What's In a Name?

Shakespeare's Juliet once posed this question: "What is in a name?" She concludes, "That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." Juliet's dilemma centered on dating a boy from the "wrong" family. It may be easy to cast aside a name for romance, but it is not always easy under other circumstances. Today, names are given as based on preference.

But in other times, and other cultures names were given to demonstrate the character of person or the hopes of the parents or the recognition of something significant. For example, as she lay dying, Rachel names her child, Ben-oni, son of my sorrow, but Jacob renames the boy Benjamin, son of my right hand.

What is in a name? It really depends on why the name was given in the first place and on who gave the name. A name may bear no significance at all. It may be devoid of all of its original meaning. A child may grow up wearing a label that was chosen simply for its pleasantness to the ears. Then again, it may tell you everything you need to know about a person.

For that reason, a study of the names of God is a fruitful study. God has revealed some of his invisible attributes through nature, such as, his omnipotence and eternality. However, if we are to truly know God he must reveal more of himself to us because it is beyond human ability to figure God out on our own. God has revealed himself to us through his Word. One of the ways that he reveals himself to mankind in his Word is through his names.

Each name or title reveals a facet of his character, nature, or being. The names help to illuminate our understanding of our Creator and Redeemer. As the various names of God were used for various circumstances, they serve to strength our faith that God is able to meet us in any situation.

More importantly, God reveals a concern for his name and his desire that his name should be treated as holy. The Third Commandment forbids the misuse of God's name. During the Exodus, the Lord told Pharaoh, "But I raised you up for this very purpose, that I might show you my power and that my name might be proclaimed in all the earth" (Ex. 9:16). Concerning his patience with Israel, the Lord states, "But I withheld my hand, and for the sake of my name I did what would keep it form being profaned in the eyes of the nations in whose sight I had brought them out" (Ezek. 20:22). Even Jesus stressed the importance of God's name when he taught his disciples to pray, "Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name" (Matt. 6:9).

God honors his name because it is synonymous with who he is. I invite you to join us on Wednesday nights (7:00 PM CST) at Monticello where we are studying the names of God. Each mediation is meant to draw us closer to the God who has revealed himself. He is great and greatly to be praised.

Loving Our Enemies and Justice

"But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44).

The recent news concerning the death of Osama Bin Laden has me thinking. Just how should we respond to the news of his death? I mean, as Bible believing, followers of Christ, how should we view his death. Jesus gives us the guidelines for relating to our enemies in Matthew 5:43-48. The ultimate goal is to be "perfect . . . as your heavenly Father is perfect." Many remind us that the term translated "perfect," might be better translated "complete" or "mature." Even is we were to translate it "mature" or "complete," it still leaves us with an impossible goal. Jesus is reminding us that we need him to make it a reality. Without his righteousness, we cannot be mature or complete or perfect like the Father.

But in Christ, we can become more like the Father. We can love our enemies. The biblical idea of love goes beyond what most Americans mean when they use the term. We often use the term to mean that we favor something. For example, I love a good steak. We also use it to mean that we have warm or affectionate feelings toward someone (or something). A person can be said to love their spouse, child, or pet. The biblical idea is more about doing good or showing kindness to another. Biblical love is about pursuing the other person's welfare ahead of our own.

We demonstrate this love by praying for those who persecute us. Persecution includes rejection, insults, abuse, imprisonment, and death. Jesus himself demonstrates this reality. Even as he is being nailed to the cross, Jesus prays for his tormentors. Jesus connects love and prayer. Our enemies need us to intercede on their behalf, because they don't know who to pray to or, as in some cases, that they should pray. They are blinded to the truth, and need God to open their eyes. To that end, we pray.

All of this is done, so that we can show ourselves to be the children of God. If we are to be like our heavenly Father, then we must do good to our enemies. Jesus stresses this with two examples. Both examples draw on images that had both positive and negative connotations. He used the sun rising and the rain falling. Jesus said that the sun rise on the righteous and the unrighteous. He also said that the rain fell on the righteous and the unrighteous. In a society that depended on farming, the natural (and normal) pattern of sun and rain was crucial to survival. If the sun was never accompanied by rain, drought would occur. If the rain was never accompanied by the sun, a flood would occur. The righteous and unrighteous share the blessing of a normal growing season. They both share the burden of a drought or flood. We need to recognize that God shows his love for his enemies the same way he shows his love for his people--through loving kindness.

We are called to love by a higher standard. The world loves those who love them. In this, Jesus warns that there are no higher rewards. What you give is what you get. All of humanity, even unbelievers show love to those close to them. God loves differently. The Father loves those who do not love him. He pursues them with that love, so that they might be transformed by it. Jesus calls us to love like that.

So what do we do when God judges our enemies? Here are some things we need to remember:

          1. God hates sin. (see Ps. 5:4-6; 11:5)

          2. God take no pleasure in the death of the wicked. (see Ezk. 18:23)

          3. God is a righteous judge. (see Ps. 9:8; 75:7; 96:10)

          4. God's judgment of others isn't proof of our righteousness. (see Luke 13:1-5)

          5. We must approach the hardships faced by our enemies with gracious humility. (Pv. 24:17-18)

When we remember all of these things, it helps us to understand the mix of emotions we feel. We might feel relief, satisfaction, or joy in the face of justice. The rightness of justice resonates deep within the human heart. There is no reason to feel shame about recognizing the rightness of justice. At the same time, we may feel a profound sense of grief. The fate of unbelievers is clear: they are cut off from the mercies of God. They are left alone to face his holy indignation. The wicked suffer under the wrath of God for all eternity. God's holiness demands it. His judgments are right.

When our enemies receive justice here on earth, it reminds us of the judgment to come. However, we must also remember that these people aren't that much different from us. Were it not for the grace of God, we might be just as blind. In a case like Bin Laden's, one who was the cause of so much death, it is easy to demonize. But he, too, bore the image of God. He was a husband and father. He was also a sinner--a blinded sheep gone astray. A sheep that never met Jesus, the Good Shepherd. Tonight, he is in torment. He'll never find peace.

I feel a slight tinge of survivors guilt. I know that my own sin was deserving of death. For I, along with everyone else, have sinned and fall short of God's glory. My sin was an affront to a holy God. I should have been condemned and executed. But God had mercy on me. In Christ, I have found cleansing and renewal. It is nothing that I did, but rather something that has been done for me. I don't deserve to live under the blessing of God. But I do, and for that, I'm grateful.

What do we do when God judges our enemies? We praise him for his holy, just nature. The thank him for the reminder that none can escape judgment.We remind ourselves of cross of Christ, and the blood shed to purchase our freedom. We mourn the eternal loss of an image-bearer. We weep with those who are bereft of their family. Then we reach out to a lost and dying world, and boldly proclaim the gospel as only means of escaping the judgment of God. We respond by shining forth the glory of God.

Powerful AND Good

In reference to the recent events in Japan, I heard someone voice this question, "Is God all powerful, but doesn't care about the people of Japan, or does he care about the people, but isn't all powerful?". The question is framed in such a way to force the person answering to chose one of the options. But are these the only two options. Actually, the question poses a false dilemma.

Agnostics and atheists have long argued that if there is a god, these are the only two options available. In a world without god you are left with random events that have no purpose. They just occur. Every situation is a matter of presence and timing. Good things happen to you because you just happen to be at the right place at the right time. Bad things happen to you because you just happen to be at the wrong place at the wrong time. There is not providential hand orchestrating the events of your life. There is no logic or reason behind anything that happens, good or bad.

When you assume there is a god, things tend to look purposeful. Apply that logic to the situation in Japan. The devastation and loss of life is staggering. It all seems so pointless. Why would God allow such senseless, wholesale destruction? If God is behind these events, it suggests there is a purpose for them. We cannot think of one reason that such would be the case, and there in lies the dilemma. We are stuck with a powerful god, who can create the world and fill it with destructive forces, but who is unconcerned with his creation. Or we are left with a god who cares deeply for his creation, but has no ability to act on that concern.

On the face of it, it looks as if we are left with no other options. However, as I already pointed out, it is a false dilemma. The Bible declares God to be both all-powerful and benevolent. Whether we look through a microscope or a telescope, it is evident that God is powerful. He brought this world into existence, and the evidence of design confirms it. While there are some evidences in nature that God is good, like the rain falling on the just and unjust, we need the Bible to see his love most clearly. The Scriptures declare that the cross is the greatest demonstration of God's love. In the cross, God was reconciling fallen humanity to himself.

The dilemma arises out of a basic misunderstanding of God and humanity. We assume that God, in order to be good, must always prevent "bad" things from happening. Anything to do with pain, suffering, and discomfort are always lumped in the category of evil. Next, we assume that humanity is, for the most part, good. Unless an individual or society actively seeks to inflict pain or suffering on another, we assume the best. However, humanity is morally corrupt from birth to death.

When it comes to humanity and circumstances, we judge things as "good" and "bad" in relative terms. Without a clear, objective standard, it is impossible to speak authoritatively on what is good and bad. Even when we can objectively define something as "bad" or "evil" that doesn't mean that some greater, objective good can't come from it. True moral evil exists, but that doesn't mean that moral good doesn't. In fact, it is hard to argue that something is truly evil apart from have a concept of good.

Catastrophes don't leave us torn between a god who is powerful, but unkind, or a god who is kind, but not powerful. They drive us to rethink our categories. Maybe the box we've put God in isn't the right size. His ways are beyond our ways. His wisdom is greater than us, as is his knowledge. He not only sees the cause, but the effects as well. Humanity wants a god that easily managed. He is allowed out to help us in our times of need (which are few and far between), and to do good to us, but he isn't allowed to do anything that we can't fathom.

We shake our fists at the thought of his judgment. We are uncomfortable with his holiness. The God of the Bible is so unlike us it is frightening. He can't be controlled. There is no manipulating him. He is free to bless or curse at will. His every action is right and true. He is the only truly autonomous Being in the universe, and that offends human sensibilities.

The question posed at the beginning of this post is a trick. It seeks to lure the one answering into acknowledging a false god. A god who is powerful, but unkind, is not worthy of our service. A god who is kind, but powerless isn't worth following either. We have to reject the false dilemma, and answer with confidence, "The God who is, is both powerful and good." We don't have to know the reason he permitted something. We just need to know that he is absolutely trustworthy.

He Remembers You

"You have kept count of my tossings; put my tears in your bottle.  Are they not in your book?" (Ps. 56:8).

I am wondering how many times these words have passed before my eyes without the recognition or understanding of the full weight of their message.  Even now, they are just beginning to settle in my mind.  Slowly, I am beginning to glimpse their beauty and majesty.

This psalm is a record of David's confidence in the Lord during a time of great upheaval.  David had fled from Saul to Achish the king of Gath.  The Philistines had seized him, because they recognized David a potential threat. So David had to improvise, and play the madman.  During this time, David was a man without a country.  He had no earthly refuge.

But he was not without hope.  David was confident that his captures would show him no mercy, so he rested in the One he knew would.  David's motto became: "In God I trust; I shall not be afraid.  What can man do to me?" (Ps. 56:11, ESV).  In the midst of his grief, that had arisen due to this conflict, David remained confident that the Lord would deliver him and strike down his enemies.

His expression in verse 8, "You have kept count of my tossings," may allude to several things.  It may mean that God has kept a record of the way he had been mistreated.  It may mean that God has counted the times the David has tossed and turned through the sleepless nights of the ordeal.  It may mean that God has kept track to the emotional ebb and flow of David's heart throughout his ordeal.  The NIV translates this phrase as, "Record my lament."  The KJV translates it as, "Thou tellest my wanderings."  Even as we sort through the different translations, the point is clear.  David is convinced that God has been watching with great interest and has taken note of his situation.

Next he states, "[You have] put my tears in your bottle."  David is telling us that God views the tears we shed as worthy of preservation.  In every circumstance of the believer's life, God is present.  He remembers our pain.  He captures our tears in his bottle, so that none of them are wasted or forgotten.  A day is coming when God will extract the price for every tear of the righteous from those who caused them.  But for us who believe, our tears will be wiped away.

He concludes this verse with the words, "Are they not in your book?"  That is to say, God has recorded all of this in his book of remembrance.  He cannot, nor would he, forget the sorrow of his children.  All the days of our life are recorded in his book.  He delights in remembering us.  He is bringing about the right and fitting conclusion to all things, even the tears.

I am not sure what kind of hardships you have endured in your lives, but I am confident that not one tear has escaped God's notice.  He has seen, and he remembers.  Have you made the Lord your refuge?  Are you confident he will deliver you?  Is your heart breaking? In faith, ask him to show you mercy.  Here is a song that will help you to do just that, "He Knows My Name":

Don't Be Fooled

"The fool says in his heart, 'There is no God.' They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds, there is none who does good" (Ps. 14;1, ESV).

April Fool's Day seems like the perfect time to tackle the foolishness of denying God.  It smacks of arrogance to claim, with the limited amount of knowledge that humanity possesses, that there is no evidence of God's existence.

Everywhere there are signs of design.  The heavens declare the glory of the Lord.  Mankind is fearfully and wonderfully made. There is so much information within the natural world.  It is ludicrous to believe that information came from no where.

David alludes to the reason they deny God.  They deny God because their hearts want the freedom to operate outside of their consciences.  They don't want to be condemned for doing the things they enjoy.  If they don't acknowledge the Lawgiver, it's easier to rationalize their guilt away.

When we live like there is no God, we are only fooling ourselves.  God is there, whether we acknowledge him or not.  He will not always be patient, one day we will all stand before him in Judgment.  If we are trusting Christ, he has stood in our place in judgment.  If we have not trusted in Christ, we will stand alone in judgment.  Don't be fooled by fine sounding, empty arguments.  God is real, and he has made a way through Jesus for mankind to know him.

Possible with God

"But he said, 'What is impossible with men is possible with God'" (Luke 18:27, ESV).

Jesus has just finished his encounter with the rich young ruler. The yound man was moral in many ways, but he had made an idol out of his wealth. The young man was shocked when Jesus informed him that he would have to sell his possessions and give it to the poor. The man went away sad. Jesus, too, was saddened by the affair. After the young man leaves he states, "How difficult is it for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! For it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of the needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of heaven" (Luke 18:27, ESV). And the crowd replies, "Then who can be saved?" (Luke 18:28, ESV).

Jesus' response is profound, "What is impossible to men is possible with God." Thus, the hope of salvation rests not in riches, nor morality, nor lineage, but in the grace and power of God. Mankind cannot force their way into heaven. They can't seize the gates and demand entry. We cannot buy our way in, nor can we steal it. We have all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (see Romans 3:23). Thus, we need the Lord to rescue us. And that is precisely what Jesus is saying here.

Salvation stems from God's desire to save, not man's desire to be saved. In truth, most people don't even know that they need to be saved (many don't know what "saved" even means). When we talk about salvation (getting saved), we mean a person is forgiven of their sin, through grace, by faith in the atoning death of Christ on the cross. The penalty for sin (breaking God's law) is death (physical and spiritual death). Jesus died in our place, for our sin. When we believe, he applies Christ's substitutionary death on our behalf and gives us Christ's righteousness as well. If left to our own devises, we would never come to God, because we love sin. God sent his Son into the world to save the world; the Father and the Son sent the Spirit into the world to apply that salvation. Thus, salvation is only possible through God.