Chapel Reflection: Matthew Brown

The foundation for consistent Christianity can be found in Proverbs 1, according to Matthew Brown, a recent graduate of Kuyper’s Master of Ministry program and the outreach pastor at Aldersgate Church.

“When the text says, ‘The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge,’ it means that a reverent awe for God has to be our starting point for everything,” Brown told attendees of the twice-weekly service held for the Kuyper Community in the Vos Chapel.

Outside of the triune Christian God, Brown believes, it is impossible to justify anything. 

“By denying Him, you eliminate the possibility of justifying any belief at all,” he said.

He added: “God provides what no other false system of belief can provide. Because He holds all things together, He provides the preconditions necessary for knowledge to exist.” 

But this does not mean that the foundational truths of creation justify the existence of God. 

“It’s the other way around. Because of Him, all these foundational truths in the created order exist,” Brown emphasized.

Though we may hear challenging, philosophical arguments that do not rest of the truth of God’s word, we should not be deceived, Brown said. In Christ, we have more than one belief system among many, we have the one, true God.

“You either have Christ, or you have absurdity,” Brown said.