New Thoughts (12/29/01-12/31/01)
Somewhere in the commentaries was a note that pointed out how the analogy of the potter fit both the individual and the national viewpoint. With that in mind, I want to begin by looking at a few things that seem to bear on the national issue of God's providence and sovereignty. Mr. Clarke led me to look at more of the surrounding context in Jeremiah, in his efforts to shape the argument in purely national terms. The section he focused on ends with God declaring that where He has determined to bless a nation, but that nation insists on doing evil in His sight, remaining disobedient to Him, He will rethink His plans for blessing (Jer 18:9-10). If ever there was a time to keep this in view, it would seem this is that time.
America has always seen itself as a nation established by God. The colonies were founded to provide a place where men could worship in the fashion they deemed most in accord with His teaching. Strong efforts to spread the Gospel message to the previous inhabitants of the land occupied many good men. Over the course of our history, the piety of our nation has fluctuated. We have known times of great revival, and times of awful apostasy.
Throughout each of those times of apostasy, there have stood preachers in the pulpit who have cried out in their concern over the course of life in this country. Some have deemed them foolish, others opportunistic. Today, I read of many who are warning the nation that worse things are yet to come than those we have witnessed this year. My natural inclination is to join those who brush their warning aside. However, there remains this passage we mentioned: If that nation does evil in My sight, and disobeys Me, I will think better of My plans to bless them. Can we look honestly at this nation, and claim that on the whole it follows God's law? We are a people trying to remove His law from the courts of America! Can we really claim that we obey Him? How, then, all the death sciences? How, then, all the lives offered up on the altars to convenience and 'dignity?' We don't want to consider that God may have been involved with the events of this fall. We don't want to think that He had anything to do with it, whether it be an active role or a passive one.
We've been taught for so long that God is love, that we've rather forgotten that God is also just, and righteous. We've ignored that fact that vengeance is His, and looked only to His lovingkindness and mercy. We have to recognize that God is sovereign. We can blame Satan for every little thing that we don't like, but he remains a lesser player. He cannot hunt without a permit. He cannot act without authorization from a higher source. Mr. Barnes reminds us of this fact in looking at the example of Pharaoh. He reminds us that God was perfectly capable of removing Pharaoh from the scene at any time He so chose. He is in control He controlled all that was capable of influencing Pharaoh, be it for good or ill. As the God of all providence, He had control over Pharaoh at all times. He chose to order Pharaoh's circumstances such that his true character would develop, yet in doing so left Pharaoh free to pursue his course as he pleased. Pharaoh's opposition to God was voluntary.
We must recognize that the same holds true for Mr. Ben Ladin today. God has arranged circumstances such that, as this man makes his choices, his true character is developed. God has permitted him to remain on the scene. God has raised him up to the position he occupies, whereby he can arrange such atrocities against this nation. Why? I think that in part the answer lies in the fact that He has also left this nation to its own choices, and those choices have shown a national character that gives Him cause to rethink His plans to bless us. I think that in part the answer lies in His love for His people. Whom He loves, He disciplines. We, as a nation, have needed correction. We have chosen foolishly, and followed after all too many things that are not good. The question that comes now is, what will we do with that discipline? Will we accept it, learn from it, and return to the paths of righteousness, or will we reject Him and insist on our own course?
With that question before me, I thank God for His choice of leader for this nation at this time. Never has it been so clear that He raises up the rulers He desires. Never was an election so clearly a matter of His choosing. We have been blessed to have a praying President to lead in this time of national crisis. We have watched a reprobate press that has found itself tongue-tied, being unable to find cause for criticism. What can be said of them? They have been dragged into a begrudging respect for the man they thought laughable. Yet, they continue to hunt and peck, seeking some means to drag down this offense to their immorality. But God scoffs at their efforts. He has placed His man in the seats of power, and He will determine when that man's time is up. I must note, however, that He also placed the previous President in power. Knowing that, I am all the more thankful that we have who we have at this time and for this time.
Something else struck me in looking at Luke 21:23 (Woe to those with child in those days, for there will be great distress on the land, and wrath to this people.) In the context of that declaration, it seems clearly directed at Israel. It was not declared as wrath to all people, but to this people. This struck me as rather significant to all the end-times ponderings that so occupy people's minds these days. Why did destruction come upon Jerusalem, God's chosen city? Because it was the day of vengeance, the fulfillment of what had been prophesied (Lk 21:22). And this punishment will last until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled (Lk 21:24). Indeed, if God's people will insist on their sins, if they will persistently do evil before His eyes, and rebel against Him, He will reconsider His planned blessings. The nation of Israel, God's chosen people, has had a history that no nation would envy, and yet every nation should envy. They have suffered unbelievable catastrophes. The destruction of Jerusalem was a horrible event, not only because pagan Rome gained a more complete control over the Holy Land, but because much of the cities destruction and desecration came from Israel itself.
And this was but the beginning of her trials. The city has been overrun by so many, at so many different times, and even now, when Israel is returned to its lands, it is a land contested and cohabited. Israel is forced to reside side by side with those who have declared their hatred of Israel, who have declared their greatest intentions to be the erasing of Israel from the face of the earth. Why? What was Israel's order from God when first they entered Canaan? They were told to annihilate the inhabitants of that land, because those nations had performed such abominations against holiness, that they could no longer be tolerated. What abominations? Well, to begin with, there was their practice of offering their own children on the fires of the altar. We ought to be warned. Why annihilation? Because sin is an viral infection. It cannot be contained, it must be eradicated. God warned them of what would come if they did not remove this infection completely from their lands, but they didn't listen. They left the virus, and tried to contain it, tried to turn it to their own uses. It backfired. Those they were supposed to clean from their land now share that land with them, and lobby to have Israel removed. The virus was never contained. It just became more impervious to treatment.
The church, today, should be learning from this situation. All that is written in Scripture was written to teach us, who live at the end of all history. How many things have we refused to annihilate from among us? How many sins have we allowed to remain in the Church, thinking them contained? How tolerant have we become of debased and deceptive teaching? How can we think that God will long tolerate the pollution we bring to His body? We need to wake up, and clean up. We need to learn an intolerance for all that is not holy. We need to be intolerant of it in our houses, but moreso in His house. It is not for man to decide what is appropriate in worship. It is not for man to decide what is appropriate in doctrine. God makes the calls. We need to learn to discern. We need to learn to accept what He has decided, and to so act.
Shifting focus to the more personal matters presented in this passage, think about this: Paul presents a question on behalf of his audience, "If God's will is irresistible, why is He angry with us?" Paul's response to that question is, "Who resists Him?" All of the commentaries I've read look at this as almost a non-response. Paul is merely reminding them of their condition before God, they say. To me, however, it appears that one could take this as a legitimate answer to the question. True, God's will is irresistible, but who among you has actually tried to resist Him, and do good? Who among you has been fighting to free himself from his sins? Not one. The simple fact is that we never even try for righteousness until He comes to make the necessary change in our hearts.
There remains, however, that message of the inappropriateness of indicting God for His decisions. As with nations, so with men: He is sovereign. He is also most merciful. He has showered his blessings not only upon His chosen, but on all men. All men know the blessings of sunshine and rain, of food to sustain, and shelter to protect. All share in the many blessings of life. Recognizing this, we can join Mr. Barnes in saying, "They who have received every blessing they enjoy from Him, ought not to blame Him for not making them different." In spite of their rebellion, yet everything they have, comes from Him. Every good they have known is still by His hand, though they won't acknowledge Him, or thank Him. Where is there room for them to complain? They have been allowed to pursue their own ways, and have even been given provisions to sustain them in their pursuits. If they attain to the ends they have so pursued, is that any fault of God's?
On what basis can we conclude that God has not the right to do with us as He will? The only bonds one can find on His rights are those He Himself has placed there, and those bonds are bonds of righteousness. There is only one means by which we could possibly insist on His aid, and that is the means He chose: faith in His Son unto salvation. Yet, were it not for His influence in our hearts, not one of us would have made that choice. He chose us unto salvation. He chose to so renew our hearts, as to make it possible for us to desire the salvation He offers. No reason is ever offered in Scripture to explain why He has chosen us, and not chosen others.
Calvin declares that the reason for this lack of explanation is that God does not reveal His counsels to man. Yet, in Amos 3:7, we read that the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing His secret counsel to His servants the prophets. Some would declare that there are no prophets in the world today. This would certainly reconcile the two statements. However, I have yet to read any conclusive argument from Scripture that would indicate such an end to prophecy. In fact, if we are to accept the words Amos has declared, it would seem that the office of the prophet must continue, as Augustine points out in his writings, until there is no tomorrow about which to prophecy.
So, are both Calvin and Amos correct in their statements? If one must be rejected, it would have to be Calvin, because Scripture will stand. Yet, it seems clear to me that no prophet has ever been told who would or wouldn't be saved, nor why. In fact, Jesus' parables would tend to indicate that it is not for us to know with certainty who is saved and who isn't. Our judgment in such matters is too unreliable to allow us to make the call. Is it, then, a matter of counsels concerning nations vs. counsels concerning individuals? Maybe, but I don't see any strong support for reaching that conclusion.
How is this, Father? I confess I don't understand. If nothing is done but that You reveal it to Your prophets, how is it that we know not who is saved? This seems so contradictory. Is not salvation Your doing? That's been the whole point of this letter, hasn't it? How, then, are we to reconcile this with Your word, oh God? In Your time, would You bring understanding?
God may not clarify for us why we are chosen, but there is one thing He is absolutely clear on: He did choose us, and that, in spite of ourselves. We were a people not seeking, yet He made Himself to be found by us. We had no desire for Him, yet He came to work a change in us, that we might desire Him. He did not force us to desire Him, however, He simply made it possible for us to. He made repairs upon our nature so that it was possible for us to desire Him, where before no possibility existed.
Augustine writes, "God makes some vessels of wrath according to their merit; others, vessels of mercy according to His grace." Matthew Henry writes, "We can destroy ourselves fast enough, but we cannot save ourselves. Sinners fit themselves for hell, but it is God that prepares saints for heaven." The point is much the same. Were we to depend on our efforts, on what we have earned or deserved, there could be but one result. We would inevitably earn our destruction, for all have sinned and fallen short of God's rule of righteousness. Those who cry out for God's justice upon their case are blindly crying out for their own destruction, for that can be the only just answer to man's actions.
Yet, He is also merciful, and those who understand their true nature will cry out for His mercy. In His mercy, He moves to prepare those He has chosen for heaven. He works most directly with them, to justify, to sanctify, and to glorify. He is intimately involved with the raising of His children. Yet, nowhere can it be shown that He moves directly to prepare the wicked for destruction. We were doing that well enough on our own before He called, and where He hasn't called, such self-preparations will continue.
I was listening to a message from Mr. Sproul recently, on the end of Romans 1. In it, he pointed out that the worst judgment God ever meted out to man was to leave him to his own course, to abandon him to his own pursuits. No man was forced by God to sin. No man was ever coerced into fulfilling his own lusts. All men, at one time or another, have actively pursued that sin and lust quite of their own accord. But God so moved upon some that they changed. New desires sprung up within them, a new hunger for righteousness burned in their hearts, and they came to seek God out. They came to seek His forgiveness, and to seek salvation from their fleshly desires in the only place it could be found, in Christ Jesus. Those who have rejected that salvation, God has judged. His judgment has been that as they have decided to reject Him, so be it. Let them pursue their own course. Their end is just.
But, here is the great gift that we celebrate in Christmas celebrations: the Gift of great worth given to men of no worth. God has displayed His great mercy on all, on both Jew and Gentile. That mercy was displayed, as Mr. Clarke points out, to all who have "been invited by the preaching of the Gospel to receive justification by faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, and have come to the Gospel feast on this invitation." What greater present could He possibly give to us than His own mercy! And what mercy it is! For, Matthew Henry points out for us that "God's mercy endures forever, because the reason of it is fetched from within Himself."
Thanks be to our great God that our salvation is solely by His own choosing! Thanks be to our mighty Savior that our salvation rests upon nothing but faith alone, and even that faith a gift from Himself to us! Where else shall we find such a great and blessed assurance in knowing that we will be with Him? If it depended on my actions, on my consistent adherence to His ways, I would be doomed from the start. I could give up now, and walk away. But it's not my, my Lord, it's You! You have done it. You have made a way where no way existed! You have declared me righteous by Your word. You have washed me, You have cast my sins away. You have saved me by Your eternal mercy! How can I but rejoice in the knowledge of so great a salvation! How can I but seek to know You better, who have done such wonderful things for me!
Lord, I've looked back across my notes from the last few years, and I've noticed a change. It's become more preaching than praying. While I'm enjoying the growth in understanding, my God, I'm missing that more intimate communication we had. I pray that as I enter this new year with You, that You might work in me a new balance. I pray that You would work within me to rebuild that place of prayer that has been lacking of late, and yet work it such that this growth in study might remain.
Lord, You know the many decisions and directions that lie ahead of me in this coming year. You know the confusion that my job has become. You know the challenge that worship ministry has become. You know the questions that surround the teaching ministry You began me in last year. So much seems to be withering right now, oh God. I cling to the knowledge that every seed must fall to the ground if it is to grow to a fruitful tree. I pray that You would guide me, in each of these areas, into the place You would have me to be.
I lay it all in Your capable and wonderful hands, my Lord, for You know best. Where You would have me to go, point the way, Jesus, and I will go. Sweet Lord, I cannot rely on visions You have given to others. I cannot bring myself to make my way by dreams. I need a clear word, Holy Spirit, I need Your voice bringing to mind all that I need to know in this time of change. I pray, as I look to a meeting with Pastor this afternoon, that You would fill both him and myself with the words of Your truth. Give us together, oh Holy Spirit, the wisdom of Your counsel, by which to set course.
I cannot end this study without providing a balance to the truth of Your mercy. Paul is a wise example in this, for never does he point out that it all rests with God, without simultaneously reminding us that we must yet make every effort on our own part. In the J, F, & B commentary it says, "Both the 'willing' and the 'running' are indispensable to salvation; yet salvation is owing to neither." This is the balanced message that comes of Romans and James. Salvation is most assuredly by faith alone, yet it is a very dead faith that does not seek to do those things that are pleasing to our Savior. If we are not striving after that very righteousness that Jesus has given us, if we are not putting every effort into living a life worthy of the great price He paid for us, we have every reason to question whether that salvation is really ours. A true faith in Christ Jesus cannot but produce fruits of righteousness. Certainly, we will continue to make mistakes. This is why salvation depends on His mercy, and not on our obedience. We'll blow it, yet we must try our hardest. We cannot help but try our hardest.
Along with Paul, we must ever strain for the finish line. We must exercise and train ourselves constantly to the ways of righteousness. We must live by Nehemiah's example: striving to our utmost, as though God would not help, and simultaneously praying for God's assistance, knowing that without Him, we can do nothing. This is the Christian life: doing our utmost, yet recognizing that we can do nothing; trusting all to our God and Savior, yet seeking with all our might and will to do His will. We are a living paradox, simultaneously saint and sinner (Luther?) Knowing we must inevitably fail of perfection, yet we exert every effort to attain to that perfection, trusting Christ Jesus to complete in us that which He has begun. In all that effort, our only confidence is that He is faithful, for we know ourselves too well to declare ourselves faithful. He is faithful, and my salvation is sure! I will one day see Him face to face, as He truly is, as He welcomes me into the family house! What more do I need than to know that this is my inheritance? Surely, He alone is worthy of our praise! Give God the glory for the great things He has done in this sinner's life!
