A: Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the LORD our Maker (Ps 95:6)." We often look at submission to God as something we must do in order to be in His good graces or to avoid His wrath. As children we often submitted to our fathers simply because, as they put it, "I said so." Or because, in classic Bill Cosby form, "I brought you in this world, I will take you out!" And most often times it works. However, when it comes to God, I submit not because He is "bigger" than me, not because He says to "submit," and not because I fear what He might do to me if I don't. I submit to God out of a response to the love He has shown towards me. Nothing more and nothing less.
There is a story of a slave being purchased on the auction block. Eventually, the slave was purchased. The new owner of the slave looks at the man he just bought and says, "Sir, go free." The slave responds, "Sir, I thought you just bought me." The wealthy mans says, "I did. I bought you to set you free. Now go free." The man says, "I don't understand. Why are you doing this?" "Because I love you. And because God didn't create you to be a slave. He created you to be free." At this the slave asks, "Sir, where do you live?" "Oh, I live just over the hill there," answers the wealthy man. "Where are you going now?" asks the now - former slave. "I'm going home." "Sir, can I go with you?" "Sure. But only if you want to-not because you have to. But if you want to go with me, I'd love to have you come and be my friend." The slave looks the man in the eye and says without reservation, "When a man loves me like that, I want to go home with him forever."
You see, the slave chose to "submit" to the man who bought him out of a response to the love that was shown towards him. He could have went a different direction because he was free. Yet, because of the love and all he had been given by the man who set him free, he chose to go with him. I submit to God because of all I have in Him. I submit to God because of the unconditional love and total acceptance I have in Him. I don't submit out of obligation or duty. I submit to Him because when matched up to Him everything else pales in comparison. I submit to Him because it was Jesus Christ "who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good (Titus 2:14)." If that makes me a man, then so be it! Be blessed.
Q: The bible says those who are a "friend" of the world is a enemy on God. What does it mean to be a "friend" of the "world"?
A: James 4:4 says,"You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." A friend is a person attached to another by feelings of affection or personal regard. The world is the class of persons devoted to the affairs, interests, or pursuits of this life. Therefore, if you are attached to the pursuits of this life you are a friend of the world and an enemy of God. It is easy, in many cases, to identify these people. Unbelievers are the first people that come to mind. They are people who are "lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with them (2 Tim 3:2-5)." We don't have to go far to see this behavior. Just turn on the television, open the newspaper or go to the movies and you see all of these things in some form or another. All they care about is indulging their flesh without end.
However, Christians need to be on guard for this same thing from within our own ranks. Their are many Christians who teach a similar message of indulging the flesh cloaked in biblical terminology. We have all heard teachers "who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a means to financial gain (1 Tim 6:5)." These are those who believe that God will reward them with blessings of the flesh if they just continue to "perform" their Christian "duty," whatever that is defined to be. They are told God will open the "floodgates" of heaven if they are obedient. This is just teaching people to be a friend of the world with God's blessing. God "has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness (2 Ptr 1:3)." God has given us everything in Himself so we would not expect to receive it from the world. We are not hear to enjoy this world and the blessings of the flesh. This is not Heaven. We are to be a witness of the Lord in order that the lost will be saved. Jesus said, "The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life (Jn 12:25)." If you are expecting things from this life you might still be a friend of the world and expecting things from God He didn't come to offer. Our treasure is in Heaven, let us stop trying to accumulate treasure on earth. Be blessed.
Q: The bible says don't have a "hardened" heart..What does that mean?
A: What the Bible says about God is that "He mocks proud mockers but gives grace to the humble (Prov 3:34)." If you go back and do a word search on "hardened heart" in the scriptures you will see many of them referring to Moses and Aaron's dealing with Pharaoh during the exodus of the Israel from Egypt. On more than one occasion you will read where Pharaoh hardened his heart in opposition to God's command to free the Jews. Why did he do this? Because Pharaoh was a god to the people of Egypt. And his pride would not allow him to take orders from anybody else, much less from the God of the people who were his slaves. God resists the proud because pride is the opposite of unconditional love. It is the unconditional love that motivated God to manifest Himself as Jesus and live a sinless life, die for our sins and offer us His life through the Resurrection. However, pride says, "I am not a sinner." Pride says, "I don't need anyone to die for me." Pride says, "I don't need to be saved." Pride says, "There is no God." Pride says, "I am a good person." Pride says, "I am my own god. I can do what is right in my own eyes."
If you look at the other words associated with a "hardened heart," you will see words like "stiff-necked" and "arrogant." Those are definitely attributes of a prideful heart. Not long after I was saved, I had an encounter with an unbelieving friend of mine. He was still, and to the best of my knowledge still is, "searching" for God. He is fond of the pagan beliefs associated with Eastern Religion. One day we were talking about Jesus. I affirmed my faith in Christ and that He was the only means by which man can be saved. My friend responded by saying that, and I paraphrase, "Christians are arrogant in the fact that they claim to know God and nobody else can." To which I replied, "How can you say Christians don't know God when you admit you don't know Him?" My point is that the stiff-necked and arrogant attitude came from my friend, not me. I was simply giving the reason for the hope I had (1 Ptr 3:15). Christians can suffer from religious pride as well. The bottom line is that our own human pride prevents from being humble, teachable and corrected. We would rather perish than submit to the Lord as Pharaoh found out. Saints, be proud in your salvation, but humble enough to not let it go to your head. We didn't deserve it, but thank God we have it. Be blessed.
Q: The bible says put on the "helmet of salvation." What does that mean?
A: Who can look at an individual like boxer Muhammad Ali and not have sympathy on him? The physical toll that boxing has taken on him is evident. I wouldn't be surprised if the Parkinson's disease he struggles with today was in no small part accelerated by the physical punishment he took in the ring and, specifically, to his head. Years of violent trauma has left him a shell of his former self. It is difficult to imagine this man floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee. May he find the Lord in the midst of his battle. His physical struggles are an illustration of the damage one can suffer spiritually without the helmet of salvation. Notice how, in Ephesians 6:16-18, after telling us to take "the helmet of salvation," Paul encourages us to "be alert"? It is difficult to be alert when your senses are dulled due to repeated blows to the head. Where does Satan like to always attack us? He does so in our minds. The Bible says, "For as he thinks in his heart, so is he (Prv 23:7)." The body follows the lead of the mind. If Satan can get your mind he has gotten all of you.
We can't imagine an athlete without a helmet on. We would think them to be foolish. How about a soldier? The helmet of a soldier is a mandatory piece of equipment. So it is with Christians. We have the "mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)." And the helmet that protects our mind is the truth of God's Word and who we are in Christ. Satan would like nothing more than to get your mind off of Jesus and onto yourself or other things. Satan comes to"steal and kill and destroy (Jn 10:10)." What better way to do this than to attack our mind? He fills it with error that gets us thinking we aren't loved, aren't forgiven, aren't sanctified, aren't justified, are without eternal life and many other errors. Ultimately, the joy of our salvation is lost as we are no longer at peace with God and are not resting in His unconditional love. The result is that we end up trying to regain what we feel we have lost and only end up being "alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (Gal 5:4)." You will still be a child of God, loved by Him and will be with Him for eternity, but you won't believe it. It is because you have not put on the helmet of salvation and all the "blows" to your head have taken a spiritual toll on you. Put on your helmet and continue the battle you have already won in Christ. Be blessed.
We can't imagine an athlete without a helmet on. We would think them to be foolish. How about a soldier? The helmet of a soldier is a mandatory piece of equipment. So it is with Christians. We have the "mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16)." And the helmet that protects our mind is the truth of God's Word and who we are in Christ. Satan would like nothing more than to get your mind off of Jesus and onto yourself or other things. Satan comes to"steal and kill and destroy (Jn 10:10)." What better way to do this than to attack our mind? He fills it with error that gets us thinking we aren't loved, aren't forgiven, aren't sanctified, aren't justified, are without eternal life and many other errors. Ultimately, the joy of our salvation is lost as we are no longer at peace with God and are not resting in His unconditional love. The result is that we end up trying to regain what we feel we have lost and only end up being "alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace (Gal 5:4)." You will still be a child of God, loved by Him and will be with Him for eternity, but you won't believe it. It is because you have not put on the helmet of salvation and all the "blows" to your head have taken a spiritual toll on you. Put on your helmet and continue the battle you have already won in Christ. Be blessed.
No comments:
Post a Comment