How to Deal With the Past Biblically Part Three
For this third post in our series, we will shift gears from discussing times in our past that we were guilty to times in our past the we are, as far as we can tell, innocent. There are two types of situations that people typically deal with when struggling with “innocent” issues in their past: 1. Times when a person has directly sinned against you and 2. Times of trial due to living in a fallen world.
When you have been directly sinned against, this is often the most difficult. God created us to live in communities such as families and churches and when the trust of those communities is broken it hurts us deeply. And then when you factor in our individualistic culture which tells us that we are often justified in harboring bitterness or withholding forgiveness when it is asked of us in such situations, it makes it even more difficult.
Hear me on this, Christian:
God never brings sinful choices of others to bear upon so that you will be crushed and defeated! He only brings them upon you so that you can bring His Kingdom of grace, love, and truth into this dark kingdom of lies, guilt, bitterness, and shame. When you excercise His grace to those around you, you become more like His Son and His Son is more glorified in the lives of those around you.
So, how does this work? How do we do it? Once again, a teaching outline from Faith Baptist Church is very helpful. Follow the thought process step by step and ask the Lord for the grace to live as a citizen of His Kingdom in this fallen world.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:31-32
How to Deal with the Past Biblically Part Two
Last week, we saw how to deal with the areas in our past that can be placed in the category of our “unconfessed guilty past.” This week, we’ll look at how to deal with those areas from our past that can be categorized as our “confessed guilty past.” As I said in the first post of this series, the original ideas for these posts did not originate with me. I gleaned these truths from the faithful teaching of Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, IN where I was once a member.
How to Deal with the Confessed Sins of our Past Biblically
Within the church today, there is much confusion regarding confession of sin. Some people almost have a Catholic view, feeling that they must be granted “forgiveness” from their pastor. Others are plagued with nagging doubts over whether or not they can be forgiven for a sin that is “that big.” Many feel they must torture themselves for a while, forcing themselves into excessive sorrow before they can truly repent and therefore experience forgiveness. A few even act as though grace gives them a license to sin and they go about committing and confessing the same sin over and over with little remorse and no repentance. Sadly, all of these responses, though very common are not the least bit Biblical or helpful.
True sorrow leads to true confession which leads to true repentance which leads to true joy! There is no room for prideful “buts” or “I had to’s” in true confession.
Don’t wallow! If we truly take God at his word (1 John 1:9), then we have no reason to wallow in our confessed sins. Whether they are sins engaged in prior to coming to Christ or after experiencing the new birth makes no difference. If Christ’s sacrifice was truly enough to cleanse us of our sins (Hebrews 9:26), then we must view ourselves as God views us: forgiven. God is not impressed when we beat ourselves up over our past trespasses. We do no favor to our holiness and certainly no favor to God’s Kingdom by thinking this way. To wallow in our sins is to doubt the very character of God and to call God a liar. To wallow in our sins is to rob ourselves of joy and to neuter ourselves of the power of victorious living God has called us to. Just as Christ restored Peter (John 21:15-19) after he denied Him (Matthew 26:69-75), just as Christ prayed, “Father, forgive” the very men who slaughtered him (Luke 23:34), so can Christ forgive and restore you and me. In short, to wallow in our sin is to commit the sin of STINKIN’ THINKIN’ which is as awful as it sounds.
Psalm 103:12 as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
The great reformer of the church, Martin Luther could not get past the horribleness of his sins prior to his conversion, but once he understood the Gospel and was changed by it, he was the one who said, “Sin boldly!” This total forgiveness through the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice was what he was referring to.
Rejoice in God’s forgiveness! If we were to catch just a glimpse of hell, we Christians would be a much more joyous people. The fact that our sins are forgiven and our names are permanently written in the Lamb’s Book of Life gives us great cause for rejoicing! Christ came to give us abundant life (John 10:10) not just in eternity, but in the here and now! Jesus told his disciples to be more joyful about the fact that their sins were forgiven than about the fact that they had power over demons (Luke 10:20)! Just as the guilt of sin sucks the life out of us, the forgiveness of sin gives us a blessed existence. As the Psalmist sings, “Be glad in the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart (Psalm 32:1, 2, 11).
Proverbs 28:13 Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy. What a great promise!
Learn all the lessons you can! Many of us wish that “forgiven” meant we experienced amnesia regarding all of our sin. But in God’s economy, nothing is wasted. Everything (even our sinful actions) serves a purpose (Romans 8:28). Don’t carry around a load of guilt regarding past sins. Instead, let God redeem those sins and show the good that He wants to bring out of them. Whether it’s ministering to someone struggling with similar temptations, learning humility (1 Corinthians 10:12), or just being more and more amazed at the Lord’s overwhelming grace, grab all that you can! Surely one lesson we can learn is that of being forgiving people (Colossians 3:13). We who have been forgiven much cannot help but also forgive. It is almost unfathomable to think that our God is even sovereign over our sin (so much so that he even uses sin to fulfill His plans for us!), but we cannot deny the fact that God uses sin to accomplish His good purposes. Look at the greatest sin ever committed: killing the Son of God. If you’re on God’s agenda, you won’t want to let any suffering go to waste.
Move on! When you are tempted to stay in despair, self-pity, or guilt –move on! To stay in that place keeps you from moving forward in your Christian life. Do what you must, but you must move forward. A few years ago, I began noticing that several sins that I had committed prior to coming to Christ were repeatedly coming back to haunt me. I knew this was not God-honoring so I sought the Lord to see if there was any wrongs that I had not yet (to the best of my ability) righted. Discovering none, I prayerfully wrote down every one of those plaguing sins on a piece of paper. I acknowledged my freedom from guilt over these sins and ripped the paper up into tiny pieces. I threw the pieces in the trash can and now I have a very difficult time remembering any of the sins on that list. I should be clear that this is in no way some sort of magic formula for “getting sin guilt off your back.” At other times, I have been convinced that I should confess sins to this person or that and ask them to forgive me or remind me that I am forgiven. Some of these sins were committed against that particular person and some of them were not. Sin breeds sin best when left in the dark. If you expose it to the light, it withers and dies. The old adage, “Confession is good for the soul” is true because the secret darkness in which sin thrives is dispersed by the blinding light of the gospel of peace through that confession.
James 4:17 Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin. Don’t add sin upon sin by not acknowledging the forgiveness that God has given you. Christ gave you freedom –walk in that freedom!
How to Deal with the Past Biblically (Part One)
Our pastor shared with us this Sunday that we should not be defined by our past, rather our identity in Christ should define us. Sitting in the pew, I wondered, how many people mentally agree with that statement, but have no idea how that can be a reality in their life. In fact, it may be the case that more of us think thoughts like:
“If I could somehow erase my past, it would be much easier to serve God.”
“I thought I was following God’s will for my life. How could He let this happen?”
“If my spouse had not sinned against me in the past, I would be able to honor God in my marriage.”
“Things would be better if I could just go back to the way things were.”
“If I had never suffered abuse in the past, my future would be brighter.”
“If I had never sinned in that way, God would be able to use me.”
The fact of the matter is that every one of these statements is false. So, my goal in this blog post and probably the next few is to provide helpful material on how to put off the lies concerning our past and put on the truth concerning our identity in Christ. I should say upfront, that much of my material including the basic outline is not original with me, rather it is material I was exposed to while I was blessed to be a member of Faith Baptist Church in Lafayette, IN.
Everyone has a past -no one denies that. The problems with our past often come when we forget who gave us our past. God himself, the One who created time, who gave us a linear existence, and who gave us a memory -He is the One who gave us all a past. We can become obsessed with our past to the point that it renders us useless in regards to the present or the future. In fact, many believers buy the lie that the best way to deal with todays struggles centers on analyzing our past to death. While I certainly don’t endorse this type of man-centered navel-gazing, I do believe that all of us have problems in our past that we must deal with. I also believe that since God gave us a past, and since God loves us, He must have given us a proven and sure way to deal with our past. And indeed He has -in His Word.
Our past can’t really be handled in one big lump. We can usually separate our past into four different categories:
1. Our Unconfessed Guilty Past
2. Our Confessed Guilty Past
3. Our Innocent Past (in which we have been directly sinned against)
4. Our Innocent Past (in which we have experienced trials due to living in a fallen world)
For the remainder of this post, let’s focus on number one, our unconfessed guilty past.
If we had the choice, I’m sure that all of us would choose to never sin after we have come “out of darkness and into his marvelous light” (1 Pet. 2:9), but the reality is that we all have sin still dwelling in us. The Bible calls this “the flesh” (1 Pet. 2:11) or “the old self” (Col. 3:9). Although we are repeatedly told to put off these evil desires, we repeatedly fail and plunge headlong into sin. This sin becomes part of our past and the sooner we deal with it, the better off we’ll be. Indeed, the lack of dealing with it will make us feel the heavy burden of our “bones wasting away” and “our strength drying up as by the summer heat” (Psalm 32:3-4) due to God’s “heavy hand” of conviction upon us (Psalm 38). We may try to move forward in our Christian walk, but our Father will continually be pointing His finger back to the point when we sinned against Him -telling us to deal with that sin. So, how do we deal with it?
First, we must recognize that Christ has already dealt with it for you. Our Father does not expect us to make payment for our sin, because it has already been paid for. (My wife just wrote an excellent blog post on this topic that I urge you to read.) All He asks of us is for us to confess our sin and repent from it. Jesus urges the church in of Ephesus to remember their past and to repent (Rev. 2:5). Indeed, one of the greatest promises that we have in all of Scripture is the fact that “if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9) Confession of sin should not be a one-time thing for the Christian. The model prayer prescripts us to say, “forgive our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12). As Believers, we have been forgiven much! And the incredible thing is that our Father is ready to forgive EVEN MORE! This is the reason we must forgive our debtors. How can we, who have been forgiven so much refuse to forgive others that God stands ready to forgive (see the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matt. 18:23-35). The fact that we have been forgiven by God himself should also give us confidence to confess our sins to others as well (James 5:16).
Lastly, if there is restitution that should be made, we must make it. Sadly, this is an area of the Christian life not often talked about. If this were not the case, there would be far less division in the church and far fewer accusations of hypocrisy launched against the church. Because we are forgiven, does not mean restitution should not be made. If you have wronged someone and it is within your power to take steps to make it right, you are compelled by your love for Christ to do it. The Old Testament law gave many specific instructions on how to “make things right” with your neighbor (see Exodus 22:7-15; Numbers 5:5-10; 14:20-23). The New Testament also supports this type of thinking. If it were not so, the book of Philemon would not exist (see verse 19; also Luke 19:1-9). If we have sinned against our brother -even if we are thought to have sinned against our brother, it is incumbant upon us to go and make restitution.
Unconfessed sins from our past can cripple our future, but it doesn’t have to be this way. If you deal with these areas in your past and make this type of thinking a regular part of your Christian walk you’ll be amazed at the freedom in Christ you’ll begin to experience!
(Next: How to deal with the confessed sin of our past that comes back to haunt us.)
Can We “Coast” in the Christian Life?
And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.” Luke 9:23
Have you ever felt like you were just coasting through life as a Christian?
What do we usually mean when we say we are “coasting?”
What does the Bible say about the Christian life?
The Bible often uses phrases like,
“Make every effort” or “strive” Heb. 12:14
“Discipline yourself” 1 Tim. 4:7
“Present your bodies as a living sacrifice” Rom. 12:1
“If we have died with him . . . if we endure” 2 Tim. 2:12
“Whoever does not take his cross and follow me [Jesus] is not worthy of me” Matt. 10:38
None of this sounds like “coasting” language.
So, if we are not supposed to “coast”, why do we often go through periods of our Christian life when we feel like we are just coasting?
Possible reasons:
Circumstances
Perhaps you say you have no time –no time to serve, no time to pray or read the Word, no time to fellowship with other believers. Maybe you feel you have too much going on to work on your Christian growth right now.
May I suggest that if this is the case, we are sinfully busy and something must change. Here’s how a great church reformer dealt with business:
“Tomorrow I plan to work, work, from early until late. In fact I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer”. –Martin Luther
Or yours could be the opposite problem: maybe the reason you feel you’re coasting is because there’s just not enough going on to drive you to your knees right now? This is often the case for “roller-coaster Christians” -their faith goes up and down with their circumstances.
Or, have you ever found yourself saying, “God’s just not working on me right now –why can’t he work in my life like he is in _______________’s life?”
How do we answer this problem of circumstances?
Is it true that circumstances of life can make it more difficult to focus on the essential Christian disciplines? Surely no one would deny this. But, does this have to be true?
Paul says in 2 Cor. 12:9-10, “But he [God] said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
We don’t know if the thorn in Paul’s flesh was his circumstances, but if our “weakness” is our circumstances, could we not say the same thing that Paul did?
What can we do about the circumstances of life?
There are always some aspects of our circumstances that are in our control? 1 Tim. 4:7 says to “train yourself for godliness” and Matt. 5:29-30 tells us that if we are causing ourselves to sin with something in our lives, we should get rid of that something at all costs!
OK, but what about that which is out of our control? In Acts 16:6-10, Paul and his missionary team tried opening three doors before the Lord directed them to a fourth door that He was ready to open to them. If our circumstances keep presenting us with closed doors, that does not mean to quit testing the locks.
Lack of purpose.
If we have no direction –no goals in our Christian life, we can easily get discouraged, worn out, or tired. Hear from one of my favorite authors, “Discipline without direction is drudgery.” –Don Whitney
Is it true that a lack of direction can make us feel like we are “coasting?” Paul says, “I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.” -1 Cor. 9:26.
Make no mistake. Our purpose is Christlikeness -nothing less than eternal joy in His presence! And if we give up, we not only miss this, but we may be “disqualified.”
Disobedience
It could be that we are not progressing in our Christian life because we are leaving something undone.
What’s the answer to this?
If you’ve willfully sinned, maybe you’ve yet to deal with this sin and it has caused a layer of hardness around your heart. (unforgiveness, unrepentance, unwilling to make restitution, etc.)
Or perhaps, you’re guilty of acts of omission? You know, the times when you knew what you were to do and yet you didn’t do it. (Maybe a clear directive from the Bible, or maybe a subjective impression from the Holy Spirit)
The answer to both of these, or course is REPENT! You will never move forward in the Christian life if you continue pressing on while God keeps pressing you back. Make restitution, confession, or whatever you need to do.
How do we fight “coasting?
1. Remind ourselves of the truth about God’s working in our lives:
2. Remind ourselves of the Biblical word for a coasting life –a “drifting” life (Hebrews 2:1).
3. Repent of coasting through your Christian life. Confess it to God and turn from this kind of unChristian living.
4. Take up your cross daily. Discipline yourself for the purpose of godliness.
5. Remember, God is just as concerned with who He has you becoming as He is with what He has you doing.
Dear Refuge of My Weary Soul
I had an awesome time of prayer with two great friends of mine last night. Both of them have been going through difficult times due to loss of loved ones. As I drove home late, this song was on the Indelible Grace cd I had been listening to. What comforting lyrics! I had been struck earlier that day by how much evil and suffering there is in the world. I took a walk in the fields behind my in-laws’ house and reached the same conclusion that Anne Steel reached when she penned these lyrics. I love how they do not by-pass the mind on the way to the heart -rather, they appeal to the logic of turning to Christ alone for our refuge. So, for my two friends and for others who are grieving, I invite you to be comforted by these lyrics as I am.
1. Dear refuge of my weary soul,
On Thee, when sorrows rise
On Thee, when waves of trouble roll,
My fainting hope relies
To Thee I tell each rising grief,
For Thou alone canst heal
Thy Word can bring a sweet relief,
For every pain I feel
2. But oh! When gloomy doubts prevail,
I fear to call Thee mine
The springs of comfort seem to fail,
And all my hopes decline
Yet gracious God, where shall I flee?
Thou art my only trust
And still my soul would cleave to Thee
Though prostrate in the dust
3. Hast Thou not bid me seek Thy face,
And shall I seek in vain?
And can the ear of sovereign grace,
Be deaf when I complain?
No still the ear of sovereign grace,
Attends the mourner’s prayer
Oh may I ever find access,
To breathe my sorrows there
4. Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet,
Thy mercy seat is open still,
Here let my soul retreat
With humble hope attend Thy will,
And wait beneath Thy feet
Ready for Reformation? Southern Baptists and the Seminary Structure
I’m well aware that one could easily get lost in the blog-maze of Southern Baptist Convention reform. It seems everyone with a computer sees themselves as a reformer these days. Well, I am probably much less qualified than most to add a twist or turn to this confusing maze, but maybe you will find this helpful . . .
Having attended one of our great Southern Baptist institutions of higher learning, I have a few thoughts about the seminary structure in the SBC. There are many reasons that I would spend time thinking and writing about the need for SBC Seminary reform. I could discuss the high cost of seminary for the students. Not just the tuition, textbook, and housing costs, but many must leave jobs that provide well in order to relocate away from the support structure of their church, friends, and family. I could even discuss a culture that often births in seminary environments that are filled with pride, one-up-manship, name-dropping, and a striving for accolades. Even worse, seminary often leaves students with a disconnect between their newly acquired head knowledge and practical ministry leaving damaged churches that have been experimented on crippled, dead, or dying. Yes, I would imagine all of these and more problems are too common in any seminary’s life. But, in my opinion, these alone are not worth all the trouble to reform a massive beast like the SBC’s six seminaries.
The greatest problem that exists in today’s seminary structure is that, try as they may, they do not give attention to the priority of the local church. Christ has promised to build His church and though the gates of hell try to prevail against it, they shall never succeed (Mt. 16:18). We too often think that this applies to our particular extra-biblical ministry -a seminary, for example. Christ never promised to build a seminary, a youth ministry, a recovery ministry, a retreat ministry, a printing ministry, or any other extra-biblical ministry. He promised to build His church. I’m crazy enough to think that a way to seek the blessing of God in our ministries is to get in line with His plan to build His church. What are the purposes of a seminary? Are they not the same purposes that the Bible gives to the church? It is through the church, after all, that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places (Eph. 3:10). As Paul and Barnabas passed through Derbe, Lystra, Iconium, and Antioch, they did not send the leaders off to Jerusalem to learn from Peter, nor did they order them to accompany them so that they might go to Paul’s traveling missionary seminary. Instead, they appointed elders with prayer and fasting and committed them to the Lord (Acts 14:19-23). Paul and Barnabas did not look on the wall of these men’s homes for seminary degrees. Instead, they probably looked within the walls of their homes to see if they managed their own households well (1 Timothy 3:4-5) and outside of those same walls to see if they were well thought of by outsiders (v. 7). Our seminary degree culture in the SBC has blurred the lines of qualifications for eldership and removed the importance of a pastor being known in the area in which he is shepherding. I have a deep love and appreciation for those who serve faithfully in our denomination’s seminaries. I have profited spiritually from many of them. And most of them, I believe, probably have a deep love for the local church and this comes through in their labors. But I believe that we can do better. What follows are some suggestions.
1. Close 4 of the 6 seminaries. Think of the impact on our churches if the education is going on right in their midst rather than seeing their called and gifted young people leave to obtain their theological education. 2 Seminaries should remain open (SouthWestern or GoldenGate in the West and Southern or SouthEastern in the East) to ease logistics of suggestion #2. These remaining two campuses would be used to house offices, libraries, temporary student housing, host modulars, conferences, etc.
2. Offer only non-traditional classes. I am referring to on-location modular courses ranging from 1-6 wks at a time. I am referring to weekend simulcasts hosted churches, associations, or state conventions. I am referring to professors visiting these same venues once a week for the duration of a semester. I am referring to DVD and internet-based classes that students may take part in as a group at one of these venues or at home. I am referring to mail correspondence courses. Some, and maybe even all of these, are already being used by our seminaries, but there is no need for traditional classes in this day and age of technology and ease of transportation.
That’s pretty much it. Just 2 suggestions. Of course, this raises lots of questions. Questions, such as:
What about the other 4 campuses? There are any number of options. We could sell them and use the money to pay for expansion of the libraries at the remaining two locations, relocation costs, severance packages, purchasing new equipment to make the new class format necessary, or we could just give it all to missions. Another option would be to keep the buildings to use for ministry as another missionary learning center location, another retreat center, a hospital, or college.
What about the staff? Obviously, we would want to offer a healthy severance package for folks whose jobs have been eliminated. The professors would have plenty of options. Some would continue to teach full-time with modulars, internet, correspondence, and satellite locations. Others would opt for teaching part-time while teaching at another school (secular or Christian), writing for Lifeway, ministering vocationally at a local church or as a associational/denominational servant. Others may choose to teach full-time at a secular university.
There are surely other objections, like, “What about the importance of our tradition, heritage, history, etc?” “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!” But I believe the benefits to the church far outweigh the difficult truths of these and any other objections.
Some of these benefits would include: Small churches located near the seminaries would be more likely to look for and find a long-term pastor. The minister as “professional” culture full of church-hopping, ladder-climbing pastors could conceivably diminish. Due to the professors’ and students’ involvement in more churches, local churches would have both better access to good teaching and more opportunity to see how God works in a church to raise up and develop leaders. These are just a few of the many benefits.
If Southern Baptists would seek a way forward, we must do it with the church leading the charge, not denominational servants, structures, or ministries. We must recognize that our commitment to voluntary cooperation, though solid must always be producing fluid and changing ministries. I once heard Al Mohler say that his goal was to work himself out of the job and put the job of the seminary back in the hands of the local church -I couldn’t applaud him louder. Now, let’s see some action.
When a dream dies . . . or is postponed
This is a post that has been spinning around in my head for quite some time and has been in my heart for even longer.
Dreams. Everyone has them. Some folks more than others. Some get acted on while others get swept under the rug of realism or fear. Sometimes I think that God has given me a brain that is good for nothing but dreaming. This can be both a blessing and a curse. Off the top of my head I can think of approximately a dozen dreams that I just knew were great ideas and were going to happen that all crumbled to dust before they even reached the launch pad. So, needless to say, an avid dreamer does not an accomplished accomplisher make. But, doggonit! Some of those dreams I just knew were of God! I knew He had given me those dreams for a reason! Surely He wouldn’t want me to be a failure would He?
Not that I have agonized over these sorts of questions (I’m a dreamer, not a worrier, remember?), but I do often consider this question, “What in the heck are You doing, Lord?” Please understand, my life is deeply rooted in the absolute sovereignty of our Lord to do whatever He wills. And just as equally do I trust in His goodness -that He loves to shower His covenant steadfast love on His children. But, sometimes I feel like I have a huge question mark over my head. “Why get so bent out of shape?”, you may ask. Because sometimes I just knew that this dream was not like the rest. This one was from the Lord.
But I’ve read Job enough to know that it’s not my place to question God and especially not to expect an answer. He’s already told me all I need to know. My question has now changed from, “What are you doing God?” to “What do you want me to do now, God?” OK, so He does not want an overseas tribal missionary out of me right now. Alright, so maybe the Pastor thing will have to wait a while longer. Yes, I suppose I can see why it might not be the best time for me to start a new ministry right now. So, what should I be focusing on?
It is at this point, that I received some insight from the life of Noah. Best I can figure, Noah was 500 years old when he got the orders to go insane in the eyes of all his neighbors and start building a huge boat. I’ve heard several preachers point out the fact that it was 100 years later that the flood actually came. What faith was needed to build a boat for 100 years! “Yes”, says Clay the dreamer, “but at least he was getting to work on his God-given dream!” It is not the many years of working, being teased by neighbors, and preaching that gets me. It is the 500 years beforehand. What did Noah do before he even received his orders?
Answer: he found favor in the eyes of the Lord.
So, maybe some of my dreams (even God-given dreams) are on hold right now. Maybe they’re even dead. What am I to do? Answer: find favor in the eyes of the Lord. I have a beautiful wife that the Lord has called me to love and lead. I have 3 beautiful daughters that the Lord has called me to evangelize and disciple. If that means killing bugs for a living in the meantime, so be it. May I find favor in Your eyes, oh Lord.
He has told you, O man, what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God? Micah 6:8
Human Tragedy and the Reality of the Gospel
Our world remains for the most part unphased by the devastation that has hit both Myanmar and China. The latest (probably outdated) death tole from the combined calamities that I have heard have been more than 100,000. Why do we not feel the weight of 100,000 souls lost from this planet? These pictures bring us painfully near to the truth that it was not just numbers lost on May 2 when Cyclone Nargis hit Burma, but it was men, women, and children. Nor was it just buildings demolished by the earthquake in China -rather it was husbands, fathers, wives, and mothers. I wish I could shrug off responsibility and go to these people that experiencing such suffering. I remember speaking with those who went to minister to those hardest hit by the tsunami a couple of years ago. They said they just left their clothes there because they would not be able to wash the stench of death out of them. We’ve had our share of disasters in our country as well, of course. 9/11. Katrina. But it is interesting to see how differently our nations react to such catastrophes. Many in our nation got angry at those in power for not preventing the suffering. Others were upset at the government for not easing the suffering in the way that seemed best to them. It will be interesting to see how victims of disasters in these two countries approach the government with their sufferings. For many of these victims, “rights” as we think of them are not even on their radar screen.
It’s not my purpose, however in writing this blog to highlight our nations inflated view of what is entitled to us as human beings. Rather, I write with a few theological reflections in mind.
All life is like grass (Psalm 103:15; 1 Peter 1:24). Grass is here today and gone tomorrow. It is fragile. Life is the same way. Our whole world can be rocked by the words, “It’s cancer.” We pridefully go about our days and weeks acting as if we will be here forever, but when the number of our days is up, who can extend their life? Let us say with Jonathan Edwards, “Lord, stamp eternity on my eyeballs!” (2 Corinthians 4:18). And let us heed the admonition of our Savior not to “labor for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man” gives (John 6:27).
All life is valuable. But let’s not fall into the trap of thinking that this life does not matter. If a one-day-old baby was lost in the earthquake, would that child’s parents not grieve the loss of that child? Why then, would we buy into the lie that this child’s life was any less valuable 2 days ago? ALL life is valuable. This is an inherent truth in our understanding as people created in the image of God. Why else would exhausted rescue workers dig through rubble on May 19th for signs of life that have been buried since May 12th? We may try to close our ears to that which we know to be true in our hearts, but we are telling ourselves a lie when we say that some human life is not a valuable gift from God.
All people are wired to fill a God-shaped void in their hearts. It is interesting to see people turn to God or a god(s) during times of disaster. How many prayers have the deaf and impotent buddhas heard since may 2nd? How many non-praying people have turned to a higher power to ease their suffering? This is not just weak people grasping for straws during a time of desperation. This is people trying to fill the void in their hearts. We are like cups filled with water. When trials and difficulties knock our glass over, our true desires and longings spill out. As Augustine said, “We are restless until we find our rest in Thee.”
The glorious truth of the gospel shines in the darkest moments. As the death toll in Burma passes 78,000, those in power not only do nothing, but in fact make the situation worse. They have blockaded the city of Rangoon so that no aid workers are allowed out of the city, nor are survivors allowed into Rangoon. Worse still, the food that has come from the West to aid the country is being horded by those in power, fed to the soldiers, and will even be sold to starving Burmans. What is the reason for such cruelty? This is just a continuation of the cruelty that has been happening since World War II. They see this as merely one more weapon to wage genocidal warfare on all minorities. Minorities, which in this case, happen to be mostly Karen Christians who can trace their spiritual roots back almost 200 years to the USA’s first overseas Baptist missionary, Adoniram Judson. These are the ones suffering from starvation, dongue fever, no drinking water, malaria, losses of entire villages, and deaths of their closest friends and relatives. And how are these Christians responding? What is it they are asking for from the West? Are they asking for us to wage war on the powers that be? No, they are not even asking us to lend them aid. They are asking for our prayers. Why, because they know from past experience that it is God who ultimately gives them comfort. The contrast is impossible to miss between these poor Christians and the government leaders. On top of this, it is Christian aid workers who were already in the country when the disaster hit (Christian Freedom International, World Vision) and as a result, they are the only ones able to get aid through to the suffering. It is Christian medics from neighboring countries who risk being shot as they sneak across the border to bring relief to the hurting. It is Christian residents Rangoon who smuggle the destitute to safety by cover of darkness, giving them food, water, shelter, and clothing. True religion shines like a diamond in the rough at times like this.
God, help the Chinese and Burmese people as they are left reeling in the wake of these disasters and God, help us if we think they are worse sinners than us deserving any more of a horrible fate than they do (Luke 13:1-5).
Pride Causes . . .
Ok, I admit it. I haven’t been posting anything lately -I stink at blogging. Well, here’s something very unoriginal that impacted me (a softer way to say, “convicted me.”) Maybe it will “impact” you too?
From Heartcry a journal on revival and spiritual awakening (www.lifeaction.org):
17th-century Puritan, Richard Mayo says, “Pride is a big-bellied sin’ most of the sins that are in the world are the offspring and issue of pride.”
-Joe Thorn points out that pride causes . . .
-Covetousness-because you believe you deserve something more than others do.
-Complaining-because God should have consulted you before orchestrating the events of your life.
-Ungodly ambition-because you believe that you are most qualified, and the idea of someone else being preferred over you is an insult to your perceived worth.
-Hypocrisy-because you must hide the truth-your own failures-in order to avoid shame and accumulate praise.
-Gossip-because you look so much better when telling others how awful someone else is.
-Ingratitude-because you deserve everything you get!
-Selfishness-because others do not!
-Contention-because in picking fights you feel a sense of superiority over those who may (or may not) be in error.
-Boasting-because everyone should know who you are and what you have accomplished.
-A judgmental attitude-because you believe the errors of others are much more serious than your own.
Why is the Christian life a life of war? A Meditation on Judges 3:1-2
When I was growing up, we often sang, “Onward, Christian soldiers, Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus Going on before! Christ, the royal Master, Leads against the foe; Forward into battle, See his banner go!” We also sing a song sometimes with Abigail entitled We Are Climbing Jacob’s Ladder which ends with the phrase, “soldiers of the cross.” And when I graduated from Bible College, we sang the seminary hymn which begins by saying, “Soldiers of Christ, in truth arrayed, A world in ruins needs your aid.”
What the writers of these songs understood is that there is a very real aspect of the Christian life that is war. For some reason, God has deemed it so that most of us should enter Heaven as battle-weary saints rather than as spiritual pacifists. Before I go on, let me just say that I am not suggesting a second Crusade, nor am I about to unveil the master plan for the Christians to take over the world. I am merely trying to show that much of Scripture uses war-like language:
1 Timothy 1:18 This charge I entrust to you, Timothy, my child, in accordance with the prophecies previously made about you, that by them you may wage the good warfare.
1 Timothy 6:12 Fight the good fight of faith.
2 Timothy 4:12 I have fought the good fight.
1 Corinthians 14:8 And if the bugle gives an indistinct sound, who will get ready for battle?
2 Timothy 2:3, 4 Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.
2 Corinthians 6:4, 7 As servants of God we commend ourselves in every way . . . ;with the weapons of righteousness for the right hand and for the left;
And so, we see that the most important battles going on right now are not between any two governments. They are not between the terrorists and the Democratic Republics. They are not between Israel and her most recent neighboring Middle-Eastern aggressor. Rather, the most important battles going on right now belong to the same war that has been going on for more than four thousand years –the war against God for the souls of men. Compare this truth with what A.W. Tozer said a number of years ago, “Men think of the world, not as a battleground but as a playground. We are not here to fight, we are here to frolic. We are not in a foreign land, we are at home. We are not getting ready to live, we are already living, and the best we can do is rid ourselves of our inhibitions and our frustrations and live this life to the full.” Unfortunately, most of us have settled into a peacetime, rather than wartime mentality.
Of course, we know that the commanding general of the opposing forces is none other than the great enemy himself, the devil. It is against this devil that Paul writes his famous armor of God passage:
Ephesians 6:11-13 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.
Unfortunately for us, we are born on the wrong side of the war. We are born as spiritual rebels, all on Satan’s side. We had no choice in the matter, this is the just effects of our first parents’ sin. For this reason, our first enemy (the devil) along with his host of evil spirits is aided by another host of wicked people. Jesus told us that “in the world [we] will have tribulation” (John 16:33) and so we should not be surprised that our second enemy (the world) is the playground of our first—after all, he is “the ruler of this world” (John 14:30). Unfortunately, living in the world, many of us are often tempted to also be of the world. For this reason, James wrote to the baby Jewish Christians: You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God. (James 4:4) Do not be deceived, you cannot be at home with the world and still have a home in Heaven.
But, truth be told, we don’t have to go to the mall, to school, or watch the news to see evil. We don’t even have to read about Satan’s workings in the Bible to see evil. It is in our own selves –dwelling there within us –remaining sin in its deaththrows, lashing out and causing all of the wicked destruction that it can—right in our own bodies! It is our third and most dangerous enemy –our flesh!
Romans 7:23 I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members.
2 Corinthians 10:4, 5 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ.
1 Peter 2:11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.
James 4:1 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you?
Galatians 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
The great teacher on this subject, John Owen put it this way, “Be killing sin, or sin will be killing you.” We must constantly be doing battle with the sin that dwells within us because it takes no rest in its battle against us.
Though the Bible has more to say about the three enemies of the Christian (the flesh, the world, and the devil) and about how to fight these enemies, for now I am going to focus in on the grace of God in calling us to be a warring people. Specifically, I want to answer the question, “Why does God want us to have to fight on our way to Heaven?” And to attempt to answer this question, I’m going to look at the book of Judges. Take a look at Judges chapter 3.
The book of Joshua is all about the people of God claiming the promise of God by taking the land God had prepared for them to take. And the way he told them to take it was by violent force: And you shall consume all the peoples that the Lord your God will give over to you. Your eye shall not pity them, neither shall you serve their gods, for that would be a snare to you. (Deut. 6:16)
But in the cities of these peoples that the Lord your God is giving you for an inheritance, you shall save alive nothing that breathes, but you shall devote them to complete destruction (Deut. 20:16, 17).
The book of Judges, however is the dismal picture of the failing Israelites who have not accomplished what God had set out for them to do. It is also a picture of the mercy of God, the judgment of God, and the sinfulness of man’s heart.
Judges 1 gives us a little background:
And the Lord was with Judah, and he took possession of the hill country, but he could not drive out the inhabitants of the plain because they had chariots of iron. (v. 19)
Keep in mind that this verse is coming on the heels of Joshua and the beginning of Judges 1, all about the victories against the Canaanite peoples that God had given them. Is the God who gave them all these victories really too weak to handle some iron chariots?
We read on through verse 36 and see that there were many areas where they did not fulfill the Lord’s command to take the land and slaughter the people.
Chapter 2 tells the grim facts. Verse three says, I will not drive them out before you, but they shall become thorns in your sides, and their gods shall be a snare to you. We know that the great warrior of Israel was no mighty soldier or king, but rather the warrior God of His people. It was the Lord who gave His people all of the conquests described in Joshua and in the beginning of Judges. The question now is, if He did before, and He could now, why won’t He again? Verse two lays an accusation at the feet of the Israelites that they must answer: you have not obeyed my voice. This is the reason –they are a sinful people who were not faithful to their ever-faithful God and God is punishing them. But there may be more to it than that.
Look now, to verse 22. We see another dynamic, it was in order to test Israel by them, whether they will take care to walk in the way of the Lord as their fathers did or not. There is an old saying that goes, “When you’re flat on your back, you only have one way to look—up.” Unfortunately, this is not always true. God lays many people on their back as He did the Israelites and they still respond with more sin—anything but “looking up.” God was testing them to see if they would repent and be faithful to the covenant that He had entered into with His people. We see it again in our Judges 3 text: Now these are the nations that the Lord left, to test Israel by them, that is, all in Israel who had not experienced all the wars in Canaan. So, in answer to our question, “Why does God want us to have to fight?” we can say that one reason is because of sin. We live in a sinful world and are ourselves sinful people and God is testing us to see if we will rise above this sin and be faithful to the covenant that He has entered into with us. What is the nature of this test? War.
It was only in order that the generations of the people of Israel might know war, to teach war to those who had not known it before (Judges 3:2). God wanted his people to be a people of war –this was His test. We know that this was something that God did on purpose (though all He does is on purpose), because He told us so: I will no longer drive out before them any of the nations that Joshua left when he died (2:21). So we know that God drove them out in the past and He made the decision not to drive the remaining Canaanite nations out to test His people who had not tasted war. This leads us to another question: What is it about war that God wanted them to know? We know that He takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked (Ezekiel 18:23) and that many wicked people die in war. So, there must something that He more pleased by than He is displeased by the death of many wicked people.
I believe this thing (and the answer to our question) is: His glory displayed in our reliance on His infinitely holy and loving grace and mercy.
What did He want from the Israelites? To be honored, worshipped, cherished, prized, and depended on above all else. The test was war because war takes every ounce of reliance upon other things and sweeps it right out from under you, like a rug. So, why does God do this to us today? Same reason. To be honored, worshipped, cherished, prized, and depended on above all else.
Think with me, if you will, back to the time when you were a brand new Christian. Chances are, you had some sins in your life that dropped like flies and you are still struggling with others. How often do you rely on God’s grace to get you through the day without committing those sins that dropped dead? How often do you praise Him for His infinite grace to you by ridding you of this sin that you haven’t knowingly committed since the day you became a Christian? What if God gave instantaneous victory to us like this over every sin in our life? How much would we honor, worship, cherish, prize, and depend on God then?
The Israelites had a God-sized task before them. It was only as the people depended on Him –first, under Moses, then under Joshua –that God gave them the grace to complete this God-sized task of conquering the Canaanites. It was not until the rule of David hundreds of years later that the Israelites were finally able to complete the conquest of the promised land. A major theme of the book of Judges is that imperfect people can only bring imperfect deliverance. One of the purposes of Judges is to show the need of a perfect Savior—Jesus.
So, what do we do with this truth? 1. Realize that we are in a war! If you don’t see it, you have become passive, asleep, and blind and you need to wake up! It is all around –Satan is laying traps and snares for you and your family at every turn. The world is doing its best to lull you into a comfortable peacetime mentality with all kinds of God-denying entertainment and education. And your flesh is vicious and relentlessly exploiting every area of weakness and temptation that you have, trying to get you to sin away every ounce of your assurance of salvation.
2. Realize that the Lord is a merciful warrior God who delights in fighting for His people. Listen to what God has said to his people in the past:
The Lord will fight for you Exodus 14:14
The Lord your God who goes before you will himself fight for you Deuteronomy 1:30
Do not be afraid and do not be dismayed at this great horde, for the battle is not yours but God’s 2 Chronicles 20:15
Our God will fight for us. Nehemiah 4:20
Who is this King of glory? The Lord of hosts, he is the King of glory! Psalm 24:8
And in your steadfast love you will cut off my enemies, and you will destroy all the adversaries of my soul, for I am you servant. Psalm 143:12
3. Realize that Christ has the victory!
He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs. Hebrews 1:3
Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. Colossians 15
So, yes -it is frustrating that the Christian life is a battle, but the battle serves a purpose. May He be made stronger in our weakness.
