“The entrance of thy words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple.”
(Psalm 119:130)
The power of God’s word cannot be overstated. By God’s word, the heavens and the earth were created (2 Peter 3:5) and by His word He holds them in existence (2 Peter 3:7; Hebrews 1:1-3). His words are Spirit and they are life (John 6:63); saving faith and new life comes by hearing and believing God’s word (Romans 10:17; 2 Timothy 3:15). Peter declared that believers are “born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever (1 Peter1:23). By the word of God we are sanctified (John 17:17). This occurs in two different ways. First, we are sanctified (set apart as holy) simply because the Lord’s word declares it to be so (1 Peter 2:5). Secondly, we are sanctified by how we live our lives. When we order our conduct in accordance with God’s wise moral commands, we cleanse our way (Psalm 119:9); we are, as the great apostle Paul declared, sanctified and cleansed with the washing of water by the word (Ephesians 5:26). What I find particularly amazing is the fact that those who exercise simple faith in God’s word are often able to provide answers to questions that have left even the most brilliant philosophers puzzled. The problem of induction is a good example. For centuries, philosophers have struggled with finding a rational foundation for inductive reason. Induction involves drawing general conclusions about things based on experience and observation. We use this kind of reasoning thousands of times a day. It is, in fact, the very heart and soul of the scientific method. The general idea here is that observed cases are reliable guides to future, or unobserved cases. For example, we have all seen objects fall from our hands and hit the floor. We assume from this that all objects dropped from our hands will do so in the future. We all think this way, but what reason can we give for assuming this kind of uniformity in the created order? That is the question that philosophers since David Hume (1711-1776) have been struggling with. For the Christian exercising simple faith in God’s word, however, this is no problem at all. The rational foundation for inductive reason is the infallible word of God. The all-powerful God of the Bible, the morally-perfect God who cannot lie (Titus 1:2:Hebrews 6:18) provides us with the needed guarantee of general uniformity in the created order (Genesis 8:22). Furthermore, He has given His unequivocal approval to the use of inductive reason (Matthew 16:1-3; Luke 12:54-56). May these meditations encourage us to study His word today with believing hearts, knowing that He who promised is faithful (Hebrews 10:23) and that those who believe in Him shall not be ashamed (Romans 10:11).
God bless you dear saints,
Pastor John
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