I Can’t Grieve as a
Christian – Lies of the Enemy #12– Purity 1024
Purity 1024 04/22/2023 Purity 1024 Podcast
Purity 1024 on YouTube:
Good morning,
Today’s photo of a shadow falling over Waite Rd by a
late afternoon sun shining through the trees that are still awaiting the
budding leaves of spring to emerge as the bright green grassland on the opposite
side of the road announces that spring has sprung comes to us from yours truly
as capture this scene of contrasts on the way back to my countryside home yesterday
afternoon while out walking my canine friend, Harley. I was feeling the
contrast of being somewhat weary over a rather rough day at work, being happy
to be out in the sun and walking the dog, and lonely because my wife was away
at her youngest son’s track meet and wouldn’t be with me for an other hour or
so. Who ever said may have said that “life
is simple” obviously didn’t consider the complexities of human existence. We
can have “mixed emotions” and be facing several different situations in life
all at once during these years walking about the earth which I believe stresses
the importance of having the “constant” of a robust relationship with the Lord
that is uncompromising in its ability to give us strength, peace, and
comfort.
Well, It’s Saturday, and I am sharing this photo of
contrasts this morning because while I have now been reunited with my wife and
look forward to a “sun shiny” day (not
sure how sunny it actually be – but rains not in the forecast) with my wife,
some one dear if not near to us here at MT4Christ has suffered the loss of her
beloved spouse. This little blog and
podcast has amazingly touched the lives of people throughout the world and
yesterday, on the podcast, I offered up prayers for FB friend, “Deborah Howard”’s
husband Bob who at the time had suffered a heart attack and was being treated
with an anticipated surgery on the horizon.
Unfortunately this morning, just before 2am, Deborah messaged me to tell
me that Bob has died and was asking for help with dealing with the loss, with a
Bible verse or some words of wisdom.
I shared 2 Samuel 12:15-23, the story of David
losing his infant son, and how he was deeply grieved by his son’s illness and
how he prayed and fasted in hopes that the Lord would heal him, But upon
learning of his son’s death, his actions changed. His servants asked him why while his son was
alive he fasted, but now that he was dead, he ate. David responded in:
2 Samuel 12:22-23 (NKJV)
22 And he said, "While
the child was alive, I fasted and wept; for I said, 'Who can tell whether
the LORD will be gracious to me,
that the child may live?'
23 But now he is dead; why
should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not
return to me."
The next verse goes on to
tell us that David comforted his wife, Bathsheba. David had a heart for God but in the midst of
this loss, he knew that his son lived with the Lord now and one day he would “go
to him” and so he found the strength in his grief to comfort his wife.
I also shared:
Job 1:20-21
(NKJV) that tells us
20 Then Job arose, tore his
robe, and shaved his head; and he fell to the ground and worshiped.
21 And he said: "Naked I came from my mother's womb, And naked shall I return there. The LORD gave, and the LORD has taken away; Blessed be the name of the LORD."
Job grieved by tearing his
clothes and shaving his head but even in his grief he recognized that the gift
of his children had been given to him by God and it was also up to God when he
would have Job’s children return to Him.
I
shared these verses with Deborah to remind her of the truth that her husband
Bob, who confirmed his faith in Christ by being baptized, with Deborah a few
years back, was not dead but was now alive in God’s kingdom. His suffering is
over and his joy is complete as Bob now lives in the presence of the Lord.
But I
also sought to comfort Deborah by assuring her that she should allow herself to
grieve Bob’s loss and she should seek whatever comfort and support her family
and friends may offer in the days ahead and to also draw close to God to
receive the strength, comfort, and guidance that He has for her as well.
And
considering Deborah’s loss, as part of our current series which is an examination of some of the common lies that
the enemy tells us to cause us to doubt our faith, steal our peace, or to influence
us to choose not to follow the Lord with the way we live our lives, I
have decided to take on one of the lies of enemy that he likes to whisper to
the grieving in times like this.
Today’s big lie is:
Lie # 12: I
Can’t Grieve as a Christian.
The enemy is the accuser of the brethren and he
doesn’t fight fair and loves to take the opportunity to kick us when we are
down. And so in the wake of loss, he
loves to bring more pain into an already painful situation.
When people die, the enemy can cause us to doubt our
faith or the existence God and heaven. He can stir up bitterness between family
members and friends. He can rekindle or start new disputes as people gather in
the loss of their loved one. He can
cause people to seek comfort in drugs, alcohol, or other sins of the
flesh. He can cause people to become
possessive. greedy, and petty over material possessions that the departed leave
behind. And he can even twist and
distort our faith in an attempt to accuse us, shame us, or plant the seeds for that
can sprout into pain in the future.
The first person lie he loves to whisper into Christians
or even to speak through well meaning members of the body of Christ, is “I can’t
grieve as a Christian.”
In some Christian circles, funerals are heralded as “life
celebrations” and there can be great expressions of joy where people gather
together to honor their departed love one by remembering the legacy they left
behind but paradoxically these well intentioned gatherings that seek to focus
on the positives of a Christian’s life and their heavenly destination, can also
breed confusion, anger, and depression.
Non-believers or even Christians could be confused
of the idea “being happy” when they are suffering the loss. They could even get
angry at these “joyful mourners” because they feel that they aren’t really
dealing with the loss and are disrespecting them and their departed loved one
by adequately acknowledging that they have died and that the loss hurts. And Christians seeking to be “good
Christians” may feel they have to repress their grief and show everyone their
faith by putting on a “happy face” while their hearts are broken.
The verses above about David and Job should show us
that we can grieve as Christians. Even,
John
11:35 (NKJV) tells us that:
35 Jesus wept.
Even though Jesus knew that he was going to raise
Lazarus from the dead, Jesus grieved his loss. Jesus wept.
So as Christians, we should express our grief in
whatever ways we feel at the time. The key is to be emotionally honest. While
our faith and relationship with the truth on eternal matters and with God can
be an incredible comfort and source of strength in dark times, we shouldn’t
allow the twisting of our faith to repress our emotions and not adequately process
our grief.
If you want to weep, weep. If you want to be angry, be angry but try not
to sin. But if you sin, repent of it and ask for forgiveness. If you want to be
joyful, be joyful but remember to draw close to God to receive the strength,
comfort, and guidance that He always has for us, even long after the departed
are laid to rest and the rest of the world “move on” with their lives.
God is near to the broken hearted and He is with
those who choose to put their faith in Jesus and decide to surrender to His
will for their lives. The Lord gives
and the Lord takes away on this earth but He never leaves or forsakes His
children.
So
combat the enemy’s lie that tells you that “Christians can’t grieve” or
anything else that would seek to twist our faith or steal our peace. And I ask
all who hear or read this message to pray for the comfort and peace of Deborah
and her family in the wake of Bob’s departure from their lives.
For those Grieving I recommend H. Norman Wright’s Experiencing
Grief (https://www.amazon.com/Experiencing-Grief-audiobook/dp/B06XPX9HRP/ref=sr_1_2?keywords=H.+Norman+Wright&qid=1682160072&s=audible&sr=1-2)
or Jun Hunt’s Grief: Living at Peace
with Loss (https://www.amazon.com/Grief-June-Hunt-Hope-Heart/dp/1596366575)
For those who want more evidence for Christianity
than my simple apologetic will provide, I offer apologist, Frank Turek’s
website, https://crossexamined.org/ .
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Today’s
Bible verse comes to us from “The NLT Bible Promise Book for Men”.
This morning’s
meditation verse :
1 Timothy
4:16 (NLT2)
16 Keep a close watch on how
you live and on your teaching. Stay true to what is right for the sake of your
own salvation and the salvation of those who hear you.
Today’s verse tells us to
be cognizant of how we live our lives and what we say to others, as we should
want to be consistent by doing what is right for our own sake as well as for the
sake of others.
Today’s verse tells us to
be authentic Christians, to be real; to not just talk the talk but to walk the
walk as a disciple of Jesus Christ. Our lives are a living testimony of our
faith and so we want to be sure that what we do and say reflects the fact that
we are Christians in every aspect of our lives.
While we will never be
able to perfectly express “what it means to be a Christian” in every aspect of
our lives, perfectly, all the time, we can be surprised by just how much are
lives are transformed when we seek to keep a close watch on how we live our lives
and how it lines us with God’s word.
And we seek to live
authentically for two reasons.
While we are assured of
our salvation when we put our faith in Jesus, we may not be free and
experiencing the abundant life that God wants us to live because we are “double
minded” – saying we are a Christian but living like the rest of the unbelieving
world. SO we keep a close watch on our lives
and speech to be conformed to the image of Christ, so that we will have harmony
with God and overcome the bondages that are put on us by the world the flesh
and the devil.
The second reason is that
as “ambassadors of Christ, we represent Christians to the non-believing
world. So we want to show that we are
not one of those “hypocrites” in the church by really “speaking the gospel”
with the way we live. Our example could
be used by God to save someone!
So for yourself, and your
neighbor keep a close watch on how you live and try to stay true to the
salvation that you have received and that you represent and could bring to
others.
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As always, I invite all to go to mt4christ.org where I
always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to
assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk.
Today we continue sharing from A.W. Pink’s “The
Sovereignty of God.”
As always, I share this information for educational
purposes and encourage all to purchase A.W. Pink’s books for your own
private study and to support his work. This resource is available on
many websites for less than $20.00.
THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD
By
ARTHUR W. PINK
APPENDIX II
THE CASE OF ADAM
In our chapter on God’s Sovereignty and Human
Responsibility we dealt only with the responsibility of man considered as a
fallen creature, and at the close of the discussion it was pointed out how that
the measure and extent of our responsibility varies in different individuals,
according to the advantages they have received and the privileges they have
enjoyed, which is a truth clearly established by the declaration of the Saviour
recorded in Luke 12:47, 48, “And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and
prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes. But he that knew not, and did not commit things worthy of
stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given,
of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they
will ask the more.”
Now, strictly
speaking, there are only two men who have ever walked this earth which were
endowed with full and unimpaired responsibility, and they were the first and
last Adam’s. The responsibility of each of the rational descendants of Adam,
while real, and sufficient to establish them accountable to their Creator is,
nevertheless, limited in degree, limited because impaired through the effects
of the Fall.
Not only is the
responsibility of each descendant of Adam sufficient to constitute him, personally an accountable creature (that
is, as one so constituted that he ought
to do right and ought not to do
wrong), but originally every one of us was also endowed, judicially, with full and unimpaired
responsibility, not in ourselves, but, in
Adam. It should ever be borne in mind that not only was Adam the father of
the human race seminally but he was
also head of the race legally. When
Adam was placed in Eden he stood there as
our representative so that what he did is reckoned to the account of each
for whom he acted.
It is beside our
present purpose to enter here into a lengthy discussion of the Federal Headship
of Adam*, suffice it now to refer the reader to Romans 5:12–19 where this truth
is dealt with by the Holy Spirit. In the heart of this most important passage
we are told that Adam was “the figure
of Him that was to come” (v. 14), that is, of Christ. In what sense, then, was Adam “the figure of Christ?” The answer must
be, In that he was a Federal Head; in that he acted on the behalf of a race of
men; in that he was one who has legally, as well as vitally, affected all
connected with him. It is for this reason that the Lord Jesus is in 1 Cor.
15–45 denominated “the last Adam,”
that is, the Head of the new creation, as the first Adam was the Head of the
old creation.
In Adam, then, each
of us stood. As the representative of the human race the first man acted. As
then Adam was created with full and unimpaired responsibility, unimpaired
because there was no evil nature within him; and as we were all “in Adam,” it
necessarily follows that all of us, originally,
were also endowed with full and unimpaired responsibility. Therefore, in Eden,
it was not merely the responsibility of Adam as a single person that was tested
but it was Human Responsibility, the Responsibility of the Race, as a whole and
in part, which was on trial.
Webster defines
responsibility first, as “liable to account”; second, as “able to discharge an
obligation.” Perhaps the meaning and scope of the term responsibility might be
expressed and summed up in the one word oughtness.
Godwards, responsibility respects that which is due the Creator from the creature, and which the creature is under
moral obligations to render.
In the light of the
above definition it is at once apparent that responsibility is something that
must be placed on trial. And as a
fact, that is, as we learn from the Inspired Record, exactly what transpired in
Eden. Adam was placed on probation. His obligations to God were put to the
test. His loyalty to the Creator was tried out. The test consisted of obedience
to his Maker’s command. Of a certain tree he was forbidden to eat.
But right here a very
formidable difficulty confronts us. From God’s
standpoint the result of Adam’s probation
was not left in uncertainty. Before He formed him out of the dust of the ground
and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life God knew exactly how the
appointed test would terminate. With this statement every Christian reader must
be in accord, for, to deny God’s foreknowledge is to deny His omniscience, and
this is to repudiate one of the fundamental attributes of Deity. But we must go
further: not only had God a perfect foreknowledge of the outcome of Adam’s
trial, not only did His omniscient eye see Adam eating of the forbidden fruit,
but He decreed beforehand that he should do so. This is evident not only
from the general fact that nothing
happens save that which the Creator and Governor of the universe has
eternally purposed, but also from the express declaration of Scripture that
Christ as a Lamb “verily was
foreordained before the foundation of the world” (1 Peter 1:20). If, then, God
had foreordained before the foundation of the world that Christ should, in due
time, be offered as a Sacrifice for sin, then it is unmistakably evident that
God had also foreordained sin should enter the world, and if so, that Adam
should transgress and fall. In full harmony with this, God Himself placed in Eden the tree of the knowledge of good and
evil, and also allowed the Serpent to enter and deceive Eve.
Here then is the
difficulty: If God has eternally decreed that Adam should eat of the tree, how could he be held responsible not to eat of it? Formidable as the
problm appears, nevertheless, it is capable of a solution, a solution,
moreover, which can be grasped even by the finite mind. The solution is to be
found in the distinction between God’s secret will and His revealed will. As
stated in Appendix I, human responsibility is measured by our knowledge of God’s
revealed will; what God has told us, not what what He has not
told us, is the definer of our duty. So it was with Adam.
That God had decreed
sin should enter this world through the disobedience of our first parents was a
secret hid in His own breast. Of this
Adam knew nothing, and that made all the
difference so far as his responsibility was concerned. Adam was quite
unacquainted with the Creator’s hidden counsels. What concerned him was God’s revealed will. And that was plain! God had forbidden
him to eat of the tree, and that was enough. But God went further: He even
warned Adam of the dire consequences which would follow should he disobey—death
would be the penalty. Transgression, then, on the part of Adam was entirely excuseless. Created with no evil nature
in him, with a will in perfect equipoise, placed in the fairest environment,
given dominion over all the lower creation, allowed full liberty with only a
single restriction upon him, plainly warned of what would follow an act of
insubordination to God, there was every possible inducement for Adam to
preserve his innocence; and, should he fail and fall, then by every principle
of righteousness his blood must lie upon his own head, and his guilt be imputed
to all in whose behalf he acted.
Had God disclosed to
Adam His purpose that sin would enter this world, and that He had decreed Adam should eat of the forbidden fruit, it is
obvious that Adam could not have been held responsible for the eating of it. But in that God withheld the knowledge of His counsels from Adam, his
accountability was not interfered
with.
Again; had God
created Adam was a bias toward evil, then human responsibility had been
impaired and man’s probation merely one in name. But inasmuch as Adam was
included among that which God, at the end of the sixth day, pronounced “Very
good,” and, inasmuch as man was made “upright” (Eccl. 7:29), then every mouth
must be “stopped” and “the whole world” must acknowledge itself “guilty before God” (Rom. 3:19).
Once more, it needs
to be carefully borne in mind that God did not decree that Adam should sin and then inject into Adam an inclination to
evil in order that His decree might be carried out. No; “God cannot be
tempted, neither tempteth He any man”
(Jas. 1:13). Instead, when the Serpent came to tempt Eve God caused her to remember His command forbidding to
eat of the tree of knowledge of good and evil and of the penalty attached to
disobedience! Thus, though God had
decreed the Fall, in no sense was He the Author
of Adam’s sin, and at no point was Adam’s responsibility impaired. Thus may we
admire and adore the “manifold wisdom
of God” in devising a way whereby His eternal decree should be accomplished,
and yet the responsibility of His creatures be preserved intact.[1]
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