Transforming power, part III

(Photo courtesy of Amy Velazquez on Unsplash)

For the last two days of our study, let's dig in to how the Bible transforms men and women into Christians.

First of all, the Bible teaches us what is true. The Bible's truth is unchanging; it is true at all times. It's not like man's truth, which changes with the whim of the speaker, or with the approval/disapproval of peers. It's not like man's truth, which can even be impacted by government or by legislative edicts. The Bible is the final word, and we don't have "license" to tweak it or adjust it to suit ourselves.

That is why we hold to the creation account in the Bible, instead of the theories and speculations of men. After all, we cannot see the Big Bang or evolution happening; they cannot be replicated, so they do not even fall into the category of true science, which states that things must be able to be replicated to be true. The tools of science allow us to describe the predictable, consistent way in which the universe normally behaves. I mix chemical A with reagent B and I get a certain product. Always. I walk outside and gravity holds my feet to the sidewalk, instead of my floating skyward and requiring a mechanism to come back down to earth to get into my car. Astronomers can calculate years in advance the movements and positions of planets, stars, and comets, because of the operation of the universe in a consistent way. We accept that things will be in the future as they have been in the past.
Why?
What is the foundation for this principle?
(I'm glad you asked!)
The Bible provides that foundation. According to the biblical worldview, God has chosen to uphold the universe in a consistent way for our benefit. He has promised that the cycles of nature will continue in the future just as they have in the past:

As long as the earth endures, seedtime and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, day and night will never cease. (Genesis 8:22)

Only God is in a position to promise that. He is beyond time, and only He knows what the future will be.

Remember the former things, those of long ago;    I am God, and there is no other;    I am God, and there is none like me;  I make known the end from the beginning,    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,    and I will do all that I please.’ (Isaiah 46:9-10)

But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day.  (II Peter 3:8)

We, however, are within time, and have not experienced the future. The only way we can know that the future will be (in some ways) like the past is because God has told us it will be. And so far, no one has been able to show how that belief would make sense, apart from Scripture. Philosophers have argued until they have been blue in the face, but only the Bible can make sense of the past and the future.
Non-Christians are able to use the laws of logic and the methods of science with success in other areas.  So, how is it that they can deny the truth of the Bible, and at the same time, rely on the core truths of the Bible: that tomorrow nature and science will be the same in many ways, and that it's the God of the Bible Who has set it up and promised its continuance?
Paul shed some light on this in the first chapter of Romans:

The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, 19 since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. 20 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 people are without excuse.
21 For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. (Romans 1:18-21)

God has "hardwired" knowledge of Himself into every single human, so we have inescapable knowledge of God.  Some evangelists have said that there's a "God shaped hole in every soul" but people rebel against God. They go to great lengths to convince themselves (and others) that they know or need God. They deny His existence because they don't want to deal with the fact that He is rightly upset with them for their rebellion and disregard for Him.
We are all made in His image, so we are able to use knowledge, logic and common sense that He has placed within us. What the Bible teaches us can make sense of the things necessary for science and for reasoning. Unless the truth is "a given," we can't prove anything at all.
Here is a quote from Greg L. Bahnsen that says it more clearly and succinctly than I can!

"Imagine a person who comes in here tonight and argues "no air exists" but continues to breathe air while he argues. Now intellectually, atheists continue to breathe - they continue to use reason and draw scientific conclusions (which assumes an orderly universe), to make moral judgments (which assumes absolute values) -- but the atheistic view of things would in theory make such "breathing" impossible. They are breathing God's air all the time that they are arguing against Him."

Here is another that goes right to the point:

"I shall not convert you at the end of my argument. I think the argument is sound. I hold that belief in God is not merely as reasonable as other belief, or even a little or infinitely more probably true than other belief; I hold rather that unless you believe in God you can logically believe in nothing else."   Cornelius Van Til

The Bible is the foundation for belief in an orderly universe; it's foundational for asserting that there can be moral judgments and absolute values. It's the truth that we can base our lives upon!

The second thing that makes it possible for the Bible to transform lives is that it shows us what is wrong in our lives. Recently, a member of our family was diagnosed with lymphoma, and will be considering treatment options. It took many, many tests, and some second opinions, too, to make certain what was wrong inside that person's body.
The Bible has no need of second opinions. No need to go to specialists. The Bible shows us what is wrong -- it's sin in our lives!

As it is written:“There is no one righteous, not even one; (Romans 3:10)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,  (Romans 3:23)

As we read, the Bible strips away our excuses. Even when we think "oh, I'm not so bad, in fact, I do some nice stuff to help other people!" the Bible tells us the truth:

All of us have become like one who is unclean,    and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;we all shrivel up like a leaf,    and like the wind our sins sweep us away. (Isaiah 64:6)

The Bible lays the blame directly at our feet. It doesn't allow us to shift the blame to other people. We have to own up, to take responsibility for our lives.

For it is from within, out of a person’s heart, that evil thoughts come—sexual immorality, theft, murder, 22 adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. 23 All these evils come from inside and defile a person. (Mark 7:21-23)

The Bible points directly at the problems in our lives, whether pride, rebellion, idolatry, lust, greed, gluttony, or a combination of several problems! It's painful but true; we are all in the same boat. We can't fix the problem, and we can't even begin to find a solution until we admit we have a problem, and agree with God about it.
This quote from R. J. Rushdoony is right to the point:

In any age, our problems are a result of sin, and the solution is faith and obedience.

Lest you think we will leave it here on this low note, come back tomorrow for a joyful resolution to our problem!