Why Does God Allow . . . (Part 4)

Continued from Tuesday . . .

Hindsight helped me to see the Sovereignty of God over my life - even prior to conversion. WOW!

I was born and raised in the Australian outback in a “secular humanist” environment. Though my parents weren’t Christian I was fortunate enough to grow up in a stable home where my basic needs were always provided for. I can vividly remember at an early age sitting outside gazing at the stars and weighing up the possibilities of the great cosmic equation. Was it all random chance, or was there a plan going on. It was obvious to me that I could see design in everything and there must have been Someone in charge of all this. I was also troubled by the reality that I had an accute sense of justice and injustice - where did that come from? Furthermore, though I had an inherent morality, my constant cravings were to violate that morality. Years later the first two chapters of Romans would bring to light my youthful ponderings.

My first Christian influence was at the age of eight. Phillip was my next door neighbour and six years older than me. I was always in awe of Phillip who was small in stature but a bold and fervent witness of his faith. Since my father was quite passive about my associations, I spent a lot of time listening to Phillip as he told me about topics ranging from the six day literal creation right through to his version of end time events that lay ahead. I really believed what he told me but was too afraid to “go public” about this. Nonetheless I hid much of what he told me in my heart and devoured the steady diet of Chick comics that he sent my way. For the rest of my adolescent years or so I thought of myself as a bit of a “stealth” Christian, holding some form of faith in Christ but hoping to slip through society undetected.

I joined the Royal Australian Air Force as a 17 year old in 1987, still flying under the radar. One day in the spring of 1989 I had something similar to a “woman at the well” experience (except for the woman part). I went to visit a friend of mine to pick him up for a game of rugby league we were playing in. But my friend had been posted out without me knowing and a stranger was sitting in the dormitory instead. This stranger just looked at me and launched into some of the most piercing and personal questions I had ever received. It was like he had known me all my life and could discern my secret thoughts. It was both frightening and convicting. I never saw that stranger again but walked out of his room that day certain that if I denied Jesus Christ before men then He would deny me before the Father.

I soon found a Charismatic church nearby and started attending. Everyone who attended seemed so holy and sanctified. I was petrified at the thought of anyone finding out that they had been infiltrated by a hypocritical Christian. I squirmed at altar calls for three weeks, my heart pounding so hard that I thought I might die. I now know that responding to an altar call is not the be all and end all of becoming a Christian but it was a necessary thing for me to do in order to deal with my personal pride. I can distinctly remember the visiting South African evangelist calling for the “lost” to come forward and me walking out lest I die. The strange thing that happened that night in October of 1989 was that my fear and shame was replaced with a boldness to declare my faith in Christ. It was like my old next door neighbour Phillip had passed me the baton of his boldness. My witnessing for the following years of my life was tried in the hostile fires of a military workplace where I suffered some intense persecution for my faith (the rest of the persecution was for my own overzealous stupidity).

I left the Air Force after ten years service in 1997 and was able to indulge my dream of attending a bible college full time. I treasured every class and loved the cut and thrust of lectures which often became forums for my many questions. During this time I spent many hours exploring systematic theology books which I had never heard about before. Whilst reading Wayne Grudem’s book on the subject I had an experience where the light of a Holy God drew near. The closer it came the more I realised how deeply sinful I really was. I had only ever given token acknowledgement to my sin in the past. But now there was deep conviction, then repentance, and then a profound sense of wonderment about the cross of Jesus Christ. It was so liberating to be set free from my pathetic façade of righteousness and let God be glorified in my weakness. I now understood Jesus words in Luke 7:47 "Therefore I say to you, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, he loves little."

In the true light of who we are as exceedingly sinful beings, and the infinite Holiness of an Omnipotent, Omnipresent, Omniscient, and Eternal God it is important to be people who ask the right questions.

Why does God allow me to live another day considering my sins against Him? Because He domonstrated His great love by dying for me (in my place) while I was a terrible sinner (Romans 5:8). Isn't that enough good news to run the race and finish the course?

I am now deeply passionate about sharing the gospel with anyone who has ears to hear.
So thanks for listening!

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Why Does God Allow . . . (Part 3)

Continued from Sunday . . .

Clearly the book of Job presents a huge problem to the Word Faith preacher who espouses the the idolatrous ideas that God's will is ALWAYS for us to be in perfect health, wealth, success, and free from suffering. I knew what God said about Job:

Job 1:8 And the LORD said to Satan, "Have you considered my servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?" (Job 1:8)

And how Job responded to his loss of wealth, health, and family (that God had clearly appointed in His providence):

And he said, "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked shall I return. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD." In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong (Job 1:21-22).

And how favorably Ezekiel and James referred to Job:

"Son of man, when a land sins against me by acting faithlessly, and I stretch out my hand against it and break its supply of bread and send famine upon it, and cut off from it man and beast, even if these three men, Noah, Daniel, and Job, were in it, they would deliver but their own lives by their righteousness, declares the Lord GOD (Ezekiel 14:13-14).

As an example of suffering and patience, brothers, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. Behold, we consider those blessed who remained steadfast. You have heard of the steadfastness of Job, and you have seen the purpose of the Lord, how the Lord is compassionate and merciful (James 5:10-11).

With the knowledge of these passages of Scripture I sat there in disbelief as the prominent Word Faith pastor blamed Job's suffering on his Job's sin. It became clear to me that for this preacher to interpret the book of Job faithfully would totally devastate his precious "prosperity theology". I could smell the stench of fraud and needed to venture out for some fresh air.

The reason for my discussion on this issue is not primarily aimed at Word Faith heresies but to bring to light God's sovereignty over all things whether they be good or evil and that He will ultimately derive glory from everything that transpires in this world. It is a form of idolatry to embrace a theology that views God as a cosmic Santa Claus, and to claim that sickness, poverty, and suffering are foreign to God's providential will - because it amounts to embracing a god who does not exist, a god who is defined differently to the One True God of Scripture. Furthermore it is an explicit denial of His omnipotence (being all powerful), and omniscience (being all knowing).

In recent years I have been brought face to face with preachers at funerals who would rather embrace open theism (that God is not omnipotent and therefore tragedies can happen contrary to His will) than point to the ultimate comfort of resting in God's sovereignty. That God ordains all things according to His purposes and that all things, ultimately, work together for good for those who love God and are called according to His purposes.

Think about it for a moment. Telling a parent who has lost a young child that it was not God's will or that the Devil took them. Making someone's healing entirely contingent on the level of faithfulness we can attain to in prayer for them. Claiming ambitious promises by quoting Scripture out of context. Initially these things may alleviate some pain from a tragedy. But what about the long haul of life - lying awake at night running endless permutations and scenarios through our human brains. Contemplating the "what ifs" - what if I prayed more, what if I didn't catch that plane, what if we went to the doctor 6 months earlier . . . Brothers and sisters, this thinking and understanding of God is not only wrong, it also wreaks havoc on our faith and understanding of Who God is.

The great evangelist and Bible Scholar AW Pink had this to say about God's sovereignty (extract taken from chapter 12 of his classic book "The Sovereignty of God" - please read it all the way through it is powerful and profound):

The doctrine of God's Sovereignty is one that is full of consolation and imparts great peace to the Christian. The Sovereignty of God is a foundation that nothing can shake and is more firm than the heavens and earth. How blessed to know there is no corner of the universe that is out of His reach! as said the Psalmist, "Whither shall I go from Thy Spirit? or whither shall I flee from Thy presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; even there shall Thy hand lead me, and Thy right hand shall hold me. If I say surely the darkness shall cover me; even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hideth not from Thee; but the night shineth as the day: the darkness and the light are both alike to Thee" (Psa. 139:7-12). How blessed it is to know that God's strong hand is upon every one and every thing! How blessed to know that not a sparrow falleth to the ground without His notice!

How blessed to know that our very afflictions come not by chance, nor from the Devil, but are ordained and ordered by God: "That no man should be moved by these afflictions: for yourselves know that we are appointed thereunto" (1 Thess. 3:3)!

But our God is not only infinite in power. He is infinite in wisdom and goodness too. And herein is the preciousness of this truth. God wills only that which is good and His will is irreversible and irresistible! God is too wise to err and too loving to cause His child a needless tear. Therefore if God be perfect wisdom and perfect goodness how blessed is the assurance that everything is in His hand and molded by His will according to His eternal purpose! "Behold, He taketh away, who can hinder Him? who will say unto Him what doest Thou?" (Job 9:12). Yet, how comforting to learn that it is "He," and not the Devil, who "taketh away" our loved ones! Ah! what peace for our poor frail hearts to be told that the number of our days is with Him (Job 7:1; 14:5); that disease and death are His messengers and always march under His orders; that it is the Lord who gives and the Lord who takes away!

The One seated upon the Throne of Heaven, the One who is Governor over the nations and who has ordained and now regulates all events, is infinite not only in power but in wisdom and goodness as well. He who is Lord over all creation is the One that was "manifest in the flesh" (1 Tim. 3:16). Ah! here is a theme no human pen can do justice to. The glory of God consists not merely in that He is Highest, but in that being high He stooped in lowly love to bear the burden of His own sinful creatures, for it is written "God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself" (2 Cor. 5:19). The Church of God was purchased "with His own Blood" (Acts 20:28). It is upon the gracious self-humiliation of the King Himself that His kingdom is established. O wondrous Cross! By it He who suffered upon it has become not the Lord of our destinies (He was that before), but the Lord of our hearts. Therefore, it is not in abject terror that we bow before the Supreme Sovereign, but in adoring worship we cry "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honor, and glory, and blessing" (Rev. 5:12).

Here then is the refutation of the wicked charge that this doctrine is a horrible calumny upon God and dangerous to expound to His people. Can a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" that gives God His true place, that maintains His rights, that magnifies His grace, that ascribes all glory to Him and removes every ground of boasting from the creature? Can a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" which affords the saints a sense of security in danger, that supplies them comfort in sorrow, that begets patience within them in adversity, that evokes from them praise at all times? Can a doctrine be "horrible" and "dangerous" which assures us of the certain triumph of good over evil, and which provides a sure resting-place for our hearts, and that place, the perfections of the Sovereign Himself? No; a thousand times, no! Instead of being "horrible and dangerous" this doctrine of the Sovereignty of God is glorious and edifying, and a due apprehension of it will but serve to make us exclaim with Moses, "Who is like unto thee, O LORD, among the gods? who is like Thee, glorious in holiness, fearful in praises, doing wonders?" (Exo. 15:11).

To be continued on Thursday . . .

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Why Does God Allow . . . (Part 2)

Continued from thursday.

My earliest influences as a Christian were of the Word Faith, positive thinking, self esteem and success variety. Or was it the other way around?? Having been recruited/seduced to Amway at the age of 18 I was bombarded with self help, positive thinking, positive confession, prosperity materials. I was strongly encouraged to read people like Robert Schuller, Norman Vincent Peale and Zig Ziglar. My western consumer mentality was only too happy to embrace a lot of this thinking. It made sense and was presented in a way that appealed to my carnality.

This paved the way into the Word Faith movement with people like Kenneth Copeland, and Kenneth Hagin. Perhaps I portray myself as more shallow than I really was (although I don't want to give myself any credit). As I reflect back I am without doubt that God was doing some serious providential work in my life. It was at this time that I also had a frightening experience where a complete stranger spoke words to me that penetrated my veneer of social acceptance and exposed an area of sin that I knew had me already condemned (you see, I already knew the truth - at least to a certain extent - through a young man who witnessed to me as a teenager. Though I never spoke publicly about it I did hide the words that the young man spoke in my heart and I'll speak more about this in my next post). I was overwhelmingly convicted of the sin of denial.

I knew I was in trouble and could hardly sleep at night. I had never read the verse where Jesus says that if we deny Him before men, He will deny us before the Father. But I knew I was guilty and my conscience was burning!

I went on a hunt to find a professing Christian so I could beg them to take me to their church - I didn't want to go alone in fear of being humiliated when people found out they had a sinner in their midst. I found a guy who took me to a charismatic church that was nearby. I must admit that some things struck me as weird but I was drawn to the fact that these people were very serious about their walk with God and loved to sing about Him with their hands up high. I was drawn and intimadated all at the same time. Drawn to the reconciliation I needed to put my conscience at rest, but intimidated by this great cloud of sanctified people with hands raised in unison. What if they found out that I was sinful and unclean?

Though I am not an advocate of "altar calls" (at least in as far as they are used as a substitute for Holy Spirit empowered regeneration), the altar call I responded to was a big deal because it was addressing my pet sin of hiding in silence and forced me to humiliate myself in front of the entire congregation. I don't know what to think about the message preached on that day (I can't remember to be honest) but I have no doubt that God was doing a transforming work regardless. I really walked out of that place a different person and unashamed to testify of Jesus Christ. That unashamedness coupled with my immense stupidy and lack of social skills certainly helped me to be at "enmity" with the world around me. I took it all in my stride under the delusion that the persecution was because of my faith and not because I was a jerk.

Though the church I attended was not officially "Word Faith" it did dance with a lot of their teaching and theology. I was only too happy to buy into a lot of it. I never got sick, I was financially blessed, no real tragedies to speak of, and life was turning out to be a pretty good ride. If they wanted a Word Faith poster boy then I was it . . . except maybe for the private jet!

I paint this background because it is important for you to understand that my criticisms aimed at Word Faith theology don't come out of an axe to grind with some rich pastor or because prosperity and health didn't come my way. I harbor no bitterness from earlier experience (though many of my congregational friends certainly struggled with sickness, experienced harrowing tragedy, and were dead broke). I was just really blind and stupid. I actually thought that I was the guy who must be pleasing God and all these other struggling people must have lacked faith or had sin in their lives.

Oh, I am so ashamed of this self righteousness. The truth was that many of these people had greater faith, greater devotion, and greater fellowship with the sufferings of Christ. In hindsight, I'd have to say that my blessed life was probably due to my weakness, lack of faith, and inability to cope with tragedy which in turn caused God to extend one big tsunami of mercy my way. I often ask the question - Why does God allow me to live in my blessed little bubble of safety when others go through suffering, poverty, and tragedy? Honest self examination brings me to the point of bewilderment. Why has God dealt so graciously with me and my entire family when I deserve His wrath? In fact 20/20 hindsight reveals that this is the question every person on this planet should be asking!



So what tipped me over the edge and drove me away from Word Faith theology? It was when a visiting pastor started preaching about Job!

God had graciously gave me a hunger for His Word and I spent considerable time searching the pages of my Bible. When the pastor started teaching about Job I could see the twisting of Scripture straight away - loud and clear. I knew what the book of Job taught and this "preacher" was butchering it to make it fit his theology. I was furious and my eyes had been opened to the magical world of Scripture twisting. I was on the warpath . . .

To be continued on tuesday!

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Why Does God Allow . . . (Part 1)

As a father of young children watching the Keith Green documentary posted on tuesday cuts me to the core. Keith Green's life, a life that produced some of the truly great Christian songs of the last century, was tragically cut short at the age of 28 in a plane crash. Compounding the tragedy was the death of his son Josiah (4) and daughter Bethany (2) who were on board the same plane. As Keith's wife Melody tearfully recounted this tragedy of 25 years ago I saw a short video of young Josiah on a swing grinning ear to ear. That same day I had been pushing my two year old son on a swing as he grinned ear to ear. The thought of this made me erupt into tears unable to fathom the tragedies so many people face.

But what is even harder to fathom is why God graciously has allowed me and my family to live in a bubble of blessing while tragedies strike all around. I had a stern reminder of this in the last week when a good friend of mine from Australia informed me of his terminal illness. As I meditated on these things in the light of God's Holiness and man's depravity I wrote these words in the hope of delivering comfort to my suffering friend.

Dear xxxxx, we were stunned with your latest news. We are praying for you. Though we are not facing the same adversity we draw great encouragment from other godly men and women who have faced incredible hardship and crisis. Abraham drew comfort in the valley when he said "Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right?"

We rejoice in your desire to fervently witness for the "ONLY NAME given under heaven by which all men must be saved". I fear much more for those people who have not repented of their sin and trusted in Christ. Jesus is the ONLY hope for all of mankind and we are comforted by our trust that you are in the care of the Great Physician. We love you both dearly and are so grateful for the love, counsel, and salt and light you have been for us. You are a very large part of a very important season of our lives and we are constantly grateful.

The Bible rightly says that all of our lives are like a vapor in the context of eternity. The curse pronounces terminal illness on the entire human race. Thanks be to God that in the fulness of time He sent forth His Son to be a penal substitute in the place of sinners. The God Who made us has numbered our days and that is ultimately what defines the start and finish of our sojourn on this planet. No earthly doctor can set those limits. We get the days God gives us - no more and no less - and it is our loving Creator Who alone determines the boundaries of human life on this planet, that is not our home.

For people who speak thus make it clear that they are seeking a homeland. If they had been thinking of that land from which they had gone out, they would have had opportunity to return. But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for he has prepared for them a city (Hebrews 11:14-16).

We are so blessed by your desire to continually be a witness and want to exhort you to please stay fervent in your witness for Jesus Christ. The Gospel is the power of God unto salvation and He has graciously given us a role in proclaiming His Gospel. It is ultimately a verbal Gospel which is why Paul says "how shall they HEAR unless a preacher is sent". Everyone's life will end one day, but it doesn't need to end up in hell. Christ in you is the hope of glory to these lost people who will come to you and it is for this reason that your finest days may still lay ahead of you.

You are both so precious to us.
Love
Cameron and Family

I have often heard it said that "some people are so heavenly minded they're no earthly good". I actually believe the reverse is true. Without an eternal perspective, Jesus as my strong tower, and the comforting doctrine of God's sovereignty, I don't know how I could face another day. I cannot understand how lost sinners can face each new day - it can only be blindness, ignorance, and delusion that allow hell bound sinners to soldier on in life. Don't they see the ultimate statistic that one out of one people die? Don't they see their own terminal illness.

There is so much more to explore on these issues and I will continue on saturday. This all strikes me so close to home that and I am overwhelmed with the gracious and tender way God has dealt with a rebel like me. My great question is why does God allow me to live and be so blessed in this life? I have decided to reveal a lot of my personal testimony over the coming days. So stay tuned if that grabs your curiosity!



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