For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are my ways your ways, declares the Lord.
Isaiah 55:8 My community is protected by a volunteer fire department. If a member of that department went around setting houses on fire so that people would see the value of the department, or so that they could look good by putting them out, I doubt that anyone would be very happy with him. That makes sense, doesn’t it? But that seems to be the attitude many Christians have toward horrible things that happen in the world. They say that God did it because He is teaching us something, or that He wants to bring Him the problem and then be praised for solving it. When you point out that this idea does not make any sense the answer is often the verse from Isaiah. There are at least two important lessons to be gained from this. Context The first is that it is absolutely critical to know and understand the context of a verse. Chapter 55 starts with God telling us to come to Him and buy food and water when we have no money! Can this have any meaning other than grace? The chapter continues with this theme and concludes 13 verses later with a description of God’s provision as evidence of His unbreakable promise of eternal salvation. In this context verse 8 is about how God’s generosity completely surpasses anything we experience in this world! For example, when God forgives He forgives completely and does not even remember that He did it! Verse 8 is a powerful confirmation of God’s love, forgiveness and acceptance. Keep in mind that chapter 55 opens with God telling us to come to Him and that the entire chapter is telling us to trust Him. Distorting verse 8 to mean that we cannot understand God or what He is doing is the exact opposite message from what God is actually saying because this wrong interpretation puts up a barrier between us and God. Barriers Relationships are built on a foundation of trust. Learning to trust that God loves us is one of the first steps we take in building our relationship with Him. If God were to express His love for us by doing something we consider horrible, like giving us cancer or killing our loved ones, it would be very difficult to learn to trust Him. Shrugging our shoulders and saying “His ways are not my ways” does nothing to encourage a deeper relationship. And make no mistake about the depth of the relationship God wants with us. It is described in Jesus’ prayer recorded in John 17: 1-26. It is an incredible relationship with God that no one would believe is possible if Jesus had not prayed for it. The same idea that we are in Christ and Christ is in us runs through Paul’s epistles. Comprehending this truth and identifying ourselves in this way can be considered the definition of Christian growth. Bridges Growth in a relationship means building on the foundation of trust by learning lots of new things about the other person. Peter encourages us in 2 Peter 3:18 to “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”. Remember that verse 8 from Isaiah tells us that God’s love is like nothing else we have experienced, which means that we have plenty of room to grow. A correct understanding of verse 8 lines up perfectly with what Paul writes in Ephesians 1:19 where he says that he wants us to know the “immeasurable greatness of His power toward us who believe”. This is the same idea of God’s great love and provision for us expressed by Isaiah some 700 years earlier. Both writers give many remarkable affirmations of God’s love for us and repeatedly encourage us to turn to Him for all of our needs in every situation! Comfort He is, after all, the “Father of mercies and God of all comfort who comforts us in all our affliction” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)! We just need to turn to Him to receive this comfort, but that’s hard to do if we think He has afflicted us in the first place. This barrier has to be broken down, and for some of us this begins by putting Isaiah 55:8 into context and gaining a correct understanding. Let’s go back to the opening idea. What if everyone in the community knew one of the members of the volunteer fire department was setting houses on fire? People might still call them, but I’ll bet they would keep a close eye on them to make sure they don’t steal anything while putting the fire out. There would be no trust in the relationship between the community and the department. If this simple human example makes sense, why can’t we apply it to God?
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Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons 1 Timothy 4:1
“Doctrines of demons” is most commonly understood as something some other Christian denomination teaches. This is convenient because it makes the doctrines easy to spot, but I suggest that there is an even faster and easier definition. A “doctrine of demons” is a belief based on something said by a demon. Scripture is absolutely correct that Bible-believing Christians hold this kind of belief these days, and that others have discarded Christianity because of the doctrine being taught by those Christians. You read that right. Many Christians believe something said by a demon. Worse yet, the Bible clearly states that it is Satan—a demon—who says it. There is no “appearing as an angel of light” as we are warned that Satan can do in 2 Corinthians 11:14. Job 1:10 Satan says that God put a hedge of protection around Job. If you believe this is true, you are accepting and believing something Satan says. In other words, you are giving heed to a doctrine of demons. I do not care how many Christians believe this or how long this belief has been held. Satan said it and so as a Christian I take it as a lie from the pit. It seems to me that the choice is pretty clear. Jesus said in John 8:44 that Satan is the “father of lies”. God Himself said that Satan cannot tell the truth because the “truth is not in him.” So, when Satan says that God put a hedge around Job, you can either believe this is true or you can believe Jesus. I strongly recommend believing Jesus, but you can make your own choice. Job 1:12 I’ve heard it argued that God confirms what Satan says is true by lifting that hedge in verse 12. It seems to me that this contradicts what Jesus said and so makes God a liar. You can split hairs all you want, but I think this is an absurd understanding of verse 12. Since Satan is lying in verses 10, then we can understand verse 12 as God correcting Satan. Everything Job had was in Satan’s power. God corrects Satan for a very simple reason. God wants us to understand that all physical things are in the dominion of Satan. This is clearly stated in 1 John 5:19, which says that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one”. It’s interesting to note that Job is considered the oldest book in the Bible and that the epistles of John are the most recent. It has also been said that God repeats Himself on the important points to be sure we get them. Scriptural Support The idea that God would correct Satan is demonstrated in the encounter that Jesus had with him. This well-known incident is recorded in Matthew chapter 4 and Luke chapter 4. Each time Satan makes a statement Jesus corrects Him. Jesus’ answers are consistent with Scripture—He quotes it—giving us confidence that Satan consistently lies and God consistently tells the truth. By the way, Satan lied at least once when he said that he would give control of “all the kingdoms of the world” to Jesus as recorded in Luke 4: 6-7. Not only is it doubtful that he would have followed through and done this, but “all the kingdoms” would have included Israel, which of course belonged to God. There may have been other examples, but we can count on Satan to lie and overstate his position. More Scriptural Support The flawed notion that God had actually put a hedge around Job leads to the conclusion that God was testing Job by lifting the hedge. This is just plain wrong. God has no need to respond to Satan by testing Job because God already knows that Job would fail the test. God knows that Job is dust (Psalm 103:14) and won’t stand up to the test. God is right again, and Job whines, complains and accuses God of being unfair to him! In addition, it is perfectly clear when God is testing someone, as evidenced by Genesis 22:1. This verse specifically says that “God tested Abraham”. This is in stark contrast to the implied testing of Job. The fact that Isaac was not killed in Abraham’s test and Job’s children did die is another striking difference that we should not ignore. Trust God It seems almost unbelievable that Christians would choose to believe Satan instead of God. Yet this is clearly the case in the opening chapter of Job. Furthermore, this error leads to all sorts of strange ideas about God and His character, with things like disease and poverty being framed as “God’s will” and a “blessing in disguise”. There is another horrific consequence to believing Satan that is discussed more fully in my post “Satan’s Second Best Trick”. However, the worse is that non-believers are turned away from God and His love for them. Christians who love the lost and believe that Jesus tells the truth are in a great position to correct this error and help everyone understand that “God is light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.” (John 1:5) Sin exists.
Sin is bad. It’s important that you understand my position on sin. It exists, and it is bad. It should be avoided by Christians. Non-Christians, of course, cannot avoid sin. They are slaves to it and obey sin. So, to avoid sin you have to first be a Christian. That’s easy. “Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved”, Paul said to the Philippian jailer. That seems pretty straightforward to me, but some others disagree. Let’s look at that some other time, OK? This is about sin, not salvation, even though the two concepts are so closely related it’s hard to talk about one without the other. What is Sin? This question seems to me to be the real crux of the issue. Current Christian thinking about sin seems to run along the lines of Murphy’s Law: If anything can be considered sin, it is sin. A woman who does not cover her hair is sinful, according to some Christian groups and 1 Corinthians 11:6. Looking at a member of the other sex is sin (or maybe it’s just men looking at women, since those are Jesus’ exact words in Matthew 5:28). Of course, there’s also the Big Ten. Again, Jesus Himself cited these when the rich young ruler came up to Him and asked how to gain eternal life. So at a minimum, it seems violating those should be considered sin. That would be fine if Acts chapter 15 were not in the Bible. The whole point of this chapter is that Old Testament law does not apply to Gentile believers. This is Paul’s point to the Galatians in chapter 2: 15 running through 3:6. The idea that we grow in Christ by obeying the law after receiving Him through faith seems to strike Paul as utterly ridiculous. He repeats this thought in Romans 6:14 and 1 Corinthians 10:23, and applies it to everyone - not just Gentiles – in Romans 10:12. It is difficult to argue law in the context of all these verses. Paul Defines Sin It seems abundantly clear that Paul has a very different understanding of sin than most Christians. Sin exists, and sin is bad, but if Christians are not under the law then what is sin under the New Covenant? Paul, the apostle to the Gentiles (Romans 10:13) defines it for us in that same epistle at chapter 14:23 as “whatever does not proceed from faith”. Not just the things covered by the law, mind you, but “whatever”. Sin encompasses a laundry list of behaviors that is simply staggering. Any reliance on our own behavior, or confidence in our own abilities, is sin. For example, trying to obey the law can be sin if the law-abiding Christian is depending on that instead of depending on the finished work of Jesus Christ. This is why Paul says in the cited passage from Galatians that trying to keep the law makes him a transgressor of the law. Step outside the confines of a legal understanding and this definition of sin makes perfect sense. God is love, right? God knows how to give good things to His kids, right? So depending on ourselves instead of on God for anything is tantamount to saying “I don’t need you God.” Of course, we would not use those words, but the lack of faith in God’s provision is expressed in the action itself. NOT a New Idea As surprising as this idea might seem to some, the simple fact is that this definition of sin applies throughout all of Scripture. Adam and Eve did not have faith that God wanted what was best for them when He said not to eat that fruit. On the other side of this coin is Abraham who was considered righteous by faith alone (Genesis 15:6). Of course, the entire chapter of Hebrews 11 addresses this precise issue. This idea has its roots all the way back in Deuteronomy 28. God says to Israel in that He will bless them with incredible blessings if they do what He says, and curse them with terrible curses if they don’t do what He says. Incredible blessings are clearly preferable, so Israelites breaking the law were simply acting out a lack of faith in God. The Mosaic Law simply gave them ways to demonstrate faith. By the way, this broad concept of sin explains why the writer of Hebrews follows chapter 11 with an admonition (12:1) to set aside “the sin” that so easily entangles us. The Greek text includes the definite article and the noun is singular. Any action that demonstrates a lack of faith in God is sin, and I know for myself that it is stunningly easy to doubt God and fail to take Him at His word. Slaves to Sin? Of course, non-Christians do this all day and all night long. A lack of faith defines who they are. The citizens of Nazareth astonished Jesus with their lack of faith (Mark 6:6) and a Roman Centurion astonished Him with faith (Matthew 8:10), demonstrating that without faith it is impossible to please God (already cited in Hebrews 11:6). Faith is the defining characteristic of the disciple of Jesus Christ. This is why John writes such encouraging words in 1 John 3:9. Modern translations add the modifier “practice” to the statement that Christians do not sin, but if a lack of faith in His Son is the definition of “sin”, it is easy to rest in the assurance that if we have accepted Jesus as the Son of God, we do not sin. We may have some doubts on a variety of issues, but on this point at least God is perfectly pleased with us. The rural area where I live includes two Christian communities that are easily recognized by their modest dress. One has a simple, agrarian lifestyle that most would call antiquated. They conduct themselves in this way in order to strengthen their relationship to God through obedience to instructions found in the Bible. While their ultimate goal is worthy of praise, I think they are trapped in trying to please God.
And they are not alone. While the exact parameters of their behavior may seem foolish, it’s all based on Scripture. For example, the women in both groups cover their hair in keeping with 1 Corinthians 11:6. This idea of pleasing God by obeying the law is a trap for any Christian who thinks they need to obey any law. Some more common applications of this idea include the instructions on baptism and obedience found in Matthew 28:19-20. Huh? As Christians we do not need to obey any law from God. Paul says very clearly in Romans 6:14 that we are not under the law. This is an absolutely radical statement to most Christians. Even worse, the next phrase that we are under grace sounds to some like a license for immoral behavior that totally contradicts Scripture. This understanding is completely and utterly wrong. Rather, Paul says in Galatians 2:18 that trying to obey the law after coming to Christ makes him a transgressor of the law. “Are you saying that trying to keep the law makes me a violator of the law?”, you may ask. Yes, you have that right. But it is even worse than that. Putting yourself back under the law after accepting Jesus Christ is counter-productive to living a life that reflects Jesus Christ to the lost and suffering world around you. Individuals who do not know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior are hindered in coming to Him by law-abiding Christians. Drift Happens If this seems upside down to you, rest assured that you have plenty of company. Jews in Thessalonica made the same complaint to the authorities about what Paul was teaching (Acts 17:6). This group drifted so far away from the teachings of the Old ‘Testament that they, like the Pharisees before Pontus Pilot, said there is no king but Caesar (John 19:15). In exactly the same way, Christians trying to obey the law have drifted badly. The first thing they have drifted from is the love of Jesus Christ. This is the charge Jesus lays against the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:4). Law-abiding Christians put an undue emphasis on how they have obeyed the law to the detriment of remembering how God showed He loves them. They also forget that Jesus told the Pharisees that the work which God requires is to believe in His Son (John 6:29). It’s Him, Not You Jesus Christ is, of course, what makes the New Covenant new. He fulfilled the law so that Paul could write in Romans 6:14 that we are no longer under the law, but instead are under grace. Drifting back to the law ignores this wonderfully descriptive verse and the absolute freedom it brings. It also ignores other verses such as Colossians 2:21-20-23, where regulations are said to be of no value in stopping the indulgences of the flesh. This explains why trying to keep the law makes you break the law, and why it makes leading others to Christ even more difficult. Evangelism is effective when it is a work of the Holy Spirit, but anything done under the law is the work of the flesh. Compelling Christians to knock on doors or hand out tracts to comply with law shuts the door in the face of Christ who is standing there knocking. New Garments, New Wine Anyone? Jesus made it abundantly clear that the Old Covenant of Law and the New Covenant of Grace do not blend (Matthew 9:14-17, Mark 2:21-22, and Luke 5:33-39). He told the church at Laodicea that blending cold law and hot grace sickens Him (Revelation 3:15-16). Paul explained that the law was a covenant of death (2 Corinthians 3:7), and Jesus said that He came so that we could have life, and life in abundance (John 10:10). All these verses make a compelling statement about Christianity and Old Testament law. They point out that Christianity is not about obeying God in order to get a reward. (Luke 17:7-10 dispels that notion very succinctly.) Christianity is certainly not about obeying God to escape punishment, since Jesus Christ took our punishment on Himself. Having accepted that, why do some think we can – or even need to- do anything else? So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:7-9, ESV)
I believe that this passage ranks as one of the most – if not the most -misunderstood passage in all of Scripture. It has lead many Christians to an inaccurate understanding of God’s will regarding sickness and God’s relationship to unclean spirits. Worse, these misunderstandings extend to the nature and character of God’s grace. What’s the thorn? To correct these misunderstandings, let’s start with the phrase, “thorn in the flesh.” Many Christians interpret this literally and think of it as a disease or infirmary of some sort. This is not correct. The phrase is an idiom, an expression that means something else. It is used in the Bible in Numbers 33:55 to describe how the inhabitants of Canaan will vex Israel if Israel does not wipe them out. Paul was certainly familiar with this phrase and its meaning. He was well-trained in Scripture as a Pharisee. Take a look at his credentials in Acts 22:3 and Acts 26:5. Paul demonstrates the quality of this training in Acts 23:6 when he created an argument within the Sanhedrin. So when Paul uses the term “thorn in the flesh” we need to interpret it as he would have understood it, not as we might think of it. This means that the phrase does not refer to a physical ailment. This is why no one can authoritatively say what the problem was. Endless speculation about his hands or his eyes has not reached a conclusion simply because there is no conclusion to be reached. The phrase refers to some group of individuals who are among God’s people and are causing problems for them. In Paul’s case, this was members of the Jewish community. Paul was preaching the gospel of salvation through Jesus Christ, and was opposed in this message by strict religious Jews who did not accept this teaching. They actually stoned him for his preaching in Lystra as recorded in Acts 14:19. To say this group was causing problems for Paul in preaching the gospel is putting it mildly. They followed him and constantly opposed his teaching. Prayed 3 times? The book of Acts records 3 times that Paul got fed up with this behavior from members of the Jewish community and said “I’m going to the Gentiles from now on!” (Acts 13:46, Acts 18:6 and Acts 19:9). This lines up perfectly with Paul’s statement that he prayed 3 times for God to remove the thorn, that is, the Jews who opposed the spread of the gospel. It’s obvious that Paul loved spreading the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, and it should be just as obvious that Paul loved the Jewish people. He writes in Romans 9:3 that he would give up his own salvation if that would cause his Jewish brothers and sisters to come to Christ. How many of us could honestly make such a statement about any group to which we belong? How many of us share Paul’s great sorrow and unceasing anguish that Jews were rejecting Jesus as their Messiah? The fact that we do not identify ourselves as Jewish is meaningless, as Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 11:28 that he has a daily burden of concern for all the churches. Do we have Paul’s level of concern for even our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ? This is the “suffering” that God refers to in Acts 9:16 when He tells Ananias that Paul will see how he has to suffer. It’s not physical suffering. Paul is utterly dismissive of that type of suffering as he describes an incredible litany of woes beginning in 2 Corinthians 11:23. The profound suffering of Paul’s soul prophesied in Acts 9:16 mirrors the heart of God, who desires that none should perish but all come to everlasting life. (2 Peter 3:9) Grace is sufficient? Of course, everyone who comes to everlasting life comes by grace alone. This is only the first demonstration of grace in the life of the follower of Jesus Christ, but the concept of grace promoted by interpreting the “thorn” as a physical ailment is utterly bizarre. It brings to mind the image of a horribly beaten boxer crying to surrender as he is being held up by his corner man so the opponent can continue to pummel the disfigured boxer. God certainly gives us strength to endure, but this is a terribly mistaken image. A correct understanding of the “thorn” bolsters an understanding that grace is the only means of salvation. Take a look at the three instances of Paul turning away from the Jews and you will see that he was arguing with them that Jesus was the promised Messiah. Paul’s arguments were based on the incredible revelation he received from God. Paul could not argue these Jews into belief in Jesus because Satan blinded them to this truth. This role of the “messenger of Satan” is precisely described in 2 Corinthians 4:4. It is the reason we cannot argue anyone into the Kingdom of God. If Paul was able to do this successfully, he could have grown pretty boastful. (I know I would if I could do that.) Instead, God says that His grace is sufficient for salvation. Paul’s inability to argue successfully could be interpreted in a worldly sense as a failure, much like an attorney not winning a case is a failure. But God says this failure only serves to highlight the importance and sufficiency of His grace. We get a perfect, or at least improved, sense of God when He does what no one else can do. “Scripture explains Scripture”, and trying to understand it on our own terms can lead to some very wrong conclusions and even worse implications. If we start with a Scriptural definition of the “thorn” in Paul’s flesh we arrive at a coherent, accurate understanding of this passage. We also gain the blessed assurance that no matter how feeble our efforts (on full display with the quality of thought of this essay), grace is always sufficient for the task at hand. Charles Baudelaire is generally credited with saying that Satan’s greatest trick was to convince the world that he does not exist. While this strategy goes pretty far, it does not work on those who accept that the Bible is true because Scripture is clear that Satan is real. Generally speaking, this group includes born-again Christians. Not one to give up easily, Satan developed a new approach specifically geared against them.
A New Approach? Now, before we start to describe this strategy it’s important to remember that Satan does not make small plans. Keep in mind that the original idea was to take over as God (Isaiah 14:14), so it should not be a surprise that anything coming from him would be done on a grand scale. His greatest trick certainly fits this description, as does his strategy of blinding unbelievers to the glory of God (2 Corinthians 4:4) so they won’t be saved. This second idea, blinding people, works pretty well and serves as a template for Satan’s strategy against Christians. Paul was concerned about how Satan could use this approach and trick followers of Jesus so that their “thoughts would be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ.” (2 Corinthians 11:3) Satan’s strategy is also a variation on the theme of unforgiveness that Paul talks about in 2 Corinthians 2:12. Satan’s Scheme against Christians In a nutshell, he wrecks havoc on the lives of Christians and then gets them to blame God for it. While this may sound impossible, take a moment and think about how many Christians you know who have been angry with God because of some pain they have suffered. “Why is God doing this to me?” is a common lament and echoes the words of Job before he realized and admitted he didn’t know what he was talking about (Job 42:3). Getting Christians to blame God provides a variety of benefits for Satan. First of all, we don’t blame Satan for what’s going wrong and so we don’t resist him (James 4:7). This allows Satan to continue hurting us. We submit to Satan and allow ourselves to be blinded to the glory of God and from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. In other words, we behave in a manner directly contrary to Scripture. A More Insidious Benefit Of course, getting Christians to believe and behave contrary to Scripture is remarkable in and of itself, since we know the importance of relying on God’s word and His word alone. But there’s something even worse. When we blame God for the problems in our lives we and get angry at Him we are not about to turn to Him for solutions. We alienate ourselves from the God of all comfort (2 Corinthians 1:3). Getting Christians to forget how much God loves them, get angry at Him and give up a sincere devotion to Him, and even stop them from turning to Him to solve the problem is a perfect triple play by Satan. It is such an effective strategy that you almost have to admire how brilliant it is. Of course, nothing about Satan is admirable, and looking at this strategy with this in mind gets me pretty angry at Satan for hurting so many people in this way. How did Satan do this? It’s inconceivable that a strategy as effective as this could be based on a very simple misunderstanding of a single word. Please refer to the post “Inigo Montoyo, Theologian” to examine what it means that God is sovereign. The word may not mean what you think it does. The strategy is also based on misrepresentations of a particular passage that do not line up at all with the whole of the Bible. The entirety of Scripture points to the simple truth that God is good and that He does good things. Jesus could not have stated this any more clearly than He did in Matthew 7:11 when He said, “If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!” Hebrews 11:6 says just as clearly that God rewards those who seek Him. To Be Continued… There are interpretations of Scripture that run contrary to these clear statements about God and His character. Satan uses these to inflict pain and suffering upon His children and get them to blame God for it. Worse yet, there are those who would say that things we think of as bad such as pain, sickness and poverty are really blessings from God that we just don’t understand. Isaiah 5:20 very clearly warns us that this is a bad idea. “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” An evaluation of the misinterpreted Scriptures is coming next, so check back shortly to read it. In the meantime, take a look at the deep theological insight provided by the Spanish swordsman. Admittedly, someone who has spent their entire adult life looking to get revenge has little to teach us about grace and forgiveness, but the Spanish swordsman from The Princess Bride does have something important to teach about understanding the meaning of words. Since God is very precise in His use of language, it makes good sense for us to do the same.
God is Sovereign God’s sovereignty is clearly and absolutely established in Scripture, but it’s the meaning of that word that causes the problem. To quote Inigo, “You killed my…” No wait! (Sorry, I get a little carried away sometimes.) The word sovereign, and sovereignty, does not mean what most people think it does. Specifically, it does not mean that God is in control of everything that happens. It’s not a big surprise that folks have a difficult time understanding the meaning and implications of the word sovereign. Very few people, and fewer Christians, live under the rule of a sovereign king these days. The only current application of the term most people would be familiar with is “sovereign nation”, and even that is diluted through international treaty obligations and the United Nations. What does sovereign mean? It’s simply supreme power or authority, or, in the context of nations, the right of a nation to govern itself. A sovereign nation does not need to obey the laws of some other sovereign nation. It has the right to establish its own laws. This right is limited by treaty obligations, but absent those nations can do whatever they please, no matter how much some other nation, group or individual does not like it. This does not mean that a sovereign nation controls everything that happens in that nation. That should be pretty obvious. People violate the laws in sovereign nations all the time, and suffer the consequences defined by that nation. In practical terms, it means that a sovereign nation does not need to answer to any other nation for how it behaves / acts within its’ sovereign territory. Who does God answer to? Of course, God does not have to explain Himself or answer to anyone. “The Lord does as He pleases” according to Psalm 115:3, which is the most blatant, obvious statement of God’s sovereignty that can possibly be made. This stands in stark contrast to humanity, where everyone will have to give an account of themselves to God. (Romans 14:12). This is because God is sovereign and mankind is not. This is the idea behind Elihu’s rebuke to Job in chapter 35:6-8. By this point most readers eyes have completely glazed over and they miss the fact that one of the main points of the book is that God does not have to answer to man. God makes this abundantly clear when He addresses Job starting in chapter 38, and again most readers miss that Job answers and says he didn’t know what he was talking about throughout the entire book! (Job 42:3) Sovereignty is Simple The fact that God can do anything He wants is simple. This does not mean that He controls everything that happens. That notion even contradicts Scripture which says God has given the earth to mankind (Genesis 1:28 and Psalm 115:16). Conflating the ideas of ultimate power with ultimate control and, ultimately, responsibility is not in keeping with either Scripture itself or the concept of a loving, caring God. My favorite Old Testament law (and how many have such a thing?) is found in Leviticus 19:19 and prohibits wearing blended fabrics. Repeated in Deuteronomy 22:11, it comes along with a short list of other things that are not to be mingled, so it is obvious this is more than just fashion advice. Instead, it seems to be part of an overarching Biblical concept that has significant relevance for today.
There are two other places where God significantly speaks against the idea of blending. One is in Mark 2:21-22 (found as well in Matthew 9: 16-17) where Jesus says not to put new patches on old garments or new wine in old wineskins. The other is in Revelation 3:15-16 where the resurrected Jesus tells the Laodiceans that He wishes they were either hot or cold because their blended, lukewarm status is making Him sick. Personal Application As I think about this, it seems pretty clear that God intends that my approach to life as a Christian – my response to things, interactions with people, goals and priorities – would be very different from my days before coming to Christ. After all, I am a new creation, and the old way of doing things has ended. Blending the two approaches seems contrary to the expression of God’s will. This is most clearly expressed by Paul in Galatians 6: 8 where he draws a clear distinction between sowing to the flesh (which leads to death) and sowing to the spirit (which leads to life). Of course, before the arrival of the Holy Spirit in my life I could only sow to the flesh, but Paul is writing to the Christians in Galatia who, like me, have a choice. Larger Application I recently attended a church that believed that washing each other’s feet is an ordinance established by Jesus, and so the church should practice doing this on a regular basis. My impression is that this literal interpretation of what He did at the (so called) Last Supper is not shared by most Christians, who take it as an example of serving each other, as Paul instructs us to do in Galatians 6:2. This is not to suggest that the majority has it right and this church gets it wrong. It seems to me that the majority of churches get baptism wrong when they insist on water baptism. There is more than one kind of baptism in the Bible. Acts 8:16 and Acts 19:5 describe baptism in the name of Jesus, the baptism of John, and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Of these, only the baptism of John is described as involving water. Greatest Application The use of any ritual – baptism, communion, confession – is limited to its ability to help us grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 3:18). It seems to me that any other perceived value is actually putting faith in our own actions, which I think is what the Bible calls sowing to the flesh. The point of any and all ritual is explained in Colossians 2:17 which says they are a foreshadowing of Christ. It’s easy to see this when comparing the animal sacrifice practiced under the law of Moses to the complete, final sacrifice of Jesus. However, sometimes I wonder if there was a temple in Jerusalem whether or not Christians would be bringing animals, birds and grain there for sacrifice. If they would, they had better check to make sure they are not wearing blended fabrics. It’s often said that the Bible is confusing or contradictory. There’s even a common misconception that God was one way in the Old Testament and altogether different in the New Testament. At the root of all these problems is a basic misunderstanding that from the beginning, God has been in the business of instructing us.
Some refer to these lesson plans as covenants, and some call them dispensations. Still others have problems with either term, and so rather than get into a debate over words, I prefer to call them lesson plans. It helps me to think of them in this way because it guides me to focus on the point God was trying to get across in each lesson. And why is this important? This is an important concept because God deals with humanity differently under different lesson plans. Each plan has some unique attributes, and trying to follow the wrong lesson plan will only result in frustration and confusion at best. Under a worst case scenario, this approach can cause some frightening results. Consider the woman who killed her children as a demonstration of her faith in God because she read that God told Abraham to sacrifice Isaac as a test of Abraham’s faith. Hebrews 11:19 makes it clear that Abraham believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead, so this poor woman reasoned that she should also prove her faith in God in the same way. This is admittedly an extreme example, but those often are the best for illustrating a point. This sad woman was studying under the wrong lesson plan and missed the point that God was trying to teach. There are other obvious examples as well. Except for that group in Kentucky, no one thinks it’s important to build an ark. Do we see the point of the lesson plan? Actually, the example of the ark serves as a great illustration. After the flood, God promised not to flood the earth again, so building an ark is completely unnecessary. In addition, Peter explains the point of the lesson plan involving the ark, bringing out the relevancy of this incident for us. We can learn what God intends to teach without building an ark. This same principle applies to any of the lesson plans found in the Bible. The problem is that while most will agree with the examples of Abraham and Noah very few will apply this concept as a means of understanding the entire Bible. In other words, very few will take the Bible as literally true but then look for the figurative truth. Fortunately, God knew this was going to happen and included multiple examples to help our understanding. He also drew some bright lines between the different lesson plans so that we could tell when one ends and another one begins. This is one reason why lesson plans often begin with a new covenant or other significant change. And what is the biggest change of all? There is no shortage of highly educated scholars who can parse the Bible into different lesson plans, but it seems to me that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is the brightest bright line between lesson plans that can possibly exist. Still, many very smart people miss this change and continue thinking that we are still learning under the lesson plan of the law. Some think this way because the lesson plan of the law takes up most of the Bible. From Israel at Mount Sinai to the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ covers over 80% of Scripture, and, as has been said, God does not waste ink. In trying to see the lessons of so much of Scripture it’s actually pretty easy to miss the bigger picture. Others miss seeing that Jesus’ death and resurrection started a new lesson plan because Jesus spent a lot a time speaking about the lesson plan of the law. This makes perfect sense. He was Jewish and spent virtually all His time talking to a Jewish audience. Furthermore, He had to correct numerous misinterpretations of the law. Which plan are you following? So, the question really comes down to how you are relating to God. Are you trying to obey the law? That way included animal sacrifice in a building that no longer exists, so that seems a pretty difficult model to follow. Maybe you are trying to pick and choose laws, or distilling them all down to the greatest commandment and trying to love others as you love yourself. I think the only actual Biblical approach is to follow the new lesson plan taught by God to the apostle Paul, summed up in Romans 6:14 with the phrase “you are not under law, but under grace.” This describes an absolutely radical change in lesson plans lost in most Christian teaching. Let’s all strive to learn under the plan of grace so that we can avoid confusion and show it to others. |
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November 2019
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