Chapter 2.2. Born Again Knowing. A Biblical Perspective on Apologetics. Training Timothys. Overall Objective

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1 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 1 Chapter 2.2 Born Again Knowing A Biblical Perspective on Apologetics Training Timothys Overall Objective To describe a biblical approach to Christian truth in an unbelieving, even postmodern world. Primary Points The Bible itself begins unapologetically in Genesis 1:1. Genesis 1:1 coupled with Romans 1:19-20 presuppose the validity of the Scriptures, human language, and reasoning. The Bible begins with these presuppositions because its intended audience is born again Christians who know these presuppositions are true. The epistemological difference between Holy Spirit regenerated humans and the unregenerate is both considerable and important to understand. While Christians may be accused of epistemological arrogance, until unbelievers have received the Holy Spirit, they live in darkness, and will never know what they do not know. Such knowledge needs to be taken into consideration when approaching those without the Spirit about things that can only be known with the Spirit, like the Gospel. The hype concerning the influence of postmodernism is exaggerated and hardly deserves a response.

2 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 2 A) The Bible Begins Boldly It is fashionable these days to insist that a discussion of ultimate truths, like a systematic theology, must begin with apologetics. The Evangelical Dictionary of Theology states: A subdivision of Christian theology, apologetics is a systematic, argumentative discourse in defense of the divine origin and the authority of the Christian faith. 1 Such an approach involves the offering of rational proofs for the existence of God before talking about God, or an initial defense of presuppositions such as there is truth and falsehood, that human language can accurately convey knowledge, and that Scripture is a divinely authoritative source for ultimate truth. As we will argue below, such an apologetic introduction to ultimate truths wouldn t even be advised if our target audience were unbelievers, but it is certainly misplaced in a writing designed to benefit believers. We already know that God exists and that the above presuppositions are true. Not only is an apologetic introduction to systematic theology misplaced, but we would suggest that such an approach would fail to follow God s own approach to the topic. In other words, in a world in which agnostic skeptics and postmodern philosophers have convinced Christians that they must introduce any claim to truth with a lengthy apologetic discourse, it is both refreshing and corrective to be reminded that God s own written presentation of truth begins very unapologetically and remains so. It is unapologetic about both the source and content of truth and about the basic presuppositions concerning the communication and recognition of truth. For example, the first sentence of the most effective and influential communication of ultimate truth ever written says, In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth (Gen 1:1). Whether you agree with the first sentence of Christian Scripture or not, all have to agree that the Bible begins boldly. As the Christian theologian Bernard Ramm remarks, The Scriptures are nowhere concerned with the theistic proof or proofs for the existence of God, such as are found throughout the history of philosophy and theology. 2 Of course the world is filled with people who are claiming that no one can really know the truth about anything, and that we can t trust the Bible, our reason, or even human language itself to convey actual facts that correspond with reality. In answer to such nonsense, Holy Scripture not only begins with a statement of bare fact, but also with a presupposition that such things as Scripture, reason, and human language were also created in order that truth may be conveyed and confirmed to humanity. Accordingly, while many are claiming that human knowledge cannot contain dogmatic assertions, the Bible begins with one, implying that some ideas correspond with reality and others simply don t. The psalmist believed the same when he said: The fool says in his heart, "There is no God" (Ps 14:1). It is not that there are several options, all of which can be true. Rather, to deny the existence of God exposes a person as an intellectual and moral failure, regardless of what such a fool might think of themselves. The philosophers can deny it, but even common sense tells us that some things are absolutely true and some things are absolutely false. Secondly, the Bible begins boldly by asserting that it is the ultimate source of truth. There is no other place in the cosmos, whether it is in the far reaches of a distant galaxy, or the deepest depths of the human mind, where you will discover Who ultimately created all that we see. No amount of human philosophy or space exploration could ever answer the question that the Bible answers in just one sentence, and its first sentence. Thirdly, the Bible begins boldly by asserting that truth can be communicated adequately through human language, and this is, in fact, the method that God has chosen to communicate all the truths that humanity is responsible for knowing. Finally, the Bible begins boldly by communicating a divine expectation and desire for us to know things. God wants us to know He created the universe and He expects all

3 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 3 humanity to do so. Contrary to the philosophers of our day, there are some things that we are supposed to know with certainty. Along these lines the Apostle Paul wrote: The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the 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. (Rom 1:18-20) For those who suggest that we really can t know anything, God says we had better know some things because He is going to severely and eternally punish people for not knowing them. And such punishment will be just because regardless of the creative philosophical excuses that are espoused, God created humanity and its environment such that we are without excuse for being ignorant of certain things, such as the first sentence of Scripture. The Creator has intentionally designed both humanity and the Creation in order for humans to know things, and more particularly, according to Romans 1, to know that He exists. 3 Additional sources of knowledge that are presupposed by the Scriptures include Prophets and Apostles, miracles, and historical testimony. For example, Christ claimed to possess divine revelation when He said, I did not speak of My own accord, but the Father who sent Me commanded Me what to say and how to say it (John 12:49). He claimed that His authority was legitimately authenticated by His miracle working when He said, The miracles I do in My Father's name speak for Me (John 10:25). Certainly Christ s resurrection from the dead is intended by God to be supernatural proof that The King was a source of truth that all humanity is accountable to heed. Finally, proof of the resurrection comes from historical testimonies, another source of truth that God intends for us to value. The Scriptures also reflect a dependence on a person s reasoning to effectively identify, receive, evaluate, and act upon information. The existence of Creation, and what God expects to be communicated by it, is through the God-given senses and reasoning faculties of humans. The Apostle Paul says God has made His invisible qualities plain to humanity simply because Creation has been clearly seen and therefore, humanity has understood with their mind and reasoning what God intended to communicate through these physical means, so that men are without excuse (Rom 1:19-20). Humanity does not need a spiritual or mystical revelation of God to be without excuse. God knows that humanity s senses and reason are adequate processors of knowledge and data. And it is because of humanity s rebellion that these God-given epistemological tools have become futile and darkened (Rom 1:21). 4 We see then that the Scriptures themselves presuppose the value of several different sources of knowledge including Scripture, Creation, human language, divine messengers, miracles, and historical research. In addition, it anticipates the use of our reasoning faculties and conscience to process such knowledge to form convictions. Therefore, it is perfectly legitimate to begin a systematic theology with the same presuppositions because our primary target audience is the same as that of the Bible: spiritually born-again believers who know these things are true. 5 Pastoral Practices We should never lack boldness in preaching the truths of God s word, nor need we always be concerned to prove them to skeptics. Here we are reminded of the Apostle s exhortation to Timothy: In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, Who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of His appearing and His kingdom, I give you this charge: Preach the Word; be prepared in season and out of

4 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 4 season; correct, rebuke and encourage with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when men will not put up with sound doctrine. (1 Tim 4:1-3) Notice that in the presence of a culture that will not put up with sound doctrine we are still not to pander to their whims but preach the truth in love. That is our God-given responsibility, not to be winsome to every person s perspective, be it postmodern or otherwise. B) We Will Not Know the Truth Until We Know The Truth The epistemological difference between born again Christians and the rest of humanity is considerable, though often forgotten or ignored. George Whitefield's journal entry for January 29, 1739 illustrates his own recognition of the epistemological gap between those with the Spirit and those without: Sat up till near one in the morning, with my honoured brother and fellowlabourer, John Wesley, in conference with two clergymen of the Church of England, and some other strong opposers of the doctrine of the New Birth. God enabled me, with great simplicity, to declare what He had done for my soul, which made them look upon me as a madman... I am fully convinced there is a fundamental difference between us and them. They believe only an outward Christ, we further believe that He must be inwardly formed in our hearts also. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him. 6 Imagine that meeting! Two of the most powerful evangelists in all the history of humanity urging, pleading, and arguing with these men into the night. And yet it was of no use. The King reflected Whitefield s point when He told the religious leader Nicodemus in a statement that is loaded with both apologetic and epistemological implications: I tell you the truth, no one can see [idein: know, perceive, understand] the kingdom of God unless he is born again (John 3:3). Accordingly, noted NT scholar Merrill C. Tenney writes, The implication in John 3:3 is that without spiritual rebirth one cannot even perceive the reality of the kingdom of God. 7 And it is God Who promised the epistemological rebirth that is necessary to have a relationship with Him when through the Prophet Jeremiah He said: I will give them a heart to know Me (Jer 24:7). Humans need a certain kind of heart, to know God, a different one than the one they are born with, and only God can give it to them. The epistemological difference between people was a common theme of Christ s teachings, including when He said: The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! (Matt 6:22-23). The eyes here are metaphorical for a capacity to correctly discern spiritual knowledge. Contrary to postmodern thinking, the King said the epistemological eyes of some are bad resulting in a darkness of deception, while some eyes are good resulting in a fullness of epistemological and spiritual light. The spiritual blindness that occurs apart from God s grace was likewise described by Christ when He explained why He spoke in parables. For those who think true knowledge of divine things is a matter of human choice, the King said:

5 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 5 The knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you [disciples, i.e. Christians], but not to them [ those on the outside (Mark 4:11), the crowds, i.e. unbelievers]. Whoever has [i.e. the Christians] will be given more [spiritual insight and understanding], and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have [unbelievers], even what he has will be taken from him. This is why I speak to them in parables: Though seeing [physically], they do not see [spiritually]; though hearing [physically], they do not hear or understand [spiritually]. In them [unbelievers] is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah: You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving. Because this people s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes. Otherwise they might see [spiritually] with their eyes, hear [spiritually] with their ears, understand [spiritually] with their hearts and turn, and I would heal them. But blessed are your eyes [Christians] because they see [spiritually], and your ears because they hear [spiritually]. (Matt 13:11-16; cf. Jer 5:21; Ezek 12:2) Here is another clear description of two groups of people with very different experiences and abilities regarding spiritual truth, and the difference lies in what God has done (cf. vs. 11, 16) and the heart condition of the people (cf. v. 15). 8 This is why Christ repeatedly prefaced His statements with He who has [physical] ears, let him [spiritually] hear (Matt 11:15; cf. 13:9, 43). Mere natural ears suppressed by an unregenerate heart are unable to receive, understand, and appreciate divine revelation. 9 Therefore, those indwelled with the Holy Spirit are full of light and truth because their spiritual eyes and ears have been fixed. The unregenerate human has spiritually dead eyes and ears that cannot receive spiritual truth. 10 Moses speaks of this when he remarks to the unregenerated Israelites: Your eyes have seen all that the LORD did in Egypt to Pharaoh, to all his officials and to all his land. With your own eyes you saw those great trials, those miraculous signs and great wonders. But to this day the LORD has not given you a mind that understands or eyes that see or ears that hear. (Deut 29:2-4) The Apostle Paul describes unregenerated Gentiles with the same epistemological handicap and notes that it is clearly a spiritual problem, not an intellectual one, when he writes: So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts. (Eph 4:17-18) Commenting on this passage, the renowned Reformed theologian Charles Hodge ( ) wrote: A man s being enveloped in darkness is the cause of his not seeing... The apostle conceives of the heathen as men whose minds are impaired or darkened, and therefore they are ignorant. 11 This epistemological darkness is not merely natural or psychological in nature, but rather has a supernatural, demonic cause. Accordingly, the Apostle writes: [E]ven if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. The god of this age [satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, Who is the image of God. (2 Cor 4:3-4)

6 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 6 Here the Apostle explains in the most fundamental terms why the Gospel is veiled and often ineffectual. 12 It is because The god of this age [satan] has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel. Therefore, the fundamental problem is not to be naturally explained, but must be recognized to have a supernatural cause. Our claim that demonic forces are the fundamental cause of the dysfunctional reason of the unregenerate is well attested in Scripture. The King spoke of this in His commissioning vision to the Apostle Paul when He said, I am sending you to them [unbelievers] to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in Me (Acts 26:17-18). Psychological/epistemological hindrances are mentioned by Christ (i.e. closed eyes, living in darkness ), but the fundamental spiritual problem is the power of satan operating in their minds. Again, the King recognized that the epistemological problem with His own critics was not merely psychological, but spiritual when He told them: If God were your Father, you would love Me.... Why is My language not clear to you? Because you are unable to hear what I say. You belong to your father, the devil... He who belongs to God hears what God says. The reason you do not hear is that you do not belong to God. (John 8:42-44, 47) Once again, the fundamental reason that the unregenerate are unable to hear Christ is because they belong to... the devil and are under his demonic power. This is why the Apostle John wrote:. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true. (1 John 5:19-20) And no doubt, He has given us understanding because we are no longer under the control of the evil one. The Apostle Paul taught the same thing. He explains the fundamental reason for the mental and moral state of unbelievers when he writes: As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. (Eph 2:1-3) What is the fundamental reason that people are spiritually dead, following the ways of this world, and gratifying the cravings of [their] sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts? Because the [demonic] spirit of the ruler of the kingdom of the air is now at work in those who are disobedient. In the most simple and fundamental terms, demonic influences constantly affect the minds of unbelievers such that they are incapable of receiving and processing spiritual, biblical truth. The Apostle s description of satan s spirit being at work in those who are disobedient suggests that in a sense all unregenerate humans are demon possessed. Of course, full-blown demonic possession is a strengthened form of the mind control that all unregenerated humanity suffers from. This is why he said: [O]ur struggle [including leading people to Christ] is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms (Eph 6:12). Accordingly, he also wrote: Those who oppose him [ the Lord s servant ] he must gently instruct, in the hope that God will grant them repentance

7 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 7 leading them to a knowledge of the truth, and that they will come to their senses and escape from the trap of the devil, who has taken them captive to do his will (2 Tim 2:25-26). We see once again that the fundamental reason for any psychological/epistemological dysfunctionality of unregenerated humanity s reasoning regarding spiritual matters is the supernatural influence of demonic forces which accordingly require supernatural divine forces to remove. Accordingly, we speak of two kinds of people on planet Earth. Those with devildarkened reason and those with Spirit-liberated reason, and the difference between them in terms of their ability to recognize, receive, and believe spiritual truth is like night and day. 13 As a matter of fact, from God s perspective, there are only two kinds of people in the world: those spiritually dead in transgressions and those He has made [spiritually] alive (Eph 2:5). The King put it this way: there are the people of this world and then there are the people of the light (Luke 16:8). He never even hinted at any other category of humanity. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul distinguished between believers and unbelievers in epistemological terms when he wrote: Those who live according to the sinful nature [i.e. spiritually dead] have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit [i.e. spiritually alive] have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. (Rom 8:5) 14 The Apostle John likewise described this universal human dichotomy when he wrote: He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life (1 John 5:12), the former alone being children of God and all of the latter being children of the devil (1 John 3:10). There is no third kind of person, and no doubt the spiritually alive children of God have some significant advantages over the spiritually dead children of the devil when it comes to ascertaining spiritual truth. Therefore, the Apostle Paul notes that: We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit Who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing [things of the Spirit to people of the Spirit 15 ]. The man without the Spirit does not [and cannot] accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. (1 Cor 2:12-14) 16 John Calvin ( ) commented on this passage: Having concluded that all men are blind, and having deprived the human mind of the power to rise up to knowledge of God, Paul now shows how the faithful are delivered from this blindness, viz., by the Lord honouring them with a special enlightenment of the Spirit. 17 To put it bluntly, born again Christians are an entirely different species of human being than their unregenerated counterparts. So much so that God says our old self died (cf. Rom 6:1-11). Accordingly, all regenerated Christians can say: I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me (Gal 2:20). A human being with Christ living in them is a radically different kind of human being, resulting in differences far greater than merely skin color, gender, or culture. This is because the minds, hearts, natures, desires, perspective, and abilities of spiritually regenerated humans have all been radically re-created. Thus, the Apostle Paul refers to Christians as the enlightened ones (Eph 1:18). 18 This is what was promised in the New Covenant, long ago when God said, I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh (Ezek 36:26; cf. Jer 31:31-33). This is precisely what the Apostle Paul is saying when he writes, [I]f anyone

8 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 8 is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! (2 Cor 5:17). The Apostle reflects this radical difference between who believers and unbelievers are when he says: You are not the same as those who do not believe. So do not join yourselves to them. Good and bad do not belong together. Light and darkness cannot share together. How can Christ and Belial, the devil, have any agreement? What can a believer have together with a nonbeliever? The temple of God cannot have any agreement with idols, and we are the temple of the living God. (2 Cor 6:14 16 NCV) The early Church Father Irenaeus (c. 180) paralleled the Apostle s distinction by dividing humanity between those who are empty or full : Know that every man is either empty or full. For if he has not the Holy Spirit, he has no knowledge of the Creator; he has not received Jesus Christ the Life; he knows not the Father who is in heaven; if he does not live after the dictates of reason, after the heavenly law, he is not a sober-minded person, nor does he act uprightly: such a person is empty. If, on the other hand, he receives God, who says, "I will dwell with them, and walk in them, and I will be their God," such a person is not empty, but full. 19 Likewise, Martin Luther ( ) wrote in his Preface to the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans: [Saving] Faith, however, is a divine work in us which changes us and makes us to be born anew of God, John 1[:12-13]. It kills the old Adam and makes us altogether different men, in heart and spirit and mind and powers; and it brings with it the Holy Spirit. 20 Our position here is reflected in the Apostle Peter s own recognition of who Jesus Christ was when he said: We believe and know that You are the Holy One of God (John 6:69). Belief here is put before knowing, just as God s gift of faith in Christ must precede any personal knowing of Him. This perspective was held by the early leaders in the Church after the Apostles as well. While St. Augustine ( ) is rather famous for his statement that, Unless you have believed you will not understand, 21 over two hundred years earlier, Bishop Theophilus of Antioch (c. 170) had written: God is seen by those who are enabled to see Him when they have the eyes of their soul opened: for all have eyes; but in some they are diseased and do not see the light of the sun. Yet it does not follow, because the blind do not see, that the light of the sun does not shine; but let the blind blame themselves and their own eyes. 22 One of the more famous blind men of the twentieth century was Bertrand Russell ( ) who wrote in his book, Why I Am Not a Christian: God and immortality, the central dogmas of the Christian religion, find no support in science.... No doubt people will continue to entertain these beliefs, because they are pleasant, just as it is pleasant to think ourselves virtuous and our enemies wicked. But for my part I cannot see any ground for either. I do not pretend to be able to prove that there is no God. I equally cannot prove that Satan is a fiction. The Christian God may exist; so may the Gods of Olympus, or of ancient Egypt, or of Babylon. But no one of these hypotheses is more probable than any other: they are outside the region of even probable knowledge, and therefore, there is no reason to consider any of them. 23 Here is a man in spiritual darkness, and therefore blind to the reality of ultimate truths. Illustrating such a condition, the influential nineteenth century Roman Catholic theologian, John Henry Newman ( ), said that when it came to spiritual realities, the unbeliever is like a blind man discoursing about colors. One biographer summarized Newman s thoughts as follows:

9 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 9 If one were the only seeing-man in a country of the blind, he could not prove to the blind that there is such a thing as sight, that is, an independent source of information not available to them. If they said that his talk about colored objects is an interesting interpretation of available data and his talk of sight, an interesting conjecture, he would answer that there are colored objects and he does see them. 24 Like Saul of Tarsus on the day of his baptism, the scales have fallen from the born again Christian s eyes (cf. Acts 9:18), and the ultimate realities concerning God and humans have been brought into sharp focus, while for the rest, these things remain, at best, an unrecognizable blur. While a Christian cannot automatically claim superior knowledge of all things, it is by virtue of their spiritual rebirth that they possess superior insight into spiritual things, which are also the most important things. The rest of the world will never know such truth until they know The Truth and confess with their mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead (cf. Rom 10:8-10). The anonymous author of the very ancient Christian document, The Epistle to Diognetus (c ) recognized many of the same things we are suggesting here: For Christians are not distinguished from the rest of humanity by country, language, or custom. For nowhere do they live in cities of their own, nor do they speak some unusual dialect, nor do they practice an eccentric life-style. This teaching of theirs has not been discovered by the thought and reflection of ingenious men, nor do they promote any human doctrine, as some do... For this is, as I said, no earthly discovery that was committed to them, nor some mortal idea that they consider to be worth guarding so carefully, nor have they been entrusted with the administration of merely human mysteries. On the contrary, the omnipotent Creator of all, the invisible God himself, established among men the truth and the holy, incomprehensible word from heaven and fixed it firmly in their hearts... Or do you accept the empty and nonsensical statements of those pretentious philosophers, some of whom said that God was fire. The very thing they are headed for, they call God! And others, water, and still others some other one of the elements created by God... No, these things are merely the illusions and deceit of the magicians... The one who thinks he knows anything, without the true knowledge that is confirmed by the life, knows nothing; he is deceived by the serpent, because he did not love life. 25 Likewise, Martin Luther had written: It is not sufficient to know God... as philosophers write of his nature.... This is a natural knowledge of the senses, harmful to those who do not understand it.... No one understands his commands rightly unless he first be illuminated from above. 26 John Calvin wrote a great deal on this subject, succinctly summed up when he commented: men's minds must of necessity be in blindness until they are enlightened by the Spirit of God. 27 In his Institutes of the Christian Religion he writes: Augustine so recognizes this inability of the reason to understand the things of God that he deems the grace of illumination no less necessary for our minds than the light of the sun for our eyes. 28 Along the same lines, the Christian genius Blaise Pascal ( ) wrote: I shall not undertake to prove by natural reasons either the existence of God, or the Trinity, or the immortality of the soul, or anything of that nature; not only because I should not feel myself sufficiently able to find in nature arguments to convince hardened atheists, but also because such knowledge without Jesus Christ is useless and barren. 29

10 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 10 Jonathan Edwards ( ) wrote a great deal about what he called the epistemological new sense of the Christian and its resulting vast difference between the spiritual perception of those with the Spirit compared to mere natural men: A natural man has no experience of any of those things that are spiritual; the apostle teaches us, that he is so far from it, that he knows nothing about them, he is a perfect stranger to them, the talk about such things is all foolishness and nonsense to him, he knows not what it means; 1 Cor. 2: And to the like purpose Christ teaches us that the world is wholly unacquainted with the Spirit of God, John 14: [N]atural men are represented in Scripture, as having no spiritual light, no spiritual life, and no spiritual being; and therefore conversion is often compared to opening the eyes of the blind, raising the dead, and a work of creation.... There is such a thing, if the Scriptures are of any use to teach us anything, as a spiritual, supernatural understanding of divine things, that is peculiar to the saints, and which those who are not saints have nothing of. It is certainly a kind of understanding, apprehending or discerning of divine things, that natural men have nothing of.... [T]here [is] in the saints a kind of apprehension or perception, which is in its nature perfectly diverse from all that natural men have, or that it is possible they should have, until they have a new nature.... [There are] the sensations of a new spiritual sense, which the souls of natural men have not; [but] which the saints have given them in regeneration. 30 We realize that the above statements may sound rather arrogant to some. For example, the famous English historian, Arnold Toynbee ( ) wrote: Since self-centeredness is innate in human nature, we are all inclined, to some extent, to assume that our own religion is the only true and right religion; that our own vision of Absolute Reality is the only authentic vision; that we alone have received a revelation; that the truth which has been revealed to us is the whole truth; and that, in consequence, we ourselves are "the chosen people" and the "children of light," while the rest of the human race are gentiles sitting in darkness. Such pride and prejudice are symptoms of original sin. 31 Likewise, the very influential Anglican theologian John Macquarrie ( ) has written: The Christian believes that he himself, as one of the elect, has been rescued from this sea of error and that his mind has been enlightened by the Holy Spirit. However much he may insist that this is God's doing and not his own, his claim is nevertheless one of the most arrogant that has ever been made. It is this kind of thing that has rightly earned for theology the contempt of serious men. 32 Serious men maybe, but not spiritually reborn men. Those of us who have experienced the unmistakable, revolutionary, and ever increasing transformation that comes with the Holy Spirit s invasion of our heart, soul, mind, and body, know that Macquarrie is both right and wrong. Dr. Macquarrie was right to say that the spiritually regenerated person has indeed been granted the most certain knowledge of the most vital and valuable things. We know Who the Creator of the universe is. Multitudes of people a lot smarter than us do not. We know that humanity s ultimate purpose is to bring joy and glory to our Creator. Most of humanity lives with no purpose at all except to bring happiness and glory to themselves. We know that this Creator will one Day eternally divide all people into two groups: the forgiven and the unforgiven; and we know how to be among the forgiven. More than that, we know we are among the forgiven. Indeed, we are the most privileged people on the planet. While the rest of the world needs to wallow in uncertainty concerning the most important questions of human existence, the born-again Christian enjoys a settled confidence in what the Spirit of truth (John 14:17; cf. 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6)

11 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 11 has revealed in the divinely inspired Scriptures. We have met the God man Plato ( B. C.) was looking for millennia ago when he wrote, We will wait for one, be he a God or an inspired man, to instruct us in our duties and to take away the darkness from our eyes. 33 Yet, contrary to Dr. Macquarrie, we also know that such knowledge does not puff up (1 Cor 8:1) as many might imagine, but rather, brings us to our knees in humble gratitude to our gracious Father, Savior, and Teacher. We are not proud of all these spiritual gifts we have received, for we know just as certainly that we have not earned them, nor ever will, but in fact have earned just the opposite with the rest of humanity. 34 Therefore, we both confidently and humbly proclaim that God has told us secrets that others do not know, and will never know, unless God tells them too. Not that any of these things have not been heard physically by the multitudes. They have heard them, but, though hearing, they do not [spiritually and savingly] hear or understand.... Because this people s heart has become calloused; they hardly hear with their ears, and they have closed their eyes (Matt 13:13, 15). Without being born again by the Holy Spirit of God, any human is doomed to always learning but never able to acknowledge the truth (2 Tim 3:7). The reason we have heard and understand is that, God, who said, "Let light shine out of darkness," made His light shine in our hearts to give us the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6). As the psalmist put it, For with You is the fountain of life; in Your light we see light (Psa 36:9). It is through the rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit whom He poured out on us generously (Tit 3:5-6), that we know things that the spiritually unregenerated world does not know. The Apostle John simply says, We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know Him who is true (1 John 5:19-20). Likewise, the King said, If anyone chooses to do God's will [which only a spiritually born again person will do], he will find out whether My teaching comes from God or whether I speak on My own (John 7:17). We need not, and cannot prove to a skeptic that we know the truth, because until they know The Truth like we do, they will remain blind to what we see. Accordingly, any born again Christian who reads the philosophers has an irresistible feeling that they have never really met The Truth, nor possess the kind of Spirit-liberated reason that enables one to understand the spiritual truth that they seem to be so void of. By Spirit-liberated reason we refer to the fact that through spiritual regeneration, our sinful nature and will has been replaced by our New Nature, the indwelling Spirit, thereby allowing our mind to process truth without a God-hating nature suppressing it. 35 Unfortunately, Christian theologians have spent far too much ink answering the questions of unbelieving skeptics, without recognizing that such philosophers have primarily a spiritual need, and not an intellectual one. Born again believing is the only kind of believing that will be true concerning the most critical spiritual realities. The Holy Spirit of God is the One who places the born again Christian in a significantly different epistemological environment than the rest of the world. This, of course, is denied by the unregenerate and illustrated in a rather well known Hindu poem that begins: It was six men of Indostan, to learning much inclined, Who went to see the Elephant, though all of them were blind, That each by observation, might satisfy his mind. The poem goes on to describe how each of the six blind men come in contact with a particular part of the elephant and respectively conclude that the whole animal is a leg, trunk, or ear, etc. The poem ends with: And so these men of Indostan, disputed loud and long, Each in his own opinion, exceeding stiff and strong, Though each was partly in the right, and all were in the wrong!

12 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 12 The Moral: So oft in theologic wars, the disputants, I ween, Rail on in utter ignorance, of what each other mean, And prate about an Elephant, not one of them has seen! The suggested moral of the poem is that no human has any superiority over others when it comes to understanding ultimate realities. However, the reader should not miss one important fact in the poem itself: All the men were blind! If they were not epistemologically handicapped and could see with the means God had given them, they would have an essentially true and identical idea about what an elephant is. We are reminded here of Christ s epistemological description of the Pharisees when He told His disciples, Leave them [as opposed to debating with them]; they are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit (Matt 15: 14). To suggest, as many do, that all of humanity suffers from similar theological blindness, is to completely disregard the spiritual and epistemological rebirth that comes from the Holy Spirit to the believer in the King. There is a world of difference between the abilities of the Spirit-liberated reason of the Christian and the devil-darkened reason of the pagan. While there are certainly some mysterious elements to the born again experience (cf. John 3:8), its epistemological effects are unmistakable. Along these lines, Harvey Conn, Professor of Missions at Westminster, has remarked: In our turning to God, we are increasingly drawn by the Holy Spirit into a new cultural world. Our way of perceiving the cosmos, our world view, begins to undergo reshaping. We are given a spiritual predisposition to understand the things of the Spirit (1 Cor. 2:14). He makes over our values and perspectives. We become, in this process called conversion, increasingly familiar with the structure of biblical narrative. What seemed like nonsense before now becomes the only sense we can make of things. We see more and more the world as God wants us to see it, from creation to fall to redemption to consummation. In short, we find ourselves more and more operating in a context increasingly comparable to the design of God. Our predispositions to understand what God says and does become more closely proximate to His vision of reality. God has not changed, but we have... Now, a sentence like "All have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Rom. 3:23 KJV) matches our new predispositions. We no longer tie it solely to our next-door neighbor's children but to ourselves. Axheads that float, fish that swallow men, and city walls that collapse with the blowing of trumpets are no longer answered with a scientific smirk and a wink. One man's death and resurrection for others was foolishness; now it becomes the wisdom of God (1 Cor. 1:23-24). The biblical context remains the same. But ours has been changed by faith. 36 Pastoral Practices It is important, to the best of our ability, to discern whether or not a person we are counseling or ministering to is a true believer or not. If they are not, they will not be able to fully understand and apply whatever advice you are giving them. One can enquire about their testimony, church background, spiritual journey, etc. Obviously, if it seems they may not know Christ, the most important thing they need is the Gospel and you can explain how that will help them with the problem they came to you with in the first place. C) The Power of God for Salvation is the Gospel, Not Apologetics

13 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 13 As stated earlier, many contend that a presentation of Christian truth must begin with a rational defense of the superiority of its authority and sources. We would label this as intellectual apologetics in which there is an emphasis on philosophical, historical, and scientific arguments for the Christian faith. For example, the rightly respected apologist Dr. Norm Geisler writes: The heart of this [intellectual] apologetic approach is that the Christian is interested in defending the truths that Christ is the Son of God and the Bible is the word of God. However, prior to establishing these two pillars on which the uniqueness of Christianity is built, one must establish the existence of God. For it makes no sense to speak about an act of God (i.e., a miracle) confirming that Christ is the Son of God and that the Bible is the Word of God unless of course there is a God who can have a son and who can speak a Word. Theism, then, is a logical prerequisite to Christianity. What is more, an adequate test for truth is a methodological prerequisite to establishing theism. For unless the Christian apologist has a test by which he can show other systems to be false and theism to be true, then there is no way to adjudicate the conflicting claims of various religions and world views. 37 Likewise, the popular Reformed theologian R. C. Sproul says: Apologetics is indispensable for the establishing of [the intellectual assent to Christian truth that occurs before someone gets saved]. Though apologetics may not be evangelism, it is [apparently always] a vital part of pre-evangelism. 38 We would respectfully disagree. While we do not wish to deny that the evidences produced by intellectual apologists have had some value for the conversion of some unbelievers, they do not have the preeminent evangelistic value that Drs. Geisler and Sproul suggest. 39 In fact, the greatest value of intellectual apologetics is not in sparking the faith of unbelievers, but rather in building the faith of believers who can actually appreciate such evidence. 40 This, in fact, may explain the misplaced emphasis on philosophical, historical, and scientific evidences for the Christian faith as a defense of it to unbelievers. It is because such evidences are so valuable to us, that we want to assume they will be valuable to the unregenerate as well, which is often not the case. Several Scriptures are used to support the evangelistic approach of intellectual apologists. One of the foremost is 1 Peter 3:15 which, we will demonstrate elsewhere, actually supports our own emphasis on virtue apologetics, not the philosophical/scientific type. 41 Another passage of Scripture commonly used is 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. However, the Apostle is clearly speaking in the context of his battles with false teaching among the Corinthian Christians, not his evangelistic efforts. 42 Elsewhere in his Corinthian correspondence he is very clear on his approach to evangelism. For example, the Apostle writes: Therefore, since through God s mercy we have this ministry [of evangelism], we do not lose heart. 2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth [the Gospel, cf. next v.] plainly we commend ourselves to every man s conscience in the sight of God. 3 And even if our Gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. 4 The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. 5 For we do not preach ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, and ourselves as your servants for Jesus sake. (2 Cor 4:1-5) There is no mention here of argumentative apologetics as a part of the Apostle s ministry (v. 1). Rather, he plainly preached the Gospel (vs. 2-3), and

14 Ch. 2.2: Christian Superiority in Knowledge 14 Jesus Christ as Lord, apparently skipping the whole discussion of whether Christ existed, was God, or was alive, points which intellectual apologists deem so vital to prove to unbelievers. This was because the Apostle knew what we are ultimately up against: the god of this age [who] has blinded the minds of unbelievers (v. 4). The battle in evangelism is a spiritual one, not an intellectual one, and it is the Gospel that is promised the spiritual power to defeat the devil, not apologetic arguments. Accordingly, the Apostle wrote the same church: Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the Gospel--not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know Him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.... God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise... When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.... My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power, so that your faith might not rest on men's wisdom [i.e. intellectual arguments], but on God's power. (1 Cor 1:17-2:5) Corinthian people were quite attracted to philosophical arguments, and a seeker-friendly approach there would have included intellectual apologetics. Nonetheless, the Apostle Paul flat out denies that he took that approach when he says, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit's power (1 Cor 2:4). What then was the demonstration of the Spirit s power? The supernatural conviction and rebirth that occurs through the working of the Holy Spirit only in the context of a clear presentation of the simple Gospel only in the presence of God s elect. Accordingly, the Apostle Paul wrote the Thessalonians about his evangelistic ministry there: For we know, brothers loved by God, that He has chosen you, because our Gospel came to you not simply with words [and certainly not with a lot of intellectual argumentation], but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction (1 Thess 1:4-5). Note that in 1 Corinthians as well, the Apostle Paul says he intentionally did not use the intellectual apologetic approach so that [their] faith might not rest on men's wisdom, but on God's power (1 Cor 1:25). Is there not a danger to encourage false conversions that rest on men's wisdom if we rely too much on intellectual apologetics? Likewise, in 2 Corinthians, the Apostle Paul had made it clear that it is the power of the Holy Spirit, rather than the power of our arguments, that is needed if people are to take even the first step toward Christ. In Second Corinthians chapter four he again describes his method of evangelism as, setting forth the truth plainly (v. 2) which again, is simply the Gospel (v. 3). Not only did the Apostle Paul s strategy not have the content that intellectual apologists suppose, but it did not have the effect that they are looking for either.