Blogpost #34

Chapter 15: The Mercy of God (pt. 2)

"Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy."

Matt 5:7 NASU

In the Old Testament, the first place we hear of mercy is in the Mercy Seat of the Tabernacle, the place where men could meet with God. Interestingly, the first place we hear of mercy in the New Testament is in the Sermon on the Mount, in the Beatitudes, where Jesus is teaching the people what the hearts of those who will live with God in His eternal kingdom will be like.

There is a transition in the New Testament in the teaching about mercy that we need to be careful not to miss. Clearly, the reality of God's mercy is established in the Old Testament. It flows naturally out of His essential goodness. But, now the instruction to the people is focused on how it applies to each of them, individually. Here the emphasis is on our showing mercy to others rather than God showing mercy to us.

Both are true, to be sure, but the point Jesus is making is that the people of God are to reflect the character of God. In the same sense that Peter exhorts his hearers to remember the Old Testament admonition to the people of God, "Be holy, for I am holy," we are to be merciful to others because God has shown mercy to us.

In the O.T., the focus was on doing something in order to be something. Israel was given commands to obey so that they would "be holy" or at least, be seen as holy by other nations. The general idea was that God wanted Israel to be distinct and different than all the other nations. They were given outward commands to obey. These commands reflected divine wisdom and resulted in great blessing to Israel when they obeyed them. They would glorify God; that was the ultimate goal.

The assumption was that they would have the inward heart attitude to see that God was worthy of their obedience and that His laws were wise. Obedience was the key to all the blessings. The intent was to bring Israel to a place of loving gratitude towards God. After all, why wouldn't you love someone who had promised to pour out such blessings on you that you couldn't run away from them if you tried! If you read Deut. 28, that's exactly what the promise is. But even if their obedience wasn't out of a heart of love, if it was fear of punishment or simply to obtain promised blessings, the outward obedience would at least make God appear to be great in the eyes of other nations.

But with the sermon on the mount, Jesus, in effect, begins teaching a new class on Kingdom Living. He's teaching the people that God wants them not only to obey Him, but to be like Him in their heart attitudes and the Beatitudes reveal what kind of heart He has and what kind of heart the people who dwell with Him in His Kingdom will have. Now the appeal is not to the nation as a whole, it's to each individual. One by one, the appeal is made that “if you will follow Me, I will make you like Me.” Some followed, most rejected Him.

The Heart of the Christian is Changed

Being like Christ, "being conformed to His image" is the goal in every true Christian's life. Paul said it plainly. "This is the will of God, your sanctification." John echoes the same thought in his first epistle..."when He appears we will be like Him." If we are going to be like God, we have to realize that it will mean forgiving people who hurt you badly, showing mercy to those who may not deserve it at all. But, isn't that exactly what Jesus did at the Cross? "Father, forgive them; they know not what they do." Forgiveness is one of the main ways, if not the primary way, of showing mercy.

Mercy and Forgiveness

We are not always conscious that mercy and forgiveness often go hand-in-hand. Mercy is seen in the willingness to forgive others, even if they don't appear to deserve it. Mercy is to be shown to everyone, even if you are the one they offended. In the same sense that we commonly speak of the love of God as "unconditional love"; our forgiveness is to be unconditional. Paul confirms this in his Epistle to the Ephesians when he says:

"Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other,

just as God in Christ, also has forgiven you." Eph 4:32 NASV

It is the clear teaching of Scripture that if you cannot forgive others, there is something deeply wrong in your spiritual life. The Lord Himself could not have made it much plainer than He did in Matt. 6. Many seem to chafe at his words, thinking that He is putting some kind of "condition" on salvation (thus, invalidating the "free gift" concept). But the truth is very different. He is simply saying that IF you have been born-again and the “love of God is shed abroad in your heart,” you will forgive, you must forgive, it's your nature now to forgive. If it's not, then you have to question whether you've truly been born-again. The changed heart is the key to the new covenant/new birth experience!

One of the main passages the N.T. uses to teach this principle is in Matthew 18. Most people will remember the story of the king and the servant who owed a great debt, but they do not remember that the reason the Lord spoke the parable was because of Peter's question as to how many times you had to forgive a brother/sister who offended you.

Peter's question is illuminating. Clearly, he had gotten the message that he really needed to be gracious to his brothers who sinned against him. When he said to the Lord, "Up to seven times?" he really thought he was being extravagant in his willingness to forgive! So when the Lord responded, "seventy times seven," Peter was blown away. He couldn't comprehend such limitless forgiveness.

But that was the point! Jesus was trying to teach him what the forgiveness of God was truly like.

The King's Mercy and Forgiveness

It was at this point that Jesus spoke the parable about the king settling accounts with the servants who owed him money. Evidently one had borrowed an enormous amount of money. The experts calculate that ten thousand talents is worth something on the order of 150,000 years of wages! It's an enormous amount. If you earned $50,000 per year, it would amount to about $7.5 Billion dollars today. For the average person, it's an astronomical amount. The point is clear: the debt is too large to ever be repaid.

So what is the solution? The king's solution was to forgive the debt. The servant pleaded for mercy and the king extended forgiveness. Total forgiveness. Unconditional forgiveness.

But as we know, that's not the end of the story. The servant went out and seemingly oblivious to the mercy showed to him, found a fellow slave who owed him a relatively small sum (one which could be paid over time) and demanded payment of his debt. When the servant pleaded for mercy and time to pay the debt, the one who had been forgiven much hardened his heart against him and sent him to prison until the debt was paid.

No doubt the story of the staggering forgiveness the king had shown toward the slave who owed so much went out through all the land, so when that slave refused to forgive the paltry debt owed to him, that story also got wide circulation...ending up back with the king. The results were predictable. His life was over. He would die with his debt still unpaid, but he would die in prison.

As if to put an exclamation point on the seriousness the Lord saw in this, He spoke these words:

34 "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 " My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." Matt 18:34-35 NASU

What's the Lesson?

The lesson to learn here is that God's mercy is meant to change us. Sadly, too many are deceived into thinking the free gift of God's mercy toward us in salvation requires no response from us, other than to just take it. Is that true? If so, who could pass up such a deal?

But beware! This is exactly the same attitude as the wicked slave. He took his master's mercy, he was glad to accept the forgiveness of his enormous debt. There were no conditions stipulated by the master. But evidently the King did expect something in return for his mercy. What? That he would treat others as he had been treated.

The Scriptures reiterate this expectation over and over. Twice in Matthew 6, the Lord specifically focuses on this. After directing the disciples to pray to the Father asking that we be forgiven our debts as we have forgiven others, He then stops and amplifies this in v.14-15 so that there can be no possible misunderstanding.

" For if you forgive others for their transgressions,

your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

"But if you do not forgive others,

then your Father will not forgive your transgressions."

Matt 6:14-15 NASU

Without question salvation is 'free' in the sense that we can do nothing to earn or deserve it. But, if we receive it, God expects changes in our life. And He is right to expect them. Because biblical salvation is not merely a judicial declaration of righteousness, a forgiveness of our sin-debt because the price of our redemption has been paid by another, it is the fact that God has joined us to Himself through our faith in His Son...our nature has been changed. We are no longer what we were.

According to the apostle Peter, "...we have been made partakers of the divine nature." The apostles James and John tell us we have been born again...Paul tells us we are "new creations". Now we are able to act differently...and God expects us to do so. Part of "loving our neighbor as ourselves" is showing mercy to others in the same measure as we have been shown mercy.

God's mercy (like all God's gifts) should never end with us. God's mercy, grace, kindness, manifold love and long-suffering grace towards us is meant to be a window into the Kingdom of God. How? By our extending the same mercies and grace to one another. Surely we can look out onto the world and see this is a dramatic contrast to the way those in the world treat one another. More and more we are being faced with senseless acts of random violence and malicious greed. Sin in all its vilest forms is overtaking our culture. Against this backdrop stands the Kingdom of God. It is revealed in the hearts and actions of those who serve the King of Kings, who are willing to forgive even when it costs them dearly. They do this because they have become "like Him".

James sums it up well.

"So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty.

13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy;

mercy triumphs over judgment."

James 2:12-13 NASU

Blogpost #33

Chapter 15: The Mercy of God (Pt. 1)

"For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy;

mercy triumphs over judgment."

James 2:13 NASU

"...this man went down to his house justified rather than the other."

Luke 18:14b

And he likely didn't even know it. There is no indication that anything changed in the physical realm of the man's life. But something had changed. This man had found grace. How do we know? The "Judge of all the earth" has said so. Who was this man who now had the stamp of divine favor on him? He was the man who begged for mercy.

He was a despised man, a traitor to his people, a pawn of the Roman government. He was an IRS agent, a tax-gatherer. Have you ever gotten a letter from the IRS or a knock on your door from an agent? If so, you know the first reaction is usually fear, then anger, then loathing. It's the way it's always been.

This man was employed by the Roman government and charged with the duty of collecting taxes/ tribute from the Jews. The problem was, he was also a Jew, hence, an enemy and traitor. It was also common for tax-gatherers to collect more than they should and enrich themselves in the process. So, in the minds of the Jews, he was also a thief. And the Jews despised him for it. But in his heart, the tax man knew what he was and he knew his need before God. His plea was simple and heartfelt.

Who was the "other man"? He was a Pharisee. Rich, proud and righteous...at least in his own eyes. He had all the tools and trappings of success. He was well-educated, admired by most, rich, diligent in his religious duties. Anyone who looked at him would think "this man is blessed of God." They couldn't be more wrong.

Both Men Looked Down

The Pharisee was certain God was pleased with him. He had no idea that his Judge was standing right there. But, when Jesus looked at the Pharisee all He saw was a proud, arrogant, self-righteous man. He hadn't come to the temple to worship, he had come to boast of his own goodness. The tax-gatherer knew he didn't measure up. He was not deceived about himself or his standing before God.

Both men looked down, the one to despise the other, his pride blinding him to his own need. The other looked down in humility and just begged God for mercy. The good news is he found it. He humbled himself before God and found the mercy and grace he needed. This is always God's way. The Pharisee should have known this as well. He was a master of the Old Testament scriptures. Long ago, the prophet Micah had written a simple summary of what a man's relationship to God should look like. He wrote:

"He has told you, O man, what is good; And what does the LORD require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?" Mic 6:8 NASU

It's really a pretty simple equation...just 3 things. The problem is that without humility, which is the result of a conscious sense of your own need before God, you won't have the heart to be what you should be to others, treating them with justice and kindness.

It was important that this same attitude be in our Lord. Speaking of Jesus' high priestly work and what it would require for Him to fulfill that duty, the writer of Hebrews says, "...He had to be made like His brethren in all things, so that He might become a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. 18 For since He Himself was tempted in that which He has suffered, He is able to come to the aid of those who are tempted." Heb 2:17-18 NASU

The Lord knows and understands our frailties. In a real sense, as the saying goes, He has "walked a mile in our shoes." He understands our helplessness and has provided a sacrifice for our sins. His mercy has over come His judgment. That's why we can sing "Hallelujah, what a Savior."

When the tax collector pleaded for mercy from God, for what was he really asking? Did he have any right to ask? What was the basis for his plea? The truth is, when men are really desperate, they don't care about these questions, they just turn to God. And what do they find?

The Mercy of God

Thankfully, the scriptures are filled with the testimonies of God's mercy. Tozer sums it up nicely when he says, “mercy is that "infinite and inexhaustible energy within the divine nature which disposes God to be actively compassionate.” In other words, He sees our need and our helplessness and His own loving nature moves Him to want to help us. The basis for our plea is simply God's own revelation of who He is, that mercy is an essential part of the character of God.

In the legal realm, mercy can only be exercised on the guilty. When a man's guilt and punishment are determined, then and only then can the possibility of mercy be considered. Guilt and condemnation are prerequisites to mercy. Mercy responds to need and helplessness.

Interestingly, in the Old Testament, the first place we hear of mercy in the Bible is when God gives Moses the template for the Tabernacle. Right in the middle, upfront and unmistakeable was the message that if a relationship to God was going to happen, there must be a "mercy seat," a place where justice is seen to be satisfied so that mercy can be shone. Why?

Because Israel's relationship to their God would be based on their obedience to His laws. Laws they would constantly disobey. Knowing this, from the very beginning, God provided a way for them to restore their relationship when it was breached by their disobedience.

Sadly, this deteriorated into a ritual where the obligatory sacrifices were made, but the heart desire to restore their relationship with God was only rarely seen in Israel.

Israel has never really understood its need for mercy. Because they were born Jews, they assumed this assured their relationship to God. Rituals were sufficient to gain God's favor. This was not much better than heathen idolatry. It ended badly for the Jews.

But, the principle is still valid. For the Jews, access to God began at the mercy seat. So does ours. The fact is every person's relationship with God begins with an atoning sacrifice which He, in His mercy, can and must provide. Israel had their Mercy Seat. Christians have the Cross.

IF we want to meet with God, fellowship with God, know God in any sort of an intimate way, then we must, as Tozer says, think rightly about God. It is not God's nature to be harsh and cruel, but kind and generous, compassionate and merciful. Even when we don't deserve it. The Scriptures bear constant testimony to this.

"But You, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious,Slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness and truth. 16 Turn to me, and be gracious to me;" Ps 86:15-16 NASU

Prayer is an act of faith. A plea to God for mercy is a prayer...and also an act of faith. And, we know God responds to faith. David knew this by experience.

"And those who know Your name will put their trust in You,  for You, O LORD, have not forsaken those who seek You." Ps 9:10 NASU

King Asa also believed it...and saw God's faithfulness.

"Then Asa called to the LORD his God and said, "LORD, there is no one besides You to help in the battle between the powerful and those who have no strength; so help us, O LORD our God, for we trust in You , and in Your name have come against this multitude. O LORD, You are our God; let not man prevail against You." 12 So the LORD routed the Ethiopians before Asa and before Judah..."

2 Chron 14:11-12 NASU

There is really no point in coming to God and trying to pretend that we are not deeply needy people... all of us. We need mercy, every day, and God knows that. Some days we fall short more than others; some of us have more to ask forgiveness and mercy for than others. But Tozer points us to the critical truth: God's mercy is an inexhaustible resource...to those who will humble themselves to seek it.

John Newton, the old slave trader, knew it and needed it. Besides “Amazing Grace,” he also wrote this:

"Approach, my soul, the mercy-seat, Where Jesus answers prayer;

There humbly fall before His feet, For none can perish there.

"Thy promise is my only plea, With this I venture high;

Thou callest burdened souls to Thee; and such, O Lord, am I."

Next time we'll look at another dimension on God's mercy in the New Testament.

Blogpost #32

Chapter 15: The Justice of God

“Never pray for justice, because you might get some.”

Margaret Atwood, Cat's Eye

Wise words if you understand that Justice is not so much about doing right as it is about making right. We live in a moral universe, which is to say that everyone acknowledges that some things are right and some things are wrong. Most of us believe in the ideas of fairness and equity. The problem is that rarely does everyone agree on what is right and what is wrong, fair or unfair. Too often selfish self-interest rules these decisions, which usually perpetuates the wrong.

We've all heard and probably uttered the phrase, "He/she got what they deserved." How do we know that? Is it based on a feeling? What's the basis of this? This is not just an academic question...remember, one day you may get what you deserve! What will you get?

Like it or not, in our culture the foundation of justice is law. Law is the embodiment of what we believe as a society constitutes right and wrong. Fairness and equity are supposed to be maintained impartially for all. By default, what it recognizes is the innate tendency of some to want to take advantage of others, so it provides legal protections that warn the lawless that there will be consequences if they violate the law and attempt to perpetrate some injustice, some inequity, some wrong on another person.

Justice is the attempt to right those wrongs. The French philosopher Montesquieu wrote "In the state of nature, indeed, all men are born equal, but they cannot continue in this equality. Society makes them lose it, and they recover it only by the protection of the laws." ¹ What he is saying is that when we are born into this world, we come into a society filled with men with a bent towards selfishness, who will do what they must to achieve and maintain their success, their prosperity and their happiness, even if it's at the expense of yours...which will, at some point, almost certainly be true.

Whence cometh the Standard?

Though some would still try to promote the myth of the basic goodness of mankind, the universal testimony of history acknowledges that men are basically not just but unjust (and the evidence could easily be used to argue that man is basically evil). This has caused the wise among us to set up systems of laws, in almost all societies, to regulate our behavior towards one another. This is an adequate safeguard, most of the time. The potential flaw is that these laws are based on some standard.

Where does that standard come from? That's a crucial question. Who's making the rules? What qualifies them to make the rules?

The success of the whole system is based on two things: first, that right and wrong can be determined and that the standard is sufficiently righteous so that fairness and equity are assured to all, and second, that the standard can be upheld and not degraded at whim.

Let's answer the first question, How do you know what is right and what is wrong?

Right and Wrong

We could engage all kinds of philosophical speculations about what is right and wrong, what is moral and immoral, but the real-world answer is much simpler.

The One who rules will determine what is right and wrong. He will make the law.  That's the way it is and that's the way it's always been.

If this is true, then how do you establish a sufficiently righteous standard so that fairness and equity are assured to all. The simple fact is that we don't have to worry about this, God has already determined what right and wrong is. He Himself is the standard. It is His righteous character which is the measuring rod of all right and wrong.

How is this character able to be translated into action on earth?

Character has always been forged during the early years of our lives. The Jesuits used to say, "Give me a child for the first 7 years and he'll be mine for life." For the last 2000 years the bulk of that character training has been founded on the Judaeo-Christian ethic of right and wrong found in the Bible. It was a fundamental part of the education. The basic fundamentals of right and wrong were found in the Ten Commandments, and this was never seriously challenged, that is, until this generation. Belief in the existence of God (or gods) and therefore in the accountability of one's actions, was understood and respected by all until this generation.

That is simply not true today. A whole generation has been raised in the Western world which has been taught that science has determined that there is no god. Anyone who does not embrace evolution as the "truth" of the source of our existence is viewed as ignorant. This makes character training virtually impossible. Why? There is no inerrant basis for determining anything to be absolutely right or wrong.

Everything is now based on human opinion, often supported by "scientific" opinion. The irony is that "science," the basis for eliminating God as the divine determiner of right and wrong, is now used as the ultimate support for determining right and wrong!

The greater irony is that science has always denied that it has any moral component at all, it claims to be objective and, therefore, amoral.

"Shall not the Judge of all the Earth Do Right?"

Gen. 18:25

But science is not God, and though scientists declare He does not exist, that does not have any impact on the truth. It only shows their foolish ignorance and blindness, as Romans, chapter 1, clearly describes.

It was Abraham who had it right. When he interceded for the men of Sodom, it was on the basis that justice demanded that the righteous and the wicked would not be treated the same way. In other words, the righteous should not be judged or incur the same punishment as the wicked. Where did he get this idea?

It came from God. God is the Creator and Sustainer of the whole earth. The Scriptures declare, "The earth is the LORD'S, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it." ² If the Bible is truth, then it's an unequivocal fact that this earth and all the people who dwell on it are God's and accountable to Him. He makes the rules and there is no court of appeal. Righteousness is based on obedience to His law. Judgment is incurred when we disobey that law, period.

It is no accident that when Micah the prophet wanted to sum up what a righteous life looked like he began with "doing justice." He said, "What does the Lord require of you but to do justice, love kindness, and walk humbly with your God." In other words, walk humbly with your God, recognize that He is God and you are not, submit to His will, treat your neighbor with kindness and make it your goal in life to treat others with fairness and justice, leaving judgment with the Lord.

God is going to "do justice." The Lord says "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay." Deut 32:35. He is going to judge the whole earth one day. No injustice, no wrong, no inequity will escape His justice. Everything will once again be set right.

27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels,

and WILL THEN REPAY EVERY MAN ACCORDING TO HIS DEEDS."

Matt 16:27 NASU

"These will pay the penalty of eternal destruction,

away from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of His power,

when He comes to be glorified in His saints on that day,

and to be marveled at among all who have believed —

for our testimony to you was believed." 2 Thess. 1:9-10 NASU

1. ^{(Charles de Montesquieu, The Spirit of Laws, 1748)}
2. ^{(Ps 24:1 NASU)}

Blogpost #31

Chapter 15: The Goodness of God

"Man has two great spiritual needs. One is for forgiveness. The other is for goodness." Billy Graham

Why would Dr. Graham make such a statement? Is it possible that he doesn't believe in the inherent goodness of mankind? Is it possible that he doesn't believe in the universal assumption that all men claim, namely, that "basically I'm a good person"?

In a word, that answer is NO! He doesn't believe it. How do we know? Because the most fundamental teaching of the Bible is that men are not good, they are evil, outlaws, and rebels against a holy God. "All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God," that's why Christ had to die on the cross. Those sins have consequences.

Does that mean that no person ever does anything good? Not at all. We all know bad people who have done something good. Why do they do it? Often, it's because they want to feel better about themselves. In other words, they feel the guilt from their sins, so they want to do something they think will atone for them; this way they feel better about themselves. It only works for a while. In their hearts, they know the truth. They feel guilty because they are guilty. So are we.

But, we desperately want to believe we are good. Coming to grips with the reality that we are not is very, very difficult. In fact, it may be impossible without God opening our eyes to the truth that this is His testimony of us, "there is none righteous, not one." Once we accept this difficult reality, then we have to reckon with another difficult, “this-does- not-compute” truth. What is that? "While we were yet sinners, Christ died for the ungodly." In other words, knowing all about our rebellion, our pride, our arrogance and ungratefulness, God still sent His Son, His only Son, to die for those sins. Why would He do that? Why would such an act not be considered totally irresponsible, if not truly insane? There is only one thing which makes this right. The Goodness of God.

God is the Source of All Goodness

It is not an accident that in the first chapter of the book of Genesis, the constant refrain from God's efforts in creation is "God saw that it was good"... and when it was all done, He said it was "very good." Why? Because He did it. What difference does that make? God is good, absolutely good and whatever He does is good. It's the only thing He is capable of. He is the source of all goodness.

Why is that so hard to believe? For many people it is hard to believe. Why? Because there is so much evil in the world. The logic goes like this: How can a good God allow evil? If He is who He says He is, why doesn't He rid the world of evil?

Actually, there's a simple answer to that. To rid the world of evil, He would have to eliminate mankind! Man is the source of most of the evil in the world (the devil may have started it, but we embraced it wholeheartedly and continue his work with gusto!). For most people, that idea may be even more surprising! Why? Because there seems to be some sort of primal need in mankind to believe that we are "basically" good, no matter how much evidence there is to the contrary. As we'll see, we are willing to go to great lengths protect that delusion.

What is 'Goodness'?

Goodness is that desire or motivation to want to do good to others. It's that inner compelling that makes a person want to show mercy to someone who might not deserve it, to show kindness and mercy to someone who is helpless and in need. It's the desire to meet the needs of the needy, to be gracious with those who deserve judgment.

It's the fulfilling of Paul's exhortation in Romans 12, to not take revenge, even when you have been wronged. It's the ability to feed your enemy when he's hungry or give him a drink when he's thirsty. Paul says we will "pour burning coals on their heads" if we do this. Why is this true? It's totally unnatural. Your enemy would not do it for you. He wouldn't expect you to do it for him. In this way, you are overcoming evil with good.

In the same way, Jesus told His disciples to "love one another." Why? Because "by this all men will know you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." How would loving one another be such a testimony to "all men"? It was unknown. The world had never seen the sacrificial, selfless love which Jesus revealed in His life as He "went about doing good and healing those who were oppressed..." If the disciples "loved one another" and "went about doing good" as He had, eventually all men would see this love and realize it existed nowhere else but in the followers of Christ. This would be a powerful testimony.

There is only one problem. Goodness can only come from goodness and as Jesus told the rich, young ruler, "only God is good." And we are not God. How can we change this so that we can become good like God?

"But, the fruit of the Spirit is...goodness"

What we are saying is that it is only the regenerate person, the one who is "born again" of the Spirit of God who is able to live a life which manifests the Spirit of goodness. It is unnatural, it is abnormal, it is divine. It can only happen as a result of being made "one with Him" by the Holy Spirit; it's the life of Christ lived "in the Spirit" of Christ.

Any random act of goodness that an unregenerate person performs is simply a remnant, a dying ember of the image of God in which we were first created. And we will be able to distinguish these acts by their motive. How?

Acts of goodness which are the fruit of the flesh will be tainted by selfish motives and done for the glory of the person, not for God or His glory. Acts which are truly the fruit of the Spirit will be motivated by a desire to glorify God. Ideally, they will be selfless acts of sacrificial love, but the reality is that they will likely be increasingly selfless; the more we become like Christ, the more selfless these acts will become.

One of the primary goals of our being "conformed to the image of His Son" is to be like God in His goodness. But, like kindness and faithfulness, it will mature over time. We have to remember, it is a fruit of the Spirit. Fruit takes time to ripen and mature before the sweetness emerges. We have to be careful not to be impatient with the fruit. With the proper nourishment, there is no way the tree cannot bear fruit.

Dr. Graham is absolutely correct, our great spiritual need is not only for forgiveness, but also for goodness. To meet our need, God has graciously caused us to be born-again; by His divine power He has "granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust." (2 Peter 1:-4 NASU)

David's Encouragement

King David faced all sorts of trials which could have easily (and sometimes did) turn him aside from believing in the goodness of God, but he always came back. Why? He learned to put things into perspective...God's perspective. And he didn't just look at what happened in the short-term. He learned to look at all the things, all the good things, God had done in his life and he chose to make them his anchor. He left us many of those encouragements in the book of Psalms. Why is this so important?

Mark it down, you cannot live by faith in God and not believe that God is good. It just won't work. You can only entrust yourself to someone you believe will be good to you.

The enemy of our souls knows that if he can plant the seed of doubt in our minds that maybe God is not good...or, maybe He is good to others, but He won't be good to you... IF he can plant that seed, it won't be long before we will be living lives of fear and doubt. Once we are there, he has us where he wants us. Believing we can only trust ourselves. That is a Rx for disaster and failure. David knew differently. 
 

David was not an ivory tower saint, he had real struggles and real failures. But, he had a heart passion for God that delighted God. He wrote it down for us how he encouraged himself...and it has comforted many others for a long, long time. Anchor your faith in it as well. God is faithful and He has promised that He will not fail us or ever forsake us...

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 

I fear no evil, for You are with me;

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; 

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, 

And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." 

  Ps 23:4-6 NASU

Blogpost #29

Chapter 14: God's OmniPresence

If you ask the typical churchgoer what the meaning of omnipresence is, what you will likely hear is that it means God is everywhere. While that is technically true, the Hindu thinks he believes the same thing; that's why he worships rock and trees. What's the difference? The difference is that the Christian's God is a person. A person who acts. No rock or tree is going to act. It doesn't have that power. It is not God. The one, true God is everywhere. And He can act in any situation and is sovereign in every situation.

Omnipresence is one of those great truth words describing God that everyone seems to know, but it doesn't really seem to make much difference in our lives. We have a much greater grasp of the value of omnipotence or omniscience. Why is this? Maybe it's because we focus on the wrong end of the word. We tend to focus on the omni- instead of the presence. Let's approach it that way and see what we can learn.

Presence

To be present is one thing, to have presence is another. You can be someplace and yet have no impact on it at all. Presence occurs when you have an impact on the place you are at. We all know that when some people come into a room, their presence is felt. Why is this? It can be the result of their character, their prestige, their power and influence, their accomplishments or even just their name. It's not just the fact of their presence, it's the knowledge of who they are that makes their presence have impact. For example...

We might as well begin with God, since His presence is the one that matters most to all of us! It's not far into the book of Genesis that we find that God manifested His Presence to Adam on a daily basis. Living in His Presence was part of Adam's daily life. Yet there must have been something awe-inspiring (even fearful) about that Presence because after they disobeyed God's command the Bible says, "They heard the sound of the LORD God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the LORD God among the trees of the garden." Gen 3:8

Up to this point in time, Adam had only experienced the love and goodness of God. He had nothing to fear. Why fear now? Why run and hide? It's clear from Scripture that when sinful, rebellious men come into the presence of God, fear is always the result. Even righteous men (Daniel, Isaiah, etc.) react this way; we can only imagine what sinners feel in His Presence! Adam's response was the same as any guilty man...and since we're all sinners, even righteous men's initial reaction is fear when they first encounter His holiness. But, their joy and peace is restored when His love and grace are reaffirmed.

So, presence is what you feel when you are in the presence of greatness, power, holiness, etc. Even on a human plane we have many examples of this.

Kings have presence. It pretty much doesn't matter what king; virtually every king has presence, if only because of their power and influence over people's lives. The Scriptures tell us that Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh when it was discovered that he had killed the Egyptian slave overseer.

"When Pharaoh heard of this matter, he tried to kill Moses. But Moses fled from the presence of Pharaoh and settled in the land of Midian, and he sat down by a well." Ex 2:15 NASU 

What was Moses doing? He was escaping the power and influence of Pharaoh to punish him for His crime. To do this He had to "flee from His presence." He had to go into a far away land.

This is one aspect of presence. There's also a very positive aspect. His Presence!

Omnipresence: God is with Us

This aspect of omnipresence is one of the great truths of Scripture. There are many scriptures we could use to illustrate this truth, but the point we need to embrace is that this takes the objective truth of God's omnipresence and makes it personal: He is with us. This changes everything! This is our anchor when the storm's begin to batter our lives and those we love. This was to be Israel's constant encouragement.

To Isaac, He said,

" I am the God of your father Abraham; Do not fear, for I am with you.  I will bless you, and multiply your descendants, for the sake of My servant Abraham." Gen 26:24 NASU

To Jacob, He said,

"Behold,I am with you and will keep you wherever you go, and will bring you back to this land; for I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you." Gen 28:15 NASU

When He sent Moses to deliver Israel in Egypt, so that Israel would know God was with Him, He said,

"Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, 'I AM has sent me to you.'" 15 God, furthermore, said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ' The LORD, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.'" Ex. 3:14-15 NASU

To Israel, He said, (many times in many ways!)

"Do not fear, for I am with you ; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.  I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."  Isa. 41:10 NASU

One of the most beloved verses in the New Testament and which has brought great comfort to multitudes of Christians throughout the centuries is Heb. 13:5

"He Himself has said, 'I will never desert you, nor will I ever forsake you.'" NASU

But this verse is actually an O.T. quote from the day when Moses was about to hand the reins to Joshua to bring Israel into the Promised Land. To encourage Joshua and Israel, he said,

"Then Moses called to Joshua and said to him in the sight of all Israel, 'Be strong and courageous, for you shall go with this people into the land which the LORD has sworn to their fathers to give them, and you shall give it to them as an inheritance. 8  The LORD is the one who goes ahead of you; He will be with you. He will not fail you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.'" Deut 31:7-8 NASU

Even through all their failures and judgments, God continued to encourage them saying,

28 "O Jacob My servant, do not fear," declares the LORD, "For I am with you,

For I will make a full end of all the nations where I have driven you,

Yet I will not make a full end of you; But I will correct you properly..." Jer 46:28 NASU

Through Isaiah He often communicated His steadfast love and affection for His wayward people, the Bible often refers to it as "covenant love"...

"In all their affliction He was afflicted, And the angel of His presence saved them; In His love and in His mercy He redeemed them, And He lifted them and carried them all the days of old." Isa 63:9 NASU

Even after the 70 years of judgment in captivity in Babylon, He was there to encourage them when the work of rebuilding the temple looked useless.

4 "But now take courage, Zerubbabel," declares the LORD, "take courage also, Joshua son of Jehozadak, the high priest, and all you people of the land take courage," declares the LORD, "and work; for I am with you ," declares the LORD of hosts. Hag 2:4 NASU

It's More Than "Comfort Food" for the Soul

The Biblical truth that God is with us is more than comfort food for tough times. While it is beyond dispute that knowing He is a "present help in time of need" (Ps.46:1) is great comfort, it's really much more than that. It's our identity. It's how we are meant to be known to the world. We are His...and His Presence in our midst is what is supposed to distinguish us from every other people on earth! This is exactly what God told Moses...and what Moses clearly understood by his response to God. Listen...

And He (God) said, " My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest." 15 Then he (Moses) said to Him, " If Your presence does not go with us, do not lead us up from here. 16 For how then can it be known that I have found favor in Your sight, I and Your people? Is it not by Your going with us, so that we, I and Your people, may be distinguished from all the other people who are upon the face of the earth?" Ex. 33:14-16 NASU

That's quite something to read. God honored Moses request; He was personally present with His chosen people. But it wasn't enough, even for Israel. The testimony of the O.T. is that one day God had enough of their stubborn rebellion and pronounced "Ichabod" on Israel and His Presence departed from the temple and the nation.  Israel had ceased to be the tool God was using to reveal Himself to the world, at least for now. It's sad, stunning and bewildering at times to read of Israel's history. But, God is a holy God and Israel was shaming His Name (not unlike America today). However, that is not the end of the story. God has done a "new thing." The New Testament tells of God choosing a new people, making a new covenant, providing a new and unique way that His Presence can dwell with His chosen people...both Jew and Gentile...forever!

The Ultimate Presence

The Christmas story is about much more than the coming of the Jewish Messiah. It's the story of God revealing Himself to the world in a new way, "in the person of a Son," a Son who was willing to humble Himself to the point of taking on human flesh, becoming a man and living a life of perfect submission and trust in His Father, then offering that perfect life as a sacrifice to satisfy the wrath of God which should have been ours. Isaiah's prophecy said His Name would be called "Immanuel, which translated means "God with us." Matt 1:23 NASU.

But, there was more. There was a grand mystery yet to be revealed. God was doing a new thing.

One of the most remarkable statements Jesus ever made was in John 14. Here He gave the essence of the "new thing" God was doing "in Christ." God was going to use the exercise of faith and trust in His Son as the vehicle to unite "believers" to Himself in a spiritual union forever. We would be one with the Father and the Son...and that union would be forever. Here's what Jesus said,

"I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; ... He abides with you and will be in you . In that day you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you." John 14:18-20 NASU

The apostle Paul confirmed this in his epistle to the Colossians,

"...the mystery which has been hidden from the past ages and generations, but has now been manifested to His saints...which is Christ in you, the hope of glory..." Col 1:26-27 NASU

and, if there was any doubt that we were meant to be the dwelling place of God, the vehicle through which He could reveal Himself to the world, he confirmed it in first letter to Corinth...

"Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 17 If any man destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him, for the temple of God is holy, and that is what you are." 1 Cor 3:16-17 NASU

He is Everywhere, He is Everywhere With Us and (now) He is In Us...Now What? Go!

There is a divine purpose to the revelation of this "new creation" in Christ. While we should be greatly comforted and strengthened by the manifold truth of God's presence with us and in us, it's not meant to end with us. If we live and dwell in His Presence and we truly appreciate the blessings He has given us, how can we not share them? Paul says plainly we are "saved by grace," but we are saved for a purpose...we have been "created in Christ Jesus for good works which God has foreordained that we should walk in them." This is not a suggestion, it's a divine imperative! God's plan is to reveal Himself to the world through us. Through us He wants to be "salt and light" to the world.

We don't know who wrote these words (possibly the German ribbon-maker, Gerhard Tersteegen), but it is hard to surpass them in beauty or power,

"From the glory and the gladness; From His secret place;

From the rapture of His Presence, From His radiant face;

Christ, the Son of God, hath sent me through the midnight lands;

Mine the mighty ordination of the pierced hands."

"Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...I am with you always, even to the end..." Matt 28:18-20 NASU

Blogpost #28

Chapter 13: God is Transcendent 

 

When is an attribute not an attribute?

Transcendence is not an attribute of God. It's also never used in the Bible to describe God. So why do we use it and why did Tozer include it? Being human, we tend to look at things from a human perspective. This can easily leave us with a false concept in our thoughts about God. And, as Tozer encouraged us starting back in chapter 1, we must think rightly about God, if we are to have any chance of knowing Him.

To "transcend" means to rise above. It could apply to a circumstance where, because of an emergency, one situation rises above all the others and demands immediate attention. But, it's probably easier to illustrate in the human realm...especially among the sports and entertainment realms.

Most parents have had to think through the practical side of their children's dreams.  What do I mean?

It means the precarious balancing of wanting to encourage our kids to feel free to dream, even "shoot for the stars," but also realizing the price that has to be paid to fulfill those dreams, both personal and financial and often by both parents and child. It also means recognizing that some dreams require having natural skills that not everyone has.

In other words, it means guiding them so that their dreams align with who they really are, yet realizing that they might be capable of much more than it appears. If you look at pictures of Tiger Woods as a skinny young boy with those huge glasses, you might not see the potential his father did. Being a parent requires serious wisdom.

Tens of millions of young people have dreamed of being the next Tiger Woods or Michael Jordan. But what are the odds of that happening? They are not good! Here's why. Think about the filtering process.

Let's start with high school. You might have, literally, millions and millions of young people who aspire to the greatness of a Tiger or MJ. The really good athletes (in any sport) will get to college, probably on a scholarship. (With typical college expenses running $50-100k, that's an attractive possibility!) But, at least 90% of those who started out playing in college will be filtered out. Of the ones who finish college and turn "professional," another 90% (or more) will be filtered out. In case your math is a little weak, this works out to 1 out of 100. But then there's the elite in the professional ranks; this eliminates another 90% in whatever field you look at. So now we're looking at 1 out of 1000, at least.

But, then there is what is often called the generational athlete, the one who only comes along once in a generation, the one who transcends the game, whose persona is bigger than life. Both Jordan and Woods fill the bill here. When Woods was at this peak a few years ago, one of his playing competitors (Ernie Els - who is a Hall of Fame caliber player himself) made this revealing comment, "Right now, Tiger is playing a different game from the rest of us." His greatness was so compelling that those who played with him, even at the highest level, had to admit that he was in a league all his own. His ability to perform was (and often still is) transcendent, it rises above all the other players.

That's a good illustration of the meaning of transcendence, but it has a fatal deficiency. It's a human picture. God is not human. He is not even super-human, He is another of a different kind. He is divine. When we say He is transcendent, we don't mean that He's one-in-a-million or even one-in-a-billion among men. It doesn't apply. His transcendence is wholly and completely beyond humanity, even the best of humanity. Humanity was His idea. He is the Creator of all humanity...and without Him we would cease to exist.

God is not merely the highest being, He is the source of all being. He is not merely Almighty, He is the Source of all might, all power. The truth is that all our efforts to comprehend Him, to describe Him, to understand Him fall short. They just do. You just can't get your mind around who He really is. It just doesn't compute. The best we can do is conjure up an ultra Super-Hero...and that just falls pathetically short. When we think we're beginning to grasp one attribute another comes in and we find there's a whole new dimension we never saw before...and in a sense, we just have to start over.

God is never outdated. He is never obsolete. The more we know of Him, the higher He rises. He is simply beyond our grasp. He knew that. He designed us with a capacity to know Him, even enjoy Him, but the capacity is limited. It's limited by His design, but it's also distorted by our sinful natures.

He knew that also. That is why He revealed Himself...first in Creation, then in Scripture and, finally in His Son. There probably are no more spellbinding words in all of world literature than those opening words in the first chapter of the book of Hebrews. Surely, they qualify as majestic:

"God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers in the prophets in many portions and in many ways,
2 in these last days has spoken to us in His Son, whom He appointed heir of all things,

 through whom also He made the world. 3 And He is the radiance of His glory 

and the exact representation of His nature,

 and upholds all things by the word of His power."

 Heb 1:1-3 NASU

The Transcendent Man

Knowing that we could never reason our way into understanding who God really is, especially who He is as a person, He gave us one final revelation: His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. As Hebrews 1:3 says so clearly, "He is the exact representation of His Nature." What does this mean? It means that He is God in human form.

How can that be? Isn't He supposed to be infinite, almighty, omniscient? How can a man (with all his inherent limitations) be God? Isn't that a logical impossibility? Can He be both infinite and finite?

The theologians describe Him as "the unique Being in the universe." He is both God and man. That is how He was able to become the mediator between God and man; the One (and only one) who could be the link that made a reconciliation and restoration of a relationship with a holy God possible once more. It also means going from glory to the dung heap! How was it possible? The answer of the Bible is simply that "He humbled Himself." If we knew and understood more of who God really is, we would probably label that as the understatement of all time!

While the Lord was both God and man on earth, His deity is described in the Bible as being "veiled." In other words, He purposely kept hidden the more dramatic attributes of His being so that we would not be distracted and mesmerized by them and miss what is probably more important: His character.

Of course, in events like the Transfiguration we see momentary glimpses of His true power and glory, just as we do in the feeding of the 5000. But the primary revelation was focused on the work of redemption which had to be accomplished by a man, a perfect but fully human man, a man who perfectly displayed the righteous character of God in His life.

When Hebrews 1:4 says that the Son is the "exact representation of His nature," it literally means "the representation of the reality of Him." What does that mean? It means that this man, in all his humanity, is the very image of God. And, filled with the Spirit of God, His life and character reflect that image. We see in His life and the things He did what a perfect man does, a man made in the image of God and unpolluted by sin, and how he glorifies God with His life. We see in living reality what transcendence really looks like. That's why the Apostle John could says "in Him was life. And the life was the light of men."

His selfless sacrifice of Himself transcends human love.

His obedience to His Father transcends and overcomes our disobedience.
His kindness and compassion transcends human kindness and compassion.
His humility and meekness transcends our pride and arrogance.
His judgment transcends and satisfies the wrath of God on our behalf.
His Resurrection transcends our death and makes a new birth and a new life possible.
His Desire for us to be with Him in Heaven transcends every obstacle.

"With God all things are possible." Why? Because He is Transcendent. If we would live in the light of His Transcendence, in the light of His "unsearchable wisdom," then it should lead to an awesome reverence for all that He has said and revealed.

When He encourages, our faith should be strengthened.

When He rebukes, we should learn from the instruction.
When He commands, we dare not disobey.

He has commanded us to "follow Him". Since we know His path leads to glory, why would we travel any other path, especially when He has promised not to ever leave us or forsake us?

 "I am the LORD, and there is no other; besides Me there is no God.

I will gird you, though you have not known Me, that men may know 

from the rising to the setting of the sun that there is no one besides Me.  

I am the LORD, and there is no other, the One forming light and creating darkness,

 causing well-being and creating calamity; I am the LORD who does all these." Isa 45:5-7 NASU