Dateline: 27 March 2014
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| Voddie Baucham (I really like this guy) |
I have been listening to some YouTube clips of pastor Voddie Baucham, and I've come to really appreciate this man's teaching.
One particularly good talk I listened to is, Speaking on Manhood. If you have daughters that are getting up near marrying age, you may want to have them listen to his advice for them in that talk.
Voddie Baucham is one of the only preachers I've ever heard who will take on the cult (my word) of modern sports. (I gave my opinion of modern sports in This Past Essay)
On another subject, in one of his YouTube clips Pastor Baucham said something that grabbed my attention He said that when God created Adam, and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it (before the fall), Adam was the perfect man in the perfect place. That's worth pondering.
One of the shortest and best Voddie Baucham YouTube clips I've seen is of him answering the question: If God is so powerful and so good, why do bad things happen? The 5-minute excerpt (posted below) is well worth listening to if you have ever wondered the same thing.
The answer he gives is, I believe, theologically spot-on. But I don't think it will satisfy most people. That's because, as Pastor Baucham says, most people "judge God based on how He carries out their agenda for the world."
Most people who listen to what he says will simply not accept (or even understand) it, because most people have a man-centered worldview, not a God-centered worldview.
Bearing that in mind, I recently read a definition of reality that I liked…. Reality is looking at the world the way God looks at it.
God is the creator of reality, seen and unseen (by human eyes). He defines reality. And most people do not properly deal with reality because they either refuse to, or are unable to, see it.
God is the creator of reality, seen and unseen (by human eyes). He defines reality. And most people do not properly deal with reality because they either refuse to, or are unable to, see it.
Well, anyway, here is Voddie Baucham… talking about reality:
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8 comments:
I like Mr. Baucham as well, and look forward to hearing him at our homeschool convention this year.
I have heard it said by others, especially those with Ray Comort's ministry say the answer to the question "why does God let bad things happen to good people," is that there simply are no good people! Anything bad that comes our way, is no where near as bad as what we deserve, so when bad things happen to us, we really shouldn't blame God but ourselves.
Graham
One of the greatest gifts God gives us is the freedom to choose our actions. We will be judged on what we do in this life. And we have the gift of repentance to wipe the slate clean through the power and grace of the Savior Jesus Christ. Many misuse their freedom and choose evil, hurting others in the process. God allows that to happen so he can righteously judge each individuals choices. If he intervened and prevented evil he would actually take away from someones freedom to choose. We are here on earth to be tested, sort of away from our Heavenly Home at Boarding School, to see if we'll exercise faith and do all that the Lord God commands us. We live in a fallen world subject to pain, sickness, and death, the consequences of our own choices as well as the consequences of others choices. But we can make it through this vale of tears by relying on our faith in Jesus Christ and His power to save.
When working at a Christian High school years ago, a friend of mine was discussing God with some of the students in her class. One boy came right out and said that he couldn't believe God would actually "send anyone to Hell". My friend just commented casually that she was surprised that God would actually save anyone. The room was silent for a moment! The answer to how people can still worship a God who allows sickness, death and sorrow is that everything we have is totally by grace alone. We have no "entitlement" to anything. Every day, every moment is a gift from God.
Not to reject outright Baucham's position, but it seems an obvious objection is that his view presupposes the Fall; and if God is absolutely sovereign, as Baucham asserts, then why the Fall in the first place? Was God unable to prevent it? Then he is not completely sovereign. Was God able to prevent it? Then he is not completely good. I think there is a sound biblical response to this apparent dilemma, but it is a dilemma that needs to be addressed.
Thanks for the great comments everyone.
Graham—
That ought to be a good homeschool convention. I used to enjoy going to homeschool conventions to hear the speakers years ago.
Tom—
I tend to think what Voddie Baucham says addresses the apparent dilemma you've expressed. It's kind of like the trick question: Can God make a rock so big that he can't move it? I think God spoke the earth into existence. I think he laughs at created beings who question His existence, or His goodness, or His sovereignty. I fear God too much to get tangled in the knot of human logic and reason. I prefer to focus on God's mercy and grace.
By the way, here's another excellent short clip of Voddie Baucham that is well worth watching: "Sissified Needy Jesus?
Tom -
I have wrestled with these kind of thoughts, but realized that I was often caught up with trying to force God through a human filter. We cannot presuppose that things that we do not consider "good" or "nice" are outside of God's "allowable" acts. As a Sovereign, He is right to do whatever He wishes; He is not obligated to make me happy, nor is He obligated to explain Himself. My life changed for the better when I began to try to embrace this fact.
Herrick,
Thanks again for another great post ... and thank you for supporting God-centered, gospel preachers like Brother Baucham who take bold, thoughtful, and Biblical stands.
Yours,
Pa Mac
Thank you for posting this. I had never seen Voddie Baucham before. Awesome, right to the truth, and he gets your attention by making you laugh and then touching your heart.
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