from>towards

"We know that God can give us more than we ask or think, for he has given us more than we have asked..."

Mon, 30 May 2011 11:35:17 -0400

““We know that God can give us more than we ask or think, for he has given us more than we have asked or thought. Our regeneration came to us before prayer, for prayer was the first sign of the new birth already given. To pray for life is not a faculty of the dead; but regeneration puts into us the living desire and the spiritual longing. The first principle of life imparted makes us long after more life. We were dead in sin and far from God, and he surprised us with his preventing mercy, and in us was fulfilled the words, “I was found of them that sought me not.” In this case he did for us above what we asked or thought.””

- C. H. Spurgeon

The Necessity of the Full Humanity of Jesus Christ

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 03:20:00 -0400

3-28-11

The necessity of the full humanity of Jesus Christ:

The author of Job is unknown, many speculate it was Job, others suggest Solomon, Moses, or Elihu. Whatever the case, it is important to note that Job did not know about that first two chapters of his book when they were happening. Now lets look at what is happening. Satan has come before the Lord after roaming the earth and asks the Lord, “Does Job not fear God for nothing?” He is saying, “Look at your “servant” Job, of course he is going to worship and honor you, look at all you have given him! If you took it away, he would instantly curse you.”

To get a better understanding of what is happening look at the definition of the word devil: According to Strong’s 1228 and HELPS Word-studies, devil comes from the Greek word “diabolos”

1. diábolos (from diabállō, “to slander, accuse, defame”) – properly, a slanderer; a false accuser; unjustly criticizing to hurt (malign) and condemn to sever a relationship.

2. (diábolos) is the root of the English word, “Devil” (see also Webster’s Dictionary).

3. (diabolos) in secular Greek means “backbiter,” i.e. an accuser, calumniator (slanderer). (diábolos) is literally someone who “casts through,” i.e. making charges that bring down (destroy). Satan is used by God in this plan – as a predictable wind-up toy, playing out his evil nature.]

Now look at Revelation 12:10 (ESV).

“And I heard a loud voice in heaven, saying, “Now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

The accuser mentioned here is Satan, who is standing before God accusing us (the brethren) day and night. So we see, Satan is accusing us, before God, saying that we would curse God if our lives aren’t perfect. The question is why? What is the purpose? Is it solely to inflict torment? No, the purpose is much more selfish than that. He is trying to prove a point, he is trying to prove that their is a flaw in God’s creation. He is trying to prove that if the circumstances are right, that there is no way that we would possibly honor God. So he is going through his entire playbook of torture and torment day and night, pouring it out with the hope that he finds one that will cause ALL brethren to curse God. Here is where it gets crazy. Because if he can find this solution, then he can claim there is a flaw in the creation; moreover, that HE was a flaw in the creation. That anyone in his position would have cursed God and rebelled. Therefore, no one should be sent to Hell because God made the mistake. You see?! He is trying to escape the inevitable! He is trying to escape Hell! He is doing everything he can to avoid his destruction. Now look back at Job.

The Lord gives Satan permission to take everything Job has (like Satan wishes) and check out what happens in verses 20-22 of chapter 1. Job doesn’t sin! Then look at 2:10, after he had been afflicted with sores and his wife told him to curse God, he still doesn’t. You know what this does?! This SHUTS THE MOUTH OF THE DEVIL!!! When we encounter trials, sufferings, and hardships, we are commanded to count them at joy (James 1:2) because it produces steadfastness. 1 Peter 1:6-7 says: “you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” When we rejoice in suffering, when we refuse to curse God in trials, we shut the mouth of the Accuser. What God has done for me is so much more than I could ever imagine, literally (Eph. 3:20), and it is my prayer that He is continually honored and glorified in my life, that the way I live brings Him glory and shuts Satan’s mouth.

I for one used to think it was impossible to walk in Christ without falling or stumbling. I used to believe it was impossible, until I read a few verses. Look at 1 Peter 1:10, this is where it gets even better.

“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall.”

Now “these qualities” is referring to the list of qualities mentioned in verses 5-7. It says we need to work at them like Philipians 2:12 says we need to work out or mine out or salvation. These traits, these qualities are already true of us, but it does take human effort and divine power to bring them to the surface. Now let’s look back at Ephesians 1:3, it says we HAVE BEEN blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly realm in Christ Jesus. Then in Ephesians 3:16, it says that ,“that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith…” The word power here means anything that is powerful, anything relating to power, so all power. Inner being is referring to the conscience, the heart, the soul. And dwell means to set up camp, pitch a tent, to LIVE. Christ is living in us. Ephesians 2:22 says, “In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit.” Christ’s death and resurrection tore the temple’s curtain. He then entered into the Holy of Holies on our behalf and is interceding to the Father for us, we now have a direct line to our Lord. Let’s skip back a little to see how this all ties together.

Everyone has heard stories of people who have suffered seemingly insurmountable pains and hardships yet somehow, by God’s grace, continued in honoring and glorifying God. Those are people I look up to, like Nick Vujicic, who has no arms nor legs yet tours around the world proclaiming the Gospel. We get to be a part of what God is doing, but it all comes down to what God has done.

This is where we see the point of this, that Jesus had to be fully human. Jesus came to earth as a man, fully man. In the form of God’s very own creation. He took on the form of man in all its weakness. In Jesus’ life, God showed us his justice, perfection, mercy, and grace. Satan was accusing God of creating flaws, so God sent his Son as fully man to live out the life of a CREATED BEING. And what did Jesus do? He lived a perfect life. He showed that there is no flaw in the creation, just the creatures hearts. THAT IS WHY JESUS HAD TO BE FULLY HUMAN! He proved that our sin nature CAN be conquered, that we can live without falling. He also solidified the need for payment of sins. Jesus walked a perfect life in the form of creation, we didn’t. Like Satan now must pay, so must we, but unlike him Christ died for our sins. Jesus went on our behalf to prove to Satan how perfect God is, even to the point of death. In which Satan thought he had conquered God, but as Hebrews 2:14 says: “Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil.” Christ allowed Satan to strike His heel, but He will crush the devil’s head. God has won, he has shut the mouth of Satan forever, which is why he is seeking to “kill and destroy.” But this is the great news, God conquered the world through his Son Jesus, and through the cross, Jesus invited us to be adopted as sons and daughters of the Father. We now are temples of the Lord, literally, the Lord is DWELLING IN us. And as Romans 8 says, we are now joint heirs with Christ and heirs to the Father in Heaven. This means that EVERYTHING Jesus had is at our disposable, we now have access to the Father and all of his riches. We are wealthy in Christ no matter how tough this physical world is right now.

So this week, give Him praise, rest in His goodness, soak in His joy. He gave His Son that we may have life. That we may walk without falling. That we may have access to the King of Kings. What an amazing God. “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:20-21.

potentiallyjasmine: My secret is out.

Fri, 21 Jan 2011 23:23:56 -0500

potentiallyjasmine:

My secret is out.

"To be pure in heart is to be wholly absorbed in the contemplation of God."

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:36:54 -0500

“To be pure in heart is to be wholly absorbed in the contemplation of God.”

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

"The essence of the Christian life is hearing the Word of God and doing what He says."

Fri, 14 Jan 2011 01:35:56 -0500

“The essence of the Christian life is hearing the Word of God and doing what He says.”

- Tim Muehlhoff

I Will Follow

Sun, 26 Dec 2010 17:45:26 -0500

I Will Follow:

Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow…

All your ways are good
All your ways are sure
I will trust in you alone
Higher than my side
High above my life
I will trust in you alone

Where you go, I’ll go
Where you stay, I’ll stay
When you move, I’ll move
I will follow you
Who you love, I’ll love
How you serve I’ll serve
If this life I lose, I will follow you
I will follow you

Light unto the world
Light unto my life
I will live for you alone
You’re the one I seek
Knowing I will find
All I need in you alone, in you alone

In you there’s life everlasting
In you there’s freedom for my soul
In you there joy, unending joy
and I will follow

"His Word is not an abstract doctrine but the re-creation of the whole life of man."

Thu, 23 Dec 2010 15:41:24 -0500

“His Word is not an abstract doctrine but the re-creation of the whole life of man.”

- Dietrich Bonhoeffer

a tragedy, to say the least- by Seth Troutt

Tue, 14 Dec 2010 21:09:00 -0500

This was written by a good friend of mine, Seth Troutt, a few days ago. I wanted to share it. Enjoy!

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” Paul to the Romans, Chapter 11

Behaviors stem from beliefs. Beliefs that have been ingrained into our world views since the beginning of our lives. For example, when we are toddlers and we see our parents walking, we learn to believe that we are capable of the same thing. Thus, because of our belief, we proceed in attempted imitation modeling our first steps after those of our parents. When our pre-school teachers point to an arbitrary color on the wall and say ‘red’ we believe them to be correct. Thus, we continue to call the same color by the name ‘red’, because of our belief in what our teacher said. The teenage girl who looks at a Cosmopolitan magazine and believes to herself ‘I am fat’ reacts accordingly and her behavior is ultimately changed. A college dude who believes that hedonistic pursuit of women is the ultimate purpose for his years in college will live as a womanizer in accordance with his beliefs. A college graduate who believes that acquiring wealth is the only thing that will bring him satisfaction will pursue wealth at whatever the cost to himself or others. An aged man who believes to his core that death is better than his daily suffering will commit suicide. A hypocrite is not someone who believes X and does Y. A hypocrite is someone who professes to believe X but in his in actuality believes Y.

Theology effects all of life. Theology is the study of God. Someone’s theology is what they profess to believe about God. The belief that someone has or does not have in God comes to bear practically in their daily life. The Word of God says in Paul’s letter to the Colossians that “by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him. And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together”. All things. All things. ALL THINGS. If all things are by, through, and are sustained by Him, then the truth about who God is can be applied to ALL areas of life. There is nothing in existence that is outside of God’s creative hand and so there is nothing in existence that can be fully understood without theology- the study of the Creator. One can only completely understand a work of art when it is seen through eyes of the artist. Everything else is just speculation,existential and subjective. Only when an artist gives revelation, revealed and objective truth, about his artistry can the art be fully understood. One can only fully understand the detail of a well oiled machine when the engineer reveals the detail of his design. This is the same for creation. Creation can only be fully understood when seen through the eyes of the Creator. This insight into the mind of the creator is the revealed Word of God.

Our Theology must be based upon revealed truth- God’s Word, and not on speculation. We must submit ourselves to God’s word. We must feast upon the bread of life. We must relish in the blessing that has been given to us in the Word. The living God of the universe has spoken for our benefit! He desires for us to know him as he really is. Worshiping God for anything less than who He actually is is foolishness and idolatry. Hosea 4-“There is no faithfulness or steadfast love, and no knowledge of God in the land…My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me”. When we don’t worship God for who he is we ‘reject knowledge’ that he has gone out of his way to give to us. “This people honors me with their lips, but their heart is far from me; in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men” Matthew 15:8. When we do not worship God for who he is we worship in vain! We take man made speculation, often our own preconceptions about who ‘God’ is, and hold them as sufficient and reject the knowledge that God has revealed to us in His Word. It is a tragedy to say the least.

‘Church’ becomes a fitness club. Yep. Pastors become personal trainers. [via vanderstelt]American culture does not require individuals to be in physical shape, with the exception of a 0.5% minority (models, movies stars, and professional athletes). American people do not need to be in physical shape. So, people pay money to go and put themselves through pain at a gym in hope that they might get into shape. BUT, that isn’t enough. people can’t stay motivated. So they hire people who are so in shape that they are professional at being in shape: personal trainers. Personal trainers motivate their clients by yelling in their faces, coming up with witty catch phrases, and showing them how much better life would be if they were in shape. All of this would not be necessary if the American day to day life was similar to that of day to day life in the Sahara Desert. The American church culture, as a whole, does not require Christians to be in ‘spiritual shape’. The analogy is fitting, for in Hebrews the Christian life amongst witnesses is likened to a race and we are to“run with endurance the race that is set before us”. There is no day to day race for most Christians who attend church in American. There is no mission. There is no discipleship. There is no denial of self. There is no race being run and likely no race in the future to train for. So, ‘Christians’ will acquire to themselves ‘pastors’ who motivate them to get into spiritual shape. The pastors yell in their faces, come up with witty catch phrases, and tell them about how much better their life would be if they were in spiritual shape. The American church culture is, as a whole, apathetic, egocentric, existential, and, dare I say, a business where goods are exchanged for tithes. The American church needs an awakening: a revival: a heart change.

“Go and make disciples” must become our daily heartbeat. Not once a summer when we go overseas. Not when we attend church on Sundays. Not only when we invite our friends to come to the latest cool programed college outreach. Making disciples must become our heartbeat, it cannot simply be something we do, it must be who we are. If you knew that tomorrow you would have the opportunity to share your faith with someone who doesn’t know Jesus, how would you prepare today? If you knew that every day you would have the opportunity live and speak the Gospel to someone who doesn’t know Jesus, how would you prepare everyday? When ‘Christian’ changes from something you do to who you are, ‘mission’ or ‘missionary’ must also change from something you do to who you are. When following Jesus is no longer an activity but is instead your identity, the Word of God no longer is something you read but it becomes the bread of life, the Sword of the Spirit, living water that is necessary to your daily life because in your daily life you are waging war “against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places”. If you struggle with hungering for the Word of God, you do not need to try harder to read the Bible more. You need a heart change. You need to see that your moment of salvation was your moment of enlistment into the army of the LORD. You need to see that your daily life is a call to war- a call to mission. If you faced battle tomorrow, how would you train today? You do face battle tomorrow.

“Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity”,

“grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ”,

“taste and see that the LORD is good”,

“taste the goodness of the word of God” and,

“since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus” who is the Word.

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.”

“Oh, the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God!” Paul to the Romans, Chapter 11

Why does God allow Suffering?

Mon, 13 Dec 2010 03:24:00 -0500

Suffering

Suffering is the cause of many people’s doubt of religion. Everyone, at some time or another, wonders: “Why does God, if there is a God, allow suffering?” Why does God allow suffering? Before we dive into this hot topic we must first understand some truths about suffering.

Many people who have these questions are in the midst of, or have encountered suffering to some degree of severity. With that in mind I want to address this topic with utmost sensitivity and compassion, but some things are going to be tough to swallow.

I want to first address suffering from a perspective other than that of the Christian. I want us to understand that suffering does not disprove God, but rather provides a stronger case for God.

Lets start with a case that Philosopher J.L.Mackie makes against God in his book The Miracle of Theism (Oxford, 1982). He states it in this way:

“If a good-and-powerful God exists, he would not allow pointless evil, but because there is much unjustifiable, pointless evil in the world, the traditional, good-and-powerful God could not exist. Some other god or no god may exist, but not the traditional God.”

This is a huge step of faith and a fallacious one at that. If we look into his assertion, we can conclude the fault in his reasoning. There is a hidden premise when he states that the world is filled with pointless evil, namely, that if evil appears pointless to me, it must be pointless. To better illustrate the fallacious reasoning, take a look at this analogy given to me by my friend Seth Troutt:

Imagine I told you to go and look inside of my car and check if there is a dog in it. Upon a very short investigation, you would have decided very easily whether or not there is a dog in the car. However, if I asked you to go and check if there was a gnat, your search would be much more difficult, and even if you couldn’t find a gnat, you couldn’t necessarily conclude that there is no gnat in the car, as they are small and very hard to find.

The point I’m making with this analogy is that it is unreasonable to conclude that just because one does not see something that it does not exist. I believe that suffering is more like the gnat than the dog.

Inexplicable suffering does not disprove God, nonetheless it provides a problem for those who believe in the Bible. However, if we begin to look closer at suffering, it provides even more trouble for the non-believer. C.S. Lewis described how he used to reject God because of the cruelty of life but then he realized that evil was more problematic for his atheism. He says that his primary “argument against God was that the universe seemed so cruel and unjust. But how did I get this idea of “just” and “unjust”? What was I comparing this universe with when I called it unjust?” He goes on to rationalize that he could discard his idea of justice on that basis that it was not backed by anything and that it was a “private idea of [his] own.” But he sees that if he does that, then his argument about God crumbles with it. You see, our ideas of just and unjust, if not based on some super-natural knowledge, are only fancies of our mind. For if there was no higher mandate as to how we are supposed to live, then there is no reason to love each other. If there is no God that establishes order and a concept of right and wrong, then when thousands of innocent people are being slaughtered in Africa, we have no grounds to impose our lifestyle and fight for peace. If there is no higher (supernatural if you will) calling of which we are supposed to live by, then all evil is irrefutable. All evil is relative to one’s personal fancies. Philosopher Alvin Plantinga put it like this:

“Could there really be any such thing as horrifying wickedness if there was no God and we just evolved? I don’t see how. There can be such a thing only if there is a way that rational creatures are supposedto live, obliged to live…. A secular way of looking at the world has no place for genuine moral obligation of any sort…and thus no way to say there is such a thing as genuine and appalling wickedness (…and not just an illusion of some sort), then you have a powerful …argument for the reality of God.”

I simply wanted to establish the idea that suffering is not a reason for disbelief in God, but rather a powerful argument for God. With that in mind, walk with me as we begin to understand:

Why does God allow suffering?

We will focus on a few main points:

We live in a fallen world
God is sovereign
We deserve it
We have two options: stagnancy or repentance
Jesus suffered more
Promises of the Father
Hope of restoration
The Great Shepherd

I cannot imagine that anyone would look at our world today and say, “It is completely good, I don’t see anything wrong with it,” and if that person did, well I wouldn’t know what to do because it clearly is not true of this world. All it takes is a flipping through a magazine, watching five minutes of the news, or reading a newspaper to confirm that there are things wrong with our world. The question is, why? The Bible says sin.

Sin is the reason that there is evil in the world. Unlike many beliefs, Christianity provides a reason for evil. It is because man has fallen short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). We chose independence from God and therefore bore the consequences, and sin has its consequences. Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” It says the wages of sin is death, this means that there are expenses that must be paid because of sin, and the payment for sin is death. Romans 3:23 says that ALL have sinned. This is stating that we all have sinned and deserve to die, but we are alive… Let us explore this.

In August of this year more than 1,100 were killed in a flooding in Pakistan. In January, over 100,000 people were killed within 60 seconds from the earthquake in Haiti. Those are just two of the hundreds of tragedies that have occurred this year. Now let us look at three of the many tragedies of the Bible.

The first is in Luke 13. Here we hear that Pilate had murdered a group of Galileans as they were offering sacrifices. He then proceeded to mock them in their death by mixing their blood with the blood of the livestock. It is on this account that these people approach Jesus after the intensity of loss begins to subside. This is where Luke 13:1 picks up. They are seeking justice and consolation, they are inquiring: “how could this happen?” Jesus replies, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered this way? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” Don’t be mistaken, Jesus can weep with those who weep, and he has compassion almost everywhere he goes. But here, Jesus does not want to “appease” everyone or get God “off the hook,” instead comes out warning these people who were complaining about their sufferings that they will perish likewise because sin is sin. He continues to say, “Or those eighteen who died when the tower in Siloam fell on them—do you think they were more guilty than all the others living in Jerusalem? I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.” We see another example of a tragedy and we witness the same response from Jesus. He declares that all are equal in guilt and all shall perish unless they repent. Once again, Romans 3:23 and 6:23 are referenced.

Turn with me over to Job 1 and if you have not read it before, read it now. Look at what Job is put through, look at what God allows. He allows Satan to test Job and what happens is tragedy. Job’s livestock, servants and family are taken. His house is swept over by a wind that brings the house down on his family. Job loses everything. Witness his reaction in verse 20:

“Then Job arose and tore his robe and shaved his head, and he fell to the ground and worshiped.

He said,
         ”Naked I came from my mother’s womb,
         And naked I shall return there
         The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away.
         Blessed be the name of the LORD.”

Wow, in the midst of all this suffering, loss, and pain, Job praises the Lord. Why is that? Look at Deuteronomy 32:39:

“See now that I myself am he!
   There is no god besides me.
I put to death and I bring to life,
   I have wounded and I will heal,
    and no one can deliver out of my hand.”

Job praises the Lord because God puts to death and brings to life, he wounds and heals. Job knows that God is sovereign and he trusts in him even amidst tragedies because God holds all life in his hand. He kills, He gives life and He does no wrong in it. Look at James 4:13-16:

Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil.

You see, God is sovereign, he holds all things in his hand. He has the right to give and take life as he determines. We shouldn’t be looking at tragedies and saying why did this happen and ask God to prove himself, instead we should ask, “Why not me?” That is the question Jesus challenges the people with in Luke 13. He asks them, “Do you suppose that these Galileans were greater sinners than all other Galileans because they suffered this fate? I tell you, no!” Jesus says that they did not suffer cause they were worse or did more wrong, they suffered because they are sinful. Jesus is basically asking them “Why shouldn’t you be the one under the tower? You are equal in sin!” This is what we should be asking, not why did they suffer. We should wonder “why wasn’t I under the tower that fell, why didn’t the earthquake strike my home?” We should be thankful every day that we wake up and have life because every second is a gift. In [God’s] hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind” (Job 12:10). Every breath we take, every second we live is a blessing from God.

The problem with the picture drawn above is that it is real. It leaves us in a state of uneasiness. We could either: A. Live the life we were living and be punished like the Galileans, or B. Turn from our evil ways and repent. One might be thinking, “okay, but above it says that God kills and that God holds us in his hand, isn’t that scary? This God seems pretty mean and all I’ve seen so far is that I should expect suffering (or death if I don’t repent), and that doesn’t sound too enticing.” Agreed, but that is only because we haven’t looked at the whole picture yet. Walk with me as we look at what God’s heart is for those who do repent.

As of this point we understand that: we have a need for God (due to injustices and evil in the world), we understand that there is evil and that God puts to death and punishes, and that there is something else in store for those who repent. Now what is that?

The New Testament, primarily the gospels, take us through an in-depth, personal, study of the life of Jesus. We get to experience Jesus through people who lived in the closest community with him and through it, we get to see some amazing stuff. First off, we get to see what Jesus went through.

Here are just a few of the things that Jesus went through: he was hungry (Luke 4:2), tempted (Luke 4), spit on, beaten, mocked, flogged, persecuted, condemned, and betrayed. Then to add to it, he lost a good friend Lazarus, and took on the worst pain of all. A pain that only Jesus could know and those who have passed away that did not repent. He bore the FULL wrath of God (check out my post titled The Misconception of Hell to understand the severity of this). So we see, God’s son Jesus, was put through the worst of worsts. If we understand the wrath of God and the trinity it sheds light on the weight of his sufferings. For the Trinity is God in three person’s: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All three have been forever in perfect communion. God is perfect, lacking nothing. All Jesus has known is this perfect relationship with the Father and Holy Spirit. Before I continue let me ask you a question. What would you consider the worst way to suffer? What is the worst thing that could happen to you? What could you not bear to lose? Now understand, that death is not suffering (on this earth at least), I want to know what you think is the worst besides that. I would dare to say, mainly because I have seen it people’s eyes, that the worst thing that could happen is to lose a child or a spouse. To me, that would be the worst thing. Look back at the God, what is he? Three-in-one, he is trinitarian. This means that he has had this perfect relationship that is complete, lacking nothing for eternity before we were created! If the bond between a husband and wife or parent and newborn is deep, I cannot fathom this relationship. How much more would it hurt to lose this? When Jesus bore the wrath for our sins, it was the first time that he had ever been separated from the loving presence of the Father and Holy Spirit. When he looked to Heaven on the cross and cried out to his Father, instead of seeing a smiling face, he saw an angry one. One that was so angry his nose was crunching and nostrils flaring. God poured his ENTIRE wrath down on his own Son. This is what Jesus did, this is what he suffered. Now if we read Romans 8:16-18, we see that we are heirs to the Father IF we share in Jesus’ sufferings. (If you have not read my post on Freedom from Sin, you should do so because I dive in deeper to the idea of being a co-heir with Christ.) It says that we are heirs if we suffer, this means that suffering is a part of being a child of God, for if we suffer we are his child. This is where grace enters the picture.

God says that we will share in his sufferings, so do not ask why, we know why: we are children of God; and if you aren’t a child of God, you will experience suffering because you have not repented as Jesus says in Luke 13.

This leaves us in an interesting predicament. Either way we are going to suffer. So why choose God you might ask? Because God sent his only Son into the world so that he may relate to us, to share in OUR sufferings and to satisfy the wrath of the Father for those who believe. (That is called grace my friends. Jesus, being fully God and man, was perfect and died for the imperfect (us) so that we may live.) Not only that, but God sent his Son so that he could show us what he promises for us. With being an heir to the Father comes ALL of his blessings. He says “Look at my Son, Jesus, do you see what I put him through? Do you know why I put him through that? It is so that you may live and you may see how much I love you. Jesus endured every type of suffering you could possibly imagine and to a greater degree. Now look at how I delivered him. So will I do the same for my children. Should you repent and follow Jesus, you will be my son or daughter and I will guide you just as I guided my son. Remember how the remnant of Israel was suffering in exile, not knowing if they would ever return to the promised land, held on to the promise of God through the profit Jeremiah? I too will deliver you for “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” (Jeremiah 29:11). I love you and want to equip you with EVERYTHING GOOD that is in my Kingdom, for you are my heir, my beloved.” This is what God says to us! Remember the God who was intimidating at the beginning? This is the same God, we just have to chose which side of his face we want to see: the side that smiles and says he loves you and will guide you through sufferings, or the white-hot face that burns with rage? The face that is so intimidating that it made Jesus weep tears of blood? The choice is simple to me. God holds us in his hands regardless and he promises suffering regardless, but if we chose to love him and live with him he promises us provision and hope. Yes, he promises hope through the suffering. Timothy Keller helps us understand this in his book Reason for God. He tells us that one night he had a nightmare and in it, his entire family was killed. He awoke, heart racing, palms sweating, and looked to his wife next to him. She was fine. He then went and checked on his children, thank goodness, they were fine. He then tells us that when they all awoke the next morning he had a new found love for them. Since he now knew what it felt like to live without them, he felt all the more joy to live with them. This is the idea of hope we see with suffering. He says he has never loved them the same since that night, he has loved them with a deeper, more appreciative love.

Clay Jones, professor of apologetics at Biola University says this about suffering, “We suffer here on earth because we are free beings and we will continue to be free beings in heaven, and so the suffering here on earth is so that we will learn what the consequences are of sin.” First off, he defends this idea by declaring that there is no place in the Bible that says there will not be free will in Heaven. Continuing on, he proceeds to give the analogy of shoving a pen in his eye. No matter how long he lives, he will never willfully shove a pen into his eye. He understands that it will cause pain, sees the consequences of things like it, and therefore he refrains from thrusting it into his eye. The same principle applies to Heaven, we learn the consequences of sin here and we choose to live with Christ. To revert back to anything other than purely worshipping God would be idiotic, like thrusting a pen into your eye.

The Bible teaches in Revelations 21, that Heaven will not be some new immaterial paradise, but that heaven will come down to earth and restore it, cleansing it, making it new. Heaven is not a consolation for all the pain but a restoration. All the evil things that have happened will not only be undone but also, will somehow make the eventual joy and glory even greater. In the same way that Keller found a deeper love after his nightmare, we too will find deeper joy and glory in the new earth because of what our eyes have seen and hearts have felt.

Fyodor Dostoevsky put it perfectly in The Brothers Karamazov when he wrote:

“I believe like a child that suffering will be healed and made up for, that all the humiliating absurdity of human contradictions will vanish like a pitiful mirage, like the despicable fabrication of the impotent and infinitely small Euclidean mind of man, that in the world’s finale, at the moment of eternal harmony, something so precious will come to pass that it will suffice for all hearts, for the comforting of all resentments, for the atonement of all the crimes of humanity, of all the blood that they’ve shed; that it will make it not only possible to forgive but to justify all that has happened.”

This is the ultimate defeat of evil and suffering. Keller writes, “It will not only be ended but so radically vanquished that what has happened will only sere to make our future life and joy infinitely greater.” That is the truth. Suffering is not in vain. Suffering is inevitable because of sin, but God provides an example, a helping hand, and a hope. Take a look at one last picture of suffering with me and thank you for reading this far. This is amazing.

Finally, look at Psalms 23. Read it and sit in it. It is my favorite passage. It looks at Jesus as our Shepherd as he is so commonly referred. Many people study and understand Jesus as our Redeemer, Savior, Comforter, King, and Lord, but rarely is he discussed as a Shepherd. Let’s see why he IS though. Read verse 4 again. “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me.” What does this mean? If we study shepherds of this time period, we understand that there came a certain time of the year where they would have to relocate their sheep. The reason is because the sheep would eat the grass to the ground and there would be no more food. A bad shepherd would keep them there, not risking leaving for fear of losing a sheep to the wilderness, but a good shepherd would risk this. A good shepherd would take his sheep to the hills where the grass was green. A good shepherd would walk this path many times, making sure it is safe and clearing the path of as many obstacles as possible. Remember Jeremiah 29:11? Yeah, he knows the plans he has for you because he has walked it before (through his Son), plans to prosper, not to harm. He plans to take us to the green pastures, a place that is far better than our current residence (even if in our ignorance as sheep we think that the dead pasture is good). Verse 4 says that he leads us through “the valley of the shadow of death.” When a shepherd was leading his sheep to the hillside, the safest route was through the valleys of the mountain. This created a sort of funnel, keeping the sheep centered on the path, creating less chances for the sheep to veer off path. It also says the “shadow of death.” It is referring to when the sheep are walking in the valley and the peaks to their sides cast shadows on the path. These can be interpreted as times of suffering or darkness simply. Now lets dive even further in. The shepherd has gone before the sheep, preparing a way. Yet there are still bushes and brush along the path that can tangle and ensnare the sheep. There are still bumps and rocks in the road in which the sheep will fall. But what happens when the sheep fall? What happens when we fall? We need to FEEL the ground. What do you feel? Do you notice the grooves? The shape? It is the footprint of our Shepherd. When we fall we feel the footprints of the one who went before us and remember the promise of our Father, that he will guide us to the hillside. “Okay, thats cool and all but what if the sheep stray from the path?” Good question. When a sheep strays from the flock, the shepherd leaves the flock and personally goes searching until he finds the sheep. When he finds the sheep, he does something interesting. He breaks its leg. He breaks one of its legs and then hoists it onto his shoulders and carries it back to the flock. The reason for breaking the leg is so that the sheep builds dependence on the shepherd, the sheep must be carried and then when it gets back, it must stay extremely close to the shepherd otherwise it will be overrun by the others. The shepherd breaks its leg so it realizes that it needs the shepherd and that the shepherd is looking out for it. For this reason God still breaks our legs, our sufferings are a part of the path. We will get cut and bruised, but remember, the shepherd has prevented so much more and knows what we are going to go through. Remember that the Great Shepherd (Jesus) walked our path and seeks us personally when we stray. He will break us when we stray, but he promises that it is to prosper us, not to harm. And when we are broken and on his shoulders, we are in the greatest of all places. In the arms of our Shepherd, resting, listening to his heartbeat.

Remember that we suffer because we are of his flock. Would you rather suffer at the dead pasture and starve to death? Or would you rather suffer on the journey to the hill where we have protection and hope. I chose hope.

We are children of God, we are promised suffering. Take delight, as Job did, in suffering; for we know that we are walking the path with our Shepherd and we have hope of being restored.

With all the love of Christ Jesus I hope this blesses you and you begin to understand that he has plans to prosper you. Now focus your eyes on the Shepherd, take hope, and walk worthy of those plans.

Love,

Christ in Steven

Galations 2:20

Freedom from Sin and Heirs to Righteousness

Sat, 11 Dec 2010 14:03:00 -0500

The reason for me writing this, is that I want you to understand how you are free from sin and how you can see victory in it. We are continuously told in Scripture that we are no longer “slaves to sin,” but how is this possible? Walk with me as we begin to try and interpret the heart of our Lord Jesus, the victorious One, who declares in John 16:33 “take heart! I have overcome the world.”

A sermon by John Piper gave three reasons of why being “under grace” guarantees that sin will not be the master over us:

“Reason one: because under grace, the wrath of God is entirely removed and the power of God flows to us in saving, helping, keeping mercy, not punishment.

Reason two: because under grace, paralyzing guilt is taken away and we are given hope that it is worth it to fight sin.

Reason three: because under grace God himself comes into our lives and inclines our hearts away from sin and toward righteousness.”

Before we continue further, read all of Romans 6. Paul focuses on the idea of freedom from sin. Now let us try and discern how we can experience this.

Romans 6:14 states, “For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” If we step back one verse to 13 we read, “Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness.” We see this idea that is basically saying “Don’t let sing master you, because sin is not going to master you.” This is difficult to understand because of the self-determination of man. We commonly believe that when faced with a decision, it is our final say, thus making it self-determined and self-centered. If we approach decisions in this manner, it will not make sense. Instead, we need to approach decisions with the mindset of “do not yield to sin (verse 13) because sin will not be master over you (verse 14).”

We need to see God as sovereign and that he is ultimate and decisive so our thinking can begin to reshape and mirror this way of thinking: “I choose not to let sin reign in my body, because God is at work in me and will not let sin reign in my body (see Philippians 2:12-13; 3:12; 1 Corinthians 5:7).”

Sin is no longer our master

Romans 6:1-2: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin so that grace may increase? May it never be! How shall we who died to sin still live in it?”

Living in sin is no longer an option. We cannot keep living in sin. Look at Romans 6:7, “For he who has died is freed [literally: “justified”] from sin.” Which is the same as saying, “For he is under grace, not under law.” Pull back to verse 6- “for we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin.” If you read my previous post on the Trinity, recall the verse Mark 8:35 - “For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me and for the gospel will save it.” You have been “crucified with Christ” and you no longer live, but Christ lives in you (Galations 2:20). If we put these together, we see that: should we choose to accept the gift of Christ, we die to ourselves by being crucified with Christ. In being crucified, our old, sinful self is done away with. Now Christ lives in us and we are no longer under law but under grace and free from being mastered by sin. Our master is now Jesus and we are slaves to his righteousness (Romans 6:18). Piper proclaims, “Your death with Christ ensures that sin will not be master over you. Therefore, don’t let it be master over you.” Notice that God does all the work and that he freed you from his wrath through his Son.

The Freedom

I am going to try and avoid getting to much into grace in this because we are already covering enough. However, I would like to transition to describe what it looks like to be freed from slavery and sin. How did we get out of this slavery? I referenced earlier the verses in Mark and Galations, but what does that mean for you and I? How could we possibly be freed from this? In John 8:34, Jesus declares to the Pharisees, “Very truly I tell you, everyone who sins is a slave to sin.” In Romans 6:6 and 6:16 we see this idea again of being slaves to sin. Then in John 8:35 Jesus says “Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever.” If this is true, how can we, as David sings in Psalm 23, “dwell in the house of the LORD forever”? That is a good question, and the answer is beautiful…

Open your Bible back up to John chapter 8. Look with me again at what John 8:34 says:

“I tell you the truth, everyone who sins is a slave to sin. Now a slave has no permanent place in the family, but a son belongs to it forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.”

To understand how we become free in Christ, we need to understand the context of which this was written. Nowadays, parents adopt children from all over the world; this can done be through all sorts of adoption agencies. However, when this was written, they had different policies than we do now on adoption. The son of a family was allowed to adopt people into his own family; anyone from strangers, to friends, to slaves. And if you were a slave to this persons family but were then adopted, you inherited the same rights as the son had and become a co-heir to his father. You no longer had the status of a slave, but were equal to the son. You were freed from slavery and became a part of the family. This is why Romans 8:14-17 says, “For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.” We see this again in Romans 9, Galatians 4, and Ephesians 1. We have been ADOPTED by Jesus, our Savior, to share an EQUAL inheritance in His Father’s kingdom!!! We now have a PERMANENT place in His home! He brought us out of slavery and into freedom through His name! “If the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed!” Life is forever changed. Scripture should breathe new life into us now that we know our relationship with the Father. Now when we look at the story of Jesus, we see all that he went through, all of the suffering, pain, and persecution, and we can have hope! For the Father brought Jesus through everything; he comforted and protected. We are now co-heirs with Christ to the Father and ALL of his blessings! The Father will do for us what he did for his very own Son, cause we are now sons and daughters by the adoption of Jesus. Through this adoption, we are free from slavery, free from sin! We have bought at a price, the price of the Son of God, so that we may experience life, a NEW life. For our old self has been crucified with Christ. The sins of our past and future were nailed to the cross with Jesus so that now we do not have to endure the wrath of God, but rather the love, grace, and provisions he has for us. How much more sense would it make for a slave to return to slavery than for us to return to the old life of sin. We have received the ultimate gift, freedom from sin and are now slaves to righteousness, and it is has ALL been accomplished by God so that we cannot boast. Freedom does not come from our decisions to not live by our sinful nature, but rather by letting Christ manifest himself in you so that sin no longer even has power.

That is the story of Jesus. Purchasing us out of slavery at the cost of his own life. Remember he says that we will know his Father because we know Jesus (John 14:7)? This means that Jesus and the Father have the same heart for us. The Father loves us beyond all measure and wants to bless us the way he blessed his Son. With that in mind, let Hebrews 13:20 be the cry of your heart:

“Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”

Know that God loves you, that you are his son or daughter, and that his wrath has been satisfied by his own Son so that he may look on us with only pleasure. He wants to bless you with EVERYTHING GOOD that is under his name, he wants to work in you and lead you to his righteousness, he just says “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8).

In closing, remember Romans 5:8, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Before we knew him, without asking, he gave us his life. Imagine what he will give those who delight in him. Join me as we seek his heart and his blessings. May you delight in the Lord, for he will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4). For he gives generously to his children. We are his children. Walk worthy.

The Significance of a Trinitarian God

Fri, 10 Dec 2010 21:23:00 -0500

I pray that as you walk through this with me, your heart will be opened to experience our loving Savior in a new way. That you would begin to see how everything in the Word comes back to Jesus and the cross because Jesus is the Word. “Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen” (Hebrews 13:20)

Trinity: the unity of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit as three persons in one Godhead.

The idea of a trinitarian God is unique to Christianity alone. Some religions believe in a unitarian god or even multiple gods; others believe that all gods are true. There is also a belief called Unitarian Christianity which expresses disbelief in the trinitarian God of Christianity, but the point I am trying to convey is that orthodox Christianity is the only religion that believes in a trinitarian God. This is what led me to investigate:

The significance of a trinitarian God

Christianity, as many believers would (and should) describe it, is a relationship not a religion. The significance of this declaration is that we are claiming to not follow a works-based religion in which we will ultimately fall short or be condemned by a god who deems us unworthy of his/her glory. Rather, we claim to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior whom loves us no matter what mistakes we have made or will make: “While we were still sinners, [Jesus] Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). This is where we, and hopefully you already have, begin to see the absolute NEED for a trinitarian God.

In an article on the importance of trinity, Greg Crosthwait writes: “First of all, if we understand God to be self-existent, eternal, and personal, characterized by such an action as love, then a mono-personal God cannot be adequate, for love demands an object. Consider Deuteronomy 6:4-5:”

“Hear, O Israel! The LORD is our God, the LORD is one! And you shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”

This passage is clear in defining God as one and that, as humans, our appropriate response to him is love. Love, as stated by Crosthwait earlier, demands an object. It also demands a source. For love to exist, there must be a source and an object. Now if we look at Genesis 1:27 we see that humans are created in the image of God and 1 John 4:16 says that “God is love,” so if we are created in God’s image and God is love, he must be capable of love within himself. If this is the case, then God must be multiple beings as well as one (Deuteronomy 6). In the book, In the Name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit, Scott Horrell writes, “In short, it seems from every vantage that for God to be infinitely personal and to be love, he must exist as at least two persons.” It seems that God must be more than one personality in one being because of the nature of love.

The next portion of this topic stems primarily from chapter 14 of the book Reason for God by Tim Keller. A lot of it is word for word but I’m too lazy to quote. They are his findings that I wish to share in their full context.

So now let us look at the other side of the coin. Let us venture into “what if God were unipersonal?”, as so many other religions claim there gods to be. If God is unipersonal, then until God created other beings there was no love, since love is something that one person has for another. This means that God, who we see in John 1 as being from eternally before our creation, was strength, power, sovereignty and greatness from all eternity, but not love. Love then is not of the essence of God. Love then is not at the heart of our universe. Instead, power is. Our relationship with God would be based on power and service for fear of punishment, it would be works based. The Gospel message, however, teaches us that our world was created by a God who is a community of persons who have been loving each other for all eternity and that we were made for self-giving, others-oriented love. Self-centeredness destroys the fabric of what God has made.

In Mark 8:35 Jesus said that we must “lose ourselves” to find life. This reflects the relationship Jesus has been apart of for all eternity. He has been in a relationship that is self-giving, rather than self-centered. We can get an idea of what God’s relationship within himself looks like through the lens of John 1:18, 16:14, 17:4, and 17:5. These show us that the Trinity is in this relationship that is purely self-giving. Unceasingly, they pour out love for each other and glorify each other. The Father sends the Son, the Son glorifies the Father, the Father and the Son together send the Spirit, and the Spirit bears witness of the Son. This creates a dynamic dance of joy and love. The early leaders of the Greek church used the word perichoresis to describe this (our word ‘choreography’ stems from this) which literally means “around” and “dance:” to dance around. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are in this dance, centering and circling each other.

Now we see why Mark 8 says we must lose ourselves. It is because the only way we, who have been created in the image of God, can share in this same joy. To experience this joy, we must center our entire lives around him instead of ourselves.

Now we should ask ourselves a question that NEEDS to be asked. Without understanding it, we cannot fully understand the Gospel. We need to ask:

Why would such an infinitely good, perfect, and eternal being create?

A man named Jonathan Edwards studied this question through John 17:20-24, and George Marsden summarizes his idea. He says that:

“The ultimate reason that God creates… Is not to remedy some lack in God, but to extend that perfect internal communication of the triune God’s goodness and love. God’s joy and happiness… Is expressed externally by communicating that happiness and delight to created beings…. The ultimate end of creation, then, is union in love between God and loving creatures.”

God chose to give us this blessing of love and happiness. He needed nothing. He has this perfect community within himself. So why did he die for us? He had everything, so what benefit was there. Not a thing. Keller states, “That means that when he came into the world and died on the cross to deal with our sins, he was circling and serving us.” Take a look at John 17. Jesus says that “I have given them the glory that you gave me.” This is incredible! Do you understand? Jesus, at the cross, began to do what he had done with the Father for all eternity! He invited us to dance, loving us without benefit to himself.

That is why we must have a trinitarian God. God is relational, he loves and cares. That is why he sent his Son. Jesus was sent as an offering of relationship. Jesus bore the wrath of God for those who may or may not ever love and accept him. He sacrificed that we may live and that we may dance. Through Jesus, we know the Father (John 14:7) and are “co-heirs in Christ” (Romans 8:17) to our Father’s inheritance. Jesus came to circle us and he says that if we know him we know the Father. Jesus and the Father want to dance with us, and they sent the Holy Spirit to live in us. He seeks a relationship, not a religion. He gave his life, not his wrath. Our Lord and Savior loves us with all of his being! He is actively involved with us, pouring out his love and grace. Praise Him!

I want to remind you that love needs two people. God wants it to be you and him. So remember, he calls us to lose ourselves and follow him, now walk worthy of that calling.

The Misconception of Hell

Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:02:00 -0500

Hell: The Misconception

Over the course of the last month, I’ve inquired of numerous believers what they believe Hell to be, essentially: define Hell.

In listening to their responses, some say that it is called the fiery lake and that “there will be weeping there, and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28). Others have not thought too much about it. A small percent said it is just simply “a bad place.” However, the overwhelming majority started with this statement, “It is the absence of God.” This is what I have been fed my whole life and it was not until last year when I was opened to a new idea, a truth that is so amazing and intimidating, that I began to discover the truth of what Hell is.

When referencing Hell, people commonly refer to the aforementioned Scripture in Luke as well as 2 Thessalonians 1:9 where it says, “[those who do not believe and have not received the gospel] will be punished… and shut out from the presence of the Lord and from the glory of his might.” This is the foundation for the idea that Hell is the absence of God for it clearly states that they will be shut out from the presence of the Lord. But is that what it really means? Does it really mean complete absence?

When I began thinking about the idea of “absence from God,” I was led to a few verses:

Colossians 1:16,17 “For by him (Jesus) all things were created: things in heaven and on

earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things were created by him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Hebrew 1:3 “The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word.”

Deuteronomy 32:39 “See now that I myself am He! There is no god besides me. I put to death and I bring to life,”

Now I cannot help but question the logic that Hell is the absence of God. For as we know and it clearly states above, ALL THINGS are created by him and FOR HIM. It also says that God is the Sustainer, through him all things are created and all things have their being. Scripture also says that there is no god besides Him. Stick with me here, if Hell is the absence of God, then Hell is self-sustaining and if Hell is self-staining, then it does not rely on God. It, therefore, creates its own life and being: it is its own god. But in Deuteronomy God states that there is no other god; this leaves us with a choice. Either we can throw our belief in God as the only Creator and Sustainer of life, the only true God out the window or we can begin to let go of this childhood misconception that Hell is the absence of God. If you followed me this far you’re probably asking yourself, “So now what? What is Hell?”

To understand this question, first we must take a look into the book of Revelation. Take a minute to read through chapter 14, focusing on verses 6-13, and chapter 15, verses 1-4.

In chapter 14 verse 6, we see an angel of the Lord who is carrying the gospel, proclaiming it “to every nation, tribe, language and people.” He encourages the people to “fear God and give him glory…. Worship him who made the heavens, the earth, the sea and the springs of water.” Then in verse 9 the angel warns of the consequences of following the devil. It says this of those who do, “he, too, will drink of the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath.” So we see this pattern of God continuously calling us to repent and turn from our ways and accept the gospel message of his Son (this is what the angels were proclaiming and encouraging). This is setting the basis for Hell. It is giving Hell a reason and a link to God rather than case for absence. This association can be seen in the Garden of Gethsemane when Jesus was entering a physical state of shock as he awaited his pending crucifixion. As he goes a first time into the garden he falls on his face and prays, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.” (Matthew 26:39). Here again we see a reference to this “cup.” Isaiah 51:22 helps define further what this cup is:

“This is what your Sovereign LORD says,
   your God, who defends his people:
“See, I have taken out of your hand
   the cup that made you stagger;
from that cup, the goblet of my wrath,
   you will never drink again.”

The cup that is referred to in Revelation and Matthew is the cup that is filled with God’s wrath; his wrath that is to be poured out in an act of justice and righteousness. This is why we are warned to turn from our ways so that we do not have to drink the wine of God’s fury. For those who do, “will be tormented with burning sulfur in the presence of the holy angels and the Lamb” (Revelation 14:10). This verse states that the tormenting will be in the presence of the Lamb (Jesus). Then it says in Revelation 15:2 “And I saw what looked like a sea of glass glowing with fire and, standing beside the sea, those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name.” This indicates that those who are victorious through Christ will be there too, witnessing with Jesus, the wrath of God being poured out. Not only that but praises will be sung saying:

“Great and marvelous are your deeds,
Lord God Almighty.
Just and true are your ways,
King of the nations.” (Revelation 15:3)

Then it goes on to reference chapter 14:7 where the angel warns the people:

Who will not fear you, Lord,
and bring glory to your name?
For you alone are holy.
All nations will come
and worship before you,
for your righteous acts have been revealed.”

Notice that it says “your righteous acts have been revealed.” God’s perfect righteousness is revealed to us in this act. Remember the verse earlier in Colossians? All things, visible and invisible, were created by him and for him. Hell is a place where the wholeness of God is demonstrated as complete. The burning white-hot wrath is his glory. It is not something that is impure, for God’s wrath is transparent. That is why the sea of fire is referred to as a sea of glass. His wrath is necessary, it is righteous, it is praiseworthy, and it is of and for him!

With all of this in mind, and with some interpretation to come, we can get an idea of how Jesus shuts unbelievers out from his presence (2 Thessalonians 1:9) while simultaneously being present to punish them with everlasting destruction.

One of the Hebrew words used for wrath has dual meanings: anger and nose. “The syntactic plural of the hebrew word not only means nose, but face and it does not carry the notion of plural anger.” There is a reason that this Hebrew word has the same word for nose and anger: when a person becomes angry, they flare their nostrils and fume through the nose. This means that the wrath of God can be defined in an elementary way as “no longer seeing his smiling face.” This is how we can begin to understand the truth about how Jesus is there but he still withdraws his presence.

What 2 Thessalonians is saying is that God is withdrawing part of his presence. He is shutting the unbelieving out from his nature of love, grace, and mercy. He is withdrawing from them part of his very nature, part of his presence, he is cutting them off completely. Remember, he warned “If anyone worships the beast and its image…, they, too, will drink the wine of God’s fury, which has been poured full strength into the cup of his wrath” (Revelation 14:9). Thomas Watson puts it this way, “Sin is committed against an infinite majesty, therefore it is infinite, and the punishment must be infinite. Because the nature of man is but finite, and a sinner cannot at once bear infinite wrath, therefore he must be satisfying in enmity what he cannot satisfy at once.” Therefore, Hell is the eternal wrath of God being poured out. It is this place where God’s wrath, which we now know is in the form of a full cup, will be poured out for all eternity, satisfying the payment for sin. It is a “sea of glass and fire,” which is interpreted as a sea of glass and wrath. A place filled with weeping and gnashing of teeth due to the torment of being consumed, constantly drowning, by God’s wrath.

At this point, you are probably overwhelmed and possibly saddened by all of this talk of wrath, destruction, anger, eternal fire, etc. So now, I am going to share the joy in it; the reason that we study God’s Word and seek truth. It all comes back to the cross. Let me remind you again that the angel, in Revelation, tells us to worship him who made the heavens and to accept the message of the Gospel. Now if we begin to understand the truth about Hell, and the fierceness of the wrath of God, we begin to understand the heart of our Savior.

Look again at Jesus’ prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane. Notice that he prays three times that the cup be taken from him. This is not out of unwillingness or lack of desire to do his Father’s will, but he is doing what logically makes sense. Rev. Haak expounds on this: “not only was that right of Jesus, but it would have been the grossest impiety, the grossest hardness, the grossest callousness to look into that cup with anything other than aversion. The aversion, you understand, is not an unwillingness to save us. His reluctance is not that He is reluctant to obey the Father. He is not questioning the will of the Almighty. The aversion is to the horror of God’s wrath against sin! Psalm 90:11 (KJV) “Who knoweth the power of thine anger? even according to thy fear, so is thy wrath.” Who knows God’s wrath so that he can have an appropriate fear of it? Who has the proper regard for the wrath of God?” The answer is God. Jesus being fully deity and man knew the weight of the burden he was about to bear. Yet, he still bore it. He came to this earth with nothing to gain. He was always been in perfect communion in the Trinity: he lacked nothing. Even still, he looked at us with such love and grace, solely desiring to have a relationship with him, desiring to invite us into his family, to be co-heirs of the Father, and inherit his Kingdom, the kingdom of Heaven. He loved us so much that in the face of what only he knew, the pain of the wrath of the Father, he said “Here, let me drink it all. Every last drop so that you do not have to. I love you and would rather die for you than live without you.” That is the glory and love of our Savior Jesus Christ, who was the only all-sufficient Savior. For only an infinite being could satisfy infinite wrath in one moment. (I put an additional analogy at the bottom regarding this). This means that the infinite wrath of God being divided by an infinite being, or the Son of God, can be swallowed up and completely paid for in one moment: the moment of the cross. Now that is why I sing praises!

He died so we can stand by him on the day of Judgement and sing praises of his righteousness.

He died so that we may live.

He died for you and me.

That is the Gospel, that is Truth, now walk worthy.

Additional analogy:

We can look at mathematics to help draw a picture. Infinity divided by one is infinity. This means that the infinite wrath of God being divided by one person is paid in an infinite amount of times (thus eternity in Hell). The second mathematical solution is that infinity divided by infinity equals one (now all you math majors out there I understand that this is only true in certain circumstances, but for the point of the illustration stick with me).