Bible Thoughts

December 23, 2001

It is not unusual for those who do not follow the commands of the Lord to accuse those who oppose them as being "trouble-makers." Elijah suffered that accusation as he tried to turn Israel away from the idolatry that had infected the land. Ahab wanted to discredit Elijah so the prophet would not influence the people toward the worship of Jehovah, which would effectively destroy the worship of Baal that controlled their hearts.

There were two problems: (1) They had "forsaken the commandments of the Lord" and (2) they followed "the worship of Baal." To Christians, it seems senseless that someone would bow down to a graven image and claim that such was one's god. The carvings of men are only that: carvings. They have no power; they have no life. In order to accept idolatry, one must first forsake "the commandments of the Lord." So long as a person recognizes Jehovah as the only true and living God, then idolatry is seen as it is: foolishness. No stone, no stick, no hypothetical being, no garment, no human, etc. can be God. Such are without divine power; they are but the foolish inventions of men when they are worshipped as gods.

When men turn away from the God who created them, they will turn to other sources for the strength they desire. Some will give up the ways of God for the ways of the world. Believing they have found something that satisfies their inward feelings, they turn to different forms of ungodliness. One cannot replace the practice of righteousness, however, with the ways of Satan. The glitter of the world may fascinate and capture those who are foolish, but the end result is misery, loneliness, and fear of the eternal consequences of such behavior. John said, "Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him"(I John 2:15-16). The offerings of the present world have led many away from the true God.

Others will reject the Lord by giving up and ignoring His commandments. It is sad to learn of Christians who forsake the truth and turn into the denominations of men. The ones in Elijah's day did not want the truth; they wanted the teachings of Baal. When one's desires and ambitions go contrary to the principles of the New Testament, they will turn to religious error, ignoring the truth of God's word.

Let each of us remember, "And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God"(Luke 9:62). As Elijah refused to accept the ways of Baal, let each of us determine not to follow the ways of Satan, but always look forward to the service of Jehovah. If you are the only one: be as Elijah!

One of the things that a Christian must be wary of is a greater estimation of their own role then what is real. Christians understand(or should understand) that they are the means by which God has chosen to work in the world today. The apostle Paul uses the illustration of Christians as Christ’s body numerous times in his epistles. In a very real sense, when we are motivated to action by the gospel, when our hands do the work of the Lord, it is his hands that are working. Hands are directed by the head and Christ is the head of the Christian body. It is Christ’s thoughts, words, and deeds that should guide a Christian in all walks of life. With their mouth most Christians would acknowledge this as true.

Nonetheless, in action and attitude it would seem that there is still much growth to be made regarding this truth before it is fully understood. The words that people say, and the attitudes that they reflect, seem to imply that in some regard, they feel they are responsible for the salvation of souls. This attitude manifests itself in part through the censuring of the gospel. Censuring in the sense that all parts of the gospel “may not be appropriate” for all to hear. Censuring in the sense that a certain part of the gospel “may offend someone and turn them away from the truth.” When Paul said “I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ”(Romans 1:16), he didn’t just mean he wasn’t ashamed of part of it, he meant there was no part of the gospel that he was ashamed of. All the gospel is true and all of it is “the power of God unto salvation to every one that believe.” And since all of the gospel is true, a person who rejects any part of it has rejected all of it.

By no means is this to say that a Christian cannot or should not discern the needs of their audience or that a Christian should not be discrete in the manner in which they present the lessons that must be taught. That is not what is being said at all; a Christian’s every word and deed must be motivated by love and compassion for all people. This is the point: Christians should be less worried about offending people and more worried about presenting the gospel in all its glory, for the word of the Lord goes forth from his mouth and does not return to him empty; it accomplishes what he intends it to accomplish. Some have become so obsessed about not offending people that they fail to remember that, if secular tradition is true, every one of Christ’s apostles, with the exception of John, offended their audiences to such a degree that they were killed. Christ Himself was killed because he “offended his audience.” But make no mistake, these men weren’t killed because they offended the people, they were killed because their message offended the people.

The Gospel of Christ is not just “God loved you so he died for you”, the Gospel of Christ is also “You are wicked, you are black hearted, you are prideful, stubborn and arrogant and you deserve to die because of it…unless you change.”

Our God is a consuming fire; His Word (the word we have been given) is a great sword that must be plunged into the heart of sinners and that can be excruciatingly painful. Christians who are afraid of the consequences of taking up Christ’s sword need to search their own hearts to see whose side they are on. Does that mean that a Christian should go out of their way to offend people? Definitely not, but it does mean that Christians need to place less faith in their own wisdom and discernment and more faith in the providence of God: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it"(Isaiah 55:8-11)-Scott Huston