Foundational Truths

“If the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” When things begin to get hazy, and all around you is uncertainty; when the atmosphere is filled with questionable arguments, it is always wise to come back to your foundation. To major on minors will only bring frustration and cause unnecessary divisions between two good people or groups.

A casual reading of Paul’s epistle to the Corinthians proves this to be so. Secondary things were elevated to top priority. And when we put two in the place of one, it will always cause greater confusion, as any math student knows. There are basic, fundamental doctrines that are foundational to the Christian Faith. And when we leave these tenets, terrible things happen.

There are cardinal Christian doctrines that have been held to throughout the ages, which have never moved or been shaken. It is these we are to dearly hold to and defend. To make questionable things the issue will only rob the saints of their assurance, reliance, and enjoyment of the sure things.

Happy is the person who realizes non-essentials are not essential.

(R.D.S)

Imperfection's Perfection

Immediately after the resurrection Thomas saw the open wounds in our Lord’s body. John was transported to the present and described Him now in heaven as a freshly slain Lamb. And Zechariah tells us at His Second Coming, yet future, He will be asked, “What are these wounds in thy hands?” At the cost of being misunderstood as sacrilegious, I believe Jesus will be the only one in heaven with an imperfect body. That is, from our viewpoint, not God’s. For in God’s sight, those wounds are the epitome of perfection.

You see, this Blessed One’s seemingly imperfect body made it possible for us to have a perfect one. Is it any wonder then that the heavenly choir sings, “Worthy is the Lamb”? Apart from God’s glory, everything He ever did, and does, was and is, for our benefit, and ours alone. I like how Paul puts it: “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” Hallelujah, what a wonderful Saviour!

Our Way or the Highway

“Master, we saw one…and he followeth not us: and we forbad him, because he followeth not us. But Jesus said, Forbid him not.” The disciples had a problem with anyone who was not just like them. It was not good enough that they had their own ways; they wanted to impose them upon everyone else. They could not grasp the fact that anyone not like themselves could be used of God.

Because a man or a woman took a Nazarite vow, must everyone else do it also? Should other families adhere to the tradition of the Rechabites passed down by their father? Can all believers meet the standards laid down for church officers in the New Testament? Any spiritually intelligent, thinking person knows that the answer to these questions is an emphatic, “No!”

Since all of us come way short in one area or the other in our lives and ministries, we would be wise to give others a little elbow room. Room to breathe in, if you please.  

Some peoples’ standards would suffocate an angel. 

Inside Out

“…sin dwelleth in me.” The apostle reinforces this truth by repeating it two more times in this chapter (Rom.7). At this writing, Paul is a seasoned saint of more than twenty five years. He desired that these primitive believers would know that their main problem in the Christian life would be indwelling sin. That it was a permanent resident in their house of clay and did not move out when the new nature moved in. They were to realize the civil war they were experiencing in their souls was a life-long struggle, and that these two natures (old and new) were opposites that loathed one another.

The old saint didn’t believe that his condition was derived from some imaginary, psychological sickness, but knew it came from inward sinfulness. They were to understand that this horrid malady came from within, not from without. Temptation doesn’t put anything into the heart that is not already there.

Samson was told “…the enemy is upon thee,” but he should also have been told, “The enemy is within thee.” Jesus taught this in Mark seven. He said all of our sinfulness comes from within, out of our hearts, not from without.

Sin is not the result of outward attraction, but of inward appetite.

(S.J.S)

The Youthful Yoke

“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” The aged patriarch had experienced tough times in his younger years, and knew the benefits it could bring in later life. If one would only submit to the suffering of their times, and silently endure, the fruit would be patience and great calm in later years.

It says of our Lord, “Though he were a Son, yet learned he obedience by the things which he suffered.” Is it any wonder the people of His day thought He may have been Jeremiah? Both men knew suffering and deep deprivation in their young lives. Taking the easy way, and the one of least resistance, makes for soft sons.

Parents need to learn not to overly protect their children during troubled times. For it is not easy to bend a neck stiffened with age or a heart hardened by custom. Such people are like “…a bullock unaccustomed to the yoke.” Truly great people have the marks of the yoke upon their necks that they bore in their youth.

You can make life easy for your children; but it will be harder for them when they’re old.

(R.D.S)

The Long War

“Fight the good fight of faith.” The Christian life is a life-long battle, “and there is no discharge in that war.” Pacifists lose every time in this spiritual conflict. We are to fight all the way to Heaven, for there will always be conflict against corruption. Let me remind you there is more to this fight than being able to take the blows of the enemy. We are not to cower in a corner. We are expected to get in some blows ourselves. We hear much about yielding, but that’s to God. We are to resist our adversary.

To fight this battle in the flesh will result in defeat. It’s a battle entered into by faith. For our warfare is not carnal. We do not war “after the flesh.” The rest Joshua led God’s people into was not by a passive faith, but by a fighting faith. May our dying testimony be that of the old, battle-scarred warrior: “I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.”

Satan hates God, and the only way he can attack Him is by attacking the objects of His love.

A New Trend in Christianity

There is a legitimate place for the psychological as long as it is not camouflaged and substituted for the spiritual. Today there is a trend to transfer spiritual problems over into the psychological realm. We are led to believe our problem is not a spiritual one, but only psychological. Therefore, personal responsibility is diminished. The blame is placed upon someone or something else. It’s because of our “genes,” a disease, or whatever—it is definitely not our fault.

The old Puritans of three-hundred years ago were experts in this matter of the Christian’s problems. They always went directly to the root. They had a thorough knowledge of the workings of the human heart and the Lord’s dealings with His people. Read John Owen, John Bunyan, or John Newton. These men probed the dark depths of the human heart. When you put down their books, you’ll be tempted to say, “This man knows me.” If you plan to go to these spiritual physicians for help, don’t expect a comfortable couch and analysis of the mind; instead, be prepared for the knife and open-heart surgery.

God promises to give us a “new heart”; it’s clear; He knows where the trouble lies.

(R.D.S)