Professor John Lennox on the Problem of Suffering and Evil

At a recent outreach at UWS we raised the question of suffering and evil by asking: 'Is God Really Good'

I found this helpful resource at the Centre for Public Christianity (CPX). Professor John Lennox (of Oxford University) discusses the arguments for God's goodness - at both an intellectual and emotional level. I hope it is helpful.


A good God? from CPX on Vimeo.



More videos can be found here:  http://www.publicchristianity.com/Videos/lennox.html

The Problem of Forgiveness - Reflecting on Stott's The Cross of Christ #2

In part two of The Cross of Christ, Stott begins talking about ‘The Heart of the Cross’ by thinking first about ‘The Problem of Forgiveness’. As he says near the beginning of the chapter:

In particular, our insistence that according to the gospel the cross of Christ is the only ground on which God forgives sins bewilders many people. ‘Why should forgiveness depend on Christ’s death?’ they ask. ‘Why does God not simply forgive us, without the necessity of the cross?’

He then goes on to quote the cynical French phrase which translates (roughly): ‘The good God will forgive me; that’s his job.’ This is not far different from the Muslims who wonder why there should be any difficulty in God deciding to forgive sins.

The One Who Meets Our Need (Hebrews 7:26)

Last week I was preparing for a sermon on Hebrews 7 (go here for MP3) and was particularly struck by these words:

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them. ²⁶ Such a high priest meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men who are weak; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

It seems that the writer to the Hebrews draws these conclusions from Psalm 110:4 – which he quotes twice in the chapter – and the fact of Jesus' resurrection. To the writer, the resurrection shows that Jesus is the one to whom God was speaking in Psalm 110. In fact, he sees those words as the oath which guarantees Jesus' priesthood (v20-21).

He then draws a number of implications from these observations:

1^st: Because Jesus lives forever, he has a 'permanent priesthood' (v24). Not that Jesus needs to offer his sacrifice over and again, but that he acts as our mediator and advocate before the throne of God on an ongoing and eternal basis.

2^nd: Because of his ongoing intercession with the Father on our behalf, he is able to 'save completely' those who come to God through him (v25). The Greek translated 'completely' is eis to panteles which can be read qualitatively, ie. 'completely' or temporally ie. 'forever'. The context seems to suggest that 'forever' or 'eternally' is the best meaning, but if we are saved eternally, then that implies that we are saved 'completely' as well!

3^rd: Such a high priest meets our need: 'one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens' this all emphasizes his difference to the human Levitical priests – a point which is again made in verse 27 (he does not need to offer the sacrifice for himself, but offers himself); and in verse 28 (the high priest of the oath is not weak like the priests of the law).

This all highlights for me that we sometimes believe we know what we need, but it is God who really knows what we need! In this case we are told that what we really need is a High Priest who is holy, pure, blameless and set apart. I wonder if we don't see this need because we forget the reality of our separation from God – the separation that in the OT law was shown by the physical separation of the unclean and un-sanctified from entering God's presence as signified in the Most Holy Place. In other words, we forget that we are sinners and that God is Holy, and that there is not normally any way for us sinners to approach the Holy God. The only way we can even begin to contemplate such a possibility is because we have Jesus, the Son, as our High Priest who has offered himself to God for us.

How much more amazing then does that make the statement back in Hebrews 4:16

Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

How amazing to be able to approach God with confidence through faith in Jesus – knowing that God will give us mercy and grace!

Perhaps we might think of this next time we sing the last verse of Charles Wesley's great hymn 'And Can It Be':

No condemnation now I dread;
Jesus, and all in Him, is mine;
Alive in Him, my living Head,
And clothed in righteousness divine,
Bold I approach th'eternal throne,
And claim the crown, through Christ my own.

John Stott on the Cross of Christ

In preparation for Mid Year Conference I have been re-reading John Stott's classic book The Cross of Christ. It's not just a classic because it was published in the 80's! (It was first published by IVP in 1986). It is a classic because it is a clear yet profound study of the central doctrine of the Christian faith - Jesus' work on the cross (also called the atonement).



You can read some reviews written for the Twentieth Anniversary edition here. The book is also a classic because it has been constantly in print for over twenty years - being reprinted almost every year! If you aren't sure about buying your own copy then just ask an older Christian -they are likely to have a copy on their shelves. But I warn you, this is a book you will want to own yourself and re-read a number of times. In re-reading the book I have found it still fresh and very relevant.

The book is divided into four main parts:

Welcome

Welcome to my new site "Deep Conviction". I hope to be able to encourage my readers with reflections on the Bible, practical theology and Christian living, ministry and mission in suburbia – in my case in the Suburbs of Sydney, NSW, Australia.
The name comes from 1 Thessalonians 1:4-5. Paul says:

For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

The goal of my blogging is that the gospel might impact both myself and others with 'deep conviction' that effects and challenges every area of our lives.
If you find anything interesting, encouraging or even disagree, then please feel free to comment!