Preparedness

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. (Romans 01:13-15, NKJV).

Universalism is the fallacy (error, false thinking) that all roads lead to Heaven. This is illogical wishful thinking. Illogical because even if all “roads” had a single destination, as all ancient Roman roads ended up in Rome, it was entirely true to also say of that empire, “all roads lead away from Rome”, since there is nothing intrinsically one-way about direction, other than when stepping off a cliff, you will inevitably go down.

It is wishful thinking because it fails to take into account what Heaven's owner says about the entrance requirements, which is believing and trusting in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Only regenerated Christians get through the gate. Everybody else remains outside.

This would be truly horrible if the gospel weren't so simple, accessible, understandable, and itself “universal”, meaning that it is offered to everyone regardless of ethnicity (what moderns incorrectly call, race), philosophy, religion, gender, creed, intelligence, health, or skin color.

The thing about the gospel is that it must be heard or read for the invitation to eternal life to be effective. Paul declares this very thing later in Chapter 10, but even without his explicit statement, it makes sense.

How can someone respond to an invitation, or accept a gift, when he or she remains unaware that either has been offered?

This brings up two points. Let's call the first, Exposure, and the second, Preparedness, which is the main theme of this study.

If the gospel needs to be heard or read, or brought into a person's awareness in some way, then what about those “unreached” regions of the world where Christianity and Christians are few and far between?

Or what about those who may be mentally incapable of understanding the truth? Or who die before being mature enough to understand?

In answering these questions, we need to step away from human thinking and consider reality from the divine perspective as much as possible.

If exposure to the gospel is a prerequisite for accepting it as truth and thereby being saved, why would we think that an omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), and omnipresent (everywhere present) God would establish a requirement for His mercy and grace in salvation that could not be met?

In other words, why would He offer a gift and then not overcome any circumstance that might make it unavailable?

Missionaries around the world, and throughout history, have gone to unreached areas of the globe and have reported encounters with the indigenous (originating in that place) population who had received visions and dreams of Jesus and His propitiatory (gaining favor) death on the Cross. Other inhabitants spoke of visitors or messengers (angelic beings?) who appeared out of nowhere and declared the message of the gospel before the missionaries arrived to confirm it.

And who's to say that the One who invented human intelligence in the first place cannot surmount any physical handicaps related to it?

Furthermore, is it impossible to think that a child who dies before the age of accountability is not automatically and mercifully brought into Heaven? (Read what David said about his and Bathsheba's firstborn in the Book of Samuel, and think about the implications of what he meant.)

It is entirely conceivable and more than a little likely that the God who knows the end from the beginning will go to extravagant and even supernatural lengths to ensure that all who would be saved are provided the means of salvation.

Therefore, spreading the message of salvation is not entirely dependent on human endeavor, but that is not to say that humans are exempt from the effort.

The truth is that evangelizing (preaching the message of salvation through faith in Christ) is not only a command from Jesus Himself, but it is a privilege and honor. We get to participate in the miracle of His death and resurrection by telling sin-ravaged hearts about the hope and glory of Christ. What could be more astonishing and satisfying?

But to do that effectively, to be prepared, we need two things: knowledge and personal conviction.

We need to know the facts:

Jesus is God become Man to die in our place, paying for our sin so that we can avoid our just punishment and live forever.

He is fully human and fully God, existing eternally and being born as a baby to a virgin at the proper time.

He lived sinlessly and died voluntarily for us, in obedience to His Father, and then rose to life again on the third day to show that death could not keep Him because it is the result of sin.

He needed to be exactly who and what He is in order to satisfy God's righteous wrath against sin, and He needed to be born of a virgin so that He would not inherit Adam's sin nature.

He needed to be a Man so He could die as a Man because it was a man who fell in the garden.

That's the knowledge part in summary, though the mystery of the gospel is so deep and profound that entire human lifetimes could be spent in its study.

Yet it is so clear and simple that even a three-year old can understand and believe.

The personal conviction part of preparedness is equally important.

You can have all technical knowledge about Jesus and still not share it from a place of belief. Does that make the message ineffective? No, because God can use even a donkey to carry out His will (see the story of Balaam in Numbers). And Paul tells the Philippians that even preached in pretense, the gospel has the power of salvation.

But it is also clear that personal conviction and evidence of a changed life makes the gospel message that much more persuasive. We humans are built by God to respond, not only to facts, but to sincerity.

Thus, the best preparedness can be expressed as the equation knowledge + conviction, a formula that yields more than the sum of its parts.

That's how our God works: takes what little we can offer in our own strength and multiplies it beyond what we could ask or think.

Love,

Dad

Debtor Theology

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. (Romans 01:13-15, NKJV).

Theology is the study of God and the things pertaining to God. There are several “kinds”.

There is Liberation Theology, which is more economic than spiritual, more anti-capitalist than pro-gospel, and which originated largely in socialist/communist environments.

Rather than espousing (declaring) the pure and simple gospel of salvation by grace alone through faith alone (which was the battle cry of Martin Luther in the late 1500's that ignited the Protestant Revolution), proponents (those in favor) of this man-centered philosophy speak of more and larger human government to ensure equitable distribution of wealth and goods.

Instead of relying on a regenerated human spirit and a recreated human heart brought about through faith in Christ that gives cheerfully and voluntarily to the poor and needy, it trusts in human institutions and human laws. While its soul may be in the right place, Liberation Theology's focus is worldly rather than heavenly, and its enemy is human wealth rather than Satan and sin.

Then there is Prosperity Theology, a direct byproduct of the Word-Faith Movement, and almost the opposite of the previous school of thought. It also has a works-economic-oriented emphasis, with more than a little “Create Your Own Reality” mysticism thrown in.

Adherents of (literally, those who are “stuck in”) this system, appear to believe that God is a kind of cosmic genie, who is obligated to grant your wishes (they call them”prayers”) if you rub his bottle in just the right way. They replace the fabled brass lamp with the spoken word, and fervent visualization in prayer for rubbing the bottle.

Both of these theologies stray widely from the only authoritative source for information about God, His Word, and both substitute human thinking for divine revelation, though neither would admit to these fatal errors.

In contrast, the Apostle Paul taught and wrote about Debtor Theology, a label which I have coined to encapsulate the repeated logical structure of his epistles, which first recount what God has done for helpless sinners, and then our loving, willing, and gratitude-driven response.

All of Paul's writings follow this same outline.

Romans, for instance spends eleven chapters on what God has done in justifying us by faith, and the last four on our natural, logical, and almost reflexive response. Galatians, Ephesians, and Philippians are divided in half by a similar roadmap.

The essence of Debtor Theology is this, we owe God all that we are for creating us and saving us through His Son, and should owe no one else anything but love.

Both debts are incalculable and un-payable, meaning that what is owed is so vast that no amount or value could ever be assigned, and no payment on our part could ever satisfy the obligation.

Think about that for a second. How much is eternal life in Heaven - where there is no pain, sorrow or death - worth? How much is the pardon from eternal punishment worth? In one sense we know the cost that was paid for both, the death of God the Son on the Cross in our place, but we were not the payers.

It really boils down to how much is an immortal human soul worth?

Jesus answered that question this way:

“For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? “Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (Mark 8:36, 37, NKJV).

In this context, “soul” represents all that we are: alive; created in God's image; willful; intelligent; self-aware; communicative; with body, mind and spirit.

In modern terms, we are “priceless”, which is saying the same thing, that there is no value that can be assigned that would adequately “pay” for our existence.

Therefore, since we owe that priceless existence to God, we are debtors to Him forever.

And since every other soul is equally precious in His sight, because of our debt to Him, we owe everyone else the obligation to love them as He does, and to preach the gospel of salvation.

Finally, know this: debt is akin to slavery. In reality, we are all slaves, either of sin and death, or of God and life.

As Jesus said, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin.” (John 8:34, NKJV).

Jesus paid our slave price, our ransom, on the Cross, and thus made us His slaves, as Paul declares later in Romans:

But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness. [Now] having been set free from sin, and having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the end, everlasting life. (Romans 6:17, 18, 22, NKJV).

As our Owner, He has set us free from the condemnation we are all under and given us eternal life. We are His. We have been bought with a price.

We are forever in His debt, and that is a very good thing indeed.

Love,

Dad

The Best Laid Plans

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. (Romans 01:13-15, NKJV).

Having memorized a good deal of the Apostle Paul's New Testament writings, and being of the opinion that it is sometimes possible to see into the core of a man by what and how he writes about his own experiences, I suspect strongly that Paul was NOT impulsive.

He planned stuff (here, the Book of Acts and elsewhere), thought things through (the entire books of Romans, Ephesians and Philippians), and made lists (Romans 1, 2, 3, 8, 12; 1 Corinthians 12, 13, 14; Galatians 5, etc.). In many ways, he appears to be the quintessential (the most perfect or typical example) planner.

Yet, he freely admits when his plans fall through, and sees these failures as coming from His Lord for a higher and more perfect purpose. He lives in his heart this verse:

A man’s heart plans his way, But the LORD directs his steps. (Proverbs 16:9, NKJV).

This is a tremendous, practical, and pragmatic (sensible) model of behavior for each one of us, and it is best lived out in two simple steps. The first:

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6, 7, NKJV).

And the second:

Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5, 6, NKJV).

Imagine a life lived in this way: decision points reached and managed with the assurance that God will work all things together for good; trials endured knowing each has its God-ordained purposes; losses accepted because there is a rock-solid understanding and faith in God's goodness and faithfulness.

This is how Paul lived, and it is the example he provided for us in Scripture.

Now it is humanly impossible to do this unless you have immersed yourself in who God is and what He is like as He has revealed in His word. For if you rely on your own image of God, you will base your beliefs on faulty information, and that is what much of the world does. They admit to a belief in God, but it is a god of their own making, not the God of the Bible.

People often pick and choose what they think they want God to be like, but if they thought it through, they would know that is the last thing they want.

For instance, if you want God to be like some kind of a wizard or magician who grants all your wishes, and ensures that all your plans are fulfilled, what you fail to take into account, is that your wishes and plans are based on the flimsiest foundation – your own thinking and knowledge.

Our wants and desires are often at odds with what is best for us. In fact, it is very likely that at one point or another in your life you will want or desire something that, were you granted it, it would be your destruction.

The best plan and approach to life is to rely on the One who knows the end from the beginning, Who knows the number of your days before there was yet one, Who knit you together in your mother's womb, and Who loves you with an everlasting love – the One Who spoke existence itself into being.

Reliance on anything or anyone else, makes no sense if you fully understand Who God is, and what He wants for you.

Remember what He says through Isaiah:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the LORD. “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts. (Isaiah 55:8, 9, NKJV).

And, as is written in the Psalms,

Many, O LORD my God, are Your wonderful works Which You have done; And Your thoughts toward us Cannot be recounted to You in order; If I would declare and speak of them, They are more than can be numbered. (Psalms 40:5, NKJV).

Here's the thing: human planning and preparation are part of good stewardship (taking care of that which God has given us for His purposes), but they are not ends in themselves. Nor is the fulfillment of our plans and preparations to be seen as a test of God's love.

He cares for us too much to allow our faulty and fallible thinking to be the sole force which governs our lives, and even if our plans are good and right and just, these may not be what is best for us at the moment.

Paul often planned to visit Rome, but always some circumstance prevented it until in God's perfect timing, and in God's perfect way, he was transported to Rome, not as a missionary, but as a prisoner, and only after being shipwrecked on the way, and bitten by a deadly snake.

Yet, even after all that, Paul understood that it was God who brought him to Rome, not the soldiers or even the ship. And it was God who prepared the way, with all the delays and mishaps, and while it may not have been the way the Apostle would have liked, that discouraged him not at all.

Why?

Because He trusted in His Lord with all his heart. So should we.

Love,

Dad

Ignorance

Now I do not want you to be unaware, brethren, that I often planned to come to you (but was hindered until now), that I might have some fruit among you also, just as among the other Gentiles. I am a debtor both to Greeks and to barbarians, both to wise and to unwise. So, as much as is in me, I am ready to preach the gospel to you who are in Rome also. (Romans 01:13-15, NKJV).

The Apostle Paul uses the word translated here as “unaware” at least a dozen times in his New Testament writings. It is the Greek word, agnoeo (ag-no-eh'-o), and it essentially means not understanding (the prefix a in Greek denotes the opposite of the word that follows, in this case, gnoeo, meaning understanding).

Thus, one of Paul's primary corrective purposes in his letters is to remedy our pervasive (seeped into everything) lack of understanding.

Now there are two kinds of human ignorance: incidental and willful.

Incidental ignorance is excusable. It stems from just not having experienced or come across whatever is in view. You cannot be held accountable for that which you do not know out of incidental ignorance.

While this is not strictly true in a legal sense, in that ignorance of the law is not a viable defense in court, it is fundamentally true, in that even in court your are expected to know what is and is not legal. The fact that you may not brings us to the other kind of ignorance: willful.

This is what happens when you are expected to understand something, like the law, and refuse to do so out of laziness, rebellion, or lack of diligence.

Much of human sin derives from willful ignorance. God has provided us a conscience, which is His moral law written in our very nature. It is that which prompts us to not do something that we know is wrong, and which makes is feel guilty when we do.

This conscience, and even guilt itself, is extremely difficult to explain in typical evolutionary terms, because it has very little inherent survival value, which is all that evolution cares about.

But it is a piece of cake to explain when you understand the truth: that we are not accidents of time and chance, but purposeful creations of an Almighty God, made in His image.

This means morality is part of the fabric of our existence, because God is moral.

In fact, guilt is so problematic in atheistic and materialist circles that war has been declared on it, and, like most things that require propaganda (systematic lying) to bolster justification, the supposed enemy has been renamed from guilt, to toxic shame, so that the combatants feel better about engaging in battle.

But the reality is that guilt is a gift of God to bring us to Him. And people who lack guilt are capable of almost any kind of evil.

This indicates that it is very possible to learn to willfully ignore the promptings of conscience. The more you practice, the better you become.

This is known as searing the conscience, burning it out so that it becomes scarred and insensitive. Today, we call such individuals socio- and pyschopaths, and medicate or lock them up if we catch them.

Being conscienceless is a very dangerous and damaging state of being. Someone with a seared conscience is a danger to himself and others. That is one of the things Paul fights against in Romans and elsewhere.

Denying God's existence is the most potent form of willful ignorance, for it attempts to deny the very Source of our existence, akin to claiming, as your lungs pump air in and out of your body, that you do not need oxygen to survive.

Paul's express point in these verses starts out with his acknowledgement that his plans do not always work out. And he attributes that to forces beyond his control. He wants us to be aware - to understand - that those same forces operate in our lives, as well.

Ultimately, he wants us to know that God is literally in control of everything that happens to us.

This has far-reaching implications that are worth examining, and which the willfully ignorant world refuses to consider.

For believers who understand this fundamental fact of existence, we can take a significant amount of comfort in living in the knowledge that a beneficent (good) and magnanimous (generous and forgiving) omnipotent (all-powerful) Being has His hand in each moment of our lives.

While we may plan, as Paul did, we know that it is God who directs our steps, and He works all things together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purposes. So when our plans remain unfulfilled we can be assured that He has good reasons for keeping them that way.

Willfully ignorant unbelievers have no such assurance, and I'm sure you can imagine the stress that their lack of understanding places them under. If either themselves, others, or sheer happenstance governs their lives then logically, it might be better to stay home wrapped in a blanket on the couch. Or spend every instant in soul-crushing uncertainty or worry.

Again, Paul's desire for his audience (including us, 2000 years later) is to spare us from the pernicious (harmful) effects of ignorance.

I know the impact from personal experience, as I lived most of my life in unbelief. It is only after I understood the truth of my existence (that I am a sinner in need of a Savior, and that Savior is the Lord Jesus), that I was able to live without that crushing uncertainty.

So, like Paul, I do not want you to be unaware of reality. God exists. He loves you, so much so, that He sent His Son to die for your sins so that you may live forever in Heaven. He provided you His Word, so that you do not have to guess, or make things up, but so that you can know these things.

Be diligent to search these things out, because He is the only thing worth pursuing in this life. Seek Him first, and everything else you need will be added to you.

Love,

Dad