Do You Respond To The Truth?

“How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow him; but if Baal, then follow him. And the people answered him not a word.” 1 Kings 18:21

Baal can be simply defined as unscriptural religion; that which is according to human concept and opinion, rather than by the authority of God. It is very possible for man to know and benefit from the truth of God in every way. The problem being, however, man’s failure to respond to the truth of God made known, and/or available to him. It is a natural thing for light to dispel darkness, for knowledge to void ignorance. But spiritually, our human natures are at enmity with God. Therefore, when Christ, the Divine Son of God, was made flesh and dwelt among us, manifesting the grace and truth of God, man received him not, but despised and sought out Christ’s death.

Today, when man is shown the difference between religious truth and error, he responds not to the truth. Likewise, as he did toward Christ, rather than acknowledge the truth, his reaction is one of enmity. Just as this accounted for man crying out for the crucifixion of Christ in his day, it accounts for aggressiveness against the ministry of truth today.

No one is free from the depravity of our fleshly nature, until we put off the natural man, either in death or with the coming rapture, the resurrection and glorification of the saved. Thus, the element of enmity, that nature of spiritual insensitivity, is the essence of our fleshly being’s response, or shall we say, lack of response to the truth of God, but rather fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind. Thus, a world lost in sin. There is absolutely no hope apart from man repenting, which is God’s command to every person.

But Christian, do you respond to the truth? We cannot expect to lead the lost to do so, if we do not so ourselves. Christ warned of “having ears to hear and hearing not; eyes to see and seeing not.” We choose our state of mind, either to go with the wisdom and way of the fleshly mind, or to be cleansed and up righted by the Word of God. If one is not seeking to purify their mind before God, their mind remains estranged from spiritual vision and priority. The only time the truth gains access to their thinking is when someone else reproves, rebukes, and exhorts them concerning the truth. But being unfamiliar with taking hold of God’s Word, it just seems natural to let God’s Word pass out and through the mind, without changing either our way of thinking or doing. This faithless and spiritually bankrupt position makes way for our walking in unbelief and eventual rebellion.

Hearing, without doing, is personal consent to our being deceived, with us initiating the condition, James 1:22. When we elect to be deceived, rather than cleave to God’s Word, we seal ourselves to Satan’s processes. There is nothing any more important than to rightly respond to the truth.

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What Then?

When the bugle's call sinks into silence
     And the long marching columns stand still
When the captain repeats his last orders,
     And they've captured the last fort and hill,
And the flag has been hauled from the mast head,
     And the wounded afield checked in,
And a world that rejected its Saviour,
     Is asked for a reason--WHAT THEN?

When the great plants of our cities
     Have turned out their last finished work;
When our merchants have sold their last yard of silk
     And dismissed the last tired clerk,
When our banks have raked in their last dollar
     And paid the last dividend;
When the Judge of the earth says, "Close for the night,"
     And asks for a balance--WHAT THEN?

When the choir has sung its last anthem,
     And the preacher has made his last prayer;
When the people have heard their last sermon
     And the sound has died out on the air;
When the Bible lies closed on the altar
     And the pews are all empty of men
And each one stands facing his record-
     And the great Book is opened--WHAT THEN?

When the actors have played their last drama
     And the mimic has made his last fun,
When the film has flashed its last picture
     And the billboard has displayed its last run;
When the crowds seeking pleasure have vanished
     And gone out in the darkness again-
When the trumpet of ages has sounded,
     And we stand before Him--WHAT THEN?

“And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment.” Hebrews 9:27

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Insight For Living

“Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every good work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil.” Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

To know the conclusion, i.e., how it will end and work out, removes the mystery and doubt. This knowledge enables one to make good decisions so as to be on the good side of how things turn out.

In view of the fact God will bring all, with their every deed into judgment, the conclusion of the whole matter of life then is to: “Fear God, and keep his commandments.” To fail to do so, is to destine self to loss and penalties at the judgment.

Just as rewards for faithfulness lie beyond what the eye has seen, the ear heard, or ever has entered into the heart of man, likewise the eternal consequences for unbelief and disobedience are beyond human comprehension. We are told there shall be weeping, wailing, and gnashing of teeth. Isaiah 28:19 tells us it shall be a vexation only to understand the report.

In these last days, the trend of sinful decision is to strengthen oneself in the spirit of disobedience, rather than to yield to the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. It is to choose spiritual darkness rather than spiritual light. It is to believe any and every lie rather than receive the love of the truth. It is to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a season, rather than respect the recompense of the reward for serving God. It is a determination bent on conforming to the world’s sensuality, rather than proving God’s will to be good, acceptable, and perfect. It is denying God, unto self serving.

The problem with this trend will be found out in the final conclusion. “And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: That they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” 2 Thessalonians 2:11-12.

Be not weary in well doing! “Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

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The Power Of Human Sentiments

“Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord? Therefore is wrath upon thee from before the Lord.” 2 Chronicles 19:2

“If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple.” Luke 14:26

God is the author of all good graces. Therefore, we must let Him tell us how to use them. To not do so, will result in our being confused about what it is to be on the Lord’s side.

The account of Absalom demonstrates this well. In Absalom’s thinking, he was justified in being a law unto himself.

For two years, he concealed his hatred of Amnon by saying nothing. (2 Samuel 13:22-23) Then Absalom ordered his servants to kill Amnon, v28; then Absalom fled, v34. He was gone three years, v38. Absalom never did repent of his wrong doing, nor even admit it.

After three years, David’s sentiments changed from mourning for his murdered son, unto “longing” to go forth unto Absalom, v39. Joab perceived this change of sentiments and arranged for the king to be persuaded that it was alright to bring Absalom home, even using references of how God restores His erring, 2 Samuel 14:14. So with David’s sentiments and the thoughts of God’s forgiveness, David ordered Absalom to be brought home, v21. Absalom, a murderer, was brought home without admitting any wrong doing.

Because of Absalom’s beauty, he garnered the sentiments of the people, v25. By now, Absalom has become acutely aware of the power that having the sentiments of others has afforded him. Without ever admitting wrong doing for having murdered Amnon, he gets by with boldly demanding to be fully restored to his princely status with the king, v32-33. “Either kill me, or restore me”, played directly to his father’s sentiments.

Absalom is now the favored prince in Israel (2 Samuel 15), openly making claims that he would be the people’s judge if put in power. His motives were never questioned, because he has favorable sentiments from both the king and the people, AND he knows how to take advantage of them.

With this power (in the hearts and minds of others favoring him), he conspires to overthrow, kill, and take the kingdom away from David. However, this led to his own destruction.

Absalom’s strategy: he was not about to repent or admit wrong doing, for he knew that the sentiments of others would favor him to the extent of accomplishing what he wanted. SAD, BUT TRUE!

David’s sentiments greatly confused him, even when Absalom was seeking to kill him, 2 Samuel 18:5 & 19:5-6.

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The Hope Of Knowing Christ As Savior

I am the man that hath seen affliction by the rod of his wrath.”
“The Lord is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him.”
Lamentations 3:1,24

Jeremiah knew that a Christian’s life has two sides:
(1) Our afflictions – however many and severe they may be .
(2) Our redemption from our corruptions.

Jeremiah experienced that God permits afflictions to come upon us, yea, he even suffered under that which he knew that God had sent. This can create a great conflict in our way of thinking. We may have difficulty in reasoning these things out.

But we must, as a human being, remember the rock from whence we are all hewn and in what world we live in. God did not invent sin, thus His actions are not responsible for our corruptions and mortality. God’s hand can often be seen in association with our sufferings. Jeremiah suffered as a result of God’s judgment upon his society. Even though God sent judgments that were adversely felt, it was merely a response on God’s part to the spiritual condition of Jeremiah’s countrymen.

Knowing Christ as our Saviour from our sin condition, enables us to recognize what we see happening: “It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.” Lamentations 3:22-23 No matter how tough things are, we are able to recognize that the reason things are not a whole lot worse, is due to Divine mercy.

These two sides of life that a Christian can see in and of ourselves, are also witnessed in the life of Christ. Being the Divine Son of God never exempted Him from sorrow and suffering. But, Christ’s sufferings were due to the spiritual condition of the world into which He came. He had to bear these sufferings. But, God used them for His perfection, as He did for Job and has promised to do for us, as we remain unwavering in our faith towards Him: “That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:7 By faith, a Christian can see that our worst trials and tribulations are far better for us than if we had won the biggest Super Lotto! “For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory; While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 Thus we have hope in our experiences, no matter how severe!SHARING