The Conservative Christian Reader

The Will of God - Part Ten - The Sovereignty of God

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Ten – The Sovereignty of God

Last time we looked at prayer as it relates to the Will of God.  Now, let’s look at the Sovereignty as it relates to the Will of God.

To recognize that God is sovereign is to know and understand that God is in control – as opposed to me being in control.  For some this concept is not so profound and for others – well let’s just say, “I don’t think so, Tim!”

It is somewhat a human character trait to want to be a wall flower or just to “go with the flow” or to “be in charge.”  Human nature more often than not, in my judgment, is one side of the coin or another.  Actually, again in my experience, most people really would rather be in charge that let another be in charge, though some can suppress this inclination.

I love Bill Cosby humor.  There was one show where Cosby’s son-in-law, Alvin, came to him for advice about how to handle Cosby’s daughter and her need to be in control.  It was couched in terms of how Alvin just didn’t understand her, but it was pretty clear to me that the issue was control.  Cosby explained how he handles the situation with his wife, telling  Alvin that whenever she says something, rather than arguing, he will just take a step back and hold both hands up, but say nothing.

Of course, right then, enter the daughter.  Cosby moves so he is looking at Alvin from the vantage point behind his daughter.  The daughter speaks to Alvin and Alvin begins to disagree when he sees Cosby, from behind his daughter, hold both hands in the air.  Alvin again begins to argue and again he sees Cosby hold up his hands.  So Alvin just holds up HIS hands and says nothing.  Denise, the daughter, is happy and satisfied and all is well!

Now I’m not an advocate of following this practice all of the time in relationships, though sometimes I might be better served to do so, but it illustrates, albeit comically, that sometimes it is better to relinquish control.

With God, there is no need to throw both hands up in frustration and let Him take control, because He IS in control.  Sure it is frustrating some times, but it is simply wrong for us to attempt to assume control over God!  Think, for a moment, what that means.  We recognize who we are dealing with – GOD, the supreme being and our creator and savior – but WE want to usurp HIS position by taking control.  We wouldn’t do that when confronted with the Terminator or that bully in high school so why now?  Why God?

It seems to me to be a matter of trust and a matter of perspective.  When I attempt to take control, as opposed to accepting God’s control, then I am saying to God, “I don’t trust you.  I don’t really believe who you are.”  If you don’t buy this, then how do you feel when your children talk back to you and tell you they aren’t going to do as you say?

Look.  Clearly God’s did not create a bunch of robots.  God gave us brains and He gave us “free will,”  but we are responsible for how we act and the various paths that we take.  This should come as no surprise, but we are always better off to take the path that God sets before us.

Follow these verses:

Prov 16:3:

3          Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed.

Prov 16:9:

9          In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps.  NIV)

 

Prov 19:21:

21        Many are the plans in a man's heart, but it is the LORD's purpose that prevails.  (NIV)

The point of all of this is that God is in control and I’m not!  And it is better that way.

Doug

The Will of God - Part Nine - Prayer

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Nine – Prayer

Last time we looked at things unknown as it relates to the Will of God.  Now, let’s look at the topic of prayer as it relates to the Will of God.

The next area in seeking the Will of God is prayer.  How in the world would one expect to understand another without talking with that person?  We have already seen that prayer is communication with God.  It is “direct access to the throne.”  So let’s see if we can put this into practice to help determine God’s Will.  Here are some verses that should help to make this point.

Rom 1:9‑10:

9          God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you

10        in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. (NIV)

 

1 Thes 3:10‑11:

10        Night and day we pray most earnestly that we may see you again and supply what is lacking in your faith.

11        Now may our God and Father himself and our Lord Jesus clear the way for us to come to you.  (NIV)

 

Rom 15:30‑32:

30        I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.

31        Pray that I may be rescued from the unbelievers in Judea and that my service in Jerusalem may be acceptable to the saints there,

32        so that by God's will I may come to you with joy and together with you be refreshed.  (NIV)

We could go on and on looking at Biblical examples of prayer and how this essential act helps with the Will of God.  Let me just say that if you would combine your search for the Will of God in your life with an active and fervent prayer life, you might be surprised – VERY surprised!

Doug

The Will of God - Part Eight - Things Unknown

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Eight – Things Unknown

Last time we looked at Bible Study as it relates to the Will of God.  Now, let’s look at those things that may really be unknown.

This is one of the toughest areas of the Will of God for many people.  In general, we like to know certain things.  We like to be able to predict certain things.  We like to say, “Because we know, see and/or experience X, therefore we know that Y is the outcome.”  I am here to tell you that sometimes this is not the case with God.  We would like to put God in a box and tie up this box with a pretty bow and then open it up whenever we want.  Wallah!  Here is God’s Will for me! 

But look at these verses:

1 Cor 4:19: But I will come to you very soon, if the Lord is willing, and then I will find out not only how these arrogant people are talking, but what power they have. (NIV)

 

1 Cor 16:7: I do not want to see you now and make only a passing visit; I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord permits.  (NIV)

 

Acts 18:21: But as he left, he promised, "I will come back if it is God's will."  (NIV)

How important it is to know this about God.  A lot of things do not depend on me, but rather if God is willing.  Understand that life is an adventure!  Some would certainly like to know what is coming, but how utterly boring and even dangerous it would be if we could know and predict everything.  If we knew we were going to get some disease or die, or if we knew that about our loved-ones, but we could do nothing about it, how horrible.  If we knew about every job opportunity, every experience, would that make us happy?  Of course not.  We would then want to control all of that.  And where would that lead?  What about all of the people who would be negatively affected by our selfish actions!  It boggles the mind.  We should note that our actions affect other people.  A selfish act on my part may seriously affect what happens to someone else.  It is much better that we say to God that we are happy to watch His Will unfold.  We should be happy just to experience this great adventure that we call life.

One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible is Joshua 3.  The Hebrew people did a lot of grumbling in the wilderness.  Personally, I think they get a bad rap for this since it appears to me that grumbling is a part of human nature.  That doesn’t mean grumbling is good, just that we all are guilty of grumbling.  Joshua has taken over leadership following the death of Moses.  Here the people have come to Joshua grumbling again, this time to cross over the Jordan River into the Promised Land.  So God has given permission to Joshua to allow this to happen.

1 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it."

 

5 Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

 

6 Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them.

 

7 And the LORD said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'"

 

9 Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD-the Lord of all the earth-set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."

 

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.  NIV

Notice the command in verse 4.  "When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.  Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about a thousand yards between you and the ark; do not go near it."

Remember that the Ark of the Covenant was carried before the Hebrew nation as they went into battle.  It was placed in the Tabernacle and eventually the Temple in the Holy of Holies.  Here it will be carried before the nation as they cross into the Promised Land. 

But note also what God has said in verse 8.  “Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'"

Now, if this were me, I would pick up the Ark, walk to the edge of the Jordan, stop and wait for God to part the water.  But that is not the instruction from God.  Notice that the priests are told to take the Ark and go “stand in the river.”  Now this was no small river and this was the rainy season.  More than likely, the river was a torrent! 

But look at the miracle starting in verse 15.  “Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing.”  Now they can all walk across.  But the miracle does not stop here.  From verse 17, “The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.”  Did you catch this?  If I were God, I would have had them sloshing across in the mud and the muck.  But our God allowed them to cross on dry ground.  Never, never underestimate the details that our God sees and provides for us.

What is the lesson in this about the Will of God?  I think it took tremendous faith for them to put their feet into the water.  This is one of those places, by the way, that we get our phrase, “The Step of Faith.”  Sometimes, we have to take the step of faith.  It is just fine to take the step of faith. 

But, you say, what if I am wrong?  This is a fair question.  I believe that if we have done our best to seek God, He will honor a righteous action.  That doesn’t mean there will be no trouble.  That doesn’t mean that we will always be right.  There is never a guaranty of success or lack of pain or consequence.  By the way, even if we are in God’s Will, that doesn’t mean that there is a guaranty of no pain.  If that were true, Jesus would have never gone to the cross.  He was surely within God’s Will, yet He went to the cross for us.

But where would you rather be?  In God’s Will or out of God’s Will?  If one chooses to be pain free in this earthly life rather that to be within God’s Will, then I suggest a little soul searching.   And, we often have great pain because we didn’t care about God’s Will!   Sure, I like security and lack of pain just like the next person, but when it comes right down to it, I hope to understand that “Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.  And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us. Rom 5:3-5 NIV

It’s time to make a conscious choice.  Do I trust God or do I trust me?  Take some time to consider this question.  Hopefully it will lead to action.

Doug

The Will of God - Part Seven - Know the Bible

 THE WILL OF GOD – Part Seven – Know the Bible

Last time we looked at the Will of God in Specific Situations.  Now we look at how knowing the Bible helps us to understand the Will of God.

One of the sure paths to take to help in our recognition of the Will of God is to know and understand His Word.  We simply have to dedicate ourselves to the study of the Bible.  Most people will never touch their Bible during the week.  Some will not even carry their Bible to church.  

Let me say this:  First, make sure that you have a Bible!  In the chapter on the Word of God, I talked about the various translations of the Bible and made some recommendations.  You may want to go back and review that, but for now, let this sink in.  Make up your mind right now that you will get a Bible.

Next, the human species will never learn anything by osmosis.  We may learn from seeing and from experiencing, but the mere fact that we have a Bible, does not mean that we will learn or have learned what is in it.   We cannot learn what is in the Bible by buying it, possessing it, looking at it or even sleeping with it.  We have to open it up and read it.  We have to contemplate on it.  We have to develop a method of study.

2 Tim 3:16‑17 says “All Scripture is God‑breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,             so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.”  (NIV)

This term, “God-breathed,” often translated as “inspired,” is critical to our understanding.  It is from the Greek word, “theopneustos” is a combination of “theos,” meaning “God or deity” (from which we get our word “theology” the study of deity or God) and “pneo,” meaning “to breathe hard or to blow into.”  Therefore, the meaning “God-breathed.”   There is the same connotation from Genesis 2:7, “the LORD God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being.”  NIV

The word used here for “breathed,” in the Hebrew, is “neshamah” meaning “a puff,” as in a wind, vital breath, divine inspiration or intellect.  The “breath of life” comes from the Hebrew word, “nephesh” meaning “a breathing creature.”   So, as in Genesis, God breathed into Adam and that breath created a living, breathing and intellectual creature, so in 2 Timothy 3 scripture, that which makes up the Bible, has been given this breath of life from God.  Truly and literally God has puffed His breath into the Bible and has created His living, breathing and intellectual Word.

To know God is to see His Word as His very breath and to breathe it into our lives so that there will be no distinction between our breath and the breath of God.

Doug

The Will of God - Part Six - God's Will in Specific Situations

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Six – God’s Will in Specific Situations

Last time we looked at the Special Revelation as it relates to the Will of God in Ephesians 5.  Now, let’s look at God’s Will in Specific Situations.

When I get to this point in my Christianity 101 class, I often pick one likely looking couple.  It may be a bit politically incorrect, but I ask this couple “Who does the cooking?”  Generally that will be the wife and I’ll ask her, “If you really wanted to please your husband by cooking his favorite meal, what would that be?”  The wife will answer something like, steak or roast beef, though once I got, “He’d ask me if we could go out to dinner.”  Everyone gets a pretty good laugh at this point, so I turn to the husband and I tell him that he may think I am letting him off the hook, but this is not so.  Then I ask, “If you really wanted to please your wife by doing something for her or buying her something, what would that be?  I get answers like a romantic dinner or trip, flowers, jewelry and the like.  Never have I heard, “Let’s sit down and watch as I use the remote to flip through the channels!”  For a good laugh, I do suggest that from time to time.

Then I like to look at the class and ask, “Why do you think they each know what the other likes?”  Almost always I hear that they are committed to each other or that they understand each other.

My friends, it is the same with God.  If you really want to know about God – His likes and dislikes, it will take a commitment.  So, if you want to know God’s Will, then the first step is to make a commitment to Him. 

The best place to talk about commitment is back to Romans 12:1-2.

             1          Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God‑‑ this is your spiritual act of worship.

             2          Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is‑‑ his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (NIV)

Notice that the last line of verse 2 tells us that when we make this offer or commitment, “Then” we will know what is the Will of God.  So if you want to know what is God’s Will, (1) offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, (2) do not conform to the pattern of the world and (3) be transformed by the renewing of your mind.

How does one offer his body as a living sacrifice?  The first way to do that is to totally commit to God.  Commit in learning, studying, submitting, acting, listening, worshiping, telling, teaching and working.  The word, offer, in the Greek is “parasteesai,” which means to stand beside, recommend or aid.  Some translate this “to present.”   From the use of this word, we clearly see that there is an active part that we must play.  We must do the presenting.  We must make the offer.  And we must offer ourselves as the sacrifice.  The context is that of an animal sacrifice that the Priest would give and is also the offering or sacrifice that Jesus gave once and for all for us!  But we are to do this while we are living.  Yes.  Right here.  Right now. 

Don’t misunderstand me, this has nothing to do with salvation.  We have talked about that before.  We are saved by Grace, through Faith plus nothing else.  No works (so we won’t boast about ourselves and what we did to earn salvation).  This topic that we are looking at now is about our commitment to God because we are saved.

The word “holy” means without blemish.  The priest was only to accept an animal for sacrifice that was without blemish.  Then, that would be pleasing and acceptable to God.  This should be our focus here.  That is, we want to be without blemish, holy, so that we will be pleasing and acceptable to God.   Note again, we are not talking about salvation.  Here we are talking about our commitment to God that aids us in understanding the Will of God.  Not that we can ever be holy, but that God accepts us as holy.  We are “positionally” holy because of the finished work of Christ on the cross.

So how much commitment does it take?  There is no way to sugar-coat this.  A whole bunch.  A total commitment.  After all, that is what Jesus did for us.

What is meant by not conforming to the pattern of this world?  “Suschematizo” means “to fashion alike.”  Certainly we have to be in this world, as Jesus was in this world, but the command here is that there is a pattern of conduct and lifestyle in this world that we must avoid.  We have seen some of this before, like sexual impurity. Now, we are to conform ourselves to the pattern of Christ.

It isn’t easy, but the command is to not be conformed to the pattern of this world – like immorality, dress, speech, etc.  Let’s work on this together as the Body of Christ that was given for us and the Blood of Christ that was shed for us.

Doug

A Short Break

I'll be taking a short break.  I should be back on the blog on Monday, February 22, 2010.

Doug

The Will of God - Part Five - The General Sense of God's Will (Special Revelation - Ephesians 5)

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Five – The General Sense of God’s Will (Special Revelation – Ephesians 5)

Last time we looked at the Special Revelation as it relates to the Will of God in 1 Thessalonians 4:3‑8.  Now, let’s look at Ephesians 5.

As we have seen from the two preceding passages, we can generally view it as a command from God to perform His Will.   Here is another passage that says we should “understand what the Lord’s will is.”  (v. 17)

Eph 5:15‑28:

15        Be very careful, then, how you live‑‑ not as unwise but as wise,

16        making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.

17        Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.

18        Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.

19        Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord,

20        always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

21        Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.

22        Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.

23        For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.

24        Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.

25        Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her

26        to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word,

27        and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.

28        In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. (NIV)

It is unavoidable then.  If we are really serious about finding the Will of God and, yes, following or conforming to the Will of God, we are to be careful how we live and make every opportunity to live wisely.  We are foolish otherwise!  But these are all general matters.  How do we know specifically what is right and wrong about how we live, how to be wise and how to take every opportunity to seek and follow God?  The answers to these questions are right here!  We don’t need some great guru or counselor.  It is not a matter of knowledge.  It is a matter of doing.  Just a little bit of self-discipline will do the trick! 

From Scripture, it is so simple:

1.                Don’t get drunk (v.18).  Be filled with the Spirit of God.

2.                Speak kindly to one another (v.19).  I am not exactly sure that someone would like me to sing to them.  That might be really offensive.  The connotation of verse 19 is to be kind and gentile.

3.                Here’s a good one.  Give thanks in everything!  (v. 20)  How can I do that when the world is closing in around me?  Well, it is NOT so easy IF your focus is on yourself.  If your focus is on Jesus and on the reward of spending eternity with Him, then the task makes some sense.

4.                Verse 21 rubs many of us wrong.  Submit to ONE ANOTHER!!??   No way.   We live in a world that abhors this.  Unfortunately we are often taught that we should reject authority.  We should always make sure we are in a position to win.  Look.  It is fine to be competitive and want to win an athletic contest.  But at what cost?  If we must win EVERYTHING at ANY COST, especially in our personal relationships, we are a LOSER in God’s eyes!  For God says, “Here is how I expect you to conduct yourself in relationship to one another.”  We tend to think of “submit” as a “four-letter word,” but God says to submit to one another.  Of course, we can make judgments about the deeds, words and even character of another person and, if those are out of character with God, then we may have a duty to refuse to submit and even to challenge that person.  But not everything is worth dying for (in the words of friend and Pastor, Bill Oudemolen, Senior Pastor of Foothills Bible Church in Lakewood, Colorado), but some things are!  One of my favorite persons in the world is Billy Graham.  How he has avoided scandal after so many years is a testimony to his character.  Even Billy Graham has said that SOME things are always right and SOME things are always wrong.  Not everything, but SOME things.

5.                Wives, submit.  For the men, verses 22–24 are really easy.  We love to quote these!  “Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord.  For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior.  Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.   Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything.”  This is all true, of course.  Wives have a heavy burden to submit to their husbands “as to the Lord,” mostly because their husbands aren’t really “like the Lord!”  But you are supposed to do it.  Now there is a bit of controversy as to how far to take this.  I believe that a physically battered wife need not submit to future and continual battering.  I believe that a wife is allowed to question her husband about character and living a Christ-like life and even refuse to follow if the husband wants her to do something that is anti-biblical, immoral or illegal.  I believe there may be a duty NOT to submit in some cases.  On the other hand, it is pretty easy to use this to be arrogant, strong-willed and otherwise inappropriate in many situations.  Wives must be careful here, because most wives are no more Christ-like than their husbands!  Hopefully the husband and wife can open communication channels here and genuinely talk about these things as they “submit to one another” as noted in verse 21.

            6.          Husbands, love.  Okay.  Let’s skip verses 25–28!  After all, I’m the husband!!   Calm down.  I’m just kidding.  Do you mean I have to do this?  Of course.  I think we often gloss over this as if the husbands know, appreciate and do these things.  Clearly this is not the case.  As a matter of fact, it seems to me that God has placed a heavier burden and duty on the husband.  It is as it should be.  “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water through the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless.   In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.”  As Paul says, I am the chief sinner here, but let me say this.  If husbands followed these verses, there would probably be less trouble for wives to follow the preceding verses!

Well that’s tough enough.  Enter Romans 12:1-2:

                         1           Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God‑‑ this is your spiritual act of worship.

                         2           Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is‑‑ his good, pleasing and perfect will.  (NIV)

Oh brother!  I have to offer myself as a sacrifice?  I have to refuse to conform to the world?  Yes, this is true.  As verse 2 says, this is God’s pleasing and perfect Will for us. 

I’ve got to say that this is not always easy, but it IS God’s Will.  Let me urge you, right now, to make this a commitment to God.  Practice it.  There is little, if anything we have ever done well in this life that hasn’t come with a price and with practice.  This is the same, so give it a shot.  We may never get this perfect, but the honest effort will draw us closer to the perfect Will of God that will be pleasing to Him.

It is not unusual at this point to sense a bit of uneasiness at discovering God’s Will.  Let me give you a few observations before we continue:

First, the Will of God will never be contradictory to his Word.  Second, the Will of God will never be contradictory to what we inherently know to be right or wrong.  Third, the Will of God will never be contrary to God's Moral Character.  So, search God’s Word to know Him well.  By so doing, it is easier to know when a path we may want to take is in accordance with God’s Will.  If it contradicts the Word of God, it is not God’s Will.  In addition, there is something inherently within us that can tell right from wrong.  The problem is that this internal toggle switch has been distorted by the bombardment of evil in the world – with the ability, learned over time, to justify and excuse bad actions – that our consciences no longer place an emphasis and an urgency to discern right from wrong.  There are truly some amoral people in the world.   On the other hand, most of us will feel a little twinge of guilt and quite often, that will be a clue!  Just don’t fudge and try to justify what you really know is improper.  Don’t cheat.  “You can’t fix stupid!”

Doug

The Will of God - Part Four - The General Sense of God's Will (Special Revelation - I Thessalonians 4)

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Four – The General Sense of God’s Will (Special Revelation – 1 Thessalonians 4:3-8)

Last time we looked at the first part of Special Revelation as it relates to the Will of God in Romans 8.  Now, let’s look at I Thes. 4:3‑8.

 I Thes 4:3‑8 is another section on the Will of God:

3 It is God's will that you should be sanctified: that you should avoid sexual immorality; 4 that each of you should learn to control his own body in a way that is holy and honorable, 5 not in passionate lust like the heathen, who do not know God; 6 and that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. 7 For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. 8 Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit. (NIV)

We know that these verses talk about the Will of God since verse 3 says “It is God’s Will…”  So we can be confident that we should be sanctified, that is, “set apart.”  In the Greek, this is the word, “hagiasmos.”  The Hebrew term “qodesh,” has a corresponding meaning. The basic concept is separation from the secular and sinful life and setting oneself apart for a sacred purpose. Note that the holiness of God means His separation from all evil, so sanctification, should be viewed in the same manner.  If God has set himself as holy, we should do likewise.

How do we do this?  First we are to avoid sexual immorality (v.3).  In today’s world, we are taught just the opposite.  Alternate lifestyles, homosexual unions and marriages, abortion, sex outside of marriage and pornography, to name a few, are rampant.  It is God’s Will that we avoid these things.  In fact, one of the popular arguments for abortion is that the woman is in charge of her own body and she can do anything she wants with it.  Here, God says that we must control our own body in a manner that is holy and honorable.  Is that what abortionists believe?  Is that how an abortionist should view this verse?  Of course not.  God also says  “The wife's body does not belong to her alone but also to her husband. In the same way, the husband's body does not belong to him alone but also to his wife.” 1 Cor 7:3-5 NIV.  The context here is that husband an wife should not withhold sexual intercourse from the other in order to gain power over the other, but only if by agreement for a time.  Part of the reasoning for this is that neither the husband or wife are owners of their own body.  Clearly the picture is that we do not “own” our own body.  Our bodies are the temples of God given to us for a temporary period of time.  We must honor these temples by treating them appropriately and not for our lustful benefit. In this same set of verses is the admonition not to wrong our Christian brother (v.6).  That too, is an unholy manner in which to act and we will be punished for that. Finally, verses seven and eight give us two most important principles:  First, we are called to live a holy life, as God is holy.  Second, this is not just me or your Pastor talking.  To reject these principles is to reject God.  Verse eight ends with the phrase, “… God, who gives us the Holy Spirit.”  It simply offends and rejects the Holy Spirit if we reject these principles.

Doug

The Will of God - Part Three - The General Sense of God's Will (Special Revelation - Romans 8)

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Three – The General Sense of God’s Will (Special Revelation – Romans 8)

Last time we looked at the first part of Special Revelation as it relates to the Will of God in a general sense.  Now, let’s look at Romans 8.

Rom 8: 1

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,   2 because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death. 3 For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man,   4 in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit. 5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God's law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God. 9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you. 12 Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation-but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. 13 For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, 14 because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. 15 For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,  Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs-heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the first fruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. 26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. 28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. 31 What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33 Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36 As it is written: "For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."   37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. NIV

In these powerful verses we see that no one has suffered as did Jesus.  Because He came willingly to live on this earth, suffered as we have suffered and even more so, and was put to death for something he did not do, we have assurance that there is NOW no condemnation and nothing will separate us from the love of Christ.  The key here is our focus.  If we focus on ourselves then we cannot be joyful.  If we focus on Christ – on the cross, then joyfulness takes on a whole new meaning.  In fact, to complain and disdain the crises of our lives is an affront to the very cross of Jesus that gives us our assurance of salvation. So there is no excuse for us here.  We know what God’s Will is for us because it says so in God’s word!  Is this just an isolated instance?  Of course not.  Let’s look further.

Doug

The Will of God - Part Two - The General Sense of God's Will (Special Revelation)

THE WILL OF GOD – Part Two – The General Sense of God’s Will (Special Revelation)

THE GENERAL SENSE OF GOD’S WILL – SPECIAL REVELATION

Let’s start with the general sense of the Will of God.  Some will be surprised to know that the Bible actually says a great deal about the Will of God, but this is true.  This is God's Special Revelation.  For example, take a look at I Thessalonians 5: 6-18:

I Thes 5:6‑18:

6           So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled.

7           For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk, get drunk at night.

8           But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet.

9           For God did not appoint us to suffer wrath but to receive salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ.

10        He died for us so that, whether we are awake or asleep, we may live together with him.

11        Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

12        Now we ask you, brothers, to respect those who work hard among you, who are over you in the Lord and who admonish you.

13        Hold them in the highest regard in love because of their work. Live in peace with each other.

14        And we urge you, brothers, warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone.

15        Make sure that nobody pays back wrong for wrong, but always try to be kind to each other and to everyone else.

16        Be joyful always;

17        pray continually;

18        give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  (NIV)

We know that this is a section on the Will of God because verse 18 gives us a clue! 

In these verses, there are a number of commands that can be viewed as the Will of God:

v.6       be alert and self-controlled – Sometimes it seems like we just stick our heads in the sand and pretend that nothing will or is happening, when the reality is that God says to be alert.  Self-control is another issue at which most of us are not very good.  In our society of instant gratification and the “me” mentality, we do not get much practice at the topics.

v.8       wear God’s armor – Protect yourself by building your faith and your love for others and take heart in the fact that you have eternal life – What a wonderful verse!  We have been supplied the armor of God.  Here there are three factors that show us how to “armor up!”  First, we build our faith.  Second, we build our love for one another.  Third, we focus on things eternal, not things temporal.

v.11     encourage one another and build each other up – Here is something we fail at all of the time.  Rather than building others up, we even pride ourselves in tearing others down.  I think we are taught to win at most any cost and one way to win is to tear down the perceived opponent.

v.12     respect those who work hard among us in Christian service, who are over you and admonish you – This is a statement aimed, in some respects toward church leadership.  We are told to keep an eye out for those, probably in church leadership, who first of all, work hard.  There are a lot of church leaders who do not work hard at all.  In fact, some are down right lazy!  But those who work hard and even admonish us or tell us where we have gone wrong, THESE are the ones who we are to respect.

v.13     live in peace with each other – Here is another good one that most of us foul up all of the time.  It takes real effort to live in peace with one another.  Not that we are to tolerate un-Christ-like activities and the like, but the best we can, we should try to get along.

v.14     warn those who are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient – Here are great admonitions!  It is especially important to encourage the timid, help the weak and to be patient.  It is easier, I believe, to warn someone.   It is a lot harder to encourage and help.

v.15     don’t pay back wrong for wrong, but be kind – How important it is to be kind.  That is, to be kind as Jesus was kind.

v.16     always be joyful – How do we manage this one?  I’m not by nature a very joyful person, but I knew one person who was.  His name was Ralph LaBarr.   I first met Ralph when he and his wife, Shirley, came to a Sunday school class I was teaching.  Ralph walked in with a smile on his face and when I greeted him, the first thing he said was, Praise the Lord.”   I am generally a bit of a skeptic.  Okay, then a lot of a skeptic!  My first thought about Ralph was that nobody is this happy and starts a conversation off with any type of genuineness by saying “Praise the Lord.”  It just is not natural and it is presumptuous and self serving.  I watched him closely and the more that I saw of Ralph LaBarr, the more I came to know that this was exactly his nature.  He was genuinely a happy person and he generally started every conversation with “Praise the Lord.”  Ralph and I struck up a pretty good friendship.  We even golfed together, but after playing, and I should say that I scored better than Ralph, he commented that he just couldn’t hit the ball as far as he used to.  Ralph was a number of years older than I, but he had been very athletic and, as I understood it, he even played semi-pro baseball.  I sort of dismissed his comment until a couple of years later when I came to church and noticed that Ralph was not smiling as he greeted people as they came into the church.  At least he was not smiling when I came up to him.  For years I had watched Ralph as a greeter at the church and as an usher, and he was just always smiling.  For some reason, at this particular time, he was not.  As I approached and said “How are you?”  his eyes teared up and he began to sob.  I asked if he would like to take a walk to which he agreed.  As we walked, he explained to me that he had been diagnosed with ALS, commonly called Lou Gehrig’s Disease.  The full name is Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis and it is a horrible disease that attacks the ability of the muscles to function.  A person will be eaten away before your very eyes as the muscles deteriorate.  He told me that ALS would typically run its course in three years and the best that the doctors could tell him was that he had had it for about two years.  Two years prior was about the time we had played golf together.  Sure enough about a year later, after watching this “Praise the Lord” man deteriorate, I got the call that he had died.  At the funeral, over and over again, I heard people describe Ralph as the man who was always smiling and always greeted with “Praise the Lord.”   Clearly Ralph LaBarr understood and lived, “Be joyful always.”

v.17     pray all of the time – My wife, Sandy is a good prayer person.  I don’t think I could come up with a better example.  She is always praying, always wants to pray and continually recognizes when prayer is needed.  Her attitude of prayer is exactly what this verse is all about.

v.18     give thanks in all circumstances – This characteristic might be the most difficult of them all.  I know a few people who genuinely give thanks in all situations, but this is not part of basic human nature.  Human nature calls for us to say, “Ouch.  That hurts!” and to be upset and angry, questioning and even being depressed.  There are always a lot of bad things happening.  The problem is that, regardless of modern philosophy, we DO deserve all of this.  We are all born into a sin nature that demands we live, suffer afflictions and eventually die.  As a matter of fact, many of us experience this first hand when we go through mid-life crisis.  I know that I did.  In fact, just as an aside, I think it is terribly unfair that we have to go through mid-life crisis and midriff bulge at the same time!  We echoed an old saying around the house when I was going through this phenomenon.  We changed some of the inappropriate words, but the saying was, “Life is hard and then you die!” 

Next, we’ll look at Romans 8: 1-39

Doug