By David Ettinger
Accepted Truths
Have you ever spoken with a very nice, rational, and intelligent unbeliever who when you speak of your faith in Christ thinks you’re crazy?
In other words, the person with whom you are engaged in conversation is really a top-notch individual but just can’t fathom how you can believe in the Bible, God, and Jesus, specifically that He is God-in-flesh who was raised to life following His death on the cross.
Yet to we who have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, these truths are the most natural realities in the world and, quite naturally, we easily accept them.
Why is this?
A Drastic Change
As a quick caveat, I want to say that before I came to faith in Christ at age 28 (I am now 65), these Christian truths were also unfathomable to me.
In fact, in humanity’s “natural” state, the truths of God are quite unnatural. This is why our Lord says in John 15:19: “If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”
This verse clearly reflects the “natural” difference between the saved-in-Christ and the unsaved.
It is not until we are “born again” (John 3:3) that we become – by the world’s standards – “unnatural,” that is, lovers of God, Jesus, and the Bible rather than haters of all three.
But why is this? Especially for those of us who came to Christ during adulthood, how is it we have gone so “naturally” from unbelief and disdain for Christ to total belief and love for Him?
For one thing, at salvation our basic natures change. We see this in 2 Corinthians 5:17: “Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”
This does not mean we are created all over again, but that our natures are changed from within. The word “new” in this verse is the Greek kainos, which means “of a new kind” or “made fresh.” Peter uses kainos in 2 Peter 3:13: “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells.”
This does not mean God is going to create the heavens and Earth all over again, but that He will transform the existing ones into a “new kind” or as something “fresh.” God does the same with us when we give our lives to Christ.
And Further …
All the above is to bring us to the verse I really want to focus on, 1 John 5:20.
Not only does God make us “of a new kind” – that is, He changes our nature within us – He also endows us with a special knowledge and understanding to know Him, and to know who He is.
John 5:20 reads: “And we know that the Son of God has come, and has given us understanding so that we may know Him who is true; and we are in Him who is true, in His Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God and eternal life” (emphasis added).
Note what God gives us at salvation: understanding (and acceptance) of God and the ability to know God. The reason God must give this to us is that as “natural” unbelievers, this new “unnatural” acceptance of Christ is something we are not capable of. God has to build this acceptance into us, which, according to John 5:20, He has clearly done.
Therefore …
So the next time you see horrific news stories on TV, or listen to unbelieving politicians spouting outrageousness, or people from all walks of life spewing insults of all manner against God, the Lord Jesus, the Bible, and Christianity – remember that these are unbelievers doing what comes naturally. Unlike believers, they have not been given understanding to know Him who is true.
Therefore, we who have been granted these things are the “unnatural” ones. As such, may we of the “unnatural” God-loving realm be faithful in praying for the worldly “natural” realm to join us in our “unnaturalness”!
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Tom
January 11, 2023
Good thoughts, David. We should not be shocked that unbelievers think and behave like unbelievers. We often forget that we thought the same way.
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dettinger47
January 11, 2023
Exactly! Thanks, Tom.
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✿ Lovely Panda Mom ✿
January 11, 2023
This is a great post 😊 My belief would certainly seem unnatural or not rational to an unbeliever. And to be honest, I don’t think it was a “rational” move. I read the Bible and believed in my heart BEFORE I could explain how or why. It wasn’t until AFTER I believed that I began learning about apologetics.
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dettinger47
January 11, 2023
Great points. We do indeed believe before we can comprehend. Christians really are responsible for nurturing (for the rest of our lives) — in reading the Bible and studying it — what God has given us!
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vicklea
January 11, 2023
Amen! God changed my old nature so that I could better understand spiritual things and have a relationship with Him.
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dettinger47
January 11, 2023
I share in your Amen, Vickie!
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Lisa Beth
January 11, 2023
Good post David, it reminds me of the heated discussions with family members. My brother was my best friend but one day he attacked my faith and ridiculed me, “Lisa, you’re an educated woman! You really believe the Bible, like even Noah’s Ark? Are you kidding???…” As a fairly new believer, my heart was gripped with grief thinking about his lost state.
But 10 years later, he became a strong believer! He died at 38 yrs old, a testimony to everyone in oncology.
I believe only God can give life to one’s soul, through a revelation of faith that cannot be learned or convinced. Only He can “grant repentance”.
So true brother, unbelievers are only doing what is natural, even as it’s getting naturally worse!
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dettinger47
January 11, 2023
Thank you, Lisa Beth. I didn’t know that about your brother, but praise God for the glorious transformation that took place in his life!
You wrote: “I believe only God can give life to one’s soul, through a revelation of faith that cannot be learned or convinced. Only He can “grant repentance”.” Amen and men!
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