Today’s Sunday Share comes from Sam Emadi, senior pastor at Hunsinger Lane Baptist Church in Louisville, KY. This post from the 9Marks website discusses whether Christians should “engage in the worldly practice of name-calling or employing theological slurs”, especially tempting in “our social-media-dominated outrage culture.”
Read the entire post by clicking this link to open it in a new tab. (Estimated reading time 5 minutes)
When writing his gospel, John had an objective in mind. As he wrote in John 20:31, he was recording Jesus’ miracles and signs “that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”
What was John’s objective? To persuade anyone reading “that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing you may have life in his name.”
In the same book, John says that many were not convinced by miracles:
“But although He had done so many signs before them, they did not believe in Him, that the word of Isaiah the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spoke: “Lord, who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” – John 12:37
John says this failure to convince was intentional on God’s part and a fulfillment of prophecy. John claims to be a first-hand witness of many miracles performed by Jesus, climaxing in the resurrection of one Lazarus, who was apparently dead for so long that “there is a stench” (John 11:39). John spends a lot of time setting the scene — many people had gathered to comfort Martha and Mary, the sisters of the deceased — pointing out that Lazarus had his own tomb, which indicates he was probably affluent and well-known – and so on. This miracle was to be very public. The result when Lazarus came out? John says many believed in Jesus, but many others did not believe, and some even saw Him as a threat – resulting in His crucifixion.
So John, writing for the specific purpose of creating belief, tells us the ultimate miracles are not enough to generate belief in everyone. “Proof” does not always convince, and those who disagree hold their beliefs as strongly as those who agree. Whatever your beliefs, have you ever been frustrated when someone just won’t come around to your view, no matter what you said? Would you be more frustrated if you were told that any argument you could make wouldn’t be good enough?
Some deny miracles because of a purely naturalistic worldview where the supernatural is not allowed in. Miracles do not exist, and never did. In this view, mankind was created through an unknowing process of natural selection and is a type of animal, although perhaps a special animal. These people have just as much conviction as I do. I could argue against those views, which really are what G.K. Chesterton called a “dogma of materialism” because proving it would require disproving every claim about a supernatural occurrence that any human has ever claimed. This is, of course, impossible. The dogma of materialism is a matter of faith, however much proponents of evolution and other “scientific” ideas claim overwhelming evidence and vast consensus. It takes faith to fill in the gaps in the evidence. Those who disagree with me are obviously willing to accept these gaps.
On the other hand, we have the oral and written testimony of many people reporting many supernatural things over the centuries. This includes John’s records of many first century miracles. However, John also testifies that a man raised from the dead was not enough to convince the skeptics on the scene. This man, Lazarus, even became the target of death threats, because he was evidence that threatened the well-being of those who made their living off the established religion.
There is more to proof than meets the eye. There is more to life than cold reason. People have reasons for believing what they do and acting how they act, and the Apostle Paul says “we do not wrestle against flesh and blood…” (Ephesians 6:12). Therefore, nothing I can write, do, or say is guaranteed to convince anyone, but I take heart that Chesterton also wrote: “When I fancied that I stood alone I was really in the ridiculous position of being backed up by all of Christendom.”
If you are a Christian – what argument can you make that is better than raising a man from the dead, then following that up by raising yourself from the dead? If Jesus couldn’t convince everyone, the best anyone can do is follow Peter’s advice to “in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” – 1 Peter 3:15-16
What are the reasons for the hope that is in you?
Years ago, I saw a drawing of a child suspended in the air, clutching the string of a single balloon, with the caption: “Faith isn’t faith until it’s all you’re holding on to.” It was a very simple picture, but it made me think: Where does this kind of faith come from? A faith that turns intellectual trust into action, especially potentially dangerous action?
One way is that we can learn it from others. I’ve read a lot of Christian apologetics – or writings in defense of Christian faith. Writers such as Josh McDowell and Ravi Zacharias were held in reverent awe by many in my college years, the logic being that “if someone that smart can be a Christian, it must be reasonable to believe!” While there is definitely value in learning from others, there is also the hazard of learning to trust our teachers (instead of our Teacher). Then when they fall, it hurts us personally and can damage our witness. We know what ended up happening to Ravi Zacharias[1].
There is also the testimony of the Bible. In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11 chronicles the faith of many in the Bible, and Hebrews 12:1 calls these our “cloud of witnesses.” We can learn a lot from these people, but they don’t just teach us facts about God. The writer of Hebrews adds that because of these witnesses, we should “lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”[2] He is our Lord, and these witnesses tell us to follow Him, not just be able to describe Him.
One of the best lessons on this comes from G.K. Chesterton, who is well-known for his arguments in defense of the reasonableness of Christianity. However, near the end of his book Orthodoxy, he says that he has a better idea: “And that is this: ‘that the Christian Church in its practical relation to my soul is a living teacher, not a dead one. It not only certainly taught me yesterday, but will almost certainly teach me tomorrow.’” Apologetics is not about winning arguments, but about growing our ability to trust Him and learning to explain that to others.
While we can learn from others and from the Bible to build up our faith, what God has done for us personally is the best testimony because it is the most real to us. Everything else is hearsay, as they say in court. We are all learning to let Him tell us where to go and what to do. To discern not only His truth, but His will, in the testimony of modern apologists and in the Bible. To make our own Ebenezers, or memorials to His faithfulness to us when we’ve acted in faith in Him, even if it meant holding on to nothing else. Therefore:
“Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good!
Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!” – Psalm 34:8
The best way to know that He is good is to try for ourselves, even when it’s hard or doesn’t make sense.
[1] If you don’t know, after Ravi died it was revealed that he had inappropriate relationships with massage therapists and others. A once-influential ministry ended up in tatters, and some of Ravi’s followers ended up embarrassed and wondering what to believe.
[2] Hebrews 12:1b-2
When comparing Genesis and Revelation, we find similarities between the Paradise man lost and the Paradise to come. Consider these verses about each:
Genesis 2:8-9: “And the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed. And out of the ground the LORD God made to spring up every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food. The tree of life was in the midst of the garden, and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided and became four rivers.”
Revelation 22:1-2: “Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city; also, on either side of the river, the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit each month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations.”
In each description is the tree of life, and also a river. Rivers are greatly beneficial to the growth of cities and civilizations, providing benefits for agriculture, trade, travel, etc. Even today, most large cities that don’t border a large body of water have a navigable river nearby or flowing through it. A big city without one is rare: in the United States, Dallas, Texas, and Charlotte, North Carolina, may be the only major cities not located near a significant river.
Rivers are mentioned a lot in the Bible, including in this Psalm about God being our refuge and fortress. An unnamed river in the “city of God” is mentioned:
“There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.” (Psalm 46:4)
However, Jerusalem, the place Jews in the Old Testament period would have considered the “city of God” does not have a river. The Psalmist certainly knew this, so their point is about something else, that the “city of God” has, well, it has God, as described in the next verses:
“God is in the midst of her; she shall not be moved;
God will help her when morning dawns.
The nations rage, the kingdoms totter;
he utters his voice, the earth melts.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
the God of Jacob is our fortress. Selah” (Psalm 46:5-7)
Jerusalem may not have a river, but it has God who provides all it needs and more. No river required. Even though the literal, ancient Jerusalem was eventually destroyed by the Babylonians, and later by the Romans, the eternal City of God will never be moved. All other nations “rage” and “totter,” but God’s kingdom is forever secured by the One whose voice melts the earth. Hebrews 1:10-12 (quoting from Psalm 102:25-27):
“You, Lord, laid the foundation of the earth in the beginning,
and the heavens are the work of your hands;
they will perish, but you remain;
they will all wear out like a garment,
like a robe you will roll them up,
like a garment they will be changed.
But you are the same,
and your years will have no end.”
Do you worry that you lack things others have? Things that would provide benefits for your business, spare time, or other pursuits? With God as our fortress and refuge, we don’t need a river, but in Paradise He will provide one anyway.
Fret not, for you have God, our eternal river.
Today’s Sunday Share comes from Charles Spurgeon’s “Morning and Evening” devotional. The July 7 (morning) entry was based on Paul’s request that the Thessalonians pray for Paul and other spiritual leaders.
Read the entire entry below:
“Brethren, pray for us.” —1 Thessalonians 5:25
This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader’s memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us. Brethren, our work is Solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ’s army, we are the especial mark of the enmity of men and devils; they watch for our halting, and labour to take us by the heels. Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many knotty cases, and our wits are at a non plus; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink. We wish to profit you by our preaching; we desire to be blest to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners; therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. Miserable men are we if we miss the aid of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel. We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, city missionaries, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you.
“BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US.”
