God DOES Give Us More Than We Can Handle

There are certain ideas that get passed around in Christian circles that are just straight up un-biblical.  This is one of them: God won't give me anything I can't handle.  The Bible never says this.  Now, before someone throws out the scripture where this idea "comes from," I'm going to deal with that scripture right now.

The idea that God won't give us anything we can't handle comes from this verse: "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it" (1 Cor. 10:13).  This verse is misinterpreted.  People who quote this verse haven't considered the context of this verse, but the context provides essential clarity.

The context of this verse is Paul discussing Israel's history as a warning to believers.  Specifically, he refers to the Israelites who came out of Egypt.  He states that they saw all God's miracles and yet God still brought judgment on them.  Why did he bring this judgment?  Because they practiced moral evil:

"Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did. Do not be idolaters, as some of them were; as it is written: 'The people sat down to eat and drink and got up to indulge in pagan revelry.' We should not commit sexual immorality, as some of them did--and in one day twenty-three thousand of them died. We should not test the Lord, as some of them did--and were killed by snakes. And do not grumble, as some of them did--and were killed by the destroying angel.  These things happened to them as examples and were written down as warnings for us, on whom the fulfillment of the ages has come" (1 Cor. 10:6-11).

Paul says that the experiences of the Israelites, when they were punished for moral evil, were written down for us to learn from.  Thus, the context of 1 Corinthians 10:13 is people who commit moral evil.  Thus, Paul goes on to say, "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall! No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it. Therefore, my dear friends, flee from idolatry" (1 Cor. 10:11-14).

I Corinthians 10:13 does not say God will not give Christians circumstances they cannot handle.  What it says is that God will always provide a way out from temptation.  In other words, Paul is saying you cannot make the excuse for your sin, "Oh, I just couldn't help it," because God will give you a way out.  It is true that in Greek the term translated "temptation" in this verse can also be translated "trial."  This means you must look at the context to understand how the term is to be taken.  It is clear that since Paul is talking about the sin of the Israelites, the term here means "temptation," not trial.

You see, the misinterpretation of this text causes many Christians grief.  When circumstances overwhelm them, they don't get why they are "being given more than they can handle."  Isn't it true God won't do that to me?  And what is wrong with me that I can't handle this since scripture says I should be able to?  If you are struggling in this way, let me assure you that there is nothing wrong with you.  There are times in our lives that we can't handle our circumstances.

So, that sounds depressing.  But I don't think it is.  Throughout the Bible we have examples of godly people being given what they can't handle...and finding God in an intimate personal way in the midst of it.  A prime example is Elijah.  He flees Jezebel, knowing she wants to kill him and he bottoms out crying out to God, "I am the only prophet left and they are trying to kill me, too!"  It is at this point in his life that Elijah hears God's voice and receives comfort.  Hagar flees into the desert because Sarah is mistreating her and she's pregnant with Abraham's child.  In her despair, she meets God and declares, "He is the one that sees me."  In 2 Timothy 4, Paul is in prison and lonely.  He asks that Timothy send Mark to him as a comfort.  Even Jesus found himself crying out to his father in the Garden, overwhelmed with future events, yet this crying out led to his ability to submit to God's will in his life.

Could it be God gives us what we can't handle to make us turn to him?  Could it be God gives us what we can't handle to speak to us in an intimate way?  Could it be that we need to seek God all the more in our difficult circumstances rather than agonizing over how we can't handle what we should be able to handle?  Yes!  God will allow circumstances you can't handle to come into your life.  At those moments, we turn to God, just as Habakkuk does.  He cries out to God, not understanding and confused and yet, declares in the end that no matter what happens, he will trust the Lord:

"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.

 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, 

yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior. 

The Sovereign LORD is my strength; he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to go on the heights."

Habakkuk 3:16-19

Jesus' Return an Interruption?

I was listening to the radio the other day and a preacher made the comment that many Christians view Jesus' return as an interruption.  My heart and mind balked.  An interruption?  "Why do some Christians have this reluctance?" I began to wonder.  "Why don't they want their Savior to return?"  In pondering, I have come to the conclusion that there are two main reasons.

First, sure, Christians want to go to heaven, but they want to have their "fun" first. They have their plans for their lives and they don't want these plans thrown off course.  Whether it's getting a certain job, getting married, getting that big house or expensive car, having children, or any number of desires, Christians have their own plans.  Inherent in this is a worldview assumption: my life should be done my way.  In this, I sense Christians who have not submitted to God's will.  They don't really want God's will.  They may say they do, but their upset over interrupted plans reveals the truth of their passions.

The second reason is a far harder pill to swallow.  It's something I have talked about before to people, but don't often because it can be offensive--at least, that's how it can be taken.  The second reason flows from the first reason and it hurts my heart: Christians don't love God.

My own excitement for Jesus coming back stems from my release from sin.  Imagine having no inclination to sin so that I never hurt another person again with my words or actions and I am never hurt in return?  Imagine not having the burden of my past sins lingering over my head? I can't wait for that day!  But even more than that, I cannot wait to behold my God in all his glory.  My favorite picture of Jesus comes from Revelation:

"I turned around to see the voice that was speaking to me. And when I turned I saw seven golden lampstands, and among the lampstands was someone like a son of man, dressed in a robe reaching down to his feet and with a golden sash around his chest. The hair on his head was white like wool, as white as snow, and his eyes were like blazing fire. His feet were like bronze glowing in a furnace, and his voice was like the sound of rushing waters. In his right hand he held seven stars, and coming out of his mouth was a sharp, double-edged sword. His face was like the sun shining in all its brilliance." (Rev. 1:12-16)

I cannot wait to physically touch him and be held by him.  Why?  Because I love him with such love I can't even describe the depth of my heart.  I'm not trying to toot my own horn here.  This love doesn't come out of me because I am such a great Christian.  It comes out of me because I am such a great sinner who has been gifted the life of a saint: 

“Two people owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he forgave the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?”
Simon replied, “I suppose the one who had the bigger debt forgiven.”
“You have judged correctly,” Jesus said.
Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—as her great love has shown. But whoever has been forgiven little loves little.” (Luke 7:41-47)

How can we not love him?  We have been forgiven so much!  How can we not wait to see him?  How can we not desire our Savior right in front of us?  Because when it comes down to it, we don't love God enough.  We don't love him more than our plans and our wills.  We don't want him to come back, because we don't view him as our beloved coming to take his bride.  We aren't the bride who waits in eagerness for her groom.  But that is how it should be.

When Jesus comes, I guarantee that all our petty, earthy cares will pass away.  None of that will matter.  To love him and be loved by him is a gift beyond description.  So ask yourself: Do I view my Savior's return as an interruption?  Do I care more about my plans than His?  Do I truly love Him?  If you find your heart isn't where it should be, take the next step and ask God to move it where it should be.  Pray that you, too, will wait with eager anticipation to behold the glory of your God.

Are You Profaning the Name of God?

I'm still reading in Leviticus and I read a verse that piqued my interest today. Leviticus 21:6 says this, "'They shall be holy to their God and not profane the name of their God, for they present the offerings by fire to the LORD, the food of their God ; so they shall be holy." The context is God talking about the ministry of the priests in the tabernacle. I was curious what the meaning of "profane" was. In the Hebrew, the term is chalal and it means "to make common." The priests are called to be holy, which in Hebrew means to be set apart, to be special unto the Lord. The priest is not to make himself common, but set apart. Thus, if the priest undertakes an action that is not holy, he profanes or makes the name of God common.

I began to wonder, how can God's name be made common? How is God's glory and holiness removed in the eyes of man and made common? This was when it hit me. Often Christians will talk about not taking the Lord's name in vain as a support for not using God as a curse word. That makes sense because vain means to make something empty, to give it an empty meaning. Vain can also mean to be deceitful. To use God's name in an empty way can deceive its true meaning. But could there be an even deeper reason not to use God's name as a curse?

"Oh my God" and "Jesus Christ" are words that have become common in our culture. We can't really go a day without hearing them at least on the television if no where else. It hit me--yes, my culture profanes the name of God every day. We take the holy name of God, meant to be set apart, special, and have turned it into a common expletive. Yes, by doing so his name is empty. But even more, it is turned from holy to profane.

Now, I can let secular culture go its way. It places no value on the name of God or the name of Jesus so it doesn't even understand the holy versus the profane. But a Christian is someone who supposedly does understand that God is holy, who seeks to glorify God in his or her life. Should I expect a Christian to profane the name of God?

1 Peter 2:9 says of Christians, "But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light." The Leviticus passage was addressing the relation of priests to the name of God, basically how they uplifted or profaned the reputation of God. Now, all Christians are declared priests. We are God's special possession (notice the definition of holy here). We are set apart unto God. Why? To declare God's praises. We have a special purpose to make God holy, to make God known. Our call is not to make God common. It is to cry to the world, "Do you see my God? He is unlike any other. He is true love, true compassion, true justice. By his uniqueness we are saved!" Could it be that when we Christians use God's name as an expletive we have just brought him down into the common? We have denied our purpose and sullied the name of our God?

I think the answer is a resounding "yes"! But I also think to profane God goes beyond speech. It is not just my mouth that is to be holy to my God. It is also my body. 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 says, "Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price : therefore glorify God in your body." Not only are Christians the priests, they are the temple, too! Christians are also called to make the actions of their bodies glorifying to God. I am set apart in my body--my body has a special purpose unique to God. When I take an action that is unholy, ungodly, against the character of God, I have once again made God profane, common. I have rubbed his holiness in the dirt, as it were.

How has this insight helped me? I guess I often think of the sanctification of my walk with God in many different ways. But I had never thought of it this way. I want people to be glorified in God through my life. I don't want to turn God into an ordinary, easy to ignore fixture in my life. I want to lift him up for all to see his holiness, his special set apartness. This has fired in me a passion to lift my God out of the common on a daily basis. I hope sharing this might help you, too, unique and precious child of God!

He Has Risen!

For Resurrection Day, I give you my favorite Resurrection Day poem written by John Updike, called "Seven Stanzas at Easter." Enjoy!

Make no mistake: if he rose at all
It was as His body;
If the cell’s dissolution did not reverse, the molecule reknit,
The amino acids rekindle,
The Church will fall.

It was not as the flowers,
Each soft spring recurrent;
It was not as His Spirit in the mouths and fuddled eyes of the
Eleven apostles;
It was as His flesh; ours.

The same hinged thumbs and toes
The same valved heart
That-pierced-died, withered, paused, and then regathered
Out of enduring Might
New strength to enclose.

Let us not mock God with metaphor,
Analogy, sidestepping, transcendence,
Making of the event a parable, a sign painted in the faded
Credulity of earlier ages:
Let us walk through the door.

The stone is rolled back, not papier-mache,
Not a stone in a story,
But the vast rock of materiality that in the slow grinding of
Time will eclipse for each of us
The wide light of day.

And if we have an angel at the tomb,
Make it a real angel,
Weighty with Max Planck’s quanta, vivid with hair, opaque in
The dawn light, robed in real linen
Spun on a definite loom.

Let us not seek to make it less monstrous,
For our own convenience, our own sense of beauty,
Lest, awakened in one unthinkable hour, we are embarrassed
By the miracle,
And crushed by remonstrance.

The Gift of Free Will

God chose to give us free will. No, this isn’t that post about sovereignty and free will. I’ll just insert this one statement: in his sovereignty, God gave us free will. What do I mean when I say “free will”? Humans are unique. Being made in God’s image, we are different from animals. Animals have free will to an extent. They can choose to move different directions, to take certain actions. But they are also bound by instinct and act on it often (if not always—I’ll save that argument for another day). What animals cannot do is make moral choices. They have no capacity to understand the concept of morality and therefore, do not make moral decisions. I explain it in my class this way: we don’t take a lion to court for eating a zebra because it isn’t a moral issue. But we do take a human to court for killing someone because it is a moral issue. So, when I say “free will” I mean a human’s ability to make moral choices.

God gave this ability to us from the beginning of time. He gave man the choice to obey him or not obey him in the form of a rule regarding a tree. Man had a choice to make—a moral choice. We know that eventually he chose to make the wrong choice. He ate the fruit and thus transformed the world into a place filled with evil choices and a human nature incapable of choosing correctly every time.

This is why we live in a world where every day we face choices, many of them moral. This also means that it is inevitable people, and ourselves, will at times choose the wrong choice. Some may wonder why God would give us free will. If it leads to pain, why give it to us? Interestingly, I have yet to find someone who doesn’t want his or her free will. We like having a choice. We like making decisions. We get upset when people usurp this from us. We hate slavery because it impedes freedom and intrinsically, free will choice. There seems to be something within us that cherishes choice.

So, why did God give this to us? Why not just make us love him and do right all the time? The answer to these questions can be found in our creation. We are made in God’s image. As such, we have capacities that are unique to us: we have higher reason, creative ability, an eternal soul. And we also have moral free will. God could not make us in his image without giving us free will. God is an ethical being. Thus, he made us to be ethical beings. He gave us the capacity to be moral. Remember that the animals, not made in God’s image, have no morality. We have the choice to be moral because this reflects God’s image in us.

God also gave us free will because he wanted us to have a relationship with him. A personal relationship implies the freedom to choose to love. If God created us so that we had no choice, then we would not have a personal relationship with him. Our love would not be love. We would be programmed, manipulated beings. Love does not force and manipulate. Thus, to have a personal relationship with God we must be free to love.

Thus, God gave us free will to reflect him and to enter into a personal relationship with us. And in our free will, we have choice and we can choose right and we can choose wrong. We love our free choice. We have no problem with the fact that we get to choose. What is interesting is that we get upset at God’s gift of free will to man when others get to choose and they choose incorrectly and evil occurs. It is ironic that what we so cherish in ourselves we so loathe in others. Yes, we should loathe evil. People make moral choices that are wrong and evil and this grieves us. But we can’t get mad at God because this also grieves God. He would rather we use our creation in his image and our capacity to love to make the right choices. When evil occurs, we are to blame, never God. It is our choice, not his.

Moral free will is a gift to us. It is a gift we must use wisely and carefully. Gratefully, God did not leave us on our own to figure out how to use this gift. In his word to man, in the scriptures, we find direction. We find that God expresses to us what goodness is and how to live it. We are told the right choice to make and the consequences for the wrong choice. So God has not left us adrift. He has shown us how to choose to live morally and in love. He’s even given us the prime example: Jesus Christ.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God” (Ephesians 5:1-2).

Sacrificial Dedication

My daily Bible reading took me to Leviticus 8 today. In this chapter, Moses is presenting Aaron and his sons to the Lord as priests, dedicating and consecrating them. In doing so, three sacrifices were offered and I was struck by the order and meaning of the sacrifices.

But first, a word about sacrifices. Many Christians assume that people in the Old Testament sacrificed to be saved, but this is incorrect. The writer of Hebrews makes it clear that this is not true: "it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins" (10:4). In the Old Testament Samuel declared, "To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22). I like how Douglas and Tenney explain this, that the basis for the covenant between God and Israel was obedience: "The foundation principle of this covenant was obedience, not sacrifices. Sacrifices were incidental--aids to obedience but valueless without it." The primary purpose of the sacrifices was to express the covenant relationship Israel had with God. Thus, when they disobeyed God and sinned, they came to him declaring their need for his forgiveness. The sacrifice did not wash away their sin; God washed away their sin as he saw his children's desire to get right with him.* I say this because the assumption that sacrifices were only used to "get saved" misses the whole point of sacrifice: an expression of a relationship with God. This is so beautifully evident in Leviticus 8.

The first sacrifice is a sin offering. Aaron and his sons place their hands on the bull and it is slaughtered. They come to acknowledge their need for forgiveness from God and watch a bull die in their places. In order to minister for God, to be close in relationship to him, they must put away their sin.

The second sacrifice is a burnt offering. This offering is called a pleasing aroma, a gift to God. The whole offering is burned up. It is a gift to the Lord alone. It is this sacrifice that declares atonement, reconciliation with God. It expresses that they now have a relationship with God.

The third offering is called the offering of ordination. I'd like to call it an offering of dedication. The blood is taken from the offering and applied to the right ears, right thumbs and right toes of Aaron and his sons (symbolizing the whole person dedicated to God). This is a sacrifice that declares they are dedicated to the service of God. They then eat portions of this offering at a meal. The sacrificial meal is a symbol of fellowship with God.

So, in order, Aaron and his sons are cleansed, then reconciled, then dedicated. And this, too, is what Jesus' sacrifice does for Christians.

Jesus is the sacrifice for sin. In order to even take a step towards God, we need to be clean and Jesus' blood does this for us (unlike bulls and goats, Jesus' blood utterly eradicates sin). Then, his blood reconciles us. His sacrifice is the pleasing aroma to God, the gift that opens the door to relationship. Finally, Jesus' blood is applied to us. We are covered in it and thus dedicated to God's service.

Christians will agree with the first two sacrifices. Yes, Jesus took away my sin. Yes, Jesus brought me into relationship with God. But how many also see that Jesus' blood applied to me means I am now dedicated to God? I am not my own, I am bought with a price, therefore I must honor God with my body.

Paul says that the Old Testament was written to teach us (Ro. 15:4). From Leviticus 8 we learn that Jesus' sacrifice is not only to save and reconcile, but to dedicate as well. We cannot be cleansed and reconciled without this leading to dedication. This is why our lives change the moment we become Christians. Does your life reflect Jesus' salvation and reconciliation through dedication?

*For those who wonder why Jesus then needed to come if God washed away sin of the Old Testament, it is clear that Old Testament believers were saved the same way we are: by faith in God's way of salvation. Jesus' blood is applied to Old Testament believers as much as to New Testament believers. People in the Old Testament looked forward to God's ultimate salvation, a picture of which is found in the sacrificial system. I like how theologians have often put it. Imagine a timeline in the middle of which is Jesus' death and resurrection. The Old Testament believers are on the left looking forward to his sacrifice and the New Testament believers are on the right looking back at his sacrifice.

Don't Throw Out the Baby with the Bathwater

In a way, this is a post that has some of its underpinnings in two previous posts here and here, although this post is a reaction to something that did not prompt those two posts. Suffice it to say that this post is in the same vein as the previous ones.

I was reading an article by someone in the emergent church who was criticizing another church that claims to be emergent. The criticism came on various levels, but the statement that troubled me was that the author emphasized that one of the tenants of the emergent church is relationship over doctrine. It bothered the author that the church claiming to be emergent seemed to have slipped back into doctrine. If you know nothing of the emergent church, let me just say that the emergent church is a movement that seeks to be post-modern (on its own terms), emphasizing experience and feelings rather than reason or fact. Thus, it wasn't surprising to me what this author said, but I immediately took issue with the statement.

You see, in our feel good culture, saying relationship over doctrine fits right in. After all, your experience of God should come from your relationship, not your doctrine. This is a relativist's perfect way of viewing Christianity. However, there is a fundamental problem with this idea and that is that relationship and doctrine cannot be separated.

A good definition of doctrine is from the World English Dictionary: "a creed or body of teachings of a religious, political, or philosophical group presented for acceptance or belief." Of course, words like "creed" and "religious" are anathema to relativists simply because they rub up against their worldview. If everything is relative, then you can't have a creed or be "religious" because those terms imply absolute truths. Thus, doctrine is a hated word. Rather, let's seek relationship.

Relationship is defined as "a connection between two people." Ah, this sounds good to a relativist's ear. No worry about facts or absolute truths. This is just two people sitting around getting to know each other and, of course, accepting whatever each of them say.

But wait... How is a relationship even formed? How do I get close to someone? You see, my relationship with someone is directly tied to what I believe about that person. I am a friend with someone because I know I can trust her, go to her when I need her, talk to her openly, be loved by her freely, etc. because I believe her to be trustworthy, loyal, faithful, loving, etc. In fact, if you asked me to tell you about this friend, I would be forced to give you a list of all the beliefs I have about her that make her a friend to me. I could tell you on what our relationship is based and show you why I have her as a friend.

It's the same for God...

I trust him because he is sovereign.
I pray to him because he is faithful.
I know he loves me because he died for me.
I know he loves because he is a Trinity.
I am free of guilt because of salvation and redemption, acts of Jesus.
I know I have a purpose because he has a plan for me.
I am moral because of the Holy Spirit's conviction.
I have assurance the whole earth won't flood because I know he keeps his promises.

I could go on for quite a while. My relationship with God is directly tied to what I believe about him. I cannot separate my relationship from my belief. And if I sat down and listed it all out, what I would come up with would be a series of statements, a body of teachings, a creed.

The problem with the idea of relationship over doctrine is that they cannot be separated at all. They are one. My doctrine forms the basis for my relationship. Show me a person who throws out doctrine and I'll show you a person that is easily blown down in the wind when feeling fails to satisfy. When the going gets tough, when the trials come, it turns out the base has been removed. Only when I am secure in the truth of what I know about my God will I be able to withstand the heartaches of the world (see cartoon above). Because my relationship is based on my truth; I have a strong relationship with my God because I know his truths.

Now, to be clear, the error can move the other direction. Indeed, the emergent church has swung far on the pendulum mostly in reaction to a church that often declared doctrine over relationship. This, too, is a costly error. The students I teach know that God is about relationship. It's a statement I have used over and over and over. God wants to have a relationship with us. The entire Bible is about his desire for relationship. And yes, this relationship is based in what I believe about him. Yet some Christians are so focused on the truths that they throw relationship out the window. Show me a person who does this and I will show you someone with a stagnant faith and a lack of love.

We don't need to swing either way on the pendulum. What we need to do is realize that relationship and doctrine are not at odds. Each side needs to come back to the middle, to where doctrine and relationship meet.