Cessationism and Unbelief

Luk 20:27-40
Sadducees Ask About the Resurrection
27 There came to him some Sadducees, those who deny that there is a resurrection, 28 and they asked him a question, saying, “Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies, having a wife but no children, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. 29 Now there were seven brothers. The first took a wife, and died without children. 30 And the second 31 and the third took her, and likewise all seven left no children and died. 32 Afterward the woman also died. 33 In the resurrection, therefore, whose wife will the woman be? For the seven had her as wife.”
34 And Jesus said to them, “The sons of this age marry and are given in marriage, 35 but those who are considered worthy to attain to that age and to the resurrection from the dead neither marry nor are given in marriage, 36 for they cannot die anymore, because they are equal to angels and are sons of God, being sons of the resurrection. 37 But that the dead are raised, even Moses showed, in the passage about the bush, where he calls the Lord the God of Abraham and the God of Isaac and the God of Jacob. 38 Now he is not God of the dead, but of the living, for all live to him.” 39 Then some of the scribes answered, “Teacher, you have spoken well.” 40 For they no longer dared to ask him any question.

Let me explain the context of this passage. Jesus came to Jerusalem, knowing that He ought to be crucified according to Scriptures. And He started rebuking the hypocrisy of the Pharisees and Sadducees openly in front of everyone. In order to trap him in his words, they used several strategies by sending spies. One such strategy is found here.

I don't want to go into the details of this passage. Even with a cursive reading of this text, we can know the reason why Sadducees were asking this question. It is not because they wanted to know about issues related to marriage and divorce but to show that their worldview of 'no afterlife' is correct. Only with their worldview, they thought that the above apparent contradiction could be resolved.

Jesus answers them in two ways. One by showing the correct view of marriage (v.34-36), and also by exposing the logical fallacy of 'no afterlife'(v.37-38).

Likewise, cessationists believe in 'no revelatory gifts' after apostolic era because most of them have empiricism as their worldview. Very prominent cessationists of our age like John MacArthur, R.C.Sproul etc are all empiricists and believe that classical apologetics is better than presuppositional apologetics. So with this worldview, they interpret scripture.

One prominent argument for cessationism is lack of reliable empirical evidence. But we know that science and empiricism is fallible, so we don't need empirical evidence for believing in revelatory gifts. Click here to read about science and its fallacies.

The other argument is, miracles were performed for the attestation of the message of the gospel, that it is from the Lord. But we see that in many instances, Jesus and apostles were preaching and teaching without performing any miracles. And there are may other reasons why revelatory gifts were performed. Apart from attestation of the message, they were also performed out of compassion (Mat 15:32) and also for the edification of the church (1Cor 12:7).

Sadducees believed in one falsehood and with that falsehood they interpreted the scripture. Likewise cessationist believe in the infallibility of senses and they interpret Scripture. Both of them commit a very similar error.

Let us therefore stop being like a Sadducee and start believing in Scriptures. Miracles have not yet ceased. Only faith in miracles has ceased for some Christians.

If you have liked this, you can also read Miracles and Medicine

Hope and Perseverance in Trials - My thoughts on George Smiley

Recently, I watched a movie 'Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy', an espionage film based on a novel. Though I didn't like the worldview of the movie as a whole, yet one character which was admirable for me is George Smiley. George Smiley is described as a boring, melancholic, clumsy man with an expressionless face. Though he was an efficient and a honest field officer, yet he was looked down even by his subordinates. In-spite of all his achievements, he was thrown out of the secret service along with his superior officer. On top of this, he had a very problematic wife. Yet, he sincerely proceeded in the unofficial task for which he was entrusted with. I was wondering the reason for his perseverance in his honesty. I think he would have believed that truth will win one day.

Dear Christian, are you feeling lonely because you are loosing friends since you are faithful to God? Are you depressed because of the trials which you are facing for the sake of your righteousness? Are you not popular in your college because of the right choices you have made? Have you been denied the promotion you deserve because of your honesty? Hear the blessed words of our savior.

Jam 1:2-4
Testing of Your Faith
2 Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, 3 for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. 4 And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
(ESV)

Rom 5:3-5
3 Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
(ESV)

Beloved Christian, rejoice in your suffering because suffering produces endurance, hope, character and steadfast love for the Lord.

1Pe 1:6-7
6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
(ESV)

Our blessed Savior uses temptations to test our faith. Only those who love the Lord truly will endure trials. If you are still trusting the Lord for your faith even in the midst of these trials, then your faith is genuine. Not only suffering is used to test your faith but also for your sanctification.

Christian, do you think you are unjustly suffering for all these trials? Remember the words of our Savior.

Jn 15:20
20 Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master. ’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
(ESV)

Again this is a sign that you are in the Lord. The reason the world is opposing you is because the world is evil. Just like how evil Karla persecuted Smiley for his honesty, you will also be turned down by the world because it is vile. Also remember that your temptations has been measured by God so that you can endure it.

One day we all will be glorified since we have partaken in the afflictions of Christ.

Jn 16:33
In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
(ESV)

In the end, Smiley won. Honesty triumphed. If a secular movie can give positive hope for righteousness, how much more should we be hopeful of the promises of our Lord? Let us therefore trust in the Lord's faithful words in the midst of our sufferings.

Heb 11:26
26 He (Moses) considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward.
(ESV)

Let us also be like Moses and other heroes of faith and steadfastly look forward for a greater reward in heaven. May God bless you all.

Let the little children come to Jesus!

I was talking to a friend of mine, a Christian, who was recently blessed with a boy. We were discussing about the age to start teaching a child the precepts of God. Many of us think that we should wait till the child starts developing sense organs to teach Scriptures and other abstract things pertaining to mind. Aristotle says human mind is 'Tabula rasa' i.e. our mind is empty when we are born. We tend to observe things through our sense organs and learn from them. This view is the most common theory of mind in our secular science.

Humans are different from animals because we are the only creatures in this universe with rationality. Rationality presupposes prior knowledge based on propositions. Without propositions, our mind cannot use logic to analyse. Our process of thinking involves such analysis of propositions using logic. So if our mind is empty, we wont be able to think. If we cannot think, then we end up being an animal. So this Aristotelian theory of empty mind is false and illogical.

I have already explained in my previous post about the fallacies of senses. You can find it here.

So if our mind is not empty at birth, then what propositions do we have when we are born?

According to Scripture, man is dichotomous in nature, ie material and immaterial component.

Gen 2:7
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
(ESV)

Ecc 12:7
7 and the dust returns to the earth as it was, and the spirit returns to God who gave it.
(ESV)

Mat 10:28
28 And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
(ESV)

We also know from scripture that human beings are created at the time of conception (Psa 139:13). And all men are sinful from the womb (Psa 51:5). Reformed theology calls it as 'total depravity'. As Ecc 12:7 says, when we die, our body will be left behind in the earth whereas our spirit will be taken to heaven. Rev 6:9-10 and the parable of Lazarus and rich man also implies that though our body would be in the earth after death till glorification, our spirit will be in heaven worshiping the Lord without any usage of our sense organs.

Worshiping God involves thinking. In order to think, we need to logically analyse propositions. If we would be able to worship God without sense organs (since our physical body will be left behind in earth till glorification), then it means that we can worship God even without any requirement of senses.

So coming back to the discussion. When can we teach Scripture to our children? I believe we can start teaching them from the time of conception because as discussed earlier, sense organs are not required for thinking. And bible also says that men are totally depraved from birth. There are biblical examples like John who were filled by the Holy Spirit even at the time of conception (Luke 1:15). Other examples are Jeremiah and Samuel, who were serving the Lord at a very early age. So if God can anoint a person and make him born again even when he is at womb, it is our responsibility to teach Scripture and the gospel even when they are at womb. Jesus himself says that the work of Spirit in regeneration is like wind blowing (John 3:8). We won't see the wind, but we know when it blows. So why wait? Parents better start preaching to your children asap.

Man and his gods

Psa 115:2-8
2 Why should the nations say,
“Where is their God?”
3 Our God is in the heavens;
he does all that he pleases.
4 Their idols are silver and gold,
the work of human hands.
5 They have mouths, but do not speak;
eyes, but do not see.
6 They have ears, but do not hear;
noses, but do not smell.
7 They have hands, but do not feel;
feet, but do not walk;
and they do not make a sound in their throat.
8 Those who make them become like them;
so do all who trust in them.
(ESV)

People have differences. They differ in their physical appearances and also in their thinking. The chance for similarity in our thumbprints is one in 1 billion. Such is the diversity of mankind. Likewise, men have so many gods to worship. Though there are finite number of established religion, yet individuals differ in many way in their form of worship. They may even belong to same religion.  Some Hindus believe there are many gods, whereas few others say there is only one god. Yet they all will call themselves as Hindus. This type of diversity is found in all religions. I was wondering the reason why such diversity exists.

Men are inherently sinful. Instead of loving the one true God of the universe, they loved darkness. They want to please their sinful desires. Yet they want to appear as if they are worshipping gods. So they make their own gods. People, who want to be rich, worship lakshmi, god of fortune. I am just giving one example. As the psalmist says in verse 8, their gods represents their worldview, their thoughts and their motivations of life. Some are so evil that they know that their evil worldview will not allow them to worship god, so they call themselves as atheists (Rom 1:21-23). But they are also worshipping their atheistic beliefs like evolution etc.

There are people who call themselves Christians, yet in their actions there isn't much difference from their counterparts. Some Christian teachers preach that God knows only to bless and they will get worldly blessing if they become Christians. So people who want to become rich will start worshipping their jesus.

There are others, especially among Christian doctors who say that the duty of a Christian doctor is to be a medical missionary and practice health care in the areas of need. They tend to justify their worldview by saying Jesus healed the sick and delivered people from sickness.

There are Christians who say that we should be perfect in our profession and we should excel in our career even at the expense of our family and personal life. They justify their worldview by saying God is perfect.

Like how the Psalmist says, their idolatry is due to their sinful desires. They have become like their gods because their thoughts are like them. If we truly want to worship God, then instead of us creating a god out of our imaginations, we should be objectively knowing who that God is. The only way from which we can know about God is through Scripture. If we believe in some other way, if we don't believe in all the attributes of God described in scripture, then we are not worshiping the God of Scripture. We may use the words 'Jesus', 'YAHWEH' etc but those words doesn't mean the one true God, if we don't know the attributes of Him.

Num 14:18
18 ‘The Lord is slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, forgiving iniquity and transgression, but he will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children, to the third and the fourth generation. ’
(ESV)

Let us examine ourselves whether we are worshipping God or not. If not, search for God from Scriptures. Even famous Christian preachers can be wrong and can be worshiping a false Jesus. Your salvation is at stake if you worship a god who is not of Bible. Turn to Scripture to know God and repent. May God bless you all.

If you have liked this, you can also read What is the greatest need of Man? and What is Freedom?