Time's Up!

"But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord, a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, in which the heavens will pass away with a roar and the elements will be destroyed with intense heat, and the Earth and its works will be burned up." 2 Peter 3:8-10

A question a lot of skeptics of the Bible like to ask is, "If God is loving, then why did He kill so many people in the Old Testament?" It is an understandable question since many people equate a loving God with allowing people to live in His world, forever, regardless of whether they acknowledge Him as God. Many people, unable to reconcile a God of love with a God of wrath, walk away from the faith or become atheists. The Christian Post has an article titled, "Faith Crashers: Why Does God Kill People in the Old Testament?" It says, "Contemporary Christians have had a difficult time trying to come to grips with what they find in the Old Testament, especially those narratives that recount the destruction of whole groups of people by the acts of God," said Thomas Howe, a professor of Bible and Biblical Languages at Southern Evangelical Seminary in Matthews, North Carolina. "Non-Christians capitalize on this and attempt to undermine our faith by calling into question either the goodness of God or even His existence." An area that is missed in this judgment of God is His patience. One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. It is a byproduct of God's love. Those who judge God often begin and end their criticism of Him at the judgment He administers. Is that a fair assessment of God's actions? Let's look at some examples.

The Flood

Genesis 7:23 says, "Every living thing on the face of the Earth was wiped out; people and animals and the creatures that move along the ground and the birds were wiped from the Earth. Only Noah was left, and those with him in the Ark." It is easy to look at the results of the Flood, every living thing on the face of the Earth being wiped out, and conclude that God is not worthy of our faith since He killed an entire planet of living beings except for eight people. But, let's back up. Before the Flood, what do we read about God? In Genesis 6:3, God said, "My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years." God did not snap and flood the Earth like a short-tempered and abusive father. No, He allowed humanity 120 years to repent of their ways and change their mind. During this time, Noah built the Ark, and there is no record of anybody changing their mind. Just before the time ran out, God sent the animals He was saving to the Ark. What kind of spectacle was that to see? Yet, not one person repented of their evil ways. 120 years is a lot longer than the average person lives today. Therefore, God gave the people of the world more time than our current lifespan to turn to Him, but they chose to perish instead. How patient was He supposed to be? 

Pharoah's Army

Exodus 14:27-28 reads, "Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak, the sea went back to its place. The Egyptians were fleeing toward it, and the Lord swept them into the sea. The water flowed back and covered the chariots and horsemen—the entire army of Pharaoh that had followed the Israelites into the sea. Not one of them survived." Through Moses, God destroyed Pharoah's entire army that chased the Jews after their release from slavery. Here again, people may wonder how God could destroy an entire army, which was just following the orders of their king. However, before this climactic ending to the Jewish Exodus from slavery, God tried multiple times to convince Pharoah to free the Jewish slaves. Exodus 7:3-4 says, "But I will harden Pharaoh's heart, and though I multiply my signs and wonders in Egypt, he will not listen to you. Then I will lay my hand on Egypt, and with mighty acts of judgment, I will bring out my divisions, my people the Israelites." God would end up sending ten plagues on the people of Egypt to get Pharoah to release the Jews. Why did God do that? He did it because Pharoah's was stubborn and would not listen to the plea of Moses. God sent Moses to speak to Pharaoh on multiple occasions before and during the plagues. Pharaoh did not listen. After releasing the Jews, Pharoah's heart hardened again, and it cost him his army. Patience without a limit becomes enabling. God decided it was time to stop "enabling" Pharoah's stubbornness. 

The Lost World

Paul writes, in Galatians 5:22, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness ..." One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience. Nearly two thousand years ago, the wrath of God we see displayed during the Flood, the Exodus, and other places in the Old Testament was poured out on Jesus Christ on the cross. Instead of destroying humanity or an army, God destroyed Himself, in Christ Jesus, to take away the sins of the world. This act of love bought the world time for each individual to turn to Jesus Christ by faith and accept Him as their Savior. However, as it was during the days of Noah and during the Exodus, time will eventually run out. God gave the world 120 years to turn to Him before He sent the floodwaters. Pharaoh did not have as much time, but he had more signs and wonders given to him from God before the waters of the Red Sea ended his rebellion. Today, we are fast approaching the two millennia milestone since the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ. How much time does the lost world have left before God says, "Time's up?" Only this time it won't be water that signifies the end, it will be fire. The love of God is displayed in His patience. Regardless of how you feel about God's destruction of the world or Pharoah's army, you will have to make a decision about Jesus Christ. As long as you have breath, God is patiently waiting for you to turn to Him. He does not want you to perish. However, the longer you delay, the closer you are to the end of God's patience. You may not like how He has treated others in the past, but you will not like how you will be treated in the future when your life ends or God's patience runs out, and you are found to be without the saving life of Jesus Christ indwelling you. Do not wait like the people in Noah's day. Do not be stubborn like Pharoah. Take advantage of God's patience and accept His offer of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. 

Be Still

“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46:10

In referencing Psalm 46, one author writes, "When we are still and surrendered to God, we find peace even when the earth gives way, the mountains fall (verse 2), or the nations go into an uproar and kingdoms fall (verse 6). When life gets overwhelming and busyness takes precedence, remember Psalm 46:1, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.” Run to Him, lay down your weapons and fall into His arms. Acknowledge that He is God and that He is exalted in the earth. Be still and know that He is God." Psalm 46 is written in what seems to be a time of war and unrest. The psalmist takes a moment to acknowledge God as his fortress. A fortress is defined as a heavily protected and impenetrable building, a military stronghold, especially a strongly fortified town fit for a large garrison or as a person or thing not susceptible to outside influence or disturbance. Each of these definitions describes aspects of God in one way or another; although to perfectly describe the Lord is nearly an impossible task. In the modern age, while wars still exist, most of us face numerous times of trouble which come in a variety of forms. Many times it seems like we don't even have any weapons of our own to fight with against those forces causing us trouble. In some cases, it can seem like we are like the Israelites of old. Just after Moses fought for and won the freedom of the Jews from Pharoah and slavery in Egypt, they found themselves stuck between Pharoah's advancing army and the Red Sea. After the people complained about Moses and God for bringing them out of Egypt so they could "die in the desert," Moses answered them and said, "Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the Lord will bring you today. The Egyptians you see today you will never see again. The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still (Exodus 14:13-14).” In other words, Moses told the Jews, "Be quiet and watch God work!" How long did it take the Jews to forget all that God had done for them before they were grumbling and complaining to go back to Egypt and be slaves again? Not too long. Did they forget all the plagues God subjected the Egyptians to, but spared them from experiencing? Did they forget the Passover where God killed the firstborn child of the Egyptians but spared them? Yes, they had forgotten. Moses told them to "be still" and watch as God delivered them from the Egyptians once and for all. God fought for them while they only had to observe.

The main battle Christians face today is a spiritual battle; a battle between the truth of God and the lies of the devil. While Christians are not Jews fleeing slavery, we are similar in that we are constantly trying to avoid being put back into bondage. Only the bondage we seek to avoid is the spiritual bondage of a works-based life. God told the Jews to be still while He works. He tells Christians to rest while He works. When Paul was chastising the church in Galatia, what was he upset about? He asks them, "After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh (Galatians 3:3)?" He could have easily asked them, "After being still and resting in the finished work of Jesus Christ, are you now trying to be slaves again to the works of the law?" What is taught today in many Christian churches is a form of "Egyptian" Christianity or Galatianism. People would rather be slaves and told what to do by their "masters" and rely on their flesh to obey instead of standing firm in the grace of God; being still and resting while God does His work in and through them. They may not complain about being led into the desert to die, but they will argue against the grace of God by claiming those who believe in it are teaching a "license to sin," labeling them as an "antinomian" (someone who's against God's law) or a "Lone Ranger Christian" (someone who doesn't need church or direction). To me, these are the slanderous words used by those who do not understand the role of the Holy Spirit in a person's life. While there may be some Christians who abuse the grace of God, it doesn't take away from the truth of God's word and what it means to those who are free to get to know Him and trust Him with their lives and eternity. You will struggle to see God as your refuge and strength in times of trouble when there is a work to be done or a law to obey in order to please Him. You cannot be still if you are working. You cannot stand firm when you are concerned with the activity of your flesh. You cannot rest and watch God work through you when you are busy working for Him. Peter asked his fellow brothers, who were teaching circumcision, "Now then, why do you try to test God by putting on the necks of Gentiles a yoke that neither we nor our ancestors have been able to bear (Acts 15:10)?" If this one fleshly act was considered a yoke (an act of service) that Peter's Jewish ancestors could not obey, why do we continue to put a similar yoke on Christians who were never given the law in the first place? It is time to be still, rest from your works and let God deal with those who desire to put you into bondage. My prayer is that this becomes a reality in the lives of every Christian so they will never have to see the "Egyptians" in their lives ever again.