Our God is a Consuming Fire

Hebrews 12: ²⁸Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, ²⁹for our "God is a consuming fire."

Unfortunately, the evangelical church has become complacent and as a result trivialized worship. We have tended to confuse faithfulness in true worship with carving a slot out of our busy schedule to give the Lord his "due" on Sunday mornings. Far too often, Sunday worship is no more meaningful than the family lunch and the afternoon ballgame. We are smug in our righteousness - while others have chosen to use the Lord's day to sleep-in, work, or watch the ballgame - we have "pulled ourselves up by our bootstraps" and sacrificed. Unfortunately, the reality is much different. Consider the case of Aaron's priestly sons Nadab and Abihu.

Leviticus 10: ¹ Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command. ² So fire came out from the presence of the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.

Nadab and Abihu could have done other things, but instead they were obedient to the call of God and were involved in worship of the one true God. Apparently caught up in the moment, they made a tragic mistake. The glory of the Lord had just appeared to all the people. Fire emanated from the Lord's presence totally consuming the offering. In response, the entire nation shouts for joy and falls face down before such a great and mighty God. Perhaps excited by such an awesome experience, Nadab and Abihu, contrary to the Lord's commands, used their own source of fire to light their fragrant censers. It seemed like the right thing to do, to add another touch to really highlight the experience of the Lord's presence.

After all, should not God be pleased that they thought enough of him to "visit" him with their worship? It was seemingly such a small faux paus, "unauthorized fire", surely God would overlook such a minor infraction. They were not like the surrounding pagan nations, worshiping the false God of the Canaanite religion. The brothers were worshipping the one true God; just had this minor problem about "strange fire." If the view which apparently dominates the modern evangelical mind were true, then surely God would reward such slightly misguided "seekers" by winking at their little indiscretion and lovingly embrace them. However, God's response was quick and effective, Nadab and Abihu were struck dead merely by the Lord's presence. They, like the burnt offerings, were totally consumed by the Lord's holy fiery presence.

The worship we are engaged in on the Lord's Day is quite a dangerous and costly thing. So much that a couple of thousand years ago our Savior asked the Father, "if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me." Hours later while suffering on the cross, our Savior cried out in a loud voice, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" It was on the cross where Christ fully satisfied God's wrath by suffering and dying on our behalf, and thereby paying the full penalty that our sins deserved. In addition we were given Christ's righteousness - so we are now fully accepted before a holy and righteous God. It is on this basis that we can come before God and worship him with "reverence and awe." For our God is a consuming fire!

Prayer of George Washington

In celebration of our country's birthday, I think Abraham Lincoln was right. The United States of America is mankind's "last best hope." But make no mistake, despite the best attempts of modern revisionists - the early leaders that made this country great were not secular humanists but Christians. The evidence is overwhelming, consider the following private prayer of George Washington. May God be pleased to once again give our country such leadership.

"O most glorious God, in Jesus Christ my merciful and loving Father, I acknowledge and confess my guilt, in the weak and imperfect performance of the duties of this day. I have called on Thee for pardon and forgiveness of sins. ... Let me live according to those holy rules which Thou hast this day prescribed in his holy word; make me to know what is acceptable in Thy sight, and therein to delight, open my eyes of understanding, and help me to thoroughly examine myself concerning my knowledge, faith and repentance, increase my faith, and direct me to thy true object, Jesus Christ the Way, the Truth, and the Life. Bless O Lord, all the people of this land, from the highest to the lowest, particularly those whom Thou has appointed to rule over us in church and state. Continue thy goodness to me this night. These weak petitions, I humbly implore Thee to hear, accept, and answer for the sake of Thy Dear Son, Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." - President George Washington

Why We Love the Church ... Just Do Something

Perhaps more to come on these two books after I have actually read them. But I know Kevin and the quality of his other publications and whole heartedly endorse his books. Kevin provides thoughtful critques of the condition of our evangelical churches. His writing is irenic in spirit, yet does not pull any punches and stands steadfastly for truth.






My friend Kevin DeYoung has just published another book by Moody Press entitled "Why We Love the Church: In Praise of Institutions and Organized Religion" It looks like it is a really great book and I am looking forward to getting a copy of it. Kevin has posted an excerpt from the introduction over at his blog - "Mad Libbing Church Angst." I love his insightful analysis of the modern evangelical church and his unique writing style.





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I really behind ... Kevin is publishing books books faster than I can read! His other recent Moody book has gotten great reviews from our pastoral staff. The book has an engaging title ...
Just Do Something: How to Make a Decision Without Dreams, Visions, Fleeces, Open Doors, Random Bible Verses, Casting Lots, Liver Shivers, Writing in the Sky, etc. As I understand it - Kevin writing from a reformed perspective debunks the "dot" theory of God's will and vigorously asserts the classic doctrine of God's Providence which has virtually been lost in recent times.

Not What My Hands Have Done

Everything I have ever seen written by Horatius Bonar (1808-1889) is outstanding. He composed over 600 hymns and preached hundreds of sermons - all of which are incredibly insightful about the sinfulness of sin and the graciousness of God.

Unfortunately, for our modern eye - this 19th century Scottish Presbyterian is not much of a "looker." I have searched far and wide to find a "kinder gentler" picture than my earlier blog post showed. This slightly more relaxed pose linked to this blog entry is the best that I have found.

I do not know if I have read a better description of a person's need to abandon all attempts at "self help" and to cast all of their hope on the atoning work of Christ than the following.

"Not what my hands have done, can save my guilty soul,

Not what my toiling flesh has bore, can make my spirit whole,

Not what I feel or do, can give me peace with God

Not all my prayers and sighs and tears, can bare my awful load

Not what my hands have done, can ease this weight of sin,

Thy blood alone, O lamb of God, can give me peace within.

Thy love to me O'God, not mine O Lord to thee

Can rid me of this dark unrest, and set my spirit free."

- Horatius Bonar (1808-1889)

America Waking Up?

Good news, the latest Rasmussen poll, indicates that this great country is starting to wake up and smell the coffee! The indications are that the President has "over reached" with the nationalization of much of the domestic automotive industry, the disastrous "cap and trade" legislation based on the pseudo-science of global warming, and his European style socialized "health care." Just the facts ... early evidence is the "loyal opposition" has started to gain some momentum.

Man’s Own Character No Ground of Peace

There is nothing worse than an outwardly religious person, secretly trusting in their "best" religious activity to earn merit. Simply put this person is by definition a hypocrite and in as much need of God's saving grace as the one who is outwardly sinful. Of course, the outlandish sinner gets much "play" in terms of their dramatic need for conversion. However, very little is made of the one who has the "externals" correct, but whose heart remains frozen. Horatius Bonar (1808-1889), a Scottish Presbyterian minister, provides us with the following showing how one pharisaical heart warmed to the gospel.

"I knew an awakened soul who in the bitterness of his spirit, thus set himself to work and to pray, in order to get peace. He doubled the amount of his devotions, saying to himself, 'Surely God will give me peace.' But the peace did not come. He set up family worship, saying 'Surely God will give me peace.' Again the peace did not come. At last he thought of having a prayer meeting in his house, as a certain remedy; he fixed the night, called his neighbors, and prepared himself for conducting the meeting by writing a prayer and learning it by heart. As he finished the operation of learning it, preparatory to the meeting, he threw it down on the table saying, 'Surely that will do; God will give me peace now.' In that moment a still small voice in his ear seemed to be saying, 'No that will not do; but Christ will do.' Straightway the scales fell from his eyes, and the burden from his shoulders. Peace poured in like a river. 'Christ will do', was his watchword ever after.

Stonewall Jackson: "The way all men should live."

Despite being an engineer by training and profession, I really like history. One of my hero's - in fact a fellow engineer - is General Stonewall Jackson. Just a brief factoid, at the outbreak of the Civil War Jackson was teaching military engineering to cadets at VMI.

Maybe my interest in Jackson started when Alan and I mistakenly thought, at one point, that we were related to this great leader. Unfortunately, Mom's thorough genealogy research ultimately dispelled this notion. However, related or not, we can learn a lot from "old dead guys" that lived without computers, cell phones, twitter, facebook, ... Certainly they were not immune from human frailties, but their lives still speak to us in terms of how to deal with life's challenges - which remain common to us all.

It is particularly interesting to see how those of profound Christan faith acted while "under fire." Consider the following episode extracted from Byron Farwell's "Stonewall" teaches us about adversity, providence, and faith...

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"It was at this time that Captain Imboden came to inquire about Jackson's wound and found him bathing his hand in springwater. Over breakfast he asked how is it that you can keep so cool, and appear so utterly insensitive to danger in such a such a storm of shells and bullets as rained about you when your hand was hit?

In a low and earnest voice Jackson answered: 'Captain, my religious belief teaches me to feel as safe in battle as in bed. God has fixed the time for my death. I do not concern myself about that, but always to be ready, no matter when it may overtake me.' He paused, and then, looking at Captain Imboden full in the face, he added sternly: 'Captain, that is the way all men should live, and then all will be equally brave."

Obama Cartoon - 65th Anniversary of Normandy

In honor of my Golden Eagle friends ...

'Nuf said.

The cartoon above was found in World Magazine http://worldmag.com/ - which is certainly one of the best periodicals published from a biblical worldview.

Favorite Blogs

Occasionally, I am going to post links to websites and other blogs that I like. The first one is my friend Kevin DeYoung blog's entitled "DeYoung, Restless, and Reformed" it is one of the best blogs that I have seen. The topics are typically on topics of interest to thoughful evangelicals. Kevin's thoughts are insightful and always on target. The link to Kevin's blog is http://www.revkevindeyoung.com/

Actually on of my favorite links that I found out about through Kevin's blog is http://www.revkevindeyoung.com/search/label/Statistics.

Thought Experiment: Einstein on Worship

While Albert Einstein was certainly not a Christian, I recently ran across a passage written by a physicist (named Charles Misner) which contemplates what Albert Einstein's opinion might have been about worship. I have taken the liberty to convert Misner's comments to the first person as a sort of "thought experiment" about what Einstein might have said.

Albert Einstein – "The design of the universe is very magnificent and shouldn't be taken for granted. This is why I have so little use for organized religion. I hear what preachers say about God and think they are blaspheming. I have seen more majesty than they ever could have imagined. The preachers I have run across do not have the proper respect for the author of the universe."

I am again indebted to John Piper's commentary on this matter. "The charge of blaspheme is loaded. The point packs a wallop behind the charge that in our worship services God simply does not come through for who he is. He is unwittingly belittled. For those who are stunned by the indescribable magnitude of what God has made, not to mention the infinite greatness of the One who made it, the steady diet on Sunday morning of practical how-to's and psychological soothing and relational therapy and tactical planning seem dramatically out of touch with Reality - the God of overwhelming greatness. (reference, Nations be Glad, pp. 12-13).

God’s Righteous Jealousy for his Own Glory

The Bible is replete with evidence that God's primary concern is for the furtherance of his own glory. Is it any wonder that Jonathan Edwards declared – "The great end of God's works, which is so variously expressed in scripture, is indeed ONE; and this one end is most properly and comprehensively called, THE GLORY OF GOD." Consider the following and the overwhelming evidence is that Edwards was right.

• God created us .. for his own glory (Isaiah 43:6-7)
  
• God chose his people … for his own glory (Eph 1:4-6, 12, 14)
  
• God called Israel … for his own glory (Jeremiah 13:11)
  
• God rescued Israel from Egypt … for his own glory (Psalms 106:7-8)
  
• God raised Pharaoh to show his power … glorify his own name. (Romans 9:17)
  
• God spared Israel in the Wilderness … for the sake of his own name. (Ez 20:14)
  
• God gave Israel victory in Canaan … for the glory of his name. (2 Sam 7:23)
  
• God does not cast off his people … for the glory of his name. (1 Sam 12:20-22)
  
• God saved Jerusalem from attack … for the glory of his name. (2 Kings 19:34)
  
• God restored Israel from exile … for the glory of his name. (Ez 36:22-23)
  
• Jesus sought in all that he did … the glory of the Father. (John 7:18)
  
• Jesus taught to do good works … for the glory of the Father (Matt 5:16)
  
• Jesus taught that in order to believe one needed to … seek the glory of God. (John 5:44)
  
• Jesus answers prayers to that … God will receive the glory. (John 14:13
  
• Jesus endured suffering of the cross … in order to give glory to God. (John12: 27-28, 17:1)
  
• God forgives our sins … for his own sake. (Isaiah 43:25, Psalms 25:11)
  
• Our fellowship with Jesus and each other … for the glory of God. (Romans 15:7)
  
• Purpose of the Holy Spirit is to … glorify the Son of God. (John 16:14)
  
• We are to serve each other so that in everything … God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. (1 Peter 4:11)
  
• Jesus prays that we will exhibit the fruits of righteousness … to the praise and glory of God. (Philippians 1:11)
  
• We are fools and under judgment for … dishonoring God's glory. (Romans 1:23, Romans 3:23
  
• Herod was struck dead … for not giving glory to God. (Acts 12:23)
  
• Jesus is coming again … for the glory of God. (2 Thes. 1:9-10)
  
• Jesus' goal is for us to … behold his glory. (John 17:24)
  
• The purpose of God's wrath is to make known … the riches of his glory. (Romans 9:23)
  
• God's ultimate plan … to fill the earth with his glory. (Habakkuk 2:14)
  
• The light of the New Jerusalem will be the … glory of God. (Rev. 21:23)
  

John Piper has written the chief end of God is to glorify himself and enjoy himself forever. Often the unasked question - "Is God selfish and self absorbed?"

The best answer I have seen to this question is by Piper as well. "God is righteous. This means he recognizes, welcomes, loves, and upholds with infinite jealousy and energy what is infinitely valuable, namely the worth of God. God's righteous passion and delight is to display and uphold his infinitely valuable glory." (John Piper, Nations Be Glad, pp. 17).

God’s Jealousy & Redemption

This post picks up on the question about how can we worship a jealous God? In order to explore this further we need carefully define what we mean by jealousy, perhaps not the garden variety, but the kind God possesses.

According to J.I. Packer, we see two sorts of jealousy among humans and only one is a vice. The one sense of jealousy which is perhaps most common is expressed in the attitude "I want what you have and I hate you because I haven't got it." This is essentially covetousness and is a violation of the 10^th commandment. Clearly God does not exhibit jealousy in this way. Yet, according to Packer there is another kind of jealousy which he defines as "zeal to protect a love relationship or avenge it when broken." A helpful example of this is the passion a husband exhibits for his wife in order to preserve the faithfulness of this relationship in the midst of a depraved and adulterous world. This is a relationship that is by rights his and he jealousy guards this by taking actions in order to protect it.

Is it any wonder throughout the scriptures God often describes himself as the faithful husband pursuing a love relationship with his wife (i.e., the people of God). Unfortunately, God's people are not always faithful, but our covenant keeping Lord is always faithful. How does scripture describe those that fall into idolatry? They are accused of adultery – the ultimate in unfaithfulness – recall the story of Hosea and Gomer. In Ezekiel, God declares to Israel that because of their liaisons with the idols of Canaan, Egypt, and Assyria - "I will judge you as women who break wedlock and shed blood are judged, and bring upon you the wrath of blood and jealousy." (Ezekiel 16:38).

What is it about God's people that make them so valuable and worthy of the Lord's affections? The bible is clear – nothing. "The LORD did not set his affection and choose you because you were more numerous than other peoples…" (Deut 7:7). Rather we receive the affections of our kind and loving Lord not because of our record of accomplishment – but because of an oath sworn to himself that he would bestow blessings to Abraham and his children (i.e., Abrahamic covenant). Remarkably, it is on this basis that God delivered his people out of slavery and redeemed them as a people for himself. Therefore, the scriptures command worship…

"Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love for a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commandments." (Deut. 7:9)

"He provided redemption for his people; he ordained his covenant forever— holy and awesome is his name." Psalms 111:9

Let us worship with our whole heart this holy, loving, faithfully jealous, covenant keeping God!

Why worship a jealous God?

In our modern "seeker friendly" church settings we often avoid the more controversial aspects of the Bible. I have never heard of anyone encourage another to worship our jealous God. However, even a cursory reading of the scriptures makes it abundantly clear that the Lord our God is a jealous God. In fact, it is one of the first things that God taught the children of Israel about himself. Consider the very words penned by the finger of God - the 10 commandments.

Exodus 20:1-5 "And God spoke all these words: "I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. You shall have no other Gods before me. You shall not make for yourself an idol in the form of anything in heaven above or on earth beneath or in the waters below. You shall not bow down to them or worship them: for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God…"

I do not think if it were left up to us we would have dreamed up a God who was jealous. Clearly God is not ashamed to describe himself in this way, nor should we. Perhaps, this idea sounds so alien because the conventional wisdom among "evangelicals" has drifted far from its biblical moorings. It is worth an excursion to carefully think through what is meant to attribute jealousy to our completely righteous God. I hope contemplating such a dangerous and weighty subject will result in ascribing to him greater glory than we previously have imagined!

What is Worship?

Recently, I have been thinking about the idea of worship mostly because that is the topic I am teaching the 11th and 12th grade Sunday School class at church. Worship, in one sense is not a natural topic for me, particularly given my strikingly poor musical abilities. Recently, my daughter whispered to me during church that I should not sing quite so loud that morning because something was wrong with my voice. Unfortunately, I felt totally fine and thought I was singingly normally. While musical abilities are not always natural for people, the act of worship is the natural response of all Christians as they reflect on who God is and what He has done.

Worship is defined as "the work of acknowledging the greatness of our covenant Lord" (reference John Frame, Worship in Spirit and Truth). This definition has three key aspects to the definition of worship: this includes the concepts of action, adoration, and covenant.

First, worship involves work or "action" of those engaged in worship. Unfortunately, so much of what goes on in our churches, under the guise of worship, is nothing but entertainment. The misguided goal of many is to do whatever it takes to draw a crowd. In the most extreme cases, cars are given away, coupons for free gas, magic shows, are all done in an overt effort to draw a crowd. Many evangelicals evaluate their worship "experience" by merely appraising the performance of others. However, true worship is, by the best definition of the word, "congregational."

Next, what is the content of this work? The work of worship involves the "adoration" of God. We become engaged in worship when we reflect on God and then rightfully adore Him for who He is (i.e., Father-Son-Holy Spirit, perfectly holy, totally righteous, all-powerful, all-good, all-knowing, completely righteous, …) and for what He has done (i.e., creation and redemption). He is truly great in every dimension we can imagine, and even beyond our imagination.

Finally, worship is fundamentally covenantal in that it takes place within the special covenantal relationship that God has cut with his people. It harkens back to the Lord's ancient pledge that "He will be their God and they will be his people." This unshakable relationship that God has entered into with his people involves not just God's promises, which are sufficient, but the astounding realization that God has bound up his promises within an oath.

"Men swear by someone greater than themselves, and the oath confirms what has been said and puts an end to all argument. Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of what was promised he confirmed it with an oath. God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope offered to us may be greatly encouraged." Hebrews 6: 16-18

It is on this sure foundation (i.e., oath bound promise) that we have hope which is a firm and a secure anchor for our soul. Thus sinful as we are - yet, clothed in the alien righteousness of Christ - can boldly enter into the holiest of all places before God. This reality entreats us to worship: an active, engaged adoration of our great covenant keeping Lord!