Better Than Sacrifice

"... 'Does the LORD delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as much as in obeying the LORD?  To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams'" (1 Sam. 15:22, NIV). 
"For I desire steadfast love [or mercy] and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings" (Hosea 6:6, ESV).

God isn't interested in what we give up for Him (like giving up something for Lent), but that we dedicate our lives to Him in full surrender to His will. It's not what you give up but that you give up yourself.  Living the Christian life costs something in the long term, but not living it costs more!  To obey is better than sacrifice  (cf. 1 Sam. 15:22)!  He desires mercy and not sacrifice (cf. Hos. 6:6; Matt. 9:13)!  When we bring our offerings to God, and our whole life is to be an offering, we are doing that which costs us something--the ownership of our lives.  The kinds of sacrifices that please God are the sacrifice of praise (cf. Heb. 13:15), the sacrifice of righteousness (Psa. 4:5) and the sacrifice of thanksgiving (cf. Psa. 107:22, 116:17)! "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice" (Prov. 21:3, NIV).  The sacrifice that pleases God is a broken spirit and contrite heart (cf. Psa. 51:17).

If we are just going through the motions of sacrifice and it becomes a matter of routine, duty, or habit, we've lost it.  Some people just memorize the Dance of the Pious and put on a show for God as they nod to God to fulfill their guilty conscience.  We can never know the joy of worship when we are not free in the Spirit of all guilt and sin.  We worship with our lives, not just in church!  We don't go to church to just to sing a worship song because the full service is worship to Him.  Sometimes it seems we don't get much out of the worship but this ought not to be so.  If we don't get anything out of worship we did it for the wrong reason and may be in a worship rut.  Worship is God-centered and we must learn to focus on Christ and get our eyes off ourselves.  We lose ourselves in worship and enjoy doing it and by not letting it become perfunctory. When all's right with God our worship will show it and we get recharged as a by-product!  We empty ourselves to get filled!  The way to entree into God's presence, actually being ushered into the throne room, is by offering thanksgiving and praising Him.  "Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise...," (Psalm 100:4, NIV).

Sacrifice entails that it costs us something, as David said he would not "offer to God that which cost [him] nothing."  Our salvation costs Christ His blook, subordination, and life but is freely offered to us when we trust Him as Savior and submit to Him as Lord.  It's free, but it costs everything we've got!   True holiness consists in doing the will of God with a smile according to Mother Teresa of Calcutta.  Christians are to be hedonists in the sense of finding their joy in the Lord!  (Nehemiah 8:10, NIV) says "... [F]or the joy of the LORD is your strength...." What is the chief end of man?  "We ought to rejoice in the Lord always and glorify God by enjoying Him forever" (paraphrase from The Westminster Shorter Catechism). God is most pleased and glorified with us when we enjoy Him and take pleasure in Him: take delight in the Lord and He will give you the delights of your heart (cf. Psa. 37:4).

Our lives are to "offer [our] bodies as a living sacrifice ... this is [our] true and proper worship" (cf. Rom. 12:1) and that means salvation isn't by martyrdom or asceticism (i.e., the more we suffer, the holier we are!) but we must desire to live out our faith!  And we must offer ourselves to God's altar daily and renew our commitment regularly-it's not just a one-time event or decision!  We are to be so filled with the Spirit (cf. Eph. 5:18) that we overflow to be a blessing to others as a conduit as our cup overflows (cf. Psa. 23:5;  Zech. 8:13). Christians have the beatific vision as an eternal hope and will enter into the "joy of the Lord" in glory as a reward.     Soli Deo Gloria!

Enjoying Our Freedom In Christ

Christ is still in the business of changing lives and sets the sinner free, not having anything to say to the so-called righteous who see no need for him, but only for the so-called losers of society, even the outcasts, the untouchables, and the riffraff!  Remember, we are slaves to whom we choose to obey! (cf. Romans 6:16; cf. 2 Pet. 2:19).  But, the more enslaved to Christ, the freer we are in spirit.

Acts 13:39 says that he who believes is freed from all things!  He is no longer the slave or servant of sin, but of righteousness.  That doesn't mean he's lawless (as the antinomian would suggest), but that he has the power to live in the Spirit, being freed from the power of sin and the flesh.  In salvation, we are not only forgiven for what we've done, but delivered from what we are (this is our justification and sanctification).  

When someone sins, he's not demonstrating his freedom but proving his slavery!  Romans 6:16 says that we are slaves to the power we choose to obey.  Christ will not save those He cannot command and obedience is the measure of our faith and its manifestation.  As Bonhoeffer said, "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes."  We are never free to do what is wrong or to do our own thing or what is wrong in our brother's eyes.  Our liberty is curtailed by our brother's conscience.

The antinomian (one who is a law unto himself) sings the song:  "Freed from the law, O blessed condition; now I can sin all I want and still have remission."  We must never be presumptuous and take advantage of God's patience and grace.  There is sin unto death too (cf. Psalm 118:18; 1 John 5:16) and God disciplines His own and brings them back to the fellowship (cf Heb 12:5-6).  We know that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one but he cannot touch us (cf. 1 John 5:18-19).  

Antinomianism is the license to sin and leads to moral laxity and becoming slack in the faith (namely, backsliding).  It's also known as libertinism and is really the quest for moral liberty gone amuck.  We never have the freedom to do as we want, but as we ought!  Israel tended towards libertinism in Judges when it's described as each man doing that which is right in his own eyes (cf. Judges 17:6, 21:25).

On the contrary, true freedom is the power to live in Spirit because of walking with Christ in fellowship with Him or filled with the Spirit.  The new nature needs no law; the old nature knows no law.  Being free doesn't imply that there are no laws; for example, a free park has rules or it would be chaos. We should never go beyond that which is written though (cf. 1 Cor. 4:6).  Legalists tend to make people feel bound where they should be free.

We remain free by not becoming legalists and learning of the power of the Spirit to lead us and guide us--for we are never free from the will of God!  We do this by not majoring on the minors or emphasizing minor sin and ignoring a more serious one, like the Pharisees who tithed their spices like "... mint, dill, and cumin. But [they] have neglected the more heavy matters of the law--justice, mercy, and faithfulness.  [They] should have practiced the latter, without neglecting the former.  [They are] blind guides!  [They] strain out the gnat but swallow a camel" (Matt. 23:23-24, NIV).  It is too easy to pay attention to the letter of the law like the Pharisees did, and ignore the Spirit of the law,  "... for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life" (2 Cor. 3:6, NIV).

"[B]ecause through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death" (Rom. 8:2, NIV). Legalism is spiritual tyranny and antinomianism tends to think the Bible sanctions the right to do one's thing.   Legalism is the antithesis of antinomianism but just as fatal to our faith and the only way to steer clear of their paralysis is to have a knowledge of the Word.  

In sum, the more enslaved to Christ we are and the more we allow Him to inhabit us and we're surrendered to His will, the freer we are--in slavery to Christ we are free! We are both the bondslaves of Christ and Christ's free man!   WE ARE SLAVES THAT WE MAY BE FREE!  Soli Deo Gloria!

Keeping The Faith

Some earnest believers urge men to "keep the faith," while this may seem like a reasonable exhortation, it's meaningless.  The motto of the sovereign of the UK is "F.D." or Fidei Defensor, meaning that be the "defender of the faith," while crown prince Charles wants to change it to simply "defender of faith."  To him, it matters not what your faith is as long as you defend it.  The Bible also speaks of contending for the faith, not just faith per se, and refers also to our Christian credo or constitution.  All in all, it's not how big our faith, but how big our God and through our repentance.  There's no saving faith without genuine heartfelt repentance (cf. Acts 26:20). We have penitent faith or believing repentance.  We don't have faith in faith!  Faith is only as valid as the object it's placed in. We don't need perfect faith--just sincere, unfeigned faith!

As you may recall, Paul urged Timothy to keep the faith and many in the latter days would abandon the faith or bail out theologically as it were.  Paul boasted in his swan song (2 Tim. 4:7, NIV) that he had "fought the good fight, [he] finished the race, [he] kept the faith" (emphasis mine)"   This is all that's required of the believer!  Note that Paul wasn't resting on his laurels!   We don't have to win the race--Christ won for us!  We must finish the course tailored for us!  We are only His ambassadors in this world.  And we persevere in the faith only because He preserves us to the end.  

The angelic war or conflict with Satan comes with the territory and we sign up for this at salvation as our battle just begins as we get on Satan's hit list and become his spiritual enemy--but remember:  the battle is the Lord's! We live in enemy-occupied turf!  But we are our own worst enemy!  The key is to know the threefold enemy: the world, the flesh, the devil.  In affliction, the same sun melts the butter, hardens the clay! Becoming bitter or better.   Our faith must be tested as if by fire!  "But he knows the way that I take; when he has tested me, I will come forth as gold," (Job 23:10, NIV).  WE MUST NEVER DIVORCE FAITH FROM FAITHFULNESS!

Now how exactly did Paul maintain his faith in such an inhospitable, unwelcome environment as Rome?  The way we do:  we keep our faith by giving it away!  The measure of our faith is the works it produces as fruit. Without works our faith is suspect!  Good soil produces a good crop, not foliage.  Paul would say that faith must be proved by works, and James would say works must spring from faith!  Reiterating:  Paul teaches that works must bloom from the faith; James teaches faith must be demonstrated and validated by works!  Don't divorce them!  They go hand in hand and cannot be separated, only distinguished.  We must realize that the faith we have is the faith we show!  If our faith has no works, it's dead (cf. James 2:17) and that kind of faith cannot save.  We must bear in mind the formula of the Reformers:  "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone."

God will certainly reward us for our work done in His name (2 Chron. 15:7) and we are rewarded according to our works, not our faith--so we must turn our faith and creed into deeds!  We must be sold out for Christ and serve Him with our whole heart, mind, soul, and strength and in the Spirit.  God is not against good works, just those done in the flesh.  "...' You reward everyone according to what they have done'" (Psalm 62:12, NIV).  "God 'will repay each person according to what they have done'" (Rom. 2:6, NIV).  True faith expresses itself!  Some people will suffer loss and be saved as if by fire because their works were nothing but wood, hay, and stubble and burned up at God's fire of judgment (cf. 1 Cor. 3:15).

According to Isaiah, we must be firm in the faith to withstand the trials and afflictions coming our way as we signed up for.  "... If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all," (Isa. 7:9, NIV).  We are culpable for any lapses in our faith and must not grow lax in the faith due to carnality or lack of spiritual discipline. For those without discipline do not belong to Him and are illegitimate children.  We all have a cross to bear--no cross, no crown!  We must not be ignorant of Satan's schemes! "If God is for us, who can be against us?" (Cf. Rom. 8:31, NIV).

God gives to each of us a measure of faith (cf. Rom. 12:3) and what we do with this faith gift is our gift to God.  He gives us faith, but we must exercise it!  Paul would say, "I'll show you my good deeds by my faith," while James would counter, "I'll show you my faith by my good deeds" (Js. 2:18)." Israel was known for the sin of backsliding and Hosea is a book of promise to heal the backslider at heart:  "I will heal their waywardness and love them freely, for my anger has turned away from them," (Hos. 14:4, NIV). We must remember that affliction and trial belong to Reality 101 in our Christian walk, but for the backslider at heart, he can only blame himself:  "..your sins have been your downfall!" (Hos. 14:1, NIV).

We are to abide in Christ and He will abide in us (John 15:4) for it's possible to walk with the Lord for one's entire life if one is obedient as Enoch, for that is the only true measure of faith--not ecstasies nor experiences!  God is not looking for our achievements, but our obedience--He wants us!  We must be cognizant that we can do nothing without Christ's power (cf. Jn. 15:5); i.e., of our own strength. Our righteousness is God's gift to us (cf. Isa. 45:24) but what we do with it is our gift to God.  Faith is given, not achieved!  

NB: Jesus said in John 15:5 that apart from Him we can do nothing  (even believe!).  In sum, "... make every effort to confirm your calling and election. ... you will never stumble" (2 Pet. 1:10, NIV).   Soli Deo Gloria!

Loose With The Facts

According to the Correspondence Theory of Truth delineated by John Locke, truth is what corresponds with reality or reports the facts concerning it.  
"A man convinced against his will is of the same opinion still."  (Proverb)
"Truth forever on the scaffold; wrong forever on the throne."  (James Russell Lowell, 1844, The Present Crisis)
"All Truth is God's truth." (Augustine of Hippo).  "All truth meets at the top." (Thomas Aquinas)

We must not twist the truth to fit our theories, nor have preconceived notions of the truth but be honest, open-minded seekers for the unknown.  Evidence is the objective reality but isn't the whole picture and is only one argument for or against--it is neither conclusive nor always definite.  Evidence is vital because faith not based on evidence is blind faith!  Perfect certainty is not necessary for knowledge, for all knowledge is contingent and based on faith.  We go astray from the way of truth when we make up our own facts or evidence; we don't have a right to our own facts, but we have a right to our own opinions!  Facts must be undisputed and not subjective.  The truth is absolute and cannot be denied; it's not relative to a situation or person.

Christianity deals in facts and in the truth as well as history, which other religions don't.  The problem with some investigators into truth is that they have their minds made up and don't want to be confused with the facts, though we all tend to believe just the facts that fit our opinions.  No one ever gets convinced of something against their will.  For instance, scientists who espouse to evolution have ruled God out of the equation from the get-go, so how can they hope to be objective when they assume there is no God without there being any evidence for that conclusion.  They won't even admit to the possibility of God.  They don't know you cannot prove there is no God because you cannot prove a universal negative according to logic and philosophy.  Socrates was humble because he said that you will never find the truth if you won't admit you could be wrong!

The facts speak for themselves and you must be willing to go where they lead even if it's an uncomfortable conclusion.  We make theories based on fact, we don't force the facts nor twist them to fit our theories.  The problem today is that people are generally ignorant and gullible and believe everything they hear from their personal sources without questioning authority.  When someone listens to one primary source for information or news, they lose discernment.  When someone has that much of your confidence he's all the more able to get away with lying because you don't fact-check or even Google something.  We must all be suspicious and somewhat skeptical to what we hear from politicians for instance.

The two biggest problems in America are apathy and ignorance:  they don't know and they don't care!  America was only designed for an enlightened and informed electorate!  We need to keep God relevant!  When a society becomes wholly secularized and removes God from the public square and discourse the foundations of democracy are shattered and we lose our footings in a morality which will become lax.  When there is not transcendent, objective standard of right and wrong society gets corrupted and it's the job of the church to be salt and light and get society back on track to be a city on a hill.

There are basically five reasons people believe things:  authority figures say it's so; they want to believe it; their group believes it; they have a vested interest in believing it; they have always believed it--culture or tradition.  When you don't accept reality, which is what denying truth is, you will grasp at anything but the truth.  That is why Plato said that if we want to live in reality we must know what God is really like.

Right now we seem to be ruled by those who make the most noise and raise the most money, not according to debate on the issues and understanding where people are coming from; instead, there's polarization and lack of understanding. Politicians make allegations and charges without any evidence to support them, yet they persist because some will believe them (probably supporters).  We must adhere to a strict policy to a facts-based mindset because it's a known fact that where you start determines where you'll end up!  People must consider the consequences of being wrong as well as the validity of the source and track record of whom they believe.   In conclusion, we must stop just accepting news we agree with: a complete agreement is not always necessary; sometime we must agree to disagree without being disagreeable and find commonalities--we seek unity not uniformity.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Defining God's Love

Love has been defined as doing what's in the best interest of another, and it doesn't necessitate the presence of emotion or passion but an attitude.  God's love is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit (cf. Rom. 5:5) and as believers, we desire to pass it on and express it in a brotherly manner.

The Bible says twice in 1 John 4 (vv. 8, 16) that "God is love."  I might add, "God is love, period."  That is God's essence and what defines Him.  He knows only how to be loving and wants to express it towards a stubborn, rebellious world.  That doesn't mean He doesn't get angry at sin but His love never wavers.  But man confuses this with the expression, "Love is God," which means that as long as love is involved, it's merited and approved by God.  Note that today's New Morality defines anything as right or moral that has a good motive--that one meant well or had the intention of a loving heart.  In God's economy, something is only right if the motive, the method, and the end result or goal is pure and right in God's eyes.

We truly don't limit love to God, for love is part of the image of God He has bestowed on us, but God is the One who delimits what it is.  Love is to be consistent with God's character and essence.  And God defines how we should express our love; for instance, hugs for brotherly love, discipline can be its expression for wrongdoing, and sex the expression of marital love.  There is the natural and unnatural expression of love:  love for children, parents, siblings, friends, and others not having sexual relations with is natural; however when there is pedophilia or lust of any kind, which is unnatural desire, it's not an appropriate expression of love.

Homosexuals believe they have a right to express their love their own way; however, no one has the right to do their own thing--which is the essence of sin. There's nothing wrong when a man loves a man, but when sex is involved it becomes perverted and wrong.  Sex is reserved for the marital state and its fulfillment can only be by God's design.  Any perversion of God's standards is breaking faith with the Designer.  God is no celestial killjoy just trying to stop us from having fun either, but this is for our own good and we are hard-wired this way and can only find true fulfillment and meaning following God's will.

We are not to define ourselves or who we are by our sexual identity either.  Saying "I was born this way," or "I am just who I am," or "You must accept me," all are misleading and fail the truth test. They are implying that God made a mistake and made other expressions of sex besides in the marriage of a man and a woman, as Jesus endorsed.  God made man male and female and defined two states of bliss:  marriage and celibacy.  There is no excuse in saying we are born this way because we are all born sinners and must confess and repent of our sins, even heterosexual ones such as adultery and fornication and sexual immorality of any kind.  We cannot say that we just cannot help ourselves any more than a liar saying he cannot help but lie and is therefore justified, or a rapist in raping.

Another thing about transcendent law or objective, moral law is that it never changes:  what Moses said was wrong is still valid and times may change but morals don't in God's economy.  Common law is usually based on historical precedent such as the Bible.  Just because a society has accepted something as moral, doesn't mean God has put His stamp of approval on it when it's condemned in Scripture.  The Bible deals in absolutes and there is no changing His mind on the issues from the giving of the Law.

Such expressions as "love is love," "make love, not war," and "free love" are not biblical and against the Christian worldview that love is a gift of God to be cherished and nurtured in the state of matrimony in its sexual expression.  We wouldn't have known love had not God sent His Son and the point is that we didn't love Him but He loved us!  If we love not we know not God for God is love and He who loves fulfills the law for there is no law against love.

We must never accuse God or the Bible of being wrong and leave the applications and definitions of love to man.  The Bible was not written by merely fallible authors but was God-breathed or inspired by God.  People think they are in a position to judge God, but don't realize that on Judgment Day they will be the ones judged by God. We are not His judge, He is our judge!   In sum, to oppose God's definition of love is a form of hatred, and should be called a hate crime; i.e., not to oppose man's convention, traditions, or laws; God's not against love, just how it's expressed within the boundaries and rules He has made.       Soli Deo Gloria!

Answering Life's Ultimate Questions

All worldviews attempt to answer the ultimate questions of life: where did we come from? how did we get here? why are we here? where will we end up? what makes life worth living? Mankind has always asked these challenging questions. This is where religion came on the scene, for God has put eternity in our hearts from the beginning and man has always wondered about life after death, as the ultimate issue and the big question. All religions and worldviews attempt to give satisfying answers to these questions and to "save" mankind. Some people think religion is just escapism or a crutch, but secular people have crutches too and just put their faith in science that it has the answer or can find them.

Everyone is a person of faith! It just depends on what your presupposition is, i.e., it's not a matter of faith versus reason, but what you are willing to accept as truth to begin with. We must begin with God and explain our worldview, not start with some interpretative framework and explain away God--for where you begin usually determines where you will end up; even Darwin pondered, "Would you trust the convictions of a monkey's mind?" It has been said that if you teach a man he's an animal that he'll act like one; some men want to believe they are animals so they can have the morals of one.

Man is not an animal in the sense that he seeks the reason for being, meaning, purpose, and understanding in life--we wonder "why" and contemplate ourselves. We not only know things but know that we know and ponder why we know it and what we can know even how we know things. In other words, man is a natural philosopher, while animals don't wonder or think about the bigger issues in life besides their basic needs. Even having an education, a higher standard of living, and freedom, man can be empty inside. Man needs fulfillment and relationships, for we are a social, spiritual, creative, communicative, musical, moral, rational creature and have personalities that relate to others on a personal level, giving man the unique ability to know and relate to one another.

Science can indeed give us the "know-how," but it cannot help us with the "know-why" of life, it cannot give us purpose in life and hope for the future, nor satisfy our longings for truth, identity, impact, importance, guidance, and meaning in life--animals have no such need. Do animals wonder who they are and try to find themselves or get in touch with themselves? Only man wastes time by worrying about the future and regretting the past. Man is by nature a religious being too, and if he doesn't worship God he'll worship something or someone else; on the other hand, no one has ever observed a monkey building a chapel outside of The Planet of the Apes!

It is my premise that Christianity answers these questions better and fuller than any religion or secular worldview. There is a harmony, coherence, and unity in the Christian worldview that lines up with the Bible as the authority. Christianity outshines all other worldviews in reasonableness, personal experience, and foundation in fact and history. The Bible is the foundation upon which the faith stands. Every worldview must have some authority or "scripture," and the Bible is the highest standard attained by man and it's self-attesting. It appeals to no authority higher than itself for proof and proves itself. This is not circular reasoning to say we believe the Bible is the highest authority because it claims to be, because God has the authority to speak through His Word and if He appealed to anything else or we did, like science or history, God would be taking a backseat to them and not be the ultimate authority figure.

Secularism believes that everything has a natural cause and can be explained naturally--there's no place nor need for miracles! The supernatural is ruled out from the get-go and doesn't enter the equation. Only the strong survive in this dog-eat-dog world of survival of the fittest and the law of the jungle--the real rat race. We are just all lucky to be here due to some great cosmic accident eons ago. They offer no explanation for life and their origin-of-life experiments fail to come off, and they must see the cosmos and life as mere givens, and unexplainable phenomena.

In their view, everything is an infinite series of finite, efficient causes and there was no First Cause, which they refuse to accept as possible and necessary because it sounds too much like God. But students of logic, science, philosophy, and mathematics know that an infinite series of causes is impossible--there must be a first cause! This is called the impossibility of crossing infinity. But they have no room for God in their equation and will not let a Divine Foot in the door, thinking that religion is a neurosis or delusion, a crutch for the weak. Much more they refuse to accept the spiritual dimension of life--everything is material and made up of matter and energy, without any spirit or Ultimate Mind behind it. For instance, the brain is just a cog of machines, made up of electronic circuits, and the mind doesn't exist independently of it, just another name for the brain. We have, therefore, no soul and no spirit worth saving.

The meaning of the cosmos hangs on which came first and which has precedence: mind or matter. Either one or the other preceded: In the beginning ultimate mind; in the beginning ultimate matter. The Bible starts out: "In the beginning God..." John elaborates as "In the beginning was the Word..." The Logos here referred to is the "expressed thought of God." Either mind created matter or mind evolved from matter--there's no other option. It's impossible for there to be nothing in the beginning, for "out of nothing, nothing comes." goes the axiom: ex nihilo, nihil fit.


Cosmologists now reckon a beginning to time, as the Bible has always predicated (cf. 2 Tim. 1:9; Tit. 1:2). Time, being the corollary of space and matter, didn't always exist, and God must be outside of the time-space continuum to be the First Cause and get the ball rolling (something timeless created time!). What or who fired the shot of the Big Bang, who banged the Bang? According to Newton's law of inertia, how did motion begin?  An object at rest tends to stay at rest, begging the question of the first motion.  We conclude that there must be someone behind the cosmos who is responsible and intelligent and programmed the universal constants, called the Anthropic Principle or the fine-tuning of the universe.

All worldviews aim to save the world too and to make a brighter future for posterity. Christians don't believe we can save society and do not attempt to save man through politics. Most secularists are highly utopian and believe man is capable of perfection and therefore so is society. But this kind of dreaming is pie in the sky and gives false hopes, like believing someday man will know how to become immortal. There are those who freeze their bodies in hope of man someday figuring out how to thaw it out and revive it. 

In the meantime, all members of the worldviews attempt to better themselves and their world and make it better for succeeding generations. Doing good works is a part of every worldview, it's the motivation that differs: Christians do it out of gratitude and love for God and others, while other worldviews want to earn their way to salvation or just make themselves feel good, because of their unresolved guilt. Soli Deo Gloria!

Why Is There So Much Evil?

"The LORD saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time" (Gen. 6:5, NIV).  
"The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure.  Who can understand it?" (Jer. 17:9, NIV). 
"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today" (Gen. 50:20, ESV). 

Evil is not the opposite of good, but its perversion or deprivation--evil couldn't exist in its own right unless good did.  In the beginning, there was no evil in the world. There is no such thing as a struggle in life between yin and yang like Eastern mystics believe.  God created everything and said it was good!  But He also created the possibility of evil.  For if evil had not been possible, there would be no way to see good in contrast.  We see good in light of evil and shouldn't ask where's God, but where isn't God and where's the church.  God did something about evil; He made you and me!  He created us for such a time as this and we must let our light shine in the darkness and it shall not be put out or extinguished.  John Donne said, "Don't ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee."  Evil gives us the opportunity to overcome it with good and to bring glory to God with victory in Jesus' name.

There is a very good reason why evil must exist:  different people respond to the same event in different ways--one becomes better and one bitter!  The same sun hardens the clay, melts the butter!  The same knife can cut butter and be used in war.  If evil didn't exist, how would we know if we would choose God for ourselves?  There so much evil now because God knows how to turn it into good and sees a silver lining behind every cloud.  God works the wrath of man to His glory and there is so much of it to work with--but God doesn't allow anything that doesn't fit His ultimate purpose (cf. Psa. 76:10).  We must never question God's wisdom and blame Him for our problems.

God could stamp out evil in the world with one stroke, but you and I wouldn't be here, for everyone has some evil inherent, for man is a totally depraved being in need of salvation.  Who is it that would determine just how much evil is to be tolerated, if not God?  We must trust God who is too deep to explain Himself, too wise to make a mistake, and too kind to be cruel.  Job wondered why God was getting on his case because he saw himself as righteous.  His error was that he was self-righteous!  We all deserve far worse from God than we receive at His hand--God tempers His justice with mercy and remembers mercy in His wrath (cf. Hab. 3:2).

Instead of charging God with error we should thank Him for His mercy and grace--We don't get what we deserve and get what we don't deserve!  God is good to all in some ways and to some in all ways who are doubly blessed (cf. Psalm 145:9). But God's common grace extends to all and He calls all men to repent, but most men don't see their sins.

There are no easy answers to evil in the world and no religion has a complete answer but leaves room for faith to come into play.  God isn't accountable to us, but we to Him and He doesn't have to explain Himself.  A lot of evil we experience is of our own doing as we reap what we sow, some sow the wind and reap the whirlwind even.  A man ruins his life and then blames the Lord (cf. Prov. 19:3), but when he's successful he gives himself all the credit!  We must rest in faith that God allows evil to happen according to His providence and has a purpose for everything, even the wicked for the day of evil (cf. Prov. 16:4).  According to Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz, sometimes referred to as the best of all possible worlds in which evil is minimized and goodness maximized, God cannot make a world with men having the ability to choose evil if they will, without some choosing it to their damnation!

God always makes it up to us for the evil done us and rewards us for the days the locust has eaten (cf. Psalm 90:15; Joel 2:25).  We never come out losers with God on our side and always with us. Jesus expects nothing more from us He didn't do:  all sufferings, trials, afflictions, tests must inevitably come but our crosses pale in comparison to His.   In the final analysis, we must view evil in our lives as a test of faith and God doesn't allow any evil that isn't Father-filtered and He has a purpose for it--"All things work together for good to them who love God..."

NB:  The world is not as evil as it can be for God's grace is at work always restraining it lest it gets out of hand.  We live in the day of grace when God is keeping the door open to the gospel and not judgment.  Someday God will judge the world and make His wrath known.     FINAL THOUGHT:  MAYBE WE SHOULD ASK: "WHY IS THERE SO MUCH GOOD?"     Soli Deo Gloria!

By God's Design

When we break faith with our Designer or Creator, we lose our faith and end up going our own way and doing our own thing (cf. Isa. 53:6, ESV, which says, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned-- every one--to his own way...")--one definition of sin's essence.  The Bible states "woe to him who strives with his Maker "(cf. Isa. 45:9).  God didn't make the rules for sexuality to be mean or to spoil our fun, as some kind of a cosmic killjoy, but that's what's best for us and we sin against ourselves when we commit sexual immorality.   We are all capable of doing what's unnatural and inappropriate things and inventing new ways to do evil (cf. Romans 1:27-30). 

Now, homosexuality is not to be singled out as the worst possible evil or sin committed, for we must see it in God's eye; He loves the sinner, yet hates the sin.  It is at variance with Scripture and some Christians don't hold a biblical worldview, thinking it's just progressed to accept gay marriage.  The Bible teaches absolute morality, and His perfect, holy, divine standards have not and will not change with time--they're not relative in any way.

People who say that God mentions it as abominable must also realize other sins are in the same boat and worthy of the same condemnation that they don't denounce.  Often it's the other guy's sin that offends us, not our own.   All sin angers God because it goes against His divine nature.  We were originally in God's image and meant to bring glory to Him, and this is contrary to God's intention of the union of a man and a woman in marriage.  He did this on purpose so that they can complete each other and fit together as one.  Homosexuality is not God's best for man and offends Him, as does all sin. It isn't sin just because God doesn't like it--it is degrading and shameful as well as unnatural, going contrary to His nature which is holy.

We must be careful not to concentrate on any one sin that offends us and miss the forest for the trees, not seeing the big picture.  Legalists see sins, not sin and our problem is our old sin nature, which manifests its weakness differently.  We must not signal out homosexuality and lose focus or go on some campaign against the sinners.  Our mission is to preach the gospel to them and let God do a work of grace in changing their lives.  

God can heal or cure someone of this sin, just like any sin (cf. 1 Cor. 6:11).  Some claim they were born this way and they didn't have any choice--but isn't the sin nature's essence the act of choosing self over God and rebelling against His plan, of declaring one's independence from God?  When they ask if it's nature or nurture, it's almost always neither, but a choice. Even if people were born homosexual they still have no excuse to sin, no more than a heterosexual has the excuse to rape or commit fornication.

The point is that we are all in rebellion against God and in need of repentance--forgiveness for what we've done and deliverance from what we are.  Repentance is the gift of God that changes our attitude and heart from the inside out.  The Bible makes it clear that the church is only to judge those inside and let God judge the outsider (cf. 1 Cor. 5:12-13).  The problem with homosexuals is not as much their sin, but their lack of repentance from sin in general and not believing in Christ, who can save them (cf. 1 Cor. 6: 11, ESV, says:  "And such were some of you...")--God will change no one who loves his sin and desires no change.  God changes us from the inside out, He doesn't just tell us to reform ourselves. 

CAVEAT:  BEWARE LEST WE JUSTIFY THE SIN, NOT THE SINNER!    Soli Deo Gloria!

Do You Want To Have The Power?

"The greatness of a man's power is in the measure of his surrender." --William Booth, founder of the Salvation Army
"One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard:  'Power belongs to you, God'" (Psalm 62:11, NIV).
"His wisdom is profound, his power is vast..." (Job 9:4, NIV).
NB:  As Daniel 2:20, NIV, says, "... wisdom and power are his" so we must distinguish but never separate these two:  wisdom without power is pathetic; power without wisdom is frightening!  
"[H]aving a form of godliness but denying its power.  Have nothing to do with such people" (2 Tim. 3:5, NIV).  ALL EMPHASIS MINE.

Power is different strokes for different folks, as they say!  To some, it's knowledge or expertise (for even Sir Francis Bacon said, reiterating Prov. 24:5, "Knowledge is power").  Knowledge, falsely-so-called, sure isn't though!  To some it's money if they had the money they'd know how to use it to change the world; i.e., enough money.  To some, it's the power of music, all genres, or rather the power music holds over them--to arouse emotion, to relax, to put in a mood.  To others, the only power that counts is political or what can be exerted in an authoritarian or despotic manner to deny people their basic rights, liberty, and justice.

Sometimes husbands abuse their wives in the name of power or employees exploit workers.  Some religious extremists hijack their faith and do evil in its name; i.e., ISIS and the Taliban.  To religious fanatics (and even Christians were once guilty), they use power to force conversion in some cases or convert through a program of meditations, horoscopes, palm reading, yoga, TM, or other religious rituals and exercises.

To Christians though, power is knowing the Lord and being filled with the Spirit, to know Christ and the power of His resurrection (cf. Phil. 3:10).  There is even power to change our personalities!  Jesus said that the power would descend on us to evangelize the world and we cannot do this in our own power but must learn to abide in Christ.  The thing about our power is that it doesn't come from a force, but a person who loves us--a personality.  Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi wouldn't tell Luke Skywalker that the Force loves him!  A Force cannot love!   Remember, that force had a dark side; yet God is light and in Him is no darkness.  Yet tapping into this love is great power--we overcome evil with good and love is stronger than hate.  And this is what's available to all believers if they submit to the Lord and be filled.  There is so much untapped power out their from believers who haven't learned to avail themselves of God's power in the Spirit.

Today, we must beware of unchecked political power and the drive and lust to achieve it.  As Lord Acton's adage says:  "Power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely."  Plutarch also wondered:  "Who shall govern the governor?"   (Power can go to one's head!)  The divine right of kings is not unlimited, but to be checked by the courts and under a system of laws and a constitution to be moral.  The thing about power in all secular forms: it never satisfied but only gives an appetite for more power.  Only as believers in Christ can we be content to know the transforming power of God in our life and it's energy to overcome spiritual inertia.  Once you've experienced it, you want to pass it on and share it with others.  The world can never know this contentment and inner joy.   

Finally, as believers, we are transferred several things upon salvation:  peace of God, in our lives as well as peace with God; pardon from all our sins--past, present, and future; purpose for living as we devote our lives to God's kingdom, will, and glory; and also the power to change because Jesus is in the business of changing lives, and overcome sin, which is so dramatic it's a transformation or miracle in itself. 

CAVEAT:  IT WON'T ALL COME AT ONCE, THE FRUITS OF THE SPIRIT MUST BE GROWN AND WE MUST LEARN TO AVAIL OURSELVES OF THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN DOING GOD'S WILL.                 Soli Deo Gloria!

The Still, Small Voice

"For God may speak in one way, or in another, Yet man does not perceive it.   In a dream, in a vision of the night, When deep sleep falls upon men, While slumbering on their beds, Then He opens the ears of men And seals their instruction" (Job 33:14-16, NKJV).  

"[W]ho carries out the words of his servants and fulfills the predictions of his messengers..." (Isa. 44:26, NIV).   

"[W]ho confirms the word of his servant and fulfills the counsel of his messengers..." (Isa. 44:26, ESV). 

 "'And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people, Your sons and daughters will prophesy, Your old men will dream dreams, Your young men will see visions'" (Joel 2:28, NIV).  

"God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our conscience, but shouts in our pains: it is His megaphone to rouse a deaf world."  --C. S. Lewis

Jesus is saying to us in His message to the seven churches:  "Is there anyone out there listening?"  Just as He says in John 10:27, NIV,  as follows:  "My sheep listen to [or hear] my voice; I know them, and they follow me."  God wants to be heard when He speaks.  ALL EMPHASIS MINE.

The starting point is to listen to the preaching of the Word and find salvation.  "For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe" (1 Cor. 1:21, NIV).  God's charge to Israel known as the Shema in Deut. 6:4 meant to hear!  Even men of learning need heed prophetic utterances:  "...' Hear my words, you wise men; listen to me, you mean of learning.  For the ear tests words as the tongue tastes food.  ... 'If you have understanding, hear this, listen to what I say" (Job 34:2-3, 16, NIV).

WE MUST DEVELOP A TASTE FOR GOD'S VOICE BY READING THE WORD AND HEARKENING UNTO PREACHING. "'... Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, And to heed [or hearken] than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22, NKJV).

"God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform." (cf. Isaiah 45:15).   So goes the famed hymn by William Cowper.  Elijah was desperate to hear from the Lord and in a cave heard an earthquake, but God was not in the earthquake, nor in the wind, nor in the fire, but in a gentle whisper or still, small voice of the Spirit that he couldn't mistake--when God speaks to you, you know it and can quote it verbatim.  One thing we all need is to be sensitive to the leading of the Spirit to know the will of God.  Balaam had to be spoken to by a donkey before his ears were sensitive to God--see how spiritually hard of hearing we can become?

All Christians could use a spiritual wake-up call to get with the program and back in line and on track with the will of God.  We have all gone our own way and astray at times and need accountability and repentance.  Our ears become insensitive to the spiritual the more we pay attention to the mundane and secular and without putting God in His rightful place.  Our spiritual ears have muscles just like our lips do that pray and they can become atrophied and dull of hearing to God by misuse or lack of use.  We all could use some sensitivity training here!  Practice makes perfect: a lifetime of ignoring God will not make it easy to hear from God.

But we must beware lest we become too mystical and listen to the inner voice even if it doesn't line up with Scripture. You have to draw the line somewhere or strike a balance between listening to the still, small voice and heeding the Word and not getting mystical.  New Age people believe in listening to the God within--but how do they know it's God?   The Quakers are highly mystical, claiming that you should put primary emphasis on your "inner light" or what God says to you, as opposed to good, sound doctrine or preaching.  Why should I trust someone else's "inner light?"  The Mormons believe they have heard from God solely based on feeling a "burning in the bosom." 

Note that God doesn't just focus on our feeling, but uses our intellect and willingness to hear from Him.  Mystics are so confident that God has told them something He hasn't told others and many heresies have been founded by them, and mysticism is also an error of believers who don't rely on Scripture as their sole rule of our faith.  If God says something it will be verified and confirmed (cf. Isa. 44:26)!

We read the Bible through the illuminating ministry of the Spirit and are convicted by its message to apply to us personally and this is when we can have an "Aha!" moment with Scripture or some would call an existential experience or epiphany like Psalm 119:162, NIV, says, "I rejoice in your promise like one who finds great spoil [treasure]."  We can treasure the Word more than our necessary food according to Job 23:12. "Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy word was unto me the rejoicing and joy of mine heart .... " (cf. Jer. 15:16).  

Remember, a conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit and God honors His Word and it will not come back void (cf. Isa. 55:10-11).  We should always read the Bible until we actually feel God speaking to us and not just for academic reasons or to fill a regimen or duty to God.  All of us can have a genuine existential encounter with the Word!   The point about being convicted is that we must heed the Spirit's voice and listen as well as take action--if we ignore conviction then it becomes more difficult to hear God the next time and we can become spiritually hard of hearing.

Jesus addressed the seven churches in the book of Revelation each with a common phrase regarding the voice of God:  "Let him who has an ear to hear what the Spirit says to the churches...."  We can learn from all the churches!  God has a special, personal message to each church or body of Christ and tailors it for them, but we must use the ears God has given us and not turn a deaf ear to the gospel message nor any Spirit-inspired one.  This verse is speaking of our spiritual ears and sensitivity to the leading of the Spirit.  What the Spirit says to one church may also be applicable to other churches, for there is no one-size-fits-all church and believers may be hard-wired differently according to the makeup of their church.

We must listen attentively to God because He can speak volumes in many ways: dreams, visions, signs, word of mouth, sermons, even the voice of a child.  However, God has promised that He will always speak through the Word, though He hasn't retired dreams, visions, nor signs.  That's why it's so important that sermons be Bible-based and refer to it as the primary text, for God has given us His Word that it will not come back void and will accomplish that which He desires (cf. Isa. 55:10-11, Jer. 1:12).  When we refuse light, light is withdrawn (cf. Hos. 5:6).  Our spiritual ears can become calloused by ignoring God and not obeying what He does tell us plainly.

In sum, the key to hearing from God is to know God and walk in the Spirit with our spiritual antennae sensitized to anything the Lord might say and take heed or listen up, because the better we know someone the better our communication:   What we don't want is a failure to communicate!  Sometimes hearing from God may seem like a hunch or premonition or feeling that you feel inclined towards--God is in charge of this too, but it must be biblical and we shouldn't just go by feelings.

I know of a missionary who heard God say out of the blue, "Go to Mexico!" He wasn't hesitant, but obedient to the heavenly calling and went directly to Mexico without further ado. I believe prophecy is a bona fide spiritual gift and God tells "prophets" messages of exhortation (in agreement with Scripture) to the local church and for edifying of the body. Many Christians claim to be "in touch" with God audibly in the sense of even hearing His voice on occasion, and they seem to have no doubt that it is Him speaking. They are not just having a "hunch" or "getting an impression," but can quote God verbatim (if they can't quote God verbatim something is wrong!).

As for most of us, we have to rely on getting an occasion goose bump or "Aha!" moment in the Word to feel or sense His guidance. God has given us this 6th sense known as faith. David was "a man after God's own heart" who heard God's voice but also depended on the prophet Nathan and others to give him messages from the Lord, and yet he is not any less of a man of God. When God speaks directly to an individual that isn't necessarily meant to be a new revelation or prophecy, it is called "personal address" by theologians. Though we have the Holy Writ, this doesn't preclude God's audible voice today.

But when Christians rely on hunches or inner voices it gives rise to "fanaticism," as portrayed by Hannah Whitall Smith, the commonsensical Quaker writer. Even though God can speak through the air vents, it is better to seek His voice in His Word.

NB:  Jesus is knocking at the door of our heart seeking fellowship and promises that if any man hears His voice, He will come in and commune (cf. Rev. 3:20). Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice and I know them and they follow Me."  John 10:27  And  "He who is of the truth hears My voice." John 18:37  It is not normative to hear "voices," but he who is spiritual can discern God's message to him in divers manners.  He is in God's wavelength and in tune with the Spirit. 

CAVEATS:  WE NEVER SHOULD INTERPRET THE BIBLE ACCORDING TO SOMEONE'S PERSONAL MESSAGE FROM GOD, BUT THE MESSAGE IN LIGHT OF THE BIBLE TO SEE IF IT LINES UP WITH SOUND TEACHING.
YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE BIBLICALLY SAVVY OR A SCHOLAR TO HEAR FROM GOD; 
JUST HAVE A NEEDY HEART, WILLING SPIRIT, AND OPEN MIND!   ALSO, IF GOD IS GOING TO MAKE A MAJOR ANNOUNCEMENT OR MESSAGE, HE WILL VERIFY AND CONFIRM IT (CF. ISA. 44:26). 
 AND DON'T APPLY YOUR PERSONAL HUNCHES TO SOMEONE ELSE! NOR EXPECT THEM TO OBEY THEM.   Soli Deo Gloria!