"Living by Faith" OR "I'll Tell You Later!"

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[I apologize for this being posted late.  Technical problems made it impossible. -- Larry Evans]

March 14, 2015

Sabbath School Class Notes

Larry R Evans, Teacher

Introduction: “I’ll Tell You Later”

It seems to be human nature for us to have questions and to want them answered right away.  We get impatient if the answers aren’t found “now.”  At times we allow our questions and our circumstances to master us.  This was not the case with Abram.  Genesis 12-15 presents 4 crises faced by Abram and with each one Abram asked God questions and each time God essentially said, “I’ll tell you later.” 

1.   God told Abram to leave his country, his people and his family.  God said He would make of him a great nation. Implied with the command was the assurance that he would have a child and a land.  So Abram essentially asked, “Why? Why do I need to leave? And God said.  “I’ll tell you later – just go!”

2.   Abram asked, “Where” should I go?” and God said “I’ll tell you later but for now just wander.”

3.   And when it came to a child Abram reminded God that he was 99 and Sarah was 90. They were childless and Abram essentially said, “How! And God said, “So . . .?”  “I’ll tell you later.”

4.   Later, after the child came, God said, “Kill your child.”  And Abram asked “Why” and God said, “I’ll tell you later!”

In each of these four crisis moments, Abram believed  and acted on what God had said and God did “provide.”  In each case Abram lived by faith.  Abram mastered each circumstance.  They did not master him.  We are also bound to have many questions, important questions, and they almost always begin with “Why”, “When” or “How” and almost always God will say, on the strength of His character, “Just do it – I’ll explain later.”  Whether it be Moses, Isaiah, Jonah or the disciples of Jesus, reasons for doubt and disbelief were always present. Each time the way through the maize came from trusting not in seeing or finding all the answers to the intellectual “why.” Rather, real and lasting answers came from knowing God first.

Sometimes we come down hard on ourselves.  We want to give up. Our circumstances are overwhelming.  At that point God says, “Come now, let us settle the matter.”  “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.; though they are read as crimson, they shall be like wool” (Isa 1:18)  And we ask:  “How?”  And God says, “I’ll tell you later.”  And He did!  It was beyond the comprehension of Isaiah that God would Himself come and through His death our sins would be wiped away and we would become “white as snow.”  How?  The answer came later in Jesus. Time has shown generation after generation that: The greater the revelation of God, the greater the trust placed in Him, the greater the transformation that will seen in those who follow Him.  So it is today.

Our study this quarter has been in the book of Proverbs and central to our study is the idea of finding “wisdom.” In this book of the Bible, to know wisdom is to know God and to trust Him and His word. Here wisdom is defined as the ability “to discern or distinguish between good and evil.” (1 Kings 3:9) The closer our relationship with God is the more clear the distinction between good and evil becomes to us.  Trying circumstances will always confront us and each time, in some way, we have to decide to whom or to what we will appeal for wisdom to meet this or that challenge.  In each circumstance it isn’t enough to understand what is before us.  We may understand but we may not want to comply.  We’d rather do it our way and then ask God for forgiveness or understanding of the decisions we thought we had to make later.  With Abram it worked just the other way.  He obeyed and found his answers later.  The “I’ll tell you later” responses from God turned out to be the character building blocks on which Abram became Abraham – the father of many nations – a name given before it every happened.  Once again, I can hear God saying, “I’ll tell you later.”  

Discussion Starters

1.            Without God’s law we would be the same as those who do not know God. (Prov. 28:4,7,9)  True or False?

2.            The law of God is first a statement about God and secondly about His instruction for us to follow. (Gal. 3:24; Prov. 28:5) True or False?

3.            It’s alright for God to love the world (Jn 3:16) but not for us to. (1Jn 2:15)  True or False?

4.            Wealth is not wrong but gaining it at the expense of others is. (Prov. 28:8)  True or False?

5.            The same rules of fairness apply to both the rich and the poor. (Prov. 28:6; Matt.5:44,45) True or False?

Reflections

1.            Without God’s law we would be the same as those who do not know God. (Prov. 28:4,7,9)  True but it is important to understand the nature and purpose of the law.

What does this question have to do with “living by faith?”  Doesn’t the question suggest that we put faith aside and live by determination to be faithful?  What is the law about?  What is it attempting to do? Why a law?

Do you think that one of the purposes of the law is to show how impossible it is to live up to and reflect the character of God in our lives . . . on our own?  Is it possible to live more than just having a moral life without recognizing our helplessness?  [by living moral lives I am suggesting only an external conformity to the law]  Do you see a connection between that and what Jesus said in His sermon on the mount (Matt 5-7)?

Note: Prov. 28:7

“A discerning son heeds instruction,

but a companion of gluttons disgraces his father.”

What does a “discerning” (or understanding) son understand about the instruction given to him by his father that someone whose companion is with the gluttons doesn’t seem to get? Are they both companions with the father?

2.            The law of God is first a statement about God and secondly about His instruction for us to follow. (Gal. 3:24; Prov. 28:5) True

Does this question give us any insight into the first question?

Is there any relationship between the story of the elder brother and the prodigal son (Lk 15) with an understanding of God and His law?  What might that be? Does the following shed any light?

Mark 12:28-31    “Of all the commandments, which is the most important?”

        “The most important one,” answered Jesus, “is this: ‘Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.a  30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’a a 31 The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.”

3.            It’s alright for God to love the world (Jn 3:16) but not for us to. (1Jn 2:15)  True but what kind of love and for what reasons?

John 3:16    “For God loved [aÓgapa¿w]the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17 God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

1John 2:15          Do not love [aÓgapa¿w] the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Fathera is not in them. 16

When God loves the world as a “jealous” God – wooing the world back to His original plan—He becomes angry to see substitute gods demoralize His creations (Deut. 4:24).  When we “love the world” do we “covet” the ways of the world or are we jealous – seeing idolatry of the world maligning the character of God, representing Him in the wrong light.  Is there a danger while portraying love for the world that we end up loving the ways of the world rather than the ways of God?  How might a deeper understanding of God’s law help us love God, the world and His law more?

4.            Wealth is not wrong but gaining it at the expense of others is. (Prov. 28:8)  True

Prov. 28:8 Whoever increases wealth by taking interest or profit from the poor amasses it for another, who will be kind to the poor.”

What’s going on here?  Do you think this is relevant for leaders of countries? For individuals?

5.            The same rules of fairness apply to both the rich and the poor. (Prov. 28:6; Matt.5:44,45) True

Prov. 28:6 Better the poor whose walk is blameless than the rich whose ways are perverse.

Why wouldn’t they abide by the same rules?  Would the same apply to violence? If you are right but poor are you excused for being violent and for retaliating?  If you are powerful and rich does that mean you don’t have to obey the rules? The policies?  

Concluding Thoughts

We began our study by looking at how Abram met four different crises that confronted him.  There must have been a faith-struggle in each case. No doubt, questions must have flooded his mind—questions about God’s way of leading and about his own values and how seriously he needed to follow God’s peculiar expectations of him. Proverbs 28 and 29 amplifies this dilemma by contrasting the worldviews and perspectives of the just and the unjust, the wise leader and the self-centered leader. As we’ve pointed out earlier, wisdom as described in Proverbs is not about one’s IQ but about the ability to distinguish between good and evil.  This ability to discern the difference is directly related to one’s relationship with God—it is a gift from Him. Chapters 28 and 29 come to an unfortunate conclusion: the contrasting worldviews are not compatible. The righteous and the wicked detest the operating values of each other (Proverbs 29:27).  One attempts to control and to coerce.  The other attempts to take God’s Word seriously and live-out the values found there. The contrasting differences alienate each group from the other. Paul refers to the struggle as a wrestling match: “We do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places” (Eph. 6:12).  There will be moments when “trust and obey” is not convenient, is not easy and may even mean serious sacrificing.  We may come to the point of asking “Why!”.  It is likely God’s response will be, “I’ll tell you later.”  And we will respond by . . .

Proverbs 3:5-7 (Message)

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart;

    don’t try to figure out everything on your own.

Listen for GOD’S voice in everything you do,

    everywhere you go;

he’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume that you know it all.

Run to GOD! Run from evil!

In the end, does God want us to find the Bible to be an “answer book” for all our perplexing problems? You know the kind of questions and perplexities that ask, “Why”, “When” and “How.” Or does He want us to become the kind of person that is developed through reflection upon God’s Word-- through study, prayer, submission to Him so that in our hearts we might become more and more like God in our thinking and reasoning?  Perhaps it is then, we will find lasting answers to our questions?  Perhaps that is the approach He has advocated from the beginning of time. Perhapsthat is why He asked Adam and Eve, “Where are you?” and of Cain, “Where is your brother?”  The Western mind likes to work from lists – check lists.  While to some degree this approach feels like it is efficient, could this cultural tendency actually cause us to miss a deeper reality -- the kind of relationship with Him, with others and with ourselves that would be the most satisfying?  Maybe Jesus was onto to something when He said, “Abide in Me.”  Maybe that is the first real step in “problem-solving.”  Maybe then we could understand better what was behind God’s implied responses, “I’ll tell you later!”