New Testament Archives - Page 128 of 208

The Unrighteous Under Punishment

Christ Church on June 18, 2018

The Text

“…then the Lord knows how to deliver the godly out of temptations and to reserve the unjust under punishment for the day of judgment, ¹⁰and especially those who walk according to the flesh in the lust of uncleanness and despise authority. They are presumptuous, self-willed. They are not afraid to speak evil of dignitaries, ¹¹whereas angels, who are greater in power and might, do not bring a reviling accusation against them before the Lord” (2 Peter 2:9-21).

Who’s Your Teacher?

In the second half of chapter 2, Peter warns the church about false teachers. Teachers are not only those who stand in front of a class or behind a pulpit. Teachers are those who influence, who lead, who discipline, who catechize your responses. Teachers are those who you follow. And so, who is your teacher?

There are no imperatives in this chapter about false teachers, merely Peter’s raw and brutal and sickening description of the false teachers in the church. Peter describes two aspects of these false teachers 1) The Depravity of False Teachers (vs. 10-16) and 2) The Deception of False Teachers (vs. 17-22). Even in the depravity and in the deception, Peter reminds Christians that “the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials, and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment” (vs. 9). The main point is that Peter wants you to know that the Lord knows how to keep the unrighteous, both teachers and disciples, under punishment, and realize that part of the punishment is their depravity and their deception.

The Lord Knows (vs. 9)

Verse 9 provides a helpful summary and transition from the first half of the chapter to the last. The Lord knows how to 1) rescue the godly and 2) keep the unrighteous under punishment for judgment. God knows how to rightly deal with people–– Rescue good guys like Lot and Noah and punish bad guys like false teachers.

The Lord knows the unrighteous and knows how to keep them now under punishment for the day of judgment. They are under punishment now. And part of their punishment is their depravity. Paul makes this connection in Romans 1:18-28). Their depravity is the consequence of their disregard for God and so is their punishment. Heaven is the place man says to God, “As you wish.” Hell is where God says to man, “As you wish.”

The Depravity of False Teachers (vs. 10-16)

Two defining traits of the unrighteous teachers are that they indulge in lust and despise authority. Sound familiar? Will 21st century America please stand up? Our culture both despises the lordship of Jesus and indulges in sexuality. We live in age where our cultural has been secularized and sexualized.

Peter describes that these false teachers are “bold and willful, they do not tremble as they blaspheme the glorious ones, whereas angels, though greater in might and power, do not pronounce a blasphemous judgment against them before the Lord.” The unrighteous are proud. Strong. Fierce. Woke. A Corinthian dude is having sex with his dad’s wife, and the church allows and even celebrates their progressive and open relationship (1 Cor. 5:1). And when they should mourn and despair and tremble, they stand firm without fear when they blaspheme the glorious ones.

They are like rats driven by their desires. Just like a rat’s passion for food leads to the rat trap, so these false teachers desires for sex, for money, for authority will snap down and break their back. Here is their end––they will be destroyed in their destruction, they will be wronged as the wage for their wrongdoing (vs. 12-13). These false teachers are like Balaam––greedy, blind to their own spiritual danger, and refusing to receive good advice even if it came from a talking donkey. The depravity of the false teachers ends in their own destruction. But not theirs only, but also those who follow them.

The Deception of False Teachers (vs. 17-22)

In these final verses, Peter describes the deception of the false teachers. “These are waterless springs and mists driven by a storm. For them the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved. They promise freedom, but they themselves are slaves of corruption.” Christians are given the glorious promise of freedom in Christ. Deceiving teachers then conclude, “Christian, you are free to do what you want. You are free from judgment, free from condemnation of the law, free from restrictive systems of the past. Free to love who you want. Free to express yourself. Free to be you.” No, no, no!

What happens to those who listen to their false promises? “For if, after they have escaped the defilements of the world the world through the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the last state has become worse than the first” (vs. 20). You’ve escaped from the defilements of the world. You’ve been rescued from Sodom. And you’ve been told to flee to the mountain. But on your way, you met a convincing man or a passionate woman who says, “Follow me! I know the way.” And they lead you back to Sodom. Don’t go back to the city of worldliness. Don’t cast longing eyes back to that old life. Don’t settle on the plain. Because that is where the Lord keeps the unrighteous under punishment for the coming judgment.

The Knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ

Only in knowledge of Jesus as Savior and Christ and Lord, will you find salvation from your unrighteousness and satisfaction for your soul. You must go to Christ crucified. And Christ crucified is where false teachers will never lead.

False Prophets: A Design Feature?

Christ Church on June 10, 2018

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The Text

“But there were also false prophets among the people, even as there will be false teachers among you, who will secretly bring in destructive heresies, even denying the Lord who bought them, and bring on themselves swift destruction. And many will follow their destructive ways, because of whom the way of truth will be blasphemed. By covetousness they will exploit you with deceptive words; for a long time their judgment has not been idle, and their destruction does not slumber” (2 Peter 2:1-3).

(1) False Prophets and New Testament warnings!

(2) God’s purpose (Duet. 13:3, Judges 3:1-2)

(3) What are their methods?

(4) What are they denying?

(5) What do False Teachers want?

(6) What is their destiny?

(7) What’s our job?

Calvinism 4.0: The Liberty of the Creature

Christ Church on June 3, 2018

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Introduction

The theologians behind the Westminster Confession said something that was curious, and it was this: They did not want to say that God’s absolute sovereignty was merely consistent with the liberty of creaturely will, but rather that God’s sovereignty was what established the liberty of that will. God does not offer violence to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established (WCF 3.1).

In order to understand this rightly, we have to be careful to define our terms carefully. What do we mean by the freedom of the will exactly?

The Text

“Either make the tree good, and his fruit good; or else make the tree corrupt, and his fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by his fruit. O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matt. 12:33-35).

Summary of the Text

Jesus begins by noting that the nature of the tree determines the nature of the fruit. Good tree > good fruit. In the same way, if the tree is corrupt, then it follows that the fruit will be corrupt as well. Bad tree > bad fruit. Because this is the case, we are encouraged to reason from the fruit to the tree. The Lord then calls them a generation of vipers, poisonous snakes, and says that what comes out of their fangs will be venom and not sweet water. In this first comparison, the words a man speaks are the fruit, and the heart of that same man is the tree. The contents of the heart determine the contents of the speech. The Lord then switches to a third example. You can only take out of a chest that which was already in the chest. A good man has a good treasure chest for a heart, and consequently good choices come out. A bad man has evil treasure, and this is what determines what can be taken out.

Two Definitions

In evangelical circles, there are two differing definitions of freedom that are common. One definition says that free will is the “power of contrary choice.” In other words, take that moment when you were standing at the crossroads, deciding whether to go right or to go left. This definition says that at two different times, with all the antecedent circumstances being the identical, you had the full and complete ability to go either right or to go left.

The other view—and incidentally, the one the Lord was assuming in the text—is that a man is free to choose whatever his heart wants. He is free when he is not externally constrained. You choose what it was that you wanted, and what you wanted was determined by your nature. There are complicated examples of this principle, but there are also very simple examples.

If Smith points a gun at Jones and tells him to take the road to the right, then Jones is not free. But if Jones goes down that road because he loves the view that way, and detests the view on the other way, and has loved and detested them for as long as he can remember, his choice being constrained by nothing other than his desires, then we would say that his choice is unconstrained.

Now if you were to hold your breath right now, and were to do so for over a minute, would you want to breathe? Would the fact that God created your lungs and gave them to you keep that desire to breathe from being yours? Not a bit of it. You choose to breathe, and you choose to breathe because you want to. You want to because that innate desire was a gift to you from God. Some people reason that this desire couldn’t really be yours if it was given to you by God. Others, and we should be among them, should reason that if God gave it to us, then it must be ours.

The Metal Hand Will

So picture one of those games at the fair where a glass bin is full of not very expensive teddy bears, and there is a metal hand there, a metal grappling hook, that the carnie will let you manipulate for fifty cents. The human will is that grappling hook. It has no power to determine or alter the contents of the bin. Its only power is that of identifying “the largest teddy bear.”

Our choices do not decide for us. Our choices reveal us. If what they reveal is unsavory or unflattering, then we are driven to turn to the only one who can do anything to help us.

Think About It for Another Moment

Suppose the elders were to confront a straying member who was getting drunk every weekend. They asked him to explain his behavior, and suppose that he said that every weekend, his strongest desire was to read his Bible and go to church. Instead “mysterious forces” would land him in the bars. But he should not be faulted because what he really wanted to do was study Leviticus.

The reply would be that his will revealed what his strongest desire was. The ability to choose contrary to what you want is not liberty, but rather insanity. “Why did you throw the vase against the wall?” “Because I wanted to go for a walk in the garden.”

Transformation occurs when the contents of the heart are changed. Transformation across a series of decisions occurs when we do things that the Holy Spirit uses to alter the contents of our hearts. He alters it radically in conversion, and then steadily over the course of our sanctification through the various means of grace that He has appointed.

The Plain Necessity of the New Birth

If you could repent and believe with your old heart, then you would not really need a new heart. If you could love Jesus with your old heart, then you didn’t really need for Jesus to give you a new heart.

Our foundational problem, apart from Christ, is therefore not what we do, but rather what we are. What we do does matter, but in the sense that our actions reveal what we are. And this should drive us to adore God’s kindness, for we know that we have no control over our nature. Apart from Christ, we think we have full control over our actions, like the kid playing with a plastic steering wheel in the back of a shopping cart.

God gives us new eyes and then we see. God gives us ears, and it is then that we begin to hear. God gives us a heart that loves Him, and so we turn away from sin in disgust, and toward Him with true affection.

The Coming of our Lord Jesus Christ

Christ Church on June 3, 2018

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The Text

“For this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things, though you know and are established in the present truth. ¹³Yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent, to stir you up by reminding you, ¹⁴knowing that shortly I must put off my tent, just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. ¹⁵Moreover I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease.

¹⁶For we did not follow cunningly devised fables when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but were eyewitnesses of His majesty. ¹⁷For He received from God the Father honor and glory when such a voice came to Him from the Excellent Glory: “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” ¹⁸And we heard this voice which came from heaven when we were with Him on the holy mountain.

¹⁹And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; ²⁰knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, ²¹for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Peter 1:12-21).

As a Dying Man to Dying Men

I’ve been stirred by Richard Baxter’s words, “I preached as never sure to preach again; And as a dying man to dying men.” Peter knows that he will soon die so he does not want to waste his time or his words. What he says is of the utmost importance. And so his hearers had better listen. Imagine if your grandpa was dying and beckons you to his bed. He rallies his ragged breathing. With your ear close to his mouth, you suddenly feel a buzzing in your pocket––phone call. “Sorry, Gramps, hold on. I got a call.” You’d be a fool to disregard your Gramps. Peter is now an old man, a father in the faith, a best friend of Jesus, and he beckons you to come close.

Knowing that his end is near, Peter aims to stir up Christians to godly living because the Lord Jesus Christ will soon come in power. In verses 12-15, Peter wants to stir up his brothers and sisters to godly living. Peter gives the motivation for this––the certainty of Jesus’ promised coming. Verse 16 introduces the central theme for the rest of the book, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths (that’s what the false teachers are saying) when we made know to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In verses 16-21, Peter presents two reasons for the hearers to have sure knowledge that Jesus indeed will come in majesty and power. 1) Testimony of Peter as an eyewitness at the Mount of Transfiguration 2) Testimony of Jesus’ prophetic word before the Transfiguration that he would come in the lifetime of some of his disciples. This prophesied coming, parousia, of Christ was fulfilled in the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 A.D. (Preterist view), and Peter knows that he and his readers do not have long so he stirs them up because the Lord Jesus Christ is coming soon.

Stirred Up to Remember (vs. 12-15)

vs. 12 “Therefore, I intend always to remind you of these qualities, though you know them and are established in the truth you have.” Peter’s therefore of course refers back to the previous verses where he charges Christians to make every effort to add these qualities to their life––faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love. For if these qualities are 1) yours and 2) growing, then you will not be ineffective and unfruitful in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. Your life will be full of the fruit of faith, virtue, knowledge, godliness, self-control. And you know what? All this godly fruit in your life gives evidence that you are connected to the godly root of Jesus Christ. Verse 10, “Brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall” How do yo know if you’re an apple tree? You grow apples. How do you know you are a real apple tree? You grow real apples. The apples are not cardboard cut-outs or plastic with the shinny *ding* taped to your life. “For if you practice these qualities (Are you practicing them––how did the last two weeks go? Make a list of these Christian character qualities, put them on your mirror. Ask you wife, “How’s my self-control been? Am I growing in knowledge?” Seriously, get after them) for if you practice these qualities, you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (vs. 10-11).

Therefore, in order that you may be fruitful, that your calling and election may be sure, that you may not fall, that you may be richly provided an entrance into the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ, Peter intends always to remind you of these qualities. Peter knows that his people already know this and are already established in the truth. And I would say that the majority of our church already know the truth that you should have faith and patience and self-control, and you should all be growing (not dying). And Peter wants to continually encourage you, as do I, to go further up and further in. You’re here, you’re doing it. Keep climbing!

vs. 13-14 “I think it right, as long as I am in this body to stir you up by way of reminder, since I know that the putting off of my body will be soon, as our Lord Jesus Christ made clear to me.” Peter’s aim is to stir you up––to wake you from sleep, slumber (Peter does his best Arnold Schwarzenegger impression). This verb to stir up is what the disciples did to the snoozing Jesus when a storm whipped up on the sea (Mk. 4:38). Urgency––life and death. Water is out there, and now water is coming in here. Peter is willing to halloo in your ear to get you to wake up, even if you don’t want to. The human mind and heart is apt to become sleepy, cozy, lazy.

Peter is urgent to make every effort now because he knows he does not have too much longer to live. The Lord has provided miraculous escapes for Peter in the past––imprisoned by Herod with double chains, double guard, locked gates, and an angels leads him out to freedom the night before his execution (Acts 12). But he knows now that his death is soon. Jesus already told him in John 21 what kind of death he was to glorify God––tradition accounts of crucifixion upside down, and perhaps Jesus has told him that the end is near.

And so, Peter will “make every effort so that after my departure you may be able at any time to recall these things” (vs. 15) Peter, like Moses in Deuteronomy, is at the end of his life and wants to ensure that the second generation continues on firm and is established in the truth that they have. Deuteronomy means “the second law” when Moses reiterates the Law he received on Mount Sinai to the new generation who grew up in wilderness. This generation had not seen the miraculous events of the Exodus just like Peter’s readers had not seen the signs and wonders of Jesus. And so they give reminders to the people––remember how Yahweh has redeemed you from Egypt and from your previous sinful life. Remember how the Spirit guided you in the wilderness. Remember that God has given you all things for life and godliness. Both Moses and Peter have beheld the glory of God on a holy mountain and so confidently testify.

Not Cleverly Devised Myths (vs. 16)

Verse 16, “For we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made know to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.” This is the central theme now for Peter––the certainty of the coming of Jesus. Peter wants to assure his readers that the prophecy of Jesus’ coming is not a sophisticated myth or fable or parable. This is what the false teachers are claiming in chapters 2-3, “They will say, ‘Where is the promise of his coming? For ever since the fathers fell asleep, all things are continuing as there were from the beginning of creation’” (3:4). They claim the apostles like Peter were just making up the prophecies about Christ’s coming, but that’s not true.

The first section of our passage is clear and applicable to our 21st century context––stirring Christians to godliness. But these last verses must be understood in their original context and from Peter’s and his readers’ perspective. The central issue on the table in 2 Peter is the promise of Jesus’ imminent coming, in the near future. The false teachers say it’s not happening and Peter says that Jesus will soon appear in power. This coming is in the future for these Christians in first century. We read “future coming” and we transfer their future to our future. And so make the power and coming that Peter refers to as the final coming of Christ at the end human history. However, Peter is dealing with issues facing the churches in the first century, specifically the coming and power of our Lord Jesus Christ to judge the structures of the Old Covenant sacrificial system. We hope to unpack this as we go.

In keeping with the Torah’s requirement, Peter gives two witnesses to support his teaching about the power and coming of Jesus: 1) Peter’s own eyewitness testimony of Christ’s glory at the Mountain of Transfiguration 2) Jesus’ prophetic word of his coming within this generation .

Eyewitness of Jesus’ Glory (vs. 17-18)

Matthew, Mark, and Luke all record Christ’s Transfiguration in their Gospel (Mt. 17:1, Mk. 9:2, Lk. 9:28). Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up a mountain and transfigures so that his face radiates like the sun and his clothes are white as light. Moses and Elijah appear and begin talking with Jesus (Jesus the culmination of the Law and the Prophets). Then a bright cloud overshadows them and a voice booms, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to him.” The disciples fall on the ground covering their heads, terrified because they are in the presence of the Trinity––Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. While the disciples are still hunkered down, Jesus comes and touches them and helps them up, and is now alone.

So how is this a support that Jesus’ coming is not a myth? The transfiguration is a preview of the coming power of Jesus. Peter holds up his hand and says, “I can give a witness. I’ve seen the light. I’ve seen the cloud and heard the voice and beheld the glory.” Thirty plus years later, Peter could still close his eyes and see the radiant face and dazzling clothes and his rib cage rattle with the voice that declared Jesus the Son of God. What Peter beheld at the Mount of Transfiguration was a glimpse of the coming power and glory, and it was enough to flatten a man. This was a foretaste of the meal. A preview for the full event. Peter saw a glimpse of Jesus glorified as King and as King he will come in power.

Sure Prophetic Word (vs. 19-21)

Peter says that “we have something more sure, the prophetic word, to which you will do well to pay attention as to a lamp shining in the dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts” (vs. 19). We have something more sure than the dazzling light of Jesus’ face imprinted on Peter’s retinas, more firm than the voice heard by Peter, James, and John. And that is the prophetic word.

What is the sure word of prophecy that Peter is referring to? It’s Jesus prophetic word that he gives to his disciples before the Transfiguration. In each of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke, Jesus prophecies, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (Mk. 9:1). Peter has already given his word of the coming power of Jesus, and now adds Jesus’ own word for his own coming in power. Jesus puts a timestamp, a deadline, on this prophecy. There’s a ticking clock on this prophetic word––within the lifetime of some of the disciples.

In the three synoptic Gospels, there are the same three events before the Transfiguration––Peter confesses Jesus as the Christ, Jesus predicts his death and resurrection, Jesus calls his disciples to take up their cross. Jesus then concludes with the prophetic word of his coming. Matthew 16: Jesus asks his disciples, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter responds, “You are the Christ, the Son of the Living God.” Jesus then predicts his death, burial and resurrection. Peter is chastised, “Get behind me, Satan!” Then Jesus tells them they must pick up their cross and follow him (literally true for Peter). Jesus concludes, “For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done…” *Prophetic Word Alert* “Truly, I say to you there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.” The prophecy is giving and the count down begins. After this prophecy, Jesus takes Peter, James, and John up the mountain and you know what happens––a preview of the coming glory and coming power.

Mark 8 follows the same three steps––Jesus, “Who do you say that I am?” Peter, “You are the Christ.” Jesus predicts his death burial and resurrection, “Get behind me Satan.” “Pick up your cross and come follow me… For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him the Son of Man also will be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with angels.” And Jesus said to them, *Prophetic Word Alert* “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God after it has come with power” (Mk. 9:1). Jesus takes three disciples up a mountain. And one more time in Luke 9. Peter confess Jesus as the Christ. Jesus predicts his death and resurrection. Pick up your cross and follow me. *Prophetic Word Alert* “But I tell you truly there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the kingdom of God” (vs. 27). Transfiguration.

The sure prophetic word of Jesus’ coming is Jesus’ word, and he said that He would come before the end of the life of some of his present disciples. This prophecy is expounded on in Matthew 24 when Jesus predicts the destruction of the Temple and the devastation of Jerusalem, “There will not be left one stone upon another that will not be thrown down” (Mt. 24:2). All of which will happen within this generation, “Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away”–– for it is a sure prophetic word (Mt. 24:34-35).

Why does Peter believe this is so important? Jesus made this prophecy around 30 AD and it’s now around 65 AD. The forty year generation hourglass is coming to an end. Don’t despair on Jesus’ delay, “Why is it taking so long?!?” He will come. But why would it matter to a bunch of people in Turkey (Asia Minor) what happened in Jerusalem, a city hundreds of miles away? Some Jewish Christian might be tempted to abandon the promise of Jesus and return to offering bulls and goats as sacrifices in Jerusalem. And in monumentally bad time, return to Jerusalem when Romans are about siege the city.

This also matters for them like it should for us. Is Jesus trustworthy? Is his word reliable? Jesus said his coming in power would happen within the lifetime of the disciples. So, is Jesus a true prophet or is he a liar? He better not be a liar because I’m about to march into a colosseum ready to die for Jesus in whom I trust.

Peter reassures his readers that Jesus’ word is true and encourages them to “pay attention as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts.” Things may look bleak and dark, but there is the word of God which is a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path (Ps. 119:105). vs. 20-21, “Knowing this first of all that no prophecy of Scripture comes form someone’s interpretation. For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but holy men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” Peter says that Scripture did not come from man (playing pin the tail on the Rapture) but from the Holy Spirit. God speaks to us through his Holy Scriptures like he spoke to the disciples on that holy mountain. And we ought to have the same response as Peter, James, and John––reverent, obedient, fully humble before the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

It’s helpful and necessary to keep in mind that Peter is preparing Christians for a very real conflict––persecutions against the church (first letter) and false teachers within the church (next chapter). The preparation for these trials is the pursuit of godliness today. Godly living is your armor to withstand the assault of mockery and torture. Sure knowledge guards against false teaching. Do you want to stand in that day? Then do this today. Then believe this today.

The power and coming of the Lord Jesus Christ was true and is true. He really came in power and awful glory in the lifetime of some of the disciples. And we will hear in the next chapter how this coming was a coming judgement like the flood during Noah’s time and fire against Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus came against Jerusalem in 70 AD in glory and power just as he said. And Peter reminds believers that the best thing to do with the certainty of Christ’s coming is to pursue godliness. In the knowledge that Jesus has come in glory and that he will come again, pursue godliness. Wake up from your spiritual snooze. Keep your eyes fixed on the light of God’s word. Make every effort to add to your faith, virtue, knowledge, self-control, steadfastness, godliness, brotherly affection, love. Within your lifetime, you too will see the glory and power of Jesus. How will you prepare that day? Be stirred up to live a godly life.

Calvinism 4.0: God as the Good Author

Christ Church on May 27, 2018

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Introduction

Many people struggle with the problem of evil. If God is all powerful then he could eliminate evil. If God is all good then He would certainly want to. So then why does the classic Christian position teach us that God is both all powerful and all good, and yet evil continues to exist?

The Text

“Again, the kingdom of heaven is like unto treasure hid in a field; the which when a man hath found, he hideth, and for joy thereof goeth and selleth all that he hath, and buyeth that field” (Matt. 13:44).

Summary of the Text

I want to work through this short little parable, and summarize it for you. What is the kingdom like? It is like hidden treasure. When a man finds it, he then hides it again, and in his joy he goes and sells everything in order to buy that field. This is a kingdom mystery—it is like the purloined letter in Poe’s mystery. The treasure in this instance is hidden in plain sight. The seller gives it all up, not knowing the value of what he is giving up. The buyer relinquishes everything he has elsewhere in order to obtain that which has value beyond reckoning? Who is the seller here? I take it to be the nation of Israel, not knowing the value of their field, or the treasure in it. Although they did not know the value, their ignorance was culpable. They ought to have known. The buyer abandons all he used to have, gives it up, and comes into his new possession, well knowing the value of what he has. Thus far the point of the parable.

But after that point, I want to step back a few paces and look at the mere fact of the parable.

Gospel Story, the Story of the Gospel, and Story Gospel

“The kingdom of God is like a man who . . .” Time is mysterious, space is mysterious, people are mysterious, and story arcs are mysterious. In order to have a story that is interesting, there must be conflict. Perhaps we should qualify this by saying that in order for story in this world to be interesting, there has to be conflict. Presumably, we won’t be bored in Heaven, and we know that in the resurrection the kind of warfare that we now undergo has ceased. “Her warfare has been accomplished” (Is. 40:2). If the millennial age is one in which the swords are fashioned into plowshares, how much more will this be true of the eternal state (Micah 4:3)?

But in order to keep from becoming bored, there must be a placeholder for that conflict. In our resurrected and glorious condition, there will be no suffering, tears, bloodshed, or anything else like that. But there will be something. We just don’t know what it is yet. My nomination for that post is a little something called difficulty. Maybe God assigned you to the planet Jupiter, and charged you to grow giant turnips, fifty feet across. But all that is just speculation. We know that the resurrection life will be perfect, and that means not boring.

Perfect Storytelling

Whether or not the stories themselves grow increasingly gripping, we know that storytelling will finally come into its own. Perhaps the solution to this dilemma is found in the fact that in the resurrection, the glorious things that God accomplished here will finally find a narration that is worthy of the subject.

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing” (Rev. 5:11–12).

God knows how to stack one choir upon another, and so myriads of angels ascend on the celestial risers. And they sing about the crucifixion, about something that happened here, in this life, in our history.

What is Evil?

If you were making the perfect salad, you would take the garden slug out of it. If you were making the perfect wine, you would make sure to remove the battery acid. If you were decorating the living room perfectly, you would take the greasy engine block off the coffee table. If you were making the perfect flower arrangement, you would not drape a bicycle chain over the vase. But we are in danger of becoming the victim of our analogies.

But if you were telling the perfect story, would you remove the evil from it? Think for a moment. Would it have improved The Lord of the Rings if Tolkien had left out Sauron? Or Saruman? Or the Nazgul? Or Gollum? With the disappearance of each villain or antagonist, is the story getting progressively better? Or worse?

“The kings of the earth stood up, and the rulers were gathered together against the Lord, and against his Christ. For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done” (Acts 4:26–28).

God is the good author of the good story. God is the perfect author of the perfect story. God freely and unalterably ordains whatsoever comes to pass, “yet so as thereby neither is God the author of sin, nor is violence offered to the will of the creatures, nor is the liberty or contingency of second causes taken away, but rather established” (WCF 3.1).

God is not the author of sin, but He most certainly is the author of a story that has sin in it. This is not a defect in the story, but is rather the glory of it.

The Bloom of Fallen Creation

When the day of resurrection comes, it is not the case that God has mighty angels pick up big erasers in order to wipe out everything that was. The cosmos is not erased. The cosmos is reborn, and what went before is contained within, and glorified by, that resurrected state.

“Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now” (Rom. 8:21–22).

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord” (1 Cor. 15:58).