Thursday, December 01, 2011

The Surety of God's Word

If there is one sure and immutable thing in this universe, it is the plan of Almighty God. Oh yes, we who believe in man’s God given free will also believe that God is in control. And God knows the beginning from the end. We can have full confidence that what He began He will finish. His plan, wrapped in His glory, will come to a final fruition.
I Pet.1:1-5 - Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,
2 Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
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he ebbs and flows of man’s machinations throughout the world are very alluring and are dissected and analyzed over and over again - by man. It is a pattern of concentric circles which provide much intellectual mastication but in the end is only a repeat of the narrative of Eden with different names and different players. Fallen man devises fallen plans and then provides fallen editorials about his fallen plans. It is a circle of death.
But in the midst of this energetic parade of hollow activity, God’s plan continues to march on, unaltered and unfettered. Again, believers like me embrace God’s sovereignty with enthusiasm. There is only one thing that we can count on in this life - Christ. He must be the source and the destination of all our hope and all our faith. He alone is our Rock, and although family and friends may provide some needed support and love, only Christ is sufficient for all things.
Two men stand and gaze at the wooden bridge before them. It is the only way to escape the raging forest fire, and the bridge spans a deep and harrowing gulf over to safety. The first man walks confidently upon the bridge without hesitation. The second man tests the bridge with his foot, and then tentatively steps upon it. He walks with hesitation, stopping regularly to test its strength, and sometimes he is frightened by the great gorge below. But the question is this: Which man made it to the other side?
The answer is that they both made it to the other side because the success of their escape rested completely on the strength of the bridge. And even though one man seemed to have more faith in the bridge, they both walked upon it and its strength was constant to them both.
Beloved, the strength of our spiritual journey lies in the strength of our God and in His Word. Of course we can enjoy the journey better if we have more faith, but if it all depended upon us then none of us would make it. The paradox of God’s sovereignty and man’s free will is only a paradox in the mind of man. Man’s free will is a product of God’s sovereignty, and we need not think too highly of ourselves.
The Word of God is also the promises of God and they are all secure in God. No man can change what God has ordained, regardless of how off course circumstances may seem. The journey may seem crooked to the eyes of man, but the divine compass still guides the ship toward its intended harbor.
I Pet.1:24-25 - For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:
25 But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.
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od’s Word carries with it the weight of the Triune God. God does not mince words, and what He says is what He will do and what will happen. It is impossible to overstate the power of God’s Word. From God so loved the world to And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire, they all have a divine power that surpasses time and space and the parameters of human understanding.
Many people who have heard the gospel and have been warned about their eternal future are hoping that God’s Word is not true or that He will compromise the things He has said. Those people will one day find out that they have lost their souls and that God will have fulfilled every single breath He has ever spoken. It is not something over which to gloat since we stand by His grace alone, but it is nonetheless very tragic.
Man’s word is hollow and can change when pressured or when that change is advantageous to a man’s life. We are always prone to speaks to our own interests and many times the path of least resistance or the well worn path of self righteousness. Let every man be a liar and God be eternally true. If you are looking for a crack in the integrity of God’s Word you can stop the search.
And I am not talking about the arguments surrounding Biblical inerrancy, I am speaking of believing God’s Word with such intensity and sacrificial faith that it guides and controls our very lives. God is not so much interested in men who can translate from Greek and Hebrew as He is looking for men who can obey the English first. Doctrinal purity is best expressed through a humble believer rather than a reliance upon a systematic theology. A living interpretation of Gods Word is worth a thousand volumes of exegetical articulation.

I do believe that the prophetic warnings contained in Scripture are rapidly approaching their fulfillment. And that prospect brings with it all the most profound implications of good and evil, justice and grace, and eternity without recourse.
If we knew when the thief was coming we would have stayed up and watched. Or would we…

3 comments:

  1. Rick,
    Thanks for providing the link to Mastering the Bible.
    Surprised at your comment to say "God is not so much interested in men who can translate from Greek and Hebrew as He is looking for men who can obey the ENGLISH first"

    ReplyDelete
  2. shannon10:34 AM

    Hi Rick, I am posting my comment/question here in this thread where I intended to originally. Thank you, Shannon





    Was noticing that you have posted the links to Precept Ministries as well as Mastering the Bible. Do you endorse these sites and recommend them for our learning of God's Word?
    By posting them, what are you saying to us, your readers?

    Shannon

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  3. Endorse would be too strong a word. For instance, I agree with Wesley on some things and disagree with him on others, but I suggest his writings have value. The same with the sites you mentioned.

    It is impossible for me to read everything written there, and I resist being the Holy Spirit in anyone's life. The two sites to which I linked have value until someone shows me some grievous error there.

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