Wednesday, December 8, 2010

why belief entails knowledge

what is the essence of christian belief ?

it is knowing God

why ?

- clear distinction between blind faith and justified belief
- knowing i am a sinner
- knowing i cannot save myself
- knowing that there is a god
- knowing that the bible is true
- knowing that jesus is a historic figure
- knowing that the cross and the resurrection are both historical
- knowing i there is no meaning
- knowing is deep contemplation
- knowing means recognizing Gods voice


Note from Dec15, 2010
However, it is not us who kind of develop this knowledge
philosophically! This would be as wrong as saying God can be
scientifically proven.

I think we do the first step to open our hearts to something
that is greater than us, and it is the Holy Spirit which converts
us and opens our "eyes of our hear" further. As Paul puts it in Ephesians
1,17. "the spirit may give you wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better
. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, "




note jan 14, 2011

how do i know god?
i know it if i not only know god informationally but personally
changing me
- intellectually
- emotionally
- volitionally ( willensmaeesig)

effortless

This is a story of a real person.

As a child he had to flee from Northkorea during the Korean War with his siblings and mother, leaving 2 siblings behind.
In Pyeongyang, his family was rich, reputed, well known. They brought their money to the South. It was worthless. he never accepted his new sitution and lower social status. All his life was based on rebuilding it. started a new existence in Seoul, worked like crazy in Saudi Arabia. Made a lot of money, sending it back to his wife who spent it for personal pleasure. Got divorced, re-married but his three sons never accepted the new mother. Now after 20 years of hard labor, he got cancer, slowly re-covered, declared a testament which gives all wealth to his wife. His wife, whilst in hospital leaves him alone for 2 minutes. The man falls from the bed, brain damaged, in coma, just a couple of days to live. His sons are about to sue his wife because of the testament.

What an unspoken tragedy.
What is the answer to this tragic story ? is there any at all?

What worth is it to work, rebuild your status, accumulate wealth when you will never be able to fully control the final outcome of your life ?

Unless we build our existence on the cross and Jesus, there is no answer and reason to live. Because death is the final outcome. It can come in a minute, unexpectedly, unwantingly.

Efforts even if positive, morally to be highly valued, socially envied, are totally useless.

If there is no God and no Jesus, life does not make any sense at all

Why ? Because if there is no God, there is no one who will judge your life.
And if there is a judge, no-one who ever lived on this planet, will pass the judgment
as he or she will have based his/her existence on anything else but God.

Even moral people, religious people. There is NO ONE WHO WILL PASS.

why ?


because we are all sinners.


Now the answer to this is : Jesus and the cross.

Because he took the judgement for us all, which we had to to take.

This act of sacrifice is substitional, or put differently substitutionally atoned for us.

Effort, hard work, trying to be the most moral, ethical person does not solve
the riddle of the lack of meaning to life.

The cross does. Jesus does. because he is God who took the judgment, who
paid for our sins with his blood.

Who historically got resurrected so that we may be resurrected in the new Heavens and new earth.

by grace we are saved. by Jesus we have become righteous and will take
part in the kingdom of God into eternity.



This story i heard today. It hurts when i heard it. But mere tears will not answer the great riddle stories like these pose.


Unless we have a belief in jesus which brings understanding, repentance
and the knowledge of the cross and the resurrection, we will never be part
of the kingdom of God.

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