WHICH SYSTEM MAKES SENSE ?
A Sunday School teacher asked one of her class to define faith. He thought about it for awhile and said, “Faith is when you believe what you know ain’t so.” The little boy missed it a country mile, but, even at that, in some sense, he showed more insight than most religious leaders in our day. He realized that what his teachers had been telling him just did not make sense.
True religion, religion that is based on Bible truth, is clear and logical and consistent; it makes sense; it does not contradict itself. Most religious people do not believe that. They believe religion, even their own religion, is largely a mass of contradictions. They makes statements like, “Don’t you know the Bible contradicts itself?” or “You can prove anything you want to by the Bible, if you just find the right text.” They believe the Bible itself is a mass of contradictions. They think every denomination can prove its doctrine by the Bible, by simply finding the right text.
Their doctrine contradicts itself; their preachers contradict themselves, and they think the Bible does the same thing. Very often a preacher will tell his congregation something on this order: “Salvation is wholly and solely by grace. It is not based on works. It is not based on your righteousness nor your goodness. It is not based on anything you do. The only thing you have to do to be saved is……”
And then—after he has explained that salvation is not based on anything you do—he goes on to explain what you have to do in order to get salvation. And for some strange reason he cannot seem to realize that he has just contradicted himself.
No wonder the little boy thought, “Faith is when you believe what you know ain’t so.” The little boy realized the preacher had contradicted himself, whether the preacher did or not.
True religion is clear and logical and consistent. Every aspect of it is in perfect agreement with every other aspect. There is no doctrine of the Bible that contradicts, or weakens, any other doctrine of the Bible. Every verse in the Bible is in perfect agreement with every other verse. If any verse appears to contradict any other verse, it is only that—only appearance. The contradiction is in your own mind. You have misinterpreted one verse or the other. Perhaps, you have misinterpreted both verses. The Bible is God’s Word; the Bible speaking is God speaking, and God can neither lie, nor contradict himself.
There is an abundance of confusion in religion, and one of the main reasons for all the confusion is that so very few people have ever acknowledged the absolute accuracy of the Bible. They are willing to say that the Bible contains the truth, but they are not willing to admit that the Bible is truth, that it is true in every instance, in every expression, and in every connection. So long as people go through the Bible picking and choosing the verses they want to believe, and rejecting those verses that seem to contradict their favorite verses, they will never discover the truth. It is only when people acknowledge the absolute honesty of God, and the absolute accuracy of the Bible that they can ever hope to arrive at gospel truth.
Again, bear in mind that the Bible is God’ word. The Bible speaking is God speaking. If there are mistakes in the Bible, they are God’ mistakes. It is hard for me to imagine the audacity of anybody would dare to claim there are mistakes in the Bible, or that the Bible contradicts itself. Allow me to say it again: it is only when people acknowledge the absolute honesty of God, and therefore the absolute accuracy of the Bible that they can ever hope to discover divine truth. God simply will not reveal his secrets to those who challenge his honesty.
Having questioned the accuracy of the Bible, and therefore the honesty of God, people proceed to reach the strangest conclusions in matters of religion. It is amazing to consider some of the unreasonable and illogical claims that are made in the name of religion. Many of those notions would not be accepted for a minute, if they were taught in any other connection, but when they are taught in the name of religion, they are supposed to make sense. In this little booklet, we hope to consider some of those strange notions.
Before we look at some of those notions, we must take time to insist that we do not, in any sense, question the sincerity, nor the devotion to God, of any of those good people who enter-ain the ideas we will examine. Quite the contrary, for the most part, those people are some the most sincere, the most humble, and the most God-fearing, people you would ever care to meet. They would never wilfully question the honesty of God. They have never stopped to think what it means to say that the Bible is the Word of God. They have just never stopped to think that when they allow that “there are contradictions in the Bible,” they are actually questioning God’s honesty.
Very few people are systematic in matters of religion. They have adopted a collection of various religious notions and ideas, but they have never stopped to realize that, if their doctrines are right, they will all agree with each other, and support each other. They do not realize that no two doctrines, both of which are true, can ever contradict each other, and that no two texts of the Bible can ever contradict each other.
In fact, in some sense, it is their deeply felt religious convic-tions which make them so vulnerable to religious error. Generally, they are very dedicated to their religion. They would not consider questioning their most deeply held beliefs. It would seem sacrilegious to doubt what they have been taught. That devotion is both their strength and their weak-ness. It makes them unwilling to consider that some of the ideas they have been taught all of their lives just do not make any kind of sense. They have never stopped to consider that they would never accept those same ideas, if they were taught in any other connection.
One of the areas, in which most of present day religion just does not make sense, has to do with the justice of God. To hear most people talk, you would think God sacrifices justice in order to be gracious. You would think God ceased to be just in order to save sinners. You would think God says to Justice, “Now, Justice, you be still; Justice don’t you say a word; I am going to save this sinner, and you don’t have anything to say in the matter.”
If any judge in our court system handled his court the way most preachers seem to think God handles his affairs, we would be very upset with the judge.
In our present day society one of the most serious complaints we hear has to do with our judicial system. Our society is in trouble, and many of our people are convinced that much of the trouble lies with the courts. Those involved in law enforcement do their job. They gather the evidence, arrest the guilty parties, bring them to trial, prove their guilt, and get a conviction. And then some liberal, bleeding-heart judge suspends the sentence; or he puts them on probation, or hands down a sentence that is little more than a slap on the wrist. It is no wonder criminals are not afraid to break the law. They know they are not likely to be caught, and even if they are caught, some soft-hearted, soft-headed judge will let them off. Far too many of our judges just will not enforce the law. They turn loose some of the most bloodthirsty criminals. Some of the most violent crimes being committed today are committed by men who would have already been in prison, if the judges had done their job in previous cases.
That is not the only thing afflicting our society, but, you can be sure that one of the reasons our people do not feel safe in their homes, nor on the streets, is that a corrupt, incompetent judiciary refuses to punish the guilty.
In one instance a man beat an old woman to death with an axe handle, because she did not want to give him her Social Security check. He was arrested, brought to trial, and proved guilty. The judge threw out the charges on a technicality.
In another case a man sent a bomb to the prosecuting attorney who had convicted him. He was convicted, and sent to prison. He appealed the case, and the three appeals judges threw out the charges. They argued that since the bomb did not actually go off, it was not really a deadly device, and the man was not really guilty as charged.
In another case a man abducted a little girl, mistreated her, and finally beat her to death. The case was thrown out of court, because the arresting officers did not go precisely by the prescribed guidelines. The little girl’s parents were outraged; the entire community was upset, and properly so. I believe most of the American people would agree that one of the most vexing problems in the land is an incompetent judicial system that cannot be persuaded to properly punish the guilty.
What does all of that have to do with the subject at hand? Simply this: to listen to most of our religious instructors, you would think God deals with sin the same way our judiciary deals with criminals. Most religious people seem to think God saves sinners by simply forgiving the guilty, setting them free, and delivering them from the punishment they justly deserve. We criticize such conduct in the judiciary, and yet it is commended in matters of religion.
The Bible is clear enough: God is the judge of all the earth (Act 17:31, 2 Tim.4:1, Heb. 12:23). According to the most common notion, no matter what his offense may be, the vilest sinner can go to God and say, “I repent; I am sorry, and if you will forgive me, I promise I won’t do that any more.” And according to that notion, God just pats him on the head, forgives him, promises him a home in heaven, and refuses to exact the punishment he is due.”
That refusal to punish the guilty is the very thing we criticize in our judiciary, and yet, in matters of religion, preachers run the length and breadth of the land insisting that is exactly the way God saves sinners.
We do not question whether those preachers who spend their time insisting on that notion are sincere. No doubt, many of them are entirely sincere in the matter. They just do not know any better. They have heard that notion preached all their lives, and they have never stopped to think about whether it makes any kind of sense or not. They have heard it, accepted it, believed it, and that is that. It has never occurred to them to question whether it was true or not. It would seem sacrilegious to question a principle so basic to their religion.
But, however unsettling the thought may be, the fact remains: most religious instructors teach that God saves sinners the same way our present day judiciary treats criminals: regard-less of his guilt, the sinner shows some amount of repentance, and God then forgives him, and refuses to punish the guilty. Society finds that kind of conduct repulsive in the judiciary, and yet preachers insist that is the very way God saves sinners.
No wonder the little boy thought, “Faith is when you believe what you know ain’t so.” The little boy recognized that the argument did not make any kind of sense, whether his teachers did or not.
But somebody replies, “Harold Hunt, you are misrepresenting us, and misrepresenting us in an outrageous manner at that. We do not teach any such thing. We do teach that God forgives sinners. We do teach that any sinner may be forgiven and saved from his sins, regardless of how vile those sins may be. Look at the apostle Paul. He had a hand in the stoning of Stephen (Acts 7:55-59), and God saved him. He said himself that he was chief of sinners (I Tim. 1:15) and God still saved him. History is filled with characters who were the vilest of sinners until God saved them and turned their lives around.”
“We do teach that God forgives and saves even the vilest of sinners, but we teach that he saves those sinners only on the basis of the shed blood and imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. We teach that Jesus Christ went to the cross of Calvary, and there on the cross he fully and completely paid their sin debt. He put their sins away. There is not a charge against them. Their sins are atoned for; they are put away as far as the east is from the west (Psa. 103:12). They are justified before God on the basis of the shed blood and imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ, and that righteousness is sufficient to atone for every sin.”
“Harold Hunt, charge us if you will; accuse us if you will, but be honest about it. Tell the whole truth. Don’t charge us with teaching what we do not teach.”
Well, we do certainly want to be honest in the matter. Those, who object to our observations, do, generally, teach every-thing that is laid out in the above response. They do teach that God saves sinners, regardless of how vile those sinners may be, and that he saves them on the basis of the shed blood and imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ. They do teach that the Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary and put their sins away as far as the east is from the west. The Bible teaches that, and they teach it.
So far, so good. If they would teach all of those principles, and leave it there, everything would be just fine. The problem in most of religion, as in most other things, is that the right hand gives and the left hand takes away.
Most religious instructors teach that the Lord Jesus Christ went to Calvary and on the cross, he fully and completely paid our sin debt. There is not a charge against us. Christ fully and completely satisfied divine justice on our behalf. There is nothing charged against us. Christ removed it all at Calvary.
So far, so good, if that was the end of it, it would be just fine. But they go on to say that if any one of those same sinners, whose sins are atoned for, and whose sin debt is paid, does not repent of sin, and believe the gospel, God is going to send him to eternal damnation anyway—even though his sins are atoned for, his sin debt is paid, and there is not a charge against him. Bear in mind that we have been told our claim of eternal heaven is based on the fact that Christ died on the cross to put our sins away.
I ask, in all candor, on what basis can such a person be sent to eternal damnation, if his sins are atoned for, his sin debt is paid, and there is not a charge against him?
If Christ paid his sin debt on the cross of Calvary, how can he be required to pay a debt that is already paid? Would that not be a case of God collecting the debt twice, once at the hand of the Redeemer, and next at the hand of the sinner? Of course, it would. On what basis could anybody justify collecting the debt twice? Again, bear in mind that the religion of the Bible is clear, and logical, and reasonable. It makes sense.
But somebody says he will be sent to hell for unbelief. Is unbelief a sin? Did Christ not atone for all sins at Calvary? We are told that he did. Then he must have atoned for that sin too. Somebody says he atoned for every sin but that one. Where is the text that says he atoned for every sin but one? Did the Bible not say that he had forgiven us all trespasses (Col. 2:13)? Is unbelief not a trespass? If it is, how could God forgive it, if Christ did not atone for it on the cross?
We would count any business man to be dishonest, who knowingly and willingly collected the same debt twice, but most religious instructors insist that is exactly what God does in the matter of eternal damnation. According to that strange notion, those who will one day suffer in eternal damnation will do so even though their sins are atoned for, their sin debt is paid, and there is not a charge against them. We would count a business man to be dishonest who did any such thing, and yet preachers crisscross the land insisting that is the way God deals with sinners.
Pardon my repetition, but, again, it is no wonder the little boy thought, “Faith is when you believe what you know ain’t so.” The little boy could see through it, whether the preacher could or not. The doctrine of the Bible makes sense; that strange system does not.
But, what does the Bible teach about the question? It teaches that sinners are saved and forgiven on the basis on the shed blood and imputed righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Up to that point, our friends tell it right. It teaches that Christ fully and completely paid our sin debt on the cross of Calvary. It teaches that our sins are fully atoned for; there is not a charge against us. Again, up to that point they tell it right.
Then where do they go wrong? They go wrong on this point. In Matthew chapter twenty five we are told about the final judgment, when all mankind will stand before God. We are told that the goats, those who will suffer eternally are set on his left hand, and the sheep, those who will live in heaven are set on his right.
In John 10:15, the Lord said, “I lay down my life for the sheep.” There is not a verse in the Bible that indicates Christ died for the goats, not a verse to indicate that he died for those who will one day suffer eternally, nothing to show that he put their sins away. According to the most common notion, Christ died for the goats, as well as for the sheep, but, in spite of all his best efforts to save them, the goats are going to suffer eternally, anyway; he paid their sin debt, but God is going to collect the debt again, first at the hand of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary, and next from the sinner in the flames of eternal damnation.
Either Christ paid their sin debt, and the justice of God is satisfied, or else he did not. If he paid their sin debt, there is no basis on which they can be punished for that same debt. If they are to be punished for their sin debt, it is evident that Christ did not pay the debt on their behalf. The Bible is plain enough; Christ laid down his life for the sheep (John 10:15); he did not die for the goats. His suffering and death secured and guaranteed eternal heaven on behalf of those for whom he died. It did not benefit the goats, those who will some day suffer eternally. It did not injure them, either; it left them exactly where it found them.
Those who will one day live in heaven will be there, because their sin debt is paid; their sins are atoned for; there is no charge against them. Those who would insist otherwise either cast God in the role of the judge, who refuses to punish the wicked, or else they cast him as the business man who collects the same debt twice.
There are ever so many ways in which the most common notions in religion, as they are being taught today, just do not make sense. We are told that God wants to save everybody; he is doing the best he can to save everybody, and in spite of his best efforts to save everybody, he is, for the most part, failing in the effort.
The Bible teaches clearly enough that God has all power in heaven and earth (Matt. 28;19). It teaches that he does according to his own will, both in heaven and in earth, and none can stay his hand, nor say unto him, What doest thou (Dan. 4:35). If God has all the power there is, and nobody can stop him from doing whatever he chooses to do, and if he wants so badly to save everybody, we would ask why he does not go ahead and save everybody. But we are told that he must have the consent of the sinner, before he can save him. We are told that God will not, under any circumstances, violate the free will of the sinner. The sinner must be willing. Somehow, it would be unspeakable for God to violate the will of the sinner; God may want ever so badly to carry the sinner to heaven, but if the sinner decides he does not want to go, there is nothing God can do; God’s hands are tied.
If that is the case, we would ask how is it that God can send the same sinner to eternal damnation on that final day—if the sinner decides he does not want to go? Would that not be a violation of the free will of the sinner? You would think that if the sinner can refuse to be saved and live in heaven, he could also refuse to be damned and spend eternity in hell. If he can do the one, you would think he could do the other.
No wonder the little boy thought, “Faith is when you believe what you know ain’t so.” The little boy could see through it.
Another area in which the established religion does not make sense is in its objection to the doctrine of the sovereignty of God—the doctrine that God is in charge. The doctrine of God’s sovereignty simply teaches that God does whatever he chooses to do; he does not have to consult with man. The carnal nature of man objects to that doctrine. The doctrine of the sovereignty of God credits God with having more power, and more authority than man likes to acknowledge. And it denies to man much of the power he thinks is his. But to the spiritual nature of the heaven born soul, it is the only thing that makes sense. It is so reasonable to the heaven born soul that we can safely say that every person born of the Spirit of God believes in God’s sovereignty. His mind may not understand it, but his heart believes it.
Prayer is the most profound proof that the doctrine of the sovereignty of God is logical and reasonable to the heaven born soul. As surely as any person believes in prayer, he believes in the sovereignty of God.
If you do not believe God has the right, and the power, to do whatever he chooses to do, why ask him to do it—why pray?
Every prayer is an acknowledgment of the sovereignty of God. At any given moment there are millions of children of God scattered all over the earth, calling on God in prayer, begging God to intervene in their behalf. Every plea is a heartfelt recognition of God’s sovereignty–God’s absolute right and power to intervene in our lives.
The carnal nature objects to the doctrine of Particular Redemption, the doctrine that Christ died for the elect, for the sheep. But, however much the carnal nature may object to that doctrine, it is the only doctrine that makes sense. Not only is it the only doctrine that makes sense, every person who has any judgment at all practices particular redemption in his own personal affairs, and we would think any man had taken leave of his senses, who conducted his affairs in any other way.
To redeem simply means to buy, to purchase. There are three words in the Greek language that are translated redeem. They are agoradzo, exagoradzo, and lutroo. Agoradzo means to buy; exagoradzo means to buy back, and lutroo, means to deliver by paying a ransom price. To redeem simply means to purchase by paying a price. When we talk about Particular Redemption we just mean that the Lord was particular in the work of redemption; he knew what he was paying for.
Everyone of us practices particular redemption in our everyday affairs. We want to know what we are paying for. Even children practice particular redemption. If you don’t believe that, you take a three year old to Wal-Mart. Let him point to one toy, then you buy him a different toy. He will let you know very quickly that he believes in particular redemption. He knows what he wants.
It is a fact. If you knew somebody who did not practice particular redemption in his personal affairs, you would think he had lost his mind. Suppose you need to trade cars. You cannot afford a new car; you really cannot afford any kind of car, but you have to trade; your old jalopy is falling apart. You have been saving for months, trying to get enough money together to pay cash. You know that if you pay cash you can get a better deal than you would get if you have to finance the car. Before you get all the money together, your old car coughs, and snorts, and lies down and dies. It has come to the end of the way; you have to have it pulled home.
You have managed to save barely three thousand dollars. Three thousand dollars will not buy much of an automobile, but it will pay for some kind of used car that will probably serve your needs, for awhile, anyway. You don’t have a way to get to work the next day, but you call one of your buddies, and ask if he will give you a ride. He will only need to help that one day. He agrees to help, and the next morning he stops to pick you up. On the way to work you spot a used car lot. You tell him, “Look, there is a car lot; if you will stop, I won’t be gone more than a few minutes.” You pop out of the car and go to the office. You introduce yourself to the salesman and explain your predicament. You tell him you only have three thousand dollars, but you would like to buy as good a car as that amount will pay for. Will he give you a receipt for the three thousand dollars, and have a car ready when you get back that afternoon? The salesman agrees; you give him your money, wait for a receipt, and hurry back to the car and head on to work. That afternoon you have your buddy to drop you off at the car lot so you can pick up the new car. The salesman has picked out a car for you, and you thank him for his services and drive away in the new car.
Let me ask you; would you buy a used car that way? I doubt it. When I trade cars, I usually buy a late model used car. I cannot afford a new car. But, before I close the deal, I look over the selection available. I kick the tires, and slam the doors, and look under the hood. I don’t have the foggiest idea what I am looking for, but that is what you do when you buy a used car; you slam the doors, and kick the tires, and look under the hood. At least, I make my own decision about which car I am trading for. I cannot imagine anybody buying a used car without first looking around and deciding which car he wanted. When you pick out a used car, you are practicing particular redemption. You are determining what you are paying for, before you pay your money.
I am sure that some of those who read the example I have just given will say, “Harold Hunt, you are just being silly, nobody would trade cars without knowing what he is getting.” And yet, those same people, who insist on knowing exactly what they are paying for in a car trade, are not willing to allow God to do the same thing in the redemption of his people. You can be sure that even more certainly than you are determined to know all the details of any car trade, God knows all the details in the redemption of his people. The redemption of the people of God is the most important transaction that has ever taken place in time or in eternity. God would no more enter blindly into that grand transaction than you would enter blindly into a car trade. Again, it just does not make sense to think that God would pay the redemption price for his people without knowing what he was doing, and who he was paying for.
If you will, allow me one more illustration along this line. Suppose a young man is about to get married. He calls the preacher to see if he will be able to perform the ceremony. He tells the preacher the time of the ceremony, and asks if he will be available at that time. The preacher says he can be there; he does not have any plans that cannot be changed. He is glad to be of service, and he asks him who he is marrying. The young man tells him he has not thought too much about that, but he has put an ad in the paper, announcing that he is going to get married, that he is looking for a wife, and he is waiting for the time of the ceremony to see who shows up.
Again, I am sure there are those who think Harold Hunt is just being silly to suppose any such thing. And yet, the illustration exactly fits the case. If, indeed, we are born of his Spirit, we are the bride of Christ. Eph. 5:31,32, “For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall be joined unto his wife, and they two shall be one flesh. This is a great mystery; but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” Nobody in his right mind would plan a wedding without knowing who the bride would be, and yet ever so many of the religious instructors of this day teach that the Lord does just that. He has planned that great Marriage Supper of the Lamb, and yet (we are told) he has no idea who the bride will be. We are told that he has sent out a general call, and now he is waiting to see who (if anybody) will respond.
The truth of the gospel is clear and logical and consistent. It makes sense. God said, “I will put my laws in their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people,” Heb. 8:10. Again he said, “I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them,” Heb. 10:16. He said essentially the same thing twice, so we would not miss it. God has written his law in our hearts and in our minds. If what we are taught does not agree with what God has written in our hearts, we are able, by the grace of God, to recognize the fallacy of it. We recognize that it does not make sense.
The Lord tells us, “I am the way, the truth, and the life,” John 14:6. The Lord Jesus Christ is Truth Incarnate. If he dwells in your heart, truth dwells in your heart. If he dwells in your heart, you believe the truth in your heart. Your mind may not understand what your heart knows, but truth is in your heart, nevertheless. It is the work of the gospel to teach our minds to understand what our hearts already know.
THE END