Exhortation – Page 19

Presumptuous Sin

As there are degrees of sin, there’s also more than one kind; the Psalmist asks God to keep him from presumptuous sin. (Ps 19:13) There’s mercy for sins of ignorance (Nu 15:28); God overlooks them (Ac 17:30), but not lives of willful (He 10:26-27) presumption. (Nu 15:30)

Presumption is unwarranted intrusive or impertinent boldness; inexcusable forwardness; a readiness to presume; knowingly thinking, saying and/or doing things without right or permission. (De 18:20) Sin is the violation of God’s Law, Torah. (1Jn 3:4)

Presumptuous sin then is to willfully break God’s laws, or to be careless or neglectful in keeping them (Ps 119:4); it is to despise YHWH Himself (Lk 10:16), and it’s the worst kind of sin. (Ps 19:13)

Yet even if we’re not deliberately breaking specific Torah commands, inappropriate boldness, assertiveness or confidence may be presumptuous. For example, asserting our subjective opinion as verifiable fact is problematic unless we have legitimate evidence: only objective concepts are truly verifiable. Teaching our private interpretation of scripture as ultimate truth, thereby setting ourselves up as having apostolic authority (Re 2:2), unless we are divinely inspired and ordained by God Himself to do so (Ja 3:1), is evidently equivalent to being a false prophet, deserving of the death penalty. (De 18:20)

Like the Psalmist, let’s run from presumptuous sin! As it dominates us we become slaves to darkness (2Ti 2:25-26); God’s children don’t live like this. (1Jn 3:6-8).

And while we’re running from presumption let’s acknowledge that only God Himself can restrain us and keep us back from it; if God doesn’t help us here we’re all hopelessly wicked. (Is 64:6) But God is faithful (2Th 3:3) to help us become poor in spirit.

As we find ourselves becoming free of presumptuous sin, transformed, elect unto obedience and humility, this is the gift and grace of God (Ro 5:17): we’ve nothing to boast of (Ro 3:27) or take credit for (1Co 4:7), nothing to be proud of, nothing to glory in. (1Co 1:29) Let’s rejoice … and only in God Himself. (Je 9:23-24)

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The Word of God

Just as all religions aren’t the same, modern Bible translations are also different. How can we tell which one’s best? Why does it matter?

Well, if we’re not committed to obeying our bible then it really doesn’t matter; we’ll go with whatever happens to make us feel good … hardly noticing when it encourages men to abuse their families, as many of our newer English translations actually do.

SpringWaterMountain — Clements Mountain, Montana

But if we’re hiding our bible in our heart, meditating on it daily and conforming our lives to every word of it, then I think the version we choose makes a big difference: we should trust it as God’s inspired Word. Is any translation worthy of our trust? How can we know?

As it turns out, I don’t think we need a seminary degree to nail this one; no need to master ancient biblical languages. The consistency of the Majority text sheds invaluable light: most of our English translations are based on patent absurdity: The Syrian Recension.

Of the few that remain, the King James Version (KJV) empowered two Great Awakenings, was the backbone of the English-speaking world for nearly 300 years and is the only English bible to have ever been generally accepted as inspired by God’s people. In my humble opinion, this one’s a no-brainer.

The Bible isn’t just any old book; it’s alive and powerful (He 4:12); it cannot be broken. (Jn 10:35) God’s Word is food for our soul (Je 15:16), a light to our way (Ps 119:105), a map for our journey (1Ti 3:16-17), and the Spirit’s sword, our weapon of war. (Ep 6:17) Let’s choose our bible wisely; pick one we trust and obey it as the very Word of God to us. Our spiritual health depends on it.

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A Falling Away

Most evangelical Christians seem to believe the end of the age is upon us, that Christ’s second coming is just around the corner. I’ve found this common in bible-believing circles since the late 70’s … I’ve seldom met an earnest believer that felt otherwise. Evidently, Christians have been feeling this way ever since Christ departed, nearly two millennia ago.

Yet Paul begs us not to expect Messiah’s return prematurely. (2Th 2:1-2) Have we been overlooking something basic? Perhaps a little gullible in our exuberance?

God’s told us there’ll be a vast change in humanity prior to His return, a wickedness like nothing we’ve ever seen … what He describes as “a falling away.” (2Th 2:3) A city He calls Babylon the Great will rise to supreme dominance in world affairs, the cornerstone of global economic and political power, as well as the epicenter of a new global occult religion. These kinds of things don’t generally happen overnight; as of now, she’s nowhere in sight.

Yes, the world’s wicked (1Jn 5:19) and bad things happen: economies grow and collapse, global powers rise and fall, deadly new diseases appear, social norms drift and natural disasters disrupt it all … and it’s always been this way. (Mk 13:7-8)

Let’s be sane in the midst of this turmoil, no longer giving occasion to the world to mock God’s people by claiming Christ’s return is near. Let’s walk in wisdom, in hope, delighting in the goodness of God, knowing He’s sovereign and faithful, joying in Him and edifying one another.

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Proud in Heart

There’s only one safe place in the universe: the place of humility, of lowliness. All who abide elsewhere are abominable to God and subject to punishment. (Pr 16:5) Certainly, there are degrees of pride … and so degrees of being loathsome to God. Where then do we dwell?

StairwayToDestruction — Arthur’s Steps in Edinburgh Scotland

Pride is thinking more highly of ourselves than we ought (Ro 12:3), and what exactly does that look like?

Refusing to accept the fact that we might, in fact, be the most evil person who has ever lived — this is pride. It’s rejecting the label: chief of sinners. The apostle Paul himself didn’t do this. (1Ti 1:15)

Being smug, conceited, overly pleased in ourselves; lifted up in our own sight; better than some other, this is the pride of life, and it’s entirely unacceptable. (Php 2:3) If we can look down on another with disdain (1Pe 2:17), with contempt (Ps 123:4), thinking we’d never do what they’ve done, we don’t know ourselves. Blind to our own sin we don’t grieve over it, we grow lukewarm, losing our joy and taking God’s love for granted.

Let’s be plain: if left to ourselves there’s no telling what we might be like. Any good in us is the free gift of God. (1Co 4:7) In our free will, apart from God’s restraining and enabling grace, we’re all totally depraved (Je 17:9); abominable, filthy, drinking iniquity like water (Job 15:6); we’re all as an unclean thing; all of our self exaltation is disgusting to God. (Is 64:6)

When saints see themselves as they are in the presence of the absolute purity and holiness of God, we abhor ourselves (Job 42:6, Is 6:5); we cry out with the Psalmist, “Keep back thy servant from presumptuous sins! Let them not have dominion over me.” (Ps 19:13)

If we’re not behaving as badly as another, this is the undeserved grace of God (1Co 15:10); we’ve nothing to glory in but Jesus Christ. (1Co 1:29-31) Forgetting this, taking any credit for ourselves, is pride.

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The Second Death

Yeshua uses unmistakably graphic language to describe Hell. (Mk 9:43-44, 45-46, 47-48) He’s warning us to do all we can to avoid it. Who among us will go there? (Is 33:14) What would it be like do die the second death?

Before coming to faith I dwelt here, meditating on the terror of the Lord; it moved me to repent and seek God until I found salvation. This is, in fact, God’s norm in evangelism. (Jud 1:22-23)

The Lake of Fire is the dreadful fate of all who fail to find their eternal home in Christ. (Re 21:8) Fear of spending eternity in Hell drives the wise to ensure their election, until they’re as sure of Heaven as Christ Himself. Take no chances: perfect assurance of eternal salvation is available; nothing less is acceptable.

Only a few diligently secure their place in Heaven; whatever it takes, strive to enter: be one of them. (Mt 7:13)

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Too Painful

When I lose sleep over injustice, and recently it seems to be often, I know I’m not handling it well — it’s too painful for me (Ps 73:16); I’m letting the enemy steal my joy. (Php 4:6) It’s time for a little reminder: God is just. (Pr 2:8)

What if God always rewarded good and evil with immediate pleasure or pain, training us like Pavlov’s dogs? We’d never know the depravity of the human heart … or the goodness of God.

In order to fully reveal Himself God must allow evil to go unchecked for a season; this exposes the human heart, and provides Jehovah a venue to glorify Himself. (Ro 9:22-23) The season may be longer than we’d like, but it’s a necessity.

I remind myself that God is faithful; He will bring every secret thing out into light; all will be revealed (Mk 4:22), dealt with and straightened out. (Lk 3:5-6) He may not be as prompt we’d like, but He’s perfectly just (Ro 2:2) and His timing’s always best. (Ps 104:31) My focus is to walk worthy of Christ, in intimate fellowship with God, and leave the rest to Him. (Ro 14:4)

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The New Month

Since the moon is central in the timing of God’s feasts, celebrating each new month is natural in God’s kingdom. (Is 66:23)

YHWH doesn’t tell us exactly how to do this, but it’s easy for saints to come together under an open sky to worshipfully enjoy each new moon. Like anything else, the more familiar we are with lunar phases the easier this will be.

Monthly worship rhythms keep us aligned with God’s calendar in community, and encourage us to anticipate and prepare for each biblical feast as it approaches, keeping us in touch with God’s prophetic timeline. (Col 2:16)

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The Sword of the Spirit

The Word of God is the Holy Spirit’s sword (Ep 6:17) … so God’s sword is also ours, our primary weapon in spiritual warfare. Without it were no threat to the enemy, more a target than a soldier. (2Ti 2:3)

And this weapon, the Word of God, is alive … powerful! (He 4:12) To be effective it must be an extension of our hearts and minds, interconnected with us (De 6:6-9) … it’s Christ Himself in us (Jn 1:14); both spirit and life. (Jn 6:63)

So how do we wield this supernatural sword? How do we get it into the Spirit’s hands and interconnect with Him in using it? After all, it’s primarily His sword.

Christ’s example when Satan attacked Him was to quote the Word, saying repeatedly, “It is written.” (Mt 4:4, 7), (10) By hiding God’s Word in our heart we arm the Spirit for war, equipping Him to defend, protect, feed (De 8:3) and heal us, cleansing us of our lies and strongholds. (Ep 5:26) It’s hard to wield this particular sword unless we can quote it, but merely memorizing scripture won’t do; we must be constantly meditating on it (Ps 1:2), saturating ourselves with God in His written Word. (Jos 1:8)

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Be Persuaded

Repentance is central to spiritual life (Ac_20:21), but exactly what is repentance?

Repentance is God’s gift causing us to change our minds, to become convinced of truth (2Ti 2:25), or to be persuaded (Lk 16:30-31) such that our behavior changes from within. It’s different from confessing sin, admitting guilt, being sorry and trying to obey. (2Co 7:10) It’s a renewing in our heart, a new way of thinking, and only God can do it. (Ps 51:10, 19:13)

Repentance is what sets us free from the stranglehold of sin in our lives, delivering us from Satan’s power to hold us captive (2Ti 2:26), so we should immediately seek this gift whenever we find ourselves not acting, feeling, thinking or believing as we should (Is 55:6); any other response is loving our darkness instead of His light. (Jn 3:19) God never tells us to set aside time to repent … that’s like setting aside time to take antidotes; the longer we hold on to the poison of sin within us the more damage it does. Thinking any other way about repentance reveals we’re missing God in a big way.

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Right In Our Own Eyes

When we feel strongly that something’s right or wrong, how do we know we’re right? Do we just presume so, based on how strongly we feel?

If we’re not consciously referencing God’s standard of right and wrong as we make moral judgments … aren’t we just making up our own? (Pr 21:2)

But isn’t God the only One Who has the right to do this? Aren’t we constantly usurping that right? Trying to put ourselves on the throne instead of God? But isn’t this Satan’s way? (Is 14:13-14)

God’s definition of sin is Torah. (1Jn 3:4) Are we hiding it in our hearts and asking Him to conform us to it? If not, what are we doing?

When God judges the world, I expect He’s going to use His own definition of sin, not ours. Wouldn’t it be tragic to face the God of Heaven and be so completely wrong about absolutely everything? (Pr 30:12) When He’s made His laws so accessible to us? What will be our defense? (Ro 3:19)

“Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.” (Mt 7:7-8)

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