In the previous verse, Paul categorized his audience as being made up of Greeks and Barbarians (to the Greek, anyone who isn’t Greek). In these verses the categorization is different–Jews and non-Jews. In either case, it’s evident that Paul feels a calling to preach this gospel to everyone.

I first remember this passage from a summer camp I attended with my youth group when I was in junior high. Our theme for the week was Not Ashamed. There were many tears at the altar as I, along with many of my friends, confessed to the sin of being secret Christians at school and secret sinners at church. We would no longer be ashamed of our faith. If memory serves, this was the camp where I first felt a calling to vocational ministry (though at the time I had no idea what that would entail). I’m quite sure that the promises I made to God at the altar that week were only occasionally fulfilled once we returned home.

These verses remain precious to me now, even as I’m still growing in boldness, even as I’m still trying to figure out what it means to be in vocational ministry.

For Paul, and for the saints in Rome, the unashamed declaration of the gospel that Jesus is Lord meant social and economic marginalization at best, and, on the pendulum’s darker side, boiling oil or being fed to the lions, for the entertainment of Nero and his exhilarated throngs.

The overall theme of Paul’s letter emerges here. This dangerous good news is worth the risk because of what it contains. God has finally revealed his righteousness. N.T. Wright uniformly defines “righteousness” as “God’s covenant faithfulness”. Read this way–God has finally revealed how he will be faithful to his covenant. The standard Reformed reading would be more like–God is finally made provision for the unrighteous to share in his own moral perfection. I’ve read some really good books arguing over which of these Paul intended. I think he meant both.

How is this gospel to be received? By faith. What will be the result? Those who respond with faith will become “the righteous”, those to whom God has displayed his covenant faithfulness, those who have been enabled to share in God’s own righteousness. Those who live. Life can be found in no other way.

—————–

Click here to learn about my new book Unveiled, The Transforming Power of God’s Presence and Voice.

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“I’ve learned that spiritual disciplines and right doctrine produce wonderful Pharisees but do not heal the broken,” Alan Smith. And that’s only chapter 1. #Unveiled

-       Kelle Branting

What I love about the book so far is how it’s confirming that I do indeed hear God’s voice. It’s so meaningful to hear someone else put into words what I’ve been experiencing in the last 6 months. Thank you so much for this book Alan.

-       Evan Agee

Alan, I just finished Unveiled tonight and wanted to thank you for writing it. I especially loved your thoughts about engaging our imagination during prayer and worship times, I’m finding that it adds a sense of anticipation to my prayer time that has been incredibly sweet. What I loved most about the book were the countless confirmations that I am indeed hearing His voice. Blessings on you and your family brother as you continue to be faithful. I look forward to getting to know you more throughout the course of eternity!

-       Evan Agee

Alan I’m in chapter 2. It’s a fantastic topic and book. Thanks for letting Holy Spirit lead you to write it.

-       Tammy Kling

Just started your book tonight. Wow, and oh my goodness. I can feel His presence while I’m reading and I’m only on the 4th chapter!!! Love it!

-       LeAnne Wadsworth

I need more books, I already gave them all away.
Great job Alan, your book really ministered to me. I never read books more than once, but I’ve finished yours and am looking forward to using it many times over in group studies. I can’t wait to see what God will do!

- Jon Pignatelli

Yeah your book is really good. I am only reading 2 chapters at a time because that’s really all time will allow most times. But really—that’s all you need to read at a time so you can get your heart wrapped around it. Good good stuff.

-       Jonathan Holmes

One of my favorite Alan Smith quotes from Unveiled is on page 219: “Faith is not about my effort to believe, it is about my surrender as a branch to the vine.” Thank you Alan. Your book has helped me understand so much!

-       Ann Fangio

Hi Alan, just finished Chapter 7 “Seated in Heavenly Places” and tears of gratitude could not be withheld while reading page 133 and of course the pages are almost all yellow from highlighting! Thank you for writing this book! I am so using it with clients soon!!!!!

-       Ann Fangio

Love this line from your book Alan: God seems very comfortable with allowing life circumstances to squeeze us uncomfortably (p. 52). BIG SMILE after reading that! I just finished Chapter 3 and almost the whole chapter is highlighted! Can’t wait to finish it!!!

-       Ann Fangio

UNVEILED…this book should be in the hands of everybody!!! Thank You, Jesus for using Alan in my life today to help me better understand the depth of Your love for me!

-       Ruth Menefee

At a ski lodge in Tahoe with my husband reading “Unveiled” by Alan Smith..all I can say is Tahoe is beautiful, but this book is life changing……seriously, get your copy today!!!

-       Kerrie Oles

Really enjoying “Unveiled” by Alan Smith

-       Steve Oglesby

I will spread the word; your book is life changing.

-       Cathy Ethredge

Hey Alan Jon turned me onto a copy going into chapter 2 feeling Blessed already.

-       Frank Vargas

Reading. Love it so far. Inspiring and enlightening. I’m thinking, Christmas presents!

-       Linda Osborne

Just got word from someone we gifted your book with yesterday…said she can’t put it down…hubs left for work this morning with it in hand…thankful for my own copy now that I can highlight and earmark!!!

-       Deborah Vinson

Just finished reading Unveiled today. Great read! It really spoke to a lot of things that I have been seeking God about lately. It also messed with me a little bit…in a good way. Thanks for writing it Alan.

-       Matt Schmuker

p.57 “Our experiences authoritatively shape our expectations and become obstacles obstructing our ability to allow the Bible to defind what is the norm.” I would read faster but it’s incredible statements of truth like this one that are causing me to go slowly through your book. Thank you!

- Cindy Snyder

Just finished ch. 4. Your exegesis/commentary on Eph. 2 is perhaps the best I’ve ever read. It’s really waking me up to new realities (at least my perception of them) about how God wants to reveal himself and speak to me. Good stuff.

-       Edward Jones

Close to finished, but will be going back to chew on the major points. So insightful!! Thank you.

-       Mike Smith

This is most definitely a book you will want to have! It just may be life changing for you!

-       Becky Synan

Twice during Israel’s wilderness wanderings, God provided water from a rock. In both instances, God’s people were encamped in a waterless desert. The first time (Ex 17) was toward the beginning of the forty years of wandering. The second time (Num 20) was toward the end. In both cases, the people, thirsty and fearing death, grumbled against Moses. They questioned Moses’ (and by extension, God’s) motivation for bringing them out of Egypt.

“But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?”” (Exodus 17:3, ESV)

“And why have you made us come up out of Egypt to bring us to this evil place? It is no place for grain or figs or vines or pomegranates, and there is no water to drink.”” (Numbers 20:5, ESV)

At Horeb (the first instance), Moses sought God for direction. God instructed Moses to take his staff and go before the people along with the elders of Israel. God promised to appear before Moses on the rock, where he was to strike the rock with his staff and God would produce water from the rock so the people could drink. Moses named the place Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling). The idea of quarreling implies a legal contention. The people came together to make a case against Moses. In verse 7 it says they “tested the LORD by saying, ‘Is the LORD among us or not?”

At Kadesh (the second instance), Moses again sought God for direction. He and Aaron went together to the tent of meeting and fell on their faces before God. The scripture says that God’s glory appeared to them and the LORD gave them very specific instructions. This time, instead of taking Moses’ rod, they were to take the staff that was “before the LORD.” This referred to Aaron’s staff, the one that had miraculously budded after Korah’s rebellion when God had vindicated Aaron as a priest. Moses was to take that staff to the rock, but this time, instead of striking the rock, God instructed Moses to speak to the rock and God would again provide water. God provided water as promised, even though Moses & Aaron didn’t obey God’s instruction completely, but they were not permitted to lead God’s people into the promised land as a result. The LORD characterized their disobedience as unbelief and a failure to uphold God as holy before the people.

As I reflect on these two very similar stories, the context surrounding them captures my attention.

The first instance immediately follows the crossing of the Red Sea and the provision of manna from heaven.

The second story immediately follows Korah’s rebellion, where the ground opened up and swallowed up Korah’s household and God’s fire consumed the 250 men offering incense. When the people were offended at God’s judgment, a plague broke out killing an additional 14,700 people before Aaron was able to intercede and stop the plague. This was followed by God’s vindication of Aaron’s leadership when his rod miraculously budded as a sign confirming God’s unique calling upon his life as a priest.

It boggles my mind how a people could witness both God’s miraculous deliverance and provision, or God’s mighty acts of judgment, and so quickly move again into a place of complaining, unbelief, and dishonor toward God. It’s a good thing we never struggle that way.

Our need for God’s provision is real. There are times where we need water and all we have is a rock in the desert. We serve a God who is well able to provide. Yet still we grumble. We complain. We question his motives or even his presence. How often, I wonder, in the midst of present lack, do we quickly lose sight of our past experience with God. He has delivered us before, but in the moment of present struggle we can easily forget. He has provided for us before, but in the moment that reality easily fades from our consciousness. We have grumbled and complained before and that hasn’t gone well for us either. Thank God that this side of the cross God’s justice and wrath have been fully satisfied in Christ.

Do we sometimes think that if God would just appear, then we would believe? If he would just give us some kind of sign, then our doubts would vanish? If we could just get breakthrough this once, then the next time we need it, surely we wouldn’t grumble and complain again. Or would we?

What if Massah (testing) and Meribah (quarreling) don’t arise from our circumstances at all? What if our circumstances simply expose what was in us all along?

The most amazing thing to me is that even in the midst of our grumbling, God still gives us water from the rock. He meets our needs.

__________

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If so, you’re not the only one. Doctors tell us that a significant portion of illness is brought on by stress.

I run into people everyday who are overwhelmed by schedules, relationships, finances, job demands and any number of other pressures. It fascinates me, however, that I also run into people everyday who are facing those same kinds of circumstantial demands yet somehow able to avoid high levels of stress.

I love the analogy of a roller coaster. Everyone on the ride is experiencing a very similar circumstance, but not everyone has the same experience. Some are overwhelmed and terrified, while others are having the time of their lives. The difference is determined by perspective. If I’m overwhelmed it can very often be because I’m choosing the wrong perspective.

“The roller coaster analogy is useful in explaining why the same stressor can differ so much for each of us. What distinguished the passengers in the back from those up front was the sense of control they had over the event. While neither group had any more or less control their perceptions and expectations were quite different. Many times we create our own stress because of faulty perceptions you can learn to correct.” – The American Institute of Stress http://www.stress.org/topic-definition-stress.htm

We create our own stress. How? By the perceptions we embrace. A helpful study from Weber State University demonstrates that a trait they call “hardiness” is plays a huge role in determining our stress levels within various circumstances. (see: http://faculty.weber.edu/molpin/healthclasses/1110/bookchapters/stresseffectschapter.htm for more on that study.)

Hardiness is defined by three characteristics.

Commitment – I am deeply engaged in my present involvements. We live in a culture where people are largely disengaged from their present reality. We spend our lives wishing we were somewhere else and escaping to some other place. A man on the job wishes he was on the golf course. A man on the golf course is distracted by the unfinished to-do list at work. A stay-at-home mom fantasizes about returning to her career and escaping the demands of screaming babies. A corporate executive fantasizes about being able to stay at home and be with her kids. Our unwillingness to commit our full presence and engagement to our present circumstance sets us up to experience stress, no matter our circumstance. The underlying assumption of this perspective is that we are victims. We are powerless. We have to do this but long to be free to do otherwise. The answer to this is rarely to change your circumstances. The stress isn’t coming from the circumstance. It’s coming from your belief that you aren’t in control. That you HAVE TO be here and can’t be elsewhere. It comes from feeling out of control. Don’t change your circumstance. Commit. Engage. Be fully present. Take dominion where you are. Choose it. It’s what you were made for.

Control – I believe my choices will influence outcomes. Stress increases when my options are removed. I do this to myself simply by believing I have no options, that my capacity to choose is irrelevant. But this belief is itself a choice, one that is actually influencing my present experience of stress a great deal. The reality is that much of my present reality is simply the result of a long series of choices I have made–choices about beliefs, perspectives, and circumstances. I am responsible. My choices have produced the current state of affairs. I am powerful. Of course, things do happen that are beyond my control–bad things, terrible things, even evil things. But I still have a choice regarding my response, my outlook, my attitude, and my ultimate source. No one can take that choice from me. No one. When I choose to believe that I don’t have these options or that choosing them won’t matter I increase my experience of stress.

Challenge – I believe that life will require me to change allowing for growth. What I expect matters. If I’m moving forward into life expecting I won’t have to change or grow, I’m setting myself of for unmet expectations. I’m setting myself up for stress. If my present circumstances are pressing me to adapt and grow, and they always are, then my expectation will determine much regarding how I will experience this challenge. If I am anticipating the challenge, I can lean into the change and growth demanded. I can choose it. I can embrace it. On the other hand, if I am anticipating ease and comfort, I will be taken by surprise when life becomes difficult and I will resist internal change and growth, requiring my circumstances to change instead of me. More stress.

When I choose to inwardly disengage from my present reality, believe that I’m powerless within my present circumstance, and react with surprise when life demands change and growth, then I’m setting myself to be miserable on the roller coaster that is life.

I was made to take dominion not to be a victim.

“Then God said, ‘Let us make man in our image, after our likeness. And let them have dominion..’” (Genesis 1:26a, ESV)

Pre-Order Alan’s New Book–Unveiled: The Transforming Power of God’s Presence and Voice.

In the modern West, we use the word “nature” to refer to the material universe that operates by cause and effect, independently of spiritual influence. We use the term “supernatural” to describe what is spiritual/ immaterial, from beyond the natural world. If we hold to these two assumptions, then a miracle occurs when the supernatural invades the natural. This way of seeing things can have great influence upon how we read and understand key scriptures.

“Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, ESV)

If we read the above verse through the filter of our modern Western assumptions, we might understand “on earth as it is in heaven” as the supernatural triumphing over the natural. But what would happen if we adjusted our filter according to the following passages of scripture?

“By faith we understand that the universe was created by the word of God, so that what is seen was not made out of things that are visible.” (Hebrews 11:3, ESV)

“But in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.” (Hebrews 1:2–3, ESV)

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made.” (John 1:1–3, ESV)

“Yet for us there is one God, the Father, from whom are all things and for whom we exist, and one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom are all things and through whom we exist.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, ESV)

“For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities—all things were created through him and for him.” (Colossians 1:16, ESV)

From these verses it becomes clear that the material universe originates from and is sustained by the Word. The natural originates from and is sustained by the supernatural. The natural is, in its essence, supernatural. The visible is made from the invisible. When we view Creation through this set of lenses, the distinction between natural and supernatural begins to get pretty obscure. Heaven and Earth are both created realities. They were nothing. Now they are something because God spoke. Heaven and Earth are both supernatural. They are both ordered. They both operate by laws God has set in motion.

It is therefore insufficient to think of a miracle, that moment when Heaven invades Earth, as an expression of the supernatural triumphing over the natural, for the natural is itself supernatural. It is likewise incorrect to think of those aspects of our existence that are not obviously miraculous, our day to day material, cause & effect existence, as being merely natural. The material world itself originates from and is currently being sustained by God’s living and active Word.

I believe it is the modern Western view of things that works to limit many believers from experiencing the miraculous life promised and modeled within scripture. By relegating the spiritual to a reality disconnected from our material existence, and thereby defining the miraculous as a divine interruption of the norm, we position ourselves to only experience the miraculous abnormally. If, instead of seeing spiritual reality as a distant and disconnected reality that must interrupt the way our world normally works in order to produce the miraculous, we were to see the spiritual reality of God’s Word as the source and sustenance of every aspect of every moment of our existence, we would begin to see the supernatural in all things and, at the same time, begin to redefine the miraculous altogether.

Instead of defining a miracle as God working “here” from “out there” in a manner that violates the natural cause and effect processes that are actually His design, we begin to see a miracle as the supernatural work of a supernatural God within His supernatural material creation to accomplish His purpose. Heaven is working within earth to restore God’s original design. Everything is spiritual (heaven & earth). Some things are also material (earth). Some things are doing fine (heaven). Some things are broken and fallen (earth). God is at work redemptively within fallen material Creation to restore and heal; as a result, His will finds full expression on earth like it’s already expressed in heaven.

This is a loaded question. If I answer yes, then I am stating that all language in scripture should be understood literally, which is clearly not the case. Here’s a wonderful example of non-literal language being used in the Bible.

“Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?” (Isaiah 40:12, ESV)

Taken literally, this passage would communicate that God has a physical hand with which he can measure the size of the universe, within which he has held all the water in the world in order to measure it’s volume, and that God has a VERY large set of scales and balances to measure all the earth’s dirt and mountains. God is omniscient. He doesn’t need instruments, not even very large ones, to measure things like volume and weight. This verse is not to be taken literally. The language is figurative.

Is scripture literally true?

Again – this is a loaded question. If I answer no, then I might be understood as claiming that scripture is false, which would not be the case at all.

Clarity is needed regarding the meaning of words like “literally”. Language can either be literal or metaphorical. This language, whether literal or metaphorical, is symbolic of things that are either true or false. Also, whether literal or figurative, this language can also symbolically point to things that are either concrete or abstract. Words like “literal”and “figurative” or “metaphorical” speak to the way language works, regardless of whether that language is speaking of things that are true/false or concrete/abstract.

N.T. Wright makes this distinction with great clarity.

“The terms ‘literal’ and ‘metaphorical’ refer, properly, to the ways words refer to things, not to the things to which the words refer. For the latter task, the appropriate words might be ‘concrete’ and ‘abstract’. The phrase ‘Plato’s theory of forms’ literally refers to an abstract entity (in fact, a doubly abstract one). The phrase ‘the greasy spoon’ refers metaphorically, and perhaps also metonymically, to a concrete entity, namely the cheap restaurant down the road. The fact that the language is being used literally or metaphorically tells us nothing, in and of itself, about the sort of entities it is referring to.” – Wright, N. T. (2003). The resurrection of the Son of God (xix). London: Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge.

Is scripture literally true? The question confuses two distinct categories. “Literally” can only describe the way the language of scripture might work to refer to things. “True” can only describe whether or not those things correspond to reality. In actuality, many places in scripture use metaphorical language to refer to that which is true.

Take the above passage from Isa 40:12. Metaphorical language is being used to describe truth. God doesn’t literally have a really big scale with which he weighs mountains. This language is figurative, not literal. But these non-literal words point to a true reality. God is big. God knows everything. God has access to a perspective that Man does not share. God is eternal. Man is temporal. This is truth. But the language used to declare this truth is not literal.

Is all scriptural literally true? No. Some scripture is metaphorically true. But this does not make those scriptures any less true as a result. It’s just a different way to use language to describe that truth.

“And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”” (Matthew 28:18–20, ESV)

The mandate is that we go and “make disciples”.

“Disciple” is a very Jewish concept. A rabbi would select a group of students who who follow him, sharing life with him over a period of time. The goal of discipleship was for the student to become like the teacher in every respect. Jesus, in commissioning us to make disciples, has given us the task of facilitating this process. I am to make disciples of Jesus. I am to facilitate a way of interacting with Jesus over time that results in followers being transformed into His image.

I’ve been exposed to two primary discipleship models during my years in church.

Model One: The Educational Model

This model seeks to fulfill the Great Commission by teaching doctrine from the Bible. The underlying assumption of this model is that our basic spiritual problem is ignorance. This can be corrected by proper instruction. If our problem is a lack of good knowledge, then more Knowledge of Good must be the solution.

Model Two: The Legal Model

This model seeks to fulfill the Great Commission by behavior modification. There are two forms of the Legal Model: Prohibitive and Prescriptive. One form emphasizes the behaviors a follower of Jesus should avoid. The second form emphasizes the behaviors a follower of Jesus should adopt. The underlying assumption of this model is that our basic spiritual problem is wrong behavior. This can be corrected by changing behavior through instruction and accountability.

Please understand – I’m not against any of the above. I prefer right doctrine to heresy. I prefer right behavior to wrong behavior. But teaching people the Bible and getting them to behave correctly, even if successful (and it’s usually not), will only serve to produce really good Pharisees. Do you remember them? They were the men in Jesus day who knew the most scripture, had the best doctrine, and who were the most diligent in avoiding bad behavior and doing good things. This is the category of people who, for the most part, resist Jesus.

Disciples are made through interacting with their rabbi over time. Any approach to discipleship that doesn’t teach people to interact with Jesus will fail to produce disciples of Jesus. We must teach people to experience His presence and hear His voice. Only revelation can produce transformation. Only beholding His glory can change us into His image.

“Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:17–18, ESV)

Want to make disciples? Teach people to hear God’s voice and experience His presence.

There are two common objections to my view.

• Objection One: A Christian is indwelt by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit cannot co-exist with demonic spirits.
• Answer: If this is true, then demonic spirits cannot exist at all. God is omnipresent. He is fully present in every place. If demons exist at all, then God co-exists with them. He really doesn’t seem too threatened.

• Objection Two: A Christian is possessed by God and therefore cannot be possessed by the devil.
• Answer: Possession is a matter of ownership, not influence. The language of demonic possession exists nowhere in the Greek within the New Testament. “Possessed by a Demon” is the English translation of a single Greek word which basically means “demonized”. It has no connotation of ownership or possession, only of presence and influence. It is therefore not contradictory at all to speak of a Christian belonging to God yet being under the influence of a demonic spirit.

Is there a biblical case that believers can be oppressed by demons? I believe there is.

1. Paul was harassed by a demonic spirit.

“So to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, a thorn was given me in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to harass me, to keep me from becoming conceited.” (2 Corinthians 12:7, ESV)

2. Paul warns believers that if they don’t respond to their own anger in healthy ways, they will open up a door in their lives to the enemy.

“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.” (Ephesians 4:26–27, ESV)

3. Peter recognized that Ananias, a believer, was operating under the influence of the devil.

“But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land?” (Acts 5:3, ESV)

4. James gives specific instructions to believers regarding how they can resist demonic oppression.

“Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” (James 4:7, ESV)

5. Peter warns believers to guard their thought life because the enemy is looking for opportunities to harass.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.” (1 Peter 5:8, ESV)

6. Paul affirms the importance of forgiveness in ensuring that we are not outwitted by the enemy. The word outwitted means “to have more”, and speaks of having influence.

“Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. Indeed, what I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ, so that we would not be outwitted by Satan; for we are not ignorant of his designs.” (2 Corinthians 2:10–11, ESV)

7. Paul instructs believers in regards to spiritual warfare, using the metaphor of wrestling. He thus likens our spiritual battle with demonic forces to hand to hand combat. The implication is that if we don’t engage in battle in the right ways, we won’t stand against him. Instead of us pinning the enemy down, he will exercise dominion over us.

“Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” (Ephesians 6:11–12, ESV)

8. Israel’s entrance into and possession of the Promised Land serves for us as a type and shadow. Though the land was theirs by inheritance, it was nevertheless still occupied by their enemies. Crossing the Jordan did not result in immediate expulsion of their enemies. Israel had to, by faith and obedience, take possession of their inheritance through a process over time.
“The LORD your God will clear away these nations before you little by little. You may not make an end of them at once, lest the wild beasts grow too numerous for you.” (Deuteronomy 7:22, ESV)

“I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the wild beasts multiply against you.” (Exodus 23:29, ESV)

Spiritual warfare is a very real thing. Christians need to be aware of the battle and actively engage in the battle for the enemy is always looking for an opportunity to gain influence in our lives. But maintaining a posture of surrender toward God, staying alert regarding the enemy’s schemes, and exercising the authority we have in Jesus’ name, we can be assured of victory.

I’ve read this familiar verse all my life. Each time, I’ve understood the writer of Hebrews to be saying that faith is what pleases God. If I can’t please God without faith, then faith must be the thing that pleases Him. If I’m struggling with unbelief, He must not be pleased with me.

This week I saw this verse in a whole new light.

There are actually two parallel statements in this verse.

1. Without faith I can’t please God.
2. I will draw near to God if I believe He exists and that He is good.

These are both contingent statements, in that they both express an “if, then” reality. The first statement expresses this negatively: if not this, then not that. If I don’t have faith I can’t please God. The second statement is expressed positively, but the “then” is placed before the if. If we express both of the statements using the same form, positively with the “if” preceding the “then”, they look like this.

1. If I have faith, then I will please God.
2. If I believe God exists and is good, I will draw near to God.

Note that the “if” of both statements is essentially the same. Believing that God exists and that God is good is simply a more specific way to express the idea of faith. What is the result of this faith? What is the “then” that will follow once the conditional “if” is satisfied?”

Answer: I will please God. I will draw near to God.

This verse doesn’t teach us that faith pleases God. It teaches us that what pleases God is when I draw near to Him. Faith is simply the necessary condition. If I don’t have faith, if I don’t believe that God is good and responsive, if I don’t believe that God is a rewarder of those who seek Him, then I won’t draw near. Me keeping my distance from God doesn’t please God. Drawing near to God is what pleases God.

Let’s draw near!

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