Question of the Week...

[HisDaughter]

cont...

Philosopher J. S. Mill (not a Christian) summed up where we have now come to: “It is self-evident that only Mind can create mind.” The only rational and reasonable conclusion is that an eternal Creator is the one who is responsible for reality as we know it. Or to put it in a logical set of statements:

• Something exists.
• You do not get something from nothing.
• Therefore a necessary and eternal ‘something’ exists.
• The only two options are an eternal universe and an eternal Creator.
• Science and philosophy have disproven the concept of an eternal universe.
• Therefore, an eternal Creator exists.

Former atheist Lee Strobel, who arrived at this end result many years ago, has commented: “Essentially, I realized that to stay an atheist, I would have to believe that nothing produces everything; non-life produces life; randomness produces fine-tuning; chaos produces information; unconsciousness produces consciousness; and non-reason produces reason. Those leaps of faith were simply too big for me to take, especially in light of the affirmative case for God's existence … In other words, in my assessment the Christian worldview accounted for the totality of the evidence much better than the atheistic worldview.”

But the next question we must tackle is this: If an eternal Creator exists (and we have shown that He does), what kind of Creator is He? Can we infer things about Him from what He created? In other words, can we understand the cause by its effects? The answer to this is yes, we can, with the following characteristics being surmised:

• He must be supernatural in nature (as He created time and space).
• He must be powerful (incredibly).
• He must be eternal (self-existent).
• He must be omnipresent (He created space and is not limited by it).
• He must be timeless and changeless (He created time).
• He must be immaterial because He transcends space/physical.
• He must be personal (the impersonal cannot create personality).
• He must be infinite and singular as you cannot have two infinites.
• He must be diverse yet have unity as unity and diversity exist in nature.
• He must be intelligent (supremely). Only cognitive being can produce cognitive being.
• He must be purposeful as He deliberately created everything.
• He must be moral (no moral law can be had without a giver).
• He must be caring (or no moral laws would have been given).

These things being true, we now ask if any religion in the world describes such a Creator. The answer to this is yes: the God of the Bible fits this profile perfectly. He is supernatural (Genesis 1:1), powerful (Jeremiah 32:17), eternal (Psalm 90:2), omnipresent (Psalm 139:7), timeless/changeless (Malachi 3:6), immaterial (John 5:24), personal (Genesis 3:9), necessary (Colossians 1:17), infinite/singular (Jeremiah 23:24, Deuteronomy 6:4), diverse yet with unity (Matthew 28:19), intelligent (Psalm 147:4-5), purposeful (Jeremiah 29:11), moral (Daniel 9:14), and caring (1 Peter 5:6-7).

One last subject to address on the matter of God’s existence is the matter of how justifiable the atheist’s position actually is. Since the atheist asserts the believer’s position is unsound, it is only reasonable to turn the question around and aim it squarely back at him. The first thing to understand is that the claim the atheist makes—‘no god’ which is what ‘atheist’ means—is an untenable position to hold from a philosophical standpoint. As legal scholar and philosopher Mortimer Adler says, “An affirmative existential proposition can be proved, but a negative existential proposition—one that denies the existence of something—cannot be proved.” For example, someone may claim that a red eagle exists and someone else may assert that red eagles do not exist. The former only needs to find a single red eagle to prove his assertion. But the latter must comb the entire universe and literally be in every place at once to ensure they have not missed a red eagle somewhere and at some time, which is impossible to do. This is why intellectually honest atheists will admit they cannot prove God does not exist.

Next, it is important to understand the issue that surrounds the seriousness of truth claims that are made and the amount of evidence required to warrant certain conclusions. For example, if someone puts two containers of lemonade in front of you and says that one may be more tart than the other, since the consequences of getting the more tart drink would not be serious, you would not require a large amount of evidence in order to make your choice. However, if to one cup the host added sweetener but to the other he introduced rat poison, then you would want to have quite a bit of evidence before you made your choice.

This is where a person sits when deciding between atheism and belief in God. Since belief in atheism could possibly result in irreparable and eternal consequences, it would seem that the atheist should be mandated to produce weighty and overriding evidence to support their position, but they cannot. Atheism simply cannot meet the test for evidence for the seriousness of the charge it makes. Instead, the atheist and those whom they convince of their position slide into eternity with their fingers crossed and hope they do not find the unpleasant truth that eternity does indeed exist and that such a place is an awfully long time to be wrong. As Mortimer Adler says, “More consequences for life and action follow from the affirmation or denial of God than from any other basic question.”

So does belief in God have intellectual warrant? Is there a rational, logical, and reasonable argument for the existence of God? Absolutely. While atheists such as Freud claim that those believing in God have a wish fulfillment desire, perhaps it is Freud and his followers who actually suffer from wish fulfillment: the hope and wish that there is no God, no accountability, and therefore no judgment. But refuting Freud is the God of the Bible who affirms His existence and the fact that a judgment is indeed coming for those who know within themselves the truth that He exists but suppress that truth (Romans 1:20). But for those who respond to the evidence that a Creator does indeed exist, He offers the way of salvation that has been accomplished through His Son, Jesus Christ: "John 1:12-13 But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God" (John 1:12-13 NAS).

[HisDaughter]

Question: "Financial crisis - what's a Christian to do?"

Answer: We have all seen the headlines: multiple bank and business bailouts, rising home foreclosures, jobs lost and firms downsizing, 401Ks and IRAs dropping in value, rising utility, grocery, and gasoline prices. What are Christians supposed to do when we’re hit by a national or personal financial crisis?

How we weather a financial storm depends mostly on our attitude about who the money belongs to in the first place. Do we view our money as just that, ours? Or do we view it as coming from and belonging to God? If we see our income as being from the Lord, it makes it much easier to navigate the turbulent waters of economic downturns and tough financial situations. Whether we lose or make money, it is all His and under His control, and that is a truly freeing concept.

The Lord created all of us with certain talents and gifts which we are to use to not only make a living, but to also help us live our lives in such a way as to bring glory and honor to Him (Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:20). So while we grow up, follow our individual career paths into adulthood, and begin our lives as contributing members of society, making money and accumulating possessions along the way, we are also to serve and worship the Lord with every fiber of our being. We cannot do that if we consider it all ours and not His.

We will always find ourselves serving what we treasure the most, whether it is wealth, power, fame, or the Lord. The Bible shows us that Jesus knew all too well the lure of money and possessions because during His earthly ministry He actually spoke more on the subject of finances than on heaven and hell combined. Luke 12:15-34 is an excellent passage on the attitude we should have toward our money and possessions and is well worth taking some time to prayerfully read and study.

Our sovereign God placed us on the earth at just this time in history, and these tough economic times come as no surprise to Him. Since He knows every single detail of our lives, down to the exact number of hairs we lost to our hairbrush this morning (Matthew 10:30; Luke 12:7), we can absolutely trust Him to help us through a time of financial crisis. Let us make sure we are living prudently to begin with, staying within our means and not accumulating too much debt, and every day prayerfully entrusting it all to the Lord. Then we can encourage each another with Paul’s words in Philippians 4:19 as he gives glory to God, trusting Him in every situation, “And my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.”

[HisDaughter]

Question: "What is the glory of God?"

Answer: The glory of God is the beauty of His spirit. It is not an aesthetic beauty or a material beauty, but it is the beauty that emanates from His character, from all that He is. James 1:10 calls on a rich man to “glory in his humiliation,” indicating a glory that does not mean riches or power or great aesthetic or material beauty. This glory can crown man or fill the earth. It is seen within man and in the earth, but it is not of them; it is of God. The glory of man is the beauty of man’s spirit, which is fallible and eventually passes away, and is therefore humiliating—as the verse tells us. But the glory of God, which is manifested in all His attributes together, never passes away. It is eternal.

Isaiah 43:7 says that God created us for His glory. In context with the other verses, it can be said that man “glorifies” God because through man God’s glory can be seen in things such as love, music, heroism and so forth—things belonging to God that we are carrying “in jars of clay” (2 Corinthians 4:7). We are the vessels which “contain” His glory. All the things we are able to do and be find their source in Him. God interacts with nature in the same way. Nature exhibits His glory. His glory is revealed to man’s mind through the material world in many ways, and often in different ways to different people. One person may be thrilled by the sight of the mountains, and another person may love the beauty of the sea. But that which is behind them both (God’s glory) speaks to both people and connects them to God. In this way, God is able to reveal Himself to all men, no matter their race, heritage or location. As Psalm 19:1-4 says, “The heavens are telling of the glory of God and their expanse is declaring the work of His hands; day to day pours forth speech, and night to night reveals knowledge. There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard. Their line has gone out through all the earth, and their utterances to the end of the world.”

Psalm 73:24 calls heaven itself “glory.” It used to be common to hear Christians talk of death as being “received unto glory,” which is a phrase borrowed from this Psalm. When the Christian dies, he will be taken into God’s presence, and in His presence will be naturally surrounded by God’s glory. We will be taken to the place where God’s beauty literally resides—the beauty of His Spirit will be there, because He will be there. Again, the beauty of His Spirit (or the essence of Who He Is) is His “glory.” In that place, His glory will not need to come through man or nature, rather it will be seen clearly, just as 1 Corinthians 13:12 says, “For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I shall know fully just as I also have been fully known.”

In the human/earthly sense, glory is a beauty or vibrancy that rests upon the material of the earth (Psalm 37:20, Psalm 49:17), and in that sense, it fades. But the reason it fades is only that the material things do not last. They die and wither, but the glory that is in them belongs to God, and returns to Him when death or decay takes the material. Think of the rich man mentioned earlier. The verse says, “The rich man is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.” What does this mean? The verse is admonishing the rich man to realize that his wealth and power and beauty come from God, and to be humbled by the realization that it is God who makes him what he is, and gives him all he has. And the knowledge that he will pass away like the grass is what will bring him to the realization that God is the one from whence his glory comes. God’s glory is the source, the wellspring from which all smaller glories run.

Since God is the one from whom glory comes, He will not let stand the assertion that glory comes from man or from the idols of man or from nature. In Isaiah 42:8 we see an example of God’s jealousy over His glory. This jealousy for His own glory is what Paul is talking about in Romans 1:21-25 when he speaks of the ways people worship the creature rather than the Creator. In other words, they looked at the object through which God’s glory was coming and instead of giving God the credit for it, they worshiped that animal or tree or man as if the beauty it possessed originated from within itself. This is the very heart of idolatry and is a very common occurrence. It is probably safe to say that everyone who has ever lived has committed this error at one time or another. We have all “exchanged” the glory of God in favor of the “glory of man.”

This is the mistake many people continue to make: trusting in earthly things, earthly relationships, their own powers or talents or beauty, or the goodness they see in others. But when these things fade and fail as they will inevitably do (being only temporary carriers of the greater glory), these people despair. What we all need to realize is that God’s glory is constant, and as we journey through life we will see it manifesting here and there, in this person or that forest or in a story of love or heroism, fiction or non-fiction, or our own personal lives. But it all goes back to God in the end. And the only way to God is through His Son, Jesus Christ. We will find the very source of all beauty in Him, in heaven, if we are in Christ. Nothing will be lost to us. All those things that faded in life we will find again in Him.

[nChrist]

AMEN! - AND JUST THINK HOW MUCH HE LOVES US!

[Chaplain Bob]

Believing Jesus is God is not a requirement for salvation.  It may be for membership in some churches but there were none in Judas' day.  We don't know Judas' heart or whether or not he repented before he killed himself, only God does.   As to why he betrayed Jesus - it was God's plan.  If Judas refused to do it God would have found someone else.  No complicated theological problem here.

[Soldier4Christ]

Believing Jesus is God is not a requirement for salvation.  It may be for membership in some churches but there were none in Judas' day.  We don't know Judas' heart or whether or not he repented before he killed himself, only God does.   As to why he betrayed Jesus - it was God's plan.  If Judas refused to do it God would have found someone else.  No complicated theological problem here.

I must disagree with you on this quite adamantly. Jesus Christ said that He was God. If we cannot believe Him then where lies our faith?

[Chaplain Bob]

I must disagree with you on this quite adamantly. Jesus Christ said that He was God. If we cannot believe Him then where lies our faith?

Roger:

When one repents and chooses to follow God they are saved by the shed blood of Jesus Christ-period.  The fact that Jesus is God is something they learn after they are saved and grow spiritually and has nothing to to with their salvation but, as you pointed out, their faith. 

[Soldier4Christ]

And how can one follow God if they do not first know Him and believe Him? For by grace are we saved through faith, we are saved by believing on Jesus Christ.

What is it that we must believe in order to be saved? That Jesus Christ is who He says that He is and because of this that He is able to save us through His shed blood on the cross. Why? Because there is none other that is righteous and therefore none that can be a propitiation for our sins.



2Ti 3:15  And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.

Rom 3:24  Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus:
Rom 3:25  Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;
Rom 3:26  To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus.

2Ti 1:12  For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.

1Jn 5:20  And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.

[Soldier4Christ]

Think on this a minute and I do believe that you will see what I mean.

Muslims teach repentance and to follow God (Allah)

Jehovah Witnesses teach to repent and follow God

Mormon's teach to repent and follow God

Many of the charismatic TV evangelists and false prophets teach repent and follow God.

[Chaplain Bob]

One's faith in Jesus is what keeps them saved as they grow in the knowledge of Him.  But it is the blood of Jesus that initially saves them.

[HisDaughter]

Question: "Is Jesus the only way to Heaven?"

Answer: "I'm basically a good person, so I'll go to heaven." "OK, so I do some bad things, but I do more good things, so I'll go to heaven." "God won't send me to hell just because I don't live by the Bible. Times have changed!" "Only really bad people like child molesters and murderers go to hell."

These are all common rationalizations, but the truth is that they are all lies. Satan, the ruler of the world, plants these thoughts in our heads. He, and anyone who follows his ways, is an enemy of God (1Peter 5:8. Satan is a deceiver and often disguises himself as someone good (2 Corinthians 11:14), but he has control over all the minds that do not belong to God. "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God" (2 Corinthians 4:4).

It is a lie to believe that God doesn't care about small sins or that hell is reserved for "bad people." All sin separates us from God, even a “little white lie.” Everyone has sinned, and no one is good enough to get to heaven on their own (Romans 3:23). Getting into heaven is not based on whether our good outweighs our bad; we will all lose out if that is the case. "And if by grace, then it is no longer by works; if it were, grace would no longer be grace" (Romans 11:6). We can do nothing good to earn our way to heaven (Titus 3:5).

"Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it" (Matthew 7:13). Even if everyone else is living a life of sin in a culture where trusting in God is not popular, God will not excuse it. "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient" (Ephesians 2:1-2).

When God created the world, it was perfect and good. Then he made Adam and Eve and gave them their own free will, so they would have a choice whether to follow and obey God. But they were tempted by Satan to disobey God, and they sinned. This separated them (and everyone that came after them, including us) from being able to have a close relationship with God. He is perfect and holy and must judge sin. As sinners, we couldn't reconcile ourselves to God on our own. So God made a way that we could be united with Him in heaven. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life" (John 3:16). "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23). Jesus was born to die for our sins so that we would not have to. Three days after His death, He rose from the grave (Romans 4:25), proving Himself victorious over death. He bridged the gap between God and man so that we may have a personal relationship with Him if we only believe.

"Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent" (John 17:3). Most people believe in God, even Satan does. But to receive salvation, we must turn to God, form a personal relationship, turn away from our sins, and follow Him. We must trust in Jesus with everything we have and everything we do. "This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference" (Romans 3:22). The Bible teaches that there is no other way to salvation than through Christ. Jesus says in John 14:6, "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

Jesus is the only way of salvation because He is the only One who can pay our sin penalty (Romans 6:23). No other religion teaches the depth or seriousness of sin and its consequences. No other religion offers the infinite payment of sin that only Jesus Christ could provide. No other “religious founder” was God become man (John 1:1,14) – the only way an infinite debt could be paid. Jesus had to be God so that He could pay our debt. Jesus had to be man so He could die. Salvation is available only through faith in Jesus Christ! “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

[HisDaughter]

......Or, quite simply.....

John 3:16 (New International Version)

 16"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.

You can believe in God and many do, but until you believe in your heart and accept that Jesus is the Son of God and part of the Trinity you do not have salvation.  Jesus IS the only way to God and a realationship with God, as evidenced by the ripping of the temple curtain at His death.

It is really that simple and yet the world tries with all it's human intelligence, reasoning and logic to get around that one simple concept and fact.


Acts 6 (New International Version)

 7So the word of God spread. The number of disciples in Jerusalem increased rapidly, and a large number of priests became obedient to the faith.

These priests knew God but even they did not have salvation until they believed in Christ.


His failthful servant,
Grammyluv

[Soldier4Christ]

One's faith in Jesus is what keeps them saved as they grow in the knowledge of Him.  But it is the blood of Jesus that initially saves them.

We are justified by faith, by His blood are we sanctified. A person does not come to the foot of the cross without first believing. Sanctification is not given to those that do not first believe and we believe by faith.


Joh 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Rom 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.


Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

[nChrist]

Muslims believe that Jesus Christ was a messenger and/or prophet, subordinate to Mohammed. Others believe that Jesus Christ was just a great man, just a great leader, and just anything other than who HE said that HE was - GOD! FAITH in someone other than GOD would be meaningless and is meaningless. Salvation is exceedingly simple - simple enough for a child to understand. Salvation has always been by GOD'S Matchless Grace Through Faith in GOD - even long before the CROSS!

GOD'S WORD bluntly tells us who JESUS CHRIST claimed to be AND who HE actually was and is. NOW, we are after the CROSS, and JESUS CHRIST is the ONLY WAY. If we don't believe HE is GOD, we believe NOTHING and call GOD and JESUS CHRIST liars. This is NOT an exercise in semantics. HE is who HE says that HE is or we have NO FAITH.

[Chaplain Bob]

We are justified by faith, by His blood are we sanctified. A person does not come to the foot of the cross without first believing. Sanctification is not given to those that do not first believe and we believe by faith.


Joh 8:24  I said therefore unto you, that ye shall die in your sins: for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.

Rom 10:14  How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher?

Heb 11:6  But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.

 Rom 10:13  For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.

With all due respect Roger you are speaking in what I call "seminary mumble-jumble" which is used by many  IMO to elicit additional questions from listeners or readers the most common of which is "What does that mean?".  The simple truth is that when a person chooses to follow God ( "believes" Gr pisteuo "puts one's trust in") he is saved by the shed blood of our Lord Jesus.  If he continues to "believe" (put his trust in, cling to, follow) and was brought to salvation by hearing the Gospel he will learn who Jesus is.  Knowing who Jesus is is not a requirement for salvation (John3:16).