God Is Not A Drug

It has been said that religion, or belief in God, is an "opiate for the masses", a "drug to kill the pain" of living. When giving up cigarettes, I used to pray and ask God to be my nicotine. But He never did be my nicotine (yes, I know that's not proper grammar, it's ok). God is not a drug. A drug is something that a person is not designed to need, but on which the person develops a chemical or mental reliance. 

This developed dependence is a defect. It is contrary to the way that God made human beings to live. As such, it is a type of bondage. Anything that hinders us from living the life for which God made us; that hindrance is bondage. True freedom is the uninhibited ability to live the life for which our heavenly Father created us. That is why Jesus Christ said that whoever sins is a slave of sin, but that whoever is faithful to Him will be set free by the truth (John 8:31-36). Just as the Old Testament prophecy about Christ said;

"The Spirit of  the Lord God is upon Me,

Because the Lord has anointed Me

To preach good tidings to the poor;

He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives,

And the opening of the prison to those who are bound."

(Isaiah 61:1).

When Jesus first began to teach and to preach in the Galilean synagogues, He read this portion of Scripture aloud and told the congregation that the prophecy was just fulfilled as they listened (Luke 4:16-21). And as the Scriptures also say, "Stand fast in the liberty by which Christ has made us free, and do not be entangled again in a yoke of bondage."; (Galatians 5:1) "and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." (2 Corinthians 3:17).

God is not a drug. To live as He created us in His image to live - by faith, loving and being loved by Him and each other - is not a bondage from which to be delivered. But His good and faithful presence in our lives, and His revelation of Himself to us through His word, is sustenance to our souls; just as food and drink is sustenance to our flesh. As Jesus, quoting from the Torah, said  "It is written, 'Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God.'" (Luke 4:4; Deuteronomy 8:3). 

God is not a drug. He is our heavenly Father. He is the spiritual sustenance that is necessary to our souls. His love is not bondage, but freedom. God is love (1 John 4:8). And He made us in His own image (Genesis 1:26-27) for the purpose of love (Matthew 22:37-40). This is the reason that we, as human beings even have a concept of love. It is built into the core of our being, by God who created us.

God is not a drug to which to say "No". It is in Him that all of us are able to live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). No one has ever lived or done anything without God. Many have used their God-given gifts to disobey Him by doing evil, but in due time He will pronounce His righteous judgment and carry it out against the wicked. In the meantime, He patiently waits, allowing time for sinners to repent and be reconciled to Him by grace, through faith in His Son Jesus Christ. 

The Conquest of Canaan

To many readers, the Conquest of Canaan is likely one of the most uncomfortable portion of the Scriptures. After freeing the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, and leading them in a forty year long walkabout, God commanded the Israelites to invade the land of Canaan, which He had promised would be their home, and completely annihilate the pagan inhabitants. The land of Canaan (known today as Israel) was home to seven different pagan nations at the time; the Canaanites, the Hivites, the Jebusites, the Hittites, the Amorites, the Perizzites, and the Girgashites.

In both the Old and New Testament Scriptures, we are told that God never changes (Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 13:8). However, many people think that this portion of biblical history is at odds with Christian teachings about peace and love and God's offer of salvation. They feel that there is an appreciable difference between what they call "the God of the Old Testament", and "the God of the New Testament". 

They ask, "How do we reconcile the judgement and wrath of the Old Testament with the words of Christ, who said, 'Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you.'"? (Matthew 5:44). And when His disciples asked Him if they should call down fire from heaven to destroy the Samaritan villages who rejected Him, Jesus said to them, "You do not know what manner of spirit you are of. For the Son of Man did not come to destroy men's lives but to save them" (Luke 9:51-56). 

However, there is no conflict if we take the time to learn and understand the context of the Scriptures. As I like to say, context is the BOSS of interpretation. So if we take things out of context, we will always be wrong. Taking everything in context, we see that there is no difference at all between God in the Old Testament, and the New Testament.

For one thing, Jesus was no hippie. To think of Him or present Him as being like one is simplistic and ridiculous. On one occasion, some people came to Jesus and brought up the subject of Pontius Pilate recently massacring of some Galileans.  

"And Jesus answered and said to them, 'Do you suppose that these Galileans were worse sinners than all other Galileans, because they suffered such things? I tell you, no; but unless you repent (turn away from sin) you will all likewise perish. Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them, do you think that they were worse sinners than all other men who dwelt in Jerusalem? I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:1-5).

Jesus said "Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it". (Matthew 7:13-14).

To the forgiven adulteress, Jesus said "...go and sin no more" (John 8:11). In other words, "I forgive you. Now don't let it happen again". To a miraculously healed man, Jesus said, "See, you have been made well. Sin no more, lest a worse thing come upon you" (John 5:14). Clearly, Jesus taught that there are consequences for sin. Jesus often talked about the judgement that is to come in due time (read Matthew 25). He also said "And do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell" (Matthew 10:28).

Aside from this, there are also examples of God's great mercy in the Old Testament, including during the Conquest of Canaan. God does not take pleasure in the death of anyone who dies. His desire is for people to turn away from sin, and live. Yet He has assured us that the soul who sins will die (read Ezekiel 18:4, 20, 23 & 32). 

Before Joshua led the Israelites in the famous Battle of Jericho, he sent spies into the city. When the Israelite spies were in Jericho, and in danger of being caught, a prostitute name Rahab hid the spies in her house. She and her family knew that God had sent the Israelites, and that He was with them to give Canaan over to them. And because she responded to God with reverence and repentance, she and her family were spared (Joshua 2 & 6).

Now it is true that today we live in what Christian theologians call "the age of grace" or "the Church age". It is during this time that God extends the offer of amnesty to all sinners who repent and trust in Jesus Christ for salvation. The prophet Isaiah referred to such a time as an acceptable time (Isaiah 49:8) or acceptable year (Isaiah 61:1-2). When Jesus first began to teach in the synagogues, He opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and read from chapter 61. And after reading through the line about the acceptable year of the Lord, Jesus said "Today this Scripture is fulfilled in your hearing" (Luke 4:16-21).

During this time, between the first and second coming of Christ, the primary focus of the Lord's work is the spreading of the gospel (good news) of salvation through Jesus Christ. That is the reason why this is not a time for holy wars like the Conquest of Canaan. This is a time for God's people to peacefully tell the world about the forgiveness and love of Jesus Christ; how He died on the cross, receiving unto Himself the wages of our sin (Romans 6:23). And rose victorious over death.

But Isaiah also foretold the day of vengeance of our God (Isaiah 61:2). That is the day of Christ's return; the second coming. And all who place their trust in Jesus Christ will be saved from the coming wrath, just as Rahab and her family were saved when God judged Canaan; and just as Noah and his family were saved from the judgment of the Genesis Flood. 

So there is no change in God between the Old and New Testaments. "Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8). The only change is what time it is. There is a time for everything (Ecclesiastes 3:1-8). If you consider the work of a farmer; it is not always time to plow, it is not always time to plant, and it is not always time to harvest. But the same farmer carries out each task in its time.  

And whether God extends His mercy or pours out His wrath, He is always justified in all that He does. God is love. And as I pointed out in last weeks post, that is precisely the reason why He is holy. He is infinitely wise and good. And He knows when it is necessary to judge and condemn. He also knows when to show mercy and have patience. 

As for the Israelites, they knew that it was God who led them. He showed Himself through the ten plagues in Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, the drowning of the Egyptian army in the same water, a pillar of cloud to lead them by day, and a pillar of fire by night. He did many supernatural works to show that He was with Israel. And He even caused the walls of the city, Jericho, to collapse when the Israelites had marched around it seven times; as He commanded them to do.

As for the Canaanites, they were a wicked people who practiced many abominable things. And the apostle Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, saying, "for the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The people of Canaan merely received the wages of their own sin. Yet God was very merciful, and waited until the wickedness of those nations was extreme before He sent Israel to destroy them (Genesis 15:16). It was good and right to destroy them from the face of the earth.

As for humanity, "all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). And God has mercifully provided salvation through His Son Jesus Christ. He patiently withholds His final judgement until the day that He has appointed, when in due time He can no longer withhold His judgement. That day will be great and terrible - and completely necessary. 

Also read:

Yesterday, Today, and Forever

The Dehumanizing Power of Sin

In chapters five - seven of his autobiography, Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass, Douglass wrote about the time he became the slave of Mr. and Mrs. Auld of Baltimore, Md. When he first came to that house, Sophia Auld was a very kind and tenderhearted woman. Douglass wrote that she treated him "as she supposed one human being ought to treat another".

He describes her in chapter five as having a "face beaming with kindly emotion". She began to teach Douglass to read and write. Over time, however, Douglass describes how slave-holding proved to have a dehumanizing effect on her. She became even more cruel than her husband. So Douglass showed how slavery not only dehumanizes those kept as slaves, but also slave-holders.

My reason for bring this up is that it is an illustration not only of the dehumanizing effects of slavery, but the dehumanizing effect of all sin. This is why the villain in C.S. Lewis' Perelandra is referred to as "the un-man". This is also consistent with the words of Jesus: "Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin...Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed" (John 8:34-36).

Humanity was originally created by, and in the image of our holy, righteous God who is love. This is why we, as human beings, even have a concept of love. But then humanity fell into sin and became corrupt. All of us are born with a fallen, corrupted, sinful nature; inherited from our first parents, Adam and Eve. And so sin and death came into the world though one man (Romans 5:12, 1 Corinthians 15:21-22).

But sin would quickly prove to strip humanity of more than just immortality. Within only one generation, the first son, Cain, murdered his brother, Abel. But it didn't stop there. As the inhabitants of the earth grew in number, they also grew in wickedness. Turning away from the heavenly Father who lovingly created us in His own image, the people of the earth made their own gods in their own fallen image. And so they made idols in the image of created things rather than worship and love and obey God who is love, and who created all the universe (Romans 1:18-24).

For approximately one and a half thousand years, human nature did not change. The earth was filled with idolatry, violence, and every kind of evil. But one man, Noah, along with his family, was saved by grace (Genesis 6:1-8). At that time God justly sent a Flood to cover the whole earth. Many of the geological features that are observed today were formed by that Flood. But He warned Noah to build a 500 ft. long, 75 ft. wide, 45 ft. high Ark to preserve himself and his family, along with two of every "kind" (not species) of animal.

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A species is a sub-set of the original created "kinds". There is diversity within the created kinds; but, as suggested by the findings of Reginald Punnett, one kind can never give rise to a completely new kind. The feline kind can never give rise to a bird kind, and the canine kind can never give rise to a reptilian kind; and so forth. And as I have already noted in this post, the human kind was created uniquely in the image of God. 

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So Noah did as God commanded him. And the rain fell for forty days, and all the fountains of the deep were broken open. The waters covered the earth for about a year and then receded. Noah and his wife; his three sons and their wives, came off the Ark and started life over again.

In time, (within approximately half a thousand years) humanity increased again in number, and quickly turned away from the one true God to worship man-made idols. And disobeying a simple command to spread out and populate all the earth, they decided to build a great Tower that was supposed to reach into the heavens. So God confounded their language and scattered them (Genesis 11:1-9).

But human nature did not changed. The Sumerians and the Egyptians; the Incas and the Mayans, built their idolatrous, pagan kingdoms. And God spoke to Abraham the Chaldean. He gave Abraham a son, Isaac, through whom the nation of Israel was born by the will of God. Israel, like the rest of fallen humanity repeatedly showed a propensity toward disobeying God. And like the gentile nations, they even committed idolatry, ritualistic prostitution, and human sacrifices.

And approximately two thousand years after the Tower of Babel, the Creator of all things came into the world as a human being, taking on human form, though without sin. He lived a life that demonstrated His perfect love for His creation. But His own creation rejected, persecuted, arrested, and crucified Him (John 1:1-14). This is the natural expression of fallen humanity's vile depravity, because sin is enmity with God (Romans 8:7).

And in the last two thousand years since then, human nature still has not changed. Wars, violence, and theft go on and on and on in every generation. Meanwhile students are taught that the natural universe, which operates according to orderly laws, was not made by an orderly Creator and sovereign Lawgiver, but arose accidentally from random, unguided processes. That is not a rational worldview. That's just the madness of fallen, corrupt, sinful humans.

Divorce, adultery, and promiscuity are prevalent. Families are turbulent and broken. And many people grow up angry, rebellious, without godly council, and full of angst. Truth and virtue become objects of ridicule. Greed, lust, pride, and self indulgence are major motivators of a humanity that is sick and dying of its own wickedness.

And though many people know that these things are wrong, they still do not turn to be reconciled with the one true God who created all things; and who revealed Himself to humanity through His prophets and His Son, Jesus Christ. God's word is widely mocked and ridiculed; and disobeyed by everyone. No one is without sin (Romans 3:23).

Those who desire to live godly in Christ are also despised and mocked; even executed in many parts of the world. And that blood-shed will probably eventually spread to the West as well. Infanticide is widely defended and proudly advocated in the name of "women's rights"! Human life is devalued and discarded in the name of "human rights"!

And marriage is desecrated in the name of "equality"; even though Jesus Himself, when asked a question about marriage, said "But from the beginning of creation, God 'made them male and female'" (Mark 10:6). And even many of those who claim to be in Christ are willing to distort His word to accommodate sin. Yes, even in the Church there are those who, in many ways, outright defy what is good and right in the sight of God.

But through all of this, God's nature has never changed. He remains our holy, just, and righteous God. And He will rightfully pour out His righteous judgment on the unrepentant, who reject the absolute truth of His word and cling to their own filth.

But He also remains God who is love. And there is no limit to the mercy and grace that He will continually display toward those who, in reverent faith, turn to Him for forgiveness. He has made salvation available to all who are willing to be saved by His grace through faith in His Son Jesus Christ alone, who died on the cross for our sin (Romans 3:23-24, 5:1-2, & 6:23).

God's purpose was fulfilled despite (even by way of) humanity's obstinacy. As God revealed to the prophet Daniel about five hundred years beforehand: "Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself" (Daniel 9:26). It was for our sin that Jesus died.

And at the time it seemed to everyone that He had accomplished nothing. But He was accomplishing a salvation that nobody else's efforts ever could. He who had no sin, took our sin upon Himself; so that those who trust in Him, having no righteousness of our own, may take His righteousness upon ourselves. "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (2 Corinthians 5:17).

But for those who reject this salvation, THERE IS. NO. OTHER. "For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus" (1 Timothy 2:5; also see Hebrews 2:2-4, & 10:26-27).