“These also are sayings of the wise.
Partiality in judging is not good.
Whoever says to the wicked, ‘You are in the right,’
will be cursed by peoples, abhorred by nations,
but those who rebuke the wicked will have delight,
and a good blessing will come upon them.
Whoever gives an honest answer
kisses the lips.” (Proverbs 24:23-26 ESV)
We live in a generation and in a Christian culture here in America that speaks the opposite of this proverb. For we are being taught that it is unkind and unloving to rebuke the wicked and that it is a good thing to say what will please people and will make them feel good, instead. For it is being pushed upon us that all that is regarded as “negative” is to be avoided and that we should only say what is “positive” and what makes people feel good.
So, if you literally do what the Scriptures teach regarding how we are to speak to one another, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, you might find yourself invited out of church gatherings, including out of small groups, because so many are following this philosophy that we need to keep everything upbeat and positive and feel good and that we are not to say anything that might make anyone uncomfortable or offended.
But the Scriptures teach that the message of the cross is an offense to those who are perishing. And those who are perishing are all those who do not believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-persuaded faith in Christ. For they are still living in deliberate and habitual sin and not in walks of holiness and righteousness and in obedience to our Lord. Thus they are not saved from their sins and they do not have the hope of eternal life with God.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
But so many people are being taught to encourage the wicked and to rebuke the righteous. And so they help the wicked to make excuses for their habitual and deliberate sins. And they might even rebuke the righteous for speaking out against evil and for calling people to repent and to obey the Lord. And so the truly righteous become the “enemy” while the truly wicked are often regarded as the “friends.”
And so everything is flip-flopped from what it ought to be. For evil is now being spoken of as good, and good is being spoken of as evil. And if you speak the truth in love to people you are regarded as the enemy or as someone to be rejected and avoided. But if you live in deliberate and habitual sin against God and against other humans, willfully causing them harm, you may end up being embraced and accepted. It’s all backwards.
So, why would other people groups and other nations curse those in America, for instance, for giving approval to the wicked? Most likely because there are people in America in positions of power who are doing evil to people in other nations, and their evil is being sanctioned and approved of as something good because the people have largely been brainwashed to believe that what they are doing is good and not the evil they are doing.
But this isn’t happening just to other nations. A lot of this is being done to the people in our own nation under the guise of something good and helpful and beneficial and even healthy. And the cries of those who are being harmed are largely being snuffed out by the propaganda which says the opposite of that, and which prepares the people to automatically reject what may be the truth and to call it a lie, when it may not be a lie at all.
And this isn’t just going on at a high level within the governments of nations, and not just in America, but this is going on within the gatherings of what are called “churches,” many of which are businesses of men being marketed to the people of the world just like any other business. For many of them are also brainwashing people into believing that the lies are the truth and that the truth is the lie which they are to reject.
So, we need to be discerning people, for deception and manipulations of truth and misinformation and misimpressions abound in all areas of life. And we have so many clever enchanters who know just the right words to say to convince the people to believe them and to reject the truth. But we must also be students of the Scriptures who study them in context, for so many lies come from Scriptures taken out of context and taught falsely.
And please know that God honors those who tell the truth, who speak the truth in love to others for their good and who rebuke the wicked and their evil deeds. He honors those who call sin what it is and who do not make excuses for it and who do not coddle habitual sinners in their sin. God honors those who tell the truth and who refute the lies, because the truth is what saves and the lies lead to hell if the people follow the lies.
And this is what we are all supposed to be doing, if truth be told.
[Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21; 1 Jn 2:6]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
Caution: This link may contain ads
No comments:
Post a Comment