All The Same

Though God has created each individual with their own unique characteristics, nevertheless we all share much in common. We are all created by God, in the image of God, for God. And just as we all need food, water, and air in to live; so we all need God. Even those who deny and hate God do not live without Him. They can't. No one can. That is because all life comes from God. He is the eternal first Cause and Source of life. As the Scripture says, "In Him was life, and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4). Speaking by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, at the Areopagus in Athens, Greece; the apostle Paul said, 

"And He has made from one blood every nation of men to dwell on all the face of the earth, and has determined their preappointed times and the boundaries of their dwellings, so that they should seek the Lord, in the hope that they might grope for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each one of us; for in Him we live and move and have our being, as also some of your own poets have said, 'For we are also His offspring.' Therefore, since we are to offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Divine nature is like gold or silver or stone, something shaped by art and man's devising. Truly, these times of ignorance God overlooked, but now commands all men everywhere to repent, because He has appointed a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness by the Man whom He has ordained. He has given assurance of this to all by raising Him from the dead." (Acts 17:26-28; emphasis added). 

So we see the diversity of humanity in the words "every nation", "on all the face of the earth". And we see that all the different people have been predetermined to live in their own times and dwellings. But we also see what binds us all together. We are all "one blood" made by God, to know Him personally. And He is near to each of us. It is in Him that each and every one of us lives and have our being. 

But we also have this in common; we are all fallen, and share a corrupted human nature which we have all inherited from our first ancestor, Adam (Romans 5:12). And this corrupted human nature has broken the perfect relationship that humanity enjoyed with God in the beginning. By this nature, human beings are in a state of rebellion against, enmity with, and estrangement from God. 

But God, in His love, has never stopped reaching out to us. He revealed Himself through His prophets, despite their being sinners like all the rest of us. Their history and writings are recorded in the Old Testament. And they foretold the coming of a Messiah, a Savior who would take our sins on Himself and make reconciliation with Him available to humanity (Genesis 3:14-15, 2 Samuel 7, Psalm 22, Psalm 89, Isaiah 11:1-10, Isaiah 49:1-13, Isaiah 53, Isaiah 61:1-3, Daniel 9:25-26, Micah 5:2; and more). 

And so, the Creator of the universe, the Creator and owner of every human being, became a human being Himself, and came into the world to reveal Himself  personally to humanity (John 1:1-14). The message of Jesus Christ is for all people everywhere. It is the gospel (good news) of God's love for a world that hates Him, and His offer of forgiveness and reconciliation to Him. When Jesus was born in Bethlehem, an angel appeared to some shepherds and said to them, "Do not be afraid, for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy which will be to all people. For there is born to you this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:10-11; emphasis added).  

For all our differences, we really are all the same. We are all made by God, in His image. We are all fallen sinners in need of salvation. And our Savior is God the Son, Jesus Christ. His salvation is available to everyone. All one has to do is accept it. 

The Awesome Dinosaurs

The allegation has been made that dinosaurs and other fossils are "awkward" for creationist. But the truth is that dinosaur fossils, and fossils in general, attest to the reality of the Genesis Flood. 

For one thing, the shear number of large and small remains, encased and mineralized within the layers sedimentary rock all over the world is exactly what we would expect to find if the biblical account of a global Flood really happened. It is not, however, consistent with the uniformitarian assumptions on which the evolutionary view of geology is founded. 

Under the normal circumstance that we currently observe, an animal dies and its remains are eaten by scavengers and rot away; leaving no geological record of their existence. Only in the event of a great catastrophe do large numbers of both great and small animals become buried in sediments quickly enough for their remains to be preserved and mineralized; many of them being partly, some even mostly articulated.

Aside from that, within the fossils that are found; soft tissues, non-mineralized biological material is discovered. Dinosaur bones have been discovered having non-mineralized blood cells, vessels, nuclei, and skin tissues. Check it out: 

(https://answersingenesis.org/fossils/3-soft-tissue-in-fossils/). 

These findings show that the remains are not millions of years old. And so do all the instances in which radiometric dating methods are used on rocks of known ages and come up with wildly inflated "dates": 

(https://answersingenesis.org/geology/radiometric-dating/does-radiometric-dating-prove-the-earth-is-old/). 

Dinosaurs and fossils are no problem for Christians who take the historical narrative of Genesis as the divinely inspired truth. The difference between creationists and evolutionists is a matter of how we interpret the scientific data. Creationists can appreciate the great reptiles as a part of God's handiwork, which He created on the sixth day, along with all the other beasts, reptiles, and creeping things; as well as the first man and woman whom He made uniquely in His own image.

At that time, "in the beginning", there was no death, no suffering, no disease, and no carnivorism. The creatures with sharp teeth and claws would have used them for braking open such things as coconuts, and pineapples. But sin came into the world through one man, Adam; and death came as a result of sin. And everyone dies because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 5:12, 3:23, 6:23). 

And when human wickedness, and violence had reached a crescendo during Noah's lifetime, God sent a great Flood to destroy humanity from the face of the earth. But by God's grace, Noah and his family were saved. God warned Noah to build an Ark, which He instructed him to make approximately 500 feet long, 75 feet high, and 45 feet wide; having three levels, and rooms inside (Genesis 6). Large wooden ships with similar measurements are also detailed in other ancient historical texts (https://answersingenesis.org/noahs-ark/the-large-ships-of-antiquity/).

So Noah followed God's instructions. The Flood came and the whole earth was covered (Genesis 7). And the turbulence of the earth caused the fountains of the great deep to break open, (Genesis 7:11) creating what we now refer to as tectonic plates. Massive amounts of sediment were moved from one place to another, swiftly burying beasts, reptiles, fish, and flying creatures; both great and small. The earth remained flooded for the length of a year, with the waters just beginning to recede about half way through the Flood year (Genesis 7:24-8:19). 

The face of the earth was dramatically changed. The receding Flood waters carved out many of the canyons that we observe today. And in the years following the Flood, tectonic activity broke the earth into continents, and caused mountains of sedimentary layers, with creatures buried in them during the Flood, to be pushed up into the clouds before they solidified and became the monuments that they are today. These monuments, laden with the remains of creatures, both great and small, including the great reptiles, stand to remind us of the judgement of a holy God, but also of His grace, by which He saved Noah and His family.

By that same grace, Jesus Christ, God in the flesh, came personally into our world and preached the gospel of His kingdom. His kingdom is at work in the world today through His followers, until it is is fully consummated by His return and His final judgement of the world which is in rebellion against His kingdom. He gave His human life on the cross to ransom many from sin (Matthew 20:28) and rose again so that by trusting in Him, we can be a part of His kingdom; reconciled to God who is love, and who created us in His own image for the purpose of love (2 Corinthians 5:12-21, 1 John 4:8, Genesis 1:26-27, Matthew 22:37-40). 

The Patience of God

Why does God allow evil to take place in the world? That question has been asked innumerable times, and has led some to disbelief in an all righteous, all loving, and all powerful God.  It is a question that used to rankle even my faith in God who is love. Asaph questioned God because He allows some wicked people to prosper for the moment (Psalm 73). But the psalmist came to grips with that when he remembered that, in the end, the wicked are cut off and brought to nothing. But I have also learned to see that God's patience with the wicked is a testament to His love, His mercy, and kindness.

As C.S. Lewis pointed out in his book, The Problem of Pain,, most of the suffering in the world is caused by human wickedness. And God in His love created humans with the ability to choose between good, (faithfulness to Him) and evil (unfaithfulness to Him). Otherwise we would be like robots, incapable of genuinely receiving and giving love, which only exists between persons; such as the Persons of the eternal, holy Trinity, or between God and His people.

God is love (1 John 4:8). And He created humanity in His perfect image, before the fall; (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of loving and being loved by Him and each other in perfect unity (Matthew 22:37-40). But sin entered the world through one man; and death, and suffering, and disease came through sin (Romans 5:12). And so human nature became corrupt with sin. So really all suffering, not just most of it, is caused by human wickedness.

But God remains love. And though He must judge sin, yet He holds back His righteous anger for now; because as the apostle Peter, under the direction of the Holy Spirit, pointed out, God is longsuffering. That means "patient". He is not willing that anyone should perish, but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). As the apostle Paul, by the same Spirit, says, "Or do you despise the riches of His goodness, forbearance, and longsuffering, not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?" (Romans 2:4). In fact, Paul is a prime example of one who violently opposed Christ and His followers; but who, by the grace of God, received forgiveness, repented, and was reconciled with God through Christ.

But God in His righteousness will judge the world. The Day of the Judgement will indeed come, in due time. And when it does, the kingdom of God, which is already at work in the world through Christ's followers, will be brought to complete fulfillment. Jesus spoke of this in His parable about the wheat and the weeds (Matthew 13:24-30). The sower (God) sowed good seeds (His people) in his field (the world), and his enemy (the devil) sowed weeds (his workers) during the night. But the sower instructed his servants (the angels) to let the wheat and the weeds grow together until harvest time to avoid destroying the wheat. He instructed them to wait till then to uproot and burn the weeds.

Of course, the workers of the devil are people whom God created, and who are in rebellion. They belong to God by creation. But they choose to follow after the rebellion of the devil so that, in that sense, they are "sons of the wicked one", just as those who trust in Christ for salvation are born-again; born of God (1 John 3:1-12). In fact, all of us are born with a fallen, sinful nature that is in rebellion against our Creator. But God in His patience is willing to hold back His righteous judgement in order to give everyone ample opportunity to repent, and be reconciled to Him through His Son, Jesus Christ (Ephesians 2:1-9). 

If God judged the wicked immediately, we would all be ruined, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). In our fallen nature, we don't even realize just how rancid our sin is to our immaculately holy God. And so it is only by His grace and mercy that anyone can be saved from the judgement that, in due time, will come.

The Absolute Value

As humans, we place value on various things. And in doing so, we take after our Creator God who places various levels of value on the things which He has created. And God, who is love, has placed great value upon humanity, whom He created in His own image. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, showed the high value He places on us when He bled and died for us on the cross.

The difference between God and us is that He is the infinite Creator of everything that exists. He is the Maker and Owner of the universe. And so only He has the authority to determine the absolute value of anything. In fact, apart from God, nothing has any real value. He Himself is the Absolute Value, from which all real value is derived. And here, I am using the term "Absolute Value" in a slightly different way than it is used in algebra. I mean that the Creator is the Fountain from which all real value springs. He is the One who is infinitely valuable above all things. If it were not for God, nothing would exist. And without Him, there can be no real value in anything.

"Know that the Lord, He is God;

It is He who has made us, and not we ourselves;

We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."

(Psalm 100:3; emphasis added).

But because of our fallen, sinful nature, we humans often place false value on things, or we value things more than they should be valued. And it is a great sin to value anything more than God Himself, the Absolute Value from which all true value is derived. "Idolatry" is what we call the sin of valuing anything over, or in place of, the one true and living God. And the object of such false value is called an "idol".

Writing to the church at Philippi, the apostle Paul describe how he used to value his accomplishments and his position as a Pharisee. He followed all the dos and don'ts of the religious law; but he didn't know that true righteousness comes from being reconciled with God by grace, through faith in Jesus Christ. The whole reason that we, as human beings, even have such concepts as those of right and wrong, and love and goodness, is that we are created by, and in the image of our holy God who is love. If we are not at peace with our Creator, everything else is meaningless.

But when Paul was confronted by the Person of Jesus, he became reconciled to God through Christ, and learned to honestly say "Yes, everything else is worthless when compared to the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the Law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ. For God's way of making us right with himself depends on faith." (Philippians 3:8-9).

What is it that we value? Fun times? Euphoria? Sweet music? Power? Prestige? Those things may not be bad, in and of themselves. But when we place a higher value on them than on being in harmony with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, we are sinning. In fact, having a relationship with Christ in this fallen, sinful world may cost us the comforts, and pleasures of this world. 

In fact Christ calls His followers to deny ourselves, take up our cross daily, and follow Him (Luke 9:23). And it is by God's grace, through Jesus Christ, that we are able to do that; turning away from our fallen, sinful nature in order to live in harmony with the divine nature (2 Peter 1:4). And like the apostles and many other followers of Christ, we learn to value our Creator and Savior above everything else; even our mortal lives in this world.

Creation

The creation of the universe was an event that took place over the course of six days, approximately six thousand years ago. It was an act of God, by which He spoke all things into existence; along with laws to govern matter, space, and time. Currently, no new matter is being created. All matter was spoken into existence during the creation week, in the beginning. The term "creation" is used to refer God's act of creating, which occurred over those six days, as well as to the actually things that God made (i.e. the universe).

On the third, fifth, and sixth, days of creation; God made plants, flying creatures, aquatic creatures, land animals, and the first man and woman. God created all of these, each according to their own kind. He made them of living cells which He encoded with genetic information that determines the diverse, and unique characteristics that each kind has and is able to pass on in reproduction. 

Each kind was encoded from the beginning with an abundance of dominant and recessive genetic information, allowing each kind to have diversity within itself. In this way, God made all creatures to be able to adapt to various types of environments; yet each kind remains itself. That means that felines always produce felines, canines always produce canines, bovine animals always produce bovine animals, and so forth. 

Human beings are unique among all of God's creatures. Unlike all the flying creatures, aquatic creatures, and land animals; human beings are created in the image or likeness of God Himself (Genesis 1:26-27). This means that we are able to think and to reason. We are able to be imaginative and creative, just like our Creator. 

Our physical bodies, composed of cells, tissues, organs, and systems, along with all the chemicals, and neurons, and electrons and so forth, are God's creations. Human souls are also God's creations. Our physical forms are merely the vehicle of our souls - our minds and spirits. The human brain is the physical vehicle of the human mind and spirit. And we use our bodies to physically carry out the actions which we choose, in our minds and spirits, to carry out.

We are given the choice to do good or evil. And God, the Creator/Owner of the universe, is the Absolute Decider/Standard of what is good. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, said that the first and greatest commandment is to love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. And He said that the second greatest commandment is that we should love each other as much as we each love ourselves (Matthew 22:37-40). You see, the Bible tells us that God is love (1 John 4:8). So being made in His image also means that we are capable of receiving and giving love. This is the purpose for which God, who is love, made us in His image.

Love is more than a chemical reaction. Chemical reactions in the human brain are the physical expression of what is happening in the human soul, mind, and spirit. But love is more than an emotion. It is even more than an action. Love has always existed, without beginning and without end. God is love. Love is personal. That is to say, love exists between people, just as it exists between the three Persons of the Trinity. If there were no persons, there could be no love. If there were only one person, than love could not be given or received. 

But God has always existed, from eternal (infinite) past as three distinct Persons - the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit  - yet He remains one Being or Entity. And so we use the word "Trinity" or "Triune" to describe Him, because though He is three Persons, He is one Being - one God. And this is how God is love. As C.S. Lewis put it, "the living, dynamic activity of love has been going on in God forever and has created everything else". 

God is self existent, from eternity to eternity. His existence is without beginning and without end; independent from, and sovereign over, everything that exists. Without God, nothing would exist. If God had not made us, we would not exist. We exist because God, who is love, exists and made us. We are in the likeness of love because God who is love made us in His likeness. Our existence had a beginning, and is dependent, from beginning to forever, on God.  

But because of sin, which entered the world through Adam, humanity became estranged from God. All of us have sinned, because we are born with a fallen sinful nature which we have inherited from Adam. God is holy, and so our fallen nature alienates us from Him. And the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23). Death is not a cessation of existence, it is separation. Physical death is the separation of the soul and spirit from the body. Spiritual death is the separation of the human soul and spirit from God. 

Nevertheless, God is still love; and He still loves us. And so He paid the full penalty of our sin on the cross. Jesus Christ took our sin upon Himself and died for us. Now, by faith in Him, we can be reconciled to the heavenly Father by grace. And by grace we can partake and grow in the divine nature, being made perfect and holy, having our sin taken away from us.

Tolerance or Repentance?

Jesus Christ is popularly portrayed as a preacher of tolerance and acceptance; but in reality, that is not what He was. In reality, Jesus Christ came into our world and preached repentance and reconciliation with God. That means the cessation of sin. Jesus said "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand" (Matthew 4:17). He said that if we do not repent, we will perish for our sin (Luke 13:1-5).

After miraculously healing a certain man, Jesus told him "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (John 5:14). After showing mercy to the adulterous woman, He said to her "go and sin no more" (John 8:11). It is true that Jesus did seek out, and come into contact with sinners; but only for the purpose of teaching them about the heavenly Father and His righteous love that invites them to turn away from their sin and be reconciled to Him. The thing is, those people knew that they were sinners; and they knew that Jesus was a teacher of repentance and reconciliation with God. And they wanted to listen to Him and do just that - repent and be reconciled with God.

The message that Jesus brought to us is not "I accept you and you don't need to change". His message is "You're invited to the kingdom, but your sin can't come". Jesus called Himself the door through which to enter the kingdom of everlasting life (John 10:9-10). His message is that we must check our sin at the door. We can come to Him as we are, but only for the purpose of having our fallen, sinful nature taken away from us, so that we can be reconciled with the heavenly Father. There is no sin allowed in the kingdom of God. 

The purpose of God's forgiveness is to make reconciliation with Him possible (Psalm 130:4). Jesus paid for our sin on the cross; not so that we could keep sinning, but so that we can turn away from our sin and be reconciled with Him. Becoming a Christian means that we are entering through Jesus Christ, into the kingdom of God. Our Christian life in this world is the process of going through the Door, which is the Person of Jesus Christ. And that process entails a departure from sin.

We must leave our sin nailed to the cross. The further we go into Christ - the deeper our relationship with Him grows - the less sinful and more righteous we will become. And when we stand before Him, in Paradise, we will have been perfected. Jesus did not preach tolerance at all. He preached a message of repentance and reconciliation with God.

The Beauty of the Psalms

A favorite portion of the Scriptures, the book of Psalms is a collection of 150 sacred poems, (that is what a psalm is; psalm-definition-www.merriam-webster.com) written by David and others. One of the characteristics of these ancient Hebrew poems is the repetition of idea instead of the repetition of sound (rhyme). For example:

"Rejoice in the LORD, O you righteous!

For praise from the upright is beautiful.

Praise the LORD with the harp;

Make melody to Him with an instrument of ten strings.

Sing to Him a new song;

Play skillfully with a shout of joy

(Psalm 33:1-3).

Or:

"Now therefore, be wise, O kings;

Be instructed, you judges of the earth"

(Psalm 2:10).

While these psalms sometimes make references to literal events, which are recorded in the historical narrative portions of Scripture (i.e. Genesis-Esther and Matthew-Acts; see Psalm 136), the psalmists also made use of figurative language to paint evocative pictures of God's love, mercy, providence, protection, justice, sovereignty, splendor, majesty, power, eternal nature, and goodness; as well as humanity's complete dependence on Him for life, sustenance, forgiveness, salvation and everything.

Examples of figurative language can be found in Psalm 91 were the psalmist refers to God as a Fortress to describe His strength and power to protect those who trust in Him. In the same poem, the wicked one is referred to as a fowler (bird trapper) to describe those who seek to ensnare others, especially believers, in sin and trouble. Then God is described figuratively as having wings, bringing to mind God's ability to protect and deliver His people, like a mother eagle protecting her little ones. And His truth is described as being a shield and buckler against evil deceptions.

The psalmists employed poetry to express the overflow of their hearts to God in worship. They poured out in words and music their adoration for God, their sorrows in troublesome times, their joys, their petitions, thanksgivings, repentance, and righteous indignation toward wickedness in the world. At times, tucked in among the psalmists praises, pleas, and sorrows, the Holy Spirit gives prophetic glimpses of Christ's own experiences, sorrows, and pains in His earthly life and sacrificial death on the cross for our sin, as well as the glory that, before and forever after, Christ shares with the Father. 

The 22nd Psalm is a prime example of this. When Jesus was dying on the cross, He spoke to the heavenly Father, "with a loud voice, saying 'Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?' which is translated, 'My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?'" (Mark 15:34; also see Matthew 27:46). He was quoting Psalm 22:1.

He felt our estrangement from the Father as He bore our sin upon Himself; as He took our blame. As the poem continues, David described his own troubles with his enemies. And the double meaning - the parallel between David's sufferings and those of Christ becomes even more apparent. There comes a point in the psalm where it says, 

"For dogs have surrounded Me;

The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.

They pierced My hands and My feet;

I can count all My bones.

They look and stare at Me.

They divide my garments among them,

And for my clothing they cast lots

(Psalm 22:16-18).

Nowhere in the historical account of David's life (found in 1 Samuel 16 - 1 Kings 2:11, and 1 Chronicles 11-29) did anyone ever pierce the hands and feet of the shepherd-turned-king. Nor did anyone divide his garments among them or gamble for his clothes. But when Jesus the Messiah hung on the cross, His hands and feet were pieced, and the Roman soldiers did divide and gamble for His clothes (John 19:23-24; also see Matthew 27:35, Mark 15:24, and Luke 23-34). 

The psalmist, David, quotes the enemy as saying,

He trusted in the LORD, let Him rescue Him;

Let Him deliver Him, since He delights in Him

(Psalm 22:8).

Compare this to what Jesus' enemies were saying when He was being crucified (Matthew 27:39-44, Mark 15:29-32, Luke 23:35-39).

As a whole, the 22nd Psalm is comparable to Isaiah 53, where the prophet vividly and poetically foretells the rejection of the Messiah by His people, His suffering, death, and resurrection. From Psalm 22:19 through the rest of the poem, David looks forward to being delivered by God from his enemies, as he has prayed; and he expresses hope for the future, and praise to God his Savior. Like Isaiah 53:10-12, this passage also provides a prophetic view of Christ being delivered by the Father who has now raised Him from the dead. And it is a look forward to the salvation that Christ's death and resurrection makes available to all who trust in Christ. 

In the book of Psalms, the believer finds a treasure trove of poetry to which he or she can relate personally, through the conflicts - both triumphs and defeats - of life. In these poems we too can find expressions of our own joys, sorrows, hopes in the face of fear, prayers and praises. And in so doing, we can even share spiritually and emotionally in the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. 

We come to realize that our living Friend, Jesus Christ, has been through, and knows, and understands what we go through in this fallen, broken world. And we have hope, knowing that just as He was delivered by the Father from death, so we too will be saved; and we will share in His glory, His peace, His joy, and His everlasting life in Paradise (Luke 23:43).

The Lord is our reason to make melody; 

It is He who gives us breath to sing.

Without Him we would have nothing;

Had He not made us, we would have no voice,

Nor could we live,

Or even exist at all

Jesus Did Say Something About It

There is a certain deception floating around, which I have heard and read numerous times. The deception is that Jesus Christ never said anything to controvert homosexuality or gay marriage. But when Jesus discussed the sanctity of marriage, He clearly defined it as intended to be a union between a man and a woman. He said, "But from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female.' 'For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife'" (Mark 10:6-7). 

I've also heard numerous people defend the "alternative lifestyle" by saying that when the Bible was written, the word "homosexual" did not exist. True as that may be, the concept to which the word refers did exists. People have been having same-sex relations at least since the period when Sodom and Gomorrah were in existence, approximately four thousand years ago. Just because a particular word was not in existence at a particular time does not mean that the concept or practice did not exist under a different name or terminology.

And Christ's apostle, Paul, was clearly describing same-sex relations in his letter to the Roman church, where he identified that behavior as one of many crimes against Divinity; for which the judgement of God is going to be poured out upon the world. He wrote, "For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature. Likewise also the men, leaving the natural use of the woman, burned in their lust for one another, men with men committing what is shameful, and receiving in themselves the penalty of their error which was due" (Romans 1:26-27).

I've also heard of the claim that Adam and Eve were not the only humans that God created in the beginning; and that He may have created other couples that were not heterosexual. However this deception is exposed by the statement that I have already quoted from Jesus Christ, that "from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female', 'for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife'" (Mark 10:6-7). Here, Jesus acknowledges no other arrangement. 

There is no indication anywhere in the Scriptures that God created others than just Adam, Eve, and their posterity. "And Adam called his wife's name Eve, because she was the mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). All human beings are descended from Adam and Eve. "Where" one may ask "did the sons of Adam find wives then?" The answer is that they married the daughters of Adam. 

That may seem shocking, since, over two thousand years later, the Law of Moses banned incest. But in the pre-Flood era, the human genome would have had much fewer defects that could potentially become dominant in human offspring. In the pre-Fallen world, before sin, disease, and death entered the world, (Romans 5:12) there were no defects at all in the human genome. It is because of the increase of defects, caused by the brokenness of nature due to sin, (Romans 8:21-22) that anyone seeking a spouse must look beyond their close relatives. 

Now I think most if not all of us have heard the claim that homosexuals are born that way and can't help it. But whether or not that is true makes no difference. God's word lets us know that we are all born with a fallen, sinful nature which we have inherited from our first ancestors, Adam and Eve. Different people may have different weaknesses, but all moral/spiritual weaknesses stem from the same fallen, sinful nature. There is nothing whatsoever unique about homosexuality. It is a sin, and it is no better, and no worse, than idolatry, adultery, fornication, lying, or any other sin. 

All of us are fallen, our nature is broken. And it is true that we can't  help it. That is why we need to receive salvation by grace through faith in Jesus Christ who gave Himself on the cross for our sin; and who has risen from the dead to provide everlasting life to all who trust in Him. By His death and resurrection, Christ has made it possible for us to receive redemption, forgiveness of sin (Colossians 1:13-14). By faith in Him, we receive the Holy Spirit who then lives in us, and is helping us, making us become perfect in His righteousness. We can not be saved from our sin unless we trust in Him.

Allowance

What an irony it is that humanity's fallen spiritual state of sin causes people to cling to the idea that they are in control. It is because humans are fallen creatures that many are unwilling to acknowledge the sovereignty of God over their every day. They claim to be the masters of their own destiny, and they strive to make that a reality; but they are not, and they can't. The happiest day in anyone's life is the day that they realize that, accept it, and surrender to God - reconcile with Him through His Son, Jesus Christ (2 Corinthians 5:20, 1 Timothy 2:5). 

As the Audio Adrenaline song says: 

"This life you live is really not your own

So where He Goes you go, you know

He leads and you follow"

Whoever, wherever you are; you have nothing that you did not receive from your Maker. Every heartbeat, every breath is an allowance from our heavenly Father. Every every day that we wake up alive and able to get out of bed; every good and perfect gift is from God (James 1:17). And in His great mercy and patience He allows human beings to continue receiving that allowance, even when they use it to mock, ignore, reject, hate Him. But it is those who receive God's gifts with gratitude and submit to the sovereignty of the Creator and Owner of all life who will spend eternity in Paradise with Him.

And when we realize that God is sovereign, that He is in control, and we surrender to Him in Christ; we learn to trust in His power and His purposes. We learn that whatever happens, our God who is love, is in control. "And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose". So by faith in Him we can live without fear, and without frustration.

"What a Friend we have in Jesus

All our sin and griefs to bear

What a privilege to carry

Everything to God in prayer

Oh what peace we often forfeit

Oh what needless pain we bear

All because we do not carry

Everything to God in prayer"

Creation and Birth

An important point which I have only lightly touched on, or hinted at, in previous posts, is the difference between creation and birth. C.S. Lewis dealt with this subject in book four, chapter one of his book Mere Christianity. The title of that chapter is Making and Begetting. Adam and Eve were created; they were made. They were never born. They were not begotten. 

And it is more than interesting to note that all humanity was created in Adam and Eve. Led by the Holy Spirit, the author of the book of Hebrews explained that in some sense, whether genetically, spiritually, or both; Levi was present in his ancestor, Abraham, when he gave a tithe offering to Melchizedek, the mysterious high priest of the Most High God (Hebrews 7:1-5, Genesis 14:18-20). 

My point in bringing this up is that if Levi was present in his ancestor, Abraham, when he gave a tithe to Melchizedek, then every human being who ever has or ever will exist, was in the same sense present in Adam and Eve when they were in the Garden of Eden - and when they sinned. We who are physically living today were actually created in our ancestors, Adam and Eve, in the beginning - six thousand years ago. We were created by, and in the image of our holy God who is love (Genesis 1:26-27, 1 John 4:8). And in that sense, God is our Father. But we were not born, or begotten, in the image of God. 

In fact, since Adam and Eve were never actually born, but were created as mature, grown adults, there is a sense in which no human has been born until they are born of the Spirit; as Jesus said, "Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he can not see the kingdom of God...unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he can not enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:3-6). 

We were created in God's image from the beginning. But we were born by descent from Adam and Eve. We were born after sin entered the world by our first ancestors. That is why we are all born with a hereditary fallen, sinful nature; characterized by enmity against God. The only begotten Son of God, Jesus Christ, is begotten from eternity past. He has always been with the Father (John 1:1-5). And He came into the world, taking on human form, so that everyone who trusts in Him and welcomes Him may not only be forgiven of sin, but be born of God (John 1:10-14).

Kingdom Work In the Here and Now

"For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ" (Philippians 3:20).

Now then, we are ambassador's for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God. For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him" (2 Corinthians 5:20-21).

The other week I blogged about the futility of politics. Even the best human political system will fail to set human nature aright. Only Jesus Christ can set humanity aright. But I want to make it clear that this is not an apathetic stance to take. I do not believe in standing idly by while evil prevails. I simply reject politics as the answer to the problem. Politics is not the answer to the problem of fallen humanity's sin and depravity.

At best, even a seemingly good political movement can be nothing more than a temporary and cosmetic treatment for the real ongoing condition sin in human hearts as we draw ever closer to the necessary day of God's judgment. The Great Commission that Jesus Christ gave us, His followers, is the most important work with which we must be busy. That is the Kingdom work that we are assigned to do here and now in this world. 

"And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, 'All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Amen'" (Matthew 28:18-20).

Evangelism and discipleship: that's where it's at. Kingdom work is not about political campaigns. It's not about protest demonstrations on the steps of some capitol building or courthouse. Nor is it even about voting or legislating. Our King, Jesus Christ has commanded us to evangelize and disciple people in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. 

It is necessary for God, in due time, to pour out His righteous judgment on all the wicked who refuse to turn away from sin and be reconciled with Him. But in the meantime we must be about our Father's business. We must be doing the work of evangelizing the people of the earth; and like student-teachers, teaching them to be Christ's disciples. 

We are to be going around and telling people that they are sinners and that they need Jesus to save them from their sin. We must be teaching people, by word and example, to turn away from sin and turn toward Jesus Christ to practice holiness and righteousness through the power of the Holy Spirit.

This is the work of the Church; not the government of any worldly empire, nation, state, or city. This is the work of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ. This is our Father's business, about which we must be. This is the responsibility of every believer in His salvation by grace through faith in Him who died for our sin and rose victoriously over death.   

Why God is Superlatively Great

From the astronomical to the microscopic; all matter, all space, all time belongs to God. He is the Creator and Owner of every soul, and every spirit. God is the Lord and Judge of every thing, creature, every person that exists. He is the Absolute Decider of what is good. He is the Absolute Standard of goodness.

After revealing Himself to humanity through nature, and through the Old Testament prophets; the Creator of all things took on mortal human form and came personally into the world that He created (Hebrews 1:1-2). Jesus Christ is God in Person. He died on the cross for the sin of humanity, though He Himself has no sin. And He rose victoriously over death. 

By accomplishing these works, Jesus made redemption; forgiveness of sin, and eternal life, accessible to every human being who places their trust in Him, and follows Him. Anyone who wants to can personally know the Creator of the universe as their Friend, Savior, and Everlasting Father. 

Jesus said that the first and greatest commandment is "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind, and all your strength (Dueteronomy 6:5, Matthew 22:37-38). God is love in three Persons; Father, Son, and Holy Spirit (1 John 4:8). The reason that we as human beings even have a concept of love and of goodness is that we were created by, and in the image of God who is love (Genesis 1:26-27). 

Anyone who truly loves, as we were created to love, will love God who is love. And Jesus Christ is God in Person. Therefore anyone who truly loves will love Jesus Christ. "Let loving hearts enthrone Him". But as fallen human beings, all of us have sinned, and have not loved God who is love, and who created us in His image for the purpose of love. 

"But", Paul the apostle wrote, "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8). John the apostle wrote, "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins...We love Him because He first loved us" (1 John 4:10 & 19).

I stated that God is the Absolute Decider of what is good; the Absolute Standard by which goodness is measured. Some wicked people accuse God of being wicked because He judges sin. By accusing God of evil, these evil people manifest (show, reveal, demonstrate) their own evil, wicked, fallen nature. God is God. People are not. God is the One who decides what is right and what is wrong. He is the One who decides what is good and what is evil. 

Because He is good, He judges and condemns sin. But also, because He is good, God has provided salvation from sin through His Son, Jesus Christ. No one has to be condemned for their sin. As I stated before, anyone who wants to can be redeemed. All one has to do is trust in the salvation that is by grace through faith in Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1-2). Those who do, receive His Holy Spirit who is now begun to work in them to reform them, conforming them to holiness, to righteousness. 

Sin and the Remedy

Biblically, the word sin refers to a couple of things that are related to each other. For one thing, it refers to any specific act or attitude of disobedience against God. His commands are revealed to us in the Scriptures. Therefore, any specific act of disobedience against His revelation, in Scripture, is a sin. This includes idolatry, irreverence, theft, murder, adultery, lying, and envy (Exodus 20:1-17). And it also includes homosexuality, because contrary to what some falsely claim; the truth is that both the Old and New Testament, and Jesus Christ Himself, address the issue (Leviticus 18:22, Mark 10:6-8, Romans 1:24-27, 1 Corinthians 6:9-10). 

So, all specific acts/attitudes of disobedience against God are sins. The Greek word that is translated "sin" in the New Testament literally means "to miss the mark". In other words, it is a failure to meet God's standard of what is good. As the Scripture says; "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). No one can be good without God, because God Himself is the Absolute Decider of what is good. He sets and upholds the absolute standard. We can either obey, or disobey. It is evil to reject God's standard and substitute one's own. The problem is, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God". None of us meets God's standard of goodness. 

And so this is another thing to which the word "sin" refers. It refers to the human condition. It refers to the fallen nature of the human race. When sin entered the world through one man, and death came by sin, (Romans 5:12) it affected the whole nature of the human being. As a result, we are all born with a sinful nature, inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. Since that day in the Garden of Eden, humanity has been in a spiritual state of rebellion against God. Thus, every specific act of disobedience against God is symptomatic of the spiritual condition of the inward soul. This condition, this fallen nature, is referred to in Scripture as sin. Sin runs deeper than actions. Sin is a spiritual disease.

So all such things as faithlessness, kleptomania, malice, lust, gender confusion, every kind of sexual deviance, greed, inordinate anger, the state of being a sociopath or a compulsive liar; all tendencies and inclinations to disobey God, are sin (Matthew 5:21-30). The Bible says that "the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23). Jesus Christ came into the world and died in our place, for our sin. He didn't just die for specific acts of disobedience which we have committed. He died for our sinful condition.

Those who place their trust in Him are saved by His grace. And having been saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, we receive His Holy Spirit who works in us to reform our inward nature. This is a life long process. An individual may have a particular type of sin that is a point of weakness for them. The individual may struggle with that point of weakness throughout their life in this world. But each believer, when he or she stands before God at the end of his or her life in this physical world, will be perfected in accordance with His holiness through Christ (see Romans 5:1-2, Philippians 1:6, and 1 John 3:2). So, as we think of sin as a spiritual sickness, Jesus came with the remedy; the cure. This is why Christians like myself sometimes refer to Him as the Great Physician.

Life and Death (The Relative and the Absolute; and Mutual Exclusion)

Eleven Winters ago, I wrote a song that expresses what I had been thinking about during the course of the preceding Autumn months. That song is called "Till I Reach the Other Side". To explain what the song is about: at all times, through the duration of this life, I ought to be drawing nearer to God the Father, and the Son, in the Holy Spirit. I ought to be doing the kind of works that Christ did; works of love toward God first, and to other people second. And this means that I ought to be continually in the process of having all my fallen, sinful, human nature put to death; with all of its unrighteous, un-Christlike inclinations. So that's what the song is about.

And this death must take place in order for the new life, which is in Christ, to come to fruition. And in the Morning when I arise as a new creature in the presence of my Savior who died for me, and in whom I have been put to death, then I will share also in His eternal life. And every day is a step in that procession. Each time that I look to Christ in worship, and set aside the old nature to practice the new nature; the old nature dies a little more. And the new nature becomes a little more alive. I become a little more like Jesus.

In the beginning of chapter eight, book four of Mere Christianity, C.S. Lewis tells us that this is the entirety of what Christianity is all about. He goes on to accurately paraphrases Christ as saying "I have not come to torment your natural self, but to kill it...I will give you a new self instead. In fact, I will give you Myself: my own will shall become yours". He wrote, "[Jesus] never talked vague, idealistic gas. When He said 'Be perfect,' He meant it. He meant that we must go in for the full treatment".

In chapter nine, book four of Mere Christianity; Lewis goes on to say that "Some people seem to think this means 'Unless you are perfect, I will not help you'; and as we can not be perfect, then, if He meant that, our position is hopeless...I think He meant 'The only help I will give is help to become perfect. You may want something less: but I will give you nothing less...Make no mistake' He says, 'if you let Me, I will make you perfect. The moment you put yourself in My hands, that is what you are in for. Nothing less, or other, than that'". The last sentence of chapter reads, "The process will be long and in parts very painful, but that is what we are in for. Nothing less. He meant what He said". 

And in the first paragraph of chapter ten, book four, Lewis writes, "The change will not be complete in this life, for death is an important part of the treatment. How far the change will have gone before death in any particular Christian is uncertain. 

Now, since the time that I wrote "Till I Reach the Other Side", I have often considered that that song was perhaps the most personal song I'd ever written. I wrote it as a prayer because of my awareness of my own shortcomings. 

And in the last eleven years, there have been times when I have turned around and fed the old nature, which is of the flesh; instead of the new nature, which is of the Spirit. And the result of that has always been trouble and misery. And in my spirit I have felt, at times, as though I might as well be dead. To be alive to sin is to be dead to God; and vice versa.

And so I image, in my mind, a great Curtain hanging down and separating two Expanses. The Expanse on the left is the "life" that this world has to offer. It is the "life" of the old nature. And it corresponds to this mortal life in this fallen world. On the other side is the Life of the new nature, which is Christ. This Life corresponds to the World into which Christians are passing until they have entered it at the end of this "life" (Colossians 3:1-4). 

And the Curtain between them, is called "Death".  And so, in order to cross over from either side to the other would be a process of dying. When Jesus took on human form and was born in Israel, two thousand years ago, that must have been like a kind of death for Him, even though He remained sinless. 

He left behind the ineffable glory of His heavenly kingdom with the Father, to be born into a cold, fallen, broken world. He took upon Himself the whole human experience, which means He bore the same curse of sin that is upon all humanity, even though He never committed any sin, nor did He have any sin in Him. He
bore our griefs and sorrows, and He died on a Roman cross for the sin that we have in us (Isaiah 53). 

And for us to become alive to the new nature requires us to die to our old nature. "I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me" (Romans 2:20). We have to go through that Curtain.

So to be alive to God is to be dead to the world with its desires. And to be alive to the world with its desires is to be dead to God. Paul the apostle wrote:

 "But God forbid that I should boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, by whom the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world" (Galatians 6:14; NKJV). 

 I also like how it's worded in the Complete Jewish Bible (CJB). 

"But as for me, Heaven forbid that I should boast about anything except the execution-stake of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah! Through him, as far as I am concerned, the world has been put to death on the stake; and through him, as far as the world is concerned, I have been put to death on the stake".

Now no one can be living to God and sin both at the same time. The two lives; the "life" of the world with its desires, and the Life of God, are mutually exclusive. But here, relativity must give way to the Absolute. Here is the superiority of the Life of God. The Life of God is truer and better than the "life" of the world and its desires.

The "life" of the world with its desires is a false life. It is both fake and fleeting. It is a cheap imitation. Its reward is eternal damnation; eternal destruction, atrophy, ruin, and death! The Expanse on the left, the "life" of the world with its desires, is True Death. Those who partake of it grow in depravity and dehumanization.

The Expanse on the right; Life of God, is True Life. His reward is eternal grandeur, blessedness, joy, peace, love, and real, everlasting Life! Those who partake of Him grow in the perfection of who He is.

To understand this, it may be of help to remember that a word can be used in more than one way. For example, the word "light" can refer to a light-source, such as a flashlight, or even the moon. 

The moon is an indirect light-source. It reflects the sun's light onto the earth. That is the purpose for which it was created by God, on the fourth of the six literal days of Creation. And therefore, it can rightly be called a light.

But the same word, "light", can also be rightly used to refer to the waves/particles of light that  come from the light-source.

And it is the same thing with this word "death". It refers to the Curtain through which we Christians must pass to enter the Kingdom of eternal life. And the same word, "death" also refers to the process of going through the Curtain; a process that every Christian in this mortal world is in right now. 

And the same word, "death" also refers to the result of passing through the Curtain, except that if one were to pass from the Kingdom of eternal life, to this side, they would be approaching, and entering into real, absolute death. Whereas, one passing from this side to the other is going to be met on the other side with real, absolute, eternal life.

One might even be right to think that the Curtain itself is a  projection of this fallen, broken world on this side. If this world, on this side of the Curtain were not fallen, there would be no Curtain between this world and that Kingdom.

And now I am reminded of the curtain in the Temple at Jerusalem when Jesus was crucified. This curtain seperated the Holy Place from the Most Holy Place. And at the moment of Christ's sacrificial death, the curtain was turn in two.

The author of the letter to the Hebrews, in the New Testament, says that this literal event is also symbolic of the fact that Jesus, entering through the curtain of death, had opened the way for all of us who trust and follow Him to do the same, and enter the Kingdom of God.

And why does the Christian's death have a different result than the non-Christian's physical death? Because the one who remains alive to sin, when he passes through physical death, will be confronted by a holy, righteous, perfect God. That sinner then will be met with condemnation, and ruin.

The Christian, in this life, is going through a deep process of having the old sinful nature put to death, so that when we stand before God in His Kingdom, He will see the righteousness of His own So in us. And so He will meet us with His approval. As the author of Hebrews tells us, we can, therefore, approach Him with confidence in Christ.

Here are the lyrics to my song which I wrote eleven winters ago:

 "Till I Reach The Other Side"

In the evening when the sun goes down

And You look down on me, do You where a frown?

Did I do all the things You wanted me to do?

Or in my heart, did I fail to stay true blue?

'Cause I don't know which way to go

And then when I know

It's just a hard row to hoe

Let me be a tool in Your hand

And make me useful to Your plan

Fill me with Your Spirit Lord, and let me walk with You

Till I reach the other side

And in the autumn when the leaves are brown

And all the dead things are falling on the ground

Is my heart turning around

Death to Self, Life to God; truly found

'Cause I know well which way to go

But though I know

 It's just a hard row to hoe

Father, make me like Your Son

And let me not vainly run

Drive Your dagger deep into my heart and set me free

From the selfish part of me

EPIC GUITAR RIFF: RIGHT HERE

And in the Morning when I rise

Lord, deliver me from lies

Let Your word give light to my eyes, my eyes

And let me gaze into You big blue sky

Teach me, Lord

Which way to go

And when I've learned, help me to hoe the row

Jesus, fill me with Your love

With peace and joy from above

Drive Your dagger deep into my heart and set me free

From the sinful part of me

Let me be a tool in Your hand

And make me useful to Your plan

Fill me with Your Spirit Lord, and let me walk with You

Till I reach the other

Till I reach the other

Till I reach the other side

The Dehumanizing Power of Sin

In chapters five - seven of his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass wrote about the time he became the slave of Mr. and Mrs. Auld of Baltimore, Md. When he first came to that house, Sophia Auld was a very kind and tenderhearted woman. Douglass wrote that she treated him "as she supposed one human being ought to treat another".

He describes her in chapter five as having a "face beaming with kindly emotion". She began to teach Douglass to read and write. Over time, however, Douglass describes how slave-holding proved to have a dehumanizing effect on her. She became even more cruel than her husband. So Douglass showed how slavery not only dehumanizes those kept as slaves, but also slave-holders.

My reason for bring this up is that it is an illustration not only of the dehumanizing effects of slavery, but the dehumanizing effect of all sin. This is why the villain in C.S. Lewis' Perelandra is referred to as "the un-man". This is also consistent with the words of Jesus: "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin...Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36).

Humanity was originally created by, and in the image of our holy, righteous God who is love. This is why we, as human beings, even have a concept of love. But then humanity fell into sin and became corrupt. All of us are born with a fallen, corrupted, sinful nature; inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. And so sin and death came into the world though one man (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

But sin would quickly prove to strip humanity of more than just immortality. Within only one generation, the first son, Cain, murdered his brother, Abel. But it didn't stop there. As the inhabitants of the earth grew in number, they also grew in wickedness. Turning away from the heavenly Father who lovingly created us in His own image, the people of the earth made their own gods in their own fallen image. And so they made idols in the image of created things rather than worship and love and obey God who is love, and who created all the universe (Romans 1:18-24).

For approximately one and a half thousand years, human nature did not change. The earth was filled with idolatry, violence, and every kind of evil. But one man, Noah, along with his family, was saved by grace (Genesis 6:1-8). At that time God justly sent a Flood to cover the whole earth. Many of the geological features that are observed today were formed by that Flood. But He warned Noah to build a 500 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, 45 ft. high Ark to preserve himself and his family, along with two of every "kind" (not species) of animal.

~~~~

A species is a sub-set of the original created "kinds". There is diversity within the created kinds; but, as suggested by the findings of Reginald Punnett, one kind can never give rise to a completely new kind. The feline kind can never give rise to a bird kind, and the canine kind can never give rise to a reptilian kind; and so forth. And as I have already noted in this post, the human kind was created uniquely in the image of God. 

~~~~

So Noah did as God commanded him. And the rain fell for forty days, and all the fountains of the deep were broken open. The waters covered the earth for about a year and then receded. Noah and his wife; his three sons and their wives, came off the Ark and started life over again.

In time, (within approximately half a thousand years) humanity increased again in number, and quickly turned away from the one true God to worship man-made idols. And disobeying a simple command to spread out and populate all the earth, they decided to build a great Tower that was supposed to reach into the heavens. So God confounded their language and scattered them (Genesis 11:1-9).

But human nature did not changed. The Sumerians and the Egyptians; the Incas and the Mayans, built their idolatrous, pagan kingdoms. And God spoke to Abraham the Chaldean. He gave Abraham a son, Isaac, through whom the nation of Israel was born by the will of God. Israel, like the rest of fallen humanity repeatedly showed a propensity toward disobeying God. And like the gentile nations, they even committed idolatry, ritualistic prostitution, and human sacrifices.

And approximately two thousand years after the Tower of Babel, the Creator of all things came into the world as a human being, taking on human form, though without sin. He lived a life that demonstrated His perfect love for His creation. But His own creation rejected, persecuted, arrested, and crucified Him (John 1:1-14). This is the natural expression of fallen humanity's vile depravity, because sin is enmity with God (Romans 8:7).

And in the last two thousand years since then, human nature still has not changed. Wars, violence, and theft go on and on and on in every generation. Meanwhile students are taught that the natural universe, which operates according to orderly laws, was not made by an orderly Creator and sovereign Lawgiver, but arose accidentally from random, unguided processes. That is not a rational worldview. That's just the madness of fallen, corrupt, sinful humans.

Divorce, adultery, and promiscuity are prevalent. Families are turbulent and broken. And many people grow up angry, rebellious, without godly council, and full of angst. Truth and virtue become objects of ridicule. Greed, lust, pride, and self indulgence are major motivators of a humanity that is sick and dying of its own wickedness.

And though many people know that these things are wrong, they still do not turn to be reconciled with the one true God who created all things; and who revealed Himself to humanity through His prophets and His Son, Jesus Christ. God's word is widely mocked and ridiculed; and disobeyed by everyone. No one is without sin (Romans 3:23).

Those who desire to live godly in Christ are also despised and mocked; even executed in many parts of the world. And that blood-shed will probably eventually spread to the West as well. Infanticide is widely defended and proudly advocated in the name of "women's rights"! Human life is devalued and discarded in the name of "human rights"!

And marriage is desecrated in the name of "equality"; even though Jesus Himself, when asked a question about marriage, said "But from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female'" (Mark 10:6). And even many of those who claim to be in Christ are willing to distort His word to accommodate sin. Yes, even in the Church there are those who, in many ways, outright defy what is good and right in the sight of God.

But through all of this, God's nature has never changed. He remains our holy, just, and righteous God. And He will rightfully pour out His righteous judgment on the unrepentant, who reject the absolute truth of His word and cling to their own filth.

But He also remains God who is love. And there is no limit to the mercy and grace that He will continually display toward those who, in reverent faith, turn to Him for forgiveness. He has made salvation available to all who are willing to be saved by His grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ alone, who died on the cross for our sin (Romans 3:23-24, 5:1-2, & 6:23).

God's purpose was fulfilled despite (even by way of) humanity's obstinacy. As God revealed to the prophet Daniel about five hundred years beforehand: "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself" (Daniel 9:26). It was for our sin that Jesus died.

And at the time it seemed to everyone that He had accomplished nothing. But He was accomplishing a salvation that nobody else's efforts ever could. He who had no sin, took our sin upon Himself; so that those who trust in Him, having no righteousness of our own, may take His righteousness upon ourselves. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

But for those who reject this salvation, THERE IS. NO. OTHER. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5; also see Hebrews 2:2-4, & 10:26-27).

Of Pharisees and Physicists Part Two

At the beginning of last month I wrote about the Pharisees (teachers of the Law of Moses) who rejected Jesus; the Messiah that was predicted, foreshadowed, and prefigured in the writings of Moses, under the direction of the Holy Spirit. And I wrote about the teachers of the laws of nature who, in these modern times, reject Jesus through whom all things were created. He is the Author of the laws of nature. 

So I showed the similarity between the two sets of law-teachers. Both groups have missed the point of the laws which they have studies. And therefore both groups have rejected God who made the laws which they have taught. Now I want to continue with that observation. 

Jesus once indicted the Pharisees of those days by comparing them to "children sitting in the market place and calling to one another, saying:

'We played the flute for you,

And you did not dance;

We mourned to you,

And you did not weep.'

For John the Baptist came neither eating bread nor drinking wine, and you say, 'He has a demon'. The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!'" (Luke 7:32-34).

This same illustration is applicable and relevant to the discussion of today's "teachers of the law". I say this because when we tell of the amazing miracles that where performed by Jesus Christ, and all the other miracles described in the Bible, as well as God's ability to perform miracles at any time and place He chooses; the naturalistic teachers of the law will scoff and ridicule these claims. They will say that the universe operates according to orderly sets of laws. 

When we tell the truth that God Himself instituted the laws of nature which He created and owns, and that He carries out most of His work through the laws which He has instituted over nature; they will scoff and ridicule this. They will call it "an argument from silence" for a "God of the gaps". But as Dr. Georgia Purdom of Answers in Genesis has recently pointed out in her blog, "we do not use God to fill in the gaps because there are no gaps". And there is no silence (Psalm 19:1-4). There is only God and His creation, which He made and owns.

It is simple. God instituted the laws of nature, they are His laws. And He also reserves the right to command the natural universe, which He created and owns, to behave differently at specific points in time and space. When He does, we call the result a miracle. 

But now, whether God works by way of miracles, or if He works by way of the ordinary laws of nature which He instituted; the wicked, corrupt self-deceivers will reject Him either way. If they ever did see a miracle happen before their very eyes, they would say "There must be some scientific explanation for this".

They ignore the truth that if all the universe is entirely the result of random, unguided processes, then our their brains are also the product of random, unguided process. In that case all their thoughts are the accidental products of random, unguided processes. 

And in that case they have no reason to believe that any of their thoughts are valid observations of the universe in which they accidentally exist. And that undermines their supposed observation that the universe is a result of random, unguided processes. In short, their naturalistic worldview undermines itself.

Science - the orderly, systematic study of the natural universe is possible because the orderly, sovereign Creator of the universe made nature to operate according to orderly sets of laws. And He also created our minds to be able to function in an orderly way that allows us to think and make valid observations.

Jesus said to the Pharisees who denied Him, "You search the Scriptures, for in them you think that you have eternal life; and these are they which testify of Me" (John 5:39). His modern enemies claim to believe in the laws of nature. But the laws of nature point to the orderly, sovereign God who created nature to operate according to orderly laws. 

So the problem is not a lack of evidence. It is only the hardness of a fallen, corrupt, sinful heart that blinds anyone to the truth. These teachers of the law, in their heart of hearts, do not love God who is love (1 John 4:8), and who created humanity in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of love (Matthew 22:37-40). They demonstrate their fallen nature in that they do not love God who is love.

Tongue Bad

If you have never read it, you should read Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass: An American Slave. It is a very good autobiography, eloquently written (unlike the intentionally silly title of this post). In the course of telling his story, Fredrick Douglass wrote about the various masters that he had before he escaped to freedom. And he told about an overseer named Mr. Severe. It was Mr. Severe whom Douglass described in this way:

"Mr. Severe was rightly named: he was a cruel man... He seemed to take pleasure in manifesting his fiendish barbarity. Added to his cruelty, he was a profane swearer... Scarce a sentence escaped him but that was commenced or concluded by some horrid oath. His presence made it both the field of blood and of blasphemy... and he died as he lived, uttering, with his dying groans, bitter curses and horrid oaths".

What an epitaph! How would you like to have that engraved on your tombstone? "Here lies a cruel and blasphemous man. He died cursing God". 

The Bible has a lot to say about the words that come out of our mouths. James, a half-brother of Jesus, called the tongue "a world of iniquity". He pointed out how with the same tongue that people use to praise God, they often also curse their fellow humans who are created in God's image (read James 3:1-12). 

King Solomon tells us that "Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and those who love it will eat it's fruit" (Proverbs 18: 21). Like Mr. Severe's bloody cow-skin whip and hickory stick, so the tongue can become a cruel devise to lash out and wound people. And if anyone blasphemes God, that person wounds their own soul; which is not really their own, because every soul belongs to God who created it.

Jesus Himself said, "A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good; an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart brings forth evil. For out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks" (Luke 6:45). But this truth leaves no one unscathed, because all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Jesus confirms this when He calls everyone evil (Luke 11:13, Luke 18:19, John 7:7). 

And when we sin in any way at all, we demonstrate a lack of love toward our heavenly Father who is love, and who created us in His perfect image before the Fall. And so when we speak any kind of wickedness; whether cruel insults, hurtful gossip, deceitful lies, foul obscenities, or irreverent blasphemies, we speak against our holy God who is love. And it is a reflection of the condition of our hearts. 

When God sent the prophet Nathan to confront David about his sin, Nathan spoke by the Holy Spirit and said to David:

"Why have you despised the word of the LORD by doing what is evil in His eyes? You struck down Uriah the Hittite with the sword and took his wife to be your own. You killed him with the sword of the Ammonites. Now, therefore, the sword will never depart from your house, because you despised Me and took the wife of Uriah the Hittite to be your own" (2 Samuel 12:9-10; NIV, emphasis added).

So we learn from this passage of Scripture that all sin is a personal affront to our heavenly Father. And that of course includes any kind of sinful speech, because our words are a reflection of what is in our hearts. And one thing that David understood is that even though humans are fallen creatures, God desires righteousness to be in our inward being (Psalm 51:5-6).

David also prayed, saying, "Let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, oh LORD, my strength and my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). Only by the power of the Holy Spirit, can our inward being become truly right and good and pure in the eyes of the LORD. And as Jesus said "If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!" (Luke 11:13; NIV).

Thankfully for David, the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross paid retroactively for his sin, just as fully as it pays for the sins of all who trust in Jesus. And like Abraham before him, David looked forward to the arrival of God's salvation which came through Christ (John 8:56-58, Psalm 119:81). He even prophesied concerning the Crucifixion, a millennium before it happened (Psalm 22).

Now because of His sacrifice, and the gift of the Holy Spirit, those who trust in Jesus are no longer subject to that foul, lacerating, severe old man. Sin is no longer our master. We are free in Christ (John 8:31-36, Romans 6:6-23). And as we practice righteousness in Him, we grow in His likeness; the perfect image of God in which He originally created humanity (1 John 3:2-3). 

So we are admonished through the Holy Spirit to put away that dead, decomposing old man; and become the new man, created in harmony with God. Which, among other things, means to put away "corrupt speech", or "unwholesome talk" and use our mouths to praise our heavenly Father; and to bless, and build up others through the grace of God (Ephesians 4:21-32).