Hypocrites! Well did Isaiah
prophesy about you, saying:
'These people draw near Me
with their mouths,
and honor Me with their lips,
but their heart is far from Me,
And in vain they worship Me,
teaching as doctrines the
commandments of men.'
Matthew 15:7-9
Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life? Is so then the proof of that fact is your exercise of His commandments. It is not the commandments of men that we follow and live by, and it is not those commandments we place our faith: even if they sound so religious, so "right," so "Christian." First and foremost, it is the Father, God Himself, as the Godhead, God in three Persons, not is different substances, rather all the same essence, all are God and all in their different Personages work all the will of God. It is then God who plants, and it is Him Who is our guide, the One who has revealed to us all that we need to live in accordance with His will: "But He answered and said, 'Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted'" (Matthew 15:13). To speak and teach other commandments or doctrine that God has not revealed, not what man makes a verse, or a section to say, rather that Scripture determines what is God word, if not that then what is said defiles that person: "But those things which proceed out of the mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man" (Matthew 15:18). A person cannot remain complacent and expect to have God's blessing. If Jesus Christ is not Lord over all our life then what has been done is to make us the masters of our own lives. Making Jesus Christ the Lord of our lives is not some form of lip service, it is not sitting idly by and passing the buck, so to speak, that if you or I are a "good" person, then God will save us. He won't! What is your highest pursuit? Is it to just live and be happy? You won't! Life is full of problems and happiness is an illusion that sometimes is real and other times it vanishes. It is not that a man can be happy, but what is the foundation for this happiness? Real happiness comes by living for Jesus Christ making Him the first and foremost pursuit of our lives. If Jesus Christ is not our highest pursuit then we will be consumed by lesser issues. If we believe that it is by our power, the possessions become property rather than objects of stewardship. Are you just giving "leftovers" to God and keep the rest? Is it that you are pursuing to indulge yourself in the pursuit of personal pleasure? Is Jesus Christ the Lord of your life? We all must ask ourselves this question if we are to be Authentic Biblical Christians and have Authentic Biblical Faith. What are the standards for your Christian behavior?
When Jesus Christ walked the earth the Apostles and others had Him directly teaching them. After the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ there were those who walked with him teaching others, and then those men taught others, but in time the need was to bring together all that Jesus taught, all the words of God in one book: the Bible. We today have the Bible which reveals God to us. Then it is the text we use that will determine how we believe as to who Jesus Christ is, and what is truth. If the text has been corrupted, and it was many times, then there must be critical examination of the many manuscripts so we will know what is the word of God and that which is not. If God spoke: then God will preserve His word for nothing comes from God that will not be revealed to us so that God will be the highest pursuit of our lives properly, that is we will live according to His commandments. But, if they are watered down in some manner or if there are those who would teach other than what Scripture states, then we must come to know which manuscripts are the word of God or not. If you do not believe God preserves His word then how can you believe anything else that He might have said? Can you see how important this is? Liberal or cultural Christians have an obtuse view of God's word. Yet, the claim some things as God's word, yet other things as not. That is, they just want it to say what they want it to say, that which fits what they have predetermined, and that which they have presupposed. If our view of Scripture is off in some way then Jesus Christ may not be the Lord of our lives, even though one possess that He is. You can't have it both ways!
Behold,you despisers,
Marvel and perish!
For I work a work in your days,
a work which you will by no
means believe.
Though one were to declare
it to you.
Acts 13:41
Love God: live life
Richard L. Crumb
No comments:
Post a Comment