Archive for October, 2023
How Big Is Your World?
In Moscow’s Red Square the remains of Vladimir Lenin lie in a crystal casket. On the casket are these words: “He was the greatest leader of all peoples, of all countries, of all times. He was lord of the new humanity. He was the savior of the world!” Those egotists had the right inscription, but the wrong tomb.
On a mountain in Galilee Jesus, through His disciples, gave to His followers of every age the Magna Carta of the church saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen.” (Matthew 28:18-20)
Know your world and how to share with those in it. A classic example of this is Paul. When preaching/teaching in Jerusalem he knew his audience had a knowledge of the Scripture so he often quoted it.
When he went to Athens he knew his audience had no knowledge of or regard for Scripture so he adjusted and spoke on their terms. He quoted their own pagan poets with whom they were familiar and applied their principles to Christ. He observed the setting and saw among their many statues one “To An Unknown God.” That one he likened to Christ and said of Him “For we are also His offsprings” (Acts 17: 28). How did Paul know that? He was from a Greek community and had been a good student. In his hometown of Tarsus his mentor was Gamaliah, who was known for requiring his students to be students of the Greek philosophers. Having been a good student, Paul knew at least three Greek poet/philosophers had written “For we are all His offsprings.”
Aratus, born in the Sicilian coast town of Soli around 310 B.C., composed his famous Pha/eno/mena in Athens. Writing of Jupiter he said, “For we are all his offsprings.” That was Paul’s springboard to present Christ.
A few years ago the FCA was having a golf tournament here in Atlanta. A friend told me of a prominent member of the PGA tour who was playing in the fund raiser. He was close to the pro and knew he had a need in his life. He asked if I would meet with him after his round and perhaps get a chance to share Jesus.
We met and within seconds he said, “I have an emptiness in my life, a real need.”
He didn’t know Scripture, but he knew golf. I adopted an old illustration and applied it by saying, “You are a great golfer. I’m not. Some of my friends who are playing here today have been trying to get me to play with them. They know they could pick me clean.”
Then I continued, “If it were possible for you to enter my body along with your ability, skill, and power and play your game through me they wouldn’t be any competition.”
He chuckled indicating he could relate to that. Then I followed through, “That is exactly what our Lord wants to do. If you will let Him come into you He will bring in wisdom, ability, and power to enable you to live a new life.”
That he could grasp and did. Within minutes he prayed to receive Christ.
He has since lived his new faith. Use terms your friends know to share Jesus on their level.
The Inevitability of Judgment
Delightful themes run through the Bible.
God’s love is a prominent and popular one. “God is love” is descriptive. The Scripture does not just say He loves, but rather that He is love.
His compassion is reassuring and comforting.
Fortunately He is depicted as long suffering.
His mercy is interwoven with His longsuffering. Mercy speaks of Him protecting us from the bad we deserve.
The counterpoint to His mercy is His grace. Grace is Him providing the good things that we don’t deserve.
Patience and long suffering go hand in glove.
Gentleness and kindness are indicative of Him.
These are but a few of His many admirable traits. Sometimes various traits commingled. At times only one of these attributes is involved in a situation.
There is an attribute people want to ignore or at best think because He is loving, patient, and forgiving this trait does not apply. In Scripture it stands out like Mt. Everest would on a Florida beach.
God is just and exercises judgment.
The word “judgment” appears 496 times in the Bible and “justice” 45 times. In a judicial sense “just” appears many times.
In reaching your conclusion regarding divine retribution consider these evidences.
In the Jefferson Memorial in DC are inscribed these words of the statesman, “Indeed I tremble for my country when I reflect that God is just, that His justice cannot sleep forever.”
During the Constitutional Convention someone raised the question: “When does a nation answer to God?”
In his notes taken during the deliberation George Madison records George Mason replied, “Nations can’t be judged in the hereafter as people, so Providence punishes national sins by national calamities.”
Ever aware of this Ben Franklin concluded, “We need God to be our friend, not our adversary.”
One of several Bible evidences of God’s judgment on a rebellious nation is provided by the rhapsodic prophet Jeremiah who presided over the death of the nation of Israel summarily said, “Disaster follows disaster; the whole land lies in ruins.”
In considering supernatural discipline the explanation given by the prophet is worth noting. “Your own conduct and actions have brought this upon you. This is your punishment. How bitter it is! How it pierces the heart!” (Jeremiah 4:18).
In an effort to ignore the possibility of divine retribution most folks just look the other way. Others are inclined to comply with the spiritual antidote noted in II Chronicles 7:14: “If My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sins (now observe this) and heal their land.” Now consider your role in this equation.
Quantum What?
In our pragmatic state of mind we tend not to believe in what we cannot understand with our basic senses. Therefore, the idea of world conditions being different from those we know seems far fetched.
Quantum physics is a science presently challenging the scientific community, much less the limited scientific knowledge of non-scientists. Trying to look up a comparatively simple definition of the subject is a challenge. Under “quantum physics” is a note saying it is based on “quantum theory.” There you find “quantum theory” is based on “quantum mechanics.” There the definition is: “theory of the mechanics of atoms, molecules, and other physical systems that are subject to the uncertainty principle.”
An overly simplistic description is it means coloring outside the scientific box as most of us know it.
Try this for example. Quantum physics suggests that quantum particles that make up atoms can leap distances without going through space. What? They can even change their fundamental qualities to evade detection. Do you understand that? Me neither. The amazing thing is there are scientists who understand it.
This science offers evidence that light particles can ignore time. Studious people with knowledge in the field are convinced of it.
Some persons of faith in the scientific community are saying this is opening the door to further comprehension of creation.
Theologian Paul Tillich commented, “The truth of faith cannot be confirmed by the latest physical or biological or psychological discoveries — as it cannot be denied by them.” True, if it were confirmed it would not be faith.
Quantum physics shows that there is a lot not known, a lot. One basic law of logic is you can’t prove a negative. For example the negative “there is no God” can’t be proven. To prove there is no God a person would have to know all there is to know and in the total body of knowledge know there is no God.
If you know some person who professes to know so much they can assert with confidence there is no God run these questions by them.
Do you know how many hairs are on the back of a musk ox in Alaska?
Do you know how many gallons of water there are in the Pacific Ocean?
Do you know the sum total of all heavenly bodies?
Do you know what lies just outside the distance viewable by the most powerful telescope?
Do you know what things are invisible?
Do you know for certain that light particles can’t ignore space?
What percent of all knowledge do you suppose you know?
Do you think that in that percentage of the unknown God could exist without your knowledge?
Blaise Pascal, a man noted for his contribution to literature, mathematics, and science, believed things people of his era thought were ludicrous. Today those things are the norm. He wrote: “There is a God-shaped vacuum in the heart of every man which cannot be filled by any created thing, but only by God the Creator, through Jesus Christ.” That explains why there are many empty people.
Is There a God?
Minds great and small grapple with the issue of does God exist.
Wernher von Braun, a man with the mind of a rocket scientist, addressed the subject on several occasions. For those who don’t know him, he was the German rocket scientist brought to America near the end of World War II who became known as the father of our space program. His research led him to conclude, “One cannot be exposed to the law and order of the universe without concluding that there must be design and purpose behind it all.”
After commenting on the many scientific evidences of God, he postulated, “They challenge science to prove the existence of God. But must we really light a candle to see the sun.” The line of logic is the sun is so obvious a candle isn’t necessary to see it and the evidences of God are so obvious no scientific experiment is needed to conclude He exists.
Atheists often demand proof there is a God. Turn that. One basic law of logic is you can’t prove a negative. The negative, there is no God, can’t be proven. To prove it one would have to know all there is to know about everything and know that in that body of knowledge there is no God. Does anyone know even ten percent of all there is to know about everything? Atheists can’t prove that in the unknown ninety percent there is no God.
The eternal existence beyond death was also an object of the interest of von Braun. He avered, “Nature does not know extinction; all it knows is transformation. Everything science has taught me — and continues to teach me — strengthens my belief in the continuity of our spiritual existence after death. Nothing disappears without a trace.”
Blaise Pascal, a 17th Century philosopher and renowned mathematician, proposed what is known as Pascal’s Wager. This genius made contributions in many scientific fields and is known for developing the schools of hydrodynamics and hydrostatics.
He described the payoff of the gamble of his proposed wager this way: “If God does not exist, then you neither gain nor lose anything from belief or disbelief. In either case, you just die and that’s the end. However, if you choose to believe in God, and you are right, then the reward is infinite: Eternal bliss in heaven. On the other hand, if you choose not to believe in God, and you’re wrong, your payoff is negative infinity: Eternal suffering in hell.”
As a sidebar, isn’t it interesting that advocates of two distinct schools of thought, evolution and atheism, both make the same fallacious claim that no scientists believe in God or creation. Countless scholars with terminal degrees from reputable academic institutions believe there is a God who created.
Reasons vary as to why people are atheists. C. S. Lewis, a well known author, was an atheist. He said that he knew that if he ever admitted there was a God he would have to admit his guilt before Him and he was enjoying his sexual sins too much to do that. Fortunately for him the day came he did make such an admission. It was also fortunate for the world of literature.
To say there is a god is little better than to say there is no god. It only really matters when you can say, “You, Oh God, are my God.”
Judgment in Kind
Not everybody has the same world view. That is, not everyone sees alike. Some have a secular world view with a spectrum ranging from a humanistic philosophy, to asceticism, to deism, and various points in between. Others hold a biblical worldview. That is they tend to interpret life in light of the teachings of the Bible. This, too, is a broad field of belief.
Within this latter school of thought is the idea expressed by Benjamin Franklin at the time of the drafting of the Constitution: “…God governs in the affairs of nations…” That is, God is involved in the human arena. He is active in lives and events. He has been so excluded in the marketplace that seldom do people try to understand things going on around them in light of this.
The biblical record reveals God judges nations in time. To say that is to call in a firestorm of criticism. Not to say it is to look the other way when confronted by reality.
He often judges in kind. Let me illustrate. As a child I disobeyed my mother and slipped to eat pickles she had forbidden me to eat. As always she caught me. I was delighted when she invited me to eat another. Then yet another and another. Based on my experience I can confirm pickles taste a lot better going down than they do coming up. I had been judged in kind.
The Bible speaks of a time when the condition of a society is such that God gives them up and to what He gives them up. It is so much of what they want they get sick of it.
Many believe God is judging America in kind. We evidenced greed was good and excess was acceptable. Individually millions of people and government entities exercised greed and our society including individuals and institutions are suffering the consequence.
Having thrown off normal moral restraints culturally we have said we want sexual freedom and an entertainment community that espoused promiscuity. If God is punishing us in kind the proliferation of sexually transmitted diseases, broken homes, undesired pregnancies, and emotional problems are the in kind discipline. He is giving us what we wanted and the unwanted consequences.
The rash of evil being suffered by our nation has its origin in individual hearts. It is a moral problem. “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, and blasphemies… (Matthew 15:19). Check the media, even our advertisements, and see if these things are glamorized and popularized. It is this root that must be addressed to avoid the fruit.
Benjamin Franklin also said, “…all crime will be punished, and virtue rewarded, either here or hereafter.” Here? Is our nation suffering in kind here, that is, now?
To think of changing America one person at a time may be a great act of faith. To think of doing it any other way is an act of lunacy.
Gandhi said, “Be the change you wish to see in the world.”