By Bob W.
Lovelace
INTRODUCTION:
When such destruction comes without total annihilation
(“one” reason being others’ hatred of a nation or people for whatever the reason),
you see things you admire such as patriotism, heroic acts to save others ~ even
giving one’s own life to do so, also generosity and compassion for one’s fellow
man. Most any nation responds thusly to tragedy. Out of concern for our nation
- mourning is respect - scenes of sorrow require compassion and tear your heart
out - there is such a thing as patriotism and love of your people, and nation.
God understood man’s emotions when he ordained civil government. However,
"these" emotions of patriotism are not the same as Repentance towards
and obedience to God. A distressing factor in all of this is that this is a
country whose government, educational process, and entertainment industry has
too often passed judgment upon morality while condoning and fostering
immoralities. Thankfully, the knowledge of "salvation" that comes
from God’s Word points to the true purpose of our lives here upon this earth
and man’s eternal destiny thereafter. When my and your life is over, at the end
this is what ultimately matters.
A. Proverbs 14:34,
"Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin
is a reproach to any people."
B. For a resolve that did
not work:
"Whereas Edom saith, We are
impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the
Lord of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call
them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the Lord hath
indignation for ever."
1.
C. We, as Christians, can’t
get an entire nation to repent and turn to obeying God’s New Testament. Such a
concept as a “christian” nation is not in the New Testament. We do find the
church as God’s own possession being capable of edifying or building itself up
(I Pet. 2:9; Eph.
II. SUCH TIMES
AS OURS ARE TIMES OF INAPPROPRIATE STATEMENTS AND MISLEADING APPLICATIONS.
A. At times such as this
people thrive on misapplications of God's word, and in giving human reasoning
and wisdom instead of God’s eternal truths. And many love to “go with the
flow,” and jump on the bandwagon at such times. Some live for this!
1. Illustrations:
“Nostradamas said…,” “the Mark of the Beast,” “Armageddon has come,” “an
earthly reign of Christ is near."
B. I must frankly confess
that I can’t say for certain that “I” always know how to apply Prov. 14:34
today.
1. What standard of morality
does God accept that keeps a nation going? Where does He draw the line and say
that nation will be no more? Oftentimes Christians get caught up in “going with
the flow” so to speak, and then when God doesn’t “go with the flow” and do what
people think He will that isn’t enough. Then people reason that God must do
more for me or us.
III. WHEN MEN
HAVE SUCH QUESTIONS AS, “WHY DID THIS HAPPEN?" OR "WHAT IS OUR
FUTURE?"
From a personal perspective "I"
can bank on a limited number of things. They are precious, but few. I’m going
to enumerate the things I know for sure that sustain us as Christians. (Please note that I am talking
about us as Christians and not us as a nation.)
The things I will mention is where your "life" is “today"
as a Christian.
A. Christ Jesus (God)
Reigns Over All Things ~ Matt. 28:18-20,
"And Jesus came and spake unto them,
saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. [19] Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and
of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: [20] Teaching them to observe all things
whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the
end of the world. Amen."
1. He is King of all kings ~
1 Tim. 6:15,
"Which in his times he shall shew, who
IS (Emph. mine, B.L.) the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and
Lord of lords;"
2. This is central to any
nation a Christian might live in. Any christian anywhere should put this
foremost. It is very hard for me here, having not traveled abroad, to picture
true christians elsewhere and see them caught in this struggle of nations,
fighting for democracy and freedom such as we have here, strivings for justice
and against injustices. I have difficulty, at times, trying to determine with
my limited knowledge of things abroad just what is “just”. I do know that God always stands for what is
just.
3. The examples of the
“martyrs” (Stephen, Acts 8, Rev. 6:9 “those slain for the Word of God and the
testimony of Jesus“) are not the same category necessarily as lives lost in a
nation today at war.
4. There is no such thing as a “christian”
nation today. It is the church of Christ that is described as a "holy
nation" where Peter says, "But ye are a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the
praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous
light:" (I Peter 2:9). Our great “nation” IS a political body that will
exist upon this earth as such for a period of time. I like it a lot. I really
like being here. There is no other place I’d rather be. There are lots of
wonderful blessings, with freedom being the greatest with a view to being able
to worship and serve God without persecution. Also, I find great delight in the
fact that God's children here are willing to show such "benevolence"
to saints in need elsewhere (I Cor. 16: 1-4), and thus share in spiritual
blessings and the material blessings enjoyed here.
5. My “thoughts” are often
no more than “dust” ~ When I look one place and see a nation not even claiming
belief in God growing stronger and increasing, and then at home and see our
nation’s immorality, I have to confess that its just too great for me.
B. God Uses,
At Times, One Government To Punish Another (People) ~ Matthew 24:1-2,
"And Jesus went out, and departed from
the temple: and his disciples came to him for to shew him the buildings of the
temple. [2] And Jesus said unto them, See ye not all these things? verily I say
unto you, There shall not be left here one stone upon another, that shall not
be thrown down."
1. God destroyed
C. The
Distinctions Of Being A Christian ~ Things We "Know" and
"Do."
1. First, Something We Know.
We Know the Reality of Physical Death and of
Eternal Damnation. This always suggests the urgency in just one
person’s salvation that we might love or be acquainted with.
a. There is indeed a fire to
be cast into ~ Mark 9:45,
"And if thy foot offend thee, cut it
off: it is better for thee to enter halt into life, than having two feet to be
cast into hell, into the fire that never shall be quenched:"
b. Please COMPARE this with
a fire in the trade center to escape from. Some were willing to jump even to
their deaths rather than be consumed in that fire.
c. Question: To what length
have you gone to escape the “eternal” fire? Have you yet to obey this command?
Mark
1) A certain disciple said
to Saul, "And now why tarriest thou? arise, and be baptized, and wash away
thy sins, calling on the name of the Lord." (Acts
2. We Are to be Obedient to Civil Government, Rom. 13:1-7.
Why? Because not to be is to be disobedient to God! There is a qualifier, for
we must obey God rather than man (Acts
3. The New Testament Emphasis Is Primarily A Spiritual Keeping
~ Luke
"And
ye shall be betrayed both by parents, and brethren, and kinsfolks, and friends;
and some of you shall they cause to be put to death. [17] And ye shall be hated
of all men for my name's sake. [18] But there shall not an hair of your head
perish. [19] In your patience possess ye your souls."
a. This is where your life
is as a Christian! Through perseverance and patience we will gain eternal life
~ Col. 3:1-4,
"If ye then be risen with Christ, seek
those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
[2] Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth. [3] For ye
are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God. [4] When Christ, who is our
life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory."
b. As we faithfully pursue
such, setting our affection on things above and not on things of this earth
(Col. 3:2), we will not suffer eternal or spiritual loss. Jesus by no means meant that His disciples
would not suffer or be persecuted. For the Apostles, obviously, “apostleship”
meant physical death for many. Their and others' martyrdom was specific to
their living and preaching the Gospel, and by refusing to worship false
religions (Rev. 6:9). Satan was involved in a big way. Remember, Revelation tells us that many of
the disciples were martyred. Everyone will die physically until the point Jesus
comes again (Heb.
c. Who lived and for how long
“was” also at times displayed as being in His hands,
1) Paul at
2) Stephen who “saw” Him but
died physically ~ Acts 7:54-60, "When they heard these things, they were
cut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. [55] But he, being
full of the Holy Ghost, looked up stedfastly into heaven, and saw the glory of
God, and Jesus standing on the right hand of God, [56] And said, Behold, I see
the heavens opened, and the Son of man standing on the right hand of God. [57]
Then they cried out with a loud voice, and stopped their ears, and ran upon him
with one accord, [58] And cast him out of the city, and stoned him: and the
witnesses laid down their clothes at a young man's feet, whose name was Saul.
[59] And they stoned Stephen, calling upon God, and saying, Lord Jesus, receive
my spirit. [60] And he kneeled down, and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not
this sin to their charge. And when he had said this, he fell asleep."
3) A church in
d. Thus we see that
individual Christians wherever they might be were promised a spiritual keeping.
Other verses giving emphasis to this:
1) 2 Thes. 3:3, "But
the Lord is faithful, who shall stablish you, and keep you from evil."
2) Jude 1:24, "Now unto
him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before
the presence of his glory with exceeding joy."
3) Hebrews 13:5, " Let
your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as
ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee."
4. How We Pray Is Very Important ~ I Tim. 2:1-2,
"I exhort therefore, that, first of
all, supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks, be made for
all men; [2] For kings, and for all that are in authority; that we may lead a
quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."
a. This is where your life
is as a christian!
b. As stated above we are to
pray for all that are in authority, "…that we may lead a quiet and
peaceable life in all godliness and honesty."
c. We do pray for the
physical necessities of life ~ Matthew
d. And we pray for physical
blessings such as health ~ James 5:15, "and the prayer offered in faith
will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has
committed sins, they will be forgiven him."
e. Of course, as christians
and having received initial forgiveness through baptism (Mk. 16:16, Acts 2:38;
Col. 2:11-13) we now pray for and receive forgiveness when we sin ~ 1 John
1:8-10,
"If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. [9] If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness. [10] If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar,
and his word is not in us."
f. Many passages show our
prayers “count” with the Father; our intercessory prayers for one another help
~ 2 Cor. 1:11,
"Ye also helping together by prayer
for us, that for the gift bestowed upon us by the means of many persons thanks
may be given by many on our behalf."
g. Prayers for personal
strength (Eph. 6:18) or otherwise should express our desire that God's will be
done ~ Matt. 6:10; Matt. 26:39 " … nevertheless not as I will, but as thou
wilt."
h. If you are like me there
are so many things that you do not know all of the facts on. When such is the
case, ask God for “justice” rather than define it for yourself. Remember that
He has told us that vengeance is His ~ Romans 12:19,
"Dearly beloved, avenge not
yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is
mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."
5. Edification In Its Various Forms (both individual and
collective) Sustains Us At All Times,
a. This is where your life
is as a christian!
b. "Reading" the
scriptures to know what God's revealed will is ~ Ephes. 3:3-4
How that by revelation he made known unto
me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, [4] Whereby, when ye read, ye
may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ)
c. Handling accurately the
word of truth ~ 2 Tim. 2:15, "Study
to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed,
rightly dividing the word of truth."
d. Working at edifying one
another collectively through assembling for worship ~ Heb. 10:24-25, "And
let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: [25] Not
forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but
exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day
approaching."
e. Times of assembling are
times when "all things are done for edification" rather than
entertainment, games, and show ~ 1 Cor. 14:26,
"How is it then, brethren? when ye
come together, every one of you hath a psalm, hath a doctrine, hath a tongue,
hath a revelation, hath an interpretation. Let all things be done unto edifying."
f. A worthwhile admonition ~
Jude 1:20-21,
"But ye, beloved, building up
yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, [21] Keep
yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ
unto eternal life."
CONCLUSION: In this
lesson I haven’t dealt with all the responsibilities man has to civil
government, his fellow man, etc. The scriptures have told those of us who are
christians where our life is. It is in service rendered to our Lord Jesus
Christ. Whether a person is killed in a tragic act of hatred, revenge, or war,
or whether they survive is not in and of itself a measure of righteousness.
Everyone has to die; that’s part of being human (Heb.
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