Here's What I Think

Would God allow a repentant mass murderer into heaven and send millions of good moral people to hell? This is the kind of question that troubles many people when they consider Christianity. I certainly cannot solve all of the issues related to this in one short post, but let me explain how I understand the Bible and the God it presents to us.

First there is the question as to how we come to a conclusion of what is fair and just and what is not. Is this something that we as human beings come to individually or even collectively, or is it something outside of ourselves? If the question of fairness and justice is something we each come to individually, it is then true that all of us reach the same conclusions on every single issue that confronts us? I don't think so. So is justice a matter of collective agreement? We take a majority vote on whether it is just or fair to treat someone in a certain way? Was slavery right and just because at that time there was a consensus that it was right and good? Should we have left Hitler alone because he and a good number of other Germans thought Jews were inferior and should be exterminated? Are these things a matter of public opinion or do they transcend our human decision making process? I think you know the answer to that question.

If we have to look beyond ourselves to find out what is just and fair, where do we look? Many people, including myself, have concluded that the God presented to us in the Bible is the one who determines how things are and what is just and fair and moral. Obviously not everyone agrees with that, but that is where I'm coming from.

If we accept the Bible as the definitive presentation of the God who is actually out there, we have to accept God as he is presented. If we don't like the God of the Bible, we'll need to look elsewhere. In other words, we can't call ourselves Christians and then at the same time reject the God that the Bible presents. If we do that, we are not truly Christians; we are something else.

Does the Bible teach that if a man like Hitler were to repent at the end of his life and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, he would be forgiven and enter heaven? The answer is yes. How is that fair when millions of others who are morally upright may be sent to hell?

I think that the problem is that we don't understand God's assessment of all of us. This may not make more people like the God of the Bible, but the Bible teaches that all of us have sinned and have fallen short of God's standard. (Romans 3:23) It teaches that there is no one who is righteous and no one who truly seeks after the real God. (Romans 3:10-18) It teaches that committing one sin makes us guilty of breaking the whole law and subjects us to God's curse. (Galatians 3:10)

The problem in the scenario that we are discussing is that we are assuming that the great multitude of people are good, upstanding, moral individuals. The Bible does not describe us that way. It's interesting the way people tend to view Jesus. He is painted as a meek and mild person who wouldn't condemn or judge anyone but just be loving and kind. One day some people came to him and told him about some Jewish people who had been murdered by Pilate and had their blood mixed in with the blood of the sacrifices. Jesus' response to this was interesting. He said, "Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish."

He then went on to say this, "Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (Luke 15-1-5)

The whole Bible and Jesus included presents the fact that all of us have committed crimes against the ruler of the universe and that all of us stand as condemned men and women before God. That includes me and it includes you and it included Hitler and it included Mother Teresa.

But, and it's a big "but", the good news is that Jesus, God in human form, came here and lived the perfect life we should have lived, and he died the death and separation from God that sin required. Jesus' claim is that if we would accept the free gift of God's forgiveness and accept Christ's life and death as applicable to us, God will look at Christ's life as being ours and will proclaim us righteous and forgiven. Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father, except through me." (John 14:6) According to the Bible and to Jesus, there are no actual alternative solutions to our dilemma.

The question is not why God would send innocent people to hell. The question is, "Why would God allow anyone at all into heaven?" He does so because he is merciful and gracious.

The God of the Bible is not the wrathful, vindictive, vacillating being that he is sometimes pictured to be. Neither is he the wishy-washy, weak being who overlooks wrongs right and left and lets injustices slide through unnoticed. He hates sin and injustice so much that he came and took the punishment for the world's injustices upon himself so that in love he could justly pardon anyone who humbly comes to him for forgiveness whether it be one of the most "morally upright" people in the world or one of the most despicable.

What would you say?

How would you answer this scenario? Hitler repents of his sins and trusts Christ moments before he dies at the end of WWII. According to Christian teaching, God would save him and he would enter heaven a forgiven man. All of the while millions of people whose deaths he caused would be in hell because they had not trusted Christ. An atheist debating a Christian raised this point as the kind of problem many people have with the "Christian" God. How can God be any sort of God we would want to worship if he would send potentially millions of innocent people to hell and allow a brutal mass murderer into heaven?

I'll let you think about how you would respond to that situation and I'll share my thoughts on it tomorrow. The debate where this was raised came from a British website which features a weekly broadcast and podcast in which discussions and debate are featured. The website is http://www.premier.org.uk/unbelievable The debate was between atheist Paul Baird and Christian Sye Ten Bruggencate. Ten Bruggencate has an interesting website based on presuppositional apologetics called http://www.proofthatgodexists.org

Tomorrow I'll share what I think is the biblical answer in this situation. It might not make atheists any more inclined to believe in the God of the Bible, but I think it will at least help us understand more accurately what the Bible teaches.

Memorization Monday - Expected Fruit - Love

Galatians 5:22-23 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

K.I.S.S.

K.I.S.S. -- Keep it Simple Stupid

I like it when complicated things are reduced to simple, easy-to-understand concepts. Sometimes the Christian life can seem complicated. But there are three or four passages in the Bible that come to mind that list sort of a summary of what God wants from us.

The first one is Acts 16:31. It tells us what we must do to be saved. "Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved."

Micah 6:8 "He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God."

Ecclesiastes 12:13 Solomon sums up the conclusion of everything, "Fear God and keep his commandments, for this is the whole duty of man."

Finally from 1 Thessalonians 4:9 & 11 "Love one another ... and aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands.

Simple to understand, isn't it? It's not always that easy to practice, but at least it's understandable. Now let's do it.

Jesus prayed - For their sake I sanctify myself

Today I'd like to share a little bit from the book "Our Lord Prays for His Own" by Marcus Rainsford. In this section which I am about to quote, the author is discussing Jesus' prayer for His own in John 17. The phrase under consideration is "I sanctify myself." Usually the idea of sanctification is that of "making holy." But Jesus was already holy. What did he mean by this phrase?

Here is what the author writes (I'm modernizing some phrases and picking and choosing from the text on pages 330 and 331):

What does He mean? He was "The Holy One of God...Holiness unto the Lord...the Most Holy"; it is utterly inconceivable that He could become more holy or more sanctified than He was, yet He says, "I sanctify myself."

The meaning here evidently is, I dedicate, I consecrate, I set apart My whole self, --My Person, Godhead and Manhood, Soul and Body. I consecrate all my offices--if I be a Priest, if I be a Prophet, if I be a King-- I set them apart, I wholly dedicate and consecrate all My fullness of grace and glory, all My righteousness, all My interest, My very existence, I sanctify for the purpose and object for which I plead.

I lay down all upon the altar of divine and unchangeable love that I may be all, do all, suffer all, merit all My people need, and, that I may pay all My people owe."

Oh! what did He hold back? Nothing! His was a complete surrender; it was an absolute devoting of Himself, all that He was as Son of God, all that He was as Son of Man, all that He was as Mediator, all His fullness, and all His service, His time, His care, His thought, His very life itself He consecrated and set apart, that He might be the sanctification of His people.

The blood of Christ has a double efficacy: it is the atonement for sin, and it is the sanctification of the sinner on whose heart it is sprinkled. "We are justified by his blood (Romans 5:9) and we are sanctified by the blood (Hebrews 13:12). This one offering of Himself includes sin-offering, burnt-offering, meat-offering, peace-offering, all in one. His blood cleanses "from all sin," both from the guilt of sin, and from the filth of sin, from every kind and degree of sin, and everything contained in sin, its pollution, its demerit, and its consequences; where the blood of the Lamb is applied by faith the Holy Spirit descends and dwells there forever.

Fear of the Lord - Part 3

In this last part of our series on the “fear of God”, I want to look at some of the promises and admonitions that the Bible puts forward related to the “fear of the Lord”. It is interesting to note that God's promise of protection to those that fear him is counter-intuitive. God is the one who hates evil and has set himself against those who do evil and yet his promise is this to those who fear him: “Run to me and be safe.” We fear God and we fear his wrath on sin, and yet if that fear drives us to him, he promises safety and forgiveness. Proverbs 18:10 “The name of the Lord is a strong tower; The righteous run to it and are safe.”

Here are some promises and other statements from the Bible related to the fear of God:

Luke 1:50 And his mercy is for those who fear him from generation to generation.
Psalm 111:5 He provides food for those who fear him; he remembers his covenant forever.
Proverbs 10:27 The fear of the Lord prolongs life, but the years of the wicked will be short.
Proverbs 14:26 In the fear of the Lord one has strong confidence, and his children will have a refuge.
Proverbs 14:27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, that one may turn away from the snares of death.
Proverbs 22:4 The reward for humility and fear of the Lord is riches and honor and life.
Proverbs 19:23 The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied; he will not be visited by harm.
Psalm 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him, and delivers them.
Psalm 25:14 The friendship of the Lord is for those who fear him, and he makes known to them his covenant.
Psalm 103:17 But the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children’s children,
Psalm 34:9 Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints, for those who fear him have no lack!
Psalm 103:11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
Psalm 33:18 Behold, the eye of the Lord is on those who fear him, on those who hope in his steadfast love,
Psalm 33:8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; Let all the inhabitants of the world stand in awe of Him.
Psalm 130:4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
Psalm 85:9 Surely his salvation is near to those who fear him, that glory may dwell in our land.
Psalm 103:13 As a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him.
Psalm 145:19 He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them.
Psalm 147:11 but the Lord takes pleasure in those who fear him, in those who hope in his steadfast love.
Acts 10:35 but in every nation anyone who fears him and does what is right is acceptable to him.

The Fear of God - Part 2

I'm continuing a discussion that started yesterday concerning what it means to “fear God”. I described it as respect, awe or profound reverence for God. But I explained that that has different meanings depending on what you know or believe about God. If you believe that God is basically nice and is going to stay out of your business and just sort of love you and pour blessings on you, then your respect or reverence for God will mean one thing. But if you really believe that God hates evil and is intent on judging those who persist in evil, then you will look at it differently.

Yesterday I described how the fear of God applies to those who have not trusted him and believed in his promise of forgiveness and salvation. To those in that camp, God's justice has threatened wrath.

But there is another group of people who have admitted their failure to live up to God's standards and have trusted in his promise to save them and grant them forgiveness. Who are these people? Are they like the teacher's pet? Didn't you hate it in school when there were people who seemed to be able to get away with anything because the teacher seemed to like them better? Is God that way? The Bible says that God is no respecter of persons. If that is so, why are some people let off the hook even though everyone obviously falls short of the perfect life that God requires?

Jesus Christ, God's son, a co-equal part of God, became a human being. He lived a perfect life and then even though he lived such a life, he died. Death and separation from God is the penalty for sin. But he had not sinned. The great news of the Christian faith is that God is willing to count Jesus' perfect fulfillment of the law as though it were your perfect obedience. And he is willing to count Jesus' death as the death and separation from God that you owe because of your sinfulness and disobedience. Anyone who believes that and accepts God's offer is forgiven of every sin he has ever done. He is declared righteous once and for all by God and God promises never to bring up the issue of sin in any future judgment. This offer is made freely to anyone who would like to receive it. There is no favoritism with God.

So, for those who have accepted this offer, what does the fear of God mean? First, I think there is fear, awe, reverence for God because of the wrath we know we deserve but have escaped. Psalm 130:4 “But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.” When we see that God's wrath was upon us, but in his mercy he has forgiven us, it produces a certain kind of fear as seen in this verse.

Secondly it produces the kind of fear that induces obedience. It's not a fear of judgment, but a fear and respect for the fact that God hates sin. In so doing, why would I, a person who had been under judgment but is now under forgiveness, why would I want to keep doing those things that the one who rescued me hates? Why would I scoff at the forgiveness he has given and practically spit in his face and dare him to do something to me?

2 Corinthians 7:1 Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God.

Proverbs 8:13 The fear of the Lord is hatred of evil. Pride and arrogance and the way of evil and perverted speech I hate.

Deuteronomy 8:6 So you shall keep the commandments of the Lord your God by walking in his ways and by fearing him.

Finally I think it produces a kind of awe and respect that promotes true worship. God is the one who made me, who gave me breath. He provides the food, water, air, strength and all other things I need on a daily basis. He allows me, a criminal against his reign, to live and have freedom. This kind of being deserves every ounce of my worship and praise and adoration. Psalm 111:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding. His praise endures forever! Revelation 19:5 “And from the throne came a voice saying, “Praise our God, all you his servants, you who fear him, small and great.”

So, what does the “fear of God” mean to you?

The Fear of God

What does the phrase, “Fear of God” mean? I'm preparing to teach on that subject in the next couple of weeks, and thought it might be an interesting topic for an article here on the Faithful Men Blog.

The “fear of God” is often described as an awe, respect or profound reverence for God. But how that description is understood depends on what you know about God. People have all kinds of ideas about what God is like, but it's important to know what God is like based on statements in his Word, the Bible.

There are basically two classifications of people: those who have believed on Jesus Christ for forgiveness of their sins and have accepted his free gift of eternal life and there are those who have not. The implications of “the fear of God” depends on which of those two groups you are in.

God has a holy and righteous hatred of sin. Sins are those things that we do that don't meet God's standards of behavior and perfection in thought and deed. Jesus said in Matthew 10:28, “And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.” This is from the lips of the one everyone says is so meek and mild and loving. It is wise to fear someone who has the power to throw us into hell. Why would God do that? Because he hates sin and has determined to judge all of those who sin against his rule.

Read what the Bible says in Hebrews 10:26 – 31:

For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain fearful expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the adversaries. Anyone who has rejected Moses’ law dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay,” says the Lord. And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

Psalm 7:11 tells us “God is a just judge, and God is angry with the wicked every day.”

You might be saying, “I thought God was a God of love.” He is, but he is angry with those who have not admitted their failure to meet God's standards and that they are in the need of God's grace. He would not be a just king and judge if he just let everyone do what they wanted without any punishment and justice.

So what does “fearing God” mean. To those who are outside of God's grace, it should mean a fear and dread that God means what he says. He will by no means clear the guilty (Numbers 14:18) and he will in fact cast the wicked into hell and all the nations that forget God (Psalms 9:17). I say “should mean” because most people don't seem the least bit concerned about any of this. Maybe it's because they don't believe this is true? Personally, I don't think it's a gamble worth risking.

Next time we'll look at what it means to fear God for those who have accepted God's offer of forgiveness. Do they still need to fear God?

Month Verse - Part 3

Continuing our thoughts on 2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12.

In the second verse of this prayer, Paul lets us know the reason and purpose for praying like this. It is that the name of the Lord Jesus would be glorified in them and they in him, according to God's grace.

Now that's an amazing statement. The first part of it we might expect. It is our purpose as Christians to live life in such a way that the name of the Lord Jesus would be made to look great. That God would be honored and esteemed among those who know us because of our desire for goodness and our works of faith.

But the second part seems amazing to me. Not only is he praying that God would be glorified in his people, but that they would be glorified in them. Really? There is a sense in which being a Christian and living life for the glory of God also demonstrates what it is to be truly human. To be and act in a way that is consistent with the way God originally designed for us. And in so doing there is a sense in which we are glorified by being a part of this whole plan that God is working on. It's not a proud and self-centered glory, it is a glory that centers in all that God can do in a man when he is at work in him.

All of this is related to the grace of God at work. Grace is God's blessing and favor given to those who don't deserve it. So as God pours out this blessing in our lives, they demonstrate more and more the character of God and the character of mankind acting and responding the way God originally intended for human beings to act.

Month Verse - Part 2

I'm continuing to share some thoughts on 2 Thessalonians 1:11, 12 which is our focus verse for this month.

Part of Paul's prayer for these people is that God would fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power. A person who has truly been redeemed and saved by God has a new nature that consists of new desires and motivations. Such people have the desire to do good and to accomplish good. They may not perfect at it, but they certainly have that desire. What Paul is praying for here is that God would honor that desire and fulfill every (notice the word every) desire for goodness that they might have.

He also included a prayer for the fulfillment of every work of faith in the person's life so that there would be power in those works of faith.

Now I'm thinking to myself how my prayers for people compare to this one. I am usually focused on a lot more physical and immediate needs, not so much the spiritual issues that God is really more concerned about. How about your prayers? Do we need to make some adjustments?

New Month Verse

I've taken it kind of easy over the last couple of months with respect to writing and sharing my thoughts here on the Faithful Men Blog. I'm trying to get back into gear on this because it helps me focus and hopefully gives food for thought for the many men who are trying to live a faithful life before God.

Let me just share a couple of meditation thoughts related to these verses (2 Thessalonians 1:11, 2) which are really the content of a prayer. The Apostle Paul is sharing his concern for these people by letting them know the content of his prayers for them. I noticed first the word 'always'. This gives us an indication of how faithful Paul was in his prayers for these people. How honestly could we use the word 'always' in our description of our praying?

Next I see him asking that God would count them worthy of his calling in their lives. There is too much here to cover in a short article, but it makes me wonder how God could count them worthy. These were plain ordinary people. And yet God has called them into his family and service and in that awesome position, how could they be counted worthy of that honor? The answer here is just like it is in all aspects of the Christian life. God is able to declare us worthy even when we aren't because of the worthiness of Christ who came and lived the lives we should have lived and died to forgive us of our failures. All of that is counted as ours if we trust Christ personally.

Perhaps I'll have the opportunity to share some more thoughts on this passage tomorrow.

How Much More Valuable is a Man than a Sheep?

This is a question Jesus asked after a confrontation with the religious leaders of his day. It seems he had entered the synagogue and there came into contact with a man having a withered hand. The Bible says that as Jesus came into contact with this man, the Pharisees were watching carefully to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath day. As he asked the man to step forward, he asked the crowd whether it was lawful to do good or evil, or to save a life or to kill on the Sabbath.

According to Mark 3:4,5 "They kept silent. And when He had looked around at them with anger, being grieved by the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, 'Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as whole as the other.'"

I'm interested in two descriptions of Jesus' reaction. First of all he looked at them with anger. He was God, come to dwell among us, and found that those who supposedly represented him in the religious world could not see the benefit of healing someone who was suffering no matter what day of the week it was. He had a righteous anger about that. We too should be angry when justice is not served and compassion is not demonstrated among us.

Secondly he was grieved. The word grieved means he felt sorry and deeply distressed over the lack of compassion he observed. These people were more interested in their positions and the precision of their legal interpretations than in the needs of this one particular man.

In Matthew's version of the incident, he says, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out?" In other words they would have "violated" their sabbath rules to rescue a sheep in order, I think, not to suffer the personal loss of the sheep. At this point Jesus asks the question, "How much more valuable is a man than a sheep?"

Think about this question not only with reference to yourself, but to your fellow human beings. Elsewhere in the gospels (Matthew 6) Jesus says we (all of us) are more valuable than a sparrow and yet God watches over and takes care of the sparrow. Will he not watch over and take care of us? And shouldn't we have similar concern for those in need around us who also have been created in the image of God?

Memorization Monday - Expected Fruit: Love

1 John 3:23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (ESV)

True? False? or Who Cares? - Part 4

In the last article in this series we looked at the concept of “presuppositions”. Presuppositions are ideas we believe or accept without proof. Everyone has them. Even in mathematics we have things called postulates which are statements that are accepted as true without proof. I remember a math class I had once where we assumed that the number 1 existed. We also assumed that the next number in a counting series could be found by adding the number 1 to the previous number. Every other “truth” that we used in the course had to be proved from these two postulates or assumptions or presuppositions.

So what does this have to do with our discussion of truth and how we know it? Let’s take the Creation vs Evolution debate for example. I worked in the public schools for 42 years and have seen the nuances that this debate has taken. When everything is sorted out through the legal system it usually comes down to this: Creation is a religious, faith-based idea and therefore has no place within the science curriculum. Evolution however is a scientific truth and therefore can and should be taught within the science curriculum.

I realize that I am probably not going to change many minds in this short article, but this is how I see it in light of our discussion about truth and how we know it. Scientific knowledge and truth comes from proposing an hypothesis and then designing a controlled experiment to test that hypothesis to see if it is true. In the case of the origin of life, it seems obvious to me that there can be no experiment designed that will duplicate the conditions, time span and forces needed to create and evolve life by random processes. Every attempt so far has involved a high level of human thinking and planning involved to set up conditions favorable for the creation of life. The true condition of randomness and chance events were not duplicated. Even so, life has not been created by those experiments.

On the creation side, there is no one alive today who saw God create anything. All we have is ancient documents within various religious traditions describing how God did it.

My point is that those who claim evolution is true are actually proposing something just as faith-based as a creationist is.

But the evolutionist says, “No, that’s not true. You creationists are bringing God into the mix. We are providing a natural and scientific explanation of how life began and evolved.”

The problem here is with the assumptions or presuppositions that underlie what we believe. In order to fit the definition of science, God must be left out of the equation. That is an assumption. All of the study and investigation that takes place looks for explanations that leave God out. It is assumed that God either does not exist or does not play any role in any way in the natural world. But suppose God actually exists. If God actually exists, isn’t it madness to try to get at the explanation for why things are the way they are without including him in the mix?

“But”, they say, “we don’t know if God exists or not and therefore we choose to leave him out of our assumptions regarding science and simply look for the natural causes of things.”

OK. That’s fine. But don’t call your explanation of origins totally scientific because you are basing your “science” on the belief that certain things are true. There are a set of beliefs or assumptions upon which the entire system is built. That makes it a faith based philosophy.

A scientist who includes the belief in a god or supreme being in his foundational assumptions will also build a faith-based science. But he, when he looks at the order and apparent “design” in the universe will come to the conclusion that there is a designer behind it.

It’s interesting that in normal life we do this all the time. If you’re walking through the woods and you come upon a group of similar sized stones lying in the dirt forming the shape of a circle, you assume someone of intelligence placed them that way. You don’t assume that they just fell there randomly. And yet when some scientists look at the brain or the eye, they don’t see a designer at all but millions of years of random circumstances producing it. So we attribute a simple circle of stones to an intelligent designer, i.e. a human being, behind it, but something as complex as an eye evolved with no intelligent activity involved in it at all.

When trying to determine the truth, everyone begins their investigative reasoning with presuppositions or assumptions. Mathematicians do it and scientists do it. We all do it. We need to be careful that first of all we recognize that we are doing it. When you make statements of truth or believe what someone else says is true, look for the presuppositions that underlie those statements. Second, make sure that when you are discussing what you believe to be the truth, acknowledge your presuppositions. Don’t hide them. Finally make sure your presuppositions are logical and consistent. Only in so doing will you be able to get at the truth whether it is in the field of science, politics or religion.

True? False? or Who Cares? - Part 3

In the first article in this series we talked about the fact that in normal daily life we come at truth in very informal ways and yet in ways that work at the practical level. When we build our homes, we conform them to certain truths about how the construction needs to take place so they are safe and function well. We learn these truths by applying what we receive on good authority. This approach seems to be thrown out the window when it comes to discerning, believing and proclaiming religious truth.

In the second article we expanded more on the methods we use to discern what truth is. Here again we discussed the fact that most of us haven’t come in contact with the truth first hand in most areas of knowledge. In other words we weren’t there when historical events took place and we aren’t privy to the information that forms the basis for political decisions. Most of us are not involved in the working out of mathematical equations or scientific principles. We learn these things and base our decisions on them based on good authority. But it’s interesting to recognize that different people accept different authorities. Why is this so? Why, when the President, any President, announces a decision, do some people assume it is a wise and truthful decision whereas others claim the decision is faulty and dishonest? Why do we gravitate to one news source over another or one religious leader over another? Most of these propensities to lean in one direction or another are not driven by facts that we know first hand.

There are usually unproved and sometimes improvable assumptions called presuppositions that move us in one direction or another when in the search for truth. The point I would like us to think very seriously about is that there is no guarantee that these presuppositions are directing us toward the truth. Our feelings tell us our sources are true and we believe they are, but there is no guarantee. I may listen to a particular news source because I feel that it is a truthful source of information. But what makes me think that? And just because I think that, does that make it true? I watch with fascination as CNN fans put down Fox News for presenting a slanted view of the facts. At the same time I hear Fox News followers cut down CNN for painting a false picture of causes and events. Since CNN and Fox present rather different perspectives on events, they can’t both be giving the true picture. One or the other or both are presenting shaded views of the truth. Our presuppositions drive us to listen to and believe one over the other.

The same thing occurs in religious discussion. Some people do not believe that the Bible can be historically accurate and truthful in the narratives about Jesus Christ because it describes events which people have never seen with their own eyes. These miracles are described as though they are facts, but some people dismiss them out of hand because of the presupposition that such things cannot and therefore did not take place. Think of the implications if the resurrection of Jesus actually did take place. In other words if we take it out of the realm of a religious teaching and put it into the same realm as the assassination of Julius Caesar or any other historical event, what would that mean? Think about it. If this man really died, his heart stopped beating and his brain stopped functioning, someone put him into a cold cave and then three days later he was alive again, wouldn’t such an event warrant a place in the history books? But somehow it has been relegated to a religious teaching and the thought of it actually having happened has pretty much disappeared. Has this happened because the history of it has been shown to be faulty or because of presuppositions coming into play?

Our presuppositions tend to move us toward some information sources and away from others. We believe some people who purport to be authorities and we reject others. In most cases we haven’t and usually can’t do the research required to independently verify these authorities. This situation shouldn’t drive us to the conclusion that the truth doesn’t exist or that it can’t be known. We don’t do that in normal daily life and we shouldn’t do it in philosophical, political or religious areas of life. However, we do need to recognize that our presuppositions may not be pointing us to the truth. If we really want to know what the truth is, we need to sometimes work against our natural presuppositions and give other sources a fair and reasoned hearing because it may be that the truth lies in that direction.

Memorization Monday - Expected Fruit: Love

John 13:34, 35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.

Hymn of the Week -- Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Jesus, I my cross have taken, all to leave and follow Thee.
Destitute, despised, forsaken, Thou from hence my all shall be.
Perish every fond ambition, all I’ve sought or hoped or known.
Yet how rich is my condition! God and Heaven are still mine own.

Let the world despise and leave me, they have left my Savior, too.
Human hearts and looks deceive me; Thou art not, like them, untrue.
And while Thou shalt smile upon me, God of wisdom, love and might,
Foes may hate and friends disown me, show Thy face and all is bright.

Go, then, earthly fame and treasure! Come, disaster, scorn and pain!
In Thy service, pain is pleasure; with Thy favor, loss is gain.
I have called Thee, “Abba, Father”; I have set my heart on Thee:
Storms may howl, and clouds may gather, all must work for good to me.

This week for the hymn of the week, I go to an old poem by Henry F. Lyte in 1824

Jesus, I My Cross Have Taken

Man may trouble and distress me, ’twill but drive me to Thy breast.
Life with trials hard may press me; heaven will bring me sweeter rest.
Oh, ’tis not in grief to harm me while Thy love is left to me;
Oh, ’twere not in joy to charm me, were that joy unmixed with Thee.

Take, my soul, thy full salvation; rise o’er sin, and fear, and care;
Joy to find in every station something still to do or bear:
Think what Spirit dwells within thee; what a Father’s smile is thine;
What a Savior died to win thee, child of heaven, shouldst thou repine?

Haste then on from grace to glory, armed by faith, and winged by prayer,
Heaven’s eternal day’s before thee, God’s own hand shall guide thee there.
Soon shall close thy earthly mission, swift shall pass thy pilgrim days;
Hope soon change to glad fruition, faith to sight, and prayer to praise.

True? False? or Who Cares? - Part 2

How do we know what is true and what is false in everyday life? Isn’t it true that most of us don’t know things from first hand experience but rather we learn them through other people who tell us or teach us about truth? For example, where was Abraham Lincoln when he was shot? Or was he shot? Maybe he died of a heart attack. How do we know these things? We don’t know by having seen it with our own eyes. We don’t even know because we personally did hours upon hours of research to find out. Most of us know because someone, probably a teacher in school, and the textbooks we used told us what happened to Abraham Lincoln.

Most of us who use math at the every-day level don’t know the truths underlying the math, although we probably could. For example most people don’t know from personal investigation how fractions and common denominators work. But if we use them at all, we were taught how to work with fractions and we know that the methods work and that is good enough for us. But my point is that we didn’t learn it from personal investigation and discovery. We believe the principles because people we trusted and who we assumed were authorities taught us, and what they taught us works.

What is interesting to me is how and why we choose the people we decide to believe. In elementary school and probably through most of high school we believed what we were told by our parents and teachers. But as we grew older we began to distinguish one opinion from another and we began to argue and debate whether what we were being told was true or not. What is interesting to me is how we decide who to believe when we receive conflicting messages. Politics is a good case in point. Someone on TV says that the reason we are in the economic mess we are in is because we are spending billions on unnecessary wars. There are really two messages there: 1) the economic mess is caused by the wars and 2) the wars were unnecessary. The purpose of this article is not to delve into the politics, but to observe that people on each side of the argument will rant for hours on their point of view. How do they know the economic problems are caused by the war expenditures? How do the people on the other side know that it was not the wars that caused the economic problems? Have any of these people looked at the numbers, compared the graphs and analyzed all of the factors? No! We mostly listen to what people tell us. For some reason each one of us has a propensity to believe one explanation of events rather than another. In this particular example, some believe war caused the mess and some do not. These beliefs are based on who we have decided to listen to and who we believe.

Shouldn’t we be interested in truth? What is the truth? In many cases we could know if we took the time to do the research. Take historical events for example. I brought up Abraham Lincoln a moment ago. How does one know he was assassinated? I’m not a philosopher nor a historian so this is not a rigorous academic treatise, but it seems to me that to verify historic events which no one living now witnessed, we need to go back to original documents, news reports, photographs, etc. and put together the best scenario we can as to what actually happened. This takes a lot of time – more time than we have if we are trying to determine the truth about everything we hear. So we decide who we will believe and base our opinions on what they say.

These methods of determining truth pretty much work for day to day living. But the possibility exists that we have chosen to believe things which are not true simply because of who we listen to. We need to be open to the possibility that what we believe might be false. We need to be ready to discuss our ideas and to probe other people’s ideas and to give and receive facts and arguments in order to get at the truth. The problem is that today several things stand in the way of discussions of this sort. We’ll discuss these in more detail later, but basically discussions of truth end because 1) People don’t really care what the truth is – it doesn’t matter; 2) Truth is felt at the emotional level and so if it feels correct, it must be true no matter what the facts say; 3) Truth can’t be known so why bother talking about it; and 4) Truth doesn’t exist.

In future articles I want us to think about how we as Christians get at the truth of Christianity and why we believe it is true. I want us to think about the implications of saying that it is true. I also want us to see how the four hindrances to seeking truth even impact our understanding of the Bible and the differences of opinion among us.

Learning to be Content

Learning to be content by Martyn Lloyd-Jones*

Philippians 4:11-13 Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content: I know how to be abased, and I know how to abound. Everywhere and in all things I have learned both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.

"Paul had come to learn this great truth by working out a great argument. Let me give you some of the steps of the argument which you can work out for yourself. I think that the apostle's logic was something like this. He said to himself:

1. Conditions are always changing, therefore I must obviously not be dependent upon conditions.

2. What matters supremely and vitally is my soul and my relationship to God--that is the first thing.

3. God is concerned about me as my Father, and nothing happens to me apart from God. Even the very hairs of my head are all numbered. I must never forget that.

4. God's will and God's ways are a great mystery, but I know that whatever He wills or permits is of necessity for my good.

5. Every situation in life is the unfolding of some manifestation of God's love and goodness. Therefore my business is to look for this peculiar manifestation of God's goodness and kindness and to be prepared for surprises and blessings because 'His ways are not my ways, neither His thoughts my thoughts'. What, for example, is the great lesson that Paul learned in the matter of the thorn in the flesh? It is that: 'When I am weak then am I strong'. Paul was taught through physical weakness this manifestation of God's grace.

6. I must regard circumstances and conditions, not in and of themselves therefore, but as a part of God's dealings with me in the work of perfecting my soul and bringing me to final perfection.

7. Whatever my conditions may be at this present moment, they are only temporary, they are only passing, and they can never rob me of the joy and the glory that ultimateloy await me with Christ.


*From the chapter, "Learning to be Content" from the book Spiritual Depression - Its Causes and Cure by Martyn Lloyd-Jones

Memorization Monday - Resources - Grace

2 Corinthians 12:9
And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness." Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

Hymn of the Week -- Low in the Grave He Lay

1. Low in the grave He lay,
   Jesus my Savior,
   Waiting the coming day,
   Jesus my Lord!
   • Refrain:
     Up from the grave He arose,
     With a mighty triumph o’er His foes,
     He arose a Victor from the dark domain,
     And He lives forever, with His saints to reign.
     He arose! He arose!
     Hallelujah! Christ arose!
2. Vainly they watch His bed,
   Jesus my Savior;
   Vainly they seal the dead,
   Jesus my Lord!
3. Death cannot keep its Prey,
   Jesus my Savior;
   He tore the bars away,
   Jesus my Lord!

True? or False? or Who Cares?

I saw a bumper sticker last week that said, “The earth does not belong to us. We belong to the earth.” Is this true? How could we know? Does someone really believe this? It is certainly a profession of some sort. I wonder if the people who own the car are committed to this statement in their everyday life.

Every day of our lives we make statements about things we believe are true. In some cases it doesn’t matter if there is truth behind our beliefs or not. In other situations it’s crucial to know the truth that underlies our beliefs. If I’m going to have brain surgery to remove a tumor, my life depends on whether those who are going to operate know that there is a tumor there and know how to get to it and remove it safely. I certainly don’t want them to operate on me if they just profess that they know how to do it without actually knowing how. Similarly if someone is going to rewire my home, I want them to know how electricity works and the facts that govern the proper wiring of a home.

In virtually every area of normal life we know that there are some truths which can be known and taught. Then when these truths are believed and acted upon, workers and organizations can be committed to the policies and procedures that are based on this knowledge and they can then profess that they can accomplish certain things.

Everything seems to change when it comes to religion and religious profession.

I recently listened to an interview of Dallas Willard by Ken Meyers.* Dr. Willard is a professor of philosophy at University of Southern California. In the interview, Dr. Willard compared “profession”, “commitment”, “faith”, and “knowledge”. What interested me is that he spoke of religion often emphasizing profession and commitment without the foundation of faith based on knowledge. This might all seem too philosophical but I think there are some important things for us non-philosophers to think about here. As I have already indicated, for most normal every day situations there are truths that can be known and then believed and acted upon.

In our day truth and knowing are under attack. For some, the whole concept that there is a religious truth is absurd. For others, the problem is more the question of how one can know what is true. For these people, it’s not the existence of truth that is the problem, but that it seems impossible to them that we can know what the truth is. Both of these situations generate a level of skepticism that makes it almost impossible to have a normal conversation about religion and religious truth.

As a Christian, I was intrigued by Dr. Willard’s idea that often within Christianity we have begun to focus on profession or commitment without these being based on knowledge of the truth. In earlier times, churches grounded their members in what was at least purported to be the truth. They taught these truths to their constituents so that they had a knowledge of them and then could believe them, develop commitments to them and finally profess them.

These days, in many religious congregations, the idea that there is truth that can be known and believed has almost disappeared. When we simply have as our goal commitment and profession without the foundation of knowledge of truth, those commitments and professions will not last long. In addition, without the belief that there is such a thing as truth or that truth can be known, it’s impossible to subject one’s own belief or the beliefs of others to any sort of scrutiny or discussion. Personal growth and communication with others is stifled. As a result, the idea of sharing the gospel with others in order to bring them to faith in Christ becomes more and more seems more and more antiquated because we’re trying to say we believe in something that is true. Many people don’t have any idea what that means.

Let’s go back to the narrative I presented at the beginning. Is it true that “the earth does not belong to us but rather we belong to the earth?” I might propose a bumper sticker that says, “The earth is the Lord’s.” Is one bumper sticker true and the other one false or are they both false? Maybe they are both true. Could they be? Does it matter? Maybe they’re just words. If there is no truth or truth cannot be discovered then we can say whatever we want and all statements are equally valid … or invalid.

However, if truth exists and it can be known, then what we say does matter. We can have discussions or even arguments about what is true and what is false. We can make decisions as to what beliefs to abandon and what beliefs to adopt based on their truth or falsity. When leaders try to lead us in a given direction, we have the foundation we need to discern truth from error.

We are going to discuss this further in upcoming posts, but let me encourage you to apply the same principles in religious discussion as you do in the rest of life. There is truth. You may not know it all but it’s there. Some religious statements are true. Some are false. You need to find out which are which because your future well-being depends on knowing the truth. When you know the truth, then you can believe it, commit yourself to it and profess it. But don't try professing things you don't know are true.

* The interview was part of Volume 100 of an audio journal series published by Mars Hill Audio. (http://www.marshillaudio.org)

Lloyd-Jones on Vain Regrets

Have you as a Christian wished you had done more with your life? Does it sometimes discourage you to think of the time you have wasted? Do you even get depressed at times wishing you had been more faithful to God? I’ve recently been reading a book by D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones called Spiritual Depression – Its Causes and Cure. In Chapter 6 entitled “Vain Regrets” Lloyd-Jones deals with this rather common problem.

His first point is based on common sense. He points out that Christians have more than common sense to deal with life issues, but they still should have common sense. He says, “The past cannot be recalled and you can do nothing about it. You can sit down and be miserable and you can go round and round in circles of regret for the rest of your life, but it will make no difference to what you have done.” “We must never for a second worry about anything that cannot be affected or changed by us. It is a waste of energy. If you can do nothing about a situation stop thinking about it; never again look back at it, never think of it.” He goes on to remind us that spending time dwelling on the past uses up precious time in the present which we might later also regret. It’s a never ending cycle unless we stop doing it.

Obviously, besides common sense, we have Scripture to guide us. Lloyd-Jones points us to the Apostle Paul who said, “Last of all He was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time. For I am the least of the Apostles, that I am not fit to be called an Apostle, because I persecuted the Church of God” 1 Corinthians 15:8-10 It is possible that Paul thought back with regret for not having been in the faith sooner and for having persecuted the Christians. Besides that, he was the last of anyone to have seen Jesus Christ.

Lloyd-Jones writes, “He did not spend the rest of his life sitting in a corner and saying, ‘I am the last to come in. Why did I do that? How could I have rejected Him?’ What struck him was the amazing grace that brought him in at all. And so he entered into the new life with tremendous zeal, and though ‘last of all’ yet, in a sense, he became the first.”

“ ‘I am what I am’ whatever the past may have been. It is what I am that matters. What am I? I am forgiven, I am reconciled to God by the Blood of His Son upon the Cross. I am a child of God, I am adopted into God’s family, and I am an heir with Christ.”

Then Lloyd-Jones takes us to Matthew 20 and the parable of the vineyard workers. In that parable, those who worked only the last hour of the day got the same pay as those who had worked from the morning. “Those men were the last to enter the vineyard, it was the eleventh hour, but they were in. That was thing that counted. They had been taken hold of, they had been employed, they had been brought in. It is the being in that matters, not when you come in, or how you come in.”

In a later portion of the chapter he writes, “Go back again to the parable. He does not count service as other people do. He is interested in the heart. We are interested in time, we all clock in and count the time we have spent, the work we have done. Like the first men in the parable we claim to have done all, and boast of the time we have spent in the work. And if we are not among those who went in at the beginning we are concerned because we have not done this and that, and because we have missed all this time. Our Lord is not interested in our work in this way. It is the widow’s mite He is interested in. It is not the amount of money, it is the woman’s heart. And it is the same in that parable in the twentieth of Matthew. For the same reason He gave the people who had been in the vineyard for only one hour the same as He gave to those who had been in all day.”

Often when we focus on our discouragement for not having accomplished this or that, we are actually preoccupied with our self and what we have missed or what we could have contributed to the cause. “What are they doing? They are still judging themselves instead of leaving judgment to God. They lash themselves and scarify themselves metaphorically because they were so late and so long, and they go on condemning themselves. They appear to be very humble and full of contrition, but it is a mock modesty, it is a self-concern. Listen to Paul saying the self-same thing in the fourth chapter of first Corinthians. ‘Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required in stewards that a man be found faithful. But with me it is a very small thing that I should be judged of you or of man’s judgment; yea (and this is one of the greatest things Paul ever said), yea, I judge not mine own self; for I know nothing by myself; yet am I not hereby justified; but He that judgeth me is the Lord’. As Christians we must leave our judgment to Him. He is the Judge and you have no right to waste His time or your own time and energy in condemning yourself. Forget yourself, leave the judgment to Him; get on with the work.”

I hope that this short summary of chapter 6 of Lloyd-Jones’ book Spiritual Depression has been helpful. It has to me. This is a good book to own to strengthen your own Christian life and to help you be of help to others who may be discouraged in life.

Memorization Monday - Resources - Grace

2 Corinthians 9:8

And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.

Hymn of the Week -- Rejoice the Lord is King

Rejoice, the Lord is King! by Charles Wesley

Rejoice, the Lord is King! Your Lord and King adore;
Mortals give thanks and sing, and triumph evermore;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Jesus, the Savior, reigns, the God of truth and love;
When He had purged our stains He took His seat above;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

His kingdom cannot fail, He rules o'er earth and heaven,
The keys of death and hell are to our Jesus given;
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

He sits at God's right hand till all His foes submit,
And bow to His command, and fall beneath His feet:
Lift up your heart, lift up your voice;
Rejoice, again I say, rejoice!

Rejoice in glorious hope! Jesus the Judge shall come,
And take His servants up to their eternal home.
We soon shall hear th'archangel's voice;
The trump of God shall sound, rejoice!

Memorization Monday - Resources - Grace

1 Corinthians 1:4-5 I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given to you by Christ Jesus, that you were enriched in everything by Him in all utterance and all knowledge.

....from Navigators Topical Memory Plan

Hymn of the Week - Complete in Thee

Complete in Thee by Aaron Robarts

Complete in Thee! no work of mine
May take, dear Lord, the place of Thine;
Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
And I am now complete in Thee.

• Yea, justified! O blessed thought!
  And sanctified! Salvation wrought!
  Thy blood hath pardon bought for me,
  And glorified, I too, shall be!

Complete in Thee—no more shall sin,
Thy grace hath conquered, reign within;
Thy voice shall bid the tempter flee,
And I shall stand complete in Thee.

Complete in Thee—each want supplied,
And no good thing to me denied;
Since Thou my portion, Lord, wilt be,
I ask no more, complete in Thee.

Dear Savior! when before Thy bar
All tribes and tongues assembled are,
Among Thy chosen will I be,
At Thy right hand—complete in Thee.

Source: http://www.hymnal.net/hymn.php/h/328#ixzz1J8zJhqzJ

What is Faith?

Our adult Sunday School class last Sunday was studying the topic of “Faith” from Hebrews 11. What is faith? Many times we hear someone on television after some crisis speaking about the fact that their faith helped them through the situation. But often we don’t hear about who or what the faith was in. Doesn’t faith require some object? Isn’t faith in God or what God says different from faith in faith?

According to Hebrews 11:6, without faith it is impossible to please God. Why? Because it’s necessary to believe that God exists and that he rewards those who diligently seek him. There is an object to faith, namely God and his word.

So how does the Bible define faith? In Hebrews 11:1 we learn that faith is the assurance or confidence of things hoped for and the proof or conviction of things not seen. Notice the focus on “not seen”. As Romans 8:24 says, “hope that is seen is not hope.” Similarly faith isn’t faith if the object or fulfillment of the promise is seen.

It’s interesting to note the continuing nature of “not seeing.” Verse 13 (and also verse 39) tell us that the individuals who are being highlighted in this passage died in faith, “not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar.” In other words faith accomplishes many things, but does not necessarily bring the fulfillment of the promise the faith was based on.

What it does bring however is what is mentioned in verse 2. Those who lived and died in faith received a good testimony. That means they received the commendation for their faithful lives. We can see this in 4 for example where Abel is praised for his faith through which he “was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts.” In the next verse Enoch was commended as having pleased God

Would you like to be commended by God for your faith? In order to please God in this way you must be a person who believes God and believes he rewards those who diligently seek him. A person of faith is a person who knows and believes the promises of God and lives accordingly even when he can’t see the reality of it all with his eyes. This is what the people listed in Hebrews 11 had accomplished and their testimony should encourage us to follow their example.

Memorization Monday - Resources - God's Presence

John 16:13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.

Hymn of the Week -- Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder

Let Us Love and Sing and Wonder by John Newton

(Jars of Clay has a new more modern setting for this hymn that is very good.)

1. Let us love and sing and wonder
Let us praise the Savior’s name
He has hushed the law’s loud thunder
He has quenched Mount Sinai’s flame
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has brought us nigh to God

2. Let us love the Lord Who bought us
Pitied us when enemies
Called us by His grace and taught us
Gave us ears and gave us eyes
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He has washed us with His blood
He presents our souls to God

3. Let us sing though fierce temptation
Threatens hard to bear us down
For the Lord, our strong salvation,
Holds in view the conqu’ror’s crown
He, Who washed us with His blood,
He, Who washed us with His blood,
He, Who washed us with His blood,
Soon will bring us home to God

4. Let us wonder grace and justice
Join and point to mercy’s store
When through grace in Christ our trust is
Justice smiles and asks no more
He Who washed us with His blood
He Who washed us with His blood
He Who washed us with His blood
Has secured our way to God

5. Let us praise and join the chorus
Of the saints enthroned on high
Here they trusted Him before us
Now their praises fill the sky
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou hast washed us with Thy blood
Thou art worthy Lamb of God

The Joy of Christ

In John 17, Jesus prayed, "that my joy might be fulfilled in themselves." Marcus Rainsford in his book, "Our Lord Prays for His Own", discusses this phrase:

"My joy" as being His own joy. When He speaks of the peace He bestows upon His people, it is "my peace I give unto you"; when He speaks of the rest into which He introduces them, it is "my rest"; when He speaks of the strength He imparts to them, it is "my strength"; when He speaks of the life He bestows upon them, it is His own, "I am...the Life"; when He speaks of the way opened out for them, "I am the way"; when He speaks of the fullness He supplies to them, it is "His fullness'; and of the grace which supplies it, it is "my grace." So here when He speaks of the joy He would have His people possessed of, it is "my joy." What was His joy? God Himself was His joy. If David could say in Psalm 43, "I will go...to God, my exceeding joy," how much more the Lord Jesus Christ! His God was His joy; God, as His own God, was His joy. He only knew Him fully that He might rejoice in Him. The only begotten Son, which was in the bosom of the Father, alone knew the Father, so as fully to apprehend how much ground of joy was in Him.

The doing of that Father's will was His joy; the fulfilling of all that Father's pleasure for the salvation of His people was His joy; the being in Himself all in all -- the Mediator between God and man--was his joy. The fullness and freeness of His salvation--the fact that all power in heaven and earth was committed to him for men was His joy! the constancy and complacency of His Father's love to Him, and to His people, which He knew so well and so deeply was His joy; the gift of His people to Him was His joy; their union to Himself for their full enjoyment of grace here, and their full possession of glory hereafter was His joy; and these things I speak in the world, that they might have "My joy fulfilled in themselves."

Excerpt from "Our Lord Prays for His Own" by Marcus Rainsford. Moody Press, Chicago, 1950, pp 242-243

Thinking Biblically in a Chaotic World - Part 4

In the final article on the question of how we should think when faced with all of the crises that are going on now in the world, I’d like give a short answer to the question, “Why do bad things happen?” Countless books have been written on this subject and I don’t claim to have all of the answers. But I do have some thoughts that might give you tools do think about this subject.

The Bible tells us that when God made the world and mankind, everything was good. We learn very quickly that that situation did not last very long. Satan, in order to undermine God and his glory, attacked mankind with the offer of being like God. Eve took the bait as did Adam her husband. We learn then that the whole created order was cursed by God. In Romans 8:19-22 we read, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now.”

Since the curse things die. Since the curse there is pain and suffering. Since the curse things wear out and degrade.

We groan because we know things should be better. The pain we feel physically and the aging process all testify to the fact that things are less than ideal. The fact that we can picture a better situation is a sign that there is in fact a better life. We’re just not there yet.

Why are there wars? James 4:1 tells us, “What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel.” In other words it’s sin that causes this.

Why are there earthquakes, tsunamis, tornados and hurricanes? Isn’t it because God has cursed nature? Things are not as they were originally created. Creation is groaning.

But why would a good God let these things happen? That is the question of the ages. My thought is that God has cursed this world and he will continue to allow those effects work themselves out according to his plan until the end when he renews everything. According to Romans 8 creation waits until the glorious liberty of the children of God. In that final day when the resurrection comes and God sets up his kingdom, things will be made right. Until then we live in a world affected by man’s fall and the consequences that flow from it.

How are we to live in light of all of this? I would say, first, avoid cynicism. Do not succumb to the thought that all is hopeless. Remember God is in control and is acting lovingly and for his glory.

Second, avoid fatalism. Fatalism is the view that everything is predetermined and unalterable so why try. Even though God is sovereign, the Bible never encourages a fatalistic attitude.

Third, pray. Pray for your leaders. Pray for those suffering from tragedies. Pray for your family that each one may come to know Christ and his salvation personally. Pray for God’s will to be done on earth as it is in heaven. Pray for the glory of God to triumph.

Thinking Biblically in a Chaotic World - Part 3

How are Christians supposed to think about the seemingly chaotic events going on all around us? We are faced with economic hardships, natural disasters and wars. What is going on and what is God doing?

In the past two posts we have looked at the political side of things as well as the natural world. Today we look at this from another point of view.

In Romans 8:28 we read, “God works all things together for good, for them who love God, for those who are the called according to his purpose.” No matter how things seem as to how bad they are for us, we should become cynics and think that God is somehow out to hurt us. Look at what he told Jeremiah in 29:11. “I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” No matter how things look around us, we must focus on the truth. God is working for the good of his children. That does not mean there will be no hardship. What it does mean is that we are to glory in tribulations because we know the fruit that that hardship will produce in our lives. (Romans 5:3)

In addition to his promise to work for our good, God is also doing all things for his glory. In Isaiah 48:11 he says that he will not give his glory to anyone else. In Isaiah 46:10 he says that he will be exalted among the nations.

God is at the pinnacle. There is no one else equal to him. He is the ever-existent one who created everything else. He is not one among equals. Because of who he is and because of his character, he expects and should receive the glory and honor that is due. Everything he does is ultimately for that purpose. In Revelation 11:13 a future earthquake is foretold. This earthquake will kill 7,000 people, but the remaining people will fear and give God glory. He deserves all of the glory and honor we as mere humans can muster.

Besides working for our good and his glory we need to remember that God does what he does based on his own timetable. He is never late and he is never early. It was just at the right time that Christ died for us. (Romans 5:6) There is an interesting prophecy in Daniel 11 regarding certain kings and battles that are to come. Over and over the author uses the phrase “at the time appointed.” That’s because God not only controls everything, but he does so based on a time table known only to him.

So as we look around us and see so many things happening that seem to be out of control, we need to remember that God is working out his purposeful plan for the good of his people, for the glory of his name and according to a timeframe of his planning. That should give us a great deal of confidence and courage to face whatever may lie ahead.

Memorization Monday - Resources - God's Presence

Hebrews 13:5 Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."

Hymn of the Week - Day by Day

Day by day, and with each passing moment,
Strength I find to meet my trials here;
Trusting in my Father's wise bestowment,
I've no cause for worry or for! fear.
He, whose heart is kind beyond all measure,
Gives unto each day what He deems best,
Lovingly its part of pain and pleasure,
Mingling toil with peace and rest.

Every day the Lord Himself is near me,
With a special mercy for each hour;
All my cares He fain would bear and cheer me,
He whose name is Counsellor and Pow'r.
The protection of His child and treasure
Is a charge that on Himself He laid;
"As thy days, thy strength shall be in measure,"
This the pledge to me He made.

Help me then, in every tribulation,
So to trust Thy promises, O Lord,
That I lose not faith's sweet consolation,
Offered me within Thy holy Word.
Help me, Lord, when toil and trouble meeting,
E'er to take, as from a father's hand,
One by one, the days, the moments fleeting,
Till with Christ the Lord I stand.

Thinking Biblically in a Chaotic World - Part 2

Given the perils we face in this world, how are we to think? Yesterday we looked at God’s control over nations. Today we examine God’s control over nature. Look for example at Job 38. In verse 8 we read “Or who shut in the sea with doors, when it burst forth and issued from the womb; when I made the clouds its garment, and thick darkness its swaddling band; when I fixed my limit for it, and set bars and doors; when I said, ‘This far you may come, but no farther, and here your proud waves must stop!’”

As you read these chapters in Job, you see that God is in control of all of nature. It all responds to his command. Weren’t the disciples amazed when they said of Christ, “Even the wind and the waves obey him?”

In Matthew 10:29 we read “Are not two sparrows sold for a copper coin? And not one of them falls to the ground apart from your Father’s will.”

So we see that the sea and the wind and even the death of sparrows is all under God’s control and these things happen according to his will. We don’t claim to understand the reasons for God’s actions at many points, but we should never say that things are out of control. God has an active role in the world and manages it according to his will.

So whether it is political, international activity or the seemingly wild ways of “nature” we know that God is at work. He is worthy to be praised and feared for who he is and for what he has done.

Thinking Biblically in a Chaotic World

How should we as Christians be thinking when it seems like everything in the world is falling apart? I was asked to speak last night at our Wednesday service and thought it might be helpful for us to discuss this topic. Here is some of what I mentioned to the people there.

1. Be sure to think about what is true. The Bible tells us in John 8:32 that the truth will set us free. That means free from the bondage of sin, but also from the bondage of worry and fret that so often overwhelms us. Paul also reminds us in Philippians 4:8 that we should set our mind on things that are true, lovely, etc. So often we are inclined to listen to our inner self telling us all that is wrong and ugly. God tells us to dwell on the things that our true. As Christians we believe that we find the truth in the Scriptures. So that is where our thoughts should be directed.

2. One of the first truths that we need to come to grips with is that God is in control of all things, not just aware of them. I have had many well-meaning people tell me that what encourages them is that God knows what is going on. Frankly, it doesn’t help me a lot to know that God knows about the wars or the earthquakes or the tsunami. I’d be satisfied with that if that is what the Bible teaches.

The Bible teaches that God is in control of all, not just aware. In Daniel 4 verses 31, 34 and 35 we read: “the Most High rules in the kingdom of men, and gives it to whomever He chooses.” “His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and his kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; he does according to his will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain his hand or say to him, ‘What have you done?’”

In Psalm 75:6, 7 we read, “For exaltation comes neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the judge; he puts down one, and exalts another.”

Some other passages you might look at are Isaiah 45:1, 7, 12 and Isaiah 7:18. In both of these passages we learn that God uses ungodly kings for his glory to accomplish his will among men.

What these passages teach us is that the person in power in any country is put there by God for his own purposes. As Christians, we should believe this because that is what the Bible teaches, but we realize that this poses problems for many people because of the tyrannical and ungodly nature of many rulers in the world. However, what we need to remember is that we don’t get to choose or design the kind of God that fits our image of what God should be like. The God who exists has chosen to reveal himself through his word. He is as he is and we need to accept that and worship and obey him accordingly.

Tomorrow we’ll look at God’s control over nature.

Memorization Monday - Resources - God's Presence

Acts 2:25 - For David says concerning Him: "I foresaw the Lord always before my face, For He is at my right hand, that I may not be shaken."

Hymn of the Week -- And Can It Be?

This hymn by Charles Wesley is one of my favorite. I'm sure I have posted it before, but wanted to do so again. In the last stanza it says, "Bold I approach the eternal throne..." In the book of Hebrews, God says that the way is open into the Holy of Holies where God dwells. Under the Old Covenant, only the High Priest could enter and then only once a year. Now God himself encourages us to enter boldly. We would do well to take Him up on that invitation.

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood?
Died He for me, who caused His pain—
For me, who Him to death pursued?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?
Amazing love! How can it be,
That Thou, my God, shouldst die for me?

’Tis mystery all: th’Immortal dies:
Who can explore His strange design?
In vain the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore,
Let angel minds inquire no more.
’Tis mercy all! Let earth adore;
Let angel minds inquire no more.

He left His Father’s throne above
So free, so infinite His grace—
Emptied Himself of all but love,
And bled for Adam’s helpless race:
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!
’Tis mercy all, immense and free,
For O my God, it found out me!

Long my imprisoned spirit lay,
Fast bound in sin and nature’s night;
Thine eye diffused a quickening ray—
I woke, the dungeon flamed with light;
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.
My chains fell off, my heart was free,
I rose, went forth, and followed Thee.

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.
Bold I approach th’eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

The Earthquake -- A Reminder

As I was watching video from this morning's earthquake in Japan, I was thinking about how massive the earth must be when an earthquake of that magnitude can do so much damage and yet I not feel it here in Michigan. I've been in only one earthquake and that was a very minor one in Illinois of all places. I was in the language lab on the 3rd or 4th floor of Blanchard Hall, the oldest building on the campus of Wheaton College. When the earthquake hit, the headsets all started swinging back and forth and since it was such an old building we all thought it might be best to head for ground level. But just as fast as it hit, it was over.

All of this contemplation of earthquakes also reminded me of the verses in Haggai 2:6-7 where God says, "For thus says the Lord of hosts: Once more (it is a little while) I will shake heaven and earth, the sea and dry land; and I will shake all nations, and they shall come to the Desire of All Nations, and I will fill this temple with glory, says the Lord of hosts." Imagine the power of God when you witness the power of the large earthquake in Japan. God says He is going to shake heaven and earth. In Mark 13:24 God says, "But in those days, after that tribulation, the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars of heaven will fall, and the powers in the heavens will be shaken. Then they will see the Son of Man coming in the clouds with great power and glory."

Whether we like to believe it or not, God is at some point going to judge the world. I'm not saying today's earthquake has anything to do with that. I'm saying it is a reminder that God with his power is going to shake everything and it will not be pretty. Sin is a taboo word in our culture, but God is displeased by our conduct. The great news is that Jesus Christ took the punishment for us and is willing to grant us forgiveness based on Christ's death in our place. God can thus be just and forgiving at the same time.

Memorization Monday - Resources - Wisdom

1 Corinthians 1:30 And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption.

Topic titles taken from Navigators Topical Memory System

http://www.navigators.org/us/

Memorization Monday - Resources - Wisdom

James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him.

Topic titles taken from Navigators Topical Memory System

http://www.navigators.org/us/