Warnings

The scriptures are full of one-liners that are filled with a wealth of truth, which implies no escape from its deductions. However once we view them through the eyes of righteousness, we will find rescue. Misguided analysis or mistaken application will always end badly. If we want to power up an appliance we need electricity, a plug serves its purpose rather well with a cover which conceals all the dangerous wires, and the pug socket protected with it own cover keeps danger at bay; handling electricity is dangerous if we ignore the “warnings on the box”.

Ignore the cautions at you own peril. In like manner if we ignore the caveats in scripture it will cost us. We must learn; I must seek out God’s guidance to become more diligent with certain instructions found in the Bible. A case in point would be verses that are not easy to swallow but nevertheless mentioned by the One who had no sin, the Lord Jesus Christ. If He felt the need to point them out, we must conclude that they have their part to play; if the shoe fits we must wear it, but if we refuse it will cost us.

When we let sin prioritize some of the key decision in our lives it can have dire consequences; our consciences bearing witness to our folly when we hide it from the onlooker. It’s only the Spirit of God that has the skill to root out the rot. The Word when used skilfully will bring an individual to a place where a decision needs to be made. Illustrations that highlight the hidden agendas of the heart can be easily observed in these two examples; observe the deceitfulness of our hearts when we seek out truth with a hidden agenda or ulterior motive.

“And behold, a man came up to him, saying, "Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?" And he said to him, "Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments." He said to him, "Which ones?" And Jesus said, "You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself." The young man said to him, "All these I have kept. What do I still lack?" Jesus said to him, "If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me." When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. And Jesus said to his disciples, "Truly, I say to you, only with difficulty will a rich person enter the kingdom of heaven. Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich person to enter the kingdom of God."” (Matthew 19:16-22)

With such a clear instruction, why are so many being sway by a false Gospel message where wealth and prosperity is the pivot of its existence? The enemy proves a point that the Words penned in the Bible are life changing and all he needs to do is to get people to miss its schooling and twist the emphasis of it and he has won the skirmish; he may win battles along the way but he will never win the war, that victory belongs to our God. 

The text teaches us a great lesson, where our hearts are there our treasures will be also. But in order for us to learn this lesson well we must first be stripped of that which keeps the message at bay and in this case our comforts must be stripped and money must become scares if we are to have any chance in understanding the core of our hearts when it comes to our dependency upon coinage. These types of thoughts are never easily welcomed, but needful if we are to grow up in the stature of our Lord and Saviour; if we are to mature with the mind of Christ concerning our dependency upon Him and not to have confidence in our own independence.

When we examine the scriptures with intend we find a principle that is core to the ultimate test which proves out loyalty to Christ, but how often do we simple glean over them not respecting their teaching as we ort too? We forget to place ourselves in the scene as the one who needs addressing. This is when we glean the most from Christ’s teaching; when we ask ourselves, “What is this teaching ME”?

Another hard pill to swallow is this; "Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me.” (Matthew 10:34-37)

These are examples of what it means to respond favourable to the Lord Jesus’ call on our lives and it will soon become evident in a persons life where they stand on these issues. We must never forget that “if God is for us who can be against us”. When we make this truth our own, examples like these will help us understand our need of Him. Faith demands our obedience to God’s instruction and if we ignore the warnings it will be for our own account.

Signing off

Tyrone