Wrongful Contentment

“I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content.” (Philippians 4:11)

I think we as Christians are prone to fall prey to false ideas about what contentment looks like, such as the idea that contentment and grief are mutually exclusive. The reasoning for this idea goes something like this: if we’re commanded to be content in every situation, and rejoice always (Phil. 4:4), then there is no room for real grief in the Christian life.

Now to be fair, I don’t think I know anyone who’s say that outright. Even a cursory glance at scripture will quickly show you that there is such a thing as a rightful grief. After all, Christ Himself wept at the death of Lazarus. But this false idea occupies our mind in all sorts of ways. For instance, think of the current church closures. Many say zoom church is just fine, that people are being spiritually fed in an entirely adequate manner, and that we should be “content” and not mourn the lack of real, in-person church gatherings.

In the book of Joel, the Lord sent a plague of locusts upon the land, to the point that any attempts at farming and agriculture were rendered futile. As a result:

“The grain offering and the drink offering are cut off from the house of the LORD. The priests mourn, the ministers of the LORD.” (Joel 1:9)

Due to the famine, the priests and ministers were deprived from their regular means of offering up sacrifices to God. If they were anything like many ministers today, it would’ve been easy for them to say “This is fine. The Lord understands that we don’t have the means to give offerings right now. You know, there’s a lot of poor and starving people among us! Instead of whining about offerings we cannot give, how about we devote ourselves to humanitarian aid instead! Surely that’s a valid replacement for grain and drink offerings!”

But what was God’s call to them a few verses later? “Put on sackcloth and lament, O priests; wail, O ministers of the altar. Go in, pass the night in sackcloth, O ministers of my God! Because grain offering and drink offering are withheld from the house of your God. Consecrate a fast; call a solemn assembly. Gather the elders and all the inhabitants of the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD. Alas for the day! For the day of the LORD is near, and as destruction from the Almighty it comes. Is not the food cut off before our eyes, joy and gladness from the house of our God?”

God’s call to these priests and ministers was not one of apathy to the present situation (or simply one of “contentment”), but rather, a call to mourn. Offerings were withheld from God’s house; this was something to grieve about, because this was something God commanded! They weren’t simply to “make the best of the situation”, they were to cry out for God’s mercy so that they could once again worship God in the way He desired!

In many ways, our situation today parallels theirs. Joy and gladness are cut off from the house of our God. A pestilence has come upon the land. We as Christians are commanded to assemble together, and that’s difficult right now. This post isn’t meant to pick at ravaging controversies surrounding the means by which we can gather right now, but rather to point out something that ought to be obvious to us as Christians: we are God’s temple, we cannot gather as we normally would, and this OUGHT to grieve us. This isn’t a grief that runs contrary to contentment, or a grief that ignores the sovereignty of God in this situation, but rather a grief that stems out of love for the church. This may be where God has us for the time being, but this isn’t “fine” — this is a judgment!

Let us therefore cry out to God in repentance, so that the house of God can be opened once again. And until that day comes, let us not relent!

Sex, Marriage, and the Church

As Christians, we affirm that sex is to be done only within the bounds of marriage. As Hebrews 13:4 says, “Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.” In a culture that increasingly seems to eschew long-term commitments like marriage, scripture’s restriction on sex can seem rather arbitrary to some. Why must a marriage covenant be made? Why is God so adamant about this?

In a Christian worldview, you’ll find that many things in our earthly lives points to a spiritual reality of some sort. For instance, we eat food to live, and Jesus calls Himself the bread of life (John 6:35) to point out that just as we need food to live physically, we need Him to live spiritually.

When it comes to the marriage covenant, the reality being portrayed is that of Christ and His church (see Ephesians 5:22-33, which fleshes this out in detail). God values marriage because He values the church. The commitment aspect of marriage is meant to mirror Christ’s commitment to His church, such a commitment as caused Him to die a brutal death on the cross.

The sexual aspect of marriage is meant to give us a taste of the immense love Christ has for His church. Sex outside of marriage is profane and evil for this reason: it undermines, falsely represents, and spits upon this glorious reality. God’s valuing of sex within marriage is inextricably connected to His valuing of the church.

Being that this is the case, what does this say about how we should view the church? When the church, whom Christ gave His life for and whom God values immensely, shuts its doors and isn’t able to function as it ought, should that not be a grief to us? Should we not care!? If God values the church SO much, and we’re going to stand before Him and answer for all we’ve done, will we in that day have to confess that we’ve been flippant about the church?

Fellow Christians, I know this is a hard time for the church, and I know navigating the challenges imposed by this pandemic is difficult. Nonetheless, I’ve observed a saddening amount of carelessness about the church. Let us be consistent: if we are to insist on the sanctity of sex and the marriage covenant, let us not be careless about the reality to which it points! It is no less a sin than sexual immorality to downplay and malign the church, particularly for Christians who are a part of it! Let us rather seek the welfare of Zion, that her walls may be rebuilt and her doors opened!

Reflections on Humility and Arrogance

Consider these principles from Proverbs 16:

“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.”

(v. 9) “The LORD has made everything for its purpose, even the wicked for the day of trouble.”

(v. 4) “The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.”

(v. 1) “All the ways of a man are pure in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the spirit.” (v. 2)

“Commit your work to the LORD, and your plans will be established.” (v. 3)

What’s the common theme here? The Lord is the one who establishes our plans. This doesn’t mean we passively sit by and wait for God to cause our life to come together. Rather, it means that in all that we do, in whatever course we plot for our life, we acknowledge the Lord’s hand in it, and submit ourselves wholly to Him. Failure to do this leads to boastful arrogance, and so in verse 5 we’re left with a warning:

“Everyone who is arrogant in heart is an abomination to the LORD; be assured, he will not go unpunished.”

Don’t look at your life and applaud yourself for how successful you are; rather, look to the Lord and be thankful for how He’s blessed you. Recognize the good things you have in life not simply as fruits of your success, but as blessings from the Lord’s hands. In so doing, you’ll find yourself growing in true humility – and true humility is what you want, because “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble” (James 4:6).

Nihilism vs. the Sovereignty of God

When life disappoints you at every turn, how do you respond?

Within my own generation, I often encounter a kind of nihilism which says that life doesn’t really matter. Having embraced that lie, I’ve seen people go on to embrace a mindset where everything is absurd, we’re all a product of random chance, and nothing we go through actually matters. We find meaning in our meaninglessness, fulfillment in absurdity.

This is an age where responding to life like that is easy. It’s easy because, as I pointed out in a previous post, the world and state of society isn’t giving us a lot of reason to want to live. As things we loved and cherished slip out of our grasp, it’s easy to respond by chiding ourselves for ever having dared to hope. As the things that matter to us seem to evaporate, so does our belief that anything matters at all.

In scripture, we find a very different response to disappointment: “Who has spoken and it came to pass, unless the Lord has commanded it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come? Why should a living man complain, a man, about the punishment of his sins? Let us test and examine our ways, and return to the LORD!” (Lamentations 3:37-40)

These words are spoken from a place of great tragedy. God just allowed Israel to be taken captive. Jerusalem was plundered, people’s lives were destroyed, and reality seemed to lead only to despair. Yet here, the writer acknowledges a few things:

1) That God Himself was behind the tragedy

2) That God was just in allowing this tragedy

3) That we’re not entitled to anything better

These are uncomfortable things to acknowledge. In an endeavor to portray God as truly loving, people often try to acquit God of any responsibility in bringing calamity upon people. Yet all over scripture, God isn’t ashamed to take responsibility for doing so. I find that people with nihilistic thought patterns are, often deep down, angry at God for perceived injustice. They believe that God has wronged them, that they’ve been unjustly dealt a poor hand of cards in life. Their insistence that nothing in life matters stems from an anger at God for giving them a terrible life. Such an anger is rooted not only in pain, but in a sense of entitlement – the belief that God is obligated to give us good things in life.

The truth is, He isn’t. Humanity gives Him absolutely no reason to. We’re evil, and very willingly evil. We’ve rejected God at every level of society, and at every level of our personal lives. We openly celebrate what God hates. We use His name as a cuss word. We slaughter babies. We expunge Him from every facet of society in the name of tolerance. And then we expect that, if He exists, He’s obligated to act in our better interest.

If we have a proper view of God, the question isn’t “how can God be just and bring such calamity into society and into our lives?”, but rather, “how can God be just and not send every living person into an eternal hell at this very moment?”. This ought to give us pause as we respond to and interpret the disappointments of our lives. If all we deserve is justice for our sins, then every single good thing that’s ever happened to us is an act of pure grace on God’s part.

If we’ve been unthankful for these acts of pure grace, and hated our Creator the moment He stopped granting them, is it any wonder that we’ve received calamity from His hand? Let us humble ourselves, and turn to the Lord. Instead of insisting that nothing in life matters, let us thank Him for the blessings we’ve spurned. Let us abandon all sense of our own entitlement, and cast ourselves entirely upon His mercy. If we do so, He is willing to forgive!

Good News for a People in Despair

Though I’ve been fairly inactive on this blog, I’ve made a number of lengthy Facebook posts in the past few months. I’m planning to put these all on my blog. Enjoy! 🙂

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Are you struggling and in despair? Perhaps the new COVID restrictions are adding to what already feels like a load of unrelenting sorrow and discouragement in your life. Perhaps you’re stuck with an abusive family member, and you can’t leave because you’ll face a fine. Perhaps you have a business and have just lost everything you’ve worked so hard to acquire. Perhaps you deeply miss loved ones, in an age where seeing them is, in itself, a crime.

This current world situation highlights a truth that’s easy to ignore in times of freedom and prosperity: our reason to live ultimately cannot be rooted in present circumstances. Life may be good today, but we have no assurance that it will continue to be that way. Tragedy lurks around every corner. To acknowledge this isn’t fatalistic pessimism, it’s simply the truth.

In the beginning, God created people to be satisfied in Him, to find their worth and value in fellowship with their creator. But we’ve turned aside, choosing rather to love ourselves above all. Every kind of vice and wickedness in the world today has this at its root: that we’ve rejected God, and become worshippers of ourselves. This rejection of God and serving of self is known as sin.

Every facet of this present world situation (or any other) has sin at its root. Disease is a result of sin, and governmental leaders are corrupt because of sin. Depression, despair, anxiety, tragedy – these things would not exist in a perfect world. We rejected God, and God in turn allowed us to taste of the fruits of that rejection.

But God has not allowed us to taste the fruits of that rejection in an ultimate sense. That’s why we’re able to enjoy so much good in life.; God is longsuffering and gracious. He doesn’t delight in the death of wicked sinners. If you’ve experienced any good in life, that is why.

God hasn’t left us to flounder in the misery of our sin; He’s provided a way that we can once again find our satisfaction and our worth in Him. This way is the person and work of Jesus Christ, who entered the broken world we live in, lived a perfect life as a man, and died on the cross, thus taking the punishment we deserved. He did this so that God could be just (in punishing sin) and the justifier of ungodly sinners like us. He then rose again, removing every barrier to our salvation. Through Christ’s work, we can again be satisfied and fulfilled in our Creator, as we were created to be.

Friends, these are dark times. When the sun will shine again upon this nation, I do not know. Let’s be sure that our hope isn’t in an uncertain prospect of freedom and prosperity, but rather in our Savior. Every other good in life will pass away, including our very own lives, but God’s mercies will endure forever. Let’s be certain that it’s His mercies we’re hoping in, not ourselves. If you’re struggling and need prayer or someone to talk to, my DM’s are always open.

On Pebbles and Mountains

God’s goodness is an anchor of hope to the Christian. It’s his goodness we depend on as we pray – the confidence that when we ask for bread, He will not give us a stone (Matt 7:9). It’s his goodness that we trust as we live our lives, knowing that He will providentially work through everything in our lives – whether joy or sorrow, health or disease, riches and poverty – for our good, and his glory. (Rom. 8:28)

It’s also often our confidence in the goodness of God that the devil focuses his attack upon. This isn’t a new trick; he’s a liar from the beginning, and his very first lie to mankind was deliberately intended to undermine man’s trust in his goodness. “You shall surely not die”, the serpent told Eve in the garden, “for God knows that when you eat of this tree, you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” What was the desired response to this lie? It was to get Eve to think that God was withholding something good from her. With her confidence in God’s goodness sufficiently undermined, she rebelled against God’s command, and ate of the tree.

The devil isn’t simply a fool; he keeps propagating this attack on God’s goodness because he knows it usually works. Know that if you’re in Christ, you will suffer trials, and this temptation is one you almost certainly will face. The extent to which you persevere in your Christian life is inextricably linked to the extent of your confidence in God’s goodness. Like Eve, if you doubt, you will fall.

“He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.” (Psalm 23:3)

We know from all over scripture that God desires to glorify himself. It’s his purpose in redemption (Ezekiel 20:44, Psalm 25:11), it’s his purpose in guiding us as we walk in the paths of righteousness (Sanctification), and it’s his purpose in our glorification (see Ephesians 1:9-14).

Perhaps as you’ve considered these things, a disturbing thought has crossed your mind: if God’s ultimate purpose is to glorify himself, is He then selfish? No! The basis of such a lie would be that there’s a dichotomy, a fundamental difference between God’s desire to glorify himself and God’s desire to benefit you. But hear this: what brings God the most glory is what’s most beneficial for you.

How is this so? I could explain this concept in an entirely hypothetical way, but instead I’m going to illustrate it practically with my own life. Personally, I’ve struggled severely with anxiety, self-doubt, and discouragement. During times of trial I’m apt to grit my teeth and resentfully say “well, God never promised me a happy life anyways. I should never assume or expect that he’ll give me good things in this life; I certainly don’t deserve them. I’m sure it’ll all work for good in the end.”

On one hand, there’s much truth in such a thought, and on the other there’s a rotten, hideous lie that’s nothing less than the age-old heresy of Gnosticism. Gnosticism taught that physical matter is evil and spiritual matter is holy. Often when I’ve prayed or thought about these things, I’ve found myself assuming that God only desires to bless me spiritually, and that desiring earthly blessings is sinful.

I say all this because over the past year, God has given me some pretty tremendous earthly blessings. I won’t say what they are specifically, just that I’m really thrilled to have them. Yet, instead of giving him the glory for such things, and contentedly using those blessings to increase in Godliness, I’ve fallen back on my anxiety and self-doubt. “God doesn’t promise an abundance of earthly blessings, and he’s probably going to destroy these blessings and crush me to make me more Christlike, for His own glory”, I think to myself as I huddle in a dark corner, mentally bracing for the pain I’ll feel when these blessings inevitably get ripped away from me.

Don’t you see what this fundamentally is? It’s that distinction between God glorifying himself and God working things together for my good. It’s that lie that God acting for his own interests isn’t really what’s best for me. Where does such a lie lead?

First, it leads to idolatry. As we desperately cling to the good things we’re sure we’ll lose, we begin to resent the God who gave them to us. The evil in the Garden of Eden wasn’t in the fruit that was consumed, it was in the rebellion against God’s command. There were plenty of other desirable fruits, but somehow the fact that this one was off limits called God’s goodness into question. If you don’t believe God’s truly acting in your better interest, you’ll value your own wants and desires above His.

Second, it leads to legalism. In my own life, I’ve often been tempted to think that by being responsible enough with the good things he’s given me, I’ll avoid the pain of those blessings being taken away. The idea is that since God’s not obligated to bless me in this way, maybe if I prove I’m actually better off with these blessings, I can somehow appeal to God to continue blessing me by promising to do enough to deserve such things – that I can cut a deal with God, as it were, wherein I act in God’s better interests so He’ll act in mine. When this idolatry and legalism both combine, God is no longer the greatest end, He’s simply a (reluctant and unloving) means to a greater end.

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.” (Psalm 37:4-8 ESV)

Earlier I asked why it’s true that what does God for his own glory in our lives is most beneficial for us. Here’s why: God is not a means to an end. God is the end. There’s nothing greater, and more desirable than God himself. This is why we’re told in this psalm to delight ourselves in Him, rather than fretting. “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!”

God desires that we see him not simply as a good, but the greatest good. I anticipate that for some of you reading this, that’s not going to compute in your minds. You pay lip service to God’s goodness, but you’re having trouble actually seeing and believing it. But God doesn’t simply expect that we see Him as good without reason.

Look around you. I can guarantee you that there’s numerous, tangible expressions of love that are simply in close proximity to you. You’re probably reading this from a warm house, while you could be out in the cold. You’re probably near a window through which you can see some aspect of nature – it may be just one tree, it may be a whole forest, it may be the birds, or the sun, or the breeze. These are blessings, creations of God for our enjoyment.

Chances are, you’re also near a family member or spouse who deeply and truly loves you, someone who would give their life for you if they had to. This again is a blessing of God, for your enjoyment, happiness, and enrichment.

Chances are, you’re not going hungry, and your body is working well enough that you’re able to sit up in a chair, and read and process the words of this blog post. This, again, is a blessing of God, who created our bodies to function in ways that completely amaze and puzzle scientists and doctors to this day.

Now, take all of these earthly blessings, every single one, and imagine that they’re a small hill standing humbly before a massive mountain. The blessings I’ve so desperately tried to cling to are only a pebble on top of this small hill. Likewise, the things I wish I could have yet don’t are but a small anthole.

Now, let’s look at this mountain.

You and I and everybody else in this world are all sinners. We’ve violated God’s rule, spurned his goodness and kindness, and failed to see Him as the greatest good, putting others in His place. Though God is perfectly just in destroying us, seeing as we’ve totally failed at fulfilling the purpose for which He created us, He’s instead let us live, and breathe and see another day, and partake of the pleasures of life instead of burning in the fiery torment due us. If you’re reading this, He hasn’t simply spared you – He’s had mercy on you. God loves even His enemies; this, again, is an expression of His goodness.

But there’s so much more. Christ came down to us, and died for us, taking the judgment for us. If only we believe on Him, we’re pardoned, cleared of the guilt of our mountain of transgressions. But the death of Christ wasn’t merely expiatory (that is, it didn’t just take away our sin), it’s propitiatory – that is, it both takes away our sin and covers us in Christ’s righteousness. We’re covered! When God looks upon us, He does so as though we’ve never sinned. Even though we often fail, He sees us as righteous in His sight, and accepts us. Blood was shed; such was the love of God for you, and so great was His goodness. I talked earlier about how we’re tempted to act in God’s interest so He’ll act in ours; in the death of Christ, God acts in our interest in a way we could never even come close to repaying. This is the supreme expression of His love and goodness to us.

But yet, there’s still more! Not only are we pardoned and seen as righteous, totally apart from our own effort and merit, but we’re united with Christ. We’re co-heirs with Him! We receive the reward of His suffering, and eternally share in His reign. We’ll be blessed with unspeakable treasures and joy in the presence of our Lord, forever. There’s nothing more for heaven to give; in Christ we have it all! And He offers all of these blessings freely and indiscriminately to whoever will take of the water of life, and drink. As one of my professors at Frontier was so fond of saying, what a God! This God wants to know you and me. This God has himself satisfied the requirements to make that possible, for the praise of His glory.

And so we see, what God does for His own glory, He does for our good. God loves us so much that He gives us Himself – there’s no greater thing He could give!

Be still, my soul, and rest! Cease from your fretting! Look at God’s love, and satisfy yourself in it! We’re so prone to wander, and we’re so prone to make idols out of what God has given us. Let us stop grasping one little pebble with all our might, and let us instead look to the mountain of blessings that we’ll never lose, and to the great God who lovingly gave them to us. Then we will effectively overcome the trap of doubting God’s goodness.

Be encouraged, saints. God’s good, and though the hard times come, you will endure them, and once again see that the Lord is good.

A Word to Sinners

As followers of Christ, we all go through moments where we mess up sin. We know Christ, and know full well that knowing and glorifying God is the greatest goal a person could ever attain to, and that there’s no pleasure outside of Christ worth having. Yet, when enticed, we sin against the God we love.

It’s not that the sin is very rewarding at all – for indeed, while trying to enjoy it and justify it, our conscience, the Spirit, and the Word are all bearing witness to the fact that what we are doing is sin. We know better, yet choose to sin anyways.

After we’ve sinned as believers, we often feel profound guilt. At least in my experience, this guilt has tempted me to run from God. I find myself thinking thoughts such as “He’s my loving heavenly Father, yet I’ve just sinned against Him! Surely He would’t want me to come before the throne of grace right now.“

Judging by the amount of harm that thought does to believers, I can be fairly certain that our adversary loves it when we think thus. Running from God in shame will only lead to a cycle of further sin and shame that continually propagates itself.

Friend, if you find yourself being sucked into such a cycle, let these words from Hebrews 4:17 speak to you:
“Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.”

Look: God certainly hates sin, and desires that you repent of it, but don’t forget that God loves you. Like the Father in the parable of the prodigal son, He delights in showing mercy.

Remember that even though you have sinned as a Christian, Christ’s righteousness has not ceased to be imputed to you. You’re still loved and accepted as a child of the King – not because you’ve perfectly met some standard of morality, but because God is gracious and forgiving. Though your fellowship with God may be broken for a moment, God desires that such fellowship be restored.

Turn from your sin and shame, and behold the One who has taken it all away. Run to Him, and find forgiveness.

Lacking No Good Thing

“The young lions suffer want and hunger; but those who seek the LORD lack no good thing.” -Psalm 34:10 (All quotations from the ESV)

Those who seek the Lord lack no good thing. Reading this statement at a surface level, one might be inclined to disagree. After all, it often seems (particularly if one studies church history) that poverty and suffering characterize the life of the saints, rather than abundance and pleasure.

David, the author of this Psalm, arguably lacked many good things at the time when he wrote it. According to the subtitle of this psalm, David wrote it after feigning madness before Abimelech (also known as Achish in 2 Samuel 21). David at this time was fleeing from Saul, who was spending all his energy hunting him down. Saul was constantly pursuing David, hence David was constantly fleeing – enduring hunger, heat, cold, and loneliness.

Eventually he fled to Gath, in the land of the Philistines, to take refuge; he knew that Saul wouldn’t dare go there. However, there was one problem. Among other things, David was the guy who killed Goliath, and brought 200 Philistine foreskins to Saul as a way of earning Michal’s hand in marriage. Simply put, David was odious to the Philistines – they had no reason to like him.

In 1 Samuel 21:11 we see the servants of Achish expressing concern about David’s arrival in Gath: “Is not this David the king of the land? Did they not sing to one another of him in dances, ‘Saul has struck down his thousands, and David his ten thousands’?” In response to this, David becomes afraid, and pretends to be insane before the king to save his skin. In the next chapter we see him fleeing to the cave of Adullam, where his family joins him. Perhaps it was there, in gratitude, that he wrote this Psalm.

Like I said, David arguably lacked a lot of good things at this point. God Himself had promised that David would be king of Israel, yet at this point David was a fugitive, esteemed as a criminal. Yet, even amidst these trials, he could say that he lacked no good thing. Why is that? David lacked no good thing because of his God. God is the source of every good thing – as James says, every good and perfect gift comes from above.

With this in mind, look at what Paul has to say in Ephesians 1:15-21:

“For this reason, because I have heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love toward all the saints, I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places, far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come.”

Friends, those of us who seek the Lord truly lack no good thing! We’ve been blessed immeasurably in Christ, with more blessings than we can even imagine! And if that isn’t enough, God promises to hear and answer our prayers – to supply our needs day to day! If you have Christ, you truly lack nothing – even if you seem, on an earthly level, to be lacking.

Dwell on this truth, and be encouraged.

How Can I be Certain I’m Praying to the Right God?

I’m part of a Facebook group called “Bible Study” – a group that’s heartbreakingly full of ignorance of the scriptures, immaturity, and heresy of every stripe and color. I’m there so that I can be practically reminded of why discipleship and a correct understanding of God’s word are important.

Every so often, I comment on a post when I feel that something needs addressing. The other day I left a comment on a post which said, in essence, that we shouldn’t pray to “God” because the term is too generic, and Satan might think we’re praying to him instead. The poster suggested we instead pray to “Jehovah”.

I left a comment pointing out that Jehovah is nothing more than a bad transliteration of YHWH, and that God, who understands our designations for Him, knows when we’re praying to Him. I didn’t feel the need to write a huge response at the time, mostly because I don’t have the time to respond to every heretical thing in that group. But a commenter pressed me on it, so I obliged him and left this comment. Hopefully someone finds it hepful.“

The Jewish people considered the name YHWH so sacred that they wouldn’t utter it; hence, they used other names such as Adonai or Elohim to address God. Those weren’t the name of God, they were designations to refer to God. We see very clearly in Old Testament scripture that people could pray to God and be heard by God without them using His personal name.

When the time of Christ came, much of Israel had been thoroughly Hellenized – infiltrated with Greek influence. Further, Israel was under Rome’s control by the time of Christ. If you wanted to get anywhere in life in first century Israel, you’d need to speak Greek. Greek thus became the common language, even among Jews. And the New Testament, as a result, was written in Greek.
With the change in language came a change of designations for “God”. The New Testament often uses the names Kurios (Carrying the connotation of “master”, and often translated as “Lord”) and Theos (carrying the connotation of “deity”, often translated as “God”).

My point being, even in scripture do we find certain designated words for God – words that aren’t the NAME of God, but refer to God anyways. It’s like how I can refer to you as “sir” or “Mr.” – in both cases I wouldn’t be saying your name, yet I would still be talking to/about you. Likewise, if you’re praying, and you choose to refer to our Lord as “God”, there’s nothing inappropriate about that. If you’re praying to the God of the Bible, the God of the Bible will know you’re praying to Him.

I suppose I should also add that it’s not simply the name you say that indicates who you’re praying to. If I claim to be describing you to someone, and then I describe a whole bunch of things that aren’t true of you, it’d be pretty clear that though I’m using your name and saying a bunch of things about a guy with your name, I’m not actually talking about you. I may think that I am, but I’m actually not.

This principle applies to prayer as well. If I claim to be praying to the God of the universe, yet this “God” I’m praying to is different than the God revealed in Scripture, I’m not actually praying to God – I’m praying to a false God.
So if you want to be sure you’re praying to the right God, make sure your view of God is in line with what Scripture reveals about God. There’s nothing wrong with using the English designations of “God” or “Lord” to refer to YHWH; He understands all languages. What designation you use to refer to God is less important than whether your view of Him is scriptural or not.

So I’d encourage you to make sure your view of God is correct. Test everything you’ve been taught by scripture. Then, and only then, can you be certain that you’re praying to the right God

Confronting the Sinning Believer, Part 2: Checking your Heart

  In my last post I talked about a common pitfall many individuals fall into regarding the area of sinning fellow believers.  I warned against gossip, and pointed out that our foremost desire in the scenario of a sinning believer should be restoration, not judgment.

   That is a point I cannot stress enough. How many believers, particularly those who are new to the faith and are coming out of a sinful, worldly background feel condemned and judged by the expectations placed on them?  And how many such individuals, often after failing to meet an expectation (that may well not be a command of scripture), are ostracized and condemned by their own spiritual family?

 All of us are at different places, spiritually. As we mature in the faith and become more familiar with what God expects of us as believers, we can sometimes tend to forget that other believers have yet to learn these things.  While we should never use spiritual immaturity as an excuse to ignore sin, we must remember that all things we do should be done with love. We must always be seeking the edification of the body, instead of pursuing our own fleshly desires.

 If you’re thinking of confronting a fellow believer about some sin in his life, I’d encourage you to ‘check your heart’ (I understand that’s really a cliche phrase, but I think I’m justified in using it here).  

 In Galatians 6:1 the apostle Paul, in speaking of this very issue, lays out some important principles that we’d do well to remember:

 “Brethren, even if anyone is caught in any trespass, you who are spiritual, restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness; each one looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted.”

1. You who are spiritual: In order to confront someone non-hypocritically, we must be obeying the Lord ourselves. If there’s known sin in your life that you’re not repenting of, I can tell you with certainty that you’re not walking after the Spirit, but after the flesh.  If you’re walking after the flesh, you’re not in fellowship with God, you’re walking in darkness, and you’re not being transformed by the renewing of the mind. If you fail to take care of your own sin before confronting someone else’s sin, it’s very likely that you’ll handle the situation improperly and do more harm than good.
2. Restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness: As I’ve already said, our aim in this situation is restoration.  Even if worst comes to worst, and the believer won’t repent when confronted by the church, our aim and hope amidst judgment is still restoration.  Hence, we must have a spirit of gentleness. We must speak the truth in love, with as much graciousness as the situation could warrant (even if the sin is something that angers us).
3. Looking to yourself, so that you too will not be tempted: None of us stand too high to fall – anyone who thinks otherwise deceives himself, and the truth is not in him (1 John 1:8-10). Knowing that we can fall ourselves, we must be careful and on guard, so as to not entangle ourselves in the very sin we’re confronting our brother or sister for.

   To sum it all up: if a believer insists on walking a path of sin, may he not walk that path unwarned by many tears and pleadings. May our desire be to do everything in our power to restore the wayward brother or sister to fellowship.

If you feel that confronting a fellow believer about his or her sin is necessary, I would encourage you to make sure that your own intentions are flowing out of nothing but love for the sinning believer. Ask God continually to prevent any sinful intentions from getting in the way.

Confronting the Sinning Believer, Part 1: Avoiding Gossip

Picture this hypothetical (or not-so hypothetical) scenario: you’ve been going to a church consistently for many years.  You’ve for the most part felt loved and respected within this church body. You’ve even taken up some positions of ministry over the years, and done what you can to build up the believers around you.

  Now imagine that one day you’re visiting at a well-respected elder’s home, and you find out that his Christian walk has not been consistent with his profession.  In fact, he’s seriously compromised, to the point that his “church life” is not even a remote representation of his “home and work life”.

  What now?

  Scripture isn’t unclear on what to do in such a situation.  In Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus says:

“If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother. But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that by the mouth of two or three witnesses every fact may be confirmed.

 If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.”

 We who know about the fellow believer’s sin are first commanded to confront him directly and privately. According to Galatians 6:1, we are to do so with a spirit of meekness, knowing that we are not above temptation ourselves. If the believer heeds our loving admonishment and repents of his sin (not halfheartedly, but with genuine contrition and surrender to the Lord), we’ve won our brother.  If he displays fruits in keeping with repentance, the matter can be considered done and dealt with – which isn’t to say that he might not have to deal with personal consequences of his sin, but it is to say that it would be sinful, cruel, and inappropriate for us to drag the matter out into the open and put him to shame.

 Sadly, this is often not how it happens.  In far too many cases an individual in a church, upon seeing another member of the body sinning, starts a rumor (gossip).

 There are many ‘pious’ and ‘humble’ ways to engage in gossip and spreading rumors. Gossip often comes in the form of ‘prayer requests’ or ‘sharing time’, and seem to stem from a spirit of love and concern (i.e. “I’m really concerned about so-and-so’s spiritual state … he seems really godly on the outside, but the other day I saw him do something which definitely was wrong”).  Some ways of spreading gossip are more overtly malicious, designed to tear down an individual (i.e. “I saw so-and-so do [insert sinful behavior here]. I always knew he was a sketchy fellow, and now I’m even more sure than ever”).

  Gossip, however well-intended, is a terrible evil that has destroyed many a church.  Paul speaks against those who are busybodies (2 Thess 3:11; 1 Tim. 5:13). The word busybody (Greek: periergazoma) describes one who is meddler, fixating on the things others are doing rather than what he himself should be doing – and of all people, we who are of Christ’s household should abstain from such a thing. All of us were by nature children of wrath; all of us are saved apart from any merit of our own. (Eph. 2:8-9)  Why then, should we tear down a brother or sister who Christ died for with our words, as if we’re above the sin of which we accuse them?

 We all stumble in many ways.  We all struggle against various sinful tendencies.  While all of us have the flesh to fight against, sin affects us all in different ways, and while we shouldn’t tolerate sin our primary desire in the scenario of a sinning believer must be restoration, not judgment.

 That’s all to say that as believers, when we see a fellow believer sin, we should first confront them privately, rather than spreading rumors which will tear down the individual and ultimately a good deal of the local body of which both you and the sinning believer form a part.

The Heart of Humility

“Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth; And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Phil. 2:5-11)

Are you struggling to show others the grace you know you ought to show them? Are you having a hard time putting others and their interests before yourself and your own interests? Are others behaving in such a way as to make you angry with them?  Well, consider this: the Son of God, the King of the universe, came down from heaven and humbled himself; out of pure grace He was obedient unto death.  He was tortured, and died an excruciatingly painful death on the cross.  Why?  Because of you and me!

We were so sinful that it took the death of the perfect Son of God on the cross for us to be acceptable before God. When the skin on His back was torn off by a barbed whip, when He dragged the heavy cross up the hill while His body faltered, when He was hung on the cross with nails driven through His hands, sinners mocking Him all the while, He did it because your sin and my sin deserved a punishment so severe.  It took such a death for God to forgive treasonous rebels such as you and me.

Jesus humbled himself and died for sinful wretches such as you and me, out of pure grace.  He offers forgiveness freely, to those who put their trust in Him.  We have absolutely nothing within us that can commend us to God; none of our own works are good enough to save us.  We are saved apart from our own merit, because in a million years we’d never be able to produce in ourselves any righteousness capable of saving us.

Think about it: if all of the above isn’t enough reason for you to be humble, nothing on heaven or earth would suffice. The Gospel of Christ takes away any right we might have to boast of our own goodness, or exalt ourselves above any fellow human. And so I implore you today, if you’re struggling to be humble: immerse yourself in the gospel.  Think about what Jesus had to do to save you.  Then repent, seeing your pride for what it really is: a deed of the flesh.  Put it to death by the power of the Spirit, and walk in a gospel-centered humility.