A couple of months ago I started reading through the Old Testament. It's amazing how God's Word seems so fresh and new with every reading. However, it can also be very frustrating, because it's not an easy task to understand the significance of the things we are reading. Sometimes when we read the Old Testament law, the chronologies, or the specifications for building buildings and furniture, it's hard to understand how our lives should be changed by it. So we struggle and work, with the aid of the Holy Spirit, to understand the meaning of the text and its implications. It's both exciting and frustrating to know that this is a life-long pursuit. We will continually have more questions answered, but more answers will lead to more questions. So the journey will continue until the day that He returns and we see Him as He is.
But until that day we will continue the struggle, and the excitement of having those "lightbulb" moments will continually draw us back. As our eyes are opened more fully to see what's in front of us, we will grow to love it more and more.
For me, one of those moments came when I read Deuteronomy 22:22-23. At first glance, this passage looks like a simple law placed in the middle of a bunch of other simple laws. Moses has been dealing with a wide range of things from murder to inheritance rights to rebellious children. Then, there is this passage, "And if a man has committed a crime punishable by death and he is put to death, and you hang him on a tree, his body shall not remain all night on the tree, but you shall bury him the same day, for a hanged man is cursed by God. You shall not defile your land that the LORD your God is giving you for an inheritance." (Deut. 22:22-23 ESV). As I was thinking about this verse, I began to think about the Jewish mindest during Jesus' day. Jesus was a man who stirred up great controversy. He could do things that no one else could do. The people watched in great wonder as he healed the blind, commanded the elements, and even raised people from death to life. But it wasn't mainly what He did that caused the religious leaders to hate Him; it was what He said. Jesus claimed to be the annointed One of God. He claimed to be the Christ, the Messiah, the long awaited King that would sit on the throne of David forever. This is what it meant to be the Son of God. The Christ had to be chosen by God Himself. He could not be a self appointed king. This is what the religious leaders hated so much. They could not accept that God had appointed Him to be their Christ.
But what does this have to do with Deut. 22:22-23? The religious leaders in Jesus' day would have known this law very well. How fitting, that the Jews were under the authority of the Roman government, whose favorite form of execution was crucifixion. I wonder how this played into the minds of those who hated Him. If only He could be charged with blasphemy, then He could be hanged on the Roman cross, and it would be proven once and for all that this man is not the Christ of God. After all, how can someone be chosen by God and cursed by God at the same time?
God's plan is so amazing! It blows my mind. The Chosen One would become the Cursed One for our salvation and for His glory. The religious leaders were right. Hanging on the Roman Cross did prove that Jesus was cursed of God. But they did not know that it was God's plan for Jesus to become the curse in our place (Gal. 3:13-14). Because of His obedience even to death on the Cross, the cursed King was given the Name above all names. He is the Christ!
Monday, January 25, 2010
Friday, January 15, 2010
Presumption and Sovereignty
In an earlier post, I made an attempt at addressing the difference between having faith in the grace of God and presuming upon the grace of God. Looking at Romans 2:4, I tried to demonstrate that trusting in the grace of God leads to repentance, but presuming upon God's grace leads to more sin. It is important to distinguish between the two because presumption pretends to be faith, yet as faith leads to life, presumption leads to wrath. It is fearful to think that someone could have confidence that they have Biblical faith, when all they truly have is presumption. But the evidence of true faith is repentance, and it is only in having a repentant heart that we can be confident that our faith is real.
I began to think about this a little further, and I began to question how presumption might take the place of faith in other areas. When presuming upon God's grace, presumption leads to more sin. But what about presuming upon God's sovereignty? I do believe there is a difference (one that should be noted) between trusting in the sovereign hand of God and presuming upon His sovereignty. I began to ask this question particularly as I was having a conversation with my Pastor about evangelism. I've found that every time the topic of evangelism and God's sovereignty comes up, the same questions are asked. How should we understand God's sovereignty in evangelism? How should we understand our own role in evangelism? Do what I say and do even matter? Is God going to save who He is going to save no matter what? These are legitimate questions, especially for someone who believes that God is sovereign over all things, including salvation. I won't attempt to answer them here. What I am more concerned about is the state of mind, or condition of heart that we have when we consider God's sovereignty. If we consider that God is sovereign over all things, is it presumption, or is it true faith? The distinction between presumption and faith is difficult here for the same reason that it was difficult in the previous discussion. Just as presumption upon the grace of God pretends to be faith in the grace of God, so presumption upon the sovereignty of God pretends to be faith in the sovereignty of God. And here too, presumption looks like faith on the exterior. The reason for this is that presumption can easily be mistaken as trust, and trust is a vital part of faith.
As I was thinking through this, I realized that the answer to this question is the same as the answer to the earlier question. We found earlier that faith in the grace of God leads to repentance, but presumption upon the grace of God leads to more sin. There is a contrast in the evidence concerning God's sovereignty as well. For faith in the sovereignty of God empowers one to obedience, but presumption upon the sovereignty of God leads one to be idle. In other words, the person who truly trusts that God is sovereign over all things, has no need to fear when sharing the Gospel. He is empowered to be obedient in evangelism, knowing that God is the Author and Finisher of faith. He does not need to worry that he might stumble and say the wrong thing, or be too ignorant to share with someone else and so condemn them to eternal Hell. He only has to trust that God has commissioned him to make disciples, and God is sovereign over it. But the person who presumes upon God's sovereignty is idle. He is empowered to laziness, for he says in his heart, "God is going to save who He is going to save, and what I do doesn't matter." This is the heart of presumption, not of faith.
I began to think about this a little further, and I began to question how presumption might take the place of faith in other areas. When presuming upon God's grace, presumption leads to more sin. But what about presuming upon God's sovereignty? I do believe there is a difference (one that should be noted) between trusting in the sovereign hand of God and presuming upon His sovereignty. I began to ask this question particularly as I was having a conversation with my Pastor about evangelism. I've found that every time the topic of evangelism and God's sovereignty comes up, the same questions are asked. How should we understand God's sovereignty in evangelism? How should we understand our own role in evangelism? Do what I say and do even matter? Is God going to save who He is going to save no matter what? These are legitimate questions, especially for someone who believes that God is sovereign over all things, including salvation. I won't attempt to answer them here. What I am more concerned about is the state of mind, or condition of heart that we have when we consider God's sovereignty. If we consider that God is sovereign over all things, is it presumption, or is it true faith? The distinction between presumption and faith is difficult here for the same reason that it was difficult in the previous discussion. Just as presumption upon the grace of God pretends to be faith in the grace of God, so presumption upon the sovereignty of God pretends to be faith in the sovereignty of God. And here too, presumption looks like faith on the exterior. The reason for this is that presumption can easily be mistaken as trust, and trust is a vital part of faith.
As I was thinking through this, I realized that the answer to this question is the same as the answer to the earlier question. We found earlier that faith in the grace of God leads to repentance, but presumption upon the grace of God leads to more sin. There is a contrast in the evidence concerning God's sovereignty as well. For faith in the sovereignty of God empowers one to obedience, but presumption upon the sovereignty of God leads one to be idle. In other words, the person who truly trusts that God is sovereign over all things, has no need to fear when sharing the Gospel. He is empowered to be obedient in evangelism, knowing that God is the Author and Finisher of faith. He does not need to worry that he might stumble and say the wrong thing, or be too ignorant to share with someone else and so condemn them to eternal Hell. He only has to trust that God has commissioned him to make disciples, and God is sovereign over it. But the person who presumes upon God's sovereignty is idle. He is empowered to laziness, for he says in his heart, "God is going to save who He is going to save, and what I do doesn't matter." This is the heart of presumption, not of faith.
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