Sunday Funnies: G.R.A.C.E.

peanuts-theologyGrace, they say, is God’s Riches At Christ’s Expense. I don’t remember when I first heard that nifty mnemonic acrostic, but I know it’s just a hook to hang some teaching on, and it’s a fine, sturdy hook. But I have studied some more theology since then, and have learned that we can argue about anything, including definitions of grace. So here are some alternative acrostics; something for everybody.

  • For the Truly Reformed: God Rejects And Conversely Elects
  • For dispensationalists: Getting Raptured After Charting Endtimes
  • For pietists: Good Religion = Affective Christian Experiences
  • For Barthians: God-centered Redemption Allows Christocentric Eschatologizing
  • For the Christian existentialist: Genuine, Real, Authentic Christian Existence
  • For the Pelagians and Semi-Pelagians: Go Re-enact All Christ’s Example
  • For fundamentalists: Gotta Really Agressively Confront Ecumaniacs
  • For the Roman Catholics: Gazing Raptly At Consecrated Eucharist (or) Getting Right Archbishop Catholicizes Everything
  • For the Thomists working the Nature-Grace Boundary: God Reaching Across Creation’s Expanse
  • For Dante, especially in his Purgatorio: Getting Rendered Acceptable, Climbing Eagerly
  • For Anglo-Catholics: Getting Ritualistic After Cranmer’s Execution
  • For the Eastern Orthodox: Greek, Russian, Antiochene Cultural Expectations
  • For the other Eastern Orthodox excluded from that list: Giddily Receiving Apophatic Creationless Energies
  • For Open Theists: God Reconsiders, And Cooperates Exquisitely
  • For feminist theologians: Gender Revolution Anticipates Church Evolution
  • For the cessationists: Generally Renouncing All Charismatic Experiences
  • For evidentialist apologists: General Revelation And Convincing Explanations
  • For presuppositional apologists: Gospel Repentance Accomplished, Circularity Ensues
  • For sojourners: Government Redistribution Allows Communal Economics
  • For pentecostals: Glossolalia Received After Conversion Experience
  • For charismatics: Gombala Ramazoody Alleluia Chombalahombala Essanahanashanahana
  • For theonomists: Gospel Requires Absolutely Crushing Enemies
  • For the emergents: Generational Resentment Against Conservative Evangelicals

Anger @ God, Part 2

 

Job 15:12-13          

12 Why has your heart carried you away, and why do your eyes flash,

13 so that you vent your rage against God and pour out such words from your mouth?job1

 

 Is it wrong to be angry with God?  No.

 The problem comes when legitimate feelings of anger are not handled correctly and lead to inappropriate bitterness and rebellion which sometimes accompany anger. The Bible realistically portrays the frustration and anger of God’s people when things go wrong or when they cannot understand why certain things happen. This was the reason for Job’s anger. Not only did he feel he was being treated unjustly by God, but he could get no explanation from him.

Jonah’s anger over Neneveh’s repentance and the death of the shade-giving vine was inappropriate (Jonah 4). Twice the Lord questioned him, Have you any right to be angry? (Jonah 4:4,9). The prophet Jeremiah grew angry with God because of his persecution and the lack of response to his preaching. But he went too far when he accused God of lying (Jer. 15:18). Immediately, God told him to repent and stop uttering foolish words (15:19).

 Ultimately, that is where Job ended up. Though his suffering caused many questions and anguish, he went too far when he insisted that he had a right to an explanation. In the end, God spoke to Job and set him straight: God had the right to question Job, not the other way around (38:1-3). Job realized he had been arrogant and that his anger was unjustified. When confronted by the awesomeness of God, Job repented (42:6).

A sample from the best-selling Quest Study Bible. Copyright Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. www.Zondervan.com. To order, click her