Who wouldn’t want to live in an absolutely perfect world? I’m talking about a world where there was absolute harmony between everyone, a world where everyone lived together in absolute peace. It is inconceivable to me that there would be anyone who would not want such a world. Such a world would necessitate that everyone would do the right things. Whenever one does something that is wrong towards another, strife follows. But in order to do the right thing, there must be some declaration of what the right thing is. In order for man to “do right”, he must first “think right.” Suppose I think that all automobiles should have polka dots painted on them. Your car doesn’t have them, but believing it to be the right thing to do, I paint them on it. You just might be a little upset with me. Actions always proceed from thought. But right thinking requires a determination and declaration of truth, or what is right. But who or what determines what is truth?
Universal agreement may determine and declare what is believed to be true, but that does not necessarily make it so. For example, in the days of Columbus, it was almost universally agreed that the world was flat. Can the whole world be wrong? I guess I just answered that question. In order that universal truth might be understood, there must be one who first knows all things perfectly and who has declared their will to mankind. This would describe a revelation of truth from one who is omniscient. Since that attribute is not to be found within any man or woman, it can only refer to God. I believe that the Word of God is the revelation of God to man of His will as to how and what man is to think and then how man is to act upon those thoughts.
But some will rightly ask how it is that I believe that the Bible is that Word of God. The answer to that question basically follows the same progression of thought as the above. Would God have man obey a “truth” that He did not? In order for the Word of God to be a declaration of the will of God for mankind, then what it states must be consistent with His own activity. But as noted above, in the same way that all of man’s actions proceed from his thoughts, so all of God’s actions must be consistent with His nature or attributes. For God to declare truth, He first must be truth. For God to declare something to be righteous, He must be righteous. Obviously, for God to be righteous (or any other of His attributes) He must exist. So, one question remains. How do we know that God even exists? The foundation of all things is the existence of God, but if God does not even exist, then everything written above is moot.
There are a number of philosophical arguments supporting the existence of God. The cosmological argument states that every effect must have a cause. Creation is an effect. What or who caused it? The teleological argument states that everything designed must have a designer. Creation is not haphazard; it bears the marks of a designer. The anthropological argument states that since man has a moral capacity (although certainly not exercised enough) there must exist one who is absolutely moral. Finally, the intuitive argument states that since man almost universally worships something, he must be born with an intuitive knowledge of the existence of God. When God spoke to Adam immediately after his creation, Adam’s first words were not, “Who are you?” Adam recognized who he was speaking to and, at least for a time, responded to Him as God.
The foundational issue of all of life is whether one believes in the existence of God. As long as the world is divided on this issue, there can never be an absolutely perfect world in which to live. But even if the entire world recognized the existence of God, a perfect world still could not be attained until the world perfectly understood who God is and His will for mankind. John Lennon wanted the world to imagine a world without religion, believing that would bring a utopic condition. It can’t!
One day, God promises that the world will be perfect, but in order for that to be accomplished a number of things must be changed in the thinking of man and his consequent activities. Lord willing, next week’s THOUGHT (Part Two) will consider the things that keep that perfect world from coming to fruition and the following week’s THOUGHT (Part Three) will consider what God will do to bring about that perfect world.