New Thoughts (4/4/03-5/3/03)
Just tonight, my wife and I were discussing how impossible it is to consider one portion of doctrine without considering all the others. It is the nature of sound doctrine to fit together in intricate and complex ways. Like the instruments in a symphony, like the pixels that make up a picture, any single element of doctrine may appear non-interesting, perhaps even nonsensical in isolation. It is only as the full image comes into view that one can discern the place of that element within the whole, and it is only with an eye to the whole that one can make sense of the element. As I look over the thoughts I've collected regarding this passage, I see this same idea emerging. There are matters of incredible moment brought up in this brief introduction, matters upon which churches have been founded, and matters upon which churches have foundered. Yet, as we poke at one small portion of the matter, we find that many other issues are brought into sight. They, too, demand our attention, that we may resolve the one issue in conjunction with the whole counsel of Scripture.
Faith & Knowledge (4/6/03)
To begin with, let's consider the word faith. What does it mean? At it's base, it means 'to be persuaded.' As applied to the matter of Christianity and the Gospel, it can also be thought of as knowledge, agreement with, and confidence in divine truth. Clearly, faith is more than mere opinion. It's a matter of conviction, it's a matter we are compelled to accept as true. We cannot be compelled to take a position on matters of truth without knowledge of that truth. Calvin would tell us that faith is knowledge. Mr. Henry points further down, past knowledge, and sets faith on a foundation of Truth. Wycliffe's commentary finds that same foundation, but places faith and knowledge in a position of partnership.
All three of these views can tell us something about the nature of faith, as well as the nature of knowledge. Calvin reminds us that we are not called to a blind faith. It is not a baseless 'feeling' that can lead us to devotion to the cause of Christ. 'Feelings' cannot bring conviction, not of a sort that will last. In matters of faith, we are considering a belief that we are compelled to, a truth that cannot be denied. We can't come to that point without knowledge, without hearing with comprehension the message of that truth. Yet, knowledge is not sufficient in itself to produce faith. Knowledge can be misled. Knowing all the wisdom the world has to offer will leave us just as empty and hopeless as we were at the start, for this is not knowledge of divine truth. Divine truth gives us answers for the whys and wherefores of our existence. The world's knowledge can only describe for us what has been observed of the creation.
Thus, knowledge can only be a support for faith when that knowledge is itself founded upon real Truth. Truth is the foundation upon which knowledge - real knowledge - can be built. It is the footing upon which faith can, indeed must, make a stand. Truth is the foundation, the bedrock upholding our conviction, yet truth is not the cause of that faith.
The Cause of Faith (4/6/03-4/7/03)
To find the cause we must look beyond even the word of Truth to Truth Himself. Two verses are, I believe, key to our understanding in this matter. First, let us establish this matter: Salvation is by grace, through faith (Ephesians 2:8a). It is by grace. It is a gift given to us by God for no further reason than that He wanted to. He has determined, in His wise counsel, that He will use faith as the means of delivering this gift. He will use persuasion. He will present the word of Truth to those He seeks to give this gift, and they shall hear and understand. But there's another key issue brought in this verse: Even that faith, that persuasion, through which God is working comes to us as a gift of God (Ephesians 2:8b)! Without that gift, we will surely hear the message, but we will just as surely fail to comprehend what the message means. It will not persuade us.
Look at Romans 10:17, which tells us that faith comes from hearing. Hearing, in this case, comes by the word of Christ. It is a specific thing of which we need to hear. Indeed, there is that foundation upon the word of Truth, for it is that word which must be heard and comprehended. Now, it must be clear to us that not all who hear the word of Christ preached come to saving knowledge. Faith requires hearing, then, but hearing does not necessarily lead to faith. This issue is brought clearly to light in Hebrews 4:2, which points out that we are not alone in having heard the good news preached. Others heard it as well, but to no avail. Why? Because hearing was not united with faith in them. Faith and understanding were kept separate. What, then, made the difference?
Hebrews 12:2, in reminding us to remain attentive to Jesus, also reminds us that He is both the author of faith, and the perfecter of faith. Let's consider that for a moment. He it is who has generated persuasion in us, who has brought conviction in our own minds, who has established in our reasoning the understanding of His own truth, to whatever degree there is understanding. Faith is indeed a gift of God's grace, delivered by His Son to our very soul! He has quickened our minds to grasp the significance of what has been preached. He has given us wisdom to see the salvation that has been set before us! It is because He has worked that we have believed, and through believing have been saved.
Secondly, we see that it is He who continues to work upon that faith. This is important to recognize! If there is an increase in faith, it is because He has done it. If there are those who are great in the faith, it is because He has worked mightily in them. There can be no room for boasting in faith! It's not our doing. This is where the faith movement and others with similar beliefs have wandered from the truth. There is such a strong temptation in man to boast. So many will look at their faith as another, perhaps more legitimate means of boasting. Brothers, this thing ought not to be! Faith is no reason to boast of ourselves, it should be a reason for great humility in us. How can we, who know that our salvation is solely by God's grace, be so insistent on taking it back into our own hands? How can we be so foolish as to want to?
We come to this. In a footnote to Calvin's commentary on this passage, there is a note that puts the cause of faith in election. It declares this as the natural order, just as fire causes heat, and not the opposite; just as the sun causes the day, and not the opposite. Now, we can argue with that first analogy, I suppose, but the point is clear. Your faith, my faith, any man's faith did not cause God to suddenly look down upon us with favor and say to Himself, "My that one down there, he surely deserves My favor. I think I'll save him, given how much he believes in me." Do we yet think so highly of ourselves? Do we still think we are of such fine moral quality that God would surely wish to have us in His company? No! God looked down upon this sinner and, out of His compassion for my lost condition, chose to get His message through to me.
I stand as a case in point. I had heard the gospel any number of times in my life. Hearing is not enough. I am, I suppose, a reasonably intelligent man. It is not as though the words were too difficult for me, or the concepts too lofty for my mind to grasp. Yet, the message failed to come through. The concepts didn't gel. Faith had not been joined with hearing. But the word that was spoken direct to my spirit, saying in essence "put Me to the test this weekend and see," who can lay claim to having spoken that word, for having instigated that thought? It was not anything to do with any desire of mine to prove Him true. I was just along for the ride. It was not anything to do with the conversation of those with me. As far as they knew I was already a believer. No, it was a sovereign move of the sovereign Lord, by His own compassion coming to bring faith to my heart. He chose. I can take no credit for it. I didn't particularly want it at the time, but I'm so very glad that He chose to bless me with it anyway. I'm so glad He chose to do so in the way He did, for it makes this matter crystal clear to me. There is nothing in this to which I can lay claim, and say, "see what I did." No, there is nothing to say about it other than, "look what the Lord has done!"
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The Promise (4/26/03)
We have been establishing much about the nature and character of God, as we have looked at this matter of calling and election. It has become, I hope, quite clear that what God predicts, happens. What God commands will come about. What God names, will bear not only the name, but also the significance of the name. As reassuring as all of this is for the Christian, there is another aspect of the matter that is more reassuring still: What God promises, He will do. It has been whispering, even shouting, through the studies of the last few weeks. He has said it, and He will do it! This is the Christian's confidence. It's no longer up to my faltering resolve to bring this thing about. The battle does not depend upon my feeble abilities. It's His word, His promise, that assures the outcome.
In Hebrews 6:13, the author reminds us of this very thing. He looks at the establishment of God's covenant with Abraham and notes that God, since there could be no one greater by whom He could swear, swore by Himself that His promise would stand. The point is this: we have God's promise, and we have His oath that what He has promised He will do.
What was that promise of which the author writes? The author tells us of the specific promise he has in mind in v14. God swore that He would surely bless and multiply Abraham. This goes back, of course, to the story of Abraham, specifically to the closing moments of his obedient offering up of Isaac. There, in Genesis 22:16-18, we hear the whole of this promise delivered. "I have sworn by Myself that, because you did not withhold even your son from Me, I will indeed bless you greatly, and multiply your seed to number as the stars or the sands. Your seed shall possess their enemies' gate, and in your seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. All this is because you obeyed My voice."
This is the promise upon which our salvation depends, for this is the promise which points to the Christ who has come from the line of Abraham. Generation after generation, God worked to establish the line of His choosing, ensuring that, no matter the machinations of man or devil, His choice would stand and His choice would prevail. Thousands of years passed between the giving of that promise, and the beginning of its fulfillment, yet nothing could thwart the will of God in honoring His promise. Thousands more years have passed since He began to fulfill His word by His Word. Still, nothing can thwart the completion of the work He is doing! What He has declared will be done. The numbering of Abraham's children, to be found, as we know, in spiritual descent rather than physical, continues to increase over the centuries. With the coming of the Messiah and His gospel of salvation, all the nations have felt God's blessing, though not all have been saved. Surely, the number of the faithful throughout the history of God's creation is beyond numbering! Surely, His promise stands firm.
There remains, from our perspective at least, the possession of our enemy's gates The enemy of our soul still prowls loose, seeking to destroy whom he can amongst the family of the faithful. For long ages he has sought to stop the line of promise, to cause God's promise to fail. Why? Because, should God's promise fail, it being a matter of covenant, God must Himself fail, and destroy Himself. What sort of maniacal plan is this? Surely, it is impossible that God should fail, that God should cease to be! Is the devil so deluded as to think this truly possible? Perhaps. What's even more unbelievable in all this is that he knows as well as we that it is only in God that we live, move, and have being. If He ceases, so also does everything and everyone else.
Can our enemy truly desire this? I believe he can. Why? Precisely because he knows the accuracy of Scripture. He knows what awaits, should this promise be completed. He's learned of what will happen when his gates have been taken by the army of Light. His future holds nothing but eternal torment in God's plan. Faced with this prospect, annihilation looks pretty good, and what is it to the one who would be no more, if he take everyone out with him?
But, try as he might, this future is not possible for him. The One he fights is in no danger of failure. Though He use weak and fallible man to accomplish His infallible purpose, His purpose will not fail!
There's a few other aspects of this promise I should like to explore. First, there is the foundation of the promise. "Because you have done this thing, because you have offered up your son in obedience to My command, I make this promise." Is this, then, a works-based promise? Was the salvation of all mankind hinged upon an obedient man of flesh, after all? I don't think so. What is significant about Abraham's working in this is not the work itself, but what the work said about the man. The promise God delivers here is, in large part, the same promise He had given Abraham before. Abraham had already heard about how numerous his descendants would be. He already had that promise from God. The question was, did he believe it? Was there faith? If there was, God already knew it. He didn't need to prove anything to God, because God was already quite clear on the state of Abraham's heart. Abraham, on the other hand, could use some assurance of his own condition, much like we need some proof of our heart's true status before Him. God, in requiring this offering of the only visible means of His promise's fulfillment, was giving Abraham proof of his own faith.
Did Abraham's obedience bring about God's promise, then? Not really. God had already made that promise. It was already certain, already established. Why, then, was God making the declaration again? For one thing, it was now made abundantly clear that the promise did not depend upon any effort of man. No conditions were attached. God simply said, "this is how it's going to be." He said it, and He will do it!
Notice, also, the matter that Mr. Clarke points out in this regard. The promise came before the Law. Fulfillment of the Law's demands cannot be the precondition of this promise, because the Law wasn't there to be referred to! As we have just seen, no strings were attached to that promise. There's no 'if you do this or that.' It is very simply, "This is what will happen." Whatever conditions we might imagine to be precursors to this promise, they are declared done and fulfilled. The promise is made sure by the oath of Him who promises, Him who alone in all that is has the power to see His promise fulfilled.
That promise involves us. We are, after all, part of 'all the nations.' We are, then, proper recipients of this promise. We are of the line of Abraham, if we are of like faith to Abraham. That is the declaration of Scripture. The blessing, then, is in us as much as it is possible to be. We know that the Seed of blessing was and is Christ our Lord. Through His work and His message, we know the promised blessing is the salvation He obtained for us. I think we must, then, see that the whole of this promise, even to the possessing of our enemy's gates, is ours as surely as the sun rose this morning!
Lord, I thank You once more for the assurance that is in Your word. Oh! How hard You work that we might rest in that assurance! How hard we seem to labor to shake that assurance off. Yet, there it is. The promise is signed, sealed, and delivered, and there is no condition of it that requires completion. You have declared it, You have accomplished it, and You have said, "it is finished!" How shall I sing of this great thing, my God? How shall I not? Awesome and wonderful are Your ways, magnificent beyond all possible description!
There is nothing, I know, my God, that can prevent Your promise and Your word from being fulfilled, and for that I am exceedingly grateful. How reassuring this is to me. Oh, may I never take this for granted! May I never forget that all this rich and marvelous heritage which You have declared unto me is due to Your great sacrifice. May I be found ready, willing, and active in sacrificing whatever You may require of me in the service of Your kingdom! May I be found quick to declare Your goodness to the mountains! May I be found faithful in the doing of all You would have me to do.
While this has nothing to do with the subjects at hand, there was something on NPR yesterday that just snapped up my attention. They were discussing with a couple of scientists how the earth might end - whether in the deep freeze brought on by an asteroid hit, or in the burning heat of a methane release. One comment really jumped out from this conversation, as they discussed the effects of this methane release, an effect they wished to claim had occurred numerous times in the history of the earth. What was said was this: mountains would literally melt in the heat of that cataclysmic event! Does this sound familiar? Psalm 97:5 tells us that the mountains melted like was at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. Micah, looking at the results that must come of Jacob's rebellion and Israel's sin, says this in Micah 1:4: The mountains will melt under Him, and the valleys will be split, Like wax before the fire, and like water pouring down a steep slope.
The earth grows old, declare the scientists, a process which we might hope to slow but can never hope to stop. The earth grows old, they say. "Behold, I make all things new!" declares the God of creation. "I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea." writes John (Rev 21:1). "The oceans will boil away," say the scientists. And He who sits on the throne says, "Behold, I am making all things new. Write, for these words are faithful and true. It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end" (Rev 21:5-6a). Indeed, science and Scripture cannot be reconciled with each other, insists the atheistic modern man. But the eyes of faith see a different reality. His name is Faithful and True, and what He declares shall be. And, in the end, every knee shall bow, and every tongue shall confess - be it ever so unwillingly - that He is, has been, and ever will be, Lord of all!
Providential Timing (4/27/03-4/28/03)
Not all that long ago, I spent some time studying the matter of God's Providence. What a wonderful study that turned out to be, and how Providential was the timing of that study! Throughout the brief months of a looming layoff and uncertainty with regard to future means of support, I was reminded every morning that it was the God who saved me who was in control. Thanks be to God that He showed me this aspect of Himself practically from the start! It was part and parcel of His chosen approach to calling me to faith. He asked only that I accept to basic premises and give Him the opportunity to prove Himself upon those premises. The first, most basic premise was that He existed. The second was that there is no such thing as coincidence. Providence in a nutshell. And upon these two premises He did indeed show Himself to speak accurately. I'll confess that my grip upon that no coincidence thing weakens at times, but it remains an underlying factor of my faith.
Now, if one accepts this concept of providence, that there is nothing which can be considered a coincidence, there are other questions that will demand an answer. For instance, why? What is it that eliminates the possibility of coincidental activities? One thing was made abundantly clear to me on the weekend that I came to true belief in this God whom I serve: all the piled up 'coincidences' that accumulated around me on that weekend were entirely too well orchestrated to be accepted as accidental occurrences. Where there is orchestration, there must needs be a conductor. Somebody had to be arranging these things, and the scope and sequence of the whole matter was far beyond what any man present (or all the men present, for that matter) could have arranged. It demanded a higher authority to accomplish: one who knew each man present with such intimacy as to know where they would be and what they would be doing at each and every moment of time - and all known before that moment of time had come.
This gives the basic idea of God's Providence, but when we see that Providence in full flower, we must recognize that where there is no coincidence, no accidental occurrence, everything that happens must be necessary. For everything to be necessary, everything must be accomplished by One who is Necessary. All contingencies must be removed, else there remains room for an accident, a change in the planned course of events. This may bother us, with our conceptions of what it means to be human. However, it should bless us profusely with all it implies to the Christian.
Understand: Everything is by God's choosing. He wills with His perfect will. He foresees every possible obstacle in His perfect knowledge. He plans with His perfect wisdom, a perfect plan, encompassing the solution for each obstacle by the best possible means. Nothing is left to chance in the plans of God, and those plans include the salvation of every man He has chosen. Everything is about God's choice. That you or I are saved is because He chose to save us. That you or I believe, is equally because He chose to save us. He, having chosen both the recipient and the means of that salvation, has declared His choice, and He moves as He must to make that choice reality. He chooses the messengers that will bear His Gospel. We know that pastors, if they be pastors in more than self-appointed title, are pastors by God's appointing. They have been called by Him to that very purpose. The message these pastors bear to us from God is the message of God's choosing. It is not always the most sensible or acceptable message by the standards of man, but it is always the perfect message for those whose ears He has chosen to open. Indeed, except He choose to make the message clear in our minds, we will hear only empty phrases - pretty sounding, perhaps, but stripped of their power to bring belief, faith, and salvation.
This is why God's promise stands so firm. It is precisely because He is the Lord of all creation, He is the Providence which orders and upholds the universe and every creature in it. He alone is in a position to make a promise, for He alone is in a position to see the promise fulfilled necessarily. This is the nature of the promise which is ours by His choosing! He chose to make the promise, and having promised it, He will see that it comes to pass. He chose to make the promise to us, in spite of our present condition, calling us into an existence which did not exist in us before His call. He has said it, and He will do it!
Abraham understood this. He knew God was as good as His word. He knew that if God had declared it to be true that Abraham would have descendents beyond count, then this was, absolutely, necessarily, going to happen. He knew that from the first hearing of the promise of God. He knew it, yet as time drew on, he grew unsure of his own understanding of the Plan. He felt the need to help the God of all creation keep His promise, and tried to take matters into his own hands. What was this, but the attempt of 'accident' to insert itself. It was chance occurrence seeking to overrule the Supreme Orchestration. It was, then, doomed to failure at the outset. Abraham understood the solidity of God's promise, but he was still learning about the solidity of God's timing and choice as to the fulfillment of the promise. On Mount Moriah, with his only son, the only visible means of the promise's fulfillment upon the altar at God's command, Abraham got it. He had tried to fix God's plan with Ishmael and learned the hard way of the heartache such efforts bring. He had seen the hand of God in the birth of this very son that now lay upon the altar. He had learned, in the process, to trust God's plan and God's timing. "God will provide." If He was insisting on taking Isaac, He would provide yet another child of miracle to take his place. His promise would necessarily stand. And, what a coincidence! At the last possible moment, Abraham's hand was staid, and the ram which the sacrifice lacked 'just happened' to be tangled in a bush right behind him. Funny, how he'd not noticed this before. What a coincidence! No, this thought never crossed Abraham's mind. He knew the God of Providence, the God who Provides, and he recognized God's provision in this.
Abraham had learned well: The fulfillment of God's promises will come at the time of God's choosing by the means of God's choosing. There is no other possibility. There is no possibility of His promise failing, and there is no possibility of the actions of man causing Him to hasten His plan, nor to delay His plan. When the timing is God's, it can only be the most seasonable time, for it is utterly impossible that God should be either early or late in what He does. We must learn this lesson along with father Abraham.
We must also understand that this matter of God's necessity does not make our own labors vain. It does not leave us mere puppets on the Puppet Master's strings, as some have supposed. It does not excuse us from praying most earnestly, this matter of knowing God's plans to be set and certain. You'll find no example of a righteous man in Scripture who did not pray with all his heart for God to act in specific fashion. Moses prayed often that God might change His plans in regard to the destruction of rebellious Israel. Abraham, with all he understood of God's plans and purposes, yet prayed that God would change His plans regarding Sodom and Gomorrah if there be so much as one righteous man left in those places. God assuredly answered their prayers in these matters, but did He actually change His plans? He is pictured as doing so in those places, but Scripture loudly declares that God does not repent, does not change. Clearly, then, these occasions are describing God in ways that our merely human understanding can grasp. Prayer did not change God's plan, prayer was a part of God's plan.
So, then: were Abraham and Moses actually free to pray or not as they so chose? This is dangerous water! We know our God is not a Puppet Master over the hearts of men, and yet we also know that all creation lives, and moves, and has its being in Him. Consider that! Unless He continue to uphold us, we don't move any more. Except He continue to breath life into us, we are but dead flesh returning to the dust from whence we came. Except He continue to will that we exist, we cease to exist. Except He spoke us into existence, there would be no existence to cease from. The prayers of Abraham and Moses were as necessary as any other part of God's infallible planning. They could not not have happened. Yet, did this destroy the freedom of Abraham and Moses to choose to pray? Not at all. They chose most freely to pray. They were not forced to. Listen to their prayers! They are clearly most heartfelt. Yet, it is impossible that they would not have so chosen. It is impossible, not because they were coerced, but because God had made this part of His plan, and His plans are made with perfect knowledge and wisdom.
Here's another side of the question. What if Abraham or Moses had not been part of that plan? Would their prayers have made the least bit of difference in God's purposes? I think the answer has to be no. Scripture tells us that the prayers of a righteous man accomplish much. Why is this? Is it because he chooses his words better? No. It is precisely because he is righteous, he is aligned with God's purposes. His prayers, then, are also aligned with God's purposes, indeed, are a part of God's plans for attaining to those purposes. His prayers are effective because they don't seek to oppose God, but to see His will done on earth as in heaven. The unrighteous man cannot pray that way. His prayers are all about his own plans and purposes, and don't even take God's plan into consideration.
It is so with prayer, and it is so with service in the house of God. Man's calling is worthless apart from God's calling. We can declare whatever we like about ourselves, but unless God authorizes it, it is only empty words. What He authorizes, He also empowers. The power is indeed the seal of His authority upon the calling. What He empowers, He will give opportunity to bear fruit. He will not call a pastor and then refuse to bring a pastorate. Where He calls, He calls with purpose. Where He purposes, He will see that it is done. Woe to the one who would seek to take up service on his own, who would seek to force the God of all creation to accept his own ways! It cannot but lead to failure and worse! We see this playing out before our eyes today. Those who have sought to instruct God on the conduct of His church, who have sought to impose their own rules, who have sought to impose themselves, are being exposed. The wounds they have inflicted upon the righteous are being healed by the cleansing power of God.
But remember this, my friends: it's no accident. God is in control. He knows what is happening in His church. He has known it all along. Look. He knew Judas' intent before Judas did. He knew what would come of allowing Judas to associate with His Son. He knew it because it was already part of His plan, and clearly the end result of that planning was for the good of all those whom He has chosen, those who work with Him! Indeed, the end result was the deliverance of that long promised redemption! What purpose He has had in allowing these pseudo-servants in the church, what purpose He has had in allowing manmade laws to gain such ascendancy in His house, remains to be seen. But the nature of that outcome is in no doubt. It will be shown to be for the good of the chosen, who love Him, and who worship Him in spirit and in truth.
Before I move on to the next topic, I need to record a few thoughts regarding today's service at church, especially as they fit so well with the discussion up to this point. This morning was one of those convergence moments, when what I've been studying here, what the pastor speaks on, and what comes out through the words of others all come together. I have felt, over the last several weeks, a growing sense that I ought be in the upper room of the sanctuary (an old choir loft behind the platform, screened off from all view), and pray as my pastor preaches. Yet, I excused myself, thinking of all the various duties that need my attention in the course of service, whether it be playing my instrument, or covering the soundboard, or whatever else. Today, however, as worship finished up, the call came loud and clear - undeniable, really. The Holy Spirit was calling the church to a new commitment to prayer. OK. Message received. Once worship was fully completed, I turned over the sound to another, took my Bible, and went by discrete passages to my new post. And there I prayed as I listened to the words of my pastor.
And what words! He spoke of a note he came across while visiting a friend of ours whose daughter is in the hospital for cancer treatments. The note was from another member of our church, written to this friend as encouragement. It was tucked into a book by Spurgeon, which this person had sent along. The note said, amongst other things, that Spurgeon was this person's second favorite preacher, our own present pastor being her favorite. What does this have to do with anything, you might be asking. Well, allow me to explain it.
First and foremost, here we are looking at Providence, the theorem of 'no coincidences,' and pastor brings up this 'coincidental' finding of this note. This was no accident, it was God's plan and purpose in action. It served His plan, I suspect in more ways than I can even fathom, yet I know of at least a few. Firstly, for our pastor it was a great encouragement. The honesty of the words could not be questioned (especially knowing the source), for the words were not written in a setting that allowed of flattery. They were not intended (by the hand that wrote) for his eyes to ever see. Yet the One who prompted the heart that wrote fully intended this to be the case. His servant was in need of encouragement, and nothing could encourage like this could. Message received.
There was also a message in that message for me. It was yet another confirmation of this new post I felt called to take up. The confirmation was in the mention of Spurgeon. Sure, I could look at this as just a coincidental detail of the wording of this intercepted message regarding our pastor. It could just as easily have been Stanley, or Sproul, or Graham, or any number of other well known preachers that was the point of comparison, but it wasn't. It was Spurgeon who was noted. Why? Well, obviously, there was the fact that this truly was said person's second favorite preacher. But there's more to it than that. There is a purpose even in the details. For me, the purpose was confirmation, because one thing I know of Spurgeon's history is that his every message was delivered with a body of the faithful praying in another room that his message might be effective for the purposes of the kingdom.
This was a large part of my thinking as I was feeling this call to pray, and today it was confirmed twice to me: in the prophetic word spoken over this church, and in this seemingly insignificant detail of a pastor's aside.
But it didn't stop there. There was the testimony of another lady in the church. She spoke of here being out walking as she prayed. She passed some homeless men, and felt the call to go speak to them. But, fearing her safety, she ignored the call and walked on. Hmm. Her will seems to have trumped God's plans. But, on the return trip, one of the men she had passed came to her, seeking this gospel message she had thought not to give. Indeed, what He purposes, He sees to it is done! Indeed, all whom He has appointed to eternal life hear and believe. Even when we, like Jonah, step aside from our assigned missions, He brings the missions to us. He has prepared these works beforehand for us to do, and it is He who both wills and works in us to see that they are done!
Here's another thing that excited me greatly about today's service. The message was on the subject of our inheritance in Christ. And threaded through this message were any number of references to Scriptures indicating the permanence, the heavenly protection of that inheritance. Over and over again, I heard the Scriptures shouting out of this very matter of permanent election. I heard the heart of God, and I heard my pastor's heart shouting his concurrence with this. Again, I am driven to conclude that, although our declared doctrines may differ greatly, what our hearts hold to be true is very, very similar.
It is no coincidence that I am in this church. God has me here for a reason. It is no coincidence that this message came yesterday. Even as our pastor needed encouragement, so also do I. As I have seen this stark divide in doctrinal understanding, it's been cause of no end of anguish to me. How can I remain in a church that believes things so absolutely opposite of what I hold to? How do I resolve the things I perceive of my pastor's heart with these doctrinal errors that one or the other of us must have? In the message preached yesterday, I received, I think, my answer. The heart of this fine servant holds fast to truths the mind may not, and it is the heart upon which God looks. Indeed, this is the place in which God has planted me, and the time to depart is not yet, should it ever come. This is a man of God with whom I can gladly stand, and share as I may the burden he carries. Indeed, this body of God's church in Lowell will do mighty things by the power of the God we serve, for He has done great things, and His plans are to do greater things still!
Ultimate Planning (4/28/03-4/29/03)
God's planning is the ultimate in planning. There can be no better plan imagined. What He purposes to see done will be done, and it will be done according to the means and methods He has devised and decreed. Now, the significance of this will either excite you greatly, or upset you greatly. In the heart of the Christian, it ought to produce great excitement, a joyful wonder that is fed by every least incident of the day. It should be a cause for great thankfulness to realize the extent to which God has considered our course, prepared our course, and established us upon that course.
We have seen from the clear testimony of Scripture that God established us as the called before even creation had been established. He spoke this truth about us, named us, declared our nature, long before there was anybody but Himself to hear His words. It was spoken into His own holy fellowship, and thereby gained the witness of three. Their testimony is certain. What He has spoken is certain. But, it can only be so if there is no possibility of failure and, if man is involved in the matter, surely that possibility is not only real, but practically inevitable! Again, I will say that God could not speak with the confidence of Truth about His plans for you and I were it not fully in His power to assure the completion of His plans. There can be no room left for coincidence or for accident. None. His plans are perfect. The means He has determined by which to implement the plans are perfect. The timing He has laid out in those plans is perfect. He has not had to incorporate some margin of error in His planning, for the possibility of error is zero.
We just went through a schedule review at work yesterday. This is the picture of man's planning. It's a best guess approach. If everything goes well, this task ought to take about this long, and that task should take that long. But, if something comes up (as something always does), each of these tasks will take much longer. We will have to figure out what went wrong and how to fix it, before we can even attempt to determine how long the actual fixing will take. And of course, plans with this degree of uncertainty must be revisited and revised from time to time as our knowledge of the situation becomes more solid.
But God's knowledge is perfect. It cannot become more solid, because He already knows everything absolutely. The plan He has established need not have these margins of error, nor does He have to revisit them and revise them as the centuries roll by. Nothing has changed. His purposes are moving forward exactly as He envisioned them.
The result of this is that we can (and should) recognize that everything we see happening in our lives today, from the most trivial of details to the most obvious good to the seemingly terrible; all of it is but the working out of God's eternal purpose. All of it is on plan in the sight of God. Not one of these things has taken Him by surprise. Not one of them has caused Him to revise His plan. No! Every last bit of it was established in His plan before the world even was!
Now, as I said, this idea will either cause your heart to leap within you for the joy of knowing such security, or it will cause your mind to shudder in considering what this means for the much vaunted power of man. Many look at this, and say that it belittles God, that it leaves man no more than a puppet in the hands of such a God. I say that this is not so. That His plans have so accounted for you has not required that He coerce you into action. Not at all! Your choices and decisions have not been made at gunpoint, as it were. It takes a great God to take such as you and I into account with perfect planning!
Others will look at the evils that have come upon the face of the earth at various times in the history of man, and say that these things would show a God with such control of the situation to be very evil indeed. If matters such as the cruelties of Rome at the birth of the Church, or the inhuman cruelties of the holocaust are truly parts of His plan, how can He be good? Notice a distinction here, though. They are part of His plan, yet it is not declared that He has done these things. No, the evils of man remain in man's hands. Again, it must be made clear that no irresistible coercion was applied to bring these human decisions about. Yet the plan of God was established with even such decisions as these in view. They have been incorporated in His plan as long as His plan has been.
So, you might say, what use is such a plan if it still allows for evils like that? Very useful, I should say! We need look no further than Romans 8:28 to see the power of this! God causes all things to work together for the good of those who love Him. That includes even such horrendous evils as we are discussing. That includes hundreds of years during which His chosen people remained in terrible slavery in Egypt. That includes the persecution that seemed to threaten the extinction of the Church before even it had had opportunity to take root. That includes the terrors of the holocaust. Everything, even the worst efforts of the most vile of men, is taken into account in His plan, and He alone has the power to force even such efforts to be turned to a good end - in spite of those making the effort.
Scripture provides sufficient evidence of this great truth. Consider Judas, or Caiaphas. By the work of these two men (among others), the very Son of God was brought to death. Neither of these men can be seen as good men, given the record of their activities. Judas sold out his friend and teacher for a paltry bit of cash, and he did so in most deceitful fashion. Caiaphas sold out his own faith and religion for a bit of power and prestige, costing not only his own eternal state, but that, also, of many of his fellow Jews, who looked to him for leadership in matters of belief. No, neither of these men could be considered good men, and the actions they undertook with regard to Jesus were certainly not good actions. Yet, the end result of this, the unmodified, uncorrected, original outworking of God's plan, was fulfilled by their actions. Indeed, that plan required their actions. I must reiterate that no coercion was applied to either of these men to induce them to take the course they took. It was taken of their own free will. The choice was wholly theirs to make. That they would make the choice they did was inevitable, for it was but a reflection of who they really were. It is not possible that their choice could have been otherwise, yet their choice was their own. And so, all who have been appointed to eternal life have been saved by the shed blood of their Redeemer; a horrible wrong done to this Man because of the evil acts of evil men, yet an unparalleled good to us, because God works all things for our good - even the death of His own Son!
This is a hard truth. There's no doubt about it. It is almost impossible for us to understand and accept that God could truly be working by such means, and yet He goes out of His way to make clear that He does. He tells us that it is He who establishes rulers and kingdoms. He doesn't limit Himself to having established only the good ones, He takes responsibility for all of them. He says He sends both blessings and calamities. I've seen some fancy footwork done by men who would take those words from His mouth, but if we are going to accept that He is ruler over all, then these things will have to be included. 'All' leaves no room for exceptions.
Great are Your ways, Lord. Righteous and True is Your name, and righteous and true are all Your ways. God, it perplexes the mind to consider the ways in which You have acted. It confounds us to even begin to attempt the comprehending of Your plans and purposes. Yet how could we deny what You Yourself have told us of Your ways? How could we dare to deny You the rights and works You have claimed for Yourself? It is not possible that we could take even the slightest of such matters out of Your hands, for You are Lord over all.
I must confess that my understanding fails me in contemplation of these things, yet I am so thoroughly grateful, my God, to know that You have taken such intricate care of my every day. How could I be upset to know that You have crafted each and every moment of this day for Your purpose, to achieve all Your good and holy will in me and for me? Indeed, Lord, open the eyes of my heart to see what it is You are seeking to achieve in all that comes my way today. Open my understanding that I may be the more ready and rapid in responding with full accord to Your purposes. I know, my God, that You can and will achieve Your purposes with or without my agreement, but my will and desire this morning is that You would find in me that agreement to join with You wholeheartedly. Speak, Lord, for Your servant listens.
A Reason for Confidence (4/30/03)
This statement by Calvin caught my attention, as it says some interesting things about this matter of salvation.
"Men never seek God in a right manner till they have confidence to approach him; and, therefore, [] we never apply our mind to godliness till we have been instructed about the hope of heavenly life."
Consider that first part. We never seek God until we have confidence to approach Him. As much as we may speak of having found Christ, having found God, this really cannot be the case, can it? The thought Calvin is expressing here is nothing but a statement of human nature. We are not going to go out of our way to come into the presence of an enemy that can destroy us. Scripture makes it clear that God came to us while we were still enemies (Romans 5:10). We were in this condition when He reconciled us to Him through His own Son's death. If we knew Him only as an enemy, and knew Him to be infinitely stronger than ourselves, what could possibly induce us to seek to be in His presence? Clearly, such a desire could not be found in us.
It took God's coming to us, seeking us out (an easy task for the all-knowing God), and declaring hope to us, declaring our redemption. For us, that work was done long ages past, yet it had no bearing upon our lives until He made clear to us what had been done. We, who knew Him only as the Judge whose verdict we must fear to hear in our guilt, were sent a message from His court declaring that another had come in our place and paid the penalty for our crimes. This fearsome Judge had declared our innocence of all further penalty!
However, many others we know to be just as guilty have heard this same message. In us, for some reason, the impact is different than for them. We have heard this great news and found in it cause not only to rejoice in the court's decision, but to turn from our old ways which brought us before the eyes of the court in the first place. These others seem to have either disbelieved the message, or at least to have shown no gratitude towards this One who paid for their past deeds.
In this, they have added fresh crime to old, for ingratitude is sinful, and surely ingratitude towards such a God as this (and He the author of the Law they transgress) is sinful in the extreme! No sooner has the court declared their fines paid, then they begin to accumulate fresh charges against themselves, and worse charges, at that. There remains no further substitute to be offered in place of their own payment of penalty. This is exactly the message we are given in Hebrews 10:26-27. These have received news of the truth - that One has died in their place, their penalty has been paid as well as any man's, but they have reviled the work of that Man, starting immediately down the path of greater sinfulness. There remains no longer any sacrifice for their sins, only the certain and terrifying realization of impending judgment and doom - a future filled with the fury of His all-consuming fire.
So we can see that this first part of Calvin's statement is but the application of a truism regarding human nature to the human condition before a God with just cause against them. Now, let us consider the second part of the statement: "we never apply our mind to godliness till we have been instructed about the hope of heavenly life." On the surface, this would seem to run counter to the ways of learning, wouldn't it? We might think that we study a particular subject, or field of knowledge in order to further our potential in the ensuing years of our life. This is largely the focus of modern education, a simple preparing of their pupils to be 'useful, productive members of society.' Yet, there have also been periods in human history where learning was for the sake of learning, of improving oneself simply because this was an honorable goal.
However, whether as a means of preparing for future employability, or as a means of self-improvement, the material we study is not likely to be that which neither interests us nor offers any benefit to us. No, we will study such things as are beneficial in one way or another. How will this apply to studying matters of godliness? Well, what is the goal of godliness? It is, in an ultimate sense, to prepare the student for existence in the presence of a Holy God. It is to prepare us for life in His kingdom. What could possibly be less desirable to one who knows only His coming judgment against them? One who is living a life of rebellion against the king can hardly seek to live in the king's very house! No! Until we are given sound reason to believe - to believe with confidence - that the king's message of forgiveness is valid and true; until we are given reason to think that coming to His house is something that will bless us, rather than the beginning of eternal torment, we will by no means seek to get there.
I have called this section 'A Reason for Confidence.' You may still be trying to find such a reason in what has been said. If so, let me point it out to you. We know that salvation is not by works, right? We have - if ever we pursued such a course - left that course behind. We depend upon nothing but the redemptive work of Christ for our salvation. This is but recognition that we can have confidence to come before our King and our Judge. OK, but it's still not a reason, right? It simply states the situation. Well, consider this, then. What is the point of your being in church every week? What is the point of your studying the Word of God? The whole point of these exercises, and numerous other activities common to the Christian is to learn the ways of godliness! The very thought of such studies is reprehensible to the reprobate mind! It is a preparation for such a life as can only be undesirable to them. Yet, for us, this study is eminently desirable. This should tell us something! If we are pursuing such an activity, something must have preceded it: we must have been instructed about the hope of heavenly life! We must have heard the message of pardon! Who speaks that message, but the Holy Spirit!
Do you see the reason yet? The thirst you have for learning of His ways is but an evidence for You that He has come to you, He has sought you out to receive the invitation of His calling. He has sent the Holy Spirit to you to bring understanding of the things you study - these matters of godliness! Now, if that still hasn't built confidence in you, consider this: The message you were given, the invitation you received from Him, the title and name He has given you, were all addressed to you before you were even conceived in your mother's womb! Indeed, all this was determined before the first womb of a woman was even brought into being! All this is the outworking of God's plan, established before the first effort of creation, and unchanged over all the eons since. Nor, will it change, however many are the eons yet to come! That is our reason for confidence! HE has said it, and HE will do it!
And yet… (5/1/03)
I have noted, in the course of this study, verses which must be dealt with by those who would claim that God's choice, His declarations in regard to man, can be thwarted by the will of man. At the same time, there are verses which are similarly necessary to deal with for those who hold God's will to be imperturbable. 1Timothy 2:4 is one such verse. In this passage, beginning at verse 1, Paul is urging his readers to pray for all men, even those authorities who might, in their ungodly state, be persecuting the Church. Even for these, he urges us to pray, so that we can live our lives in peace, dignity, and godliness. Such can only be the case when the state recognizes and acknowledges the Church, which can only happen when the state consists of godly men, not only appointed by God, but aware that they are in office solely by His appointment. We are told this is a good thing for us to do, because God sees it as a good thing to do. What if these men are not among those appointed to salvation? Can God then look with favor on us praying that His will in their case not be done? Well, Paul relieves us of any fear of finding ourselves in opposition to God's purposes. He tells us that God desires all men to be saved, and to come to knowledge of the truth.
Now, having solved our problem of prayer, Paul hits us with a bigger problem. If God's desire is for all to be saved, how is it that so many are not? If His desire is that all be saved, what was the point of 'as many as were appointed to eternal life were saved?' This word, desire, is yet another form of choosing. It signifies a considered preference, a selecting from among possibilities, a choice. It reflects a resolved purposing. However, we must be careful here. What is being described in this word is a tendency or preference. However, it does not appear to describe the actual committing of the will to a particular course so much as the deliberations of the will in determining course.
Consider some of the other places the word occurs. In Matthew 2:18, speaking of Herod's slaughter, Rachel is brought to bear as the image of Israel's sorrow. She is spoken of as not being willing to be comforted in her loss. Here, the expression of her will is clearly opposable. As much as we might seek to avoid being comforted, as much as we might perhaps determine to nurse our anger over some issue or another, we are incapable of preventing such comfort from coming to us. We cannot hold our anger so constantly however hard we may try.
In Matthew 12:38, the Pharisees come seeking a sign from Jesus. They express their desire for such a sign to be performed, yet this desire of their will is not such as can in any way determine that the desired event should occur. It is an expression of the will in a matter not directly controlled by the will. We see the same problem for Herod in Matthew 14:5. He wanted to kill John the Baptist. The man troubled him, and he wanted an end to that troubling. Yet, other concerns, such as the reaction of the people he ruled, and the impact of their reaction upon his rule, prevented this desire of his from being accomplished immediately.
What of the words of Jesus? In Matthew 16:25, He tells us that those who desire to save their own lives will lose it. Clearly, the expressed will of such men has been denied them. Clearly, the preservation of our own lives is beyond our power to guarantee! We can act in ways which might further our cause, or we might do that which detracts from our chances, yet we do not have final control of the outcome. However much we may desire to continue in life, death will come.
Here's a verse that might prove key to our understanding the matter. It is the prayer of Jesus as He contemplated the sacrifice He must make. At the very close of that prayer, in Matthew 26:39, we read of Jesus expressing His preference in the matter: 'If it is possible, let this cup pass from Me.' This is not the solution I would choose, Father. However, thanks be to God, He continues from that point. He concludes with "Yet not as I will, but as Thou wilt." Is this, then, a clash of God's will with God's will? It is the same word which describes both Jesus' will and God's will, yet clearly, the significance is different. Jesus is not expressing a set determination of His will. He is not telling the Father that He has decided that He will not do this thing. Not at all. He is expressing His feelings about what must be done, expressing a preference for another way. Notice, though, that in spite of the express preference of His will, the actual decision of His will is obedience to the plan! This is key! This is what we need to get hold of.
We are looking at a word that expresses the desire, not the decision. Now, in all fairness, there is no other word used of the Father's will in this case. In both the Father's case and the Son's, what is being discussed is the desire, the preference of their wills. Here, I think, we are given a clear view of Jesus the faithful Servant. We've noted this matter before: for the servant, the desire of the master is as compelling and commanding as his order. Thus, for Jesus, there was the express desire of His Father. Could He have chosen not to do this thing? Perhaps in some theoretical sense, yet His own nature, His own relationship with God would surely prevent Him from that choice. He is the Faithful Servant. Where His master and Father has declared a preference, whatever His own thoughts on the matter, He will obey.
Here's an interesting thought. Jesus, speaks to the Jews, of how they were so diligent in searching the Scriptures. Why were they so diligent? Because they thought to find their ticket to eternal life in that diligence. But, Jesus points out to them that these very Scriptures in which they sought to attain to eternal life were all a witness to Himself. And yet, with all this careful searching, these diligent students were not willing to come to Him to gain the life they so desperately sought (John 5:39-40). There's a lot to chew on in that brief message! First, there's a warning in there that we would do well to heed for ourselves. Studying is not enough. We can dig into Scripture with every ounce of our mental strength, and come out with nothing. It depends upon the Spirit of God speaking into us from those Scriptures, working in us with those Scriptures to bring about change. Knowing the Bible inside and out will not save you. The devil knows it better than you do, and it won't save him. It is the Messiah to whom the Scriptures point that can save you, and Him alone.
Romans 7:15 also gives us a view of the difference between this desire of the will, and the actual decision taken by the will. "I am not doing what I would have myself do," Paul writes, "but find myself doing things I truly hate." The desire of his will in these things is to do quite the opposite of what he in fact is doing. There is something stronger than his desire which prevents him from having his desire. He continues the thought in Romans 7:18 - "I can wish it were otherwise, that I might actually do what is good, but the doing of that good is not in me." Where the will has made its decision, surely the action decided upon must occur. The laws of cause and effect would dictate that the will having decided to act, the act decided upon must come about. Therefore, it would seem to me that Paul is not expressing the decided action of his will in what he desires, but in what he does.
Elsewhere, in Galatians 3:2, Paul speaks of his desire to know how the Galatians received the Spirit, whether by the Law or by faith. Clearly, Paul cannot enforce his will in this case. If they will not tell him, there is no decided action of his will that can cause his desire to be fulfilled. He later speaks of those who had come to the Galatians with a deceptive message of salvation by works. He says, in Galatians 4:17, of the purpose of these deceivers. They come with the desire of turning the Galatians from the path of faith, and thereby to cut them off from the true hope of salvation, in order that they might instead follow the deceptive message of works. These deceivers are also powerless to ensure the outcome of their desire. They can work towards seeing that end achieved, but they cannot guarantee the outcome. In the end, the deciding factor must be in the will of those they seek to deceive. Theirs is the power of decisive action, as their own wills determine to act.
Note also the words of Paul in Philippians 2:13. "It is God who is at work in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure." It is by His work that you have the desire to obey, and it is by His work in you that you actually take decisive action in doing so. Interesting to consider this in conjunction with Paul's distress in that passage from Romans! There, he spoke of his desire and his inability to comply to his own desires. Here, he places both the desire and the ability in God's hands. Notice this: on the part of his actions, or on the part of the actions of those in whom God is working, a distinction is made between the express desire and the actual course of action the will decides upon. What strikes me as most compelling, though, is that in the Philippians passage - where desire and deed are in agreement with one another - both are the outworking of God's own decided course of action. He has done, by His own decision, a work in us which brings about both desire and ability to comply.
There are numerous other occurrences of this word in Scripture, some speaking of man, others of God. One that I would consider in regards to God's desire is the passage from Hebrews 10:5 and Hebrews 10:8. "You have not desired sacrifice or offering. You have not desired sin, nor do You find pleasure in it." Here, God has expressed His desire, yet clearly many sacrifices and offerings were made to Him from sinful motives. Had it been His express will, His determined outcome, can any doubt that sacrifice and offering would have ceased? There is a clear distinction here between such thoughts as are expressed in this passage, and the declarations of His determined will as are so often expressed in prophetic passages. In those sorts of passages, God declares things in the fashion of "I will do," "it will come to pass." Had He, in this passage, said that sacrifice and offerings would cease, it would express a course of events determined in His sovereign will, and not subject to failing to come to pass. Had He said in 1Timothy 2:4 that all men would be saved, then, indeed, He would have been expressing the course of events determined in His unchanging and unchangeable plan. All men would indeed be saved, and we would not need to be concerned any further about anything.
Truly, this would be the license to sin that so many complain of finding in the thought of permanent election! If all will be of necessity saved, then there remains no reason to concern ourselves with sin. Indeed, there remains no longer any grounds for charges of sinfulness, and as such, there remains nothing from which we need to be saved. The whole scheme falls into self-contradiction, and becomes a meaningless jumble of disconnected thoughts! No, God's desire, is that all men would be saved, but He has not so acted as to make the outcome unavoidable.
To those who have chosen (by the outworking of His express and decisive will in them) to become bondservants in His household, His desire is as good as His command. Desire and command are equally to be obeyed, our own desires set aside by the act of our own will, in favor of pursuing His desire. But, to those who have not chosen a course of servanthood, that desire is no more binding upon them than their own wishful thinking. Again I say that if this passage expressed the determined course of God, it could not fail to come about except He fail to be God. The very thought of that is intolerable! The idea that the all-powerful God of all creation, He who upholds the life of every creature by the determination of His own will, who, should He withdraw that determination, would inevitably bring about the cessation of existence in all cases where His determination was withdrawn; the idea that such as He could be thwarted in His determined purposes is to deny the fact that He is all-powerful. It is to suggest that there is something more powerful than all-powerful, which is nonsensical. Where power is perfect, there can be nothing lacking in it such that a greater power could exist, or that some overlooked lesser power might confound what perfect power pursues.
Father, how fearful a thing it is to find ourselves fallen into the hands of one so unopposably powerful as You! How fearful, and yet how wonderful! I look at these thoughts of Paul's - the realization that the desire and the power to do good are not to be found, except Your own power cause it to exist; the self-assessment that recognizes that though the desire is present, the power is yet afar off - and I find both comfort and distress. If the doing and the willing are Yours to accomplish in us, what are we to say to finding ourselves only desiring? It must strike fear into my heart to see my actions still in defiance of Your desires, for it can only be evidence of a place where You are not at work in me. And, if You are not at work in me, what hope do I have?
Yet, at one and the same time, it is a great hope, the greatest possible hope, to know that both the desire and the doing are but the outworking of Your own power in this powerless vessel! For, the desire I know within me, and Your own word declares that the desire I know is as much a reflection of Your power at work as is the doing of what I desire. Is it any wonder that we are told so many places in so many ways to make certain of Your calling! The evidence of our lives is so mixed, and yet the import of that evidence is of utmost significance. It's a matter of eternal importance! In our feeble understanding, we don't know as You know, we don't see the end from the beginning. Indeed, we don't even see the end from the step just prior to the end. With such uncertainty in our view of the future, where can we find assurance for our souls but in You?
How shall we have rest in our souls except You give us that rest? Indeed, You have expressed Your desire that we be saved. That my desire is also to be saved is, in itself, no evidence of anything but self-interest. That my desire is to do those things that are pleasing to You is, in itself, no better evidence. That I rejoice to desire Your will to be done! Now that's a different thing altogether! The desire to please You might be no more than self-preservation, given a bit of understanding as to the danger in not pleasing You. But, to rejoice in that desire, to find all my pleasure in pleasing You! That can only be the outworking of Your determined will in me! That I am sorrowed, as Paul was sorrowed, when I find my actions complying neither with Your desire nor with my own, that, too, can only be evidence that You have been at work upon the desires of my heart, upon my stony heart that it might be softened to Your leading! Oh! That the evidence of my actions would also display such proof to my eyes! Yet, along with Paul, I must confess that my actions are at odds with desire. But it is no longer I, but sin in me, warring against the desire You have given me.
Praise be to Your name that even now, when my flesh rebels, I have the witness of Your working in me! Praises be to Your name that You have determined that my salvation shall come, and come it shall! Who can oppose Your will, my God, without coming to harm, for Your will will be done! Thank You, heavenly Father, for securing the salvation of this sinner, for giving me Your covenant guarantee that salvation, and all that is necessary to its coming will be done! Though this flesh troubles me, an end to its troublings is inevitable, for You have named me holy, You have named me a son of God, and You will surely see it done as You have declared.
Real Revelation (5/2/03)
Many claim to speak from revelation today. Even in my own church, where God has planted me, much is made of the need for revelation knowledge. Now, from a reformed background this sounds dangerous, if not heretical. The canon of Scripture is closed! The story of redemption has been written in full, there's no need for God to do more, and indeed, there is danger in hearing those who would claim to hear more. On the other side of this, one might ask why we, who believe that God does not change, have decided that He has changed in ceasing to speak directly to man. Frankly, however, I think the whole argument is an unnecessary strife for the Church. Not that I think the matter unimportant, but simply that I think the two sides of the issue are either agreed upon more fully than is commonly thought, or misunderstood so much by the opposing sides as to render the argument meaningless.
Here's the deal. Neither side of the issue is inclined to 'add to Scripture.' There is complete agreement as to the completeness of both the canon, and of the work and message of redemption. Jesus said, 'it is finished,' and neither side is inclined to argue the point with Him. In spite of this, the reformed speaker will tell you that the charismatic's constant reference to having had messages direct from God, of having received their sermon by revelation, is a de facto adding of their message to the canon. Now, there are doubtless those amongst the ranks who are but deceivers, and who truly do intend their own words to bear more weight than Scripture, but these are the exception. Scripture has warned us of these exceptions, saying they will be numerous. This is why we are told to check the message, check what the speaker claims as the voice of the Spirit, check what you believe to be the voice of the Spirit. There are many spirits at work upon the face of the earth, but only One to whom we are to listen. How are we to know which is which? By the Scriptures!
The best and the least of honest and upright charismatic preachers, though they will often claim to speak by revelation, will also give their flock constant reminders to be diligent. Many times I have heard the admonishment from the pulpit of such preachers to check the Scriptures, to verify the message and not simply take them at their word. This very fact gives us the key to understanding that the divide is not so great, nor the preaching so criminal, as the reformed observer might believe. It seems clear to me that the fact that the preacher feels it needful to so admonish his church indicates to me that what is spoken of as revelation by that man is simply what the reformed speaker would call illumination.
If you would hear the voice of true revelation, in the sense understood in reformed circles, listen to Paul's message to the Galatians. "I neither received it from man, nor was I taught it, but I received it through a revelation of Jesus Christ" (Gal 1:12). Truth be told, I've heard similar claims many times. "I never read this anywhere, I never heard another preacher preach it, I didn't even plan to speak on this subject, but God has spoken to my heart…" There's a difference, though, a big difference. Look at Paul's words just a few verses back in that same chapter. "But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed." That, my friend, is the voice of revelation. That claim, I don't know the earnest preacher today that would make.
Illumination leaves yet some room for doubt. It's possible that we mistook our own excitements for illumination, our own flash of insight for the prompting of the Spirit. We do not fully understand the spirit realm in this flesh, we are not well-versed in the ways of the Spirit, nor of those spirits which seek to deceive. Our vision into these things is cloudy indeed. Because of this, when we encounter matters of a spiritual nature, we are never entirely certain how to receive the matter. Again, this is why Scripture reminds us to check the spirits by the revealed Word of God.
The canon of Scripture is closed. God, however, is not silenced with its closing. There is agreement by the most conservative and the most charismatic of believers that God does not change. This is foundational to our hope of salvation, that He is not going to change His mind, nor will He change His nature. He cannot, for He is God, and for Him to be other than He is would be for Him to not be God! He is faithful, though we are not. This is foundational truth. Yet, the conservative will insist that the gifts of the Spirit have ceased to operate, that the charismata were but for a time. I have searched the word of God, I have looked at the Scriptures upon which this claim is laid, and I find no basis for such a claim.
Is there a large part of what passes itself off as charismata which is pure hokum? You bet. The enemy of our soul has ever been fond of forgery. The lie never looks good enough to convince that doesn't contain large grains of truth. However, though the forgeries be real, the real is no forgery. St. Augustine summed it up in looking at the gift of prophecy. It was necessary for the Church then because the perfect had not yet come (the only reference Scripture suggests as a point of cessation for the gifts). It must surely be recognized that perfection has not yet overtaken this fallen world! It has not come to any Christian living, nor will it until Jesus Christ returns in victorious power, to vanquish every last force of the deceiver. Until that time, there will be a need in the Church to have a clearer view of the future, of what is coming. Until we stand revealed before Him who knows the heart, the secret places of man, there will be a need for words of knowledge to reveal the hidden sin, so that the hidden sin can be brought to light and dealt with. Until these bodies are redeemed, there will be a need for healing. The need remains for the gifts, and will the God from whom every good gift comes refuse them to us in our day, when He has bestowed them upon His people throughout their long history? I find no good reason to think so!
Our more formal brethren amongst the reformed circles may needs forgive us for the imprecision with which some terms are used by those who have not their training. The common man may not necessarily understand the difference between revelation and illumination as well as they ought. Both contexts have come to be rolled into the former word, and the latter word has all but faded from use in this sense. Let, then, those who shudder to hear claims of revelation (and rightly so), shudder not at the word's having been used, but at the intent of the word's user. If, indeed, they would lay claim to the infallibility that revelation rightly implies, I will gladly join them in fleeing the presence of such a deception. But, if they claim only such newness of dawning understanding as has ever been the hallmark of the Spirit's influence upon those appointed to eternal life, let them be forgiven their usage of the word.
If error is heard in what they speak, let correction come rather than condemnation! Let us all follow the clear teaching of the Scriptures to which we all hold. Seek to correct first, and only where that one is found to hold to his delusions in stubborn opposition to the Church, should he be turned out of the Church. Indeed, there are doubtless those in the pulpits of every possible denomination or non-denomination who should be decried as frauds and worse. Yet, there are many true servants serving in each of those same divisions of the body, earnest men and women seeking to live godly in this ungodly world, and doing their utmost to encourage those entrusted to their care to do likewise. Let none be found disturbing the work of God amongst such as these lest, like Paul, we be found in need of blinding that we might see!
A Reminder (5/3/03)
It's been a month now since I first reviewed the notes on this brief passage of Paul's, and collected those pieces I that struck me as particularly important. Among these notes, there was something in the prayer I had made at the end of last year that struck me, in review, as being a matter I needed to remind myself of. There was a commitment made, which I suppose is not uncommon in our prayer life. Yet, how many commitments have I made in those times only to swiftly forget them? How lightly have I given my word to God, when His Word to me is so utterly faithful!
In this bit of prayer that caught my eye, there are a few interesting things, from this more future perspective. Firstly, there is a cry to God for my own commitment to the things prayed about. When it comes to a committed activity, or, for that matter, anything that requires our remembering what we have set ourselves to do, it's going to take the power of God working in us to accomplish it! It is God who is at work in us, both to will and to work, right? The second thing that jumps out at me at this point in time (as opposed to when I first made my preparations for these notes) is that there is an "I will" in that prayer, a declaration of my own will. This stirs a number of thoughts in me, at present. Was this a wise thing? Solomon warns of the danger of making vows before God that we do not keep. Better to remain silent… Was this, then, a vow? I suspect we might do well to view every declaration of ours which includes those words 'I will' as such. We are to be as good as our word, and when our word declares intent, as those words do, intent must, for us, lead to action.
The second thought that this 'I will' brings up goes back to that wonderful assurance from Philippians, that this willing unto what is clearly God's will is an indication to me of His will working upon me. That I am willing is His working! What a wonderful thing to be aware of, what great cause for joy!
Thirdly, there is for me a question. Was that declaration of 'I will' a statement of decided purpose, or merely an expression of desire? I can say with certainty that, at the time of that prayer, the thought was most assuredly a statement of purpose, a decision of the will which should just have assuredly led to action. Yet, had the action come, there would have been no need for a reminder. Allow me to quote myself, here:
"Your own Word declares that You will bring justice to Your elect, that You will not delay in answering the constant cries of Your children (Luke 18:7). I pray that I can remain committed to being one who cries out to You with such constancy, that I would cry out to You constantly for those sick among us, for those lost ones who are so dear to me. I will continue to hope for their healing, for their salvation, for their restoration, until and unless You clearly tell me that all hope is gone for them. Save them, Father. Your right hand is mighty to save, Your love is great beyond all understanding. Your mercy is life. Surely, You will redeem these whom You have preserved through so much!"
OK, so perhaps the reminder is not so much to do with the declared will as with the prayed for commitment. Surely, hope continues, though not always with absolute steadfastness of degree. Are there times when my hope for my stepson's healing is not strong? Surely there are. Are there still those that I look upon, and see no hope for their salvation? Surely there are. But that is the flesh reacting, not the heart of faith God has placed in me. That heart cries out in recognition of His power and mercy. That heart can still hope because the living God has not given cause for hope to cease.
There is another matter which excites me greatly in seeing this prayer again at this point in time. It is yet another reminder of God's providential timing. I noted a week ago how God had been moving in our service, calling the whole church to a new level of commitment to prayer. I noted how this came as a confirmation to what my own heart was hearing from my Shepherd, to be praying for the pastor's delivering of the Word of God throughout the service. What is this prayer, but another confirmation of this message, delivered now, just in time for tomorrow's service? Reread in such a setting, is it possible that this memory of mine will recall its hoped-for commitments more readily?
Your ways, oh God, are surely good and faithful! Your timing, my Lord, is amazing to me; Constantly amazing. Who else but You could arrange the course of my days and my thoughts to bring about such a confluence of threads! Praises be to Your name, O Most High!
There are some other matters of a more theological nature that might come up at the end of a study such as this when we consider this matter of committed prayer. If God is so fully in control, if His plans and purposes are so absolute in their course, if He has already determined whom He chooses to save, what is the point of our praying? If everything is by His working, and everything He works is for the good of those who love Him, why should we bother praying for the healing of those He loves? Consider this: God appoints the plans, and God appoints the means by which those plans shall be accomplished. In His sovereign and perfect plan, He has chosen to use our prayers as the means. It is His express command to us to pray without ceasing, not with senseless babblings like the heathens at their idols, but with direction and purpose, in accord with His perfect will.
As to the prayer for the salvation of the lost, do you or I know His determination for any man living? Face it, we aren't always absolutely certain of our own condition! How, then, can we claim to know any other's? God declares to us that the prayers of a righteous man accomplish much. Do they change His mind, then? No. God is not a man that He should repent of His plans. His plans are perfect. They do not need revising as events unfold. Events unfold according to His plan. They cannot do otherwise. No, when we pray, we do not change the mind of God, we implement the plan of God. Were this not so, were our prayers to any other purpose than His purpose, they would be empty and powerless. The prayers of the righteous man accomplish much because the righteous man is wholly submitted and dedicated to the purposes of God, and his prayers cannot but be likewise dedicated. The power of prayer is the power of God!
So, indeed, I will remind myself of the cry of my own prayer. I will continue to cry out to You, my Lord, for the strength to remain committed. You, who have worked the willing in me; I ask that You would come also with the power to do. I pray, my Lord, that my prayers would be more purposeful. Too many of them, Holy Father, have been more fulfillment of duty than expression of heart. These things ought not to be! Holy Spirit, come and correct these prayers of mine! Express Your own purpose in the words of my heart! Work in me both to will, as I do now, and to do, as I surely must. Jesus, I am most thankful to You that You have been standing at our Father's side, correcting any foolishness or presumption, or out and out misguidedness, my prayers have held. I thank You, mighty Trinity, for this call to prayer that You have been delivering not only to me, but to Your people at large.
I pray that this same renewing call would take hold in their hearts as it is doing in my own. I pray, sweet Lord, that You would work upon Your people to be serious about doing Your work in accord with Your plan and purpose. You have purposed to have for Yourself a people of prayer. Find that people in us!
What, then, shall we pray for?
- Our shepherds, that they be kept strong in health, strong in commitment, strong in Truth;
- Their families, that they also know the protection of the Lord, that they also know the same strong commitment to God's service, that they will become a legacy for God's people;
- The sick, that they might know God's healing, and that knowing His healing, they would glorify their Creator;
- The lost, that they might be found among God's elect, that they might know the Truth and be set free from their bonds of sin, even as we, ourselves, once came to know and became freed;
- The found, that they would turn away from wickedness, that they would walk worthy of the calling of the Lord, by the power of the Lord who called;
- Our own immediate families, that they would make certain their election, that our children shall grow up strong in the Lord, prophesying as He has prophesied that they will;
- The body of Christ, that it might rise up in recognition of the fullness of power vested in them by our God and Savior, that it might - knowing One Spirit, One Redeemer, One God - come to speak with one voice, and to labor for one purpose, the purpose of the One True God of all!
Final Thought (5/3/03)
In closing out this section, I want to consider briefly the concept of a proper time. First, I would remind us of the comment made in Zodhiates' notes on the word: "It is not the convenience of the moment, but the necessity of the moment." The work of redemption did not follow some path of least resistance. It didn't take advantage of circumstances, it made circumstances necessary, and arranged them in accord with the plan of God. But this necessity of moment did not stop there. God's planning has not ceased at Calvary, it continues on, and that continued plan concerns us very much, for that continued plan includes us. It cannot be otherwise. With that said, we must recognize that for us, just as for Christ Jesus as He walked this earth He created, there is a necessity of moment to every moment of our lives.
We live, all too often, with our eyes closed to this understanding. Time just passes us by, and each day seems very much the same as the last. We eat, we work, we sleep, but all is routine. This ought not be the case for a child of God! A child of God should recognize the reality of the situation. Every conversation, every breeze, every sight placed before us, is there for a purpose, if only we would learn to see it. Here is another reminder for our prayer life, perhaps the most important of all. I take it from that same prayer I quoted myself on earlier. (I don't do this from pride, but because in these words I don't hear myself speaking, but I hear God speaking to me and His words, unlike my own, are important.)
"Every moment contains the seed of that which must be done."
Our prayers must be to recognize the seed before us, and to know how best to water it, and nurture it to full growth! God has prepared these good works beforehand for us to do, but if we fail to see the seed in the moment, how shall we ever do as He would have us to do? What is He seeding in you and I right now? Will we serve Him in obedience in that which He has made this moment for?
