A View of God in Scripture

Our view of God as Christians is of utmost importance. The way you perceive your God to be is essentially everything to your Christian walk.

For instance, if you believe your God to be a very nice, elderly old chap, with gray hair and good morals.... well let's just say basically your God is Gandalf off of Lord of the Rings. You would never say that, but basically this is what you believe. He is old, wise, kind, and he says very intelligent things at the right moments. This view of God will hold up until you run into an issue that seemingly outdates your Gandalf God. I mean, again, you would never admit this, but more than likely if you hold this view of God you just don't picture him thoroughly understanding myspace or intelligently operating a web browser. Never would you consider God being able to buy a book on ebay, tweet his thoughts on the world, or post a myspace pic of Him, Moses, and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. I mean, he's old. He is into old things, like sitting on a throne and stroking His long heavenly beard. He is much more apt to be playing bridge or shuffleboard with the rest of the senior citizens and yuppies, than engaging post-moderns right?

Now before you right me off as heretical let me make some balancing statements. I do not believe that God has a secret myspace account that He hasn't let the world in on yet. I also do not believe that he is really into twitter, or browsing through the latest sites either. My point is rather that there is an entire Generation of young people that come to church and most assuredly respect God, but do not know him any more than they know the president of the United States. They resepct him enough to stand in reverence and try not to sleep when the preacher man is talking, but they could essentially care less about what he is saying because to them God is not relevant or near. He is the good, elderly chao in the heavens that desires repect. He is not the all consuming, ageless, eternal flame of God that will outlast eternity and exists in forever. They do not know Him as He is and I would propose that perhaps this is a direct reflection of the tragic fact that many of the older generation do not know this God either. Or perhaps if they do, they most certainly to not seem to live in such a way that screams this truth to the world.

How do we view our God? Now this is essential and imperative. We must view our God in light of the only thing that truly holds the authority to tell us about Him; The Bible. O what this generation might look like if they had a holy, love affair with their bibles! The radical face of Christ is shone forth in His gospels and He makes himself known to the world through the ancient texts of scriptures, yet they hold about as much significance today in the Christian household as any other book on the shelf. Beth Moore bible studies are more clear and concise right? Reading the latest trendy Christian article, or listening to the latest T.V. evangelist just seems so much more practical now doesn't it. Yet, the ancient text whispers from the dusty book shelf calling you to find out who this Jesus really is.

It is a tragedy when the majority of people's view God is based on personal emotional experiences and not on the ancient writings of the Holy Scripture. How tragic is it that many of us cannot submit to certain views about God that are clearly outlines in His Word because "we just don't believe God would do something like that." Perhaps, my favorite, (by favorite I mean the one I most despise) "I just don't believe in a God that would send anyone to hell." What are we basing our ideas on? Certainly not the God of the Bible, considering Christ himself, God in the flesh, talked more about hell than any other character in the whole of scripture. So instead, your entire view of God is based on "what seems right to you?" Is it just me that seems to think that this is entirely too ridiculous for words? You want to base your entire view of an eternal, magnificent, all knowing, all powerful God on what "feels right?" I woud argue that scripture would say that "There is a way that seems right man, and in the end it leads to destruction." (Prov. 14:12; 16:25), but that would be contingent on someone actually wanting to submit to the scriptues and not simply to what "feels right."

Our view of God must be rooted in scripture and when it is, we must fearlessly proclaim Him as He has made Himself know to us in scripture. I propose there is no view of God, outside of scripture, that our hearts could create, that would not make God out to be a miniature version of His true self. He is huge. When we worship a small, make believe God that our hearts desires have created, our souls shrink in light of that idol. Our spiritual vitality and life dry up and what could be a wellspring of life is merely a faint trickling sound that poisons the very thought of the true God of the Universe. We were created to worship. When we worship God for who He really is our soul is made glad and swells to embrace such a magnificent and mighty God. Praise Christ that He is much more than just feelings and emotions, but He is a living God! As for a true, clear view of God I cannot say it better than Paul. Here we find a view of God that can truly transform even the coldest if hearts.

"Oh, the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How,
unsearchable are his judgements and how inscrutable are his ways! For who
has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor? Or who has
given a gift to him that he might be repaid? For from and to him and through
him are all things. To him be glory forever, Amen." - Romans 11-33-36

Truth and Beauty

O how desperately I want to know Christ in His glory. It is simple to find ourselves in the midst of a conversation with a non-believer or perhaps even in a debate with a Christian and rattle off John 14:6 "I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." This scripture is of course at the forefront of every argument against relativism that I have ever heard and although it is extremely relevant in that sphere of conversation, I want to pose a question that perhaps has not really been answered by many. What does it mean for Jesus to be the truth? I believe this is not only a good question, but also an imperative one. Since we are so adamantly opposed to relevant truth, and rightfully so, it is of my utmost conviction that we must resolve what it means for Jesus to be the truth. I think that the answer is simple and breathtaking all at once. 

Truth is reality. In the embodied person and work of Jesus in life and death is truth. His entire existence not only points to truth, but is truth. Jesus is reality. On the cross He was pointing out the reality of sin and the steadfast love of our God. In His ministry He was continuously pointing out the extreme ramifications of sin and then His overall power and authority over sin as a reality. Through miracles He showed truth, through signs and wonders we saw truth, as He wept we saw truth, as He paused at the well wearied by a long days journey we saw truth. Jesus showed us the true matter and state of the entire universe and He did so by simply being who He is and who He always will be. 

This is simple and unbelievably breathtaking. How can there be such an unrelenting desire inside of every man and woman to see truth and it be totally encompassed by one man. Pontius Pilate reveals all of our weakness in one discourse with Jesus just before the cross. Pilate questions Jesus about His kingship and Jesus replies thus "You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born into the world, to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice." In Pilate's response we see the age old question that every human being has been asking since the fall of man. Pilate answers, "What is truth?" and in His frustration, he walks away only to concede to the will of the mob and deliver Jesus to be crucified. I feel the pain in Pilate's voice here. I feel the burden that he carries. I sense the gravity that is on him. It is in this that I begin to see the beauty that is in Christ alone.

It is only when we see Christ as the all satisfying answer to our hardest and most difficult questions that true beauty is revealed to us. The deepest, darkest secret in the heart of man is this: we do not know truth. We cannot discern it. We do not see it. We are blinded to it. It is in this that God is most glorified. In Christ the most glorious light that has ever come into the world is shined and truth is revealed. It is Him! He is truth. Once Jesus steps on the scene, He has the ability to shine the light on all truth and lead us into beauty. Once He has shined on the truth we can begin to see the beauty of things were created to be. Christ created family to be beautiful and through the terror of sin it has become so dark and enslaving, but through the cross and the truth of the gospel we are able to experience the true beauty that family was meant for. Sex was meant to be a beautiful union, a mingling of souls between a man and a woman in the covenant of marriage, but it was tarnished by the deceitfulness of sin. Yet, in the darkest of times Christ shined out the brighter and through the cross and the truth of the gospel we are now able to operate in the beauty and rhythm that God created marriage and sex for in the beginning. 

Truth leads to a realization of beauty, without fail. Once we see the truth, it enables us to see Christ not as a all powerful taskmaster, arbitrarily setting rules that He knows we will all break in order to revel in joy at the sight of our punishment. Rather truth leads us to "delight in the law of the Lord" as David did in the psalms because they lead to life, "reviving the soul." We no longer see our Christian walk as a laundry list of rules to be followed begrudgingly, but as the way things were always meant to be, in truth, to lead us into the greatest possible measure of joy imaginable to the Glory of Christ. 

When we say Jesus is the truth, we mean exactly that and when people understand this clearly joy will always follow. Truth leads to a realization of beauty, without fail.

Joy

I have been terribly convicted in study. Reading some of the great men of God and theologians that have been before us, and then laying my life over their thoughts and lifestyles has been one of the most convicting experiences of my life. Surprisingly the one thing that seemed to most convicting out of the many, was not their intellect, not their commitment to discipline, not their relationships with others, not their marriage, not their study devotion, although all of these were convicting. The most convicting however was this, the seemingly nonchalant understanding of the pleasures unspeakable that are found in Christ and the utter indifference toward the things in this world. 

What freedom comes with not only knowing the unsearchable riches and joy of Christ, but also pursuing them at all cost? To what end are we willing to neglect the trite, fleeting pleasures of this world in order to pursue fully the immeasurable greatness of our God. In truth, we are not willing. We are willing to offer lip service and filthy rags of our own righteousness. We are willing to ascribe to standard of morality and call it Christianity. We are willing to do the right things, at the right time, while playing the right part, in order to save face and identity. Yet, historically when has a life following Christ ever offered a chance to save face? In fact, isn't following Christ marked with death to self? The answer of course is yes, but in word not in heart. 

I know cognitively, yet not in the depth of my soul. If I did, wouldn't things look differently in my life? Of course, and because this is true it stings at the very core of who I am. This truth haunts my thoughts and I can't help but wonder if it haunts anyone else. Or perhaps we are completely satisfied with the things in this world. There is a reason that this is an absolute, compromise.

The glory of God is at the forefront of our existence. Since the beginning of time, we have been created to glorify God. We were created, not for fellowship, not for company, not for communion, but for the worship, adoration, and renown of the name of God. Clearly then the age old question should be, how do we glorify him? This is where the rubber meets the road. Many people think that we glorify God through our submission, service, and lifestyles of morality. We believe that God is most glorified, when His church buildings are full of people that are worshippers, prayer warriors, band members, greeters, ushers, interns, and pastors. Perhaps we believe even that God is most glorified in missions, or through philanthropy in His name. However, biblically we must infer that these are not entirely true. We must concur that God is most glorified, when we find our utmost joy, peace, happiness, and fulfillment in Him and in turn through those things our only response is to fulfill the aforementioned actions. Not through obligation, but in joy. 

As I began to read the men of God who have gone before us, and a select few men who stand today as pillars. I saw that this truth is sprinkled throughout the Scriptures. David exclaims "the joy of the Lord is my strength." James encourages the believers to "count it all joy brothers" when trial comes your way. Paul explains that in Christ He finds "joy unspeakable" and that it is "full of glory". This text has unbelievable connotation to it. Paul has just said, that when we passionately pursue Christ we will find in Him the unspeakable joy and pleasure that is no where else, and not only this, but also that in this glory is made full. This act is full of God's glory. Why? God is glorified in our joy. 

Redundant Innovation

The wise teacher Solomon write in Ecclesiastes, "There is no new thing under the sun." This is true. Yet, so many young people my age, younger, and older are striving to make a name for themselves by being "innovative for Jesus" so to speak. Why is it that we are so naive to believe that if the wisest man to ever live said that there is nothing to be done that is not going to be a repeat of something else already done we can still find some kind of "new thing" to discuss that will bring the fame. 

The truth is there is no new thing under the sun. So our fight to be innovative should not be to find new things to say, but rather new innovative ways to say them. Therefore, the principles never change, but the methods in which we portray and communicate these principles should be ever evolving with our culture. 

With a culture as fast-paced as ours, a person can easily fall prey to doing the old way because the old way works and neglecting the fact that the old way works for the  old crowd but the old crowd is gone. We must conserve the timeless message of Jesus, on the cross, in our place, for our sins. We must contend for the ancient text. We must hold the mystery of the faith with a clear conscience and proclaim it from the rooftops. Yet, we must never let our message die with our methods. Methods grow old. The message of the gospel never grows old. It is always relevant. Always cutting edge.

In an attempt to stay innovative and create ingenuity, many young men and women have strayed from faithful, foundational truth and began to compromise the message for the sake of contextualization. Rather than standing behind the text and proclaiming it boldly, they have succumbed to culture and appeased the desires of our guilty consciences by either avoiding the cold, hard truth of the gospel all together, or simply denying basic tenants of the truth in the name of tolerance, acceptance, and love. Blatantly denying the gravity and severity of sin and God's hatred towards it and sometimes even meriting that sin and condoning it as acceptable all under the excuse of not wanting to be judgmental or the idea of relative truth.

The harsh reality is that we are slowly but surely abandoning orthodoxy and sound teaching. The fact that doctrine and theology are like curse words to many young Christians today scares me. Why have we become so indignant towards these things. When did we become so arrogant to believe that we have the answers and it just so happens that we are the first to ever know the right ones. As if God was upset with the last 2,000 years and he has just recently become pleased with our righteousness. So much so, that he has given us personal revelation beyond that of scripture. Or we simply use the scripture as a means to get our point across, while never allowing scripture to get its point across to us.

We must realize that there truly is no new thing under the sun. We must preach and proclaim the old truths. The ancient truths. The truths that have withstood time. The gospel must be preached. The more we realize that this message was not given to us to revise and rewrite, but rather to simply deliver, the easier it will be to flee from the temptation to become redundant although we feel innovative.

Silence

Silence is difficult. There is no way around it. In our culture noise is king. From the moment we wake up until the moment we lay our head to rest we are inundated with noise. We wake up in the morning, turn on the radio, television, or itunes usually and get dressed. For the less disciplined crowd, we don't have time to get dressed because we just slept straight through our alarm clock, so we run out of the house with our hair resembling that or a roosters and our breath bad enough to kill a baby chipmunk, praying that maybe a strong cup of joe will cure all of these ailments. All of us hop in the car and head to our destination, jamming our favorite music or talk radio. Once we reach our destination, our day is filled with phone calls, emails, text messages, conversations, lunch meetings, staff meetings, personal meetings, and meetings about meetings. We then presume to hop back in our car, head to our house while jamming our favorite music or talk radio, and consider what the rest of the night holds for us. Depending upon your age, marital status, and overall lifestyle we choose different things. Some may change clothes and head out for the night. Only to head to more places with more noise. Others will choose to stay home, only to play with the kids, or watch the news, or surf the web, or cook dinner, all the while filling their lives and ears with more noise. Everyone usually finds their way to some sort of resting place for the night, and then it starts all over again; and on and on the cycle continues. Some may say, "What's the issue? I can't have fun or take care of my responsibilities?" The answer is of course you can. Yet, if you're not careful you may lose your soul in the process.

One of the most prominent confrontations that Jesus came across during His earthly ministry concerned Sabbath. Religious leaders of the time had become so traditional and self-righteous that they had forgotten that the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath. Yet, I don't think that Jesus was arguing that one should not observe Sabbath, or that it should not be kept holy, as the Commandments of the law guide us, but rather that the Pharisees had missed the point of Sabbath so to speak.

Countless times in the gospels Jesus turns wakes up early in the morning and prays alone while it is still dark. We find Jesus turning away sick people to get alone and sit in silence with the Father. We see Jesus, when the disciples get back from healing the sick and making the blind see, retreating to a desolate place and commanding His disciples to do the same. We find Jesus, the night before he is to be crucified, getting alone in the Garden to pray and listen to the Father and angels. Jesus modeled this for us perfectly and we have lost it.

As human beings we are very prone to neglect the state of our own soul. It is so much easier to listen, watch, play, sing, etc than it is to sit, be still and listen to our soul. See, if we were honest with ourselves, the truth is that we are all wicked and depraved. We all look out for our own well being before others and we all worship God's stuff before we worship Him. This is pride and idolatry. Yet, if we simply never intentionally address the issue, then it will never really come to the surface because we are, as Romans 1 says, always willing to suppress the truth rather than confront our sin.

So what's the rub?

When we don't take time to examine our own soul, we run the risk of losing it piece by piece. Every day the enemy is willing us to neglect the state of ourselves. He is willing us to fill ourselves with anything that will appease us or entertain us until we are lulled into a spiritual coma. The more and more that we consume ourselves with transient fleeting noise and things, the less and less we pay attention to our soul and the less and less sensitive we are to the prodding of God at our hearts. We wonder many times why we don't feel God like we used to. Well, perhaps it is because we are entirely satisfied with ourselves and with His stuff. The truth is we may say we need him, but at the end of the day our lifestyles call us liars. The reason we never like to be alone, and never like to sit in silence, is because we know that is we do our soul would be crying out and reminding us that we truly are liars and that we truly need the mercy and grace of Christ. Not just lip service, but real heart throbbing devotion. Not just good Christian verbage, but real broken adoration.

In the life and ministry of Christ we find silence, solitude, and prayer woven intricately in. In the beginning, the glorious Godhead wove into creation the beautiful idea of Sabbath. God did not need rest. God never needs. To say that God was tired and in need of a break is near blasphemy. He has never needed. He is all consuming, all powerful, all knowing, and self-sufficient. He has blessed us with a great opportunity to take time, enjoy His presence and reflect on His goodness in His mercy to us. We have been given a chance to get sinked up and in rhythm with the God of all things. A chance to be acquainted with our own soul, the depravity thereof, and the grace and infinite mercy of our God.

Silence is difficult. There is no way around it. Yet, for a Christian.... it is not an option.

God's Infinite Glory

How incredible is our God that He would give himself for us in the most brutal death imaginable to save us from the most horrific eternity fathomable. I heard once from a pastor that the fires of hell are a memorial to the greatness and majesty of our God. We, of course, by nature are incredibly repulsed by the thought of hell, as we should be. Yet, this reaction leads us many times to complete neglect that such a place even exists, despite the obvious scriptures that would point to the contrary. Our response to a place like hell should be awe. We should be in awe of a God that is so mighty and so majestic and so infinitely valuable that the fires of hell are the only just response to the belittlement of His name. That brings me to both my knees in fear, and to tears in joy that Christ is a mediator.

With this in mind, how incredibly important is it to preach this to our people? How irreplaceable is this among our conversation? It would be a great tragedy to go about our everyday lives and not consider the majesty and infinite glory of our God! So much of our thinking, talking, considering, pondering, and essentially living is spent on things that are finite and transient. So fleeting  are the conversations of the children of God these days. So minute and impotent are the sermons of the men of God these days. We must fight to preach, proclaim, and herald the Glory of our God from the mountaintops lest we slip slowly but surely into a life of dishonoring Him day after day, by our own lack of reverence. 

May the glory of our God be heard through the words of our pastors, the lives of our congregations, the voices of our children, the books of our theologians, and the breath of His bride together. May we not offend Him, but rather be eager and thankful recipients of His grace, therefore honoring Him in His infinite, self-sustaining glory, forever!

"Oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God! How unsearchable are His judgements and how inscrutable His ways! For who has known the mind of the Lord and who has been His counselor? Or who has given a gift to Him that he might be repaid? For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever. Amen."" 

- Romans 11:33-36

Running in the Dark

A life with Christ is so unrelentingly difficult must of the time. One week things seem to be strategically and organizationally in order and ready for a straight and easy path, yet the next may seem to lead down a road of winds, turns, and dark places that would paralyze even the strongest of men and mock any pride within. Making a shift in the spirit to produce a godly example even in the midst of this kind of turmoil seems unrealistic and even improbable at times. How on earth can I seem to be the leader that God has called me to be even in the midst of these trials. These decisions. How they haunt my every waking moment and cause me to need, yet I somehow seem to find no time to plead with the fulfiller of all needs for strength. How immeasurable is His grace and how inscrutable are His ways, yet I am just a man and how measurable is my wisdom. However, I trust in the Lord that by seeking and asking for wisdom He is faithful to provide as He spoke through His faithful servant James. It is a task too great to undertake alone, and for me and my soon to be wife it seems that most of the time we are trying to do it alone, even through our best effort to portray otherwise. Where is our hope if it is not in the Lord? Where is our strength if it is not in our God? How can a man stand face to face with a giant likened unto Goliath and defeat it without the Spirit of the Sovereign Lord of Hosts on his side? I tell you, it is impossible. Therefore, the best thing to remember when running in the dark, is that there is One who sees when you of course do not.

"A man's steps are from the Lord; how then can man understand his way?"

- Proverbs 20:24

Praise be to You, God of all things. You know all, own all, and hold with the power of our Word. All glory, honor, and praise be to your name.

Amen

Gospel

It floors me each week to stand behind a microphone and teach this incredible, majestic story of our God; this irresistible, unbelievable gospel that has called and whispered to all of the souls of mankind for thousands of years. Yet, the tragedy stands in the fact that many people seem to be continuously and monotonously, week in and week out, unmoved by the ground-shaking story that we claim to be a part of. How can a true encounter with the Almighty God result in such lukewarm, passive response? How can the Christ that passionately poured His life out for thirty-three years only to be mocked, smitten and despised by His own creation be reduced to merely a "good moral teacher" or even worse a weak, powerless, tame peasant rather than the fierce, raging lion that scripture depicts Him as. How terrifying it is to my soul that we have succeeded in domesticating the gospel. The gospel is radical. The gospel is full of blood, violence, and sacrifice. Our God was humiliated, stricken, and afflicted by men under "the power of darkness" Luke 22:53  to be referred to as a good guy? God forbid! He is much more than a moral man, he is the incarnation of our God, the first and the last, the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. John 1:1; Isaiah 44:6; Col. 1:15 All things are held together by the word of His power, the exact imprint of God's nature, the radiance of the glory of God. Heb. 1:3  Yet, if we claim to know these truths than how can we seem so unshaken. So incredibly complaisant. If we truly understood our God it would be very difficult to be satisfied by the things of this world. King David quotes,

"O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.... My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food." - Psalm 63; 1,5

Is it possible that we cannot utter the words of David because we are so completely satisfied with the things of this world that it is impossible for us to be satisfied with God? Is is possible that we are not hungering and thirsting for righteousness because we have already been quenched by other things? The gospel should be ever before us, ever changing us, ever transforming us, and ever challenging us to press harder to become more like Christ and less like ourselves. The gospel transforms. It brings to light the wickedness inside of us, yet calls us upward out of our sins into the hand of the Father. How marvelous the light of the gospel truly is in the face of Christ Jesus. I see a generation that seeks the gospel in its rawest and truest form and does so unapologetically; a generation of young people that seek to bring glory and renown to the name of the only true God and that will do so at whatever cost to their own reputation. I pray for a generation to rise to take their place as sons and daughters of the Most High King, despising the very thought of living as if this world was our reward. We seek a city that is not of this world. The city we seek, this world is not worthy of, and we shall pursue it with all that Christ works powerfully within us. O God, create in this generation a pure heart and a hunger for the things that you would have us do. Let us despise the things you despise and adore the things you adore. Transform us to live out this glorious gospel you have given us; to bear fruit and so prove to be your disciples. Create in us a new heart. Make the gospel real in us.