Friday, April 20, 2007

The Beautiful Faith of Fearless Submission

Over on the Desiring God website they have a new sermon with the above title. You can watch an excerpt here. Pastor John Piper talks about the essence of the Christian woman: Hope In God. It is good and very challenging. It strikes right at the fearful heart and admonishes us to trust God in our suffering. When I think of all the women that I admire I see they share this very trait. They are not afraid of suffering.

My aunt told a true story about a young woman who was about to give birth. Her husband informed her that she did not have to worry about pain in childbirth because now that Christ had become a curse for us she would not have to bear the curse of pain. Needless to say this young woman soon learned the truth!

I think this is not much different than what many people are teaching these days. They may not be so bold as to say there will be no pain in childbirth, but they do say if we have enough faith then we will not suffer in this age. This type of teaching is totally contrary to the Word of God.

This faith, that we are told to have, is not a faith in a certain outcome to our situation; but it is faith in God's wisdom and goodness. It is faith in the God revealed in Scripture. A God who is faithful to all his promises. It is faith in the truth revealed about our God found in scriptures like, "the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases." Our faith is in God, not what we think would be a good solution. It is a faith that stands firm even in the midst of suffering. It is firm because God never changes, "he is the same yesterday, today, and forever!" Our circumstances change, but God does not.

In John Milton's Paradise Lost, satan says that he will make a heaven out of hell. I think this is precisely what these false teachers are leading people to do these days. They want people to deny the reality that we live in a cursed, sin-sick world that is passing away (praise God!). They want us to believe we already have attained our inheritance reserved for us in the age to come. This is not what Scripture teaches. Yes this world is filled with beauty and good things, but it is not our desired haven. We are seeking a city not built with human hands.

So, as women let us grow in beauty as we hope in our faithful God. May we set our eyes on Christ the author and finisher of our faith who for the joy set before him endured the cross. Let us not be pulled into false teaching that says if we believe enough this life will be pain free. Rather let us remember that when we suffer we are fellowshipping in Christ's sufferings and our present sufferings are not worth comparing to the glory that will be revealed.

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