God’s Father-like Nature
January 1, 2010
One cannot truly
know God without knowing His nature (Ps 103:7).
Because of this writer’s finite mind, I shall attempt to separate God’s
qualities into two categories:
those which relate to God as He is apart from man, and those which relate to God
as He interacts with man (His father-like qualities).
God as He is
apart from man:
He is Holy, Infinite, Invisible, Immutable, Independent, Omniscient,
Omnipresent, and Omnipotent. These
qualities shout God’s greatness.
They say there was nothing before God, above God, stronger than God, smarter
than God, or purer than God. What a
God!
God as He
interacts with man:
He is a God of: Jealousy,
Longsuffering, Hate, Love, Justice, Mercy, Wrath, Compassion, Chastisement, and
Protection. These qualities also
describe God, but prompt us to ask:
How does God both love and hate?
Demand justice and show mercy?
Exhibit compassion and anger?
Yet, God is without contradiction (Pr 8:8).
Not until we harmonize these apparent contradictions in our minds can we
know God.
There is peace in
knowing God, glory with increasing that knowledge, and honor in making that
knowledge a top priority (Job 22:21, Jer 9:24, Hos 6:6).
However, knowing God has another advantage, it’ll help us better imitate
Him in our earthly relationships.
And every man that hath this hope in him
purifieth himself, even as He is pure (1Jo 3:3).
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Anthropomorphism
January 8, 2010
Behold, the Lord’s hand is
not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot
hear (Is 59:1).
God does not have fleshly hands and ears (John 4:24, Luke 24:39).
Because God is beyond the grasp of human reasoning, scripture uses
human terms to describe Him.
English professors call this writing technique anthropomorphism.
I chuckle at the
look on young peoples’ faces when they hear scripture describe God with
stretched out arms, hinder parts, or wings and feathers.
As adults, we recognize these as figures of speech.
I also chuckle as I listen to children describe God smelling, making
clothes, or walking through a garden.
As adults, we recognize these as figures of speech also.
But, what do we do with the descriptions of God laughing, crying, being
grieved, pleased, or jealous?
As
it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated
(Rom 9:13). Man’s love is subject
to moods, degrees, and conditions;
God’s love is not. God’s love is
better than man’s love. God’s love
is perfect, as is His hate. When we
impose human emotions on God, we become like the child who pictures God with
ears and feathers; we become childlike interpreters.
Anthropomorphism applies to human body parts and human activities, but it
also applies to human emotions.
Don’t view Him as thyself, rather dig into scripture and see God as He is (Ps
50:21, Jer 9:24).
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Forgiveness and Prayer
January 15, 2010
Sometimes I don’t
have the nerve to earnestly pray the Lord’s Prayer (Matt 6:9-13).
Hallowing the Lord’s name, asking for bread, and begging deliverance from
temptation is not a problem. But I
stumble with:
forgive
us our debts, as we forgive our
debtors. When I pray these
words I ask God to treat me in exactly the same manner I treat those who offend
me; and to be honest, I want more forgiveness than that.
That’s why praying the model prayer scares me.
And
when ye stand praying, forgive
…
if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses
(Mark 11:25-26). Jesus’
words of forgiveness are a command, not a suggestion or good advice.
Noncompliance with this command has the consequences listed below.
If we refuse to forgive our neighbor:
-
God will be unforgiving with us.
-
Our prayers will be hindered.
-
We will lose fellowship.
We find ourselves on the outside looking in (Luke 15:28).
Be ye kind one to another, tender
hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you
(Eph 4:32). Lord, help us follow
Stephen as he followed Christ (Act 7:60, Luke 23:34)
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Isaiah’s Tulip
January 22, 2010
Several hundred
years ago, Salvation by Grace and the T.U.L.I.P. became synonyms for a lot
folks. I’ve seen each point of this
doctrine taught from Paul’s writings, but recently I’ve seen this doctrine
taught using the Book of Isaiah and the red letters (Jesus’ words).
Consider:
What does this
prove? The acronym might be
relatively new, but the doctrine behind it is not.
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The Converse Effect
January 29, 2010
The people of Babel
said, “Go to, let us build a city and a
tower, whose top may reach unto heaven; and let us make us a name, lest we be
scattered abroad upon the face of the whole earth”
(Gen 11:4).
Want to make God
laugh, tell Him your plans. Want to
make God jealous, exalt another name above His.
Want to make God angry, ignore His commandments.
Well, the folks from Babel did all three; and what was God’s response?
The Lord did right the opposite of what these folks were trying to
accomplish.
So the Lord scattered them abroad
from thence upon the face of all the earth (Gen 11:8).
Ever witness a
church ignore discipline to keep up its numbers?
Decline soon follows. Ever
witness a church compromise truth to keep peace?
Strife is not far behind.
The same is true of individuals:
Ever witness a parent ignore correction to keep a child happy?
A fit is not far behind.
Ever witness a person work seven days a week for financial security?
A setback soon follows.
Consider the flip side: God will
not grant joy to a person until they have grieved over their sin, nor will He
grant peace to a person until they have fought temptation.
God is great and we
are foolish. When will we ever
learn to fear God and keep His commandments? Or rather, love God and keep His
commandments (Ecc 12:13, 1Jo 5:3)?
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Imagination
February 5, 2010
The other day my
twenty year old son and I were having fun reminiscing.
He recalled two phrases he had heard his father say more than once.
The first phrase was, “Use your imagination;” followed a couple of hours
later by, “What were you thinking?”
The second phrase was proclaimed after anything to do with water, Georgia clay,
matches, bicycles, or my tools. My
son’s point, “Why should a lake in the bedroom be a surprise after telling three
little boys to use their imaginations?”
In a sense, he
was right. Turns out, scripture
almost always uses the word imagination negatively.
Deceit, mischief, vanity, and evil are often attached to imagination (Ps
38:12, 62:3; Nah 1:11, Zec 7:10; Act 4:25).
No wonder God said, Gird up
the loins of your mind (1Pe 1:13).
He doesn’t want us imagining.
Is an
imagination a good thing or a bad thing?
When it comes to decorating a room?
Yes. Composing a melody?
Yes. Little boys?
No. Truth?
Absolutely not. Reason with
me: If God went to all the trouble
of recording and preserving His word (2Pe 1:20-21, Ps 12:6-7), why would He ask
us to imagine? May God help us to
put away imaginations and hold the truth fast (Pr 6:18, 1Th 5:21).
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Three Thousand in a Half Hour
February 12, 2010
Then they that gladly received His
word were baptized: and the same
day there were added unto them about three thousand souls
(Act 2:41). The following question
was asked during a recent Wednesday night service:
How long did it take to baptize 3000 saints?
That was such a good question; we interrupted the lesson to investigate.
Four brethren
came forward and stood to my left.
A fifth brother with a second hand on his watch gave us the signal to begin.
The four volunteers stepped forward one by one and I pretended to baptize
each in the name of the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost (Matt 28:19).
We completed the simulation in 35 seconds, and calculated as follows:
3000 saints
/ 4 baptized
x 35 sec. /
60 sec. per min. /
12 apostles =
37 minutes
I learned three
things that evening. First, I
didn’t realize how much a preacher depends on buoyancy to raise a baptized
saint. Second, twelve men could
have baptized 3000 saints in about a half hour (quicker if any of the 70 sent
out two by two had been present).
Third, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Folks who witnessed that investigation will remember the lesson of Acts
2:41 for some time. I pray one day,
we get to witness more than an investigation.
Pray and hope big!
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Providence and Faith
February 19, 2010
The following words
were spoken to King Ahasuerus by Haman:
There is a certain people
scattered abroad and dispersed among the people in all the provinces of thy
kingdoms; and their laws are diverse from all people; neither keep they the
king’s laws: therefore it is not for the king’s profit to suffer them.
If it please the king, let it be written that they may be destroyed …
(Esther 3:8-9).
Truly, the Book of Esther
magnifies God’s providence. Before
Haman was promoted to second in command or proposed Jewish genocide, God had
been working in the affairs of men and government.
Consider what God had done (ch. 1 & 2) before Haman began his evil (ch.
3):
-
A public spat between king and queen
5. Mordecai secured a seat
in the gate
-
Wise men recommend divorce
6. An assassination was
plotted
-
Wise men invented a beauty contest
7. Mordecai exposed the
assassination
-
Hegai oversaw the women
8. Mordecai’s heroics were
recorded
Each
of these events factored “big time” into Jewish deliverance; nevertheless,
Esther stepped out in faith. True,
God had begun countering Haman before Haman began his wickedness.
God is sovereign; but Esther’s prayer, fasting, and intercession was also
part of that deliverance.
That’s how
earthly salvation works. God is
active in the affairs of men and government, and we do all we know to do.
We pray, we fast, and we act.
We step out in faith. We
obey and leave the rest to God.
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A Triune God
February 26, 2010
For
there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy
Ghost: and these three are one
(1Jo 5:7). Surprising to many KJV
readers, this verse is missing from many modern translations.
So we ask: Can a triune God
be proven without 1John 5:7? Yes,
all three persons of the godhead are present in each of the following:
-
Jesus’ baptism
(Matt 3:16-17)
7. God’s blessings (2Co
13:14)
-
Water baptism
(Matt 28:19-20)
8. Prayer life (Eph 2:18)
-
Apostles’ education
(John 14:26)
9.
Church life (Eph 2:20-22)
-
Apostles’ ministry (John 15:26)
10. Christian life (1Jo
3:23-24)
-
God’s family (Rom 8:16-17)
11. The means of eternal
salvation (1Pe 1:2)
-
Church family (1Co 6:19-20)
12. The effect of eternal
salvation (Jude 1)
Allow me to
summarize the role of each person in the godhead in the references above:
God the Father is
the administrator, the Holy Ghost
is
the communicator, and Jesus
Christ (the Word made flesh) is
the doer.
To think, each child
of God has all three personalities working for him.
Praise God for His triune nature, and praise Him for revealing that
nature with many witnesses.
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Addressing Discouragement
March 5, 2010
Scripture
recorded the words of five men who at low points in their lives wished
themselves dead. We’re not talking
about an “I’m looking forward to heaven” attitude, but an “earth is more than I
can bear” attitude. These guys were
really down. So how did God respond
to these discouraged saints? Let’s
see:
-
Moses said,
I am not able to bear all this people
alone …
kill me, I pray thee.
To which God responded, Here are some helpers, now get to work (Num
11:13-18).
-
Elijah said,
It is enough; now, O Lord, take away
my life. To which God responded
after feeding and giving Elijah rest, You’re not alone, so get to work (1Ki
19:4-8, 18).
-
Job said,
I long for death, but it cometh not.
To which God responded, Gird up thy loins like a man (Job 3:11-12,
20-23; 38:1-4, 40:7).
-
Jonah said,
O Lord, take, I beseech thee, my life
from me. To which God responded,
Consider the 120,000 repenting Ninevehites without discernment (Jonah
4:3-11).
-
Jeremiah said,
Cursed be the day wherein I was born.
To which God responded, Preach to the king’s messengers (Jer
20:14-21:1).
God didn’t treat
these men with kid gloves. Sure,
God addressed their physical needs, but was quick to put them back to work.
Is that our first line of reasoning when we get really down?
look for what is physically lacking and seek that which needs doing.
Easy to say, but hard to do!
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Ala Cart Doctrine
March 12, 2010
The apostles
received a charge from Jesus early in their ministry.
The details of that charge were very specific.
Jesus told them what to preach, to whom to minister, what to bring, and
how to defend themselves (Matt 10).
The disciples were not to ignore a single command.
What in this charge
applies to N.T. saints? Do we
allow our ministers to preach to Gentiles, but forbid them a second set of
clothes? Do we wink at their
failure to raise the dead, but demand they not prepare before public speaking?
No! Either we bring all the
charge forward, or none of it. This
charge was given to specific men, at a specific time, in their ministry.
Saints may not select commands,
ala cart.
Samson also received
a unique charge. The details were
very specific: eat no grapes and
cut no hair (Jdg 13:4-5, Num 6:2-3).
Samson was to observe this commandment in whole.
What in Samson’s charge applies to N.T. saints?
Do we forbid a glass of wine, but allow haircuts?
No. Either we bring all of
Samson’s charge forward, or none of it.
Sampson’s charge is not a proof text against alcoholic consumption.
This charge was given to a specific man, with a specific ministry.
Ala cart doctrine is
more prevalent than one might think.
Unfortunately, this error in reasoning appears in many churches,
including our own. May the Lord
purge us from this error (2Co 4:2).
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Why Folks Followed Jesus
March 19, 2010
Folks
followed Jesus for many reasons.
Some folks who followed Jesus had sincere motives and others’ motives were less
sincere. Consider a few who
followed Jesus:
Some people follow
Jesus when they need something, others follow Him always.
Some people follow Jesus at night, others follow Him 24/7.
Some people follow Jesus in desperation, others follow Him in faith.
Why do you follow Jesus? Do
you adore Him, or do you merely admire Him?
Do you need Him always, or in a pinch?
Do you keep Him close, or at arm’s length?
Tough questions, but very necessary if one desires a closer walk with
Him.
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Partial Information
March 26, 2010
Pilot is standing on
the porch of the Judgment Hall with a mob of Jews looking up at him.
Off to the side stands a bound Jesus, and a short distance away sits
Barabas in a jail cell. Can you
picture the scene? (Matthew 27:19-26).
Pilot asks the
crowd, Whom shall I release? The
crowd shouts, Barabas.
Barabas doesn’t hear the question, but hears the crowd roar his name.
Pointing to Jesus, Pilot asks the crowd, What shall I do with this man?
The crowd shouts, Crucify Him.
Again, Barabas doesn’t hear the question, but hears the crowd’s roar.
Can you empathize with Barabas?
The legal
arrangements were complete. Barabas
was a free man, he just didn’t know he was free.
But partial information caused Barabas more concern than no information
as he heard guards walk down that stone corridor.
Amen?
And that’s how it is
with many of our family, friends, and neighbors who don’t know they have been
ruled free. Those with partial
information often worry about whether they have believed enough, have repented
enough, or persevered enough. My
friends, we can be like the guards who opened Barabas’ cell door and spoke the
words, “You may go. You’re free.”
There’s tremendous power in those words.
May the Lord bless us with the opportunity and the courage to share that
good news.
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All
Articles
Written by Elder Dolph Painter, Moriah Primitive Baptist Church
pastordolph@aol.com
This site created by Steve McCannon.
This page last
updated 01/29/2011
