I voraciously read a lot of books on doctrine and theology in the first years of a 'personal' reformation. God was good to show me how to better know Him from His word, and those books helped clear up a lot of wrong notions. Nothing wrong with good, sound theological books.
But I see arguments about doctrinal things (mostly on the Internet) in which the arguments are being based on what this or that author has said, rather than on the Scripture. Some who are advocating for their views refuse to go back to Scripture for honest, heartfelt searching.
So, came across this quote from Matthew Henry this morning. It's in reference to Matthew 19, where the Pharisees were questioning Jesus on divorce. They had the same problem as do modern advocates for their pet position. Because of their hard hearts, the Pharisees didn't really want to hear what God has said about it.
"Corruptions that are crept into any ordinance of God must be purged out by having recourse to the primitive institution. If the copy be vicious, it must be examined and corrected by the original. Thus, when St. Paul would redress the grievances in the church of Corinth about the Lord's supper, he appealed to the appointment (1 Corinthians 11:23): 'So and so I received from the Lord'.
"Truth was from the beginning; we must therefore enquire for the good old way (Jeremiah 6:16), and must reform-- not by later patterns, but by ancient rules."
Friday, May 17, 2013
Friday, May 10, 2013
Jesus' Use of Apologetics
In Chapter 12 of Matthew, Jesus has several encounters with the jealous Pharisees. They had taken issue with his hungry disciples plucking heads of grain to eat on a Sabbath, and with Him for healing a man's withered hand on the same day. Jesus, after reasoning briefly with them from the Scriptures, exposed their hypocrisy by showing them that their hard-heartedness was foreign to God's intentions. It is lawful, he showed them, to show mercy and to do good on the Sabbath. What is more, he made a startling claim: "The Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath".
Aware of their conspiring to destroy him for this, Jesus withdrew from there, but of course the crowds followed him and he continued to heal them all. When a demon-possessed man, blind and mute, was brought to him, he healed him too, and the amazing story soon reached the ears of the Pharisees. Their response to the story: "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."
To this hard-hearted way of thinking the Lord is quick to reply. His reply was interesting to me this morning as I read, because I saw that he was willing to reason, to a point, with their words; but then quickly and surely came to the gospel warning that they needed. I think it may be a wonderful example of how we are to do apologetics.
"Knowing their thoughts, he said to them [reasoning now with them], 'Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no house or city divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan [as the Pharisees were claiming], he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
"And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? [They probably had had no real success at casting them out, but the Pharisees couldn't afford to admit this. Oh, the brilliance of our Savior!] "Therefore they will be your judges."
"But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! [First salvo fired over the bow, in mercy.] "Or: how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house" [as He'd just done in healing the demon-oppressed man].
[And now-- again in merciful severity-- the sober warning]: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:22-32).
Christ's words here about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit always raises questions, but for now, just see our Lord's use of apologetics. He uses logic in verses 25-29 to expose the fallacy of the Pharisees' accusation. He does this in mercy, surely. The text doesn't tell us whether this mercy is extended toward the Pharisees, or whether it is all for the benefit of the crowd standing about, or for his disciples standing by listening and later for us, reading. I'm sure that in some sense, it is meant for all. Surely this is what apologetics is for: the merciful use of logic and reasoning to soften hearts in preparation for what is next.
But then must come what is next: truth that warns. The Pharisees, sadly, were unimpressed by the truth that their words constituted a blasphemy for which they would never be forgiven. Jesus said it anyway, and he did not mince words. How could he, when his goal was the repentance and salvation of his hearers? He speaks in no uncertain terms, telling the stark and terrible truth that eternal condemnation is coming to those who continue to do and speak evil-- in this case, who blaspheme God's Spirit. This is always the pattern of the Lord. In mercy he reasons, in mercy he warns.
I enjoy listening to and reading Christian apologists. I see from Scripture and from human nature that we need to learn to use logic, and to reason with people's wrong ideas about God. But I see from our Lord and from his apostles that biblical apologetics is a precursor to gospel warnings that must be spoken. I think this is where Christian apologetics may be falling short. I've never seen a debate where at the end, after all was said and done, the apologist for sound orthodoxy turned to his opponent and offered solemn warnings to them about eternity and the coming judgment.
Just an interesting thought and observation from this morning's reading. I'd be interested in hearing from others about this.
Aware of their conspiring to destroy him for this, Jesus withdrew from there, but of course the crowds followed him and he continued to heal them all. When a demon-possessed man, blind and mute, was brought to him, he healed him too, and the amazing story soon reached the ears of the Pharisees. Their response to the story: "It is only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, that this man casts out demons."
To this hard-hearted way of thinking the Lord is quick to reply. His reply was interesting to me this morning as I read, because I saw that he was willing to reason, to a point, with their words; but then quickly and surely came to the gospel warning that they needed. I think it may be a wonderful example of how we are to do apologetics.
"Knowing their thoughts, he said to them [reasoning now with them], 'Every kingdom divided against itself is laid waste, and no house or city divided against itself will stand. And if Satan casts out Satan [as the Pharisees were claiming], he is divided against himself. How then will his kingdom stand?
"And if I cast out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons cast them out? [They probably had had no real success at casting them out, but the Pharisees couldn't afford to admit this. Oh, the brilliance of our Savior!] "Therefore they will be your judges."
"But if it is by the Spirit of God that I cast out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you! [First salvo fired over the bow, in mercy.] "Or: how can someone enter a strong man's house and plunder his goods, unless he first binds the strong man? Then indeed he may plunder his house" [as He'd just done in healing the demon-oppressed man].
[And now-- again in merciful severity-- the sober warning]: "Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters. Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come" (Matthew 12:22-32).
Christ's words here about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit always raises questions, but for now, just see our Lord's use of apologetics. He uses logic in verses 25-29 to expose the fallacy of the Pharisees' accusation. He does this in mercy, surely. The text doesn't tell us whether this mercy is extended toward the Pharisees, or whether it is all for the benefit of the crowd standing about, or for his disciples standing by listening and later for us, reading. I'm sure that in some sense, it is meant for all. Surely this is what apologetics is for: the merciful use of logic and reasoning to soften hearts in preparation for what is next.
But then must come what is next: truth that warns. The Pharisees, sadly, were unimpressed by the truth that their words constituted a blasphemy for which they would never be forgiven. Jesus said it anyway, and he did not mince words. How could he, when his goal was the repentance and salvation of his hearers? He speaks in no uncertain terms, telling the stark and terrible truth that eternal condemnation is coming to those who continue to do and speak evil-- in this case, who blaspheme God's Spirit. This is always the pattern of the Lord. In mercy he reasons, in mercy he warns.
I enjoy listening to and reading Christian apologists. I see from Scripture and from human nature that we need to learn to use logic, and to reason with people's wrong ideas about God. But I see from our Lord and from his apostles that biblical apologetics is a precursor to gospel warnings that must be spoken. I think this is where Christian apologetics may be falling short. I've never seen a debate where at the end, after all was said and done, the apologist for sound orthodoxy turned to his opponent and offered solemn warnings to them about eternity and the coming judgment.
Just an interesting thought and observation from this morning's reading. I'd be interested in hearing from others about this.
Thursday, April 4, 2013
Prayer And Listening To God Part 7: Three More Commonly Misapplied Texts
(This is Part 7 in a series of posts on Prayer and Listening to God. Click here for Part 1).
A while back, I began writing a series of articles on the idea of prayer and listening for God's voice. This is a teaching that in the last 20 or so years has exploded into popularity in churches, such that it's now simply a given for most Christians that this listening is what the Bible teaches us to do. I've been arguing that not only is this kind of listening not taught in the Bible, but it's actually a harmful teaching because of how it leads people away from Scripture as the place to hear God speak and come to know his will.
The last post on it, here, tries to show how the idea of listening for God's "still, small voice" came about, and I tried to show how that passage (1 Kings 19:9-13) is not teaching us to listen in that way at all. Before I finally move on to how we ARE to listen for God's voice, and how we ARE to understand how God guides us, I thought I'd look at three other texts Christians commonly claim as Scriptural support for the idea of listening for God's voice. These misapplied texts are the basis for such statements as "God gave me a peace about it", "I feel led", and for the idea of waiting or being still in order to hear from God.
Remember, please, as you're reading this unfortunately necessary "de-bunking", that there is much better, really better news, though it may not seem so at first. It may seem overly picky or even unspiritual, trying to dismantle the wrong thinking, and it would be, except for this-- God has something better for us than trying to figure out his will!
God Gave Me A Peace About It
Many people who employ this check for decision-making may think of verses like Colossians 3:15, "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body" and Philippians 4:7, "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". The Greek word translated "rule" in Colossians 3:15 is brabeuo, meaning "to be an umpire." So the idea has sprung up that God will give us a feeling of peace if we are heading towards the right decision, but will "overrule" by taking away our peace if we make the wrong one.
The problem is that these Scriptures aren't talking about a feeling or about decisions. Checking the context on both of these verses, we see that Paul is speaking of something entirely different than a feeling of peace to guide us in decision-making. In Colossians, Paul is talking about the peace we are called to with one another; the "state of harmony and tranquility between individuals" (from Strong's concordance). Remember how important context is in reading the Bible (or any literature). Accordingly, the preceding verses in that passage (Colossians 3:1-15) show Paul's meaning. We are to let this peace with one another rule the day in our behavior toward one another.
In Philippians 4:7, Paul is also speaking not of guidance, but of the peace of mind and heart available to us. “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5b-7). This is peace from anxiety, born of hope in the Lord's soon return and of our confident access to him for "grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). This peace will guard both our thinking and our desires in the days of adversity.
So we see that the teaching to make decisions based on inward feelings of peace is not based on these verses (or any other). Now, hang in there with me! The truth about how we are to hear from God and get guidance from him is BETTER than what we've been told. And I will get to that, I promise. But first, another concept erroneously taught as the way we are to receive guidance from God:
Feeling Led
The concept of "feeling" led apparently comes from various texts that speak rather in terms of "being" led by the Spirit. (No text speaks of "feeling" led.) These texts include Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:1, which describe Jesus’ being led by the Spirit into the wilderness temptation; and Romans 8:14, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God", and Galatians 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law".
To Paul, being “led by the Spirit” means simply that one is a believer and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Born-again people are led by the Spirit, in contrast to unbelievers, who "live according to the flesh". Paul uses other phrases that mean the same thing as being led by the Spirit: "walk according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:4); "live according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:5); "set the mind on the Spirit" (Romans 8:6). Being led by the Spirit is the same thing as "by the Spirit putting to death the deeds of the body": "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. FOR all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8:13-14).
In talking about being led by the Spirit, Paul is not talking at all about inward guidance for decision-making or an inward voice of God. B.B. Warfield said of this phrase that "the spiritual leading of which Paul speaks is... to enable us to conquer sin". "Led by the Spirit" means that we belong to God and that through his indwelling Spirit, have the power to overcome sin and temptation.
In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This does indeed mean that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness! But we must realize that the account is not teaching us to expect anything of the sort. Jesus is God, the second Person of the Trinity. His travail in the wilderness was extremely meaningful and solemn. This was no being led to decide correctly on a car purchase. This was a matter of his perfect obedience to the Father in accomplishing the salvation of sinners. His relationship to the Father and to the Spirit was, and is, unique to him.
We are not to use this passage to make the case that we all should experience such direct guidance by the Spirit. We mustn't trivialize such a solemn and weighty event by using it to claim such experiences for ourselves. (For more on the problem with using narrative passages to teach us what to expect in guidance, see this, scrolling down to "Descriptive passages do not teach us to expect the same").
Waiting in Silence and Be Still and Know
These and similar phrases in Scripture have, at times, been misunderstood to mean that God’s people should listen for him to speak as they wait in stillness and silence. "For God alone my soul waits in silence..." (Psalm 62:1a) is one such phrase that has been used in that sense. But the very next half of the verse shows that David is not waiting to hear God's voice inwardly, but is waiting for rescue: "... from Him comes my salvation" (Psalm 62:1b). Psalm 62 is a song about God’s deliverance from the schemes of wicked men. It proclaims that God is the only Savior: "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is in him" (verse 5). In verse 11, David says, "Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this, that power belongs to God…"; this statement is related to David's office as prophet in proclaiming the greatness of God. It is not related to inner guidance for decision-making.
Similarly, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a) is another text sometimes misused to teach listening for inner guidance from God. In Psalm 46, “be still and know” is a plural command, as God is speaking to the nations among whom he will eventually be exalted, as the context of the Psalm shows. He is reassuring his people that although "the nations rage, and kingdoms totter", his people can rest and know that their God will finally make the kingdom of this world to become his kingdom alone (Revelation 11:15). Psalm 46 speaks of the greatness and of the final exaltation of God among the nations. It is not a text modeling how to get inner guidance for decisions or problem-solving!
Well, these three examples, combined with my other posts on the topic, I hope have instilled real doubt as to whether the Bible really teaches that we are to listen inwardly for God's voice, whether in prayer or at any other time. Now it's time to bring out the good news, the positive: how ARE we to be guided by God? How ARE we to hear his voice? I will address these good and important questions in the next post. The answers are good news because it is the truth that makes us free, and his word is truth! (John 8:32, John 17:17)
A while back, I began writing a series of articles on the idea of prayer and listening for God's voice. This is a teaching that in the last 20 or so years has exploded into popularity in churches, such that it's now simply a given for most Christians that this listening is what the Bible teaches us to do. I've been arguing that not only is this kind of listening not taught in the Bible, but it's actually a harmful teaching because of how it leads people away from Scripture as the place to hear God speak and come to know his will.
The last post on it, here, tries to show how the idea of listening for God's "still, small voice" came about, and I tried to show how that passage (1 Kings 19:9-13) is not teaching us to listen in that way at all. Before I finally move on to how we ARE to listen for God's voice, and how we ARE to understand how God guides us, I thought I'd look at three other texts Christians commonly claim as Scriptural support for the idea of listening for God's voice. These misapplied texts are the basis for such statements as "God gave me a peace about it", "I feel led", and for the idea of waiting or being still in order to hear from God.
Remember, please, as you're reading this unfortunately necessary "de-bunking", that there is much better, really better news, though it may not seem so at first. It may seem overly picky or even unspiritual, trying to dismantle the wrong thinking, and it would be, except for this-- God has something better for us than trying to figure out his will!
God Gave Me A Peace About It
Many people who employ this check for decision-making may think of verses like Colossians 3:15, "let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body" and Philippians 4:7, "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus". The Greek word translated "rule" in Colossians 3:15 is brabeuo, meaning "to be an umpire." So the idea has sprung up that God will give us a feeling of peace if we are heading towards the right decision, but will "overrule" by taking away our peace if we make the wrong one.
The problem is that these Scriptures aren't talking about a feeling or about decisions. Checking the context on both of these verses, we see that Paul is speaking of something entirely different than a feeling of peace to guide us in decision-making. In Colossians, Paul is talking about the peace we are called to with one another; the "state of harmony and tranquility between individuals" (from Strong's concordance). Remember how important context is in reading the Bible (or any literature). Accordingly, the preceding verses in that passage (Colossians 3:1-15) show Paul's meaning. We are to let this peace with one another rule the day in our behavior toward one another.
In Philippians 4:7, Paul is also speaking not of guidance, but of the peace of mind and heart available to us. “The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:5b-7). This is peace from anxiety, born of hope in the Lord's soon return and of our confident access to him for "grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16). This peace will guard both our thinking and our desires in the days of adversity.
So we see that the teaching to make decisions based on inward feelings of peace is not based on these verses (or any other). Now, hang in there with me! The truth about how we are to hear from God and get guidance from him is BETTER than what we've been told. And I will get to that, I promise. But first, another concept erroneously taught as the way we are to receive guidance from God:
Feeling Led
The concept of "feeling" led apparently comes from various texts that speak rather in terms of "being" led by the Spirit. (No text speaks of "feeling" led.) These texts include Matthew 4:1 and Luke 4:1, which describe Jesus’ being led by the Spirit into the wilderness temptation; and Romans 8:14, "For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God", and Galatians 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law".
To Paul, being “led by the Spirit” means simply that one is a believer and is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. Born-again people are led by the Spirit, in contrast to unbelievers, who "live according to the flesh". Paul uses other phrases that mean the same thing as being led by the Spirit: "walk according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:4); "live according to the Spirit" (Romans 8:5); "set the mind on the Spirit" (Romans 8:6). Being led by the Spirit is the same thing as "by the Spirit putting to death the deeds of the body": "For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. FOR all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God" (Romans 8:13-14).
In talking about being led by the Spirit, Paul is not talking at all about inward guidance for decision-making or an inward voice of God. B.B. Warfield said of this phrase that "the spiritual leading of which Paul speaks is... to enable us to conquer sin". "Led by the Spirit" means that we belong to God and that through his indwelling Spirit, have the power to overcome sin and temptation.
In Matthew 4 and Luke 4, Jesus is led by the Spirit into the wilderness. This does indeed mean that Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness! But we must realize that the account is not teaching us to expect anything of the sort. Jesus is God, the second Person of the Trinity. His travail in the wilderness was extremely meaningful and solemn. This was no being led to decide correctly on a car purchase. This was a matter of his perfect obedience to the Father in accomplishing the salvation of sinners. His relationship to the Father and to the Spirit was, and is, unique to him.
We are not to use this passage to make the case that we all should experience such direct guidance by the Spirit. We mustn't trivialize such a solemn and weighty event by using it to claim such experiences for ourselves. (For more on the problem with using narrative passages to teach us what to expect in guidance, see this, scrolling down to "Descriptive passages do not teach us to expect the same").
Waiting in Silence and Be Still and Know
These and similar phrases in Scripture have, at times, been misunderstood to mean that God’s people should listen for him to speak as they wait in stillness and silence. "For God alone my soul waits in silence..." (Psalm 62:1a) is one such phrase that has been used in that sense. But the very next half of the verse shows that David is not waiting to hear God's voice inwardly, but is waiting for rescue: "... from Him comes my salvation" (Psalm 62:1b). Psalm 62 is a song about God’s deliverance from the schemes of wicked men. It proclaims that God is the only Savior: "For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is in him" (verse 5). In verse 11, David says, "Once God has spoken; twice have I heard this, that power belongs to God…"; this statement is related to David's office as prophet in proclaiming the greatness of God. It is not related to inner guidance for decision-making.
Similarly, “Be still and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10a) is another text sometimes misused to teach listening for inner guidance from God. In Psalm 46, “be still and know” is a plural command, as God is speaking to the nations among whom he will eventually be exalted, as the context of the Psalm shows. He is reassuring his people that although "the nations rage, and kingdoms totter", his people can rest and know that their God will finally make the kingdom of this world to become his kingdom alone (Revelation 11:15). Psalm 46 speaks of the greatness and of the final exaltation of God among the nations. It is not a text modeling how to get inner guidance for decisions or problem-solving!
Well, these three examples, combined with my other posts on the topic, I hope have instilled real doubt as to whether the Bible really teaches that we are to listen inwardly for God's voice, whether in prayer or at any other time. Now it's time to bring out the good news, the positive: how ARE we to be guided by God? How ARE we to hear his voice? I will address these good and important questions in the next post. The answers are good news because it is the truth that makes us free, and his word is truth! (John 8:32, John 17:17)
Monday, April 1, 2013
Don't Be An April (Or A May Or June Or July!) Fool
Solomon, son of David, King of Israel, did not want his son (or me or you) to be fooled (or fools). He begins his collection of "sayings of the wise" designed to prevent that with Proverbs 1:1-7, which introduces the hope that the reader will:
know wisdom and instruction and understand words of insight (verse 2)
and
receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity (verse 3).
The words of these sayings, says Solomon, are able to "give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth" (verse 4).
The challenge of Solomon to the reader is this:
"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a figure [an enigma], the words of the wise and their riddles" (verses 5 and 6).
Both the fulfilling of the grand purpose of Solomon's collection of proverbs, and the success of the reader's efforts, depend on one thing: the reader (student) having the "fear of the Lord".
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (verse 7).
What characterizes the one who has the fear of the Lord? If the fool "despises wisdom and instruction", then the characterizing mark of the one who fears the Lord is the love of wisdom and instruction. But not just anything we want to label as wisdom or instruction will do. Solomon, and all the Scriptures, teach that there is one and only one source for such: the Scriptures themselves.
This is what God says concerning the Scripture (his words):
"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 62:2).
Proverbs appeals to the simple to find prudence, to the youth to gain knowledge and discretion from instruction. It challenges the wise to hear and increase in learning, and offers to the one who understands guidance in understanding more. Overall, Proverbs makes the appeal to remain always and foremost a true disciple, a learner. Do you want to be one on whom the Lord will cast his approving eye? Become more and more a student of God's word, and learn more and more what it means to tremble at it; for this is how we learn, more and more, the fear of the Lord.
know wisdom and instruction and understand words of insight (verse 2)
and
receive instruction in wise dealing, in righteousness, justice, and equity (verse 3).
The words of these sayings, says Solomon, are able to "give prudence to the simple, knowledge and discretion to the youth" (verse 4).
The challenge of Solomon to the reader is this:
"Let the wise hear and increase in learning, and the one who understands obtain guidance, to understand a proverb and a figure [an enigma], the words of the wise and their riddles" (verses 5 and 6).
Both the fulfilling of the grand purpose of Solomon's collection of proverbs, and the success of the reader's efforts, depend on one thing: the reader (student) having the "fear of the Lord".
"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction" (verse 7).
What characterizes the one who has the fear of the Lord? If the fool "despises wisdom and instruction", then the characterizing mark of the one who fears the Lord is the love of wisdom and instruction. But not just anything we want to label as wisdom or instruction will do. Solomon, and all the Scriptures, teach that there is one and only one source for such: the Scriptures themselves.
This is what God says concerning the Scripture (his words):
"All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the LORD. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word" (Isaiah 62:2).
Proverbs appeals to the simple to find prudence, to the youth to gain knowledge and discretion from instruction. It challenges the wise to hear and increase in learning, and offers to the one who understands guidance in understanding more. Overall, Proverbs makes the appeal to remain always and foremost a true disciple, a learner. Do you want to be one on whom the Lord will cast his approving eye? Become more and more a student of God's word, and learn more and more what it means to tremble at it; for this is how we learn, more and more, the fear of the Lord.
Saturday, February 9, 2013
"You Shall See"
In Isaiah 66, God tells of the wonderful, glorious consolations coming to His children upon the resurrection of the body, in the new earth. The descriptions make one's heart ache with longing to see it all come true. These glorious promises having been shown to Isaiah, and Isaiah having written them down for our hope and encouragement, we are left with the solemn promise that "You shall see, and your heart shall rejoice..." (Isaiah 66:14).
The time is coming that God's people will physically see all the things that Isaiah was shown, the things we now "see" by faith. Our faith shall become physical sight; the veil (our frail mortality) that now hinders, the glass that we now see through only, comparatively, "darkly" will be transformed. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).
The same solemn assurance that all these things will surely come to pass is given at the close of the canon of Scripture when the angel says to John, "These words are trustworthy and true... the Lord God... has sent His angel to show his servants what must soon take place" (Revelation 22:6).
He sent his angel to show, and what John saw was recorded in words, and through faith we see these words to be true. And that is all we need; it's enough for now. But the day is coming for a different seeing--our physical eyes shall behold it all. "You will see, and your hearts shall rejoice."
Come soon!
The time is coming that God's people will physically see all the things that Isaiah was shown, the things we now "see" by faith. Our faith shall become physical sight; the veil (our frail mortality) that now hinders, the glass that we now see through only, comparatively, "darkly" will be transformed. "We shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John 3:2).
The same solemn assurance that all these things will surely come to pass is given at the close of the canon of Scripture when the angel says to John, "These words are trustworthy and true... the Lord God... has sent His angel to show his servants what must soon take place" (Revelation 22:6).
He sent his angel to show, and what John saw was recorded in words, and through faith we see these words to be true. And that is all we need; it's enough for now. But the day is coming for a different seeing--our physical eyes shall behold it all. "You will see, and your hearts shall rejoice."
Come soon!
Friday, February 8, 2013
Making God's Thoughts Our Thoughts
"For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts"
(Isaiah 55:8-9)
"'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:16).
It struck me (anew) this morning how important the scriptures are in our knowing God. When God said through Isaiah that his thoughts are not our thoughts, he wasn't saying we can't know his thoughts (you can really see this when you read that chapter in its entirety). He is saying that the thoughts that spring up in our minds from our own desires, from our own schemes and ambitions, fall far short of his plan; we should abandon them! It's like what happened with dear Peter. "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:22-23).
The great thing is that we can learn (as Peter did!) what God's thoughts are and what his ways are, and start to think with his thoughts and ways--we can have, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, the mind of Christ. All the Scriptures are Christ's words and mind and thoughts, recorded for us to read and understand by the help of his Spirit within us. Remember that God is trinitarian-- He is three Persons in one essence-- and all three persons of the trinity are at work to help us have the mind of Christ. God wants us to know and understand him, and he has decided that we will do so through the words declaring his thoughts and ways in the Scriptures.
His thoughts are not our thoughts, how true! So let's be about the work of recognizing this, and of trading our poor thinking and ways (as wonderful as we once thought they were) for the far better thinking and ways we learn through the words of Scripture. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
neither are your ways my ways, declares the LORD.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts"
(Isaiah 55:8-9)
"'For who has understood the mind of the Lord so as to instruct him?' But we have the mind of Christ" (2 Corinthians 2:16).
It struck me (anew) this morning how important the scriptures are in our knowing God. When God said through Isaiah that his thoughts are not our thoughts, he wasn't saying we can't know his thoughts (you can really see this when you read that chapter in its entirety). He is saying that the thoughts that spring up in our minds from our own desires, from our own schemes and ambitions, fall far short of his plan; we should abandon them! It's like what happened with dear Peter. "From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. And Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him, saying, “Far be it from you, Lord! This shall never happen to you.” But he turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:22-23).
The great thing is that we can learn (as Peter did!) what God's thoughts are and what his ways are, and start to think with his thoughts and ways--we can have, as Paul says in 2 Corinthians, the mind of Christ. All the Scriptures are Christ's words and mind and thoughts, recorded for us to read and understand by the help of his Spirit within us. Remember that God is trinitarian-- He is three Persons in one essence-- and all three persons of the trinity are at work to help us have the mind of Christ. God wants us to know and understand him, and he has decided that we will do so through the words declaring his thoughts and ways in the Scriptures.
His thoughts are not our thoughts, how true! So let's be about the work of recognizing this, and of trading our poor thinking and ways (as wonderful as we once thought they were) for the far better thinking and ways we learn through the words of Scripture. "For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart" (Hebrews 4:12).
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
Figuring Out Why
Do you ever wonder about (1) your purpose in life, or (2) God's purpose in allowing hardship and sorrow into your life? I've been thinking about this, and it seems to me that Christians of yesteryear didn't overly concern themselves with those questions. I think the reason is that more of them were acquainted with the big themes of Scripture, which end up answering those questions very satisfactorily.
The Bible had taught them that their purpose in life as the redeemed of God was to let their lights so shine before men that men would see their good works, and so glorify their Father in heaven (Matthew 5:16); to tell to the next generation the glorious deeds of God, and his might, and the wonders that he has done (Psalm 78:4); to love one another, fervently and from the heart, rejoicing with those who rejoiced and weeping with those who were weeping (Romans 12:15). Stuff like that. And all that stuff was summed up in Romans 8:29, which told them that God was at work through all things to make them more like Christ. They knew that their purpose in this brief life was to sojourn faithfully, as pilgrims and aliens "looking forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder is God" (Hebrews 11:10). They were to help each other along this troubled (but blessed) journey, and they were to bring along as many as they possibly could, strengthened for the task by God himself. That's quite a purpose!
So that's the purpose for every Christian; but what about God's purpose for allowing all the hardship and sorrow in our lives? The Bible had given those stalwart saints of yesteryear all they needed to know about that, too. It's important to know that they didn't ask for tailor-made answers to their individual circumstances... they understood that the only real answer to "why" came from Scripture, and though it was the same answer for all believers, it was wonderfully sufficient.
The Scriptures told them that not only was their purpose to live a life of increasing conformity to Christ, but that God's purpose in it was for a very exciting outcome: "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" (1 Peter 1:7), and so that they may be presented "blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy" (Jude 1:24). God's main purpose for them in this life, having delivered them from the domain of darkness and transferred them to the kingdom of his beloved son (Colossians 1:13), was to prepare them, through this (comparatively) "light, momentary affliction", for "an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison" (2 Corinthians 4:17). If we are God's children then we are heirs with Christ to this eternal weight of glory, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him (Romans 8:17). God's purpose in our suffering? Future glory with him!
Christians of yesteryear understood these things, often going back to the message of patient Job, who did not, in this life, know the full story about why the hard trials had to come his way; but who trusted the God who knew. These saints of old didn't fret it, and neither should we. "Farther along we'll know more about it... farther along we'll understand why." God has given us his word to cheer us on our way as we travel with hope toward the coming resurrection of the body and of the glorious new heavens and new earth, where righteousness dwells-- where we shall no longer see as through a mirror, dimly, but shall at last see "face to (beloved!) Face". "Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known" (1 Corinthians 13:12).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)