What if we saw a blind man walking towards a 30 ft. cliff. Instead of getting his attention with a warning, do we give him some headphones of choir music to soothe him, and thus let him walk closer and closer to his death? Or, do we diligently point the blind man away from the cliff by dropping rocks over the cliff to convince and help him realize how fearful it is to continue without Christ? These �rocks� are God�s laws and God�s commandments. We must share the FULL news of the gospel, not just "god loves you" and become a motivational speaker. The full gospel is the BAD news and the GOOD news. Oftentimes, churches and pastors seek to make people feel comfortable. Unfortunately, what we have seen in recent times is that some pulpits overlook the very real doctrine of the consequences of sin so as to not scare anyone away. They perpetuate the lie that there is no judgment. It is true that Christianity is not all about �hell, fire, and brimstone�, but it isn�t a denial of God�s justice either. Our God is a God of love, but he is also holy and righteous.
"All discipline for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it afterwards it yeidls the peacful fruit of righteousness." - Hebrews 12:11
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But when we are judged, we are disciplined by the Lord in order that we may not be condemned along with the world. 1 Corth. 11:32
I hate to suffer. I don't want to go through trials. I beg God for relief when I am in them. But when He is harsh on a child of His, it is for the purpose of their maturity and His glory. Looking back through the tough times I've had, (even though I hated it), I see that the Lord is a good parent. I would be concerned if He wasn't harsh at times.
I read a blog entry recently, written by Melissa Moore (www.lproof.org) and I think it is a well applicable to this forum. I borrow her words:
Six months ago I devoured John Steinbeck�s mythic tale, East of Eden. Steinbeck creates fantastic and believable characters in a larger than life sort of way. He even gives one of his characters a horse named Doxology. Doxology is only the most amazing name for a horse ever. I really must buy a horse just to name it Doxology. Anyway, some of you may remember Liza Hamilton. If not, allow me to introduce you to her. Liza is a small, strict woman with a rigid set of moral standards. Life is black and white for Liza Hamilton. On one occasion, in the book, Liza�s husband Samuel stays out all night hanging out with some neighbors. Now, Samuel was not out doing anything scandalous but was just out later than Liza deemed appropriate. The next morning Liza disapprovingly chides Samuel, saying, �Maybe you can find it healthy to rove all night, but the Lord God will do what He sees fit about that.� Now I am not interested in discussing whether or not the fictional Liza was justified in her conviction. What I am most interested in discussing is the narrator�s comment immediately after her rebuke:
�It was well known that Liza Hamilton and the Lord God held similar convictions on nearly every subject.� (Penguin Books, East of Eden, 178)
The narrator�s quip is both amusing and illuminating, don�t you think?
I have all too often discovered myself assuming that God thinks similarly to me on a variety of subjects. If I am in a fight with Colin, I might say something like, �Well, why don�t you pray about that?� Hmmm, I�m pretty sure that what I really mean is, �I�m going to give you a couple of minutes to testify that you fully agree with me that God is on my side in this argument and not yours.�
Sometimes we get so overconfident in our understanding and knowledge of God that we simply assume all of our opinions are synonymous with His heart. We seem to think that if only we knew Scripture word for word then all of our thoughts and opinions would be in continuity with God�s own. There are so many problems with this assumption, not least of which is the sin in our hearts that causes us to, at times, misunderstand or misappropriate the Scripture that we have so impeccably memorized. Now, this is not about disparaging knowing the Bible or memorizing Scripture. This is about resisting the assumption that if we know the Bible well we can co-judge with God.
The other day as I was scrolling down my twitter feed I read a tweet by one of our siestas, Fran Thomas. She typed the following:
�Just because you have the gift of discernment doesn�t make you right all the time.� And then she wrote in parentheses: �talking to myself.�
I meant what I was trying to say about God being soveriengn and Satan beign subordinate to Him. I did not express it well and clarified myself. Intentional misleading and a poor choice of words are two different things. I am sorry for any misunderstanding of this.
"because I am not perfect who am I to tear down this well written post by James. Those who just tear down are not doing Gods will. james message is in tune wuth the word. Why would somebody tear it down??????
If the message was not in line with the word then I have no problem."
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Thank you Dennis for reminding us of this.
Love rejoices in the truth, no matter who in these forums has said it, whether you have agreed with him/her in the past or not.
No one said that all of the horrible things that happen in this world is directly due to Satan asking permission from God to cause them. When Chevy made that statement, I and a couple of other people quickly pointed out that we live in a fallen world and that man himself is sinful and causes/brings these things upon himself. As mentioned before, evil is from Satan and man.
I know I'm oversimplifying, but as for the wicked being prosperous, the Bible does say that there is common grace.
As for suffering of God's people, it also says that He pours rain on the righteous and unrighteous.
But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
