I think it's indicative of where a person's heart truly lies to see what
they cling to during times of grief or devastation.
For many, it seems to be the idols they have piled high for themselves.
Their job. Their books. Their friends. Their sense of significance.
Their pride. Their sexual liaisons.
Anything to lend their life a sense of meaning, however false
or flimsy that sense of meaning may be in actuality.
But all of these things fail you when the going gets tough.
Jobs are lost, books fall apart with wear, friends come and go with
the seasons like transient birds in flight, and pride only leads
to ruination.
For me, oftentimes lately I have noticed that my personal crutch is my books
and my study. But study and books and knowledge will all cease,
just like everything else that is fleeting and temporary here.
Only one thing will not. Jesus Christ will never change.
He will never leave you or forsake you.
When everything comes crashing down around you like so
much fragmented rubble, and you seem to be drowning in sorrow
and anguish, there is only one thing that can help.
Your relationship with Him. If you don't have that, you're on thin ice.
Without it, I would surely have given up hope by now.
Tuesday, April 23, 2013
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
Your Best Life Now? You Tell Me...
According to Edward Ryan's 'The History of the Effects of Religion on Mankind',
Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester sold all of the gold and silver vessels of his cathedral
to relieve the poor who were starving during a famine.
In doing so, he is quoted as saying:
Contrast this account of church activity from the tenth century, with
extravagant expenditures like that of Lakewood Church, led by renowned
minister Joel Osteen.
According to the New York Times and MSNBC, the new facility
of Lakewood Church, the old Compaq Center in Houston, TX was
leased for 30 years for the meager sum of $11.8 million.
Renovations on the new campus cost an estimated $95 million.
Astronomical monetary figures like this are hard to comprehend in spite
of a congregation of 40,000 plus members.
Prosperity ministries today have turned the house of God into
big-box money-making facilities with a non-profit stamp on the paperwork.
Now I'm not making any statements about the charitable nature of Lakewood
Church or lack thereof. What I am saying is this.
How much extravagance is warranted?
Did the early Christians live this way?
I don't think this is the account provided for us in the book of Acts:
(Act 4:32) And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
(Act 4:34) Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
(Act 4:35) And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
In doing so, they were clearly following the example set forth by the Lord Jesus.
(Luk 18:22) Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
(Luk 18:23) And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
(Luk 18:24) And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
(Luk 18:25) For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
This doesn't speak very encouragingly of prosperity doctrine in general,
or indeed messages such as those propagated by modern ministers such as Joel Osteen.
Consider the title of one of his most popular books:
'Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living At Your Full Potential'.
According to the synopsis of the book on Amazon.com, Joel Osteen shares with us
within the pages the secrets of his own 'rags-to-riches' story.
Is this the Gospel that was preached to us at first?
Has it been relegated to a self-help manual?
Is this is the Good News of the Scripture? "You can live your best life now!"
Is this what Jesus taught?
I have my own firm opinions. But these are really food-for-thought questions meant
to inspire the reader to seek answers by searching the Scriptures for themselves
just as the Bereans were praised for doing.
What made the early church so much different than what the modern church has become?
Perhaps we are lacking some of the 'Divine Movement' I referred to in my preceding entry.
As J.P. Moreland asked in his book 'Love Your God With All Your Mind':
I would have to agree. And I can only pray that God has '7,000 who have not
bowed the knee to Baal' with whom He can still accomplish great things in today's
secular overrun society.
Ethelwold, bishop of Winchester sold all of the gold and silver vessels of his cathedral
to relieve the poor who were starving during a famine.
In doing so, he is quoted as saying:
"There is no reason the temples of God should abound in riches,
while the living temples of the Holy Ghost starve for hunger."
Contrast this account of church activity from the tenth century, with
extravagant expenditures like that of Lakewood Church, led by renowned
minister Joel Osteen.
According to the New York Times and MSNBC, the new facility
of Lakewood Church, the old Compaq Center in Houston, TX was
leased for 30 years for the meager sum of $11.8 million.
Renovations on the new campus cost an estimated $95 million.
Astronomical monetary figures like this are hard to comprehend in spite
of a congregation of 40,000 plus members.
Prosperity ministries today have turned the house of God into
big-box money-making facilities with a non-profit stamp on the paperwork.
Now I'm not making any statements about the charitable nature of Lakewood
Church or lack thereof. What I am saying is this.
How much extravagance is warranted?
Did the early Christians live this way?
I don't think this is the account provided for us in the book of Acts:
(Act 4:32) And the multitude of them that believed were of one heart and of one soul: neither said any of them that ought of the things which he possessed was his own; but they had all things common.
(Act 4:34) Neither was there any among them that lacked: for as many as were possessors of lands or houses sold them, and brought the prices of the things that were sold,
(Act 4:35) And laid them down at the apostles' feet: and distribution was made unto every man according as he had need.
In doing so, they were clearly following the example set forth by the Lord Jesus.
(Luk 18:22) Now when Jesus heard these things, he said unto him, Yet lackest thou one thing: sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me.
(Luk 18:23) And when he heard this, he was very sorrowful: for he was very rich.
(Luk 18:24) And when Jesus saw that he was very sorrowful, he said, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
(Luk 18:25) For it is easier for a camel to go through a needle's eye, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.
This doesn't speak very encouragingly of prosperity doctrine in general,
or indeed messages such as those propagated by modern ministers such as Joel Osteen.
Consider the title of one of his most popular books:
'Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living At Your Full Potential'.
According to the synopsis of the book on Amazon.com, Joel Osteen shares with us
within the pages the secrets of his own 'rags-to-riches' story.
Is this the Gospel that was preached to us at first?
Has it been relegated to a self-help manual?
Is this is the Good News of the Scripture? "You can live your best life now!"
Is this what Jesus taught?
I have my own firm opinions. But these are really food-for-thought questions meant
to inspire the reader to seek answers by searching the Scriptures for themselves
just as the Bereans were praised for doing.
What made the early church so much different than what the modern church has become?
Perhaps we are lacking some of the 'Divine Movement' I referred to in my preceding entry.
As J.P. Moreland asked in his book 'Love Your God With All Your Mind':
"...Why is our impact not proportionate to our numbers?
If the evangelical community is even one-third the size polls tell us it is,
we should be turning this culture upside down."
I would have to agree. And I can only pray that God has '7,000 who have not
bowed the knee to Baal' with whom He can still accomplish great things in today's
secular overrun society.
Tuesday, April 9, 2013
An Unstoppable Force Meets An Immovable Object (Or Something Like That)
What happens when an unstoppable force meets an immovable object?
People have puzzled over an answer to this classic paradox for years.
How about this one?
What happens with the power and sovereign will of an omnipotent God
meets the hubris and rebellion of a finite human being?
What happens when we submit to His will?
These are questions that I would like to explore a little in this entry.
Let's begin then, in a section of James which I have frequently quoted
in previous posts regarding overcoming addictions and shameful habits.
(Jas 4:1) From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
(Jas 4:2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
(Jas 4:3) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
(Jas 4:4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
(Jas 4:5) Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
(Jas 4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
(Jas 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(Jas 4:8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
(Jas 4:9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
(Jas 4:10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
What makes this profound Scripture from James so important in its message to us
as modern day Christians?
It has a direct relation to us and our lives because it addresses the problems
of selfishness, submission to the will of God, and how it connects with our
overcoming the devil's power.
I have stated in the past that most Christians hurriedly quote the latter part of verse 7, while
conveniently ignoring the first part. But this verse could easily be phrased as a logical syllogism,
especially considering the information we have been provided in the preceding verses:
Why do most Christians 'forget' the first portion of verse 7?
Because truly submitting the essence of one's self and one's entire life unconditionally unto God
is decidedly inconvenient for most. Nevertheless, it seems that the more we
submit unto God, the more we find ourselves triumphant over the wiles of the adversary.
Verse 9 can be somewhat difficult to understand in its full meaning without
examining some of the original Greek used.
Be afflicted: talaipōreō means to be wretched; that is to realize one's own misery.
And mourn: pentheō to grieve (either the feeling or the act).
Is James telling us to constantly be downcast and wail in misery
over our negative qualities and attributes?
I don't believe so, because this would directly contradict what the Scripture
teaches us in regards to being thankful and joyful in our salvation.
Paul writes of sorrow:
(2Co 7:9) Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
(2Co 7:10) For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Rather it seems that James is exhorting us to live in a sober spirit of humility and meekness.
Most of the men and women of Scripture who lived Spirit-filled and led lives have also had the characteristics of meekness and humility.
Moses is referred to as:
(Num 12:3) (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
The word meek means gentle of mind; lowly, poor.
Let's examine a companion passage to James 4 which addresses some of the same concerns.
(1Pe 5:5) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
(1Pe 5:6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
(1Pe 5:7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
(1Pe 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
(1Pe 5:9) Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
(1Pe 5:10) But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Peter writes that we should be clothed in humility; literally translated this could be paraphrased
as 'wear humility as a badge upon yourselves'.
Exaltation here comes solely from God Himself, and in His own due time according to the sovereign nature of His will for us in our lives. Indeed all good things come from His hand,
including any praise or exaltation we receive.
Peter goes on to exhort us to be sober and vigilant, because our adversary most certainly is.
He actively patrols, seeking the weak-minded among us to mangle and destroy.
This phrase, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble is taken from Psalm 138:
(Psa 138:6) Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
This thematic element is repeated frequently throughout Scripture.
The word contrite is of particular interest here.
It comes from a Hebrew word that means 'crushed or downtrodden.'
This goes hand in hand with humility and lowliness of spirit.
Let's look at some of the contrite passages from the KJV:
(Psa 34:18) The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
(Psa 51:17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
(Isa 57:15) For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
(Isa 66:2) For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
So we see this vein running continuously throughout Scripture.
God draws near to those who are humble in spirit. But He directly opposes the proud.
I see a direct relation to the previous post 'God's Immutable Nature', where we discussed rebellion against God's nature being equated with the sins of witchcraft and idolatry in the well-known passage from 1 Samuel.
Pride then, could be stated as esteeming one's own will above that of God.
Pride goes hand-in-hand with rebellion.
First we experience the inner sensation of pride in that we esteem our will above God's will.
Then we bring forth from the treasure of our heart the fruit of rebellion in our acting out our inner state against our Maker. This is manifested as sin.
This, I believe, is the carnal mind spoken of repeatedly throughout the New Testament.
(Rom 8:7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
This is the Greek word Sarx, meaning human nature or the fleshly nature.
That remnant within us even after salvation which causes us to desire and seek
after the things of the flesh, of which John warns us against strongly in 1 John.
(1Jn 2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(1Jn 2:16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
(1Jn 2:17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Jesus says:
(Mat 10:38) And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
It is through the daily denial of the fleshly nature that we grant God liberty in our lives to continue a work of restoration and freedom in Christ.
We do this by walking in the spirit according to Galatians 5.
And the Spirit is not free to work in our lives until we get out of His way and allow
Him to do His work. We do this through submission to God.
You'll pardon my tangent, but I am retracing the steps
of previous entries and studies here so that we may have a logical path to follow.
So, why is it important that we submit entirely to God and humble ourselves before Him?
(Rom 6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Let's take a look at those who refused to allow God to work in their hearts.
There's a phrase used for this throughout the Scripture.
It's referred to as a 'hardening of the heart'.
In the accounts of the Exodus from Egypt, it is repeatedly stated that Pharoah and the Egyptians hardened their hearts. "But," you might say, "that's not accurate,
for it was God Himself who hardened their hearts!"
Well, let's examine that claim for a moment.
The answer here is that God did not harden Pharaoh's heart contrary to Pharaoh's free will.
He did it himself in response to repeated circumstances which could have induced a multitude of responses.In each case, Pharaoh himself chose the path of pride and obstinance.
(Exo 8:15) But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
(Exo 8:19) Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
(Exo 8:31) And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
(Exo 8:32) And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Says Norman Geisler:
There is an entire passage regarding this in Romans 9.
(Rom 9:17) For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
(Rom 9:18) Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
(Rom 9:19) Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
(Rom 9:20) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
The fact that we are granted free will by God to respond to His unction of our own choosing is a case
that is made plain throughout Scripture. Take for instance the response of David to the declaration of his sin.
(2Sa 12:7) And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
(2Sa 12:8) And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
(2Sa 12:9) Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
(2Sa 12:13) And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
(2Sa 12:14) Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
David's response to the condemnation of the prophet Nathan is immediate.
Instead of rebelling and hardening his heart, he submits to the judgment of the Lord.
He humbles himself before God. In fact, it is in direct reference to this scenario
that we get Psalm 51, which we quoted earlier in regards to having a contrite heart.
Let's look at yet another example of a different response to God's hand: the city of Nineveh.
(Jon 1:1) Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
(Jon 1:2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
(Jon 1:3) But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Why did Jonah flee and refuse to prophecy against the city of Nineveh? Because he knew that this could likely happen:
(Jon 3:5) So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
(Jon 3:10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
(Jon 4:1) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
(Jon 4:2) And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country?
Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Even the intense spiritual conviction which is brought on by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit can be either accepted or denied.
We see both of these responses exhibited in the New Testament in the book of Acts:
(Act 2:37) Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
(Act 2:38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Act 2:41) Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
(Act 2:42) And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
We see the positive response here, followed by a completely different response to the same conviction of the Holy Spirit:
(Act 7:54) When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
(Act 7:57) Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
(Act 7:58) And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
In one account, the people responded favorably and were converted.
In the second account, they responded with violent rebellion and destruction promptly ensued,
not only for Steven but ultimately for themselves.
Our rebellion is not God's desire.
God's desire is for us to submit to Him and humble ourselves in our hearts.
(Deu 10:16) Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
(Eze 33:11) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
(Psa 95:8) Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
(1Co 10:11) Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
It seems to be a reasonable conclusion from the Scriptures that we have examined that
destruction follows when an Unstoppable Force (God) meets an immovable object (the hardened heart of man).
But this is only the consequence of the freedom given to us which allows us to
rebel against that which is right.
However, when we exercise the gift of free will to submit to God, it is impossible that
we can remain the same.
When an Unstoppable Force (God) meets a movable object (the willing heart of man),
clearly the object moves.
By our act of contrite submission to the will of God in our lives, we open the door for
a metamorphosis to begin in us through the movement of the Holy Spirit.
This will be seen in every facet of our lives, from our mental status to our physical
health, to the tearing down of strongholds of sinful nature that remain within us.
(Rom 8:11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Why then, do many of those who call themselves Christians seemingly not exhibit signs of this Divine movement taking place in their lives?
I believe the words of Jesus Himself say it most incisively:
(Mat 7:16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
(Mat 7:17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
(Mat 7:18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
(Mat 7:19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
(Mat 7:20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
James concurs during his discourse on the dangers of speech:
(Jas 3:11) Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
(Jas 3:12) Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
And again the words of our Lord from the gospel of John:
(Joh 15:4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
(Joh 15:5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
(Joh 15:6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
(Joh 15:7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
(Joh 15:8) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
How does one bear fruit?
Not of oneself, but by the process of daily abiding (remaining in daily communion) with
the Lord Jesus. In submitting to the unction of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
In this, the Father is glorified, that we bear fruit; it is in this that we prove ourselves humble disciples of Christ.
Let us then submit to our Lord, for it may be that in so doing we find grace to endure and overcome in our moment(s) of tribulation and darkness, and so give glory abundantly to the Lord Jesus Christ
People have puzzled over an answer to this classic paradox for years.
How about this one?
What happens with the power and sovereign will of an omnipotent God
meets the hubris and rebellion of a finite human being?
What happens when we submit to His will?
These are questions that I would like to explore a little in this entry.
Let's begin then, in a section of James which I have frequently quoted
in previous posts regarding overcoming addictions and shameful habits.
(Jas 4:1) From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members?
(Jas 4:2) Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not.
(Jas 4:3) Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
(Jas 4:4) Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.
(Jas 4:5) Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?
(Jas 4:6) But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.
(Jas 4:7) Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
(Jas 4:8) Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded.
(Jas 4:9) Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness.
(Jas 4:10) Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.
What makes this profound Scripture from James so important in its message to us
as modern day Christians?
It has a direct relation to us and our lives because it addresses the problems
of selfishness, submission to the will of God, and how it connects with our
overcoming the devil's power.
I have stated in the past that most Christians hurriedly quote the latter part of verse 7, while
conveniently ignoring the first part. But this verse could easily be phrased as a logical syllogism,
especially considering the information we have been provided in the preceding verses:
- Submission to God provides grace.
- Through grace we possess the power to resist the devil.
- Therefore submit to God and the devil will flee from you.
Why do most Christians 'forget' the first portion of verse 7?
Because truly submitting the essence of one's self and one's entire life unconditionally unto God
is decidedly inconvenient for most. Nevertheless, it seems that the more we
submit unto God, the more we find ourselves triumphant over the wiles of the adversary.
Verse 9 can be somewhat difficult to understand in its full meaning without
examining some of the original Greek used.
Be afflicted: talaipōreō means to be wretched; that is to realize one's own misery.
And mourn: pentheō to grieve (either the feeling or the act).
Is James telling us to constantly be downcast and wail in misery
over our negative qualities and attributes?
I don't believe so, because this would directly contradict what the Scripture
teaches us in regards to being thankful and joyful in our salvation.
Paul writes of sorrow:
(2Co 7:9) Now I rejoice, not that ye were made sorry, but that ye sorrowed to repentance: for ye were made sorry after a godly manner, that ye might receive damage by us in nothing.
(2Co 7:10) For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death.
Rather it seems that James is exhorting us to live in a sober spirit of humility and meekness.
Most of the men and women of Scripture who lived Spirit-filled and led lives have also had the characteristics of meekness and humility.
Moses is referred to as:
(Num 12:3) (Now the man Moses was very meek, above all the men which were upon the face of the earth.)
The word meek means gentle of mind; lowly, poor.
Let's examine a companion passage to James 4 which addresses some of the same concerns.
(1Pe 5:5) Likewise, ye younger, submit yourselves unto the elder. Yea, all of you be subject one to another, and be clothed with humility: for God resisteth the proud, and giveth grace to the humble.
(1Pe 5:6) Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time:
(1Pe 5:7) Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
(1Pe 5:8) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:
(1Pe 5:9) Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.
(1Pe 5:10) But the God of all grace, who hath called us unto his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after that ye have suffered a while, make you perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you.
Peter writes that we should be clothed in humility; literally translated this could be paraphrased
as 'wear humility as a badge upon yourselves'.
Exaltation here comes solely from God Himself, and in His own due time according to the sovereign nature of His will for us in our lives. Indeed all good things come from His hand,
including any praise or exaltation we receive.
Peter goes on to exhort us to be sober and vigilant, because our adversary most certainly is.
He actively patrols, seeking the weak-minded among us to mangle and destroy.
This phrase, God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble is taken from Psalm 138:
(Psa 138:6) Though the LORD be high, yet hath he respect unto the lowly: but the proud he knoweth afar off.
This thematic element is repeated frequently throughout Scripture.
The word contrite is of particular interest here.
It comes from a Hebrew word that means 'crushed or downtrodden.'
This goes hand in hand with humility and lowliness of spirit.
Let's look at some of the contrite passages from the KJV:
(Psa 34:18) The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.
(Psa 51:17) The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
(Isa 57:15) For thus saith the high and lofty One that inhabiteth eternity, whose name is Holy; I dwell in the high and holy place, with him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble, and to revive the heart of the contrite ones.
(Isa 66:2) For all those things hath mine hand made, and all those things have been, saith the LORD: but to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.
So we see this vein running continuously throughout Scripture.
God draws near to those who are humble in spirit. But He directly opposes the proud.
I see a direct relation to the previous post 'God's Immutable Nature', where we discussed rebellion against God's nature being equated with the sins of witchcraft and idolatry in the well-known passage from 1 Samuel.
Pride then, could be stated as esteeming one's own will above that of God.
Pride goes hand-in-hand with rebellion.
First we experience the inner sensation of pride in that we esteem our will above God's will.
Then we bring forth from the treasure of our heart the fruit of rebellion in our acting out our inner state against our Maker. This is manifested as sin.
This, I believe, is the carnal mind spoken of repeatedly throughout the New Testament.
(Rom 8:7) Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
This is the Greek word Sarx, meaning human nature or the fleshly nature.
That remnant within us even after salvation which causes us to desire and seek
after the things of the flesh, of which John warns us against strongly in 1 John.
(1Jn 2:15) Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
(1Jn 2:16) For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.
(1Jn 2:17) And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
Jesus says:
(Mat 10:38) And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me.
It is through the daily denial of the fleshly nature that we grant God liberty in our lives to continue a work of restoration and freedom in Christ.
We do this by walking in the spirit according to Galatians 5.
And the Spirit is not free to work in our lives until we get out of His way and allow
Him to do His work. We do this through submission to God.
You'll pardon my tangent, but I am retracing the steps
of previous entries and studies here so that we may have a logical path to follow.
So, why is it important that we submit entirely to God and humble ourselves before Him?
(Rom 6:16) Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness?
Let's take a look at those who refused to allow God to work in their hearts.
There's a phrase used for this throughout the Scripture.
It's referred to as a 'hardening of the heart'.
In the accounts of the Exodus from Egypt, it is repeatedly stated that Pharoah and the Egyptians hardened their hearts. "But," you might say, "that's not accurate,
for it was God Himself who hardened their hearts!"
Well, let's examine that claim for a moment.
The answer here is that God did not harden Pharaoh's heart contrary to Pharaoh's free will.
He did it himself in response to repeated circumstances which could have induced a multitude of responses.In each case, Pharaoh himself chose the path of pride and obstinance.
(Exo 8:15) But when Pharaoh saw that there was respite, he hardened his heart, and hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
(Exo 8:19) Then the magicians said unto Pharaoh, This is the finger of God: and Pharaoh's heart was hardened, and he hearkened not unto them; as the LORD had said.
(Exo 8:31) And the LORD did according to the word of Moses; and he removed the swarms of flies from Pharaoh, from his servants, and from his people; there remained not one.
(Exo 8:32) And Pharaoh hardened his heart at this time also, neither would he let the people go.
Says Norman Geisler:
Furthermore, the sense in which God hardened his [Pharaoh's] heart is similar to the way the sun hardens clay and also melts wax.
If Pharaoh had been receptive to God's warnings, his heart would not have been hardened by God. But when God gave Pharaoh
a reprieve from the plagues, he took advantage of the situation.
There is an entire passage regarding this in Romans 9.
(Rom 9:17) For the scripture saith unto Pharaoh, Even for this same purpose have I raised thee up, that I might shew my power in thee, and that my name might be declared throughout all the earth.
(Rom 9:18) Therefore hath he mercy on whom he will have mercy, and whom he will he hardeneth.
(Rom 9:19) Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will?
(Rom 9:20) Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus?
The fact that we are granted free will by God to respond to His unction of our own choosing is a case
that is made plain throughout Scripture. Take for instance the response of David to the declaration of his sin.
(2Sa 12:7) And Nathan said to David, Thou art the man. Thus saith the LORD God of Israel, I anointed thee king over Israel, and I delivered thee out of the hand of Saul;
(2Sa 12:8) And I gave thee thy master's house, and thy master's wives into thy bosom, and gave thee the house of Israel and of Judah; and if that had been too little, I would moreover have given unto thee such and such things.
(2Sa 12:9) Wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the LORD, to do evil in his sight? thou hast killed Uriah the Hittite with the sword, and hast taken his wife to be thy wife, and hast slain him with the sword of the children of Ammon.
(2Sa 12:13) And David said unto Nathan, I have sinned against the LORD. And Nathan said unto David, The LORD also hath put away thy sin; thou shalt not die.
(2Sa 12:14) Howbeit, because by this deed thou hast given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme, the child also that is born unto thee shall surely die.
David's response to the condemnation of the prophet Nathan is immediate.
Instead of rebelling and hardening his heart, he submits to the judgment of the Lord.
He humbles himself before God. In fact, it is in direct reference to this scenario
that we get Psalm 51, which we quoted earlier in regards to having a contrite heart.
Let's look at yet another example of a different response to God's hand: the city of Nineveh.
(Jon 1:1) Now the word of the LORD came unto Jonah the son of Amittai, saying,
(Jon 1:2) Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry against it; for their wickedness is come up before me.
(Jon 1:3) But Jonah rose up to flee unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD, and went down to Joppa; and he found a ship going to Tarshish: so he paid the fare thereof, and went down into it, to go with them unto Tarshish from the presence of the LORD.
Why did Jonah flee and refuse to prophecy against the city of Nineveh? Because he knew that this could likely happen:
(Jon 3:5) So the people of Nineveh believed God, and proclaimed a fast, and put on sackcloth, from the greatest of them even to the least of them.
(Jon 3:10) And God saw their works, that they turned from their evil way; and God repented of the evil, that he had said that he would do unto them; and he did it not.
(Jon 4:1) But it displeased Jonah exceedingly, and he was very angry.
(Jon 4:2) And he prayed unto the LORD, and said, I pray thee, O LORD, was not this my saying, when I was yet in my country?
Therefore I fled before unto Tarshish: for I knew that thou art a gracious God, and merciful, slow to anger, and of great kindness, and repentest thee of the evil.
Even the intense spiritual conviction which is brought on by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit can be either accepted or denied.
We see both of these responses exhibited in the New Testament in the book of Acts:
(Act 2:37) Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do?
(Act 2:38) Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
(Act 2:41) Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls.
(Act 2:42) And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.
We see the positive response here, followed by a completely different response to the same conviction of the Holy Spirit:
(Act 7:54) When they heard these things, they were cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth.
(Act 7:57) Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him with one accord,
(Act 7:58) And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
In one account, the people responded favorably and were converted.
In the second account, they responded with violent rebellion and destruction promptly ensued,
not only for Steven but ultimately for themselves.
Our rebellion is not God's desire.
God's desire is for us to submit to Him and humble ourselves in our hearts.
(Deu 10:16) Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no more stiffnecked.
(Eze 33:11) Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?
(Psa 95:8) Harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness:
(1Co 10:11) Now all these things happened unto them for ensamples: and they are written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the world are come.
It seems to be a reasonable conclusion from the Scriptures that we have examined that
destruction follows when an Unstoppable Force (God) meets an immovable object (the hardened heart of man).
But this is only the consequence of the freedom given to us which allows us to
rebel against that which is right.
However, when we exercise the gift of free will to submit to God, it is impossible that
we can remain the same.
When an Unstoppable Force (God) meets a movable object (the willing heart of man),
clearly the object moves.
By our act of contrite submission to the will of God in our lives, we open the door for
a metamorphosis to begin in us through the movement of the Holy Spirit.
This will be seen in every facet of our lives, from our mental status to our physical
health, to the tearing down of strongholds of sinful nature that remain within us.
(Rom 8:11) But if the Spirit of him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, he that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken your mortal bodies by his Spirit that dwelleth in you.
Why then, do many of those who call themselves Christians seemingly not exhibit signs of this Divine movement taking place in their lives?
I believe the words of Jesus Himself say it most incisively:
(Mat 7:16) Ye shall know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles?
(Mat 7:17) Even so every good tree bringeth forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree bringeth forth evil fruit.
(Mat 7:18) A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit.
(Mat 7:19) Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
(Mat 7:20) Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
James concurs during his discourse on the dangers of speech:
(Jas 3:11) Doth a fountain send forth at the same place sweet water and bitter?
(Jas 3:12) Can the fig tree, my brethren, bear olive berries? either a vine, figs? so can no fountain both yield salt water and fresh.
And again the words of our Lord from the gospel of John:
(Joh 15:4) Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
(Joh 15:5) I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.
(Joh 15:6) If a man abide not in me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them, and cast them into the fire, and they are burned.
(Joh 15:7) If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you.
(Joh 15:8) Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be my disciples.
How does one bear fruit?
Not of oneself, but by the process of daily abiding (remaining in daily communion) with
the Lord Jesus. In submitting to the unction of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
In this, the Father is glorified, that we bear fruit; it is in this that we prove ourselves humble disciples of Christ.
Let us then submit to our Lord, for it may be that in so doing we find grace to endure and overcome in our moment(s) of tribulation and darkness, and so give glory abundantly to the Lord Jesus Christ
Three Problems With Life and How Jesus Is the Answer
There are three primary methods by which we know anything.
First is using our senses to empirically test our surrounding environment (a posteriori).
Second is the use of logic and rationality to draw a conclusion from premises.
But the third somewhat disputed way of knowing is something that for the sake of
this brief essay we will refer to as Intuitive Knowledge.
Intuitive Knowledge is something that you know a priori, or a conclusion that
exists within your mind prior to and independent of experience.
It requires no experiential evidence to prove and no laws of logic or reason
to uphold. This is because you intuitively know this type of knowledge to be
a fact based on a more fundamental awareness than either of the other two involve.
If I were to ask you the answer to the mathematical problem 2 + 2, you would almost
instantly respond with 4. If I were then to ask you to 'prove' it to me, you would
probably be inclined to draw out the problem on paper.
If I asked you to repeat the problem to test its empirical reproducibility,
you would be baffled as to why I would demand something so silly.
It doesn't matter how many times we repeat the problem, the answer is still going
to be the same.
If I told you that Amy was taller than Sam, and that George was taller than Amy,
you would immediately know that George is taller than Sam.
Asking you to prove that to me would be a bit ludicrous, and would net me
an odd look. I would be considered somewhat daft if I could not see the
solution to this problem. All that is required to draw this conclusion is knowledge
of the concept of 'taller'. I don't even need to know if these individuals are real or
fictitious.
The ethicist Louis Pojman originally postulated the previous example.
He wrote:
Intuitional truth requires no defense, because it does not result from reasoning by steps
to a conclusion. It is a truth that is obvious upon consideration.
C.S. Lewis writes:
Aristotle writes:
To paraphrase from the book Relativism by Gregory Koukl and Francis Beckwith,
take the following conversation as a further example.
And so we reach an impasse. One does not conclude that one feels pain based upon other evidence.
That knowledge is based upon direct access to ones own inner states.
Personal sensations are private, immediate, and incorrigible; one cannot be mistaken about them.
You may imagine your injury, but you cannot imagine the imagining; for it is impossible to
think you are feeling pain and not be feeling it.
Everyone knows their own mental states through the faculty of immediate awareness or intuition
(immediate in this case meaning 'not proceeding from inference').
One simply turns his or her gaze inward and reflects.
This knowledge cannot be proven because, on the level of intuition, no further analysis
is possible. Reductionism cannot reach further without inviting catastrophic infinite regress.
This foray into philosophy may seem like intentionally splitting hairs, but I am building
the groundwork for an argument that I would like to make involving this concept of Intuitive
Knowledge which we have established thus far.
If you have difficulties with believing that there is such a thing as Intuitive Knowledge, you
need not read further, and indeed might wish to put a lid on much of your personal
introspection, as it generally relies upon this method of 'knowing'.
I personally believe that the following three problems which I will present are
known to us by Intuitive Knowledge. To be aware of these problems, we only need
turn our gaze inward and honestly examine the awareness we have of
the world which surrounds us and our interactions with it thus far.
We hear it from an extremely early age in children: 'That's not fair!'
This exclamation is usually uttered in a shrill and ear-piercing tone, and occasionally
accompanied by red-faced bluster and no small amount of tears designed to provoke
a sympathetic response.
Indeed before small children are even capable of forming words, all one has to do
to prove their cognizance of the concept of equity is to snatch away their favorite toy
from their grasp and wait for empirical evidence to follow suit.
I assure you it will be forthcoming and unpleasant.
I was greatly amused by an experience related by scientists researching the moral behavior
of infants in this article, which I have also linked to in a prior entry.
During testing, the researchers would place an infant barely one year old in front of
three puppets. The puppet in the middle would pass a colored ball to the puppet on the right,
who would then slide it back. Then the center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet
on the left... who would promptly abscond with it.
The two puppets from the ends would then be taken down from the stage and set before
the toddler. Each was placed next to a pile of treats, and the toddler was asked to take a treat
away from one of the puppets. Like most infants who were tested in this situation, this particular
youngster took the treat from the pile of the kleptomaniac.
But apparently feeling a general dissatisfaction with the suitability of the punishment to the crime,
this particular toddler then leaned over and proceeded to pop the thief in the head for good measure.
We all know the concept of justice.
Countless examples may be given, but I really feel they are unnecessary.
We all should be aware that justice is a genuine problem in this world we inhabit.
Intuitive Knowledge makes us aware of this.
In fact, a parents response to their child's plaintive cry of 'But that's not fair!'
is often very telling. We should know the response by heart.
"Life's not fair. Deal with it."
But this is no real solution. It's just a grim acknowledgement that we will
spend a life doomed to the bleak outcome of frequent injustices perpetrated
upon us by the human beings with whom we share this planet, and circumstances
beyond our ability to control.
Those who hold no religious belief in God have a genuine problem with justice.
There is none. And if they are honest with themselves, they will acknowledge this.
Renowned atheist Richard Dawkins, famous for spitting vitriolic invective against
religion of all flavors, can be credited with the following quote:
But we know there are such objective forces as good and evil at work in the world.
If there were not, people would not raise the 'Problem of Evil' against Christians as a wrench-in-the-cogs so frequently.
So atheism cannot be turned to for an answer in this problem of injustice; it merely denies
that there is a problem in the first place and moves along with little time spent brushing
the 'lint' of human dignity off of its proverbial cuff.
So then, where do we turn for an answer?
Well, if you believe in God, there's still hope.
And if you don't believe in God, there's still time to start.
God promises a final justice beyond the scope of this limited physical existence
we wrestle with presently.
(Jud 1:14) And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
(Jud 1:15) To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
(Job 8:3) Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
The God of Christianity loves justice and embodies the principles of it
(regardless of the slew of embittered slights trivial or otherwise brought against Him recently).
If any of my last entry regarding the immutable nature of God is to be believed,
the paradigm of justice is God Himself!
He continuously exhorts in Scripture to care for the widow and the
orphan, the weak and the defenseless.
And we will give an account before His throne.
Of this we can be absolutely assured on the Christian worldview.
Justice will be served. If not in this life by fallible human beings, then in the time to come when
every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And in spite of the somewhat fearful prospect of giving an account before an infinitely just God,
this is a matter of some comfort, particularly to those who have given themselves over to the Creator.
We can acknowledge it or deny it, but the emotional response of guilt is assuredly genuine,
and presents a very real problem in the world today.
One only has to look inside themselves to realize that one experiences feelings of guilt,
oftentimes without even being consciously aware of it.
Guilt can cause various and sundry psychological disorders such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
it can cause lasting anxiety and extreme stress, and even consumes some individuals entire lives as their purpose for living, in essence, becomes an endless struggle to alleviate their inner burden.
But since guilt has a direct connection to the element of the human conscience, many people
feel quite uncomfortable even discussing it. The conscience itself is a highly debated topic.
The bottom line is, we are all guilty over something.
It may be a false sense of guilt over something perceived that is not actual, or it may be
a true sense of guilt and shame over things which we know with certitude that we have or
have not done and to which we ascribe a high degree of importance.
Why is this significant? Because guilt is not an impersonal emotional response.
Some of the guilt which we feel may be directed to specific individuals in our lives.
But some of the guilt which we feel has no personal anchor in the physical world.
And so to whom then do we feel this guilt or sense of overwhelming shame?
I suggest, of course, given my viewpoint that we feel guilt and shame because we have
an innate perception of having violated moral laws given by a moral Lawgiver: God.
And once again, atheism falls short of the mark in coming up with a viable solution
to this ever-present human problem. Atheism's response to guilt is to claim its nonexistence.
This seems a facile and insubstantial solution to a problem which seems to grow more
prevalent every day in society, nevertheless it is no more facile than believing that
human consciousness itself does not exist, or that all of our actions or lack thereof
since the beginning of our embryonic states have been predetermined by the laws of physics,
or that emotions and sounds and colors do not exist and are merely chemical interpretations
of our brains. But those are topics for another time.
I have an answer to the problem of guilt, and it comes straight from the pages of Scripture.
Jesus Christ has already promised you a pardon to absolve you of all of your guilt and shame.
And all that this unconditional pardon requires of you is your admission.
Confess and you are guaranteed an acquittal. What could be more simple?
It may not be possible to truly expunge every last vestige of guilt and shame from our psyches
in this life, but I can guarantee that if you pursue a relationship with the Author of the universe,
you will find that day by day your load lightens more and more as Jesus continues to work
the beautiful symphony of regeneration in your life.
Many of those who have yet to believe find the concept of daily subservience to the Lord
a disaster tantamount to leaping from the top of the highest nearby building.
But that couldn't be any further from the truth. The more we come to rely on the Lord
and the more we submit to the unction of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the more
we come to agree wholeheartedly with the words of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew:
(Mat 11:29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(Mat 11:30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
Most of us are aware of it from a very young age. We just bury the knowledge deep in our minds
because there is no solution. The very real sensation that there is something terribly wrong with
the world. This could even be said to be a combination of the preceding two problems, plus a plethora
of other things which you just subconsciously know aren't right but can't quite put your finger on.
At least until that exceedingly rare moment of perspicacity that comes unexpectedly like
a glimmer of light in a dark room. There one moment; gone the next.
And I'm here to tell you that according to Scripture, you're absolutely right in your assessment
of reality. The apostle Paul writes of a yearning for a better existence with such poignance that it is almost tangible.
(2Co 5:1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
(2Co 5:2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
(2Co 5:3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
(2Co 5:4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
And the author of the Ecclesiastes certainly knew of the ironies of the world.
He wrote a great deal about them.
(Ecc 1:2) Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
(Ecc 2:11) Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
I could go on, but the entire book is one count after another of this sort of vaguely depressing writing, almost containing a certain aspect of nihilism to it.
Were it not for the redemptive quality of one thing. The Lord who makes living worthwhile.
Because Christianity acknowledges that in spite of the fact that we live in a corrupted world since the fall of Adam and Eve, we have hope and expectation for an incorruptible eternity.
And this is the exclusive nature of the Christian offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
To make this abundantly clear in closing, I would like to paraphrase the comments offered by conservative thinker Dinesh D'Souza during his final remarks in debate with Dan Barker.
And because of Him, we can live satisfied and fulfilled lives now, in spite of the problems
of justice, guilt, and apprehension that our intuitive awareness of reality informs us of.
Just like the song goes:
Because of Jesus Christ, we don't have to be lost in the world around us with the
same despair and hopelessness shared by everyone else.
We can stand on this promise of a renewal beyond the veil of suffering.
(Rev 21:3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
(Rev 21:4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
(Rev 21:5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
(Rev 21:6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
(Rev 21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
This isn't some sappy fairy-tale ending.
This is the promise of the Almighty Living God to those that would partake
of the free gift of salvation and come to Him.
If you've been longing for something better out of life, maybe it's time to accept His offer.
First is using our senses to empirically test our surrounding environment (a posteriori).
Second is the use of logic and rationality to draw a conclusion from premises.
But the third somewhat disputed way of knowing is something that for the sake of
this brief essay we will refer to as Intuitive Knowledge.
Intuitive Knowledge is something that you know a priori, or a conclusion that
exists within your mind prior to and independent of experience.
It requires no experiential evidence to prove and no laws of logic or reason
to uphold. This is because you intuitively know this type of knowledge to be
a fact based on a more fundamental awareness than either of the other two involve.
If I were to ask you the answer to the mathematical problem 2 + 2, you would almost
instantly respond with 4. If I were then to ask you to 'prove' it to me, you would
probably be inclined to draw out the problem on paper.
If I asked you to repeat the problem to test its empirical reproducibility,
you would be baffled as to why I would demand something so silly.
It doesn't matter how many times we repeat the problem, the answer is still going
to be the same.
If I told you that Amy was taller than Sam, and that George was taller than Amy,
you would immediately know that George is taller than Sam.
Asking you to prove that to me would be a bit ludicrous, and would net me
an odd look. I would be considered somewhat daft if I could not see the
solution to this problem. All that is required to draw this conclusion is knowledge
of the concept of 'taller'. I don't even need to know if these individuals are real or
fictitious.
The ethicist Louis Pojman originally postulated the previous example.
He wrote:
"You don't even have to know that this proposition is true.
You need only whatever experience is necessary to understand the concepts involved,
such as 'being taller than'.
To believe this proposition a priori, one need only consider it.
No particular experience---perceptual, testimonial, memorial, or introspective---is necessary."
Intuitional truth requires no defense, because it does not result from reasoning by steps
to a conclusion. It is a truth that is obvious upon consideration.
C.S. Lewis writes:
"If nothing is self-evident, nothing can be proved."
Aristotle writes:
"Some, indeed, demand to have the law proved, but this is because they lack education;
for it shows lack of education not to know of what we should require proof, and of what we should not.
For it is quite impossible that everything should have a proof; the process would go on
to infinity, so there would be no proof..."
To paraphrase from the book Relativism by Gregory Koukl and Francis Beckwith,
take the following conversation as a further example.
"My hand is injured."
"How do you know it's injured?"
"Because it hurts."
"How do you know it hurts?"
"Because I can feel it!"
"But how do you know you can feel it?"
And so we reach an impasse. One does not conclude that one feels pain based upon other evidence.
That knowledge is based upon direct access to ones own inner states.
Personal sensations are private, immediate, and incorrigible; one cannot be mistaken about them.
You may imagine your injury, but you cannot imagine the imagining; for it is impossible to
think you are feeling pain and not be feeling it.
Everyone knows their own mental states through the faculty of immediate awareness or intuition
(immediate in this case meaning 'not proceeding from inference').
One simply turns his or her gaze inward and reflects.
This knowledge cannot be proven because, on the level of intuition, no further analysis
is possible. Reductionism cannot reach further without inviting catastrophic infinite regress.
This foray into philosophy may seem like intentionally splitting hairs, but I am building
the groundwork for an argument that I would like to make involving this concept of Intuitive
Knowledge which we have established thus far.
If you have difficulties with believing that there is such a thing as Intuitive Knowledge, you
need not read further, and indeed might wish to put a lid on much of your personal
introspection, as it generally relies upon this method of 'knowing'.
I personally believe that the following three problems which I will present are
known to us by Intuitive Knowledge. To be aware of these problems, we only need
turn our gaze inward and honestly examine the awareness we have of
the world which surrounds us and our interactions with it thus far.
The Problem of Justice
We hear it from an extremely early age in children: 'That's not fair!'
This exclamation is usually uttered in a shrill and ear-piercing tone, and occasionally
accompanied by red-faced bluster and no small amount of tears designed to provoke
a sympathetic response.
Indeed before small children are even capable of forming words, all one has to do
to prove their cognizance of the concept of equity is to snatch away their favorite toy
from their grasp and wait for empirical evidence to follow suit.
I assure you it will be forthcoming and unpleasant.
I was greatly amused by an experience related by scientists researching the moral behavior
of infants in this article, which I have also linked to in a prior entry.
During testing, the researchers would place an infant barely one year old in front of
three puppets. The puppet in the middle would pass a colored ball to the puppet on the right,
who would then slide it back. Then the center puppet would slide the ball to the puppet
on the left... who would promptly abscond with it.
The two puppets from the ends would then be taken down from the stage and set before
the toddler. Each was placed next to a pile of treats, and the toddler was asked to take a treat
away from one of the puppets. Like most infants who were tested in this situation, this particular
youngster took the treat from the pile of the kleptomaniac.
But apparently feeling a general dissatisfaction with the suitability of the punishment to the crime,
this particular toddler then leaned over and proceeded to pop the thief in the head for good measure.
We all know the concept of justice.
Countless examples may be given, but I really feel they are unnecessary.
We all should be aware that justice is a genuine problem in this world we inhabit.
Intuitive Knowledge makes us aware of this.
In fact, a parents response to their child's plaintive cry of 'But that's not fair!'
is often very telling. We should know the response by heart.
"Life's not fair. Deal with it."
But this is no real solution. It's just a grim acknowledgement that we will
spend a life doomed to the bleak outcome of frequent injustices perpetrated
upon us by the human beings with whom we share this planet, and circumstances
beyond our ability to control.
Those who hold no religious belief in God have a genuine problem with justice.
There is none. And if they are honest with themselves, they will acknowledge this.
Renowned atheist Richard Dawkins, famous for spitting vitriolic invective against
religion of all flavors, can be credited with the following quote:
"In a universe of blind physical forces and genetic replication some people are going to get hurt, other people are going to get lucky, and you won't find any rhyme or reason in it, nor any justice.
The universe we observe has precisely the properties we should expect if there is, at bottom, no design, no purpose, no evil and no good, nothing but blind, pitiless indifference."
But we know there are such objective forces as good and evil at work in the world.
If there were not, people would not raise the 'Problem of Evil' against Christians as a wrench-in-the-cogs so frequently.
So atheism cannot be turned to for an answer in this problem of injustice; it merely denies
that there is a problem in the first place and moves along with little time spent brushing
the 'lint' of human dignity off of its proverbial cuff.
So then, where do we turn for an answer?
Well, if you believe in God, there's still hope.
And if you don't believe in God, there's still time to start.
God promises a final justice beyond the scope of this limited physical existence
we wrestle with presently.
(Jud 1:14) And Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophesied of these, saying, Behold, the Lord cometh with ten thousands of his saints,
(Jud 1:15) To execute judgment upon all, and to convince all that are ungodly among them of all their ungodly deeds which they have ungodly committed, and of all their hard speeches which ungodly sinners have spoken against him.
(Job 8:3) Doth God pervert judgment? or doth the Almighty pervert justice?
The God of Christianity loves justice and embodies the principles of it
(regardless of the slew of embittered slights trivial or otherwise brought against Him recently).
If any of my last entry regarding the immutable nature of God is to be believed,
the paradigm of justice is God Himself!
He continuously exhorts in Scripture to care for the widow and the
orphan, the weak and the defenseless.
And we will give an account before His throne.
Of this we can be absolutely assured on the Christian worldview.
Justice will be served. If not in this life by fallible human beings, then in the time to come when
every knee bows and every tongue confesses that Jesus Christ is Lord.
And in spite of the somewhat fearful prospect of giving an account before an infinitely just God,
this is a matter of some comfort, particularly to those who have given themselves over to the Creator.
The Problem of Guilt
We can acknowledge it or deny it, but the emotional response of guilt is assuredly genuine,
and presents a very real problem in the world today.
One only has to look inside themselves to realize that one experiences feelings of guilt,
oftentimes without even being consciously aware of it.
Guilt can cause various and sundry psychological disorders such as Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder,
it can cause lasting anxiety and extreme stress, and even consumes some individuals entire lives as their purpose for living, in essence, becomes an endless struggle to alleviate their inner burden.
But since guilt has a direct connection to the element of the human conscience, many people
feel quite uncomfortable even discussing it. The conscience itself is a highly debated topic.
The bottom line is, we are all guilty over something.
It may be a false sense of guilt over something perceived that is not actual, or it may be
a true sense of guilt and shame over things which we know with certitude that we have or
have not done and to which we ascribe a high degree of importance.
Why is this significant? Because guilt is not an impersonal emotional response.
Some of the guilt which we feel may be directed to specific individuals in our lives.
But some of the guilt which we feel has no personal anchor in the physical world.
And so to whom then do we feel this guilt or sense of overwhelming shame?
I suggest, of course, given my viewpoint that we feel guilt and shame because we have
an innate perception of having violated moral laws given by a moral Lawgiver: God.
And once again, atheism falls short of the mark in coming up with a viable solution
to this ever-present human problem. Atheism's response to guilt is to claim its nonexistence.
This seems a facile and insubstantial solution to a problem which seems to grow more
prevalent every day in society, nevertheless it is no more facile than believing that
human consciousness itself does not exist, or that all of our actions or lack thereof
since the beginning of our embryonic states have been predetermined by the laws of physics,
or that emotions and sounds and colors do not exist and are merely chemical interpretations
of our brains. But those are topics for another time.
I have an answer to the problem of guilt, and it comes straight from the pages of Scripture.
Jesus Christ has already promised you a pardon to absolve you of all of your guilt and shame.
And all that this unconditional pardon requires of you is your admission.
Confess and you are guaranteed an acquittal. What could be more simple?
It may not be possible to truly expunge every last vestige of guilt and shame from our psyches
in this life, but I can guarantee that if you pursue a relationship with the Author of the universe,
you will find that day by day your load lightens more and more as Jesus continues to work
the beautiful symphony of regeneration in your life.
Many of those who have yet to believe find the concept of daily subservience to the Lord
a disaster tantamount to leaping from the top of the highest nearby building.
But that couldn't be any further from the truth. The more we come to rely on the Lord
and the more we submit to the unction of the Holy Spirit in our lives, the more
we come to agree wholeheartedly with the words of Jesus in the gospel of Matthew:
(Mat 11:29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
(Mat 11:30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.
The Problem of Apprehension
Most of us are aware of it from a very young age. We just bury the knowledge deep in our minds
because there is no solution. The very real sensation that there is something terribly wrong with
the world. This could even be said to be a combination of the preceding two problems, plus a plethora
of other things which you just subconsciously know aren't right but can't quite put your finger on.
At least until that exceedingly rare moment of perspicacity that comes unexpectedly like
a glimmer of light in a dark room. There one moment; gone the next.
And I'm here to tell you that according to Scripture, you're absolutely right in your assessment
of reality. The apostle Paul writes of a yearning for a better existence with such poignance that it is almost tangible.
(2Co 5:1) For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.
(2Co 5:2) For in this we groan, earnestly desiring to be clothed upon with our house which is from heaven:
(2Co 5:3) If so be that being clothed we shall not be found naked.
(2Co 5:4) For we that are in this tabernacle do groan, being burdened: not for that we would be unclothed, but clothed upon, that mortality might be swallowed up of life.
And the author of the Ecclesiastes certainly knew of the ironies of the world.
He wrote a great deal about them.
(Ecc 1:2) Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.
(Ecc 2:11) Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.
I could go on, but the entire book is one count after another of this sort of vaguely depressing writing, almost containing a certain aspect of nihilism to it.
Were it not for the redemptive quality of one thing. The Lord who makes living worthwhile.
Because Christianity acknowledges that in spite of the fact that we live in a corrupted world since the fall of Adam and Eve, we have hope and expectation for an incorruptible eternity.
And this is the exclusive nature of the Christian offer of salvation through Jesus Christ.
To make this abundantly clear in closing, I would like to paraphrase the comments offered by conservative thinker Dinesh D'Souza during his final remarks in debate with Dan Barker.
"If we are merely evolved primates in the world, our job in life is to survive and reproduce and benefit ourselves. Why should we be good for goodness sake?
There is no goodness built into evolution.
We are selfish creatures in the world. If we are good, it must be a part of our nature...
...I think the case for Christianity depends upon the following fact:
Things are not as they ought to be...
...I think we would all agree that we live on two levels.
We'll call one the human level; the way things currently are.
And we can all envision a better world. Perfect justice, perfect beauty, perfect truth.
Let's call that the divine level. That's the way things ought to be.
So there's a huge chasm between the way things are and the way things ought to be.
How do we bridge this chasm?
The atheist says "That's a wrong diagnosis, we're doing great now!"
But this is just a foolish refusal to acknowledge the depravity and the difficulty that even Darwin admits is built into human nature.
We are selfish, grasping, tribal beings in the world.
All you have to do is set people loose and remove laws.
Just let the cops take one week off and see what happens...
...That's the way we are. That's the human level...
...Most religions in the world say that we can climb up to the divine level by
following a set of codes and commandments. That's Judaism; that's Islam...
Follow these rules, and man can step-by-step move up to God.
Christianity is unique and radical in saying, in effect: "No; this gap is too big.
We cannot climb high enough to get to God's level.
We can go up a couple of rungs, but ultimately it's not going to be enough to make a difference."
Jesus saw that.
And Jesus came to give Himself as the sacrifice for our sin because the only
way to close the gap is to reverse it. God's level somehow has to come down to our level.
Jesus was the emissary; God's ambassador to the world."
And because of Him, we can live satisfied and fulfilled lives now, in spite of the problems
of justice, guilt, and apprehension that our intuitive awareness of reality informs us of.
Just like the song goes:
Because He lives, I can face tomorrow.
Because He lives, All fear is gone.
Because I know He holds the future.
And life is worth the living just because He lives.
Because of Jesus Christ, we don't have to be lost in the world around us with the
same despair and hopelessness shared by everyone else.
We can stand on this promise of a renewal beyond the veil of suffering.
(Rev 21:3) And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God.
(Rev 21:4) And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away.
(Rev 21:5) And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
(Rev 21:6) And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
(Rev 21:7) He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
This isn't some sappy fairy-tale ending.
This is the promise of the Almighty Living God to those that would partake
of the free gift of salvation and come to Him.
If you've been longing for something better out of life, maybe it's time to accept His offer.
Wednesday, April 3, 2013
God's Immutable Nature
During a recent conversation with a friend of mine,
I came to the surprising realization that we did not share a number of basic conceptual ideas about God. To be precise, I believe the following upon my reading and studying of Scripture:
Now the last point of this subset is one of fervent debate amongst many philosophers past and
present. That human beings possess an innate knowledge of objective moral values and responsibilities.
We human beings tend to view such an admission as grievously deleterious.
Indeed many would struggle against such an admission with such vehemence as to nearly lend credence to the concept simply by virtue of their raving invective against it.
The more studies science conducts with infants in this field, however, the more we understand that
even small children possess some rudimentary knowledge of moral judgment and are capable of
exercising their own moral judgments on those around them.
This is not to say that children, during their formative years, are not in need of a guiding hand
to help sculpt the more refined features of their (to ironically borrow a phrase from Sam Harris) moral landscape.
But let's go back to the starting point.
God is immutable. We know this from Scripture very clearly. How?
Well, because quite simply, God Himself says so.
(Mal 3:6) For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
(Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
(Psa 102:26) They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
(Psa 102:27) But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
(2Ti 2:13) If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
(Heb 6:17) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
(Heb 6:18) That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
(Jas 1:17) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
These Scriptures seem to make it abundantly clear, that God's nature is unchanging.
He is our rock and our fortress because He never changes. We change; He does not.
Because of this, His character itself is a great surety for us.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ is referred to as 'Faithful and True'.
But what about being the paradigm of moral values?
For us to answer this question, we must first ask ourselves, what is sin?
And a good way, I believe, to examine this topic of sin is to take a close look at the first sin
in the garden of eden. We all know the story very well.
God instructed man that he could partake of everything except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
God informed man of what would happen if he disobeyed. Adam and Eve chose disobedience and
rebelled against the perfect will of God. Sin, then, is a rebellion against the nature of God Himself.
To me, this explains a lot. 1 Samuel 15 makes a good deal of sense when examined in this light:
(1Sa 15:22) And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
(1Sa 15:23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Here the Scripture draws a direct comparison between disobedience and witchcraft and idolatry.
This is strong language. But it makes perfect sense if we start from the premise that sin is a rebellion
against the nature of God. Every time we selfishly enforce our values over those of God, we commit
a moral crime against the Source of those selfsame morals.
When David commits adultery, he says:
(Psa 51:4) Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Proverbs repeatedly makes statements like these:
(Pro 11:1) A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
(Pro 12:22) Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
(Pro 16:5) Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
(Pro 17:15) He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
This word abomination is tô‛êbah which means something which is morally disgusting.
Of particular interest to me are Proverbs 14:31 and 17:5:
(Pro 14:31) He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
(Pro 17:5) Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
The word for reproach here is châraph which means to expose shamefully, to defame or blaspheme.
Why would the Scripture use such strong language in reference to those who mock and oppress the poor and downtrodden?
How exactly do you blaspheme your Maker by oppressing the poor?
These verses make sense only if doing so were a direct violation of God's nature.
In oppressing the poor, we commit injustice and blaspheme our Maker in whose image
we were made.
We have disobeyed the moral law of the moral lawgiver, and we are immediately aware of it because
the voice of our conscience speaks to us, apprehending us of our guilt.
How did Adam and Eve react when they ate the fruit?
They immediately became aware of their guilt.
When God came to find them in the cool of the day they had hidden themselves from Him.
Indeed when we violate moral laws, we feel an immediate and automatic sensation of guilt
and accountability. But this makes absolutely no sense if God did not exist and there were only
immaterial objective moral values. Guilt is a distinctly personal reaction.
When one runs a stop light, one does not feel guilt toward the stop light.
To do so would be foolishness, as it is just an object indicating what we are meant to do.
One does not feel guilt for disobeying an object. One feels guilt toward a personal causative
agent. I feel guilt toward someone if I hurt them. I feel guilt for taking something that did
not belong to me from someone else. In this manner, then, feelings of guilt brought about
by violations of moral law only make sense if there is a moral Lawgiver.
Our conscience convicts us of guilt. Through it we can apprehend the true and objective nature
of the moral values which inhabit our world in spite of the fact that they are intangible and immaterial.
Paul writes in Romans that
(Rom 1:18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
(Rom 1:19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
(Rom 1:20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
And:
(Rom 2:14) For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
(Rom 2:15) Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
We also know that we can damage our conscience over time by repeated disobedience.
(1Ti 4:1) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
(1Ti 4:2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
The Greek used here for 'seared with a hot iron' is kautēriazō which is the root from which we obtain
the word cauterize. It means by implication to render insensitive.
And we know from the Scripture that God, through the regenerative workings of the Holy Spirit
during salvation, is capable of healing and restoring our conscience, although this process
may be one that continues over a period of some time as God continues to purge us of the vestiges
of our former life.
(Psa 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
(Heb 9:13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
(Heb 9:14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Heb 10:19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(Heb 10:20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(Heb 10:21) And having an high priest over the house of God;
(Heb 10:22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
But why do we possess this innate awareness of moral values at all?
Why is it that we seem to possess a conscience and a refined sense of moral obligation and accountability when animals seemingly do not?
This leads us to the third point of our original argument, which is that man is made in the image
of God; crafted with certain attributes which I believe are gifts of His nature.
We know this from the creation account itself:
(Gen 1:26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(Gen 1:27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
(Gen 2:7) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
If God is a spiritual Being, it makes sense for at least part of us to be spiritual in nature as well.
(Joh 4:24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The word for breathed in the creation passage in Genesis is neshâmâh and it is sometimes used in concordance with rûach which refers to the spirit of a rational being.
Job clarifies this concept for us when he says things like the following:
(Job 27:3) All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
(Job 32:8) But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
(Job 33:4) The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
(Job 34:12) Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
(Job 34:13) Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
(Job 34:14) If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
(Job 34:15) All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Job says that if God were to recall His Spirit and breath, all flesh would perish.
(Isa 42:5) Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
(Isa 57:16) For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
God says that it is He that gave breath and spirit to the people which inhabit the earth, and He Himself has crafted the souls of men.
(Jas 3:9) Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
James repeats the concept that we are made after the similitude (or image) of God.
Psalm 139 is, as many well know, a detailed descriptive passage of a human life.
(Psa 139:13) For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
(Psa 139:14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
(Psa 139:15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
(Psa 139:16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
The purpose of this essay is not to go much further than this, in establishing a firm Scriptural basis
for the concepts detailed at the beginning. And (at least to my admittedly limited understanding),
we have produced substantial evidence from the Word for these points:
That God is an immutable being, that he is the unchanging paradigm of objective moral values and obligations and the things which we consider virtuous and true,
and that we are beings crafted in His likeness with an immortal spiritual nature capable of
apprehending the moral truth(s) of the world which surrounds us.
I came to the surprising realization that we did not share a number of basic conceptual ideas about God. To be precise, I believe the following upon my reading and studying of Scripture:
- God is immutable.
- God is Himself the paradigm of objective moral values.
- Mankind has been crafted in God's image and as such, possess several unique attributes.
- We possess the ability to reason.
- We possess free will.
- We are intrinsically moral beings.
Now the last point of this subset is one of fervent debate amongst many philosophers past and
present. That human beings possess an innate knowledge of objective moral values and responsibilities.
We human beings tend to view such an admission as grievously deleterious.
Indeed many would struggle against such an admission with such vehemence as to nearly lend credence to the concept simply by virtue of their raving invective against it.
The more studies science conducts with infants in this field, however, the more we understand that
even small children possess some rudimentary knowledge of moral judgment and are capable of
exercising their own moral judgments on those around them.
This is not to say that children, during their formative years, are not in need of a guiding hand
to help sculpt the more refined features of their (to ironically borrow a phrase from Sam Harris) moral landscape.
But let's go back to the starting point.
God is immutable. We know this from Scripture very clearly. How?
Well, because quite simply, God Himself says so.
(Mal 3:6) For I am the LORD, I change not; therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.
(Heb 13:8) Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.
(Psa 102:26) They shall perish, but thou shalt endure: yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a vesture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed:
(Psa 102:27) But thou art the same, and thy years shall have no end.
(2Ti 2:13) If we believe not, yet he abideth faithful: he cannot deny himself.
(Heb 6:17) Wherein God, willing more abundantly to shew unto the heirs of promise the immutability of his counsel, confirmed it by an oath:
(Heb 6:18) That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us:
(Jas 1:17) Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.
These Scriptures seem to make it abundantly clear, that God's nature is unchanging.
He is our rock and our fortress because He never changes. We change; He does not.
Because of this, His character itself is a great surety for us.
In the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ is referred to as 'Faithful and True'.
But what about being the paradigm of moral values?
For us to answer this question, we must first ask ourselves, what is sin?
And a good way, I believe, to examine this topic of sin is to take a close look at the first sin
in the garden of eden. We all know the story very well.
God instructed man that he could partake of everything except the tree of the
knowledge of good and evil.
God informed man of what would happen if he disobeyed. Adam and Eve chose disobedience and
rebelled against the perfect will of God. Sin, then, is a rebellion against the nature of God Himself.
To me, this explains a lot. 1 Samuel 15 makes a good deal of sense when examined in this light:
(1Sa 15:22) And Samuel said, Hath 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 hearken than the fat of rams.
(1Sa 15:23) For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the LORD, he hath also rejected thee from being king.
Here the Scripture draws a direct comparison between disobedience and witchcraft and idolatry.
This is strong language. But it makes perfect sense if we start from the premise that sin is a rebellion
against the nature of God. Every time we selfishly enforce our values over those of God, we commit
a moral crime against the Source of those selfsame morals.
When David commits adultery, he says:
(Psa 51:4) Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
Proverbs repeatedly makes statements like these:
(Pro 11:1) A false balance is abomination to the LORD: but a just weight is his delight.
(Pro 12:22) Lying lips are abomination to the LORD: but they that deal truly are his delight.
(Pro 16:5) Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.
(Pro 17:15) He that justifieth the wicked, and he that condemneth the just, even they both are abomination to the LORD.
This word abomination is tô‛êbah which means something which is morally disgusting.
Of particular interest to me are Proverbs 14:31 and 17:5:
(Pro 14:31) He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.
(Pro 17:5) Whoso mocketh the poor reproacheth his Maker: and he that is glad at calamities shall not be unpunished.
The word for reproach here is châraph which means to expose shamefully, to defame or blaspheme.
Why would the Scripture use such strong language in reference to those who mock and oppress the poor and downtrodden?
How exactly do you blaspheme your Maker by oppressing the poor?
These verses make sense only if doing so were a direct violation of God's nature.
In oppressing the poor, we commit injustice and blaspheme our Maker in whose image
we were made.
We have disobeyed the moral law of the moral lawgiver, and we are immediately aware of it because
the voice of our conscience speaks to us, apprehending us of our guilt.
How did Adam and Eve react when they ate the fruit?
They immediately became aware of their guilt.
When God came to find them in the cool of the day they had hidden themselves from Him.
Indeed when we violate moral laws, we feel an immediate and automatic sensation of guilt
and accountability. But this makes absolutely no sense if God did not exist and there were only
immaterial objective moral values. Guilt is a distinctly personal reaction.
When one runs a stop light, one does not feel guilt toward the stop light.
To do so would be foolishness, as it is just an object indicating what we are meant to do.
One does not feel guilt for disobeying an object. One feels guilt toward a personal causative
agent. I feel guilt toward someone if I hurt them. I feel guilt for taking something that did
not belong to me from someone else. In this manner, then, feelings of guilt brought about
by violations of moral law only make sense if there is a moral Lawgiver.
Our conscience convicts us of guilt. Through it we can apprehend the true and objective nature
of the moral values which inhabit our world in spite of the fact that they are intangible and immaterial.
Paul writes in Romans that
(Rom 1:18) For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who hold the truth in unrighteousness;
(Rom 1:19) Because that which may be known of God is manifest in them; for God hath shewed it unto them.
(Rom 1:20) For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse:
And:
(Rom 2:14) For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves:
(Rom 2:15) Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)
We also know that we can damage our conscience over time by repeated disobedience.
(1Ti 4:1) Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
(1Ti 4:2) Speaking lies in hypocrisy; having their conscience seared with a hot iron;
The Greek used here for 'seared with a hot iron' is kautēriazō which is the root from which we obtain
the word cauterize. It means by implication to render insensitive.
And we know from the Scripture that God, through the regenerative workings of the Holy Spirit
during salvation, is capable of healing and restoring our conscience, although this process
may be one that continues over a period of some time as God continues to purge us of the vestiges
of our former life.
(Psa 51:10) Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
(Heb 9:13) For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh:
(Heb 9:14) How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
(Heb 10:19) Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus,
(Heb 10:20) By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, his flesh;
(Heb 10:21) And having an high priest over the house of God;
(Heb 10:22) Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience, and our bodies washed with pure water.
But why do we possess this innate awareness of moral values at all?
Why is it that we seem to possess a conscience and a refined sense of moral obligation and accountability when animals seemingly do not?
This leads us to the third point of our original argument, which is that man is made in the image
of God; crafted with certain attributes which I believe are gifts of His nature.
We know this from the creation account itself:
(Gen 1:26) And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
(Gen 1:27) So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
(Gen 2:7) And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.
If God is a spiritual Being, it makes sense for at least part of us to be spiritual in nature as well.
(Joh 4:24) God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
The word for breathed in the creation passage in Genesis is neshâmâh and it is sometimes used in concordance with rûach which refers to the spirit of a rational being.
Job clarifies this concept for us when he says things like the following:
(Job 27:3) All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;
(Job 32:8) But there is a spirit in man: and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth them understanding.
(Job 33:4) The Spirit of God hath made me, and the breath of the Almighty hath given me life.
(Job 34:12) Yea, surely God will not do wickedly, neither will the Almighty pervert judgment.
(Job 34:13) Who hath given him a charge over the earth? or who hath disposed the whole world?
(Job 34:14) If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath;
(Job 34:15) All flesh shall perish together, and man shall turn again unto dust.
Job says that if God were to recall His Spirit and breath, all flesh would perish.
(Isa 42:5) Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein:
(Isa 57:16) For I will not contend for ever, neither will I be always wroth: for the spirit should fail before me, and the souls which I have made.
God says that it is He that gave breath and spirit to the people which inhabit the earth, and He Himself has crafted the souls of men.
(Jas 3:9) Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.
James repeats the concept that we are made after the similitude (or image) of God.
Psalm 139 is, as many well know, a detailed descriptive passage of a human life.
(Psa 139:13) For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb.
(Psa 139:14) I will praise thee; for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well.
(Psa 139:15) My substance was not hid from thee, when I was made in secret, and curiously wrought in the lowest parts of the earth.
(Psa 139:16) Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being unperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them.
The purpose of this essay is not to go much further than this, in establishing a firm Scriptural basis
for the concepts detailed at the beginning. And (at least to my admittedly limited understanding),
we have produced substantial evidence from the Word for these points:
That God is an immutable being, that he is the unchanging paradigm of objective moral values and obligations and the things which we consider virtuous and true,
and that we are beings crafted in His likeness with an immortal spiritual nature capable of
apprehending the moral truth(s) of the world which surrounds us.
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