Faith trumps all . . .

Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.― C.S. Lewis

Question: Dear Dr. Roane, will you please explain 1 Corinthians 1:25-27. I thought God expects us to use our intellect. Furthermore, it seems to me that any belief system must be logical, including Christianity.

Answer: First let us take a close look at the verses and then make some general observations with comments.

For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. Brothers, consider  the time of your calling: Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were powerful; not many were of noble birth.  But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.… 

I don't really think Paul is downplaying using our intellectual powers to ascertain truth; rather what he is saying is that Godly faith trumps man's opinion.

Smarts, let's face it― either we have them or we don't. Some get more than others, but each of us has to live with what we have. However, in the journey of life what we do with ours is more important than what we have. Many a smart man has made a dumb decision and suffered the consequences. So, what is better to have: a lot of intelligence or a lot of wisdom? I say that in general wisdom trumps smarts any day of the week.

It is for this reason that a brilliant atheist is called a fool (Psalm 14:1); whereas, the truly wise shall become like little children to enter the Kingdom of God (Matthew 18:3). The Quaker Elton Trueblood, a favorite philosopher of mine, once wrote that:

"Early in life I realized that shallow waters are often muddied by philosophers to make them look deep." (Or words to that effect.)

And, so it is with theology. Theology is not all that hard, once you believe, and stop trying to figure it out for yourself. Belief brings clarity. Inquisitive doubt brings confusion and contradictions. If God said it, then that should be enough for any of us.

The Virgin Birth? No problem ... if you believe. The Resurrection of Jesus? No problem, if you believe. Jesus walking on water? No problem ... if you believe. Now, that is not to say that you may not gain a greater understanding when you apply syllogistic logic, reason and native intelligence to such; however, to get beyond the muddied waters, you must first believe.

It is then no wonder that Christ would say,

"All things are possible to him that can believe (Mark 9:3)."

That goes for everything. All miracles, the creation, the endless universe, the Church triumphant ... everything! Therefore, Christ message to the Church of the 21st Century is:

"[That] the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel to Abraham beforehand, saying, “In you all the nations shall be blessed.” So then those who are of faith are blessed with believing Abraham (Galatians 3:8-9)."

Now, to the critic, I realize that the Galatians text is within the context of comparing faith with the works of the Law, but nonetheless, this does not negate the overriding principle that faith is the key to understanding what is and the channel for all spiritual blessings.

So it is with much in life. Electricity? I don't understand it; but I do believe it is there because I see the results. The Holy Spirit? I don't fully understand that either, but I do believe that His presence is real because I see the results. The choice is ours. Either we believe, or we do not. Either we trust, or we do not. The choice is ours. The consequences, however, can be dangerous if we fail to obey what we know in all likelihood to be true.

Such truth is not the end results of some syllogistic argument; nor the end-game of a highly constructed debate― thank God! Otherwise, most of us would be left behind. No, truth rest in one person― Jesus Christ; therefore, my prayer is:

Oh, that I may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own . . . that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead. (Philippians 3:8-9)

This I say, because in all circumstances faith trumps intellectual prowess every time.

Now, I am as always yours in the Bonds of Calvary!

JimR_/

Unconditional Grace

Question: Dear Dr. Roane: What is the difference between actual grace and sanctifying grace?

Answer: Dear friend, that’s a good question. Here’s the short answer: The primary difference is one of purpose. God's sovereign grace is that all embracing grace that sustains all creation (Heb. 1:3). This we can say because everything that is, is a result of God’s grace. The word ‘grace’ comes from ‘charis’ a Greek work which means ‘gift.’ So, in a real sense the entire universe is a God given gift.

Actual grace is that grace which nudges or pushes us towards God usually through reason (Rom 2:14) and experience (1 John 5:10); however, the grace that sanctifies to justify us before God is only activated when we by faith accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior  (Gal 3:26) at which time “Our spirit bears witness with His Spirit that we are children of God (Rom 8:16)”.

The Bible teaches that in the spiritual realm it is God’s grace from the beginning to the end that justifies, sanctifies, and ultimately saves us. As Paul explains in Philippians 2:13:

“For it is God who is producing in you both the desire and the ability to do what pleases him.”

This we call sanctifying grace—or, to use other terminology, the grace that shapes us into Christ image (Rom 8:28-29) and makes us ready for Heaven.

 Trust this helps,

JimR_/

God: does He know what will happen tomorrow?

Question:  Dear Dr. Roane, how does God know everything. Does He know what will happen tomorrow?

Answer: I think I basically answered this question a few newsletters back when I wrote on "middle knowledge" and Molinism. Here is a slightly different shorter version.

First of all, there are two questions here: One, "How does God know everything?" And, two, "Does He know what will happen tomorrow?"

An honest question deserves an honest reply: I simply do not know how God knows everything but He does. Some feel that He lives in the eternal now, and is able to see the end from the beginning. However, seeing and knowing are two different things. You may know something without seeing it. Concepts, and one's imagination work that way. It stands to reason that there is nothing to see before there is a there there—that is, before something happens. So, there must be some other way that God knows, without seeing. Could that be that He has perfect powers of predictability? An expert billiard players is about the closes that I can come to the concept. He sees the balls as they lay before him, and he can predict which holes they will go into when he hits the cue-ball in a certain way. So, it is with God. Since He created everything, including the ways they will interact with one another, then His predictability must be perfect. Thus, He knows everything, and knows what will happen tomorrow. How? The "how" is still a mystery. Since He is God, however, He must by definition have the ability to imagine with complete knowledge of the "resultant" end before it actually happens. Beyond that, it is best to lGeave the "how" up to Him.

Having said that, however, I must reiterate with Galileo Galilei (1564-1642):

"I do not feel obliged to believe that the same God who endowed us with sense, reason, and intellect had intended for us to forgo their use."

Reason, logical syllogisms, and all the philosophy in the world, however, will never substitute for a Divine encounter with His Majesty on High.

Trust this helps,

JimR_/

Christian: Can a sincere Christian be an outcast?

Question: Dear Reverend Roane, will you please explain Matthew 7:21-23? It’s the “Never Knew You,” part that frightens me.

Answer: First let’s look at the verse. There are a couple of premises that standout here; so, in order to make this clear let’s look at these verses carefully.
They read:

21 “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. 22 Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ 23 And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ ((NKJV)

First there is an exclusionary clause—that is, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven … This is then followed by an inclusionary clause—which is, “but he who does the will of My Father in heaven [will enter].” Then, finally a conditional clause which identifies those that will not enter—and, that is, those who “practice lawlessness.”

So, it is the lawless, not necessarily those who hold a particular nuance of theology—Catholic, Pentecostal, Evangelical or Charismatic; but those who practice lawlessness. So, those are the ones Jesus has in mind. Now, that is part of the answer, the other part lies in the words “never knew you.” Interestingly, the word knew here (translated from Aramaic an idiom of Hebrew, which no doubt Jesus was using) is also used in Genesis where the Bible says that “Adam knew his wife, Eve”—that is, had conjugal relations with her. They were intimately related.

So, all Christ is saying here, in brief, is that these lawless ones never committed themselves to Him as the Bride of Christ. Perhaps they had head knowledge, even really believed that He was the Son of God, but never really crossed that barrier of commitment to forsake all and follow Him. They wanted as it were a piece of the world, and a piece of Christ. It doesn’t work that way. There must be an intimately exclusive relationship. It’s all or nothing. We are the bride; He is the groom (John 3:29;Revelation 19:7).

This is what Jesus meant when he said, only those that do the will of My Father shall enter the kingdom of heaven (v. 21).

Some, however, use this verse as support for sacramental theology. Others say that only "belief" counts. Others say, "Why not both?" Others say, "Why not both, with exceptions made like Cornelius who was filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in tongues, prior to baptism?" When, however, you analyze the possibilities, belief is always an essential ingredient. No Christian should ever refuse to obey Christ clear commandments—to do so is to disobey.

Trust this helps,

 JimR_/

Humor: Does God have one?

Question:  Dear Dr. Roane, I hear some preachers say that God has a sense of humor, and that the Bible has many examples of that. What do you think?

Answer: Well, to be honest with you, right from the get go. I really don't think God has a sense of humor, nor do I see humor intentionally use in Scripture. There are some funny things that happened, but nothing that I can see that was intended as such.

Humor for the most part is relative and bound by cultural. Also, all humor that I can think of has a element of surprise; therefore, the question arises: Can anything surprise God? Also, something that is funny to an American may seem complete nonsense to, say for instance, a German or someone from China. One preacher I know found Jesus talking about a man swallowing a camel as the intentional use of humor to get a point across. To me this is just another example of an idiom used in everyday Middle Eastern culture, particularly during those days. 

So, no, I would say, they Bible is many things, but it is certainly not a book of humor. The Bible is far too serious and practical for that (Ephesians 5:4). There are places where God uses irony, sarcasm, absurdity, etc., to get his point across. But not humor for humor's sake. God has many characteristics, in my opinion, but a funny bone is not one of these.

Now, don't get me wrong. I love humor, and enjoy someone with a good sense of humor, but as far as I am concerned I don't find any use of it in the Bible. 

Let me go one step further. Jokesters in the pulpit are an annoyance, and irreverent in my opinion. The Sunday morning sermon should never become the comedy hour; however, it is in some cases. A good sermon may have a good joke in it, but it should be told to make a point and to relieve tension; however, telling a joke just to tell a joke and get people to laugh is out of place; and a joke, any joke, must have a clearly intended purpose. Comedy is something that comedians should get paid for, not preachers.

Having said all of this the pulpit is not the time to bring on the clowns, in my humble opinion.

Trust this helps, 

JimR_/

The Church: when did it begin?

Question:  Dear Dr. Roane, when did the Church begin? Some say at Pentecost; others when Jesus breathed on his disciples and said, "Receive the Spirit (John 20:22)"; still yet others who say that has always been around, albeit, under a different name.

Answer: Dear friend, thanks for the question. For me this is an easy one: The nascent Church began as we know it when Jesus called his first disciples (Matthew 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20; Luke 5:4-11; and John 1:29-2:2. There you will see that the establishing of the Church was a process as each was called; and in all aspects this has been true since the beginning of creation by the Lamb that was sacrificed from beginning of time itself (1 Peter 1:20).

Evidence the proof of this by reference to Revelation where the four and twenty elders are listed (c.f. Revelation 2:26-27, 5:10, 20:4; Matthew 19:28; Luke 22:30). And, The word "church" is an anglicized translation of the Greek word "ekklesia," which is defined as an assembly or a gathering of "called out ones." It is often thought of as a building or a denomination; however, strictly speaking it is neither of these; it is simply those members who are securely in the Body of Christ from all ages past and present (Ephesians 3:1-20).

One thing is for sure, it is "God's household, is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth (1 Timothy 3:15)."

Further, Ephesians 4: 11-13 teaches that Christ himself gave us:

. . . the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

So, from this we can rightly assume that the Church has roots, apostolic roots, prophets, evangelists, and pastors and teachers as well as tradition to guide us into all truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13).

The following verses should also be helpful:

(1 Corinthians 3:11—one foundation)

"For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ." 

(Matthew 16:18—The confession of Peter)

"I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades (realm of the dead) will not overpower it." (It will not cease with either the death of Peter, or for that matter Christ himself.)

(Ephesians 2:20— a foundational principle)

[The Church] having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the corner stone…". 

(1 Corinthians 3:9— We are God’s building)

"For we are God's fellow workers; you are God's field, God's building. "

(1 Peter 2:5 —we are spiritual stones, a spiritual house; a holy priesthood)

. . . you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 

(1 Corinthians 3:10 —a carefully constructed building)

"According to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But each man must be careful how he builds on it."

It is in this regard that I consider myself a restorationist rather than one of the many splinters of Protestantism.

 Trust this helps,

JimR_/

Hell: what's that all about?

Question:  Dear Dr. Roane, I struggle with the concept of Hell; how can a loving, merciful God send someone to a pit of fire to sizzle and burn for ever and ever without an end?

Answer: Well, that's a good question, and one we all wonder about. First of all, it should be said that any judiciary system must have consequences for breaking the law. A good and proper judiciary system is one that offers rehabilitation and remedial solutions. God, I would think, will do no less. So, we must consider on what basis our eternal destiny is decided.

Firstly, we should notice that according to the Bible: "He that knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is a sin (James 4:17)." And, further, that: “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.… (1 John 1:8-9).”

We also notice that we are judged on our sins, and our sins, alone. For: "The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father’s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son’s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself (Ezekiel 18:20)."

Thus, we are can therefore rest assured that God does not punish us for anyone else's sins—including Adam's, except to say that we do inherit the consequences of such sins. (As for instance with Adam, our mortality, and propensity for sin—but Adam’s sin does not send us to The Lake of Fire, only ours can do that.)

And, in line with that, we also read that:

[All] have sinned and fall short of the glory of God … (Romans 3:23; cf. Ecclesiastes 7:20)
In other words, all have sinned in one way or the other.

Further, we read that Scripture says: And the “soul that sins shall die (Ezekiel 18:20).” So, that’s the penalty.

However, we also read that: Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered (Psalm 32:1; cf. John 3:16)”.

So, there is a way out. Even if sinners are punished in everlasting fire and are conscious throughout all eternity without end, God offers a solution.

Now, in regards to the sizzling and burning without end there are those who feel that no conscious human being could withstand that type of experience. To buttress that argument, they point out that the smoke of their torment (Revelation 14:11) ascends from the lake of fire for ever and ever refers not to the individuals existing for ever and ever (the ages of ages in the Greek) but that the smoke ascends for ever and ever, as a reminder, they say, of the awfulness of sin and God's judgment. Some who hold this position feel that the Lake of Fire is more like Purgatory (a place of cleansing); and others feel that the Lake of Fire is a place of total annihilation, which is elsewhere described as the second death in Scripture, which reads:

“The cowardly, the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the idolaters and all liars – their place will be in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8 )

The word "death" means just that "death!" they argue.  The truth is that there has been no real consensus on the doctrine, except to say that for the most part it is portrayed in the most Dantean manner as a place filled with bad popes, murderers, thieves, adulterers, and a whole array of unsavory devilish characters, including Satan himself.

The “official” doctrine of the Assemblies of God (the denomination to which I belong) is found in article 15 of the Statement of Fundamental Truths, which reads:

The Final Judgment
There will be a final judgment in which the wicked dead will be raised and judged according to their works. Whosoever is not found written in the Book of Life, together with the devil and his angels, the beast and the false prophet, will be consigned to the everlasting punishment in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.

• Matthew 25:46 [KJV/NIV]

• Mark 9:43-48 [KJV/NIV]

• Revelation 19:20 [KJV/NIV]

• Revelation 20:11-15 [KJV/NIV]

• Revelation 21:8 [KJV/NIV]

To conjecture beyond that is just simply that: conjecture. In any event it is a bad scene, and one that I would wish on no one. Fortunately, God will make that judgment.

Trust this helps, 

JimR_/