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1 Samuel 2:23-25 (ESV)

 

23 And he said to them, “Why do you do such things? For I hear of your evil dealings from all the people. 24 No, my sons; it is no good report that I hear the people of the Lord spreading abroad. 25 If someone sins against a man, God will mediate for him, but if someone sins against the Lord, who can intercede for him?” But they would not listen to the voice of their father, for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.

 

            Often, we find in the word of God passages that force us to think in ways that we have not thought before. A close reading of the above may be one of those passages. Depending on how you have always interpreted the balance of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility, the above words, read closely, may be a challenge.

 

            The context of the passage is simple. The sons of Eli are not godly men. They are supposed to b serving as priests as part of their family line. But, at every turn, these young men are abusing their authority and abusing the people under their care. They refuse to hear the rebuke of their Father, and they will eventually end up dead because of what they have done.

 

            What is striking is the end of verse 25, “But they would not listen to the voice of their father.” This indicates for us the issue of God’s sovereignty and man’s responsibility. The verse begins with the statement that these two young men would not listen to the voice of their father. Clearly they are responsible for their own sinful actions. Clearly they have been given an opportunity to repent of sin, and they have not done so.

 

            Yet, there is something telling in that verse which shows us that the sovereignty of God is ultimate in this passage. It is the word “for.” The young men did not listen to the rebuke they heard, But they would not listen to the voice of their father, “for it was the will of the Lord to put them to death.” Why would they not listen? They would not listen, according to the writer of 1 Samuel, because it was God’s will that these men be judged for their sin. It was God’s will to put these men to death for what they had done.

 

            How do we handle the balance? Do the young men have a grievance against God because the Bible indicates that it was God’s will to put them to death? Of course not. These two men had chosen, freely chosen, to sin against God. They lived out their natural tendencies. When they were rebuked, they did not listen. There is nothing in the text that says that God moved them toward sin. We do find out that, behind their refusal to listen is the will of God. Yet, at the same time, they still did not choose to listen to a rebuke against their sin either before or after their father’s rebuke.

 

            So, what do we see here? We see here what we see in all biblical cases where the sovereignty of God and the freedom of man come together. Men do what they want to do. Yet, at the end of the day, it is the sovereign will of God that is ultimate. God is God. We dare not think that our will ever thwarts his. He is the Lord. His will is going to be done. His sovereign will cannot be disrupted. (There is a “will” of God which may not be done, often called God’s will of command as opposed to his will of decree. This is not the topic at hand.)

 

            What then should we do with all this? Do we change how we think about our freedom? That really depends. You must determine from Scripture which you believe to be ultimate: God’s will or man’s will. If you learn from Scripture that God’s will is ultimate, then you give him the glory that he deserves for all that is done. You will also rest in his sovereignty, knowing that the Lord is not defeated. At the same time, you will not excuse your or another’s sinful choices, as you will know that man is responsible for his actions.

 

            So, who is free in this passage? Is God free or is man free? The answer is that both are free. At the same time, we would be unbiblical not to recognize that God is more free. His freedom is ultimate. His will of decree, his sovereign will, will be done. This is to his glory, magnifying him as the Lord over all things.

Ephesians 3:8- (ESV)

 

8 To me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, 9 and to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, 10 so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places.

 

            Why does God do what he does? Why is God’s way the way that it is? Why is God’s plan what it is?

 

            We sometimes consider those questions, though God has already told us the rationale behind why he does what he does in the way that he does. In Ephesians 3, Paul is telling us of his ministry and calling. Paul rejoices that he has been called to make known, even to the gentiles, the full plan of God. He calls that plan a mystery, hidden in years past and now brought to light. God’s mystery is that Christ is the way that fallen people are rescued and made into God’s people, and this happens regardless of whether they are Jews or gentiles. 

 

            As Paul talks about this mystery of God in the salvation of the lost and the forming of the church from all nations, he gives us the reason that God has done things this way. Paul says that the reason is so that “the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places”

 

            So, why does God do what he does in the way that he does? God does what he does in the way that he does in order that his glorious wisdom, his matchless perfection, might be seen by the surrounding heavenly beings. God has chosen to save and to judge in the way that he has chosen to save and to judge in order to demonstrate his holiness for the universe to see. 

 

            We do not need to ask God any further “why” questions behind his choices. He has done what he has done in the way that he has done so in order to demonstrate his glory. He created you and me in order to demonstrate his glory. He judges sin in order to demonstrate his glory. He sacrificed Christ in order to rescue people so that he might demonstrate his glory. He raised Christ from the dead for the sake of his glory. He judges those not in Christ in order that he might demonstrate his glory. All that God does is a method for him to show the entirety of creation his magnificence, his beauty, his justice, his power, his wonder, his glory.

 

            What then do you and I need to do? We need to shine as much light as we can on the glory of God. We obey commands that the world around us thinks are irrelevant in our modern culture in order to demonstrate for the watching universe the glory of God. We believe the promises of God as a way to show his glory. We love one another and live in kindness to show the glory of God. We, as a church, call people to repent of sin for the sake of the glory of God.

 

            This should also give us confidence to stand on the word of God in the face of social opposition. God has called us to a kind of life and ethic that is different than the world around us. The world even declares that we are on the wrong side of history in the way that we think about certain things. This too is God acting for his glory. We have an opportunity to demonstrate God’s greatness by continuing to believe his word, even when a watching world rejects it.

 

            Let us make every aspect of our lives about finding joy and meaning in the manifest glory of God. Let us be about living so that God’s plan is clearly seen. Let us join our Lord in showing the universe how great he really is.

Psalm 89:11, 14 (ESV)

 

11 The heavens are yours; the earth also is yours;

the world and all that is in it, you have founded them.

14 Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne;

steadfast love and faithfulness go before you.

 

            Not long ago, a young man texted to me a question. He was conversing with coworkers, and was having difficulty explaining a theological and philosophical concept. His coworkers were posing objections about the fairness of God as it related to God’s sovereignty and the existence of evil in the world. My offered counsel had to do with turning the questions around and viewing them from a position of assuming the truth and goodness of God rather than assuming a skeptical point of view.

 

            That situation came back to my mind as I read through this psalm this morning. In verses 11 and 14 above, we see two truths that some who call themselves Christians and many who are lost simply do not accept. However, if we accept the two verses above as true, all that we proclaim about God and his standards is far easier to establish.

 

            In verse 11, the psalmist declares that the heavens and earth belong to God because God has founded them. God is the Creator of the universe. He made the world along with all that is in the world.

 

            What happens if we begin any major theological or philosophical discussion assuming that verse 11 is true? The first thing that happens is that we will assume that God, as Creator, has the right of ownership over the world and everything (and everyone) in it. God made us. Therefore, God owns us. He has the right to do with us anything he chooses. He has the right to set rules and laws for our lives. He has the right to tell us how to live. God has the right to save us or to judge us as fits his desires.

 

            Consider what kinds of emotional, moral, and theological arguments are turned on their heads the moment you accept the fact that God created us and has the right of ownership over us. At that point, you assume that God, not the news media or a political party, has the right to define marriage. You would also assume that God has the right to declare when life begins and ends. You would also assume that God has the right to save people in ways that do not appeal to a universalistic teacher. God has the right to declare genders to be different, sex outside of marriage to be wrong, and Jesus to be the only way of salvation.

 

            Next, look at verse 14. The beginning of that verse indicate that both righteousness and justice are the foundation of God’s throne. These are his attributes, not our standards. God determines that which is righteous. Righteousness is righteousness because it is that which God approves. God is not subject to an external standard of righteousness. Nor is God subject to an external justice. He is just. He will judge–he must judge in order to be righteous.

 

            Again, how does all this apply to our understanding of God? The moment we define God’s nature as righteous and just, we lose any of our moral ground to question the decisions that God has made or the commands that God has given. If God says something is the way, it indeed is the way, and that is right. If God declares something to be wrong, that thing is wrong by definition, regardless of social convention. If God is just, we have no right to complain about whom he saves or how he saves.

 

            The truth is, one of the reasons that we have such difficulty in dealing with the harder topics in Scripture is that we approach them as though we have a basic moral ability to judge the actions and standards of God. We believe that we can somehow look at what God does and say things like, “That is good,” “That is not right,” or “How dare you.” But the truth is, God is Creator. He owns us. God is just and right. He is never wrong. These are part of his character, and so he is not subject to our judgment or our measure. God is the rule by which good and right is measured, and he is measured by no other rule himself.

 

            What then do we do with this kind of thinking. At this point, we must do one of two things. We either declare God our ourselves to be the final authority over that which is right and wrong, good or evil. If we accept that God is God and we are not, we bow before him, accept his words and ways as perfect, and yield ourselves to him as our Lord. If we reject these things, we declare ourselves and our own wisdom as ultimate, and we, like Adam and Eve before us, decide that we will be our own gods, determining for ourselves good and evil.

1 Corinthians 11:17-19 (ESV)

 

17 But in the following instructions I do not commend you, because when you come together it is not for the better but for the worse. 18 For, in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you. And I believe it in part, 19 for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.

 

            Factions and divisions in the church are sad, but not in the way you might think. There certainly have been those who look at passages like the one above and argue that any sort of division within the church is an evil thing. And, truly, there must be something wrong for there to be factions as there were in Corinth.

 

            However, let us not make the mistake of assuming that both sides in a divided church have to be in sin.

 

            Paul says in verse 19, “for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized.” What did Paul mean when he said this? Was he happy about the divisions in the church at Corinth? No, he was not happy, because the division indicated the presence of sin in the body as a whole. However, he also recognized that factions had to exist, because some in the church were genuine and rightly following God while others were clearly not genuine and not rightly following God. Thus, a division had to be present in Corinth so that those who were following God could continue to do so.

 

            We never want to cause division. We never want to break fellowship or develop factions. However, we want most to follow God. We want to obey Scripture. Where other believers are willing to follow Scripture too, we will not be divided. But, when there are significant issues, and where others do not follow Scripture in those significant issues, there will be divisions among us; it is unavoidable.

 

            By no means am I suggesting that we look for ways to divide. Nor am I suggesting that we should be so smug as to assume we are the ones in the right every time that a division in a local body or denomination surfaces. However, I am also not suggesting that we pretend that there is no reason for a division or that dividing is never acceptable. At times, believers who hold firm to Scripture will have to stand their ground and in some way separate from those who are compromising on the word of God.

 

            What, then, should we learn here? I think we can certainly understand from the passage above that those who oppose the existence of denominations cannot be completely correct. Denominations exist because of genuine differences on doctrine, and this must happen. Nor can we say that, within individual churches, there cannot be genuine differences that cause believers to separate. Of course, in every instance, our desire is that all will trust in the word of God, rightly handle and apply that word, and come to the one, true, biblical conclusion. But, when we do not come to that conclusion, out of a commitment to the word, there will be divisions. We will divide along the line of Scripture, and this is not wrong. It is sad that it must happen, but it indeed must happen.

 

            Christians, are you willing to be bold enough to follow the word of God, even when that causes you to stand apart, even from those you love? Please do not see that question as affirming divisiveness, as God condemns sinfully causing frivolous divisions. But, if fellow believers begin to affirm what Scripture condemns, are you willing to set yourself apart after genuinely trying to help your brothers and sisters return to the word? When fellow believers begin to condemn what Scripture affirms, are you willing to try to persuade others otherwise and then stand apart from them if they will not repent?

 

            These thoughts are heavy, and they must be approached with humility. We need to be gentle, gracious, and very slow to divide. Yet, we must see in the word of God that, though divisions are sad, they are at times unavoidable. Let us be committed to God through his word. Let us stand on Scripture rightly interpreted. Let us trust that God will help others to understand and follow his word as he works sanctification in their lives. Let us be ready to be shown by others that our own interpretations and handling of Scripture needs to improve. But, when we cannot be convinced by the word of God that our position is not that of the Lord himself, let us stand with the Lord, even if that puts us at odds with others we genuinely know to be believers

 

 

            How do we do this? What might it look like to divide from others from whom we find ourselves disagreeing? That requires wisdom, as different levels of wrong make different levels of division necessary. It may be that we still fellowship in the same church, but we know that we are not agreed (consider differences such as drinking alcohol in moderation versus total abstinence from alcohol or differences between expectations of a pre or post-tribulation rapture as examples of such a category here). It may mean that we affirm that others are believers, genuine and godly believers, but we cannot fellowship in the same church; and we or the others must remove ourselves from the local body based on a significant doctrinal issue (consider a disagreement on an issue such as infant baptism to be this level of issue). At times, we may have to stand apart from others who, when we see their doctrinal stance, we can no longer affirm that they can be in Christ with such views (consider those who deny the physical resurrection of Jesus in this category). And, as I said, this all requires great wisdom to know what issues fit into what categories.

 

            Divisions exist. We wish they did not need to. But, sometimes, dividing is the only way to show who is indeed following the word of God. This is a sad but true reality of a church that lives in a fallen world. And, it is a reality that will pass away with the return of Christ and a perfected knowledge of the Holy One and his ways. Let us long for that return of our Lord and let us live with a gracious firmness when it comes to the word of God in the present.

Judges 8:22-24, 27, 33-34 (ESV)

22 Then the men of Israel said to Gideon, “Rule over us, you and your son and your grandson also, for you have saved us from the hand of Midian.” 23 Gideon said to them, “I will not rule over you, and my son will not rule over you; the Lord will rule over you.” 24 And Gideon said to them, “Let me make a request of you: every one of you give me the earrings from his spoil.” (For they had golden earrings, because they were Ishmaelites.)

27 And Gideon made an ephod of it and put it in his city, in Ophrah. And all Israel whored after it there, and it became a snare to Gideon and to his family.

 

33 As soon as Gideon died, the people of Israel turned again and whored after the Baals and made Baal-berith their god. 34 And the people of Israel did not remember the Lord their God, who had delivered them from the hand of all their enemies on every side,

 

            Have you ever been tempted to believe that a little political reform will set our nation back on the right track? Have you ever thought that what our nation needs is a good, Christian leader to turn us back to the ways of God? I cannot disagree that I would very much like to see us have some political leadership that would direct the nation away from evil and toward good. But, I also know that one leader, even one season of good government, will not change the heart of any nation.

 

            In Judges 8, we see what happened in Israel when they were given great deliverance by God through Gideon. Now, I do not want anybody to be confused about Gideon. He was not a greatly godly man. We see him doubt God, demand proof from God of things he already knew to be true, seek vengeance, and set himself up as a sort of ruler over the people like a Canaanite king. Yet, it was through Gideon, with his weaknesses, that God subdued the Midianites and made Israel safe.

 

            Notice what happened after the battle was won. It looks so good at first. In verses 22-23 of Judges 8, Gideon refuses to be called the ruler or king over Israel. Instead, Gideon tells the people that they should be ruled by the Lord. This is right and good if Gideon is sincere. But he seems easily corruptible. Gideon asks the people to give him a little treasure, just their earrings, and the people eagerly oblige.

 

            Next, look what happens after Gideon allows himself to receive tribute like a monarch. First, he takes the treasure given him by Israel, and he makes an ephod out of it. This was an instrument of worship and of seeking the will of a deity. This was not, however, a tool for worshipping the Lord, as the ephod that God had commanded be made was in the hands of the Levitical priesthood. Gideon made himself into his own little priest, and dishonored God. He also led his family astray.

 

            It is not only Gideon who is corrupted by his new found power. The people of Israel are clearly not ready to follow the Lord either. In verses 33-34, we find that, as soon as Gideon is no longer exercising influence over the nation, the people begin to worship another false deity. Just as they had been worshipping Baal before Gideon’s rise to power, they return to Baal worship after Gideon is gone.

 

            I’m certainly not trying to argue that we do not want a godly leader to direct our nation. Nor am I assuming that Gideon was a particularly godly leader for Israel. But what I still notice is that, no matter the religious direction of the leadership of the nation, nothing that the king or president could ever do will change the hearts of people in order to make them follow the Lord. Gideon began his leadership with a proclamation that the nation would be led by the Lord. He could not even let the Lord lead him, much less the people. And, as soon as his influence was gone, the people returned to all the idolatry that they had been guilty of before.

 

            How, then, will we see the nation changed? How can we hope that our nation will follow the Lord? The answer is not in influential political leadership. Instead, the answer is found in the gospel of Christ. As individual Christians and churches take the gospel to individuals all across our land, God himself will change individual hearts. Only as we see more and more people come to trust in the Lord and have their very hearts changed will we see the fabric of our society changed. Only in the change brought about by the New Covenant in Christ’s blood will we find a nation where the people, in their very hearts, follow the Lord.

 

            So, do you want to change the world? If you do, follow Christ yourself. Take the gospel to your family, neighbors, and coworkers. Pray for other Christians to do the same. Help others to have open doors for evangelism. Only through that kind of living out the gospel, making disciples as we go, can we see a turning of a confused and misled culture into that which will honor the Lord our God. 

1 Corinthians 10:13 (ESV)

 

No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man. God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability, but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape, that you may be able to endure it.

            The above is one of my favorite verses to use as I work with someone to begin the process of overcoming a problem in counseling. This is because the verse offers us hope as well as affirms a great deal of personal responsibility. Having hope and taking responsibility while relying on the power of the Holy Spirit is vital for Christian growth and progress in counseling situations.

 

            A look at the verse above will show that every phrase is filled with hope and with a call to own responsibility for our own sin. The verse begins, “No temptation has overtaken you that is not common to man.” That sentence lets us know that what we are facing, whatever it is, will not be unique to us. Others have traveled this road before. Others have felt pain similar to ours. Others have faced struggles like ours. We are not alone.

 

            The fact that we are not alone is both encouraging and challenging. It is encouraging, because we know that, if others have survived what we are facing, we can survive it too. However, if others have survived what we are facing, we do not have any excuse for our own behavior. We must take responsibility for our actions, because our case is not a unique case meriting an exception. See how the phrase gives us hope and demands personal responsibility?

 

            Look at the next couple of phrases which declare, “God is faithful, and he will not let you be tempted beyond your ability.” Again, we have hope. God is faithful. He will not let us be tempted beyond our ability. He will be there. He will not fail. He will not leave us. He is always faithful and true. This is hopeful. It gives us strength as we face our challenges.

 

            However, the fact that God is faithful and will not let us be tempted beyond our ability is also a call to responsibility. We cannot declare that God has failed us. We cannot declare that the temptation that we faced was unconquerable. We cannot declare that God had not given us enough of whatever we need so that we could avoid sin. We simply cannot declare that we had to sin in our circumstances, because God has declared himself faithful.

 

            The next phrase is another echo of the same truth. Paul says, “but with the temptation he will also provide the way of escape.” The hope is the truth that God provides us a way of escape, a way not to sin and fail in our hardship. The responsibility is, well, the same thing: God provides a way out, so we cannot claim we had no choice when we sin.

 

            The final phrase, “that you may be able to endure it,” is also quite interesting. It is hopeful, as we find that God will help us to endure our trials. It is also challenging, as it does not promise relief from our challenges, but the ability to endure, to stand up under the strain. God never promises us freedom from pain or hardship in this life. No serious Christian who handles God’s word faithfully can declare that God promises us that we will not have hardships, or that those hardships will not continue. The promise is that God will never give us hardships that he is not also willing and able to help us to endure for his glory. And, we of course know that, in the life to come, all hardships and pains of this life will reflect forever the great glory and majesty of our God who brought us through them to his beautiful and comforting presence in eternity.

 

            So, the lesson of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is pretty simple. God is with us. He will not leave us. He will not let us be burdened to a point where we have an excuse for sin. We have hope and a call to own our responsibility for our reaction to hardships.

Mark 4:39-41 (ESV)

 

39 And he awoke and rebuked the wind and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great fear and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

 

            It seems very familiar to look in on the scene were Jesus and his disciples were crossing the Sea of Galilee. A storm arose, and the big, strong, career fishermen were terrified. But Jesus was asleep. So, the disciples cry out to Jesus, and he calms the storm.

 

            What interests me today is what happens next. The disciples are again terrified. They are no longer terrified by the storm outside the boat, but by the Savior with them in the boat. They just saw Jesus speak to a storm, and the storm obeyed. That proves that Jesus is a very different kind of person than perhaps they had considered him to be.

 

            What might they have noticed about Jesus? Perhaps they remembered the fact that there is one who spoke, and the world came into being. Perhaps they remembered that there is one who, when the world was covered in water, spoke, and the seas pulled back from the land. Perhaps they remembered that there is one who brought a wind to part the Red Sea, and then who brought that sea crashing down over the Egyptian army. Perhaps they remembered that only God can control the wind and the waves.

 

            In Luke’s gospel, Peter was terrified the first time he had a glimpse of the holiness and power of Jesus. In chapter 5, he ask Jesus to go away from him, because Peter knew himself to be a sinful man. Why? Because it is terrifying to be around somebody who is that great, that perfect, that holy. Jesus is good, truly good, in every way. Jesus has never failed. He has power that is beyond anything we can imagine. And to realize this for the first time, especially when he is with you in a boat, is terrifying.

 

            What we might want to take from this is something simple. Jesus is greater than we could ever imagine. That greatness is frightening, because we are sinful. This should lead us to awe and to worship. Then, when we add in the fact that he has loved us and invited us into his family, to be under his care and forgiveness, that should lead us to great love and great joy.