Struggle with Evil

Question:

How can we "reconcile" the well-known passage in Ephesian 6 that speaks of our struggle against the rulers, powers and world forces of darkness in this world (v 12) with the well-known passage in Colossians that states that by Him all things were created, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities.

Response:

To answer this question, we need to turn to Hebrews which tells us that God created all things through Him (1:2) and placed all things under the Son’s feet (2:8).  However, the verse goes on to state the obvious point that right now “we do not yet see all things put under him.”  At the present moment we see a world in rebellion against its creator, hence the struggle described in Ephesians. 

Not only has God allowed Satan and his devils power in the world but there is also the struggle against our own sinful impulses.  We who have repented and believe in Jesus have been redeemed but are not yet fully sanctified.  That’s a key word: yet, which implies that the subjection of evil powers will occur in the future. 

Revelation tells us the ending of this evil rebellion where evil powers are overcome and brought into subjection to God’s perfect will.  At that time, all effects of evil are removed: the heavens and earth are renewed, and “there shall be no more death, nor sorrow nor crying and there shall be no more pain for the former things have passed away” (21:4).

What does the command, "Do not be afraid" mean?

Question:

I'm wondering what's the point of fear from God's perspective. Clearly it impacts safety and keeps us alive around danger but what about that lingering psychological fear about something I know is likely coming but can't change. Doesn't Jesus say ' do not be afraid' like a command? How do we actually do that action 'do not be afraid,' when we are feeling afraid? Is it something we receive from God? What does a life without fear look like when we're in a scary situation?

Response:

Jesus mostly says “do not be afraid” to people in situations that were scary and who needed reassurance. For example, he comforts the disciples on the mount of transfiguration when he takes on a dazzling appearance (Matthew 17:7), he comforts the synagogue ruler when he hears his daughter is dead (Mark 5:36), he comforts the disciples when he comes to them walking on water (Matthew 14:27) and he comforts the disciples when he appears to them after his resurrection (Matthew 28:10). In all these instances, the people involved were facing frightening situations and needed reassurance that things were okay even though they did not appear to be so. Jesus tells Simon not to be afraid when Jesus calls him to be his disciple but this also is in response to an extraordinary situation, when the fishing nets, empty all night, were suddenly filled to breaking (Luke 5:10).

In Luke 12:4 Jesus tells his disciples “do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do.” In this case, fear probably means being so affected that you give in to your tormenters rather than staying faithful to God. God is the one with ultimate power so he is the one you should fear and obey.

Finally, Jesus instructs his disciples, at the last supper: “Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27). This word comes at the end of a long discourse on Christ’s impending departure. Naturally the disciples were fearful of him leaving and Jesus took pains to reassure them that he was not abandoning them: he would return for them, he knew the Father and would show him to them, he would listen to and answer the disciples’ prayers, Jesus and the Father would indwell them and Jesus would send the Holy Spirit to be with them and to teach them while he (Jesus) was physically absent. After telling them all this wonderful news, Jesus tells them “Peace I leave with you, peace I give to you. Not as the world gives, give I to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.” The disciples did not have to fear that Jesus would leave them “orphans”, all alone with none to help.

Christ does not instruct them to not ever be afraid under any circumstances but that they should not be afraid about his departure. Life is hard and scary but what makes it truly terrible is the prospect of bearing its sorrows alone. Jesus reassures his followers that they are not alone; they are not being abandoned. Christ will suffer abandonment on their behalf so that they never have to.

So how does this apply in our lives today? We too have the assurance that Christ has not left us alone but is with us and has given us the Holy Spirit to guide us and that Christ will return for us and bring us to himself. We are not alone. Terrible things may happen to us that make us fearful but we can face them knowing we are not alone and that whatever this world throws at us is only temporary and not worth staking our lives on.

It is natural to fear things that we know will be painful and I don’t believe Jesus meant we would not or should not experience fear. Pain, loss, and disappointment are all hard to bear and we dread them. But our fears can be mitigated by the knowledge that we are not alone and that “this too shall pass.” What we must do is to soak in his word, learning and reminding ourselves of his promises to be with us and to return for us so that our fears do not overwhelm and that we may find something to be thankful for even in the midst of them.

How does temptation fit into God’s plans for my life?

Questions: How does temptation fit into God’s plans for my life?

Response:

James chapter one talks about being faithful to God in the midst of difficult circumstances.  Verses 2-8 say “count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience (endurance, perseverance).”  Verses 12-18 say “blessed is the man who endures temptation: for when he has been approved he will receive the crown of life”. 

What of these words “trials” and “temptations”?  In the Greek, the same word, peirasmos, is used.  Its meaning is determined by the context.  In positive contexts it is translated “trials” or “tests”.  These are circumstances in which a believer has the opportunity to demonstrate faithfulness.  A school child takes tests.  These tests are not given by the teacher to trip up the student, to lead him astray or to harm him; they are given to examine the student’s knowledge and help him see where he is lacking in order that he might know where to improve. 

In negative contexts peirasmos is translated “temptations”. A trial might be a believing woman navigating a work relationship with a man she finds attractive but who is an unbeliever.  A temptation may also be present in which her desire for a romantic relationship morphs into a desire to grasp such satisfaction apart from God’s design.  For instance, the trial is having to work with a desirable but unsuitable man, whereas a temptation might be the desire to text said man, under the guise of dealing with work issues, but in reality, to gain some attention that she should not be seeking.

James clarifies that temptations do not come from God, they come from ourselves.  Trials are external – they are situations we find ourselves in, situations that may make staying faithful to God difficult.  Temptations are internal – they are our own desires for satisfaction apart from God’s goodness.  James 1:14,15 says “each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed.  Then, when desire has conceived it gives birth to sin and sin when it is full-grown, brings forth death.”  Temptation has to do with the quality of our desires.  A desire for a romantic relationship is good and God-given.  A desire for a romantic relationship outside the bonds of faith or sexual chastity is temptation leading to sin.

God gives trials or tests in order to mature us and he invites us to ask for wisdom if we are uncertain about what faithfulness should look like in a given situation but he does not tempt us.  Temptations come from within and show us where our desires need to be reshaped and so we ought to pay attention to them.  If I am tempted to pursue an unsuitable man I need to examine why.  Perhaps I have become convinced that I have a need that God can’t or won’t fill, that God is holding out on me etc. etc.  I need to address that desire and take it to God and to his word for repentance and reshaping.  Consistency in reshaping my desires through the application of biblical truths and communion with God will lead to diminished temptations and greater success in navigating trials.  Humility and vigilance is key.

Jesus' take on Mary and Martha: What gives? I feel like I'm a Mary but God's given me a Martha role.

Question:

How do I reconcile Jesus take on Mary and Martha when I feel like I'm a Mary but God's given me (sometimes I feel like I've been trapped in) the job description of Martha?

Response:

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house.  And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word.  But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things.  But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.”

It’s important to understand what Jesus meant when He addressed Martha.  We may take this passage to mean that the mundane work of serving is less than the “spiritual” work of listening to Jesus.  I can imagine that busy mothers roll their eyes at this passage – “well, if I just sat and read my Bible all day, this house would fall apart.”  Or perhaps, “I would like to study the word and worship and have deep spiritual conversations but someone has to do the laundry.”  We may be left with a resentful thought toward Jesus for His naivete about what it takes to run a household or toward our role as mother and homemaker for taking us from what we’d rather be doing.

But take heart!  Jesus meant no such things by this encounter.  Mary did not spend all her time listening to Jesus – her job description would have been to cook and clean and care for the home and those in it just like any other woman in those days.  We must not take the incident of Jesus’ visit to their home as what was normal.  It was a one-time situation that Jesus used to illustrate an important principle.

We each have spheres in which we find ourselves, having certain tasks and responsibilities and we are called to fulfil them “as to the Lord.”  We were created to work as per God’s mandate to mankind in Genesis: “fill the earth and subdue it” and though many tasks are tedious and thankless they nevertheless have the dignity of playing a role in fulfilling our mandate from God and we bring Him pleasure when we do them.

Jesus was on earth for a short time and fulfilled His ministry in a time even shorter which required certain responsibilities to be temporarily altered.  For example, Jesus was questioned by the disciples of John the Baptist who wondered why they fasted while Jesus’ disciples did not.  Jesus responded that His disciples’ behaviour was appropriate because He, the bridegroom, was only with them for a short time and so it was right for them to rejoice while He was still there.  The time was coming when He would be taken away – that was the time for mourning and fasting, not before.

Likewise, with Mary and Martha.  Both fulfilled their household duties in Jesus’ absence.  But when He came, for short while to teach, Mary correctly understood the tremendous opportunity that had presented itself and acted accordingly by suspending her work in order to listen.  Doing otherwise would have been akin to saying “Thank-you Mr. Mandela, for your kind invitation to dinner but you see, Saturday is laundry night and therefore I must decline.”

Martha failed to recognize the opportunity of learning directly from Jesus, instead being “worried and troubled about many things” to the point of wishing Mary to lose out on her limited time opportunity as well, for which Jesus gently rebuked her.  I daresay that if Martha had also stopped serving in order to listen and the disciples complained to Jesus about it, he would have said that same thing to them.  He was not bothered by Martha's serving per se, just with her inappropriate devotion to it.

I believe this passage is about priorities.  Fulfilling the responsibilities of our sphere is right and good and a part of our mandate from God.  But if a limited time opportunity of great importance presents itself shall we become “distracted with much serving”?  Will the house fall down if dinner is late? 

What shall we do in eternity? Is it just going to be an unending worship service?

Question: 

What shall we do in eternity? Is it just going to be an unending worship service?

Response: 

There are many misconceptions about what we believers will experience in the hereafter. Primarily, that we will spend eternity in heaven.

In Genesis we read that God created man in his image and placed them on earth. Man was created to live on planet earth not in heaven and thus it remains for eternity. Isaiah 65:17 tells us “For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; And the former shall not be remembered or come to mind” which is reiterated by John in Revelation 21:1: “Now I saw a new heavens and a new earth for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away”. The renewed heavens and earth will be released from the “bondage to corruption” (Romans 8:20,21) to which He subjected them when He cursed the earth back in the Garden of Eden (Genesis 3:17—19), removing said curse (Revelation 22:3). We can see then that we were made for earth and earth is where we will remain.

Not only are the heavens and earth renewed but we too will be “re-made” in the resurrection, when these weak and fallen bodies of ours will be transformed into the image of His glorious body (Philippians 3:21).

The picture that Revelation gives us in one in which heaven and earth are a united reality: John sees the holy city of New Jerusalem coming down to earth from heaven (Rev. 21:2,3) and speaks of God being with man, whereas at present, God remains hidden from our sight. John also sees a great multitude of people worshipping God at His heavenly throne in Revelation 7:9. So, in one sense, yes, we will spend eternity in heaven, insofar as we are given full access to that reality, in addition to the physical reality that we are currently accustomed to. Thus, Christ can say in John 14:2,3 “In My Father’s house are many mansions…I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.” We will be able to enter and enjoy heaven but will not be restricted to it.

Once all this has been accomplished: judgment meted out, the creation renewed, the kingdom set up, how shall we occupy ourselves for eternity? In Genesis 1:28, we read that God created man and said: “Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it…and have dominion over [it].” That is our mandate for life on earth and it has never been revoked. In the New World there shall be no more human reproduction, for its population will consist of those who have been redeemed from the Old Earth, so that part of the mandate will be obsolete. But the second part, of filling and subduing the earth and having dominion will still remain. And so, we shall do what we have always done – create culture. Only this time without alienation from God and all its attendant evils: wars, famines, the battle of the sexes, false religion, idolatry, state oppression, loneliness, persecution, disease, broken hearts and death. We shall live as we were originally created to live, clothed in the righteousness of Christ, with full access to our talents and abilities, having perfectly intimate fellowship with all our fellow human beings.

And I daresay, we shall not be limited to planet earth. After all, God has created billions of galaxies that we have no hope of discovering, developing and enjoying in this life. I suspect that in eternity we shall finally develop the technology to fully explore His creation – to extend our dominion across the reaches of space.

But most importantly, we shall know God and get to know Him better and better. We shall no longer be hindered by sin and selfishness, nor by the limitations of an existence restricted to a physical reality. As Paul says, “For now we see as in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part but then I shall know as I am also known” (1 Corinthians 13:12). It shall be our deepest joy to learn something new about God and to worship Him for it which will inspire us to seek Him further to learn something new which will inspire more worship in a mutually reinforcing upward spiral of increasing knowledge and joy and glory for eternity.

So, we wait. We live in and utilize and enjoy Earth 1.0 to the best of our ability. But when it fails us, when we are disappointed and hurt and hemmed in we do not lose heart. For our outer man may be wasting away but our inner man is being renewed day by day. And we remain confident of our coming inheritance in the saints in the light.

Does the Age of the Earth Really Matter?

Question:

How we should approach the creation account(s) in Genesis?

Should the age of the earth/universe be as divisive an issue as it has become in Christianity?

Response:

When reading the Bible, we need to take it on its own terms which means to read it as it was intended. Part of this means to determine the genre of the text in question. For example, a newspaper report gives a factual account of a particular event that really happened – I expect to read about where and when and what took place. I would be confused to read “the mayor concluded his speech and rode off on a winged horse while the townspeople cheered” in the Calgary Herald, whereas such a line in a fairy tale would be expected.

There are a number of genres within the Bible: historical narrative, poetry, apocalyptic, gospel, letter, prophecy. So, we need to examine them to see which one best fits the creation account in Genesis.

The creation account proves controversial because there are conflicting views as to how it should be understood. The choices are usually either historical narrative or poetry. Why the conflict? If the account is historical narrative, the story that is told is that of a creation week of seven 24-hour days, with instantaneous creation of the items listed, occurring approximately six thousand years ago (based on the genealogical data in later chapters). However, visit any science museum, open any science or ancient history textbook and the story told about origins is very different, involving a billions of years process of cosmological and biological evolution.

Clearly both stories cannot be true. If the genre of Genesis is historical narrative then what do we make of the case made that the earth is billions of years old? Doesn’t that make the biblical account mistaken, casting doubt on its truthfulness?

There are many believers who trust the Bible and who believe that the physical evidence indicates a vastly ancient earth. They reconcile these biblical data and the physical evidence by arguing that the creation account is poetic and not meant to be taken as a straightforward historical account of creation. For example, some explain that the word “day” does not mean a 24-hour period of time but a lengthy and non-specific period of time; perhaps it is equivalent to “age” or “eon”.

There are many believers who trust the Bible and who believe the Genesis account is historical and meant to be taken as it appears: when it says “and there was evening and there was morning, the first day”, it means a 24-hour period. These Christians believe that since the Bible implies a recent creation, the physical evidence ought to be understood in light of that. They argue the physical evidence does not conclusively show the earth to be ancient, pointing to the assumptions involved in assigning dates to evidence.

The difference of opinion sometimes becomes contentious: “young earthers” accusing “old earthers” of compromising on the truth of scripture in favour of the opinions of fallible man; “old earthers” accusing “young earthers” of rejecting the facts of science in favour of misguided faith in wooden literalism. One side is “faithless” and the other side is “blind”.

Yet the issue is not peripheral. What we believe about origins affects our view of ourselves and the world around us and the meaning of life. And what we believe about the Bible affects how we understand its teachings and how to apply them in our lives.

Should the matter be divisive? That depends. If the matter impedes fellowship because of a fundamental doctrinal difference, then perhaps some people should part company. For example, if an “old earther” goes so far in agreement with main stream scientific opinion that he or she denies the fall of mankind into sin or to deny the death and resurrection of Christ as the basis of the atonement (such as some within the Unitarian and United Church denominations do), true spiritual fellowship with those in the historic, orthodox Christian tradition will not be possible.

But if there is agreement on salvation by faith in Christ, both “young earthers” and “old earthers” can participate in the Lord’s table together and tolerate their differences.

I myself identify with the “young earth” position. I believe the Genesis text is historical narrative with no indication within the text that it should be taken otherwise and that the rest of the narrative of redemption only makes consistent sense when the Genesis account is so understood. The genealogical data in Genesis 5 and elsewhere is an accurate record of the lives of our forebears and does not allow for vast ages between “In the beginning…” and “God spoke to Abraham saying ‘Get out of your country…’”. Christ’s own genealogy traces a line from himself back to Adam (Luke 3) and Christ Himself affirms humanity’s existence from the earliest times when He said “Have you not read that in the beginning he created them [mankind], male and female?” (Matthew 19). I hold the “young earth” position, not as a requirement for salvation but as a corollary of my belief in the perspicuity or “understand-ability” of scripture.

I believe that interpreting the text as poetry or in some other way in an effort to harmonize with modern scientific option is misguided and unnecessary given the uncertainties involved with modern dating methods. I believe that the story of origins which involves a vast, evolutionary process is in direct competition with the biblical account and serves to bolster unbelief in those who are outside the family of faith. Perhaps even affecting those within. I sat under a professor at a Bible college who was a thorough-going evolutionist: billions of years, man from apes etc. What bothered me was, what appeared to me to be his subtle scorn for those who were so naïve as to believe that God created the world in six days.

In this matter of creation and evolution we might say, with Augustine: In essentials, unity; in non-essentials, liberty; in everything, charity, meaning that the matter is not a hill we need to die on. And in one sense that is true in that we do not need to convince or disassociate from every fellow believer who takes a position other than our own.

Yet, our stance on the authority of scripture has implications that affect the essentials of our faith and we would do well to soberly examine our beliefs and motives regarding our stance as well as examining our treatment of our fellow believers in this matter.

Is it dangerous to send my child to a public university?

Question: 

Why are some Christian parents afraid to send their kids to secular universities?

Response:

I suspect they are afraid their kids will lose their faith.  This is not an unreasonable concern as there is research indicating many Christian young people either give up the faith altogether or become less interested, stop attending church and change their values once they leave their parents’ home.  Hemorrhaging Faith: Why and When Canadian Young Adults are Leaving, Staying and Returning to the Church, 2011, was a study of 2049 young people between the ages of 18 and 34.  The study found that “only one in three Canadian young adults who attended church weekly as a child still do so today.  Of the young adults who no longer attend church, half have also stopped identifying themselves with the Christian tradition in which they were raised.”[1]

Is university responsible for this exodus?  Or one factor of many?   Was the faith of the young people who leave shallow to begin with?  Involvement at church, attendance at a youth group, even going on a summer missions trip does not mean that a person is deeply rooted in their faith.  It is possible to do all these things but still collapse in the face of articulate criticisms of one’s beliefs and exposure to other belief systems and values.  University is the place where your Christian teen will be challenged directly and indirectly, through textbooks, professors, fellow students, campus activities and the general atmosphere; it is a place where the true state of one’s faith is revealed.  Once away from direct parental influence will a young person’s faith stand on its own?

The apologetics ministry Answers in Genesis commissioned a study by the American Research Group in 2009, to look into the issue of church-going young people leaving the church in their college years.  They discovered that many of these students did not start doubting the Bible in college.  The majority of them had doubts in middle school and high school.[2]  The study also showed that church-going young people who attended Sunday School were no more inclined to trust the Bible than church-going young people who did not attend Sunday School.  Sunday School simply had no positive effect on the religious beliefs of those who attended.  In fact, Sunday School attenders were more likely to admit to becoming anti-church through the years, than those who did not attend Sunday School.[3]

In which case, we should not be surprised that, once out from direct parental control, college age young people exercise their prerogative to act on their doubts and dissatisfaction and quit attending church altogether.  University may certainly be a factor but may be those youth would have left anyway.

What can we say about all this?  Quite clearly the problem is deeper than we have realized and cannot be addressed “when the kids are older”.  Some questions to ask your middle- or high-schooler (as appropriate):

Why are you a Christian?

Who is Jesus?  Why is He important?  Is He the only way to be saved? Why?

Does anything in the Bible or about God bother you? 

Do you find the Bible boring? Why?

What do you think of gay people?  Does God love them?

What do you think of atheists? What does God want for them?

Would you go to church if it was only up to you? Why?

Also, do not think your child will somehow be spared if you send them to Bible college.  Challenges abound there as well.  I spent five years at a Christian college and seminary and we had our share of issues with drunkenness and pre-marital sex, pride and faithlessness.

We are called to live in the world.  We are not to be of it but we are to be in it.  We cannot hide or pretend like our kids are immune to its lies and allures.  We cannot guarantee our kids will keep the faith but we can do what we can to train them up so they can encounter challenges at all ages and not be broken by them. 

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[1] hemorrhagingfaith.com

[2] Ken Ham & Britt Beemer, “Already Gone”, Green Forest: AR, 2009, p 32.

[3] Ibid, p 43.