Tag Cross

God is Not a Chemistry Experiment

Todd R 1 Comment

There are some Old Testament stories that seem frightening, or even repulsive.  We might read these and ask, is that the same God that we worship today?  One of these is a brief story of Aaron’s sons, found in Leviticus 10:1-2.

“Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, which he had not commanded them.  And fire came out from before the LORD and consumed them, and they died before the LORD.”

These sons of Aaron were priests, with detailed instructions for worshipping God, like those found in Leviticus 16:12 (“And he shall take a censer full of coals of fire from the altar before the LORD, and two handfuls of sweet incense beaten small, and he shall bring it inside the veil”) and Exodus 30:9 (“You shall not offer unauthorized incense on it, or a burnt offering, or a grain offering, and you shall not pour a drink offering on it.”).  There are many theories on what they did wrong, including that they took the coals from somewhere other than from the altar, but I think all the theories imply that they were treating worship like a chemistry experiment.

What do I mean by that?  Nadab and Abihu knew what God wanted but probably were curious to see what would happen if they offered something different.  As someone with a chemistry set knows what happens when they mix chemical A and chemical B, they might try to learn something new by mixing chemicals A, B, and C.  Like Adam and Eve in the beginning, and everyone else since then, they thought “what’s the worst that could happen if we try to do this our own way?”  Nadab and Abihu might have been trying to learn something, and they tragically did, because God is not a laboratory where we explore our curiosity.

Living Sacrifices
In the New Testament book of Romans, Paul wrote:

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.  Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”[1]

Paul is teaching a similar lesson to that of Aaron’s sons, that God alone gets to determine what worship is acceptable to Him, and we should offer it.  According to Paul, the proper offering to God in worship is our own lives.  This is not just a New Testament idea.  The Old Testament prophet Micah said:

“With what shall I come before the LORD,
         and bow myself before God on high?
Shall I come before him with burnt offerings,
         with calves a year old?
Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams,
         with ten thousands of rivers of oil?
Shall I give my firstborn for my transgression,
         the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?”
He has told you, O man, what is good;
         and what does the LORD require of you
but to do justice, and to love kindness,
         and to walk humbly with your God?”[2]

God did provide laws for making sacrifices to Him, but the real purpose of those sacrifices was to point toward a future where Christ would be sacrificed so we could “do justice,” “love kindness,” and be humble before God.  Religious people in all places in times have tried to offer the right mix of ritual, the right recipe of doctrine, or the right form of rigid behaviors, but none of it can replace what God has offered for us – His own Son.  None of those other attempts at worship give us a future of being reconciled to our God and to each other.

Nadab and Abihu’s lesson is not just about the wrath of an Old Testament God, but a lesson for all times that there is only one God, and that He determines what is acceptable, in sacrifices and in actions.  He gives us rules and guidance because not every path is good for us, and He knows we only put ourselves in danger by not following Him.  The fate of Aaron’s sons proves it.

Because we cannot live a perfect life as an acceptable living offering, “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”[3]  Jesus lived the perfect life to be the only acceptable sacrifice.  To benefit from that sacrifice, we must accept his righteousness as our own by calling him Lord, then He will be our Savior.  We must accept that His righteousness is the righteousness we want.  No other sacrifice will do. God is not a chemistry experiment.

[1] Romans 12:1-2
[2] Micah 6:6-8
[3] Romans 5:8

“No reserve, No retreat, No regrets” – History for April 9

Todd R 1 Comment

At the young age of 25, American millionaire and philanthropist William Borden died in Egypt on April 9, 1913.  Despite never making it to the mission field in China, Christianity Today once called him “the most influential missionary of the early 20th century.”  Borden’s story has inspired Christians and missionaries ever since.

As an heir to his family’s fortune from silver mining, William Borden had many opportunities in life, yet shortly after high school he became interested in missionary work.  Some said he was “throwing himself away,” but while a student at Yale, he quickly gained a reputation for his sense of purpose and dedication to Jesus.  He established a Bible study and prayer group that eventually included about 1,000 of Yale’s 1,300 students.  Off campus, he funded the Yale Hope Mission in New Haven with his own money and was often seen with widows, orphans, homeless people, and drunks, providing for their needs, and telling them about Jesus.  It looked like God was preparing him for a fruitful future as a missionary.

After graduating Yale, Borden turned down attractive job offers, choosing instead to study at Princeton Seminary, intending to minister to Uighur Muslims in China.  He finalized his plans and set sail, stopping in Egypt to study Islam and Arabic in preparation.  However, he contracted cerebral meningitis in March 1913 and died a few weeks later on April 9.  Did God take him too soon, before his work was done?  Borden didn’t seem to think so.

After his death, family reported that in his Bible were written the words “no reserve”, referring to his willingness to put everything aside for Christ, then later “no retreat”, after turning down job offers upon graduating Yale, and finally “no regrets”, apparently written shortly before his death.

Skeptics deny this note exists, citing “no evidence.”  However, friends and family claim to have found the note, and testimony is evidence.  Even if the note doesn’t exist, he still made the choices he made, living a life which declared that the salvation given through Jesus Christ was worth more than all the earthly benefits a young millionaire could have.

Skeptics may also say Borden, and God, failed because Borden’s life didn’t go according to his plans.  What was the point?  But as they say, the LORD works in mysterious ways and His plans are not always our plans.  Borden impacted many during his days at Yale before leaving for Egypt, and by events he couldn’t control, he may have become a better witness for Christ by death than from living as a missionary.  In his will, he left his fortune to several Christian agencies, including China Inland Mission, which named Borden Memorial Hospital in Lanzhou, China, in his memory.  Seized by the government in 1951, the hospital is now the Lanzhou Second People’s Hospital, but locals know its history.

During his short life, William Borden lived with a dedication to Christ that continues to inspire believers over a century later.  Even though he never made it to China, his testimony made it there and provides hope for persecuted groups and those who Christ calls to serve them.

Having all this world could offer, he chose to live for the next world.  Engraved on his gravestone in Egypt are the words “Apart from Christ, there is no explanation for such a life.”   Even if the note is just a legend, “No reserve, no retreat, and no regrets” summarizes the life of William Borden well. 

Interested in more History? Select “History Bits” from the “Blog” drop down menu at the top of the page.

Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Whiting_Borden
https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2017/february/forgotten-final-resting-place-of-william-borden.html
http://home.snu.edu/~HCULBERT/regret.htm

Sacrificed for You

Todd R 1 Comment

The Old Testament book of Leviticus is probably the hardest book in the Bible for many to read.  Much of it outlines, in detail, the duties of priests and Levites (the book’s name comes from this group) in worship, including the sacrificial system involving animals practiced in ancient times.  However, there are many pictures of Christ embedded in these stories and rituals, one being the requirement that each individual lay their hands on any bull offered for their sin.

This is first described in Leviticus 1:3-5a – “If his offering is a burnt offering from the herd, he shall offer a male without blemish. He shall bring it to the entrance of the tent of meeting, that he may be accepted before the LORD. He shall lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering, and it shall be accepted for him to make atonement for him.  Then he shall kill the bull before the LORD” (emphasis mine)

Why is it so important that each person lay their hand on their sacrifice?  I think there are at least 3 reasons:

First, the sacrifice is for each of us specifically and individually.  Atonement is not a blanket covering everyone with no distinction – it focuses on each individual.  God does not have a limited attention span, where time spent with one person takes away from time spent with another. He can, and does, focus on us all.  Since He desires relationship with each person, He wants us to be aware of the need for sacrifice at individual level, as well as the connection created at an individual level.

Second, the sacrifice shows us the severity of our sin.  Before a just God, no sin can go unpunished, or He would commit injustice.  Only blood can atone for sin, and having each person make a personal connection with their sacrifice highlights the seriousness of our own sin, discouraging us from thinking other people’s sin is more serious than our own.  Even the priests, as shown in Leviticus 8:14, had to lay their hands on their own sacrifice, showing even those who might be considered, or consider themselves, more spiritual are not exempt.

Third, nobody else can worship for us since the purpose of worship is to have a personal relationship with our Lord and Maker.  It is the sacrifice that restores our relationship to God, not the priest that intermediates the sacrifice, which is highlighted by the fact that Jesus became both the sacrifice and the High Priest.  Just as I can’t have a real relationship with someone only by hearing about them through someone else, I can’t have a real relationship with God through someone else’s worship.  The faith of people you know – parents, friends, teachers, pastors – will do you no good.  Each must have his own faith because what He wants is us.

Photo by Cdoncel on Unsplash

In Leviticus we find a picture of Jesus, who lived a perfect life for us, not so that we don’t have to be perfect, but so that we can become perfect.  He died for each of us, specifically, and needed to die because no other sacrifice could cover the severity of our sins before a just God.  Through His sacrifice, we are adopted as members of His family, to live perfectly in Paradise for eternity.

Jesus lamented of the religious people of his day in Matthew 23:37 – “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!”  When He offered relationship, they insisted on religion, and missed being touched by their Maker’s hands.

One More Picture
Much more recently than Leviticus was written, a similar point was made by Mel Gibson in his movie The Passion of the Christ[1].  During the scene where Jesus is being crucified, Gibson decided to film his own hands driving the spike into Christ’s hand.  It is the only time Gibson appears in the film.  The film’s website (since removed) said this was “symbolic of the fact that he holds himself accountable first and foremost for Christ’s death.”  Gibson, in Leviticus terms, chose to “lay his hand on the head of the burnt offering.”

Yes, Jesus suffered terribly for the sin of each of us, but He willingly did it because it was needed to gather His people to Himself.  “Lay your hand” on His sacrifice and thank Him that He wants to know you personally.

Amen.

[1] Gibson, Mel.  The Passion of the Christ.  (2004)

The Cross and Power

Todd R 1 Comment

“And being found in human form, He humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” – Philippians 2:8

Here Jesus endured the powerlessness that many feel. At any moment, Jesus could have chosen to free Himself from the cross, but He actively maintained His powerlessness for hours through the torture for our benefit. Any time we think power is the answer, we must consider this.

Photo by Wim van ‘t Einde on Unsplash

The Last Enemy is Death

Todd R 1 Comment

In life there are many difficult questions, and two of the hardest are also common objections to Christianity: 1) Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and 2) Why do bad things happen to good people?

However, the Bible does not leave Christians without hope in the face of these questions.

First, part of what God is doing about the evil in this world is the fact that everyone dies.  The Bible teaches that every bad thing in this world is a result of sin – people deviating from God’s purposes – and that because of that sin the world is cursed[1].  Not only do people hurt each other, but the creation itself, including human nature, is not in its ideal state.

Death was not originally part of this world, but came in to the world as a result of sin and is a constant reminder of it.  In Genesis chapter 5, there is a genealogy from Adam to Noah.  The phrase “and he died” is repeated over and over again and is a reminder that this world is not perfect.  God created a consequence for the sin of mankind: death.  While the Bible doesn’t explain why there was a snake in the garden or why Adam and Eve sinned, it does describe what God is doing about it.  When we ask why bad things happen, we acknowledge that bad things exist, that they shouldn’t exist, and that they can happen to anyone.  God isn’t doing nothing about the evil in the world – we all die and that is part of the judgment.

So, the two objections to Christianity (Why doesn’t God do anything about the evil in this world? and why do bad things happen to good people?) end up being contradictory because part of what God does about the evil in this world is that bad things (death) happen to everyone.

However, the Bible teaches that there are two deaths: a physical death and a spiritual death.  In the first, our soul is separated from our body and our body dies.  In the second, our soul is separated from God eternally and our soul dies but exists forever away from God’s presence and blessings.  A second thing that God is doing about the evil in this world is that the first death is universal, but the second death is not.

Fortunately, judgement and death aren’t the only things God is doing about sin.  What does this mean?  Note the second half of God’s curse on the serpent from Genesis 3:15 –

“I will put enmity between you and the woman,
            and between your offspring and her offspring;
he shall bruise your head,
            and you shall bruise his heel.”

Who is being bruised here?  In the last phrase, Satan is injuring Christ through the crucifixion, but it’s described as a wound to the heel because it is not fatal.  Jesus was raised to life eternal.  On the other hand, Christ shall bruise the head of Satan – a fatal blow that he will never recover from.  This was determined from the beginning.

While judgement comes to all in physical death as a result of sin, through Christ there is a way out from spiritual, eternal death.  Jesus has paid the price for our sin and has conquered eternal, spiritual death as a result.

“The last enemy to be destroyed is death.” – 1 Corinthians 15:26

Praise God!

[1] See Genesis 3:19 and 3:22