“There is sufficient clearness to enlighten the elect, and sufficient obscurity to humble them. There is sufficient obscurity to blind the reprobate, and sufficient clearness to condemn them, and make them inexcusable.” – Saint Augustine

And,

“Because He is true, faithful, and just, God always rewards virtue and punishes vice, though often not immediately. Then too He may deceive a duplicitous character such as Satan or Balaam, but His response is entirely consistent with His person to outwit the proud and catch them in their own schemes…

“…if we are not willing to obey God, He may allow us to hear what we want to hear. This is a profound insight that if we want God to change His mind about what is clear in Scripture, He will appear to change His mind, but we will be under judgment…If we do not want the truth in scripture, we will not get it. This is not because God is fickle, unreliable, or arbitrary, but because He will not be mocked by the proud.” – Old Testament Theology, p 106-107

Is it not a fearful consideration that God will confirm us in our error if we continue to suppress/ignore what has been clearly revealed in His word? How often to we consider that we are entirely dependent upon God for all our understanding of His revelation to man through the scriptures? We are not sovereign and autonomous in weighing evidence, examining the texts, and coming to conclusions; God will reward or harden us according to His sovereign will, and according to the humility (or pride) in our hearts.

Psalm 147:
Great is our Lord, and abundant in power;
his understanding is beyond measure.
The Lord lifts up the humble;
he casts the wicked to the ground.

And,

Isaiah 66:
this is the one to whom I will look:
he who is humble and contrite in spirit
and trembles at my word.
he casts the wicked to the ground.

And,

“God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.”

Nevertheless, the error I am referring to is Arminianism, which is the historic name for free-will theology, i.e., those who deny the doctrine of election and predestination as historically understood by the protestant Church. The opposite of Arminianism is of course Calvinism.

Now days ‘free-will’ theology comes in all shapes and sizes. Some are far worse than others, some are actually just inconsistent Calvinists, and some simply don’t know that there are two sides to this debate.

But all things considered, I found the following quote, taken from Robert Traill’s defense of the protestant doctrine of justification in Justification Vindicated, to be a most accurate description of the modern evangelical scene. I’d be curious to hear thoughts of those who might disagree:

“…the principles of Arminianism are the natural dictates of a carnal mind which is emnity both to the law of God and to the gospel of Christ; and, next to the dead sea of Popery –into which this stream also runs — they have, from Pelagius on to this day, been the greatest plague of the church of Christ and, it is likely, will be till His second coming.”

And a little later:

“There is not a minister that deals seriously with the souls of men but he finds an Arminian scheme of justification in every unrenewed heart. And is it not sadly to be bewailed, that divines [ministers] should plead that same cause that we daily find the devil pleading in the hearts of all natural men?”

Two things to note in conclusion:

1) We must understand what the author means here by Arminianism, and understand that the version most prevalent in his day is slightly different than what it’s morphed into in our day. Thus, let me again reiterate that there are many godly men and women in our day who hold to a form of Arminianism that is not the full-fledge doctrine that Traill was most likely referring to.

2) Is it not amazing, considering the second quote, how churches in our day have taken this ‘appeal to their flesh’ to the logical extreme? That would be the seeker-sensitive movement, my friends. We have mega-churches from coast to coast doing marketing to determine how to appeal to the masses; they’re giving people just the right kind of selfish messages, programs and other enticements to get them to darken the door. Church growth and ‘Church Planting’ even are now just marketing schemes that are aimed at appealing to the fleshly lusts of unregenerate man.

Thus, from giving them a message that they have the free-will power to save themselves, which appeals to their pride and self-righteousness, to appealing to their lust for money and entertainment by showering them with programs and excitement, the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the imputed righteousness therein has fallen by the wayside. Instead we now how a church who truly caters to the ‘consumer’ in every facet: not only are you sovereign over your salvation, but you’re sovereign over what kind of message you want to hear and what kind of entertainment and atmosphere you want at ‘church’.

This, my friends, is why I cannot, and we cannot, step down and simply ‘agree to disagree’ over the issue of Calvinism versus Arminianism. The implications contained within are not worth the sacrifice of souls necessary to keep the peace.

It was John Calvin who recommended that we take periodic walks through the graveyard so that we (and our children) are constantly reminded of the reality of death. To me that sounds like very wise advice.

Death in this society is anything but in the forefront of our minds; real death, that is. Of course Hollywood has its glamorous version of death, as does the every-present 24hour news channels feeding into our living-rooms and PCs. But the fact of the matter is that our society’s infatuation with fun, entertainment, wealth, ease, and comfort betray the notion that the digitalized ‘death’ around us is having any sort of real effect.’Death’ has become a video game, a form of entertainment (in news and in show), and is something that happens to other people; it’s certainly not something many of us think can really happen to us.

I must say, thinking about dying is no fun; it’s actually very depressing. Depressing in the Ecclesiastes sort of way, if you know what I mean. But death is a reality, for the Christian and non-Christian alike, and given the great account we must give at the end of days, death is something that should be vitally important to all of us.

With that in mind, the point of this post is to simply remind you (and myself) of this reality so that we do not forget it or neglect reminding ourselves of it. Let us tremble at the Divine response to the rich man who set aside his soul as ‘having its goods laid up’ (he thought he was right with God) while he pursued earthly endeavors: ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ – Luke 12:20

Thus, consider a sad but necessary reality about death can be found in Ecclesiastes 2:

I hated all my toil in which I toil under the sun, seeing that I must leave it to the man who will come after me, and who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will be master of all for which I toiled and used my wisdom under the sun. This also is vanity. So I turned about and gave my heart up to despair over all the toil of my labors under the sun, because sometimes a person who has toiled with wisdom and knowledge and skill must leave everything to be enjoyed by someone who did not toil for it. This also is vanity and a great evil.

Do you realize that you could be replaced at any moment? Have you duly consider the phrase ‘he will be MASTER of all‘? Think about where you’re sitting right now. If you were to die, someone else would fill that chair. Someone else would be using your computer. Someone else would eventually fill your job and do what you are doing for a living. Someone else would take your role in your family –whether that be provider, homemaker, etc., maybe even husband or wife, father or mother. Those jobs would fall to someone, somehow, who would master them as you do right now.

If you were to die, someone else would be driving your car, spending your money, wearing your clothes. If you were to die, someone else would be comforting/loving your husband, or your wife, your children, your family.

Who knows whether that person(s) would be wise or a fool? How would they treat your wife, your kids, your family? What kind of work ethic would they display at your job? What would they spend your money on –the money you toiled to get? How would they treat your things; would they use them for good or evil, for selfish pleasures or for serving?

Of course, immediately after your death there would be a time of mourning –3 months maybe. After that things that you owned and the positions in life that you held would slowly but surely fall into other hands. Your friends and family, though they do love you very much, would start to forget you in day-to-day life, and they would get on with their own lives. The world that’s not immediately around you, things like sports, media, politics, culture, etc., would continue on and not even notice your death unless it was of uncommon circumstances.

That’s reality, folks. And as painful as it may be to write/think about these things, it will do you great benefit to consider them deeply. Life isn’t all about us, even in our own personal world and families. Life can and will go on just fine without you.

Depressing? Sure is. But let us not forget that there are treasures in heaven. There are treasures that you will not lose, that others will not take over, that thieves will not steal and moth will not destroy.

That eternal treasure is Jesus Christ. The treasure are the robs of His righteousness that He grants to all those who come to Him in faith. The treasure is not something we earn on our own, or something that is given to us for our goodness –and I believe the vanity of all this life is shown here in Ecclesiastes to demonstrate that very thing. What is lasting you cannot gain in your own power; what is lasting is not to be found in this physical realm.

You are empty; Christ is full. You are naked; Christ will clothe. You are blind; Christ gives sight. You are deaf; Christ speaks. You are sinful; Christ is righteous. You have broken the Law with your deeds; Christ has perfectly obeyed the Law with His. You are dead; Christ gives life.

I pray that you will read this post and utterly despair at the vanity of all this life has to offer and all that you can produce in your own power. Whatever it may be that you’re living in or living for, it isn’t your’s and you cannot keep it. Someone else will sooner or later be master. Then what will become of you? But I pray, once you’ve despaired of even life itself, and have realized that nothing, absolutely nothing is all about you, look to Jesus Christ. Oh, behold His sympathy and His beckoning calls to give you rest. He has defeated death and all the vanity contained within; seek the Treasure that will not fade away…

Reverend Horton believes that Osteen tells only half the story of the Bible, focusing on the good news without talking about sin, suffering and redemption.And Rev. Horton goes even further. He levels the harshest charge of all, calling the Osteen method of teaching heresy.

“It is certainly heresy, I believe, to say that God is our resource for getting our best life now,” Horton says.

“Because?” Pitts asks.

“Well, it makes religion about us instead of about God,” Horton explains.

This past Sunday the CBS News show 60minutes did a piece on Joel Osteen. In case you missed it, you can find the transcript and other clips of the program here.

One of the critics of Joel Osteen that 60minutes interviewed for this piece was Michael Horton. Horton is a teacher at Westminster Seminary California, editor-in-chief of Modern Reformation magazine, author of a number of books (several of which I have read and enjoyed), and host of one of my favorite weekly podcasts, The White Horse Inn.

Instead of exhausting this subject and all the concerns we should have about Osteen and his ministry/message, I’d simply like to point out two particular things that got my attention as I viewed this program:

Pragmatism
Pragmatism is basically a belief/philosophy which understands that the results or the ends of a practice justify the means used in the practice. That is, a message or an approach is deemed right or wrong based upon the results that the practice produces.

Pertaining to this issue, I was troubled to see this blatant pragmatism when Osteen was challenged by the fact that other Christians have serious disagreements with his message. Osteen, rather than attempting to justify whether or not his message is indeed right or wrong, instead pointed to the results of the message: the changed lives, the success of his ministry, etc., as a justification for the truthfulness of his message. It was a classic demonstration of pragmatism, a philosophy that is clearly contrary to the scriptures.

Take for example, a leader who boasts of his own message or his ministry by saying things like: ‘look at how many are getting saved’; look at all the changed lives’; ‘look at all the money that was given last month’; ‘look at how many we are running on Sunday morning’; etc. Is not this type of language normally found among leaders who love to run the show themselves (have preeminence), who will not be held accountable to anyone except whom they deem proper to hold them ‘accountable’, and who normally shy away from a close examination of the scriptures when their ministry/practices are questioned? Why are they normally so distant and pragmatic? Could it be that this is because numbers and success stories are never an accurate indicator of the truthfulness of a particular message, and that they realize that a close examination of their words will show an unfaithfulness or carelessness to the revealed Word of God? According to scripture, outward success is much more often a sign of compromise than it is a sign of faithfulness to the Gospel.

My friends, as nicely as I can put it, pragmatism is contrary to the message of the cross. As Jesus said to Peter, “you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man.” To conclude whether or not ‘God is moving’ or ‘God is blessing this ministry’ by looking at outward success is to clearly usurp the scriptures and ultimately the authority of Jesus Christ as the head of the church.

This brings me to my next point, Michael Horton’s statement quoted above:

“It is certainly heresy, I believe, to say that God is our resource for getting our best life now,” Horton says.

“Because?” Pitts asks.

“Well, it makes religion about us instead of about God,” Horton explains.

Michael Horton says that CBS interviewed him for 4 hours, but the final cut only gives us about 2 minutes of Horton. I am thankful, however, that CBS allowed this comment through, because I believe it gets to the very heart of the matter. Praise God for men like Horton!

“…it makes religion about us instead of about God.”
The gospel now days has become about man in his needs, his desires, his plan for his life, and his personal preferences in who/what/how he likes to worship and obey, instead of about God and what He has commanded, He has decreed, and what He has given us as an example and rule to follow. Osteen here is no exception, and Horton rightly recognizes this as one of his chiefest errors.

I must say that Arminianism, or an emphasis on free will, is certainly the root of this man-centered approach by Osteen. Sure, not all Arminians take their free will theology to his extreme, but most certainly he is only acting consistent with this foundational belief. When man is that captain of his own ship; when man gets to decide if he deems his Creator worth the time to submit to and worship; when man’s sinfulness is covered up to the point where he still has the innate goodness within to make the most important ‘decision’ in all of eternity; when God’s kingdom is more like a self-help club which members choose to enter into as they see fit, then these types of ministers and messages will only continue to flourish. This is precisely why we should proclaim God’s sovereignty in all situations, whenever possible. Jesus certainly did! An error in this area is foundational and will lead to an assortment of other errors; it should not be taken lightly.

The gospel and yes, religion as a whole, is not about man, it is about God. It is not about getting blessings now; it is not about better marriages, a better career path, a better person, more obedient children, better relationships at work; it isn’t even solely about us escaping hell! I hate to break it to you, but if you have outwardly embraced Christ for relief from the present circumstances, and not as an ultimate aim for His glory and His praise, I fear that you may have embraced Him in vain. I would encourage you to consider a few things I had to say here, where I mention that Paul nailed this point down quite clearly when he said:

“If in Christ we have hope this life only, we are of all people most to be pitied.” – 1 Cor 15

If we have embraced Christ for the hope that it will give us on this side of heaven, then we are the most pathetic people on earth. That is the message of the cross; and it is completely contrary to human wisdom and to the self-seeking of this age –which is one small reason why pragmatic thinking is insufficient to the Christian world view, and Arminianism fails to rightly understand the nature of God and His ‘working all things after the counsel of HIS will’.

It’s not about us, it’s all about Him.
It’s not about my pain, my child within.
It’s all about His glory.
It’s all about His praise.
It’s all about the worship due His holy name.

Has worship become nothing more than my own self-gratification?
Do we pray to the Lord, as some ‘Hertz rent-a-god’, to bail us out of hard situations?

He’s not the ‘man upstairs’ you know.
He’s not your Higher Power you know.
He’s not a ‘therapist’ for your soul.
And we dare not recreate Him into our own image you know.

We crank up the band, sing, shout, and dance. Is it praise or celebration?
Another ‘God is my girlfriend’ song of romance, just a carnal celebration.

It’s not about us feeling blessed.
It’s not about our needs being met.
It’s not about some new experience.
He’s a holy God who won’t be robbed of His glory!

God won’t share His glory with anything else.
When He alone is not worshiped, it’s just all about ourselves.

–Steve Camp, from his album Desiring God, “Not About Us”

Apparently, this young lady was convinced of the doctrines of grace (Calvinism) through reading some John Piper material and such, but she has now left those beliefs altogether and has embraced Roman Catholicism. Explaining why she was attracted to and at one time embraced Calvinism, she said the following:

“When I prayed I heard no answer, and I didn’t think God answered my prayers because bad things continued to happen to me and my friends. Calvinism appealed to me because God seemed more distant in the Calvinist system. Calvinism also taught that God uses all things for the salvation of those who are chosen. I could only hope that God was using my sufferings to bring me to Him. I saw my inability to let go of God as a sign of my election and salvation. I had tried to be an atheist but couldn’t, and Calvinism explained why.”

I would like to briefly address the few sentences above because I believe there is much contained within from which we can learn and grow. Specifically, I would like to identify four warning signs of unbelief that can be and often are common in the lives of many professing, Calvinist, Christians: 1) a lack of prayer, 2) a distant communion with God, 3) a lack of true conviction of God’s sovereignty when things go wrong, 4) and a deceitful assurance of faith without the proper fruit that comes from abiding in the true Vine.

• “When I prayed I heard no answer, and I didn’t think God answered my prayers because bad things continued to happen to me and my friends.”

We Calvinists certainly have a tendency to be less fervent in prayer than we should be. It is all too easy for us to pray one or two times about a matter, and then just let it go because after all, God is sovereign and we know will we not ‘change His mind’. But note that the scripture says:

“…the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” – Romans 8:26-27

Only by the grace of God do Calvinists pray as they ought. If ever an unbeliever becomes convinced of the doctrines of Calvinism, it will show itself most clearly in their prayer life. It just doesn’t make sense to the fallen mind to pray when God has already decreed eternity; just like for some it doesn’t make sense to strive to obey God’s law even after Christ has fulfilled it for us. Only God’s Spirit striving within will lead us down the path of obedience -even though our sins have already been paid for; and only God’s Spirit will continually prompt our hearts to wrestle with God in true prayer -even though He has already decreed every detail in eternity. The fallen heart can embrace Calvinism, but the fallen heart cannot embrace Calvinism and a fervent prayer life. It is simply a logical contradiction to the fallen mind, and they cannot get around it. We need to learn from this example and search our own hearts, and search our own lives to rid ourselves of this kind of shallow, unbelieving attitude in regards to prayer.

• “Calvinism appealed to me because God seemed more distant in the Calvinist system.”

Our tendency as fallen beings, even after we have come to the knowledge of the glorious truths of the doctrines of grace, is to fall back into a distant type of attitude about God. We realize who He truly is, a King on His throne, and we realize who we are, the worst of the worst of sinners. And understanding how powerful and sovereign He is can certainly stir up a feeling of distance (ultimately because of our sin), even though as God’s chosen we have been lavished with His grace.

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. – 1 John 3:1

We should feel distant because of our sin –no doubt, and this should sting us to the core. But, we should also understand that we have been ‘brought near’ by the grace of God through the blood of Jesus Christ. He is our righteousness, our advocate, our High Priest, and our Lord.

“For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.” – Heb 4:15

God will certainly seem distant to the Calvinist who does not trust in Christ as their only means of righteousness and their only hope to escape the righteous judgment of a holy God. Let us cast off these feelings of ‘distance’, brought on because of our stinging conscience and our sinful desire to work for our own salvation, and let us check our hearts to ensure that we are placing our only hope in Christ and what He has accomplished in our place.

• “Calvinism also taught that God uses all things for the salvation of those who are chosen. I could only hope that God was using my sufferings to bring me to Him.”

What a glorious truth of scripture, in that God ordains all things -yes even our sufferings, for His glory and to conform us into the image of His Son! Although the author of this quote says that the thought of God’s sovereignty in sufferings was attractive, she states this former belief in a manner that certainly lacks conviction: “I could only hope“, were the words she used. True faith, however, and true conviction of God’s sovereignty, doesn’t just flippantly hope that the craziness of life is controlled by God, it hopes with certainty and with a dying conviction that God is who He says He is:

“…without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” – Heb 11

Let us check our hearts for not merely hoping that what we believe in (a sovereign God) is true, but having true faith and honest conviction that what God says in His word is absolute, eternal truth to the uttermost. Having an honest conviction is more than just a simple hope; it will manifest itself into our lives, our habits, our inclinations, our relationships, our prayers, and ultimately, our perseverance to the end.

• “I saw my inability to let go of God as a sign of my election and salvation. I had tried to be an atheist but couldn’t, and Calvinism explained why.”

Lastly, we are left with something that should strike fear into each one of our hearts. How often do we entertain the idea that we are elect because we enjoy theology, or enjoy learning about God, or just simply ‘feel’ like we are being ‘drawn by the Father’?

“Take care, brothers, lest there be in any of you an evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.” Heb 3:12

Let us head these warning signs. I am not saying that this woman is an unbeliever, for I have never even met her. I am saying, however, that in embracing the false system of Rome, it appears as though she ‘went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us.’

Thus, let us stop right now and examine our hearts. Have we fooled ourselves by embracing a theology but failing to embrace the true gospel and the true Lord behind that theology? Does our unbelief hide behind the guise of true, biblical Calvinism, only to be subtlety protruding in areas such as we see here?

The warning signs are above: lack of prayer, a distant communion with God, lack of true conviction of God’s sovereignty when things go wrong, and a deceitful assurance of faith without the proper fruit that comes from abiding in the true Vine. Let us head those warnings today before we ourselves fall into the snare of the devil and our led away after the accursed ‘another gospel’.

Jon said: If God ordains mans sin as an agent to His own glory, how can he not be the creator of sin?

First off, this is a very tough question. I’m not sure if I can answer any better than others have. It is a question that many great theologians have struggled with. Jonathan Edwards was one man who was constantly baffled by this question.

But, I will attempt to briefly provide an answer here. However, please note that the question most definitely deserves a much deeper treatment than could ever be given on this blog.

From scripture, this much is crystal clear:

• God is not the author or originator of evil.
• Man and Satan are responsible for their own sin and actions.
• God ultimately decrees all good and all evil that take place in time and space.

For the sake of brevity, I will assume that most already believe the first two points stated above. Also, I will assume that most believe that God decrees every good thing as well. But regarding God decreeing or ordaining evil, I provide the scriptural basis below to begin my argument:

• Genesis 50:20 equally ascribes the wicked deeds of Joseph’s brother to both the brothers and to God. They meant it, and God meant it. Both Joseph’s brothers and God were responsible for bringing about the horrific treatment Joseph received.

• In Isaiah 10:5-12, God says that He is going to send Assyria as the ‘rod of His anger’ to punish His people, and then, God says that He is going to punish the Assyrians for their sin in doing so.

• In Acts 4:27-28, the wicked acts of Herod, Pilate, the Romans, and the Jews, are all said to be ‘predestined’ by God to take place. Thus, the worst act in all of history, the torture and murder of the perfect God-man, Jesus Christ, was predestined by God to occur, and yet the evil men who carried it out will be responsible for their sins in doing so.

So then, these are three examples of God ordaining evil, but how can we reconcile this with God not being the author of evil? The fancy theological term for this doctrine is Compatibilism, but let me propose a simple explanation with a few passages from Proverbs:

• Proverbs 16:1 says: The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.
• Proverbs 19:21 says: Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.

Thus, we conclude:

Man sins in his heart, and it is here where he is ultimately responsible to God. God’s role in this, however, is that He ordains how that sin of the heart is carried out in time & space. That is, I can lust, hate, and covet, etc., all while sitting on my couch, not moving a muscle. It is a matter of my heart. But, to actually act out the hate (murder), the lust (adultery), or the coveting, I must have, among other things: strength, opportunity, health, mental capacities, resources, air to breathe, proper circumstances, etc. Nothing is ever, ever completely autonomous. Just think about that. God must grant us everything down to the moment by moment breath and strength to even exist.

Thus, we are responsible for our sin because it originate in the heart. God, however, ordains how we act out that sin to work towards His perfect divine will.

To give another (probably insufficient) example: The US government wants Osama Bin Laden dead. Assume, just for a moment, that one man was driving this hate and death-wish for Bin Laden, and that this man was indeed sinning as an ultimate motive for killing Bin Laden. The problem here, is that Bin Laden isn’t just waiting on a street corner for the bus. He is running and hiding, he’s got friends and connections, and he is proving tough to find. The circumstances, the health of those looking for him, the resources, the opportunity, etc., must all fall perfectly into place, per God’s decree, if Bin Laden is ever going to be killed. But, that does not mean that the ‘one man’ who hypothetically wants him dead has not sinned and has not already committed the act of murder in his heart.

Therefore, the heart is deceitfully wicked above all things, and it is so deep with sin that our outward ‘constraint’ fools us into believing that we can actually be ‘not so bad’ on our own. But, whether saved or lost, only the grace of God restrains the evil heart of man, and this evil breaks out into time and space only when it so pleases God to decree His perfect will in all things.

Colossians 1:17…He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.

All things hold together in Christ. We need to get this down first, and realize that every heartbeat and breathe is a gracious gift from Him, before we attempt to tackle the issue of autonomy. Only then will our perspective be Christ-centered.

Additional scriptures to consider: Prov 16:4; Lamentations 3:32-33; Is 45:6; Is 46:8; Rom 9:22; Matt 10:29;, etc.

But in addition to this, we also need to pray for the Lord to raise up Godly men to proclaim the gospel in light of the reality of death now being in the forefront of the public’s mind. Sadly, from what I have observed to this point, there has been very little of this, while there has been an abundance of ministers making excuses and proclaiming a message that attempts to get God ‘off the hook’ for ‘letting’ this happen.

One sad example that I note came from a man name Jeremy Rasor speaking on National Public Radio this week. Jeremy is the ‘Minister to Youth and Youth Families’ at Blacksburg Baptist Church, currently at the center of this tragedy. I list Jeremy’s words here not to condemn, but to focus our attention on what needs to be proclaimed in light of what is popular to proclaim:

Question posed to Jeremy: What question are you hearing most, from your congregation?

Jeremy’s Answer: “I think the question, the question we are going to hear the most is ‘why’. You know, ‘How could God let this happen?’ -Which is to be expected. My answer to that has been since Monday, since it all began, is that God wasn’t in this act. God is with us now. This was not God’s will. This was not God’s divine plan. This was one man’s choice. We have a choice whether to follow God with our lives or to lead our own lives, and this man chose the latter. God doesn’t bring hurricanes to destroy cities, or tsunamis to wipe out countries, or a man to kill 32 people. Truthfully I would challenge anybody, no matter how famous or prominent they might be that says otherwise, that this was brought on by God somehow…Our God is a peace, loving, care-giving, joy-bringing God, and our hope is in Him.”

Brothers and Sisters, our foundation during times like these is nothing else but a fully sovereign Lord. A God who sits on the throne. A God who is not caught by surprise. For a true Christian, there is no other way to deal with these tragedies other than knowing that God is in control in all that He ordains. There is no comfort, no faith, no assurance, no peace, and certainly no right understanding of sin in a god who is not sovereign in all aspects of life.

The god that Mr. Rasor presents above is certainly not the God of scripture, and it will do nothing to comfort the redeemed, nor convict men of their sin and need for the righteousness of Christ. As Charles Spurgeon has said, men love to hear of God on the sidelines, of God being a reactor to men’s choices, of God jumping in to fix things when we need help. But when God is being proclaimed as He is, on His throne and with His scepter in hand, men gnash their teeth as never before. Nothing so offends the conscience’s of men than the notion that they are not in control, and that God is a God who does what He wills with His creation and for His own glory.

God is most certainly a God of love, and we should proclaim that, but He is also a God of justice, wrath, anger, and indignation, and if we don’t proclaim that as well, we have presented an idol of our own creation.

Isn’t it interesting that when Jesus proclaimed a God who was sovereign over who was fed during a great famine, that the Jews attempted to throw Him off a cliff? There is no doubt that in the face of tragedy, men hate to hear that God could have done something about it but instead Himself ordained things to happen as they did. But, my friends, Jesus proclaimed the sovereignty of our Lord (and eventually was killed), and we have been commanded to as well.

And they said, “Is not this Joseph’s son?” And he said to them, “Doubtless you will quote to me this proverb, ‘Physician, heal yourself.’ What we have heard you did at Capernaum, do here in your hometown as well.” And Jesus said, “Truly, I say to you, no prophet is acceptable in his hometown. But in truth, I tell you, there were many widows in Israel in the days of Elijah, when the heavens were shut up three years and six months, and a great famine came over all the land, and Elijah was sent to none of them but only to Zarephath, in the land of Sidon, to a woman who was a widow. And there were many lepers in Israel in the time of the prophet Elisha, and none of them was cleansed, but only Naaman the Syrian.” When they heard these things, all in the synagogue were filled with wrath. And they rose up and drove him out of the town and brought him to the brow of the hill on which their town was built, so that they could throw him down the cliff. But passing through their midst, he went away. – Luke 4

My prayer is the prayer of Jeremiah in Lamentations chapter 3. He understood the nature of sin and the fact that God is perfectly just in doing whatever He wants with His creation since we have transgressed His law, and Jeremiah used this as a call to repentance:

Who has spoken and it came to pass,
unless the Lord has commanded it?
Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
that good and bad come?
Why should a living man complain,
a man, about the punishment of his sins?
Let us test and examine our ways,
and return to the Lord!

Let us search out and examine our ways! Let us not focus on the aweful things that have come upon us, but instead fix our eyes on our aweful sinful nature, and our need for repentance! This message we proclaim!

For further biblically-centered teaching on this subject, please see John Piper’s Tsunami interview.