We have ancient history. We have natural order and science. We have personal experience. We have God's Word. These things all work together in proving to us God's control over all things. As humans who have been given access to these things, God has left us no grounds to posit a plausible deniability in regard to His lordship. Though many men may live functionally as atheists, there are no actual atheists (Romans 1:19-21). Everyone knows that there is a God and that they are not Him.
However, though we have been given ample evidence by God to trust His control, He has still orchestrated our world in such a way as to require faith from us. Think about it, God could have, without any difficulty whatsoever, created us in a deterministic fashion, selecting our path for us and programming within us all that we would believe or do or say or think, but Scripture makes abundantly clear that He did not choose to do this:
- "I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore, choose life..." - Deuteronomy 30:19
- "You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore, whoever wishes [chooses] to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." - James 4:4
There are many other Scriptures which demonstrate our God-given ability to make determinations of our own will, but these illustrate the point quite well.
While we do have sufficient evidence to have faith in God, faith in God has not been imposed upon us. God has left it to us to choose to exert this faith in Him or to choose not to. This faith, in essence, is: processing the evidence given, concluding that God is Lord of all, submitting to what He has commanded, expecting Him to fulfill all of His promises that we have yet to experience, and loving Him for who He is and what He has done.
- "Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible. By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God. And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him." - Hebrews 11:1-6
Ponder, for a moment, what wisdom and grace are required for God to have orchestrated our world and lives in such a way! Omnipotent God has granted impotent man an ability to relate to Him...this defies comprehension, does it not?! "Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God" (Romans 11:33).
In light of all this, God has left us with the ultimate choice. In conclusion, I leave it with you today:
- "And if it is evil in your eyes to serve the LORD, choose this day whom you will serve, whether the gods your fathers served in the region beyond the River, or the gods of the Amorites in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” - Joshua 24:15
Pastor Jeremy
