Why I’m glad Christianity is falsifiable

December 2, 2011

Maria 1 Corinthians, Colossians, Doctrine, Gospel, Hebrews , , 2 Comments

1 Cor 15: 17-19  And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you are still in your sins. Then those also who have fallen asleep in Christ are lost. If only for this life we have hope in Christ, we are of all people most to be pitied.

 

“What if they found the body of Jesus, how would that affect your faith?” I heard this question the other day.  The man queried knew his Bible and went immediately to Paul’s gospel explanation.  The short of it is that without a risen Christ, Christianity doesn’t exist.

Reflecting on the essence of Christianity made me wonder if the Jews at the time of Jesus really understood the concept of ‘eternal life’ with God and the need to be ‘saved’ from the wrath of God in order to have a forever LOVING relationship with God.

When I sample the many texts in the OT that talk about salvation, I am left with the impression that Jews under the Old Covenant were really talking about being saved or rescued from difficult or perilous circumstances (oppression, danger, illness or poverty).  Yes, there was a moral law (the ten basic Mosaic Laws handed down TWICE by God).  Yes, real guilt or ‘asham’ in Hebrew was acknowledged (hence the Temple guilt offering). Yes, David acknowledged that when he killed Uriah he sinned against God. But many infractions were more community-based. Some were the result of inadvertently hurting a neighbor or his property.  Other deficits came about in day-to-day life, such as  giving birth, completing one’s monthly cycle, or even due to work commitments (such as burial or mold detail).

Hebrew people seem to have judged sin to be serious mainly because it separated them from the community.  OT texts talk about being unclean and thus alienated from fellowship.  Uncleanness didn’t necessarily mean breaking a moral law.  But ritualistic purification/ cleansing sacrificial acts were called for, in order to sanction a return to full communion with the group.

My premise is that 1st century Jews hearing about the New News of God had to be indoctrinated and explicitly taught this new doctrine. To fully understand the seriousness of being under God’s wrath, one needed teaching different from that of the Pharisees and Scribes.

What an extravagant and marvelous solution to the problem of God’s wrath!  We’ve lost our amazement and awe in face of not only a restoration of fellowship with God, but the whole adoption process. The gift of a loving and eventual face-to-face union with a triune God (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) that will last forever?  How is that possible?

The author of Hebrews succinctly articulates this new Covenant in chapter 9, verse 15:  “Christ, the Messiah is the author of an entirely new and different covenant, so that all those who are called and offered it, may received the promised eternal inheritance. For a death has taken place; Jesus has died as a ransom to save us from sins committed under the first or old covenant….”

All the above would have stayed the fantastical imaginings of wistful dreamers had there had been a body.  But thanks be to God!  Jesus’ resurrection is vindication of the false charge of blasphemy.  Technically He was put to death for claiming that He was one and the same as God.  The fact that He didn’t stay dead, that He actually supernaturally rose and appeared to more than 500 of the brothers at the same time as well as to the major apostles is proof positive that He is God, just as He claimed.

Had there been a body, Judaism would have remained the only player.  People would have continued to do bad stuff both morally against God and His creation and technically against the community.  Animals would have continued to die to temporarily fix the problem. Precious little talk of eternal face-to-face fellowship with God as Father would have occurred.

Okay…I know, you’re thinking of how Psalm 16 ends…” in your presence is fullness of joy and at your right hand are pleasures evermore”.  I agree:  if you look for them, there are OT references to eternal life with God.  But I don’t think that doctrine was a clear and present hope.  From everything we read in gospels, temple worship was big business, all about power and money.  The only mystery was the High Priest’s once-a-year high-profile, but hidden, almost Wizard of Oz-like performance behind the veil.

This, dear friends, is what we would be left with IF the dead body of Jesus had been produced. We would be gentile worshippers of Yahweh at best, just as lost as non-worshippers, but perhaps comforted by the ritual.  After all, man is a religious animal.

So the next time you think about what it would take for you to lose your faith, be glad that Christianity is falsifiable in such a clear way.  And then rejoice that Christianity is TRUE.  Jesus, the God-man who walked on earth 2100 years ago, was for real.  He is just as real today.  And we must study our doctrine to know the glorious riches of this mystery: “Christ in you, the assurance of glory”

 

What about Adam?

June 13, 2011

Maria Faith, Genesis , , , , 5 Comments

The June 2011 issue of “Christianity Today” features a provocative report about the churn among Christians over whether Adam & Eve were historical individuals as portrayed in the Bible.  Francis Collins who currently is director of a Senate-approved agency (National Institutes of Health) considers himself Christian and favors theistic evolution.  As director of the Human Genome Project (completed in 2003) Collins and colleagues mapped out gene sequencing in humans.  Collins has concluded from this study, as reported in a book he recently co-authored (The Language of Science and Faith), that “Adam & Eve as the literal first couple and ancestors of all humans do not fit the evidence”.

This assumption is disturbing on two accounts: First of all, those who support the findings and support theistic evolution minimize the impact of their assertions.  Second and more fraught with potential harm, is the implication for much of Biblical Theology and directly the trustworthiness of the Bible.  I will address the second of these issues.

The author of the “Christianity Today” article, Richard Ostling, correctly articulates what is at stake:

–      Humans’ unique status as image bearers of God

–      The doctrine of original sin and the fall

–      The genealogy of Jesus in Luke 3

–      Jesus’ teaching that all of the Old Testament points to Him (Luke 24)

–      Paul’s teaching that links the historical Adam with redemption through Christ

This issue is different from the debate among evangelical Christians who argue Old Earth vs. Young Earth.  In that arena, it is clearer that there are at least two possible interpretations.  The Bible refers to days (yowm) spent in creating the world.  In Hebrew ‘yowm/Strongs H3117’ can mean 24 hours, a year or a long period of time.  So the creation account is open to discussion without raising the trustworthiness of the Bible as an issue.

But if there is not a literal and historical Adam, then here are the implications:

-God did NOT decide as a Trinitarian unit to make man in His image, male and female (Gen 1:27)

-God did NOT have a conversation with Adam in Gen 2:16-17

-Eve did NOT talk with Satan as serpent in Gen 3:1-5

-Eve did NOT sin in Gen 3:6

-No sudden guilt, shame and cover-up happened in Gen 3:7

-No face-to-face encounter between God and the first couple took place in Gen 3:8-9

-Adam & Eve did not try to pass the buck, playing the blame game in Gen 3:11-13

-Gospel Hope was not first preached in Gen 3:15

-No penalty for sin was announced in Gen 3:16-19, thereby explaining what is wrong with our world

Given the above, I spent a sleepless night this past weekend.  I had to contemplate what it would mean NOT to trust that every word of the Bible is sovereignly breathed out by God. For 12-15 hours, I floated in a nightmarish free-for-all.  In that land, Jesus is no longer my living Rock (Psalm 18:46), no longer my reliable/faithful/true shield and bulwark/defending fortress that protects me (Psalm 91:4)   If I can’t count on God’s word as true, there is no truth.

But wishing doesn’t make it so.

How do we determine that the Bible is reliable and trustworthy as it is written?  What about scientific discoveries that seem to point to other conclusions?  I have no scientific background, but I am a bit more equipped to reason philosophically.  And that is the approach I want briefly to try out.  It is not enough to just say, “The Bible claims to be the true word of God, so it must be so.” That is circular reasoning.  We are trying to prove why the Bible is trustworthy.

For the purposes of this discussion, I am starting with the pre-supposition that God exists. Here is how it goes from there:

For God to be God, He has to be supernatural.  He has to be all-powerful and all-knowing.  And from everything I have witnessed in life, He is also all-good. What is my evidence? : my life, the lives of Christian friends, the accounts of dead ‘saints’ and the historical events of Biblical characters.  In all of these, there is evidence of God working through ‘bad’ circumstances in lives to bring about amazing results.  Having established that He is supernaturally all-good, He also has to be completely truthful and dependable. For someone who is good cannot lie or be wishy-washy.

So, if a transcendent god with these qualities were to ordain that a document be written for the benefit of his creation, would it not follow that this document would be a reflection of his character?   In our everyday life, what we say and do springs from who we are. It is only logical that the same would pertain to this god.   It is therefore ‘reasonable’ ( in the true sense of the word, i.e. logical) to assume that the Bible reflects the character of God.  If God is trustworthy and faithful and true, then so is His Word.  At this point, we can then add what the Bible says about itself.  There are many verses, but here are two that come to mind:

–      Psalm 19: 7-9 gives many adjectives about God’s written word.  It is PERFECT, SURE, RIGHT, PURE, ENDURING, TRUE and RIGHTEOUS

–      Hebrews 4:12 says that God’s word is ALIVE, ACTIVE, EFFECTUAL and FULL OF POWER.

Finally, Jesus who is God, Himself validated the entire Old Testament when He explicitly taught some of the disciples who had been walking to Emmaus.  Over a meal, He showed them how the Pentateuch (includes Genesis) and the Prophets all pointed to Him. (Luke 24:27)

Thinking this through settles the issue for me.  God’s Word IS true and reliable and worth centering my life on.  What about the Human Genome Project?  I don’t know.  I will trust God to sort that out.  I don’t dismiss scientific inquiry. Neither do I default to submitting to science.  I don’t have to have all the answers to trust God, to rely on the Bible completely. I can take my concerns to God and lay them at His feet and trust that He will instruct me.  God is my lodestar.  That is the decision I have to make daily, hourly.

PS:   bereft of my bedrock for those few hours has had the sweet benefit of making me love the Bible all the more.  How precious are its words!  May we taste and see that He who is the Word is good.

When faith is feeble

February 21, 2011

Maria 1 Peter, Ephesians, Faith, Hebrews , , Leave a comment

It’s not your faith! And that is good news.  If it were, then you might have cause to worry.  For if faith were all up to you, it might not be enough for the job.  We live as though we are the ones who have to generate our faith.  We fret and deconstruct his words, when Jesus claims that all we need is a tiny bit of faith, no more than a miniscule mustard seed.

Here is why we don’t have to worry.  Who or what is the source of your faith?  Certainly not you.  You don’t have to muster up faith and hope that it is enough.  You didn’t have any to begin with.  If you or I have saving faith in any amount, it is because we have been given it.  Consider the following texts:

  • Ephesians 2: 8-9  For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.
  • Hebrews 12: 2 …let us “…fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith…”
  • And a long passage from 1 Peter 1:  …we are
    “protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last times. In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while,  if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,  so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at )the revelation of Jesus Christ;”

I read this passage the other day and was astonished by what God revealed after a 2nd glance.  At first I panicked, “I don’t think I can be truly protected by God, because my faith is weak”.  But then the Holy Spirit reminded me that I am not the source or creator or originator of my faith.  If I have any faith in God it is because it has been given to me.  And God says that whatever size his gift of faith is, it is enough.  The trials Peter refers to are not to make me look bad, but to prove TO ME, that this blessing of faith is not only adequate and reliable but sufficient as well for whatever life throws at me.

Now when we go back and look at all the texts which talk about faith, we see it in a different light:  ‘the righteous shall live by faith”.  Who is that verse talking about?   It is those who have been awakened from the dead (i.e. born again), thanks to God. Once they have been enabled to see, they then realize, and with eyes wide open, the choices of life and death before them. They gratefully accept the gift of both a clean slate and imputed righteousness as well as a storehouse of faith.  They can NOW live by this faith that God has put into them.  So it is the born again (aka the ‘righteous’), who live by faith: faith in God’s character, in his past actions and in his future promises.  They don’t look to their abilities, gifting and experience.

Now we we can surrender the lament that sounds ‘oh, so modest’, but is truly a sign of pride and unbelief, “Woe is me, for my lack of faith!”  If you are a believer, you have been given sufficient faith.  Step out, rely on God.  You won’t fall – and if you do, his strong arms are there to catch you.  Promise!  (God’s word cannot lie).   Encourage yourself with the truth that this gift of faith will not leak out.  You might feel weak, but you just have to realign your thoughts with God’s word and trust this faith. If it is from God, it is adequate.  It’s like manna for the day. Remind yourself that as a new creation, you have new resources to go with your new nature.  The faith is now a fact, if you are believer.  And it can never leave you!

Now what was it that you are afraid to do?  What have you let yourself off the hook about?  Repent and ‘drive on all the way’, as my Infantry father used to say.  With God’s faith residing in you, it’s all good.

 

“Your faith has saved you; go in peace”– or whose faith is it?

November 9, 2010

Maria Faith, Forgiveness, Luke Leave a comment

First some context : Here is the tail-end of Jesus’ remarks in Luke 7:50 to the Pharisee who invited him to dinner      Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little loves little.” Then Jesus said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.”  The other guests began to say among themselves, “Who is this who even forgives sins?” Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

I’ve been learning about what faith is and what it is not.  In the above story one could commend the woman for having faith.  After all, Jesus refers to it as HER faith.  Something she possesses.  But did she originate the faith?  Should she be praised for something that she stoked, nurtured and exercised in seeking out Jesus?

What would we think of a person who enters a marathon in a wheel chair and completes it entirely thanks to someone who pushed him?   Would we say, “Congratulations!  Your fast finish has qualified you to place!”

No, we would clearly see that his finishing the race was entirely due to this other person.

So it is with the faith of the ‘sinful’ woman.  This pistis (Greek) or faith was given to her by God.  That is what regeneration is, what being born again is all about.  It’s when God opens our eyes and ears and deposits faith in our soul.  Then we can see the need and feel the compelling desire to repent; then we can feel safe in approaching Jesus.

What is remarkable is that since WE ourselves don’t generate this faith, we don’t have to fear losing it.  It is a gift placed in us by God. Furthermore, He deposits the Holy Spirit in us, to assist our use of that gift.  If you have faith no bigger than a tiny seed, it is enough.  Imagine nuclear power and the miniscule fission process that spontaneously occurs.  But the outcome is huge.  So it is when God makes us alive, gives us faith and provides the Holy Spirit as a helper.

I’ve been meditating on Jesus’ prayer to His Father in John 17.  He commends the disciples as those whom the Father gave to him and men who obeyed God’s word.  We quickly think of Peter and his denial of Jesus and the brothers James & John who were concerned about their right-hand positions in the Kingdom and the fearful group in the boat faced with the threatening waves.  Do these actions qualify as obeying God’s word?   Of course not.   So what could Jesus mean?

I think Jesus is referring to the fact that the disciples retained their faith.  They continued to believe that Jesus was the Messiah, God’s son.  Their actions didn’t always comport with the behavior one would imagine of a proper disciple.  But in God’s book, they were men of faith and that is the grid through which He judges us.

But….it’s a rigged system!  We can’t possibly fail!  God gives us faith.  He gives us supernatural help, guaranteeing our success exercise of it.  Finally, He commends us for keeping this faith.  It’s a win-win situation!

There’s a verse in Jeremiah 31: 6b where God promises His people that, “…. your work will be rewarded……”    We have the best deal possible.  What God requires of us, we can’t possibly fail to do, because His constant resources, although invisible, are a guarantee that we will please Him.  On top of His approval, He will also reward us.

The supreme work we are to do for God is to believe Him, to exercise the faith with which He gifts us.  All else is subsumed underneath that raw trust.  We have to get the order correct.  Believe, rely on Him and do what He commands, trusting that He will enable us to please Him.  We can’t measure the outcome and determine if we have pleased Him, if we have exercised faith ENOUGH (whatever THAT means!).  But we can trust that what warms His heart and makes Him rejoice and beam as a proud Father is our toddler-like stabs at faith. Picture Him applauding us for walking in faith while our hands are being held by the Holy Spirit.  Selah!

Wedding Prayers Answered

June 29, 2010

Maria Ephesians, Philippians, Prayer , , 2 Comments

Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us…Eph 3:20

There He goes again – my Father in Heaven, doing abundantly more than I could have hoped for.  Lowering my sights,  I didn’t even ask or pray for certain things  to happen.

Just like the West Point graduation celebration in May, this wedding week was full of LOTS of situations over which I had no control….

**

  • My mother-in-law was hesitant about coming out from Seattle after I did a heavy gospel number on her in a 14-page letter.
  • If she DID come out, how would the wheel-chair service work for the 2 flights each way?
  • Beyond the normal summer traffic jams – extra congestion and highway delays were to be expected because of a sold-out annual Hampton Jazz Festival the same weekend.
  • How would Wes’ imported Bible-preaching pastor blend with the more formal AND female Episcopal associate priest who was co-officiating with him?
  • Tech challenges inherent in preparing and running a 10-minute rehearsal dinner video with photos and music faced us.
  • At the last moment I asked Mike, our older son Graham and Wes’ Uncle Steve to tell embarrassing and humorous anecdotes from Wes’ childhood as part of the program for the rehearsal dinner.
  • How would Chloe, our precious one-year old granddaughter, hold out during a long wedding evening?

**

How my heavenly Father provided…….

  • Mike’s mom DID fly out from Seattle and she and I got along well.  She even lightly teased me about word-usage in my ‘overly-salty’ attempt to explain that we are all wretches and need a savior.  Whew!  I NEVER even anticipated that we would even MENTION the letter.
  • Everyone arrived on time.
  • The airport wheelchair service for my mother-in-law was superb.  This was her first solo air journey as a widow!
  • Cousin Terry blessed me by doing ALL the admin work for the rehearsal dinner (typed place cards and sticky nametags).
  • A neighbor and a friend provided bedrooms for some of the groomsmen and their gals.
  • One of the groomsmen on the Friday, had to drive back UP to Washington DC to collect his girlfriend and then descend again to Newport News in time for the rehearsal at the church – he made it!
  • The 3 talks by Mike, Graham & Steve had me in stitches.  Graham really blessed me with anecdotes of the two of them as children.  I FELT like maybe I had actually been a good mom.  (I’ve been doubting THAT a lot as I see far more sanctified young moms raising their kids – like my daughter-in-law Shay).
  • The video and sound system worked perfectly.  The venue for the dinner was delightfully intimate.  The food and service were FAR better than I had imagined.
  • The sermon during the wedding was INCREDIBLY biblical and to the point, even explaining the godly concept of submission.  I was praying for soft hearts that would be open to the Gospel.  There were non-believers present and plenty of church-goers who don’t normally hear a true expounding of biblical principles.  Aaron Proffitt’s message was also personalized to Wes & Anne.
  • During the wedding, I thought Wes might faint. I could see him take deep breaths. He was nervous and probably had low blood sugar for lack of food.  With Anne on his left, I pictured God’s almighty and powerful hand undergirding Wes on his other side.  Aaron’s humorous comments were timely and got Wes to chuckle at just the right moments, also sustaining him.
  • The reception was incredibly fun – because Anne’s family and our family have various circles of friends in common, we caught up with lots of people we haven’t seen since our former days at both the church and my old school.
  • Chloe was a doll and did well.  Her other grandmother took her home toward the end of the evening so she could sleep.
  • I was able to talk with a cousin who is an Episcopal priest about the certainty and truth of scripture.  I now have a clearer picture of how to pray for her.
  • Cousin Terry who shared a hotel room with Mike’s mom was able to provide perspective for her aunt when she was being negative about the rehearsal dinner.
  • And miracle of miracles, my mother-in-law actually came to church with us on the Sunday, as did Mike’s brother.  I had not even planned on it, given the painful outcome of my blunt letter to her 3 weeks ago.  But God worked it out so that SHE brought it up.  The sermon was tailored to her and it was 40 minutes of solid biblical teaching and preaching on the sin of negativity.  She didn’t criticize a single aspect!
  • My husband and his brother seemed to get along better, too.  There has been a softening of my husband’s heart toward Steve and a move toward less argumentation between the two since their father died in early May.

This wedding experience has again reinforced the truth that we can count on God’s faithfulness and his word.  Paul reminds us in chapter 4 of his letter to the Philippian church,

The Lord is near. 6Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

I kept trusting God for each event or situation as it happened and He consistently came through.  May I REMEMBER the next time I’m tempted to be anxious about a circumstance or relationship.

How to hold firmly to our faith

June 22, 2010

Maria 1 Corinthians, 2 Peter, Faith, Gospel , , Leave a comment

Now brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 1 Cor 15: 1-2

How do we hold firmly to the Word?  Before we get there, let’s look at what happens when we don’t hold on. If we don’t actively retain a grip on truths in the Bible, it’s as though we never heard any of them.  They don’t do us any good!  How can that be?  Doesn’t everything we hear/read/learn affect us?

Realistically, we retain very little of what we hear. Think about your years at university, or sermons you have listened to.  What do you recall?  Hardly anything.  So if we want to retain some information, some truth, we have to do something with it.  This is what Paul means by holding on firmly.

I teach French and know that my students will truly only acquire a phrase if 3 things happen 1) they understand what I am saying  2) they are interested and 3) they hear it at least 75 times.

What is true about learning a foreign language is true for any content.  So how do we truly digest and ‘own’ what we hear? – By repeating it to ourselves over and over again in a meaningful way to us.  Teaching others and using the content in different but related contexts are also helpful.  In short, plain ‘ole’ messing around with the material is what is required.  I think of kneading bread.  How do you get bread to rise?  You put your hands in the goopy flour, salt, yeast and water mixture and work the 4 ingredients well – for about 10 minutes.  We have to do the same thing with meaningful input – work with the material.

Here is an example.  My license plate says ‘SOLA FID’. (In Virginia, we can use up to 7 letters/digits for a personalized plate.)  Those seven letters refer to one of the doctrines of reformed theology – sola fide.  Someone once asked me what my license plate meant and I stumbled all over myself.  I knew inside, sort of, but couldn’t articulate it.  You can bet that I have practiced my explanation many times now, so that I am ready:

Sola Fide means that we are justified by God and made right with him only through our faith in what Jesus has done on the cross. What did Jesus do?  He took on himself God’s entire wrath that was due us AND gave us all the benefits and credit of his perfectly-lived life.  His sinless life and righteous deeds count for us.  These two transactions come to us by a faith that we don’t produce – the faith is even a gift from God.  So God gets all the credit and glory and we get all the benefits!

So when Paul says that we are saved by the Gospel and that we have to hold on firmly to what we heard and received for it to be effective, I take that to mean that I have to remind myself daily, hourly of the truths of the Bible, the gospel promises.  Else I forget and they have no effect on me.  Peter warns his readers that if we don’t make every effort to develop qualities based on the promises God gives us, we will be like a man who looks in the mirror and then forgets what he looks like.

2  Peter 1: beginning with verse 2 – “Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord. 3His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. 4Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  5For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; 6and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; 7and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. 8For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.  10Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, 11and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  12So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 13I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, 14because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. 15And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

This then is what Paul means by holding firm to the Word, to the truth.  We don’t work at this in order to be justified, but we certainly work at it to continue to possess our inheritance, yet…..God’s grace is such that he won’t let us go.  Nonetheless, if I don’t remind myself continually, then my joy drains away and the world becomes more real.  And that is depressing.  So let us be active in rehearsing our faith.

Sola Fide – what exactly IS faith?

March 9, 2010

Maria Ephesians, Faith Leave a comment

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast. Ephesians 2:8-9

I’ve been listening to RC Sproul talk about what Sola Fide means.  I finally ‘got it’ – that FAITH is the instrument by which we are saved.  It’s this FAITH itself that is a gift of God.  I’m thinking that there must be two kinds of faith.  We all have natural faith that is borne out of experience.  I usually trust my car to start in the morning.  That sort of faith is an ‘expectation’ that is backed up by weeks of reliable service.  But faith to take God at His Word, trust that all our guilt has been shifted onto Christ, that His righteous deeds have been credited to our account, that kind of faith is nothing for which we have any experience.  So God GIVES that faith to us, by making us wake up to true reality (as He defines it).  We learn that the stakes are ENORMOUS and way beyond our ability to ‘decide for Christ’ or ‘live a life good enough to get into heaven’.

Without God opening our eyes, we will never understand or appreciate the gravity of the spiritual war roaring and swirling around us.  Yes, we can all see that He exists by looking at the world.  No one is off the hook for not knowing about God and His nature.  But more is at stake than just knowing that God is real.  The demons know that!  Our very eternal souls are at stake.  It’s Satan or God who is our Father and laying a claim to us.  Those whose names are written in God’s book before the universe was created receive this supernatural faith to believe.

This is actually very good news for those of us who might be inclined to fear that our faith is weak.  It might be weak, but Jesus assures us, that if it exists at all, it is sufficient.  Not the size or quantity of the faith, but the one who gives it and anchors it matters.  After all, a small bit of nuclear energy is sufficient to create a huge explosion.  Either we have received this supernatural faith or we haven’t.  What comforts me is that we don’t have to muster it ourselves.

Nonetheless, like raw talent or muscles one is born with, faith will grow stronger as it is used.  This is a life principle.  We feed our faith and gain ultimate true peace by growing in the knowledge of the Lord.  The more we know about God and his character, the more we trust what He says.

So go ahead and thank God for the gift of faith.  And exercise it!

Flimsy Faith

January 21, 2010

Maria Colossians, Reflections Leave a comment

Colossians 2: 11-12

In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead.

I stopped when I read this explanation by Paul.  Do I REALLY believe?   The word says that I am raised by means of my faith in God’s power.  How do I know I believe?  Maybe I’m just saying that I believe, but I really don’t?

Do you ever think like that?  I was helped this morning in considering these doubts, because they forced me to reason with myself.  My mind recalled a truth

  • Christ is the author of my faith (Hebrews 12:2) which means that HE initiated it.  It is not something I was born with.  Faith does not reside in me naturally.  It is a gift.  It is something planted in me.

So, if there is even a teeny bit of faith, faith exists.  If forced at sword’s point to admit whether or not I have faith….ONLY those 2 choices, would I really say I have NO faith?  Not if I’m honest. So the existence of even a mustard-seed-size faith (Luke 17:6) qualifies as faith.

The next truths that came to mind were

  • My faith does not have to be extensive to be effective.  The blind men cried out after Jesus, Son of David, Have Mercy on us (Matt 9:27).  Jesus must have given them an affirming glance to encourage the faith that they offered, for the Word continues, When he had gone indoors, the blind men came to him, and he asked them, “Do you believe that I am able to do this?”     “Yes, Lord,” they replied.  Then he touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you”; and their sight was restored. (verses 28,29)
  • God will encourage our faith as we exercise it.  Their first use of faith was when they spoke to Jesus.  He led them on to firmer, more expansive faith and rewarded them with the gift of sight.

So, do we have to do anything, besides USE our faith? Well, continuing with the agricultural theme of a mustard seed, we can use common sense and realize that seeds need the sun to make them grow.  My part in growing the faith God has planted in me is to seek out sunlight.  The more I dwell in the kingdom of light with my conscious thoughts, the more I encourage my little seedling of faith to grow into a huge robust tree of faith with branches strong enough to encourage others and myself.  The more I read and study to know Him, the more I desire and pray to love Him, the more I will trust what He says.

The bottom line for me this morning was the security I felt when I realized that I, Maria, am not the source of my faith.  Once God has given me His faith, it is Christ’s job to help me grow my faith.  Hebrews 12: 2 not only calls Christ the author of my faith, but the perfecter or finisher of my faith.

Be calm and rest, O my soul.  You are in good hands. You HAVE been raised with Christ.  Your citizenship is in heaven.  You have a good inheritance waiting you.  And no less than the son of God has taken responsibility to make sure my faith is strong enough to be effective.

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