Posted by deangonzales on March 6, 2010
According to the Westminster Confession of Faith 25.5 (see also LBCF 26.3), “The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error.” There are at least two ramifications that flow from this doctrinal assertion. First, no church or ecclesiastical organization should assume the posture of having arrived at complete doctrinal and spiritual maturity–including Reformed churches and organizations! Hence, when we take too much pride in being “ReformED,” we run the risk of losing sight of the Reformation principle of semper reformanda (“always reforming”) and of assuming the rather haughty posture that we’ve got a “corner on the truth.” As a result, we can tend to spend too much time criticizing others and develop an unhealthy resistance to receiving criticism (whether from outside or inside our circles). Second, since we’re not immune to errors and imbalances and weaknesses, we should be just as ready to learn from others outside our ecclesiastical circles as we are eager to help them see their faults. In other words, we shouldn’t assume that we’re the only ones who have something profitable to bring to the table, that everyone else needs to keep quiet and learn from us. Rather, while we may have some insights and wisdom to offer our evangelical brothers, we can expect they probably have some things to teach us as well.
With the preceding remarks in view, I’d like to commend to you two recent blog entries by one of our seminary students, Bill Streger, Pastor of Kaleo Church in Houston, which is part of the Acts 29 Network, an association of pastors and churches focused on reaching the unchurched and planting churches. In the first entry, entitled, “Uncool People Need Jesus Too” (see link below), Bill directs a caution to pastors within his own ecclesiastical circles. Basically, he warns them against allowing a good thing (i.e., a burden and effort to reach the younger “hip” generation) to develop into an imbalance (i.e., a failure to be burdened for and reach people who may not be young and “hip”). In the second entry, entitled, “What I Actually Meant” (see link below), Bill provides some qualifying remarks to clarify the intent of his original post. He assures his colleagues (some of whom took offense at his first post) that he was offering the admonition not as a broad-brush critique of the whole movement but as a general caution regarding a potential pitfall into which some may unwittingly fall.
Personally, I didn’t need Bill’s qualification. I understood that his remarks were simply a generalization and that he wasn’t impugning the motives of those whom he was warning. Moreover, I understood the cautions as coming from one who was overall appreciative of the good in his ecclesiastical circles but who simply wanted to encourage biblical balance and maturity. Nevertheless, as one who has sometimes offered self-criticisms of my own “movement,” I know what it’s like to be misunderstood. Of course, this is not to say that I’m always above reproach in the way I communicate criticisms. Sometimes I fail to make necessary qualifications. This is why I appreciated Bill’s humble willingness to post a second entry in order to clarify his intentions and even concede that he could have said it better the first time. In the end, though, I think every church, denomination, or ecclesiastical “movement” ought to remain self-critical in the spirit of semper reformanda. If you read both of Bill’s posts, you’ll see that he highly esteems the Acts 29 Network, its leaders, and the brothers who are part of it. But he also recognizes the truth expressed in the Puritan confessions, namely, that no church or body of churches has “fully arrived.” Consequently, he’s willing to be self-critical in the interests of helping his church and his sister churches to become aware of pitfalls and to grow in “the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ” (Eph 4:13, ESV).
I believe that we, as Reformed Baptists, can profit from Bill’s caution against the tendency to be trendy and to mimic other ministries in ways that are unwarranted or imbalanced. Perhaps more importantly, we can profit from Bill’s willingness to be self-critical. There’s always a danger of becoming so enamored with our strengths that we become blind to our weaknesses. May the Lord help us!
“Uncool People Need Jesus Too” by Pastor Bill Streger
“What I Actually Meant” by Pastor Bill Streger
Your servant,
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Posted by deangonzales on February 27, 2010
Matthew 20:20-28 speaks of human ambition. Webster’s Dictionary defines “ambition” as “an ardent desire for rank, fame, or power.” Another dictionary provides a fuller definition. Ambition is “an earnest desire for some type of achievement or distinction, as power, honor, fame, or wealth, and the willingness to strive for its attainment.” The sons of Zebedee were obviously men of ambition. They aspired after greatness. They also had a mother who earnestly wanted to see her two sons achieve their aspirations. And lest we think they were the only disciples who entertained ambitions to greatness, we do well to interpret the indignation of the other ten disciples recorded in verse 24 not as an indication of true humility but as an expression of envy that John and James had beat them to the punch. They too aspired to greatness.
The question I’d like us to ask is, Is it wrong for true disciples of Christ to aspire after greatness? Most of us would probably answer that question affirmatively. Of course it’s wrong! Human ambition doesn’t seem to fit with Christian virtue. However, I want to suggest to you that human ambition in-and-of-itself is not necessarily sinful. Notice carefully that Jesus does not oppose the ambition of James and John per se. He’s not against their aspiration to “greatness,” and he doesn’t condemn their desire for achievement. Instead, Jesus redefines true greatness in the kingdom of God, and he contrasts the Christian approach to achieving greatness with the world’s approach. Look again at verses 25-28:
But Jesus called them to Himself and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Note two things about Jesus’s response to His disciples’ ambition:
1. Jesus doesn’t condemn human ambition but encourages it.
Mark Christ’s words in the first part of verses 26 and 27: “Whoever would be great among you must be …” (v. 26). “And whoever would be first among you must be …” (v. 27). Jesus isn’t mocking the disciples. He’s not being sarcastic. He’s offering them biblical counsel. He’s showing them the way to true greatness. “If you want to be great—if you want to achieve, then this is the method you must follow.” Therefore, we shouldn’t interpret Jesus’s teaching as a blanket condemnation of all human ambition. As a matter of fact, the Bible supports the notion that human ambition is a God-given impulse.
How many of you have met an ambitious oak tree? What about an ambitious fish or bird or cow? It’s true that some animals can be aggressive. And it’s true that some animals can be competitive. There’s always the dog in the pack that aspires to be the “alpha-male.” But whatever ambition animals may possess is only a faint semblance of human ambition. Animals don’t strive for fortune and fame. Animals aren’t preoccupied, like us, with accomplishment and achievement. But there’s a drive within you and me to do something that’s lasting: to leave our mark, to accomplish some great deed, to be successful and find fulfillment. Where did that drive come from?
I want to suggest that it came from the God who created humans in his own image and said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth” (Gen. 1:28). That “creation mandate” not only specified mankind’s God-given task. It also implies a goal toward which humans are to strive. Adam and Eve were to be fruitful and fill the earth with other images of God who would labor together to beautify the earth and harness its natural resources for the glory of God and good of man. And as a reward for their labors, God would grant them a “name,” and they would join him in eternal Sabbath-rest. And God endowed the human heart not only with a conscience that would urge man to imitate his heavenly father morally but God also endowed the human heart with an aspiration to complete his God-given task and to enjoy as a reward fullness of life—something he did not yet experience in the Garden of Eden. I believe this is what Solomon is alluding to in Ecclesiastes 3:11 where he says, “[God] has put eternity in their hearts.” One OT scholar explains it this way:
[The] blessing … promising a consummation of man’s original glory as image of God was … built into man’s very nature as image of God. This eschatological prospect was in-created. It was an aspiration implanted in man’s heart with his existence as God’s image…. The bare perpetuation of man’s original measure of blessedness would actually have been a curse, not a blessing, for it would have amounted to failure in his endeavor to fulfill God’s commission to be fruitful and to extend his dominion..
Brothers and sisters, you and I were made to have aspirations. To borrow from a good friend’s oft-repeated axiom: we were created with a drive and desire to pursue our maximum kingdom potential. This explains why people in the world strive to achieve and accomplish and find fulfillment. True, their ambition for greatness and achievement has been corrupted by sin as we’ll see. But it still testifies to the fact that they’re made in the image of God. My point is this: human ambition is not wrong provided that it’s properly defined and carried out with the right motives, which leads me to the second observation regarding Jesus’s response to his disciples’ ambition:
2. Jesus contrasts godly ambition with worldly ambition
In verse 25-28, Jesus summons his disciples and says to them:
You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those who are great exercise authority over them. Yet it shall not be so among you; but whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave – just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.
It’s important that we interpret Jesus’s words correctly. Jesus is not saying that the Gentiles are wicked simply because they happen to be in power. Nor is He saying it’s wrong to aspire to occupy the role of a leader such as mayor or a governor or even a king. In other words, Jesus is not commending some kind of egalitarian society in which there are no structures of human authority. Instead, I think the right way to understand Jesus’s contrast is to see him contrasting one form of ruling and subduing the earth with another form of ruling and subduing the earth. Like Adam in the Garden, the nations seek to rule and subdue the earth independent of God’s rule and in violation of God’s law. Moreover, they’re ambition is not God’s glory and the good of mankind but their own glory and their own personal good, often at the expense of others. This was true of the Caesars of Jesus’s day. And this is true of many of the rulers in our day. They have no regard for the God of heaven. And they take advantage of their people in order that they might live in luxury and build their palaces and monuments and legacies.
But it’s not just the dictators or prime ministers or politicians in Washington who are guilty of this prideful ambition. Every human who rejects God and his law, who seeks to be his own master, and who attempts to carve out his own destiny with himself at the center falls under Jesus’s censure. Even Jesus’s disciples fell under his censure! It wasn’t wrong for James and John to be ambitious. It wasn’t wrong for them or the other disciples to aspire after greatness in God’s kingdom. Brothers, there’s something wrong with us if we don’t have that aspiration!
What was wrong was their conception of true greatness and the way in which it is attained. True greatness, according to Jesus, consists in adopting the posture of a servant: “Whoever desires to become great among you, let him be your servant. And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave — just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many” (Matt. 20:26-28). What is the posture of a servant? I think it involves the following:
(1) Servants are not their own masters but they’re under the authority of another.
God created Adam to be His vice-regent, and He gave Adam dominion over the earth. But that dominion was never to be absolute. Adam had a master. And Adam’s Master expected Adam to carry out the creation mandate in accordance with His revealed will. But Adam failed to do this when he disobeyed God’s word and ate the fruit, saying in effect, “I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul.” Certainly not the disposition of a humble servant!!!
(2) Servants do not live for themselves but seek the good of others.
By definition a “servant” is someone who has a master and someone whose function is not just to serve himself but to serve others. The first Adam was just a man, but he grasped after equality with God. He didn’t want “to serve.” He wanted “to be served.” The Second Adam, however, was the God-man. Yet, though he was equal with God, he didn’t grasp after equality with God but took the form of a servant and died on a cross in obedience to his Father’s will so that others might share in his glory. That’s what Jesus means when he says, “Even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.” “Son of Man” is a Messianic title. It refers to Jesus’s sovereignty and lordship. He is the Lord of lords and the King of kings. Nevertheless, the greatness of Jesus is unlike the greatness of human kings and governments.
- Jesus greatness is characterized by humility
- Jesus greatness is characterized by submission to the will of God
- Jesus greatness is characterized by seeking the good of others.
That, dear brothers and sisters, is the kind of ambition God wants us to have.
Closing Applications
(1) Behold the high calling of servanthood.
This is the privilege and calling of all believers from apostles all the way down to ordinary laypeople. This should be our great ambition. This is where we should find our greatest fulfillment. Not in selfishly making a name for ourselves. Not stepping on others in order to climb up the ladder of worldly success. Rather, our greatest joy and our deepest fulfillment ought to come from wholehearted devotion to God and self-sacrificing service to others.
For though I am free from all men, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win the more (1 Cor. 9:19).
For we do not preach ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord, and ourselves your bondservants for Jesus’ sake (2 Cor. 4:5).
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another (Gal. 5:1).
When people say, “What’s your church all about? What’s one of its primary distinctives?” The answer should be, “Servanthood. We are people who live not to be served but to serve.” That brings me to my second and final line of application:
(2) Behold what an example of servanthood we have in Jesus
Jesus did not merely define true greatness and proper ambition for his disciples. He demonstrated it! Indeed, it wasn’t long after the incident recorded in our passage that Jesus’s disciples would find themselves in an upper room celebrating the Passover while their own Lord and Master took a towel, assumed the role of a servant, and began washing their feet. And after he finished, he would say to them, “If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you” (John 13:14-15).
Brothers and sisters, do you want to be great in the kingdom of God? Do you want to offer a great and lasting service to the church? Then let the same attitude and posture that characterized Jesus Christ. Turn with me to Philippians 2 and note how Paul develops this theme:
Who, being in the form of God, did not consider it robbery to be equal with God, but made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant, and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross. Therefore God also has highly exalted Him and given Him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those in heaven, and of those on earth, and of those under the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father (Phil. 2:6-11).
That’s “greatness.” Jesus wasn’t opposed to greatness. He, as a man in the image of God, aspired after greatness in the kingdom. And he holds out to you and me the prospect of ruling and reigning with him forever! Do you aspire after that? Then listen to Paul’s counsel:
Therefore if there is any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and mercy, fulfill my joy by being like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself. Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others. Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus (Phil. 2:1-4).
Do you aspire to “rule and reign with Christ”? I hope you do. I certainly do. If that’s our ambition, then let us pursue that goal by “taking the form of a bondservant.” Let us reject selfish ambition and conceit. Let us rather esteem others better than ourselves and look out for their interests, not just our own. Then and only then will we fully appreciate the high calling of servanthood.
Your servant,
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
Posted by deangonzales on November 5, 2008
What do we say when a Christian mother backs the car over the top of her little toddler and crushes him to death? When a young Christian man discovers he has brain cancer and must soon leave his three young children without a father? When a hurricane destroys the homes and disrupts the lives not only of unbelievers but also of believers? Perhaps you’ve asked that question in light of personal trial or tragedy. You’ve lost a loved one or gone through a heart-rending divorce or contracted a chronic illness or been betrayed by a Christian friend. The Lord has dealt bitterly with you, as He did with Naomi, and you want to know “Why?”
A Jewish Rabbi tried to answer this question in a book entitled, When Bad Things Happen to Good People. In this book, Rabbi Kushner argued that there’s evil in this world that God cannot prevent. God would like to help people if He could, but His power is limited. There are two problems with Kusher’s answer: first, he assumes that men are basically good and don’t deserve to suffer. But the Bible teaches that all men have sinned and are under the wrath of God (John 3:36; Rom. 1:18; Eph. 2:1-3). So the real question is Why Do Good Things Happen to Bad People? Second, Rabbi Kushner denies God’s absolute sovereignty. According to Scripture, God not only controls the good things that happen; He also controls the bad things that happen (Job 1: Isa. 45:7; Jer. 44:2; Acts 2:23; 4:28). The writer of Lamentations declares, “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has not decreed it? Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?” (3:37-38).
Rabbi Kushner does not have the answer. But that drives us back to the question: why do bad things happen to God’s people? We are still sinners, but we are God’s people. Accordingly, when a godly Christian suffers some tragedy, we’re inclined to ask, “Why, Lord, are You allowing this to happen?” And it’s not always wrong to ask that question. When we read through the Psalms, we find the psalmist often raising this question when a difficult trial came into his life. For example,
Why do You stand afar off, O LORD? Why do You hide in times of trouble? (Ps. 10:1)
My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? (Ps. 22:1)
Awake! Why do You sleep, O Lord? … 24 Why do You hide Your face, And forget our affliction and our oppression? (Ps. 44:23-24)
The Bible does give us some answers. It tells us that God causes all things to work together for the ultimate good of His people (Rom. 8:28). It tells us that suffering can make us more like Christ (Phil. 3:10; 1 Pet. 2:21). It tells us that Christians will ultimately go to heaven where there is no suffering (Isa. 25:8; 1 Cor. 15:54-58; Rev. 21:4). But the Bible does not give us all the answers! As the hymnwriter reminds us, “God moves in a mysterious way, His wonders to perform.” And sometimes God’s mysterious providence can be very unpleasant. When we encounter these dark providences, it’s not always wrong to ask “Why?”
But there is a danger! The danger comes when we expect that God must give us an answer to all our questions. The danger comes when we demand that God remove the mystery and give an account for all of his ways. In light of this ever present danger, I would like to highlight the importance of trusting God even when we don’t understand. As I hope to demonstrate, we should be willing to trust God even when He does not answer our question. The text upon which I would base this proposition is Psalm 131. The author is identified as David, and it’s inclusion among the Songs of Ascent indicates its popularity and frequent usage in the worship community.
I. A recognition of inexplicable mystery
David recognizes that there are lofty realities beyond our comprehension.
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me (Ps. 131:1).
These “great” and “profound” realities would include mysteries about the world and about God who created the world. More specifically, the terminology David uses is used elsewhere of God’s mysterious providences—those aspects of God’s activity in the world that are difficult for the human mind to comprehend (cf. Job 5:8, 9; 9:10; 37:5, 14; 42:1-4). This would not only include the good things God did for David but also the unpleasant things: the trials, suffering, and tragedy that God brought into David’s life. I believe those commentators are correct who see verse one as an allusion to some difficult and painful trial David was experiencing. And part of what made this trial particularly challenging for David was its mysterious nature. Some of us can identify with David. We’ve experienced some dark providences. They are dark not only because of the pain but also because of the mystery. We don’t understand why God has brought these trials into our life.
Imagine that you’re about to run a race. Your coach comes up to you at the starting line, and he gives you a pep talk. He urges you to run well and to finish the course. Then, after he exhorts you to do your best, he hurries down the course and begins to set up obstacles in your way. He builds a wall for you to climb over. He digs a pit for you to cross. He breaks up the ground and makes it rough. You also notice that He’s not putting the same obstacles in front of the other runners. Their way seems smoother and easier. And immediately, you begin to wonder, “Why is he doing this?” I thought he wanted me to run well—why is he making it so difficult?
Sometimes, God appears to be dealing with us in this way. He tells us to “lay aside every weight and to run the race with endurance.” But then He seems to place obstacles in our way—trials, hardship, suffering. We immediately begin to wonder, “Lord, why are you doing this?” “What is Your purpose?” “What are You trying to teach me?”
II. An affirmation of trustful humility
David not only acknowledges the reality of mystery, but he lets us know how he has responded to such mystery as it has directly impacted his life. According to his own testimony, David had come to accept such inexplicable mysteries with trustful humility.
A. David’s humility described (1-2a)
To begin with, David refuses to demand God give him an account for all His providences. To insist God answer all his questions would be the height of pride. David will not allow such pride to poison his heart or influence his behavior.
LORD, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty.
Neither do I concern myself with great matters,
Nor with things too profound for me.
If we’re not careful, asking the question “why?” can promote agitation and anxiety. These in turn can make us impatient and demanding of God. David knew this. Therefore, he purposely assumes a calm and quiet disposition. Verse 2: “Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul ….” David is not pouting. He’s not walking around with a long face. The expression David uses describes a humble, trustful disposition. This is confirmed in the last half of verse 2, which brings us to
B. David’s humility illustrated (2b)
David compares himself to a “weaned child.”
Like a weaned child with his mother;
Like a weaned child is my soul within me.
The picture is that of a weaned child who is no longer fussy and agitated though his mother has removed something very satisfying. The child is not able to understand why. He does not realize that weaning is necessary for his growth and maturation. Nevertheless, he has become quiet and calm. Those of us who are parents know from experience that this is not the first response of a child being weaned. Initially, the child objects with loud complaints. But eventually with a little love and discipline, there is quietness. The child is not at rest because he has learned the mystery! His mother has not given him a lecture on the importance and necessity of weaning. She has not explained to the child that he is entering in upon a new stage of physical development and that he must now learn to eat solid food. It’s all still a mystery and an unpleasant mystery at that! But now, the child is no longer objecting and complaining about the mystery. Now he’s willing to trust his mother’s wisdom and love and to live with the mystery.
David, like the weaned child, eventually responded to God’s dark providence with composure and quietness. Perhaps David, like the child, had initially complained about the unpleasant and uncomfortable providences in his life. But now he had come to realize all such complaining was futile because God was not going to give in. He had also come to believe that such complaining was unnecessary because God would take care of him.
III. An exhortation to the covenant community
Like the Apostle Paul, David knew that all God’s children “must through much tribulation enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:22). They will not all suffer the same trials. They will not all suffer to the same degree. But like David, all God’s covenant people will be faced with mysterious providences. Turning from his own experience, David faces the covenant community and exhorts them to respond in like fashion to dark providences that come into their life:
Let Israel hope [‘wait for,’ ‘place her trust’] in the LORD from henceforth and for ever.
What lessons can we draw from David’s experience and exhortation?
Lesson #1: The trials envisioned and trust enjoined by this text are not extraordinary but normative for the covenant community.
The command to “hope” in verse three is very common throughout the Bible, especially in contexts of hardship, suffering, and persecution (e.g., Lam 3:24, 26). Thus, the Psalmist is not calling God’s people to do something extra-ordinary. He’s calling them to live a life of faith in a sin-cursed world. And that’s the kind of world we live in. As a result, trials and tragedies are not rare, but rather they are part of life (Job 5:7; 1 Peter 4:12). We may not all suffer the same trials. We may not all face the same mysteries. But sooner or later, God will bring difficulty into our life that we may not understand. Trusting God in such circumstances is what the Christian life is all about!
Lesson #2: God often intends the afflictions of one member for the good of the whole community
In Psalm 119:71, David says, “It is good for me that I have been afflicted, that I might learn [God’s] statutes.” But it was not only good for David’s soul. It was also good for the entire community of Israel. God afflicted David, so that David might encourage God’s people to trust in the Lord. Such was also Paul’s experience—2 Corinthians 1:4: “[God] comforts us in all our tribulation that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble.”
Who are the great teachers in the church today? Not merely those with great intellect, rhetorical ability, and eloquent voice. No, the great teachers in the church are often those who like David have gone through deep waters and who have responded with humble trust. In light of this principle, those afflicted by God should feel a degree of honor and stewardship.You may say, “But I don’t know much theology. I haven’t learned the difference between supralapsarianism and infralapsarianism.” That may be true. But if you have learned to trust God even when life hurts, then you have something very valuable to teach the rest of us.
And the rest of us in Israel should be ready to listen to those among us who have endured great trial. We might be tempted to think of our afflicted brethren as those God has “set-on-the-shelf.” Or worse yet, we may think of them as those God is judging for their sin” (e.g., Job’s “friends”). As a result, we might think they need to hear from us, not we from them. In some respects it may be the opposite. As we see in our Psalm, God had a message to convey to Israel, and He chose to convey that message through one of his afflicted children.
Do you know anyone who has continued to trust in the Lord through the midst of great trial? Look at their lives, listen to their words, and be motivated to trust and follow the Lord. And they don’t have be living saints. You can benefit from the books and biographies of tried saints, such as David Brainard, Henry Martin, Robert Murray McCheyne, Charles Spurgeon, Amy Carmichel, and others!
Lesson #3: According to this psalm, it is truly possible for every believer to trust God through the difficult trials of life even when he doesn’t completely understand.
David was not an angel or a glorified saint. To be sure, he had a regenerated heart; but he was still a sinner—a man who may have struggled with doubts—a man who may have sometimes complained—a man who was tempted in all points as we are—yet a man who did not merely talk of the hypothetical possibility of trusting God when life hurts, but he actually calmed and quieted his soul. He came to trust in God’s wisdom and love. If David could trust God and if he exhorted all Israel to do the same, then such trust is within our reach as well. By God’s grace we can do it! With this in mind, below is some practical counsel for cultivating this kind of disposition.
First, if there is any pride in your heart, repent and seek God’s forgiveness. Perhaps you’ve been entertaining negative thoughts about God. You’ve become bitterly angry at God and demanded that He give you an answer. You’ve said things to God you’d be ashamed for others to hear. Dear friend, if you think God owes you an explanation for everything He does, you are greatly mistaken. You have the opposite spirit of David. Indeed, your disposition is contrary to the proper attitude of a Christian disciple. Jesus said in Matthew 18:3, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven.” Becoming a Christian is like assuming the disposition of a little child—even the disposition of a weaned child! Therefore, I exhort you, stop demanding that God give you account for all of His dealings in your life. Repent of your pride, and ask His forgiveness. Make Job’s confession your confession: “I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know…. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes” (42:3, 6).
Second, learn to be content with mystery. Learning from trial and tragedy does not mean that God must tell you all His secret plans and purposes for your life. Instead, learning from our trials and tragedies often means learning that God is God, that we are His creatures, and that we need to trust Him. Period! “The secret things belong to the LORD our God, but those things which are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law” (Deut. 29:29). We must not merely affirm this truth intellectually. We must submit to it practically and experientially. Until then, we are not ready to graduate from “the School of Dark Providence.”
Third, determine, by God’s grace, to view God’s providence and your own feelings about God’s providence in the light of Scripture. When God brings trial or tragedy into your life, don’t make your own immediate feelings the judge over God’s providence. Rather, let all your thoughts and feelings about God’s dealings with you be governed by the teaching and promises of Scripture. As William Cowper artfully reminds us:
Blind unbelief is sure to err, and scan God’s works in vain;
God is His own interpreter, and He will make it plain.
Only when we view God’s providence through the lens of Scripture will you and I be able to properly cope with tragedy when it strikes. Only then will we be able to trust God even when we do not understand. Only then will we experience the truth of Psalm 119:165:
Great peace have those who love Your law,
And nothing causes them to stumble.
According to the Westminster Confession of Faith 25.5 (see also LBCF 26.3), “The purest Churches under heaven are subject both to mixture and error.” There are at least two ramifications that flow from this doctrinal assertion. First, no church or ecclesiastical organization should assume the posture of having arrived at complete doctrinal and spiritual maturity–including Reformed churches and organizations! Hence, when we take too much pride in being “ReformED,” we run the risk of losing sight of the Reformation principle of semper reformanda (“always reforming”) and of assuming the rather haughty posture that we’ve got a “corner on the truth.” As a result, we can tend to spend too much time criticizing others and develop an unhealthy resistance to receiving criticism (whether from outside or inside our circles). Second, since we’re not immune to errors and imbalances and weaknesses, we should be just as ready to learn from others outside our ecclesiastical circles as we are eager to help them see their faults. In other words, we shouldn’t assume that we’re the only ones who have something profitable to bring to the table, that everyone else needs to keep quiet and learn from us. Rather, while we may have some insights and wisdom to offer our evangelical brothers, we can expect they probably have some things to teach us as well.
