The Gospel in Job

I’ve always been intrigued with Job’s story in the Bible, and it is so pertinent for today. Job’s struggle epitomizes man’s struggle with the calamities of a fallen world. It’s one thing to make sense out of bad things happening to bad people, but many people stumble over the reality that bad stuff happens to innocent people.

Job’s friends don’t help much, for they – like Job – are trying to cram God into a closed system where everything goes the way we expect. Those who work hard and follow a godly ethic succeed, showered by nothing but blessings, right? And those who hate and cheat and serve only themselves are frustrated and cursed. But it often does not work that way.

In our most troubled times, we – like Job – tend to come face to face with the ultimate question of trust. Is God really good? Can I really trust him when nothing is going as it seems it should?

Job exposes the reality of our angst. And shows us that God honors our honesty before him. He did not rebuke Job for expressing his frustration or for questioning, but rather for his failure to acknowledge his ignorance (38:1-3). It is for this Job repents (42:1-6). Sooner or later we all recognize our powerlessness. But do we realize our ignorance? God doesn’t answer Job’s “why” questions. He only reminds him of his own absolute power and goodness. That is either enough, or it isn’t. Same for us. In spite of our questions, God is either worthy of our trust, or he isn’t. Only he has all the information. Will we trust him with the parts we cannot know?

And this is where the gospel comes in. When a person comes to realize the need to trust in God, there is still an insurmountable gap. Job lays it out perfectly in ch.9. “[God] destroys both the blameless and the wicked” (v.22). (This takes a human perspective on “blameless”). Of course, we understand none of us is truly blameless (Is 53:6; Rm 3:23). We cannot ignore our condemned state; God will not acquit us, and our attempts to clean ourselves up are futile (Job 9:27-31). Job hits the crux of the matter in vv.32-35: we need an Advocate, an Arbiter, a Mediator, someone who can reconcile us to God. This mediator must be qualified to stand between God and man, to “lay his hand on [both parties].” The NT reveals this Mediator to be Jesus.

Jesus Christ alone is perfectly qualified to stand between God and man, for he himself is fully perfect God and fully perfect man. He is the Person who turns blind, desperate hope into the personal trust placed in someone we can know. Even now, in the Church Age, we know Jesus intimately through his Spirit (Rm 8:9; 1 Cor 2:11-15).

Job squares his answer about trust in 13:15, “Even if he kills me, I will hope in him.” While Job’s ancient theology does not yet fully understand the Christ, he does realize that his mediation must come from God himself, for he says in 16:19, “Even now, behold, my witness is in heaven, and he who testifies for me is on high.” And in 19:25-6, he says, “For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth. And after my skin has been thus destroyed, yet in my flesh I shall see God.”

The people around us inevitably come to these issues of powerlessness and trust. When we come across someone going through a rough patch like Job, when they sense their need, to what or whom will they reach? Church, we have the only answer for them. They need Jesus. Are we listening for the opportunity? As Peter challenges us in 1 Pt 3:15, will we be prepared to give them the answer of hope?

Doing Good

It's funny how such a famous and practical verse as Micah 6:8 gets completely ignored in our culture, and far too often in our own lives:

Micah 6:8 (ESV)

⁸   He has told you, O man, what is good; 

and what does the Lord require of you 

but to do justice, and to love kindness, 

and to walk humbly with your God?

Pretty simple. You want to do good? (Doing well is another matter.) God has shown us what good looks like. Carry out justice, love kindness (or "mercy" or "loyal love"), and walk humbly with God.

Injustice and abuse are not new. And they are rampant. What is our call? We can't control the systemic abuses of humanity, can we?

It is notable that "you" and "man" are collective singulars in this verse. The call is to mankind ("adam") as a whole. You and I do not act for all mankind - only as individual parts of it - but we do share some responsibility for the actions of our human community. We should be grieved when injustice, meanness, and pride permeate our society, and we should exercise any power God grants us to work against these evil activities.

But isn't it far easier to curse the system, and the frustrating inability to "move the needle" toward good, than it is to carry out justice, kindness, and humility on a PERSONAL level? Do we scream about the evils of our government, our courts, and our society and then personally mistreat our fellow man? Where is our justice, kindness, and humility when we stand opposite a poorly trained barista, a forgetful waiter, or a pre-occupied driver? Or our fellow church member? Or our spouse? Our child? Are we frustrated with an inability to move our own personal needle toward good?

If we acknowledge our shortcomings and remember the gospel, surely we will be better disposed to doing good. For we can only do justice because it was already carried out in Christ, we can only love kindness because it was first poured out on us through Christ, and we can only walk humbly with God through our union with Christ, our Lord. When we fail to do good, let's confess our sin and do good with our next opportunity.

By the way, Micah's call here is the prescribed offering we are to bring in order to worship God. Of all the possible offerings to qualify us for worship, the only acceptable one is v.8. And again, we only have this to offer through Christ. This agrees with Paul's call in Rm 12:1-2. We are to discern "what is good, acceptable and perfect," and then to sacrificially offer ourselves to act on it. That doesn't just prepare us for worship, Paul says it IS worship!

We must respond to this call to do good in gospel order. An old hymn may help us here. It is NOT, "It is well with my soul because I do good." It is rather, "Since it is well with my soul, I will do good." Christ only does good. We are in Christ, and so we should (and can) do good.

Will you?

When the Shoe Fits

I have been frustrated for several years by some trends in Contemporary Christian Music (CCM) and American pop Christian culture, and now I have put my finger on why. Timing. And discernment. It's not a matter of IF the shoe fits, but rather WHEN the shoe fits.

God has revealed to us everything we need to live godly lives and to honor him faithfully (2 Tm 3:16-17; 2 Pt 1:3). Any Christian would readily affirm that. But do we realize the importance of applying the right truth at the right time, of discerning the situation?

Christian radio stations are filled with songs telling the listener they are loved, they are beautiful, that God wants to prosper them. All true, but these are not always the right messages at the right time. I am aware that these messages are expressed by individuals, or small collaborative groups, who have been inspired to minster to the downcast and abused. Perfectly appropriate. For the downcast and abused.

But when a culture at large feasts on these themes, it throws gasoline on the fire of entitlement, ego, and the prosperity theology. These songs rightly should and do minister to individuals in desperate situations who need encouragement - for them they are much-needed salve in open wounds. But when they are also consumed by people who - especially compared to most other people in the world, and throughout history - are excessively prosperous, lacking no basic needs, and largely self-absorbed, the message transforms from medicine to recreational drug.

We act as though our big problem is that we have it so rough. Really? Is that our big problem?

I am afraid we have gravitated toward the types of messages given through the OT prophets to reassure the broken-down remnant of God's people, or those of the NT epistles meant to encourage the persecuted church of the 1st century. But we are more like the church of Laodicea : "[we] say, 'I'm rich; I have become wealthy and need nothing,' and [we] don't realize that [we] are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind, and naked'" (Rv 3:17). There are many individuals who truly do need positive, encouraging truth, but maybe as a culture we are the spoiled child who needs the message of rebuke and correction that leads to repentance.

The difficulty of the situation is that promoters are motivated to push content that is positive and uplifting because, frankly, that is what sells. But the impetus is on the consumer to discern whether and how to apply the messages to their own lives. Many do not. And since there is little balance - to include themes of confession of sin and repentance, of dependance upon God, of idolatry, of service  - the indiscriminate often become adherents to false gospels.

We are like evangelists who passionately deliver well-rehearsed speeches without ever asking one question of the hearer; like doctors who prescribe without doing any examination or acquiring a list of symptoms; like judges who make pronouncements without hearing any testimonies of the facts.

And here is the crux of the problem. Truth is to be spoken in love (Eph 4:15). That requires a conversation, a dialogue. We don't do enough of that anymore. We offer flip-flops to the ranch hand, high heels to the nurse, designer dress shoes to the courier - the shoes don't fit.

For the truly abused and downcast, by all means we must deliver the message of hope and life in Christ. But for those who think "abuse" is getting the wrong coffee from the barista, or a property tax increase on a half-million-dollar home, or a rate hike on a credit card - for those of us perhaps a different truth is more timely. Perhaps the shoe of contentment, or of stewardship, or of serving others. Perhaps we need to try the shoe of "redeeming the time."

For myself, somedays I really DO need to hear "you are loved, you have value, God wants to bless you." But most days I need different shoes, like "to whom much is given, much is required."

And for our culture AT LARGE, I am afraid we are often peddling the wrong shoes. I suppose this makes it that much more important that we, the church, and as individuals engage in real conversations with people, so we can draw from the whole counsel of God and offer people shoes that fit.

(By the way, shoes that fit perfectly can be uncomfortable until they are broken in.)

Truths from a Tracker

We changed insurance companies recently, and, naturally, we want to pay the cheapest rates possible. So, we enrolled in a 90-day evaluation where we installed devices in our vehicles to track our driving habits. Good habits = rate reduction (up to 30%!). Bad habits…well, we get 5% off just for participating.

A few weeks in, I have realized two truths about these devices, and they say a lot about our need for a personal Savior.

First, I can’t wait for the 90 days to be over so that if I feel like mashing my accelerator there will be no penalty (well, if I’m careful). This is the “law” of the device revealing my depravity (okay, that is an overstatement, but you get the drift). If I am prone to the dangerous – or in some cases illegal – habits of “lighting it up” or “power braking” or the like, then the device will reveal that activity, and that tendency. This is pretty much Paul’s point in Romans 7:7-25. God’s law was given to function like my truck’s tracking device – it tells it like it is, comparing my behaviors and exposing my desires in relation to a set standard.

God’s law is more demanding and more effective, though. If I have too many “hits” on my truck’s tracker, I will lose deductions on my insurance – but I will still have my insurance. But when I get one “hit” on God’s tracker, I am disqualified altogether: James 2:10 (ESV) “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.”

So, my first tracker truth is this: the law is only going to condemn me.

Well, to give myself some credit, I HAVE thus far managed to resist the temptation to drive recklessly. And I’m pretty confident I can make it through the 90 days without giving in to my impulses – I want that discount!

But that doesn’t mean we haven’t been flagged with any hits – we have. And this has shown me the other truth. Last we checked, we had 3 hits for hard braking. Well, okay those are all on ME – my wife hasn’t had ANY so far. But, I am being unjustly accused of recklessness! In all 3 cases my hard braking was because of traffic lights turning yellow just before I reached the intersection. I stand to be penalized for my efforts to OBEY the law, because the tracker simply records limited data. It only knows that I braked hard, but it does not understand the circumstances, nor can it make any judgment about whether my actions were justified. I would need a person for that. If our agent was in the car with me in those 3 events, he would be able to say, “Oh, don’t worry about that flag. I know you weren’t being reckless, but were actually doing the right thing.”

So, too, when it comes to my eternal destiny, I need something GREATER than a law that can only condemn. I need a Person who can save. Someone who has ALL the information, who is always in the car with me. Someone who is just, but also Someone who is gracious. The law does what it is supposed to, but I need something more. I need a Person.

And that is my second tracker truth: I need a Person to save me.

Of course, the analogy falls short here. For God’s righteousness does not allow him to explain away my hits – not even one “flag.” He knows what is right, and he knows everything, and it turns out that all of my failures in life are legitimately wrongdoing on my part. But in his perfect love and abounding grace, he has replaced my “data” with his own: the perfect record of his Son, Jesus Christ. I stand qualified. This is Paul’s point in Romans 8:1-11. Now, THAT’S insurance! We usually call it “eternal security.”

And if you understand I am looking forward to the end of this 90-day evaluation, imagine how great it will be when I come to the end of this life and see my Savior face-to-face! The law will help you realize who you really are, but make sure you have something greater, that you have a personal Savior.

Hosea, and the Believer's Union with Christ

Lest we undervalue the OT, and deprive ourselves of its riches for us as NT believers, let us notice a beautiful proclamation of the believer’s union with Christ in - of all places - the prophet, Hosea:

Hosea 6:1–2 (CSB)

6 Come, let us return to the Lord.

For he has torn us,

and he will heal us;

he has wounded us,

and he will bind up our wounds.

2 He will revive us after two days,

and on the third day he will raise us up

so we can live in his presence.

Here is an example of a clear reference to Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection. But the prophet calls the people to repentance, so they will receive healing and life from the LORD. This looks forward to the gospel proclamation that if we will repent and follow Christ, united with Him in his death, we are also united with Him in his resurrection (Rm 6:8; Col 3:3). What a privilege to understand this text from the NT perspective, and to realize our connection to those saints who looked forward to the finished work of Christ! We are all reconciled to God through our union with Him, raised up to live in His presence.

Diagnosis Worship

Ever feel like you should have gotten more out of a worship service?

While we certainly can’t reduce the impact of a worship service down to our subjective feelings, it is reasonable to expect that if something is wrong with worship we would sense it in our spirit. If we get that sense, it is natural to ask why. Is God just distant right now? Is something in the congregation quenching the Spirit? Is it me?

Today I was re-reading a quote from Ravi Zacharias in Lee Strobel’s book, The Case for Faith. Here’s what Zacharias said:

“The pattern in Exodus is threefold: God brought the people out of Egypt, he gave them the moral law, and then he gave them the tabernacle. In other words, redemption, righteousness, worship. You can never violate that sequence. Unless you are redeemed, you cannot be righteous. Unless you are redeemed and righteous, you cannot worship, ‘for who shall ascend unto the hill of the Lord,’ says the Bible, ‘but he who has clean hands and a pure heart?’” _[1]

Certainly, there are a lot of things that can cause a “worship letdown,” but Ravi gives us an important simple diagnostic tool.

I believe many in church gatherings get at best nothing more than a fleeting emotional high because they are, in fact, not redeemed. Certainly some realize it, but I fear many in our worship gatherings believe they are Christians but are not actually trusting in Christ alone for eternal life. They cannot worship in spirit and truth because they do not believe and possess the truth, nor the Spirit of Christ.

Others are truly born-again believers, but are approaching the holy presence of God filthy with sin. If we are carrying unconfessed sin we will not be able to draw near to God, and we will likely sense frustration. (We will also tend to easily list any number of things that are “wrong” with the worship service.)

But if we are truly redeemed, and if we are confessing our sins – the Apostle John would say “walking in the light” and “abiding in Christ” – then we will draw near and honor God with our worship. And more likely than not, we will find that time fulfilling and refreshing.

So, it seems wise to me that we ask this question before we head to the church gathering:

Am I ready to worship?

---

[1]Strobel, Lee; Strobel, Lee. The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity (p. 157). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.

Cretan, or Christian?

I recently read some posts where self-identified evangelicals were criticizing a well-known Christian pastor/author. Several seemed clearly to have not even examined the materials for which they criticized the man. They tore down this pastor for preaching against a divisive spirit, yet they didn’t bother to fully investigate this man’s published views on core doctrines. I know this because in more than one case they accused him of views directly opposite those he clearly stated.

It reminded me how important is the difference between testing someone’s doctrine, and being divisive. The Bible is our authority. If someone rejects the clear teaching of the Word of God, then the Word itself divides. This happened throughout Jesus’ ministry. But if we treat unclear or nonessential doctrines - or worse, simple matters of opinion - with the same passion and commitment as core doctrines, and if we recklessly attack others who disagree, we are being what Paul in Titus 3:10 calls a “divisive person.” In Titus’ context, we are acting like Cretans.

The person Paul instructs Titus to reject – if they refuse to heed warnings – is NOT just a person with biblical questions or disagreements about minor issues, nor one who reads the Bible with understanding and holds his leaders accountable. Quite the contrary, this divisive person is focused on “foolish debates, genealogies, quarrels, and disputes about the law” (v.9). Summarily, this person stirs people up about things that are “unprofitable and worthless.”

Here’s the catch: such a person likely sees these things as very important, but they, in fact, are not. It begs the question, “Do I spend a lot of time and energy arguing about stuff that is WAY less important than the gospel and its core doctrines?” We had better be careful to only let essential doctrines divide us, and in every other case humbly love one another in spite of our disagreements.

Which are you more likely to fight for: Musical styles or Biblical Inerrancy? American politics or the absolute sovereignty of God? Your "rights" or the church's mandate to evangelize the world and to minister to the needy?

The context of the letter shows the divisive person is rebellious, malicious, slanderous, angry, and contentious, and manipulates others to his worthless views. This is a stark contrast to the self-controlled, respectful, kind and loving attitude that Paul commends to the Christian. Which list describes you?

We had better take seriously Jesus' prayer for our unity, and all of the NT commands to submit to one another in love and kindness. We had also better take seriously the command to reject divisive people - and make sure we cannot be counted in their number.

Are you acting like a Cretan, or like a Christian?

"In essentials unity, in non-essentials liberty, in all things charity." (Rupertus Meldenius)