Tonight in team time we talked about Acts, specifically the story of the tax collector who disobeyed God then was killed, this is the story of Ananias and Sapphira found in Acts 5:1-11. More specifically how this story wasn’t the first. This happened in Leviticus as well in the story of Nadab and Abihu in Leviticus 10 when two priests disrespected God and were killed. The question that sparked my thoughts I’m about to share was this:
How does the death of the old testament priests in the temple and the death of the new testament believers as the temple affect your perspective of yourself as the mobile temple of God? Secondly, how are you pursuing wisdom through the fear of the lord? In proverbs 9:10 it says that the fear of the lord is the beginning of wisdom.
What first stood out to me was 1) the repetition and 2)the severity/harshness of the story.
I think there is such a difference in christianity generationally. Older generations tend to lean more conservative, more focused on the fear of God, his wrath, his laws and commands, generally more “old testament” if you will. Younger generations tend to focus on the freedom we have in Christ, that He is Love, grace upon grace…all more “new testament”.
BOTH are true.
Gods wrath is powerful, and we should be fearful.
He does have commands that we should honor and obey.
We do have ultimate freedom within His love and sacrifice.
God is love.
He has and always will continue to give us grace beyond what we deserve.
He is not one or the other.
The deaths that we see repeat from the old to the new testament show that God is the same God in the new testament as he is in the old. He is constant and steady. Who he is has not (and will not) change.
The revival that is happening within younger generations is powerful and beautiful and Holy Spirit fire-filled. People need to recognize God is not just the commands, consequences, and religion that many have been taught to believe or raised to perceive. People need to see that God is love, he is a relationship we so desperately need to taste REAL FREEDOM, REAL LOVE, AND REAL GOODNESS. However this generational Christianity cannot be so black and white. We need to seek a balance between these two. God is the perfect balance of love and just. Of grace and of righteousness. Of forgiveness and not of condoning.
The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion, and sin. Yet he does not leave the guilty unpunished; he punishes the children and their children for the sin of the parents to the third and fourth generation.
Exodus 34:6-7
We can keep preaching that God is love and grace and freedom and forgiveness, because he is, but we cannot simply stop there. He is just. He is righteous. He is powerful and we need to recognize that out of reverence to him and awareness of consequences to disobedience.
Although he is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in love and faithfulness, he also is just and does punish. He is THE perfect balance of BOTH. Not one or the other. Not love or just. Not black or white. Not right or left. BOTH.
Now, as a semi-perfectionist and over-thinker myself, this hurts my mind trying to grasp this concept. How can this balance exit? How can he be a forgiving God who seeks a loving relationship with us if he kills those who disobey him? How can he be compassionate and still punish? How can be perfect love and perfect righteousness?
A lot of days it logically doesn’t make sense in my head. But I think thats just the point…”in my head”. Our imperfect, sinful, selfish, and rather small human minds cannot fully grasp all of who God is. Somedays my brain explodes after running at high speed trying to comprehend this (among many other questions and topics that I don’t think we will fully understand until we are one day sitting at his right hand and able to ask him everything) and then it happens. That’s the moment where I am met with his peace that passes understanding…literally.
I think it makes my faith stronger, my view of who God is bigger, and my awe of him greater when I realize I cannot fully comprehend every thing about him. I cannot simply understand everything. I can’t answer all the questions. He is so much bigger than us. Isn’t that a relief? There is something, someone, an all-powerful Mighty King who is so much more complex than us. Thank God we can’t put him a box. Thank God he is not love or just. He is both. He is the perfect balance. He is the same constant Lord from Genesis all the way though to Revelation all the way to now. He doesn’t change. We won’t ever change. We have time to try to comprehend. He allows us to doubt, because we have the time to ask questions that will lead to greater understanding. We won’t understand it all. But praise the Lord we can’t. May you and I both continue to wrestle with our confusion, clouded minds, anxieties and may we learn to love the Lord with the reverence and awe that he so deserves.
**I highly higly reccomend the book “God Has a Name” by John Mark Comer. He dives into this Exodus scripture in such a powerful way!**
