wisdom

Truth Came Once

In the book of Jude, verse 3, Jude exhorts his readers, namely fellow believers in Christ, by writing: “Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.”

There are three things we can derive from this exhortation.

First, the faith of which he is writing was delivered. God delivered the faith through the Holy Spirit to the apostles, who then taught it and wrote it down. The scriptures reveal that God is the source of the faith. It did not originate with man. We are told in Ephesians 4:5 that there is only “one Lord, one faith, one baptism.”

Second, this one faith was delivered “once for all”. God delivered it only one time for all people in all generations in all the earth. This secures for us that what was delivered by God the one time He delivered it, is the only revelation we should be expecting! There are no further revelations, there are no changes being made, there are no additions or subtractions. What was delivered will remain unchanged for all of time. All we need is the Bible to teach us and guide us in the faith that we find in its pages. No other creed or additional “revelations” from man are necessary, and in fact, they work against our salvation.

Lastly, God is not subject to our culture. No matter the hot topics of the day, no matter the social agendas making the most noise…….what God delivered once still stands.

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16,17

May His Word enlighten you, teach you, guide you, and comfort you this day.

Ask God First

I’d like for you to consider with me human reasoning and why it is not capable of guiding us in this life on its own.  

How do most people make decisions in life?  Well, typically we draw off of experiences we’ve had in the past, or we draw from the experience of others in similar situations.  We use what we’ve been able to gather with our five senses in order to draw a conclusion.  We hear the admonition from others to “follow our hearts” or “follow your gut”, and it will all work out.  I would submit to you today that it would be foolish to follow that advice.

The prophet Jeremiah wrote in Jeremiah 10:23, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.”  Also it is written twice in the book of Proverbs, “There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.” (14:12, 16:25)  Hearing these verses, is it becoming clear why it is not wise to rely on human reasoning to direct our lives?  

Consider this….we’ve all set out to make plans for the future, whether they be business plans or plans for our personal finances, or plans for how we will handle life circumstances.  The Bible records for us two individuals who ended up being punished for making plans!  

Luke 12:20ff, “Then He spoke a parable to them, saying: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully.  And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’  So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods.  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.”’  But God said to him, ‘Fool!  This night your soul will be required of you; then whose will those things be which you have provided?’

Here this man has worked hard and earned in abundance and is making plans to retire and take his ease.  It seemed reasonable to him, but what was the problem?

James 4:13ff, “Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, spend a year there, buy and sell, and make a profit”; whereas you do not know what will happen tomorrow.  For what is your life?  It is even a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away.  Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we shall live and do this or that.”  But now you boast in your arrogance.  All such boasting is evil.”

Do you see the problem?  The problem was that they left God out of their plans.  They did not consider His will or His truth.  We live in a society that is pushing God away.  We’ve pushed Him out of our schools, out of the workplace, and out of our government.  We want to rely on human wisdom, fleshly wisdom to guide our paths.

Romans 8:6 says, “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”  Friends, we need to consider God’s will for our lives.  We need to include Him in our plans and in our decision making.  We need to think spiritually and not carnally.  We need to allow God’s word to direct our lives and not allow emotionalism to rule the day.  

I pray that you’ve read this message today and it has caused you to reflect on your life and how you’re living it.  I hope you’ve considered the path that God would have you to take in your life.  God’s desire is for all of man “to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (1 Tim. 2:4)  I encourage you to read the Bible daily to find God’s truth and to seek out a local church of Christ in your area where you will find like-minded individuals who are doing the same.

He Shall Direct Thy Paths

Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding;  (6) In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

It isn’t always easy to trust in someone who isn’t ourselves. It’s even worse when said trusting may result in pain, suffering, or even death. This proverb teaches us to trust in the Lord with all our heart and put aside our own understanding. As is usually the case, we have some examples in scripture to look to regarding this truth.

Job lost everything. His own wife and even his friends instructed him to just curse God and die. End your own misery! Wisely, Job did not heed their instruction. Instead, he trusted in the Lord to see him through. Job 13:15  Though He slay me, yet will I trust Him. Even so, I will defend my own ways before Him. Oh, he certainly questioned God, but he never cursed Him. Job surely knew that God could slay him, but be that as it may, he would still trust Him.

John 21:18-19  Most assuredly, I say to you, when you were younger, you girded yourself and walked where you wished; but when you are old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will gird you and carry you where you do not wish.”  (19)  This He spoke, signifying by what death he would glorify God. And when He had spoken this, He said to him, “Follow Me.” Jesus is making known to Peter that he would one day suffer and die because of his faith. Yet even knowing this, Peter continued in the doctrine of Christ, trusting God to fulfill all of His promises.

We trust him unto death knowing His great and precious promises. 2Pe 1:4  by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust. Can you count the promises of God? Is there anything of more value to us than what God has promised us?

When you think you’ve got it all figured out and your understanding is complete, remember Job. Job 38:1-4;Then the LORD answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said:  (2) “Who is this who darkens counsel By words without knowledge?  (3) Now prepare yourself like a man; I will question you, and you shall answer Me.  (4) “Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding.” Job had questioned God regarding his dealings with him and his afflictions. God is very direct with him and puts him in his rightful place as a mere man who is not even close to fathoming the knowledge and wisdom of God. Aren’t we sometimes like Job? Don’t we often think too highly of ourselves? Let’s also remember these scriptures:

Prov. 14:12 There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death.

Jer. 10:23 O LORD, I know the way of man is not in himself; It is not in man who walks to direct his own steps.

Jesus implores us to always acknowledge Him. Matt. 11:28-30 Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  (29) Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  (30) For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” We must acknowledge Christ and his doctrine and abide in it if we are to succeed in our endeavor to have heaven as our eternal home.

By putting our faith and our trust in Jesus Christ, God will direct our paths. How? Through His divine word. 2 Tim. 3:16-17 All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness,  (17) that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Jude 3 Beloved, while I was very diligent to write to you concerning our common salvation, I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints. God’s word is truth, it is all sufficient.  Hold on to it and do not compromise! It is truly the most valuable possession one could have in this life.

John 12:48 He who rejects Me, and does not receive My words, has that which judges him— the word that I have spoken will judge him in the last day. So tell me again, why wouldn’t I let God’s word direct my path? His word is what will judge us in the end!

Let us be diligent in contending earnestly for the faith. Trusting in the Lord and never wavering.

Rom. 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. 

1 Cor. 2:4-5 And my speech and my preaching were not with persuasive words of human wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power,  (5) that your faith should not be in the wisdom of men but in the power of God.

Who is it that leads you? Do you walk according to your own understanding? Do you follow some other doctrine thought up by man? Or, do you walk according to the pattern that God has laid out in His word? The choice is all yours to make. Choose wisely.