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The Friendship of the World
By Watchman | February 3, 2009
“…the friendship of the world is enmity with God. Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God.” James 4:4
“Beloved, follow not that which is evil, but that which is good. He that does good is of God: but he that does evil has not seen God.” III John:11
When I was in school (donkeys years ago!), I remember when all of a sudden a new philosophy seemed to take hold of those in authority. In what seemed to be an over-night switch (but, looking back now as an older adult, I know couldn’t have been), we were being informed that “good” and “bad” were relative terms; that “truth” was in the eye of the beholder and was determined by each person’s personal experience; that most issues were not black or white but contained mostly “gray” areas. It occurs to me that these now time-worn phrases were introduced in order to prepare us for the slow journey to today’s prevailing spirit of tolerance and political correctness, and to prepare us for the new age–a world in which the precepts of God would have little part, and our very Judeo-Christian values would be considered an evil in a good, secular society. But hear what the prophet Isaiah says to those who will listen:
“Woe unto them that call evil good, and good evil; that put darkness for light, and light for darkness; that put bitter for sweet, and sweet for bitter! Woe unto them that are wise in their own eyes and prudent in their own sight!”
Dear brothers-and-sisters-in-Christ: it is time we put away the lies of the world and open our eyes and hearts to God’s word as He gave it to us in Scripture. It is time to go back to square one in our thinking, if necessary, and incorporate the Word into our hearts anew, driving out all of those compromises we have made with the enemy who is the god of this world. In order for us to do so, it is necessary for us to understand that God has not changed–we have. Again quoting Isaiah (39:8): “The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our God shall stand forever.” Through every regime or world power the world has ever known; through every empire and every time of peace or war, God’s word remains constant. It does not change with the political winds. It does not change as we move from agrarian society to technological greatness. It does not change as we seek to glorify concensus among all people, religions and lifestyles. His word does not change though we reject the One Who gave it to us.
Is there such a thing as an absolute truth? Yes! Jesus called Himself the Way, THE TRUTH and the Life. Since He also said that He and the Father were one, that means that God’s word is truth itself. Not a book containing cosmic truths, mind you, but The truth. Jesus didn’t come to nullify the words of the Old Testament; in His own words, He said that He came not to destroy the law, but to fulfill it. How can we learn what is true if we abandon the study of His instruction book? The book of Romans tells us to “be not conformed to this world: but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect will of God.” There it is. We cannot live lives pleasing to God if we don’t study Scripture because it is the only way that we can know the mind, the will and the heart of God. Are “good” and “bad” actually relative terms? Not to God! God put within all people a fundamental knowledge of what is right and what is wrong, and His word to lead us when we are not certain or when we begin to head down the path of evil. Do you hear me, beloved? WE KNOW RIGHT FROM WRONG!!! We know it by revelation from God, and we know it because it is clearly laid out in His book.
I have several acquaintances who call themselves Christians who do not rely on Scripture at all for their knowledge of God. They all say basically the same thing: “I just let God speak to me in my heart and He reveals things to me.” Well, praying for God to speak to our hearts is a good and desirable thing, and it pleases the heart of God. He often does speak to us while we are in prayer, or lead us in His ways as we go throughout our days. However, the Bible lays out for us clearly what God wants from us as people and as nations. Proverbs 3:5 tells us to “trust in the Lord with all your heart; and lean not on your own understanding.“ We are predisposed, since the original fall, to error. We sometimes hear, not God’s voice, but the voice of our own whims and desires. Sometimes we even hear the voice of demonic deceit masquerading as God’s wisdom. The only way we can be certain we are hearkening to the voice of God is to check what we hear and believe to be from Him against what Scripture says. Remember, God’s word is unchanging and unchangeable. If what we believe contradicts Scripture, it is not Scripture that is in error.
So, now we have another choice to make. We are told repeatedly in the New Testament that we are to be in the world, but not of it. When the world says “Keep quiet about your religion–it’s not fair to others to offend them with it” we can do so in the name of tolerance out of the fear of not being socially acceptable, or we can say “My Lord says that whoever will confess Him before men shall the Son of man also confess before the angels of God: But he that denies Him before men shall be denied before the angels of God.” Christians are given the gift of the Holy Spirit in order that they might be faithful witnesses to the lost; that in sharing the love of Christ they will bring more people in His kingdom of light. We are given the greatest gift for witnessing in the Scriptures themselves–God’s love letter to us. Instead of fighting in anger against the unbelievers or hiding our beliefs and our faith out of the fear of being called “judgmental” we need to be using His word to gently and lovingly show those not living in His light that truth and goodness and right exist ABSOLUTELY; that God calls upon us to give up the evils that threaten to lead us into hell along with Satan and his minions and exchange it for the new, reborn life He offers that will lead us to an eternity of glory in His presence.
Time is growing so very, very short, beloved ones! It is time to speak out now, that God’s word is the only universal truth; that good and bad, right and wrong are not only realities acknowledged by God but are becoming so blurred to our blinded eyes that we cannot see the difference! Our job is to live in this world, but to have our essential beings in God’s kingdom. It is time to try to gather up the remnants who have not made a decision to be for or against Christ and His kingdom. It is time to eschew the friendship of the world, and exchange it for the approval of our Lord. When He comes, may He find all of us in the fields!
Maranatha!
Melissa
Topics: Current Events and the End of the Age, Kingdom Living | 1 Comment »
February 24th, 2009 at 10:51 am
Thank you!