What Do You Want From Christianity?

 People seek Christianity for a plethora of reasons.  Some are looking for answers to life's biggest questions (even the Answer), some are looking for the benefits though not the Benefactor, some are seeking fulfillment or meaning and purpose in life, some may be battling sin and want to have power it, some seek genuine salvation, some seeking a mission statement or assignment to dedicate themselves to, some are seeking mundane solutions and daily needs, some are actually searching for a way of escape from problems, some are trying to overcome sin or some hang-up or addiction, some are seeking for a job to do or task to complete, some are trying to find something they can do that will earn salvation, some are seeking a song to sing or creed to believe in, some are actually looking for truth and willing to pay the price to know it. There are many demographics of people in church who may seek these things: seekers, skeptics, cynics, nihilists, contra-Christians, infant Christians, adolescent Christians, and even your mature and informed believer.  What  do you want of your faith? 

Jesus is more than a personage to believe and that existed.  He is the God of Gods and the only perfect man who ever lived. He is more  than a moral Exemplar, or Teacher, or Leader to show us the way to live a good life.  His purpose was to die for us, not to show us morals or lessons on living.   He defined eternal life as knowing Him and the Father as it says in Scripture: Know the Lord!  He came to do all we couldn't do and to finish the work of defeating the devil's work and bear witness of the truth.  We would be blind without Him for He is the way and we would not know where to go without Him.  He is the truth and we couldn't know anything for sure without Him, and He is the life and we couldn't know how to live without Him.  Some teachers have said that we should emulate great men like Jesus but this sells Him short and doesn't do Him justice to rank Him with the so-called great men of history, though He is the central figure of Western Civilization and greatest revolutionist. Early believers called our faith the Way and sought to show the truths Jesus taught and to live in the truth.  It is a great joy to God that we abide in the truth and live accordingly. 

Jesus is a Friend,, Advocate, or Intercessor to have in our corner and to be on our side when we sin and to make sure we neve are alone.  But don't just think you are His buddy and can get on familiar terms or that God has favorites, especially you.  We are all one in Christ and there is no room for elites.  We are the servants of Christ and those who obey Him only are worthy of being called friends. We must strive to know Christ as Lord and Savior and even Judge and Teacher to not put Him in a box.  We must accept the true Christ and not another Jesus who isn't God in the flesh and receive Him for who He is: Lord and Savior. He lives in us as a substituted, surrendered, inhabited, exchanged, and Spirit-filled life!   He must be accepted as He is or we are rejecting Him; we cannot just see Him as a Savior and not submit as Lord.  Christ will not be divided. Christ seeks to live in us and that means more than someone who is company, but one who abides in us and controls us and we have Him living through us.  

Now, Christianity can be a fulfilling life if we seek God's will.  God will prosper us and equip us to do whatever He calls us to do and another thing: He will never give up on us and we are His work in progress and that means we will always grow in  our faith. We progress from faith to faith as we grow in maturity; there is no treading water so to speak as we are either backsliding or growing.  We are to have a living faith and that means one that grows.  We will go somewhere with Christ.  If you don't think or plan on going somewhere, that is still a finish line.  If you go anywhere long enough, you will end up somewhere.  So be careful that you go with God and find His will lest He say, "Okay, have it y our way and do as you will." That is a statement we don't want to hear!   For we will all have to go one on one with God and at the final audit of our lives, we will give account of ourselves. 

So what the real goal should be is to find God's will for your life and more specifically, your spiritual gift.  The only way to do this is to get out in the mission field or place of service and see what you can do and try things for experiment until you find what you are suited to and your natural gifting. We are all fulfilled when we find God's will and calling for our lives and start to progress in service with God's blessing.  Do you want to be rewarded for no labor in the Lord is in vain and when you find God's will you will be all the more motivated to do it and it won't be a chore.  It isn't a matter of your achievements though, but God's accomplishment that you trust in. Faith doesn't save, Christ does.  It's the object that matters.  That is the error of those who on Judgment Day will say, "Lord, Lord, did we not....:|" They trusted in their works, not in the Lord.  And by the way, we must neve play the "Let's compare!" game and get jealous of the ministries of others for to whom much is given, much is required. 

Our endgame ought to be to love Jesus more fully especially that it overflows and we can share Christ with others that they may see Christ in us and be converted--the main thing.  Our lives ought to be dedicated to service and only those who learn to serve will be happy in Jesus and find fulfillment.   And the byproduct of all this is that we know Christ and are able to build a loving relationship with Him. There is so much that our faith offers: we don't just have a worldview that outshines all others and answers all the big questions of life, but we can be blessed and truly find the good life by following on to know the Lord and obeying Him, for to obey is better than sacrifice. If you just want a life without problems or to be financially secure and to have the American dream, you are looking at another Jesus because the real one warned us we would have trials and tribulations in the school of Christ which comes with the territory. We must be willing to take up our cross and follow Him.    If you want a trouble-free life or the easy life, you have the wrong religion! 

Christianity is also good psychology for those with everyday problems or issues and even personal problems for Christians make good counselors and we can find out that Christ heals  us from the effects of sin and sets us free from the power of Satan over us. We don't just believe in avoiding bad behavior, but in living right and developing godly habits.   Then Satan cannot touch us! Our faith is truly a study of the soul and Christian psychology isn't about sanitizing the self or becoming a perfect person, but about the salvation of the soul. We seek not to judge but to heal and we can help each other in the body.  There is such a thing as a guilt-complex but there is real guilt also, and our faith teaches us to confess it and to become responsible for our sins and not just think anything goes and is normal for there are standard of behavior as a Christian and we must come clean sometimes and be honest with ourselves and others--call a spade a spade.

They say that religious people are the least stressed of all demographics.  Scientists think they have the truth and the only reliable truths can be known through scientific methodology, but they are as messed up as anyone else.  What  we gain as believes is the resident Holy Spirit to be our anointing and teacher so we have the mind of Christ and are open and positive to spiritual truths.  The world is blind to truth and cannot grasp or appraise the spiritual. Yes, even the Bible becomes an open book and a delight to read because we have the right Spirit to do it. The world by wisdom cannot know God!  

So what more do you want from Christ? How about affirmation that you did a good job when He says, on that day, "Well done! thou good and faithful servant." and how about when He rewards us with a promotion and says, "You have been faithful in little, you shall be faithful in much..." and finally, when the party and celebration begins and He says, "Enter into the joy of the Lord."  This is where it's at: we have a hope that no other faith has, we have assurance of salvation and a taste of it now.  

Christianity is Christ and if you remove Him, you disembowel it and it cannot avail. If all you want to be is a good person or be a do-gooder, then any religion will do.  But if you want full assurance of salvation, then Christianity is the only hope. Christianity is not just good advice or a philosophy or even just a worldview and way to live good, but a way to know God and love, serve, and relate to Him. This is the only religion that is not a works proposition, do-it-yourself proposition, or lifting yourself up by your own bootstraps.  It's not about your achievements at all, but God's accomplishments.  The devil doesn't necessarily want to make you a bad person, but as good as possible without God in the picture.  The whole point is that God solved the sin question once and for all with the cross.   We are to find our purpose in Him and "to glorify God and enjoy Him forever," as The Westminster Shorter Catechism says.    Soli Deo Gloria! 

Our Marching Orders In Perspective

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

"And do this, understanding the present time: the hour has already come for you to wake up from your slumber because our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed" (Rom. 13:11).
"Again, if the trumpet does not sound a clear call, who will get ready for battle?" (1 Cor. 14:8).

KEEP THE MAIN THING THE MAIN THING! DON'T MAJOR ON THE MINORS!

The church today is sidetracked with many foci that are not commissioned by Christ--personal agendas and political causes, for instance. The church was given the Great Commission and this should be the focal point of its ministry. All other ministries are secondary and should be relegated to a lesser degree of importance--they are not of paramount value compared to the number one goal of achieving the calling given us to spread the gospel and make disciples of all nations. This commission, by the way, is not any one person's burden, because no one person has all the gifts, but it is the shared burden of the church at large. We need to do our part as an individual, as well as corporately as a church.

What we have today is the social gospel where churches are into causes so much that they are derelict in their evangelical duties (not just for evangelists--Paul exhorted preachers to do the work of an evangelist). You might say they are turning stones into bread or multiplying bread to feed multitudes and attract crowds, not converts. People are being converted to the cause, not to Christ. Bleeding Hearts is into the church and taking over because they see it as a social vehicle for change--an opportunity to spread their agenda. They have no interest in Christ Himself and no love for Him, but if He is not the center of church life they feel right at home because they have a concern for the betterment of society and to usher in their idea of peace on earth--and the church is only a vehicle for change.

The priority of the church is the Great Commission and if this loses emphasis the people never get converted to anything other than a cause. They are, in reality, converted to a program, not to Jesus Himself. The Great Commission includes making disciples (not just converts--they must be followed up and mentored or trained in the Scriptures), and in taking part in spreading the good news first at home (teaching members how to spread the good news too is implied), then elsewhere via missionaries, etc. There is no limit to the amount of impact one obedient church can have, and this does not depend on its size, because Christ was more interested in quality than quantity.

Today, with all the so-called mega-churches, we see attention given to size as what is impressive, and what most of them are is really crowds, not families; a church is a local body of believers who function as a family in Christ, not strangers who just happen to worship together. The order of growth is to believe in Christ, to belong to His body, and the church, and to grow and become what He wants for you in Christ.

Until Christ comes the marching orders for the church are not to sound the alarm as doomsayers as some today are wont to do, (we are to be ready, yes, but not to predict or act as if we know some secret revelation from God Himself as a latter-day prophet would), but to occupy the land or you might say do business as usual, in obedience; to proclaim the Lord's death till He comes; to purify ourselves in holiness and sanctification; and to watch the signs of the times (be ready saying every day, "Lord, will this be the day?"), so that we can judge for ourselves whether we feel the time is near and as we do to not forsake the assembling together of ourselves (Heb. 10:25); and most of all to worship God corporately and personally.

We are not to have an agenda of being prophecy nuts or of warning people of the coming of Christ and of coming judgment as if we are unbalanced or fanatics (what we need are more clear-thinking interpreters of the times who understand the Christian worldview, not self-appointed ministries claiming indirectly to be prophets or to be prophesying).

Many errant preachers have presumptuously predicted the coming of Christ and have been wrong (i.e., William Miller on Oct. 22, 1844, called the Great Disappointment because Christ was a no-show). The last hour was announced by John (cf. 1 John 2:18) over 17 million hours ago and Paul rebuked believers who jumped to the conclusion that the coming was near and refused to even work. It should be comforting and encouraging that Christians will be finally delivered ("Therefore comfort ye one another with these words").

In summation, '"Where there is no vision, the people perish." (cf. Prov. 29:18):   The sole emphasis of the obedient and model church is the Great Commission, and any other ministries are only secondary as they only should serve to unite the body and to reach out and spread the good news as a body. Liberal causes are rampant in the church and the church has no business getting into political causes or the so-called social gospel, which is a misnomer, and should stay focused on the gospel. The great inquiry and judgment on that day of judgment will be whether we did our part in this Commission. Causes are not taboo, but the church's function is not that; individual believers can be involved in them, but this is their own business and calling in life as they see fit. The church can give out bread, but only if it also gives out the gospel first. What we need is a wake-up call to the church, not an alarm to the world at large! Soli Deo Gloria!

What Makes Us Human? ...

"Where is God my Maker? ... Who teaches us more than the beasts of the earth?  (cf. Job 35:10-11). 

"Do you think we are mere animals? Do you think we are stupid?" (Job 18:3, NLT).

If you were the ultimate biologist, you could figure out how to make a robot come to life and find the secret to life itself that is common to all life forms.  But one trait of life is information storage in DNA and that is quite astounding with 23,000 genes and 3.1 billion rings in a helix ladder.  Every cell in your body has more information stored in it than all 30 volumes of an encyclopedia.  The possibility of making a human being a la Frankenstein is purely prima facie implausible.   What's more, mankind has not even been able to define life or duplicate it. All such attempts have failed to come off even if rigged in favor of it, in any life creation experiment; they have tried in vain even cheating by interfering or changing the so-called primordial soup.   

Note that if we did manipulate a primordial soup to form basic life forms, it would only prove that it takes the magic ingredient of intelligence. This begs the question, where did this soup come from?   We need an Ultimate Mind for that and to create the manifold lifeforms.  The divine order is Thinker, thought, thing.  Intelligence comes from a mind, not random, pure energy.  Signs of intelligence are signs of intellect. 

It is said that there is something about the way God is that we are!  We are in the image of God or imago Dei for a reason.  Yes, what is human nature and some worldviews deny there is one!  But why do we seem to act like there is one and there needs to be more proof?  We are not robots, automatons, puppets, or playthings of God but are free agents with a will of our own.  We are not animals who act by instinct, instead, we are rational, intuitive, artistic, poetic, musical, humorous, creative, moral, spiritual, and communicative. God gave only us the gift of language to facilitate a relationship with Him. Yes, all of the above traits show we are in the image of God and not apes.  Would you trust the convictions of a monkey?  We are capable of a complete worldview: convictions, beliefs, and ideas all about reality.  These things answer the deep and big questions of life that we uniquely wonder about: where did we come from, why are we here, where are we headed, is there a God? 

Plato said that if he wanted to live in reality, he would need to know what God is like.  We can know God and have a relationship with Him because He also is a person and wants to get personal with us.  A force or principle cannot love you.  You use things but relate to people!   God wants to relate to us personally and let us get to know Him because He loves us.  Note that Obi-Wan Kenobi didn't tell Luke Skywalker that the force loved him!  We all as humans need companionship, fulfillment, dignity, purpose, meaning, and respect and this we get in knowing God and we deserve it just because we are human.  It is because we are in the image of God that we have human rights; they are conferred by God but secured by the state.  

Christians are more human than infidels because they know God and are doing His will and finding purpose and meaning in serving Him.  Infidels generally live for themselves and not for some higher cause or power.  Religion is just trying to please God or earn salvation by good deeds, hoping they will outweigh the bad ones.  Christians can worship God because they are alive spiritually and the infidel is dead spiritually.  This is a whole new perspective and outlook on life from God's view.  We are made to worship and if we don't worship God, we will worship someone or something else.  It is not human as meant to be to worship power, fame, success, money, education, achievement, or celebrities.  These all are idol worship and are sinful and contrary to what we are designed for. Other things we are designed for are work and fellowship or friendship.  We are made for each other. It is said that those who have learned to serve others are the happiest people.  

Jesus was human as well as God and is the perfect Exemplar of what we ought to be and He led the sinless life that we all fall short of achieving.  To be human also means to sin because we are born in Adam but we have the chance to be redeemed from this state and be transformed into new creatures who can overcome sin and not be controlled by it. We can become dead to sin!  But this redemption and renewal is predicated on committing one's life to Christ as Lord and Savior.  We must first repent as the prerequisite and believe that Jesus is the living God who died for our sins and rose again to prove His deity.  We must then give Him the ownership of our lives and the helm of our soul to obey and follow Him wherever He leads us.  We must do all this by translating our creeds into deeds and proving, authenticating, and validating our faith and repentance by fruit or good deeds that we will be known and judged by. 

Now, what does this image mean to us? Man is like God and God formed us in His image, we didn't form God in ours! There is a bona fide similarity because God is a person, we are too, and able to communicate with each other; we have a mind to know God, a heart to love Him, and a will to obey Him--animals don't but are driven by instinct. Man is capable of rebelling against God and going his own way, and he does! The obvious truth is that if we are persons, God has to be greater than a person or a person Himself to a greater degree to create us! Except for our sin and limited nature, whatever we are as persons, you can say about God.

How are we like God then? We are rational, emotional, communicative, moral beings, that have dignity, purpose, and meaning in life. We can relate to God as a person because of this--God is just perfect, infinite, immutable, almighty, invisible, omniscient, holy, etc., and God is Spirit, while we have bodies! Originally Adam and Eve had no sin and were innocent, not knowing good and evil, nor what that means, but now they are guilty before God as sinners in need of redemption, and this image is marred and will be restored someday in glory. Being like God, we are creative and have an imagination that can be communicated and enjoyed.

How do we know we are not animals, that we're unique? Have you ever observed an animal of any species building a chapel, or communicating with God in prayer? Do animals have a conscience, and feel guilty when they've disobeyed or sinned? Animals have a will of their own, for sure, but not to disobey or obey God--animals are oblivious to God's presence and dimension. Only man can reflect on the past, present, and future, making plans, etc., and to criticize himself or see himself through other people's eyes objectively. Man alone is rational (you can reason with him, and he can reason and learn from it), and can communicate all thoughts and feelings, in written, verbal, and body language.

Man alone judges and criticizes and this is because he has a conscience that knows right and wrong by nature; you don't call something crooked if you don't have some idea of what straight is. Man has discernment, the ability to distinguish spirits, and insight; however, animals have instinct--they're basically creatures in heat, seeking food and shelter, only to perpetuate their kind. Do animals appreciate art and design, though they may be beautiful, none appreciate it, except in the opposite sex for the mating ritual?

Furthermore, do you realize that man alone can enjoy something vicariously? Man can accumulate and increase a body of knowledge and pass it on to succeeding generations and build civilizations and cultures. Animals stay at the same level of learning (by instinct) their full lives and never increase in knowledge generation after generation. Animals can mate for life, but they do not fall in and out of love, it's a basic instinct, hormones, and testosterone in action, not the soul or spirit. Animals, such as dogs and cats can show similar qualities of love and affection but have no desire on the abstract level with God (or ideas, learning, wisdom, causes, etc.), and that dimension of relationship.

Now, God says in Genesis 1 that He breathed into Adam the breath of life and he became a living being! This is the distinction: God has only given man the concept of eternity and the hope of eternal life in his heart, he alone ponders the afterlife and looks for answers to life's spiritual dilemmas. Aren't you glad that you aren't some grand fluke of nature or cosmic accident, but have a reason for being and purpose in life? And so it's not as simple as the proverb: To err is human, to forgive divine! In sum, some people have a psychological need to conceive of themselves as animals--they desire to act like them! Soli Deo Gloria!

 Soli Deo Gloria! 

Our Beatific Vision

The pagan Emperor Trajan once asked a Christian why his God was invisible and you couldn't see him (it sounded atheistic to him--just worshiping a spirit), and he was informed and given the scoop: "Look at the sun!" Trajan said he couldn't because it's too bright. "Then don't you now realize that, if you cannot behold God's creation, how much less the splendor and glory of God?" Jesus said that God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24).

The Greek believers asked the disciples if they could see Jesus. "We would see Jesus!" We don't need to see Him in order to know Him, because Jesus said blessed is he who believes and hasn't seen (cf. John 20:29). We can see with the eyes of our hearts which are opened by the Holy Spirit's illuminating ministry. We are seeing the glory of God when our eyes are opened to see how He is manifest in believers, and we see Jesus in them and they see Him in us--this is only a taste of the glory which shall be revealed to us. As Hebrews 2:9 (ESV) says: "But we see him [i.e., Jesus, with our spiritual eyes] ...."

We shall all be satisfied in heaven by beholding the face of God (in Jesus), but only because we will not be in the flesh, but without any sin to corrupt our spiritual bodies and souls. God has revealed Himself throughout the Bible in many theophanies (revelation of God, such as in the burning bush) and Christophanies (revelation of Jesus, such as the Angel of the LORD). From the burning bush to appearances as the Angel of the LORD, to Gideon and as the Son of Man, to Daniel's friends in the furnace, and to Daniel in a vision. John saw Jesus in His glory at the transfiguration and then finally at Patmos in a vision of heaven.

Jesus is how God manifests Himself as the embodiment, personification, or icon of God. When Philip (cf. John 14:8-9) asked Jesus during the Last Supper in the Upper Room to show them the Father, Christ said, that he who has seen Him has seen the Father--they are one! All that God wants to reveal of Himself is presented in the Son--all that God has to say to us and all that we can know. God is Spirit, according to Jesus, and became a man for our sake so we would have something to relate to and what to think of when we meditate on God. Jesus is analogous to the sun because He gives light to all He shines on, and makes life possible too.

Jesus has the Shekinah (glory of God), not reflected the glory of God, as Moses had after being in His presence. Jesus does not reflect light--He is light: John 8:12 says, "... I am the light of the world...." Jesus willingly veiled His glory because they couldn't behold it in full. Jesus has all the glory of the Father, there is no diminishing of it, but He voluntarily laid it aside (known as the kenosis in Philippians 2) while incarnated on earth before His ascension. Actually, Jesus shines brighter than the sun, which is only an analogy or symbol of Him.

In glory, we shall behold Him: "... [B]ut we know that when he appears we shall be like him because we shall see him as he [Jesus]" (1 John 3:2, ESV). Moses wanted to see God's face but God said that no man shall see His face and live [in the flesh], as Jesus told Moses in Exodus 33:23. Jesus said in His Beatitudes that the pure in heart are blessed, for they shall see God [in the NT God usually refers to God the Father].

Don't forget the Aaronic benediction in Numbers 6:24-26 as a promise to claim: "The LORD bless you and keep you; the LORD make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the LORD lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace." What man has always yearned for is a God they can see; one that has skin on and we can relate to. Jesus is just that incarnation: God with skin on!  

Jesus said that "God is glorified in Him" (cf. John 10:34) and this is when He is glorified. At His priestly prayer in John 17 Jesus besought the return of His glory after He had glorified the Father by doing all His will and being obedient in His subordination and humility. He did it by accomplishing all God's work for Him on earth that was given Him to do (cf. John 17:4). By analogy we give up our glory to share His glory and to glorify God: "The chief end of man is to glorify God, and enjoy Him forever" (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, ca. 1646).

Everyone will bow to the glory of God, either at Judgment Day, or to become a believer and surrender the control over himself, and even others, to the lordship of Christ. We must give up the ownership of our lives and realize we owe all to Him because He purchased us at the cross with His blood. But Jesus wants more than our bodies dedicated to Him as reasonable service (cf. Rom. 12:1), He wants us (to surrender everything we have and are to His lordship)! This entails and involves giving up your personal throne and kingdom and surrender it to God's sovereignty and guidance or plan for your life--we don't ask God to bless our plans, but Him to reveal His plan.

We leave our throne to bow to His and ultimately get a crown to reign with Him, just like Jesus left His throne in Heaven to humble Himself in obedience all the way to the cross. This surrender and acknowledgment of His lordship are not only done at salvation but renewed daily, as we learn to walk in the Spirit and in fellowship with God and our brethren (cf. 1 John 1:7). We actually have more authority in Christ after surrendering our authority and this is a paradox indeed (i.e., if we are lords, we are to become servants for Christ's sake and humble and meek enough that no service is beneath our dignity). We have nothing in comparison to lose and everything in eternity to gain, including the right to rule in glory with Christ, as we go from glory to glory to an ultimate glorified state in the New Jerusalem.

He doesn't want sacrifice or offering, or even going through the motions of the rituals of worship--Jesus internalized religion to make it a matter of the heart (He said evil comes out from the heart of man) because the Pharisees had externalized it to outward obedience to the letter of the Law, and neglect of the spirit of the Law. He wants all there is of us--all of our minds, hearts, souls, spirits, strength, and wills. John was stunned at the sight of the Lord, so just imagine how we would react!

Jesus is the Great Inspector General of the church and we all need to pass muster and be ready for daily inspection of our daily walk--take regular spiritual check-ups so as not to jeopardize your testimony to the world. Paul said to "test yourselves whether you are in the faith." We are to examine ourselves (cf. 2 Cor. 13:5)--not others--regularly and especially before the Lord's Supper. We are fruit inspectors--not detectives. We must examine ourselves first because judgment begins at the house of God, and when we have cast the beam out of our own eye we can help someone else with the speck in theirs.

In other words, don't throw bricks if you live in a glasshouse, because we all have feet of clay or have vulnerabilities not readily apparent--we may see the sins of others as obvious; however, we just sin differently and have no right to look down on our brother or criticize him, and we are all vulnerable to Satan's attack, which Martin Luther called the Anfectung, and we should never succumb to this nor even his accusations. If we take care of our witness and testimony, God will take care of our reputation and open doors for us--we must just be ready! 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Paul's Confession Of Sin...

 From Romans 7:15ff, Paul confesses his struggle with sin in the old man or sin nature that is still alive though he is saved and has a new inner man.  He prays for deliverance from this "body of death." It sounds like he may be confessing his sin before being saved, but this is a present condition that he is admitting he has not defeated sin in his life yet; this is good and an encouragement to us who struggle.  He is confused, discouraged, frustrated, and even disgusted with himself.  He concurs that the Law is good and the right thing to do and has the impulse to accomplish all the do's and avoid all the don'ts but he finds no power to do this in his own strength.  But Paul doesn't despair because he doesn't trust in himself but the finished work of Christ on the cross and knows that there is no condemnation for those in Christ.  

It is a dilemma when you feel convicted and know the right thing to do and don't do it and feel condemned or guilty. He says that nothing good dwells in him--what a confession.  By the way, he later admits he is the chief of sinners and this is not just before salvation. What is it like when you don't meet your own expectations?  You feel like a failure!  But the fact is that we are all born this way: we are not sinners because we sin, but sin because we are sinners.  Christians are not called sinners, but they are called saints.  But that doesn't mean we are not sinners at heart and in action.  Luther said we are justified sinners or at the same time just and sinners referring to Gal. 2:17. 

The point is that our struggle with sin will last till glory and we are to grow in the battle, knowing the battle is the Lord's.  He fights for us and gives us the victory one step in faith at a time. The law of sin and death no longer applies!  All whom the Lord justifies, He sanctifies and we are all holy in His sight.  The point to see here is that when we are justified, we do not become just, especially in man's eyes, but are declared just in God's eyes.  As far as He is concerned, we are just.  We are freed from the power of sin so that we do not have to sin or be enslaved by it anymore. 

Shall we continue in sin? There were two views that were both wrongs at the time of Luther.  The Antinomians thought that since they were saved, it didn't matter if they sinned: "freed from the Law, O blessed condition; now I can sin all I want and still have remission."  They saw no obligation to live holy lives of obedience or that their lives must produce fruits worthy of repentance. The other enemy idea was that of the semi-Pelagians going back to the monk Pelagius who debated Augustine about the issue that because God expects perfection and that is the goal, we must have the inherent ability to achieve perfection.  This came to be known as entire sanctification or perfectionism in Catholic or some Arminian circles. 

We must keep our eyes on the goal of holiness and confess our known and convicted sins so as to keep short accounts.  Jeus said to be perfect even as our heavenly Father is perfect, meaning that perfection is the goal but direction is the test.  Which way are we going? Note that going nowhere is somewhere if you go that direction long enough you will get there.   For all have sinned and fallen short of God's glory.   We continue pursuing God, though realizing we are not perfect and will not be till heaven. But we must remain assured that we are forgiven and not trust in our own achievement or performance but in the persona and work of Christ. 

What Does It Mean To Believe In God?

  am assuming the Christian faith and referencing the Bible and the God of the Bible: Abraham believed God and it was counted unto righteousness. By faith Abraham obeyed God. (Romans 4:3; Heb. 11:8).

You don’t just believe He exits for the demons do that. And faith without works is dead: true faith is manifested and proved by good works—you are known and rewarded by your fruit. Faith is authenticated by deeds! You believe Him and take Him at His Word, trusting Him with your heart and life. You must be willing to do His will and obey His commands; surrender to the Lordship or ownership of your life. Is Christ your Lord? Do you unashamedly confess His name and stand up for Him?

True faith entails love in the heart for we believe not just in our minds as much as in our hearts. (cf. Romans 10:9–10). Do you believe the God who is and that He is with you? You don’t have to repeat a creed every day religiously but grow in your faith by obedience. In short, trust and obey! That is the only true measure of faith. It isn’t how much you believe but how well you obey. Remember, it’s not the amount of faith but the object that matters. It must be settled solidly in Christ alone.

Also, true faith is connected with true repentance—they go hand in hand and it may not be how much you believe but how thorough your repentance is. You must grow in your faith and develop a relationship with Jesus by confession of known sin and walking in the Spirit. We learn to walk by faith, not by sight (cf. 2 Cor. 5:7). This means you need to be filled with the Spirit continually so you do not walk in the flesh and sin. This also means producing the fruit of the Spirit: love, joy, peace…. Thus, it’s not just having a sort of faith, but having saving faith that translates your creeds into deeds!

God Works In Mysterious Ways!

"God also testified to it by signs, wonders and various miracles, and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (Heb. 2:4, NIV).
"Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?" (Job 38:33, NLT).
"So each generation should set its hope anew on God, not forgetting his glorious miracles and obeying his commands" (Psalm 78:7, NLT).
"For you are great and perform wonderful deeds. You alone are God" (Psa. 86:10, NLT).
"Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father's name, they bear witness of me" (John 10:25, KJV).
"If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not" (John 10:37, KJV).

NOTE: IT IS SAID THAT WHEN THINGS GO BAD, BELIEVERS SAY, "GOD WORKS IN MYSTERIOUS WAYS," AND WHEN THINGS GO GOOD, GOD IS BLESSING THEM. MAN GIVES HIMSELF GLORY FOR HIS SUCCESS BUT BLAMES GOD FOR HIS FAILURES (CF. PROV. 19:3).

"God works in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform," according to William Cowper's hymn (cf. Isa. 45:15, NLT). Even in the days of Job's trials, he says, "He does great things too marvelous to understand. He performs countless miracles." (9:10, NLT). Note he said "countless miracles." Was Job naive or did he actually witness miracles? Even in the days of Moses, the magicians recognized the "finger of God" at work. The people of the Bible cannot be portrayed as naive, credulous, ignorant, or superstitious. They knew when God was performing a miracle because they were observers of nature and recognized God at work. For instance, when the blind man was healed, they said no one had ever healed a man born blind!

If God's miracles were everyday events, we'd call them "regulars." All events are caused by God, the Causa Prima or primary mover of all creation--He is the so-called First Cause, and the existence of motion itself proves there is a God, because one has to wonder when did the first act of motion happen, since the law of inertia says that a body at rest tends to stay at rest---it doesn't happen by itself but must be set in motion!

Jesus didn't want to be known primarily as a miracle or wonder-worker but came to be our Savior. His miracles were but signs to illustrate a teaching point about His Deity or out of compassion, not for show or personal gain, prestige, or money. He never did a biggie miracle to convince the unwilling, nor miracles on-demand or special request. That's because miracles only produce the desire for more miracles and miracles don't produce faith, faith produces miracles! Proof of this is when Jesus said in John 12:37, NIV, that "Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in him." Note they "would not" not "could not!" The psalmist Asaph said in Psalm 78:32, NIV, that: "In spite of all this, they kept on sinning; in spite of his wonders, they did not believe."

And so God causes everything (we are the secondary agents) and miracles are but unusual events caused by God. Have you ever wondered how an immaterial thing such as a thought can affect material things such as a muscle? What causes our motion? If you want to see a miracle, look in the mirror or behold a sunset! Scientists will tell you that miracles are against the laws of nature, but if there are laws, there must be a Lawmaker who can override His own law! By definition, God is not bound by His own laws of nature! Science then cannot forbid miracles, for God is not tangible, visible, or audible and you cannot repeat, measure, observe, or put Him in a test tube or have laboratory conditions to study--He's outside the province of scientific endeavor.        

Truly, O God of Israel, Our Savior, you work in mysterious ways" (Isaiah 45:15, NLT).

"Remember, I pray thee, who ever perished, being innocent? or where were the righteous cut off? (Job 4:7, KJV--Eliphaz to Job).

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

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

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

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

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

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

Is Consensus In Science Scientific?

 Science taught or believed dogmatically or by a democratic vote of approval is not science. Despite the fact that biologists have a consensus for evolution, this is not necessitate it’s being truth in itself—they could all be biased or deceived or jumping to the conclusion. They must always be ready for new discoveries that may shed more light on some theory or discovery. The door must be kept open for new light to be shed on a subject. Just because scientists agree on a so-called “fact” doesn't make it true epistemologically. Note: Science is limited to the observable, measurable, and testable.

Because there are limits and parameters to what science can know or study, for instance, it follows that metaphysical questions cannot be answered fully by the scientific method. Science deals in the physical universe. But when scientists harness science for unscientific reasons like making philosophical or religious decrees, it’s not science but “scientism.” That is to say when Carl Sagan said, “The Cosmos is all that is or was or ever will be,” he was making a philosophical statement, not a scientific one. One example of consensus that proved fallacious was the geocentric Ptolemaic solar system.

What Philosophical Argument For God Is Difficult To Refute?...

Like Aristotle reasoned, the “First Cause” (Causa Prima) or the unmoved mover. According to the law of motion from Newton, an object at rest tends to stay at rest…. Who caused the first motion and got the ball rolling? Who banged the Big Bang? Nothing happens by itself but every event must be caused. Nothing causes itself. If you heard an explosion outside, you’d wonder what caused it—it didn't just happen by itself.

There can be uncaused causes but not uncaused events. Self-existence is not only possible but rationally necessary—the necessary Being. God is that uncaused cause because He is eternal and therefore had no beginning. If there was no first cause, there would be no beginning, but we know there was a big bang. What existed before the singularity? What existed before that? ad Infinitum. If you say, “It was just there, that's no different than saying God was just there.

If you say that something existed before that to cause it, it was either caused or uncaused and you only compound the question and must admit there has to be a first cause or self-existent force, being, or thing that is eternal. Science doesn’t generally accept the fact that matter is eternal or the theory of an eternal universe. This is often called the cosmological argument for God and refers to the law of cause and effect. The so-called kalam cosmological argument states that everything that begins to exist has a cause, the universe began and therefore has a cause (most believably God); also, everything in the time-space continuum has a beginning.

“For every house is built by someone; but God is the builder of all things,”(cf. Heb. 3:4). That’s why the Bible begins: “In the beginning God….” We must begin with God in the equation to remain rational. We cannot assume everything had a beginning or was caused because then there would be nothing in existence for it’s impossible to cross infinity and infinite regress is impossible—you must begin somewhere with something or someone. A was caused by B caused by C … somewhere you run out of letters.

Do You Sin Against God?

 

1. “All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.” (cf. Romans 3:23).
2. “For there is no one who does not sin.” (cf. 1 Kings 8:46)
3. “Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin,” (cf. Psalm 51:2).
4. “Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins.”(cf. Eccl 7:20).
5. “Who can say, ‘I have kept my heart pure? I am clean and without sin.’” (cf. Prov, 20:9).
6. “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us” (cf. 1 John 1:8).
7. “If we claim we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and the word is not in us,”(cf. 1 John 1:10).

Christians even sin but they are forgiven. God doesn’t call us sinners but saints. Gal. 2:17 calls us justified sinners. God doesn’t make us just but declares us so, but we are a work in progress as God continues to work in us (cf. Phi. 1:6).

I sin because I have an old sin nature inherited from Adam. We are all sinners by nature, by choice, and by birth, this is called being “in Adam.” We have inherited the sin virus from Adam. Thus everyone is in solidarity with Adam until they are saved and then possess power over sin and are not its slave it servant anymore. In sum, Christians are effectively dead to sin and liberated from its power (cf Romans 6:14) and God doesn’t hold our sins against us (cf. Psalm 32:2); we need not have any sin have dominion over us (cf. Psalm 119:133; Romans 6:14).