Of Demons

I understand there's been some interest in demon possession recently. It is indeed a really interesting subject, and can be hyped for effect to garner attention, or on the other extreme, demonic activity can be completely ignored! This week's message (in Luke 13:10-17) deals with a woman who is physically bent over, who many believe is demon-possessed. Most scholars do not, for several reasons. Jesus doesn't treat her as he treats other demoniacs. He doesn't speak to or acknowledge any demons (and they don't speak to him) and he touches her (he never touches a demoniac). Probably most importantly to this discussion, the phrase Dr. Luke uses to describe her condition (that is inferred by English speakers as indicating demon-possession) is "disabling spirit" (ESV). But according to scholars, this term is a hebraic idiom used to describe many physical ailments, even a whole category of conditions. An example might be how we English-speakers use the term "handicapped."

But because in the passage Jesus makes reference to Satan having bound this woman for 18 years, it does make us wonder if Satan "binds" people today, or if he can possess or oppress a person. If so, what does that look like? And what can be done to help a person in this predicament?

In short, Satan and his fallen angels are real, and so is demonic activity. I like to categorize a demon's influence on human beings with three words: possession, oppression, and suggestion.

Demon suggestion happens all the time. Satan tempts. He lies. He suggests ideas into our thoughts and does his best to entice us to sin. He seeks to confuse our ability to make decisions. He still does what he did with Eve in the garden. "Did God actually say...?" (Gen. 3:1) he asks us, and then he suggests that God's word can't be trusted. He can discourage and depress. He can cripple us with guilt. He can fool us into thinking that what he is saying is from God. 2 Corinthians 11:14 says, "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light." Under this category are so many ways demons affect both believers and unbelievers. It is important for people to pray and ask God to give us wisdom and insight. 1 John 4:1 says, "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world." False prophets are those people who claim to hear straight from God. That's a very common way that demons seek to influence others. So we should put all spiritual messages to the test of Scripture.

Demon oppression is even more serious. It happens when one gives in to Satan or a demon, or when one is attacked by the enemy. I have witnessed many cases of people who have been diagnosed with mental illnesses (depression, obsessions, phobias, etc.) who, I believed, were oppressed by satanic forces. Satan can even wage war on individuals with sickness, death of loved ones, and other life activities in attempt to destroy a person's will to live. Read Job! Satan relished the opportunity God gave him to destroy Job...or to attempt to destroy him. As far as we know, Job never knew that the source of his troubles was Satan. In response to this kind of vigorous attack, Peter said to "Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you" (1Peter 5:6-10).

Possession is when a demon (or demons) actually inhabits a person and controls them either part or all of the time. This is a terrible condition. But it CANNOT happen to a person who has believed in and has received Christ. A believer is already possessed by a spirit: the HOLY Spirit. God himself lives inside. He is the stronger man (Matthew 12:22-32).

I did not have time in the message today to have a side-bar discussion of demons and demon-possession. But earlier in our study of Luke (August 28, 2016) we covered a passage all about Jesus' dealings with an unfortunate man inhabited by many demons. Here is the link to hear the message. I have made these notes available below.

Jesus' Power Over The Demonic

(Luke 8:26-39)

•If you feel like you are a mess—perhaps so much so that you think God has given up on or forgotten you… 

•If you wonder how Satan and demons work. If you fear demonic activity or suspect it at work in your own life… 

•If you’ve wondered if some of the diagnoses of mental health or addiction-related issues might be modern-day labels for possible demonic influences (possession, oppression, suggestion)… 

•If you have ever felt that some people can’t change—that they’re “too far gone”—and have wondered whether the “Jesus answer” is enough…Today is for you. 

C.S. Lewis prefaces his book, The Screwtape Letters, this way: 

“There are two equal and opposite errors into which [the human] race can fall about the devils. One is to disbelieve in their existence. The other is to believe, and to feel an excessive and unhealthy interest in them. They themselves are equally pleased by both errors…”  

He could not have been more right. We have these two extremes before us today in abundance. Darla and I went camping, across from us there was a particularly loud and arrogant guy who proudly proclaimed that he was an “avid atheist” and he and his wife began mocking God and church. I’m sure he’d have a good laugh over the idea of a real personal devil and demons. On the other hand, while I have known OF people who claim to worship Satan, I have KNOWN many Christians who were a bit obsessed or overly fearful of all things demonic. Ouija Boards, superstitions, backward masking in rock songs have all caused various reactions from fearful Christians looking for satanic vices. Oh could I tell you stories of kookiness!

...Like when we bought our last house and some well meaning people wanted to come over first and pray in every room and anoint them with oil and cleanse it of possible demonic strongholds. Not kidding. Weird.

...Like when I went to a pastor's prayer summit meeting years ago where a man led us to pray against "spiritual gateways" like where "The Katch" and Goody's corporate headquarters are across I-40 from each other and claimed that the Tennessee River appeared to be a serpent winding through Knoxville. Not kidding.

...Like the crazy reactions Charles Swindoll received when he put a little red devil statue on his desk! 

All and more are nutty, laughable examples of people being concerned about the wrong things.

But Satan is no joke. He is real, he has much power and intelligence, and is the leader of a battalion of fallen angels who hate God, hate all people—image bearers of God—and especially those of us God has redeemed. They have declared war on us. They desire to hurt God and his mission, and the way they wish to do it is to hurt us. They hate you, and hate God. Of course, he uses their schemes to bring about his plans, and the devils know their days are numbered. 

When Jesus came to earth, he entered what demons consider their domain. There is hardly any better example of his power than when he met them. We saw Christ’s power over nature (storm/wind/waves). It was so spectacular, the disciples were afraid and wondered, “Who is this?” Their question is about to be answered.

Luke 8: 26Then (right after the storm Jesus calmed) they sailed to the country of the Gerasenes, which is opposite Galilee. 27When Jesus had stepped out on land, there met him a man from the city who had demons. (This is a scary thing! Listen:) For a long time he had worn no clothes, and he had not lived in a house but among the tombs. 28When he saw Jesus, he cried out and fell down before him and said with a loud voice, “What have you to do with me, Jesus, Son of the Most High God? I beg you, do not torment me.” 29For he had commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. (For many a time it had seized him. He was kept under guard and bound with chains and shackles, but he would break the bonds and be driven by the demon into the desert.)

Mark 5 adds that “No one had the strength to subdue him.” And that “Night and day among the tombs and on the mountains he was always crying out and cutting himself with stones.” In addition, Matthew 8:28 says that he was “so fierce that no one could pass that way.” 

I’m sure he had quite a reputation. I bet all the kids talked about him: “Necked, bloody, demon-man is going to get you!” Only, it was real. Not “they say the ghost of Lucius Clay gets up and walks around” (Charlie Daniels—The Legend of the Wooly Swamp).

But as scary as this man was, we should realize he was really pitiful. We should have compassion on him. He’s a mess! We aren’t told, but I wonder what his story was. Maybe he had been exposed to religion/music/superstitions of the pagan culture that was on display around that area, the “Land of the Garasenes" (the land Mark calls, "the Decapolis") the region along the southeast side of the Sea of Galilee and northern Jordan River. It's population was majority Greek and other gentiles, but there was still a large Jewish population, who were hellenized and known to the other Jews as compromisers. Or it could be that he was just a victim! 

Regardless if he somehow invited or allowed the demonic influence or not, we should pity him. 

KNOW THIS: I don’t care how bad you’ve got it or how messed up you are, this guy is worse. AND THAT’S EXACTLY WHY JESUS CROSSED THE SEA TO SEEK HIM OUT. HE MATTERS TO JESUS. Can I remind you what Luke has shown: Jesus cares about the ones everyone else shuns or overlooks. No one else cared about this man. All had given him up for a life of torture. Then he meets Jesus:

 30Jesus then asked him, “What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him.

If you would have been there to hear that, you would have had chills. Everyone knew what a legion was. It’s a group of 5000-6000 Roman soldiers. If there’s any significance to the name, that means there are thousands of devils torturing this man. Now, before you begin to scoff in your mind, check out this article in the Washington Post from last month. 

Jesus is no mere exorcist or psychiatrist. He’s the all-powerful Son of the Most High God. They know him and fear him greatly. He has absolute authority.

31And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss. 

Because he could have! The demons, who know their time is limited, may have thought (like the Jews of Jesus' day) that the Messiah would come to conquer. He did, he came first to conquer sin on the cross. They didn’t know he would come again as conquering king. These demons who are meeting Jesus face-to-face are trembling in fear that he is coming to banish them to the abyss—where Revelation 20 says Satan will be bound for 1000 years. They’ve been torturing this man for years—they’re right in assuming that God’s justice required that they will be tortured without mercy. They’re afraid and begging.

 32Now a large herd of pigs was feeding there on the hillside, and they begged him to let them enter these. So he gave them permission. 33Then the demons came out of the man and entered the pigs, and the herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and drowned.

Crazy! And that's exactly what the herdsman thought!

34When the herdsmen saw what had happened, they fled and told it in the city and in the country. 35Then people went out to see what had happened, and they came to Jesus and found the man from whom the demons had gone, sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind, and they were afraid. 36And those who had seen it told them how the demon-possessed man had been healed. 37Then all the people of the surrounding country of the Gerasenes asked him to depart from them, for they were seized with great fear.

So...Why the pigs?

1. They show witnesses that the demons were not imaginary. There are 2000 rotting pig carcasses floating in the sea. "This is no joke. This man was really possessed by demons!"

2. They show that sinful people make better “homes” for demons than amoral animals. Jesus even used “house” as a description for the body of a person who is possessed by a demon. Demons prefer people to animals.

3. Pigs were considered unclean to Jews. I learned of a rabbinic tradition that claimed they were among the most impure beings in creation. (I get it: slop, mud, etc.) Anything below them was considered, “abysmal.”

4. The sea is a symbol of the abyss in Jewish lit. In the Greek translation of the Old Testament used in Jesus' day, called the Septuagint, abyssos almost always translates the Hebrew word, tehom, meaning the “watery depths of the earth” (Psalm 77:16; 78:15; 106:9; Isaiah 51:10; Amos 7:4), and in Psalm 71:20, "the depths of the earth" are spoken of in a manner closely signifying death. Abyssos never translates Sheol, so in the Old Testament it never carries the idea of "the realm of the dead." In Genesis 1:2 the total chaotic earth is called "the deep," over which the Spirit of God hovered. But during the intertestamental period the meaning of abyssos broadened to include the idea of death as well as the realm of demonic spirits. Simply put, in Jesus’ day, the sea is a symbol of the abyss.

5. If these pigs were owned by compromising Jews, this was a judgment of their sin, indeed of the sin of the whole area of the Garasenes. It hurt their economy, but they didn’t protest. They show their response by simply asking Jesus to leave.

6. By committing suicide in the sea, the pigs are making a strong statement to all who would hear of this. Even pigs, as profane as they are, cannot bear to live while filled with these wicked demons. Death—even death without hope of life afterward—is preferable to life under satanic control. They didn’t hesitate in this instinctive response.

7. There’s no bargaining with Jesus at judgment. These demons ended up in the abyss...exactly where they begged Jesus not to send them.

However you interpret it, it’s a vivid picture of the filth of the demons and Jesus’ uncompromising judgment on them. They were duped by Christ who made a huge statement of their condemnation that simply sending them straight to the abyss wouldn’t have done. Of course those who heard about it—who also profited from the pig trade—were afraid. They were completely uncomfortable with this uncompromising Christ. And they begged him to leave.

So he got into the boat and returned. 

But what about the man? For the first time in years he’s clothed and sane. He’s proof of what happens when Christ seeks you out and shows mercy. Before Jesus departs on the boat,

38The man from whom the demons had gone begged that he might be with him, but Jesus sent him away, saying, 39“Return to your home, and declare how much God has done for you.” And he went away, proclaiming throughout the whole city how much Jesus had done for him. 

There are some truths in this story I hope you caught:

•There is a spiritual realm, and evil spirits who are very real. They hate God, therefore they hate God’s image-bearers. They can and do INFLUENCE people: either by Possession, Oppression, or Suggestion.

•Jesus wields complete authority over all things spiritual, even devils, who must obey his word. The only way for us to successfully defeat Satan is through Christ.

Hebrews 2: Jesus became human ^14…that through death he might destroy the one who has the power of death, that is, the devil, ¹⁵and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. ¹⁶For surely it is not angels that he helps, but he helps the offspring of Abraham. ¹⁷Therefore he had to be made like his brothers in every respect, so that he might become a merciful and faithful high priest in the service of God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. ¹⁸For because he himself has suffered when tempted, he is able to help those who are being tempted.

Because Jesus died, we are not slaves anymore. But we don’t have to wait till heaven to have victory over Satan’s schemes. 1 Peter 5: ⁸Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. ⁹Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. ¹⁰And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. ¹¹To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.

•Demons are exceedingly fearful of Christ. This should make us wonder: why are we so fearful of them? Yes, they are very powerful, intelligent, and dangerous. But our God is infinitely more so. And we can trust him.

•Jesus turns messes into messengers. I'm thankful for this. Because I'm a sinner without any merit on my own. I have made messes. But God somehow uses even me. I wish I could have been there when "necked, bloody, demon man" came home at peace, and with a story of amazing redemption through Christ. I bet people listened.

Four practical NOW WHATS:

1. Join Beauty for Ashes. Beauty for Ashes is a great opportunity for women who are dealing with hard things, whether big or small. I plead with you to sign up.

2. Get counseling. There is a spiritual underpinning to successful counseling. We have a great opportunity because Tara Havely is on our staff. We also have other trained ministry staff. Email us (or call the church office or tell us on the card). We will set you up with an appropriate counselor who can evaluate and help you.  If you want to meet with Tara, put that in the email. Otherwise, we’ll set you up with a minister on our staff who is experienced and educated. All is confidential.

3. Read The Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. We have 200 copies available, $10 each, but you can also get it online. Think about how the enemy plots and schemes. Know that he hates you. But know that God has your best interests at heart and loves you more than you love yourself. Know that he is in control. 

4. Yield yourself to Christ.

Sanctity of Lives

Sometimes it is good to take a step back from a portrait being painted to take it in as a whole. Our artist, Luke, has been painting a portrait of Jesus who cares about people, specifically, people the world overlooks. God sees and loves and saves those who believe and gives them meaning as he uses them for his glory. There are so many examples. Just recently in Luke 12:

⁶Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. ⁷Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows.

While preparing for this message I was studying at home and watching the birds at the feeders on our deck. Chickadees, doves, wrens, cardinals, finches, and sparrows are regulars. Sparrows are many bird-watchers' least favorite. They’re the brownish-grey birds at McDonalds. Fact is, biologists tell us that our "house sparrows" as they are known here, are an introduced species that originated in the middle east, are now all over the world, and are perhaps the most common wild bird on earth. Coincidental? Everyone in the world knows the sparrow as a ubiquitous, hardly noticeable, insignificant little bird. But they're not to God. He knows them all by name and provides for and prospers them. Jesus uses the lowly sparrow to illustrate how important we are to God—so much so that every single hair on our heads has an individual number. Wow.

Next week we will study vv. 22-34. Here’s a little preview, and I want to pull out one aspect that illustrates what we’ve seen from Jesus as we’ve been studying Luke 12.

²⁴Consider the ravens: they neither sow nor reap, they have neither storehouse nor barn, and yet God feeds them. Of how much more value are you than the birds! ^...27Consider the lilies, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. ²⁸But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you… ³²“Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.

We’ll unpack the whole passage more next week (there’s so much good stuff!) but I want to focus on how this reveals God’s heart for people. God loves all human lives. They are special, holy to him. Why? Because he created human beings in his own image. All other life forms and everything that makes life possible he made for us. To support human life. Not just for sustenance and survival, but for prosperity, productivity, awe, and purpose.

How important are you to him? He made you unique and wonderful, he created all things for you, he has created a plan to show you his love/forgiveness/grace by dying in your place, and he wants to give you the kingdom! And not just you.

Today is what Christians call “Sanctity of Human Life” Sunday. Yes, that's when we acknowledge that God cares for human beings, even at their most vulnerable place—beginning in the mother’s womb.

Psalm 139:13-16
¹³For you formed my inward parts;
   you knitted me together in my mother's womb.
¹⁴I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
   Wonderful are your works;
      my soul knows it very well.
¹⁵My frame was not hidden from you,
  when I was being made in secret,
      intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
¹⁶Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
   in your book were written, every one of them,
      the days that were formed for me,
      when as yet there was none of them.

God sees every human life—beginning with it’s very inception—as precious.

Here's my question:
If Christians don’t stand for life in the womb, who will?

One of the many reminders that evil is alive and well in the world is the continuing diminishment of the most innocent and vulnerable lives—unborn children. This is our age’s infanticide—an evil common to most ages (be it ancient civilizations like the Aztec, Maya, Inca, as well as some Euro-asian tribes, and seen in the Bible in ancient Egypt when Moses was born and even Israel when Herod heard of one "born King of the Jews" killed the children around Bethlehem). Abortion is ours. There have been about 60 million abortions since Roe vs. Wade. Half of them little girls, and 18 million of them black babies (that's 1/3). That's stunning.

Good news is we’re making a difference. A report released this week showed that the abortion rate has fallen 50% from it's height, to a historic low since Roe in the U.S. For the first time since 1973, under 1 million babies were aborted in a year.

One million...babies killed. Wow. We still have so far to go.

The issue of abortion is certainly not where it ends. Too many times when we hear “Sanctity of human life” we think only of the unborn. But they are not the only lives being diminished and devalued in our culture. Yes, you no doubt know that racism & sexism still exists. There seems to be a lot of conversation about these things. Of course, racism is evil. God sees no color. Of course sexism is evil. Gen. 1:27 NIV So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them. We, regardless of race or sex are image-bearers of God.

Unfortunately not all the conversation regarding these hot topics is healthy. In fact, when you throw in political aspirations and people who have other self-serving agendas, we can find ourselves taking steps backward. It is important that Christians stand for truth and demonstrate God’s love to all. As bad as these things are—and they have many derivatives—I want, today, to talk (frankly and briefly) about some other denigrated people, who don’t get as much press.

•There are orphans and kids needing foster care who need parents and families to do as God has done when he pursued & adopted us as his children. Most of us never consider what it must be like to not have someone to call mom or dad. We Christians can make a difference.

Because their lives matter to God.

•Homelessness is an ongoing problem in our nation. You can’t drive to Turkey Creek or downtown without seeing homeless people. What isn’t as obvious is the brokenness and mental illness and addiction and abuse from which these people suffer. We support KARM. You can give… but you can also volunteer, serve meals, and help in many other ways.

Because their lives matter to God.

•Elderly and disabled/handicapped/infirm— Our culture seems to discard the elderly. We who are healthy forget those who are disabled or sick. This category includes people all around us, and so many times they are overlooked. Who in your life needs help, encouragement, or just a friend? 

Because their lives matter to God.

•Immigrants and refugees—Knoxville is a city that has been chosen by our government to receive refugees from war-torn parts of the world, and because of our universities and Oak Ridge, we attract people who legally are here from other parts of the world. We can welcome these people. We support KIN and Bridge, but more importantly, we want YOU to seek friendship with internationals. Most of the time they are eager for friendship. We have ESL and we need volunteers.

Because their lives matter to God.

•Addicted people. There are people in this room who have overcome addictions by God’s help. I know many who are in process. The best hope people have is Christ. One thing we want to do is create a mentoring ministry to help people overcome. Addiction is a HUGE problem in the USA. If the church isn’t the answer, what is? I am praying that God will raise up some who will lead us in meeting this need.

Because their lives matter to God.

•Victims of sex slavery- Y’all may know that I’m on the board of Street Hope. There is a real problem of especially girls pushed by pimps or sometimes family to have sex with men for drugs or money. The exploding porn industry is much behind it. I just read a 25 page report by Vanderbilt and government agencies that horrified me. There is so much pain, and we have so far to go. The church must respond to this evil, as we did in abolition.

Because their lives matter to God.

•Unborn babies and women in crisis pregnancy- now back full circle to abortion. Let’s not forget our church's first partnership. Way back in 1996 at the height of the abortion crisis, we decided to be a part of the solution in a positive way and were a founding church that supported Hope Resource Center. Many of you are a part, and we need many more. Here in Knoxville, over half of the abortion clinics have shut down since HRC began. Our prayer is that more unexpectant moms will have their babies, and that God will continue to redeem these women who find themselves in bad circumstances. This happens often at HRC. You can be a part.

Because their lives matter to God.

All these lives are precious to God.

So what can you do?

1. Repent from diminishing people. That means stop seeing them as less-than-precious. Search your heart regarding your own attitude toward others. Do you consider some as less-worthy to be image-bearers? Turn from sin to surrender. See things God’s way, embrace it, and adopt it as your own. Get off the intellectual bench and recognize all lives are precious to God and change your attitude wherever need be. Go through the categories: Do I have racist feelings? Do I have sexist feelings? Do I feel ill-will toward homeless, immigrants, addicts? Or how about this: Do I consider a gay man’s life any less important to God? Do I harbor hatred toward a transgendered person?

Here's the minefield we're in: many voices (even some "Christian" ones) are urging us to compromise. On the one hand we are urged to soften the Bible's definition of sin. We must not. On the other hand (and just as harmfully) we are urged to shrink from the Bible's call to love. We must not. On either side of Christ's hard way there are ditches of sinful compromise. What it means to be Christian is to be like Christ. Regardless of what culture says, be it the media or Hollywood or political pundits or someone at work or your parents or neighbors or anyone else. We obey Christ. That means truth AND love.

Check this out: In Ephesians chapter 4, Paul tells us that God gave leaders to equip you for ministry and to build up the church... ¹⁴so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. ¹⁵Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, Speaking the truth in love. 

We do not compromise truth. Sin is sin. BUT WE ALSO DO NOT FAIL TO LOVE. If you claim to be a Christian, and there are people who you can’t love, you need to repent. 

John Barber this week reminded me of Cory Ten Boom, a Dutch Christian who wrote The Hiding Place, who was sent along with her sister Betsie to a Nazi concentration camp for hiding Jews. After being cruelly treated by their captors, Betsie (who eventually died in the camp) made it a habit to pray for these inhuman guards who abused them and the other prisoners. Cory objected, but her sister reminded her that Christ said to pray for our enemies, and that if we look at them through Christ's eyes, we can love them.

That's what it means to be Christian.

2. Make a change in your mind to care. Do you feel indifference? I think that’s probably the more important question we should ask ourselves. Even if some of us do not have racist/sexist/condescending feelings for others. We’re so often indifferent. We’re so preoccupied with our own lives that we have no energy or concern for others. It’s time to look at people as Jesus did: with compassion. He looked at a sister who lost her brother and wept. He looked at a crowd stuck in sin and without leadership and wept. He had compassion on those who were lepers, Samaritans, gentiles, poor, blind, lame, hungry. But as Jesus demonstrated, our job doesn't end with just feeling compassion.

3. Pray. When you feel the darkness and hopelessness and anger and hurt (and you will if you change your mind from sin or indifference to surrender), you should pray. Make this an automatic response to the high blood pressure that compassionate people feel. It’s not a stress-management methodology. It’s not the least you can do. It’s the MOST you can do. Phil. 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything… Pray for those HARD to love. Pray that God will HELP you love. Ask God HOW you should show love.

4. Get in the game. Do something. Get uncomfortable. Talk with someone who’s not like you. Stop being indifferent and start loving people and showing it by your actions. Yes, you’re going to be misunderstood, so was Jesus. Yes, you’ll probably be hurt by some you try to love, so was Jesus.

If you remember earlier in Luke, a man asked Jesus what was the greatest commandment. He said, love God and love your neighbor. Remember what followed? The man asked, “Well, just who is my neighbor?” And Jesus told the parable of the good Samaritan. In it, those religious Jews who knew better walked by the beaten man on the other side of the road, indifferent. They were content to let him die. But thankfully for the man, a Samaritan—a hated, half-breed, unclean heretic—saw the man, had compassion, and took a risk at great personal cost to care for him unconditionally. 

Jesus said, "You go, do likewise" (Luke 10:37).

You who know better—you Christians—don’t walk by on the other side of the road. The greatest witness of Christ and the reality of the Gospel is Christians who love with their actions.

Give toward impacting these problems. Your missions giving through Providence helps these ministries. But don’t stop there. Volunteer in these ministries.

And look for ways to be Christ to those image-bearers around you who are diminished by others.

Why God Allowed Sin & Suffering

Reading through Genesis and Job these past few weeks caused me to go down a personal rabbit trail and grapple with the whole reason for sin and suffering (as I'm sure others have). Be warned! The conclusions that I am drawing may not put to rest the question, “Why does God allow sin and suffering?” for you. In fact, it may even raise more questions. That’s ok. I’m not sure it is possible to truly resolve the issue on this side of heaven to everyone’s satisfaction, but read on if you’re brave enough (or curious enough) to join me in chasing this rabbit. While there are myriad Scriptures I could quote in support of the concepts I espouse, I have resisted the temptation to cite them for the sake of readability. Here goes:

God was, in the pre-existent fellowship of the Trinity, completely and perfectly satisfied, overflowing with pleasure and joy. God considered it a great good to share the joy and satisfaction he had in himself with others—with humankind—creatures he made for that very purpose. So in creation, after making everything in the universe to foster life—both lower and higher forms for the ultimate support of human life—God finally made human beings in his in his image, giving them the capacity to know him and experience the joy and satisfaction he has in himself.

He must have determined that for his overwhelming joy and satisfaction to be experienced by humanity, there must be sin and suffering. How do I come to this conclusion?

First, the existence of actual sin and evil was necessary for God to define himself to his creatures. He defined himself to them as holy (morally good), which requires that both moral good and evil must be defined. God spelled out both reward for good (vis. pleasure) and consequences for evil (vis. suffering), which are also tied to being like or unlike his character. Just as to understand light one needs to know what darkness is, evil and suffering stand in stark contrast to good and pleasure.

Second, sin was made possible when God granted humans a free will. Free will is necessary for true love to occur. C.S. Lewis wrote:

...free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata—of creatures that worked like machines—would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other…. And for that they must be free.

Without a morally significant free will, our “goodness” (or obedience to a good God) means nothing and is not praiseworthy, any more than it is praiseworthy for a machine to do what it was designed to do. Likewise, if it were impossible to not choose good (or to not choose at all), “badness” (or, disobedience to a good God) is without meaning and God would be unjust to punish it. Instead failure to do good would be a design flaw, which might point to an inept or corrupt designer (God). Therefore, Adam and Eve were created free in the truest sense. Since they were truly free moral agents, they were responsible for their actions. They sinned, and the consequences affected the world and all people who descended from them. All humans born since the fall are sinful, blind, and are “dead in our trespasses” (Eph. 2:5, Col. 2:13).

Unlike Adam, who was previously untainted by sin, our tendency is already toward sin. Therefore, we must be drawn by God and given the ability to see his light/goodness/beauty. Then we are “made alive” by his grace and in response to his love. This results in new birth and the ability to understand and desire good for God’s glory, and experience the joy that God gives (in shadows now while we still live in this world, and fully when our salvation is one day realized in heaven).

Third, sin made it possible for God to show himself more fully to his fallen creatures (humans) who were originally created with the capacity to know him. Without sin, we never would have known some most important aspects of God’s character: his grace, forgiveness, longsuffering, sacrificial love, and mercy. Indeed we would have never known Christ or had need of him. Therefore, the second person of the Trinity and/or his nature would have remained a mystery and we would have never needed his presence with us as Emmanuel and Savior.

Finally, sin and suffering must be viewed in perspective of the exceeding great joy God has in store for those who he has called in heaven. This is a joy that, by comparison, FAR outweighs the pain we experience on this side of eternity. The greatest suffering we experience here will be a faint memory for us in heaven—if, that is, we can remember it at all. Even in this world we experience this phenomenon in a much less-significant way, as in the case of women who endure the pain of pregnancy and childbirth (part of the curse after the fall) soon forget it at the sight of their new baby.

There are even more ways that God uses pain in our lives. As a perfect Father, he grows us and makes us more like Christ as we “share his sufferings.” He reveals himself to us as we seek him and rely on him. He corrects us, heals us, comforts us, and uses us to bless others. Am I saying that suffering is good, and by extension, that sin is good? No. Not in themselves. But as they drive us—flawed people in a fallen world—toward God who allowed them to occur, even they can be used for his glory and our good; both here and in heaven. In this way, “there is beauty in the fall of man.”

The FIRST Commission?

Christians talk a lot about the great commandment and the great commission. But what about the FIRST commission?

Gen. 1:26-31 (ESV)
Then God said, "Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish … birds … livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing…on the earth.” And God blessed them. And God said to them, "Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over…every living thing that moves on the earth." And God said, "Behold, I have given you every plant …and every tree with seed in its fruit. You shall have them for food. …And God saw everything that he had made, and behold, it was very good.

In essence, in the FIRST commission, God says:
Show sanctity for all human life, respect for all human beings, and regard for God’s creation.
Have families with children and manage the earth’s resources and creatures in a way that pleases God.

Specifically, the FIRST commission deals with the following issues (that we will be discussing on Sundays in the next few weeks):
1. Human rights (value and worth, God’s image and blessing, equality between men and women)
2. Sexuality (good sex and bad, birth control, overpopulation)
3. Environmentalism (global warming and response, recycling & pollution, political & economic implications)
4. Animals (wildlife conservation, humane treatment)
5. Work (a result of the curse or a pre-fall blessing? How do we balance work, rest, family, and play?)

No controversies associated with those issues, huh?

I think it’s perfect timing! We’re in a contentious election year and some of these issues are being debated. How are you being informed? Just going with the national media? Just going along with what your parents or friends or teachers say? What about what God says—does that matter? What about his very first words to humankind?

At Providence, we’re not concerned with supporting any political party or candidates. We think it is every citizen’s privilege and obligation to vote in elections. But our calling is much higher. We want to make, be, and unleash disciples. Part of that is helping disciples think biblically.

Christians are all over the map regarding how they respond to these issues, ranging from sticking their heads in the sand (no response at all) to coming out as anti-everything! God wants us to respond and he wants us to do so with grace, gentleness, humility, AND truth. We should seek to be like Christ in both aptitude and attitude.

This Sunday we discussed our and others’ worth in God’s eyes. We humans are the crowning achievement of God’s creation as his image-bearers. As such, every human life is valuable and holy to God. From the road-rager who flips you off after cutting you off to easily-marginalized groups of people.

Our understanding of this affects everything.

If you don’t think every human life is precious and holy, where does that take you? It means you think some people are of more intrinsic worth than others. Some races are not as preferable as others. The very old and feeble can be set aside. The unborn are not deserving of full protection under the law if they are unwanted by their mother. The handicapped are pitiful and cause undue strain on others’ lives. Those who have committed crimes—and are perhaps even unrepentant—deserve less dignity than law-abiding people. Impoverished people are probably poor because of their own decisions and are viewed as unproductive.

Ultimately, when some of these people just get in the way…they really don’t matter. When someone comes along and removes them, we think, “good riddance.” This was Hitler’s line of reasoning. Taking advantage of financial crisis and other opportunities to gain power, Hitler was ultimately successful in committing untold atrocities in much part due to a German church that remained virtually silent as he incrementally showed increasing disregard for human rights and dignity. He legalized abortion and euthanasia of handicapped and infirm. He segregated people based on race and other standards of “worth.” He made criminals of many and then treated prisoners without dignity. We know the way his story ends.

No matter how unpopular, Christians must humbly take an uncompromising stand for the sanctity and dignity of human life. When the people of a society deny the “unalienable rights” of life (as with abortion) they have scorned God’s image indwelling humankind and blasphemed God. It really is a big deal. On the other extreme, it is wrong for individuals to despise themselves. In doing so, they are despising God’s workmanship and disregarding his image in them. You know, Satan—whose primary goal is to take glory away from God—is especially active in helping fallen image-bearers disrespect God’s image. We are all sinners—this is true. By comparison to God and his glorious creation it is easy for us to become discouraged, and all the more as we get to know him as magnificent and holy. While we should practice self-denial, God does not delight in self-loathing. In fact, he is offended by it!

I was totally blown away by Bryan’s new take on an old Isaac Watts hymn (that we sang Sunday--if you weren't there you really missed out!). Read the lyrics again:

Oh Lord our heavenly King thy name is all divine
Thy glories round the earth are spread and o’er the heavens they shine
When to thy works on high, I raise my wondering eyes,
And see the moon complete in light, adorn the darksome skies

When I survey the stars in all their shining forms
Lord what is worthless man akin to dust and worms?

Lord, what is worthless man that thou should love him so?
Next to the angels he is placed as lord of all below
Thine image placed upon him fills his soul with worth
What is man? What is man?

How rich thy bounties are how wondrous are thy ways
Of dust and worms thy power can frame a monument of praise.

When I survey the stars in all their shining forms
Lord what is worthless man akin to dust and worms?

Lord, what is worthless man that thou should love him so?
Next to the angels he is placed as lord of all below
Thine image placed upon him fills his soul with worth
What is man? What is man?

The Miraculous Necklace

Ok, so my attempt to demonstrate the virtual impossibility of life beginning by accident might have flopped. If you were at Providence Sunday, you know I wore an orange and white necklace that my son made for me. I told everyone that he put it together randomly and I noticed it just happened to spell out Genesis 1:1 in Morse code. Then I spent WAY too much time showing the statistical ridiculousness of such a feat! At the end I said, "If you believe this (that Drew put the necklace together by random chance), I have a piece of ocean-front property here in Tennessee I'd like to sell you!"

Just in case you're still unclear: Drew DID make the necklace, but he spelled out Gen. 1:1 in Morse code ON PURPOSE. It was JUST AN ILLUSTRATION! I hope that those of you who didn't get my poor attempt to use satire in order to "illustrate absurdity by being absurd" will forgive me. I should have been clearer. On the other hand, maybe my argumentum ad absurdum will help you remember that believing in a naturalistic explanation of the origin of life is MUCH MORE ABSURD than believing Drew accidentally made the necklace that spelled Gen. 1:1, and takes MUCH MORE FAITH than believing in a Creator God.

I’ve had a lot of good laughs with some who, for one reason or another, thought the necklace was a miracle! Thanks for putting up with me trying to be a little creative.

Here’s the stats (for those of you who have asked) on the necklace: The odds that Drew would put 102 beads in the right sequence to spell out Gen.1:1 in Morse code is one in 5x10^30


By comparison, the chances of winning the powerball jackpot is roughly 1 in 1x10^8 (about 1 chance in one-hundred million). That's roughly like filling half a basketball court 1 foot deep in pennies, marking one, and giving a blindfolded person one chance to pick the marked coin.

So I wondered, "how many pennies would it take to illustrate 5 x 10^30?" Bottom line…pennies are way too big. I went smaller. BBs were too big too. So I tried grains of sand.

There are 300,000 grains of sand per cu. in.

x 1728 cu. in. per cu. foot. (518,400,000 grains)

x 27,878,400 sq. ft. per sq. mi.

x 198,000,000 sq. mi. of surface area on entire earth including oceans.
The resulting number is not even close! So I went deeper with the sand covering the world... starting with the depth of empire state building. Still not close! Finally I got it. The sand has to be about 1,500,000 feet deep (284 miles, or that's = 1032 empire state buildings stacked on each other) to get 1 in 5x10^30 (the chance that Drew could randomly make a necklace spell Gen. 1:1)!


Here's my point: Even THAT is not as impossible as the likelihood that life appeared without God. And the comparison is NOT EVEN CLOSE!

In order for life to have appeared spontaneously, there must first have been hundreds of millions of DNA molecules. Under perfect conditions, given the size of earth, it would take 1x10^243 billions of years for only one of these molecules to occur strictly by chance.

According to textbooks written by atheist, agnostic, (as well as theist) scientists, if all the chemical bonds of earth's simplest living creature were broken, the chance of its reassembly, even under ideal environmental and chemical conditions … is less than 1 in 10^100,000,000,000 (one chance in ten to the one-hundred billionth power), a number so large, to write the zeros out in standard notation would take every page of almost 1000 sets of Encyclopedia Britannica.

Facts like these convinced Antony Flew (Oxford scholar and "most famous atheist in the academic world over the last half-century" according to the Dallas Morning News) who wrote the book, There Is a God: How the World's Most Notorious Atheist Changed His Mind said, "What I think the DNA material…has shown, by the almost unbelievable complexity of the arrangements which are needed to produce (life), that intelligence must have been involved in getting these extraordinary diverse elements to work together."

Be sure to come This Sunday. Dr. Marc Bodenheimer (one of our elders and an eye surgeon), will be teaching as we tackle Genesis 1 and the creation of humankind. That's what all the other days have been leading up to. What does it mean to be human? Come and hear!