Tim Hayes – Page 5

The Word of God Came

In trusting the Bible as God’s written revelation of Himself to us (Jn 5:39), we should not do so blindly; we should examine the evidence and be ready to give an answer to those who ask why we believe as we do. (1Pe 3:15)

We could start with the historical fact of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ, and the validity of the New Testament as a reliable account of His teachings. The Gospels contain Christ’s view of the inspiration of Scripture, and His resurrection implies He’s a trustworthy authority.

Jesus refers to the Tanach as “the Word of God” (Jn 10:35), and indicates it’s a faithful, reliable guide for us in our pursuit of God. (Lk 16:29) It’s so perfectly suited to guide us there’s no better witness even possible (31); God has given us everything we need. (Ps 19:7-11)

Jesus also reveals that the Holy Spirit will preserve His words through the apostles (Jn 14:26) for all the world to treasure (Mt 45:35, Mk 13:31, Lk 21:33), implying a body of New Testament scripture. (2Pe 3:15-16)

That these NT scriptures are inspired like the Tanakh may be derived from the fact that both bodies of scripture form the basis and standard of God’s judgment of Mankind. (Jn 5:45, Jn 12:48, Mt 7:24-27) He says continuing to meditate on and obey His words is part of being His disciple and finding freedom (Jn 8:31-32), implying His words are faithfully recorded and preserved for us; we’ll all be held accountable for how we receive and respond to what Jesus Christ says. (De 18:19, He 2:1-3)

So, Jesus Christ affirms the scripture as a text which has been divinely revealed by God, written in such a way that we may safely rely upon it as a guide to having a proper standing and relationship with God, being fully equipped and furnished through His word to do all He has called us to do. (2Ti 3:16-17)

This evidence for the inspiration of scripture is sufficient to expose and implicate all who refuse to submit to it as inexcusably guilty before God. (Ro 3:19)

Once we understand the divine origin of Scripture, it’s essential that we use it as God intended, not merely as a religious book, or even a theological manual; scripture is a survival guide, a map, a training manual for combat readiness, our weapon in spiritual warfare. (Ep 5:17)

It is also essential to perceive that scripture is not merely a book, it is alive (He 4:12), it is a Person. (Ga 3:8) Our attitude towards our Bible reflects and reveals our relationship with God. (Jn 14:23)

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It Is Written

Temptation is warfare; the enemy’s always looking for a way to distract, preoccupy and devour. (1Pe 5:8) We need to be on guard 24 x 7; we can’t afford to give him any more ground (Ep 4:27) to steal our joy, kill our witness and destroy our fellowship with God. (Jn 10:10)

When Satan tempts us, we’re drawn away by our own lusts and enticed. (Ja 1:14) When we yield to our desires and pursue them we sin, which alienates us from God and brings us into spiritual bondage (Jn 8:34): it’s a kind of death. (15) This is how Satan defeats us, and he’s a master of war. How do we resist and overcome him? (Ja 4:7)

When Jesus Christ was tempted of the Devil (Mt 4:1), what did Jesus do? He quoted scripture, verses He memorized from the Bible, but not random verses — He selected them surgically, tactically, the perfect text to counteract each dimension of Satan’s attack. (4, 7, 10) Jesus was defending Himself with the sword of the Spirit: the living Word of God. (He 4:12)

The attack on Christ itself was deliberate, thoughtful, calculated, probing, searching out any area of potential weakness Satan suspected might be present within the Son of God. Jesus was in a veritable sword fight with Satan; He could have engaged Satan in any way He liked and been victorious, but He skillfully wielded the Word of God as an example for us to follow. We do well to study and learn from Him. (1Pe 2:21)

It takes practice, lots of practice to become a master swordsman, and it can be a life-and-death matter: in real sword fighting we only lose once … then game over. If we must fight, and our only weapon is the sword, it’s wise to master it, to be as skilled as we can be. Yet we we’ll never be a match for Satan, so what do we do?

First, we should acknowledge that Scripture is the sword of the Spirit (Ep 6:17): the Holy Spirit owns this sword: it belongs to Him and He knows best how to use it. Yet we must also realize that we are supposed to take up this holy sword: the Holy Spirit doesn’t fight with it all on His own, He expects us to pick it up and defend ourselves; there’s a synergistic dimension to this warfare.

Bottom line is we must become deeply familiar with His Word (Co 3:16), listen as God teaches us how to defend ourselves with it (Ps 119:19), and continually abide in Him as we’re doing battle. The scripture must become an extension of our minds and hearts, engrafted into our very being, much like the Holy Spirit. (Ja 1:21) We fight along with God, Who fights within and through us (Php 2:13), so we engage the enemy as a single, triune being: soul, Spirit and Sword. (2Co 10:4)

We should be consuming the Word constantly (Ps 1:2), in a consistent pattern of prayerful memorization and meditation, throughout the day, every day. (Ps 119:97) We should be exploring it both on our own and in community, challenging ourselves and others with the goal of learning how to better defend ourselves from lies, to firmly ground and strengthen ourselves in the truth, so we understand the divine way. (Ep 3:16-18)

It’s a discipline of building patterns of instinctive self-defense into ourselves with the Word, developing spiritual muscle-memory, learning how to wield His Sword in conflict. The more scripture we ingest, the more of it we internalize, so it becomes more a part of us, and the more the Spirit has to work with in defending us.

Then, we should be observant, alert, sober, vigilant (1Pe 5:8-9); as Satan is tempting us, we should notice what he is leveraging within us: what lies are we still holding on to, that he is able to exploit within us to lure us into pursuing an ungodly path? (2Co 2:11) We ask the Spirit to reveal this body of lies to us, and then guide us into those passages of scripture perfectly suited to shed light on our particular darkness. (Jn 8:31-32) Then we memorize these texts and meditate on them, asking Him to give us repentance, a deep change in our thinking so we believe Him and His Word, transforming and renewing us way down into our subconscious minds. (Ro 12:2)

Then, the next time Satan comes at us, we look for the lies (Jn 8:44) and quote the relevant scriptures like Yeshua did, reminding ourselves and reinforcing the truth within our spirits so the lies won’t be available for Satan to exploit. This is how we resist him, how we deliver ourselves from bondage and overcome the world. (2Ti 2:25-26)

And when we fail, as we all do, when we get ourselves into a spiritual rut, unable to deliver ourselves, we confess our faults, our patterns of iniquity and defeat, to those in spiritual community we trust, so they can pray for us and with us, shedding light on our darkness with the Word (Ac 26:17-18), that we may be healed. (Ja 5:16)

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Endure Hardness

God encourages us, as good soldiers of Jesus Christ, to endure hardness. (2Ti 2:3) He is calling us to voluntarily accept difficulty, obstacles and challenges which come our way, to count it all joy (Ja 1:2) and persist in hope, adapting, equipping and strengthening ourselves to make the best of our circumstances for His glory as well as we can. We can do this knowing God is sovereign over all, that He sees us, and has arranged our trials for our good. (Ro 8:28)

As a bit of perspective, consider this incredible man; his legs are mere twigs, capable of very little, yet he walks and runs with his arms, using his hands instead of his feet. He tends sheep, harvests crops, navigating forests and difficult terrain, apparently providing for himself and maintaining his own homestead under near-poverty conditions with little, if any assistance. He appears to have incredible ingenuity, discipline, persistence and endurance. (See video) He could complain, he could quit, and most of us wouldn’t blame him. But he doesn’t appear to be feeling sorry for himself.

When we’re tempted to say we can’t, thinking life is just too difficult, that our obstacles are too great … we should step back and get some perspective. This little man will, in all likelihood, stand up straight and tall on Judgment Day, and by his tenacity and industriousness put many to shame (Mt 12:41-42), those who faint in the day of adversity (Pr 24:10), who drop out of their race when it gets hard, who give up and quit when the going gets tough (1Co 16:13), who won’t faithfully make the best of their circumstances for the glory of God.

We may not think we have much to work with, we may think the odds are stacked against us, but we likely have much more capability and potential than we think. (Pr 13:23) God will not judge us based on our achievements in themselves, but on what we do with what He gives us. (Lk 12:48b) Don’t compare yourself with how others are today, but with who you were yesterday. Pursue continuous improvement in every aspect of your life.

If we’re always prioritizing our own comfort and ease we become enemies of the cross (Php 3:18); we won’t grow as we should in God without a struggle. (He 12:10-13) We’re called to prepare our minds for strenuous activity (1Pe 1:13), to diligently add to our faith (2Pe 1:5-7), to exercise and push ourselves. (1Ti 4:7)

The key is to start small, just take one more step, one day at a time. (Mt 6:34) We may need to take baby steps at first, and it may take a long while to train and discipline ourselves to endure hardness, to get to where we should be in this journey, taking up our cross and following after Him every day, to be worthy of Him (Mt 10:38), but it’s the way of God: His strength is made perfect in weakness. (2Co 12:9)

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He May Devour

Satan is as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1Pe 5:8) As a lion roars after its prey (Ps 104:21), so Satan’s roar induces fear, disarming and incapacitating us, as we might expect. But his devouring is not what we might think, not at all. How does Satan devour us?

Satan comes to steal, kill and destroy (Jn 10:10), and he does it through lies. (Jn 8:44) As we believe his lies, we give him place in our lives (Ep 4:27), allowing him to occupy and direct our thoughts, which distracts us and leads us away from God. To the degree we allow Satan to occupy us we enable him to consume us, to misdirect us and waste our efforts, devouring our potential in God, piddling away our precious time, energy and gifts.

Satan may attack us directly to induce fear and paralyze us, lying to us about God’s goodness and faithfulness (Ps 119:75), causing us to be afraid and/or resentful and bitter, stealing our hope and joy in God. (Php 4:4) We resist him by faith, returning to God’s precious promises and grounding ourselves in them (2Pe 1:4), and quench all his fiery darts. (Ep 6:16)

But by far the greatest leverage Satan has in our lives is our own negligence and passivity, our lack of discipline. As we fail to focus our minds, our free mental capacity, on God (Ps 104:34) and on His Word (Ps 1:2), meditating on Him and on His Law (Ps 119:97), we allow our thoughts and imaginations to wander off the path. (Ps 119:10)

How much of our lives do we actually spend focused on God, meditating on His Word, praying and seeking His kingdom and righteousness? (Mt 6:33) Where is our attention, and what eternal profit or fruit is coming from it? When we’re giving an account of every idle word (Mt 12:36), and likely also every thought behind our words and actions (Ec 12:14), what proportion of our lives will survive the fire (1Co 3:12-13), and not be consumed by the enemy, vanishing like so much vapor and smoke? (14-15)

Satan takes advantage of us at every opportunity (2Co 2:11), waiting and watching for any opening we give him, and begins to occupy and devour our head space when we aren’t focusing correctly, invading our thoughts and emotions. He inflames our lusts and provokes our imaginations with ungodly suggestions, tempting and distracting us and literally spending us, frittering away our lives on the irrelevant, the temporal, the mundane. To the degree we permit him to distract us like this, the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke out the Word, pushing it off to the side, out of mind, and we become unfruitful. (Mt 13:22)

The more ground we give up to Satan, the more ground he takes, and the more he occupies and devours us. This process has a compounding affect, increasing its hold on us over time, crippling us and dragging us down into captivity whenever he wishes. And once he has us in his clutches, he does not give up his ground easily: God must help us get back on track, He must enable us in our struggle back to freedom. (2Ti 2:25-26)

God’s remedy is for us to prayerfully, soberly, carefully and vigilantly (1Pe 5:8) train and focus our minds (1Pe 1:13), to get in the habit of routinely hiding God’s Word in our hearts (Ps 119:11), memorizing it and meditating on the Word continually (Jos 1:8), desiring the sincere milk of the Word that we might grow (1Pe 2:2), receiving with meekness the engrafted Word which is able to save our souls. (Ja 1:21) Whenever our mental energy is free from earthly responsibility in stewarding our resources and relationships before God (Ps 112:5), our minds should return to its default state of prayerful meditation. (Ps 119:20)

As we do so, we prayerfully focus our will on diligently adding godly character to our faith (2Pe 1:5-7), exercising ourselves in godliness (1Ti 4:7) that we might grow in grace. (2Pe 3:18) This is how we resist the devil steadfast in the faith (1Pe 5:9) and are transformed by the renewing of our minds, that we might prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God. (Ro 12:2)

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The Travail of His Soul

Our response to the crucifixion of Christ reveals who we are; this becomes the ultimate litmus test, revealing the inward nature of both God and Man.

In contemplating the Cross, in particular the immense soul-crushing suffering of Christ on our behalf (Is 53:4-6), as the innocent Son of God becomes our sin (2Co 5:21), we may begin to comprehend God’s amazing character and appreciate the intensity of His passion and love. God in Christ, laying down His life for us, showing us how He loves us: this is how we perceive the love of God. (1Jn 3:16)

As Father God sees the travail and suffering of Jesus Christ, not merely the intense physical suffering but also His vast, mysterious spiritual agony (Mt 27:46), He is satisfied. (Is 53:11a) In God’s reaction to the Cross, we find that Christ’s payment for our sin is both necessary and sufficient for our salvation. (1Jn 2:2)

Seeing God the Father’s response to the Cross helps us fathom not only the goodness of God (in that He so graciously provides each of us a way to be reconciled with Himself – Jn 3:16), but also the severity of God (in that He requires such a complete and costly sacrifice for sin – Ro 11:22a) Further, we also experience both God’s justice and mercy (in that He fully accepts Christ’s sacrifice on behalf of those who believe, though none of us deserve it. – Is 53:11b) This is a priceless window into the matchless power and wisdom of God. (1Co 1:23-24)

Yet it also appears that Father God will partition the human race based on our response to His Son (Jn 3:36), and to the Cross in particular. (14-15) Our reaction to the Crucifixion will reveal everything about us that’s worth knowing (1Co 1:18); this determines our eternal destiny. (Jn 6:53) Disvaluing the Son (Ps 2:12) and His provision of salvation (He 2:2-3) deeply angers the Godhead. (He 10:29)

What will it be like on Judgment Day, as we stand before Jehovah God of the Universe and behold His nail-pierced hands? How will ignorant, ritualistic, self-centered worship pale before Him, in light of the infinite cost He paid to save us? (1Jn 3:1) How will indifference (Re 3:16), or a spirit of disobedience (Co 3:6) fare before the Cross in the presence of His incredible suffering on our behalf? (Mt 10:38)

If the Cross has not yet overwhelmed us with the love of God, with the majesty of God, if it isn’t moving us into holiness with God, and continually drawing us into gratitude and true worship (Jn 4:24), then we’re not yet rightly valuing the Cross of Christ; we’re not really getting it. (1Co 2:14) The spiritual mind is grounded in the supreme value of the Cross (Ga 2:20); this doesn’t come naturally; we should pursue God for this grace. (Ep 3:14-19)

A proper valuation of the Cross positions it uniquely within our hearts: the Cross on the one side, and all the world on the other. (1Jn 2:15-17) The crucifixion of Christ, when rightly valued and understood, tells us we no longer belong to ourselves; we’ve given up the right to go our own way; everything about us belongs to Christ now. (2Co 5:14-15) The Cross effectively crucifies the world unto us, and us unto the world. (Ga 6:14b)

If our affection and focus is still on the things of this world, if our appetites still command our attention and loyalty, then we’re still enemies of the Cross of Christ … and we aren’t yet His. (Php 3:18-19)

To glory in anything else, to depend on, exult in and/or rejoice in what is outside of and apart from God in Christ, especially in the context of the keeping of our souls (1Pe 4:19), highlighting anything we think we’ve done to contribute to our eternal salvation, devalues Christ our Savior. (Ga 6:14a) Knowing Christ, and Him crucified, is where we must begin. (1Co 2:2)

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The Father Seeketh

As Jesus teaches us about the Father, He reveals a Seeker of worshippers: God’s looking for those who worship Him in spirit and in truth (Jn 4:23-24); true worship is about relationship, loving and enjoying God Himself, not religious form or ritual.

However, this isn’t the same as indulging our emotional impulses; seducing spirits imitate the Holy Spirit and draw careless, uninformed worshippers away. If we aren’t focused on and enjoying Father God as He has revealed Himself, we’re wandering astray, off on our own path (Is 53:6), chasing idols. (1Co 12:2)

So, we should carefully heed Christ’s observation that most worship is ignorant: “Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.” (Jn 4:22) Unless we know God from a Hebraic perspective our worship is in error, misguided; Jesus and His followers worship in truth because they have a Torah-based mindset. The Jews are the conduit of God’s offer of salvation to the world; through the Tanach God has revealed Who He is, what He is like and how to have a relationship with Himself. (Lk 16:29) We can only worship in spirit and in truth from such a perspective. (Ps 119:7, Is 8:20)

Christ is telling us that if we aren’t cherishing Jehovah God of the Hebrews, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, and what He has shown us about Himself in Torah, we aren’t worshipping God at all, but an idol of our own imagination. (Ro 1:21) In other words, if we aren’t meditating in the Old Testament to comprehend Divinity and how to walk with Him, if we’re getting our theology elsewhere, we’re not even in the ballpark — we’ve no idea what we’re doing.

This is the basic problem with Christian theology: in rejecting the Torah-based foundation it takes the New Testament out of context; it’s a new religion, invented well after the Apostolic era, built on the sand. (Mt 7:26-27) The Jesus offered to the world through Christianity, who abolished Torah, isn’t the Christ of Scripture (Mt 5:17-19), and the various Christianized versions of the everlasting Gospel — inasmuch as they are not grounded in Torah, are false. (2Co 11:4) It’s an elaborate counterfeit (2Co 11:13-15), and to the degree souls are inoculated with this deception the harder they are to reach.

The people of God, who are the Israel of God (Ga 6:16), understand the basics about God as revealed in Torah: Jehovah God is holy, pure light; in Him is no darkness at all. (1Jn 1:5) He is a consuming fire (He 12:29) and will trample underfoot all who err from His commandments. (Ps 119:118) It is a fearful thing to fall into His hands. (He 10:31)

Claiming to know Jehovah God without keeping His commands is lying to ourselves. (1Jn 2:4) There’s no reconciliation with God apart from obedience (Ac 5:32); God doesn’t save us to sin as we please (Ep 2:10), He writes His Laws into our hearts (He 8:10) and conforms us to the image of His Son. (Ro 8:29)

God’s followers obey Him (1Jn 3:7-8), and we do so in love — love for God and others. (10) We obey in faith, knowing God is good, faithful and true, no matter what. God works in us to live like this (Php 2:13), to serve Him with reverence and godly fear, by grace. (He 12:28)

God is seeking worshippers … who know Him as He is: Almighty Jehovah God, laying down His life to justify us (1Jn 3:16), giving us new hearts to love and pursue Him (saving us) (Ez 36:26), requiring perfect obedience of us (Mt 5:48), showing us mercy as we try imperfectly to obey (Ex 20:6) and enabling us to obey Him more and more in spirit and truth (sanctifying us). (1Co 1:30-31)

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A Sound Mind

Cognitive Bias is a systematic error in thinking which affects how we process information, distorting our perception and causing us to act irrationally. This bias is rooted in incorrect beliefs about ourselves, others and/or the world which cause us to want Reality to be different than it actually is, hindering our ability to rightly engage the world. This corruption in our minds makes us vulnerable to even more deception, causing more irrational behavior.

To the degree we’re free of Cognitive Bias, the healthier our mind is, the freer we are to think, reason and make good decisions. A sound mind honestly and (therefore more) accurately perceives the world and responds more rationally, coherently, consistently.

The challenge here is that we’re all limited and incomplete in our understanding (1Co 8:2); we’re unable to focus on everything we perceive all at once, and our world is also extremely complex, very difficult to interpret optimally. So, God has ingeniously designed our minds to focus our attention on what’s important, to categorize and generalize our perceptions based on past experience in order to simplify this complexity. We learn to develop mental shortcuts based on what we already know to help us efficiently process new information and make important decisions in real time — otherwise we couldn’t function well. This is God’s design, and might look like Cognitive Bias, but it’s different.

Cognitive Bias is when our internal agenda, what we want Reality to be like, causes us to deal dishonestly with the facts, to apply different rules of evaluation, different standards depending on the situation, in order to protect our own distorted version of Reality. It reflects a fundamentally dishonest worldview, a tendency to love deception rather than the truth. (Jn 3:19)

Cognitive Bias is the root cause of a reprobate mind (Ro 1:28), a corrupt mind (2Ti 3:8), a carnal mind (Ro 8:7); it’s a condition we build into ourselves over time which cripples our ability to understand and obey the truth.

The danger in Cognitive Bias is that what we believe about our world impacts what we can actually perceive about it; believing lies distorts our perception so we can no longer even see the truth. When we neglect to align ourselves with the Reality in front of us, we blind ourselves; this is self-deception, the worst kind of deception. (Ja 1:22) Yet it’s how we all start out (Ti 3:3), and it’s the natural state of most everyone we know. The masses of humanity are unaware, deluded, passively content in the darkness, thoughtlessly traveling the wide road to destruction. (Mt 7:13-14)

A sound mind isn’t actually very common; it’s the precious gift of God. (2Ti 1:7)

To deliver ourselves from Cognitive Bias and develop a sounder, healthier mind, while working within the limitations of our current mental framework, we must determine to love the truth and pursue it at all costs. (Pr 23:23) We must acknowledge that we very likely still have biases which cause us to react irrationally and be on the lookout for them, even inviting others to point out any hint of inconsistency in our behavior. This is the path to freedom. (Jn 8:32)

The key is to start paying attention (Ps 119:9), training ourselves to notice and carefully observe more of what is going on around us, and also within us, and train more of our focus on that part of Reality which appears anomalous, contrary to our world view, opposing our beliefs and presuppositions — our bias. We must be on the lookout for signs that we’re misinterpreting Reality.

When we notice an irrational response, a desire to believe a certain way which appears to be inconsistent with Reality, reactions which don’t align with the facts in front of us, we must ask God for repentance, to open our eyes to see and believe the truth, and deliver ourselves from the snare of deception. (2Ti 2:25-26)

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Be Ye Separate

God tells us we’re to separate ourselves from the world (1Co 6:17-18), to not be unequally yoked with unbelievers (16) and to have no fellowship with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather reprove them (Ep 5:11), yet we find Christ eating and drinking with sinners, and being very friendly with them. (Lk 17:34) God gives sunshine, rain and health to His enemies, effectively enabling them to continue in sin (Mt 5:45), and He tells us to love them and seek their good. (44)

It’s relatively easy to look down our nose at other sinners and separate from them in a spirit of pride and self-righteousness, but this isn’t Love. Yet it’s also unloving to encourage anyone to continue in sin. Where do we draw the line?

There’s a difference between treating sinners with respect and kindness and explicitly promoting perversion. There’s a difference between doing business with someone who self-identifies with sin and encouraging them to continue in their sin. There’s a difference between enabling a person to sin by helping them in non-sinful ways and actually participating with them in practicing their sin.

And there’s a difference between offering a gentle rebuke to a fellow truth-seeker (2Ti 2:24-25) and casting our pearls before swine. (Mt 7:6, Pr 9:7) Often, a godly example is sufficient reproof. (Mt 5:16)

How good does a person, organization or government need to be before we engage with them? What types of flaws, indiscretions or iniquities are acceptable before we withdraw and separate ourselves, or even rebuke and resist?

Rome was about as evil and corrupt as any nation, requiring its subjects to worship Ceasar as god, yet John the Baptist, in preparing the way for Messiah, didn’t advise publicans to stop collecting taxes for Rome (Lk 3:12-13) or soldiers to stop serving Ceasar. (14) Not only did he not resist Rome, he encouraged those who were providing a legitimate service on behalf of Rome to continue to do so with integrity.

Perhaps the rule of Love will help us clarify (Ro 13:10): how do we want others to handle this matter of separation? Do we appreciate fellow citizens standing up for godly principles and resisting those who are actively defrauding and harming others, when they are in a position to do so effectively and legally? Yes, we generally do.

Does it annoy us when the self-righteous get to meddling in the affairs of others they think are in sin, calling them out and harassing them, when they’re not deliberately harming anyone? Generally, yes.

When it’s within our power to prevent open injustice, to defend the vulnerable and the weak, and we don’t … we certainly are to blame (Pr 24:11-12, Ja 4:17), but we also must be careful not to suffer as a busybody in other men’s matters. (1Pe 4:15)

Every situation is different; we need wisdom, humility and love in each circumstance. God be merciful to us and lead us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. (Ps 23:3)

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Let No Man Deceive You

Let’s carefully consider the claim that king David’s sin with Bathsheba is proof believers can willfully commit terrible sins, still be forgiven and have confidence of Heaven. It’s common for sinners to comfort themselves with the idea that King David evidently sinned worse than they are, committing adultery and murder, yet he still made it. Is this reasonable?

It certainly is clear David committed terrible sins, he committed them willfully and persisted in them over a prolonged period, and he was also forgiven: he will be present in Heaven. But this does not prove the proposed claim; we don’t know for sure if David was a believer at the time he committed these horrible sins: it is conceivable he was regenerated afterward.

David did remarkable things in faith before his sin with Bathsheba, but this not necessarily an indication he was justified, regenerated by God. Some of Abraham’s great acts of faith were prior to his justification; he followed God’s call to leave his home country (Ge 12:4) before believing in God for salvation. (15:6) God doesn’t tell us exactly when David believed in God, having faith unto righteousness. It might have been after his sin with Bathsheba.

The Apostle Paul describes David’s understanding of salvation in no uncertain terms (Ro 4:6-8, Ps 32:1-2), yet this is likely (Spurgeon, vs 5) taken from David’s testimony after his sin with Bathsheba. Perhaps David’s sin is an indication he was not yet regenerated at the time.

Anyone living a life of willful sin who presumes they have eternal life from David’s example is banking on David committing his horrendous sins as a believer, but this presumption: it cannot be proven. What can be proven is what God tells us about believers and what they’re like. For one, no murderer has eternal life abiding in him (1Jn 3:15); one who premeditates a murder and carries it out, as David evidently did, gives clear evidence of an unregenerate state.

The Apostle John tells us to be very careful here: “Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him. Little children, let no man deceive you: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, even as he is righteous. He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin, because he is born of God. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” (1Jn 3:6-10) John warns that false teachers will try to convince us we can live in sin and have eternal life; the Apostle Paul is also very clear here. (Ep 5:5-6, 1Co 6:9-10) It’s deception.

If we want to believe a lie, if we don’t love the truth, it will be nearly impossible to resist this one (2Th 2:11-12); it certainly appeals to the flesh. Let’s not fall for it, and gently warn those who are. (2Ti 2:24-26)

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Faith Alone

Justification by faith alone, and not by works, is the foundation of Christian theology. Often referred to as sola fide (“faith alone”), it is the pillar of the Protestant Reformation; many are devoted to preserving this core tenet of Christian belief: faith alone in Christ alone. (e.g. GES)

In searching the Bible for this concept, it is instructive to note that only a single verse contains both words, faith and alone, and clearly explains the relationship between them — James 2:17: “Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.” It tells us we’re not saved by faith alone; a faith that is alone is dead, not saving faith. (vs 14) The book of James apparently denies the doctrine of sola fide, at least as most would understand it; no wonder Martin Luther, the father of the Reformation, had difficulty accepting the inspired text.

Yet it would indeed be perilous to conclude that works are necessary for salvation, that we can somehow earn or merit salvation. Scripture clearly states otherwise: we’re saved by faith, and not by works. (Ga 2:16) Mixing faith/grace and works as grounds for salvation isn’t rational; as requirements they are mutually exclusive by definition; it must be one or the other. (Ro 11:6) How then do we parse this? We must be careful, thorough, and precise; we cannot afford to miss it. (2Pe 1:10-11)

It helps to begin by observing that Christ did not come to start a new religion, nor to teach us a new way to be saved: the way to Heaven has never changed. We’re saved just like Father Abraham and King David; Paul builds his case for justification by faith on the testimonies of these two men. (Ro 4:1-3, 6-8) Born again is not just a New Testament idea; it’s grounded in the Old Testament. (Jn 3:10)

It’s very easy to teach a new (and thus false) gospel by taking isolated NT passages out of context; look at the whole of Scripture. If we can’t see the Gospel in the Old Testament we don’t yet understand it, for this is how the Apostle Paul taught it. (Ro 16:25-26)

Believing on Jesus Christ (Ge 15:6) is the supernatural work of God (Jn 6:29) which causes us to rest in the finished work of Christ for our salvation. (He 4:1-3) This divine work creates in us a new, transformed nature (Ga 6:15) which does not deliberately and willfully continue in sin. (1Jn 3:9-10) Those who do intend to continue living in sin don’t yet know God. (vs 6)

Thinking we can receive the gift of eternal life without receiving Christ Himself is deception: the gift is the Giver: Christ Himself is the Life we seek. (1Jn 1:1-2) To believe on Him is to receive Him as He is (Jn 1:12) and trust in Him (Ep 1:15); it is to love Him (1Co 16:22) and obey Him. (He 5:9)

So, we’re indeed saved only by faith (by faith alone), and saving faith is only in Christ (faith alone in Christ alone), but true faith is never alone: it does not exist in isolation, apart from works. Saving faith is always accompanied by a changed life. (He 6:9) It isn’t that we must change our life in order to believe on Christ, but experiencing faith in Christ will radically change us. Pursuing holiness won’t save us, but there’s no eternal life without it. (He 12:14) When we diligently seek God, we find Him (He 11:6) and He changes us. (Ep 2:10)

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