Roger's Version

Try as he might, Roger Olson specifically and Arminian theologians in general cannot adequately make an argument for the presence of evil. That is, Arminians cannot explain the presence of evil in a way that 'rescues' God's reputation as they seek to do.

Steve Hays over at Triablogue dismisses quite easily another caricature of Calvinism by Dr. Olson.

Olson’s basic error is that he only sees the problem of evil in terms of God’s involvement in evil. And if we can disassociate God from evil, that’s exculpatory.

But, of course, that doesn’t solve the problem. It simply relocates the problem. For there’s a sense in which God ought to be responsible for whatever happens.

I think one of his problems, and this is a problem with Arminians generally, is that they treat evil as if it were a ritual impurity, like a contaminant or infectious disease, and the way to remain pure is to avoid physical contact. As long as God wears latex gloves, that exonerates him.

And this this is subconsciously reflected in the legalism I sometimes run across among Arminians, where holiness is a matter of avoiding certain physical activities, like drinking or watching R-rated movies.

Read the entire post HERE.

God and Cancer

The AP has picked up on Matt Chandler's story. Chandler is the well known pastor of Village Church in Dallas. His recent diagnosis with brain cancer has given him a platform to proclaim the Gospel of Jesus and the sovereign goodness of God in all things.

His theology teaches that all men are wicked, that human beings have offended a loving and sovereign God, and that God saves through Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection — not because people do good deeds. In short, Chandler is a Calvinist, holding to a belief system growing more popular with young evangelicals…

Chandler says learning he had brain cancer was “kind of like getting punched in the gut. You take the shot, you try not to vomit, then you get back to doing what you do, believing what you believe.

“We never felt — still have not felt — betrayed by the Lord or abandoned by the Lord. I can honestly say, we haven’t asked the question, ‘Why?’ or wondered, ‘Why me, why not somebody else?’ We just haven’t gotten to that place. I’m not saying we won’t get there. I’m just saying it hasn’t happened yet.”

Check it out HERE.

Is God Judging Haiti?

As many of you already know Pat Robertson opened his mouth and more silliness fell out. Thankfully, Al Mohler has written a thoughtful and sober article on how to think biblically and mercifully about the earthquake in Haiti.

God's rule over creation involves both direct and indirect acts, but his rule is constant. The universe, even after the consequences of the Fall, still demonstrates the character of God in all its dimensions, objects, and occurrences. And yet, we have no right to claim that we know why a disaster like the earthquake in Haiti happened at just that place and at just that moment.

The arrogance of human presumption is a real and present danger. We can trace the effects of a drunk driver to a car accident, but we cannot trace the effects of voodoo to an earthquake -- at least not so directly. Will God judge Haiti for its spiritual darkness? Of course. Is the judgment of God something we can claim to understand in this sense -- in the present? No, we are not given that knowledge. Jesus himself warned his disciples against this kind of presumption...

The earthquake in Haiti, like every other earthly disaster, reminds us that creation groans under the weight of sin and the judgment of God. This is true for every cell in our bodies, even as it is for the crust of the earth at every point on the globe. The entire cosmos awaits the revelation of the glory of the coming Lord. Creation cries out for the hope of the New Creation.

In other words, the earthquake reminds us that the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only real message of hope. The cross of Christ declares that Jesus loves Haiti -- and the Haitian people are the objects of his love. Christ would have us show the Haitian nation his love, and share his Gospel. In the midst of this unspeakable tragedy, Christ would have us rush to aid the suffering people of Haiti, and rush to tell the Haitian people of his love, his cross, and salvation in his name alone.

Everything about the tragedy in Haiti points to our need for redemption. This tragedy may lead to a new openness to the Gospel among the Haitian people. That will be to the glory of God. In the meantime, Christ's people must do everything we can to alleviate the suffering, bind up the wounded, and comfort the grieving. If Christ's people are called to do this, how can we say that God hates Haiti?

If you have any doubts about this, take your Bible and turn to John 3:16. For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. That is God's message to Haiti.

Read the entire article HERE.

Why the Sovereignty of God Matters

From John Piper:

1. The good news of God’s substituting his Son for us on the cross depends on it.

“Truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place.” (Acts 4:27­-28)

2. The perseverance of the saints in the fear of God depends on it.

“I will make with them an everlasting covenant, that I will not turn away from doing good to them. And I will put the fear of me in their hearts, that they may not turn from me.” (Jeremiah 32:40)

3. Progress in holiness now, and the final perfecting of the saints in the end, depends on it.

“Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:12-13)

“But you have come to Mount Zion . . . and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect.” (Hebrews 12:22-23)

4. The assurance of God’s final triumph over all natural and supernatural evil depends on it.

“I am God, and there is no other; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done, saying, ‘My counsel shall stand, and I will accomplish all my purpose.’” (Isaiah 46:9­-10)

5. The comfort that there is a wise and loving purpose in all our calamities and loses, and that God will work all things together for our good, depends on it.

“Though he cause grief, he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love. . . . Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that good and bad come?” (Lamentations 3:32-38)

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good.” (Genesis 50:20)

6. The hope that God will give life to the spiritually dead depends on it.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)

“The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:8)

7. Well-grounded expectation of answered prayer depends on it.

“Brothers, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” (Romans 10:1)

“Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. . . . For the promise is for . . . everyone whom the Lord our God calls to himself.” (Acts 2:38-39)

8. Boldness in the face of seeming hopeless defeat depends on it.

“Be of good courage, and let us be courageous for our people, and for the cities of our God, and may the Lord do what seems good to him.” (2 Samuel 10:12)

“Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him.” (2 Chronicles 32:7)

9. Seeing and savoring the revelation of the fullness of God’s glory depends on it.

“But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, ‘Why have you made me like this?’ . . . What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power . . . [acted] in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy?” (Romans 9:20-23)

10. Praise that matches the fullness of God’s power, wisdom, and grace depends on it.

“Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases. . . . We will bless the Lord from this time forth and forevermore.” (Psalm 115:3, 18)

“Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised.” (Psalm 96:4)

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty is an anchor for the troubled soul, a hope for the praying heart, a stability for fragile faith, a confidence in pursuing the lost, a guarantee of Christ’s atonement, a high mystery to keep us humble, and a solid ground for all praise. And oh so much more. O Lord, turn this truth for the triumph of your saving and sanctifying grace.

God's Sovereignty and Human Freedom

In a recent post we have been having a discusion on the nature of God's sovereignty. Over at Ref21 Andy Naselli has written a good post dealing with the intersection of God's sovereignty and human freedom.

1. The Bible never says that humans are free in the sense that they are autonomously able to make decisions that are not caused by anything. Libertarian free will is often merely assumed based on common-sense experience but not proved.

2. God is absolutely sovereign. He "works all things according to the counsel of his will" (Ephesians 1:11). He does whatever he wants, and no one can stop him (Psalm 115:3; Daniel 4:34-35).

3. Humans are morally responsible, which requires that they be free. There is no biblical reason that God cannot cause real human choices. The Bible grounds human accountability in God's authority as our creator and judge, not in libertarian free will.

4. Both (1) God's absolute sovereignty and (2) human freedom and responsibility are simultaneously true. Here are just a few of many passages in which both elements are present without any hint of contradiction. "The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.... The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD" (Proverbs 16:9, 33). "This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men" (Acts 2:23). "For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place" (Acts 4:27- 28).

5. The Bible condemns some people for acts not done with a libertarian free will. For example, Judas Iscariot was destined to betray Jesus, which means that he did not have the ability either to do it or not...

6. God is omniscient (e.g., he predicts future events). John Feinberg observes, "If indeterminism is correct, I do not see how God can be said to foreknow the future. If God actually knows what will (not just might) occur in the future, the future must be set and some sense of determinism applies. God's foreknowledge is not the cause of the future, but it guarantees that what God knows must occur, regardless of how it is brought about" ("God Ordains All Things," in Predestination and Free Will: Four Views of Divine Sovereignty and Human Freedom [ed. David Basinger and Randall Basinger; Downers Grove: IVP, 1986], 33- 34).

7. God breathed out Scripture through humans without violating their personalities. The way that God inspired the Bible requires compatibilism.

8. God enables Christians to persevere: Christians work because God works (cf. Philippians 2:12- 13). Indeterminism would mean that Christians can reject Christ and lose their salvation, but the Bible teaches that all genuine Christians are eternally secure and will persevere to the end by God's grace.

9. God himself does not have a free will in the libertarian sense. Can God sin? If not, then he does not have a libertarian free will, and thus a libertarian free will is not necessary for a person to be genuinely free.

10. God's people do not have free wills in heaven in the libertarian sense. Will God's people be able to sin in heaven? If not, then they will not have a libertarian free will, and thus a libertarian free will is not necessary for people to be genuinely free.

Read the entire post HERE.

Piper's Critics and Piper's Response

Last week I posted a link to what became some very controversial observations by John Piper.

Since posting his thoughts on the tornado in Minneapolis Piper has received some very harsh criticism from within evangelicalism. However, much of the criticism is shrill and bears all the marks of an "Aha! We've got him now!" attitude. The usual suspects from the emergent crowd are among those critics. And of course we have to keep in mind that the theological adolescents within the emergent village deny such doctrines as God's judgment and sovereignty. Tony Jones who has been vehement in his criticism of Piper has famously called on the church to show full acceptance of homosexuality and other forms of sexual perversion.

So far, the criticisms I have read are unwarranted. What Piper is accused of saying, I simply do not read in his comments. Denny Burk puts it well:

Pastor John Piper witnessed the storm and later offered his reflections on the message that God might have for us in a storm such as this one. He used Luke 13:4-5 to argue that God uses seemingly random calamities to remind all of us of our need for repentance. He then applied that message to the ELCA who had just voted to approve sin rather than repent from it.

Piper has been hit by a tornado of criticism since posting his short blog, and some of the sharpest critiques have been from fellow “evangelicals” (Tony Jones, Jenell Williams Paris, iMonk, pomomusings.com, and ad infinitum from the Emergent wing of the evangelical blogosphere). Christianity Today, the Associated Baptist Press, a local news station, and a host of others have also publicized Piper’s remarks.

A common theme from the critics has been this: Now everyone can see what we Emergents have suspected for a long time. John Piper is a fundamentalist crackpot with a retrograde theology that offends unbelievers. Beware! Tony Jones has even called on Piper’s friends to shun him to the margins. Jones writes:
“Where is Christianity Today? Where is Tim Keller? Where are the presidents of Dallas Seminary or Wheaton College? Where is J.I. Packer, Collin Hansen, or Darrell Bock? . . . Will they, or anyone in the Evangelical intelligentsia, finally say that John Piper is outside of mainstream evangelicalism? I doubt it.”

To Piper’s credit, he has not responded in kind. In fact, his rejoinders have been self-critical. Piper has quoted Psalm 141:5 (”Let a righteous man strike me—it is a kindness; let him rebuke me—it is oil for my head; let me not refuse it.”) and has talked about how he viewed his own prostate cancer three years ago as a Providential invitation to repent of his own sin (read here).

What are we to make of all this? What concerns me most about Piper’s “evangelical” critics is that the direction of their outrage indicates that something is askew in their priorities. There appears to be little concern about the fact that an entire denomination has just taken a public stand against the Bible and 2,000 years of unanimous Christian teaching. There is scarcely a cross word about the fact that the ELCA Lutherans are walking away from the gospel of Jesus Christ. Instead, the critics are offended by Piper. Moreover, the offended have responded with what amounts to a lot of ugly mud-slinging—the very kind of stumbling-block to unbelievers that Emergents say they wish to avoid.

I have to say that I think Tony Jones and company and even Greg Boyd have not read Piper’s original article very charitably. Piper never claimed to account for all of God’s motives in this calamity, nor has Piper claimed the punishment of unfaithful Lutherans to be God’s singular motive in the Minneapolis storm. Those who read Piper in this way have missed the point.

Piper is merely applying Jesus’ words about calamities to a current calamity. Jesus did in fact teach that God uses seemingly random calamities to remind all of us of our need for repentance. That truth applies to John Piper’s cancer three years ago, it applies to Denny Burk’s car accident last November, and it applies to Lutherans meeting in Minneapolis this week. As Piper said in the original article, the warning applies to “all of us.” That truth should not be controversial among evangelicals. God help us that it is.

God's Sovereignty, the weather, and holy fear

On Wednesday August 19th there was an interesting confluence of events in Minneapolis. Seemingly out of the blue a tornado struck the Minneapolis Convention Center damaging the roof. Also, the Central Lutheran Church across the street from the convention center was hit, splitting the steeple. What makes this all so unusual is that the tornado did its damage at 2:00 pm, the time that the annual meeting of the Evangelical Lutheran Church gathering in the convention center was scheduled to vote on a measure that would allow homosexuals to be ordained for pastoral ministry.

John Piper who pastors in Minneapolis has written a post worthy of sober consideration.

1. The unrepentant practice of homosexual behavior (like other sins) will exclude a person from the kingdom of God.

The unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

2. The church has always embraced those who forsake sexual sin but who still struggle with homosexual desires, rejoicing with them that all our fallen, sinful, disordered lives (all of us, no exceptions) are forgiven if we turn to Christ in faith.

Such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Corinthians 6:11)

3. Therefore, official church pronouncements that condone the very sins that keep people out of the kingdom of God, are evil. They dishonor God, contradict Scripture, and implicitly promote damnation where salvation is freely offered.

4. Jesus Christ controls the wind, including all tornados.

Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him? (Mark 4:41)

5. When asked about a seemingly random calamity near Jerusalem where 18 people were killed, Jesus answered in general terms—an answer that would cover calamities in Minneapolis, Taiwan, or Baghdad. God’s message is repent, because none of us will otherwise escape God’s judgment.

Jesus: “Those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:4-5)

6. Conclusion: The tornado in Minneapolis was a gentle but firm warning to the ELCA and all of us: Turn from the approval of sin. Turn from the promotion of behaviors that lead to destruction. Reaffirm the great Lutheran heritage of allegiance to the truth and authority of Scripture. Turn back from distorting the grace of God into sensuality. Rejoice in the pardon of the cross of Christ and its power to transform left and right wing sinners.

Read the entire post HERE.

No Comfort Apart from a Sovereign God

From Tim Challies:

On September 28, 2008, I was shocked to read these words on the blog of Terry Stauffer, a man I had met at a couple of conferences and who has long been a reader and commenter at my blog: “Last night at about 4:45 our precious 14 year-old daughter Emily was attacked and killed as she was out for a walk. We don’t know a lot of details, but we know that two young men came upon the scene right away, but it was too late for Emily. I will write more as more details come available. Please pray for us, for our church family who are meeting without us right now, and for family that is travelling. We are realizing from the inside the value of good, Gospel theology right now. ”

Terry is pastor of Edson Baptist Church in the small town of Edson, Alberta. Emily’s murder shocked this small town of less than 10,000 people—the kind of town where this crime is unheard of. I continued to follow Terry’s blog as he dealt with the aftermath—Emily’s funeral, national media attention, the arrest of a suspect and life following the loss of a child. Through it all, Terry’s faith strengthened me from afar. I recently asked Terry if he would be kind enough to participate in an interview and I am grateful that he was willing and able to do so. I offer this interview in the hope that it encourages you in the Lord who promises (and delivers) strength as strength is needed.

Read Tim's moving interview with Emily's father HERE.

Thinking rightly about God

Martin Downes over at Against Heresies posted a link to a helpful response from Douglas Kelley to the book "The Openness of God."

Dr. Kelly writes:

The reason the five authors of The Openness of God deny the infinitude of nearly all the attributes of God is their failure to have heard what Hilary (and the whole orthodox Christian tradition) could have said to them. That is, we must not attempt to project our creaturely limitations onto the God who made us (as though we had made him). That would be a violation of the second commandment. Rather, with Saint Paul, let us understand that the analogy (and glorious reality) of God as our Father makes sense because fatherhood is from God (Eph. 3:14-15), as the incarnate Christ and outpoured Spirit have shown us. Hence, as Athanasius says, "God does not make man his pattern, but rather, since God alone is properly and truly Father, we men are called fathers of our own children, for of him every fatherhood in heaven and earth is named" (Contra Arianos 1:23).

Human reason, therefore, must adjust itself to God's being and not the reverse. Repeatedly in this volume, the authors univocally limit the infinite God by what they are able to understand (see, for example, the definition of divine omniscience on p. 136). This short-sighted procedure causes them throughout the book to deny one side of clear biblical teaching (such as God's sovereignty) in order to affirm the other side (such as human responsibility). Sadly, all too little that they write in this volume can be taken seriously either by scholars or by ordinary Christian layfolk until its authors rethink their basic approach. May they be blessed in doing so!

Read the entire article HERE.

Our Times are in His Hands

World events (here and here) could easily be an occassion for despair. Quite honestly, it's getting ugly out there. It is in times like these that God's people must remember who is ultimately in control. Certainly God uses means to accomplish His purposes. He has used good men and wicked men. He has used times of prosperity and times of depression. God has used diplomacy and war to bring about His sovreign will.

It is good to have godly people serving in politics and the military. But may we never forget that our times are not ultimately determined by any president, congressman, judge, or general. What is more, our lives do not, in the end, rest in the wicked designes of dictators and jihadists.

"The king’s heart is a stream of water in the hand of the Lord; he turns it wherever he will."

- Proverbs 21:1

"Our God is in the heavens; he does all that he pleases."

- Psalm 115:3

"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. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place..."

- Acts 17:24-26

"In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will."

- Ephesians 1:11

God's Sovereignty in Times of Crisis (audio with Derek Thomas)

Providence by J.I. Packer

God's Sovereignty Defined by A.W. Pink

Boasting Removed by God's Sovereignty by Charles Spurgeon

A thought on God's sovereignty

If you identify anything or anyone in the universe whose determinitive power and free will trumps the determinitive power and free will of God then worship that because it is God.

Rowan Williams gets God off the hook

Rowan Williams, the Archbishop of the Church of England was in New York on September 11, 2001 not far from the World Trade Center. This article tells of Williams' experience that fateful day and the days that followed. What is revealed is a man whose concept of God is quite small.

“When [Rowan] got to the rubric for the homily he was totally surprised; he hadn't expected to preach, so he preached off the cuff. He went back to an encounter that he had with an airline pilot on the streets at 7am that morning. The pilot said to him, “Where the hell was God?” Rowan's answer was that God is useless at times like this. Now that's pretty shocking, but actually what he then went on to unpack is that God didn't cause this and God [was not] going to stop it, because God has granted us free will, and therefore God has to suffer the consequences of this like we do. So in a sense he exonerated God...”

Is it any wonder why the Church of England is in such a state of chaos?

Any thoughts?

How would you have answered the pilot?

Sizing up the election

John Piper being his usual non-controversial self.

Dealing with Adversity

Terry Johnson, pastor of the Independent Presbyterian Church in Savanah, Georgia is one of my favorite writers. In his wonderful book When Grace Comes Home he demonstrates how the doctrines of grace are not simply theological lumber but they actually apply beautifully and profoundly to our lives. When you get a chance check out THIS LINK to chapter four which speaks to the issue of God's goodness and sovereignty in our darkest moments. It is powerful stuff!

"In 1858, a gifted young Presbyterian missionary named John G. Paton sailed with his wife and infant son to the New Hebrides in the South Pacific to begin missionary work among the islanders. Within a few months of arrival, both his infant son and his wife had died, leaving him to labor alone.

"In August 1876, a gifted young theologian names Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield and his bride were honeymooning in Germany. While sightseeing in the Black Forest region, they were suddenly caught in a severe storm, and something that was never quite explained happened to his bride, rendering her an invalid for the rest of their lives together.

"In the 1950s the Independent Presbyterian Church of Savannah congregation called a young preacher to take the reigns of a very divided church. He came with his wife and their five children, the youngest only three years old. Within a year and a half, Anton Van Puffelen developed a brain tumor, and in just over two years after he started his work in Savannah the Rev. Van Puffelen was dead.

"How do you explain these things? Perhaps just as baffling, how do you explain the responses of these individuals? John G. Patton stayed on the field and reaped a great harvest, later saying:

I built the grave round and round with coral blocks, and covered the top with beautiful white coral, broken small gravel; and that spot became my sacred and much frequented shrine, during all the following months and years when I labored on for the salvation of these savage Islanders amidst difficulties, dangers and deaths. Whensoever Tanna turns to the Lord, and is won for Christ, man in after-days will find the memory of that spot still green – where with ceaseless prayers and tears I claimed that the land for God in which I hand ‘buried my dead’ with faith and hope.

"Warfield cared for his wife the remaining forty years of their adult life together, humbly, submissively, without complaint, without self-pity, without justifying a need for his own fulfillment, fulfilling his marital vows, doing his duty toward his wife.

"‘Mrs. Van,’ as she was known in Savannah, gentle and meek on the surface, touch as nails underneath, began to teach in the Independent Presbyterian Day School and reared her five children at tremendous self-sacrifice, again without complaint.

"What was the key in each of these situations? The key is that each believed in the sovereignty of God. Each understood God’s justice, His mercy, His absolute rule, and each received their circumstances as from his hand for their good and submitted to it.

"Still, how do you explain adversity? How do you deal with the suffering that is in the world? Granted that it takes time for our emotions to catch up with our minds, that there are no ‘easy’ answers, and that when we answer the ‘why’ question we must do so not simplistically or matter of factly; yet we do have an explanation for suffering that works and makes room for comfort in the world of pain."

- Terry Johnson from When Grace Comes Home.

Why do we suffer?

Do you ever wonder why God does not fully explain the reality of pain? John Piper has written an excellent post on that topic.

He writes:

"One of the reasons God rarely gives micro reasons for his painful providences, but regularly gives magnificent macro reasons, is that there are too many micro reasons for us to manage, namely, millions and millions and millions and millions and millions.
God says things like:

a) These bad things happened to you because I intend to work it together for your good (Romans 8).

b) These happened to that you would rely more on God who raises the dead (2 Corinthians 1).

c) This happened so that the gold and silver of your faith would be refined (1 Peter 1).

d) This thorn is so that the power of Christ would be magnified in your weakness (2 Corinthians 12).

But we can always object that there are other easier ways for God to accomplish those things. We want to know more specifics: Why now? Why this much? Why this often? Why this way? Why these people?

The problem is, we would have to be God to grasp all that God is doing in our problems. In fact, pushing too hard for more detailed explanations from God is a kind of demand that we be God."

God's sovereign goodness in the death of His beloved

Please take time to read this post from Tim Challies. It is a letter written by Dennis Rainey concerning the death of his baby granddaughter. It is a model of the mysterious wedding of grief mixed with joy which is only possible in Christ. It is a moving meditation on the sovereign goodness of God even in the midst of our deepest losses.

Can God Be Trusted? (1)

Following the horrific Asian tsunami that occurred on December 26, 2004, The Herald of Glasgow, Scotland printed a commentary that read in part:

“God, if there is a God, should be ashamed of himself. The sheer enormity of the Asian tsunami disaster, the death, destruction, and havoc it has wreaked, the scale of misery it has caused, must surely test the faith of even the firmest believer…I hope I am right that there is no God. For if there were, then he’d have to shoulder the blame. In my book, he would be as guilty as sin and I’d want nothing to do with him.”

As harsh as that commentary sounds, it echoes the sentiments of many who truly believe in God. Some months following the tsunami a poll was taken on beliefnet.com that asked the question: “Does God have a role in natural disasters like the tsunami?” Of those polled, almost half agreed with the statement: “Although I believe in God, the supernatural had nothing to do with this tragedy.” There is a prevailing belief in the church today that credits God with pleasant circumstances but carefully shields Him from any responsibility for those things that cause pain or loss. I have had conversations with Christians who hold the novel idea that God has given nature “free will” to operate however it wills. It only requires a moment’s reflection to understand that theory to be pagan (literally) rather than Christian. However, it is a theory that has found a home in the contemporary church where sentimentality rather than God’s Word is more apt to shape our theology. It is a philosophy that easily grows in the soil of “My God would never do that!”

The question that interests me is whether or not God can be trusted to actually run what He has created. We throw around the word “sovereign” but do we understand what it actually means? A professing Christian once told me that God is sovereign in the way the Queen of England is sovereign – He is regal but He is not actually in control. I suppose a God like that can be loved but can He be trusted? Why pray to a God who looks good in a crown but can’t actually change anything? How can we trust God to work ALL things together for good for those who love Him and are called according to His purpose (Rom. 8:28) if He surrenders His will to powers outside Himself? Are God’s purposes truly at the mercy of renegade storms, disease, and man’s free will?

If God is not truly responsible for the weather, the number of our days, the election of presidents, the results of diagnoses, and the falling of sparrows then our need to trust Him diminishes radically. However, if God is ultimately responsible for what happens within His creation then our need to trust Him is incalculable. Jerry Bridges writes, “The providence of God is not a now-and-then operation, as though God were watching from a distance, constantly surprised by accidents, darting in once in a while to fix things after the fact, regularly frustrated by His unruly and out-of-control creation. Confidence in God’s sovereignty in all that influences us is crucial to our trusting Him…His love may be infinite, but if His power is limited and His purpose can be thwarted, we cannot trust Him.”

To say that God is sovereign is simply to say that He is God. His “God-ness” is wrapped up in His sovereignty. Therefore, to diminish God’s sovereignty is to diminish His deity.

“In his heart a man plans his course,
but the Lord determines his steps.”
- Proverbs 16:9

“Many are the plans in a man’s heart,
but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.”
- Proverbs 19:21

“Who can speak and have it happen
if the Lord has not decreed it?”
- Lamentations 3:37

“All the days ordained for me were written in your book before one of them came to be.”
- Psalm 139:16

“[He] is sovereign over the kingdoms of men and gives them to anyone He wishes.”
- Daniel 4:17

“He does as He pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back His hand or say to Him: ‘What have you done?’”
- Daniel 4:35

What's so great about the sovereignty of God?

I found this link to a chapter from Richard Phillip's newest book over at Monergism. Check it out. For those of us who grew up not hearing much about the sovereignty of God it was truly a spiritual revolution to discover the time and attention that the Bible gives to this attribute. What a comfort and cause for praise is God's sovereignty!

Gracia Burnham on the Sovereign Goodness of God

While out and about yesterday I was listening to "Family Life Today" on the car radio. They were airing an interview with Gracia Burnham who I am blessed to serve as pastor. She was recounting the year she spent in captivity in the jungle with her husband Martin. It is an amazing and terrifying story. If you have never read "In the Presence of My Enemies" I reccommend it.

Anyway, as the interview was concluding Gracia made one of the best, if not the best explanation of the sovereign goodness of God I have ever heard. Gracia confessed that had she been in charge the whole incident would never have happened. Who would not agree? Had she been in charge then she and Martin would never have been kidnapped and held captive for a year in the jungle. Of course most supremely had Gracia been in charge of events then her beloved husband Martin would still be with her serving the Lord. Who cannot fully agree with Gracia?

And this is where Gracia made the statement that made my eyes fill with tears and say out loud, "Yes! Yes! Yes!" as I was driving. She said, "But God is God. He does the choosing, not me; and I trust that He is good." It sounds simple at one level. But when it comes from the lips of one who has forgotten more about suffering that most of us will ever know those words stand out brightly. Those words carry a freight train of theology. They are doxological words. A God like this brings forth praise from the lips of those who know Him. They are devotional words. A God like this inspires awe and grateful obedience. They are mysterious words. Who can fully comprehend a God like this? Are we not left silent like Job in the presence of such a God?

Thank you Gracia for your testimony. I thank God for His grace in persevering you. I thank God that you have been given a glimpse of His glory in the face of your suffering.

God's Power Over Nature

There is a need among Christians to conform their view of the world to the Word of God. This has become clear to me as I have been preaching through Genesis. In particular I have seen how many Christians have a less than biblical view of nature. The problem is that too many Christians see nature as a closed system outside the control of God. They make provision for God to intervene periodically but in general they see nature as running on its own. Sadly, this view has more in common with atheistic naturalism than it does with biblical faith.

There is nothing that escapes the power of God. He commands and the rains fall. He calls and the winds obey Him. The Bible always attributes the workings of nature as the work of God. Not once does the Bible attribute even something as common as rain to any power other than God Himself. A biblical world-view does not have separate categories for what God does and what “naturally” occurs in the world. Indeed, the Bible tells us that it is God who holds all things together (Colossians ). He holds subatomic particles together. He causes rain and drought.

Now, we may distinguish between God’s ordinary works and His special works. But make no mistake. The world runs by the power of God. It is the power of God that keeps us from disintegrating. It is the power of God that brings about both blessing and calamity. All too often we like to think that God does the nice things but the unpleasant things are somehow beyond Him. But is this the testimony of God?

See now that I myself am He!
There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
I have wounded and I will heal,
and no one can deliver out of my hand. (Deut. 32:39)

The Lord does whatever pleases Him,
in the heavens and on the earth,
in the seas and all their depths.
He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth;
He sends lightning with the rain
and brings out the wind from His storehouses. (Psa. 135:6-7)

He sends His command to the earth;
His word runs swiftly.
He spreads the snow like wool
and scatters the frost like ashes.
He hurls down His hail like pebbles.
Who can withstand His icy blast?
He sends His word and melts them;
He stirs up breezes and the waters flow. (Psa. 147:15-18)

The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the Lord. (Prov. 16:33)

Who has done this [stirring up an eastern warrior to conquer nations]
and carried it through,
calling forth the generations from the beginning?
I, the Lord – with the first of them
and with the last – I am He. (Isa. 41:4)

I, even I, am the Lord,
and apart from me there is no savior.
I have revealed and saved and proclaimed –
I, and not some foreign god among you.
‘You are my witnesses,’ declares the Lord, ‘that I am God.
Yes, and from ancient days I am He.
No one can deliver out of my hand.
When I act, who can reverse it?’ (Isa. 43:11-13)

I form the light and create darkness,
I bring prosperity and create disaster;
I, the Lord, do all these things. (Isa. 45:7)

I say: My purpose will stand,
and I will do all that I please. (Isa. 46:10)

All the peoples of the earth
are regarded as nothing.
He does as He pleases
with the powers of heaven
and the peoples of the earth.
No one can hold back his hand
or say to Him: ‘What have you done?’ (Dan. 4:35)

Theologian John Frame writes in his “The Doctrine of God”:
“Jesus emphasizes that this divine control extends to the smallest details. He teaches us that our heavenly Father not only makes the sun rise and sends rain (Matt. 5:45), but also feeds the birds (6:26), clothes the lilies (6:28-30), accounts for the falling of sparrows, and numbers the hairs on our head (10:29-30; Luke 12:4-7). And he demonstrates his unity with the Father by calming the sea at his own command (Matt. 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-39; Luke 8:22-25).

“So the biblical view of the natural world is intensely personalistic. Natural events come from God, the personal Lord. He also employs angels and human beings to do His work in the world. But the idea that there is some impersonal mechanism called “nature” or “natural law” that governs the universe is absent from the Bible. So in the notion of an ultimate “randomness,” as postulated by some exponents of quantum mechanics…It is plain that in the view of the biblical writers any impersonal objects or forces [gravity, electricity] are only secondary causes of the course of nature. Behind them, as behind the rain and the hail, behind even the apparent randomness of events, stand the personal God, who controls all things by His powerful word” (pp. 52-53).

Along with His omnipotence (complete power) the Bible affirms God’s omnicompetence (complete competence). God not only has all power, He exercises His power with flawless competence. If nature runs apart from God’s control then what power does control it? Is there another power in the universe that determines the winds and rains? If so, where does that power originate? Does that power have the ability to overrule God’s plans? When there is a pleasant rain then we thank God for His provision. But when a hurricane strikes we chalk it up to “natural forces.” There is a willingness to believe that God wielded the storms to wipe people out long ago. But, we imagine, He certainly does not do such things today especially to people we know or have something in common with.

Scottish theologian Donald Macleod writes, “God can do whatever He wills, so that He Himself is the measure of all possibilities. He is not limited by any extraneous, independent or competing force, or by the data or structures of any situation…Scripture does not view nature as a closed system operating independently of God. All its operations are God’s operations…All the second causes owe their potency to Him and the whole system is effective only because of the indwelling of His power…We live not in a static universe, but in a world of awe-inspiring movement, collision and explosion. But every such change is rooted in the will of God and is an expression of His power” (from Behold Your God).

These are deep issues and it is not wrong to wrestle. We should never have an insensitive or fatalistic attitude. We should never say in the face of tragedy, “Well, it was God’s will so let’s not be grieved.” The fact is, we will rarely and perhaps never understand why God blesses one people with pleasant weather and sends a tsunami to another people. Our response ought always to be the same: reverence for God and compassion for man. In his very helpful book “Is God Really in Control” Jerry Bridges writes: “It is not wrong to wrestle with these issues, as long as we do it in a reverent and submissive attitude toward God. Indeed, to fail to wrestle with the issue of large-scale tragedy may indicate a lack of compassion toward others on our part. However, we must be careful not to, in our minds, take God off His throne of absolute sovereignty or put Him in the dock and bring Him to the bar of judgment” (p. 59)