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What the Bible says about Gift of God's Calling
(From Forerunner Commentary)

Psalm 31:24

It may sound impossible, but we can have hope in the face of the monumental problems facing, not just the United States, but also the entire world. Our hope is not physical, for no place exists on earth where we can run and expect to find an island of peace and hope.

Mankind's problems are endless and insurmountable. They are also complex, requiring wisdom and power to execute solutions that are beyond what any man possesses. Vain men keep attempting to convince others that they have the solutions, but we know innately and from history that they will fail. More wars and further economic collapses will come. God has willed that Christians must pass through these perilous times with the world.

Christians can have hope for three major reasons: First, God has forgiven our sins, so even death should hold no terror for us. Second, we have God's unbreakable promise to send Jesus Christ and establish His Kingdom on earth. Third, because of God's calling, we believe His Word and have the indwelling of His Spirit to guide and empower us through whatever comes along.

But why are God's promises of good delayed in times like this, when every culture on earth is breaking down, and sheer terror may soon confront us? Does not Proverbs 13:12 read, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick"? It is easy for a person with a frustrated, anxious spirit, troubled from observing mankind's violence and greed, to become weary of constant discouragement. In fact, Revelation 6:10 envisions saints crying out from their graves, "How long, O Lord, holy and true, until You judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on earth?"

Hope is generally defined as "an expectation of good in spite of the obvious presence of multiple obstacles to a positive outcome." Some equate it with a wish, but biblical hope is far more. A wish is merely "a desire for a particular end," and one can be made when absolutely no valid reason for the desired outcome exists. It can be a mindless, unreasonable fantasy with no solid basis, nothing more than a senseless, exaggerated drift of thought beyond honest logic.

In Psalm 42:5, David provides counsel: "Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him for the help of His countenance" (see verse 11; Psalm 43:5). His advice points to the difference between biblical hope and a wish. Real hope is anchored in the unfailing character and power of Almighty God, not in a mere whim of a careless mind. It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18); He does not change (Malachi 3:6; Hebrews 13:8).

In I Corinthians 13:13, hope is listed along with faith and love as three of the greatest virtues a Christian can have as part of his character. Because of the ever-present reasons for despair, we can presume that hope is a necessity of Christian life. Hebrews 6:18-19 tells us to "lay hold of the hope set before us," and that hope in God's promises is "an anchor of the soul, both sure and steadfast." Thus, when we have hope in God, it can truly dispel our fears of falling into frustration and despair.

God often delays answering and/or providing things that, based on His Word, we have justifiable hope to receive. We have the example of David, who prayed in such a circumstance: "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, and from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; and in the night season, and am not silent" (Psalm 22:1-2). We are by no means equal to David, yet have we not all been in such a circumstance? David's prayer reveals his strong sense of urgency as he endured his trial. However, we also know that his trust did not break; he persevered through it. Psalm 22:19-21 shows that God eventually answered David.

David's hope—his internal attitude—remained steadfast because it was anchored in the pure and unchanging character of God and His promises—the ground or reason for his expectation of good. Did God answer because David totally deserved to be answered? No, He answered because He is the merciful God and because David, as part of His purpose, was being prepared for what lies ahead.

In this lies the answer as to why God withholds the good. He is in no way being mean, thoughtlessly unaware, or distracted by other events. As Creator, He knows far better than we can even begin to imagine what each individual within His purpose needs to fit precisely into His creation. Does the created thing know his exact place in God's plan? Does he know exactly what qualities he needs to develop? God knows, and even He needs time to develop them.

The charge for us, then, is twofold: To avoid mere vain wishing, we must make sure our reasons for hope are firmly anchored in God Himself and His words of promise to His children. Then, with that solid foundation, let hope arise within to motivate the working out of our salvation. This gives evidence that our faith, hope, and love, functioning together, are glorifying God.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Why Is Hope Delayed?

Ecclesiastes 3:10-15

Among the mysteries that everybody must face is “Who am I?” and “Why am I here?” Another version of those questions is “Why was I born?” A partial but probably unsatisfying answer is that, unless God calls and reveals Himself to a person, he will never find the clear, detailed answer. Thus, Solomon states in verse 11, “No one can find out the work that God does from beginning to end.” So that the called, those to whom God has revealed Himself, are thoroughly convinced of the great gift God has given them, a fuller version of this declaration appears in Ecclesiastes 8:17:

Then I saw all the work of God, that a man cannot find out the work that is done under the sun. For though a man labors to discover it, yet he will not find it; moreover, though a wise man attempts to know it, he will not be able to find it.

God undoubtedly planned much of this blindness. This does not mean that people will never hear the answer to “Why was I born?” in their lifetimes. But unless God is directly involved in calling them for His purposes, their hearing the simple and plain truth of it will not have the life-changing impact needed to change the direction of their lives. A person must be gifted by His calling (Matthew 13:10-17).

God has given everyone a spirit and a sense of eternity, enabling people to think both backward and forward in time. Men innately know that there is more to life than what they experience physically. However, they do not grasp the precise connection between their awareness of eternity and their present physical lives. They do, however, vaguely grasp that somehow the immortality they envision has some connection with what they are experiencing in the present. However, this is greatly botched, and misunderstanding is universal. The most common assumption is that we already possess it. But, if linked with revealed truth as God intended, it greatly aids people in thinking about the past concerning God's creative powers, His purpose, His sovereignty over all things, and how the individual fits into the present and future.

God has given gifts to all humanity, but only those called by Him are given more detailed and true explanations that will build their faith, enabling them to live by it. Unless God gives the details, we are all much like terribly near-sighted people who more or less feel their way along. Until they are called, the grand design that God is working out escapes their fuller comprehension, making the answer about who we are elusive.

The instruction in Ecclesiastes 3:10-15 encourages us to be content and patient. It is a reflection on and a reminder of the importance of what He already said about gifts in Ecclesiastes 2:24-26. We should be thankful and rejoice in what we already have because what we have is wonderful. Without directly stating a clear “why,” Solomon gently implies that God will add understanding as we are able to make good use of it.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Ecclesiastes and Christian Living (Part Four): Other Gifts

John 1:13

"Not of blood" refers to the fact that there is no physical generation process by which we can become sons of God.

"Nor of the will of the flesh" indicates that we were not looking for God—we did not know what to look for. We knew about a lot about gods ("there are many gods," Paul says in I Corinthians 8:5), but we did not know what the God of the Bible was like. That is what we have to come to know. That is where eternal life resides—in knowing God (John 17:3). We did not know Him.

We did not know Him because we did not know what to look for. Even though we may have been searching for "God," we were not really searching for the God of the Bible, as we had no idea what to look for. We would never have looked for a God who commanded the keeping of the Sabbath or the holy days. Those are "Jewish." Our minds have been prejudiced in many different directions. We never would have looked for the God of the Bible.

John is showing it in another way—that we were not born by physical generation. We did not come to know God through any act of our own will, but rather it was something that came as a gift from God entirely.

John W. Ritenbaugh
John (Part Three)

1 Peter 1:2

Peter's words are intended, not merely to instruct, but also to encourage. We listen to God's Word because God Almighty Himself personally chose us to do so. That needs to sink into our brains and become part of how we operate our lives. We are the chosen of God, elect according to His foreknowledge. That is, before we ever knew of the true God, He was watching us. He was monitoring us and waiting for the opportunity that, at just the right time, He would reveal Himself to us in just the right circumstance, just the right environment to give us the best opportunity to respond to the truth.

We can expand this process out to include the whole church. The church exists because God willed it so. The church does not exist because of human goodness, hopes, aspirations, vision, or dreams. It exists because of the eternal purpose of God, which is both a tremendous honor and responsibility.

God, working through His Spirit (notice, "in sanctification of the Spirit"), sets us apart, consecrates us, or makes us fit for His calling. God is a creator. That fact is what Peter explains here. His calling is the first step to prepare us to inherit His Kingdom. We should not limit the calling just to the initial time that He entered our lives, and we began to understand. His calling ultimately includes the whole process.

Peter states the goal He has in mind as "obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ." It is the Spirit of God that makes the calling of God effective. It is a singular act, but at some time in our lives, He "messed with" our brain—He turned the light on—and we began to respond. He did this as a singular act at a specific time, but His calling is also a process that begins with that initial act and ends with resurrection into His Family. The sanctification of the Spirit of God ties all of it together.

The initial act by God opens our mind, which is the beginning of sanctification. It is like being given a second start, which Paul calls "regeneration" (Titus 3:5). Then comes the sanctification that arises with growth, overcoming, and becoming more like God. Finally, there is glorification, which is the ultimate in sanctification. The whole process is encompassed by the calling of God, and the Spirit of God ties all of these steps together.

John W. Ritenbaugh
Truth (Part 3)


 




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