Keep me single-minded…

Saul recognized David’s voice and said, “Is this your voice, my son David?” And David said, “It is my voice, my lord, O king.” And he said, “Why does my lord pursue after his servant? For what have I done? What evil is on my hands? Now therefore let my lord the king hear the words of his servant. If it is the Lord who has stirred you up against me, may he accept an offering, but if it is men, may they be cursed before the Lord, for they have driven me out this day that I should have no share in the heritage of the Lord, saying, ‘Go, serve other gods.’ Now therefore, let not my blood fall to the earth away from the presence of the Lord, for the king of Israel has come out to seek a single flea like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains.” 
Then Saul said, “I have sinned. Return, my son David, for I will no more do you harm, because my life was precious in your eyes this day. Behold, I have acted foolishly, and have made a great mistake.” 
And David answered and said, “Here is the spear, O king! Let one of the young men come over and take it. The Lord rewards every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness, for the Lord gave you into my hand today, and I would not put out my hand against the Lord’s anointed. Behold, as your life was precious this day in my sight, so may my life be precious in the sight of the Lord, and may he deliver me out of all tribulation.” 
Then Saul said to David, “Blessed be you, my son David! You will do many things and will succeed in them.” 
So David went his way, and Saul returned to his place. (1 Samuel 26:17–25)

The NT speaks of a double-minded man who cannot rest in assurance of God’s care. Saul is an example. Once again he is asleep and David comes close enough to kill him, but does not. Instead he scolds Abner for not protecting his king as he should. Thin he has the same conversation as before and Saul responds with the same confession.

Lest I harshly judge Saul, I must remind myself of the many times I’ve repeated a sin and said, “Oh no! I’ve done it again.” Peter did it too. He vowed to never betray Jesus, but he did. It is this powerlessness over sin that brought Jesus to earth to die for us.

Lord, how I need to keep my heart and mind on You. Life is busy and the demands out of mere everyday responsibilities take more energy than I have. Grant me what is needed to obey all that You ask.

 

How often I need reminding . . .

 

READ Luke 21-24

The Lord’s Supper, also called Communion, was instituted just before Jesus died. “And he took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’ “ (Luke 22:19–20)

Whenever we do this as a local congregation in our church, it is solemn, a time for reflection of what Jesus did on the Cross, our own unworthiness. We confess known sins and are thankful for our redemption. Yet at that first communion, the disciples quickly revealed why redemption was necessary. Right after this solemn occasion when Jesus also told them He would be betrayed and killed by one of them, they were discussing who that might be. That soon led to this:

A dispute also arose among them, as to which of them was to be regarded as the greatest. And he said to them, “The kings of the Gentiles exercise lordship over them, and those in authority over them are called benefactors. But not so with you. Rather, let the greatest among you become as the youngest, and the leader as one who serves. (Luke 22:24–26)

I tried to imagine this scenario in our church and became dismayed to think of us arguing over who was the greatest Christian in the congregation. If that happened, what would I think? Or do?

Then Jesus told Peter that He was praying for him because his determination to be faithful would become three denials on that very day. Peter was dismayed, probably a similar feeling as mine toward fighting after communion, but Jesus was not wrong; Peter did deny Him three times.

We might defend Peter and say this happened before the Cross, before the Holy Spirit filled him and that is part of the story, yet it also reveals the need for redemption. The human heart can be sincere in wanting to love and obey God, but without the power of the Holy Spirit, sin can and will defeat good intentions. We need Jesus.

In a conversation yesterday about the convoys of truckers who are protesting government actions, my conclusion was this: no one can knowingly obey the will of God without the Spirit of God in their life, without the faith in Jesus Christ and the redemption that comes from repentance and yielding to Him. We who are Christians cannot demand that non-Christians do God’s will apart from having Him in their lives. We could not do it so it is unfair and even foolish to be disappointed when others cannot.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5–8)

Trying to persuade unbelieving leaders to do justly is something like Moses trying to persuade Pharaoh to let God’s people go. Releasing them from bondage was not profitable for that Egyptian leader. No matter the pressure put on him to do so, his heart was hard. In the end, God hardened it because He had a better plan. When His people left, they were ready to leave, but even then they were soon lamenting that their lot in life and insisting things would have been better had they stayed.

Such describes the human heart. Obeying God is hard. It meets with resistance, not only from those who do not want to obey God, but from our own sinfulness. Sin makes us quick to want to be the greatest, have it all, live according to those old desires even though we know that sinful living does not please God and instead leads to death.

For me, these days often find me battle weary. Fighting sin and praying for others to win that battle can be physically, mentally, and spiritually exhausting. In today’s reading, I felt the sorrow and passion of Jesus as He sweat blood for us, for me. Lord Jesus, how badly we Your people need revival. Hear our prayers and grant us what we need to stop falling back into the life You saved us from. Enable us to be bold and joyful in the life You died to give us.

 

Faith is rationale?

Those reading Fortner’s devotional with me might respond today with a bit of dismay and question marks. He believes that Jesus died only for the sins of those who believe in Him, that is, His substitutionary death was only for some, not for the entire human race. He presented Scripture to make his point.

As I considered this and noticed how many verses appear to support this idea, I wondered about the opposite view, that Jesus died for the whole world. A bit of study brought me to the issue of antinomy, a term to do with the inability of our minds to comprehend the mind of God.

For instance, consider the tension between divine sovereignty and human responsibility regarding salvation. The Bible teaches God’s election and predestination, that God marked believers out beforehand and chose them for salvation in eternity past. Yet the Bible also clearly teaches that people have a responsibility to believe.

One verse makes an interesting connection in the way it is worded: “And when the Gentiles heard this, they began rejoicing and glorifying the word of the Lord, and as many as were appointed to eternal life believed.” (Acts 13:48)

Some people call God’s choice ‘predestination’ and others call it ‘fatalism’ saying, “Nothing I do can change anything at all. All incentives are removed. I can only pretend to be making a difference.” But others focus on the will of man and say we need to do our best and we can change the world.

Both views seem reasonable, yet this shows our inability to comprehend how two rational ideas can exist side by side and both be true, but in this case, they are.

One of the best examples of an antinomy is at Pentecost when Peter explained why Christ died:

“This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men.” (Acts 2:23)

Jesus died due to God’s sovereign hand, yet Peter charged the people for crucifying Him. Who can comprehend that both are true, but they are!

Another antinomy is at issue in today’s devotional. Fortner says Jesus died only for believers because if He died for everyone, those who do not believe would make His death for them a failure, a salvation that didn’t work. But if He died for only believers, this belies verses like John 3:16.

The first passage that popped into my head is this statement that Jesus made about the Holy Spirit:

“And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me . . . .” (John 16:8–9)

Jesus died for sinners; the price has been paid. There is only one sin that keeps people out of God’s kingdom: the failure to believe in Jesus Christ. Some will not receive eternal life because they refused it. They are disqualified because they didn’t believe, not because Jesus didn’t die for them. This lack of believing is the unforgiveable sin.

In the devotional, verses from Isaiah suggest an inclusiveness: the sacrifice saved only those who were chosen; God’s people, but those verses are pointing to the nation of Israel. If Jesus didn’t die for everyone, then what about this verse:

“The next day he) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! (John 1:29)

Another thought: Jesus died to forgive sins, but also for sin. That is, we need forgiveness for our sinful thoughts, words and deeds, but we also need regeneration to give us new life, to change us into new creatures. This is good news, nothing like suggesting to others, “Sorry, I’m in, but you are out.”

Instead, Jesus died and then put the ball into the sinner’s court. God has provided the solution. It isn’t His fault or failure if sinners refuse to take responsibility for their sin and seek His forgiveness.

Of course God knows from eternity past who will and who will not come to Christ, yet the Bible uses “Whosoever will . . . .” often enough that I must conclude both are true: God is sovereign and we are not robots. That is the tension of an antinomy, and also the tension of faith.

^^^^^^^^^^

Jesus, Your Word proves that sin messes with my ability to totally understand You. However, faith can say “I believe both sides of this” without losing heart or needing to pick one side to satisfy my reasoning. Faith is trusting what You say, even when I cannot rationalize or put all the pieces together. You are my wisdom. If I need to make sense of this antinomy, You will grace me with understanding. For now, I am content with faith.