We are in the Lord’s army. This requires us to not deviate from
the commands of our God. By boasting about their gifts, believers had been contradicting
the Biblical teachings about maintaining their unity and humility:
·
1 Corinthians 4:6–7 I have applied all
these things to myself and Apollos for your benefit, brothers, that you may
learn by us not to go beyond what is written, that none of you may be puffed
up in favor of one against another. For who sees anything different in you?
What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast
as if you did not receive it?
Isaiah provided another example of going beyond the Word.
When we do so, we are not shedding the Lord’s truth and light:
·
Isaiah 8:19–20 And when they say to you,
“Inquire of the mediums and the necromancers who chirp and mutter,” should not
a people inquire of their God? Should they inquire of the dead on behalf of the
living? To the teaching and to the testimony! If they will not speak according
to this word, it is because they have no dawn.
This is because Scripture gives us everything we need—all of
the necessary commands of God—although it does not teach us how to repair our
car or to bake a cake, things that are not in competition with His Word:
·
2 Timothy 3:16–17 All Scripture is
breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction,
and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped
for every good work.
This agrees with Jesus’ promised:
·
Matthew 24:35 “Heaven and earth will pass
away, but my words will not pass away.”
How would His Words be protected for future generations?
Jesus commissioned His Apostles to teach them, both orally and written:
·
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy
Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things
and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.
His Words would serve as the foundation of His Church:
·
Ephesians 2:20 built on the foundation
of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
Consequently, these Words became the one foundation for His
Church, and all our ministry had to precisely fit upon the foundation of Jesus’
Words (the entire Bible):
·
1 Corinthians 3:10–14 According to the
grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation,
and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon
it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is
Jesus Christ. Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver,
precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for
the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire
will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has
built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward.
Sadly, many teachers are building on our foundation with
materials that do not fit, agree, and even corrode this foundation. One popular
example is the teaching of Universalism—the belief that all will be saved in
the end. If this is so, the entire Christian faith is undermined. Evangelism,
Bible study, obedience, faith, confession, and repentance all become
unnecessary. Instead, eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow you will be saved!
I believe there is simplicity in Christ: He did the exhausting, painful, lonely and complete work for our redemption planned from the foundation of the world. By comparison, we do not work for our salvation… or even for our “spiritual productivity”. I am grateful but my gratitude is tempered by my desire to DO things… for him, to slake the desire to please Him through effort rather than through being His and walking in the spirit willing to speak the gospel to whoever he brings into my sphere.there is a fine line my heart crossed— are my efforts motivated by joy and love or by working hard for the grace he freely gives. Am I seeking to be noticed and praised or to turn people— and myself— to our great God.
ReplyDeleteOur fleshly nature is always present. It will rear itself up during our most spiritual moments:
ReplyDelete• Galatians 5:17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.
This is quite humbling as it should be. It prevents us from thinking that we are worthy and deserving and causes us to realize that our only hope of righteousness is in the Lord alone.
We cannot eliminate our selfish self-centered nature. Instead, our thoughts and decisions must be focused upon our Lord, seeking to glorify Him in all we do, despite the presence of our mocking flesh.