Do we really want to know God?
Yes, we call ourselves followers of Christ. We (mostly) attend church on Sundays. We (usually) try to confront the sin in our lives. We (claim to) love other believers. But what do we do with God?
In the day to day, is He the center? Do we arrange our days around knowing Him and pursuing His presence? Do we really want to know all of Him, or only the parts that make us comfortable?
"Yes, God is a loving Father, but he is also a wrathful Judge. In his wrath he hates sin. Habakkuk prayed to God, 'Your eyes are too pure to look on evil; you cannot tolerate wrong.' And in some sense, God also hates sinners... Fourteen times in the first fifty psalms we see... descriptions of God's hatred toward sinners, his wrath toward liars, and so on... The gospel reveals eternal realities about God that we would sometimes rather not face... We are afraid that if we stop and really look at God in his Word, we might discover that he evokes greater awe and demands deeper worship than we are ready to give him (page 29)."
These are hard words. But they are true. Often, we construct our view of God from Christian culture and our (distorted) personal experience, rather than from Scripture. When the church or our hearts fail us, we find ourselves lost, confused, and distraught. Or worse, we may be so distracted that we don't even notice the depth of our lostness. Many purported believers are mostly defined by these traits: lost, confused, distraught, clueless. This is not the Gospel.
Gospel means "good news", and describes the prodigious love of a God who left perfection to live among His people. Not simply to receive worship (because He mostly didn't while He was on earth). Not to gain perspective (because He already had it). But to lay down His life for unworthy, oblivious people. And this was no easy task. Jesus didn't sweat blood because He was afraid of dying (notably, other martyrs more cheerfully went to their deaths -- and certainly they were not above Christ), but because He was preparing to face the full wrath of God's hatred towards sin and sinners ("stored up since the beginning of the world", page 35).
Implicit in the good news of God's redemptive work is the claim that we are inherently sinful. We cannot accept forgiveness when we feel we've already arrived at perfection. We haven't. Though I am sure you have noticed, I will point out the obvious: our flesh wars against our spirit. We often say things like, "I am an awful person", hoping those who love us will disagree and soothe our egos. But the Truth is this: we are awful people. Awful people who God can redeem, and is working to redeem as we turn our eyes and hearts towards Him.
A few questions for you, dear sisters (please respond in the comments section):
1. Where did you derive the majority of your view of God? Your family? Your church? Your friends? Your emotions and experiences?
2. What is your initial response to hearing that God hates sinners? And that every inclination of our heart is evil from childhood (Genesis 8:21)? What is the truth about these statements?
3. Respond to this quote: "We have taken the infinitely glorious Son of God, who endured the infinitely terrible wrath of God and who now reigns as the infinitely worthy Lord of all, and we have reduced him to a poor, puny Savior who is just begging for us to accept him (page 37)."
1. I think I derive the majority of my view of God from my emotions and experiences. I compare and filter my current experiences and situations through the lens of my past. So how did I feel about God's sovereignty over my life at various times in my life thus far is the basis of my perspective of God and His work in my life now. This can be ok, but again it's "my experience" etc not His infallible Word, so that needs to be adjusted and realigned as needed.
ReplyDelete2. My initial response was to recoil. I admit I was uncomfortable reading those few pages about my complete and utter depravity and sin. It's hard to come face-to-face with the ugliness. I think a lot of people, Christians included, choose ignorance and self delusion than to see the reality of their blackened hearts. People like to say "well I'm a good person" and the truth is you are not a good person. You are an evil person who at times may be able to keep the evil in check for a time and do something kind but even the act of kindness is driven by ego or an attempt to self soothe.
3. Wow how true. Jesus is all powerful, and he does not need us, he chooses us. Get that HE chooses us, not the other way around. (Please don't read too much into that I do not know enough theology to get into an intelligent discussion on predestination etc). The Holy Spirit draws us, we don't even have it in ourselves to come on our own. How awesome is the God we serve.
I definitely agree with your first answer. I often act as if I don't believe in the Sovereignty of God at all -- like if I don't perform in a certain way, things will not work out. This is an entirely unhealthy and unbiblical response on my part.
DeleteAlso, I really identify with this statement: You are an evil person who at times may be able to keep the evil in check for a time and do something kind but even the act of kindness is driven by ego or an attempt to self soothe.
That's why even when I "perform" well, it is not satisfying to me -- I am relying on my own strength, rather than on the Lord's.
P.S. I love your handling of the predestination argument. I am content with it being somewhat of a mystery :)
Ok, here we go. My first comment disappeared, so I'm taking it as a sign that it needed revision ;-) I felt like I really connected with this chapter. I loved reading about the underground church that would study the Bible for 8 hours at a time. I get bored after one hour. There is a desperate hunger in their lives to know God, and I yearn for that in my own life. In response to Liz's first question, much of my behavior toward God has come from my church, family and culture. I grew up seeing God as a very important piece of my life, but not my whole life. The more I read the Bible, the more I realize that I have to go all in, or risk losing my soul.
ReplyDeleteIn response to question 2, the statement that hit me the hardest was when he called out people who say "I've always loved God" as liars. Because of my early salvation, I've been guilty of this many times. The truth is, my flesh hates God. It's told me so time and time again as I attempt to be obedient to God. Sometimes I feel like I've grown up with a split personality: a spirit who hungers for God, and a flesh that hates Him. The result has been deep shame and guilt. Thank God for His grace that covers me. I may be lying when I say I've always loved Him, but He can only speak the truth when He says He's always loved me.
The quote in the 3rd question reminds me of a classic Christian cliche: "why don't you try Jesus?" Like, why don't you try the Creator of the Universe who loved you enough to come find you in this mess and die for you? I sometimes present Jesus this way. No more. There is no trying Jesus for our spiritual condition any more than we can try water, air or sleep for our physical conditions.
Great point about the persecuted church... how deeply they love God! I often think I want to know and love Him in that way... but still find myself scared of the suffering that would birth such intimacy.
DeleteI love, love, love this and it truly gave me goosebumps: I may be lying when I say I've always loved Him, but He can only speak the truth when He says He's always loved me.
Your conclusion is spot on. I have gotten into too many arguments with people, trying to coax them into an accurate view of Christ. The Holy Spirit does not need or ask me to do this. I must be more discerning of what He is truly asking me to do/say.
To answer my own questions:
ReplyDelete1. The majority of my view of God is cultural, sadly. I have been attempting to challenge, one by one, thoughts about who He is by searching the Scripture for evidence supporting each ingrained idea. For example, when I feel shame -- is this because I have fallen victim to the Christian performance lie? Godly sorrow is specific, and leads to change -- not perpetual self condemnation.
2. My first response is that I do not want to discuss this point with a liberal. Oh man. God hates sinners? Talk about a wrench in the selling points of Christianity. But I think that's why this point must be understood in order to avoid the soft "acceptance" approach to Christianity (next question).
3. This is so convicting, and helps me understand why so many who have claimed to "accept Christ" continuing living comfortably in sin and deception. The lack of regenerative work by the Holy Spirit points to an artificial acknowledgement of Christ as Savior -- without a true understanding of Christ as Lord. Examining myself, I see that I approach prayer and Bible reading this way (sadly) -- that I must "accept" God's invitation to commune with Him... not realizing that I owe Him every minute of every hour of every day of my life.