Apologetics Part 5

Science or Scientism?

Have you ever wondered if science has all the answers? If you have explored the question, I trust that you have realized that the answer is no, it doesn’t. At the same time, a pervasive message we receive from our culture is that science does have all the answers. Here I am going to address the broader cultural message that science can answer and solve everything.  I will also address another message we often hear in our culture, that science and faith, I am focusing on Christianity here, are at odds. Another falsehood.   

            Though the idea has been around for decades I first came across the concept of scientism through J. P. Moreland’s work. He said of the distinction between science and scientism, “In scientism, therefore, science is the very paradigm of truth and rationality.”[1]

Moreland is not a disparager of science. He was heading into a career as a respected chemist when he encountered Jesus. He says of science, “It would have been a wonderful calling to be a Christian chemist. Science is a noble and strategic vocation. And far from fearing science and what it will reveal, I regularly pray that God will send many Christians into the sciences to conduct their work and make discoveries with humble Christian confidence.”[2] Though he loved science Moreland’s encounter with Jesus led him into apologetics, theology and philosophy (he became a philosophy professor). As his journey shifted, he says he encountered scientism, “…the view that the hard sciences alone have the intellectual authority to give us knowledge of reality.”[3] He further noted of the issue, “Because scientism is in the air we breathe, we consider it both normal and essential. Very few people are aware of what it does to a culture and to the church. It puts Christian claims outside of the “plausibility structure” (what people generally consider reasonable and rational), which has led to a number of shifts in how our culture processes reality.”[4]

            Of course, the irony here is that the belief that only science can answer the important questions about life is not a scientific statement – it is a philosophical and faith statement! Science can tell us what, it cannot tell us why or whether or not we should. Science cannot tell us how much love weighs or the scientific formula for hate because these things fall outside the purview of science. To understand love, hate and morality we need to turn to ethics, theology and philosophy.

            Another man who recognized the errors of scientism is John Lennox. He is now Professor Emeritus at Oxford and spent his career in science and mathematics. Outside of his formal work Lennox was a very effective Christian apologist. Without using the term ‘scientism’ Lennox describes the issue in his summary of how many view science in our western culture, “Science is an unstoppable force for human development that will deliver answers to our many questions about the universe, and solve many, if not all, of our human problems: disease, energy, pollution, poverty. At some stage in the future, science will be able to explain everything, and answer all our needs.” [5] While deeply appreciating science, as a scientist and mathematician Lennox’s book is about refuting this false view that science has all the answers.

In his book on the issue Lennox shares about lecturing some decades ago at a university in Siberia on why he as a scientist believed in God. He writes, “I spoke about the history of modern science and related how its great pioneers—Galileo, Kepler, Pascal, Boyle, Newton, Faraday and Clerk- Maxwell – were all firm and convinced believers in God.”[6] He says he detected anger in the audience in response to his statement so paused his lecture and asked what the anger was about. It turned out that these Russian scientists were all angry that they had never heard this before as they had been taught that science and faith in God were at odds. Through Lennox they learned the truth that committed Christians were the majority of the chief architects of modern science in the west.

            What does this mean for us? We need to appreciate both science and our faith. Think of driving on the highway. There are lines to demarcate the lanes where we should be driving. Science is a very important lane, yet science needs to stay in its lane. Theology is another lane and on a four-lane highway they drive side by side and observe one another. Theology can be informed by science. Science can tell us something about what David wrote.

13 For You formed my inward parts; You covered me in my mother’s womb. 14 I will praise You, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made; Marvelous are Your works, And that my soul knows very well. Psalm 139:13–14 (NKJV)

Through science we can make many amazing discoveries about the intricacies of the human body and marvel at how we were created. Theology can tell us that we were created, that human life is of infinite value, that a baby in the womb was created in His image and is not merely ‘fetal tissue.’

            If we learn to operate in this way and honour what each discipline has to offer, we avoid the terrible error of scientism and can embrace what Jesus said when asked what the most important commandment in life was.  

37 Jesus said to him, “‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Matthew 22:37–39 (NKJV)

Let us love Him passionately with our hearts, wisely with our minds, and give our all to Him.         


[1] Moreland, J. P.. Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology (p. 29). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

[2] Moreland, J. P.. Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology (pp. 22-23). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

[3] Moreland, J. P.. Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology (p. 23). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

[4] Moreland, J. P.. Scientism and Secularism: Learning to Respond to a Dangerous Ideology (p. 31). Crossway. Kindle Edition.

[5] Lennox, John. Can Science Explain Everything? (Questioning Faith) (pp. 4-5). The Good Book Company. Kindle Edition.

[6] Lennox, John. Can Science Explain Everything? (Questioning Faith) (p. 14). The Good Book Company. Kindle Edition.

Apologetics Part 4

The Fine-Tuning Argument

            In looking at the Fine-Tuning argument we begin with the two scriptures I referenced for the Teleological Argument. Yet we dig a little deeper.

3 All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. John 1:3 (NKJV)

2 has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; 3 who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, Hebrews 1:2–3 (NKJV)

The phrase we are zeroing in on is, “upholding all things by the word of His power.” While some translations say ‘powerful word’ or something similar the NKJV, ESV and NASB all correctly use the literal phrase in Greek, ‘word of His power.’ It is the continual release of Jesus power through His spoken word that both created and sustains the universe. As Paul put it under the inspiration of the Spirit.

16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:16 (NKJV)

Jesus is the source and sustainer.

            Now to look at the Fine Tuning Argument using an analogy. Imagine I hand you what looks like a puzzle box but there is no picture on the cover of what the puzzle is supposed to look like and when you open it you find random pieces of cardboard with no rhyme or reason and no pictures on them. I assure you that if you simply put the pieces in the box, shake it vigorously and dump it on the table the puzzle will form and there will be a clear picture. Instead of shaking the box you might be tempted to tell me to give my head a shake since what I have proposed is ridiculous. Which of course is true. If we want a puzzle to put together, we need a picture that tells us what it will look like and pieces cut with interlocking shapes so that when they are put together, they will reflect the picture on the box.

            Now we consider the universe. The generally accepted theory for the beginning and creation of the universe is the Big Bang model. Whether one believes in the concept of a singularity or the idea that everything came from nothing, the basic concept is that matter exploded and expanded and time, space and matter now exist. The big question is whether the universe could have been created by a random unintentional explosion and planets just happened to form or whether a divine intelligence was behind it all.

            This takes us to the cosmological constants. In brief, if the constants were different, if the universe had expanded more quickly or slowly than it did then the planets would never have formed or it would have collapsed back on itself. Even atheist Stephen Hawking acknowledged the importance of fine tuning, noting, “The laws of science, as we know them at present, contain many fundamental numbers, like the size of the electric charge of the electron and the ratio of the masses of the proton and the electron …. The remarkable fact is that the values of these numbers seem to have been finely adjusted to make possible the development of life.”[1] On their website, using a conservative approach, the Discovery Institute provides a list of 22 fine tuning parameters (List of Fine-Tuning Parameters | Discovery Institute).

            One argument some present in seeking to refute the idea of a fine-tuned universe is the idea of the multiverse. The theory being that there are multiple universes and we just happen to live in the one that supports life as we know it. The problems of course are many. First, we have zero evidence for other universes. Next, for any other universe to exist it would be subject to the same cosmological constants to exist and last, where is this universe generating machine? It isn’t a tenable position.  

            Another term that highlights fine-tuning is the ‘Goldilocks Zone’ is a term used by some to describe where we live, earth. The term is drawn from the children’s story where things needed to be ‘just right’ for Goldilocks. If earth were closer to or farther from the sun all of our water would either freeze or evaporate. We can thus conclude that we are simply ‘lucky’ to have the orbit we do around the sun or we can conclude that Jesus ‘upholds all things by the word of His power.’ I choose the latter.   


[1] A Brief History of Time, Hawking, Stephen, p. 125

Apologetics Part 1

I am going to spend some time doing posts on apologetic points that support a scriptural worldview. The idea of apologetics is rooted in the scripture verse below. The word defense is the Greek apologia and means to ‘speak in defense of.’ Everyone who defends a position, even if they are not aware of it, is functioning as an apologist.   

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to   everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear; 1 Peter 3:15 (NKJV)

Our other term for this series is worldview. When I wrote my book on worldview, I defined it as The lens through which we view and interpret reality. Think of it as a pair of glasses. If you change your prescription what you see changes. Our worldview is the prescription.

Any worldview needs to address four key aspects, origin, meaning, morality, and destiny. We can assess any worldview by assessing how it addresses origin, meaning, morality and destiny. A failure to adequately address these issues highlights a worldview that lacks coherence.

Christianity answers these four questions in a coherent way, while materialism, more specifically scientific materialism, fails in this regard. Science itself aligns well with faith. Let’s take a look at materialism.   

Origin – Scientific materialism promotes the idea that we are merely a cosmic accident and holds to the idea of abiogenesis in place of creation. That is, the idea that life began by a lucky accident. Abiogenesis has never been proven, and in fact if one of the many lab experiments were able to produce life from what scientists believe were the conditions early in the life of our planet, they would merely prove that intelligence is required to produce life.

Meaning – In materialism our origin is inconsequential and accidental. There is no inherent meaning in scientific materialism. Given we are assumed to be a cosmic accident we may choose to attach meaning to life or certain activities but there is no inherent meaning.

Morality – Ideas of right and wrong can be derived, but there is no objective standard, merely social constructs.

Destiny – We came from nothing and go to nothing. 

When we apply these four points to Christianity, we have a coherent worldview.

Origin – In brief, God is the origin of what we see and of us.

In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Genesis 1:1 NKJV

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have    dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

Meaning – Our purpose and meaning are rooted in His calling on our lives.

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. 29 For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. 30 Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified. Romans 8:28-30 NKJV

Morality – Morality is found in what God defines as right and wrong in terms of behaviour.

8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law. Romans 13:8-10 NKJV

Destiny – Our destiny is eternal, heaven with Jesus. 

16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. John 3:16 (NKJV)

Thus, we see that a Christian scriptural worldview is a coherent worldview. A key point is that our natural tendency is to think with our worldview rather than about our worldview. In this series my hope is that you will think about your worldview and how to align it with scripture.

NOTE – I do not have a set number of posts predetermined for this series as I have yet to write them. In the next two posts I will address the Cosmological Argument then the Teleological (Design) Argument. At the end of the series, I will provide a suggested list of books and authors to consider. This series will be a brief overview of each subject not an exhaustive study, as volumes have been written on each area that I will address. My goal is to provide you with some basic material to defend our common faith.

A Hearing Heart

As we conclude this year and prepare for the next, I thought it would be helpful to provide an area of focus given the transition to a new year is often a time of reflection for us. To that end we will look at the need to hear both Jesus’ voice and His heart and look at how our hearing requires a particular posture of our own hearts. We begin with a verse that is dear to me.

1 The preparations of the heart belong to man, But the answer of the tongue is from the LORD. Proverbs 16:1 (NKJV)

Most translations have the word ‘plan’ rather than ‘preparations.’ Yet the Hebrew word means to arrange or set up, thus I think preparations is the better translation. Imagine inviting someone over for dinner. My wife prioritizes having everything ready before guests arrive, which means I need to have the same focus. So, there is a plan for the meal but most of the work is preparing more than planning. The table is set, the house is cleaned, and the food is ready, everything is prepared.        

In the same way, Proverbs tells us that we need to prepare our hearts, get them ready for fellowship with Jesus. I recognize that we can pray at any time and place. The day before I wrote this I went for a walk with a friend. Afterward we stood on the edge of the parking lot with hands clasped and my hand on his shoulder and we prayed as people drove by. I thought, if someone asked what we were doing I would say, “We are praying,” as in, it should be obvious and normal, though it presently isn’t in our culture.

While acknowledging that we can pray at any time and place, there are times of prayer, our meetings with the Father, that require a different approach – preparation. That preparation may include the time we set aside, the place where we meet with Him, and very importantly in our culture, the distractions we avoid. Like much of our culture, I am prone to the distractions of social media. I know that if I want to sit with Jesus and hear His voice and heart, I need to deliberately set aside the things that can draw my heart away. In short, I need to obey the scriptural injunction and prepare my heart. 

While preparation is important in terms of space and distractions, another aspect is hiding His word in our hearts so that when we need to hear from Him the Spirit can bring to mind and highlight scriptures that we know. David put it this way.

11 Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You. Psalm 119:11 (NKJV)

We hide His word in our hearts by reading and meditating on His word and His character (Joshua 1:8, Psalm 1:1-13, Romans 12:1-2, Philippians 4:8).

            An example for me that I seek to integrate into all that I do is a verse from Psalms that I meditate on, reading and reflecting on it pretty much daily.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O LORD, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:14 NKJV

Following David is a difficult task, and I find applying the first part of this verse much easier than the second. My words are generally just fine, my thoughts, not always the case. David began this Psalm extolling the grandeur of creation and then moved on to the immeasurable greatness of the Law before focusing in on how to walk uprightly before Him. Here is more context. 

12 Who can understand his errors? Cleanse me from secret faults. 13 Keep back Your servant also from presumptuous sins; Let them not have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, And I shall be innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart Be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord, my strength and my Redeemer. Psalm 19:12–14 (NKJV)

David is saying that if the words of our mouths and the meditation of our hearts are focused on Yahweh we will be kept from presumptuous sins and not engage in any great transgression. For me the additional part is that I will hear His heart. Paul presented this quite clearly in Galatians. He gave two lists of what we could choose to meditate on and then pointed out that we will reap from the field in which we choose to sow.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, 20 idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, 21 envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like; of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5:19–23 (NKJV)

7 Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. 8 For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life. 9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart. Galatians 6:7–9 (NKJV)

In conclusion, to hear His heart we need to prepare our hearts to hear and receive. That requires intentionality on our part, which includes setting aside undistracted times, hiding His word in our hearts, and cultivating an awareness of His presence in our hearts and minds throughout each day. This creates a prepared and properly postured heart. 

A Note – In January I will present some apologetics material and anchor it in scripture. I present this to provide you with tools to defend our faith in a culture increasingly hostile to it and derisive of it. If there is a particular topic you would like covered, please comment and I will have a look and see if it is an area I have material on or can research.

The King is Coming – Part 3

In scripture Paul references two Adams and the Man Christ Jesus. A man lost dominion over creation and corrupted it, as we saw in the first post in this series. In part 2 we saw the impacts. Here we conclude by looking at what the last Adam accomplished. We begin with two of Paul’s references to Jesus.

45 And so it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being.” The last Adam became a life-giving spirit. 1 Corinthians 15:45 (NKJV)

For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, 1 Timothy 2:5 (NKJV)

            Now we know who Jesus is and what He accomplished in creation for we have it in scripture.

15 He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16 For by Him all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him. Colossians 1:15–16 (NKJV)

We also have a brief description of what He accomplished in His incarnation, the full glory of God dwelling in human flesh.

19 For it pleased the Father that in Him all the fullness should dwell, 20 and by Him to reconcile all things to Himself, by Him, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross. Colossians 1:19–20 (NKJV)

Knowing all of this let’s put it together.

            In The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-20) Jesus sated that all authority had been given to Him. An odd statement for the One who demonstrated His authority in creating all things that we see and can’t see. Understanding it requires understanding the first and second Adam’s Paul referenced. In Eden, through his sin Adam lost dominion and authority to Satan and brought sin and destruction into all of creation. The only way for everything to be restored was for a perfect man, the last Adam, Jesus, to pay the price and redeem creation and humanity. Jesus shed blood on the cross restored this authority as He did what He did as a man not as God.

            Jesus lived a sinless life as a man. Though always fully God and fully man at His conception in Mary’s womb, this king incarnate, the One who came from heaven to earth did what He did as a man, He set aside His divine abilities. I don’t know how; I only know that it is the testimony of scripture. In doing so He redeemed us and creation, so as we celebrate His birth let us also be thankful for His faithfulness and obedience to the Father throughout His earthly life that purchased our salvation.

            Merry Christmas!

NOTE for some the idea of Jesus carrying out His earthly ministry without His divine abilities is a new or strange idea. I wrote a brief two part series on this in 2015. The link is below.     

http://wisdomfromtheword.ca/the-man-christ-jesus-part-1/

The King is Coming – Part 2

In my last post I concluded saying that we would look at why Jesus needed to redeem us and how it relates to the delegation of authority in the kingdom of God. Thus, we begin with the why part which we find in Genesis 3. This is the famous chapter where the serpent tempted Eve and she, and subsequently Adam, partook of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. This act infected all of creation with sin and also affected Adam and Eve’s dominion. They now had dominion over a broken and fallen creation and gave much of their authority to the serpent, Satan.

We see the fruit of this loss of authority in scripture with Satan tempting Jesus. Satan offered to give Jesus his kingdom (Matthew 4:8-10, Luke 4:5-7) and Jesus refused it. Some have attempted to deny Satan’s offer was real as scripture says he is both a liar and the father of lies. The point however is that as the father of lies it is his nature is to deceive and here he sought to deceive Jesus by offering a shortcut to authority and a way to avoid the cross. Scripture shows the authority of Satan and his minions in the following verses.

31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. John 12:31 (NKJV)

30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. John 14:30 (NKJV)

11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. John 16:11 (NKJV)

4 whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them. 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)

2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 2 Corinthians 4:4 (NKJV)

These verses explain Jesus’ statement in The Great Commission that all authority had been given to Him.

18 And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth.” Matthew 28:18 (NKJV)

Jesus redeemed us from both sin and the dominion of the kingdom of darkness (Colossians 1:13) and has delegated to us the responsibility of furthering His kingdom on the earth by bringing people from the kingdom of darkness to light and demonstrating His kingdom by reflecting Jesus’ nature and character in all that we do.

Next week we will go deeper by looking at the significance of Paul’s statement “The Man Christ Jesus” in 1 Timothy and tie it back to The Great Commission and the first and second Adams that Paul references in 1 Corinthians 15.

The King is Coming – Part 1

This month many celebrate Advent, the Sunday’s leading up to the celebration of Jesus arrival as a baby, one wrapped in swaddling cloths of course. I am personally quite convinced that Jesus was born in the fall, however, given that there is a broad practice of celebrating the birth of Jesus on December 25 I am looking at what the arrival of our King means in reference to the broader kingdom of God. We begin with an overview of the kingdom, look at what Jesus’ birth inaugurated and conclude with what He accomplished through His crucifixion and resurrection.

When Jesus was born in the earth as a helpless baby the kingdom of God was presented to earth in a new way because the King had become one of us. Yet to have all authority Jesus had to live, be crucified and then resurrected (this will be addressed later). We begin defining and briefly explaining the kingdom of God.  

The etymology of kingdom is uncertain but at the most basic level, a kingdom is anywhere that falls under the king’s domain or dominion. We see in scripture that ‘The kingdom of God’ and the ‘kingdom of heaven’ are two ways of referring to the same thing. 

17 From that time Jesus began to preach and to say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.” Matthew 4:17 (NKJV)

14 Now after John was put in prison, Jesus came to Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, 15 and saying, “The time is fulfilled, and thekingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.” Mark 1:14-15 (NKJV)

The kingdom of God operates through delegated authority with Yahweh the divine king as the ultimate source of all authority, an authority that He can delegate to others. We see this in Genesis.

26 Then God said, “Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.” Genesis 1:26 (NKJV)

Adam and Eve were given dominion over the earth and the creatures on it. Yet they corrupted their delegated dominion through sin (Genesis 3) and their sin affected all of creation (Romans 8:20-21), which brings us back to Advent. Jesus came to save us from sin and restore what was lost. We have this angelic prophetic message given to Joseph regarding Jesus birth.

21 And she will bring forth a Son, and you shall call His name Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” Matthew 1:21 (NKJV)

We later have this statement regarding our salvation and restoration in Revelation.  

9 And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll, And to open its seals; For You were slain, And have redeemed us to God by Your blood Out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation, Revelation 5:9 (NKJV)

In Greek the word redeemed refers to purchasing something, in this case us! Next week we will delve into why Jesus needed to redeem us and how it relates to the delegation of authority in the kingdom of God.

Encounters

Encounters with the Living God can change us. Salvation, the new birth, is an encounter, an event that initiates a process. As we then walk with Jesus we should be growing and reflecting more of His character. Paul describes this ongoing process as Christ being formed in us (Galatians 4:19) and it is seen in his teaching around the works of the flesh in contrast to the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:19-26) and the sowing and reaping principle he presents (Galatians 6:7-10). The ongoing process of spiritual growth is built on daily faithfulness. Isaiah described is as ‘precept upon precept, line upon line (Isaiah 28:10).

In a faithful daily walk there are also moments or opportunities of encounter. There is an expression, ‘Character isn’t formed in crisis it is revealed.’ What we have daily sown into our lives is what will be revealed when we encounter a significant challenge. We see an example in the life of Isaiah in chapter 6, in particular, verse 3-7.

3 And one cried to another and said: “Holy, holy, holy is the LORD of hosts; The whole earth is full of His glory!” 4 And the posts of the door were shaken by the voice of him who cried out, and the house was filled with smoke. 5 So I said: “Woe is me, for I am undone! Because I am a man of unclean lips, And I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; For my eyes have seen the King, The LORD of hosts.” 6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me, having in his hand a live coal which he had taken with the tongs from the altar. 7 And he touched my mouth with it, and said: “Behold, this has touched your lips; Your iniquity is taken away, And your sin purged.” Isaiah 6:3–7 (NKJV)

Prior to this encounter, Isaiah had been prophesying judgement during the reign of Uzziah. After Uzziah died Isaiah saw Yahweh on the throne (John informs us this was Jesus – (John 12:37-41) and essentially said, ‘Oh no! I’m also in trouble!’ Isaiah shifted from pronouncing judgment on others to pronouncing it on himself.  

When Isaiah saw Yahweh/Jesus on the throne he acknowledged that he was in need of cleansing. Then one of the seraphim flew to Isaiah with a live coal and when it touched his lips (Isaiah had been using his voice to pronounce judgment) said his inequity and sin were removed. As an aside, if you have an image of a cute cherubic figure in mind, banish that. Seraphim literally means ‘burning ones.’ These fiery creatures burned with holiness and zeal for Yahweh and His glory. Cherubim in scripture are similar, guardians of sacred space who protected Eden after Adam and Eve were banished and guard the ark of the covenant.

Now back to Isaiah’s encounter. The fruit of the encounter was a prophetic ministry that spanned decades (I once calculated it at 55 years, scholarly speculation varies from 40-60 years). It led to Isaiah prophesying Jesus’ birth, the restoration of the nation, the crucifixion and a number of other significant events with Isaiah being known as the ‘prince of prophets.’

Now the key here is not that Isaiah had an encounter, it is his response. I have sought to be faithful in my daily walk but I have also had encounters with His presence. I don’t claim anything like Isaiah’s experience, yet I once had an encounter where it felt like the Spirit unveiled eternity to me. It was a brief frightening experience that was only resolved in my heart and mind a couple of decades later. I trust that I responded correctly but don’t fully know. I do know that encounters with His presence are opportunities. Thus, I suggest, let’s daily walk with Him, seek His face and be prepared for encounters that drive our walk deeper.

PS – do you have something to share from your walk with Jesus?

Values, What a Concept Part 3

I close this series looking at the challenges of aligning our values and worldview with scripture. The first thing to note is that this is a real battle, spiritual warfare. As I noted in my last post, “The presentation of our body to His service and the considering of ourselves as dead to our former way of life, sin, are both acts of spiritual warfare that establish and enforce His victory in our lives and make us salt and light in our culture.”

To intentionally engage in this transformational process, we need to draw on His grace to swim against the tide of our culture and the spiritual influence of darkness, which is of course a significant part of our current culture. We draw on His grace in two ways. One, way is by asking for the Spirit’s help, the other is intentionally stepping into this battle by seeking to find and engage in the things He has prepared for us to do. Paul said it this way.

8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8–10 (NKJV)

The Lord has already prepared things for us to do, our part is to discern and engage in them. While there may specific things each of us need to discern, some things are clearly laid out for all of us. Jesus presented a number of them in the Sermon on the Mount, here is a brief sample.  

16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:16 (NKJV)

43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, 45 that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? 47 And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? 48 Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. Matthew 5:43–48 (NKJV)

If you haven’t thought of these as acts of spiritual warfare and engaging in cultural transformation, they are, and when you engage in them you are modeling the values of the kingdom. This is presenting our members as instruments/weapons of righteousness (Romans 6:12-14, 17-19) and presenting our body as a living sacrifice and aligning our thinking and acting with the values of the kingdom (Romans 12:1-2).            

Let’s daily do that.

Values, What a Concept Part 1

Those of you who are older may remember a popular sitcom from decades ago, one where the broader populace was first exposed to the comedy of Robin Williams. The show was called Mork and Mindy and featured Robin Williams as Mork and Pam Dawber as Mindy. Williams played a bumbling alien from another planet here to study earth and humanity. One of the key ongoing plots was Mork not understanding our values and behaviours. In the midst of his attempts to understand, at one point in an episode he uttered a line, “Reality, what a concept!”

This brings me to our subject, ‘Values, What a Concept!’ In our multicultural society we are often exposed to people from other cultures. Not individuals from other planets like Mork, but from places with different values and customs. Which leads to the idea of the source of our values. I don’t know how often most of us reflect on the idea of where our values come from, yet I am confident that most of us are familiar with some version of the following verses.

1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. 2 And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. Romans 12:1–2 (NKJV)

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. Romans 12:1–2 (ESV)

As an aside, I have addressed the ‘reasonable service’ versus ‘spiritual worship’ in the past. Suffice to say the first is accurate in terms of the meaning of the words and the second is accurate in terms of the spirit of the words. Thus, consecrating our whole being to Jesus is both reasonable and an act of worship. Yet for our purposes we need to consider why Paul penned these verses. From my perspective the answer is simple, Paul recognized that when people came to Christ their values need to be realigned to come into conformity with the values of the kingdom of God.  

What is inherent in Romans 12:1-2 is a values test. I know that may not be your first thought when reading those two verses, yet the test is there. We see it when we recognize that there are two types of values, professed and expressed. That is, there is what we say and what we do. In these verses Paul is calling his readers to align their professed values, what they say, with their expressed values, what they do. Whether or not we recognize there is a values issue in the church there is one. When we recognize it, we are in a position to respond to the issue. The problem is well illustrated in the 2024 worldview survey from Arizona Christian University. Here is a sample statement, “The 2024 national survey shows that 66% of adults consider themselves to be Christians, yet just 4% of all adults – and only 6% of the self-identified Christians – possess a biblical worldview (i.e. Biblical Theism).[1] Canadian statistics are harder to come by but when I have found comparable ones in the past the results are very similar to the US results.

When we reflect on where our values come from, we can think of our family, community, those we associate with in our spare time, the media and the broader culture. We are always either influencing or being influenced by those around us. This survey tells us that our values are not being drawn from scripture or the church. In short, whether by design or default, we have not followed Paul’s injunction and the church has been largely conformed to the world in our day-to-day activities.

My goal here is not to merely highlight the problem, I will come to solutions as we head into one of the seasons that highlights the issue, Christmas. However, if we don’t recognize the need to change we have no impetus to do so, and by default continue to have our values shaped by forces other than scripture and the church.

As we continue this journey, I will present ways to actually live out Romans 12:1-2. For now, I encourage you to reflect on it.

More to come.


[1] https://www.arizonachristian.edu/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/CRC-Release-AWVI-2-April-23-2024.pdf