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Holiness From God’s Perspective

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Have you ever contemplated the Holiness of God? If you have I am sure you have asked yourself, “What does ‘holiness’ mean?” There are a few really good working definitions floating around out there.  However, Sinclair Ferguson begins his definition not from man’s perspective, but from God’s. Here is a bit of what Ferguson has to say about the Holiness of God:

What then is God’s holiness? What do we mean when we say, ‘Holy Father’ and ‘Holy Son’ and ‘Holy Spirit’ and ‘Holy Trinity’?

We mean the perfectly pure devotion of each of these three persons to the other two. We mean the attribute in the Trinity that corresponds to the ancient words that describe marriage: ‘forsaking all other, and cleaving only unto thee’ – absolute, permanent, exclusive, pure irreversible, and fully expressed devotion.

When we grasp that this is true in the Trinitarian fellowship of God’s being it will help us understand several things about holiness.

First, that it is not something mechanical, or formal, or legal, or even performance-based. It is personal. In a sense ‘holiness’ is a way of describing love. To say that ‘God is love’ and that ‘God is holy’ ultimately is to point to the same reality. Holiness is the intensity of the love that flows within the very being of God, among and between each of the three persons of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. It is the sheer intensity of that devotion that causes seraphim (whose holiness is perfect but creaturely) to veil their faces.

Deo Volente

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Goodbye 2015. Hello 2016. It is a new year and that means reflecting on the year that was, planning the year ahead and refreshing our wall calendars. At no other time is mankind more reflective and purposeful than at the moment the clock strikes twelve on December 31st. Whether it takes the form of a goal or a resolution, we devise plans we fully intend to see through to completion. To this I say, “Deo Volente.”

I know what you are thinking, “I don’t speak Latin so you lost me.” Not to worry, you will not need a degree in Latin to understand it’s meaning. However, you will have to read James if you want to truly embrace Deo Volente.

James 4:13-16
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit” 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.” 16 As it is, you boast in your arrogance. All such boasting is evil.

Upon first look one might think James is opposed to forward planning. Well, don’t throw out your goals and resolutions for 2016 just yet. James isn’t saying you shouldn’t set goals or make resolutions, but he is pointing out the folly of leaving God out of your future plans. In one verse (vs 14) he dismantles the idea that we actually have the power to know and control our future. What does the mist know of prevailing wind patterns? It knows nothing, and that is his point. The mist says, “I am going to go east” but the winds from the south promptly disperse the mist and carry it north. If James stopped here we might have reason to be a little bit discouraged. Good thing he doesn’t stop there.

In verse 15 James puts things into perspective. “Instead you ought to say, ’If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.’” James is reminding us that God is ultimately in control. And this is why I said Deo Volente.

Deo Volente is Latin for God willing. In times past it wasn’t unusual for people to add the letters D.V. (abbreviation for Deo Volente) following any statement of future plans. Back then when you received the annual year in review letter from aunt Jane you might read, “We are planning on spending the summer with the kids. D.V.” The custom even translated into casual conversation. If you ended any statement with D.V. it was understood that you meant, “as long as nothing prevents.”

The practice of saying Deo Volente has pretty much all but disappeared from common usage. Why did it disappear? Mostly because Latin is no longer generally spoken or understood, which is understandable. However, it also likely disappeared because it had turned into a pious tradition, which is very sad. The first reason speaks to the changing times, the second speaks to man’s unchanged heart. Regardless, it is a custom I would love to see again.

Genuinely saying Deo Volente (or God willing) reveals an attitude of humble dependence on God. A dependence upon Him even in times of uncertainty. Not that we are uncertain of the final outcome, but rather uncertain from the standpoint we are not the ones in control. I love how Proverbs 16:9 puts it:

The heart of man plans his way,
but the LORD establishes his steps.

Therefore, as you enter 2016 with a new set of goals and resolutions, be sure to not leave God out of all your planning. Understand He is the one who is in control and He is the one who establishes your steps. Adopt an attitude of humble dependence, and as James suggests, let this humility be evident in your speech. I will attempt to do the same. D. V.

HappyNewYear

An Enlightened Mind

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EnlightenedMind

Here is something every Christian needs to understand – God is after your mind. Truth be told, God is after more than just your mind. He is looking for, and rightly deserves, followers who will love Him with all their heart, soul, strength and mind (Luke 10:27). However, for our conversation today it is sufficient to say God cares about your mind.

I grew up in a church that seemed to downplay the connection between faith and intellect. It was almost as if faith and knowledge were two competing entities. They never actually came out and said, “Knowledge and reason are bad” but you could have easily walked away with that perception. My church experience is likely not all that unusual. After all, we live our life by faith, and not by sight (2 Cor 5:7). In the attempt to avoid the ditch of rationalism (reason is the supreme authority) it is easy for one to fall into the opposite ditch of anti-intellectualism.

Reason, knowledge and intellect are not evil. Rather, they are wonderful gifts given to us by a good God. Why else would God invite us to “reason together” with Him (Isa 1:18), or Paul pray (Phil 1:9) that our love “abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment”? The thing we must remember is that although we are to live our life by faith, the faith we live by is reasonable. Our faith is not blind; it is bound – bound to the Word of God. The more it is bound the less it is blind. Christian faith is, and has always been, both intellectually deep and theologically rich.

Not only is it good and right to exercise our mind and grow in the knowledge of God – it is our responsibility (Col 1:10, 1 Peter 2:2, 2 Peter 1:5). The consequences of ignoring this responsibility can be quite steep. Hosea 4:6 comes out and says that God’s people are destroyed because of lack of knowledge. Understood in context Israel’s lack of knowledge was not mere ignorance, but active sin against God. How were they sinning against God? The people were only ignorant of the Law because they actively ignored it. This can be quite sobering when I look back and see how many times I have willingly embraced ignorance rather than invest the effort to know God’s Word more deeply.

Growing in your knowledge of God’s Word isn’t purely an intellectual exercise. On the contrary, it is very much a spiritual endeavour. We have been given the Holy Spirit who makes an impossible task possible. As we carefully study and meditate on the Word of God, the Spirit enlightens our mind (1 Cor 2:14-16). He enlightens our mind so that it might be renewed, resulting in a transformation of our character and behaviour (Rom 12:2). We may do the work of studying and growing in knowledge, but God is the one who enlightens and renews.

All this knowledge and enlightening of the mind is well and good, but there can be a dark side to knowledge. That is a conversation I will leave for another day.

To Be Continued

Wash Your Hands

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Recently during devotions I thought I would ask my children what one must do to be saved.  I find that, although we do catechize our children, it is always good to go back and confirm their understanding.  Here is how the conversation went:

Me: “So what is required for you to be saved and go to Heaven?”

McAuley: “You must repent and put your faith in Jesus.”

Me: “Good job…”

McAuley: “And read your Bible, do good things and go to church.”

Me: “Well actually that is not true.”

McAuley: “Wait I thought we had to do those things.”

Me: “Yes, you do need to repent and put your faith in Jesus Christ.  God also wants us to read His Word, go to church and do good things. However, those things don’t save us.  Let me ask you a question. Do you (usually) wash your hands before a meal?”

Everyone: “Yes.”

Me: “Why do you wash your hands?  Does it make the food cook faster?”

McAuley: “No.”

Me: “Does it make the food taste better?”

McAuley: “No.”

Me: “Then why do you wash your hands before you eat.”

McAuley: “Because you tell us to.”

Me: “Why should you do it because I tell you to?”

McAuley: “Because you are Dad.”

Zayne: “And we should wash our hands because it is good to do. There are lots of germs on our hands, especially McAuley’s.  So washing can help keep us healthy.”

Me: “That’s right. You wash your hands before you eat, not because it cooks the food faster or makes the food taste better, but because I told you to and it’s good for you. In the same way reading the Bible, going to church and doing good things doesn’t make you right with God. We do those things because God tells us to, and it is good for us. We do what He says because He is God, and everything He tells us to do is for our good and His glory.”

Who knew good hygiene would be helpful in explaining theology? Now go wash your hands.

Second Longest Word

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Below you will find the guest post I just did for www.bloggingtheologically.com.  Be sure to stop by and thank Aaron for allowing me to write a guest post for him while he is away on a well deserved vacation.  I hope you enjoy.

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I am about to disclose something that might out me as a closet nerd.  A risky proposition to be sure, but I am willing to take this bullet for the common good.  Having been adequately warned, allow me to share my dirty little secret with you.  I secretly enjoy exploring the etymology of words, specifically the etymology of obscure and peculiar words.  This little quirk of mine manifests itself in the strangest of ways, not the least of which is my tendency to ask, “Do you happen to know the second longest word in the English language?”

I know it’s an odd question.  Convention would be to ask about the longest word.  However, who really cares about a fabricated 45 letter monstrosity (see note below) describing an occupational lung disease?  No one, that’s who.  But when it comes to the second longest word, well that is an entirely different story.   Not only does the 29 letter 18th century word have an amusing origin, but it holds relevance for our daily life.

Floccinaucinihilipilification (click HERE for pronunciation) was coined by the pupils at Eton College.  As they poured over their Eton Latin Grammar text they came across a list of words which in order were: flocci, nauci, nihili, and pili.  All of these Latin words had similar meanings in that they described something of little or no value.  As academics with too much time on their hands tend to do they thought it would be fun to slap all four words together and stick –fication on the end to produce a new noun.  Presto change-o four small words used to describe tiny insignificant things were recycled to form one mega word.  By definition Floccinaucinihilipilificationdescribes the act or habit of regarding something as unimportant, having no value, being totally and utterly worthless.  

Now some might argue that floccinaucinihilipilification describes its own usefulness as a word – utterly worthless.  However, I disagree with that assessment.  Although you will not find it in the Bible, I believe floccinaucinihilipilification is very much a Biblical term.  How, you might ask, could I say that?  Well, the Pauline equivalent can be found in Phil 3:8.

Phil 3:8  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

Here we have Paul comparing all of the advantages of his heritage, citizenship and education to rubbish – literally dung – when viewed in the light of the magnificence of knowing Christ.  Paul does not claim the rewards of this world to be of second importance to the knowledge of Christ.  On the contrary, he is practiced at regarding all things – the world’s goods, substance, riches, fame, pleasures and pomp – as valueless in light of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ.

Lest we think Paul is alone in his floccinaucinihilipilification of worldly benefits, let us look to Solomon.  Here was a man who knew the best the world had to offer, and his ultimate verdict was, “Vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”  With all of the world’s imagined worth, imagined pleasure and imagined gain, Solomon could, to quote the Rolling Stones, “get no satisfaction.”  In all of his testing and indulging Solomon discovered something vitally important; the world without Christ is a very unsatisfying place.  Fellow Christian, it would pay for us to remember this lesson well.

Although I have been ‘nerding out’ in this post, I do hope you look beyond that to see the ultimate point of my ramblings.  The Christian life is one marked by judging many things as worthless, not inherently, but comparatively when weighed against all we have in Christ.  Whether it’s the pleasures or the pains (Rom 8:18) of life, both are eclipsed by the glory to be found in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.  This truth should be both treasured and paraded through our hearts as often as possible, lest we forget, and allow the cares of this world to choke out the truths we once held dear (Matt 13:22).  Imagine the freedom to be experienced when you place all things in their proper perspective in Christ.  Armed with your newfound knowledge, you too should go out and ask someone if they know the second longest word in the English language.  It is a powerful concept, and it just might lead to a wonderful witnessing opportunity.

Editors Note:  The longest word in the English dictionary is Pneumonoultramicroscopicsilicovolcanoconiosis.  The president of the National Puzzlers’ League created it for the purpose of representing a very large word.  It is another name for a lung disease normally called silicosis.