Can We Know Anything For Sure?
An article in a recent issue of the Globe and Mail outlined the pervasive extent of cheating in our society. Evidently not only is it prevalent in financial sectors but in poker, chess, fishing, and even in Irish dance. The U.S. is defrauded to the tune of 12 to 25 billion dollars in fraudulent claims to Medicare. The author offers no solution to this moral morass. The ten commandments and a commitment to revealed ethical standards was not even mentioned. Except for the extent of cheating, this is nothing new. It is to be expected in any human society where God is ignored.
However, when we see the slippage in biblical standards among professing evangelicals, it is time to be very worried indeed. Ligonier Ministries took a recent survey and found that 65% believe we are born innocent, not sinners; 52% believe that God learns and adapts as circumstances change; 42% agree that adults have the right to choose their gender; and 56% agree that God accepts the worship of all religions.
For these reasons I want to begin an occasional series outlining what Christians must believe. This begins with revelation. Christians must affirm that ultimate truths, changeless ethical standards, and knowledge of the infinite, eternal God can only come through REVELATION. (Not the book.) That is, we can only know what is ultimately true not by experiment or opinion but through studying what God has revealed. We can learn about medicine, the movement of the planets, the characteristics of matter, and so on through observation and experiment. But we cannot learn about ethics, for example, through observation. Otherwise, we might conclude that bigamy, cheating, cannibalism, and mercy killing and even war are okay. As we will see, there is a limited amount about God that can be deduced from observation.
The knowledge of that which is beyond experiment and observation must come from the one who is Creator and Source of all. If he doesn’t reveal it, we can’t know it. Fortunately, he has revealed himself through four kinds of revelation; common revelation, special revelation, incarnational revelation, and written revelation.
First, consider common revelation, which gives a limited picture of what can be known about God by observation. Romans One defines this for us. It also pronounces judgement on mankind for their overt rejection of what is plain to their eyes.
“The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 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, so that men are without excuse” (Romans 1:18-20).
Through this revelation of his creativity in making the universe, God has revealed several of his attributes. From what we see, we should be able to admit that; 1. The originator of the universe must be greater than the universe itself, he must be other-worldly, that is, divine; 2. He must have immense power to create the universe; that is, he must be omnipotent; 3. He must have infinite wisdom to create such immensity and diversity while keeping the universe in balance; 4. He must have existed before created time; he must be eternal.
In spite of what is obvious from gazing at the stars, considering the creation of our bodies, or pondering the immense diversity of creation from the smallest bacteria to the greatest whale, people reject what is clearly seen about the Creator. Instead, they embrace foolish ideas. (Read Romans 1,2).
Belief in common revelation—whether we call it that or not—is an essential Christian belief.
If we profess to be a Christian we must base our beliefs not on opinions, feelings, cultural practices, social media statements or philosophies but on what God has revealed. We’ve seen that he has revealed himself in common revelation. He has also revealed himself in;
2. Special Revelation
Because the revelation of God and truth through the light of creation is insufficient to provide what mankind needs to know for life and salvation, God gave special revelation through prophets. “God spoke to our fathers through the prophets at many times and in diverse ways” (Heb. 1:1). These prophets, men such as Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah, and Daniel, did not choose to become the conduits of God’s revelation. God chose them. “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost” (1 Peter1:21). For example, consider Jeremiah. “The word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations’” (Jer. 1:5).
For this reason, acceptance of the divine authority of the books of the Old Testament recorded by these prophets is a necessary Christian belief. We do not have the option to pick and choose between Genesis, Exodus, Judges, Ruth, Psalms, or Isaiah. They all declare the Word of God.
Sadly, throughout history mankind has rejected God’s revelation of himself in creation-common revelation, and through prophets-special revelation. Instead of accepting what what God revealed, cultures invented other narratives to explain reality. Our day is no different. In a recent article in the Globe and Mail the claim is made that religion was invented to hold agricultural societies together. The author categorically stated that now we know better than to believe in any religion. So instead of accepting what God has revealed, we should just fabricate some other narrative? How has that worked out? Consider the twentieth century as an example of the effect of rejecting revelation and embracing human ideas. Some estimate that it resulted in the death of 200 million. I think the evidence of human folly and bestiality is enough for the followers of Jesus Christ reject the myths and stories and philosophies of so-called modern man. Instead, we celebrate the most astounding revelation in all of history:
3. Christ as Revelation.
God sent his Son, Jesus Christ to be born of a virgin, not only to secure our salvation but as a revelation of who God is. “In these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he made the universe” (Heb. 1:2). [We will consider the person of Christ in a later post.]
Christ is the Word of God, that is, the revealer of God, the ultimate communication from God. “In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God, and the Word was God…The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the One and Only who came from the Father, full of grace and truth” (John 1:1, 14).
Because of the importance of this revelation of God in Christ, God appointed men to infallibly record the events in his life, his teaching, and his death and resurrection. Men such as Matthew, Luke, Paul and John, etc.—like the prophets of the Old Testament—were infallibly let to record the books of the New Testament.
Belief in God’s revelation of himself in Jesus and the record of his life and teaching is an essential truth that genuine Christians must believe.
If we profess to be a Christian, we will embrace belief in our inability to know absolute truth except as God has revealed it in common, special, and incarnational revelation. In the next post, we’ll consider how essential it is to believe in written revelation as contained in the Bible.
(Let me know your thoughts on this subject. If you appreciate this blog, please pass it on. Further articles, books, and stories at: Facebook: Eric E Wright Twitter: @EricEWright1 LinkedIn: Eric Wright ; check out his web site: www.countrywindow.ca –– Eric’s books are available at: https://www.amazon.com/Eric-E.-Wright/e/B00355HPKK%3Fref=dbs_a_mng_rwt_scns_share)
