I have entitled our message this morning: “Wise Agnosticism.” And with that we must begin with a short vocabulary lesson. As the days of the New Testament came to a close, the Apostles and their successors had to struggle with a heathen philosophy called “Gnosticism.” There were professing Christians who had been raised in this Gnosticism, or who were beginning to listen to it, and it was seeping into some of the churches like poison rising from the ground. “Gnosticism” basically boils down to a religion of the mind. The Greek word “gnosis” means “to know.” “Gnosticism” required an intellectual explanation for everything. It minimized faith, which Bible says is essential to fellowship with God. “Without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” “The LORD said …. How long will this people provoke me? and how long will it be ere they believe me, for all the signs which I have shewed among them?” “For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.” Gnosticism condemned souls through the extinction of faith and the development of intellectual pride.
Our second word is “atheism,” even though it is not a part of our title. “Atheism” is simple enough and most are familiar with it – it refers to a denial of God. Pure atheism – or is it “impure atheism” – denies the existence of God. But there is a more practical form which simply tries to deny God His authority. The first says “there is no God,” while the second says “No, God.” That word is also comes from the Greek language, starting with one word and then adding a prefix. “Theos” is the Greek word for “God,” but the prefix “a” (alpha) creates a negative – thus – “no God.” The atheist says that there is no God, despite all the evidence which proves His existence and authority.
Our third vocabulary word, and one which we have in our title is “agnostic” This word ties the other two together for us. Again “gnosis” refers to “knowledge”, but the prefix “a” (alpha) negates that knowledge. I have read that the word “agnostic” was coined by Humanist Thomas Huxley and was meant to say that God, if He exists at all, cannot be known or understood by man. While an atheist says there is no God, the “agnostic” generally admits that God MAY exist, but we can’t know for sure.
The Bible says that only a fool would say there is no God. He is a fool because there is plenty of evidence to suggest God’s existence. And the Lord will not hold him guiltless for his denial. “The invisible things (of God) from the creation of the world are clearly seen.” Sadly, despite the proof of God’s existence, atheism seems to be growing, because we live among a race of people who believe whatever they are told; they cannot think for themselves. Gnosticism is nearly as dangerous as atheism, because they eventually end up together in the same camp. “Gnosticism.” has been designed by Satan to puff up the pride of man and to diminish his faith in God. The word “gnosticism” may be little known or used today, but the philosophy is alive and well. It leaves very little room for anyone but the intellectually elite. It is based in Humanism, creating pride and maintaining pride. Of the three words, “agnosticism” may be the least dangerous, because it can leave room for Holy Spirit. If someone honestly says, “I don’t know,” then perhaps he will listen the only One who does – Jehovah. There is certainly an evil “agnosticism” which says in effect “I refuse to know. Don’t confuse me with any facts.” But then there is a good agnosticism which says, “If someone will guide me, I will learn what I can.” The Ethiopian eunuch was such an agnostic, and through him a whole continent was blessed.
Why are considering this subject this morning? Because we have a few agnostics among us today – or at least I hope that we do. We have people who have spent many hours in our church services trying to hear, sometimes inadvertently hearing, and sometimes overhearing the Word of the Lord. Some of them have been collecting Biblical facts for years, but they are not yet convinced enough to trust what the Lord has revealed to them. They say, “I just don’t know for sure.” Perhaps some with an evil agnosticism, might be moved toward a more wise variety of agnosticism.
It must be admitted that some things of God were never meant to be known by man.
That is the way the Lord intended them to be: “The secret things belong unto the Lord.” But what are those secret things which belong to God? Actually, to even ask that question is to approach the sin God is condemning in this scripture. The best way to keep a secret is not to tell anyone that you have a secret. And in some ways that is what the Lord has done. It is not for us, as creatures, to pry into what things the Lord has chosen to conceal. There are simply a great many things which we are not meant to know. That is contrary to our training and it is devastating to our pride, but it is true nevertheless. There are a great many facts which our minds are incapable of knowing. And if we knew what those unknowable things were then we would know, in part, the unknowable.
Nevertheless I think we can generalize just a bit without sin. They begin with the nature of God; Who He is, How He thinks and some of the things in which He delights. There are some aspects of God which our minds can grasp, and so the Lord has revealed them. For example we can catch glimpses of the heights of God’s holiness and depths of His love. We know that God is a spirit and that God is light. “God is eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise One, to whom honor and glory are due for ever and ever.” But we are like Moses, hidden in the hollow of a protective rock, and seeing only a tiny portion. We are floating on the crest of the waves, and we can’t see into the depths of God. The mountain peaks of God’s being are perpetually hidden in protective clouds. Of course there are things which we can know and must know about the Lord. We must understand that despite our ignorance of His holiness, whatever it means and is, we cannot approach it in our sinful condition. We must know that sinners are at God’s mercy, even though we can’t fully explain God’s mercy. There many things we must know, but there are lots we can’t know and shouldn’t pursue about Jehovah. To stare into the sun means blindness, and Paul learned that to stare into the glory of God means a similar kind of blindness. To pry into every cloud will bring a lightening strike soon enough. When Moses asked to see the Lord, he was told no man could live through such a sight.
What are the secret things of God? How about God’s mind and will. Quite often the Lord has determined to keep His purposes hidden – eternal purposes and temporal as well. “Lord why has this terrible disease struck me down?” “Lord, why must I cope with this poverty while others frolic in such wealth?” “Why has my family suffered so?” In many cases the heavens seem to be made of brass as we plead with God for answers. But why the silence, Lord? God is not even obligated to explain that. Don’t look for anything beyond His wisdom and love – that should be sufficient for us. Christian, be satisfied with knowing that if it would really benefit us, then the Lord would tell us.
What are the secret things of God? There are multitudes things in theology. Why hasn’t God chosen to redeem every soul and made plans to take them all to Glory? What lies behind the Lord’s process of election; and who are the as yet unsaved elect? Lord what does a Cherubim really look like? And Father why can’t you tell us more about Heaven? I’d think that more revelation about the Lake of Fire would be a good thing, wouldn’t it? We may think that we have some answers, but they are usually only guesses. An elderly widowed preacher was visited by his wife’s sister’s family, which included a little boy. The man was not noted for being particularly patient or tolerant of children. The little boy kept interrupting the man with various theological questions, as he was trying to read. Uncle what does God look like? What do people eat in Heaven? Does the gold on the streets of Heaven wear out as people walk on it. Will we all speak in English? How old will dead babies be? After a dozen more, the final question was, “Uncle, what was God doing before created the world?” Exasperated the grumpy old man said, “Creating Hell for people who ask too many questions.” My point is, Christian, we are better off concentrating on what we know or should know than prying into things that are basically unknowable – things for which there is no revelation.
Wise Agnosticism satisfies itself in the fact that God has His reasons for what He reveals.
Some things are simply beyond our capability to understand or with which we could live if we did understand. Even in life there are things which drive people insane when they come to know them. How much infinitely more must that be true of the inner workings of eternity? Would it be a good thing to know the year, the hour, the moment of Christ’s return? Yes and no.
This divine confidentiality has nothing to do with our sinfulness. It is not that God wishes to punish us that he has sealed so many of the books in His library. The reason is the Lord’s will and perhaps the vast gulf between your nature and the Lord’s nature.
No, this silence is not to punish us, but to bless us. The Lord’s silence is meant to bring out one of the Christian’s finest traits. “He that cometh to God, must believe that He is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.” Wise agnosticism often leads to faith. Evil agnosticism destroys faith. Faith takes what has been revealed and rejoices in God’s control over what hasn’t been revealed. “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not (not yet revealed).”
And that leads us to the question of what has been revealed.
Some things have been revealed through creation. And others have been revealed through God’s overthrow or suspension of creation – miracles. But these things are insignificant in comparison to other revelations. The lessons that we have of God in nature and in His miracles are elementary. They are not sufficient to carry us into the university of eternity. The man who contents himself to worshiping the God who is revealed in nature will eventually be bitten by rattlesnake or eaten by lion. And then he will awaken in torment, pleading for drop of cold water to cool his tongue – something revealed in the Word of God, but not by nature. Man’s sin and God’s Saviour are not revealed in Creation, for these things we must turn to the Word.
Think of Moses or perhaps Abraham, both of whom knew a great deal about God. They may have known things about the Lord which you and I have yet to learn. But it is also true that they did not possess the New Testament. Moses knew about sacrifices, but he didn’t know about “THE” sacrifice – the Lamb of God slain before the foundation of the world. You and I have privileges which the prophets Isaiah and Daniel did not possess. We have been given more of God’s revelation.
The Person of the Lord Jesus Christ has revealed wonderful secret things about the God-head. These are the things upon which we should concentrate our thoughts. “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.” As Jesus told Thomas, “He that hath seen me hath seen the Father.” Christ Jesus is all that the sinner needs to know about God. “He is the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by Him.” He is the way, without Him there is no going. He is the truth, without Him there is no knowing.
And where do we learn about Christ? In God’s Word. In the Bible. In a church which teaches God’s Word. We can’t learn of Christ listening to some man’s story about a dream that he had. We can’t learn of Christ through the random meditations of our own hearts. This Bible is the key. “Search the scriptures, for they are they that testify of me,” said Jesus. “Let His mind, be in you; Look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of faith.” And listen to what he says – “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” In a sense we can only know the Lord in relation to how much we love Him. It is: “Thou shalt Love the Lord, not analyze Him, bottle him, or categorize Him.” But, love Him with all that your soul possesses, even to the sacrifice of self.
Go back to our text: “The secret things belong unto the LORD our God: but those things which are revealed belong unto us and to our children for ever, that we may do all the words of this law.” Christian, stop messing up people’s minds with speculation and start behaving like Christ Jesus. Love them until those agnostics can’t ignore your devotion to God and your testimony of grace. If we would “do all the words” of this book and not just analyze them, we’d be accomplishing things for the Lord in this world.
What are the lessons in these things?
Humility first of all. There is nothing worse than pride. Especially, the pride which says, “I have learned….. I know …. You aren’t as smart as I am.” The measure of the Christian is not the size of his brain, but the width of heart and the nimbleness of his fingers to do all the will of the Lord.
I think this verse reminds us what things about which we ought to be dogmatic. Be dogmatic about “doing” the words of the Lord. One of our primary responsibilities are our DUTIES in the light what God has chosen to revel to us.
And what is your absolute first duty as revealed by God through Jesus Christ? It is to repent of your wicked sins and to rest entirely upon Christ. It is to know with assurance and to acknowledge that you are sinner in the sight of the holy God. But know that in the Lord Jesus Christ there is rescue and salvation. Come to Christ this morning despite what little you might know about Him. Come and learn more. But come in humility; come in repentance before the holiness of God. “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved.”