Knowing The Answers

'The discerning heart seeks knowledge, but the mouth of a fool feeds on folly" (Prov. 15:14, NIV).  
"...'From the lips of children and infants you, Lord, have called forth your praise?'" (Matt. 21:16, NIV).

It has been said that the prerequisite for learning is admitting ignorance and it is often the outcome.  Some people have an irrational, inordinate desire to be right all the time as a preoccupation or obsession.  You learn by finding out things you don't know!  Christians who desire to know all the answers and to know things for their own sake miss the boat. We do not learn for knowledge's sake or for its own sake, but for a purpose, especially to apply it and share it.   Knowledge is no end in itself and isn't meant to be for show or having an advantage over others or even to brag about. 

Knowledge can puff up if not matched with love and action--it must be put into context and applied.  We must always wonder what our motive for studying something is and whether we have more than selfish gain in mind.  We must live out our knowledge because faith is knowledge in action.  Knowledge can lead to pride and it takes a special kind of person to be a scholar and humble at the same time--because some people misuse knowledge as an advantage over people, like intimidating them or belittling them.

As believers, we don't have to know all the answers, because we know the Answerer!  Sometimes we just have to admit we don't know the answer and that it's a good question--we will try to find out the answer and get back to them!  Paul probably needed a thorn in his flesh to keep him from getting a big head, and we all may have our own "crosses to bear."  It is erroneous to play the "let's compare" game and wonder why God doesn't seem to treat everyone equally--don't equate equity with fairness because God is not obliged to show equal grace to all (He blesses all in some ways, but some in all ways who are doubly blessed; however, God is good to all! according to Psalm 145:9).

Kids are born with a natural inclination to ask why and that everything has a purpose in life (known as teleological thinking, a dirty word to secularists)--this curiosity must not be squelched by a crabby parent who sounds discouraging to the child and inhibits his queries.   Sometimes it seems the only way to answer a difficult challenge is to bring God into the equation!  That's right!  God is the answer to our problems.  And the Bible may be the Answer Book. God knows everything and can answer our questions.   A person is escaping reality by denying His existence or relevance to all of life and the big picture.

A scientist is a person with an insatiable thirst for knowledge applied or theoretical, just like the philosopher is a person with a love of knowledge itself, and these two disciplines were not distinguished in antiquity but the same endeavor of higher learning.  We must encourage curiosity and the thirst for the truth, for believers are given a natural desire to know God and the truth, as all truth is God's truth and meets at the top, according to philosophers. Oh, to have the thirst for learning of a child and to seek the truth so as to be humble in admitting we don't' know it all or could even be wrong, for Socrates said that we must admit we could be wrong before we can learn anything--admitting our ignorance!

We have so much to learn from kids and their questions can be so profound that we wonder how they thought of them.  They do indeed keep us on our toes and make us all realize we don't have all the answers and that we may have to admit this to them too.   The innocence of a child's question is often humbling and we may even wonder how they thought of that, as it seems so "grown-up."  Normally, when we say, "That's a good question," it can mean that it's the gist of what you're saying or that there's no good answer, but we all need to foster natural curiosity and knowing how to ask all the right questions.

In my day, people used to seek the aid of a librarian when stumped for answers and doing research; nowadays, most folks just resort to their favorite search engine and, voila, the answers are ready to be had!  Thus, there's no excuse for being an internet cripple or handicapped and challenged with technology.  The scholar isn't always the person with the most knowledge, but the person who knows how to do research and to whom to go for answers, for no one has a monopoly on knowledge and knows all the answers, though kids often seem like "know-it-all's."  We must never lose our childlike thirst for learning and remember, as Art Linkletter did, that "kids say the darndest things!"   Soli Deo Gloria!

A Time To Repent...

"I was blameless before him, and I kept myself from my guilt [sin]" (Psalm 18:23, ESV). 
"... [A]nd be sure your sin will find you out" (Numbers 32:23, ESV). 

"Repent and turn from all your transgressions, so iniquity shall not be your ruin," (cf. Ezek. 18:30). 
"... Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near [is at hand]" (Matt. 4:17, NIV).

It's always time to repent, for the first of Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses was that repentance is not a one-time but a continuous and ongoing, progressive event in the believer's heart, testimony, and life.  We must come to believing repentance or penitent faith to be saved, for they go hand in hand and cannot be divorced or separated, but only distinguished.  One cannot have genuine repentance without saving faith!   We must come to the end of our rope and throw in the towel of trying to justify our sins.  If we hide our sin and don't admit it we will not prosper in God's will for our life.  He who confesses his sins and forsakes them will find mercy (cf. Prov. 28:13).

Repentance is an imperative or mandate for all in Scripture and involves a transformation by the work of God of the heart, intellect, and volition, being more than simple remorse or regret, but a desire to make things right and give up the sin. We call a spade a spade, acknowledge our sin before God, and seek renewal in the Spirit.  It is granted by grace (2 Tim. 2:25; Acts 5:31; 11:18) and proved by deed (Acts 26:20; Matt. 3:8).  Note that it means a change of mind literally (from Greek metanoia), but involves much more than a mere change of opinion--the attitudes and life must show change to be a reality. Repentance is a recurring motif in the New Testament and is often used interchangeably with believing, for they are juxtaposed and two sides of one coin. Finally, by definition, repentance is more than turning over a new leaf, making an AA pledge, making a rash vow or promise, making a New Year's resolution, or getting fire insurance; it's getting a new start in life (a clean slate) with Jesus in charge of your affairs as the owner!

We must also beware lest our sin finds us out or catch up with us by living in sin or continuing in a pet sin (which easily entangles us and trips us up) that we refuse to acknowledge or repent of--God insists we repent of all our sins!  There is indeed a time for every purpose under heaven and God will always let us know in grace when He is calling us to repentance of a sin that easily besets us; we can overcome and live in victory if we walk in the Spirit and intimately with the Lord--the key is to keep short accounts with God concerning our sins and to immediately confess and repent sincerely.  (God doesn't require perfection, but unfeigned and sincere repentance.)

Perfection is indeed the standard, progress, and direction the test--we are all works in progress and God isn't finished with us yet, chipping away at everything that doesn't resemble His Son in our lives much like a sculptor chipping away at granite to make a horse.  Cf. Psalm 119:96 saying that the psalmist had "seen the limit of all perfection" and Prov. 20:9, NIV, says, "Who can say, 'I have kept my heart pure; I am clean and without sin'?"  The doctrine of perfectionism (or entire sanctification) is deceptive and wrong, for we never reach a state of sinless perfection on this side of glory.

Abiding in Christ (cf. John 8:31;15:7), a requisite for discipleship, and abiding in fellowship are no cakewalk but require honesty with ourselves, others, and God and to be able to be rebuked by the Word and be accountable, not a spiritual Lone Ranger.  In fact, the closer we get to God, the more aware and convicted we become of our sins and we abhor them, not love them--we have a God-given desire for holiness and to please God.  We can only repent by the grace of God, for it's a work of God in the heart just like its flip side faith and God must first convict us of our sin (we are only responsible for those that we get convicted of). We may not feel so good and even guilty and uneasy, but this may be God's wake-up call to shock us out of our comfort zone and return to fellowship.

In the final analysis, we must bring forth fruit in keeping with our repentance (cf. Luke 3:8; Acts 26:20) to prove its validity and genuineness by our good behavior.  NB:  Our conversion is more than an acceptable way to have a nervous breakdown, but a witness to the power of God to change lives, that He is alive and well in the world, and still in the miracle and resurrection business.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Awaiting The Final Verdict

"This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil" (John 3:19, NIV).
"They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do" (1 Pet. 2:9, NIV).
"For God has not destined us for wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ" (1 Thess. 5:9, NIV).

The verdict is that man is guilty as sin (AS CHARGED!) but doesn't even acknowledge his own sin--he's not aware of his predicament and dilemma before an angry God, who cannot tolerate any sin in His presence and is only postponing judgment--for justice delayed isn't judgment denied. Men love darkness rather than light and therefore won't come to the light, lest their misdemeanors are exposed. The final verdict has already been rendered in God's court and cannot be reversed. "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?" (cf. Gen. 18:25).. 

We all stand condemned apart from the mercy of God. This is God's estimation of man, not our own. We are all guilty as charged and need to see how bad we are to recognize our need for salvation, and we cannot realize our depravity till we've attempted good or repentance--it's a catch-22. Only the grace of God opens our eyes to our plight, and we are as bad off as possibly could be, though not as bad as can be--God restrains some evil in the world out of mercy (cf. Psalm 76:10).

Now, a jury doesn't need all the evidence to render a verdict, but only needs to go in the direction of the evidence, i.e., the preponderance of the evidence. Likewise, we don't need all the answers to believe and repent or to have believing penitence or penitent faith. But here's the rub: you must want to believe and be willing to do God's will and repent before you are rendered capable of faith as God kindles or awakens faith in you. In a court of law, the evidence isn't always conclusive or final, but only an argument for or against a case. In other words, there is evidence pro and con! One must weigh the evidence and decide according to one's conscience and convictions. There's no such thing as perfect objectivity, and so the court system must err on the side of innocence, not guilt out of mercy.  But God is objective and knows all the evidence!  

They say that if the evidence is against a case (and it's stacked against us), plead the law; if the law is against the case, plead the evidence! Sometimes you have to plead the case for a change of venue if all else fails, plead guilty and work out a plea bargain! In our case, there are no pleas bargains possible except as charged. Christians believe that God is a God of justice and that no one will escape it in the end--in eternity if not in this world. There is such a thing as justice and just law because God is a God of justice and cares a lot about right and wrong.

We must never lose faith in the system and realize that God is always in control and that criminals and outlaws will someday meet their comeuppance. Our system of justice depends upon jurors taking their oath seriously and being fair and unbiased, hearing both sides without turning a deaf ear. We all will either face the Bema of Christ (Judgment Seat) or the Great White Throne Judgment of condemnation. Our justification isn't legal fiction but forensic and just in God's eyes.

God is able to save the worst of sinners and we can escape judgment by believing in His Son as Lord and Savior (cf. John 5:24). God is unjust to no one! He chooses to save some by having mercy and to bypass others who receive judgment and justice by virtue of His holiness demanding retribution. Mercy and grace are not forms of injustice, but forms of nonjustice. God reserves the right to have mercy on whomever He wills (cf. Rom. 9:15). God is under no obligation to save anyone at all! If He were obliged to save us for any reason, it would be justice, not mercy! 

To be saved, no one is entreated to believe despite the evidence nor to commit intellectual suicide--there are ample and sound reasons to believe based on reasonable circumstantial and historical evidence--but it takes a leap of faith. There is never enough evidence for the skeptic who doesn't want to believe and no one can disbelieve out of lack of evidence. There is just enough light to see for the willing and enough darkness to keep the unwilling from believing.  Jesus said that if a person is willing to do His will he shall know whether it's of God.

Finally, if the skeptic asks the person of faith to come up with evidence, he should be asked what evidence he sees that there isn't a God. God's existence is self-attested and He doesn't need to prove Himself. There's more evidence in the affirmative than the negative for you cannot prove a universal negative according to the laws of logic; in other words, both believer and skeptic are people of faith, it just depends upon what the presupposition is. 

If the believer must come up with proof, then the infidel must too. There's no smoking-gun evidence either way that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt--one must exercise faith on both sides. God doesn't need to give more evidence to convince the hardened heart but says that no one has an excuse for not believing the self-evident. There's plenty of proof, one must have his heart in the right place and not have moral issues--for intellectual issues are a sham and masquerade and cover-up for moral rebellion and an unrepentant heart.

CAVEAT: GOD'S VERDICT IS FINAL AND PERMANENT WITH NO APPEAL POSSIBLE, WHAT YOUR FATE IS DEPENDS UPON YOUR RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS CHRIST. Soli Deo Gloria!

Marriage Manifests The Deity...

There are only three bona fide institutions ordained by God:  family, church, and government.  They are all necessary for society's function and stability--the glues that hold us together and hinder Satan's work and keep evil at bay.  Marriage especially preserves society from evil becoming rampant or out of control.  Augustine is attributed with saying that "government is not a necessary evil, but necessary because of evil!"  We all need to find fulfillment in these institutions, or our mission from God. Everyone is responsible for his own assigned domain.  We are all on a mission!  That involves our roles or duties in our family, our church, and government--we don't concede the world-system to Satan by default.

Man is complete in marriage, just as we are complete in Christ, and need each other in the church, and the government doing what the others are not meant to do, each with their own sphere of sovereignty.  One institution has no right to intrude on the other's responsibilities or powers.  Now the Bible says that everything created by God is good and all good comes from God--that includes these institutions.  Woe to those who call good evil and vice versa!  But beware:  Satan is bent on destroying our society and make us independent of God--he doesn't care how good we are as long as we keep Him out of it and privatize our faith--eradicate God from the public square of discourse!

Marriage, biblically, is a union between a man and a woman, that is meant to be permanent and exclusive and is a mutual give and take or sharing, sacrifice, responsibilities, stewardship, compromise, and relationship that each compliment the other and unselfishly meet or fulfill each other's needs (psychological, emotional, social, and physical)--everyone needs someone to share their life with.  There is meant to be unity, not uniformity!  Marriage works if you work at it, they say!  They are a team and need each other.  Intimacy is a primary goal, just like it is with God--we are social creatures and desire to be known and to know one another.  Marriage is a good way for the couple to find their identity and to see where they can have an impact and make a difference with their common calling.  We all have a need to interact and socialize.  This institution should not be maligned because it has God's blessing as defined by Him, not the government!

The biggest anchor of our society is marriage and it is often called the great civilizer because each partner grows in maturity and character and they each realize their unique potential in building relationships and foundations for a witness to the world at large. The woman was created from man's rib so that she would be close to him and be of his essence as the finishing touch of all God's work--afterward, He could say nothing but "very good."   When God created woman as the consummation of His creation, and for this reason, marriage is good because God declared it to be. The purpose of marriage is not merely to propagate the species or to copulate, but this is an expression of true love being fulfilled and shared by two caring and intimate individuals.

Marriages only last if the solidarity is in God as the center and focus.  Marriage is meant to be a representation of God at work and is in this respect the crown of creation (mankind) made plain to see, saying it was very good.  It needs that third participant for meaning and fulfillment.  Marriage without God in the equation will not be all it's cracked up to be and may seem like a dead end or lost cause.  The whole purpose of marriage is oneness, or to be so involved on all levels that your acquaintance of each other is unavoidable and productive--one's spouse has a unique contribution to the relationship based on personal insight and intimacy.  Removing God from the picture only invites disaster and neglects the rock of stability in Christ.

Partners or mates (spouse is a secular word) can pay special attention to Augustine's dictum and apply it wisely when they find themselves disagreeing, and they will:  "In essentials, unity; in nonessentials, liberty; in all things, charity."  Remember:  Each partner needs the other and is perfectly designed for them as God's plan and intention with His blessing.  They're the one meant for each other and need to learn to work things out not fight or quarrel.  Marriage is not a power play, though the man is the head of the household (the role of subordination does not mean inferiority), Christ is His head and he should love his wife as Christ loves the church--it's an institution of equals!   Each should be fully convinced that they are meant for each other and God has a plan for them to do jointly.

There can be a great fallout from contention, argument, divisiveness, and judgmental attitudes because there is always the ingredient or fallout of sin. Remember who the enemy is, know your enemy and beware of his schemes of psychological, mind games and to divide and conquer.  Sometimes marriage seems to deteriorate into being each other's number one critic.  When a marriage is successful, people may wonder what kept them together and the best answer is the grace of God and applying His principles.  Remember:  Marriage was God's idea and His invention and is not subject to man's revisionism, revamping, tampering, re-interpretation, or inventions.  It was here long before government was instituted and has priority over it in its domain!

In sum, what brought the couple together initially was probably shared interests and commonalities, being made for each other, and complimenting each other, but what keeps them knit together with the tie that binds is their union in Christ as the cohesive factor (or missing ingredient in some marriages)--that is why they must never jeopardize their relationship and faith by being unequally yoked, for it's meant to be a representation of Christ and the church, which is a mystery!   Thus, we recognize that God is a triune relationship and reveals Himself to us personally in marriage!  Each partner is to offer support to the other half for they are one flesh, and hopefully, one in spirit and in the Spirit, sharing common goals of oneness, not mere friendship!   NB:  Marriage differs from casual friendships and ties in that there's commitment, much like the one made to find salvation.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Proving God?

We must begin with God and explain the universe, not eradicate any discussion of Him and deny Him or explain Him away by beginning with the universe and without Him in our worldview and explain Him away.  Where you begin determines where you will end up.
"... The greatest question of our time is whether man can live without God." --Will Durant, Secular Humanist historian
"Men have forgotten God." --Alexander Solzhenitsyn, author
"The only system of thought that Christ will fit into is the one where he is the starting point." --Athanasius, father of orthodoxy and church father
"God [justice] must exist for ethics [morals] to be possible." --Immanuel Kant, revolutionary philosopher (paraphrased)
"If God does not exist, all things are permissible." "A man cannot live without worshiping something."  --Fyodor Dostoevsky, novelist
"A Christian with faith has nothing to fear from the facts." --Paul Johnson, historian

Many philosophers have either tried to prove or disprove God; nevertheless, this issue is one of the most frequent and basic of all philosophical and religious topics.  Of all the great thinkers of mankind throughout history, nearly everyone had something to contribute to this subject.  In fact, one's worldview or outlook (opinions on life) is rooted in this dilemma of mankind.  Pascal made a wager that it's safer to bet there's is a God and be wrong than bet your life there isn't and be wrong--the consequences are higher and more profound and eternal--we have nothing to lose and infinity to gain according to Pascal.  People know there is a God, but suppress the fact and many are practical atheists, acting and living like there is not a God, though they do profess Him, there's a contrast of the profession of faith and the reality of faith--viva la difference!

The reason there is no smoking-gun evidence for nor against God's existence is that God is pleased with faith and it requires a leap of faith to gain a relationship with Him ("Taste and see that the LORD is good..," says Psalm 34:8).  You cannot prove beyond a shadow of a doubt either way and so, everyone has faith and makes presuppositions.  Some who insist they have facts and Christians have faith is wrong, because Christianity is a religion of facts and they have no reason to fear them nor anyone's scrutiny.

The Bible makes no attempt to prove God, it just assumes Him and calls them who deny Him fools.  If the Christians must offer proof, then the infidel must counter with proof too!  The fact is that the burden of proof for the Bible's authenticity lies with the skeptic--many have tried to disprove it historically and archaeologically and have failed.  If the Bible is so accurate here, why doubt its spiritual truths?  You don't have to see God believe in Him; we don't see the wind but believe in it by seeing its effects and even feeling it!

The philosophical and logical fact is that you cannot prove a universal negative: you cannot disprove God, any more than disproving the existence of little green men!  In order to do, you'd have to know everything and be everywhere at the same time.  God does desire to be known and wants a relationship with us, but hides Himself so that triflers will not find Him, He desires us to search for Him with all our heart, soul, and mind.  We shouldn't have to prove God, He challenges us to find Him and know for ourselves.  God's existence used to be the so-called default position of academia and the civilized world, but people nowadays think they don't need Him to answer life's ultimate questions and that He is irrelevant.

There is no "proof" of God, but there is plenty of evidence for the one willing to believe--there's never enough evidence for the unwilling!  There's no "smoking gun" evidence, either way, both propositions take faith.    Evidence is not always certain or conclusive, it's only an argument for or against a proposition or theory.   Take the scientific evidence if you will:  DNA is the metabolic motor that is necessary for all life forms and requires DNA to be formed--whence the first DNA, if not created?  Where did all the 50 plus constants of nature and physics come from, if not an orderly Designer? Biogenesis (and spontaneous generation has been disproved) and this means that life only comes from life--whence the first life form?   The Anthropic Principle (cf. Isaiah 45:18) leads one to believe the earth was created and fine-tuned with man in mind by an all-wise God!  The First and Second Laws of Thermodynamics, especially that of entropy (that everything goes from order to disorder and the universe is running out of usable energy sources) prove the Big Bang's existence (which begs the question of who pulled the big trigger?) and that time itself, a corollary of space and matter, had to have a beginning, just like the Bible postulates in 2 Tim. 1:9 and Titus 1:2.

The Bible is not a scientific manual, but where it does make scientific statements, it is without absurdity nor inaccuracy.  It has proved to be ahead of its time on several occasions:  the gravitational field, that the earth is round, the ocean currents, the water cycle, et cetera.  In fact, the most obvious point of the Bible is that its very existence itself is a miracle!

There are multitudinous arguments for God: First, creation is the prime argument and evidence, ergo a Creator, since nothing can create itself or be its own cause; the moral argument saying that God cares a lot about right and wrong and has a moral compass--thus we have a conscience and values and since there seems to be a Higher Law we all acknowledge, there must be a Lawgiver and moral center of the universe; the cosmological argument of First Cause (nothing can be its own cause--God is eternal and ipso facto, not an effect and uncaused!) and He's the Prime Mover and the law of cause and effect, or causality, had to begin with an uncaused cause or we'd have no effects at all (infinite regress is impossible, known as the impossibility of crossing infinity);  the teleological argument that purpose, harmony, design, beauty, and order all prove the existence of a Supreme, Ultimate Mind and Orderer in the cosmos; the anthropological argument that asks why does every tribe, nation and tongue profess awareness of Him? the ontological argument that asks why we feel His tug and where did we get this knowledge of His existence in the first place? Philosophers have offered numerous arguments, but there is no ironclad argument that forces one to believe if he chooses not to--it takes faith; God doesn't make people believe against their wills!  He doesn't want robots or automatons!  However, there's no ironclad argument against God's existence either--both propositions require faith.

Finally, the reason you cannot prove God is that He defies our thinking--He's infinite and we're finite and limited.  In short, there are no laboratory conditions for proving or disproving God!  We cannot put Him in a test tube, under a microscope, or measure Him; you can't test Him--don't test God!; nor can you do experiments with Him--He won't cooperate because it's beneath Him; we can't test our theories on Him--God tells all we need to know in the Word; or observe Him--He's incarnated in the person of Jesus Christ (He isn't visible, tangible, audible)!  

He lives in other dimensions or extra dimensions!  He's outside the parameters of science and its domain and scientists have no right to comment on His existence--that would be scientism or the harnessing of science or its authority for nonscientific questions and dilemmas--thinking that only science is the ultimate avenue to truth and has all the answers.  But don't panic, He can be experienced in real-time by invitation in Christ through a salvation experience.

In the final analysis, skeptics say believers may have a psychological need to believe or need a crutch--God is the ultimate crutch, glad to say; however, they may have a psychological need not to believe and have a crutch too--if you don't worship God, you'll find someone or something else to worship (we're hard-wired for worship). Common crutches are humanism, escapism, superstition, cynicism, and supernaturalism--self-help, drugs, to the occult!   In sum, no one can discount God for lack of evidence; the heart of the matter is that it's a matter of the heart; people feign intellectual problems but the problem is moral!

Listen to Robert Louis Stevenson:  "I believe in God, and if I woke up in hell, I'd still believe in Him."   Also, we believe in the sun [God], not just because we can see it, but because we can see everything else [God opens the eyes of our hearts]!  As someone said, there's enough light to see, and enough darkness not to see!  We were blind, but now we see! If you could prove God without a doubt He wouldn't be worth worship, He'd be limited and in our box!  

The question to challenge:  One must inquire of the infidel whether there is any evidence that there is no God, and whether he's going in the direction of the preponderance of the evidence or whether he's biased against God from the get-go because it takes more faith to be an atheist than a believer since there's more evidence for His existence than against, which is hard to come by!  For some, there's never sufficient evidence! You must be willing to go where the evidence leads--faith or no faith without evidence is blind faith.  The unwilling will never accept the truth for they reject it; it has been said that a man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still!

All this goes back to the beginning assumption of all logic, reason, and religion:  In the beginning, God--nothing can come from nothing (ex nihilo, nihil fit in Latin) and matter/energy are not eternal, since any theory of an eternal universe is untenable--everything in time and space had a beginning!
God needs no proof, He just is in Himself--the great I Am.  

"Our faith is not dependent upon human knowledge and scientific advances but upon the unmistakeable Word of God."  --Dr. Billy Graham, evangelist (par excellence!) 
"I don't have enough faith to be an atheist." --Norman L. Geisler, theologian, and Bible scholar  
  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Doctrine Of Christ...

"Know ye that the LORD, he is God..." (cf. Psalm 100:3).  
JESUS IS LORD!  "That rock was Christ..." (cf. 1 Cor. 10:4).     
"In him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily" (cf. Col. 2:9).
"It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel..." (Phil. 1:7, NIV).
"He must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it." (Tit. 1:9, NIV).
"You, however, must teach what is appropriate to sound doctrine" (Tit. 2:1, NIV).  
"Christianity is Christ; all else is circumference." --John Stott, theologian

Christianity is all about Jesus--all else is peripheral or circumference, as John Stott says.  If you remove Christ, the faith is disemboweled--unlike Islam or Buddhism, in which the founders can be removed and the religion remains intact.  Without Christ, there's nothing left but ethics and pie-in-the-sky dreams.  2 John v. 9 says that if we "do not continue [abide] in the doctrine of Christ" we "do not have the Father"; this is to say that we must get the doctrine of the deity of Christ correct to be named by His name of Christian--Jesus said that Him being the Son of God is the Rock of the church to Peter.  Paul knew of early heresy when he wrote Corinthians in 2 Cor. 11:4 that they had fallen for "another gospel, another Spirit, another Jesus!" They're not worthy of the Name!

The cults (and they all have something nice to say of Jesus) masquerade their faith as false teachers or wolves in sheep's clothing to sound innocuous to the innocent and naive, but they are dangerous--it's just the bit of truth mixed with error that makes them dangerous.  People get enough of Christ to become immune to the real thing!  Jesus never made it easy to become a believer or disciple, but discouraged the halfhearted and insincere, not seeking shallow conversions or pseudo-conversions without any substance.  We all must count the cost and be willing to carry our crosses for His sake.

This is why JWs are so dangerous to Christianity--they parade themselves as genuine Christians and have a knowledge falsely so-called to fool the naive and unsuspecting students of the Word.  They are simply very aggressive and the believer may be fooled because he doesn't have the answers to their challenges. Just because they name the name of Jesus, don't be fooled, because inwardly they are ravenous wolves ready to devour the sheep.  The Bible warns us not to flirt with the enemy nor to welcome the false teacher who creeps in unawares or we share in his evil deeds--they are to be shunned or avoided, not fellowshipped with!

We must fight fire with fire and know how to meet them with the ammo of the Word or not try to convert them at all--they are already convinced of their heresy and may not welcome truth nor recognize it.  The Bible clearly teaches Jesus as the very incarnation and personification of God in the flesh--not sent from God, a prophet of God, a mere king, the messenger of God, spokesman or surrogate of God, part of God, only a God, inspired or anointed by God, but God Himself, co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent in essence and glory with the eternal Father--anything less is simply heresy!

CAVEAT:  THE PERSONAGE PORTRAYED BY THE CULTS FALLS SHORT OF THE REAL JESUS, GOD THE SON, SECOND PERSON OF THE TRIUNE GODHEAD.

To assign Jesus to a label of some well-intended, but failed and misunderstood religious reformer or martyr, do-gooder, healer, miracle worker, good teacher, or anything less than the Son of God in all its glory and essence is blasphemous and belittles Him--even to call Him the greatest of all men or our best example of morals is an insult to His person in all its dignity glory, and majesty.  For to claim He was a good man or teacher would belie the claims He made and make Him out to be more a devil and deceiver than a good man--any like claim doesn't do Him justice and is merely condescending nonsense. 

Finally, we must realize they are seldom convinced by argument and we must rely on the power of the Spirit's witness and the testimony and conviction of the Word of God (cf. 1 Thess. 1:5; 2:13; Romans 10:17) as we abide in the doctrine of Christ (cf. 2 John 9).        Soli Deo Gloria!

God In A Box

They say you put God in a box (making Him one-dimensional) whenever you limit Him or define Him in any way--He defies description!  We cannot describe Him, only know Him  The Bible never attempts to give a full description of Him, only enough truth to help us get to know Him.  Enough light to but see, there's enough darkness to keep us in suspense of the mystery of knowing God.  However, to know Him is to love Him, the ultimate goal of relationships.  Someone may ask, "How big is your God?" and not realize that to limit Him in any way is to commit idolatry--thinking less of Him than warranted.  In the final analysis, it's not how big your faith is, but how big your God is. (NB:  J. B. Phillips also wrote, Your God Is Too Small.)

God is by definition infinite or without limit, not finite!  Some like to think of Him as the Great Spirit, the Doting Grandpa, the Man Upstairs, or the Celestial Killjoy or Policeman, or even as the Great Mathematician behind all the wonders of heaven's equation.  Even if we think of Him as just our Father, that would be limiting Him; for He is also Judge, Lord, and Creator, et alia.  We need the full revelation.  We can know a lot about God without any real appreciation of it or knowledge of God verified through life's experiences.  We must turn our knowledge about God into knowledge of God.  The more we know, the more we will want to know, for God satisfies our thirst and hunger and then gives us more of it--we can never get too much!

To live in reality, according to Plato, one must know what God is really like! And likewise, A. W. Tozer said that what we think of God is the most important thing about us! Martin Luther told Erasmus of Rotterdam that his thoughts of God were too human--we need the Spirit's illumination!  We must access our knowledge of God gleaned from the Word and not speculation or conjecture.  We have truth and we are blessed if we reckon upon it and put it to use.

When we say that God is limitless, or unlimited, it means God never runs out of His attributes, His mercies are new every morning, and His love is eternal! God is good all the time and all the time God is good--find out for yourself, I challenge the reader--don't just take my word for it!   However, one caveat is that someday His patience with man will cease and the Day of Judgment will commence. The Bible is not some teaser to just give us an appetite for Him, but to enlighten us and open our spiritual eyes to be wise and walk with Him in fellowship.  It doesn't satisfy just to hear about God or to hear a description--we want to know Him intimately and be known by Him.

One must reckon that God is perfect and what this entails according to Arthur W. Pink:  "He cannot improve for the better for He is already perfect; He cannot change for the worse [or need improvement] since He's perfect."  God's icon is Jesus Christ, who is the same yesterday, today, and forever!  God cannot change nor relent for He is not a mere mortal!  God is wholly trustworthy and is Mr. Dependable--always Himself and in character!  He never acts arbitrarily, whimsically, nor capriciously!  In short, He's a law unto Himself and is without the contradiction of change and vicissitude or the ebb and flow of human emotion, passions, or feelings.  He cannot be frustrated or challenged, with no learning curve, never being surprised, but always on top of things!

The words "I cannot" are not in His vocabulary, except to contradict Himself or His work!  With God, nothing shall be impossible (cf. Gen. 18:14; Job 42:2).   He can make the biggest possible rock and move the biggest possible rock.  As Einstein said, "God doesn't play dice with the universe."  So we do not limit Him or His presence, for He's fully present everywhere and even extra-dimensional.  He is here and He is not silent!  And Christianity is about this God who is here.  God is fully sovereign and powerful over everything in creation and leaves nothing to chance!  In fact, "He is not far from every one of us" (Acts 17:27).

One final lesson Job learned is that we do not frustrate God nor His purposes and will.  He acts with or without our cooperation and involvement.  It is said that there are no maverick molecules in creation.  However, God just chooses not to do certain things, though He could--for instance, He didn't have to save us!   It is said that His power is necessary for His wisdom or it would be pathetic, and His wisdom is needed for His power or it would be scary!

God knows us and all possibilities about us--what we want and don't want, need and don't need, even if we don't!  He sees through our veneer and we don't fool Him for who we are.  In fact, He knows us better than we do!  All this is comforting to know since God knew everything about us before our salvation and accepted us anyway!  His perfect knowledge extends to knowing all that possibly could be!  We're people of the Book, but we know the Author!  "The world by wisdom knew not God," (cf. 1 Cor. 1:21).   In sum, we all must learn to "think outside the box" so to speak!  (NB: Your faith can be no bigger than your God and you can never find a God in a box!)   Soli Deo Gloria!

Our Marching Orders

"Where there is no vision, the people perish..." (cf. Proverbs 29:18).
"A curse on anyone who is lax in doing the LORD's work! ..." (Jer. 48:10, NIV).
"I will show you my faith by my good deeds" (cf. James 2:18).
"Therefore my people will go into exile for lack of understanding..." (Isaiah 5:13, NIV).
"[M]en who understood the times and knew what Israel should do..." (1 Chron. 12:32, NIV).
"If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them" (cf. John 13:17).

We take our marching orders directly from the top--Jesus Himself, who has an open-door policy through the prayer ministry!  He issued the Great Commission and has entrusted the faithful to bring it to fulfillment until the day of the "Great Completion."  We are not here to usher in the Millennial Kingdom nor to be utopians, but to be salt and light in a dark and lost world that doesn't know the way-Christ is the Way.  Christ is to restore the kingdom (cf. Acts 1:6).   Christ, who Himself will usher in His kingdom and we are here to advance His agenda and cause in making Christ known to the lost, while also paying heed to our cultural mandate or "Social Commission," which is not a social gospel.

This is not to be confused with the so-called social gospel which is a misnomer (noting that every great social cause in history can be attributed to the church, from universities to hospitals and missions) and we are to be the hands, eyes, heart, and ears of Christ that needs a helping hand--we are to multiply bread and fish and "feed the people" or to meet needs as well as preach. We are commanded to "remember the poor" (cf. Gal. 2:10).   We are not to merely turn stones into bread, or do good deeds for their own sake, or to lose focus of the main objective which is to preach the Word; there's no social gospel, but there's a social mandate to combat evil and be salt and light.

The church is meant to fulfill more than the gospel, but also to make disciples and to teach and prepare for the ministry to the needy, so that they will obey all that Jesus taught.  We are examples to the world to whom we may be the only light they will witness.  There is just enough light to see and just enough darkness not to, and we are to make a difference to those with a positive and willing attitude--(cf. John 7:17) "if any man will to do His will," he shall know the truth to set him free.

But witnesses are to tell their personal story that cannot be refuted (Psalm 107:2 says, "Let the redeemed of the LORD say so..."), though there is never enough evidence for the unwilling or skeptic, no one can disbelieve for lack of evidence, for there is ample evidence for the willing and open-minded.  You must be willing to go where the evidence leads to find the truth and not rule it out as a possible reality from the get-go.  Christians with faith have nothing to fear from the facts because it's an evidence and fact-based faith.  Unfortunately, skeptics have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts--no amount of evidence will convince them.

Now, what purposes do the churches fulfill in detail?  The primary one is the worship of God, the second is of love towards our fellow man demonstrated by works and good deeds as a witness to the world of Christ's love (mission), the next is to train up the people of God, and then provide for an opportunity of fellowship and communion of the body (contrary to popular opinion, the primary purpose of going to church is not to hear a sermon--that's only part of the equation).  The discipling or training up of believers is a primary function of the church (cf. Eph. 4:13).  People are to get a positive image of Christ and this can only be done when the church is doing its job, but unfortunately, today's church is largely absentee and in dereliction of duty, and many people see evil in the world and wonder where God is, but should be wondering where the church is--e.g., it has a calling to pray for all those in authority.

Secondly, the church must support mission work and to contribute to the needs of the saints in the body--there should be no one who is overlooked in the time of need by a body that is blessed in order to be a blessing.  The church that is not reaching out is a contradiction in terms.  People often wonder what's wrong with the world and should be asking what's wrong with the church.  A focus of the church largely ignored is what the Roman Catholic Church did in colonial days-- spread the light of Western civilization to a primitive world and to be a cultural force to be reckoned with.  It isn't necessarily the turf of the church to directly involve itself in political movements, but to train in the Christian worldview that believers can go on to be a force for good in the world at large.

The church needs to realize what's going on in the world and become informed and heed the wake-up call to action, flying its colors and taking its stand for Christ wherever needed no matter the cost--it must defy evil and illegitimate decrees from government, for Augustine said that "an unjust law is no law at all."   Isaiah 10:1 pronounces woe on those who decree unjust laws.   The church is not to sanitize society, but to be a positive force and influence for good so that there will be an opportunity to preach the Word and minister to those in need (sad to say, though, the church has become lax in its social commission, even as the moral conscience, compass, or fiber of society). NB:  It's not the government's role to outlaw all sin, but to keep evil at bay and protct huma rights.

In God's economy, there's always a right way to do things, and we must realize that the pragmatism of politics is evil.  The world cannot survive without the aid of the church as its preservative.  The apostolic church devoted itself (cf. Acts 2:42) to sound doctrine, prayer, fellowship, and communion or the breaking of bread (which presumably included fellowship meals to share with the needy and reach out in ministry and mission).

The church is to reach out to more than one demographic, recipient, or audience:  the seekers, the skeptics, those of another faith or no faith, the infidel, the pagan, the atheist, the agnostic, the nihilist, the polytheist, the anti-theist, the agnostic, the mature, and last, but not least, even the baby or newborn believer--anyone's guess who's in church.  Meanwhile, it must inform, educate, enlighten, and transform by preaching and teaching the Word faithfully, giving heed to sound doctrine (for heresy can creep in unawares and people become blind or callous to an orthodox faith).  We must admit that doctrine is not too arcane for the Average Joe believer, for it's a matter of the enlightening of the Holy Spirit to open the eyes of one's heart--thought some have become hard of hearing spiritually speaking.   All this is accomplished in toto by the cooperative effort of the body exercising their God-given gifts of the Spirit--all needing each other in some respect to use in ministry to each other.

The calling of the church is five-fold:  worship, fellowship, discipleship, ministry (to believers), and mission (to the lost). Above all, the church belongs to all the family of God and is to be known as a house of prayer for all members.   Unfortunately, today's church seems to be the so-called "Church of What's Happening Now" and into the latest fad or movement (political or social), and is guilty of moral and spiritual laxity and negligence all for the purpose of making a name for itself, not a name for Jesus (for we are to minister and reach out in His name--e.g., too many churches are erecting edifices at great expense but have their priorities misplaced).

Our marching orders may be summed up as follows:  occupy or stand our ground till Christ returns, doing business as usual, not being doomsayers, purifying ourselves in holiness in sanctification (living each day in readiness for the Lord), watching for Christ's return (i.e., reading the signs of the times and being ready), worshiping and glorifying our Maker and Redeemer, all while reaching out to a lost world that needs salvation.  All in all, it should be the custom of believers not to forsake (cf. Heb. 10:25) the assembly together of themselves (all the more as one can see signs of the coming of Christ) and to meet with God regularly with a genuine and real encounter or experience with the Almighty in the fellowship of the body where no one is the rock but Christ (1 Cor. 10:4). 

The church has always been a light to the world of its devotion and mission:  Saint Theresa said she wanted to build a convent.  Someone asked her how much were her resources, and she replied twelve pence.  They told her that even Saint Theresa couldn't build a convent with only that at her disposal.  She retorted that Saint Theresa and twelve pence and God can do it!  We need to be examples of our faith in action and that God will always provide the provisions for His work and will. "Seek the welfare of the city I deported you to..." (cf. Jer. 29:7). 

This goes a long way in making an impact on the community and making a difference for Christ in the world at large and setting the example for the body of Christ at large, and so God has done something about the evils and problems in our world--He made the church and expects believers not to be remiss of their commitment to it, knowing that true faith expresses itself, because the faith we show is the faith we have!

The bottom line of the church's mission is that the members should know their place in the body (or they'll be a fish out of water!) and know what they believe (instead of pointing fingers and fixing blame we should find solutions and take responsibility) and realize the faith is defensible and they should be ready to take a stand for the truth in the world as Christ's ambassadors--the church is not a hotel for saints as much as a hospital for sinners and a training camp for soldiers of Christ to be equipped for the angelic and cosmic battle with Satan and his minions; i.e., having a working knowledge of apologetics and be ready to be defenders of the gospel and Christ.   In other words, Job One is the Great Commission and we must never lose focus to keep the main thing the main thing--getting people saved is only the beginning; there must be a follow-up!

In sum, we don't just go to church just to hear the preaching of a sermon (or corporate worship), but to get a spiritual checkup, take spiritual inventory, interact in the body by means of fellowship, minister in accordance with one's gift, serve one another even in the order of the towel or the servile act of foot-washing as an example of humility if need be, to charge one's spiritual battery pack, and ultimately to prepare for the mission, which is the world, and for the angelic conflict,  fulfilling the Great Commission in accordance to one's gift and preach the good news and the Word where the door is open.  However, though the church at large has a directive from God,  it's focusing on movements for pragmatic and expedient reasons.  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Greatest Miracle Of All

"For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus" (Philippians 1:6, NASB).  
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come:  The old has gone, the new is here!" (2 Cor. 5:17, NIV). 
"Thou art the potter, I am the clay" (cf. Isaiah 64:8).

"Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would [not could] not believe in him," (cf. John 12:37, NIV, italics mine). 

Another word for miracle is a sign (as John calls them in his gospel), they are the same in German (Wunder), and miracles are indeed signs from the Almighty, with Whom nothing is impossible. The greatest proof or evidence of the resurrection, for instance, is the changed, even transformed and renewed, lives of the apostles, especially of Saul to Paul.  As Job said, "I will wait till my renewal comes," (cf. Job 14:14).  Miracles don't make faith though, but faith makes miracles. There is never a big enough miracle for someone who doesn't want to believe, but there is ample evidence for the willing.  Jesus refused to do any biggie miracle or miracle on demand to prove Himself but told the crowds that they would receive one sign:  the sign of Jonah. 

Miracles are events that cannot be independently explained apart from God's Finger at work and are not producible without divine intervention or interference. They are not producible by natural causes at the time of the event.  Paul didn't change himself--he was transformed.  That's the miracle of salvation--changed lives from the inside out, and not reformed, nor informed, but transformed.  We don't get merely enlightened or educated, but our spiritual eyes are opened to see God at work in His world.

God is still in the resurrection business and Jesus is still in the business of changing lives.  No one is too much of a challenge for God!  We come to Him as we are, but He makes us anew in His image.  We don't turn over a new leaf, make an AA pledge, or vow to clean up our act, but accept the grace of God at work in us.  The same miracle that happened to Paul can happen to anyone. What He's done for others, He can do for you! 

No one is too far gone or too much involved in sin to be saved, for Paul was the chief of sinners. John Bunyan wrote Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners to reiterate this point, and in a sense, we all follow Christ to the "Celestial City" and have to avoid "Mr. Worldly Wiseman" or false theologian and seek the truth of God that transforms and sets us free, as Jesus said, "The truth shall set you free (cf. John 8:32)."  The whole point of salvation is a changed life, and if there is none then salvation is suspect--everyone needs to be set free; we don't come to God with free wills, but wills that are ready to be set free!

In Scripture, we read of the blind man who said, "I was blind, but now I see!"  You cannot argue with one's testimony like that--he knows something for sure that cannot be denied or refuted. Thomas was radicalized when Jesus let him put his finger into His side and was told to believe, not to doubt.  Another example was the wayward woman at the well in Samaria whose eyes were opened when she met Jesus and saw herself for what she was, but much more the grace of God.  We all have a testimony or story to tell and the Bible says, "Let the redeemed of the Lord say so!" in Psalm 107:2.  Each of us is a miracle ready to happen as well as one that must be told--if you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or remember from what you were saved!  All of us should be able to relate what God has done for us by grace and feel grateful enough to pass on the good news.

The greatest sign that Jesus gave was his resurrection to a stubborn generation, but it was given "many infallible proofs" according to Luke in Acts 1:3.  But we can expect Christ to arise in us personally and to take up residence in our hearts.  The resurrection of Christ is history, but the resurrection experience in our hearts is salvation!  The resurrection is either the biggest and cruelest hoax in history, or it's the most important event and the turning point, according to Josh MacDowell.  Has Christ risen in you?  Look in the mirror, check your fruit!  If we have experienced God through Christ we will feel compelled and constrained to pass it on!  That's how we can accomplish miracles ourselves: changing lives in Jesus' name by sharing the gospel!  We are free to come as we are, but we will not stay that way.

Even great sinners can be changed into great saints by faith, but they must realize it's God at work, and not of human achievement:  we receive, we don't achieve.  Salvation is wholly God's work in us and of divine accomplishment ("salvation is of the LORD," per Job 2:9), not human achievement.  Religion is just a do-it-yourself proposition and a way of pulling yourself up by your own bootstraps, but Christianity is all about Christ coming to the rescue to save us from ourselves because we are our own worst enemy!

We are consequently saved from God's wrath, sin, Satan, hell and judgment, condemnation, our old sin nature, the power of sin over us, and eventually, the presence of sin itself--this is all a miracle and not our own work or effort that we should boast. When I got saved I remember telephoning my Mom and telling her that she would like the new me; she only replied that she liked the old one--but I'm sure she sees the difference now!  It's simply God at work in me as a work in progress.

CAVEAT:  NEVER FORGET YOUR ROOTS AND FROM WHAT YOU WERE SAVED (CF. ISA. 51:1).  

In sum, the only proof we need is what happened to us and to others as a witness and cannot be denied--don't be forced to prove anything, but let them see the irrefutable proof themselves.  The gospel illustrated in shoe leather.  Soli Deo Gloria!

Answering God's Call...

"So he will do to me whatever he has planned.  He controls my destiny" (Job 23:14, NLT). 
"My times [future] are in your hands..." (Psalm 31:15, NIV).  
"I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you" (Psalm 32:8, NIV).  

God revealed Himself to Samuel through His Word (cf. 1 Sam. 3:21), because visions were rare in those days. In fact, it could have been God's judgment on the land (cf. Amos 8:11) for their inclination to do what they saw fit (cf. Judges 17:6; 21:25).  Samuel broke the mold and pleased God and became the last of the judges and founded the school of the prophets.  Samuel became obedient to the heavenly call and offered no excuses as Moses did, was eager and willing to do God's will.  Consider Paul's attitude:  "I am obligated ...I am so eager ... For I am not ashamed..." (cf. Rom. 1:14-16, NIV).  He was prepared and ready, and he felt indebted to God!

We must realize that none of us can depend upon our own strength to do God's will, for apart from Christ we can do nothing  (cf. John 15:5).  Don't confide in your own strength!  All that Samuel did was only what the Lord had done through him (cf. Isa. 26:12).  Paul had the same attitude in saying that he would not venture to boast of nothing but what the Lord had accomplished (cf. Rom. 15:18).  God isn't interested in our achievements, but our obedience and trust--trust and obey, there's no other way, the hymn goes. 

Samuel's call proves that God always has His witness and a way to speak to mankind, even in the darkest of times.  Solomon asked God for wisdom, and Paul asked that a thorn in his flesh be removed, but in the end, they were blessed by God and enabled by grace to do his bidding.  After all, we are God's masterpiece and workmanship (cf. Eph. 2:10), ordained to do good works in His name.  In other words, bloom where you are planted and don't look for greener pastures!

We are all called by God according to His purpose and will (cf. Eph. 1:5) and God has a plan for each of us.  Paul's only aim was to complete the task the Lord had given him (cf. Acts 20:24).  "The LORD will fulfill his purpose for me..." (cf. Psalm 138:8, ESV).  God has not made us automatons without a will of our own, but we are to cooperate in doing His will and bringing glory to Him through service manifested by faith.  The key to service is to be equipped in your gift and to reach out.  We will never find our gift without a servant's heart! 

Therefore, a non-serving Christian is a contradiction in terms. We are to "spur one another toward love and good deeds" (cf. Heb. 10:24, NIV).  Mother Teresa said that "true holiness consists in doing the will of God with a smile."  The greatness of our service is not our natural abilities, but our surrender and commitment to Christ, as we will be judged by our faithfulness; however, don't get into the "let's compare" game and belittle one another's gift.

There are several calls for the Christian to answer:  to salvation, for service, choosing a mate, finding a church home, choosing a pastor, a vocation, an avocation, a ministry, a mission, one's witness and testimony, a fellowship or inner circle, and good deeds to do.  God's not looking for resumes but faithfulness and too many divorce faith from faithfulness.  The only resume we need is that we know God and walk with Him in fellowship. There is a place for everyone in the church to contribute and to feel at home in the body, which is an organism of living beings, not an organization of impersonal ones.  The righteous will live by faithfulness (cf. Hab. 2:4) and walk by faith and not by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7).          Soli Deo Gloria!