acts & apologetics: the unbelieving mind

The Christian is in a knock-down, drag-out war with the culture around us. 

The worst part of the battle is the constant double standard foisted upon us. When we believers call for a return to morals and Godliness, we have to hold a mirror up to our own lives first. And when we stumble and fall, we're (Christians) at least willing to admit our wrongdoing (sometimes), seek forgiveness, and repent or turn toward Godliness. 

Unbelievers, for the most part, wave the red flag of guilt in our faces, reminding us of the standard we are to be following and adhering to. But when it comes to their sin - yes, let's just call it that - out come the excuses. The omission, the "I didn't know", the "well everybody else is doing it". And we Christians are called "hypocrites". I don't know about you, but I'm tired. 

But I'm not going to give up. If anything, as I engage the culture around me, I have a greater resolve to understand my adversary's mind. The apostle Paul helps me to understand the unbeliever. And even though his words are almost two thousand years old, they are as pertinent and applicable today thanks to the power and inspiration of the Holy Spirit. The words are blunt. The words are clear. Let's look at this very hard-hitting passage, as we come to an understanding of the unbelieving mind in Romans chapter one.

Paul writes in the first chapter of the Epistle to the Romans, "The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of men who suppress the truth by their wickedness since what may be known about God is plain to them because God has made it plain to them. 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 has been made, so that men are without excuse. 

"For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like mortal man and birds and animals and reptiles.

"Therefore  God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. They exchanged the truth of God for a lie and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator — who is forever praised. Amen." Romans 1:18 - 25.

We Christians have to understand this passage well. The Holy Spirit, writing through Paul, unveils the unbeliever's mind so that we can better know our enemy. We are in this battle to bring glory  to God as He uses us to engage our culture. We engage them sometimes face to face. At other times via email or in blogs and even Facebook, YouTube, and other social media. But we must engage them. As painful as this passage is - for we were once unbelievers - we need to unpack it.

We unpack it to not only gain an understanding of the unbelievers in our circles of influence but also to be reminded from where God has graciously delivered us.

"The wrath of God is being revealed..." Indeed it is. And it is frightful. People want to have and "enjoy" a God of love and peace, but they don't "like" a God of wrath and judgment. They don't think it's "fair". The fact of the matter is that if they don't like God's wrath now, just wait for the real judgment to come. Too many believe that they're going to heaven because God is loving, but they don't want to believe that He is also Holy and His standard is perfection (the perfection as demonstrated in the life of Jesus). They find it acceptable for a Hitler or Stalin or Saddam Hussein or Osama bin Laden to be cast into an eternal hell, but for the simple "denier of Christ", that's completely unacceptable.

Now you may think I'm a little off or a bit crazy, but we see God's wrath all around us. Whether it's the AIDS epidemic (choosing to live and participate in a less than optimal lifestyle) famine (the "man-caused" type some of them exacerbated by certain political regimes who desire to defeat their enemies who are their countrymen) or natural disasters such as the earthquakes and tsunamis that we have witnessed ("We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time." Romans 8:22). And God is not going to be letting up any time soon. God is reminding all of creation Who He is and Who is in charge.

"...men who suppress the truth by their wickedness." This is the truth of the matter. Men and women, as much as they will deny this, don't want God in their lives. They don't want the truth. God's Truth interferes with their "fun" and lifestyle. Our constant trafficking in sin, no matter how grievous or "minor" suppresses God's truth. And the suppression of true truth begins in our minds.

The noetic effects (the way that "sin negatively affects and undermines our minds and intellect") of sin on our person strip us not only of our humanity but corrupts our image. We humans have been created in God's image (remember that only mankind is created in the image of God, not even angels can claim that). We are His image bearers. But as sin corrupts our minds, the rest of our image becomes distorted and corrupt.  We might as well be looking at ourselves in fun-house mirrors. 

The noetic effects of sin result in hardened hearts and lives that are set directly against our Creator. And although God has given us every opportunity to know and experience Him at every turn of our daily walk, we ignore Him. We ignore His Truths. We suppress the Truth by our personal wickedness. We suppress God's Truth by constantly forcing it away and out of our sight. We know what we ought to do but don't do it.  We believe we know better. In our own minds, we believe we know better than God. We consciously and unconsciously push God aside. Ultimately we, like Satan, want to be seated on God's throne. We are without excuse as Paul reminds us in verse 20.

"For although they knew God..." And that's the rub. We know God, at least in the "acquainted with" sense. Not to be crude, but the unbeliever doesn't know - or purposefully chooses not to know - God in the biblical sense. The unbeliever - the atheist, the agnostic, whatever moniker you wish to give them -  purposefully chooses to deny or at least ignore God. They deny their dependence upon Him. They believe they lead "liberated" lives by cutting the tether to their Creator.

As believers in Christ, in God, we do know Him in the biblical sense. We are in an eternal relationship. He knows us - you and me - intimately.  He desires the same for us; that we would come to know Him intimately. Hopefully, we believers do give Him thanks and praise. As our relationship deepens, we trust Him more. We give Him glory for all that He is and does in our lives.

But the unbeliever does not. And the further the suppression, the greater the gulf of separation. In time, the thinking becomes futile (verse 21).  The futility turns into foolishness and the foolishness leads to a darkened heart. Take a look at Psalm 94:

"Take heed, you senseless ones among the people;
    you fools, when will you become wise?
Does he who implanted the ear not hear?
    Does he who formed the eye not see?
Does he who disciplines nations not punish?
    Does he who teaches man lack knowledge?
The Lord knows the thoughts of man;
    he knows that they are futile." Psalm 94:8-11.

"Although they claimed to be wise..."  How many so-called "wise" people do you know of are actually "fools"? That's a rhetorical question. You don't have to answer that. But the truth remains. Psalm 14:1 says it best, "The fool says in his heart, 'there is no God.' They are corrupt. Their deeds are vile; there is no one who does good." It's always a "heart and mind" thing. There's only about 12 inches or so between the two and they do influence each other.

God wants us to use our minds. He knows that our hearts are deceitful above all (Jeremiah 17:9). The heart deals with feelings and emotions. That's not entirely bad, but we have to temper those feelings and emotions with the rational thinking that the mind provides; that God provides. That's how God operates. Created in His image, God has communicated to us -  all human beings - many of His attributes including emotions and reason.

The problem is that when we neglect the proper use of our minds to acknowledge good and evil, right and wrong, righteousness and unrighteousness, we eventually deny most, if not all of the majesty and glory of God. Instead, we cling to corruption. We worship the created things - you name it, even our own desires - rather than the Creator.

In the end, our demanding spirit and attitude desires only that which is man-made. We exchange all of the beauty and majesty of God for trifles. At long last, in many instances - too many instances - God "acquiesces" and says, "Okay, you want it, you've got it. I'll give it to you in  spades."

"Therefore, God gave them over..."  We've reached the bottom. To the unbelieving mind and person though, it may seem that they have arrived. They've reached the pinnacle of their desires.  They have it all. All of the sinful desires are theirs for the keeping; for the enjoying. So they think.

In another post, I wrote something to the effect that the unsaved, unbelieving person believes that they're off to this great big party with their buddies in Hell. How wrong. And how sad. They denied God foolishly thinking that they had plenty of time to repent. But then it's too late. The righteous judgment of God will be meted out. Mercy and grace, although extended for years and years, will be withdrawn and they will reap their reward of iniquity and final and eternal separation from God who offered them literally everything for eternity.

That is our battle. That is the culture war we have been called to engage in. 

As we engage in "apologetics", we engage the minds and hearts of our families, our friends, and our co-workers. God has provided each one of us with the tools that we need to make that difference as we understand the unbeliever. We enter into conversation with them to tell them the Good  News of God and hopefully - if God wills it for us - we will emerge with a "new" friend of God. We do not have the power to change their mind, only God has that power. Only He can bring them out of their self-determined wilderness leading to destruction. We will have been faithful to our message, guided by the Holy  Spirit, that is able to prove to them the loving faithfulness of God.

Will we accept the assignment God has given us? Will we make the time and spend time in Bible reading and study and prayer to prepare ourselves to meet with and engage the unbeliever? Will we open our mouths and speak His Truth to the best of our ability, allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us? 

Not only are we challenged to accept the assignment of engaging the world around us, but how will we do it? Will we be winsome and loving and caring? Will we take the time to walk alongside them, loving them for who they are? Will we refuse to sacrifice our standards and instead hold them high enough to be godly but low enough that we understand that they are as filthy rags in God's sight? Will we love them the way Jesus loves them? Will we allow GOD to do the saving? We are powerless. He is all-powerful.

The really good news is that we know Who our Champion is. The believer is on the side of victory already. The Resurrection of Jesus Christ is the promise of that Victory.

Lord God, our gracious and loving Father, thank you for allowing us to take part in Your battle for the souls of Your creation, Your children. We pray that You provide us with the right words and the right attitude to engage the unbelieving world around us. Use every one of Your saints for Your glory alone. Fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Fill us with Your Truth. Let only Your Words of Life come from our lips as we engage a lost world. Amen.