davidbowerkingwood

San Francisco Homeless Encampment – Toronto Star

The Challenge Facing Christians

Life today is permeated by irrational behavior everywhere one looks. The homeless encampment shown above is only one of many! From Washington DC to the streets of San Francisco, one can observe decisions and choices being made that defy logic! Is there an underlying force that is driving this move to hurtful and irresponsible actions?

I’m of the opinion we are witnessing a well-planned move toward a new level of Satanic deception that will climax during the Tribulation. What we are seeing now, is only the beginning. As these deceptions increase, it becomes ever more important to anchor ourselves in the one source of truth, the Holy Bible!

The Bible is the only source of truth, it is only in the Bible we discover what is really happening and what we must do to survive.

It is only in the Bible we learn the massive significance of living by faith and not by sight! The Bible is a master of understatement; sometimes the most incredible events are described in the simplest of terms. A case in point is verse 7, of 2 Corinthians 5:

⁷ For we live by believing and not by seeing. (NLT)

As some of you may know, I have been a science fiction fan since my childhood. I have read more science fiction stories than I could count in any reasonable amount of time. One thing I can promise you, though, not one science fiction author, in all those stories, has managed to even come close to the actual reality in which we live as described in the Bible.

Biblical reality takes us to a level infinitely beyond anything the mind of man has conceived! It is truly a level of reality which can only be partially comprehended by faith! In this, and next week’s essay, I will examine the seven basic Biblical premises that form the foundation for the reality in which we live.

I propose to you that living by believing demands we embrace the Biblical view of reality!

The First Basic Biblical Premise

The Bible quickly establishes a basic premise which serves as the foundation for the entire Bible. The only true reality is the Holy Trinity, all else has been created by the Trinity and has, since it’s creation, consisted as a product of the omnipotent creator’s will.

In case you’re wondering, that means everything that can be seen, including you and me, are not truly real in a strict sense; we are created beings who exist at the will of our creator! I have written more on this previously in an essay, “What is Reality” published in September of 2011.

The essay begins with this sentence, “The dictionary defines reality as “the quality or state of being real: something that is neither derivative nor dependent but exists necessarily.”

No fictional universe, of which I have any knowledge, comes anywhere close to the Biblical universe. The Bible reveals that only the Holy Trinity qualifies as real as all else exists as a creation and continues only as the creator wills it to exist.

The Second Basic Biblical Premise

Mankind is unique in the creation process; mankind alone is created in the image of God. In Genesis 1:26 it is written:

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us. They will reign over the fish in the sea, the birds in the sky, the livestock, all the wild animals on the earth, and the small animals that scurry along the ground.”

The implications of this decision by the Trinity are far-reaching, the living, spiritual essence of all human beings is made in the image of the creator and is eternal. This eternal essence is, however, placed in a physical body that is made of the earth.

The only part of a human being that can be seen is the portion made of the earth. The Trinity’s plan was to provide the Tree of Life for the body so it might live forever. After Adam’s disobedience, and the death of his spirit, the Trinity expelled Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden so they could not eat of the Tree of Life and live forever. Genesis 3:22-24 where it is written:

“²² Then the Lord God said, “Look, the human beings have become like us, knowing both good and evil. What if they reach out, take fruit from the tree of life, and eat it? Then they will live forever!” ²³ So the Lord God banished them from the Garden of Eden, and he sent Adam out to cultivate the ground from which he had been made. ²⁴ After sending them out, the Lord God stationed mighty cherubim to the east of the Garden of Eden. And he placed a flaming sword that flashed back and forth to guard the way to the tree of life.”

The expulsion of Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden was an act of grace and mercy, the idea of living forever with a dead spirit is truly horrendous!

The Third Basic Biblical Premise

The Trinity’s plan for restoration was complex and extremely challenging. The Bible is the record of the history of this plan as implemented by the Trinity. The Trinity would pay a great price to redeem mankind; the Second Person of the Trinity would become the Lamb of God who would take on human form and die for the sins of mankind.

At the time of the First Advent, the Second Person of the Holy Trinity would take on human form and be born to a virgin by the power of God, the Holy Spirit. The New Testament records the birth and the naming of the Second Person of the Holy Trinity, who, in his humanity, would be named Jesus Christ.

The Lord Jesus Christ would live a holy, sinless life, and then be killed in accordance with God’s plan; three days later, the Lord Jesus Christ would rise from the dead and, after a specified period of time, would ascend back into heaven.

The Fourth Basic Biblical Premise

After Adam’s failure, the Trinity had devised a new plan for the Second Adam from above. Salvation would include the indwelling of God, the Holy Spirit in everyone who received Jesus Christ as their Savior. The Second Person of the Holy Trinity had successfully completed the full payment for sin; now the Third Person of the Holy Trinity would minister to mankind until the end.

While the Trinity’s first plan focused on a people and a land, the Jews and Israel; the second plan would be multi-national in scope and have heaven as the homeland. Peoples of all nations could join this select group by simple faith in Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

The appearance of this people would not change, there would be no way to look at them and know they had joined this very special group. The changes were spiritual, eternal, and profoundly significant! In 2 Corinthians 5:17 it is written:

“¹⁷ This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”

Today, we live in this special, multi-national age of the church, the body of Christ. The clock is ticking on this age and the end of the age may come sooner rather than later. The signs the Bible has revealed, concerning the end of this age, are appearing all around us.

Next time, the Fifth through the Seventh of the Basic Biblical Premises.