We Are All Slaves

When I was wee tot, I lived in poverty. Around age six or seven, my mom met her second husband and waved goodbye to the outhouse and stovetop baths.

Before I left poverty, my mom and dad had racked up debt (mostly because of my dad) and I spent much of my time with my grandmother after their divorce. She was a humble lady content with the little she did and did not have. 

Several of my family members ordered a lot of “stuff” from Fingerhut, JC Penny, and Sears catalogs. They amassed unnecessary debt and accumulated piles of junk. I wanted the junk too.

I thank my step-dad who gave me my first wise words of financial advice: most of the people with nice homes, new cars, and lots of stuff aren’t rich, they are in debt.

I didn’t get it. 

Revelation 21

Our sinless Savior came to die;

So that we might be sanctified.

He washed us clean from all our sin,

He broke the curse, He conquered death.

It Is Not Death to Die

Three months ago my dad passed away. There were a number of us who had shared the Gospel with him throughout his life with increased passion in his last days. On his deathbed, my dad professed faith in Christ, praise be to God. I certainly miss him a lot, there’s not a day that passes that I don’t think of him. His favorite singer-songwriter, John Prine, has been playing nearly every day since my dad was in the ICU for the first time.

Just days before he went into septic shock, ultimately resulting in cardiac arrest, my dad went from being terrified of the unknown to embracing it. Something in his heart changed. He no longer feared the grave and I am convinced it is because he knew what it would bring.

BOOK REVIEW: Go+Do

GO+DO
DARING TO CHANGE THE WORLD ONE STORY AT A TIME

Jay Milbrandt
Tyndale House Publishers, 2012

Here is a book I wish I had read sooner. When I first received “Go+Do” from Tyndale House Publishers I was in an incredibly busy stage of life. My dad was about to be released from prison and my spring semester of seminary was coming to an end. Looking back, I would have been better served by not placing this on my “roundtuit” list. Now that I have actually read the book, I am grateful.

As a forewarning for potential readers, this is not a book filled with great theology. I would urge you to read Milbrandt’s work with your theological guard up. At the same time, Milbrandt’s intention was never to give good theology. On the contrary, the title well summarizes his purpose. He wants to inspire his audience to “go and do” the work needed to aid in a hurting world.

Why Learn?

The aim of knowledge is to grow more like Christ, giving him all glory. The educational aim for the Christian teacher should be primarily to point to Christ through whom all truth flows. Education institutions are to teach both general revelation (regarding the natural) and special revelation (regarding the supernatural). Because schools design cultures, Christian schools ought to teach both forms of knowledge through a biblical worldview.

If God created the world, then it must be the case that the world reveals something about him. That's not to say that everything perfectly reveals something about God because we do live in a fallen, corrupt state. However, that should not keep us from learning and studying further about the Creator who designed all things. Thus, when we study science, theology, or philosophy, the goal is to reveal something about the glory of God. That is valuable.

When it comes to reading Scripture, which is the very word of God, we aim to learn about him as well. Unlike the world we live in, the Bible is not corrupt. It is the inerrant, infallible Word of God (original autographs). Thus, when our churches and Christian schools teach, they teach to point to our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus. They are to teach both natural revelation and special revelation. It's important to have Christian schools and Christian educators because schools design culture. This is the very reason for the secular takeover of the public education  system in the West. 

What is Knowable?

There are two types of revelation, general and special. All learners can know general revelation because it has been revealed in the natural world. General revelation, therefore, is primarily sensory and discovered through sciences. Only some can know special revelation though. It is revealed by God through his Holy Spirit. The Christian learner should study both as he is able to know both.

Going back to the question of "What is Truth?" we learned recognized two kinds of truth: (a) natural; and (b) supernatural. Natural truth is observable by the human eye (or the aided human eye in the case of microscopic things). Supernatural truth, on the other hand, is recognized by experience and special divine revelation. For example, natural revelations are those things we can come to know through the use of empirical science as to where supernatural (special) revelations are those which God reveals to us. 

Scripture, being the very words of God, explain how God created everything originally good. Thus, it is also good (valuable) for us to study the natural world as well as theology and philosophy. By studying these things we can come to greater knowledge of God. At the same time, not all science, theology, and philosophy is true. Thus, we use the Word of God (the 66 books of the Bible) to discern what is truth. If it is true it will not run contrary to the Word of God.

If something does run contrary to God's Word, then there are three possibilities: (a) we have incorrect truth claims; (b) we have interpreted Scripture wrongly; or (c) we have incorrect truth claims and we have interpreted Scripture wrongly.

[Romans 1, 2; Matthew 28]

What are Values?

Values can only be found in God’s glory. They are determined by God who is the creator of all things. All things were created to glorify him. And all things were originally created good. God is good and defines what is good.

We do not live in a dualistic world, meaning, evil is simply a lack of good. Thus, when someone murders an innocent person, evil is not a thing that lives within the murderer, but rather, a lack of good within the murderer. What is good is determined by God. His character is the very definition of good. 

When people ask, "Can God logically commit evil?" it's like asking if God can make a rock to heavy for himself to lift or if he can make a squared circle. The answer is no. It's not that he is too powerless to create a rock too heavy even for him to lift, it's that the questioner has given a question that goes against the law of non-contradiction. Therefore, we can conclude, God, being holy and perfect, cannot commit evil because it goes against the law of non-contradiction. If he were able to commit evil (remember this is a lack of good), then he wouldn't be God. One of the requirements of God's character is that he is good.

If the God of Scripture exists, and I believe we have ample reason to believe this is the case, then we can expect that only that which he defines as being good is actually good. Those are the things of value.

[Romans 9, 11; Ephesians 1; Proverbs 16:33; 1 John; Genesis 1, 2]