Matthew 13:1-23 That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat beside the sea. (2) And great crowds gathered about him, so that he got into a boat and sat down. And the whole crowd stood on the beach. (3) And he told them many things in parables, saying: "A sower went out to sow. (4) And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. (5) Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, (6) but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. (7) Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. (8) Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. (9) He who has ears, let him hear.” (10) Then the disciples came and said to him, "Why do you speak to them in parables?" (11) And he answered them, "To you it has been given to know the secrets of the kingdom of heaven, but to them it has not been given. (12) For to the one who has, more will be given, and he will have an abundance, but from the one who has not, even what he has will be taken away. (13) This is why I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. (14) Indeed, in their case the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled that says: "'You will indeed hear but never understand, and you will indeed see but never perceive. (15) For this people's heart has grown dull, and with their ears they can barely hear, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears and understand with their heart and turn, and I would heal them.' (16) But blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear. (17) For truly, I say to you, many prophets and righteous people longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it. (18) Hear then the parable of the sower: (19) When anyone hears the word of the kingdom and does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what has been sown in his heart. This is what was sown along the path. (20) As for what was sown on rocky ground, this is the one who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, (21) yet he has no root in himself, but endures for a while, and when tribulation or persecution arises on account of the word, immediately he falls away. (22) As for what was sown among thorns, this is the one who hears the word, but the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it proves unfruitful. (23) As for what was sown on good soil, this is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and yields, in one case a hundredfold, in another sixty, and in another thirty."
When many Christians read this parable, they become convicted towards uprooting the metaphorical rocks & weeds from their life & so thereby make their soil “good”. They rightly soul search for the things of life that deter the seed from taking firm root & growing towards full blossoming maturity. Whether it is inordinate pursuit of worldly gain, worldly relationships, or simply a big screen television with every imaginable feature except an off button, many things indeed seem to conspire against our maturity in Christ; Christians prove themselves both fervent & prudent in ferreting out such hindrances towards the hundred, sixty, or thirtyfold yield that is the Landowner’s due.
But taking the Word of God not in part, but as a whole, we also know that:
“None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Psalm 14, Isa. 64, Rom. 3)
Knowing this fact in addition to the parable, the fact that we cannot make our soil essentially “good” in any way at all, we face a compelling quandary- How do we get the seed to sprout to maturity if all our spiritually agronominous exertion fails in making good soil?
Quite simply, through faith- in a Farmer far greater than us.
Take note of two things in the context of this parable; firstly, the nine verses (9-17) between the simple telling of the parable & His further elucidation wherein Christ implores the disciples to accept that they have been given something special from above, apart from themselves- ears to hear, & eyes to see. This gift, like any gift, is not accounted to the recipient’s deserving, but to the giver’s generosity. So we see implied therein the soil is good not through human effort, but through God’s desire.
Secondly, recognize that Jesus does not speak of the good soil evolving into that state, as would be the case if it were being improved by the application of our agronominous exertion, but that it already was in the condition of being good soil at the time of the sowing. Its goodness was not post requisite, but prerequisite to the time of planting.
That soil was good before the seed was ever sown because the good soil is not you, but Christ within you!
Jesus has this to say in the context of Mark’s testimony of the sower’s parable…
Mark 4:26-29 And he said, "The kingdom of God is as if a man should scatter seed on the ground. (27) He sleeps and rises night and day, and the seed sprouts and grows; he knows not how. (representing man’s ignorance & passivity in regards growing the seed) (28) The earth produces by itself, first the blade, then the ear, then the full grain in the ear. (representing God’s ability & activity in growing the spiritual seed) (29) But when the grain is ripe, at once he puts in the sickle, because the harvest has come."
Therefore understand, this passage is not leading you to labor as a farmer in the field of your soul, but instead rejoice that the essential labor is already accomplished! Rejoice exceedingly that God has worked over the soil of your soul so that it could receive Christ & produce a bountiful crop, for this gift is not universal among mankind. As Jesus told His disciples in the context of telling this parable, “blessed are your eyes, for they see, and your ears, for they hear.” Are you really so bold that you would think those “blessed eyes & ears” are instruments of your own creation? No, such good soil comes from God, & is intended to readily receive the seed & produce a bountiful harvest.
In Philippians 4:3, Paul recognizes his & others’ labors in Christ, but he immediately follows this recognition of human effort with the following revelation- “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, Rejoice.” Why is this? Because he knows that his efforts are possible only because of Christ’s good soil already extant within him, even before the Damascus road experience, to empower him with ears to hear at the right time. Paul’s work, tremendous as it was, was nothing more than an outgrowth of the primordial work of Christ, already accomplished before Paul had done anything good at all.
So what else do we do in the midst of all this rejoicing in Christ? Get plugged in & allow God to continue working in your field. Even the Lone Ranger needed Tonto. Yeah, you’re right, that pastor, counselor, or Sunday School teacher is not God; but God will work your field through them (& others) if you’re plugged in to their ministry...
1 Corinthians 3:5-11 What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. (6) I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. (7) So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. (8) He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. (9) For we are God's fellow workers. You are God's field, God's building. (10) According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. (11) For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Habakkuk 3:17-18 Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines, the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food, the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls, (18) yet I will rejoice in the LORD; I will take joy in the God of my salvation. -
As long as you’re plugged in to His work, you are a “fellow worker”, so don’t worry so much about the harvest; because, after all, ultimately it’s His seed, His soil, His field, His laborers at work in that field, all culminating in His harvest. A bit of an enigmatic epiphany found within 1Cor. 6:19-20 makes it clear that we are mere sharecroppers even in our own field (“You are not your own, for you were bought with a price”). So God bands us together in Christ to form a co-opt of sharecroppers- many individuals, banded together in a common work, each working in others’ fields, each gaining through others’ labors in their own field, but at the same time, none of them truly owns any fields. There is but one Landowner, and ultimately, all the harvest is due Him to re-distribute as He pleases since it’s all founded upon His soil, seed, & labor.
Romans 11 is yet another passage with God as a spiritual Farmer carefully tending His olive tree to produce His fruit, & how does Paul close this discussion? Read for yourself-
Romans 11:36 For from him and through him and to him are all things. To him be glory forever. Amen.
1 Corinthians 8:6 yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.
Philippians 1:6 And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Samaritan
Luke 10:25-37 And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, "Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?" (26) He said to him, "What is written in the Law? How do you read it?" (27) And he answered, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself." (28) And he said to him, "You have answered correctly; do this, and you will live." (29) But he, desiring to justify himself, said to Jesus, "And who is my neighbor?" (30) Jesus replied, "A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, who stripped him and beat him and departed, leaving him half dead. (31) Now by chance a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him he passed by on the other side. (32) So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. (33) But a Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was, and when he saw him, he had compassion. (34) He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. (35) And the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper, saying, 'Take care of him, and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back.' (36) Which of these three, do you think, proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers?" (37) He said, "The one who showed him mercy." And Jesus said to him, "You go, and do likewise."
Among those who seek after God, there are but two types- those that pursue Him based on their works, which is self-justification, & those that have the sense that no such approach is possible; that God alone justifies us as a “free gift”. Paul thus describes this only genuine justification in Romans 4 & 5 as a gift, & what makes a gift a gift is the fact that the recipient has done nothing to earn it; elsewise it would “not counted as a gift but as his due” (Romans 4:4).
Why would God throw out all the works of man, both good & bad, when assessing the merit of a man to be saved? Surely, Scripture gives many reasons, but three stand out as chief among them-
1. To maintain His sovereignty over those destined to be eternally in residence with Him,
for otherwise man, not God, would the decider of who’s in & who’s out.
2. To maintain the completely pure righteous nature of the Father’s heavenly realm,
for otherwise men would be entering on the backs of their own good works, but by necessity, be stained with their evil works as well. Instead, we enter Heaven pure as Christ Himself when we enter through Christ.
3. To express His inordinate mercy.
Ephesians 2:1-10 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins (2) in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- (3) among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (4) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- (6) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
See, salvation does not come from good works, as the scribe had supposed in his pursuit of self- justification, but rather for good works. Get that, get that, get that- because many on the wide road to destruction do not.
God’s justification comes first; then & only then, pouring out of His work of salvation, will your good works come.
What precisely do I mean by that? That only by comprehending the fullness of His work (the cross) will we be able to enter fully into our work.
The proverbial priest & the Levite also failed to understand this fact. They were probably either headed to or from the Temple in the administration of their duties at the sacrificial altar. But God says to such again & again that He desires “mercy, not sacrifice” (Prov. 21:3, Isa. 1:11-17, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Matt. 9:13 & 12:7). It was not that God despises sacrifice, but that He delights only in “right sacrifices” given because of “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17-19). In the parable, the scribe is represented in the priest & Levite, two persons devoted to following mere legal regulations in their pursuit of God’s justification, instead of being meditative in regards to the spirit of those same regulations. They misunderstood the depth of their depravity, thinking that merely whitewashing the outside of the tomb would restore the dead bones within. They apparently never pondered David’s words as he confronted his degeneracy in Psalm 51. See, David knew his sin well because of his deep lamentations, & he knew as well that forgiveness was not due him because of some shallow work, vainly done without any inward conversion. David appealed to God not on the basis of a work of sacrifice, but on the basis of “a broken and contrite heart”, depending only on God’s mercy to deliver him forgiveness.
And there lies the cause for the failing to mercifully care for your “neighbor”. You have not yet fully understood the measure of mercy God has already poured out on you. Get that, & the love for your “neighbor” will surely follow. Those that seek to justify themselves are to be pitied greatly, for in this they demonstrate that they have little experience with the love of God. The Apostle tells us in 1John 4 that we love God & our “neighbor” only because He first loved us. So our love, for both God & man, will be wholly contingent & comparable to our cognition of God's preeminent love for us.
Expressing the love of God is directly proportional to the measure that you have experienced the love of God. And that experience is borne in the throes of humble repentance & lamentations over your every depravity.
The preaching of sin is therefore fundamental at every stage of Christian maturity until you have been fully “perfected in love” (1John 4:18).
Among those who seek after God, there are but two types- those that pursue Him based on their works, which is self-justification, & those that have the sense that no such approach is possible; that God alone justifies us as a “free gift”. Paul thus describes this only genuine justification in Romans 4 & 5 as a gift, & what makes a gift a gift is the fact that the recipient has done nothing to earn it; elsewise it would “not counted as a gift but as his due” (Romans 4:4).
Why would God throw out all the works of man, both good & bad, when assessing the merit of a man to be saved? Surely, Scripture gives many reasons, but three stand out as chief among them-
1. To maintain His sovereignty over those destined to be eternally in residence with Him,
for otherwise man, not God, would the decider of who’s in & who’s out.
2. To maintain the completely pure righteous nature of the Father’s heavenly realm,
for otherwise men would be entering on the backs of their own good works, but by necessity, be stained with their evil works as well. Instead, we enter Heaven pure as Christ Himself when we enter through Christ.
3. To express His inordinate mercy.
Ephesians 2:1-10 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins (2) in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience- (3) among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. (4) But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, (5) even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ- by grace you have been saved- (6) and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, (7) so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. (8) For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (9) not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (10) For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
See, salvation does not come from good works, as the scribe had supposed in his pursuit of self- justification, but rather for good works. Get that, get that, get that- because many on the wide road to destruction do not.
God’s justification comes first; then & only then, pouring out of His work of salvation, will your good works come.
What precisely do I mean by that? That only by comprehending the fullness of His work (the cross) will we be able to enter fully into our work.
The proverbial priest & the Levite also failed to understand this fact. They were probably either headed to or from the Temple in the administration of their duties at the sacrificial altar. But God says to such again & again that He desires “mercy, not sacrifice” (Prov. 21:3, Isa. 1:11-17, Hosea 6:6, Micah 6:6-8, Matt. 9:13 & 12:7). It was not that God despises sacrifice, but that He delights only in “right sacrifices” given because of “a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart” (Psalm 51:17-19). In the parable, the scribe is represented in the priest & Levite, two persons devoted to following mere legal regulations in their pursuit of God’s justification, instead of being meditative in regards to the spirit of those same regulations. They misunderstood the depth of their depravity, thinking that merely whitewashing the outside of the tomb would restore the dead bones within. They apparently never pondered David’s words as he confronted his degeneracy in Psalm 51. See, David knew his sin well because of his deep lamentations, & he knew as well that forgiveness was not due him because of some shallow work, vainly done without any inward conversion. David appealed to God not on the basis of a work of sacrifice, but on the basis of “a broken and contrite heart”, depending only on God’s mercy to deliver him forgiveness.
And there lies the cause for the failing to mercifully care for your “neighbor”. You have not yet fully understood the measure of mercy God has already poured out on you. Get that, & the love for your “neighbor” will surely follow. Those that seek to justify themselves are to be pitied greatly, for in this they demonstrate that they have little experience with the love of God. The Apostle tells us in 1John 4 that we love God & our “neighbor” only because He first loved us. So our love, for both God & man, will be wholly contingent & comparable to our cognition of God's preeminent love for us.
Expressing the love of God is directly proportional to the measure that you have experienced the love of God. And that experience is borne in the throes of humble repentance & lamentations over your every depravity.
The preaching of sin is therefore fundamental at every stage of Christian maturity until you have been fully “perfected in love” (1John 4:18).
Thursday, January 7, 2010
What is Good?- The Existence of Evil, part 4
Romans 12:2-9 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect. (3) For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. (4) For as in one body we have many members, and the members do not all have the same function, (5) so we, though many, are one body in Christ, and individually members one of another. (6) Having gifts that differ according to the grace given to us, let us use them: if prophecy, in proportion to our faith; (7) if service, in our serving; the one who teaches, in his teaching; (8) the one who exhorts, in his exhortation; the one who contributes, in generosity; the one who leads, with zeal; the one who does acts of mercy, with cheerfulness. (9) Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
In the previous three posts on this subject, I have endeavored to confront the atheist’s common objections to the existence of God. I do this for two reasons- to give the believer ammunition to respond to the atheist’s barrage of questions, but also to assail whatever measure of atheism dwells within us as believers as well. The biggest difference between the theist & the atheist is quite simply a matter of faith in “Theos”, the Greek term for God. Jesus speaks in one parable of faith as a (mustard) seed, & a seed’s value is tied to its growth. Thus my belief that faith is like a seed; it is buried, but pushes up out of seeming death towards the Light of life. Like that proverbial mustard tree, faith is something that is always growing, so also we are never fully grown until we can say that we perfectly reflect the nature of Christ in every facet of our life. So “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) speaks to every one of us as we mature upwards towards the light of Christ in regards to both faith & reality. Because, truly, it is the growth in the less tangible quality of faith that spurs growth in the more tangible reality. This concept was the impetus for James’ oft discussed 2nd chapter; read fully in context, James compares faith that is real & alive, faith that is evidenced by works (tangible realities), with a faith that is dead, a stillborn child never seeing the light of day, a seed sown, watered, & nurtured but never breaking through the soil to be seen by others, a hollow empty faith that has nothing palpable to show to verify its existence. In contrast with the person of this 2nd type of faith, Paul presents the Thessalonians whom he claims to “know” that God has chosen. Why? Because their faith has given corporeal evidence in support (1Thessalonians 1).
The atheist’s typical case against God consists of an attack on His integrity. They seize the obvious reality of evil to present as primary evidence against either God’s omnipotence or His inherent goodness. In support of this premise, they attempt to lay a foundation for logical argument with opening statements as follows:
“A morally good God prevents all the evil He has the power to prevent”
They then go on to build upon this foundation in an effort to present a rational construct against God. But any construct is only as strong its foundation (Matt. 7:24ff), & this building is built on quicksand.
At first it seems a statement that all can agree upon, but there is a sly supposition intrinsic to the argument that most do not see at first. It’s the same trap that Job & his three friends fell into, a trap of ignorance covered up by arrogance.
It’s the base assumption that man can, apart from God, discern what is good, & what is evil.
For much of the book of Job, the protagonist defends his character against his primary antagonists, his 3 friends. He does not see within himself a cause for his pain, so he begins to construct an indictment against the very goodness of God, for not preventing the evil that has prevailed against his supposed goodness. But then in chapters 32-37 a fourth fellow by the name of Elihu starts a counter-indictment, not towards judging Job for the sin that supposedly caused his suffering, but his sin that came out in his suffering. Then in chapters 38-41, God himself angrily confronts Job. God doesn’t respond to Job’s farcical line of questioning because his questions were rooted in ignorance of the nature of his situation. Instead, God presents his own line of questioning concerning what measure of either knowledge or ability, much less innate goodness, that Job retained within himself. A sample of God’s case:
Job 38:1-21 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: (2) "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? (3) Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. (4) 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? (8) Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, (9) when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, (10) and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, (11) and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'? (12) Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, (13) that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? (14) It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. (15) From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. (16) Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? (17) Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? (18) Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. (19) Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, (20) that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? (21) You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
See, the reason why Job’s defense of himself & his concomitant indictment of God was revealed as fallacious reasoning was that it was based upon Job’s reckless assumption that he knew the full state of his affairs. He probably didn’t think he knew all things, but he did arrogantly believe in his ability to apprehend the full scope of his own existence. But a proper attitude towards God would have had him sounding much more like Sgt. Shultz (I know nothing!) & a proper faith in God as inherently good would have him praising Him for His goodness regardless of appearances.
So it becomes apparent that Job fell into the same trap that our atheist friends fall into, a most insidious kind of evil, a kind that deceives us towards faith in ourselves, as opposed to a faith in God alone, as inherently good.
I do not mean to say that, as Christians, with the illumination given through the Word of God & the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can never rightly discern good & evil; just that such ability is not innate to the natural man. Such discernment only comes to the degree that God freely offers it in grace & need. Certainly much wisdom can apprehended through the right foundation of His Word; then the Spirit takes these truths & builds upon them, opening our mind to further understanding of the spiritual world’s activities, as the frightened young man of Elisha’s day was ministered to (2Kings 6:17). But more often we are left blind to so much of God’s workings in the course of our daily lives. It is faith, in God’s power & absolute righteousness, that presses us onward in such times.
Faith is directly proportional to our joy in this life. We are anguished, but our joy is steadfast for the cause of faith in God as both supremely powerful & good in regards to our anguish. So faith is fundamental to joy. Faith is like a muscle, it grows as it is worked out. Atrophic faith is a faith that languishes on the couch with bonbons & TV remote in hand. It seems a good life, but is actually greatly pitied, for in the times of extended ease, the lasting joy of strong faith subtly degenerates towards feeble faith & the mere moments of pleasure found in self indulgence. Suffering is sometimes God’s workout plan to grow our faith to the point of trusting Him at all times, in all things.
Genesis 50:15-20 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." (16) So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, (17) 'Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. (18) His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." (19) But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? (20) 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.
Neither Job nor his friends had any cognition, much less faith, in God’s ability or desire to turn what Satan meant for evil around for good as God did in Joseph’s life. They saw nothing right or good in Job’s suffering. But they lacked God’s grand picture of what is “good”. Would you be in favor of someone breaking your bones, or cutting you with a knife? From the outset, these clearly seem to be not “good” things in any way, & the perpetrators would not be seen as “good” either. But what if the bone-breaker was a doctor resetting an improperly healing fracture? (happened to me!) What if the supposed offender with a knife turned out to be surgeon removing malignant tumors from some vital organ? Now the one speculated to be your persecutor turns out to be your friend & savior. Yes he brings you pain, but you accept such short term anguish because you trust faithfully in both his ability to heal & his goodness in motivation will lead towards your eventual benevolence. Who would trust an quack doctor to reset his fracture? Who would succumb to the diagnosis & treatment of a doctor thought to be moved by impure motives (like greed)?
Thus the cause for abdicating the throne of honor whereupon we suffer for the glory of God (2Thess. 1:5)- we lack faith in the doctor.
We must trust in God as a fully-able spiritual surgeon with the purest of motives like we would trust our closest friend. See, we would be much more open to having blind faith in the surgeon if we had a deep relationship with him. But the strongest relationships are built on faith, & faith is built upon trying times. There’s no one you trust more than the one who had your back in battle, the army medic who took fire & suffered himself in order to save you. Both his ability & character has been proven, but only in the throes of affliction. Thus we should accept that the quiet steadfast faith that we desire is often found upon the fields of affliction. Sometimes the Chief Surgeon details the 5-way kidney transplant that blesses so many others, sometimes He may not; but either way, to believe in His utter goodness & sovereign power is to believe that it all happens for good cause. Believe that you are in His will if your biblically & Spiritually informed conscience does not tell you otherwise.
Job 37:10-13 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. (11) He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. (12) They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. (13) Whether for correction, or for his land, or for love, he causes it to happen.
1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, (5) who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (8) Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (9) obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Christ’s very own disciples had the same Job-like myopic understanding of the causes of suffering. In John 9, they pose a question to Jesus regarding the purpose of the blind man’s affliction- “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Their myopically informed doctrine conjured only two possible causes for woe that the blind man had carried with him all his life to this point. But Jesus graciously opened their eyes as well; He gave them a glimpse into the big picture- the blind man suffered so “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” And it was because of such works that the Pharisees & the billions since that have read John’s Gospel since that time have seen that “light of the world” through this splendid display of both Christ‘s authority & the power of a (literally) blind faith in Him. Read again & note that Jesus said “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” More than one work. Christ’s Godly omnipotence was on display that day, but faith was too, in the man’s insistent, unrelenting belief in the One who healed him, despite heated accusations, scorn, & ridicule.
In such times, we should take affliction in grace, often praying that its days might be shortened (2Cor. 12:8), but always praising the very basic integrity & goodness of God that our faith is forged upon. Faith in God’s salvation is based on faith in His inherent goodness, therefore a mature faith always stays true to its roots- tenaciously holding onto God’s integrity instead of our own. Sometimes we find ourselves in like circumstance- we suffer, & fail to find any direct cause, but a mature faith will never fall away, but will always continue to praise Him for His goodness regardless- indeed in the manner of the apostles whose great faith led them to rejoice in God in such downtrodden times.
In the previous three posts on this subject, I have endeavored to confront the atheist’s common objections to the existence of God. I do this for two reasons- to give the believer ammunition to respond to the atheist’s barrage of questions, but also to assail whatever measure of atheism dwells within us as believers as well. The biggest difference between the theist & the atheist is quite simply a matter of faith in “Theos”, the Greek term for God. Jesus speaks in one parable of faith as a (mustard) seed, & a seed’s value is tied to its growth. Thus my belief that faith is like a seed; it is buried, but pushes up out of seeming death towards the Light of life. Like that proverbial mustard tree, faith is something that is always growing, so also we are never fully grown until we can say that we perfectly reflect the nature of Christ in every facet of our life. So “I believe; help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24) speaks to every one of us as we mature upwards towards the light of Christ in regards to both faith & reality. Because, truly, it is the growth in the less tangible quality of faith that spurs growth in the more tangible reality. This concept was the impetus for James’ oft discussed 2nd chapter; read fully in context, James compares faith that is real & alive, faith that is evidenced by works (tangible realities), with a faith that is dead, a stillborn child never seeing the light of day, a seed sown, watered, & nurtured but never breaking through the soil to be seen by others, a hollow empty faith that has nothing palpable to show to verify its existence. In contrast with the person of this 2nd type of faith, Paul presents the Thessalonians whom he claims to “know” that God has chosen. Why? Because their faith has given corporeal evidence in support (1Thessalonians 1).
The atheist’s typical case against God consists of an attack on His integrity. They seize the obvious reality of evil to present as primary evidence against either God’s omnipotence or His inherent goodness. In support of this premise, they attempt to lay a foundation for logical argument with opening statements as follows:
“A morally good God prevents all the evil He has the power to prevent”
They then go on to build upon this foundation in an effort to present a rational construct against God. But any construct is only as strong its foundation (Matt. 7:24ff), & this building is built on quicksand.
At first it seems a statement that all can agree upon, but there is a sly supposition intrinsic to the argument that most do not see at first. It’s the same trap that Job & his three friends fell into, a trap of ignorance covered up by arrogance.
It’s the base assumption that man can, apart from God, discern what is good, & what is evil.
For much of the book of Job, the protagonist defends his character against his primary antagonists, his 3 friends. He does not see within himself a cause for his pain, so he begins to construct an indictment against the very goodness of God, for not preventing the evil that has prevailed against his supposed goodness. But then in chapters 32-37 a fourth fellow by the name of Elihu starts a counter-indictment, not towards judging Job for the sin that supposedly caused his suffering, but his sin that came out in his suffering. Then in chapters 38-41, God himself angrily confronts Job. God doesn’t respond to Job’s farcical line of questioning because his questions were rooted in ignorance of the nature of his situation. Instead, God presents his own line of questioning concerning what measure of either knowledge or ability, much less innate goodness, that Job retained within himself. A sample of God’s case:
Job 38:1-21 Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind and said: (2) "Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? (3) Dress for action like a man; I will question you, and you make it known to me. (4) 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? (8) Or who shut in the sea with doors when it burst out from the womb, (9) when I made clouds its garment and thick darkness its swaddling band, (10) and prescribed limits for it and set bars and doors, (11) and said, 'Thus far shall you come, and no farther, and here shall your proud waves be stayed'? (12) Have you commanded the morning since your days began, and caused the dawn to know its place, (13) that it might take hold of the skirts of the earth, and the wicked be shaken out of it? (14) It is changed like clay under the seal, and its features stand out like a garment. (15) From the wicked their light is withheld, and their uplifted arm is broken. (16) Have you entered into the springs of the sea, or walked in the recesses of the deep? (17) Have the gates of death been revealed to you, or have you seen the gates of deep darkness? (18) Have you comprehended the expanse of the earth? Declare, if you know all this. (19) Where is the way to the dwelling of light, and where is the place of darkness, (20) that you may take it to its territory and that you may discern the paths to its home? (21) You know, for you were born then, and the number of your days is great!
See, the reason why Job’s defense of himself & his concomitant indictment of God was revealed as fallacious reasoning was that it was based upon Job’s reckless assumption that he knew the full state of his affairs. He probably didn’t think he knew all things, but he did arrogantly believe in his ability to apprehend the full scope of his own existence. But a proper attitude towards God would have had him sounding much more like Sgt. Shultz (I know nothing!) & a proper faith in God as inherently good would have him praising Him for His goodness regardless of appearances.
So it becomes apparent that Job fell into the same trap that our atheist friends fall into, a most insidious kind of evil, a kind that deceives us towards faith in ourselves, as opposed to a faith in God alone, as inherently good.
I do not mean to say that, as Christians, with the illumination given through the Word of God & the indwelling Holy Spirit, we can never rightly discern good & evil; just that such ability is not innate to the natural man. Such discernment only comes to the degree that God freely offers it in grace & need. Certainly much wisdom can apprehended through the right foundation of His Word; then the Spirit takes these truths & builds upon them, opening our mind to further understanding of the spiritual world’s activities, as the frightened young man of Elisha’s day was ministered to (2Kings 6:17). But more often we are left blind to so much of God’s workings in the course of our daily lives. It is faith, in God’s power & absolute righteousness, that presses us onward in such times.
Faith is directly proportional to our joy in this life. We are anguished, but our joy is steadfast for the cause of faith in God as both supremely powerful & good in regards to our anguish. So faith is fundamental to joy. Faith is like a muscle, it grows as it is worked out. Atrophic faith is a faith that languishes on the couch with bonbons & TV remote in hand. It seems a good life, but is actually greatly pitied, for in the times of extended ease, the lasting joy of strong faith subtly degenerates towards feeble faith & the mere moments of pleasure found in self indulgence. Suffering is sometimes God’s workout plan to grow our faith to the point of trusting Him at all times, in all things.
Genesis 50:15-20 When Joseph's brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, "It may be that Joseph will hate us and pay us back for all the evil that we did to him." (16) So they sent a message to Joseph, saying, "Your father gave this command before he died, (17) 'Say to Joseph, Please forgive the transgression of your brothers and their sin, because they did evil to you.' And now, please forgive the transgression of the servants of the God of your father." Joseph wept when they spoke to him. (18) His brothers also came and fell down before him and said, "Behold, we are your servants." (19) But Joseph said to them, "Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? (20) 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.
Neither Job nor his friends had any cognition, much less faith, in God’s ability or desire to turn what Satan meant for evil around for good as God did in Joseph’s life. They saw nothing right or good in Job’s suffering. But they lacked God’s grand picture of what is “good”. Would you be in favor of someone breaking your bones, or cutting you with a knife? From the outset, these clearly seem to be not “good” things in any way, & the perpetrators would not be seen as “good” either. But what if the bone-breaker was a doctor resetting an improperly healing fracture? (happened to me!) What if the supposed offender with a knife turned out to be surgeon removing malignant tumors from some vital organ? Now the one speculated to be your persecutor turns out to be your friend & savior. Yes he brings you pain, but you accept such short term anguish because you trust faithfully in both his ability to heal & his goodness in motivation will lead towards your eventual benevolence. Who would trust an quack doctor to reset his fracture? Who would succumb to the diagnosis & treatment of a doctor thought to be moved by impure motives (like greed)?
Thus the cause for abdicating the throne of honor whereupon we suffer for the glory of God (2Thess. 1:5)- we lack faith in the doctor.
We must trust in God as a fully-able spiritual surgeon with the purest of motives like we would trust our closest friend. See, we would be much more open to having blind faith in the surgeon if we had a deep relationship with him. But the strongest relationships are built on faith, & faith is built upon trying times. There’s no one you trust more than the one who had your back in battle, the army medic who took fire & suffered himself in order to save you. Both his ability & character has been proven, but only in the throes of affliction. Thus we should accept that the quiet steadfast faith that we desire is often found upon the fields of affliction. Sometimes the Chief Surgeon details the 5-way kidney transplant that blesses so many others, sometimes He may not; but either way, to believe in His utter goodness & sovereign power is to believe that it all happens for good cause. Believe that you are in His will if your biblically & Spiritually informed conscience does not tell you otherwise.
Job 37:10-13 By the breath of God ice is given, and the broad waters are frozen fast. (11) He loads the thick cloud with moisture; the clouds scatter his lightning. (12) They turn around and around by his guidance, to accomplish all that he commands them on the face of the habitable world. (13) Whether for correction, or for his land, or for love, he causes it to happen.
1 Peter 1:3-9 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, (4) to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, (5) who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. (6) In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, (7) so that the tested genuineness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire--may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (8) Though you have not seen him, you love him. Though you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, (9) obtaining the outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.
Christ’s very own disciples had the same Job-like myopic understanding of the causes of suffering. In John 9, they pose a question to Jesus regarding the purpose of the blind man’s affliction- “Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Their myopically informed doctrine conjured only two possible causes for woe that the blind man had carried with him all his life to this point. But Jesus graciously opened their eyes as well; He gave them a glimpse into the big picture- the blind man suffered so “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” And it was because of such works that the Pharisees & the billions since that have read John’s Gospel since that time have seen that “light of the world” through this splendid display of both Christ‘s authority & the power of a (literally) blind faith in Him. Read again & note that Jesus said “that the works of God might be displayed in him.” More than one work. Christ’s Godly omnipotence was on display that day, but faith was too, in the man’s insistent, unrelenting belief in the One who healed him, despite heated accusations, scorn, & ridicule.
In such times, we should take affliction in grace, often praying that its days might be shortened (2Cor. 12:8), but always praising the very basic integrity & goodness of God that our faith is forged upon. Faith in God’s salvation is based on faith in His inherent goodness, therefore a mature faith always stays true to its roots- tenaciously holding onto God’s integrity instead of our own. Sometimes we find ourselves in like circumstance- we suffer, & fail to find any direct cause, but a mature faith will never fall away, but will always continue to praise Him for His goodness regardless- indeed in the manner of the apostles whose great faith led them to rejoice in God in such downtrodden times.
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