This is an audio commentary on the acronym of T.U.L.I.P. based on an article I wrote a few years back. Please tell me if it’s unbearable. Thanks!

Let’s consider the biblical perspective on accepting difficult teachings, enduring trials sent our way, and just our misunderstandings of God’s way of working sometimes. You see, we know how we want to react to pain, suffering, or difficult and unknown circumstances. We see how most folks respond to these things. But, what should the biblical response be to our suffering, pain, or difficult teaching that we find in Scripture?

-if it’s something in Scripture that we find difficult to understand or accept, do we just disbelieve Scripture and cast it off as another man-made piece of literature?

-if it’s a trial we’re undergoing, should we pretend that everything is fine and dandy, always bearing a cheery (albeit many times phony) smile no matter what is coming our way?

-if we’re suffering and don’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, should we simply give up hope, thinking that our pains and trials will never cease?

I don’t believe any of these is the right answer. Let’s take a look at what the Bible has to say concerning these things.

First, there’s the difficulty we sometimes have in accepting unknown circumstances, or difficult teachings. What should our response be?

In John chapter 6, we read that Jesus has just fed over 5,000 people with 5 loaves of bread and two small fish. You know this got the crowd’s attention! So much so, they were sure that Jesus was the promised King and Messiah prophesied of years earlier. Thus, they were determined to to stick with Him. As it turns out, they followed him across land and sea.

However, on the other side of the sea, their hopes of him being a King who would usher in the kingdom in a physical present sense were dashed to pieces. Jesus had been performing many miracles, healing many sicknesses, and now He had provided them with physical sustenance with a very small source … two little fish. Their minds were fixated on the physical:

-healing of sicknesses
-deliverance from Roman rule
-feeding of their bellies

Then comes the hard part. Remember, they’re thinking all things physical, so they ask the Lord, “When did you get here?” He does not even answer the question, instead he gets to the root of why they’re seeking after him. Jesus then begins to break down their confidence by telling them He’s not here to feed them physically, and that they needed to be seeking after the Bread of Life, which He referred to as being Himself. John 6:

41 The Jews then complained about Him, because He said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” 42 And they said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How is it then that He says, ‘I have come down from heaven’?” 43 Jesus therefore answered and said to them, “Do not murmur among yourselves. 44 No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. 45 It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God.’ Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me. 46 Not that anyone has seen the Father, except He who is from God; He has seen the Father. 47 Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me has everlasting life. 48 I am the bread of life. 49 Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and are dead. 50 This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that one may eat of it and not die. 51 I am the living bread which came down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread that I shall give is My flesh, which I shall give for the life of the world.” 52 The Jews therefore quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” 53 Then Jesus said to them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you have no life in you. 54 Whoever eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. 55 For My flesh is food indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. 56 He who eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. 57 As the living Father sent Me, and I live because of the Father, so he who feeds on Me will live because of Me. 58 This is the bread which came down from heaven―not as your fathers ate the manna, and are dead. He who eats this bread will live forever … 60 Therefore many of His disciples, when they heard this, said, “This is a hard saying; who can understand it?”

And here it is. That seed of doubt, sown by their inability to fully grasp this seemingly difficult teaching. Despite the miracles Jesus had performed. Despite the authority with which He had taught. Despite the numerous authentications He had given to prove Himself as being from God, they doubt because they weren’t comfortable with the words or circumstances. Jesus takes it another step. Not only is he rebuking their doubts, but then he brings personal offense by declaring that they are completely unable to understand what He was saying!

61 When Jesus knew in Himself that His disciples complained about this, He said to them, “Does this offend you? 62 What then if you should see the Son of Man ascend where He was before? 63 It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. 64 But there are some of you who do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were who did not believe, and who would betray Him. 65 And He said, “Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.” 66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

And then the dam breaks. They cannot take this anymore. They do not understand this difficult teaching of eating His flesh and drinking His blood. Why? Remember, it’s because all they’ve been thinking about is the physical, despite Jesus directing them to think spiritually (”I am the bread of life”). This is the same thing Jesus had to get across to Nicodemus in John chapter 3. They could not stop thinking about the physical, thus the thought of eating Christ’s skin and drinking His blood was repulsive. And it says in verse 66 that many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.

Which brings us to our original question: What is the proper response when God sends trying circumstances that we can’t understand, or we are brought to a certain teaching in Scripture that, on the surface, seems offensive? How are we to respond to unwanted adversity, hard sayings? Obviously, the way the folks here in John 6 responded is not the answer. It’s quite scary if you think about it, actually. They had seen Jesus:

-heal the sick
-feed the hungry
-teach with authority unlike other teachers of that day

All of these things led them to believe, even, that He was a Prophet (i.e. He was from God!). At one point, remember, they were wanting to make Him King. Why is that scary? Because of the seed of doubt that was sown by their lack of understanding of what Jesus was saying. Imagine that! A man heals the deathly ill, feeds over 5,000 people with 2 fish and some bread loaves, yet … because of a teaching from Christ that, on the surface seemed offensive, all of those previous miracles went to the wayside in the minds of the people. And they left.

So, obviously, that’s not the right way to respond to a hard teaching, or an undesirable circumstance. And, yet, there is hope! At the end of the chapter we read this:

66 From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more. 67 Then Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also want to go away?” 68 But Simon Peter answered Him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.

You see, Peter understood Jesus teaching! He states as much by calling them the “words of eternal life” (as opposed to temporal physical life)! Even if He couldn’t grasp all the minute details of what Jesus was saying in these hard words, He knew that Jesus was the Christ, and instead of believing in his own doubts, insecurities, or human understanding, He believed the Word of God.

So, what is the answer? The answer is to believe the Word of God. What does the Word of God have to say? Let’s just take a look at a few passages:

Deut. 6:6 Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the LORD your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you.”

Psalm 27:1The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?

2 Cor. 12:9 But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. 10For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

We see that time after time after time in Scripture God is declared as good! as holy! as just! In these passages we see that God has promised never to leave or forsake His people, that He is their light, their salvation, and that His grace is sufficient to carry them through the most difficult of circumstances, and the most difficult-to-understand situations. Everything He does is right.

So the right response is to believe what the Word of God says, even if everything around you is crumbling and seems to point otherwise. The people who didn’t like what Jesus was saying about eating His flesh and drinking His blood were too focused on the physical, and they trusted too much in their own human interpretation of His Words. Instead, had they grasped the spiritual things He was teaching, they too would have said along with Peter, “To Whom Shall We Go? For you have the Words of Eternal Life!”

Be encouraged brothers and sisters: When all seems lost, we are the Lord’s. When you’re going through the fiery trials and fighting off the darts of the devil, remember our Lord Jesus Christ. “To whom shall we go?”

Brethren, it is incumbent upon the Christian to be daily mortifying sin. To be exuberant in such, we must hate sin. However, in doing such, we must also be careful to not be paralyzed by the darts of the Devil when he throws our sins in our face. Below is an exhortation I was asked to give on the Lord’s Day a few months ago. You may have to adjust the volume, as it was converted from tape cassette to digital. Forgive the sloppiness, but I hope that you will be encouraged by it.

Recently, it has been asserted that I am living too much “under the Law.” But the assertion does not cease there. Pitted against me living too much “under the Law” was the presumption that I was not living enough “in the Holy Spirit.” Now all of this was, to be honest, confounding and news to me. How one who does not know me could, with any intellectual honesty whatsoever, impute such sentiments to my state of being left me with only two logical possibilities.

Either:

1. Said person has obviously not taken the time to read even just a small portion of my blog entries of substance, thus appreciating the greater context in which I discuss God’s Law.

Or:

2. Said person has textual evidence from my own hand (keyboard) by which he could expose and indict me, proving such allegations to be, in fact, true.

Since no evidence was laid forth, I suppose I will opt for the first. It is apparent that whilst I have put many an emphases in my blog concerning God’s Law, portions in which I have discussed the work of the Holy Spirit in regeneration, the Gospel of Grace’s saving power, et al have been selectively passed over. However, before addressing the neglect of my accuser in considering the exhaustive context of my writings, let us briefly examine a role/some roles in which God’s Law ought to act in the life of a believer. I feel this is necessary because I believe that said person’s allegations stem from a misunderstanding of what it means to be “under the Law.” Respectfully, though I believe his intentions positive, I fear he has fallen prey to the idea that those of us who are under grace can only be out from “under the Law” by casting it aside. Such a belief is unfounded in Scripture and, I believe, a revolt against God’s provision of goodness He has given us in the Law.

First, what does God’s Word say about God’s Law? Many things. My personal favorite follows thus from Psalm 19:

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple;
8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes;
9 the fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever; the rules of the Lord are true, and righteous altogether.
10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold;sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb.
11 Moreover, by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward.

I am certain that Biblical Christians would all agree that we can trust Scripture, no? Not only can we trust in Scripture, we can love and obey it wholeheartedly, without fear of it leading us astray. Thus, it follows we can also believe in and trust what the Psalmist says here. Let us consider a few of the Psalmist’s descriptors of the Law.

1. God’s Law is Perfect (v.7)

Hebrew: תמים –Transliteration: tamiym — which means:

1) complete, whole, entire, sound
a) complete, whole, entire
b) whole, sound, healthful
c) complete, entire (of time)
d) sound, wholesome, unimpaired, innocent, having integrity
e) what is complete or entirely in accord with truth and fact

Accidental is certainly no way to characterize the Psalmist’s placing of perfect as the first descriptor of God’s Law in this passage. Rather, it lays the foundation for all those which proceed thereafter. Because God’s Law is perfect, we can be confident that to the “revived soul” it:

-is sure, bringing wisdom to the simple
-is right, rejoicing the heart
-is pure, enlightening the eyes

So not only is the Law all these perfect things, but it does and brings good things! Wisdom, Joy, Illumination, and Rewards. That doesn’t sound scary, nor is it something I mind living “under.” Now, considering the given definition of perfect, I believe we are safe to proclaim that God’s Law is perpetual. If it is perfect (and it is), how could one even imply that it is bad, deficient, or whatever one wishes to say, enough that we need to be finished with it? I mean, it is complete, not lacking in anything, sound, etc., thus it has no need to be abolished. Next, allow me to quote that Esteemed Apostle, when he writes:

So the law is holy, and the commandment is holy and righteous and good. - Romans 7:12

Having briefly touched the surface, let me say that I, in no way, think my accuser would disagree thus far with what I’ve said. “So, then, what is the purpose, Josh?” To point out that when the Apostle says “you are not under law but under grace,” he does not mean that the Law is bad, or that it is no longer in effect. Granted, there are certain Mosaic, Ceremonial, and Judicial laws which are no longer in effect, but not without reason. Those very things no longer have any typological use, having been fulfilled in Christ. No, what I speak of is God’s Moral Law.

What was Paul saying, then? The same thing that is true for every believer in all times in all ages ranging from Adam to present. That, before God so graciously regenerated and justifies a sinner, he is condemned by the Law. Not because the Law is in any way deficient. NO! Because men are deficient. The Law stands as a condemnation against those who have not been saved by the Law Giver. However, once the sinner is graciously brought into the Law Giver’s family, he is no longer condemned by that Law, but saved by the Law Giver’s grace.

Therefore, since it is nothing inherent within the Law that is condemnable, deficient, etc. Paul does not mean that the Law is no longer authoritative, binding, or  important for the Christian. We know that the Law is perfect, good, holy, just, rewarding, etc. How, then, could we say it is abolished? The Law, for the unbeliever, serves one of two purposes: Either, his condemnation unto everlasting hell, or his conviction unto repentance, conversion and everlasting glory.

For the Christian, though, the Law is still authoritative, binding, and important. It cannot condemn the Christian, for there is now no condemnation for those in Christ. Why is that? Because Christ took the condemnation, not because of some magical pixie dust that is applied to believers when they are converted. The Law is a measure for the Christian. The Law ought to be a delight for the Christian. The Law serves as a means unto holiness (not perfectionism, mind you). Thus, it is not the Law that is bad, but men. The Law is not a Boogey-Man.

So, as I have said before time and again here, man is justified by grace alone (sola gratia) through faith alone (sola fide) in Christ alone (soli Christo) according to Scripture alone (sola Scriptura) to the glory of God alone (soli Deo gloria). Sinners are not, I repeat, are not salvifically justified by the Law. Thus, in light of what I have written concerning justification and man’s salvation, the burden of proof is on my accuser to show wherein I have asserted any sentiment that I am living under the Law, or that I think such is somehow right, and that I am not living enough “in the Holy Spirit.”  

1 Peter 4:19

Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good.

If one reads through this epistle, they’ll notice the power-packed messages of enduring suffering, responding in love, and praising God for the circumstances a Christian may find himself in. In fact, this last verse of 1 Peter 4 we find a multitude of spiritual instructions knocking on the walls of exposition, dying to get out, be known,and applied to the life of the believer.

Therefore
First, we consider the conjunction Therefore. This implores us to consider the current words in the light of all of Peter’s aforementioned words. This illustrates the importance of considering a passage’s immediate and extended context for the purpose of properly understanding the thrust of the author’s current statement in all its many facets. The detriments to interpreting a passage divorced from its context are manifold (my list is hardly exhaustive):

1. Most of the time, especially in light of the fallibility of man’s heart, one will misintrepret and
2. This will result in misapplications, which gives light to adage “Ideas have consequences.”
3. One may gather little or none of all the richness which is to be found in the said passage.

Now, of what does this Therefore consist? I’m hardly qualified to give a thorough commentary which will give one a mastery of what Peter has said, thus I’ll briefly mention the basic theme running throughout his epistle. In chapter 1 (vs. 3-7) the Apostle reminds his readers about the wonderful salvation God has given them in Christ. This is to serve as a motivator to continue on in what I think is a major reason for Peter’s writing of this epistle: suffering and trials.

1 Peter 1:6-7

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

Peter then enjoins (v. 13), with another therefore, the believers to “set [their] hope fully on the grace” of God, during these trials. He tells them to keep on truckin’ in areas of holiness, steadfastness, etc. especially during these hard times. There’s much more to the chapter of course, but we’re trying to deal in brevity. In chapter 2 (particularly 18-25) he touches again on suffering. More specifically he is beseeching Christians to understand that this is, not “might be”, a part of the Christian Life.

2 Timothy 3:12

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted

Then, in chapter 3, Peter again mentions suffering for righteousness’ sake and declares that we should respond well to suffering and persecution becayse by doing so ”those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.” (v.16) This is called one practicing what he preaches…and it’s effective in showing one’s motives behind what they do. It gives creedence to the “defense [of the] reason for the hope that is in you” (v.15)

So considering what the therefore of our opening passage in 1 Peter 4:19 is pointing back to helps us to better appreciate the rest of that particular verse itself. We have seen a theme of suffering for Christ’s sake  throughout each chapter. Now we consider the particulars of 4:19

I. Let those who suffer according to God’s will…

Remember that suffering comes from the will of God. Consider Job, Joseph, David, etc. Now that being recognized Peter says:

II. Entrust their souls to a faithful Creator…

So, if suffering comes from the will of God (and it does), then we must know that it’s in some way, shape, or form good. Why? Because God is inherently good! So Christians are to be steadfast during hard circumstances knowing that all that befalls them is from the hand of a loving, kind, and good God.

III. While doing good.

Trials have a tendency to bring us to a state of paralysis. We become so focused and internalized on ourselved and our plight that we somehow think the world may stop turning for a moment, so that we can get a grip. But that’s not how it works. What does Peter say? Keep on doing good. When we’re overcome with sorrow, suffering, or persecution is also when we must, with all of our might, continue doing good to folks.

May it be so.