FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE

REVIEW: We have seen that righteousness truly did make America great. We have noticed that one reason America turned her back on God is that many of our people have embraced the doctrines of Humanism. Many in America have welcomed the belief that there is no right or wrong and that there is no eternal punishment for our sins. A large percentage of America's people have accepted the theories that "God is only a fantasy," that "The Bible is only a collection of myths," and that "Every individual is his own god." These soul-damning doctrines of Humanism are a major cause of America's downfall.

THE MAJOR ISSUES: The issues before us are: How can we stop the time-clock of disaster? How can we get America to stop sinning? How do we get America to fall down on her knees before God and beg His forgiveness? How can we save America!?

A PROPER FOUNDATION: As in all worthwhile projects we must start this noble venture by laying a proper foundation. The reason America turned her back on God was that she lost her grip on her foundation, which is the reality of God and the factuality of the Bible. To save America there is no more important course of action to follow than to reestablish the fact of God's existence. Once we have proven the reality of God, all the other building blocks to a great society will begin to fall back into place. When we prove that the Bible is God's Word we establish the fact that the Church must not be separated from the State; that the Bible must be taught in our public schools; that prayer must be offered to God; that godless Humanism must be condemned; that both abortion and suicide are murder; that premarital sex, extramarital sex, and homosexuality are sins; that evolution is a lie; that one day we will stand before the Judge of all the earth, and that the wicked will GO TO HELL FOREVER.

Our nation, yes our whole world, LITERALLY stands in glory or falls in disaster, depending on its acceptance or rejection of the God of heaven and the Bible which is His word. This is the reason why the study before us is so vitally important.

FAITH AND KNOWLEDGE

DEFINITIONS: There are some that would suggest that we can believe that there is a God, but we cannot know that there is a God. This view is not in harmony with the message of the Bible. In the Bible we learn that a person can know what he believes, and can believe what he knows. Please notice the words that we find in
John 10:38, "...that you may know and believe, that the Father is in me..."(KJV). In this study, we will learn that we can know, with CERTAINTY, that there is a God in heaven and that the Bible is His Word.

At this point it is important for us to define some words that play a vital role in our study.

HOPE. The desire for something we do not have.

OPINION: A conclusion drawn without sufficient evidence to establish it as a fact.

KNOWLEDGE: A firm mental grasp on a truth. The way to gain knowledge is through the process of gathering and weighing evidence and drawing conclusions. This process is called logic or reason. The ways to gather evidence are through our five senses and through the testimony of others.

FAITH: The acceptance of testimony, trust, and commitment to it. Without trust and commitment, faith is reduced to “dead faith,” or simple knowledge. To say, “It is my opinion,” implies that one has drawn a conclusion without gathering the evidence. To say, “I know,” implies a firm mental grasp of a truth. To say, “I believe,” implies that one is persuaded that something is true, trusts in it, and is committed to it.[1]

We need also to observe that the words “faith” and “opinion” are commonly used interchangeably, but these words are not synonymous. For instance, some people might say, “I believe that there is a God,” when they actually mean, “It is my opinion that there is a God.” We cannot truly believe in God until we have, #1 gathered the evidence, #2 weighed the evidence, and #3 drawn a conclusion. (If we have gathered enough evidence, weighed it properly and drawn the conclusion we can say we know.) After this we can #4 place our trust in Him and commit ourselves to Him. It is only after we have completed this process that we can truly say, "I believe in God." Any conclusion drawn which has not completed the four point process mentioned above is simply an opinion, or at the most knowledge, but it has not yet reached the height of faith.

We generally feel that faith is one step below knowledge, but actually, faith is a step beyond knowledge. We first know, then based on that knowledge, we build our faith.

Let us use an illustration to further clarify the definitions that we have considered. Let's pretend that we are standing near the Niagara Falls and we observe a tight rope stretched across the falls to the Canadian side. A man walks up with soft shoes, a special uniform and is carrying a long balancing pole. Someone might say, "I believe that man can walk across the rope." What he really means is, "it is my opinion." There is no evidence at this point upon which to base belief. The man gets on the tight rope, walks out over the falls and seems to lose his balance. We might now say, "I hope he makes it." Now we have the desire for something that we do not have; this is hope. The man walks all the way to the Canadian side and back. We see him with our own eyes and our friends also testify to this fact. The evidence is overwhelming, therefore, we say, "I know that he can walk the tight rope." We know that he can do it but do we have faith in him yet? Do we believe?

The man now says, "I'm going to push this wheelbarrow across, come up and get in it." If we get into the wheelbarrow, relax, and ride across to the other side, then and only then, can we say, "I truly believe," for belief is based on knowledge and means trust and commitment.

Coming back to the subject of gaining knowledge, we know that the way to gain knowledge is through the process of weighing evidence, and the ways to gain evidence are by our five senses and the testimony of others. But now the question is how can we trust the testimonies of other people?

PROOF TESTS FOR TESTIMONY: Every court in our country has the responsibility of testing testimony to see if it is true. Our courts do this by applying four specific tests to the testimony of the witnesses.

· Is there sufficient number of witnesses?

· Are the witnesses competent? (Are they able to make a proper evaluation?)

· Do the witnesses have ulterior motives? (Would they receive a personal benefit if they lied?)

· Are there contradictory evidences?

By applying these four tests, we are able to prove whether a person's testimony is true or false.

AN ILLUSTRATION: Let us pretend that we have a set of old-fashioned scales in front of us. The scales have a "T" shape frame and a cup on either side. We will call the cup on one side “Yes” and the one on the other side “No”. We are now going to weigh evidence to determine if a certain table exists. The first pieces of evidence come in the form of testimony from our friends. Seven friends say that the table does exist. (This is a sufficient number of witnesses.) Our friends are all of normal intelligence and they were all in the room where the table was alleged to be. (The witnesses were competent.) Our friends would gain no benefit from lying. (The witnesses have no ulterior motives.) No evidence is brought forward to put in the “No” cup to show that the table does not exist. (There is no contradictory evidence.) The testimonies of our seven friends are seven strong pieces of evidence to place into the “Yes” cup. The weight of evidence now swings the scales toward the proof of the existence of the table. However, we do not need to stop here for we can also look for evidences from our five senses. We see the table. Another piece of evidence goes into the “Yes” cup. We feel the table. Another piece of evidence goes into the “Yes” cup. When we hit the table we hear a sound. Another piece of evidence goes into the “Yes” cup. When we bend over and strike our head against the “supposed” table, our head begins to hurt. Another piece of evidence goes into the “Yes” cup. With repeated blows in the above manner we see some red fluid dripping into our eyes. Another piece of evidence goes into the “Yes” cup. With a continual repetition of the above mentioned process we find ourselves growing weak and we find it more and more difficult to get up off the floor, and another piece of evidence goes into the “Yes” cup. Once more we search for evidence to place in the “No” cup to show that the table does not exist.--------The world is silent! Our conclusion is that we know with CERTAINTY that the table exists for the evidence is OVERWHELMING. Now, if people like you and me, with average intelligence, can safely conclude, by this process, that we know that a table exists, we can more easily KNOW with CERTAINTY that there is a God in Heaven and the Bible is His Word.

I have dedicated this work to the gathering of evidence. My prayer for you is that you will weigh the evidence that I am about to deliver. After you have honestly weighed the evidence, I'm convinced that you will say with me, "I know there is a God in heaven and that the Bible is His Word." Based on your knowledge, my hope for you is that you will place your trust in God and commit yourself to the obedience of His will.

SUMMARY: We have seen that "America the great" is heading toward disaster, and that the major issue now before us is how do we get America to turn back to God? We discussed the importance of starting our venture by building a good foundation, and that the most important course of action to take is to reestablish the facts that God exists and that the Bible is His Word. We noted that we often say, "We believe" when we really mean, "This is my opinion," that knowledge comes first and then faith. And, that faith means the acceptance of, the trust in, and commitment to something. We studied the four tests of testimony and learned that we gain knowledge through the process of gathering evidence, testing evidence, and weighing it. If we diligently do our homework we can know with CERTAINTY that there is a God in Heaven and that the Bible is His Word. Based on this knowledge each of us should place our trust in God and commit ourselves to the obedience of His will. If we do this we can start America on its journey back to God, back to greatness, and away from destruction.

[1] Maurice W. Lusk, III, The Southeastern Evangelist, Vol. 11, No. 3, March 1981, p. 1,2.

We Can Know . . .

1. We can Know God made America Great!

2. We can know that evil people and evil nations will be punished if they don't repent.

3. Faith and Knowledge

4. The Bible claims there is a God, He created the Heaven and the earth, the Bible is His word, and that the earth is less than 10,000 years old. We can know the Earth is less than 10,000 years old!

5. We can Know the gap theory and the million years per day theory are unfounded.

6. We can know scientific evidence proves God's existence.

7. We can know prophetic evidence proves God's existence.

8. We can know why a young earth looks so old.

9. We can know the answers to flood questions such as: Where could all the water necessary to flood the whole earth come from; where could it go; how could a boat be built large enough to hold all the animals; how could the animals get from one continent to another?

10. We can know what it was like before the Genesis flood.

11. We can Know why many methods to date the earth are unreliable.

12. We can know our Bible is accurate.

13. Final summery and conclusion.

14. Common questions such as:

Which came first the chicken or the egg?
Was sex the forbidden fruit? Was prostitution the first profession?
Were did Cain get his wife?
Could God have created other people beside Adam and Eve?
Does "replenish the earth" mean there were people on the earth before Adam?
Where do cave men fit into the Bible picture?
Is there life on other planets?
Where does the Ice Age fit into the Bible picture?
Why do good people suffer?