The World Cannot Explain the Things of God

We had a visitor to our bible study recently, “Tom,” who brought up challenges he was having with “really believing” in salvation, despite decades (he’s in his 50’s) of conversations with his parents, pastors, and others. The old adage of “no one is ever persuaded into salvation” is as valid when the conversations are with others as it is when you’re trying to work things out yourself. Tom had three main questions with which he was wrestling; trying to resolve the questions based on the logic of our temporal world with the result being there was no answer. 

We need to understand that while we exist physically in this world, God and his actions are supernatural, meaning beyond this world of nature, humans, and things of science. We can reason that in order to understand a math problem, you need to base your analysis on math; to understand the growth cycle of a plant, you need biology, and so on. It follows, then, that to understand things of God, our “analysis” has to be based on the supernatural or spiritual nature of God.

Tom’s concerns were threefold, first he questioned how the bible could be accurate having been translated for thousands of years in an untold number of languages. Second, he said he did not believe in the devil, hell, or how “good” people who were not Christians could be punished. Third, he questioned why God would allow some people from a catastrophe to survive while others perished. All of these are valid concerns and understandably unresolvable when your reasoning is based on things in our physical world. We have all played a game of telephone where you tell the first person something, they pass it on to the next, and so on. The result is usually morphing, “Snoopy is a beagle” to “Snoop-dog thinks he’s regal” or worse. Of his second concern, our natural reasoning would deny the existence of an unseen force, mysterious land of punishment, or capricious damnation by a “good king.” Likewise, how could a benevolent, all loving ruler allow people to perish when the calamity could have been prevented? 

Considering each of these questions from the perspective of how God does things, can give us a clear answer. The rub, as it is with all things spiritual, is that we are required to exercise some amount of faith; believing in things unseen. We can probably agree as a starting point, “for the sake of argument” that God operates in a way that is different from us. For this, I hope you will pardon a self-referential scripture. Isaiah 55:8-9, part of the Old Testament that has been faithfully copied for millennia, speaks to this, 

⁸ “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” says the Lord. ⁹ “For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways, And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

How, indeed, then can we trust the accuracy of scripture? For centuries, people had the bible read to them since literacy was so low, and without a printing press, copies were rare. Further, how do we know that what the above says in English, is accurately conveyed in Russian, Mandarin, or Swahili? We know this, because the bible itself is not a comprehensive history of the world, but is God’s showing us how our relationship with Him is to be, what His nature is, and how He loves us. He conveys this accurately through prayer and the Holy Spirit. Building on our agreement that God is not like us, if we hold out the hope that His love is real, there must be a way for Him to communicate that love to us. God’s desire to show us His love, to make sure that His words (the Bible) are communicated accurately, is made possible by the work of His spirit, the Holy Spirit. There are volumes written on the Holy Spirit and how it works, but suffice to say it is the main way in which God communicates with and through us. So by the influence of the Holy Spirit, we have the “inspired” word of God, regardless of how it is copied or in which language it is read. Many times we will read a verse of scripture and understand something about, only to return to that same passage at a later time, and have a different and deeper understanding of those same words. This is the work of the Holy Spirit revealing God to us through the written word.

Questions of the devil, hell, and “good people” being punished are topics that would be covered at length on their own. Taken individually, the devil makes his first appearance early in Genesis as the serpent in the Garden of Eden, he is active and called out in various names throughout the old and New Testament, specifically having dialog with Jesus in the desert, and addressed in detail in Revelations. From beginning to end, the Bible talks about the devil and what he does. Hell and the issue of “good people” can be addressed together. Let’s start by asking what makes someone a good person? You might answer love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control, or any number of other positive characteristics. But these are all based on things that people could do towards others in our physical existence. So we reword the question and ask, how God defines a “good person.” We arrive at a different answer; the characteristics we just described are indeed part of it, but they exist because we worship God and proclaim him Lord of our lives. When we worship God, acknowledging his supreme diety, and proclaim him Lord, committing to do what He directs us to do, not what we want to do, the same characteristics happen. But these actions are out of reverence and obedience to God, not our own intentions. 

²² But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, ²³ gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Galatians 5.22-23

This preceding passage, more fully read as the entire chapter of Galatians 5, where the Bible talks about how all of these things occur as a result of the liberty that find in doing what Christ (God) guides us to do.

The last concern that Tom voiced, was how God could allow bad things to happen. Examples he gave were mudslides, tsunamis, and war. God is all about our choosing to worship Him and call him Lord. Satan, in fact, was cast out of heaven because he wanted to force all humans to worship God. God created the heavens and the earth, he has influenced and guided people to do this or that, but He has never forced people to worship. [A quick aside on the creation story; we have the “Big Bang Theory” which in fact is the start of the Bible in Genesis, “In the beginning, God created…” Bang. An essay for another time will address evolution as the growth of species, versus Evolution (capital E) as a ‘scientific religion.’] The story repeated throughout the Bible is one of God giving guidance, and people rebelling against it. With this choice, both bad and good things happen. God does not micro-manage all of creation. If God were to control every instance of nature in the world He created, it would be in opposition to the free will that He has given to all of us. Again, we have the nature of God and his relationship to man evidenced through consistency of His actions.

So where did this leave Tom? As he left the bible study, he said, “I have been searching for a church and answers in my home town (a city of almost 1.5 million) for twenty years, and never got solid answers like I did tonight. You’ve given me a lot to think about.” My response was, “Thank you, and I’m sorry that you didn’t find your answers sooner.” I don’t know that Tom is fully satisfied with the answers to his questions, but I know for certain that he was never before presented with a different way of considering how to get his answers. God is before, beyond, and after us. His ways are not our ways, so we can not expect to get answers to things pertaining to Him, without evaluating them in His context.

Goats and Lepers

We received a note card from someone in our former congregation over the weekend. What she wrote brought tears and anger to both Leonora and me. This lady, we’ll call her Mary, can be difficult to deal with. She has some emotional/mental health issues that result in her being much more persistent in asking for what she wants; she can come across as accusatory, and her approach to people is generally direct and without social niceties. That being said, she is very kind, extremely giving, and has a gift of discernment about people through the Holy Spirit that she does not realize. She is on permanent disability, and lives well below the poverty level.

Since God sent us out of California to our new mission field, Mary has been attending a church near her home. One I know well that had extended space to our congregation without charge. However, Mary’s approach has nearly worn out her welcome. Recently, her rent has been increased 35%; we all know grocery prices are up over 20% since the beginning of the year, but her income remains the same. She went to the church to ask for help and was told [paraphrasing,] “We’ve helped you a lot; we’re not doing any more, so stop bothering us.” In honesty, they have helped out financially from time to time, and with rides to the store on many occasions. But can we ever help those in need too much? How can someone in need be a burden on an active congregation? The answer simply, is that the church is functioning IN the world, taking the label of Christian, without have actions that are the result of inwardly being true disciples acting as the Body of Christ within their community.

Mary, for all of her outward appearances and actions, is a social leper. No one really wants to be around her, for fear they will catch the judgment of society as they see her interactions. It’s important to recall how Christ dealt with lepers; he healed them.

² And behold, a leper came and worshiped Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” ³ Then Jesus put out His hand and touched him, saying, “I am willing; be cleansed.” Immediately his leprosy was cleansed.  (Matthew 8.2-3)

¹² Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. ¹³ And they lifted up their voices and said, “Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!” ¹⁴ So when He saw them, He said to them, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed.  (Luke 17.12-14)

Is this congregation treating the leper in their midst as Christ did? Or are they responding as most of the world does, crossing to the other side of the road. I’m afraid for the congregation; God is giving them every opportunity to be sheep, yet through their attitudes and actions they are acting like goats.

³² All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. ³³ And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. ³⁴ Then the King will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: ³⁵ for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; ³⁶ I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’
 
…

⁴⁴ “Then they also will answer Him saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ ⁴⁵ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ ⁴⁶ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”  (Matthew 25.32-36, 44-46)

What will happen on the day of judgment to those in the congregation who Mary made uncomfortable with her social leprosy, who asked for help with food and drink, acted as a stranger, was imprisoned with her mental illness, and needed ministering and love? Will they be judged sheep to sit at the right hand of Christ in eternal life, or goats sent to everlasting punishment?

God’s mercy is without limit, until the time has come when our actions and intentions are judged. I urge you to reflect on those who make you uncomfortable, who have needs that are unmet; are you acting as a disciple of Christ, or are you acting according to the rules and norms of the world?