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by David E. Bishop There are many ways to approach this subject. The historical evidences for Christianity (see Christian Evidences page), which verify Christ’s identity through the miraculous events, prove that there is a God. Likewise, so does fulfilled prophecy discussed in the fulfilled prophecy page. There are also many arguments from logic. Here we will just use one argument from logic that I think is particularly powerful, and one which the Bible uses in the first Chapter of Romans - the argument from design. The passage under consideration is Romans 1:18-25. Verse 18 says that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against men who deliberately suppress the truth. What truth do they suppress? The next verse tells us: “because that which is known about God is evident within them; for God made it evident to them.” How has God made it evident? “I have never seen God,” one may object. Again, the next verse tells us: “for since the creation of the world His invisible attributes, His eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly seen, being understood through what has been made, so they are without excuse.” So the fact that there is a God of great power and divine nature has been clearly seen, being understood by looking at the creation. A little reflection will show how this is truly the case based on observations in the real world which even the slowest of men can deduce. Design demands a designer. One cannot take the 26 letters of the alphabet, throw them into a box, and shuffle them into a perfect poem. Nor can monkeys in a print shop come up with the Gettysburg Address, no matter how long you leave them there. Design demands a designer. If you were walking on a trail in the forest with a friend, and you both find a watch on the ground, how would you think it came into existence? Suppose your friend told you that he really and truly believed, the pieces of that watch formed and organized themselves up into a working time piece? Who would not think that person would be insane to actually believe that? Can one imagine a tornado blowing through a junk yard and producing a Boeing 747 Jet? But a watch or a 747 Jet is mere child’s play compared to the complexity of the human body which contains over 10 trillion cells organized in such a complex fashion we cannot even fully analyze it let alone reproduce it. In the nucleus of each cell is the DNA molecule, an extremely complex computer that directs growth and reproduction. If one were to take out all the DNA from a human body, stretch it out and link them together, it would reach from here to the sun and back 400 times! All the books that have ever been written do not contain the amount of information contained in the DNA of one single person. Sir Francis Crick, who discovered the DNA molecule in 1956, himself an atheist, stated that not even in 3 billion years of evolution could this have come about by accident. So he postulated that some advanced beings living in outer space must have put it here. No one believes a watch or Jet can come about by accident. Yet many who would never believe that, believe the infinitely more complex human body did! Not to mention the rest of creation. Such a thing is an outrage to the logical and reasoning capacities God gave the human mind. That is why God says “so they are without excuse.” No one can stand before God on judgment day and say “I did not know you existed.” God will answer “I created your mind and gave you the rational capacities I know you have. You had to go against your logical and rational faculties to conclude I did not exist.” If the evidence is that strong, why are there people who do not believe in God? The next verse (Romans 1:21) answers that. “For even though they knew God, they did not want to honor Him as God, or give thanks; but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened.” When I meet a nice person who does not believe in God, it appears on the surface that he is just an unbiased objective person who perhaps just hasn’t been convinced. But if he goes to the grave with that belief, God’s word says the real problem, in the persons heart, is he “did not want to honor Him as God, or give thanks.” Romans 1:25 gives the reason behind this: “For they exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshipped and served the creature rather than the Creator.” Rather than worship and submit to the God who created them, they rather worship themselves. It is quite interesting that every religion in the world except Christianity does exactly that. Their concept of heaven is attained by man’s works, performance, and attainments; by his greatness, not God’s. Man is on the throne, God is relegated to insignificance or otherwise diminished. I used to be totally mystified when I would explain God’s truth to someone (who had told me they were completely open minded), with good, solid, and convincing evidence, and their reaction would be one of indifference and disinterest. Then when another religious point of view or philosophy would come along that had absolutely no evidentiary basis whatsoever to recommend it, that person would immediately gravitate to it and believe it! Looking back on it, I can now see the other view they gravitated to, without exception, allowed them to put man (themselves) in the position of pre-eminence and diminished the appropriate response of the creature submitting to and honoring his Maker. John 7:17 rings true, where Jesus said “ If any man is willing to do His will, he shall know of the teaching, whether it is of God...” Jesus said “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me.” (John 14:6) This is a very exclusive claim which eliminates all the other religions. Some ask “what about the heathen living in primitive places who never heard? What about someone brought up their entire lives under Buddhism or Islam and never know about Christianity?” The answer cannot be they all automatically go to heaven, for if that were the case the most effective method of evangelism would be to call back all of our missionaries, close the churches, burn the Bibles, and let everyone stay in ignorance. But on the other hand, would a God who is infinitely merciful and just, condemn people to Hell, by holding them accountable to what they could not know? That does not seem right either. The passage in Romans 1:18-25 just discussed is actually related to this question. As we have seen, just by looking at creation, one must at least be a theist, that is, believe there is a God. At the very least, everyone in the entire human race receives this minimal light of creation. When one reaches the age of God consciousness and is old enough to respond with his intellect, he can either send negative or positive signals. • Negative at minimal light, greater light not given Romans 1:21 is an example of moral culpability when people are negative toward this minimal light. It says that creation is such a powerful witness to the fact there is a God that no one has an excuse for not believing. Nevertheless, “even though they knew God” they did not want to “honor Him as God, or give thanks.” The result? “They became futile in their speculations.” They began speculating. This happens today. The book “Chariots of the Gods” speculates we came here from other planets. The theory of evolution speculates we came from apes. As a matter of fact, this passage shows that all the worlds religions have come about not by man seeking after God, but from man having rejected the knowledge of God he already had! Buddhism, Confucianism, and all the rest, “futile speculations!” Furthermore, God says that when people continue to be wicked and do not want to receive the truth, he sends them a deluding influence so they will believe what is false as a judgment on them. “... those who perish because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:10-12). Archeology has proven without question that human civilization first began in the Middle East, in the area of the Euphrates-Tigris Valley and Mesopotamia. Not China and not Africa; it is the Middle East where the earliest evidence of writing, pottery, cities, and the rudiments of the earliest civilizations are found - exactly where the Bible says it all began. The Bible says man started out believing in one God (monotheism) and degenerated into polytheism (many Gods). Archeology confirms this. The most ancient of civilizations earliest beliefs were monotheistic. The Babylonian, Assyrian, and Egyptian civilizations all have creation stories similar to Genesis, with man and woman living in a beautiful garden in innocence, falling from that state through disobedience, and similar traditions of a world wide flood.[1] If someone is positive at God consciousness, God is obligated to give more light. But if he is negative, God is not obligated to give him greater light. Lets say you are trying to teach someone to read with a first-grade reading book. You soon realize he is totally negative and indifferent to the subject of reading and does not progress. Now if he is negative to the minimal light of the first-grade reader, are you now going to go out and buy him the greater light of a 25 volume set of the Encyclopedia Britannica? Obviously, the greater light would be wasted, and not at all necessary. In the Gospel of Luke (16:27-31), Jesus tells us of a conversation that took place after a man had died and was tormented in a place called hades. The man requested someone from the dead go to his 5 brothers and warn them “lest they also come to this place of torment.” The answer was “they have Moses and the Prophets, let them hear them.” In other words, the Scriptures with the fulfilled prophecy was more than enough proof for an honest heart - especially to these Jewish people who had and knew the Scriptures. The man then objects, “No... but if someone goes to them from the dead, they will repent!” The answer given then was “If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone rises fm the dead.” How prophetic this proved to be! A short time later Christ rose from the dead, and they still did not believe! The chief priests had eyewitness accounts given to them by the Roman guards at the tomb (Matthew 28:11-14) and they bribe them to say the disciples came by night and stole the body. They knew the disciples did not do this because they are paying the Roman guards to fabricate the story. If they were negative to the light of the Scriptures, the greater light of someone rising from the dead would not convince them - and it didn’t. Of course God could have forced their belief by a resurrected Christ appearing to them and vaporizing an entire mountainside before turning his gaze on them with a “believe or else...” But as discussed earlier (Chapter 5, By God's Design, unbelief must be an option) this method is not, for good reason, in God’s design. • Positive at minimal light, greater light given If someone is positive to the light of creation at God consciousness and becomes a theist this still does not totally solve the problem. More information is needed about the Gospel of Jesus Christ. But if someone is positive, God is obligated to give him more light by which he can make a decision. Not only does the Bible show many examples of people responding positively to minimal light and God granting greater light, as in the case of the Ethiopian (Acts 8:26-40), Cornelius (Acts 10), and many others, but documented missionary accounts abound with such stories. In one village where missionaries had learned the language and converted the people to Christianity, the leaders of the tribe begged them to share the Gospel message with another enemy tribe down river. The missionaries apologetically replied they were unable to do so. Some years later other missionaries went to that village down river, and when they arrived found a beautiful hut all prepared and empty, as if waiting for them. After they learned the language and the people became Christians, they asked the people about the hut. They replied words to the effect that they had been praying to the great spirit who had made all things, to reveal himself to them. They knew he would, so they built the hut to be prepared for the messengers when they arrived. Space prohibits me from listing all of the countless documented incidents as this, with missionaries around the world. The Bible specifically states “... and you will seek Me and find Me,” and “the Lord is near to all who call upon Him.” Also, the Bible does indicate God considers the degree of light we do have. In John 9:41, Jesus replies to the Pharisees’ negative attitude toward Him, “If you were blind, you would have no sin; but since you say, ‘We see,’ your sin remains.” Jesus said in John 15:22, “If I had not come and spoken to them, they would not have sin; but now they have no excuse for their sin.” In Luke 12:47-48, Jesus says that the servant who knew his master’s will and did not do it shall receive many lashes, “but the one who did not know it, and committed deeds worthy of a flogging shall receive but few.” In the Old Testament the people who lived before Christ did not have as great a light as we have now. But they were still saved by the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross, not by works. The Israelite needed to acknowledge his sin and place his faith in God’s revelation, which at that time included animal sacrifices that did not save, but pointed ahead to the sacrifice of God’s Son. They did not fully understand about Christ at that time, but they were still justified through the Grace of God by faith, and the object of their faith was God and His provision (Romans 3:25-26; 4:1-8). They looked forward to the cross as we look back to it now. So we see that God does in some way hold people accountable on how they respond to the light they do have, even when the light doesn’t contain the total information. Since He does judge in accordance with the light each person has received and the person who has asked this question is already aware of the Gospel, the real issue for him is not about the heathen, but what will he do with the Gospel message. The question may also arise concerning children who die before reaching the age of accountability. Consistent with the total fairness of God, the Bible implies they automatically go to heaven (2 Samuel 12:22-23). Remember, the Scripture says that He “is not willing that any should perish.” 1 Timothy 2:4 states that God “desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” Therefore God draws all to Himself beginning with the light of creation; but only some respond. The answer to the heathen question is rooted in the very nature of God. It really has to do with one’s trust in God’s character; His greatness, power, and mercy. God knows exactly how much revelation each person has received. God is an omniscient God. There is not one person on the most distant corner of this planet who is positive toward Him, that God does not know about. God is an omnipotent God, with infinite means at His disposal and infinite power to reach that person with whatever light he needs. The loving and merciful nature of God guarantees His response; and the justice of God prevents Him from ever being unfair. Does anyone know for certain that everyone who is positive toward God at God consciousness does not receive the greater light of the Gospel? One thing we do know for certain, and this is above all the bottom line. God is more merciful and more loving, than any of us! Even if we as finite creatures cannot work out the way an infinite God manages these themes that the Bible does not develop as deeply as we would like, we cannot think of Him as unjust. Is all the revelation of what kind of God it is that reigns in the heavens, as so vividly revealed to us in Jesus Christ, all for naught? The first time that I, a finite creature, does not fully understand how an Infinite Creator may handle a particular issue, I use it as cause to reject Him? To sit in judgment on my Maker implying that I am more merciful than He? All this in view of the fact that God visited our planet as a man, and during those days there has never been a greater example of more mercy, love, and compassion, more nobility and honor, that surpasses those qualities in me or anyone else I have ever known as far as the heavens are above the earth? That the creature have more compassion than the compassionate God who made him is absurd. This brings us to our next topic. Most suffering comes from the consequences of decisions of sinful men committing evil acts. God could have prevented this by not giving us a moral choice and programming us as robots to love and obey, the same principle already discussed in Chapter 5 - not a good option at all. God has not caused evil, He created the world and the universe perfect. But God created creatures, both in the angelic and human realm, and gave them the moral freedom to choose. With that freedom of choice came the risk of evil, and with that choice, evil entered. But this evil is only temporary. The Bible tells us that in the end, there will be a new heaven and a new earth, where only righteousness dwells. It has been said God did not create the best of all possible worlds, but that He created the best of all possible ways of obtaining the best of all possible worlds, and that includes the temporary problem of evil. Only those who have tasted evil and are all too familiar with the agony, suffering, and untold miseries it causes can truly see the beauty of God’s righteousness. The scope of this booklet prevents delving further into the multiplicity of benefits the presence of evil may possibly have that ultimately works for good. Nevertheless, even the Biblical writers complained about pain and evil. The book of Job wrestles with this problem. But remember, the God who turned Job over to his torturer was no sideline figure, content to win His victories through others. A fact that is not supplied in the book of Job is that He would face His own far more hideous tormentors. The Governor of the universe would enter the world He had made as a subject; obeying His own law as if He were a mere creature. In a frail and vulnerable human body, playing by the same rules we play by, He was personally tempted, lied about, rejected, spat upon, ridiculed and humiliated, maltreated, and endured more physical tortures than most people ever come close to in their lifetimes. Behind the question of why God permits suffering is an underlying implication that casts doubt on the genuineness of the love or goodness of God. I once heard an evangelist by the name of Larry Moyer relate the following conversation, which answers this question the best of all. He was speaking to a woman about the Gospel, and she replied an obstacle to her was this very question. How could a God of love let people starve and die in Ethiopia? Larry asked her if she accepted the historical fact that Jesus Christ died on a cross for the sins of people. Upon her responding she did, he asked her the following question. “Suppose I were a wicked criminal, and I was sentenced to die for my crimes in the electric chair. If I asked you to, would you take my place and be electrocuted for me? She replied, “May I be honest?” “Go ahead,” he responded. She said, “No, I would not,” to which Larry replied, “Well, don’t feel bad, because I wouldn’t do it for you either. But God did for us what neither of us would do for each other. I think God has a lot more reason to question our love than we have to question His.” [2] For one will hardly die for a righteous man; though perhaps for the good man someone would dare even to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:7,8). If called upon a U.S. Marine or Soldier is trained and prepared to kill other human beings in battle. But does not the Bible state as part of the Ten Commandments, “Thou shalt not kill?” What about Jesus’ words, “He that takes up the sword shall die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52) and His admonition to “turn the other cheek” rather than retaliate? People who are unfamiliar with Scripture often confuse the principles God gave us in dealing with each other on a personal basis with rules God has ordained to maintain an ordered society and restrict unrestrained evil in a fallen world. When personally wronged by another person, the Christian should “turn the other cheek” and not take his own revenge (see Romans 12:17-21). But it is far different concerning the functioning of society: Let every person be in subjection to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and those which exist are established by God.... For rulers are not a cause of fear for good behavior, but for evil... for it is a minister of God to you for good. But if you do what is evil, be afraid; for it does not bear the sword for nothing; for it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil (Romans 13:1,3,4). In view of the above passage, Jesus’ statement of he who takes up the sword shall die by the sword refers to capital punishment. If you take up the sword and kill your fellow man by committing murder, the state will exe-cute you. The state “does not bear the sword (capital punishment or military operations) for nothing, it is a minister of God, an avenger who brings wrath upon the one who practices evil.” The “one who practices evil” may be a criminal, Hitler’s Germany, or an atheistic and barbaric system such as communism that has both slaughtered and enslaved entire nations. The “state” may be the judicial system, the police force, or the military. The sword came upon Germany by our country and the allied powers. The Commandment “thou shalt not kill” is better translated “thou shalt not murder.” Even God commanded David to kill the Philistines and the Israelites to kill those in the land of Canaan, whose decadent practices included extensive human sacrifice of children whom they roasted alive as part of their religion. Neither the state nor its agencies are necessarily Christian; but they are instruments used by the Lord to maintain order and prevent anarchy. [1] Henry H. Halley, Halley's Bible Handbook (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965), pp. 62-69. [2] Larry Moyer, "You Can Tell It" Instructor Seminar, 1996. Evantell Inc. <<<Previous Chapter Next Chapter>>> (Fulfilled Prophecy) (Is Christ God?) HOME: Christian Truth and its Defense Questions or comments? Has this page helped you? Contact Us! We'd love to hear from you. |
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