This is the final
and full post. You may want to read it in sections, as it is quite
lengthy.
If
you read my last post, you may be wondering why I chose the title
above. A few months ago, I finished a long exposition of the
Christian faith and its relation to facts. Therein I argued that
faith is not merely a subjective act of the will that stands in
opposition to facts. Faith, as I stated in that paper, is not
“firm belief in something for which there is no proof” –
one of the definitions offered by Mirriam-Webster online English
dictionary – but rather a solid trust in the historically and
factually reliable work of God in space and time, most notably
demonstrated in Christ's death, burial and resurrection (1 Cor. 15).
This understanding of faith sets Christianity apart from the common
consensus on faith today. While this first work presented a good
starting point for understanding Christian faith, an honest reading
of the Scriptures requires that I address more than the relationship
of faith and facts. Therefore, this paper will aim to address the
future-orientation, and the relationship of Christian faith to
individuals and human will. I am going to argue in this essay that
this future-focusedness is based in solid trust in the character of
God, as it has been made known through His fulfilled promises. In
short, I will argue that since God proved Himself reliable and good
in the past, we have no reason to doubt that He will be any less
reliable and good in binging to pass all that He has promised for the
future. Yet, the warranted trust and hope of faith is obscured by a
heart, mind, and will that are broken by sin. Therefore, although
faith is based in fact (truth) and is not irrational, yet it requires
a supernatural intervention to overcome natural human aversion and
resistance to the truth (Rom. 1). Saving faith, thus is not within
the grasp of even the most rational of human beings, but must indeed
be granted by God and carried out by Christians in loving submission
and trusting reliance on God and His promises (Eph. 2:8,9; Rom.
10:9).
Two
Functions of Faith
I
believe there are two
primary functions of faith that the Bible presents, though we shall
see that they are in fact intrinsically linked. The first is the
justifying function.
Those who have faith in Jesus Christ and what He did on the Cross for
them receive Christ's righteousness, imputed to them, causing them to
be declared righteous
in
the sight of God in spite of being guilty and unrighteous. Perhaps
the clearest demonstration of this can be seen in Romans chapter 3.
But now the righteousness of God has been
manifested apart from the law, although the Law and the Prophets bear
witness to it—the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus
Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction: for all have
sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his
grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom
God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by
faith. This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine
forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his
righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the
justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
(Romans 3:21-26 ESV)
I
often come back to this text because in it we see the Gospel of Jesus
Christ set forward in all of its glorious implications for sick,
wretched, pathetic sinners
like me. This Gospel is the center
of Christianity – it's our Good News! You will notice that Paul
keeps returning to this word “faith” – three
times. In each instance, faith is presented as
the instrument or means by which people receive redemption: Christ's
righteousness imputed to undeserving sinners. Because we are all
sinners, we have no access to God and are unrighteous to the core
(Rom. 3:23), but
God mercifully “passed over former sins” until Jesus was “put
forward [to die] as a propitiation,” to bear the wrath that we
deserved and to give us His
own righteousness. This is what the apostle Paul speaks of when he
declares that he has forsaken all trust in his 'good works'
“that I may gain Christ
and be found in him, not having a
righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is
through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and
is by faith.
(Philippians 3:9, emphasis mine). Theologians like Martin Luther
have called this the Great or
Glorious Exchange. How then
do we receive Christ's righteousness and experience freedom from the
punishment our sins (unrighteousness) deserve? Through faith!
This faith is not
a result of works, so that all the credit and glory might return to
God, who provided it (Eph. 2:8). Faith is the
way God has chosen to give that
righteousness for redemption to all who believe. So, believers are
saved by placing their faith in Jesus and what He did for them on the
Cross, not by trying harder and doing better This is the Christian
doctrine of justification.
Many
Christians are familiar with this part, and it is well worth
returning to again and again. But, the Bible's teaching on faith does
not end there. Not only are Christians justified and declared
righteous through faith, but they are also to live
each day by
faith. This is faith's sanctifying
function.
See if you grasp this from
the following passage.
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is
the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew
first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is
revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous
shall live by faith.”
(Romans 1:16-17 ESV)
In
these two verses, Paul tells us that the Gospel is the “power of
God for salvation to everyone who believes,” that is everyone who
has faith (“believes”). So, the power is for the believer's
salvation, but this salvation purpose does not stop after a believer
receives Christ's imputed righteousness. Paul goes on to say that
this righteousness that comes from God to us is “revealed from
faith for faith”. The meaning of this verse is disputed but an
alternate translation might help in understanding it: “beginning
and ending with faith.”I believe this rendering comes closest to
what Paul means because of the phrase
that follows: “The righteous shall live
by faith”
(v. 17, emphasis mine). I believe that Paul is saying that faith not
only allows us to be declared righteous before God, which it
absolutely does, but
it continues to work itself out in the daily life of a Christian.
Faith and Christ's righteousness have a role not
only in the first moment of belief but in every step from the moment
of conversion until final glorification. To go back to the language
we used earlier, Christ's righteousness is imputed
to
believers at the moment of conversion, through their faith in Jesus
Christ. So they are legally justified because of Christ's
righteousness credited to them by faith. Yet, something else happens
after justification
and
this is called sanctification. Sanctification is the process by which
believers, who are already legally justified before God the Judge,
begin to see their thoughts, motives, and actions conformed to those
of their Savior. In this second step, Christians received Christ's
imparted
righteousness,
which does not declare them righteous but effectively changes them to
look and act more like Christ. Just like justification,
sanctification is brought about by God's power, working through
faith. (Christian
Classics Ethereal Library)
So
faith has life-long application for Christians,
but in what practical ways do we see faith working to bring about
sanctification in
the lives of believers? We will best be able to do justice to this
issue by examining Hebrews
chapter 11, the famous “Faith Hall of Fame” chapter of the New
Testament. To insure my own integrity in interpretation, I have cited
the
chapter in full below – so
you can check and make sure that I am not going off on tangents. You
do not have to read through it all at once, you will have ample
opportunity to glance back at it later.
Hope
in Promise
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for,
the conviction of things not seen. For by it the people of old
received their commendation. By faith we understand that the universe
was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out
of things that are visible.
By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable
sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God
commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though
he died, he still speaks. By faith Enoch was taken up so that he
should not see death, and he was not found, because God had taken
him. Now before he was taken he was commended as having pleased God.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would
draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards
those who seek him. By faith Noah, being warned by God concerning
events as yet unseen, in reverent fear constructed an ark for the
saving of his household. By this he condemned the world and became an
heir of the righteousness that comes by faith.
By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to
go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he
went out, not knowing where he was going. By faith he went to live in
the land of promise, as in a foreign land, living in tents with Isaac
and Jacob, heirs with him of the same promise. For he was looking
forward to the city that has foundations, whose designer and builder
is God. By faith Sarah herself received power to conceive, even when
she was past the age, since she considered him faithful who had
promised. Therefore from one man, and him as good as dead, were born
descendants as many as the stars of heaven and as many as the
innumerable grains of sand by the seashore.
These all died in faith, not having received
the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar,
and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the
earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking
a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they
had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it
is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore
God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for
them a city.
By faith Abraham, when he was tested, offered
up Isaac, and he who had received the promises was in the act of
offering up his only son, of whom it was said, “Through Isaac shall
your offspring be named.” He considered that God was able even to
raise him from the dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did
receive him back. By faith Isaac invoked future blessings on Jacob
and Esau. By faith Jacob, when dying, blessed each of the sons of
Joseph, bowing in worship over the head of his staff. By faith
Joseph, at the end of his life, made mention of the exodus of the
Israelites and gave directions concerning his bones.
By faith Moses, when he was born, was hidden
for three months by his parents, because they saw that the child was
beautiful, and they were not afraid of the king's edict. By faith
Moses, when he was grown up, refused to be called the son of
Pharaoh's daughter, choosing rather to be mistreated with the people
of God than to enjoy the fleeting pleasures of sin. He considered the
reproach of Christ greater wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he
was looking to the reward. By faith he left Egypt, not being afraid
of the anger of the king, for he endured as seeing him who is
invisible. By faith he kept the Passover and sprinkled the blood, so
that the Destroyer of the firstborn might not touch them.
By faith the people crossed the Red Sea as on
dry land, but the Egyptians, when they attempted to do the same, were
drowned. By faith the walls of Jericho fell down after they had been
encircled for seven days. By faith Rehab the prostitute did not
perish with those who were disobedient, because she had given a
friendly welcome to the spies.
And what more shall I say? For time would fail
me to tell of Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, of David and Samuel
and the prophets—who through faith conquered kingdoms, enforced
justice, obtained promises, stopped the mouths of lions, quenched the
power of fire, escaped the edge of the sword, were made strong out of
weakness, became mighty in war, put foreign armies to flight. Women
received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured,
refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a better
life. Others suffered mocking and flogging, and even chains and
imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, they were
killed with the sword. They went about in skins of sheep and goats,
destitute, afflicted, mistreated—of whom the world was not
worthy—wandering about in deserts and mountains, and in dens and
caves of the earth.
And all these, though commended through their
faith, did not receive what was promised, since God had provided
something better for us, that apart from us they should not be made
perfect.
(Hebrews 11 ESV)
The
first thing a Christian familiar with the Bible
will notice in
reading this chapter is
the following verse:
“Now faith is the assurance of
things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” (Heb 1:11).
This verse has often been misused to justify blind faith and even to
counter Christian apologetic efforts. After all, it is said, if the
faith we have is placed in “things unseen” then any effort to see
clearly in any objective
sense would defy the
nature of faith
itself. I
would answer this rather superficial reading of the text by asking
why, if the
author of Hebrews were
attempting to advocate for a totally subjective and
fact-divorced view of faith, he would choose to speak of “assurance
of
things hoped for” and “conviction
of
things not seen” (ESV, NASB, emphasis mine). These are not words
that suggest ungrounded hope or wishful thinking – they point to
the validity and trustworthiness of the things believed! Other
translations bring out this point
even more clearly. For
instance, all the latest editions of the King James Version
render
verse 1 this way: “Now faith is the substance
of
things hoped for, the evidence
of
things not seen.” (KJV Cambridge Ed, American KJV, King James 2000
Bible, emphasis mine). You would expect that if the author meant for
us to understand faith as merely an
existential leap in the dark he would at least have the decency to
avoid using courtroom
language. In
either of the translations
I have displayed, one
cannot help but see that, contrary to how this verse is often
interpreted, faith is not merely subjective and personal –
though
we will see that it is
both
personal and volitional – rather,
it is something solid, immovable, substantial, and I might dare say
objective. Yet,
we must not miss the last four words of verse : “of things not
seen” (v.1). How
does this segment fit
with the solid evidence-based language that the author has just used
to describe faith? How can there be assurance, substance, conviction,
or evidence if the object, which these describe is “not
seen”? How can such confidence
(see
NLT rendering of v. 1) be placed in what is not
visible.
What exactly is it that those of faith do not see?
What
follows in Hebrews 11 is
a statement that “the people of old” – heroes of the faith –
“received their commendation” by faith. I think this verse
clearly implies that all
Christians will also receive commendation
from God if they share and walk in
same faith as these heroes (see Rom. 4:16). But how do the following
verses illustrate this faith? Verses 4 to 12 give chronological
examples from history of those who walked
in this faith. Noah is an example of someone who feared
the
LORD and obeyed what He commanded. Verse 17 gives us the famous
example of God's test of Abraham, where this aged man is told
to
obey a seemingly incoherent command to sacrifice the very son God had
promised him. The reason the writer of Hebrews gives for Abraham's
faith in that moment is
that “he considered that God was able even to raise him from the
dead, from which, figuratively speaking, he did receive him back”
(v. 19). Isaac and Jacob are cited as examples of faith because of
the blessings they gave to their
offspring. Joseph is mentioned for having made mention of the
Israelite exodus and given directions concerning his bones (v. 22).
Moses is commended for having chosen to be identified with Israel
(and
by extension Christ)
rather than with the household of Pharaoh. The author informs us that
he did this because “he considered the reproach of Christ greater
wealth than the treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the reward”
(v. 26). Moses is again cited for his faith in his keeping of the
Passover. Faith is listed as the means by which the Red Sea was
parted and the walls of Jericho destroyed. This is not the complete
list of heroes, as you can see above,
but I mention these because I want to highlight that
what
the author means by “the
assurance of things hoped for, the conviction
of things not seen” is a grounded
future hope (v.
1). Look at verses 13
to 16 with me:
These
all died in faith, not
having received the things promised,
but having seen
them and greeted them from afar,
and having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the
earth. For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking
a homeland.
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out,
they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they
desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has
prepared for them a
city.
(v. 11:13-16, emphasis mine).
The
same thoughts are
echoed again at the end of this chapter:
And
all these, though commended through their faith, did
not receive what was promised,
since God had provided something better for us, that apart from us
they should not be made perfect.
(Hebrews 11:39-40, emphasis mine)
Again,
in these statements the author
summarizes what unites these heroes is their grounded
future hope in
things that had not taken place yet, but were promised by God.
Indeed, we have yet to see this “better country,” this “city”,
which the author describes. Yet, these heroes trusted God to do all
that He had said He would. Why? Because their
trust was grounded in the trustworthy character of God, which He has
revealed throughout redemptive history. They trusted in hope that God
would continue to be true to His nature by fulfilling His promises,
just as He has done since He first spoke to man. None of the people
listed got what God promised them at the time the promise was made,
but all trusted God to be true to His word and to His character. Noah
believed that God would flood the Earth as He said. Abraham believed
God would hold to His promise to
give him many
descendents through his son Isaac – even
if that meant He had to raise Isaac from the dead to do it! Isaac and
Jacob both spoke blessings
that were rooted in their faith that God would continue to bless
the
descendents of Abraham, as He has promised (see Gen 22:7). Moses had
faith in God to bring about the promised reward, a better and
heavenly country. Moses also demonstrated his faith in God's promised
deliverance from Egypt, and ultimately from sin in the Cross of
Christ, illustrated by his keeping of the Passover. The
Red Sea and Jericho did not extinguish his faith
in the promises of God to give His people a country. Yet, beyond the
immediate promises of God that I have listed, the author mentions
that in truth, all these people were hoping in the same thing, a
“homeland” (v. 14), “a better [heavenly] country” (v. 16), “a
city” prepared for us by God Himself (v. 16). This is the eternal
kingdom where God will reign over His people. This is not just the
hope of some heroic figures in ancient Mesopotamian but
the hope of all
Christians who live by faith in
what God has
done in Christ Jesus and what He has promised to give to all who
share in this same faith. The Old Testament saints saw Christ and His
kingdom from a distance. Like Moses, they were “looking to the
reward” (v. 26). It is interesting to note that verse 13 seems to
qualify the phrase “of things not seen” of verse 1 by indicating
that these things had not been received yet
but
had been “seen
… and greeted … from a
distance” (emphasis
mine).
Thus, though the final reward – the
promise of a heavenly homeland – had
not been seen, in the sense of being here
to contemplate, it had
been
seen, in the sense that they could see it coming in the God's true
and trustworthy word. The
faith that Hebrews 11 calls for is not blind faith but one
which
is rooted in the sure promises of God!
Can God be Trusted?
It
is not difficult to envision someone responding to what I have just
outlined in this way: “You make trusting God sound like a
mathematical formula! After
all, isn't faith supposed
to be a big risk? We can't know He is trustworthy until we have
trusted Him! How can we know for sure He will carry through on His
end of the deal? Faith doesn't make sense without uncertainty!”
I can sympathize with the concern here. Certainly, faith cannot be reduced to a mathematical formula to be simply calculated and and acknowledged. Faith is personal and it requires a kind of trust that functions even when some questions remain. Much of what God has promised has not yet come to pass and there is much that we still only see dimly. Yet, we must not imagine because of this that God is distant or unknown and that he therefore require a blind and unwarranted trust. He has in fact revealed Himself to such a degree as to leave us without any excuse for our unbelief. Romans 1 perhaps most clearly brings out this point that no one on Earth can plead ignorance about God. See the following verses:
For
the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and
unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the
truth. For what
can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to
them.
For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine
nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the
world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse.
For although they
knew God,
they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became
futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were
darkened.
(Romans 1:18-21 ESV, emphasis mine)
(Romans 1:18-21 ESV, emphasis mine)
Paul
here argues that simply from
creation we have enough proof to recognize that God is worthy of
trust and that He is able to justly condemn us for our unbelief.
However, God did not leave us with creation as the only witness to
His existence, character, and plan of salvation; He
has intervened in human history at many points, in order to reveal to
us exactly what kind of God He is! Before Christ, this was most
notably seen in God's relationship with Abraham and his descendents,
the Israelites.
Where
can we start to look for signs of God's trustworthiness? Genesis
chapter 15 sets the stage for our understanding of God as a
promise-maker.
I
have listed a section of this chapter below.
After these things the word of the LORD came to
Abram in a vision: “Fear not, Abram, I am your shield; your reward
shall be very great.” But Abram said, “O Lord GOD, what will you
give me, for I continue childless, and the heir of my house is
Eliezer of Damascus?” And Abram said, “Behold, you have given me
no offspring, and a member of my household will be my heir.” And
behold, the word of the LORD came to him: “This man shall not be
your heir; your very own son shall be your heir.” And he brought
him outside and said, “Look toward heaven, and number the stars, if
you are able to number them.” Then he said to him, “So shall your
offspring be.” And he believed the LORD, and he counted it to him
as righteousness.
(Genesis 15:1-6 ESV)
Here
are a few important things to highlight. First, God promises Abraham
a very great reward – offspring
more numerous than the stars. Second, after initially seeming to
question or test God's
word, Abram believed
God
and “[God] counted it to him as righteousness”. This faith is the
same faith that moved this man who would be renamed Abraham to obey a
command to sacrifice the
son that God did finally give him (see
Heb. 11:17-19)! Abraham's faith that
God would be true to His word and give
him an inheritance through Isaac was
the
solid foundation undergirding his faithful obedience to God's command
to kill his son. Abraham's belief that God is a God who does what He
says is a testimony to all believers who share in his faith.
Perhaps
you are still unconvinced that this passage speaks of anything
beyond
an act of human will disconnected from any evidence or proof. Where
do we see “the
assurance of
things hoped for” in this text (Heb. 11:1)? I believe the next part
of Genesis 15 helps to lay the foundation for the assurance
and
conviction
of
the saints spoken of in Heb. 1:1.
And he said to him, “I am the LORD who
brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you this land to
possess.” But he said, “O Lord GOD, how am I to know that I shall
possess it?” He said to him, “Bring me a heifer three years old,
a female goat three years old, a ram three years old, a turtledove,
and a young pigeon.” And he brought him all these, cut them in
half, and laid each half over against the other. But he did not cut
the birds in half. And when birds of prey came down on the carcasses,
Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down, a deep sleep fell on
Abram. And behold, dreadful and great darkness fell upon him. Then
the LORD said to Abram, “Know for certain that your offspring will
be sojourners in a land that is not theirs and will be servants
there, and they will be afflicted for four hundred years. But I will
bring judgment on the nation that they serve, and afterward they
shall come out with great possessions. As for you, you shall go to
your fathers in peace; you shall be buried in a good old age. And
they shall come back here in the fourth generation, for the iniquity
of the Amorites is not yet complete.”
When the sun had gone down and it was dark,
behold, a smoking fire pot and a flaming torch passed between these
pieces. On that day the LORD made a covenant with Abram, saying, “To
your offspring I give this land, from the river of Egypt to the great
river, the river Euphrates, the land of the Kenites, the Kenizzites,
the Kadmonites, the Hittites, the Perizzites, the Rephaim, the
Amorites, the Canaanites, the Girgashites and the Jebusites.”
(Genesis 15:7-21 ESV)
Let
us start by observing the first statement of God in this passage: “I
am the LORD who brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans to give you
this land to possess.” This is a perfect biblical example of
grounded future
hope.
Let's take a closer look.
God
starts by stating who He is – “I am the LORD.” You might wonder
if this is worth mentioning. After all, people introduce themselves
to you all the time, and this doesn't necessarily make them reliable
people. However, this assumption is right only if that person's
self-introduction did not carry with it an implicit understanding of
that person's authority. Let's illustrate this with an example: you
are a young college undergrad paroozing your inbox one fine morning,
you notice a message sent from an email address you do not recognize.
In it you read the following message: “Hello, my name is Frank. You
probably need some help paying for tuition next semester. If you send
me your bank account number and tell me how much you owe on your next
tuition statement, I'll be happy to wire you the money.” Now, how
would you react to this message? My guess is that the more savvy
internet veterans of us would hit the delete button immediately. Now
think about it, why wouldn't you trust this guy? He sounded nice and
he said he would do something nice for you. Why not show a little
faith and trust that maybe Frank just wants to help? The answer is
that you have no idea who
this
“Frank” is! You don't know any Franks personally (at least not
that personally!) and the two of you have no history to suggest a
reason for this sudden burst of generosity. Furthermore, you know
that there are many scammers who use email as a means of obtaining
personal and financial information. There is simply no ground here
for trust. Now, what if you got this same message, but the writer
identified himself as “Dad”? This would elicit a totally
different response! You would send the required information right
away to the familiar address. You would trust your Dad to do what he
promised, because he's your Dad and the two of you have a history. I
think that this is exactly what is going on in verse 7 of Genesis 15.
God begins his address to Abraham by stating who
He
is – “I am the LORD...”. This is the all-powerful
LORD
who created the world by speaking it into being (Gen. 1)! He is also
the all-good God
who spared rebellious humanity and promised them a Savior to fix what
they had broken (Gen. 3:15). Next, He gives the history: “...who
brought you out from Ur of the Chaldeans...” God has been leading
Abraham and providing for him ever since he left his home and many
possessions to live in tents as a nomad. Like the Dad who raises his
child, faithfully instructing and providing for all of his needs, God
is reminding Abraham of His history of provision and guidance. Last,
God inserts a purpose clause: “...to give you this land to
possess.” This is the promise! It is trustworthy because it is made
by God – who is both fully
able and
fully good
– and
this in the context of a personal history of trust. In the next
section we will see how, in spite of the clear trustworthiness of
this God and His promises, He offers still more proof to address
Abraham's questions.
This
next section is strange to
most westerners like me, and perhaps to others as well.
What's
all this stuff about tearing animals in half? And what's the deal
with the smoking fire pot and the flaming torch? What is going on is
a covenant ritual that was common in the ancient Near East. We
already looked at verse 6 that tells us that Abraham believed God,
but we see in verse 8 that Abraham wants some kind of proof from God.
I do not think this implies a sinful kind of doubt, but Abraham is
asking God for some more evidence
that He can be trusted. What
follows is God's command to tear three animals in half
and
to lay these halves parallel to each other. This practice in ancient
Mesopotamia is part of the ritual of sealing (or tearing) a covenant,
which was an agreement or promise made between
two parties (ESV Study Bible Notes). The idea was that both parties
would show their commitment to the promise by walking between the
animal halves, thus showing that
they both were literally
bound by death to do what they had promised. Amazingly, God binds
Himself in this way to fulfill His
promises, to
give Abraham the land and many offspring (see v. 5 – 8, 18 – 21).
God's signature on the contract, so to speak, is represented
by
the smoking fire pot and flaming torch that passed between the animal
pieces – God
is often
represented by fire in the Old Testament (v. 17). Genesis 15 gives
Abraham and us evidence (“know for certain”) that God is a God
who keeps His promises. And indeed God kept His promise to Abraham by
giving Him a people that includes all who share in his faith (Rom.
4:16) and a heavenly
city, prepared for all the “children of promise” (Rom. 9:8). This
is the true
land of promise and Christians are Abraham's true promised
descendents (Heb.
11:9)! The Bible contains other amazing examples of God displaying
and confirming His trustworthiness
and faithfulness from generation
to generation – as you can explore in the
covenants He makes with Noah and Moses. The example of the Abrahamic
Covenant is the prototypical example of God's unwavering commitment
to fulfill what He has promised. God's faithfulness does not depend
on circumstances; it does not even depend ultimately on the
faithfulness of His people! Notice that nowhere in Genesis 15 does it
mention Abraham walking through the animal halves. God made this
promise to Abraham, bound Himself to it, then fulfilled it – at
every juncture God initiated, and each promise God Himself fulfilled
in spite of Abraham's often half-hearted commitment! As Paul so aptly
put it in his letter to Timothy: “if we are faithless, he remains
faithful— for he cannot deny himself” (1 Tim. 2:13).
Ultimately,
God's trustworthiness was most fully shown when
He provided His Son as the propitiation for the sins of all who would
place their faith in Him (Rom. 3:25). In Jesus, the long-promised
Messiah, the righteousness of God was manifested (Rom. 3:21). That
is, to all who have faith in Jesus, their faith will be counted to
them as righteousness, just as it was to Abraham (Rom. 3:22, Rom.
4:11)! God's promise in the garden of Eden, to send a Savior, who
would crush the head of the serpent was ultimately fulfilled when
Jesus came to Earth, lived a perfectly righteous life of obedience to
the Father, and died to satisfy the wrath of God and to defeat Satan,
sin, and death (Gen. 3:15). The Cross is the ultimate seal of God's
trustworthy faithfulness, because it shows us how far God is willing
to God in keeping His promises. As Paul declares elsewhere, “He who
did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not
also with him graciously give us all things?”(Rom. 8: 32). How
could we not trust a God like this? He went as far as death, in order
to be true to His word and character (both just and the justifier).
If this is the case, how can we entertain doubts that He would
fulfill any of
His other promises?
Faith Applied
What
does the fact that God can be trusted to grant what He promises
imply
for
a Christian's
daily
life? Quite simply, it means that she need not fear that there is
anything that the Lord promised that He will not bring to pass, just
as He promised. If He went as far as death, He won't fail to deliver
on the rest – that is the grounds for Christian assurance (see Rom.
8). There are three practical applications I would like to draw from
God's promises in His Word. These will hopefully help in putting
doctrine into practice. First of all, God's promise of future
judgment frees Christians to love their enemies. Second, God's
promise to work all things for the good of Christians frees them from
the fear and doubt that come out of bad, even terrible,
circumstances. Third, God's promise of a city with foundations frees
Christians from the need for comfort and material blessings in this
life. I am aware that there are more promises in the Bible, but these
should provide a good overview and hopefully they will also serve as
a spring-board into other practical considerations about faith.
Faith
and God's Justice
Picture
this scenario: you're a teacher working to pay your bills and
hopefully impact some kids at a pivotal point in their lives. You are
a hard worker and you don't take credit for what you do but give it
all to God. You come to work early, work as for the Lord, honor your
boss as an authority figure established by God, and treat your
co-workers with dignity and respect because they are made in the
image of God. However, you have noticed lately that your boss keeps
picking holes in your performance in a way that seems unjustified.
You try to do better while continuing to show him proper respect, but
warning follows warning and suddenly your contract with the school is
terminated with no reason given besides the vague written statement
of “unsatisfactory
performance”. You wince at this attack on your character,
especially considering your love for your students and intense effort
to do your job well. Furthermore, you
cannot help but notice that other teachers, who hardly care enough to
plan a lesson, continue cashing paychecks unabated. The injustice of
the situation is nauseating and everything in you wants to kick
down
the head office door and yell, “This is wrong! You must pay for
this!”
This
is very close to what I felt after being laid off from my last job,
with no clear and legitimate reason given. I'm sure you
have
different examples from your own life – perhaps
of much more serious injustices – but
everyone knows that burning desire for justice served here and now.
These feelings can be unjustified overreactions and can easily lead
the victims into sin, but it is interesting that the Bible itself
portrays God
as a being profoundly concerned with justice.
In fact, one of the promises that God makes in the Old Testament is
that He “does not
leave the guilty unpunished” (Ex.
34:7). Some are repulsed by this kind of language in
the Bible because it awakens in them visions of a capricious God, who
decides to strike a few people dead every time He's in a bad mood.
This says something about how sheltered many of us are from the
experience of truly horrendous injustices; this teaching tends not to
encounter much opposition in countries where the church faces
perennial persecution (see Book of Revelation). But
beyond
this, if
we consider that every wrong committed on Earth breaks
the first of the ten commandments – to “love the LORD your God
with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might”
– we can see that every sin and injustice is
ultimately
an offense against
God (see Ps. 51:4)! It stands to reason, therefore,
that
God has
the
right to feel
wronged and to retaliate in
righteous anger at the injustice and sin done on Earth!
Do
you feel holier than God on this point? Do you say, “if I were God
I wouldn't by so angry about silly little sins”. Well, consider
how
angrily you react when someone merely cuts you off in traffic. There
is no doubt in your mind that this is a ''blatant
injustice'
that demands retribution in the form of a long lean into the horn and
a one-finger wave (credit to Mark Driscoll for the analogy)!
Now
imagine that not only every
traffic violation, but every hurtful word,
every murder, every rape
that was ever committed in human history was committed against you!
Do you think you would have the right to be angry? Now, assume on top
of this that
you had never done anything wrong that might deserve this kind of
treatment from those who had wronged you, that in
fact you had continually extended love and patience to those who had
done all these terrible things to you. Is it realistic to say that in
God's place we
would
just turn the other cheek? If
we see sin through the lens of the Bible we begin to understand why
God's wrath is mentioned more times in therein than His love. Justice
is a requirement for a just and wronged God,
because justice is part of who He is. God
is so serious about justice and so angry with sin that
Christ
literally had tp die on the Cross to “save us from the wrath of
God” (Rom. 5:9)! Sin is such an infringement on God's character
that even His great love could not save unless His wrath was also
satisfied with justice. This is why Paul in the book of Romans points
out that God's righteousness, demonstrated on
the
Cross of Jesus Christ, allowed Him to be “just
and
the justifier
of
the one who has faith in Jesus” (Rom. 3:26). He was both just, in
pouring out His wrath on Jesus to punish our
sin
in Him, and the justifier, who in seeing Jesus' righteousness
covering us declares us justified before Him! Again, this is the
Glorious Exchange.
Well,
that's great, but what does God's justice and wrath tell me about how
I can deal with injustice in my own life? First of all, Jesus took
God's wrath for Christians on Himself. As I outlined above, Jesus
died on the Cross bearing the wrath of God. Therefore, for those who
have faith in Jesus, “there is now no condemnation” (Rom. 8:1).
This means that every Christian can live without fear of the pending
wrath of God against them, because Jesus already took their
punishment
on Himself. All their sins, past, present, and future were
laid
on Jesus Christ and God's wrath against all
Christians past, present, and future was atoned for by Christ's death
– as Jesus confirmed from the cross with the words, “It is
finished” (John 19:30). Second,
everyone who does not place her faith in Jesus will have to bear the
fullness of God's wrath in the final judgment, since she refuses
to
accept Jesus'
offer
to
bear it in her place,
by repenting and placing her faith in Jesus. Thus, her sins will be
paid for, but unlike the Christian, she has tragically chosen to shun
rather than receive God's gift of His Son. So, she accepts to pay for
everything she has done against God and others herself, in eternal
punishment. Either
way, justice will be served for
every single sin and injustice.
No sin gets swept under the carpet or ignored. A Christian must pray
that everyone who has sinned and committed injustice against them and
God would place their faith in Jesus, so that all that they have done
and the harm they have caused would not be held against them, but
would be covered by Christ's death of substitution. If not, justice
will still be met, but the offender alone will have to bear the full
weight of it – their life instead of Christ's. The sad reality is
that this will mean an inescapable eternity of torment in hell. Do
not misunderstand, this is not a call to rejoice in others'
condemnation. Again, Christians must hope and pray for the salvation
of their enemies, for surely they are just as wretched are
ill-deserving of grace without the work of Jesus on their behalf! Let
us, however, recognize
the seriousness of sin and rest assured that every
sin and every
injustice will
be paid for. No sin or injustice will be overlooked or fail to be
dealt with. God has promised it.
Perhaps you are thinking that no one with this
understanding of Hell and God's justice could live according to the
precepts that Christ laid out on the sermon on the mount. Yet, I will
argue that faith in the promise of future judgment is an impetus for,
not a hindrance to, loving your enemies as Christ commanded in
Matthew 5. I must acknowledge that I owe most of my reasoning here to
John Piper in his Future Grace seminar at Bethlehem Baptist Church.
Let us turn again to Romans. Consider these words carefully:
Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it
to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will
repay, says the Lord”
(Rom. 12:19 ESV).
Paul
makes two important points in this verse. First, Paul declares that
Christians are not to seek vengeance for wrong done to them. The
reason
Paul
gives for not seeking revenge and justice now is that
God Himself promised to deal
out justice
– so
it's not a Christian's job! God, the perfect judge, will deal with
each sin justly and if you were wronged even so far as by being
killed, you will be vindicated in the end, because God has promised
it. And we have seen that His promises are trustworthy.
He
will not forget what was done to you and justice will be done! To see
what this looks like in regard to Christian persecution read through
Revelation chapters 6 and 7.
Realizing
that God will vindicate them in the end frees believers
from
the need to deal out payback now. It even frees them from the need to
worry about it! If God sees sin and if He promises to deal with it
justly – in
Christ or in hell – it
liberates
them
even
to love
their
worst enemies. Yes, to love
them! Christians do not know whether those who persecute them will
come to faith in Christ, but they do know that whether they do or not
God will not forget their offenses and justice will be served.
Therefore, since the injustice will be punished even if the sinner is
saved, they
must
love them even as God loves them and calls them to repent of their
ways (Ez. 18: 31, 32). If we get justice either way, if would make
sense that Christians should have Christ's heart in not wishing that
any should perish but that all should come to repentance.
In
the end, Christians can rest in the God's promise of just retribution
for every wrong and injustice even as they love and desire the
salvation of their enemies. In fact, I believe that a desire to
avenge myself here and now comes directly out of doubt
in
God's promise to deliver on His promise of justice and future
judgment. True faith loves at its own expense, because it knows that
judgment and setting things right is God's job, and “His judgments
are true and just” (Rev. 19:2). I must emphasize that this does not
mean that Christians should be unconcerned about justice in the world
nor that they should oppose the establishment of fair laws that
protect civil liberties, human rights, etc. That calling is dealt
with in other parts of Scripture (ie. Micah 6:8), but I am referring
to inevitable wrongs and injustice that faithful Christians encounter
in their lives. It is not a contradiction, in my view, for a
Christian to simultaneously seek the establishment of a more just
society where she is more free to worship God and live a peaceful
life while at the same time accepting any persecution and injustice
that may come, knowing that ultimate vindication and judgment is in
God's hands and He has promised to deliver it in the end.
All Things Work for Good
We have seen how God's promise to judge sins,
by means of the Cross or Hell, comforts and frees believers to love
even in the face of wrongs and injustice. Now we will deal with
another controversial verse that is misinterpreted by some and
skipped over by others. The verse in question is a promise found in
Romans 8:28 and it reads as follows:
“And
we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”
The promise that Paul presents has been
terribly misconstrued by many pastors who fall within the health,
wealth, and prosperity camp. I just finished listening to a sermon by
Joel Osteen on this very text, in which he suggests that it is meant
to show you how you can “get to a new level” in your “spiritual
destiny”. “Nothing happens to me, it happens for me,” he
proclaimed, before giving a personal example of how a lost job led
him into the pulpit -- or “podium,” as he prefers to call it.
What Joel and many of these preachers assume is that “the good”
of which Paul speaks can all be measured in terms of physical and
material benefits here and now (or at latest, in the near future).
When things get hard, Osteen strongly insists upon the power of
positive thinking and “beliv[ing] it's going to get better”.
Faith, in this context starts to look a lot a lot like wishful
thinking and blind optimism. This is Peter Pan faith: the same
fantasy that says that repeating the words “I do believe in
fairies, I do, I do” will make them magically appear. This toothy
smile optimism rings very hollow in the face of real devastation and
tragedy. I have often wondered how men like Jeolsteen would comfort a
victim of sexual assault. Somehow “think positive, put on the new
attitude! It's all a part of God's plan for your grand destiny!”
(paraphrase) doesn't seem to cut it. In fact, on the basis of the
second half of Romans 12:15 and Job 42:7-9, I would feel compelled to
rebuke the speaker as an insensitive jerk! You can believe in fairies
all you want, but your words will be nothing but salt in the wounds
of a rape victim. Evil is evil and Paul's words are not meant to
excuse or trivialize it. (Osteen, Joel)
Obviously, we must avoid this kind of
reductionist naivete about Christian suffering. For every cute story
where everything turns out well in this life there are a dozen
unreconciled relationships, illnesses that lead to death, lingering
emotional wounds, and unfulfilled hopes. Yet, we must do something
with this promise! God didn't let it slip into the Bible by accident,
so surly there is truth here to which we must submit our will and
mind. I believe the key to grasping this promise is found again in a
proper understanding of the words “all things” and “the good”.
If we can see what Paul is talking about here it will help us know
how to read and understand this wonderful promise. As with any case
when we encounter a difficulty with a Bible verse, it is best to
begin by examining the whole passage that surrounds it. Here are the
verses directly before and after Romans 8:28:
For
I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth
comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the
creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of
God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but
because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself
will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the
freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the
whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth
until now. 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. For in this hope we
were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what
he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with
patience.
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Romans 8:18-30, emphasis mine)
Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
(Romans 8:18-30, emphasis mine)
Already
in verse 18 we encounter a problem with the wealth, health, and
prosperity perspective. If “the good” means physical/material
gains here in this life, then what is this bit about “the
sufferings of the present time”? We will see what impact this has
on our reading of verse 28 a little further down. Notice also, Paul
contrasts this present
suffering with
a future glory.
“Perhaps
this future glory refers to the 'cashing in' of our earthly benefits
after going through a little bit of hardship”, one might protest,
“maybe Paul is just talking about the progression from hard times
to mansions, mustangs, and millions as we name and claim what we have
by right as children of the King!” Paul goes on to talk about how
creation is waiting for the “revealing of the sons of God” so
that it might be freed from corruption and “obtain the freedom of
[their] glory” (v. 21). Suddenly, it looks like Paul has something
bigger in view than SUVs and hundred dollar bills. Although v. 15
(not cited) revealed that Christians have already received the
“spirit of adoption” by which they stand justified before God,
there is still a strong emphasis on the fact that something is
waiting to be fulfilled (ESV notes). This will become plain as we see
the parallel Paul draws between creation and the children of God.
Just as the creation groans, so also we “groan inwardly as we wait
eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (v.
23). So, although we are already adopted (v. 15), we do not yet see
the full manifestation of this adoption that will come with the
redemption of our bodies. Unless we grasp this 'already-not yet'
tension, which appears all over the New Testament, we could be drawn
to the conclusion that our legal adoption (v. 15) implies a full
physical inheritance here in this life. But this totally misses what
Paul is saying! Just as creation continues to groan, so also we groan
and wait. There is something coming that we don't get to experience
while the Earth is still bound to corruption and while we continue to
live in these unredeemed bodies (v. 23). Are you seeing what I am
getting at? The main focus is not on the here and now, but on
eternity!
Paul
goes on to depict Christians' fully manifested adoption, which he
represents by the redemption of their bodies, as the hope in which
they were saved (v. 24). The hope here is again “not seen”, the
same thing that was said of faith
in
Hebrews 11:1 (v. 24). The hope must also be waited for with patience
(v. 25). Paul frames this again in terms of grounded
future hope. The
focus is not on what we can see, touch, and receive now. We do not
yet
see creation or our bodies freed from corruption. The hope is yet to
come, but we know it is
coming
and we need patience (v. 25). It will be a while yet and there is no
guarantee that things will get easier before we die or Jesus comes
back.
In
verses 26 and 27, we get a picture of God the Holy Spirit interceding
for us. Interestingly, the Spirit here is said to help us in our
weakness
(v.
26). This is precisely because “we do not know what to pray for as
we ought”(v. 27). Next, the Spirit is said to “intercede for the
saints according
to the will of God,”
not according to what we think or feel like we need to live a full
and comfortable life now (v. 27, emphasis mine)! The Spirit is not
portrayed
here as our personal messenger boy who we command to make God give us
what we deserve as royal children. Ironically, the Holy Spirit is not
shown here as one who obeys our every word but rather the One who
overcomes the weakness of our own foolish, perhaps even sinful
requests, by interceding for us in
line with God's will,
not ours! It is odious, arrogant, and absurd to use these verses to
turn the Holy Spirit into a glorified spiritual waiter! He is called
the Helper, not because He jumps every time we say jump, but because
we need some
serious help!
We aren't awesome, self-sufficient lords of our own destinies! As
Martin Luther so aptly put it at the end of his life: “we are
beggars,
this is true.” Think of it this way, we are so bad at praying in
line with God's will that we need the Holy Spirit to ask God for the
right things! We demand every conceivable earthly comfort – any way
of avoiding pain and spiritual growth – meanwhile, the Spirit might
well be asking the Father to send some suffering our way to make us
start displaying some fruit and showing the world the supreme
sufficiency of Christ in the face of loss and want (see Titus 2:14,
Heb. 12:6, Psalm 118:6, 7)! If you know yourself at all, it is hard
to deny that the moments of most significant growth do not tend to
take place when you are surrounded by ease and entertainment, but
when you hit rock-bottom, when all your idols turn their backs on you
and you cry out to God, because He is all you have left in the world!
We would all do well to pray more for this kind of brokenness rather
than dishonoring the Spirit of God with our presumptions.
We
have set up the context, so let's consider verse 28 and following.
Once again, here is verse 28: “And we know that for those who love
God all things work together for good, for those who are called
according to his purpose.” Remember that verse 18, mentioned “the
sufferings of the present time,” which are “not worth comparing
with the glory that is to be revealed to us”. There is no way that
after portraying the present as a time marked by suffering that must
be endured until glory is revealed that Paul could go on just ten
verses later to declare that God's plan is for you to have your
best life now (title
of Osteen's best-seller). We would expect Paul to be more consistent
than that! Again, let's look at verses 16 to 17 (not cited above):
“The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit
that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of
God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in
order that we may also be glorified with him” (emphasis
mine). How do you get health, wealth, and prosperity out of that? The
very condition of being called an heir appears inseparably tied to
suffering with Jesus,
not raking in the dough while your sip your Martini! This makes
sense, if we know our Bibles, because Christ Himself promised that if
we were faithful to Him we would have it just as bad as He did in
this life – and He got crucified (Matt. 10:24 - 25)! I must insist
that any interpretation that both leads us to deny clear teaching in
Scripture and to claim that we have our act together better than
Jesus did is absolutely unacceptable and borders on blasphemy. So,
what does it mean?
Well, the verses preceding helped us to find out mainly what verse 28
does not mean. Where
better to look for what it means positively than in the following
verses. Let us take another quick glance at
verses 28 to 30.
“And
we know that for those who love God all things work together for
good, for those who are called according to his purpose. For
those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many
brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those
whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also
glorified.”
The
“and” at the beginning of verse 28 indicates a connection with
the thought from the preceding verse, cited earlier. You will recall
that in verse 27 Paul had described how the Holy Spirit intercedes
for believers “according to the will of God”. Based on this
connection and the one we will see in the following verses, I will
argue that the “all things” of verse 28 refers to every earthly
circumstance, good or bad, that allows a believer to accomplish God's
“will” (v. 27) and “purpose”(v. 28) – whether that be in
living or in dying (Phil. 1:20). In other words, “all things”
truly means “all
things.”
The “good” I believe refers to the personal benefits of being a
part of God's work, namely spiritual fruit in this life and the
promised reward in the next life. This is going to be hard for some
to accept, but please hear me out.
Verse
29 begins with another connecting word: “for”. This kind of link
indicates that the thought in verse 28 derives from the logic that is
laid out in the next verse(s). Sound confusing? Well, to make the
connection between these verses more clear, switch out the
conjunction “for” in your mind with a near synonym like “because”
of “since” and you will see right away what I mean. So, after
telling his readers that all things work together for good for all
those whom God calls according to His purpose, Paul goes on to say
that the reason that all things work for good is that God is in
control of salvation. How is that for confusing? But perhaps it is
not so difficult and obscure of a reason as it seems. Look at it this
way, verse 28 already tells us that Christians have been “called
according to [God's] purpose,” so in verse 29 and 30 it is not
surprising to see Paul continuing to expound upon what that “calling”
looks like and what it means. Paul begins to unpack this by stating
that “those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son.” Here we get a picture of the doctrine of
predestination: believers are foreknown and
predestined.
The classic Arminian technique for tackling this verse is to latch on
to the first verb in an attempt to somehow cancel out the second.
“Aha! See, he foreknows, so that means He's not talking about
election or predestination!” However, even if the Aminian
understanding of the word “foreknown” were correct – I would
argue that foreknowledge has more to do with God knowing,
loving, and having a plan for believers in eternity past,
not just knowing whether they would pick Him (ESV Notes) – even so,
it proves nothing, because predestination implies
foreknowledge!
God has to know who will choose Him (foreknowledge) if He is the very
one who brings about the change in them that causes them to turn
toward Him (predestination). Predestination happily coexists even
with this diminished view of foreknowledge, but foreknowledge cannot
stand apart from predestination unless you take a pair of scissors to
the Bible. Appealing to foreknowledge ultimately undermines the
Arminian's argument. If you keep reading Romans like this you'll
probably wind up a Calvinist, but that was the subject of a previous
paper and it isn't my primary concern here.
We
see at the end of verse 29 that the end to which believers are
foreknown and predestined is “to be conformed to the image of his
Son, in order that he [Jesus] might be the firstborn among many
brothers.” Thus, foreknowledge and predestination are not the end
of the matter, but they effect a transformation in the Christian to
cause him to look less like the world and more like Jesus – this is
the process that we already mentioned, called sanctification.
Verse 30 tells us that “those whom he [God] predestined he also
called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he
justified he also glorified”. I believe this is depicting the
Christian progression from rebel, to heir of God. First, the believer
is predestined
by
God in eternity past (Eph. 1:4). Then, he is efficaciously called
by
God to surrender from his rebellion, repent, and trust and serve King
Jesus, who bought Him with His blood. The Christian then receives
justification
whereupon
Jesus' Christ's righteousness is imputed to him and this rebel's sin
and unrighteousness is transferred to the Cross, where Jesus bore it
all in his place. Last, having been justified, the Christian is
slowly conformed to the image of Christ through the killing of sin in
the believer's life and the manifestation of fruits of the Spirit (v.
29) until finally he is glorified,
leaving behind the old sinful nature entirely and being united with
His Savior for eternity in a redeemed body. This last part is not
fully accomplished until he dies or until Jesus comes back. The
picture is clear: it's all God's
work,
from first to last.
We've been dealing with a lot of nitty-gritty
details, so let's take a step back and look at the big picture. What
do we see? First of all, where in all of these verses is there
anything said about material benefits of following Christ in this
life? Everything in verses 29 to 30 is concerned with maters of
salvation, sanctification, and eternal reward. There is no mention at
all of health, wealth, or earthly prosperity! Second, because of its
logical connection to verses 27 and 29, we must conclude that the
“good” of verse 28 does not refer primarily if at all to
physical/material “good” – according to this world's standards,
but rather to God's sovereign control over a Christian's whole
redemption and the way He uses every event in History for the
ultimate benefit of believers. This includes growing that Christian
in holiness and alignment with God's will, and leading him toward the
reward that is so unfathomably great that it will be seen in the end
to have been worth even the worst suffering. Indeed, all suffering
and earthly pain pales when compared with this glory, which we do not
see but wait for with eager expectation (Rom. 8:18, 25; Gal. 5:5).
Now,
God may grant earthly joys and comforts along the way, and certainly
every good and perfect gift comes from Him (James 1:17), but God is
in no way obligated to grant earthly comforts on the basis of our
faith. Misuse of earthly gifts/comforts will also lead to judgement,
and thus they are not a reliable indicator of God's ultimate
blessings (Jas. 5:5). Furthermore, neither the good of holiness nor
that of final glorification depend on earthly and material blessings
for their fulfillment; though God may grant them as He pleases. In
fact, comfort, prestige, and money can be some of the greatest
barriers to living a life of conformity to God's will and keeping a
consistent walk towards holiness. That's not because material
blessings are bad in themselves, but because they so easily become
idols that take the place of God in a Christian's life. What Romans
8:28 implies is that there is a plan in
all
the pain, loss, and the suffering (Rom. 8:37) – not just in the
apparent blessings! Every tear, every broken heart will be used by
God for good, for those who are called according to His purpose,
because He is sovereignly
good.
The pain is real and the wounds really hurt, and we shouldn't try to
provide simple “here's why” answers; but we can rest in the
assurance that God wastes nothing. God has promised that He is
working it for the good of His followers. God is the one who
foreknows, who predestines, who calls, who justifies, who sanctifies,
and who glorifies. Only a God who has such sovereign control that
even salvation and faith are granted by Him could be trusted as
having the power to work
all things for the good of His children (Eph.
2:8). He has promised to do all these things and to turn every
circumstance in the universe towards this plan of salvation and glory
for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ. That sounds good
to
me!
That's
a lot of analysis, but let's try to make it practical. What does this
understanding that God works everything for my ultimate good mean for
me as a Christian, working my job and living my life? I mean, it's
interesting and all, but does it make a difference for the way I live
and act here and now? My answer is that trusting in God's promise to
work all things for good for all Christians frees them from the fear
and doubt that often accompanies bad circumstances and suffering. One
of the main points I tried to articulate from that section of Romans
8 is that God is concerned with working a plan for the sanctification
and final glorification of all believers. All things are “good”
in so far as they serve this purpose. The circumstances themselves
may be bad , unpleasant, or altogether wicked, but they gain meaning
when placed within the scope of God's glorious plan (see Romans
8:18). What this naturally implies is that the circumstances in a
Christian's life are not an indicator of whether God is being
faithful and working all things for a Christian's good. So many
believers find themselves doubting God's plan for their lives because
they are looking to material blessings as the indicator of God's
faithfulness and their obedience. Thus, when they loose their job,
experience a broken relationship, or get diagnosed with a serious
illness, they question whether God is still good. If believers peg
their belief in God's goodness to earthly prosperity, health, and
heavenly circumstances in this life their faith is never more than a
roller-coaster dive away from paralyzing doubt or even apostasy. As
soon as things get tough, like the seed that fell on rocky soil,
their faith shrivels up and dies (Matt. 13:20, 21). They begin
questioning God, His goodness, His promises, and their own salvation!
But,
if we apply what we have learned from Romans 8 to our own lives, it
will teach us to successfully wield the shield of faith against all
the flaming darts of the adversary. Whatever afflicts us, we will be
able to rest in the promise that God
is working it all for our good!
God does not create evil and suffering but even these are forced to
bend the knee to King Jesus and His plan of salvation. God wastes no
wrong but turns it all ultimately for good for all those who place
their faith in Jesus and His promises (Gen. 50:20). Thus, even the
worst things that have ever happened to you will, in the end – if
you are a Christian – be used by God for your sanctification and
glorification. In a word, for your good.
Only
with this kind of faith can we echo with confidence the words of Job:
“Though he slay
me, yet will I trust in him ” (Job
13:15, KJV Cambridge Ed.)! True faith trusts God even to death,
because its hope
is grounded in the sure promises of God,
not in payoff in this life.
So
far, we have considered how faith in God's promises of justice and
full providential care empowers Christians to live promise-grounded
and seemingly counter-intuitive lifestyles. Now let's look at the
final hope and good,
which God promises to all Christians.
The Kingdom
It
is said that in any good three-point presentation, one must always
save the best for last. With this in view, I now turn to the final
establishment of the Kingdom of God, the reward of all who place
their trust in the Son of God. This is the spire on the tower of
God's faithfulness and it appears often amidst the other promises of
God. This is apparent in what has been the key text of this essay,
Hebrews chapter 11. In speaking of Abraham, the author informs us
that “he [Abraham] was looking forward to the
city that
has foundations, whose designer and builder is God” (v. 10,
emphasis mine). This theme is drawn out further a few verses down.
“These
[heroes of the faith] all died in faith, not having received the
things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar, and
having acknowledged that they were strangers and exiles on the earth.
For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a
homeland.
If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out,
they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire
a better country,
that is, a
heavenly one.
Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has
prepared for them a
city.”
(Hebrews 11:13-16 ESV, emphasis mine)
In verse 26, the author again alludes to this
“better country”; here it is called “the reward”.
“He
[Moses] considered the reproach of Christ greater wealth than the
treasures of Egypt, for he was looking to the
reward.”
(Hebrews 11:26 ESV, emphasis mine)
This theme comes out in two more sections,
listed below:
“Women
received back their dead by resurrection. Some were tortured,
refusing to accept release, so that they might rise again to a
better life.”
(Hebrews 11:35 ESV, emphasis mine)
“And
all these, though commended through their faith, did not receive what
was promised,
since God had provided something
better for
us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect.”
(Hebrews 11:39-40 ESV, emphasis mine)
I have laid out what I believe is every
reference in Hebrews 11 to the ultimate coming of the Kingdom of God,
which I will argue represents the apex of Christian hope – the
ultimate reward. There are so many appearances of and references to
this kingdom and eternal life in the Bible that any attempt to say
all that could be said about it is well beyond the scope of my
knowledge and the space I wish to devote to the subject. However, I
believe that by carefully considering how the author of Hebrews
presents the subject in this chapter, as well as a few other sections
of Scripture, we will glean some insight into this great hope for all
followers of Jesus Christ.
I
believe that each word italicized above refers ultimately to the same
thing – the Kingdom. Jesus Christ inaugurated this Kingdom at His
first coming, and He will fully establish it at his second coming. It
is important to grasp that the the Bible does not speak of the
Kingdom of God as if it were simply
a
new governmental establishment, nor is it an esoteric sort of ideal
meant to motivate Christians to change the world. This Kingdom
represents the reign of Jesus Christ over all of the cosmos, which He
secured by His death. Hebrews chapter 2 gives us a picture of how God
the Father put everything in the universe under Christ's control and
reign; how Christ was “crowned with glory and honor” because of
His atoning death for sinners on the cross (Heb. 2:8, 9). Jesus today
is King of the cosmos! Everything is already under His control, yet
the author also points out that “At present, we do not yet see
everything in subjection to him” (Hebrews 2:8b). This means that
there is an inherent tension within the biblical teaching of the
Kingdom of God. Christ is King and He is reigning, but we do not yet
see His reign fully displayed. We await a final climax when all will
be set right and Jesus will be seen and acknowledged for who He is –
the Sovereign King of the Universe. This understanding will lead us a
long way in understanding why all of the great hope clauses of
Hebrews 11 include an inherent future-oriention.
Christ's
reign was inaugurated when He died and rose victorious over Satan,
sin, and death, but the effects are not all visible today. Christians
still get sick, suffer persecution, and die. They continue to face
temptation to sin from their old nature (the flesh), which is in a
perpetual state of war against the new nature in Christ (Rom. 7). On
a larger scale, injustice persists in society. In many places the
poor are neglected or taken advantage of by more privileged members
of society. So, we can see that all is not well on planet Earth.
However, Hebrews chapter 11 reassures us that this is not the end of
the matter. Verses 13 to 16 tell us of a sought after “homeland,”
a desired “better [heavenly] country.” The word better
suggests
a contrast in quality between what is now and what will be. Verse 26
speaks of a “reward” that is tied to suffering “the reproach of
Christ.” Verse 35 sets forward the hope of the martyrs, to “rise
again to a
better life.”
Verses
39 and 40 beautifully summarize all of this: “And all these, though
commended through their faith, did not receive what
was promised,
since God had provided something
better for
us, that apart from us they should not be made perfect” (emphasis
mine). This is the hope of Christians who place their faith in the
the God of the promises. There is something
better,
beyond this life (though it begins in this life) and the world in its
current state. Christians must yearn and pray for the day when all
creation and their own bodies will be finally redeemed and perfected
again. On that day, all wrongs and injustices will be set right, all
that is crooked will be made straight, and all circumstances will
prove to have worked for the good of God's people (Romans 8:20, 21,
28). All of a Christian's hope finds its fulfillment in this great
promise of God. It is not foolish hope, because we know our God can
be trusted!
Faith is Personal
How do we understand the “unseen” part of
our hope and faith in this context of promise? I briefly addressed
this question in the section dealing with Hebrews 11:1. However, it
is such an important point – as you can see from the Title of my
essay – that I feel compelled by fairness and necessity to explore
another passage that addresses the subject. This passage is again
found in Romans 8, and it reads as follows:
For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that
is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope
for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
(Romans 8:24-25 ESV)
As
I demonstrated from Hebrews 11, I am going to suggest that the
broader context of Romans 8 excludes the possibility that “unseen”
could mean “unwarranted by reason” or “merely a blind choice of
the will.” Look closely. This chapter contains three foundational
promises of the Christian faith. The first verse in the chapter
promises that there is “no condemnation for those who are in Christ
Jesus.” This is the bedrock of the Christian doctrine of the
perseverance of the saints. Christians are promised that they cannot
lose their salvation because, as Christ Himself insisted: no one can
snatch His sheep out of His hand (John 10:27-29). The promise of
verse 1 serves as assurance
(Hebrews
11:1) of salvation. The whole point of assurance is that it can be
counted on as certain, otherwise it is useless. The promise is not
grounded in an existential leap away from reason; Paul simply
presents what he assumes to be a fact. The next promise is Romans
8:28, which we have already explored at length. This promise is
likewise grounded not in human experience or unwarranted trust, but
in facts concerning God's salvation plan (v. 29 and 30). The eternal
scope of these verses (ie. “predestined”) only makes this more
clear. The last promise is found in the final verses of Romans 8 and
here it is:
Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?
Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or
nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,
“For
your sake we are being killed all the day long;
we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than
conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death
nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to
come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all
creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ
Jesus our Lord.
(Romans 8:35-39 ESV)
Up
until this point, we have seen that Paul states the promises in this
chapter as fact. They are assumed to be true and trustworthy, for on
them Christians must literally stake their lives. And yet... And yet,
we would be wrong to ignore how deeply personal these promises are.
You may have already seen this in the promises of Romans 8:1 and 28.
In each case, the truthfulness of the promises is assumed by Paul,
given all that he has already laid out in the book of Romans about
who God has shown Himself to be, in character and history. Yet, the
application
of
these trustworthy promises is to individual
Christian lives.
These are not abstract truisms or vague general predictions that
speak nothing to struggling, doubting Christians. Paul pinpoints
incredibly specific fears and doubts and answers them with words of
hope! “I am a Christian, but I still sin,” someone exclaims, “how
do I know that God won't get sick of me and decide I wasn't worth
saving after all?” Paul's answer: “There is now no condemnation
for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 8:1). You didn't earn your
redemption, it was a gift, and Christ will finish the good work He
has started in you. “I don't see why God won't give me a child,”
a young wife demands, “being a mother would certainly make me more
holy. Does God not want the best for me?” Paul's answer: “We know
that for those who love God all things work together for good, for
those who are called according to his purpose” (Rom. 8:28). You may
not see it now – perhaps you will never see it in this life – but
God has promised that even the most terrible and truly devastating
disappointments and evils will be used for your good. God did not
create the evil nor was this the way it should have been (see Gen 1
and 2), but God will redeem
it
in the end. You can still mourn, but know that our God is a God who
takes what is bent and makes it straight again. He himself did not
look at our sin from a distance but became a man to suffer in our
place, deprived of justice, hated, and abandoned to die alone. He is
the only one who knows suffering first-hand, so He is the only one
you can trust to use even evil for your good. The price He paid in
order to give us such promises is itself a guarantee that they are
trustworthy and goodness. As Romans 8:32 so clearly puts it: “He
who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he
not also with him graciously give us all things?” You can trust
this God, because He paid so dearly to keep His promises and to
redeem you! (Keller)
Agendas for Doubt
We
have seen that faith is both rationally coherent and personal, but
now we will consider how faith involves the human will as well as the
need for inner transformation before faith can be excersized. Faith
rests in the knowledge of God's character and His history of
fulfilling what He promised, but it also involves a volitional choice
and commitment. Revelation 13, which describes as period of intense
persecution and Christian martyrdom, calls for “the endurance and
faith of the saints” (v. 10). This faith is not only
a
mental acceptance of God's promises as true, but is directly tied to
this notion of endurance
through
trial, doubt, even death – an act that requires personal
commitment. Again, the rational component is not removed or replaced,
but we must acknowledge that faith includes an important role for the
will. The New Testament book of James digs deep into the implications
of faith, which must lead Christians to live lives that exhibit Godly
actions and choices. Lives of intentional obedience to God are not
what
saves Christians (justification), but they are the evidence
that
the Holy Spirit is doing a transformative work in a Christan's life
(sanctification). Ephesians 2:8-10 tells us that both faith and
the
good works it produces are a gift from God, so you can't boast about
either of them or use them as leverage before God. Yet, we are
exhorted
to act, to display faith through trusting obedience to God.
Christians must live out faith in obedience to Christ or it is not
faith.
Alright,
faith is volitional, but anyone using their head should be wondering:
“Why would it be so hard to trust God and believe His promises if
God is so predictably true to his Word and character?” The answer
will have huge implications for how Christians understand their own
faith and how to share the Gospel with their neighbors. Assume you
are a non-Christian for a moment. If you come to the Bible as a book
of evidence for God and His promises, you may easily miss the fact
that, apart from the work of the Holy Spirit, you
cannot
make heads or tails of it. Even when you start to see what God's Word
is saying, you will try to suppress it in your mind, because you
don't like it. You are not a blank slate. You come to the Bible with
your own sinful ideas about what you will and will not let it say to
you. In the words of Paul, you “suppress the truth in
unrighteousness” (Rom. 1:18). I have become increasingly aware of
this in discussions with non-Christians about the Bible and what it
teaches. People who at first seemed to be rather open to considering
new ideas would flat-out refuse to interact with good arguments. I
started to notice that this often happened when people ran up against
beliefs that came directly in conflict with their current lifestyle
and choices. “That's narrow/regressive/sexist!” was the common
refrain, and no sound argument would convince them otherwise. This
shocked me for a long time, because when I first committed to
studying the Bible as a Christian, I saw things in it that were so
coherent and rationally consistent to me that I could not fathom how
any thinking person could deny them and retain their integrity.
Again, Romans 1 sheds light here. Let's consider Paul's argument in
this passage.
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven
against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their
unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God
is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible
attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been
clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the
things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although
they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him,
but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts
were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged
the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and
birds and animals and creeping things.
Therefore
God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the
dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, because they exchanged
the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature
rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
For
this reason God gave them up to dishonorable passions. For their
women exchanged natural relations for those that are contrary to
nature; and the men likewise gave up natural relations with women and
were consumed with passion for one another, men committing shameless
acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their
error.
And
since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a
debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with
all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are
full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are
gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful,
inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless,
heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that
those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them
but give approval to those who practice them.
(Romans
1:18 – 31)
As you can
probably tell, this is not most people's favorite part of Scripture,
but if the whole Bible is breathed out by God and profitable for
teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, then it
follows that we should listen to what it says – even here (2 Tim.
3:16, ESV/NIV). We already used verses 18 to 21 to establish that
humanity is accountable to God for judgment, because of what they
know about God from creation. Now, we will see what Paul does with
this argument. Notice again how bold and sweeping Paul's statements
are in verses 19 and 20. “For what can be know... is plain to
them, because God has shown
it to them” (v. 19, emphasis
mine). “For his invisible attributes... have been clearly
perceived ever since the
creation of the world... So they are without excuse”
(v. 20, emphasis mine). Verse 21 is
the most striking and it develops the argument further. Here, Paul
insists that people “knew God” – not meaning in a personal
sense like Christians know God, but in the way that Paul established
in the two previous verses (as divine creator). The verse goes on:
“...they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him...” This
is humanity's great sin – we act like God doesn't exist! Although
all humans have enough understanding from creation to tell them that
there is an eternally powerful, sovereign God who deserves their
honor and thanks, no one thanks
him, no one thinks of
what He desires from them. We act and think that
we are God, that we deserve thanks for all the great things we do and
honor for the great contribution of our presence to the world! The
next section of verse 21 reveals the punishment due: “...but they
became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were
darkened.” Since people would not use their thoughts to honor and
thank God for all that He is and does, God repaid them in kind: he
gave them over to a futile mind. Because people would not use their
hearts to give gratitude and honor to God, He darkened their hearts.
Again, the punishment fits the crime. This is an example of God's
passive judgment. Instead of directly intervening to punish this sin,
God simply lets things follow their natural path and consequences –
choosing not to intervene as a form of punishment. This is not God's
only way of judging (see Rev. 19), but it shows the horrifying
consequences of getting exactly what we want – a world where God
has withdrawn His protective hand. Verse 22 shows us the pathetic
state of a humanity that does not acknowledge God. Fools
masquerade as wise men,
rejecting the God who made them in favor of things or
mere representations of things that
this God created for them (See v. 25 and Gen. 2). This is akin to an
ungrateful child who tears open her Christmas presents and
immediately retreats with them to her room, without so much as a
“thank-you” or a hug for Mom and Dad. The implications of this
kind of ingratitude towards God are blasphemous.
Verse
24 brings us back to the consequence of humanity's choice: “Therefore
God gave them up...”
(emphasis mine). Let that sink in for a moment. This is the God who
meticulously formed Adam from the dust of the earth, and Eve from
Adam's side (Gen. 2). Imagine a parent saying this to their child. It
would take a very serious offense to bring about this kind of
reaction. What does God give them up to? To “impurity” and “the
dishonoring of their bodies”, in line with the lusts of their own
hearts. Again, we see here God's passive judgement, where God lets
humanity reap the natural consequences and outcomes of their actions
and desires. Why does God do this? Verse 15: “because they
exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the
creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever!” You have
to feel the appalling injustice and cheapness of this exchange. It's
scandalous! The God who made everything, who created people in His
image, blessed, and continues to provide for them surely deserves to
be revered more than a piece of carved wood, a cow, or a computer
screen! But we trade the unspeakably majestic for things that have no
power to provide for or save us (see Hosea 2: 5-8).
Verses
26 and 27 describe in more detail the impurity to which Paul referred
in verse 24. Again, God here is depicted as giving people
up to the natural outcomes of
their perversion and irreverence for Him. Sinful rebellious humanity
is given up here to
“dishonorable passions.” Paul goes on to describe these passions
as homosexual sexual acts in general and their effects – not
pedophilia, for those of you who
took a religion class in college and heard your professor try to
explain this verse away without actually reading it.
Verse
28 echoes verses 21, 23, and 25. Since people did not see fit to
acknowledge God as the gloriously worthy Creator of the universe, He
“gave them up to a
debased mind, to do what ought not to be done” (emphasis mine).
This is the third mention of God giving people up in passive
judgement. We also see here that the debased mind that God gives them
up to functions as an impetus to and a justifier of sin, as well as a
barrier to the truth. Their mind now has lost any inclination to
glorify its Maker. It seeks only to devote itself to seeking
illegitimate pleasures and damnable sins, and to worship things that
are not the source of its blessings. Paul then says that they are
“filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness,
malice” and he goes on with a list of some of the sinful habits of
the debased mind that extends until verse 31. We will not go into
detail here, but notice that one of the sins listed is faithlessness
(v. 31). The human mind, as Paul
depicts it, is sick, vile, and faithless.
Last,
in verse 32 we see that even people of debased minds still possess
some knowledge of God's righteous decrees. They know the wrongness of
their actions. They know that if they violate the decree they deserve
to die. Yet, they not only keep sinning, but they encourage the same
behavior in others. This is the guy who is doesn't say anything about
his brother's live-in girlfriend, because he doesn't want be
confronted by him about his porn addiction. We often allow others to
sin and even give them a pat on the back, because we know that once
you do something that our consciences have a problem with that person
will side with us. This can also play out as a sick kind of
partnership, wherein both parties egg each other one as they work to
destroy the moral rudder of conscience that God gave them.
I
hope this helps you to grasp the gravity of the human condition. We
aren't nice well-meaning folk on a journey towards truth, happiness,
and prancing ponies. We are despicably sick, rebellious, and
self-consciously evil creations whose deepest inclinations are always
evil all the time. We love lies, cling to sin, and run headlong
towards Hell. We have taken God's good gifts and the wonderful mind
He gave us and horribly perverted them. We learn to cope with and
justify our own sin by allowing others to do whatever they want, as
long as it doesn't interfere with our sinning (v. 32). We are sick to
the core. Paul tells us later that “none is righteous … not one”
(Rom. 3). His next sentences in this chapter are even more damaging
to our self-esteem: “no
one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside;
together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one”
(Rom. 3:11-12). This is the point: “People, you stink! Worse
than
you think!”
Now,
how does all of this connect to faith, the human mind and will? Isn't
it obvious? Our intellect stinks because we broke it when we rebelled
against God. All human beings have forfeited the good mind and
obedient heart that God gave them and traded them in for a darkened
heart and debased one that refuse to listen to and obey the truth.
Thus, we
now have a vested interest in sin,
and
our thoughts and intentions fight to hold on to it all costs!
So, it is not a question of God simply proving
how
good, wonderful and trustworthy He is. We will not listen, though the
message is true and trustworthy and has been demonstrated time and
time again! He must literally transform
our
heart, mind, and will to make them serve Him. The way the mind
thinks, the arguments it uses to legitimize past and ongoing sin –
all of this has to go – and it must be replaced with what Paul
calls “the new self” (Col. 3:10). This 'new self' includes a
renewed mind and an enlightened heart, leading to different thoughts,
desires, and actions (Romans 12:2, Eph. 1:18-19). God has to
reinstall the original operating system, as it were. Only once this
takes place – when God grants us the faith to trust in Jesus and
His atoning death in our place for our sins – can we start to see
start to see the rest of our thinking and actions lining up with the
truth. Our minds and hearts must be opened to God's truth and our
wills trained to obey it (1 Cor. 2), as we are renewed in the image
of Jesus Christ, the prototypical man of God's new humanity (Rom. 5).
Let's not be fooled, apart from God's intervention and the work of
the Holy Spirit, no one will ever be willing
or able to
overcome their vested interest in believing error and justifying
lifestyles of sin (1 Cor. 2:16). That's why every conversion is a
miracle – none of us want or seek it!
Closing
Thoughts and an Invitation
I
have set forward a very long and I hope thorough exploration of the
topic of faith as grounded future hope. We have seen that faith has a
saving function and many practical applications to everyday life for
believers. Faith is personal and volitional. We saw that while faith
is placed in things unseen it is no less trustworthy because of this.
Yet, there is a barrier of sin, self-interest, a darkened heart, and
a futile, depraved mind that stand in the way of hearing and
submitting to the words of God and trusting His promises in faith.
All of this leads us to conclude that God's work in us is the only
thing that will make the difference between our condemnation and the
salvation that comes through faith in the Son of God. With this
backdrop, I would like to make two appeals. First, I would ask that
Christians, like myself, recognize our dependence on God for
understanding and faith. We could and would never have trusted God or
submitted to Him if He had not ransomed us from our own corrupt
thoughts, desires, and actions. We should remember this every time we
tell someone the Gospel. Let us present the Good News about Jesus
with rational integrity – yes! – but we must never forget that
the key to a person understanding and accepting this invitation is
not the soundness of the reasoning but the work of the Holy Spirit in
that person's heart and mind. Thus, prayer is always a key component
of witnessing. Second, I would like to address any of my readers who
are not Christians. What I would say is simply this: do you trust
your own judgement when it comes to Jesus and His words? Do you not
believe because you have carefully, impartially analyzed all the
evidence, or do you fear deep down what implications the truth might
have on your life? I would encourage you to keep asking questions,
and even to doubt your own doubts – try to figure out where they
are coming from and what is motivating them. And last, I would urge
you to read the Bible for yourself and to pray to God to show Himself
to you through it. If you believe He doesn't exist, you have nothing
to lose, but if He does you have everything to gain. Jesus promised
that whoever comes to Him He will never drive away (John 6:37b, NIV),
so I would invite you to come to Him. It's worth the cost.
Soli Deo Gloria.
Works Cited
ESV
Study Bible.
Web. <http://www.esvbible.org/esv>.
Keller,
Timothy J. The
Reason for God: Belief in an Age of Skepticism.
New York: Dutton, 2008. Print.
Online
Parallel Bible: Weaving God's Word into the Web.
Web. 24 July 2012. <http://bible.cc/>.
Osteen,
Joel. "All Things Working Together for Your Good." YouTube.
YouTube, 23 Jan. 2012. Web. 17 June 2012.
<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MzXfu37hhjg>.
"Righteousness:
Imputed, Imparted or Infused?" Christian
Classics Ethereal Library.
N.p., n.d. Web. 30 June 2012. <http://www.ccel.org/node/4123/18197>.
*** All Biblical citations are taken from the
ESV 2007 Edition, unless otherwise indicated.
