CERTAINTY
Is it possible for lowly human beings like you and me to be
certain about the existence of God, about the deity of Christ, about the
inspiration of the Bible, about the gospel plan of salvation or about any other
biblical idea? If we cannot be certain God exists, how can we know if anyone
listens to our prayers and has any interest in our welfare? If we cannot be
sure about the deity of Christ, can we know that he is our Savior and Lord,
that he actually came from God to redeem us from our sins? If we cannot know
that the Bible is the inspired word of God, where do we go to learn the will of
God? If we cannot be certain about the plan of salvation, would we not of all
men be most miserable, to quote Paul's words about the resurrection (1 Cor.
15:19)? Our lesson today has the simple title, "Certainty."
The writings of modem liberal theologians and of so-called
"postmodernists" have led to doubt and uncertainty. No one, in my
opinion, has done more to create doubt and uncertainty in modem times than
former Episcopal bishop, John Shelby Spong. Spong's book, Into the
Whirlwind: The Future of the Church (Minneapolis: The Seabury Press,
1983), specifically denies that men and women may be certain about anything.
Oddly enough, he thinks that may be a blessing. Please listen to these brief
excerpts from Spong's book. "The one fact that is certain in our world is
that no ultimate authority exists that can define truth in any area for all
time" (p. 26). If there is "no ultimate authority" for defining
"truth in any area for all time," what standard may human beings use
for deciding right and wrong? Is it possible that sometime in the future in our
culture people will think it is all right for fathers and mothers to torture
their children for entertainment? Will it ever be right for men to steal from
their employers, to forsake their families and to betray their countries? Does
John Shelby Spong actually believe such nonsense?
Spong affirms: "We are thus entering a brand new world
where certainty more and more will be seen as vice rising out of an emotional
need, and uncertainty will be seen as a virtue possessing integrity and a
willingness to risk security in the quest for truth" (p. 26). You do not
need a Ph. D. in logic to see through Spong's logical fallacies. Our first question for the former bishop must
be: "Are you certain we are entering a new world where certainty more and
more will be seen as a vice?" If Spong is not certain and it is impossible
for him to be certain-there is no reason for us to pay one minute's attention
to his rantings and ravings.
His books, including the one I mentioned, express certainty
on many topics. For example, Spong asserts: "Our moral certainty sinks (or
perhaps has sunk) into a sea of relativity" (p. 51). And, of course, he is
certain about that. He also says: "The purpose for which the church was
created is inevitably distorted" (p. 26). If we cannot be certain about
anything, how does he know the purpose for which the church was created is
inevitably distorted? If a college freshman in one my Bible classes had
exhibited such illogical reasoning, he would have failed my class. Is it not
possible for the former bishop to see the logical inconsistencies in his books?
If human beings cannot be certain, why did Spong write the
book, Why Christianity Must Change or Die (San Francisco:
HarperSanFrancisco, 1998)? If Spong's views about certainty were correct, why must
Christianity do anything? Why must anyone do anything? Does Spong not know
that the word "must" demands a standard? When we say that a man must
do anything, we are implying that a standard for human conduct exists. For
example, most reasonable people believe that a father must provide for his
children. Are we merely expressing an opinion or is there some standard that
demands that responsibility? Should human beings be honest or is that merely a
cultural convention? Will the day come when dishonesty has the approval of
reasonable people?
Another of Spong's books has the title, Here I Stand:
My Struggle for a Christianity of Integrity, Love & Equality (
Modern liberalism is not the only religious movement that
questions whether we can be certain. The
Pagitt calls himself the"pastor" of a group
called Solomon's Porch. In his book, he quotes one of the members of
that group. "What saved my faith during this time? A handful of postmodern
theologians convinced me that the Christian faith did not need to be justified
by 'rational' modern scientific criteria to be believable" (p. 18). Had
that member ever read the Bible's emphasis on the mind? Genuine Christianity is
more than a good feeling. It is based on reasons that make good sense. Paul
commanded the Roman Christians: "Be not conformed to this world: but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good,
and acceptable, and perfect, will of God" (Rom. 12:2). Incidentally, the
word "prove" means to examine with a view of either approving or
disapproving. Would that not involve using our minds?
I get the impression from Pagitt's book that the members of
Solomon's Porch have bought into some of the practices of the New Age movement.
For example, Solomon's Porch conducts classes in yoga (p. 89). Do not the
leaders of that church know the Eastern philosophy underlying yoga? One of the
members of that group endorses the ying and yang concept (p. 98). Pagitt
mentions the "massage therapy work" of one of the church's members
(p. 105). Another of the members suggests that "Eastern medicine is closer
to the holistic model of faith ... than Western medicine" (p. 106). Their
worship services have little or nothing to do with the worship the New
Testament outlines. Pagitt says: "Anyone who wished was invited to move
down the aisles and dance for those who cannot dance in this world but will
dance when all is remade" (p. 102).
Don Pagitt's book, Preaching Re-Imagined: The Role of
the Sermon in the Community of Faith (
Pagitt insists: "The message of Jesus is that the
truth of God is within us and not limited to the temple or to any other holy
place" (p. 45). It is my judgment that Shirley MacLaine could not have
endorsed New Age thinking any better than Doug Pagitt. The truth of God is
within us only as we study and believe the gospel of Christ. What a tragedy
that so many modem churches have so little respect for the teaching of
scripture! But if the postmodernists were correct, we really cannot know the
truth anyway, or if we do, it does not really matter. For many postmodernists,
truth is primarily relational and not intellectual. If that were the case, why
did Jesus Christ tell some of his disciples: "You shall know the truth;
and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32)?
Pagitt expresses strong disapproval to what he calls
"speaching"-s-p-e-a-c-h-i-ng. He argues: "Part of my issue with
speaching is that I have come to see it as a subtle form of manipulation"
(p. 72). I do not wish to be unkind, but I am not concerned about Don Pagitt's
view of preaching. Our concern must be: Did Jesus and his apostles associate
preaching with manipulation? Our Lord commanded his apostles: "Go into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is
baptized shall be saved; but he who does not believe shall be condemned"
(Mk. 16:15-16). Was our Lord not aware that preaching "is a subtle form of
manipulation?" The Holy Spirit inspired the apostle Paul to tell a young
preacher: "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove,
rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine" (2 Tim. 4:2). Luke
says that Philip the evangelist "went down to the city
We need to examine what the Bible teaches about certainty.
By divine inspiration, the prophet Daniel listed the three kingdoms that would
succeed the Babylonian Empire. He concluded: "And in the days of these
kings shall the God of heaven set up a kingdom, which shall never be destroyed:
and the kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces
and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever." Was Daniel
absolutely certain that his prophecies came from God and would be fulfilled?
Please listen. "Forasmuch as you saw that the stone was cut out of the
mountain without. hands, and that it broke in pieces the iron, the brass, the
clay, the silver and the gold; the great God has made known to the king what
shall come to pass hereafter: and the dream is certain, and the interpretation
thereof sure" (Dan. 2:44-45). Paul also used the word "certain"
when he told Timothy: "For we brought nothing into this world, and it is
certain we can carry nothing out" (1 Tim. 6:7).
The word "certainty" appears very infrequently in
the Bible. Joshua assured the Israelites: "Know for a certainty that the
Lord your God will no more drive out any of the nations from before you; but
they shall be snares and traps unto you, and scourges in your sides, and thorns
in your eyes, until you perish from off this good land which the Lord your God
has given you" (Josh. 23: 13). Luke, the Greek physician, wanted to make
sure that what he and others believed was the truth. He searched the writings
that were available in his day. He explains: "It seems good to me also,
having had perfect understanding of all things from the first, to write unto
you in order, most excellent Theophilus, that you may know the certainty of
those things, wherein you have been instructed" (Lk. 1: 3-4). The Greek
word translated "know" means to have full knowledge. The word
"certainty" means to make no slip or to totter or fall. How can we
even pretend to serve the Lord if we cannot be certain about his will for our
lives?
The inspired Psalmist says of God's revelation to man:
"Thy testimonies are very sure: holiness becomes thine house, O Lord, for
ever" (Psa. 93:5). Jesus expressed concern that some of his disciples were
deserting him. He asked the apostles: "Will you also go away? Then Simon
Peter answered him, Lord, to whom shall we go? Thou hast the words of eternal
life. And we believe and are sure that thou art the Christ, the Son of the
living God" (John 6:66-69). The word "sure" does not appear in
the Greek text. But the tenses of the verbs-believe and know-justify using the
word "sure." When we take into consideration the tenses of the verbs,
the verse reads: We have come to believe and still believe; we have come to
know and still know "that thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God." The King James Version uses the word "sure" in Paul's
letter to the church of our Lord at
For the remainder of our time, let us examine some of the
New Testament's uses of the word "know." To keep from being too
repetitious, let me make plain that most of the uses of the word
"know" means either I or we have come to know and still know. As I
read these verses to you, please take notice of the great ideas we can know.
Paul told a young preacher: "For the which cause I also suffer these
things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against
that day" (2 Tim. 1: 12). Paul did not say, "I know what I
have believed," although that is true. He said, "I know whom I
have believed."
Have you paid attention to the certainty expressed in many
of our hymns? Please listen to a few of the titles of some of those hymns.
"I Know God's Promise Is True," "I Know My Name Is There,"
"I Know That My Redeemer Lives," "I Know the Lord Will Find a
Way," "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow." In 1883 Daniel Whittle and
James McGranahan wrote: "I know not why God's wondrous grace to me He hath
made known, nor why, unworthy, Christ in love, redeemed me for his own. I know
not when my Lord may come, at night or noonday fair, nor if I’ll walk the vale
with Him or meet him in the air. But 'I know whom I have believed, and am
persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against
that day.'"
Have you ever wondered how unbelievers handle the deaths of
their loved ones? Like all preachers, I have been called on to preach the
funerals of members where I have labored. One of my favorite verses on such
occasions is the following: "For we know that if our earthly house of this
tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, a house not made with
hands, eternal in the heavens" (2 Cor. 5: I)? Can we really know there is
a dwelling place for the soul "eternal in the heavens?" If we cannot
know, would we not grieve endlessly that we shall never meet our loved ones
again? I know I would if I did not believe I would see my Molly again. Later in
that same chapter, Paul assured his readers: "Therefore we are always confident,
knowing that, while we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord:
(for we walk by faith, not by sight:) we are confident, I say, and willing
rather to be absent from the body, and to be present for with the Lord....
Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made
manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences"
(2 Cor. 5:6-8, 11).
The little book of 1 John uses some form of the word
"know" over and over. The apostle John insists: "And hereby we
do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He who says, I know him,
and does not keep his commandments, is a liar, and truth is not in him. But
whoso keeps his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby we
know that we are in him" (1 John 2: 2-5). Charles Williams renders these
verses: "By this we can be sure that we know him-if we practice obedience
to his commands. Whoever says, 'I know Him,' but does not practice obedience to
his commands, is a liar, and there is no truth in his heart; but whoever
practices obedience to His message really has a perfect love of God in his
heart. By this we can be sure that we are in union with him."
There is much more in 1 John, but I will close our study
today by reading three more verses. Please remember that the expression,
"we know," in these verses means "we have come to know and we
still know." "We know that whosoever is born of God sins not; but he
that is begotten of God keeps himself, and that wicked one does not touch him.
And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lies in sin. And we know
that the Son of God has come, and has given us an understanding, that we may
know him who is true, and we are in him who is true, even in his Son Jesus
Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life" (1 John 5:18-20). The
second use of the word "know" in verse 20 means that we may continue
to know him.
According to these verses, what can we know? We can know
that whosoever is born of God does not continue to sin. We can know that we are
of God. We can know that the Son of God has come, and has given us
understanding. And we can continue to know him who is true.
Christ and his apostles never saw certainty as a vice, but
as a great blessing.
Winford Claiborne
The International Gospel Hour
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