May 2nd, 2006
Where to begin...
The first week of January this year I was in Nashville, Tennessee for the Passion '06 conference. It was a week full of great worship, insightful and challenging talks, and good times with friends. During the conference, John Piper, pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, spoke twice on two very different subjects. The first talk he gave was incredibly controversial amongst the group of people I spent the week with as it posed an intriguing question and then gave an unnecessarily dogmatic answer to it. While I don't entirely disagree with John Piper's take on the issue, I will say that to make it the focus of a talk in that setting, to those people, was lacking in usefulness.
The question was this, "If God is both all powerful and omnipotent, then why would He create a world which He knew from day one would require His own suffering in order to save?"
Since that day, I have been wrapped up in the question. My mind has been flying around and around the implication of it. Ultimately, the question has led me to realize that there is a great deal of issues that are mentioned in the bible that are not black and white. They do not have easy answers. No one can fully understand God. If we could, he would cease to be God. Think about Anselm's Ontological Argument. The idea is that God is inconcievable! This one thought has led not to frustration, but rather unbelievable praise, worship, and thankfulness. It has led me to a place of being awed by God in a way I have never really experienced before.
Before I share anything else with you, I want to preface the remainder of this entry with a number of things. God has been really teaching me over the last four or five months that He alone is supreme and mysterious. I could never in a million lifetimes even begin to slightly comprehend the ways of God. Anyone who tells you anything different is either a heretic or an idolatar. I mean only that our salvation is not found in an understanding of perfect biblical theology, nor do I think any human has the authority to declare with any certainty what that would be. Our salvation is found in Jesus. He said that he was "the way, the truth, and the light and no one comes to the Father except through ME."
All that in mind, what I am about to say here is nothing more than my personal opinion and interpretation of the word. I could have an entirely different viewpoint on this issue tomorrow, which is my my faith does not rest on my understanding or of my flawed interpretation of the word, but ONLY on the blood of Jesus.
Anyways, moving on.
Last night in bible study we got in to John, chapter 9. As most of the bible studies have gone since we have been in John, we only made it through about 6 verses in the two hours that we were there. It is not that we are unfocused, but simply that these verses carry such a heavy weight, and they force such real and difficult questions for us. Last night, the question that John Piper asked months ago was brought up again. I will place the verses in the NASB translation below. I am doing this because I want you to read it and draw your own thoughts.
Did you see it? There is implication there that has a huge and profound impact on my life. In verse 3, Jesus says to the disciples that the man's blindness is not the result of sin, rather that he was born blind so that the works of God might be seen in him.
Think about that response in the context of John Piper's question. Think about Jesus' response everytime you hear someone say, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?".
You see, when I read this, it appears that the whole purpose of this man's life was to display the power of God. Ultimately, the purpose of his life was to assure that God would be praised through the miracle.
So, if we have been redeemed, if we have been saved, if we once were blind, but now we see, it seems that the whole purpose of our existence, the whole function of creation would be to worship the creator.
It is just a thought, and as it is the thought of a broken being, I do not claim it as gospel truth. However, it has been what God has been leading me to.
This leads me to the bigger issue. In the last six months, I have had a number of great conversations with friends, family, and pastors that have reminded me that our salvation can not be isolated. We were not redeemed on our own, but also redeemed into a body. Christ is not returning for Rob. I have a personal relationship with God, yes, but He is coming back to redeem the Church (not a single denomination, but the true bride of Christ). What this means is that I always need to be conscious of the idea of community. As much as I love having these conversations about some of the grey areas in the bible, the truth is that it is not always beneficial, not always useful to the body.
This was my issue with John Piper's message back in January. The subject matter was not something that he had the authority to give a black and white, right or wrong answer on, and to try to do so risked being devicive to the body. However, and here is the really amazing example of God's grace and power, it is through that talk that many of these issues have come to the forefront of my mind and have led to conversations that have led to conversations that have led to minds circling around the mystery of God.
This may have seemed like an erratic entry. If so, I apologize. I am still working through of all this. The cool thing is that Paul went through these same questions and conversations, and he constantly pointed towards Christ rather than giving a dogmatic answer. I think we should have that as our model, as we seek to "work out our faith with fear and trembling."
My mind spins around. Praise God that he is not limited by my understanding or the box I try to put him in.
Thanks for reading,
Rob
Where to begin...
The first week of January this year I was in Nashville, Tennessee for the Passion '06 conference. It was a week full of great worship, insightful and challenging talks, and good times with friends. During the conference, John Piper, pastor of the Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis, MN, spoke twice on two very different subjects. The first talk he gave was incredibly controversial amongst the group of people I spent the week with as it posed an intriguing question and then gave an unnecessarily dogmatic answer to it. While I don't entirely disagree with John Piper's take on the issue, I will say that to make it the focus of a talk in that setting, to those people, was lacking in usefulness.
The question was this, "If God is both all powerful and omnipotent, then why would He create a world which He knew from day one would require His own suffering in order to save?"
Since that day, I have been wrapped up in the question. My mind has been flying around and around the implication of it. Ultimately, the question has led me to realize that there is a great deal of issues that are mentioned in the bible that are not black and white. They do not have easy answers. No one can fully understand God. If we could, he would cease to be God. Think about Anselm's Ontological Argument. The idea is that God is inconcievable! This one thought has led not to frustration, but rather unbelievable praise, worship, and thankfulness. It has led me to a place of being awed by God in a way I have never really experienced before.
Before I share anything else with you, I want to preface the remainder of this entry with a number of things. God has been really teaching me over the last four or five months that He alone is supreme and mysterious. I could never in a million lifetimes even begin to slightly comprehend the ways of God. Anyone who tells you anything different is either a heretic or an idolatar. I mean only that our salvation is not found in an understanding of perfect biblical theology, nor do I think any human has the authority to declare with any certainty what that would be. Our salvation is found in Jesus. He said that he was "the way, the truth, and the light and no one comes to the Father except through ME."
All that in mind, what I am about to say here is nothing more than my personal opinion and interpretation of the word. I could have an entirely different viewpoint on this issue tomorrow, which is my my faith does not rest on my understanding or of my flawed interpretation of the word, but ONLY on the blood of Jesus.
Anyways, moving on.
Last night in bible study we got in to John, chapter 9. As most of the bible studies have gone since we have been in John, we only made it through about 6 verses in the two hours that we were there. It is not that we are unfocused, but simply that these verses carry such a heavy weight, and they force such real and difficult questions for us. Last night, the question that John Piper asked months ago was brought up again. I will place the verses in the NASB translation below. I am doing this because I want you to read it and draw your own thoughts.
John 9:1-3 (New American Standard Bible)
New American Standard Bible (NASB) 
Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation
John 9
Healing the Man Born Blind
1 As He passed by, He saw a man blind from birth.2 And His disciples asked Him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he would be born blind?"
3 Jesus answered, "It was neither that this man sinned, nor his parents; but it was so that the works of God might be displayed in him.Did you see it? There is implication there that has a huge and profound impact on my life. In verse 3, Jesus says to the disciples that the man's blindness is not the result of sin, rather that he was born blind so that the works of God might be seen in him.
Think about that response in the context of John Piper's question. Think about Jesus' response everytime you hear someone say, "Why does God let bad things happen to good people?".
You see, when I read this, it appears that the whole purpose of this man's life was to display the power of God. Ultimately, the purpose of his life was to assure that God would be praised through the miracle.
So, if we have been redeemed, if we have been saved, if we once were blind, but now we see, it seems that the whole purpose of our existence, the whole function of creation would be to worship the creator.
It is just a thought, and as it is the thought of a broken being, I do not claim it as gospel truth. However, it has been what God has been leading me to.
This leads me to the bigger issue. In the last six months, I have had a number of great conversations with friends, family, and pastors that have reminded me that our salvation can not be isolated. We were not redeemed on our own, but also redeemed into a body. Christ is not returning for Rob. I have a personal relationship with God, yes, but He is coming back to redeem the Church (not a single denomination, but the true bride of Christ). What this means is that I always need to be conscious of the idea of community. As much as I love having these conversations about some of the grey areas in the bible, the truth is that it is not always beneficial, not always useful to the body.
This was my issue with John Piper's message back in January. The subject matter was not something that he had the authority to give a black and white, right or wrong answer on, and to try to do so risked being devicive to the body. However, and here is the really amazing example of God's grace and power, it is through that talk that many of these issues have come to the forefront of my mind and have led to conversations that have led to conversations that have led to minds circling around the mystery of God.
This may have seemed like an erratic entry. If so, I apologize. I am still working through of all this. The cool thing is that Paul went through these same questions and conversations, and he constantly pointed towards Christ rather than giving a dogmatic answer. I think we should have that as our model, as we seek to "work out our faith with fear and trembling."
My mind spins around. Praise God that he is not limited by my understanding or the box I try to put him in.
Thanks for reading,
Rob
posted by Rob @ 5:23 PM
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