Sunday Sermons
Tough Questions
The Bible states that Christians will be tested (Acts 14:22), and that this testing can be severe and intense, (1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing”). Peter knows that such trials can take Christians by surprise. We might be surprised that God would allow us to suffer so much, or that people would actually dislike us because we are Christians. Literally the expression fiery ordeal means a burning, in its later use, smelting, and trying metal by fire. Denotes grievous persecution (Macknight p. 494) “Trying, severe, and difficult trials. Fire is painful, but fire is also necessary in the refining process” (Oberst p. 211) (Psalm 66:10; Proverbs 27:21; 1 Peter 1:6-7). “Unlike the Jews who had for generations been a foreign and culturally distinct minority these Gentile converts had no experience of being a cultural minority. Before their conversion they were perfectly at home in their city, and instead of rebelling against God they had accepted the gospel message. But now they were experiencing cultural isolation and personal hostility. They well might have wondered if something had not gone wrong” (Davids p. 164). In addition, these Christians had already suffered (1:6), but it appears that such suffering would become intensified. This brings up another “surprise”. At times Christians are unprepared for the fact that God might allow them to suffer for a long time or that one wave of trials might follow another. Most Christians could finish this the statement, “I knew that in becoming a Christian I would face trials but I never expected…”.
Unexpected Questions
Suffering, hardship, persecution, and trials also have the tendency of bringing to the surface some very deep and basic questions. In the case of Job, he started questioning why he had been born in the first place (Job 3:11). In the case of the writer of Psalm 73, he questioned why the wicked prospered and he was suffering (73:12-14). In fact, the author notes that such thoughts and questions had almost resulted in abandoning faith in God (73:2). This psalm is the product of a very personal experience. Asaph believed that God was good to the pure in heart (73:1), and yet it sure looked as if such was not true in practice. “On the reasons for this crisis of faith the psalmist is refreshingly frank. Where he might have affected a disinterested passion for justice, he confesses to envy and to having judged only by what he saw” (Kidner p. 260). When trials come, one will be surprised by the questions that one ponders during such times. In this lesson I want to examine a couple of those questions.
A Perfect Standard for Imperfect Man?
When a Christian falls short of the divine standard, especially if it is a sin that is dogging their steps (Hebrews 12:1), one might finally ponder the question, “Is it really fair for God to expect perfection of imperfect people?” God tells us to love as He loves(Matthew 5:48; John 13:34-35), and pattern ourselves after His moral example (Ephesians 4:32; 5:1 “Be imitators of God”; 1 Peter 1:15 “but like the Holy One who called you, be holy yourselves in all your behavior”). But what if someone notes, “But we are not divine. We are human, fallible, imperfect, limited in our understanding, and so on. How can God condemn us when we fall short of a perfect standard?” Allow me to make the follow observations:
· God is not expecting the impossible, that is, God does not require that we achieve or acquire such attributes as omniscience, omnipresence, or omnipotence. The glory that we fall short of when we sin is falling short of His moral attributes (Romans 3:23; Exodus 33:18; 34:6-7).
· Most everyone would agree that the moral qualities that God expects of us are right and good (Galatians 5:22-23; Ephesians 6:1). Even unbelievers admire the standard of morality in the Scriptures and often seek to pattern their lives after some of it.
· Then we need to define “perfection”. God does not require flawless living in the sense that we always invest in the right stocks, buy the right car, and so on. God simply expects honesty, goodness, kindness, mercy, and so on, to be in every aspect of our lives (1 Peter 1:15). God expects the right moral choices from the right motivation (1 Corinthians 13:1-4).
· God also provides forgiveness for those times that we sin. God is not so much shocked when we sin, rather God is angered when we refuse to own up to our sins and refuse to repent (Jeremiah 8:12; Mark 6:6; Mark 3:4-5). God readily admits that we sin and encourages us not to deny it, but rather exhorts us to come to Him so we can be forgiven (Romans 3:23; 1 John 1:8-10). God has demonstrated that He is willing to accept any humble sinner with open arms (Luke 15:7,10).
· Let us also remember that God’s laws in the Bible are not arbitrary or senseless. His laws reflect His nature (Ephesians 4:25-29), these are rules that are eternally true, things that are absolutely right and wrong. The standard that God has revealed in the Scriptures is not designed to complicate our lives or hinder us (Matthew 11:28-30), but rather to assist us in becoming truly good people so that we do not end up hurting ourselves or others (1 Peter 3:8-11).
· Finally, God does not show partiality (Romans 2:11), so if someone wants God to water down or adjust His standards for them in a certain area, we need to realize that everyone is not tempted or tested by the same things. Adjusting His standards for you may not help me at all, for my weakness may be in a completely different area.
· There is also the issue of faith and trust. Do you believe that God knows what He is doing? He did actually create men and women, and as the Creator doesn’t He know better than anyone else what every man and woman, on a daily basis, and in all sorts of situations, is capable of doing?
· Then there is the issue of honesty. Often the question is not, “God’s expectations are unrealistic and I cannot meet them”. Rather, more often the real issue when it comes to sin is, “I do not want to live by this standard because I really have no genuine love in my heart for such things as goodness, kindness, mercy, compassion, faithfulness, and genuine love”. Someone noted, “You are as close to God as you choose to be” (James 4:8).
Is God egotistical in demanding that we serve Him?
The first thing we need to note is that everyone serves something or someone (Romans 6:16; Matthew 6:24). Hence, submission, obedience, or service is not the issue. The real question is, “What or who is worthy of such service?” I find that the person who complains that God must be egotistical in wanting everyone to worship Him is often the same person who is either worshipping himself or some temporary idol. The only person who is worthy of our devotion is God. He created us and(Ecclesiastes 12:1); in addition He has, beyond anyone or anything else, absolutely proven His worth as the object of our trust, love, and devotion (Romans 5:6-8; John 3:16). The reason that we are called upon to love God with all our mind, heart, strength, and soul (Matthew 22:37), is because this is precisely the level of love that God has demonstrated toward us, “In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another” (1 John 4:10-11). Yes, God wants us to put Him on a pedestal so to speak, because that is where God placed us in having His Son Jesus die for our sins. Yes, we are expected to place God ahead of all other concerns, even our own lives (Luke 14:26ff), because that is exactly where Jesus placed us (Philippians 2:6ff).
“Everybody eventually surrenders to something or someone. If not to God, you will surrender to the opinions or expectations of others, to money, to resentment, to fear, or to your own pride, lust, or ego. You were designed to worship God and if you fail to worship Him, you will create other things (idols) to give your life to. E. Stanley Jones said, ‘If you don’t surrender to Christ, you surrender to chaos’. Surrender is not the best way to live; it is the only way to live. Surrendering your life is not a foolish emotional impulse but a rational, intelligent act, the most responsible and sensible thing you can do with your life” (The Purpose Driven Life, Warren pp. 82-83). This is one reason why God says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Job 28:28). “All man’s scientific investigations, technological advances, and intellectual achievements—remarkable as they are, whether in Job’s day or the present, fail miserably to provide ‘a full explanation of God’s government or to disclose all that we would wish to know about God’. Instead, real wisdom consists in establishing one’s life in submissive veneration before God, in revering God in an attitude of confidence that He does all things right (although that rightness may not always be apparent to man). True wisdom also consists in a rejection of evil; in a regulating of one’s conduct in paths of piety, and in actions and attitudes that accord with God’s standards of holiness and godliness. Fearing God and turning from evil may be summarized as adoration of God and obedience to God. Thus the truly wise man is the one whose life is centered on God, not self, and is regulated by God. Man in right relationship with God, worshiping Him, serving Him, obeying Him—that is wisdom and understanding!” (Zuck p. 126).
Why doesn’t God show physical favoritism?
That is, why doesn’t God really break into our world and demonstrate who is right with Him on the basis of physical prosperity and other such earthly blessings? Yet, if God punished the wicked and rewarded the righteous instantly, then most of us here would have probably been struck down years ago, for remember, we were all unrighteous prior to our conversion (Romans 3:23; Ephesians 2:1-3). The very fact that God was treating us with kindness, even while we were sinners (Luke 6:35), is proof that God really wanted us saved. In addition, if God expressed such physical favoritism, people would not serve Him because they loved Him, but only for the earthly rewards, just like people followed Jesus for the loaves and the fishes rather for what He taught (John 6:26). In addition, even if God showered earthly blessings on the faithful and kept them from the unfaithful, such would not increase the spiritually of the faithful. Too many gifts can also move a person to deny God as well as embracing Him(Proverbs 30:8-9). C.S. Lewis noted that pain is “God’s megaphone”. It’s something that God can use to wake us up spiritually and bring about the spiritual growth that is needed in our lives (Romans 5:3-5).
When God seems distant
Remember, “God is real, no matter how you feel” (Warren p. 107). From an earthly limited view it may feel like God has abandoned us when difficult times arrive, but that is merely a feeling, it isn’t reality. Job felt abandoned, yet we know that God had never forsaken him. Let us remember that trials are never a proof of God’s absence, rather they are an indication of God’s love (Hebrews 12:5-6).
