Galatians 1:3-4 Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for our sins, that He might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of our God and Father.
Our mighty Lord Jesus has saved us who have called upon His name from the penalty and power of sin, opened our eyes and turned us from darkness to light. Because of Him, we are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, His own special people, that proclaim the praises of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light. But although we are not of the world, we are still in the world… this present evil world.
It is a world system that is in view in this verse, with its thoughts, opinions, and values which continually press us and attempt to mold us into its image. The world is not content with merely being corrupt. It insists upon actively exerting its corrupting influence upon our lives. Not all at one time, mind you. Little by little, numbing us by increasingly graphic scenes of violence and immorality on the news and in entertainment, the distracting nature of current events, and an endless variety of cares of this world. All of it numbing us and pulling us away from that which is truly important.
The will of God is that we would be free of that influence, however if we continue to immerse ourselves in it, then we will undoubtedly be affected by it. How can we be sensitive to the Spirit of God when our souls have been polluted (and oftentimes entertained) by the corruption of this world?
This verse has been a strong reminder to me today. Maybe it will be helpful to someone else.
If you listen to much Christian media, you will almost certainly come to the conclusion that these are the days Paul warned about when he said, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables.” 2 Timothy 4:3-4
It’s frightening how much false doctrine and questionable teaching there is out there. Many times I listen to a sermon over Christian radio and the content sounds eerily similar to a self-help book.
This morning in my Bible reading, I read the following in Jeremiah 23:21-22: “I have not sent these prophets, yet they ran. I have not spoken to them, yet they prophesied. But if they had stood in My counsel, and had caused My people to hear My words, then they would have turned them from their evil way and from the evil of their doings.”
And then in verse 29 “Is not My word like a fire?” says the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces?”
What a sacred trust it is to be one who speaks to God’s people on His behalf. Oh that the Lord would flood our pulpits with messages aflame with fire from heaven that will turn us back to Him. Lord, give us men who will stand in Your counsel until they have received a real word from God.
But how shall we respond to such a word? Are our hearts tender and bendable before Him? Are we open to the searching work of His Spirit as the Word is preached? Oh God, let the fire of Your word burn away the dross. Let the hammer of Your word pound away the hardness of our hearts.
Send us a real word, real repentance and make us real disciples.
“Beware lest anyone cheat you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the basic principles of the world, and not according to Christ.” Colossians 2:8
The gospel of Jesus Christ, while it is glorious good news, is not as appealing to many as you would think it would be. While the reasons people will give for not responding to the gospel might be varied, for most I would suspect that we would find this thought lurking somewhere in their minds – I don’t want a religion that requires anything of me.
Multitudes are happy to settle for a meeting once a week where they are told how to tame their flesh and make it act more like a Christian. The heart of this message is “Try harder to be a good person”. This is empty deceit, not the gospel. But to those who want a religion that makes them feel good without requiring anything, this is good enough news.
Does Jesus Christ make any requirements of us? Absolutely. Mark 8:34-35 says “Whoever desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer wrote “Christ bids a man to come and die.” Thinking that in death we lose all freedom and happiness, many refuse this requirement of the gospel as being unreasonable and find a more palatable message, complete with stories of how truly good humans can be – stories that inspire them to be good as well. And for them, this is good enough.
But how good would I have to be, to be good enough? Better than a serial killer? Better than my co-worker? Better than you? How would I ever know when I am good enough? The correct answer would be – Never.
The apostle Paul tells us plainly that “in my flesh nothing good dwells” and that “the flesh profits nothing.” Anyone who has seriously attempted to live by “good person religion” has found that no matter how sincere our efforts or diligent our attempts, there is never any assurance that we are finally good enough. We cheat ourselves and sentence ourselves to a life of frustration when we try to reform the flesh instead of putting it to death by the Spirit. The abundant life that Christ offers is truly glorious, but it will never be earned by our own good works. There is only one work that can ever make us righteous, and Jesus did it 2,000 years ago.
Don’t be cheated. Don’t be deceived. Don’t settle for worldly religion when Christ offers joy unspeakable and full of glory. Refuse to look to your own works, and look instead to the One who “is able to save to the uttermost those who come to God through Him.”
Romans 1:18-1:32 is a sad commentary on a people who reject the grace of God. It chronicles the descent into the depths of wickedness. One thing I noticed is that man always takes the first step:
We suppress the truth in unrighteousness, and God reveals His wrath (v. 18)
We did not glorify Him as God or thank Him, and our thoughts became vain and our hearts darkened (v. 21)
We exchange the glory of God, then He gives us up to uncleanness (v. 23-24)
We do not retain God in our knowledge, and He gives us over to a debased mind (v. 28)
As I thought on this, the pattern seemed clear – we give God up and then He gives us up. His action is a response to ours. I wondered…..is this true in the reverse? And then I remembered these verses:
“I love those who love me and those who seek me diligently will find me.” Proverbs 8:17
“Draw near to Me and I will draw near to you.” James 4:8
“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.” Matthew 7:7
“Call to me and I will answer you….” Jeremiah 33:3
What an encouragement this is to me. My prayers are not just haphazardly hurled into the heavens. My worship is not merely the expression of my love and dependence on Him. But these things are a reaching up for a divine response.
Give us men who will speak Your truth no matter the consequences.
Give us men who prefer to speak the truth of Your word to a few rather than to speak the fluff of this world to a multitude. Men who have no agenda other than Christ and no need for celebrity status.
Lord give us men who cry out to You in prayer before they ever step into the pulpit.
Lord give us men whose voices thunder with a word from heaven; whose souls are aflame with a heavenly vision of a glorious Saviour.
Oh give us men who will not water down Your truth because it seems too hard, too difficult for us to accept and obey, but who will tell us with all the unction that Your spirit presses upon them what it means to be a follower of Jesus Christ.
Give us men who will fly in the face of societal norms without fear when the faithful preaching of the gospel requires it.
Lord, we do not need 10 steps to improve ourselves. We need to know how to die that Christ might be formed in us. Give us preachers who not only teach this truth, but live it before us.
Teach us, O man of God, the whole counsel of God. The things that bring us comfort and those things that wring our souls with conviction and require something of us.
Scripture tells us that one noticeable quality of the last days is the increase in deception, false teaching and false doctrines. Who can deny that we are seeing this very thing in our own day? I find it amazing that so many people no longer want to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ, but prefer to be hyped up about their next level. Very rarely do you hear preaching on sin, repentance and holiness, while at the same time there is an abundance of preachers promoting a message of prosperity and destiny. The focus in all of these dangerous doctrines, in whatever form they are presented, is that they take the focus off Christ and make us, humanity, the focus of the gospel. While there is no doubt that Jesus came into the world to save lost humanity, the ultimate purpose was that the glory of God might be demonstrated by His mercy displayed towards us through Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2 tells us that those who are fooled by this rampant deception (and thus led astray from the simplicity of the true gospel of Christ) are led astray because they did not receive the love of the truth. When God’s Word is not esteemed and treasured as the very words of God, when it is not read and studied, when it is not used as the standard to judge all teachings, we become ripe for deception. The Bible tells us that the human heart is deceitfully wicked, yet we trust this heart to guide us into truth when we neglect to fill it with God’s word?? My heart will always gravitate to what pleases my flesh, not what pleases God. My heart will always exalt me, not God.
It is only as we cultivate a love of the truth that we will be safe from the false. When we love the truth, really love it, we will treasure and obey even the difficult commands of Scripture that require sacrifice on our part. When we love the truth, we would rather be excluded and thought poorly of than to compromise on the doctrines of the faith and fit in with others who are following those who speak to their itching ears.
Let us therefore be diligent to hide His truth in our hearts. Let us treasure it, love it and hold fast to it.
“Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth.” John 17:17
This piece of Scripture expresses what has been resonating in my soul for many months. In a world filled with many voices speaking loudly, and almost all of them speaking forth things that are contrary to the Word of God, how desperately we need to hold fast to the faithful Word of God.
Notice that it is not a faithful word, it is THE faithful Word.
Oh God, help me to cling to the truth of Your Word, casting away all that contradicts the pure message of the gospel. Daily I am bombarded by the world’s messages that attempt to persuade me to believe lies. The only safety for me is to have a heart filled with the Word of God. So fill my heart, Oh God, as I read and study. Fill it with Your precious truth.
The law of Your mouth is better to me than thousands of coins of gold and silver. Psalm 119:72
Oh, how I love Your law! It is my meditation all the day. Psalm 119:97
Your testimonies I have taken as a heritage forever, For they are the rejoicing of my heart Psalm 119:111
Your testimonies, which You have commanded, Are righteous and very faithful. Psalm 119:138
The entirety of Your word is truth, And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever. Psalm 119:160
Great peace have those who love Your law, And nothing causes them to stumble. Psalm 119:165
He is my Delight 