Moving Forward by Going Beyond the See Level

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Introduction

The Christian faith can be very absurd to the world. There are many times Christians are told to do what's humanly speaking, foolish. The call is to live by faith and not by sight. 2 Corinthians 5:7 has Paul expressing to live by faith and not by sight. No, this isn't called to blind faith or to just believe without examining. I remembered that Christians are laughed at for many reasons.

The reality of God and His Gospel are hard to believe also because people also tend to live by sight

 I think about why do many religions in the world have graven images. I remembered how various religions such as Roman Catholicism, Buddhism, Jainism, Hinduism, the "Orthodox" churches, Taoism, and many more use graven images. I remembered reading in a Roman Catholic catechism and a Buddhist catechism with what they say about graven images. The Buddhist pamphlet said that it's not the image they worship but the one portrayed by it - a defense to why they don't consider lighting incense to images as idolatry. Roman Catholics also have that defense that they too don't pray to images but the one portrayed by the images. It's really trying to excuse themselves from Exodus 20:4-5. They say that it's but a symbol yet their actions speak louder than words.

The Gospel itself is hard to believe for many reasons. One of them is that the truth of the Son of God crucified for the sins of man is hard to believe. Crucifixion was reserved for the lowest of the low and that the sinless Son of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, would die a criminal's death is hard to digest. The very truth that the Son of God would be crucified for man's sin is even harder to digest since works salvation and the doctrine man is basically good is more often taught. Buddhism and Hinduism frequently teach the fallenness of man but believe more in self-effort than anything. The idea that salvation is by grace through simple faith (but this faith grows) is repugnant. I remembered how I didn't want to believe it because it sounded too good to be true. Many scams today offer stuff that are too good to be true. But the other reason has to be pride. You can think how often works salvation is ingrained into people's systems. Today, you've got the ecumenical movement which makes John 14:6 something hard to believe.

The big irony is that evidence is showing yet they still harden their hearts. Do you remember the final Pharaoh of the Exodus? He was already a hardened man. God simply allowed the final Pharoah to further rebel for a reason. Exodus 7-12 has the final pharaoh see all the wonders yet he wouldn't believe. You have the Israelites seeing all of God's wonders yet they doubt him. You can also have people seeing evidence for God everywhere yet they still demand to see Him in person. However, nobody can truly see God and live. Man is too sinful and God is too holy.

I could think about why Calvinism's basic idea TULIP is hard to swallow. Men tend to think they're basically good. The Arminian would like to brag that they believed themselves. There was a time I thought I could believe myself. However, the more I read the Bible, the more I realize that it's been God choosing sinners. Acts 9 doesn't have Paul choosing Jesus - it was the other way around! John 6:44-55 and 15:19 affirm the truth of choosing. No man can come to Jesus except by the power of the Father draws them to Him. Jesus further mentions that the eleven who were saved didn't choose Him but that He chose them. Revelation 18:4 has Jesus calling His people out of the great harlot and only they can respond but not the others. Calvinist or not but one has to admit that it takes the supernatural work of God to get people to truly believe.

Science itself proves God's hand in the invisible things that hold the world today

Science itself is a wonderful subject for one reason - God is the Author of it! I'm amazed at how atheists say they value science yet they reject the value of Intelligent Design. I study cytology and I could see every single cell is complex. Many things in science are invisible to the unequipped eye. Both chemistry and physics deal with invisible forces. Atoms themselves are an invisible force. You can see the laws of motion at work but not the invisible force working them. You can see the power of gravity but you can't see gravity. These invisible forces are there at work proving that there's a God. Yet atheists still demand evidence for Him by sight even if they can't even truly observe atheistic evolution. Need I mention that a lot of scientists saved or not at least believed in the existence of God? Isaac Newton himself was also a fine Christian gentleman. If Christians can't learn science then why bother studying modern physics and mathematics all written by a person atheists dub as a creationist zombie?

I remembered some lessons in high school chemistry. We're told that while observation was indeed very important - we can't do without a scientific inquiry. You can't judge something immediately by the observation. That's why there's the hypothesis followed by experimentation. You can't just immediately judge that something is basic or acidic by simply watching it. Tasting all substances may get you poisoned. The most scientific measures use tools such as litmus paper and other laboratory equipment. Medical technicians, nurses, and doctors may examine the body waste beyond seeing it. Sometimes, you may be hiding more dangerous pathogens than the eyes can see. That's why there's a microscope plus other methods to test what mere sight can't see.

2 Corinthians 4:18 says that the temporal is seen but the eternal is not seen. Physics and chemistry have the law of conservation of matter and energy. They are neither created nor destroyed. Just that alone proves God is indeed very real. There's no such thing as anti-matter and that's just fiction. There's physical change and chemical change to prove that matter and energy are eternal. You tear the paper but you didn't destroy the matter that composes it. You burn the paper but you can't burn the ashes. Eventually, the ashes dissipate yet they are absorbed somewhere else. Energy cycles will also happen. You can consider that you have energy cycles. The sun provides power to plants, humans inhale oxygen and the plants inhale the carbon dioxide. The form of matter was merely changed but never created nor destroyed. With the law of conservation of mass - you really ought to be warned that you will live forever somewhere.

Atheists tend to say that there's no God because they can't see Him. However, they can't even observe evolution directly or the Big Bang - which in itself is a contradiction. Just because you can't see it - doesn't mean it's not there. You can't see the air but you definitely know there's air. I wonder why atheists are still breathing if they say that they don't believe God exists because they can't see Him. They can't see the air but you know there is air, right? They might as well stop believing in gravity and the laws of motion because nobody can see these forces. Yet, these forces are very real. You don't see gravity holding you down but you know gravity is there. You can't see speed but you can observe it by looking at how fast objects are moving. You can't see friction yet you can observe it because sparks may come out. I wonder why do atheists still acknowledge their existence? It's because they don't want God in the equation, right?

Hebrews 11 and James 2 explain the life of faith 

Hebrews 11:1 says that faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. This is not a call to just believe without resulting in evidence. Rather, this is believing and you will see the results. If your faith has no evidence to back it up then that faith is a sham. Many cults today tend to tell you to just believe but they couldn't produce evidence. Jesus called people to believe and those who believed saw the evidence. The evidence of Christianity such as Jesus' death and resurrection is there yet skeptics want to dismiss it with many stupid theories. Many of the theories about Jesus' death and resurrection have been refuted by basic science yet atheists still continue to insist that they're the most scientific people on Earth! It's no wonder Romans 1:22 says that they profess to be wise but they're fools.

You can consider the definition of faith in itself. Faith in itself is believing but what kind of believing is there? Faith is defined by the "Strong's Concordance" as a conviction of truth or anything. Faith is also defined as trust. If you're a faithful friend then you are certainly a trustworthy friend. A faithful spouse trusts the other spouse and never betrays the trust of the other. Genuine faith results in good works (James 2:14-26). As Hebrews 11:1 says that it's in things hoped for. J. Oswald Sanders of the Overseas Missionary Fellowship said, "Faith enables the believing soul to treat the future as present and the invisible as seen." This also reminds me that faith in God means trusting in what God says will come to pass even if it's not yet happening. Yet, the results happen slowly as a reward of faithfully following God.

Hebrews 11 and James 2 would compliment each other. I believe like other authors do that Paul is the writer of Hebrews even if his signature wasn't in it. What can be seen in Hebrews 11 is that true faith results in works. You can see the results are in. Abel offered the best sacrifice by faith. Noah built that boat for 120 years and jeered by the sinful world by faith. Abraham left his idolatrous town by faith. Sarah herself soon believed God's promise by faith when she became pregnant with the promised seed at 90 years old. Abraham by faith (and also Isaac) both decided to do what God commanded in Genesis 22 - knowing that God can raise Isaac or provide a sacrifice as a result of faithfulness. Isaac blessed both Jacob and Esau for things to come. Jacob by faith blessed both Joseph's sons while he was very old. Joseph by faith gave the command regarding his bones. Moses by faith chose affliction rather than to suffer the pleasures of sin for a season. He may have feared the king at first but decided to flee guided by God's hand. Rahab by faith sided with the people of God no matter how foolish it felt to her wicked people. Then we have the judges mentioned such as Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, and the prophets who were all but flawed men of God. The Old Testament heroes died in faith not receiving the promises yet they went on knowing God will fulfill it beyond their lifetimes.

The chapter itself ends with so much violence. You can definitely see Nero's persecution flaring up there. One can also consider Caligula before Nero. You can consider the persecution of Christians isn't anything new. Yet why did these people choosing not deliverance? It was to obtain better rewards in the afterlife. They see that what they see is going to come to pass but what's done for Christ is what will last. It's very easy to memorize it but how often is that forgotten? That's why there's always the need for God's grace. You can also consider the fact that Christianity spread on in spite of persecution because of the faith and faithfulness of the martyrs. The martyrs chose to endure torture than renounce their faith. You can consider how they have shown people that they have something worth dying for. That's why the more Christianity is persecuted - the more it will grow instead!

The Christian's application can also be seen in Peter

 Matthew 13:27-33 can be a good way to close this post. I would like to think of Peter's training to become the first New Testament pastor. He hasn't made the confession of faith yet. He was still newly saved. One can see Peter's big moment of weakness here. It was a storm and they were caught at sea. The natural reaction is to panic. I can't count the number of times I've offended God by doubting Him especially when bad things happen. Yet, isn't that why bad things happen? God allowed Job to be bombarded by one disaster to another to remove the latter's hidden self-righteousness and see life beyond the temporal. Job only saw God's power and provision only after surviving all the mockeries and trials that God allowed Satan to inflict on Job.

You can consider the situation of Peter. I don't know why Peter said, "Lord if it's you then order me to go to you on the water." Was he trying to show off? I can't be certain. He walked on the water. I wonder if he said, "Hey fellas, look at me!" before seeing the storm. All Peter saw now was the storm. Faith allowed Peter to follow Jesus' command. Fear caused him to sink. Jesus soon rebuked Peter and said, "Your faith is so little, why did you doubt?" Salvation starts with faith that if you believe Jesus is the Son of God, you believe that He paid for your sins on the cross and that you're a sinner in need of salvation - you're saved. It takes a great amount of faith to trust God but that faith is just the beginning. Peter, as I would want to assume, was still walking baby steps when he drowned.

What restored Peter back up to the water and stopped him from drowning? It was faith again. Peter had the faith that Jesus could save him from drowning. Jesus rebuked Peter's lack of faith that led to the sinking. Jesus would bring Peter back to the boat safe and sound. Now, Peter was able to experience the walk on water and the calm with his faith restored. He was fearful, he sank, and yet he had the faith to call Jesus for help from his doubt. If your faith is faltering, if you feel you're drowning in doubt, then do what Peter did - ask God to strengthen your faith!

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