Believers Armed and Dangerous

Someone once said there are two mistakes Christians make in talking about the devil, thinking of him too much or not thinking of him enough.  This might be a good time to take a brief look at who he and his minions are.

He’s known by several names including “Lucifer,” “the devil,” “Satan,” and the “Accuser of the Brethren.”  If you would like to see a description of Lucifer, there’s one in Ezekiel 28:11-19 where he’s described as the “King of Tyre.” Demons are sometimes described as princes of various areas such as in Daniel 10:12 when a demon is identified as the “prince of the kingdom of Persia” and Michael the archangel is called “one of the chief princes in verse 13.  So, we see the demons and angels have rankings and seem to have responsibilities over particular geographical areas.

We can also see this ranking in both the demons and angels when we look at verses such as Ephesians 3:10 where we see “principalities and powers” mentioned in heaven.  Then later in the same book (6:12), the same terms are used for demonic powers.  So, angels and demons have rankings.  But, back in Ezekiel 28, Satan is not a prince but a king. He doesn’t actually seem to be called the “Prince of Darkness” anywhere in Scripture, but He is called the prince of the power of the air.

One common misunderstanding is that Satan and God are equal, two powers fighting for control of the earth.  Certainly there is a battle, but the sides are far from equal.  This  is made clear in Mark 1:24 where demons ask Christ if it’s time for Him to destroy them yet. In Matthew 8:28-32, demons beg for Jesus not to punish them and ask if they might possess a nearby herd of pigs.  In asking and then obeying Jesus, we see they are certainly submissive to His authority.  Satan is no different.  In the book of Job, especially the first chapter, we see Satan can do nothing that God has not approved.  He’s a created being.  He is powerful but finite.  He is brilliant but not omniscient. 

There is an old legend of John Calvin waking up one night and seeing Satan himself standing at the foot of Calvin’s bed.  Calvin said, “Oh.  It’s just you,” and rolled over and went back to sleep.  There’s a great truth in that legend.  Satan is powerful, but greater is He Who is in us (1 John 4:4).

Some think Satan’s goal is to destroy the world, taking as many souls with him as possible dragging them deep into sin, and there is a lot of truth in this.  Satan is interested in souls.  He seeks after souls, but I think he’s as happy with a cultist or atheist who leads a wonderfully happy life but is lost because he doesn’t know Christ as he is with drug pushers, human traffickers, and mass murders.

God’s desire is to make heaven as full as possible and hell as empty as possible.  Satan’s is just the opposite.

True, Satan wants people to be separated from God, but he gives special gold stars for those who drag others with them.  The lost going door-to-door trying to drag others into their deception get honorable mention in Satan’s book as much as pimps might by driving others away from God.  But, it’s not just that.

You might wonder why Satan’s so busy messing with your life and mine.  We already have the Spirit of God in us. We can’t lose that. It’s because he’s interested in keeping us from spreading the Truth.  He wants us so distracted plugging up leaks in our lives that we neglect our service to Christ.  As Walter Martin used to say, “For Satan, the next best thing to a lost soul is a sterile Christian.”  If Satan can keep us from doing God’s will, he’s happy.

Don’t get me wrong.  Satan is much more powerful than we are.  Even Michael the archangel in Jude 1:9, would not accuse the devil of wrongdoing, but said “The Lord rebuke you!”  An archangel, the greatest and most powerful of angels, didn’t dare rebuke Satan himself but turned to the Lord to do that.  The cool thing is we have the same option.  If Satan comes after us, we can call on Jesus to rebuke him.

Over the past few years I’ve included some information about the deity of Christ in various posts as a part of another subject like the Trinity or the incarnation.  I realized this week that I had never addressed directly the fact Jesus is God the Son, second Person of the trinity.

In my discussions with Jehovah’s Witnesses, I’m often asked to show anywhere in Scripture where Jesus claimed to be God.  You may have faced this same challenge.  In John 5:18, John tells us the act of calling Himself the Son of God was claiming to be equal with the Father.

John 5:18 (ESV) ¹⁸  This was why the Jews were seeking all the more to kill him, because not only was he breaking the Sabbath, but he was even calling God his own Father, making himself equal with God.

There are a lot of passages pointing to Jesus’ deity.  In Titus 2:13, Paul calls Jesus our God and Savior.  In Hebrews 1:8, God Himself calls Jesus “God,” and there are many more places in Scripture where Jesus is identified as God.

Titus 2:13 (ESV) ¹³  waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,

Hebrews 1:8 (ESV) ⁸  But of the Son he  [the Father]  says, “Your throne, O God, is forever and ever, the scepter of uprightness is the scepter of your kingdom.

Jesus accepted worship without rebuking the worshipers  (Matt. 28:9, 17; Luke 24:52, etc.)

Matthew 14:33 (ESV) ³³  And those in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

Even the angels were instructed by God to worship Jesus:

Hebrews 1:6 (ESV) ⁶  And again, when he brings the firstborn into the world, he says, “Let all God’s angels worship him.”

“But,” say some, “He is the Son of God, not God Himself.”  The answer to that is in my posts on the trinity and the incarnation, but briefly, Jesus voluntarily emptied Himself of the use of His divine attributes and became submissive to the Father (Phil. 2:5-11).

So, Jesus is equal in nature with the Father and the Holy Spirit.

Why is this important?

As Christians, it’s important for us to know exactly Who our God is.  If we’re not worshiping the true God of the Bible, we’re worshiping a false God.  Jesus is God the Son, second Person of the trinity.  When we pray, we need to know Who we’re praying to.  Jesus told us to pray to Him:

John 14:14 (ESV) ¹⁴  If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.

2,000 years ago, the God of the universe took on human form and walked the earth.  He walked and talked with men and women.  He taught them and us by word and by example exactly Who God is.

John 14:9 (ESV) ⁹  Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?  

In reading about Jesus life, His love for others, His willingness to sacrifice for the good of others, His patience with people like Peter and Nicodemus, we see the character of God the Father as well.  This same Jesus that John looked at face to face, Whom he touched, and learned from daily, who washed John’s feet and suffered death in front of John, this same Jesus is the God who spoke all that exists in the physical universe into existence. 

1 John 1:1-4 (ESV) ¹  That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
²  the life was made manifest, and we have seen it, and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us—
³  that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ.
⁴  And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete.

Jesus isn’t just a sacrificial Lamb.  He is the Holy One of Israel, the Great “I Am!”

I’ve heard grace defined as “God’s unmerited favor,” or “God’s riches at Christ’s expense.”  But, these definitions come nowhere near what grace is.  Grace isn’t just unmerited.  It’s freedom from what we do merit.  And, even that isn’t enough.

Grace is a very natural arm of God’s love nature.  I’ve written about this before in here, actually on May 2nd, but it’s a large topic with many facets.  In this article, we’ll look at the problem both Christians and non-Christians have with grace.

Grace is one of those things we can’t explain to someone who hasn’t experienced it.  It’s like trying to describe the color blue to a woman who has been blind her whole life.  In one of the early Star Trek movies, Spock had died, his body had been cloned, and his consciousness implanted into his cloned body.  McCoy turns to him in one scene and asks Spock to describe what it was like to be dead.  Spock says McCoy would need a common point of reference for them to discuss it at all.  Grace is like that.  We can only discuss it fully with someone who has experienced it.

Christians may know in their minds they have been completely forgiven of their sins.  We have a clean slate.  We have been justified to stand in the presence of the Great and Holy God.  That’s what we “think,” but do we “feel” that is true.  Have our hearts accepted it?  Do we lead our lives as if God looks at us as a clean vessel?  When we feel God is leading us to do something huge and exciting for Him, do we jump at the chance to serve Him, or do we listen to another spirit telling us we’re unworthy to serve?  Sadly, I think the latter is very often true of our responses.

I don’t blame Christians, though.  I feel the same way.  I have to consciously press through it.  Like you, sometimes I don’t and God raises up someone else.  I’ve missed the blessing and not fulfilled my job description.

In his book, The Seven Laws of the Learner, Bruce Wilkinson tells a story of one time when he needed to fire a worker at “WalkThrough the Bible.”  He thought he would just sit her down and ask her how she liked her job, and she would fire herself.  To his surprise, she loved her job, and she started to describe all the things she was doing to support the ministry and to serve God.  Wilkinson said when the interview was over, he felt like giving her a raise.  Then it struck him.  She wasn’t fulfilling her job description.  One day, we will stand before God, and He will hand us two lists: a list of what He had for us to do and a second list of what we actually did.  We all want those two lists to match, but our disbelief in grace may prevent that.

Grace is a problem for the non-Christian as well.  It sounds too good.  It isn’t reasonable, though.  “But, you don’t know what I’ve done” is a common response.  Grace is both the answer to the sin of the world and a major hurdle.  Compared to most, I’ve lived a pretty clean life.  I was in the Navy, yes, but I never went to sea, never left California for that matter.  I spent most of my time off visiting my Christian girlfriend.  So, my opportunities for sin were lessened.  Even with that, I felt unworthy to accept God’s grace when I asked for it on Oct. 16, 1975.  Other non-believers feel the same.

I’ve pressed all of God’s buttons over the years.  I’ve sinned like the rest.  I know how I am, and so does God.  I also know enough about God that I know He wouldn’t allow someone like me in His presence . . . unless.  It’s the “unless” that makes all the difference.  “Unless” Someone has cleansed me so I can stand before Our Holy God without fear.

When the women went to the tomb in Matthew 28, they encountered an angel.  There were also Roman guards there.  What the angel said speaks clearly of grace:

Matthew 28:5 (ESV)   But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified.

The angel didn’t tell the pagan Roman soldiers not to be afraid.  He told the women.  Why?  Because they were seeking Jesus.

Why Is This Important?

Often we as Christians need to step out in faith and just do what God tells us without examining ourselves to see if we’re worthy.  We’re not.  It is Christ in us who does the work.

The rub comes when we try to explain grace to a non-believer.  It’s hard for them to accept this emotionally.  We need to recognize this in order to better share the gospel.  The resistance we see may not be a resistance to Christ but a logical problem.  Explaining that God is anxious to wipe the slate clean and start a new for them is breathtaking and difficult to accept.  It will take the work of the Holy Spirit to show them.

Augustine said, “I must first believe in order to understand.”  That is certainly true of God’s grace.

For us, a good exercise to better grasp God’s grace in our lives is to review the things God has done for us.  David did this often, and so should we.  When we remember God has brought wonderful things into our lives, spared us from certain disaster, or used us to greatly do His will, it’s easier for us to step out believing God and do what He asks no matter how difficult it may seem.

We are anxious when someone we love is sick or dying.  Suffering isn’t pleasant, so why would God allow it in the life of the Christian?  I looked into it this week, and here’s what I found.

Sometimes suffering is meant to show God’s power:

Matthew 8:6-7 (ESV)  “Lord, my servant is lying paralyzed at home, suffering terribly.”
⁷  And he said to him, “I will come and heal him.”

Jesus’ miracles were performed to validate the Gospel message.   He wasn’t sharing just words.  His words were and are Truth greater than the reality of our universe.  To demonstrate this, He altered natural events.  He ended suffering in some to show His power, to validate His message.

Suffering helps us grow:

Romans 5:3 (ESV) ³  Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,

If our lives were perfect, if every day was sunshine and lollipops, we would be superficial human beings.  Worse than that, we would be superficial Christians.  Our faith would have no depth.  It is the sufferings in our lives that most powerfully direct us to rely upon God to do what is right.

Suffering draws us closer to one another

I once asked a veteran pastor what he said to people who had lost someone or were about to.  How did he handle the hopeless hospital visits or devastating funerals?  He told me he says very little.  Mostly the family is comforted when he cries with them sharing in their grief. 

Suffering alongside of and with those who are suffering loss creates and expresses fellowship with them.  It brings us closer together.  Suffering as a Christian brings us closer to the brethren around the world who are suffering as well.

1 Peter 5:9 (ESV) ⁹  Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world.

Above all, through suffering, we experience a closer fellowship with Christ Himself:

Philippians 3:8-10 (NKJV) ⁸  Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ  ⁹  and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; ¹⁰  that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death,

Why is this Important?

Understanding suffering is important to the Christian because we often believe we are suffering do to our own actions, that we’re being disciplined by the Lord.  That happens, but I don’t believe it happens as often as we might think.  Not all suffering is our fault:

John 9:1-3 (ESV)
¹  As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. ²  And his disciples asked him, “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?” ³  Jesus answered, “It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him.

We should understand as Christians that suffering is an expected part of the Christian’s life.  We are not exempt from suffering because we know Christ.

Romans 8:17 (ESV)   ¹⁷  and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him.

In fact, I have often wondered why God allows non-believers to suffer.  They have it a terrifying end ahead of them.  Why suffer here on earth, too.  But, God’s Word says He treats us all the same:

Matthew 5:44-45 (ESV)
⁴⁴  But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, ⁴⁵  so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.

Besides, who would come to Christ if only the Christians suffered.

When suffering enters our lives either through our own suffering or that of loved ones, remember it is a benefit to the Christian.  All things which enter our lives are loving acts of our Father in heaven.  Sometimes, it hurts.

In the pioneer days, the small town school had every child from first grade to high school taught by the same teacher.  Can you imagine what it must have been like trying to teach simple arithmetic to one child then turn to read English Literature with another?  You would think the teachers would go crazy, but they didn’t. 

Teachers back then used the older children to teach the younger ones.  The 8^th graders might teach the fifth graders.  The same 8^th graders would then learn from the high-schoolers and hear the high school material taught.  Kids learned faster that way.  If you watched Ken Burns’ Civil War documentary, you heard beautiful poetry written by soldiers with an 8^th grade education.  The Federalist Papers were written to and understood by farmers many of whom lacked even a high school education.  Law students in Ivy League colleges today have difficulty understanding them.  The small schoolhouse education method worked.

Churches are much like that little red schoolhouse.  There are people in the congregation who are new to the faith, at first grade level.  There are those 8^th graders able to help the new Christians and still strive to advance to high school or further.

The pastor/teacher usually gives sermons/lessons at levels across the spectrum.  He tries, usually, to reach the majority of the congregation, not just a specialized group.  Still, many will not catch much of what is taught because it’s new to them, or to some it’s what they’ve heard for years.

A lot of churches offer adult Bible studies at homes or at church.  These give us an opportunity to ask questions and to share what we know with those who aren’t yet as far along the path as we might be or to learn from others who are.

Years ago, I was having trouble finding much that challenged me in our pastor’s sermons.  I told him so, and his response struck me and seared into my mind.  He said “I would expect you to be able to feed yourself by now.”  I had been a Christian for about ten years by then, I was graduating into a new grade.

My whole view of church changed then.  While I am still challenged by sermons I hear, it doesn’t happen as often.  Where church used to be a place to be fed and ministered to, as a “high-school,”  I should be helping others.  Church has become a place for me to minister more than be ministered to.

Like the pioneer schoolhouse, we should be reaching out to one another with love and education:

Matthew 28:19-20 (ESV)
¹⁹  Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰  teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

The Great Commission wasn’t given just to the apostles; it was given to us all.  We make one another into disciples by teaching one another.

Why is this important?

Many long term Christians grow weary with church.  They’ve “heard it all before.”  They don’t see the need to attend services.  I think they’re missing the point.  I think God is telling them they need to take what they’ve learned and share it.  Attend a home Bible study or an adult Bible class at church.  They aren’t just for learning but for sharing as well.  If you’ve heard it all before, there are those who haven’t and would profit from you telling them.

That same pastor I mentioned earlier came into a class I was attending as a fairly young Christian and pointed out three of us as teachers in the class.  The guy at the head of the class was one, but there were two others he mentioned.  And we never thought of ourselves as teachers, just attendees who shared what we knew.

He told me teachers are not always in front of a class.  He said many in the class are teaching and just as effective as the guy who prepared the lesson.  Teaching others doesn’t require the gift of teaching, or God wouldn’t have command us all to do it.  Teaching doesn’t need to be academic either, or He would have given us all the drive for constant study.  Teaching can be sharing life experiences, the wisdom God or godly people have shared with you.

We all need to become like those kids in that schoolhouse.   We need to reach out to those who haven’t traveled down the Christian path as we have and listen to those who are father along.  Christianity is not made up of hermit monks.  It’s made up of God’s children who should be striving to prepare one another.

Way back when I took physical anthropology, in a circle around the classroom hung a series of photographs of dozens of individuals of all races and mixtures.  Because of their order, no matter where you started in the series, as you followed the photos around the room, you noticed the changes gradually went from African, to Western European, to Asian and back to African in such a way that you realized we’re all just variations of the same race, the human race.

Currently, race has been all over the various media.  It seems to be the topic of most conversations with friends and even strangers.  Here, we’ll look at the question, “Has God given us His view of racism?”

Actually, He has.    In Numbers chapter 12, we see the story of Moses’ siblings angrily arguing with him.  He had taken a Cushite woman as his wife.  Cush was where Ethiopia lies today.  She was a black woman, an African, and it is clear this was the basis of Aaron and Miriam’s anger with Moses (vs. 1).  Moses had married a black woman.

God called Moses, Aaron, and Mariam out and told them He approved of Moses’ mariage:, “He is faithful in all my house.”  Then God turned to Mariam in His anger at her bigotry.  He said, “You don’t like black.  I’ll give you white,”, and turned Mariam white with leprosy.  Moses asked God to heal her, but God said, “I’ll let her think about what she’s done,” and He put her outside the camp for seven days before healing her.  I paraphrased these verses a bit, but you get the idea.  God did not put up with racism then, and He doesn’t do it now.  We are all people for whom Christ died. Racism is condemned directly by God.

In the Mosaic Law, equality among races was commanded.  Leviticus 19:34 states “the stranger who dwells among you shall be to you as one born among you, and you shall love him as yourself; for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”  So, God wanted all people treated equally in Israel no matter where they came from or what their race was.  Though it’s true God had chosen a people of His own, they were not to treat others as inferiors. 

By the time of Christ, though, the Jewish leaders saw Jews as superior to all other peoples.  The word, “Gentile” does not appear in the Bible until the New Testament.  It was used by Jewish leaders to separate the Jews from non-Jews viewing them as unclean, even evil and untrustworthy. 

Once again, God steps in. Paul tells us in Ephesians that Jesus tore down the wall of hostile separation between the Jews and Gentiles.

Ephesians 2:14 (ESV)
¹⁴  For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility

In church history, the fiercest advocate for the Trinity doctrine at the Nicene Council in 325 a.d. and probably the greatest theologian in the fourth century church was Athanasius, a black man.  He spent his life defending his beliefs.  He was lovingly and respectfully nicknamed “the black dwarf” by many of his contemporaries because of his color and stature, but he achieved the highest recognition in the church at the time, that of bishop of Alexandria.  He held that office for more than 40 years and fought to keep the faith pure.

We know of so few black church fathers because race was irrelevant through most of church history.    Color simply isn’t mentioned.  Many great theologians and church philosophers were African, though.

Why is this Important?

As Christians, we are watched constantly as to how we react to the evil in the world.  If we don’t stand against the evil of racism where we see it, we’re seen as endorsing it.  The Christian role is instead to endorse righteousness and justice.

It has been my policy never to get political on this blog, and I won’t here.  Let me wax a little philosophical, though.  It is a common human trait to impulsively follow what seems like a noble cause without checking thoroughly what sort of baggage comes with the groups surrounding that cause.  The cause may be noble, the groups and their agenda may not be.  The life of a black human being does not matter because he is black but because he is a human being. 

To the Christian, race should be as irrelevant as eye color.  We are all descended from the same two people.  We have very much the same history and purpose in life.  We have the same wishes to provide for and protect our families.  We want a safe place for our children to play and where our wives and daughters can walk safely at night.  We all hurt when someone is killed unjustly.  We are one people.

God loves us all, cherishes us all, provides for us all, and seeks the hearts of us all.  We are all His children, after all.  We are all descended from the same boatload of people.  We should act like it.

The Holy Spirit is kind of a mystery and much more difficult to study than are the Father and the Son.  This is probably because the Holy Spirit was responsible for writing the Bible, and being humble (one of God’s attributes), He doesn’t mention Himself as much.

First I’d like to address the question as to whether we can lose the Holy Spirit once we’re saved.  Is He always in us and active in our lives?

Old Testament saints’ like Samson had a different relationship with the Holy Spirit than Christians’.  Prior to Christ, a believer could be indwelled by the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit could leave them.  Samson is a good example of this.  In Judges 15:14, the Spirit of God (God Himself) rushes upon (fills) Samson. Judges 16:20 then says the Spirit of the Lord had left Him.  So, we see the Holy Spirit entering and leaving Old Testament saints.

We don’t see this in Christians.  Once Jesus paid the price for our sins, we are sealed with the Holy Spirit never to lose Him.

Ephesians 1:13 (ESV)  ¹³  In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,

So, once the Holy Spirit has entered us, has sealed us, He will never leave.  This is also good evidence Christians can never lose their salvation.

Now there is another odd thing about the Holy Spirit for us as Christians.  The Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit being in, on, upon, and filling us.  What is all that about?

We see “upon” relating to the Holy Spirit used in the Old Testament quite a bit.  It’s even used this way speaking of Samson in Judges 15:14.  But since most of the interest in how the Holy Spirit works in our lives as Christians and I have limited space, let’s concentrate on how these terms are used in the New Testament.

The Holy Spirit is often spoken of as “on,” “upon,” “in,” even “unto.”  One of the most common words in the Greek New Testament is “epi.”  It appears 896 times in the New Testament and means “on,” “upon,” “in,” and even “unto.”  So, whenever we see the Holy Spirit coming upon someone or on someone or in someone, it’s the same thing. 

 The question sometimes arises, “Why would the Holy Spirit need to refill us?”   The verse cited for this is usually Acts 4:31 And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.

The word “filled” means to be filled in the sense of being inspired, affected, or influenced by something.  It is not a refilling but an inspiration.

There is another interesting phrase connected with the  Holy Spirit: “in the Spirit.”  In the Spirit speaks of the overpowering of the Holy Spirit.  Simeon is described as being in the Spirit in Luke 2:27.  Paul was under the power of the Holy Spirit when he resolved to go to Macedonia (Acts. 19:21).  Romans 8:9 tells us we are no longer under the power of the flesh but “in the Spirit, under His power.  Most clearly, we see this phrase describing God’s power through the Person of the Holy Spirit in 1 Peter 3:18 where we see Jesus was raised by the power of the Holy Spirit and in Revelation 1:10 where John tells us the vision he records in that book was given through the power of the Holy Spirit influencing him.

Why is this important?

This is important to understand for a lot of reasons among which is the need to know and understand God better especially the Spirit. 

A friend told me of a message outlining the different “fillings” of the Holy Spirit.  This is a bit silly since the words in, on, upon, and unto all are translations of the same Greek word and mean the same thing in the originals.  Use of “in,” “on,” “upon”, and “unto” varies among translations, so there is ground for a teaching on a variety of implications.

It is important to better understand how the Person we know as the Holy Spirit works in our lives, that He will never leave us or forsake us, that He is the Third Person of the Trinity sharing the same power, essence, and authority as the Father and the Son.  Sometimes we make less of the Holy Spirit because He is spoken of less obviously in Scripture.  It is important to see Him there and how He acts.

The Christian should be filled, heavily influenced, by the Holy Spirit and pray for that daily.  He is the Person of the godhead who lives in us, guides us, and reaches the world through us.  May we always live our lives in the Spirit.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Christians are often asked by skeptics to prove God’s existence scientifically.  Our answers are seldom satisfying to the non-believer and often frustrating to the Christian offering them.  We show the order of the universe as evidence of His planning and intellect.  We point to the universe itself to show it must have a cause.  But, these attempts so often fall short and we blame ourselves as poor representatives for our Lord. 

It turns out the non-believer is asking for something very unreasonable.  He’s asking for physical evidence, scientific evidence of a non-physical Being.  That’s the core reason for the frustrations of both the believer and skeptic.  Science is wonderful.  It has provided so many answers over the centuries, but it is not the be all and end all.

Trying to prove God’s existence scientifically is what philosophers call a category error.  We do this all the time in figures of speech.  We say “my car doesn’t want to start.”  But, my car is incapable of “wanting”.  It’s not in the “wanting” category. 

A Category Error is when something in one category [God] is represented as belonging to another category [the physical universe].  It’s irrational to try and use one category to explain another unless the spiritual realm steps into it as Jesus did when He took on human form.

Jesus told us of the spiritual world.  He said God exists, that He loves us, and that He would pay the price for our sins so we might enter His realm and join Him forever.  But why should people have believed Him?  He may have been just another itinerant preacher telling stories.

The difference, of course, was that Jesus gave physical proof of what He claimed by combining the spiritual with the physical.  He used the superiority of the spiritual to heal, to walk on water, to change lives.  Likewise, some of the most powerful evidences of God’s existence are the changed lives of His followers.  We call these anomalies in nature “miracles.”

Because science won’t look outside the box, outside the physical universe, it can’t deal with many things Christianity has the answer for.   J.P. Moreland gives some examples of these in his book, Scientism and Secularism:

• Science alone cannot explain the origins of the universe.  It believes there was an origin but can’t explain even the existence of matter, where did it come from.  Examination shows it’s not eternal.  And if energy and matter are interchangeable as Einstein said, where did the energy come from as well?
• Science alone cannot explain the fundamental laws of nature.  There are laws keeping nature in check.  Those laws are not physical.  So, where did they come from and how do they govern physical matter?
• Science alone cannot explain consciousness.  Consciousness is a mystery to science.  They can measure it, observe it, even see the evidence of it working , but they can’t tell us how molecules in motion [the origin of life/evolution] became conscious and arrived at E=mc².
• Science alone cannot explain objective moral values.  Why does the most pious priest and the most backward native both agree torturing babies for the fun of it is wrong?  How did they arrive at the same morality if there is only the material world?  Where does morality come from then?
• What science cannot explain, philosophy and theology can.  Theology tells how God is responsible for all the items listed above, yet science will discount that answer because it limits its area of study to the physical.

Scientists take these issues as matters of faith.  They have faith that someday a woman in a white lab coat will solve these issues and show science as supreme over the metaphysical.  They’re wrong, though, because none of these involve the examination of the material world.  If a scientist stands on his faith, a faith in science alone, disappointment will be the result.

 “For the scientist who has lived by his faith in the power of reason, the story ends like a bad dream. He has scaled the mountains of ignorance, he is about to conquer the highest peak; as he pulls himself over the final rock, he is greeted by a band of theologians who have been sitting there for centuries.”   

NASA scientist, Robert Jastro, in his book God and the Astronomers

Some ask why churches should be exempt from taxes.  “They do nothing,” they say.  “They just sit there in their ivory towers telling everyone how to live and thinking they’re better than we are.”

That’s a very cynical and – it turns out – incorrect view.  Churches are much more valuable to the community and perform more services to our society than would the tax money they would otherwise have paid. 

The local church offers marital counseling lowering the divorce rate, domestic violence, child abuse, and since most criminals grow up in single parent families, it lowers crime.  Churches have programs for youth to help them see a better way of life and help keep them from drugs, crime, and just plain getting into trouble.  These programs often give a male role model to children from families with a single mom.

Church youth programs offer car washes, barbecues, and work days where young people can learn to work and earn money to pay for events like camps and concerts.  One church had a “Rent a Kid” program where church members rent a teen for a day to do yard work, baby sitting, simple household repairs, you name it.  Again, this taught the young people the life value that work produces benefits. 

There are young adult ministries to help college-age people in their drive to become more productive adults.  This helps prevent these folks from losing their dream due to drug addiction, alcohol dependence, or having to leave school or work due to unwanted pregnancies.

Then there are ministries for older adults.  They have problems too.  Many are parents with no experience handling children.  Counseling and classes on child rearing are offered.  Churches are a community in themselves, too.  People who are having family issues have access to other adults who have gone through the same struggles.

Many of the problems and issues mentioned above are also addressed on Sunday mornings along with messages telling Christians to reach out to those who are hurting and in need.

“And the pastor who leads these people, he must make a fortune.”  The average Baptist pastor in Arizona where I live makes just over $47k per year.  That’s not much for a guy who works an average or 60 hours a week and typically has a Masters degree.

When I was a young man, I worked in a paint plant.  One of my fellow workers was a pastor who worked on his sermons during lunch and on breaks.  His congregation was small.  It couldn’t support him and his family.  He had to work in a warehouse driving a forklift 40 hours a week in order to provide for both his family and for his congregation.  Most pastors aren’t in it for the money because it just isn’t there.

Why is this important?

First, the church needs to know it is the visible and physical representation of our Savior.  When we act as He would, we bring glory to Him and to His church.  When we don’t, we bring shame and strengthen the stereotype that churches are a drain on society.

Secondly, the community needs to know the local church is not a building where Christians  hide to separate from the “unclean.”  We’re God’s servants, and as such we are to serve those around us, the homeless, the sick, the lonely, the hurting.  “And such were many of us.”  The larger the church, the more it can help.

There’s an old story that makes this point here. It’s of a stranger who wandered into a church and asked a member, “When does the service start?”  The member answered, “The service starts when the meeting is over.”

The Holy Spirit tells us through James that this is our mission:

James 1:26-27 (ESV)
²⁶  If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. ²⁷  Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.

So, why should churches remain tax exempt?  Those in need are more accurately identified by the church.  Attention to their needs is personal and addressed by concerned people anxious for the welfare of others.  To put it practically, government keeping churches tax exempt is cost effective.

“What about the lost natives who never heard the gospel.  Can they be saved?”

I wish I had a dollar for every time I’ve heard that question.  “Didn’t Jesus say no one comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6)?  Does God not love everyone equally?”  Of course He does.

If God didn’t love everyone, no one could have been saved prior to the Law of Moses.  That would mean Job who God called “blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil” (Job 1:1).  Others like Noah and Enoch, who walked with God, would have to be condemned to hell.  There was no New Testament gospel or even Mosaic law for them.  So, what was there? 

It turns out God has no thrown aside those who don’t have the advantage of missionaries or Bibles.

Romans 2:14-16 (ESV)
¹⁴  For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵  They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them ¹⁶  on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus.

The Law is written on the hearts of Gentiles who have not heard the truth.

There are two types of revelation, General Revelation (Creation), and Special Revelation (The Bible).  General revelation is the fact God has shown Himself in nature.  A native who looks at the world around him and sees the intricacy involved in creation, the design, and the vastness can understand there must be a greater God than the one he has fashioned out of a log or stone.  Paul addressed this again in Romans.

Romans 1:20 (ESV)
²⁰  For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.

Granted, there aren’t a lot of these people, and that’s why so many Christian missionaries seek to enter dangerous parts of the world to share the life-giving Truth with people who have never heard.  God gifts these missionaries with special drives and with endurance. 

People who are “civilized” but following another god or no god at all must also often be led to the Truth.   There are people like this in our own communities with whom we can share.  We can acts as home missionaries and seek to lead these people to a saving knowledge of Christ.

One more point I want to address before I finish this post is the children who die before they are old enough to know Christ.  What happens to them?  This issue is called the age of accountability.  Are children who are not old enough to understand their need for salvation held accountable for their sin nature?  I believe this question also applies to special needs children and adults.  If they are unable to understand the concept of sin, will God hold them accountable?

The Bible says we need to recognize we are sinners and need a Savior.  If a person or child cannot understand that, can they truly accept Christ to save them from a sin they don’t recognize?

The answer is that there is usually there is an age children reach when they will understand and then come under the Law.  This is taken from another remark Paul makes in Romans:

Romans 7:9 (ESV)
⁹  I was once alive apart from the law, but when the commandment came, sin came alive and I died.

Therefore, many theologians believe Paul is speaking of when he was a child then understood the Mosaic Law. It is my belief children and special needs adults, who have not been able to recognize that they are sinners cannot understand their need to seek a Savior and cannot be held accountable.

The Scriptural evidence is somewhat slim, but I know the God Who saves us.  I understand He is just, merciful, and is love.  I rely on God’s grace for those who are unable to ask Christ into their hearts because of the limitations mentioned above.

Why is this important?

It is important for Christians to know God is the God of everyone.  He watches over us all whether it’s a native who has never heard or a child who could not understand, whether it’s a Muslim who seeks grace or an atheist who is bitter against God.  He loves them all and has made provision for their salvation.  For those who can make the decision, God wishes to use you and me to show them the Way.  For those who cannot, He has also made provisions.