Tag Archives: blame

A Futile Objection

Bible Study, , , ,

A FUTILE OBJECTION

“One of you will say to me: ‘Then why does God still blame us? For who is able to resist His will?’ But who are you, a human being, to talk back to God? “Shall what is formed say to the one who formed it, ‘Why did you make me like this’?” Does not the potter have the right to make of the same lump of clay some pottery for special purposes and some for common use? What if God, although choosing to show His wrath and make His power known, bore with great patience the objects of His wrath – prepared for destruction? What if He did this to make the riches of His glory known to the objects of His mercy, whom He prepared in advance for glory, even us whom He also called, not only from the Jews but also from the Gentiles?” Romans 9:19-24.

“He made me do it!” Ever heard that objection from the mouth of a little kid just caught with his hand in the cookie jar? What a futile objection.

It’s the kind of argument Paul envisaged from someone who was trying to wriggle out of taking responsibility for his wicked actions. “It’s God’s fault,” he insists. “He made me like this.” Really! Like the young girl who finds out she’s pregnant after a one-night stand and whines, “Why did God allow this to happen?” Did God take her by the scruff of the neck and force her into a promiscuous lifestyle?

But is goes deeper than that. As much as we dare not blame God for our sinful behaviour, how can we scrutinise His justice and find fault with Him when we cannot fathom the depths of His nature or understand His ways? Of one thing we can be absolutely certain: God cannot do wrong. If He were able to act unjustly, He would no longer be God and He would not be eternal because injustice is sin which leads to death.

So what exactly is Paul telling us? Firstly, it is God’s prerogative to choose what kind of vessel to make when He begins to mould the clay. The clay is His and so is the choice of design and purpose.

Secondly, He creates each vessel according to His purpose. He always has the bigger picture in mind. He is writing His story – the one that puts His glory on display for the entire universe to see. Every detail must fit into His purpose and every character in the story must play his part in displaying God whether through His wrath or through His mercy.

Thirdly, God always takes into account His gift of free will to every human being. That does not make God subject to our choices but, in a mysterious way that we will never understand this side of heaven, God’s sovereignty overrides even our free will. Yet, at the same time, He holds every person accountable for his choices. He does not make us disobedient, nor does He want us to be disobedient just to carry out His plans but, at the same time, our disobedience is put to good use in the plot of His story! How does that work? I don’t know but God does!

Peter put these two ideas together with great skill on the day of Pentecost when he explained the strange goings-on to the astonished crowd.

“This man was handed over to you by God’s deliberate plan and foreknowledge; and you, with the help of wicked men, put Him to death by nailing Him to the cross.” Acts 2:23.

Here was Peter, placing the responsibility for crucifying Jesus squarely on the shoulders of his hearers, seeing God behind it all and, at the same time, offering them repentance and the opportunity to change and be a part of God’s story! Wow! How is that for a matchless story-line?

How can we marry these two ideas? God creates some vessels for wrath and yet He gives them opportunity to change their minds and waits patiently for them to receive His mercy. But He also knows they will refuse, and He writes them into His story – like Pharaoh… like Judas…! Is He unfair? Is He unjust? No way!

What’s the point? It’s not about pointing fingers at God and demanding “How could you do that to him?” but it’s about falling on your knees before him and weeping in gratitude, “Thank you, Father, for your mercy to me.”

Have you done that?

Acknowledgement

THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

 

Stick To The Point

Christian Life, , ,

STICK TO THE POINT

“Bringing them back. they stood them before the High Council. The Chief Priest said, ‘Didn’t we give you strict orders not to teach in Jesus’ name? And here you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are trying you best to blame us for the death of this man,’

“Peter and the apostles answered,’ It’s necessary to obey God rather than men. The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, the One you killed by hanging Him on a cross. God set Him on high at His side, Prince and Saviour, to give Israel the gift of a changed life and sins forgiven And we are witnesses to these things. The Holy Spirit, whom God gives to those who obey Him, corroborates every detail.'” Acts 5:27-32 (The Message).

Aha! So that’s the reason for all this antagonism! The High Priest and his cronies have guilty consciences but they won’t admit it.

How blatant their refusal to acknowledge responsibility for killing Jesus! Who had Him arrested and condemned to death? Who led the frenzied demand for Him to be crucified and Barabbas released? Who mercilessly taunted Him while He hung on the cross? Little did they think that their actions would turn around and bite them!

The tragedy for them was that their guilt was shouting so loudly inside them that they were not hearing Peter’s message. Had they only listened, they would have heard God’s offer of unconditional forgiveness for them as well. Peter was not trying to nail blame on them. They already knew they were guilty. He was trying to show them the extent of God’s mercy towards them as well.

This was not an exercise in “naming and shaming” anyone. That’s not how God works to alert people to His offer of forgiveness. No, He does not wink at sin. He dealt with it by nailing it all on Jesus at the cross. He allows the conscience to do its work without rubbing people’s faces in their guilt. It is the Holy Spirit’s work to convince us of sin so that He can point us to the Saviour.

Until we acknowledge our guilt and take responsibility for our rebellion against God, we will be on the run like the religious hierarchy who were trying to shrug off their responsibility by compounding it! Peter and his fellow apostles stuck to the point. Why didn’t they? They were a heartbeat away from forgiveness, even for killing Jesus, and a new life of joy and freedom, but they refused to stick to the point.

Once again Satan was locked in combat for the lives of these men, but so obsessed were they about being in control that they missed their golden moment for handing over the reins to the true Master of their lives. They did not realise that the command centre was not in their hands but in the hands of their enemy, the devil. He was not interested in their wellbeing — only in their demise at their own hands because of their stubborn resistance to the One who could rescue them from themselves.

How tragic that people should be so suspicious of God, in spite of what He did for us at the cross, that they would rather run from Him than run to Him. Even some of those who claim to be followers of Jesus run from Him when guilt is exposed.

The true message of the cross is often obscured by the humanistic trend that makes the gospel a man-centred message. Peter stuck to the point. Jesus was crucified, yes, but God raised him from the grave and exalted Him to the highest place. He is both Lord and Christ and to Him every knee shall bow. Those who bow now will be absolved from guilt and the penalty of their sin, and will enjoy the benefits of being united to their Saviour both now and in the life to come.

Those who refuse to acknowledge guilt will carry in into the life to come and the unthinkable penalty of separation from God, the place where the master they served in this life will serve out his sentence for eternity.

The choice is mine and yours…

Too Late!

Christian Life, , , ,

TOO LATE!

“When the city came into view, He wept over it.’ If you had only recognised this day, and everything that was good for you! But now it’s too late. In the days ahead your enemies are going to bring up their heavy artillery and surround you, pressing in from every side. They’ll smash you and your babies on the pavement. Not one stone will be left intact. All because you didn’t recognise and welcome God’s personal visit.'” Luke 19:41-44 (The Message).

“Too late!” These are the saddest and most terrifying words ever to fall on human ears! They have been said and will be said in every kind of circumstance, Sometimes they are no more serious than a missed appointment or a missed flight, and can be remedied with a little inconvenience.

But what about those who heard Jesus’ words and witnessed His tears on that day when He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a donkey to declare His right to rule over the hearts of people? Did they even understand or heed what He said?

This incident gives us a glimpse into the heart of God and into the absolute justice of His justice. Because He built into every human being the right and freedom to choose, it follows that every choice we make has consequences, and those consequences are the natural result of our choices.

We don’t like that because we don’t want to take responsibility for what we choose and what follows our choices. We prefer to blame someone else, usually God when some catastrophe overtakes us. A drunken driver causes a serious accident and it’s God’s fault, as though He were behind the wheel of the offending vehicle! An unwanted pregnancy follows irresponsible behaviour and the hapless girl cries, ‘Why did God let this happen?’ as though she were a helpless pawn in His hands!

Jesus saw the terrible destruction of Jerusalem, at the hands of the Romans, looming on the horizon and He wept at the horror of it, knowing that it was unnecessary and avoidable if only His people would have listened to Him, but now it was too late!

The justice of God’s judgment lies in the choices we make. He is not like a heartless tyrant who feels nothing for those he oppresses. He always makes our options clear to us and warns us of the consequences if we choose our own way. The Bible is littered with warnings about the consequences of disobedience.

God treats us like responsible people. He does not beg or cajole. He tells us the truth and warns of the consequences of disregarding His words with the understanding that we listen to Him and heed His words because He does not lie and is true to His own nature.

Israel was a nation with a tragic history of the consequences of defying God’s warnings. Through the prophet Ezekiel He had this to say to them: “The word of the Lord came to me, ‘Son of man, this is what the Lord says to the land of Israel: The end! The end has come upon the four corners of the land. The end is now upon you and I will unleash my anger against you. I will judge you according to your conduct and repay you for all your detestable practices. I will not look upon you with pity or spare you…Then you will know that I am the Lord.'” Ezekiel 7:1-4 (NIV).

Only once in history did God come to earth in person to show us what He is really like. He created man in His own image to represent Him on earth but man chose his own way and created a false and distorted picture of God. Throughout history, man made up false religions and worshipped idols that show what man is like.

This was Israel’s opportunity to come back to the truth so that God’s people could become His true representatives again. But they blew it, preferring their own way to the way of truth Jesus taught and demonstrated. They killed him for it, not realising that His very death was the crown of His revelation of God’s true nature. “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” John 3:16,17 (NIV).

So what option does God have but to give us what we choose? That’s the justest justice ever! Right down to our eternal destiny He says, ‘These are the facts. These are the options. You choose.’