The longer I live, the more convinced I am that God wants us to receive and believe the words of the Bible with the simplicity of a child. Jesus said operating in such humility is the only way to know God.
At that time Jesus said, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and intelligent and have revealed them to infants. Matthew 11:25 (NASB95)
Wisdom and intelligence are wonderful attributes, but, if we rely upon them instead of the revelation provided by the Holy Spirit, we will fall short of God’s glory and purpose.
Strengths become weaknesses when we elevate them above what God intended, which is idolatry.
Why would God hide truth from the wise and intelligent, and why would Jesus give thanks for his doing so? This may seem rather confusing unless we realize our Lord spoke of those who are wise in their own eyes but lack the humility to receive from God as a child.
Children simply believe what we tell them, unless we have poisoned their hearts by lying to them in the past.
But God never lies; so, we have no reason not to believe his words.
God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Numbers 23:19 (NASB95)
Refusing to trust God as a child is a sin comparable to Adam’s and Eve’s in the garden. Why is it then that we sometimes feel comfortable in assuming that God did not mean what he said in the Bible?
Could it be that our Lord sometimes utters words that he knows we will not believe unless we humble ourselves in simple, childlike obedience? It seems so.
As adults, we hate when someone deceives us, especially when money is involved. We never want to be anybody’s fool. Since we live in a world full of deception, we learn to sift through the information coming our way to try to separate what is true from what is not. We do our best to protect ourselves from human and satanic trickery, which is good and necessary, but the unfortunate fallout is that we may decide to approach the Scriptures that way, too, oddly thinking that God’s Word requires something beyond childlike faith and obedience.
And it is impossible to please God without faith... Hebrews 11:6 (NLT)
Such simple faith was something Abraham possessed. Paul wrote about him.
In hope against hope he believed, so that he might become a father of many nations according to that which had been spoken, “SO SHALL YOUR DESCENDANTS BE.” 19 Without becoming weak in faith he contemplated his own body, now as good as dead since he was about a hundred years old, and the deadness of Sarah’s womb; 20 yet, with respect to the promise of God, he did not waver in unbelief but grew strong in faith, giving glory to God, 21 and being fully assured that what God had promised, He was able also to perform. 22 Therefore IT WAS ALSO CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS. Romans 4:18–22 (NASB95)
God asked this man, and us, to simply believe what was promised. In his case it was that God would give him a son, in spite of the fact that he and Sarah were past the age to have children. For a long time Abraham clung to God’s promise, waiting patiently for it to come to pass, but eventually he grew weary and reasoned that God expected him to do something to help the promise along. Resorting to human reason, wisdom, and intelligence produced an Ishmael. Simple faith later received an Isaac, the child of promise.
During the long years of waiting, Abraham’s faith had nothing to lean upon except God’s impeccable character. That is all anyone needs.
God named him “father of a multitude” when he was childless. People must have thought he was an utter fool until Isaac was born.
God does not mind placing his people in a position of being thought foolish or being misunderstood as a test of our loyalty to him. He wants to know if we will trust him with childlike simplicity.
Being willing to embrace the scorn and contradiction of unbelievers is part of the cost of having this kind of faith. It is a price we are expected to pay as Christ’s disciples.
Historians say the Age of Reason extended from the late 17th century through the 18th. This period profoundly influenced the world, including the founders of the United States, and continues to do so. The main characteristics of this era are summarized below.
- Primacy of reason and empiricism — Knowledge derived from observation, experimentation, and rational analysis, rather than from faith or authority.
- Skepticism toward tradition — Questioning religious dogma, superstition, absolute monarchy, and inherited privileges.
- Ideals of liberty, equality, and progress — Advocacy for individual rights, tolerance, fraternity, constitutional government, and separation of church and state.
- Optimism about human potential — Belief in education, science, and reform to create a better society.
- Secularism and deism — Many favored a non-interventionist God or natural religion over organized doctrine.
During this age, trust in human reason skyrocketed, often at the expense of faith in God and the Bible. Elevating reason in this way is as old as Eden.
The serpent convinced Eve that his words were more reasonable than God’s.
The Lord gave us the ability to reason, but it is only beneficial when it is submitted to God and his Word. God has ordained that certain important matters elude our power of reason and must be apprehended spiritually with the faith of a child.
Paul wrote about this.
But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Corinthians 2:14 (NKJV)
We have been taught from childhood to lean upon our wits. As a consequence, many of us also learned how to dismiss God’s Word when it seems unreasonable to us, just as Eve did. We also may think it is okay to reinterpret the words of the Bible to suit our reasonable understanding of things.
This is the error of eisegesis – reading our preconceived notions into God’s Word making it mean something God never intended.
The Pharisees knew the Bible better than anyone. As part of their education, they memorized the first five books of the Old Testament. Not surprisingly, they often looked down on others who had less knowledge. Tragically, however, their great knowledge did not translate into revelation or faith. They failed to recognize their Messiah when he stood in front of them. Instead, they put him to death. They despised the simple faith of the uneducated who recognized Jesus for who he is.
If our study and knowledge of the Bible does not produce humility and childlike faith, we have wasted our time and sentenced ourselves to a stricter judgment (James 3:1). The more we know, the greater our responsibility.
Lest we come down too hard on the Pharisees, we need to understand that this human tendency goes back to the garden and infects us all. It is humbling for us to realize that we cannot figure out things on our own or save ourselves. May God mercifully provide us all with the faith and humility of a child that we might simply believe what God has said. In a world full of deception, this is our firm anchor.
Your word is a lamp to my feet And a light to my path. Psalm 119:105 (NASB9)
