Sabbath Reflection
“What shall then one answer the messengers of the Gentiles? That the Lord hath stablished Zion, and the poor of His people shall trust in it.” Isaiah 14:32
I think the more I study philosophy, the more I decide I am not really a philosopher. This week found me considering the Incarnation and what it means for Jesus Christ to be God Incarnate, as the Council of Chalcedon said in A.D. 451 “truly God and truly man.” I have found that the more I delve into pagan philosophy and the philosophy of Christians who abuse Scripture to fit into neat philosophical constructs, the more I love the Word of God and that deep knowledge that everything written in it is the very words of Almighty God spoken through holy men of old. Cornelius Van Til was right, any Christian philosophy must first start with the Bible and we must, at all costs, be faithful to it.
I’m quite sure my tutor is a Christian. What branch of Christianity she hails from, I have not quite figured out. From our chats, I have assumed that she is pretty much orthodox, but I wouldn’t know it by the reading she assigns me. It is very good for me that I am finding myself engaged with the voices of modern philosophy in the area of philosophical theology, but I find no nourishment from it, no point. It all seems vain philosophical swordplay used by the academia to gain a foothold in the intellectual arena, or up one’s status in the university. The abuses of Scriptural passages seem to be rampant in philosophical circles, and minor efforts at proper exegesis and interpreting Scripture with Scripture would often solve the problems with which they burden the Christian faith.
Confronted with Christian philosophers who don’t have orthodox views is already a problem in and of itself, but then I find myself reading the views of other philosophers who have made it their purpose in life to destroy Christianity. It is at times, an overwhelming burden.
But God, in His providence, has not left us to ourselves. Isaiah speaks a burden to the Philistines in Isaiah 14 as they laugh and mock the people of God who are being overtaken by the powers of Assyria. The Philistines will one day be dissolved, but the Lord has established Zion and His people shall trust in Him. If one considers the history of God’s people, we are not the first to face those who have set out to destroy God’s people and laugh at the suffering of God’s elect. “The king of the earth assembled, and the rulers came together against the Lord, and against His Christ.” These words spoken first by the Psalmist, and later repeated by the New Testament church in Acts, could be said of God’s people today. Many have said that Christianity’s time is running out and soon it will be wiped off the face of the earth. But Christianity is stronger now then it ever has been. God is gathering His chosen from around the world, and though they face suffering, persecution, famine, nakedness, and the sword, still Tertullian’s claim that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of God’s Church is true as it was during the days of the Roman Empire.
The Philistines of today have taken their stand against Christ, but God has established Zion, and blessed are all who take refuge in Him. There is always a little hesitance on my part to enter a new working week. This week I’ll be looking at miracles and petitionary prayer, and God’s Truth will more than likely come under attack. Once again, my prayer is that though I may not have all the answers, I will, by God’s grace, remain faithful to His Word and trust in the One who has redeemed my life from the pit and set my feet upon the Rock.
I think the more I study philosophy, the more I decide I am not really a philosopher. This week found me considering the Incarnation and what it means for Jesus Christ to be God Incarnate, as the Council of Chalcedon said in A.D. 451 “truly God and truly man.” I have found that the more I delve into pagan philosophy and the philosophy of Christians who abuse Scripture to fit into neat philosophical constructs, the more I love the Word of God and that deep knowledge that everything written in it is the very words of Almighty God spoken through holy men of old. Cornelius Van Til was right, any Christian philosophy must first start with the Bible and we must, at all costs, be faithful to it.
I’m quite sure my tutor is a Christian. What branch of Christianity she hails from, I have not quite figured out. From our chats, I have assumed that she is pretty much orthodox, but I wouldn’t know it by the reading she assigns me. It is very good for me that I am finding myself engaged with the voices of modern philosophy in the area of philosophical theology, but I find no nourishment from it, no point. It all seems vain philosophical swordplay used by the academia to gain a foothold in the intellectual arena, or up one’s status in the university. The abuses of Scriptural passages seem to be rampant in philosophical circles, and minor efforts at proper exegesis and interpreting Scripture with Scripture would often solve the problems with which they burden the Christian faith.
Confronted with Christian philosophers who don’t have orthodox views is already a problem in and of itself, but then I find myself reading the views of other philosophers who have made it their purpose in life to destroy Christianity. It is at times, an overwhelming burden.
But God, in His providence, has not left us to ourselves. Isaiah speaks a burden to the Philistines in Isaiah 14 as they laugh and mock the people of God who are being overtaken by the powers of Assyria. The Philistines will one day be dissolved, but the Lord has established Zion and His people shall trust in Him. If one considers the history of God’s people, we are not the first to face those who have set out to destroy God’s people and laugh at the suffering of God’s elect. “The king of the earth assembled, and the rulers came together against the Lord, and against His Christ.” These words spoken first by the Psalmist, and later repeated by the New Testament church in Acts, could be said of God’s people today. Many have said that Christianity’s time is running out and soon it will be wiped off the face of the earth. But Christianity is stronger now then it ever has been. God is gathering His chosen from around the world, and though they face suffering, persecution, famine, nakedness, and the sword, still Tertullian’s claim that the blood of the martyrs is the seed of God’s Church is true as it was during the days of the Roman Empire.
The Philistines of today have taken their stand against Christ, but God has established Zion, and blessed are all who take refuge in Him. There is always a little hesitance on my part to enter a new working week. This week I’ll be looking at miracles and petitionary prayer, and God’s Truth will more than likely come under attack. Once again, my prayer is that though I may not have all the answers, I will, by God’s grace, remain faithful to His Word and trust in the One who has redeemed my life from the pit and set my feet upon the Rock.
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