Monday, June 29, 2009

The Purpose of God's Law

by Bruce Mills

I listened this week as the governor of South Carolina admitted that he had been involved in an illicit affair with an Argentine journalist. About one third of the way into his public apology, he stated, "There are moral absolutes and God's law is, indeed, there to protect you from yourself." I immediately thought, "No, it's not. It's there to reveal the sinful, corrupt, depraved condition of your heart."

Now, I think I understand what the governor meant. I think he meant that if we obey God's law, our own sinful nature will not be controlling our actions, and in that sense, it protects us from ourselves. But unfortunately, our human heart is so depraved that it is incapable of obeying God's law apart from the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit who transforms and renews our minds (cf. Romans 12:1-2). But many professing or so-called Christians seem to think that the Christian life is merely not doing certain things that God's law prohibits, and doing certain other things that God's law commands, and that if they live like that, they are "okay" with God. A statement such as that made by the governor would fit well into that kind of theological thinking.

Now, please don't misunderstand. I do recognize that God's law gives us a demonstration of what true spiritual life looks like, and that obedience to it will bring His blessing on us. Psalm 119:1-2 tells us, "How blessed are those whose way is blameless, who walk in the law of the Lord. How blessed are those who observe His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart." Proverbs 3:1-2 says, "My son, do not forget my teaching, but let your heart keep my commandments; for length of days and years of life and peace they will add to you." So then, God's law is a reflection of His holy nature and character, and if it is obeyed, it produces blessing. In fact, Romans 7:12 says that "the Law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good." But those statements are written to those who are genuine believers whose hearts have been regenerated and have been released from enslavement to sin. They are the ones to whom those promises of blessing for obedience to God's law are written.

The problem for the unregenerate man is that he is incapable of obeying God's law because it was given to crush, condemn, and expose the sinner. It requires behaviors that are the very opposite of the desires of the human heart. It demands you do what you cannot do and love what you will not and cannot love. It asks sinners who love sin and darkness, who love the world, the flesh, and lust, to stop loving all of those things, and instead, to love God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, to love their neighbor as they love themselves, and to obey the moral law of God from the heart.

Even if the sinner desired to do those things, he could not do them. That's why Romans 3:10-12 says, "There is none righteous, not even one; there is none who understands, there is none who seeks for God; all have turned aside, together they have become useless; there is none who does good, there is not even one." And a few verses later in Romans 3:20, the apostle Paul states, "by the works of the Law no flesh will be justified in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin." Then in Romans 8:7, he goes on to explain that "the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God, for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so." So, not only is it not the sinner's desire, it is not possible for the sinner.

So, why then, did God give mankind His law if it is impossible for the sinful human heart to obey it? In order to reveal to man the true character of his sinful condition. You see, when a person comes face-to-face with the full reality of God's moral law, he sees his sin for what it really is, and that is absolutely necessary to drive a person to the only possible rescue that exists--salvation by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. And then, once the individual has trusted Christ, it is the on-going, continual exposure to the holy law of God through the pages of Scripture that drive that saved person on toward sanctification, which is the process of becoming increasingly conformed to the image of Jesus Christ.

The whole effort of the Law comes down to this: It is to bring men and women to a sense of their sin so that they know they need to be saved, and then once they are saved, to push them on to sanctification. It is to produce in them, as Dr. John MacArthur has put it, a permanent "beatitude attitude" in which they mourn over their sin and feel inadequate, unworthy, and weak.

So the South Carolina governor is correct when he says that there are moral absolutes which originate in God and that man is expected to obey them. But he is incorrect that the primary purpose of God's law is to protect us from ourselves; rather, the primary purpose of God's law is to reveal our sinful, fallen condition to ourselves. And then, once it is revealed to us, to drive us to the only One who can offer forgiveness. I sincerely pray that the governor will look at God's law, let it perform its work in his life, and then turn in genuine saving faith to Jesus Christ. If that takes place, he will agree with the apostle Paul that "the Law...is holy and righteous and good" (Romans 7:12).

Monday, June 22, 2009

Our Heavenly Father's Love

by Bruce Mills

Yesterday was Father's Day. I had the privilege of having lunch together with my wife, two sons, my daughter-in-law, and my father-in-law. We had my favorite cuisine (barbeque) and they gave me a really great home weather station so I can feed my love for accurate, up-to-the-moment, weather data. And later in the day, I called my dad who lives about three hours away and had a nice long chat with him. So it was a great Father's Day.

But as great as it is to be a human father and to have a loving earthly father, it is even greater to know that, as believers, we have a heavenly Father who loves His children with an infinite and eternal love. There is never a reason for the true Christian to be concerned about the possibility of His heavenly Father deserting him, disowning him, or rejecting him. God's love for His children flows out of His character which is, according to 1 John 4:16, love. And because He is unchangeable, He will never turn his back on His children. In Romans 8:35, the apostle Paul asks the question, "Who will separate us from the love of Christ?" And then he answers his own question in verses 38-39: "For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

This means that those who teach that a believer can lose his salvation must find a way to get around this text. So they often say, "Well, God's love for us doesn't change, but our love for Him may change and because of our own sin, we may lose our salvation." Such a view is a slap in God's face, because it makes man the one in control of his salvation rather than God. In other words, they say God is incapable of keeping those who are His children. That viewpoint doesn't seem to agree with Jesus' statement in John 10:28 that "no one will snatch them out of My hand." If no one can "snatch" them out of His hand, why would they think that they could "jump" out of His hand? It boils down to a lack of belief in God's omnipotence and a lack of faith that He will keep His word. That is most certainly a low view of God, His nature, and His attributes.

But that is not the heavenly Father who is described in Scripture. The Bible describes God as being eternally faithful to His promise to keep His children safe and secure in His love. It is a great comfort to know that the character of our God is such that He will never allow any of His children to be lost. And like any good father, He disciplines those of His children who disobey Him (cf. Heb. 12:5-11). But even then, He does so with the intended purpose of bringing about the peaceable fruit of righteousness in their lives.

So, as wonderful as it is to have a human father who loves you, there is greater comfort in having an eternal heavenly Father who promises to love you forever. I pray that you have experienced the joy of knowing Him and His love.

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

The Promise We Love But Find Hard to Believe

by Bruce Mills

As I have been studying Romans 8 in preparation for a future message in my adult Sunday School class, I have arrived at verse 28 and have been struck by the sheer magnitude of the implications of this great verse. Romans 8:28 is perhaps the most highly regarded of all the promises in Scripture that believers enjoy because it is so comprehensive. As a reminder, the verse reads, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.”

It is the term “all things” that is so comforting, because we are at a time in history when we need to hear the promise in this verse with greater clarity and understanding. We live in a day-and-age in which being an evangelical Christian has become a cause for scorn and ridicule. After all, we are the ones who oppose such things as homosexual marriage and abortion, both matters about which our society labels us as intolerant bigots and calls what we teach to be “hate speech.” So it is hard for believers to undergo such ostracism and slander, and think, “Well, God intends this for my good.”

And then we are faced with a worldwide economic downturn which is unparalleled since the Great Depression, and Christians are not immune to the effects of the financial crisis in which we find ourselves. So it is often hard to understand how losing one’s home or job is God’s working things out for our good.

I recall sitting on the telephone with dear friends one Christmas Eve, crying together with them because their four-year old daughter had just been diagnosed with leukemia. I have done the same with another close friend and fellow pastor right after his granddaughter was diagnosed with a rare disorder which threatened her life. At those times, you wonder how it is possible that God works such situations out for the good of those who love Him.

So this great text needs our close and careful attention because of its richness. We need to fully understand its implications, because the truth of this passage is so rich and far reaching. It is breathtaking in its magnitude, encompassing absolutely everything that pertains to a believer’s life. There most certainly is not room in this blog to full exegete this verse, but I want to simply highlight some thoughts on it that I have developed as I pondered this passage.

Verse 28 is, in a sense, a transitional verse because it is tied together with the thoughts found in verses 26-27 about the Holy Spirit interceding for us in accordance with the will of God because we don’t know how to pray as we should. Obviously, if He is interceding for us in accordance with God’s will, then God will work out those matters in the way which is best for us.

On the other hand, verse 28 is tied to what follows in verses 29-30 about our eternal security. A significant part of God working all things for good for those who are His children is that He guarantees their future glorification. So we have to look at this verse from both aspects; how God works out the details of our life on a daily basis in a way which is for our good and also how He works out the eternal aspects of our spiritual life in that He guarantees our eternal security.

But as we begin examining this verse, we need to recognize that it has built-in qualifications or boundaries which limit its application. So what are those limitations?

First of all, it is a verse which applies to Christians only. In fact, because it is linked to the verses that follow it, it is saying that everything works for the good of those whom God has predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son; that is, those whom He has predestined, called, justified, and glorified.

So this verse doesn’t apply to everyone you meet in life. I hear people all the time who say, “Well, everything happens for a reason,” and the thought which runs through my head is this: “Yes, that is true. The difference is that for the believer, it’s for his good. For the unbeliever, it may not be for his good.”

What can you say about an airplane that comes apart in a thunderstorm over the Atlantic Ocean and 288 people are killed and thus enter into eternity? It is highly likely that no more than one or two of those people were genuine believers who had placed their trust in Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins and eternal salvation, which means all the rest are now in an eternal hell. And there are similar evils, illnesses, and disasters which take place all the time in our world that result in the deaths of countless people, and the result is that they end up entering into a Christ-less eternity in eternal torment. That certainly isn’t for their good. In fact, it is the worst of all possible bad things for them.

The second limitation in verse 28 comes from the thought as to what we mean by “good.” For some people, it means “wealthy,” and if that were true, most Christians would be eliminated. If it means “healthy,” again, we would be leaving out many Christians. The same is true if the word “good” means “successful” or “admired” or “happy,” since many believers endure failure, scorn, and discouragement. So obviously, God has a different meaning for “good” than we may have.

Now, let’s start by looking at the extent of God’s guarantee for His children which is emphasized by the words “all things.” It is a comprehensive promise. And the context puts no limits on it. There’s absolutely nothing that limits or qualifies the “all things.” That, then, means absolutely what it says: “all things…work together for good.” God takes anything and everything that occurs in a believer’s life and rather than bringing about the potential for the believer’s loss of salvation and eternal condemnation, God causes it to work together for the believer’s ultimate good. This is the greatest promise that we can have in this life. There are absolutely no limits on this statement in this context. It is limitless.

What are some of the things which work together for our good? Suffering is certainly included, as are our battles with temptation and sin. How can that be? Because those events cause the Christian to pray more, to worship God more, to draw closer to Christ, to develop humility and patient endurance, as well as bringing about repentance, praise, personal holiness, and other character qualities that glorify God. Those things are the things which God defines as "good," rather than such man-centered matters as health, wealth, and success. So God most certainly does cause all things to work together for our good.

But that is hard for us, in our fallen humanness, to believe. We want life to be problem-free and full of temporal abundance and blessing. Thinking eternally is very hard for us, particularly in our American culture where we have come to expect a life of abundance, pleasure, and ease. So when we encounter the difficulties that God brings into our lives, or we find ourselves the victims of someone else's sinful behavior, we often fail to see it as God's means of working in us to bring about good for us and glory for Him.

For example, I seriously doubt that many American Christians have seen the current recession and bad economy as a blessing from God by which He is working in their lives to force them to trust completely on Him for their daily bread and other necessities of life because there is no other person or institution in which they can turn for answers. Instead, most are still relying on the government, the stock market, the business world, and the President to bail them out of the situation, and they just keep going on through life with casual indifference toward God, never giving any consideration whatsoever to what He has been doing. He has been using this situation to bring about His good in the lives of His children, and yet many of them are oblivious to it.

Finally, in conclusion, I want to point out that the greatest good that God brings about in the believer's life is expressed in verses 29-30. The apostle Paul explains that the good God brings about is our eternal salvation from beginning to end. Every step of salvation, from God's foreknowledge, predestination, and call of His children, all the way through their justification and glorification is guaranteed. Why? Because God, who is infinitely perfect in all His ways, promises that He will bring about His good for "those who are called according to His purpose." None of His sheep are lost. If God acted in eternity past to elect an individual to eternal salvation, there will never be any result other than that person's ultimate glorification because God has stated that such will be the case. That truth is of such magnitude that human words cannot possibly express the full richness of it.

Paul summarizes the implications of this great doctrine in Rom. 8:35, 38-39. He writes: "Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?...For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord."

What a marvelous truth! To think that nothing I will ever face in this life, whether material or immaterial, physical or spiritual, will ever be able to break the relationship I have with God through His Son Jesus Christ! There is no greater good that God can promise to His children or work out for them. I pray that our Lord will indelibly engrave that reality upon your heart and bring you His peace as you encounter the various difficulties and circumstances of life. You are His eternal child! Praise His glorious name!