QUESTION- Who here likes doughnuts? Who has a favourite doughnut?
(My favourite are chocolate knots with sprinkles-yum). 

​Did you know they have found doughnut-like foods in archaeological digs from Bible times? The modern doughnut, however, came from the Dutch in the 1700s- oly koeks- oily cakes. However, it wasn't until the 1850s and a Capt. Gregory from the USA that doughnuts lost their middle. Originally, they were dough knots, a knotted dough ring. Perhaps Gregory took them out to fit on his ships wheel, or to allow the centres to cook more easily, or maybe to save money! At any rate, by the 1920s there was a doughnut machine and their popularity in WWI and WWII with soldiers helped to bring them into American culture: Krispy Cream, Dunkin Donuts (and Tim Hortons in Canada). 

Let's learn a funny song about doughnuts and Jesus.

 Let me explain that song.

God created us to know Him. Just like Lego, a puzzle or a craft has the grand design that we build, we were created to know God. Mt 4:10 says we were created, to worship (love) and serve Him. When God first created us, our ancestors (Adam and Eve) were in a perfect garden. There was only one negative command, not to eat of a certain tree lest they died (Gen 2:17). The moment they ate of it, the greatest tragedy happened: they spiritually died and began to physically die. In their rebellion they were cut off from God.

QUESTION- Who knows the central letter in the following words: sIn and prIde?

"I"- destroyed the peace and purpose and friendship and fullness we were created for. Like a doughnut, we were no longer whole, we had a hole in our heart. 1600 years ago Augustine said, "Our hearts will go on being restless until they fine their rest in You." Similarly, 400 years ago Pascal said, "Our hearts are a bottomless cavern."

QUESTION- Without God, what sorts of substitutes do people try to fill their lives with?

Pascal also said, "We have a Christ shaped hole in our hearts." Because we were made for God, only a restored relationship with Him through faith in His Son, Jesus, will make us whole again.

Let me tell you part of my story of becoming whole. When I was young I believed in God. Life was good. I was getting on being a child. Then two things happened that made me realize I wasn't whole. The first was when I was 5 and my parents stopped taking me to church. I knew that wasn't right, so I pestered them until we returned. But still, there was something missing. Then one day about 7 I entered a store with my father and I stole something! (Drum roll) Can you guess what it was? A paperclip. Yes, I stole a paperclip. I felt so guilty that I walked out of the store and through it in the grass beside the sidewalk. However, I still felt guilty. I was aware of a whole in my heart. 

I'll tell the rest of that story at our next campfire together, but let me tell you how we can fill that hole and become whole. When we turn from our sin and trust in Jesus, Eph 4 says, "Christ comes to dwell in our hearts by faith." Forgiven and assured of life eternal, He helps us worship and serve Him forever, just as we were created to. YUM.

[distribute doughnuts and ask children if they think they know what sweet treat I'll bring next time]

Christmas—the real Christmas—lies buried beneath so many layers of wrapping, adornments and tradition that it is worthwhile pausing to unwrap it and find true joy.
 
DEFINING CHRISTMAS | NOUN [krísməs]
The season/day of the year when the birth of the Christ child is celebrated; God’s anointed One, the promised deliverer. In Jesus God took on human form becoming this Christ.
 
Christmas is two words: Christ and missa; Latin from the worship service’s closing prayer meaning “go” or “send” (i.e. mission).  Having celebrated the birth of Christ the early Christians went out to proclaim the glad tidings of His coming.  The first instance was in AD 336.
 
Christmas is an ancient tradition, however it endures as it is real and relevant; God’s rescue plan that enables a relationship for all who repent and believe.
 
IT’S REAL | MATTHEW 1–2 & LUKE 1–2
Confirmed by ancient Greek, Roman and Jewish sources and faithfully recorded
in the Gospel accounts, Jesus was actually born. A first ‘Christmas’ really happened.
 
Josephus (d. 100) said, “Now there was about this time Jesus, a wise man.”
 
The biblical author Luke gives more detail by saying, “In those days a decree went out from Caesar Augustus.” You can read the whole story in Matthew 1–2 and Luke 1–2.
 
IT’S RELEVANT | JOHN 14:9 & ACTS 17:27
Christmas is not just a quaint old story; nor is God a far off and distant reality. We don’t have to wonder who God is or what He is like or how to come to know Him. Jesus said “whoever has seen Me has seen the Father” and “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” This is because Jesus is the promised Christ, the son of God.
 
IT’S ABOUT RESCUE | MATTHEW 1:21
Jesus’ name means ‘salvation.’ This is why the angel instructed Joseph to “call Him Jesus, for He will save His people from their sins.” (Mt 1:21).
 
While Jesus was a wise teacher, ultimately, he was born the Christ not just to teach but to rescue sinners through His life, death and resurrection.
 
Before Christmas can be seen as good news we must first acknowledge the bad news.
 
IT ENABLES A RELATIONSHIP | LUKE 24:46–47
As sinners, we do not know God―in fact, we are enemies of God. Yet in His grace God made a way to have a relationship with Him. The appointed means was faith—trust—in the good news of His Son: that God sent His Son, Jesus, who lived and died and rose again so that those turn and trust in Him might receive forgiveness and life eternal through the gift of the Holy Spirit. Through belief in this Saviour we are reconciled with God, adopted and called to live as His children.
 
When we unpack Christmas we find that true joy and meaning comes not in the trappings but in the offer and ultimately acceptance of Christ. As the carol says, “Let every heart prepare Him room.” May your joy be made complete this Christmas by receiving God’s grace through faith in His Son, the Christ.

2. Remember to Worship
​When we focus on self (pride) our lives want joy. Joy comes from depending on God, putting Him and others first. The highest act of humility is worship. When we praise God for how great He is our gaze is lifted from self to heaven, from darkness to light. Such joy is magnified when we join others in the command of public worship. Music is also good medicine to a weary soul.

I was glad when they said to me, “Let us go to the house of the LORD!” (Psalm 122:1)

3. Don’t Walk Alone
Christianity is personal but not private; Christians are part of the body and meant to support each other. How lonely it is to live for and by oneself. How depressing it is to have no one to encourage you. By design, God gave us the Church—His representative family on earth—in part at least, so our joy might be full. When we are active members of the Church we’ll have many brothers and sisters to share life with us.

Rejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. (Romans 12:15)

4. Walk in Obedience
When we disobey the King we can only expect to live in guilt and shame and fear. However, when we obey Him, when we do good, it will be our joy. There is blessing in knowing we’re doing right, that we’re walking the way the King desires, the way we were created to live.

10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father's commandments and abide in his love. 11 These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. (John 15:10-11, cf. 1 John 5:3;  Ps 119:2).

5. Enjoy the Small Things
Life can become monotonous, even hard at times. However, rather than despair the Lord commands us to take advantage of the small things in life: that sunset, a good meal, birds at the feeder, time with family, a job well done. Let’s not forget to count our small blessings and enjoy them one by one. The Lord uses these things to bring us joy.

And I commend joy, for man has nothing better under the sun but to eat and drink and be joyful, for this will go with him in his toil through the days of his life that God has given him under the sun. (Ecclesiastes 8:15, c.f. 2:24)

6. Be Content
It is easy to slip into the prideful thought that we deserve X lot in life or that God’s providence in any given situation isn’t best for us. Contentment frees us from self-pity to find joy in every situation.

Whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well, it is well with my soul. (Hymn “It is Well”)

7. Hope In the Future This world is a dark place and we experience the effects of sin. Even as we do all of the above in faith, we can lose hope and without hope there is no joy. However, the believer has been promised a day free from the presence of sin when Jesus returns. This hope breathes joy into our darkness.
According to His promise we are expecting new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells. (2 Peter 3:13)

So may your joy be complete by realizing His grace and walking in it.

Good Friday (and Easter) is a time when Christ’s sacrifice is put in public view along with the sin for which He went to the Cross.

The Cross and the Agnus Dei (Lamb of God), among others, are all early Christians symbols of Jesus’ sacrifice on the Cross—they’ve been around for a long time. Indeed the Cross, the most famous of Christian symbols is worn (e.g. jewellery) or displayed (e.g. steeples) almost everywhere there are Christians.

When the brutality of Roman crucifixion is grasped (along with the implication that we are all sinners [Ro 3:23]), it is natural, one way or another, to be uncomfortable with this or even to find it revolting. Some understanding might help alleviate some of this disgust.

Why did Jesus have to die? Because Adam and Eve disobeyed God, the result was their (and our) Fall into sin, the consequence of which was spiritual and then physical death (Gen 2:16). They and we are separated from God, “The wages of sin is death.” (Ro 6:23). Throughout the Old Testament the sacrifice (or life) of another (e.g. a sheep or goat, etc) was required of God’s justice to be able to stand before Him forgiven and in a right relationship. That is because “the life is in the blood” (Lev 17:11). Our sin is so real it demands a penalty. God in His grace (undeserved favour) provided the ultimate substitute in Jesus.

Hebrews 10 tells us that Jesus is the final and perfect sacrifice that all the others pointed forward to. We can now look back in faith and trust in “the lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.” When we do we find forgiveness of sin and the gift of new and eternal life by God’s Holy Spirit. This is all because Jesus died and rose 3 days later so we might be forgiven and find the life we so desperately need (1 Cor 15:3–4; Ro 10:9).

For some this will be received as the Good News it is meant to be. For others, even with understanding, Jesus’ sacrifice will remain an offence. (But what is there in culture and media that doesn’t offend someone).

This should not surprise us, for throughout history this has always been the case:

For we are the aroma of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing, (2 Cor 2:15)

but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, (1 Cor 1:23).
​
May we not resist the gift of God’s Son and the forgiveness and life He offers, but through understanding soften our hearts and believe. 

The other day, with the return of the snow, my son exclaimed to my wife, “God sent the deep, deep snow back!” She replied, “Yes, he did!” My son, who is always saying, “see it, see it,” if he has missed something (a horse and buggy on the road or a bird at the bird feeder), said to her, “You [meaning him] see Him [meaning God]?” Oh the profound things that come from the mouths of babes!

Many people don’t believe Christianity is true or come to doubt their faith by asking a similar type of question, “Why should I believe in God if I cannot see Him?”

This is a classic example of a statement or question pre-determining our response. Can or could we ever see God, was it His design? What might impinge this sight even if we could?

In multiple places the Bible affirms that God is spirit (Jn 4:24, “God is spirit”) and invisible (Col 1:15, “The Son is the image of the invisible God.”). Even before sin entered the world and humanity fell from a favoured state with God (Gen 3), the sense from the opening chapters of Genesis is that God was spiritually present in the Garden (Gen 3:8).

Since the Fall, sin has separated us from God. The only way in which we can “see Him” is to be restored to fellowship with Him through the Gospel (faith and repentance in Jesus Christ, Mt 5:8-“Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God.”). Then we shall see God spiritually and one day see Him physically. And it is precisely this Jesus who offers salvation who is the means by which we can physically see God.

Through Jesus, as God’s Son, we can see God the Father. 
​
The Christmas story celebrates God the Son taking on human flesh, incarnating as Jesus, “to save His people from their sin.” Through Jesus, as God, we can see God. This is what Jesus said to His disciple Phillip in John 14:9, “Jesus said to him, ‘Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’?” Because God the Father and God the Son share one Divine essence, to see Jesus is to see the Father. (A very poor example is my likeness to my grandfather and father. Many people who have never met me but knew them have come up to me and said, “you must be Jack or Don’s grandson or son.” We share a genetic likeness). Now evidently, we cannot see Jesus today—He’s returned to heaven—however through Jesus’ witnesses, the Apostles, and through the record of God’s Word, we can “see” Jesus and believe (Jn 20:29, 30–31).

Jesus also told the story of a man who had a house, entrusted it to servants, and then went away on a long journey promising to come back (Mk 13:34). Jesus came and He is also returning to bring judgement upon the unbelievers and reward and blessing to his followers. Then we shall see God in Jesus. Then believers will see Him (“the lamb”) for eternity as He is with us in a new Creation (Rev 21:22).
​
In the meantime, we can know God through faith and repentance in Jesus and see God spiritually.

​One of the largest stumbling blocks to the Christian faith, or rather seeing ones need of Christ, is the belief that one is too good for the Gospel. Why would I need Christianity when I live a decent life already? Maybe Christianity is okay for really bad people but it has nothing to offer me. I’m a firefighter, not an arsonist. I’m a nurse, not a chemical weapons specialist. I’m a farmer, not a cattle rustler. With the exception of maybe a few rough edges I’m basically a good person, too good to need Christ, too good for the Gospel to be good news to me.

How do we answer those who raise this point when we seek to share the Gospel with them? How can we help them see their need of Christ (I say help because conviction of sin is ultimately a work of the Holy Spirit, Jn 16:8).

We might start by freely acknowledging our own sinfulness before them, that the Gospel is one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread. But still, they might protest that neither of us are beggars, we’re both basically good people, and I have enough bread thank you.

Okay, Mr. Good, let’s turn to Ro 3:23, a very famous and helpful verse on this subject:

Romans 3:23 says, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

But I’m not a sinner they may still exclaim. I’m not an Adolph Hitler or a Genghis Khan, nor a mafia boss nor an online fraudster. HERE is the problem. Here is the key to unlocking this stumbling block and excuse. Their standard for measuring goodness is either themselves or someone else. When we, rather subjectively, set the bar it is no wonder we measure up, we set it far too low!

But that is the complete opposite of what Ro 3:23 is saying. Why have we all, without exception, sinned? Because we fall short of the glory of God. God’s glory is His character, His reality, His person. He is holy, radiant, pure and good and He calls us to be “perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.” (Mt 5:48). He is and sets the standard and not us or others. He makes this standard known through His Divine Laws, all that He has said in His Word as to that which is right and wrong. Take the 10 Commandments (Ex 20:1–17) or even the Great Commandment (Mk 12:28–31) as but an example. Find me someone who has kept those simple lists perfectly and I’ll make pigs fly!

WOW! That changes the weights and measurements doesn’t it? That revolutionizes our perspective on goodness. No longer is my goodness adequate, no longer do I measure up, now there is a great gulf between what goodness I may have and the goodness that God requires of me—perfection. Truly, now all of my “righteous deeds are as filthy rags” (Isa 64:6). Even any good we may have do is unacceptable because it wasn’t done in faith to love, honour and glorify God (Heb 11:6).

Once Mr. Good has grasped this by the Spirit, Mr. Bad is ready for Good News, the Gospel, for he sees his need of it. Ro 3 continues in vv. 24–25:

And are justified [declared right] by His grace [unmerited favour] as a gift [we cannot earn it for our deeds are imperfect], through the redemption [rescue] that is in Christ Jesus [what? Read on…], whom God put forward as a propitiation [a sacrifice that turns God’s wrath toward sin into favour] by his blood [dying on the cross], to be received by faith. [that believing this and asking, in trust, for God to forgive your sins according to the merits of Christ’s blood. That is how we can be saved from our sins and gain eternal life; that is how a relationship with our Maker can be restored].

God willing, your stumbling block removed, would you see your need for Christ and call on Him, asking Him to be Saviour and Lord of your life?

​[This is a much longer entry than normal given the subject nature]

The last century witnesses three famous genocides:

• Rwanda (Hutus vs. Tutsis=1 million deaths)
• WWII (Hitler vs. Jews= 5 million Jews + 1 million others dead)
• WWI (Turks vs. Armenians= the loss of 1.5 million people)

 
A genocide is a horrendous thing and is when one group seeks to exterminate another (litterally genos [people], cide [killing]), and this is often done because of hate, greed, land disputes, etc.
 
Then we turn to the Old Testament and find passages like this concerning Israel’s entrance into the Promised Land as part of God’s plan for Israel and the redemption of a lost world:
 
“16 But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, 17 but you shall devote them to complete destruction, the Hittites and the Amorites, the Canaanites and the Perizzites, the Hivites and the Jebusites, as the Lord your God has commanded, 18 that they may not teach you to do according to all their abominable practices that they have done for their gods, and so you sin against the Lord your God.” (Deuteronomy 20:16–18)
 
*Note v.18 is a clue to understanding this, to which we’ll return
 
Yikes! That sure looks like genocide to me; cased closed, I cannot believe in a God like that. But hold on, let’s take a closer look.
Now some seek to get around the idea all together, either in a bid to disbelieve in God or to seek to find a God of their liking.
 
Some denied these events ever happened as recorded in Joshua. But then archaeology came to the defence of the Bible to demonstrate that it did and they had to change their tune. This is what happened with the destruction of a city called Hazor (see Joshua 11:10–11), which the critics were quick to point out how archaeology did not support this verse; that is until fresh archaeological digs in 2013 revealed a complete layer of ash signifying total destruction.[1]
 
These events happened, so we can’t brush them off as if they didn’t.
 
These events tell us something about God’s word. It is true because He is truth. Whatever it positively commends, in fact or faith, can be trusted, for, “Every word of God proves true.” (Prov 30:5).
 
Then there are those professing Christians who pretend that if they ignore it the difficult questions will go away. Like a host of issues some find uncomfortable in the Bible (divorce, gender and sexuality, criminal justice matters, etc); if we just wish them away hard enough they’ll vanish before our very eyes! The problem is that they don’t and people seeking truth will see the shallowness in the attempt and hunger for answers. (Not to mention such an approach, that cuts out portions of Scripture we disagree with, take away what God has inspired and put in for our benefit. It tampers with the Word of God. [2 Ti 3:16; Acts 20:27]).
 
Others try another route to get out of dealing with these difficult passages, let’s go with they don’t actually mean what they say! Let’s consider the non-violent meanings of the passages like these. Problem, it means what it says. That when it says “devote to destruction” that is what is meant, reinforced by archaeology. Those who are troubled by passages about sin or judgement usually lack a sufficiently robust biblical worldview to understand them and answer the question of why.
 
So let’s finally ask—head on--What exactly happened? Why did it happen? What does it teach us? In so doing we’ll see it’s not something to be decried as an unethical problem, but actually points us to the Good News of Jesus Christ.
 
What exactly happened?

In order to receive the Promised Land, the Israelites were to invade and destroy the Canaanites cities, all of the different ‘ites’ who were there. Returning to Dt 20:16–17, we notice a number of important things:

1. It wasn’t a genocide as we define it today, yes land was involved, yes peoples were to be wiped out, but the Israelites were not to gain their possessions (a usual incentive). Rather everything was to be cherem (devoted to destruction), that is set apart as an offering to LORD. The ‘ites’ also were not targeted because of their ethnicity but for other reasons we’ll soon turn to (c.f. 1 Sam 15).
2. It was commanded by God. Now you might say, ‘well how many murders have taken place by people claiming to have been told by God.’ But this is not like those, this was a unique, clear and consistent revelation from God for a specific mission. We as Christians have no warrant to do this today, this was a mission unique to Israel at this time (It is also helpful to remember how in the Old Testament God’s kingdom was primarily physical; under the New Testament it becomes primarily spiritual, and this colours the types of warfare and enemies God’s people engaged with. Did they have spiritual enemies, yes; do we still have physical enemies, yes….).
3. Also note, in the passages surrounding these, that there were laws for warfare, so the invasion was not ungoverned but was a type of ‘just war.’
4. Also important is to remember the 6th commandment is a prohibition of murdering, not killing. There is a different Hebrew word for “to kill”, see Nu 35:16.
5. It also wasn’t violent, at least not in the sense society often uses it.  You see Israel was acting as agents of God’s wrath, and wrath is different than violence. Violence can be just and unjust. Jesus clearing temple was just violence. Wrath is a just anger directed toward sin for the purpose of judging or correcting it. It is why governments don’t bear the sword in vain (Ro 13)—they are God’s agents of justice and order. It is why parents discipline their children (in love and obedience)—not as violent criminal but a divinely appointed agents of justice and order.
6. Lastly, God is the creator of all and the ultimate owner of all created things and can do with them as His perfect will sees fit (Dan 2:21, 4:17), and so He could give the land of Canaan, and its inhabitants, to whomever He wished.

 
Why did it happen?
​
The justness and rationale behind these ‘problematic’ verses, begins to evaporate more quickly when you answers this. There are two stated reasons:

1. Deuteronomy 18:9–14:
   1. “9 “When you come into the land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not learn to follow the abominable practices of those nations. 10 There shall not be found among you anyone who burns his son or his daughter as an offering,[a] anyone who practices divination or tells fortunes or interprets omens, or a sorcerer 11 or a charmer or a medium or a necromancer or one who inquires of the dead, 12 for whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord. And because of these abominations the Lord your God is driving them out before you. 13 You shall be blameless before the Lord your God, 14 for these nations, which you are about to dispossess, listen to fortune-tellers and to diviners. But as for you, the Lord your God has not allowed you to do this.”
   2. It wasn’t as if the Canaanites were kittens. Yet people decry their slaughter asking, ‘why did God order the slaughter or poor, cute, fluffy, innocent kittens.’ The ‘ites’ were far from innocent, they had fallen so far away from the Lord in their idolatry and this spilled over into their immoral lifestyle. They were abominable. They sacrificed their own children to false gods, they didn’t seek the Lord’s revelation but evil spirits in their fortune telling, and (not mentioned here, but noted in Judges) they engaged in lewd sexual acts in their Temples.
2. Deuteronomy 20:18 (seen above): God loved His people so much, He didn’t want the ‘ites’ to be bad examples to them and lead them astray. He could not allow them to co-habit.

 
Thus, the rationale is a blend of judgement and protection.  
And we should also note that in cities outside the Promised Land, the Israelites were to offer terms of peace, Deuteronomy 20:10. And even amongst the Canaanites whom they were called to destroy, there was still the possibility of escape. The condition was this: fear the Lord! This was the case with Rahab (Jos 2:8–13, 6:22–5), she was spared; and the Gibeonites (9:26–7), they were spared; why, because their evil hearts melted and they feared the LORD, turning to Him.
 
What does this all teach us?
 
All of this challenges the misguided notion that the god of the OT is different from the god of the NT. That in the OT He is an angry and violent God and in the NT He is loving and gentle god. But such a view fails to see the love and grace and provision of God in the OT and His wrath and justice in the NT! The Bible speaks of 1 God, who never changes. (See this blog). ‘Gentle Jesus meek and mild’ spoke more on the subject of hell and judgement than anyone else in the Bible (A fact many overlook); that anyone who rejects salvation through faith in Him is assured of an eternal and conscious punishment away from the presence of God.
 
Lk 13:5b- I tell you, but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.
 
But I’m not that bad, I’m not like those nasty Canaanites, I’m a good atheist! Well, Atheism is just like the idolatry of the Canaanites, it pushes God out, which is the greatest of all sins.
 
John 1:12- But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God,
 
But ‘I’m not immoral’ (‘I might not be moral, but I’m certainly not immoral’) like those nasty Canaanites. But sinners aren’t like kittens either, because we don’t know God, are hearts are far from Him and from them flow all kinds of evil (Mk 7:21). All our good deeds are like filthy rags b/c even if we do them, they’re not done in faith.
 
The cherem of the Canaanites—total destruction— is a picture of HELL, the eternal destruction that awaits all who do not come to fear the Lord & call upon Him for salvation. This is how these difficult passages have been viewed by Christians through the ages.
 
Whilst some will continue to decry what the Bible says because it says the unbeliever will not have forgiveness or eternal life, it is in light of this shocking reality and sobering news—that Light SHINES FORTH—this good news!!! “Everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.” (Acts 2:21). No matter what you’ve done or who you are! Acts 2:21!!!          Why, because justice was accomplished on the Cross for the believer so you could go free. Jesus endured HELL so you might gain HEAVEN!
 
He died the death we deserved to die so that by believing we might have life in His name!
 
Friends, don’t decry the Bible or its sobering message, don’t put up road blocks to faith that have no reasonable grounding; but accept in faith that these ‘destruction’ passages are given by God for your instruction and benefit, so that you might not perish but find everlasting life.
 


[1] https://www.biblicalarchaeology.org/daily/biblical-sites-places/biblical-archaeology-sites/hazor-excavations-amnon-ben-tor-reveals-who-conquered-biblical-canaanites/
​

​Are humans naturally good?

Many people think so, but does the evidence really point in that direction?

How can we account for the bad things we see and experience around us in daily life, in social media, around the world, if we’re by nature good? Wouldn’t goodness prevail over ill? Wouldn’t it be the norm vs. the exception?
​
Below are 8 non-Biblical arguments to suggest we’re not good to go:

1. Our consciences trouble us; we’re laden with guilt from the wrong that we do.
2. The history of the ancients is one of moral darkness, superstitions, want of affections, oppression and savage cruelty.
3. Modern history is no more sanitized; in fact it is sheer arrogance to claim we’re any better. From infanticide to genocide and beyond, more humans have been killed in the last 107 years than in all of human history combined, largely due to atheistic worldviews.
4. For all the education we possess, we’re still no further ahead morally—you’d think moral progress could be measured by advances in education, but it almost appears the more we learn the more we’re enabled to do wrong; you might even say certain forms of education have set us back.
5. For all the technological progress, we’re still not able to advance ourselves morally, even with these helps.
6. For all of our natural capabilities and giftings, wonderfully endowed, if aliens were to observe us, they’d be amazed of our inability to use them for good.
7. Anyone with babies or young children will stand amazed at how wilfully disobedient these untarnished ones can be.
8. Even the Christian, who claims salvation, will testify to their imperfection and how hard they fight against their old fallen nature.

The abolitionist William Wilberforce, well acquainted with the darker side of man, said, “[These facts] are so obvious that it is a mystery why so many still believe in the goodness of human nature,”[1] and that this want of natural goodness, “is the only theory of human nature that fits all of the evidence.”[2]
The Bible, as God’s Word to us, confirms that this theory of human nature is indeed more than a theory, it is a reality. If we peruse its pages, from cover to cover, we see that it speaks with one accord, like a great trumpet, that humans are, by nature, sinful:

*Caution: What follows is not for the faint of heart; these passages speak of apostasy, falleness, corruption, depravity and  proneness to evil. The fact we don’t want to acknowledge these is in part evidence of their truthfulness.

1. The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. (Gen 6:5)
2. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. They have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one. (Ps 14:2–3)
3. Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
       and in sin did my mother conceive me. (Ps 51:5)
4.  We have all become like one who is unclean,
       and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment.
   We all fade like a leaf,
       and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (Isa 64:6)
5. The heart is deceitful above all things,
       and desperately sick;
       who can understand it? (Jer 17:9)
6. No one is good except God alone. (Mk 10:18b)
7. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom 3:23)
8. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 Jn 1:8)

C.S. Lewis said, “Christianity simply does not make sense until you have faced the sort of facts I have been describing. Christianity tells people to repent and promises them forgiveness. It therefore has nothing (as far as I know) to say to people who do not know they have done anything to repent of and who do not feel that they need any forgiveness. It is after you have realized that there is a real Moral Law, and a Power behind the law, and that you have broken the law and put yourself wrong with that Power—it is after all this, and not a moment sooner, that Christianity begins to talk. When you know you are sick, you will listen to the doctor. When you have realised that our position is…desperate you will begin to understand what the Christians are talking about. They offer an explanation of how we got into our present state.”[3] The Bible teaches us that, “by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners,” (Ro 5:19a) and “in Adam all die” (1 Cor 15:22a). Through the sin of our representative, Adam, we became separated from God. Now, we’re all now born sinners, and co-opt into sin each and every day. Does this mean we’re incapable of any good, no; does it mean we’re incapable of our original goodness and one that pleases God, yes. Yet, just like someone not wanting to admit they need to go see the doctor, so too in our pride and hardness of heart, we naturally resist this truth, instead creating delusions of goodness; unless the Spirit of God convict us of sin and point us to the goodness that can be found in Jesus (Jn 16:8). The Good News of Christianity begins first with hard honest bad news.
​
Putting two quoted part verses into their whole verse context reveals good news for those who repent and trust in Jesus:

• For as by the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, so by the one man's obedience the many will be made righteous. (Ro 5:19)
• For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ shall all be made alive. (1 Cor 15:22)

May God grant us the grace to see this reality and humbly accept the cure.
 
Related Read: Too good for the Gospel?


[1] W. Wilberforce, Real Christianity, p. 28.

[2] Ibid., 34.

[3] C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity, 1.5, p. 32.

​When many people think of God they wonder about His relevance, or desire more than a get out of hell free card (in that case, I’ll just wait until closer to death before pursuing Him, which itself is dangerous, Isa 55:6]).

I’m reminded of Jesus’ comment in Mk 12:27, that “He [God] is not the God of the dead, but of the living.” In context of the Resurrection this means He’s the God of those who are spiritually alive, both those in Heaven but followers of Jesus today. More broadly spun you could say God is a God of the afterlife but for life today.

Christianity is a religion for today and not simply the afterlife. Here are some examples why:

1. Peace with God
The heart of the Bible’s message is that humanity has fallen from its original state of friendship with God and now in sinful rebellion is under just condemnation. We are God’s enemy. Having an enemy such as this along with the eternal guilt that accompanies it bears heavily upon one’s body, soul and spirit. Suppressing the truth of our condemnation, we seek to evade the thought of this rebellion with still more rebellion. We try to substitute being made for God with other things (e.g. money, sex, power, etc). While some of these things may satisfy for a time they do not do so completely. As such we’re left with anxiety and depression. The only solution that can bring us peace is to become at peace with God through repentance and faith in Jesus. The moment we believe, we enjoy this peace; peace from the penalty of sin, friendship with God. Ro 5:1 says, Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

 2. Life to the Full
Many people think they are living a full life; however, our fullness can only extend as far as our sin inhibits—not far at all. We’re not living life fully because we’re not living as we were design to live. We’re not living for God and His glory; we’re living for self and today. As a result of not being at peace with God we’re actually spiritually dead. We may think we’re alive but it isn’t even a shadow of what we were created for. Jesus came not only to give us eternal life (Jn 3:16) but abundant life today. “I came that you may have life,” He said, “and life to the full.” (Jn 10:10). This life comes through His Spirit that He gives every believer; the purpose He enables them to fulfil.

3. Wisdom
Not only does the believer gain peace and life but also wisdom. The Holy Spirit is called the “teacher.” He, through Scripture, teaches us in the way of God. When we do what pleases God, we not only honour Him, but life generally goes better for us. Proverbs 3:8 says, “[Wisdom] will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones.” Walking in the Lord’s wisdom brings the steadfastness of truth to our lives that we don’t naturally have in this world tossed to and fro by changing ideas and thought patterns.
 
4. Strength For Today
Life can be difficult, even for Christians. God never promised that it wouldn’t. Believers have been freed from the penalty of sin (through the Cross), are being set free from the power of sin (by the Spirit) and will be freed from the presence of sin when Jesus returns. Yet in the meantime Jesus promised to comfort us through His Spirit’s presence. Christ “dwelling in our hearts by faith” (Eph 3:17) and such promises as “I am with you always, to the end of the age” Mt 28) mean that even in the valley of deep darkness the believer can be assured of the Lord’s presence, comfort, help and strength. All of this increases our relational knowledge of God and produces character. This is an assurance and experience a believer does not enjoy.

5. Bright Hope for Tomorrow
​Yet not only “Strength for today” but “bright hope for tomorrow” as the hymn Great Is Thy Faithfulness reminds us. Yes, but I thought we were talking about the here and now, not the future. Indeed, but the future impacts how we live today. The assurance of eternal life means that the believer has hope amidst of the hopelessness of today. One’s belief about tomorrow does shape how we live today after all.

So don’t just think of God when you think about tomorrow, know He is immensely relevant for today too. Would you “call upon Him while He while He is near” today through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ?