Day 7/24 – The Inadequacy of Reason

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Thoughts from the Diary of a Desperate Man by Walter A Henrichsen (“Walt”)
The Inadequacy of Reason
Day Two Hundred Five

“None of the rulers of this age understood this; for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, ‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man conceived, what God has prepared for those who love him,'” 1 Corinthians 2:8-9

Paul gives two illustrations of reason’s inadequacy. First, if the rulers and intellectual giants during the days of Jesus Christ understood who He is, they would never have crucified Him. The best that the world had to offer, when meeting Jesus, was that He should be destroyed. Just as human reason did not stop these people from killing the Savior, so it cannot help you find God.

Paul’s second illustration of reason’s inadequacy is seen in your ability to understand the future. Your reason cannot give you a clear picture of heaven. All you can know about it is what God has revealed. You only know the ways of God to the degree that He reveals them to you. Even after you have come to know Christ as your Lord and Savior, reason can take you no further than revelation.

Develop convictions from your understanding of revelation, but take them no further; do not make absolute what the Bible does not make absolute. For example, a great deal of what many Christians believe about heaven is what they want heaven to be like rather than what Scripture promises. Be content to live within biblical limits, believing no more and no less.

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Psalm 35-36 Acts 25 (New King James Version)

Psalm 35-36
The Lord the Avenger of His People
A Psalm of David.
35
Plead[a] my cause, O Lord, with those who strive with me;
Fight against those who fight against me.
2
Take hold of shield and [b]buckler,
And stand up for my help.
3
Also draw out the spear,
And stop those who pursue me.
Say to my soul,
“I am your salvation.”
4
Let those be put to shame and brought to dishonor
Who seek after my life;
Let those be turned back and brought to confusion
Who plot my hurt.
5
Let them be like chaff before the wind,
And let the [c]angel of the Lord chase them.
6
Let their way be dark and slippery,
And let the angel of the Lord pursue them.
7
For without cause they have hidden their net for me in a pit,
Which they have dug without cause for my life.
8
[d]Let destruction come upon him unexpectedly,
And let his net that he has hidden catch himself;
Into that very destruction let him fall.
9
And my soul shall be joyful in the Lord;
It shall rejoice in His salvation.
10
All my bones shall say,
“Lord, who is like You,
Delivering the poor from him who is too strong for him,
Yes, the poor and the needy from him who plunders him?”
11
Fierce witnesses rise up;
They ask me things that I do not know.
12
They reward me evil for good,
To the sorrow of my soul.
13
But as for me, when they were sick,
My clothing was sackcloth;
I humbled myself with fasting;
And my prayer would return to my own [e]heart.
14
I paced about as though he were my friend or brother;
I bowed down [f]heavily, as one who mourns for his mother.
15
But in my [g]adversity they rejoiced
And gathered together;
Attackers gathered against me,
And I did not know it;
They tore at me and did not cease;
16
With ungodly mockers at feasts
They gnashed at me with their teeth.
17
Lord, how long will You look on?
Rescue me from their destructions,
My precious life from the lions.
18
I will give You thanks in the great assembly;
I will praise You among [h]many people.
19
Let them not rejoice over me who are wrongfully my enemies;
Nor let them wink with the eye who hate me without a cause.
20
For they do not speak peace,
But they devise deceitful matters
Against the quiet ones in the land.
21
They also opened their mouth wide against me,
And said, “Aha, aha!
Our eyes have seen it.”
22
This You have seen, O Lord;
Do not keep silence.
O Lord, do not be far from me.
23
Stir up Yourself, and awake to my vindication,
To my cause, my God and my Lord.
24
Vindicate me, O Lord my God, according to Your righteousness;
And let them not rejoice over me.
25
Let them not say in their hearts, “Ah, so we would have it!”
Let them not say, “We have swallowed him up.”
26
Let them be ashamed and brought to mutual confusion
Who rejoice at my hurt;
Let them be clothed with shame and dishonor
Who exalt themselves against me.
27
Let them shout for joy and be glad,
Who favor my righteous cause;
And let them say continually,
“Let the Lord be magnified,
Who has pleasure in the prosperity of His servant.”
28
And my tongue shall speak of Your righteousness
And of Your praise all the day long.
Man’s Wickedness and God’s Perfections
To the Chief Musician. A Psalm of David the servant of the Lord.
36
An oracle within my heart concerning the transgression of the wicked:
There is no fear of God before his eyes.
2
For he flatters himself in his own eyes,
When he finds out his iniquity and when he hates.
3
The words of his mouth are wickedness and deceit;
He has ceased to be wise and to do good.
4
He devises wickedness on his bed;
He sets himself in a way that is not good;
He does not [i]abhor evil.
5
Your mercy, O Lord, is in the heavens;
Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.
6
Your righteousness is like the [j]great mountains;
Your judgments are a great deep;
O Lord, You preserve man and beast.
7
How precious is Your lovingkindness, O God!
Therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of Your wings.
8
They are abundantly satisfied with the fullness of Your house,
And You give them drink from the river of Your pleasures.
9
For with You is the fountain of life;
In Your light we see light.
10
Oh, continue Your lovingkindness to those who know You,
And Your righteousness to the upright in heart.
11
Let not the foot of pride come against me,
And let not the hand of the wicked drive me away.
12
There the workers of iniquity have fallen;
They have been cast down and are not able to rise.
Footnotes:
• Psalm 35:1 Contend for me
• Psalm 35:2 A small shield
• Psalm 35:5 Or Angel
• Psalm 35:8 Lit. Let destruction he does not know come upon him,
• Psalm 35:13 Lit. bosom
• Psalm 35:14 in mourning
• Psalm 35:15 limping, stumbling
• Psalm 35:18 a mighty
• Psalm 36:4 reject, loathe
• Psalm 36:6 Lit. mountains of God

Acts 25
Paul Appeals to Caesar
25 Now when Festus had come to the province, after three days he went up from Caesarea to Jerusalem. 2 Then the [a]high priest and the chief men of the Jews informed him against Paul; and they petitioned him, 3 asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem—while they lay in ambush along the road to kill him. 4 But Festus answered that Paul should be kept at Caesarea, and that he himself was going there shortly. 5 “Therefore,” he said, “let those who have authority among you go down with me and accuse this man, to see if there is any fault in him.”
6 And when he had remained among them more than ten days, he went down to Caesarea. And the next day, sitting on the judgment seat, he commanded Paul to be brought. 7 When he had come, the Jews who had come down from Jerusalem stood about and laid many serious complaints against Paul, which they could not prove, 8 while he answered for himself, “Neither against the law of the Jews, nor against the temple, nor against Caesar have I offended in anything at all.”
9 But Festus, wanting to do the Jews a favor, answered Paul and said, “Are you willing to go up to Jerusalem and there be judged before me concerning these things?”
10 So Paul said, “I stand at Caesar’s judgment seat, where I ought to be judged. To the Jews I have done no wrong, as you very well know. 11 For if I am an offender, or have committed anything deserving of death, I do not object to dying; but if there is nothing in these things of which these men accuse me, no one can deliver me to them. I appeal to Caesar.”
12 Then Festus, when he had conferred with the council, answered, “You have appealed to Caesar? To Caesar you shall go!”
Paul Before Agrippa
13 And after some days King Agrippa and Bernice came to Caesarea to greet Festus. 14 When they had been there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying: “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix, 15 about whom the chief priests and the elders of the Jews informed me, when I was in Jerusalem, asking for a judgment against him. 16 To them I answered, ‘It is not the custom of the Romans to deliver any man [b]to destruction before the accused meets the accusers face to face, and has opportunity to answer for himself concerning the charge against him.’ 17 Therefore when they had come together, without any delay, the next day I sat on the judgment seat and commanded the man to be brought in. 18 When the accusers stood up, they brought no accusation against him of such things as I [c]supposed, 19 but had some questions against him about their own religion and about a certain Jesus, who had died, whom Paul affirmed to be alive. 20 And because I was uncertain of such questions, I asked whether he was willing to go to Jerusalem and there be judged concerning these matters. 21 But when Paul appealed to be reserved for the decision of Augustus, I commanded him to be kept till I could send him to Caesar.”
22 Then Agrippa said to Festus, “I also would like to hear the man myself.”
“Tomorrow,” he said, “you shall hear him.”
23 So the next day, when Agrippa and Bernice had come with great [d]pomp, and had entered the auditorium with the commanders and the prominent men of the city, at Festus’ command Paul was brought in. 24 And Festus said: “King Agrippa and all the men who are here present with us, you see this man about whom the whole assembly of the Jews petitioned me, both at Jerusalem and here, crying out that he was not fit to live any longer. 25 But when I found that he had committed nothing deserving of death, and that he himself had appealed to Augustus, I decided to send him. 26 I have nothing certain to write to my lord concerning him. Therefore I have brought him out before you, and especially before you, King Agrippa, so that after the examination has taken place I may have something to write. 27 For it seems to me unreasonable to send a prisoner and not to specify the charges against him.”
Footnotes:
• Acts 25:2 NU chief priests
• Acts 25:16 NU omits to destruction, although it is implied
• Acts 25:18 suspected
• Acts 25:23 pageantry