Coronavirus and Christ (Audiobook) // Ask Pastor John

[Music] APJ listeners hello this is Tony today's episode is very different than anything we've done on the podcast this episode is actually an audiobook two hours long the full thing jump Piper just wrote this urgent and timely book it's titled coronavirus and christ the e-book is available online right now with desiring gorg and the paperback edition can be ordered online right now as well this book is made possible because of our incredibly generous financial partners here at desiring God thank you for making our work possible especially so in this challenging season it's also made possible because Crossway books are publishing partner is getting behind this book in a big way to enable us to fast-track it into multiple channels and to get a print version published quickly Pastor John recorded the audio book from his home and we wanted you apt listeners to get this as soon as possible we hope it ministers to you as you find ways to share this episode with your friends your family and your church here now is pastor John desiring God presents the audio edition of coronavirus and Christ by John Piper narrated by John Piper for additional resources visit desiring God dot org the occasion coronavirus I am writing this little book in the last days of March 2020 on the front end of the global pandemic known as the corona virus or technically corona virus disease 2019 abbreviated kovat 19 the virus affects the lungs and in the worst cases kills by suffocation the first death by the virus was reported in China On January 11 2020 today as I write there are hundreds of thousands of cases of infection worldwide with tens of thousands of deaths there is no known cure yet by the time you read this you will know far better than I how things will develop so I need not detail the measures being taken to slow the spread of the virus or the economic toll being exact 'add social mingling travel conferences church gatherings theaters restaurants sporting events and businesses are nearing a standstill this is not unprecedented either globally or in America in the global influenza epidemic of 1918 to use the estimates of the Centers for Disease Control 50 million people around the world died over 500,000 of those were in the United States people felt symptoms in the morning and were dead by nightfall bodies were picked up from front porches to be carted away to graves dug by bulldozers a man was shot for not wearing a mask schools were closed ministers spoke of Armageddon of course precedents proved nothing the past is warning not fate nevertheless this is a time when the fragile form of this world is felt the seeming solid foundations are shaking the question we should be asking is do we have a rock under our feet a rock that cannot be shaken ever part-1 the God who reigns over the coronavirus chapter one to the rock I am moved to write because playing the odds is a fragile place to put your hope odds like three percent versus ten percent youth versus old age compromised health versus no history of disease rural versus urban self isolated versus meeting with friends playing the odds provides little hope it's not a firm place to stand there is a better way there is a better place to stand a rock of certainty rather than the sand of probabilities cancer came I recall being told on December 21 2005 that I had prostate cancer for the next several weeks all the talk was about odds odds with waiting to see odds with medications odds with homeopathic procedures odds with radical surgery my wife Noel and I took these numbers seriously but in the evening we would smile at each other and think our hope is not in odds our hope is in God we did not mean it is 100% certain God will heal me while doctors can only give me odds the rock we are talking about is better than that yes better than healing even before the phone call from the doctor telling me I had cancer God had already reminded me in a remarkable way about the rock under my feet after my usual annual exam the urologist had looked at me and said I'd like to do a biopsy really I thought when right now if you have time I'll make time while he was going to get the machine and while I was changing into the typical unflattering blue gown there was time for me to ponder what was happening so he thinks I may have cancer as my future in this world began to change before my eyes God brought to my mind something I had read recently in the Bible God spoke now let's be clear I don't hear voices at least I never have my confidence that God speaks is rooted in the fact that the Bible is the Word of God more on that in the next chapter he has spoken once for all and he still speaks in his word the Bible rightly understood is the voice of God here's what he said to me in that urologists office as I waited for the biopsy that would confirm that I had cancer John Piper this is not wrath live or die you will be with me that's my paraphrase here's what he actually said God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we are awake or asleep we might live with him 1st Thessalonians 5:9 2:10 wake or sleep that is live or die I will be alive with God how can that be I am a sinner I have never lived a day of my life not one without falling short of God's standards of love and holiness so how can this be how can God say you John Piper will be with me live or die God didn't even wait for the question before he answered it's because of Jesus Jesus alone because of his death there will be no wrath toward me not because of my perfection my sins my guilt and my punishment fell on my Savior Jesus Christ he died for us that's what His Word says therefore I am free from guilt free from punishment secure in God's merciful favor live or die God said you will be with me that is very different from playing the odds with cancer or with the coronavirus is a firm rock under my feet it is not fragile it is not sand I would like it to be a rock under your feet that is why I am writing is the rock-solid only in the bind by but that's not all someone might read that and say religious people like you can find hope only in the by-and-by if they are safe beyond the grave they have what they want but this voice of God they talk about offers little involvement right now God got everything started in creation I suppose and makes happily-ever-after endings but what about in-between where is he now right now during this coronavirus outbreak well I guess I do put a really high value on joy in the presence of God after death for unending billions of years as opposed to say endless suffering that seems reasonable to me but the rock under my feet the one I would like you to share really is under my feet now now the corona virus pandemic is where I live where we all live and if it weren't the corona virus it would be the cancer just waiting to recur or the unprovoked pulmonary embolism of 2014 just waiting to break off and go to my brain and turn me into a mindless man who will never write another sentence or a hundred other unforeseen calamities that could take me and you down at any moment the rock I'm talking about is under my feet now I could say that the rock is under my feet now just because hope beyond the grave is present hope the object of hope is future the experience of hope is present and that present experience is powerful hope is power present power hope keeps people from killing themselves now it helps people get out of bed and go to work now it gives meaning to daily life even locked down quarantined stay at home life now it liberates from selfishness and fear and greed now it empowers love and risk-taking and sacrifice now so be careful before you belittle the by and by it just may be that when you're by and by is beautiful and sure you're here and now will be sweet and fruitful his finger in viruses that's what I could say in defense of God's sweet word to me in the urologists office live or die you will be with me such hope through the death and resurrection of Jesus makes me want to pour out my life for the good of others now especially their eternal good it makes me passionate not to waste my life it takes away dithering it fills me with a zeal to make the greatness of Jesus Christ known it makes me want to spend and be spent to bring as many people with me as I can into everlasting joy but even though that's what I could say when someone objects that Pipers God specializes in the by and by not the here and now it's not the only thing that needs to be said in fact what I'm about to say will probably make someone object whoa that's way too much involvement for God into here and now now you've gone from a God who only fixes the future to a God with his fingers and viruses not I'm fine but I feel fine let's put it this way people would often ask me before my cancer diagnosis how's your health and I would answer fine I don't answer that way anymore I say I feel fine there's a difference the day before I went for that annual prostate exam I felt fine the day after I was told I had cancer in other words I was not fine so even as I write these words I do not know if I am fine I feel fine way better than I deserve for all I know I have cancer right now or perhaps a blood clot or the corona virus what's the point the point is this the ultimate reason we ought not to say I am fine is that God alone knows and decides if you are fine now to say I am fine when you don't know if you are fine and you don't control if you are fine is like saying tomorrow I will go to Chicago and do business there when you have no idea if you will even be alive tomorrow let alone doing business in Chicago here's what the Bible says about a sentence like that come now you who say today or tomorrow we will go to such in such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring what is your life for you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes instead you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that James for 13 to 15 so the God who is involved only in the by-and-by just evaporated that's the effect of the bright sunlight of biblical truth on the ephemeral mists of our opinions if he decides we do this or that the rock I stand on and want you to stand on is the rock of God's action in the world now and forever if the Lord wills the Bible says we will live that's about as involved now as you can get not just whether you live or die you will be with God but also God will decide if you live or die now and not just live or die he's even more involved than that if the Lord wills we will do this or that nothing is excluded from this or that he is totally involved totally this health or that sickness this economic collapse or that recovery this breath or not which means that while I waited in the doctor's office for the biopsy machine to arrive God could have said which he did later fear not whether you live or die you will be with me and in the meantime while you live nothing will happen to you nothing that I do not a point if I decide you will live if I decide you will die and until you die at my decision I will decide if you do this or that get to work this is my rock for today tomorrow and eternity to the rock this book is my invitation for you to join me on the solid rock Jesus Christ what that means will I hope become clear my aim is to show why God in Christ is the rock at this moment in history in this pandemic of the coronavirus and what it is like to stand on his mighty love chapter 2 a solid foundation it matters little what I think about the coronavirus or anything else for that matter but it matters forever what God thinks he is not silent about what he thinks scarcely a page in the Bible is irrelevant for this crisis solid and sweet my voice is grass God's voice is granite the grass withers and the flower falls but the word of the Lord remains forever first Peter 1 24 to 25 Jesus said that God's words in scripture cannot be broken John 10:35 what God says is true and righteous altogether Psalm 19 9 his word is therefore a firm foundation for life you have founded your testimonies forever psalm 119 152 listening to God and believing him is like building your house on a rock not on sand Matthew 7:24 his word is the kind of counsel you want to heed he is wonderful in counsel and excellent in wisdom Isaiah 28 29 his understanding is beyond measure Psalm 147 5 when he gives counsel about the coronavirus it is firm unshakable lasting the counsel of the Lord stands forever Psalm 33 11 his way is perfect second Samuel 22 31 therefore his words are sweet and precious more to be desired are they than gold sweeter also than honey and drippings from the honeycomb Psalm 19 10 indeed they are the sweetness of everlasting life Lord to whom shall we go you have the words of eternal life John 668 therefore in the best and worst of times God's words bring unshakable peace and joy surely it must be so my prayer is that all who read this book would share the experience of the Prophet Jeremiah your words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart Jeremiah 15:16 and mark this the sweetness of god's word is not lost in this historic moment of bitter providence not if we have learned the secret of sorrowful yet always rejoicing second corinthians 6:10 we will see more fully later what this secret is but here it is now in a single sentence the secret of sorrowful yet always rejoicing is this knowing that the same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus yet doesn't is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it indeed more than sustains sweetens sweetens with hope that god's purposes are kind even in death for those who trust him how do you know all the more urgent therefore is to question how do you know that the Bible is the Word of God my short answer is that there is a divine glory that shines through it which fits perfectly with the God shaped template in your heart like sprocket and gear hand and glove fish and water wings and air the final piece of a jigsaw puzzle to which I can imagine someone saying that sounds sort of mystical and subjective why do you answer like that because 50 years ago when I was struggling to know what I should build my life on I realized that the scholarly historical arguments for the Bible would not work for most people of the world why because while true and helpful to a point they cannot be followed by an eight-year-old child a newly encountered preliterate villager in a remote South Pacific jungle or an ordinary person in the West with little formal education and yet it seemed obvious to me that God intended for such people to hear the word of God and believe without leaping into the dark biblical faith is not a leap in the dark the biblical view of faith is not a leap in the dark it is warranted and well grounded it's called faith not because it has no foundation it's called faith because it involves trust Jesus didn't call the believers blind he called the unbelievers blind seeing they do not see Matthew 1313 saving faith in God's Word is based on seeing real seeing seeing what the Bible answers like this Satan does all he can to blind the minds of unbelievers to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is the image of God 2nd Corinthians 4:4 in other words there is a kind of spiritual light that shines through the gospel the biblical story of salvation what kind of light it's the light of the glory of Christ who is the image of God this is not magical it's not mystical in the sense of something appearing that is not really there Jesus Christ is the kind of divine human person whose moral and spiritual and supernatural glory his beauty and Worth and greatness shines through God's Word it authenticates Scripture as true God shaped template in your soul this is why I say there is a divine glory that shines through the Scriptures that fits perfectly with the God shaped template in your heart in that way it authenticates the truth and value of the Bible yes I do believe that there is a God shaped template a kind of indirect knowledge of God in every human soul the Bible puts it like this speaking of all humanity it says what can be known about God is plain to them although they knew God they did not honor him as God Romans 1 19 and 21 the Bible teaches that this knowing in every soul makes us all responsible to see the glory of God in nature in the same way we are all responsible to see the glory of God in Jesus through the word the heavens declare the glory of God Psalm 19:1 we are obliged to see it and give thanks so also the Son of God displays the glory of God and we are responsible to see it and worship the Apostle John says we have seen his glory glory as of the only son from the father John 1:14 this is the self-authenticating glory that shines from God's Word and gives us a warranted well grounded foundation for believing that the Christian scriptures are from God technology versus taste the way we come to know the glory of God in Scripture is similar to the way we know that honey is honey science and technology may say that this jar contains honey because of chemical experiments just like biblical scholars can argue compellingly that the Bible is historically reliable but most people are not scientists or scholars we know that this is honey because we taste it similarly there is a divine sweetness in the glory of God in the message of the Bible it touches a part of us that we know is put there by God how sweet are your words to my taste sweeter than honey to my mouth someone 19103 Oh taste and see that the Lord is good Psalm 34:8 this is a real seeing and tasting it is not make-believe it sees and tastes what is really there yes to the rock of our comfort so when Jesus says scripture cannot be broken John 10:35 and when the Apostle Paul says all Scripture is breathed out by God second Timothy 3:16 and when the Apostle Peter says the authors of Scripture were carried along by the Holy Spirit 2nd Peter 1:21 our heart says yes we have tasted and seen we know and the knowing is well-founded we are not leaping in the dark our whole soul resonates with the biblical shout the some of your Word is truth some 119 160 for ever o Lord your word is firmly fixed in the heaven someone 1989 every word of God proves true some 30 verse 5 when this happens the whole truth of God washes over us even in the face of the coronavirus it comes with incomparable comfort when the cares of my heart are many your consolations cheer my soul psalm 94 19 the lord is near the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit many are the afflictions of the righteous but the Lord delivers him out of them all some 3418 2:19 no man can comfort our souls in this pandemic the way God can his comfort is unshakeable it is the comfort of a great high rock on the stormy sea it comes from his word the Bible Chapter three the rock is righteous if God is going to be our rock he must be righteous an unrighteous rock is a mirage the very thing that a global pandemic shakes is our confidence that God is righteous holy good if God is not righteous in the midst of it we have no rock so we need to ask what is the holiness and righteousness and goodness of God because if we don't know what they are how will we know if this coronavirus outbreak has made them crumble or how will we know if instead they are the eternal foundations of the rock that saves us what we will see is that the Bible portrays the holiness righteousness and goodness of God not as identical but as interlocking we start with God's holiness what is it transcendent infinite worth the root meaning of the Old Testament word for holiness is the idea of being separate different separated from the ordinary and when applied to God this separateness implies that he is in a class by himself he is like a one-of-a-kind diamond supremely valuable we can use the word transcendent for this kind of divine separateness he is so uniquely separate that he transcends all other reality he is above it and more valuable than all of it when Moses struck the rock instead of speaking to it the way God said God rebuked him you did not believe in me to uphold me as holy in the eyes of the people of Israel numbers 20 verse 12 in other words Moses treated God not as exceptional and supremely trustworthy but as just another human Authority along with the others that could be ignored or in Isaiah eight twelve to thirteen God said to Isaiah do not fear what this people fears nor be in dread but the Lord of Hosts him you shall honor as holy let him be your fear let him be your dread in other words don't lump God into the same group as all your ordinary fears and dreads treat him as an utterly separate and unique a transcendent fear and dread therefore God's holiness is His infinite transcendence and worth above all else he is in a class by himself which means he doesn't depend on anything else for his existence he is self existent so he needs nothing and depends on nothing he is complete perfect therefore he possesses the greatest value as the source of all reality and all value above all but not solitary God's infinite height above all other reality does not mean that he is a loveless solitary mind the historic doctrine of the Trinity is biblical through and through God exists as three divine persons but these three are one one divine essence there is one God not three but this one God exists in a mysterious and true unity of Father Son and Holy Spirit each of them eternal and without beginning each of them truly God so the holiness the transcendent Worth and greatness of God does not mean he is solitary and loveless in his infinite height God the Father knows and loves the son perfectly completely mark 111 mark 9 7 Colossians 1:13 God the son knows and loves the father perfectly completely infinitely John 14 31 the Holy Spirit is the perfect complete infinite expression of the fathers and the sons knowledge and love of each other why does this matter because this perfect Trinitarian fellowship is essential to the fullness and perfection and completeness of God it is essential to his transcendent worth and beauty and greatness that is it is essential to his holiness holiness is interlocking with righteousness there is a missing dimension in that description of God's holiness the Bible speaks of God's holiness not only in terms of transcendence but also in terms of morality to be holy is not just to be separate and transcendent but also to be righteous this forces a question that will have great implications for how we view the coronavirus in relation to God since righteousness implies doing what is right and doing what his right implies compliance with some standard of rightness what standard does God's righteousness comply with before creation there were no standards outside God there was nothing outside of him for him to comply with before creation God was the only reality so when there is only God how do you define what is right for God to do that is how can God's holiness and compus not only his transcendence but also his righteousness the answer is that the standard of God's righteousness is God the foundational biblical principle is this he cannot deny himself 2nd Timothy 2:13 he cannot act in a way that would deny his own infinite Worth and beauty and greatness this is the standard of what is right for God this means that the moral dimension of God's holiness his righteousness is his unwavering commitment to act in accord with his Worth and beauty and greatness every affection every thought every word every act of God will always be consistent with the infinite Worth and beauty of his transcendent fullness if God were to deny his Worth or beauty or greatness it would not be right the ultimate standard would be broken he would be unrighteous righteousness is interlocking with goodness the goodness of God is not identical with his holiness or his righteousness but it is interlocking in that his holiness overflows in goodness and His righteousness guides its be Stowell they never contradict each other God's goodness is his disposition to be generous to do what blesses human beings the transcendent fullness and perfection of God His Holiness is like a fountain that overflows this is why he is disposed to be generous God is not needy therefore he never exploits others to make up for some deficiency in himself instead the impulse of his nature is to give not get he is not served by human hands as though he needed anything since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything acts 1725 but his goodness is not disconnected from his righteousness it is not bestowed in a way that would deny his infinite value in beauty and greatness this is why God's righteousness involves final punishment as well as goodness when God punishes the unrepentant in hell he is not bestowing his goodness on them but he does not cease to be good his holiness and righteousness governed the bestowal of his goodness this is why his goodness flows especially toward those who fear Him and take refuge in him oh how abundant is your goodness which you have stored up for those who fear you and worked for those who take refuge in you Psalm 31 19 this reverence and faith do not earn God's goodness finite totally dependent sinners can't earn anything from God God's goodness to sinners is always free and undeserved why then is God prone to show his abundant goodness to those who fear Him and take refuge in him it's because such reverence and faith display God's Worth and beauty and greatness romans 4 20 and therefore god's righteousness inclines him to affirm such god-honoring attitudes what then of the coronavirus we turn in the next chapter to God's all-knowing all governing sovereignty over all things but what we have seen here will keep us from jumping to the conclusion that God's fingers in the coronavirus discredit his holiness or righteousness or goodness we will not be so naive as to equate human suffering with divine unrighteousness or to conclude that God has ceased to be holy or good when he governs his world all of us are sinners no exceptions we all have exchanged the glory of God's Worth and beauty and greatness for things we enjoy more Romans 1:23 3:23 this is a shameful dishonor to God whether we feel it or not we therefore our deserving of punishment our dishonouring of God's glory makes us worthy objects of holy wrath the Bible says we are by nature children of Wrath Ephesians 2:3 which means that God would be holy and righteous to withhold his goodness from us the coronavirus therefore does not point to god's unholiness or unrighteousness or lack of goodness our rock in these troubled days is not unrighteous he is not unholy there is none holy like the Lord there is no rock like our God for Samuel - to our rock is not a mirage chapter 4 sovereign over all in Chapter two I used the phrase bitter Providence that's what the coronavirus is to describe some of God's works as bitter is not blasphemy Naomi Ruth's mother-in-law who lost her husband her two sons and one daughter in law through famine and exile said the Almighty has dealt very bitterly with me I went away full and the Lord has brought me back empty the Almighty has brought calamity upon me Ruth 1:22 21 she was not lying overstating or accusing it was a simple and terrible fact bitter providence is not a disparagement of god's ways it's a description I also said in chapter 2 that the sweetness of God's Word is not diminished in the midst of this bitter Providence not if we have learned the secret of sorrowful yet always rejoicing 2nd corinthians 6:10 I said we would come back to this secret then I summed it up in a sentence the same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus yet doesn't is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it knowing this makes all the difference so is it true what God wills he does my aim in this chapter and the next is to show that God is all governing and all-wise he is sovereign over the coronavirus I want to show that this is good news indeed it is the secret of experiencing the sweetness of God in his bitter Providence's saying that God is all governing means he is sovereign his sovereignty means that he can do and in fact does do all that he decisively wills to do I say decisively because God in a sense wills things he does not carry through he can express desires that he himself chooses not to act on in that sense they are not decisive he himself does not let such willing or desiring rise to the level of performance for example consider lamentations 332 to 33 though he caused grief he will have compassion according to the abundance of his steadfast love for he does not afflict from his heart or grieve the children of men he does grieve us but not from his heart I take that to mean that while there are aspects of his character his heart that incline away from grieving us nevertheless other aspects of his character dictate the holiness and righteousness of grieving us he is not double minded there is a perfect beauty and coherence in how all of his attributes cooperate but neither is he without complexity his character is more like a symphony than a solo performance so when I say that God sovereignty means that he can do and in fact does do all that he decisively wills to do I mean there is no force outside himself that can thwart or frustrate his will when he decides for thing to happen it happens or to put it another way everything happens because God wills it to happen of sovereignty Isiah teaches that this is part of the very essence of what it means to be God I am God and there is no other I am God and there is none like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things not yet done saying my counsel shall stand and I will accomplish all my purpose isaiah 46:9 2:10 to be God is to cause his own counsel to stand always God does not just declare what future events will happen he makes them happen he speaks his word and then he adds I am watching over my word to perform it Jeremiah 1:12 which means as job learned from hard experience I know that you can do all things and that no purpose of yours can be thwarted job 42 - or as Nebuchadnezzar learned from his merciful humiliation all the inhabitants of the earth are accounted as nothing and he does according to his will among the hosts of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth and none can stay his hand or say to him what have you done daniel 4:35 or as the psalmist says whatever the Lord pleases he does in heaven and on earth in the seas and all deeps some 135 6 or as the Apostle Paul sums up he works all things according to the counsel of his will Ephesians 1:11 all things not some things and according to the counsel of his will not according to wills or forces outside himself in other words the sovereignty of God is all-encompassing and all-pervasive he holds absolute sway over this world he governs wind lightning snow frogs nats flies locusts quail worms fish sparrows grass plants famine the son prison doors blindness deafness paralysis fever every disease travel plans the hearts of kings nations murderers and spiritual deadness and all of them do his sovereign will not a season for sentimental views of God the coronavirus was sent there for by God this is not a season for sentimental views of God it is a bitter season and God ordained it God governs it he will end it no part of it is outside his sway life and death are in his hand job did not sin with his lips when he said naked I came from my mother's womb and naked shall I return the Lord gave and the Lord has taken away blessed be the name of the Lord job 1:21 the Lord gave and the Lord took the Lord took jobs ten children in the presence of God no one has a right to life every breath we take is a gift of grace every heartbeat undeserved life and death are finally in the hands of God see now that I even I am he and there is no God besides me I kill and I make alive I wound and I heal and there is none that can deliver out of my hand deuteronomy 32:39 therefore as we ponder our future with the coronavirus or any other life-threatening situation James tells us how to think and speak you ought to say if the Lord wills we will live and do this or that James 4:15 if he wills we will live if not we won't for all I know I will not live to see this book published I have at least one relative infected with the coronavirus I am 74 years old and my lungs are compromised with a blood clot and seasonal bronchitis but these factors do not ultimately decide God decides is that good news yes try to show why in the next chapter chapter 5 the sweetness of his rain why should I receive the news of God's sovereignty over the coronavirus and over my life as a sweet teaching the secret I said is knowing that the same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus yet doesn't is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it in other words if we try to rescue God from his sovereignty over suffering we sacrifice his sovereignty to turn all things for good gods dethronement is not good news the very sovereignty that rules in sickness is the sovereignty that sustains in loss the very sovereignty that takes life is the sovereignty that conquered death and brings believers home to heaven and Christ it is not sweet to think that Satan sickness sabotage fate or chance has the last say in my life that is not good news that God reigns is good news why because God is holy and righteous and good and he is infinitely wise with God our wisdom and might he has counsel and understanding job 1213 his understanding is beyond measure Psalm 147 5 oh the depth of the riches and wisdom and knowledge of God romans 11:33 his great aim is that the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places Ephesians 3:10 nothing surprises him confuses him or baffles him his infinite power rests in the hands of infinite holiness and righteousness and goodness and wisdom and all of that stands in the service of those who trust His Son Jesus Christ what God did in sending Jesus to die for sinners has everything to do with the coronavirus how God secured all things for sinners here's the connection it's Romans 8:32 he who did not spare his own son but gave him up for us all how will he not also with him graciously give us all things this means that God's willingness to send his son to be crucified in our place is his declaration and validation that he will use all his sovereignty to give us all things how will he not also with him graciously give us all things meaning he most certainly will it is guaranteed by the blood of his son and what are these all things they are the things we need to do his will glorify his name and make it safely into his joyful presence three verses later Paul explains how it works in real life in the coronavirus what does it look like when God's infinite blood certified commitment to give us all things meets the coronavirus here's what he says who shall separate us from the love of Christ shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword or coronavirus as it is written for your sake we are being killed all day long we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered no in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us Romans 8:35 237 don't miss these painful and amazing words we are being killed all day long that means that the all things God will give to us because he did not spare his own son includes bringing us safely through death or as he says in Romans 8:38 239 I am sure that neither death nor life will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord what Satan means for evil even if Satan on his divine leash has a hand in our suffering and death he is not ultimate he cannot hurt us without God's permission and limitation job 112 Luke 22:31 2nd Corinthians 12:7 and in the end it is right for us to say to Satan what Joseph said to his brothers who had sold him into slavery as for you you meant evil against me but God meant it for good Genesis 50:20 be careful not to water this down it does not say God used it for good or God turned it for good it says God meant it for good they had an evil purpose God had a good purpose God didn't start cleaning up halfway through this sinful affair he had a purpose a meaning from the beginning from the start he meant it for good this is the key to comfort when the evil of men and the evil of Satan compound our suffering in Christ we have every right to say to Satan or to evil men you meant it for evil but God meant it for good neither Satan nor sickness nor sinful man is sovereign only God is and he is good and wise and sovereign not a sparrow every hair Jesus expresses the sweetness of God's sovereignty for his disciples as beautifully as anyone are not two sparrows sold for a penny and not one of them will fall to the ground apart from your father but even the hairs of your head are all numbered fear not therefore you are of more value than many sparrows Matthew 10:29 231 not one sparrow falls but by God's planned not one virus moves but by God's plan this is meticulous sovereignty and what does Jesus say next three things you are of more value than many sparrows the hairs of your head are all numbered fear not why not because God's meticulous sovereignty whether we live or die serves his holiness and righteousness and goodness and wisdom in Christ in Christ we are not his dispensable pawns we are his valued children you are of more value than many sparrows this is the secret mentioned earlier knowing that the same sovereignty that could stop the coronavirus yet doesn't is the very sovereignty that sustains the soul in it and not only sustains but sees to it that everything bitter and sweet works together for our good the good of those who love God and are called in Christ Romans 8:28 2:30 immortal till my work is done that kind of rock-solid confidence in the face of death has emboldened Christ's people for 2,000 years the truth of God's wise and good sovereignty has been the stabilizing power for thousands of Christians in the sacrifices of love for example Henry Martin missionary to India and Persia who died of the plague like the corona virus when he was 31 October 16 1812 wrote in his journal in January 1812 to all appearance the present year will be more perilous than any I have seen but if I live to complete the Persian New Testament my life after that will be of less importance but whether life or death be mine may Christ be magnified in me if he has worked for me to do I cannot die this has often been paraphrased as I am immortal till Christ worked for me to do is done this is profoundly true and it rests squarely on the reality that life and death are in the hands of our sovereign God indeed the entire cause of Christ is in his hand seven years earlier Martin at the age of 24 had written were God not the sovereign of the universe how miserable I should be but the Lord reigneth let the earth be glad and Christ's cause shall prevail o my soul be happy in the prospect part two what is God doing through the coronavirus preliminary thoughts seeing and pointing if God has not been dethroned if indeed he governs all things according to the counsel of his will Ephesians 1:11 and if this coronavirus outbreak with all its devastation is in his holy righteous good and wise hands then what is he doing what are his purposes stop regarding man the first thing to say before trying to answer this question is that compared to the wisdom of God my opinion counts for nothing so does yours what we think out of our own heads is of little significance the Bible says that whoever trusts in his own mind is a fool proverbs 28:26 instead we are told trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding proverbs 3:5 we humans are finite sinful culturally conditioned and shaped and miss shaped by our genes and personal history out of our hearts and minds and mouths come every manner of self-justifying rationalization of our own preferences so we would be wise to pay attention to the prophet Isaiah when he says stop regarding man in whose nostrils is breath for of what account is he Isaiah 2:22 is it they're not presumption for me to write this book let alone a section titled what is God doing through the coronavirus no it is not presumption not if God has spoken in the Christian scriptures not if God has stooped to speak in human words so that we might truly though partially know him and his ways not if Paul's words are true God lavished His grace upon us in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will Ephesians 1 8 to 9 not if as Paul says by reading you can receive my insight into the mystery of Christ Ephesians 3 for God is not silent about what he is doing in this world he has given us the scriptures in Chapter two I pointed to some of the reasons why we may trust the Bible as God's Word so my aim is not to dream up ideas about what God might be doing my aim is to listen to his word in Scripture and commend to you what I hear how inscrutable his ways another thing I should say before I try to answer the question what is God doing is that he is always doing a billion things we do not know you have multiplied Oh Lord my god your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us none can compare with you I will proclaim and tell of them yet they are more than can be told some forty verse five not only are his designs in the coronavirus beyond counting they are in many ways in screwball oh the depth of the riches and the wisdom and the knowledge of God how unsearchable are his judgments and how inscrutable are his ways romans 11:33 but when paul wrote that he was not saying so close your bible and make up your own reality on the contrary those words about God's inscrutable ways were written as a climax to eleven chapters of the greatest news in the world all of which are written to be understood for example when Paul touches on the inevitability of suffering he says we rejoice in our sufferings knowing that suffering produces endurance and endurance produces character and character produces hope and hope does not put us to shame because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit Romans 5:3 2:5 knowing the scriptures are written that we might know the things God has revealed especially about suffering including this coronavirus outbreak so inscrutable means that God is always doing more than we can see and even what we can see we would not have seen if he had not revealed pointing to reality so my job here is not to imagine as in John Lennon's famous song he tells us to imagine that there's no heaven no hell but only sky and then he says that such imagining is easy just try right it is easy way too easy the coronavirus demands hard reality not easy imaginings God and His Word are the reality we need the rock under our feet so my aim here is to point to reality not create reality my aim is to hear what God has said and affirm rather than imagine I will point to what the Bible teaches and then make the connections with the coronavirus yours is to judge what is right I say that because it's what Jesus said about interpreting the present time he was indignant that people could use their reason to make sense out of weather patterns but not the divine working of God in history you hypocrites you know how to interpret the appearance of earth and sky but why do you not know how to interpret the present time and why do you not judge for yourselves what is right Luke 12:56 257 so my hope is that you will ask for God's help look to God's Word and judge for yourselves what is right I hope you will test what I say by the scriptures and hold fast to what is good six paths to follow many pages could be written about each of the six answers I am going to give to the question what is God doing through the coronavirus but with the urgency of the hour I won't take time for that I will only point two paths of biblical truth that I hope you will pursue after you close this book I wish we could walk far down those paths together but I must leave that with you may God guide you what is God doing through the coronavirus picturing moral horror answer one God is giving the world in the corona virus outbreak as in all other calamities a physical picture of the moral horror and spiritual ugliness of God belittling sin sin in fact is why all physical misery exists the third chapter of the Bible describes the entrance of sin into the world it shows sin to be the origin of global devastation and misery Genesis 3:1 219 Paul summed it up in Romans 5:12 sin came into the world through one man and death through sin and so death spread to all men because all sinned the world has been broken ever since all its beauty is interwoven with evil and disasters and diseases and frustrations God had created it perfect God saw everything that he had made and behold it was very good Genesis 1:31 but from humanity's fall into sin to this very day history for all its wonders is a conveyor belt of corpses the fall is judgement the bible does not see this brokenness as merely natural but as the judgment of God on a world permeated with sin here's how Paul describes the effects of God's judgment on the world because of sin the creation was subjected to futility not willingly but because of him who subjected it in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God for we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now Romans 8:22 22 futility bondage to corruption groaning these are the images of global devastation and misery since sin entered the world and Paul says this devastation is owing to God's judgment the creation was subjected to futility because of him who subjected it in hope Romans 8:28 indid not subject it in hope Adam did not subject it in Hope God did as Paul said in Romans 5:16 the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation even his children under judgment to be sure this passage is full of hope the freedom of the glory of the children of God Romans 8:21 God has a stunning plan for a new creation where he will wipe away every tear from their eyes revelation 21:4 but for now we are all under his judgment he has subjected the world to death disaster and misery yes even his own children those whom he predestined for adoption Ephesians 1:5 redeemed by the blood of his son Ephesians 1:7 and appointed for eternal life Ephesians 1:18 even we suffer and die because of God's judgment in the fall we ourselves who have the first fruits of the spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies Romans 8:23 Christians get swept away in tsunamis Christians are killed in terrorist attacks Christians get the coronavirus purification not punishment the difference for Christians those who embrace Christ as their supreme treasure is that our experience of this corruption is not condemnation there is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Romans 8:1 the pain for us is purifying not punitive God has not destined us for wrath 1st Thessalonians 5:9 we die of disease and disaster like all humans but for those who are in Christ the sting of death has been removed 1st Corinthians 15:55 to die is gain Philippians 1:21 to depart is to be with Christ Philippians 1:23 Satan is real and restricted when I trace the miseries of this world back to God's judgment I am not shutting my eyes to the fact that Satan is very involved in our global misery the Bible calls him the god of this world 2nd Corinthians 4:4 and the ruler of this world John 12:31 and the Prince of the power of the air Ephesians 2:2 he has been a murderer from the beginning John 8:44 he binds and oppresses with many diseases Luke 13 16 acts 10:38 but Satan is on a leash the leash is in God's hands he does not act without God's leave he acts only with permission and limitation God decides finally the extent of Satan's damage he is not separate from God's judgment he serves it unwittingly question now here's the question that brings the meaning of the coronavirus into sharper focus why did God bring a physical judgment on the world for a moral evil Adam and Eve defied God their hearts turned against God they preferred their own wisdom to his they chose independence over trust this defying and preferring and choosing was a spiritual and moral evil it was sin in the soul first not in the body it was first God word not man word but in response to moral and spiritual rebellion God subjected the physical world to disaster and misery why why not leave the physical world in good order and bring misery on the human soul since that's where it all started an answer here's my suggestion God put the physical world under a curse so that the physical horrors we see around us in diseases and calamities would become a vivid picture of how horrible sin is in other words physical evil is a parable a drama a signpost pointing to the moral outrage of rebellion against God why might that be fitting because in our present condition after the fall blinded by sin we cannot see or feel how repugnant sin against God is hardly anyone in the world feels the horror of preferring other things over God who loses any sleep over our daily belittling of God by neglect and defiance but oh how we feel our physical pain how indignant we can become if God touches our bodies we may not grieve over the way we do mean God every day in our hearts but unless the coronavirus come and threaten our bodies and he has our attention or does he physical pain is God's trumpet blast to tell us that something is dreadfully wrong in the world disease and deformity are God's pictures in the physical realm of what sin is like in the spiritual realm and that is true even though some of the most godly people in the world bear those diseases and deformities calamities are God's previews of what sin deserves and will one day receive in judgment a thousand times worse they are warnings they are wake-up calls to see the moral horror and spiritual ugliness of sin against God would that we could all see and feel how repugnant how offensive how abominable it is to treat our maker with contempt to ignore him and distrust him and demean him and give him less attention in our hearts then we give the style of our hair we need to see this and feel this or we will not turn to Christ for salvation from the ugliness of sin we may cry out to escape from the penalty of sin but will we see and hate the god demeaning moral ugliness of sin if we don't it will not be because God has not provided vivid portrayals of it in physical misery like the coronavirus therefore God is mercifully shouting to us in these days wake up sin against God is like this it is horrible and ugly and far more dangerous than the coronavirus Chapter seven sending specific divine judgments - some people will be infected with the corona virus as a specific judgment from God because of their sinful attitudes and actions the fact that all misery is a result of the fall a result of the entrance of God diminishing soon into the world does not mean that all individual suffering is a specific judgment for personal sins for example job's suffering was not owing to his particular sins the very first sentence of that book makes this clear job was blameless and upright one who feared God and turned away from evil job one one and as we saw earlier God's own people experienced many of the physical effects of his judgement the Apostle Peter put it like this it is time for judgment to begin at the household of God and if it begins with us what will be the outcome of those who do not obey the gospel of God and if the righteous is scarcely saved what will become of the ungodly and sinner first Peter 4:17 2:18 for the household of God this judgment from God is purifying not punitive not punishment so not all suffering is owing to the specific judgments of God on specific sins nevertheless God sometimes uses disease to bring particular judgments upon those who reject him and give themselves over to sin examples of specific judgments on specific sins I'll give two examples of specific judgments on specific sins in acts 12 Herod the king exalted himself by allowing himself to be called a God immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down because he did not give God the glory and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last X 12 23 God can do that with all who exalt themselves which means we should be amazed that more of our rulers do not drop dead every day because of their arrogance before God and man God's restraint is a great mercy another example is the sin of homosexual intercourse in Romans 1:27 the Apostle Paul says men likewise gave up natural affections with women and were consumed with passion for one another men committing shameless acts with men and receiving in themselves the due penalty for their error that due penalty is the painful effect in themselves of their sin this due penalty is just one example of the judgment of God that we see in Romans 1:18 where it says the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth therefore while not all suffering is a specific judgment for specific sins some is let every soul be searched the coronavirus is therefore never a clear and simple punishment on any person the most loving spirit-filled Christian whose sins are forgiven through Christ may die of the coronavirus disease but it is fitting that every one of us search our own heart to discern if our suffering is God's judgment on the way we live if we come to Christ we can know that our suffering is not the punitive judgment of God we can know this because Jesus said whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life he does not come into judgment but has passed from death to life John 5:24 there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus Romans 8:1 it is discipline not destruction for the Lord disciplines the one he loves and chastises every son whom he receives Hebrews 12:6 Chapter eight awakening us for the second coming answer three the coronavirus is a god-given wake-up call to be ready for the second coming of Christ even though the history of the Christian Church is littered with failed predictions of the end of the world it remains true that Jesus Christ is coming back men of Galilee the angel said at Jesus departure why do you stand looking into heaven this Jesus who was taken up from you into heaven will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven acts 1:11 at his coming he will judge the world when the Son of Man comes in his glory and all the angels with him then he will sit on his glorious throne before him will be gathered all the nations and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats Matthew 25:31 232 for those who are not ready to meet Christ that day will come suddenly like a trap watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap Luke 21 34 birth pains Jesus said there would be pointers to his coming like wars famines and earthquakes Matthew 24:7 he called these signs birth pains matthew 24:8 the image is of the earth as a woman in labor trying to give birth to the new world which Jesus would bring into being at his coming Paul picked up this imagery in Romans 8:22 and referred the birth pains to all the groanings of this age all the miseries of disaster and disease like the coronavirus he pictured us in our diseases as part of the labor pains of the world we groan as we wait for the redemption of our bodies at the coming of Jesus when he will raise the dead and give us new glorious bodies for the pians 3:21 the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God for we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now and not only the creation but we ourselves who have the firstfruits of the Spirit groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons the redemption of our bodies Romans 8:21 223 stay awake my point is this Jesus wants us to see the birth pains including the coronavirus as reminders and alerts that he is coming and that we need to be ready you must be ready for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect Matthew 24:44 you don't have to be a date setter in order to take seriously what Jesus says and what he says is unmistakable be on guard keep awake for you do not know when the time will come stay awake for you do not know when the master of the house will come and what I say to you I say to all stay awake mark 13 33 to 37 the message is clear stay awake stay awake stay awake and the birth pains of the natural world are meant for this message but oh how many people are not awake for all their frenzied activity they are sound asleep in regard to the coming of Jesus Christ the peril is great and the coronavirus is a merciful wake-up call to be ready the way to be ready is to come to Jesus Christ receive forgiveness of sins and walk in his light then you will be among those who are not in darkness for that day to surprise you like a thief for you are all children of light so then let us keep awake for God has not destined us for wrath but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ who died for us so that whether we wake or sleep we might live with him first Thessalonians 5:4 210 chapter nine realigning us with the infinite worth of Christ answer for the coronavirus is God's thunderclap call for all of us to repent and realign our lives with the infinite worth of Christ the coronavirus is not unique as a call to repentance in fact all natural disasters weather floods famines locusts tsunamis or diseases are God's painful and merciful summons to repent we see this from the way Jesus responds to disaster in Luke 13 1 to 5 there were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices and he answered them do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans because they suffered in this way no I tell you but unless you repent you will all likewise perish or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem no I tell you but unless you repent you will all likewise perish pilot had slaughtered worshipers in the temple the tower in siloam had collapsed and killed 18 bystanders one disaster was the fruit of human wickedness the other was apparently an accident the meaning of calamity for you the crowds want to know from Jesus what's the meaning of this was it an act of God specific judgment on specific sins Jesus answer is amazing he draws a meaning from these disasters that relates to everyone not just the ones who died in both cases he says no those who were murdered by Pilate and those who were crushed under the tower were not worse sinners than you you why does he bring up their sin they weren't asking for his opinion about their own sin they were curious about the others they wanted to know what the disasters meant for the victims not for the rest of us that's what makes Jesus answer amazing in essence he said that the meaning of these disasters is for everyone and the message is repent or perish he says it twice unless you repent you will all likewise perish Luke 13:3 unless you repent you will all likewise perish Luke 13 5 merciful call while there's time what was Jesus doing he was redirecting the people's astonishment the astonishment that prompted these folks to query Jesus is misplaced they were astonished that people were murdered so cruelly and crushed so meaninglessly but Jesus says what you ought to be astonished at is that you were not the ones murdered and crushed in fact if you don't repent you yourselves will meet a judgment like that someday from this I infer that God has a merciful message in all such disasters the message is that we are all sinners bound for destruction and disasters are a gracious summons from God to repent and be saved while there is still time Jesus turned from the dead to the living and essentially said let's not talk about the dead let's talk about you this is more urgent what happened to them is about you your biggest issue is not their sin but your sin I think that's God's message for the world in the corona virus outbreak he is calling the world to repentance while there is still time [Music] what does repentance mean let's be more specific what does repentance mean the word in the New Testament means a change of heart and mind not a superficial change of opinion but a deep transformation so that we perceive and prize God and Christ for who they really are Jesus described the change like this you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind Matthew 22:37 whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me Matthew 10:37 in other words the most fundamental change of heart and mind that repentance calls for is to treasure God with all that you are to treasure Jesus more than all other relations why would Jesus threaten us with perishing the reason Jesus said that we all likewise would perish if we don't repent is that we all have exchanged the treasure that God is for lesser things we love more Romans 1 22 - 23 and we all have treated Jesus as less desirable than money and entertainment and friends and family the reason all of us deserve to perish is not a list of rules we have broken but an infinite value we have scorned the infinite value of all that God is for us in Jesus Christ waking up to our suicidal preferences repentance means waking up from the suicidal preference of tin over gold foundations of sand over solid rock games in the gutter over a holiday at the sea as CS Lewis writes we are half-hearted creatures fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in the slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea we are far too easily pleased the infinite joy Lewis mentions is the experience of seeing and savoring and sharing the Worth and beauty and greatness of Christ roused to rely on Christ what God is doing in the coronavirus is showing us graphically painfully that nothing in this world gives the security and satisfaction that we find in the infinite greatness and worth of Jesus this global pandemic takes away our freedom of movement our business activity and our face-to-face relations it takes away our security and our comfort and in the end it may take away our lives the reason God exposes us to such losses is to rouse us to rely on Christ or to put it another way the reason he makes calamity the occasion for offering Christ to the world is that the supreme all satisfying greatness of Christ shines more brightly when Christ sustains us in suffering gift of desperation consider for example why God brought Paul to the point where he despaired of life we do not want you to be unaware brothers of the affliction we experienced in Asia for we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself indeed we felt that we had received the sentence of death but that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead 2nd Corinthians 1 8 to 9 Paul does not view this experience of desperation as satanic or random it is purposeful and God is the one whose purpose is mentioned this life-threatening experience was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead second Corinthians 1:9 this is the message of the coronavirus stop relying on yourselves and turn to God you cannot even stop death God can raise the dead and of course relying on God does not mean that Christians become do-nothings Christians have never been do nothing's it means that the ground the pattern and the goal of all our doings is God as Paul said I worked harder than any of them though it was not i but the grace of god that was with me first Corinthians 15:10 the coronavirus calls us to make God the all-important pervasive reality of our lives our lives depend on him more than they depend on breath and sometimes takes our breath in order to throw us on to himself the meaning of thorns or consider God's purpose in Paul's painful thorn in the flesh to keep me from becoming conceited because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations a thorn was given to me in the flesh a messenger of Satan to harass me to keep me from becoming conceited three times I pleaded with the Lord about this that it should leave me but he said to me my grace is sufficient for you 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 2nd Corinthians 12:7 2:9 Paul was blessed with great revelations God saw the danger of pride Satan saw the danger of truth and joy God governs Satan's strategy so that what Satan thinks will ruin Paul's witness actually serves Paul's humility and gladness Paul gets a thorn in the flesh a messenger of Satan and a Messenger of God we don't know what the thorn is but we know that thorns are painful and we know that Paul asked three times that Christ would take it away but Christ will not he has a purpose for this pain namely my power is made perfect in weakness in Corinthians 12:9 his purpose is that through Paul's unwavering faith and joy Christ would shine as more valuable than health Paul's response to this purpose I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses second Corinthians 12:9 gladly how can this be why is Paul willing to embrace his thorn with gladness because his greatest goal in life is that Christ be magnified in his body whether my life or my death Philippians 120 to see the beauty of Christ to cherish Christ as the supreme treasure to show Christ to the world as better than health and life that was Paul's joy a beautiful poem called the thorn by Martha Snell Nicholson 1898 to 1953 ends like this I learned he never gives a thorn without this added grace he takes the thorn to pen aside the veil which hides his face in Los gain Paul embraced loss in part because in the loss Christ was more fully gained indeed I count everything is lost because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord for his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish in order that I may gain Christ Philippians 3:8 this is what it means to repent to experience a change of heart and mind that treasures God in Christ more than life your steadfast love is better than life my lips will praise you Psalm 63 3 this was Paul's faith it was true in life and death in life because Christ is the sweetness of every pleasure and better than them all and in death because in God's presence there is fullness of joy at his right hand are pleasures forevermore Psalm 16:11 the corona virus pandemic is the experience of loss from the smallest loss of convenience to the greatest loss of life and if we know the secret of Paul's joy we may experience the loss as gain that is what God is saying to the world repent and realign your life with the infinite worth of Christ chapter 10 creating good works in danger five the coronavirus is god's called to his people to overcome self-pity and fear and with courageous joy to do the good works of love that glorify God Jesus taught his followers to let your light shine before others so that they may see your good works and give glory to your father who is in heaven Matthew 5:16 what is often not noticed is that being the salt of the earth and the light of the world in this way was the more salty and the more bright because the good deeds were to be done even in the midst of suffering brightness in the darkness of danger Jesus has just said blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account rejoice and be glad for your reward is great in heaven Matthew 5:11 and 12 then without a break he says you are the salt of the earth you are the light of the world Matthew 5:13 2:16 it is not mere good deeds that give Christianity its tang and luster it is good deeds in spite of danger many non-christians do good deeds but seldom do people give glory to God because of them yes the danger in Matthew 5 was persecution not disease but the principle holds deeds of love in the context of danger whether disease or persecution point more clearly to the fact that these deeds are sustained by hope in God for example Jesus says when you give a feast invite the poor the crippled the lame the blind and you will be blessed because they cannot repay you you will be repaid at the resurrection of the just Luke 14 13 and 14 hope in God beyond death you will be repaid at the resurrection sustains and empowers good deeds that hold no prospect for reward in this life the same would hold true for good deeds that put us in danger especially the danger of death how Peter applied Jesus is teaching the Apostle Peter more than any other New Testament writer picks up the explicit teaching of Jesus about good deeds keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable so that when they speak against you as evildoers they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation first Peter 2:12 and Peter makes the same point about good deeds in the face of danger he says let those who suffer according to God's will and trust their souls to a faithful creator while doing good verse Peter 4:19 in other words don't let the possibility or the reality of suffering stop you from doing good deeds Christ died to create good deeds in danger Peter links this new kind of life with the death of Jesus for our sins christ himself bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness first Peter 2:24 because of Christ Christians put sin to death and pour themselves out into the good deeds of righteousness Paul makes the same connection between the death of Jesus and the zeal of Christians for good works Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are jealous for good works Titus 2:14 Paul also makes it plain that these good works are aimed at both Christians and non-christians as we have opportunity let us do good to everyone and especially to those who are of the household of faith Galatians 6:10 see that no one repays anyone evil for evil but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone first thessalonians 5:15 Christ magnified in risky kindness the ultimate aim of God for his people is that we glorify his greatness and magnify the worth of his son Jesus Christ whether you eat or drink or whatever you do do all to the glory of God 1st Corinthians 10:31 it is my eager expectation and hope that Christ will be magnified in my body whether by life or by death Philippians 1 2000 fide in everything Christ magnified in life and death this is the great god-given goal of human life therefore one of God's purposes in the coronavirus is that his people put to death self-pity and fear and give themselves to good deeds in the presence of danger Christians lean toward need not comfort toward love not safety that's what our savior is like that is what he died for example of the early church Rodney stark in his book the triumph of Christianity points out that in the first centuries of the Christian church the truly revolutionary principle was that Christian love and charity must extend beyond the boundaries of family and even those of faith to all in need to great plagues struck the Roman Empire in AD 165 and 251 outside of the Christian Church there was no cultural or religious foundation for mercy and sacrifice there was no belief that the gods cared about human affairs and mercy was regarded as a character defect and pity as a pathological emotion because mercy involves providing unearned help or relief it is contrary to justice therefore while a third of the Empire was perishing from disease physicians fled to their country estates those with symptoms were cast out of homes priests forsook the temples the stark observes Christians claim to have answers and most of all they took appropriate actions the answers included the forgiveness of sins through Christ in the hope of eternal life beyond death this was a precious message in a season of medical helplessness and utter hopelessness as for the actions large numbers of Christians cared for the sick and dying toward the end of the second plague Bishop Dionysius of Alexandria wrote a letter extolling the members of his church most of our brothers showed unbounded love and loyalty never sparing themselves and thinking only of one another heedless of danger they took charge of the sick attending to their every need and ministering to them in Christ and with them departed this life serenely happy putting to silence the ignorance of emperors over time this countercultural Christ sustained care for the sick and the poor had the effect of winning many people away from the surrounding paganism two centuries later when the Roman Emperor Julian ad 332 to 363 wanted to breathe new life back into the ancient Roman religion and saw Christianity as a growing threat he wrote in frustration to the Roman high priest of Galatia atheism that his Christian faith has been specially advanced through the loving service rendered to strangers and through their relief for the burial of the dead it is a scandal that there is not a single Jew who is a beggar and that the godless galilaeans that his Christians care not only for their own poor but for ours as well while those who belong to us look in vain for help that we should render them relieving god-sent suffering there is no contradiction between seeing the coronavirus as God's act and calling Christians to take risks to alleviate the suffering that it causes ever since God subjected the world to sin and misery at the fall he has ordained that his people seek to rescue the perishing even though he is the one who has a point of the judgment of the perishing God himself came into the world in Jesus Christ to rescue people from his own just judgment Romans 5:9 that is what the cross of Christ means therefore the good deeds of God's people will include prayers for the healing of the sick and for God to stay his hand and turn back to pandemic and that he would provide a cure we pray about the coronavirus and we work to alleviate its suffering the way Abraham Lincoln prayed for the end of the Civil War and worked to end it even though he saw it as a judgment from God fondly do we hope fervently do we pray that this mighty scourge of war may speedily pass away yet if God wills that it continue until all the wealth piled by the bond man's two hundred and fifty years of unrequited toil shall be sunk and until every drop of blood drawn with the last shall be paid by another drawn with the sword as was said three thousand years ago so still it must be said the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether God has his work to do much of it secret we have ours if we trust him and obey his word he will cause his sovereignty and our service to accomplish his wise and good purposes chapter 11 loosening the roots to reach the nations six in the coronavirus god is loosening the roots of settled Christians all over the world to make them free for something new and radical and send them with the gospel of Christ to the unreached peoples of the world connecting the coronavirus with missions may seem like a strange idea because in the short run the coronavirus is shutting down travel and migration and missionary advance but I'm not thinking short-term God has used the suffering and upheaval of history to move his church to places it needs to go I am suggesting that he will do that again as part of the long term impact of the coronavirus persecution as missionary strategy consider for example how God moved his people out of Jerusalem on mission into Judea and Samaria Jesus had instructed his disciples to take the gospel to all the world including Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth acts 1:8 but by the time of acts 8 it seems the mission was stalled in Jerusalem what would it take to move the church into mission it took the death of Steven and a consequent persecution as soon as Steven was martyred ax7 60-person broke out there arose on that day a great persecution against the church in Jerusalem and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria except the apostles now those who were scattered went about preaching the word acts 8:1 to 4 that's how God got his people moving with martyrdom and persecution last Judea and Samaria were hearing the gospel God's ways are not our ways but his mission is sure Jesus said so and his word cannot fail I will build my church and the gates of Hell shall not prevail against it Matthew 16:18 this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all the nations Matthew 24:14 naught may be proclaimed but will be proclaimed setbacks as strategic advance we may think the corona virus outbreak is a setback for World Missions I doubt it God's ways often include apparent setbacks that result in great advances On January 9 1985 pastor Risto Coolidge if a congregational pastor in Bulgaria was arrested and put in prison his crime was that he preached in his church even though the state had appointed another man as pastor whom the congregation did not elect his trial was a mockery of justice and he was sentenced to eight months in prison during his time in prison he made Christ known in every way he could when he got out he wrote both prisoners and jailers asked many questions and it turned out that we had a more fruitful ministry there than we could have expected in church God was better served by our presence in prison than if we had been free this is often God's way the global scope and seriousness of the coronavirus is too great for God to waste it will serve his invincible purpose of global evangelization Christ has not shed his blood in vain and revelation 5:9 says that by that blood he ransomed people for God from every tribe and tongue and language and people and nation he will have the reward of his suffering and even pandemics will serve to complete that Great Commission a closing prayer father at our best moments by your grace we are not sleeping in Gethsemane we are awake and listening to your son's prayer he knows deep down that he must suffer but in His perfect humanity he cries out if it is possible let this cup pass in the same way we sense deep down that this pandemic is appointed in your wisdom for good and necessary purposes we too must suffer your son was innocent we are not yet with him in our less than perfect humanity we to cry out if it is possible let this cup pass do quickly Oh Lord the painful just and merciful work you have resolved to do do not linger in judgment do not delay your compassion remember the poor O Lord according to your mercy do not forget the cry of the afflicted grant recovery grant a cure deliver us your poor helpless creatures from these sorrows we pray but do not waste our misery and grief Oh Lord purify your people from powerless preoccupation with barren materialism and Chryslers entertainment put our mouths out of taste with the bait of Satan cut from us the roots and remnant of Pride and hate and unjust ways grant us capacities of outrage at our own belittling of your glory open the eyes of our hearts to see and savour the beauty of Christ incline our hearts to your word your son and your way fill us with compassionate courage and make a name for yourself in the way your people serve stretch forth your hand in great awakening for the sake of this perishing world let the terrible words of Revelation not be spoken over this generation yet still they did not repent as you have stricken bodies strike now the slumbering Souls forbid that they would remain asleep in the darkness of Pride and unbelief in your great mercy say to these bones live and bring the hearts and lives of millions into alignment with the infinite worth of Jesus Jesus name Amen thank you for listening to this audio recording of coronavirus and christ by john piper this book was narrated by John Piper and was produced by desiring God in 2020 no portion of this recording may be reproduced for any reason without prior written permission from desiring God this audio Edition is published under an agreement with Crossway it was originally published in English by Krauss way as coronavirus and Christ copyright 2020 by the desiring God foundation for additional resources visit desiring God org you

Channel: Desiring God

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Keywords: Desiring God, John Piper, God, Jesus Christ, Christianity, Christian Hedonism, Coronavirus, Coronavirus and Christ, Covid-19, Ask Pastor John, APJ

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Length: 127min 44sec (7664 seconds)

Published: Wed Apr 08 2020