I Cannot Take It Anymore

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

"I just can't take this any more." Have you ever told God that? And has it ever not gone away? I have been there, and God has brought me through. But He did not take the problem away. Romans 8:28 unfortunately has become a cliche. Something that rolls off the tongue of those who do not want to take the time to care. But it holds an important truth: that while God is in control of our lives, His goal is not to make us happy but to conform us to the image of Christ (Romans 8:29,30).

Now pressing this home to a person undergoing great suffering may not be the best strategy. (I know you are miserable now, but just think of how much better a person this is going to make you.) But on sober reflection, this is a helpful perspective. If we see the basic focus of our life as us and God as someone who is there to make us happy, every problem and setback seems enormous. But if we understand that we belong to Another (1 Corinthians 6:20; 2 Timothy 2:3,4) and our job is to carry out His purposes in this world (Ephesians 2:10; 2 Corinthians 3:4-6), then we will look at our difficulties with a different set of eyes. This will not take the pain away when we are in a position where we feel we cannot take it anymore. But in the long run it will help us see our troubles as part of the plan of the One who controls all things (Ephesians 1:11).

Government and Grace

Government is  required to stand for justice (Romans 13:1-4; Proverbs 14:34; Deuteronomy 25:1). But is it required to enforce God's Law in exact detail? The problem with this is, we are sinners (Romans 3:23; Isaiah 64:6; Jeremiah 17:9) and cannot keep the Law in exact detail. Also, the purpose of God's Law is not to tell us the perfect form of government but to put forth God's standard  and how far we fall short of keeping it (Romans 3:19,20; 5:20; Galatians 3:21-25). But even in the enforcement of the Law in the Old Testament, there are indications of the practice of mercy (Matthew 19:8, 2 Samuel 12:13; 14:14). Now we are not told what laws Christians are required to advocate in a current secular government. But some balance of justice and mercy seems to be called for. Part of this involves not too easily convicting people of things they are accused of (Deuteronomy 19:15-20; Proverbs 24:28; 18:17). Now it must be remembered that anything the government requires of its people is in principle a law, whether it is called a law or a rule or a regulation. (While it is appropriate for governments to collect taxes for their operating expenses, Romans 13:6; Matthew 22:15-22, this too can become a way to regulate people.)

Now often in making laws there is an idea that people are basically good and can easily keep them. Or else that people are totally plasticine and can be easily made to conform to whatever is required. Neither of these fit what the Scripture teaches about human beings or how people really behave. Now it is wrong to ignore the requirements of justice and not expect the government to enforce them. This is particularly true regarding the poor and helpless, who look to government to protect them from oppression (Exodus 23:6; Proverbs 14:31; Leviticus 19:10 ). But we also need to avoid being excessively strict or micromanaging in terms of the laws passed. Now there is a place for trying to prevent known dangers (Deuteronomy 22:8; Exodus 21:28-36), but we should avoid becoming excessive in this.

As Christians, I do not think we can ignore what the government does and not work for justice in society (Matthew 14:3,4; 2 Samuel 12:1-10; 1 Kings 21:17-24). But we also need to remember than we ourselves are sinners saved by the grace of God and need to show mercy on others (Romans 5:6-8; Matthew 9:10-13; Luke 19:10). And most of all, we need to realize that what people really need is the Gospel (Romans 3:21-31; 1 Corinthians 15:1-11; Galatians 3:6-14) and that we cannot solve the problems of the world simply by passing laws. I like Luther's analogy of comparing the civil law to the muzzle on a wild animal. It does not change the animal's nature, but it keeps the animal from biting you. There is a place for muzzles, but we should not expect too much from them.

A Touch of Humor - Harvest Party

Is it silly to make this type of subtle verbal distinction? Or does it serve a real purpose, and what is that purpose?

Old Erich Proverb - Fear

We should not fear the powers of darkness, for we serve their Conqueror.

A Voice from the Past - Calvin

But while believers, even those of them who are endued with more excellent graces, obtain in the present life only the first-fruits, and, as it were, a foretaste of the Spirit, nothing better remains to them than, under a consciousness of their weakness, to confine themselves anxiously within the limits of the word of God, lest, in following their own sense too far, they forthwith stray from the right path, being left without that Spirit, by whose teaching alone truth is discerned from falsehood.

John Calvin, 1509-1564, Institutes of the Christian Religion, Book 4, Chapter VIII, 11 (translated by Henry Beveridge, Wm. Eerdmans Publishing, 1975, p. 397)

Is this the correct attitude toward these things? How can we be sure we are listening to the Spirit?

View from the Stage

Imagine you are reading a story. The people in the story do not know what is going to happen next or how the story is going to to end. Now imagine a character receiving a message from the author telling about the author and how he was the one writing the story. This would be useful information, but it would not change the fact that the character would still have to make choices based on what was happening in the story and that those choices would affect what happened next. Nonetheless, the author would still be writing the story.

The relationship between us and God is more complicated then that. We are not simply characters in a story. But I find the concept helpful in navigating this complicated relationship. We live life based on our perspective, where we make choices and respond to things as they come to us. But God is still in control of the wo to us. It is rare someone feels that God is making a decision for them, and we are not told to seek this. Rather, we are to trust that God is always in control and will guide us in all things. But we still need to make decisions based on the principles God has taught us, and those decisions have an influence on what happens next in our lives. And we cannot use God's control as an excuse to evade this. 

The Long Haul

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

Sometimes it is easy to base our lives around one great spiritual experience in the past. I do not want to minimize such experiences. God told the Israelites to remember what He had done for them, whether it was the deliverance from Egypt (Deuteronomy 7:18,19) or the splitting of the Jordan (Joshua 4:6,7). But it is possible for us to hold on to past victories and not go on with God. God is in the process of transforming us into the people He wants us to be (2 Corinthians 3:18; Ephesians 2:10; Philippians 2:13). This is pictured as an ongoing growth process (Philippians 3:12-16; Hebrews 12:1,2; Colossians 2:19), which involves a continuous effort to advance in the things of God (1 Timothy 4:7-10; Hebrews 5:11-14; Romans 12:1,2). Not that we can do anything without the Spirit of God working in us (John 15:5; Romans 7:18; 8:8), but He calls us to be involved in working this out in our lives day by day (Titus 2:11-14; Colossians 1:28,29; Galatians 5:16). And not to just rest on past experiences.