Nobody likes to go through trials and testing. Those are challenging enough, but to be “sifted like wheat” is another issue. My pastor says this: “If you squeeze a lemon, what comes out? Whatever is inside of it.” We are going through a squeezing right now, so let me set the scene.
Peter went through several tests throughout his discipleship with Jesus. He was sent out with the 12 to go preaching. He walked on water, only to sink once he started seeing the waves. But Peter’s biggest trial came the night Jesus was arrested. He followed Jesus from a distance but quickly denied even knowing Him when identified by a servant girl. When it was done, Peter heard the rooster crow and he realized what he did. He left weeping bitterly.
What happened? Jesus told him beforehand that Satan was asking for him to sift him like wheat. Sifting is a process where the wheat plant is broken up so the pure wheat grain can be separated from the husk and chaff. The tool used for sifting is called a tribular, which is the source of the term “tribulation.” Peter was going to be hit and shaken down to where his true self was exposed, and all the cosmetics, façades, and masks would be removed.
John Bevere in his book The Bait of Satan brought an angle to this incident that I had not thought about. Jesus knew the trial was coming, and he didn’t stop it. He instead prayed that Peter might endure it. That is the total opposite of what most of us would ever say to someone going through a trial. We call to rebuke the Devil for causing us problems. We pray that God remove the trial or the thorn. I have not often heard people pray that God will teach us what we need to learn through this. Now there is a point where we must rebuke the Devil and not let him steal from us, however, most of the time, we are asking to not let our comfortable lives be disturbed. Yet when this sifting comes, God is going to simply hand us over and put us on display whether we are going to be faithful or not (He does know the outcome, for the record).
Job was sifted like wheat. He lost everything: family, wealth, health, and prosperity. Everything the “prosperity preachers” call for us to get today, Job lost. Why? Because God and Satan were making wagers in heaven. God put Job on display for the world and the hosts of heaven to see that there is a man who worships God for who He is, not because of what He gives. Job was stripped down to just his person, yet he never once sinned with his lips against God.
I have been sifted like wheat twice so far, and I expect it will happen again. The first time, back in 2007, I was at my last summer working at a grocery store and I wanted to see one of my co-workers get saved. But in the process, I stirred up a demonic stronghold which had been laying dormant in his life and it began to manifest itself through him. The story takes about an hour for me to tell, so this is hardly the space for that, but to cut to the chase, my faith was stripped down to its core and I came out of it more confident and stronger in it than ever before. I did not get the demon out but that’s another topic.
Another time of sifting came while I’ve been writing for Worldview Warriors. I was a substitute teacher for 6 ½ years, most of that at one school. I had applied countless times for full teaching jobs, had 20 interviews, and nothing came forth. Even when I taught physics for nearly a full year and applied for the opening 7 times, I got nothing. I only had one hint of a job offer in the whole time. It was clear that there was no interest in me being a teacher. And I had to wrestle through my heart and attitudes about the situation. It wasn’t easy. What was happening here? I could say the school and the district were exploiting me, but ultimately, God was preserving me, holding me for my current position. The process helped strip away my dependence upon total structure and to rely on God for when curveballs come my way. I’ve not mastered the lesson, but I’ve come a long way.
This nation has been going through the “tribular” for the last three years. No, I am not talking about persecution of the church. But I’ve noticed something since Trump’s election: the façade and the masks that people have been hiding behind are being stripped away. The United States has been through some major foundational changes in our lifetimes. Our Worldview Warriors president, Jason DeZurik, has been explaining some of that in blog posts this year. But regardless of what anyone thinks about whether Trump has been doing a good job or not, what has come out of his administration is a revelation of who really is who. Masks are coming off. People are revealing who they truly are. Take note that I am not saying Trump is doing it himself; God is doing it through Trump.
Little has really shown this more than the corona virus. Over the last few months, many people have had their confidence in their comforts shaken. So much fear is on display (often driven by the media) and panic toilet paper buying has only revealed what was already there: greed, selfishness, arrogance, and a total lack of dependence upon God to have control over things. Many Christians have bought into the hype as well, stirring up fear and warning everyone to take shelter. These people have been squeezed, and fear and panic came out. But not all have bought it.
There are many others who are showing their true hearts not of wickedness but of compassion. We are seeing people who were once divided coming together during this crisis. We are seeing Christians do what Christians do: go support people in this time of plague. I have read many biographies and a number of them deal with plagues. And one thing I did not see in any of them was a “go congregate with self” mode. Instead, I saw a “Lord, what shall I do?” mode. They saw a need and went out to do something about it. They didn’t try to solve the problem; they just sought to be Christ in the midst of a broken and hurting world. They were squeezed and Christ came out.
We are going through a sifting as a nation right now. We are being squeezed as a lemon. What is coming out of us? Christ, or something else? Let it be Christ. Are we going to pray that God remove the trial? Or are we going to pray that God take us through it? Let’s go through the storm, not try to skirt around it. When the winds and rains come, whose house will stand? These past three years have shown that only those who built upon Christ are staying strong. Let us turn to the Solid Rock so as we go through this sifting, we will be found faithful.
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by Steve Risner
Are you a foot washer?
“Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.” James further drives this point home in the following verses, making sure we understand that the Word is of little use to us if we don’t actually apply it to our lives. Other translations say, “Be doers of the Word.”
A question I’ll pose today is: are you a doer of the Word? Or do you get your ears tickled on Sunday, agreeing with every word the pastor speaks, knowing God has revealed something to you that He wants you to either do or forsake doing and you then go home, not having changed a thing? That could be a point all by itself; in fact, I’ll leave that there for you to ponder for a moment. What has God been saying to you either in your prayer time, Bible reading time, or listening to your favorite pastor or discussing life’s challenges from a Biblical perspective with a friend that you’ve thought to yourself, “Boy, I really do need to ________. That was a great word.” But then you’ve walked away exactly the same as you were before you heard it? Move!
So, my reason for this intro is to apply it to something Jesus did and further commanded us to do along with His apostles. In the Gospels of Matthew and John, we see an event that I’m sure the Disciples had a hard time figuring out at first. In John 13, we find the following:
“So he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him… When he had finished washing their feet, he put on his clothes and returned to his place. ‘Do you understand what I have done for you?’ he asked them. ‘You call me ‘Teacher’ and ‘Lord,’ and rightly so, for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. Very truly I tell you, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.’”
I’ll first point out that, again, Jesus tells us we need to be a DOERS of His Word. I’ll repeat what He said, “Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them.” Be a doer and not just a hearer.
Jesus served. A great way to serve the Lord is by serving others. The Word is replete with examples of commands and illustrations of how we are to serve others. In fact, James says that taking care of widows and orphans (serving them) is pleasing religion to the Father. So, my real question—the whole point of this blog post—is who are you serving? Let us take a closer look at some of the examples in the Bible of this other than Jesus washing the feet of His disciples:
1 Peter 4:10 says, “As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another.” But he further states in verse 11, "Let him who serves serve in the strength which God supplies so that in everything God will get the glory." It’s for the glory of God that we serve. The whole point is to point people to Christ.
Galatians 5:13b-14 says, “Serve one another humbly in love. For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’” In loving your neighbor, you will certainly find opportunity to serve them. Service is an act of love.
Matthew 20:28 tells us Jesus came to serve and not be served. This goes along with His statement that it is more blessed to give than to receive. It’s better to serve than be served, although it takes both for the action to work, right? Are you looking for opportunities to serve those around you (whether you know them or not)?
In Mark 9:35 Jesus says, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all.” A servant is humble, and this is a hard thing to be, especially in today’s America. But humility is critical to having the heart of Christ.
Jesus and James seem to be in agreement with each other on being doers of the Word. Jesus says, “In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” James says, “What good is it… if someone claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save them? Suppose a brother or a sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to them, ‘Go in peace; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about their physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” It sounds like they’re both saying, “Be doers of the Word and not hearers only.”
John says, in 1 John 3:18, “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” John writes this right after asking the question, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” Let’s be about the business of meeting needs. Let’s be the Church we were called to be—one that serves rather than criticizes or judges in pride.
Paul tells us in Philippians, “Let each of you look not only to his own interests but also to the interests of others.” This, again, goes along with humility and thinking of others AND doing something to meet their needs.
Paul further says in 1 Corinthians that in serving all, his goal is to win some to Christ. Here we see that service’s end goal is for Christ to receive glory and for Him to receive another person’s heart. He emphasizes this in 2 Corinthians by saying that “we ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake.”
I’ve gone a little long this week, but I want to encourage us all, myself included, to seek opportunities to serve. We should serve those that are part of the family of God because we’re directed to but also those who are outside the faith so we might win them to the Lord.
Who are you serving? Are you pouring yourself into someone? Are you finding opportunities regularly to serve others, considering their interests and needs? Whose feet are you washing? Service can be a one-time thing with someone, or it could be something you do for someone for a season. Wash their feet and share His love.
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The idea of karma is that if you do good things and are a good person, good things will happen to you; on the flip side, if you do bad things and are a bad person, bad things will happen to you. The idea of the Prosperity Gospel goes along with that - if good things happen to you, then it must be because you did the right thing, but if bad things happen, well that’s because you just weren’t good enough. But, all of that goes against what the Teacher shares with us in today’s passage of Ecclesiastes 7:15-22.
The Teacher shares in verse 15 that he has seen righteous people perish while wicked people live long lives. That’s essentially the opposite of karma; the good die young while the wicked are blessed with long lives! What’s the deal with that? We live in a world that is subject to the problem of sin, and bad things seem to happen to good people. Things aren’t as clear-cut as karma may make them seem.
Verse 16 instructs us, “Do not be overrighteous, neither be overwise—why destroy yourself?” The idea of being overrighteous was addressed by Jesus many times in His interactions with the Pharisees, for example in Matthew 23. They were trying to be overly spiritual to show their righteousness by doing and not doing certain things; Jesus warned them that no matter what their actions showed, they’re all sinners. Pretending to be righteous with outward actions is pointless if inwardly they are selfish and conceited.
Being overwise is the idea that knowledge is more important than wisdom. Knowledge is knowing a lot of facts, which is definitely a good thing. But wisdom is knowing the right way to use that knowledge. I’ve heard it said that knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, but wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad. Similarly, having knowledge of God is useless if we do not have the wisdom to have a relationship with Him as well. We can memorize every word of the Bible or be able to quote hundreds of theologians (knowledge), but if we do not have saving faith in the work of Jesus Christ that we live out in our lives(wisdom), all of that is pointless.
The Teacher cautions here that we will effectively be destroyed if we are either overrighteous or overwise in our lives. He builds on this in verse 17 by saying, “Do not be overwicked, and do not be a fool—why die before your time?” Being overwicked is not the idea that a little wickedness is okay as long as you don’t overdo it; we should truly strive to not be wicked at all, nor should we be foolish in our actions. Either one could easily lead to an early death, and neither will lead to full and abundant life.
Verse 18 shows us what to do with all this advice: “It is good to grasp the one and not let go of the other. Whoever fears God will avoid all extremes.” We need to act on all of this advice, not just knowing it but actually doing it. If we fear and trust in God, then we will not go to any of these extremes - we will not be overrighteous, overwise, overwicked, or foolish. When we put our faith in God and the saving work of Jesus, we have freedom; but that does not mean we have the freedom to sin and live our lives however we want (see Romans 6).
We see how important wisdom is in verse 19: “Wisdom makes one wise person more powerful than ten rulers in a city.” Having wisdom that comes from God is more powerful than any civil authority you may have. Mere power is nothing when compared to the wisdom we get from fearing God with our lives.
It is important for us to remember that there never has been nor will there ever be a person who never sins (verse 20). Of course, we know Jesus never sinned, but He was also fully God. We may not see obvious sins in another person’s life, and thus when we compare ourselves to them we feel inferior. But, know that even that person who looks like they’re living the perfect life is still dealing with sin of some kind. Everyone is guilty of sin, no matter what their lives look like on the outside.
Verses 21-22 continue with this idea. A person may look perfect in their public appearances, but those closest to them (such as a servant) will likely see their dark side. The Teacher reminds the reader to think of the times that they themselves have sinned in private. Just because other people don’t see our sin doesn’t mean we don’t do it.
We all sin, and in the Teacher’s time before Jesus came to earth to live His perfect life to restore our relationship with God, there was only the hope that people could be good enough or have enough faith in the coming Messiah that God would accept them. Now, however, we know what Jesus has done for us. While we will still mess up, we know that when we truly repent of our sin, we will be forgiven because of Jesus’ sacrifice that paid the debt for our sins.
Our lives will not be perfect, but we trust in the God who is perfect and who is sovereign over everything. Whether we sin or not is our choice, but the length of our lives is in God’s control. Live your life in such a way that honors God, so that while you’re on this earth, more people around you can come to the saving faith of a restored relationship with Him.
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Holiness and purity go hand in hand. To be holy means to be unique, separated, to stand out. If you are to be holy, you cannot be like everyone else. Plain and simple. The Christian life calls for separation. This is a central theme throughout the entire Bible: “Do not be like them.” When I call for a higher standard, I often get a response of “Who are you to be ‘holier than thou’?” Frankly, we SHOULD be “holier than the thous” out there. I’m not saying we should boast our chests out as we do so (though that’s easy to do), but that we should live a life that is unique, that stands out, and that models what Christ expects out of His Bride.
One of the ways we can do that is by living a pure life. Purity is something often related to sexual morality. If you are living sexually pure, that means the only person you will have sexual relations with is your spouse. Yet purity goes so much deeper than that. When many think of “living separate,” they think that you need to be isolated and kept innocent of the things of this world. That’s “living under the rock” mentality and sadly many people have this mindset. Stay away from the world, lest the world corrupt you. But that’s not Biblical either. Why? Because it shows how little faith you have in the God who saved you.
The other side of the pendulum of error is indulging in the world so you know what the world is like, so you know how to keep away from it. Some versions describe if you can control the worldly ideals, they are fine. If you can understand how that is supposed to work, please comment.
Purity is not innocence. Innocence comes with a connotation of ignorance - not being aware of what is out there and thus not being influenced. Innocence is a state of being. Purity, on the other hand, is a choice. Purity is the ability to see and recognize darkness or even to be in and among darkness and not partake in it. Innocence is: “I have no knowledge of that evil.” Purity is: “I will not touch that evil.” There is a difference. As we go out into this world, we can be among the heathen who smoke, drink, cuss, and engage in all sorts of vanity, but we are not to touch the profane thing ourselves.
So how can we live holy and pure lives? First, we should ask God, because we can’t do it ourselves. That’s what David did in his famous psalm of brokenness and repentance. He begged God to give him a clean and pure heart, because he knew how his sin was a violation of God’s heart and character. We too have to recognize our sin and our sinful nature. And I’m not talking about the “I’m sorry, please let me off the hook” recognition. I’m talking about the, “This was evil, and I deserve death for it, but I will follow you even if I go to Hell in the end” recognition. Start with that, then we can move on to the cleansing process. You can’t and won’t clean anything until you acknowledge it is dirty.
One thing God asks for is purity of mind. That means our minds are to be wholly submitted and devoted to thinking God’s thoughts. Many of our minds are NOT pure. Some of you may be thinking: “What bad things do you think about?” That’s none of your business. But I can safely say that very few of us regularly practice Philippians 4:8 which tells us what to think about and what not to. This deserves a whole series, but I don’t have time or space for that now.
We need to be pure of heart. It cannot be divided with multiple masters. Jesus said we can’t serve two masters, because we are going to serve one or the other. David was known as a man after God’s own heart. David went after God’s heart with everything he knew and had. He had a pure heart, even though he was anything but perfect.
We need to be pure of lifestyle. We all have those buddies that after work want to go to the bar and party. We have those co-workers and classmates who tell the dirty jokes, insult the boss/teacher, and cheat the system. Do we join in with them? Laugh at the jokes, tell them something you know the boss/teacher did wrong, turn a blind eye to playing the system? Or are we going to be separate, living a life of integrity, even at the cost of the approval of those who really don’t care about you anyway?
What about your job or college choice? Why are you going to school where you are at? Why are you doing the job you are at? Is it because of the prestige and honor, or it is because it is where God has placed you? What are you doing with it? My parents stand out to me because they are constantly thinking about how their lives and their property can be used in ministry. We designed our lot so we can service the bus for the school my church helps to run. Who thinks that way? Not many. I am a teacher, but I’m not merely thinking about teaching physics. I’m thinking of how I can use my skill sets and my knowledge to further God’s Kingdom. I don’t have the opportunities I really want to have yet, but I am part of Fellowship of Christian Athletes and I’m preparing to lay down foundations for starting a fencing program. I want my thinking at my job to be Godly and to use what God has equipped me with.
Living holy and pure lives is perhaps the most difficult thing to do because it requires surrender of self. It means to do the hard thing. It means to go where others won’t go. It means being unpopular and it often comes with suffering. But it never comes without reward. Let us live holy lives. God is holy, let us be holy as well.
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Editor’s note: Due to the popularity of this post, we’re re-posting this one today for your enjoyment.
As I continue in my “little gods” series, I’d like you to consider the following. With all of the political banter and debate going on as well as our nation seemingly being torn more and more apart, I would like you to ask yourself the following question: Who do you put your faith, hope, and trust in? In the book of 1 Samuel, we see Samuel not only seeking the Lord’s council in giving the people of Israel a king or not but also warning the people with God’s warning about what will happen if they do have a king rule over them. You can read of the whole story in 1 Samuel 8. What led to this though? Well, we read in verse 3 of chapter 8 that Samuel’s sons, which he was about to make judges over the people, did not walk in the ways of God. They were not only dishonest men but “took bribes and perverted justice.” I’m guessing this made the people quite nervous and unsure of the future. So, instead of choosing liberty and God’s sovereignty, the people of Israel chose a different path of security and what they thought was safety, along with the shortcomings of a human being as their leader. In a day and time in our nation where the cult of personality is “king,” believers in Jesus Christ need to really seek and search out who we are putting our faith, hope, and trust in. Who do you trust? Do you trust people who will absolutely let you down? Or do you trust in Almighty God and His ways that have not only stood the test of time but have stood before there was time? Just like in Samuel’s day, I believe we are at a crossroads, not only in the United States of America but it is a crossroads that will affect much of the world we live in. Do I believe We The People in the USA need to lead? Absolutely, but we need to lead in the right way and be led by the right leader. We have a choice. We can choose the little god of safety and security, which will inevitably lead to bondage and slavery, or we can choose the God-given freedom and liberty that He so longs for, for each person that He has made. The choice is up to you, but it will affect others. Liberty, which will inevitably lead us down a path of risk and adventure. Is it perfect? No, but you will be free. or Safety and security, which inevitably will lead us down a path of bondage and slavery. This looks so inviting at first, but the price to liberty is quite high. Before you move on to something else, I’d like to challenge you with this thought: If you are only thinking about the political situation in the USA after reading this post, then you have partially missed the point. Partially. I encourage you to think about your own life, your life as an individual. Where have you as an individual given up liberty for the sake of feeling safe and secure? Perhaps, for you, this has been a great decision. Perhaps though you are thinking of something else that you could have made a different decision on and chose liberty over safety, and now you are realizing liberty would have been a better choice. Is this something you could work on to change? Is it possible that in this area of your life you could finally attain some liberty? Well, I encourage you to think about that and pray about it. Take time to read Galatians 1 for more to ponder on this.This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
This section of Ecclesiastes 7:1-14 is a little bit different from much of the rest of the book, in that it contains a series of proverbs. These proverbs provide wise advice for daily living, both for the people of the Teacher’s day and for us today.
“A good name is better than fine perfume, and the day of death better than the day of birth” (verse 1). A “good name” here is not just the name people call you by, but it refers to a person’s reputation. A good reputation is very valuable, as it means people can trust you and count on you, and they will want to have work with you, whether in business dealings or for friendship. At birth, we have no idea what we will accomplish in life, but at our death, we will have accomplished everything we’re going to in this world. Make your day of death better than your day of birth by leaving the world a better place than when you came into it.
“It is better to go to a house of mourning than to go to a house of feasting, for death is the destiny of everyone; the living should take this to heart” (verse 2). As the Teacher has discussed previously, every person who lives is going to die. Because of this, we need to remember what’s really important in this life. It may seem counterintuitive to go to a house of mourning rather than feasting, but when we mourn we are more likely to pay attention to the eternal things. When we are feasting, we’re only focused on the short term things of eating, drinking, and being merry.
“Frustration is better than laughter, because a sad face is good for the heart” (verse 3). This proverb continues the theme of verse 2, that it can be good for us to be frustrated and sad. Those are both emotions that we should experience and work through, rather than simply blowing them off with laughter for the sake of avoidance.
“The heart of the wise is in the house of mourning, but the heart of fools is in the house of pleasure” (verse 4). Again, this proverb is continuing the theme of the previous two. We are wise if share our sorrows with others, but we are foolish if all we seek is pleasure in this life.
“It is better to heed the rebuke of a wise person than to listen to the song of fools” (verse 5). If we know what’s good for us, we’ll listen to those who have more life experience than us. If a wise person rebukes us and tells us we’re not doing something well, then we should take their advice because they know more than us. The song of fools may sound more pleasing to our ears than a rebuke, but in the long run, it’s more important to heed wise advice than foolish.
“Like the crackling of thorns under the pot, so is the laughter of fools. This too is meaningless” (verse 6). A foolish person may laugh at anything, and they gain no wisdom from it. All of this foolishness is meaningless and serves us no purpose. We do not gain any wisdom from it.
“Extortion turns a wise person into a fool, and a bribe corrupts the heart” (verse 7). This proverb clearly tells us not to extort money from others nor to give or receive bribes. This goes back to verse 1, where we saw how important a person’s reputation is. Extortion and bribery easily corrupt a person and can ruin your reputation in just one moment.
“The end of a matter is better than its beginning, and patience is better than pride” (verse 8). This goes back to the idea of verse 2, where the day of death is better than the day of birth. It is important how we begin things, but it’s even more important how we complete them and see them through. Patience can be vitally important here, depending on what your task is. We often start things in the pride of thinking we can do it, and then we lose interest in them if we do not have the patience it takes to fully complete the task. Patience is essential so we don’t stop what we’re called to do because of some discouragements.
“Do not be quickly provoked in your spirit, for anger resides in the lap of fools” (verse 9). This verse shows us what happens if we do not possess the patience recommended in verse 8 - we quickly get angry, whether with ourselves or with others. It is foolish to easily get angry when things go wrong.
“Do not say, ‘Why were the old days better than these?’ For it is not wise to ask such questions” (verse 10). Have you ever wished for “the good ol’ days”? Clearly, even the Teacher did, but he realized it is wise to not envy the past. Hindsight always makes things seem better than they really were, and if we did not live through a certain time period, we may not realize the full extent of the struggles that were experienced then. We do not gain wisdom from longing for the past.
“Wisdom, like an inheritance, is a good thing and benefits those who see the sun” (verse 11). Wisdom is what’s important here, and if we act wisely then it will benefit not only us but others around us. But, like an inheritance, we need to use our wisdom properly.
“Wisdom is a shelter as money is a shelter, but the advantage of knowledge is this: Wisdom preserves those who have it” (verse 12). Having money can give us financial security, but having wisdom gives us even better security than that - wisdom is more of a guarantee of having a good life. Money can be fleeting, but if you continually seek and obtain wisdom, then you will be more secure than having large amounts of money.
“Consider what God has done: Who can straighten what he has made crooked? When times are good, be happy; but when times are bad, consider this: God has made the one as well as the other. Therefore, no one can discover anything about their future” (verses 13-14). The first 12 verses of this chapter give advice for living, even if a person does not believe in God. But if you do follow God, the Teacher goes one step further than the aforementioned wise proverbs. God is in control over all things; no person can change what God has done.
It’s easy to blame God for bad things and neglect to thank Him for good things, but we need to remember that God is in control over it all. We need to have hardships and difficult times in life, both so we appreciate the good times more and so we learn from them. We need to accept both good times and bad times from God out of the faith that we have in Him. We won’t be able to explain everything, and that’s okay, because we trust the God who can.
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Last week, I wrote about how if we are to live this Christian life, we must be outsiders, separate, ‘other-than’ this world. While we are in the world, but we not to be of it. Paul tells us not to conform to the pattern of this world. If we are to live holy lives, we can’t be attached to the world’s mode of operation. Jesus warned His people to come out from Babylon lest we partake in its judgment. For many of us who live in the United States, this is a very hard message to receive, because we are so entrapped into “The Matrix” that we’d almost rather have taken the Blue Pill over the Red Pill.
Jesus warned of a great “falling away,” and I can’t help but wonder if we are in such a time. Gone are the days of “social Christianity” where it was just the thing you did and society essentially frowned upon you if you were not “of the faith.” Today, there are two responses to any claim to be a Christian: either disgust due to the excessive fakes out there, or wrath due to “you are one of those fundamentalists.”
The world doesn’t like me. I’ve had people ask me if I knew what the secular scientific community thought of me as a Bible-believing Christian who believes the Bible’s account of Creation over the secular ideas of Deep Time. My response was, “Yes, I know what they think. I don’t care either.” I don’t get my value from what this world says or thinks. They don’t care for me now and they won’t care for me later. Why should I seek the approval of those who only see me for what I could give them anyway?
Yet many people, wearing the label of Christianity, have bought into the idea that if we accept what the world says about origins, they will be more likely to listen to us. Who ever thought that would be a good idea, besides Satan the deceiver? If they don’t like the Bible’s ideas about Creation, what makes you think they are going to like to what Christianity actually is and calls for? There is a reason why the gate is narrow, and the way is narrow. As one wise commentator said, the reason the way is narrow and the path to destruction is wide is due to the expected traffic on it.
We must live holy lives, which means living on the narrow path. It is not an easy path to walk. It will often be lonely. There will not be great crowds to go along with. In fact, there will be countless calls to come off the high path and join the rest. And they’ll offer cookies too. But why settle for cookies and chew toys when you can get real food of the most delectable kinds? God offers the real stuff, and the day is coming that we will get to enjoy it. Yet to get it, we must walk the narrow road, and the narrow road will make us stand out and put a target on our backs and our fronts.
Young Earth Creation is most certainly a stand-out position to take. If you hold to this model, you know what I am talking about. You suddenly become “one of them.” You suddenly lose respect among the academic circles. You suddenly find people trolling your social media accounts, searching for any possible mistake you can make. I’m not playing a “victim card” here. I’m just stating the facts of what comes with the territory. This alone is a primary reason why so many people refuse to step this way. It is why many pastors refuse to address origins and refuse to host Creationist speakers, even if they sympathize with the position. If you believe in a young earth, you are “holy.” You are separate. Unique. You stand out. That alone does not make YEC correct, but it does separate it from every other origins model, thus it is a candidate for being the only correct origins model. Since God is holy, unique, and separate, He will not do anything in mundane ways that “scientists” could figure out. So any model in which their primary mode of operation is “natural methodology” can easily be ruled out. All old earth models are of this world. They are not “holy” and thus are not of God.
But many churches operate in worldly ways too. They run like a business, where the bottom line is the number of people in pews and dollar amount of offerings. There are many churches which were founded based on polls of what people wanted. From the music to the type of sermon to the message length, to the coffee bar, and to the color of carpet, it all was determined by popularity polls. To find Christ and the message He gave is more difficult than the clichéd needle in the haystack. This is another angle of the “church-growth-movement”: appeal to the world to attract the world, then preach the Gospel. The problem is when you use carnal means to attract carnal people, you will never preach the Gospel because the moment you tell them their carnality is sin and they must repent, your church will be empty. Why not just start with the Gospel and let God built His Church His way?
Now, we are in this world. I am not saying we must abandon our homes, our cell phones, our cars, our refrigerators, etc. However, as the fear of outbreak is going on, we are starting to see who is in this world and who isn’t from another angle. I’ve seen a lot of Christians panic over this thing and I’m thinking, “My chances of dying from a crazy driver here in town is greater than the corona virus. If I am to fear death, I’d worry about that first.” But I don’t think like most do (and I mean that in more ways than one). My faith is in Christ, not the government, nor the media to tell me what is happening. Because of this, because I know that my God is sovereign over EVERYTHING, I will respond in light of that knowledge. Those in the world will operate out of fear and the unknown.
Let us live Holy lives. Lives not driven by fear nor popular opinion, nor by the ‘wise of this world.’ Let us live lives driven by the fear of God, the knowledge and love of Him, and in the pursuit of Christ. You will stand out. You will feel alone. You will be mocked and hated. But you will also be rewarded for believing God in a world that does not. And if you are faithful, you will hear the only complement worth hearing: “Well done, good and faithful servant.” How can we live holy lives? Next week, I’ll wrap up my series on holiness and get down to very practical things.
This forum is meant to foster discussion and allow for differing viewpoints to be explored with equal and respectful consideration. All comments are moderated and any foul language or threatening/abusive comments will not be approved. Users who engage in threatening or abusive comments which are physically harmful in nature will be reported to the authorities.
