Applying Science And/Or Philosophy To Apologetics

KNOWING THERE IS A GOD FROM KNOWN FACTS OF SCIENCE AND PHILOSOPHY

"Do you know the laws of the universe?  Can you use them to regulate the earth?"  (Job 38:33, NLT).  
"The Cosmos is all that is or ever was or ever will be." --Carl Sagan, deceased humanist professor of astronomy at Cornell University and author of the book and TV series Cosmos.  
"God doesn't play dice with the universe."  "The universe appears to be some vast mathematical equation."--attributed to Albert Einstein 
"Science without religion is lame; religion without science is blind."  --Einstein 
NB:  THOSE WHO THINK SCIENCE IS IN CONFLICT WITH SCRIPTURE UNDERSTAND NEITHER!  

There have been many arguments to attempt proof of God; however, there's no sure-fire way, proving without a shadow of a doubt, with some "smoking gun" evidence, that cannot be denied, forcing one to believe either way against one's will, but when combined with the preponderance of the evidence (that there is or isn't a God) one can exercise faith in the direction of choice.  It takes faith both ways and all knowledge is contingent on taking some leap of faith and accepting something you cannot prove (and this applies to any field or academic discipline).

Here's my own theory that I have concluded about the existence of God to make you wonder.  I will use scientific and philosophical facts to prove religious truth. Note that to the ancient Greeks, science and philosophy had no clear-cut distinction and were considered one disciple in the pursuit of true knowledge or metaphysics.  Here's a cogent argument or rationale as an inferential argument and evidence for God's existence.  Remember, evidence and arguments are not necessarily proofs nor conclusive, they just lead one in a certain direction, and you go in that direction to make your decision.

First, there are (Newton's) Laws of Motion begging the question of how motion began with the first movement (namely, his First Law, known as inertia) in physics (i.e., a body at rest tends to stay at rest and a body in motion tends to stay in motion without an input of energy; who started it all?); secondly, there's the Heisenberg Principle of Uncertainty, stating that you cannot simultaneously determine the location and speed of an object in motion, which means you can only theoretically see it at a position because it's motion would have to be stopped--implying the universe is not completely mechanical; thirdly, the question unanswered philosophically or scientifically about how thought can influence motion, or physical things (like our body) when thought takes up no space and physical things do; finally, there's a law of science that nothing comes from nothing or can create itself as a corollary (ex nihilo, nihil fit, or Latin for "out of nothing, nothing comes"), and so there couldn't ever be a time with nothing existing!  Nothing existing would be unthinkable!  

Is mind over matter and does it precede matter?  We know that something other than matter and energy exists in the real world and that is intelligence.  Some atheists erroneously posit that time plus matter, plus energy, plus space with infinite time can make anything possible!  But can one argue matter has power over mind because physical things influence our thinking?   We are a dualistic being of body joined to the soul. Both are problems without believing in God as the sole primary cause of the universe (Causa prima in Latin).

The philosophical truths that everything that had a beginning has a cause and that infinite regress is impossible also apply.  For instance, the universe had a beginning and came into being at some point in the past about 15 billion years ago at the so-called Big Bang, according to astronomers; thus it had a cause and someone or something set it into motion or dialed, measured, and fixed the universal constants and laws that the whole universe is ruled by.  If there was a beginning, there was a beginner--it's only logical!  If there is a cause, there must be a first cause, by the same token (remember, there's no infinite regress, which only would compound the problem indefinitely for eternity).

All events and objects in space and time had a beginning, but don't jump to the conclusion that everything had a beginning; that would be fatal reasoning, and then there would be a time when nothing existed. God is outside space and time, which He created and controls!  And logic states the truth that out of nothing, nothing comes (ex nihilo, nihil fit)!  (Remember, if ever there was a time with nothing existing, we would have nothing now!)  If the universe were without beginning, on the other hand, you are saying it's infinitely old, and if that were so:  wouldn't everything be perfect by now?  The Bible stated in 2 Tim. 1:9 and Titus 1:2 that time had a beginning long before famed physicist Stephen Hawking wrote his book A Brief History of Time (we know there was a beginning of time because it's a corollary of space and matter).

We are trapped in the four dimensions of the time/space continuum.  Science now reasons and concludes that time had a beginning at the Big Bang and the clock started ticking, (with someone pulling the trigger, obviously).  Nothing can create itself, which would violate the law of noncontradiction, which is the first law of being and its extension being the law of causality, or cause and effect.  Christian theologians knew this all the time!

Now the paradox I propose is the one of motion (and there is no scientific definition of motion as one of the eternal mysteries that remains unsolved since antiquity).  Before you go from point A to point B you must reach the half-way mark (this paradox has been called Zeno's paradox, a Greek philosopher of antiquity).  Now note that it's impossible to know when you have reached the half-way point due to Heisenberg's Principle of Uncertainty.  And before you reach that half-way point you have to reach the half-way point of that or the quarter point, then the eighth point, ad infinitum! That's why there's no clear-cut definition of motion.  You could never move if you had to keep on reaching a mid-point to end up at the endpoint!  But movement is common sense!

Now we know there is no such thing as infinite regress by this conclusion, as proof now; we do see motion in action, despite our logic telling us motion is impossible. We just don't understand everything we see and feel or reason!  There had to be someone or something that put it into motion! Who started the so-called ball rolling?  There could be no motion with infinite regress!  

Bingo! God is known as the sole primary cause of the universe and also the First Cause (by Aristotle); this means He must put it into motion as the Prime Mover, Unmoved Mover, or Uncaused Cause. The principle is that nothing can be its own cause and that nothing just happens by itself.  If God had an antecedent cause, He would be trapped in the time/space continuum like we are, and would be the effect of something Himself; however He created time, matter, and space at creation; therefore, He has no cause! Either there is no motion, which seems insane and delusional, or there is no God or First Cause behind all events that happen in time. This brings new light to the opening words of Scripture:  "In the beginning God created...."  Note also God's name "I Am" could be translated "I cause to be," or I am the First Cause!

With all the intelligent input into the constants and laws of the Big Bang, such as the constant of gravity, charge of the electron the strength of the weak and strong nuclear forces, the atomic weight of a proton, etc., it only proves a Supreme Mind was behind it all, because there can be no intelligence without a mind-matter is, by nature, chaotic, and not ordered (order comes from an Orderer; design from a Designer, etc.). In the beginning, was pure energy that had no organization but was chaotic and had no order.   A point in fact:  Energy needs intelligence to be made useful and productive. 

Cosmos implies order and design and doesn't come from chaos and confusion, the normal state of energy, but we see the fine-tuned one in the cosmos. This is often called the argument from design, or teleological argument for God.  But Scripture states that logic (intelligence) and order was from the beginning:  "In the beginning was the Word (Logos or logic)..."--John 1:1); "In the beginning, God created..."--Gen.1:1.

The conclusion of the matter is that the existence of motion proves the existence of God and we can no more deny His existence than we can argue against motion and cannot prove either exists, but must have faith--our experience will be the verification, as the proof is in the pudding! You can experience and encounter God by faith ("Taste and see that the LORD is good," cf. Psalm 34:8); however, you must take a leap of faith first and this is a choice you make freely without being forced, which would be coercion or determinism--and God respects your choices.

We know, according to the Second Law of Thermodynamics or entropy, that matter isn't eternal because it's running out of usable energy and everything goes from a state of order to confusion, not vice versa, while someday there will be a heat death of the cosmos with no usable energy left: this implies there was a beginning to the universe and it cannot be eternal but must be created or caused!  Soli Deo Gloria!  

The School Of Suffering

"[F ]or he does not willingly afflict or grieve the children of men"  (Lam. 3:33, ESV).
"Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins?"  (Lam. 3:39, ESV).
"My son, do not despise the LORD's discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the LORD reproves him whom he loves, as a father, the son in whom he delights"  (Prov. 3:11-12, ESV). 
"I create the light and make the darkness.  I send good times and bad times..." (Isa. 45:7, NLT).
"But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold" (Job 23:10, NIV).  
"... But if we are to share his glory, we must also share his suffering"  (Romans 8:17, NLT).
"Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later" (Rom. 8:18, NLT).
"Who best can suffer, best can do." --John Milton

Unfortunately, some of us have to learn the hard way--the school of hard knocks. Don't call your mistakes a failure, but an education--now you know what not to do!  Experience, the trial and error method that we chalk up to a learning experience, the O.J.T. in the trenches of life, and the pitfalls of everyday life are the best of all teachers.  No one escapes life problem-free!  Aldous Huxley, no Christian himself, remarked wisely, "Experience is not what happens to you.  It is what you do with what happens to you [what happens in you!]."  They say experience is not what happens to you, but in you and what you do with it. Two persons with the same experience react differently--the same clay melts the butter, hardens the clay!

Even Jesus "learned obedience by what He suffered" (cf. Heb. 5:8). Blessed are those whom God teaches and corrects out of the Word, though (cf. Psalm 94:12; Job 5:17). Suffering is par for the course and comes with the territory--no one is exempt, for even Jesus didn't exempt Himself and requires nothing of us He didn't overcome. "For since He Himself was tested and has suffered, He is able to help those who are tested" (Heb. 2:18, HCSB).  He was tempted in like manner as us, yet without sin and we have no right to complain (cf. Lam. 3:39 above), having not resisted sin to the point of shedding of blood (cf. Heb. 12:4).

God knows how to get our attention ("He gets our attention through adversity," Job 36:15), and pain is God's "megaphone to rouse a deaf world" (C. S. Lewis) that has become spiritually hard-of-hearing.  It is inevitable that adversity, suffering, trials, tribulations, temptations,  calamities, and hardships happen to us all in order to bring us closer to God and fashion us into His image and help us relate to Him: How does a sculptor forge a horse from a slab of marble?  By removing everything that doesn't look like a horse, of course! God is chipping away at everything that doesn't look like Jesus in our sanctification. The key is that adversity and hardship build character.  If Christ led us to it, He'll lead us through it!

Jesus warned of the man who was set free from a demon and didn't fill the void with Christ, only to be filled with seven demons and become worse off than before (cf. Matt. 12:45, NLT):  "... This will be the experience of this evil generation." The problem with man is that he cannot clean up his act and needs a supernatural work of grace to echo the words of Paul: "I am what I am by the grace of God." We all have feet of clay, or a flaw not readily visible or apparent.

Even evangelist George Whitefield said of a criminal going to the gallows: "There but for the grace of God, go I."  French mathematician and philosopher/theologian Blaise Pascal said that "we have a God-shaped vacuum only God can fill," while Saint Aurelius Augustine, Bishop of Hippo, North Africa, said concerning God, "You made us for Yourself, and our hearts find no peace until they rest in You."

Christianity is not just a reformed or recovered life, but a relationship and/or fellowship with the living God through Christ--a wholly new life in Christ--getting to know Him!  The goal is not to clean up our act, but to fill the emptiness and void with Christ living in our hearts.  Christ didn't come to make bad men good, but dead men alive, one preacher claims.  With Christ living in us, the demons cannot harm, hurt, nor even touch us. Jesus healed a man and later found him in the temple and admonished him:  "... Now you are well; so stop sinning, or something even worse may happen to you" (John 5:14, NLT). It is ill-advised to return to a life of sin after having been cleansed (cf. Heb. 10:26-27), and dangerous policy return to one's vomit like a dog (cf. 2 Pet. 2:22; Prov. 26:11). 

Remember the warning to the woman caught in adultery: "Go and sin no more! (Cf. John 8:11)" And don't look back! (Cf. Luke 9:62).  We must leave our life of sin!  Caveat:  We are not saved by good behavior or good deeds, but unto good behavior and good deeds, viva la difference! "We are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works"  (cf. Eph. 2:10).  We are not saved by good works, but for them!  

There must be genuine repentance in the believer's life and our lives must show forth its fruits (cf. Acts 22:20).  Jesus saves us to bear fruit (cf. John 15:8, and those branches not bearing fruit are pruned).  We must prove we are up to the challenge and have changed by the good things we do in our attitude and behavior (cf. Acts 26:20). We don't want a new suit for the man, but a new man in the suit!  We don't merely "turn over a new leaf," but are born again or anew in the Spirit.  The whole point of our new life is that's it's radicalized in Christ and we are freed from the power of our sin--Jesus died to save His people from their sins (cf. Matt. 1:21), and he who is saved is freed from sin (cf. Acts 13:38-39).  "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed"  (cf. John 8:36). Christians are "overcomers," and this is the victory:  our faith! (1 John 5:4).  We must take God seriously when He warns us and not to put confidence in the flesh, but in the Spirit and learn to draw on His power as we walk in the Spirit by faith (cf. Gal. 5:16, 2 Cor. 5:17).

All Christians are called to suffer for Christ and in His name according to Phil. 1:29, NLT, which says, we have the "privilege of suffering for him."  Acts 9:16, NLT, says of Paul, "And I will show him how much he must suffer for my name's sake." The disciples gloried in and celebrated the fact that they were considered worthy to suffer in His name! (cf. Acts 5:41). This applies to us as well: The Christian life is not a bed of roses, but that doesn't mean we should get a martyr's complex either, thinking that the more we suffer, the better Christians we are!  We share in the "fellowship of His suffering" as we walk with Christ in the Spirit (cf. Phil. 3:10; Gal. 5:16). Paul was glad and could boast in the Lord, and gloried in his sufferings (cf. 2 Cor. 11:16ff).  Christ did say that Paul was to suffer great things for the sake of the Kingdom of God, but all of us "suffer that which is lacking in Christ's sufferings" to bring glory to Him (cf. Col. 1:24).

Christians are not called to be Stoics, whose primary objective is to cheerfully accept our lot in life, also known as the philosophy of the "stiff upper lip."  We are not ruled by blind forces of fate like the Islamic kismet (blind fate), or what's called determinism; we have the destiny to be fulfilled in Christ doing God's will.  We are not called to grin and bear it, though in Christ we can endure any trial or temptation, knowing Christ relates to our dilemma and predicament. 

It is a fact of psychology that one can endure almost anything if one sees purpose and meaning in it and has hope; we are in the voyage of a lifetime in our walk with Christ unto the eternal city!  We are not to sing "Que sera, sera, what will be, will be..." like Doris Day, and complacently resign ourselves to life of impersonal, mechanical fate beyond our control; however, we have input and a choice in our destiny and Christ is with us and on our side throughout the way to guide us as the pilot in charge on our flight to heaven.

Caveat:  Sometimes our sufferings are self-induced and from our own stupidity or ignorance in the ways of the world or in the Christian walk; if you've never made a mistake, you've never made anything, it's been well put.  Saint Augustine, said it well:  If I err, I am.  This was the prelude to Rene Descartes' formulation:  I think, therefore I am; and also: I think, therefore, God is! He should have thought:  "God is, therefore I think."

Thinking requires a thinker which precedes it, and the universe gives the impression of being one vast complex thought by a Supreme Mind that is also a Great Mathematical Thinker.  When we break God's moral laws ingrained in our conscience we must suffer the consequences, just like when we break physical laws or try to defy them (e.g., gravity)--God is the Great Lawgiver who rules over all and metes out due justice as well as mercy.

We must never wallow in self-pity and say, "Woe is me!" when we suffer for Christ's sake, it's an honor and will be rewarded.  Instead of wondering why unfortunate things happen to us, realize that good things happen to the unsaved--that's a bigger puzzle!  We must "through many hardships enter the kingdom of God" (cf. Acts 14:22), and they are part of the job description that we signed up for! Finally, a word to the wise is sufficient:  "Don't doubt in the dark what God told you in the light"--faith is not a leap into darkness, but a step into the light with God at your side as a guiding light, "until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts" (cf. 2 Pet. 1:19).    Soli Deo Gloria!   

Simply Believe?

"Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  (Dietrich Bonhoeffer)
"Faith is not believing despite the evidence, but obeying in spite of the consequences."  (author unknown).  
"I will show you my faith by my good works!"  (James would say this)
"I will show you my good works by faith!"  (Paul would put this spin on our salvation)


Salvation is "by faith alone [the rallying cry of the Reformation], but not by a faith that is alone" (as the Reformers taught).  It must be fruitful--no fruit means no faith!  It isn't how much faith you have, but the object of the faith that matters.  True faith is validated in works only, not by feelings or emotions--some people are just sentimental types.  Obedience, then, is the only genuine test, as the Jews were found disobedient and therefore lacking faith in Heb. 3:18-19.

Saving faith is always joined and in juxtaposition to genuine repentance--some people don't have a problem believing, but in repenting!  Impenitent faith is not saving faith!  We are admonished to believing repentance or penitent faith if you will.  The most unnatural thing for us to accept is that salvation is by faith alone and all we have to do is simply believe (i.e., with the right kind of belief), as God gives us the gift of faith to exercise and walk through the door--we don't conjure it up by our own efforts (cf. 2 Pet. 1:1).

It would be so much more convenient for most people if only they had to do something for salvation--some work they could manage; however, if ever there were a work involved, we would flunk and fall short.  The only way it could be fair to all and make it so that anyone could get saved is if it were by faith alone, through grace alone. I'm not against works, just works religion; i.e., works done in the flesh and not in the Spirit.  We venture to boast only of what Christ has accomplished through us and in us (cf. Rom. 15:18).   It's so simple that the intellectual, philosopher, and legalist find it to be a stumbling stone, rock of offense, an impediment.  Man is incurably addicted to doing something for his salvation (cf. John 6:28-29)!

Yes, we can come to God as we are in faith, but we don't stay that way!  God works in our hearts a new life from the inside out--a transformation (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17) of all things new in Christ.  Now the key is to remember that faith is only the beginning, though we go from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:16-7), and increase in faith, and our living faith is not inert or static, but grows and matures into a seasoned believer with tried and proved faith.  One may say with complacency that he does believe, but belief is only the beginning--it's the door, not the final destination!   Faith is not certitude: we don't have to be fully persuaded to have saving faith and doubt is not the opposite of faith, but a component.

One disciple told Jesus (cf. Mark 9:24), "I believe, help thou mine unbelief!"  You will see that true faith always expresses itself and cannot remain silent (cf. Acts 4:20)!  Point in fact: There's no smoking-gun evidence to prove there is a God; on the contrary, there's none to prove there isn't!  You need not prove God unless they can disprove Him!  There's always going to be a place for doubt, but we must overcome it and walk by faith, not by sight (2 Cor. 5:7). All our questions will be answered in eternity (cf. John 16:23).

Salvation is not by knowledge but by faith, and that means one must take the leap of faith and bid his doubts goodbye in looking unto Jesus as Lord and Savior.  But, and this is an important contrast:  We can know for certain that we are saved--we are not just to hope we are saved, or even believe with doubt attached, but we are admonished to know for certain.  But this is what's called a "properly basic belief" or knowledge through a personal encounter with God and experiencing Him.  God speaks to our spirit and confirms our faith in us and we know as a result of the Spirit in us convicting us (cf. Rom. 8:16).  The Word of God coupled with the testimony and witness of the Spirit is a powerful assurance.

 And furthermore: God wouldn't command us to make our salvation certain (cf. 2 Pet. 1:10), if it were not possible to know for sure!  Two errors of newborn believers are not to take the Word of  God seriously and at face value, and to be ignorant of the Word and its promises.  Note that assurance of salvation is not an automatic fruit of salvation and many believers struggle with it and need to be informed of what the Bible teaches: assurance and security are two sides of the same coin and can be distinguished, but not separated--they go hand in hand.  If we weren't secure in our salvation, that we couldn't lose it, we could never be sure and certain we wouldn't lose it, and there would and could be no assurance.

When they say simply believe, it's so simple, but not simplistic, and so child-like, but not childish, that everyone from the intellectual to the simpleton and child has an equal chance to receive the gift of salvation by faith alone, not of any work, or we would have grounds of boasting to God. In the gift of saving faith (yes, we don't achieve, we receive), we may have doubts and all our questions may be unanswered, but we believe anyway and take the leap into the light, saying goodbye to the darkness of unbelief. We aren't inclined to believe nor are we asked to believe despite the evidence or with no evidence at all:  there's plenty of evidence and reason for credence, but for the skeptic and the stubborn and hardened heart, there's never enough evidence, because one must desire to do God's will (cf. John 7:17) and believe in Him.

It is one thing to believe God exists (cf. James 2:19), or that Jesus is Lord and Savior, and quite another to accept Him into your heart (cf. Rev. 3:20); i.e., trusting as Savior and submitting as Lord all by faith and loving Him in fellowship!   You don't need all the answers to believe, because God changes our hearts. It is important to note that we are judged by our works, not our faith (cf. Rom. 2:6).  If you don't have accompanying works, your faith is suspect, because the faith you have is the faith you show!  In the final analysis, the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart--we must believe in our hearts, not just agree or consent with our minds (which is mere head belief)!

Caveat:  There is the temptation to think that believing is all there is to the Christian life and it doesn't matter whether one's life is submitted to the lordship of Christ and one is obedient to the Word, but this is so-called "easy-believism" and brings forth what's called "cheap grace," which justifies the sin, not the sinner!  True faith entails leaving behind the life of sin and embracing a new life in Christ with Him in at the helm, as the Master of our fate and Captain of our soul!

Some so-called Christians who live in sin tell their pastor, "It's okay, I believe!"  This ought not to be so!  The essence of the Christian life is not summed up in belief per se, as if believing were the whole story.  The whole point of conversion is a changed life, but one that God gives us, not that we accomplish on our own by "turning over a new leaf," making a New Year's resolution, or making an AA pledge to reform our lives--not self-improvement, but transformation by God.   Christ must be born in us, not just born in Bethlehem!

We're not just believing God is there, but in the God who is there, as revealed in the person of Jesus. There is a contrast between believing Jesus died on a cross and rose again, as a historical faith, and believing He did it for you personally!   And in conclusion, believing is only the beginning and the door to a new life (not the destination), we are to "follow on to know the Lord" (cf. Hos. 6:3, NLT, tells us to "press on to know the LORD") and walk with Christ as we progress from "faith to faith," as the Lord "... makes us more and more like him as we are changed into his glorious image" (2 Cor. 3:18, NLT).  (But saving faith is for those who realize and admit they're lost, for Christ "came to seek and to save those who are lost" (cf. Luke 19:10).)     Soli Deo Gloria!  

The True Spirit Of Grace-oriented Giving

"They asked only that we would remember the poor, which I made every effort to do"  (Gal. 2:10, HCSB).  
"One person gives freely, yet gains more; another withholds what is right, only to become poor"  (Prov. 11:24, HCSB). 
"A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water"  (Prov. 11:25, HCSB).  
"Since you excel in so many ways--in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us--I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving"  (2 Cor. 8:7, NLT).
"You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don't give reluctantly or in response to pressure.  'For God loves a person who gives cheerfully'"  (2 Cor. 9:7, NLT). 

All believers have the privilege and honor of sharing their blessings with others and promoting the work of God by financial support.  It's not necessarily how much we give, but the Spirit that we do it in that matters:  Mother Teresa of Calcutta (recently canonized by Rome) has said that it's not what you do, but how much love you put into it.  What God notices is a cheerful giver (cf. 2 Cor. 9:7) and the willingness to give as unto the Lord.  We thank God for His provisions, as the "LORD who will provide" ("the LORD will see to it" (Jehovah-Jireh), and are worshiping God through this act of selfless sacrifice.  Giving is not giving if not done sacrificially and if it doesn't hurt, you may be withholding from God who owns it all it in the first place and has given it to you as a steward of His blessings.

The obedient giver knows that Christ's words, "It is more blessed to give than to receive [Acts 20:35]," is the ultimate reality in God's economy.  The Bible says that some withhold and suffer loss and some give generously and gain.  No one comes out any worse in giving, for the measure we give is returned unto us.  It has been said that when we look out for other's interests, God looks out for us and we will never be in need of doing God's work.  Generosity is the spirit of true Christian giving and this is an attitude, not a measure or percentage of income--each person must make up his own mind how and how much to give, according to the measure of God's blessings.

If we feel we are obliged to give, it is done legalistically and hypocritically, and God cannot reward it--we must want to give and share our resources (which also includes our time, resources, relationships, talents, opportunities, energy, possessions, and gifts).  No one can afford not to give unto the work of God and to help the poor; in fact, if we are having a hard time making ends meet, we may need to open up God's treasures of blessing and share what He already has granted us (i.e., all our provisions from God).  In other words, we all need God's blessing on our lives and labors.

If you love money, you will never have enough!  The key is to become content with what you have and not to desire to be rich, which will lead to temptation.  Paul learned to be content in all situations, whether facing lack or abundance.  Not lacking any good thing or blessing doesn't mean that we will have all things:  God blesses some in some ways, some in all ways, but all in some way.  In sum, God is good to all (cf. Psalm 145:9), and delights to show mercy and bless us.      Soli Deo Gloria!

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!