Tag Archives: Holiness

Evil and Wrath

02 Thursday Mar 2017

Posted by in Campus Apologetics, Reality Blog

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Greg Koukl admits in these two chapters (14 and 15) of his latest book (The Story of Reality) that the issue of evil is a thorny one.

(If you are new to this series, check out the first post and the intervening posts to put this in context.)

We discussed the problem of evil in an earlier post. In this post, I’d like to branch out from Koukl’s material slightly to focus on the definition of evil and the place of wrath.

How would you define the term “evil”?
Can you define it without referring to examples of evil?

What IS evil?

J. P. Moreland has noted, “Evil is a lack of goodness. It is goodness spoiled. You can have good without evil, but you cannot have evil without good.”

Greg Koukl has said, “Human freedom was used in such a way as to diminish goodness in the world, and that diminution, that lack of goodness, that is what we call evil.”

This idea that evil is a lack of good solves a great many problems philosophically, theologically, and emotionally.

This answers the challenging claim that God created evil, for evil is not a thing. It is a lack of good.

This also informs our false intuition that mankind is basically good. I think we recognize the beauty of the image of God in mankind, but intentionally blind ourselves to the evil in the human soul. Stating that the human soul is evil is very controversial because we grade on a curve. If we are not a mass murderer, then we are “good”. But that is not true. If evil is a lack of goodness, then we are in deep trouble.

We lack a LOT.

We are not righteous. We are not perfectly good, and therefore we are evil.

[Matthew 19:16-17 ESV] 16 And behold, a man came up to Jesus, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?”

17 And Jesus said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.”

Jesus corrected the young man, and pointed out that “good” was a WHO not a WHAT.

Then Jesus discusses ways to follow “the Good”. He begins with the commandments. He ups the ante next by telling the young man to rid himself from his earthly attachments. Then he hits the main point:

[Matthew 19: 21 ESV] 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect,… come, follow me.”

Here’s a little quiz.

Which was the main point in Jesus advice?

a. Follow the 10 Commandments perfectly.
b. Give away everything you own to the poor.
c. Follow Jesus.

I suggest that the main point was to c. Follow Jesus. Keeping His commands and loving others is how we show we love Him. Jesus is “the good” not the deeds.

[John 14:15 ESV] 15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

Lack of obedience is evil, but the main evil is identified as a lack of belief.

Jesus was teaching his disciples and comforting them on their last night together when he said,

[John 16:7-11 ESV] 7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
-9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
-10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
-11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

This Helper is what the Bible calls the Holy Spirit. It is what causes your conscience to scream at you when you consider your lack.

What is it that you lack?

Here are some attributes or fruits of the Holy Spirit:

[Galatians 5:22-23 ESV] 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Is your conscience not convicted by your lack of love and all these other holy and good attributes of God? Mine is. My weight is evidence of my lack of self-control. My temper is evidence of my lack of patience, gentleness, peace, and kindness. My intentional acts of disobedience are evidence of my lack of faithfulness.

But are these “evil”? If evil is a lack of goodness, yes. If God is good, then my lack will make me as incompatible with Him as darkness is incompatible with light.

I can no more withstand his presence than can darkness withstand the presence of a single candle flame. Darkness is a lack of light, and when light comes, darkness retreats.

This stark elimination of evil by God’s holiness is the proper understanding of wrath. There is no way darkness can resist light and no way evil can successfully resist God’s goodness and holiness.

Does this match what we see in the “real world” around us?

Ultimately it is not our lack of good deeds that will be our undoing. Notice that Jesus ended with “follow me” as the key to goodness. Notice that the Helper is not coming to convict us of sinful deeds, but of a “sinful lack of belief in Jesus”.

What a bold thing for Jesus to say!

  • Goodness and eternal life are tied to following him.
  • Sin is a lack of belief in him.

These are not the teachings of merely a “good moral teacher”. These are divine claims. It took the resurrection and the Holy Spirit to prove it to the disciples.

Is your conscience pricked by this? Don’t ignore it. Pray,

“God, if your Holy Spirit is truly behind my troubled conscience, please give me the wisdom to seek you. Reveal yourself even more in my conscience, my exploration of the Bible, and my feeble attempts to follow Jesus wherever He may lead. -Amen”

[Mark 9:24 ESV] … “I believe; help my unbelief!”

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Time, Distance, Shielding

21 Saturday Jan 2017

Posted by in Grief, Death, and Dying

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[copied from Rallyhood 1/21/2017 – on the passing of Kenneth Brown]

When working with nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, or even medical X-rays, there is a guiding principle that will keep you alive. You are to keep your exposure “As Low As Reasonably Achievable (ALARA) with three tools:

  • Time – Spend as little time as possible with the radiation source.
  • Distance – Keep your distance from the source of radiation.
  • Shielding – Protect yourself with a shield.

We have spent most of the last year interacting with each other on this Rallyhood site dedicated to the wonderful life of Ken Brown. We have encouraged Patti and have received encouragement from Patti, Ken, and each other.

Many have mentioned their amazement at Patti and Ken’s strength in all of this. However, when you compliment their strength to them, they seem to demur. Why?

I’m not privy to their inner thoughts, but it is likely because they see their inner struggles. But I also know that they are aware of this important fact:

Their strength stems from their shielding, not from their self-made inner fortitude.

[Ephesians 6:16 ESV] 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;

Today is the celebration service for Ken in Austin. I am looking forward to meeting more of his colleagues in the UT Business School, his neighbors, and many of you face to face rather than over the Internet.

We will share great stories and memories and it will be wonderful and subtly melancholy. I have one story though that I want to share in writing so that all may read it and gain comfort by it.

I had the privilege of visiting with Ken a day or two before he and Patti entered hospice care.

Without going into too many medical details, Ken had lost the ability to speak and swallow. Antibiotics were keeping pneumonia at bay. Without the ability to speak we were worried that Ken would not be able to communicate any worries to us if we made the decision to enter hospice care.

It was decided that I would visit with Ken. I was to explain to him what was going on with his swallowing. I wanted to walk him through the next steps. And I wanted very much for him to communicate back to me that he understood.

Using all the information from Dr. Annapureddi, Patti, and the nurses, I let Ken know that he would become more and more sleepy as his breathing became less and less efficient. I let him know that this was not going to be painful or distressful. And then knowing Ken’s faith, I said that in a few days he was going to go to sleep and wake up with Jesus.

Words can’t contain the emotional impact of staring your brother in the eye while you say these things.

I still needed to know if he understood, and most importantly for Patti and all of us, if he was ready.

So I said, “If you are ready, please squeeze my hand”.

I was worried that I would confuse a tremor for a squeeze. I did not want to pass on to Patti a tentative signal, and I did not want to be tempted to say it was a clear signal when it wasn’t.

Ken left no doubt. I was holding his left hand, and he reached over with his right hand. He grabbed my arm and squeezed as hard as he could.

We blinked a knowing blink at each other, and then we hugged for a long time.

Ken’s “shield of faith” was strong and we are right to have hope.

We saw a similar faith and hope on display when King David lost a child.

[2 Samuel 12:21-23 HCSB] 21 His servants asked him, “What did you just do? While the baby was alive, you fasted and wept, but when he died, you got up and ate food.”  22 He answered, “While the baby was alive, I fasted and wept because I thought, ‘Who knows? The LORD may be gracious to me and let him live.’ 23 But now that he is dead, why should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I’ll go to him, but he will never return to me.”

“I will go to him” – that is the hope we have in Christ.

Teaching on a secular campus, I am sensitive to the discomfort that “Bible talk” can cause. To use the radiation analogy, some people spend as little time with it and like to keep their distance from it if possible.

(If this is you, please keep reading out of curiosity if nothing else.)

The Bible can be confusing, especially if one has a culturally-confused view of God as a grumpy tyrant watching your every move in order to kill you if you step out of line.

Let me ask you to place a different vision in your mind – one where God’s holiness shines like the sun.

The Sun is a furnace of nuclear fusion. You can’t get near it without suffering a lethal dose of radiation.

All of the troubling verses and the great themes of the Bible make sense in light of this analogy. God is holy. You are not, and you know it. That is why you protect yourself with ALARA. Remember:

  • Time – Spend as little time as possible with God – the source of holiness
  • Distance – Keep your distance from God
  • Shielding – Protect yourself with a shield.

Notice shielding is the only way to get close to a radiation source, and it is the only way to get close to God. But what is shielding in this spiritual context?

 

We don’t have to keep our DISTANCE from God’s holiness, or minimize our TIME interacting with a holy God, because Jesus Christ is our SHIELDING, protecting us in the presence of holiness.

[Galatians 3:27 ESV] 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ.

Like a lead blanket in the dentist’s chair.

[Romans 13:12-14 ESV] 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. 13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. 14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Who is this Jesus? (External evidence for his life.)

[John 1:1-14 ESV] 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. … 16 … from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

In the context of our analogy, this grace John speaks of is the shielding. Christ’s holiness surrounds us, protects us, and over time changes us – covering our sin and making us holy. We may now spend all our TIME at zero DISTANCE from God thanks to the SHIELDING holiness of Christ.

Ken has this shielding, and he is experiencing the indescribable holiness of God. It is my deepest desire that we (including you) would join him.

By God’s grace,

Darren

My thoughts on the impact of Ken’s life and death: Double Bounce