Job 38-42 WBC Review
To say the least, The Word Biblical Commentary Series is an industry standard for Bible Commentaries. It has a long history of trusted scholarship and the series is a must have for the serious student of the Bible. This volume, Job 38-42 by David Clines is no exception. This volume wraps up his commentary on the book of Job and brings excellent scholarship to the final chapters in Job. What is impressive in this volume is the extensive bibliography (about 250 pages). This volume offers the author’s translation of the text and verse by verse commentary with a running dialog with other voices on this subject. There are extensive critical notes on the Hebrew text for textual criticism as well as a number of helpful excurses on difficult obscure Hebrew terms.
This volume covers an incredible section of Scripture where the LORD responds to Job. Here the LORD answers Job out of the whirlwind and reminds Job of the splendor and majesty of the LORD. The response of Yahweh contains some of the most incredible descriptions of the works of God in all of the Scriptures. Cline offers insight into this section of Scripture that is helpful and makes a wonderful addition to a scholar’s library.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book through the Booksneeze program for the purpose of reviewing.
The Barbarian Delusion (Book Review of Unleashed: Release the Untamed Faith Within, by Erwin Raphael McManus)
“But then the worst thing happened that could happen to any fighter, you got civilized” – Mick to Rocky in Rocky III. This is the opening quote of the book, Unleashed: Release the Untamed Faith Within by Erwin Raphael McManus. I take it that Mick’s point is not that training, practice, proper diets and a disciplined life is counter to the success of a boxer. Mick’s point is that a boxer must never lose that edge that gives spark to the fight, the drive to be a champion. A boxer must never become complacent.
Unleashed exhorts Christians to follow Jesus Christ with reckless abandonment, never settling for the life of complacency. On this simple note, I agree with McManus. Be brave, be bold. Be more than just willing to risk it all, but actually risk it all for the sake of Jesus Christ who gave Himself for me.
McManus rightly understands that “being saved” is not so that you can live a life of “endless comfort, security and indulgence,” and I would agree with him that any portrayal of this type of Christianity is a parody at best and heresy at worst. He is also right to express that Christianity is much much more than “going to heaven when you die.”
Unfortunately, when it comes to providing a clear, Biblical framework for how we are to understand our hope, the real call to discipleship, and the implications of the invitation of Jesus to “come follow me,” McManus relies more on personal anecdote than solid Biblical exegesis.
The presentation of the material is much closer to the theme and language of Braveheart and Gnosticism-Light than it is understanding how it is that the Triune God delivers believers out of the bondage of sin and empowers them to a life of costly discipleship.
At the end of the first chapter McManus writes, “Risking everything to live free is our only hope – humanity’s only hope.” This statement is highly problematic as it places the weight of our hope in humanity. Humanity’s only hope is not in my risking everything to live free, but that Jesus Christ Himself would set me free from the bondage of sin and death.
Then there is the problem of the denigration of the physical to the elevation of the spiritual. On page 61, McManus writes, “Who you are at the core is spirit.” On page 65, McManus states that being a Christian you are “no longer a prisoner of time and space.” This understanding is false. Humans are at their core both body (material) and spirit (immaterial). And the temporal-spatial nature of life is not a prison to be set free from as much as it is God created reality to be enjoyed.
McManus writes, “God’s ultimate end for our transformation is to unleash the untamed faith within.” The problem is that McManus is using ultimate language when penultimate or antepenultimate language should be used. God is concerned with our transformation here on this side of eternity, yet God’s ultimate end for our transformation is our glorification (Romans 8, 1 Cor 15). But this is part and parcel for one of the main problems with this book. McManus creates false dichotomy’s and reductionist arguments that are unbalanced and untenable.
For McManus it seems that the minister who serves his congregation week after week, year after year who pours out his life for his people, shepherds them well will not be commended in this framework. He is too tame for McManus. To give up one’s life to shepherd well a flock is not tame nor domesticated.
Overall, McManus here has a good initial idea, just poor follow-through and areas of doctrine that resemble modern Gnosticism.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book through the Booksneeze program for the purpose of reviewing.
I Hope I Don’t End Up in Heaven
It is not an overstatement to say that most people have some element of confusion as it relates to what happens to a person after he or she dies.
It is generally held in popular Evangelicalism (whatever that word means) that the final, ultimate “resting” place after we die or when all is said and done, is in “heaven.”
But is this true? Is this what the Scriptures teach?
This is sometimes informed by pop culture, where humans are portrayed as becoming angels or as semi-transparent beings who have the semblance of having once been human but now are something closer to a ghost. Or sometimes this belief is pronounced from the pulpit by preachers who are hell-bent on getting you to heaven before you die that they forget to tell you the truth because all that matters is escaping this hell hole called earth. Or sometimes it is because in light of not having the truth, you simply fill in the gaps with what you think the Scriptures might say on the issue.
I write to offer the hope of resurrection “as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies” (Romans 8:23). In fact, Romans 6:5 says this:
[5] For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his.
(warning: this post contains a lot of Scripture (ESV))
Now before we get into the teaching of resurrection of believers, it is important to mention that before Christ returns all believers who die are in heaven with God in some kind of conscious, immaterial state. You see that is exactly what death is. Death is the separation of the immaterial (i.e. your soul) from the material (i.e. your body). To be truly human is to have both a body and a soul. God created humans, man and woman, with bodies and souls. The soul is not more precious than the body, nor is the body more precious than the soul. A person’s soul is not the “real” you. The real you is what you have right now: body and soul. When a person dies, the body separates from the soul. This is why death is such a formidable enemy. Death rapes humanity of the dignity that God created us to have. Death “uncreates” us so to speak.
God’s restoration and redemption of humanity is not focused on “saving” your soul and leaving your body to perish. This would give death a half victory and give God a pitiful rescue.
God defeated death on the cross through Jesus Christ, the Righteous.
God is in the business of total restoration, and complete redemption.
So when a believer dies before the Return of Christ, that person is present with the Lord but absent in body in heaven (2 Corinthians 5:8). So in one sense, yes, we do go to heaven when we die, but this is not the final, ultimate place of rest. All the saints who have died before are eagerly anticipating the day of redemption, the Return of Christ when we will be united with Him in our resurrection.
Before the resurrection, this is true. We will be absent from the body, but present with the Lord. Our existence will be conscious, but it will be an existence without the body. BUT, this is not the final existence. Christ will return and bring consummation to all things and eventually a new heaven and a new earth will be created. When all has come to pass, we will be reunited with a body, a new glorious heavenly body precisely what Paul speaks of when he says that we are “glorified” in Romans 8:28-30. This is the fullness of redemption. We were made human with a body, and in the future eternal state, we will continue to be human with bodies so that we can be the image bearers that we were created to be. There will be no more possibility for sin, and there will be no more death and our humanity will be what it was created to be. What death tried to uncreate, God has recreated.
What we have to get out of our heads and out of our conversations is that redemption is getting away from all things material. Redemption is not a deliverance from the material world, but the reestablishment and sanctification of it (Isa 65:17; 66:22; 2 Peter 3:13; Rev 21-22).
Listen to the message of hope from Romans 8:
Romans 8:18-25[18] For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. [19] For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. [20] For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope [21] that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. [22] For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. [23] And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. [24] For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? [25] But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.
In fact, Paul writes in Philippians that his desire is to know Christ and the power of His resurrection so that he would attain his own resurrection:
Philippians 3:8-11
[8] Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ [9] and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith—[10] that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, [11] that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
So what will our new resurrected bodies be like?
On one hand, the Bible doesn’t give us a run-down of the exact make-up of the resurrected body. In terms of what we know about our current bodies today, our knowledge of the resurrected body is far less. On the other hand, we are not completely without knowledge of what it will be like. We see through a mirror dimly. Given the predisposition in our culture toward a rejection of the material, it is helpful to think of our new heavenly bodies as being more like this old body (as opposed to an immaterial existence).
In fact Jesus even used the word flesh to speak about His resurrected body:
Luke 24:36-42
[36] As they were talking about these things, Jesus himself stood among them, and said to them, “Peace to you!” [37] But they were startled and frightened and thought they saw a spirit. [38] And he said to them, “Why are you troubled, and why do doubts arise in your hearts? [39] See my hands and my feet, that it is I myself. Touch me, and see. For a spirit does not have flesh and bones as you see that I have.” [40] And when he had said this, he showed them his hands and his feet. [41] And while they still disbelieved for joy and were marveling, he said to them, “Have you anything here to eat?” [42] They gave him a piece of broiled fish,
What Jesus does NOT mean by the word “flesh” is anything that could be construed as meaning “sinful” flesh or even “earthly” flesh. Jesus uses the word flesh to show that he was bodily, not an apparition or a ghost. His resurrected body could be touched, actually take up space, and even eat some fish. Christ is in his Glorified resurrected body and he is referring to it as flesh and bones. What he means is simply that it is not immaterial, that it is a body.
Other references to the Risen Savior are helpful in our speculation as to what our resurrected bodies will be like:
- Jesus ate breakfast with the disciples in his resurrected body (John 21:9-15).
- Mary clung to Jesus (John 20:11-18).
- Jesus shows the disciples his body with marks from the crucifixion (John 20:20).
- Thomas touches the Lord’s scars (John 20:24-29).
- The disciples take hold of his feet and worship him (Matthew 28:9-10).
- He appeared to over 500 people (1 Cor 15:6).
Scripture makes clear the reality of our future resurrection (Most notably in 1 Corinthians 15, specifically verses 35-49). God promises through Scripture to give us a glorified body. Though we do not have every detail on what this new body looks like or how it will be, we do have a general picture provided by scripture and the hope that it will be like that of Jesus Christ:
1 John 3:2
[2] Beloved, we are God’s children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is.
2Corinthians 5:1-10
[1] For we know that if the tent that is our earthly home is destroyed, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. [2] For in this tent we groan, longing to put on our heavenly dwelling, [3] if indeed by putting it on we may not be found naked. [4] For while we are still in this tent, we groan, being burdened—not that we would be unclothed, but that we would be further clothed, so that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life. [5] He who has prepared us for this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee.
[6] So we are always of good courage. We know that while we are at home in the body we are away from the Lord, [7] for we walk by faith, not by sight. [8] Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord. [9] So whether we are at home or away, we make it our aim to please him. [10] For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil.
1 Corinthians 15:35-49
[35] But someone will ask, “How are the dead raised? With what kind of body do they come?” [36] You foolish person! What you sow does not come to life unless it dies. [37] And what you sow is not the body that is to be, but a bare kernel, perhaps of wheat or of some other grain. [38] But God gives it a body as he has chosen, and to each kind of seed its own body. [39] For not all flesh is the same, but there is one kind for humans, another for animals, another for birds, and another for fish. [40] There are heavenly bodies and earthly bodies, but the glory of the heavenly is of one kind, and the glory of the earthly is of another. [41] There is one glory of the sun, and another glory of the moon, and another glory of the stars; for star differs from star in glory.
[42] So is it with the resurrection of the dead. What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. [43] It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. [44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. [45] Thus it is written, “The first man Adam became a living being”; the last Adam became a life-giving spirit. [46] But it is not the spiritual that is first but the natural, and then the spiritual. [47] The first man was from the earth, a man of dust; the second man is from heaven. [48] As was the man of dust, so also are those who are of the dust, and as is the man of heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven.
Because of this reality, Paul can say:
1 Corinthians 15:50-58
[50] I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. [51] Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, [52] in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. [53] For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. [54] When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
[55] “O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting?”
[56] The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. [57] But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
[58] Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.
“Oh death where is your victory? Oh death where is your sting?” Because death has been swallowed up by the Life (and death) of Christ, death is fully defeated and we are able to live.
This is not an issue where we say “the Bible is silent so I don’t know.” Certainly some aspects of the resurrection remain a mystery, but it is not a total or complete mystery. The Scriptures give us something to understand.
This reality should bring us to a place of worship and gratitude for Christ has achieved for us what we could not. Our blessed hope is the future resurrection of the saints. And this should also change the way live today. Paul says that because of the resurrection (both of Christ’s and Ours) we should be steadfast, immovable, and always abounding in the work of the Lord. Our lives here are not in vain. We live as resurrected people preaching the Gospel in word and deed.
The resurrection of the body is a distinctive teaching in Christianity and is a pivotal point of doctrine. In fact, the resurrection of the body is one of the most widely held beliefs across denominations, geographies, and time. It appears in the Nicene Creed (325 AD):
And I believe in one holy catholic and apostolic Church.
I acknowledge one baptism for the remission of sins;
and I look for the resurrection of the dead,
and the life of the world to come. Amen.
The Bible doesn’t map out each strand of the resurrected DNA nor give a break down off all the things that we will and won’t be able to do. However, it doesn’t need to. The beauty and hope of resurrection far exceeds the need for an exact blueprint. We can sing the song of resurrection even without knowing the exact words and make beautiful harmonies and melodies.
So I mean what I say: I hope I don’t end up in Heaven.
I hope that Christ comes to bring completion and consummation and that when he does, all those who have been adopted as sons and daughters of God, will be finally and completely saved (justified, sanctified, glorified): redeemed, restored, renewed, and resurrected to live in the City of God, with God on the new earth as the image bearers, both body and soul the way we were created to be.
Let us sing songs of the redeemed: the restored, the renewed, the resurrected people of God.
In Eager Anticipation: Free Will, Missions, Full Atonement, Prayer: 4 Tenets this Calvinist Holds.
This is a post from my good friend Andy Shurson. A good read for all my Calvinist friends and for those struggling with issues on free will, missions, atonement, and prayer. It is not a treatise, but provides enough food for thought.
It is posted here unabridged:
Free Will, Missions, Full Atonement, Prayer: 4 Tenets this Calvinist Holds.I have been a Calvinist for about seven years now. I have had many discussions and a few arguments over the matter. I became a Calvinist after reading John Piper; I remained a Calvinist because of reading Jonathan Edwards.. Calvinism however seems to be a bad word and I would simply like to confess my faith in tenets (no, not tenants, I do not rent these beliefs) that are often considered (by some) to be un-Calvinist: free will, missions, full atonement, and the power of prayer.
Free Will- I make choices, every day. To argue that I do not would be in and of itself a faculty of my will, choosing to argue. I believe that every person is free to make choices, including the choice to follow God. Scripture speaks to human responsibility for our actions and our choices. I do also believe in predestination, which is an outworking of God’s sovereignty. One might ask, how can you believe in both? I believe we make choices based on the options available to me, I order waffles not pancakes at Waffle House because pancakes are not an option. God is sovereign over options and the beauty of options; I chose to follow Christ because he was revealed to me in all of his beauty. If it were a question of if I would choose a steak from Ruth’s Chris or a hamburger from McDonalds (price not being an issue), I will always choose the steak because it is more delicious. When Christ is truly revealed there is no other choice to be made. The beauty is this that the Son humbled himself and took on human flesh bore the sins of the world in the place of our punishment that we could take on his righteousness.
Missions- The modern missions movement, Hudson Taylor going to China, William Carey to India and many others, came out of Calvinist churches. They believed that spreading the Gospel is a clear command of God. Certainly God has the power to save any that he chooses; however this does not mean that God does not use people as instruments. God’s sovereignty does not only extend to the person being saved it includes missionaries, preachers, evangelists, and any that carry out the mission of God. God in his sovereignty can choose to use my words to bring about the salvation of another person, and that is a privilege and a joy to be a vessel for the Lord Almighty.
Full Atonement- I purposefully left out the words limited and unlimited because those are aspects of the same concept. I believe in both of them. In one sense the atonement is unlimited, Christ’s death is sufficient to save every person who has ever or will ever live. The death was a substitution and it can be a substitute for all. However it is not a substitute for all, it is clear that not all people believe in Christ; take a look at the New Atheists if you have any doubt. So it is limited in its efficiency, it is only efficient for those who come to faith in Christ, not those who reject God and in many cases hate God (would a loving God really bring to heaven someone who hated him?).
Power of Prayer- I am asked to pray several times a day, many times for people who are deathly ill. I willingly offer prayers to God in hope that they will be answered. The reason I pray is the same reason that I share my faith. I believe that God uses prayers as instruments of his will. In God’s will he can use my prayer to bring about healing. Sovereignty does not exclude the abilities and words of people; it embraces and uses them to bring about God’s sovereign plan.
Source: shurson
From Radical to Ordinary (Book Review of Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream, by David Platt)
A quick look in the dictionary at the word “Radical” and one will find two related though different meanings. The first meaning is: “of or going to the root or origin; fundamental.” The second meaning is: “thoroughgoing or extreme, especially as regards change from accepted or traditional forms.” These two definitions represent two different perspectives in how one looks at the book by David Platt, Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream.
On the one hand, what David Platt presents in his book is “radical” in the sense that he is looking at the fundamental elements of what is means to be a disciple. Jesus taught his disciples that to follow him was costly, counter-cultural, and counter-intuitive. A robust look at the Gospels and the rest of the New Testament present a Jesus who expected followers to take seriously his claims, and by grace through faith live like he lived.
On the other hand, what David Platt presents in his book is “radical” in the sense that for many in Evangelicalism (what-ever that means anymore) at large, the content of Platt’s book will come off as “radical” in the second sense: extreme, a change from the norm. Unfortunately, in America we have reduced the Jesus of the Bible into a simple-fix and created a lasting wake of cheap grace. “Come on down! Step right up! Pray a simple prayer and become a Christian.” It would seem that Christianity is simply a way to avoid Hell, feel good about yourself without the meddlesome bother of changing.
Platt writes plainly and with passion urging Christians to return to the fundamental faith that appears to be extreme to the comfortable American. He convincingly writes that Americans have substituted the message of the Gospel for the lie of American Manifest Destiny.
The first four chapters set up the problem and the need for a change of focus. The question posed by Platt is this: are you driven by your values consistent with the American Dream (read: comfort, materialism, independence, self-seeking, etc) or by a unrelenting pursuit of values consistent with the Kingdom of God (read: believe and obey the teaching of Christ, exclusive devotion to God, generosity, community, etc). It’s not that being “successful” is in and of itself a bad thing. Platt writes that “the goal of the American dream is to make much of ourselves and the goal of the Gospel is to make much of God.”
In Chapter 5 Platt considers the difference between disinfecting Christians and discipling Christians. He writes, “disinfecting Christians involves isolating them and teaching them to be good, discipling Christians involves propelling Christians into the world to risk their lives for the sake of others” (105). In Chapter Six confronts the blind eye Americans have turned to the world of poverty, at home and abroad. Plainly put, caring for the poor does not earn salvation; caring for the poor demonstrates evidence of salvation that has taken place. Platt challenges our hearts by posing the problem this way: It’s not about asking “how much can we spare?” but by asking, “How much is it going to take?”
Chapter 7 challenges the reader to stop asking what they will of God is and to start obeying the will of God which is “for you and me to give our lives urgently and recklessly to making the gospel and the glory of God known among all peoples, particularly those who have never even heard of Jesus.” Chapter 7 is about the proclaimed word of God which must accompany the lived-out word. It is not an either or, but a both and.
Chapter 8 extends the same sentiment of Jesus: Are you willing to lose your life, (read: give up pursuing your gain) in order to inherit life? Chapter 9 offers a yearlong “experiment” intended to apply the content of his book: 1. Pray for the entire world; 2. Read through the entire Word; 3. Sacrifice your money for a specific purpose; 4. Spend your time in another context; 5. Commit your life to a multiplying community.
Platt understands the reality that what appears as a radical new orientation is really just a call to be an ordinary Christian living out the call of costly discipleship in the Scriptures. It only looks radical if you have bought into the American Dream. Platt challenges the American Christian to look radically different than contemporary Evangelicalism, but look beautifully ordinary as you die to yourself in order to live out the glorious life that Jesus Christ purchased for you.
Note: I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for the purpose of reviewing.
For the same reason it was also imperative that he who was to become our Redeemer be true God and true man. It was his task to swallow up death. Who but the Life could do this? It was his task to conquer sin. Who but very Righteousness could do this? It was his task to rout the powers of world and air. Who but a power higher than world or air could do this? Now where does life or righteousness or lordship and authority of heaven lie but with God alone? Therefore our most merciful God, when he willed that we be redeemed, made himself our Redeemer in the person of his only begotten Son.
The second requirement of our reconciliation with God was this: that man, who by his disobedience had become lost should by way of remedy counter it with obedience, satisfy God’s judgment and pay the penalties for sin. Accordingly, our Lord came forth as true man and took the person and the name of Adam in order to take Adam’s place in obeying the Father, to present our flesh as the price of satisfaction to God’s righteous judgment and in the same flesh to pay the penalty that we had deserved. In short since neither as God alone could he feel death, nor as man alone could he overcome it, he couple human nature with divine that to atone for sin he might submit the weakness of the one to death and that wrestling with death by the power of the other nature he might win victory for us” (Calvin, Institutes 2.12.3)
Eye the Father as love; look not on him as an always lowering father, but as one most kind and tender.
Let us look on him by faith, as one that has had thoughts of kindness toward us from everlasting.
It is misapprehension of God that makes any [to] run from him, who have the least breathing wrought in them after him. “They that know you will put their trust in you” [Ps. 9:10].
Men cannot abide with God in spiritual meditations. He loses soul’s company by their want [=lack] of this insight into his love.
They fix their thoughts only on his terrible majesty, severity, and greatness; and so their spirits are not endeared.
Would a soul continually eye his everlasting tenderness and compassion, his thoughts of kindness that have been from of old, his present gracious acceptance, [then] it could not bear an hour’s absence from him; whereas now, perhaps, it cannot watch with him one hour.
We do not presume to come to this your table, merciful Lord, trusting in our own righteousness, but in your manifold and great mercies. We are not worthy so much as to gather up the crumbs under your table, but you are the same Lord whose property is always to have mercy.
Source: davidlindell
Tim Keller talks about the “end of the mushy middle” in America. Where are you?
“Did God say?”, that plainly is the godless question.
“Did God say,” that he is love, that he wishes to forgive our sins, that we need only believe him, that we need no works, that Christ has died and has been raised for us, that we shall have eternal life in his kingdom, that we are no longer alone but upheld by God’s grace, that one day all sorrow and wailing shall have an end?
“Did God say”, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not bear false witness…did he really say it to me? Perhaps it does not apply in my particular case?
“Did God say”, that he is a God who is wrathful towards those who do not keep his commandments? Did he demand the sacrifice of Christ?
I know better that he is the infinitely good, the all-loving father. This is the question that appears innocuous but through it evil wins power in us, through it we become disobedient to God…Man is expected to be judge of God’s word instead of simply hearing and doing it.
