8/13/19

 

One of my favorite Christian apologists is Francis Schaeffer. Many years ago he wrote a book called The God Who is There and another book called He Is There And He Is Not Silent. One of Schaeffer’s points in these books is that the greatest presupposition we Christians have in life is that there is an eternal, self-sufficient, and personal God who is there and that this God has spoken. What this means is that every single thing in reality belongs to God. God has a purpose and plan for everything in creation. Yet, because of sin we have a tendency to live and act as if there is no God or at least that he has not spoken concerning everything in our lives.

 

If God is there and he has spoken through his Word (the Bible), then you and I should use the Bible as our framework for how we interpret reality, truth, and the world around us. Think of the Bible as the lenses by which you and I can see clearly what the truth about the world, morality, God, us, etc. is. Nothing stands by itself outside of God’s reality. This means that everything is created by God and everything has a unique purpose and identity he has specifically designed for it to have. Sin influences humans to rebel. Instead of submitting to God’s plan human beings reject it and seek to be a god themselves. One of the greatest temptations of life will be selfishness. We simply want what we want. In fact, sometimes we pretend that the rules of reality are different. We set the parameters for God’s obedience. We begin our statements of belief (or the justification for our choices and actions) with phrases such as: “Well I believe…” or “In my opinion…” or “The way I see it…” Many times, we act as if we are the authority and that how we interpret or understand truth or reality is the way it is. But if you are truly saved then you have supposedly confessed Jesus Christ as Lord (Romans 10:9). This means that he alone should be Lord of your life. The title “Lord” in the New Testament means “master; overseer; owner.” Salvation is, in part, admitting and accepting the truth that Jesus Christ is Lord over reality and creation. It is also submitting to him and allowing him to be Lord over all areas of your life.

 

If the greatest presupposition we can have is that “God is there and he has spoken,” then what he has said should be what we submit our lives to. The Bible is God’s spoken Word to humanity. This means that the Bible has authority to speak into every situation we encounter. In fact, every decision we make whether it is about our finances, career, job, education, family, friends, church, etc. we must submit it all to the authority of God and his Word. Although the Bible may not speak directly to every situation you encounter it does provide a basis for how we live our lives despite the circumstances around us. Far too often Christian people allow their circumstances to dictate their lives.

 

As Christians we need to daily remind ourselves that God is there, and he has spoken. He has not revealed a book of religious jargon that we should learn to recite on Sunday or in times of spiritual worship. God has entered into human history and given us a real message in real human language that speaks to us where we are. He is not obscure or difficult to find and it does not take a religious or irrational experience in order to know him. As believers we are to submit to Christ as Lord and let him reign in our lives. We must learn to walk by faith and trust in his Word that he has revealed. Because God is infinite you will know him completely no matter how much Bible you may learn or memorize; but rest assured, that you can never know God apart from knowing what he has spoken.