The Problem of Evil and the Sovereignty of God, Part 1

The problem of evil in light of the sovereignty of God is one that has plagued the mind of sinful man for thousands of years.  Theologians have been debating this very question for a long time.  It is very likely that Adam had the very same thoughts as he and Eve were leaving the Garden of Eden.  If a question could be asked of God it would be; “Was He setting Adam up for failure?”  The idea that preachers of old have been teaching that when God said “it is very good” in reference to creation on the sixth day that meant that there was no sin and everything was great.  This raises the natural question; if God is sovereign and is omniscient and all powerful then why did He allow Satan in the garden knowing what he was going to do?  Did He not know that Satan was going to fall?  Did He hope that Adam would choose differently?  These questions speak to the heart of the human experience.  We need answer that makes sense, not pleasant platitudes that whitewash the problem but real answers. 

            James Danaher has this to say, “What theologians refer to as 'the problem of evil results from the fact that if God is all-good, all-knowing, all-powerful, and the sole creator of the universe, how should we explain the existence of evil? This creates what logicians call inconsistency. We can resolve the inconsistency by removing any one of the above-mentioned attributes of God.  If God were not all-good there would obviously be evil in the world because of the evil in the creator. Likewise, if God were not all-knowing he could have created a world, which he thought would be free of evil without knowing that evil would result from his creation. Equally, we could understand God to be less than all-powerful.”[1]

            Ron Highfield has this to say, “In theology old problems never die, and, unlike old soldiers, they rarely fade away for long. Instead, they return in fresh formulations accompanied by ingenious solutions written by a new-sprung generation of young theologians. The perennial problem of evil—between wars, episodes of genocide, plagues, battles with cancer, and that periodic migraine headache—recedes into the back of our consciousness. But when trouble crashes through the gates, we ask, "Why?" "Why me?" "Why anyone?" Suddenly, the old problem has become my problem, present, vivid, urgent, and anything but faded.”[2]

The voluminous amounts of answers that people have tried to give still have never really dealt with the problem of the existence of evil in the world today.  There are two issues with this problem of evil that needs to be defined.  The first one is the understanding of the term “Sovereignty of God.”  The second is the definition of good and evil.  To attempt to get a hold of this problem we need to break down the parts and look at it the right way.  When the word sovereignty is used in this blog it is will always be in the context and understanding of an all-powerful, all-knowing, all-loving creator that not only created all things but also sustains all things. 

In relation the understanding of the definition of evil, there needs to be a clear line drawn.  Evil is the things that God hates.  There are six things which the Lord hates, yes, seven which are an abomination to Him: haughty eyes, a lying tongue, and hands that shed innocent blood, a heart that devises wicked plans, feet that run rapidly to evil, a false witness who utters lies, and one who spreads strife among brothers. (Proverbs 6:16-19 NASB)  What this passage is saying is that what God hates is the very definition of evil.  From the beginning of evil in mankind it was a selfish rebellion from the law of God and a desire to be a god ourselves.  This character flaw has remained with mankind to this day.  John puts it this way, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh and the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life, is not from the Father, but is from the world.” (1 John 2:16 NASB)  He is intimating that all sin has a root in one or more of these things.  We, mankind, have for too long looked at the problem of evil from a man centered creaturely perspective and not from a divine perspective, when you shift the focus from man to God then you can see it the right way.  In the need to really define what evil is we can look at what it is not.  Evil is not bad things that happen to me.  Evil is not people that do things that we think is not right.  Evil can only be defined from the perspective of the divine.  Evil is the opposite of good and good is defined as a characteristic of God, “Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good, for His lovingkindness is everlasting.” (Psalm 137:1 NASB) 

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[1] James Danaher, The Problem of Evil from a Gospel Perspective (Evangelical Review of Theology, April 2012 Volume 36 Issue 2) p 137

[2] Ron Highfield, The Problem with “The Problem of Evil”: A Response to Gregory Boyd’s Open Theist Solution (Restoration Quarterly 45 no 3 2003) p. 165

Christmas, Pagan or Sacred...?

   One question that I get almost every year at this time is about the origins of Christmas.  The question may take different forms; some ask if it has pagan origins, others might ask if Jesus was really born on or around the 25^th of December, some just ask if we have lost the meaning in this over commercialized and stuff focused culture that we have found ourselves in.  My answer to all these questions and any other that may be along these lines is, “What is the reason why you are asking this question?”  If we are asking this question because someone else is questioning our faith or prodding us to draw us into an argument that will not end well, than we are asking this question for the wrong reasons.  If we are asking because we truly want to know in order to deepen our faith and make sure we are living the life that Christ wants us to, well that is a whole other reason and I think the right one.

          There will always be people that push this question out there to further an agenda of their own.  They will say things like; Jesus was not born on the 25^th of December and that the holiday was begun by a pagan emperor (Constantine) and that it is a compromise with the pagan elements of the empire to keep some of the population happy with the new state religion.  These folks will often claim that the “True Church” in the first thru third centuries was the pure faith and that all the rest was corrupted.  That sounds good and on the surface it sound like it is true.  But it is based on four false arguments.

1.   That Constantine was a pagan emperor.  The truth is he like all men needed a savior and he made the claim that Jesus saved him and after 324 A.D. and he had control over the entire empire he banned pagan celebrations and embraced Christ.  Whether or not he was a true believer is between him and God, I can only speak for me, no one else.

2.   That Constantine made it a state religion.  He did not do that.  It was Theodosius I that did this.  He was the last man to rule both the east and west parts of the Roman Empire.

3.   That the “true and pure” church was the first thru third centuries before Constantine allowed it.  The idea that the first church was somehow pure and true is false and smacks of a failure to understand even the most basic of readings of the letters in the New Testaments.  The truth was that the first century church was drifting from its true center almost from its inception.  The apostles were constantly writing about heresies that were creeping in.  Any church that is not focused on Jesus and Jesus alone (as revealed to us by His word) then that church has drifted from the truth and is not healthy.  As long as man is involved with church here on earth we will always be in danger of drifting because man is sinful. 

4.   That is was based on a pagan holiday and adopted into the church by the Catholics.  While it is true that the Catholics did pick the date and that there was a pagan holiday on that day as well it true.  I have found that the same people that push this question also talk about worship on Sunday and other parts of the church as we have it today.  If we use that standard though we would not worship on Saturday either, as it was dedicated to the pagan god Saturn and on and on it would go.  The month of December is and was special to many religions from the dawn of sin.  When man drifted from God due to sin there has been a desire to have special days to celebrate in their own sinful manner what they want to celebrate.  Jesus did celebrate Hanukkah according to John 10.  It was a winter feast day.  I don’t know of any document or writing from the 3^rd century or after that specifically says that the Catholic Church was adopting the date of a pagan god. 

So now on to the answer (sort of).  First of all there is evidence in the writings of the some of the early church fathers from 200 A.D. and on that there was a desire to know the date of the birth of Christ.  None of them put the date in December but most believe that Jesus’ baptism by John was in January and so some linked the two dates to celebrate as one.  The truth is we do not know when Jesus was born.  There are enough scholars that have tried to pin the date down over the years and they all have good reasons for their dates.  Personally I think that Jesus was born sometime in the spring when all the other lambs were born.  Not because of the account of the shepherds in the fields but because He was the ultimate sacrificial lamb.  Now I know that this is not necessary and my not be really theological but it is what I think.  Either way the first church was interested in the birthday of Jesus.

As I don’t think that Jesus was born on the 25^th of December then why do I celebrate Christmas?  That is a good question and I am glad that you asked.  Jesus did have a day that He was born into real history.  We do not know when that was but we know that He did have a day that He was born.  For that reason alone it is good to celebrate the birth of Jesus and the 25^th of December is a good enough day as any to do it.  When we celebrate the day of the birth of the Messiah what are we really celebrating and what is the purpose of “Advent”?  These are the real questions that we should be asking.

We celebrate the entrance of God into real history and into flesh, blood and bone.  That is an amazing and mysterious thing. To have the creator of the universe that is larger than the universe itself somehow fit Himself into the body of a tiny child that grew in the womb of a young girl is truly amazing and a mystery that we will never know more about until we see Him face to face.  That alone should be celebrated.  But why the 25^th of December?  This is the crux of the issue.  We can all agree that Jesus coming the way He did and the why He did is something that could and should be celebrated even if He Himself did not command us to.  The best reason I have as to why we celebrate on the day that we do is because of the reason of the advent in the first place.  He came to seek and to save the lost.  In the entire world you would be hard pressed to find a place that does not at least acknowledge that Jesus’ birth is celebrated on that day.  If the majority of the world is celebrating on that day and they are at least acknowledging that Jesus the Messiah was born then we are doing what Jesus wants.  We are lifting the name of Jesus up so that all the world will see and that is powerful. 

In conclusion, the truth is that the reason for the season is to remember the entrance of God in the flesh into real history.  The majority of the world celebrates this day and so at this time we as the specially selected agents of change that are the image bearers of Christ should use this day to do just that.  If we don’t than we will miss a great opportunity to share the love of God with a lost, sin filled and dying world.  We are to be ready to give a defense for the hope that lies within us at any moment.  What better moment then when the whole world is thinking about Jesus and His birth.

In Troubling Times Turn to the Peace that He has Given Us!

In the wake of the crisis du jour in America, Ukraine, Iraq, Iran, Israel, Honduras, and all the others that are really too numerous to list it is easy to really lose our focus.  I awoke this morning to the news pundits sharing the devastation of the town of Ferguson in Missouri.  My oldest son is a Police Officer in Kansas City and a member of the State National Guard.  I could be worried for him, in fact after seeing all that has happened I should be worried, but I am not.  The truth is I know the condition of his soul.  I know that while he serves in these dangerous positions he is protected by God.  He like all those that have tasted of the sweetness of the spirit of life from Christ has a home that is not here.

The biggest problem that I see here and abroad is that we spend way too much time trying to find our identity in the wrong things.  We look for reasons to be divided.  Paul says in Ephesians chapter 4:4-6; “There is one body and one Spirit, just as also you were called in one hope of your calling; one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all who is over all and through all and in all.”   Any attempt to divide is the enemy trying to sew destruction and devastation.  We may not always agree on all things but we are still all one body of believers and as such we are called to one hope.  That hope is what the world lacks.  That is why those that seek to divide us succeed it is because they have lost hope and we the representatives of God here have not done a good enough job sharing that hope. 

Today take some time to read the 14^th chapter of John.  Jesus is about to head to the cross and He is having some final talks with the 12 men that He is closest to in all the world at that moment in time.  They were confused and worried.  Jesus was telling them that He was leaving and they had no idea what He meant.  Phillip even asked that Jesus would show them the Father in some veiled way to reassure them that He (Jesus) was the Christ.  Near the end Jesus says this to them; “These things I have spoken to you while abiding with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful.” 

He is leaving His peace with them and with us.  In other parts of the New Testament the peace that passes all understanding is brought out.  Ultimately this peace stems from the Hope that we have in Jesus.  Share that hope and His peace and remember that we are just pilgrims passing through this world.  Our home is still being prepared by Jesus and when He is ready for us we will be called home, until then remember the Hope and Peace that He has given us! 

There is a Fury to the Love of God!

Two of my favorite authors (one a singer and a song writer as well) talk about the fury of God’s love or the furious nature of God’s love. (Andrew Peterson and Brennan Manning)  I remember the first time that I heard this quote from the song Rise and Shine by Andrew Peterson and I could not shake the thought that God’s love can be furious.  It seems like an oxymoron.  Then you read in the news about a famous person beating his/her significant other and then we get a skewed perspective on this term. Paul said, “To be angry but sin not.”  Jesus demonstrated this in the temple and on the cross.  Still I have a hard time reconciling the two concepts. 

As I muse on this furious love my mind is drawn to almost every fairy-tale and heroic story where there was a damsel in distress and a warrior drawn to rescue her.  When I think of Jesus in this light I can begin to get a glimpse of this love that carries with it a weight of fury.

 

I can imagine Jesus armor clad, sword in hand, muscles rippling as He runs across the rickety rope bridge charging a crusty, craggy, horned fire breathing dragon.  I see Him battling His way through every obstacle only to arrive at the final door behind which we (the bride of Christ waits) bound with chains of our own making to walls of sin, grief, depression, and pride. 

I wonder if He pauses there outside the door and knocks gently with knuckles still bleeding from recent battles.  The more I think of Jesus (the lover of my soul) the more I feel that He would not stand outside that door for even a second.  He would kick it to splinters and fall on His knees before His beloved and gently ask for her hand.  He said He came to set the captives free; He said that he would leave the 99 safe to save the one.  He somehow emptied Himself and became flesh to walk among us.  Too hold us, laugh with us, cry with us, and touch us in ways that would leave a lasting impression. 

In the end of this musing I can only say that there is a fury to the love of God.  He stormed the stronghold of Satan and freed me to love Him for all eternity!  It is not His will that any perish but that all would come to repentance, oh how it must break His heart to get to that final point and face the individual chained to their own sin only to be rejected. 

Jesus, let me experience the fury and intensity of your love and allow me to feel the same toward You.  Help me to Love the Unlovable, and to seek opportunities to share the story of Your love.  Amen.

A Better Place Awaits in Heaven...(an excerpt from my new book "Musings From An Armchair Theologian")

The figure of the Temple of God is not only well known; it is an integral part of the history of the People of God. And throughout their history, that which made the temple holy was the presence in it of the Living God.   This idea was well establish in the first century church.  They were well versed in scripture but for the most part only had the Old Testament.  They knew that God has always wanted to dwell with His people. 

They knew that when the first tabernacle was dedicated what made the place holy was the presence of God.  Ultimately all preachers want that same feeling and idea in their respective churches.  We want to see God in the midst of His people.  The writer of the Hebrews had evidentially concluded that the current temple was not worth even mentioning so from that we can only surmise that idea was readily accepted within the community that he has writing to. 

The problem that than arose is the same one that pops up now.  The people like to have a place they can go to meet God.  We like our buildings.  Even before Constantine made Christianity legal the need to have a place to worship was strongly rooted in the Jewish and early Christian mind.  The creation of the synagogue system is all the testimony that we need.

What the writer wanted to do was to divorce the idea of the old sacrificial system from the new understanding of the Christian faith.  The burgeoning church also had at their disposal a large body of written work from the time of the Jewish captivity in the form of apocalyptic literature, the Talmud, and other apocryphal works. 

“Apocalyptic literature envisioned a complete temple in heaven.”   In the minds of many of the founders of the first century church this true temple in heaven actually stretched itself into the idea that the entire universe in one way or another reflected or copied this temple motif.  Even the human body could be viewed in this way. 

By reaching back into the history of the Jews to their heyday so to speak the author drew on all of that tradition, imagery and in some ways national pride.  His goal was to show that; “The new possession of the church both corresponds to and surpasses the possession of the earthly Israel. The order of Melchizedek, to which Christ belongs, is "better" than the old (8:6). This discussion sets the stage for the author's description of the "better sacrifices" mentioned in 9:23.”   He needed to get the readers to understand where they really stood in light of eternity and here on earth.  “Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel and others had all prophesied an eschatological temple which would not only re-gather and re-unite the divided nation of Israel but also include the Gentile nations.”  

The writer of the book of Hebrews also was aware that there was a danger in taking away the idea that a physical earthly building was the center and maybe the chief way that people can commune with God.  This danger was seen in the lives and ministries of the Pharisees.  Their strong desire to keep the whole law is what ultimately led them reject Jesus. 

So he was drawing on the idea that was already present in the community chiefly being; “the idea that a community formed a spiritual temple, which is more fully developed in the New Testament epistles, did exist among Palestinian Jews before New Testament times.”   

The writer of Hebrews, while not having the completed text of the Gospel of John to draw on did have the Apostle John to talk to.  As such the idea that when Jesus came, as seen in John’s gospel in the first and fourteenth verse of the first chapter, and tabernacled with us.  With Jesus now playing the role of a better High Priest in the perfect temple in heaven allows the reader to step away from the material, physical world and allow the idea of a better or true sacrifice for the atonement of sin to take place for them.

For those that run into the breach not from it...THANK YOU!

What drives a man or woman to give of themselves sacrificially for another?  What pushes some to run toward danger and not away from it?  Is that desire to do battle an abnormal gene that needs to be purged from the collective?  On this day that we honor veterans these questions naturally come to mind.  Paul (inspired by the Holy Spirit) said in Romans 5 starting at verse 6 “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.”

When I think of the men and women that did heroic deeds that ran toward danger to rescue those that were in need I cannot help but to be drawn to this passage.  How often in the stories of these heroes so we see them stopping just short of the rescue and asking if the person in need is a good person?  Is there ever any thought in that moment that the person that needed saving might not be worth saving at all.  For us that are bound by time and cannot see what God sees I can say that I know of no one that would do that.  God however, not bound by time, looked down through he ages and noted that all were not worthy but He sent His son anyway. 

Another way to look at this is that God released His Son Jesus to run into the breach guns of salvation blazing ready to and willing to die so that His bride to be would be safe.  I love a good story of a grand hero.  I have sat side by side with men and women that have served that I would call heroes in an instant but all of them would tell you that they were not a hero.  Their humility and willingness to sacrifice themselves for people that most likely are not worthy of the sacrifice is truly inspiring.  There is a verse that or two that comes to mind when talking about this subject.  “For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places” (Eph 6:12) and; “And what more shall I say? For time would fail me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel and the prophets who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured, refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, and they were killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats, destitute, afflicted, mistreated of whom the world was not worthy wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth.” 

So to all those that have served, both living and dead I can tell you this that while we that you fought for, we that some have paid the ultimate price, we who may not be worthy… WE THANK YOU!

Dearth of Leadership

In recent years I have spent a lot of time trying to understand what makes a good leader.  I have read book after book and talked to many men that are leaders both good and bad.  As a pastor and a man that has been called to lead or at least shepherd a flock I find that understanding what a leader is could be one of the most important things that I do.  Some of the leadership gurus seem to have some really good ideas but I have found that none of them really can nail down a solid definition of what a leader is.

I would love for there to be a check list that we could just tick off that would tell us what a great leader is:

Integrity	Check
Good Administrator	Check
Good Communicator	Check
Full Head of Hair	Check

I think you get the idea.  There are a number of characteristics that are necessary for a good leader but trying to nail down and exact definition is like trying to nail water to a tree.  One of the reasons for this is that leadership is an art and like all forms of art beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  That is why we like some leaders and others turn our stomachs. 

For me I feel that God is asking me to take a look at the larger picture.  More and more we are seeing self-styled leaders emerge that are more interested in gaining approval then actually leading.  I see that over the years as America’s greatest generation is fading into history and then that history being revised into something that is more politically palatable.  Gone are the men and women that could look evil in the eye and not blink. 

For a long time I wondered about this.  I have come to the conclusion that the reason that we do not have leaders like this anymore is that we do not have the will or the understanding to name evil for what it is.  We see more and more that the men and women that want to lead feel like they cannot rightly divide what is real evil and what is truly good. 

There is right and there is wrong, there life and there is death; we know this that God has said in Jerimiah 31:31-34 this:

“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.”

Those of us that have tasted of the pure water of life, that have felt a love that transcends all understanding, that has been given a true beauty for the ashes that we once were know what is right.  God has placed in us that knowledge. 

We can all agree that the world is in a sad way, but while we all may have different opinions as to how to fix them all of us can agree that we need a leader to emerge.  Someone like the great preachers of old, that spoke the truth without reservation and could stand up to evil and not only not blink make evil back down!  Greater is He that is in us then he that is in this world!  Ultimately we need to rely on the truth of God’s word:  “It is He who changes the times and the epochs; He removes kings and establishes kings; He gives wisdom to wise men and knowledge to men of understanding.”  God will send the right leaders when we need them, God will send an awakening when He chooses and He will keep His people safe as best brings Him glory!  Let us pray for God to raise those leaders up!