Are you a good person? No, really - do you think you are a good person? Every now and again I fall into the trap of believing that I am a good person, or at least that I'm not THAT bad. I mean, come on, compared to THAT guy over there, I look pretty good. Someone might ask: "Alright, smarty pants. How do you define 'good'?" That's the question, isn't it? Does being a good person mean: good compared to others? Or is there some inherent quality that makes someone good?
Questions; questions that need answering.
Isn't it true that one of humanity's greatest faults is our tendency to have a higher view of ourselves than we ought to? I was recently talking with a non-Christian friend about the story of Job and how impressed I was at his attitude towards God in the face of such destruction. Through no fault of his own, the Devil ruined every aspect of Job's life, by taking his family, his wealth, his health ... everything. But through it all, not once did Job curse God. On the contrary, his response is too incredible to not quote: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, and naked I shall return there. The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away. Blessed be the name of the Lord." (Job 1:21, NASB). My friend responded: "I don't think I would or could respond like that." And you know what? I think it is the natural response of humanity to not respond like Job. We wouldn't ... and we couldn't respond like him.
The world tells us that we are the product of random evolutionary processes, being descended from animals. They conclude from this that we are basically good, or at least morally neutral. The idea of being evil is right out of the question. It is easy to understand how they can conclude that God would be unjust in His dealings with Job. After all, what did Job do to deserve this?
That question, and that line of reasoning, demonstrates a complete lack of understanding of a proper view of God and man. There is no other explanation for it. I say this not to point fingers or to judge - in fact, I have pity on my friends who have this perspective.
I've entered the book of Numbers in my Bible study (a book with an unfortunately uninteresting title). What amazes me is how the Israelites continue to grumble and complain against the Lord over and over again. Think with me for a moment. The true and the living God remembered His promise to Abraham and delivered this tribal group from bondage to the Egyptians after 400 years. This deliverance wasn't done nonchalantly, either. Yahweh came to Egypt with miracles not seen before nor since! After ruining Egypt, the Egyptians were begging Moses to take his people out from among them. He then parted the Red Sea to deliver the Israelites from Pharaoh's desire for vengeance! Again, no small event!
God Almighty has delivered His people from bondage and promised to make them into a great nation, because of the promises He made to Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. He appeared as a pillar of cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night to direct them as they traveled. Then the Lord gives them commands to live by, and Moses meets with the Lord on Mount Sinai to receive these new commands. While Moses was away, the people abandoned the Lord with incredible speed and wicked creativity. They came to Aaron (Moses' brother) and asked him to create an idol for them to worship. Aaron agrees, and gathers their gold and makes them a golden calf. Here is the later interaction between Moses and Aaron:
"21 Then Moses said to Aaron, “What did this people do to you, that you have brought such great sin upon them?” 22 Aaron said, “Do not let the anger of my lord burn; you know the people yourself, that they are prone to evil. 23 For they said to me, ‘Make a god for us who will go before us; for this Moses, the man who brought us up from the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him. ’ 24 I said to them, ‘Whoever has any gold, let them tear it off. ’ So they gave it to me, and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf.”" (NASB).
A couple things stood out to me while reading this. First, Aaron's ready acknowledgement that the people are "prone to evil." What a perfect description of humanity in its present fallen state! We are conceived as sinful creatures, sin every day, and invent new ways of doing evil. Second, Aaron's laughable explanation for how this golden idol came into being: "[They gave me the gold], and I threw it into the fire, and out came this calf." Uh huh. This honestly reminds me of Adam's reply to God in the garden: "The woman whom You gave to be with me, she gave me from the tree, and I ate" (Genesis 3:12, NASB). In both accounts, excuses are made all in an attempt to pass off responsibility. They aren't taking their sin seriously.
Reading through Exodus and Numbers are instructive examples of what not to do. Israel rebels and complains ---> and God, being just, must punish sin ---> atonement is made ---> and God has mercy on the people. Over and over and over again. Korah's rebellion is an example that comes to mind. Korah, Dathan and Abiram, along with 250 leaders of the congregation gathered against Moses. These "men of renown" were jealous of Moses' position and threatened he and his brother, Aaron. By the Lord's power, the earth opened up and swallowed Korah alive, along with his household and possessions. Fire consumed the other 250 leaders.
The people nearby were naturally scared and ran for their lives. That doesn't surprise me. What does is the behavior of the entire congregation on the following day: "But on the next day all the congregation of the sons of Israel grumbled against Moses and Aaron, saying, "You are the ones who have caused the death of the Lord's people."" (Numbers, 16:41, NASB). The Lord's wrath was demonstrated in the form of a plague until Moses made atonement for them.
Now, you would think that in light of the many miracles and deliverances of the Lord, the people wouldn't behave like this. They regularly saw his sheer power, and knew what He required of them, but they continued to rebel against His commandments. Even when they saw Korah's household get swallowed whole, and other leaders burned alive with fire, they had the audacity to complain the very next day. I mean, holy cow! (No pun intended). But if we know our Bibles, we know that even if you or I were in the same situation, apart from the grace of God, we would behave in the exact same way.
I find it easy to sit back and chuckle at the foolishness of those Israelites, haughtily thinking to myself that if I saw the regular power of Yahweh that I would offer better obedience. And I would be wrong. In and of ourselves, we utterly lack the ability to do what is pleasing to God, even when His power is clearly seen.
Remember the story of the rich man and Lazarus ... the rich man was in a place of torment, but begged Abraham to send Lazarus back from the dead to warn his family so that they will repent. Here is Abraham's response: "If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be persuaded even if someone rises from the dead" (Luke 16:31, NASB). How could this possibly be? It seems logical to believe that a dead man coming back to life, and then warning you to repent, would have an affect! But this is not the case. Man cannot repent by his own power (John 6:44); but rather, this must be granted (2 Timothy 2:25).
There is some obvious application from the Israelites' repeated failures. We should take to heart the commands of God, and believe that He really does care about how we live. Our lives should be a passionate reflection of the Lord's holiness. When we don't understand why God has brought a set of circumstances upon us, we should be careful not to complain against Him - even privately in our hearts! Instead of being a bunch of complainers, we should radiate with thankfulness for what God has done for us. The Israelites had much to be thankful for: out of all the nations, they alone, were chosen to be in a special covenant relationship with the true and the living God. They were promised a bountiful land to inherit, and also were given a sacrificial system to point them towards the coming Messiah.
How much more thankful ought we to be since Christ has already come! God the Son emptied Himself by taking on human flesh, to glorify Himself by delivering His elect people from sin! Above all people, we have the most reason to be overflowing with joy and thanksgiving. This will aid our witness for the gospel, but also will be pleasing to our God. I will close with these beautiful words from the Apostle Paul:
"14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing; 15 so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world, 16 holding fast the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I will have reason to glory because I did not run in vain nor toil in vain. 17 But even if I am being poured out as a drink offering upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice and share my joy with you all. 18 You too, I urge you, rejoice in the same way and share your joy with me." (Philippians 2:14-18, NASB).
Thanks for reading,
Rusty
When most people are deciding on a book of the Bible to study, Leviticus rarely makes the top of anyone's list. In fact, the Old Testament as a whole is considered by many Christians to be irrelevant to Christian life. Oh sure, there are some interesting stories, useful as illustrations for Sunday School: Moses and the burning bush, or David and Goliath. But that's where its usefulness ends - we have the New Testament now; a new and better covenant. After all, didn't Jesus come to fulfill the Old Covenant Law?
I must admit that I'm guilty of thinking like this for a long long time. But why is this incorrect? For starters, the Apostle Paul had this to say about Scripture:
"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17, NASB).
Have you ever considered that at the time Paul wrote this, he was primarily speaking about the Old Testament Scriptures? I absolutely agree that this envelopes both testaments of Scripture - "All Scripture" - but it is primarily the Old Testament that Paul has in mind. What was it that Timothy should continue to learn (vs. 14) from? From which "sacred writings" (vs. 15) was the Apostle referring to? Answer: the Old Testament Scriptures!
Or how about another passage where the Sadducees try to trap Jesus with this ridiculous example: a train of brothers who die, one after the other, each marrying the first brother's wife. The Pharisees then asked the Lord whose wife she will be in the resurrection? Jesus' response is stunning:
"But Jesus answered and said to them, “You are mistaken, not understanding the Scriptures nor the power of God. For in the resurrection they neither marry nor are given in marriage, but are like angels in heaven. But regarding the resurrection of the dead, have you not read what was spoken to you by God: ‘I am the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob’? He is not the God of the dead but of the living.” (Matthew 22:29-31, NASB).
The Lord's criticism focuses on the Pharisees' lack of understanding of the Scriptures, and hence, the power of God! He goes on to say one of the most amazing things I've ever read in the New Testament: "have you not read what was spoken to you by God?" Christ equates the reading of Scripture ... reading the Old Testament Scriptures ... to that of God speaking to them! What's more, He held them accountable to what was written in the Scriptures!
There is so much that could be said about this passage, but I will have to limit myself for the sake of remaining on topic. What is so often taken for granted is the high view of Scripture held by our Lord! He believes it contains the very words of God, and is the sufficient standard by which we are to live our lives.
I recently finished reading through Leviticus, and was confronted with many things that were a bit ... uncomfortable for someone in our modern, Western culture. God describes the multitude of ways in which He expects to be worshiped, down to the very details of how animals are to be slaughtered and offered as a sacrifice, and what to do with the various parts. Honestly, I find some sections rather grotesque for someone who hasn't grown up on a farm. But reading through this marvelous book of Scripture, you get the sense that Yahweh cares deeply about how He is worshiped, and how His creatures are to live. The true and the living God not only prescribes life for society, but also for individuals by giving universal moral standards.
As you might have cleverly guessed from the title, I spent a lot of time studying the Holiness Code found in Leviticus 18-20. What a rich and beautiful text this is! It is overflowing with moral clarity, and speaks to issues that all human beings intimately know to be true. I believe that only the God-breathed Scriptures could provide such insight! This section discusses things like: incest, bestiality, homosexuality, adultery, child sacrifice, and mediums and spiritists. Admittedly, these are not pleasant topics to dwell on, but oh-so important in describing our humanity and what is required of us.
Now, I consider it both a blessing and a curse that when I am reading or listening to someone, I am analyzing what is being said from both sides of an issue. When I read the Holiness Code, in the back of my mind I can hear what the unbeliever might say to try to disprove the Bible. Someone might argue: "What you're saying sounds good and moral, but you aren't being consistent, are you? If you were, you would believe that Leviticus 19:19 is equally applicable for today! And since no one believes wearing mixed fabrics is immoral, how can you honestly say the other listed behaviors are immoral?" Here is the verse just mentioned:
"19 ‘You are to keep My statutes. You shall not breed together two kinds of your cattle; you shall not sow your field with two kinds of seed, nor wear a garment upon you of two kinds of material mixed together." (NASB)
This isn't new to me; it's an argument I've heard before. But responding to this, and doing so in a God-honoring way that treats the Scripture with accuracy, proved to be a challenge this week. I thought about it. And I thought about it some more. I re-read this section, and discussed it with some friends. How might we respond to this objection? How would you respond to this objection?
I would start by pointing out that the Bible should be taken as a whole, and not cut up into little, isolated chunks. As Christians, we believe all 66 books in the Bible have the same divinely inspired source: the Holy Spirit. Therefore, they have a consistent message. Right away, the Biblically literate believer knows that some commands given to the nation of Israel were abrogated (set aside) due to their fulfillment in Christ, namely, the ceremonial aspects of the Old Covenant Law.
"Aha! So God's moral laws change! And so does God..." our unbelieving objector might say. The problem with this perspective is that it doesn't allow God the freedom to give certain moral requirements for a specific amount of time, and for a specific purpose. This is precisely why we believe the ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Law existed: to differentiate the Jews from among the nations, and to function as a shadowy picture of the things to come. Contrary to what the Dispensationalists believe, the Law was not given to provide a works-based salvation, if only they kept God's commandments (as if that were even possible). Rather, they were to point them towards the necessity of a perfect Savior, which was fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
Digging into the text a little bit, both chapters 18 and 20 have statements that make these texts universal. For example:
"‘Do not defile yourselves by any of these things; for by all these the nations which I am casting out before you have become defiled. For the land has become defiled, therefore I have brought its punishment upon it, so the land has spewed out its inhabitants. But as for you, you are to keep My statutes and My judgments and shall not do any of these abominations, neither the native, nor the alien who sojourns among you (for the men of the land who have been before you have done all these abominations, and the land has become defiled); so that the land will not spew you out, should you defile it, as it has spewed out the nation which has been before you. For whoever does any of these abominations, those persons who do so shall be cut off from among their people." (Leviticus 18:24-29, NASB).
Chapter 20 has another statement similar to this.
The moral requirements discussed throughout chapter 18 are seen to be universal because the Lord is holding the nations accountable for what He is proclaiming here. Even before Leviticus was written, they were guilty of breaking these commands, and it is because of these sins that they would be cast out from the land Israel was to inherit. This means these universal moral requirements were in effect prior to the Pentateuch being written! Is it fair that they be held accountable for a revelation they did not possess in writing? The Apostle Paul taught that God's moral laws are written on the hearts of every man and woman (Romans 2:12-16).
Now let's look at chapter 19, this chapter that is sandwiched by two chapters containing so many universal commands. Why is it placed in-between these two chapters? It seems so ... out of place. Wouldn't it have been better to organize it after all of the universally required laws? That's when it hit me: I was falling into the trap of anachronism by forcing a modern, Western organizational standard onto the text that was completely foreign to the Jewish mindset of the day. What do I mean? I mean that the concept of organizing and categorizing topics, in an encyclopedic format, is a rather modern idea. What's more, to the Jews, all of these laws were moral for them: whether it was about homosexuality, or mixing different kinds of seeds in your field! To stray from God's universal or ceremonial requirements was sinful to them.
But ... but why are they strung together? The short answer is: I don't know, but I believe the Holy Spirit of God has a reason for it. What is clear to me is that there is a strong distinction between the moral laws that all people everywhere are held accountable to, and the ceremonial laws meant to distinguish the Jews and point them towards the then coming Messiah. Surely, when the psalmist wrote, "O how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day" (Psalm 119:97, NASB), he understood the clear difference between commands such as honoring your father and mother, and wearing various fabrics. Even considering the additional comments he makes about loving the law later in Psalm 119, he directly mentions moral requirements (vss. 113, 163, 165).
Why did I spend my week agonizing over this section of Scripture? Why do I care about an unbeliever's objection to the inspired Scriptures? I care for two reasons. The first is that I want to have a proper understanding of what God has to say to me. Because if I have a view of Scripture, equal to that of Christ's, then I must believe that both Old and New Testaments exist so that I may be fully equipped to live my Christian life. The second, is so that I can offer a clear defense of my faith when the unbeliever raises questions like what we see above. Real people have asked (and are asking) these questions. I have been asked about this before, and I believe it is only a matter of time until I hear them again.
Given the conversation in our culture, how long do you think it will be until you are asked about the Holiness Code? Wouldn't it be better to have a prepared answer that clearly explains what you believe, and why? The godly model of the Apostles indicates that we ought to be prepared. Peter lays it out clearly for us when he wrote:
"but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; (1 Peter 3:15, NASB).
Amen to that! May the Lord grant to His people the desire to prepare to be faithful witnesses of the one and only way of salvation.
Where to begin ... where to begin ... ah, yes! We shall start with some excuses for why there has been a void on my blog as of late. Some valid, others less valid. But I leave it to my readership to decide which is which.
Life, man. Life has been good. Life has been busy. Two year-olds have an enormous amount of potential energy bursting at the seams. Yet, for all their energy, they also can be extraordinarily expressive, which is certainly true of my Molly Jane. She will say something like, "Daddy! You're here! I'm so glad you're here and that we can be together, Daddy! I miss you today while you're at work!" The cuteness reigns supreme. She is almost three years old, and Emily and I find ourselves asking where the time went?
Did you hear that we're going to have a son?! Yes, Connolly (spelling to be confirmed by my wife later, to be sure) Kevin Ryan. The Ryan name was already well preserved through my younger bro's, but it does make me happy to know that the clan will spread throughout the earth now also directly from me. The line shall be preserved: Death before dishonour! So October will be a month long remembered. It has seen the birth of one Ryan, and will soon see the birth of another.
"Here's where the fun begins" -- Anakin Skywalker
At the tail end of 2013, I was intrigued by astronomy and bought and worked through an astronomy 101 textbook by Alex Filippenko. As a result, I became more and more interested not just in astronomy but also physics. I decided that I would like to have a workable understanding of Super String Theory, which means that I must also have a grasp on Special and General Relativity, and Quantum Mechanics. It wasn't long before I realized that to meaningfully comprehend these areas I would need to adopt some advanced mathematics. Since January, I have worked through three math textbooks, covering basic arithmetic (hey, I had to start somewhere), geometry, trigonometry, number theory, statistics, and algebra. Next on my plate will be pre-calculus, and then calculus.
During all of this, I have read some books on physics for laymen: Beyond Einstein by Michio Kaku and The Fabric of the Cosmos by Brian Greene. It seems to be the story of my life that the list of books I want to read increases in length at a never-ending rate. There are at least 5 more books on physics for lay-people that I hope to get to by the end of 2015. Also, thanks to Audible (seriously, thank goodness for Audible!), I've listened to multiple 24-part lectures by university professors on most of these topics. The more I learn the more I WANT to learn more. For example, who knew that the Standard Model of particle physics went substantially deeper than protons, neutrons, and electrons? I didn't, until recently. Kind of crazy actually. And of course, if String Theory proves to be true, even these fundamental point-like particles are actually made up of even more subatomic objects: strings. But time will tell.
A friend of mine, who is not a Christian, recently asked me why I was so interested in studying this subject since I believe God is ultimately responsible for it all? I told him that it is a demonstration of the creative power of the God that I worship, that such an all-powerful God could imagine and then design a universe such as ours! So mysterious, so complex, so incredibly breathtaking! It proclaims the majesty of His glory everywhere you look! He went on to ask why I was spending so much time studying the work of physicists who believe in things contrary to Christianity? I answered that just because I take issue with their worldview, and therefore, many of their conclusions, this does not mean that I cannot learn from what they get right.
Many, many, many, many, many more topics have been on my mind lately, each of which deserve their own blog article. The LGBT movement, the President, SCOTUS decisions, Michael Brown's new book that just arrived (!!!), and to a much lesser degree: video games.
Scott and I recently discussed our renewed plans to begin a YouTube channel: combined videos, and individual videos. More to come on that shortly! Stay tuned! Thank you for reading, and my apologies for not posting more regularly for a quarter of an entire year. Epic mcfailsauce.
Until we meet again, at last,Rusty
