The Intellectual (Proof) and Faith (Believing God) - A Three Point Outline
Point Three - Application
I. Step One: What Do I Do When I Sin?
A. Believe God and bring that sin under the blood of Christ.
B. Then believing Christ is God and His death has infinite value, therefore my true moral guilt is gone
1. It is gone in my mind.
2. The Bible says it is gone with God.
C. There is reason involved here just like in the previous two major points.
1. As I study the Bible it forms a structure.
2. This structure shows me God's plan of redemption and how to apply it to my life.
D. It is not only reason. I must believe God and His promises. There is no dichotomy between the two (reason and faith) so I must believe God where I am right now. We cannot do this perfectly but this is the example we should live. There is no discontinuity with the whole man functioning including the reason.
II. Step Two: What Happens When I Bump My Nose and I Am Shaken in My Christianity?
A. Examples
1. Intellectual problems
2. Psychological upheavals
3. Sin coming into my life
B. Go back to the intellectual side (Proof) and think it through again. This is a totally solid floor to stand on. Without the reason it is only a matter of experience and it can blow away. Without the reason we load too much on our devotional life. Don't forget 1 John 4:1-3.
C. BUT (and this is a BIG "But")
The non-mental is not higher than the mental. They are at the same level. The "much more" is not higher than the reason. Nor is the reason higher than the "much more." At each step of the way the whole man is to be involved. The intellectual (proof) and faith (believing God) are both to be simultaneously and equally, equally operative each step of the way.
(End of Lecture)
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