Fearing God (Part 4)

Continuing directly from the previous post:

Unfortunately, many modern day preachers skip over the verses about sin and don’t preach on it (in seeker-friendly churches). They speak all about God’s love and mercy (which is of course right and necessary), but that’s not all there is to God. And because of it, people are being led astray!

I say this, because I know it’s true, because I’ve been through it. I’ve been subject to “fluffy” preaching. In fact, for a while it’s all I ever knew. But by God’s providence, once I moved away I started going to a church where I began hearing the Voice of Truth. The church is Riverbend Community Church in Ormond Beach, FL and the pastor is Dr. R.A. Hargrave. I can’t tell you how much it changed my spiritual life. I remember being so convicted by the very first sermon I heard from him (which was on being unequally yoked with unbelievers from 2 Corinthians), and going home, and opening up my bible and reading over the verses he’d preached on. I called my girlfriend and told her about it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it all day. This wasn’t normal for me – usually I would think about what I was gonna do after church during the sermon. Usually I would forget about the sermon the minute I walked out the church doors. And to some degree, I was dissatisfied (Proverbs 19:23), although I didn’t completely realize it at the time.

Being subject to godly preaching was what made me truly fear God, because I was hearing the truth of His word! It wasn’t the preacher, it wasn’t the church, it was the word of God that changed me. This fear of the Lord gave me a new passion for learning about Him (seeking wisdom) and led me to seek discipline. And it has been humbling and humiliating at times, but it has led to satisfaction, and I know, from the word of God, that it will bring honor, blessings, and other great things.

Back home, it led me to change churches to where the truth of God’s word was preached. In London (Ontario) I found it at Forest City Bible Church under the preaching of Pastor John Thompson … and it was quite a search – I ended up trying a number of different churches in London before I came to FCBC. If you’re from London, I would encourage you to visit this church to see what I’m talking about, or listen to one of Dr. Hargrave’s sermons on www.graceworx.com. Believe me, I’m not trying to advertise these churches. I’m trying to advertise the importance of the truth of God’s word. If you’re currently going to a seeker friendly church, and hear a sermon from Pastor John or Dr. Hargrave, you’ll definitely notice a difference. Their sermons are convicting because they speak truths coming right out of the bible. Among the many blessings that fearing the Lord has given me, is the courage and ability to write this blog, which, if for no one else, it at least benefits me because it takes a lot of studying the bible for me to write this stuff.

With that said, God uses different means for bringing you to fear Him and gain wisdom. For me, it was being subject to godly preaching. For you, it might be something that you read in the bible that the Holy Spirit convicted your heart with. It might be your parents that have trained you up to fear the Lord, or maybe even an event that happened in your life that caused you to fear Him. No matter what, it is still essential to be under preaching of biblical truths, especially if you’re weaker in the faith. You won’t know what good it does until you’re subject to it, so try it! Learn from me.

In addition, remember that God is sovereign in His timing. Looking back, it’s actually amazing to see how perfect God’s timing was in my life. Although I’ve been a Christian for many years, I didn’t begin to truly fear the Lord until recently, which may seem kind of absurd, but it was God’s timing, not mine, and I just thank the Lord that it happened.

Last point: Proverbs 2:6. It’s self explanatory. It further proves God’s sovereignty. He’s the one who gives wisdom. It’s not the preacher, it’s not your grandpa, it’s not your parents, it’s not yourself because you were smart enough to read the bible, it’s not your friends. It is the Lord who gives wisdom. Remember that, and when you get it, thank God for it.

Fearing God (Part 3)

Continuing again from the previous post:

So I last wrote about discipline, and its necessity as a believer in Christ. Discipline, commanded by God, is a means for believers to overcome sin (repentance) and seek the Lord (fearing Him, growing in wisdom etc.). The bible likens God’s discipline to that of a father’s discipline towards his son (Deut 8:56). So I think this makes it pretty clear what spiritual discipline is. Obviously it’s not getting spankings and getting grounded, but it is other means by which a believer can repent and grow in their walk with the Lord. It could be getting counseling from a godly leader you know, being accountable to a friend and holding them accountable, or making a heartfelt promise with God to do something (eg. read a chapter of the bible every night, or never to get drunk again). In my opinion, the latter two are essential for having good spiritual discipline. The first one mentioned would be necessary if the latter two aren’t working and you’re falling by the wayside in your sins. Of course, having to get counseling would be a difficult thing not only to take, but to pursue, but again the temporary pain leads to righteousness (Hebrews 12:11), and you will be blessed by God for it (Psalm 94:12).

If you are a believer, and you have fallen by the wayside, you need to seek discipline – it is absolutely necessary. Your salvation could be at stake! In Psalm 50:16-18, the Lord says to those who hate discipline that they have no right to even speak His word! In Hebrews 12:7-10 it says that if we’re not disciplined, then we’re illegitimate children of God.

To those of us who see a friend falling by the wayside in their sins, we ought to help them out (disciplining them in a sense). We are told to restore them in a spirit of gentleness (Galatians 6:1). This is not just for his/her good, but for the good of the entire body of Christ, because 1 Corinthians 12:26 says that if one member suffers, we all (as the body of Christ) suffer together.

In fact, one should seek (or give) all the discipline that is necessary for one to repent of his/her sins. Sometimes this means severe discipline (ie. taking desperate measures, along with ongoing counseling etc.), so that you can repent, and avoid being given over to death (Psalm 118:18). Yup, that’s right, death (spiritual, eternal death) can be the result of lack of discipline, if you’re engulfed in sin (Proverbs 5:22,23).

These last two verses bring me to some of my last points about fearing God. To fear God you need to understand God’s nature, and I mean all of his nature (at least all that he has revealed to us). God is a God of mercy, love, compassion, grace. But he is also a God of wrath. God hates sin. He is just, righteous, and all sovereign in being wrathful and hating sin (which we all have by nature). If you don’t understand this you’ll never fear the Lord! In fact, you’ll never even come to understand the depths of his mercy and love! You might not even understand properly why you needed salvation from Him.

Fearing God (Part 2)

Continuing from the previous note:

Proverbs 15:33 also states that fear of the Lord is instruction in wisdom. This means not only instruction which you find yourself in the bible, but also that of godly leaders in the faith. (And their instruction should proceed directly from the bible as well. In fact, this is exactly what I mean by godly leader.)

If you aren’t already, you should make an effort to come under the preaching of a godly preacher, ie. one who preaches the truth. In addition, if you aren’t already, you should become associated with friends who do truly fear God. If none of your friends do, then make an effort together. In fact, in this case, you really need to, because the Bible says not to join with those who do not fear the Lord, because disaster will come to them (Proverbs 24:21-22). What I think this means, is that if you and your group of friends do not have a faith based on fear of the Lord, which is weak in wisdom and sound doctrine, it will be easier to “fall from the faith” once a disaster arrives, because it is not built on a strong foundation. Once temptation comes, once tragedy strikes, if you don’t have a firm understanding of God or fear the Lord, it will lead to ruin, sin, falling by the wayside, and (if you or one of your friends aren’t truly saved) eternal torture.

Proverbs 13:20 says that if you associate with wise people, you will become wise. In fact, the more godly leaders you have in your life, the better. The bible says that in an abundance of counselors there is victory (Proverbs 24:6). You need to listen to the words of the wise (whether wise friend, wise preacher, or other godly figure in your life) and apply your heart to it (Proverbs 22:17-18, 8:33). This means not just hearing it and accepting it (which in some cases is half the battle, ie. being humiliated), it also means taking heed to it and applying it to your life.

In addition to hearing words from the wise, we need to also be disciplined, and accept advice and instruction from our godly leaders (Proverbs 19:20), because mere words will not discipline us (Proverbs 29:19). In fact, the Bible says that those who love discipline love knowledge (Proverbs 12:1). This, I believe, is saying that those who are wise, love discipline. This is because a wise person will always seek to be increasing in knowledge, wisdom, and righteousness, and one way to obtain that is from discipline. Proverbs 9:8 says that if you reprove a wise man, he will love you. So, if someone rebukes something you say or believe because it’s wrong, and their belief is correct (ie. of the truth), then you ought to love them for telling you that, so you can know what is true, which will increase your wisdom.

Unfortunately, for those weaker in faith and with less wisdom, reproof and discipline usually comes as an attack. I feel like in our culture, we generally despise reproof and discipline. We hate giving it, and we hate getting it. Kids these days are brought up with barely any discipline at all from their parents, because our culture tells us that it’s cruel to discipline them like they ought to be (I’m talking about spankings here). Criminals are being let off with barely any sentence, because people are more concerned about the rights of the criminals than the crime they committed. It actually sickens me, but that’s another post. And by the way, the bible does say it’s ok to discipline children by spankings (in the bible it says using a rod – same thing) (Proverbs 23:13). It’s not child abuse – child abuse is something much worse, and is obviously wrong.

So basically, if you are willing to gain wisdom, then at first, when you may despise discipline, it will be humiliating and painful. But, you will eventually learn to love it, and you will be honored as it will lead to peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it (Hebrews 12:11). In fact, the bible says in Hebrews 12:8 that if we don't have discipline, then we are illegitimate sons (Christians), so it is an essential part of the Christian faith.

Personally, I’m still probably in the “despising” stage, I know I’m not a huge fan of discipline or reproof, but I do understand its usefulness and importance. I guess I need to pray about this. I need to take heed to Proverbs 3:11-12 and understand that God reproofs those whom he loves. I need to take heed to Hebrews 12:10 and understand that it is for my good.

Fearing God (Part 1)

So, as mentioned in the previous note, fearing God is essential for gaining wisdom, and becoming stronger in the faith, because it is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10, Psalm 111:10). In that sense, you can’t have wisdom (godly, biblical wisdom) unless you fear God.

Fearing God does not mean being scared of Him, because we as believers have no reason to be scared of Him. If you are in Christ (if you are truly saved), then your salvation is sealed, your inheritance is guaranteed, (Ephesians 1:13-14) and you will never be cast out it (John 6:37-39). And, nothing can separate us from the love of Christ (Romans 8:38-39). Additionally, God works for the good of those who love Him (Romans 8:28-29). So, again, we have nothing to be afraid of. We are told not even to be afraid of God’s wrath on unbelievers (that which He will pour out on Judgment Day, sending them to eternal torture in Hell) because of the confidence we have in Him. (Proverbs 3:25-26).

Fearing God is basically having a reverence of Him. It means not only respecting Him, but honoring Him by obeying and submitting to Him and standing in awe of Him.

The Book of Proverbs, which is where I've gathered much of the content of this note from, offers a lot of advice and wisdom about fearing God. Fearing the Lord (and hence finding wisdom) does not come easy. It takes a bit of work – Proverbs 2 likens it to searching for a treasure. The notion of “finding” wisdom is also present in Proverbs 3:13. I, having recently begun to truly fear the Lord, can attest to this – it really does feel like you’ve “found it”, and almost does feel like finding a treasure. With that said, again, fearing the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, so I definitely wouldn’t consider myself wise. The journey of finding wisdom and becoming wise takes a lifetime. That's why we ought to give the wise, old godly leaders the utmost respect., and seek to learn from them. Of course, there will never be anyone wise enough to be perfectly moral, or to know everything. In fact, even in eternity we won’t know everything. Only God knows and will know everything. Anyways, back to wisdom. You’ve got to pray for it, ask for it, and receive God’s word. (Proverbs 2:1-5). In the process, you may become humiliated. This is because you may realize that certain things you once believed to be true are not true at all (and by the way, I’m speaking to Christians here, not those outside the faith), once you come to an understanding of what God’s word truly says. There is a lot of false teaching out there, and it is easy to be deceived. More (probably a lot more) on this later.

Anyways, the humility associated with understanding God’s word correctly (which, I would say is the essence of truly fearing God) leads to honor and riches in life (Proverbs 15:33, 22:4). Fearing God not only leads to life (good life) (Proverbs 19:23), it is the fountain of life (Proverbs 14:27). By fearing God, we are turning away from evil (Proverbs 16:6, 14:27). Fearing the Lord brings satisfaction, and safety from harm (Proverbs 19:23).

Added RefTagger

Just a brief announcement, I added RefTagger, so I no longer have to write out entire bible verses. Instead, just put your mouse over a verse (ie. James 1:5) and you can read it. It'll save space - I apologize for the previously lengthy posts.

The Value of Wisdom

So, from writing my previous entry, I came across Proverbs 2, in discussion about how to gain wisdom. What a beautiful and inspiring piece of scripture! It is so clear in what it says. Proverbs 1 and 3 also go along with it. Definitely read these first three proverbs. They are full of wisdom on how to get wisdom. To keep this entry short, I'll just post the Proverbs 2. Here it is:

¹ My son, if you receive my words
and treasure up my commandments with you,
²making your ear attentive to wisdom
and inclining your heart to understanding;
³yes, if you call out for insight
and raise your voice for understanding,
⁴if you seek it like silver
and search for it as for hidden treasures,
⁵then you will understand the fear of the LORD
and find the knowledge of God.
⁶For the LORD gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding;
⁷he stores up sound wisdom for the upright;
he is a shield to those who walk in integrity,
⁸guarding the paths of justice
and watching over the way of his saints.
⁹ Then you will understand righteousness and justice
and equity, every good path;
¹⁰for wisdom will come into your heart,
and knowledge will be pleasant to your soul;
¹¹ discretion will watch over you,
understanding will guard you,
¹²delivering you from the way of evil,
from men of perverted speech,
¹³who forsake the paths of uprightness
to walk in the ways of darkness,
¹⁴who rejoice in doing evil
and delight in the perverseness of evil,
¹⁵men whose paths are crooked,
and who are devious in their ways.

¹⁶So you will be delivered from the forbidden woman,
from the adulteress with her smooth words,
¹⁷who forsakes the companion of her youth
and forgets the covenant of her God;
¹⁸ for her house sinks down to death,
and her paths to the departed;
¹⁹none who go to her come back,
nor do they regain the paths of life.

²⁰So you will walk in the way of the good
and keep to the paths of the righteous.
²¹For the upright will inhabit the land,
and those with integrity will remain in it,
²²but the wicked will be cut off from the land,
and the treacherous will be rooted out of it.

Biblical Guidance for the Strong and Weak in Faith

For the strong in faith,

As discussed in the previous entry, you should welcome (Rom 14:1) and build up (Rom 15:1-2) the weaker ones. Instead of boasting, keep it between you and God (Rom 14:22).

This is what Paul (strong man of faith) wrote to the Colossians (new church, and weak in faith), and I think it's a good model for both strong and weak in faith to take heed to:

"...we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. May you be strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy, giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in Light. " (Col 1:9-13)

So to those of you who are strong, continuously (don't cease to) pray for your friends who are weaker in faith. Pray that they will be filled with the knowledge of God, gaining wisdom and understanding. Pray that they would be strengthened, and have patience and endurance, because I know the road to progressing from a weak faith to strong faith is not always an easy one. It can be frustrating and discouraging. Understand that you'll be blessed by helping the weak:

"...by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive'." (Acts 20:35)

If I'm interpreting the latter part of this verse correctly, I believe Jesus is saying here that you are more blessed if you give help to the weak, than to actually be blessed with a strong faith that you have received from God. And if I'm not mistaken, I don't think this verse necessarily speaks about weak in faith only. Like, it could mean helping a weak, homeless person by giving them food, or helping a weak old person by helping them across the street or something like that. I think it just generically says that, you who have more of something (eg. more faith, more strength, more wisdom, more money etc.), help those who have less (ie. less faith, etc.).

If you have a friend, weaker in faith, who is struggling in sin, help to gently restore him:

"Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness." Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." (Gal 6: 1-2)

Again, the strong in faith should not boast (Psalm 75:4), because it is not good (1 Cor 5:6) and is arrogant and evil (James 4:16). God opposes (1 Pet 5:5) and hates (Prov 8:13) pride.

For those of you who are weak in the faith,

We've all been weak in faith (or are weak in faith) at one point or another, so don't be discouraged. God is made perfect in our weaknesses, and remember that it was He who assigned you the measure of faith you have. He has a purpose for it, and you'll see some of it unfold as your wisdom increases. Seek knowledge, wisdom, and understanding of God by asking for it through prayer, and reading the bible. In everything you do, do it for God. Give thanks to Him for qualifying you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light, and for His love that surpasses knowledge.

"If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives grace generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him." (James 1:5)

"Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly..." (Col 3:16)

"And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him." (Col 3:17).

Also,

"Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil." (Eph 6:10)"

The armor includes the:

- belt of truth
-breastplate of righteousness
-shield of faith
-helmet of salvation
-sword of the Spirit

(read Eph 6:10-20)

Notice how it says to put on the WHOLE armor of God. Believe me, you need the whole armor on to fend off attacks from evil. There have been times where I didn't put on one piece of armor, and got attacked. Like times when I don't have the breastplate of righteousness on, and the devil spears me in the breast, leading me to do unrighteous things (sin).

You need to fear the Lord, by hating what is evil, in order to gain wisdom, and the Lord will bless and have compassion on you:

"Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling" (Psalm 2:11)

"The fear of the LORD is hatred of evil." (Proverbs 8:13)

"The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom; all those who practice it have a good understanding.His praise endures forever!" (Psalm 111:10)

"he will bless those who fear the LORD, both the small and the great." (Psalm 115:13)

"As a father shows compassion to his children,so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him." (Psalm 103:13).

And read and pray this:

"Teach me your way, O LORD, that I may walk in your truth; unite my heart to fear your name." (Psalm 86:11)

Proverbs 2 ("The Value of Wisdom") is a really amazing and beautiful piece of scripture regarding gaining wisdom. Definitely read it! I can't even really summarize it because pretty much every line is important, and inspiring. In fact, I'll devote the next entry to it.

Trusting in the Lord is also key, as written in the next proverb (Proverb 3: Trusting in the Lord with All your Heart).

"Trust in the Lord with all you heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5-6)

Lastly, although the Christian is difficult, understand that it leads to glory beyond all comparison! And praise God for it!

"For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen." (2 Cor 4:17-18)

Where does faith come from?

Something I learned recently regarding faith, changed my perception, to some degree, of who God is, and who I am. What I learned came from these two verses:

"looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. " (Heb 12:2)

"For by the grace given to me I say to everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think, but to think with sober judgment, each according to the measure of faith that God has assigned. " (Romans 12:3)

Before I understood these verses, I, in my foolishness, actually thought that I was the one who conjured up the faith to believe in God. Man, I was wrong! And these verses really hit me - they state it pretty clearly. God, in His sovereignty, is the one who gives us faith (he founded it), and not only that, He gives each of us a measure of faith. Furthermore, faith is not just something he tossed out at us like it was no big deal, it's a gift from God:

"8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9not a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Eph 2:8-9)

It's humbling to know that the Lord chose to give me the gift of faith so I could believe in Him and have eternal life (which, by the way, is given by God's grace. Because you can have faith in something like yourself, or in a President, etc. but it's not going to give you eternal life. It is because of God's grace (through the substitutionary atonement of His son's death on the cross) that we are saved and given eternal life, by believing in Him through faith - more on this in a later post). Anyways, this realization really made me realize God's love towards me, and his power, once I understood that it wasn't me who was just lucky enough or strong enough to have faith to believe, but that this faith I have was given to me from Almighty God! If God hadn't given it to me, I wouldn't have any faith, I wouldn't be saved, I would be going to hell.

There are a lot of people out there, some of them my friends, who do not have any faith. And I believe it is common among believers to think "Oh, well they just don't have any faith", or "hey man, you just need to have some faith, then you'll believe" as if it was something that they lacked, but could get if they just tried. Again, the bible tells us that we have been saved through faith, and it hasn't happened by anything we ourselves have done, it is from God. We Christians need to understand God's sovereignty over people's faith, and ultimately, salvation. Got a friend or family member who has no faith? God is sovereign over it. Got a Christian friend who is really weak in the faith? God is sovereign over it!

God never says stuff like "Oh, I wish Brian just had some faith, then he could come live with me forever!" or "All Jessica needs is to have a little faith, she's so close to believing!" or "Darn, Josh isn't doing too well, he's weak in the faith, I just wish he had more faith so he wouldn't sin as much." No, God is NOT limited by man.

In a later post, I will discuss why God is just in giving some people faith, but others none at all. To us, this seems unfair and even cruel of God. In this post, I will focus on Romans 12:3 (above).

At first thought, it seems peculiar how God has given each of us a different measure of faith, but it is pretty obvious. I'm sure you know certain people who are great godly leaders and very strong in the faith, as well as others who are weak. And judging by comparison, you probably have an idea of how much faith God has assigned to you. After understanding this verse, you might think "Sweet, God gave me lots of faith! Look at me, yahoo!" or you might be thinking "Why'd I get stuck with barely any faith? This is unfair!" Well, the truth is, we ought to think the opposite in both cases.

For the person who is strong in the faith, he ought to be humbled that God has given him such a great gift! The weak person ought to be grateful that he even received the gift of faith from God (and hence the gift of eternal life through salvation by grace). Though he may be weak in the faith, he still will receive the gift of eternal life for believing in Jesus! That is something to rejoice in.

God uses the variation in faith strength among believers for His divine purposes. The weak in faith are there to humble the strong, by showing that in God's sovereign designation of faith, they were chosen to be assigned a greater measure of faith, whereas they could've been assigned a small measure of faith - and this was all God's doing. And the strong in faith are there to welcome the weak ones and build them up:

"As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions." (Rom 14:1)

"We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up." (Rom 15:1-2)


Also, the strong in faith should not boast (after all, their faith was granted to them from God as a gift, so it's not like they can be proud of the faith they have, because they don't produce it themselves anyways). Instead, they should be humbled, and grateful for it, and they should keep their faith between them and God:

"The faith that you have, keep between yourself and God. Blessed is the one who has no reason to pass judgment on himself for what he approves." (Rom 14:22).

The latter part of this verse is basically saying that, if one who is strong in the faith becomes proud, or quarrels with one who is weak in the faith, he will incur judgement from God (and hence if he doesn't do this, he is blessed.) If I were strong in the faith, I'd reckon this is a tough thing to do. I'd say it's pretty easy for pride to get a hold of us, because it's pretty obvious that it does in other areas of life. For instance, if you're good at a certain sport, or good at a certain subject, etc. you're probably proud of yourself. In terms of faith though, if you're strong you ought not to be proud and boast, but be humbled and thank God for it! Because:

"It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord." (1 Cor 1:30-31)


I first learned of these things from a sermon preached by the pastor at my church, Dr. Roy Hargrave, and more recently, reading through the book of Romans, read over the verses in Romans 14. If you're interested in what's been written, read Romans 14 for yourself, as well as the other verses mentioned above.

Introduction

So I'm gonna try to begin writing in this blog. This blog is mainly intended for a Christian audience, and will serve as a way for me to discuss (and learn) things of a biblical nature, furthering my walk with God. I pray that God will use this blog to advance His walk with you, the reader, as well. I hope that we can together learn from the bible and get into some good discussions. I also hope to discuss some current events as well (eg. social, political, cultural etc.) within the context of the bible. Some of it will be controversial, but I hope that people will not be afraid to write what's on their heart in accordance with biblical truths. Remember, by our Constitution we are entitled to freedom of opinion and speech (and freedom of religion).

I will, to the best of my ability, try to write in accordance with biblical truths. I pray for wisdom in order to accomplish this. I hope that if you believe (or know) something I've written is not in accordance with the bible, you will guide and instruct me as to what I'm not understanding correctly. If you have a message to write that you wish to post, please send it and I'll post it. I really want this to be an informal discussion blog whereby we can all benefit and learn from the bible. Also, feel free to post prayer requests.

As for some scriptural wisdom, 1 Tim 4:12-16 is some motivation for writing in this blog: "Let no one despise you for your youth, but set the believers an example in speech, in conduct, in love, in faith, in purity. 13Until I come, devote yourself to the public reading of Scripture, to exhortation, to teaching. 14Do not neglect the gift you have, which was given you by prophecy when the council of elders laid their hands on you. 15Practice these things, immerse yourself in them, so that all may see your progress. 16 Keep a close watch on yourself and on the teaching. Persist in this, for by so doing you will save both yourself and your hearers." I will especially try to abide by verse 16, and hope you will help me in doing so.

And for motivation for learning from the bible, 2 Tim 3:16-17 says: "16All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17that the man of God may be competent, equipped(G) for every good work." So in this blog I hope that we use the bible to teach, correct, and train each other, so that we can be equipped for every good work.

Hope you enjoy it!

In Christ,

John

Re: God's Will (Chad's note on Facebook)

Hey y'all. I thought Chad wrote a really good note on Facebook, and I prepared an answer too long to put in the "comments" section, so I thought I'd post it here (this new blog thing I started). I put the note, responses, and finally my response to the note, so that anyone viewing this that hasn't seen the Facebook note can follow along. I don't want to steal Chad's claim to fame, so if you're on Facebook, please put further comments there instead of here.

God's Will

Friday, April 17, 2009 at 11:03am

How does someone really know what God’s will is for their life? When it comes to making major life altering decisions how can we really know? Romans 12:2 tells us “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is - his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

Ok, so don’t be like the world. I get that. The pattern of this world is sinful and everyone in the world makes decisions based on selfish ambitions, so doing the opposite will be what God’s will is. Fair enough, but that only applies to moral decisions. What about the decisions like deciding a career path, or moving to a new city or whatever that are neither morally right or wrong, how do we know God’s will for those?

I always hear people talking about “God opening doors” for such and such, and “I feel right about this, so we’ll have to have faith that it’s God’s will.”. You hear great people of God: Missionaries, pastors, people who above all should be very much in tune with the voice of the Holy Spirit say this. With the exception a very few number of people and an even fewer set of circumstances, nobody can usually say they are 100% certain of God’s will. For some reason that just doesn’t sit right with me. A couple weeks ago at Northpark Church Pastor Terry was talking about the story about Abraham’s big test, about how God told him to go up to the mountain and sacrifice his son Isaac. It was a rousing example of how God has things planned out, and things will work out if we follow his commands. That’s all well and good, but I couldn’t help think about what would happen if that test was given post-Pentecost, during our present day time when God doesn’t really speak in a clear, no doubts “this is God calling and this is what I want” way. His spirit seems to speak to us in a little more of a subtle, ambiguous way in this age. So where does that leave us? How would the story of Abraham being told to sacrifice Isaac play out in this day and age? That’s a huge, life altering decision for Abraham to make, and he better be pretty darn sure its God calling him to do this. So how would he know?

Waiting for doors to open and feeling right about the decision doesn’t quite work here. I highly doubt Abraham would have had any peace about killing his son, and God hardly “opened doors” for him to do it so far as we know from the story. It was quite a way out of the way actually. A three day hike, then climb a mountain, build an alter, bind and kill your son. Things didn’t quite “just happen” for Abraham, he had to go out and do it, and he had to have been 100% sure without a doubt in his mind that it was God himself telling him to do this - he was about to kill his son. So what about us? Isn’t just having faith and trusting we have made the right decision not really faith in God’s plan at all, but really blind faith that we ourselves have picked the right direction to go? That doesn’t seem like faith to me, it seems like taking the best way we can figure and crossing our fingers. Something’s missing.

Can anyone alive today honestly say that they can ever be sure enough that they got it right to go and kill their own son? We make decisions for our lives based on our best guess of what God’s will is, according to how we discern the Spirit is speaking to us, but are we assured enough in our final decision to be willing to play with such high stakes? So far as we know from the Bible, Abraham never doubted whether or not it was God who actually told him to do it - that wasn’t the struggle at all. The struggle for Abraham was why would God tell him to do it, especially since doing so would seemingly break God’s covenant with him to prosper his descendants. In this day and age we don’t have the luxury of even being sure of God’s specific will for us. So how can we possibly follow in Abraham’s footsteps?

So how can we reconcile this? How do we follow God’s will and have faith in him like Abraham and David when we don’t ever have the chance to even know 100% what God’s will is? This is a big stumbling point for me, especially when pastors and teachers call us to have faith like Abraham. How can we ever manage to live out our lives in such faith when the Holy Spirit seems so still and small and leaves room for such doubt and second guessing?

Daniel Hyland at 12:56pm April 17

hey Chad, I agree it's definitely hard to know what God's will is. But I think asking God for wisdom plays a big role in making decisions. If He can give us insight and clear thinking and maybe a nudge in the right direction then that might help us to see the best way to go...but this is coming from a somewhat indecisive guy haha.
Dan

Nicole Oosterhof at 4:20pm April 17

Wow you hit the nail on the head Chad. Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this because I am going through this exact thing with changing my whole life with one move to Calgary.

Being an emotional woman its very easy to think that peace in a situation or "feeling right about it" is the answer (or Gods will ) but it could be just lack of a ... Read Morestressful situation therefore fewer decisions to make. Gods will is not always easy so it may seem a bit chaotic at times. So I have to ignore my emotions and really soak myself in the Word Of God. Proverbs is the book of wisdom...God will fill us with His wisdom.

Rene Tiffin at 8:35pm April 17

Ha! Chad, you just put into words what I've been trying to formulate for the past 10 years. Opens up a lot of questions, which nobody has been able to answer so far. My conclusion: screw it all until a decent answer lands on my doorstep. Until then, "because" and "trust Him/you'll know" and "well, He did ____ for me" just doesn't cut it for me. If you find an answer, let me know.

Chad Tiffin at 9:28pm April 17

Rene I can understand your frusteration, I wrote the note, haha. However deciding whether or not to screw it all shouldn't be based on the fact that we still have questions. For that, you have to decide whether you believe in God, and if you do, whether you believe that you're good enough as a person to satisfy God on your own, or not. If you can admit to yourself that you are indeed not good enough, then what other choice do you have then to give Him your life? He gave you his so you could be accepted as good enough.

To realize your insufficiency and shrug it off would be a terrible mistake.

If you do believe that you are indeed good enough on your own, then you are mislead about what God expects.... Read More

At any rate, our understanding of God's ways should not determine our relationship with him.

"The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but the things revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may follow all the words of this law." Deut 29:29

Dan Arnold at 12:19pm April 18

Chad, this is exactly like what I have been thinking about when considering the military. It's a huge commitment, and I would like to be darn sure that it is God's will. But as you said, His will is often unclear in our minds. I believe that there has to be more than one possible path that is God's will, so maybe it's best to do what we believe ... Read Moreis right when we feel unclear of God's will. Sometimes He can just leave things up to our own discretion. Nevertheless, we still need to pray for direction and wisdom.

Sarah Fryday at 12:19pm April 22

I'm not good at writing withong thinking about it first but i think that God's will is the same for everyone n the details about how we live out that will are less important, don't get me wrong they are still important just less. If God's calling us to acknowledge, understand n base every decision on the fact that he is lord over everything then ... Read Morethe place doesn't have as much significance. I feel that people often totally miss what God is doing in their life because they are confused about the small details. An ex. is when ppl are trying to decided which university to go to, they can't decide b/c they don't know which one God is calling them to. They are totally missing the point and could totally miss out on awesome opportunities to be used. Instead they should prayerfully and thoughtfully decide and then go to that place and be open and avaialbe to be used by God. God can and will use you wherever you go if you allow him to. I g2g but i will write more later, cuz...

Sarah Fryday at 12:20pm April 22

i've been learning a lot about this lately. Ask questions if you have them and i will try to answer.

Chad Tiffin at 9:28pm April 22

Interesting point of view. That definitely contrasts with a discussion I had with someone once where their view was that we should be daily seeking out the Spirit's guidance in all things. This view takes kind of a micro-management view of things by the Holy Spirit. That term generally has a negative connotation to it, but in this case its a good... Read More thing too seek Christ in all our decisions. The idea is that if we are walking with the Spirit daily, He will provide guidance daily.

Your view is quite different in that the details don't matter so long as we follow his "general" will laid out for us in the Bible.

On the one hand the first idea can be quite discouraging if we are trying but don't feel we are being lead much by the Spirit. I tend to fit this category. But perhaps we're not trying hard enough. On the other hand it puts God very close by. The other perspective, such as what you were mentioning, seems (to me at least) to make God seem a little more distant.

Chad Tiffin at 9:34pm April 22

In the case of your view, that would mean that people aren't actually "called" to be missionaries, or to a specific place for a specific purpose, but decide to do these things on their own and God runs with it. I'm not sure I agree with that. What would be the purpose of the Holy Spirit? Maybe I misundertood what you were saying. Biblically speaking, at least in the Old Testament this was almost never the case. I can't, however think offhand of any examples either way in the New Testament.

Sarah Fryday at 9:34pm April 22

well i do believe that you still need to seek daily guidance... but i think we also need to chose Lord over everything in every moment and make that our guidance tool. I guess with the whole God close or distance thing i think it is that God cares and loves each of our details, but when we become preoccupied with them thats when i think its bad... Read More... and i think that we also need to remember how Holy God is and to live with fear and trembling knowing he is love and a merciful and forgiving God. I dunno i would love you to have this chat with my friend Gil (he's a pastor) and i think you guys would have soem crazy cool discussions... ever since he has been doing bible study with me i have learned so much that i couldn't before b/c he connects everything in the bible the way it was intended, picks up literary ques, and knows the original Hebrew. Anyway theres so much more i could say but i hope i actually got my point across when i wrote that earlier. Cuz i also know from experience....

Sarah Fryday at 9:34pm April 22

that God can speak in very prominent and clear ways. Have a great evening!

Sarah Fryday at 9:42pm April 22

ya Chad thats not what I'm saying... about not needing the Holy Spirit or guidance. It's really hard to explain what i'm trying to lol especially when i'm still trying to figure it out. Especially because I believe that I am called to missions... however i think that we are all called to missions just in a different way than the world puts it. You can be living missionaly working as a cashier in Walmart and i think thats more what i was trying to say... i really don't know if i'm making sense

I really wish that you could come to out church Chad, i think that you would find it really interesting and be able to part take in a lot of discussion.

My Response:

Hey, good point you bring up here Chad, and good answers too. I think everyone has said valid things, but especially agree with Sarah. I think there's a few good points to think about here, when considering the choice of major life events (ie. what education to pursue, what career/jobs to pursue, who to marry, where to live etc.) and living them out:

1. Do it for the glory of God. Like Dan said, we need to be praying for big decisions like these. If we're doing it only for our own selfish ambitions, then it is basically sinful, and is unglorifying to God. This is even true for things that seem good (like saving people from fires as a fireman). So we need to pray that God can use us (ie. pray that God can use me at this job, or in this city, or at this school, or with this spouse) as Sarah said. We basically have to do it with intent to serve God rather than ourselves. Proverbs 16:3 says it perfectly: “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.”

2. Don't do something that will cause you to sin. For instance, I wouldn't work at a strip club because that would probably cause me to sin, and I would also be promoting sin by working there. This is an obvious example, but a less obvious one might be pride. If you’re pursuing a job for the purpose of getting rich, prestige, and popularity, then you’re sinning. I’m not saying you shouldn’t try to become a doctor, CEO or celebrity – God can definitely use people in these positions. But he clearly warns about pride and getting rich.

3. The Bible is all that God has revealed to us. What God has given us in the bible is His revealed will, and obeying His Word are to be the focus of our lives as Christians. This is really what Romans 12:1-2 is talking about. Not conforming to the ways of the world, and doing so by studying the Word of God, and prayerfully asking the Holy Spirit to transform us by renewing our minds – resulting in the will of God. As you previously said Chad, there is a lot that has not been revealed – the secret things of God (Deut 29:29). In this lies God’s hidden will. It is foolish for us to try to figure out God’s hidden will for us. While we should seek to be “led by the Holy Spirit,” we must never forget that the Holy Spirit is primarily leading us to righteousness and to being conformed into the image of Christ so that our lives will glorify God.

I think a big problem in our culture, and in many churches, is that people rely too much on feelings, and in doing so lose interest in learning from the Word of God. They want to “feel God’s presence” when they go to church more than they want to learn from His Word. Don’t get me wrong – I have the desire to “feel” God too, but I think this has become the focus of church services, whereas instead the focus should be learning from His Word – that which God has clearly given to us. Basically, we shouldn’t be lead by our feelings, we should be lead by the Word of God, but from what I’ve seen these days – the opposite is true for a lot of Christians. Obviously, the Word of God does not clearly tell us the answer as to what each of us should choose in major life events, but Proverbs 16:1 and 9 say this, respectively: 1“The plans of the heart belong to man, but the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.” And 9 “The heart of a man plans his way, but the Lord established his steps.” Clearly we are “allowed” to make our own plans, which are most often in accordance with our personal interests, skills, and desires. Hopefully they also are in accordance with #1 and 2. And that brings me to my last point.

4. Remember that God is all sovereign. Whatever “plans” we make, they are in accordance with his will. If you satisfy # 1 and 2 with your decision, God will use you to further His kingdom. If not, God will use it to teach you a lesson and/or to bring judgment upon you (but we are still fully responsible for our sins). God has complete control over us and does with us as He pleases “All the peoples of the earth are regarded as nothing. He does as he pleases with the powers of heaven and the peoples of the earth. No one can hold back his hand or say to him: “What have you done?”. (Daniel 4:35). God’s plans will never be compromised by human will – “I know that you can do all things; no plan of yours can be thwarted.” (Job 42:2). There’s never gonna be a time when God says “Oh no, Chad went to Moosonee, but I needed him to go to Calgary.” Keep in mind that sometimes His hidden will is revealed to us after it happens.

In summary, make sure you have a good knowledge of the Word of God, so that you can live it out in your life and when considering major life decisions. In everything you do, do it for Him, and avoid sin at all costs. If these things are satisfied, we can have good reason to believe that God will take care of us in whatever plans we choose, and also have comfort in knowing that whatever happens is according to God’s perfect and all sovereign will.

I am definitely not an expert on the bible, but I was just trying to stress its importance here. Remember: “All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, 17 so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Tim 3:16-17). Learning from the bible is a life long journey, and as previously mentioned, praying for wisdom is key: “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5). Anyways, that’s all I got, sorry for being long, just wanted to make myself clear. Hopefully I’ve provided some answers. Let me know what you think.