Why Does God Allow Suffering?

Posted on March 11, 2021 by russellmckinney

We live in a world that is deeply scarred by suffering. Some people suffer physically, while others suffer emotionally, mentally, psychologically, or financially. But whatever your specific brand of suffering happens to be, no one gets out of this world unscathed.

Sometimes we bring suffering upon ourselves. Since God’s universal law of sowing and reaping is always in operation (Galatians 6:7-8), it ensures that we reap an unpleasant harvest anytime we sow bad seed with our behavior. Other times, however, our fellow man hand delivers suffering to us through no fault of our own. Perhaps the most frustrating bouts of suffering we have to endure are those that aren’t our fault or anyone else’s. They just kind of happen, seemingly without cause.

The inevitability of suffering isn’t easy to explain, and it’s what sours some people on the whole notion of God. As Adrian Rogers once said in his sermon “The Stars & Scars of Christmas”:

There’s a great problem in the world today when you try to testify about God. The problem is not primarily science. The problem is primarily history. The problem is primarily suffering. And people will ask you again and again, how can you believe in a God, if there be a God, who allows so much suffering?

I think we have to admit this question is a fair one. In our human way of reasoning, we assume that any God who is not only all power but also all loving should eliminate suffering completely. Consequently, since it’s obvious that all suffering hasn’t been eliminated, we are left to assume that God either doesn’t exist or that He isn’t all powerful and all loving. As Rogers pointed out, this is the conundrum that turns many people atheistic or at least agnostic.

However, when we consult the Bible and learn what it teaches about suffering, we find quite a bit of help to answer the conundrum. Not only does the Bible explain the source of suffering, it also explains how God uses suffering as a tool in His toolbox. And just how does He use suffering as a tool to accomplish His purposes? There are at least seven ways.

First, God uses suffering to remind us that we are members of a fallen race that has become separated from Him by sin. Romans 5:12 explains how suffering became a part of this world’s basic set-up. Adam, the biological father of the human race, brought sin down upon his entire race when he followed suit with his wife in eating of the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:13-14). And with sin came death as well. Furthermore, by implication, sin and death also brought suffering. An unending chain of dominoes was thus begun as this sin-death-suffering package was then passed down to each of Adam’s billions of descendants by way of his sin-poisoned reproductive seed. To make the whole catastrophe even worse, Romans 8:20-22 explains that Adam’s sin also subjected God’s once-perfect creation to futility and the bondage of corruption (decay), so much so that creation itself now groans like a woman experiencing labor pangs. Yes, what happened way back there in the Garden of Eden did that much damage, and God uses all the suffering in the world to continually remind us that we are members of Adam’s fallen race, a race that has become separated from Him by sin.

Second, God uses suffering to motivate us to seek Him. In James 5:13, the Bible says: “Is anyone among you suffering? Let him pray…” (N.K.J.V.). Can you hear the direct line of connection between suffering and seeking God? Just as your body uses pain to get you to seek a doctor, God allows you to suffer as a means to get you to seek Him. That’s why He says in Psalm 50:15: “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you shall glorify Me” (N.K.J.V.). If we never experienced a day of trouble, would we ever call upon God?

Third, God uses suffering to help us keep our eyes on eternity. If suffering does nothing else, it lessens our love affair with life on planet earth. That, as it so happens, is a good thing because God has built us for eternity. Ecclesiastes 3:11 refers to our eternal makeup when it says of God’s relationship to human beings: “…He has put eternity in their hearts…” (N.K.J.V.). Of course, the problem we face is that as full-fledged members of Adam’s sinful race, we stand in need of forgiveness lest we be separated from God for all eternity in a hellish place of torment. To receive that forgiveness, we must place saving belief in Jesus, the One who died on a Roman cross as the payment for our sins (1 John 2:1-2). God wants each individual to receive this forgiveness (1 Timothy 2:3-6), and it is this forgiveness of sin — this salvation experience — that qualifies the believer (the Christian) to enter God’s heaven in the afterlife. As for how awesome heaven is, the sufferings we have to endure in this present time aren’t even worthy to be compared to the glory which shall be revealed in us there (Romans 8:18).

Fourth, God uses suffering to enable us to sympathize with others who are suffering. Romans 12:15 says: “Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep” (N.K.J.V.). But how can we effectively weep with those who weep if we ourselves have never had to shed a tear? God solves this potential shortcoming by allowing us to experience suffering, enough suffering to produce tears. Another great verse on this subject is 2 Corinthians 1:4, which says that God comforts us in all our tribulation so that we may be able to comfort those who are in trouble. The truth is that people who live in ivory towers and never know suffering make for very poor comforters.

Fifth, God uses suffering as a means to receive glory for Himself. In John 9:1-12, we find the record of Jesus encountering a man who had been born blind. When Christ’s disciples saw the man, they asked, “Was this man born blind because of his sin or his parents’ sin?” Jesus answered, “Neither. He was born blind so that the works of God should be revealed in him.” Jesus then restored the man’s sight. The story of the death and resurrection of Lazarus conveys this same truth (John 11:1-44). Jesus said of Lazarus’ sickness, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it” (John 11:4, (N.K.J.V.). While it is true that both of those stories had happy endings, miracles whereby God received glory, suffering that doesn’t end in a miraculous healing or resurrection can still produce glory for God. Just think about the awesome testimony that is showcased when an individual or a family is forced to endure a fatal type of suffering and yet continues to have faith in God and praise Him in spite of the suffering and the loss. In many ways, that brings even more glory to God than a miracle does.

Sixth, in the life of the Christian, God uses suffering as a tool to produce many beneficial characteristics within the Christian. For example, Romans 5:3-5 says the Christian should glory in tribulations because they produce perseverance (endurance), which in turn produces character, which in turn produces hope. Likewise, James 1:2-3 says the Christian should count it all joy when he falls into various trials. Why? Those verses describe the trials as being tests for the Christian’s faith, and that testing benefits that Christian by producing patience (perseverance, endurance). Additionally, experiencing suffering can also help the Christian appreciate Christ’s death on the cross better and align himself or herself more closely with Christ. The apostle Paul spoke of this benefit in Philippians 3:10 when he proclaimed his desire to know the fellowship of Christ’s sufferings. Peter spoke of it in 1 Peter 4:13 when he encouraged Christians to rejoice over the fact that we have been granted the privilege of being made a partaker of Christ’s sufferings.

Seventh, in the life of the Christian, God uses suffering as a means of chastising the Christian for disobedience. The Bible’s classic passage on this is Hebrews 12:3-11. Those verses teach that God chastises (scourges, whips) every Christian just as a loving earthly father faithfully chastises a rebellious child. The passage even goes so far as to say that if an individual can live a lifestyle of sin without God chastising him, that is clear proof the individual isn’t a true Christian. This idea of God chastising His disobedient children held true in the days of the Old Testament as well. A proof text for that is Psalm 119:67, where the Psalmist says to God: “Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep Your word.”

Finally, let me conclude by mentioning that Romans 8:28 also has a bearing upon the question, “Why does God allow suffering?” That verse says to the Christian: “And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose” (N.K.J.V.). Those words “all things” surely include all suffering. Somehow, in some way for which God rarely gets credit, He knows how to weave suffering into His tapestry of goodness for our lives. I won’t pretend that this truth takes all the pain out of our suffering, but it at least helps us realize that we don’t suffer pointlessly. The fact is that God never wastes anything in our lives, even our suffering, and this should encourage us during those difficult times when we are called upon to suffer. Not only can God use our suffering, He can use it for our good. As a matter of fact, there is some good that can only be produced through suffering.

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Sometimes Your Logic Can Make a Situation Worse

Posted on March 8, 2021 by russellmckinney

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct your paths. (Proverbs 3:5-6, N.K.J.V.)

A husband and wife hitched their r.v. camper to their truck and loaded up their three young boys for a camping trip. Arriving at the campsite, the couple sent the boys off to play while they set up camp. The boys happily agreed to the deal, the only limitation being that they wouldn’t get out of the mother’s site.

An hour of hard work passed, with the mother periodically checking to make sure the boys were still where she could see them. With her chores just about finished, she looked out the camper window and saw that the boys were all lying on their stomachs in a circle. They were all engrossed with whatever was inside that circle, but she couldn’t see what it was.

A little bit of worry crept into her as she opened the camper door and hollered, “Boys, what are you looking at?” The boys responded by each rolling over onto their sides, thus creating a line of sight for the mother to see the nest of baby skunks they had been playing with for some time. Horrified, the mother screamed, “RUN TO THE CAMPER, BOYS! RUN!” And run they did, each one carrying a baby skunk by the tail.

Sometimes our logical solution to a situation isn’t the right one. As a matter of fact, sometimes our logic can make a situation even worse. That’s why our text passage flatly tells us not to lean on our own understanding. As that mother found out that day, the problem is that many times we simply don’t have all the information required to choose the correct course of action.

As you read this, are you dealing with a situation the solution for which seems obvious to you? If so, I beg of you not to rush too hastily into that course of action. Pray about the matter. Get God’s opinion concerning it. Ask Him to show you His will about what you should do, and then commit yourself fully to doing that will. It’s only by trusting in Him with all your heart, acknowledging His perfect wisdom, and setting your own logic aside that you can allow Him to direct your paths. Anything less than that and you might just end up with a camper full of baby skunks.

Posted in Choices, Decisions, Discernment, God's Will, Humor, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | 1 Comment

Sometimes a Rebuke Is in Order

Posted on March 5, 2021 by russellmckinney

Living the Christian life isn’t easy. Along with our turning the other cheek (Matthew 5:38-39), loving our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48), not judging (Matthew 7:1-6), forgiving those who have sinned against us (Luke 11:4), showing mercy (Luke 6:36), and being kind to one another (Ephesians 4:32), we Christians are also called to openly rebuke sin. How’s that for a complex series of variables to coordinate?

For one thing, we are called to openly rebuke sin in the lives of lost people. For example, Ephesians 5:11 commands us to expose the unfruitful works of darkness, and Titus 1:10-13 tells us to rebuke false teachers sharply. Even in the Old Testament, in Ezekiel 3:18-19, God says to the prophet Ezekiel, “If you say to the wicked, ‘You shall surely die,’ but don’t actually warn him in an effort to save his life, I will require his blood at your hand.” John the Baptist rebuking Herod is a powerful example of a saved person rebuking a lost person’s behavior (Matthew 14:1-12; Luke 3:19).

For another thing, we are called to openly rebuke sin in the lives of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. For example, in Matthew 18:15-17 Jesus explains the process for practicing church discipline upon the church member who has sinned against another church member. Likewise, in Galatians 2:11-21 Paul recounts how he publicly rebuked Peter face to face in Antioch when Peter’s actions were in the wrong. Even pastors aren’t to be spared public rebuke if it is warranted. 1 Timothy chapter 5 is a chapter that deals with the local church, and verse 20 of that chapter says concerning elders (pastors), “Those who are sinning rebuke in the presence of all, that the rest also may fear.”

Of course, the ground upon which all rebuking should be done is the Bible. As 2 Timothy 3:16 says, “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Any rebuking (reproving, correcting) that we Christians attempt to do should always be Biblically based. Even when we are dealing with lost people, we must not shy away from citing scripture concerning their sins.

Sadly, some Christians are far too quick to rebuke people, while others want nothing to do with ever rebuking anybody. Neither extreme is correct. What we must somehow find is a God-approved balance in which we rebuke others only at His bidding, in His way, and in His timing. Make no mistake about it, this is a difficult balance to find. With so much sin and error not only in the world but also in the church, it can seem as if there is a possible rebuke to be offered in every situation. That’s why we must spend quality time in prayer, asking God to show us which battles He wants us to fight.

We would also do well to remember that rebuking (done correctly) is actually an act of love. That’s why Proverbs 27:5 says that open rebuke is better than hidden love, and why Proverbs 27:6 calls the wounds of rebuke a friend inflicts “faithful.” But how can an open rebuke be considered an act of love? It’s because the goal of the rebuke is to get the sinner to turn from the sin and turn to God’s will, which is always better for the person. On the subject of a Christian rebuking a fellow Christian, James 5:19-20 says that if the rebuking Christian can get the rebuked Christian to turn from his sins, the rebuked Christian’s life will be saved from death. Additionally, Jesus said that the fellowship between the one doing the rebuking and the one taking it can then be restored (Matthew 18:15).

At the end of the day, we Christians simply aren’t afforded the luxury of remaining silent or “going along to get along” as sin and evil steamroll unchecked. As Isaiah 5:20 describes the situation: “Woe to those who call evil good, and good evil; Who put darkness for light, and light for darkness; Who put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter” (N.K.J.V.). If nobody else in this world calls evil “evil,” Christians should. If nobody else in this world calls darkness “darkness,” Christians should. If nobody else in this world calls bitter “bitter,” Christians should. Again, it is a fundamental part of living the Christian life. Granted, it’s not a part that produces popularity and worldly applause, but it will produce a, “Well done, good and faithful servant” when the Christian gets to heaven. And that, after all, is what we are supposed to be striving for anyway.

Posted in Criticism, Discipleship, God's Word, God's Work, Scripture, The Bible | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Our Creator God

Posted on March 3, 2021 by russellmckinney

A group of the world’s leading scientists came together for a great conference. During the conference the scientists reached the conclusion that the human race had now advanced enough to no longer need any notion of God. Only one scientist, a Christian who rejected evolution and held to a literal interpretation of Genesis chapters 1 and 2, disagreed with the conclusion.

The Christian scientist argued passionately for the importance of God, but the other scientists simply laughed at him. Finally, in a mock gesture, they wrote out a formal document that gave him their permission to tell God that the human race no longer needed Him. They said, “Tell God that we have now mastered so many technologies that we can create whatever we need. We can even create human beings through the process of cloning.”

In humiliation, the Christian scientist left the conference hall and retreated to his room. There, he humbly knelt down beside the bed and began to pray. He said, “God, my fellow scientists have told me to tell You that the human race no longer needs You because we can, by means of cutting-edge technologies, create whatever we need. We can even clone humans. So, what should I tell them is Your reply?” He had barely voiced the question when God spoke to him audibly right there in that hotel room and said, “Tell them that I’m perfectly willing to let them do all their own creating. That’s their choice. I do have one rule, though. They can’t use any of my source materials.”

There is a difference between recreating and creating. There is a difference between organizing and causing to exist. Hebrews 11:3 tells us that the things which are seen were not made from things which are visible. If I drive past a lot one day and see that truckloads of lumber, brick, roofing material, etc. have been delivered there, and then drive past that same lot several months later and find that a house is now standing there, I will know how that house got there. I will know because I saw all the source materials (the building materials) there before I saw the house. But when God created all creation, He started with no source materials whatsoever. That’s how awesome He is.

And then, as if that isn’t incredible enough, that same Creator God took upon Himself human flesh by becoming an embryo in the womb of a virgin and being born. Why did He do that? He did it so that He could live a sinless life and then die on a Roman cross as the sinless sacrifice for all the sins of the entire human race. He did it so that those of us who choose to voluntarily believe in Him as Savior can have our sins forgiven. He did it so that we can spend eternity with Him in perfect bliss. He did it because He loves us. That, my friends, is a Creator God worth believing in, and His name is Jesus.

Posted in Atheism, Christ's Birth, Creation, God's Omnipotence, Humor | Tagged , , | Leave a comment

When It Doesn’t Make Sense

Posted on March 1, 2021 by russellmckinney

Most of us have had to endure times when life didn’t make sense. For that matter, some of us are there right now. What’s especially difficult about such times is the fact that God, who is normally the source to which we can go for answers and guidance, is the one who has either caused or at least allowed the confusing events. Imagine getting lost on safari in Africa and your guide is the one who got you lost!

It is during these times of confusion, these times when even God doesn’t seem to be providing much clarity, that our faith in Him and obedience to Him are sorely tested. I wish I was a good enough writer to pen some masterpiece about how to get through such times, but I’m just not at that level. Even if I was talented enough to string the words together, my spiritual insight concerning what words to use would surely fail me. So, what I think I’ll do is let Vance Havner do some writing here. In a piece entitled “When It Doesn’t Make Sense,” he said the following:

“…perplexed, but not in despair.” (2 Corinthians 4:8)

Paul was in perplexity but not in despair. He was not whistling his way through the graveyard, however; nor was he merely “smiling through” or looking for something to turn up. His way out was not by painting the clouds with sunshine, wearing rose-colored glasses and quoting lovely poems about “God’s in His Heaven; all’s right with the world!”

I am constantly encountering dilemmas that don’t make sense. I have a picture of myself standing with two other preachers taken only a few years ago. One was rudely snatched from earth in an automobile collision with a drunken driver. The drunken driver escaped, but the splendid young preacher was taken from a fruitful ministry and a fine wife and little children. The other preacher in the photo died later in his forties, just a few weeks before the birth of his only child, a son he had longed for through the years. I saw that little fellow recently and was struck again with the unexplainable mystery of what just doesn’t seem to make sense.

Even now I am tramping the woods with another fine youngster whose father died some years ago. When I think how much he loved that boy but had to leave him, and wonder why I am enjoying that little fellow instead, there looms again the perplexity of those enigmas that just don’t fit into any of our patterns.

Of course men have wrestled with such puzzles from the beginning. It was Job’s perplexity. Habakkuk contended with it and gave us his blessed “although” and “yet” (3:17, 18). Micah surveyed a dismal day when godly men had perished from the earth, while the wicked prospered. He got through to God and a man had better do that or he will go crazy. John the Baptist sat in prison and doubtless pondered why Jesus could work all His miracles but leave His forerunner in jail.

Some things are given us to know (Matthew 13:11), but some things are not for us to know (Acts 1:7). Unfortunately, we fail to learn much we could know by trying to find out what we cannot know. The little boy who couldn’t understand why God put so many vitamins in spinach instead of putting them all in ice cream was learning early that things just don’t work out as we would do them if we had the universe in charge.

Some things just don’t seem to make sense, but we may be perplexed yet not in despair. The way out is not by explanation but by revelation. The Bible does not give us explanation for some of these riddles, but it does supply revelation. To begin with, when things do not make sense to us, it does not mean that they don’t make sense at all. Furthermore, when some things do not make sense to us now, it does not mean that they never will make sense.

But a still deeper consideration remains. There is a higher viewpoint from which things which don’t make sense to our ordinary reasoning can make sense to our spiritual understanding even now. The highest lesson God wants to teach us is to trust Him regardless. If everything made sense to our understanding, we would need no faith. If everything worked out in storybook style, we would become complacent and spoiled. God wants to bring us to a higher place where He Himself is our portion and reward, where we can sing, “Now Thee alone I seek; give what is best.”

One line from Havner’s last paragraph really helps me. He says: “The highest lesson God wants to teach us is to trust Him regardless,” That line surely speaks truth. Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego calmly submitting to being cast into the fiery furnace (Daniel 3:1-30), and like Daniel not raising a fuss over being thrown into the den of lions (Daniel 6:1-28), God wants us to trust Him even when what is happening to us makes no sense whatsoever.

Then again, since those two famous stories both have happy endings of divine deliverance, perhaps they aren’t the best ones to cite as examples. After all, sometimes the deliverance doesn’t come (at least not in this life). The husband and wife who just buried their child won’t find much help in a story in which God Himself shows up to miraculously spare the lives of three Hebrew boys. The family who just lost a loved one to cancer or Covid-19 can’t take much encouragement from a story in which God sends an angel to close the mouths of a bunch of ravenous lions so that a prophet’s life can be preserved. Sure, it’s easy to trust in God when the outcome goes the way you want it to go. But how do you keep on trusting in Him when it goes the polar opposite direction?

That question doesn’t come with a neatly packaged answer, and it’s one that each of us must hash out with God for ourselves. What works for me in regards to answering it might not work for you. What brings me comfort on the subject might leave you comfortless. What strengthens my faith might not do a thing for yours. At some point, though, God will give us what we need to keep on keeping on with Him.

In reference to this, Vance Havner said that Micah got his help by getting through to God. As comforting as that thought is, it strikes me that some people might need for God to get through to them because they’ve stopped trying to get through to Him. You see, that’s a whole other way for Him to provide the required help.

One thing is for sure, though, whatever your confusing situation is, God won’t leave you alone to make sense of it on your own. If you won’t freely go to Him for help, He will freely come to you to provide it anyway. But let me warn you, you getting His help still might not be enough to cause you to agree with Him either causing or allowing the confusing situation to come to pass in the first place. During such times you’ll just have to say, “Lord, we’re going to have to agree to disagree on this until I can get a little farther down the road and align my way of thinking with yours, but in the meantime I’m going to stick with you, trust you, and keep walking with you.” Admittedly, this won’t be an ideal solution, but it will at least be enough to keep you moving in the right direction until you can get to a better place with it all.

Posted in Adversity, Commitment, Depression, Disappointment, Discipleship, Faith, Faithfulness, God's Sovereignty, Human Life, Persecution, Perseverance, Problems, Suffering, Trials, Trusting In God | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

The Ear of Dionysius

Posted on February 26, 2021 by russellmckinney

The Italian city of Syracuse is located on the island of Sicily. In that city is a limestone cave called The Ear of Dionysius. As you might expect with that name, the cave’s shape is similar to that of the human ear.

According to local legend, Dionysius I of Syracuse had the large cave carved into its earlike shape so that he could eavesdrop on his prisoners inside the cave. The acoustics of the cave created an echo effect that carried sounds a great distance. Purportedly, Dionysius I could sit in the parlor of his palace directly above the cave and listen to the prisoners’ cries, conversations, plans to escape, etc.

Like many local legends from ancient times, it’s impossible for us to know whether or not The Ear of Dionysius was actually man-made and served such a sinister purpose. Certainly the cave is shaped like an ear, but some believe it is simply a natural formation. Then again, perhaps it was a natural formation, complete with an uncommon echo, that Dionysus’ workers tinkered with a bit to bring to full effect.

Whatever the truth might be, we know that The Ear of Dionysius could never compare to the ear of God. Psalm 34:15 says of Him: “The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, And His ears are open to their cry.” Likewise, Psalm 34:17 says: “The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears, And delivers them out of all their troubles” (N.K.J.V.). God hearing our cries is surely a good thing. For that matter, He even hears our complaints. As Moses told the Israelites, “…He hears your complaints…” (Exodus 16:7, N.K.J.V.).

It should be noted, however, that God can choose to not listen to us. It’s here that the warm, fuzzy feeling we get about God hearing our prayers goes to die. Consider the following verses (all from the N.K.J.V.):

  • Psalm 66:18: If I regard iniquity in my heart, The Lord will not hear.
  • Proverbs 28:9: One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.
  • Isaiah 1:15: “When you spread out your hands, I will hide My eyes from you; Even though you make many prayers, I will not hear. Your hands are full of blood.”
  • Isaiah 59:2: But your iniquities have separated you from your God; And your sins have hidden His face from you, So that He will not hear.
  • Jeremiah 11:11: Therefore thus says the Lord: “Behold, I will surely bring calamity on them which they will not be able to escape; and though they cry out to Me, I will not listen to them.”
  • Zechariah 7:13: “Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,” says the Lord of hosts.

These verses plainly teach that there is a limit to God’s hearing, and it’s a limit that He Himself imposes. Fortunately, this limit only applies to those who persist in their sins. You see, God’s default setting is to hear us when we speak, no matter if what we are saying involves a cry, a complaint, or just a conversation. If the lines of communication get switched off, we are the ones to blame, and the root cause of the problem will always be those sins for which we refuse to confess and repent.

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Should We Call a Church Building “The House of God”?

Posted on February 24, 2021 by russellmckinney

These things write I unto thee, hoping to come unto thee shortly: But if I tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. (1 Timothy 3:14-15, K.J.V.)

Have you ever heard a preacher welcome a congregation by saying, “It’s good to see you in the house of God today”? Have you ever heard a church member say, “I think the church building should be the most beautiful building in the community because that building is the house of God”? If you have heard such statements, you probably accepted their basic premise without any objection, that premise being that the church building is the house of God. But is the church building actually the house of God? Well, I hate to break this to you, but it isn’t.

You say, “But in 1 Timothy 3:14-15 Paul talks to Timothy about behaving himself ‘in the house of God, which is the church of the living God.'” Yes, that’s what the text does say in the classic King James translation. The problem is, this is one of those instances where the venerable old K.J.V. misses the mark. Just as the K.J.V. errs in Romans 8:16 and Romans 8:26 by referring to the third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, as “the Spirit itself” rather than “the Spirit Himself,” it errs in 1 Timothy 3:15 by translating the Greek word oikos as “house.”

To be fair to the K.J.V.’s translation team, oikos really is the Greek word for “house.” For example, the word is used in Matthew 9:6, which records how Jesus healed a certain paralytic and told him to take up his bed and go to his house (oikos). Furthermore, the word can also rightly be used to refer to a building that isn’t actually a house. As evidence of this, it’s used in Matthew 12:4 in reference to the Old Testament Tabernacle and in Matthew 21:13, Matthew 23:38, and John 2:16 in reference to the Jerusalem Temple. Obviously, each of those two buildings was an actual structure that could metaphorically be called a “house” and in those instances the K.J.V. correctly translates oikos as “house.”

The problem arises when we try to apply this same terminology to the church. First of all, even though the Christians of the early church era met in their homes, and the familiar word oikos is used to describe each of those “house churches,” those houses certainly weren’t exclusively used as sites of worship the way the Jewish Tabernacle and Temple had been. No, people actually lived in those houses throughout the week whenever a church assembly wasn’t taking place. This explains why, when those house churches are referred to in passages such as Romans 16:3-5, 1 Corinthians 16:19, Colossians 4:15, and Philemon verses 1 and 2, they are described as being the houses of the people who lived in them. That’s different than each of them being described as “the house of God.”

The source of the confusion regarding the term “the house of God” isn’t hard to identify. Whereas the human worshippers who came to the Tabernacle building weren’t called “the tabernacle” and the human worshippers who came to the Temple building weren’t called “the temple,” the human worshippers who came to a house church were actually called “the church.” That made it easy to blur the line between the people themselves and the building in which they met for worship. Naturally, then, when the congregations stopped meeting in peoples’ homes and started meeting in ornate buildings that were built to exclusively be places of worship, each of those buildings came to be known as “the house of God.” For the record, that happened in the third century A.D.

The truth, however, is that the only “temple” or “house” that God has today is the body of each and every Christian. As the apostle Paul taught, the Christian’s body is the “temple” of God because God the Holy Spirit literally dwells inside that Christian (1 Corinthians 6:19-20; 2 Corinthians 6:14-18). Another good verse to work in here is Acts 7:48, which tells us “the Most High does not dwell in temples made with hands” (N.K.J.V.).

When you understand all this, you will understand why all the newer translations of the Bible, translations other than the K.J.V., translate the word oikos in 1 Timothy 3:15 as “household” rather than “house.” That term “the household of God” is a reference to the family of God, the body of believers who can correctly be called “the church.” And just to show you that “household” is a perfectly acceptable alternative translation for oikos, the K.J.V. translators themselves translated oikos as “household” in Acts 16:15, 1 Corinthians 1:16, and 2 Timothy 4:19. We can only wish they would have followed that pattern when they came to 1 Timothy 3:15. It would have spared us a lot of confusion.

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A Lesson From Esau

Posted on February 22, 2021 by russellmckinney

Concerning Esau, Hebrews 12:16-17 gives us these solemn words:

,,,lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright. For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears. (N.K.J.V.)

I recently heard a Calvinist preacher reference this passage in his attempt to make the case that Esau wasn’t one of God’s chosen “elect” and therefore couldn’t be granted salvation no matter how many tears he shed in seeking it. What nonsense! The passage doesn’t even have anything to do with salvation.

The two stories in question both take us back to the book of Genesis. First, in Genesis 25:29-34 Esau foolishly sells his birthright to his younger brother, Jacob, for some stew. Second, in Genesis 27:30-40 Jacob deceitfully tricks their father, Isaac, into imparting the patriarchal, spoken blessing upon him rather than Esau. While there is no scriptural record of Esau crying over losing his birthright, there is a record of him crying over losing out on Isaac’s spoken blessing. Genesis 27:34-35 says of the conversation between Esau and Isaac:

…he cried with an exceedingly great and bitter cry, and said to his father, “Bless me — me also, O my father! But he said, “Your brother came with deceit and has taken away your blessing.” (N.K.J.V.)

The Greek noun translated as “repentance” in Hebrews 12:17 is metanoia. Strictly defined, the word means “a change of mind.” Therefore, the repentance (the change of mind) that Esau sought but couldn’t find was a change of mind from Isaac regarding the spoken blessing. The repentance had nothing to do with Esau because in that instance he hadn’t done anything wrong. All he had done was what Isaac had told him to do, which was kill some game and prepare it the way Isaac liked it.

Unless you are pushing a Calvinist agenda, it isn’t hard to see the point that Hebrews 12:16-17 is making. No matter how much Esau cried and begged to inherit the patriarchal blessing from Isaac, that genie couldn’t be put back in the bottle once Isaac had spoken the blessing upon Jacob. What had been done would have to stand. Furthermore, even though God wasn’t pleased with the deceitful way in which Jacob had received the blessing, He was pleased that Jacob now had it. Even while the twin brothers had been in Rebekah’s womb God had foretold that the older would serve the younger (Genesis 25:21-23). That was another reason, actually the most important one, why Isaac couldn’t change his mind, despite Esau’s pleadings and tears, and perform a redo regarding the imparting of the blessing.

Furthermore, it should be noted that even that business about the older (Esau) serving the younger (Jacob) didn’t have anything to do with salvation. It was, instead, all about the destinies of the two nations that would come from the twins. As God told Rebekah, “Two nations are in your womb, two peoples shall be separated from your body; one people shall be stronger than the other” (Genesis 25:23). At no point in their lives did Esau actually serve Jacob in any capacity. However, Esau’s descendants (the Edomites) did ultimately become subservient to Jacob’s descendants (the Jews) during the reign of David (1 Kings 11:14-25) and during the four centuries between the Old Testament and the New Testament.

Please don’t misunderstand me, though. I’m not trying to defend Esau or preach him into heaven. As Hebrews 12:16 says, he was a “profane” person.” That word “profane” translates the Greek adjective bebelos and literally means “permitted to be trodden.” This brings me to the lesson that we can learn from Esau.

Esau, in selling his birthright for a simple meal, allowed his spiritual legacy as the older brother to be trodden upon to the point of losing it. This explains why other translations use words such as “godless,” “irreverent,” or “unholy” rather than “profane” to translate bebelos. The point in all these different shades of the word is that Esau was far too careless with spiritually important matters to ever get them right. That’s not the same as him never having the opportunity to get saved, but it’s plenty bad enough.

So, the lesson that we can learn from Esau is this: Placing great value on worldly matters and placing little value on spiritual matters is not the way to go. And how many “profane” people are there out there right now who are treating important spiritual matters (salvation, Bible study, prayer, church attendance, seeking God’s will, etc.) with the same kind of frivolity that Esau showed in selling his birthright for a lunch? You see, what we are talking about here is priorities. Esau’s were seriously out of whack, and we have way too many people today who are acting way too much like him. So, beware lest you yourself trample upon some priceless spiritual treasure or sell it for next to nothing. Sometimes there’s just no coming back from those decisions.

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A Sad Fact

Posted on February 19, 2021 by russellmckinney

Here’s a true story from Queensland, Australia. One night a patrolman sat stealthily in his car outside a popular tavern in the expectation of writing someone up for drunk driving. Sure enough, late that evening, a man staggered out of the tavern and looked for all the world like a prime candidate. After trying his keys in no less than four wrong cars, the man finally found the right car and pretty much fell into the driver’s seat. He just sat there motionless for a long time even as other patrons came out of the bar and drove off. The patrolman sat hidden in his car and watched it all happen, all the while thinking to himself, “Just start that car, mister, and pull out onto the highway. Then I’ll have you.”

Finally the man did start his car, but he followed that up by turning the windshield wipers on and off, switching the turn-signal lights on and off, and blowing the horn. It was all quite a sight. Then he put his car into gear, rolled forward a little, stopped, put the car in reverse, and rolled backward a little. Other people were now leaving the bar and getting into their cars, and the patrolman feared the guy might actually cause an accident right there in the parking lot.

It took some more time, but the man did at last get his car headed in the right direction and eased slowly out onto the highway. The patrolman immediately started his car, turned on his flashing lights, and pulled the guy over for a traffic stop. He had the driver get out of the car and take a Breathalyzer test on the spot, a test the outcome of which seemed to be in no doubt. To the patrolman’s amazement, however, the Breathalyzer indicated no evidence whatsoever that the man had consumed any alcohol. Somewhat embarrassed, not to mention downright confused, the patrolman said to the driver, “I’ll have to ask you to accompany me to the Police station because evidently this Breathalyzer equipment is broken.” To that the man replied, “I doubt it. Tonight I’m the designated decoy.”

It’s a sad fact that Satan (usually working through his fellow fallen angels who do his bidding) can cause us to chase all kinds of false decoys that aren’t God’s will for our lives. He deceived Eve into thinking that eating the forbidden fruit was the right way to go (Genesis 3:1-6; 1 Timothy 2:14). He disguises himself as an angel of light (2 Corinthians 11:14). He is full of schemes (Ephesians 6:1; 2 Corinthians 2:10-11). He snatches away the word of God from those who don’t understand it (Matthew 13:19). He lays snares for pastors (1 Timothy 3:7). He blinds the minds of those who do not believe the gospel (2 Corinthians 4:3-4). He deceives the whole world (Revelation 12:9). He walks about seeking people to devour (1 Peter 5:8). If he was bold enough to tempt the likes of not only David (1 Chronicles 21:1) but also Jesus (Matthew 4:1-11) in his attempts to deceive them to get them to miss God’s will, don’t think that he won’t do the same to you.

How can you resist his deceptions? According to Ephesians 6:10-20, you must put on the whole armor of God. From the top down, that armor looks like this:

  • the helmet of salvation on your head (Ephesians 6:17): Experience salvation by believing in Jesus.
  • the breastplate of righteousness covering your chest and heart (Ephesians 6:14): Repent of your sins and live a righteous life.
  • the belt of truth around your waist (Ephesians 6:14): Cling to the truth of God’s word as a means of resisting Satan’s deceptions.
  • the shield of faith in one of your hands (Ephesians 6:16): Use faith as a defensive weapon to fend off the flaming arrows of doubt in God’s word that Satan shoots at you.
  • the sword of the Spirit in your other hand (Ephesians 6:17): Use God’s word as an offensive weapon to strike blows against Satan’s lies and deceptions the way Jesus did when Satan tempted Him.
  • the gospel as your shoes (Ephesians 6:15): As you move through life, tell others about the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Finally, once you have every part of your armor in place, you should pray, pray again, and then pray some more (Ephesians 6:18). You see, Christian, praying without wearing your spiritual armor leaves you exposed to Satan’s deceptions, but wearing your armor without praying hinders God the Holy Spirit’s guidance regarding how to wear your armor most effectively. It’s not that prayer replaces the need for your armor. What prayer does is fortify your armor to the uttermost. The praying Christian soldier who consistently wears the whole armor of God is the person Satan has the most trouble deceiving, and that’s why you and I would do well to be such people.

Posted in Choices, Decisions, Demons, Discernment, Discipleship, Satan, Spiritual Warfare, The Devil | Tagged , , , , | Leave a comment

Entertaining Angels

Posted on February 17, 2021 by russellmckinney

Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. (Hebrews 13:2, N.K.J.V.)

Parents tell their young children, “Don’t talk to strangers.” If a stranger knocks on the door of your home, you instinctively act as a shield to keep him or her from entering. And what about picking up a hitchhiker? In this day and age? C’mon, get real. And yet here we have a Bible verse that incentivizes talking to strangers, letting them in our homes, and picking them up on the road. What’s the incentive? Oh, it’s just the fact that some of those strangers we chose to entertain just might actually be angels in disguise.

The Greek noun used in our text verse is philoxenia, and it combines the two Greek words philos (which means “loving”) and xenos (which means “a stranger”). Naturally, this gets into the idea of hospitality. It isn’t surprising, then, that philoxenia and its adjective form (philoxenos) are the Greek behind the New Testament’s various verses about hospitality. For example, Romans 12:13 says that Christians should be “given to hospitality” (N.K.J.V.). Likewise, 1 Peter 4:9 says: “Be hospitable to one another without grumbling” (N.K.J.V.). And would you believe that both 1 Timothy 3:2 and Titus 1:8 list “hospitable” as being a qualification for the ministry? When was the last time a pulpit committee or an ordination council asked a prospective pastor, “Would you call yourself hospitable?”

Perhaps the New Testament rates hospitality so high because Christians showing hospitality to one another was incredibly important in the days of the early church. Persecuted Christians of that era were oftentimes forced to leave their homes and their cities and relocate to other areas. But where could a Christian who just hit a new town find lodging? Even though there were a few inns scattered here and there, many Christians were too poor to afford them. Therefore, typically, the best place a Christian could stay was with another Christian.

The traveling evangelists and teachers, men such as the apostles, also needed places to stay whenever they came to an area. This explains why John, in verses 5-8 of his epistle of 3 John, encourages a Christian named Gaius to receive such men into his home whenever they came to town. John wanted Gaius to give them a place to rest and something to eat. He describes this ministry as sending those men on their journey “in a manner worthy of God.” Of course, discernment needed to be practiced in regards to differentiating between God-called men and false prophets. Along those lines, in verses 7-11 of the epistle of 2 John, John warns a kindhearted but naive Christian woman about receiving into her home anyone who did not abide in the doctrine of Christ.

But are there really angels out there, in human form, who are just waiting for someone to show them hospitality? A man by the name of Abraham would answer, “Yes.” Genesis chapter 18 gives us the story of how Abraham was sitting in his tent one day to avoid the heat. He peered out of his tent and saw that three men, strangers, had entered his encampment. Even though the three men looked like human beings, somehow Abraham recognized that there was something special, even divine, about them. That prompted him to bolt from his tent, run out to meet them, and bow himself to the ground before them. He begged them to let him provide them with a place to rest, water to wash their feet, and a meal. When the three men took him up on his offer, he had a young calf killed and prepared as the centerpiece of a feast.

And who were those three men? One of them was Jesus (making an Old Testament pre-incarnate appearance) and the other two were angels. Following the meal with Abraham, the two angels started making their way to nearby Sodom while Jesus engaged in an extended conversation with Abraham about Sodom’s imminent destruction.

In the following chapter, Genesis chapter 19, those two angels show up at Lot’s door the evening of that same day. They spend the night with Lot — that’s more hospitality on display — and in the end rescue Lot and some of his family from the destruction that is about to fall upon Sodom. Then the angels rain fire and brimstone down upon not only Sodom but also Gomorrah and the other cities that were located on that plain.

I should point out, though, that there is another possible interpretation to our text passage. Some commentators note that the Greek word angelos that gets translated as “angel” throughout the New Testament literally means “messenger.” In the King James translation, the word is even translated as “messenger” (or “messengers”) in: Matthew 11:10; Mark 1:2; Luke 7:24, 27; Luke 9:52; 2 Corinthians 12:7; and James 2:25. Also, angelos is used each time in Revelation chapters 2 and 3 in reference to the “angel” of each of the seven churches to which Christ speaks. Many commentators understand the word as it is used in those instances to refer to the pastors of those churches rather than to literal angels.

By bringing this alternative translation of angelos to bear upon Hebrews 13:2, we find that it’s at least possible that the strangers in question aren’t literal angels in human disguise but rather regular humans who have some message from God for the person who shows them hospitality. Perhaps the stranger won’t even realize that he or she has this message. In such cases, it could be that something the person says in the normal flow of conversation with the one showing the hospitality might be God’s way of imparting helpful information and insight to that hospitable person. Ironically, if this interpretation does hold water, it would be the stranger himself or herself, rather than the person showing the hospitality, who would be doing something unwittingly that resulted in unforeseen but pleasant consequences.

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