Thursday, May 23, 2013

Tragedy and The Trinity

I am pondering this in the shadows of the tornado that ripped through Oklahoma May 20th, 2013 and in light of Trinity Sunday that is approaching this weekend. The Trinity is the nature of our God and is often described as a mystery. Why God allows horrific acts of nature to mow down schools and houses is a mystery as well.  A lot has been written striving to answer the question, "Where is God?" Not all the answers seem satisfactory which is probably why God allows more than one theologian to speak. Not all descriptions of the Trinity are satisfactory either but we know God is a Trinity as this is what Scripture reveals. And here we enter into the mystery of both tragedies & the Trinity. It is my goal to enter into both mysteries.

The bible reveals the nature of God and the nature of man. God comes first. He created man. What God creates is good for God Himself is good. Man was created good along with all of creation. This is the story of the first chapter of Genesis. But man was tempted and disobeyed God. We call this the Fall. Man is no longer good for he did not do good as directed by God. Now how does a good God deal with a bad man? God must be just or He would not be good. And since God is holy, man cannot be in His presence as man is not holy. Man was expelled from Paradise into a world where death reigns. And here is the rub. Death reigns in the world. This is our judgement for being bad. Man is not happy. And God is not happy. What parent is happy when their children are disobedient. So in order for God to right the wrong of man, He became incarnate. This is Jesus. Scripture is clear that Jesus was with God from the very beginning of time. And Jesus is clear that He and the Father are one. And man is still not one with God and very bad. And so Jesus who is man and God offers Himself as an atoning sacrifice so that God's justice may be met. God is still just and He is our redemption. The nature of God is not violated. Now that we can enter into His presence we are still bad by our nature and we need help. So we have been given a Helper. He is the Holy Spirit. He is one with God the Father and Jesus the Son. He helps us identify our sin and leads us to repentance. Repentance is the changing of our mind away from our bad desires toward those desires that are good. After all, God is good. So gradually we are being created into a new being.

So why then do we still have earthquakes, floods, tornadoes and hurricanes? Because not everyone acknowledges God is good and themselves as bad accepting God's justice and need for redemption. The reminder of death is ever before us in order that we may repent and put our trust in God. What person wants bad people to live forever. The time we have on earth is short lived compared to eternity. But a true Christian knows of God goodness and mercy. He knows of God's help to live the life God wants him to live. He also knows that putting God in the dock questioning Him as if he were the guilty one is blasphemous since we are pretending to be God. In other words, to know God's triune nature requires us to know our nature.

There will never be easy answers to such tragedies. But God is interested in us having a relationship with Him so that we see Him as The Answer. And when we see Him as The Answer, we will know to ask the right questions. And in this way we live into that which is a holy mystery.



Saturday, May 11, 2013

GOSSIP - It Can Kill You!

"You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor." (Ex. 20:16)



"And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them." (Rom. 1:28-32)


"But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.” (Rev. 21:8)

Gossip hurts. It can destroy relationships. It can harm the reputation of an innocent person that may never be overcome because the lie is out there. People will always believe what they want to believe. It dishonors God who is perfect and true. (1 John 5:6) The Word of God is clear that the fiery flames of hell await the gossip. 


The only way to avoid such punishment is that the gossip must repent and put their trust in Jesus who died for their sins. Jesus did not die to give permission to be disobedient to His word. He died because that is our death sentence. (1 Cor. 15:3) To the gossip I say look at the damage you have done to the children of God. Confess your sin to Him and accept Jesus as the One who paid your fine on the cross for there is no forgiveness of sins without the shedding of blood. (Heb. 9:22) Once we turn to Jesus He gives us a new heart. (Ez. 36:26) Our old heart can only speak lies. (Gen. 6:5, Ps. 58:3) Even flattery can be false. Our new heart is circumcised with The Law of God written on it. 


“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will sow the house of Israel and the house of Judah with the seed of man and the seed of beast. And it shall come to pass that as I have watched over them to pluck up and break down, to overthrow, destroy, and bring harm, so I will watch over them to build and to plant, declares the Lord. In those days they shall no longer say:
“‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes,
    and the children's teeth are set on edge.’
But everyone shall die for his own iniquity. Each man who eats sour grapes, his teeth shall be set on edge.
“Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant that they broke, though I was their husband, declares the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts. And I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” (Jer. 31:27-34)

Friday, May 3, 2013

Are You Using God As a Get Out Of Jail Free Card?

I received a message from an acquaintance that a former co-worker of ours had died in his sleep. He was young leaving behind a wife and two children. The death was related to some health issues. For the sake of this commentary and to preserve his family's privacy, I will call him John.

John and I worked in a retail store. As a reminder, much of my life has been spent as a bi-vocational priest. This means my employment has been in the marketplace since my parish ministry did not provide a full-time stipend. Usually when people find out I am a pastor, the conversation inevitably turns to God. Now John was a very smart person, a hard worker and was fun to work with. But like many people these qualities did not keep him out of trouble. Drinking & drugs were a problem resulting in some minor legal issues. So one day in the store I turned the conversation around to John's eternal outlook on life. When I mentioned putting his life in Jesus' hands his reply was, "Well, you know, I can just ask God to forgive me when it's time for me to die." I felt sorry for John and said, "But you do not know when you will die. You could be in a car accident. Are you going to have your wits about you to say a prayer? And besides even if you said a prayer, God knows you have had a lifetime of putting your faith in Him and yet you made a choice to live for yourself. Today you know what awaits you in eternity if you repent but you're saying to God basically, 'I'll ignore You until it's convenient for me to use You.'" John seemed to get it but said he would put his faith in his timing not God's. Then we both went back to stocking shelves.

This is not the first time I have heard this response from someone when I witness to them about Jesus Christ. People have heard from errant preachers that all one has to do to have eternal life in the presence of God is just say a prayer. But let us look at what this really means. We have reduced prayer to a magic formula. It's like a get out of jail free card. Think about it. You hear the good news that Jesus died for your transgressions against the Law of God. (Col. 2:6-15) And your response is, 'Hey I 'll live my life my way. When it comes to die, then I will take you up on your offer!" Now what is going to be God's response? The same God who allowed you blessings like a job, family, warmth in the summertime and sunshine in the wintertime. The very same God who gave you the beauty of His creation. All the while, you live your life as your own lord. What would God's perspective be? Imagine life was a real Monopoly game. You have a get out of jail free card. So you continue to steel stuff, murder the people you don't like and just sleep with whomever. And the law catches up with you. But you have a get out of jail free card. No jail sentence for you. But where is the justice? Jesus' death on the cross is not a get out of jail free card. A prayer at the last minute is a prayer too late. The truth is we do not know when we will die. God knows, but we are not God. (Heb. 9:27)

Jesus wants to be Lord over our life while we are alive. (Mt. 8:32) This requires our submission to Him. But if we choose today to follow our own will when we have been told that we will be held accountable for our actions, (Rev. 20:11-13) well, what would be a just verdict? What kind of person are we choosing to be? (Rev. 21:8)

It has been years since I have spoken with John. He may have truly repented and given his life to Christ. I do not know. But let us not wait until we die in our sleep to find out what our eternal verdict should be!

"I declare to you today, that you shall surely perish. You shall not live long in the land that you are going over the Jordan to enter and possess. I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and curse. Therefore choose life, that you and your offspring may live, loving the Lord your God, obeying his voice and holding fast to him, for he is your life and length of days, that you may dwell in the land that the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” (Dt. 30:18-20)