Sanam Doctrinam

I was impacted greatly by a Bible study a friend of mine did the other day.  He reminded me of the need to rely on and not forget the grace of God.  He pointed out that sometimes churches are guilty of emphasizing sin so much that grace is forgotten and true believers live defeated lives.

This delicate balance in the life of a Christian is so necessary.  It is necessary for me.  If I am truly forgiven, then I cannot live in a spirit of defeat.  Shold I mourn my sin?  Yes, but God has forgiven me.  The balance is, that I not use grace as an occasion to sin.  Those who abuse grace, have not truly recieved God’s grace, for if they had recieved God’s grace they would undersatnd it, and not abuse it.

We must not forget verses like these:

John 1:15-17 (NASB 95) John testified about Him and cried out, saying, "This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me has a higher rank than I, for He existed before me.’" For of His fullness we have all received, and grace upon grace. For the Law was given through Moses; grace and truth were realized through Jesus Christ. (emphasis mine)

Romans 5:2 (NASB 95) through whom also we have ??obtained our introduction by faith into this grace ??in which we stand; and ?we exult in hope of the glory of God. (emphasis mine)

Romans 6:1-2 (NASB 95) What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? ?May it never be! How shall we who ?died to sin still live in it?

Romans 8:1 (NASB 95) Therefore there is now no ??condemnation for those who are ??in ?Christ Jesus.

Again, my not receiving condemnation, my redemption, the grace of God in my life should lead me to want to obey, but when I disobey, I must not abuse the grace of God from the other end, believing somehow that God or I must do something else to accomplish forgiveness once again.  The debt has been paid!

So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.
Each day has enough trouble of its own.

Planning is a good thing. It’s a sad creature who wakes up each morning without any intentions, direction, or idea of what he’s going to do. Planning can morph, however, if we’re not careful, into something the Bible speaks about in Matthew 6:34—worry. What’s the difference between planning and worry? When do we cross the line from one to the other?

I’d suggest the answer has a lot to do with our attitude toward God in the way we anticipate tomorrow. The verb translated "worry" in today’s verse has the idea of being concerned or apprehensive about something. Worry is, at its most basic level, a faith deficiency.

I guess the best definition I can provide for worry is that worry is a fear of the future. It’s concern over what might be, over potential negative events. Planning simply involves having a course of action laid out (which we do well to do humbly—see Proverbs 16:9; James 4:13-17). Worry, in contrast, involves fear of what might be.

Why is worry so bad? It’s bad because it casts an aspersion on the character of our great God. Worry basically says, "God, I can’t trust You for the future. I can’t trust You to take care of me." Ultimately, worry says one of two things to our God: He is not good or He is not in control. It is at this point that worry intersects with the providence of God—His benevolent ruling and overruling of all things for His own good purposes. Worry disbelieves God’s providential care in our lives.

All of us deal with worry to a greater or lesser degree. Some of us try to rename it with a euphemism such as "concern." If God’s care and control for us His children are as depicted in Scripture, then we really have nothing over which to be concerned.

Contrast Jesus’ words in today’s verse with the stress we choose to bear. Jesus just tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Why? Tomorrow will worry about itself! What? His reasoning is almost flippant in the face of our oftentimes white-knuckled terror over the future. He tells us to simply let the future be concerned about itself, telling us that each day has enough trouble in itself for us. In other words, Jesus tells us not to attempt to drag tomorrow’s concerns into today.

Should we plan for tomorrow, for the future? Without a doubt, although we’re best off to plan in pencil. Should we worry about what tomorrow may bring? Never. The words of the Gaither song are true as ever:

Because He lives I can face tomorrow;
Because He lives all fear is gone;
Because I know He holds the future;
And life is worth the living just because He lives.

It’s been said that while we may not know what the future holds, we know who holds the future. And knowing Him is enough to neutralize all worry.

Continuing with the theme of Preaching the Word and that being placed under the scrutiny of “God and Christ Jesus, who is to judge the living and the dead.” (2 Timothy 4:1 NASB 95) I want to explore the kind of fear this must place on the preacher.

I have stated earlier that we (most Evangelicals) have become “talkers” and “comics” rather than proclaimers, which is what we have been called to. When Paul “solemnly” charges Timothy to “preach the word,” he is insisting that this be the mode of communication and warning to not do anything else. He does so with the view of “Who is watching.”

It should scare the pants off of us that we do anything in the presence of God. The reality is, I sin in the presence of God, and this ought to bring me to my knees. Yet, knowing this, Paul charges Timothy to Preach the Word always with the consideration that God the Father and Christ the Son are watching and Christ will be the judge! James tells us that, not many ought to be teachers, “knowing that as such we will incur a stricter judgment.” (James 3:1 NASB 95) I (we) should take these words with the utmost of gravitas.

Why is it then, that many do not feel threatened by these words? Perhaps, it is a lessening of an understanding of the God one says they serve and honor. If we transform God into a kindly old grandfather, who never would treat anyone poorly, or if we strip Him of all of His glory and that which is due Him; if we deny the fact that if we start with God in the center, that all men are guilty and deserving of death and eternal separation from God; that God is both merciful and gracious, to save just one, rather than assume He is obligated to save all, then I think we would not have this problem with “pansy preaching.”

We must rise up and proclaim the Word of God!

In my reading of A.W. Pink (The Attributes of God), it is very clear that he had an understanding of God’s centrality. I need to be reminded of this often. “Why?” you may ask.  Because I am prone to (largely) place myself in the center.  If I am not careful I look at theology through this grid, the grid of me being in the center.  I begin to look at my “circumstances” and the events surrounding me, as those which affect me and me alone, rather than looking at it as a “bigger picture” and seeing God at the center and His glory as the end of all things.

I believe this is the disease that plagues modern day Evangelicalism.  Really, it is the plague that is in all of humanity (Romans 1), but the sad thing is that the “church” has lost focus on that which is central.  I criticize with myself and my struggle with this fully in view.  It is a task that we must work hard at.  We must do the work of calling to remembrance the centrality of God in all events in human history.

Isaiah 48:11 (NASB) reads, ““??For My own sake, for My own sake, I will act; For how can My name be profaned? And My ?b?glory I will not give to another.”

This ought to be the anthem of our hearts.  Except for faith in Christ, one would not know to make this the anthem of their heart, but for those of us who claim to be right with God in Christ, this is our call to the centrality of God, and the glory that is His alone.  This is what all of history is working toward, and God will not be thwarted.

This is why the charge of Paul to Timothy to “Preach the Word!” and that charge  being encased as “in the presence of God and Christ”, makes this matter all that more grave!  What are we doing if we are preaching the centrality of man and man’s needs, rather than the centrality of God and His glory!

I know that You can do all things, And that no purpose of Yours can be thwarted.

Job 42:2

Let me ask you a question: Can God do anything? Most of us would answer that question relatively quickly with a resounding “Yes!” To suggest that there are some things God cannot do is tantamount to blasphemy, at least at first blush.

The question, however, may be a little more involved than it seems. There are certain things that Scripture tells us God cannot do. For example, in Scripture we read that God cannot: (1) sin or lie (Numbers 23:19; Isaiah 6:3); (2) fail or change (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17); (3) die or annihilate Himself (Psalm 90:2; 1 Timothy 6:16); (4) deny Himself or be unfaithful to His promises (2 Timothy 2:13); (5) tempt to sin (James 1:13); (6) allow unbelievers to spend eternity with Him (John 3:36).

We can see that there are things God cannot do because they would violate His own character. These things are, of course, the exception, not the rule. In general, and as Job points out, God can do whatever He pleases. It’s worth noting that God would not desire to do any of the above things, as these would be inconsistent with His nature.

I think, however, sometimes Christians get sloppy regarding what God can do. They begin to equate what God can do with what He will do.

Obviously, God doesn’t do everything He can do. For God to do everything He can do would create an event traffic jam of cosmic proportions. God doesn’t make fish talk, but He could. He doesn’t make people breathe underwater, but He could. I’m not trying to be absurd; I’m simply attempting to make the point that God doesn’t do everything He could do. Perhaps I should strike a little closer to our hearts. God could cause all suffering in our world to cease, today. He hasn’t. He allows it to continue. Even more personally, God could cause all suffering in our lives to cease, today. He hasn’t. He allows it to continue.

There are those today who charge those who claim God can do whatever He wants but doesn’t, as not believing that God can do anything. They fail to make a critical distinction: Being uncertain as to whether God will do something is different than being uncertain as to whether God can do something. What we’re called to in Scripture is to believe in God’s unlimited ability—not in the certainty of what He will do, except in the case of those things He has promised He will do.

The issue really comes back to the question of what constitutes biblical faith. The essential in biblical faith is ever and always God’s Word. Unless God speaks to a given issue, we can never have biblical faith. Unless God tells us something, we cannot believe Him for it.

Some folks have gotten the idea that they can believe God for things about which He has never spoken. He does not guarantee these things. Can God do things He has not promised He will do? Certainly. Will He always do things He has not promised He will do? Not necessarily.

I think the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abed-nego is instructive at this point. When threatened with the fiery furnace they simply replied, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to give you an answer concerning this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire; and He will deliver us out of your hand, O king” (Daniel 3:16-17).

It’s significant what these three Hebrews said and what they didn’t say. They affirmed God’s absolute ability to deliver from the furnace, at the same time making no prediction as to whether He would or would not deliver them. That’s biblical faith. These three men made the critical distinction between what God could do, and what He would do. In fact, they affirmed the possibility that God might not have delivered them, in Daniel 3:18: “But even if He does not [deliver us], let it be known to you, O king, that we are not going to serve your gods or worship the golden image that you have set up.”

Can God do all things? He can do anything He wishes that is consistent with His character. Does God do all things? No. In our own lives we need to reckon with this reality. Next time you want things to change, rest confidently in God’s total ability to change them. At the same time, recognize humbly that He might not. To do so is not to evidence a lack of faith, but rather an expression of a biblical perspective.