FIVE POINTS ON HOW TO RESPOND TO UNTRUTHS.

In 1993 when we were studying 1 Timothy chapter 4 our teacher then gave us five points on how we are to respond to untruths.

Let me share them with you.

1]We must know what this false teaching is.

2]We must not be afraid to condemned it.

3]We must show why it is wrong.

4]We must be faithful in guiding those we lead to proper response to these false teaching.

5]We must make sure that we are constantly exposed to the true teachings.

I have found two groups who are doing exactly this on face book.The are called Remove the false teaching from your christian bookstore's wall and Exposing false prophets-Reformation Christians against TBN.

THE IMMANENCE AND TRANSCENDENCE OF GOD ISAIAH 57:15

The Immanence and Transcendence of God (Isaiah 57:15)

There is a need to have the right concept of God. Having a wrong or vague view of God can affect our faith, the way we worship, preach, teach, and even our practical theology.

Towards the end of last year, a street preacher was accosted by a newspaper vendor and watchmen at our gate here in Savanna because of his vague view of God. He was repeatedly referring to God as "daddy" (sheng budaa).

There is a need for us to balance how far our God is and also how near our God is.

"Man is never sufficiently touched and affected by the awareness of his lowly state until he has compared himself with God’s majesty." – John Calvin.

Let us now look at these two attributes or characters of God:

Immanence:

This stresses God’s presence and activity within nature and history (Acts 17:26-28; Job 27:3; 34:14-15). God sustains our every moment. "He has not wound the world and escaped." (You can read about God’s providence.) Beloved, God is the God of nature and natural laws.

God is at work within human individuals and thus within human institutions and the church.

The implication of immanence:

 * Nothing is purely natural --- we see God through a doctor just as in answer to prayer. On September 5, 2005, an abandoned baby girl was rescued by a stray dog here in Kenya. In a story like this, we see the sovereign hand of God.

 * We can learn something about God from nature (Psalm 19; Romans 1:19-20).

 * God is concerned and interested in nature, so we should not misuse nature.

Transcendence of God:

This is how Roger Nicole, in his systematic theology book The Foundation of the Christian Faith, defines it: "God is not dependent on anything that he has made; he reigns far above his creation, dwelling in eternity, supreme and preeminent either in time or space."

What we are saying here is that God is separate from and independent of nature and humanity. We cannot domesticate or confine God (Isaiah 55:8-9; Isaiah 40:18, 22; Psalm 90:2).

The implication of transcendence:

 * God can never be captured in human concepts. He is impassible, immortal, invisible, etc. (1 Timothy 1:17).

 * There will always be a distinction between God and man. Beloved, we shall spend eternity knowing God, and we will remain His creatures and He our Creator.

 * There will always be some mysterious things about God. God is inscrutable (Revelation 1:12). "If we understood God completely, He would be like one of us. So it is only fair that we do not know everything about Him."

Some False or Wrong Views about God:

 * Polytheism: The worship of many gods, e.g., the god of sky, storm, war, fertility, sun, etc. Animism is polytheism.

 * Deism: God is very far from His universe. He created it and left. Here, the transcendence of God is stressed at the expense of immanence.

 * Pantheism: Everything is God. Only God exists; everything is God. God is equated to the universe. Here, immanence is stressed at the expense of transcendence.

Conclusion: Classical Theism:

God is much greater than the world but is interested and involved in what is happening in the world (Isaiah 57:15).