The Ebb and Flow of Miracles

Re-Posted from "Meditations of a Charismatic Calvinist Who Does Not Speak in Tongues"

One argument that has been used against the continuing of the miraculous spiritual gifts is whether the gifts exhibited at the present time stack up to the miracles at the time of the apostles. It is claimed that we do not see the same degree of blatant miracles that were seen in New Testament times. All spiritual gifts are given according to the will of God (1 Corinthians 12:11) and are used within the will of God (2 Corinthians 12:7-10). Now there do seem to times that God is particularly blatant in His outpouring of miracles.  The times of the Exodus, of Elijah and Elisha, and of the New Testament are examples of these. These seem to happen at times God is instituting some new thing. But this does not mean that all miracles or miraculous gifts vanish in the times in between. There are miracles seen in those periods (Judges 15:14-19; 2 Kings 19:35; 1 Kings 13:3-5). Therefore, just because God is not working in as blatant a way does not mean He has stopped working miracles or giving miraculous gifts in the times in between. Now we do need to test a particular miracle, whether it is from God or is a coincidence or is some kind of placebo effect (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22). But we cannot say because we do not see the dead raised or the Red Sea parted that no miraculous gifts exist at this time.     

Is There a Moral Majority?

Is there a moral majority? And was there ever one? The idea is that the United States, as a nation, largely embraces Christian morality, but there are a few opinion leaders who are steering us away. If we could just replace those leaders, pass a few right laws, and use our political clout, we could change the nation back to where it used to be. I am convinced this is based on a false understanding. Western Civilization embraced Christianity in a kind of foxhole conversion. The Roman Empire was falling apart, and they needed something to hold society together. This need continued through at least the early part of the Middle Ages, after the Roman Empire fell and Europe was plunged into political chaos. In this period the Christian church was the one of the chief glues preserving civilization through the upheavals. But when the crisis was over, there began a struggle between those who wanted to preserve Christianity and those who wanted to throw off the yoke. It did not help that the Christian church had been corrupted through compromise with the culture it had helped to preserve. The history between then and now reflects a process of deterioration of the Christian dominance in our society impeded by those who have tried to restore and purify our Christian commitment. In this, there has been a slow eating away of historic Christian commitments, first in the area of beliefs, then in morals, and finally in outward profession.  This decline was not inevitable, but it is not surprising. We are told that the world is hostile to genuine Christian teaching (John 15:18-21; 16:1-4; 1 John 2:15-17).

The problem is, the United State's departure from the Christian viewpoint is the end of a long process. It is for this reason I am convinced that we as Christians need to let go of the past and start to rebuild from the ground up. We need to see ourselves as being in a non-Christian society and need to work to convince people one step at a time of Christian truth. In this, I do believe it is our duty to work for justice in society. But we need to see this as working for the long haul, requiring more than getting the right person elected or a few laws passed. Failure to do this sets us up for frustration when we do not get what we want or else we do and it does not solve the problem. Also, realizing we are Christians in a no longer Christian society helps us to reach out to people in love rather than being angered that they do not meet our standards (2 Timothy 2:24-26; 1 Peter 3:15; Colossians 4:6). In many ways our situation is a good thing. There is nothing like a superficial dose of Christianity to protect you from the real thing. But to take advantage of that, we need to see the situation as it is and be willing to deal with people where they are really at.

A Touch of Humor - The Schedule

How important is it to be at every church meeting? How full should a church's schedule be?

A Voice from the Past - Basil the Great

But what storm at sea was ever so fierce and wild as this tempest of the Churches? In it every landmark of the Fathers has been moved; every foundation, every bulwark of opinion has been shaken; everything buoyed up on the unsound is dashed about and shaken down. We attack one another. We are overthrown by one another. If our enemy is not the first to strike us, we are wounded by the comrade at our side. If a foeman is stricken and falls, his fellow soldier tramples him down. There is at least this bond of union between us that we hate our common foes, but no sooner have the enemy gone by than we find enemies in one another.

Basil the Great, 330-379 AD, On the Spirit, Chapter XXX, 77 (The Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers, Vol. VIII, Philip Schaff and Henry Wace, translated by Blomfield Jackson, T & T Clark and Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing, 1996, p. 48, 49)

How does this compare with the state of the Christian church at the present day? How can we avoid such a situation?

Standing Room Only

We live in an apocalyptic age, which sees the end of the world as just around the corner. This not only affects the Christian church but the world at large. I have considered having a T-shirt made saying that I have survived the end of the world so many times. But I have lost count. One obvious source for this is the atomic bomb. But there is a deeper issue. Two World Wars and the Cold War have destroyed the naive opinion that saw the future as unbroken progress. From the Christian perspective this is a good thing. But the pendulum has swung in the opposite direction. We have gone from unbridled optimism to the assumption of immanent total disaster. And environmental disaster has come to accompany the bomb as one of the great bugbears.

I do not want to oppose all environmental concerns; we do have an obligation to be good stewards of the earth (Genesis 1:28; Psalm 8:6-8). Also, the command to love our neighbor (Romans 13:8-10; Luke 10:25-37; Galatians 5:14) forbids us from using the earth's resources with no consideration for the consequences. Nor should we be ruled by our desires for immediate gratification or the amassing of wealth (Colossians 3:5; 1 Timothy 6:9,10; Matthew 6:19-24). But environmentalism shows the same trail of exploded predictions of disaster as predictions of Christ's Second Coming. From my youth I remember repeated predictions of looming catastrophes that never occurred. One of the most blatant of these issues is overpopulation. This concept seems to have been originated by Thomas Mathus (1766-1834) as a justification for oppressing the poor. It has since been used to advocate killing the unborn, the aged, and the infirm. The whole result of this idea is to see human life as insignificant because there are too many of us. This is in direct opposition to the value Scripture puts on human life (Genesis 9:5-7; Exodus 20:13; Psalms 139:13-16). Now earth may have some sort of carrying capacity, but technological advance keeps increasing it and we are not there yet. But we must not allow this hypothetical limit to encourage us to commit atrocities against those currently in existence. Now there are people starving in the world. But this is due to poverty, oppressive governments, and lack of access to modern agricultural methods (poverty again). After all, we pay farmers in the United States not to grow food.

Now we need to evaluate these issues carefully. The problem with ignoring the boy who cried wolf is that this time there might be a wolf. But we also need to consider the past track record and not be panicked by the latest cry of disaster. The end of the world will come when God decrees it (Matthew 24:36-51; Acts 1:6,7; 1 Thessalonians 5:1-3). But this is no excuse not to manage the planet properly until that time.  However, neither should we be stampeded into carrying out extreme measures that are not necessary. 

Following Our Impulses

Re-Posted from "Meditations of a Charismatic Calvinist Who Does Not Speak in Tongues"

 There is a danger in seeing all our impulses as the leading of God. We are sinners (Romans 3:23); our heart is deceitful and cannot be trusted (Jeremiah 17:9). Also, we are called to trust in God, not our understanding, (Proverbs 3:5,6) and to test whether something is from God (1 Thessalonians 5:21,22). Now the temptation here is to totally reject any impressions as being from God. But then we are left to rely totally on our human wisdom (1 Corinthians 3:18). The problem with this is we can end doing things based on what makes sense to us rather than acting in faith (Hebrews 11:13-16). Sometimes God called people to do things that did not obviously make sense from the human perspective (Joshua 6:1-5; Acts 8:26-40; 16:6-10). But there is a danger here. It is easy to jump to the conclusion that some impulse is God speaking, when it is really only us. This is not always easy to figure out. We must, of course, reject anything that is contrary to Scripture (Isaiah 8:20). The problem comes when we meet something of a serious nature where there is no clear-cut   Scriptural command. This takes careful consideration, prayer, and, ideally, seasoned experience. But we need to remember that God is in control of our lives to accomplish His purposes in  them (Romans 8:28; Ephesians 1:11; 2:10). And we need to live our lives with our trust in Him, not our impulses (Psalms 127:1,2).

On Being the Body

The Bible says that God is at work in the life of all genuine believers in Christ (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13). But it also says that God is at work in us as part of a larger body which works together to accomplish God's purpose (1 Corinthians 12:12-26; Ephesians 4:11-16; Romans 12:3-8). But there is a danger of seeing myself or my group as the only people who Christ works through. I can see myself (or me and a few others) as completely independent from the rest of Christ's church, I can follow my own path, with no respect for the beliefs and understandings of Christian leaders or Christian groups of  the past or present. I can become confident of my own knowledge and wisdom, not recognizing its imperfections (1 Corinthians 3:18; 8:1-3; Proverbs 26:12). Or we can require rigid adherence to a particular group, as if that group had a monopoly on all of truth, even though what it requires is far more than the real basics of the Christian faith (1 Corinthians 1:10-17; 3:1-9; Philippians 2:1-4). Rather, we need to see ourselves as being part of the larger body of Christ and not confine ourselves to our little corner. Now I am not saying there are not boundaries, places we must draw the line if we are to follow God (Galatians 1:8,9; 1 John 4:1-6; Romans 16:17). But we should not be too quick to condemn others over every detail.

Now the Word of God is the final authority (2 Timothy 3:16,17; Acts 17:11; John 17:17). But if we approach life on a totally individualistic basis, we risk confusing what makes sense to us and what we want with what Scripture says. Nor should we see ourselves as carrying out the work of God alone, but we should work as part of the greater body of Christ wherever possible. The idea of seeing my ministry as a totally independent thing does not fit with Scripture. There is a danger in seeing ourselves as solitary workers totally unconnected to others.  But we should also avoid making the standards of our group the final authority and dismissing everyone outside it. We can see ourselves as the only ones carrying out God's work and reject those who disagree with us even on minor issues. And we can see everyone who does not fit into our program as opposing God. Fundamentally, what I am calling for is an attitude. One that sees ourselves as part of something bigger than ourselves and bigger than our group. To see ourselves as part of the body of Christ that transcends history and geography and our petty divisions. For it is this body that we are ultimately part of if we trust Jesus Christ for salvation.