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A Response to a Good Friend

This is a deeply heartfelt response to a friend of mine who chooses to believe that being "good" and "doing the right thing" is enough to inherit eternal relationship with God, and that any faith, whether focused on Jesus or not, permits one to enter into that same relationship.

"Brother, these points are definitely interesting, but they leave much to be desired. My idea is that our existence, without God, is no existence at all. If God exists as a personal, loving and perfect God, which He must according to the concept of man being made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27), then He must desire a relationship with us. Does desire mean that God needs a relationship with us? Of course not. God is self-sustaining which means that God needs nothing to exist. This is best described in Exodus 3:14, 14God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’” I AM has the direct implication that “nothing was before Me and nothing is after Me because I not only sustain myself, but I exist infinitely”. If God is perfect and can see nothing but perfection, how is it that a human, being sinful and full of evil (Genesis 3), could relate to the perfection that is God​? Surely we could do nothing to please God. There are no amount of good deeds and/or good works that could bring us close to a perfect God that has no wrong and no evil. If God has a standard of perfection, how do we think that we as humans could attain that by trying to do good things on earth? For us to come into a relationship with God must mean that God had to bring us to Himself… reconciliation (John 12:32). A completely perfect being cannot make an imperfect decision. If God chose to redeem us, then that must be a perfect, and good, decision. And God, being perfect, must also be just and punish evil. For God cannot be perfect and accept evil.

I am also confused by when you say,”I cannot and will not allow myself the bounty of freedom and “grace” while I know people who are much better people and more deserving but will not accept this same ideal for whatever reason.”I am confused by this because you are still currently sitting in that position, Jesus or not. Your belief is that if people are following God in any way (religion), then they are going to be close to the Lord and inherit eternal life. But, what about those that do not believe in God? They are sitting in the exact same position, based on your presuppositions, as the person that does not receive Christ for whatever reason. I know some atheists that are much moral, better people than I am.

But Jesus isn’t about who is a better person. The dude was perfect; He was God. It isn’t about who on earth is better, it is about who knows that they aren’t as good as the God. Receiving Jesus is not about receiving a man, it is about receiving the God who decided to give himself up, coming down as a man, as a punishment for the dumb things that we do. We all do things that go against the perfection, as stated above, that is God. God’s character, as I know you believe, lacks sin. Sin (wrong doing that violates the objective moral standard of God) has no place in his presence, in his character, no where. How can we, being full of this, enter into his presence? God must have chosen to do that himself, and he did... through sending Christ, who is God Himself, to earth as a our intermediary. Jesus came so that he could relate to us better, so that we could see what it is truly like to be God, and so that he could call us His brothers, His children. http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=hebrews%202:5-18&version=NIV (this is Hebrews 2:5-18). Please read it and please focus on verses 14-18.

Jesus is only special because Jesus was God. If God exists and is all powerful, like we all believe, what on earth would stop him from taking a part of himself, making it man, and providing that man as a substitute for ourselves? That is what God did. That is how God is merciful. That is how we know God is faithful and how we know He loves us.

What we need to realize is that we have to take a step, just like with your belief. You believe that someone must believe in God to be in contact with God and therefore saved. I believe that someone must simply acknowledge that they are unworthy of being in the perfect presence of God, that they cannot work to get to God, and that they believe that God has provided a solution to that, a solution through himself, through Jesus the Christ who gave his life up and suffered the extreme punishment that we truly deserve."

The Problem with Worship Services

This is something that I have been burdened about for many years, and, after working several months on this, have finally finished part 1 of this text. It is controversial, but controversial with reason. Please, read and see the Scriptures for yourself. Jesus in Mark 12:38-44 gives us a picture which contrasts the flashy "religious practices" of the Scribes who claim to love, serve, and worship God with a widow who sacrificially gives everything that she has (the equivalent of between $.91 and $1.91). Jesus commends the widow and condemns the Scribes, even though it would seem to everyone at the time as if the Scribes were the ones whose lives were radically devoted to serving their God (read the passage, everyone besides Jesus believed this). As we begin to further understand what it is that God really desires from us, we will begin to see the blessing(s) of God in full force when others are confessing His name "in the thousands."

"The Problem with Worship Services"

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4RCh1zg35hoRjB0RndHX1JJTk0/edit

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Bible Teaching Outlines

Here are some Bible teaching outlines from Bible studies I have taught recently:

Colossians 4 "Open doors"

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4RCh1zg35hoZGY0ZTk5YzUtODdjYi00YWRiLWIyYWUtNDYwZDlkMjc2MjA0&hl=en_US

Philippians 4 "Content in All Circumstances"

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4RCh1zg35hoMzJlZmMwZGItMmFmYi00OWJmLWFiNWQtMDBjYzljOTUzZmZm&hl=en_US

Mark 5 "Faith"

https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0B4RCh1zg35hoOTJkMmFlNzAtZjMzYS00MTkxLTk3MjEtNGMwOTMwNmJiOWMz&hl=en_US

Mark 12 "True vs. Fake Devotion"

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4RCh1zg35hoekxST1g1czlGN2M/edit

"Evolution vs. Christianity: Where the Conflict Truly Lies"

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4RCh1zg35hoOGxPUnZmbEsyNTg/edit

2 Corinthians 1 "Divine Comfort and A Change of Plans"

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4RCh1zg35hoNnlrbGdvV1FMZEU/edit
                 - Chronology of Events Between 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians Outline
                                  - https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B4RCh1zg35hoTTZmSEJvQ0kyaDQ/edit

The Moral Argument for the Existence of God

This is one of the most influential philosophical arguments for the existence of God. As I have been reflecting on this argument, I have realized just how strong and logically airtight it really is. How an argument like this works is that if all of the premises are true, then the conclusion logically has to follow. What that means is that if we can provide evidence for Premise 1 being true and evidence for Premise 2 being true, then the conclusion will be true no matter what. But before actually going into this argument, there are a few things that need to be clarified:

1) When we talk about objective we are talking about something that is not influenced by personal feelings, opinions, interpretations, or prejudices but based on unbiased facts.

2) This argument does not deal with how one comes to know about morality or how one comes to act on moral values and duties but rather it focuses on the reality of objective moral values and duties. What is implied is not that those who don't believe in God have no ability to be moral. I know many who do not believe in God who have a far superior moral code than some who believe in God. Again, the question is not whether we can recognize objective moral values and duties without believing in God. (Craig) What we are dealing with here is that living as a naturalist (one who believes that the physical, natural, world is all that there is. Also referred to as atheism) gives absolutely no basis for objective moral values and duties.

3) When this argument refers to God it is talking about the universal definition of God; the Being perfect in power, wisdom, and goodness who is worshipped as creator and ruler of the universe (Webster's Dictionary)

So now that some shaky issues have been clarified, the argument is as follows:

Premise 1- If God does not exist, objective moral values and duties do not exist.

Premise 2- Objective Moral values and duties exist.

Conclusion- Therefore, God exists.

What is striking about this argument is that the Bible was the first to proclaim it even before guys like William Lane Craig laid out the argument logically (in terms of Philosophy).

¹⁴ Indeed, when [those that do not know God], who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. ¹⁵ They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them. (Emphasis added, New International Version)

Romans 2:14-15 (see above) clearly show us that "the law" (which simply means God's moral code and standard of perfection according to the definition of His character) is written on the consciences and hearts of human beings, even if they have never seen or read a Bible in their life.

Premise 1- Some of you might be asking yourselves right now why in the world would it be true that If God does not exist, then objective moral values and duties do not exist? One would ask this with good reason as it seems to just make an absurd claim right off the bat! But what is the alternative option to the existence of God? Naturalism. Under naturalism there is no place for the Spiritual or Supernatural, no place for the existence of God. What this presents us with is one option; that human beings were created in the very same way that plants and animals were created, from natural occurrences. Naturalism states that around 4 billion years ago, highly energetic chemistry produced a self-replicating model that eventually led to all life on planet Earth.

But naturalism poses one major problem to the idea of morality; if we are simply relatively advanced primates, how is it that we can claim objective moral values and duties exist? Who is to say that something is really right or wrong, good or evil? Under this assumption, we are simply natural beings (animals) living in a natural world that is controlled by natural phenomena. Now, let's think about this for a moment. When a lion kills a zebra, does it murder the zebra? Absolutely not! It would be absurd to say that! When an animal has forcible intercourse with another animal, is it raping that other animal? In no way! What is thus concluded is what human beings already concede to, animals are not moral agents. Our problem lies in that very statement, if we are simply animals then we are not moral agents and thus have absolutely no foundation to say that anything is truly right or wrong, good or evil. As an advanced animal, one can perceive something as right or wrong, but this gives us absolutely no basis to tell someone else that what they are doing is wrong, especially if they perceive what you told them is wrong as right!

Premise 2- This directly follows Premise 1. We all know internally that there are things that are wrong, things that are evil, things that are good. No one in their right mind would say that the priests who rape young boys are simply doing what natural law has inclined them to do thus not being evil. We know internally that this is an act of evil, that this is rape, and that this is objectively wrong. Most, if not all, will concede to premise 2 based on the way that they live their lives.

Conclusion- Since premise 1 and premise 2 and true, the conclusion that God exists logically and inescapably follows. It is internally inconsistent to live as if there is a God, but claim that there is not. The very idea that one can claim, through their actions and words, that objective morality exists yet deny the existence of God (based on this argument) absolutely betrays their very belief system. They are living as if there is a God but denying his very existence! What a contradiction!

It is reassuring to know that our God had this very thing in mind from the day that he created the universe. He preserved it in order that we, as intellectual beings, could discover it, process it and use it. God says in 1 Peter 3:15 that we should "always have a defense ready for the hope that you have in Christ." Well, here is one for our arsenal!

Note: This argument can be read about further in On Guard and Reasonable Faith by William Lane Craig. Much of this material is derived from his work.

1 Kings 8

The image of God that is relayed through scripture is a God who personally interacts with the people of this world and interjects in history repeatedly. This is something that we tend to forget more than any one other thing in our day to day lives. Talking to God seems to elude our thoughts. And surely asking God to guide our actions is impractical and inefficient. As Solomon spoke with the Lord and asked for wisdom and guidance, God gave it to him. In 1 Kings 8 Solomon recalls just how incredible it was to see the glory of God played out in his life even though he, and everyone else, sins against God daily. The personal interaction between Solomon and his God became something that Solomon felt he needed to share with the world; he needed to express to all people the opportunity that they have to enjoy the same personal interaction with the same gloriously gracious God.

1 Kings 8:46 reminds New Testament readers of Romans 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. . ." Solomon understood one of the basic theological tenets of God; not a single person gets away with claiming that they have not sinned. Solomon says that "there is no man who does not sin."

As the chapter continues, v. 47-50 reveal the second part of Romans 3:23 ". . .but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus." Solomon writes that when people sin, or do anything that is outside of the character of God (which is to say, perfection), they are taken away to the land of the enemy and held captive. The enemy in this case is everything that is the opposite of God and His character. They are held captive by their own flesh and sin, by others who are buying into a life separated from God and also by God's literal enemy: Satan. But Solomon does not stop there, he continues on to say that if those who have been placed in captivity, where every one of us is before coming to know the Lord, take thought of why they are in captivity and turn back to God and say "we need your help, we aren't perfect and could never do anything that would bring us even remotely close to being perfect like you" then God will forgive and restore them. Forgive them of what? Because God is perfect and we are not, we need to be restored to perfection to be able to relate to Him. Any imperfection is sin. For God to forgive us is for God to restore us. Solomon says that God will not only forgive their transgression, but he will also change their character to allow them to have compassion on those that are still in captivity and compassion on those who are leading others to captivity. This is the same way with us, we not only get the blessing of being forgiven and restored, we also get to be refined in such a way that makes us one step closer to living out our new identity; perfect persons.

Solomon, in verse 56 praises God (remember, this is a prayer) for being immutable and never failing to do what He has promised. Solomon understands that when God promises something, like that He will forgive those that incline their hearts towards Him, He holds to that. Directly after this in verse 58 Solomon shows us that it is impossible for us to incline our own hearts towards God. To incline our hearts towards God means to live out faith in God. In this prayer, He is asking God to help us incline our hearts towards Him; a confession that states that Solomon could not do it himself. This reminds us of Jeremiah 17:9 where it says "The heart is deceitful above all else . . .no man can heal the heart." It is God who heals the sick and darkened heart, not us. We are absolutely incapable of doing this on our own. This reminds us of the words of Paul, "You are saved by faith, not by works", and of John "To as many as received [Christ] He gave the right to become Children of God." It is God who saves us and

Many claim that the Old Testament is full of books that never show the gracious God who forgives through faith and not through works. 1 Kings 8 throws that theory out the window. The God of the Old Testament, the God of Solomon, is the same God that sent His only son to be the propitiation for our sin. We have it much easier than Solomon did, but God never changed His strategy. The law was put in place to show us how far we fall short of God's glory, not to show us what we must do to be a redeemed sinner. Solomon understood that and Jesus preached that.

To have a personal interaction with God means that we need to come before god with a broken and contrite heart that is willing to throw itself at His feet and ask for help. Our prayer should be that God will help us love Him better. Our prayer should be that God will help us continually come before Him with an attitude of dependence and not independence. Our prayer should be full of thankfulness that even though we were enemies of God, Christ died for us. Solomon knew that even though he and his people were enemies of God, they still needed God's compassion, mercy and love to supply them with the ability to love Him and turn back to Him.

Jesus Christ is the complete representation of God's compassion, love and mercy. Solomon saw these truths radiating from the throne, we see these truths beaten and hung on a cross.

He died so that those in captivity could be set free.