1st Corinthians 2:14 But the natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.
Before we begin to delve into our study, let us just take a moment to read and digest the following, in the context of our topic.
It’s referring not only to the preaching of the gospel, but also to the two systems that have been put into place by the two great invisible powers of earth that are vying for our minds, decisions, and choices, and these systems are often the triggering mechanism for a feud between fools and wise men. Let’s read:
1st Corinthians 1: 17 For Christ sent me not to baptize, but to preach the gospel: not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of no effect.
18 For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.
19 For it is written, I will destroy the wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the understanding of the prudent.
21 For after that in the wisdom of God the world by wisdom knew not God, it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching to save them that believe.
22 For the Jews require a sign, and the Greeks seek after wisdom.
23 But we preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness.
24 But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God.
26 For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called:
27 But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.
28 And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are:
29 That no flesh should glory in his presence.
As the soldiers of the Cross are preparing to push into unchartered territory, there are certain things we must understand. One is that the grace of God which brings salvation has, and would appear to all men, and we are to see in every person, a potential candidate for the kingdom of heaven.
In the dissemination of truth we are to sow beside all waters, for one sows, the other waters, but it is God who gives the increase at the end of the day. It is not our purview to predetermine who will, or will not accept Christ, for the results are in God’s hands alone.
As the latter rain, spoken of by Joel and Zechariah begins to gather momentum, persons from all walks of life would be joining the ranks of God’s people at the eleventh hour, and thus, we are to cultivate an open mind, that is willing to be led and guided by God in all things. The servant of God in referring to that time writes the following. Let’s read:
[Last Day Events pp 182] Standard after standard was left to trail in the dust as company after company from the Lord's army joined the foe and tribe after tribe from the ranks of the enemy united with the commandment-keeping people of God.
Yet, for all intents and purposes, we must be aware that there will be resistance to the preaching of the gospel, and this resistance would be coming for the most part from the worldly wise, or as the Bible put it in our first passage, the natural man.
The reason for this is that the two great powers in the world which are contending for the mastery of our minds, have put two distinct systems into place, and these two systems are often irreconcilably at odds with each other.
The times spoken of in Revelation chapters 13 and 14 refer to the period in earth’s history when every person living on the planet would have to be fully subscribed to one system or the other. That is what the prophet Joel is referring to when he penned the following cryptic words. Let’s read:
Joel 3:14 Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the Lord is near in the valley of decision.
Therefore, a close examination of these two systems reveals the inevitably stark differences which would be outlined below in detail.
[1] One system is based upon faith in God, while the other system is based upon strictly logical modes of thought.
Logic: Reasoning conducted or assessed according to strict principles of validity.
Synonyms: Reason, Rationality, Analysis.
Antonyms: Illogical, Incoherent, Irrational, Insane, Absurd, Senseless.
Nothing is wrong with logical reasoning, in and of itself, but whenever and wherever it collides with faith, the Christian should surrender logic in favor of the latter. With the advent of the age of reason, the French set up a goddess of reason, whereby faith in God and the Bible was surrendered in favor of logic.
What followed next was the inevitable result, for Bibles were burned in public by the thousands and very many persons were consigned to the rack and to the flames. That is because wheresoever strictly logical modes of thought are made to rule the day, the demise of the Bible follows soon thereafter.
And it is a sad admission that we must make, in that most of the promises, and blessings God has left to us remain on the table untouched because of the use of strictly, logical modes of thought and action. In fact, history has shown that devils have devoured the lunches of many Christians through the use of logical reasoning. Very sad, but true! Let’s read:
Matthew 17:19 Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out?
20 And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.
John 16: 23 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father, in my name, he will give it you.
24 Hitherto have ye asked nothing in my name: ask, and ye shall receive, that your joy may be full.
[2] One system is based upon infinite possibilities while the other system is straddled with limitations.
As a general rule, persons would often petition God in harmony with what their perception of His ability is. If their perspective is that God could only do so much and no more, then, their prayers would be in sync with that perspective.
However, if their perspective is that God could do anything, including the seemingly impossible, then their prayers and petitions would reflect what they believe and will most likely be open-ended, with the person not considering any restrictions on the part of God. This sacred truth is reflected in the following verses. Let’s read:
Matthew 9: 28 And when he was come into the house, the blind men came to him: and Jesus saith unto them, Believe ye that I am able to do this? They said unto him, Yea, Lord.
29 Then touched he their eyes, saying, According to your faith be it unto you.
[3] One system is based upon scientific discoveries, and is limited to man’s research and development, while the other system relegates finite science to a subordinate position, so that wherever there might be a feud between the two, finite science is made to defer.
For instance, when Evolution and Creation collide in the world of science, the person who is anchored in God’s system will make man’s analysis, and theories subordinate to what God says in His word, even if a ton of evidence to the contrary is produced.
For example, if the process of carbon dating were to discover and verify that our world is billions of years old, the person who is anchored in God’s system will determine that there has to be some major flaws in the process, since the scripture does not even reach close to a million, let alone billions of years.
Just for your information: Carbon dating is a form of radiometric dating which analyzes the chemical composition of organic materials to determine their age.
Charles Darwin was an English naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology.
He was Born on February 12, 1809, and died April 19, 1882, which means that for some strange reason he was alive during 1844, just when God was about to shine the spotlight on His Creatorship. Let’s read:
Revelation 14:6 And I saw another angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and kindred, and tongue, and people,
7 Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.
God’s Creatorship is also found to be enshrined in the fourth commandment. Yet, for some strange reason, Darwin just happened to be on the scene in 1844!
[4] One system is predicated on believing God at His word, while the other requires proof for everything, before one believes.
Persons who crave and demand proof for everything before they believe will most likely never believe for they are operating on the finite scientific system and man-made science does not believe, it proves. But, in the same breath, the same mindset embraces the theory of evolution, which has never been proven.
On the contrary, persons who are grounded in the Godly system, takes Jesus at His word, long before there is proof and thus, these two opposing systems often set up a feud between fools and wisemen.
In other words, with the believer the proof is in the pudding, with the pudding being God’s word, which is understood as the final authority on all matters. Let’s read:
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
3 Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear.
6 But 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.
[5] One system prepares persons to live, while the other system prepares persons to die. One system grooms people for the here and now only, while the other system grooms people for the great hereafter.
The mindset that is only consumed with retiring and goes about life fretting and worrying over whether or not one will have enough in their 401k to handle whatever the golden years may throw at them, is a mindset that is centered in the here and now, and the here and now inevitably leads to the grave.
Conversely, the mindset that is immersed in God’s system focuses more on the eternal realities of life, thus, making temporal concerns subordinate to the higher interests written in the Bible. As a result, that mindset inevitably passes through the grave, on its way to eternity.
If deacons are forced to practice stop and frisk with congregations in order to squeeze a few green backs out of unwilling pockets, then the underlying issue is one of systems being adopted by persons, which is exemplified in the following passages. Let’s read:
Luke 12: 16 And he spoke a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully.
18 And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods.
19 And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry.
[6] When these two systems are stripped right down to bare bones in real life, one succeeds, where the other stumbles, and this is often manifested in the results which accrue when the systems are severely tested.
For this reason the Bible states that the natural man does not generally receive the things of The Spirit of God because to him they are foolishness. In fact, the scriptures are filled with paradoxes, which are, for the most part foreign, and downright offensive to a mindset that is not disposed to believing.
For instance, we live by dying, we receive by giving, we win by losing, we survive by surrendering, we resist by submitting, we become fools, so that we may become wise, and we become poor so that we may become rich.
These philosophies and perspectives found in God’s system do not jive with the natural man, because in contrast, the systems of the worldly wise, generally are antagonistic to Scriptural systems, and therefore the ways and means adopted by those who employ either one of the two systems would mostly be at odds.
To a mind that has been trained strictly on logical or scientific modes of thought, to pray with one’s eyes closed, to an unseen God, is pretty absurd. And for a person who subjects everything to reason, believing and hoping for things which cannot be seen, heard or proven, is like wishing upon a star.
Hence the reason why devils have honed their skills to specialize in logical modes of thought, for they’ve discovered by experience that logic appeals to the finite mind, and for that reason, many individuals inadvertently fall a prey to their devices.
Eve was taken down using logical modes of thought, because if God said that if she were to touch or eat of the forbidden fruit she would surely die, and she did so and nothing seemed to happen, then logic is the way to go, as far as Eve was concerned. Let’s read:
[Patriarchs & Prophets pp 55] The serpent plucked the fruit of the forbidden tree and placed it in the hands of the half-reluctant Eve. Then he reminded her of her own words, that God had forbidden them to touch it, lest they die. She would receive no more harm from eating the fruit, he declared, than from touching it.
From that eventful day up until now, logic has often been proven to be the diabolical enemy of faith in God, and as folks approach the final conflict of the ages, they would be hard-pressed to adopt strictly logical lines of thought and action, in contravention of the system of faith.
Again, the rich young ruler in Christ’s day was taken down by logical modes of thought, because when he was instructed by Jesus to go sell all that he had and give to the poor, so that he could have treasure in heaven, he became deeply offended. It was that same paradox we referred to earlier, of becoming poor to become rich, that the young man just could not swallow.
To exchange his hard-earned cash, to hand over his Bitcoin holdings for some pie in the sky by and by, which has never been proven scientifically, was too much of a stretch for him, and because of this, his decision came down on the side of logic, as is too often the case.
The reason for this is that the strategies for getting more riches to the logical thinking mind, is to invest, work, trade, and play the Lotto; not to give away everything you have to some poor folk. Thus, the two systems set up by the two great powers in the world, often trigger a feud between fools and wise men. Let’s read:
Matthew 19: 21 Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me.
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions.
[The Desire of Ages pp 520] To give up his earthly treasure, that was seen, for the heavenly treasure, that was unseen, was too great a risk. He refused the offer of eternal life, and went away, and ever after the world was to receive his worship.
Again, satan succeeded in breaking down Abraham and Sarah with logic, because as they rolled over in their minds God’s promise of a child to them in their old age, they realized that their biological clock was ticking.
In addition, every Women’s Health Clinic Sarah had gone to, the experts there invariably told her that her expectations were unreasonable, unrealistic and absurd, because such an expectation had never ever been documented by science.
Thus, as time went by, and as Sarah had long passed the time of child-bearing, the reasoning of the many experts took on a life of its own, for it seemed that according to current science, and just the raw facts on the ground, that the logical experts in that field were correct.
All the while satan was pushing that logical mode of thought upon Sarah until finally it wore her down to the point where she suggested the unthinkable to Abraham, and he himself also buckled under the tremendous weight of logical reasoning.
The devil also sought to give them legal cover so as to quiet their consciences, because at that time it was the law of the land, that if a wife could not bear children, she could give her maidens to her husband and the children would legally be hers. Sounds good right!
Hear the word of The Lord, in God’s system, it’s not everything that is legal is right, and the Christian in our day would be pressed upon legal predications to do that which is strictly forbidden in God’s word.
Then it will be that logic, science, and legal premise will converge in the valley of decision, to take down as many persons as possible, and yes, everything that can be shaken will be severely shaken.
It will be discovered sooner or later, that all of the heroes of faith, mentioned in the Bible, without any exception had one thing in common throughout the highlights of their experiences, which is, they defied logic.
To pass through the time of trouble unscathed will require faith in God alone without any logic. Every and anything God would be doing for His people at that time will be coming in a faith package, and thus the time of preparation is granted to all, to switch systems, from a strictly logical mode of thought and action, to the system of faith, if in certain instances the two may conflict. Let’s read:
[The Great Controversy pp 621] The season of distress and anguish before us will require a faith that can endure weariness, delay, and hunger, a faith that will not faint, though severely tried. The period of probation is granted to all to prepare for that time.
Therefore, having laid the foundation by explaining how the two systems work, let us now turn to the Bible study The Feud Between Fools And Wise Men.
The Hebrews are just on the cusp of a major victory in their conquest of Canaan, but before they do so a group of spies is sent out, to assess the land, to see what are its natural advantages; who are its peoples and they are instructed to bring back samples of the products of the land.
As they go, it will be discovered that ten of them are using the system most often adopted by wise men, to make their assessments and to draw conclusions, while two of them are using the other system often used by fools in making evaluations and decisions.
Thus, since the two systems are often irreconcilable, a feud erupts between the fools and wise men, and the spies now find themselves in a bitter and heated disagreement as to how they are to move forward. The problem is not one of dispositions, nor is it one of bad feelings because they had no argument when they were first going on their way.
The problem is to be found in the difference of the systems used because one system employs a strictly logical mode of thought, while the other embraces the system that is based upon believing God and for this reason try as they might to arrive at consensus, they fail miserably in their efforts to do so.
Most of the arguments to be found between the members of the Christian church, and most of the differences of opinion to be found amongst wives and husbands, between in-laws and outlaws who might be affiliated with Jesus, could be traced right back to the use of one, or the other of those two systems set up by the invisible powers of earth that are striving for the mastery of our minds.
What is pretty disturbing in this episode is that most of the Hebrew congregation actually sided with the wise men, for the two fools became isolated in their evaluations and conclusions, while the assessments and advice of the ten wise men were embraced on strictly logical grounds.
The same situation obtained when Goliath stared down the Israelites in disdain, because Saul and the entire army reasoned along logical lines of thought, while David embraced the system of faith, and the rest is history.
In fact, when we consider the narrative between the giant and David, we’ll discover that there must have been be something that that David did which really ticked off Goliath, for him have to cursed out David the way he did.
What David did was to show up with a slingshot in his hand, and this deeply offended the giant, for in a strictly logical mode of thought, David coming up to battle in this overly simplistic manner was a grave insult to Goliath’s intelligence, and consequently, his feelings were hurt.
When the giant had first railed on the Hebrews, he had asked for them to give him a real man to fight against or in today’s vernacular, to man-up. So when David showed up with a slingshot Goliath was saying to David: if we have to fight, let us duke it out like real men, but please don’t insult my intelligence by coming with a slingshot, like if I am a fool.
What is amazing is that Saul, as the head of God’s people was thinking exactly like Goliath, because his modes of thought were along strictly logical lines. That is why when David made the offer to go fight the giant, Saul stated emphatically that David is not able to do so. Let’s follow his line of reasoning. Let’s read:
1st Samuel 17: 32 And David said to Saul, Let no man's heart fail because of him; thy servant will go and fight with this Philistine.
33 And Saul said to David, you art not able to go up against this Philistine to fight with him: for thou art but a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.
Thus, when Saul finally agrees to let David go fight Goliath, Saul does the best that a logical mind will do, for he loaded David up with his own armor, and spear, and shield.
The very same scenario is sometimes true of board meetings, where for some unknown reason, there might be very stark differences of opinion, with no resolution in sight. It almost always is the result of using the two different systems, and in many cases, it boils down to, or it can result in a feud between fools and wise men. Let’s read:
Numbers 13: 17 And Moses sent them to spy out the land of Canaan, and said unto them, Get you up this way southward, and go up into the mountain:
18 And see the land, what it is, and the people that dwelleth therein, whether they be strong or weak, few or many;
19 And what the land is that they dwell in, whether it be good or bad; and what cities they be that they dwell in, whether in tents, or in strongholds.
20 And what the land is, whether it be fat or lean, whether there be wood therein, or not. And be you of good courage and bring of the fruit of the land. Now the time was the time of the first ripe grapes.
21 So they went up, and searched the land from the wilderness of Zin unto Rehob, as men come to Hamath.
25 And they returned from searching of the land after forty days.
27 And they told him, and said, We came unto the land whither you sent us, and surely it flows with milk and honey; and this is the fruit of it.
28 Nevertheless the people be strong that dwell in the land, and the cities are walled, and very great: and more over we saw the children of Anak there.
30 And Caleb stilled the people before Moses, and said, Let us go up at once, and possess it; for we are well able to overcome it.
31 But the men that went up with him said, We are not able to go up against the people; for they are stronger than we.
32 And they brought up an evil report of the land which they had searched unto the children of Israel, saying, The land, through which we have gone to search it, is a land that eats up the inhabitants thereof; and all the people that we saw in it are men of a great stature.
33 And there we saw the giants, the sons of Anak, which come of the giants: and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight.
[Patriarchs & Prophets] Revolt and open mutiny quickly followed; for Satan had full sway, and the people seemed bereft of reason. They cursed Moses and Aaron, forgetting that God hearkened to their wicked speeches, and that, enshrouded in the cloudy pillar, the Angel of His presence was witnessing their terrible outburst of wrath.
Then their feelings rose against God: “Wherefore hath the Lord brought us unto this land, to fall by the sword, that our wives and our children should be a prey? The unfaithful spies were loud in denunciation of Caleb and Joshua, and the cry was raised to stone them.
The insane mob seized missiles with which to slay those faithful men. They rushed forward with yells of madness, when suddenly the stones dropped from their hands, a hush fell upon them, and they shook with fear. God had interposed to check their murderous design.
When the times of great disturbance shall arrive at our front door and when the prophecies pointing to the great tribulation would have materialized, there will be two, and only two systems that will come to the surface, as family and friends, church members, and the multitude of earth’s inhabitants will now be brought up to the valley of decision.
Then it will be made manifest which system was the one embraced by persons, the one of logic, or the other of faith. Probationary time is given us if haply we might need to switch over to the Godly system, the one, and the only one that will see us through earth’s final conflict.
Day by day, as opportunity affords, let us now learn the all-important lesson of trusting in God, in good times and bad, for our faith must be built as solid as The Rock, upon whom we are to build.
Adverse circumstances which come our way are to be used as stepping-stones to climb Jacob’s ladder, one rung at a time, because every rung would bring us higher, until we ascend the full length of it, for it reaches into heaven itself.
We will have to learn to cling to the hand of Christ in each and every situation and wheresoever logic and faith may collide, we would need to ask God for His strength to assess and decide along the lines of faith for this is how the Christian is to live victoriously in our day.
We therefore end with a passage of scripture that will help us to switch systems where warranted, and may God strengthen our faith in Him, so that none may be moved when earth’s final conflict ensues. Let’s read:
1st John 5:4 For whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world: and this is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.
God Bless!