A Work Ethic

"Cursed is he who does the work of the Lord with slackness" (cf. Jer. 48:10).
".. 'I am engaged in a great work [project] so I can't come [down right now!].  Why should I stop working to come and meet with you?'" (Cf. Neh. 6:3, NLT). 
"Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might..." (Eccl. 9:10, ESV).
"Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need" (Eph. 4:28, ESV).  
"In all toil there is profit, but mere talk tends only to poverty" (Prv. 14:23, ESV).

Work ethic has been called the Protestant work ethic for centuries.  In 1607 Captain John Smith of Jamestown announced that he who wouldn't work will not eat after the admonition in 2 Thess. 3:10.  It was Martin Luther who first brought dignity to work, for it had been considered a curse and fit for slaves by the classic philosophers.  All that mattered was whether one did it to the glory of God--it didn't matter the kind or manner of a work project.

During the Holocaust in a concentration camp at Dachau, the Nazis tried to entice the Jews to work by telling them "Arbeit Macht Frei" or that work makes one free--it was a sham to motivate.  The Germans had a number of wise proverbs including "Arbeit Ehrt" or work dignify; "Arbeit Macht das Leben Suss," or work makes life sweet.  Work is meant to be a blessing just like food and drink according to Eccl. 3:13.

By way of illustration:  There is one well-known anecdote of a man who asks three men at a stone quarry and asks them what they are doing:  one says, "Can't you see?  I'm cutting stones!" another says, "I'm earning 100 lbs a week!" and the last one has a divine viewpoint and says, "I'm building a cathedral!"  Our perspective on our tasks makes all the difference and take on a new light as a witness to the world!

Jesus said, "I have ... [completed] the work you gave me to do..." (cf. John 17:4)--what a sigh of relief!  Nehemiah said, "For the people had a mind to work." (Cf. Neh. 4:6)--God can give intrinsic as well as extrinsic motivation and incentive to work, "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the Lord Almighty" (Cf. Zech. 4:6).   We are as inspired as our dreams and goals--aim high, not low--if you aim for nothing you will get nowhere.

We must all be willing to do humble work, in the so-called "order of the towel," as when Jesus took one to do the foot-washing in the Upper Room.  There is no caste system or class consciousness in Christ, as He leveled the playing field and made us all one in Christ, whether slave or free.

We must learn to do whatever we do with all our heart as unto the Lord, and to His glory, learning to love what we do, thus being a light to the world.  King George III said that we should aim not to do what we love but love what we do!   It's not wrong to take pride in one's vocation or work, for we will do our best and have extra motivation.  When we work, we are expressing God's image in us--work is no curse but part of God's plan and there will be work in heaven. 

It has been said that man is meant and "hard-wired for work" (according to Dr. Carl F. H. Henry), and cannot live without meaningful work or tasks to complete--we're not meant for idleness.  We must be wise to redeem the time for God, not wasting it (cf. Eph. 5:16).  Augustine of Hippo said, "to work is to pray!"  We all must learn to stay out of trouble, for idleness can be the devil's tool and workshop!  We are happiest when we are busy doing the Lord's work! Lack of stimulating work is debilitating--sloth (acedia) or idleness is one of the Seven Deadly Sins.

God does not call us to success but to faithfulness, according to Mother Teresa of Calcutta, recipient of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize and now canonized.  The Bible condemns selfish ambition, but not godly pursuits.   Jer. 45:5 says, "Do you seek great things for yourself?  Seek them not."  Everyone has a niche and a calling with one or more talents to use for God.   We should never compare ourselves with others but seek faithfulness in our God-given chores, tasks, duties, and errands.   "Whatever our hand finds to do, do it with all our might," says Ecclesiastes 9:10.  

And Col. 1:10 equates work with faith and says to "bear fruit in every good work, increasing in the knowledge of God."  We all should hope to find a "labor of love" to complete God's will.  We may retire from our jobs, but not God's service!  In a sense, our job is our workbench of worship and a dress rehearsal for heaven.  Teddy Roosevelt said that there's never been a man who led a life of ease whose name was worth remembering.

One anecdote from St. Francis of Assisi is in order:  He was busy doing his gardening at the monastery and was asked what he'd do if he only had thirty minutes to live.  He said, "I'd finish this row!" O, that we all could die doing what we love--doing God's will and busy at the Lord's work!   He had a handle on his purpose and was ready to meet the Lord at any time.   In conclusion, ask yourself:  "Who are you working for?  The man, the union, or the Lord?  Are you a team player?  Do you seek excellence in the Lord's work? Do you go to work to worship and pray as well as work?    Soli Deo Gloria!

Easy-believism

"You believe that there is one God.  Good!  Even the demons believe that--and shudder" (James 2:19, NIV).  
"Believe in the Lord [i.e., accepting his lordship or ownership] Jesus, and you will be saved" (Acts 16:31, NIV).
"...' Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind" (Matt. 22:37, NIV).

A. W. Tozer wrote a book, I Call It Hersey, to debunk the false notion of easy-believism (i.e., not accepting Christ as Lord of one's life but believing in spite of it) or cheap grace (i.e., forgiveness without repentance, justifying the sin, not the sinner!), as Dietrich Bonhoeffer referred to it as.  This message of domesticating and dumbing down the call to lordship is the gospel in vogue in modern, mainstream denominational churches who disregard repentance and, its flip side, faith as the only means of salvation. William Booth warned of a church offering forgiveness without repentance!

We must have a penitent faith or believing repentance as it were.  Salvation is indeed free, but not cheap--it costs everything we've got (total surrender of self to His will).  The propagators of the easy-believism tend to preach that we don't have to obey Christ to be saved--just believe!  This is not accepting Him as our Lord.  Christ will not dichotomize His offices and personhood.

We must submit to Him as Lord and trust Him as Savior.  We cannot accept a half-Christ.  He is Lord of all, or not at all! (Cf. Rom. 10:12; Acts 10:36).  We must bow to His authority (cf. Phil. 2:10-11) and ownership over our lives as the "Captain of our soul and Master of our fate" (cf. Invictus by William Ernest Henley)--we must release control of our life. In other words, our destiny is in His hands (cf. Job 23:14) and we must openly confess Him as our Lord before men to confirm our salvation (cf. Rom. 10:9-10; Matt. 10:32-33).  There are no secret Christians or closet believers.  There are also no Lone Ranger ones or solitary saints--we must all get connected with the body to function and grow.

Now there is no such thing as a carnal Christian as a class of believers, though believers can become carnal or lose their fellowship, backsliding or even falling from grace.  Christians do disobey God, though they do not continue in it, for God disciplines them and brings them back into the fold.  If we are without discipline, we are not real children of God!  Blessed are those who have learned to be rebuked by the Scripture and don't need a school of hard knocks to learn lives Reality 101.  "The righteous person may have many troubles, but the LORD delivers him from them all" (Psalm 34:19, NIV).  

God is looking for believers with gusto, who are gung-ho for the Lord, not halfhearted!  We must seek Him with our whole heart to find Him, for God regards not triflers.  It was said of Joshua (cf. 14:8) that he "wholly followed the Lord."  We must hold nothing back, making no compromises with the world, for if we love the world or the things of the world, we will not love God (cf. 1 John 2:15).  We must deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (cf. Mark 8:34).  Jesus never made it sound easy to be saved, but even discouraged halfhearted "disciples."

We, also, must not contextualize or water down the gospel message to lure or entice folks with an "acceptable" gospel they can swallow or handle without offense (but Christ is the Rock of offense and a Stone of stumbling!).

Some people merely pay lip service or go through the motions, memorizing the Dance of the Pious, in their worship--which is a fraud and a sham, not the real thing--this is Churchianity or playing games with the church, not Christianity.  The  Bible condemns those whose lips are near but their hearts are far from the Lord only doing their religious "duty" in church, not out of the heart.  Lukewarm believers are ones who are not walking with the Lord and need Christ in their heart to be a real encounter with Him.

The only genuine test of faith is obedience and "only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes," according to Dietrich Bonhoeffer.  Yes, there's a cost to discipleship and no one is promised a bed of roses--our reward is not in this life (cf. Psalm 17:14), for the Lord is our portion (cf. Gen. 15:1)!

Our faith is not measured by our ecstasies or encounters, even experiences such as visions and dreams, but only by our obedience (cf. Heb. 3:18-19)!  Jesus will say that we are merely good and faithful servants at the Judgment Seat of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10).  Yes, the cost is great and it's a life of sacrifice of self--not living for oneself--but the cost of rejection is greater!       Soli Deo Gloria!

What About Those Divorced?

"'...Therefore what God has joined together, let no one separate'" (Mark 10:9, NIV). 

Divorce is nearly one of two marriages now, even among Christians because they are not walking in obedience.  There are umpteen reasons to get divorced but most states now offer "no-fault" divorces so that anyone can get a divorce for virtually any reason, without even stipulating it.  Sometimes one party is forced into it unwillingly and is a victim of sorts of the system. To mention a "for instance," divorce can cause permanent trauma to both parties--there may be delayed or long-term effects.  Divorce isn't God's design but only a concession due to the hardness of man's heart.  It is wise not to go beyond that which is written as 1 Cor. 4:6 says, and to stick to biblical guidelines.  The Bible is very explicit that God SAYS "I hate divorce" (cf. Mal. 2:16)--it is only appropriate in certain cases--(i.e., that it's His will).

But believers are also capable of disobeying God and of falling into sin or rebellion, even backsliding and getting divorced when they should have reconciled or worked it out.  But sometimes this is rendered impossible due to circumstances.  Note that the Bible never gives believers permission to divorce due to falling out of love or what is legally termed "irreconcilable differences."  But we all can make mistakes, fall short, and exhibit poor judgment and we are not to judge or make life difficult for someone's errors and confessed sins committed long ago. 

God doesn't write anyone off as hopeless and out of it--He can work with any penitent soul; i.e., it's never too late for a fresh start with God and a clean slate when coming clean and making our peace with God.  No need to say, "I've made a big mistake AND BLEW IT and I'll be paying for it the rest of my life."  We can always get on track with God's BEST plan for our lives WITH ANOTHER CHANCE.

God is a God of grace and mercy and can extend it to anyone who is repentant, even believers.  One cannot change the past or make up for mistakes but must live and learn and go on with the school of hard knocks and experience.  But redressing or making amends is always called for whenever possible.  God says that no matter what we've done, He will receive us if we repent (cf. Lev. 26:44)!  But God wants sincere repentance and a change of heart and will to abide in Him from now on, i.e., sometimes it's impossible to correct past mistakes or to change the past.   Christians are capable of falling into temptation and sin and disobeying God like anyone else, but God always brings them back into fellowship and restores them--the apostasy or fall from grace is never permanent.

The lesson learned is that God may have other plans for the divorced and doesn't want their "interests divided" as it were.  If a person is divorced, they should not seek marriage but God's will and direction--God's plan for their lives through a life of obedience and submission to the Lord as a calling of being the servant of the Lord.  We should be careful not to celebrate or harbor the world's viewpoint of divorce and remarriage, which is far too lenient and lax, biblically speaking.  Granted, there are times when divorce is warranted, but adultery and unbelief are hardly the common ones we see today--it's usually flippant, selfish, and frivolous reasons that can be worked out and reconciled.

But we should never assume that marriage is the ideal state for everyone, but some are called to be celibate--it's a spiritual gift.  Many divorces can be avoided by not marrying outside your faith and ending up jeopardizing it at the expense of trying to save the marriage.  One's faith must take first priority and to be unequally yoked is forbidden by God (cf. 2 Cor. 6:14), yet people have flaws and feet of clay (weaknesses not readily apparent) and make mistakes that can even ruin their lives. 

But sometimes people act in ignorance and unbelief and need forgiveness, but it's God's will for them to work it out and not give up too soon.  If both parties are one in the Spirit, it can be worked out.  To stay together, however, both parties must be fully committed even though unrequited love is a hard burden to bear, but this is God's will and a test of one's faith.   

Meanwhile, the church is an organism of imperfect souls working out their salvation (cf. Phil. 2:12)--no perfect people need to apply!  The same set of standards for believers and unbelievers in the world differs--we see the light (cf. John 1:7-9; 8:12) and should know better and are therefore accountable and more culpable (cf. Rom. 14:12; 2 Cor. 5:10). Unbelievers are sinners who need repentance for their sins.  It is a sin to divorce for unbiblical reasons (cf. Mark 10:9)!  

But Christ came to seek and to save the lost (cf. Luke 19:10: Matt. 18:11) and the church is a hospital for sinners, not a hotel for saints!  We're not sanitizing personalities, but salvaging souls, as bona fide members of the soul patrol!  He came not to call the righteous, but sinners [unto repentance] (cf. Matt. 3:2; 9:13; Mark 1:14-15; Luke 5:32).  Sin is not to be condoned, but preached (cf. Luke 13:3,5) and people are to get saved from its power over them (cf. Matt. 1:21)--to be set free in Christ (cf. John 8:36).    Soli Deo Gloria!

Simpler Times With Miracles?

"A miracle is an event which is not producible by the  natural causes that are operative at the time and place that the event occurs." --William L. Craig
"'Listen to this, Job; stop and consider God's wonders" (Job 37:14, NIV).
"He performs wonders that cannot be fathomed, miracles that cannot be counted" (Job 5:9, NIV).   "[T]he day he displayed his signs in Egypt, his wonders in the region of Zoan" (Psalm 78:43, NIV).   "What Jesus did here in Cana of Galilee was the first of the signs through which he revealed his glory, and his disciples believed in him" (John 2:11, NIV).
"Even though you do not believe me, believe the miracles, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father" (John 10:38, NIV).

Skeptics like to attribute biblical faith in miracles as primitive, gullible, superstitious, and ignorant, and unschooled (this is a misconception and a myth), but even the educated didn't question they happened, as recorded in Antiquities of the Jews by Josephus, who was no stranger to the world of the supernatural as a Jew who wrote of Christ.  They were just as sophisticated as us and by no means can we attribute their belief as naivete.  Of course, the error was that the Pharisees attributed these signs to the work of the devil and couldn't discern good from evil they were so blind and hardened of heart.  There were only a few periods in biblical history that miracles were commonplace (the exodus, the conquering of the Promised Land, the time of Elijah and Elisha, the time of Jesus, and the beginning of the church age).

But people have never been "simple" and willing to believe anything and they could distinguish the normal from the supernatural or paranormal activity--they would not be fooled as easily as if we were to drive an auto and they would wonder how we could have a horseless carriage, for instance.  They knew what was plausible and what was clearly impossible and a sign from God!   They knew people don't rise from the dead as Elijah and Elisha had done and then Jesus and the apostles in the New Testament.  When Moses presented the Ten Plagues on Egypt, the sorcerers recognized the very "finger of God" at work and told that to Pharaoh.

The point of miracles is that they represent an unusual act of God since everything is orchestrated by Him and a common occurrence of God.  But if they happened all the time they'd be called "regulars."  If you want to see a miracle look in the mirror or at the sunrise!  If you say that miracles are "fixed," then so is the sunrise!  Miracles have been defined as something that cannot happen under the circumstances without intervention from an outside force.  They are indeed unusual events caused by God, but for a reason, since God is not haphazard, whimsical, capricious, nor arbitrary.

Jesus wouldn't accommodate people with miracles on demand to prove Himself, even in front of King Herod during one of His trials.  Neither would He do a "biggie" miracle to convince the Pharisees and skeptics, for miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles. They evoke or elicit faith in faithful!  They only reassure the faith of the believer, and they were never for show, to entertain, or for personal gain or selfish reasons.  In fact, miracles only give the desire for more miracles!  The Bible records all kinds of miracles to show God's power over nature, men, the elements, disease, demons, and even death.  John called them signs because they showed a side to His Deity that He was teaching or illustrating. They show the authenticity and genuineness of His claims!

Science cannot forbid miracles, for they are not within its province and the parameters are out of its domain or realm in the same manner that ethics is--but that doesn't imply they contradict science.  They cannot be repeated or duplicated and therefore cannot be tested. One-time events are historical in nature and not subject to repetition.  Miracles are not a "violation of natural law," as David Hume postulated, but a special intervention of God into our dimension.  The Bible makes no attempt to prove its miracles because it's self-attesting and doesn't appeal to any authority other than itself, otherwise it would not be the highest authority--if it appealed to science we would put our faith in science!   In sum, don't boast that you would believe if you could see a miracle, because there is no greater one than the resurrection of Christ which is given by "many infallible proofs" according to Acts 1:3.  Blessed are those who have not seen (a miracle--cf. John 20:29)!

The question of the existence of miracles is a philosophical one and depends on whether there is a God.  Often the issue is not a miracle in question but the very possibility of miracles that is doubted.  We have the veracity of the witnesses as historical evidence and we can easily believe they have not deluded us as madmen or deliberate liars who faced death as the test of their credibility.  If you take the miracles out of the Bible it is nothing and only a system of ethics and stories, but if you remove miracles from other faiths, they remain intact.

But none of Christ's miracles were for show or selfish reasons, and He didn't want to just be known as a miracle worker, for He came on a mission to save sinners, but without His miracles, He may have gone down as a mere footnote in history.  The problem with the Jews was that even though He had done many miracles they would not believe (cf. John 12:37).  Today, you can witness the greatest of all miracles now:  changed lives through Christ's resurrection power.  Note:  You can remove the miracles from other religions and they remain intact, but if you do that to the Bible, it is disemboweled; if Christ had performed no miracles, He would've remained a footnote in history!    Soli Deo Gloria!  

Oh, Theophilus (Lover Of God)!

Jesus said that if we love Him, we will keep His commandments.  Our love is contingent upon obedience, not feeling or maudlin sentimentality, which can fluctuate like a weather vane in a whirlwind.   Some believers are more demonstrative than others, while some timid or inhibited believers are sometimes stoical, even with secular matters they show restraint at showing motion publicly--they may be too self-conscious or don't want people to notice them or deflect attention off Christ.  The focus of our worship and love should be Christ and not how we express it--there is a no-size-fits-all way to worship!  We're all hard-wired uniquely to complement the body!

The measure of faith is our obedience and its only yardstick. "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes" (Bonhoeffer).  Love is not merely a sentiment or getting a spiritual high or intoxication on Jesus--though it may be a preoccupation!  We don't walk in the glow of some religious experience all our lives. It's not about walking on Cloud Nine all day!  We have to have our valleys to test our faith, as God withdrew from Hezekiah to see what was really on his heart (2 Chron. 32:3not 1).

God wants to know how we will act by faith, not feeling!  (not paying "lip service," Isa. 29:13; Jer. 12:2).   For we walk by faith, not by sight! (cf. 2 Cor. 5:17).  It is faith that pleases God (cf. Heb. 11:6)--He will not say to us, "How great awesome your feelings!"  Some people just have no control over their feelings and give full vent to them regardless of them being good or bad.  Jesus commended the Canaanite woman for her faith!  The Roman centurion was also commended for his faith!

What does it mean then to love God with all our hearts?  It means all that we are:  our wills or volition; our emotion or sentiment; and, of course, our intellect or mind.  Everyone seems to be strong in some areas and weak in others--for we all fall short and are works in progress.  The point is that we are sincere in our love and worship and don't feign love or try to be someone or something we are not to impress others.

Our faith isn't how much we believe, but how well we obey.   Our obedience is measured by how we love with our volition and submit to God's will; our emotions may be expressed by outbursts and feelings shared with others, and loving with our intellect measured by how we use or don't use our God-given brains and talents.  We cannot say that someone is an intellectual and is just wired that way to be insensitive and impassive in other ways, no more than we can say one is emotive and foolish and reckless in expression.

We must seek to love God with our full and complete personality--all that we are and strive to be in Christ (OUR SOUL, MAKEUP, OR PERSONHOOD--WHAT DEFINES US!).  That's why Scripture says to love God with all our soul, all our mind, all our strength, and all our heart!  That just about covers all the bases and shows that we all have room for improvement and growth, for God isn't finished with us yet and we all must enroll in His school of love!

Christians are in love with Jesus (not just the idea of Jesus) and He is the Great Lover of our soul, who loves us for who we are and accepts us with baggage, flaws, and blemishes, and all!   The believer's walk is a romance with God and we grow in our love by means of obedience and communion or fellowship on a daily basis.

We are to grow in our love of the Lord and it's a thrill meant to last a lifetime.  All believers have a different strong suit or forte of how they express their love for God--we might do it through our spiritual gift and in our service to Christ either in our mission to the unsaved or in ministry to the body.  At the Bema of Christ, we all await the final verdict:  "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!"  And we must never divorce faith and faithfulness!

The important lesson to glean is that we should never compare ourselves to others and get jealous of their gift or abilities, talents, responsibilities, or opportunities.  There are two common errors in the body:  gift projection, whereby we expect others to be like us; and gift envy, whereby we wish we had someone else's gift--we will all be judged individually and personally!  CAVEAT:  Don't let someone belittle your gift!   Christians are lovers in essence and what the world needs is more Christian love (our primary gift), according to Bertrand Russell, British mathematician, and an atheist philosopher.

Christ didn't found an empire on war or the sword, but by being the Emperor of Love, according to Napoleon Bonaparte.  NB:  Christ never asks us to do anything He didn't do--He gave all for us and we must return the favor by denying ourselves, taking up our cross, and following Him, as our expression of love.  The expression of love is self-sacrifice, the opposite of being selfish and living for oneself--love gives of oneself sacrificially!  Remember who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us--His all!

A measure of our love for God can be seen in how we love our neighbor and especially the brethren too!   This is love in action and love applied!   He who loves another has fulfilled the law, according to Romans 13:8.  "For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command:  "Love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal. 5:14, NIV).  "Love does no harm to a neighbor.  Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:10, NIV).  We have no right to claim a love of God if we do not love one another, for love is the fruit of the Spirit in all believers, which is shed abroad in our hearts (cf. Rom. 5:5).  The institution of matrimony is meant to be the image of Christ's love for the church and this is one vehicle for learning and applying the love we experience in Christ.  Soli Deo Gloria!

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!