Thoughts from a Central Valley Pastor

Month: February 2021

Growing Through Trials

The following article is excerpted from Dr. Swartz’s book: Strength in the River: A Biographical Theology of Suffering (Kress Biblical Publications)

It was time. Well aware of His coming arrest and crucifixion, Jesus walked willingly to His ultimate mission. Just before His arrest, Jesus went to the Garden of Gethsemane with some of his disciples. He told them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watchwith me.”He went on and fell on his face and prayed: “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will” (Matt 26:38-39).

He knew that in just hours He would be nailed to a cross to die a slow, cruel death to pay for the sins of humanity. He knew that He would bear the full weight of God’s righteous fury against sin.

Jesus, Son of God, fully God and fully man, was now in the midst of a raging river of emotional anguish in growing anticipation of the unimaginable suffering that was before Him. What did He do in His time of deep suffering? He prayed this beautifully submissive prayer. 

The Bible helps us understand the vastness of God’s sovereignty, that God’s plan includes whatever is happening right now. God’s plan can include some trial or pain that you do not want to face or something that you will inevitably face. But God’s sovereignty is endless, as proven in Isaiah 45:7, “I form light and create darkness, I make well-being and create calamity, I am the LORD, who does all these things.” 

This is precisely the situation of Jesus: He is faced with the culmination of the Father’s plan for Him on earth—death by crucifixion—and He prays this simple prayer. Jesus was filled with sorrow and dread, yet He never sinned or stopped trusting God. The sinless Son of God is truly our best example of having strength in the river of suffering and our best example of being submissive to whatever God brings. How can we follow in His footsteps and peacefully accept the plan of God? We need to accept God’s plan with resolution, humility, and reverence

First, accepting God’s plan is done with resolution. It is a decision, a choice, a moment in time when you take a vote within yourself to please the Lord and say, “Yes, Lord, I accept whatever You bring.” Jesus resolved to accept God’s plan. In prayer, it was now time to plead with the Lord that if there was any other way to accomplish the task of redemption, now would be a great time for His Father to jump in, because His arrest was only minutes away! But time was up. The Father was silent. Jesus laid down His will in surrender and submission, making an official resolution: “Not as I will, but as you will.” 

Second , we need to accept God’s plan with humility. Jesus said, “If it be possible, let this cup pass from me.” In the Old Testament, the “cup” often alluded to suffering and the wrath of God. Psalm 11:6, for example, says “Let him rain coals on the wicked; fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup” (Ps 11:6). In order to die, Jesus would have to endure suffering—not just physical suffering but also spiritual suffering as payment for our sin. About to face this unimaginable pain, Jesus was experiencing a very natural desire to shrink back from His task, so He asked His Father if perhaps there was another way that this pain could be avoided.  His prayer is offered with great respect and deference, making no demands of God. Jesus prays, “If it be possible.” He doesn’t claim deliverance from God, but instead makes a request in modest humility. There is tremendous joy and peace in humbling yourself before the Lord, glorifying Him and placing yourself in His hands.

Third, we need to accept God’s plan with reverence. The final petition of Jesus’ prayer is that the Father would accomplish His own will. This is the pattern of Jesus’ entire life, “I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me” (John 8:28). Jesus willingly subjugated Himself to the will of His Father. 

This is a whole new level of reverence to the Lord! We might pray, “Lord, not what I will but what You will,” but how often is this really just code language for, “Oh, please do it my way, but if You must do it Your way then I guess I’ll deal with it,” as if God’s will, though painful, is not the best option? His plan needs to be carried out, even if this plan includes you standing in a raging river of suffering. Reverence says, “God, I not only accept Your will, but I pray deeply and earnestly that Your will is carried out. Your will is always best, and if this river is Your will, then please give me the grace to rejoice in it.”

All four gospels are surprisingly brief and to the point about the crucifixion of Christ. All four simply say, “They crucified him.” Jesus endured the wrath of God on the cross, and when the debt had been paid, He declared, “It is finished.” When all that was left to do was to actually die (unlike the typical death of a crucified victim, in which breathing becomes impossible) Luke’s gospel tells us, “Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, ‘Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.’” Matthew says, “Jesus cried out with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit.” Mark says, “Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.” Jesus took a deep breath, cried out in victory, and died on purpose.

How was He able to do this? He submitted willingly to the plan of God. When you, too, are standing in the torrent of the river of suffering, submit and receive the power to endure, and the same strength given to Christ will be yours as well.

Dr. Steve Swartz is the Senior Pastor at Grace Bible Church of Bakersfield. You can write him at steves@gbcob.org.

The Antidote for Racism

Racism has no place in the Church or in society. The Bible tells us God hates it and so should we. If more people understood this I believe our society would be able to find a way to recover from our troubled past. The solution can only be found in the Good News of Jesus Christ because it humbles everyone equally. If the Church does not clearly communicate the solution to racism then society will create its own solutions, which will be defined by humans, instead of being defined by God. 

The modern definition of racism addresses the issue differently than the Bible. The Oxford dictionary explains it as, “The belief that different races possess distinct characteristics, abilities, or qualities, especially so as to distinguish them as inferior or superior to one another.” Instead of viewing a person in relation to how God values them, a racist person views others according to his or her own value system. The Bible defines this as the sin of pride. Racism can arise out of pride because someone views themselves as superior to another group. Most would agree that this is wrong. Yet there is another aspect of racism that the Bible would also define as sin. Racism can also lead to a sinful response because people who experience racism against themselves are often unable to stop being vengefully angry at the other group. The Bible defines both pride and anger as sins that need to be dealt with. 

God’s word does not mention racism, but it clearly leaves no room for any professing Christian to foster hatred towards another human being, whether from pride or anger. Jesus Christ cut to the heart of the issue in the Sermon on the Mount, “You have heard it said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment, whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22 ESV) 

God’s solution for dealing with racism is the same as it is for every sin. Each person must confess their sin and see it the same way God does. They must repent of it and call out to God to forgive them. They must trust that the only way for their sin to be forgiven is by Jesus Christ dying on the cross and rising from the dead. They must commit to living a life of love by the power of the Holy Spirit for the glory of God the Father!

One of the most difficult aspects of dealing with racism in any society is that it arises from the human tendency to judge others by how they look. One of the reasons Adam and Eve were tempted to eat the forbidden fruit was because they judged it to be “pleasing to the eyes.” Racism does the opposite. It judges someone as “not pleasing to the eyes.” This is often done for something as superficial as the color of their skin. 

In order for Christians to deal with racism we have to train ourselves to see others the way God does. God sees past someone’s physical form to the heart of the person. 1 Samuel 16:7 says, “For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.” We have to constantly remind ourselves that human life has value because every person is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:27). Each person has a body, mind, and soul, which makes it possible for them to reflect God’s sense of morality, justice, creativity, and beauty. This is true even though we live in a fallen world (Genesis 9:6). All human life has value regardless of how someone chooses to live. 

The Bible gives a wonderful solution for overcoming the poison of racism. It is agape love. Agape love is the supernatural love of God that was shown to humanity in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. This kind of love is the antidote for racism because it replaces pride and anger with selfless, unconditional love. A Christian can not see himself as superior to others when he is humbled by the gospel. A Christian can not remain angry at others when he realizes that his anger is one reason why Christ died on the cross. A Christian can not be racist if he has 1 Corinthians 13 coursing through his veins, ““Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” 

The truth about racism is that God’s love and God’s love alone is powerful enough to overcome it. God’s love and God’s love alone can bring healing to those who have suffered from it. And it is God’s love and God’s love alone that can bring the proud person to a place of humility and repentance.