Whatever is True

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 ESV)

Because there is so much deception going on in today’s “Christian” culture, and because so many people today are taking Scriptures out of context, and they are twisting them to say what they don’t say in context, whenever I read the Scriptures I can’t help but think of many ways in which they have been twisted and taken out of context and made to say what they do not say, in truth. And so I am often found to be proactive in expressing some of these contradictions in advance so that those contradictions are handled ahead of time and not dealt with after the fact. 

For example, when this lets us know that we are to think about such things as what are mentioned here, and it lists “whatever is true,” my immediate thought is that not everything that may be true is something that we should be thinking about in our minds. But then we must go to the part that says, “if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things,” and then it becomes more clear that it isn’t everything that is true, for a lot of true things shouldn’t be in our minds, but it is whatever is true but is also of excellence and worthy of praise.

But here is the sticky part. How do we know when something is true or not true? And why do I ask that? Again, it is because there is so much deception going on out in the world and within the gatherings of the “church” that we have to spell these things out. Especially for the Christian culture of today which is on the internet, we cannot be people who just believe everything we hear coming from the mouths of anyone, in reality. For anything can be diluted, altered, twisted, faked, photoshopped, digitally created, and lied about, no matter the source. So we must be discerning people.

And one of the biggest methods being used today to deceive naïve and trusting minds is with the use of misimpressions (indirect lies), for they are hard to prove because they are not blatant and obvious lies but they are lies which are cleverly blended in with the truth to the point to where they resemble truth enough to where many people are accepting them as truth when, in reality, they are lies disguised as truth. So we can’t just take everything at face value these days, for there is so much deception going on in the church, and in the media, and in our government, etc.

And with all this talk of war and with the reality of war surrounding us, I hear much talk about how we, as the people of the world, need to all come together in harmony with one another and bring peace to the planet. But when Christians make peace with the world is when Christians must then make compromises of truth and righteousness and faith and the gospel message. For that is what it truly means to “break down the walls that now divide us.” But Jesus Christ “drew a line in the sand,” a wall that divides a true believer from a non-believer, and it cannot be compromised.

So, if you truly want to “change the world,” or to “make America great again,” as the saying goes, it is not through political and worldly means that this will be accomplished. We can only make a difference in this world of ours and in our nations when our lives are fully surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will, and when we are walking according to the Spirit, and not according to the flesh, and when we are taking the truth of the gospel out into the world (and on the internet) so that Jesus can change people’s hearts and lives and make them more like him in character and behavior.

But the truth of the gospel is not what is popularly being taught in Christian circles here in America today. For the truth of the gospel requires that we die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and that we walk in obedience to his commands and in holy living. And it is that if we do not die to our sins, but we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and if we do not walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands, in practice, then we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. But so many liars are refuting the truth and they are spreading lies, instead.

And this is what Paul was saying here when he said, “What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me – practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.” For we are not Christians in profession only, and we are not saved from our sins and on our way to heaven by profession only, but we must die with Christ to sin daily and walk daily in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant), and we should no longer make sin our practice or we will not have salvation from sin, and we will not have eternal life with Christ our Lord. So we need to take that to heart.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

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 

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