Archive for Revelation
Lies Power Sin
Posted by: | CommentsOur sin nature actually shapes the development of our Body of Truth. As we add things we believe to our Body of Truth, the self-seeking heart colors the way we interpret the events of our lives and the things we believe to be true. So, in the final analysis, the things we do are influenced by the things we believe, but the entire behavior machine is fueled by the sin nature which is at the root of our lost state.
When we are infants and children in the process of building our Body of Truth, there is a motive that sustains the process. Every person lives in a state of fear that somehow, someway, we are not going to get what we think we have to have to be safe and secure. So, we come to believe the lies that allow us to do things by our own power to get what we want, so we can be “safe”. Lies thrive within human selfishness and sin. Lies also power our rebellion against God. Until our self-seeking hearts are put to death the truth transplant we need will be resisted.
“The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart.“ (Luk 6:45) NASB
A Wake-Up Call!
Posted by: | CommentsThrough Jesus Christ and His written word, God has revealed that he is a holy, righteous, just, loving God. But, He has also revealed that human beings are separated from Him by their sin and rebellion and have been judged for it. Unregenerate human beings exist in a condition of spiritual death. However, God has also revealed that we can be restored to life by repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Once restored by faith, we are ‘born again’ to spiritual life that is eternal. The price of this redemption is that we repent of our sin and rebellion and accept His Lordship over all that we are and do. Men who create religions out of their efforts to define God always place men at the center and exalt themselves. The true revelation of God is a big slap in face for men who are lovers of themselves, who really want to be little gods themselves.
God Has Landed!
Posted by: | CommentsWhat would happen to some poor European docking his ship on our shores for the first time and having to confront an entrenched culture that had already determined who he was supposed to be and what he was supposed to be doing? The preconceived notions and speculations would probably bear little resemblance to the reality of his presence. However, his presence would cause big problems for the leadership that had a big investment in keeping the traditional beliefs alive. Our newly arrived European would be in grave danger. The smart option would be to get back in his boat and leave!
This little theoretical concept is great way to understand the way man-made religions have been created throughout history and nothing has really changed about man-made religions in modern times. Humans haven’t come up with anything really new for thousands of years. They have merely couched their theories in different terminology and jazzed up the images to make them sound more intelligent and logical. All of their ideas are still based on human reasoning and logic and there is no divine revelation supporting any of it. Human, man-centered religions are all birthed from a belief that man can define God. In doing so, that belief sustains rebellion against the true God – the God of revelation and of life.
The Bible testifies that God has in fact landed on our beaches for the purpose of revealing Himself:
God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the world. And He is the radiance of His glory and the exact representation of His nature, and upholds all things by the word of His power. When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high…(Heb 1:1-3 NASB)
The Essence of Faith
Posted by: | CommentsMan instinctively knows that his soul will transcend time and exist again beyond physical death. Man seeks to define God so that the mystery of eternity can be understood in natural terms and allow himself to gain control over it. But, God has not granted man the right or the ability to define Him by experience or natural observation. God retains the right to reveal Himself to man and it is only by His own revelation of Himself that man has any hope of knowing anything about God or his relationship to God.
The exciting thing about God is that he wants us to know him! He loves to reveal his character and nature to us. It is said that the essence of faith is believing that God is who He says he is and will do what He says he will do. That means its impossible to be a person of faith if you don’t understand who God says He is, or what he is going to do. That information only comes by revelation – which is found in the Bible.
Defining Truth
Posted by: | CommentsThe idea that we can define absolute truth by our own thinking is a lie. Your initial reaction to that statement might be to disagree. You may believe you are quite capable of defining truth in your life. You may agree that even though your Body of Truth might need a makeover in certain corners, the idea that you are incapable of defining truth is ridiculous. If I was writing this from a secular perspective we might have something to argue about. However, this is not a matter of human or secular perspectives. I’m talking about spiritual truth; the things of God and the truth about ourselves as fallen creatures. It is spiritual truth that we are incapable of defining by human reasoning.
Spiritual truth must come by revelation and revelation alone. The Bible is that revelation and if you have not read it, the truth you believe you know is suspect.
The Problem of Sin
Posted by: | CommentsThe Bible reveals that sin is at the very center of the nature of human beings and is a terminal condition that results in spiritual death and separation from God. It is this revelation of the nature of sin that upsets the modern world that pursues relative truth and everchanging standards of morality.
In the Biblical history of the Hebrew people, the nature of man’s relationship to God is totally exposed. Human beings are left without defense before the awesome, transcendent God who claims to be the author of life itself. In the sin revelation, the message is clear that the best efforts of man are never enough to achieve righteousness or to be pleasing to a holy God.
Sin is probably the most hated word in the history of the human race, and one of the most misunderstood in our modern day. Many believe there is no such thing, and if there is, it does not present any problem for them in their relationship with God. The revelation of the serious nature of sin is an unexpected surprise, but lines up with the observable facts so evident in human history.
Nobody Wants This!
No human being in their right mind would have voluntarily created such a religious doctrine out of their own thinking, because they would have created an impossible problem to overcome by their own effort. In Hebrew theology, man always fails and no solution is provided that will produce a permanent, peaceful relationship with God. Man is portrayed as dust and beyond hope.
Man on his own would never have written it that way. Man would have created a theology by which he can triumph and appease God, thus fulfilling his dreams and desires. We do not see this as it is revealed in the history of the Hebrew people. We see sin, death and judgment. Man’s desire is to embrace ideas and concepts that will produce the results he wants. The things that man wants are found in naturalistic concepts of deity, and in bizarre idealistic theories. That fact indicates naturalistic religions are primarily functions of human thought, no matter how convincing the human explanations may sound.
How could man have created the Hebrew concept of God from his own thinking? To believe that he did strains logic, based on what we know about human character. The truth of it becomes clear when we can understand the concept of sin. The concept of sin is a foundational difference between the revelation of the Hebrew God, and the god-concepts of other religions. The uniqueness of the Hebrew revelation is in a personal God, and the revealed nature of sin which other theologies and secular ideas do not embrace. Sin is a hated concept and man wants to reject it as truth.
The doctrine of Sin indicates that man is a dead duck. The only way a person who thinks they are alive can come to understand that they are really dead, is by revelation. Because we are talking about spiritual death, it is a hard concept to grasp in a biological brain that thinks it is alive.
The Characteristics of Revelation
Posted by: | CommentsTo know anything factual about God or the eternity he occupies it must be revealed by God. That means our knowledge would come t us by supernatural revelation. There are 4 characteristics of a revelation and what a real revelation would accomplish.
- A revelation would reveal things we could not otherwise know.
- A revelation would be somewhat of a surprise.
- A revelation would line up with certain observable facts.
- A revelation would not conflict with itself, or be deceptive.
The first point is obvious. If we have the ability to know something as a result of our own effort, a revelation would not be required. Theoretically, humanity has demonstrated a progressive ability to uncover the mysteries of the natural world. What we need is information that is beyond the natural world. The revelation we seek would provide that information.
Regarding point number two, the nature of information we could not otherwise know would obviously be unexpected and would probably surprise us, especially if the information revealed was something we did not like. Truth in its most transcendent form cannot be controlled, changed or manipulated to be what we would prefer it to be. It would just be the way it is.
The third point is based on the idea that there would be historical evidence to support the revelation, and facts reported would be verifiable in one way or another. This is necessary because any revelation given would require involvement of the revelator, with the object of the revelation. The revelator would have to be God, and the recipient of the revelation man, who lives in a time-based, event-oriented existence. Any true revelation must involve history, because the revelation would have to take place in the natural world in the form of events.
The last item, which prohibits contradiction or deception, presupposes the revelation would be the truth. The supernatural occupant of eternity could have no possible motive to lie, because, there would be nothing to be gained by deception. If you own eternity it is hard to improve on that.
These four characteristics of revelation also give us an idea of the subject matter we might expect in a revelation. The primary information we need is that which would tell us about God, the eternity He occupies, and our relationship to both. Man has demonstrated the ability to find out just about everything, but the nature of God and Man’s relationship to God is unknowable without revelation. The Hebrew writings found in the Old Testament of the Bible meet all four of these requirements. No other alleged revelations can pass this test. They invariably fail at points three and four. They conflict, or do not line up with observable facts.
God Must Reveal Himself!
Posted by: | CommentsBefore Europeans discovered the western hemisphere, the Americas were occupied by a native American people totally unaware of the existence of Europe. It is quite possible that some of these native Americans sat on the beach, gazing at the great expanse of ocean and wondering if there was land on the “other side”, or if there was an “other side.” However, until the Europeans arrived in ships, these native people could only speculate about what lay beyond the water. To know for certain what lay beyond, individuals from the “other side” would have to come to America and reveal the details about who or what occupies the “other side.” Failing such an event , the native Americans would have to find a way to go to Europe to get their questions answered.
This same concept can be applied to knowing the truth about God. As a human being I am bound to a physical world of time and matter. I am “over here.” God occupies a spiritual dimension that is eternal and outside of time. God and all true knowledge of Him is “over there.” I cannot go “over there.” There are no planes, trains or automobiles capable of making the trip. By my own thinking, I can only speculate about what might be “over there.” To really know the truth, it would have to be revealed to me by something that lives, or has been “over there.” Therefore, the truth about God and His creation can only be found by some kind of revelation from “over there” that reveals and defines God.
Of all the religions that mankind has embraced or created in the history of the world, there is only one historical Instance of supernatural revelation that claims to be an account of God actually breaking into the natural world for the purpose of revealing himself to the world. This revelation is found in the Bible and its zenith is in the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ. It was the advent of God in Christ that God defined Himself for us. He came from “over there” and broke into the natural world for the purpose of revealing and defining Himself. Jesus was given the name Immanuel - “God with us”.
Through Jesus Christ and His written Word, God has provided a sufficient revelation of His nature, His character and His purpose. In doing so He exposed our need for redemption and a savior. God’s revelation of Himself through the Bible and through Christ is complete. God concealed nothing that we need to know. That which He chose not to reveal is not necessary for us to know.
What is God Up To?
Posted by: | CommentsGod has a single purpose for every Christian and it is the same for all. He has promised to conform us into the image of His Son, which requires the crucifixion of self. God’s will is not that we discover some unique purpose for our lives so we can be happy, successful and get what we want in this life! We please God by learning to live by faith and becoming obedient as He chips away everything about us that does not look like Jesus. That is what the authentic Christian life is really about.
When people see you, who do they see?
