Life Here and There

One of the issues I struggled with deeply in the past is Calvinism… election… predestination, pick your term (but two are biblical for sure). I love the way Spurgeon addressed the question once about how he reconciled election and free will, simply stating that he didn’t have to reconcile friends.

Today I stumbled on a new post on the J. C. Ryle Quotes website and I’ve fallen in love with his viewpoint on the issue as well…

The plain truth is, that God’s scheme of salvation is like a ladder let down from heaven to earth, to bring together the holy God, and the sinful creature, man. God is at the top of the ladder and man is at the bottom. The top of the ladder is far above, out of our sight, and we have no eyes to see it. There, at the top of that ladder, are God’s eternal purposes, – His everlasting covenant, His Election, His predestination of a people to be saved by Christ. From the top of that ladder comes down that full and rich provision of mercy for sinners which is revealed to us in the Gospel.

The bottom of that ladder is close to sinful man on earth, and consists of the simple steps of repentance and faith. By them he must begin to climb upwards. In the humble use of them he shall mount higher and higher every year, and get clearer glimpses of good things yet to come.

~ J.C. Ryle
via J. C. Ryle Quotes

The one clarification I would make is that we shouldn’t mistake Ryle’s words as meaning that salvation is a long-term process. Ryle, Spurgeon, Calvin and I would all agree that conversion is the miracle of a moment while sanctification is the process of a lifetime.

I’ve always believed in an age of accountability for sin. Children and babies who die don’t go to hell, period, and John Piper does a wonderful job of explaining why in ultra-simple terms.

In my last post, I talked about how God sees deeper than the skin and today, I want to carry that thought further (based on my message from last Sunday) about how God sees beyond today.

I’m busy today. I have a lot of things up in the air that are all happening at once. Your day is like mine, isn’t it? Catching up isn’t really an option. And maybe catching up isn’t what it’s cracked up to be anyway. After all, if we were caught up, we wouldn’t be necessary in the moment. So we keep living by the clock… tick, tock, tick, tock.

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The following video reflects my collection of thoughts from our early Tuesday morning men’s Bible study. I scribbled notes as our men exchanged ideas, Scriptures, and encouragement.

My apologies for all the scratching noise – was my paper rubbing against the mic – won’t let it happen again.

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This may sound like the question of a child, but it’s a question that is on the hearts of millions of adults. I don’t understand God’s ways – they are above mine, so I don’t presume to have all the answers. But thankfully Jesus once addressed a group of people who had a similar accusation, so I wanted to record my thoughts about this big question.

Here’s a YouTube Link to Did An Earthquake Happen Because God Was Mad?

Many are likely to disagree with me one way or another. Please feel free to do so in the comments, but I would ask that you remain particularly sensitive as so many have lost loved ones in this terrible disaster.

And while we’re at it, you must read Al Mohler’s post from last night, Does God Hate Haiti? as well as Brad Harmon’s post, Where Was God When Haiti Shook?

I’ve just begun my annual Bible reading plan over at YouVersion.com and have already been awestruck within the first chapter of the Bible by a single phrase… “and He made the stars also.”

Consider the vastness of the universe…

It so happens that the distance from the earth to one of our brightest stars, the not-too-distant star Betelgeuse (pronounced Beatle-juice), is approximately 520 light-years. Betelgeuse is the bright orange-red star in the winter constellation Orion. 520 light-years is a far-piece! Consider this: the light that left this star at the time that Martin Luther posted his 95 theses to the chapel door at Wittenberg beginning the Protestant Reformation on October 31, 1517, has not yet reached the earth. In fact this light will not reach the earth for many more years, until about the year 2037.
source credit

In other words, God made some huge stuff out there! But the attention His Word gives to the vastness of the universe is five little words, “He made the stars also.” What does God bring our attention to through most of Scripture? Redemption!

Yes, God made the stars – billions of them, spread across millions of miles of outer space, but His attention is fixed… on YOU! He wants nothing less than eternal life for you. Now THAT’s awesome!

photo credit: Sir Mervs [dose]

I don’t write too many blog posts that are negative in tone, but I’m not afraid to sound out a warning against something dangerous or offensive to the glory of God. The prosperity gospel is just that – it’s dangerous and it’s offensive to the Author of redemption. Al Mohler describes it more eloquently that I, but we feel the same.

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Confession: Christianity is a mess! But that’s the tendency of religion isn’t it? We have too many denominations, too many moral failures among leaders, and too much quibbling over secondary issues. We argue about music styles, dress codes, and politics. Let’s admit it.

And while we’re admitting, let’s admit that we’ve also messed up the message of the gospel. We either water it down or muddy it up. We either leave out the parts about Jesus’ death, burial and resurrection and our faith and repentance toward Him, or we throw in extra and often confusing terminology and rules. Some who are inquisitive about the faith may walk away thinking that turning to Jesus is more difficult than filling out a tax return.

So let’s straighten this out:

1. You and I have sinned. We all have. No denying it. We’ve broken the rules of our Creator.
2. We deserve punishment for our sins, separation from God in hell to be exact.
3. God loves us in spite of our sins and willingly allowed His Son Jesus to come to earth and to die on the cross to pay the penalty of our crimes. He died for us.
4. He rose again.
5. Turn to Him and trust Him as your Savior, and you’ll be saved forever.

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As Isaiah put it, God’s ways are above our ways, and His thoughts are above our thoughts. He is holy, transcendent, distinct, and set apart from us. And He is, as Noah put it, the “Judge of all the earth,” and He will “do right.”

But we often answer wrongly on His behalf. Let me say that I don’t have all the answers, and I don’t always explain things well. As a Pastor, I always like to think I have an answer, which sometimes prevents me from being honest enough to say, “I don’t have a clue why God has decided this, but He is right.”

Here are some reasons why God’s judgment is such a tough subject…

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I’m convinced there is a vast shower gift conspiracy operating in our culture. Think about it. For a wedding shower, she has all the fun. Nobody buys the sweet “couple” golf clubs or pocket knives. And then the babies, the poor little babies. They don’t get anything fun – it’s all about Mom! What a sham!

Here’s the funny thing… God is behind this conspiracy! The Bible says that every believer has been giving some special ability by the Holy Spirit, and that we are given these gifts not so that we can look or feel good, but wholly for the benefit of… others! I hope you sense my sarcasm. This is the nature of God’s gifts, and if you want to enjoy life, you’re going to have to forget about all the benefits you want to receive and start thinking about your relationship to other people.

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