Christ

Satan and the Seminary Student–The Goal of Christian Learning

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

“You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe–and shudder!”–James 2:19

That verse terrifies me.  Because what it says, in essence, is that it is possible to have all the right “belief” about God and be no better off eternally than the devil and his demons.  It says you can “know” all you want about God and still be as far off from Him as Satan is.

What will ultimately matter is not necessarily how much we knew about God, but what our response to our knowledge about Him was.

Satan knows more about Jesus than some Christians, has better theology than some pastors, and could probably persuade some to trust Christ (though he never would)–but Satan will spend eternity in hell, along with many others who “know” about God.

There is a supreme difference, an eternal difference, in knowing ABOUT God and KNOWING God personally.

Think about it this way:

I can know a lot about somebody.  I know where they were born, who they’re married to, where they work, what they’re like, whether or not they cheer for a certain sports team.  I know how they treat their spouse and children.  I can have a general understanding of how they think and act, and understand them pretty well.

And I can hate their guts.  I can hate their character, hate their family, hate how they act.  I can hate them, and that hate is increased by my knowledge of them.  The more I know about them, the more I resist them.

James 2:19 tells us that’s similar to how the devil and his demons respond to God.  They know that God is one (a reference to the core Jewish creed, the Shema, a cry of faith), and they shudder.  They don’t leap for joy that there is one God who commands worship.  They don’t bow down and confess their sins and ask for grace.  They shudder.

So again, we can know all we want about God, but until we belong to Him, until He becomes our God, until we trust Him and walk with Him, all that knowledge is meaningless.  The truth of God is useless to a heart that is far from God.

The title of this post, as you see above, is “Satan and the Seminary Student.”  As many of you know, I’m currently in my first year at the Birmingham extension center of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.  The fall semester starts soon, and I’m excited/nervous/terrified of Hebrew.

Seminary presents challenges beyond the classroom, and I recognize I say this with only a semester and a summer course under my belt, but seeing as how this is not the first post published on this topic (see books with names like How to Stay Christian in Seminary), I feel like I’m qualified and knowledgeable to say what I’m going to say.

Of course there are the academic challenges of writing papers, studying for tests and learning languages.  But there’s an even greater challenge: Loving God in the midst of information overload.  Not letting a relationship with God turn into a cold, heartless study of God.  As a seminary student, I have to keep this verse in mind to remind myself that my faith, my relationship with God, is fueled by knowledge (Rom. 12:2 and Prov. 19:2), but that the knowledge I gain should produce God-honoring results in my life.

As I learn biblical languages and systematic theology, or how this theological school came about and how this missions effort was founded, or the different apologetic arguments for Christianity, I cannot forget that the goal is to let it affect my heart AND my mind (Deut. 6:5).

Because, as stated above, it is possible to gain knowledge about God and be far off from God.  The goal of seminary (in addition to being prepared for Christian ministry) and all Christian learning for that matter, is not to just gain knowledge about God, but to know God intimately, to enjoy His presence, to have a more confident faith, to love Him with all our heart, soul, mind and strength.  We not only grow in Godliness, but we learn to love His ways and being like Him because we love Him and we understand and rejoice in the truth that we are made in His image.

Put another way: Saving faith produces love.  Saving faith sees Christ for who He is and is so grateful for all that He is for us that it cannot help but praise Him in song, share Him with others, honor Him with life, and embrace Him in death.

So in preparation for the upcoming semester, and in preparation for a lifelong process of studying, knowing, reading, and learning about God, I pray that all knowledge gained would turn into worship.  That reading the Word would lead to repentance, faith, praise, obedience and sharing Christ with others.

We must study God (again, Rom. 12:2 and Prov. 19:2).  But we must let the study not leave us shuddering because we hate God, as the devil does, nor must we let it leave us cold and uncaring, as one who believes in God as they believe in turtles.  We must let what we know about God fuel our worship and our faith.  Let what you know about God transform you to be a lover of God.

God, may we not be content with knowing about you, but press on to know you as our God, as our Lord, as our Savior, as our Friend.  May we let what we know about you lead us to love you, that we are not merely assenting to your Word, but embracing it in worship and rejoicing.  May your truth change us.

God bless,

Neal E.

On Running to Christ

/ Neal Embry / Leave a comment

Matthew Henry once said, “It is not humility, but infidelity, to put away the offers of the gospel, as if too rich to be made to us or too good news to be true.”

When I was young, I wasn’t a perfect child, because, well…those don’t exist.  Like any other young kid, I was terrified when I did something wrong, not because I understood how much it hurt my mom or my grandparents, or whoever it may be, when I disobeyed them, but because I feared punishment.  So instead of drawing near to my leaders, I ran away.  I still have a clear memory of hiding on the playground one time just because I had said something mean to another kid and didn’t want my teacher to find me and punish me.

It is not natural for us to run toward the person we offend.  We withdraw because we are fearful.  We fear punishment, loss of reputation, loss of relationship, and a multitude of other losses.

And yet the God of the universe, the only one truly worthy of fear and trembling, commands us to run TO Him when we sin against Him.  1 John 1:9 tells us we can confess our sins in repentance before the Lord and trust Him to forgive us and help us change into the men and women God’s called us to be.

But running toward God doesn’t make a lot of sense, because, after all, God is holy, and we are sinful, and our sin merits His wrath and eternal destruction.  And of course, those things are true.  But God is also a God of grace that desires all people be saved (1 Tim. 2:4).  We know we can repent and trust God to forgive us because it is God who gives us repentance and faith (2 Tim. 2:25).  This is amazing news.  This is ridiculously good news–He whom we have most offended, He who has the right to condemn us for all eternity, welcomes us back with open arms, no matter how bad we’re struggling.  And He doesn’t just invite us back and wait on us–He runs to us, like the father in Luke 15.  He takes the initiative to seek us out and grant us repentance.  While we absolutely must repent and trust Christ, it is by God’s power and grace that we can do this.

Notice what is missing from 1 John 1:9–qualifications for forgiveness.  Jesus offers forgiveness for the “little” sins and the “big” sins.  Whether you stubbed your toe and cursed, or whether you murdered someone, Jesus is ready to be your Savior.  And while this doesn’t mean there are no consequences here on Earth for your actions (such as prison for the murderer), it does mean you don’t have to fear condemnation from God, because you know through the cross of Christ and His resurrection, your sins have been paid for and you are trusting in Christ for your salvation.

We need to run to Christ.  Let all talk of Jesus only wanting those who kinda sorta have it together end.  Jesus came for the weak, for the sick, for the sinner that cannot get it together.  And let’s be honest: do any of us truly have it all together?  Certainly not, especially not compared to a holy God!  Jesus came and died because you don’t have it together, because you are not and never will be good enough to stand righteous before the Father, because you are a sinner in need of a Savior.

If you’re a little sick, you take a little medicine.  You probably don’t even have to go to the doctor.  But if you have a terminal illness that you know can be treated, you run with abandon to the nearest hospital.  So why, when we are struggling with sin, do we run away from the Savior?  When we’re really struggling with sin, when we’re falling more than we usually do, that is a time to run to Christ, not away from Him!  The last thing God wants is for us to try and do His job–this is pride of the most deceptive kind, because it comes under the guise of humility, masquerading as godly sorrow while, in reality, it is unbelief in the promises of God.  O God, save us from this pride!

The grace of God never tells us that our sin isn’t a big deal.  The cross leaves no room for cheap grace or cheap love making little of God’s holiness and sin’s gravity.  The cross shows us costly grace that exalts God’s holiness and man’s depravity.  The cross also shows us the goodness of God, for “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”  Jesus cried, “It is finished!” What does that mean?  It means the work of salvation is done.  You, believer, do not have sins to pay for.  That debt was settled 2,000 years ago.  All that’s left for us to do is trust Him to forgive us and help us follow Him in new life.  J.D. Greear, in his excellent book, “Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart,” says that it would be wrong for God to hold the sins of believers against them, since Jesus has already paid for them.  We are saved because God is gracious AND just–gracious to not punish us, but just and holy to punish Jesus in our place.

So let us run to Christ and trust His grace.  His grace is sufficient.  His resurrection proves the Father accepted His sacrifice for ALL of our sin.  Trust Him.

God, may we not run away from you when we fail.  May our faith be strengthened and made more confident in Christ.  May you continue to change us and help us be holy as you are holy.  May we share your grace with the world around us.

God bless,

Neal E.