Are You One of the Good Guys?

In the past year Americans have seemingly gone to war with one another, as we’ve experienced great disunity between those who claim to side with Black Lives, with Blue Lives, or with All Lives. Unfortunately, extreme hostility has emerged before our eyes as people are killed on every side of the issue. Not only that, but terrorist strikes come one after another, all over the world.  As we look around, we don’t have to look far to realize that this world is filled with all sorts of evil. Have you ever wondered how we got this way?  Have you wondered just what kind of world we’re living in?  In my last blog post I addressed the issue of God in relation to human suffering and evil, but this time I’ll address our relationship to the wickedness and evil we see around us every day. 

How on earth could anyone commit the evils we’ve observed lately as we watch the evening news?  How could someone take an axe and attack people on a train in Germany?  How could anyone deliberately drive a truck into a crowd with the intent to slaughter other humans?  And, hitting more closely to home, how could anyone deliberately shoot the very people who are protecting protestors?  How is it that a person could want to kill someone due to the color of his or her skin or the occupation they’ve chosen?  Surely the problem lies with “those people,” and not with us.  There’s no way that you or I are capable of committing these heinous acts of violence, right? Right?! Could it be possible that it’s not “us” versus “them”?  Instead, maybe we are them, and they are us.  It would be nice to think that I’m one of the good guys, but how do I really know I’m one of the good guys?  How can I really know that, even in the darkest days of my life, I’d be incapable of doing these evil and wicked acts myself?

Historically, the Christian church has believed in the doctrine of original sin.  Simply, this doctrine teaches that when the very first humans fell into sin, the entire human race was affected.  David, in Psalm 51:5, wrote, “Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me.”  David was acknowledging the fallen human condition that he inherited when he was conceived, and the church has historically embraced this doctrine.

However, during the Enlightenment, modern thinkers began to oppose the traditional, Christian view of mankind as being inherently sinful, and instead began to view mankind as being inherently good.  While this doctrine played out in various ways for different Enlightenment thinkers, their ideas have nonetheless carried on and are of great influence upon our thinking today.  We see it clearly in our culture’s focus upon self-esteem, which I will define as the love of self and self-worth.  This self-esteem ideology concentrates on the building up of oneself and on seeing one’s inherent worth and value.

But here lies the tension: What if humans truly are inherently evil? Or what if we are, at the very least, not good?  How then will building up the self benefit a person?  What if each of us is capable of committing all the heinous and atrocious acts that we are currently seeing in the news?  What if it is only by God’s grace that we are restrained from acting upon what is truly in our wicked hearts? 

So my question for you is this:  Are we inherently good, or is this just how we want to view ourselves?  After all, if we’re fallen creatures (Genesis 3), our perception of ourselves will be radically different from reality.  How can we trust our own evaluation of ourselves? We can’t. Therefore, we look to the Bible, which is reliable and trustworthy.  Our inclinations and feelings are subjective, but God’s Holy Word provides us with objective truth; truth that is absolute whether we agree with it or not. It’s in the Bible that we learn about the radical corruption of mankind, also known as total depravity. 

God’s Word teaches us that no one is righteous, no one does good, and that all have sinned and have fallen short of God’s glory (Romans 3:10-18; 23).  The Bible also declares that every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart is only evil continually (Genesis 6:5; 8:21), that the heart of man is deceitful above all things, and that the human heart is desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9).   

Now, this doesn’t mean we will do all the evil we’re capable of doing.  Fortunately for us, God’s common grace restrains many people from acting upon the true inclinations of the heart.  God has placed the government, the church, our families, and other institutions into our lives to teach us and to prevent us from acting upon the true nature of our will.  However, just because we don’t carry out all the evil acts of which we are capable, that doesn’t necessarily make us good.    

As descendants of Adam we are all born in him, which means that we are all born with a sin nature.  Clearly stated, every one of us is born as an unrighteous, self-serving human being.  As R.C. Sproul puts it, “We are not sinners because we sin.  We sin because we are sinners.”    

This is why we see all sorts of evil atrocities around us, and if not for the grace of God, every one of us would commit the same heinous acts, if not worse.  We are all sinners by nature; therefore, we all have a serious problem.  The problem, however, is not that we are capable of executing all sorts of wicked, malicious evils; the problem is that each one of us is at enmity with God.  Every single one of us is rebelling against the Holy God.  Every single one of us loves our own self more than we love the Creator who made us for Himself.  The first chapter of the book of Romans teaches us that while God created us, we fail to honor Him as God.  He created us and gives us all things, but we fail to give Him thanks.  And while He has given us His truth, we suppress that truth.  We act like the truth isn’t there.  We run away from the truth of God and exchange that truth for lies; lies such as the inherent goodness of humanity.  We think that we know ourselves best and that we know what is best for ourselves.  Each of us wants to be reigning on our own throne.  Each of us desires to be the master and ruler of our own little world – If you have children, you don’t have to look far to observe this truth. 

Thus, since we are sinners who stand in opposition to the Holy and Just God, we are in terrible trouble.  We are at His mercy, and His perfect holiness demands justice.   

Fortunately for us, His justice has been satisfied in Jesus Christ, who went to the cross, who suffered and died, and who experienced the full wrath of God against sinners.  And now, Jesus invites us all to come to Him, to take refuge in Him, and to inherit His righteousness. He inherited our sin, not our sin nature.  He took our sin to the cross and paid the ultimate price.  In our place condemned He stood, and He gave His life on behalf of sinners like you and me.   

Therefore, the solution to all the trouble around us is not to think more highly of ourselves, but to look to Jesus Christ, our Savior.  What this world needs is not more self-help or greater self-worth.  This world needs a Savior!  And thankfully, God tells us that if we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our hearts that God raised Him from the dead we will be saved (Romans 10:9-13).

~Corey

The More I Grow, the Less I Know: I am a Worrier

I have a confession to make: I am a worrier. I've heard it said before that worry is one of those "respectable sins." You know, sins like adultery or murder are seen as heinous, while other sins, such as gluttony or worry, tend to be overlooked or are viewed as the not-so-bad brand of sin. We often justify ourselves because we're only human, after all. We'll say something like, "That's just my personality," or "That's just how God made me," instead of taking responsibility and calling it what it is - SIN. Ouch.

One of the elder's wives at my church is currently leading a four-week self-examination study during our Wednesday night gathering. She has been emphasizing the need for undeniable, honest, and authentic change in our lives. The more I know God and the more I learn of His character, the more it should spur me on to change. True change. Change that causes me to think and live differently. We can say all day long that we trust in God's sovereignty or that we know He has a good plan for His children, but if we don't live like we believe it, what's the point? As far back as I can remember people have presented similar ideas, using catchy statements such as, "You can talk the talk, but can you walk the walk?" But in all the times I've heard this truth, it has never affected me quite like it did in that moment during our Wednesday night study. God used her words to impact me in a fresh, new way, as if I were hearing this idea for the very first time (Isn't it awesome how God does that?). I want to not only believe that God's plan for me is good, but I want to wholly live it out in every respect; I want my life to reflect the attributes of God that I know to be true from His Word, no matter what circumstances I may face. 

A friend and I were recently discussing how we tend to worry and complain, even though we see God's goodness and love in so many aspects of our lives. "We're just like Israel, aren't we?" I asked her. So many times I have wondered how the Israelites could so quickly forget what God did for them (See all of Genesis and Exodus, plus much more!), and here I am doing the same thing. God is faithful! God is loving! God is merciful! I've seen evidences of His goodness over and over again in my life, but I continue to worry about the future and to question His goodness. Will I ever learn? Will I ever get to the point where I can honestly say that I am completely content in His plan for my life and that I don't feel the need to be in control? When will the things I know to be true about God impact me to the point of a permanent change when it comes to worrying (and many other areas of my life, for that matter)? Boy, am I grateful for His kindness and patience towards me!

The more God grows me up in His Word, the more clearly I see my depraved state before Him. Even my best intentions are marred by my sin. Does this make me wallow in sadness and self-pity? No way! It makes me all the more thankful for Jesus Christ! God's grace is sufficient, and I can trust that He is gripping me tightly and won't let me go - not because of my poor attempts at being a non-worrier, but because of Christ's atoning blood. I strive to live a holy life that is pleasing to God, but I know that I'll fail, and I'm thankful that He sees my sinful state and loves me anyways. I serve a great God - the more I know about Him, the greater He becomes to me and, in return, the lesser I become to myself. Praise God! 

Love,

Kristen

Where is God in our Pain and Suffering?

This past week, we saw another horrific act of terror as over 40 people were killed and more than 150 were injured in a bombing at an airport in Istanbul, Turkey. I don’t know if it’s the increased news coverage or if there truly has been an increase in the number of terrorist attacks, but these acts of terror appear to be happening more and more frequently. As these dreadful acts of terror take place, we can’t help but wonder why. Why in the world does so much evil exist? Where is God in the midst of all this pain and suffering? Why doesn’t He do something about it? Well, I don’t intend to answer this question fully, but I do intend to introduce how the Christian worldview sees God’s relationship to pain and suffering. 

First off, God is sovereign; there is nothing outside His control, including our pain and suffering. Jesus says in Matthew 10:29-30, “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? And not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your Father. But even the hairs of your head are all numbered.” Jesus is teaching us that there is not even one bird that God does not sovereignly reign over – even their deaths are in His hands. The context of this passage is teaching us not to fear God but to trust in Him, for He reigns over the seemingly insignificant sparrows, and He even knows how many hairs on your head.  He doesn’t just know these things from observation; He knows because He is the Creator.

Second, God is good; He is perfect in every way. Psalm 25:8 reads, “Good and upright is the Lord; therefore he instructs sinners in the way,” and James 1:13 says, “Let no one say when he is tempted, ‘I am being tempted by God,’ for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” We see here that God is sovereign and good, and not only that, but God also created a world that was very good (Genesis 1:31). It is God’s nature to create that which is good, because He is the very essence of goodness. 

Herein is where the problem lies from a humanly perspective. If God is good and sovereign, then why does anything exist that is not good? Why do bad things happen if God is powerful enough to stop them? These are very difficult questions, and we need not speculate here but instead should continue to look at what we know. What we know from God’s Word is that pain and suffering entered into the world as a result of man’s sin (Genesis 3:16-19). When Adam and Eve rebelled against God in the Garden, along came pain, suffering, and death.   

Therefore, while God is sovereign and good, pain and suffering are a result of man’s sin. No, I cannot tell you why man sinned in the first place – All I can tell you is what I know from God’s Word. Man was tempted and man sinned against the Holy God. Once sin entered the world, pain, suffering, and death came with it. While the Bible does not tell us why, it does teach us that God is not indifferent to our pain and suffering. In fact, God chose to become man and to suffer on this earth. That’s worth reading one more time: God chose to suffer. God who need not suffer, for He is lacking in nothing, chose to suffer. He became like us in flesh and blood, and then suffered the most heinous death on the cross. God suffered firsthand as we suffer (Hebrews 2:14-18; Hebrews 4:14-16).

In Mere Apologetics, Alister McGrath writes,

“In the incarnation, God the creator enters into this world of pain and suffering – not as a curious tourist, but as a committed Savior.  Christians thus recognize that God’s loving commitment to a suffering world was so great that God entered it personally – not sending some representative, but choosing to share in its pain and suffering.”

God the Son became flesh and lived among us and suffered alongside us. He is able to sympathize with us because He knows our suffering. In Revelation 2:9, Jesus says to the church in Smyrna, “I know your tribulation and your poverty and the slander of those who say that they are Jews and are not, but are a synagogue of Satan.” Jesus doesn’t just observe their pain and suffering from a heavenly view, He actually understands it; He knows it. In fact, the church at Smyrna shares in His suffering. Jesus Christ, who doesn’t just see our suffering, but who, in fact, knows it and has experienced it, now welcomes us to come to Him to take refuge in Him who has overcome this world. He tells us that in this world we will have tribulation, but to take heart because He has overcome the world. Not only this, He also invites us to Himself and says that in Him we will have peace. 

So whenever you hear people ask, “Why doesn’t God do something about the pain and suffering that we are experiencing?” You can answer, “He has.” He has done something! He has sent His Son to die in our place.  Romans 8:2 reads, “For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do.”

And not only has He already done something, but one day He will do something else – He will completely free His people from pain and suffering.  We acknowledge that the world is not as it should be. We live in a fallen world, where we are surrounded by war, terror, injustice, and greed, but one day God will wipe it all away. There will come a day when God will make all things right; He will rid this world of pain and suffering; He will make all things new (Revelation 21:1-5). 

While I cannot answer specifically why we experience pain and suffering, I can point you to God Almighty who is sovereign over pain and suffering. He rules over it. He has done something about it, and He will do something about it – He will finish His work in the future. I am a finite creature, and therefore I don’t know why God does as He does. That is what makes Him God, and that is what makes me man. I cannot comprehend the mind of God, but I can point you to Him who is the answer in the midst of all our pain and suffering. 

Much more could be said, but here are my concluding thoughts on pain and suffering:

1)   When we view the problems of pain and suffering, we often do so from a humanly perspective. We think that we somehow deserve something better, that we have a right to be happy, prosperous, and comfortable. However, we forfeited that right the day we rebelled against the Holy God. But now He invites us to come to Him and escape this tragic reality of sin, suffering, and death.

2)   When we view the problems of pain and suffering we tend to forget the many blessings that God bestows upon us now. If you recall from Romans 1, one of the marks against fallen humanity is that we fail to give thanks to God. One reason man focuses upon the bad is because we don’t want to acknowledge God and the good things that He has given us. 

3)   Although people may claim otherwise, the problems of pain and suffering are not the main reasons most people reject God and lose their faith. The main reason is unbelief. This is why, when sharing the Gospel and defending our faith, it is so important to know who we are talking to and why they have raised the question about pain and suffering in the first place. Is it truly an intellectual stumbling block, or is it just a defense mechanism they use to justify themselves as they continue walking in unbelief? 

4)   The Christian worldview is the only worldview that can truly stand up to the problem of evil. And while we do not understand it fully, we can turn to God and trust in Him. If evil is outside of His control, then we are in a world of trouble. On the other hand, if evil exists and God does not, then we have no hope. It is comforting to know that since God is in control of our suffering, He is using it for good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Additionally, we can be sure that there is nothing, including evil, that can stop the purposes of God (Romans 8:31-38).

5)   The final and most important point is this: If pain and suffering did not exist, we would know nothing of the sweetness of the cross.  Pain and suffering point us to God and to His goodness. Many times we think too lightly of pain and suffering, as if these trials are a mistake, but if we truly believe God’s Word, then we know that God works all things for our good. He used His own pain and suffering on the cross to bring about our salvation, and He uses our pain and suffering to continually point us to Him. C.S. Lewis called pain God’s megaphone. He said, "Pain insists upon being attended to. God whispers to us in our pleasures, speaks in our consciences, but shouts in our pains. It is his megaphone to rouse a deaf world."

So, whenever we experience times of trouble and pain, let us look to God and thank Him for these times. God often uses the hard times, when we have nowhere else to turn, to reveal Himself to us and to cause us to fall on our knees and call upon His name.

Psalm 121

¹    I lift up my eyes to the hills.

From where does my help come?

²    My help comes from the Lord,

who made heaven and earth.

³    He will not let your foot be moved;

he who keeps you will not slumber.

⁴    Behold, he who keeps Israel

will neither slumber nor sleep.

⁵    The Lord is your keeper;

the Lord is your shade on your right hand.

⁶    The sun shall not strike you by day,

nor the moon by night.

⁷    The Lord will keep you from all evil;

he will keep your life.

⁸    The Lord will keep

your going out and your coming in

from this time forth and forevermore.

~Corey