Atheist's Hypocrisy Revealed!

 

            Belief/faith is present in the lives of both the atheist and the theist. Although an atheist chooses not to believe in God, ‘belief’ is not nonexistent in his life. Interestingly, the Covid pandemic reveals a contradictory feature in the ‘belief’ of an atheist with respect to the evidence.

            The Covid pandemic has motivated us (both the theist and the atheist) to believe in so many facets of life insofar we take enormous risks predicated on those beliefs. Let us consider five important aspects:

1.      Mask: We simply believe that which has been claimed about the mask and we wear it. When we wear masks (N95 or others) we believe it will prevent the coronavirus from entering through the mask. We believe the manufacturer adhered to and has provided 100% quality. At times, when the mask strap loosens or gets cut, we even, desperately, wear a mask bought from the roadside vendor, believing it will do its job. At no point, have we researched or posed a million questions about the quality of the mask.

2.      Sanitizer: Similarly, we believe that which has been claimed about the sanitizer. If the manufacturer claims there is 70% alcohol, we blindly believe and use it. We neither have the time, nor the expertise and tools to find out for ourselves if the sanitizer does have 70% alcohol content.

3.      Healthcare: When we or our loved one is sick, we believe in the healthcare system to enable our recovery. During the pandemic, we did not have the luxury to choose the hospital. We were forced to go to the hospital that had the space for admission and when we did, we believed they will provide the best treatment.

4.      Medicine: Same holds true with medicines. When we take the meds, we believe they will cure us. We do not question the efficacy of the medicines. Often, while being treated in the hospital, we do not have all the information as to whether the medicine can effectively combat the coronavirus. Yet we believe in the medicines.

5.      Vaccine: We believe the syringe contains the vaccine and not saline. We do not question the nurse as to whether there is saline or vaccine in the syringe. Although we do not know much about vaccines, we obey our government and take the vaccines believing that they would prevent us from Coronavirus infection. Simple belief!

            We can go on, but we will stop here.

            So in an effort to save his own mortal life, the atheist (and even the theist) believes in that which is proximal and available. He barely spends time researching and hardly questions the solutions offered to cure him.

            But when it comes to God, wherein his eternal life is involved, the belligerent atheist refuses to accept even the most reasonable evidence offered to him.

            This then is the hypocrisy in the belief system of an atheist.

            During the Covid pandemic, he believes just about everything that’s been offered as a solution to him. But when he or she is challenged to believe in God, they blatantly reject even the most plausible and reasonable evidence.

            Therefore, the atheist primarily believes in the goodness of an imperfect man who is prone to multivarious and a broad spectrum of nefarious practices. It is the imperfect man who manufactures the vaccine, mask, and medicines. Yet, without asking any question, the atheist primarily believes in the product or the treatment offered.

            In contrast, the Christian theist primarily believes in God. God, according to the Christian, holds the key to life and death. When we wear the mask or use the sanitizer or get admitted to the hospital or when we take the vaccine, we primarily believe in God for health and cure.

            There are many atheists who are sincerely seeking God. These atheists are not referred to in this article. The atheist featured in this article is the belligerent one.

            It is our prayer that all atheists would humbly and sincerely seek and believe the one and the only living God. Amen.

Why Believe In Jesus NOW?

            This question was posed to me recently:

Why is it that this earthly state of being is the point where so much is at stake for being with God? If you don't believe when you’re alive now, then you're eternally separated from God.

What about this 'earthly state of being' makes it so vital for us to believe in God? Why was so much importance placed on it?

Alternatively, why can't people die and see that there's a God and then believe? Why is the not-seeing-God-but-still-believing-in-Him bit the way it has to be?

            Faith and the timing of that faith are at the heart of this question. There are two parts to this question: (1) Why should I believe in God now? (2) Why am I not given a chance to see God (in the afterlife) and then believe?

            If this question were posed to me in a live Q&A forum, I would have asked the questioner this question, “Do you think that a man would easily believe in God if he sees HIM in person or has a direct and a personal encounter with God?”

            The questioner should respond in the affirmative because the second part of the question presupposes that man will believe in God if he sees HIM in person.

            However, the Bible teaches us that a man has the disposition to not believe God even if he sees HIM in person.

            First, man is very capable of rejecting God’s Word. The Bible teaches us that Adam & Eve disobeyed God even though they had a personal and a direct encounter with HIM. They did not believe in the commandment of God (God’s Word). This unbelief led to their disobedience.

            Second, man is capable of rejecting God even if God were to provide man with a tangible knowledge of HIMSELF. Consider the Lord Jesus Christ.

            When God incarnated in the form of the Lord Jesus Christ, man (a good majority) continued in his state of unbelief citing various reasons (those who were living in the time and age of Christ’s incarnation and later). Hence, a man could choose to disbelieve in God, even if God was to present HIMSELF in the form of a man.

            Therefore, the second part of the question suffers from the logical fallacy of Petitio Principii or Begging the Question (assuming the truth of an argument or proposition to be proved, without arguing it). The second part of the question presupposes man’s belief in God upon sighting/encountering God. This premise could be invalidated.

            If a man would still not believe in God upon seeing HIM, then the second part of the question self-destructs.

            Now let me address the first part of the question. The Bible defines faith as, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen… And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” (Hebrews 11:1,6; ESV).

            God is Spirit. So man cannot see God.

            Although man cannot see God, man is expected to believe in an unseen God. If God has not revealed HIMSELF adequately to man, then man cannot be expected to believe in God. But God has provided man with revelations of HIMSELF. (These revelations of God offers the man a very pertinent knowledge of God.)

            God has revealed HIMSELF through general revelation. The Bible teaches us that since what may be known about God through nature is plain to man, man is without an excuse, “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.” (Romans 1: 18-23, NIV).

            Outside of God’s general revelation, there is God’s special revelation. God’s Word (the Bible), the incarnation of the Lord Jesus Christ, the physical appearances of God, dreams, and visions etc. are the various forms of special revelation.

            Therefore, God has revealed HIMSELF adequately to man. These revelations are the knowledge that man requires to believe in God.

            But God can only be known through faith. The type of faith necessary for salvation involves both believing that and believing in, or assenting to facts and trusting in a person. We believe in God and we believe that HE loves us and hence sent HIS Son, the Lord Jesus, to save us.

            Faith, then, has a twofold nature: giving credence to affirmations and trusting in God. This is wonderfully revealed in Christ’s interaction with the disciples of John the Baptist.

            John the Baptist sent two of his disciples to ask Jesus whether HE was the Messiah or should they expect someone else (Luke 7:19). Jesus responded to them by saying that there's enough evidence for anyone to believe in HIM, “And when the men had come to him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to you, saying, ‘Are you the one who is to come, or shall we look for another?’” In that hour he healed many people of diseases and plagues and evil spirits, and on many who were blind he bestowed sight. And he answered them, “Go and tell John what you have seen and heard: the blind receive their sight, the lame walk, lepers are cleansed, and the deaf hear, the dead are raised up, the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me.”” (Luke 7:20-23, ESV).

            Therefore, God has adequately revealed HIMSELF to man, so that man does not have plausible reasons to reject God. Only a hardened heart continues to reject God. This hardened heart is impervious to reason and evidence.

            If God has adequately revealed HIMSELF to us, in this time and age, then we are asked to believe in HIM, now. The timing of our faith in Christ is NOW (in this time and age), not in the future, and most certainly not in the afterlife.

            We are offered time until our death to either believe or reject God. This is so because we sin against God in this time and age. Hence it is in this time and age that we should repent and believe in God.

            In fact, who knows, we may not even have an opportunity to believe in Christ (because of death), if we do not believe in HIM now.

            If you are struggling to believe in the God of the Bible (the living God), then please plead with HIM to reveal HIMSELF to you. HE will most certainly draw you closer to HIS presence.            

Do All People Go to Heaven? (Reasoning the Truth of Historic Christianity)

In February 2013, I composed my preliminary thoughts on ‘Universalism’ under the title “Do All People Go to Heaven?” The title remains the same, since I intend to dwell further on Universalism. For the sake of continuity, please observe the synopsis of my previous blog:

1. Universalism is a belief that all people will go to heaven (inherit God’s salvation), irrespective of who, what, why and how they are.

2. All religions are fundamentally different; they contradict each other (E.g. Atheism negates God, and the God of Christianity, Islam and Hinduism are fundamentally different). If religions are poles apart, how can all people go to heaven?

3. Hell is not a literal presence for a Universalist. The Universalist will allegorize passages from the Bible that describes hell.

4. Universalism does not explain evil & justice on earth. Universalism advocates an immoral world. Man can do what he desires (even horrendous evil) and still be saved.

5. The god of the Universalist is evil (not offended by sins and cannot stop evil) and unjust (cannot provide justice to people). So we infer that the god Universalist’s posit is imperfect; in the likeness of an imperfect man. This god need not be worshipped or glorified.

In order to expose the errors innate in Universalism, we ought to establish the foundations of Historic Christianity to reveal its intricate composition and to state the basic contradiction between Universalism and the Historic Christianity. Then we need to understand the nature of truth, and subsequently be convinced to reason out our belief.

Historic Christianity

It is important to know the details of Historic Christianity in order to identify the errors of contradictory truth claims. Please observe the intricate interdependence of the essentials of Historic Christianity:

1. Truth: There is absolute and objective truth.

2. The reliability of the Bible: The Bible is inspired (by God), inerrant (no errors), and infallible (trustworthy). It is the only and the final authority for faith and life. The Bible is absolutely truthful.¹

3. Existence of God: The Bible reveals a holy God.²

4. God’s Trinity: There is one God, in the persons of the Father, Son, and the Holy Spirit.

5. Miracles of God: God is supernatural and active, so HE will act. HIS supernatural acts are miracles.³

6. Incarnation: The Savior of the world, the Lord Jesus was fully God and fully man.⁴

7. Total Depravity of Mankind: The Bible reveals the total depravity (sinfulness) of mankind.

8. Condemnation of God upon Sinful Man: The holiness of God entails God’s condemnation (wrath) upon sinners.

9. Virgin Birth: Christ was incarnate by the Holy Spirit and born of the virgin Mary. Thus, Christ is 100% God, and does not inherit mankind’s sin.

10. Sinlessness of Christ: Christ lived a sinless life on earth. Only a sinless God can save mankind of all their sins – past, present and future.

11. Grace: The gracious God saves mankind from their sins. Salvation is a free gift, since salvation is not gained by man’s work.  

12. Faith in Christ: Man should necessarily believe in Christ for the appropriation of Christ’s one-time, perfect sacrifice for his salvation.

13. Crucifixion and Resurrection of Christ: Christ died and rose again. Resurrection was mandatory for overcoming evil and death.

14. Christ’s Bodily Ascension: Christ’s resurrection was a bodily resurrection and HE bodily ascended to heaven. Our resurrection will also be a bodily resurrection (glorious body).

15. Christ’s Intercession: Christ lives to intercede for all those who believe in HIM.

16. Second coming of Christ: Christ will come again in glory to judge mankind, to eliminate evil forever, and to usher a life of eternal coexistence with God in the new heaven and earth.  

These are the essentials of Historic Christianity. Unbelief /denial of any one essential will nullify the others through a chain reaction (E.g. If one denies absolute truth, then Bible is not absolutely true, so miracles are denied and along with it Christ’s virgin birth, resurrection, and salvation will also be denied.)  Denial of any one of the essentials of Historic Christianity is to deny Historic Christianity. Thus it is a reasonable implication that those who deny one (or more) essential doctrine(s) of Historic Christianity are cults or liberals or postmodern Christians.

We observe that salvation according to Historic Christianity is by grace through faith. Only those who believe in Christ will be saved (Christian Particularism). Those who do not believe in Christ will not be saved. Since Universalism declares salvation of all mankind, it totally contradicts Historic Christianity. The question that demands verdict is whether Universalism and Historic Christianity, proclaiming contradictory truth claims, are true within the same context of salvation.  

Exclusivity of Truth:

Can contradictory statements within the same context be true? This leads us to examine the nature of truth. Please think through with me:

1. Truth is pure. Truth should not contain errors / lies.

2. Opposite of truth is an error / lie.

3. Opposite of an error / lie need not be truth, but it could be another error / lie.

4. An error / lie could contain strands of truth, but strands of truth will not transform the lie to truth.

If you agree to the flow of thoughts mentioned above, then the entailments are:

1. Truth excludes errors / lies.

2. Truth is absolute, singular and exclusive (also consistent). Hence, the opposite of truth is essentially a lie, it cannot be another truth.

3. Simply speaking, 1+1=2, there cannot be another answer to this equation.

If we have two truth claims, one should ascertain if there are contradictions between the two truth claims. Contradictory truth claims will not be true at the same time and in the same context.⁵

If two people are looking at the sky from the same room and at the same time, and if one says that the sun is brightly shining and the other says that there is no sun in the sky, only one of them can be right. In this context, the truth is that the sun is either visible or invisible; the sun cannot be both visible and invisible at the same time.

Moreover, if someone says, ‘there is no truth,’ then his statement is also not true - it’s nonsensical. Someone else could say that ‘truth’ is only a matter of opinion, and does not possess an absolute meaning. In this case, that very statement is also a matter of opinion and does not possess an absolute meaning, so it’s nonsensical as well.

So we can confidently affirm that truth is absolute, singular, exclusive, and objective.

The nature of truth teaches us that truth excludes contradictions. Since Historic Christianity and Universalism contradict each other, both these contradicting worldviews cannot be true at the same time and within the same context (e.g. Salvation). It’s either Historic Christianity or Universalism, not both.

If we believe that Historic Christianity is true, we ought to give reasons for our faith and hope. But why?

Reasons to Offer Reasons For Our Faith:

Just as Apostle Paul reasoned out with the Jews and the Gentiles in Athens and Corinth (Acts 17: 22 – 18: 4), we are to reason out with those of contradictory views. A few reasons to reason out our faith are:

Perspective of Discipleship: We are mandated to disciple others (Matthew 28: 19). Discipling includes answering / clarifying honest questions. Those who disciple others ought to practice their religion seriously. Serious practitioners of religion should have a basic knowledge of other worldviews. Lack of interest in contrasting worldviews, such as Universalism, is valid if discipleship is an insignificant part of our life. But if we are a disciple of the Lord Jesus and practice our religion seriously (seriously committed to it), we should explain the reason for our serious practice and commitment. Reasoning is innate in discipleship.

Perspective of Biblical Mandate: If we cannot explain the reason for our hope, then we are blind in our faith and practice. If ‘unexamined life is not worth living,’⁶ then ‘unexamined faith is not worth believing.’⁷ The unexamined faith cannot distinguish good from evil, and cannot provide reason for the hope we have in the Triune God and the Bible. Every Christian is mandated to demolish arguments and lofty opinions against God, and provide the reason for his belief in Christ (cf. 2 Corinthians 10: 4-6; Hebrews 5: 14; 1 Peter 3: 15). This is the biblical mandate. Failure to provide a reason implies shallow faith and an anticipation to disbelieve Christ when confused and confronted with situations or arguments apparently more powerful than our faith. Moreover, failure to offer reason for our hope in Christ is a disobedience to God and HIS commands.

Perspective of Evangelization: We exist to help our family and neighbors. When we know the truth, we should speak of the truth to our neighbor. We live in the digital era; there are many who evangelize their worldview through digital and other mediums. Transmission of our faith mandates us to offer reasons / evidences for our faith. Failure to offer evidences reduces our belief to a lie. Those who believe in lies are liars. If we are not liars, we ought to substantiate the truth of our belief.

These are adequate reasons to reason out our faith. Let us reason together, says the Lord (Isaiah 1: 18, NASB). Thus we ought to reason the truth of Historic Christianity.

Having established the foundations, I will, in my next blog, provide adequate reasons for Historic Christianity from other perspectives, so to debunk Universalism. Amen.

References:

¹ Every apparent contradiction in the Bible can be reasonably explained. The Bible is the only ancient historic document that possesses a plethora of objective reasonings and evidences for its reliability.

² The existence of God can be independently explained by philosophy and science.

³ Philosopher David Hume’s argument against miracles can be reasonably debunked.

⁴ Thus, Christ’s sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice – both from the divine and human standpoint. The Lord Jesus Christ is God incarnate, the Son of God, and the second person of the blessed Trinity. HE saves mankind from sins.

⁵ Law of Non-Contradiction

⁶ Socrates

⁷ Edwin Navarro

Impatient Love is Impotent

God Almighty is all-powerful and all-knowledgeable. HE can do anything HE can and possesses the sum total of all knowledge there ever was and ever will be. But I am awestricken whenever I think how God patiently waits for man to believe, love, and coexist with HIM.

God does overwhelm people through visions, revelations and dreams (e.g. Conversion of Saul to Paul). HE can do what and how HE wants, for what HE does is always just. Finite man ought to concede this facet to the infinite God, for justice is omnipresent in God. 

Let us examine how love is often expressed in human relationships. If the spouse has things done his/her way, love abounds. If things are not done his/her way, love demands. If demands are unmet, love is polluted. Similarly, if a child pleases the parent through appreciable acts, the parent showers the child with love and its most befitting tangible and intangible expressions. Contrarily, if the child fails to satisfy parent’s expectations, parental love demands. If demands are unmet, love is polluted. Often, pollution of love entails anger. This anger could be tied with frustration, where one seeks control to motivate the other to love him.

Yes, more often in relationships, we seek control to love one another. If we assume to know the right, that knowledge often desires worship of self, and claims that the other should concede (what they believe as right), prostrate and love us. This is love in our parlance. Sadly, this is love in its superfluous mediocrity - an impotent love.

God knows the best and the right. Why then is HE patient in HIS love for man? Why does the Bible attribute patience as the first component of love (1 Corinthians 13: 4)? The Bible mandates patience upon the believer, for patience is love’s primary component. But wait! Man’s patience contains an attribute that is nonexistent in God’s patience. The patience of man includes ‘hope’ or ‘expectation;’ ‘hope’ is an attribute that is nonexistent in God’s patience.  God cannot hope, for omniscience excludes hope. Thus, patience in God gains a modified meaning. Allow me to elaborate.

Patience is exhibited during situations of adversities – delay, pain, provocation, misfortune etc. In adversity, one patiently hopes for the situation to heal / be favorable. 

For instance, a child may patiently wait for a gift, but in the mind of the child there is a hope that the gift is imminent. Another instance is when I am patiently waiting for a bus that is delayed. I hope the bus will arrive sooner than later. I am unsure when and if the bus would arrive, but I hope for its arrival. Hope overwhelms uncertainty, but lacks practical knowledge. The bus may or may not arrive soon; hence I am unsure of the practical knowledge of the timing of the bus’ arrival. Thus, practical knowledge is absent in hope.

As I wait patiently in hope for the bus to arrive soon, and if it arrives later than the time I had hoped, I’d be disappointed. If it fails to arrive altogether, I would be frustrated. There is always an outcome to patience. Patience is fulfilled when the bus arrives or when the child gets his gift. When the desired goal is achieved, patience will be non-existent. Patience can be filled with disappointment upon delay - in receiving the gift or for the bus to arrive. Patience is frustrated, when the gift is not received by the child, or when one misses an important engagement due to the bus’ delay. Thus, patience can result in one of the following - joy upon fulfillment, disappointment upon delay, or frustration upon denial of that which is expected.

God’s patience has no fulfillment, disappointment, or frustration. These emotions do not exist in God. Foreknowledge, or in a broader sense, omniscience, excludes fulfillment, disappointment and the likes. Let us dig deeper.

Going back to the instance of the delayed bus, when I observe such a delay, I call my friend - the bus driver, who informs that the bus would be indefinitely delayed due to clogged traffic. The moment I possess this knowledge, the aspect of hope departs from my mind. I no longer patiently hope for the bus to arrive, but I am certain that it would not. So I find an alternate action, which is to walk home in frustration. Thus, when knowledge replaces hope, patience becomes virtually nonexistent. Hence, in God, hope and the consequent disappointment is nonexistent, for HE is omniscient. 

God’s patience excludes fulfillment, hope, disappointment and the likes. When God loves, HE loves patiently knowing with certainty if man would love HIM or not. God’s patient love provides, provides and provides – to even those whom HE knows will never believe or love HIM, or that the believing man will always fall short of HIS glory. God does not find an alternate action when man fails HIM. But HE continues the act of providing immensely. Can you comprehend the magnificent facet of God’s love? God loves, knowing that man will relentlessly fall short of HIM. HE neither hopes nor is HE disappointed.

This is the love we ought to exhibit. Our love should be without hope or disappointment. I am neither advocating stoicism (or other similar –isms), nor am I advocating that a christian should not expect to be fulfilled or be filled with hope or get disappointed. I believe that fulfillment, hope and disappointment should not pollute our neighborly / godly love. 

When you and I talk about loving each other as God loves us, we ought to love, by providing their necessities and in some instances their extravagances too, albeit disloyalty and hatred. Love is patient, and patient love is potent!

But belief is a condition to God’s love. I have drifted through this subject in my previous blog. If man does not believe in God, he misses out on the best part of God’s love i.e. eternity. It is only man’s belief in God that will enable him to experience the unmitigated expressions of God’s love.

When one lovingly gives and gives himself sacrificially to another, and if the other refuses to believe in the source of love, I believe that the giver’s ‘giving’, would decrease or amend at a certain time. But when belief is truthfully and rightfully placed on the source of love, the giving of the giver exceeds all expectations for love to flourish. This is the conditional nature of love and patience.

In other words, the Bible states that love keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13: 5, NIV). However, we see a reality of hell in the Bible (my friends from the christian universalistic persuasion would disagree with me, but we can agree to disagree). Hell is where the account of wrongs (due to unbelief in God) is considered and respectfully rewarded, for only belief in Christ saves man from his sins. Thus, in case of unbelief, love recognizes the extent of evil or the record of wrongs, and patience becomes virtually nonexistent. Love and patience are finite / limited in unbelief.

Having said this, we can emulate God’s love, by HIS power and grace, by being patient with each other. Since the believer in Christ is growing in Christlikeness, we can pray to love each other potently as God in Christ loves each of us. May we, by the power of God, destroy the impotency in our love and love each other with the potent love of our Almighty God. May God grant us this blessing.

I am drifting through the subject of love, so in my next blog I will endeavor to dig into the subject of jealousy in love. The Bible says that love is not jealous (1 Corinthians 13: 4, NASB), but God, the source and the model of love, is a jealous God (Exodus 20: 5). Comprehending this apparent contradiction would be the theme of my next blog. Please uphold me in your prayers. Amen. 

God’s Love is NOT Unconditional!

Jim Palmer said, “God’s Love is not a spigot that turns off and on based on how correct your theology is, how religious you are, or how far you've progressed on your growth journey. God IS Love, which means that at every moment God’s Love is the underlying, unchanging and fundamental reality. It does not fluctuate. It cannot be earned or lost. It is never threatened. God's Love is available to all people, all the time, everywhere, without condition...” (emphasis mine). I agree with Jim, but my understanding from the Bible is that God’s love is perspectively unconditional. In other words, God’s love is not totally unconditional. Let me attempt to submit my understanding here.

In the question, ‘is God’s love totally unconditional?’ the term ‘unconditional’ refers to the absence of limiting conditions. Does God love HIS people without any limiting conditions?

This subject is important to our life. Christian literature, on the subject of God’s love, teaches that God’s love is unconditional; hence man’s love for his fellow beings ought to be unconditional too. This being a fact, we need to understand the scope of God’s love, so to love each other similarly. The Bible mandates us to love each other as Christ loved us (John 15: 12). If Christ’s love for man is unconditional, then our love for each other should strictly follow Christ’s paradigm.

If love is totally unconditional, should we love evil? The Bible teaches that sincere love hates evil (Romans 12: 9, NIV). Because the Bible is replete with situations where God hated evil (Psalm 5:5, 11: 5; Proverbs 6: 16-19; Hosea 9: 15), there is the much needed consistency between Christ’s love and the Bible’s mandate for Christ’s disciple to hate evil. So, we conclude that as Christ hated evil, we ought to hate evil. We should hate Satan - the evil one. In other words, one cannot love evil and still love God, for God and evil are mutually opposing entities. Thus, hating evil / sin is a condition to sincere love.

When a condition to love is mandated, we infer that neither God’s love nor man’s, is totally unconditional. The Bible states that God loves good & evil, and righteous & unrighteous (cf. Matthew 5: 45). But HIS love for the unrighteous and the evil is only to offer their earthly provisions. Thus God’s love for the unrighteous and evil is within the perspective of their earthly living.

The unrepentant and unbelieving unrighteous man will remain in a perpetual state of evil, and so will not taste God’s provision of heaven (cf. John 3: 16 et al.). The Bible states that only the pure can ascend the eternal dwelling place of the Lord (Psalm 24: 3). Since all men are inherently evil (Job 15: 14; Proverbs 20: 9; Romans 3: 10), none can claim purity to gain heaven. To overcome this predicament, the perfect and sinless Christ sacrificed HIMSELF for the sake of the sinful mankind, so only those who BELIEVE in Christ would gain eternal life. Belief in God is mandatory to receiving the eternal benefits of God’s love. Thus, we observe another condition to God’s love, namely belief in HIM.

Although God loves men unconditionally that HE sacrificed HIMSELF to save them of their sins, God requires that man believe HIM, so to receive and enjoy HIS eternal provision of love. Without belief in God, man cannot receive all the benefits of God’s love, he can only receive some.

The Bible applies God’s love for man to the human marriage paradigm. The marriage between a man and a woman is analogous to the relationship between Christ and the church. Christ is analogous to the husband, and the church is analogous to the wife (Ephesians 5: 22-33).

Let’s pause for a moment to think through the starting point for the relationship between Christ and HIS body – the church. The church is a congregation of believers of the Lord - those who believe in Christ. If a man disbelieves in Christ, he is not part of the church. Hence, “belief” is a mandatory condition or the starting point in the relationship between Christ and HIS church.

The theology of God’s love is when man believes in God, he receives the benefits of both temporal (the needs of this world) and eternal provision (eternal coexistence with God in heaven) of God’s love for him. When man refuses to believe in God, he receives only the temporal provision of God’s love for him; he does not receive the eternal provision.

Significantly, when man believes in God, he begins to coexist with HIM (or remain in HIM – John 15). When man refuses to believe in God, he cannot coexist with HIM.

Thus the corollaries of ‘belief in man’s love for God’ are:

(1) Man cannot coexist with God without believing in HIM – belief in God is mandatory for coexistence with HIM.

(2) Without belief in God, man cannot receive the unmitigated expressions (temporal and eternal) of God’s love.

Applying this theology into the marriage paradigm fetches us similar conclusions to assert the importance of belief in a marriage to open the floodgates of love:

(1) If the partners of christian marriage believe in each other, their coexistence would be abundantly fruitful and peaceful. If one or both the partners of a marriage covenant fail to believe / trust each other, the marriage would crumble – coexistence of the partners will cease at a point in time, unless there is a divine intervention to effect a transformation – to reclaim the lost belief.

(2) If belief is existent in marriage, the partners would enjoy the total love of each other, and the unmitigated expressions of their love. If unbelief is existent in a marriage, then love, at best, would be partial. Half-baked love is a painfully conditional love, so love need not exist in a marriage where one partner does not believe the other.

Finally, I submit that God’s love is unconditional from God’s perspective, for HE has done everything, through the one-time sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, for a man to love, enjoy and live with HIM forever.

What about the condition of love to hate evil? There is no evil in God, so God and Satan are opposing entities. God only proposes good to all, but Satan disposes good to propose evil to all. Hence, God and Satan mutually exclude each other. If we are with God, we cannot be with Satan, and vice versa. Hence, hating evil / sin need not be construed as a condition but as a voluntary abandonment of evil, which is nonexistent in God and detested by HIM.

Is belief in God a condition to love God? Yes, belief in God is a condition to love God totally and to coexist with HIM unto eternity. One cannot escape this fact. Without believing God, man cannot love HIM. A wife cannot love her husband if she does not believe him and vice versa. If belief is mandatory to love, then for man to receive the unmitigated expressions of God’s love, is conditional upon his belief in God. Thus, God’s love is NOT unconditional from man’s perspective. (Man cannot love and eternally coexist with God without belief in HIM.)

In a friendly relationship, love can exist without or with partial existence of belief. But this love, at best, will only be superficial. Deep and long lasting friendships / relationships will only be a reality if there is strong mutual belief. Conversely, if belief in a relationship takes a beating, then the relationship is bound to dilute or crumble.

Thus, love is dependent on belief. Love cannot exist independent of belief. The greater the belief, the greater the love, and vice versa.

I pray that you and I will believe in the one God who gave us life through Jesus Christ to live with HIM unto eternity and love HIM with all our heart, mind, soul and strength. I also pray that in our human relationships, we will do our best, by the power of the blessed Holy Spirit, to believe our spouse /neighbor, so to establish strong and healthy relationships where godly love will reign supreme. Amen. 

Being on Fire for the Lord

“Why am I not on fire for the Lord?” This cry of the heart makes room for introspection and spiritual growth. This is a cry that longs for more of God. But it is better to ask this question, than not realizing that we are to be on fire to serve the Lord.

Although we question our ineffectiveness in God’s kingdom, we should realize that by virtue of our belief, we are safe and secure in God’s presence, and that none can snatch us from HIS hand. We should plead with God to strengthen us, for spiritual growth is a process, not a onetime experience. This is a recap of the previous blog.

We suffer from comparisons! One reason we question our ineffectiveness, is due to the magnificent testimonies we hear of our brothers and sisters in Christ. These could be about experiencing God’s power through deliverance, healing, or other material blessings. Another reason is that we see others actively working in HIS vineyard, and our lives only seem mundane in comparison. Some of us may lead hectic lives where we would not have the time to serve God and HIS people through various ministries in church. This is fairly normal! However, it is wiser to introspect instead of succumbing to comparisons.

There are two sides to “being on fire for the Lord.”Consider the words of Chuck Colson and Nancy Pearcey, “Gordon Allport, the great psychologist of religion, drew a distinction between intrinsic and extrinsic religion. Extrinsically religious people use religion for external purposes, like the politician who attends church to gain respectability or the person who prays for purely material benefits. But intrinsically religious people serve God without ulterior motive: They pray in order to commune with HIM and understand HIS truth; they give without any utilitarian calculation.” ¹

The Sermon on the Mount magnifies the heart of a man into a greater perspective in his relationship with God. Man cannot please God externally. Man’s external actions are a result of his heart’s disposition (Luke 6: 45b). Although man’s external actions are an outpouring of his internal being, some could fake an external without a truthful heart.

So there ought to be an intrinsic and an extrinsic fire. Intrinsic fire is to be on fire for the Lord from within our hearts. We are on fire when we possess: a deeper fellowship with God and a greater joy in intrinsic worship (not only inside the church, but significantly, outside the church). Extrinsic fire is in serving God and HIS people through the effective use of our spiritual gifts. (You could refer to my previous blog "Miraculously Blinded Church" for the list of spiritual gifts.) It is immaterial if one serves God from the forefront or from the background. Conventionally, extrinsic fire would manifest through:

·         Public prayers or attending prayer meetings.

·         Preaching / teaching biblical truths or attending bible studies.

·         Serving the underprivileged.

·         Defending our faith.

·         Use of our spiritual gifts.

However, those with deep intrinsic fire need not necessarily manifest an abundance of an extrinsic fire due to the complexities of their life. We need not be concerned about those whose difficult life situations deny them the privilege of serving in God’s kingdom through the church ministries, especially when their intrinsic love for God is stable and growing. There will come a time in their life when they can serve God through the local church.

In my opinion, intrinsic fire is more foundational to a successful Christian life than the extrinsic. If love for God, in our heart, decreases, then our separation from HIM increases. This situation should be overcome through prayer (and fasting) – pleading for God’s power to strengthen us to draw closer to HIM.

Conventionally, we are aware that to be on fire for the Lord is to possess:

·         …an immense desire for HIM (Psalm 73:25).

·         …an enormous love to know more of God through the Bible (Deuteronomy 6: 5-9).

·         …a sacrificial heart to obey the Lord and HIS commands (Romans 6: 16-18).

·         … a growing and an unshakeable faith and hope in HIM despite life’s situations (Romans 15: 13; Ephesians 6: 16 - ESV)

·         …a fullness of Joy (Psalm 16:11).This is not a constant joy for there will be times of pain and other responsibilities in this fallen world.

·         …a loving responsibility for our fellow brothers and sisters (Mark 12: 31).

In other words, to be on fire for the Lord is to live a life of constant worship of the living God. There could be ups (joy, without problems in life) and downs (pain) in one’s spiritual life, but the glorious truth is that we can win spiritual victories by the power of our Lord. Thus although the ‘low’ could be a momentary constant, that “low” will be perceived a ‘high,’ by the grace and power of our Lord, when we seek HIM with all our heart (cf. 1 Peter 1:6).

I submit an unconventional conclusion without corroding the conventional understanding. Looking into the church of Jesus Christ, we will observe Christians professing their greatness in the Lord. They are those who verbalize and vocalize their spiritual achievements (e.g. “25 people were baptized yesterday by me,” “I preached an anointed sermon,” “the prayer meeting I was a part of was so anointed” etc.). I do not think an anointed sermon, a powerful prayer, or an active service to the underprivileged, are sole manifestations of being on fire for the Lord.

Consider the gospels where the Lord emphasizes on the fruit the disciples ought to bear (Matthew 7:15-23; Luke 6: 43, 44). Let the passage on love also be in the backdrop of our minds (1 Corinthians 12: 31b-13). The “beatitudes” (Matthew 5: 3-12) and the “fruit of the Spirit” (Galatians 5: 22-23) are the foundations to the existential excellence of a Christian life. This is where I find the essence of being on fire for the Lord. We are on fire for the Lord if we adhere to the commentary of these sections that is found below:

“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.

For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others.

We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith;

if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach;

if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.

Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.

Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.

Bless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse.

Rejoice with those who rejoice; mourn with those who mourn.

Live in harmony with one another. Do not be proud, but be willing to associate with people of low position. Do not be conceited.

Do not repay anyone evil for evil. Be careful to do what is right in the eyes of everyone.

If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.

Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God’s wrath, for it is written: “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” says the Lord.

On the contrary:

“If your enemy is hungry, feed him;

    if he is thirsty, give him something to drink.

In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head.”

Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” (Romans 12: 3-21, NIV).

Amen.

  

References:

¹ Charles Colson and Nancy Pearcey, How Now Shall We Live? p314.