Tuesday, March 18,
2014, 6:11 a.m. – The Lord Jesus put the song in mind, “Give God the Glory.” Speak, Lord, your words to my heart. I read Jeremiah 17:5-10 (ESV):
Whom do you trust?
Thus
says the Lord:
“Cursed
is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the Lord.
He
is like a shrub in the desert,
and shall not see any good come.
He
shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness,
in an uninhabited salt land.
“Blessed
is the man who trusts in the Lord,
whose trust is the Lord.
He
is like a tree planted by water,
that sends out its roots by the stream,
and
does not fear when heat comes,
for its leaves remain green,
and
is not anxious in the year of drought,
for it does not cease to bear fruit.” ~ vv.
5-8
Man’s wisdom is useless to us. It is fruitless. Those who
put their trust in humans and in human wisdom over and above or in place of
God/Jesus Christ will find their lives to be empty, void of the life-giving
word of God, the Spirit of truth, and the fruit of Christ’s righteousness and
holiness. Man’s wisdom cannot save us. It may give us some temporary comfort,
enjoyment, or pleasure, but it cannot satisfy the deep longings of our souls or
answer our deep questions: “Who am I?” “Why am I here?” “Where am I going?”
And, “What is my purpose in life?” These questions can only be answered in true
relationship with Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, through faith, in prayer, and
in the word of God (of truth).
For those who put their hope and trust in Jesus Christ/God,
and in his word, their lives will bear fruit (produce; results; outgrowth) for
God’s eternal kingdom. Their source for wisdom, understanding, and strength is
the “Living Water,” Jesus Christ, his word, and God’s grace, which “teaches us to say ‘No’ to ungodliness and
worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright
and godly lives in this present age” (See Tit.
2:11-14). Christ is our source of strength, wisdom, understanding, love,
compassion, kindness, etc. He is the one who gives purpose and meaning to our
lives, who leads us in the way we should go, who directs our steps, and who
shows us how our lives are to be lived for his purposes and for his glory. We
can find his guidance and direction for our lives in his Holy Word.
Living in Bondage
John Eldredge, in his book “Wild at Heart,” in chapter three, finally gets around to
discussing the Fall of Man and its subsequent effect on all of humankind… sort
of. Yet, leading up to that discussion he compares all men – he makes no
distinction between saved and unsaved – to a lion living in a cage in a zoo:
“For
after years of living in a cage, a lion no longer even believes it is a lion…
and a man no longer believes he is a man.” ~ pg. 41
Ok, so what “cage” does man live in, according to Eldredge?
He doesn’t say here, but he does in the two previous chapters. And, it is not in
captivity to sin, nor does he speak of being slaves of righteousness, either,
which is what the word of God teaches that we are slaves to the one or to the
other (See Ro. 6). In fact, in 2 Peter 2:19 we read that a man is a slave to
whatever controls him, and natural man is controlled by his sinful passions and
desires (See Gal. 5:24). Rather, the cage Eldredge believes all men live in is
their homes, Eden (implied), church, in some cases; norms of society, religion,
“ought” and “should,” and neat, orderly and controlled environments, etc. Instead,
he believes men should be wild, untamed, undomesticated, and that they should
follow the natural inclinations of their own hearts and desires, and he teaches
that they can trust their own hearts and desires, too (See previous writings on
chapters 1 & 2 of “Wild at Heart” – referenced below).
The Heart of Man
And, then Eldredge says:
“How
come when men look into their hearts they don’t discover something valiant and
dangerous, but instead find anger, lust and fear?” “The real life of the
average man seems a universe away from the desires of his heart.”~ pg. 41
In order to answer that question, which he posed concerning
why men don’t discover something valiant (brave, courageous or noble) when they
look into their hearts, but instead find rage, lust and fear, he quotes from
Thoreau; from a line from the movie, “Braveheart;” from Ed Sissman; and from
the poet, Edwin Robinson, but not from the word of God.
So, what does the Bible teach with regard to the human
heart?
The
heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately sick;
who can understand it?
“I
the Lord search the heart
and test the mind,
to
give every man according to his ways,
according to the fruit of his deeds.” ~ Jeremiah
17:9-10
We cannot trust our own hearts, because the heart of the
flesh of man is deceitful and desperately sick (wicked). We don’t even know our
own human hearts, so we can’t look to our human hearts to find our answers, or
to know who we are. The Bible describes the human heart as wicked (Ro. 1:21),
unrepentant and stubborn (Ro. 2:5), easily deceived (Ro. 16:18; Jas. 1:26),
hardened against God (Eph. 4:18) and evil and unbelieving which turns away from
God (Heb. 3:12). Even the regenerated heart, which is being strengthened by God’s
grace, through faith (Heb. 13:9), and purified by the Spirit of God (1 Jn. 1:7),
is still subject to deception and sin against God, otherwise there would be no
need to warn us against being deceived or to warn us against falling back into
our sinful ways (1 Co. 10:12).
One of the biggest problems with Eldredge’s teaching is that
he makes no distinction between natural man and the regenerated man, but he
clumps them together as one and assumes that they are all on the same playing
field, but they are not. Why does natural man see lust, anger and fear when he
looks into his heart? - Because the heart of natural man is sinful, and because
we (all of humankind) have been born into sin due to the sin of Adam. So,
natural man is not going to see the goodness of God, i.e. what is noble,
honorable, moral, decent, and upright in his heart, but he will see what is
sinful. Yet, the regenerated heart has been set free from slavery to sin, and
sin no longer has dominion (control) over the life of the believer in Jesus
Christ, because Jesus Christ conquered sin in his death and in his resurrection,
and he set us free from the slavery (control) of sin.
So, if man looks into his heart and he sees lust, rage and
fear, it is either because he does not have a heart transformed of the Spirit
of God - away from living in sin and toward walking in Christ’s righteousness
and holiness – or it is because, as a follower of Christ, he has wandered off
to follow after the desires of his flesh once more and to follow the gods of
men instead of to trust in Almighty God, and/or it is because he, as man still
living in a flesh body, is still vulnerable to sin, i.e. we won’t be perfect
until Christ returns for his bride (See 1 Co. 13:10; Php. 3:12). Yet, we should
be daily fleeing our youthful lusts and pursuing “righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart” (2 Tim. 2:22). And,
daily we should submit ourselves to God, resist the devil, draw near to God,
turn from our sin, purify our hearts, grieve over sin, and humble ourselves
before God (See Jas. 4:7-9). And, we should not yield to sin and/or lie
to cover it up.
What is Man Made For?
Why is he here?
And, then Eldredge says,
“If
a man does not find those things for which his heart is made, if he is never
invited to live for them from his deep heart, he will look for them in some
other way.” ~ pg. 44
So, what does Eldredge suggest man’s heart is made for? For
one, he suggests that every man has a battle to fight, an adventure to live and
a beauty to rescue, which is the basic premise of his whole book, upon which he
brings forth his (and others’) thoughts on the subject. Then, he asks the
question, “What is a man for?” (Pg. 48) He then says:
“Why
does God create Adam? What is a man for? If you know what something is designed
to do, then you know its purpose in life… Desire reveals design, and design
reveals destiny. In the case of human beings, our design is also revealed by
our desires… (pg 48) The secret longing of your heart… those are the things you
were made to do. That’s what you’re here for… Are we willing to live with the
level of risk God invites us to?” (Pg. 49)
Some examples he gave of man’s “secret longing” – the things
he was made for and the purpose for which he is here on this earth – were things
such as “build a boat and sail it,” “write a symphony and play it,” etc. He
said that boys don’t have to be told to do these “for the simple reason that it
is his purpose” (pg. 49). Really? - A man’s purpose is to build, create, explore,
and conquer, and his desires reveal his design and destiny? Well, that part has
an element of truth to it, but not in the way Eldredge intended… or did he? Man’s
original design was in the image of God, but sin entered man through Adam, and
thus man is born into sin, now bearing the image of Adam, separated from God,
and thus destined to eternity in hell without God.
So, what is our
purpose and why are we here?
We are here to fear God and to keep his commandments (and to
walk in his ways), “for this is the whole duty of man” (Eccl. 12:13; cf. Pr.
1:7; Ps. 128:1-6); that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and “every
tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil.
2:10-11; cf. Ro. 14:11); for the glory (honor, praise, reputation, and character)
of God (Is. 43:7; Ps. 102:18; Rev. 5:13); that none should perish but that all
should come to repentance (2 Pet. 3:9); to know God and Jesus Christ (Ro. 1; 2
Co. 4:6); to present ourselves, as believers in Christ, to God as living
sacrifices, holy and pleasing to him, which is our service of worship to him,
no longer conformed to the pattern of this world, but transformed by the
renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2; cf. 1 Thess. 5:23; Phil. 3:10-11); and to put
on the new self in Christ, “created to be like God in true righteousness and
holiness” (Eph. 4:17-24; cf. Ro. 6; Gal. 2:20; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1-5) etc.
Eldredge does not even hint at any of this, i.e. his listed
purpose for man and the things for which his heart is made did not include the
fear of God, the keeping of his commandments, walking in his ways, humbling
ourselves before God, submitting ourselves to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, knowing
him, surrendering to his will, worshiping him with our lives, living holy and
pleasing lives to him, and living such lives in Christ Jesus, in the power of
the Spirit within us, that we will be for the praise, honor and glory of God.
Man cannot find his purpose in life apart from an intimate relationship with
his God and creator, Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, via the blood of Jesus
Christ shed on the cross for our sins, and by faith which humbles itself,
submits to the cross and surrenders to the working of the Spirit of God in
transforming our hearts away from sin to living and walking in the righteousness
of Christ.
And, man IS invited to live out these Biblical purposes for
which he was made via God putting within him the knowledge of God, so man is
without excuse (Ro. 1) and through the presentation of the gospel of Jesus
Christ, in which we are invited to accept what Jesus Christ did for us on the
cross in dying for our sins, and to do so by faith in Jesus Christ – a faith
which submits to his Lordship and his work of transformation in our hearts.
The Fall of Man
On pages 50-52 of his book, Eldredge gives his rendition of
the fall of man and the subsequent effect that fall has had on all of humanity.
He said, with regard to Adam’s sin against Almighty God:
“Adam
fails; he fails Eve, and the rest of humanity… He won’t risk, he won’t fight,
and he won’t rescue Eve… He denied his very nature and went passive. And, every
man after him, every son of Adam, carries in his heart now the same failure.
Every man repeats the sin of Adam, every day. We won’t risk, we won’t fight,
and we won’t rescue Eve.”
He continues, “The evidence is clear: Adam and Eve’s fall sent a tremor through the human
race. A fatal flaw entered the original, and it’s been passed on to every son
and daughter. Thus every little boy and every little girl comes into the world
set up for a loss of heart… Every man is haunted by the question, ‘Am I really
a man? Have I got what it takes… when it counts?” (pg. 57)
Again, I say “Really?” Are we supposed to accept this idea
presented here as the reality of Adam’s sin? And, does every man truly repeat
the sin of Adam every day? Is the “fatal flaw” that entered man through Adam
that we, as humans, now come into this world set up to lose our human hearts?
Well, in a way we do, because of sin we must be crucified with Christ and our
fleshly hearts must give way to the control of the Holy Spirit within us if we
are to truly live, discover who we are, why we are here, and if we are to
fulfill the purpose for which we were created by God. But Adam’s sin passed on
to us is not what causes us to lose our human (fleshly) hearts, nor should we
try to regain our fleshly hearts. We don’t have what it takes if we don’t have
Christ. It is not our hearts we are to seek after. We are to seek after God
with all our hearts, to know him, and to desire to do his will, not ours.
So, what truly was the
sin of Adam (and Eve)? Where is Eldredge missing the mark here?
Although Eve was the one deceived, and she was the first to
partake of the forbidden tree’s fruit, Adam was standing right there with her,
watching the whole thing, and listening to Satan’s lies, too. And, he also
partook. The first thing Satan did was to get Eve to doubt God’s words, that he
didn’t really say what he said, and that the end result really would not be
what God said, either. Then, as Satan does, he tantalized the woman by telling
her that God was holding out on her, i.e. that he was somehow keeping something
good from her, and that if she just didn’t listen to him, but if she followed
her own heart and her own desires, then her eyes would be opened, and she would
be like God, knowing good and evil.
So, Eve saw the tree now through different eyes. She no
longer saw it as something she “ought” not to do, but as something she had the
freedom to do. She (or they) now doubted God and his words, listened to a
deceiving spirit, and thought they could disobey God and still have eternal
life. Wow! They (or she) wanted to hear the “new truth,” because it sounded so
much better than the “old truth.” The new truth did not require obedience or
submission to God’s commands. It was more pleasing, felt good, and was
delightful to the eyes. In fact, the “new truth” said they could be gods
themselves, and thus they didn’t really need God any more. They thought that
eating of the tree, evidently, would make them wiser than God, for their
actions certainly showed they thought they knew better than God.
And, then, to top it off, when they heard God walking in the
garden, they hid from God, and when confronted with their sin, they blamed
someone else for their sin. Wow! So, what was their sin? Ultimately, it came
down to a rejection of God as their Lord and unbelief in him and in his words
to them, and then a refusal to obey him. And, it is such unbelief that keeps
each and every human separated from God and bound for hell, if they do not come
to genuine faith in Jesus Christ in all humility and repentance, allowing the
Spirit of God to transform their hearts away from sin to a walk in Christ’s
righteousness and holiness.
Making it Personal
You know, Eldredge’s teaching sounds a whole lot like the
voice of Satan. He puts all men on the same playing field with God, whether
saved or unsaved, and convinces them that they all bear (wear) the image of
God/Christ, and then he distorts who God is and lies about God’s divine
character, making God like man. Then he tells man that he is in a cage
(trapped), not because of sin, but that “Eden” is the figure of what holds him
in bondage, and that ever since God put man inside the garden, he has longed to
get out – to return to the “natural” state from which he came – to be wild,
untamed, and undomesticated.
Then, he invites man to look for, discover, and to follow
after the desires of his own heart; to find those (earthly) things for which
his heart is made, and to live for them from his deep heart. The path he
suggests for finding what man is for, what he is designed to do, and his
purpose in life, is for man to know and to understand that his (our) design is
revealed by his (our) own (human) desires, which he also clumsily tries to
suggest are also God’s desires for man and/or that they represent God’s
character. And, he goes so far as to say that the secret longing of our hearts
are what we are made to do… it is what we’re here for. Wow!
He does not counsel man, though, to find his purpose in
life, the reason why he is here, and what he is designed for, in an intimate relationship
with Jesus Christ, by God’s grace, through faith, in prayer, or in the word of
truth, God’s holy word, the Bible. What a tragedy!
Give God the Glory
/ An Original Work
Based off Psalm 19 /
March 10, 2014
All of creation now
proclaims:
“Give God the glory;
honor His name!”
Each day the stars in
heav’n above
Show forth His wisdom;
tell of His love.
They do not speak.
They have no voice.
Yet, they declare we
have a choice:
“Worship the God of
heav’n above;
Believe in Jesus;
trust in His love.”
God’s word is perfect,
just and good,
Refreshing souls who
trust in the Lord;
Makes wise the simple;
radiant -
Lighting our lives
with God’s righteousness.
Joy to the heart His
words now speak;
Pure and enduring, now
we seek.
They are more precious
than our gold;
Sweeter than honey; never
grow old.
Keeping the word
brings great reward.
By the word Jesus
speaks and He warns,
Convicting hearts of
all their sin;
Forgiving all who call
upon Him.
Praying You keep me,
Lord, from sins.
May they not rule my
life again.
Then will I walk in
all Your ways,
Following Jesus all of
my days.
