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In Uncertain Times, We Serve a Certain God
We are living not only in interesting times but uncertain times. Businesses are closing and laying people off until the Coronavirus pandemic is over. Then, there is a question of if they can reopen after it is over. Hospitals are becoming overwhelmed. People are called to shelter in place and enact ‘social distancing’. Workplaces are activating business continuity plans by having employees work from home. All of this is being done in the name of safety and in an attempt to protract the virus’s effect. Many are saying that they’ve never seen anything like this before. They are calling these times, unprecedented.
Though these times may be new to us, they are not unprecedented.
They have happened before. Our ancestors saw them with smallpox and the Black
Plague. While these times are new to us and may have caught us off guard, they
did not take God by surprise. (For more on this, check out my blog, “God and the Coronavirus”.) What is His message to us? We are not to be afraid for He is
with us. This message will only appeal to those who are with Him because those
are the only ones to whom it is true.
The Bible records many times in Israel’s history that the Lord had
to encourage His people in times of trouble. There were times when He told them
to ‘fear not for I am with you’. Other times, He merely demonstrated His power
to show His presence. One such time was the parting of the Red Sea, as
recounted in Exodus 14.
As the Hebrews marched from Egypt to the Red Sea, they later
learned that they were being pursued by Pharaoh and the Egyptian army. Fearful,
they approached Moses and asked why he brought them out there to die. “Were
there not graves in Egypt that you have taken us away to die in the
wilderness?” Moses tried to comfort the people by telling them that the
Egyptians they feared today would never be seen again. Then the Lord told Moses
to command the people to go forward and to stretch out his staff and divide the
Sea. The Sea parted. The people crossed. The Egyptians drowned. That day, God
gained glory. The Hebrews feared the Lord.
Isaiah 7 recounts an attempted overthrow of Jerusalem. The Lord
had to comfort His people during the attack on the city, which was led by the
northern kingdom, Israel, and their neighbor, Damascus. The city was
surrounded. Supplies were cut off. King Ahaz was assured defeat was inevitable.
(Put yourself in their shoes. Can you imagine how you would have felt having
your city/town surrounded by an army that meant you harm, and no one was
willing to help you? Can you imagine the fear, the uncertainty? Even the king
felt defeated.) Isaiah went to King Ahaz and told him to be strong because the
Lord was with him and that he could ask for a sign. Adopting false humility,
Ahaz refused to ask for a sign. So, Isaiah gave him a sign anyway:
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and
shall call His name Immanuel.[i] 15 Curds and
honey He shall eat, that He may know to refuse the evil and choose the good. 16 For before the Child shall know to refuse the
evil and choose the good, the land that you dread will be forsaken by both
her kings. 17 The Lord will bring the king of Assyria upon you and
your people and your father’s house—days that have not come since the day
that Ephraim departed from Judah.”
The child was to be named Immanuel. The child’s name and presence
were physical proof that God was with them. He was fighting for them. What a
comfort this should have been to Ahaz.
Today’s believers have that same comfort. We have the Holy Spirit
living within us. He is God with us. Paul reminds us that “God has not given us
a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and a sound mind (1 Timothy 1:7).” Again
in Philippians 4:6-7, Paul instructs us not to worry or stress out over
anything, “but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
make [our] request known to God; and the peace of God will guard [our] hearts
and minds through Christ Jesus.” (I’ll write more about God’s peace next week.)
History has shown time and time again that God has been there for His
people. He has protected Israel
though many have tried to eradicate her. The church still exists though many
have tried to bring about her demise. Nations have come and gone. Viruses and
plagues have come and gone. Disasters have come and gone. The one thing that
has remained constant: God, the Maker of heaven and earth.
He is Jehovah, the Great I AM. He is the Ancient of Days. He is
sovereign. He is in control. He is the Lover and Pursuer of our souls. He is a
God of grace and mercy. He is the same; yesterday, today, and forever. He does
not change. He will be with us. He is a Sure God in these unsure times. He is a
God of consistency in times that are ever changing.
Turn to Him. He is a sure bet. He is a firm
Foundation in unstable times.
God and the Coronavirus
Here is a controversial question for you: Did God send the Coronavirus? The short answer is yes. I will give you two reasons why.
First, God is sovereign. He is in control of every molecule in this universe. If it was not His will that the virus come, it would not have come. So, whether He sent it or allowed it (to me, it’s semantics), He is the reason it is here. (See my blog: God Is Ultimately Responsible for All Suffering.)
Second, God did send plagues in the Old Testament. Exodus 8-12 records nine plagues the Lord sent through the land of Egypt when Pharaoh would not let the Israelites go. Exodus 32 records God sending a plague among the Israelites after they worshiped the Golden Calf. In Numbers 16, the Lord sent a plague among the people in response to their rebellion against Moses and Aaron. It only stopped after Aaron put incense from the altar into a censer and went and stood in the midst of the congregation. Even then, over 14,000 people had died.
One particular plague I want to draw your attention to is Numbers 21. It is arguable if this could be called a plague, but the effects are the same. Because the people spoke against God and against Moses, God sent fiery serpents among them to bite them. Every, or nearly every, person who was bit, died. When the people repented, the Lord told Moses how to stop the plague. He was to create a bronze serpent and place it on a pole. Whenever a person was bitten, if they looked at the bronze serpent, they would be healed and live.
Jesus referred to this incident in John 3. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 16 For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” Why did He refer to this incident in speaking of Himself?
Just as there were likely some in the Wilderness who were bitten and who did not look to the bronze serpent to be healed, there are many now who are under sins judgment and who will not look to Jesus Christ to be saved. Looking at the Bronze Serpent was the only remedy God provided as a cure for the bite of the fiery serpents. By looking at the Bronze Serpent, they would live and not die. There was no salve, no magic incantation that would help them. Only looking at the Bronze Serpent would save them.
Similarly, looking to Jesus Christ is the only Remedy God provided as a cure for the sting of sin. By looking to Jesus Christ, we would live eternally and not perish. There are no good works nor good nature that will help us. Only looking to Jesus Christ will save us.
Did God send (or allow) the Plague? Yes. Why? It is hard to say. No one here knows fully the mind of God. But He may have done it for the same reasons He did it to the Egyptians and the Israelites—disobedience and rebellion. He may have sent it as punishment and as a warning. Our world is becoming so full of people rebelling against the command and the Person of God. Therefore, He sent a plague among us to call us to repentance before it is too late. Leviticus 26:21 says, “Then, if you walk contrary to Me, and are not willing to obey Me, I will bring on you seven time more plagues, according to your sins.”
One thing the Coronavirus has done is to cause people to reach out to God. Jeremiah 29:13 says, “And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart.” Could a worldwide revival be on the way? Possibly. Or sadly, we may miss the warning God has sent us and do as we did after 9/11, go back to our sinful ways once the crisis passes.
Reach out to God while it is not too late. Recognize we are facing eternal death because of sin and only Jesus Christ is the cure. Trust that when He died 2000+ years ago on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins. All we have to do is believe that He was Who He said He was and that He did what He said He came to do—to give His life as a ransom for many.
Look to Jesus and receive the only Remedy God has provided us to escape eternal death and receive eternal life.
Who is God? Part III
One of the oldest questions ever asked since the creation of the universe must have been, “Who is God?” From the dawn of civilization, people have posited the fact that this creation must have a Creator. They understood that all this did not come from nothing. According to the Bible, this Creator made Himself known to His creation in the Garden of Eden. But because of man rebellion in the Garden, he has been separated, cut off even, from his Creator. Yet, God did not leave Himself without a testimony. Through over 40 writers on three continents over thirty-five hundred years, God gave His people a personal testimony of Who He is. Over the last two posts, we have discovered some of God’s self-witness: some of who God says He is. In this post, we will look at four more attributes of God—Creator, Judge, Love, and Triune.
Creator. He is the Maker, the Creator of all things, both the heavens and the earth, things seen and unseen. Genesis 1:1 tell us that “In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.” Its companion passage, John 1:1-3 says of Jesus, “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” Colossians 1:16-17 adds, “For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. 17 And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Psalm 24:1-2 reminds us that “The earth is the Lord’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, 2 for he has founded it upon the seas and established it upon the rivers.” When Job questioned God as why he was suffering, God asked him:
“Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?
Tell me, if you have understanding.
5 Who determined its measurements—surely you know!
Or who stretched the line upon it?
6 On what were its bases sunk,
or who laid its cornerstone,
7 when the morning stars sang together
and all the sons of God shouted for joy? (Job 38:4-7)
Romans 1 accuses mankind in that we know God is the Creator but we (evil mankind) suppress that truth and come up with lies to explain creation so that they do not have to acknowledge Someone to whom they will one day give an account. Men would rather believe a lie and exchange the glory of God for foolishness. Believing and professing themselves to be wise they become foolish and futile in their thinking. They attempt to explain away God and creation with nonsense and even compel others to believe it.
Judge. As the creation, we must give an account to the Creator for what we have done with the resources (life, talent, treasure) He has given us. God will judge us based on those works. The Bible teaches that only that which is done for Christ will last. All the righteousness and works of the wicked are as filthy rags before a holy God (Isaiah 64:6). God must punish sin or His justice is perverted. A Stalin or a Hitler or a Bin Laden should not inherit the same heaven as a Paul or a Timothy or a Billy Graham. If ‘good’ people went to heaven, the heaven would become polluted like earth. God will judge the wicked. They will suffer eternally because eternally is how long they’ll live.
The question has been asked, why would a loving God send people to Hell? The reason there is a hell in the first place is to punish the devil and his angels because of their rebellion against God (Isaiah 14:12-15). The reason people will go to hell is because, since they share in the devil’s rebellion—rejection of God’s authority, they will share in his punishment.
God will judge us, His Saints, as righteous, not based on any work that we have done, but based on the work Christ did on the cross. Isaiah 1 says, “Though our sins be as scarlet, they shall be white as snow.” 1 Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us that we may become the righteousness of God in Him.”
Love. Many know the phrase, God is love. Love is just one attribute of God. Yes, He loves us. It does not mean that He has some warm, fuzzy feeling for us but that He chose to act in our best interest whether we deserved it or not. His loves us unconditionally and He demonstrated it for us sacrificially. Unconditional love does not mean that God loves us just the way we are and we do not have to change. On the contrary, God loves us the way we are and because of His love for us, we will change for we are called to be confirmed into the image of His Son (Romans 8:29). Conformation means change. He loves us just the way we are but loves us too much to leave us the way we are. He knows the plans He has for us. He knows what He made us to be. We are a love gift to His Son and God does not give junk gifts. Yes, He loves us. He saved us from ourselves and from a fate we rightly deserve. But love does not mean that God overlooks sin. It is not his will that any should perish but that all would come to the knowledge of the truth. He made it possible for people to do that through His greatest demonstration of love—His Son, whom He sent to be punished for our sins so we can be rewarded with His righteousness.
Trinity. Of all of God’s attributes or characteristics, that of being three Persons in one is the most difficult to understand or explain. Three persons in one? Do Christians worship three Gods? No. Christianity is a monotheistic faith. We worship one God. “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one.” God is one in essence but manifests Himself in three different persons—the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Each of them were present at creation (Genesis1:1-2, John 1:1-2). Each were present at Jesus’ baptism (Matthew 3:13-17). We are to baptize in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (not names). One God—three individual manifestations.
How can God be one in three? I believe the grandest illustration is man. In Psalm 8:5, the Psalmist writes, “You have made them a little lower than the angels and crowned them with glory and honor.” The term angels, is Elohim, God. So the verse could also be interpreted, “You have made them a little lower than God and crowned them with glory and honor.” In Genesis 1:26, God said, Let Us make man in Our image and after Our likeness…” There are many ways we are made like God. We have the power of choice. We have emotions. We can think. We are self-aware. We know the difference between good and evil. But another way we are made like God, I believe, is our makeup. We are made triune beings—not to the extent of God, but we are soul and spirit that live in flesh. Paul alluded to this in Romans 7:
21 So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. 22 For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being (spirit), 23 but I see in my members (flesh) another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.
We believe in the Trinity even if we do not understand it. We pray to the Father through the Spirit (or in the Spirit) in the name of Jesus. We recognize that salvation is being reconciled to the Father through the Son and later indwelt by the Spirit. Jesus said in John 15, my Father and I will make our home in you. How will they do this? They will do it through the Holy Spirit.
This is just a short study on who God is. As someone pointed out, even throughout eternity, we will never fully understand God—mainly because we are the creation and He is the Creator—our minds will only understand so much and yet our God is so great!
Who is God? Part 1
One of the oldest questions ever asked since the creation of the universe must have been, “Who is God?” From the dawn of civilization, people have posited the fact that this creation must have a Creator. They understood that all this did not come from nothing. According to the Bible, this Creator made Himself known to His creation in the Garden of Eden. But because of man’s rebellion in the Garden, he has been separated, cut off even, from his Creator. Yet, God did not leave Himself without a testimony. Through over 40 writers on three continents over thirty-five hundred years, God gave His people a personal testimony of Who He is. Over the next few entries, I hope to share some of God’s self-witness, His personal testimony, if you will. This is by no means an exhaustive list but some of the more necessary attributes of God.
Eternal. God has always been and will always be. Try wrapping your mind around that. Aristotle said He is the uncaused Cause. He has no beginning. He has no end. He is self-existent. “Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God (Psalm 90:2).” God could not be created because there would be something greater than Him. God’s power of being is within Himself. This is why He identified Himself to Moses as, I AM. He is. He is being. He is life. From Him comes all life. There never was a time when God was not and there never will be a time when God will not be. He is eternal. Because He breathed into us the breath of life, there will never be a time when we will not be either.
Holy. God is consecrated unto purity. God is set apart from His creation. He is the utter otherness, wholly different. He is absolutely pure and sinless. Habakkuk 1:13 starts, “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong…” “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, but as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy” (1 Peter 1:14-16).” There is none lik
e Him.
Immutable. When I ask people what this means, most of the replies I get involve God not being quiet or us not being able to ‘mute’ Him. Perhaps this speaks more of the effects of society on us with mute buttons on cell phones and remote controls rather than a vocabulary issue. Immutable comes from the Latin prefix “im” meaning not and “muta” meaning change. Immutable means God does not change like the wind. He is not like man who can be swayed with persuasive arguments or eloquent pleading or emotional leanings. “For I the Lord do not change; therefore you, O children of Jacob, are not consumed (Malachi 3:6).” There are times in the Bible when God seems to allow Himself to be “persuaded” when all along He knew what He was going to do. Abraham with Christ regarding Sodom, Moses and God regarding the Golden Calf, Jesus and Bartimaeus, etc. He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever. That’s the blessing. Who wants to serve a God who is fickle–who is for your today and against you tomorrow? Who wants to approach a God whose mood you cannot predict?
Righteous. God is not fair but He is just. Fair means everyone gets what they deserve. If He was fair, we would all be burning in Hell right now. But, He is just. He is just because He treats us, not based on what we deserve, but based on His great love for us. In His justice, He will balance the scales. We live in a world where justice seems to be perverted. The righteous are mocked and mistreated and the unrighteous seem to get away with murder, literally. The scales will be balanced. We will be rewarded or punished based on what we did with the gifts and the life He gave us. The righteous will rewarded based upon how well we fulfilled the mission He gave us more so that how praised we were before people or how well known we were. I’m convinced that a person who is on their knees, in some room where no one sees them, praying for revival, praying for their nation, praying for their church, praying for the persecuted, praying for their national and spiritual leaders will get more accolades from God than someone who is on the TV leading ‘hundreds to the Lord’. Jesus praised the woman who gave two mites ($.01) more than the Pharisees who were praised for their great giving (Luke 21:1-4). I believe this will be the case because sometimes what we do is for show. Sometimes the work we do is with the wrong motive or the wrong heart. God’s judgment will be just because it will not be based upon what He sees but will be based upon God’s perfect standards and He revelation of our motivations.
No one’s mission field is too small or gift is too small or calling is too small. If you are called to be a parent, then raise your child the best you can in the fear and admonition of the Lord and your reward will be a great as that of any preacher. Martin Luther King, Jr. is reported to have said, ““If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michaelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, ‘Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.” Let the same be said of us of our work for Christ.
Not only will His judgments be fair but His rewards will be fair. Romans 8:18 says that “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” In the end, the scales will be balanced and we will see that it was worth it all.
Apologetics 101
The word, apologetics, sounds a lot like apologize. Though they both have the root word “defense” in common, they mean two entirely different things. Apologetics is the act of defending ones doctrine or beliefs. It comes from 1 Peter 3:15, “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear…” The word, defense, is translated from the Greek words, pros apologia, which means an answer for or a defense of.
Let’s look in depth.
Answer for. There are times when someone may inquire as to what you believe and why you believe it. Why are you a Christian? Why do you believe that Jesus is God? How do you know Jesus was raised from the dead? What do you think your religion is the right one when there are so many? If God is so loving, why did He create Hell? People who want to know more about our faith may ask these questions or questions like them. We need to be prepared always to have answers for their questions. Jesus was asked many times about religion and His doctrine (John 4:1-26, John 14:5, Matthew 19:1-10, 16-26), yet He never shied away from honest questions and neither should His disciples.
Defense of. Jesus had said earlier that the devil was the ruler of this world (system). C. S. Lewis once said that Christians live in enemy-occupied territory. Because the world system is ruled by the devil and occupied by sinful humans, Christians will face persecution (John 16:33). Part of this persecution is the need to defend our faith against skeptics and mockers. Instead of dealing with inquirers, we are dealing with inquisitors. How do you know Jesus is the only way? What makes your religion the correct religion and makes everyone else’s religion false? How do you know there is a God? Why should I believe the Bible when it was written by a bunch of shepherds thousands of years ago? What difference can Jesus who lived two thousand years ago make in my life today? These are all questions that unbelievers and deniers of the faith will ask, not for information but in an attempt to expose us as frauds. Whether standing before mockers or kings, Christians should be able to give a coherent defense of what they believe and why they believe it. The Psalmist writes in Psalm 119:41-42, “Let Your mercies come also to me, O Lord— Your salvation according to Your word. So shall I have an answer for him who reproaches me, For I trust in Your word.” Later he writes, in verse 46, “I will speak of Your testimonies also before kings, And will not be ashamed.”
Argue with. Some in the faith believe that the word, apologia, not only means to defend or give answer to, but also to argue with. It does not. At least, not in the colloquial sense of “to argue” meaning to contend, combat, or strive against, as in a verbal tug-of-war. Christians are not called to argue with anyone to prove a point. You can present an argument, a logical statement of position, without arguing. The idea of defending the faith is so people can enter into the Kingdom because they can see that our faith is not an illogical, blind faith, but one of reason and evidence. You will never argue anyone into the Kingdom. At best, you will turn them off. At worst, you will fortify an enemy of the Cross.
The importance of studying.
God has called and commissioned us to be His witnesses. Part of being a witness is to be able to give an answer to questions that people have about a faith we claim to be so dear to us. In some regards, giving an answer or a defense is giving a testimony. People may be able to argue with facts but they cannot argue with a testimony (unless it is a false one). If you know Christ personally, if you have been transformed by the Holy Spirit, no one can argue with that—unless your life does not reflect it—then it is a false testimony. But if the testimony is real, what argument can a person give against it?
How do we present a cohesive answer or defense of our faith? Any lawyer will tell you that the key to a good defense (or prosecution) is preparation—knowing the ins and outs of the case and the law pertaining to the case. Similarly, a Christian is able to adequately defend him- or herself or to give an answer only by knowing the Word of God and knowing the God of the Word. We should prepare ourselves to give an answer or to defend what we believe, lest we either put Christ to shame or prove ourselves to be false witnesses of Christ.
This type of studying is often called, self-feeding, as compared to being fed. Being fed by others is easier, but studying God’s Word for yourself not only allows you to study what you want at your own pace, but it also allows you to get from the Word the interpretation and application the Spirit gives and not someone else’s. Then you truly own what you’ve learned because you got it directly from the Source (John 16:13-14, 1 Corinthians 2:11-16).
In conclusion, I believe the Apostle Paul said it best: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth (2 Timothy 2:15, ESV).”
Learning to Live with Prosperity
Have You Learned to Live with Prosperity?
‘…for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. 12 I know how to get along with humble means, and I also know how to live in prosperity; in any and every circumstance I have learned the secret of being filled and going hungry, both of having abundance and suffering need. 13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.” – Philippians 4:11b-13
Many of us believe that if we were to win a million dollars, we’d be set for life (even though a million dollars isn’t what it used to be). We would pay off our debts and live off the interest. However, history has taught us that that would not likely be the case. Statistics show that most lottery winners are broke and/or in bankruptcy within 5 years after receiving a lump sum payment. This is likely due to the fact that once we receive the money, all reasoning go out the window. We think our money to be as endless as the sea. Instead of paying off our debts, we buy newer and bigger houses, new luxury cars, take trips, and maybe payoff a debt or two or give some to charity.
I believe this is one reason why God doesn’t bless many of us with wealth. He knows we do not know how to handle it. What would look like a blessing to some could turn out to be a curse to others. Many athletes, entertainment icons, and corporate moguls end up filing bankruptcy shortly after their source of funds dry up because they had not learned the most important principle of money management—to live within their means. Most of them, like us, are usually living either from paycheck to paycheck or living today on tomorrow’s paycheck. When those funds are exhausted, they find that there are still expenses due. Large houses require staff. Luxury vehicles often require expensive maintenance. Entourages need to be paid. Standards of living need to be maintained.
This is likely why I have not been granted much wealth. God knows that I would not have been a good steward of it. {I know better now.} Instead of using it to become debt free so I can be used unencumbered for the Gospel ministry, I would likely have used it to acquire more stuff. Jesus reiterates this truth. If we show ourselves to be faithful in what little we have been given, we show that we would be faithful in the much He would give us.
So how do we learn to live in prosperity? I believe the answer is two-fold. First, we need to ask God to change us so that we will not use His gifts foolishly but wisely. Second, we need to develop an action plan that we will commit to should we be blessed in such a way. We must commit to give at least the first 10 percent to our local church or to the Christian ministry that feeds our spirits. Next, we must to commit to putting a percentage into a savings or investment account. Set money aside for our children’s education. Finally, we list all our bills that we are going to pay off and commit to paying them off. Enjoy the remainder, if any.
Would we be faithful in using any windfall that God blesses us with wisely or foolishly? Are we wisely using the blessings we are currently given? If we take an honest assessment of ourselves, I believe we will understand why we do not have more than we do. But it does not have to stay that way. God does not hate the wealthy but He will not curse us with wealth if it will lead to our destruction. But if we will commit ourselves to Him, I believe it would be His good pleasure to bless us so we can be a blessing.
I believe this saying sums it up: “It’s not what you do with the million if fortune should ere be your lot, but what are you doing at present with the dollar and quarter you got.”
Is There Unfairness in God?
I was listening to a radio broadcast some time ago and I heard a person ask the host a question: Is God unfair in making people spend an eternity paying for sins committed in a finite existence? As I thought about this, I thought about the folly of the question (not the questioner). [He was actually asking a question that was posed to him.] My answer to that question would be this:
First, let’s set aside the fact that eternity has no timetable or measurement as we know it. Suppose you live 100 years and you sinned all of those 100 years then you die? Should you just spend 100 in torment? 200 years? 100 years for each sin? Then when you were released, where would you go? Since outside of Hell (or the Lake of Fire) is the Kingdom of God, that sinful person would then be released into a real hell. He or she would be forced to live an existence they resisted their whole life: living in an eternal worship service!
Secondly, the person who was released from torment would be released with the same spiritual deadness and rebellious nature that they entered Hell with. So when they come out, they would not be more God-honoring but likely more God-hating because of the eons of torment they had to endure. Setting aside the fact that God cannot be in the presence of sin, and that a sinful person cannot abide in His presence, would they then have a desire to worship God? They would more likely decide to go hang by the Crystal Sea than to abide in the presence of God.
Third, the original questioners premise was wrong. Hell was not created for man. Hell was created for the devil and his angels who rebelled against God. When we joined in their rebellion, we earned the right to join in their punishment. Since both angels and people are eternal in nature, the rebellious ones will spend eternity apart from the God who loved and created them.
Romans 9 asks the question, “Is their unrighteousness with God?” Paul answers, “Certainly not!” God will have mercy on whom He will have mercy and compassion on whom He will have compassion. What that says to us is that God is not unfair in causing us to pay eternally for sins committed in this life but that God is gracious in giving us any way out of the punishment for the sins we have committed in this life. Instead of trying to find injustice in God toward us, we should be thankful to the justice He meted out to His Son on our behalf so that we would not have to spend an eternity separated from Him, which is the real torment.
GOD’S GRACE
It is through the writings of the Apostle Paul that we best come to understand the doctrine of Grace. Through Paul’s teachings, we understand that Grace comes by faith, and that the faith that brings Grace comes from God and not from ourselves. We do not work for Grace. If we did then it is not Grace but it is something we earned and therefore not a gift. Paul would open each of his letters to the various churches and to his friends, Timothy, Titus, and Philemon with a blessing of grace and peace. How did Paul come to understand the doctrine of grace? He experienced it.
Saul, Paul’s Jewish name, was a man of two worlds. He was a Jew whose father was likely a Roman because Paul claimed Roman citizenship many times in his writings. He was not only a Jew but a member of the ruling body known as the Pharisees. The Pharisees were the keepers and teachers of the Jewish Law. As a Pharisee, Paul was zealous for the Jewish faith. He was zealous to the point that he was present at the stoning of Stephen (Acts 8:1). He was a persecutor of the church leading men and women to prison and death (Acts 8:3, 22:4). He not only persecuted the church but likely blasphemed Jesus as a heretic and as well as those who followed him (1Timothy 1:13). Though he was such a man, God spared him and used him in a great and powerful way.
God, through His infinite love and great mercy, decided to extend his generosity to Saul by visiting him one day on his was to Damascus. When going to Damascus to arrest the Christians there to bring them back to Jerusalem to be tried and imprisoned (or worse), he was intercepted by Jesus who appeared in a light brighter than the sun. He spoke with a loud voice that knocked Paul off his beast (Acts 9). Through this powerful voice, He asked, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?” Saul responded, “Who are you, Lord?” The voice came back, “I am Jesus whom you are persecuting.” From that day on, Paul was on fire for Jesus and for spreading the Gospel. Why? Because he realized that he had been spared the wrath of God. He realized that he was fighting against the very God he was trying to defend. He realized that his actions warranted death but God had mercy on him. As a result, he could write, “ that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height— to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge…(Ephesians 3:17b-19)”
God’s Grace to us is powered by His love for us. He loved us enough to create us and to desire fellowship with us (Genesis 1:27-28). He loved us enough to tabernacle with us when we were lost in the wilderness of sin (Exodus 40:34, 1 Kings 8:10-13). He loved us enough to tabernacle in us through His Spirit because of the blood of His Son (John 14:15-18, Acts 2:1-4). He loves us enough to allow us to one day tabernacle with Him in the Eternal City (Revelation 21:3). It was God’s Grace that elevated a murderous persecutor and blasphemer like Paul to the role of Apostle, planter of numerous churches, and writer of nearly one half of the New Testament. It was also God’s Grace that elevated a lowly rebel like me to the heights of a saint, a priest, and a king (Revelation 5:10).
Have you experienced God’s grace in your life? Paul, Moses, Abraham, all can tell you that it doesn’t matter what type of background you have. It doesn’t matter what sins or wrongs you have committed. It doesn’t matter how bad you have been or you think you have been. He offers you mercy instead of wrath. He offers you adoption instead of separation. He offers you love. He offers you faith. By trusting in the work of His Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross of Calvary, you, too, can experience the same grace Paul experienced—the same grace every believer has experienced (and continue to experience). God offers grace that leads to eternal life rather than justice that leads to death. Which will you choose?
The Bible – God’s Living Word
This past Sunday, I asked my students in “Sunday School” if they have heard the analogy that the Bible is like an onion. A few of them raised their hands while one of them blurted out, “Like it has different layers.”
“Exactly,” I said. I went on to explain how each time you read the Word it can say different things to you. Later that day, I was thinking of an example I could give them of this. My mind went back to a time when the Lord took me deeper into His Word. During one of my Quiet Times, the Lord took me to John 4. God used this passage to teach me several things. I thought it was a good illustration of how one can dig deep (and even deeper) into God’s Word.
John 4 recounts Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at a well. In this passage Jesus sends the Disciples into town to buy food while He spent some time alone with the woman (a social taboo in many ways). A look at this passage will show three different levels of digging into God’s Word.
Level one, which I call “the surface,” is what one can glean simply from reading the passage. On the surface, the passage is simply a conversion story. It recounts how Jesus meets a woman and through conversation leads her into the realization that He was the promised Messiah she’d been looking for. He does this by overcoming her objections and revealing Himself to her by recounting for her his life story—something only God can do.
Level two goes a little deeper. A level two reading reveals this telling to be more than just a conversion story but a lesson on how Christians are to treat non-believers if they intend to win them to Christ. First, Jesus went to where she was. If the saints are to win the lost, they have to go where the lost are. They can’t just sit in a holy huddle waiting for the lost to come to them. That just is not going to happen. Second, Jesus knew of her past and he let her know that he knew of her past, but He did not demean her for it. Jesus understood that sinners will act like sinners. It stuns me when saints are shocked when sinners act like they do. It’s their nature. It’s all they know. How ironic that saints expect sinners to act like saints while saints think it ok to act like sinners.
A level three study of the text reveals to us the heart of God. Jesus, being God, had to go through Samaria the Bible tells us. The Jews normally would go out of their way to avoid this area but Jesus made a beeline through it to meet a woman at a well during the hottest part of the day. This woman would go to that well during this time because no one else was there. At that time, there would be no leering eyes and muttered talk. This woman was looked down on even by the Samaritans. She was, in effect, the lowest of women among the lowest of society among the lowest of people groups, at least according to Jewish thinking. But God went directly to her and met her personally. Likewise, God calls us to go to the unlovely and the unlovable to demonstrate His love and concern. Who around us is considered the unlovely? Who is considered the unlovable? Who would we consider to be not worth our time or not worthy of heaven? What person or people group has God placed on our heart? Jesus went to this woman and this woman, the least of her people, became His first evangelist, introducing her people to Him while the Disciples stood idly by. God said He would take the foolishness of this world to confound the wise and the weakness to confound the strong. He did that with this woman. Like Moses, Gideon, Jeremiah, the Disciples, Paul—just to name a few—He used this woman to lead an entire city to the Lord. What Billy Graham or Mother Teresa is in our midst waiting to know of the love of God and of the salvation available through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ?
These are by far not the only applications of this passage. I’m certain that as I study it again, God will lead me to other truths. He may have led you to other trusts while you were reading this post. If so, please share so we can all grow from your insights.
Why does the reading of the Word of God produce so many applications? It does so because it is God’s Word. God is living and dynamic and so is anything He creates, including His Word, which, according to Hebrews 4:12, “is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart, NASB.”
Being a Disciple
It is said that a wise person is a lifelong learner. If there is an area that this is true, it is in the Christian life. We are to be lifelong learners of the Word. We should always be prepared to hear what our Heavenly Father has to say to us. How does He speak to us? Primarily, He speaks to us through His Word—the Holy Bible.
For many the Holy Bible is a book gathering dust on a shelf. What a treasure God has given us that we often neglect! God is living and His Word is living that is one reason why every time we read it, we get something new from it. When we approach God’s Word, we should come with the attitude that we are about to have an encounter with our Father, the living God.
When we open us the pages of that Book, God speaks to us. As we read and meditate on what we read, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding. As Jesus said, “[The Spirit] will guide you into all truth (John 16:13).” Once we have an understanding of the Word, we are to put it into practice. This is living righteously.
As we learn and apply the Word of God, our minds begin to change. This is because our minds are being renewed according to knowledge (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 4:23, Colossians 3:10).A change of heart leads to a change of mind. A change of mind leads to a change of behavior.
The problem with self-help and motivational media is that they seek to change only the mind, thus changing the behavior. However, unless there is a heart change, any behavioral change is temporary at best. Now, this is not say that some self-help media do intend to change the heart leading to behavioral change, but only God can change the heart. Once the heart is changed, the behavior changes.
When we study the word and allows the Holy Spirit to put the Word in our hearts, it then become a part of us, inseparable. When this happens, we cannot help but to do it.
Reception is hearing the Word, reading the Word—what does it say.
Comprehension is understanding the Word—what does it mean.
Application is doing the Word—how do I live it.
Cyber-Discipleship 