GROW BY LEARNING

Friday, December 16, 2016

Our Free Will Went Out of Order With the Fall

First, the Bible does not approach this subject from the perspective that everyone is entitled to a chance at heaven, as do most Americans. Now it makes for a wonderful system of government when we see things democratically everyone has a vote and everyone is equal before the Law, and that in order to be fair, everyone should have an equal chance to participate in the process. We can all exercise our vote, make a decision, and really change things. God, however, is not democratic and he does not operate according to American democratic ideals.

The Scriptures do not begin with human freedom, as it is argued, they begin with the fall of Adam into sin and its consequences.

This means that we lost our vote and our freedom in the Fall! And because the entire human race fell with Adam, we are everything that the Scriptures say about us.

Thus, as Christians, we must begin where the Bible does, with the fact of human sinfulness and with the idea clearly in our minds that no one deserves to go to heaven, and that none of us can do anything to get there.

To start with the presupposition that unless we have free will to choose God whenever we want to, or else Christianity (and by implication - God) would not be fair, we miss the point. God does not owe sinners anything. And if we are thinking this way, we have, perhaps, imbibed too deeply from our democratic culture, and we are not approaching things, as we should, from the perspective found in the Holy Scriptures.

Second, the degree to which we argue that we contribute something to our salvation is the degree to which we deny sola gratia. It was Charles Spurgeon who said, "he that thinks lightly of sin, thinks lightly of the savior." It is really very simple. Either God saves sinners who are dead in sin, by calling them forth from the grave when they could contribute nothing, or else sinners have something good within them is that not somehow tainted, corrupted, polluted our damaged by the fall. As we have seen the Scriptures teach the former rather than the latter. To add anything we do to grace alone, is to deny grace alone! You cannot have it either way. As Calvin puts in the Institutes, "Whatever mixture men study to add from the power of free-will to the grace of God, is only a corruption of it; just as if anyone should dilute good wine with dirty or bitter water." Since we are sinful from head to toe, from hair to toe-nail, whatever our contribution we might add to God's grace, only can serve to pollute, not to activate the grace of God! And so when we look to as answers for questions like, "Why does God save this one rather than that one?" we do well to answer as one Puritan divine put it, "There is no reason to be given for grace, but grace." God is God and we are sinful creatures. It is not ours to ask why.

Third, sola gratia is the basis for our comfort and assurance as sinners before a Holy God. Since any contribution that I am supposed to make to make my salvation possible is necessarily tainted by sin, I will always be plagued by doubts about what it is that I am supposed to contribute, and whether or not I contributed it in the right way. If I think that I am saved by my decision to accept Jesus as my Savior, how do I know if I really meant it when I asked him into my heart? If I am saved because of my faith, what do I do when my faith is weak, or when I am in sin or else plagued by nagging doubts? Do I need to be saved all over again? This is not religion of faith but a religion of fear and of pride. Since the Scriptures teach that we are saved not because of anything that is in us, and that the merit necessary for our salvation comes to us from the person and work of Jesus Christ, we look, not within at what we have done, but we to our savior to see what he has done. For in Jesus Christ we see what it means to be saved by grace.

We look to a savior who calls the dead from the tomb when they still reek of their sins; a savior who promises never to leave or forsake us, even when we go astray. We look to a good shepherd who will lose none of his sheep and who declares; "all that the Father gives to me will come to me, and I will lose none of them, but raise them all up on the last day." We look to a savior who died for all of our sins and who kept God's Law perfectly every minute of his life, so that his perfect righteousness could be given to cover our unrighteousness. We look to a savior who was crucified, but who conquered death and the grave and who rose again who ascended into heaven, and who even now is ruling and reigning, all the while praying for us, as our advocate and defender. Sola gratia is most clearly seen in the fact that Jesus Christ came to do for us they very thing that we could no do for ourselves. For he came to seek and to save that which was lost. This beloved is sola gratia, the sinless Son of God, dying upon a Roman cross for the sins of the world, rising from the dead for our justification, and making us alive, through his word, when we were still dead in our sins. Blessed be the name of the Lord.

Saturday, December 10, 2016

How many atoms are in the human body?

Answer 1

Would you settle for a whole bunch? I didn't think so. The number of atoms in one person is almost too big to write out. But fortunately there's a shorthand system, called scientific notation, that we use instead for writing really BIG or really SMALL numbers. Since huge numbers are generally just estimates anyway, we just use the first few numbers, followed by a code that tells you how many zeros would follow if you wrote it all out. Ok, here it goes. Hydrogen, oxygen and carbon make up about 99% of the average human. I'm going to cheat a little and leave out the other 1%, which is made up of trace elements (that is, stuff there's only a trace of in the body). Then, let's assume an average adult weighs 70 kilograms. Be sure to keep in mind that the following numbers are based on the number of atoms, not percent of body weight (by weight we are mostly oxygen). A 70 kg body would have approximately 7*10^{27 atoms. That is, 7 followed by 27 zeros:}

7,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000

Of that, 4.7*1027 would be hydrogen atoms, which have one ^proton^{and one}^electron^{each. Another 1.8*1027 would be oxygen, which has 8 protons, 8 neutrons and 8 electrons. There are 7.0*1026 carbon atoms, which have 6 protons, 6 neutrons and 6 electrons. Now, let's add that all up:}

	^Protons	^Neutrons	^Electrons
^Hydrogen	^4.7*1027	⁰	^4.7*1027
^Oxygen	^1.4*1028	^1.4*1028	^1.4*1028
^Carbon	^4.2*1027	^4.2*1027	^4.2*1027
Total	^2.3*1028	^1.8*1028	^2.3*1028

^{Well, you'll have to agree that really is a whole bunch.

Answer 2

As they say in French - "Beaucoup," meaning a lot! A very technical, but very interesting, discussion of this can be found at ^{http://www.foresight.org/Nanomedicine/Ch03_1.html}^{. In summary, for a typical human of 70 kg, there are almost 7*1027 atoms (that's a 7 followed by 27 zeros!) Another way of saying this is "seven billion billion billion." Of this, almost 2/3 is}^hydrogen^{, 1/4 is}^oxygen^{, and about 1/10 is}^carbon^{. These three atoms add up to 99% of the total!}

The web site gives a detailed list of the all the different kinds of atoms making up the human body (there's even some ^uranium^{in us!) More importantly, this site is an introduction to a very new area of medical research named Nanomedicine which can be defined as "the monitoring, repair, construction and control of human biological systems at the molecular level, using engineered nanodevices and nanostructures." Anyone who has watched the Star Trek TV shows has certainly come across this idea in some of the "Borg" episodes.}

Autors:

Answer 1 - Brian Kross, Chief Detector Engineer

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The Power of Jesus Christ

Luke 8:22-25 Part one

Let me say from the outside, that in studying this message, I learned more than I have ever knew about this lesson. I think I am rather learned in Scripture but after this study I think I am at about 10% if that much of knowing the Bible as I should.

In our continuing study of the Word of God, we return to the 8th chapter of Luke, this morning, Luke chapter 8. And what I think for many of you will be a recollection of a Sunday school story that you will, no doubt, remember when I read it. This is one of those favorite stories about Jesus that shows up in almost every children's book. Almost every Sunday school teacher has told it. It is the story of Jesus calming the storm, Luke chapter 8. Let me read verses 22 through verse 25.

"Now it came about on one of those days or, Now it came to pass on a certain day

that He and His disciples : or,

into a boat. or, a ship

And He said to them, 'Let us go over to the other side of the lake.'

And they launched out.

But as they were sailing along,

He fell asleep and

a fierce gale of wind descended upon the lake; or, and there came down a storm of wind on the lake

and they began to be swamped and to be in danger.

And they came to Him and woke Him up saying, 'Master, Master, we are perishing.'

And being aroused,

He rebuked the wind and the surging waves and they stopped and it became calm.

And He said to them, 'Where is your faith?'

And they were fearful and amazed,

saying to one another, 'Who then is this that He commands even the winds and the water and they obey Him?'"

Familiar story, right? Brief story. But it's going to take us two weeks to get through this story. I don't know why that is, it just is. And it's not because the story is hard to understand. It's because the reason for the story must be understood.

Sometimes we're cheated of the depths of divine truth because we're content with the surface. This is profound revelation and you need to understand the theological and redemptive and historical context in which this fits.

So we go back before the Fall, when God created man and made him king of a perfect earth, paradise. And then we remember that man sinned and paradise was lost and the earth was cursed and man was cursed. The earth by virtue of the curse fell immediately into the hands of the usurper Satan, who became the ruler of this world.

Man was stained by sin. The planet was stained by sin. Life then is marked by sickness and pain and suffering and sorrow and death and difficulty, war, injustice, lies, natural disasters, famines, demonic activity, and so it goes.

But God has a plan and it's a twofold plan.

He has a plan to redeem His people and to redeem His planet.

And that plan begins to unfold early in redemptive history in the Old Testament as God promises there will come a Redeemer who will redeem His people. And He will also redeem His planet and one person will do both.

The first time He comes it will be to redeem His people.

The second time He comes it will be to redeem His planet.

And that simply defines the first and second coming of Jesus Christ. He came the first time to save His people from their sins. He came the second time to restore the planet to peace and justice and righteousness and joy.

The ultimate design then is that man is delivered from his sin and the planet is delivered as well from the effect of sin.

Jesus came the first time in humility, to offer Himself as the sacrifice for sin by which to provide redemption.

He comes the second time in glory and majesty as a conqueror to destroy all the wicked and all the ungodly and establish Himself as King of the world.

He comes then the first time to redeem His people, the second time to redeem His planet.

Note the footnote at the end of this paper "The Remarkable Re=Birth oif Planet Earth by Henry Morris

Now it's obvious that if someone is going to do that they have to have immense power, immense power. It's enough of a challenge to redeem people, but add to that the promise to redeem the planet. To reverse what is wrong with man and to reverse what is wrong in the universe, this is the task laid at the feet of the great Messiah, Savior. It takes power beyond anything human. It takes power beyond any human comprehension. It is inconceivable to us to understand the kind of power that it takes to reverse the Fall and the curse. And it is power that belongs only to God Himself. But that is precisely what God says He will do.

We know already in the gospel of Luke that the Messiah came to redeem His people, to save His people from their sin. We know from this story that Jesus the Messiah also has the power to control natural forces, wind and water.

In fact, if you wanted to pick an illustration of what is hard to control, wind would be the best one. Everybody talks about the weather, the old adage goes, but nobody does anything about it. And the reason nobody does anything about it is because nobody can do anything about it. With all of our ability to harness energy, with all of our ability to advance scientifically, and to draw out of the resources of this planet wealth and benefit, we can't do anything about the weather. But Jesus could and that's what He did in this event.

It's more than just a...a simple story in and of itself. You've got to get beyond the superficial.

This is all about one demonstrating power to fulfill prophecy, prophecy that relates to paradise regained, reversing the curse, renewing the earth.

The Bible is very clear about the kingdom that is going to come.

During the kingdom, the millennial kingdom, Satan will be bound for the entire duration of a thousand years. Revelation 20 makes that clear. Whoever it is then that's going to come and establish the kingdom has to have the power to triumph over Satan. We already know in the gospel of Luke that Jesus has that power because when Satan came against Jesus, he was totally vanquished, remember that? That's important for us.

We also know that in the kingdom demons will not dominate. They will with their leader, Satan, be bound and the saints will dominate. This is clear in Scripture. And we already know in the gospel of Luke that Jesus had total power over demons. He spoke to them at will and they did exactly what He told them to do. He exercised complete power over that realm.

Scripture says that in the kingdom sin will be instantaneously punished. Everybody in the world will be under the judgeship of one judge, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will act both benevolently and justly instantaneously. Whoever is to be this perfect judge must demonstrate then perfect equity, perfect righteousness, perfect holiness, hatred for sin and love of what is right. So we've already learned that Jesus fits that perfectly.

When the kingdom comes peace will dominate the earth.

He will have to be a peacemaker the likes of which the world has never seen. Joy will abound. Isaiah 12, the prophet says, "When the kingdom comes joy will abound in the earth." Isaiah 11:9, "Truth will pervade."

The knowledge of God will fill the earth, Scripture says.

And nature will change. Natural enemies will become friends, according to chapter 11 of Isaiah. Lion lies down with the lamb. Children play in snake pits without ever being bitten or fearing anything. Carnivorous beasts eat straw like an ox.

Crops will flourish, according to Isaiah chapter 30. The planet's ability to produce will be altered dramatically, so much so that Isaiah chapter 30 and Joel chapter 2 tell us the crops are going to grow all night long and the moon will have the same photosynthetic power that the sun does, different world.

Isaiah 35 says the desert is going to blossom like a rose, the barren, bleak desert is going to flourish like a garden; that the Lord Himself is going to create a river out of the backside of Jerusalem that's going to flood the desert. It's going to create a new valley.

That health and healing will mark the millennial kingdom. Disease will be diminished. There will be healing, wholeness, health. If someone dies at the age of 100 they die as a baby. It will be like it was before the Flood when people lived for centuries.

True worship will be restored, according to Ezekiel 40 to 48. There will be one great King and one great Ruler, the Messiah.

All of this is paradise regained. This is the coming promised kingdom of God.

His throne will be established in Jerusalem, from which He will rule the world.

The ability to change the planet, the ability to redeem sinful people and the ability to literally reverse the curse physically is only possible through God's power. Nobody can do that. We don't have to worry too much about preserving the planet.

Perhaps not too long from now the Lord Jesus is going to turn it into something like the Garden of Eden. And only the Creator can have that power.

Does God have that power? Of course He does.

David said in Psalm 62:11, "Power belongs to God." That seems like a simple statement but the kind of power David was talking about is immense.

I read you Psalm 29 You can go back and look at it. It talks about God's power over the waters, God's power over the seas, God's power over the land and God's power over the animals and God's power over man.

Job 26:14 says, "The thunder of His power, who can understand?"

Psalm 79:11 talks of the greatness of His power. Nahum wrote, "The Lord is great in power."

Isaiah 26:4, "The Lord God is an everlasting power."

Psalm 65:6 says, "Who by strength," speaking of God, "establishes the mountains being girded with power?"

Psalm 63:1 and 2, "Oh God, You are my God, early will I seek You. My soul thirsts for You. My flesh longs for You, to see Your power." David wanted to see God's power. And He could have seen it and he did see it.

Romans 1 says, "The power of God is manifest in the creation," so that if you don't see the power of God and acknowledge Him for it, then you're without excuse because the manifestation of God's power in the creation is so obvious.

I mean, just think about how much power God has to create and sustain the entire universe.