Posts Tagged ‘God’

A Personal Confession on God

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Comments Posted on May 19, 2011 Last Updated May 19, 2011 Posted by Jeff Lash

Theologians debate whether to begin theological discussions with revelation or God. On the one hand, we would have no revelation without God. On the other hand, we would know nothing of God without revelation. Personally, I think it is best to begin with God in any theological conversation. So without further delay, I submit to you my confession on God.

Creator

I believe in one true God eternally existing in three unique persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Each person is equally God and united with one another by one essence. God has no beginning and will never come to an end. He exists outside of time and sees all of time at once. God relies on nothing for his existence. He is uncaused and yet causes all other things to exist (Matthew 3:16-17, 28:19; 2 Corinthians 13:14; Titus 3:4-6; 1 Peter 1:2; Deuteronomy 6:4; Psalm 90:2-4; 2 Peter 3:8; John 5:26; Acts 17:24-25).

I believe that God is the greatest possible being and beyond full comprehension. He possesses the highest quality of every attribute without a division of parts. He is not bound by the dimensions of this world and thus remains completely present in all places at all times (Psalm 145:3, 147:5; Job 5:9, 11:7-9; 1 Samuel 2:2; Jeremiah 23:23-24; Psalm 139:7-12; 1 Kings 8:27).

I believe that God is unchanging in his being, purposes, and character. He always acts in a manner consistent with his nature. As a result, God shows himself to be completely trustworthy and reliable. God possesses exhaustive knowledge of the past, present, and future. He wisely applies this knowledge to every situation in order to accomplish his perfect purposes. God is supremely powerful and accomplishes his holy will without interference. He created all things and continues to sustain them by his power (Malachi 3:6; James 1:17; Hebrews 13:8; Psalm 139:1-4, 147:4-5; Job 37:16; Romans 11:33; Hebrews 4:13; Job 42:2; Matthew 28:18; Colossians 1:16-17).

I believe that God is holy and perfect in every way. Every action and motive of God is good. He is the foundation of all truth and the standard by which all things are measured. God is faithful to his word and fulfills all that he promises (Isaiah 6:3; Psalm 99:9, 145:17; Psalm 34:8, 106:1, 119:68; Romans 8:28, 12:2; Jeremiah 10:10; John 17:17; Deuteronomy 32:4; Numbers 23:19).

Fall

I believe God created the world in such a way as to make evil a possibility. God can do no evil because he is perfect and pure. Thus, God is not the author of evil. Instead, God has permitted evil as a result of creating human beings with the capacity to make free choices. Evil is born out of our own desires. Yet God hates evil and sin. He pronounces judgment on any of us who do evil and sin against him because of his purity and absolute goodness. He cannot have a relationship with sin and thus cannot have a relationship with sinners (James 1:13-15; Genesis 3:1-19; Romans 5:12; John 3:36; Romans 1:18; Habakkuk 1:13; Psalm 5:4-5).

Redeemer

I believe that God loves us and desires relationship with us. He came to earth as a man, suffered on the cross, and died in our place in order to bear the punishment for our sin. God is gracious and merciful. Out of his own free choice and good pleasure, God gives us grace by rescuing us from sin and death. He is merciful to us when we desperately need it and shows us love in response to our suffering and cries. God is patient and longsuffering. He is slow to anger and quick to show love. He delays his judgment of sin in order that more people can be saved. He is the loving Redeemer and worthy to be praised (Hosea 11:1-4; Jeremiah 31:3; 1 John 4:8, 3:16; Romans 5:8, John 3:16; Ephesians 2:4, 8-9; Psalm 145:8; Titus 3:5; Romans 9:15-16; Numbers 14:18; 2 Peter 3:9).

Lessons from the Life of Antony Flew

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Comments Posted on Apr 29, 2010 Last Updated Apr 29, 2010 Posted by Jeff Lash

Al Mohler has a good article on the life and thought of Antony Flew, one of the foremost atheists of the 20th century. In 2004, Flew shocked many people with his rejection of atheism based on recent studies on the complexities of DNA. He posited that evolution’s theory of origins could not possibly explain such complexities and that human life could not have been formed from simple matter. Flew believed that an intelligent First Cause was necessary to explain the existence of human beings. However, it is important to note that Flew never became a Christian.

He rejected the possibility of divine revelation and flatly rejected the idea of divine judgment and hell. He told The Sunday Telegraph [London] that the God he had come to believe “probably” existed is “most emphatically not the eternally rewarding and eternally torturing God of either Christianity or Islam,” but only God as First Cause of the universe. In other words, Anthony Flew embraced a form of Deism (the belief in a God who creates but then removed himself from creation), rather than theism (the belief in a communicating, ruling, and judging deity).

Mohler ends the article by pointing out a few important observations and lessons from the life of Antony Flew. In my opinion, the most important lesson is this:

Third, the conclusion of Antony Flew’s life must affirm for us the fact that the rejection of atheism does not always lead to an embrace of Christianity. Salvation comes only to those who come to belief and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ — not to those who merely embrace the existence of a divine First Cause. Rejecting atheism is not enough.

Mohler’s comments would certainly be relevant to the rejection of any philosophy or religion. Unbelief in a false deity, system, or worldview does not automatically make a person right with the Triune God of the universe. Jesus says that repentance and belief is necessary to enter of the kingdom of God. Repentance is not only turning away from false religion but turning toward God in faith and belief. It is a reminder that it is not enough to simply refute the arguments of atheism or any other worldview. In the end, the goal should be to win the man behind the arguments.

The Story of Peter Hitchens

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Comments Posted on Mar 29, 2010 Last Updated Mar 29, 2010 Posted by Jeff Lash

Here is the story of the man behind the forthcoming book The Rage Against God.

(HT: Justin Taylor)

The Unchanging Love of God

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Comments Posted on Feb 17, 2010 Last Updated Feb 17, 2010 Posted by Jeff Lash

On Sunday, our Sunday School class looked at Malachi 3:6-18 and God’s unchanging love. It is only fitting that we discussed love on Valentine’s Day. Naturally we could have gone to 1 Corinthians 13 to talk about the many attributes of love. However, this passage gives us something a little different to think about in light of the current holiday. Malachi takes us away from thinking about our own acts of love and brings us to the heart of God’s unchanging love as expressed toward Israel. Israel had turned her back on God time and again. Yet despite Israel’s history of disobedience God had remained the same.  His love for them did not change.  His promise to them did not change.  In fact, God’s unchanging nature is the only reason why they were not destroyed.  There is a dual consistency between God and Israel.  While Israel was consistently disobedient, God was consistently loving and merciful. God’s consistent love and promise overcame their shortcomings. He simply says to them, “Return to me and I will return to you.” So we see that God’s love is unchanging despite our actions.

God follows this statement of his unchanging love by bringing two charges against Israel. It is a strange way to follow such a merciful act. Why tell Israel that they will be shown mercy and then follow that up by charging them with their sin? In order for the Israelites to return to God, they must be aware of their sin so that they might turn away from it. Repentance is needed in order to reestablish that close relationship that Israel experienced in previous generations. Israel has not honored God for the provisions that have been received (i.e. Israel has not tithed) nor has trusted in the words of God to take care of them. Their faith has dwindled because of the prosperity of non-believing people. But again, despite Israel’s lack of faith and negligence in worship, God never abandons them. He disciplines his children by sending them into exile but then delivers them as an act of love. This exile occurs in order to open the eyes of his people to the sins they have committed against Yahweh. Even God’s discipline is an act of love.

So this week, think about the love of Christ that has been lavishly poured out on you. When you start to lament your situation or find yourself extremely discouraged, remember what Christ has done on the cross so that you might have new, eternal life. It came at a great cost. But that just goes to show you how great the Father’s love is for us.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Knowledge of the Holy by A.W. Tozer (one of my favorite authors).

What peace it brings to the Christian’s heart to realize that our Heavenly Father never differs from Himself.  In coming to Him at any time we need not wonder whether we shall find Him in a receptive mood.  He is always receptive to misery and need, as well as to love and faith.  He does not keep office hours nor set aside periods when He will see no one.  Neither does He change His mind about anything.  Today, this moment, He feels toward His creatures, toward babies, toward the sick, the fallen, the sinful, exactly as He did when He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to die for mankind.

The Protestant Work Ethic

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Comments Posted on Sep 03, 2009 Last Updated Sep 03, 2009 Posted by Jeff Lash

I was listening to a sermon today by John Piper and was struck by a statement he made in reference to humility’s connection to work ethic. Better yet, I found the section in video form. So hear from Piper himself.

Humility toward our abilities and lives brings us to a greater awareness of our need for God’s sovereign grace. We can do nothing apart from God. We are desperately in need of Him. So anything accomplished in this life must be credited to Him. We live to bring God glory. Seeking God’s glory should drive us to work hard because everything we do can bring glory to Him. So…be diligent in everything that you do. Let your work be worship to a holy God. He is more than deserving.

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