THE PASSIONATE PURSUIT OF THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD Scripture Text: — 1 Samuel 2:3 “Talk no more so very proudly; let no arrogance come from your mouth, for the Lord is the God of knowledge; and by Him actions are weighed”. In all the discussion about kingdom of God and missional, we hear a lot about serving, social justice, blessing, benevolence, etc. But where is the question, concept, and concern for the conversion of someone’s heart to Jesus. The kingdom is all these things and more but one thing is central to the missional search and that is the literal spiritual conversion of someone’s heart. In this discussion, I, has spent most of my time in bible life with non-believers which will help us find the secrets of God kingdom conversion, evangelism in this new world, and your friends in particular. The pursuit of the knowledge of God can become a snare of arrogance. Theology can become a game, a power game to see who can display the most erudition. When it is such a game, it proceeds from an unholy passion. A holy passion is a passion inflamed by a godly motive. To pursue the knowledge of God to further our understanding of him and deepen our love for him is to embark on a quest that delights him. Jesus encouraged such a pursuit (John 8:31–32). Jesus linked knowledge not with power but with freedom. Knowing the truth is the most liberating power in the world. Not the power to dominate; not the power to impress—these are not the powers we seek. But the power to set free, to give true liberty, is tied to knowledge of the truth. That’s why Jesus said; “to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’” John 8:31–32. We all want liberty. We want to be free of the chains that bind us. That liberty comes from knowing God. But the pursuit of that knowledge may not be casual. Jesus spoke of “abiding” in his Word. The pursuit of God is not a part-time, weekend exercise. If it is, chances are you will experience a part-time, weekend freedom. Abiding requires a kind of staying power. The pursuit is relentless. It hungers and thirsts. It pants as the deer after the mountain brook. It takes the kingdom by storm, pressing with violence to get in. The pursuit of God is a pursuit of passion. Indifference will not do. To abide in the Word is to hang on tenaciously. A weak grip will soon slip away. Discipleship requires staying power. We sign up for the duration. We do not graduate until heaven. WHAT IS THE BEGINNING OF ALL KNOWLEDGE AND WISDOM We know that the Bible teaches, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom” (Psalm 111:10; Proverbs 9:10). Fear seems like a strange pathway to wise living and a proper relationship with God. How can fear of God be central to the life of faith, which is meant to draw us closer to God in love? The answer to this paradox is that the “fear of the Lord” is used two different ways in the Bible. In fact, Exodus 20:20 uses them both in the same sentence: Moses said to the people, ‘Do not be afraid. God has come to test you, so that the fear of God will be with you to keep you from sinning.’ Moses is drawing a contrast between being afraid and properly fearing God. In the first usage, fear is not coupled with love and trust. It can lead only to terror and despair. This is the way we normally use the word fear. The proper “fear of the Lord” is coupled with love and trust. It is almost a child-like combination of holy respect and glowing love. Systematic theology professor Robert Strimple writes that the “fear of the Lord” is the “convergence of awe, reverence, adoration, honor, worship, confidence, thankfulness, love, and, yes, fear” in the presence of the eternal God—the Creator of the universe, the holy Lawgiver, the righteous Judge, and the merciful Savior. So for those who are in Christ, the “fear of the Lord” does not involve abject terror or dread of divine justice, but it is the beginning of a path that leads to wisdom. This path begins with the “knowledge of God.” GENERAL AND SPECIAL REVELATION: THE KNOWLEDGE OF GOD This “knowledge of God” comes to us in two distinct ways: general and special revelation. we know God: First, by the creation, preservation, and government of the universe, since that universe is before our eyes like a beautiful book in which all creatures, great and small, are as letters to make us ponder the invisible things of God: his eternal power and his divinity, as the apostle Paul says in Romans 1:20. All these things are enough to convict men and to leave them without excuse. Second, he makes himself known to us more openly by his holy and divine Word, as much as we need in this life, for his glory and for the salvation of his own. Through general revelation, we can learn much about God and his truth from observing the world around us. Although the general revelation of God’s knowledge and truth does leave men without an excuse, as the Apostle Paul writes in Romans 1:20, it is not sufficient to transmit the knowledge of the gospel. It is also not sufficient enough to give us knowledge of God’s will for our lives, which is necessary for our salvation. It is only through this special relationship with Christ that we can begin to see and understand the full purpose of the world around us. It is the special revelation of Scripture, then, that gives us a much clearer picture of creation and the world in which we live. The revelation of Scripture serves as the filter through which everything else should be interpreted. Hereto, what could be more foundational that a study of how we know God, and how God relates to this world? This includes thinking about how we know, how God reveals, what God reveals, and how we receive God’s revelation. This underlies all we know and all we do not know about God, and how we think that God relates to the world. We need to learn this not just for our own benefit but also to help others know God. We think about these questions in the context of our world, other religions, what Christians have thought over 200 years, and what the Bible says. This unit includes: The concepts of revelation and inspiration; The place and nature of Scripture and natural theology, and the issues raised by reason, authority and experience; Creation and providence; Humanity as created; and sin and evil. Therefore, would knowledge of Gods existence interfere with our ability to make morally significant choices? Insights from the cognitive science of religion Although over half the world population are theists (according to Pew survey results), Gods existence isnt an obvious fact, not even to those who sincerely believe he exists. To put it differently, as we recently put it, even if God exists, we dont know that he does. This presents a puzzle for theists: why doesnt God make his existence more unambiguously known? The problem of divine hiddenness has long been recognized by theists (for instance, Psalm 22), but only fairly recently has it become the focus of debate in philosophy of religion. Several works has argued that divine hiddenness constitutes evidence against Gods existence. A simple version of this argument goes as follows 1. If there is a God, he is perfectly loving. 2. If a perfectly loving God exists, reasonable non-belief in the existence of God does not occur 3. Reasonable non-belief in the existence of God does occur. 4. No perfectly loving God exists. 5. There is no God. The controversial premises argued that; God may have reasons to make his existence less obviously true. Their arguments state that if we knew God existed, we wouldnt be able to make morally significant choices. This is an empirical claim. Obviously, it cannot be experimentally tested directly. However, research in the cognitive science of religion (CSR) on the relationship between belief in God and morality may indicate whether or not this is a plausible claim. Hereto, I argue that at least one of the reasons that God must remain hidden is that failing to do so would lead to a loss of morally significant freedom on the part of creatures. The reason, in brief, is that making us powerfully aware of the truth of Gods existence would suffice to coerce (at least many of ) us into behaving in accordance with Gods moral commands. Such awareness can lead to this simply because Gods presence would provide us with overpowering incentives which would make choosing the good ineluctable for us. If intellectualism alone were the major key to purpose and fulfillment, then our universities and college campuses would be bastions of peace and purpose. Yet as you walk around your typical secular university today, you will see the emptiness of academic pursuit without God. On these campuses you will often find the most bizarre and aberrant ideas circulating today. Certainly the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom is a good one. Very few things this life offers are greater than the pursuit of knowledge and wisdom, the pursuit of a good education. But if in that pursuit we leave God out, then it will indeed be an empty one. However, knowledge is not a new entrant to the indices of any economy as all economies, however simple, are based on knowledge about how, for example, to farm, to mine and to build. But as the increasing infusion of knowledge and information into the economy steadily increased since the industrial revolution, the resultant structural and qualitative changes in the economy now makes knowledge in itself a strong base of competitive advantage. The Bible record an account of Solomon who says; But as I looked at everything I had worked so hard to accomplish, it was all so meaningless—like chasing the wind (Ecclesiastes 2:11, NLT). Bible engagement impacts spiritual maturity more than other knowing discipleship attributes combined. If Gods image bearers are designed and created to feast and live upon every word given from their Creator, why would anyone imagine otherwise statistically? Clearly, communities studying the Word of Christ together are quantifiably more spiritually mature. This maturity is part and parcel of Christs desire for His bride; so says the inspired apostle (Eph 4.10-21; 5.25-27; Phil 3.12-17). Notably, the means of Christs preparation of His own matured, holy, and spotless bride is the washing of water by the word. The means of Christs preparation of His own matured, holy, and spotless bride is the washing of water by the word. Who, then, can disavow earnest and systematic study of the Bible by which that the Word of Christ is made to dwell richly among us (Col 3.16)? More to the point, what follower of Jesus Christ does not want to be characterized as a faithful and sensible servant whose master finds him working when he comes (Matt 24.45-46)? However we answer these questions, the statistics of biblical illiteracy among those who profess to follow Jesus Christ betrays an air of faithlessness in this regard. What means can we employ, in biblical faith, to reverse this illiteracy in the knowledge and love of God? We celebrate our dramatic advances in science and technology, which have been breathtaking to say the least. With global telecommunications, we truly have become a global village. Yet there is a sense of isolation and detachment, and all this technology almost seems to numb the soul a little bit more. It is the pursuit of knowledge without God. I suggest the Western Church needs to seriously challenge the popular notion that our knowledge and love of God is solely acquired through our individual experiences and inner, personal perceptions. We have got into the habit of validating truth by our experiences, whereas the Biblical model (as I read it) is to validate our experiences by Gods revealed truth - which leads Christians to the Bible and to the Christ it describes. I suggest that we need to rediscover the Canon of scripture, in the sense that it is the thing against which other things (including our experiences of God) are evaluated. For instance, I might feel that God is indifferent to me, based on my life experiences, but in doing so Im behaving like a spoilt teenager who refuses to believe his parents love him, when they do, despite the evidence. When I look at the Christ of scripture, the evidence of Gods love is irrefutable, and my feelings, experiences and perceptions have to change. So, its not a case of jettisoning our experiences, feelings and perceptions, but allowing them to be harnessed and evaluated by the Canon of scripture; not the other way round. We could learn so much good stuff from scripture if we stopped trying to get it to say what we want it to say and, in my experience, that can only lead to us loving God more. FOOT NOTE: God is real, but others will ask; who is God? God is the creator of mankind and He loves you. You were created by Him and He knows everything about you. You were made to have a relationship with God. We were created to have a relationship with God. But that relationship was broken when we disobeyed God. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 3:23 GOD IS PERFECT, WE ARE NOT. Since perfection is unobtainable for us that made God unobtainable. Sin separates us from God. Since God is the source of life separation from Him means death. “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 JESUS CAME TO SAVE US: God fixed this and He sent His Son in order to pay the penalty for our sins. Now through faith in Jesus Christ our relationship with God can be restored. Our sins can be forgiven and we can have eternal life. I BELIEVE, BUT NOW WHAT?: The forgiveness of sins is not by works, it is a free gift based on what Jesus did for us. We receive His forgiveness by placing our faith and trust in Him. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” Romans 10:9 We communicate with God through prayer. If you believe this in your heart pray this prayer “Father I am a sinner. Jesus you are Lord and my Savior. Please forgive of my sins. I ask you into my heart that you would make me a new person. I ask this in the name of Jesus, Amen.”
Posted on: Mon, 29 Dec 2014 13:19:48 +0000
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