The Certainty of God and the Uncertainty of Man

Driving to work today, I had a thought as I listened to James McDonald (Walk in the Word Ministries- this guy is AWESOME).  He was preaching about faith and using Hebrews 11 as a text.  The message was great and I caught this scripture reference: Hebrews 11:17 "By faith Abraham, when God tested him, offered Isaac as a sacrifice. He who had embraced the promises was about to sacrifice his one and only son..."  This made me think about something that I had never thought about before.  We know that Isaac's potential sacrifice was a test of Abraham's faith and was also a foreshadowing of what was to come with Christ.  The sacrifice of an innocent life, the request for obedience from God and the ram in the bush all point to Calvary.  The bible says that Abraham was willing to go through with the sacrifice because he believed that God could raise Isaac from the dead (see Hebrews 11:19).  Abraham's faith in God was so great that he took his obedience to the brink reason and he was willing to sacrifice Isaac even though he was Abraham's only son.  He was certain that God could do something miraculous if Isaac was killed.

Let us stay with this line of thinking.  God the Father offered up His only Son, Jesus Christ.  He chose Jesus from before time began to be the atoning sacrifice for the "sins of the whole world" (1 John 2:2).  Ephesians 3 speaks of the mystery, the plan of God, through the church which belongs to Christ, to bring both Jews and Gentiles to Himself.  God's reconciliation project involved sending Jesus to do for man what the law could not do, to be the propitiation, the lamb without spot or blemish that would reconcile men back to God and grant forgiveness to those that repent and accept Jesus as Savior. 

Jesus even offered Himself up.  When He came and wrapped Himself in flesh to reveal grace and truth to man (John 1:17), He came with the expressed intent of going to Calvary.  The wise men brought frankincense to Jesus as a newborn baby.  Frankincense is a death spice/fragrance!  Simeon prophesied to Mary that her soul would be "pierced" (Luke 2:34,35).  Christ's mission is no secret!  Isaiah prophesied it in Isaiah 53.  The Old Testament is filled with references to Christ's crucifixion.  Jesus said on multiple occasions that the "Son of Man" must be betrayed into the hands of sinful men, be crucified (or "lifted up") and be raised on the third day (Mark 8:31, Luke 9:22, Luke 24:7, John 3:14).  To put it in perspective, Jesus says emphatically in John's gospel: John 12:27 "“Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? ‘Father, save me from this hour’? But for this purpose I have come to this hour".  Jesus was well aware of His mission, why He had to wrap Himself in flesh in order to die a death "once and for all" (Hebrews 9:28) to defeat the power of death (Romans 6:9) and to grant all those who would receive his gift of salvation a. remission of sin and b. eternal life (1 Peter 3:18).  Here is what intrigued me, Jesus did so knowing that the Father gave Him the command to get up on the third day.  John 10:18: "No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.”  Jesus could trust that this commandment was sure because it came from the Father, who is eternally co-equal and faithful to the Son and the Spirit.

So where am I going with this?  The grace of God is manifested here in very vivid, and certain terms.  God offered Jesus up, Jesus offered Himself up in order to do away with death and sin and they did so KNOWING that there would be many that would not accept their offer of salvation!  How gracious is that?  This is not an endorsement of limited atonement or Calvinisim at all.  What I am saying is that God, in His infinite wisdom, knows everything and knows that there are many that will reject the message of the gospel and the saving grace of Jesus Christ.  But the plan for salvation did not begin in the manger, it began in eternity- before any man was ever created or born!  Before Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Noah, Moses, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob or any human being that ever existed, God's plan to reconcile man to Himself existed.  It's so amazing and what's more amazing is the number of people that flat out reject that plan and will find themselves in fiery, unrelenting torment- not because the offer of salvation was not presented, but because they turned their backs on that offer. 

As a real life example, my son hates to eat breakfast.  He does so grudgingly on exam days because we try to stress the importance of having a good breakfast and how it benefits the brain and enhances cognitive abilities for test taking, etc.  Although he doesn't like to have breakfast, that doesn't stop me nor does is stop his mother from making breakfast for both of our children every morning...knowing that on most mornings, the food will not be eaten by at least one of the kids.  Out of graciousness, there is some offer of food each morning.  Whether they eat it or not is a different story.  Sometimes I feel that it is wasteful to continue to cook/prepare knowing that there is going to be a lip turned up or a deep sigh followed by an "I'm not hungry" or "Do I have to eat?".  I have even said to them and to myself that I would stop getting up to make breakfast because of their ungratefulness.  However, this is not God's way.  God keeps the offer on the table knowing, that just like that bowl of cheese grits that my son left on the counter this morning, it might not be accepted and some excuse will undoubtedly be made as to why it was not accepted.

It's not as if God wants people to go to hell. God asks in Ezekiel 18:23, "Have I any pleasure in the death of the wicked, declares the Lord God, and not rather that he should turn from his way and live?"  We see here that God would much rather the wicked would turn from their ways and repent!  That's mercy and grace.  But God will not force the wicked to do so, He will present the opportunity, send His Spirit to convict them but the ultimate decision is on the person to whom God is speaking.  Did you know that Christ's return is being held because God is still giving people time to repent?  2 Peter 3:9 specifically says that God's "slowness" in returning is indicative of His patience and His desire that men would repent of their sins.

Hell was not even created for humans.  It was prepared for Satan and his angels (Matthew 25:41, 2 Peter 2:4, Jude 1:6, Revelation 20:1,2)!  However, humans that choose life apart from God are given their wish and will have all eternity to live without him.  God loves us so much that He will not force anything on us that we do not want- including Himself.  That is a sobering and frightening thought!

Christians should rejoice that we have accepted the salvation of God and we should be thankful that we have become beneficiaries of God's unlimited and unmerited grace.  We should also be telling others of this grace.  When the door for ministry is opened, take advantage of it and tell someone about the richness of God's grace and God's love for them.  Thank you Jesus that although the offer may not be accepted by everyone, the ones that do accept it, You've said that you will never cast away.  Let us be in prayer for those that we know, family and friends, that have not made a decision for Christ.  Grace and peace. 

Double Jeopardy

You have undoubtedly heard the phrase "double jeopardy", especially if you are a fan of legal shows like Law & Order or, my favorite show, Matlock.  It is a legal term that means simply that a person cannot be tried twice for a crime that they were acquitted of.  This is a very important legal concept.  Besides the legal definition, the phrase means that a person is placed into harm's way twice.

I submit to you that Jesus faced double jeopardy in that he placed himself in harm's way twice, for our sake! Jesus was not guilty of any crime, He never sinned, He is the Lamb without spot or blemish.  But there is evidence in the Bible that Jesus made the decision to face Calvary twice.

Let's look at the first instance which the Lamb, chosen from the foundation of the world, accepted the will of God and was sent here.  Hebrews 12:1,2:

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God."

This is an excellent passage in that we see what Jesus gave up in order to come to earth and be the propitiation for the sins of mankind.  A literal translation of verse 2 is this " in view of joy lying before Him..."  What joy is this speaking of?  The word for "lying before" is a Greek word "prokeimenēs" which literally means the "destined joy" or the joy on the other side of the Calvary.  With this joy before him, Jesus endured the cross.  Let us understand this also, this decision was made in eternity and therefore, in order to endure the cross, Jesus had to be sent from His throne in heaven!  He had to leave the angels falling prostrate before Him.  He had to leave the constant praise and singing of the heavenly host.  He had to leave the beauty of heaven and the presence of the Father and the Spirit to take on flesh and become the Lamb that would take away the sins of the world.  He knew full well the agony he would face at the crucifixion and yet, He consented and, although being in the form of God, did not regard equality with God (the Father) a thing to be grasped, but He emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant and was obedient to the point of death...even death on a cross (Philippians 2).  

There was a second time that Jesus had a chance to remove himself from the line of fire.  That time occurred when He was in human form here on earth.  He was in a place called Gethsemane.  He was under extreme duress as the crucifixion loomed.  His sweat was like "great drops of blood".  Luke 22:44 says that Jesus was in agony in Gethsemane.  The word used for agony is "agonia" which is a word taken from the realm of athletics and competition.  It is a word used to describe the feelings of an athlete before a contest.    What it literally means is that Jesus was in the "fourth quarter" with seconds left on the clock.  He could have dialed it in and called it quits.  He asked God (the Father) to remove the cup but remembered that his food (sustenance) was to do the will of His father (John 4:32).  Jesus once told the disciples  that the reason that the Father was with Him was because he "ALWAYS" did what pleased Him (the Father) (John 8:29).  What pleased God was to crush Jesus (Isaiah 53) as the substitutionary sacrifice for the sins of man.  This was the only way that mankind could be reconciled back to God!

We see here that, unlike man and the judicial system, Jesus had no problem facing double jeopardy!  He did not try to avoid it, He embraced it.  He faced it to do the will of the Father.  The will of God is that none should perish but all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).  The will of God is that "all would come to the knowledge of the truth and be saved" (1 Tim 2:4).  While this is the will of God, unfortunately, all men are not obedient to God's will- but Jesus was.  The one who knew no sin became sin on our behalf.  The righteous died for the unrighteous.  He knew what was coming, He momentarily left His seat in heaven, He endured the abuse of man and He drank the full cup of God's wrath...so that ANYONE WHO ACCEPTS HIS PAYMENT is forgiven for their sins!  Thank you Jesus for deciding TWICE to go through with God's will.  Thank you Jesus for being the Lamb and taking away the sins of the world.  If you haven't told Jesus thank you for His payment for your sins, now is a good time to do so.  Grace and peace. 

Really?

So, I have been noticing a slogan that seems to be catching on and it had me puzzled.  We were riding through a rural area today and I saw a church with a nice marquee sitting in front of it.  When I read what was on it, it threw me for a loop.  The marquee read, "Jesus believes in you."  My initial thought was...really?  Where did this line of thinking come from?  If this is really the case, truthfully, we are all doomed.  Why would God "believe" in anything other than Himself?  Does God need man?  Not really.  He's sovereign and does not need any one or any thing.  Does God use man in the earth to accomplish His will?  Absolutely.  Acts 17:24,25 says it this way: "The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything."  It's not God that needs us...we need Him!  This twisted theology is part of the reason that the world is on a downward slide and Christianity is on the decline.  We are looking for a God that we can control and manipulate- a God that is not sovereign but bound by the limitations that we place on Him.

Let's look through the bible for a second just to show how foolish and illogical it is to believe that God would put His trust in man.  If you simply walk with me through these scriptures, it will become evident that this though process makes no sense whatsoever.

From the beginning of time, God gave man free choice/ free will but knew omnisciently that man would ultimately fail.  When the bible speaks of the lamb "slain from the foundation of the world" (Revelation 13:9), that blood offering of Jesus Christ had to be made in order to atone for sin.  Although chronologically (hours, minutes, seconds etc.), Jesus died around 33-35 AD, kairologically (an opportune moment) His death that was to take place in a fleshly body was arranged in eternity.  Peter says that He was "chosen" from the foundation of the world but revealed in the latter times for our sake ( 1 Peter 1:20).  Had God the Father "believed" in man or had Jesus had faith in man...the atoning sacrifice of Jesus would not have happened.  According to this backward line of thinking, God the Father and God the Son would have "believed" in man to work through that sin problem that began in Eden.

Let's take a look at Genesis 6:5-8: "The LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.  And the LORD was sorry that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart.  So the LORD said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”  But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD." 

Here, we see that man's wickedness was so great and that man's heart was so corrupt because of sin that God was "sorry" that He even created man.  But there was one, Noah, that found favor in God's eyes.  Why did he find favor?  Because he honored God.  Does this mean that God "believed" in Noah?  No, Noah was flesh just like every other man.  The only difference in Noah and those that were to be wiped from the earth was Noah's obedience and his faith.  It is quite sobering to me to think that God's heart was grieved with His creation.  This puts us in a quandary because it seems as if God had made a mistake and we know that God cannot make mistakes, right?  There was no mistake made...sin was running rampant.  God's grief was not in the creation, but what His creation had become and WHY they had become that way.  Sin dominated every thought of man.  Why would a holy God "believe" in sinful man?

Jeremiah 17:9 says that the heart of man is desperately wicked and cannot be understood.  God searches the heart.  God knows every thought and intention of man (Psalm 139) and God knows that sin has made man imperfect, although Adam and Eve were created in perfection.  If God knows what's in the heart of man, and God knows that man's heart is wicked...again, I ask, WHY would He "believe" in us as if we are His God?  The bible says in Psalm 100 that we are His people, the sheep of His pasture and it is He that has made us and NOT we ourselves! 

Here is the greatest indictment against this "Jesus believes in you" mumbo jumbo.  John 2:23-24: Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, many believed in his name when they saw the signs that he was doing.  But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man."  The word here used for "entrust" is from the same root in the Greek language, pisteuo, that we use for faith!  In other words, Jesus had NO FAITH in them because he KNEW what was in them!  The disciples spent three years with Jesus and they all (with the exception of John) deserted Him when He was arrested.  Peter denied Him three times, and he was the "leader" of the disciples.

To say that Jesus believes in man is to reduce Jesus down to a man.  It's foolish to believe that God would put faith in anything other than Himself.  EVERYTHING that is outside of God is fallible.  Man is not always trustworthy, God is immovable, unshakable and does not change.  Man is wicked and we have evil intentions but God is the giver of all good and perfect gifts.  Man is flesh and will die, God is immortal!  Do you see my point?  It is very simple.  The equation works better the other way around.  We need to place our trust in God, we need to "believe" in Jesus!  God needs nothing, man needs everything- we can't even breathe without God's permission!  Put your faith in God knowing that we are too weak and frail for God to put any trust in us.  Does God ENtrust things to us?  Yes, but He does so knowing beforehand when we will mess up, when we will blow it and when we will get it right and with the expressed understanding that without His Spirit guiding us, we are totally lost and clueless!  

I couldn't serve a god that placed faith in man.  I am glad that not only does God not "believe" in us, He changed the game and made "belief" in His Son, Jesus Christ, the ONLY way back to Him.  He also let us know that, on our own, we are not trustworthy and we need a way out- once again, salvation through Christ alone is our way out.  Renewing of the mind, putting off the old man, receiving a new nature to contend with and combat the old, sinful nature are all a part of the process that God has to sanctify those that believe in Jesus...a process that has everything to do with God's grace and nothing to do with His faith in man.  God bless you and may His peace be upon you.

Praise God Anyhow...

Life is a constant struggle to remain a. faithful b. loving and c. sane.  This is not a multiple choice exam, it is the truth.  When things come up and seek to dislodge us from God, staying faithful to the same God that we expect to be our protector from those things is difficult.  When times are hard, sometimes we don't feel like showing love to others.  When I am in a jam, I sometimes feel like pulling my hair out!

I know that I am not the only person that feels this way.  My job is not to do a better job at these things, but to do a better job of depending on the Lord.  We have to depend on the Lord and know that He is constantly in control.  He's at the control panel of the universe and since the world began, He has never made a mistake and hit the wrong button. 

Habakkuk 3:17-19 gives us a powerful tool to keep in our arsenal of prayer.  Let's look a those three verses:

Though the fig tree should not blossom,
nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail
and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold
and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord;
I will take joy in the God of my salvation.
God, the Lord, is my strength;
he makes my feet like the deer’s;
he makes me tread on my high places.

To the choirmaster: with stringed^d instruments.

 

We need to understand that Habakkuk was written during a time of turmoil for Israel.  Habakkuk prophesied either while the Israelites were under Babylonian rule or Assyrian rule.  His writing is peppered with emotional cries to God for salvation of His people.  What we witness when reading his prophetic work is this, Habakkuk was very honest with God and he was also very upset with his circumstances.  However, he does not allow his circumstances to control him.  He closes his prophecy with these three verses here that are a small part of a larger prayer.  He says, although things look bad, there is no food, no livestock and no oil..YET, I will rejoice in the Lord.

 

How is this possible?  When we look at the first few verses, we see that before these verses are written, Habakkuk is recounting the deeds of God and remembering that the God that he is able to rejoice in is all powerful and almighty!  It's hard to rejoice in a god that can't do all things!  But, the God that we serve is mighty and He's strong and He has never lost a battle.

 

One other thing that we should consider here...this is not just a typical prayer.  This particular part of Habakkuk's work is dedicated to God as a praise.  The first two chapters are where Habakkuk vents his frustrations but this third chapter is different.  In the very first verse, Habakkuk indicates that this prayer is according to "Shigionoth". According to Easton's Bible Dictionary, the word denotes a lyrical poem composed under strong mental emotion; a song of impassioned imagination accompanied with suitable music. 

 

J. Lee Grady (Charisma Magazine "When Times Get Tough ")makes the following observations: There is some debate over the exact meaning of this musical term, but scholars translate the Hebrew as “a highly emotional poetic form.” Shigionoth is not slow, whiny or sad, and Habakkuk 3 is not a cry-in-your-beer ballad. Shigionoth is a high form of praise—wild, rhythmic and exuberant. It is praise with pumped-up volume and no limits; it is worship punctuated with exclamation marks!"

 

So we see Habakkuk praises God through this disappointing time and he wrote an entire chapter as a song of praise to God!  Notice this as well, in the chapter, only one verse (verse 17) is dedicated to the problem...but the entire rest of the chapter is dedicated to either 1. glorifying God for his might or 2. praising God for who He is! 

 

I'm not advocating that you go and compose a song, what I am saying is this: remember who we serve, remember His power, remember that He is not on our time (2 Peter 3:9) and if you have to pray to God through your tears...that's OK too!  We are programmed with emotions from the very beginning, to deny them is to deny a part of us that God gave us.  Should we be led by our emotions, no because they can deceive us.  Can emotion be a a response to our issues- yes, when those emotions are guided by God's Spirit!

 

Cry, shout and rejoice that God is your God!  Even when the trees are bare, remember that He can bring fruit back to them (Joel 2:18-25).  When the water dries up, He can do a new thing and bring springs up in the wilderness (Isaiah 43:19-21).  When the oil runs low, God can take that oil and multiply it (1 Kings 17:16)!

 

May the grace of God be upon you and may God make His face to shine on you and give you peace.