Knowing The Festal Shout

Psalm 89:15, ESV, says, "Blessed are the people who know the festal shout...."  In the NLT it renders it:  "Happy are those who hear the joyful call to worship...."   We are made to worship and will worship something or someone if not God---only God is worthy of worship and esteem and reverence (cf. Rev. 4:11).  We are hard-wired for worship, though worshiping God is unnatural for the natural man, who is not in the Spirit. When we do worship "in the Spirit" (cf. John 4:24) as commanded by Jesus we make contact or enter another dimension (God's throne room). In some ways worship is an existential, even surreal encounter, whereby God becomes real to us in an experiential way,  just like it says in Psalm 34:8, KJV,  (cf. 1 Pet. 2:3) "O taste and see that the LORD is good...." The proof of the pudding is in the eating. 

All of us need to be reminded of spiritual matters on a regular basis and touch base with God, to see if we're on the same page and in fellowship or walking in the Spirit.  Jesus commanded us to "abide in [Him]."  Worship can be considered a spiritual checkup or a spiritual workout for those who have grown lax, complacent, or need renewal in the faith and is not to be done in a lackadaisical manner, but wholeheartedly to the glory of God, as is everything we do in the name of the Lord (cf. 1 Cor. 10:31; Col. 3:17, 23).

We don't worship God passively, or vicariously, (i.e., you are not worshiping by observation of others doing it), but worship is active and involved, even demanding. Once you've experienced genuine worship you get addicted and develop a taste for it, but done in the wrong spirit (cf. Jer. 12:2; Matt. 15:8), or perfunctorily, halfheartedly, just going through the motions, or memorizing the Dance of the Pious is the same as "offering strange fire before the LORD," as did the sons of Aaron in Leviticus 10:1 (God is a God of order (cf. 1 Cor. 14:40), even in worship and proper protocol).

Worship is not to be mere lip service or lukewarm adoration and is one measure of spiritual growth.  There is no "one-size-fits-all to worship and people have different tastes and inclinations from being a traditionalist and liturgical to being demonstrative and spontaneous, but one must avoid getting in a worship rut and getting stale and complacent in one's adoration and contemplation of God:  It is not how much of the Spirit you have, but how much of you the Spirit has.

There is the so-called nod-to-God crowd that feels duty-bound to go to church, but the fact is we "get" to worship, not that we "have" to. Worship is a privilege and honor and worship leaders are to be shown respect. When you say you can worship God in the cornfield, you ignore the call to worship and to gather together in the name of the Lord (cf. Heb. 10:25), and to "worship God in the sanctuary." The importance of having the right attitude in our worship is expressed in Psalm 122:1, KJV, like this: "I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the LORD."  Church should never become blase or commonplace!  The worship experience is always a measure of our surrender and is not a measure of any spiritual gift.

With true spirituality, comes the spiritual fruit of the "sacrifice of praise" (cf. Heb. 13:15, KJV):  In fact, worship is the offering of "sacrifice of thanksgiving" (Psalm 116:17, KJV) for what God has done, and the "sacrifice of praise" for who He is:  "Enter His gates with thanksgiving, His court with praise!" (Cf. Psalm 100:4).  "I will praise God's name in song and glorify him with thanksgiving.

This will please the LORD" (Psalm 69:30-31, NIV).  The more we worship the closer we get to God in Spirit, for there's power in praise.  God "inhabits the praises of His people" (cf. Psalm 22:3). Worship and praise are a continual feast and a blessing of the presence of God--it's a transforming experience. Worship isn't informational, but formational!  "Shout to God with a voice of triumph!" (Cf. Psalm 47:1).  God is "enthroned on the praises of His people" (cf. ibid., ESV).  God thrives on praise and deserves it.

In true worship, we focus on God, and get our eyes off of ourselves! Just as the definition of an Englishman says a self-made man who worships his creator: We must give God the glory; as the phrase says: Soli Deo Gloria! (to God alone be the glory!). The book of Psalms was called the Psalter or book of praises and the Puritans hymnal was called the Bay Psalm Book, which they used in worship.  A point in fact: Psalms is the official hymnbook for private and corporate worship by tradition, as it's probably the most loved book in the Old Testament.

We must bear in mind that it's not about us, but all about Him!  The heart of worship is all about ownership and surrender because He owns us. We seek His face (cf. Psalm 27:8) and presence in worship and God is with us whenever two or three gathers together in His name (cf. Matt. 18:20) as a community of believers--we need not wonder whether God is with us or not, as did Israel in the wilderness with Moses.

Worship is consecration:  The offering of ourselves to God as a "living sacrifice."  All in all, the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of heart and a measure of it!  "Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you..."  (James 4:8, KJV).  We all observe certain worship rituals in our comfort zones and get accustomed to what suits us (however, we should venture out of them and experiment and try something new), but worship makes our fellowship and relationship with God validated as we go on to practice the presence of God!

Caveat: Only God is worthy of veneration and of paying homage to others it is idolatry.  In sum worship is a methodology and conduit to connect with the living God and touch base with the Divinity in real-time; we can worship God in whatever we do to His glory and in His name, as an example, Olympic runner Eric Liddell, from the film Chariots of Fire, said, "... [When] I run I feel God's pleasure."  Soli Deo Gloria! 

The Beatific Vision

Men have always imagined what God must be like and Christians have longed to see visions and revelations of God, known as theophanies. But no one knows what God looks like because God is Spirit (cf. John 4:24)!  Moses saw the backside of the glory of Christ, who does reveal Himself, but the Father doesn't and no man has ever seen the Father.  Our faith concerns the God who is there!

A child was asked what he was drawing in class:  "I'm drawing a picture of God!"  The child had to learn that no one can draw God, but the child answered that people will see now what He looks like. Children have an innocent faith and we are to mimic it (cf. Matt. 18:3).  Hebrews says that we do see Jesus (cf. Heb. 2:9), and we sense His presence when two or three are gathered in His name as a promise (cf. Matt. 18:20).

He indwells each of us and we can have an existential encounter with Him as we read Scripture, fellowship, worship, or pray.  Christians see the glory of God in His work on earth and will see God's glory in heaven, to our delight.  The prophets who claimed they "saw God" were seeing theophanies, and not God in His fullness.  We cannot bear to look at the sun in its brightness, much less look at the glory of God directly. That's one reason God reveals Himself propositionally and in the Word.

Christians want Christ to be seen in them and also to seek Christ being glorified.  As Paul said in Col. 1:27, "Christ in you, the hope of glory." He also boasted that Christ was glorified in him. We wait till Christ be formed in us and in our brethren as a sign of maturity.  God will never give up making us in His image and we are works in progress (cf. Phil. 1:6).

The Greek disciples came to the apostles and said they "[wanted] to see Jesus"; we have a much greater thing in that we have the Word of God and full revelation of the wisdom and knowledge of God in it--we're better off than being with Christ in person also, because we have the inner blessing of the Spirit.  The apostles said that it would suffice to see the Father, but Jesus said that to see Him was to see the Father!  All that we can know and see God is revealed in Christ!  In eternity we'll see the big picture!

The infidel doesn't see God anywhere at work, but the believer sees His fingerprint everywhere, from the smallest atom to the largest galaxy, at work.  No amount of proof will convince someone who doesn't want to do God's will or sincerely have a relationship with him; to the believer and honest seeker, there is ample evidence--no one can disbelieve due to lack of evidence!

In glory, we shall behold Him as He is and we shall be like Him too, able to take it in.  It is said that some angels always do behold the face of God and that Gabriel "[stands] in the presence of God"; we'll have more privilege than an angel!  People generally say that seeing is believing; however, believing is seeing!  Don't envy those who have seen a vision or revelation, as Jesus told Thomas: "Blessed are those who have not seen, and yet believed" (cf. John 20:29).  Jesus rebuked the Pharisees who maintained they could see but were "blind guides," in fact, the "blind leading the blind"; think how much worse it is to think you see and be blind, or not knowing you're blind!  Christ came to open our eyes and to make the blind see, and Satan has blinded the eyes of all who don't believe in Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4).

Caveat: Don't reduce God to one dimension or put Him in a box, emphasizing one aspect, like seeing Him just as: the Old, Doting Grandpa who says, "Boys will be boys;" the Kind Father; the Man Upstairs; Cosmic Killjoy; the Great Spirit; the Strict, Mean Judge; the Higher Power; or even as the Great Mathematical Mind.  Whenever we have an inadequate perception of God it's idolatry and our God is too small, thinking of Him in human terms. How big is your God, is just as important as seeing Him.  God cannot be limited, defined, or confined, and we must know that He is beyond comprehension, known as His profundity, and we will never fully apprehend His glory, nature, or essence throughout eternity ("the finite cannot contain the infinite," says the maxim).

The eyes of our heart are opened upon salvation and we can literally say we see and were blind, just like the blind man Jesus healed said, "I was blind, but now I see!"  No one can argue the fact that we have spiritual eyes enlightened and illuminated by the Holy Spirit living in our hearts. Theologians have attempted definitions of God in vain, for He cannot be described, only known, loved, and worshiped!

It is the childish faith that seeks to know God through pictures, visions, or experiences, but the mature obedient believer clings to the Word and hears God speaking His message through it; just like Francis Schaeffer wrote:  "He is there, and He is not silent!"  The problem with man is not only is he blind to spiritual truth, but spiritually hard-of-hearing and turns a deaf ear to the gospel message that he does hear.   Man isn't faithful to the God he does see and is without excuse.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

Are All Faiths Basically The Same?

"The law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ"  (John 1:17, NIV).  "What can be known about God is plain to them [people] because God has shown it to them.  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made.  So they are without excuse"  (Romans 1:19-20, ESV).
"I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen, not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else."  (C. S. Lewis)

Baha'i teaches that all religion's teachings are basically equal, and, as a symbol of their faith, they have a nine-sided temple and on the walls which says, "All religions teach the same thing about God."  We will see that all roads may have led to Rome, but not all religions lead to God, one can be sincerely wrong.   Even Secular Humanists believe in being good, but good without God--that is the evil. Yes, some people do have a reductionist philosophy of religion thinking that all that matters is that we are good because in the end result all that matters is that our good deeds outweigh our bad ones. Some people who actually regard themselves or fashion themselves as Christians embrace the notion of the Sermon on the Mount, or even say their religion is the Golden Rule--they assume this type of ethic or philosophy is the essence of the faith.

This is a simplistic approach, although good deeds are vital to prove our faith and "faith without works is dead" and cannot save, and Paul said that all that counts is faith expressing itself through love (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV). God doesn't save us by our works, but for our works.  We are not saved by good works, but not without them either; we are saved by faith, but the kind of faith that produces works--for we are a "people zealous of good works" (cf. Titus 2:14). Superficial people do not see faith in action but only the works not realizing that the motive (cf. Prov. 16:2; 21:2) is what God sees, whether it's done for the applause of man or selfish reason.  Paul says, "I'll show you my works by my faith;"  James says, "I'll show you my faith by my good works!"  They go hand in hand.

All religions have a grain of truth and this is what's so evil; Satan mixes truth and error and there is enough error to fool and make it evil and dangerous.  There is just enough truth to lure and tempt you, and enough falsehood to fool you that it's all true.  There is an element of truth in all faiths, but this doesn't preclude the proposition that one faith is absolutely right without any error. There is just enough truth to inoculate from the real thing and make one immune to the truth.

George Lucas has come to the conclusion that all religions are true!  (It is possible that all religions could be wrong, but not all be right!)  This is a violation of the law of noncontradiction, for example, Islam teaches that Christ did not die on the cross and didn't physically rise from the dead for our sins, and Christianity does--there are many points of conflict in the religions, but in today's pluralistic thinking one accepts the fact of apparent contradiction because no one can claim to be right and tolerance is the biggest virtue. In our Postmodern era contradiction is acceptable, since we cannot know the truth anyway and all beliefs are equally valid and worthy.  Pluralism is the present-day, accepted, religious way of thinking, which means we must be tolerant of each other and get along despite others being wrong; however, some go so far as to say that no religion can be universally true and therefore we ought to be tolerant, all religions being equal.  In short, we agree to disagree and refuse to privatize our religion, making it unobjectionable to others.

Finding God is not an experiment, but a revelation leading to an encounter--He found us and holds us all accountable for that knowledge. Man is without excuse:  His problem is not that he doesn't know God exists, but that he's a sinner and separated from God and needs reconciliation--first, get right with God and man will know what God is like--we will know God.  We are responsible for the light given us and that's the problem--neglecting it:  we don't obey that!  It's not that man just knows part of the truth and that is sufficient, but that he is the problem himself and needs intervention from God--we are lost without God and alienated from Him. The problem with man is that he's unwilling and disobedient; it's a moral, not an intellectual problem:  any man who chooses God's will shall know whether Jesus is the Truth (cf. John 7:17).  Jesus often complained that people were hardened and wouldn't believe despite his miracles (cf. John 12:37).

The Hindus have a parable of six blind men touching an elephant, and each coming up with different interpretations of what God must be like because they feel a different part of the elephant. This parable assumes two falsehoods:  man is searching for God, and man has found God in the process--both are contrary to Scripture.  (It's vitally important to know God:  One Greek philosopher of antiquity said, that if he wanted to know how to live, he must know what God is like.)  The caveat is that it's not what they think!  They must realize their knowledge is limited and inadequate. And I wonder if the men knew they were feeling an elephant or God, and who informed them and why they accepted this as fact!

Man is not physically blind and our interpretations of God in various religions contradict each other and don't show that each only is part of the story. The blind men don't know there are other blind men who see differently and come to different conclusions.  We didn't find the truth, it was revealed to us supernaturally by revelation! In this scheme no one is right and no one is wrong relatively speaking and each knows only a portion of truth or nature of the elephant--how do we know no one, in reality, can feel the whole elephant? But we do know that no one is right in this parable! Why do they all have to be blind? How do we know they are?

The two self-contradictions in the parable is that we are blind men (and don't know it!), and at the same time we possess knowledge about God (that it's a real elephant and the men are blind)--you can't have it both ways!  If there were no God we would never know it, but since there is a God we naturally search for Him and want to know Him because we just know instinctively that we need Him and something is wrong with us--there is an invisible tug towards God that draws us to Him. Noteworthy is the fact that you cannot describe God, but you can make Him known, which negates the parable--can you know a tusk, a trunk, a leg, an ear, or what have you? Were these men so naive as to think God wasn't invisible and couldn't be felt, comprehended, or put in a box as one-dimensional?

Satan has "blinded the minds of them that believe not" (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4). Jesus is in the business of opening our eyes and we can see the proof in tasting the pudding:  "Taste and see that the LORD is good!" (Cf. Psalm 34:8).  With the limited knowledge of man, we need supernatural communication to us or revelation.  But how we do know for sure they are all touching the same elephant, or even an elephant at all, without supernatural revelation from God, unless they have faith? 

We are assuming that each man only discerns a part of the truth of the elephant's nature with no collusion, and we know something they don't--it's a real elephant!  How do we know the blind men didn't coordinate and communicate with each other to come to a consensus or that there was a third party intervening? The analogy is so weak only the naive would believe it.  It would seem the only way to arrive at truth is to learn to study with all the blind men!

We are not relying on some one's experience but on divine revelation!  One notable contrast from reality is that we are not trying to find God and cannot know God apart from revelation; God found us and revealed Himself.  It is true that there is truth in each religion, but this parable assumes no one has full knowledge or that God hasn't revealed it (would a loving God let us be totally deceived?). Are we all blind men?  But the Bible posits inspiration with internal attestation. Jesus came to show the way and open our eyes. We would realize that we are in the image of God who is no elephant, but someone we relate to and communicate with.

This is not the right way to fathom God--by trusting blind men or being blind!  Jesus said that if the blind lead the blind, both will fall into the ditch!  Men are limited and cannot ultimately be trusted to convey truth--we need revelation from God not inspiration or experience of man. Without any objective source and ultimate truth, how do we know any of the blind men (as founders of faiths) know anything or are credible, reliable, and honest in their discoveries--we have the word of Christ the incarnation of God as one who does know the truth and is a credible source of revelation.

To know the truth we need the objective analysis and observation of someone who knows it and can reveal it to us faithfully--i.e., Christ, who is the Way, and this is not "imperialism."  The parable assumes we know something the blind men don't, and that no one knows the full story or can discover the truth.  In short, the parable only shows that we are justified in relying on the revelation of Truth with a capital T itself, Jesus Christ.

Some say that it is arrogant to proclaim Christ as the only way and all other ways to God are wrong. A. W. Tozer said that Christ is "not one of many ways to God, nor the best way, but the only way!"  It would be egotistical for us to think we are right and everyone else wrong about God and there is only one way if it was because we said so, but Christ is the one who said this and He has the credentials. Truth is by definition absolute and intolerant of error. Christians believe in absolute truth, not truth being relative or changing to a given situation.  We believe we can know for sure, and there is certainty.

Jesus said that who is of the truth will listen to Him, for He is the personification of truth and came to bear witness of the truth (cf. John 18:37).  His personal claim in John 14:6 says, "I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life," is one of absolute value and implies the existence of absolute truth and one way to know it.  The converse of absolute truth is not valid however:  There exists a grain of truth in every belief system, including all secular worldviews, and that is the danger; there is no such thing as pure evil, because evil is a distortion and perversion or lack of good and is dependent on it and wouldn't exist apart from it.

There is a uniqueness to Christianity in that it is a faith of grace and that heaven is not earned nor deserved, but a free gift.  We don't lift ourselves up by our own bootstraps and Christianity is not a do-it-yourself proposition.  We are not self-made men who give ourselves the credit for the change that takes place in our lives.  Christ changes lives, but it's not just about turning over a new leaf but getting a new life with Christ in charge.  Christ is still in the resurrection business and no one is too much of a challenge or problem for him as a work-in-progress.

Only in Christianity can we know for sure that we will go to heaven--all other religions leave you in doubt as you wonder if your good deeds will outweigh your bad ones.  In religion, the theme says, "Do!" In Christianity, the theme says, "Done."  We both believe in works, but religion says work "in order that," while Christianity says work "therefore."  We do good works out of gratitude because we want to, not because we have to.

There are so many ways that Christianity is unique in that one can see that it's not a typical religion with a solution to man's problem.  We are not reaching out to God or up to God, but He is condescending and reaching out to us in grace and mercy.  In Christianity we have a relationship with God and know Him, we don't just believe He exists.  Only in our faith can one communicate with God and know Him on a personal basis. Any religion will change you or reform you, but only Christianity can renew you from the inside out, and give you a new start. Many religions teach a God, but none but Christianity posits a personal God that we can know individually one-on-one. Christianity is not a credo to adhere to, an ethic to live by, nor a philosophy to embrace, but a person to know and love; we aren't satisfied just knowing God exists!

Man's dilemma is the problem of sin, not that he denies God or needs enlightenment--he needs salvation and deliverance from the power of sin over his life, not education or to be informed, but transformation.  In the final analysis, all religions see man as having a problem and needing "salvation," but only Christianity adequately and satisfactorily, categorically, and unequivocally answers that dilemma once and for all without a doubt and no guesswork or conjecture, but with certainty and assurance. The Truth is knowable if one diligently seeks (cf. John 8:32) for it, but the problem is that man has rebelled against what he does know and he has no cop-out or excuse!   Soli Deo Gloria!  

God Works In Mysterious Ways

"Truly, O God of Israel, Our Savior, you work in mysterious ways" (Isaiah 45:15, NLT).
"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent?  or where were the righteous cut off?  (Job 4:7, KJV--Eliphaz to Job).  

God brings good times as well as bad times (cf. Isaiah 45:7, NLT).  "I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things."  (Isaiah 45:7, ESV). God "doesn't willingly grieve or afflict the children of men" (cf. Lam. 3:33, ESV). Job questioned God's justice after his suffering and God never explained Himself to him, but only humbled him by revealing Himself to bring him to repentance.  Jesus was asked if a disaster that happened was because the victims were eviler than others, but Jesus admonished them to repent lest they likewise perish.  Just because someone is suffering we are not to conclude that he is being punished by God.

Job was written to partly answer why the godly suffer, but there is no complete answer to this dilemma and we are left with the challenge to trust God for who He is and His providence working for the overall good in the end (cf. Rom. 8:28).  They ask why does evil happen to good people? There are no good people!  The question might as well be re-phrased, "Why does good happen to evil people?"  Because Jesus said that only God is good!  God is the source of all good (cf. James 1:17) and evil is just the perversion, waste, and shortchanging of good, or evil under the guise of good--humanism is merely goodness without God in the equation.  Yes, one might well echo the words of the famed hymn by William Cowper:  "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform."

Job was told by Zophar in Job 11:7, ESV, "'Can you find out the deep thing of God?...'"  As the Latin phrase goes:  "finitum non capax Infinitum."  This means the finite cannot grasp or contain the infinite!  The KJV asks if we canst "by searching find out God." The answer is an emphatic "No." Caveat:  God is too wise to make a mistake, too kind to be cruel, and too deep to explain Himself, a sage has observed. God doesn't owe us an explanation and isn't accountable to us; contrariwise, we owe Him an explanation and are accountable to Him!  We must not be armchair quarterbacks and second-guess God!  We must expect trouble in this life:  "Man who is born of a woman is few of days and full of trouble"  (Job 14:1, ESV).  "Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all" (Psalm 34:19, ESV).

We must be encouraged to continue in the faith and to bear our cross, which pales in comparison with Christ's passion, for "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22, ESV).  Remember that trials, tribulations, temptations, sufferings, tests, and adversities must inevitably come; however, Christ will be with us as we pass through the waters and the fire (cf. Isaiah 42:2).  "[W]e rejoice in our sufferings," according to Romans 5:3, ESV.  Remember, Christ didn't exempt Himself from any type of suffering but suffered in all similar manners and yet without sin (cf. Heb. 4:15).  Christ isn't asking us to do anything He didn't do Himself!

We must not ever judge victims as being somewhat less worthy, holy, or righteous than us and believe they deserve what befalls them, as if they were suffering karma or the natural consequences of evil as Job's comforters assumed of him:  "As I have seen, those who plow trouble and sow iniquity reap the same"  (Job 4:8, ESV).  They told him that no one innocent ever perished!  Their presupposition was that the only reason trouble comes is because one is not right with God; God blesses the good and punishes the evil.  Their calculus was an oversimplification, for they had not reckoned God's goodness into the equation and His profundity, that we cannot figure God out or put Him into a box.

One reason evil exists is that we see good in its contrast.  God works evil into good and turns the wrath of man into His glory (cf. Psalm 76:10). Why does He work with evil?  Because there's so much of it to work with!   God can take the most diabolical events and turn them into good results, and we must not break faith in God that He knows best and what He is doing.   Look at what Joseph said, "You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good" (cf. Gen. 50:20).   Acts 2:23, ESV, says that Jesus was "delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God."  Someday Jesus will answer all our questions and we will know even as we are known (cf. John 16:23, ESV, "In that day you will ask nothing of me....").   Soli Deo Gloria!

Following Christ

Just "as you have received Christ Jesus as Lord, so walk in Him [as Lord!]" (cf. Col. 2:6).  We are to walk in fellowship and in the truth, as "the truth is in Jesus" (cf. Eph. 4:21). The whole concept of our ethics in Christ is to follow Christ in discipleship, taking up our cross we bear, deny ourselves, and follow on to know Him as Lord and Savior.  We are to follow the example of pious believers and teachers and consider the outcome of their faith.  The faith is not so much imitation as inhabitation! We turn over a relinquished life at salvation, live an exchanged life, and enjoy a substituted life while we surrender constantly to His will, and walk in fellowship.  The Christian life is not knowing a creed, but a person.

We don't need to get educated or enlightened but transformed by the Word's power to change lives.  We shall know the truth that shall set us free, by growing in Christ and believing God, not just believing in God. Abraham believed God and it was counted unto righteousness!   Lots of believers think some saints have a surplus of the Spirit or a monopoly on His grace, but all Christians are anointed and have the fullness of the Spirit.  It's not how much of the Spirit we have, but how much of us the Spirit has.  No one has cornered the market on the gifts of the Spirit and doesn't need the body to complete the ministry and mission of the church.

Two believers can walk arm-in-arm without seeing eye-to-eye on every issue!  It is important to look for commonalities, instead of division and areas of dispute.  No one can follow Christ solo or as a spiritual Lone Ranger or lone wolf!  All Christians are under authority through the body of Christ and no one has the right to throw his weight around or lord it over the flock.  The body is in it together and must learn to interact and grow as a body corporately, as well as individually.

Do good deeds in the Spirit (we are a people "zealous of good deeds" per Titus 2:14), and not because you're a do-gooder or trying to gain the approbation of God by good behavior.  The whole summation and goal of discipleship is to follow Christ--to know Him and make Him known in a relationship of love.  The Christian walk is a matter of faith, but anyone can say he has faith, but faith isn't something you have as much as you see in action:  Paul would say I'll show you my works by faith, and James would say I'll show you faith by works.  Paul said to the Galatians that the only thing that counts is "faith expressing itself through love" (cf. Gal. 5:6, NIV).

The only test of faith is obedience per Heb. 3:18-19!  Oswald Chambers said that the value of spiritual life isn't measured by ecstasies, but by obedience; Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  They are correlated and go hand in hand, not to be divorced.  Faith without works is a guise and not the real thing, but a dead faith that cannot save; the Reformers taught the formula:  "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

We must validate our faith by a Christian testimony and life of good works (we are saved unto good works, not because of them).  We are not saved by works, but not without them either--our faith is manifest only in obedience, for Christ said that, if you love Him, you will obey Him (cf. John 14:21).
Soli Deo Gloria!

Salvation Is Of The Lord, Period!...

The phrase that salvation comes from [or is "of"]  the Lord is repeated several times in Scripture: Jonah 2:9; Psalm 3:8; Psalm 37:39; Prov. 21:31.  Also, in view of Rom. 1:17, (cf. Heb. 10:38; Gal. 3:11; Hab. 2:4), which said the "just shall live by faith"  (i.e., the birth-text of the Reformation), Martin Luther had a spiritual wake-up call from his dogmatic slumber and instigated the Reformation by nailing his Ninety-five Theses on the door of the Wittenberg Castle Church on Oct. 31, 1517.

These verses are the whole quintessence, synopsis, and compendium of salvation doctrine and all we need to know, if apprehended--it is a matter of God's work on our behalf alone (monergistic), and not a cooperative venture (synergistic). There are only three possibilities for salvation:  of man alone; of man jointly with God; and of God alone! We don't contribute some pre-salvation effort to our salvation, but only receive it in faith as a done deal--fait accompli.  Jesus said, "It is finished," on the cross or "tetelestai" in Aramaic, meaning that it was completed on the cross and we could add nothing to it.

Man is incurably addicted to accomplishing his salvation and doing something: if we had to do something, we'd fail!  Salvation is by grace alone (sola gratia), meaning we don't add works; in Christ alone (soli Christo), meaning we don't do a work with Christ; and God alone gets the glory (Soli Deo Gloria).  Titus 3:5 says that we don't merit our salvation: Grace is something we can't earn, payback, or deserve.  Sola fide means we are saved by faith alone:  Faith is the instrumental means of our salvation and is not meritorious, being a gift.   If God had to save us due to our faith and was obliged to justify us, it wouldn't be grace, but justice.  God doesn't save us because we are ready for salvation, or even worthy of salvation; we don't prepare ourselves for it.

God elects us unto faith, which is a gift according to multiple verses (cf. 2 Pet. 1:1) and we believe through grace (cf. Acts 18:27).  The fallacious and erroneous prescient view (Romans 8:29-39 militates against it) is that it holds that God elects us because of faith or foreseen faith--that would be merit.  Our election is unconditional as is His unconditional love for us "according to the pleasure of His goodwill" (cf. Eph. 1:5).  In short, we're "elect according to the foreknowledge of God" and "according to His purpose and grace" (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9). Left to ourselves, none of us would've chosen Christ! "Many are called, but few are chosen" (cf. Matt. 22:14).  Our salvation as our ultimate destiny is in God's hands because no one is inclined to come to Him but must be wooed.  "As many as were appointed unto eternal life believed"  (cf. Acts 13:48). "... The elect obtained it, but the rest were hardened"  (Rom. 11:7, ESV).

When we say salvation is "of the Lord," (monergistic) we mean that no works of the flesh are prerequisite--faith is not a work or it would be meritorious salvation.  In a works salvation, you never know how much is enough and you have to keep trying without ever getting any peace and rest.  The only way to be assured of salvation is to have it solely from God and not a joint venture or cooperative work (synergistic).  This is where grace makes Christianity unique because it makes possible the full assurance of salvation in the here and now or in real time and in light of eternity.  Soli Deo Gloria!

But God Is Faithful

"No distrust made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised"  (Rom. 4:20-21, ESV).

"... [For] I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that Day what has been entrusted to me"  (2 Tim. 1:12, ESV). 

God is faithful, even when we aren't.  "... [Great] is [God's] faithfulness" (Lam. 3:23, NIV). We are invited to "feed on His faithfulness" (cf. Psalm 37:3).   The same verse in the ESV says to "befriend faithfulness."  Likewise, the HCSB says to "cultivate faithfulness."  David says, "...your faithfulness [reaches] to the skies" (Psalm 36:5, NIV).  Will you make known His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 89:1)? Will you declare His faithfulness (cf. Psalm 40:10, NIV)?   Shall it be declared in the grave (cf. Psalm 88:11)?  "... [With] my mouth I will make known thy faithfulness to all generations"  (Psalm 89:1, KJV).  God is known by His faithfulness:  "Your faithfulness surrounds you";  "You are entirely faithful" (Psalm 89:8, NIV, NLT).

Our security in Christ depends on God's faithfulness, not ours: "If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself"  (2 Tim. 2:13, KJV).  He betroths us to Himself in faithfulness (cf. Hos. 2:20).  We endure in Christ and overcome because of God's faithfulness: He preserves as we persevere!  We are "kept by the power of God" (cf. 1 Pet. 1:5). For we can do nothing apart from Christ (cf. John 15:5).  God gets the glory for our salvation.

"The righteous man shall live by his faithfulness" (cf. Rom. 1:17; Gal. 3:11; Heb. 10:37-38; Hab. 2:4).  We must be careful not to divorce faithfulness from faith!  They go hand in hand and come as one package--the righteous live by faith and go from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:17), ever-increasing in faithfulness.  Never divorce the two, for what God has joined together, let not man put asunder (cf. Mark 10:9).  If we are not faithful, we lack faith, and the flip side is valid also:  if we are lack faith, we'll be unfaithful!  We will hear Jesus commend us:  "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!"  We are not rewarded according to our faith if it's not put into action and applied.  We are rewarded according to the faithfulness we exercise in doing works by faith and as a result and byproduct of faith (cf. Rom. 2:6).

Faith must produce good works, and good works must result from a living and saving faith, or the faith is bogus (as James 2:20 says, "...[Faith] without works is dead").  The Reformed formula was: "We are justified by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone" (which would be antinomianism, or libertinism and lawlessness).  Not having good works to validate your faith makes it suspect!  You could say that faith and faithfulness can be distinguished, but not separated; they never are independent of each other, but work as a team. Faith is merely the flip side of faithfulness!  In the Hebrew, there is one word used for faith and faithfulness--Hab. 2:4 is translated with both words: "The righteous shall walk [live] by faith [by faithfulness]."

The point is that saving and genuine faith expresses itself (you see it in action!); the saints of old all pleased God by their acts of faith (Heb. 11:8, NLT, says, "...it was by faith that Abraham obeyed when God called him..."); obedience is the true measure of faith, not experiences, feelings, or ecstasies. God is not looking for our achievements, but our obedience! He wants us, not our works are done in the flesh!  Lip service and head belief or intellectual assent don't cut it as the real thing, God wants reliance, trust, and obedience to the Jesus as Lord--the only way "to be happy in Jesus is to trust and obey," the hymn goes!  Jesus promised that he who is faithful in little will be faithful in much to emphasize the value of faith.     Soli Deo Gloria! 

Second-guessing God

"But the LORD will speak what I will, and it shall be fulfilled without delay.  ... I will fulfill whatever I say,  ...." (cf. Ezek. 12:25, NIV).  "'But have you not heard?  I decided this long ago.  Long ago I planned it, and now I am making it happen..." (Isaiah 37:26, cf. 2 Kings 19:25, NLT).  God is no spectator in man's affairs, but, as the Westminster divines wrote, He:  "...doth uphold, direct, dispose and govern all creatures, actions, and things, from the greatest even to the least, by his most wise and holy providence...." "No one can tell him what to do, or say to him, 'You have done wrong'"(Job 36:23, NLT).  "... Who can say to him, 'What are you doing?'" (cf. Job 9:12, NIV). 

God doesn't owe us an explanation for His sovereignty.  Even if God were to explain Himself, He is too deep for us to understand.  God is all-wise and knows best and also good.   God is not accountable to us, but we are to Him!  If God were comprehensible, He wouldn't be worthy of worship and not infinite. This is the profundity of God--there's always more to Him than we apprehend; He boggles the mind!  We cannot ever put God in a box and limit Him to our dimensions--obviously, He lives outside our four dimensions, since He created all four.  Martin Luther wrote Erasmus:  "Your thoughts of God are too human!" Our God is not too small for us!  How big is your God?  Even the dimension of time is a corollary of space and matter, for God created the time-space continuum (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9, Titus 1:2; Gen. 1:1).

"...' It will all happen as I have planned.  It will be as I have decided ... who can change his plans? When his hand is raised, who can stop him?'" (Isaiah 14:24, 27, NLT).  No one can challenge Him as to what He is doing (Job 9:12, NLT, says, "...Who dares to ask, 'What are you doing?'"). Nebuchadnezzar (Dan. 4:35, NLT) concluded:  "...No one can stop him or say to him, 'What do you mean by doing these things?'" God has no Plan B or contingency exit strategy and cannot fail!  That is where faith comes in:  We must accept the fact that He knows best and will bring about what is good for us in His will.  We will not understand everything and we are not to get curious and inquire into things that are out of our realm and domain:  Deut. 29:29, ESV, says, "'The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us...."  His decreed, hidden, secret, or sovereign will is none of our business!

We must be careful not to put God in a box or make Him one-dimensional or limited to our specs. We must not be guilty of labeling Him either.  When we fail to appreciate His sovereignty and think God owes us anything, we are limiting Him.  Certain things defy explanation and we must realize that humans are limited and that "the finite cannot contain [or grasp] the infinite" (Finitum non capax Infinitum).  God is not the kind Grandfather who'll let boys be boys!  He intervenes in the affairs of men and directs our activities.  Jer. 10:23, NLT, says,  "I know LORD, that our lives are not our own.  We are not able to plan our own course. Prov. 20:24, NLT, says, The LORD directs our steps, so why try to understand everything along the way?"  Prov. 16:9, NLT, says, "We can make our plans, but the LORD determines our steps."

A prayer is an act of faith, putting it into practice, and entrusting everything to God's sovereignty: We must pray as if everything depends on God, but work as if everything depends on us, as they say. Consequently, we must live like God is in charge and we have accepted this as fact and reality so that we are never in rebellion or opposition to His perfect will.  We don't have the power to frustrate God's will or sovereignty, and our freedom doesn't limit it either.  God can work His will with or without our cooperation, but we are esteemed by God to be vessels of honor.  Like Paul said, "I venture not to speak of anything, but of what Christ has accomplished through me" (cf. Rom. 15:18).

We can thwart God's preceptive will, (written and revealed), but not His directive, hidden, secret, or decreed will.  "...For who can resist his will?"  (Rom. 9:19, ESV).  We are not to resign ourselves to fate and say, "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be," like Doris Day sang, but trust that God has a purpose for everything that happens (cf. Prov. 16:4).  True faith adheres to God through thick and thin, come whatever may. Even so-called calamity comes from God and the bad times as well as the good times (cf. Isaiah 45:7; Amos 3:6; Lam. 3:38).  And so, let the chips fall where they may and when the chips are down we must still trust in Christ our Rock.

Remember, God's decreed will is none of our business and when we judge His will, we violate His justice, for He is the moral center of the universe and judges us.  We must conclude with Benjamin Franklin that "God governs in the affairs of men."  And realize God's sovereignty over all as John Wycliffe concluded in his tenet:  "Everything comes to pass of necessity."  The same was true of what Joseph said to his brothers:  "...[You] meant evil against me, but God meant it for good..."  (cf. Gen. 50:20). He found out that "Everything works together for good to them that love God, to them that are called according to His purpose," (cf. Romans 8:28). 

God even makes the wrath of man to bring Him praise (cf. Psalm 76:10).  God can work through the most diabolical of events, for He was in control at the crucifixion (cf. Acts 2:23; 4:28).  It is not fortuitous that Christ died on Passover to be our Paschal lamb!  Indeed, a full appreciation of the providence of God leads to a walk by faith trusting and thanking God in all things coming to pass.   Soli Deo Gloria!  

"Speak, Your Servant Is Listening"

"... 'Listen to me, you wise men.  Pay attention, you who have knowledge'"  (Job 34:1, NLT).
"Now listen to me if you are wise. Pay attention to what I say" (Job 34:16, NLT). 
"Your words were found, and I ate them, and your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart..." (Jer. 15:16, ESV).

Samuel was advised to assure God he was listening under the condition that God would surely speak and he was God's servant. God speaks to His servants!   Samuel was all ears, so to speak, and was attentive to God's message from then on: "Speak, for your servant hears."   For at Shiloh God revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word (cf. 1 Sam. 3:21)--the primary channel of communication.  People often have a failure to communicate with God and turn a deaf ear to Him; however, God says that "to hearken is better than the fat of rams,"  (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22).  We must always be ready and have the communication link open to God in prayer, as we walk with God and "practice the presence of God", like Brother Lawrence, a seventeenth-century Carmelite monk, wrote about and experienced.

 When we are in sync with God and in tune with His will He speaks through the Word, which is exalted above all (cf. Ps. 138:2) and we rejoice as one who finds great spoil (cf. Ps. 119:162).  Jeremiah rejoiced at God's Word and delighted in what he read as you might call an "Aha!" moment (cf. Jer. 15:16).  God hasn't retired dreams or visions (cf. Joel 2:28), but He chooses to teach us and speak through His Word primarily.  Jesus said that His sheep hear His voice and those who are of the truth hear Him (cf. John 10:27, 37).  We learn to listen up as God speaks to us and is ready, no matter the means of communication.

Just because we have the written Word doesn't preclude God's audible voice today--God can speak through an air vent or duct if He so chooses, but this is highly unusual. "For God does speak--now one way, now another --though no one perceives it--in a dream, in a vision of the night when deep sleep falls on people as the slumber in their beds, e may speak in their ears and terrify them with warnings," (cf. Job 33;14-16, NIV).   The command is given to Israel which became their credo was called the Shema or "to hearken" in English (cf. Deut. 6:4).  We are not to get mystical and seek experiences with our emotions or extra-biblical revelation.  C. S. Lewis said, "God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains.  It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  We can grow spiritually hard-of-hearing and need to be disciplined by God to get back on track and in His will.

God promises that His Word "will not return void " and He will honor it wherever it goes (cf. Isaiah 55:11).  Sometimes we are the ears and voice of God and He uses us to get through to stubborn, prodigal, or wayward children.  The Bible is to be taken seriously, as also Bible study and church preaching and it's not entertainment, a way to pass time or just something to do in our boredom.  To turn away from hearing God makes our prayers an abomination (cf. Prov. 28:9).  We are to pay attention to God's plumb line of our spiritual progress and not grieve the Spirit or ignore the Word.  We have the privilege of interpreting the Word, but with this comes the responsibility of doing it right.

No one has a monopoly on wisdom and no prophecy is of any private interpretation (cf. 2 Pet. 1:20); God will not reveal some far-fetched revelation to us from some isolated passage that He shows no one else or belongs only to you.  There is safety in the multitude of counselors and he who heeds advice is wise, not thinking he knows it all or is wise in his own eyes.

Prayer is a two-way link with God, whereby we boldly enter His throne room (cf. Heb. 4:16) and into His dimension and God will speak to us in that inner voice if we listen (cf. Isaiah 30:21, "You shall hear a voice behind you saying, this is the way, walk in it").  We are all called to be listeners and sometimes listening is a greater gift than speaking and someone may need a sympathetic ear.  We can tell them, "I hear you!"  We should be all ears and readily offer love by listening. Jesus told John that whoever has an ear to hear, should hear what the Spirit says to the churches.  If we don't listen, God will harden our hearts and we will become insensitive and stubborn (cf. Isaiah 6:10).

God can speak through anyone He chooses and we are vessels of honor and can be used:  Augustine heard the voice of a child say, "Take and read, take and read."  This led to his conversion and he was convinced God spoke through that child to his inner need.  Remember, it's an honor to be used by God and be ready to offer a listening ear and say, "I'm all ears," to anyone in need.  We are always vigilant and prepared to obey God's voice no matter the message:  Do you hear what I hear? or just what you want to hear?    Soli Deo Gloria!  

Who Moved The Stone?

"For he has set a day for judging the world with justice by the man he has appointed, and he proved to everyone who this is by raising him from the dead"  (Acts 17:31, NLT).  

A huge stone was rolled in front of the tomb and soldiers were set to guard it till the third day, for the Pharisees knew Christ had foretold his resurrection and they were given permission to make it as secure as they knew how.  This stone would've required several men to move it and couldn't have been done in the middle of the night secretly without waking the guards if they were sleeping--but they would be in trouble for sleeping on duty--punishment could be death.  The soldiers testified that someone stole the body while they were asleep!  Never in the history of jurisprudence has the testimony of someone been accepted from while they were asleep.

There is much circumstantial evidence that Christ rose from the dead:  the graveclothes were undisturbed as if Christ had passed through them in spirit (who would steal a body without clothes?);  the most convincing proof is that the body was gone--how does one explain that?  Everyone knew where the tomb was and could've verified this fact--Christ was missing in action!  If you could produce a body the movement of Christianity would be stopped!  Look at all the martyrs as witnesses, and the record of the apostles, as eyewitnesses:  People will die for what they believe is true, but not for a known lie!

Note that Christ was seen by eyewitnesses who went to their deaths testifying of their veracity and truth--they could've saved their own skins by admitting a hoax--one usually tells the truth when facing death!  Note that they were in a position to know the truth, and not just fanatics convinced by some tall tale, myth or fable!   But the biggest miracle of all is the transformation of the lives of the apostles from demoralized followers to bold witnesses not afraid of death anymore.

Other circumstantial evidence is amazing and cannot be explained away so easily:  the changing of the worship day to Sunday or the Lord's Day; the rise of the church; the way the disciples turned the world upside down; the miracle of the New Testament and its historical proofs and accuracy.  Many theories have been advanced that attempt to explain away the resurrection:  the swoon theory that Christ didn't actually die (this is debunked by the fact that no one could have survived in a cold tomb half-dead and then convince the followers that he conquered death and give them hope of eternal life); the wrong tomb theory is debunked because everyone knew where it was and could've verified or debunked the testimony of the apostles; the theory that the apostle or even the authorities stole the body is not worth refuting because they had no motive!  The authorities and the Jews were trying to quash the rumors and refute their spirited preaching!

Paul preached the resurrection at Mars Hill in Athens where intellectuals gathered and it was the philosophical capital of the known world and they scoffed at the idea of a resurrection, but some believed!   People were skeptical back then just as they are today!  Luke opens his book of Acts saying that there are "many infallible proofs" of the resurrection!  Thomas Arnold, a famous historian, said that no fact in history is better attested than the resurrection.  Finally, you can "taste and see that the Lord is good" and find out for yourself:  I don't have to prove it to you because you can experience Christ personally and find out for yourself!

God is no man's debtor and will authenticate Himself to any honest seeker of truth who doesn't close his mind and searches out the evidence.  In fact, according to evidence experts from jurisprudence, if the facts of the resurrection were presented to any objective jury in the world, it would conclude and render the verdict that Christ actually did rise from the dead--there's no evidence to the contrary!  If you examine the evidence with an open mind you will be convinced, even against your will because it cannot be denied as fact.

The only way to deny without committing intellectual suicide is to have the presupposition that Christ couldn't have risen from the dead and that the historical records are thus inaccurate and unreliable. The question of whether God can raise the dead is philosophical, not scientific, and it ultimately depends upon the veracity of the witnesses and the credibility of the records presented as evidence. Just because men don't generally rise from the dead doesn't prove that God can't do it!  All science can posit is that people don't usually rise from the dead; miracles are unusual events caused by God.

This Gibraltar of the faith is either the biggest and cruelest hoax perpetrated on mankind, or it's the most wonderful, blessed newsworthy gospel message ever heard or disseminated.   It's not a matter of faith versus reason, but which set of presuppositions you commence within your reasoning. The resurrection, according to Dr. D. James Kennedy, is arguably the best-attested fact of antiquity. "Indeed, taking all the evidence together ... there is no historic incident better or more variously supported than the resurrection of Christ.  Nothing but the antecedent assumption that it must be false could have suggested the idea of deficiency of the proof of it" (Canon B. F. Westcott, a scholar at Cambridge).  One-time historical events are not subject to scientific verification or scrutiny! Indeed,  His cruel death was not the end of Him!   Soli Deo Gloria!