Shaken up by the Truth

As I mentioned in my previous post, I've been in the midst of working on memorizing Scripture. In this process, I've found God has used this discipline to make my heart more tender toward Him. This has also led to an increasing desire to see God more clearly for who He really is. We often like to lean on the "feel-good" characteristics of God: mercy, grace, love, provision, protection, etc. And we like to ignore other not-so-fun characteristics: justice (specifically when directed toward us and/or loved ones), holiness, jealousy, etc. Thus, we create our own god - the god we want and not the God who is. Hmmm...yeah...let's just call it for what it really is: idolatry. As I've seen a certain trend in churches go more toward a seeker-sensitive approach, I've found it refreshing when churches (which seem to becoming fewer all the time) stand for the truth of God's Word, whether or not it's something we like to hear. (This is something we absolutely love about Harvest Bible Chapel.) I've found a growing appreciation in my heart for being challenged and convicted when faced with God's Truth. It can be very painful at times. Yet, it is so needed.

I have even found it interesting that even when people in Scripture are so evil, they know where to go for the truth. I was reading some of 1 Kings today and came to a passage that both cracked me up and made me think. Ahab (king of Israel...very evil king) was talking with Jehoshaphat (king of Judah...good king) about going to battle together against Syria. Jehoshaphat says to inquire of the Lord before going out to fight. Ahab gathered a bunch of prophets (about 400) who told Ahab he would have victory in battle. Jehoshaphat realized they were lying and said, "Is there not here another prophet of the Lord of whom we may inquire?" (1 Kings 22:7) Ahab's response: "There is yet one man by whom we may inquire of the Lord, Micaiah the son of Imlah, but I hate him, for he never prophesies good concerning me, but evil." (22:8) Sure enough, Micaiah told him that Ahab would be killed in battle...and that's exactly what happened. Ahab's response made be laugh, but I also realized how much that type of response is so common. We don't want to hear the hard, painful truth. So, certain movements rise up, "softening" the gospel to make it more palatable to the lost. Yet, this distortion of the gospel does not win anyone to the Truth.

When it comes to movements, such as seeker-sensitive, I admittedly used to be on board with some of the views of that methodology. Some of those views were really shaken up starting shortly after moving to Chicago. About a year ago, I had just read 2 books that drove me to Scripture in a different way. Although the books were considered to be "Christian", I found many of the teachings of both books very disturbing because they flat out rejected what the Bible says. Unlike ever before, I was opening my Bible to see what it had to say in relation to the teachings in the books. I don't care how popular an author may be, if his/her teachings don't line up with Scripture, and especially to the point of flat-out rejecting what God's Word says numerous times, that author has lost all credibility with me, which both authors did. These 2 books fell into the category of 2 Timothy 4:3-4 - "For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own passions, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander off into myths." Teach me God's Word. Teach me the Truth. Don't teach me what you think I want to hear. I began to realize that I had often fallen into the trap of believing teachings of those I either respected (or teachings of those who were respected by people I respected) without investigating it all in light of Scripture. So, not only was I shaken up by some of the disturbing (yet very popular) beliefs that are being proclaimed, I was also shaken up by the conviction of not pouring into God's Word more.

Shortly after that, I began reading another challenging book. Thankfully, it was challenging in a very different way. While reading John MacArthur's book The Gospel According to Jesus this past year, I found some of my previous belief system shaken up. Again, I was "forced" to look at what Scripture really says on certain things and evaluate whether or not my views lined up with the truth in God's Word. Sadly, not all my views lined up with Scripture. However, I'm thankful that God opened my eyes to those errors and corrected them. Since my amazing husband wrote a couple blogs related to some of the main points I was hit with while reading that book, you can check out at least a portion of it here and here. One of the other things I really began to see was the connection between faith and works in regards to salvation. Some people like to cling onto the Savior part (faith and grace), and others hold to the Lordship part (works). However, as MacArthur points out from numerous passages of Scripture, salvation requires both. No, a person is not saved by works. However, the evidence of salvation is obedience. If someone does not have the evidence of salvation, how can he/she really saved? Just as I had realized from the other 2 books, I saw even more clearly my need to really learn God's Word.

Even though it has been several months since I read the MacArthur book, I continue to be reminded over and over and over of the relationship between faith and obedience. Notice the interesting transition at the end of Hebrews 3:15-19 - "As it is said, 'Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion.' For who were those who heard and yet rebelled? Was it not all those who left Egypt led by Moses? And with whom was he provoked for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the wilderness? And to whom did he swear that they would not enter his rest, but those who were disobedient? So we see that they were unable to enter because of unbelief." A definite connection with works and belief. The Israelites couldn't enter the promised land because they rebelled, they sinned, they were disobedient. That all was evidence of their unbelief. Now, one might say, "Yeah...but that's referring to the Old Testament. They were under the first covenant. We are under the new covenant." Ok. After reading the rest of Hebrews, go on and read 1 and 2 John (just to name a few passages that also reflect the connection between faith and obedience). I know James is also often referred to for such a topic, but I've been diving into the other 3 lately, and it's been in studying these that I've realized even more just how significant obedience is in relation to faith. 1 John 3 is a great chapter on this, but here is just a little snippet...verse 9 says, "No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God." Just because someone may have "prayed the sinner's prayer" doesn't necessarily mean that they are a true Christ-follower. There must be evidence. It's "easy" to get someone to "make a decision for Christ", but for someone to truly be a Christ-follower is so much more than just that brief decision. It's a life change for a lifetime. I had been wrongly believing that if someone "prayed the prayer", he/she was saved, regardless of how he/she lived life afterward. It's so much deeper than that. And the more I learn God's Word, the more I see that.

A few weeks ago, I decided to be "brave" and tell Nathan that he could pick out a book for me to read, and I would read it. If you saw some of the books on our shelves, such as "The Works of Jonathan Edwards" (2 volumes), you would know why I said I had to be "brave". Of course, I will probably venture into some (if not all) of those "scary" books someday. Nathan did pick an "easy-to-read" (in writing style) book for me. And thus began my journey into the first R.C. Sproul book I've read: "The Holiness of God". Have you ever read a book that is excellent, yet painfully convicting? A book that you want to dive right into, yet are also afraid to read? This is one of those books for me. Admittedly, I have not finished the book yet. However, I do want to share some of what I've been hit with while reading it, especially in one particular chapter.

Sproul starts out the book talking about what holiness is and builds on that. In the 4th chapter, called "The Trauma of Holiness", I was reminded of a conversation some of us had on the Sea of Galilee. When Pastor James asked some of us to give quotes said on or by the Sea of Galilee, Nathan responded with a quote by Peter, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man" (Luke 5:8). This was right after a few of the disciples (right before they were called to be disciples) were struggling all night with catching fish. Jesus showed up, told them to cast their nets into the deep, and they ended up catching so much fish their nets started breaking. When Peter encountered Jesus, the true living God, how did he respond? "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man." This led our conversation to other passages of Scripture showing how people responded in a similar way when they encountered God. Isaiah 6 is a well-known and great passage reflecting this. Isaiah got a glimpse of the holiness of God and said, "Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!" I've been gripped by passages like these lately. I've been convicted on how familiar and comfortable I've become with God. Yes, He is loving, merciful, gracious. Jesus even calls His followers "friends" (John 15:15). However, I have been leaning so much on those and ignoring His holiness and justice.

That's where the 6th chapter comes in...called "Holy Justice". To put it simply, this chapter was painful. Some stories in the Old Testament that can be tough to wrestle with (such as Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 and Uzzah in 1 Chronicles 13) are mentioned. It's in these passages where we see God's justice. It's not pretty. We don't like it. And we want to cry out, "Why not mercy?" As Sproul points out, God is so merciful. He shows mercy, mercy, and more mercy. We don't deserve it, but we get it. He refers to Hans Kung, a theologian, who said, "the most mysterious aspect of the mystery of sin is not that the sinner deserves to die, but rather that the sinner in the average situation continues to exist." Evidence of God's mercy and grace. Since God lavishes His mercy and grace upon us, we have become used to it. And when we see God's justice, we are shocked and appalled by it. When it comes to the injustice experienced and seen by people, we tend to blame God for it. Sproul says, "We often blame God for the injustices done to us and harbor in our souls the bitter feeling that God has not been fair toward us. Even if we recognize that He is gracious, we think that He has not been gracious enough. We think we deserve more grace." As he goes on to point out, the problem with the last statement (although there is truth in it) is that grace, by it's very definition, is undeserved. We become used to God's mercy and grace. We expect God's mercy and grace. We come to even believe we deserve more of God's mercy and grace. Ouch. This hit me hard. And it has impacted the way I read and study Scripture. It has affected how I sing praises to God. For now, my heart is being hit hard with a deeper sense of God's mercy and grace. I don't deserve life...and especially not the eternal life I have in Him. It's tough to explain how much this has been resonating in my heart and mind lately. I've been convicted of sin and have found that sin is becoming uglier and uglier to me. My eyes are opening more and more to the ugliness of my flesh and my desperate need for Him. And as I crawl before Him in humility and repentance, I am so thankful for the freedom, forgiveness, mercy, and grace I find in Him.

Since this post is so incredibly long already, I'll end it with lyrics to a song that I've been reminded of while reading "The Holiness of God". It's not a well-known song, but it has a great message that has often hit me when I've listened to it. Proverbs 28:5 is referenced in the lyrics - "Evil men do not understand justice, but those who seek the Lord understand it completely."

Justice for All (from "Color Outside the Lines" by GLAD; written by Ron Larson and Bob Kauflin)

How many times have we cried out to God
saying life just isn't fair
Complaining we don't get what we deserve
wondering if He cares

Somehow
We're not so amazed anymore
by the grace that has brought us this far
but we feel God owes us explanations
for the grievances in our hearts

Grace is given and grace is withheld
but grace is never owed
and out of His goodness
He gives where He wills
not where He is told

Where were we when the world was formed
Shaped by the sound of His voice
and have we forgotten
forgiveness is free,
but it's offered to us by His choice?

Do you think you've been mistreated
and more than paid the cost?
Then gaze upon the Son of God
in the shadow of His cross

(chorus)
But there is justice for all
Measured by One
when innocence received the wrath
for the wrongs of everyone
Justice for all
so the guilty could be spared
and be thankful that this life
is not fair