There are certain verses in the Bible that should literally scare Christians when we read them. What I am talking about are those verses that describe you, as a Christian, but end with "hell, fire and damnation." For example, in Matthew 7:22-23 Christ tells of a time when people will prophesy in his name and cast out devils. Sounds like a pretty blessed Christian. Must be doing something right. And what does Christ say to this group? "Depart from me: I never knew you, you worker of iniquity." Strong words from our Messiah. These guys cast out devils in Jesus' name and were still not saved.
A passage that has recently bothered me is Romans 10:1-2. It says, "Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge." Anytime you read a passage like this you must read and meditate on it to fully grasp what God wants us to know.
In Romans 10, Paul is talking about his Jewish brothers and sisters. He genuinely wants them saved. Here's the part that makes me nervous -- they have a zeal for God, but somehow are not saved! It is irrational. If you are not saved and have no relationship with Christ, then you should have nothing to do with God, His work, or His word. Unsaved people do not typically have zeal or passion for God's purposes and plans. Paul knew that his Jewish brothers loved God and had zeal for Him, except that their zeal was founded in the wrong place. It was founded in the law and their own intellect and tradition and pride; they missed Jesus altogether. They did not love God "according to knowledge" that Christ is the Messiah. Paul later explains that they did not submit to God's righteousness (vs. 3) and Christ is the end of the law of righteousness (vs. 4). It is sad, really, to think that people who saw Jesus and heard Him teach missed the Gospel completely. Worse even, the entire time they lived with misguided zeal, they thought that they were doing right. These people died thinking with 100% certainty that they would be greatly rewarded in heaven, only to find out that they were wrong the entire time.
This makes me so nervous because I wonder how the church today is analogous to the Jews of Paul's time. Does this represent us? Do we have a zeal for the wrong things? Are we focusing on ourselves and on our outward appearance and tradition more than on God? Are we just doing things because someone else, like parents or preachers, tell us to? Or maybe Jesus is just the social thing to do right now, but it is no more than a fad to you. This is the heart of legalism and pride, just like the Jews were living in Paul's day. The pursuit of Christ is perverted because our intentions are to glorify ourselves, not Christ. We miss the gospel altogether.
I hope that this passage makes you think. I recommend reading chapters 9-11 together, don't just pick out a couple verses. Pray for understanding and ask God to show you how you are lacking in your knowledge of Christ's salvation, His gospel. Then you will know you have genuine zeal for Christ because it is based on His grace and mercy!
Sunday, August 7, 2011
Proverbs Chapter 7: The Seductive Woman Leads to Death
Chapter seven goes into detail to explain the ways of a seductive, adulteress woman. Not much more needs to be added to this. Solomon is very clear here, as well as several other chapters, that adultery and scandalous women are not only not worth your time, but her path will lead you to destruction.
We see this so often in the media with politicians, rock stars and movie personalities. They get caught in a scandal or with a mistress. They end up just like the proverbs say, ruined, destroyed, foolish, and pitiful. It has become so common in our culture that it almost does not surprise anyone when it makes the news. We should pray regularly for protection from this type of sin. Take Solomon's warning and avoid the destructive path.
We see this so often in the media with politicians, rock stars and movie personalities. They get caught in a scandal or with a mistress. They end up just like the proverbs say, ruined, destroyed, foolish, and pitiful. It has become so common in our culture that it almost does not surprise anyone when it makes the news. We should pray regularly for protection from this type of sin. Take Solomon's warning and avoid the destructive path.
Proverbs Chapter 6
This chapter is full of so many insightful truths. Here's a couple that spoke to me:
1. Humility - verses 1-5 give a great explantion of what to do when you have found yourself at someonelse's mercy. If you have said something to get yourself in trouble, go to that person and plead with them. Do it quickly too!
2. Work Hard - Be like an ant? Ants can carry 10 to 50 times their weight. They work all day with nobody telling them what to do. God wants us to work and work hard. It was his intention for us since creation. So don't be lazy and remember, you work for the Lord!
There are so many things to learn in this chapter. Verses 16-19 talk about things that the Lord hates! That is a list that is worth taking note of and remembering. Verse 19 is especially sobering as it says God hates, "..one who sows discourse among brothers." Christians focus too much on behavioral changes to make us look good to non-believers, when this verse tells us that God wants us to at a minimum just get along. In fact, He hates it when we cause believers to not get along. Strong words to remember when you are struggling to get along with someone. Maybe we should stop worrying about ourselves and start looking at how we treat others.
1. Humility - verses 1-5 give a great explantion of what to do when you have found yourself at someonelse's mercy. If you have said something to get yourself in trouble, go to that person and plead with them. Do it quickly too!
2. Work Hard - Be like an ant? Ants can carry 10 to 50 times their weight. They work all day with nobody telling them what to do. God wants us to work and work hard. It was his intention for us since creation. So don't be lazy and remember, you work for the Lord!
There are so many things to learn in this chapter. Verses 16-19 talk about things that the Lord hates! That is a list that is worth taking note of and remembering. Verse 19 is especially sobering as it says God hates, "..one who sows discourse among brothers." Christians focus too much on behavioral changes to make us look good to non-believers, when this verse tells us that God wants us to at a minimum just get along. In fact, He hates it when we cause believers to not get along. Strong words to remember when you are struggling to get along with someone. Maybe we should stop worrying about ourselves and start looking at how we treat others.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Proverbs Chapter 5: Adultery
Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, yet he broke God's commandments by marrying women from lands he was forbidden marry. Even worse, he married hundreds (See I Kings 11:1-3). Solomon becomes an expert, of sorts, on the subject and I think the reason Solomon writes about the "forbidden woman" so much is because knew what he was doing was wrong but was so blinded by the power. After many years of sin, he wants to make sure that his sons do not make the same mistake.
In Verse 23 of Chapter 5, Solomon says about a man who commits the sin of adultery that, "He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray." Solomon's great folly was marrying the forbidden woman. Committing the sin of polygamy (Deut. 17:17) and marrying pagans. Was he led astray? Absolutely. I Kings 11:4 tells us that when Solomon was older, his wives turned his heart towards other gods.
Men specifically deal with this issue more than women, but that does not excuse christian women from being prepared. There are several great books and studies, such as, Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, by Fred Stoeker and The War Within, by Robert Daniels. I recommend reading one of these books whether you think you have a problem or not. The truth is, you have a problem, it's called sin. Don't arrogantly go through life like Solomon did thinking you have it "under control." There is no need to battle sin, any sin, alone and unprepared.
In Verse 23 of Chapter 5, Solomon says about a man who commits the sin of adultery that, "He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray." Solomon's great folly was marrying the forbidden woman. Committing the sin of polygamy (Deut. 17:17) and marrying pagans. Was he led astray? Absolutely. I Kings 11:4 tells us that when Solomon was older, his wives turned his heart towards other gods.
Men specifically deal with this issue more than women, but that does not excuse christian women from being prepared. There are several great books and studies, such as, Every Man's Battle: Winning the War on Sexual Temptation One Victory at a Time, by Fred Stoeker and The War Within, by Robert Daniels. I recommend reading one of these books whether you think you have a problem or not. The truth is, you have a problem, it's called sin. Don't arrogantly go through life like Solomon did thinking you have it "under control." There is no need to battle sin, any sin, alone and unprepared.
Friday, August 5, 2011
Proverbs Chapter 4: failing to plan is planning to fail.
In Proverbs Chapter 4, Solomon again exalts wisdom and encourages his son to always keep it in his heart (Ch. 4:2). The verse that spoke to me is towards the end of the chapter, verse 26. It says, "Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established."
Solomon wants his son to think about where he is going. As an estate planning attorney, we often say that "Failing to plan is planning to fail." I realize that you can plan every detail of your life and things will not always go perfectly. However, the flip-side of planning nothing will inevitably lead to struggles and failures.
The growing attitude today is "Whatever works for you," or "Just go with the flow," or even worse, "Just do what feels right to you." Our natural instinct and "gut" can get us out of sticky situations and help us make decisions under pressure, but can also create a mess because we do not allow ourselves time to think through the problem. The better option is to plan accordingly - think about your life, your goals, your spiritual walk, your relationships - and have purpose to your life! God will fill in the blanks and have you where He needs you to be, but we have to take the initiative in getting on the right path.
Solomon wants his son to think about where he is going. As an estate planning attorney, we often say that "Failing to plan is planning to fail." I realize that you can plan every detail of your life and things will not always go perfectly. However, the flip-side of planning nothing will inevitably lead to struggles and failures.
The growing attitude today is "Whatever works for you," or "Just go with the flow," or even worse, "Just do what feels right to you." Our natural instinct and "gut" can get us out of sticky situations and help us make decisions under pressure, but can also create a mess because we do not allow ourselves time to think through the problem. The better option is to plan accordingly - think about your life, your goals, your spiritual walk, your relationships - and have purpose to your life! God will fill in the blanks and have you where He needs you to be, but we have to take the initiative in getting on the right path.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
Proverbs Chapter 3
Day three, so we're reading Proverbs chapter three. So many great verses and truths to learn. Here's a couple passages from the chapter that spoke to me.
The first great passage is Proverbs 3:5,6. It is a well-known and often quoted verse, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths." I recommend memorizing this verse and writing it down where you can see it daily. Christians, we must remind ourselves to put faith and trust in the Lord so that He can direct us. He promises to direct our paths, so let's take Him up on that!
The last verse of chapter three also spoke to me. It is simple, but profound. Verse 35 says, "The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace." Well, I don't know about you, but I want to inherit honor and not get disgrace! And I surely don't want God to think of me as a fool!
Christians should remember that God wants us to be wise and avoid foolishness to protect us and to help us grow closer to Him. God knows that HE is the best thing for us, so of course He wants us to seek after HIM!
The first great passage is Proverbs 3:5,6. It is a well-known and often quoted verse, "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will direct your paths." I recommend memorizing this verse and writing it down where you can see it daily. Christians, we must remind ourselves to put faith and trust in the Lord so that He can direct us. He promises to direct our paths, so let's take Him up on that!
The last verse of chapter three also spoke to me. It is simple, but profound. Verse 35 says, "The wise will inherit honor, but fools get disgrace." Well, I don't know about you, but I want to inherit honor and not get disgrace! And I surely don't want God to think of me as a fool!
Christians should remember that God wants us to be wise and avoid foolishness to protect us and to help us grow closer to Him. God knows that HE is the best thing for us, so of course He wants us to seek after HIM!
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Proverbs Chapter 2: wisdom as a shield
In chapter two of Proverbs, Solomon teaches that seeking wisdom brings understanding of the Fear of the Lord (vs. 5). What an opportunity! By learning, understanding and seeking God through meditation, we know Him better! Scholarship has become ignored in Christian's lives, yet the wisest man to ever live, Solomon, tells his son to seek wisdom like silver and treasure.
Further, when you know wisdom, discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you (vs. 11). Wisdom, which leads to understanding of God's righteousness, is also a protective measure, a shield.
Further, when you know wisdom, discretion will watch over you, understanding will guard you (vs. 11). Wisdom, which leads to understanding of God's righteousness, is also a protective measure, a shield.
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