Christ is risen! He is risen, indeed! These words, incomprehensible with any human wisdom, are the victory cry of Christ’s redeemed. Belief in these words will, on the day Jesus returns in glory, divide all of humanity. Belief in these words will separate those who are saved from those who are lost. God’s resurrection miracle brushes away all human conjecture about eternity and supersedes all earthly wisdom regarding salvation. In short, these words are life, and life eternal.
Every age has its experts. Well over a century ago, an American “expert” declared the building of railroads would also mean the building of insane asylums. In his opinion, people would be driven mad with terror at the sight of trains chugging across the land. Every age has its experts. In 1881, when the New York YWCA said they would offer typing lessons for women, some experts declared the delicate female constitution could collapse under the pressure.
Every age has its experts. About a century ago, when I was in grade school, experts told me that Christopher Columbus was a good guy who discovered the new world by sailing the ocean blue in 1492. He did that to find a way to China, and bring back spices and silks and stuff. Twenty years later, I was told that Columbus sailed the ocean blue in 1492 to share Christianity with the heathens. I was told he didn’t discover anything because people were already there. That was a change, but Columbus was still a good guy. Today, I’m informed that Columbus was a narrow-minded, money-hungry racist who is personally responsible for genocide. The only thing about Columbus that hasn’t changed is the year he set sail.
Every age has its experts. Sir William Preece was one of Britain’s most noted scientists. Having examined the telephone, this expert commented, “England has plenty of small boys to run messages.” Thomas Edison was an expert in many areas. But, in 1922 he said, ‘The radio craze will die out in time.”
Every age has its experts. Most of the time they don’t do too much damage. It is only when they elevate human knowledge over Godly wisdom that they become foolish (1 Corinthians 3:19-20). Human experts have said, ‘We should relax about sex and not get uptight about it. If we do that, there will be no more sex crimes. We relaxed, taught sex education without morals, and gave the purveyors of filth and pornography a free license. We relaxed, and some have called these last months the ‘summer of the missing and murdered girls.’ In spite of AIDS’ deadly threat, venereal disease increases at an epidemic rate.
Experts told us we shouldn’t be so tough on criminals and that punishment was not a deterrent to crime. So some courts went easy on criminals and the rate of violent crime increased so much there are some places even the police avoid. Experts on the law and constitution said it is a violation of freedom of religion to have a Bible used in a classroom or a public school library. Experts said that children should be allowed to shape their own beliefs over time. Children did shape their beliefs and, for some, violent crime is a status symbol rather than a stigma. Then, experts allowed it might not be so bad to take the Bibles we couldn’t put in a classroom and give it to the young folks in jail.
Now, you should know, nowhere in Scripture does God condemn the acquisition of knowledge. But when experts elevate human knowledge over Godly wisdom, that’s when they become foolish. Please understand, I have a deep appreciation of human knowledge. The knowledge of a doctor who saw the curative possibilities of penicillin in a petridish saved my life from pneumonia when I was five. The knowledge of another man, and his team, offered my children freedom from polio. Other smart folks have given our households microwave ovens, automobiles, light with the flip of a switch, central air-conditioning, band-aids, computers, nail-clippers, CD’s and videos to preserve family memories.
No, God isn’t against human knowledge. He who gave us brains to think is pleased when we put them to use. But when earthly experts elevate human knowledge over God’s wisdom, they become foolish. Take a look at the Bible. I’ll show you what I mean.
Adam and Eve were intelligent enough to name all of the Creator’s creatures. God asked them to do that. But when the first family thought they were experts and elevated their wishes above God’s will, they got into trouble. Before the flood, God had no problem with humans using their intelligence to subdue the earth. He said that was their responsibility. But when those humans thought they were wise enough to put their pleasure-seeking above God’s wisdom, the Lord was greatly grieved. (Genesis 6:5). The Lord was glorified by many of the things His prophet Moses did. But when Moses thought himself an expert wise enough to improve upon God’s plan to give water to the wandering Israelites, things did not go well (Numbers 20:5). Time and again Scripture tells us that when a man thinks he is expert enough and has wisdom enough to displace God, the Lord turns the tables. When experts elevate human knowledge over Godly wisdom they become foolish.
Nowhere is that more apparent than on the topic of Judgment Day. Almost 2,000 years ago, our Savior, God’s Son, said what it was going to be like on “too-late-day.” The omniscient Lord, who holds all history in His hand said, ‘When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, He will sit on His throne in heavenly glory.” Today’s experts tell me it ain’t gonna happen. Some experts question whether Jesus ever really lived. Other experts tell us, “If Jesus comes back over Rugby, North Dakota, the geographic center of North America, He couldn’t possibly be seen over Yackandandah, Australia. It’s when experts elevate human knowledge over God’s wisdom that they become foolish.
Jesus continues: “All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate the people one from another, as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” Earthly experts will say, “How can it happen? How can someone who died centuries ago, whose body was cremated, and ashes scattered over the continents be brought back together in one spot. How can those atomized by the bombs dropped on Nagasaki and Hiroshima come back? And even if they could be brought back, how is Jesus going to separate them? It would take forever.”
In His warning about the last times, Jesus talked about how He will take those who have had faith in Him as their Savior and Lord into an eternity of joy in heaven, and send those who have no such faith into everlasting fire. To a human expert, armed with human wisdom, those are fightin’ words. First, they reply, “If there is a God, He would never send anyone to such a place as hell. And, if there is a God, who can tell whether that god is Allah or Buddha or the Triune, or one of the other thousand other supposedly ‘supreme beings’ that demands worship? And, anyway, we don’t think there is such a person as God.” And upon what do these experts base their opinions? I can tell you their words are not founded upon fact derived from empirical tests. Nor have they seen Judgment Day. These words are human opinions stemming from sinful hearts.
What is amazing, almost astounding, is that the New Testament, 2,000 years ago, predicted what these experts would say: “They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even deny the sovereign Lord who bought them….. Many will follow their shameful ways. These teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up–bold and arrogant are these men not afraid to slander celestial beings–these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done in the last days.” They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ (God) promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” Could there be a more accurate rendering of these experts and their opinions? It is when experts elevate human wisdom over Godly fact that they become foolish.
In the 1800’s, when atheist Robert Ingersoll was delivering his lectures against Christ and the Bible, he usually spoke to large crowds. At one meeting, he dramatically took out his watch and said, “I’ll give God a chance to prove He exists and that He is almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within five minutes!” There was silence. Then people became uneasy. Some left the hall, unable to take the stress. One woman fainted. At the end of the allocated time, Ingersoll proclaimed, “See! There is no God. I am still very much alive!” In a discussion after the lecture, a young man concluded, “Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight!” A young lady, replying to the remark, said: “He did. He showed that even the most defiant sinner cannot exhaust the patience of the Lord in just five minutes!” And so it is. The Lord does not want anyone to perish, but (desires) everyone to come to repentance (2 Peter 3).
This takes me to an invitation. To those of you who don’t know Jesus, I don’t want you to think, even for a moment, I am putting down the wondrous things men have by the Lord’s grace, learned and done. Nor would I have you think I am promoting my wisdom in lieu of theirs. I’ve been wrong far too many times to do that. My wisdom is faulty but God’s wisdom is fact. God’s wisdom is true. God’s wisdom, beyond the understanding of man’s most brilliant brain, can live within the heart of the simplest child. God’s wisdom says that sinful humans will not get into heaven by their own power. Not even the best of people can do that. We are all sinners. If you doubt me, go to the library and find a biography about a famous person. If that book is honest, you will see, along with doing great things, this famous individual has done nasty things, as well. The best humanity can produce falls far short of God’s perfection (Romans 3:23). The best life any human can live is marked and marred by sin (Ecclesiastes 7:20). No matter how many experts are brought in, no matter how hard they think, no matter how wise their pseudo proposals seem, they cannot change it. They don’t know how. That’s why, for them, the great questions of life and eternity remain unanswered.
Rather than have us locked in a never ending and futile search for salvation, God decided to save us. For that purpose, He sent His Son into this world. Jesus, God’s Son, our Savior, came, became one of us, in every way, but without sin. Jesus, God’s Son, came, fulfilling all the prophetic words that had described Him and His mission. In the most amazing act of love this universe has ever seen, and contrary to human wisdom, an innocent Man was arrested in the place of those who were guilty; a gentle Man was convicted for those who hated Him; a forgiving Man was nailed to a cross, and endured the death that belonged to those who put Him there.
But then, and what flight of human wisdom could have predicted, three days after He had stopped breathing, His heart stopped pumping, His eyes stopped seeing, His ears stopped hearing, Jesus rose from the dead. Twenty centuries later, modern science, with all the technology at its disposal, under the most controlled circumstances, cannot match such a feat. Jesus rose to life. That fact, better attested to than any other from the ancient world, changes the way we live and die and will spend eternity.
Since Jesus rose, we can believe Him when He says that hell awaits those who do not acknowledge Him as Savior. But we can also believe He would prefer all humanity come to the knowledge of His truth and be saved (1 Timothy 2:4). Since Jesus rose, we can believe Him when He says He is coming again in judgment. We can believe it, but we don’t need to fear it. Jesus wants to save you. The Holy Spirit calls you. If you want to hear more about God’s wisdom and salvation, write down the phone number given before the end of today’s program. Our staff at Lutheran Hour Ministries is trained to help you. They will not strong-arm you. They will not bend, fold, spindle, or mutilate you. They will help you. Like the Lord, they want you to be among those going to heaven. Let them introduce you to God’s wisdom, unamended and never rewritten. This is truth you can believe in.
And for those of you who know the wisdom of God, who have already been saved by Christ’s sacrificial death upon Calvary’s crest, hold fast. The day is coming when you, too, shall be called to judgment. But for you that day holds no terror, no question about the verdict. By grace you have been saved, through faith. By grace you will be in heaven. By grace your future is certain.
Years ago, I heard of a pastor who had been criticized because He believed God’s truth and not man’s opinion. On the day he retired, he answered his critics saying, “Some have found fault with me because I am always quoting the Bible. They would rather have me be more scientific.” Then, by prior arrangement, and with her consent, he brought up a widow. “This poor lady,” he continued, “has lost her only son. She wants to know if she will ever see him again. I will put my Bible away and let science give the answer. Will this woman see her son again? Where is he? Does death end all? Those who are scientific here, what do you say?” There was a very long pause. “The woman’s heart is breaking. Science, please speak. Philosophy must speak! What do you say? Nothing? Then let me, once again, pick up my Bible.” The pastor opened his Bible and read, “Jesus said to her, ‘I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies; and whoever lives and believes in me will never die'” (John 11: 25-26). Do you believe this? Then, closing the Book, and patting it affectionately, he said, “I will stick to the Book.” May you do the same. Trust the Savior. For above all foolish human wisdom, Jesus is the power of God. The wisdom of God. (1 Corinthians 1:24). Amen
LUTHERAN HOUR MAILBOX (Questions & Answers) for November 17, 2002
ANNOUNCER: How does God answer prayer and how does He communicate His answer to us? How can we tell whether God is saying, “No,” or “Not yet”? In the next few minutes, we will discuss the topic of Christian prayer with Pastor Ken Klaus. I’m Mark Eischer. Pastor Klaus, it’s getting close to Thanksgiving and I’m wondering if your family has any Thanksgiving customs?
KLAUS: Hi, Mark. We certainly do. At the Klaus Haus, we have the normal fare of turkey, parades and football. But we also set aside a time for prayer where we thank the Lord for His bounty in this past year.
ANNOUNCER: Now to some people that might seem quaint or even foolish to be offering prayers to the Lord, let alone Thanksgiving prayers.
KLAUS: I can’t think of anything more sad than to celebrate Thanksgiving without having Anyone to give thanks to.
ANNOUNCER: I agree. But, why should someone pray?
KLAUS: The answer to that question comes in two parts. First, we pray because the Lord told us to. In 1 Thessalonians 5:17 it says, “pray without ceasing.” Second, we pray because the Lord has put it in our heart to do so.
ANNOUNCER: That’s an unusual thought. Can you give us an example of how this desire to pray is in our hearts?
KLAUS: Absolutely. A couple of examples come to mind. Have you ever read Reader’s Digest?
ANNOUNCER: Sure.
KLAUS: Then you will remember, in almost every issue, there is a personal story. Someone will say something like, “I never had prayed very much….but when my son was attacked by the bear; or “when I knew I was going to die,” or “when the kidnapper pointed the gun at me and pulled the trigger” or “when the doctor told me the results of my test and that it was almost always terminal, I asked the Lord for help.” They prayed. It was in their heart. They felt they had to.
ANNOUNCER: Why do you suppose they did that?
KLAUS: Abraham Lincoln explained why during the Civil War. He said, “I have been driven many times to my knees by the overwhelming conviction that I had nowhere else to go. My own wisdom and that all about me seemed insufficient for the day.”
ANNOUNCER: Now, one can only hope, however, in this moment of need, these people all knew to whom they were praying and knew why their prayers would be heard in the first place.
KLAUS: Indeed. We need to talk to someone who is far wiser than we are; who knows more than we do; and who really truly cares. Jesus, God’s Son, our Brother and Savior, has promised to intercede for us when we come to the Heavenly Father with our prayers. Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, My Father will give you whatever you ask in My name” (John 16:23).
ANNOUNCER: In that passage, Jesus said, God would give us what we ask for, but shouldn’t we go to the Lord with more than just a shopping list?
KLAUS: Mark, you are a father. So am I. Both of us can remember back to the time when our children were little. What did we want our children to talk to us about?
ANNOUNCER: Well, just about everything, I guess.
KLAUS: That’s right. We wanted to hear our children’s requests. We wanted to hear about their day. We wanted to hear about what went right and what went wrong. We wanted to hear about when they got hurt and when they were feeling fine. We wanted them to say, “Thank you” and “I love you.” Our heavenly Father likes the same from us, His children. God wants us to talk to Him about everything and anything in our lives.
ANNOUNCER: Anything?
KLAUS: Absolutely anything.
ANNOUNCER: And He will always answer our prayers?
KLAUS: He will.
ANNOUNCER: The way we want?
KLAUS: When your children came to you, did you always give them what they wanted? I know I didn’t. When Kurt, my son, was three years old, he wanted a 12-gauge shotgun.
ANNOUNCER: He didn’t get it?
KLAUS: He didn’t. He wasn’t ready for it then. I, as a father, had to make a decision. In love, he got something a little more appropriate for his age. That’s what our heavenly Father does for us. Jesus said: “If you, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask Him?” (Matthew 7:11). Jesus was saying, if parents, with their limited vision, try to do the right thing for their children, won’t our heavenly Father, with His total wisdom and insight, do even better for His children?
ANNOUNCER: Thank you, Pastor Klaus. Read with us next week as we continue our discussion of Christian prayer with Pastor Ken Klaus. The next Lutheran Hour message is titled, “Don’t Say ‘In a Minute.'”