Genesis 11:6-7
6 And the Lord said, “Behold, they are one people, and they have all one language, and this is only the beginning of what they will do. And nothing that they propose to do will now be impossible for them. 7 Come, let us go down and there confuse their language, so that they may not understand one another’s speech.”
The men building the great tower to heaven were engaging in a wicked practice. They were uniting to exalt themselves. They were not working together for the name and glory of God. The Lord God could not allow this to go on.
Ask this question: Why would God not allow these men to build their tower? One answer is that it would have been cruel of God to allow them to build. No loving parent allows a child to continue in a self-destructive activity. No loving parent will allow their children to wallow in filth when the parent has something better to offer.
Remember, God knows us better than we know ourselves. God knows how he made us and why. He knows that we exist, not to focus on ourselves, but to glorify him. God knows that when we give him glory, we will be most happy, most fulfilled. Thus, it would be cruel for God to allow men to miss his glory for the cheap substitute of focusing on man’s glory in a tower.
There is a second kindness in the fact that God stopped the men from building and confused their language. Just a few chapters earlier, God had flooded the world and destroyed all living persons except for those who had taken refuge in the ark. The entire world shared one corruption, one evil mindset. In confusing the languages of people and dividing mankind into separate nations, God made sure that one corruption would not again sweep the world. As an old seminary professor of mine once put it, “God made it so that one bad apple could not spoil the whole bunch.” God made sure that one man’s bad idea could not bring God’s wrath on the entire globe again.
Isn’t it funny how we often fail to see the kindness of God in his actions? God’s move to confuse the language of men and to stop the building of the tower was, without a doubt, a form of judgment. At the same time, it is also a clear picture of grace. God is good, even when he is judging. God was merciful, as he did not destroy the men who were building, but simply put a stop to their man-centered foolishness.
Where do you need to see God’s kindness in your life? What endeavors has he put a stop to in your world that might be a kindness? How much more do you need to trust him, even when he closes doors you wish were opened? How great and loving and wise indeed is our God?
Knowing Good and Evil (Genesis 3:4-5)
Genesis 3:4-5
4 But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die. 5 For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.” 6
Genesis 4:3-4
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
I see in these two very different passages a running theme that is frightening to behold. The theme is scary, not because it happened 6,000 years ago, but because it is still happening today in our world. In fact, if we are honest, we are tempted by this sin right now.
In Genesis 3, we see the fall of man. The serpent tempted Eve with the ability of “knowing good and evil.” The reason this tempted her, as we see earlier in the serpent’s words, is that such an ability makes one “like God.” In fact, the one with the ability that Eve wanted would be a sort of mini-god all to himself or herself.
Now, look at chapter 4. Cane’s offering was rejected by God. Something about Cane’s heart and his offering was not right to the Lord. How did Cane respond? He was angry.
Can I experimentally ponder this morning that these two sins might be the same? Look at Cane. He wanted to have the right to tell God what was good and evil. He wanted to tell God what offering should be acceptable. He wanted to know good and evil in such a way as to be the god who determines what is right and what is wrong. Go back to Eve. She wanted to be “like God, knowing good and evil.”
Whether my little mental exercise would bear up under scrutiny aside, is it not true that we today still try to sit in the place of god? is it not true that we want to not only know what is right and wrong, but we believe ourselves to have the authority to say what is right or wrong? When we look at a command of Scripture and weigh in our hearts whether we like it or not, are we not saying to God that we, better than he, know what is right and wrong? When we delve into commands that do not make sense to us in order to find a justifying reason for that command to be good, are we not, in a small sense, trying God’s commands by our own standard of good versus evil?
Perhaps one of the key differences between pre-fall and post-fall humanity is that we now believe that we have in ourselves the ability to judge what is good and what is evil. Watch the atheist and skeptic. Watch such people respond to the claims of Christianity by weighing in their own man-centered judgment, whether the faith is good or evil.
A whole solid discussion could also be had, were we to take the time, on how this ought to affect our evangelism. It seems that many of our modern apologetic strategies include inviting the lost to evaluate God’s commands and promises to see if they meet the lost person’s approval. Christ is not, however, a toy on a Wal-mart shelf with a “Try me” button. God has simply commanded all men everywhere to repent and trust in Christ for salvation.
Perhaps it would do us all good to examine ourselves. Are we placing ourselves on the judge’s bench to examine the rightness or wrongness of God’s commands and claims? We need to remember that God is God and we are not. His words and ways are perfect. We will never have the right to judge him or his ways.
the God Who Moves the Sea (Psalm 104:6-9)
Psalm 104:6-9
6 You covered it with the deep as with a garment;
the waters stood above the mountains.
7 At your rebuke they fled;
at the sound of your thunder they took to flight.
8 The mountains rose, the valleys sank down
to the place that you appointed for them.
9 You set a boundary that they may not pass,
so that they might not again cover the earth.
I never will forget the first time I stepped into the ocean. Because I grew up in Illinois, a very safe place if one fears tidal waves, it wasn’t until I graduated high school that I first tasted salt water. I spent hours in the Pacific the very first day I ever was in the ocean, loving every minute of it.
What I also remember was the first 2 minutes of being in the ocean. You see, I walked in quite nonchalantly, assuming I could handle it. I was a pretty good swimmer. I had even been in a wave pool before. So, I was totally ready to deal with whatever the ocean threw at me. Besides, as I walked into the surf, the waves rolled gently in around my ankles and then up to my waist—no big deal.
In that first few minutes, I turned to say something to my brother about how neat it was to be there. Then I turned back to the west. Rising to meet me was a six-or-seven-foot wave. I was not prepared. The water slapped me in the face, and spun me in a backward summersault faster than I’ve ever flipped before. It dragged me along the sand and filled my shorts with the beach. Then, as I struggled to my feet, I was hit by a second wave that did almost the same thing to me.
As I fought my way back to standing upright and shaking the sand out of my drawers, I realized that I had previously had no Idea of the power of the waves. I had no clue that God’s creation, that water, was so much stronger than me.
If you’ve never experienced the ocean or seen the glory of mountains, you will have a hard time grasping the significance of the verses above. You see, it’s very hard to rightly estimate the majesty of lofty summits or the simply overwhelming power of the waves without seeing or feeling them. And without grasping the forces that are at work in those places, one will miss the great glory of God in the fact that God raised the mountains and set the boundaries for the seas.
Genesis 1 told us that, at one point, the earth was covered completely with water. God, with a command, pulled back the waters and made the dry land appear, mountains and all. God, with a word, overpowered the sea and raised the Alps. While a tiny wave of the ocean on a sunny day in California was enough to slap me around and make me look like an idiot, God shows that he is more powerful than the totality of the oceans. God is so much more powerful than you or me that it should make our heads spin.
I don’t know whether it is the ocean or the mountains or the canyons or the vast forests that most gets your attention in nature. Maybe it is the starry hosts, the shapes of clouds, the fierceness of tornados, or the intricate beauty of snowflakes that leave you in wonder. No matter what it is, remember to see that creation praises the Creator. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit—three in one as our one Sovereign Lord—each played a role in creation. God’s massive power and his gentle artistry are on display. Keep your eyes and ears open. See the creation of the Lord. Praise him for being the only one who can move the mountains and calm the sea.
Think – A Review
Do intellectual integrity and Christianity mix? In Think: The Life of the Mind and the Love of God, John Pipers says they do. Piper writes one of his most interesting recent works as he endeavors to show how a diligent scholarship is very much appropriate for one’s love of God.
Many believers do not see that solid thinking is important in the life of faith. Some argue that too much intellectualism will somehow harden a believer against the things of God’s Spirit. Piper, however, faithfully argues that God never called his people to be non-thinkers. While God clearly abhors the concept of human arrogance and men thinking they have found their own way to heaven, God loves when his people humbly use their mental faculties to know him better and love him more dearly.
If you are not much of a serious or deep thinker, reading this book could be a helpful exercise. Perhaps looking at Piper’s reasoning would encourage you to read more, to study harder, and to see how doing so will enable you to better follow God. This book may also help you to have a greater respect and appreciation for those who have been gifted by God as deep thinkers.
If you are more intellectual by nature, reading this work might help you both to better appreciate the gifts that God has given you while helping you to think more humbly about your own abilities. We cannot rely on intellect to make ourselves into anything. Yet, God demands that we work through our minds to love Christ appropriately.
I personally was encouraged by Piper’s work. Think helped me to remember that I cannot become mentally lazy in my faith. I would recommend this book to many different kinds of Christians, and especially to those who need to hear an argument that defeats anti-intellectual tendencies.
For this review, I listened to a free copy of the book as part of the Christian Audio reviewers program. The text was well-read and the quality was up to Christian Audio’s high standards.
My 2011 Bible Reading Plan
My plan to read through the Bible in 2011 is the Read the Bible for Life plan. I weighed lots of options, but chose this one for the simple fact that it is so very different than anything I’ve done before. I expect to very much enjoy the chronological arrangement of the Old Testament books. I expect to be annoyed by the attempt to harmonize the New Testament gospels. However, I want to give this plan a shot.
In general, my blog posts come from my daily Bible reading. So, the posts I make will likely follow the calendar put forth in the plan.
If you do not have a reading plan, and would like to read with someone else, I’d encourage you to consider reading through with me. I’ll keep up, Lord willing, and I’ll post some devotional thoughts along the way.
Two Reasons for Church Discipline (1 Corinthians 5)
1 Corinthians 5:2,, 4-5, 6-7a,13
2 And you are arrogant! Ought you not rather to mourn? Let him who has done this be removed from among you.
4 When you are assembled in the name of the Lord Jesus and my spirit is present, with the power of our Lord Jesus, 5 you are to deliver this man to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, so that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord.
6 Your boasting is not good. Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump? 7 Cleanse out the old leaven that you may be a new lump,
13 God judges those outside. “Purge the evil person from among you.”
1 Corinthians 5 is a passage that shows us church discipline at work. What caught my attention as I read the passage this morning was the two purposes for discipline which we see displayed in the various sections above. While some are eager to discipline and some are unwilling to obey this command, we need to see what God has called us to do and especially why God has called us to do so.
The first reason that you can see for church discipline of a wayward and sinful member is found in verses 4-5. Paul talks of handing the sinner over to the devil for the destruction of his flesh. Why? Paul talks of doing this for the ultimate salvation of the man’s soul. Paul is saying that the church needs to discipline the man, putting him out of the fellowship, in order that he might feel the consequences of his sin and repent.
The first reason for church discipline in this passage, then, is the purpose of repentance. A sinful person whose sin is ignored or tolerated with no rebuke whatsoever may indeed not feel the need to repent. While telling someone that they are no longer a part of the fellowship might be very hard to do and indeed quite hurtful to the one disciplined, the purpose is always to allow that person to feel emotional pain and to then see the horror of their sin. We never discipline simply to get rid of somebody we don’t like. We always discipline because we want to see a person turn from sin, feeling the godly sorrow that brings about repentance (cf. 2 Cor 7).
The second reason that this passage gives for church discipline is found in verses 6-7a and 13. Paul calls the church to remove the unrepentant sinner from the fellowship for the purpose of the spiritual health of the body. The sin of the sinner, if tolerated, carries the risk of corrupting and confusing believers. Paul says that they must remove the danger of the unrepentant sinner for the sake of not allowing him to leaven, not allowing him to infect, the rest of the body with his sinful practice.
Nobody should enjoy church discipline. While this process can be beautiful as it leads others to repentance, it is a hard thing to do. Church members should rightly pray, grieve, and weep over the unrepentant sin of brothers and sisters in Christ. We never consider this as if from a position of superiority. All of us have sin. All of us need to regularly repent. Thus, we should participate in church discipline with fear, trembling, sorrow, and humility. But, God has made it plain that church discipline, rightly handled, leads to the repentance of a sinner and to the purity of the local church. Thus, we also must not neglect discipline lest we do harm to the body of Christ.
2011 Daily Bible Reading
It’s time to get your daily Bible reading plan together for 2011. If you want to read the Bible through in the year, you should find a plan that fits you. There are lots of different plans to choose from, and those plans are available in different formats. Do you want to listen to the Bible read for you? That’s available. Do you want the reading emailed to you? That’s available. Do you want to get the readings in your RSS reader? That’s available too.
The point here is that you should find whatever kind of plan fits you so that you can be intentional about your 2011 Bible reading.
I would recommend that you check out the ten different plans offered on the Crossway ESV web site.
I also very much enjoyed using this plan for the last few years. It offers a variety of different readings, but only 25 per month. Thus it allows for missed days or days off without adding to your stress level.
Denny Burk has also put together a calendar of readings that keeps you from jumping around
through multiple books daily.
If that doesn’t float your boat, try this set of plans from Crosswalk.com.
I can’t say what kind of plan is the best for you. The big point is that you very much should consider what you need to do for 2011 in order to be very intentional about handling the word of God.
The Millennials – A Review
In The Millennials, Thom and Jess Rainer take a look at the unique characteristics of the generation born between 1980 and 2000. Examining this generation, the Rainers uncover many facets of this group of young Americans that set them apart from their counterparts from the Baby Boom generation and Generation X.
The Rainers do what they do very well. The book is written with an engaging style that keeps the mountains of statistical data from boggling the mind or lulling it to sleep. Thom and Jess intersperse statistical survey data with enough personal interview highlights to keep the text flowing and keep the numbers making sense. At the end of each chapter, the authors offer summaries and conclusions that keep the reader tracking with their findings.
Negatively, this book is a statistically-driven work. If you do not like stats and demographic analysis, you probably will not enjoy this book. You can certainly still benefit from it if you will give it your time, but if numbers make your head spin, this work will not keep your attention.
The authors also acknowledge that no amount of statistical analysis can ever predict what God will do in and through a generation. So, while the work is helpful to show us that those born between 1980 and 1991 (the book limits itself to the older Millennial generation) are looking to make a difference in the world, tend to dislike institutional religion that does not impact the community, tend to shy away from harsh-sounding truth claims, and treasure their relationships with their families, we cannot know for sure what the Lord might do with such a generation. As the authors make clear, this generation is the least churched of any in American history. At the same time, this generation’s Christians are as radically committed to Christ as any generation in memory.
The Millennials is an interesting and helpful look at the differences in generations. The book has helpful insights into how churches might want to think regarding this younger generation. While no church should compromise its teaching or the commands of Christ in order to “bring in” the latest generation, a look at the facts of a generation as the Rainers have provided can certainly help church leaders to better understand the thoughts and motives behind those who may be quite different than they themselves are.
For this review, I was given a free download from ChristianAudio.com as part of their reviewers program. Ray Porter does an excellent job of narration and the recording is solid in every way.
A Spirit-Filled Witness (John 20:21-23)
John 20:21-23
21 Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, even so I am sending you.” 22 And when he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.”
Here Jesus gives a form of the Great Commission to the disciples. Just as the Father sent Jesus out, with his authority to accomplish his mission, so Jesus is now sending out his disciples. They are sent under Jesus’ authority. They are sent to accomplish his mission.
Then Jesus blows out or exhales and tells the disciples to receive the Holy Spirit. It will actually be around fifty days in the future when the Holy Spirit will truly come upon the disciples and empower them for the task that Jesus has just given them. But Jesus lets them know that, coming soon to their lives, they will experience the presence of God’s Spirit to help them to accomplish his plan.
Next Jesus says something that may be the most difficult phrase in John’s gospel to interpret. Jesus says, “If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you withhold forgiveness from any, it is withheld.” Scholars have debated for years about what these phrases mean. Is Jesus authorizing the disciples to grant people forgiveness or unforgiveness at their whim? Is Jesus granting a kind of power to the disciples as church leaders to offer or withhold forgiveness? Is something else in view?
If we take verse 23 all by itself, it is a very difficult passage to understand. That is why it is crucial to study the scripture in context, taking into account the verses around the passage in question. Once we understand what is going on, it will make far more sense how we are to understand the words that Jesus has used here.
Remember, Jesus has just done two things. He has commissioned the disciples to go out and accomplish his mission just as his Father sent him out to accomplish a mission. He also has told them to do this work in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit. They will not be able to fulfill the Great Commission if they are not personally filled with God’s Holy Spirit.
In the light of the commission and the promise of the Spirit, it makes a little more sense as to what Jesus is saying. As the disciples go out and work to accomplish their mission in the authority of the Father and the Son and in the power of the Spirit, they are to proclaim the message of the Gospel, the good news. The disciples are to go out and tell people that they are sinners before a holy God. They are to tell people that they stand before God without God’s forgiveness unless something changes. They are to tell people that Jesus died to purchase the forgiveness of anyone who will repent and turn to Jesus for forgiveness. And so, it only makes sense that these men with God’s Spirit and God’s message would be able to declare with accuracy whether or not a person is forgiven.
Let’s make this as simple as we can. Suppose you are talking to a man named Bob. You, like the disciples, have the Spirit of God living within you and the commission of God to take the message of Jesus to everybody. So, you ask Bob if he has ever come to faith in Christ. Bob says, “No, I don’t believe in Jesus at all.” You can say, with absolute accuracy, “Bob, I want to warn you that you stand before God unforgiven. You are lost and in danger of suffering God’s wrath for your sin.” Now, let’s suppose that your words mixed with some study of the scripture shake Bob to his vary foundation. He weeps before you, believes in Jesus, and cries out to Jesus for mercy and forgiveness. You then can proclaim, with great accuracy, “Bob, you now stand forgiven before God because of your faith in Jesus Christ.”
Christians, we have the same responsibility that the disciples had 2,000 years ago. Christ is sending us out on a mission. We are to take God’s word and God’s Holy Spirit with us, and we are to share the good news of Jesus with a lost world. If they will not trust in Christ, we must declare them unforgiven. If they will turn from their sins and trust in Jesus, we must declare them forgiven. It’s that simple. This is not just the job of pastors and revival speakers; this is your job. Become a spirit-filled witness for Jesus Christ.
Boldness from Christ’s Sacrifice (John 19:38-39)
John 19:38-39
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, who was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus, and Pilate gave him permission. So he came and took away his body. 39 Nicodemus also, who earlier had come to Jesus by night, came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds in weight.
Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus have several things in common. According to the other gospels, both are part of the Jewish counsel, likely the Sanhedrin. Both were following Jesus secretly, afraid that the Jews might harm them somehow if they found out about their devotion to Jesus. And, both of these men were so changed by Jesus’ death that they boldly chose to take responsibility for burying Jesus.
We saw Nicodemus earlier in this book. In chapter 3, he came to Jesus by night to ask him some questions about his identity. In 7:50, Nicodemus spoke up in the counsel demanding that the Jews give Jesus a fair trial before condemning him. Now, we see Nicodemus bringing a large amount of valuable spices to be used in the wrapping of Jesus’ body for burial.
Joseph of arimathea is someone we see in all four gospels, but we know very little about him. He was from a town about twenty miles or so away from Jerusalem. He was wealthy. And he was actually the owner of the tomb in which Jesus was placed. Joseph actually had the courage to stand before Pilate and ask him for the right to bury Jesus’ body instead of having Jesus thrown in the common grave of the criminals.
Both Joseph and Nicodemus were clearly changed by what they saw in Jesus’ suffering and death. Before Jesus’ death, these two men were afraid to allow anyone to know that they were following Jesus. Now they step out of the shadows and declare their loyalty. Even though Jesus is dead. Even though it looks like the Jews have won, Joseph and Nicodemus stand up and are counted as followers of the man who so recently died on the cross.
We want to learn from the example of these two. No longer is it acceptable to follow Jesus from the shadows. Those who truly know Jesus are willing to stand up and be counted. If you are a believer, no one should have to wonder where your loyalties lie. Allow the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus to make you more bold to follow him and to obey his commands in front of a hostile world.
Pastor Travis Peterson 