A Layman’s Thoughts

All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

EACH OF US HAS SEEN ADVERTISEMENTS ON TELEPHONE POLES, in the newspaper, or in email messages that claim we can make thousands of dollars each month working from home. The less work these ads claim we have to do and the more income they claim we can generate, the more skeptical we are that they are for real. There is just something about getting something for nothing—or a lot for a little—that smacks of a scam to take our money. Get-rich-quick schemes are nothing new and we have all learned to be skeptical of their claims. Simplistic plans seem untrustworthy.

We are not alone in holding this view. It has been held over the centuries by thinking people everywhere. Even the Corinthians in Paul’s day struggled with these things:

I Corinthians 1:18-31 “18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.” 20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man’s wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man’s strength. 26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: “Let him who boasts boast in the Lord.””

The Gospel of Christ is simply too easy. Many find themselves asking how it can be that salvation can be easily gained by the grace of God accepted through simple faith without the need for some kind of effort or religious devotion on our part. Yet this is precisely the proclamation made by the New Testament. In fact, the New Testament is rife with such claims.

In Ephesians 2 8-9 we read: “8For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—9not by works, so that no one can boast.”

Such statements often raise our skeptical antennae. For many these claims are so incredible that they look everywhere for a more rational explanation; a more reasonable plan; a plan that is better aligned with what they know of the world and the way it works. For some it appears that Christianity requires a blind leap of faith; or that we “check our intellect at the door.” Others eschew the “simplistic” Gospel plan in favor of a disciplined, even slavish, adherence to a highly moral and ethical lifestyle, looking to the Scriptural teachings about such things as a roadmap to enlightenment. Still others decide that the Biblical authors cannot possibly have meant what it today appears they said. Such people deconstruct the text looking for needles of truth amidst a haystack of myths and legends that have seemingly piled up over the centuries.

The Bible however, does not ask for a mindless, thoughtless, ignorant leap of faith. The plan laid out in Scripture is simple it’s true, but it is beautiful and elegant in its symmetry and completeness. Humans throughout history and in every place have overwhelmingly believed in a god, or gods, of some form. Indeed so pervasive is this belief that it can truly be said that it is innate or instinctual. One is required to question how it might be that such beliefs are so universally held if there is no basis for them at all. Further, one must consider how such a pervasive belief came to be implanted in humanity. Surely there was a cause. That cause is God.

Given that there is convincing empirical evidence for the existence of God, thinking persons will take the next step and begin to consider what God must be like; what traits God has.

If God implanted in each person an innate sense of God’s existence then God must surely be greater than humankind. At this point in one’s thinking it becomes necessary to ask, “What caused God?” Scripture tells us the answer; nothing caused God. Among the many Scripture passages that deal with God’s nature in this regard is Revelation 4:8, which reads in part, “…the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.”

The Gospel of John tells us, “1In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2He was with God in the beginning. 3Through him all things were made; without him nothing was made that has been made.” (John 1:1-3) God has no cause, He is the ultimate cause of all things; the eternal, necessary One.

From this line of thought comes our understanding that God is eternal, and if eternal then infinite. Our finite minds cannot fully grasp the concept of infinity—to do that we would have to be infinite ourselves—but we can understand that to be infinite requires perfection. Thus we see that whatever traits God has, He has to the greatest possible measure. His characteristics exist to an immeasurable degree. To reflect this concept we resort to statements such as “God is love.” Such statements indicate the best of our understanding about infinity, or perfection. An infinite being must, after all, be perfect.

We can begin to grasp this concept by considering the definition of God as expressed by Anselm who said, “God is that than which there can be nothing greater.”

This simple profound statement communicates much about the nature of God. It shows, for example, that God is perfectly good, perfectly loving, perfectly knowledgeable, and so on. Were it otherwise we could conceive of something greater, and that would not fit a perfect God.

Having a clear and firm grasp of this concept is important when we consider God’s plan for humanity, but more than simply for humanity—for each of us individually as well. The message is as clear as it is simple: “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” (John 3:16)

This incredible, loving, and perfect gift is so simple that, like a get-rich-quick scheme, it causes many to be skeptical of its truth. Yet the Bible holds that it is true. It is beautiful in its elegant simplicity. “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast.” (Ephesians 2 8-9)

A perfect God cannot lie. To do so would be imperfect. God may be trusted fully and implicitly. He has said, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9) When we freely confess to God what He already knows—that we have sinned against His perfect holiness—God promises forgiveness; perfect forgiveness, complete and unequivocal.

Psalm 103:11-12 makes this clear: “For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.”  When we ask, He will take over the reins of our life, turn us around, and relate to us as members of His family.

The freedom of such a relationship is truly beyond compare, yet it is there for all who will ask. God desires that we should have such freedom. He says, “Here I am! I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20) Accept the invitation.

It really is that simple. The changed lives of millions attest it irrefutably.