Tag: God’s word

Unbelief is Offensive

pastortravislv

H – Highlight

Luke 1:18-20 – 18 And Zechariah said to the angel, “How shall I know this? For I am an old man, and my wife is advanced in years.” 19 And the angel answered him, “I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I was sent to speak to you and to bring you this good news. 20 And behold, you will be silent and unable to speak until the day that these things take place, because you did not believe my words, which will be fulfilled in their time.”

E – Explain

In this passage, Zechariah asks for the angel to prove that his prediction will come true. Gabriel has promised Zechariah a son, and Zechariah cannot believe it. So the angel pronounces a small curse on the old priest. Zechariah will be unable to speak until the child is born.

A – Apply

What I learn here is a principle. Unbelief is offensive. Gabriel makes that clear. When Zechariah asks his question, asking for proof, the angel identifies himself and seems taken aback that this foolish man would not take his words as they have been delivered.

Of course there will be times when we struggle with doubt and confusion. And we should not pretend otherwise. But we also must not forget that for us to fail to believe the words of God is a big deal. Unbelief matters. The devil, in the garden, used a denial of the truth of God’s words to tempt the woman. A refusal to believe in Christ is a sin that leads to death. And for us to see God’s clear words, have no doubt that they come from God, and then for us not to believe them is a major problem.

R – Response

First I know that I am called to respond to this in humble confession. While I may believe the Lord with my mind, I know that, at times, my heart forgets to believe what the Lord has said. I must own this as a sin, confess it, and repent. Second, I should remember that all that the Lord has said is true and trustworthy, and it should impact how I live and how I think.

Prayer: Lord, I thank you for your faithful word. Your Scripture, your holy word, is totally true and trustworthy. I pray that you will forgive me for any time in which I have failed to believe that you are who you claim to be or that you will do what you claim to do. Help me to believe you deep down and to see that unbelief is deadly.

Who Taught Him?

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If you are paying much attention in Christian conversation these days, you will know that people are asking some interesting questions. Today, people are starting to call into question the goodness of God for his standards in a variety of areas. Some question God’s standards for gender and sexuality. Some question his standards for marriage. Some question God’s standards for social justice. Some just question God’s goodness in the Old Testament law.

In many of these instances, the questions about the goodness of God boil down to a simple thought. We believe that we understand justice, goodness, and righteousness better than God. We wonder how God can be perfectly right and put forward standards that we, in our modern and enlightened minds, find quite uncomfortable. The alternative, of course, is to say that Scripture is flawed and can only give us the best understanding of flawed men from centuries earlier.

You might say, Christian, that you do not face these temptations. You do not want to compromise the word of God. You would never consider yourself better at justice or righteousness than God. But, consider how easy it is for you to feel ashamed of God’s standards when they do not match the common, cultural expectation.

Let’s see just one simple point from Isaiah 40 that might help us as we look at the goodness and perfection of God in comparison to cultural expectation. I believe that keeping this in mind will give us a far better starting point for thinking through the things of God.

Isaiah 40:12-14

12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand
and marked off the heavens with a span,
enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure
and weighed the mountains in scales
and the hills in a balance?
13 Who has measured the Spirit of the Lord,
or what man shows him his counsel?
14 Whom did he consult,
and who made him understand?
Who taught him the path of justice,
and taught him knowledge,
and showed him the way of understanding?

In this little section, Isaiah asks some questions. And those questions have an obvious answer. Who can scoop up the entire ocean and hold it in the palm of his hand? Obviously, no person can do this other than the God who made the world. Who can measure the universe by stretching out his hand? Obviously, again, the answer is that nobody but God can do this.

Next, Isaiah takes his questions to questions of wisdom and counsel. The prophet showed us with his first question that no human being even comes close to being able to compare with the Lord. And he wants us to keep those thoughts in mind as we consider the goodness and the justice of the Lord. Think again about these questions that end verse 14, “Who taught him the path of justice, and taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding?” What is the answer? Nobody taught God these things. Why? Nobody could. Justice and knowledge and righteousness are not things apart from God. God himself determines what is just, what is right, and what is perfect.

Draw the comparison so as not to miss the point. Can you pick up an entire ocean in one hand? No, that is ridiculous. Can you teach God anything about justice or about how things ought to go? No, that is ridiculous, just as ridiculous as thinking you could pick up an ocean. Do you get this? You and I have as much ability to question the ways of God about marriage, sexuality, gender, the church, worship, the law, or any of his ways as we have to pick up the ocean. We cannot come close. The concept is ridiculous.

When you see that you cannot question or teach the Lord, it should humble you. When you remember that God defines justice, it should make you turn to him to learn it rather than attempting to justify his ways to a lost world. When you recall the greatness of God here, you should turn to the word, listen to God speak for himself, and surrender to the perfect ways of the Holy One.

The sweet thing here is that God has revealed himself and his ways in his holy word. The more we study his word, the more he will allow us to understand the reasons why he has commanded the things he has commanded. WE are, of course, to obey God regardless of whether we understand his rationale for his standards. But it is glorious to know that, as we learn the word of God, we can begin to understand him, learn his ways, and find the beauty in all he has told us.

A Description of God’s Commands

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~I think we all know that, from time to time, it can be hard to follow the commands of God. We are sinful people after all. We struggle. Our flesh rebels against our purpose of glorifying the God who made us. And this, of course, is why we are so grateful for grace. We are not saved by being good or doing good.

Sometimes, if we are not careful, we will let ourselves go too far with thoughts about how hard it is to follow the Lord. We confuse what makes following God hard. We mistake our own sinful leanings for harshness in God’s commands. We allow ourselves to think that God really made things tough on us. But this is not and has not been the case.

1 John 5:1-5 – 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome. 4 For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. 5 Who is it that overcomes the world except the one who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?

Notice what is happening in this paragraph in God’s word. WE are clear in this paragraph that salvation comes to us from Christ and is by grace through faith. There is nothing here that indicates that we are supposed to perform to gain salvation. There is also a highlighting of the theme in John of loving fellow Christians as a mark of salvation. But at the heart of the passage, we see that a genuine saving faith leads to people obeying the commands of God.

But look even more closely at the end of verse 3, “And his commandments are not burdensome.” How about that? God is inspiring a perfect word. God’s word is more true than your experience or my feelings. And God is clear that his commands are not burdensome.

Christians, this thought should have a few impacts on our lives today. First, it should cause us to give God thanks for his commands. God could have given us commands that are burdensome, and he did not do so. Take a look at old myths, and you will see burdensome commands. You will see capricious deities commanding the impossible of incapable people. But the God of the Bible commands ordinary obedience from people he has empowered to obey by his Spirit.

That verse should also cause us to stop pretending as though God’s word is a burden. God has made it clear that his word is not a burden. God’s word and obedience to his commands is the way to joy. If we love God, we obey his commands. This is no burden, but a delight. Let us not dishonor God by mischaracterizing his commands as if they are hardships.

If God’s commands are not burdensome, we should also stop making excuses for our disobedience. God does command Christians to obey. We do not obey to be saved, but because we have been forgiven. But none of us has an excuse to ignore the commands of God because we feel like they are hard. Instead, we should see that God is kindly giving us ways that we might express love for our Lord and gratitude for his grace as we seek the joy of honoring him.

Can it be hard to obey God’s commands? Yes, but not because of the commands. What makes obedience hard is what we bring to the table. Let us remember this, turn from sin, and love our Lord in obedience to his word.

Stopping the Pendulum

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Sometimes when I think of issues of error, I imagine a pendulum. What I mean is that there is often an overreaction to error that leads to a contrasting overreaction.

For example, imagine a group comes to a conclusion that their services of worship lack zeal and joy; they are too formal and stiff. What will the reaction be? Often, the response will be to throw off reverence and swing dramatically too far toward a service that is chaotic. Later, perhaps years later, that same group will recognize the disorder and chaos in their services and strive for reverence. But, in doing so, this group might in fac, sap the joy and zeal from the services. The pendulum swings.

Or, take as another example the issue of eschatology. For a time, a church might avoid all discussion of end times theology. Suddenly, the leaders recognize that they have been neglecting this doctrine. The swinging pendulum then leads to a group, if they are not wise, talking end-times non-stop so much so that the focus seems to be totally on the return of Jesus with little focus on living in faithfulness and hope in the present. Then, if the group corrects its course, it may again find itself putting the topic of eschatology away too much and acting as though prophecy simply is not a part of the New Testament.

The picture of a swinging pendulum is one that comes into my mind when I think of issues relating to legalism, especially the moralistic side of legalism. How does the Christian respond to the commands of God? We know God’s word is good. We know that his law is perfect, and his commands are always, absolutely right. But we probably have been in places where a focus on the commands of God has led to a moralistic religion.

I certainly have been among believers who focused so much on rules that they became quite similar to the Pharisees. These folks took simple commands of God and expanded them well beyond biblical intent to prescribe a particular code of conduct for believers that could not be found in the word. You will find such things in commands that appear arbitrary among groups—don’t play cards, don’t listen to music with a syncopated rhythm, don’t ever touch alcohol, here is the dress code for all people at all times, etc.

But what happens if we see a pendulum swing away from such moralism? We need to see that swing stop before it goes too far. Otherwise we end up with antinomianism, a throwing off of all law or commands. You will see this in groups that become so radically grace focused that they are unwilling to call anything sin. You see it in groups that so revel in being “real” and being “authentic” that they refuse to speak out against the actions of anyone in their group for fear that they will come off as not gracious, the only sin they seem to continue to acknowledge. You will see it in groups who claim to be Christians, but who completely ignore the word of God when it comes to social issues or modern morality.

How do we avoid a dangerous pendulum swing between legalism and lawlessness? The answer is in the word. Love the word.

Psalm 119:20, 24

20 My soul is consumed with longing
for your rules at all times.
24 Your testimonies are my delight;
they are my counselors.

Look here at how David speaks of God’s law, his rules. He longs for the law of God. He finds the law and testimony of God his delight. There is a genuine love of the word of God—yes, the rules and commands of God—that is present in the heart of a genuinely godly person.

So, if your pendulum is swinging away from Scripture, there is a big problem. If you look at the commands of the word as things about which to be embarrassed, you are headed toward lawlessness. If you see what God says about our lives, our marriages, our sexuality, our finances, our self-control, our eternities and you find it off-putting, you must recognize that there is a problem with your love of the Lord.

But how do we avoid a pendulum swing toward legalism? This is actually simple: love the word. When you genuinely love the word of God, you do not find any reason to think you need to improve upon it. You see God’s affirmation of modesty and his prohibitions against immorality, and you will govern how you dress and behave by that word. You will see God’s word speaking out against drunkenness, and you, when you are of age, will make your own decisions about whether or not drinking at all is wise for you. You will see God’s word speaking about the church being full of reverence, full of joy, living as a family and a body, and you will develop life in accord with biblical commands. As you love the word, you will watch the word counsel you to seek the counsel of other lovers of the word in your local church to help you make word-centered, godly decisions. The more you genuinely love the word, the more you let the word speak, the more that the word alone is your final standard, the more you will avoid both errors of moralism and legalism.

Love the word. Love the word so much that you deeply desire to obey the word. Love the word so much that you do not in any way want to add to it to try to improve it. Stop the pendulum from swinging toward moralism or toward antinomianism, toward legalism or lawlessness, by loving the word of God, all of it.

A Key to Fearing God

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Christians, if we have been biblically taught, we know that we are supposed to be God-fearers. But we do struggle to know what that looks like. I have suggested in the past that fearing God for the believer is different than fearing God as a non-believer. We do not desire to run and hide from the Lord. We are not those who cry out to the mountains to fall on us and cover us from the sight of the Lord. While we are in awe of the Lord and we know that we cannot stand before him without his covering of grace, our fear of the Lord leads us to fall to our knees and cry, “Holy!”

What does fearing God look like in a Christian’s daily life? What will it change? I thought of those questions while reading through Psalm 112. Look at the parallel of the first verse, and see what the psalmist equates with fearing God.

Psalm 112:1

Praise the Lord!
Blessed is the man who fears the Lord,
who greatly delights in his commandments!

How do we know who fears the Lord? The man fears God who greatly delights in God’s commandments. This is evidence of being a God-fearer.

How do you feel about the commandments of God? Are you one who constantly points out the fact that following God is not about rules and commandments? Are you one who looks for the minimum of what you might call mere Christianity? Or, as you know God, do you delight in his commands, all of them? Are you embarrassed by God’s standards when you talk with the lost? Do you wish you could hide God’s word from them? Or do you see that the word of God is perfect, his laws glorious? No, I’m not talking about any form of legalism here. But I am suggesting that a God-fearer loves even the commands of God.

A true God-fearer delights in God’s commandments. That means that, as we know and love the Lord, as we properly reverence and honor the Lord, we will also love his ways. God commanded nothing in history that was not perfect. If we allow ourselves to be ashamed of the commands of God, we show that we do not yet properly fear God. God’s rules for life are worth more than thousands of gold and silver pieces. God’s word is perfect, reviving our souls. God’s word is a lamp to our feet and a light to our path. God’s word is precious in every way. And God’s standards, even those most hated and despised by the world around us, should bring us delight.

Christian, fear God. How? Delight in the word of God. Delight in the ways of God. Delight in the commands of God. And any time you feel yourself wanting to shrink back from the word of God, remember that God is holy, and God-fearers delight in his word and his ways.

The Gift of God’s Law

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The title of the book of Deuteronomy literally means second law. Moses is reiterating for the people of Israel the commands of God. The nation left Egypt nearly four decades ago, an entire generation lies buried in the desert. And now it will be time for the people of God to enter and take possession of the land.

Before the nation enters the land, God will use Moses as his spokesman one final time. God will have Moses remind the people of the laws of God that the nation received when they were still children, fresh out of Egypt. For the first 3 chapters of this book, Moses reminded the people of their basic history. In chapter 4, Moses begins to point to the law. And what Moses has to say is beautiful.

Deuteronomy 4:1-2 – 1 “And now, O Israel, listen to the statutes and the rules that I am teaching you, and do them, that you may live, and go in and take possession of the land that the Lord, the God of your fathers, is giving you. 2 You shall not add to the word that I command you, nor take from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God that I command you.

As God prepares to send Israel into her land, he points them directly to his word and his promise. He has promised them the land. But he has also shown them, as a people, how to live so as to be under his favor. And it all centers on the word of God.

Moses tells the people not to add to or take from the word of God. They are not to make up new commands, laws, or styles of worship that God did not command. They were not to adopt the religious practices and pagan moralities of the people living in Canaan. Nor were they to bring to the table new, fresh, never-before-seen ideas about who God is and how he is to be considered. They were to stick with the revelation of God they had received.

Neither was the nation to take from the word of God. It was not for Israel to enter the land and then ignore what God had commanded them about sacrifice, about marriage, or about justice. They were to worship as God prescribed. They were to shape their society as God had prescribed. And they, if they were to continue to be in God’s favor, were to keep his law without cutting it down.

As Christians who live under the New Covenant, we are not necessarily required to obey the laws that God gave to Israel about camping in the desert or the laws of sacrifice that were a shadow of the perfect sacrifice of Christ. But we would be fools not to see that the law of God shows who God is and what are his standards. God’s law teaches us about justice, genuine justice. God’s law teaches us about marriage and family. God’s law teaches us about God’s requirements for human sexuality. God’s law teaches us about God’s holiness. God’s law shows us that no sin has ever been forgiven without a substitutionary sacrifice, a perfect sacrifice—the sacrifice of Jesus—making atonement.

When God had Moses tell the people to keep his law and neither to add to nor take from it, God was showing the people that he had blessed them greatly. God had given them the information they needed to live as his people. This is a kindness from God beyond what we can imagine. God is not required by any external standard to let us know who he is or what he desires. God has every right to cast us into hell for sin even if he never tells us what sin is. But God chose to graciously reveal himself in his word. God chose to graciously reveal his worship, his standards, and his ways in his word.

May we never be a people who do anything less than treasure God’s word. Yes, from time to time we will need to examine Old Testament law closely to learn what is the timeless principle for today’s application. But there is such a thing. God’s law is perfect. God’s word is good. And we as the people of God love the law of God because that law reveals to us the God we worship if indeed we worship the true God. Never let any part of the word of God go. Never stop loving the word of God. Never change or twist the word of God. Let the law of God reveal to you our God and lead you to worship Jesus, the Son of God, who perfectly fulfilled the law of God on our behalf.