Self-Control and Balance

I have very little self-control when it comes to the Word of God. I know that this isn't a bad thing in a sense, but I mention it because the very "evangelical problem" I have been writing about in the last couple of years, mightily dwells in me; I am the most audacious criminal.

Case in point: The Wednesday morning women's bible study that just began at my church. Guess what? It's full-blown, no shame Lordship Sanctification. I listen to the complimentary lecture given during our weekly meets, and during those talks it's "sovereign" this and "sovereign" that; sovereign, sovereign sovereign. I went up and asked her, "When you say that word... SOVEREIGN, what do you mean? What does that word MEAN?"

Some leading questions (or statements!) sprinkled in between the passages to read:

So, is there anything not under God's control? Ever?

(Blah!!)

God is sovereign over the natural, physical world.

God is sovereign over the social world.

God is sovereign over the political world.

God is sovereign over the spiritual world.

God is sovereign in salvation.

God is sovereign in my inner spiritual life.

I just came out of three years of believing that God was so "sovereign" that He had appointed me, to sin. Listening to this bible study brings this pall and a headache all come back to me.

This is pure deception. First of all, here is what this in-house bible study (created by one of our members) says of her theological approach to doing the bible study:

I centered [my bible study] primarily in the New Testament. Each lesson contains many verses, most looked at apart from their context to get a specific aspect of God's character. Please feel free to read before and after verses listed in the lessons to get a better picture of the context. However, the point of the questions or comments is specific to the verses given.

Given... out of context??

The very first question in the entire bible study, was this:

1. God is sovereign over the universe (and beyond!). How do these verses speak of God as sovereign?

- Rom 11:36

I listened to the ladies at my table, blow right past this question without even noticing the context. So I spoke up to them on that first day and said "Before we move on, can I say something? What does that word "sovereign" mean? What about free will? God was not "sovereign" over every detail for the Israelites. This passage pulled from Romans 11 is about the nation Israel; it says in verse 20 "Do not be haughty, but fear. For if God did not spare the natural branches, He may not spare you either."

To that there was a moment of silence. They said, "Well, yeah, I guess sovereign means...." And in that even they tried to explain it as if I couldn't comprehend that God was in control in the overall sense. Of course, I understand that; they missed my point, or rather they didn't really know how to answer it probably, so they left that part alone.

All three weeks of this study, a slowly building storm is rising in me. I'm beginning to burn with anger. ... It's always like this in the beginning, before I get some measure of apologetics written out. I don't want to blow them away with righteous indignation. Though at this point they are aware that I am having difficulty "understanding" the material, and one has even agreed to have a sit-down meeting with me about it to "answer my questions."

I have a plan. I'm going to write my apologetics. Make a copy for everyone at my table. Appeal to their love for the scriptures and desire to be helpful and a blessing to me. Most of them are elderly so I need to have a real honest respect for them (I'm not all the way there yet). Then they're all going to get a copy. I'll ask them to just read it and take it to heart, and, if they like it, pass it on to the leadership or to other ladies at other tables. One table, out of the whole 9 tables of women in the study? Yes, that's good enough for me. I have faith it's sufficient to get the ball rolling.

I already have in my mind, some starting points for these apologetics:

- The "Sovereignty" Teaching Demeans the Lordship & Deity of Jesus Christ

- The "Sovereignty" Teaching Demeans the Purpose for Why Jesus Came as a Man

- The "Sovereignty" Teaching Demeans Christ's Heart of Love for Men and the Heavenly Father

- The "Sovereignty" Teaching Demeans Man's Ability to Glorify God in the Way we Live our Lives

I need to take some space and some heart and some faith. I don't want to blow them out of the water. I feel like they deserve it. I'm sure they mean well....