The Greatness of our God

Posted on May 31, 2013 by pneumaandlogos


When we think about the doctrine of God and his relationship to the created order we tend to think in terms of transcendence and immanence, we often say that if we do not get the emphasis right at this point our whole doctrine of God will suffer. But does a biblical view of God really deal in these  two categories?  It seems to me that the biblical portrayal of God is much more holistic, and one wonders whether we need to escape the normal terminology to deal with the biblical revelation more adequately. It seems to me that that the very first line of the bible stress such an integrated view of God that he is seen over against his creation, supremely above it and yet because he is such a God he is present in creation and sustains it, this concept deals a blow to any form of Panentheism, but at the same time it deals a mortal blow to deism. The biblical view shows a God who is active within his creation but who is not tied to his creation. This God who is greater than his creation, has created the world in such a way that it is constantly dependent upon him for its very existence. This goes against any concept of God that implies that he only intervenes in the world on exceptional occasions, perhaps this view of God’s providence also strikes a blow against open theism with its teaching that God does not know the future infallibly. What is more it, makes more sense of the relational aspect of God’s character being as it stresses the fact that God is sustaining and guiding this world towards the eschaton.  Surely we need a more comprehensive view that does not  demand a juggling of transcendence and immanence. The question has to be posed as to whether the influence of Greek Philosophy and rationalistic worldviews, rather than a dependence upon biblical categories There is such a rich vein of thought running throughout scripture that needs attention. As does the articulation of these themes throughout the history of the church, I will need to dialogue with voices from the past and the present to try and understand something more of the greatness of God. Also, these passages of scripture will need to be looked at among others Gen1-2, Exodus3, Psalm 139, Colossians I, Acts 17:16-34 other books will also shed light on this attention should be given to God’s self-revelation of himself throughout the bible including the book of Revelation. The thoughts below are only the beginning of this process.
The God who reveals himself throughout Scripture is a powerful god who reigns over all things and sustain all things by his own glorious power. sometimes we try to make a distinction between the supernatural and the natural but is this a valid move? surely the biblical revelation paints  more integrated view.
 The very first verse of the bible introduces us to a God of great power who creates,

 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  (Ge 1:1).

This verse and those following show that God is separate from his creation but is intimately involved in it, he precedes creation and is in no way to be confused with it. He is almighty and therefore he is involved in this world. His presence in this world flows from the fact that he is almighty God. The more we look at Genesis 1 the more we can see that it is because of his almighty power that he creates even in an intimate way as he does when he creates humankind. we see the same thing in Colossians chapter 1

The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. 16       For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. 17       He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.
(Col 1:15–17).

Notice the supremacy of Christ in these verses and yet because of his great power the whole of creation is held together. Paul does not make a separation between the fact of the Transcendent Christ and the immanent Christ, but rather he sees the greatness of God as an integrated whole. The fact that god creates through Christ leads automatically to the sustaining presence of the creator in his creation.
The first verses of the book of Hebrews paint a similar picture,

In the past God spoke to our ancestors through the prophets at many times and in various ways, 2   but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the universe. 3  The Son is the radiance of God’s glory and the exact representation of his being, sustaining all things by his powerful word. After he had provided purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty in heaven. 4   So he became as much superior to the angels as the name he has inherited is superior to theirs. (Heb 1:1–4).

Notice how the author moves from creation to providence, the providential work of god in creation is seen as an integral part of the whole teaching of creation. The creator God is one who cares for and sustains the world he has made.
Deism sees God as separate from creation in the way a watchmaker is separate from his watch, the world is created,and then God disappears from view. Pantheism and Panentheism both confuse the creator and  the creation, whereas the biblical teaching shows that our sovereign God is high and lifted up and because of that fact is intimately involved in his creation. The biblical view of God implies both majesty and intimacy, and we do not need to categorise them under two different headings or call these two aspects of the one God a paradox rather we need to see that one flows from the other in God’s self revelation of himself.

Very often we talk of the supernatural but is this really the way the Bible looks at things? or does it not rather see that the God who maintains this world is at liberty by that very fact to bring his power to bear on that creation either for healing , restoration or judgement. Our god is not one who is far off but rather he is one who is actively present in his creation at all times. What we often call a miracle is an act of restoring creation to what it should be. Miracle is never a contradiction of the laws of nature rather it shows how god maintains the laws he has implanted in nature. The problem is that we see the laws of nature as something independent of God rather than seeing them biblically as God’s law in nature. We believe in a God who is constantly active within his creation and therefore we see the miraculous as part of his redemptive purposes for a broken world, redemption does not contradict nature it heals it. This means that we see God’s creation as something that is good.
We could go on to look at various aspects of the relationship between God and the world, but that will have to wait for another occasion, I am aware that there are many more things to explore, but I can’t do that here.

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How Inclusive is the Gospel?

Posted on May 23, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

Inclusiveness is emphasised as part of political correctness, all sorts of documents claim that one must be inclusive. Recently various Christian speakers and authors have been claiming that because the gospel is inclusive at its heart this can justify behaviour that no Bible believing Christian would have accepted in the past. I do not want to discuss the individual issues but rather examine how the Bible is inclusive and how it shows in one sense an exclusivity.

 1The Gospel message shows that all humans are under the just judgement of an almighty, gracious and holy God. This part of the gospel message is often watered down but is central to the apostolic preaching of the gospel. We cannot read the sermons in the book of Acts without recognising the truth of this statement. For instance on the day of Pentecost Peter showed the people of Jerusalem their sinfulness and then invited them to come to Christ. The same pattern can be seen in the preaching of the Apostle Paul see for instance his speech before the Areopagus in Acts 17. The apostles also set forth clearly the universal sinfulness of humankind in the teaching of their epistles, this is perhaps mostly clearly demonstrated in the first three chapters of Romans. Here, we see Paul declaring his gospel and he starts with the fact that all humans are under the just judgement of God. Here is something which is really inclusive,

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
(Romans 3:23).

What is surprising is that this sort of inclusivity is not stressed by many in today’s Church, to talk of sin and the bondage it causes is unpopular, but this should not cause us to back off from proclaiming this as part of our gospel proclamation.

2 The invitations of the gospel are universal to all mankind, but even here we notice that the apostle included repentance as part of the gospel invitation. All people are offered the good news of the gospel because as John’s gospel so clearly says,

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17       For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18       Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. (John 3:16–18).

Notice that these words stress that salvation is available to those who believe, but those who continue in unbelief are still in their sin. The grace of God is available to all but is only effective in the lives of those who believe. Many want a God of love, but they do not want the God of the Bible because he is a Holy God. Today we see a watering down of the claims of the gospel, but this only causes bewilderment and for many to miss the path of salvation through Christ alone. A full declaration of the gospel must include the command to repent and to put one’s faith in Christ.

3. The Bible makes it clear that belief affects behaviour, this can be seen throughout the bible.

The redeemed people of Israel were given God’s laws so that they could live a new life pleasing to God, the same applies to those who have been born again and this causes division because it shows that some are in the family of God and some are not. Paul describes the difference the gospel makes in these words,

Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11       And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. (1 Co 6:9–11).

Here, we see that the gospel has transformed the believers at Corinth, Jesus and the Apostles expected to see this change in the lives of all believers. The believing community welcomes all repent and believe and want to live their life in submission to the will of God. Many believers will battle with sin and will need the help of the community. The gospel creates a new community set apart from the world, and we must not allow the world’s standards distort the Biblical message.

Posted in Church, culture, faith, God, God's love, grace, holiness, Jesus Christ, love, morality, New Testament, relationships, Repent, repentance, sanctification, THE CHURCH, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Holy Spirit is not just for Pentecost

Posted on May 17, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

Sometimes it seems that around Pentecost Christians suddenly remember that The Holy Spirit exists and yet the scriptures are quite clear that the Holy Spirit has come to indwell both the individual believer and the Church of God. Sometimes in our excitement about his power we reduce him to being a power and do not relate to him as a person. I want to look at one or two major strands of Biblical teaching about the Holy Spirit.

Firstly no one comes to Christ without the inward work of the Holy Spirit, it is he who convinces us of our sin and shows us the only way of salvation is through the work of the Lord Jesus. The story of Pentecost proves this as it is after the empowering of the Spirit that people respond to the gospel, As Peter preaches people are convinced of their sin and come to Christ.

Secondly, If we are to abide in Christ we will need the constant work of the Holy Spirit within, teaching us,guiding us and producing his fruit within us (see John 15 and Galatians 5:13-25). Francis Schaeffer used to say “We must do the Lord’s work in the Lord’s way” and the only way to do that is by depending upon God to work in us by his Spirit.

Thirdly we rely upon him for our gifting chapters such as Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12-14 show us that each believer is given gifts to exercise for the benefit of the body of Christ. There are a diversity of gifts and all are needed, we tend to seek the more prominent gifts but we must value the gifts of encouragement and service just as highly as we do the teaching and prophetic gifts.

It is the Holy Spirit who brings fresh life to the Church of God, and it is his role to empower believers to serve the Lord. Many of us long to see the Church revived and sometimes we think that if we had just the right technique we could achieve a revival, but this is deceptive the only person who can revive the Church is the Holy Spirit. Scripture tells us to be open to the Spirit of God, and the Holy spirit himself has inspired the scriptures so that we can test everything to see if it of him. Let us open our hearts to the Lord who is the Spirit.

Posted in body of Christ, Charismatic, Church, faith, filled with the Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit., God, grace, Holy Spirit, Pentecostal, Spiritual gifts, THE CHURCH, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

I want to be filled with the Holy Spirit: A prayer

Posted on May 17, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

Gracious and heavenly Father I thank you that in your great love for me you sent the Lord Jesus into this world to save me from sins. Yet Father I realise that without the empowering of your Holy Spirit I will not produce any thing that is worthwhile. Lord Jesus I want to glorify you in all that I do and I thank you that you have sent the Holy Spirit to empower me. Holy spirit I thank you that you are always present with me, but I am conscious that I need to rely on you for strength. I need you to fill me constantly because I am such a leaky vessel.

Gracious and Holy Lord come and renew me and impart the gifts that I need to serve you, Lord I know that you have given gifts to each believer help me to know what mine are, give me wisdom to discern your will. I need the Holy Spirit to fill me as I read the word, I need him to inspire my worship and to produce his fruit in me. Lord renew your work in me not so that I feel good but so that you will be glorified.

I ask these things in the name of my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen

Posted in Charismatic, faith, Faithfulness, filled with the Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit., God, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Pentecostal, Spiritual gifts, THE CHURCH, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Generous Saviour, giver of good gifts: A reflection for Pentecost

Posted on May 16, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

The Generous Saviour, giver of good gifts: A reflection for Pentecost.

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The Generous Saviour, giver of good gifts: A reflection for Pentecost

Posted on May 16, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

So often when we think of God we come to him as though he was mean and tight fisted, but the Scripture paints a very different picture it shows us a God of grace and love. In this post I want to demonstrate that from several Scriptures.

Isaiah 55:1-13

   “Come, all you who are thirsty,
come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
without money and without cost.
2       Why spend money on what is not bread,
and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
and you will delight in the richest of fare.
3       Give ear and come to me;
listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
my faithful love promised to David.
4       See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
a ruler and commander of the peoples.
5       Surely you will summon nations you know not,
and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the LORD your God,
the Holy One of Israel,
for he has endowed you with splendor.”
6       Seek the LORD while he may be found;
call on him while he is near.
7       Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.
8       “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the LORD.
9       “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.
10       As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
11       so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.
12       You will go out in joy
and be led forth in peace;
the mountains and hills
will burst into song before you,
and all the trees of the field
will clap their hands.
13       Instead of the thornbush will grow the juniper,
and instead of briers the myrtle will grow.
This will be for the LORD’s renown,
for an everlasting sign,
that will endure forever.” (Is 55:1–13).

This passage reveal the generosity of God’s love towards us, here God call his people back to himself and offers them a feast of good things, yet no price has to be paid he gives generously out of love, this passage can help us to overcome any barriers that we might have erected because he calls us to come just as we are, so that he can change us by his love and grace. The only qualification you need to come is that you are spiritually hungry and thirsty. Yes he calls us to forsake our evil ways but this is because he wants to change us for the better. Sometimes we are put off from coming to God because of his greatness but this is the reason that we should come to him according to this passage. Here, we see the God of holy love inviting people to a rich banquet with him and promising that as we come to him we will know real joy.

Titus 3;3-7

      At one time we too were foolish, disobedient, deceived and enslaved by all kinds of passions and pleasures. We lived in malice and envy, being hated and hating one another. 4   But when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, 5   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, 6    whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7      so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.  (Tt 3:3–7).

Paul as writes to Titus reminds him of some the basic themes of the gospel, firstly he reminds him of where we have come from, but he then moves onto the riches of our salvation. He describes our Saviour as being kind and loving, and that is why he saved us. Furthermore, he shows that this work of God’s grace is something that transforms us because we have been born again, but he does not stop here. Paul reminds us that the Holy Spirit has been generously given, so often Christians fear the Holy spirit but why should we fear the one who shows us the generosity of God?  Many of us are scared that the Holy spirit will make us weird, but this is a lie from the evil one because he does not want us to enter the riches of God’s grace. We need to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit because he is the one who transform us into the likeness of Jesus Christ and empowers us for all our acts of service. The Holy Spirit is the one who imparts the gifts of God’s grace tu us, when we look at the lists of the gifts of the Holy spirit in Romans 12 and 1 Corinthians 12-14, we will see that they are all given so that the Church will be built up and the Church will be able to reach out to the lost community that surrounds it.

Acts 2

In this passage we see how God empowered his people for works of service, the amazing event s of Pentecost were not for the believers entertainment but rather so that the mission of Jesus Christ to redeem sinners would be advanced. Read this whole chapter and you will see God at work changing lives and then calling more people into a relationship with himself. The gift of the Spirit was given so that the mission of the Church would begin and we see at the end of the chapter the new community devoting itself to the Lord and his people. The early disciples were eager to grow in their relationship with God, and they therefore devoted themselves to the Apostolic teaching, to prayer and to breaking bread together. When they grasped the generosity of God towards them it transformed their attitude to their own property, God’s generosity transformed their hearts so that they were willing to share with the needy.

Conclusion: we need to immerse ourselves in the truth of generous love of God,here we find a message that takes us out of spiritual bondage into the liberty of the gospel. and as we receive the generous grace of God into our own lives we will want to share that generosity with others.

Posted in Anointing, Apostolic church, body of Christ, Charismatic, Church, faith, Faithfulness, filled with the Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit., God, God's love, grace, holiness, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, love, loving, Repent, repentance, Revival, sanctification, sin, Spiritual gifts, THE CHURCH, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

A Pentecostal Communion Service.

Posted on May 16, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

A Prayer

Lord Jesus we joyfully come to you our Saviour knowing that you alone have paid the price for sin, we thank you for the finished work of atonement. We thank you for your love and grace that is shown to us.

Lord Jesus we rejoice in the fact that you have given us the Holy spirit to transform our lives, we pray that through coming to this your table that you would enable us to grow in grace. We pray that we might abide in you so that we might produce the fruit of the Holy Spirit.

Lord Jesus we thank you that you have baptized us with your Holy Spirit, we pray that as we come to this table that we might know a fresh infilling of your Holy Spirit so that we may be able to serve you. Impart to us the gifts that we need to serve you with so that we might serve you in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Lord Jesus you are the one who brings healing to his people and we pray that we would receive your healing touch today, you see all that need healing in any way today and we pray that you would come by the power of your Holy Spirit and bring that healing to your people today

Lord Jesus help us to live in the knowledge that you are coming again to transform and to renew creation so that we and all your creation might demonstrate your glory. Lord as we contemplate your coming again move us with compassion for this lost and broken world and empower us afresh to do the works that you have prepared for us to do.

We ask all these things in and through your own precious name Amen.

Words of Invitation:

I invite you to come to this table in the name of the risen and exalted Lord Jesus. He loves you with an everlasting love and intercedes for you at the Father’s right hand. Come expecting to meet the risen Lord today, come with an attitude of openness towards him. As you come remember what he has done for you, look up to him and receive the blessings that he has promised you in his word. Look forward to the day when he will come again in glory, the day when this meal will be replaced with the marriage supper of the Lamb. Come to this table and affirm your love to your Saviour and Lord and commit yourself to serving him for the rest of your days.

Posted in Charismatic, Church, faith, filled with the Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit., grace, Holy communion, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, love, Pentecostal, Power, sanctification, Spiritual gifts, THE CHURCH, the Lord's Supper, Theology, Word of God | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The Reality of Pentecost

Posted on May 15, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

Acts chapter 2 gives us an account of the birth of the early Church, but we cannot really understand this chapter if we divorce it from the previous chapter. In Acts 1 we see the Risen Lord Jesus promising the Church the empowering of the Holy Spirit, this is in accordance with the promises he had given before his death and resurrection (see John chapter 14-16) and also in continuance with the breathing out of the Holy Spirit in John 20:21-23. But we must also grasp that there is also the larger context of Old Testament promises such as Joel 2 and Jeremiah  31:31-34. Jesus was very that his death was  the beginning of the new covenant relationship with his people. It is the fulfillment of the new covenant that is demonstrated at Pentecost.

What were the Disciples expecting? In one sense we cannot answer this but on the other hand the events of Pentecost were without precedent in the dealings of God with his people. surely the disciples were surprised by what happened but at the same time they knew for certain that this was the fulfillment of the promise Jesus had made. Peter is certain of this and he boldly stands up and declares the truth of what has happened and how this event points to what Jesus accomplished upon the cross. The disciples were sure that what they were experiencing was the action of their risen and exalted Lord. It is interesting that Peter’s sermon is Christ centred not Spirit centred. But we must not miss that in the conclusion of his sermon he says that all that come to faith will receive the promised Holy Spirit. are there not lessons here for us today, in our evangelism we rarely promise the work of the Holy Spirit to the person coming to Christ.

What do we expect? we often talk about the indwelling Spirit but do we have the same openness to his working as the early Church did?  It is quite obvious that for many of us we just jog along in the same old way without expecting the Holy Spirit to do anything, on the other hand some are so obsessed with the work of the Holy Spirit that they miss the main point that the Spirit is given to glorify Christ. The Holy Spirit has been given to transform the world not to make us feel good and excited. It is quite clear from the Scriptural narrative that sign and wonders and the gifts of the Spirit were given to the church for the entire church during all ages. If we take this narrative seriously we will see that the gifts and signs and wonders are all given to further the mission of the risen and exalted Lord Jesus. All of the experiential dimensions of Pentecost and indeed the Christian life should be seen as coming under the Lordship of Christ. With these things in mind we should be open to the working of the Holy s

Spirit in our lives and we should fan into flame any gifting we have received and encourage others to be open to the work of the Holy Spirit. It should not need to be said,but sadly one has to repeat this often, the Holy Spirit will never do anything which is contrary to the word of God, he is the one who inspired that word in the first place. We do not honour the Holy Spirit when we  neglect to test everything by the Word of God. The picture given in the New testament of the Holy Spirit is that he is the parakletos, the counsellor,comforter, advocate, who works dynamically in the lives of believers so that they might glorify the risen Christ and further his mission. If we really want to be open to the leading and empowering of the Holy Spirit we will therefore want to part of Christ’s mission to bring salvation, healing, hope and purpose into a fallen world.

Posted in Charismatic, Church, faith, filled with the Spirit, gifts of the Holy Spirit., God, God's love, grace, Holy Spirit, Jesus, Jesus Christ, New Testament, Pentecostal, Revival, Spiritual gifts, the body of Christ., THE CHURCH, Theology | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

The Art Of Complaining The Biblical Way: the example of Habakkuk

Posted on May 14, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

We tend to say that all complaining is wrong, but is that really true? Much com;plaining shows a negative mindset especially when we are complaining about other people or indeed how God has treated us. I believe that Habakkuk shows us an alternative and that is to bring our complaints to God, Habakkuk is not the only Bible writer to do this as many of the Psalms show us. Habakkuk shows us how to complain to God while at the same time he worships and trusts this God. By the end of this little book we find that Habakkuk’s faith is strengthened although the situation has not changed.

Habakkuk’s first complaint: In his first complaint Habakkuk brings his perplexities to the LORD, listen to his words,

How long, Lord, must I call for help,
    but you do not listen?
Or cry out to you, “Violence!”
    but you do not save?
3 Why do you make me look at injustice?
    Why do you tolerate wrongdoing?
Destruction and violence are before me;
    there is strife, and conflict abounds.
4 Therefore the law is paralyzed,
    and justice never prevails.
The wicked hem in the righteous,
    so that justice is perverted.

Can you imagine the outcry that there would be if such a prayer was prayed in church, people would condemn it as a prayer of unbelief, but it is not that at all. Habakkuk has prayed and prayed about the situation facing Israel, but God does not seem to hear, so in his desperation he pours out this prayer. He sees evil prevailing, and God does not appear to be doing anything about it, we can look at our nations and see the same thing. When we look at where our nation is we can feel depressed. Here, Habakkuk is a model for us in our praying, he is absolutely honest with God, after all God knows how we feel, so praying nice prayers as though he does not achieves exactly nothing. We are called to be honest with God, this is not unbelief as many would tell us but an honest wrestling with God. In this day when we are told that we must always have a positive confession, Habakkuk’s praying seems distinctly odd. This complaint assumes that God is just and holy, and it is because of this that the prophet has a problem, why does not God do something? Very often at this point we express our frustrations to other people instead of doing like Habakkuk and taking them directly to God. Habakkuk makes his complain but then he waits for God to speak, he shows us a real example of listening prayer. The Lord does answer but in a way that increases Habakkuk’s perplexity! God seems to be saying things are going to get much worse because I am going to bring my judgement upon my people. God is going to use the evil Babylonians to judge his people, just as he said he would in the law (see Deuteronomy 28:49-57).

Habakkuk’s second complaint: Once Habakkuk had heard what the LORD had to say his perplexity increased, listen to how he addresses the LORD,

Lord, are you not from everlasting?
    My God, my Holy One, you will never die.
You, Lord, have appointed them to execute judgment;
    you, my Rock, have ordained them to punish.
13 Your eyes are too pure to look on evil;
    you cannot tolerate wrongdoing.
Why then do you tolerate the treacherous?
    Why are you silent while the wicked
    swallow up those more righteous than themselves?
14 You have made people like the fish in the sea,
    like the sea creatures that have no ruler.
15 The wicked foe pulls all of them up with hooks,
    he catches them in his net,
he gathers them up in his dragnet;
    and so he rejoices and is glad.
16 Therefore he sacrifices to his net
    and burns incense to his dragnet,
for by his net he lives in luxury
    and enjoys the choicest food.
17 Is he to keep on emptying his net,
    destroying nations without mercy?

I will stand at my watch
    and station myself on the ramparts;
I will look to see what he will say to me,
    and what answer I am to give to this complaint

Habakkuk starts his second complaint by acknowledging the holy character of God, yet in the light of what he knows about this he cannot understand how God can use the Babylonians who are more evil than the people of Israel, to bring his judgement upon his people. He looks at the pagan worship, the exploitation of others and yet the Babylonians live in luxury and God’s people are going to be judged. He looks at the situation realistically and just can not comprehend how this righteous loving God who is the rock can be doing such things. Although the prophet launches this second complaint we must notice that he always treats God with reverence, and it is that reverential fear of God that leads him to listen for God’s reply. In that second reply the LORD show Habakkuk that he will judge and maintain his righteous laws. In the midst of his judgements the Lord reminds the prophet righteous person will live by his faithfulness that his people are to be those who live out their faith when he says,

the righteous person will live by his faithfulness

This verse is referred to 3 times in the new testament, and on each occasion we are reminded that salvation is of grace not of works, but that the grace of God brings transformation. Yet poor Habakkuk is exposed to a revelation that he finds hard to accept but still he puts his faith in the LORD. after showing that his judgement will come the Lord says,

The Lord is in his holy temple;
    let all the earth be silent before him.

Once again the prophet is reminded of the greatness of God and the need to be still before this great and awesome God. As Habakkuk is still before the Lord he starts to meditate on God’s acts in the history of Israel particularly the events of the exodus.

Habakkuk Worships God: Habakkuk says,

A prayer of Habakkuk the prophet. On shigionoth.

2 Lord, I have heard of your fame;
    I stand in awe of your deeds, Lord.
Repeat them in our day,
    in our time make them known;
    in wrath remember mercy.

in saying this he declares his faith in a good God who is Holy and faithful, and as he reflects on what god has done in the past he asks God to renew his acts of grace. As Habakkuk reflects on the covenant keeping character of God, he suddenly finds that he is in the presence of God in a very tangible way,

I heard and my heart pounded,
    my lips quivered at the sound;
decay crept into my bones,
    and my legs trembled.
Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity
    to come on the nation invading us.
17 Though the fig tree does not bud
    and there are no grapes on the vines,
though the olive crop fails
    and the fields produce no food,
though there are no sheep in the pen
    and no cattle in the stalls,
18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord,
    I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign Lord is my strength;
    he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,
    he enables me to tread on the heights.

For the director of music. On my stringed instruments.

It is a Habakkuk realise the awesome presence of the LORD that his faith increases and we find Habakkuk saying even though everything will go wrong he will still trust in God. He is going to rejoice in his saviour  in the toughest of situations. Through the process of the complaints to God and the listening to him and encountering him the faith of Habakkuk is strengthened. We can learn a lot from this account because it calls us to be honest before our God voicing our complaints to him not other humans. As we seek God’s face we will sometimes be like Habakkuk perplexed but at the same time we will know that the Sovereign LORD is in control of all of history and when the Lord reveals himself to us we will rejoice in the Lord who is our saviour.

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The Grace of Law

Posted on May 10, 2013 by pneumaandlogos

In our day just as in the past many are claiming that grace and law are antithetical to one another, but this claim will not hold up in the light of a careful reading of the Scriptural text. We need to realise at the outset that we can never earn our salvation by keeping the law, and that is not what the law was intended for in the first place. Throughout the Bible salvation has always been by God’s gracious act of redeeming his people.

The Law was given to a redeemed people: We will fail to understand the true function of the law if we do not recognise that the law was given to his people that he had rescued from bondage in Egypt. By bring them out of Egypt he formed them into a nation, the Israelites could see God’s hand in their liberation, and it is in this context that God gives the law to his redeemed people not as a way of earning salvation but as a way of life. Throughout the Ten commandments we see how God valued relationships both with himself and with others. these relationships were to be good and wholesome. God is to be worshiped as the Holy One of Israel, and his people are to relate to one another in the light of his holiness.  This is why Paul in Galatians can approvingly quote the law as away of life and round on those who teach it as a way of salvation. Paul maintained that the law was good and righteous, and yet he made sure that no  one thought they could earn salvation by keeping that law. Jesus himself taught that the law was good, one has only to read the sermon on the mount to see that he had a very high view of God’s law.

The problem of Legalism in the Church: We find legalism is prevalent in many parts of the body of Christ and what is truly fascinating is that legalism seems to be more of a problem for those who deny that the law is to be our moral compass, therefore in the absence of absolutes they invent their own rules. I was raised in a group that was very legalistic and yet its official position was that the law did not apply to the believer. I have seen this time and time again very diverse groups theologically but all denying that the law is a way of life invent their own rules. Some of them are not drinking alcohol,not dancing, not going to the cinema, the list could go on. Whereas if the Ten Commandments had been seen as God’s requirements many of these legalisms could have been avoided.

The problem of antinomianism: On the other hand there has always been a small minority in the Church who have claimed that because we live under grace it does not matter what we do. This shows a very selective use of the word of God because even those portions of scripture that spell out the nature of salvation by grace then go on to spell out the life the believer is to live in the light of that grace. Paul’s letter to the Romans is an example of this. The Bible is intolerant of antinomianism because the teaching of Scripture is that grace transforms the believer’s life.

Conclusion: When we look carefully at the word of god we can see how the writers saw the law as an act of god’s grace. When we read Psalm 119 carefully, we will see that the psalmist rejoiced in God’s law, in fact he regards it as the way of freedom and the guide to live the holy life we need to regain this emphasis today.

 

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