Who Fact-Checks?
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In April of 1966, Time magazine set off a firestorm of public debate by publishing a cover story asking the question: “Is God Dead?” But looking back on the 50th anniversary of that article, the magazine pointed out that survey results showed that while a full 97 percent of Americans believed in God in 1966, “… the number has been shrinking ever since. In 2016, Pew found that only 63 percent of Americans believed with absolute certainty.”
But people need somewhere to go for answers to life’s questions and to find a deeper meaning to the mystery of life. Where do they turn today? They are turning more frequently to artificial intelligence in the form of Google, Alexa, and Siri. Who needs God when we’ve got Google?
A.I. is already embedded in our everyday lives: It influences which streets we walk down, which clothes we buy, which articles we read, who we date, and where and how we choose to live. It is … invoked all too often as an otherworldly, almost godlike invention. One tech worker said, “At the end of the day, A.I. is just a lot of math. It’s just a lot, a lot of math. It is intelligence by brute force, and yet it is spoken of as if it were semidivine.”
One of the most influential science fiction stories is “The Last Question” by Isaac Asimov which dramatizes the uncanny relationship between the digital and the divine. These days, the story is usually told in an updated form: A group of scientists create an A.I. system and ask it, “Is there a god?” The A.I. spits out an answer: “Insufficient computing power to determine an answer.” Then they redouble their efforts and spend years improving the A.I.’s capacity. Then they ask again, “Is there a god?” The A.I. responds, “There is now.”
But ultimately in seeking answers from A.I. we need to realize that there is no super intelligent machine crafting the answers to our deepest questions. Instead, the main thing to learn from the New York Times story is that (people) write the scripts for what Google and Amazon’s Alexa and other devices will answer when asked these questions. The algorithm just prioritizes the answers that come up. This is NOT truly artificial intelligence. It is still human programming.
The reality that we all need to come to grips with… We just don’t know. For centuries mankind has been trying to understand what we know and more importantly for our time, how we know. The reality of epistemology. How do we acquire knowledge? How can we know something. The way I say it… “How do you know that you know what you know?” For centuries this has become a problem. Does knowledge come from our senses? But we have found over the years that our senses are very very limited and maybe not as trustworthy as we think. Thats why DaVinci said we gotta keep doing the same experiment over and over to verify the data. But can you step in the same river twice? Maybe we gotta just use our reason? One philosopher once wrote Reason cannot tell us what is true, it can tell us to use an umbrella if its raining. Reason does a good job of what is, but it cannot ever know what ought. Formal and informal fallacies. Paradoxes. At what point is a person bald? Science depends on the uniformity of truth. Tomorrow is gonna be like it was today. And we conclude this because of something that happened in the past. Its raining oh look the streets are wet. Tomorrow we see the streets are wet so we conclude it must have rained, but is that the only reason why the streets would be wet?
But what happens when the strong just threaten the smart people and take all that they have worked for? They threaten death or serious bodily injury. But is that the right thing to do? Might makes right… right? Yes until the mightier makes rightier. But in the end might will protect our resources. Our mightiest will defend our right to survive. They will protect us. But what if the enemy is stronger? So even apart from the judgement of God, does wisdom and might give us any kind of real hope? If it cant give us real hope in general, then definitely not if the living God is coming for you. The reality is… there is no hope apart from Christ. Lets take a look at our passage today.
At that time not a single wise person
will be left in the whole land of Edom,”
says the Lord.
“For on the mountains of Edom
I will destroy everyone who has understanding.
The mightiest warriors of Teman
will be terrified,
and everyone on the mountains of Edom
will be cut down in the slaughter.
The grass withers the flower fades, but the Word of our god stands forever
The Smart Ones
The Strong Ones
The Holy One
The first thing we will look at today is the failure of the wisest among us to give us hope in life. The second thing we will see is the failure of the strongest among us to protect us from judgement. Finally, we will see that hope and salvation can only come from the Holy one of Israel Christ and Christ alone.
Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to hope in the wisdom and strength of man, it is the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth of the scriptures that will cause us to see that the only true hope is found only in the wisdom and strength of Christ and Christ alone.
I. The Smart Ones
- There is no hope in the wisdom of man.
A. Believe it or not Edom was known for its wisdom and knowledge. One commentator writes, “Edom had been famous for great statesmen, men of learning and experience, that sat at the help of government, and were masters of all the arts of management, that in all treaties used to outwit their neighbours;”
B. And now here we have the leaders of the nation, the governing officials, the brain trust of the land of Edom, they have become fools. The Bible says that He will do this to the wise.
He silences the trusted adviser
and removes the insight of the elders.
He strips kings of understanding
and leaves them wandering in a pathless wasteland.
John Calvin writes, “Though men be in many respects blind, whom God guides not by his Spirit, and on whom he shines not with his word, yet the worst blindness is, when men become inebriated with the false conceit of wisdom.”
C. Edom like many nations have become proud and prideful concerning their wisdom, their abilities, their knowledge. But here we have the progression to something that happened there and something that is happening here. The figurative nature of this Hebrew phrase lends itself to suggest something more. God does not kill them. They change. When there are fools who know they are fools they remain fools. But when fools operate as if they are wise there is another word for this… we call it insanity.
One 16th century commentator writes, “When therefore any one thinks himself endued with understanding, so that he can perceive whatever is needful, and that he cannot be circumvented, his wisdom is insanity and extreme madness: it would indeed be better for us to be idiots and fools.”
D. I dunno if it is just my old age, but my verbiage has changed over the years when it comes to changing governing policies and procedures, many times I would call it ignorant, stupid, even refer to a particular person as an idiot or a fool. Now I use the word insane. The things that are happening in our world is not stupid, it is absolutely insane.
E. So many examples I can give but let me tell you about what I watched a couple days ago. It was an interview in relation to our upcoming election in our country. She was asked who she was voting for… without hesitation she said the name. Then she was asked, can you tell me why? Be cause the other candidate is an idiot, racist, biggot, evil, and narcissist. Can you give me one example that proves this. She said no. I just know that person is. And you have no examples of it? Yes. Well can you tell us what one good thing the candidate you are voting for did? She said no. Can you tell me one good policy your candidate has that you think is good for our country. She said no. So you believe your candidate is the best choice and you have reason to believe it? She said I guess so. She knows, just cause. This is not stupid, this is insane.
II. The Strong Ones
- The is no hope is the strength of men.
A. Let me introduce v.9 by saying this… your superheros will be terrified. We are waiting to hear Mighty Mouse declare… “Here I come to save the day mighty mouse is on the way.” But to no avail. Our hero’s our mighty men will be terrified. The gibboor will be Hattu… Those noted for their strength and fighting ability will be shattered or filled with terror.
B. What happens when Superman is scarred? What happens when the avengers wont avenge? What happens when Batman wont come out of his cave? The warriors the hero’s of Teman (A city in Edom) were terrified. The people will be destroyed. Smarts cant save them and neither will strength and bravery.
C. So what we see here in the judgement coming from God is that the normal things that men will put their hope in will have no effect when the Lord comes. Last week we saw that you will not find security in what you have or where you are. It will be different for me… I got lots of money and assets God will not judge me. Hello… did you know that gold is what they walk on in heaven? But Im successful. When the fire of God comes it will be works of faith that matters. But we live in America. It does not matter where you are. Remember what God did to Egypt? Nuclear missiles and Iron domes wont protect us from that. We also saw last week that it does not matter how popular you are… lots of friends? Lots of connections? Lots of people who have your back? They are gonna turn on you. They will not be loyal.
D. Now we see that all the wisdom and knowledge collection will not protect us from the destruction that is coming from the hand of the living God. But we know so much. We learned so much. We have discovered so much. Our tech and our progression is formidable. Our military is unbeatable. We cant even stop the power of storms. Tornados and hurricanes. So are you suggesting that God is more powerful than storms?
The disciples were amazed. “Who is this man?” they asked. “Even the winds and waves obey him!”
E. But if it becomes God against the nations… God will not be able to overcome the united nations. Even God said that if the people become united if as one nothing will be impossible for them. But is was the living God that broke it all up. God has smitten the cheek of my enemy thou has shattered the teeth of the wicked.
This foolish plan of God is wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is stronger than the greatest of human strength.
III. The Holy One
- Salvation belongs to our God.
A. So we already have this dynamic going on right now. We have an enemy that we cannot defeat. We have an enemy that our location, our possessions, our intellect, and our strength will never ever defeat. It is called the wrath of God. This is our biggest problem. This is our biggest threat. What a terrible thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
“Don’t be afraid of those who want to kill your body; they cannot touch your soul. Fear only God, who can destroy both soul and body in hell.
Do not be deceived by the lies coming to us by our culture today. The sould who sins shall die.
For all people are mine to judge—both parents and children alike. And this is my rule: The person who sins is the one who will die.
B. Yeah but Shane I don’t need to worry about that. I don’t sin. The bible says all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one on earth who always does good and never sins. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—. No one is righteous no not one. And were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind.
C. Oh but Shane I am not perfect. I have done like small sins but not all the time. Im not like those who sin all the time with big kinds of sin. But the Bible says that if you have broken even the smallest of commands, you are as guilty as one who has broken all of it. We think we got problems now… how bout when we have to face the wrath of the living God.
D. But Shane I’m a Christian, I wont be judged. Are you sure. Yes Christians will not be judged. But are You sure you are one? There will be some at the end who will say to Jesus Lord lord and he will say depart from me i never knew you. Also
Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is among you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith.
E. This is real. This is the Word of God. Can we be sure? Yes you can. And the power is in the gospel. The law of God tells us where we need to go, it is the Gospel that can get us there. Our hope is in Christ. Our hope is in the Almighty. Our hope is not in the Smart one, the strong one, but the Holy one of Israel. Our hope is in what Christ has done. Our hope is in what Christ has promised.
F. And the good news… Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures and he was buried and he was raised on the third day according to the scriptures. The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into this world to save sinners. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. It is by the grace of God that we have been saved through faith… it is the good news of the gift of God. And the promises continue.
G. All who call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead you will be saved. Believe that Jesus is the Christ the son of the living God and you will have life in his name.
H. This is the power of the gospel. It is the reality that our hope is in Christ and in Christ alone. The Holy One. The Wisdom of God. And the Strong One who has rescued me.