Believers Armed and Dangerous

At the beginning of Genesis chapter 22, the words “After these things” appear.  After what things?  I think Scripture means everything in Abraham’s life from chapter 12 where Abram is called by God until chapter 22 when God tells Abraham to sacrifice his son.  But, what would make a man willing to kill his son? 

For some reason, I always see this scene in chapter 22 as God opening the skies and showing Himself to Abraham, speaking audibly and Abraham being a little frightened at the situation.  But, as James says (James 5:17) these Old Testament saints were just like us.  Abraham most likely just heard God in the same still small voice that you and I do.  He just learned to recognize it and obey.

Abraham went through a lot over the 10 chapters from 12 through 21.  He was tested again and again, and Abraham learned to trust God and the promises He made.  I believe Abraham knew God so well by chapter 22 that there was no doubt left in him.  Much of what he believed by faith in chapter 12, he now knew to be true by chapter 22.

Genesis 22:1-3 (ESV)
¹  After these things God tested Abraham and said to him, “Abraham!” And he said, “Here I am.”
²  He said, “Take your son, your only son Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you.”
³  So Abraham rose early in the morning, saddled his donkey, and took two of his young men with him, and his son Isaac. And he cut the wood for the burnt offering and arose and went to the place of which God had told him.

 

As we grow as Christians, we should see our trust, our faith, in God becoming more and more sure.  What we learn in the trials of our lives should produce something.  It should produce endurance (James 1:3) and certainty.  So the more we’re tested, the better prepared we are for the next trial.  And, God is like the proverbial piano teacher.  If we fail the test, we’ll need to take it over and over again until we get it right.

When I was in school, I took a lot of test.  It wasn’t until I was in college that I realized the full purposes of these tests.  Testing has a number of purposes:  It tells the teacher how we’re doing with the material presented.  It shows us how well we know the material.  It keeps us on task or we’ll fail the tests.  It also prepares us for the final test, the big one, that’s coming.

In the same way, God tests us.  While an omniscient God doesn’t need to know how we’re doing, He knows it already, He does want us to know how we’re doing and keep on our toes for future tests as well as the big final test at the end.

Tests also force us to know the material well.  I believe we can know God so well by the series of tests He presents in our lives that much of our faith eventually will become knowledge.  We don’t just believe in God, we know He exists and we know Him.

So, welcome those trials as friends.  God is producing in you a believer who will stand strong in his faith and be able to deal with the fiery darts of the evil one.

James 1:2-4 (ESV)
²  Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds,
³  for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.
⁴  And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

Matthew 12:31-32 (ESV)
³¹  Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.
³²  And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Mark 3:22, 28-30 (ESV)
²²  And the scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “by the prince of demons he casts out the demons.” ²⁸  “[Jesus Said] Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹  but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”—
³⁰  for they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

Today’s blog is on a question we’ve heard in Christian circles for decades, “What is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, and can I know if I have committed it?”

According to the passages cited in Matthew and Mark, claiming Jesus was and is demon possessed and that the works the Holy Spirit did and does through Him are of the devil.  So, unless you have committed that sin, assigning God’s work in Jesus to Satan himself, you have not committed the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit.

The word, “blasphemeo” in Greek means Reviling against the Holy Spirit, to resist the convicting power of the Holy Spirit unto repentance.
Complete Word Study Dictionary, The – The Complete Word Study Dictionary – New Testament.

This blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, then, should render you spiritually dead, unable to repent.  If this is true, and you’re concerned you may have committed this grave sin, you haven’t.

The series of answers to supposed biblical contradictions listed on the American Atheists’ site has had a less than enthusiastic response on this blog, so I’ve put them all into one document that can be seen on my web site, AnswersAZ.com.  We will not continue the series on the blog.

Genesis 1:1 (ESV)
¹  In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.

Both physicists and philosophers call this “The Question.”  The fact is that something exists rather than nothing, but why.  If there is no god, then it is highly probable, actually a 1 probability, that nothing at all should exist, not matter, not space, not ideas, numbers, concepts, nothing.  After all, where would something come from? 

However,  something does exist.  So, that something, the universe, is either eternal or it came into being.  Physicists tell us that it came into existence.   The universe is expanding pointing to an initial explosion a finite time ago, the fact energy is decaying pointing to a time when it was at a higher level, and so on.

So, if the universe had a beginning, it must have either had a set of conditions which came together spontaneously to begin the universe, or some Agent must have caused the universe to come about.

Now we really start to run into problems.  For instance, if time came to exist at the same moment as the universe, then there was no time prior to the initiation of the universe in which the set of conditions could obtain.  So, the universe would never have come into existence. 

If there was time prior to the initiation of the universe, then we would be looking at an infinite regress or an infinite timeline.  Neither of these can be true since nothing could pass through an infinite number of moments to reach today.  Infinity past is just the same as infinity future.  If the future is infinite, when will we reach the end?  Never, of course.  So, if the past is infinite, it would not have a beginning, and we never would have reached today.

If the conditions were appropriate for the universe to start, and we’re looking at an eternal past, the universe would have begun an infinite time ago and burned out long before now.

Let’s say the conditions for the universe to come into existence were like a frame from striking a match.  You have the match and the striking surface.  Both can sit there for an eternity and never strike the match.  What is needed is an agent to make a decision, pick up the match, and strike it.

In the same way, an Agent would be needed to “strike the match” to begin the universe and time.  That Agent is what is called in philosophy, a “necessary being.”  In order for all things to exist, we necessarily need Him to start it all.  Everything else is contingent upon that necessary being’s existence.

And, let’s look at what type of Agent that Being would have to be.  He would need to be timeless since He created time,  more powerful than the universe He brought into existence, smart enough to design and set in place the rules by which the universe operates, and a personal Agent in order to make the decision to “strike the match.”   Sounds like a personal God to me.

Jesus Our Advocate

I love lawyer shows, don’t you?  The bad guys get caught.  The innocent go free.  Justice is done!

There is a courtroom in heaven, you know, where there’s a prosecutor, a Judge, a defense Attorney, and a defendant.

Revelation 12:10 says there is an “accuser of the brothers,” the prosecutor:

Revelation 12:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.

According to this verse, the accuser never stops bringing our names and our sins before God for judgment.  Job 1:6-11 tells us this accuser of the brothers is Satan himself.

Fortunately, you and I have a Defense Attorney.  The Bible calls Him our Advocate, Jesus Himself:

1 John 2:1-2 (ESV)
¹  My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.
²  He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.

So, Jesus speaks on our behalf before the Father.  But, what can He say?  Satan’s charges are true.  We are sinners.  According to 1 John 2:2, Jesus pleads innocent on our behalf because His sacrifice is the propitiation (payment in full) for any and all sins we have or will commit.

In Luke, we get a glimpse of just where Jesus’ heart is in defending us.  The scene is that John the Baptist is in prison and about to be killed.  He sends his disciples to Jesus to ask if He is truly the Messiah.  In short, John was beginning to doubt.  Jesus healed the sick, raised the dead, cured the blind.  Then He told John’s disciples to tell John what they had seen.

Many of those following Jesus at the time used to be John’s disciples.  Most likely, they were shocked that John, a true warrior of the faith, might doubt.  Look at how Jesus addressed this:

Luke 7:24-27 (ESV)
²⁴  When John’s messengers had gone, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed shaken by the wind?
²⁵  What then did you go out to see? A man dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who are dressed in splendid clothing and live in luxury are in kings’ courts.
²⁶  What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
²⁷  This is he of whom it is written, “‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way before you.’

In fewer words, Jesus told them they were looking at a man of God.  Don’t judge him by his doubt but by who he is and what he’s done.

Today, Jesus stands in that courtroom in heaven defending you and me.  He’s saying, “Father forgive them.  Yes, they have sinned, but look at their love for you.  Your judgment of death is just, but that penalty has been paid.  They are now innocent in the eyes of God.”

Christ’s infinite love for us has paid it all.  Aren’t you thrilled to have Jesus as your Advocate?

I just wanted to include a quick thank you before this week’s main blog post.  I am humbled by the fact this blog is read in so many countries.  Just this past week, it has been accessed from Lebanon, China, Finland, and of course, the United States.  In the past two months, we’ve also seen folks from Ireland, the UK, Canada, Brazil, Indonesia and South Africa access our blog.  This must come from your word of mouth, and I sincerely thank you for passing on the link to our blog.  You guys are great.

1 Timothy 2:1-4 (ESV)
¹  First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people, ²  for kings and all who are in high positions, that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. ³  This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, ⁴  who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Though many disagree, we believe the doctrines of Freewill, Predestination, and Foreknowledge work very well together, and I’d like to explain why.  Now in the past, when I’ve expressed my view on this topic, I’ve found Calvinists react strongly to my suggested solution.  In a men’s Bible study a few years ago, I was explaining it to a fellow at our table when another got so angry, I thought he was going to come over the table after me.  Most, however, simply disagree with me and take it in stride.  That’s the Christian approach to disagreement, by the way.

So, let’s say you have a DVD recording of your daughter’s fifth birthday party/BBQ.  You’ve watched it so many times you know exactly what everyone in the DVD will say and do.  In fact, you know it so well, you can recite every conversation verbatim and mimic every move in the DVD.  In a sense, you have omniscience of the DVD.  To be able to recite and mimic every word and action at the party is not to say the people at the party did not act freely, though. 

Hold onto your Calvinist hats, now.  Here it comes: in the same way, God is able to know everything that goes on without having to predestine the events, acts, or words in our universe.

So, what we’ve seen thus far is that, if the DVD of real space time were to be played, God knows all that will happen before it happens (Foreknowledge), and everyone can act freely (Freewill). 

Now for the foreknowledge part.  Many Calvinists believe because God knows all that will happen, He has caused, or “Predestined” it.  I’m not sure that follows logically.  Suppose every possible future were recorded on DVDs and God picked the one which fulfills His goals the best, that He wants heaven as full as possible and hell as empty as possible, and places that DVD in the player.

If that were true, God has predestined all that will happen by playing the DVD He has chosen (Predestination).  He has chosen a DVD in which everyone acts freely (Freewill), yet He knows all that will take place (Foreknowledge).

“Life is not a DVD,” you might object, and you would be right.  But, we all understand cause in effect, God even more so.  So, the universe He created could easily be the universe with conditions which cause a timeline that accomplishes His goals.

“Then why not create a universe where everyone would be saved?” you might ask.  Well, if freewill is included, there will always be someone who chooses their own way rather than God’s.  So, people will sin, people will choose to reject God’s offer of salvation, people will always act selfishly.  In fact, the farther away from the original influence of God, the more likely selfish choices would become the norm.  So, fewer people will end up choosing heaven, the “narrow road.”

So, there you have it.  Freewill, Foreknowledge, and Predestination all in a sweet little package to ponder.  Don’t get mad.  It’s just speculation, but it makes sense.

 

PLEASE NOTE:  The answers to American’s Atheists’ objections to the Bible have met with a less than enthusiastic response on the blog.  So, I’m going to discontinue that series here.  If you’re interested you’ll find all of those difficulties addressed on AnswersAZ.com.  https://answersaz.com/biblical-difficulties/

Psalm 53:1a (ESV) ¹  The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” 

When we talk with atheists, they usually seem to think atheism is the default position.  What I mean by that is they think if the evidence for God’s existence doesn’t convince them, then they claim atheism is the rational conclusion.  But, let’s look at that for a minute.

Webster’s definition of “atheism” is “a philosophical or religious position characterized by disbelief in the existence of a god or any gods.”  So, atheism’s mantra is, “There is no god,” not that they cannot know if there is a god (hard agnosticism), or they just don’t know if there is a god (soft agnosticism), but they are actually confident there is no god.

The statement, “There is no god,” is as much a truth claim as, “There is a God,” and requires just as much evidence to justify it.  So, if the atheist cannot prove there is no god, then their conclusion is no better than soft agnosticism.

Sometimes you’ll hear this response: “You can’t prove a universal negative.”  That’s not really true either.  I can prove there are no purple elephants in my office right now.  Universal negatives can be proven, so there is no leg to stand on for their claim.

The bigger question is, “Can someone claim there is no god?”  Well, there are good arguments for the existence of God.  Many of them have been outlined here on this blog.  But, can someone really say they know enough of the totality of the knowledge of the universe to say for certain there is no god?  Unless we can know everything, and I do mean everything, couldn’t God exist in that part we don’t know?  Of course He could.

And what if God had made Himself even more obvious?  What if He had carved a sign into our moon saying, “God exists.”  Would we have more people believing in God?  In his book, Foundations for a Christian World View (p. 158) J.P. Moreland points out, “In the Old Testament God is described as revealing himself to his people in manifest wonders: the plagues upon Egypt, the pillar of fire and smoke, the parting of the Red Sea. But did such wonders produce lasting heart-change in the people? No, Israel fell into apostasy with tiresome repetitiveness.”  So, as part of the human condition, miracles become commonplace, we stray from belief and view signs of God’s presence as just the norm.

In the TV show, Joan of Arcadia, God, having taken on a human form, was having a conversation with Joan trying to show her that He was in fact, God.  She, said, “Okay.  Show me a miracle.”  God pointed to a tree.  Joan responded, “That’s just a tree.”  God said, “Okay let’s see you make one.”  God’s creation already testifies to His work, but we’ve taken it all for granted.  It would be the same if God made Himself even more plain.

So, we mustn’t let the atheists bully us.  It doesn’t follow if we can’t prove God’s existence to their satisfaction then atheism must be our conclusion.  There are many reasons that simply isn’t sufficient.  At best, we might arrive at soft agnosticism.

We’re going to take a quick break from answering the American Atheists this week and address something weighing heavily on my mind.  We’ll pick up the answers to AA again next week.

Matthew 23:37-38 (ESV)
³⁷  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! ³⁸  See, your house is left to you desolate.

 Luke 19:41-44 (ESV)
⁴¹  And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, ⁴²  saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. ⁴³  For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side ⁴⁴  and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”

There is a definite law in the universe called “freewill.”  It is as much a law as gravity or 2+2=4.  God loves us freely.  It’s just in His nature.  He also wants us to love him freely.  If He created us with the love of God built in, it wouldn’t be true freely-given love.  So, He has given us the ability to love Him or not love Him: Freewill.

As a result of freewill, one may choose not to love God.  They can choose to live unrighteously.  They can choose to sin. 

A difficult question often asked of Christians is, “Where was God when _______?”  “Where was God when my child was molested?”  “Where was God when that family was killed by a drunk driver?”  “Where was God when my brother was killed by a stray bullet during a gang shooting?”  “Where was God?”

Whenever there are freedoms, there are also ways to take advantage of those freedom.  We have school shootings when people abuse the Second Amendment, we have lynchings when due process is ignored, and we sometimes have lies reported as truth in publications abusing the First Amendment.  The same is true for the Law of Freewill.  While we are free to choose God and walk with Him, unrighteous alternatives are also available to us and are often exercised.

 A pervert can choose to act on his temptation to rape a young child in the neighborhood.  A businesswoman can choose to drive home from an office party drunk.  Religious zealots can choose to fly planes into the Twin Towers.  These people are all free to choose such acts by the universal Law of Freewill.

So, when people do terrible things, who is to blame if not God?  It’s the people who do these unrighteous acts because they have the freewill to choose to do them or not to do them.  True, God has given them the freedom to choose, but He did not give them His stamp of approval.  Once again, it is man who perverts a wonderful gift of God.

And, where was God when the child was molested, when the family was killed by a drunk driver, when the brother was killed by a stray bullet?  He was there weeping along with those who mourned.  As with Matthew 23:37-38 and Luke 19:41-44, God weeps when people turn away from Him to indulge in their own desires.

These are supposed contradictions taken from the American Atheists website.  We’re addressing these because Scripture says we are to earnestly contend for the faith.  Here are answers to tough questions about the Bible.

Jude 1:3 (ESV)  Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints.

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The Sabbath Day

Exodus 20:8 (ESV)
⁸  “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Romans 14:5 (ESV)
⁵  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

So, the problem here is that Christians are no longer under the Law of Moses:

Romans 7:6 (ESV)
⁶  But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code.

So, this is just a difference in How God relates to His people.  God used the Law to govern His people.  Now we have been released from the Law and are under grace.

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Will the Earth Last Forever?

Ecclesiastes 1:4 (ESV)
⁴  A generation goes, and a generation comes, but the earth remains forever.

 

2 Peter 3:10 (ESV)
¹⁰  But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

 

A Couple of points here.  First is that Ecclesiastes is written by Solomon, a man who had every earthly pleasure available to him but saw it as empty and futile (vs. 1:2).  So, be careful of what is quoted from Ecclesiastes.  It is Scripture, of course, but written from a human perspective.

What the real problem here in Ecclesiastes is the Hebrew word translated “forever,” Olam.  Olam means a long period of time which can sometimes be, “forever” but can also be translated as “Long ago,” (Ps. 77:5), “enduring” (Eccl. 2:16), and even just as “Long Time,” (Isa 42:14).

So, we see no real contradiction here except, perhaps, in the English translation.  In the Greek and Hebrew, there is no contradiction.

Bible Difficulties – Contradictions

Probably the most common accusation against the Bible is that it contradicts itself.  First, though, let’s look briefly at what a contradiction is.  A contradiction, for our purpose, is when one statement says one thing that logically excludes another.  For instance, to say Arizona became a state in 1912 and to say that Arizona did not become a state in 1912 are contradictions.  To say Arizona sits next to California and to say Arizona sits next to New Mexico might seem, at first, to be a contradiction, but it isn’t.

Matthew 8:28 (ESV)
²⁸  And when he came to the other side, to the country of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men met him, coming out of the tombs, so fierce that no one could pass that way.

Mark 5:1-2 (ESV)
¹  They came to the other side of the sea, to the country of the Gerasenes.
²  And when Jesus had stepped out of the boat, immediately there met him out of the tombs a man with an unclean spirit.

Are these two passages contradictory?  No.  If I were to say I saw Bill and Trisha at church Sunday, would you think only three people were in church, Bill, Trisha, and I?  Of course not.  Pill and Trisha are the subject of my statement.  Likewise, there were at least two, perhaps more, demon-possessed men who came out to meet Jesus.  Mark is just interested in telling the story of one of them an mentions only him.

The following “contradiction” was taken from the American Atheists website:

Incest

Genesis 20:11-12 (ESV)
¹¹  Abraham said, “I did it because I thought, ‘There is no fear of God at all in this place, and they will kill me because of my wife.’
¹²  Besides, she is indeed my sister, the daughter of my father though not the daughter of my mother, and she became my wife.

Genesis 17:15-16 (ESV)
¹⁵  And God said to Abraham, “As for Sarai your wife, you shall not call her name Sarai, but Sarah shall be her name.
¹⁶  I will bless her, and moreover, I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she shall become nations; kings of peoples shall come from her.”

 Deuteronomy 27:22 (ESV)
²²  “‘Cursed be anyone who lies with his sister, whether the daughter of his father or the daughter of his mother.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’

So, isn’t this a contradiction?  Abraham married his half sister, and God blessed it even though it is forbidden in Deuteronomy.  The answer to this is that Abraham was not under the Mosaic Law.  The Law wasn’t given to Moses until hundreds of years later.  Many theologians I’ve read believe this is because Abraham and Sarah were still close enough to Adam and Eve that their genes had not been corrupted enough to cause birth defects.  By the time of Moses, this may no longer have been true, so God warned His people that this was no longer appropriate.

In upcoming blogs, we’ll take the difficulties listed on the American Atheists site and address them.  They are some of the more common objections to the Bible’s reliability, and are actually intelligently presented.