Friday, December 02, 2011

John 8:25-26. No excuses

“Who are you?” they asked. “Just what I have been telling you from the beginning,” Jesus replied. “I have much to say in judgment of you. But he who sent me is trustworthy, and what I have heard from him I tell the world.”

The sin is unbelief. If we refuse to believe God, what hope is there for us?

How do we know what God is saying? Paul tells us in Romans Ch 1 "What may be known about God is plain. For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what he has made, so that men are without excuse.

We can look at nature. But since the 19th Century men have thought up theories about how these could be self-generating - not that these theories are convincing - the arguments were all demolished in the nineteenth century - but so that they might find an excuse for not believing in God.

Others will point to the tradition of the Church that there is a God, but I admit that this is hearsay evidence and often wild and poorly attested. But we have better evidence than that. God sent his son. And we have the evidence of those who met him and heard his testimony. That which was heard and seen has been written down by those witnesses within 20 years of the actual event and that actual event included the death and resurrection of Jesus.

I don't know about you, but I can recall actual conversations that I had 30 years ago which were much less stupendous than this: conversations with colleagues, administrators and patients. And we have the benefit of many witnesses and detailed researchers who went about asking questions: "How do you remember that?" asked Luke of Peter, John Mark, Mary and the other women and many others.

WE have Scripture, and according to Scripture we have the Holy Spirit.

So we really are without excuse when we do not believe.

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