September 27, 2006

• John Piper’s Contradiction
  

  
  Piper writes,
  
  “The Bible seems to say that people can know God by natural means and yet cannot know God by natural means. How shall we explain this? You can see the APPARENT CONTRADICTION most clearly perhaps in tension between Luke 10:22 and Romans 1:21. In Luke 10:22 Jesus says, “No one knows who the Father is except the Son, and anyone to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.” And Romans 1:21, speaking of everyone says, “Even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks.” This is referring to the knowledge that all men have through nature….” (p286, The Pleasures of God)
  
  My comment: Piper’s right. It certainly is contradictory to say that 1) man naturally has the knowledge of God, and yet 2) maintain that only the Spirit of God can give man the knowledge of God.
  
  And if Hebrews 11 says is it BY FAITH we know the worlds were framed by God, can we say man knows that BY NATURE? It is by faith or by nature ? If we know by nature, then why does Hebrews 11 say we know ”by faith”?
  
  Could it be that ALL MEN HEAR the truth about God (that explains Romans 1) but they do not believe what they hear and thus do not possess the knowledge of God (that would explain Luke 10) ?
  
  That would be a consistent logical explanation — all men hear the truth about God but do not believe what they hear.
  
  “the nations who have HEARD YOUR FAME will speak, saying, Because Jehovah…” Numbers 14:15
  
  “King Darius WROTE to ALL THE PEOPLES, the nations, and the languages who were LIVING IN ALL THE EARTH … ‘there shall be trembling and fear before the God of Daniel ….” Daniel 6:25

  Indeed, when Bildad was arguing with Job about the nature of God, he appeals to a knowledge of God handed down from generation to generation.
  
  “Does the Almighty pervert the right? … For now ask of the FORMER GENERATION and prepare to the search OF THEIR FATHERS; … SHALL THEY NOT TEACH YOU, speak to you, and bring forth words out of their heart?” (Job 8:3,8,10)
  
  Bildad is saying that the former generations would teach them about God, and speak to them about God. So God maintained a witness among the Gentiles where Bildad and Job lived by causing the knowledge of Himself to be handed down from generation to generation. This is why Numbers 14:15 says the nations “HEARD” about the fame of Jehovah. Revelation comes by WORD OF MOUTH.
  
  Again, could it be that ALL MEN HEAR the truth about God (that explains Romans 1) but they do not believe what they hear and thus do not possess the knowledge of God (that would explain Luke 10) ?
  
  Sadly, Piper does not see this as explanation. Instead, he proposes that it’s possible for a man to believe in the True God — to have “a correct view of God” — yet be lost. Piper sees a dichotomy between believing “the facts about God” and “seeing the beauty and value of God”.
  
  “So there are two ways to think about knowing God. One way is that the mind takes in rel event FACTS about God which, rightly weighed, would yield a CORRECT VIEW OF GOD. This kind of knowledge can be disapproved of and suppressed — even subconsciously. The other way to think about knowing God is that the mind rightly weighs and assesses what God has revealed of himself in nature and in the Word. This way of knowing yields a knowledge of God that accords with the full range of truth, INCLUDING HIS VALUE as well as His existence and external attributes. HIS MORAL BEAUTY — his glory — is part of God’s reality and is rightly known only when it is rightly assessed. … We will never SEE the BEAUTY and VALUE of God for what it really is without God’s immediate supernatural self-revelation.” (p286, The Pleasures of God)
  
  No wonder Piper sometimes has doubts about his salvation. How can he be sure he’s not just “believing God’s moral beauty IS A FACT” and not “seeing” it? What’s the difference between believing the fact that “God has moral beauty” and “seeing” it ? The dichotomy is confusing and destroys assurance of salvation.
  
  We must DENY the unregenerate any knowledge of God, and this means in order to answer the question “Am I saved?” we simply think “Yes, I have the knowledge of the True God, therefore I am saved.” Only the good soil “understood” the Word (see the parable of the soils). In other words, the other soils had no “root”, that is understanding. The difference between the unregenerate and the regenerate is UNDERSTANDING.
  
  Isaiah 1:3 says that oxen know their master, but unregenerate Israel did not know God. So the unregenerate have NO knowledge of God at all! Animals have more knowledge of their masters, than the unregenerate do about God.    By implication, if we DO understand God’s gospel — that He imputes righteousness to the elect and declares them righteous — then we must be regenerate! We are not unregenerate like the unbelievers (who are just FLESH, Genesis 6:3, and have completely lost the image of God for “EVERY thought of their heart is evil continually”). The unregenerate do not have God in their knowledge (Romans 1). And this is why Jeremiah 31 says God HAS TO write His laws on someone’s heart when they are converted. Before conversion, a man does NOT have God’s law on His heart but “his conscience is seared as with a hot iron” and he “calls good evil and evil good … light darkness and darkness light”. Unregenerate man is so confused, he doesn’t even know the difference between good and evil! 
  
  So, if you understand and believe in God’s Law and Gospel you must be regenerate (the Law teaches that God demands PERFECTION, and condemns those without Christ’s perfect righteousness. The Gospel says that Christ IMPUTES the righteousness and ATONES for His sheep).
   
  You can imagine what a radical change of mind conversion must be, if the unconverted have absolutely no idea who the True God is. Romans 10 says when a man is called by God, His voice COMES FROM BEHIND the man and saying “this is the way”. 2 Corinthians 4:6 says believers are as PASSIVE in perceiving the truth, as we are in seeing the sun. It’s up to God to manifest His authority in a man’s conscience and convert the man to the Gospel of Imputed Righteousness. Because natural man is intellectually dead, and God must give him the understanding (1 John) and shine the light of Christ into his mind.
  
  Now, ask yourself. When God does convict a man for the first time of His existence, can the man ever doubt he has been converted? Could a man go from complete darkness into the light, and ever doubt he is in the light? It is possible to go from having NO knowledge of God at one point, to KNOWING THE TRUTH, and not realise you have been converted?
  
  Or, “Do you not perceive that Christ is in you, UNLESS YOU ARE REPROBATES?” (2 Corinthians 13:5). For “He that DOUBTS is doubled minded in all his ways, … let NOT that man expect anything from God.” (James 1). Believers “NEVER thirst for … everlasting life” they ALWAYS have full assurance of salvation (John 4:14) and at all times can cry “abba father”.
  
  God says ALL believers are JUSTIFIED. To think “I am believe but I am not justified” is to call God a liar. To say, “I believe but am not sure if I am saved”, is to accuse God of LYING. It is saying God lied when He said, “EVERYONE believing in this One IS JUSTIFIED”.

  
  Note — on the faith of demons http://Godnoliar.com/demons.htm
  
  on Romans 1 http://Godnoliar.com/rom1.htm
  

  • 8:21 am
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