Mark Scholten

The True Church Obeys an Infallible Bible

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“There are those who wish to challenge the Full Authenticity and Infallibility/ Inerrancy of the Scriptures. Unfortunately, some “Christian” denominations don’t even hold God’s Word in the highest esteem. What are ways to address these positions?”

What is a true church?

1) One that holds to Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, 

2) One that holds to the gospel as true, 

3) One that submits to an authoritative Bible.  

The Reformed confessions emphasized three foundations for the true church:

1) The gospel is preached, 

2) The sacraments are served in fundamental integrity, and 3) Discipline is exercised.  

But if you boil all these marks of the true church down it amounts to this: 

The Word of God is received as authoritative and it is obeyed.  

1) For in the Bible we find the gospel, and how to preach it; 

2) we find the sacraments and how to serve them; 

3) and the standard by which we exercise discipline.  

Receiving the Bible as the Authoritative Word from God is essential to the true church.

The God behind the inerrant, infallible, authoritative Bible is the foundation of the Church.  So, to say a church is biblical is redundant.  Every true church accepts the Bible as our standard of truth. Francis Schaeffer called this the watershed issue of the church.

So if a church claims to be a true church yet denies the Word of God and refuses to submit to it; they are a false church.  

Many churches, that we call liberal, have denied the authority of the Bible and the wisdom of the historic confessions. 

If the Word of God does not lead them, what is their authority?  If it is not Theonomy (God’s law), it is autonomy, (self law). The spiritual battle that is being waged all around us is between God’s Word and wisdom and fallen man’s word and wisdom.

PCUSA, out of which the PCA came, had 4.25 million members in 1965.  Today they have just under 1.2 million. They lost more than 3 million members. Today, 69% of their members are 50 or older and 40% of their churches have less than 50 members. The PCA has more infant baptisms than the PCUSA, even though we are 1/3 their current size.

If the church doesn’t stand on the Bible, they stand with the culture.  If that is true, why do we need the church?

In 1958 J. I. Packer wrote, “Fundamentalism” and the Word of God.”

“We have to choose whether we will accept the biblical doctrine of Scripture as it stands or permit ourselves to refashion it according to our fancy. We have to choose whether to embrace the delusion that human creatures are competent to judge and find fault with the words of their Creator or whether to recognize this idea for the blasphemy that it is and drop it. We have to decide whether to carry through our repentance on the intellectual level or whether we shall still cherish our sinful craving for a thought-life free from the rule of God. We have to decide whether to say that we believe the Bible and mean it or to say it and look for ways whereby we can say it without having to accept all the consequences.

“If the human mind is set up as the measure and test of truth, it will quickly substitute for man’s incomprehensible Creator a comprehensible idol fashioned in man’s own image; man wants a god he can manage and feel comfortable with and will inevitably invent one if allowed. He will forget (because he cannot understand) the infinite gulf that separates the Creator from his creatures and will picture to himself a god wholly involved in this world and wholly comprehensible (in principle, at any rate) by the speculative intellect…. Once people reverse the proper relationship between Scripture and their own thinking and start judging biblical statements about God by their private ideas about God, instead of vice versa, their knowledge of the Creator is in eminent danger of perishing and with it the whole idea of supernatural religion.”

What are the reasons that we believe that the Bible is the Word of God?

Honesty – its heroes are exposed as sinners. David, Moses.

Preservation – We still have it, and it is accurate. “Down through the years it’s been ridiculed, burned, refuted, destroyed, but it lives on. It is the anvil that has worn out many hammers. Most books are born, live a few short years, then go the way of all the earth; they’re forgotten. But not the Bible.”

The Bible claims to be the Word of God.

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness. (2 Timothy 3:16)

Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:20-21)

And we also thank God continually because, when you received the word of God, which you heard from us, you accepted it not as a human word, but as it actually is, the word of God, which is indeed at work in you who believe. (1 Thessalonians 2:13)

Bear in mind that our Lord’s patience means salvation, just as our dear brother Paul also wrote you with the wisdom that God gave him. He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand, which ignorant and unstable people distort, as they do the other Scriptures, to their own destruction. (2 Peter 3:15-16)

Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar. (Proverbs 30:5-6)

Jesus said, “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.” (John 17:17)

Miracles – like the resurrection.

Unity – Written by many authors over many years. “Billy Graham writes: “The Bible was written by 40 writers, over a period of 1,600 years, in 66 books. And the great theme from one end of the Bible to the other is redemption.”

Accuracy – historical and geographic.  “(The Bible) accurately recording the past, accurately interpreting the present, and accurately predicting the future.

Christ endorsed it.

Predictive prophecy.

The uniqueness, power, and magnitude of its teaching. 

Hebrews, 4:12, it says: “For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” 

Power to change lives. The blessings to those who accept it.

But only the Holy Spirit can convince us that the Bible is the Word of God.

Westminster Confession of Faith 1:5

5. We may be influenced by the testimony of the church to value the Bible highly and reverently, and Scripture itself shows in so many ways that it is God’s word; for example, in its spiritual subject matter, in the effectiveness of its teaching, the majesty of its style, the agreement of all its parts, its unified aim from beginning to end (to give all glory to God), the full revelation it makes of the only way of man’s salvation, its many other incomparably outstanding features, and its complete perfection. However, we are completely persuaded and assured of the infallible truth and divine authority of the Bible only by the inward working of the Holy Spirit, who testifies by and with the word in our hearts.10

10. 1 Tm 3.15, 1 Jn 2.20,27, Jn 16.13-14, 1 Cor 2.10-12, Isa 59.21, 1 Cor 2.6-9.

Iron sharpens Iron

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Hebrews 3:12-13, “Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you and evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called ‘today,’ that none of you many be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.”
Your walk with God is a community project. The isolated, separated, loner, Jesus-and-me religion that often marks modern church culture is not the religion that is described in the New Testament. Many of us live virtually unknown, and many of the people whom we think we know we don’t actually know. Many of us live in endless networks of terminally casual relationships, in which conversations seldom go deeper than the weather, food, politics, the coolest movie that’s out, or the latest cute thing your child did. Most of what we call fellowship never really rises to the level of the humble self-disclosure and mutual ministry that makes fellowship actually redemptively worthwhile. Most of what we call fellowship is little different from what happens at the pub down the street.
Why do I need the daily intervention of the body of Christ? Because sin blinds me to me. How about you? Have your embraced your daily need for the help of the body of Christ? Who knows you? Whom have you invited to intrude into your private space to function for you as an instrument of seeing? Do you have a name in mind right now? When someone who knows you points out a sin, a weakness, or a failure, are you thankful? Or do you feel your chest tighten and your ears get red as you silently prepare yourself to rise to your own defense? Are you skilled at giving nonanswers to personal questions, or do you run toward the daily help that God has provided? That help is not something to afraid of or shy away from, because it is a tool of God’s forgiving, rescuing, transforming, and delivering grace.
Paul Tripp

Communion Meditation April 27, 2022

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“Religion that is pure and undefiled before God the Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world.” James 1:27

The closer we draw near to God the more we become like him. The nearer we come to the heart and mind of God, the more that we reflect His heart and mind. We begin to think what God thinks and feel what God feels.  

So, true religion, or genuine sanctification, can be described like this: you visit orphans and widows and do not roll in the mud with the rest of the world.

The grace of God changes us into his image and we begin to bear his likeness. If God the Holy Spirit dwells in you, it will show. There will be some evidence of His presence, some inkling of His likeness in your life.

You come to the Lord’s Table with the Lord’s Spirit within you. 

How are you bearing God’s likeness in your life? 

Are you visiting widows and orphans? 

Are you saying “no” to the shallow thinking and empty pleasures of the world? 

Does the gift of faith and the strength that you derive from this communion with God making inroads in your life in a practical way? 

We come to the table with faith, plus nothing.  But true faith is never alone. Faith breaks the surface in some evident way. What is the evidence that your faith is real, and that it is working?

If you have no evidence, you may not have faith.  You must have faith in Christ crucified, risen, and reigning to come to this table.  But even if you have weak faith or small faith – you are to come and commune with the Savior.

Session Summary April 2022

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All Session members were present along with guest Millie Moore for our meeting this week.  We prayed for eight of our families.  We heard reports from the pastor about families that have recently attended and been contacted.  Special plans have been made to celebrate the life of Chris Bourne with her family and friends this coming Sunday at 4 PM at our church, and there will be no evening prayer service.  The National Day of Prayer is on May 5th and the sanctuary will be open from 10-12 AM for those that would like to pray at the church.   The Walk Through the Bible program is coming up on Saturday, June 11.  The Trellis team reported that our fiscal year closed on March 31 with giving $43,000 short of our expenses for the year and our cash on hand down to $71,000.  Pray for wisdom as the Session deals with this issue.  Pastor Mark attended the recent Savannah River Presbytery meeting.   Sharon Kuhn will be traveling to Kenya for 11 days starting May 16th to help lead some women’s ministries and would appreciate our prayers.  Prime Timers are visiting the lake at the Nielsen’s on May 10th, and start planning now to attend a church picnic on May 21.  The discipleship team reported on the “Your Questions, God’s Answers” Wednesday evening meal and presentation that started this past Wednesday and will continue every other Wednesday.   The Church Growth team reported on a new digital sign that has been donated and will be installed soon.  The deacons are having roof repairs done on the Palmer wing restrooms.  We are joining Lakemont to have VBS at our church on June 20-24.  There are many activities and plans in process to minister well to the members of Westminster and our community.  Please pray for God’s blessing, and if you have a talent or area of interest please talk to the elders or pastor, or ministry teams leaders about how you might also help.

Communion Meditation April 10, 2022

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Romans 4:20-25 No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.”  But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

Abraham had faith in God. He believed that God could do what He had promised. Nothing can stand in the way of God’s power and promise. To that faith, that trust and rest in the person and promise of God, to that faith, righteousness is given.

That is the faith that opens this table to you – a personal trust and commitment to God, His Word, His Promise, His Son. If you have that faith, come.  If not, don’t come; but hear the words of our text” “The words … were not written for (Abraham’s) sake alone, but for ours also. (Righteousness) will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.

That is the gospel. Receive it, believe it, commit to it; and this table will be opened for you.

We come to this table is faith; trusting in what God has promised to us in Jesus Christ.  We come remembering him, his life and death; his obedience and suffering for our salvation.

Hospitality: The Duty and Delight of the People of God

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What is Hospitality? Noah Webster calls it, “The act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, or with kind and generous liberality.”  Hospitality could be described as opening your hearts and home to strangers and making them friends. It is planning to have our lives overlap. It is an intentional investment in friendship.

God requires elders to be hospitable and encourages all the people of God to open their hearts and homes to others. We read in Titus 1:7 “For an overseer, as God’s steward, must be above reproach. He must not be arrogant or quick-tempered or a drunkard or violent or greedy for gain, but hospitable, a lover of good, self-controlled, upright, holy, and disciplined.” All Christians are exhorted to show hospitality.  “Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers, for thereby some have entertained angels unawares” (Hebrews 13:2), and “Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:9-10).

Opening your heart and home to others and sharing your time with them is a duty but also a delight. When you aim to bless others you often receive a blessing in return. Generosity produces friendship. “One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered” (Proverbs 11:24-25). Serving others with generosity can deepen friendships. “A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” (Proverbs 18:24). “A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity (Proverbs 17:17). The main thing that stifles a growing friendship is space and time. Hospitality is intentionally being in the same place at the same time. This is the soil that grows deep friendships and multiplies Christian companions.

Hospitality strengthens the bonds within the church fellowship. Making and deepening Christian friendship is a vital necessity in the congregation. Some leave the church because they have no friends. Within the body, the same source of life and strength must flow to all the members of the body. All our members should be “in circulation.” One long harsh winter in Michigan my father was snow-blowing his driveway.  It was thick, heavy snow and the snowblower blades would often stop spinning.  My dad reached in and freed the blades. And the blades freed my father of the tips of three fingers. Off to the hospital, my dad said, “Quickly get the fingers.”  They were still in the snow gloves. Sadly, The doctors could not reattach the tips of the fingers. My question is, what happened to those tips of three fingers when they were detached from the body? Well, they grew a whole new body! Or perhaps they thrived in their new environment because they had so much freedom. Nope. They died. When you separate yourself from the life of the body of Christ, you die. When parts of the body are cut off from circulation, they die. Hospitality keeps the sun shining and the snow away so that you do not need to reach into the snowblower and lose your fingers.

The Bible assumes that the people of God will often be together. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near” (Hebrews 10:24-25). What are some practical suggestions for showing hospitality? Invite others over for games or to watch a movie. Meet someone for lunch and talk. Send flowers or a card to one who is ill. Visit the widows and the sick. Invite another family to the park for a picnic with all the kids. Welcome someone over for a meal after church. As our lives overlap we are bound together with the cords of love. Therefore, let us “show hospitality to one another without grumbling.” 

Session Summary March 2022

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Your present and future session meet this week to follow God in the business of the church.  We had three members present and participating in the meeting.  A policy on when to receive covenant children to the communion table was approved and is available in the foyer. Seven inactive former members were removed from our membership rolls. We approved a budget for the coming year that was $16,500 less than the already reduced Deacons and the Trellis Team proposed. (Each Team reduced their budget except for the Church Growth Team, which is a new expense, and the Discipleship Team which added the expense of the Walk Thru the Bible Seminar). We spent about $35,000 more than we received last year.  Our current financial reserves are about $85,000. We have had some members retire and others transfer and this has an impact on our budget expectations. The monthly overpayment of our mortgage was stopped, General Assembly expenses were cut by $1000, and Pastor’s discretionary budget was cut by $500, and the rent from the classical schools that utilize our building was raised.  We will also continue to receive special designated giving for Debt reduction, Missions, and Mercy. We thank God for the faithful giving of our congregation. An opportunity to assist with the Afghan Resettlement was proposed by the Mission Team and will be presented to the congregation. The Fellowship Team announced some upcoming events: Easter Sunrise service and breakfast on April 17, Prime-timers Lake Day and Lunch at the Nielsen’s home on May 1o, and a church Picnic on May 21. A Welcome to Martinez welcome card with an invitation to our church will be sent to approximately 250 people each month for a three-month trial.  Pray that this invitation would bear some good fruit. A hospitality initiative was discussed – more information to come. An idea for a new church sign was floated and discussed. The Creative Team proposed an Art Show/Craft Fair at WPC for November 11 and 12. This was approved and the details will be worked out. We thanked the two elders who are rotating off for their service and also the two elders who may be voted in this week. We prayed for several needs of the church, both current and former members.

Communion Meditation February 27, 2022

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The treaty of the Great Tree of Peace in the 1400s formed the “Iroquois Confederacy” by uniting in peace the five nations; Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, and Seneca. The Peacemaker sealed the treaty by symbolically burying weapons at the foot of a Great White Pine, or Great Tree of Peace, whose 5-needle clusters stood for the original 5 nations. 

They buried the hatchet. The weapons of war were buried in the earth. Peace was established. There is no more hostility. From now on, we live in peace as brothers.

Jesus has buried the hatchet for his people. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” Romans 8:1. “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 5:1.

God, in Christ, has established peace. He has buried the hatchet and now we sit at his table in peace.

This table of peace is for those who have confessed their sins, their previous hostility with God, accepted in faith his forgiveness, and now are committed to walking together in peace. This table is for Christians. It is not a blessing for anyone else.

If you believe in Christ, you are at peace with God. Come to the table.

Entering into Rest: Preparing for the Blessing of Worship 

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You always prepare for the biggest, most important events in your life. Remember your first date? You gave it focused time and attention, didn’t you?  Or that job interview, or that difficult conversation with your boss, your in-laws, or your spouse – you mull it over first and clear time to arrange your words ahead of time. Worshipping God is the greatest, most spectacular event in your life. Listen to how worship is described in Hebrews 12:22-24, 

“But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering, and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.” 

We gather in God’s house with a distant view of, but also a present participation in, heavenly worship; we gather with angels as they worship with us (Deuteronomy 33:2; Psalm 68:17; 1 Corinthians 11:10; see also, Revelation 4:8; 5:8-14). We gather with the saints, the firstborn, the chosen, the elect; those who are singing next to us, and also with the perfected believers who worship in heaven. Earthly and heavenly worship are mysteriously united. In worship, we are in the presence of the holy, omnipotent, creator God.  We see and hear Jesus in worship. His blood speaks to us. He is the only mediator between God and man. Paul Engle describes it this way, “There is more happening in the worship service than meets the eye. Worship is a supernatural event. As you assemble to lift up praise to God, you are joined by the invisible angelic hosts. Worship is a truly supernatural event. It is a heavenly event” (Discovering the Fullness of Worship, p. 57).

I am seeking to elevate your estimation of Worship so that you will more diligently prepare for it and eagerly participate in it. In worship, heaven and earth are united. In it the breath of heaven and the wisdom of God can lift and heal your heart and mind. 

So, how can we better prepare for the monumental experience of worship? Let me give some very practical suggestions:

  1. Be there. “Ninety percent of life is just showing up,” -Woody Allen. Life is a tug of war for our time, and it pulls us in many, and necessary directions – but none is more important than worship. To know and enjoy God is our created purpose. If we miss or forsake it, we deprive ourselves of the heart of life and the very reason for our existence. So, make worship a priority; your first priority.
  2. Get some sleep. Droopy eyes make for lazy worship. If you burn the midnight oil on Saturday night you cripple yourself for Lord’s Day blessing.
  3. Clear the day. Yes, I mean the whole day. A friend once told me, “I work hard Monday through Friday, Saturday I run errands, but Sunday is my day.” On my calendar, it is the Lord’s Day – the whole day! It belongs to the Lord, and He has made it good for us. The Sabbath was made for man, for his benefit and blessing. Do not allow the rest of the week and all your other necessary duties to leak into the Lord’s Day and rob you of its full blessing. Worship, fellowship with God and His people, study the Word of God, read soul-inspiring books, visit the sick and the elderly, pray with a friend. God gives us each 7 days a week and He only asks for, or should I say commands, one in return.  Give it to Him; all of it.
  4. Prepare to Worship. If you walk with God during the week you can run into His arms on the Lord’s Day. The heart of worship is worship from the heart. Fix your eyes upon Jesus – His life, His death, His wisdom, His love, His presence. Read the bulletin ahead of time. Sing the worship hymns in family worship during the week. Listen to a sermon on the text that the pastor is preaching. Read a commentary. But above all, pray. The Old Covenant people of God used to sing Psalms as they approached Jerusalem for the great worship feasts. We can do the same.
  5. Listen to what God is saying to you in worship. Worship is a dialogue between God and His people. The elements of worship are not optional, haphazard, or unnecessary. They are God speaking and listening to His people. Enter into each element of worship with open ears and a hungry heart and God Himself will feed you. He speaks peace, grace, and blessing to His people throughout worship. Hear Him!
  6. Listen to the sermon as if God were speaking because He is. Romans 10:14 states, “How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher?” Jesus speaks when His Word is faithfully proclaimed. Be engaged, take notes, give heed. God is speaking to His people in a powerful, life-transforming word.
  7. Sing the hymns.  Listen to the words. Feel the passion and power of the truth that they convey. I sometimes listen in stunned and grateful silence as the truth sung penetrates my soul. God, His love and grace, forgiveness, acceptance, and promises for the future are overwhelming.  Hear the message of the hymns, make them your own. Sing from the bottom of your toes the truth of God. When we worship, we play to an audience of one. Show God your grateful heart.
  8. Pray with the prayers. Listen intently and make the offered prayers your own. Be able and willing to give a hearty Amen! (which means: so be it, I agree) at the end of each prayer.
  9. Receive the Benediction.  In the early church, the apostles or elders would lay their hands on the head of each Christian to communicate a parting blessing. Today, the benediction is given with arms raised and it is to be received by the whole congregation. Some, appropriately, receive it with open arms. Also, the benediction is a pronouncement, a donation, of blessing. It is not wishful thinking, nor is it merely a kind request of God – it is God giving His grace and peace to His children.
  10. Be changed. Exodus 34:29, “When Moses came down from Mount Sinai, with the two tablets of the testimony in his hand as he came down from the mountain, Moses did not know that the skin of his face shone because he had been talking with God.” If you spend time with God, you will shine like His son. The target for our sanctification in this life is to be like Jesus. Worship transforms us into the image of God. Let it. Cooperate with it. We should be different, better, for having been in the presence of God.

So, squeeze all the life that you can out of worship.  Prepare for it, be fully engaged with it, and profit from it.  Worship is entering into rest. God is fitting and equipping you for the heavenly life. And it will be glorious. 

Making Sense of Our Lives in this World

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Can you imagine teaching your 5-year-old child to swim by tossing him, alone and afraid, into the deep end of the pool?  That is cruel and abusive.  Instead, we should get in the pool with them, teach them slowly and surely how to swim.  Watch their fears wane and their confidence increase.  Then we can throw them into the deep end with assurance.

We are all trying to make sense of our lives and the world that we live in.  Why are we here? What is wrong with this world? What should I be doing here? Where can I find meaning and purpose in this crazy world?  For many, it seems that God has thrown us into the deep end of the pool unassisted.

We struggle to come up with an interpretive grid to understand ourselves, and the fallen world that we live in.  We are playing the game but we do not know the rules.  We struggle to make sense of life, our desires, and dreams, our struggles and failures.  We want to be better than most and have a little fun as we walk through life.  We are like that 5 year old in the deep end of the pool; fighting to make our way to the edge of the pool.

Has God thrown us into the deep end?  No, he has taught us to swim first.  God has given us the true interpretative grid to understand ourselves and the world we live in. We were created in his likeness to image him to the world around us.  We were fashioned to be God’s friend and his representative in this world.  The world was created good.  

But sin, rebellion, pride has entered our hearts and polluted the world around us.  We live as confused rebels in a broken world.  Nothing seems to make sense. Life is now lived without the true interpretative grid so we make it up as we go along and struggle at the deep end of the pool.  Man attempts to forge his own meaning, from his own perception of himself and the world.  In pride, rebellion, and confusion, he fashions his own filter of meaning and purpose.  But he does so with a fallen mind and a selfish heart.  We witness the damage of an independent man and his rebellious mind all around us. The man at his best is a confused, selfish mess. And the society that grows up around sinful men is marred and ugly.  We are all flailing for our lives in the deep end of the pool and we don’t know how to swim.

God’s Word has been compared to glasses. Through these corrective lenses, we can see ourselves and the world clearly. We are fallen and the world is broken.  But God has sent his Son to forgive our sin, heal the scars and return us to a home better than Eden.  God has taught us to swim.  We have the interpretive grid that fits with life as it really is. 

We need to wear the glasses to benefit from this corrected vision. We are rebels, redeemed by the grace of God.  The wisdom of fallen man is foolishness to God.  Independent man has rejected God’s glasses and therefore flails about in the deep end of the pool.

Do not fear the wisdom of the wise. “For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men.” 1 Corinthians 1:25  “See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8.  The wisdom of God pours forth from His Word as you read it and hear it taught and preached. Follow the wisdom of God and you will know how to swim. You will have the interpretive grid for life and know true meaning and purpose.