The Revelations

Some Questions on our approach

What’s the most convincing way to approach an unbeliever with our belief in God?

allow for some answers...

Do we tend to refer to scripture to make our arguments?

Should we begin our case for Christ with biblical morality or with a case for the existence of God?

In this lesson:

We’ll break down the different revelations of God and their unique contribution in discourse over the existence and attributes of God.

We’ll try to develop tools to help us get around our own biases and our complacency in conveying the message of Christ.

I’ll give a scriptural example of this approach in action.

General Revelations

Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (The Nature of Revelation)

general revelation refers to God’s self-manifestation through nature, history, and the inner being of the human person.

Useful in appeals to the Skeptical Mind and to the adherent of a different belief system.

Great place to begin the process of conversion!

(As Christians, we tend to start from the finish and describe our God. In some cases, it may be better to first open a persons mind to A God) In essence, there are three angles from which we can defend the existence of A God:

(1) Nature-

Psalm 19:1 “The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.”

Romans 1:20 “For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.”

When we approach non-believers, we can point to the beauty and the organization of the natural world.

The particular placement of our planet and its relatively unique capacity to support life.

The complexity of nature on Earth and the extremely low odds of its creation by chance.

Science done well points to the existence of God!

(2) History-

The shape of both biblical and secular history describe a sort of organization and purpose that defies evolutionary thought! Someone is shaping the nations and guiding humanity towards a purpose.

Job 12:23 “He makes nations great, and he destroys them; he enlarges nations, and leads them away.”

Psalm 47:7-8 “For God is the King of all the earth; sing praises with a psalm! God reigns over the nations; God sits on his holy throne.”

Psalm 66:7 “who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let not the rebellious exalt themselves. Selah”

Acts 17:26 “And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place,”

Daniel 2:21 “He changes times and seasons; he removes kings and sets up kings; he gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding;”

Though the evidence here isn’t as easy to access as the natural evidence, it is still available. And the amount of evidence that has been unearthed that corroborates the biblical narrative is actually very impressive! This last verse from Daniel touches on Nature, History, and our next angle from which the General Revelation of God can be observed: Humanity itself!

(3) Humanity-

As easy as it is to view the flaws and the evils of humanity, God has made us in his image and we are the pinnacle of Creation here on Earth!

Romans 2:15 “They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them”

Acts 14:15-17 ““Men, why are you doing these things? We also are men, of like nature with you, and we bring you good news, that you should turn from these vain things to a living God, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and all that is in them. In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.””

When we approach people who are non-believers, we can appeal to the conscience and their general sense of morality as the autograph of the Creator on their heart!

We have all, whether believers or unbelievers, been blessed!

OK.... So can you think of a major issue with stopping our search for God here?

There are lots of BAD things we see in Nature, History, and Humanity as well!

There are lots of religions with explanations of these features of creation.

So, if we can successfully use Nature, History, and Humanity to open a person’s mind to the existence of A God, then we can begin to make the case for OUR God.

How do we do this?

Special Revelation

Christian Theology, 3rd ed. (The Definition and Necessity of Special Revelation)

special revelation refers to God’s manifestation of himself to particular persons at definite times and places, enabling those persons to enter into a redemptive relationship with him.

We, as Christians, make the case for the Holy Bible as the primary and best example of God’s special revelation among all other forms of scripture.

The General Revelation of God’s glory is BEST EXPLAINED by the Holy Bible

A couple features of the Special Revelation in Scripture (3P’s):

Scripture is propositional in nature - It makes claims to universal truths about the nature of God and about humanity.

Scripture is personal in nature - It reveals the personality of God and defines the nature of a relationship with God.

Scripture is progressive (Not political) - Scripture builds upon its own case over generations. Later revelation builds upon later revelation.

One of the best arguments for scripture is the 40+ authors over MILLENNIA describing the same God with the same desire!

Advanced medical practices in OT Law, Accurate depiction of historical events, Extreme care for the disenfranchised and impoverished in a world that doesn’t care for the weak, Brutally honest depiction of the flaws of the protagonists of the Story… There is no equivalency!

2 Timothy 3:16-17 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”

You probably all know a great example of personal revelation in scripture...

The primary purpose of scripture is to Know who God is and to know who we are! The Bible is the best picture of the nature of God and the human nature, and the Bible offers the most profound answer to the questions left unanswered by General Revelation!

The Bible explains all of the evil in Nature, History, and Humanity, and the Bible answers the existence and insufficiency of all other religions.

The Bible even offers tests against those claiming to represent Christ!

This is not a commonality among all religions!

Example in Scripture

English Standard Version Chapter 17

Paul Addresses the Areopagus

22 So Paul, standing in the midst of the Areopagus, said: “Men of Athens, I perceive that in every way you are very religious. 23 For as I passed along and observed the objects of your worship, I found also an altar with this inscription: ‘To the unknown god.’ What therefore you worship as unknown, this I proclaim to you. 24 The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, 25 nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. 26 And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, 27 that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, 28 for

“ ‘In him we live and move and have our being’;

as even some of your own poets have said,

“ ‘For we are indeed his offspring.’

29 Being then God’s offspring, we ought not to think that the divine being is like gold or silver or stone, an image formed by the art and imagination of man. 30 The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, 31 because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead.”

32 Now when they heard of the resurrection of the dead, some mocked. But others said, “We will hear you again about this.” 33 So Paul went out from their midst. 34 But some men joined him and believed, among whom also were Dionysius the Areopagite and a woman named Damaris and others with them.

Bring it home!

When we approach non-believers, we can potentially make a clearer case for our God by first making the case for a God

This is just an idea on how to mix up your approach to get around people’s inherent biases against Christians, and to get out of your own complacency.

We can use secular science, history, and the nature of humanity to start our case, but we cannot stop there!

We can use the content and character of scripture (3P’s) in conjunction with these outside evidences to lead people from an acceptance of A God to a personal relationship with The God.

In the case of followers of other religions, we can credit their beliefs as an acceptance of the General Revelation of God. We don’t need to attack their faith to make a case for our own.

MOST IMPORTANT POINT!!!!! Even if we conduct this process perfectly, the acceptance of our evidence will always be a matter of faith! You can make a great case for Christ, but the audience will always have to come to their own conclusion on the basis of faith and not the evidence presented. It’s good to be transparent about this reality, even as we present evidence!