Room For All
… God our Saviour; Who will have all men to be saved, and come to the knowledge of the truth. (1 Timothy 2:3-4)
In this day of rampant relativistic humanism, there is “the truth.” It is not based on the on the fickle whims of men, but on the immutable Word of God. “The truth of the LORD endureth for ever” (Psalm 117:2). “Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:160). “ For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away: But the word of the Lord endureth for ever” (1 Peter 1:24-25).
Man’s “truth” is mutable. What is “true” in one century is proven false in the next. It was once true that the sun circled the earth; now we know that the earth circles the sun. The “science” of man is ultimately flawed because man has limited knowledge and understanding and because it originates from a faulty source – man himself. Jesus says, “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). That is an incredible assertion to make, if the claimant is incapable of validating it. Anyone making such a claim in the world of science and academia today would be laughed to scorn, and yet Jesus makes such a claim without hesitation because He can, and did, validate it with His own death and resurrection.
Our verse contains one of the greatest, if not the greatest, truths: that God “will have all men to be saved,” and thereby “come to the knowledge of truth.” God is “not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance” (1 Peter 2:9). “This is a [“truthful” or “trustworthy”] saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief” (1 Timothy 1:15). The “truth” is that in God’s plan of salvation, there is room for ALL. The companion truth is that not all will make it. Jesus said, “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it” (Matthew 7:13-14). There IS room for all, but not all will find room.
Filed under Christianity, Gospel, Religion, Salvation
Focus!
So the wall was finished in the twenty and fifth day of the month of E’-lul, in fifty and two days. (Nehemiah 6:15)
We are a highly distracted society. We carry our telephones with us. We pack our lap-tops and iPads around to coffee shops where we can access the internet and check on endless email. Those who are really up-to-date on technology carry their telephone, email and internet in a compact gadget that fits comfortably in the palm of the hand. So many automobile accidents are caused by people talking or texting on their cell phone while driving instead of paying attention to the job at hand – driving! Even during church services, grownup adults continually check their iPhones for messages, sports scores or check their Facebook for updates. Then at home the distractions continue with over 200 channels from which to choose on television. It’s a wonder that we get anything accomplished, especially as it relates to the work of God.
Nehemiah had a task. God had placed in his heart the desire to rebuild the fortifications of Jerusalem. Unlike us whose distractions are often self-inflicted, Nehemiah’s distractions were from without, from enemies who wanted to derail his God-given assignment. First his enemies laughed at him (Nehemiah 2:19). Then they mocked and ridiculed (Nehemiah 4:2-3). Next they threatened attack thereby demoralizing the people (Nehemiah 4:11). Then there was dissension within the ranks due to abuse of the poor by the nobility (Nehemiah 5:7). When these distractions failed to stop his progress, his enemies resorted to plots to assassinate him (Nehemiah 6:2, 4). Through all of this, Nehemiah maintained his focus on the goal of rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, and the task was completed in just fifty-two days.
Paul encourages us to focus on our God-given goals with these words: “Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended: but this one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before, I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14). Sometimes the distractions that keep our mind off of the things and the work of God are not self-imposed as in the case of Nehemiah. Sometimes those things are distractions placed there by our enemy, and yes, those can include our gadgets or the entertainment, in whatever form, we seek. But the Devil is not omnipresent and does not deserve all the blame for all of those distractions; we can do pretty well on our own. So, whether our distractions are assaults from without or self-inflicted, we should keep in mind: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us, Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith;” (Hebrews 12:1-2). John the Beloved put it this way, “all that is in the world … is not of the Father, but is of the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:16-17). Stay focused on the job at hand, and on what is truly important!
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Heavenly Minded
If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God. Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. (Colossians 3:1-2)
Back in the seventies there was a saying going around in Christian circles exhorting Christians: “Don’t be so heavenly minded that you are no earthly good.” So effective was that campaign that today it appears that the saying was taken to the extreme so that we are now producing Christians that are “so earthly minded that they are no heavenly good.”
It is sad to see so many formerly strong fundamental churches pandering to the whims of an increasing populace with an insatiable need for entertainment. They call this being “seeker sensitive.” This is an oxymoron because the Bible says that “there is none that seeketh after God” (Romans 3:11). Many churches have lowered their standards in attempt to win those who have no standards and end up neither pleasing God nor pleasing man. Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10); He did not come to be sought. Jesus was not a panderer. When the rich young ruler came to Jesus seeking eternal life (Matthew 19:16-22), Jesus did not offer him the easy way out, nor did He go after him when “he went away from him sorrowful” because he had great possessions.
The standard for the Christian is the heavenly standard: “But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you” (Matthew 6:33). “And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God” (Romans 12:2). We are to “seek those things which are above” (Colossians 3:1), and to set our “affection on things above, not on things on earth” (v. 2). We need to understand that “the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever” (1 John 2:17). Our love for the lost should never exceed our affection for the things above. We must “be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear” (1 Peter 3:15), but never at the cost of compromise.
Filed under Christianity, Gospel, Religion, Theology
It’s A New Year … Again!
Have not I commanded thee? Be strong and of a good courage; be not afraid, neither be thou dismayed: for the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest. (Joshua 1:9)
Well, the Mayans let us down, and the world did not end as predicted on December 21, 2012. Now we have 2013 for which to look forward, and if any credence can be given to the media, the prospects are not too promising. As I write this, Congress has yet to arrive on a budget agreement that will keep the nation from going over the fiscal cliff. The real unemployment rate is hovering around 17%, the housing market is in the tank, and it looks like we are headed for another recession. The European Union is on the verge of financial collapse. The Middle East is on fire. Israel fights for its existence as Hamas rains down rockets on the Israeli population. Iran is bent on developing atomic weapons for the sole purpose of destroying Israel. North Korea continues test firing rockets that will have the potential of reaching our shores. Russia continues to supply Iran with the raw materials and technology to develop their atomic weapons. Meanwhile their nuclear ballistic missile submarines are patrolling our coastal waters as an act of defiance to the perceived impotence of our governmental and military leadership. Happy New Year!
On the surface, there seems to be little hope. Even so, the prospect of a new year always comes with the glimmer of hope that things can be better. The New Year is a step forward into the unknown. There is no way of knowing what is up ahead; there is only hope. In our passage above, the Children of Israel had completed their 40-year sojourn in the wilderness and were preparing to enter the Promise Land. Moses, who had been the only leader they had ever known, was dead. In his place, Joshua had been commissioned to lead the people in the conquest of their new homeland. Forty years before, he had been one of two of the twelve spies that returned with a good report about the land God had given them. The other ten only saw the strength of the enemy and their own weakness and were fearful of taking on the challenge. Now, they were once again at the frontier of the Promise Land. The enemy they had feared forty years earlier was still in the land; nothing had changed. They would still have to enter, fight for and conquer the land. Even if their circumstances had not changed, neither had the promise of God changed. “And I will bring you in unto the land, concerning the which I did swear to give it to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob; and I will give it you for an heritage: I am the LORD” (Exodus 6:8). It had always been so; the inheritance was theirs for the taking, but they had to take it, and God was their guarantee. So here they were once again at the precipice of the unknown, but they carried with them the promise of God: “the LORD thy God is with thee whithersoever thou goest” (Joshua 1:9).
So, we are faced with another new year with an uncertain future. No matter what that future may hold, we can rest on that same promise that the LORD our God is with us wherever we go and in whatever circumstances we may find ourselves. We can trust that “they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). We can know that God is always at our side and “that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Romans 8:38-39).
God’s blessings on you and yours in the coming new year; may you have a Happy and Prosperous New Year!
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Ernie's Musings 