The comfort of a God who Sees and Knows

When someone talks about God knowing or seeing everything we do, say, or think the oft intended goal is to scare us out of wrong behavior. "God hear's what you say, so don't lie," or "God sees what goes on behind closed doors, so stop sinning!" It is true that God sees all things, knows all things. But God's unending sight and knowledge do not necessarily bring fear or dismay--especially for a child of God.It can be a great comfort to know that God sees and knows what is happening in your life this very moment. That was the case for the nation of Israel as they languished through 400 years of slavery in Egypt. The book of Exodus opens with the birth of Moses, who soon after kills an Egyptian and runs for his life. In Exodus 2 Moses ends up in the land of Midian where he marries a shepherdess named Zipporah. Then in chapter 3 we read the famous burning bush story, an event so amazing that it often overshadows the last verse of chapter 2. "God saw the people of Israel--and God knew" (Exo. 2:25). That verse is a turning point in the history of Israel and the life of Moses. For years the Israelites had cried out to God and heard no answer. Generation after generation prayed the same prayer and heard the same silent response. But then we read a breathtaking word from God. God saw their suffering, he knew what was going on. He was not oblivious to the years of servitude and suffering. And the fact that God knew gave great hope.Often we get the idea that God does not see what is happening in our life. We fear that our suffering goes unnoticed, that there is no hope for God's aid, or that somehow our life will not count or matter at all in eternity. When we think this way we become complainers or boasters. When someone asks how we are doing we relish the opportunity to share our hurts or victories; not so much because we want to hear the sound of our own voice, but because if we speak our life it will not go without pity or praise.But that's not the truth at all. Nothing goes unnoticed by the eyes and mind of God--whether good or bad. If you suffer for righteousness sake on a deserted island you do not go unnoticed. If you are a child of God you are known. God sees and knows every prayer, every drop of suffering, every frustration, and every moment of faithfulness. There is no need worry that we pass unknown in life. To be sure, many of us will pass unknown to most of the world, but we are known by the God who made and sustains this world. And that is more than enough. I do not the need the world to know who I am or see my struggles and victories if our great God sees and knows. God's seeing and knowing is of a greater comfort and assurance that all things will be made right than if all the eyes and minds of the world were in a moment turned to your life.

Dr. Jekyll and the Desire to Hide

Classic literature often avails us of a window into the heart of humanity, and I was recently struck by Robert Louis Stevenson's insight into the fears of men in The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  Of course you might expect me to be intrigued by the mysterious and horrific nature of Mr. Hyde's character, actions, and persona, but it wasn't a monster that raised the flicker of fear in my soul, it was worse than that.  Much worse.  Like all great works of literature this terrifying story raised a mirror to my mind and I immediately recognized a dear, old enemy I'd tried to repress.Guilt.What is more terrifying or gut-wrenching than a gnawing guilt that haunts a memory with the nightmares of the past and paralyzing whispers of an unknown future?  There are particular sins of my past that I wish never existed.  But they do.  And it only takes a spark for a flood of guilt to overwhelm my heart, cripple my joy, and leave me begging to escape the shame of exposure.Sin is the monster, but we fear the consequential guilt. Fallen humanity hates the light of God and at the first shred of guilt scurries to hide under the cover of darkness.  Our greatest fear is the wrath of God.I saw this, not in Mr. Utterson's account of Mr. Hyde, but in his concern for his friend, Dr. Jekyll, and the mysteriously eerie circumstances that somehow had him mixed up with that horrible man,

"And the lawyer set out homeward with a very heavy heart.  'Poor Harry Jekyll,' he thought, 'my mind misgives me he is in deep waters!  He was wild when he was young; a long while ago to be sure; but in the law of God, there is no statute of limitations.  Ay, it must be that; the ghost of some old sin, the cancer of some concealed disgrace: punishment coming, PEDE CLAUDO, years after memory has forgotten and self-love condoned the fault.'  And the lawyer, scared by the thought, brooded awhile on his own past, groping in all the corners of memory, least by chance some Jack-in-the-Box of an old iniquity should leap to light there.  His past was fairly blameless; few men could read the rolls of their life with less apprehension; yet he was humbled to the dust by the many ill things he had done, and raised up again into a sober and fearful gratitude by the many he had come so near to doing yet avoided."

I believe Stevenson is playing on a common human experience.  Have you ever heard those whispers reminding you of your past sins and playing on your fears of exposure?  There is a greater question that lies below the surface: are those whispers the voice of God or of Satan?If you have truly been forgiven by God through faith in Christ then debilitating doubts of His forgiveness are definitely satanic!  The Devil wants God's children to believe his lies that God is still out to get us, that He is cruel, vindictive, and calculating.  If he can sell us a view of God that diminishes His goodness then he can mercilessly accuse us and beat us under the weight of condemnation and keep us cowering and hiding in fear.  But there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus! (Romans 8:1)  We now rightly fear God's holiness and righteousness, but no longer His wrath.  At the cross, His wrath was taken away from His children, and we are no longer guilty!God may indeed be bringing unrepentant sin before your heart and mind, but if you love Christ, then you can be assured that He will always lead you to repentance.  It is His kindness that draws you (Rom. 2:4).  The Holy Spirit will use grief over sin in your life to bring you to repentance and salvation (2 Cor. 7:10).  God is faithful and just to forgive (1 John 1:9), and Christ is our advocate (1 John 2:1, 2).  Always remember, God is good.

"For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.  As a father shows compassion to his children, so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him." (Psalm 103:11-13)

God is love. So we need not hide.

What we're teaching this Summer

In the next few weeks we'll wrap up 1 John. As always, we like to give you a heads up on what's coming next. Before I do that let me remind you of the two primary reasons I tell you what our future teaching plans are. First, we want you (as an individual) studying what we (as a church) will study before we get there. We want you reading, praying, and thinking through books of the Bible before we teach them. I believe that our study of God's word will be richer and have far greater impact if we will do this. Second, we want to give you the opportunity to ask questions before we get to those verses that make you scratch your head. If you've got a question about a passage of Scripture chances are you're not alone. If you ask your questions beforehand it will help your pastors think through the text and work through application, and we can answer those questions in our sermons. So, with that said, here's our next two sermon series.Habakkuk, at 3 chapters long, is one of the shorter minor prophets. Habakkuk is not as well know as other prophets, like Isaiah or Jonah, but his sort message packs a powerful punch. Habakkuk asks God some of the most difficult questions any Christian will ever ask. The book of Habakkuk is comprised of Habakkuk's two complaints, God's two answers, and Habakkuk's final prayer of trust and worship. As you're reading, look for faith, God's sovereignty over history, and righteous judgement.After Habakkuk we're doing a 4 week study we're calling Human. There's a lot we could cover, but we're going to focus in on how the redemption of Christ includes the whole human. Too often Christian thinking succumbs to something called platonic dualism (the idea that the physical and non-physical are entirely separate things, and often the thought that the 'spiritual' is better). Biblical redemption, however, includes the whole human--physical and spiritual. We'll focus in on what the work of Christ means for our mind, body, and soul. Some good questions to think through before we start would be: how does redemption change my thinking?, what does the work of Christ mean for my physical body?, how does the cross change my 'inner man' or soul?I'm looking forward to seeing what Scripture has to teach us in the next few months. And remember, if you have any questions make sure you don't keep them to yourself! Post them on this blog, send me and email, or tell one of your pastors Sunday.

Questions: Can I lose my salvation? Is salvation a 'one moment' thing?

I'm always happy to answer questions about a sermon I preach. In fact, I think it's a good sign when people ask questions. Questions show that you are not just listening, but listening critically. You should never automatically believe what someone says about the Bible, no matter how trustworthy a person he or she is. For those two reasons I'm happy to encourage you to ask questions as well as answer two question that came up after Sunday's Sermon.Both questions stem from our conversation that only those who abide in the teaching of Jesus have eternal life. Furthermore, one of the way's abiding in the teaching of Jesus is proven in ones life is through participation in the Christian community. Like I said Sunday, willingly cut yourself off from the Christian community and you have no reason to think you have eternal life. You can't love and follow Jesus and not love the brothers, the church. Here are the questions that arose from Sunday's message.1) Am I saying you can lose your salvation? No, I do not believe that an individual can be saved and then lose that salvation. I'm not going to argue for the doctrine of eternal security here (that's a post for our 'what we believe series'), but I do want to make it clear that I do not believe John is teaching that you can lose your salvation. Remember, John is writing that we might know we have eternal life. To make that argument John puts our attention on the present. What are you doing now? Are you currently living out the practical implications of Jesus' message--like being a part of a Christian community? For John, solid confidence in eternal life is not found by appealing to a decision made or prayer in the past. For certain, past decisions and prayers are important, but the way you know you believe the message of Jesus is to consider how it impacts your life. That's why John says, "They went out from us, but they were not of us" 1 John 2:19. Those who went out did not lose their salvation. They never believed, and their lack of believe was demonstrated by their leaving the Christian community. One reason this is hard to hear is because all of us know people whom we love dearly that have publicly confessed belief in Jesus but have since walked away from the church. We want to believe they have eternal life. But according to John, willingly leaving the church strips ones confidence that they have eternal life. It is evidence that you have not believed the message of Jesus and so never had eternal life.2) Does salvation happen in a single moment? This is a separate but related question. One reason we have difficulty following John's argument is because we have misunderstood the totality of salvation. For many Christians salvation is something that happened, a moment in their past when they were saved. They heard the gospel, believed the message of Jesus, and were saved. Now, there's something right and wrong in that line of thinking. It is true that if you believe the message of Jesus your sins are forgiven and you have new and eternal life. There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Rom. 8:1). Salvation, however is not a simplistic one moment thing. There are several biblical words and ideas that represent salvation: conversion (Acts 15:3), regeneration (Titus 3:5), justification (Romans 5:18), adoption (Romans 8:15, 8:23), sanctification (Romans 6:22), perseverance (Mat. 24:13), glorification (Romans 8:30). Some of those things have already happened; namely, conversion, regeneration, actual adoption, and justification. Two, sanctification and perseverance, are ongoing in the life of a believer. And two, the fulfillment of adoption and glorification, are yet to happen. Salvation then is much bigger than a single moment in our life. Put your faith in Jesus and you were saved, are being saved, and will be saved. Your salvation began in the past, but it will not be completed until Christ returns, the dead in Christ are raised, and the Kingdom of God is fully consummated in the new heavens and new earth. And the great truth is that the God who began the good work of salvation in you will bring it to completion. You can see then why John puts emphasis on the present, which includes sanctification and perseverance--currently the most visible works of God's salvation in our life. If you are not continuing in your belief in Jesus (perseverance) or growing in holiness (sanctification) you have no reason to think God ever began the great work of salvation in your life.

*If you have questions about any of our Sermons you can email us, ask us after the sermon, or write your question on the guest info portion of the bulletin and drop it in the offering plate.