Worrisome Clichés
I have spent my sixty-two years of life in the company of Evangelical and Charismatic believers. Since 1974 I have served as a pastoral counselor to clergymen and parishioners on three continents. All through the years I have heard fervent Christians ask questions and make comments about misfortune, sickness and death that have never settled well with my spirit. My discomfort is derived from the extent to which God is blamed for the aforementioned. "Why did God allow our business to go bankrupt?" "How could God let me marry someone who would be an incorrigible adulterer?" "They are such faithful church members, how could God give them a deformed child?" "Why did the Lord take our son through an overdose on drugs?" "The Devil cannot touch you unless God allows him to do so." And in the aftermath of some catastrophic tragedy a well-meaning mature saint offers a sanctimonious, "You know the Lord gives and the Lord takes away." Balderdash with such clichés!
I believe that faulty theology has ingrained Christians with the perception that God is at blame for the adversities of life. The mindset that God is responsible for every happening is counterproductive. It undermines faith in the goodness of God (Heb 11:6). Few people have the spiritual aptitude to trust the Lord for His blessings while they harbor the belief that He is also the author of their misfortunes. Many have grown weary and fled organized Christianity. They maintain the essentials of Salvation such as repentance from sin and faith that Jesus is the resurrected Son of God. However, they are unwilling to remain in a superstitious system that propagates that if you step on a crack, God will break your back. The notion that God is simultaneously a God of Love and the perpetrator of heartache is hardly a good advertisement to attract the unconverted. Ideas like that make Christianity far too complicated for all too many thinking people.
Christian, you have no biblical grounds to be continually swayed between two opinions. God is a good God all of the time (Psa. 103:2-5). The Devil is bad all of the time (Joh 8:44). And the unbiblical hypotheses of armchair theologians are unreliable and will wreak manifold problems in your life.
The purpose of this article is to defuse God blame. The primary culprits that cause adversities in Christian’s lives are five-fold. They can be caused by the Devil; the negative aspects of sowing and reaping; the random influences brought about by the fall of Adam; the carnal-flesh that has not been reckoned dead in Christ; and the universal acceptance of the Old Covenant prophecies of judgment and the Mosaic Laws that were given solely to Israel as applicable to the lives of New Covenant believers.
Basics
God is the supreme ruler of over all things. He is omnipresent, omniscient and omnipotent. When He created all things, from the smallest microbe through the complex capabilities of mankind, every conceivable event that could occur under specific conditions were within the equation. His overall intention for good to befall mankind was preeminent, but the possibility for evil things to happen was also within the framework of creation (Gen 1:34). This does not indicate that God is inevitably personally involved as the immediate, onsite initiator of evil events. It solely implies that He, as the Creator, inserted factors into the scaffolding of His creation wherein it was possible for bad things to occur. In this regard the potential for evil is most often contingent upon and consequential to man’s responses to the principles of creation and the revealed Word and will of God.
Gravity can be Grave
God’s gravity is good. It keeps you attached to the planet. Let us imagine that you fall out of a tree and break your arm. Since God initiated the principle of gravity thousands of years ago, can we say that He is responsible for your broken arm? Of course not! You are just not agile enough to engage in tree climbing. Friction and entropy cause automobile tires to wear-out. When a tire blows on a SUV and it flips and injures the occupants, God did not injure them. It is likely that the SUV’s owner failed to replace the worn tire and gravity coupled with centrifugal force tragically flipped the vehicle. Along a similar line, a man named Winchester invented the lever-action repeating rifle 150 years ago. At times people are killed in hunting accidents involving Winchester rifles. No reasonable person who loses a loved one in such a mishap would cite Mr. Winchester as personally responsible. It is just as illogical to blame God.
But, But
The hyper-religious might cry that God could have intervened in all of these events to prevent them. While that is ultimately true it does not take several things into account. God has delegated a tremendous degree of responsibility to us for our own lives and welfare. Unlike many control-freak parents, He does not unilaterally reach in and tamper with matters that He has delegated to us (Gen 1:28, Psa 115:16). When mishaps strike within the delegated realms, more often than not, there are warnings that have been ignored. Moms tell us not to climb trees. SUV’s have rollover warnings on sun-visors. Warranty books offer instructions about tire wear and inflation. Basic hunter safety courses dictate that hunters keep rifles pointed away from people and that they are unloaded before crossing fences. In addition and more importantly, in all of the examples that I offered it is very probable that cautions set in motion by the Holy Spirit would have been present. As a preventative against mishaps, sinners and saints alike commonly experience the Spirit’s influences on intuition. Such whispers personal warnings and inspires our companions to caution us. "Don’t climb that tree." "Check those tires." "Watch your speed." "Fasten that seatbelt." "Unload that gun." When we defy these whispers and ignore commonsense it is we, not He, who are responsible for the consequences.
The Long Fall
Man was created with the capacities for direct communication with God and free volition. His body and mind were designed for eternal life. His mental and bodily functions were programmed in a manner that enabled man for optimum productivity in performing his God-given tasks. Disease, death and the probability for the elemental forces within creation to resist man’s efforts for productivity were as of yet nonexistent. The original couple’s fall into the deceptions of Satan and sin carried catastrophic penalties.
The consequences of man’s rebellion were horrific for everything pertinent to man and the nature of created things on planet earth. The spirit of man died instantly (Gen 2:15-16). As the centuries passed the stresses of life, malnutrition and sicknesses progressed and life spans were reduced. Plant and animal life were subjected to corrupting influences and death. The genetic codes of the human reproductive process that had formerly been flawless were subjected to the possibilities for problematic eventualities, miscarriages and birth defects (Gen 3:16).
The negative influences extended into the elemental forces of nature. The earth became stubborn in yielding crops (Gen 3:17-19). Earth’s watering system that had previously been subterranean was relocated to the atmosphere (Gen 2:5-6, 7:11). This facilitated environmental conditions wherein everything from draughts through violent storms and flooding could occur. All of these penalties fell outside of God’s original love-driven, benevolent intentions for man and the world of nature. For this reason the Spirit of the Lord instills the redeemed and all of creation with groans of yearning for the coming of His promised restoration of all things (Rom 8:19-23, Act 3:21).
Restoration Through Dispensations
Our God of Infinite Wisdom was not befuddled by the failure of man. He is the God of Restoration. He had plans in reserve for the eventuality of man’s fall that would restore him to a grander position than that which Adam and Eve enjoyed (Eph 1:4-6). The plan is called Redemption and it is available solely through faith in Jesus. God’s chosen path for it was to enact specific dispensations (epochal periods of time) in which He would relate to mankind in decisively different modes. Many sound theologians and most reliable commentaries acknowledge that the Bible alludes to anywhere from three to seven dispensations. The Greek word for the term implies the stewardship or the management of a household. Each dispensation provided its own form of haven for all who would seek Divine shelter from the diverse penalties of the fall. Faith/trust in God has been an integral factor in each epoch.
There are four primary dispensations that are depicted in the Scriptures. The Patriarchal includes the time from creation up to the giving of the Law to Moses. The Mosaic covers all up to the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus. The Dispensation of Grace entails the period from the resurrection of Christ through our present-day. The Kingdom Dispensation will stretch from the Millennial Reign of Christ through the creation of a new heavens and a new earth wherein death and all things associated with it will be destroyed (Eph 1:10, Rev 21:3-5, 2Pe 3:13).
A cursory assessment of God’s dealings with man during each respective dispensation might reveal certain differentiations. During the Patriarchal period on two isolated occasions, God did verbally give Satan permission to attack Job (Job 2:3). At rare times misfortune was attributed directly to God. More often than not, when blessings evaporated it was the result of individuals reaping what they had sown by violating the dictates of conscience. God inserted the principles of sowing and reaping into creation (Gen 8:22, Judges 1:6-7)). He was not necessarily personally involved in enacting the penalties each time someone transgressed conscience.
During the Mosaic period the laws of sowing and reaping were still in effect. In addition, any Jew who transgressed God’s Laws would be punished. Most often, civil/religious rulers who were authorized to enact specific punishments for specific misdemeanors were the instruments used (Deu 21:20-22). When the whole nation was unrepentant of sinful violations of His Laws, God Himself plagued them and stirred up their enemies to overcome them (Deu 28:14-68, 1Ch 21). Israel was nearly always on the brink of impending judgment during the days of the prophets of the Mosaic Dispensation. It is hazardous for clergymen to preach sermons to New Covenant believers wherein their congregations and nations are threatened with the same judgments with which the prophets admonished Israel. To do so is a misapplication of the Scriptures and it fosters wanton God blame. The Jews of antiquity were backsliders at heart. They simply were not spiritually disposed to comply with God’s Laws and to behave righteously (Rom 10:21). That is not the case with those who have been declared righteous and are new creations in Christ.
A New Sheriff in Town
There are not many similarities between the current Dispensation of Grace and the former Patriarchal and Mosaic periods. The principal of sowing and reaping remains intact, as it is destined to exists as long as the earth does (Gen 8:22, Gal 6:7-8). However, it has a delightful new clause. Believers don’t have to reap that which they have sown. Through the Grace of Calvary, God grants crop failures (Gal 3:13-14). Jesus took all of the evil due to us that we might be recipients of all the blessings due to Him. Believers don’t even belong to the same human species to which those under the former dispensations belonged. We are members of the Immanuel race, not the Adamic race (Joh 1:12, 1Pe 2:9). We don’t have stony hearts of rebellion (Eze 36:26). We have new hearts that are programmed with the propensity to be God pleasers (Philip. 2:13). At salvation we were declared righteous, new creations in Christ (2Co 5:17-21). We are not under the Law, nor the threat of its penalties for disobedience.
Christians are under Grace. We fulfill the righteous requirements of the Law through faith in what Jesus did for us through His singular obedient life and sacrificial death and resurrection. God is not looking for opportunities to catch us in noncompliance with some religious technicality so that He can smite us in wrathful vengeance. He views us as the elect, blameless children of His love. He has no indictments against us and receives no accusations about us (Rom 8:31-35). Grace will overflow into the Kingdom Dispensation. Satan will be chained in Hell, life spans will be dramatically increased and sickness vanquished (Isa 65:17-25, Rev 20:2-3, 21:4). Death will be consigned to its final doom at the Great White Throne Judgment post the Millennial Reign of Christ (Rev 20:14).
Two Interrelated Topics of Importance
The concepts of dispensations and the Divine inspiration of the Bible are important. An elementary understanding of these will help you discern that God is not directly at fault for all of the ills that befall mankind. It is my conviction that the Bible is inerrant and inspired by God. I believe that holy men were directed by God as they recorded their experiences with God; the histories of His dealings with their contemporaries; and the prophetic utterances that came to various Bible characters. However, the slant from which sincere believers view the inspiration of the Scriptures can be problematic. If there are no distinctions made in regard to God’s mode of administration within the various dispensations, there are verses that might lead one to errantly always fault God for the earth’s problems. Everything that the patriarchs and the Old Covenant prophets stated about their experiences and God’s workings in their lives are not necessarily universally applicable to the lives of New Covenant believers. The exceptions might be the Pslams of David and the Proverbs of Solomon. They are more universally applicable than some Old Testament texts.
Job
Job lived during the Patriarchal dispensation. He was a contemporary of Abraham and Melchizedek. During that period God revealed Himself to mankind through the auspices of His creation and through direct revelations to the consciences of men. Families and cultures that sought Him through monotheistic beliefs were blessed. They were distinctive from other people by the measure of Divine protection that they enjoyed. The Scriptures, archeological discoveries and ancient histories bear witness that all people groups had access to the same revelations. Most rejected them and spiraled into idolatry. This further exposed those societies to the increasingly harsh consequences of rebellion that were propelled into action by the fall of Adam (Rom 1:17-32).
Like Abraham and Melchizedek, Job was unique. God recognized him as the most righteous man on earth and took pride in his status as such. Satan challenged God about Job’s ability to remain faithful under pressure. God accepted the challenge and allowed Satan to destroy his property, kill his children and to afflict Job with boils. Job’s response was admirable and he maintained his faith. God rewarded him with twice as many blessings as compared to what he had previously (Job 1:1-3, 7-2:1-8, 42:10). Most commentators agree that his trial began and ended within a nine-month period. Unfortunately, many people have used the things that Job experienced and stated during his trials as a launching pad to blame God for a lifetime of problems. I will offer some of the theological gibberish that has been generated as Christians have compared Job’s plight to their own. It is essential to understand that Job’s experiences are not applicable to yours because he did not live during the Dispensation of Grace. Each errant view will be followed by a rebuttal in italics.
God has the Devil on a leash. Just like he couldn’t touch Job unless God allowed him to do so, he can’t touch me without God’s permission. – Satan is not God’s vicious pet that He walks through Christendom on a leash. God is not a malicious COP who delights in frightening folks with a police dog that is straining at its tether to gobble up their prosperity, property, peace and health. At Calvary Jesus set the Dispensation of Grace in motion (Joh 1:17). Satan is God’s enemy and ours. Jesus came to destroy the works of the Devil (1Jo 3:8). He was ordained by God with the Holy Spirit’s power and went about doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil (Act 10:38). Jesus commissioned His Church to do the same (Luk 10:19, Mar 16:17-18). Satan is not the Lord’s domesticated pet. He cannot be domesticated. He is a thief, a murderer, the father of lies and an unconscionable renegade and rebel. He goes about seeking lives to devour (1Pe 5:8-9). Christians have the authority to overcome him by the blood of the Lamb as they testify to what Jesus accomplished for them on the Cross (Rev 12:10-11). Believers are admonished not to give place to the Devil (Eph 4:27). We are commanded to be steadfast in faith and to resist him at every juncture (Jam 4:7). These injunctions are the distinctive privileges of Christians until the Lord shackles the Adversary and all of his cohorts in the lake of fire during the Kingdom Dispensation. The notion that God has Satan on a leash and looses him on believers defies the admonitions of the verses that have been cited. God is not the author of confusion. The Bible says that we are to obey God-ordained authorities (Rom 13:1-5). God is the ultimate authority. If He indeed had Satan on a leash and commanded him to attack us, it would be rebelliously wicked for us to resist His authority. We would be obligated to allow Satan to chew us up. In addition, the Word states that when we rebuke the Devil, he will flee from us. If he were leashed to God, it would present some absurd imagery when a Christian rebukes the Devil and he flees. It is the authority delegated to believers by God’s eternally obedient Son that makes the Devil flee. God the Father would be dragged through the heavens by His pet that was put to flight while obeying its Master’s command to attack.
The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. This cliché is inappropriately applied to everything from the loss of blessings to the loss of human life. We will look at the blessings issue first and then explore the loss of life in the next section. – The earthly ministry of Jesus took place after the Patriarchal Dispensation ended and during the last days of the Mosaic period. His ministry featured grace, which would become the sole mode for the coming Christian epoch. Jesus was paving the way for the Dispensation of Grace. He said and did only the things that reflected His Father’s will. He revealed some startling concepts for those who would claim that Divine whim gives and takes away blessings and life. God is kind toward unthankful and evil men (Luk 6:35). I come that you might have life and that you might have it more abundantly (Joh 10:10). Just like your earthly fathers do not give stones to those who ask for bread or serpents to those who ask for fish, your heavenly father will give good things to those who ask Him (Mat 7:10-11). The Apostles followed through with the concept that it is God’s will to give blessings rather than to take them (Jam 2:27). John prayed that his constituents would prosper and would be in health to the same level that prosperity came to their souls due to Salvation (3Jo 1:2). Paul was a great champion of the premise that the grace of God compels Him to give rather than to take away blessings (Rom 8:32). Though the Lord Jesus was rich He became poor that through His poverty you might be made rich (2Co 8:9). God’s grace will abound towards you so that you will have all sufficiency for all things that you might have abundant provisions for every good work (2Co 9:8). All things are for you and He gives you all things to enjoy (1Co 3:22, 2Co 4:15, 1Ti. 6:17). There is a proverb of Solomon that strongly infers that it is not God’s habit to pour forth blessings and to subsequently bring sorrow by withdrawing them. Proverbs 10:22 The blessing of the Lord makes one rich, And He adds no sorrow with it.
Loss of Life
Christians and their loved ones do experience untimely losses of life. The question is, are the expressions that they often use to console themselves about these events always accurate? Does God "take" lives through overdoses on drugs, car wrecks, hurricanes, catastrophic illnesses and so forth? I think that when these things are experienced it is biblically more accurate to say that a certain thing happened and the Lord "received" the deceased (Act 7:59). It is my conviction that when believers routinely implicate God when tragedies take lives it depicts God to unbelievers in a manner that misrepresents His charitable nature. I have personally encountered scores of people who were hesitant to listen to the Gospel message because they had been conditioned to believe that God "took" their loved ones.
Sensitive Life
Human life is delicate. The Lord has delegated each person with the responsibility to exercise faith as they circumspectly watch after their own lives (Pro 4:23, 9:10-12). The Lord has allotted to each person the potential for at least 70 years of life and for those who are strong 80 or more years (Psa 90:10). The Proverbs tell us that adherence to God’s wisdom can lengthen life (Pro 3:1, 13, 16). The Bible also tells us that those who sow to the flesh will reap corruption (Gal 6:7-8). Anyone who commits fornication sins against his own body (1Co 6:18). Those who don’t listen to the Spirit will reap death (Rom 8:5-6). None of these are indicative of the hand of God being directly responsible to end life.
The failure to comply with the principles of sowing and reaping is that which often puts in motion the processes that end in physical death. Sowing through destructive habits, bad diets, lack of exercise and wanton debaucheries are some of the things that cause people to reap shortened life spans. It is man not God whom is responsible in such instances. God did not "take" their lives. They unwittingly, and in some cases scornfully, "volunteered" for premature death. The good news is that when this happens to Christians, God graciously "receives" them into His presence. When God literally "takes" someone, He does so with style. On the negative end, there was manner in which He "took" Ananias, Sapphira, and Herod (Act 5:1-11, 12:21-23). On the positive side, it is the manner in which He "took" Enoch and Elijah and will eventually "take" Christians from this planet at the sound of the last trumpet (Gen 5:24, 2Ki 2:11-12, 1Th 4:17).
Duh
In the remote situations when God is directly involved with the loss of life, everybody knows it. Such will inevitably bear evidence of supernatural involvement that is absent from all other occasions that take life. Sodom was struck by fiery brimstone and destroyed in a single day (Gen 19:24-25). When Israel sinned in the wilderness, venomous serpents bit a host of hundreds of thousands (Num. 21:6). In one moment the earth opened up and swallowed the rebellious Levites who sided with Korah (Num 16:24-33). Ananias and Sapphira expired at Peter’s feet as they uttered lies in the presence of God and man (Act 5:1-10). Worms consumed Herod, while he was in the act of blasphemy (Act 12:21-23). Even a dumb-blond would understand that these events are distinctive from those that supposedly bright people commonly blame God for.
Catastrophic Sicknesses
The Devil is a murderer and he goes about seeking people to devour (Joh 8:44, 1Pe 5:8-9). Anyone who suffers with sickness is under oppression from Satan (Act 10:38). When Christians fall ill with any form of disease they are admonished to call the elders to pray for them to be healed (Jam 5:14). If God were responsible for sickness all involved would be guilty of rebellion on two counts. Those who prayed would be guilty of attempting to overrule God’s will. The recipient of their prayers would be resisting His will. The factors that can hinder people from receiving healing are too complicated and exhaustive to cover in this piece. Suffice it to say that the Scriptures are resplendent with examples and commands for the faithful to pray for the sick and to believe God for healing.
Some people attribute the AIDS epidemic to God’s judgment on homosexuals. I can’t, as I do not believe that God would purposely smite the innocent, along with the guilty, with such an affliction (Gen 18:25). Globally there are far more heterosexuals and infants than there are homosexuals who are afflicted with it. These poor souls are being murdered by the Devil. Either they or someone with whom they associate was guilty of giving place to Satan by bringing harm to their own bodies through fornication (1Co 6:18). The ways of a transgressor are hard (Pro 13:15). Failure to comply with the positive and negative principles of sowing and reaping can be a cruel taskmaster.
God’ll Get Them Queers
Some Conservative Christians make a habit of applying God’s mode of judgment of the Patriarchal and Mosaic Dispensations to contemporary societies. I live in Florida. Over the past 15 years I have read numerous prognostications about how God was going to wipeout the homosexual communities of South Florida with hurricanes. One such neo-prophet was interviewed on televised news broadcasts. They were intrigued by his sensationalism that had worked many churches into apocalyptic frenzies. Supposedly, the Lord was going to send a Category 5 Hurricane to Miami to smite the sodomites of South Beach. Along with some other pastors, I met with him to dislodge his errant stance. Unspiritual folks like myself could not dissuade him. Florida was not threatened with a single hurricane that year. We never heard anything more from him, including an apology.
On the same presumption others decreed that the center of Hurricane Andrew was going to make a direct strike on South Beach. It’s tropical storm peripheries skimmed the area cited for judgment. The center bore down upon and wreaked destruction on the heterosexual communities of Homestead and Kendall.
Hurricane Ivan was slated by prophets from here and yond to destroy the infamously homosexual Key West. A pastor friend of mine lives there. His Christian in-laws who reside in Pensacola, Florida begged him to flee the impending judgment and to take refuge in their city. When he didn’t comply they announced that they would send body bags for his family. The storm bypassed Key West. It made landfall in Gulf Shores, Alabama. Its volatile eastern circumference devastated Pensacola. The home of one of my friend’s in-laws was obliterated. All of these examples would be comic with irony, if they were not such tragic representations of God blame theology. As you might expect, the Christian media has not had any reports to air about how homosexuals in South Florida are rushing to the churches that propagated the prophesied calamities.
Troublesome Weather
In our day destructive weather is random rather than personal. Even in the days of antiquity individuals were seldom the targets of storms that were in any manner incited by God. Job and Jonah would be the exceptions. In Jonah’s case the storm stopped the moment he was thrown overboard. While under the Law of Moses the nation of Israel could experience God-sent draughts. However, they really had to work at rebellion and idolatry to provoke Him to such drastic measures.
The Scriptures support the concept that weather patterns have been predictable and storms random since the advent of Jesus. When He quieted Galilee’s storm His disciples remarked that even the wind and the sea obeyed Him (Mat 8:27). They did not say that acts of God obeyed Him. Jesus stated that men could look at the sky and predict foul weather (Mat 16:2-3). Paul warned his captors not to venture into the Mediterranean during the stormy season. They ignored him and encountered a cyclone that lasted 14 days. The Apostle scolded them for not heeding his warning. When the shipwreck was impending, he did not tell them that they were about to experience an act of the Lord’s wrath. He gave them assurance that they would survive due to His God’s power (Act 27:21-26).
Troublesome weather can bring misfortunate losses of property and casualties to believers and unbelievers alike. These are random in nature. They should not be construed as "Act of God". Societies that have advanced technologies are privileged. Meteorologists can predict with reasonable exactness what storms might do. In hurricane areas wise people board-up and evacuate when told to do so. In tornado prone regions, smart folks build storm cellars and use them. When lives are tragically taken, it’s not God at work. Most likely those who perished opted to ride-out the storm and thus unwittingly volunteered to be taken by it.
Automobile Accidents
Almost a decade ago I was rendered legally blind by a low impact car wreck. The doctors’ prognosis was dim, as they doubted that I would regain sight. Upon hearing the report I turned to my wife and told her that we would live as though the accident had never occurred. Over the next two years God’s healing power coupled with the expertise of skilled eye surgeons in multiple operations restored my sight to 50%.
It has been interesting to experience the responses that believers had to my accident. Most graciously prayed for me to be healed. Some abandoned us under whispers that there was hidden sin in my life that provoked God to blind me. People often ask what I learned through my trial. It has reinforced my convictions about the reality of the principles of sowing and reaping.
During the lasts 20 years of my father’s life he too was legally blind. On our frequent golf outings I acted shamefully. I manifested extreme irritability about having to always tell him where his ball landed. My attitude was no less un-Christ-like when I had to help him find the right club to use for his next shot. On my first outing as a blind golfer I was chagrined. I found myself asking complete strangers the same questions that my Dad used to ask me. Instantaneously, I understood that I was reaping what I had sowed. God was not at fault, I was. I repented and interceded for Divine crop failure. God granted it. Not one person has ever complained about my need for assistance. They would be embarrassed to do so. I play to a 10 handicap and beat most of the sighted golfers whom I encounter.
On the sad occasions when a drunk driver kills a carload of teenagers, is God responsible? Categorically not! While keeping in mind that God does not tempt people with evil, consider the devious scenario that would need to be contrived (Jam 1:13-14). The driver at fault would have to get drunk at a particular time. Then he would have to get into his car and happen upon the road where those "appointed" for calamity were traveling. It would necessitate that the drunken driver swerve into the "chosen" vehicle at precisely the right moment. In addition, in most States it is unlawful to occupy a car without the seatbelts being fastened. God mandates that people obey civil authorities and that children obey their parents. Certain things would need to be activated to insure that all of the teenagers received injuries severe enough to bring about death. It would necessitate that each be sufficiently tempted to reject the cautions of their parents, the law and conscience by refusing to fasten their seatbelts. None of these things sound remotely akin to the activities of God who sent His Son to save sinners and to give them abundant life.
Crisis Salvation
Christians delightfully and rightfully rejoice in the testimonies of those who were in the midst of a crisis and called out to Jesus for Salvation. Most of us have heard people state that they had to bottom-out before they would reach-out. Often reference is made to Romans 8:28. The inference is that God created all of the circumstances that brought them to Christ including the troubles that they were experiencing. Though we should rejoice about the deliverances, we are not wise to accept each point of their conclusions as biblically accurate. To do so reinforces God blame. It does so because it conveys that God personally devastates people’s lives to position them for Salvation.
The text in question does not implicate God as the direct cause of all of life’s circumstances. It simply implies that He inserts His influences into existing circumstances and causes them to work together for the good of those called to His purposes. Everyone is under the general burden of sin prior to Salvation. Individuals who come to the Lord could be divided into two groups. The majority are those who get saved while leading normal productive lives. They need redemption as much as those who are destitute. The other group is comprised of people whom you might hear giving the aforementioned testimonies. They are the ones who did not come to the Lord until they reached rock bottom. There are some questions that might be asked to defuse the concept that it was God who caused the problems that led to their salvations.
"Prior to your crisis, were there periods in your life during which you sensed God calling you to Himself?" "Along the road that led to your problems, did your conscience ever bother you about the decisions that you were making?" "In retrospect, do you now feel that you could have come to the Lord before your crisis point?" My experience is that the resounding answers to all of these questions are in the affirmative.
Every disciple that Jesus chose to become an apostle was gainfully employed prior to his calling. Jesus did not instruct his co-workers to seek out people in crisis to establish the headquarters for their evangelistic campaigns. He told them to first seek out honorable people in each city (Mat 10:11). Using such person’s credibility in the community, they launched forth into the hedges of life. There they found those whose lives were in turmoil and invited them to the celebration at Father’s house. The examples in the book of Act indicate that the Apostles of the Church followed the same pattern. Upon entering cities targeted for the Gospel, they first went to the synagogues, places of prayer and to sites where spiritual topics were routinely discussed (Act 13:14, 16:13-19, 17:17-21). The people in such locations were good candidates for salvation. Upon hearing the Gospel they were likely to be sensitive to the fact that God had been working their lives prior to the occasion in which they met His messengers. The New Covenant is a better covenant than the Old Covenant, because it is established on better promises (Rom 8:6). The Old says, get circumcised and obey all of the laws and you will be blessed. In the New, it’s the goodness of God made manifest that leads people to repentance (Rom 2:4). In the New Testament, more often than not, miracles and healing preceded explanations of the Gospel and people being offered an opportunity to repent (Luk 10:9, Act 8:6-7, 16:25-34, 26:9-18). Which of the following do you think would be most appealing to the unconverted? "You probably have problems in your life and it is God who caused your misery. If you don’t repent right now He is going to multiply your sorrows until you do." Or. "No matter whether you have been naughty or nice, God is going to bless you right now. Afterward, it would behoove you to repent of your sins and confess Him as Lord. If you do so, He will bless you with His full benefit package that features earthly blessings as well as eternal blessings."
Misapplied Verse
Presently there are more Christians praying for their respective nations and Israel than at any point in history. Since 1974, I’ve seen hundreds of organizations birthed to carry the burden of prophetic intercession for the same. My church observes a prayer watch from 9:00PM-12:00AM every Friday night. We have done this at various intervals since 1977. The primary text that we have championed is 2 Chronicles 7:14 If My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.
Candidly, I must say that though this sounds glorious it has not been without causalities in regard to God blame. Many previously fervent prayer warriors have left the national prayer movement. Some are disillusioned because they think that God has failed them. They are disappointed because none of the nations that have organized national prayer movements have enjoyed the same measure of healing that was implied for Israel through the entire context of 2 Chronicles 7. The adherence to godly principles as a matter of national policy has diminished, not increased, in nations where Christians have been claiming 2 Chronicles 7:14. In regard to America and Israel, the overall climate of neither nation has dramatically improved. Both are increasingly more dangerous places to live today than they were in the past. This would include such things as acts of terrorism, the threat of nuclear war, and increased health risks.
God has not failed us. I believe that the failure is due to Christian naiveté. We expected the full results to come about in our nations that were promised solely to ancient Israel. Both the Old and the New Testaments encourage believers to pray for their homelands and their respective governments (Joe 2:12-32, 1Ti 2:1-4). It is true enough that God told Israel that if they would humble themselves and pray, He would heal their land. For this to happen it necessitates certain things. In order for a nation to be restored to health there has to be some point in its history when it digressed from health to ill health. Israel experienced such periods. America has not.
It would be difficult to cite a time of considerable duration where America had the same measure of national health that Israel intermittently experienced under some of its rulers. We are among the most blessed nations on the planet. Yet, we have never enjoyed complete freedom from wars, poverty, racial injustices, gender bias, crime, socioeconomic unrest and corrupt government officials. We have, however, continually been blessed within the areas specified for intercession in 1 Timothy 2:1-4. Our government does not interfere with our endeavors to live peaceful lives and to worship in any manner that we desire. The Gospel can be freely preached in the USA.
Unfortunately, there is no sound biblical basis for contemporary believers to fully claim the full implications of 2 Chronicles 7:14 for their respective nations. Its promise was given to the Jews who were under the Law of Moses. For the literal healing of their land certain things had to take place. The entire nation had to humble themselves through repentance, fasting and prayer. They were obligated to either gather at or pray toward the temple of Solomon as they did so. That temple no longer exists. The promise of the land being healed had to be activated from a specific temple by the specific people of a specific nation. Even the Law of Moses that governed that nation is now obsolete as a means of achieving righteousness. The New Testament does not obligate Christians to comply with it.
Nonetheless, we have reason to take heart. Good fruits have been garnered from our united prayer and fasting. We can rejoice in that God is working marvels among the nations as millions are being saved and delivered from bondages. Ever-increasing numbers of Jews are being re-grafted into the olive tree of the Messiah. Personal prayers for blessings are being answered in an unprecedented manner.
Kissing Cousin
God blame theology has a dysfunctional relative. From some of the pulpits and media of Conservative Christianity it all too frequently exhibits a nasty disposition. It could be called, the judgment is coming/God is gonna getcha syndrome. It commonly takes aim at the masses within historically Christian nations who are unsaved and act like unsaved people. It demands that those whose hearts have not yet been transformed through regeneration to think and behave like Spirit-filled believers. Its ammunition arsenal is well stocked. The major nuclear warhead that they assert will bring down a nation is the departure from Judeo-Christian values. Its small arms fire comes from bullets such as prayer and Bible reading taken from schools, the prevalence of homosexuality, the sins of abortion and marital infidelity, national divorce rates, materialism and so forth.
Salt’s Limitations
The general inference is that a nation’s return to Judeo-Christian values will guarantee exemption from national troubles. The New Testament does not support that notion and history belies it. Any blessings that nations might derive from devout Christian citizens and biblical values are temporary, not permanent. No intensities of those things that we cherish will exempt any nation from the calamities that Jesus prophesied would come to this world’s system and its governments (Luk 21:8-11). The righteousness of a country’s citizens could be compared to salt. It will temporarily preserve a nation from corruption. It cannot prevent the four horsemen of the Apocalypse from eventually galloping through it (Rev 6 & 7).
The Tale of Two Nations
I am going to now share glimpses of the histories of two nations. Each underwent horrific national troubles in periods where Judeo-Christian values were firmly in place. The first will be Israel and the second America.
During the first century A.D., the inhabitants of the city of Jerusalem exemplified a commitment to Judeo-Christian values eclipsing anything that any other nation has ever known. The majority of Jews observed the Sabbath and participated in the annual observances of Passover, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. Children prayed in school and were instructed from the Scriptures. Jewish fathers taught their sons a trade and their wives were stay-at-home moms. Adultery, premarital sex, and homosexuality were strictly forbidden, and offenders could incur the death penalty.
Simultaneously in Israel, its Christian Community, the early Church, enjoyed a period of monumental evangelism. Tens of thousands were converted from Judaism and the idolatries of the ancient world (Act 21:20). The believers attended public prayer sessions daily at the Temple of Herod. In the evenings, they gathered in homes for prayer, teaching, and fellowship (Act 2:42-3:1). These Christians generously shared their resources with those in need and were circumspect in caring for widows (Act 6:1-4). No one could charge that Jewish and Christian children of the first century were subjected to any of the societal woes that we conservative Christians commonly decry. School violence, drug traffic, MTV, and online porno sites were nonexistent. The environment of Jerusalem would qualify as godly when placed alongside the standard of that which most conservative Christians would describe as an ideal society. Nonetheless, the exemplary values of the city’s inhabitants did not exempt it from experiencing a terrifying assault.
In 70 A.D., Tit, the son of the Roman Emperor Vespasian, led a barbarous campaign against Jerusalem during Passover and Easter. Thousands of Christians and Jews had gathered from the Mediterranean world to celebrate the occasions. The siege lasted 134 days during which time the temple was destroyed, 600,000 were butchered, and 115,000 were deported as slaves. The streets of the city were lined with those who had been crucified. The only Jewish Christians surviving the atrocities were those who fled as refugees to the city of Pella, which is located in present day Jordan.
Don’t Know Much About History
Across the Atlantic, America’s history is also punctuated with numerous instances where tragic events have followed close on the heels of periods of renewed spiritual fervency. For example, a revival called the Great Awakening occurred between 1730-1750. The fire of revival not only propelled churchgoers to come to repentance, there were also thousands of new converts. At that time, 80% of the population began to attend church. Twenty-five years later, the nation was embroiled in the Revolutionary war.
In 1806, the Cane Ridge revival hit the mountain communities of Tennessee and Kentucky. Crowds of 25,000 traveled by foot and wagon from the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States to attend brush arbor camp meetings. These gatherings were noted for an awesome atmosphere filled with prayers of repentance. While heaven’s dew still rested on the thousands that had been transformed during the revival, the English attacked America and the War of 1812 began. Washington D.C. was put to flames and was nearly completely destroyed.
In September of 1857, a businessman by the name of Jeremiah Lanphier was anointed with a burden to lead his contemporaries in regular times of prayer. He began a businessmen's prayer meeting in an upper room of the Dutch Reformed Church in Manhattan. At the first meeting, only six people out of a population of one million showed up. However, by March of 1858, every church and public hall in downtown New York was filled with people meeting for prayer. A reporter who worked for the famous editor Horace Greeley visited 12 meetings in one hour and counted 6,100 men attending them. A landslide of prayer began, which overflowed to the churches in the evenings. People began to be converted—10,000 per week in New York City alone. The movement spread throughout New England with the church bells bringing people to prayer at eight in the morning, noon, and six in the evening. The revival raced up the Hudson and down the Mohawk. The end result was that in 1860, out of the nation’s 30 million people, more than one million were converted to Christ. In 1861, while millions of Americans basked in the joys of renewed faith, the Confederates bombarded Ft. Sumter and the War Between the States began. Scores of cities were burned and countless homes were pillaged. Union and Confederate concentration camps housed over 400,000 prisoners of war under the cruelest of conditions, and 620,000 men lost their lives as Americans fought their fellow Americans. The abuses of brother on brother were so severe that war crime trials were held after the war.
Back to What
God Blame theology’s God is gonna getcha syndrome has a war cry. "We are going to take this nation back," is often voiced in services before the faithful are sent forth into each week’s battles. The premise is that America was much better off in days gone by when compliance with Judeo-Christian values was more prevalent among the populace. Embarrassing points of American history indicate that those were in reality the good old days when things were bad. The nation was not in an ideal state of national health it had significant areas of ill health.
Much like it is today, pulpit masters thundered sermons based on Bible passages taken from the Patriarchal and Mosaic periods. Their parishioners cultivated attitudes that were totally inconsistent with the mind of Christ. Undoubtedly, there were true believers sprinkled among them, but as a society, they often treated others in ways that were decisively non-Christian.
For example, when the Israelites went into the Promised Land, they were commanded to cleanse it from its Canaanite population (Deu 20:16-18). This provided our young government with the justification to abuse and almost completely eradicate the Indians from North America. Conservative estimates of the pre-Columbus population of Native Americans are 10-12 million. By 1900, 400 years later, the national census indicated the number of Indians had decreased to less than 250,000 Indians in the United States.
The colonists had no restraints of conscience in relation to slavery either. Their Old Testament orientation allowed them to enslave the Africans that they purchased and the Indians that they captured. The book of Exodus provided slave owners with a manual for their treatment. If a slave obtained freedom, his master was not obligated to allow his wife and children to accompany him, unless they had been purchased as a married couple (Exo 21:2-4). It was a punishable offense to beat a slave severely enough for him to expire that day. However, if he lingered several days before dying, it was not a criminal offense. After all, he was the owner’s property (Exo 21:20-21). Amazingly, all of this is supported by texts in the Pentateuch, though most would admit that it falls a little short in the family values and human rights departments. In addition, there are early official government documents that described the souls of blacks as having a capacity inferior to whites. It helped justify slavery and the denial of voting rights and opportunities for a quality education. Apparently, many of our founders were not well acquainted with the New Testament texts that reveal the role of blacks in the leadership of the early church. The Ethiopian eunuch, who was converted by Philip, imported the Gospel to his country (Act 8:26-40). The church at Antioch welcomed the prophetic teaching gift of Simeon. His nickname was Niger, denoting his black skin (Act 13:1-2).
School Prayer and Bible Reading
During the 1800s alone, numerous things occurred which punctuate the reality that the practice of reading the Bible and praying at the beginning of each school day did not shape the values of the students. For example, in 1844 the King James Version (KJV) of the Bible was read each morning to the students of Philadelphia’s public schools, and it was also used in their studies. The city had a significant Catholic presence, and their Bishop petitioned the school board to allow Catholic students to read from the Douay Version in place of the KJV. The language of the Catholic Bible is almost identical to that of the Authorized Version. The only real distinction is that their Bible contains the Apocryhpha and the Protestant Bible does not. Nonetheless, Protestant adults, who had heard the Bible read and teachers pray during their schooling, rioted for days. Two Catholic churches were burned to the ground, and several people were killed. The Bishop ordered that all parish churches close until civility was restored. Peace did not ensue until martial law was imposed on the city.
Although the Bureau of Indian Affairs’ reservation schools were staffed with personnel who had prayed when they went to school, it seemed to have made little impact on them. The American Indians still experienced verbal, physical, and sexual abuse in their schools. Also when the California gold rush began, great deposits were discovered on land given to the Indians through treaties, and once again, the Bureau of Indian Affairs did not act in a godly way. The Bureau needed a way to evict the Indians without giving the appearance of breaking another treaty, so they sent them blankets purposely contaminated with the smallpox virus and thousands perished.
In more recent history, the underworld figures that initiated our national epidemic of prostitution and drug traffic heard prayer in their schools. So did the politicians, actors and media artists of the ’60s who were noted for their debauchery-filled lifestyles. Similarly, the men who originally founded the Playboy, Penthouse, and Hustler magazines all prayed in school. And so did their early models, photographers, and writers. In short, those who heard prayer in their schooldays turned around and planted the evil seeds that have bloomed in the generation without prayer in school. Rote prayers offered by lips void of faith and heard by those whose hearts are not graced with faith are ineffectual (Mat 18:19). The prayers of the righteous avail much (Jam 5:16). The only path to righteousness is through faith in Christ (Tit 3:5). Those whose hearts have not been transformed by Jesus cannot be expected to behave like Christians, no matter whose cultural values are championed.
Swiss Enigma
Some people have decided the reason for the 9/11 Islamic terrorists attacks is because our nation has not repented of its departure from our traditional Judeo-Christian values. This doctrinal bent is belied by an objective comparison of America with the Christian nation of Switzerland. Few nations can equal Switzerland’s history as a birthplace for God-centered thought and Christian values. Interestingly, at this juncture it has few semblances that are reminiscent of its roots. It has an infant national prayer movement. As a movement, it has not exhibited the intensities that have drawn attention to its American relative.
In the 16th century, Switzerland was a center for the Protestant Reformation. It was also the birthplace of Calvinism, which greatly influenced many American denominations. The flag that flies over the country features a white cross on a red background, symbolizing the cross and blood of Jesus. Keeping in mind that God is not a respecter of persons, it would seem that if America has come under judgment for abandoning its Christian values, then Switzerland should incur similar reprisals (Act 10:34). However, the Swiss public expresses little concern about issues such as abortion, drug abuse, and pornography. Extra-marital affairs and premarital sex are commonplace. Homosexuality is a non-issue item. Most Swiss Protestant churches have pastors who are elected by state-controlled elections. It is rare to encounter a state-elected clergyman who will testify to a born-again experience. Church attendance is an equal rarity—less than 20% of the population attends religious services.
If we take the following information into consideration, it presents us with two mysterious questions. Is the concept that departure from traditional values will spawn reprisals from on High false? Is it possible that a society can fair comparatively well without its Christian citizens incessantly demanding its compliance with Christian values? I believe that the answers to both questions is, Yes.
The Swiss have not had a famine since 1845, and with the exception of an occasional avalanche, natural disasters are rare. Every man under the age of 50 is a militiaman who must have a gun and ammo in his home at all times, yet there are very few homicides. Incidences of terrorism are uncommon. When it does occur, it is normally minor isolated instances of foreign nationals harassing other foreign nationals living in Switzerland, as opposed to foreign nationals attacking Swiss citizens. The Swiss have been spared from combat in any war over the past 100 years. Their current inflation rate is 0.5%, and their unemployment rate is 3.7%.
Fruitful Prayers
I believe that what I have presented in relation to certain aspects of intercession for nations and judgment preaching reveals some important things. It is not particularly fruitful for clergymen to incite their folks about the sins of the unconverted. There is little evidence that intercession for a country to return to traditional values, as a means to avoid troubles, is overly productive. On the other hand, there is overwhelming evidence that it is fruitful for the redeemed to pray for the salvation of the lost, physical healing and for God’s blessings to come upon those who know Him and those who don’t. The blessings of God do lead people to repentance. In addition, preaching that God’s mercy triumphs over judgment catches many needy fish (Jam 2:13).
A Holy Nation
As you have discerned, I am totally opposed to God is going to get you preaching that is directed at the unconverted. Aside from the God blame mindset that it fosters, I have deep concerns that relate to the Body of Christ. The Spirit of God within believers knows and teaches them the truth. The Lord will alert their spirits when certain aspects of their theology are unproductive. He will lead them into situations in which their observations confirm what the Spirit has been saying. It is unwise to overrule these factors. Eventually many tire of claiming things are so that are not so. Some will give up and backslide. The baby will be thrown out with the bathwater, as they inwardly say, "None of this is real".
I have another concern. We, the Church, are in danger of reaping the judgments that we have prophesied for others on ourselves. The problem is that we are preaching to the world when we ought to be preaching to the choir. It would behoove us to remember that God calls the Church a holy nation and that judgment starts at the household of God (1Pe 4:17).
Personally, I shudder for the Church. With whatever measure we judge others, we will reap judgment in intensified measures (Mat 7:1-5). Every Sunday we do things that Jesus never did on any Sabbath. He did not come to condemn the world because it was already condemned (Joh 3:18). We badger unsaved people for acting like unsaved people. All the while, the Church is ridden with many of the same sins that we decry in the populace of our nation (Rom 2:1-4). If America is going to hell in a hand-basket, many Christians own stock in the basket factory. Materialism is rampant and the divorce rate is as high among believers as it is unbelievers. The Catholic Church does not have corner on the market when it comes to inappropriate sexual behavior among its clergymen. Marital infidelity in the Protestant Church eclipses homosexuality in the Catholic Church. I could go on and on, but I will refrain from doing so. It would be beneficial for the Church to start decreeing a prophetic passage from the Mosaic period to America’s unconverted masses. It is applicable because it harmonizes with grace. It’s Isaiah 54:15 from the New International Version. "If anyone does attack you, it will not be my doing; whoever attacks you will surrender to you."
Dot Connecting
There are some of my Charismatics fellows who routinely attempt to discern God’s voice in most every event of life. Their desire to hear the voice of the Lord is legitimate. The practice of dot connecting events to discern it is not inevitably reliable. The problematic supposition goes something life this: When God approves of our lives nothing can go wrong. If bad things happen to us it is indicative of the disapproval of God.
This posture is errant in several ways. It does not flow with what Jesus said about daily events. He said that each day would contain elements of evil (Mat 6:34). Jesus undermined the cause and effect model on three occasions. He was confronted with questions about why one man was born blind, why some others died in an accident and why a few men were executed while offering sacrifices. He did not attribute the cause to the particular sins of those involved or their parents (Luk 13:5, Joh 9:1-3). Paul experienced riots nearly every time he preached. He was often beaten and imprisoned yet his ministry had God’s blessings.
The practice in question is also uncomfortably akin to observing omens. Astrologers and tealeaf readers engage in interpreting omens. They think that prophetic insights can always be discerned through natural events. Occult practices are forbidden in both the Old and New Testaments.
And finally, habitual attempts to connect the dots in order to discern God’s will do not fall in line with common sense. The rooster crows, and up comes the sun. Does that mean that the rooster causes the sun to come up? Because the sun comes up after the rooster crows, does it mean that if we killed the rooster we’d be perpetually in darkness? The point is that just because one thing happens after another doesn’t mean that the second is caused by the first. And it does not mean that the second was not in process simultaneously with the first.
The Lord’s Discipline
Some readers might be asking, "Doesn’t this fellow know that God disciplines those whom He loves (Heb 12:5-13)?" Yes, I most certainly do. However, I don’t think that God is a child abuser. In the passage that is cited it compares the techniques of an earthly father’s discipline with those of our Heavenly Father. His are kinder. Most earthly fathers delight in giving blessings to their children. They do not withhold them unless they have given ample forewarning that it could happen. No decent human father would come home and just start beating on his kids. A good father lets a child know what he must do to avoid punishment and exactly why he is being punished when it is administered. Normally, the punishment episodes are momentary in duration.
It is my conviction and experience that God is far more patient than man. He offers warnings more frequently and in more ways and over longer spans of time than other fathers do. Admittedly, the passage does hint that a punishment could escalate and become physical if a Christian persists in rebellious behavior (Heb 12:12-13). If that occurs it would be the rare exception not the norm. In the atypical instances where physical affliction is used as a tool of chastening, it is never God’s will that it be perpetual. The punishment ends the moment that the person repents of his misbehavior and turns to God for healing.
The problem with all too many Christians is that they attribute most every misery to God’s dealings with them. When a person makes such claims, good friends should make some inquiries. "Why are you being punished and how were you warned that it was impending?" If the answers are, "I don’t know" and "I wasn’t warned", you can be assured that God is not remotely involved with the matter. From that point one might ask other questions. "How has this supposed discipline intensified your pursuit of holiness?" And, "Why haven’t you repented and started behaving?"
You are confronted with two possible problems if the answer to these questions is, "I don’t know". The first is, God is not disciplining your friend. In that case you need to enlighten him about the life of faith and the error of habitual God blame. Secondly, it could indicate that your friend is spiritually dull-witted. A person would have to be extraordinarily spiritually insensitive to ignore long-term chastening from God. In that case, you need to gently lead him into repentance. Both he and His Loving Heavenly Father will appreciate your intervention in the situation.
Conclusion
There is an arena in which believers can suffer and simultaneously be in the will of God. It is when they are persecuted particularly because of faith in Christ. Every Christian experiences some degree of such persecutions. For many it is mild. On the other hand millions have been imprisoned, tortured and executed specifically for being bold witnesses for the Lord. I cannot promise that you will escape the eventuality of it happening to you. God makes sure promises to those who suffer persecution for righteousness sake. He will give you grace to endure it and opportunities to witness for Him in the midst of it (2Co 12:9, Luk 21:12-13). The weight of God’s glory will descend upon you as you endure the trial without complaint (1Pe 4:12-14). Should the evil persons who are administering trouble to you not succumb to His kind gestures through your testimony, He will pour out His wrath upon them at His Coming (1Th 1:4-12). At that point they will have a privilege that few people in human history have experienced. They can blame God for their afflictions and they will be absolutely correct.
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