Advent-ure Day 13: I Don't Know

We celebrate the birth of our Savior - God with us, Emmanuel.  And we can know that He walks with us, teaching us and giving us understanding and direction.  We are called to be seekers of wisdom,
and Proverbs 3 says:
13 Happy is the man who finds wisdom, And the man who gains understanding;
14 For her proceeds are better than the profits of silver, And her gain than fine gold.
15 She is more precious than rubies, And all the things you may desire cannot compare with her.
16 Length of days is in her right hand, In her left hand riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness, And all her paths are peace.

Knowing Christ means that we can know more about His ways and practice what He teaches us in His Word.  We are not left without direction in our lives, and He has revealed Himself to us through the Scriptures.  We see the prophecies about Jesus throughout the Old Testament, we see His practices in the New through the gospels, and we can learn principles that we can apply throughout the entirety of the Scriptures.  He calls us to know Him and receive Him as Savior and then to know Him better as we walk with Him through this life.

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We can be so thankful that Jesus came as the fulfillment of hundreds of prophecies written about Him.  That fact provides clear evidence of Christ as the Messiah.   Even the place of His birth was
prophesied, as we read in Micah chapter 5:
2 "But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, Though you are little among the thousands of Judah, Yet out of you shall come forth to Me The One to be Ruler in Israel, Whose goings forth are from of old, From everlasting."

In the little town of Bethlehem, a Savior was born.  That Christmas carol, O Little Town of Bethlehem, corresponds to Day 13 in our Faith Radio Advent Guide, 25: A Christmas Advent-ure, with the title of Sing Unto the Lord!  The lyric that appears in the guide says this: "The hopes and fears of all the years are met in thee tonight."

We face a world full of fear and if we're not careful, our lives can become consumed by fear and doubt.  We need clarity for our lives, which we find in the firm foundation of Jesus Christ and His Word, the rock upon which His Church is built.

In the U.K. these days, there certainly seems to be a lack of clarity or confidence about spiritual matters.  I reported to you several weeks ago about the Ligonier Ministries State of Theology survey for the United States.  Well, for the first time, the ministry has surveyed residents of the U.K.  A story on the Christianity Today website says:

In Ligonier Ministries’ first-ever State of Theology survey conducted in the UK, “I don’t know” was the top response to numerous questions about Jesus, sin, the Bible, salvation, and other rudimentary theological concepts.

It seems as if about a third of those surveyed were unclear on basic theological matters. For instance, 36% of those surveyed neither agreed nor disagreed with this: "God counts a person as righteous not because of one’s own works but only because of one’s faith in Jesus Christ.” 33% were unclear about the bodily resurrection of Jesus, 31% were not sure about the "nature of the Trinity" or "Jesus' return." 30% didn't know whether or not hell exists.

There are some disturbing trends among people described as "practicing Christians." For example, "Half of practicing Christians (49%) attest that religious belief is a matter of personal opinion rather than objective truth. Only 22 percent disagree, and another 21 percent somewhat disagree." And "Nearly two-thirds (64%) of British practicing Christians say God accepts the worship of all religions, including Christianity, Judaism, and Islam." Even among the practicing Christians surveyed, almost half "believe that the Bible contains helpful accounts of ancient myths but is not literally true."

The article quotes Stephen Nichols, chief academic officer of Ligonier Ministries and president of Reformation Bible College, who told Premier Christian Radio, "It’s actually tragic when you look at the survey and you see so many saying ‘I don’t know...’”

Certainly in life, there are going to be many subjects about which we don't know or that we don't understand.  But, to claim to not have knowledge about topics that the Bible clearly addresses can indicate a lack of spiritual understanding or willingness to submit to God's principles.

The good news is that we can know - a lot. But, in many cases, spiritual knowledge is acquired through diligent study and exploration.  There are certain basics that we can know and accept, including those areas I mentioned earlier that a third of residents of the U.K. are unsure about.  We can grasp the concept of salvation as a free gift and how we accept Christ, the resurrection of Jesus, the concept of the Trinity, and the existence of heaven and hell.

But we can also grow in our knowledge.  We never exhaust the treasures of God's Word.  And, when we encounter questions or situations, we are assured of Scripture that we can ask for wisdom; and we can be confident that God will show us His truth, based on His Word.  When we face decisions, having that foundational knowledge of God's principles, we can seek to apply those principles under the leadership of the Holy Spirit.  The more we exercise spiritually, the stronger we can become.

We can remember, though, to always stay humble.  God doesn't call us to be spiritual know-it-alls.  So, if we are unclear or unsure, we can take our questions, our doubts, and our fears to Him.  We can admit our human fallibility, but we can also hold to a high view of God's Word and know that we can come to Him, submit to His will and be open to learning.  None of us have "arrived;"  and our God has much to teach us.