Saturday, May 29, 2010
Monday, May 3, 2010
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
You’re Not Spiritual
This is a great article from the Resurgence website (http://www.facebook.com/theresurgence)
Alienation from God
Recently, there has been talk about spirituality and Christianity, which has made me wonder what fellow Christians mean when they use the words “spiritual” and “spirituality.”When discussing these topics, it is important to focus on the very heart of Christianity—that we are not “spiritual.”
We do not practice spirituality because we have climbed the ladder to God through human means. Rather, Christianity teaches that our alienation from God is remedied by Christ, who absorbs the sin that separates us from God. God came near to us in Christ, so that Christ could consume that which separates us from God, and thereby, draw us near to him.
Faulty Views
We are not “spiritual,” but Christ was “spiritual” for us. In other words, without God nothing is strong and nothing is holy. We are weak and unholy. Our natural inclination is to substitute anything for God. We repel the holy and opt for manageable and convenient versions of God.
We tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move toward our mental image of God. In his book, Your God Is Too Small, J. B. Phillips describes inadequate ideas of God. Just looking at the chapter titles can be helpful:
The Resident Policeman
The Parental Hangover
The Grand Old Man
Meek and Mild
Absolute Perfection
The Heavenly Bosom
God in a Box
The Managing Director
Second-hand God
Perennial Grievance
The Pale-Galilean
How many of these ideas have become prominent ways of understanding God both in the church today and in our contemporary culture?
Condescension
The incarnation eviscerates these faulty views of God. Through the incarnation, God disarms us our self-reliant spiritual efforts. As a result, we have a problem with God. God is morally and spiritually separated from us, and we are separated from God and from one another. Christian spirituality, then, is ultimately created not by reason or emotion, but by condescension.
John Calvin uses the notion of accommodation—“God accommodates to our human capacity.” God condescended and became a human. God condescended, spoke our language, and gave us a book so that we would remember the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
Spirituality Properly Understood
The most fundamental spiritual lesson we learn from this is a caution against the fetish of spirituality itself. Spirituality includes beliefs and practices, theology and rituals, ideas and activities. These are all things that contribute to a rich and vibrant Christian life, both individually and communally. But at the heart of Christian spirituality is a reminder that no spiritual practice or ritual alone can draw us near to God. God must come near to us. That “God-coming-near” is what has happened in the incarnation and that is what we celebrate as Christians. Christian spirituality ultimately rests in God’s condescension to us. It is not that we have risen to spiritual heights, but that heaven has come down to us.
Alienation from God
Recently, there has been talk about spirituality and Christianity, which has made me wonder what fellow Christians mean when they use the words “spiritual” and “spirituality.”When discussing these topics, it is important to focus on the very heart of Christianity—that we are not “spiritual.”
We do not practice spirituality because we have climbed the ladder to God through human means. Rather, Christianity teaches that our alienation from God is remedied by Christ, who absorbs the sin that separates us from God. God came near to us in Christ, so that Christ could consume that which separates us from God, and thereby, draw us near to him.
Faulty Views
We are not “spiritual,” but Christ was “spiritual” for us. In other words, without God nothing is strong and nothing is holy. We are weak and unholy. Our natural inclination is to substitute anything for God. We repel the holy and opt for manageable and convenient versions of God.
We tend, by a secret law of the soul, to move toward our mental image of God. In his book, Your God Is Too Small, J. B. Phillips describes inadequate ideas of God. Just looking at the chapter titles can be helpful:
The Resident Policeman
The Parental Hangover
The Grand Old Man
Meek and Mild
Absolute Perfection
The Heavenly Bosom
God in a Box
The Managing Director
Second-hand God
Perennial Grievance
The Pale-Galilean
How many of these ideas have become prominent ways of understanding God both in the church today and in our contemporary culture?
Condescension
The incarnation eviscerates these faulty views of God. Through the incarnation, God disarms us our self-reliant spiritual efforts. As a result, we have a problem with God. God is morally and spiritually separated from us, and we are separated from God and from one another. Christian spirituality, then, is ultimately created not by reason or emotion, but by condescension.
John Calvin uses the notion of accommodation—“God accommodates to our human capacity.” God condescended and became a human. God condescended, spoke our language, and gave us a book so that we would remember the incarnation, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus.
Spirituality Properly Understood
The most fundamental spiritual lesson we learn from this is a caution against the fetish of spirituality itself. Spirituality includes beliefs and practices, theology and rituals, ideas and activities. These are all things that contribute to a rich and vibrant Christian life, both individually and communally. But at the heart of Christian spirituality is a reminder that no spiritual practice or ritual alone can draw us near to God. God must come near to us. That “God-coming-near” is what has happened in the incarnation and that is what we celebrate as Christians. Christian spirituality ultimately rests in God’s condescension to us. It is not that we have risen to spiritual heights, but that heaven has come down to us.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Eat My Flesh and Drink My Blood
The purpose of my paper is to show how an understanding of and participation in the Lord’s Supper benefits Christians and God’s kingdom still today. “The simple, solemn service (of the Lord’s Supper) is conducted “in remembrance” of Jesus’ death. The phrase reflects the vital Old Testament concept of zikkaron, “memorial.” This might be a memorial festival, a place, or an object intended to remind Israel of God’s acts for them in the past. By contact with the zikkaron the living sensed the participation of every member with Jesus in His death. In the Lord’s Supper we are present at the cross and testify to it (Richards 1991, p. 767).” By faith we were present when Jesus died and the death He suffered was for us. We sense our personal participation, along with the apostles, in the upper room.
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-27, the apostle Paul chastens the Corinthians for the manner in which they had been celebrating the Lord’s Supper. He admonished them that the event was a chaste, unadorned service of remembrance, proclaiming the Lord’s death. The focus of the Lord’s Supper should be on the body and blood of Christ, a holy occasion.
The background of the Passover meal which Jesus ate with his disciples stretches back to the Exodus of the Hebrew nation from Egypt under the leadership of Moses in Exodus 12. The name Passover comes from the Hebrew work pasah, which means “to pass over”. The meal was to commemorate God’s grace when He instructed Moses to have his people kill a lamb (the paschal, or Passover lamb) and sprinkle its blood on their doorframes so the Angel of Death would pass over their homes and take the lives of the firstborn of the Egyptians. The Passover meal was to be eaten together as a family. As a symbol of redemption that links life and the shedding of blood, Passover speaks to us of Christ, our Passover lamb, who was sacrificed for us, as Paul wrote of in 1 Corinthians 5:7.
The Passover meal was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. “Bread made without yeast speaks of purity. Yet the significance of such bread is as an aid to remembering the haste with which Israel finally left Egypt; so quickly there was no time for bread to rise (Richards, 1991, p. 59).” In fact, yeast was carefully removed from every household before the annual Passover festival.
Today, we have the Spirit of God that cleanses us from our sins as we confess them. Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and His death and shed blood paid the price for sin once and for all. No longer does an animal need to be offered for our sins. “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:6-9).” Jesus Christ's body and blood was the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb. Jesus is called the "Lamb of God" in John 1:29, "Our Passover" in I Corinthians 5:7, and the "lamb without spot or blemish" in I Peter 1:19. So as the Passover was a memorial commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lambs on the door post, so the Supper is a memorial of our Lord's death who makes our deliverance from the bondage of sin possible.
As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.”
Paul’s admonition leads us to consider the benefits of the Lord’s Supper that we may still receive today. “What is the Lord's Supper to us? It is an ordinance or sacrament appointed by Jesus Christ the night before He was crucified, for the perpetual benefit and edification of His Church, until He comes again at the end of the world.” (Ryle, 1865)
“Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord's Supper, to be observed in his church unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death, the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him, and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body (Westminster, 1646). The sacrifice of Jesus' life on the cross paid the price for the sins of all mankind. His spilled blood and torn flesh bring life to those who accept Him as Savior. Jesus’ blood keeps the body of Christ healthy and alive.
As the Passover was a memorial commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lambs on the door post, so the Supper is a memorial of our Lord's death who makes our deliverance from the bondage of sin possible. The benefits of the church and the individual in partaking of the Lord’s Supper are then centered on remaining healthy physically and spiritually, self-examination, and sharing of the body and the blood with other believers. However, before the benefits can be realized, we must understand that the Lord’s Supper is done to first obey Christ’s admonition to do so. This do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. “The word "remembrance" comes as a refrain after both the loaf and the cup. The central purpose of the supper is to bring the sacrifice of Christ and all its blessed results vividly to mind (McGarvey, 2007).”
When we partake of the Lord’s Supper together as a church, we eat of Christ’s body and drink of his blood as one body, as we are shown to be in Romans 12:5: “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” Also, “In the Middle East eating together established a symbolic bond of mutual trust and commitment (Richards 1991, p. 646).” “And he said unto them, drink ye all of it (Matthew 26:24).” "All refers to the persons and not to the wine. It was important that all the disciples participate in the cup (McGarvey, 2007).”
There is a sense of reinforced fellowship in the body of Christ as we break bread together, as we commune with the blood of Christ together, remembering His ultimate sacrifice as we share in the body and blood of the Lord. This was clearly stated in Acts 2:42 “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” and in Acts 20:7 “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.”
“So, in this ordinance, "we being many are one bread," and we being many are one cup. Brethren, I cannot do without you. If I want to celebrate the Lord's death, I cannot go into my chamber, and take the piece of bread and the cup, and celebrate the ordinance alone; I must have you with me, I cannot do without you. And you, the most spiritually-minded of you, if you shut yourselves up in a cell, and try to play the monk and the super-excellent, cannot keep this ordinance. You must have fellowship with other believers, you must come down among the saints, for our Savior has given us this memorial which cannot be celebrated except jointly, by the whole of us together… if you are conscious of anything against any brother with whom you will communion at the table, I pray you now to put it all away before you come hither. Remember that you must eat and drink jointly with that very friend with whom you are offended now, and therefore make u the offense, and so come together. God has forgiven you so much that you may well forgive your brother this little, supposing him to have offended you. Come, then, together, beloved; together let us keep the feast (Spurgeon, 1862).”
“Part of experiencing the Lord’s Supper together as a church is showing forth Jesus’ death, as explained in 1 Corinthians 11:26: ” For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.” “This verse is a comment of Paul's upon the nature of the supper. In keeping the Lord's Supper we proclaim to our own souls and to the world our trust in the death of Christ, and our hope that he will return and fulfill the expectations begotten in us by it (McGarvey, 2007).” Therefore, we proclaim our faith in the effectiveness of the Lord's death, that His death was indeed for our sins. We also proclaim our faith in the Lord's resurrection and imminent return, for it is to be done "till He comes." “I am not saying that what happens in the Lord's Supper is mere, intellectual recall of facts. The supper proclaims. And faith comes by hearing and seeing and tasting that proclamation. And faith is a spiritual feasting on the risen, living Christ so that all that God is for us in him satisfies our soul, and sweetens our love for him, and breaks the power of sin in our lives (Piper, 2003).”
As Charles H. Spurgeon comments, we show forth Christ’s death to ourselves, to God, to our fellow-Christians, to the world, and to sinners: “Only work while it is called to-day; work so that' when he cometh, he may find you, as faithful servants, ready to come to the wedding with him. "Till he come," then, the Lord's Supper is to be a showing forth of his death… 'Tis a showing forth of Christ's death to ourselves. We see the bread broken, and see the wine poured out, and we ourselves see here, in symbol, Christ crucified; and we see as before our eyes, when we eat and drink, our interest in the sacrifice offered upon Calvary... But next, we show it to God. We do, in effect, say before the all-witnessing Jehovah, "Great God, we break this bread in thine august presence in token that we believe in thy dear Son; and we drink this wine here before thee, thou Savior of hearts, solemnly to say unto thee again, 'We are thine, bought with Jesus's blood, and washed clean in it.'… Moreover, it is a showing of it to our fellow-Christians. We say to those who sit with us, "Come, brethren and sisters, let us join together; we join with you, do you join with us. We say to you, 'We love him;' and you say the same to us. Together we clasp hands, and renew our Christian fellowship with one another, through renewing our fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We do, as it were, teach one another, and admonish one another, and comfort one another… we also show it to the world. We do, in effect, say to the world, "Here we show that we believe in him who you crucified. He who went without the camp, the Man of Nazareth, despised and rejected of men, is our Master. You may trust in your philosophies; we trust in him. You may rely upon your own merits, sacrifices, and performances; but, as for us, his flesh and his blood are our dependence. As we eat this bread, and drink of this cup, Christ Jesus is set forth to you as being All-in-all to us, - the bread which sustains our spiritual life, and the wine which gives us joy and sacred exhilaration and delight.” And then, in addition to saying this to the world, we also say it to sinners, who may happen to be present, and to whom it may be blessed. How often within these walls has God blessed the breaking of bread to the conversion of souls (Spurgeon, 1862)!”
The reason we are to examine ourselves before we take the wine and the bread is so that there is nothing in our hearts that would prevent our communion with God. If we do not have the proper relationship with members of the Lord’s body, then we cannot have a proper relationship with God. In fact, it's possible to participate in the Lord’s Supper without even thinking about God. It can become a ritual full of action but empty of meaning. If we let that happen, we miss out on a time of gratitude and fellowship. And we miss the blessing that comes with a serious examination of our spiritual condition (1 Corinthians 11:28). Communion reminds us of our responsibility to check the attitude of our heart. And it helps us to keep the slate clean.
Many scriptures address the fact that man must alleviate himself of strife with his fellow man before approaching God. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also (1 John 4:20-21).” “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24).” “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).” We are prepared if we are repentant, that is, sorry for our sins and do not want to do them again, if we believe in Jesus’ promise of forgiveness.
Just as the body needs cleansing, we also need that cleansing work in our spirits and souls. When the Holy Spirit points out sin to us, we need to repent and confess that sin so that we can be cleansed of it. The scripture says that if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we will be in fellowship one with another. As Christians, if we have broken fellowship with any member in the body of Christ, one or both of us will be walking in darkness and sin. God never divides and separates His body. We should always strive to walk in peace and harmony with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, if there are those who refuse to fellowship with us, then we must leave them in the hands of the Lord and pray for them. However, we should be very sure that there is nothing at our end of the relationship that is preventing fellowship, lest we be guilty of "walking in the dark.”
Another of the main functions of the blood of Jesus is to facilitate cleansing of our bodies. As members of the body of Christ, we are in need of cleansing when we come to the Lord. This cleansing process is an ongoing operation, as we walk in the Lord, so that we will remain free from sin. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-9).”
The blood of Jesus spiritually defends the body of Christ. When Satan invades, the Holy Spirit stands ready to come to our aid and bring the needed healing. The Lord desires that we walk in divine health. If we stay in close communion with Him, we will find our spiritual man will not become sick and depleted, needing continual healing. Satan tries to drain us of our spiritual strength and weaken us to the point where we have no resistance against His attacks. Staying in the flow of God’s Spirit prevents this, as we then have His strength to overcome and walk victoriously. We, as Christians, are admonished to “...be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10).” Weakness is just another attack of the devil. We are to be strong in our spirits, souls, and bodies.
It is not normal for a Christian to be weak, fearful, depressed, grieved, or sick. These things are abnormal for God’s people. However, so many of God’s people have accepted the world’s standards that they are walking far below their privileges. If we have been taking of Christ’s blood (abiding in His Spirit) and eating his flesh (assimilating His Word), then we will have blessed communion with the Father. We shall walk in health and strength for they are the Lord’s blessing and promise. When we do not walk in the Lord we find our spiritual body becomes unhealthy, and we begin to have problems.
Another thing that can cause people to be weak and sickly is for them to take the communion of the Lord without first examining themselves to see if any sin is present in their lives. When we become rebellious toward God, we cause the same condition to occur in our spiritual lives. We find that spiritual cancer will eat away our life. We must ask the Lord to deliver us from all rebellion and submit to His will in order to remain healthy. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:23, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee... We must yield to the Lord to remain spiritually and physically healthy. The Lord will minister to us the things we need to stay in proper spiritual condition.
God feeds us through the Word by quickening (making alive) the right word to us. If we have need of comfort, He will show us the Scriptures in His Word that bring comfort. And, because the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, He will bring that to our spirits. When we are submitted to Him, we will be fed the proper word so that we may grow in Him. If we are not submitted, we can become imbalanced in our spiritual lives. The same is true in the physical body. If diabetes is present, too much blood sugar is produced and the body suffers because of this condition. The written Word of God must be balanced by the Spirit of God. The letter of the law will kill and bring death, but the Spirit brings life. “2 Corinthians 3:6 says, Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
When we get out of balance, we become spiritually ill. We must continually rely on Jesus to bring us the truth and the life. “Their souls are strengthened and refreshed by inward spiritual communion with the body and blood of Christ, after the same manner that a material body is strengthened by bread and wine. Their repentance is deepened, their faith increased, their hope brightened, their knowledge enlarged, their habits of holy living strengthened (Ryle, 1865).”
"This is my body," means, as you eat this bread and drink this cup come to me and believe on me. That is, sit with me at table and trust me to be your life-sustaining food and drink. Let the proclamation of my death and remembrance of all that I am for you awaken faith and draw you into deeper communion with me. "This is my body," and "This is my blood," mean eat spiritually, that is, eat by faith. That is, feed your soul on all that I am for you. Nourish your heart on all the blessings that I bought for you with my body and blood (see 1 Corinthians 10:16). That is what faith is: faith is a being satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ. Christ has given us the Lord's Supper to feed us spiritually with himself.
The benefits of the Lord’s Supper are not all aimed at the individual believer. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 20:16, “So the last shall be first, and the first last”, so do I list these benefits first to the kingdom of God and then to the individual partaker in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. These benefits of following Christ’s admonition, the sharing of the body and the blood with other believers, self-examination, and remaining healthy – both physically and spiritually – point to a definite need for believers, and only believers, to partake of the Lord’s Supper at all times it is made available through their local church, for their sake, and the sake of their community, depends on it. It will build up our faith, ensure our good fellowship with other believers, and cleanse us physically and spiritually; all benefits which will strengthen our walk with God and our ultimate home in eternity with Him. What greater benefit could we hope for?
References:
McGarvey, J. W. and Pendleton, P. Y. (1914). The Fourfold Gospel, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company, retrieved on August 5, 2007 at http://bible.crosswalk.com/ Commentaries/TheFourfoldGospel/tfg.cgi?section=T5-28
Piper, J. S. (2003) Why We Eat the Lord's Supper, retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.ondoctrine.com/2pip1901.htm
Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible Reader’s Companion. Wheaton, IL: SP Publications
Ryle, J.C. (1865) Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times, retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ryle/upperroom.xxii.html?highlight= communion,lords,supper,bread#highlight
Spurgeon, C. H. (1862) The Lord’s Supper, Simple but Sublime, retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.ondoctrine.com/2spu0105.htm
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ index.html?body=/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ch_XXIX.html
In 1 Corinthians 11:23-27, the apostle Paul chastens the Corinthians for the manner in which they had been celebrating the Lord’s Supper. He admonished them that the event was a chaste, unadorned service of remembrance, proclaiming the Lord’s death. The focus of the Lord’s Supper should be on the body and blood of Christ, a holy occasion.
The background of the Passover meal which Jesus ate with his disciples stretches back to the Exodus of the Hebrew nation from Egypt under the leadership of Moses in Exodus 12. The name Passover comes from the Hebrew work pasah, which means “to pass over”. The meal was to commemorate God’s grace when He instructed Moses to have his people kill a lamb (the paschal, or Passover lamb) and sprinkle its blood on their doorframes so the Angel of Death would pass over their homes and take the lives of the firstborn of the Egyptians. The Passover meal was to be eaten together as a family. As a symbol of redemption that links life and the shedding of blood, Passover speaks to us of Christ, our Passover lamb, who was sacrificed for us, as Paul wrote of in 1 Corinthians 5:7.
The Passover meal was also called the Feast of Unleavened Bread. “Bread made without yeast speaks of purity. Yet the significance of such bread is as an aid to remembering the haste with which Israel finally left Egypt; so quickly there was no time for bread to rise (Richards, 1991, p. 59).” In fact, yeast was carefully removed from every household before the annual Passover festival.
Today, we have the Spirit of God that cleanses us from our sins as we confess them. Jesus was the lamb slain from the foundation of the world, and His death and shed blood paid the price for sin once and for all. No longer does an animal need to be offered for our sins. “In burnt offerings and sacrifices for sin thou hast had no pleasure. Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God. Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law; Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second. By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all (Hebrews 10:6-9).” Jesus Christ's body and blood was the fulfillment of the Passover Lamb. Jesus is called the "Lamb of God" in John 1:29, "Our Passover" in I Corinthians 5:7, and the "lamb without spot or blemish" in I Peter 1:19. So as the Passover was a memorial commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lambs on the door post, so the Supper is a memorial of our Lord's death who makes our deliverance from the bondage of sin possible.
As Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 11:23-29, “For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, That the Lord Jesus the same night in which he was betrayed took bread And when he had given thanks, he brake it, and said, Take, eat: this is my body, which is broken for you: this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying, This cup is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come. Wherefore whosoever shall eat this bread, and drink this cup of the Lord, unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and blood of the Lord. But let a man examine himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of that cup. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh damnation to himself, not discerning the Lord's body.”
Paul’s admonition leads us to consider the benefits of the Lord’s Supper that we may still receive today. “What is the Lord's Supper to us? It is an ordinance or sacrament appointed by Jesus Christ the night before He was crucified, for the perpetual benefit and edification of His Church, until He comes again at the end of the world.” (Ryle, 1865)
“Our Lord Jesus, in the night wherein he was betrayed, instituted the sacrament of his body and blood, called the Lord's Supper, to be observed in his church unto the end of the world, for the perpetual remembrance of the sacrifice of himself in his death, the sealing all benefits thereof unto true believers, their spiritual nourishment and growth in him, their further engagement in and to all duties which they owe unto him, and to be a bond and pledge of their communion with him, and with each other, as members of his mystical body (Westminster, 1646). The sacrifice of Jesus' life on the cross paid the price for the sins of all mankind. His spilled blood and torn flesh bring life to those who accept Him as Savior. Jesus’ blood keeps the body of Christ healthy and alive.
As the Passover was a memorial commemorating Israel's deliverance from Egypt through the blood of the lambs on the door post, so the Supper is a memorial of our Lord's death who makes our deliverance from the bondage of sin possible. The benefits of the church and the individual in partaking of the Lord’s Supper are then centered on remaining healthy physically and spiritually, self-examination, and sharing of the body and the blood with other believers. However, before the benefits can be realized, we must understand that the Lord’s Supper is done to first obey Christ’s admonition to do so. This do, as often as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. “The word "remembrance" comes as a refrain after both the loaf and the cup. The central purpose of the supper is to bring the sacrifice of Christ and all its blessed results vividly to mind (McGarvey, 2007).”
When we partake of the Lord’s Supper together as a church, we eat of Christ’s body and drink of his blood as one body, as we are shown to be in Romans 12:5: “So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.” Also, “In the Middle East eating together established a symbolic bond of mutual trust and commitment (Richards 1991, p. 646).” “And he said unto them, drink ye all of it (Matthew 26:24).” "All refers to the persons and not to the wine. It was important that all the disciples participate in the cup (McGarvey, 2007).”
There is a sense of reinforced fellowship in the body of Christ as we break bread together, as we commune with the blood of Christ together, remembering His ultimate sacrifice as we share in the body and blood of the Lord. This was clearly stated in Acts 2:42 “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” and in Acts 20:7 “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them.”
“So, in this ordinance, "we being many are one bread," and we being many are one cup. Brethren, I cannot do without you. If I want to celebrate the Lord's death, I cannot go into my chamber, and take the piece of bread and the cup, and celebrate the ordinance alone; I must have you with me, I cannot do without you. And you, the most spiritually-minded of you, if you shut yourselves up in a cell, and try to play the monk and the super-excellent, cannot keep this ordinance. You must have fellowship with other believers, you must come down among the saints, for our Savior has given us this memorial which cannot be celebrated except jointly, by the whole of us together… if you are conscious of anything against any brother with whom you will communion at the table, I pray you now to put it all away before you come hither. Remember that you must eat and drink jointly with that very friend with whom you are offended now, and therefore make u the offense, and so come together. God has forgiven you so much that you may well forgive your brother this little, supposing him to have offended you. Come, then, together, beloved; together let us keep the feast (Spurgeon, 1862).”
“Part of experiencing the Lord’s Supper together as a church is showing forth Jesus’ death, as explained in 1 Corinthians 11:26: ” For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this cup, ye do shew the Lord's death till he come.” “This verse is a comment of Paul's upon the nature of the supper. In keeping the Lord's Supper we proclaim to our own souls and to the world our trust in the death of Christ, and our hope that he will return and fulfill the expectations begotten in us by it (McGarvey, 2007).” Therefore, we proclaim our faith in the effectiveness of the Lord's death, that His death was indeed for our sins. We also proclaim our faith in the Lord's resurrection and imminent return, for it is to be done "till He comes." “I am not saying that what happens in the Lord's Supper is mere, intellectual recall of facts. The supper proclaims. And faith comes by hearing and seeing and tasting that proclamation. And faith is a spiritual feasting on the risen, living Christ so that all that God is for us in him satisfies our soul, and sweetens our love for him, and breaks the power of sin in our lives (Piper, 2003).”
As Charles H. Spurgeon comments, we show forth Christ’s death to ourselves, to God, to our fellow-Christians, to the world, and to sinners: “Only work while it is called to-day; work so that' when he cometh, he may find you, as faithful servants, ready to come to the wedding with him. "Till he come," then, the Lord's Supper is to be a showing forth of his death… 'Tis a showing forth of Christ's death to ourselves. We see the bread broken, and see the wine poured out, and we ourselves see here, in symbol, Christ crucified; and we see as before our eyes, when we eat and drink, our interest in the sacrifice offered upon Calvary... But next, we show it to God. We do, in effect, say before the all-witnessing Jehovah, "Great God, we break this bread in thine august presence in token that we believe in thy dear Son; and we drink this wine here before thee, thou Savior of hearts, solemnly to say unto thee again, 'We are thine, bought with Jesus's blood, and washed clean in it.'… Moreover, it is a showing of it to our fellow-Christians. We say to those who sit with us, "Come, brethren and sisters, let us join together; we join with you, do you join with us. We say to you, 'We love him;' and you say the same to us. Together we clasp hands, and renew our Christian fellowship with one another, through renewing our fellowship with our Lord Jesus Christ. We do, as it were, teach one another, and admonish one another, and comfort one another… we also show it to the world. We do, in effect, say to the world, "Here we show that we believe in him who you crucified. He who went without the camp, the Man of Nazareth, despised and rejected of men, is our Master. You may trust in your philosophies; we trust in him. You may rely upon your own merits, sacrifices, and performances; but, as for us, his flesh and his blood are our dependence. As we eat this bread, and drink of this cup, Christ Jesus is set forth to you as being All-in-all to us, - the bread which sustains our spiritual life, and the wine which gives us joy and sacred exhilaration and delight.” And then, in addition to saying this to the world, we also say it to sinners, who may happen to be present, and to whom it may be blessed. How often within these walls has God blessed the breaking of bread to the conversion of souls (Spurgeon, 1862)!”
The reason we are to examine ourselves before we take the wine and the bread is so that there is nothing in our hearts that would prevent our communion with God. If we do not have the proper relationship with members of the Lord’s body, then we cannot have a proper relationship with God. In fact, it's possible to participate in the Lord’s Supper without even thinking about God. It can become a ritual full of action but empty of meaning. If we let that happen, we miss out on a time of gratitude and fellowship. And we miss the blessing that comes with a serious examination of our spiritual condition (1 Corinthians 11:28). Communion reminds us of our responsibility to check the attitude of our heart. And it helps us to keep the slate clean.
Many scriptures address the fact that man must alleviate himself of strife with his fellow man before approaching God. “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also (1 John 4:20-21).” “Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift (Matthew 5:23-24).” “For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins (Matthew 6:14-15).” We are prepared if we are repentant, that is, sorry for our sins and do not want to do them again, if we believe in Jesus’ promise of forgiveness.
Just as the body needs cleansing, we also need that cleansing work in our spirits and souls. When the Holy Spirit points out sin to us, we need to repent and confess that sin so that we can be cleansed of it. The scripture says that if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we will be in fellowship one with another. As Christians, if we have broken fellowship with any member in the body of Christ, one or both of us will be walking in darkness and sin. God never divides and separates His body. We should always strive to walk in peace and harmony with all of our brothers and sisters in Christ. Of course, if there are those who refuse to fellowship with us, then we must leave them in the hands of the Lord and pray for them. However, we should be very sure that there is nothing at our end of the relationship that is preventing fellowship, lest we be guilty of "walking in the dark.”
Another of the main functions of the blood of Jesus is to facilitate cleansing of our bodies. As members of the body of Christ, we are in need of cleansing when we come to the Lord. This cleansing process is an ongoing operation, as we walk in the Lord, so that we will remain free from sin. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleans us from all sin. If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:7-9).”
The blood of Jesus spiritually defends the body of Christ. When Satan invades, the Holy Spirit stands ready to come to our aid and bring the needed healing. The Lord desires that we walk in divine health. If we stay in close communion with Him, we will find our spiritual man will not become sick and depleted, needing continual healing. Satan tries to drain us of our spiritual strength and weaken us to the point where we have no resistance against His attacks. Staying in the flow of God’s Spirit prevents this, as we then have His strength to overcome and walk victoriously. We, as Christians, are admonished to “...be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might (Ephesians 6:10).” Weakness is just another attack of the devil. We are to be strong in our spirits, souls, and bodies.
It is not normal for a Christian to be weak, fearful, depressed, grieved, or sick. These things are abnormal for God’s people. However, so many of God’s people have accepted the world’s standards that they are walking far below their privileges. If we have been taking of Christ’s blood (abiding in His Spirit) and eating his flesh (assimilating His Word), then we will have blessed communion with the Father. We shall walk in health and strength for they are the Lord’s blessing and promise. When we do not walk in the Lord we find our spiritual body becomes unhealthy, and we begin to have problems.
Another thing that can cause people to be weak and sickly is for them to take the communion of the Lord without first examining themselves to see if any sin is present in their lives. When we become rebellious toward God, we cause the same condition to occur in our spiritual lives. We find that spiritual cancer will eat away our life. We must ask the Lord to deliver us from all rebellion and submit to His will in order to remain healthy. The Bible says in 1 Samuel 15:23, For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry. Because thou hast rejected the word of the Lord, he hath also rejected thee... We must yield to the Lord to remain spiritually and physically healthy. The Lord will minister to us the things we need to stay in proper spiritual condition.
God feeds us through the Word by quickening (making alive) the right word to us. If we have need of comfort, He will show us the Scriptures in His Word that bring comfort. And, because the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, He will bring that to our spirits. When we are submitted to Him, we will be fed the proper word so that we may grow in Him. If we are not submitted, we can become imbalanced in our spiritual lives. The same is true in the physical body. If diabetes is present, too much blood sugar is produced and the body suffers because of this condition. The written Word of God must be balanced by the Spirit of God. The letter of the law will kill and bring death, but the Spirit brings life. “2 Corinthians 3:6 says, Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.”
When we get out of balance, we become spiritually ill. We must continually rely on Jesus to bring us the truth and the life. “Their souls are strengthened and refreshed by inward spiritual communion with the body and blood of Christ, after the same manner that a material body is strengthened by bread and wine. Their repentance is deepened, their faith increased, their hope brightened, their knowledge enlarged, their habits of holy living strengthened (Ryle, 1865).”
"This is my body," means, as you eat this bread and drink this cup come to me and believe on me. That is, sit with me at table and trust me to be your life-sustaining food and drink. Let the proclamation of my death and remembrance of all that I am for you awaken faith and draw you into deeper communion with me. "This is my body," and "This is my blood," mean eat spiritually, that is, eat by faith. That is, feed your soul on all that I am for you. Nourish your heart on all the blessings that I bought for you with my body and blood (see 1 Corinthians 10:16). That is what faith is: faith is a being satisfied in all that God is for us in Christ. Christ has given us the Lord's Supper to feed us spiritually with himself.
The benefits of the Lord’s Supper are not all aimed at the individual believer. Just as Jesus said in Matthew 20:16, “So the last shall be first, and the first last”, so do I list these benefits first to the kingdom of God and then to the individual partaker in the sacrament of the Lord’s Supper. These benefits of following Christ’s admonition, the sharing of the body and the blood with other believers, self-examination, and remaining healthy – both physically and spiritually – point to a definite need for believers, and only believers, to partake of the Lord’s Supper at all times it is made available through their local church, for their sake, and the sake of their community, depends on it. It will build up our faith, ensure our good fellowship with other believers, and cleanse us physically and spiritually; all benefits which will strengthen our walk with God and our ultimate home in eternity with Him. What greater benefit could we hope for?
References:
McGarvey, J. W. and Pendleton, P. Y. (1914). The Fourfold Gospel, Cincinnati, OH: Standard Publishing Company, retrieved on August 5, 2007 at http://bible.crosswalk.com/ Commentaries/TheFourfoldGospel/tfg.cgi?section=T5-28
Piper, J. S. (2003) Why We Eat the Lord's Supper, retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.ondoctrine.com/2pip1901.htm
Richards, L. O. (1991). The Bible Reader’s Companion. Wheaton, IL: SP Publications
Ryle, J.C. (1865) Upper Room: Being a Few Truths for the Times, retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.ccel.org/ccel/ryle/upperroom.xxii.html?highlight= communion,lords,supper,bread#highlight
Spurgeon, C. H. (1862) The Lord’s Supper, Simple but Sublime, retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.ondoctrine.com/2spu0105.htm
Westminster Confession of Faith (1646), retrieved on August 12, 2007 at http://www.reformed.org/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ index.html?body=/documents/wcf_with_proofs/ch_XXIX.html
Monday, January 18, 2010
Lessons from Lady GaGa
This is a repost from the Wretched Radio website at http://www.wretchedradio.com/ :
First of all, she ain’t no lady.
Second of all, it is a testimony to the depravity of our world that tens of millions of GaGa lovers purchase her filthy songs and watch her dirty videos on YouTube. If indeed the kind of records she sells tells us something about the heathens, is it fair to suggest that the type of records sold to Christians tells us something about ourselves?
This is by no means a scientific poll, but I just clicked on the song sample that Amazon offers so you can hear an album highlight. These are the random highlights from five songs from the top ten Christian downloads; see if you notice a theme.
-I don’t know what makes me so afraid.
-You will be safe in His arms.
-You bring me through.
-How you gonna fix it with nowhere to turn?
-You're crying on the floor cuz you can’t take no more.
If this is any sort of mood barometer, Christians are very scared these days. That really isn’t a shocker; the economy is shaky, unemployment is high and there are people willing to blow up their underpants to kill us. Christians are not immune to these concerns and the contemporary Christian music industry has tapped into this zeitgeist.
What is interesting (and troubling) is how Christian artists are attempting to sing us out of our anxieties. Certainly not all contemporary Christian music (CCM) is guilty of this, but I think it is fair to say that overall, CCM offers no more hope than Chopra (a new age guru from India) or Oprah (a new age guru from Chicago).
Story Time
Imagine you are at the park when a child falls and gashes her knee. You and her father run to rescue her. Right before you reach her, you both stop short and hold out your arms so she can choose who she wants to help her. Dad does not say a word while you beg her, “Let me hold you. I want to hug you. I will help you.”
Who is she going to embrace? Instinctively she will run to the arms of her father because she KNOWS that he will take care of her. She KNOWS this because he has proven himself faithful to her for years. You can plead and beg all you want, but the child will only find comfort in the one who has proven his faithfulness and ability.
That is precisely where most contemporary Christian music and preaching fails. An artist can sweetly sing that God wants to hug you, and that may make you feel better while you listen, but these lyrics are placebos at best. In order to find true comfort and true healing, you need to KNOW that God is in capable of protecting you. You need knowledge of his abilities, power and past performance. In other words, you need theology.
It does not help to be told over and over, “Let God hold you, He wants to protect you, fall into His arms.” What comforts us is when we see God’s strength demonstrated over and over again in the Bible. We don’t need tunes that tell us to let God embrace us, we need theology set to music that proves that God is strong and is in control over every detail of our lives.
Experiment time
Here are three actual CCM lyrics that I discovered when I Googled, “God wants to hold you.”
I was wondering can you hold me now
You are the only one that's patient when I fall.
Father, I want You to hold me
I want to rest in Your arms today
Father, I want You to show me
How much You care for me in every way
All that I ever wanted was this peace as you Hold me now, as you hold me now All that I ever needed was this love as you Hold me now, forever hold me now
Contrast those gems with these theological statements from the Bible.
-God spoke the universe into existence in six 24 hour days.
-God parted a sea so His children would be safe.
-Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.
You don’t even need to be told to not worry when you KNOW that God is the Creator, Controller and Conqueror. Knowledge of who God is and what He has done results in comfort.
While I am terribly tempted to plug Exalted Worship (available at http://mail.atlantadesign.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wretchedradio.com/), I am not going to. Instead, let me encourage you in these challenging times to not reach for sugar pill music, but to fill yourself with songs about God’s unchanging truths. Don’t listen to pep talk preaching, but gorge yourself on solid sermons filled with truth.
It is OK to need comfort, God is happy to provide it. God will feed you when you flee to His Word. It may not be as catchy as breathy Christian pop tunes, but it is sweeter than honey, more valuable than fine gold and it (and it alone) will comfort you.
View all News »
First of all, she ain’t no lady.
Second of all, it is a testimony to the depravity of our world that tens of millions of GaGa lovers purchase her filthy songs and watch her dirty videos on YouTube. If indeed the kind of records she sells tells us something about the heathens, is it fair to suggest that the type of records sold to Christians tells us something about ourselves?
This is by no means a scientific poll, but I just clicked on the song sample that Amazon offers so you can hear an album highlight. These are the random highlights from five songs from the top ten Christian downloads; see if you notice a theme.
-I don’t know what makes me so afraid.
-You will be safe in His arms.
-You bring me through.
-How you gonna fix it with nowhere to turn?
-You're crying on the floor cuz you can’t take no more.
If this is any sort of mood barometer, Christians are very scared these days. That really isn’t a shocker; the economy is shaky, unemployment is high and there are people willing to blow up their underpants to kill us. Christians are not immune to these concerns and the contemporary Christian music industry has tapped into this zeitgeist.
What is interesting (and troubling) is how Christian artists are attempting to sing us out of our anxieties. Certainly not all contemporary Christian music (CCM) is guilty of this, but I think it is fair to say that overall, CCM offers no more hope than Chopra (a new age guru from India) or Oprah (a new age guru from Chicago).
Story Time
Imagine you are at the park when a child falls and gashes her knee. You and her father run to rescue her. Right before you reach her, you both stop short and hold out your arms so she can choose who she wants to help her. Dad does not say a word while you beg her, “Let me hold you. I want to hug you. I will help you.”
Who is she going to embrace? Instinctively she will run to the arms of her father because she KNOWS that he will take care of her. She KNOWS this because he has proven himself faithful to her for years. You can plead and beg all you want, but the child will only find comfort in the one who has proven his faithfulness and ability.
That is precisely where most contemporary Christian music and preaching fails. An artist can sweetly sing that God wants to hug you, and that may make you feel better while you listen, but these lyrics are placebos at best. In order to find true comfort and true healing, you need to KNOW that God is in capable of protecting you. You need knowledge of his abilities, power and past performance. In other words, you need theology.
It does not help to be told over and over, “Let God hold you, He wants to protect you, fall into His arms.” What comforts us is when we see God’s strength demonstrated over and over again in the Bible. We don’t need tunes that tell us to let God embrace us, we need theology set to music that proves that God is strong and is in control over every detail of our lives.
Experiment time
Here are three actual CCM lyrics that I discovered when I Googled, “God wants to hold you.”
I was wondering can you hold me now
You are the only one that's patient when I fall.
Father, I want You to hold me
I want to rest in Your arms today
Father, I want You to show me
How much You care for me in every way
All that I ever wanted was this peace as you Hold me now, as you hold me now All that I ever needed was this love as you Hold me now, forever hold me now
Contrast those gems with these theological statements from the Bible.
-God spoke the universe into existence in six 24 hour days.
-God parted a sea so His children would be safe.
-Jesus rose from the dead and ascended into Heaven.
You don’t even need to be told to not worry when you KNOW that God is the Creator, Controller and Conqueror. Knowledge of who God is and what He has done results in comfort.
While I am terribly tempted to plug Exalted Worship (available at http://mail.atlantadesign.net/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.wretchedradio.com/), I am not going to. Instead, let me encourage you in these challenging times to not reach for sugar pill music, but to fill yourself with songs about God’s unchanging truths. Don’t listen to pep talk preaching, but gorge yourself on solid sermons filled with truth.
It is OK to need comfort, God is happy to provide it. God will feed you when you flee to His Word. It may not be as catchy as breathy Christian pop tunes, but it is sweeter than honey, more valuable than fine gold and it (and it alone) will comfort you.
View all News »
Who Takes the Blame for Haiti?
This is a repost from the Wretched Radio website, http://www.wretchedradio.com/ :
Rick Warren is wrong when he tweets that God does not judge the world through catastrophes (Romans 1:18).
Pat Robertson is wrong when he claims to know why the Haitian earthquake happened (Deut.29:29).
Perhaps these principles will help us figure out why tragedies happen and who is responsible.
God
God controls everything directly or indirectly by restraining His grace or allowing the devil a little more leash. Either way, God is sovereign over everything and happily accepts responsibility for both good and bad (but not sin).
The devil
The devil does not control the weather or rule the nations.
Humans
There are only two groups of people on the earth: pagans and Christians.
Why?
When God sends/allows disaster to the pagans, He does so for two reasons: as judgment or as a call to repentance. A disaster is not enough wrath for the pagans as it is merely a taste of God’s eternal punishment if they do not repent and trust the Savior.
When God sends/allows disaster to Christians, He does so for two reasons: to prune us or kill us and take us home. A disaster is never too much or too little for the Christian, the Pruner causes/allows just the right amount for our good and His glory.
While God may be sending judgment to an entire nation, each individual (pagan and Christian) should seek to determine why God caused/allowed himself to be hurt.
Christians are not victims of collateral damage. While there may be a primary reason God sends/allows a catastrophe, God orchestrates every detail in every situation.
Catastrophes happen to heathens as an act of God’s judgment, but they happen to Christians as an act of severe mercy.
God sends/causes a disaster for the onlookers to respond with apathy or kindness.
Biblical Support
Jesus gave us the definitive statement on catastrophes in Luke 13:1-5. Please take a moment to read that text and you will never make the mistake of Rick Warren or Pat Robertson.
Trick Question
God is not to blame for the earthquake as it was the exact right thing to do. While God gets the credit for the earthquake, He is never to blame for anything. Charles Wesley wrote a number of hymns thanking God for two earthquakes that rocked England in 1751; we should do the same.
The Bottom Line
While each individual should endeavor to learn the lesson that God has in the storm, there is an ultimate purpose (forty days or otherwise): God is endeavoring to glorify His Son. God sends a taste of His wrath to the heathens that they might look to the cross and be saved. God prunes Christians that we will live in greater gratitude for what Jesus has done to rescue us from eternal destruction.
Catastrophes, like everything, are about the cross.
Learn More »
Rick Warren is wrong when he tweets that God does not judge the world through catastrophes (Romans 1:18).
Pat Robertson is wrong when he claims to know why the Haitian earthquake happened (Deut.29:29).
Perhaps these principles will help us figure out why tragedies happen and who is responsible.
God
God controls everything directly or indirectly by restraining His grace or allowing the devil a little more leash. Either way, God is sovereign over everything and happily accepts responsibility for both good and bad (but not sin).
The devil
The devil does not control the weather or rule the nations.
Humans
There are only two groups of people on the earth: pagans and Christians.
Why?
When God sends/allows disaster to the pagans, He does so for two reasons: as judgment or as a call to repentance. A disaster is not enough wrath for the pagans as it is merely a taste of God’s eternal punishment if they do not repent and trust the Savior.
When God sends/allows disaster to Christians, He does so for two reasons: to prune us or kill us and take us home. A disaster is never too much or too little for the Christian, the Pruner causes/allows just the right amount for our good and His glory.
While God may be sending judgment to an entire nation, each individual (pagan and Christian) should seek to determine why God caused/allowed himself to be hurt.
Christians are not victims of collateral damage. While there may be a primary reason God sends/allows a catastrophe, God orchestrates every detail in every situation.
Catastrophes happen to heathens as an act of God’s judgment, but they happen to Christians as an act of severe mercy.
God sends/causes a disaster for the onlookers to respond with apathy or kindness.
Biblical Support
Jesus gave us the definitive statement on catastrophes in Luke 13:1-5. Please take a moment to read that text and you will never make the mistake of Rick Warren or Pat Robertson.
Trick Question
God is not to blame for the earthquake as it was the exact right thing to do. While God gets the credit for the earthquake, He is never to blame for anything. Charles Wesley wrote a number of hymns thanking God for two earthquakes that rocked England in 1751; we should do the same.
The Bottom Line
While each individual should endeavor to learn the lesson that God has in the storm, there is an ultimate purpose (forty days or otherwise): God is endeavoring to glorify His Son. God sends a taste of His wrath to the heathens that they might look to the cross and be saved. God prunes Christians that we will live in greater gratitude for what Jesus has done to rescue us from eternal destruction.
Catastrophes, like everything, are about the cross.
Learn More »
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