Where There is No Prophetic Vision

Proverbs 29 Select Verses ESV

1 He who is often reproved, yet stiffens his neck,

    will suddenly be broken beyond healing.

3 He who loves wisdom makes his father glad,

    but a companion of prostitutes squanders his wealth.

5 A man who flatters his neighbor

    spreads a net for his feet.

22 A man of wrath stirs up strife,

    and one given to anger causes much transgression.

23 One's pride will bring him low,

    but he who is lowly in spirit will obtain honor.

24 The partner of a thief hates his own life;

    he hears the curse, but discloses nothing.

It is possible for those who have truly been born of the Spirit of God, at some point in their lives, to be lacking in faith, possibly due to suffering, hardship, discouragement and/or to believing Satan’s lies, or potentially due to the call of the world to them to join in with them in their depravity. And so they may return to some areas of sin where Christ’s blood had previously freed them. And so they will need to repent of those sins and turn their hearts back to the Lord in submission to his will (see Revelation 2-3).

It is also possible that many professers of faith in Jesus Christ have bought into Satan’s lies and have accepted the false grace (diluted) gospel message, and so they believe they are free to continue in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, and against other humans, but without guilt and without remorse, claiming their freedom in Christ and his grace to cover it all. And yet there are also many people who have never even made a profession of Christ as Savior who are dead in their sins, and thus live sinful lifestyles.

Many of these people are involved in sexual sin of some type, whether actually committing adultery with another, or lusting, or viewing pornography, or reading or watching sexually-oriented novels or movies or TV shows, etc. Many are also involved in telling lies, which may come in the form of flattering people, i.e. lying to people to make them feel good. Others may be prone to outbursts of anger, which stems from what is down deep in their hearts, which may be unforgiveness, bitterness, hatred or envy. 

Still others struggle with pride, and thus will never humble themselves and honestly repent of their sins, and thus they lash out at those who lovingly confront them. Some people, as well, are thieves, but maybe not in the sense of robbing a bank, but in cheating on their taxes or on their time sheets or on their spouses by flirting with others or having relationships with others in ways that should be reserved for their marriages only. Probably all these people know they are doing wrong, and yet they continue.

“Where there is no prophetic vision the people cast off restraint,

    but blessed is he who keeps the law.” (Proverbs 29:18 ESV)

Now the Scriptures teach that the good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks. And they teach that what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. And these are what defile a person (see Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:17-20).

So, we are all responsible for our own actions (see Romans 1:18-32). No one else is to blame but ourselves if we choose our sin over obedience to our Lord. So let me make that perfectly clear. Nonetheless, a lot of people are being encouraged toward a sinful course because of what they are being taught in the gatherings of “the church” and on the internet, even on what are called “Christian” sites. For so much of what is called “church” today is not the biblical body of Christ, but they are businesses of human making.

And, from what I hear, this has been going on a very long time, but I didn’t become aware of it until 1999. That is when my eyes began to be opened to see what was really going on inside these gatherings called “churches” which were being run by businessmen and their business marketing models and schemes and tricks and visions and missions. Now I am not claiming that there was/is nothing biblical at all about most of these gatherings but that they were/are now conforming more to the ways of the world.

And since they are largely being ruled more by business and marketing schemes and plans and goals and visions, rather than being operated as the biblical body of Christ with Christ as their true head, under the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit, these gatherings are not of God, but are of human-origin. For so many of them have as their goal to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings using business and marketing schemes to attract the people of the world to their gatherings.

Therefore, most of them have altered the divine character and will of God for our lives, and his gospel message, and the divine character of his church, the body of genuine believers and followers of Jesus Christ. And they have done so in order to not offend the people of the world and in order to attract the world to their gatherings in order to grow their businesses, which is really what they are. And so the people are “casting off restraint” because they want to, and because they are being encouraged that they can.

For what they are largely teaching as the gospel now is that we can just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ one time in our lives and now all our sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and so heaven is now guaranteed us when we die, and it can’t be taken away from us, but regardless of how we live. But the Scriptures teach that we must die with Christ to sin, in practice, and we must walk now in obedience to our Lord in holy living, in practice, or we don’t have 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]

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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