Youth Sunday School Lesson 09.28.08

Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching the youth Sunday school class and I had an attendance of ten kids. The class is going through the book of Genesis and they are currently studying about Noah and the Flood. Because of this, I decided I would revamp some of the lessons I've presented in other classes and present a brief study on the subject of the goodness of God. The following is what I came up with:

THEODICY
September 27th, 2008
[A study by Ezequiel Luna...using commentaries by
Albert Barnes, Matthew Henry, & John Gill]

I. Praises & Prayer Requests

II. Study

I know that you are reading through the book of Genesis in this class.

Ask) How far along are you?

Ask) Have you ever read passages that confuse you, especially in the OT? Passages that speak of God killing people…of God ordering others to kill. How do we make sense of such passages?

Well, I’m not here to give you the answer to those questions at this time. But I am here to discuss a concept with you that is crucial if we are going to read through OT passages. This is the concept of theodicy.

Ask) Does anyone know what this word means?

Theodicy refers to a specific branch of theology and philosophy that attempts to reconcile the existence of evil or suffering in the world with the belief in an omniscient, omnipotent, and omnibenevolent God...it is a defense of the goodness of God (this definition taken from wikipedia, found at: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Theodicy)

You see, to fully understand the OT, we have to have deeply ingrained in our minds a few of the most fundamental teachings of Scripture:

God is good
God is holy
God is Sovereign!

Before we begin, I know that even while understanding these teachings…we still would like to have answers. I’m not saying these concepts should make you set aside those questions…far from it. All I mean is that when you come across difficult passages, you interact with them while having these truths in your mind. To do so will save you a lot of heartache and plenty of doubt.
Indeed…the important thing is to understand the character of God and the truth of His Word, otherwise you will often agonize over biblical concepts because you have not even accepted some of the most basic truths.

Let me make an agreement with you…if you want to discuss some difficult passages, write them down. Give them to me at the end of class, and I will study them out and next time I have the privilege to teach I will address those topics!

For now, let us begin:

GOD IS GOOD

Read Psalm 33:5

The word of the Lord is right. Anything God tells us is true and right...whatever it may be, if it comes from Him...then it is right. It is His nature to love righteousness...because righteousness flows from Him. Note that "the earth is full" of His goodness.

Ask) What does this mean?

It means that even in this fallen world, full of sin and sinners, it is a measure of His goodness that we can enjoy anything good...because we are undeserving of His goodness. The fact that we enjoy breathing...that there is beauty in the world...that we can laugh and love...all of this points to the goodness of God. Indeed, the goodness of God, according to Psalm 52:1, "endures continually." In other words...FOREVER!

Read Psalm 107:1-3,8

Note verse 8 especially. What does the psalmist desire? That "men would give thanks to the Lord for His goodness." Such a simple thing...yet at one time or another...we all have failed or WILL fail at this. There will come a time in our lives, if not yet, when something will happen that will cause us to have the audacity to say unto God, "How dare you!" Instead of thanking the Lord for His many blessings, which we DO NOT DESERVE... we will dare to demand that He always bless us. And why is this? Because we think that God owes us something!

Indeed we will forget that God is good and does only good! [this last being a paraphrase of Psalm 119:68]

(discuss...mention Job and my own experiences in this)

Thinking of God being good...our pleas should echo that of the psalmist in Psalm 143:10, where we read this: "Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Your Spirit is good." We want to be taught His will because we recognize that He is indeed good!

Ask) Is there anything that God can do that is NOT good? Can we lay any evil at His feet?

Before anyone answers this, Read Psalm 145:17

Ask) In which of His ways is God righteous?
Ask) In which of His works is God gracious?

ALL OF THEM!

Before moving on, lets quickly look at the following:
Nahum 1:7
Matt 19:17
Romans 2:4
Finally, read 1 John 1:5

We need to embrace without a shadow of a doubt that God is perfect. Nothing can be added to Him to make Him better...He cannot be improved upon because as He is He is perfect. We cannot add one iota to His greatness.

So, then. The way I see it is this: the fact that we don't suffer every moment of our lives. The fact that goodness exists at all in the creation attests to the simple, irrefutable fact that God is good. Is God to blame when sufferings and sorrows exist? No! We are to look to Him in gratitude that the stench of our sin does not cause Him to blot out our very existence!

The following is from C. H. Spurgeon:
"When others behave badly to us, it should only stir us up the more heartily to give thanks unto the Lord, because He is good; and when we ourselves are conscious that we are far from being good, we should only the more reverently bless Him that He is good. We must never tolerate an instant's unbelief as to the goodness of the Lord; whatever else may be questioned, this is absolutely certain, that Jehovah is good; His dispensations may vary, but His nature is always the same."

Any questions or comments?

GOD IS HOLY

Read:
Exodus 15:11
Psalm 30:4
Psalm 103:1, 8-10 (note especially verse 10...relates to His goodness towards us!)
Isaiah 6:3-5
Revelation 15:4

One of the greatest demonstrations of God's holiness is seen at the cross. As we read in Mark, Jesus was crucified because of sin. Sin is so distasteful that it's presence in His Son caused Him to turn away for that one awful moment in time! He punished Jesus for OUR SINS! He didn't just say..."oh boy...you guys sinned, I'll just forgive you anyhow...No, SOMEONE had to pay the penalty and that Someone was the Lord Jesus Christ!

Read Proverbs 3:32, Psalm 5:4-6, and Psalm 7:11-17

Arthur Pink says the following:

"God hates sin. The sinner can be forgiven, but sin is NEVER overlooked. the sinner is forgiven because his sin has been punished in Another."

We know who that Other is, don't we?

According to Hebrews 9:22 "without shedding of blood there is no remission of sins."

So then, who is our Holy God?

We could never have invented Him! Why is that?

To man, sin is crime. When we think of sin, we think rape or murder. Prostitution, child molestation, etc...everything else is a defect, a mistake. We imagine for ourselves a god who "winks" at our little indiscretions. we see Him as laid back, a god who will let bygones be bygones. But this is NOT the God who is revealed in the Holy Scriptures! This true and living God scares us...He makes us uncomfortable...He hates sin so much He WILL NOT overlook it!

His holiness demands that atonement come through the shedding of blood.

This is the Holy One of Israel! But again, this Holy God is also a good God! (discuss Genesis 3)!
Because of what He and He alone has done, we are "accepted in the Beloved."

GOD IS SOVEREIGN

Read the following:
Psalm 115:1-3
Psalm 135:1-6
Isaiah 40:13-18
Isaiah 45:5-7, 9-10
1 Timothy 6:13-16

What right did Israel have to conquer and kill the Canaanites?

None except that they were commended to do so by Almighty God.

What right do husbands have to ask that a wife be subject to him?

None, except that God so appointed it and ordained it.

We should obey all commands that come from a holy God because ALL human responsibility is based on and subject to divine Sovereignty...and NOWHERE do we see divine Sovereignty as subject to the human will.

The following is from R. C. Sproul:
“God never condemns the innocent. He never clears the guilty. He never punishes with undue severity. His justice is perfect justice. [But] God does not always act with justice. Sometimes He acts with mercy. Mercy is not injustice...Mercy manifests kindness and grace and grace.” [His mercy is that He accepts the substitution of Christ]
“All men die...because we are all under the death penalty for sin...Was it evil for God to impose the death penalty for all sin? If you say yes, be careful. If you say yes, you are saying it as an expression of the very fallen, sinful nature that exposes you to the death penalty in the first place. If you say yes, you slander the character of God. We must not say yes. We must say no and say it with conviction...[For] sin is cosmic treason. Sin is treason against a perfectly pure Sovereign. The issue is not why does God punish sin, but why does He permit the ongoing rebellion of man...the supreme folly is that we think we will get away with our revolt.”

Finally, realize that God did not choose Israel and condemn the Canaanites because Israel was better than the Canaanites.

Read Deuteronomy 9:4-6

And also, realize another thing: There were indeed countless women and children in Canaan...but none were innocent. Just as it was God’s right to destroy all of humanity but one family during the Flood, so it was His right to destroy the guilty in Canaan.

R. C. Sproul reminds us that if we want to express our moral outrage, it should be directed at Golgotha where Jesus died! And this moral outrage, this righteous finger pointing of ours should be directed at the guilty ones! Ourselves!

Questions or comments?

Before we end, let me tell you about a man. This man’s name was Horatio Spafford, and he wrote a song we’ve often sung here in church.

Mr. Spafford lost his only son in 1871...then that same year in the Great Chicago Fire of that year, he lost his business and was ruined financially. Two years later, building his business back up, he planned a vacation with his wife and four daughters. They were going to go to Europe but he had to stay behind for business reasons. The ship sunk, and only his wife survived.
Mr Spafford sailed to meet his wife…and as they passed the spot where the ship had sunk, he was inspired to write the song I want to read to you. When he was asked how he was doing, he is said to have replied, “it is well with my soul, which became the title to this song.

Listen closely:

When peace, like a river, attendeth my way,When sorrows like sea billows roll; Whatever my lot, Thou has taught me to say,It is well, it is well, with my soul.

Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come,Let this blest assurance control,That Christ has regarded my helpless estate,And hath shed His own blood for my soul.

My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought! My sin, not in part but the whole,Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

For me, be it Christ, be it Christ hence to live:If Jordan above me shall roll,No pang shall be mine, for in death as in lifeThou wilt whisper Thy peace to my soul.

But, Lord, ‘tis for Thee, for Thy coming we wait,The sky, not the grave, is our goal; Oh trump of the angel! Oh voice of the Lord!Blessèd hope, blessèd rest of my soul!

And Lord, haste the day when my faith shall be sight,The clouds be rolled back as a scroll; The trump shall resound, and the Lord shall descend, Even so, it is well with my soul.

The next time we experience troubles, let us remember a great man of faith like this, and let us consciously make the effort to focus on His goodness and His holiness when we are instead tempted to ask...“how could you, God?”

Let us close with prayer

I'm Not Done Blogging Quite Yet!

It has been 16 days since my last post so I thought I'd better write something to let everyone know I'm still planning on posting regularly and that I have not given up on it! ;-)

Tomorrow I will be teaching in the youth Sunday school (jr. and sr. high) on the topic of Theodicy. They are currently going through the book of Genesis but I thought I'd go with this while the regular teacher is away. In any case, I will post that study tomorrow afternoon. Another topic I will post on in the coming days is my book reviews. As some of you may know, I am reading through Michael Horton's "A Better Way" which deals with worship. I am almost done with it but I confess it's taken me a long time to get through it. The book itself is good, great in many areas, but my heart has not been in it for some reason. I have vowed to myself that I am going to reread every one of my theology books one by one and I will only read one at a time so it's been frustrating because I normally read two or three books simultaneously...but I want to do it one at a time so that I can review every one of them! Oh well, i'm going to focus on finishing it and if the Lord wills it I will post a review of it by the end of the week at the latest!

One final thing...for you book lovers out there. Go to www.paperbackswap.com and sign yourselves up! It is an awesome site. You basically agree to give up any books you post, and mail them to whomever requests them, at your cost. In return, if you see a book you want, you request it and it gets sent to you...FREE!!! Every time you send one of your books, you can order another one! And when you first sign up, if you post 10 books, you get two credits for free! I've already sent out three of my books and ordered two...how exciting!

Well enough advertising, or else I might have to ask them to hook me up with some more credits! ha ha!

I'll post more later!

Christianity and Hell

I'm taking a quick break here at work so I headed over to Dr. Albert Mohlers blog and read a pretty eye opening post there. I'm adding it here so that anyone interested will read it...and actually I would highly recommend that you do. If you are willing, I'd love to know your thoughts in the comments section here! ;-)

Brief Thoughts on Genesis 15

Those of you who know me well are aware that the book of Genesis is among my favorite books in Scripture. In addition to this, chapter 15 has to be among my favorite chapters from Genesis! The reason is quite simple...it serves to remind me of the awesome trustworthiness of God. I know that I can rely upon Him to remain true to the promises He has made; true to His covenants. And so it is that I know that my relationship with Him cannot be severed by my stupidity or by my failure to fully ignore this body of flesh in which I dwell.

Indeed, if my salvation depends on myself, then I am eternally lost! I have recently come across people who believe they are unable to sin, indeed that they are holy as God is holy. I don't share their views...the children of God sin, did not David have a man killed in order to cover up his lust? Was he not a man after God's own heart (1 Samuel 13:14)? Indeed he was. Therefore it seems to me that it was a good thing for David that God had chosen him, or David's actions would have separated him from God forever! Likewise, in my own life...I see that I am so unworthy of His mercy, of His grace. I could catalogue the number of sins I am guilty of on this day alone! Don't worry, I won't actually do so, but I hope you understand what I mean!

So yes, when I read the book of Genesis, it is such a joy to turn to Genesis 15:17 and read that "...it came to pass, when the sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that passed between those pieces."

I could go on and on about the meaning of this verse, but I've already done so on a different post. Suffice it to say that it ranks right up there with Romans 8:38-39 as far as giving us assurance of salvation. So as I get ready to head to bed, I do so with a heart at rest.

My God is worthy of trust. For while God is for us, who can be against us? (Romans 8:31)

Amen!

To: Anonymous Re: last post

Dear Anonymous:

I want to begin by thanking you for taking the time to read and comment on my blog. As one who blogs “just for the fun of it,” it is always exciting to know someone other than my immediate family is reading it!

Though we obviously differ as to the actual intent of the ACLU’s actions here (protecting our constitutional rights vs. suppressing the will of the people), I agree completely with you regarding the makeup of the organization, meaning that it is indeed made up of people from all walks of life and geographical locations, including our own Nampa, Idaho. So when I used the term “outsiders” you are correct in bringing me to task for that comment, and I apologize for it (and chalk it up to rhetorical passion!). I will not remove it from the post for the sake of maintaining the flow of the discussion, but I stand corrected on that. As to the rest, again, we differ as to our opinions of what the actions of the ACLU intended to accomplish, but if you were to read my post a second time perhaps you’ll see (I hope) that the issue at hand, for me anyhow, is the involvement of the ACLU at all.

I won’t bore you by repeating everything I wrote, but to me this is problematic because I do indeed feel it is an unwarranted intrusion into the authority of local governing entities. I will point to the actions of those who wanted the books removed and remind you that they did not turn to lawsuits when the decision of the board went against them. Admittedly they did not move on and focus their energies on spreading the Gospel, but that is neither here nor there. They continued to try to influence the Board through other means, and while we can debate forever and ever whether they should have done this, I suspect you and I would agree on that issue! Again though, my premise is that turning to the legal system to handle an issue such as this one does indeed represent uncalled for intimidation, because whether or not it was the local members of the ACLU that took this to that next step, it used the impressive powers of the ACLU to do so.

Whether this is in defense of the constitutional rights of all citizens is debatable for two reasons:

1) I don’t think most people consider their rights to have been violated…only those who felt they “lost” with that last decision from the Board.
2) Even though you seem to imply by your wording that the Board is unfamiliar with the Constitution (“All the ACLU did was remind the board of the first item on the addendum to that obscure document called the Constitution”), I myself am not. Nor do I believe the Board members themselves are unfamiliar with it, for my experience with every one of them is that they are highly intelligent and caring members of the community…exercising their authority and fulfilling their roles as each is led by his/her conscience to do so. Whether one agrees with their decision or not, it is unfair to characterize them as something they are not. Those on both sides of the issue are wonderful people and I appreciate one and all of them.

At any rate, the 1st amendment to that wonderful document you cite is as follows:
“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.”

-Constitutional Amendment I (Bill of Rights) ratified December 15th, 1791

Here is where the problem lies…looking at the portion in question here, “…abridging the freedom of speech…” it is difficult to determine what exactly freedom of speech means. Certainly the Founding Fathers were confused about it as much as anyone else, as witnessed by the true examples of 1st amendment violations exhibited by them…including shutting down opposition newspapers! Talk about censorship! :-)

All I mean by pointing this out is that nobody can say emphatically that the Board made an “indefensible decision” because it is actually not clear that sequestering books constitutes a 1st amendment violation. I personally don’t think it even constitutes censorship, for the reason I mentioned in my post. Isn’t this, in part, one of the reasons the ACLU may have been so quick to attempt a lawsuit? Not merely to make the Board reverse its decision but to take this, hopefully, to the Supreme Court so that a murky issue can be clarified? I think so, but I could be wrong. And again I refer to my main concern…that this is a local issue and should remain so.

I hope this kind of clarifies where I was coming from. I do welcome any questions you may have as to my views, or if you’d like me to clarify anything I’ve said.

Before ending this comment (can it be a mere “comment” if it has more than two paragraphs? ;-) I do want to address your second paragraph. I have never written anything regarding the Ten Commandments issue but I did write the following as a result of the last incident at the library:

http://luna4him.blogspot.com/2008/03/christian-behavior-in-public-arena.html

Although you end the paragraph by stating that you would not accuse me of that which you wrote, you kind of did. You said that "it seems a tad hypocritical for a self-professed Christian to call the ACLU bullies when they approached the library board, yet it's perfectly acceptable for a radically conservative Christian group to do do the same thing to the library board, and for Christian activists to sue a city to impose its will on local government by forcing it to place the Ten Commandments monument in the park." I must assume I am that "self-professed Christian" in question. But it's okay because I myself have written pretty strong stuff before and made general assumptions that turned out not to be true. We all do it, so I accept that you are not actually lumping me in with those whom you mention! ;-)

Whether it is the ACLU or a Christian group, I do NOT think lawsuits are the way to go. I have been wronged before, for matters which I would have been justified in seeking legal resolution, but I do not believe it is right for me as a Christian to sue for my "rights." My trust must always be in God alone. Indeed, one of my biggest concerns with the whole Ten Commandments monument issue was summarized quite nicely by one of my heroes, Dr. Albert Mohler (President of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary), who preached a series on the Ten Commandments and referred to all the nationwide legal battles over public diplays of the Ten Commandments. He said that he suspected that those most zealously guarding our religious "freedom" were also the ones least likely to be able to recite the Commandments if asked to do so.

Based on my personally knowing some of those who were active in the Boise incidents, I would agree with his suspicion. How much better if we as Christians actually focused on sharing the Gospel rather than fighting for our "rights" through the court systems! A society will not be made more holy by legal rulings...only by the change that Christ alone brings. But I digress...
I hope this adequately adresses any concerns you may have had. I have noticed that while preparing this response to you that I've received two more comments! Wow...when I write on Biblical issues I don't get this kind of response! Maybe I should change my focus and write on more politically revelant issues from now on! ;-) Nah...

Thank you again for having read my blog!

The ACLU and the Nampa Public Library

Let me begin this short post by apologizing ahead of time for taking a small detour away from thoughts on Biblical issues. I am asserting my rights as the writer to diverge from it in order to quickly comment on something that has happened at work which is really troubling to me. You see, the Nampa Public Library, for which I work, has returned some controversial books on sexuality to the shelves. You may be surprised to know that this does not trouble me as much as another issue which I will address in just a moment. For now, however, please read the aricle in the Idaho Press-Tribune, found here

Now then, a number of years ago the library was approached by concerned citizens and asked to remove the books because they were considered pornographic in nature. I suspect that another major motivator was the presence of one book in paritcular since it had to do with homosexuality. Because I hold to the Bible as the literal and revealed Word of God, I believe the best way to impact our society is by sharing Christ and making disciples of all people, NOT by forcing others to believe as we do; but be that as it may, the citizens exercised their rights to protest the books in question. While many of my co-workers and others immediately took up the cry of censorship, I believe this is an exaggeration. Censorship is given different definitions by different groups depending on their own agenda, but traditionally censorship has been the action of the government attempting to ban material by preventing its access by any means. This was not the case here at all. Access to the books would be limited at the library but nobody can truly censor books from everywhere else, only a government can do that. Besided which, all citizens have the right to express concern, to challenge books, and to have a voice in the decisions of their government, local or federal. So while I disagreed with the manner in which the books were challenged (there were many exaggerations and even complete falsehoods were used to justify the attack on the books...unfortunately by many people I attended church with at the time), I have never thought that those who brought the challenge were wrong in doing so...even if I do think there were confused as to their duties as Believers.

At any rate, the Board at that time voted to keep the books in the collection because of the library's mission statement and collection development policy. In many ways, they were right to do so. I don't say I agree with the decision made, but I can see why they made it. So at that time many people celebrated the "defeat of censorship" or were saddened by the "defeat of family values," the label applying to which side you were on, of course. Regardless though, a local board made a decision and that is as it should be.

Fast forward to June of this year, when a Board made up of a couple of different members once again faced a challenge to the same books, brought up again by the same people. This time, however, the Board moved to sequester the books in the Director's office and then change the collection development policy to prevent pornographic books from being selected. I lost no sleep over the removal of the books, but I was still concerned over the Board's decision, but only because they should have changed the policy first and then allowed the books to remain until they could be weeded out if they were not being circulated (which is our policy with all books). Again though, a local board made a decision and some people were sad but others were happy. And now, as you know if you've read the article linked above, the books are once again on the shelves (as of today).

Here is my issue: However chaotic local government can be, and however much people on either side of an issue will fight within the community, it is at the local level that these things belong. The ACLU, however, has come into a situation and unilaterally decided for everyone what is right and what is wrong! This really makes me upset. Whether for good or bad, our local governing entities have the right to make decisions for which we elect them, but outsiders come into a community and decide it does not matter how people feel about an issue so long as they know what is right and what is wrong. Rule by judicial fiat in other words. And now, while many of my co-workers will rejoice that the books are back on the shelves, our local autonomy has been washed away because a powerful lobby has used its wealth to intimidate into compliance our Board of Trustees. I wish they would have been willing to take this all the way to the Supreme Court, but I cannot judge them too harshly for not doing so. The members did what they felt was the right thing to do, and I respect that. But I do not have any respect for the bullies of the ACLU...and as for those who are all too happy over the decision, I can only think of that scene in "Revenge of the Sith" (come on, it's a GREAT movie!) when the empire is declared...and Mrs. Skywalker turn to her retinue and says, "Is this how democracy dies? To the sound of applause?" (I know, it's not an exact quote!) This is exactly how I feel. Again, democracy is messy, but it is about what the people want, not what lobbies determine is best.

Those are my thoughts.