Come Let Us Reason

COME LET US REASON

Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool. Isaiah 1:18

In one of the most tender and touching passages in the prophetic literature, God invites His people to join Him in a rational discussion about sin. Not a debate. And not a discourse. But a discussion. “Come, let us reason together” about your sin, God says. God appeals here to that moral compass within each of us: the conscience. He awakens that conscience with His prophetic word, and He mobilizes the human conscience to war against sin.

In his address to the Pacifist Society of Oxford, “Why I am Not a Pacifist,” delivered in 1940, C. S. Lewis reminds us of the limits of reason and the working of the conscience. Lewis insightfully said:

Every teacher knows that people are constantly protesting that they “can’t see” some self-evident inference, but the supposed inability is usually a refusal to see, resulting either from some passion which wants not to see the truth in question or else from sloth which does not want to think at all. But when the inability is real, argument is at an end. You cannot produce rational intuition by argument, because argument depends upon rational intuition. Proof rests upon the unprovable which has to be just “seen.” Hence faulty intuition is incorrigible. It does not follow that it cannot be trained by practice in attention and in the mortification of disturbing passions, or corrupted by the opposite habits. But it is not amenable to correction by argument.¹²

The Oxford professor went on to say that all of our reason and the workings of the conscience have four elements at work in the human mind at any one time: the facts gathered from experience, pure intuitions about right or wrong, a process of argumentation by which we arrange our intuitions logically, and some authority which comments upon this moral process and informs us of right and wrong.

We see God following this very process of enlivening the conscience in Isaiah 1:1-20. First, God reviews the “facts of life” that are undeniable from mere observation. The difficulty of life in 8^th Century B.C. Israel was undeniable. God then calls upon Israel’s pure intuition. Did they not know good from evil? Could they not see the bad all around them and the good they’d forsaken? Of course, they could. Thirdly, God helps them “connect the dots.” He takes them through an airtight and logical process of both argumentation and arrangement. He argues His case and He arranges the issues of life to point to one irrefutable conclusion. Finally, He appeals to authority: His own authority spoken through the prophetic Word. In the end, the issue is not about interpretation of data, rationality of intuition or agreement with argument. No, the issue is authority. Please read Isaiah 1:19-20.

Tim Keller of Redeemer PCA Church in New York City concludes his argument for faith in Christ in his book, The Reason for God, in this manner:

I believe that Christianity makes the most sense out of our individual life stories and out of what we see in the world’s history. The Christian understanding of where we came from, what’s wrong with us, and how it can be fixed has greater power to explain what we see and experience than does any other competing account. It is time to draw together the various threads of the narrative we have been examining and view the story line of Christianity as a whole. The Bible has often been summed up as a drama in four acts––cre-ation, fall, redemption, and restoration.¹³

There it is: recognize the facts of creation; reason through the intuitions of a fallen world; review the arguments for redemption; respond to the authority of the Gospel of restoration. In the end, fact will lead to faith…if you follow the trail of the rational mind. In the end, reason will be informed by revelation…if you hear the call of God on your heart. And argument will bow to authority…if you respond to the Word of the Lord in your soul.

This we love about God: He is reasonable. He knows that our problem is not that we can’t see and understand the Truth; it’s that we don’t want to see it and obey. Yet with tender mercy He relentlessly calls us through Christ: “Come, let us reason together. Let us talk and think as friends. Let Me help you see, understand, repent and obey. Then life will be good to you.” Who can resist such a reasonable invitation and such a warm welcome to grace? This is God’s invitation to you as you attend Church this Sunday. God is waiting there to reason with you.

PRAYING FOR THE PCA

AC: Pray that the peace, purity and progress of the Presbyterian Church in America will be in the forefront of the Commissioners’ minds as they prepare for the Assembly.

CTS: Pray for Mark Dalbey, Covenant Seminary’s vice president for student services, as he and his staff seek to provide ongoing opportunities for community worship, family nurture and Christian fellowship for all those who are part of the Seminary community.

MTW: Thank God for the development and growth of specific ministry partnerships between MTW, PCA churches and leaders, and national church leaders. Pray God will use these new working relationships to give fresh vision and energy for ministry.

RUM: Please pray for the applicants for Intern positions with RUF for fall 2009. Pray for them as they transition from being students or from other jobs. Pray for wisdom as these applicants are interviewed and placed on campus. Pray that they will grow in faith as they raise the necessary funds for their ministry on campus.

RBI: RBI provides term life insurance and long term disability insurance for full time PCA employees. Pray these insurance plans will continue to be quality products for the needs of participants.