Is God Really Fair?

(Romans 3:5-6) But if our unrighteousness demonstrates the righteousness of God, what shall we say? The God who inflicts wrath is not unrighteous, is He? (I am speaking in human terms.) May it never be! For otherwise, how will God judge the world? (NAS95)

Does God inflict wrath? Why is this associated with the reasonable possibility that people might assume that in so doing He would be unfair? And why, if the first question is true, might it affect His ability to “judge” the world?

The word translated as “wrath” here is the same word that keeps showing up all through the New Testament, orge. In Strong's dictionary it is defined as “orge, properly, desire (as a reaching forth or excitement of the mind), i.e. (by analogy), violent passion (ire, or (justifiable) abhorrence); by implication punishment:--anger, indignation, vengeance, wrath.”

Obviously there are some serious variations of options from which to choose from here when translating into English. And it certainly cannot be overlooked that the belief systems of the translators themselves will always play a major role in determining which words to choose depending on their view of God and His character.

For my part, I believe it is far more accurate and consistent with the rest of Scripture to understand this word in the context of the first few definitions rather than the last. And I believe that the verses quoted above bring pressure to do just that.

The context of these verses in Romans is a discussion of people who want to rationalize their sinning by using some convoluted reasoning. They arrive at the conclusion that because their sin makes God's righteousness look better by contrast then they should get some kind of credit for making Him look good. This implies that in “the judgment” they should receive some kind of favor from the judge for enhancing His reputation. This of course, reveals the human penchant to pervert justice by trying to somehow “bribe” the judge.

I also believe this passage is presenting the usual view of “wrath” in the context of these false arguments. People are trying to imply that if God can get away with arbitrarily condemning them to be lost in a fit of His anger, He cannot at the same time still be a righteous God. Notice that Paul here takes pains to remind us that he is speaking in human terms. I believe he notes this partly because he is referring to the human version and experience of "wrath" in contrast to a more correct view from God's perspective. If this claim against God is true, and many even today subtly believe there is some truth to it, then it makes for a strong case that God seems to be disqualified to be a fair and just judge over the world. Today, just as all throughout history, most people assume that God is Judge primarily because He is the strongest Being in the universe and therefore no one can resist His determinations; everyone is simply forced to accept His claim of being just even though deep inside we still have nagging doubts about it.

But Paul is addressing this very issue by the way he brings these questions out into the light and challenges us to consider them. While we may brush aside the assertion that we should get some kind of favorable consideration in the judgment for our sins making God look more righteous, the more serious charge of God's perceived qualifications to be an unbiased, totally honest and fair judge while at the same time inflicting “wrath” (as it is usually understood) still remains an issue that must be addressed.

The underlying issue discussed in this whole section of Romans is the fairness of God. And this question lies at the very base of all of Satan's accusations and charges against God upon which his counterfeit kingdom is founded. It is of utmost importance that we seriously consider this issue and come to terms with it; for the conclusions that we come to are both influenced and have influence on all our other beliefs and doctrines.

To put it more succinctly, the charge is that if God can indulge in a temporary and even slight loss of patience in His intense passion and anger about sin and sinners, then He can be validly charged with being unfit to pass sentence on others, even though they cannot resist or question His decisions. This is the great lie that Satan has sought to infuse and reinforce in every intelligent being willing to listen and sympathize with him. And sadly most Christians have bought into this lie to some extent or another. We may not state it that plainly, but deep inside the question continues to arise on occasion and assert itself into our consciousness. It is a troubling but valid question and should not be once again suppressed, ignored or piously disposed of with a lot of religious double-talk. Either God is absolutely fair, just, good, righteous and consistently compassionate and loving, or there is a fault in His character that will give Satan a foothold in the mind of reasoning, thinking minds unwilling to accept pious arguments in God's defense.

The one doctrine that lies at the heart of the consideration of this important point about God and that has wreaked the most havoc in distorting human perceptions about God's character is the various beliefs about how God will bring about an end to the problem of sin. Many people strongly believe in an eternally, ongoing existence of supreme torture and pain imposed on everyone who rejects God's offer of mercy. Many others after carefully considering this disastrous lie about God have rejected the existence of God altogether rather than embracing belief in such a monstrous, diabolic two-faced Being. There are still others who insist that the torture does not last throughout all eternity but only for a predetermined time during which God's vents His anger and frustration and indignation on those so crass as to resist His loving advances toward them in their former life. These piously feel that their doctrine of limited “punishment” is far more favorable to God's reputation than the eternally tortured version of hell put forward by the others. But they miss the point that belief in any amount of arbitrary torture, punishment or deliberate infliction of pain on rejectors of love still betrays and undermines many of God's claims about Himself put forward throughout all of Scripture. Again, this thinking about God has created more confusion, hostility and animosity against God than any other scheme Satan has put forward. And tragically it is promoted and supported by millions who still claim to believe in a perfect God of love and mercy and Who never changes.

Paul presents a compelling question that must rise in the hearts of sinners if the above assertions are assumed to be true. “But if through my lie the truth of God abounded to His glory, why am I also still being judged as a sinner?” (Romans 3:7)

(next in series)

The Elijah Syndrome

I have once again fallen victim to what I call the “Elijah syndrome”. No, I have not been full of boldness and stood valiantly for God against great odds and received wonderful confirmation of His power and presence. I am referring to what happened not long after that event on Mt. Carmel when Elijah was exhausted and succumbed to the temptation to be afraid and subsequently ran for his life like a scared little rabbit. This must have greatly amused the woman who threatened him and brought her a great deal of satisfaction. (reference 1 Kings 17,18)

The syndrome I have observed over the years is this: very frequently after a spiritual high moment there almost inevitably follows a particularly powerful temptation aimed at our most vulnerable weakness. It is crass and vicious on the part of the tempter, but then that is what he is like. He is cruel, completely heartless and he is ruthless in pursuit of shaming us, defaming us and destroying us. His real goal is to defame God's reputation and he stops short of absolutely nothing to accomplish this. He particularly enjoys causing a public failure of consistency, a poisoning of the spirit that reflects his own evil and selfish attributes to be revealed in the life of a saint-in-process. Then he quickly broadcasts this failure, greatly exaggerating its extent and implications, and masking over the truth of the person's real, inward identity. Once again Satan vindicates himself in his charges and lies against God.

This sequence creates a great deal of tension, remorse and confusion within the person thus attacked and tripped up. Many times he wonders what his true, God-implanted identity really is as he is led to question and understand his own inconsistency. Sometimes he falls into deep discouragement and is blinded to the causes of his catastrophic failure and shame. Shame becomes the primary feeling that swallows him up and may even drive him into hopeless despair.

This is where the story of Elijah is such a powerful encouragement to remember in the midst of the confusion and shame. While Elijah ran for his life making God look weak and helpless to protect him, God still had His hand around Elijah waiting for him to slow down enough to come back to his senses and receive the gifts of life from His hand. It really confirms the fact in salvation that all righteousness comes from God and that we have absolutely none of our own. We can only receive it, cooperate with Him in the transaction and then live out the righteousness that God implants in us.

However, there seems to be certain conditions that tend to create the opportunity for this syndrome to be triggered. First of all, it happens to a person who is learning to depend more and more totally on God and not on themselves. This enrages the enemy because it exposes the falseness of the lies with which he has blanketed the world and threatens to greatly weaken his despotic control over souls.

Secondly it often comes on the heels of a spiritual event that creates an emotional high in the life of the believer. Sometimes people are led to conclude from this that we should avoid spiritual highs so we won't be so liable for a crash. But if that logic were true then we might not today have one of the most telling stories in the Bible contrasting the character of God against the evil of false gods. There is nothing at all wrong with experiencing spiritual highs, though we are not expected to live there all the time. These events are given to remind us of the ideal that is in God's presence. But we must also return to the everyday world and live out the vision and remember inside the inspiration that received on the mountain. (see My Utmost for His Highest 10/1) The disciples also experienced this when they came down off the Mount of Transfiguration.

Lastly this vicious attack usually arrives in a period of physical weakness and/or emotional exhaustion. Elijah had just run an incredible distance leading Ahab's chariot (his wicked opponent) through driving, blinding rain so he could get back home safely without receiving the slightest kindness in return. There was certainly nothing wrong with his actions and choices. Indeed, he was exhibiting an amazing affinity to God's own heart of compassion and love by blessing his enemy while spending himself to exhaustion. But this situation set him up for the attack that followed because the enemy loves to exploit our weaknesses, both spiritually and physically. Elijah was drenched, unbelievably tired and emotionally drained. He was the perfect target for a savage assault by by the ultimate aggressor. And Satan chose to launch his attack through the wicked wife of the very man Elijah had just poured himself out to bless.

This is the story of the Elijah syndrome. It is given not only as a warning to alert us that our archenemy will use every such opportunity to launch a sneak attack on our souls; but is also given particularly to remind us that God has not forsaken or forgotten us when we have played the fool and been unwittingly participant in smearing His reputation once again through our dysfunction. What amazes me the most in this story is the consideration that God never once reprimanded Elijah for his failure to trust Him in the face of this simple threat. Many of us have been tempted to castigate Elijah and wonder how he could be so bold in front of overwhelming opposition just hours before and yet fall into paralyzing fear from the threat from a single woman. Where had his confident faith gone? Why not exercise holy boldness and confiding trust, particularly after such tremendous affirmation and public success at the hand of God?

But Elijah was human and subject to the same blind spots and weaknesses that we all have to deal with. (James 5:16,17) And God demonstrated His character of kindness, grace and sympathy and simply sent an angel to supply what Elijah needed most – food, water and lots of rest.

But I'm sure Elijah was thinking very much about what had just happened and God did not leave him to figure it all out on his own. When God took him through the series of powerful events on Mt. Horeb (Sinai), they were specifically calculated to answer the troubling questions that must have been tormenting Elijah on the inside. They reminded him of the primary way that God communicates to us as well as contrasting that with the ways we often expect or desire God to communicate with us. It was a powerful reminder to Elijah as well as to all of us that even the fire that fell on Mt. Carmel just prior to this was not nearly so important as remembering to listen to the inaudible voice of God within our soul. God is there all the time; but when we allow distractions, whether positive or negative, to drown out His voice, then we are in danger of making decisions or reacting to temptations or threats in a way that is inconsistent with the Spirit of God within us. But this does not mean that God has forsaken us, no matter ugly things now appear or how our feelings and emotions clamor and accuse. We have the assurance from this example in the life of Elijah that we can trust in a God who supersedes our emotions and perceptions and who is faithful to us even when we have been unfaithful and shamed before all the world.

The Outrage of Death

Seemingly strange – but then again, not really.

That's how I felt yesterday as I mingled with other mourners in a funeral home who were there for the remembering of my son-in-law's father who died in a drowning accident last week. At first it did not seem logically explainable to me why I was feeling such strong sadness as I held my son-in-law (or now son) close to me and began to cry myself nearly as if I really had known his father well. But I did not know him. After hearing about his life and his interests during the service I began to really wish I had known him, but I didn't. So what could account for such strong emotions welling up from deep within me?

Some might say that it was stirring up memories of my own similar experiences over the past 3-4 years laying to rest both of my own parents. That could indeed explain some of this feeling, but I didn't really believe that was necessarily most of it. The intense sadness inside of me was not really connected to those events as I thought back on them now. So my mind and heart struggled to find an answer that would make more sense of what I was experiencing here.

Then, almost surprisingly, as I walked around the room and observed the various emotions being displayed and looked at the one lying in the coffin at the front of the room, a feeling of anger began to stir within me. And at this point it really started to make sense to me. My sadness that was now intensifying into occasional flashes of anger was not connected to a lost relationship with a person that I had known well but was aroused and directed toward the very enemy of death itself. This anger resonated in the distressed words of my wife who exclaimed, “This was never supposed to happen!”

Death – and the fallen angel who started this whole catastrophe – was the real villain that aroused my intense wrath and passion at the overwhelming injustice that sin has perpetrated on all of us causing all this unnecessary pain and grief that torments and racks our souls. Yes, death itself in all its forms is the real enemy here and I was feeling just a a very small taste of the “wrath” that God is feeling about this horrendous injustice as He works to bring it all to a final conclusion. He is eagerly looking forward to the glorious day when all of us together will be able to shout with joy the victory cry that will shake every corner and reverberate into every chasm of the universe, “Death, where is your sting? Grave, where is your victory?”

Later as the crowd of grieving friends gathered among the hard tombstones and braced themselves against the cold wind sweeping over the hill, I looked around at the symbols of pain and ruin sitting stark and mute over the graves of hundreds of victims of this terrible experiment gone mad. Once again the anger welled up within me as I watched helplessly during the final moments of truth as the stark realization of presence of death pierced our hearts. I watched the pain intensify on the countenances of those slowly walking away from the graveside showing the inner struggle to fight off this last assault. “It's not right!! It's unfair! It was never supposed to be this way!” I screamed inside.

But good news trumps this overwhelming evil pain and the fight is not over yet. God has not lost, though He suffers the same pain we attempt to fight off at a level exponentially greater than we could ever imagine. Yes – God is very angry and full of intense wrath! But we must learn and remember that His wrath is not directed at people, but at the injustice and terrible consequences that this stupid idea of sin has wreaked throughout all of His perfect creation. His wrath is not understood or reflected in the way we experience wrath, for in our fallen condition we cannot help but feel intense resentment and desire for revenge on those who cause us pain. But God is not subject or party to these distorted, sinful emotions and His ways are not our ways. He has a perfect solution rooted in perfect love that will bring an end to all suffering, all abuse, all injustice and all pain. It is a plan that most of us are, in reality, very unfamiliar with though many claim to understand it and teach it. It is a plan of restoration to perfect love and totally unselfish relationships in a recreated world restored to its original design.

God has no intention of taking our political designs and schemes and massaging them into a supernatural kingdom on earth like many evangelicals teach and believe today. I am appalled at many of the messages I hear emanating from Christian teachers and leaders leading millions to believe that God is working toward an earthly, politically-oriented kingdom set up in conjunction with Christians and Jews to physically fight unbelievers and subject them to coercive rule and power.

These ideas, if properly seen in the light of true reality, proper reading of the Scriptures and the real character of the true God who rules in love over the universe, would be seen to be blasphemy and treasonous against the principles of God's kingdom of love and freedom. God never uses force to accomplish His ends like humans so desire to do. And the true God of heaven is not planning to use threats, intimidation and torture to drive humans into conforming to His desires. These are the methods of the enemy and God will never stoop to employ these weapons of death to accomplish His ends of life.

It is true that He has the amazing capability to use tragic events when thrown at us by the enemy and turn things around for the ultimate good of those who trust Him and respond to His love, but that never should be confused with the belief that God originates these evil schemes.

Jesus stated the real truth about God unequivocally and plainly when He said clearly, “The thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come so that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” John 10:10. God operates from an exhaustless resource of life and He never needs to employ any other means to bring about our salvation and display His glory. He is faithful and perfect in all His ways. The more we learn the truth about Him the more our hearts will flash in resonance with His true selfless passion and love.

The thief struck again this last week. He stole a father, a son, a husband that we gathered to lay in the ground until Jesus comes to wake him up for the victory parade. He killed a life that was never supposed to be taken, for he has no rights to kill that which he cannot create. And he destroyed the peace and the close attachments of love and support that a family needed to survive, to mature and to be blessed in this world. Yes, the thief has struck again and his satanic leer casts a shadow over our hearts and lives. But there is Another who is stronger than the thief that will restore justice and peace and joy, One who is fully capable, ready and eager to bring life, comfort, joy and hope to hearts ripped open by the thief's cruel attack.

“Jesus, come very close to each of us who have been once again damaged and wounded by the enemy. Show us the real truth about you and dispel the lies that cause us to be afraid of you and your ways. Show us your face and wrap your arms around those who are hurting and confused in a strong, heartfelt embrace of reassurance and blessing. I praise you for your true goodness, your covenant lovingkindness that can never be defeated or diminished. You alone are truly worthy of our adoration and honor. Reveal yourself to us in fresh new ways and revive our spirits with your Spirit to face the days ahead of us. Thank-you for being faithful even when we fail. Thank-you for your perfect, passionate love even though we mistake it for tainted human-type wrath. Thank-you that your ways are not our ways and your thoughts are not like our thoughts. Lift us higher in our perceptions of your truth and your ways and mentor our hearts to burn with the same passion that flows from your heart. Thank-you for life, for family, for bonds of love that draw us to you and connect us with each other.”

Even so, come Lord Jesus!

The Pain of Passing Heart-stones

Why does the Bible talk about the importance of a “broken spirit”, a broken heart? I wonder if it has something to do with the very necessary process revealed in Ezekiel 36 of replacing our heart of stone with a heart of flesh?

As I am thinking about this the idea of gallstones comes to mind. The intense pain caused by gallstones is because they are too big to pass out of the body freely and they get stuck in the exit channels. One of the ways available to doctors now is to use ultrasound to break up these stones into smaller pieces so the body can eliminate them.

Could this be a useful analogy to what God sometimes tries to do with our hearts of stone? Part of our transformation promised in this chapter is the removal of our stony hearts and the reception of new hearts of flesh. Maybe God uses some form of “ultrasound” to break our hearts so we will be more willing to let go of them in preparation to receiving new capacity hearts. Then we can experience the aliveness of having a heart that can feel, that can move, that is soft and warm and life-sharing.

But we cannot experience a new heart if we cannot let go of our hearts of stone. God promises that He can remove this heart of stone. He wants to do it far more than we want it because the real issue, as is repeatedly emphasized in this passage, is God's reputation. This whole arrangement of salvation is not primarily for our benefit, though that is a wonderful part of it, but is to clear the reputation and name of the Almighty Who has been terribly maligned and accused by His archenemy Satan. And to the extent that we have participated in the lies, deceptions and distortions of God in this conflict we need to be realigned and repaired and restored to our original function of accurate reflectors of God's true nature.

Part of the damage we have all experienced in this battle that involves far more than just us humans, is the resultant hardening of our hearts into stone. They still may look like hearts, they may have the shape of hearts, but, like petrified wood that sometimes looks so real, there is no life in them, no joy, no vital connection with the Head through the nervous system. And because our hearts are so well hidden from view deep inside us it becomes an extremely painful process to undergo the needed transplant.

A heart of stone can be a very heavy heart. A hard heart may produce very stiff-necked people. A stony heart often produces stony faces and even causes us to cast stones at others. The discovery of a (petrified) log in our eye obscuring our effectiveness in ministering to others may be indication of a petrified heart within. The many sharp slivers of lies embedded deeply in many of our memories are always due to heart damage and also contribute to our hardened condition. Just like the body sometimes forms very hard scar tissue around damaged areas, our hearts form hardness around the pain from the lies inflicted in us during times of trauma, neglect and abuse especially in our formative years.

I can see all of these symptoms in my own life. I sometimes tremble inside while I am in the middle of encouraging or giving spiritual counsel to another person when I think how hard my own heart must still be and how much healing I need myself. At those times I find myself crying out to God to use my voice to say what He wants to say to this person, because my wisdom and insights may very well be coming out distorted and maybe even empty due to the refractory nature of a petrified heart within me.

One of the most effective tools Satan uses in our experience to keep us from letting go of our petrified stony hearts is fear of pain. I have been told that passing gallstones is one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. I imagine the same is true of passing heart-stones as well. As the passion, love and new truth about God shatters our encrusted old hearts and begins to turn them into brokenness, we may draw back in terror and begin to desperately look for alternatives to this pain. Fear of pain is one of the strongest motivators in this world that controls and manipulates nearly every one of us.

But fear is also the primary method used by Satan and his agents in this world to maintain his dominance in our lives. Why do you think that nearly every single time a messenger from heaven appears to humans they have to start out by reminding us to “fear not”? Because fear itself blocks effectively hearing the voice of God and allowing Him access to our hearts. That is precisely why we see the rapid proliferation of fear in all the world around us today. Satan is using any and every means possible to lock down the whole world under his death-grip of fear and control.

Our enemies are not the only ones who employ this weapon against our souls. We call them terrorists because they want to keep us in constant, debilitating terror and fear. Sadly our own government and society have fallen to the temptation to respond in kind and try to counter with trying to our-terrorize its own people as well as its enemies. Churches have used this technique for centuries and we are fast returning to the horrors that the world lived under during the dark ages. All of this because we are buying into the lie that fear is a legitimate means of creating conformity.

But fear is the domain of Satan and his kingdom. God does not employ Satan's weapons to grow His attributes in our hearts. Fear leads to hardness of heart and hard hearts are not God's desire for any of us. He is in the business of counteracting the results of sin and replacing hardness with softness, death with life, darkness with light, fear with love, desperate loneliness and isolation with joy.

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. (2 Timothy 1:7)

Abandonment

On the heels of a long phone discussion yesterday with a friend trying to grapple with a deep division between he and his wife, I found today's reading in My Utmost for His Highest

extremely relevant, not only for his situation but for myself as well. The whole passage is really a definition for the concept and importance of “abandonment”.

The main crux of today's reading is the theme throughout the whole book, that is, that abandonment must be for Jesus Himself and not for what we get out of it. “Beware of an abandonment which has the commercial spirit in it – 'I am going to give myself to God because I want to be delivered from sin, because I want to be made holy.' All that is the result of being right with God, but the spirit is not of the essential nature of Christianity. Abandonment is not for anything at all. We have got so commercialized that we only go to God for something from Him, and not for Himself. It is like saying, “No, Lord, I don't want Thee, I want myself; but I want myself clean and filled with the Holy Ghost; I want to be put in Thy showroom and be able to say – “This is what God has done for me.”' If we only give up something to God because we want more back, there is nothing of the Holy Spirit in our abandonment; it is miserable commercial self-interest. That we gain heaven, that we are delivered from sin, that we are made useful to God – these things never enter as considerations into real abandonment, which is a personal sovereign preference for Jesus Christ Himself.”

As I read through the complete reading I realized that this abandonment that he is talking about is closely linked to the correct understanding and experience of a covenant relationship. It involves an unrestrained, unlimited commitment to another person without any provision for retraction or withdrawal from the relationship. And since marriage is a miniature model of the relationship that God intensely desires to have with each one of us personally, then this kind of abandonment is also needed in the marriage relation for it to become really stable and fulfilling.

I will be the first to admit I am far from experiencing this either in my own relationship with God or in my marriage. But the first step is being aware of it and cultivating a desire to live this way and then I need to orient my choices and plans in line with the spirit of abandonment. It requires dying to my selfishness on a continual basis which is a real challenge but is so necessary if I want to experience the fullness of life only found in total abandonment.

Even saying that seems to be looking more to what I can get out of the experience than focusing on the other person, doesn't it. It seems that even my attempts to express and grapple with these ideas can become almost double-talk because I am starting from a base of natural selfishness to begin with. Again, I have to simply through myself on the amazing mercy and grace of God to create this experience and desire in my life because He says He can do it and He wants to. And then I realize that I have really come back to the core issue that I started with, for in throwing myself on His mercy I am choosing to abandon myself to Him which is what I was originally designed for.