Axiomatic Case For God's Sustaining

An axiom is a starting point or presupposition, often one that requires no proof but is assumed so as to allow for conclusions. Perhaps a person thinks they never operate from axioms, as if all of their conclusions are built from carefully, and logically presented proofs. But in reality, there are many things from which we operate axiomatically. As Christians, we assume some things. We may assume or presuppose the existence of God without "empirical" proof. We may presuppose the Bible is the Word of God. We may presuppose that the Bible is inerrant. We may presuppose that God cannot lie. We may presuppose God is "good". We may presuppose many of these things before we have read any text that claims it.

I would like to examine a very important axiom which must be considered before all these other axioms and perhaps impacting how we interpret Christianity in general.

I will call this the axiom of God's Sustaining. What I mean by this is that we must presuppose that God sustains or preserves. God sustains His creation. God sustains His validity and veracity. God sustains His integrity. God sustains His Sovereignty. I hope the reader's mind is bringing forward Scriptural texts that claim these very things. (Psalm 3:5, Psalm 54:4, Heb 1:3, to mention a few)

God sustains, keeps, preserves, upholds, maintains, reserves.

If we understand this as an axiom of what God does, then we can approach the Bible with confidence and claim, "God has sustained the Bible". It becomes our premise , our axiom, our starting point, our presupposition that what we are reading is certainly God's Word.

If we understand this as an axiom of what God does, then we can approach Christianity with confidence and claim, "This is the expression of God's will and plan". We no longer wonder as the Muslim and think, "Well, the faithful went apostate so God had to create a new religion called Islam" which is not a continuance of that sustained, but something altogether different.

If we fail to understand the axiomatic case, the need to declare God's sustaining then we could fall into all manner of doubt and self-delusion. We may begin to assume God didn't sustain His most basic plan or, we may wrongly conclude that God did not sustain a basic understanding of that plan among His people. We could wrongly conclude it is up to us to not only sustain but to obtain some sort of understanding that has never been Christianity. If we fail to start with the notion that God has sustained, God has kept, God has preserved the most basics of the Christian Faith, then we will be left with no faith at all except for one of our own making; which is not of God.

The deconstructionist, postmodernist mind is not only perfectly fine operating in a world of doubt, he seeks to pry up the floor boards of faith and claim there has been no sustaining but merely corruption built on more corruption. He tells us we must peel away the layers and start afresh. But who knows when and where to stop? After the first layer, or the second? Do we dig up the foundation itself?

If God is not the Sustainer, then we are surely lost no matter how logical, no matter how exegetical, no matter how clever we think ourselves.

So, in all things look to the Lord Christ Jesus as the one who keeps you, preserves the Truth even against the gates of Hades. This is the God we worship.