He answered and said
to them,
‘”Well did Isaiah
prophesy of you
hypocrites, as it is
written:
‘This people honors
Me with their lips,
but their heart is
far from me.
And in vain they
worship Me,
Teaching as doctrines
the
Commandments of
men.’”
Mark 7:6–7
Jesus
makes this one very clear: It is not what you say, it is not what you do that
determines whether or not you are approved by God. Many honor God with lip
service, even write many verses on various social medias, (good things), they
attend services at their Church (without ever knowing the Churches doctrinal
statement and if they align with God’s word), they sing songs (those good
enticing, emotional, and appealing songs, without ever taking notice if they
are Scriptural), they may do many more things considered good, (Many are good
and necessary), all this may have a sense of piety to them but this does not
hold the priority for a Christian to have God’s approval. God examines the
heart! Yes, works are important for we have been commanded to care for our
brothers in sisters in Christ: What does it profit, my brethren, if someone
says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or
sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them
‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things
which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself,
if it does not have works, is dead” (James 2:14–17. How easy it is for
someone who sees a brother or sister in need says to that one: “I will pray for
you!” Then heads to their home and sits down to a lunch filled with all good
things, filling their bellies, and even prays over the food, but forgets to
pray for the one they said they for whom they would pray. The one in need returns
to his home only to have a meager lunch, wonder how they will go to work
without gas, or have enough food until the next paycheck. But there is a pious
feeling that God is pleased with your service when God only wants to have your
heart. James is so clear, it is so plain, how can we avoid what the Holy Spirit
has inspired James to write: “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and
does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17). You may admit to the fact
that you are doing such good works because of your heart and this would be good
if your heart is flowing good things because you are doing such good things for
God, because you love Him and His commandments. God inspired Samuel to write: “But
the LORD sad to Samuel, ‘Do not look at his appearance or at his physical
stature, because I have refused him. For the LORD does not see as man sees, for
man looks at the outward appearance, but the LORD looks at the heart”(1Samuel
16:7). We so often trust our feeling, our hearts as though they are pure
and we are doing things out of this purity, but, to trust our heart without
trusting fully in God is to make us a fool: “He who trusts in his own heart
is a fool, but whoever walks wisely will be delivered. He who gives to the poor
will not lack, but he who hides his eyes will have many curses” Proverbs
28:26–27). Are you trusting your heart, or are you trusting in God?
Jeremiah gives this fact: “The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately wicked; who can know it? I, the LORD, search the heart, I test the mind,
even to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his
doings” (Jeremiah 17:9–10). This verse alone should jar us, make us shiver,
cause us to sweat bullets of water running down our face and cheeks, for God is
searching the heart and out of our heart flows evil: “But hose things which
proceed out of the mouth come form the heart, and they defile a man. for out of
the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts,
false witness, blasphemies”(Matthew 15:17–19). Jesus on his Sermon on the
Mount states: “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”
(Matthew 6:21). You may cry out, even object and say, “My heart is good, I
am doing good things,” good, even pagans do good things, even pagans worship a
god, even heathens have some good in them, are they then not approved of God?
Oh, you say, “I am not a heathen; I am not some pagan, I believe in God, the
God of the Bible. Good! Are you picking up your cross daily? Yes, you shout!
Good! Does God have priority in your life or are you the priority of your life?
This is impossible if God has not delivered to you a new heart, that you are
truly converted to Him, not just a decision, but are converted to Him and this
you know by the workings that are from the heart, a heart given to you by God: “Then
I will give them a heart to know Me, that I am the LORD; and they shall be My
people ,and I will be their God, for they shall return to me with their whole
heart” (Jeremiah 24:7). If this is true of you then the words of Jesus will
apply to you: “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his
heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:38). Brothers and sisters
in Christ: will you die for Him? Will you change your course of life that has
been so influenced by men who have devised gods for themselves, traditions that
we may be following without knowing that this is so, doing things that are
promoted even by men of the “cloth,” denominations that approve of
homosexuality, abortion, and other such things that are forbidden clearly in
God’s word. Are you sold out to Him? Do you believe that this life is temporary
and that God has promised for all His children eternal life with Him? If so,
then, it behooves a person to study God’s word, to pray to Him for guidance, to
communicate your love for Him, and then out of your heart will flow an
abundance of good. Not for yourself, but because you love God.
Why
have I taken this time to write on this important aspect of a Christian’s life?
Why do this in the middle of writing on those men and their philosophies that
have been such an influence in this world? It is because we have been
influenced by them, the Church has far too often fallen prey to such
philosophies that have made the word of God of no account and we have, at least
in some way, been deceived by such pagan and heathen men: “Let no one
deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God
comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Ephesians 5:6). Can we be influenced?
Yes! I saw this posted on Facebook and thought it so apropro: “If companies are
willing to spend millions for a short 10-15 seconds of advertising on some
sport game, if some will put subliminal messages on a move screen to entice
people to act and but, then there must be some truth that we can be manipulated
and influenced. It is up to us to check ourselves and how we been influenced.
This is the thrust of these blogs. Return to God, His word, and live not for
this world but for the world to come.
Therefore He says:
“Awake, you
who sleep,
Arise from the dead, and Christ
Will give
you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly,
Not as
fools but as wise,
Redeeming the time, because
The days
ore evil.
Ephesians 5:14–16
Allow Christ to shine in your life!
Richard L. Crumb
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