Theology – Page 3

How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 4: Fruitfulness

September 4, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience | Part 3: Relationship

Paul now lists four specific ways that we will “walk worthy of the Lord, into all pleasing” (Co 1.10):

Being fruitful in every good work,

Increasing in the knowledge of God; (Co 1.10)

Strengthened with all might, according to his glorious power, unto all patience and longsuffering with joyfulness; (Co 1.11)

Giving thanks unto the Father (Co 1.12).

That’s quite a list. Keep in mind that these things are what God accomplishes in us—so they are achievable.

The first characteristic that Paul chooses to list is fruitfulness. This follows naturally from what he has just said; if you are walking worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing, then you are bearing fruit.

In my early days as a Christian, my instructors tended to see “fruit bearing” as soul-winning or evangelism. I don’t doubt that that’s part of it, and a significant part; evangelism—and then discipleship—is the Great Commission that the ascending Christ left with us (Mt 28.19-20). Some see in Psalm 126 a motivation to evangelism:

⁵They that sow in tears shall reap in joy. ⁶He that goeth forth and weepeth, bearing precious seed, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Ps 126.5-6).

While I believe the context indicates a much broader scope to this observation, it certainly would include the concept of evangelism.

But overall, when the New Testament speaks of “fruit” in the Christian life, it’s speaking about good works as evidence of faith (e.g. “the fruit of righteousness,” He 12.11; Jam 3.18) or character development, most famously in the “fruit of the Spirit” (Ga 5.22-23). I think it’s reasonable in this context (“fruitful in every good work”) to read this characteristic as demonstrating consistent success in our spiritual efforts to walk in a way that’s pleasing to God. We will fail on occasion, of course; the “old man,” as Paul describes our sinful nature, remains with us (Ro 7.24), and we stumble along the way, perhaps every day. (Or is it just me?)

But in the main, there is growth and development of character; we can see progress from the way we used to be to the way we are now. I’ve been encouraged by the fact that as I grow older, and I have a longer timeline to recall and evaluate, the progress is easier to see. The sin nature is still there, and it may not be easy to see improvement from last week, or even last month, but oh, are things different from 50 years ago! Here is clear evidence of God’s working in my life, his ready grace and empowerment over time.

Because he is omnipotent, God is never in a hurry; he is never under the pressure of time. He has done his work in me, and in you, as he has pleased, and he will continue faithfully until our last breath—and then he will sanctify us perfectly. There is great peace in that.

And there is great peace in meditating on the specific “fruit of the Spirit” that he is developing in our character:

Love, or others-centeredness. Thinking about, and living for, others instead of your own priorities or even needs.

Joy, or persistent optimism about God’s control of present and future. Looking for what he’s doing rather than complaining or fearing about trials.

Peace, or confident resting in the goodness of God’s plan. Freedom from fear, the predominant characteristic of present society.

Endurance, or the ability to bear up under challenging loads for as long as necessary. This is a natural consequence of peace.

Kindness, or care in treating others as you would be treated. This is a natural consequence of love.

Goodness, or “interest in the welfare of others” (BDAG). This, too, springs from love.

Faithfulness, or reliability, persistent adherence to the truth. I would suggest that this is another consequence of peace.

Gentleness, or “the quality of not being overly impressed by a sense of one’s self-importance” (BDAG). Another consequence of love.

Self-control, or strength over your natural instincts. This too springs from love, a devaluing of your own interests in favor of those of others.

God is doing this in you, over time, in his time. Enjoy watching this happen, and take heart from the experience.

Next time: increasing in the knowledge of God.

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How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 3: Relationship

September 1, 2025 by Dan Olinger 1 Comment

Part 1: Introduction | Part 2: Obedience

Paul has begun his prayer for the Colossian Christians with his primary request: that they would be dedicated to knowing—and following—God’s will for them. The foundation of a well-rounded Christian life is being God-focused and God-centered.

Now, if you’re starting down this path and have reoriented your priorities in that way, something is necessarily going to follow. Paul says that you will “walk worthy of the Lord unto all pleasing” (Co 1.10a). That may surprise you. Can we really “walk worthy of the Lord”—even from the beginning?

Paul does speak matter-of-factly about walking worthy of God, as though this is something achievable, even routinely, by his followers:

I therefore, the prisoner of the Lord, beseech you that ye walk worthy of the vocation wherewith ye are called, ²With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love; ³Endeavouring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace (Ep 4.1-3).

Only conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or remain absent, I will hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel (Php 1.27).

As Paul teaches elsewhere, this is not something we just buckle down and do. He tells another church, “It is God that worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure” (Php 2.13). We seek his will as revealed in his Word, and his Spirit illuminates our minds as we read (1Co 2.12-16). With that understanding, we know what to do. And then he motivates and empowers us to do it. As we do, we will walk “worthy” of the Lord and please him well.

This isn’t really something we can do by our own willpower, is it? It’s not about gritting your teeth, scrunching your eyebrows together, and trying your very very best. It’s about reading, studying, and meditating on his Word, communicating continuously with him, and walking consciously in the light of his presence. You know what? That’s something you can do with an attitude of peace, not frantic (and often frustrated) effort.

Christians often say that Christianity isn’t a religion, but a relationship. That’s not just verbal jiu-jitsu; it’s at the definitional core. We can’t thrive spiritually without walking moment by moment with God.

A little trinitarian observation is appropriate here. We often focus on the fact that God exists in three persons, to the extent, I fear, that we think of three Gods. That is gravely wrong. God is One, and the persons do not operate independently, even though they do fill distinct roles. If we follow Jesus’ pattern for our prayer (Mt 6.9-13), we pray to the Father, a fact that implies that he is close enough to hear us. (I know that God’s ability to hear is not a function of distance, but work with me here.) Jesus, the Son, said that he would be “with” his disciples, to the end of the age (Mt 28.20). And finally, the Spirit indwells us forever (Jn 14.16; Ro 8.9). Now, God is omnipresent (Ps 139.7-10), so in a sense he is “with” everyone, even unbelievers, and he is in places where there are no people whatsoever. But these passages indicate that the Triune God is united in being “with” believers in a special way, instructing , leading, strengthening, abiding.

I dwell in the high and holy place, With him also that is of a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones (Is 57.15).

If you’re just stumbling along trying to do better, then, you’re missing the whole point. Walk with him, and you will find yourself walking “in all pleasing.” One commentator writes,

“[This is] an expression that describes not a frightened attitude in the presence of a superior, but behaviour that honours the Lord because it arises out of glad obedience to him” (Peter T. O’Brien in The New Bible Commentary, p. 1265).

Paul will turn next to specific ways that our walk will be worthy of the Lord. We’ll begin looking into that next time.

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How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 2: Obedience

August 28, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: Introduction

So what does Paul pray for the members of the church at Colossae? He begins this prayer (Co 1.9-23) with a basic request (Co 1.9) followed by its typical result (Co 1.10a) and then amplifies that result with four descriptors (Co 1.10-12). As I noted in the previous post, the final descriptor (thankfulness) opens the door to a long list of specific things for which believers should be thankful (Co 1.13-23).

That’s a lot to digest. Let’s start at the beginning, chewing slowly and thoughtfully.

[ Sidebar: I’ve noticed in recent years, particularly among what we used to call “the young, restless, and reformed,” that many preachers like to use the metaphor of unpacking a box when they exegete a passage; they’ll say, “Let’s unpack this passage.” I rather suspect that they have a favorite preacher who uses the expression, and they’re imitating him (Piper? Mohler? Macarthur?). I have to admit that since I’m a hopelessly out-of-touch old coot, I don’t know who the exemplar preacher—the Yoda, if you will—is. But in any case, I’ve always used a different metaphor, that of chewing and digesting. I do have considerable experience at chewing, and I find great pleasure in it. And there’s always Jeremiah 15.16 to consider:

Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O Lord God of hosts.

So there’s that.

End sidebar. ]

Paul’s primary prayer is straightforward:

We … do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding (Co 1.9).

The second infinitive, “to desire,” is, I think, simply a restatement of the first, “to pray.” (In Greek, the word “and” can often be translated “even,” as introducing an appositive, a restatement.) And what is that prayer, that desire? That they would know God’s will, or, more expansively, “be filled with the knowledge of his will.”

For the believer on the way to spiritual maturity, the essential thing is to be determined to live according to the will of God. That means, of course, not just knowing what God wants, but being oriented toward it (being “filled with it”) and then doing it. Paul is praying that they would obey God. That’s where it all starts.

And that’s why he immediately says, “in all wisdom and spiritual understanding.” These words have to do with more than just knowing. We must not picture the hypercranialized space aliens who just know all kinds of stuff and always win at “Jeopardy!” Wisdom and understanding have to do not so much with intellect, but with application: knowing how to use what you know to do practical things. I once read somewhere that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, not a vegetable; but wisdom is knowing that you don’t put ketchup on ice cream.

It’s more extensive than that, of course; wisdom and understanding include creative thinking, problem-solving, and what Bloom called synthesis. It’s the opposite of the ivory tower. It’s the ability to get stuff done.

So if Paul is attaching the concept of wisdom to the knowledge of God’s will, he is praying for us to do what we know, to live out who God has designed us to be.

Well then. We begin here.

But how? How are we to know the will of God?

To the college students I’ve taught for many years, the will of God has to do with three w’s: what (is my career going to be), where (am I going to live), and who (am I going to marry). Those are important questions, of course, but the teaching on the will of God in the Bible doesn’t focus on that. It focuses instead on the kind of person you’re going to be. For example, Paul writes elsewhere,

This is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication (1Th 4.3).

And there’s more; grab your search software (or, if you’re over 75, your concordance—and a good magnifying glass) and have a field day.

God’s well-rounded people start every day, and the rest of their lives, with the question, “Based on what I know of the Bible, what does God want me to do?”

That’s a start.

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How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians, Part 1: Introduction

August 21, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Decades ago one of my professors (the late Charles W. Smith, for those who may remember him) suggested that a good way to study prayer was to focus on Paul’s prayers at the openings of his epistles. I took note of that and started noticing the kinds of things Paul prayed for his churches. I found then, and I still find, that my prayers, particularly the requests, could use a significant upgrade.

Why the need? In my case, it was because I was focused on the wrong stuff—or at least, my focus was too narrow: help this sick person feel better, provide more money for this person or that ministry, that sort of thing.

Paul, on the other hand, is focused like a laser beam on the Big Idea: the spiritual growth and well-being of those to whom he ministers. Along the way, he’s not just asking God for things; he’s instructing his readers (including us) as to what kinds of “things” we should be giving our attention to.

I’d like to pursue this idea here by spending a few posts working through Paul’s prayer in the opening to Colossians. This follows naturally on my recent meditations on the supremacy of Christ as the firstborn, which Paul lays out in one portion of this prayer (Co 1.15).

The prayer itself is in Colossians 1.9-12, but at the end of it he moves quickly past a comma to offer an extended reflection on the works of God in our salvation, for which we should be thankful—a reflection that runs through the end of the chapter.

When taken as a whole, then, Paul’s prayer lays out the works of God in our salvation, works that cover every facet of our “inner man”—what we often call the heart, the mind, the psyche, the emotions, the wishes, the dreams. God does a complete renovation of the house that we call our selves (2Co 5.1). There is nothing in us that his work doesn’t touch. Hence the title of this series: “How God Makes Well-Rounded Christians.”

Note the subject and verb. I don’t intend this series to be a list of more stuff ya gotta do, or a list of virtues for you to work on, a la Benjamin Franklin. This is work that God does in you; you can’t do it without him.

But the Bible does indicate that although justification is monergistic (God does it without our help), sanctification, or growth in Christ-likeness, is synergistic: we play a role in making it happen, by God’s grace. (Even Calvinists teach that. Yes, they do.) For example, Peter speaks of “making effort” toward spiritual growth (2P 1.5). Paul speaks of “presenting our bodies” (Ro 12.1), of “bringing holiness to completion” (2Co 7.1), and of “working out our own salvation” (Php 2.12); the author of Hebrews speaks of “striving for … holiness” (He 12.14).

So it’s wise stewardship to know the goals that God is working toward in us, and to be purposeful is seeking opportunities to work with him in developing the characteristics that will get us there.

That’s one purpose of this series. There is a second.

If any of us finds that these characteristics are missing—not just imperfect, but missing, strange, out of the ordinary—then it’s time to go back to the beginning and ask the big question. Has God begun a work in us by justifying us? We know that he has if we have repented and believed (Mk 1.15; Ac 3.19; Ro 5.1). But in Western “Christian” culture it’s easy, particularly for those raised in Christian homes, to just go along, be agreeable, give the right answer to the questions in Sunday school—but never genuinely repent.

This series is chance for all of us to inspect our inner selves and ask, is God in fact sanctifying me? Am I making progress in Christ-likeness?

If the answer is “No,” there’s a free and simple solution.

Next time, we’ll begin looking at Paul’s prayer for his Colossian readers, and for us.

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On Justice, Part 4: Accomplished

July 10, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: We All Want It | Part 2: The Perp | Part 3: Progress

The second paragraph of Revelation 20 turns its attention to what happens during the thousand years when Satan is confined in the abyss. But in the third paragraph (Re 20.7-10) the focus returns to “that old serpent, the devil, and Satan”—specifically, his behavior once he is released. And—spoiler alert—we find that the confinement has not reformed him; he continues in his evil ways.

He pursues his work as a deceiver (Re 20.8). During Jesus’ earthly ministry, the Lord taught that “the devil … is a liar, and the father of it” (Jn 8.44). Here Satan continues to be what he is, revealing his nature as an enemy of the truth. He “deceive[s] the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth” (Re 20.8). He lies on a massive scale, deceiving whole people groups, millions strong, across and around the globe. There’s simply no end, temporally or spatially, to his evil.

And these nations, millions strong and utterly deceived, decide that their enemy is not the one lying to them, but the people of God. They gather their forces to surround Jerusalem, “the camp of the saints … , and the beloved city” (Re 20.9).

What chance does a single city have against the combined armies of the world? Why doesn’t he pick on somebody his own size?

Well, because he’s a bully, and attacking the weak is what bullies do.

But we know that bullies are not in fact strong; they attack the weak because they themselves are weak, and they are cowards.

So is the snake.

And when bullies strut their stuff, typically someone stronger, who has a sense of justice, comes along and trounces them. And pretty much every member of the human race loves to see that happen.

Thus we can anticipate the next verse without even reading it.

There is a God in heaven, who is just and right, and whose knowledge and power are infinite. He’s going to know about the 10-year-old thug who’s stealing the second-grader’s lunch money. And he’s going to know about the father of lies who’s deceiving the whole world into turning against his largely helpless people.

The time for justice has come.

As the armies mass around Jerusalem in John’s vision, “fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them” (Re 20.9).

Well. That changes things.

But justice requires more. The father of lies himself needs to face payback for the evil and destruction he has wrought.

So we reach verse 10:

And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Torment. Day and night. Forever.

Intensive, and extensive, and infinitely so.

A fitting punishment for such a being.

We don’t really know how Satan got this way. I don’t believe Isaiah 14.12-15 is telling us anything about that; I think it’s simply a description of the king of Babylon, predicted by Isaiah more than a century before. I do think, though, that Ezekiel 28.11-19 is a double reference to the king of Tyre and to Satan; and there we learn merely that “iniquity was found in” him (Ezk 28.15).

How? Well, because of pride, apparently (Ezk 28.17). But where did the pride come from?

It’s a puzzle, indeed.

But as uncertain as Satan’s origin is, there is no uncertainly about his future. He will face justice, and God’s people will be delivered.

Justice.

Even so.

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On Justice, Part 3: Progress

July 7, 2025 by Dan Olinger 1 Comment

Part 1: We All Want It | Part 2: The Perp

So what’s going to happen to this character, “that old serpent, … the devil, and Satan” (Re 20.2), the originator and perpetrator of all the evil in the world?

God is not the sort of person to be overpowered, and he is not the sort of person to let injustice go unresolved. To put it in the vernacular, he takes care of business.

The first three verses of Revelation 20 set the stage for this resolution.

¹And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. ²And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, ³And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season (Re 20.1-3).

This single sentence gives multiple indications that God is greater than Satan. To begin with, he is overpowered by an “angel” (Re 20.1). Now, we’ve learned elsewhere in Scripture that angels are spiritual beings, created by God to be his servants (He 1.14), and particularly to deliver messages from God to humans (e.g. Lk 1.11 ff). They are greater than humans (Ps 8.5), but of course much less great than their Creator, God.

And just one of them is given divine tools sufficient to seize and to bind Satan (Re 20.2). If one angel is stronger than Satan, then God certainly is too.

So what about those tools? Is this a literal kay and a literal chain? Despite my bias toward taking the Scripture literally whenever possible, I don’t think so. The book of Revelation contains a lot of language that is clearly non-literal, and I strongly doubt that Satan can be bound by a literal chain. When we first meet him, he’s in the form of a serpent, and in Job, he’s a being who appears before God in the heavenly court, with no mention of snakishness (snakitude?). Since it seems that he’s non-physical, then he is bound and locked in a confinement that is effective for his non-physical nature.

We’re told that he is confined this way “for a thousand years” (Re 20.2). Now here I’m going to take the time statement literally (thus identifying myself as a premillennialist), primarily because John repeats it in every verse through the end of the paragraph (Re 20.3, 4, 5, 6, 7), seemingly emphasizing it, making a point of it.

The place of confinement is described as “a bottomless pit” (Re 20.3), literally an “abyss.” This word appears in the Greek translation of the OT a few times, initially in the creation account, where “darkness was upon the face of the deep” (Ge 1.2). Moses describes the Promised Land as “a land of … depths that spring out of valleys and hills” (Dt 8.7). In later Jewish and Christian writings it came to refer to the dark abode of the dead, similar to what we would call “hell.”

So Satan is temporarily bound in this deep (and by implication inaccessible and inescapable) place.

Why?

“That he should deceive the nations no more” (Re 20.3).

Here’s a second indication that God is greater than Satan. God forcibly protects the welfare of his people. He will not allow Satan’s destructive deception to continue. There is coming a time when injustice will end.

Why so long before God does this?

That’s a legitimate question. Many of God’s people, within the Scripture and since, have asked that question, and God does not attack them for asking.

But he also doesn’t answer their question.

The third indication of his greatness is that God chooses the timing, because he is in charge.

As the old child’s prayer reminds us, God is great (empowering his servants to bind Satan at the determined time) and God is good (acting to protect his people).

We’ll trace this story to its complete resolution next time.

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On Justice, Part 2: The Perp

July 3, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1: We All Want It

As we noted last time, we all want justice, but in spite of our best efforts, it continues to elude us. We’re surrounded by accounts of injustices, and while some of those accounts are probably exaggerated, not all of them are, not by a long shot.

Broken people, broken world.

The world has not always been broken, however, and it will not always be.

Scripture tells the story of how the brokenness arrived. It tells of a snake who deceived the first woman and of a man, her husband, who cooperated, even though he knew perfectly well what he was doing (Ge 3.1-6; cf 1Ti 2.14).

Yeah, a talking snake. A lot of people think that’s just ridiculous, and it’s easy to see why they do.

But I don’t. I view the Scripture as divinely inspired, inerrant, and authoritative, and I’ve explained why here.

So I’m biased toward the biblical accounts. All evil, including the world’s injustice, came from a talking snake.

So who was he?

The account says simply that he was a snake, and that he was “more crafty” than any other creature. In Job, possibly written even before Moses wrote Genesis, we meet someone named “The Satan” (Job 1.6), or “The Adversary,” who clearly opposes God; but beyond a handful of later references (1Ch 21.1; Ps 109.6; Zec 3.1-2), the Hebrew Scriptures have nothing else to say about him.

With the incarnation, though, he seems to get busy, throwing all his forces at the Christ when he is apparently most vulnerable. Satan appears in all four Gospels (Mt 3x; Mk 5x; Lk 6x; Jn 1x) and in Acts (2x).

He shows up often in Paul’s epistles (10x), and he explodes onto the scene at the end of history (8x in Rev). It’s at the very end of the story (Re 20.2, 7) that we find the answer to the question we have had from the beginning: who is the snake?

John tells us:

²And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years.

Now, is it possible that Eve’s tempter was a different snake? I suppose so, theoretically, but I note that John has already called this creature a “dragon,” which would nicely continue the flow of the story, but he pauses to add that he’s a “serpent,” which looks an awful lot like an inclusio, a bookend reference back to the beginning of the Canon; and he calls him “that” serpent, a relative pronoun that indicates a previous reference—something that linguists call an “anaphoric” use. And then, John calls Satan “that old serpent,” a strong indication that our “inclusio” theory is correct.

So this creature—and he is merely a creature—started all this trouble, this pain and suffering and exploitation and injustice, and now the Scripture is going to tell us what happens to him.

Some people object that God seems to be taking his sweet time addressing the problem, and they assume that this indicates some sort of moral failing in God—if he even exists.

I don’t have the time or space here to address the large question of the problem of evil, but I intend to as occasion presents itself down the road. In the meantime, given my own observational and intellectual limitations, and given God’s demonstrated faithfulness to me over a lengthening life, I’m going to give him the benefit of the doubt. Suffice it to say that justice is coming, and that God’s view of time infinitely exceeds ours.

In the next post we’ll turn to an examination of this climactic passage revealing God’s dealing with his persistent but infinitely inferior enemy.

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On Justice, Part 1: We All Want It

June 30, 2025 by Dan Olinger 1 Comment

“Joseph Sledge’s timing could not have been worse. While serving a four-year sentence for stealing t-shirts in 1976, the 36-year-old man from Georgia escaped from a prison work farm in eastern North Carolina. That same day, Josephine Davis and her daughter Ailene were brutally murdered in their farmhouse in nearby Bladen County. Sledge immediately became the prime suspect and was charged with their murders upon his re-capture” (Matt Ford, “Guilty, Then Proven Innocent,” The Atlantic, 2/9/2015).

Two inmates where Sledge was being held after his capture told police that Sledge had told them that he had killed a couple of white women.

Open and shut case, right?

No.

Bloody fingerprints found at the scene were not Sledge’s. Several hairs could not identify anyone. The bloody shoeprints didn’t match Sledge’s shoes.

And those inmates?

We’ll get back to them.

Two years later Sledge was convicted of double murder and sent to prison. He insisted that he was not guilty. After 25 years his request for DNA testing was granted.

For the next nine years, they couldn’t find the hairs.

Finally, in 2012 they found them.

The DNA testing excluded Sledge as a suspect.

Six months later one of the two informants—the only one still living—testified that he had lied by repeating information he’d heard from police and prison staff, in return for a $3000 reward and the dropping of some charges he was facing.

More than 18 months later, Sledge was declared innocent and freed. He was 70 years old, and he had spent more than half of his life in prison for a crime he didn’t commit.

Five years later, he died.

There are more details, if you have the stomach for them.

The injustices in this story are numerous and pervasive. It’s common for us to assume motives, but I try to resist doing that, because only God knows the heart. But even if we assume everyone involved had the best of intentions—except, of course, those informants—there’s still plenty to criticize. The basis for the original conviction was of course weak. I’ve written of my time on a jury, where half the members would not vote to convict—even though they thought the defendant was guilty—because the entire case was based on the statements of a single witness. A truism in the law is that it’s better to let a guilty person go free than to convict an innocent one.

Further, the archiving of the physical evidence was at best inept. They couldn’t find the hairs for nine years?! That’s just really hard to believe.

And another 18 months to release the man after it was indisputable that he was innocent.

Even at their best—and this is not one of those times—our justice systems are imperfect and frustrating and, well, unjust.

And we hate that, or at least we should.

As creatures from God’s hand and in his image, we want justice to be done. We want evils to be corrected, miscreants to be fairly punished. And we especially want the really evil people—the Hitlers and the Pol Pots and the Idi Amins and the Ted Bundys and the Wayne Gacys and the Jeffrey Epsteins of this world—to face what they’ve got coming. We want their evil to end.

We want peace. We want safety. We want justice.

And if there’s just one person who’s behind all this evil, who’s responsible for all of it, and intentionally so—

We want to see him crushed, violently and painfully and permanently.

Well.

The Bible talks about that, and in fact its larger story moves to its climax by recounting the final justice given to the Evil One.

We’ll talk about that next time.

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A Book Donation and a Kind Providence

June 26, 2025 by Dan Olinger 4 Comments

I missed a couple of blog postings last week. During that time I had an experience that refreshed my thinking about providence. Today’s the day I share it.

One of my major concerns over the last few years has been what to do with my physical library. I knew that when I retired I’d lose my comfortable shelf space in my office, and there’s no way I can move all those books into my house. Further, I hardly use them anymore and haven’t for years; virtually all my study and other reading is electronic, for a couple of reasons. First, almost all of what I need access to is now available in electronic form, and my Logos library and Kindle library are more than sufficient for my needs, even before retirement. Second, in electronic form I can make the type bigger, whereas many of my physical books I now struggle to read.

For a few years I’ve been offering my books to my students; come on by my office, I say, and take whatever you want. But hardly anybody’s interested; their reading is electronic too, and like me they don’t want to lug heavy boxes of books around every time they move.

So what to do?

I sent a bunch of them to West Africa Baptist College in Wa, Ghana, where I’ve taught several classes. I also knew that Central Africa Baptist University in Kitwe, Zambia, was compiling a very good theological library, and I was planning to send everything else over there, but I couldn’t get it all together before the shipping deadline.

Then I heard from a friend who works for Operation Renewed Hope that a church in eastern Tennessee was flooded during Hurricane Helene, and both the pastor and his assistant had lost their entire libraries.

Well, maybe they could use mine.

So when school ended I packed my books into 23 heavy boxes—I estimated close to half a ton—and, on a day convenient to both the church and me, loaded them into my van. (Boy, do I love Stow-‘N-Go seats!) Earlier I had mentioned to a retired pastor in my church what I was planning, and he offered another 8 boxes, maybe 400 pounds, of really good books as well.

The convenient day was Thursday, June 19. (Yep, Juneteenth. A good day for giving.) The evening of the 18^th I saw a news report that a rockslide and flooding had closed I-40 on the NC/TN state line. That was by far the most efficient route. After a couple of text exchanges, I opted for I-26 north (officially west) to I-81 and then south into eastern Tennessee. That would add an hour to the trip each way, but I considered that a minor issue.

The wife and I set out at 7.30 Thursday morning, with the sun shining, a full gas tank, and almost a ton of books. North to Asheville and its morning rush hour, then north through the beautiful mountains and valleys of northwestern North Carolina, all the way to Johnson City, Tennessee (which isn’t all that far from Olinger, Virginia, and the Olinger Baptist Church, but that’s another story).

Heading southwest on I-81, we ran into the hardest rainstorm I’ve ever driven in. It was astonishing. Traffic slowed to under 40 mph, and with everybody’s wipers and flashers in action our little line of vehicles managed to come out on the other side no worse for the wear.

Then south a few miles on winding country roads to the church. It sits literally just across the street from the Pigeon River, which dominates that part of the state and is large at this location. I could just imagine what it looked like during the hurricane, surging out of its banks and overwhelming everything in its path.

The assistant pastor was waiting for me. When he told me his name, it startled me; he looked just like someone else I know by that name. I stared stupidly at him for a few seconds, then asked, “Are you related to [person with this name, and meeting this description]?” He laughed. “That’s my Dad.” Well, that means his Mom used to work with me at BJU Press, and he’s the nephew of two personal friends, including a member of my deacon care group at church. I had no idea that I had any connection with anyone at this church.

So a portion of my library is going to a family I treasure.

Cool.

Helene brought a lot of suffering to a lot of good people. There’s no minimizing or dismissing the depth of that suffering.

But all along the way God cares for his people and places little lights that remind us that he’s there.

Photo credit: Cooperative Institute for Research in the Atmosphere at Colorado State University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Baccalaureate, Part 3

May 26, 2025 by Dan Olinger Leave a Comment

Part 1 | Part 2

But you’re thinking (I hope) that those aren’t our greatest needs. They’re just the temporal ones. We have greater needs: forgiveness, relationship, grace, mercy, peace. Love.

What do you know? They’re all free, too.

Everything you need is free.

God is so, so good.

Yes, bad things do happen. Yes, the world is broken. Suffering is real, and injustice is real, and hate is real.

But God has assured us, and the experience of millions of his people has taught us, that these evil things are not senseless or purposeless or permanent. Paul tells us that

tribulation worketh patience; ⁴And patience, experience; and experience, hope: ⁵And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us (Ro 5.3-5).

Every athlete knows that the workouts—the suffering, if you will—are what strengthens you so that you can win. The coach is not a sadist; he is wise, and he is good. Any of the athletes on BJU’s national championship teams can tell us that.

God is good.

Another poet, the American e e cummings, captured that thought artfully, though surprisingly:

i thank You God for most this amazing
day:for the leaping greenly spirits of trees
and a blue true dream of sky;and for everything
which is natural which is infinite which is yes

(i who have died am alive again today,
and this is the sun’s birthday;this is the birth
day of life and of love and wings:and of the gay
great happening illimitably earth)

how should tasting touching hearing seeing
breathing any—lifted from the no
of all nothing—human merely being
doubt unimaginable You?

(now the ears of my ears awake and
now the eyes of my eyes are opened)

God is indeed good.

So where do we go from here? What’s around the corner at this pivotal point in our graduates’ lives?

Back to the child’s simple prayer:

God is great.
God is good.
Let us thank him.

And, I might add, let us trust him, even in a chaotic and, for some, frightful world.

The British lyricist Michael Perry captured this spirit perfectly, I think, in just one stanza in his great hymn “O God Beyond All Praising”:

Then hear, O gracious Savior,
     accept the love we bring,
that we who know your favor
     may serve you as our king;
and whether our tomorrows
     be filled with good or ill,
we’ll triumph through our sorrows
     and rise to bless you still:
to marvel at your beauty
     and glory in your ways,
and make a joyful duty
     our sacrifice of praise.

May it be so for all of us. Let’s pray.

²⁴The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:
²⁵The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:
²⁶The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace (Numbers 6.24-26).

Amen.