Proverbs 29:1, 10, 11 ESV
1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,
will suddenly be broken beyond healing.
10 Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless
and seek the life of the upright.
11 A fool gives full vent to his spirit,
but a wise man quietly holds it back.
When we are walking in fellowship with Jesus Christ, and we
are living to him and to his righteousness, and we are walking according to the
Spirit and not according to the flesh, those who are living wicked and immoral
lives are going to hate and resent us.
Especially if we are on the front lines (spiritually
speaking) in a spiritual war against our spiritual enemy, Satan, opposing his
lies and proclaiming the truth of the gospel of Christ, we are going to face
all kinds of opposition and persecutions and attacks against us.
For our enemy Satan hates the truth, and he is going to strongly
oppose the truth, and he is going to use other humans against us, who he has
been able to deceive, to try to take us down, to discredit us, and to falsely
accuse us of wrong when we are not doing wrong.
And this is because Satan has deceived their minds to the
point to where they have stiffened their necks against correction, and they refuse
to be corrected and to learn truth and to reject the lies of the enemy. And, so
they may turn to venting their frustrations publicly as a way to get sympathy
for their cause as well as in an attempt to silence the righteous.
Proverbs 29:18, 19, 20 ESV
18 Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,
but blessed is he who keeps the law.
19 By mere words a servant is not disciplined,
for though he understands, he will not respond.
20 Do you see a man who is hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him.
In today’s modern market-driven church (businesses of men),
the large majority of pastors are not teaching the true gospel of grace.
Instead, they are teaching a very diluted gospel message which appeals to the
flesh, and which does not insist on putting the flesh to death.
They have altered the gospel message so as not to offend the
people of the world who they are hoping to attract to their businesses which
they call “church.” But they have also altered the gospel to conform with the flesh
of man rather to have man conform with the ways of God.
They use Scriptures, taken out of context, to build their
doctrine of salvation while they willfully ignore all the Scriptures which
oppose what they are teaching. For, what they are teaching is a faith in Jesus
Christ absent of repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord.
So, they have to literally ignore much of Jesus’ teachings,
and much of those of the New Testament apostles in order to continue with their
charade. And so they focus their attention only on those verses which they make
to support their false doctrine of salvation from sin.
And, the result of this diluted half-truth (lie) gospel is that
the people are casting off restraint, and they are becoming lawless, doing what
ought not to be done, while claiming they have the freedom to do so now that
they are under grace and not under the law.
Since they are being taught that they do not have to repent
of their sins or obey the Lord or submit to Christ as Lord, for they call this “works-based
salvation,” they feel liberated to continue in all manner of evil, in sexual
immorality, in lies, deception, cheating, stealing, gossiping, slandering,
child abuse, spousal abuse, and adultery, etc.
Even though there are those who are still holding to the
truths of the gospel who are out there on the front lines speaking the truth in
love, sharing with the people the truth of the gospel, they will not listen,
and they will not obey. They believe they don’t have to, even though they know
the truth.
Proverbs 29:23, 25, 27 ESV
23 One's pride will bring him low,
but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.
25 The fear of man lays a snare,
but whoever trusts in the Lord is safe.
27 An unjust man is an abomination to the righteous,
but one whose way is straight is an abomination to the wicked.
Many people are refusing to listen to and to obey the true
gospel of grace because of pride. They don’t want to yield to another. They
want to remain in control of their own lives, doing what they want to do. They
don’t want to give up their sinful lifestyles, and so they embrace the lies.
Rather than walking in the fear (honor, respect, reverence)
of the Lord, as we are commanded to do, they are more concerned about what
other people think of them and with fitting in with their culture. So, they
choose to honor the flesh of man rather than to honor God with their lives.
But that will be a snare for them because it keeps them
bound in their sin while promising them freedom from sin. It promises them
heaven as their eternal destiny while it sends them straight to hell. For they
are trusting in a lie to save them, and that will be their downfall.
Light and darkness do not mix. They are opposed to each
other. Good and evil, the same. The flesh and the Spirit are also opposed to
each other. We can’t walk in the Spirit and in the flesh at the same time. We
are slaves to the one we obey. If to sin, it ends in death. If to obedience, it
results in righteousness, which leads to sanctification, which ends in eternal
life.
Slavery to sin is an abomination to the righteous who are
following their Lord in surrender to his will and in obedience to his commands.
Daily, by the Spirit, they are dying to sin and self and they are following
Jesus wherever he leads them in doing and saying whatever he commands.
Thus, the righteous who are walking the straight (honest,
obedient, upright) way of the cross of Christ, in the power of God’s Spirit, are
an abomination to the wicked. They dislike and hate us, and they are revulsed
by us, because they oppose what we stand for.
Again, they reject the truth, because they don’t want to
obey the truth, because they want to still have control over their own lives
and to enjoy the freedom they feel they have, which they believe they have been
granted, to live however they want, only now without guilt.
But God will judge them for their refusal to bow the knee to
him, and they will be broken by him, and if they will not repent, and if they
continue to refuse the Lord and his gospel, that brokenness will be beyond
healing. And that breaks my heart that so many are refusing to obey the Lord,
and thus they will end up in hell for eternity.
So, we need to be those who are committed to getting the
truth of the gospel out to as many who will listen and who will be saved. For,
Jesus died on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins, but that we might
die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. So, know the
truth that will set you free.
[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn
1:5-9]
Come
and See
An
Original Work / May 20, 2013
Based
off John 1:35-51
John, the Baptist, called of God to
Make straight the way for the Lord,
Told his disciples about Jesus,
So two of them followed Him.
One of them who followed Jesus
Told his brother, Simon Peter,
Who then he brought to the Savior,
Who had told them, “Come and see.”
Jesus Christ, our Lord, Messiah,
On his way to Galilee found a man, Philip,
So he told him, “I want you to follow Me.”
Philip then found his friend,
And he told him, “We have found the one
The prophets spoke of – He is Jesus!”
Philip then said, “Come and see.”
Jesus saw the man, Nathanael,
While he sat beneath a fig tree,
Even before Philip called him,
So Nathanael did believe.
Nonetheless the Lord said,
“You believe because of what I told you.
You will see much greater things than these
If you will Come and see.”
Jesus’ calling to each one of us.
He tells us to believe in Him
As our Lord and Messiah,
And to follow where He leads.
He says we must turn from our sins,
Die to sin and self each day,
And put on our new lives in Jesus;
Bow before Him; humbly pray.
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