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Jesus Christ: Unstoppable Hero of the World–Part 2

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…on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.
––Matthew 16:18

God’s plan of redemption and reconciliation is unstoppable. Christ’s ambassadors, his messengers who carry the gospel to the world by the power of the Holy Spirit, will not be stopped by anything hell might throw their way. Jesus promised that the gates of hell will not prevail against the church that Jesus is building.

God mission is clear––to redeem a people for himself. His method to carry the gospel to the world is clear––through the witness of his people.

Christians are Christ’s ambassadors to the world. We represent the King of kings and he has entrusted us with the best message any ambassador has ever delivered. Our mission is the most important any ambassador has ever undertaken.

God Has Tasked Those He Has Redeemed to Declare His Glory Among the Nations.

In Part 1 we saw that as part of his mission, God makes his name great among the nations. If you are a Christian, God has commissioned you to spread God’s fame and proclaim his great work of the Gospel. Your faithful Christian witness aligns your purpose with God’s purpose.

Sing to the Lord a new song;
 sing to the Lord, all the earth.
2 Sing to the Lord, praise his name;
 proclaim his salvation day after day.
3 Declare his glory among the nations,
 his marvelous deeds among all peoples.–Psaalm 96:1–3

“Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
 make known among the nations what he has done,
 and proclaim that his name is exalted.–Isaiah 12:4

The Apostle Paul’s Commission Was for the Sake of Christ’s Name.

Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ––Romans 1:5

But Ananias answered, “Lord, I have heard from many about this man, how much harm he did to Your saints at Jerusalem; and here he has authority from the chief priests to bind all who call on Your name.” But the Lord said to him, “Go, for he is a chosen instrument of Mine, to bear My name before the Gentiles and kings and the sons of Israel; for I will show him how much he must suffer for My name’s sake.” ––Acts 9:13-16

Salvation Is Found In Only One Name

Look how the name of the Lord factors into salvation.

“Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”––Romans 10:13

Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.”––Acts 4:12

Even the Great Commission commands us to baptize in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

God’s Name Is Never to Be Taken In Vain

God’s name and his glory are so important that we are commanded not to take His name in vain. God’s reputation must never be tarnished. The holy must never be confused with the profane.

Jesus teaches us what it means to take his name in vain.

This people honors me with their lips,
but their heart is far from me;
in vain do they worship me,
teaching as doctrines the commandments of men. ––Matthew 15:8–9

John Piper points out that the Bible describes vain as something that is empty, futile, pointless, trivial, inconsequential, insignificant. He goes on to say that, for the Christian, all of life is worship–– “Whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God” (1 Corinthians 10:31). “Whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus” (Colossians 3:17). Therefore, don’t treat God––his name––as vain. 1

God’s Word, God’s truth and God’s commandments are not vain but our substitutes are. Our idols, our plans that don’t match God’s plans and even our routine activities done for our own glory reveal a heart far from God.

We have seen that Scripture proclaims that God will make his name great among the nations. His name is the opposite of trivial, inconsequential, insignificant or any other synonym of vain.

The Purpose of the Gospel and Making God’s Name Great Is to Declare God’s Glory and Secure the Worship of the Redeemed.

Not to us, O Lord, not to us,
 But to Your name give glory. 
Because of Your lovingkindness, because of Your truth.–Psalm 115:1

All nations whom You have made shall come and worship before You, O Lord,
And they shall glorify Your name.–Psalm 86:9

“All the earth will worship You,
 and will sing praises to You;
 They will sing praises to Your name.” –Psalm 66:4

Ambassadors for Christ

Then Jesus came to them and said, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” ––Mathew 28:18–20

Most Christians are familiar with the Great Commision. But have we made the connection between God’s redemptive plan for the world and how the Bible describes us as believers?

For example, Christ’s love compelled the apostle Paul to spread the message that God has reconciled the world to himself. Paul describes himself as an ambassador because he brings God’s message of reconciliation to the lost.

All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.––2 Cor. 5:18–20

When we witness to the world––when we preach the gospel––we implore people on Christ’s behalf to be reconciled to God. We carry Christ’s message. We are ambassadors for his kingdom.

When we obey the Great Commission, we make disciples who go on to make disciples. We not only carry the good news of salvation to the ends of the earth, but we strive to teach new disciples to obey all that Jesus has commanded.

Notice that we carry out the Great Commission under the authority of our King, Jesus. We, like Paul, have been approved by God to be entrusted with the gospel (1 Thess. 2:4). Christians represent Christ’s kingdom to the kingdoms of this world. We are ambassadors with the privilege of delivering the best news, the best message that the world has ever heard!

Light Up the World with the Gospel!

Consider this––when we read in the Sermon on the Mount that we are the light of the world, do we tend to be passive? Do we think that just because we are Christians, pagans will see that we don’t act like they do and ask about our faith? Do we keep to ourselves in our Christian circles hoping the world will notice and ask us about Jesus?

Our light is a reflection of Jesus who is the light of the world. We are not to hide our light under a basket by keeping to ourselves. Instead, we are to put ourselves out into the world like a city on a hill so that our light cannot be hidden. Furthermore, the light of the gospel that we reflect and the good deeds we do when coupled with God’s message of reconciliation, result in bringing glory to God, not to ourselves.

This message of reconciliation that we are entrusted with should be at the heart of our daily living. The saying, “Preach the Gospel at all times and if necessary use words” not only contradicts Scripture (Romans 10:5–17) but is illogical. It is like saying, “feed the hungry, if necessary use food.”

This dovetailing of God’s mission to redeem his elect and our commission to go into all the world and proclaim the gospel, all for the glory of God, should encourage and embolden us.

It’s very easy to hide our light under a basket, even if we know how to share the gospel. I do it all too often. I’m not always ready to share the hope that lies within me with strangers. Sharing with unsaved friends is much easier for me. But that doesn’t mean that I shouldn’t adopt the Apostle Paul’s attitude, who, being unashamed of the gospel, was eager to preach it (Romans 1:15–16). Even so, not everyone is cut out to do door-to-door evangelism. But we all are called to preach the gospel to a lost world. The best method of evangelism is the one you use.

Churches that offer classes on sharing the gospel and organize opportunities to go with others to witness in the community serve their congregations well. Short-term evangelistic mission trips are great ways to see the Holy Spirit work to bring people to Christ and give you confidence that, indeed, Jesus is with you as you carry out the Great Commission.

God Always Keeps His Promises

God the Father said this to God the Son:

Ask of Me, and I will give You
 the nations for Your inheritance, 
and the ends of the earth for Your possession.
––Psalm 2:8

Did Jesus pray this prayer? In what is known as Jesus’ High Priestly Prayer he prays this:

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. ––John 17:1–2

My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, … “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.––John 17:20, 24

Evidently Jesus did ask the Father to give him the nations for his inheritance. And God the Father will keep his promise. Here is the result as foretold in the Bible:

And they sang a new song, saying: “You are worthy to take the scroll
 and to open its seals, because you were slain,
 and with your blood you purchased for God
 persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.

You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
    and they will reign on the earth.”
––Revelation 5:9-10

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!”
––Revelation 7:9–10 (ESV)

Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.
––Matthew 25:34

We should be encouraged to witness because God has promised guaranteed success! Of course not everyone we witness to will place their faith in Christ, but none that God the Father has given to Jesus will reject him. And the end will not come until all whom the Father has given Jesus are saved. (Matthew 24:14)

Share Jesus’ Compassion for the Lost–Going, Sending, Giving

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” ––Matthew 9:35–38

Since there are so many opportinities, so many ripe fields ready for harvest, we should pray for opportunities to share the Gospel as we go about our lives. Then we should expect God to answer our prayers since it is according to his will, and be on the lookout so we can recognize those opportunities when they arise. Pray for boldness to act and to share the gospel because the result isn’t up to us:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes.––Romans 1:16

Pray with confidence, knowing “that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him (1 John 5:14–15).” God’s plans are big. Our prayers should be big too.

We intersect with people almost every day who need Christ. We should prepare ourselves for any opportunity that arises to share the Gospel.

But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.––1 Peter 3:15

Whether you, as ambassadors for Christ, bring his message personally to those around you or bring his message by giving financially to send others or bring his message by your prayers, be encouraged because the fruit of your witnessing, giving and praying will be credited to your eternal, heavenly account. ( See Philippians 4:17; 2 Corinthians 5:18–20)

God’s Pleasure, God’s Glory, Our Gain

God has promised to make his name great among the nations, to bring glory to himself, to reconcile us to himself, to purchase for himself a people from every tribe, language, people and nation, to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, to prepare a place for us to be with him forever, to do away with evil and to wipe away every tear.

It pleases him to do so.

After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. …a bright cloud covered them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased. Listen to him!” ––Matthew 17:1, 2, 5

He does what he pleases.

I make known the end from the beginning,
 from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
 and I will do all that I please.’ ––Isaiah 46:10

God keeps his promises.

“Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and your dominion endures through all generations. The Lord is trustworthy in all he promises and faithful in all he does.” –––Psalm 145:13

He is unstoppable!

  1. John Piper, “How We Take God’s Name in Vain,” Desiring God, April 18, 2021, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-we-take-gods-name-in-vain

Unstoppable Hero of the World

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All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing.
He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?” ––Daniel 4:35

I make known the end from the beginning,
    from ancient times, what is still to come.
I say, ‘My purpose will stand,
    and I will do all that I please.’––Isaiah 46:10

What is God’s unstoppable purpose for the world?

Fixing a Broken World

We live in a broken world and we cannot fix it. Pretending this isn’t the case is the delusion of the fool for the fool says there is no God.

God, in his Word, has revealed to us why the world is broken. Because of the Fall of mankind, because of the diobedience of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, humanity is separated from God. Only if mankind is reconciled to God will there be any hope of healing this broken world. And only God can fix the relationship.

Humanity validated its brokenness in the years following expulsion from the Garden of Eden and demonstrated its inability and unwillingness to act according to its original created purpose. The earth became so corrupt and violent that God destroyed all of mankind except for Noah and his family. Then God repeated to Noah his original command he had given to Adam and Eve to “be fruitful and multiply.”

But it wasn’t long before those descendants conspired together to “reach unto heaven” (to fix their broken world) on their own, without God. This time God didn’t allow them to continue unabated. He “scattered them over the face of the whole earth.” As Kidner, in his commentary on Genesis states, “better division than collective apostasy.”1

In Genesis chapter 12, God more clearly reveals his plan of salvation to Abram––that he will bring blessing, salvation and reconciliation to the world through one of Abram’s descendants.

Heroes and Superheroes

People are drawn to heroism. Heroes assure us that there is someone there for us when things go wrong or when we are in danger. In essence, heroes do what we cannot do for ouselves because of weakness, lack of skill, incapacity or unpreparedness. We admire heroes because their voluntary actions to help others involve risk and self-sacrifice.

But heroes also validate that we know our world is broken. Otherwise there would be no need for them. Evil is a real and tangible threat to our well-being. The natural man tends to divide the world into good people and bad people and his heroes consist of those who protect the good from the bad. In our stories, good usually triumphs over evil. But the heroes of the world never eliminate evil; they only provide a temporary victory.

Heroic characters appeal to us in literature and in film. Real life heroes’ stories assure us that evil doesn’t always win. However, the notion that the average human is helpless against powerful evil forces gives rise to fictional stories of superheroes who have the superhuman ability to fight and win against these evil forces. Whether, stated or not, the appeal of superheroes in the form of mythological or comic book characters points to a realization that we face perils that we cannot overcome on our own. We need someone to save us.

Unfortunately, in the artistic world or in the media world there is a recognition of evil forces stronger than most of humanity but a denial of the all-powerful Creator God who has provided salvation and has overcome the world. In this fantasy world without God, only imaginary heroes and broken promises of salvation from politicians remain. If only we could unite everyone with utopian plans similar to those at the Tower of Babel to stop those other evil people then all would be well!

THE Hero of Human History

The common idea behind the world’s heroes is that evil resides in someone or something else. The Bible refutes this idea and declares that evil also lies in the heart of every man, woman and child. Our real problem lies within and we are incapable of saving ourselves. Only God can save us.

Of course, Christians know that the world has a Savior and his name is Jesus Christ. We know who the real and only true hero of history is. But he is much more than our hero. He is our LORD!

Everlasting End of Evil

When Jesus returns in judgment his victory over evil will be complete. It will not be partial. His victory over evil will be everlasting, not temporary.

And the devil, who deceived them, was thrown into the lake of burning sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet had been thrown. They will be tormented day and night for ever and ever. (Revelation 20:10)

Then death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. The lake of fire is the second death. Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire. (Revelation 20:14–15)

Jesus will rid the world of evil and the suffering that results from it.

“He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore” (Revelation 21:4)

Has God Promised to Reconcile a People to Himself and Fix Our Brokenness?

…we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good. ––Titus 2:13–14

God has repeatedly and emphatically revealed himself to be a missionary God who will make his name great among the nations and bring salvation to the ends of the earth.

God On Mission––Good News for the Entire World

God is a missionary God and his purpose is to redeem a people for himself.

From the start, God intended his reconcilatory message and redemptive plan to be for the whole world. He reveals his intent through various people, including Abraham, the nation of Israel, his prophets, his disciples and Christian ambassadors.

And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” ––Galatians 3:8

May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us, Selah

that your way may be known on earth, your saving power among all nations. ––Psalm 67:1,2

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ––Acts 1:8

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. ––2 Corinthians 5:18-20a

God On Mission––Making His Name Great Among the Nations

From the start, God made it clear that his purpose is to make his Name great among the nations.

But I have raised you (Pharoah) up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth. ––Exodus 9:16

For from the rising of the sun to its setting my name will be great among the nations, and in every place incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering. For my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts .––Malachi 1:11

He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” ––Psalm 46:10

Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. ––Philippians 2:9–11

God On Mission––For the Glory of God

God’s Plan of salvation is not simply a rescue mission, though it is a glorious one. His plan reveals his character and is ultimately for his glory.

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. ––John 17:1-5

Some summarize God’s plan of salvation this way––We are saved from God (from his wrath and hell), we are saved by God ( For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast,  Eph. 2:8-9) and we are saved for God (for his glory and for our joy in him).

When Will the World Finally Be Fixed?

When will the end come and final and complete victory over evil be accomplished? Jesus gave us the answer:

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come. (Matthew 24:14)

Notice the promise in this verse. The gospel will be preached in the whole world. There is no doubt. 

The end will certainly come, but not until Jesus’ last disciple is secure in the Father’s hand.

All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.” ––John 6:37–40

All the Father has given to Jesus will come to him. None will be lost.

But we don’t have to sit on the sidelines as a spectator. God has given us the privilege of participating in his unstoppable plan to bring an end to evil and reconcile all who are in Christ to himself. God has given us a great task, the Great Commission, and he will use us as a means to accomplish his purpose.

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

––Romans 10:14–15

Can you imagine a greater privilege? Can you fathom a greater commission? Can you engage in any endeavor more sure of success? 

More on our part in God’s plan in Unstoppable, Part 2

Notes:

  1. Derek Kidner, Genesis, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove: Inter-Varsity Press, 1967), 110

The People Groan – America In Crisis

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freedom

When the righteous increase, the people rejoice, but when the wicked rule, the people groan.

Proverbs 29:2

A 2020 Barna survey revealed that only 51% of Americans believe in a traditional, biblical view of God as “all powerful, all knowing, perfect and just Creator.” This is down from 73% in 1991.  The same survey showed that 56% of Americans believe in Satan as a “real spiritual being who influences people’s lives.”

In an interview, George Barna stated that during the early stage of the pandemic, surveys showed that most Christians were fearful and looking to government for leadership. For most people, God didn’t enter into the equation when making decisions.

While fewer people believe in God, a 2021 Pew Research study reveals that more people believe in UFO’s than in God.

Does this sound like the righteous are increasing?

When the Wicked Rule

As a conservative, evangelical Christian, I must admit that when I read Proverbs 29:2, my mind focuses first on the wicked ruler as the reason America groans under division, strife, loss of freedom and economic uncertainty. For those paying attention, Leftists have made their agenda clear: they seek to destroy our nation and replace it with their godless dystopian vision.

But if I ignore the first half of Proverbs 29:2, I won’t understand why God has allowed this to happen. If I ignore the first half of this verse, I see the wicked rulers (or their ideology) as the sole problem, and my solution will be to elect different rulers. When I seek only a political solution, my prayers for our nation reflect my human concerns but not the concerns of God.

When the Righteous Don’t Increase

I once heard a preacher say that a nation gets the leaders it deserves. If this be true, and it must be because our just God removes kings and sets up kings (Daniel 2:21), then efforts to turn America around will fail if we don’t meet God’s standard: Righteousness exalts a nation, but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34).

Our human concerns—wanting our children to grow up in a free society and not in a totalitarian nightmare, for example—are legitimate concerns. But God also tells us to seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. If we want the best future for our children, we have to get our priorities straight. Whether we like it or not, it may be too late for America, it may have an incurable wound. The America we love may soon be relegated to the dustbin of history because of its idolatry. My first choice would be that my children grow up to live righteous lives in a free, God-fearing nation. But if not given that option, it is better to have righteous children whom God favors (Daniel 1:9) while captive in Babylon than to have free children who participate in Babylon’s sins and incur God’s judgment (Revelation 18:4).

American Christianity At a Crossroads

I believe our nation is already under judgment and has been for some time. How else could its wickedness have increased so dramatically in such a short time unless God has given us over to our desires (Romans 1). Too many evangelical churches have become indistinguishable from the culture. Too many Christians have placed their lamp under a basket and the current state of our nation proves the American Church exhibits a lukewarm faith that is “wretched and miserable and poor and blind and naked” (Revelation 3:17).

When God judges a nation by abandoning it to its sin, it should become obvious to God’s people that this world, apart from God, is not a good place. Our idols won’t save us. Our government leaders won’t, our money won’t, our military won’t, our Constitution won’t. When Jesus evaluates the churches in Revelation he tells them, “I know your deeds.” Pray that “In God We Trust” be more than a motto in our land.

American Christianity is at a crossroads. God will eventually destroy all of earth’s idols. The Church must reject them now. The world system offers us many idols. As long as we accept them, Babylon will leave us alone to languish in apostasy and mediocrity and idolatry. If we reject the world’s idols, Babylon will persecute us. The good news, attested to throughout history, is that Christianity flourishes under persecution. Through reproof and discipline, Jesus implores us to be zealous and repent and invites us to dine with him and overcome the world (Revelation 3:19-21).

 

Did you like this article? Explore the Christian’s place in the Divine Economy in my book, The Narrow Road: Loving God In a World Devoted to Money, on Amazon.

 

God Is Good

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God is Good: A Mini Theodicy

Theodicy: An explanation of why a good, omniscient, omnipotent God permits evil.

The task of any theodicy is to show that the existence of evil is not contradictory to a God who is omnipotent, omniscient and morally good. This article does not attempt a full-orbed theodicy. Instead I assert that God permitting evil and God’s judgment of evil are not contradictory to the actions of a good and loving God.

A common explanation for the coronavirus is that it is a natural evil resulting from the Fall. The Scriptures show that goodness is the essence of God while evil is revolt against God (Psalms 25:7-8; 100:5; 118:1; Matthew 19:17). Scripture also affirms that God’s creation was good and later subjected to futility as the result of sin. God’s original creation contained no coronavirus. It contained neither disease nor infirmity. It contained no evil. It was good (Genesis 1:31).

But knowing the source of evil and why it exists doesn’t explain why God permits it. It doesn’t give any hint as to the purpose of suffering. We need the Bible to tell us that too.

Satan Did It

Some Christians, who believe correctly that “God is love,” can’t seem to imagine how God would in any way be involved in bringing calamity upon people even when faced with Scriptures that indicate that He is involved during times of judgment (Amos 3:6). For them, the “go-to” option that remains to explain something like coronavirus is that it comes from Satan. But to come to this conclusion without considering the possibility that a disaster might be judgment from God, one must ignore God’s other attributes such as justice, mercy and holiness. This is the “let God off the hook” argument I mentioned in my last article.1

This “Satan did it” line of reasoning aligns perfectly with the skeptic’s contention that God is either indifferent or unable to stop evil. If God is not Judge, he is not in control. Christians affirm that God is in control, so how can we acknowledge that Satan seeks to do harm to people without attributing to him more power than he actually possesses?

God Is Not the Author of Evil

God is not the author of evil. Scripture is clear on this matter (1 John 1:5b; James 1:13; 1 Peter 3:12). But Scripture also consistently asserts that God is sovereign over his creation (Job 38:8, 11; Psalm 89:8-9; Luke 8:24). Evil is on a leash, restrained by the hand of the Almighty. God is in control (Job 2:6).

In an article entitled “How to Contemplate Calamity,” John Piper notes that both the author of the book of Job and Job regard God as the decisive cause of Job’s misery (Job 1:21; 42:11; 2:10). Satan certainly was involved in Job’s misery (Job 1:12; 2:6) but he had not the decisive hand. Piper points out that Job’s misery was not punishment, but purifying (Job 42:6) but that the death of his children may have been judgment (but we simply don’t know for sure). His point is that suffering and death can be judgment and mercy at the same time (1 Peter 2:24).2

This dual application of judgment and mercy can be true for any calamity that is a result of the Fall, including the coronavirus.

Evil Brothers and an Evil King

Let’s look at two examples from Scripture, one familiar and one not so familiar, in which God permitted evil to accomplish his purpose. In the first God used evil to bring about good. In the second he used evil to punish evil.

The story of Joseph being sold into slavery by his brothers is well known, as is his amazing declaration after he reunited with his brothers many years later, forgiving them:

But Joseph said to them, “Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. —Genesis 50:19-20

Without the Fall, there would be no coronavirus. Without the Fall, Joseph’s brothers would not have acted wickedly and sold him into slavery. Without the Fall, Joseph would not have suffered so much at the hands of other men. But without God orchestrating events, there would have been no food in Egypt and many would have died of starvation.

In a perhaps less familiar example, the Assyrians, a particularly cruel people, were the instrument by which the Northern Kingdom of Israel’s destruction came about. God made clear through his prophets (Hosea, Amos, Isaiah) that this destruction was a judgment from God.

Without the Fall, there would have been no wicked King of Assyria who boasted of his military might:

When the Lord has finished all his work against Mount Zion and Jerusalem, he will say, “I will punish the king of Assyria for the willful pride of his heart and the haughty look in his eyes. For he says:

“‘By the strength of my hand I have done this,
and by my wisdom, because I have understanding.
I removed the boundaries of nations,
I plundered their treasures;
like a mighty one I subdued their kings.
As one reaches into a nest,
so my hand reached for the wealth of the nations;
as people gather abandoned eggs,
so I gathered all the countries;
not one flapped a wing,
or opened its mouth to chirp.’” —Isaiah 10:12-14

God used this wicked nation to judge another wicked nation, Israel. Assyria was merely an axe in the hand of God. It was God who swung the axe:

Does the ax raise itself above the person who swings it,
or the saw boast against the one who uses it?
As if a rod were to wield the person who lifts it up,
or a club brandish the one who is not wood!
Therefore, the Lord, the Lord Almighty,
will send a wasting disease upon his sturdy warriors;
under his pomp a fire will be kindled
like a blazing flame.—Isaiah 10:15-16

God’s Judgments Are Righteous

It is not evil for God to judge his creatures (Romans 2:4-5). If it were, then there would be no hell for a good God of love. This idea that all humans will eventually be reconciled to God (so no need for an eternal hell), of course, is the conclusion that Universalists have come to, and it’s based upon a false conception of God. It can only come about when humans impose their idea of good upon God. We say God is good and then define good as something or someone who does not allow evil rather than using the biblical definition that says that good is God’s character and actions, which are both exclusive of evil.

Where Does God Draw the Line?

Why does God allow you or me to sin? When we think about evil, our minds go to unusually wicked actions of people like Hitler, child predators, human traffickers or to natural disasters, or to creatures like Satan who continually act in an evil and cruel manner.

If God did what so many of us would like him to (namely, not allow great evil), there would have been no Hitler or other despots. However, if God didn’t allow them into the world, we would then see those who did a little less evil than Hitler and Stalin as people God shouldn’t allow. We would still not be satisfied and we would eventually demand that God not allow whoever’s evil we detest into the world. Then surely God would draw the line between good and evil before he got to us.

Nope.

This is where God draws the line:

“Why do you call me good?” Jesus answered. “No one is good—except God alone.—Luke 18:19

If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! —Matthew 7:11

In short, ordinary people, indeed, all people, are evil and deserve death and hell. If only God is good, where does that leave us?

A Perfect Solution to the Problem of Evil

Creatures brought sin into the world. Our sin, no matter how insignificant it seems to us, separates us from God.

For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God—Romans 3:23

For the wages of sin is death—Romans 6:23a

A good, loving God provides a way out of the predicament that sinful humans find themselves in.

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.—Romans 6:23

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.—John 3:16

What does it mean to believe in Jesus Christ? It means to trust in and depend on the work of Jesus Christ on the cross as penalty for your sin and acknowledge that you can do nothing to earn salvation.

If you are reading this and you have yet to believe that Jesus Christ is the way the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Jesus, you need to know this—that those who trust in Jesus are imputed his righteousness and are no longer separated from God.

God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.—2 Corinthians 5:21

Those who have not believed in Jesus when they die will spend eternity in hell, but those who believed will have eternal life with God.

Then they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”—Matthew 25:46

The Bible says we must decide now in this life because it is appointed to men to die once and then be judged (Hebrews 9:27). There is no second chance after you die.

“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near—Isaiah 55:6

If you trust in Jesus now, he will lead you into his Kingdom.

God’s Is Just and He Is Good

At the cross God brought the greatest good out of the greatest evil. Evil men murdered the perfect Son of God. He was crucified for our sins and paid the penalty for them on our behalf.

But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
and by his wounds we are healed.—Isaiah 53:5

There will be a final judgment. At that time all who have believed in the name of Jesus will enter eternal bliss because their sins were judged at the cross. Those who reject Jesus will get what they want, an eternity without God telling them what to do. Those who rejected the Light of the World (John 8:12) will be in eternal darkness. They will be in eternal agony separated from everything good. They will be forever separated from God.

 

Notes:

  1. God can’t actually be let off the hook, because that would imply he was “on the hook” for doing something wrong. God’s ways are perfect, so it is only our arrogance and misunderstanding of God’s character that demand that God act in a way that suits our definition of good.
  2. John Piper, “How to Contemplate Calamity,” Desiring God, December 26, 2012, https://www.desiringgod.org/articles/how-to-contemplate-calamity.

Why Christians Care About Economics

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How we make our money is just as important as how we spend it.

Economic activity is one of the most common and basic forms of human interaction and the Bible has much to say about it. However, it takes time to understand the complexities of our modern economy so that we can better apply God’s principles to our everyday activity. Here are five reasons your effort will be worthwhile.

1) Good stewardship includes taking care of the economy.

Everything is God’s (Psalm 24:1). We are given the privilege of being stewards of God’s creation. (Genesis 1:26–28). But good stewardship involves more than charitable giving, wise spending, and performing our jobs with integrity.

Good stewardship includes taking care of the economy. In Israel, people provided for their families utilizing land, capital (tools and animals), and their own labor. Prohibitions against theft, laziness, and moving boundary markers were designed to maintain everyone’s ability to steward his allotted piece of God’s creation.

In today’s complex economy, protecting each person’s ability to steward from the evil schemes of others is no less important. In an agricultural society you literally reap what you sow. But in our economy, most people entrust their money to a local bank, the government, or a financial institution. The problem is, as attested by events leading up to the 2008 financial crisis, they may invest your money in dishonest ways that enrich some while bankrupting others. You might become a victim or unwittingly victimize others.

How we make our money is important because, if we gain wealth at the expense of others rather than produce wealth, we take what God has given to others to steward and thus deprive them of that opportunity.

A better understanding of economics will help Christians identify, oppose, and refrain from participating in investment vehicles that simply transfer wealth rather than produce it.

2) God expects us to defend the defenseless and deliver them from the hand of the wicked.

The Bible often describes the wicked in terms of economic interaction. The wicked have no concern for the poor (Proverbs 29:7), use dishonest and deceptive means to gain wealth (Micah 6:10–12), and are free to oppress the poor when society honors their vile practices (Psalm 12:5–8).

Psalm 82:2–4 neatly sums up our responsibility to defend the poor, orphans, and the oppressed from the wicked. We can only maintain their rights and rescue them when we stop defending laws and systems that show partiality to the wicked.

Understanding economics helps us uncover wicked practices in an economy that is, by design, complex and non-transparent. Further motivation to study economics comes from knowing God’s heart to defend the poor and his determination to judge their oppressors (Isaiah 3:13–14).

3) We want our government to restrain evil, not enable it.

We know stealing and lying are wrong, but in our economy there are legal ways to get something for nothing and deceive others on a grand scale. Economists refer to one such practice as “rent seeking” which has been popularly described as an effort to grab a bigger slice of the economic pie rather than make the pie bigger. One familiar form of rent seeking is lobbying to gain an unfair advantage. Those with more money have more opportunity to obtain rents from the government. Thus these transfers of wealth tend to be from the majority of taxpayers to the rich, though sometimes, economic equals compete for rents.

Also, when government fails to properly restrain evil in financial markets, wealth is transferred by deceptive or fraudulent practices simply because people can do so without consequences. Quite the contrary, they often can expect the government to bail them out.

Legalized theft is not a new problem. Consider this from the Heidelberg Catechism (1563):

Question 110. What does God forbid in the eighth commandment? 
 Answer. Not only such theft and robbery as are punished by the magistrate; but God views as theft all wicked tricks and devices, whereby we seek to draw to ourselves our neighbor’s goods, whether by force or with show of right, such as unjust weights, ells, measures, wares, coins, usury, or any means forbidden of God; so moreover all covetousness, and all useless waste of His gifts. (emphasis mine)

4) We want to leave an inheritance to the next generation, not debt and a ruined economy.

A good man leaves an inheritance to his children’s children (Proverbs 13:22). One can argue, considering other passages that condemn the accumulation of wealth for selfish purposes (Luke 12:16–21) or for security (Job 31:24; Psalm 52:7), that the biblical emphasis is on preserving the ability of the next generation to steward resources. In economic terms, this means stewarding present resources in a manner that leaves the next generation unburdened by debt and in a position to work productively.

5) We need to keep ourselves unstained by the world economy.

Any economic system devised by sinful humanity will often be opposed to biblical values. Our economic system encourages covetousness and scoffs at contentment. It rewards debtors and punishes savers. It implements immoral wealth transfers. It enables one generation to live beyond its means and pass the bill to the next.

We must not be deceived into thinking that conservatism or liberalism has the answers. God has given us the answers in the Bible. Our first priority is to learn what the Bible says about money, but an understanding of economics helps Christians test economic practices and the words of economists, bankers, business leaders, and politicians against biblical truth.

God, the “Father of the fatherless and the protector of widows” (Psalm 68:5), views our religion as pure and undefiled when we look after them in their distress (James 1:27). To rescue the needy or to be a Good Samaritan or oppose oppressors will always cost us something. Whatever cost, inconvenience, or trial we encounter because we choose to live by biblical economic principles cannot compare to the immeasurable joy that belongs to us who, because we are followers of Jesus, steward our time and money wisely (Matthew 25:22–23).

(This article first appeared at desiringGod.org.)

From Land of the Free to Home of the Slave

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American Flag home of the slave to debt

The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is slave to the lender.

—Proverbs 22:7

Most economists and investors believe our economy recovered from the Great Recession. They and the mainstream media say our economy is strong and that the Federal Reserve’s monetary policy worked. Conservatives seem convinced that Trump’s tax cuts signal the beginning of a new prosperity in America.

The concept revealed in Proverbs 22:7 really isn’t hard to understand. Even so, in 2018, few in our nation see our freedoms slipping away because of debt. Instead, ideological differences get the blame for all of our problems. Ironically, both the left and the right achieve their goals through debt—the left by the welfare state and government intrusion into our lives, the right by capital markets fueled by massive leverage. In spite of their claims to moral superiority, both sides ignore clear, simple direction from God. Both sides have contributed to the economic mess we find ourselves in.

Today, our economy sails into uncharted waters of unprecedented personal, corporate and public debt. Christians should know better, but too often we have succumbed to the siren call of our culture only to shipwreck on the rocky shore of compromised faith.

Soon, the debt we have accumulated will engulf our nation.

How does a nation get to this point? Consider these possible paths to enslavement:

  1. Forget God. Providence, once a cherished and comforting doctrine for American Christians, has been replaced in our culture by a dependence upon (and sometimes a worship of) mankind’s abilities. Progressives believe they can build heaven on earth by government rule. Conservatives hope to do the same by participation in capitalism’s free markets.
  2. Ignore the reality of sin. Think about it. To believe we can solve our problems through the political process, we have to imagine sin going on holiday while our agendas play out. Progressives have to replace the new birth with their own cleverness and intellectual superiority to achieve their man-made nirvana. Conservatives have to push the new birth aside while the markets turn our vices of greed and covetousness into virtue as capitalism rescues the poor so we don’t have to.
  3. Concentrate power into the hands of a few people. This is inevitable when we ignore sin. Our nation’s founders were wise in their use of separation of powers. But we have placed too much power in the hands of the Federal Reserve. They have too much influence on the most important price in the markets—the price of money. Their willingness to monetize debt has disastrous consequences for the economy we all depend upon to provide for our families.
  4. Let discontent and covetousness guide our actions. It’s obvious how this leads to the enslavement of debt. A desire for instant gratification blinds us to the consequences our actions have on our future.
  5. Combine concentration of power with deregulation. When people with wealth and power enact laws enabling them to operate without fear of retribution for immoral and unethical actions, then that nation has capitulated to sin. This leads directly to the next step.
  6. Let the tail wag the dog. Capitalism depends on maintaining a connection between people with ideas and people who want to start or grow a business with people who save money. When people deposit their savings in banks, it can be more easily channeled into productive enterprises. In other words, banks serve the real economy that creates jobs and wealth. In our day, banks are no longer the servant in our economy but the master. They have become master through the power of the Federal Reserve and by making money by charging fees and then dumping their risky loans into financial market derivatives. Bank loans decreasingly finance productive investment and increasingly finance speculative investment based on asset price increases. When our nation’s economy becomes more geared toward making money through lending instead of producing goods and services, not only do we face a future without adequate production to meet our needs, we face a future owing debt we cannot repay. We face financial enslavement, just as Proverbs 22:7 predicts.

Of course, it wasn’t always this way. The generations of Americans who lived through the Great Depression and World War II held a perspective more in line with reality. They used the phrase “Almighty Dollar” to describe what they clearly saw as idolatrous materialism. “Being in debt up to your eyeballs” was a pejorative term for profligate borrowing and spending. Now it’s a description of the norm for a large percentage of American citizens. .

The lessons they tried to teach the following generations fell on deaf ears. “Saving for a rainy day” seems foolish now because those in power assure us they know how to prevent another Great Depression. Therefore God’s warnings need not be heeded.

As our nation has stepped away from God’s path into debt, our economic freedom has decreased. Families once could make ends meet with one wage earner. When more wives started working outside the home; families often had more discretionary funds, sometimes much more. But some married women entered the workforce because one salary didn’t provide enough for her family’s necessities. Now, many families with two breadwinners cannot make ends meet and borrow to make up the difference.

I know it may be hardest for those who are thriving economically to see the danger debt poses to our nation. Perhaps a look at the magnitude of our debt problem will bring perspective. Here is a link— http://www.usdebtclock.org/

Maybe, just maybe, our safest path is to take God at his word and believe debt leads to enslavement and that our fat 401k will not protect us from the consequences of disobedience.

Suffering and the Prosperity Gospel

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Resort Hotel

False teachers typically turn Bible doctrine on its head. They take passages out of their context and apply them to whatever point they want to make. Of course, in the process, they ignore many Bible passages that assert reality and disprove their message. The doctrine of suffering is an easy target for these charlatans because, simply put, no one wants to suffer.

The prosperity gospel has spread across the globe because it appeals to our natural desire for health, wealth and happiness (2 Timothy 4:3-4). In other words, it focuses on man’s purposes instead of God’s purposes. It focuses on this world instead of the next.

It is a false gospel because it proclaims that mankind’s biggest problem is the effect of sin, not sin itself. This false gospel proclaims the good news that you can have your best life now in the midst of this fallen world. Christians need not wait for eternity. Who needs a redeemed creation when we can have now the same world Satan offered Jesus?

Prosperity teachers need to learn the lesson Jesus taught Peter in Matthew 16:21-28. They do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men. God’s plan included the suffering of Jesus. It includes suffering for all who follow him. Prosperity teachers want us to believe we can gain the whole world while assuring us we are in no danger of losing our soul. Instead of Jesus being worth more than our worldly possessions (Matthew 13:44-46), prosperity teachers see him as a means to obtain them.

As they quote Psalm 35:27, prosperity teachers like to talk about how it pleases God to give us wealth. This shouldn’t surprise us because God is a good father who gives good gifts to his children. But good fathers don’t spoil their children by giving them only what they want. Good fathers also discipline their children (Hebrews 12:4-11). God disciplines his children so that we may share in his holiness. Suffering produces in us something prosperity cannot—it produces a person who seeks the will of God instead of evil human desires (1 Peter 4:1-2).

God created everything good. Since, all human suffering is the result of sin, we should hate sin more than the suffering that results from it. Since, everything that is good is from God, we should love God more than his gifts. But the prosperity gospel teaches that it is more important to avoid suffering than to deal with sin and it is more important to obtain God’s gifts than to treasure him.

Suffering teaches us that we are totally dependent upon God. Without suffering we might never know whether we truly hate sin or whether we truly love God. Without suffering we might never know whether Satan’s charge against Job applies to us:


“Does Job fear God for nothing?” Satan replied. “Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land.  But now stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face.”                                                       Job 1:9-11

It seems that prosperity teachers don’t even want to find out.

Maybe they already know.

Let Your Collection of Idols Save You!

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In the wake of cruise missile strikes in response to Sarin gas attacks in Syria, the U.S. dropping the largest conventional weapon in history on an ISIS target, and U.S. warships sailing toward North Korea, internet searches for World War 3 on Google have reached an all time high. Other people, especially those who believe this show of strength will deter aggression from other nations, show considerably less concern.  

Such news though, when combined with an awareness of various armed conflicts and economic troubles around the world, cannot be dismissed as inconsequential. As one would expect after witnessing our contentious presidential election, Americans disagree about the best way to avoid war. However, a majority of Americans probably do agree that our leaders’ actions will be the primary, if not sole, reason for the fate we encounter.

Isn’t it ironic? While many Christians in America look to politicians to save them from the woeful state our nation is in, their leader’s proposed solutions don’t impress God.

Dumb Dogs Unable to Bark

Israel’s leaders failed the people. Described as greedy dreamers who sought unjust gain, they were blind to the real source of Israel’s problems and therefore unable to alert the nation, let alone lead them to safety (Isaiah 56:10).

Despite a deepening awareness of the failings of our current day leaders to solve our nation’s problems, many people, instead of turning to God, merely placed their trust in a different kind of leader. Having rejected the status quo of Washington elites, populist candidates gained great support.

Collectively, we didn’t really turn to leaders per se. We turned to people who convinced us they would appease our idols so that everyone would benefit, not just the elite. Whether we worshipped at the altar of free markets or big government, military might or progressive dreams of global cooperation, candidates stood ready to lead us to the Promised Land.

But, just like in Isaiah’s day, our undiscerning leaders are dumb dogs unable to bark.

Let Your Collection of Idols Save You

It’s not just our political leaders who have failed us. Some of our religious leaders have as well. But like their political counterparts, they merely tell people what they want to hear.

If we want to justify our sexual sin, we can find a church to accommodate us. If we want to substitute subjective truth for God-revealed truth we can find a church for that. If we are unwilling to lose our life for Jesus’ sake, we can find a church that teaches we can serve both God and money and gain the whole world without losing our soul because God’s main job is to shower us with prosperity. Too often, we want to live contrary to God’s revealed will yet convince ourselves we remain in his favor.

On a national level, America’s political, military and economic interests supersede God’s interests in the minds of many Christians. How many of us would rather sit through a patriotic Fourth of July church service than listen to a sermon confronting our pursuit of personal wealth and security with little regard to how American policy affects the poor of the earth?

Whom or what do we fear? Do we seek to please God or to protect our idols?

Whom have you so dreaded and feared that you have not been true to me,
and have neither remembered me nor taken this to heart?
Is it not because I have long been silent that you do not fear me?

I will expose your righteousness and your works, and they will not benefit you.

When you cry out for help, let your collection of idols save you!
The wind will carry all of them off, a mere breath will blow them away.
But whoever takes refuge in me will inherit the land and possess my holy mountain. – Isaiah 57:11-13

No Peace for the Wicked

Outward appearances matter little to God. Christians who only worship God in a manner that cannot intrude on their desires and pleasures (Isaiah 58:3) reveal the same hypocrisy and deadness of soul of the scribes and Pharisees (Matthew 23:27).

How strange the following words of Jesus sound to human ears, sometimes even to the ears of Christians living in our affluent, comfort-seeking, security-obsessed culture:

The last will be first, and the first will be last (Matthew 20:16).

Those who exalt themselves will be humbled, and those who humble themselves will be exalted (Mathew 23:12).

Anyone who loves their life will lose it, while anyone who hates their life in this world will keep it for life eternal (John 12:25).

Trust in God and rejection of self-promotion, self-sufficiency and self-gratification results in our ultimate good. When we do things God’s way, we loosen the bonds of wickedness we have slapped on our fellow-man. We divide our bread with the hungry, share our homes with the homeless and cover the naked. It is then that our light breaks out like the dawn. It is then that our righteousness goes before us and the Lord answers our call (Isaiah 58:2-10).

America’s leaders, its institutions and its form of government can harm us or serve us. To place our trust in them and forget God and his ways is foolish. Our collection of idols cannot save us.

As international tensions mount and economies falter, many people fear our world is falling apart. Uncertainty and strife raise anxiety levels for both believers and unbelievers. But, Christians find the answer to fear and worry written throughout the pages of the Bible.

There is no peace for the wicked (Isaiah 57:21), but there is refuge in our God (Isaiah 57:13).

Rejoicing, Not Boasting, Is the Key to Loving Your Neighbor As Yourself

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(Introductory note – This post is an adaptation of the “theological reflection” section of a paper I wrote years ago for a seminary class.  Since it represents my personal interaction with Scripture, it is written almost entirely in first person form.)

Saving faith changes the way I think and act. It has to. I am not the same person I was before I was born again. Romans 5-7 clearly delineates for me the difference in my spiritual condition before and after salvation. As an unbeliever, I was an enemy of God, under condemnation of death, a slave to sin, and powerless to escape from this predicament. As a believer, because of the work of Jesus Christ, I am reconciled to God, stand in a state of grace, have been justified, have eternal life, and am now a slave to righteousness. Though I will never be free from sin in this mortal body, God is working in my life, empowering me by the Holy Spirit to act as one dead to sin.

There is a oneness to humanity that I haven’t always understood or fully appreciated.  This is partly because American Christianity focuses on individuality. While it is true that each individual is accountable for his or her response to “what think ye of Christ?”, realizing my connectedness to Adam and the whole of humanity can change how I perceive my fellow humans. My attitude toward certain unbelievers sometimes reveals a disdain that is undeserved, at least when it comes from me. Despite knowing that my salvation is from God and is not by my own efforts, I sometimes, in uncaring fashion, expect an unbeliever who has never been liberated by a new birth in Christ to somehow, on his own, think like I do.

Unbelievers are not in a state from which I escaped, they are in a state from which God has rescued me. Similarly, oneness in Christ is often viewed among Christians only as our “personal relationship with Christ” without giving due consideration to our unity as a body of believers saved by grace, being changed by God.

How can identifying with both lost and saved humanity produce joy in the midst of the suffering I encounter at the hands of others? How can I love God and my neighbor?

It’s not wrong to long for a world without sin – it will come in the eschaton (2 Corinthians 5:1-5), but when I expect the present world to be a certain way rather than how it actually is, I am questioning God’s timing and his ways. He will make things right. He is the only one who can make things as they “ought to be.”  The unbeliever’s need for God is the same as my need for him even though he hasn’t acknowledged it. Other Christians’ struggles, though not identical, are basically the same as my own. I must accept the plight of humanity of which I am a part, and I must look to God as my hope and theirs.

Joy comes in the midst of suffering for doing good precisely because God is testing me and purifying me and by these means is accomplishing what I so long for – to be rid of my sin and to be able to rejoice at the revelation of Christ’s glory (see 1 Peter 4:12-19; Philippians 1:6). Trials are a sort of “stamp of approval” by God who is declaring through them – you are mine, I am preparing you for my kingdom (Hebrews 12:6,7,10).

The fact that “I once was lost but now I’m found, was blind, but now I see” should bring joy to my heart, not disdain for the unbeliever. I have a different standing before God and a different destiny than the unbeliever, not a different origin. Empathizing with the lost reminds me from where God has redeemed me and motivates me to reach out to them with the gospel. Identifying with his elect reminds me of where he is leading me and what he is accomplishing in me. I have no reason to boast or complain and every reason to rejoice.

My wishing for a better world won’t change it, my wanting professing Christians to behave at a higher standard than non-Christians won’t change the fact that they often don’t, and my desire to be free from being “the wretched man that I am” won’t cause it to happen.  Only God is able to open my eyes to the truth and change me and my view of life – and, thanks be to God, he is.

 

 

Five Mistakes to Avoid When Seeking God’s Will for Your Life

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Fork in the road which way is God calling you

Christians naturally want to know what God’s will is for them. However, when the focus of this question is on vocation rather than following Jesus, we are liable to get sidetracked.

Here are five common mistakes that Christians make when trying to discern and pursue God’s will for their life:

1) Looking in all the wrong places.

I believe this is far and away the biggest mistake we can make. We attend conferences, workshops or even pay an exorbitant fee for testing so that a “life planner” can lead us to the Promised Land of vocational fulfillment. (I have done this.)  We get off course because we haven’t seriously considered the most obvious way God communicates his will to us – through reading the Bible.

God expects us to discern his will (Romans 12:1,2; Ephesians 5:15-17). Furthermore, he tells us where to look (2 Timothy 3:16,17; Psalm 119:105). The Bible is filled with commands telling us what we should be doing and not doing. And the thing is, most Christians know what these are, but are looking instead for something with more pizzazz, something that relates to the “9 to 5 world” rather than to one’s entire life.

The best advice I ever heard on the subject of God’s leading is not complicated. It is short, sweet and to the point – Do what you know to do.

2) Ruling out our present situation as a calling.

We are sure we are missing our true calling. There could be a number of reasons we feel this way, but one reason might be that we don’t think becoming more like Jesus is a calling. It is.

Do what you know to do. Obey God. Act on the convictions of the Holy Spirit. As far as vocation goes, yours may not be anything out of the ordinary. But if it is what God wants you to do, then don’t waste time looking for something else. As the saying goes, bloom where you are planted.

3) Being too content with the status quo.

The flip side of mistake # 2 is to waste your time because you know God wants you to do something different, yet you resist. You feel comfortable and secure in your present situation. But it may be that you are just comfortable and secure in your sin. It is likely that one reason God has called you to something different is to move you into a place where you will trust him, a place out of your comfort zone, away from your idols to a place where you will become more like Jesus.

4) Pursuing a calling of your own making.

This happens whenever you don’t consult God at all (James 4:4). This goes one step beyond mistake #2. Perhaps because you have underestimated how important sanctification is, you have moved on to a place God has not asked you to go. And you still aren’t growing in your faith in the new endeavor.

5) Losing confidence in a clear calling from God.

This is a situation very unlike the others. Here you have obeyed God’s call for a specific task but what he asked you to do has not yet been accomplished even though years may have passed. The mistake is to doubt the calling instead of looking for confirmation of it. Remember where God has brought you, trusting his faithfulness. Stay the course. God will provide what you need.

Let’s be honest. Most of us are aware of a sin of commission or a sin of omission that God wants us to remove from our life, but sadly, for many of us, eliminating it is not high on our list of priorities. Following Jesus requires us to change our priorities to match God’s (Matthew 16:23). However you phrase it – to be holy because Jesus is holy (1 Peter 1:15,16), to be presented perfect in Christ (Colossians 1:28), to crucify the sinful nature (Galatians 5:24), to attain the whole measure of the fullness of Christ (Eph. 4:13), or sanctification, – your unique calling as a Christian is to be conformed to the image of Christ with ever-increasing glory and it is God’s plan and priority for your life (2 Cor. 3:18).

God sometimes asks people to do something out of the ordinary. But, most of us will live quiet lives out of public view. It doesn’t mean your calling isn’t important to God or leads to any less glory.

A Comfort Beyond Measure

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My times are in God’s hand.  I find great comfort in this fact particularly because of three things that are true about God – he is good, he is omniscient and he is omnipotent.  If he is not good, I have every reason to fear his sovereign power.  If he is not omniscient, then his plans might be misguided or have unintended consequences.  If he is not omnipotent, then he is unable to do all that he has promised and my times are not really in his hands.

Evil and God’s Will

This is especially important when confronted with trials or threatened by evil.  God’s providential care is a rock that believers have anchored their faith to for centuries.  However, God’s providential care is in jeopardy if sinful creatures’ actions are outside of his will.

But this is exactly what I have heard some Christians say.  Attempting to defend God’s goodness and armed with the knowledge that God is not the author of sin, they say that it is not God’s will when evil befalls us.  Not only does this contradict Scripture, but I don’t see how it is comforting to diminish the power of the One we are counting on to deliver us from evil.

In fairness to those who make such a statement, most are probably not trying to imply that our freedom to choose is on a par with God’s sovereignty, but it might sound that way to a new believer.  If human freedom holds such power, then all that goes on around us in this fallen world is a threat to us.  On the contrary, according to the Bible, God’s sovereign control of his creation is not threatened by the free will choices of his creatures.

I think the problem arises when we try to define a good God as one who does not allow evil that he has the power to prevent.  This is not the definition used in the Bible which proclaims repeatedly that God is good despite the fact that he allows evil as part of his will.  We need look no farther than the book of Job or Jesus’ crucifixion to see that God’s plan and his will include suffering and evil that he could prevent if he wanted to.  How else could Jesus say of his impending crucifixion – “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done”?

God is not the Author of Evil

Certainly God is not the author of evil.  Just as certainly, though, God is not wringing his hands wondering what to do when it occurs.  An inclination to defend God’s goodness may stem from a misconception of all that omnipotence entails.  Consider this from Millard Erickson:

We must recognize here the amazing nature of divine omnipotence.  If God were great and powerful, but not all-powerful, he would have to originate everything directly, or he would lose control of the situation and be unable to accomplish his ultimate purposes.  But our omnipotent God is able to allow evil men to do their very worst, and still he accomplishes his purposes. (Millard Erickson, Christian Theology, Copyright 1983, 1984, 1985, Baker Book House Company, p 400)

So, when we claim anything is not part of God’s will, especially evil, we are actually making the point we are trying to avoid – that we cannot know with certainty that God can protect us (should he so choose) from the evil free will choices of his creatures.  We have placed a limit on his omnipotence, one that is not warranted by Scripture.

Our Comfort Requires God’s Total Sovereignty

But you might protest and say that God is able to turn the evil intent of sinners into something good as he did with Joseph (Genesis 50:20) and certainly with Jesus (Acts 2:36).  There is a problem with this idea that God’s sovereignty as it relates to evil is reactive rather than proactive:

“… some will simply say that all Romans 8:28 means is that God will turn this evil thing, a thing that he could not help from happening, into some sort of good for us.  They present a God suddenly sovereign enough to reverse the situation, a situation he wasn’t sovereign enough to stop in the first place.” (Dave Zuleger, Desiring God, Can a Good God Bring Pain)

I don’t find much comfort in the providential care of a God who is a part-time, semi-sovereign deity.  There is no guarantee that the creation will not spin out of control with evil getting the upper hand creating a situation too dire for God to fix.

God’s plan is not an afterthought or a work in progress.  When I am in the midst of a trial I don’t find comfort in the fact that God is smart enough to come up with a plan B that just might work.  I find comfort in the fact that God has been working all things together for good – from the beginning of time.

Everlasting arms that do not grow weary of holding me, hands from which no one can snatch me, a love that endures forever, goodness that leads me to repentance and a mind that knows the end from the beginning are good enough for me. They all come together in a wondrous providence that is a comfort beyond measure.

The Love of Many Will Grow Cold

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cold winter scene

I feel it sometimes. Cold, heartless evil.  It’s all around. It’s dark and ugly. It’s chill penetrates to the bone.  I felt the cold when I heard of the murder of twenty children and six adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School.  I feel it when I read about ISIS beheading and crucifying Christians. The darkness draws close with countless other events reported on the nightly news.

We all feel the cold.  Most of us will never experience it like the parents of those twenty children killed at Sandy Hook. Nor will we feel it like young children caught in the nefarious web of sex trafficking.  But it is palpable nonetheless.

If we aren’t careful, this cold will penetrate our own hearts and disable our love.  Perhaps it already has.  I am not suggesting we will commit some horrible, evil act.  But, as lawlessness increases, we can easily let fear reduce our compassion and acts of kindness to a level that is almost undetectable.

It is prudent to avoid dangerous situations, but our fear might cause us to choose our ministry based on risk level rather than on what God is prompting us to do.  We choose something safe. When we do, it may be that our love has already started to grow cold.

When the aids crisis was at its peak, many of us, myself included, were afraid to minister to those afflicted.  The thought of being a part of an inner city or prison ministry is terrifying to many Christians.  Now, with muslim refugees among us, many will be afraid to reach out to them.

Years ago I sat in the Latin American Missions guest house in San Jose, Costa Rica with ten career missionaries listening to stories and discussing various topics.  One man asked this question – who has been robbed at gunpoint in San Jose?  I (the sole member of the group who wasn’t a career missionary) and a young missionary who had been in San Jose for just a few months were the only ones in the room who hadn’t.  What if these missionaries and thousands like them had let fear of real danger cause their love to grow cold?

What if the apostle Paul, for whom seemingly nowhere was safe (2 Cor. 11:23-33), had let his love grow cold?

I have noticed a recurring theme whenever I feel afraid of the evil that is around me.  I have usually forgotten God, his promises and his providential care.

It’s not that evil will never harm us if we are God’s children; the Bible affirms that God allows suffering in our lives.  But God and Satan have different goals in suffering.  God wants to strengthen our faith.  Satan wants to destroy it.

Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.  Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that the family of believers throughout the world is undergoing the same kind of sufferings.  And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast.  To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. 1 Peter 5:7-11

Fear and love are incompatible.  Perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:15) So what gives?  How is it that we are fearless one moment, resting in God’s love, and in the next full of dread and worry?  Perhaps it is because somehow we equate suffering with a failure of God to keep his part of a bargain we imagine he has made with us.

What is the proper response of the Christian to the evil around us?  Yes, we must protect ourselves and loved ones from evil as best we can.  Among the wolves we must be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.  (Mt. 10:16) But we should not succumb to fearing what evil men do.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground outside your Father’s care.  And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.  So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.  Whoever acknowledges me before others, I will also acknowledge before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before others, I will disown before my Father in heaven. Matthew 10:28-33

What if we simply took Jesus at his word and chose to obey him?  What if we stopped worrying about the evil in the world and instead found God’s peace through prayer and by thinking about what is true, honorable, just, pure, lovely and commendable (Philippians 4) resisting the devil’s attempts to convince us to do otherwise?

We would lessen the risk of our love growing cold.  We would be freer to store up treasure in heaven instead of treasure on earth.  We would be freer to love our fellow Christians, spread the gospel, love our enemies, go the extra mile and help the man beaten and robbed lying on the side of the road.

In times of tribulation, there are two kinds of people.  There are those whose love grows cold and those who stand firm in their faith.  Those who persevere in their faith will be eternally saved. (Mt. 24:12-13) God intends for his elect to persevere. He who began a good work in you will complete it. (Phil. 1:6)  Be encouraged by this truth.

As lawlessness and persecution increase and as we see the Day approaching, let us hold fast to our faith and spur one another on toward love and good deeds.  (Hebrews 10:23-25)