PREFACE
Rebelliousness against God blinds and deafens. The rebellious have eyes and ears that fail them because these rebellious people take on the characteristics of their idol, that which becomes their ultimate concern. The rebellious become as deaf and blind as the objects of their worship— most often creations of their own hands. God promises to answer individuals and nations in keeping with the level of idolatry practiced. Idols have no sense. Idolators exhibit the same trait. The only solution to the quagmire of "senselessness" is repentance. The turning away from idols to right, meaning Christ-Centered life in God, yields "rationality."
Yes, Reason. To be clothed in our right mind requires moving to right position in the God of the Holy Bible. This comes only with the acceptance of the offer of Salvation made available only through Christ Jesus, God's Son. This is the first order of business.
If you have not made a commitment of your life to Christ Jesus, you need read no further until you do so. Nothing said here will help you or our society until you take care of that issue first. If you have already accepted Christ, I invite you to test everything that follows here on the basis of the Holy Scripture as we are commended to do in 1 John 4:1-6, the Holy Bible.
As my preface to this series, consider this.
In Genesis, God said that we were to take dominion of this earth. We were to name things, assigning meaning to that which God has given us charge. It is an issue of kingdom authority to use all God has given us, all our being which includes our minds, and to love God with sanctified thought, using our entire mind—the command center that operationally defines what we do in this life. Adverse consequences comes with not doing so. Irrational behavior if found in isolation is noticeable. On the other hand, if irrational behavior becomes commonplace, it is not quickly identified as such. The only solution is total immersion in the Word of God, and acknowledge Him. Why? Because definition that proceeds without right acknowledgement of God carries within itself seeds of self-destruction.
In contrast, to the very negative consequences of rebellion, God mercifully makes positive promises to those who are repentant and turn to Him.
He says in Psalm 1:
"Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers. But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on His law he meditates day and night. He is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither. Whatever he does prospers…"
Or, look at Jeremiah 33:3 where God says, "Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know."
God says in Jeremiah 15:19,
"…If you repent, I will restore you that you may serve me; if you utter worthy, not worthless words, you will be my spokesman. Let this people turn to you, but you must not turn to them. I will make you a wall to this people, a fortified wall of bronze; they will fight against you but will not overcome you for I am with you to rescue and save you," declares the Lord. I will save you from the hands of the wicked and redeem you from the grasp of the cruel."
Fear of the Lord is indeed the beginning of wisdom! Senselessness breeds futility. Methods that are applied in a senseless context, independent of the methodological sophistication, will yield results that will have futile consequences. God, Who created heaven and earth guides those who acknowledge Him. And, God wants acknowledgment first and NOT as an afterthought. He says that if we seek Him first, His kingdom, His lordship first, that He will order the rest of our steps. This includes the ordering of the steps in our reasoning process.
It is not mere coincidence that great classical composers were known to dedicate their works to God prior to beginning the composition. Those who did this recognized that without Him, we can do nothing of lasting value. Francis Bacon,a Christian, and considered the father of the scientific method, the guidelines for all scientific inquiry, stated in his work Advancements in Learning, an open literary message to the King:
"...The spirit of man is as the lamp of God, wherewith 'He searcheth the inwardness of all secrets.' If, then, such be the capacity and receipt of the mind of man, it is manifest that there is no danger at all in the proportion or quantity of knowledge, how large soever, lest it should make it swell or out-compass itself; no, but it is merely the quality of knowledge, which, be it in quantity more or less, if it be taken without the true corrective thereof, hath in it some nature of venom or malignity, and some effects of that venom, which is ventosity or swelling. This corrective spice, the mixture whereof maketh knowledge so sovereign, is charity, which the Apostle immediately addeth to the former clause; for so he saith, 'Knowledge bloweth up, but charity buildeth up;' not unlike unto that which he deilvereth in another place: 'If I spake,' saith he, 'with the tongues of men and angels, and had not charity, it were but as a tinkling cymbal.' Not but that it is an excellent thing to speak with the tongues of men and angels, but because, if it be severed from charity, and not referred to the good of men and mankind, it hath rather a sounding and unworthy glory than a meriting and substantial virtue. And as for that censure of Solomon concerning the excess of writing and reading books, and the anxiety of spirit which redoundeth from knowledge, and that admonition of St. Paul, 'That we be not seduced by vain philosophy,' let those places be rightly understood; and they do, indeed, excellently set forth the true bounds and limitations whereby human knowledge is confined and circumscribed, and yet without any such contracting or coarctation, but that it may comprehend all the universal nature of things; for these limitations are three: the first, 'That we do not so place our felicity in knowledge, as we forget our mortality;' the second, 'That we make application of our knowledge, to give ourselves repose and contentment, and not distaste or repining;' the third, 'That we do not presume by the contemplation of Nature to attain to the mysteries of God.' For as touching the first of these, Solomon doth excellently expound himself in another place of the same book, where he saith: 'I saw well that knowledge recedeth as far from ignorance as light doth from darkness; and that the wise man’s eyes keep watch in his head, whereas this fool roundeth about in darkness: but withal I learned that the same mortality involveth them both.'[THE FIRST BOOK OF FRANCIS BACON; OF THE PROFICIENCE AND ADVANCEMENT OF LEARNING, DIVINE AND HUMAN.]
I quote Francis Bacon's work here because he recognized that what constitutes "knowledge" can have corruptive consequences. And, indeed in the work I am citing from, Bacon spends a considerable amount of time warning against those who are good at words,the learned who trafic in policy, who fail to test what is proposed on the basis of what God says.
Dear Saints,
What I am saying is this.
God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob---Jehovah Jesus, mighty to save, is mighty to save us even from ourselves, individually and collectively.
So,...Why take on such a discussion here, now?
The answer is quite simple, really.
It is because a penetrating review of both action and assumptions behind the assault against our Constitutional form of government must be uprooted, not simply cut or patched or camophlaged by what I call poly-speech, words that temporarily win the day but do not serve to preserve God-given rights.
Saints, When explanations are wrong, actions will be faulty at best.
Yes.
It is possible, as a result of God’s grace, to come up with a favorable outcome despite the error of thought. But, that is a miracle of God's intervention in the literal sense. And, God has exercised great mercy and grace to us as a people. But, know this. Both the individual and individuals in the aggregate, meaning "nation" experience a similar pattern of existence. I contend that the pattern, a "wilderness" pattern oft repeated in the Holy Bible, is as follows:
THE DELIVERENCE CYCLE FOR THE INDIVIDUAL
Following Christ with Adherence to Biblical Principles --> Moral Clarity-->Invention-->Prosperity-->Forgetfulness of God-->Decline-->Cry Out to God IN REPENTANCE-->Deliverance-->Moral Clarity, Etc.---The cycle goes on. But, with increasing growth in spiritual maturity, consistent reading and application of the Holy Bible in ones life coupled with a life of repentence, filled with the presence of the Holy Spirit, a large modicum of moral clarity may be maintained, and thus interrupt the wilderness portion of the above cycle.
Nations [individuals in the agregate] go through a similar cycle. But, unlike individuals who are judged in eternity, nations are judged now.
THE DELIVERENCE CYCLE FOR THE NATION
Following Christ with Adherence to Biblical Principles --> Moral Clarity--> Invention--> Prosperity-->Forgetfulness of God-->Decline-->Cry Out to God IN REPENTANCE-->REVIVAL-->Deliverance-->Moral Clarity, Etc.---The cycle goes on.
Decisions are the result of explanation (theory), and as such all action (the consequence of decision) is theory or explanation driven. Every explanation should be tested against the plumb line that is the Holy Bible, the Word of God.
Christians within a society are to be salt [a preservative, that which inhibits decomposition] and light[clarity, that which makes things visible, definition]. And by the term "definition" I mean the expression of the exact nature of things. In a word, the TRUTH.
Please note: The Biblically-Informed Role of the Christ Follower in a society is that of preserver of what is good, meaning Godly. The correct prefix is PRE-SERVE.[To labor first, and thus permeate and transform to a state of incorruptibility that with which contact is made.] Not simply CON-Serve. [To labor with, and thus operate as a collective with emphasis on identity associated with tradition.] More about this tomorrow. And, speaking as a conservative who is saved, what I am saying is that our focus must not shift in anyway away from the Holy Bible. We must not focus on merely keeping what we have, clearly another idolatrous trap. We must never shift our gaze to the point that we ignore our God ordained role of preserving that which is of value to God. It is not our values, but His that count. And, our values count only to the degree that they are exactly that which God values, and in the order in which He places value.
Certainly some overlap of goals exists, but where such overlap does not, be vigilant and never presume that conservation and preservation are interchangeable concepts. When they differ, we must decide Biblically and not simply conservatively.
With adherence to the Holy Bible in our lives and the sharing of the Gospel, the Word made flesh, God can direct our thinking and actions toward a God-honoring agenda.
The goal is to avoid the pattern of futility in thought, word, and deed. So, what's the problem. Well, God says,
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all 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. 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. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles. Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator---who is forever praised. Amen. [Romans 1:18-25].
I present this series to promote a return to God and consequently a return to moral clarity. I present it to you by the grace of God. May what we read here constantly point us back to the Holy Bible, the written Word of God, and the only inerrant source of information needed to complete our mission on planet earth.
To God Alone be the Glory for the Things He Has Done!
Amen!
---Livvy McDonald :)<><
This series will be based upon excerpts from some of my previous works published by Grace House Publishing. As I prayerfully assemble portions, may God be honored and glorified by what is presented. In the name of Christ Jesus I pray. Amen.
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