I was listening to this message by John Piper on John Calvin given in 1997. He began his talk by reading the passage in Exodus 3:14-15 where God declares Himself to Moses to emphasize the necessity for declaring the supremacy of God. The following (emphasis mine) stood out so strongly to me.
“One who never had a beginning but always was and is and will be, defines all things. Whether we want Him to be there or not, He's there. We don't negotiate with Him for what we want reality to be. The arrogance of man! Oh, the way God is talked about! The arrogance of human beings as if we can negotiate the kind of God we get! When we come into existence, we stand before God who made us. He owns us. We had absolutely no choice in this. You have absolutely no choice in whether you come into being and stand before God and reckon with God. No ranting, no raving, no sophisticated doubt or skepticism has any effect on the existence of God. He simply and absolutely is. 'Tell them, I am has sent thee. ' If we don't like it, we can change for our joy or we can resist to our destruction. One thing remains absolutely unassailed - God is. He just is. You have to reckon with Him or die. There is no choice.”
How common this arrogance is today! We expect it in people who do not profess to believe in Jesus Christ at all but how much worse it is for Christians to pick and choose the attributes that we like in God. We like "God is love" but we don't like "God, the righteous judge". We like "God as giver of grace" but we don't like the God who calls us to repentance saying "Be ye holy as I am holy." We end up making a god in our image. Meanwhile we elevate ourselves into a god-like position and worship an idol based on our likes and dislikes and slap the name of "god" on it.
What has happened?! What has happened to having a holy fear of God in reverence and love?! I have to confess that this attitude makes me angry, hopefully in righteous indignation. It makes me want to weep before God at this disrespect to His holiness and character. Lord, search out that kind of arrogance in my own heart. Where am I viewing You with the faulty lens of self and distorting who You are rather than humbling myself as the creature to God, the Almighty Creator?
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? (Malachi 1:6)
“One who never had a beginning but always was and is and will be, defines all things. Whether we want Him to be there or not, He's there. We don't negotiate with Him for what we want reality to be. The arrogance of man! Oh, the way God is talked about! The arrogance of human beings as if we can negotiate the kind of God we get! When we come into existence, we stand before God who made us. He owns us. We had absolutely no choice in this. You have absolutely no choice in whether you come into being and stand before God and reckon with God. No ranting, no raving, no sophisticated doubt or skepticism has any effect on the existence of God. He simply and absolutely is. 'Tell them, I am has sent thee. ' If we don't like it, we can change for our joy or we can resist to our destruction. One thing remains absolutely unassailed - God is. He just is. You have to reckon with Him or die. There is no choice.”
How common this arrogance is today! We expect it in people who do not profess to believe in Jesus Christ at all but how much worse it is for Christians to pick and choose the attributes that we like in God. We like "God is love" but we don't like "God, the righteous judge". We like "God as giver of grace" but we don't like the God who calls us to repentance saying "Be ye holy as I am holy." We end up making a god in our image. Meanwhile we elevate ourselves into a god-like position and worship an idol based on our likes and dislikes and slap the name of "god" on it.
What has happened?! What has happened to having a holy fear of God in reverence and love?! I have to confess that this attitude makes me angry, hopefully in righteous indignation. It makes me want to weep before God at this disrespect to His holiness and character. Lord, search out that kind of arrogance in my own heart. Where am I viewing You with the faulty lens of self and distorting who You are rather than humbling myself as the creature to God, the Almighty Creator?
A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? and if I be a master, where is my fear? saith the LORD of hosts unto you, O priests, that despise my name. And ye say, Wherein have we despised thy name? (Malachi 1:6)
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