Faith Beyond Intellect: Understanding Unbelief and Truth
Summary
In our exploration of the nature of unbelief, we delved into the misconception that faith is merely a matter of intellect, scholarship, or mental balance. The Apostle Paul, a towering intellect both before and after his conversion, exemplifies that faith transcends intellectual prowess. His writings, like those of Augustine, continue to influence profound theological and philosophical thought. The argument that faith is a result of intellectual deficiency is unfounded, as history shows many brilliant minds who embraced Christianity. Similarly, the notion that faith is a matter of scholarship is equally flawed. There are scholars on both sides of the faith debate, and knowledge alone does not determine belief.
We also addressed the idea that faith is a psychological imbalance or a result of emotional disturbance. While psychological conditions and emotional experiences exist, they do not account for the transformative power of true conversion. The Apostle Paul's life, post-conversion, is a testament to the rationality, morality, and ethical living that genuine faith produces. The test of a true conversion lies in the subsequent life and conduct, not in emotional experiences or intellectual arguments.
Unbelief, as we discussed, is a condition of the soul, a state where the mind and judgment are dominated by another power, rendering one incapable of seeing the truth. The Apostle Paul describes this as the blinding of minds by the "god of this world." This condition leads to prejudices that distort facts and prevent individuals from seeing the truth of the Gospel. The facts of Christianity, the life and teachings of Jesus, and the transformative power of faith are evident and confront us all. Yet, unbelief blinds us, creating prejudices that twist and manipulate these facts.
Key Takeaways:
- Faith transcends intellect: The Apostle Paul and other great Christian thinkers demonstrate that faith is not a result of intellectual deficiency. True faith engages the intellect and transforms it, as seen in the profound writings and influence of figures like Augustine. [18:28]
- Scholarship and belief: The argument that faith is a matter of lacking scholarship is flawed. There are scholars on both sides of the faith debate, and knowledge alone does not determine belief. True faith is not about accumulating knowledge but about a transformative relationship with God. [22:30]
- Psychological balance and faith: Genuine faith is not a result of psychological imbalance or emotional disturbance. The Apostle Paul's life post-conversion exemplifies the rationality, morality, and ethical living that true faith produces. The test of true conversion lies in the subsequent life and conduct. [28:52]
- Unbelief as a condition: Unbelief is a state where the mind and judgment are dominated by another power, rendering one incapable of seeing the truth. The Apostle Paul describes this as the blinding of minds by the "god of this world," which creates prejudices that distort facts. [30:42]
- Prejudice and truth: Prejudices prevent individuals from seeing the truth of the Gospel. They twist and manipulate facts, creating a barrier to belief. The facts of Christianity and the transformative power of faith are evident, yet unbelief blinds us to these truths. [36:10]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[17:21] - Intellect and Faith
[18:01] - The Case of Augustine
[19:12] - Equal Intellect, Different Beliefs
[20:02] - Unbelief as a Condition
[21:25] - Beyond Scholarship
[23:48] - Mental Balance and Faith
[25:04] - Psychological Explanations
[27:04] - Testing True Conversion
[29:47] - The Nature of Unbelief
[30:22] - Blinded Minds
[31:12] - Paul's Transformation
[32:15] - Confronting the Facts
[33:18] - Witnessing Transformation
[35:02] - Christianity's Impact
[36:10] - Prejudice and Belief
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. 2 Corinthians 4:3-4
2. Acts 26:12-18
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Observation Questions:
1. How does the Apostle Paul describe the condition of unbelief in 2 Corinthians 4:3-4? What role does the "god of this world" play in this condition? [30:22]
2. In Acts 26:12-18, what transformation does Paul experience on the road to Damascus, and how does this relate to the sermon’s discussion on true conversion? [31:12]
3. According to the sermon, how does the life of the Apostle Paul post-conversion exemplify the rationality and ethical living that true faith produces? [28:52]
4. What examples from the sermon illustrate that faith is not merely a matter of intellect or scholarship? [19:12]
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Interpretation Questions:
1. How does the sermon explain the difference between intellectual understanding and true faith? Why is it important to distinguish between the two? [17:21]
2. What does the sermon suggest about the role of emotional experiences in conversion? How does this relate to the Apostle Paul's transformation? [25:04]
3. How does the sermon describe the impact of prejudices on one's ability to see the truth of the Gospel? What are some examples given? [36:10]
4. In what ways does the sermon argue that unbelief is a condition of the soul rather than a lack of knowledge or intellect? [29:47]
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Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt your intellect or knowledge was a barrier to faith. How can you move beyond this to experience a transformative relationship with God? [22:30]
2. The sermon discusses the role of prejudices in blinding us to the truth. Can you identify any prejudices in your own life that might be affecting your faith? How can you address them? [36:10]
3. Consider the Apostle Paul's life post-conversion. What changes in your own life would demonstrate a true conversion and commitment to ethical living? [28:52]
4. How can you ensure that your faith is not based solely on emotional experiences but is grounded in a genuine relationship with God? [25:04]
5. The sermon highlights the importance of testing true conversion through life and conduct. What specific actions can you take this week to align your life more closely with the teachings of Jesus? [27:04]
6. How can you engage with others who may have different intellectual or scholarly views on faith without letting it affect your own belief? [22:30]
7. Reflect on the transformative power of faith as discussed in the sermon. How can you share this aspect of your faith with someone who is struggling with unbelief? [30:42]
Devotional
Day 1: Faith Engages and Transforms the Intellect
Faith is not a byproduct of intellectual deficiency; rather, it engages and transforms the intellect. The Apostle Paul, a brilliant mind both before and after his conversion, exemplifies how faith transcends mere intellectual prowess. His writings, alongside those of Augustine, continue to influence theological and philosophical thought, demonstrating that faith is not limited to those lacking in intellect. True faith involves a deep engagement with the intellect, leading to transformation and profound understanding. This challenges the misconception that faith is only for the intellectually weak, showing instead that it is a dynamic force that can elevate and refine the mind. [18:28]
"For the wisdom of this world is folly with God. For it is written, 'He catches the wise in their craftiness,' and again, 'The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.'" (1 Corinthians 3:19-20, ESV)
Reflection: In what ways can you allow your faith to engage and transform your intellect today, perhaps by exploring a theological concept or engaging in a meaningful discussion about your beliefs?
Day 2: True Faith is Beyond Mere Scholarship
The argument that faith is a matter of lacking scholarship is flawed. There are scholars on both sides of the faith debate, and knowledge alone does not determine belief. True faith is not about accumulating knowledge but about a transformative relationship with God. This relationship transcends academic understanding and invites individuals into a deeper, more personal experience of the divine. It challenges the notion that faith is merely an intellectual exercise, emphasizing instead the importance of a heartfelt connection with God that goes beyond scholarly pursuits. [22:30]
"For the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men." (1 Corinthians 1:25, ESV)
Reflection: How can you move beyond intellectual understanding to cultivate a more personal and transformative relationship with God today?
Day 3: Faith Produces Rational and Ethical Living
Genuine faith is not a result of psychological imbalance or emotional disturbance. The Apostle Paul's life post-conversion exemplifies the rationality, morality, and ethical living that true faith produces. The test of true conversion lies in the subsequent life and conduct, not in emotional experiences or intellectual arguments. This highlights the transformative power of faith, which leads to a life characterized by rational thought, moral integrity, and ethical behavior. It challenges the misconception that faith is irrational or emotionally driven, showing instead that it is a source of profound personal transformation. [28:52]
"For God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control." (2 Timothy 1:7, ESV)
Reflection: In what specific ways can you demonstrate the rationality and ethical living that your faith calls you to today?
Day 4: Unbelief as a Spiritual Condition
Unbelief is a state where the mind and judgment are dominated by another power, rendering one incapable of seeing the truth. The Apostle Paul describes this as the blinding of minds by the "god of this world," which creates prejudices that distort facts. This condition prevents individuals from seeing the truth of the Gospel, highlighting the spiritual nature of unbelief. It is not merely a lack of understanding or knowledge but a deeper spiritual blindness that requires divine intervention for healing and transformation. [30:42]
"In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4, ESV)
Reflection: Is there an area in your life where you feel spiritually blind or resistant to truth? How can you seek God's help to overcome this today?
Day 5: Prejudice as a Barrier to Truth
Prejudices prevent individuals from seeing the truth of the Gospel. They twist and manipulate facts, creating a barrier to belief. The facts of Christianity and the transformative power of faith are evident, yet unbelief blinds us to these truths. This highlights the importance of addressing and overcoming prejudices that hinder spiritual growth and understanding. By recognizing and challenging these biases, individuals can open themselves to the truth and transformative power of the Gospel. [36:10]
"Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment." (John 7:24, ESV)
Reflection: What prejudices or biases might be preventing you from fully embracing the truth of the Gospel? How can you actively work to overcome these barriers today?
Quotes
"behind how foolish we are the man I say has precisely the same intellect afterwards as before and he gives evidence of that he uses it he implies it he doesn't didn't suddenly cease to be intellectual afterwards there's tremendous argument there's great logic here it's full of reasoning you've got to be wide awake when you read Paul's epistle that's why most people don't read them they find they're too much for them they're accustomed to novels you see they want something light and entertaining oh they said this is too much it's too difficult quite right it is it's so intellectual it's too intellectual as I'm saying for most no no the argument is monstrous it's ridiculous it's against the evidence the intellect is here in all its power and in all its wealth" [00:17:09]
"but you see I needn't stop at the case of the Apostle Paul I could show you exactly the same in the case of every other great saint that has ever adorned the life of the church look at a man like Augustine again of course a brilliant intellect before his conversion yes but still a brilliant intellect after his conversion did you know that some of the things that that man wrote after his conversion are really controlling the iCal Outlook of some of the greatest thinkers today nothing perhaps profounder has ever been written about life and the ca of history in this world then the writing of St Augustine on the city of God if you really want to understand what's happening historically at this present time go back and read it there it is after the conversion the mighty gigantic intellect is there and operating fully and clearly as he would said much more so after than before" [00:18:03]
"how often have we known two men of equal ability there they are perhaps two brothers or perhaps two friends they've gone to the same school it was always neck and neck One Time One ter one of them was top and the other second the next turn the second was top and the other men was second they went on like that right through their their school they went to the university they both took firsts you couldn't tell the difference their professors their examiners could never tell which rarely was the finer intellect in all the subjects that they studied yet one of them was a Christian and the other wasn't you've known that haven't you you've known it often do you still say it's a question of intellect there was nothing to choose between the two men intellectually and yet there I say is that obvious difference one's a Christian and one is a Christian my friends it can't be a matter of intellect" [00:19:10]
"it's a state it's a condition of Soul that's what unbelief is I was in unbelief it's a condition a whole state of being not merely intellectual I mustn't keep you with this you know we attribute far too much to the intellect in this world when you come to think of it at all deeply you really are almost forced to the conclusion that the intellect comes very little into our differences and distinctions take political differences for instance are those differences determined by intellect of course they're not why know the man belonging to his particular party says he can prove it he can demonstrate it it's reasonable well it's in it's un intelligent not to be this yes but you see the man about whom he says that he's equally intelligent and is saying exactly the same thing about him whatever else determines the political party to which you belong tonight let me assure you it isn't your intellect it's something much more Elemental than that" [00:20:02]
"it is not a question of mental balance it's not a question of suffering from a complex or being free from a complex you're familiar with what I'm saying at this point aren't you yes says somebody all right I'll grant you your first two points we needn't waste time over them I'll Grant you it isn't a matter of intellect it isn't a matter of scholarship no no says this man I've never taken that view what I've always said is this that it's a question of psychology and that what really determines this is that the man man is guilty of some sort of a psychological disturbance now that's the modern way of putting it it wasn't the way exactly in which uh the pro Consul Festus put it he put it a little more bluntly he said this as Paul thus spake for himself fer said with a loud voice Paul Thou Art beside thyself much learning does make thee mad he is a lunatic" [00:23:48]
"well you know some of these great Scholars so called have been at Great pains to try and explain Paul's conversion in these terms they say that he was an epileptic that he suffered from epilepsy and that people who suffer from epilepsy and are liable to epileptic fits have these kind of hallucinations of course that's perfectly true they do so because of that they say that Paul has suffered from epilepsy I still haven't had the data necessary to arrive at such a diagnosis it's it's simply a theory a supposition with nothing at all to substantiate it it's simply an attempt to explain it away Madness epilepsy beside himself got a religious complex gone soft these are the terms aren't they you're familiar with them that a man suddenly has had some emotional crisis some emotional experience now let's be quite clear and Frank about all this there are such things as hallucinations" [00:25:04]
"there are such States as these psychological conditions there are I'll even go as far as this if you like there are such things as complexes what I mean by that is this that it is possible for people to be carried away by their feelings in an utterly unintelligent manner it is possible for certain physical conditions to do certain things to us and to give us things that simulate an experience of conversion I'll grant you all that fully I'm not here to say that men and women have never been deluded and have never thought they were right when they were wrong of course I grant it all I'm very familiar with all that but what I am concerned to say is this that before you think you can dismiss the Apostle Paul and his experience along those lines or that of any other Christian well then I say you'd better wait a bit and examine the evidence and not jump to conclusions" [00:27:04]
"there are certain tests that we can apply in these cases and the test to apply is the test of the subsequent life the test to apply is subsequent conduct and behavior people who suffer from certain physical conditions yes they behave in a certain way as the result of that we needn't go into it in detail I could go with you into it in detail if you so desired but I say that there is a very simple test that that can be applied and these people who are carried away in emotional riots or who are Carried Away by some other Spirits apply the test of life my friend you see a man may be singing hymns at one moment and enjoying them in in an ecstasy he lost himself he may go out and commit some appalling sin I'm not here to defend things like that don't Mis understand me there's a very good way of testing and discriminating between the true and the false and the Bible is full of this sort of testing" [00:28:52]
"oh the test is the life not everyone that Seth unto me Lord Lord but he that doeth the will of My Father which is in heaven not the man who's always shouting in his ecstasy no no the man who's keeping the Commandments who's walking the Narrow Path who's denied himself and has taken up the cross and is following Christ that's the test apply it in the case of this man Paul does he suggest to you a man who's lacking in Bell is he a man who's just an emotionalist who's been carried away and who had an hallucination on the road and who's been more or less made mad by that well all I can say is this if this is madness as someone said before me oh blessed epilepsy oh blessed Madness apply these tests of rationality of morality and of ethics of saintliness and Purity and godliness these are the tests and when you apply them you see that this suggestion that this process of conversion this great event is not something that can be dismissed in terms of lack of mental balance or anything else" [00:30:42]
"unbelief is a condition it's a state in which the mind mind and the judgment and the whole personality are so dominated by another power that the man is rendered incapable of thinking straightly now I'm being positive I'm coming to the attack the Apostle Paul puts it again so perfectly in one of his phrases in his Second Epistle to the Corinthians and in the fourth chapter this is how he puts it if our gospel be hid says it is head to them who are lost in whom the God of this world ha blinded the minds of them that believe not lest they believe the Glorious gospel of Christ that's it it's a condition it's a state that is produced in these people by the God of this world who holds them cap captive and who prevents their believing who bludgeons them who blinds the understanding so that they can't see that's unbelief" [00:30:22]
"how does it work well let me give you the simple answer that is given in this bit of autobiography that we have in this 26th chapter of the book of The Acts of the Apostles the Apostle tells us there exactly how it worked in his case let me put it to you like this this is what we've got to explain look at that man Saul of tsus he's a persecutor he's a bless blasphemer is urious he doesn't believe the gospel he's not a Christian he's persecuting them and trying to put them out of existence what's his position well here is the position isn't it he is confronted by certain facts that are absolutely plain and clear now he says that later on in his life when he's become a preacher he says that you remember to this King Agrippa he says for the king knowth of these things before whom also I speak freely for I am persuaded that none of these things are hidden from him for this thing was not done in a corner in other words the facts concerning Christianity are well known" [00:31:12]
"they had been staring Paul in the face he had been hearing about this teacher Jesus of Nazareth what he said what he claimed what he'd been doing he'd heard it all he was quite familiar with it the reports had come to him he said I verily thought with myself that I ought to do many things contrary to the name of Jesus of Nazareth he'd heard about him the facts were there staring him in the face as they there staring all who were non-christians in the face the message of the Bible the story of Jesus Christ of Nazareth all about him it's here in an Open Bible it confronted Paul it's confronting you tonight if you're an unbeliever it's confronting the whole world there are the facts perfectly clear but not only that there are certain other facts facts concerning the Saints the Apostle Paul knew these Christians he saw what had happened to them the change in their lives and yet he persecuted them he saw Steven you remember the event don't you they were going to Stone Steven when of these great Christians and the Apostle Paul stood by watching and the people put their clothes at his feet while they went to Stone this martyr and as he was being stoned his face began to shine with a Radiance from Heaven itself and he saw Jesus and he spoke to him and Paul stood and he saw it all he saw that face of Steven shining with a brightness such as he had never seen before he knew the life he' heard the message he was familiar with with that and it's true of everybody tonight again who is not a Christian the story of the Christian church is there the story of the martyrs the story of the confessors the story of all these Saints throughout the centuries who've given their lives for Christ and have been the greatest benefactors that the world has ever known it's all there say what you like against Christianity if you take out Christianity what would your world have been like we burst about our education would we ever have had it if there hadn't been a Christian Church do you think it's been the greatest civilizing Force the world has ever known apart from anything else we are proud of our state hospitals rightly so but let me remind you that it was the Christian church that started them we are proud of our poor law system yes but who started it three centuries ago and more the Christian church all the most beneficent things the world has ever known they've come from Christian people there are the facts and they're sparing the non-Christian in the face well then the question to ask is this isn't it why is it that men don't believe why didn't Saul of tsus believe he' heard of Jesus and his Works he'd seen Steven and his death he knew the facts they were all there the modern man has them all before him why doesn't he believe what's the matter it's this terrible State and condition called unbelief that blinds that HS in a kind of vice and renders the man incapable" [00:32:15]
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