What is man?

Jeremiah 6:1 “Flee for safety…”

We will only ever be safe if we heed the full council of God! Whatever that may entail at any given time in our lives.

What is man that you are mindful of him, and the son of man that you care for him? (Psalms 8:4) - I must start with this thought this morning and just maybe it’s because I have been so dull of hearing for such a long time. Or could it be that we (mankind) have a tendency to get lost in our own causes and lose sight of more pressing issues. I think both are as real as each other and no-one is exempt from its trap. The lure of conceit is a real danger for all, especially when one feels they stand upon the truth.

We must stand upon God’s Word at all costs, and yes, even at the cost of conceit playing its part in our lives, not that we will ever be justified in our pride, we will soon be cut down to size if God so deems it. But as I look firstly at the spec in my eye I and then I gaze around I realize that what God has taken on with this sinful human race, is a mammoth task.

Just imagine the heavenly host as they witness our daily lives in the light of God’s holiness and his righteousness, no wonder David pens words like this; “What is man that you are mindful of him”? In fact although we are the beneficiaries of God’s grace, all those who believe and confess Jesus Christ as Lord, it never had anything to do with us but all to do with His Son, without His perfect sacrifice, us as gentiles (of or pertaining to any people not Jewish), those who were never part of God’s promise to Abraham were the futurist from salvation in that sense. Do you realize that if the Jews would have accepted the work of Calvary we as gentiles may well have been in big trouble? HELL our final destiny! But GOD! And we better not miss this, I speak to all and sundry; But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved-- and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:4-9)

Satan at times is often having his way as he gets the Christians to turn on themselves; he gets them to do his work for him. A travesty! Now if we rebuke a wise man and if he is indeed wise, he will receive the rebuke and be wiser still, but rebuke a fool and he will despise you. What then is the lesson? I think the Apostle Paul understood this best as he instructs Timothy on how he should address the gainsayer (those who deny the truth), what then is truth? The Holy Scriptures! This is how it should and must be done; “Have nothing to do with foolish, ignorant controversies; you know that they breed quarrels. And the Lord's servant must not be quarrelsome but kind to everyone, able to teach, patiently enduring evil, correcting his opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth, and they may come to their senses and escape from the snare of the devil, after being captured by him to do his will.” (2Timothy 2:23-26) 

But before I run away with myself let us get someone else’s perspective on this instruction. Someone with possibly the greatest teaching gift, or at least who I have come across in my limited research, but it was C.H.Spurgeon who pointed me in his direction. His name is Matthew Henry…

“Paul cautions Timothy against contention, and, to prevent this (2Ti_2:23), cautions him against foolish and unlearned questions, that tend to no benefit, strifes of words. Those who advanced them, and doted upon them, thought themselves wise and learned; but Paul calls them foolish and unlearned. The mischief of these is that they gender strifes, that they breed debates and quarrels among Christians and ministers. It is very remarkable how often, and with what seriousness, the apostle cautions Timothy against disputes in religion, which surely was not without some such design as this, to show that religion consists more in believing and practising what God requires than in subtle disputes. - The servant of the Lord must not strive, 2Ti_2:24. Nothing worse becomes the servant of the Lord Jesus, who himself did not strive nor cry (Mat_12:19), but was a pattern of meekness, and mildness, and gentleness to all, than strife and contention. The servant of the Lord must be gentle to all men, and thereby show that he is himself subject to the commanding power of that holy religion which he is employed in preaching and propagating. - Apt to teach. Those are unapt to teach who are apt to strive, and are fierce and froward. Ministers must be patient, bearing with evil, and in meekness instructing (2Ti_2:25) not only those who subject themselves, but those who oppose themselves. Observe, 1. Those who oppose themselves to the truth are to be instructed; for instruction is the scripture-method of dealing with the erroneous, which is more likely to convince them of their errors than fire and faggot: he does not bid us kill their bodies, under pretence of saving their souls. 2. Such as oppose themselves are to be instructed in meekness, for our Lord is meek and lowly (Mat_11:29), and this agrees well with the character of the servant of the Lord (2Ti_2:24): He must not strive, but be gentle to all men, apt to teach, patient. This is the way to convey truth in its light and power, and to overcome evil with good, Rom_12:21. 3. That which ministers must have in their eyes, in instructing those who oppose themselves, must be their recovery: If God, peradventure, will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth. Observe, (1.) Repentance is God's gift. (2.) It is a gift with a peradventure in the case of those who oppose themselves; and therefore, though we are not to despair of the grace of God, yet we must take heed of presuming upon it. To the acknowledging of the truth. (3.) The same God who gives us the discovery of the truth does by his grace bring us to the acknowledging of it, otherwise our hearts would continue in rebellion against it, for we are to confess with our mouths as well as to believe with our hearts, Rom_10:9, Rom_10:10. And thus sinners recover themselves out of the snare of the devil; see here, [1.] The misery of sinners: they are in the snare of the devil, and are led captive by him at his will, 2Ti_2:26. They are slaves to the worst of task-masters; he is the spirit that now worketh in the children of disobedience, Eph_2:2. They are taken in a snare, and in the worst snare, because it is the devil's; they are as fishes that are taken in an evil net, and as the birds that are caught in the snare. Further, They are under Ham's curse (a servant of servants shall he be, Gen_9:25), they are slaves to him who is but a slave and vassal. [2.] The happiness of those who repent: they recover themselves out of this snare, as a bird out of the snare of the fowler; the snare is broken and they have escaped; and the greater the danger the greater the deliverance. When sinners repent, those who before were led captive by the devil at his will come to be led into the glorious liberty of the children of God, and have their wills melted into the will of the Lord Jesus. The good Lord recover us all out of the snare.” (Matthew Henry)

Therefore is we wish to “bleed biblean” (have the bible flowing from our veins) as John Bunyan did we must receive the whole council of God.  

Signing off

Tyrone