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Jonah 4:8 – God is a Divine Enabler

By Jeremy Myers
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Jonah 4:8 – God is a Divine Enabler
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/p/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/359587427-redeeminggod-jonah-48-god-is-a-divine-enabler.mp3

At a conference I attended a while back, I mentioned in passing to someone that I do not believe that God punished people for their sin. The person I was talking to looked at me like I had lost my mind.

“If God doesn’t punish people for their sin,” he said, “then God is just an enabler, letting people get away with their sin.” The man thought I was going to back peddle from my position, but I didn’t. The truth is that I do believe God is a divine enabler. He is the biggest enabler the universe has ever seen.

It’s a challenging idea, I know, but it is what we are seeing here in Jonah, which somewhat explains Jonah’s frustration with God. Stick around and we’ll see more as we study Jonah 4:8 today.

Jonah 4:8

The Text of Jonah 4:8

When the sun rose, God prepared a harsh, east wind and the sun attacked Jonah’s head and he became faint and begged with all his life to die, saying, “Death is better to me than life.”

In this discussion of Jonah 4:8 we look at:

  • Why that harsh east wind was probably strong rather than hot
  • What it means for the sun to beat down on Jonah’s head
  • Why Jonah wanted justice
  • Why God did not want justice
  • How this reveals that God is a divine enabler

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  • Redeeming God Discipleship Area
  • The Re-Justification of God Paperback book
  • The Mystery of Christ, & Why We Don’t Get It – Capon
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God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: divine enablement, forgiveness, grace, Jonah 4:8, mercy, One Verse Podcast, violence

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Jonah 4:7 – Is God a God of Love AND Justice?

By Jeremy Myers
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Jonah 4:7 – Is God a God of Love AND Justice?
http://media.blubrry.com/one_verse/p/feeds.soundcloud.com/stream/356796503-redeeminggod-96-jonah-47-is-god-a-god-of-love-and-justice.mp3

Jonah 4:7Have you ever heard someone say, “God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice?” Usually this is said in the context of a discussion on hell. You might object to the idea of torturing people forever in hell as being not very loving, and the other person might say, “Well, you know, God is a God of love, but He is also a God of justice.”

In other words, God wants to forgive, but He must be just. He must punish sin. It this true? Must God punish people for their sin? Does God punish people for sin? While it is true that God is both merciful and just, both forgiving and just, the question is “How?”

This is what we discuss in this study of Jonah 4:7.

The Text of Jonah 4:7

But God prepared a worm at the rising of the dawn the next day to attack the vine so that it withered.

In this discussion of Jonah 4:7 we look at:

  • The worm that God sent to attack the plant
  • Why the rising of the sun hints at justice
  • Why Jonah wants justice
  • Why God does not want justice
  • Why God cannot both forgive AND give justice

Resources:

  • Buy The Atonement of God on Amazon
  • Redeeming God Discipleship Area
  • Subscribe and Leave a Review on iTunes

Downloadable Podcast Resources

Those who are part of my online discipleship group may download the MP3 audio file for this podcast and view the podcast transcript below.

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Do you like learning about the Bible online?

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If you want to deepen your relationship with God and better understand Scripture, take one (or all) of these courses. They are great for personal study or for a small group Bible study.

You can see the list of available courses here, and if you join the Discipleship group, you can take all the courses at no additional cost. Go here to learn more and join now.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: forgiveness, grace, Jonah 4:7, justice, love, mercy, One Verse Podcast, restorative justice

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Grace has no But

By Jeremy Myers
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Grace has no But

A man I work with recently asked if I had received an email from another coworker. I told him no, I had not. He said this, “I’m not calling you a liar, but …”

I cut him off and said, “Yes, you are! You cannot say you are not calling me a liar, and then proceed to challenge the truthfulness of what I just said. The word ‘but’ negates everything that came before it.” I offered to let him view my email account just so he could see that I was not lying. He declined and left my office.

The word “but” is an amazing word. We use it all the time to say contradictory things.

In fact, almost any time you hear someone say “I’m not ________, but …” you can almost guarantee that whatever follows the “but” will be the exact opposite of what preceded it.

The phrase “I’m not a racist, but …” will always be followed with a racist statement.

The phrase “I don’t hate gays, but …” will always be followed with a homophobic statement.

The phrase “I know God loves everybody, but …” will always be followed by a statement that maybe God doesn’t love everybody.

The phrase “I hope this doesn’t come across as heartless, but … ” will always be followed by a statement that is heartless.

One phrase I hear a lot from people is this one:

“I believe in grace, but …”

Such a statement will always be followed by a statement which shows the person does not believe the first thing about grace.

grace has no but

Grace has no but!

Pastors and Christian Bible teachers are notorious for giving confusing messages about grace. We preach that God loves people unconditionally, that Jesus will never leave us or forsake us, that we can come to God just as we are, and that nothing can separate us from God’s love. This is well and good.

Then we often follow up this teaching with the impression that maybe there are conditions to God’s infinite love, that maybe Jesus will forsake us, and that God doesn’t want us exactly as we are, and that there are some things that will separate us from the love of God.

I call this adding “buts” to grace.

This occurs whenever we say something like,

“Grace is free, but…”

“God forgives all our sins, but…”

“God loves you unconditionally, but…”

“God will never leave you nor forsake you, but…”

“Eternal life is by faith alone, but…”

You see?

These “buts” completely negate whatever came before it.

So stop adding buts to your theology.

Grace has no but, and neither does love, mercy, and forgiveness.

Those who add buts to grace do not know God or His grace. There are no conditions or limits to grace. Grace is infinite and free. Period.

God is Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: forgviness, grace, love, mercy, Theology of Salvation

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A More Christlike God

By Jeremy Myers
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A More Christlike God

Jesus does not look like God; God looks like Jesus.

Let me explain what I mean.

For far too long, Christian theology has allowed a domineering monarchial view of God to discolor and distort our perspective of Jesus. We have an idea of God as the Sovereign King of the universe sitting on His throne in heaven, ruling the poor masses below through sheer power and control. And we have often interpreted Jesus in light of that picture of God. God, up there on His throne, is angry at us for how we rebelled against Him, and so Jesus has come to appease the wrath of God against humanity, which He does by dying on the cross.

Of course, Jesus has a dark side too, and at the end of time, when Jesus comes again, the bloody side of God will be on display in all its glory when Jesus lays waste to the world. So apparently, God is still angry at us, and although the death of Jesus calmed God down for a while, eventually even Jesus gets sick of all the sin, and decides God was right after all.

So you see? We have understood Jesus in light of God.

Thankfully, in recent decades, many pastors, theologians, and authors have begun to challenge this idea of Jesus (and God). Their idea is not new, but is as old as the church itself, and has always been the dominant view of Eastern Christianity. The view is that humanity has been mostly wrong about what God is like, so Jesus came to reveal God to us. Jesus does not look like God; God looks like Jesus.

As we in the West have rediscovered this truth once again, many people are publishing books about it. In recent years I have read dozens of excellent books on the topic. Books by people like C. S. Lewis, N. T. Wright, Walter Wink, Derek Flood, Greg Boyd, and numerous others, have been helpful guides in helping me see that God is Christlike.

A More Christlike God by Brad Jersak

More Christlike GodOne of the most recent books I have read on this subject is the new book by Bradley Jersak, A More Christlike God. I love the title, because it makes one realize that many theologies portray a God who is not very Christlike at all. He looks more like Zeus or The Terminator. But in A More Christlike God, Brad Jersak helps us see that God looks like Jesus.

Jersak begins his book with several chapters which show how the un-Christlike view of God developed and is taught in Western Christianity. Then, beginning with the concept of self-emptying of God (kenosis) in Philippians 2, he shows how the New Testament paints a portrait of a God who is non-violent, fully loving, self-sacrificial, and completely forgiving.

Jersak’s defense of a Christlike God centers around something he calls “Divine Consent.” The idea is that just as Jesus emptied Himself of His power and position so that He might better love and serve humanity (Philippians 2), so also, God has been emptying Himself of His power and position since creation so that He also might love and serve humanity. One of the ways God did this is by giving humans a degree of genuine freedom. This means, of course, that we might use this freedom in ways God does not want. God could, of course, use His power to stop us from using our freedom in ways He does not want, but then our freedom would not be free. So God empties Himself of His power, and His right to control us, and consents to our misuse of His gift of freedom.

Yet because God knows that our misuse of His gift of freedom results in death and destruction, God doesn’t just say, “You’re going to regret that decision.” Instead, He jumps into the catastrophic consequences of our bad decisions, and works with us to bring hope, healing, restoration, and redemption from the pain and suffering caused by sin. Brad Jersak calls this “Divine Participation.”

Jesus reveals GodOne of the key sections of A More Christlike God is where Brad Jersak discusses the all-important issue of “the wrath of God.” This idea is found in numerous places in the Bible, and is one of the key issues in this debate about what God is like. Many people assume that the phrase “the wrath of God” indicates that God is angry at us. Jersak presents a compelling case for why this is not a proper understanding of that term. He rightly critiques the idea that “the wrath of God” is God withdrawing His mercy. God never withdraws His mercy. God’s mercy is unfailing and everlasting. His mercy endures forever (Psalm 136).

Instead, Jersak defines the wrath of God as “God giving us over” the destructive consequences of our own decisions. As we all know, decisions have consequences. While God seeks to protect us from the consequences of sin through Scripture, wise counsel of friends, and the indwelling Holy Spirit, if we continue down the path of sin and reject His many gifts of mercy, there comes a point where God’s divine consent to our willful rebellion requires Him to let us face the consequences of our decisions.

The book closed with an interesting way of explaining to others the two primary ways of understanding God in the Bible and what Jesus accomplished on the cross. To show this visually, Brad Jersak and Brian Zahnd put together a YouTube video called “The Gospel in Chairs.” Here it is:

Since this video contains the sort of perspective found in this book, I highly recommend you read A More Christlike God.

My only real complaint is that A More Christlike God does very little to help the reader understand the violent texts in the Old Testament. He makes a minor statement on page 17 (through the words of a teenager girl named Jess) that the violence in the Old Testament is not what God did, but only describes what the people thought He was doing. I would have really like a fuller explanation of this idea, especially in how this idea relates to inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture.

God is Redeeming Books, Redeeming Theology Bible & Theology Topics: atonement, Books I'm Reading, christus victor, cruciform, crucivision, looks like Jesus, love of God, mercy, violence of God

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Does God Shame Us at the Judgment Seat of Christ?

By Jeremy Myers
50 Comments

Does God Shame Us at the Judgment Seat of Christ?

It is sometimes taught in Christian circles that when we stand before the judgment seat of Christ, God will replay all of our sins and mistakes before the entire mass of other Christians who are there as well.

I have heard the judgment seat of Christ described as though there will be a big movie screen and as we are all gathered together on judgment day, God will show a movie of all our sins, mistakes, and failures for everybody to see.

Have you ever heard something like this taught about the judgment seat of Christ?

I was reminded of this idea recently when I saw this picture:

shame at the judgment seat of Christ

This guy cheats on his girlfriend, and so to teach him not to do this anymore, she makes him stand at the mall wearing this sign. He shouldn’t have done what he did, but at the same time, I am not sure that this is going to get him to love his girlfriend more…

Some people view God this way. We sin. He gets angry. So He tries to punish and shame us into obedience. Ultimately, when we all get to heaven, the first thing we have waiting for us is the worlds longest horror movie ever of everything bad we have ever said, done, or thought. Not every sin is sexual, but the sexual sins alone would make a XXX-Rated movie millions of hours long. Then you have all the violence, murders, anger, slander, gossip, greed, hate, jealousy, etc., etc., etc.

I cannot imagine a worse way to start eternity….

We Must All Appear Before the Judgment Seat of Christ

I suppose the idea is that since none of us want our deepest secrets and darkest sins revealed to the whole world, this sort of idea is to keep us from committing sins. There are even a few verses which seem to back up this idea. For example, 2 Corinthians 5:10 says that we will all appear before the judgment seat of Christ to give an answer for the things done in the body, whether good or evil.

So the teaching is that at the judgment seat of Christ, Jesus is going to call us one by one before His throne and replay our life for us, pointing out in excruciating detail all the things we did–both good and bad–during our life. And since everyone else is going to be there too, well, they are going to overhear what Jesus says or be able to watch the movie of our life along with us.

Again…. this is NOT a good way to start eternity…

[Read more…]

God is Uncategorized Bible & Theology Topics: 2 Corinthians 5:10, denials of Peter, forgiveness, grace, judgment seat of Christ, mercy, shame, sin, Theology of Sin, Theology of the End Times

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