The Indispensable Word

Though the word "indispensable" is not often used in casual conversation, the meaning is plain enough:  absolutely necessary.  The Word of God, the Bible, is absolutely necessary to the Christian walk of knowing God and His perfect will.  Romans 10:17 says "...faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God."  Without the revelation of God's Word there is nothing definite to place our faith in.  When the Bible touches a believing heart, it is most profitable.  The writer of Hebrews pointed out the importance of God's truth to mix with faith by using the example of Jews who did not enter into the land of promise in Hebrews 4:2:  "For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it."  Faith combined with knowledge of God's Word leads to obedient action.

The Bible is not merely a launching pad for faith, but it is the foundation our lives are to be continuously built upon.  God's Word illuminates the narrow road which stretches on before all of us, a "...lamp unto my feet and a light unto my path." (Ps. 119:105)  There should be in all faithful servants of God complete submission to the truth of God's Word.  We can all sadly become as King Saul, who began humble in his own eyes but was later lifted up with pride.  On one occasion he commanded the priest to bring the Ark of the Covenant before him to inquire of the LORD.  But when he heard the sounds from the Philistine camp growing he told the priest of the Most High God, "Withdraw your hand" (1 Sam. 14:19), basically saying, "Never mind.  I've got this."  So said the man who intentionally fell on his own sword, and when we toss aside God's Word as a light or trite thing we do the same.

I recently purchased R.A. Torrey's book, How to Obtain Fullness of Power.  In the first chapter he made a very good observation concerning the importance of God's Word in bringing people to salvation through the Gospel.  The Philippian jailer, shaken body and soul by the earthquake, sprang into the cell of Paul and Silas and asked, "Sirs, what must I do to be saved?"  I expect many people familiar with the passage will remember their response in Acts 16:31, "So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."  It is what they did next which is indispensable, giving the man something definite to believe and do according to scripture.  It goes on to say in Acts 16:32-33, "Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all who were in his house. ³³ And he took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes. And immediately he and all his family were baptized."  They did not just tell the man to believe, but "spoke the word" so the man could know what to believe and how to respond.  Being mixed with faith, the word of God was used to bring a family to eternal salvation.  Our words cannot save sinners, but the Bible can.

Paul's exhortation to Timothy is an important one to lay to heart today in 2 Timothy 4:1-2, "I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: ² preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching."  This great error of drifting from the preaching of the Word of God was a temptation from the infancy of the church.  Paul did not preach himself, making his personal experiences a central focus of his talks.  Stories and illustrations have their place in an engaging discourse (as we see demonstrated with Jesus with His parables), but the Word should be as indispensable in our preaching as Jesus said the Holy Spirit is to guide and lead us into all truth.  Man's opinions are fickle, but God's Word endures forever.  There is no life in our sermonising or discussions except we make the Word of God central to them, for God alone has the words of life.  Stories lead to more stories, but God's Word brings salvation and personal transformation.

Be Reconciled!

"Now all things are of God, who has reconciled us to Himself through Jesus Christ, and has given us the ministry of reconciliation, ¹⁹ that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation. ²⁰ Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God."

2 Corinthians 5:18-20

These verses were read during announcements at church this morning and they were a useful exhortation to me.  A key word and theme repeated in this portion is reconciliation.  To be "reconciled" is "to restore to friendship or harmony; to make consistent or congruous."  We are not God, and as sinners we are completely opposed to and incompatible with God.  Since repenting and believing the Gospel, God "has reconciled us to Himself."  No amount of effort on our part can reconcile us to God, for who among men can wash himself free of the stain of sin?

In His grace God has reconciled us to Himself and has committed unto followers of Jesus the ministry of reconciliation.  The aim of our labours therefore is to lead other sinners to be reconciled with God as well.  Having experienced God's love, acceptance, and forgiveness of our sins through the Gospel, we can share the good news of eternal life with others.  We who were once enemies of God have been made one with God because Jesus Christ died for us, rose from the dead, and the Holy Spirit now lives within us.  We have been born again, regenerated by the same dynamic power that raised Jesus from the dead.  As God's ambassadors we seek to advance His kingdom, knowing we have a home in heaven prepared for us.

Based on how God has reconciled us to Himself and given us the ministry and word of reconciliation, Paul implores followers of Jesus:  "Be reconciled to God."  What is he saying?  Since we have been redeemed by God we ought to live like those who are redeemed from sin.  We have been made new creations through spiritual regeneration, and therefore we ought to walk in newness of life.  Our thoughts, words, attitudes, and actions ought to correlate with the spiritual transaction which has taken place.  If we are Christ's, then we ought to follow in His steps and love as He loves, forgive as He has forgiven us.  It would be a terrible thing for an ambassador of a nation to have multiple warrants issued for their arrest by the government they are tasked to advance.  It is a shame when Christians, whose divine calling by God is to labour to see others reconciled to God, are not even on speaking terms with Him because of sin.

The admonition given to the church in Corinth is fitting for us today.  All whom God has reconciled to Himself should make every effort to be truly reconciled to God, submitting our lives to God's authority and perfect will.  There should be a correlation between our truth claims and choices, and agreement between God's Word and our lives.  Our love and allegiance to Christ should be more than words but be demonstrated by our decisions.  If we know Jesus is preparing a place for us in heaven, then we ought to live like citizens of heaven.  We are worthless ambassadors of heaven if we live like children of hell.  Since we are children of God through the Gospel, let us walk in His love and light.

The Blindness of Unbelief

"They also took some of the fruit of the land in their hands and brought it down to us; and they brought back word to us, saying, 'It is a good land which the LORD our God is giving us.' ²⁶ "Nevertheless you would not go up, but rebelled against the command of the LORD your God; ²⁷ and you complained in your tents, and said, 'Because the LORD hates us, He has brought us out of the land of Egypt to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us."

Deuteronomy 1:25-27

The children of Israel had been brought out of Egypt by God, but their actions reveal they did not know Him.  Their unbelief and subsequent rebellion exposed their ignorance of God and skewed perceptions.  They had seen firsthand the good land God promised to given them in Canaan.  They did not doubt God's existence or the signs and wonders He had performed among them.  He miraculously supplied bread, meat, and water for their needs, but when they considered their enemies and the strong fortifications they lost heart.

Can you imagine it?  The children of Israel were on the threshold of the good land God was giving to them.  God commanded they enter into the land He provided them, but instead they sat in their tents and complained.  They lifted up their voices and wept, and they even accused God of hating them for bringing them out of Egypt.  All they had to do was trust God and obey, but they suspected God all along had schemed to destroy them.  It's a strange thing how unbelief, disobedience, and rebellion - in God's people - led to such ignorant blindness.  Unbelief kept them from entering into the good land God had graciously prepared for them.  They foolishly claimed God hated and hoped to destroy them, and unbelief led God's people to destroy themselves.  All they feared came upon them.

All that is written in the Bible is for our learning, and let us not think we are so different than these overwhelmed complainers who murmured against God in their tents when they should have packed up and joyfully entered into their inheritance!  Do you know failed expectations are often a key part of our struggles?  The Israelites were glad to be saved when they were oppressed slaves.  They liked the idea of living in a fruitful land flowing with milk and honey.  They left Egypt on a high, amazed at the great deliverance of God.  But life wasn't easy.  There was quite a distance to travel without the comforts they were accustomed to.  They murmured about the direction God led them, complained about those God appointed to lead, and they were tired of eating the same thing every day.  Where was this good land anyway?  Why isn't this becoming any easier?  Where is this promised rest?  And how long do we have to keep doing this?

Let's face it:  we too have had expectations about what God should do in a situation.  When He doesn't seem to respond like we assume or expect He should, resentment can grow in our hearts.  We start to doubt God's promises.  Oh, we may agree they must be true but because of opposition we stop expecting them to be fulfilled.  Doubt leads to disobedience and rebellion in small areas which infest the whole.  Pretty soon we are complaining in unbelief against God like the children of Israel, refusing to obey God because we are convinced He actually hates us.  We just want the lesson to be over so we can be done with the uncertainty, pain, and dashed expectations. This is selfishness and sin.  We always want our way, but God's way is different and better than ours.  Understand unbelief always leads to rebellion and keeps us from receiving the promise provided should we trust and obey.  What we fear can also overtake us when we sit in unbelief.

Caleb and Joshua entered in the land because they believed God.  Are you willing to wait 40 years to obey God's command to enter the land when the previous generation called it a death-trap?  Maybe you won't have to.  Perhaps there is one thing God has told you to do this very day and you don't want or feel like doing it.  The risk seem too great.  Unbelief will always distort our vision of God and heighten potential dangers.  If we believe God, we will obey Him.  Looking to Jesus clears our fuzzy perceptions of God and what we ought to do in light of His love, strength, and grace.  Had the Israelites believed God they wouldn't have lamented their losses but celebrated sure victory.  This victory wouldn't be won in a day, month, or year, but it was one they could have experienced again and again by God's grace.  Let us believe God, in faith obey, and inherit the promises!

Freedom to Choose

The Law of Moses and the whole Bible is a comprehensive testament of God's reality, character, and righteousness.  Thankfully the God who inspired the Bible is accessible and available to guide us into all truth, to make sense out of specific dilemmas the Word of God does not explicitly cover.  The Bible is relevant for today because God nor His Word will ever change:  He is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

After the children of Israel entered the Promised Land, the five daughters of Zelophehad expressed concern the inheritance of their father's house would be lost because he did not bear any sons.  Though the Law was detailed, it did not expressly say what should happen in their case.  They boldly approached Moses so their situation could be addressed.  They said in Numbers 27:4-7, "Why should the name of our father be removed from among his family because he had no son? Give us a possession among our father's brothers." ⁵ So Moses brought their case before the LORD. ⁶ And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying: ⁷ "The daughters of Zelophehad speak what is right; you shall surely give them a possession of inheritance among their father's brothers, and cause the inheritance of their father to pass to them."  This interaction shows us the importance of seeking the LORD for wisdom and discernment in every situation, especially in cases that are not explicit in the Bible.  Our "common sense" or past experience is insufficient.  God affirmed the daughters of Zelophehad spoke rightly and He always judges righteously.

Later in the book of Numbers the head of the tribe of Joseph came before Moses with another pressing issue:  if the inheritance was to be passed to the daughters of Zelophehad and they married men from other tribes, it would cause the tribe of Joseph to lose the inheritance given them by lot.  The mind of God was shown to Moses and it is written in Numbers 36:5-7, "Then Moses commanded the children of Israel according to the word of the LORD, saying: "What the tribe of the sons of Joseph speaks is right. ⁶ "This is what the LORD commands concerning the daughters of Zelophehad, saying, 'Let them marry whom they think best, but they may marry only within the family of their father's tribe.' ⁷ So the inheritance of the children of Israel shall not change hands from tribe to tribe, for every one of the children of Israel shall keep the inheritance of the tribe of his fathers."  Again, the people of God who knew God's Law were able to ask valid questions and points which God affirmed as right.  God gave another command which allowed the inheritance of Zelophehad to remain in the family and within the tribe.  The women were given freedom to marry whom they thought best, but they were prohibited from marrying outside the tribe of Joseph.  They had complete freedom of choice limited by God's sovereign will.

This is an important principle in dealing with areas of liberty in the Christian life, concerning things which are not plainly expressed in scripture.  After being born again through faith in Jesus Christ the Holy Spirit dwells in us and guides us into all truth.  We are granted freedom from sin and the legalistic requirements of the Law.  At the same time, we are to do righteously according to God's Word and Christ's example.  The Holy Spirit will never lead us to speak or behave in an unloving manner contrary to scripture.  Since their father died the daughters of Zelophehad had the freedom before God to choose any man they thought best, but at the same time were limited to marrying from one tribe.  God is not wrong or evil to place such restrictions upon our lives.  "But what if they loved someone from another tribe?" some might ask.  Even in matters of love and marriage, God's people who fear Him ought to submit to His holy Word.  The same God who told His people, "Be holy for I am holy" says the same to us and if we obey our lives will be profoundly and positively impacted.  Instead of complaining and pushing against God's boundaries, we can rejoice in His righteousness, gracious provision, and our freedom.

I believe God has given all people the right to choose, and as followers of Jesus Christ our choices should be limited to righteous ones.  We naturally lack God's wisdom and therefore we need God's guidance.  How glorious it would be for God to say of our words, "What you have spoken is right."  We stand on solid footing when we choose God's way.