For any who still frequent this blog, I thought it good to inform you that the posts will likely from here forward be different in nature. After prayerful consideration and receiving counsel from others, it seemed best to focus most of the writing for God Motivation in book form. At times, I will likely include excerpts here from that work for any who might be interested. Although I know it's often cliche to say so, I would so much appreciate your prayers for this project, that God would do with me and it what would be most glorifying to Him. To help you to pray, here is a snippet from what I worked on earlier today:
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...over time, as I have worked through some of the application of the subject, this statement came to mind. “God Motivation is accomplished when God becomes the ultimate Because to all of life's whys. In other words, if someone asks me why I am writing this book, I want my answer, in complete truth, to ultimately be, “God, that's why.” I want to write it because He is doing something to steer me, as if He were standing behind me with His hands upon my shoulders guiding me in a certain direction. I want to write it because He is doing something within me, urging my soul to put something together regarding this subject. I want to write it because as I look beyond me, I behold Him as One that I want to strain ahead toward, building and spreading understanding of Him with pen in hand. He is why I want to write this book...or to do anything at all.
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Please pray that I would work through this project, to whatever end is in store for it, with God motivation.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Saturday, January 3, 2009
God Motivation and God's Sovereignty
The sovereignty of God is a touchy subject in many Christian circles. Most might be OK with the statement, "God is sovereign," but the way it gets defined varies greatly from person to person. To come right out and say it, I am a firm believer in God's sovereignty over all things at all times in all places. I don't believe this because I think it makes everything about God easy to accept or comfortable to live under. I believe it because I can't get away from what the Scriptures say concerning the subject. In my reading the other day, I was reminded of why I have continued in this way of thinking. In just two phrases directly next to one another, we read of the contrast between those outside of Christ and those within Him: They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light (1 Peter 2:8b-9). Readers can respond to the Bible in three basic ways: with indignation, with redefinition, or with acceptance. One can say, "I'll not serve a God who operates in that way," or "You see what it really means is...(insert gymnastics theology here)," or "Somehow, although perhaps mysterious, this is how God operates." If one takes a moment to think through these verses, he/she will find that there is an order to them--READ CAREFULLY. 1.) There is a destiny given. 2.) There is a playing out of human history according to the destiny given. 3.) There is a purpose given to the destiny (at least for one side in this particular instance). Tell this to people, and the buts will fly:
"But what about man's free will?" What about it? There certainly seems to be a will of some kind in man, but is it one independent of God's sovereign work? I have heard it said by one who advocates the side of free will that the definition of a sovereign one is "independent ruler." Very well. But if One is truly sovereign (unlike rulers on earth that we would call sovereign), would that not mean that He is completely independent of human decision or will? Then comes the follow-up questions: Do we still evangelize? Yep. Does man really sin? Yep. Is man punished for sin? Yep. Is God sovereign over and in and through all of that? Yep. This has always made people uncomfortable. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?" (Romans 9:19-20). I always cringe when people boldly use the phrase "free will" in sermons, Sunday School discussions, prayers, etc. as if it is some kind of Biblical doctrine. If it were true, it would indeed solve some of the "problems" we face with God's sovereignty, but it would also create a much bigger problem in that it robs God of the praise and glory He intends by acting in sovereignty.
But don't God's sovereignty and free will co-equally exist? This to me is an odd question. If it could be shown that such was the case, I suppose it could be considered as a possibility, but by nature and without the biblical evidence for it, it sounds like another attempt to explain away the discomfort felt over God's sovereign reign over our existence.
But I chose to follow God. Fair enough. The Bible talks about choosing to follow the Lord, but it also talks about who did the original choosing. In other words, we can choose because He chose. We're just about an eternity too late if we think we are the original choosers of our destinies.
But I'm not a robot. Correct, and you're not a carrot either. To be fair, I know what people mean when they say this. Nobody wants to think that he/she is without personal will or volition of any kind, but again, this is not what it means to live under the reign of the sovereign God of the universe.
There is mystery in all of these things, but we must not try to solve them by becoming poor detectives. A good detective does not try to dismiss or redefine the facts of a case, but instead places himself humbly under them and continues to look into the matter; he is subject to the facts that exist. The other night, we got together with my sister and brother-in-law for New Year's Eve and played the DVD version of Clue. It was interesting for awhile, but after a couple of hours, I grew weary of the mystery and decided to go ahead and declare a conclusion to avoid the increasing irritation I was feeling. It cost me the game.
This all really comes down to how we study the Bible. Do we approach it with God motivation? In our study of it, are we motivated to know Him more in the way He has said He must be known? Are we motivated by Him as we study it in that we pray for His guidance to know the truth therein? Is He the One motivating us by drawing us and by directing us, before and behind, within and without?
Sovereign God, please find me in complete submission to Your sovereign reign. Help me to be motivated by You alone in my study of Your Word that I might be the most effective for You in this world. Keep me in a place of humility and faith to accept who You are without reserve and then trust that You know best. To the praise of Your excellencies revealed through Your Son, Amen.
--The above being perhaps one of the more controversial posts I have written, I might note here, some time later, that John Calvin in his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" has proven immensely helpful in my thinking through the subject. Although he spends much time exploring the issue of free will (and preceding this, God's sovereignty), the reader might find the following snapshot helpful: Calvin on free will.
Part 7 should suffice if a brief statement is desired.
"But what about man's free will?" What about it? There certainly seems to be a will of some kind in man, but is it one independent of God's sovereign work? I have heard it said by one who advocates the side of free will that the definition of a sovereign one is "independent ruler." Very well. But if One is truly sovereign (unlike rulers on earth that we would call sovereign), would that not mean that He is completely independent of human decision or will? Then comes the follow-up questions: Do we still evangelize? Yep. Does man really sin? Yep. Is man punished for sin? Yep. Is God sovereign over and in and through all of that? Yep. This has always made people uncomfortable. You will say to me then, “Why does he still find fault? For who can resist his will?” But who are you, O man, to answer back to God? Will what is molded say to its molder, “Why have you made me like this?" (Romans 9:19-20). I always cringe when people boldly use the phrase "free will" in sermons, Sunday School discussions, prayers, etc. as if it is some kind of Biblical doctrine. If it were true, it would indeed solve some of the "problems" we face with God's sovereignty, but it would also create a much bigger problem in that it robs God of the praise and glory He intends by acting in sovereignty.
But don't God's sovereignty and free will co-equally exist? This to me is an odd question. If it could be shown that such was the case, I suppose it could be considered as a possibility, but by nature and without the biblical evidence for it, it sounds like another attempt to explain away the discomfort felt over God's sovereign reign over our existence.
But I chose to follow God. Fair enough. The Bible talks about choosing to follow the Lord, but it also talks about who did the original choosing. In other words, we can choose because He chose. We're just about an eternity too late if we think we are the original choosers of our destinies.
But I'm not a robot. Correct, and you're not a carrot either. To be fair, I know what people mean when they say this. Nobody wants to think that he/she is without personal will or volition of any kind, but again, this is not what it means to live under the reign of the sovereign God of the universe.
There is mystery in all of these things, but we must not try to solve them by becoming poor detectives. A good detective does not try to dismiss or redefine the facts of a case, but instead places himself humbly under them and continues to look into the matter; he is subject to the facts that exist. The other night, we got together with my sister and brother-in-law for New Year's Eve and played the DVD version of Clue. It was interesting for awhile, but after a couple of hours, I grew weary of the mystery and decided to go ahead and declare a conclusion to avoid the increasing irritation I was feeling. It cost me the game.
This all really comes down to how we study the Bible. Do we approach it with God motivation? In our study of it, are we motivated to know Him more in the way He has said He must be known? Are we motivated by Him as we study it in that we pray for His guidance to know the truth therein? Is He the One motivating us by drawing us and by directing us, before and behind, within and without?
Sovereign God, please find me in complete submission to Your sovereign reign. Help me to be motivated by You alone in my study of Your Word that I might be the most effective for You in this world. Keep me in a place of humility and faith to accept who You are without reserve and then trust that You know best. To the praise of Your excellencies revealed through Your Son, Amen.
--The above being perhaps one of the more controversial posts I have written, I might note here, some time later, that John Calvin in his "Institutes of the Christian Religion" has proven immensely helpful in my thinking through the subject. Although he spends much time exploring the issue of free will (and preceding this, God's sovereignty), the reader might find the following snapshot helpful: Calvin on free will.
Part 7 should suffice if a brief statement is desired.
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