Tuesday, April 07, 2009

Rational Examination Examined

In reading Acts 24-25 and some experiences yesterday with really bright people have taught me that rationalism, taking our finite peanut brains and trying to figure God out is a fools venture.

That's why the fool hath said in his heart.....

NO GOD.

I am now more convinced than ever before that no person can Love God until God puts that love in their hearts, no person can have faith unless that faith is first given, not person can understand Him at any level until that gift of understanding is given.

To try to convince unbelievers to rationally come to faith is a hopeless cause. All you can hope to do is rattle their cage enough to maybe make them take a second look. Who knows, God might just give them the gift of just enough faith to begin to believe.

One can only hope.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

You cannot "convince" a person to come to faith in Jesus Christ. Only the Holy Spirit does the conviction. "No one can say Jesus is Lord except by the holy Spirit" And it is the Word of the Gospel that is used by the Holy Spirit to convict a person. The Word must convict of sin and helplessness, and the Gospel of Jesus' righteousness For us, and His death as payment for sin are the instruments, so to speak, used by the Spirit to work on the heart. If more people would say, "GOD says", instead of "now let ME tell you....", then the Holy Spirit can do His work. We need to do this in the public square also, and not only in the churches. But in fact, if there were more true Gospel preaching and teaching in the mainline churches, there would be more faithful Christians.