Suicide and Survivors

I remember the moment exactly; it was a peaceful Saturday morning.  My wife, Trea walked into our bathroom and said, “The paramedics called and they need you.”  A young man who I knew ended his life, and his young girlfriend was in the room, witnessed it, and wouldn’t speak to anyone but me.  The girlfriend kept telling the paramedics, “I just want to talk to Travis, please get Travis.”

Instantly, a family was in crisis, a small town was devastated and we were thrown into confusion.  Why did this happen?  Were there warning signs?  Was he depressed?  Questions flooded my mind as I drove to meet with this young girl.  As we sat down to talk, she went over every scene with me, in graphic detail describing this young man’s last moments. She described how he had been drinking, they had gotten into an argument, and he shot himself in the side of the head, while she watched.

            Over the next few days I met with the family, met with around 40 high school students, and some staff, and to my surprise the thing they wanted to know more than anything else was, “What do the Scriptures say about it?  What happens to someone who commits suicide?”  Let’s examine each question.

What do the Scriptures say about suicide?

We know that suicide is a serious sin because it goes against the sixth commandment, “You shall not murder” (Exodus 20:13), and suicide is murder against oneself.  The commandment not to murder is built upon the fact that as humans we are created in God’s Image (Genesis 1:26), and we are to reflect God’s character, and the God of the Scriptures is a life-giving God.  So first off we need to acknowledge that suicide is a serious sin.  It is like all other sins, in the fact that it makes us legally guilty before God, and yet some sins are worse than others because of the degrees of devastation that they bring into our lives and into the lives of others, and on our relationship to God as Father, as some sins cause Him more displeasure than others. 

Suicide has always been radical disobedience to our Creator-God.  Satan would love nothing more than to have God commit suicide (Matthew 4:5), yet he can’t get him to do it so he does the next best thing and that is to get God’s Image bearers, humans beings to commit suicide….and so for that reason is it a particularly serious sin.

Dr. Wayne Grudem, Research Professor of Bible and Theology at Phoenix Seminary states, “The distinction between degrees of seriousness of sin does not imply an endorsement of the Roman Catholic teaching that sins can be put into two categories of “venial” and “mortal.” In Roman Catholic teaching, a venial sin can be forgiven, but often after punishments in this life or in Purgatory (after death, but before entrance into heaven). A mortal sin (they say suicide is a mortal sin) is a sin that causes spiritual death and cannot be forgiven; it excludes people form the Kingdom of God.”[1]

Within the pages of the Old Testament we find several occurrences of suicide recorded as historical fact. 

• Abimelech (Judges 9:54)
• Samson (Judges 16:28-31)
• Saul (1 Samuel 31:1-6)
• Ahithophel ( 2 Samuel 17:23)
• Zimri ( 1 Kings 16:18)
• Saul’s armor-bearer ( 1 Chronicles 10:5)

 

What is interesting is that in the Scriptures those who committed suicide weren’t judged simply upon their decision to end their life, but rather on whether they put their faith in God as He has revealed Himself in the Scriptures.  Unfortunately, many Church fathers, in an effort to protect human life, went too far and publicly condemned those who had committed suicide.   In the year A.D. 452, the Council of Arles condemned suicide.  The Council of Orleans in A.D. 533 asserted that offerings were not allowed for those who committed suicide.[2] Thirty years later, in 563, the Synod of Braga banned the singing of psalms at the funeral of a suicide and said that the body of a suicide could not be brought into the church building as part of the burial ceremony.[3]  In 693 the Synod of Toledo barred individuals who had attempted suicide from receiving the Lord’s Supper for two months, during which time they were expected to repent of their sin.[4] 

Thankfully, we in the evangelical, protestant tradition have placed more of an emphasis on letting Scripture speak for itself, and have taken a more redemptive approach to suicide. Again, suicide is radical disobedience against God, however, our salvation has never been based upon our ability to obey, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

What happens to someone who commits suicide?

When it all boils down, this is really what people want to know.  When I spoke with the high school students after this young man’s death, this was their main question.  In the New Testament, we read the account of Judas Iscariot (Matthew 27:3-5 & Acts 1:18, 24-25), and this one account has thrown many into confusion.  Judas, the one who betrayed Jesus, after he realized he betrayed an innocent man, went off and hanged himself.  Later, in the Book of Acts, the physician Luke writes, “Judas left to go where he belongs” and the phrase, “where he belongs” is a euphemism for Hell.  Many have taken this passage and deduced that Judas was in Hell because he committed suicide.  Judas committed suicide, and he went to Hell, but not because he committed suicide.  Judas went to Hell, because when he died he did not believe in Jesus Christ (John 6:64 & 70).  Judas trusted in himself all along and when he realized he had sinned by betraying Jesus, he punished himself for his sin by killing himself.  He never let the Lord be the Lord at any point in their relationship.

            If a person has placed their trust in the person and the work of Jesus Christ when they pass from this age into the next, no matter how they pass, they will be ushered into the presence of the Lord Jesus, because “He saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life” (Titus 3:5-7).

---

[1] Grudem, Wayne. Systematic Theology. Pg. 504, Zondervan, 1994

[2] Carl Joseph Hefele, A History of the Coucilsof the Church from the Original Documents, trans. William Clark (Edinburgh: T and T Clark, 1895), 3:171.

[3] Ibid., 4:187. -

[4] Carl Joseph Hefele, Concilien Geschichte (Freiburg im Breisgau: Herder”sche Verlags-Handlung, 1873), 3:15.

What A Pastor Does-Part 4

Preparing Future Leaders

One of the key components of pastoral work that so often gets over-looked is the training of other leaders who will carry on the work of the ministry, possibly in the same location, possibly in another location.  Jesus prepared, trained and sent the Twelve[1] to carry on His ministry, in His Name.  Likewise, the Apostle Paul trained and mentored Timothy, Titus and others before he sent them out and encouraged them to follow his example by stating, “You then, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.  And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others” (2 Tim. 2:1-2), italics added).  As pastors we are called to prepare others for the work of the ministry, so that the Body of Christ will continue to grow and expand, and more and more people will worship Jesus.  Paul in Ephesians 4:11-12 again makes this point clear by stating, “It was he (God) who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up…” (italics added). It is often sinful pride, and need for control that a pastor fails to invest himself in the lives of believers around him, with the purpose of preparing them to be future leaders.  The Scriptures are clear: we must prepare future leaders to pray, to preach, and to prepare the next generation for the work of the ministry. 

            In short, a pastors time, energy and effort, should revolve around praying, preaching and preparing future leaders, as the Lord directs him.

Conclusions

I believe the pastorate is the highest calling a man can have on his life, which is why Jesus’ efforts were focused on developing true under-shepherds;[2] His heart was broken for the lack of them;[3] and His anger was kindled by the deeds of bad ones.[4] Therefore, as pastors we need to continually come back to three central truths that shape who we are and the work we are called to do.

1. Our identity as a servant of God and a shepherd of His people.
2. Our understanding that pastoral work is about praying, preaching, protecting and preparing future leaders.
3. Ministry must be done for the love of the Lord; if it is being done for some other reason you will wear out and burn out.

“To Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.”

---

[1] John 20:20-21

[2] John 21:15-17

[3] Matt. 9:35-38

[4] Mark 3:1-5

What A Pastor Does-Part 3

Protecting

            In addition to praying and preaching, pastors must protect the local church from false teachers, and diseased doctrine.  The Apostle Paul as he was returning to Jerusalem gathered the elders of the church at Ephesus and urged them to, “keep watch over yourselves and all the flock of which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers.  Be shepherds of the church of God, which he bought with his own blood.  I know that after I leave, savage wolves will come in among you and will not spare the flock. Even from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away disciples after them.  So be on your guard” (Acts 20:28-21; italics added)! 

            Paul when writing to a young pastor named Titus penned these words, “He (a pastor) must hold firmly to the trustworthy message as it has been taught, so that he can encourage others by sound doctrine and refute those who oppose it (Titus 1:9; italics added).  The word “refute” (elegcho) in this context means to rebuke or reprove with the hope that they will repent of their false teaching, and align themselves with the truth of the Scriptures.[1]  A pastor must guide the flock into truth and away from error, and generally speaking, those who guide well, will guard well. 

Unfortunately, the reality is there are many nut-jobs and wacko’s “who are ruining whole households by teaching things they ought not to teach—and that for the sake of dishonest gain”[2] and therefore, a key aspect of pastoral work is protecting the flock.  Charles Jefferson in his book, “The Minister as Shepherd” makes this point by stating, “The journey from the cradle to the grave is hazardous…if every man is surrounded by perils, if the universe is alive with forces hostile to the soul, then watchfulness becomes one of the most critical of all the pastor’s responsibilities.”[3] 

---

[1] Titus 1:13

[2] Titus 1:11

[3] Jefferson, Charles. The Minister as Shepherd. Pg. 43. Fincastle: Scripture Truth, 1912

What A Pastor Does-Part 2

Preaching

To gain a clear understanding of the role of preaching in the Church today, we would be wise to go back and see how highly Jesus esteemed preaching.  This perspective helps us understand how the first century Church viewed the role of preaching, and we can see the importance that the Apostles gave to the spoken Word.

When people think of Jesus’ ministry, most often people think of driving out demons, healing the sick, feeding the poor, and befriending those whom the religious leaders of the day would never accept. All this to be sure Jesus did. Early on in His ministry (Mark 1:35-39) after He had driven out evil spirits, and healed many of various diseases, Peter came rushing to Jesus because everyone was looking for Him, wanting Him to perform more miracles, but Jesus probably stunned Peter by saying, “Let us go somewhere else—to the nearby villages—so I can preach there also.  That is why I have come” (Mark 1:38, emphasis added).  Now obviously Jesus knew that His fundamental reason for taking upon Himself flesh and bones was to lay down His life for our sins, but in order for the Crucifixion to be rightly understood, He first had to teach and preach. Around this same period of time, Jesus on another occasion (Luke 4:14-21) entered His home town of Nazareth, went into the synagogue and preached.  He opened up the scroll to Isaiah 61, which is a Messianic prophecy, and He started quoting it, applying it to Himself.  He read, “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor.  He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor (emphasis added).  Jesus then sat down and said, ‘Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing”’ (Luke 4:21). Jesus is saying His ministry is to preach, and through His preaching those who have been enslaved to Satan, sin and death would be freed and their debt forgiven. 

Because our Lord Jesus placed such a high priority on preaching, we do the same.  Therefore, preaching is a primary priority of pastoral work, and it is as been and always will be an important ministry in the local church.

What a Pastor does-Part 1

Not only is there confusion about the identity of a pastor, but practically there is uncertainty about the primary[1] duties of pastoral work.  I believe that the primary work of the pastor is to 1) Pray, 2) Preach, 3) Protect and 4) Prepare future leaders.  Let’s look at each one more closely.

Praying

Prayer shows our complete, and utter dependence upon God, and it reminds us that making disciples is His work, not ours (John 4:35-38; 1 Cor. 3:6-7).  The early church so valued times of prayer that in Acts 6 as the church was growing rapidly the distribution of food to some Hellenistic Jewish women was being overlooked. The 12 Apostles gathered the disciples together and said, “It would not be right for us to neglect the ministry of the word of God in order to wait on tables.  Brothers, choose seven men from among you who are known to be full of the Spirit and wisdom.  We will turn this responsibility over to them and will give our attention to prayer and the ministry of the Word.”  The Apostles rightly understood that all ministry “begins in prayer.  Anything creative, anything powerful, anything biblical, insofar as we are participants in it, originates in prayer.  Pastors who imitate the preaching and moral action of the prophets without also imitating the prophets’ deep praying and worship so evident in the Psalms are an embarrassment to the faith and an encumbrance to the church.”[2]

            Unfortunately, many pastors and congregations don’t value prayer; they see it as something that gets in the way of, or takes time from the “real work” of ministry.  But this isn’t how the Apostle Paul saw prayer[3] at all!  Paul knew the work of the pastor begins with prayer, he states,

I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.[4]

Pastors need to model and encourage their congregation to pray for each other, for the work of the ministry, for the souls of unsaved, for the good of their city, and for God’s glory to be seen.  If pastors will do this, over time, their community of believers will develop a culture of prayer, and their church will be faithful to pray, and allow God to do His work, His way, in His timing!

---

[1] There are certainly more duties that pastors are called to do, but I contend these 4 are essential to the work of any pastor.

[2] Peterson, Eugene. Working the Angles. Pg. 40, Eerdmans, 1987

[3] Eph. 1:15-19; Phil. 1:9-11

[4] Eph. 3:16-21

Identity of a Pastor

Recently I had to write a paper for the seminary about my understanding of who a pastor is, and what a pastor does, and I thought I would share bits of it on here.  Here’s the first part.

As the Apostle Paul traveled throughout the Mediterranean making disciples, baptizing believers and planting churches he exemplified what a New Testament, Spirit-filled pastor is. 

A pastor is, before anything else is, a servant of the Lord.  Paul writes in Romans 1:9 that, “God, whom I serve with my whole heart in preaching the gospel of his Son” and later in 2 Timothy 1:3, “I thank God, whom I serve, as my forefathers did, with a clear conscience.”  Often times a pastor will get pulled in many different directions by people within his ministry context (who all happen to have great ideas for your life), and there’s a tendency to forget that our first priority is to serve God.  “It is very difficult to do one thing (serve the Lord) when most of the people around us are asking us to do something quite different, especially when these people are nice, intelligent, treat us with respect, and pay our salaries.” [1]  A pastor should be able to distinguish that which is truly serving the Lord, and that which is serving someone else’s felt needs.  This takes shape differently for different people, but at the end of the day, we must be able to say as Paul did, “I thank God, whom I serve….with a clear conscience.”

            A pastor is like all other believers in that he is called to be a servant of the Lord, but is different than others in his community of believers, because a pastor is called specifically to be a shepherd to God’s people. To be sure, Jesus is the Chief Shepherd[2] who is the head of the church[3], builds His church,[4] and appoints called and qualified men to be under-shepherds who follow the Chief Shepherd and encourage other people to follow Jesus as well.  Peter describes the Lord’s desire for His under-shepherds in 1 Peter 5:1-4 by saying,

“To the elders (pastors)[5] among you, I appeal as a fellow elder (pastor)[6], a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who will also share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers– not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve;  not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock.  And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

 Because the role of a pastor or under-shepherd is such an enormous responsibility,[7] the Lord gives the Church qualifications that must be met over a long period of time before a man can be considered to fulfill the role of pastor.  In John 21, Jesus appears to Peter, after Peter had given up on himself, and Jesus asks him three times, “Simon son of John, do you love me?”  Peter responds, “Yes” and Jesus says, “Feed my sheep.”  In essence Jesus is telling Peter to pastor His people, but notice that Jesus reaffirms Peter’s role in the ministry after Peter reaffirms his love and loyalty to Jesus.  Therefore, the most important ingredient, the most obvious qualification for pastoral work is a deep love and loyalty to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

In addition to love and loyalty to Jesus, the Bible lays out the qualifications for pastors in two key places (1 Tim. 3:1-7; Titus 1:5-9), and since the lists are penned by the same author, and almost identical, lets simply look at 1 Timothy 3:1-7. 

Here is a trustworthy saying: If anyone sets his heart on being an overseer, he desires a noble task. Now the overseer must be above reproach, the husband of but one wife, temperate, self-controlled, respectable, hospitable, able to teach, not given to drunkenness, not violent but gentle, not quarrelsome, not a lover of money. He must manage his own family well and see that his children obey him with proper respect. (If anyone does not know how to manage his own family, how can he take care of God’s church?) He must not be a recent convert, or he may become conceited and fall under the same judgment as the devil. He must also have a good reputation with outsiders, so that he will not fall into disgrace and into the devil’s trap.

In these seven verses the Apostle Paul details 17 qualifications of a Pastor-Elder, which breaks down into 4 categories. 1) Relation to God. 2) Relation to family. 3) Relation to self and 4) Relation to others.

            Relation to God

1. A man: a masculine leader
2. Above reproach: untarnished reputation
3. Able to teach: can effectively communicate the Gospel
4. Not a recent convert: mature, established Believer

Relation to Self

1. Sober-minded: mentally & emotionally stable individual
2. Self-controlled: temperate, able to master one’s own feelings
3. Not given to drunkenness: free from addictions
4. Not a lover of money: free from the bondage of money

Relation to Family

1. Husband of one-wife:  One-woman man. Honor’s his marriage covenant
2. Respect from children: successful father, has kids respect
3. Manages own family well: provides for, loves on, and leads

Relation to Others

1. Respectable: honorable, well-lived
2. Hospitable: lover of strangers, engages non-Christians
3. Not violent: even-tempered.  A peaceable man
4. Gentle: loving, gracious, patient
5. Not quarrelsome: peaceful attitude, non-contentious
6. Good reputation with outsiders: well thought of by non-Christians[8]

Not only does the Bible state qualifications for pastor-elders, but true under-shepherds will also have certain traits that exhibit Christ’s character:

1. True under-shepherds will exhibit dependence on the Holy Spirit.[9]  Jesus’ entire ministry was done by relying on the power of the Holy Spirit.  He intends us to rely upon Him as well.
2. True under-shepherds will exhibit humility.[10] Jesus’ mode of preaching was quiet instruction, often times in small groups, with select men.  Not in loud proclamation, not by raising His voice in the streets. 
3. True under-shepherds will exhibit gentleness.[11] Jesus’ life was marked by empathy for the oppressed, gentleness when correcting, and encouraging the smallest amount of faith, and pastor’s life should be as well.
4. True under-shepherds will exhibit persistence. During His earthly life, Jesus experienced feeling tired[12] and troubled[13] but pressed into the ministry that was taking place around Him, and pastors must show persistence to be an effective minister.
5. True under-shepherds will exhibit instruction.[14] Jesus’ ministry included instruction in learning to become more proficient at living for the Lord in this world.  He intends for pastors to continue to instruct His people to live for Him.

In summary, a pastor is a servant of the Lord, and a shepherd of God’s people who meets the qualifications set forth in the Scriptures, and demonstrates Christ’s character.

 

---

[1] Peterson, Eugene. Working the Angles. Pg. 11, Eerdmans, 1987

 

[2] 1Peter 5:4

[3] Col. 1:18, Eph. 1:22-23

[4] Matt. 16:18

[5] Elder, pastors, bishops, and overseers are synonymous words in the New Testament, Eph. 4:11, 1 Pet. 5:2

[6] Elder, pastors, bishops, and overseers are synonymous words in the New Testament, Eph. 4:11, 1 Pet. 5:2

[7] Hebrews 13:17; James 3:1

[8] Adapted from: Driscoll, Mark. On Church Leadership. Pg. 15-16, Crossway, 2008

[9] John 20:21-22

[10] 2 Cor. 4:5

[11] Matthew 11:29

[12] John 4:6

[13] John 12:27

[14] Matthew 11:29

Medford: Growth & the Gospel

I’m not going to lie, I absolutely love Medford.  It’s where I grew up, attending Howard Elementary, Hedrick Jr. High and for the first 3 years of high school, North Medford.  I never really considered moving away from the Rogue Valley, because I always knew I would want to move back.

Last night I was reading an article in the Medford MailTribune that said by the year 2040 Medford’s population would almost double.  You can find the article here.   A consulting firm in Eugene figures that by 2040 there will be around 133,397 living within Medford and approximately 306,421 living in Jackson County. 

As I started to think about those numbers, and the significant growth that’s expected, I started to wonder what could Christians as individuals, and Christian churches be doing now in anticipation of this growth?  How can we strategically use our time, enegry, and resources now, so as growth in Medford occurs, the faithful proclamation of the Gospel will grow as well?

So I put the question to you, bloggers: What can we as individuals, and as a church do now in anticipation of this great opportunity for Kingdom work?

Pastor Travis

Being on Mission

I’ve been reading Wayne Cordeiro’s book, Doing Church as a Team and Cordeiro reminds us that we should partner with God and join His mission to reach the community in which God has placed us (Acts 17:26-27).  Cordeiro states, “The Bible says, “The Lord is…not wishing for any to perish, but for all to come to repentence” (2 Pet. 3:9). And if He truly does love them and wants to reach them with the Gospel, then what would be the very best way to do that? 

Through a pastor?  Possibly, but that may not be the most ideal.  What’s the best way to reach teachers?  It seems to me the best way would be through another teacher.  So what does God do?  He takes full-time ministers (which we all are) and disguises them as teachers!  Yup!  He takes saints like you and me, and He gives them gifts and a passion to be the best teachers they can be.  Then He sends them into the school system where they can reach other educators (and students and parents) with God’s love.

How does God reach poice officers? He takes full-time ministers and disguises them as poice officers.  He gives them the necessary gifts, passions and credentials, and He assigns them to police departments all over the nation. 

How does He reach construction workers?  He takes full-time ministers and disguises them as construction works.  He gives them the gifts and passions, makes them strong and hairy (excluding female workers, of course!) and He puts them to work at construction sites throughout every city.

God’s full-time ministers are everywhere!  We are all ambassadors (2 Cor. 5:20).  We are all ministers (Eph. 4:11-12).  Each one of us–not just pastors and evangelists–is called to represent Him in the world.”

Catch what Cordeiro is saying….the influence you have with your peers, co-workers, and fellow-laborers is a gift God has given you to use to minister on His behalf!  You may think, “I want authority to speak into their lives,” but the truth is authority without influence is practially useless.  Pastors have authority, but if they don’t have genuine influence their words fall on deaf ears. 

God has gifted you to work in the area in which you do, and He has given many of you influence…which means when you speak, your peers and co-workers listen. 

What should we do then?

Pray to the Lord Jesus to continue to increase your influence, not necessairly your authority.

Pray to the Lord that you would start seeing your place of work as part of His mission to reach our community.

Pray that the Lord would open up opportunities to speak about Him and His goodness.

Pray that when the opportunities arise, you will step up to the plate, and speak the words He has given you.

Is It Okay To Be Angry With God?

Daylon was a young man, 25 years old.  He was intelligent, passionate, fun-loving and kind.  He was also deeply in love with the Lord Jesus Christ.  He wasn’t perfect, but Daylon may have been the closest I’ve seen to perfection.  He was a certified pilot instructor, and was training to be a missionary pilot, who would fly into remote areas with supplies and aid for fellow missionaries.  While helping a friend fly a plane to a customer, something went wrong with the aircraft and they crashed over central Arizona. 

When the phone call came to our family that Daylon’s plane had crashed and that he and the other pilot were dead, the news hit us hard.  It was as if someone repeatedly punched us in the gut, only worse. Here was a young man that had so much promise, so much potential to do great things, and his life on earth was over. We walked around in disbelief for hours, and then began to mourn our loss.  My uncle and aunt had lost their precious son.  Our cousins had lost their brother.  We would never see him again, or hear his laugh this side of eternity. We were and still are heart-broken.

In the days that followed Daylon’s death our family received many kind phone calls, emails, and encouraging words, to which we were thankful, but we also had several well-meaning people tell us, “It’s okay to be angry with God.” 

Each time someone told one of our family members this, we made sure to look them in the eye and say to them, “It’s actually not okay to be angry with God.  It’s never okay to be angry with God.”  As our family suggested to different people, “it’s not okay to be angry with God” you could see their eyebrows furrow and they gave us skeptical looks, as if we had gone off the deep end.

What caused them to think it was okay to be angry with God, I wondered?  As I thought about this, I started to notice this idea is everywhere.  Country artist Alan Jackson sings about it in “Sissy’s Song.”[1] New York Times Best-selling novel, The Shack details one man’s anger at God over the death of his young daughter. Movies such as Signs teach us that it is perfectly acceptable to be angry with God.  

What assumptions do people carry around with them that haven’t been examined enough which would lead them to believe that it’s okay to be angry with God? 

There are at least two basic assumptions that many people make that would cause them to think it’s okay to be angry with God, and which would lead them to believe that if you don’t think it’s okay to be angry with God then you’re crazy!

First off, many people assume that feelings don’t matter. Feelings are neither right nor wrong, they just are.  Therefore, if feelings are neutral, than anger at God or anyone else for that matter is neither right nor wrong.  Feelings, they would argue aren’t something that you can control, they just come and go, like tides upon on ocean shore and if they just come and go than they are not moral or immoral, again they just are.  This is probably why people thought we had gone off the deep end when we told them, “It’s not okay to be angry with God.”

To many, a feeling could only be considered wrong if acted upon in such a way as to hurt another person.  This is why many people assume it’s not wrong to be angry at God; because it’s only a feeling, and if it’s only a feeling you can’t ascribe morality to it.

However the Scriptures teach that our thoughts and feelings actually do matter to God.  Within the pages of the Scriptures feelings are both morally good and morally bad depending on how they cause us to think about the Lord.  If they remind us that the Lord is faithful, true and trustworthy than they are morally good, however if they lead us to believe God is anything but faithful, true and trustworthy than they are morally bad.  In fact, Scripture commands that we love the Lord (Psalm 31:23), delight in the Lord (Psalm 37:4), rejoice and be glad in the Lord (Psalm 32:11) and hope in the Lord (Psalm 33:20).  These feelings are morally good because they provoke in us thoughts that cause us to trust the Lord in a deeper way, and find our satisfaction in His presence!  On the flip side to “delight in lies” (Psalm 62:4), or to “have delighted in wickedness” (2 Thessalonians 2:12) is morally wrong because it causes us to think that something, in this case sin, is more satisfying than God, which is blatantly false.

The second assumption that many people have is that God’s not really in control.  Many people believe that God created the world, got it going and then left it to its own devices, like a boy playing with a spinning top. We watch young people we love die, we witness marriages collapse under the most terrible conditions, and we observe older people die slow, painful deaths.  It breaks our heart, it crushes our spirit.  When disaster or tragedy occurs on a national or personal level many assume God’s not aware or is indifferent to the situation.  Which would mean He doesn’t care about what He created, and if He doesn’t care about us, why should we care about Him, thus making it easy to be angry with God.  But this isn’t the case. The Scriptures repeatedly reveal that God is in control over His creation and actively involved in the affairs of humanity.  Psalm 135:5-7 declares, “I know that the LORD is great, that our Lord is greater than all gods.  The LORD does whatever pleases him, in the heavens and on the earth, in the seas and all their depths. He makes clouds rise from the ends of the earth; he sends lighting with the rain and brings out the wind from his storehouses.”  Even the smallest events in the life of humans is directed by the Lord Himself: Not even one sparrow “will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father” (Matthew 10:29). And again, “The lot is cast into the lap, but its every decision is from the LORD” (Proverbs 16:33).  The truth is God is sovereign, which means He is in control over every aspect of His creation, both the world and its people.  The world is not spinning out of control; God is at work right now behind the scenes working all things together for good, even the things that cause us immense pain.  “Will not the Judge of all the earth do right?” (Genesis 18:25)

If you think it’s okay to be angry with God what you’re really saying is you trust your finite mind and your personal feelings more than God’s infinite mind and God’s character, which is why it’s never okay to be angry with God. 

Now I want to make sure you’re hearing what I’m saying, and not hearing what you want to hear. I’m not saying you’re not going to experience heartache and pain, you will. I’m not saying to stuff your feelings and live hypocritically as if life isn’t difficult and sin hasn’t marred humanity, it has. I’m not even saying you can’t faithfully wrestle with God; asking Him why He would allow such things to happen, you can. What I am saying though is it is wrong for any human at any point to be angry at God for any of His decisions: “Yes, Lord God Almighty, true and just are your judgments (Revelation 16:7).

Well what do we do if we find we are angry at God?  Simply admit it. He knows it anyway; you’re not hiding it from Him.  He knows our hearts.  If we are angry at God, we might as well tell Him, and ask Him to forgive us, and pray the He might give us “the peace of God, which transcends all understanding” (Philippians 4:7) which will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus and also pray that He will help us keep our eyes on Him instead of on our circumstances.

The Good News is that when Jesus died upon the Cross He completely removed the wrath of God for those who trust in Him. This means when God looks at those who have faith in Jesus all He has for us is His mercy and grace.  He received the wrath we deserved; we receive the life He lived!  There may be times when we cry out to the Lord in pain and heartache, angry at sin and Satan, but continuing to have faith in the Lord, because we trust Him and His eternal plan more than our limited understanding. 

 

---

[1] Loved ones she left behind/Just trying to survive /And understand the why/Feeling so lost inside/Anger shot straight at God…

What’s the Gospel?

First, let me start off with what the Gospel isn’t. Often times, by defining what something isn’t, you get a clearer, richer picture of what it actually is.

The Gospel is not simply a get out of hell card. It’s true you will not go to Hell if you genuinely give your life to Christ, but it’s so much more than that; it’s about being united with Christ, and learning to live like Jesus.

The Gospel is not sage advice from a by-gone era; it is real news, of a real event that has shaped human history. The profound news of the gospel is that God has become a part of his own creation. He has become human and defeated evil and death.

The Gospel is not about what you can get from Jesus. A lot of people think that if they accept the Gospel, they will get all these earthly blessings. In essence, they see Jesus as a Pinata, and Christianity as the stick, and they want to see what they can get out of Jesus! People think, “If I pray, than I get that big flat-screen TV, or that new house, or a better job, or a better spouse, that fulfills all my sexual desires”…that’s not the Gospel. The Glory of the Gospel, the riches of the Gospel is that you get Jesus! He’s the reward!

Well, what’s the Gospel? Good question, I’m glad you asked.

There is One God; He is the creator of the Heavens and Earth. He created us in His image both male and female, and gave us dignity, value and purpose. He made us to worship Him in a perfect relationship, and we choose to rebel against Him, and choose to put ourselves in His place, and as a result we are separated from God. God then sent His Son, Jesus Christ on a rescue mission, to come to earth to rescue the very people that rejected Him. Jesus thus was born of a virgin, fully God, fully man, the God-man. He lived a perfect life, without sin. He lived the life we were supposed to, in obedience to the Father, in step with the Spirit. He then went to the Cross to take our place, and die the death we deserved. When Jesus went to the Cross, He willingly took upon Himself the sins of humanity, all of them, past, present, and future. Jesus Christ then died on the Cross, in my place, for my sins, and purchasing my salvation. Jesus’ dead body was then laid in a tomb, and for 3 days He was buried, and on the 3rd day, God raised Him from the dead, and in so doing defeated, Satan, sin and death, and those who put their faith in Him will also. He then commissioned us by the Holy Spirit to be missionaries of this amazing news that there is a God who loves us, and pursues us, and willingly died for us. Jesus then ascended to Heaven where He is alive and at-large; calling people into repentance and genuine faith. This is the Gospel!

The good news of the Gospel is the moment you repent of your sins, and put genuine faith in Christ; He forgives you of your sins, and gives you His righteousness! He gives you this new life, a life of learning to think and feel, and live and love people like Jesus!