Digging Deeply Into The Text

When I say I love this new teaching series from John Piper, I don't mean I kinda like it. I mean I love it. A lot. Not just because it is currently dealing with some of the most powerful teaching in all of the Bible but because Piper gets beyond the superficial level reading of a text and breaks it down. We need so much of this. His analysis for Romans 9:22-23 is powerful. To quote Piper: 

“In all the Bible, there are no more weighty, or ultimate, or difficult words than Romans 9:22–23.”

Yep. 

These are some of the most disturbing, troubling, disquieting verses in all the Bible, especially the New Testament and they receive the treatment you would expect which is to generally avoid them. Problem is, you can't avoid them just like you can't avoid verses about enemy love and gender relations and judgement. They are in there and there are in there for a reason, namely preserved by the sovereign decree of God the Father and the unquenchable fire of the Holy Spirit to testify and teach the followers of the Son. We know nothing authoritatively about Christ that is not found in Scripture. Nothing. It is little shock that so many people are confused and teaching error so enthusiastically because they are more concerned about what they think than what God says. 

Watch this video with a humble heart and an open Bible. Drink deeply my brothers and sisters.

When Sovereignty Stinks

As always happens when there is a “natural disaster” of some sort we see a lot of soul searching and question asking, especially as it applies to God. Many people seem eager to put God on trial, as if He needs to answer to us when something horrible happens in a world that is polluted by man’s sin. This is of course happening right now with the tornado in Oklahoma and it inevitably raises the question: if God is sovereign, why did this happen? I don’t have an eloquent, theologically deep answer but I wanted to throw out some thoughts as someone who relies on Christ as sovereign over everything, from my salvation worked out and predestined before the world began (Eph 1:4) to a dear friend and co-laborer in Christ looking for a house.

First and foremost, we are not in a position to dictate to God. I don’t get to ask God why He permitted or ordained something I don’t like. My position is not an innocent man hauled in before a kangaroo court where I might be justified in demanding that the judge answer why God is infinitely and perfectly good and as such He is not only incapable of doing evil, anything He ordains to do is by definition good. When God slaughtered all of the first born males of Egypt, He actively killed children. He didn’t just “permit” it to happen, He did it. Is that evil? Well we consider killing children to be evil but God cannot commit an act that is evil so in this case no it is not. Further it is dangerous ground at all to even entertain that idea. In our hubris born of privilege and cultural arrogance Christians in the West and especially America have often gotten too big for our britches and deign to stand in judgment of God. Let me take it a step further. God would be justified, simply because He is God, if He destroyed the world in fire today and incinerated every single human being. Thanks to His forbearance He chooses not to but if He did it would be good because God and God alone is the standard of what is good.

If we lose sight of this foundational truth, we run into the question of whether God is able to stop evil from happening and chooses not to or He wants to stop it from happening but is unable. Either way God comes across poorly in our eyes. I find it helpful to look at every event through the lens of God as infinitely sovereign, omnipotent and omniscient and then to ask: what does God want from His people as a response?

I want God to do things. I want God to heal people of cancer and I know He can. I want God to stop terrible things from happening at places like Sandy Hook and Boston and Moore, Oklahoma. The real question I should be pondering is: what does God want me to do in response? Our acceptance of God as sovereign doesn’t mean we don’t suffer along with those who suffer and show compassion and minister to them. It doesn’t mean we don’t pray for healing or intervention. It means that we trust in God that all He does is good even when it is precisely the opposite of what I want. That is so hard. We want God in a manageable format. We want a God who will do what we want and not do what we don’t. God doesn’t work that way and I am glad He does not. What we should want is what God wants and how we react says a lot about how we view God. I liked an article from Tony Reinke writing for Desiring God, God’s Sovereignty and Personal Compassion in Public Tragedy. Below is his summary:

Maybe I will just close with one of the most practical illustrations. It says in Acts 4:27 that God predestined what Herod and Pontius Pilate and the Gentiles and the Jews brought to pass when Jesus was crucified. In other words, the worst sinning that has ever happened in the history of the world was planned and predestined by God, for the death of his Son, that we might be saved. The murder of the Son of God is the worst act in human history, and it was planned by God according to Acts 4:27.

Now God wills that evil for the sake of thousands of good responses. He wants us to be saved by it. He wants us to trust this Jesus. He wanted Mary to come to the tomb with compassion in her heart. He wanted to show that Joseph of Arimathaea and Nicodemus were men of courage and godliness because they were willing to take the body and put it in their own tomb.

God had millions and millions of good and holy purposes in willing that this happened. And the same would be true of everything he wills in this world. So we should determine how we respond, not by any false, human, logical deduction that we are drawing from the sovereignty of God. We should determine it from what the Bible says should be our response, namely compassion, and outrage at sin, and efforts to be involved in bringing relief.

Exactly. Our question shouldn’t be “why”, it should be “what”. What do I do when bad things happen in a sinful world? How do I honor and glorify God in the midst of tragedy? If we focus there and not on the “why” we will do more to honor and glorify God and after all is said and done that is the chief end of man.

The Potter and His right over the clay

I am convinced that most of the problems in the church that stem from interpretative issues can be boiled down to one fact. Mankind more often than not, including believers, fails to recognize and submit to the relationship between God and man. This relationship is summed up best in Paul's letter to the church in Rome:

But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, "Why have you made me like this?" Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction, in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory-- even us whom he has called, not from the Jews only but also from the Gentiles? As indeed he says in Hosea, "Those who were not my people I will call 'my people,' and her who was not beloved I will call 'beloved.'" "And in the very place where it was said to them, 'You are not my people,' there they will be called 'sons of the living God.'" And Isaiah cries out concerning Israel: "Though the number of the sons of Israel be as the sand of the sea, only a remnant of them will be saved, for the Lord will carry out his sentence upon the earth fully and without delay." (Rom 9:20-28)

That really lays it out for us. and I love that passage because it puts me in my place so to speak.

There are few passages in Scripture that are clearer or harder hitting. Paul lays out the relationship between God and man, between Creator and creature, clearly and unambiguously. The context clearly is dealing with salvation. Paul answers the question of how can God find fault in a sinner when God created us. You made me this way so how can you condemn me! The answer is clear. God is the Creator and Sovereign and it is His prerogative to make man however He sees fit and to deal with man as befits His majesty and holiness. The reality that God sent His Son to die in order to redeem a remnant of mankind is not limiting His holiness and justice, it is a magnificent and totally undeserved expression of His mercy and love. God chooses to save some and passes over others, leaving them in their sins, and does so in perfect accord with His nature because He has the ultimate say in how to deal with those He created. This truth extends beyond salvation and into how those whom God has mercifully redeemed are to conduct their lives.

Here is what I am talking about. What God has decreed is non-negotiable. It doesn’t really matter what I think about a topic. It doesn’t matter where the cultural winds are blowing. It doesn’t matter what my spouse thinks or what the elders in the local gathering of the church think or what the seminary professors think. What matters is what God has said and in places where we find what God has said to be inconvenient the burden of submission falls on us, not on Him.

One of the foundations, perhaps THE foundation, of Christian discipleship is submission to this concept. God is sovereign creatively (He created and ordained the universe). God is sovereign over salvation. God is sovereign over the nature He created (nothing happens outside of His control, even things we perceive as bad). God is sovereign in act and in declaration. His Word has the imprimatur of His revealed will and as such is deserving of the utmost respect and unswerving obedience. In a nutshell, God’s Word is authoritative whether or not anyone believes it. What God says is true because God is truth so by nature whatsoever He decrees is by definition true.

Paul uses an interesting metaphor for this relationship, perhaps one that is hard to understand today in a world of prefabricated, cheap and disposal plastic vessels but a metaphor that made total sense to a first century audience. A lump of clay is useless for anything. It has no value, no intrinsic worth. The only way that a lump of clay gains any value is if a potter forms that clay into something someone can use. That may mean being formed into a beautiful piece of pottery that would be displayed in a museum or it might mean being formed into a utilitarian plate that people can eat off of. On the flip side the clay can be made into something like an ashtray or a chamber pot. The clay doesn’t get a vote, it is entirely at the pleasure of the potter. He can make one lump of clay into a vessel for honorable use or to use a modern analogy he can make that lump of clay into a clay pigeon, destined and designed to be shattered.

We see the difficulty of submitting to God when Scripture runs up against our personal convictions. We feel morally obligated to defend innocents by means of violence as we see fit. We cling to our notion of private property. We meet sparingly with the church and subcontract ministry out to a few paid professionals while maintaining that we are not forsaking the assembly of God’s people. We explain away explicit commands by chalking them up to a unique cultural setting that no longer applies in our modern, enlightened era. We dictate the terms under which God is permitted to extend salvation without violating our precious "free will". All because we don’t have a proper view of who God is. We may pay lip service to how awesome God is and sing songs about it but we treat Him as if He was more peer than sovereign. We seem to be earthen vessels that demand the potter recognize our rights and our opinions as if they are somehow valid.

Perhaps we misunderstand the idea of God as Father and ourselves as adopted children. Perhaps we see the parent-child relationship more like modern Western culture and less like the relationship that the original Biblical audience would have understood. We see our parents as something we strive to outgrow. We turn 18 and become “independent” of our parents, striking out on our own to make a name for ourselves. I don’t think of myself as the son of Robert, I am a man in my own right. While I am not an expert on ancient culture by any means, I do understand that the relationship between fathers and sons (and husbands and wives) in ancient times was vastly different from how it is today. Family was far more important and honoring your father and mother didn’t mean a card on their birthday. The leveling of the parent-child relationship in Western civilization makes fathers into peers as we grow into adulthood and that is perhaps why when we speak of God as Father we see Him as far less than He is or conversely we see ourselves as far more than we are. We diminish God and elevate ourselves and that has been the problem with mankind since way back to a certain dispute over fruit from one particular tree.

God is God and we are not. That seems so simple and yet so hard to live with. It may be hard but it is so vital because the more we submit to God as the Creator, as the sovereign Potter and likewise recognize ourselves as merely clay in His hands, the closer we will walk with Him.

Run with scissors, God is sovereign!

I read an irritating post by someone convinced that they are “called” to send their kids to public school. Whenever someone claims that they are “called” to something based on their subjective feelings, I get nervous. Perhaps that is a symptom of having come out of a cult where the heart is trusted to lead people in place of the Word of God. What really got my goat was the misuse of a theological truism to defend their actions. The point of the post is that God is sovereign so send your kids to public school and trust Him. I am sorry but I am going to let loose here and completely go off….

That attitude is a capitulation to the culture while hiding behind theology.

Here are some other logical actions that would stem from this sort of philosophy…

Throw your kids out of a moving car. Why? God is sovereign.

Drop your kids off at the local strip club after school. Why? God is sovereign.

Encourage your kids to run with sharp objects and swim immediately after eating. Why? God is sovereign.

Never gather with the church, never study the Word, never preach the Gospel, never love your neighbor, never pray. Why? God is sovereign.

The idea of sending kids off to public schools where God is denied under the guise of God’s sovereignty sounds very noble and pious. However I don’t see the piety of disobeying God while hiding behind sovereignty. That is the error of antinomianism. God is sovereign so I can do whatever I want with no repercussions. It is also the error of hyper-Calvinism. God is going to save every one of His elect so His command to preach the Gospel to all creatures is irrelevant. God’s sovereignty is one of the great truths of the Bible but it is one we need to handle with care. It has been misused over and over through the ages and that still happens today. God is sovereign indeed above all but a recognition of the sovereignty of God does not give us a free pass to act however we want even if our actions fly in the face of Scripture and common sense. Don’t make the mistake of thinking you can live however you want and do whatever you want and that you can pull out the “Sovereignty Card” at will.

If you truly believe that God is sovereign then you should desire to see your kids taught about Him when they rise up and when they lie down, when you sit in your house and when you walk by the way (Deu 6:7). They are not going to get that in a public school. If you truly believe that God is sovereign, then spend your days teaching your kids that God in His sovereignty has placed in your care. In your care, not a daycare and not the secular government. If you think God is “calling” you to send your kids into a public school where He is denied, you had better check your heart at the door because the heart is deceitful above all things (Jer 17:9). All manner of mischief is given a free pass because someone feels “called”. I recognize that some people wave the flag of homeschooling around like a prideful banner, and that is wrong and where I have done so I am wrong. It is at least as grave an error to try to score theological points at the expense of your children. If you choose to send your kids to school because you feel unqualified to teach them or finances prevent you from doing so or you just don’t want to, that is your business. I think it is wrong, but they are your kids. To use a profound and serious Biblical doctrine to hide behind that decision? That is something that calls for repentance.

A belief in the sovereignty of God is no excuse to abdicate your solemn responsibility as a Christian parent.

If you want to understand the Sovereignty of God...

You simply have to listen to this talk by Pastor Dan Cummings. Pastor Cummings spoke at the recent 2008 Reformed Conference on The Sovereignty of God at Calvary Baptist church in Waterford. It was a great conference even though there weren't a ton of people there and the speakers were not the big name speakers. In fact most of them were local pastors but it was God's people gathered under the ministry of God's Word and that is a wonderful blessing.

Pastor Cummings is the pastor of Five Points Community Church in Auburn Hills (named for a location, not the TULIP!) and he has Stage IV cancer. His talk, given very softly because of his physical weakness, was not a soaring oratorical performance but it struck deep in my heart. I am not a crier by nature but I wept profusely. Brother Dan spoke at length of the hidden smile behind the frowning providence of God. He spoke of the God of the Bible, a God who is sovereign in all things and who is the kind of God we can die on with joy while exalting Christ. Pastor Cummings brings sovereignty home, they are not just words for Pastor Dan but real life.

Perhaps the most striking statement of Pastor Dan was something that kept coming up to him: how much he loved being a dad to his kids, how much he loved being a husband to his wife and how much he loved being a shepherd to his flock. But the question he asked himself, do I love these things more than I love Christ? What a jarring question but what a vital one. What do I value more than Christ? If the answer is anything at all, I need to repent of that and pray to have my orientation turned first and foremost to the cross and my Savior who died there.

Suffering is a gift of God. All things are done for his glory and all things He purposes are good. Suffering is no different. Pastor Cummings preached from 2 Corinthians 12: 7-10 and tonight I saw in practice and in real life exactly what Paul was writing about. I can't express how blessed I was, and I look forward to hearing this message many times again. I have downloaded and when I get to feeling crabby about the perceived unfairness of life, I will break it out and hear from a man who loves God in the midst of unbelievable suffering, because he loves God's Son who suffered for my sake.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he 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. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

Sheep: It is not a compliment

Baa!

The imagery of sheep and shepherd is perhaps one of the most common images in the Bible. Christ is the Good Shepherd, He is the Lamb of God, He tells Peter to "feed my sheep". It is common because it would speak clearly to an agrarian society where sheep and shepherds were plentiful. It would also speak to them because they were fully aware of the nature of sheep.

People today think of sheep and think of cute, cuddly white lambs that are sweet and nice. Sheep are sweet, they look great in paintings and greeting cards. But people who think that about sheep don't know anything about sheep.

The Sido family knows the truth about sheep because we had a short lived, pre-goat, experiment with four Shetland sheep when we lived up north and never again.

Sheep are smell bad, they are really dumb, they are messy eaters and they are horribly unappreciative.

1. Sheep smell bad. They have a pretty pungent odor about them from the lanolin in their wool. Get really close to a sheep or recently sheered wool and you will get hands that feel like you have been playing in crisco. You really don't want to snuggle with a sheep, and when we see images of the Good Shepherd seeking His sheep and putting them on His shoulders, remember that the sinner draped over Christ's shoulders is kind of oily and stinky.
2. Sheep are dumb. You haven't seen a blank look until you have looked in the eyes of a sheep. Even cows look smarter, or at least more content. The shepherd is so important because without him the sheep will get lost and eaten in a matter of minutes. One time our sheep got out of their pen and started wandering. Not in malice, but in ignorance. They ate a little grass here, and then over there, and pretty soon they had wandered over a mile away to a neighboring farm and still had no clue. Sheep wander (all we like sheep have gone astray)
3. Sheep are messy eaters. I just threw this in there. They scatter their hay all over, spill grain and get crud in the water. Not really relevant, but it is just gross.
4. No animal is more unappreciative. Even cats will purr if you feed them. Dogs love you no matter what you do. Goldfish get excited when they see the lid of the tank go up. But sheep, no matter how you feed and care for them, act like you are going to stick a knife in them at any second. I was sick of feeding them and having them run away whenever I got near the pen.

So when you think of yourself as one of God's sheep, don't think of it as a compliment. God didn't choose you because you were pure, white, fuzzy and cute. He chose you even though like sheep you are kind of stinky, prone to wander and unappreciative. Being called one of His sheep is not a compliment to you, it is a testament to how gracious He is.

Baa!

Is Democracy dangerous to the soul?

That is the question posed on the latest The White Horse Inn, Vote for Jesus!

American pragmatism and wealth is certainly a barrier to Calvinism, and is inherently a problem for people seeking to Biblically witness, teach and evangelize. When a people are constantly told that America is a Christian nation, which it is not, filled with good people, which it is not, it is pretty hard to get them to believe that they are sinner in need of a savior. Democracy makes people self-reliant, which is the antithesis of what the Gospel says.

There was one great comment that hit the nail on the head. The discussion was around the American notion that the Bible says that God helps those who help themselves, and Ken Jones piped up that when people find out that God helps those who help themselves is not in the Bible, they declare that it should be!

A democratic republic is the best form of government in a world full of sinners, but we should never assume that democracy=Christianity.

In America, perhaps more than anywhere else, it is obvious that God is sovereign in salvation because only a sovereign God could make an American humble themselves as a sinner in need of a savior.

The smell of death

I was reading an article by Phillip Jensen that my friend James gave me (I am way behind on the stuff he sends me!) and I came across an interesting quote:

But if the aim is to glorify God by preaching his gospel, I know that it will be a sweet smell of salvation for some, but a stench of death in the nostrils of others.

As I read this it got me thinking. When people hear the Gospel, as a Calvinist I know some will reject it (perhaps most). They will not reject it because it is presented in a boring, culturally irrelevant fashion. They reject it because the foolishness of preaching is just that to the unregenerate, foolish but to God's elect when they hear His Word in His time, it is the voice of the Good Shepherd that they follow. But plenty of stuff is foolish, and people just snicker and walk away. When an unsaved person hears the pure Gospel, it often causes a visceral, angry reaction. It is not just a foolish message to the unregenerate, it is the "smell of death". The unregenerate hears the message and hears their own condemnation proclaimed in it. Despite the clear warning and the smell of death, they still will not turn. Not because of any reason other than their own inability to do so, an inability that is caused by their stony heart. The unregenerate stands on the train tracks, shaking his fist in defiance at the oncoming freight train of God's judgment and won't move. It isn't that they are tied helplessly to the tracks, but it is their stubborn, unrepentant, rebellious heart that keeps them on the tracks. No amount of pleading or persuading or altar calls will change that fact. If the stench of death won't make them repent, why do you think your clever preaching illustrations will? Stick to preaching the Word and let God use your weak effort to enact a great change. Then, and only then, will God alone have the glory.