Temptation and the Providence of God

Have you every wondered why God allows us to be tempted? According to the Scripture , God has good purposes for allowing His children to struggle with temptation and sin. Let's look at five purposes that God has in allowing us to face temptation.

1. God allows us to face temptation and sin so that He can demonstrate His fatherly love for us, His children.

And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons?

“My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord,
nor be weary when reproved by him.
For the Lord disciplines the one he loves,
and chastises every son whom he receives.”

It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. (Hebrews 12:5-7, ESV)

2. God allows us to see the lingering corruption and deceitfulness of sin in our hearts so that we will be humbled before Him.

For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin. (Romans 7:22-25, ESV)

3. God allows temptation and sin to teach us to depend on Him and the provisions that He has made for us through Christ.

So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited. Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong. (2 Corinthians 12:7-10, ESV)

4. God allows temptation and sin to make us more watchful and aware of future occasions of sin. In other words, God helps us to grow in His grace (i.e. sanctification), so that we are better prepared to walk in holiness.

Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4, ESV)

5. God uses temptation and sin to accomplish purposes that He has not revealed to us.

The secret things belong to the Lord our God, but the things that are revealed belong to us and to our children forever, that we may do all the words of this law.(Deuteronomy 29:29, ESV)

When Words Are Many

"When words are many, transgression is not lacking,
but whoever restrains his lips is prudent." --Proverbs 10:19 (ESV)

According to my mother, I came out of the womb with my mouth open and screaming. And if you were to ask her, she'd probably say that there isn't much that has changed except that I now use words instead of grunts and cries. So, I think it is safe for me to say that words are very important. It is difficult for me to imagine life without words--whether spoken or written. Words are essential for me as I live as a husband, father, and minister. Yet, words can also place me (and you) on dangerous ground. According to Proverbs 10:19, a particular danger is lurking when "words are many." I imagine that most of us can remember situations where we which that we had kept our mouths closed instead of babbling away: "When words are many, transgression is not lacking." Maybe it was a conversation that turned to gossip or a discussion that involved harsh and unloving words. No matter what the particular circumstances were, I believe that all of us have been guilty of a transgression of speech. In James 3:6 we are reminded that "the tongue is a fire, a world of unrighteousness."

But it doesn't have to be this way. By God's grace we can learn to restrain our lips: "but whoever restrains his lips is prudent."

Exams are over...

...so blogging will begin once again. Soon.

Back to School

I'm really thankful to be back at seminary today because I haven't been here for three weeks. We had Spring break three weeks ago, I was in Virginia two weeks ago and I was at Presbytery meeting last week. This semester has gone by so quickly. We only have two weeks left!

Earth Day

After creating all things, God gave man and women the task of exercising dominion over all of creation:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth. (Genesis 1:28, ESV)

At the very least, this meant that Adam and Eve were to be good stewards of all that God had given to them. They were God's representatives on earth.

As Christians we should remind ourselves of at least four things: First, all things were created for God's glory. Everything belongs to Him and it was made for Him. Second, God gave us the animals, plants, water, etc. to be used by us. The things that God created are to be used in order to enable us to live and thrive in God's world. Third, although creation was made for our use, we have the responsibility to care for God's creation. Finally, stewardship of creation does not mean worship of creation. This is the mistake that many within our culture have made. Instead of honoring God as the Sovereign Creator, they have chosen to worship creation itself. The Apostle Paul puts it this way:

For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools, and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.(Romans 1:21-23, ESV).

When we fail to honor God, we will inevitably honor something else. We exchange the glory of the One, True God for idols. So, if we want to truly celebrate Earth Day, let us begin by repenting of our idolatry. Today is not a day to celebrate the earth, but a day to celebrate our Creator. Let us begin by honoring and thanking Him!