"Is Something Evil Only if It Harms Others?"

This is a pressing question for our day and time. More and more it is the cultural way of defining evil. However, if we think for a few moments, we realize that determining what harms others is itself complex. Does a divorce hurt others if both the man and woman say they want the divorce? Could it be that such a divorce hurts society in untraceable ways? In other words, how direct and obvious must the harm be before the action is considered evil? So, even without using the Bible, I would argue that this definition of evil is built on quicksand.

More than that, however, the issue is that Christians must define evil the way God does. A world that rejects God defines evil in shallow ways. The Christian worldview offers a deeper understanding of the nature of evil. A definition of evil must reckon with the existence of God as the owner, lawgiver, and judge of all creation. It must take into account God's glory and holiness.

The Ask Pastor John podcast has an excerpt from a John Piper sermon that will help you see through the culture's shallow definition of evil, and begin to think biblically. Here is how he summarizes evil:

The essence of evil, all evil — what makes evil really evil — is that it always involves finding more pleasure in something other than God. 

The whole eight minutes of the podcast is worth listening to. Obviously, it is not a full treatment of the topic, but I think it addresses the crux of the issue.

"Do James and Paul disagree on grace and works?"

I found this article helpful from Dr. Tom Schreiner on the issue of faith and works.  He is a New Testament scholar. On a personal note, when we lived in Louisville, Tom was one of our pastors and we benefited greatly from his preaching.

His summary on the topic is,

"In the beauty and completeness of God’s Word, Paul and James teach complementary, not contradictory, truths."

A Christian View of Work

I recently listened to a "Help Me Teach the Bible" podcast episode entitled "Peter Orr on Teaching about Work." I found the interview that Nancy Gutherie did with him, in this podcast, to be helpful. Orr helped me to see how work is important and a means of glorifying God while at the same time clarifying that "the work of the Lord" is something all Christians are called to do and it is not (usually) the exact same thing as our jobs. Check it out if you have some time.

What is Christian Prayer?

According to John Piper, "Prayer is the essential activity of waiting for God - acknowledging our helplessness and His power, calling upon Him for help, seeking His counsel...Prayer is the antidote for the disease of self-confidence, which opposes God's goal of getting glory by working for those who wait for Him" (Desiring God, pg. 170-171).

Prayer glorifies God by our recognition that we need Him to act and work for us. And, prayer is a filling up of our joy in God. These twin truths are seen by comparing John 14:13 and 16:24

Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. (John 14:13) 

Until now you have asked nothing in my name. Ask, and you will receive, that your joy may be full. (John 16:24). 

The reason prayer brings joy is that it is fellowship with our beloved God, and because through His response to our prayers we are equipped for serving Him, which brings us delight.

What is Christian Love?

As we continue to plow through John Piper's book Desiring God, I am attempting to summarize each chapter with a short question and answer. So, what is Christian love?

Is love disinterested in the benefit one receives in doing good? Piper answers with a resounding "No!". He points to 1 Corinthians 13 to show that externally good things (even self-sacrifice) can be done in a way that is not truly loving and is of no gain (v. 13). This tells us love is more than duty. It also tells us that love does provide a "gain" for us.

To help formulate a definition of Christian love, Piper points to 2 Corinthians 8:1-4, 8 to show that genuine love is "a work of divine grace."  His grace towards us fills us with joy in Him. This joy in God's grace overflows in a generosity to others, even joyful sacrifice for the good of another. In light of this, Piper defines Christian love as  "the overflow of joy in God that gladly meets the needs of others" (pg. 119).

The bottom line is that we must have joy and seek joy in God if we are to truly be loving. Love is not disinterested in one's own joy. Love begins with joy in God and flows towards seeing joy in others. Our joy and the joy of others will only come from God. Therefore, self-sacrifice or selfless deeds that are not centered on seeking delight in God and seeing others delight in God are not Christian love.

What is Christian Worship?

In his book, Desiring God, John Piper describes worship as, "A way of gladly reflecting back to God the radiance of His worth" (84). Worship is not about adding anything to God, but is rather a reflecting of something he already possesses - infinite worthiness, greatness, beauty, power, etc. And, our worship of him is our glad reflecting back to him how great he is. If we are just going through the motions (outward "worship" with no gladness or heart that delights in God) we are engaging in vain worship (Matthew 15:8-9). 

Earlier in Piper's chapter on worship, he gives this helpful illustration of "Fuel, Furnace, and Heat" (82).

Perhaps we can tie things together with this picture: The fuel of worship is the truth of God; the furnace of worship is the spirit of man; and the heat of worship is the vital affections of reverence, contrition, trust, gratitude, and joy.  

But there is something missing from this picture. There is furnace, fuel, and heat, but no fire. The fuel of truth in the furnace of our spirit does not automatically produce the heat of worship. There must be ignition and fire. This is the Holy Spirit.
... 

Now we can complete our picture. The fuel of worship is a true vision of the greatness of God; the fire that makes the fuel burn white hot is the quickening of the Holy Spirit; the furnace made alive and warm by the flame of truth is our renewed spirit; and the resulting heat of our affections is powerful worship, pushing its way out in confessions, longings, acclamations, tears, songs, shouts, bowed heads, lifted hands, and obedient lives.

What is Christian Conversion?

John Piper's description of how one becomes a Christian (conversion) in his book Desiring God (pg. 71-72).

Once we had no delight in God, and Christ was just a vague historical figure. What we enjoyed was food and friendships and productivity and investments and vacations and hobbies and games and reading and shopping and sex and sports and art and TV and travel…but not God. He was an idea—even a good one—and a topic for discussion; but He was not a treasure of delight. 

Then something miraculous happened. It was like the opening of the eyes of the blind during the golden dawn. First the stunned silence before the unspeakable beauty of holiness. Then the shock and terror that we had actually loved the darkness [ie. sin]. Then the settling stillness of joy that this is the soul’s end. The quest is over. We would give anything if we might be granted to live in the presence of this glory forever and ever.
And then, faith—the confidence that Christ has made a way for me, a sinner, to live in His glorious fellowship forever, the confidence that if I come to God through Christ, He will give me the desire of my heart to share His holiness and behold His glory.  

But before the confidence comes the craving. Before the decision comes the delight. Before trust comes the discovery of Treasure.

In other words, God must give us new life (regenerate us) to awaken us to his glory. In response to that, we are in awe and delight in how great he is. But, we also are in fear because of our great sin against this great God. So we respond with a turning away from our sin (it's lesser pleasures) to trust in Jesus as our Savior and great treasure!

Regeneration comes from God, and so does our faith. We must believe, but we won't unless God graciously opens our eyes to see what is truly valuable.

Here are some verses that highlight this truth:

John 3:18-20 

Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God. 19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.

2 Cor. 4:6

For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Salvation is Secured by The Object of Our Faith, Not the Intensity of Our Faith

If you have ever been discouraged over how weak your faith seems at times (who hasn't) then check out this video clip from DA Carson (3 min 30 sec). A great illustration.

Healthy Living is Good, but It's Not God

One of my favorite verses to take over-apply is 1 Timothy 4:8,

for while bodily training is of some value, godliness is of value in every way, as it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come.

I don't like exercise much. I recently saw a "0.0" bumper sticker and loved it (for those that don't get it, it is like the 13.1 or 26.2 half/full marathon stickers, but it's the couch potato version).

I say all that by way of full disclosure.

I also want to say at the outset that I do believe exercise is good, and caring for one's body is required. God has made us spiritual / physical beings (Gen. 1-2), and we will remain that way in the new creation but with glorified bodies (1 Cor. 15). So, we have a stewardship now to care for the bodies he has given us and to use them for his glory (1 Cor. 10:31).

That being said, our physical bodies are not ultimate. Hence, giving one's physical life for the sake of Christ, if necessary, is good and necessary. We don't worship our physical life, because we know we have resurrection life. So like those 3 young men in the biblical book of Daniel, we are able to say that we will die rather than bow to a false God because God will raise us.

All that was introduction.

I recently read a story in the New York Times (published in December) called "When Some Turn to Church, Others Go to Crossfit."  My point here is not the same as that article (which is an interesting read). Rather, the article got me thinking again about something which has come to mind many times.

We can easily take good things, like eating healthy and exercise, and turn it into a bad thing. We can make it more important than God. It becomes all we want to talk about, think about, and pursue. We can begin looking to good things to be saviors to us. The same can happen in a friendship or marriage where we can turn that good relational gift into something it was never intended to be. We begin to look to that person for fulfillment, unmitigated joy, and direction in life rather than to God. Good things are good, but they make terrible gods.

I think healthy living is one category where we run this danger. All the diets, exercise plans, and supplements can be good things. But if we start looking to them as our hope for joy and "eternal life" we have a huge problem. We look just like the world that lives by the motto "You only live once."

We are a resurrection people and subjects of King Jesus. Since we know God is our creator, we have the responsibility to care for our physical bodies. That is something I need to do better at for God's glory. But let us not go to the other extreme and live for good health.

To live is Christ and to die is gain. Let's live and die for Christ. Let's strive to steward and enjoy our bodies to God's glory, but let us not fear the day when our bodies fail (and they will fail). When God is God and health is gift and stewardship, we are free to live for Christ and to see death as gain.

Eternal Life Depends on Right Doctrine

We live in a day when doctrine is often downplayed. A false spirituality seems to be all too common, even among many well meaning Christians (spirituality in our culture is often a synonym for sincere or strong feelings about some spiritual things). Doctrine matters, and our eternal life depends on having right doctrine.

I talked to a man the other day who told me he knew he was going to be with Jesus when he died because he has been a pretty good person. Just because he mentioned Jesus, does not mean he knows the true Jesus. Let's not assume everyone who "likes Jesus" actually knows him in a saving way.

Kevin DeYoung has a good, short article on the importance of doctrine. I suggest you take a minute to read it over. Here is a good quote:

Let us not send people into the world with merely a vague notion that Jesus saves without teaching them particulars about the Jesus who does save. Jesus is a Savior for every kind of person, but not every kind of Jesus saves.

A Wedding Reception That Will Change All Our Lives

This is the final post in a series on God, Singleness, and Marriage: How the Bible gives purpose and direction to singles.  

As a man, my perspective on wedding receptions is that they serve one main purpose: they provide food of some sort. I suppose I should be more biblical and affirm that receptions provide a chance for the community of God to celebrate the nuptials they just witnessed with the newly married couple. Even with these good purposes, most of us would agree that we have never been to a wedding reception that changed our life. But the truth is, if you are a Christian, there is a wedding reception which will fill your heart with such joy that you will feel as if your heart is about to explode out of your chest. Before we get to that, let’s watch Jesus demolish our shortsighted view of marriage that stops us from seeing the wonders of what is to come.

Human Marriage is a Picture of Something Greater

A group of Sadducees approached Jesus and the spokesman of the group stepped forward. You can almost see the glimmer in his eye as he put Jesus to the test. The group thought they had Him right where they wanted Him. This little think tank devised a scenario that they thought would prove that Jesus was not the Messiah and that there is no such thing as the resurrection from the dead. Rubbing his fingers through his beard, the spokesman confidently began his “question.”

“Teacher, Moses wrote for us that if a man's brother dies and leaves a wife, but leaves no child, the man must take the widow and raise up offspring for his brother. There were seven brothers; the first took a wife, and when he died left no offspring.  And the second took her, and died, leaving no offspring. And the third likewise.  And the seven left no offspring. Last of all the woman also died. In the resurrection, when they rise again, whose wife will she be? For the seven had her as wife” (Mark 12:19-23, emphasis added).

I imagine that the group let out a collective chuckle and waited for what they thought would be Jesus hem hawing to buy time. But, what they got was quick and firm rebuke.

Jesus said to them, “Is this not the reason you are wrong, because you know neither the Scriptures nor the power of God? For when they rise from the dead, they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven” (Mark 12:24-25, emphasis added).

There were two problems with the Sadducees’ presuppositions, and Jesus drops bunker-busting bombs on them both. First, they did not know the Scriptures. God’s Word clearly teaches that there is a resurrection. Second, they did not know the power of God. That is, they did not believe that God had the power to raise people from the dead and make the eternal state of their existence much more wonderful than the current one. They assumed this world was all there was. They were so caught up in the present that they refused to see the glorious realities of the resurrection.

They assumed that they could disprove the resurrection (and need for a Savior) by showing how crazy an eternal state would be. It would be ludicrous to try and sort out the woman’s relationship to these seven men if there were a resurrection. She would be polyandrous. Their critical error, however, was failing to see that marriage is a temporary reality pointing to an eternal reality. You see, no one is married in heaven because the shadow of human marriage will give way to the realities of heaven. That reality is of Jesus and His bride, the Church.

Don’t assume this means marriage in this life is unimportant to God’s eternal purposes. On the contrary, it was designed by God to testify to the reality and beauty of Jesus’ relationship to His Church. Ephesians 5:31-32 says,

“Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church.

Men, if you marry, realize that the way you love, lead, provide for, and protect your wife has everything to do with picturing Jesus’ covenant with His Church. Women, if you marry, realize that the way you affirm and respond to your husband’s leadership puts the Church’s relationship with Christ on display.

But what does this mean for those who remain single their whole life? John Piper writes,

This has profound significance for singleness in this life. It means that if two wives will not be one too many [referring to those who remarry after the death of a spouse], then no wives will not be one too few. If love in the age to come is transposed into a key above and beyond the melody of marriage in this life, then singleness here will prove to be no disadvantage in eternity.[1]

I hope that you see that it is no disadvantage to be single now, either. Your singleness, just like marriage, serves to point to the eternal realities of the gospel message. How so?

For those who remain single by choice, you testify to the world that being part of Jesus’ family matters more than physical ties and offspring. Our world’s motto is, “You only live once.” And the perspective has been pervasive throughout the history of fallen mankind. But when you choose to live in a way that shows having spiritual offspring and contentment in your heavenly family is all you need, then you stand as a beacon of light for eternal realities.

For those who are single by trial and yet demonstrate contentment in the Lord, you too testify to the gospel. You bear witness that God is good and that your inheritance is not of this world. You prove that your own desires do not rule you, but Christ does. You demonstrate faith in God to a world which believes in only what it sees. When you seek to have spiritual offspring, even while your desire for physical offspring is unmet, you show that the family of God is more important than physical life. When you walk humbly with your Savior, even when you do not have an earthly spouse, you show that Jesus is your all.

The Banquet Hall of Heaven

As I said at the beginning of this post, there is coming a wedding banquet which will fill you with unspeakable joy. Marriage and singleness both point to it, and the married and single, rejoice when it comes. Here is the Apostle John’s description of it:

Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,

“Hallelujah!
For the Lord our God
    the Almighty reigns.
Let us rejoice and exult
    and give him the glory,
for the marriage of the Lamb has come,
    and his Bride has made herself ready;
it was granted her to clothe herself
    with fine linen, bright and pure”—

for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints.

And the angel said to me, “Write this: Blessed are those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” And he said to me, “These are the true words of God” (Revelation 19:7-9).

This is your wedding reception, Christian! True blessing, everlasting happiness, belongs to “those who are invited to the marriage supper of the Lamb.” At this table will be gathered all Christians. At this supper, none of them will be married to each other, because they are all, together, married to Jesus Christ.

This is not some weird “Jesus is my boyfriend” type of thing. This is the glorious reality to which human marriage points. It is the fullness of the reality that we, God’s people, are one with our Savior. We belong to Him. His love, protection, and joy belong to us. Our allegiance belongs to Him, and our everlasting happiness is found in Him.

The Final Word

Your eternal state begins with our collective feasting at the marriage supper of the Lamb. We have covered many practical matters, which are important in this life. But do not lose sight of the purpose of marriage and singleness. He who finds a wife finds a good thing. The one who is seated at the marriage supper of the Lamb lacks no good thing. Now that is a wedding reception I look forward to attending.

Copyright Ben Khazraee. You may share this article with others, but please direct them to this blog rather than posting the text to your own website, blog, etc. You may share printed copies with friends as long as you do not charge more than the cost of producing the copies.

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[1] “For Single Men and Women,” in Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, pg. 13.

You Have Good Reasons to Trust God with Your Singleness

There are many other attributes of God which if studied would give us hope. But with these three foundational ones in mind (sovereign, good, wise), we must draw the obvious conclusion: God is trustworthy.

Since God is Sovereign, Good, and Wise, He is Trustworthy

I hope you see how important theology is. Not just what we say we believe but what we actually cling to and functionally believe. This is not a “grin and bear it” theology. This is “trust His heart when you can’t trace His hand” theology. Jerry Bridges put it well when he said,

Trusting God in the midst of our pain and heartache means that we accept it from Him. There is a vast difference between acceptance and either resignation or submission. We can resign ourselves to a difficult situation, simply because we see no other alternative. Many people do that all the time. Or we can submit to the sovereignty of God in our circumstances with a certain amount of reluctance. But to truly accept our pain and heartache has the connotation of willingness. An attitude of acceptance says that we trust God, that he loves us, and knows what is best for us.[1]

So, what is your functional trust in God? Take some time to examine where your stated beliefs about God fail to match your actual (lived-out) beliefs. When you are tempted to question His sovereignty, goodness, or wisdom, turn your thoughts to Scripture, which affirms those very things. Stop listening to yourself and start talking to yourself. Stop letting your mind run wild with thoughts which question God’s sovereignty, goodness, and wisdom, and, instead, remind yourself of what is actually true from Scripture.

If you are honest with yourself, I believe you will see some pockets of unbelief. I know that is true as I look at my life. When you see these areas, confess the sin to the Lord and thank Him that Jesus perfectly trusted the Father for you! His righteousness counts for you. Then, ask God to give you the grace to trust Him more and more.

Your whole Christian life is one of trusting in the sovereign, good, and wise Father. The season of singleness, whether it is short or a lifetime, is no exception. This is not a cliché when I say, “Trust God and put all your hope in Him.”  Sometimes people say, “Trust God” because they just don’t know what else to say or because it sounds spiritual. In this context, however, I believe we have developed a good foundation to say, “Trust God.”

This is part of the series God, Singleness, and Marriage: How the Bible Gives Purpose and Direction to Singles.  

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[1] Bridges, Jerry, Trusting God, (Colorado Springs, Colo.: NavPress, 1988), p. 102.

Copyright Ben Khazraee. You may share this article with others, but please direct them to this blog rather than posting the text to your own website, blog, etc. You may share printed copies with friends as long as you do not charge more than the cost of producing the copies. 

Trusting Your Wise God with Your Singleness

Now we come to the attribute that completes the foundation for trusting God with singleness (and in any other trial we might face). (see previous posts on God's sovereignty and goodness).  

God is Wise

As theologian Wayne Grudem puts it, “God’s wisdom means that God always chooses the best goals and the best means to those goals.”^[1] This is the consistent testimony of the Bible (see Rom. 16:27, Job 9:4, Ps. 104:24).

This, too, is an area where our functional theology may differ from our stated theology. In a long season of singleness, we are often tempted to think our plans are wiser than God’s. We might not say that, but we reveal it as we complain and grumble when His wisdom doesn’t match ours.

In God’s wisdom, all things work together for the good of those who love Him (Rom. 8:28). Everything!  Even an undesired season of singleness or the loss of a spouse through death or an unwanted divorce works for the good of those who love God. Those things may not all be good in and of themselves, but in God’s wisdom they are the best means to accomplish the best ends. The “good” ends are defined as God conforming us to the image of Jesus (Rom. 8:29). So, even our trials, because they serve to make us more like Christ, are wisely ordained by our Father.

This doesn’t mean we can never cry out to God in a trial with the words of the Psalmist, “How long, O Lord?” (Ps. 13:1). But it does mean we must not question His wisdom as if we know better. The Psalmist had honest questions that caused him to run to God. However, we, at times, hide behind questions which simply veil our bitterness and distrust of God. So, while we must run to God with questions, we must not turn those questions into accusations that we know how to run God’s world, and our own lives, better than He does.

When we really believe God is wise, we will find great encouragement. To quote Grudem again,

Every day of our lives, we may quiet our discouragement with the comfort that comes from the knowledge of God’s infinite wisdom: if we are his children, we can know that he is working wisely in our lives, even today, to bring us into greater conformity into the image of Christ.^[2]

You might be thinking, “Yes, I want to be conformed to the image of Christ, but marriage would provide even more opportunities for that. Living with a fellow sinner would challenge my selfishness more.” It is true that living with a fellow sinner helps us see more of our selfishness. But the point is that God has not lost sight of the best means by which He will conform you to the image of Christ. For now, that is in a season of singleness. Besides, if you are living in true, biblical community, you will have plenty of opportunities to see your selfishness challenged by your brothers and sisters in Christ.

We must not question God’s wisdom as if we know what is best for ourselves. After all, do we see the beginning from the end? Do we know all things? Are we really in a position to know what is best? Only God is in such a position (Job 38-39).

This is part of the series God, Singleness, and Marriage: How the Bible Gives Purpose and Direction to Singles.  

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^[1] Grudem, W. A. Systematic Theology: An introduction to biblical doctrine, pg. 193.

^[2] Ibid., pg. 194.

Copyright Ben Khazraee. You may share this article with others, but please direct them to this blog rather than posting the text to your own website, blog, etc. You may share printed copies with friends as long as you do not charge more than the cost of producing the copies. 

Trusting Your Good God with Your Singleness

Two posts ago, I introduced the importance of theology in relation to how we think about our relationships (or lack thereof). Last time I briefly talked about the sovereignty of God. Now let's at the goodness of God. 

God is Good

The Bible shows us that God is not only sovereign, but He is also good. By good I mean loving, kind, merciful, and gracious. God is not an autocratic ruler. He is the Father of those who belong to Him through Jesus Christ. And as a perfect Father, His heart is full of good things for His children. Jesus affirms this in Matthew 7:11 when He says, “ If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!”

It is true that what the child wants is not always truly good at that moment. Just because a two- year old wants candy for dinner doesn’t mean that a loving father will give it to him. But my suspicion is that you have an easier time believing that than you do believing that God is really as good as He says He is. So let’s spend a minute looking at our temptation to doubt God’s ubiquitous goodness.

The temptation to doubt God’s goodness goes way back to a Snake in a garden who successfully convinced our first parents that God might not be as good as they initially thought. The doubt surfaces again in Israel’s history when God delivers them from their bondage in Egypt, and they quickly begin to wonder if God only freed them to let them die of hunger and thirst in the middle of nowhere (Ex. 16:2-3, 8). Later in the biblical storyline, we see that old Serpent trying the same temptation on Jesus when he says, “If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loaves of bread” (Matt. 4:3). [1] Jesus had been in the desert fasting for 40 days. Matthew tells us that the Spirit of God lead him out there (4:1). So, Satan is basically saying, “God is your Father isn’t He? Has He led you out here and left you starve in this wasteland? That doesn’t sound like a good Father.  Perhaps you should take matters into your own hands.”  Thankfully, Jesus did not fail as Adam and Eve, Israel, or you and I have.  He didn’t listen to the lies of Satan or prefer His belly over God.

Brothers and sisters, don’t fall for this questioning of God’s goodness. Don’t judge God’s goodness based on your timetable and your cravings. Instead, trust His goodness based on the greatest demonstration of mercy ever: the sacrificing of His Son in your place so that He might offer you His eternal joy by forgiving your sin. Romans 8:32 says, ^“[God] who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” He gave us the best gift! How could we doubt that He has kind intentions toward us? To quote pastor CJ Mahaney,

Your greatest need is not a spouse. Your greatest need is to be delivered from the wrath of God- and that has already been accomplished for you through the death and resurrection of Christ. So why doubt that God will provide a much, much lesser need? Trust His sovereignty, trust His wisdom, trust His love.”[2]

Look to the cross as the ultimate display of God’s goodness to you, and then trust that He is a good Father in every area of your life. God was not stingy in showing us His saving grace and goodness. Surely He will not be stingy in doing good to us all the days of our lives (Psalm 23:5-6). He doesn’t give His children stones to eat. You may hunger for the intimacy you think a spouse would bring, but do not allow this desire to cloud your judgment of who God is. He has given you Himself in Jesus Christ. He has not withheld the best gift in the universe, so do not doubt his goodness.

Now, if we stop here we have not gone far enough. If God were simply sovereign and good, He may desire to do what is best and be able to do what is best, but He may not know the best way to achieve His good purposes. Thus, we would still find it hard to trust Him in a trying time of singleness. So, let’s look at God’s wisdom.

This is part of the series God, Singleness, and Marriage: How the Bible Gives Purpose and Direction to Singles.  

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[1] The reason I say “the same temptation” is because Jesus is, in the temptation narrative, reliving Israel’s wilderness wanderings. The difference is that where they failed to trust the Father, Jesus succeeded!

[2] Quoted by Joshua Harris in Boy Meets Girl  (Sisters, Ore.: Multnomah, 2000), p. 213.

Copyright Ben Khazraee. You may share this article with others, but please direct them to this blog rather than posting the text to your own website, blog, etc. You may share printed copies with friends as long as you do not charge more than the cost of producing the copies. 

Trusting Your Sovereign God with Your Singleness

Last time, I introduced the importance of theology in relation to how we think about our relationships (or lack thereof). Now let's look at some attributes of God to help us better trust God even in a time of undesired singleness. 

God is Sovereign

To say that God is sovereign means that He exercises supreme power and control at all times, in all situations, and over all things. I don’t have space here to provide all the biblical evidence for this, but the clear testimony of the Bible, from cover to cover, is that God supremely and powerfully rules over everything. [1] Nothing is outside of his control. Nothing! Not even evil and suffering. Lamentations 3:37-38 shows God’s control over the whole spectrum of life:

Who has spoken and it came to pass,
    unless the Lord has commanded it?
 Is it not from the mouth of the Most High
    that good and bad come?[2]

My guess is that if you have been a Christian for any length of time that you have come to believe this fact about God. However, I wonder if you have functionally failed to apply this truth to your relationship status. Perhaps it comes out in a thought that wonders if you are still single because you missed that last singles’ event. I’m not suggesting we have no responsibility when it comes to finding a spouse; I am saying that God is sovereign over our current relationships and lack thereof.

Now, if we just ended our discussion of God here we would have a truncated understanding of Him. We would also probably fall into fatalism instead of trusting God. But, the Bible shows us that God’s sovereignty is not the same as fatalism, because God is also good and wise in His exercise of His sovereignty.

This is part of the series God, Singleness, and Marriage: How the Bible Gives Purpose and Direction to Singles.  

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[1] A good study on this topic is found in Jerry Bridges’ book Trusting God Even When Life Hurts.

[2] While God is not to blame for evil, He, nonetheless, is sovereign over it. That is a good thing. If God were not in control then we would have no reason to believe His promises, for they might at any moment be overcome by Satan’s evil plots. But, as we see in the first chapter of the book of Job, God rules even over Satan. As we see at the cross, God rules even over the greatest act of human evil, namely the crucifixion of the perfect Son of God (see Acts 2:23, which shows the guilt of the people and the sovereignty of God).

Copyright Ben Khazraee. You may share this article with others, but please direct them to this blog rather than posting the text to your own website, blog, etc. You may share printed copies with friends as long as you do not charge more than the cost of producing the copies. 

Trusting God with Your Singleness

This is part of the series God, Singleness, and Marriage: How the Bible Gives Purpose and Direction to Singles.  

“You just have to trust God with your singleness.” Perhaps you have heard that statement many times as a single man or woman. Maybe you think it is just a trite Christian expression and feel like it minimizes your pain. In one sense, you may be right. I don’t know the motives of the people who have said that to you. And you may be tempted to interpret the suggestion of “just trust God” as one that makes it sound like your situation is hopeless. But, it is my prayer that you will see that trusting God with your whole life is the path to joy. It’s not simply that you “just have to trust God,” rather it is that you have the profound joy of trusting your faithful Father God.

Why Believing Right Doctrine Matters

God is who He is no matter what our present life situation may be.  No matter what our marital status is, God is still God. His attributes remain the same. His right to rule remains the same, and His trustworthiness remains the same, even though our trust might wane (2 Tim. 2:13). Many of us assent to these truths, but, if we are honest, we are tempted to disbelieve them when life isn’t unfolding as we had envisioned.

This is precisely why it is important to spend some time, in a blog series on singleness, looking at who God is and examining our own hearts to uncover and battle against pockets of unbelief. If we are to glorify God and joyfully serve Him in singleness or marriage, we must see Him clearly and believe what we see. So, when I speak of God in these posts, I will say many things that you might intellectually affirm. However, you may find that you have functionally forgotten some of these realities when it comes to your thoughts regarding your marital status. I want to bring the reality of who God is to bear on your current circumstances. Specifically, we will look at God’s sovereignty, goodness, and wisdom as it relates to singleness.[1]

So, read these next posts carefully with a heart that humbly seeks to know and trust God more. In fact, maybe you should take a minute now to pray that God helps you to do that.

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[1] It would be good to spend time studying the attributes of God. I suggest The Knowledge of the Holy by Tozer or The Attributes of God by AW Pink.

Copyright Ben Khazraee. You may share this article with others, but please direct them to this blog rather than posting the text to your own website, blog, etc. You may share printed copies with friends as long as you do not charge more than the cost of producing the copies. 

Tongues and Prophecy

Last week we began looking at 1 Corinthians 14. Here is the handout I gave as an introduction to the topic of tongues and prophecy (I pasted a version below, but the format is better if you use the link). Join us tomorrow night as we begin to go through the passage in more detail.

I.                   Review of Spiritual Gifts Spiritual gifts glorify God and Jesus our Lord (1 Cor. 12:1-3), are given by the Spirit (12:6) who gives different varieties of gifts (12:4-6) to serve the common good of the body (12:7). Therefore, there is no room for boasting, but a responsibility to use the gifts for the glory of God and good of others (12:14-27). Believers will not all have the same gifts (12:27-30). Love is foundational for all Christian service (13).

II.                 Tongues The supernatural ability to speak languages unknown to the speaker.^[1] It is not gibberish or ecstatic, uncontrolled, or untranslatable sounds.

a.      Tongues are languages previously unknown to speaker:

   i.      The word translated “tongues” comes from the Greek “glossa” The word is used to refer to your physical tongue but often used to refer to what we call languages.

                                                         
   ii.      In the first appearance of the gift, in Acts 2:4-11, it is clearly foreign languages

           1.       Parallels between Acts 2 and 1 Corinthians 14 regarding tongues

                    a.       Both passages use the same terms “laleo glossa” – to speak a language

                                                           i.      Luke wrote Acts about 5 years after 1 Corinthians (Acts in 62, 1 Cor. 53-55?)

                                                          ii.      Seems that if he was trying to say what happened in Acts 2 was different, he  
                                   would use different words.

                    b.      Both passages refer to foreign languages (1 Cor. 14:10 and Acts 2)

                    c.       In both cases the tongues were translatable

                                                           i.      Since interpretation is required, it must be a language that is a decipherable.

                                                         ii.      The need to interpret shows it must be meaningful language, otherwise it is not
                                   interpretation that is happening but creation of meaning.

                   d.      In both passages unbelievers respond in similar ways to tongues

                                                            i.      Acts: they think they are drunk (Acts 2:13)

                                                          ii.      Corinthians: they think they are insane (1 Cor. 14:23)

           2.       It seems that Acts 2 and 1 Cor. 12-14 speak of tongues in parallel ways and therefore                           speak of the same thing.

b.      Some say 1 Corinthians refers to different kinds of tongues- categories such as “heavenly” or “angelic” language (1 Cor. 13:1)

         i.      Problem is that Paul seems to be using hyperbole there (cf. 13:2).

c.       Some say, "because tongues are 'only understandable to God' they are not real languages/human languages" (1 Cor. 14:2)

         i.      Context makes it clear that v. 2 speaks of uniterpreted tongues

             1.       Note the reason (for) he speaks not to men but God is given in the verse: “for no one                             understands him”

             2.       Why does no one understand him? Why does he utter mysteries in the spirit?

                      a.       V. 5b b/c it was not interpreted.

                      b.      And if tongues are not interpreted then it is true that only God knows what the                                       person is saying.

d.      How the gift is to be exercised

             i.      Interpreter required (1 Cor. 14:5b, 27-28)

            ii.      Self – control required (1 Cor. 14:27)

               1.        “If the allotted two or three have had their say, Paul expects the others to keep quiet,                             which confirms that the gift is not of the sort where the individual loses all self-                                   control.” ^[2]

          iii.      Not every Christian would be expected to speak in tongues. As 1 Cor. 12 makes clear there                 are a varieties of gifts.

III.                Prophecy “Prophecy can be defined as communicating revelations from God in a spontaneous utterance” (Schreiner, pg. 721 NT Theology). ^[3] It does not have to be inscripturated (i.e. Written in the Bible).

a.      It is revelatory- direct inspiration from God (1 Cor. 14:29-30- 29).

b.      Is NT Prophecy same as OT? In 1 Cor. 14:30 it says that prophecy in the NT is revelatory and therefore on the same level as OT prophecy (not a lesser or less authoritative)

c.       How the Gift is to be exercised

              i.      Tested for truthfulness (1 Cor. 14:29, just like prophets in OT)

             ii.      Self-control (1 Cor. 14:29-30)

IV.              Are these gifts still given today?

a.      Prophecy: Ephesians 2:19-20 

             i.      We know that new apostles won’t appear

              1.       When James was killed he was not replaced (Acts 12:2)

              2.       They were uniquely appointed for the early days of the church

                                          ii.      If the gift of apostle ended, then other gifts might have ceased too

                           1.       Including prophecy since Eph. 2;20 links apostles and prophets together.

                           2.       The early church didn’t have a complete word from God until the NT is done.

                           3.       So prophets and Apostles continued to function until that point.

b.      Tongues

              i.      There is a close parallel between Acts 2 and 1 Cor. 14, and in both passages tongues and                      prophecy are put together. If prophecy ceased it is at least possible tongues have.

             ii.      That said, tongues, speaking of a true language unknown to the speaker, is not happening                    today

                 1.       Linguist who have studied “tongues” have said there is no discernable pattern or code                           to be deciphered which would be key to language

                 2.       And often when it is practiced it is the opposite of what Paul says: Disorderly, Lacking                        interpretation, and Self-promoting rather than building up the body.

For a helpful, brief article see Tom Schreiner "Why I am a cessacionist" 

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[1] “the supernatural ability to speak authentic foreign languages that the speaker had not learned” (“Are Tongues Real Foreign Languages” in the Master’s Seminary Journal, 25/2 Fall 2014, pg. 66).

^[2] Carson, D. A. (1987). Showing the Spirit: a theological exposition of 1 Corinthians 12–14 (p. 119). Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Book House.

[3] Similarly see Jim Hamilton, “Prophecy is Spirit inspired, spontaneous, revelatory utterance.” (“What is Prophecy and Has It Ceased?” Accessed at jimhamilton.info)