OUR NEEDS AND GOD’S PROVISIONS: A THEISTIC PROOF

 

 

Is the Bible the actual words of God? This might be the most important question that confronts us. It might also be our weightiest challenge, as the skeptics charge, “It’s just the words of men!”

There are many reasons why we should regard the Bible as God’s Word. Here are just a few of the reasons:

1.    The Miracles of the Bible

2.    Fulfilled Prophecies

3.    Internal Consistency

4.    External Agreement with the various Disciplines

5.    Changed Lives and Societies

6.    Personal Experience with the Bible

7.    Wisdom of the Bible

8.    Extra-Human Perspective of the Bible

In this essay I just want to focus on one line of evidence – How the Bible is able to provide sufficient answers for our various needs:

JEALOUSY: We will eternally enjoy all the blessings of God:

·       …For all things are yours, whether…world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, and you are Christ’s, and Christ is God’s. (1 Corinthians 3:21-23; Col. 2:8-10)

·       He [our Savior] will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.” (Revelation 21:4)

It’s hard to remain jealous as we imbibe these assurances!

INFERIORITY COMPLEX:  We longer need to be obsessed with our weaknesses rejections, and failures:

·       I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. (Galatians 2:20)

·       “Most High rules the kingdom of men and gives it to whom he will and sets over it the lowliest of men.” (Daniel 4:17)

·       If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:31-32)

Once we understand who we are and have in Christ, our strengths and weaknesses no longer matter.

REGRETS/SELF-OBSESSION: We need no longer worry about our failures or inadequacies: And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28)

·       So let no one boast in men. For all things are yours, whether Paul or Apollos or Cephas or the world or life or death or the present or the future—all are yours, 1 Corinthians 3:21-22)

·       For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor. No good thing does he withhold from those who walk uprightly. O LORD of hosts, blessed is the one who trusts in you! (Psalm 84:11-12)

·       My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)

If we have Jesus, we have everything we need—no room for regrets!

FEAR: Our God is always with us, and we are His workmanship (Ephesians 2:10).

·       The LORD is on my side; I will not fear. What can man do to me? (Psalm 118:6)

·       “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. (Isaiah 43:1-2)

·       “Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. (Matthew 6:31-33)

·       do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

We are assured of a joyous and love-filled eternity with our Savior. Once we learn to maintain this focus, all our cares fade in comparison.

LOVE:  Because God loves us, we need not crave the love of others.

·       but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. (Romans 5:8-10)

·       …know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:19)

·       In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:10)

To understand the love that God has for me dissolves all my concerns.

ANGER/REVENGE: We need not take revenge, because our Lord guarantees that He will bring justice:

·       Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” (Romans 12:17-19)

·       Do you not know that you are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in you?  If anyone destroys God’s temple, God will destroy him. For God’s temple is holy, and you are that temple. (1 Corinthians 3:16-17)

Knowing these truths frees us to attend to merely loving others.

SELF-ESTEEM: Instead, we need to trust in the Lord who is our hope:

·       Behold, the eye of the LORD is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love, that he may deliver their soul from death and keep them alive in famine. Our soul waits for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. (Psalm 33:18-20)

·       Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD.” (Jeremiah 17:5-7)

·       This poor man cried, and the LORD heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him! (Psalm 34:6-8)

·       Because you are precious in my eyes, and honored, and I love you, I give men in return for you, peoples in exchange for your life. Fear not, for I am with you; I will bring your offspring from the east, and from the west I will gather you. (Isaiah 43:4–5)

Once we understand God’s love and how He values us, we need no longer be concerned about building our self-esteem and wearing a mask to deceive others. Instead, we can accept ourselves the way we are.

The truths of God intimately address our deepest needs and desires, transcending cultures, centuries, and ethnic identities. They have also elevated the cultures which have taken the Bible seriously and have made its God the very foundation of their lives. How then could these precious words merely be the words of men!