Life Meets Doctrine

I had the immense blessing of attending a one-day conference this past Saturday (Octber 4, 2008) at Omaha Bible Church.  They hosted Don Carson who spoke on the subject of “Making Sense of Suffering.”  What he shared was incredibly helpful.  It was helpful because he remained faithful to Scripture.  He didn’t stick labels on things, and he didn’t worry about staying in boxes.  He just shared the Scriptures.  It was also helpful because he seemed to take multiple pieces of the suffering-puzzle and actually put them together.  I would highly recommend listening to the audio.  Here it is: Part 1, Part 2, Part 3.  And here are a few notes I jotted down.

To make sense of suffering we need to establish 6 pillars upon which the foundation of “making sense of suffering” would be placed.  These 6 pillars are not the end-all, be-all of understanding suffering, but they are absolutely essential.

1.  Insight from the beginning of the Bible’s storyline, especially Creation and the Fall.  You absolutely must listen to the audio on this (in Part 1).  The tag line sounds way to mean if you don’t hear the audio.  Put simply: God doesn’t owe us anything; we are a damned breed, by nature and by choice.

SCRIPTURE NOTES: From Genesis 3: The serpent was made by God. Genesis 3:1: Now the serpent was more crafty than any other beast of the field that the LORD God had made.  Furthermore, the first doctrine that was attacked by the serpent was the doctrine of judgment.  (I had never thought of this!)  Genesis 3:4: But the serpent said to the woman, “You will not surely die.”  This directly denies that judgment God had given them.

2.  Insights from the end of the Bible’s storyline.  Here (on earth, in this age) there is no utopia.  When considering suffering, often our horizons are just too small and too earthly.  In this part, Carson particularly recommended CS Lewis’ Learning in Wartime (pdf).

3.  Insights from the place of “innocent” suffering.  The focus here was Job.  Simply put: often we do not see the justice of our suffering.

SCRIPTURE NOTES: After God’s rebuke of Job, Job’s response is not just that he learned something more.  Job’s response was completed by repentance.  Job 42:6: Therefore I despise myself, and repent in dust and ashes.  Furthermore, Carson said that Job 42 (the last chapter in Job) is the OT version of Revelation – that, in the end, God does triumph.  In the end everything is not up for grabs.  In the end God’s mercy and kindness triumphs.  The righteous are restored.  Justice is served.

4.  Insights from the “mystery of providence.”  Or in other words, God is fully and utterly sovereign, yet not in a way that mitigates human responsibility…and…humans are significant and responsible in their actions, yet not in a way that mitigates God’s full sovereignty.  This section was mind-blowing as Carson walked us through three texts that highlight this paradox.

SCRIPTURE NOTES: Isaiah 10:5-15 was remarkable.  To paraphrase Carson’s response to this text: “God stands behind both good and evil.  But he stands behind them differently.  He stands behind good in such a way that it is traceable back to Him for His glory.  He stands behind evil in such a way that it never escapes the bounds of his sovereignty, but he is not responsible for it; instead the secondary causes (such as Assyria in Isaiah 10) are responsible for it.”  He then said he has always thought that sure sounds convenient for God, but that is how God has revealed himself, whether Don Carson likes it or not.

OTHER SCRIPTURE NOTES: Genesis 50:19-21: Both God and the brothers of Joseph intended the same thing.  Acts 4:27-28: The crucifixion of Jesus was both predestined by God and responsibly carried out by the rulers and murderers who did it with their own hands.

5.  Insights from the centrality of the incarnation, cross, and resurrection.  In short, read Romans 8:31-32.

6.  Insights from what it means to take up our cross, and, thus, from the persecuted global church.  I left this part thinking, “Wow, I neglect and forget my brothers’ and sisters’ triumph of faith when I consider my trivial sufferings and headaches and slow drivers.”  In this section, Carson particularly recommended Killing Fields, Living Fields by Don Cormack.

Carson closed by reminding us that these truths are primarily pre-emptive.  They would be dangerous and even hurtful or painful if they are thrown at a person in the middle of their tragic suffering.  The time for sharing these truths must be discerned well.  Other times, it best to simply “weep with those who weep” (Romans 12:15).