The English word “science” comes from the Latin, science, which means knowledge. The Greek word episteme can be translated as “knowledge,” and this word appears regularly in the New Testament. In Aristotle, episteme is often translated as science. We gain knowledge through experience, as well as demonstrable and reproducible data. The German philosopher Immanuel Kant said: “Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life.
Do you recognize the ways in which religion and science sometimes overlap? For example, the claim that a religious prophet rose from the dead may be presented simply as a religious claim, or also as a scientific claim, depending on who is making the claim.
Before Christ’s death and resurrection, his followers religiously claimed that Jesus was the Messiah. However, the defining event of Christianity only became science (knowledge plus experience) to these disciples After they spent time with their resurrected Lord.
Likewise, Christianity only becomes a science for believers today once their faith in Christ has produced in them the certainty of salvation. As Evangelist DL Moody said, “Faith is the root; insurance is the flower. It is the flower that provides the richest experience and the clearest and most vibrant episteme (knowledge).
Insurance is a scientific reality in the hearts of millions of Christians. It is a phenomenal blessing that comes from faith in Christ, and no other religion has it. If you don’t believe me, ask people of five different religions if they have full confidence that they will spend eternity in heaven. When your hope rests on your morality and religious efforts, it is impossible to have certainty of salvation. Our good works are always imperfect, no matter how hard we try to do the right thing.
Compare this uncertainty to the confidence shown by millions of Christians. “Heaven is my home.” This bold assurance brings a peace that nothing in the world can match. It is based on the promises of God, but it goes beyond mere intellect into the realm of the spirit. The believer’s entire being is rested in the Gospel, resulting in a higher level of knowledge, or what I like to call “sanctified reason.”
The Apostle John explains it this way: “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13). Notice the progression. When you first believe in Jesus as your Savior, your sins are instantly forgiven and you receive the free gift of eternal life in heaven. And your belief can grow into firm certainty as you hold fast to the gospel promises found in the Bible.
Of course, this scientific conviction is not available to anyone who attempts to turn the gospel into a license to sin freely. Earlier in his epistle, John wrote, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates his brother, he is a liar” (1 John 4:20). No one who lives in hatred has assurance of salvation, because no one who lives in hatred is truly saved, redeemed, justified, born again, and forgiven.
Knowing (scientia) that you have eternal life through faith in Jesus provides proof of Christianity, just as the resurrected Christ provided proof to the apostles that Jesus is indeed the way, the truth, and the life (John 14:6). . Today, believers around the world enjoy sanctified reason as they rely on God’s promises. I have the unshakable certainty that my “heavenly inheritance” (1 Peter 1:4) is sustained by the death and resurrection of my Savior.
You will not find any other religion whose prophet rose from the dead and was then seen by hundreds of witnesses; or whose followers experience the certainty of salvation; or where prophecies written hundreds of years earlier came true. I discussed the monumental significance of the prophecies in my CP opinion piece: “The mathematical proof of Christianity is irrefutable.”
The apostle Paul outlined the historical events that form the foundation of the Christian faith. “For what I received I delivered to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he rose again on the third day according to the Scriptures and that he appeared to Peter. , then to the Twelve. After this he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive” (1 Corinthians 15:3-6).
Paul used the phrase “according to the Scriptures” to show how Old Testament prophecies, such as Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Zechariah 12:10, Hosea 6:2, and Jonah 2:10, foretold events to come in God’s plan of salvation. Jonah 2:10 was actually applied to the resurrection by Christ himself.
Believing in Christ is what makes Christianity a matter of faith, while proving Christianity is what makes it a science.
If you currently lack faith in Christ, you may balk at the idea that Christianity can be scientifically proven. But if you would turn to Jesus in repentance and faith, you would be setting out on the path to sanctified reason and a higher level of knowledge that can only be achieved by submitting your soul to your Creator and embracing the gospel for yourself. The one who created us with the ability to do science knows exactly what will happen if you surrender to the overwhelming evidence of Christ’s resurrection and the scientific evidence of Christianity.
So, will you accept and trust the gospel promises found in God’s Word, rather than your own limited subset of knowledge? Without faith you will never know the certainty of salvation. You must first receive the free gift of salvation through faith in the Savior. As Jesus made clear, “You must be born again” (John 3:7).
Once you rely on the historical events of the cross and the empty tomb as the basis for your forgiveness of sins, your faith instantly begins to transform into a scientific certainty in your heart. This scientia, this sanctified reason, this knowledge, this science, this episteme and this assurance will completely change the way you see life, death and the world to come. It’s a proven fact!
Dan Delzell is the pastor of Redeemer Lutheran Church in Papillion, Nebraska.
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