C.S. Lewis on Pride

You may remember I said that the first step towards humility was to realise that one is proud. I want to add now that the next step is to make some serious attempt to practise the Christian virtues. A week is not enough. Things often go swimmingly for the first week. Try six weeks. By that time, having, as far as one can see, fallen back completely or even fallen lower than the point one began from, one will have discovered some truths about oneself. No man knows how bad he is till he has tried very hard to be good. A silly idea is current that good people do not know what temptation means. This is an obvious lie. Only those who try to resist temptation know how strong it is. After all, you find out the strength of the German army by fighting against it, not by giving in. You find out the strength of a wind by trying to walk against it, not by lying down. A man who gives in to temptation after five minutes simply does not know what it would have been like an hour later. That is why bad people, in one sense, know very little about badness. They have lived a sheltered life by always giving in. We never find out the strength of the evil impulse inside us until we try to fight it: and Christ, because He was the only man who never yielded to temptation, is also the only man who knows to the full what temptation means—the only complete realist.

From Mere Christianity

In the beginning God: Yes, but which God?

Here's the challenge “If anyone chooses to do the will of God,  they will find out whether My (Jesus) teaching is from God (John 7:17).  In other words we come to know know that the God of the Bible is the one true God, by immersing  ourselves in, and  obey the Scriptures (John 8:32).  The Bible knows us through and through,  and actually secular Psychology is now rediscovering ancient Biblical truths. Take rationalization and denial for example, our incredible ability to justify what we want to do. The Bible knew about this centenaries ago (Jeremiah 17:9).

Scriptures declares that “what may be known about God is plain,   because He made it plain.  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” (Romans 1:19, 20).  Paul's saying that the wonder and beauty of creation clearly points to a creator God.  It's totally illogical to say the universe created itself, it makes no sense (see June 12 post - In the beginning). “But if it's so obvious,”  you ask, “why do so many disbelieve?” I am glad you asked! Verse 18 tells us  that we suppress the truth in unrighteousness.  We all start off  instinctively knowing God (Romans 1:21),  but when we don't want to do what He commands, we simply rationalize Him out of existence.

Even many Christians are in denial about the depth of the deceitfulness of the heart. What's interesting though, is that those who have deeply suffered the consequences of their sin,  have no trouble believing it (Galatians 6:7).  When we come to the end of  ourselves we're likely more willing to believe Holy Spirit when He convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgement (John 16:8). We know instinctively that wrong requires judgement, and when we come out of denial we see our desperate need to be reconciled to God (Romans 3:23). But God never shows us a problem without giving us a solution.

All gods, other than the God of the Bible, require you to reach up to him or her, in order to find acceptance.  You have to be good, and it's all up to you.  But when we get to know ourselves,  we proclaim with Paul that even by our own (often very low) standards, we do the things we know we shouldn't, and we don't do the thing we  know we should (Romans 7:18).  Getting right with God in this way,  is like trying to pull ourselves up by our own bootstraps. When Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, righteousness and judgement we see clearly that we are dead in trespasses and sins, totally lost and without hope in the World (Ephesians 2:1, 12). The standards are simply too high. The God of the Bible is not like these other gods,  He's also not like  many false so called Biblical representations of Him. He is different, He is unique in that He reaches down to us to redeem,  qualify and accept us in the Beloved (Ephesians 1:6).   He is God, and there is no other (Isaiah 45:5).

Father, there's no other god like You pardoning our offences (Micah 7:18). You were in Christ reconciling the world to Yourself, not counting our sins against us.  Christ suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, to bring us to You (Micah 7:18; 2 Corinthians 5:19; 2 Peter 3:18). Truly there's none like You Lord in Jesus Name Amen

Part I: Which God, which Bible, which church? Mine?

There are over 40,000 registered, Christian denominations far too many of which are saying “we are the people of God, we have it right, and everyone else has it wrong!” We need to see this through the eyes of unbelievers.  They already believe that all truth is relative, and unless or until we get real concerning these things, they will simply throw out the baby with the bathwater. Who could blame them?  By the way, the response to saying all truth is relative, is not to say all truth is absolute.   Certainly there are absolutes “Don't commit adultery!” But should I eat meat offered to idols (see below)?

The Bible itself distinguishes between two levels of certainty.  Faith, as the Bible defines it concerns the assurance of things hoped for, that is believing things that pertaining to salvation. This is to be a sure hope, an anchor even,  to the soul  (Hebrews 11:1; 6:19). With respect to salvation truths we must not be every learning and never arriving at a knowledge of these truths (2  Timothy 3:7).  The context of this verse shows clearly that the thing that hinder coming to this knowledges,  is our wanting to do what we want to do! On the other hand there are debatable things (Romans 14:1). And concerning these debatable things, including the above mentioned should we eat meat offered to idols, we need to acknowledge that we know nothing yet as we aught to know. Knowledge puffs us up with pride, but love edifies  (1 Corinthians 8:1ff).

If we are to love the Lord with all our mind (Mark 12:30). then we need to figure out what are the non-negotiable essentials, and what are the  things over which we can agree to disagree. It is a process, but what I want to say clearly here, is that we should not use our interpretation of the early chapters of Genesis  to determine whether or not we can have fellowship with each other. I can be wrong about that and still be saved! My interpretation of Genesis is not about the assurance of my hope of heaven. Anyway this is my opinion!

Actually concerning what is essential and what is not,  we don’t have to reinvent the wheel. The statements of faith of para church organizations are useful in helping us figure things out in this regard. Their statements have likely been forged in the furnace of inter denominational dialogue,  as they worked to sort out the denominational distinctives from the non-negotiable essentials of the Faith.  Concerning the former, the Scripture encourages us to be fully convinced in our own minds (Romans 14:5). Concerning the latter, I can recommend the Inter-Varsity statement of faith or that of Operation Mobilization.  These can be googled.

Father,  I don’t know why it is so hard for us to admit that we don’t know, and why we seem to want certainly in everything.  We're not going to fully understand everything. Who can fully understand Trinity? On the other hand Lord,  when it comes things pertaining to salvation,  it's important for us to know that we have not believed cunningly devised fables (2 Peter 1:6). Thank You for the assurance  that He who has received Your Son already has eternal life,  shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life (John 1:12: 5:24). We are intended know these things, not on the basis of being good,  but because You Lord Jesus gave Yourself for us (1 John 5:13; Titus 2:14). Thank You,  in Your precious Name Amen  

In the beginning God

I have often heard “I like to think of god as ......” It gives credence to Joey Lawsin's “In the beginning Man created god, in his own image created he him.”   Twelve-step-programs speak of “god as we understand him.”  But is the god of my understanding God, specifically is it the God of the Bible?  And if not, what gives me the right to decide what He is like?  Can I choose reality, can I choose what is true,  and what is not true?  Can I decide that water is not wet?  All this of course,  begs the questions “Does God exist,” and “If He does, is He the God of the Bible?”

As a child I always knew that God existed, I think that most of us do. But He is rather inconvenient when you want to do what you want to do  (Romans 1:18-20). And I came to believe that my earlier knowledge was naive. It's called rationalization and denial! It was a long and difficult journey to find my way back. And a big part of that,  was the realization over and over,  that the Bible knows me through and through.  In other words,   I came to believe that the God of the Bible is God,  because He was leading me more and more into reality,  reality not as I wanted it to be, but as it actually is. In terms of the analogy I discovered that water really is wet!

Jesus told us that we have an enemy whose agenda is to kill steal and destroy. He has a lot of influence, can you see it? But, and there is a “but,” Jesus came to bring life in all its fullness (John:10:10). We are His sheep if we follow Him (John 10:4, 27).  And my experience is,  that the closer I follow Him the closer I get to that fullness of life! It wasn't alway so. There’s was a way that seemed right to me,  but it lead to destruction (Proverbs 13:12). My way seemed right, that is until I suffered the consequences of my poor choices (Galatians 6:7).

These pictures of course, are analogies with spiritual applications. Another picture describes the Bible as the bread of life, it tells that  I cannot not live (the abundant life),  by bread alone (by the material things of life), but by every Word that comes from the mouth of God (Deuteronomy 8:3).  I remember a preacher telling us that if we are wondering if a loaf of bread is indeed bread,  we should look at it, smell it, feel it, but the untimely test would be to eat it!  As new born babes we should desire the sincere milk of the Word, and then go on from there to maturity (1 Peter 2:2; Hebrews 5:14).


Lord Jesus, You tell us,  that if we want to know if what You taught is true, we just need to obey what You tell us, that is the proof is in the pudding (John 7:17). You are telling us that in the same way unrighteousness suppresses truth (Romans 1:8), so doing righteousness confirms it. It’s not easy Lord, but it’s not rocket science! Thank You for Your promise that when we totally surrender You not only change our desires, but You also give us the wherewithal (the grace) to do Your will. Thank You too, that if we continue in Your Word,  we will know the truth, and the truth will progressively set us free (John 8:31, 32). It’s all  testable Lord  in Your precious Name  Amen

In the beginning (Genesis 1:1a) - Science and Faith

Without question, the Bible is the most remarkable book in the world.  It has outsold,  and continues to outsell every other book in existence. It's also the most controversial, and no more so than in the so called clash between Science and faith.  I was saying last day we have not arrived in terms of how to understand and interpret it. On the other hand, because of the god like reverence in which some regard science, I need to say that science has not arrived either.

The church is often cited as being the least progressive when it comes to accepting the results of science.  But the book “The Structure of Scientific Revolutions” by Thomas Kuhn,  chronicles that is not just the church that's resistant to change, but humanity in general,  and the scientific community in particular. Specifically,  favourite and widely accepted scientific theories resist change, and the debates are not always honest. The ancient Greeks hide the fact that the square root of two is not a rational number of the form p/q!  It contradicted the then current “theory of everything!”

A more recent Scientific revolution that needed to take place concerns whether the universe had a beginning. A hundred years ago the “steady state theory” was widely accepted. It postulated that the universe had always existed, that there was no beginning and so no need of a creator. The overthrow of this theory was widely resisted by the scientific community, including by Einstein, even thought the theory of relativity predicted the opposite. It was the redshift in the wavelength of light, revealed by the Hubble telescope,  that finally convinced him in the sixties.

The red shift in light is similar to the Doppler effect in sound,  when it’s source is moving away from you. This is experienced as the siren change in pitch, as an ambulance moves past you. The red shift allowed scientists to deduce that the universe is expanding. It ultimately lead to the theory of the big bang.  But please note that theory,  if true - not saying it’s not,  is only a description of what they think happened, not an explanation.

Much of modern science essentially  throws out the possibility that the universe had an external cause.  Naturalism, for example,  asserts that eventually we will be able to explain everything by natural means.  Most of the time this makes perfect sense.  However, if the universe had a beginning, something  must have cause it.  And rejection of a cause external to it,  and separate from it,  boils down to  “In the beginning, nothing created everything that is out of nothing.”  At this point naturalism is nothing but a pure unsubstantiated and unbelievable statement of faith,  though this is vehemently denied.

Father, we're all biased, and we all operate out of our own understanding of reality, an understanding that is shaped by a multitude of things. Lord if You are really there, and I believe Your are, it is something of an inconvenient truth.  We seem to have this ability to rationalize what we don't want to believe. In other words we “suppress the truth in unrighteousness” (Romans 1:18).  But we don't know what we don't know,  and the ratio of what we know to that of what can be known is of the order of infinity! But we do need to know we have not believed cunningly devised fables. Thank You again Lord for Your promised that we will find You when we search with all of our hearts (Jeremiah 29:13), in Jesus Name Amen

What does it say, what does it mean, how does it apply?

Jesus said “Unless you hate your mother and father you cannot  be my disciple” (Luke 14:26).  Years ago a well know cult took this verse literally,  capitalizing on,  and praying on,  those who had hate in their hearts towards their parents.  They were of course ignoring such scriptures as 1 John 2:9.  The Bible is not a magic book, and we need to read it with understanding. Jesus here is using hyperbole that is “exaggerated statements,   not meant to be taken literally!” He was saying that we must not let our natural affection and respect for  parents prevent us from following Him. Many have done so!

Hermeneutics,  the theory and methodology of interpretation, is not an exact science. Some, desiring absolute certainty concerning their faith,  have given simplistic answers to complex questions. I have often been asked if I take the Bible literally. I usually answer “This is like asking me if I have stopped beating my wife yet!” I mean a simple “yes” or a 'no” gets me in trouble. There are certainly things meant to be taken literally, i.e  “Don't commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). But what about what about “If if your eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away” (Matthew 5:29). If we took that  seriously, half the men would be walking round with just one eye, and the other half with neither!

Paul says “I have become all things to all men, that I might  save some” (1 Corinthians 9:22). If you have to agree with all my theology before I can talk to you, I will not be the ambassador for Christ I'm expected to be (2 Corinthians 5:20).  This is never more true in terms of the many different attempts to come to terms with the early chapters of Genesis. For some a day in  Genesis 1:5  is a literal twenty four hours.  They are the “young earth creationists.” For others “a day with the Lord is as a thousand years” (2 Peter 3:8), they are the “day is an age creationists.” For still others the progression in Genesis 1 describes theistic evolution, that is it  affirms that whatever part of the many contradictory versions of evolution are true, those parts describes the mechanism of creation.

 If I'm to be all things to all people, then I need to understand what is common here, and what lies behind it all. One thing is clear in each and every one of these interpretations.  It is that God did indeed created the heavens and the earth (Genesis 1:1). To quarrel over exactly how He did it,  and how long He took, is to get into the details where, they say, the devil resides!

Father, Your Word tells us that each one should be fully persuaded in his or her own mind (Romans 14:5), and that we should not be quarrelling over such disputable matters (verse 1).   And I affirm Father,  that whatever some Scientists may say to the contrary, and say with the utmost confidence,  I truly believe that the invisible things of You from the creation of the world are clearly seen and understood by us,  Your creatures, even Your eternal power and Godhead.  And so on that day we will be without excuse (Romans 1:20). Thank You Lord for the revelation both of creation (Psalm 19:1),  and of Your Word. And I give You thanks and praise in Jesus Name Amen

God in a box

It’s not that lone ago that I was complaining to the Lord about being misunderstood. You can complain to Him you you know (Psalm 142:2)! And  it’s better to complain to Him rather than to others,  because when you complain to others,  especially about other Christians, it’s all too easily to be promoting disunity (2 Corinthians 12:10).  But I digress! God’s ‘tongue-in-cheek’  reply to me was “You think you’re misunderstood,  what about all those people who say they represent me but don’t have a clue who I am? What about all those who blame me for everything that goes wrong? What about most of  the over 40,000 registered Christian denominations whom claim to have figured Me out, but don’t have a clue,  nevertheless they tell everybody who is not them that they’ve got it all wrong?” In other words He was saying “You think you are misunderstood Phil, welcome to the club!”

Many Christians criticized twelve-step programs for talking about our higher power, that is “God as we understand him to be.” Well some of these “gods” are clearly not God, God is not a light bulb, or a cup of coffee, or your mother,  or the group! But if you think You have God all figured out, let me tell you clearly “You are wrong!” And yes if I think that, then indeed I am wrong too!  The point is that in oder to understand God, you would have to be God, and you  are not, and neither am I!

I am not saying it’s hopeless, I am saying we need to have humility and some understanding of how little we know.  There are challenges within the Bible too “You will search for me and find me when you search for Me with all of your Heart” (Jeremiah 29:13).   The Bible claims that God has revealed Himself in Jesus Christ (Hebrews 1:2). We are to understand that Jesus is the God - Man (John 1:1, 14; 1 Timothy 2:5), and that the whole of Scripture testifies to who He is (John 5:39).  It makes no sense to say that He was just a good teacher, He has not left us with that option. In the words of C.S. Lewis He is either a lunatic, or a liar,  or He is who He says He is, the Lord of all Creation.

Father, please forgive us for trying to put You into a box. I pray this morning that Lord that You will continue to draw us to yourself.  You tell us that the essence of eternal life, life for ever and ever,  and life in all it's fullness is to know You the One true God and Jesus Christ Your Son (John 17:3, 10:10b). You tell us Lord Jesus that  if we want to see God,  we simply need to look at You. You show us God and You show us mankind as You intend for us to be (John 14:9-11).  Lord I believe we will be fascinated for all eternity with You our fascinating, mysterious and wonderful God. At that time when time is no more we will be able to praise You as we aught and as You so richly deserve in Jesus Name Amen.