Faith, Reason, Truths Revealed

Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ,

who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again

to a living hope through the resurrection

of Jesus Christ from the dead,

to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled

and that does not fade away,

Reserved in heaven for you,

who are kept by the power of God

through faith for salvation

ready to be revealed in the last time.

1 Peter 1: 3-5

     The genuineness of our faith is often tested, tested by fire as we are often grieved by various trials (vs. 4, 6); yet at the end of those trials, at the very end of our faith---salvation of our souls (vs. 9) as promised is given to those whose faith is from God, testified to a person by the Holy Spirit.  When news of a loved one comes announcing the departure of that one we may, at least in some small aspect, have our faith shaken, or in the least questions about our souls come to mind.  We then try to reason out why things happen, when they happen as the timing of that departure is out of sync with our desires; anger may set in, fear may overtake a person for at least a moment.  This is the time to remember that our faith, authority is the ground of our faith.  It must be recalled that the ground of knowledge is sense or reason.  It is the authority of God on which our Christian faith is built, our faith that has received the Scriptures, the Bible, as the Word of God in all they teach, the promises that are revealed, having been taught that all are true and than on His authority. Where do we turn when trials of fire attempt to overtake us?  It is in His authority we rest our faith, our hopes, our desires, and as that old hymn sung over the years by many Christians: "Resting on the Promises of God." 

     Let me ask this: Is there any need for a supernatural revelation?  Is not our human reason competent to discover and to authenticate all the truth we need?  I wrote on rationalism in earlier blogs and attempted to demonstrate that every man's consciousness communicates to us that there are questions concerning God, about our own origin and destiny, these questions that arise in our thoughts when we lose a loved one, but our reason cannot answer.  We may look for answers from others but we know, and this a priori, no other can give satisfactory answers.  It is a fact, when considered, that we know that the wisdom of man has no answers.  Where to go for answers?  The Scriptures give the answer, first not to the world for the world by wisdom does not know God.  Why?  Because the wisdom of this world is foolishness to God.  God has made then His truths to be undiscoverable by reason, especially man's salvation. 

     If truths are supernaturally revealed must they be authenticated by reason before they can be rationally received?  If so then they are received on rationality not on the ground of authority.  If we say that God can reveal nothing that cannot be reasoned by the human mind so that when known it is demonstrated to be true; then human reason is the measure of all truth.  This then allows for the assumption that there is no intelligence in the universe that is higher than man.  If that be the case, God cannot have purposes or plans, such as those things that are the grounds of reason that we cannot be competent to understand or discover.  We have no need to appreciate the authority of God for we accept only that which we can receive as true on the grounds or authority of reason.  During troubling times if we then try to reason things out by our own wisdom we may even come to a decision not to believe the testimony of God that there is a spiritual world.  We may not have a need or reason to believe any man on any subject; just on man's testimony.  Yet, we know that man does not act only on the principle of believing on that he can only understand and prove for there are many truths that is received on trust that is not able to be proved or comprehended.  If all we can prove by reason, in some wisdom of man, then the kingdom of heaven would have shut doors to the wise; all Christians then would be some form of a philosopher.  But, no man acts on those principles even as we use reason as an apology to rejects unpalatable truths.  Now, men do believe in God, in sin, in the freedom of the will, in responsibility and this without comprehended or having means to reconcile those truths with each other or with other facts of consciousness or experience.

    During those times of loss, times when darkness acts as a shroud over our faith, we attempt to reason out things because of the unfathomable situation.  We leave at the doorstep of our faith all remembrance that our faith in the promises of God is not based upon reason or any wisdom that this world may offer, but on the testimony of the Holy Spirit, and on the authority of God.  This we hold tight to our chests, we cry out to God as did the Apostles when they cried out to Jesus: "And the apostles said to the Lord, 'Increase our faith" (Luke 17:5).  

Praise the LORD, all you

     Gentiles!

    Laud Him, all you peoples!

   For His merciful kindness is 

     great toward us,

   And the truth of the LORD

     endures forever.

PRAISE THE LORD!

                         Psalm 117:1-2

May the Peace of God Reign 

         In Your Heart.

Richard L. Crumb