Debate 8: Foundation and Truth

Answering the question of the masturbation debate is simple enough, but it requires a proper foundation. The assertion that people, who believe in God, commit sin, because they do not really believe, is pretty close to the truth. So why did I wait until the eighth installment to say so? Why not just straighten the whole thing out by saying that people, who believe in God, commit sin, because of imperfect faith, or weak faith? Here’s why; and it is the topic of that lecture I was originally searching for when I stumbled onto the masturbation debate in the first place. The Biblical view on the topic of answering a fool according to his folly prevents me from giving a straightforward answer to a backhanded question. (Proverbs 26:1-12). If someone argues that 12 plus a dozen equals 24, it appears true; but it depends on whether he thinks a dozen is 12 or 4. If he thinks a dozen makes 4 he is quite wrong. I had better deal first with the folly. I have to tear down the whole argument and build the right foundation. If we build a house on a bad foundation, it is wise to tear down the house, and put in a good foundation, even if it seems to be a good house.

This is the case with the atheist in the masturbation debate. His notion of God is clearly less than the reality of God, so his presumptions are quite wrong. He also doesn’t acknowledge the difference between a man and a rock. He sees man as an accidental thing in an accidental universe — subject to no higher law than those governing a rock or an ape. Those who believe in God don’t need it explained that this isn’t so. But get ready for an uncomfortable truth. Even believers have notions of God that do not come close to the reality of God. Remember part 5 in this series? God is bigger than our understanding of Him. God is constantly having to tear down the houses we build for ourselves to reestablish the foundation of our faith. God opposes the proud and favors the humble (†). Once we accept God’s goodness and supremacy in our life, the thought of losing all that we have built for ourselves does not frighten us; because we know His plans are always an improvement. It takes real faith to learn this. And sometimes, we learn slowly.

Our knowledge of God is refined as we are refined by Him. It is one thing to read Jeremiah and learn that God has plans to prosper us and not to harm us (29:11-13), but it requires faith to give up what is known in favor of what is promised. Or put another way, we give up what appears good to make way for what is best. Considering we do not get to determine for ourselves what is best nor do we get to define ‘prosper,’ we can see the trouble. It is difficult for someone to downsize their lifestyle in order to begin tithing. It was difficult for me, even more so for my wife; but God is faithful and shows us that His way is best (††). Simple truth — He promises it, He proves it. I don’t have to accept someone else’s testimony. I have my own testimony. God gave it to me so that I would believe Him. He gives faith through evidence of His faithfulness. I love when atheists begin to say they want evidence for God. I show them my life and they say, “That isn’t real evidence.” I laugh, what could be more real? They say, “Give me science.” Clearly, what they want is evidence against God. Good luck with finding that. Science continues to show us the irrefutable signs of creation. That is a whole different blog series.

So why, though I believe in God, do I sin? This is an important question. Part of why I began this series is because I have often asked this question myself. I have struggled through an addiction to pornography—one of those sneaky addictions that never really seemed unmanageable. I could halfway convince myself I wasn’t doing anything wrong, wasn’t hurting anybody. Then I would catch myself searching for “hard” porn, reconsider and trash everything. Each time I thought I had my lust issues in check, I would repeat the cycle over again. In the beginning, it was a shameful cycle that I kept to myself. I read a number of books to get a better understanding of my problem, but they didn’t explain any more than I could observe on my own. They went into great detail about neuropath ways and memory recall and emotional triggers. Things Mr. Burns tried to recount in the masturbation debate. They explained the destructive consequences that I mostly avoided by ending the cycle where I did, but were not helpful in stopping the cycles from starting. Ultimately, allowing shame to keep me isolated was the problem. I have been fortunate to have friends that have gone through similar battles and could share their insights with me. Once I began to discuss my cycles openly, I began to ask friends to pray with me about it. All sin is the same in this way. Drag it into the light and give up trying to deal with it yourself. Only Jesus has conquered sin. Our power over sin is His power in us, not ours. That is why it is no good to talk about God, or sin, or truth without a foundation of Jesus in our life. The Bible has all the answers we need for such discussions, and it warns us that men will try to build different foundations than the one true foundation.

The spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. I do not always wait for God. I do not always trust Him perfectly. I still rationalize away what is inconvenient in Scripture. I do not remember to thank God for all He provides. I do not remember to ask God for my daily bread. I do not always love my enemies and pray for those that persecute me. Often, meekness, gentleness, and humility seem like made up words to me. The cares of this world press in and threaten to choke my faith. Yet my faith is sustained, not by my works, but by His power. My spirit believes perfectly and is united with God through His Holy Spirit, but a spiritual battle rages against all that is corrupt and certain to pass away. It is His power that brings me to recognize and turn away from my sin. Often, my children learn things faster than I do; nevertheless, God is patient with me. It is His power that draws me closer and allows me to know Him better. This body of mine will die. When it does, all that is weak in me will die. But if my spirit has been surrendered to Jesus as Lord, and washed clean by His work on the cross, I will live as He lives. I will share in His resurrection. All things that cause sin will be removed whenever Jesus returns. All that is not created to be eternal will pass away, and all that is created to be eternal will receive judgment.

Mockers will mock, but this is the truth of Scripture. Learning to live in the Spirit is the great undertaking of every Christian. I would devote the next installment to explaining what that means, but I can only lay out the roadmap of Scriptures that I meditate on as often as I can. These are my pearls, my treasure in this life. I guard them. I don’t pretend to have it down, nor do I expect to lead you into perfect understanding. I would be happy to come alongside you in prayer and introduce you to my Lord and Savior. Perhaps you can help me to understand better. If you honestly seek the Truth, His name is Jesus, and you can find Him if you seek with all your heart.

Series Navigation for “I Love A Good Debate:”

(1) | (2) | (3) | (4) | (5) | (6) | (7) | (8)