle has not been rescinded; because morality is not relative, but absolute, and doesn't change with respect to time or dispensation;  murder is always wrong with all its implications--character assassination, anger, bullying, pushing your weight around, et cetera.

There are many misuses of the Law:  Judaizers added law to grace and works to faith (Romanists follow suit today).  We are not saved by the works of the Law (cf. Rom. 3:28), but saved so that we can keep the Spirit of it; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life (cf. 2 Cor. 3:16);  we are not under any obligation to keep the Sabbath day holy as Christians, though the principle of periodic rest from our labors still stands and for regular spiritual renewal.  The Sabbath was merely a sign for Israel (cf. Ezek. 20:9-12, 20; 31:13-17; Neh. 9:12-15).

We don't judge by this precept: see Col. 2:16; Romans 14:5!  Where in the NT is the believer told to keep the Law?  For the New Covenant means that the Law is written in our hearts and we know right from wrong (cf. Heb. 10:16).  Even the pagan has the Law in his heart as a conscience (cf. Rom. 2:15).  One could argue for the keeping of the Decalogue but note that the only precept not repeated in the NT is the Fourth or the Sabbath.

The Law is merely a shadow of things to come (cf. Col. 2:17) and looks forward to being guided by the Spirit in our hearts because Christianity is not performance-based, but relationship-based.  Paul said repeatedly (cf. Rom. 13:8, 10; Gal. 5:14) that love is the fulfillment of the Law or that the Law can be summed up in love. The Law was merely our schoolmaster/tutor to show us the way and to lead us to Christ (cf. Gal. 3:23-24)--but as adults, we no longer need one and are emancipated, as it were.

We weren't given the Law to keep, but to break (cf. Rom. 5:20), for it made sin worse and aroused sin in us; people always have a tendency to violate prohibitions and to give in to temptation, not to keep regulations and rules.  As believers, we are dead to the Law and it has no power over us (cf. Rom. 6:14).  "If you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the Law" (cf. Gal. 5:18)--in fact, there's nothing more musical in God's ears than to hear a sinner realize he cannot keep God's law and to beg for mercy, because he realizes the futility of saving himself and needs God's grace.   The Law wasn't given to show us how to get saved or that we were good enough to be saved, but that we needed to be saved and couldn't save ourselves.

And so you are slaves to the one you choose to obey (cf. Rom. 6:16); the Law has no power over you (cf. Rom. 6:14) as believers set free in the Spirit of the Law.  But we still thank God for the Law, since it gave us the knowledge of sin and made us realize we are sinners.  Its purpose is not to give us the impression we're good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation!  The Law was never intended to be a guide or way of salvation, but only to show us the need for salvation.  "Now we know that the Law is good if used appropriately.  We understand this:  the Law isn't established for a righteous person but for people who live without laws and without obeying any authority.  They are the ungodly and the sinners.  They are people who are not spiritual and nothing is sacred to them..."  (1 Tim. 1:8-9, CEV).

As believers, we are no longer under the yoke of the Law, but under the yoke of God's will; Jesus said that His yoke is easy, and His burden is light (cf. Matt. 11:30).  "For Christ is the goal of the Law, which leads to righteousness for all who have faith in God"  (Romans 10:4, CEV).   In other words, Christ is the end of the Law for believers.

We are not under the Law, are we lawless?  "Sin is lawlessness."  No, we keep the Law in the Spirit.  Jesus bemoaned the fact of the Pharisees being entangled in the Law legalistically, and were neglecting the "heavier matters of the Law," which were "justice, mercy, and faith" (cf. Matt. 23:23, NLT).  The immediate purpose of the Law was to put a restraint on sin, and to convict of sin--a diagnosis of sin, not its antiseptic or panacea! The Law was never meant to be the way of salvation, but to show us our need for it!

In contrast:  the Law lays down what we must do; the gospel what God has done!  We show that we know Him by obeying His commandment; "This is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love each other as he commanded us"  (1 John 3:23, CEV.  We are bad, indeed.  But not too bad to be saved!  Rejoice that Christ kept the Law on our behalf, living for us! 

In summation, Christians live by a higher law, the law of love and this law's requirements can never be fulfilled; one can meet the demands of a law, but never pay back, earn, nor deserve the demands of love (we hold a debt of gratitude forever!)--Christ raised the bar!  "You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'--but not everything is good for you.  You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'--but not everything is beneficial'" (1 Cor. 10:23, NLT).  "You say, 'I am allowed to do anything'--but not everything is good for you.  And even though 'I am allowed to do anything,' I must not become a slave to anything" (1 Cor. 6:12, NLT).   Soli Deo Gloria! 

When God Is Silent

"He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds.  He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings"  (Job 33:14-15, NLT). "He is there and He is not silent."  (Francis Schaeffer)
"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks to us in our conscience, but shouts in our pain."  (C. S. Lewis)

God is not obliged to answer all prayers the way we want.  He reserves the right to do His will, regardless of our desires or plans.  Prayer is only for the believer, it's not a way to win over the lost by granting their desires as you pray for them--the only prayer valid for the unbeliever is his salvation, God only promises to meet the needs of His children, but not necessarily their felt-needs or wants.  Playing God or Santa Clause to the infidel or even to the carnal Christian who needs repentance doesn't fly with God.

Our prayers must be explicit and specific to leave God the opportunity to answer them; this means not being general or making requests that one cannot know whether they can or will be answered (like God bless the people in Africa!).  How are you going to find out if God ever answers such a prayer?  "God is good" to all in some ways, and to some in all ways, known as general grace, but He's not obliged to show special grace to any (or it would be justice, not grace), which results in salvation (cf. Psalm 145:9).  My rule of thumb is never to utter a prayer that its answer cannot be validated or verified.

Before one engages in big prayers, one should be proficient at the small ones--this is common sense.  For an example of my point, George Mueller recorded over 50,000 answers to prayers he had made during his life devoted to prayer.  I'm not saying you cannot pray for the impossible (Cotton Mather prayed hours a day for 20 years for revival and the Great Awakening didn't happen till the year he died!), but know that no request is too small for God and no need too great, for His love reaches out to all our needs and His omnipotence or plenipotence is never challenged by them.

When it's hardest to pray, we should pray the hardest!  We ought always to pray like it all depends on God, but do as if it all depends on us.  We are exhorted by Jesus in Luke 18:1 always to pray and never to give up or faint--to persevere!   We are never out of our league in prayer, because we have an Advocate in the Holy Spirit putting our requests into perfect, heavenly diction.  God's power is best demonstrated through weak vessels who will give Him the glory!  Never think that a prayer ministry is a small one, for there are few so inclined that it's vital to the body to have prayer warriors.  Also, remember that practicing the presence of God entails constant prayer and communion or fellowship with God.

Ending a prayer "in Jesus' name" is not a magic formula, but to remind us that we are praying God's will, not our own, and relying on Christ's merits, not ours to enter the throne of grace.  God does promise to answer a prayer agreed upon by the body of Christ (two or three gathered in His name), but the assumption is that it's in Jesus' name, to bring Him glory!  The more adept we become at prayer, the more we sense God's will and pray accordingly.

You can judge someone's prayer life (have a litmus test for it), by how in sync they are with God's will and how much they depend upon the Spirit to guide it, being sensitive to His promptings and on the same page as God.  Prayer is not a wish-list to present, but dialogue with God--the purpose of prayer is prayer, not to get our will done in heaven, but God's will done on earth.  Christ's motto was "Thy will be done," and this is the key to pleasing God and seeking His presence in prayer, not a cop-out or excuse if the prayer's not answered, and certainly doesn't indicate lack of faith.  The key to understanding prayer is to know that God has ordained prayer as the vehicle for doing His will; both the efficacy of prayer and the sovereignty of God are at work and both taught in Scripture.

By and large, God is always at work speaking through His Word and Providence, and even circumstances.  In passing let me mention an oft-quoted word to the wise:  "Satan laughs at our toiling, mocks at our wisdom, but trembles when he sees, the weakest saint upon his knees!"  To sum up, God is never silent--we need to listen up--sometimes He chooses to say "No" and teach us a lesson on His will.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Strange Teachings

"So do not be attracted by strange, new ideas..." (Heb. 13:9, NLT).
"[But] test everything that is said.  Hold on to what is good"  (1 Thess. 5:21, NLT).
"Many false prophets will rise up and deceive many"  (Matt. 24:11, NKJV).

It is often tempting to let curiosity get the best of us and to read for the sake of satisfying our quest for the unknown--to go where no man has gone before, as it were--and not with a purpose of edification and to discover the truth.  We will not find truth on the lips of deceivers, "wolves in sheep's clothing," or any who know not Lord.   Quoting Scripture doesn't prove they know the Lord, and we are to be skeptical as to the trustworthiness of any source except the Bible--which alone is inerrant and infallible.  An example in point:  Do not read some book about the Bible that cannot be recommended by someone you know or has internal evidence you are willing to accept.

Do not take their word for it that they know the Lord if there is no evidence and you will know them by their fruits.  One can never be too precautious or safe in filtering his reading and must not read just for the sake of curiosity, for curiosity killed the cat! "The fool feeds on trash; the wise are hungry for the truth" (cf. Prov. 15:14).  "For a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching.  They will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear"  (2 Tim. 4:3, NLT).

We read for a purpose (entertainment, passing the time, etc.), but curiosity is dubious.  It is better to read to be informed, gaining information and learning something new.  By all means, listen to your conscience and heed its warnings--dubious sources, mysticism, gnostic sources.  These three make up red flags that should stop you from going into uncharted territory.  Martin Luther said that to go against conscience is neither right nor safe and that is valid especially if it's enlightened by Scripture.  For example, if no one recommends it and you can't find any endorsement from known men of God, you are taking a leap of faith in reading it, because more damage may be done than good and you may be fooled by the so-called element of truth that is disguised with the abundance of deception--there is some truth in every faith, and you can be inoculated against the real thing by being immunized by error mixed with truth.

Don't be fooled because of the following:  strange teachings that you've never heard or had no one's endorsement that you trust; don't be led astray by mysticism or trusting in spiritual experiences for revelation instead of Scripture; and don't be led astray by Gnosticism or those who think they are "in the know." "For no prophecy is of any private interpretation" (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20). No one's cornered the market on truth!  Above all, obey your conscience and if you have doubts, err on the side of safety--don't try out something to see if it works, for we don't try Jesus and see if He works for us, we make a commitment to Him and there's no turning back or experimentation!

No one enters the realm of error without giving the devil an opportunity to spread his lies and we must not become partners in crime, as it were--the naive believe anything (cf. Prov. 14:15). We are guilty of opening the door that gives the devil the chance or opportunity (cf. Eph. 4:27) to poison our minds with lies--look at Eve falling for Satan's lies, that God was holding out!  There are no secrets to discover:  Freemasonry is bogus and full of lies! The "secrets things" don't belong to us, but to God (cf. Deut. 29:29).

Remember, that flirting with Satan is dangerous and once the door is opened it is hard to close because the lure of Satan's lies become all the more to beware of.   How do cults get started?  People believe the teacher who has charisma, and loses faith in Scripture as the final arbiter of truth--look at "The People's Temple" or the "cult of death" in Jonestown, Guyana, where they didn't find one Bible, because they trusted the Rev. Jim Jones as the voice of God! Jehovah's Witnesses trust in the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society organization to interpret the Bible for them and rely on its private translation and interpretation!

"Beware of empty philosophies and high-sounding ideas" (cf. Col. 2:8), but how can this be if we are not aware of the truth and what good philosophy is?  The only way to combat a secular worldview is to have a biblical worldview!  The only way to interpret the Bible correctly is to hold to principles of biblical hermeneutics.  The only way to become immune to heresy and error is to know the truth which sets us free from it and sensitizes our antennae. "You will know the truth and the truth will set you free" (cf. John 8:32).

Don't flirt with danger into uncharted waters where your conscience gives red flags.  Everything we read doesn't have to be recommended, referenced, or footnoted (it should be sound sources), but we must use sound principles in deciding what to give credence to and what to take with a grain of salt and be careful of, and not necessarily at face value.  We don't have to become scholars either to be believable, but we are still to write with credible principles based on the Word and not resort to dubious methods, e.g., mysticism, Gnosticism, misquoting Scripture, private or strange teachings.  "So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world's brilliant debaters?  God has made the wisdom of this world look foolish..." (1 Cor. 1:20, NLT).  But "I know whom I have believed..."  (cf. 2 Tim. 1:12).  Therefore, interpret experience by the Word of God, not vice versa!   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Works Religion

"They profess to know God, but they deny him by their works..."  (Titus 1:16, HCSB).
"Now someone may argue, 'Some people have faith; others have good deeds.'  But I say, 'How can you show me your faith if you don't have good deeds?  I will show you my faith by my good deeds' ... You see, his faith and his actions worked together.  His actions made his faith complete"  (James 2: 18, 22, NLT).  

There are four contradistinctions:  Works equal salvation (religion); works plus faith equals salvation (legalism); faith equals salvation minus works (antinomianism), and faith equals salvation plus works (Reformed and evangelical theology).  

It is our natural inclination to believe that our works must count for something to gain the approbation of God; however, you never know in a works religion--God doesn't grade on a curve and the only way to be saved is by grace, not merit, which works imply.   The Bible is not against works, just those done in the flesh, for man cannot please God in the flesh (cf. Rom. 8:8).  All our righteous deeds are as filthy rags or useful for nothing (cf. Isa. 64:6).

All of the works of a believer are done by letting Christ live through him and He gets the credit, as we are just vessels of honor (Isa. 26:12).  Paul, himself, would venture to boast of nothing, except what Christ had accomplished through him (cf. Rom. 15:18).  We are not saved by works, but unto works, as Eph. 2:10 says "unto good works."  We are not saved by works, but we are also not saved without them:  Paul would say that he'll show you his works by his faith; while James would tell you that he'll show you his faith by his works.  The two, are distinguished and inseparable, and they cannot be divorced.

All coins have a flip side and can be seen in a twofold manner.  Antinomians believe we are saved by faith, but that works do not necessarily follow, so they say that faith equals salvation minus works.  On the other hand, the Reformers taught that we are indeed saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone--true faith always generates good works as validation.  Having no works is equal to no faith, just like a branch without fruit--YOU SHALL KNOW THEM BY THEIR FRUITS (cf. Matt. 7:16).  Faith must have fruit, for this is the reason we are saved, and no fruit means no faith.

Many think that works are a substitute for faith, but they are the evidence of it!   The problem with some sincere people is that they are "incurably addicted to doing something for their salvation," (according to Charles Swindoll), but the work of God is to believe in Christ (cf. John 6:29).  Works are indeed important in their own right because we are judged and rewarded for them, not our faith (cf. Rom.  2:6).  There are two issues concerning do-gooders, or those enamored with good works:  some cannot do enough because they put their faith in their works, not in Christ; while others are too confident in their faith that they think they don't need good works.

The Reformed formula for salvation is that we are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone; nonproductive or dead faith doesn't save.  James says, "Can that faith save?"  It should be noted that we can only do God's work by God's power, for Christ said, "Apart from me you can do nothing"  (cf. John 15:5).  Our good deeds are meant to show our faith and to win over others as Jesus said in Matt. 5:16, ESV: "In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven."

The problems encountered with some who do good works are that you can have works without faith--but not faith without works--each must examine himself.  We all need to put our faith into action because the faith you have is the faith you show!   We turn our faith into deeds or translate creeds into deeds, you might say--seeing we are not saved by knowing a creed, but knowing a person.  We are all called into the service of our Lord, and we are not saved by our service, but unto service!  The only true measure of faith is obedience as Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."

Living the good life really amounts to abundant life in Christ, doing His will for your life, and serving in whatever capacity you are equipped to do by talent, gift, resources, opportunities, relationships, time, and circumstances.  The whole purpose of good works is that they give proof of our salvation, for without them our faith is suspect.  Theologically, faith and works are distinguished, but not separated--juxtaposed.  But works are the result, and outcome of faith, not the cause of it or part of it; we are not saved by faith and works, which is legalism, but by faith alone, but only a faith that is productive.  We do good works because we want to--not because we have to.

In summation, it boils down to the two viewpoints (Paul's and James's):  Paul teaches that works must spring from faith; James teaches that faith must be proved by works!

THEREFORE, YOU ARE NOT SAVED BY (BECAUSE OF) YOUR GOOD BEHAVIOR, BUT UNTO (FOR THE PURPOSE OF) GOOD BEHAVIOR!  TO BE BLUNT:  TRUE FAITH EXPRESSES ITSELF.  Soli Deo Gloria!