Ouch! A reasonable answer!

Often we fail to appreciate the opportunity that suffering offers us as a sanctifying process in our journey heavenward. Paul so joyfully reminds us that:

Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us (Romans 5:3-5).

 But why rejoice? Because, he also said:

I want to know Christ—yes, to know the power of his resurrection and participation in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death (Philippians 3:10).

This in a nutshell is the purpose of suffering; that is, to be conformed to the image of Christ (Romans 8:28-29). That means Christ-likeness in the good times as well as the bad and everything in-between. Christ did not come just to show us the way but to be the way for no man shall see God without holiness (Hebrews 12:14) which is without a doubt Christ-likeness. Job recognized the value of his suffering when he said:

“When he has tried me, I shall come forth as gold.” (23:10)

Someone has said that the chief cause for atheism is that there seems to be no plausible answer to:” Why does a good God allow bad things to happen to good people?” I am not suggesting that I have all the answers; however, part of the answer, I believe, lays in the response Aron Moss gave to someone who once complained:

Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is this world so unfair? Please don't tell me "We can't understand God's ways." I am sick of hearing that. I want an explanation.

His response was simple:

Are you sure you want an explanation? Do you really want to know why the innocent suffer? I think not. You are far better off with the question than with an answer. You are bothered by the fact that people suffer undeservedly. As you should be. Any person with an ounce of moral sensitivity is outraged by the injustices of our world. Abraham, the first Jew, asked God, "Should the Judge of the whole world not act fairly?" Moses asked, "Why have You treated this people badly?" And today we still ask, "Why God, why?"

But what if we found the answer? What if someone came along and gave us a satisfying explanation? What if the mystery were finally solved? What if we asked why, and actually got an answer?

If this ultimate question were answered, then we would be able to make peace with the suffering of innocents. And that is unthinkable. Worse than innocent people suffering is others watching their suffering unmoved. And that's exactly what would happen if we were to understand why innocents suffer. We would no longer be bothered by their cry, we would no longer feel their pain, because we would understand why it is happening.

Aron Moss continues:

Imagine you are in a hospital and you hear a woman screaming with pain. Outside her room, her family is standing around chatting, all smiling and happy. You scream at them, "What's wrong with you? Can't you hear how much pain she is in?" They answer, "This is the delivery ward. She is having a baby. Of course we are happy."

When you have an explanation, pain doesn't seem so bad anymore. We can tolerate suffering when we know why it is happening.

And so, if we could make sense of innocent people suffering, if we could rationalize tragedy, then we could live with it. We would be able to hear the cry of sweet children in pain and not be horrified. We would tolerate seeing broken hearts and shattered lives, for we would be able to neatly explain them away. Our question would be answered, and we could move on.

But as long as the pain of innocents remains a burning question, we are bothered by its existence. And as long as we can't explain pain, we must alleviate it. If innocent people suffering does not fit into our worldview, we must eradicate it. Rather than justifying their pain, we need to get rid of it.So keep asking the question, why bad things happen to good people. But stop looking for answers. Start formulating a response. Take your righteous anger and turn it into a force for doing good. Redirect your frustration with injustice and unfairness and channel it into a drive to fight injustice and unfairness. Let your outrage propel you into action. When you see innocent people suffering, help them. Combat the pain in the world with goodness. Alleviate suffering wherever you can.

We don't want answers, we don't want explanations, and we don't want closure. We want an end to suffering. And we dare not leave it up to God to alleviate suffering. He is waiting for us to do it. 

That's what we are here for.

  That is precisely what all of us must do. That is, give a cup of cold water to those who thirst. Feed and care for the widow an orphan. Do good even to “Love our enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and our reward will be great, and we will be sons of the Most High … Luke 6:35.”

We may not be able to fully understand or elevate evil, but we can, however, to share each others burdens, and in this way obey the law of Christ (Galatians 6:2).

Take care . . .

Navigating the denominational zone

First of all, a background of Scripture:

But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. (John 16:13 (KJV)

It seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us not to burden you with anything beyond the following requirements: You are to abstain from food sacrificed to idols, from blood, from the meat of strangled animals and from sexual immorality. You will do well to avoid these things. (Acts 15:28 (NIV)

If I am delayed, you will know how people ought to conduct themselves in God's household, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and foundation of the truth.  (1 Timothy 3:15 (NIV)

Now, allow me to intertwine these verses into a logical whole.

We Pentecostals, Charismatics and other Evangelical Protestants come in a variety of theological hues. Some pretty, some not so pretty. For some 1500 years, give or take a little, two branches of Christendom—that is, Eastern Orthodoxy or the Roman Catholic Church, dominated the Christian religious scene. These Christians gave us the great creeds as well as the Scriptures as we know them. 

In brief, to summarize, the first ecumenical council convened in Nicea in the mid and late 4^th century and gave us the great (what else?) Nicaean creed (AD 325)—actually, this is officially known as the Niceno-Constantinopolitan Creed since the second session convened in Constantinople (AD 381) to put the finishing touches on the original draft.

Interestingly (although, I must say sadly) the  "Nicene Creed" is the only authoritative ecumenical statement of the Christian faith accepted by the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox, Anglican, and the major Protestant denominations. Primarily the subject matter dealt with the nature and purposes of Christ and the Church He founded. At about that time the canon of Scripture was loosely configured and in circulation. Surprisingly—to some at least—the final verse, and therefore, the complete canon had to wait until the Council of Trent (AD 1545 and 1563) at which time the verses dealing with Jesus and the woman taken in adultery (John 8:1–11) was finally accepted as part of the New Testament thereby fixing the New Testament canon in its present form. From that time forward for all practical purposes both Protestants and Catholics have used the same Bible with the exception of the Apocrypha which is used almost exclusively by the Roman Catholics and Orthodox communities, but also including a few High Anglicans.

Granted, anytime history is condensed or summarized some of the finer details are left wanting; none-the-less, for purposes of understanding the origins of what we Evangelical consider the sole and final source of the Christian faith, this summary will do.

This brings us to the central question: that is, since the church of the living God, is the pillar and foundation of the truth.  (1 Timothy 3:15 (NIV) which church are we talking about? Certainly, not one that has splintered into thousands of shards—yes, you read me right, shards. What else are we to call schismatic who feel comfortable in starting their own brand of Christianity, or morphing a very good one into apostasy? If truth is one (and it is) then where is that true and original Church which Christ founded of which He promised that the gates of Death (Hades) would not overwhelm? 

Now, either, Christ was right or He was not. If the Church apostatized early, as some contend, in the 2^nd century; then why accept a canon of Scripture or creeds developed by this apostatized church? Instead of—

 "[Marking] those who cause division, and offences contrary to the doctrine which were learned, and avoid them... (Romans 16:17-18)”

I am afraid that we have for the most part embraced many of them. These are, however, the facts; an open secret, you might say.

As for example, Luther because of his exclusive affinity for the role of faith in salvation never developed a recognizable doctrine of sanctification. Thus, the praxis of faith was never fully appreciated. A shard, you might say. Of course, a natural corollary to that was advanced by Calvin who when overboard and attributed all acts of charity to a sovereign work of irresistible grace, as if the roles personal choice and obedience were a matter of providence; including that first act of faith which is considered by most evangelicals that I know as necessary for our salvation.

This initial act of faith, however, leaves unanswered the matter of salvation for the very young and by implication the severely mentally retarded. Please excuse me if at this point I insert that my God is bigger than that. Would it not be much better if we insisted that it is a willful act of disobedience—that is, going against the Godly sense of morality that excludes us from the Kingdom of God? Could it be that as the whole world died in Adam, so it is that all were made alive in Christ? I think so. This, I believe covers the age of innocence as well as that of ignorance. It does not, however, cover the willful disobedience of those who refuse to repent or live in the light that Scripture says shines in the heart of every man.[i]

---

[i] Romans 2:1-16; cf. John 1:9

Works Vis-à-vis Faith

 

"I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing." — John 15:5

*****

To to insist that our salvation is complete once we make a public confession that we accept Christ as our Lord and Savior is simply not biblical— that is to say, for instance, that faith counts but obedience does not is wrong. 

Wouldn't it be much better to say that God expects obedience as well as faith to complete the process? Faith does not stand alone. Born again experience or not, if you live like the Devil in the end you will be treated like one when it is all said and done. No, we must choose daily to live a Godly life; once that is done, however, God is there to help us along on the journey (Philippians 2:13)— not with just free floating grace, however, or cheap grace; but with a practical grace of choice (God forces himself on no one).

I say this because we by osmosis (it seems) have absorbed a foreign free grace theology that once we openly confess Jesus as Lord we are home free; however, I would point out that Jesus' response to such foolishness if we don't "walk the talk" was and still is:

 "Why do you call me, 'Lord, Lord,' and do not do what I say? (Luke 6:46 NIV)

For if He was, as they confessed Him to be, their Lord, their daily life would have modeled it. Clearly then, they had only given lip service, assuming as it were that just to acknowledge Him as Lord is enough. May we never be guilty of the same. Talk is cheap; and so is that so-called grace that prompts it.

So, in the New Year just ahead of us, let us remember that doing as well as saying go hand in hand:

"For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men. It instructs us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live sensible, upright, and godly lives in the present age, as we await the blessed hope and glorious appearance of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ.…" (Titus 2:12)

Friends, I must emphasize—if I am to be true to His word, that obedience to Christ is a serious matter that must be practiced daily, moment by moment if we are to be assured of a successful outcome. This however is not an impossible task for:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through the knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence....Therefore, brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you practice these things you will never stumble, and you will receive a lavish reception into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1: 3; 11)

With the comfort and confidence in Christ when you obey for what lies ahead for you in 2017 be blessed—better yet, be a blessing to others! Through it all may I wish you and yours a Happy New Year!

JimR_/-