Joy Unspeakable

I was encouraged to consider the Genesis 18 passage where God spoke with Abraham concerning His plans to investigate the cry that came up before Him from Sodom and Gomorrah.  After Abraham stood still at this revelation from God Genesis 18:23 says, "And Abraham came near and said, "Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?"  Though he considered himself dust and ashes, Abraham humbly but boldly approached God to plead for the lives of the righteous in the city.  He was convinced the Judge of all the earth would do right, and He certainly made a distinction between the righteous and wicked.

Abraham wondered if God would destroy the city if there were 50 righteous people among them, and God agreed He would spare the whole city for the sake of the righteous.  Abraham continued to petition the LORD concerning if there was 45, 40, 30, 20 and even 10 righteous within the city, and every time God was willing to spare the whole city should 10 righteous be found there.  It turned out there was not even 10 in the city, and God sent angels to lead Lot and his household from the city fit for destruction, for the LORD is merciful.  It was a beautiful reminder of God's desire to save lives rather than destroy them, and He delights to deliver.

Even as God is willing to prevent destruction, there are times when He allows it.  God has answered many prayers to save lives, restore broken marriages, heal from life-threatening illness, and cure incurable conditions because people sought Him in prayer.  There are also people who have suffered the loss of a child in an accident or sickness, people who have been divorced, people whose lives were destroyed by affairs, by rape, abuse and even murdered.  God who delivered righteous Lot from Sodom is also able to heal broken hearts and comfort people after horrible, hurtful things happen.  It is faith in the goodness of God as revealed in scripture that causes us to walk with God and draw near to Him when the unthinkable has come to pass and we are reeling like Job over painful loss.  I have no doubt God could prevent every disaster, but I also must realise He can redeem the worst, unjust wickedness of man to accomplish infinite good.

How do I know this?  Consider the cross:  Jesus Christ the Son of God was crucified on Calvary, not for any crime or sin He committed, but because it was God's way to provide atonement to save sinners.  It is not for us to suggest or suppose how God could redeem a tragic situation to justify the loss, suffering or pain others or we have experienced for His ways and thoughts are higher than ours.  What we can know in our confusion and pain is Jesus is risen and able to comfort, heal, help, redeem and save us.  Only God knows how many times He has averted disaster from our lives, and in the midst of trouble we are wise to draw near to Him because He is our only hope.  In the depths of heartbreak let us not abandon our only consolation and salvation, for the resurrection of Jesus shows how God alone can turn our sorrows into joy unspeakable that will endure forever.

Overcome Evil With Good

The revenge plot is a common theme in film and literature.  Perhaps one reason they have such appeal to people is the opportunity to vicariously see people pay for their crimes, to get what they deserve.  We all have a natural impulse when we are wronged to return in kind and then some.  Someone pushes us so we justify pushing and punching them.  If we are made to suffer by the cruelty of others, we feel it unjust they would face no observable consequences.  When others cause us pain, we want someone to pay.  While the flesh imagines revenge will bring relief, faith in God leads us to forgive.

This theme of seeking vengeance is found throughout scripture.  There are times when people sought revenge against enemies, and other times they asked God to take vengeance.  After God revealed to the prophet Jeremiah of a plot against his life, he prayed in Jeremiah 11:19-20:  "But I was like a docile lamb brought to the slaughter; and I did not know that they had devised schemes against me, saying, "Let us destroy the tree with its fruit, and let us cut him off from the land of the living, that his name may be remembered no more." ²⁰ But, O LORD of hosts, You who judge righteously, testing the mind and the heart, let me see Your vengeance on them, for to You I have revealed my cause."  Shocked by the evil schemes against him, Jeremiah asked God to take vengeance upon them and give him the satisfaction of seeing justice meted out.  It is possible people have read passages like this spoken by God-fearing people under the covenant of Law and thus justified praying in this manner.

When Jesus came, His teachings went beyond the letter of the Law that demanded "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth."  Jesus commanded His disciples love their enemies, bless those who cursed them, do good to those who hated them, and pray for those who spitefully used and persecuted them (Matthew 5:43-45).  Paul echoed these words in Romans 12:18-19:  "If it is possible, as much as depends on you, live peaceably with all men. ¹⁹ Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord."  We who have placed our faith in Jesus for salvation also trust God's vengeance, whether we see it or not.  Instead of desiring God to destroy our enemies, we should follow the example of Jesus Who, when He was unjustly condemned and crucified, breathed out forgiveness.  Grace poured from every wound.  Jesus established a New Covenant that provided atonement by His shed blood through faith in Him, desiring none would perish.

God says He will repay, and the Bible says the wages of sin is death.  The Bible teaches God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that they would turn from their sin in repentance and live (Eze. 33:11).  For man to take vengeance is to transgress, and we ought to take Romans 12:21 to heart:  "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."  The God who tests the minds and hearts knows if we order our thoughts and lives by seeking vengeance or gracious forgiveness.  The one who has their heart set on revenge is not following the wise teaching and example of Jesus Christ who was cut off from the land of the living so sinners could be born again and reconciled to God by grace.  God will repay, and we are privileged to give place to wrath and overcome evil with good.

Transform by Renewing

I have heard people extol the value of a godly example by saying, "There is more caught than taught."  The idea is seeing godliness lived out is of greater value to others than the person's understanding of systematic theology.  Since there is no doubt people can influence others for good, we must realise the opposite is also true.  It is likely during our years as an unbeliever we have adopted worldly perspectives and fleshly responses to trouble and conflict we have brought into our relationship with Jesus and the church.  The wonderful thing about a relationship with Jesus Christ is by faith in Him we are born again and made new creations.

In churches that teach through the Bible, an emphasis is placed on reading, studying and applying God's word to our lives in obedience.  This is good.  As we grow in knowledge of God our desire is for everyone to know Him as well and be saved.  So we bone up on scriptures to guide people to their need for Jesus, forgiveness and salvation.  We might be drawn to study common objections to the existence of God or biblical truth so we can be ready to fend these off to pierce an unbelieving soul with the sword of the spirit.  I am amazed I used to believe that I myself, by well-aimed undeniable facts of biblical truth, could change the minds of other people.  I might as well have believed I could save their souls too, for this transformational power belongs to God alone.

Repentance from sin begins with a change of mind, and when we humbly present ourselves in submission to God in faith He continues to change us.  Romans 12:1-2 says to believers, "I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. ² And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God."  The picture of metamorphosis is typically applied to an unbeliever coming to faith in Christ, but the context is this change or metamorphosis taking place in a Christian.  Instead of conforming to the world or allowing man's wisdom to shape us, in this journey of faith in Christ we are to allow Him to change our minds and transform us so we might approve and personally practice the good, acceptable and perfect will of God.

Many times I went into conversations or situations believing I was on the side of truth and the other person needed to change.  Conflict and tension was created when I also assumed I was called to change other people's minds.  I knew I could not change a person's heart, but it seemed the mind was fair game and accessible through logical persuasion.  The reality is we need God to transform and renew our minds, and He can even redeem our striving and fruitlessness to accomplish this.  Should the light of God's wisdom break out upon the mind of another person due to the word of God we passed along to them, wonderful.  But it was not our light; it is not in us to transform hearts and renew minds.  Praise the LORD for His unchanging, infallible wisdom and His power and will to do what we cannot.

To be offered as a sacrifice on the altar was a one-time affair, yet as living sacrifices we are to continually present ourselves to God which is our reasonable service.  It was in this sense Paul said, "I die daily."  He heeded the words of Jesus to deny himself, take up his cross daily and follow Jesus.  Consider the miraculous impact of the sacrifice of Jesus on Calvary for sinners, and know God will also work through His servants who present ourselves to the LORD in humble submission He transforms by the renewing of our minds.  The world's way is to conform to the norm, but God's way is to transform by renewing.

God's Word is Fruitful

Last night I enjoyed meeting up with a small group gathered to learn to study the Bible.  The observations of the attendees were encouraging as they expressed how the study helped them glean far more by the end than in the first reading alone.  Initially because they understood the words written in English they thought they understood the meaning of the passage, yet there was still much work to do.  The first reading of scripture can be likened into moving large boxes into a new home but not opening them.  You are "moved in," but that is only the first stage.  An empty house isn't yet suited for comfortable living.  Opening the boxes, discovering what is inside and where is the best place for each item is what turns a house into a home.  In a similar way, verses of the Bible are packed with meaning and require intentional effort in seeking the LORD to understand and apply personally.

When we read the Bible, we are looking at a finished work.  A person who walks through a grand mansion can appreciate the architecture, colours, patterns and craftsmanship they see.  At the same time they are largely ignorant of and do not consider what is behind that lovely mural adorning a wall:  the framing, insulation, piping, wiring, all supported by a foundation.  The study of God's word is really an investigation into the genius of the builder, our Maker the LORD God who has given us His word.  Like archaeologists are careful not to destroy historical sites and priceless relics, we are careful not to destroy the flow of passages by wrenching them from context or slathering the paint of our personal emphasis over the mural of God's revelation.  By God's grace He allows us to rightly divide the word of truth, to retain the structural integrity of each piece as we carefully separate them to better understand what God has said, what God means, and what God's word means to us.

After revealing God's thoughts and ways are not ours and are infinitely higher than ours Isaiah 55:10-13 says, "For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, and do not return there, but water the earth, and make it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater, ¹¹ so shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; it shall not return to Me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. ¹² "For you shall go out with joy, and be led out with peace; the mountains and the hills shall break forth into singing before you, and all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. ¹³ Instead of the thorn shall come up the cypress tree, and instead of the brier shall come up the myrtle tree; and it shall be to the LORD for a name, for an everlasting sign that shall not be cut off."  The overarching theme of these verses is God's word will be fruitful.  As God causes the rain to fall in season for the purpose of watering the earth, seeds producing growing plants that bring forth fruit, God's word does this spiritually.

The branches of trees and grassy hills waving in the breeze are personified as rejoicing and celebrating the goodness of God and His word.  Man's wisdom could be compared to briers and thorns that spring up on their own and dry out and die by the sun's heat.  The contrast between briers and a myrtle tree and thorns and a cypress tree could not be more extreme.  A tumbleweed is blown away by the wind and gone, while a tree endures season after season, year after year.  A brier can be easily crushed underfoot, and running into a cypress could break bones in a foot!  God's word is fruitful, fulfills God's intended purpose and is cause for great rejoicing.  May we celebrate the great God who has given us His word and enables us to rightly divide it, and grow by His grace like a tree planted by rivers of water fruitful in season.