Reasoning and Relationship

I remember seeing a bumper sticker years ago that read, "God said it, I believe it, that settles it."  I imagine the reason behind the sentiment is to publicly convey belief in God and the truth of His word.  This is an honourable ideal to be sure, yet reality has complexity a sticker cannot express.  The more I consider the claim there are so many factors, qualifications and exceptions, this simplistic approach may be more an exception than the rule.  God has said many things I thought I believed, and the fact I was unsettled by situations of life demonstrated unbelief in all He said.  How many things has God said I read and later ignored or forgot?  Then there is the question of what exactly God has said or meant, for there are a range of different interpretations and beliefs held among genuine believers.

God created man with an individual will and a mind that can reason, and God invited sinners to reason with Him in Isaiah 1:18:  "Come now, and let us reason together," says the LORD, "though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool."  It is amazing to me God, who has all wisdom, knowledge and truth, would invite man to reason with Him.  It is an offer of relationship and a welcome exchange of words that may not be on offer with the owner of the aforementioned bumper sticker.  God has revealed His reasons for us to approach Him, for He has provided the Law of Moses that reveals our sin and need for atonement.  The new covenant of the Gospel has revealed how this cleansing is performed through faith in Jesus Christ.  When we repent of our sins and are born again our sins are washed away.  We would like to believe we have and follow impeccable logic, yet our reasoning leaves much to be desired because our opinions, feelings and self can stand in the way of walking in truth and love.

It is reasonable to come to God because He is our Creator who is righteous.  His laws agree with our conscience that we have sinned, and He is the only One able to provide forgiveness.  God has extended mercy and grace to us in reaching out to save us when we were lost in the dark and heading towards eternal ruin by sending His only begotten Son Jesus as our Saviour.  Jesus is the only Way, the Truth, and Life.  God knows what we need and is able to supply those needs through the Gospel.  Therefore it is altogether reasonable to reason with Him, and all scripture proclaims and affirms this as true.  It is also a reasonable conclusion because we have ourselves tasted and seen God is good, have experienced new life and forgiveness by faith in Christ, and can testify along with others of the reality of spiritual rebirth.

While God invites sinners to reason with Him, at the same time people with the ability to reason can become most unreasonable because their minds are already made up.  It is almost cringeworthy when a fellow believer prefaces the announcement of a decision or a stance with "I've prayed about it" when it signals the denial of any opportunity to reason or discuss together.  Because a binding decision has already been made, it can mean reason has left the room, and potentially blind faith--based upon feelings or a sense of peace--has effectively hijacked any robust conversation on the subject.  It is sad that despite knowing this, I can be the one with faulty logic who stands to be corrected or the ignorant one who must be enlightened.  God reasons with us because the faith of a Christian is based on real facts and observable realities, upon the person Jesus Christ Who died on the cross and rose from the dead.  To deny the opportunity to reason together because "God said it, I believe it, that settles it!" is a flimsy excuse from a biblical perspective.

Now God in His mercy and sovereignty has given all believers the freedom to choose to believe in Him and hold individual convictions.  God has made plenty of room for differences of opinion and convictions in the kingdom of heaven and the church.  It is the mind and love of Christ that unites us, and He is wisdom for us as we relate to God and one another.  Romans 12:16 says, "Be of the same mind toward one another. Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble. Do not be wise in your own opinion."  As Paul progressed through the letter he said in Romans 14:5:  "One person esteems one day above another; another esteems every day alike. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind."  One person believes a verse means one thing, and someone else can arrive at a different conclusion about what God has said, what to believe and can be convinced in their own mind.  When this is done on our own without reasoning with God or personally with members of the body of Christ, it is possible we can be settled in error rather than truth.

Since we value the relationship we share with God, we ought to give place to reason with one another, not to the end that we will change other people to see things our way, but to choose to unite in Jesus Christ who made us one through faith in Him.  This is how the body of Christ is edified and God is glorified, when we are humble in our own opinion.  What is true for pastoral ministry is fitting counsel for all believers in Titus 1:9:  "...holding fast the faithful word as he has been taught, that he may be able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and convict those who contradict."  By God's grace we can know the truth, walk in the truth, and exhort others to embrace sound doctrine.  God is able to open the eyes of the blind and raise the dead to life; God is the only One who can change minds and humble hearts.  What God says we ought to believe, and because God reasons with us we can be settled as we reason with one another to foster relationship.

The Accurate Guide

"So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, "Do you understand what you are reading?" ³¹ And he said, "How can I, unless someone guides me?" And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him."

Acts 8:30-31

Philip was led by the Holy Spirit to meet up with an Ethiopian eunuch and preached Christ from the book of Isaiah, a book of prophecy in the Old Testament.  What was true for the eunuch was true for Philip as well, for it was only by the Holy Spirit Who indwelt him that he was enabled to have understanding of God's word, ability to communicate the meaning of the scripture and for it to be fruitful.  People need help to understand God's word primarily from God, and He has chosen to use people to this end as well.  One need not be a pastor or teacher to understand God's word, and even the most learned believers have much to learn.

I believe there are many people who teach the Bible who have no business doing so, and great confusion and consternation have been results.  Much harm has been done through teaching false doctrines and distorted interpretations of scripture, focusing on what is controversial rather than what can be plainly seen and known.  It is wise to see the Bible as literally God's word, yet it takes discernment and skill to know when passages are literal or figurative.  A lot of Christians are familiar enough with the word to be dangerous, and what I mean by that is they believe they know it enough to paraphrase in their own words and not bother looking up passages any more.  They have read commentaries, books, watched a video series or taken a course which makes them think they know the truth and form convictions which undermine the very scripture they claim to believe and proclaim.

An example in the early church shows how easy it is for sincere believers to be wrong in Acts 18:24-26:  "Now a certain Jew named Apollos, born at Alexandria, an eloquent man and mighty in the Scriptures, came to Ephesus. ²⁵ This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spoke and taught accurately the things of the Lord, though he knew only the baptism of John. ²⁶ So he began to speak boldly in the synagogue. When Aquila and Priscilla heard him, they took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately."  Apollos was mighty in the scriptures, was instructed in the way of Jesus, and taught accurately the things of the LORD.  This sounds terrific, doesn't it?  Yet Apollos knew only the baptism of John which was a baptism of repentance.  Repentance of sin is a good thing, yet without the forgiveness, salvation and spiritual regeneration through the Gospel by faith in Christ the teaching of Apollos fell short.  It was a personal conversation with Aquila and Priscilla which aided Apollos to correct his course.

I remember in my teens I was questioned about what was a biblical thing to do given a situation.  I responded by quoting from the Law of Moses, that "an eye for an eye" was a righteous demand.  What I did not realise at the time was my aim to obey God's word literally was undermined by my setting aside of the new covenant of the Gospel to return to the Law Jesus fulfilled when it seemed warranted and fair.  I did not understand how the purpose of Law was revealed through the Gospel, for Paul compared it to a tutor who showed us our sinfulness who led us by the hand to Christ our Saviour.  Just this morning I read Psalm 129 and the latter portion of it is basically a curse upon those who afflicted God's people--which under the new covenant a song that is terribly off-key when compared to the Gospel.  Thus understanding context helps us to walk in the light of the Gospel truth rather than fashioning a theologically monstrous Frankenstein by foolish attempts to combine the covenants of Law and Gospel as one.

Paul wrote in 2 Timothy 2:15, "Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."  Since the Bible can be rightly divided, it is possible to be unrighteously divided and thus misunderstood.  Along with Apollos I needed the LORD to pull me aside and open my eyes to the truth of God's grace and the Gospel so I could understand and walk in the way of God more accurately.  I used to see knowing and studying the scriptures as ends in themselves, yet the Bible is the means God has chosen to reveal Himself to us in truth.  Knowledge of God and His word are not primarily shown in our ability to rattle off verses by memory, but by loving one another as Jesus loves us.  Blessing our enemies and praying for them shows we know God and are learning to rightly divide the scripture more than demanding an eye for an eye based on biblical authority.

God Is Faithful

"God is faithful, by whom you were called into the fellowship of His Son, Jesus Christ our Lord."

1 Corinthians 1:9

Because God is awesome and infinite in goodness, it is easy for us to overlook His glorious attributes.  One characteristic that separates God from all else He has made is His faithfulness.  He is sure, steadfast and trustworthy at all times.  God is faithful to keep His word and to not withdraw His gracious offers of help, deliverance and salvation from us.  If God was not faithful, fellowship and relationship with God would be impossible.  People will risk everything for the chance to see their dreams come true, yet God's purposes and plans are better than our wildest fantasy.

An example of the blessing of God's faithfulness is seen later in this same letter Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 10:13:  "No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it."  With every temptation allowed by God (who knows our frame) He also makes the way of escape so we need not fall prey to Satan or return to the bondage of sin.  God is faithful to protect, provide and guide us through challenges which on our own have proved to insurmountable.  We are made more than overcomers through faith in Christ who loves us, for He is faithful.

God is love and wisdom for us and this is revealed in His faithfulness.  God is not like a person who wears many hats:  is a dad to his daughter, the Justice of the Peace when people seek a marriage license and barber when a shave and haircut is needed.  God's faithfulness, love and grace are all active aspects of His glorious character all at once.  We often need to stop doing one thing before we can concentrate fully on something else, but God operates from outside the confines of humanity, time and space.  Because God is faithful we can count on Him always, and He is worthy to be trusted and relied upon.

Psalm 89:1-5 bursts forth with praise of God who is faithful:  "I will sing of the mercies of the LORD forever; with my mouth will I make known Your faithfulness to all generations. ² For I have said, "Mercy shall be built up forever; Your faithfulness You shall establish in the very heavens." ³ "I have made a covenant with My chosen, I have sworn to My servant David: ⁴ 'Your seed I will establish forever, and build up your throne to all generations.' " Selah ⁵ And the heavens will praise Your wonders, O LORD; Your faithfulness also in the assembly of the saints."  The faithful God has made a covenant with the blood of His own Son Jesus He will keep forever, and may we proclaim God's faithfulness by walking in His ways apart from sin.

Trust Without a Doubt

Last night our family read in Romans 14:1, "Receive one who is weak in the faith, but not to disputes over doubtful things."  While it is perfectly legitimate to have convictions or beliefs from one another, we should not welcome or incite disputes and arguments--especially about controversial subjects.  It is interesting how we can be moved to dispute over particulars but completely miss the heart of the matter.  The Pharisees did this when they were careful to religiously weigh out a tithe of each herb but neglected mercy, faith and the love of God.

I remember once delivering a sermon from Judges 11 about Jephthah, a mighty man of valour who is mentioned by name in the "hall of faith" in Hebrews 11.  I was met afterwards by someone who politely made it a point to say they did not agree with my interpretation of the passage.  He believed what some modern rabbis teach, that Jephthah did not do unto his daughter according to his vow.  My Bible in the margin classifies Jephthah's vow as "rash," though the passage says he did so filled with the Holy Spirit (Judges 11:29-31).  It would be a terrible tragedy to debate the rashness of Jephthah's vow and to miss his example of unwavering, costly faith in his glorious God.  It would be better for us to be people of our word before God and man than argue over a word.

At a conference years ago I heard pastor John MacArthur speak about an incident that occurred in seminary.  A point came for all students when they prepared and delivered a sermon to all the students with all the faculty present who would provide a critique.  MacArthur spoke how he poured himself into his studies, intent on impressing everyone with his mastery of the text.  There was one professor in particular he wanted to please.  He said while addressing the crowd he noticed his professor in the back of the auditorium shaking his head.  After collecting the responses of the staff, he opened the paper from his professor which simply said:  "You missed the whole point."  It was a lesson for him and for me too.  We can have our theology neatly arranged, understand the meaning of words and form interpretations that miss the whole point of the passage.

Instead of debating over doubtful things, let us be convinced in our own minds of the veracity of scripture, our need to apply lessons personally in our lives and to turn our eyes towards Jesus in faith.  There are many passages which for whatever reason can be controversial, but we ought not be contentious.  It would be silly for a starving man to saw into a bone after pushing the meat off to the side.  Psalm 37:3 says, "Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness."  The LORD is faithful, His word is true and this is without dispute.  When it comes to the goodness and worthiness of God to be trusted, there is no doubt.