Faith of my own? Nonsense!!!

How can the Arminian say that his own faith, or some universal ability to have faith, brought him into the Kingdom? And what can the Muslim really bring to God by way of good deeds so that, somehow, they will outweigh all the sin in his heart? In my own heart, I can see how my "own" faith, my own desire for God, is tainted. There are many reasons I might come to God for salvation, but none of them are for God:
· Hell. I don't want to burn forever. I don't want to live for all eternity in misery, in flame, in smoke, in anguish
· Purpose. I don't want to live a meaningless life on earth. I want to be part of something great. I want to leave a legacy ( I hear this garbage all the time; all this means is I want my name to be glorified) and for people to remember me as someone good. If I come to Christ, I might be able to do this. I want to give MY life away to a good cause.
· Loneliness. This Christianity might meet my personal longings and fill my loneliness. I have so many needs and Christ can fill them.

The list goes on and on, but at the heart of all these motivations is me! God is not glorified when I make a decision to follow Him based on these selfish motives. God is most glorified in us only when we are most satisfied in Him, when He is the center of our affections, not us!

As I pray this morning, I see myself having regressed in holiness since last week. Saturday, I was filled with so much pride, and I could see so evidently the loveless prejudice still festering in me. Yesterday I was slothful, prayerless and gluttonous. And as I sit here, I see how much this grace of God saves me, for there is nothing I can bring to God.

If God could only see my outward appearance, and that qualified me for heaven, I could probably fool Him. But even my unknown thoughts and motives are judged by God's perfect standards. No, I am a dead man on my own, if not for grace. And as I draw closer to God, the more I see just how miserable a creature I really am. When I think I am strong, the sinful nature comes and shows me just how wicked my heart really is. No, when it comes down to it, if God left it up to my own faith to bring me to salvation, and if this faith were weighed based upon all the secret motives and desires of my heart, I could not "get" salvation because my desires without Christ are always desires for my own preservation and glorification. Escape from loneliness, insignificance, and ultimately hell; desire for fame, name, contribution, legacy; all these are nothing more than debased desires for self-preservation and self-glorification.
If this isn't evidence enough for total depravity and unconditional election, there is none. When I stand before God and am judged based on every thought and motive, not merely every action, if the faith I have is my own and not a gift from God, then I am lost. I am lost! And so, in seeing my own failures and sinfulness in regard to holiness, I am more unashamedly a Calvinist today than I was yesterday.

1/29/07 - 2/2/07

The Sower, the Seed & the Ground

Matthew 13:3-9 - And he told them many things in parables, saying: “A sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seeds fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured them. 5 Other seeds fell on rocky ground, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, since they had no depth of soil, 6 but when the sun rose they were scorched. And since they had no root, they withered away. 7 Other seeds fell among thorns, and the thorns grew up and choked them. 8 Other seeds fell on good soil and produced grain, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears, [1] let him hear.”

Thinking through the effectual call that is an inward working of the Holy Spirit and the general call that goes out to all through the preaching of the Gospel. The seed is the Word of God which is preached by the sower of the seed. The sower proclaims the Gospel to everyone, scattering the seed to all without discrimination. Because the seed is not scarce, the sower need not sow sparingly but bountifully. The Word of God is plentiful, for Christ's sacrifice is big enough to cover the sins of all men for all time, though few are chosen. The sower does not withhold seed fearing he will run out. The seed is like the flour in the widow's jar that was never consumed so long as she obeyed the Lord through the word of Elijah. And like her, there is no need for us to ration it, to sparingly sow it, to proclaim the truth of Christ's active righteous obedience freely imputed to those who believe, Christ's passive obedience through His death, effectively canceling the debt for sin, and Christ's glorious resurrection ensuring glorification with Him. This seed is bountiful, for Christ is infinite in value.

The ground is the state of the soul that receives the seed, and it is not dependent on the sower. Surely our prayers are powerful and effective, but this ultimately is in the Lord's hands. Some seed falls on corrupt, depraved ground. Other seed falls on regenerate soil. It is the Holy Spirit who works effectually to prepare the ground of His choosing for the seed that will fall upon it. But the seed will never be sown without return. God's word does not return void (reference).

So, the seed is essential. The general call is absolutely essential, for though the soil is inwardly prepared by God's Spirit, there will be no produce apart from the sowing of seeds. This means by which God effectually calls His elect is through the general call planted into their already tilled hearts.
My duty as a Christian is to sow seed bountifully, to plant by proclamation and prayer. God determines, and has determined from the foundation of the world, which ground will be good soil, which ground will be rocky, which ground will bring up thorns and which seeds will be stolen away by the birds of the air. Our duty is not to calculate these possibilities, but to prayerfully scatter freely and bountifully, leaving the condition of the ground up to God.

1/25/07

† Lord, the sun rises and the sun sets according to Your will.
And every heartbeat and every breath I draw is ordained by You.
And if these should continue or cease, Your will be done.
And if today my heart should stop beating, and if I should stop breathing
Then Lord, please, let me complete the work You have prepared me for.
Your will be done.

In Jesus's name, Amen †

1/19/07

A Prayer for God’s Blessing on the Day

† Sovereign Lord, I am but a man and You are God. Who am I to ever assume or presume upon Your will? I am no one. I lay my plans and goals at Your feet. You who make the ocean waves, Who causes the sun to rise and set, Who created galaxies with a word, You are more than able to determine my course this day.

When I pray according to Your will, there may be those, Lord, who question me, saying I am wishy-washy and unwilling to make a stand concerning Your will. But Lord, You have brought me to a deeper understanding of Your sovereign goodness and of the unquestionable totality of Your purposes, which will stand. “No one can stay Your hand.” You are more than able to bring about Your ordained purposes for my life this day. So I submit all my plans and goals to You.

Strip me of all the false theology and beliefs I have learned in my life about You and about my importance. You are preeminent, Your will is law, Your actions and character define rightness. You are the center of the universe physically, relationally, theologically…

Thank You for men such as John G. Paton, William Tyndale and Adoniram Judson who went before me in this history You have ordained. They were men of Godly valor, true Calvinists who knew that Your will was obedience to the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. Fate is so far removed from who You are and what You do because out of Your omnipotence flows Your absolute wisdom and love. You ordained all things from beginning to end. Your sovereign love determined all things according to Your supreme wisdom. Who am I to determine any destiny of my own when You see all things clearly from eternity to eternity. You are God. There is no other.

Spurgeon said fate has as much in common with true faith, condescendingly referred to by some as Calvinism, as God and atheism. There is no mingling of the two, though the mind of carnal man sees a likeness in them. One is chance, the other is the decree of an all-wise, all-knowing, all-loving, all-powerful King and Savior. So, Lord, this day is Yours. This last day of this short break before I am back again among the heathen who know nothing of You but claim to know all. Give me a day that is refreshing and uplifting, enlightening and rejuvenating. But more than anything, give me a day where I begrudge nothing because Your hand is in everything. I am Yours Jesus. Amen.†

1/5/07

Prayer of Thanks

† Lord, I’m not sure why I am tired and have a headache right now, but I cannot focus enough to pray, so I will write this prayer to You.

Lord God of Heaven, I worship You. My King, You are sovereign over all the earth. You have taught me this year that You are God. You have taught me through Your word, through prayer, through Godly teachers like Piper and McArthur, and through people in my life. Thank You for bringing me to this place where I know You are God. Thank You.

Piper said he saw his theology fall apart in seminary – his little view of You. He said he wept everyday for six months, with elbows on either side of the Bible in his dorm room (Sermon: “What Romans 9 is All About.”) I have had no such emotional experience. Mine is one of relief. I have seen what this false perception of God can do and has done in my life. I have seen some of the effects of stripping You of Your glory and ascribing that power to man in something called “Free Will.” When God is belittled, man is inflated. Someone or something is going to be sovereign in every man’s perception. If it is not You, my Lord, it will be me. And it has been for so long.

Every time I think of Mosaic, I am in anguish. I know my anguish is no comparison to Paul’s anguish in Romans 9:1-5. But it is still a sorrow that these people, some of whom I have called friends, have rejected Your sovereignty and placed themselves at the center of their faith. I know not all have done this. But when I hear Erwin preach absolute heresy, beknown to him or not, and when no one checks him on it, there is a problem. (Did someone check him when he called Calvinism a false religion? I noticed in the sermon following that he changed the wording to “a distinct stream of Christianity.”)

And Lord, does it matter? Is my anguish unwarranted? Some say it’s just a point of disagreement. What if it’s not a big deal? What if very little hinges on this “difference of opinion” about salvation?

What hinges on it? The very meaning of salvation. Our view of God, our view of the Holy Spirit’s role is salvation. Our understanding of what we were in fact saved from. In a nutshell, our worldview is changed.

Thank You, Lord, for letting me use my spiritual gifts for edifying this group of men. You have employed my gift of teaching, a gift You have given me, for Your service once again. I love to teach, to read, to study. Help me, Lord, to apply what I learn to Your Great Commandment and Great Commission. Thank You. †

12/26/06

“Is God in Your Future?” More Thoughts

Part 1: Romans 9 in a Nutshell

There is a context to this chapter that extends all the way back to the beginning of the book. Also, this is a set of three chapters that run together, 9, 10 and 11.

Paul expresses in verses 1-5 his intense anguish over the rejection of the Gospel by the nation of Israel. Paul, being a child of Israel by birth, wishes that he himself could be cut off from eternal life that Israel might believe.

But Paul reminds us that the promises of God do not fail. The context is important here. Romans 8 was a long chapter of encouragement to God’s elect that, though they will experience temporal suffering, along with creation, and alongside the Holy Spirit, there are great things in store of God’s children. Furthermore, in spite of all the suffering they were encountering, they could rest assured that they would never be separated from God’s love, but that God had ordained all their suffering for His glory and their own good.

But how could God be trusted if He couldn’t keep His promise with Israel, one might ask? That is the question Paul addresses in verse 6ff. Paul makes it clear that God can be trusted. How? Because God’s promise to Israel stands. But Israel isn’t and never was what some thought it was. Paul affirms a Spiritual Israel, so to speak, rather than a Physical or Political Israel. It is the children of the promise, the elect, that is true Israel. And God has, just as Romans 8:29 states, has predestined a people who are His very own, foreknown and fore-chosen to be His people. Why is this comforting? Because it is not based on our control? When we have those Romans 7 moments and feel that we must not be God’s child based on sin waging war within us, we can rest assured that God’s election in us is sure.


Part 2: Erwin’s Interpretation:

Erwin McManus preached a sermon on December 3 entitled “Is God in Your Future.” He begins a section of his sermon with an illustration about this chapter, saying it’s like jumping into the middle or end of a conversation, and how if we do that, we often miss the point, or even reach the opposite conclusion concerning what the conversation was even about. He uses an illustration of how someone walked into an intense conversation between him and his wife, where he emphatically exclaimed, “Divorce!” The conclusion they reached was, “Kim and Erwin are getting a divorce!” But what this person missed coming in late to the conversation the real question preceding Erwin’s exclamation: “What is the one thing you would never consider doing no matter how bad things got?” The question completely changes the answer.

Erwin’s point was that Calvinists come into the conversation with Paul thinking the question is “Why is God excluding so many?” But, according to Erwin, Paul is really answering the objection to the Jews who are asking, “Why are these Gentiles allowed to be entered into the kingdom of God?”

I tried to read this passage according to Erwin’s interpretation, putting myself in the place of a first century Jew who was not following God’s heart for the Gentiles, but I just couldn’t follow it to a logical conclusion. This interpretation makes no sense in the context of the chapter, the surrounding chapters and the entire book. His interpretation is utter foolishness.

Nonetheless, here is what I did. I pretended to be this so-called Jew who believes my chosenness by God is exclusive, even though Paul, according to Erwin, is saying it’s inclusive (of Gentiles). (The point of of disagreement with Erwin isn’t over this point. Of course we are in agreement the Gospel is inclusive of Gentiles, otherwise neither he nor I would even be having this argument. We are both, after all, Gentiles. No, the point of disagreement is on Paul’s reason for anguish in verses 1-3. There are several reasons, both exegetically and logically why Paul is not possibly in anguish over the Jew’s exclusivist thinking, not wanting the Gentiles to be given the Gospel. No, Paul is in anguish for much more crucial matters – the very eternal life of his people, who are rejecting Christ as their Messiah, and therefore going to hell.)

So follow me on this journey through the next few paragraphs as I become this Jew according to Erwin’s interpretation of Romans 9. By the way, I am taking the liberty to step out of the box, remaining a Jew, but jumping forward to refer to Erwin’s interpretation from time to time -

Okay, I’m a Jew who believes Jesus came as the Messiah to my people, not to the Gentiles. After all, we are the chosen people, as promised to Father Abraham by God Himself. And now Paul, himself a Jew, is saying he is completely broken-hearted that Israel has rejected the idea that God chose us inclusively – the include Gentiles into the kingdom of God because God loves them too! We have claimed since the beginning God’s love and choice of us is an exclusive one. We are God’s chosen people, not the rest of the world. They are dogs! And for that, Paul is in anguish – that we just don’t get it. God is moving at a pace that put Him lightyears ahead of us concerning His inclusive, unconditional love to all people.

(I can’t believe Paul is upset at this, and not that the Jews are not coming into the kingdom of God themselves. This should be Paul’s real anguish, that Jews are going to hell because they don’t believe in Jesus.)

Paul goes as far as saying he would rather lose his own salvation and go to hell than for us to remain blind to this inclusive love of God to the Gentiles.

So this is what Paul is upset about, that Israel isn’t inclusive (not that we aren’t accepting the Gospel). But Paul then reassures his readers that God’s promise to Israel hasn’t been broken. The reason for this is that not everyone born an Israelite is really an heir to God’s promise, only those born of the promise – a spiritual Jew who has the heart of God.

Paul illustrates, saying that Jacob was chosen not exclusively but to be a light to Edom, and that’s why they were getting the discipline of God (Verse 13, where Paul quotes from Malachi 1). What Paul means is that God has chosen Israel (Jacob) so that Jacob could choose (give the Gospel) to Edom (Esau). These verses (Rom 9:7-13) point to the fact that not all children of Abraham, only Isaac was chosen; and not all of Isaac’s children, only Jacob. So, it’s not all of Abraham’s children, just the ones God has chosen (for expanding the kingdom, not salvation).

That sort of makes sense, so far. But then it gets a little hairy. In verse 14, what is Paul really asking when he writes, “Is there injustice on God’s part?” Well, Erwin’s interpretation (as illogical as it sounds) is that Paul is saying God is not unjust to choose to include Gentiles into the kingdom – to include all people in His plan, not just Jews. Now, I’m not really tracking here. God doesn’t seem to be widening the selection through these verses (7-13) but narrowing it. His selection, His choice, is narrowing to children of the promise, not all physical children of Abraham. But I suppose if they are being chosen to include everyone, it makes some sense.

I still object to this inclusion of Gentiles into the kingdom. It’s not fair! Paul even quotes Moses in saying that God has the right to have mercy on anyone He wants to have mercy on. He is referring to the Gentiles!

So, what does verse 16 mean? Paul says that “it” depends not on human will or exertion but on God who has mercy. By “it,” is he referring to this choice to include the Gentiles? That is the only reasonable conclusion we can make. “It” refers to selection by God. Well, using the context provided in the next sentence, Paul brings up Pharaoh, saying God chose to harden him.

So now I’m confused. Isn’t Paul trying to make the point that the Jews should be inclusive of the Gentiles? He’s arguing for that, right? Well, I’ve heard Paul preach and read a lot of his other writings. He’s pretty good at making a reasonable, logical argument. So, why then does he make reference to Pharaoh? Why is Paul citing a person in the Old Testament whom God “hardened” because He chose to? Why not pick a better example to prove his point – someone like Cyrus, or the widow Elijah went to, or the leprous man who went to Elisha? They were all pagans who honored God, weren’t they?

But Paul chooses Pharaoh, someone who was chosen to be condemned. This just comes out of the blue, preceded by verse 16, which states that God chooses not based on any merit or will of the person chosen.* Why Pharaoh? If Paul is arguing for inclusion, why is he referencing someone who was excluded? This doesn’t support Paul’s argument that God’s children of promise include Gentiles, that the Gospel is inclusive. In fact, it completely undermines his point. Why would Paul even mention Pharaoh?

Then it gets even hairier. In verse 19, Paul reads the mind of a skeptic who is asking, “Why does God still find fault?” Now this is directed to me, an exclusive Jew, Paul is saying to me, according to Erwin’s interpretation, that I have no right to tell God whom He can and cannot choose to include (not exclude). I don’t want the Gentiles included. Paul says, “Tough, that’s not your call. You’re just a lump of clay in the Potter’s hands, just like the Gentile. I can do whatever I want with either of you.”

The theology concerning God’s sovereignty makes sense, but the argument is a non sequitur, if the argument is for inclusivity. The questions Paul asks at the beginning of this section puzzles me: “Why does [God] still find fault? For who can resist His will?” What fault is Paul talking about? Who is at fault? I thought Paul was arguing that no one is at fault; God was expanding His love by choosing Gentiles. Then why is someone at fault?

The reference seems to point back to Pharaoh, who was chosen for condemnation. God raised him up so that His power might be proclaimed in all the earth. God chose Pharaoh as this instrument of wrath prepared for destruction (verse 22). But why did God choose someone (Pharaoh) to be condemned in order that His love might expand? If God is all-inclusive and unconditionally loving, how could he condemn Pharaoh after hardening his heart?

I’m not tracking here. Let me get this straight. Paul is telling me that my problem is I’m not at one with God’s heart and character because I am not being inclusive of the Gentiles. Then he uses Pharaoh, a Gentile, as an example of someone God rejected rather than chose. But he uses Pharaoh as an example of someone who God used, by rejecting him and hardening his heart, in a desire to expand His all-inclusive love to the Gentile world through the Jews. (Isn’t Egypt part of the Gentile world?) So God hardened Pharaoh, and it would be another non sequitur to assume that Pharaoh was unlike Jacob and Esau, that he was not chosen before birth to be condemned rather than chosen. So, if God is being inclusive of the world, why would He exclude Pharaoh based on his merit or will to pursue God, or lack thereof? God is allowed to love and choose people like Jacob without merit or will, so He must be allowed to reject people like Esau and Pharaoh for the same reasons. He is, after all, the Potter, and we are the clay.

Another thing I notice in verse 24. “Even us” refers to both Jews and Gentiles. So Paul is addressing both Jews and Gentiles in this long argument. So, okay, if he is addressing Gentiles, even partly, who is he arguing with for the inclusion of Gentiles? Why do Gentiles need to be convinced that they need to be inclusive of themselves? And this “even us” is referring to Christian Jews, since Paul says “we were called out.” So the whole chapter is addressed to Christians, whether they be Jews or Gentiles. Therefore the argument only follows if it is an argument is for exclusion not inclusion. The Jews are excluded because they don’t believe in Jesus, not because they aren’t including Gentiles into the kingdom. Paul is a pretty serious guy, but his intense emotion in verses 1-3 is not merited merely for the sake of Jewish Christians who simply haven’t embraced an expansion of the Gospel into all the nations of the world. God had already been changing the hearts of many Christian Jews (Acts 10 and forward), and the Jews who didn’t embrace this, who were not true heirs of Abraham, and Judaizers, weren’t Christians to begin with. Paul’s heartache, therefore, couldn’t be that Christian Jews weren’t getting it, because he is making the point in the following verses that true spiritual Israel did get it, leaving their kin by blood but not by promise behind, unchosen and rejected by God. This was Paul’s anguish – the rejection by Jews of Christ, and therefore, their rejection by God.

*(Even if this choosing by God was for inclusion, the fact remains that they were chosen based on no merits or WILL of their own. Now I will give him this, that Paul doesn’t come right out and say there was no will on the part of the person in this verse, but Paul does give a crystal clear example in Jacob and Esau, who were chosen before birth (verse 11). They were chosen when they did not will or even have the ability to choose God for themselves.) Ω

W, 12/21/06

Holiness

Rom 8:23

And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.

I spent some time thinking since our Bible study Thursday. Creation is in a state of entropy, according to the second law of thermodynamics, spoken into creation by God Almighty. It's all winding down. But that's not all. Our bodies are part of this system that is breaking down.

I see it every time I go to the gym, though not until this past week have I seen how the Bible speaks to what's going on. Here's what I mean. Lately, I have only been able to strength train once a week, usually on Saturdays or Sundays. Since I have been going only go once a week, I hit it pretty hard. And the following day, now this might be delusional on my part, but I notice some payoff. That bicep is feeling pretty good! But I know that by Friday, if I don't hit it again, it's back to the way it was.

Or what about a more spiritual matter. Praying and being in the Word every morning energizes me. I get to work ready to go, eyes open, looking for God in everything. God's Spirit is powerfully encouraging me through a fresh word and sweet fellowship. But by 1 o'clock, where's all this freshness? Where's all this sweetness? It's pretty much gone, like a balloon deflated by this or that concern.
Now, in the first example, I can see Romans 8:23 in full force. This flesh is part of the present system of corruption. It is in a state of decay, moving always toward entropy, toward deadness (in this case, flab). Only by constant maintenance can this body be as it was, perhaps, designed to remain. Maybe our new resurrection bodies will only require one intense workout to be perfectly fit for all time. Oc course, I'm being facetious. We know that our glorified bodies won't require such things. And, of course, the shape of our bodies will most likely be our last concern in glory. Concerning the second matter. Why is it that our devotional life is always in a state of entropy as well? Our spirit has been regenerated by God's Spirit, right? Have we not been justified and, therefore, made into new creations (2 Cor 5:17)? Perhaps this condition has more to do with sanctification, with the reality Jesus has left us in this world for a time (John 17). God is making us holy heirs with Christ Jesus through sufferings of many kinds (Rom 8:17; Jas 1:2-4). But while we remain in this world, the corruption about us has a deleterious effect on our own spirits unless we abide in the vine (John 15:5). Even a few hours around it brings us down. I think that is why we are commanded to pray ceaselessly. Without this constant maintenance of our own holiness, by the Spirit of God, we will not see the Lord (Heb 12:14).

12/11/06

God is Bigger

God is so much bigger than I have ever known Him to be, since I have found this truth called Calvinism. He is no longer small, as I unknowingly supposed Him to be before I found this truth, or rather God’s Spirit laid it onto my heart. He is all in all. He is sovereign over all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth. And Satan has diminished to almost nothing. There is no person in all the cosmos more bound and un-free than he. He is not that free agent I until only recently thought he was. He is bound with every turn to his own wicked nature. Not merely totally depraved, as is unregenerate mankind, but ultimately depraved, unable to make a decision outside of his own character and fallenness. And he roams about only with as much freedom as God allows him on his proverbial leash, for the sole purpose of bringing God the glory through his defeat and through our affliction for the purpose of being glorified with Christ (Rom 8:18).

11/30/06

The Problem of Satan

Why does Satan exist? What is his purpose? Questions come up like, "If God is sovereign, what's up with these principalities and powers in Eph 6?" It sure does seem in some places in the Bible that there is a dualism going on. It doesn't seem Satan is "on a leash" the way some passages are written. The question came to mind this morning, "Piper said Satan doesn't even show up in the warfare book of Romans until chapter 16 - that's how little space he gets in the spiritual warfare picture - most of it is war against our own flesh. Then what about Acts? How much of this warfare stuff Paul mentions in Eph 6 actually shows up in the books of Acts?" I couldn't remember, so I skimmed it this morning. What I found, on a cursory look, is that there is much resistance by the kingdom of darkness to what the Holy Spirit is doing, but the Irresistible (God) cannot be resisted. And thinking on Eph 6 and on Acts, what I find is a few things:

§ The Holy Spirit is unstoppable.
§ Satan and his demons are ever present in the scenarios that the Apostles face (Simon the sorcerer, the evil spirits cast out by nonbelievers, and perhaps even the viper that struck Paul)
§ There is apparently no relevant struggle between the Holy Spirit's power working through apostolic ministry, (Paul shows up, speaks, demons flee).
§ This warfare passage in Eph 6 is often interpreted as a dual between good and evil. But the passage makes clear that there is no uncertainty in the destructive power and defensive capability of these weapons. They obliterate enemy resistance.

How compatible is the current evangelical or charismatic view of Satan with the sovereign God view of Satan - that God holds Satan on a leash; that God is completely in control of all things in heaven, on earth and under the earth? Most people seem to think Satan is sovereign in this world, holding power over all people against the will of God, and God is doing His work through us to crush him and rescue captives from darkness to the kingdom of light. Sounds good. I used to believe that. But is it biblical?

Not completely. As is, it's dualism. I will admit here that I don't know everything, and will never know everything, about this spiritual warfare, about this invisible reality of Satan, demons, principalities and powers. But what I am finding in the Bible is that God is sovereign, that He is allowing Satan control over the peoples of the earth for a season, that these principalities and powers are Satan's strategy by which he maintains this control. And perhaps it is all for God's people. Perhaps it's all part of the process of sanctification, that God is using Satan and evil in multiple ways in our lives.

One way God is using Satan is to purify our faith through testing (Jas 1:2-4). Satan has power to afflict and tempt us, permitted by God, so that our faith will be tested and perfected.

A second way God uses Satan is to keep our mind set on things of the Spirit. "Life is war 'til the day we die." The war is, first and foremost, against our own flesh (sinful nature). God constantly sharpens us as we face and overcome temptation by the power of His Spirit.

But God also loosens the leash when we are rebelling against God by indulging the flesh. Satan is allowed to torment us, which is God's effectual disciplining of His children. This disciplines comes in many forms, both external and internal. But it is discipline, not condemnation. Satan, sometimes being an instrument of this discipline, speaks condemnation to us. But we must remember we are not condemned (Rom 8:1-2), that God is disciplining us "as a father disciplines a son" (Heb 12:6ff)

A third reason God uses Satan is so that we, heirs with Christ, get to partake in the victory of the cross. We actually get to fight in the battle and share the spoils of victory. God already won the war on the cross. But if the enemy weren't allowed to remain in the land, we wouldn't get to be part of the battle.

Perhaps a fourth way God uses Satan is to turn people over to deeper levels of depravity, and to keep those God has chosen to condemn in their sinfulness. Romans 1 seems to communicate this, that God turns degenerate people over to deeper levels of their sinful nature. I have to do further study on this, but it makes sense. The power of darkness must have some sway over the perpetuation of depravity in the degenerate.

Yet in all this, "we are more than conquerors through him who loved us" (Rom 8:37). More than conquerors means (from Piper's sermons on Romans) that we are not merely ones who have conquered evil in battle, defeating an enemy; no, we have done more than conquer; we have also subdued him into servitude. Being more than a conqueror means all our enemies, whether Satan or sin or our own flesh, are now our servants - THEY SERVE US for our good. Sins serves us. Flesh serves us. Disease serves us. Death serves us. All things serve "the good for us who are called according to His good purpose" (Rom 8:28). How do they serve us? They sanctify us. They turn our eyes toward Jesus. They increase our trust in God. And, finally, one of them (death) opens a doorway into eternal delight where we will live forever in God's presence and for His glory and our everlasting joy.

This is why Satan exists and is allowed to reign in the world. It is all for God's good purpose. Praise God forever! Ω

11/16/06

Reflections on Romans 7

† Oh, the wretchedness of flesh. Lord, how I long to separate myself from it. Yet it is so much a part of me. "Without holiness, no one will see the Lord." Yet, my flesh constantly cries out for that which is unholy. I am so much connected to this wretched flesh that I consider it me, consider the cry of my flesh my own need. Lord help me to separate my spirit from this wretched flesh, and thus wage war on its vileness all the more effectively through Jesus Christ. Amen.†

Consider this example. I torture my body to make it my slave through the strong physical discipline of running and strength training. I beat this body and train it and make it my slave. I resist foods my flesh loves and feed it only healthy foods. What happens? Does my flesh die miserably as it should? No, my body becomes more beautiful through the training. Weight is lost. Muscles are toned. And I become proud of this body. I become proud of the very flesh I am trying to subject. So the very instruments of torture I use to kill this flesh the flesh turns into its own useful weapons to feed my pride, to resuscitate my flesh. And thus I sin more.

I understand more of what Paul is saying. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:24-25) Ω

11/4/06