Bonus Content from February 28th, 2021

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An Apology

First, I’d like to apologize! On Sunday, I used a graphically violent example of a double murder from 1984 to raise the question about the morality (or not) of Abraham’s willingness to kill his son at what he believed was God’s command. On further reflection, if such an example needed to be shared, I should have provided a warning so that (e.g.) those with existing trauma and parents of young kids could be prepared. I am very sorry that I did not do that.

Two Questions

There were two questions texted in this week:

Is there a name for the doctrinal position you mentioned (the unconditional/conditional/non-compelled obedience)?

As a refresher, here’s what I said in the sermon:

“God is absolutely able to unconditionally guarantee conditional obedience without compelling any of us to act against our will. So:

  • When his promises contain conditions, they are real conditions, and they must be met in order to receive the blessings promised.

  • But in some cases, He chooses to unconditionally guarantee that His people will meet the conditions and therefore inherit the promises.

  • And – He does so in such a way that we remain truly free as we do meet the conditions!

That position is sometimes called “compatibilism” or “soft determinism.”

“Soft determinism” is to be distinguished from what we might call “hard indeterminism” (God lacks the power to guarantee obedience), “soft indeterminism” (God merely foresees whether we will meet the conditions), and “hard determinism” (God forces us to act against our wills).

What is the significance for us today of God providing a ram in the thicket instead of a lamb?

God calls Abraham a prophet (Gen. 20:7). As such, we expect Abraham’s predictions to come true (Deut. 18:22). So if Abraham prophesies a lamb, but by the end of the chapter, there is still no lamb, then the lamb must be yet to come!

In the end, the ram turns out to be only a partial fulfillment of Abraham’s prophecy, with the fuller fulfillment coming in Christ, “the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”

Here is a simple song based on this passage that still moves me to tears more than two decades after I heard it for the first time at an EFCA youth conference while in high school.