Why God?

A fellow believer approached me this past week and asked me for my opinion and counsel. She has battled cancer twice in her life and she has begun to feel emotions of anger towards God for allowing this to happen. So the question that so many people ask of God is "why?" She felt guilty for her anger towards God and even for questioning why God would allow her to have cancer twice. I explained that sickness and death are the result of human sin. It is not wrong to wonder what God is doing and why He is doing it? It is natural for us to have questions about His will when all we see is pain and hardship. We see men in Bible such as Elijah, Job, and David who all questioned God as to why He was allowing certain things to happen. Sometimes these men did not have the right attitude, but they - like us - have had questions for God.

I advised her to take her frustration and her burdens to the Lord in prayer. Tell the Lord that you have these feelings of resentment when you know you shouldn't. Tell the Lord that you just don't understand what is going on. There have been times in my life when I have been angry and confused. Whenever I have laid these burdens down before the Lord, I'm always humbled by His peace and sovereignty. The Lord has opened my eyes that I need to trust Him more rather than leaning on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5). If you have questions for God, do not hesitate to ask. However, we should not throw accusations at God like Job as if we know what is best. Humble yourself before Him and genuinely seek a word from Him that you may have peace. It is not sinful to wonder why. It is sinful to accuse God as if we are His judge. Lay your burdens before the Lord and He will give you rest.

"Come unto Me, all who are weary and heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls" ~ Matthew 11:28-29 (NASB)

Birth, Cross, or Resurrection?

A family member of mine had a devotional on a Christmas Eve and made the statement that the resurrection was the most important event of Christ's life on earth. The resurrection of Christ is monumental as we can read in 1 Corinthians 15. If Christ did not come back to life and ascend to heaven at the right hand of God, He is no better than other religious leaders such as Buddha, Mohammed, and etc. As believers, our faith would be hopeless without the resurrection.

However, I would not go so far as to say that the resurrection is more important than the crucifixion or virgin birth of Jesus. In order to fairly weigh the value of each of these major events in Jesus' life, we need to look at them individually. Jesus was not the first person to be raised from the dead. In the Gospels we can read that even Jesus brought other people back to life. Ezekiel saw the dry bones become flesh. Elijah, Elisha, Peter, and Paul were also used by the Lord in raising the dead. So Jesus was not the first, but He is the only one who was raised to life and would not taste death again. He is the only one who is seated at the right hand of God. But if we remove the virgin birth and crucifixion, we simply have a miracle of a man coming back to life.

Jesus also was not the only person to be crucified on a wooden cross. There were thieves crucified with Him and the Romans made crucifixions a public capital punishment. Jesus was probably not the first innocent person to be crucified either. So without the virgin birth of Christ and His resurrection, Jesus was simply another innocent man being unjustly executed.

Now the virgin birth of Jesus is a miracle not seen anywhere else in the Bible. Both of Jesus' parents were born of natural conception, but Jesus was a perfect, sinless child that was not conceived from a mother and father. Rather, the Lord overshadowed Mary and placed the child in her womb. Once again, without the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, He was simply a miracle child given by God.

Yet, when we place all three of these events together into the life of Christ as they happened, we have the Son of God. A perfect, sinless child born of a virgin, prophesied of centuries before, performing miracles, forgiving sins, and then only to unjustly die on a cross for sins He did not commit and then came back from the dead and ascended into heaven. It's an amazing series of events that are all tied together and cannot be separated. As believers, our sins could not have been paid for by a man full of sin himself. Our faith would be hopeless and pitiable without Christ's resurrection. Our sins could not have been paid for if Jesus had died a natural death of old age. He had to be the perfect, sinless, unspotted sacrificial lamb to atone for our sins. Because of His miraculous birth, atoning death, and resurrection, Christ is our Prophet, Priest, King, and Redeemer.

Why Does God Relent?

A brother in the Lord commented on my post, "The Power of Prayer?" and inspired me to write formally about God relenting to the prayers of people. If God's will cannot and will not be changed, why does God relent in Scripture? Why do we see the Lord show mercy to the Ninevites in the book of Jonah or why does God not obliterate the Israelites when His anger burns against them? The best way to answer these questions (since they are based on Scriptural stories) is to reply to them with Scripture.

In regards to God relenting in response to repentance, there is a wonderful passage which is Jeremiah 18:5-10 and it says, "Then the word of the LORD came to me saying, 'Can I not, O house of Israel, deal with you as this potter does?' declares the LORD. 'Behold, like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to uproot, to pull down, or to destroy it; if that nation against which I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent concerning the calamity I planned to bring on it. Or at another moment I might speak concerning a nation or concerning a kingdom to build up or to plant it; if it does evil in My sight by not obeying My voice, then I will think better of the good with which I had promised to bless it'" (NASB).

This passage reveals that the Lord intends to punish those who are wicked and show mercy to those who repent from wickedness and turn to Him. Sin will lead to God's wrath and repentance will lead to God's mercy. God will bless His children if they pursue Him and punish them if they turn away to sin instead. Every action has a consequence in God's plan. For example, if America pursues the Lord Jesus and promotes biblical principles and morals, the Lord will bless it. But if America turns away from the Lord to pursue wickedness, God will uproot us. I personally believe that the prosperity and freedom in America originated from a love for the Lord. The Separatists and Puritans wanted religious freedom, not just some extra acreage. They wanted to serve the Lord zealously apart from a state-run, oppressive, heretical church. The Lord blessed America and we became one of the most desirable places to live over a century ago. But Christianity has been put away in America and is even being erased from our history books so that it appears as if Christianity had no influence in our early years. Now Christianity is scorned, lewdness is accepted, fornication expected, and the most abominable sins are tolerated. Unfortunately, America is now the target of many nations for terrorism. We are hated, attacked on our own land, our economy is in dire straits, unemployment abounds, and we have been at war for ten years now with terrorists. I believe this is a perfect example of sowing and reaping. An organization called Wall Builders has some amazing research about the Christian history of America and how the decline of Christianity in America is correlated to the moral decline of America.

Yet, there is still hope for a nation that turns away from God.  In 2 Chronicles 7:13-15 the Lord says, "If I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or if I command the locust to devour the land, or if I send pestilence among My people, and My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin and will heal their land. Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to the prayer offered in this place" (NASB). The Lord promised Israel that if they humbled themselves, repented, and sought the face of the Lord, Yahweh, He would heal their land and forgive their sin. Though these two verses are about Israel, I do believe that there is hope for a nation like America if it were to make a U-Turn away from immorality and return to Christianity. The Lord spared the Ninevites because they cried out to Him for mercy and forgiveness. I believe the Lord would forgive America and heal the land if the people cried out to Him in repentance.

I would like to conclude this post on a verse that ties all of my recent posts on prayer together. 1 Samuel 15:35 says, "Also the Glory of Israel will not lie or change His mind; for He is not a man that He should change His mind" (NASB). The Lord does not change His mind. When people pray, His will is not changed by the power of their prayer. Yet, prayer is necessary to humble us before the Lord and to accept His sovereign will. The Lord also states that He will punish the wicked and show mercy to the contrite. It is in God's will to forgive and to justly punish.

Why Pray?

Many Christians understand that God's is completely sovereign and His will cannot be changed. This then leads some believers to wonder why they should even pray if God's will cannot be changed. The second misunderstanding about prayer is that it is pointless. Nothing could be further from the truth. Just because my prayers do not alter God's will does not mean I should not pray. Jesus instructed His disciples to pray that the Lord's will be done in heaven and on earth. Prayer is an act of submission. Of course I want things to happen and I want God's omnipotent help with it, but ultimately prayer is for me to submit. I lay my requests before the Lord, but I have to be willing to accept any outcome He chooses. If He wants you to go to Uganda instead of Australia, to be a chef instead of lawyer, a homemaker and mother instead of a senator, then the Lord's will be done.

The other day my heart was greatly burdened about resigning my own interests to God's will. I had a situation that was not going to end in the outcome I desired. Of course I wanted the situation to end my way, but the Lord impressed upon my heart that it's not my will, but His. I should not readily assume that the best outcome for me is what I think it should be. As humans, our perception of God's will is limited to the here and now. We cannot see years down the road how things will unfold. We cannot see what God is doing in the life of someone else. All we see is our own life from our own eyes. Though circumstances arise in life when it gets difficult, I need to have the faith that God knows what He is doing more than I do. If you look back at your past, think of the prayers you have prayed and where you are now. Some have been answered and some have not. Did God answer every prayer that Moses prayed? No. Did God answer every prayer that David prayed? No. Did God answer every prayer that Jonah prayed? No. But all of their prayers brought them to their knees before the Lord and they had to submit to whatever the Lord chose to do. Think on the apostle Paul. He prayed on three separate occasions for the Lord to remove the thorn in his flesh that was undoubtedly from Satan. God answered Paul's prayer, but not in the way he requested. God simply said, "My grace is sufficient for you" (2 Corinthians 12:9). We can ask of the Lord and He may answer our prayer, but it also might not be the answer we were looking for. The answer might be yes, no, or wait.

In John Piper's book, Think, he has a great part on prayer. I think Piper captures the idea that God answers prayer as His will intends:

"What if you ask the question, 'Does Jesus promise that our heavenly Father always gives just what we ask for?' Hmmm. I'll have to reread to make sure. Well, it doesn't say that in so many words. Ask. Seek. Knock. Receive. Find. Door opened. But it doesn't say precisely what we receive and find. What about the human father? Does it say he gives exactly what his son asks? Check it. No. It says what he won't give - a stone and a snake.

"Now this is worth thinking about. It seems that the point of this text is that God really loves to give when we ask. He is not stingy. He is not bothered when we come. He is eager to give. And He doesn't toy with us. He doesn't put rocks in our lunchbox, or snakes in our Happy Meal. He gives us what is good for us. That seems to be the point.

"But what if we ask for something that is bad for us? My little son Benjamin once asked for a cracker, and when I opened the box they were moldy. I told him that they had fuzz on them. He wasn't sure what I was talking about and said, 'I'll eat the fuzz.' But I didn't give them to him. He got some other treat that day. Maybe not what he preferred. But it was good for him. He asked. I gave. But not the exact request. I love him too much for that."

The Lord loves His children and He wants us to ask from Him. Jesus told His disciples to pray and ask of the Lord. But the challenging thing is to accept what is given to us by the Lord. We may receive poverty instead of prosperity, suffering instead of luxury, sickness instead of healing, but ultimately the Lord is not going to give us something that is bad or evil for us. Sickness and poverty may seem like a bad thing to accept, but think about how sickness and poverty spiritually impact us. Being very sick turns my heart greatly to the Lord. Being financially strapped makes me turn to the Lord more than I would if I had a bank account full of money. Suffering for the Lord instead of having luxurious life will make me turn to the Lord. When we ask from the Lord, we have to place our faith and submission in His will. He knows best. It's not pointless to pray. God wants us to come to Him with our burdens. He wants us to yearn for Him and need Him. He wants us to submit to His will, not ours. We can ask, but it doesn't mean that we will receive what we want. God is omniscient, we are not. Our prayers don't alter the will that He knows is best for us.

The Power of Prayer?

Throughout my life, I have heard countless Christians talk about the "power of prayer". I have also heard people call others "men of prayer". What exactly is this supposed to mean? Does a person's prayer have some sway over God's will?

Mankind cannot change God's will through prayer. There are two misunderstandings about prayer that I want to address. I will only address one of them in this post and leave the second for a post next week. The first misconception is that Christians have a mystical tool called prayer. I see among many evangelical Christians that they hold to a view that if we bombard God with a multitude of petitions, He will relent and answer our prayer. They seem to think that their prayer should be answered. As I mentioned earlier, many Christians seem to think that some particular believers have some sort of special access to God through the prayer line because they can pray so eloquently. However, we must note that Paul never persuaded people with eloquence of words. Therefore, God cannot be persuaded by how grandiose our prayers are.

Unfortunately, the Christians who feel that prayer - in and of itself - is powerful become discouraged when their prayers are unanswered. I recall listening to an older Christian who frustratedly confessed that God refused to answer any of his prayers... as if He had to. He was bitter towards the Lord because He [God] seemed to do the exact opposite of what he [the Christian] was praying. Another Christian posed the question to the disgruntled believer: "do you think you are praying outside of God's will?" This is a great question to keep in our minds because we can often pray for things that we want and not want what God wants. Many Arminian Christians become frustrated with God when He chooses to act outside of their "free" will. The free will belief does not yield to God's sovereignty and especially does not yield in the matter of prayer. Rather, the free will belief harbors the misconception that Christians wield some superstitious power called prayer. What they fail to realize is that the power is not in prayer nor the believer who speaks the prayer, but the power belongs to God and God's will to be done. There is no power if I utter words about life, death, healing, evil, or good. The power is in God's sovereign, omnipotent will. I must stress that God's will is going to be accomplished. Period. Man's will, even in the matter of prayer, does not supersede the will of the Lord Almighty.

"Your eyes have seen my unformed substance; and in Your book were written all the days that were ordained for me, when as yet there was not one of them." ~ Psalm 139:16 (NASB)

Most Christians understand that the Lord has ordained a number of days for each of us to live. When our appointed time comes to die, then we face the judgment (Hebrews 9:27). Hypothetically, let us assume that you are sick and dying. So you and your family immediately beg of the Lord to spare you and heal your body. If the Lord has already predetermined to take your life on this coming Wednesday, will your prayers change His will? Will the prayers of many Christians change His will for your life? The answer to both questions is "no". Not every prayer that we pray will be answered in the way we desire. God's ways are not our ways and His thoughts are not our thoughts (Isaiah 55:8). We can no more change the will of God than Moses, Elijah, or even Jesus. If you recall, Jesus asked God the Father while in the Garden of Gethsemane if there was a way for the cup to pass from Him. Matthew 26:39 says that "He went a little beyond them, and fell on His face and prayed, saying, 'My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from Me; yet not as I will, but as You will.'" Even though Christ did not want to suffer the pain and agony of a horrible death, He was willing and submissive to the will of the Father. God the Father's will did not change at the behest of His beloved Son. Since God's will does not change, Jesus was able to be our spotless Lamb and perfect sacrifice when we could never be. The death of Christ is a beautiful picture of submissiveness to the Father's will. Isaac was willing to be sacrificed at the hand of his father Abraham, but Isaac could not be the sacrifice. He was not the perfect sacrifice. Jesus did not want to die a brutal death. He even prayed for the cup to pass from Him. But since He knew that the Father's will was going to be fulfilled, He willingly submitted out of love for His Father and love for us. It is a breathtaking message of love, sovereignty, justice, forgiveness, submission, and redemption.

There is no power in our prayers. The power all belongs to God. When you pray, remember to say as Jesus said, "yet not as I will, but as You will."

A Part of the Bigger Plan

"Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?" ~ Job 38:4a (NASB)

 At times it can be very easy for me to think of my part in God's plan as the solo plan. It can be easy to assume that I am the last act in the show, the last pitch in the game, and the last speech at a conference. Last week, I began to spend a lot of time thinking about how it is not all about me. Even in reference to the will of the Lord... it's not all about me and the Christians around me. The Lord's sovereign plan is greater than my own existence. His plan started before the foundation of the world and will continue on for His glory after my days are spent. Even the apostles of the Lord felt as if they were living in the last days. Many church patriarchs were convinced that Nero, the emperor of Rome, was the Antichrist and the Lord would be returning soon. It is easy for believers to get swept up in the current time and assume that our lives are "it". I don't want to be so presumptuous as to assume that my present day is the last day in God's elaborate will. The Protestant Reformers were confident that the popes of Rome were Antichrists. They set the world on fire for the Lord and opposed an evil, unscriptural institution, but it was not the end.

You and I are but a part of the bigger plan. We are but a piece of the unfinished design. It is foolish, but my selfish nature even creeps into my regenerated heart and says that God exists to cater to me. Nothing could be further from the truth. I have been created to serve and glorify God. Charles Spurgeon, Martin Luther, John Wycliffe, Irenaeus, Polycarp, and the apostles of the Lord were all created for His glory. We have all been created to be a part of the God's plan. We all play a small part in His bigger plan. And when it is all said and done, every person's existence, whether evil or good, will have radiated the glory, mercy, holiness, and just nature of Christ.

Truth Matters

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" ~ 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NASB).

One thing that has become more and more important to me through the years is the authority of the inspired Word of God. American government does not defer to the Bible as an authority anymore and the American culture believes good and evil are relative and dependent upon each person's point of view. Christianity has to hold on to the Word of God since it is our only written message about our Lord and Savior. Truth does matter. Even though our culture views many sins as acceptable or even admirable, this does not make it right. Cultures come and go; societies change with each generation of people. The one thing that endures is the truth of the Holy Scriptures. 

I am particularly excited about attending is the Truth Matters Conference this September presented by Grace to You. John MacArthur and GTY are very passionate about the authoritative, inerrant, and divinely inspired Word of God. If any of you are interested in attending a great conference about the truth of God's Word and how it does matter in our society and church, please feel free to check it out.

The Universal Lie

There is a lie that is spreading in Christianity and is gaining popularity: universalism.The belief that God will love and accept everyone into His bliss has become popular among professing Christians and non-Christians alike. It is a nice notion to think that no matter what you believe or how you live, you are still homeward bound towards God's heaven. But this is far from the truth. The God of Christianity has revealed Himself and His redemptive work in the Holy Bible. Universalism is indefensible with Scripture. Actually, Scripture repeatedly describes that the gate is "narrow" and that only are a few are "chosen" though many are called.

Despite Scriptural evidence that Christians have to spread the Good News to a depraved, perishing humanity, some professing Christians like Rob Bell favor a God who will ultimately redeem everyone, some even after death. In his latest book, "Love Wins", Bell promotes a gospel that is not found in Scripture, but one that is more appealing to a lost and dying world. The God of Christianity is God over the universe, but His redemptive plan does not universally accept those who reject Him. I typically have not placed videos on Flee From These Things, but I found this video to be disconcerting in reference to Rob Bell and exceptional in regards to the interviewer, Martin Bashir. 

 

I am very grateful that Martin Bashir was aggressive enough to challenge Rob Bell's new gospel, his citation of heretical men like Origen, and his poor use of Scripture. Christianity must cling to Scripture because it is the inspired, inerrant, and authoritative Word of God. If Christians do not use Scripture, then there is no other foundation for Christianity except for what "feels" and "sounds" good. Universalism may sound good and warm the hearts of many non-believers, but it is unscriptural. The truth of Scripture matters. Sola Scriptura.

"Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. For the gate is small and and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it" ~ Matthew 7:13-14 (NASB).

No One is Born Redeemed

To my great joy, I have finished up Seminary and am now free and able to write and read as time permits. There have been so many books that I have wanted to catch up on, but was unable to because of graduate school. I have not wasted much time, but have already begun reading many wonderful books and discovered others that were far less wonderful and disposed of them. One particular book that has been in my Kindle library was Decision Points by America’s 43^rd president, George W. Bush. This autobiography has allowed me to see another side to our former president that I never saw behind all of the hate the media broadcasted towards him. It has been enjoyable to read from his point of view how events unfolded for him in America. Yet, this book also greatly disturbed me when it recorded a conversation by America’s most well known evangelist, Billy Graham. This section of the book reads as follows:

The first question was from Dad (George Bush senior). He said, “Billy, some people say you have to have a born-again experience to go to heaven. Mother [my grandmother] here is the most religious, kind person I know, yet she has had no born-again experience. Will she go to heaven?” Wow, pretty profound question from the old man. We all looked at Billy. In his quiet, strong voice, he replied, “George, some of us require a born-again experience to understand God, and some of us are born Christians. It sounds as if your mom was just born a Christian” [1].

When I read this, I had to immediately back-track and reread the part to be sure that I hadn’t misunderstood Billy Graham. Had he just lied to the Bush family about salvation? I don’t believe that Billy Graham was intentionally trying to deceive the Bush family, but I fear that Billy Graham actually believes some people are born saved. How can such a well-known Protestant evangelist believe that a person can be born justified and redeemed by the blood of Christ without a confession of sin and a surrender to Jesus’ Lordship? If what Billy Graham said was true, then many passages in the Bible are erroneous. The Great Commission is not so great. There is not much of an urgency to spread the Word of God if some people are just born Christians. If people are born Christians, then I should have been to. I was born into a Christian family, raised in church, and my father has been a pastor for nearly all of my life. However, this is not true. I was a horrible sinner and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to how depraved and desperate I was in November of 1994 when He gave me the faith to believe in Him and redeemed my soul from darkness. If there were a man in the Bible who should have been born saved, it would have been Paul before his famous trip to Damascus. He wrote to the Philippians and said:

“If anyone else has a mind to put confidence in the flesh, I far more: circumcised the eighth day, of the nation of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the Law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless” Philippians 3:4b-6 (NASB).

Before Paul was called by Christ, he was doing everything right according to Jewish law. He was faithful, blameless, circumcised, zealous, and a Hebrew Pharisee. Yet, none of these things made him born a believer justified in the sight of God. Please, do not simply believe all that is written and taught by other Christians. Test it against the Word of God. Scripture must be our standard. If we do not stand upon Scripture, we have no foundation for what we believe. As Christians, the Lord we worship is disclosed in Scripture… nowhere else. Here are some passages to remind us all of how we are all born separated from God and in dire need of His salvation:

“As it is written, ‘There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one’” Romans 3:10-12 (NASB).

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” Romans 3:23 (NASB).

“Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my mother conceived me” Psalm 51:5 (NASB).

“If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us” 1 John 1:8-10 (NASB).

“That if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation” Romans 10:9-10 (NASB).

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[1] George W. Bush, Decision Points (New York: Crown Publishers, 2010) 31.