The Evolution of God

Teaching creation to my fourth graders has reminded me how thin the thread is that connects us to the truth of creation by God. Adam is the closest we have to an eyewitness, even if it was immediately after the fact. We know he told his children because there is a line of his descendants who remembered their Creator. Abel did, though he didn’t live long enough to pass it on. I suspect Enoch did or he would not have been taken directly into God’s presence without having to experience death. We don’t know exactly where to put Job on the Bible timeline – either pre- or post-flood, but there is no doubt he heard who was responsible for the Creation.

Then we come to Noah. It is interesting to me that if you believe the Bible genealogy (I do), Noah’s father and grandfather would have been contemporary with Adam’s final years on earth. (See chart below.) That might explain why Noah was so very willing to put everything in the ark that God told him to build. He knew what God could do. Not many generations after the ark landed and people began to spread across the land, they decided to make their own way to god rather than listen to their Maker. At the Tower of Babel, God separated the people into different nations and chose one for Himself. Abram must have been one of the few who still believed in the Creator, or he wouldn’t have been willing to give up everything he knew and go to a land that God would show him. There God promised he would become the father of a great nation – God’s chosen nation, Israel.

Abraham’s sons, Isaac and Jacob, both had their encounters with God, encounters that apparently bolstered their belief in the God of their fathers. When God rescued Jacob’s descendants from 400 years of slavery, Moses had enough faith to believe the voice in the burning bush was indeed the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. Although Israel struggled with unbelief for years, the word of the prophets confirmed again and again that it was the God who created the earth Who demanded their obedience. The Psalmists offer numerous reminders that their God was the God who named the stars. Israel’s second most important purpose (after that of bringing the Messiah to the world) was to incubate the truth that God created the heavens and the earth.

Biblical and extra-biblical history prove that humans everywhere came up with a creation story. On every continent and all the islands in between, people make up tales to explain their existence. Some of them are eerily similar to the biblical record, lending credence to the idea that it is one of the oldest. I believe that when God separated the nations at Babel, He put them in the hands of fallen angels who were in league with Satan. The Old Testament is rife with accounts of cosmic battles depicted as conflicts among “the nations.”

When Ezekiel prophesied about Egypt’s destruction, there is clear reference to Pharoah’s gods. The prophet is told to warn Pharoah that his fate will be like that of Assyria, Elam, Meshech, Tubal, Edom, and the Sidonians. The language in that chapter is clearly speaking of cosmic powers and not just human rulers. The angel who came to Daniel reported having been delayed by “the Prince of Persia,” a definite reference to a spiritual battle rather than a physical one. All ancient cultures believed in a supernatural power that held sway over their lives. We enlightened moderns have lost that awareness regrettably.

Why is the enemy so intent on directing people away from the truth about creation and God’s involvement with it? The answer should be obvious. Without a creator God, man is left to go his own way, to make his own rules. Without a sense of obligation to the one true God, people are susceptible to the lure of the demi-gods I believe are among those whom God cast out of heaven with their leader, Satan. What else could explain the mindless adherence to the fully discredited “theory” of evolution. Darwin himself admitted that if a single living cell was more complex than he imagined (he had no high-powered microscopes), his whole theory of origins would be proven false. And it has – in more ways than I can count. (See “Think About It”)

Not only has microbiology disproved the “theory” of evolution, but astrophysics has too. We now know enough to be certain that none of the theories of the origin of the universe can be scientifically supported. The popular “Big Bang” theory has a Big Flaw that few are willing to face. Even if you dare to imagine a massive particle that exploded, becoming all that we know as the universe, no one can explain where the massive particle came from. The Big Bang is not a theory of origins; it is a sidestep to avoid the truth: the universe came into existence at the word of the Creator God of the Bible. Honest scientists everywhere are leaning toward this truth with their suppositions of intelligent design. They haven’t found the God who created everything, but they have admitted finding His fingerprints.

I titled this “The Evolution of God” because human concepts of God have evolved. Ask most atheists or agnostics what they think of God, and they will come up with their own definition of who God is. The problem with that is their definition is faulty. Their “god” is not to be believed. The God of the Bible is the only one who can be believed – can be trusted. The enemy has to discredit creation because it is the basis for the Bible record of the fall and redemption. The last thing Satan wants is for anyone to discover redemption at the Cross where he was defeated.

Here’s what God said through Ezekiel about man’s evolutionary thinking: “As I live, says the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn, turn from your evil ways! For why will you die, O house of Israel?” That’s how I know Satan is behind the evolution of God; he knows it tempers his defeat. He wants to take as many with him as he can. Don’t let him fool you.

Related Posts: The Patience of God; I Don’t Believe in God; Think About It; It’s Not All About You

Spare the Rod; Spoil the Child

We live in a generation that proves the truth of the ancient proverb. The evidence of spoiled children (and adults) is all around us. I am a first-generation product of the Greatest Generation, as the Depression/WWII generation was named. We Boomers, so-called because there was a boom in reproductive activity, were the first generation to experience the boom in material prosperity and increased financial opportunity generated by the massive build-up for WWII. After the war, soldiers, sailors, and airmen came home to a country bursting with possibility.

My parents had experienced severe hardship. They weathered the dual storms of the Great Depression and a world at war. They could pinch a penny so hard that Lincoln screamed. I was brought from the hospital to a house my dad built with his own hands. I rode in a second car, a necessity because Dad travelled for his business. There was always food on the table, although there was seldom steak and never caviar. My “soft drink” was mixed from a jar of syrup Mom bought from the Jewel Tea delivery man. Mom made most of the clothes my sisters and I wore, or she bought them from the Sears Roebuck sale catalogues. We had all the basics, but we were never coddled, never spoiled.

My wife and I raised our three children much the same way, although we were able to provide a few things that went beyond bare necessities. I am happy to say that as they grew and raised children of their own, they did not spoil them either. Not so with their peers. The Millennials and all the X, Y, Z gang are characterized by a sense of entitlement. I do not think it is coincidental that this is the first generation who were told that spanking was abuse. This is also the generation who attended public schools where prayer and the Pledge of Allegiance were eliminated and the Bible was banned. Time-tested, biblical methods of discipline went out the window, and lackadaisical attitude toward child rearing flew in.

I have written previously about the dumbing down of students in the public schools in America. I have witnessed such ridiculous notions as “invented spelling,” multiple test retakes, and blue ribbons for simple participation. I have seen the results of such nonsense in college freshmen. They wanted “A’s” for showing up – or even for showing up occasionally. The mistaken idea that a child will be damaged emotionally if success is not manufactured for them has created a generation who feels entitled to success without effort on their part.

This is not just an academic problem. The same distorted reality has begun to appear in the workplace. The demand for a minimum wage sufficient for subsistence exposes the belief that people are entitled to make what they need to live on no matter how menial the job. Minimum wage jobs are supposed to be platforms to learn what work is about and to build character. Then, perhaps promotion from a minimum wage job will lead to a wage sufficient for subsistence. Sadly, the Millennials expect more than what a minimum wage was intended to deliver.

That’s not all I see in the “Entitled Generation.” My part-time work after I retired revealed a class of young people who thought they deserved a paycheck whether they did their job efficiently or not – whether they showed up regularly, on time, or not. Whether the customers were the ones who were entitled to service or not. The entitlement mentality has seeped into our society so deeply that even emotional satisfaction is expected. Millennials expect to feel good at all times. If something is hard, they believe they are being abused. They are spoiled. Period.

The pitiful condition of American morality and the selfishness that characterizes so many people is a direct result of being spoiled. Everybody wants something they don’t deserve. Blacks want reparations. Illegal aliens want financial support. Criminals want immunity from prosecution. Mothers want to be rid of their unborn children. Christians want to sit in churches where they can feel good about themselves. Everybody feels entitled to something. Entitlement leads to disobedience: “You can’t tell me what I can or can’t do!”

It is hard to find biblical support for the entitlement attitude that is endemic in America today. However, it is easy to find biblical methods that would result in a proper attitude. “Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child; but the rod of correction shall drive it far from him.” (Pr. 22:15 KJV) “Do not withhold discipline from the child; although you strike him with the rod, he will not die.” (Pr. 23:13) “All discipline seems… painful, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who are trained by it.” (He. 12:11) “But whoever misleads one of these little ones who believe in Me, it would be better for him to have a millstone hung about his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” (Mt.  18:6 MEV)

You may not see how the last quotation applies. My frustration with spoiled students and lazy co-workers and selfish citizens makes me wish some parents could be drowned. I think I have God’s mind on this. Referring to Israel’s disobedience, God spoke through Ezekiel: “With the fire of my wrath I destroyed them; I returned their [disobedient] way upon their head.” Through the prophet Samuel, God told King Saul: “Rebellion is like the sin of divination; arrogance is like iniquity and idolatry.” Throughout the prophecies of coming doom on wayward Israel, Yahweh says that by bringing disaster on His people, He will prove that He is God alone, and He hates disobedience.

Spoiled behavior demonstrates selfishness and pride. That is precisely what got Adam and Eve kicked out of the Garden and sentenced all of us to a life bound to sinful desires. That is what Satan brought upon the human race. Paul recognizes this when he warns: “Our struggle is not against blood and flesh, but… against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.” A proper application of the rod will decrease the necessity to wield the sword later on.

Related Posts: The Dumbing of America; Paging Phinehas Eliazar

This is Love

If you know me at all, you know I am a stickler for doctrinal purity. You may also have recognized that God has given me the gift of teaching. I am happy to use my gift, and I enjoy doing it. There is one thing that sobers me, however. James cautions that teachers will come under stricter judgment than others because they present God’s Word with their teaching. Woe is me if I misrepresent the Word. This is why I read the Bible daily. This is why I have spent over fifty years in intense Bible study. This is why I learned Greek so that I did not have to rely on what someone else thinks the original text says. This is why I went to Bible college and then earned two graduate degrees in education from Christian institutions.

However, to echo Paul, none of that is worth a hill of beans if I don’t have love. I wrote recently that “love” in Paul’s Corinthian treatise on the subject is a verb in the original Greek. My point was that biblical love, agape love, is made evident by behavior. I am motivated by love for the Word and love for people to teach the Word as accurately as possible. Jesus did not say people will know I am His follower because I have pure doctrine; He said my love would show whom I follow. In my defense I will say that Jesus also said to love Him is to keep His commandments.

John stresses that in his second letter: “And this is love: that we walk according to his commandments. This is the commandment, just as you have heard from the beginning, so that you should walk in it. For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess Jesus Christ coming in the flesh. This person is the deceiver and the antichrist! Watch yourselves that you do not lose what we have worked for but receive a full reward.” John seems to be implying that the antichrist is anyone who teaches that we don’t have to follow Christ’s commandments. If that is the case, we have plenty of antichrists around today.

John Mac Arthur comments, “Often Christians are willing to compromise sound doctrine for the sake of loving others. They believe that doctrinal precision is somehow divisive and unloving.” To the contrary, doctrinal purity is pure loving. Granted, we are told to speak the truth in love, meaning I suppose that our approach and tone should not be merely accusatory. I know better than most how difficult it is to be corrective without being critical, judgmental in my tone. The reason Paul recommended speaking the truth is to avoid being “carried about with every wind of doctrine by the trickery of men, by craftiness with deceitful scheming.” (MEV)

Crafty, deceitful scheming is precisely what you find if you dig into the teachings of the LGBTQ+ “theologians.” It is what leads adulterous couples into thinking their sin is acceptable because they love one another. It is what allows liberal denominations to abandon the Bible and preach a feel-good social gospel. It is what prosperity preachers use to fleece their followers. Paul said that we are not ignorant of the devil’s schemes; I think we are.

I’m afraid we have let the world’s definition of love color our thinking about what true love is. We have taken the old saw that says, “Hate the sin, but love the sinner” and made it into, “Love the sinners, but don’t do or say anything that would offend them.” In other words, I think many have come to believe that loving someone biblically precludes telling them that they are wrong in their thinking or behavior. I have been accused of hating people because I have called their sin “sin.” I don’t think our perfect Savior, Jesus Christ, hated the people He came to save, but He did not refrain from calling out their sin. Remember His numerous interchanges with the Pharisees. He spoke some very harsh words to them; I believe He did it out of His love for them. He would have loved to see them come to the truth.

Paul’s admonition to, “Speak the truth in love,” might be understood as, “Speak the truth out of your love for the sinner.” It is not a loving thing to ignore sinful behavior in another person. We know that sin not only displeases God, but it also affects the sinner, often in immediate, physical ways (think AIDS or alcoholism or broken marriages.) It should go without saying that habitual, intentional sin also affects the sinner eternally. I’m not suggesting that pointing out sin in an unbeliever is a good evangelistic strategy. However, a believer involved in a sinful lifestyle might be in for a shock on judgment day. The loving thing to do for those believers is to remind them of the consequences of willful sinful behavior. Speak the truth. This is what love does. This is love.

Related Posts: Better Living Through Right Thinking; Fast Christians; The Bible on Homosexuality;  Sex is a Big Deal

What is the World Coming To?

Anyone with a smidgeon of moral sensitivity must be asking what is happening to the world. Jesus told the people things would get pretty awful at some point in their future. “And then many will be led into sin and will betray one another and will hate one another, and many false prophets will appear and will deceive many, and because lawlessness will increase, the love of many will grow cold.” Some people think He was talking about the end of the world which is still in our future. Others believe He was referring to the coming destruction of Jerusalem and the Jewish religious system. If that is what He meant, that is in our past. I think both could be true because there are other instances of dual fulfillment of prophecy in the Bible.

A look at the historical record shows that much of what Jesus prophesied did take place when the Romans destroyed Jerusalem after a seven-year siege. Jesus predicted that there would be wars. Rome waged war on Jerusalem. Historians record that many Jews acted treacherously during the siege, taking advantage of one another, and even going so far as to kill their children to avoid starvation. Jesus said that many would come falsely claiming to be the returning Messiah. That too is found in the historical record. I believe the events around 70 A.D. could be a fulfillment of what Jesus predicted.

I also believe that we are seeing many of the features of Jesus’ prediction in our day. The idea of many false prophets leading people into sin is sad commentary on the state of the church in the West today. One obvious example is the way some so-called Christians label other Christians as hatemongers because they disagree with their biblical interpretation. I have written many articles about the deception being perpetrated by people who call themselves Christians but deny that God forbade homosexual relationships. Another example I have mentioned previously is preachers who deny the existence of hell. They prefer not to recognize that while God is love personified, He is also a holy and righteous judge who will find it necessary to condemn some people to an existence apart from His benevolence: hell.

It is clear that the moral state of not just unbelievers, but sadly, the church fits Jesus’ prediction of the last days – whenever that may be. I will defer to my fellow believers who wish to follow the Darby/Schofield scheme of the end times. I have written about that ad nauseum for many. They may be right. I choose to believe that most of the book of Revelation is in our past. That does not mean that God cannot make similar things happen again to bring about a second fulfillment. Whatever the case, they and I believe that Jesus is coming again to judge the world. The timing of those final events is less important than belief in their finality. God will judge the earth and its inhabitants someday, and what follows will be our eternal destiny based on our earthly decisions.

I have written far too many words as an introduction to my topic. (Yes, that was an introduction.) I have been reading through Jeremiah in my through-the-Bible reading plan. I was struck by the number of times “the earth” is mentioned. There are numerous passages that seem to refer to the earth as the actual, physical ground itself. Here is one example: “For the land is full of adulterers; for the land mourns because of a curse.” Without getting too deep into the Hebrew language of the Old Testament, I will say that the Hebrew word for “land” is broad in its meaning. It sometimes clearly means dirt or earth. It sometimes refers to a land as a country. “This land is my land; this land is your land, etc. – you know the song.”

What got me thinking is that in other verses, Jeremiah uses a different word for “land” that really does mean dirt. “Turn back please, each one from his evil way, and from the evil of your deeds, and live on the land that Yahweh has given to you and to your ancestors from a long time back and until forever.” The Hebrew word Jeremiah uses for land in that verse is “adamah” which is, as you might see, the same word that God used in Genesis to explain where Adam came from – the dust. If the dirt “mourns because of a curse,” we might need to rethink our understanding of just how sentient our planet really is.

I wrote previously about Peter’s explanation of what happens on “the Day of the Lord.” That phrase is usually interpreted to mean the last day of the earth’s existence. I discovered that Peter’s prediction may not have anything to do with the physical earth. He may have been alluding to the destruction of the evil spirits that influence evil people to commit evil acts. The earth itself may be reserved for another special treatment.

I think of what Paul mysteriously said in Romans. “For the eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly the revelation of the sons of God. For the creation has been subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of the one who subjected it in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its servility to decay, into the glorious freedom of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans together and suffers agony together until now.” The subjection Paul refers to was initiated by Adam when he sinned. He brought the curse on the whole earth.

The “eagerly expecting creation awaits eagerly” makes it sound like creation itself is sentient. We know that Old Testament personification has trees clapping their hands, and stars singing. Jesus said that if He silenced the people on His triumphal entry, the rocks would cry out. What if all that is not just poetic language but reality we have dismissed? What if “creation” is just as anxious for the revealing of the redeemed as we are? I am looking forward to a new heaven and a new earth where I will live forever in the presence of God Himself. I believe that is what the world is coming to. Are you as eager as I am?

Related Posts: The Cry of Sin; Alternate Realties; What Happened in the Fall; Selling Heaven on Earth

Love is a Verb

Most translations of 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 use adjectives to express what love is. Paul used verbs in his original Greek. The English teacher in me sees this as a significant difference. Paul didn’t just describe what love is; he detailed what love does. This fits perfectly with his theme throughout his writing, as well as all Scripture, that actions display intentions. If I say I intend to wash my car, but never get the hose and bucket out, my intention is meaningless. If I say I have love, Paul says, but never do loving things, my love is meaningless. Worthless.

This is some of what Paul says love does in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-7:

1. Love perseveres. It hangs in there no matter how tough the going gets. If there is a desired behavior or circumstance one is hoping for, the one who loves waits patiently. My wife loves me so much that she waited patiently (for years) for me to figure out what it means to be a good husband. She didn’t stop loving me; she persevered. (Her perseverance paid off; I’m still not perfect, but through God’s grace and her loving patience, I am much better than I used to be.)

2. Love does the useful thing. Most versions translate Paul’s word as “love is kind.” The root of the Greek word he used is serviceable. That means that to love is to do what is necessary or needed in any situation. My wife had back surgery recently, and she is in a long process of healing. Out of my love for her, I have been doing things that she needs done but cannot do for herself. It would be very unkind of me to sit around and let the dishes pile up in the sink. She cannot stand long enough to wash them; I can.

3. Love does not brag or become self-important. A loving Christian understands what Paul said to the Corinthians, “What do you have that you did not receive? But if indeed you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?” I don’t go around boasting about my ability as a teacher and writer. My main spiritual gift is teaching, and that is clearly a gift from God. The fact that I learned to write well is a combination of my natural talents (God given) and years of education and experience (ordained by God).

4. In that same vein, love is not self-serving. As with all spiritual gifts, mine is not given to me for my benefit. My gift is to be used for the benefit of the body of Christ. If you read 1 Corinthians 12-14 you will see that the church was making their individual gifts a matter of personal pride. Chapter 12 ends with Paul’s corrective: let love be the most important factor governing the exercise of spiritual gifts.

5. Love does not provoke another or keep an account of wrongs. My wife could have written a book of all the things I did wrong in our early marriage. If she had kept reminding me of them it certainly would have provoked me; one of my problems was pride, and if she had suggested that I was not the perfect husband, had she listed all the ways I failed her, it would not have made for a happy moment. Because she loved me with the love of God, she bit her tongue. I would offer this caution: sins borne must be forgiven and laid at Jesus’ feet or they will fester into a root of bitterness. Again, love is the antidote to bitterness.

6. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing but rejoices at the truth. Truth is that which matches God’s design; wrongdoing is that which ignores God’s design. Sin is simply that which brings chaos whereas right living brings peace. A perfect example of this is what has happened in America with the chaos of sexual perversion that is being rejoiced over by some. Some are glad that the traditional family is being destroyed in favor of “alternative lifestyles.” They even think that such destruction is a loving thing; they call their opponents hateful. Hello Chaos.

7. Love anticipates good things. Back to my wife: she spent years anticipating my discovery of what a good husband should be like. She hoped I would learn to love her as Christ loved the church. She bore up under the disappointment I caused. This kind of love is what makes it possible to love our fellow Christians despite their unchristian behavior. Church is messy; look at the Corinthians. Someone said that church would be a fine thing if it were not for the people in it. We know that in the resurrection, we will all be glorified; until then we live in anticipation.

The prophet Jeremiah was given a message for the people of Judah: “I am Yahweh, showing loyal love, justice, and righteousness on the earth, for in these things I delight, declares Yahweh.” If we would be pleasing to God, we must be doing the right things, the things He has modeled for us. Jesus said that love for one another would be the hallmark of His disciples. Jesus was love personified. We are predestined to become like Jesus. Jesus lived love perfectly. He demonstrated that love is a verb. So, in the words of that famous advertisement: just do it.

Related Posts: Don’t be a Poser; Are You Qualified?

What Were You Thinking

I am starting a new full-time job this month. This means I am un-retiring for the third time. It is not because I was unhappy with retirement. On the contrary, I was mostly happy with my situation. My wife and I were living the dream as far as many people would see it. We own a large RV which is stationary in Arizona, and we have a smaller trailer that we travel with during the hot summer months. This allows us to visit friends and family in Michigan and to see the sights across the country.

We are in our thirteenth year of full-time RV living, having taken a one-year break from the road to attempt the creation of a sober living home for women. (For details see “Grace Realized”) When we began travelling, my wife had retired, and I was teaching part-time at a college that had quarterly terms, so I could take one term off during the winter to escape the snow. We went through about forty of the lower forty-eight states in our first few winter excursions. On one of our early trips, we followed Route 66 as far as Kingman, Arizona. (See Route 66 Adventure) We spent the first three winters in Mesquite, Nevada. After one winter in Salt Lake City to help our daughter with her new baby, we settled in the Kingman/Golden Valley area of Arizona as our winter getaway.

From Golden Valley, it is a short climb through Union Pass to Bullhead City. We did much of our shopping and restaurant visiting there, so we looked for a place to park more permanently. The first place we looked was managed by a thoroughly Christian couple who were endeavoring to build a Christian community in the park. They “just happened” to have a fifth-wheel trailer for sale which would suit our needs for a more permanent winter home. We worked out a deal that very day, but we couldn’t fully pay for the trailer until we closed on the sale of our Michigan sober living house. We drove away thinking the deal would be in limbo, but fifteen minutes later, the manager called to say a small downpayment would hold the trailer for us. We said thank you Lord and signed the deal.

When we returned that October, we were fully convinced that God wanted us in Bullhead City at that park. We visited some churches and eventually found one we believe is God’s place for us. We continued looking for opportunities for ministry, but nothing substantial turned up despite putting our several feelers in local ministries. After four years, we decided that we wanted to move back to Michigan as our “permanent” home with travel back to the area as snowbirds in the future. Our Arizona home didn’t sell. For two years. During our fifth year I offered to substitute teach at a local Christian school. They were happy to have me as qualified subs were difficult to come by. I spent a few days in elementary classrooms as a sub and enjoyed it immensely.

At my sub interview they asked me if I would consider teaching full time, and I said no. After I had subbed a few times, the Assistant Principal asked me again if I would like to take a full-time position in the coming fall. I said no. Again. A couple weeks later, as I was filling out my pay voucher he asked again. I said I just didn’t see how it could work. We were going to Michigan for the summer with numerous plans that could not be changed, and I couldn't imagine how I could make it to a teaching job in August. Shortly after that, I received an email from the Assistant Principal telling me that there would be several openings in the fall, and he wanted to know if I would consider taking one.

At that point, I looked at my wife and asked if we were missing something. Was this God telling us why we were still in Bullhead? We both shrugged, sighed and resigned; this must be why we have been kept here by God. I said I would take a position but there were certain limitations to my availability throughout the summer. I was granted exceptions and offered a contract. When I received my contract, I looked at the salary offering; I had not even considered salary as a factor. I had to lift my jaw off the floor. I had agreed to offer my services as a teacher because I believed that was what God wanted. God, in His inimitable way, would bless us for being obedient to His call.

This has been primarily an autobiographical post. I told this personal story because I believe it has application to many of my fellow believers. I have written several articles over the years about how to know God’s will for us individually. Sometimes it is crystal clear; sometimes it is not. The main idea in what I have written and taught in the past is that we should pray, study the Scripture, and press on knowing that God is in control. Take the next step; as I wrote recently, roll the dice. Our Sovereign will fold our decisions into His will in miraculous ways. (Sidebar: a teacher at my new school has just taken National Institute for Learning Disabilities (NILD) training for helping struggling learners. My wife is a certified NILD therapist. Huh?)

Letting go and letting God take control of my life has always been difficult for me. You too? In my head I know that it is as Isaiah said, “My ways [God’s ways] are higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts.” It still takes a Herculean effort on my part to let go. My flesh wants to rule. This experience has given my wife and I a large-as-life example of what it means to live in the Spirit, to be led by the Spirit. I get it. I’m down with that. But, when I realize that means getting up at 5:00 on weekday mornings, I ask myself, “What were you thinking!?”

Related Posts: Forget Not His Benefits; The Meaning of Sovereignty; Be Careful How You Pray; What’s Your Ministry; Mounting Everest; Grace Realized

 

Slaves and Masters

In twenty-first century America, the average citizen has more freedom than anyone, anywhere, at any time in history. We have the freedom to go just about anywhere, do just about anything (within certain legal limitations), and to be whatever we have the determination to be. I just completed a 2,000+ mile trip across the country, and there was not one border check, no language barrier, nobody questioning what I was doing. (OK, some of my friends thought it was crazy to drive that distance alone in three days.) I witnessed the freedom others expressed with their disdain for speed limits and simple traffic courtesy; I was exposed to a few music choices at extreme volume in the middle of the night at rest stops; I watched people leave their cars blocking the gas pumps while they dallied in the store. These were people doing what they wanted. Regardless.

Maybe they want to be rude, lawless, inconsiderate boors. There are few people who will stop them in twenty-first century America. Fortunately, there are also people who have decided to do something with their lives to improve the condition of their fellow citizens. I was reminded of this by a random post on my Facebook page. The post noted that President Trump has surrounded himself with an entourage of pretty regular folks. He didn’t choose the usual elite snobs and self-important pooh-bahs that most Presidents have surrounded themselves with in the past. They are everyday folks willing to step in and help a President whom they believe has the best interest of the American people at heart.

I may be more sensitive to this at the moment because of a series of novels I am reading written by Cap Daniels. On the surface the heroes appear to behave like every other shoot-em-up, black ops mercenary team. But Daniels lets his patriotism and Christian belief in giving help to those who cannot help themselves come through loud and clear. Bad guys get dead and good guys get rescued, but Daniels lets the psychological and spiritual struggle come through loud and clear. One of the main characters epitomizes this dichotomy: he is a Baptist preacher when he is not using his sniper rifle to rain judgment on the villains. Daniels writes in his afterward that he detests the evil that is everywhere in our world, but he also lauds the patriots who risk their lives to make our lives a little safer.

Heaven matters most in this because every human being is a slave to something or someone. Paul writes: “Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.” (Rom. 6:16-18 NLT) We commonly think of this as referring to slaves to drugs, or sex, or money. Sinful things. Think again. Anything we do with our “freedom” that removes God from the center of our lives is sin.

Whenever we choose to fulfill our desires instead of seeking God’s desire for our lives, we become slaves to our desires. It could be a job, a hobby, or just plain laziness that enslaves us to something that is not God’s best for us. Paul says we choose to be enslaved to sin, or by choosing to give our lives to Christ, we become slaves to righteousness. We must not think of that too narrowly. It does not mean we have to give up everything and become a missionary. It does not mean we have to abandon a secular career and join the clergy. It may be those things for some, but for the vast majority of us, it is something far more mundane and, at the same time, more wonderful.

The “slave to righteous living” Paul applauds is someone who makes the effort to live according to God’s righteous principles. Jesus identified the sine qua non of His followers: that they love one another. If you have been a Christian for more than a minute, you know that the love Jesus recommended is a selfless, sacrificial love; it means caring for the other person more than for yourself. If you want to see it demonstrated, look at the Cross of Calvary. You could translate John 3:16 like this: “God loved the world in this way: He gave His Son so that anyone who believed in Him would be free from slavery to sin.”

Paul said slavery to sin leads to death; God said slavery to Christ leads to eternal life. Those of you who are as old as I am might remember a folk singer named Bob Dylan who came to Christ after a long career in secular music. One of my favorite songs of his post-conversion repertoire is “You Gotta Serve Somebody.” His lyrics list about every imaginable lifestyle and circumstance, and in every case, Dylan insists you are going to serve somebody. His theology is right there with the Apostle Paul. You may serve the devil, or you may serve the Lord, but you are going to serve somebody. And the truth is clear: there are only two choices.

The biblical concept of freedom is foreign to our modern way of thinking. N.T. Wright speaks of the paradox of Christian freedom. “We become more truly human, more genuinely free, when we are giving ourselves away. That, I think, is the clue to a whole new way of looking at the world, and perhaps at freedom itself….  Humans are made for a purpose. Only when we find and follow that purpose will we be ‘free’…. The gospel sets us free to love, to live to God’s glory, to be wise stewards of his creation and wise agents of his new creation. And at this point human freedom and divine enabling mysteriously come together.”

That is the truth, and Jesus said that the truth would set us free. He also said, “[God's]Word is truth.” For the last ten years or so I have had the blessing of “free time” every morning to read the Bible and pray. I could almost say I have become enslaved to that devotional time to the point that I am unwilling to start my day without it. Martin Luther famously said, "I have so much to do [each day] that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer." Like Luther, I read to hear God’s will; then I pray for His assistance to accomplish it – whatever it is. He is my Master; I am His slave. And I am free.

 

Want What You Have

Delight thyself in the Lord, and He will give you the desires of your heart. PS. 37:4 KJV

This verse is often quoted to support the idea that Christians can have whatever they want as long as they “delight in the Lord.” That idea always smacked of selfish materialism to me. It seems to fly in the face of the biblical concept of humble submission and acceptance of whatever God wants for us. I took a deep dive into the Greek translation* of Psalm 37:4 recently and learned that it may not be saying what the King James seems to imply. The result of my study led me to this very different interpretation: “If you chase after God, He will produce longings in your heart that are in line with your relationship to Him.” In other words, He will give you what He wants not necessarily what you want.

Someone wisely said that true peace comes from wanting what you have not having what you want. That sentiment seems to be more in line with what the Bible teaches. It was the Apostle Paul who said that he had learned to be content with what he had. The Hebrew writer said, “Your lifestyle must be free from the love of money, being content with what you have.” The Book of Proverbs is laced with warnings about the dangers of relying on material wealth. Paul called the love of money the root of all kinds of evil. Jesus warned that you cannot love both money and God.

None of this should be taken to mean that money/wealth is evil in itself. It is the attitude towards material possessions that must be guarded. “The wealth of the rich is his strong city, and like a wall, it is high in his imagination. (Pr. 18:11) Relying on wealth implies a displacement of God from the calculation. That is idolatry. Proverbs warns, “There is a way that seems upright to a man, but its end is the way of death.” There is no way to hide your true motivations from God. “A crucible is for the silver, and a furnace is for the gold, but Yahweh will test hearts.” (Pr. 17:3)

But maybe your desires are not for wealth. Maybe you desire some plan to succeed. What does the Bible say about that? “The mind of a person will plan his ways, and Yahweh will direct his steps.” (Pr. 16:9) Planning is a good thing; the Bible recommends it. But the plans must be laid before the Lord. “Commit your work to Yahweh, and your plans will be established.” (Pr. 16:3) This sounds very similar to the promise of Jesus that if we ask anything in His name, the Father will grant it. That too veers from the idea that we can have whatever we want. To ask in Jesus’ name implies aligning the request with the will of the Father.

One wonders what happens when we don’t know what God’s specific will is in a given situation. The wisdom of Proverbs covers that too: “The lot will be cast into the lap,

but all of its decisions are from Yahweh.” (Pr. 16:33) This idea comes from the Old Testament practice of asking for God’s will by casting lots. We don’t know exactly what was used, but it involved something similar to modern dice. Stones, bones, or pottery shards were chosen or painted with different colors. When tossed, the appearance of the items was interpreted as a yes or no answer.

I don’t think God wants us to use physical objects to discern His will today. Our modern phrase, “roll the dice” suggests that one takes a step or a position and waits for the outcome. The advantage we have over the OT Jews is the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit. When we face a decision that has a go/no go choice to be made, we should bathe it in prayer, search the Scriptures for direction, ask for godly advice, and then proceed unless something leads us to pull up short. In other words, roll the dice knowing the results are in the Lord’s hands.

I must say that this process does not guarantee smooth sailing every time. I can remember many times in my life when I thought I was doing what God would have me do, but the results were far from what I had hoped for. Years ago, I was called to an administration position at a Christian school in California. I detailed that Michigan to California trip in “God’s Little Coincidences.” All I will say here is that we have come to call it “The Ordeal.”

The reason God wanted us in California remains something of a mystery. After only a few weeks, the administrator who hired me as his assistant principal was fired. I was asked to take over the school. I did my best, but it soon became apparent that the board and I had different ideas about what a Christian school should be. They thought I was “too Christian.” I did stop the faculty from leaving in protest over the firing of the former administrator. I did save the school from imminent financial embarrassment. I did handle the day-to-day responsibilities of running a 330-student K-10 school with a faculty and staff of 35 without complaint. Despite all that, the board replaced me with a former public-school administrator after only three months. Needless to say, I did not return for a second year.

My wife and I have asked repeatedly if we were wrong to think the job in California was God’s will for me. Should I have realized sooner that my philosophy of Christian education was not in line with theirs? Or did God get exactly what He wanted from me even though I would never have chosen the experience had I know what was going to happen? With decades of hindsight, the answer seems clear: I didn’t get exactly what I wanted for my first school administration experience, but God got precisely He wanted for the school.

 I believe that anyone who attempts to have a genuine trust in God’s provision will face tough circumstances at some point. If we truly believe in a loving, sovereign God, we can rest peacefully with the knowledge that He will provide what is best for us. The life we live is in Christ, and His Spirit lives in us. Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is peace. That’s what I have. That’s all I want.

* Between 250 and 132 BC, a group of 70 devout Jews in Alexandria, Egypt, set about to translate the Hebrew Old Testament into Greek because few people could read Hebrew. This translation gives us a peek into the minds of what those Jewish scholars believed was the true word of God. Their translation has become known as the Septuagint which means “the seventy.”

Dread Not!

                The Dread

He comes to me in the night,

That ancient enemy of my soul.

He whispers in my sleepy ear

That I’m not up to the fight.

 

I tell my heart not to fear

When I wake in the valley of shadow;

I remind myself of God’s promise

Always to be near.

 

In the dark of night, it is good to know

That God has promised to bless me.

 And when I rise with morning light

He’s with me wherever I go.

I wrote this poem because recently I have been waking in the wee hours with an unexplainable sense of dread. Occasionally, the feeling might stem from a dark dream I have awoken from, but not always. When I find myself cowering under the covers, it is a seriously unpleasant feeling. Once I remember the promises of God that He will always be near; His angels keep watch over me; no weapon formed against me shall prosper, then I begin to pray against the darkness, and it recedes – as it must. John said, “There is no fear in love,” and I know absolutely that God loves me. That means fear – the dread – comes from somewhere else.

The Old Testament is full of admonitions to fear God. Often, teachers will insist that “fear” in many contexts means “respect,” rather than dread. And yet, the Psalmist wrote, “My flesh quakes for dread of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments.” I think the OT saints had a better understanding of God’s judgment than we do. They knew that their standing before God was dependent on their obedience to His law, the Torah. Torah taught them there were blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Their history held many examples of both.

Under the OT law, they were not entirely without comfort. The Psalmist also wrote, “Trouble and anguish have found me, Yet Your commandments are my delight. This is not unlike my nighttime dread. There are things in my world that might cause me trouble and anguish. However, I must not dwell on them; I must delight in the Word of God and recall this: “My help comes from Yahweh, Who made heaven and earth.” The “help” the Psalmist refers to is found in this: “If you should keep track of iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you is forgiveness, so that you may be feared.” There is the “fear” again, but in this case, it is not a bad thing. Godly fear leads me to worship. Fear that causes me to dread is from my enemy, not God.

There is another aspect of our New Testament position that should help to relieve the dread. God had intended the nation of Israel to be, “a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.” Sadly, they failed in their duty to represent Yahweh God to the other nations. They became insular and self-important. Peter understood that the church is the priesthood God ordained, under the high priest Jesus, which has become what Israel was supposed to be. He wrote to believers, “You are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s possession, so that you may proclaim the virtues of the one who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” This is affirmed by what John saw in his heavenly vision: “[The Lamb] made them a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign on the earth.”

There will be those who disagree with what I am about to say, but I believe it is true. I am not waiting for a future millennial kingdom to reign with Jesus. I am royalty now; I am a priest of the Most High God now; I am seated with Christ at the right hand of God now. There are those who read the future tense, “will reign,” in what John saw as still in our future. I disagree. Like the Greek language, we also use future tense to refer to a present reality that extends into the future. For example, President Trump will be in the White House next year; that does not mean he is not there now. I may not be in the position of royalty in the kingdom of this world, but in the kingdom of Heaven, which Jesus initiated during His earthly ministry, I am all that Jesus re-created me to be.

When I was buried with Christ in baptism, the old me died, and I rose from the water as a new creature. I may still live in the world for a time, but I am not of the world. I am of the Kingdom of God. My citizenship is in Heaven. Peter said that: I am called out of the kingdom of darkness into the light to proclaim the virtues of my King, Jesus. More than that, I am commanded to invite others to join me in the Kingdom of Heaven. We pray God’s will be done on earth now as it is in Heaven now. Jesus told Peter that things they prayed for on earth would already have been done in Heaven according to the Greek verb tenses He used. Present and future are one with God.

Even King David expressed fear in the light of God’s judgment but declared his delight in God’s law. In my royal position, I no longer need to have any fear – no dread. The washing of regeneration Paul mentions mirrors the washing the OT priests experienced to make them acceptable for God’s service. The blood I am washed in is not of bulls and goats but of the precious Lamb of God. The anointing of the Spirit echoes the anointing of God’s chosen kings. The sword I carry is the invincible Word of God. My King and Commander is the Lord of Hosts with ten thousand times ten thousand mighty angels at His side. Instead of being afraid when I wake up each morning, I should expect the devil to say, “Uh oh! Clair’s awake. Run for it!” If you belong to Jesus Christ, you should get the same reaction – and no dread!

Related Posts: On the other hand: Fear God Much?; The wrong fear: Scaredy-cat Christians; The greatest fear: I’m Not Afraid to Die

The Grand Simulation

I just finished reading A Voice in the Dark by Barbara Nickless. The primary antagonist is a computer genius who develops a simulation game which he uses to compel troubled teens to commit murder. The premise of the game is that the world the teens inhabit is not real, but the world of the game is. The teens are convinced that the only way to enter real life is through death. This makes their act of murder or suicide a saving one because the victim is released from the horrors of this world and delivered into the true life of the game. If you can see in this the hints of another familiar story, you will understand why I found the book both fascinating and frightening.

Although I doubt Nickless had any biblical intentions, allegorical fiction which depicts Bible truth through imaginary characters and settings is not at all unusual. C. S. Lewis’ Narnia Chronicles is one of my favorites. Lewis’ deep Christian faith coupled with an amazing imagination allowed him to create an entertaining and thoroughly biblical imaginary world through which his characters present God’s truth. An older allegory, John Bunyan’s Pilgrim’s Progress, has long been revered for its depiction of the struggles common to anyone who wants to live as a Christian. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien echo the biblical truth that the battle of good against evil is the inescapable reality that every one of us faces daily.

The pervasive influence of artificial intelligence has created a whole new sub-genre for the development of allegorical characters and plots. It has also opened a floodgate for Satan to twist the thinking of people who become immersed in computer simulations. When I wrote “Artificial Intelligence?” I commented, “We can expect that the enemy of our souls will use AI to further his ends just as he has with many technologies.” Search for “Christian books about AI” and you will get hundreds of examples, most with dire warnings. Nichole J. Suvar shared insights from her book, “I Don't Have to Hold It All Together,” on Moody Radio recently. One of her greatest concerns is that Gen Alpha is going to be drastically influenced by AI. She fears they will be changed elementally the same way cell phones affected Gen X to an even greater degree.

We know from neurological studies that human brains grow and change by doing mental “work” much the same way muscles are built by exercise. We also know that children who have excessive amounts of screen time develop a different brain architecture than those who pursue other activities. As a teacher, I have expressed my concern that AI is removing the need to do meaningful research. The development of critical thinking skills is essential for making logical decisions whether in a secular or religious context. Combine AI with the common teaching technique of providing answers rather than encouraging students to seek out the best answer and you have a recipe for dull soup. It is a prime factor in the dumbing down of American students.

I mentioned earlier that I was both fascinated and frightened by the premise of Barbara Nickless’ book about AI simulation games. I am frightened for all the reasons I have just mentioned. But I am fascinated by how thoroughly the concept of a simulation fits the truth we have revealed in Scripture. Follow me carefully. Read the Bible from cover to cover and you learn that a Being of superior intelligence created an alternative reality apart from His own. He then created players who were given rules and responsibilities to navigate the created reality. The first two players broke a cardinal rule and subsequently lost full access to everything the created reality had to offer. The Creator then began a sub-program that would eventually provide a way for players to regain full access.

Stay with me. Jesus came preaching the coming of an alternate reality, the Kingdom of Heaven. He told Pilate His kingdom was not of this reality. If it were from here, He said, His disciples would fight to free Him. He knew that His freedom was going to come from an exit strategy planned in the ages before this reality was even created. His death and subsequent resurrection and ascension reunited Him with the Creator with whom He had lived in that other reality, commonly called Heaven, prior to becoming a player in this reality.

There’s more. The Apostle Paul said this reality is passing away to be replaced by another reality. This one, he said, is temporary – temporal – time-based. The other reality is eternal “in the Heavens.” Soon after He was invited to play the role the Creator had planned for him, Paul was transported to the heavenly reality and given insights that were so incredible he wasn’t allowed to tell anyone about them. He did say he believed that when he died, he would immediately be in the presence of Jesus in the heavenly reality. He also said that those who trust Jesus in this reality will be given a new kind of body after their death – a body suitable for the reality that would be their eternal home. In that place, the Creator and all His chosen players would once again enjoy all the privileges and responsibilities that were forfeited in the original simulation.

I just pictured life for humans as a grand simulation. That is an analogy; it is so close to what is happening in today’s AI simulation games that it is spooky. There is one huge difference between AI sims and life as we know it: the Creator of the “game of life” is a Person who loves His creation so much that He literally died to save it. We also know that God created the earth perfectly good, and one day, He will banish sin and Satan from His creation. Then He will recreate it as He originally intended, and we will spend eternity there with Him.

Satan, the Great Perverter, has been luring people with his own simulations since the Garden of Eden. He convinced Adam and Eve that there was a better reality than what God had ordered. He infected early Christian thinkers with Platonic ideas that flesh is evil and only spirit is good; this allowed the Gnostics to believe that fleshly sin was acceptable as long as one’s spirit was pure. Some people still act that way today. By way of a lying spirit, he gave Joseph Smith, the founder of Mormonism, an alternative reality that sounded biblical, but was deceptively evil. There are other similar deceptions. Peter’s roaring lion has become today’s AI “friend” seeking someone to devour. Peter’s advice is still sound: “Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil.” If you fall for one of his simulations, there is no coming back.

Related Posts: On the dumbing down of America: Read This or Die; Who is Jesus: Nailing Down Jesus; The true purpose of life: What Did You Do Today? What about when the “game” gets tough: Driven to the Cross

The Co-opted Rainbow

Everybody loves a rainbow. Young and old alike will stop to revel in the colorful display. There was a time when most people knew that the rainbow was originally assigned meaning by God as the token of His promise to Noah that He would never again destroy the earth with a flood. In that context, the rainbow became a symbol of hope. In ancient Irish folklore that idea was bastardized to mean a hope for wealth: the pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. That connection is probably more well-known today than its original biblical meaning.

I am writing this in June which has become gay pride month for many. The LGBTQ+ community has also coopted the rainbow and given it a significance of their own. When the gay pride flag was originally designed in 1978, each of the colored stripes was assigned a value. If you ignore the LGBTQ+ context, most of the values are innocuous: sex, life, healing, sunlight, nature, magic/art, serenity, and spirit. Two raise some concern: magic and spirit. Magic is clearly off limits for Christians, and one assumes that “spirit” does not refer to God’s Holy Spirit.

I heard a teaching recently that suggested a more sinister relationship between the rainbow and homosexuality. When Ezekiel saw God’s throne in his vision at the river Chebar, there was a rainbow above it. When Satan’s pride drove him to attack God, he wanted that throne with its rainbow for himself. Look back at the values symbolized in the gay pride rainbow; except for magic, each of them might be employed in a way to glorify God. However, you can also see how each one has been perverted by the enemy of our souls and turned into an idol.

First of all, ever since the Garden of Eden, Satan has taken the good things of God’s creation and twisted them to serve his purposes. Sex is the most obvious one, and perhaps the most odious especially in June. I believe that God created sex to be a bonding agent for a man and a woman in marriage. In that context, it is a beautiful thing. Very early in human history, Satan began enticing men to fulfill their lust in ways that were not only damaging to themselves (AIDS, STD’s, etc.) but destructive to the purpose God had intended. De-sanctifying marriage and its restriction of sexual pleasure to one-man/one-woman for a lifetime has resulted in personal and social tragedy of mammoth proportions.

The other values represented in the gay pride flag have been similarly distorted or perverted. Life is certainly to be valued, but Christians recognize that true life comes from God and returns to Him; true life has a deeply spiritual component. The “life” Satan encourages is selfish and hedonistic. The Psalms teach us to glorify God for His creation of the sun and all nature. Satan leads men to worship creation in defiance of the Creator. Magic is simply the devil’s attempt to mimic God’s miracles; practicing it is plainly forbidden in Scripture. It is sad to see what the enemy has done to art. It was once a way to magnify God with beauty and order. Now, the atonal disturbing modern “music” and the emptiness of modern “art” reflect the hollow men who search for meaning in all the wrong places. Augustine was right when he said that there is restlessness in every man that can only be satisfied by God – a God of beauty and order, not ugliness and chaos.

Serenity is promised in God’s Word. We are counselled to meditate on the Word and recall God’s promises; as a result, we can have peace that passes understanding. The enemy’s brand of meditation encourages either completely emptying the mind or turning inward to focus entirely on oneself ignoring the divine image we bear. Finally, I suspect that the gay flag’s reference to “spirit” may have similarly twisted the truth. Satan, the prince of evil spirits, would have us elevate our own spirit and discount the Holy Spirit who represents the very presence of God in us when we give our lives to Christ.

A rainbow is visible because light is refracted, broken down into its parts. To me, this signifies the many aspects of God’s holy character spread before us in awe and wonder. There are some other physical aspects of light that I think are interesting to consider. God Himself is said to be light and to dwell in unapproachable light. The first thing God is said to have created is light. Throughout Scripture, light symbolizes goodness and knowledge. Darkness, represented by the Prince of Darkness, is evil and deceptive. What we call color is the reflected portion of the light spectrum. God’s creation is bursting with color. If his followers are any indication, Satan’s favorite color is black – the absence of color via light.

The Father sent Jesus to the world because “In him was life, and the life was the light of humanity.  And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not overcome it.” Jesus said His followers were to be the light of the world. John said if we walk in the light, we have fellowship with one another and forgiveness of sin. Paul told the Corinthians that Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. It looks to me like that is exactly what he has done with the rainbow he tried to steal from God. Don’t be fooled by him. Jesus said that true life, the true light of humanity, was found in knowing God. Study His Word; meditate on it; get to know God intimately. Then you can take back the rainbow.

Related Posts: More about the nature of light: And the Light was Good; E=mc² in Genesis

Who Paid for David’s Sin

When I wrote “What Happened in the Fall,” I suggested that the worst damage done by Adam’s sin was the loss of intimate fellowship with God. Where once Adam could stroll throughout the Garden with his Creator at his side, suddenly the Garden was off limits and the relationship between Creator and creation was altered dramatically. Of all people, Adam could surely feel the distance between himself and God caused by his disobedience. That distance was still there when David wrote his psalms. “My God! Why have you forsaken me,” was the psalmist’s lament over the broken fellowship which Adam caused.

David did not always feel isolated from God though. Throughout his psalms, he reveled in the reality of God’s presence and provision. If all we knew of David was prior to his dalliance with Bathsheba, we might understand why God called him “a man after my own heart.” Truthfully though, we begin to understand that heart-to-heart relationship after the sin with Bathsheba was exposed through the prophet Nathan. David wrote Psalm 51 sometime after the prophet called him out. He made a puzzling declaration to God in that psalm:

Against You, You only, I have sinned

And done what is evil in Your sight,

So that You are justified when You speak

And pure when You judge. Psalm 51:4

When we consider the totality of David’s actions, it is hard to believe that the sin was against God alone. The adultery, deception, and murder ensnared not only the couple at the center of the drama, but also Uriah (Bathsheba’s husband), Joab (David’s general), the child conceived in adultery, and eventually, most of David’s family. Even so, David recognized that ultimately, the sin he committed was against God; the consequences roped in the rest of the people who were affected.

Writing in defense of capital punishment, R. C. Sproul says, “There is a sense in which the commission of murder is regarded by God as an indirect assault on Him. Just as an attack on an ambassador of a king is seen as an affront to the king, so the act of murder is an assault against the very life of God, inasmuch as it desecrates one made in God’s image.” (How Should I Live in This World?, vol. 5, The Crucial Questions Series, Lake Mary, FL: Reformation Trust Publishing, 2009, 75.) One could make a similar statement regarding any sin. By definition, sin is a deviation from God’s order as expressed in His character. David understood that, and so he said:

For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it;
You are not pleased with burnt offering.

The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Ps. 51:16-17)

David realized that the most important thing in his life was his relationship with God. In Old Testament Hebrew, the word heart refers to the innermost part of human existence. With Spirit led insight, David equated heart with spirit, a distinction the New Testament makes clear. David’s desire to have his relationship with God made whole is evident:

Create in me a clean heart, O God,
And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Do not cast me away from Your presence
And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation
And sustain me with a willing spirit. (Ps. 51:10-12)

We don’t know exactly when David wrote Psalm 51. The initial consequences involving Bathsheba, Uriah, and Joab had surely taken place. Yet David could say his sin was against God only (v.4). I can’t imagine that he discounted the impact on those he harmed. However, he seemed to realize that the effects of his sin on others were less troublesome than the effect on his relationship with God. He also recognized the spiritual nature of things.

We sometimes speak romantically of giving our heart to someone. My wife and I have wedding bands that incorporate the Irish claddagh, a pair of hands offering a heart. Worn with the heart offered inward, it symbolizes our heart-to-heart commitment to one another. This is how David felt toward God, and it explains why he could say his sin was against God alone. You can only share your heart with one person.

Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” If we fail to keep His commandments, it casts doubt on the depth of our love for Him. The devil has done a good job convincing people, even some Christians, that Jesus’ commands are conditional. In certain situations, the tempter says, it is better to disobey a command for the good of someone or something. This is a damnalbe lie from the father of lies. Only God knows what is good in any situation, and it is a clear violation of His good Word to take His prerogative as our own. That is precisely what Adam and Eve did that threw us into the mess we are in. (See “The Knowledge of Good and Evil”)

Nothing I have said should be taken to mean that the consequences of sin are not important. Look at the widespread results of the HIV virus being shared through illicit sex. Another virus, COVID 19, ravaged our entire healthcare and economic well-being. The perpetrators there were careful to clothe their sin in false proclamations of the good of the masses. One man’s adultery can destroy a family, and if he is a public figure, the effects spread to the larger society. Look at the consequences of John Wilkes Booth’s single shot in Ford’s Theater. Or the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand in 1914.

David couldn’t undo the results of his sin. What he could do was make a heartfelt confession. The word confess in the New Testament means to say the same. In verse four, David says what God says, and calls it justified. That is true confession. Although you may not have strayed as far from God’s commands as David did, you would be a liar if you said you have no sin, according to the Apostle John. There were those in David’s life, as in yours, who were made to pay for the sin of another by suffering the consequences.

Ultimately, Jesus paid for David’s sin and yours and mine on the cross of Calvary. That payment is available to all who are willing to confess, repent, and throw themselves into the merciful arms of their loving Savior. God stamps the balance due as paid in full. Then as debt-free children of God He restores to us the joy of our salvation. Just like David.

Related Posts: The Cry of Sin; David Stayed in Jerusalem; Despising the Downpayment