The raven has entered the Areopagus. He came a rapping on my chamber door yesterday, and has perched upon a bust of Elvis atop my bookcase.

One of my very best friends died yesterday. Not an acquaintance, not a friend loitering in the narthex of my life, not even one in my inner circle, but one of my most trusted, beloved, and truest friends and confidants; a core friend, you might say. I received the news late upon arriving home. It was unexpected, yet expected. I had visited her at the hospital a couple of times this past year. We were hoping that her condition would improve–and it seemed it just might–but the bad news came just the same yesterday.

How do you avoid cliches at times such as these? I trust Christine Clements as much as I trust my own kin. She’s the most loyal person I have ever met in my life, unfailingly caring, and intrepid in her defense of those she loved. I count myself lucky to have been one of those folk. We hired her at Marc Schooley Motor Company off the street as a complete stranger, just in town from out of state. Though she had difficulty turning a computer on, she soon proved to be a woman of great resourcefulness. BTW-if ever at a loss for words in a job interview, invoke the Chris system: tell your potential hiring manager he’s got balls of steel. It might just work for you 🙂 It did for Chris.

Though she may have seemed a flight risk, within just a short period of time we were trusting her with staggering amounts of bank deposits…she was just that trustworthy. It seems silly, but you could just tell she was right. There never was any question about it, and she always came through.

Now, she had this uncanny ability to say and do whatever she felt like, and get away with it. In fact, in my forty years of knowing the Schooner, no one had ever gotten away with nicknaming him with reference to his size. Yet I can still hear Chris’s voice–yes, it could be rather loud–blaring out “where’s the big ‘un?” In fact, she called him big ‘un in front of 500 people once at church, and somehow it was fitting and appropriate. Fittingly, when the schooner passed away two years ago, there was an odd flower arrangement–the best I can remember it was the biggest as well–which simply said: Elvis has left the building. That was Chris.

I could bore you to tears with unending Chris stories–like the time she showed up at the lot decked out in her best red dress and we didn’t remember it was her birthday until 3 PM. We snuck out the back when she wasn’t looking, went to the store and got gifts, and returned and surprised her on her birthday (bet you didn’t know that one, Chris)–or how she used to leave the intercom on between offices and trick all the wholesalers and other car dealers into talking bad about us over the airwaves–or how she used to beat the Schooner at trivial pursuit–but I won’t. I can’t do the stories the justice they deserve.

What I will tell you, then, is what she was like. I realize people get this way when they’ve lost a friend; however, in this case they’re actually true:

When Chris decided on something, there was no stopping it. When Chris decided she liked you, it was a good thing, but if she decided she loved you, her life was given over in loyalty. She was tougher than any man I’ve ever met in her own way. She could bear multiple, incredible real-life burdens like no one I’ve ever met. She sacrificed herself for those she loved. Incredible, really, and extremely rare.

And what a presence. If you go to New Orleans and turn south, and continue on until you run into the Gulf of Mexico, somewhere in that general vicinity is where Chris came from. She was swamp mutha through and through, and literally could take over a room.

Now, Chris wasn’t perfect. She dragged a past with her to Texas, and owned up to every bit of it. In many ways, she was proud of it. And here is where this tale begins, really. Marc Schooley Motor Company was a bit of a missionary outlet, believe it or not (yes, I can hear the jokes). Chris made no bones, obviously, if you’ve read this far, about her feelings toward the church. But a truly amazing thing happened along the way…

I’m sometimes asked why I’m a Calvinist. It’s the biblical data that does it for me, but added to that are real-world observances. Thing is, I’ve seen too many miracles not to be. Chris came to a vibrant faith in the Lord years before her passing yesterday. Dare I say it–like you can stop me at this moment, Christine :)–she became a church lady. Grace is nothing short of a miracle. I saw it in the Schooner’s life, I saw it in Shema’s life, I saw it clearest of all in my own life, and, I saw it in Chris’s life. None of the four of us would have ever come to faith in Christ without a miracle–one that is entirely alien to ourselves. Forget the twenty-foot high stacks of crutches; salvation is a bona fide miracle. And it happened to Chris.

So, now, I’m having a little trouble grieving, because all I can think about is the look on the Schooner’s face in heaven when he hears Chris’ voice behind him in that loud tone of hers: I’m here Big ‘un!

So, yes, the raven came a rapping and sat upon the bust of Elvis upon my bookcase. But, the thing is, the bird can’t say nevermore. I mean, it tried, I suppose, but it really has nothing to say to me. You see: THERE IS BALM IN GILEAD, AND I KNOW IT. My friend is with my father in heaven, perhaps beating him at trivial pursuit, but more likely up to something much, much better.

In fact, now that I look more closely, it’s not a raven at all perched upon the bust of Elvis above my bookcase. It might just be a dove, and it just seems like it’s singing a new tune:

Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.

Love you guys…

I did the best I could, Chris…hope it’s good enough.

An inveterate list-maker Quixote is. He’s proposed a new list: the top-ten list of most frequently misinterpreted Bible verses. This is a work-in-progress, and all are encouraged to submit their candidates; supporting rationale and justification is optional, but correct identification of the interpretational or hermeneutic error involved in the misinterpretation garners extra logic and style points for your entry(s). As a point of order, it might be acceptable to propose a Scriptural passage in lieu of a singe verse, if several commonly misinterpreted verses are linked together in a manner whereby they cannot be segregated, or if the misinterpretation requires several verses. Combining isolated verses to convey a systematic misinterpretation, however, is unacceptable for the purposes of this list.

Quixote’s first entry, and this in no way suggests this entry should or will be ranked number one, or even make the list, I suppose, is one of the most commonly cited verses in the New Testament: 2 Peter 3:9…

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance. KJV

Interpretational error category: context

Beware of citing biblical verses out of context. A verse on its lonesome may be equivocated faster than you can say good. OK, well, the logicians are laughing, anyway…The primary reason this verse is cited with such frequency is its seeming disagreement with unconditional election, the Reformed doctrine that God has elected some but not all to salvation based solely on the purpose and pleasure of His good will. Nonetheless, what does this verse teach?

The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise. What promise? Without context, we may simply engorge the word promise with any meaning we so desire.  Fortunately, Peter did not leave us to wonder or surmise. In fact, he defines precisely what he means by promise in the opening verses of his epistle:

His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.  2 Pet 1:3-4

But who are the we and us in the above verses that God has promised? Again, Peter does not leave us to question the identity of those God has promised: Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: 2 Pet 1:1. Thus, it is those who have received a precious faith through the righteousness of Jesus Christ who have received the promise of God. Indeed, 2 Pet 1:1 makes it exceedingly clear that 2 Peter was written to Christians–those with faith–and not the world. This becomes redundantly obvious as we track through the epistle:

⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 2 Pet 1:8

¹⁰Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. ¹²So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. 2 Pet 1:10-12

¹⁶We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. 2 Pet 1:16

¹⁹And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. 2 Pet 1:19-20

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. 2 Pet 2:1

³In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. 2 Pet 2:3

¹Dear friends, this is now my second letter to you [Note: the first epistle of Peter was addressed to God’s elect]. I have written both of them as reminders to stimulate you to wholesome thinking. ²I want you to recall the words spoken in the past by the holy prophets and the command given by our Lord and Savior through your apostles. ³First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. 2 Pet 3:1-3

As if this were not clear enough, note the contrast between the saved and lost in 2 Peter. I apologize for length, but it fully captures the contrast, and, after all, it is the Bible, which we’re supposed to enjoy:

¹But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves. ²Many will follow their shameful ways and will bring the way of truth into disrepute. ³In their greed these teachers will exploit you with stories they have made up. Their condemnation has long been hanging over them, and their destruction has not been sleeping.

⁴For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; ⁵if he did not spare the ancient world when he brought the flood on its ungodly people, but protected Noah, a preacher of righteousness, and seven others; ⁶if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; ⁷and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the filthy lives of lawless men ⁸(for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard)— ⁹if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. ¹⁰This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority.

Bold and arrogant, these men are not afraid to slander celestial beings; ¹¹yet even angels, although they are stronger and more powerful, do not bring slanderous accusations against such beings in the presence of the Lord. ¹²But these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand. They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct, born only to be caught and destroyed, and like beasts they too will perish.

 ¹³They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done. Their idea of pleasure is to carouse in broad daylight. They are blots and blemishes, reveling in their pleasures while they feast with you. ¹⁴With eyes full of adultery, they never stop sinning; they seduce the unstable; they are experts in greed—an accursed brood! ¹⁵They have left the straight way and wandered off to follow the way of Balaam son of Beor, who loved the wages of wickedness. ¹⁶But he was rebuked for his wrongdoing by a donkey—a beast without speech—who spoke with a man’s voice and restrained the prophet’s madness.

¹⁷These men are springs without water and mists driven by a storm. Blackest darkness is reserved for them. ¹⁸For they mouth empty, boastful words and, by appealing to the lustful desires of sinful human nature, they entice people who are just escaping from those who live in error. ¹⁹They promise them freedom, while they themselves are slaves of depravity—for a man is a slave to whatever has mastered him. ²⁰If they have escaped the corruption of the world by knowing our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and are again entangled in it and overcome, they are worse off at the end than they were at the beginning. ²¹It would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to turn their backs on the sacred command that was passed on to them. ²²Of them the proverbs are true: “A dog returns to its vomit,” and, “A sow that is washed goes back to her wallowing in the mud.” 2 Pet 2

³First of all, you must understand that in the last days scoffers will come, scoffing and following their own evil desires. ⁴They will say, “Where is this ‘coming’ he promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation.” ⁵But they deliberately forget that long ago by God’s word the heavens existed and the earth was formed out of water and by water. ⁶By these waters also the world of that time was deluged and destroyed. ⁷By the same word the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire, being kept for the day of judgment and destruction of ungodly men. 2 Pet 3: 3-7

Could there be a clearer dichotomy between the saved and lost in this epistle? Now, Peter proceeds directly to 2 Pet 3:8-9:

⁸But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. ⁹The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

If you’ve made it this far, here’s the question: who does Peter refer to as beloved and us-ward in these two verses? In the context of the epistle, it’s a rhetorical question. He’s referring to the saved, to those who have the great and precious promises of God. Next question, equally rhetorical in context: who are the any and all in verse 9? It’s certainly not the ungodly men of verse seven for whom the present heavens and earth are reserved for fire and judgment. It can only be Peter’s audience; those to whom he addressed both of his epistles: the elect of God, those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours. Any other reading is fatal to the understanding of not only this verse, but the entire epistle.

What is God saying to His elect, then? Ironically, 2 Pet 3:9, understood properly, is one of the strongest passages in the Bible arguing for perseverance of the saints. God is not willing that any [of you] should perish, but that all [of you] should come to repentance. Please don’t think I’m adding words to the biblical text. Something has to be incorporated to complete the thought, and, in context, it must be Peter’s audience. What else would we put? Any what? All what? God is not willing that any [ungodly men] should perish, but that all [dogs that return to their vomit] should come to repentance?  The context and contrast preclude this interpretation. Be sure to grasp the contrast…here it is again: ⁹if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment.

Hence, what a wonderful and reassuring verse for those who love, and are loved by, God. There’s one last detail that sweetens the verse immeasurably. Those who misinterpret this verse are forced to conclude that the willing mentioned in verse nine must be God’s permissive or preceptive will. These wills of God, as in the ten commandments, may be disobeyed. Thus, 2 Pet 3:9, in this sense, describes a God who desires everyone to be saved, but does not ensure that anyone will be saved, perhaps, to some, even at times losing those He attempts to save. But given our preferred interpretation, it’s actually God’s decretive will Peter describes in 2 Pet 3:9–as in let there be light.

Read the verse once more, Christian, knowing that it is you God has in mind, and that He wills your salvation as certainly as He decreed let there be light:

The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

Amen.

Part I of this series demonstrated that the genocidal God objection (GGO) is an emotional reaction to the biblical text, not a logical objection leveled at the God of the Bible. Part II demonstrated that God’s actions with regard to the GGO were in actuality full measures of grace and mercy on His part, as His actions always are. Part III demonstrated that the GGO, even if successful, only proves that the Christian doctrine of the inerrancy of the Bible is false. To date, I’ve yet to encounter substantive rebuttal with respect to these assertions, much less a successful defeater of these claims. It’s just more of the same emotionalism: God’s a real meanie and if you believe what the Bible actually says you’re a liar, a lunatic, or something much more ghastly.

Part IV of this series will consider life and death, and God’s interaction thereto. Everyone agrees, if He exists, that the Christian God has the power to terminate life. The real questions are whether He has the right to take life, or, better perhaps, is He justified in so doing, and whether He’s justified in using whatever means at his disposal to terminate life.

We’re all basically acquainted with the standard arguments with regard to the first question: God is the creator and author of life and is justified with the giving and taking of life. Part I of this series finds Christianity internally coherent in relation to this question. Let’s take another look at the question from a unique perspective, however. What exactly is death?

According to Christian doctrine, which, I remind you is what we’re concerned with here, death is not death. It is a translation from one phase of life to another. Death is not the end; it’s not annihilation; it’s not final; it’s not even protracted. Death is a momentary nano-blip against the backdrop of eternity. To the Christian, death is as near an approximation to nothingness as we can possibly conceive. Is it any wonder the apostle Paul penned these words:

O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?

So much for Christianity being a death cult. As always, Christianity is defined by life, and that more abundant and true. How rich are the treasures of God’s grace: death, that dreaded and feared wisp of non-entity, is life. The Canaanite children’s choir has been singing for quite some time now–a heavenly strain we could hardly imagine–about the riches of God’s grace and splendor. This heavenly chorus, as noted in Part II, praises God in the highest for His unspeakable grace in which God acted decisively to remove the Canaanite children from their horrid veil of tears, into a realm of ineffable glory and joy–which is another way of saying into His immediate presence. This choral response to God’s grace and presence, I’m positive, includes a verse proclaiming these children’s eager anticipation of the final stage of their translation from life to life:  their resurrection to fully mature, physically prime bodies in which they will enjoy life before God for eternity.

So, why does the skeptic resist God’s will in the matter of life to life translation? Make no mistake, Part II of this series demonstrated that regardless of an individual Canaanite’s destination in eternity, s/he was better off for having been translated from life to life without delay.  Perhaps because for the skeptic death is indeed the end? Because it’s the bane and evil of mankind, his ever-present sorrow in the midst of joy? If this life is all we have, it seems threatening that God might actually take it away before our allotted three score and ten. It’s not fair, they might be heard saying, that I’m not in charge over life and death–that perhaps there is something wiser with the capability of enforcing its will when it deems it necessary. But I think it’s more than this…

It may just be the double-edged sword of wish-fulfillment. So often, we hear the narcoleptic refrain that Christianity is just a crutch for those unable to cope with the ills of this life. I’ve got news for you: Jesus is not only a crutch; He’s an entire hospital. Secondly, though, unbelief is the crutch: the genuine wish-fulfillment. The idea that, just maybe, there may be an altogether Holy and Righteous Judge of the Universe who abhors sin and requires righteousness from His creatures. Just possibly, there might be a God who expects his will to be done and at times lays aside His longsuffering to come in judgment. That, perhaps, He sometimes sends sinners as instruments of justice to cultures of evil. What would this entail for me, a sinner? It’s an unsettling thought, a mysterium tremendum, some have called it, that is best avoided by concluding, emotionally, not logically, mind you, that God is a homicidal psychopath, not a righteous judge. The skeptic wishes God were not looking down from heaven, thus utilizing unbelief as a crutch, for then her life to life translation may not be as pleasant under the auspices of a Holy God who cares what transpires on this planet, and intends to right all wrongs and judge all evils.

After all, we would never firestorm Dresden to rid the world of a culture less evil than Canaan, or would we? Does this mean that we as Christians approve of genocide? Heaven forbid. The genocide of the Old Testament occurred under a specific dispensation with respect to His chosen people, a dispensation that will, according to Hebrews 1, never be repeated.

What I find most disturbing about the skeptic’s objection; however, is that skepticism by and large–overwhelmingly to a man and woman in my experience–not only condones, but heartily approves of the second American genocide: the wanton destruction of nearly 50 million children since the early seventies. Is this selective outrage with regard to genocide in some manner tied to wish-fulfillment?

Does God, then, have the right to take life? Of the sinner (and we’re all sinners), absolutely, but then, again, He’s not taking life, He’s translating it from one phase of life to another. Your, and my, concern should be not how we pass, but in what state we pass. And here the grace of God shines as a lighthouse through the fog, for God has made a way for you and me to avoid the jagged rocks of our sin and to join our voices with that heavenly Canaanite children’s choir who comprehend His grace for what it is: grace. I’ll let you in on a secret: I’m going to die and you’re going to die. But death is not really death…it’s a momentary change. It’s a portal to eternity. Why were we mad at God for taking us through the portal again? Instead, we should endeavor to make certain He’s not sitting in judgment of our sin when we go through the portal and stand before Him. There’s only one way to do this:

¹¹And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

 ¹³I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Part V to come on the second question: whether the means are justified and if God is justified in taking an innocent life.