Proverbs 29:18 While waiting for God to move

Prov 29:18
¹⁸Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.

The word vision refers to a prophetic utterance. The fact that people perish without God’s will being given by revelation is reflective of man’s desire to find meaning to this life or see beyond this world. They will presume what God is doing in a worship service. They try to discern God’s will in their lives during times of crisis. They want to know the message that God has for them in their dreams. They will try to find meaning in the mundane. They will stand in awe of the “face of Christ” in a picture of a cloud, the marks on a piece of toast, or in a root dug up out of the ground — all true cases! They will gravitate to fortune tellers, charlatans in church, astrologers, and prognosticators of all kinds to get a glimpse of the future.

In Solomon’s time, they did not have the complete revelation of God through His Word so they were dependent upon the prophets for a fuller understanding of Him. In the times of God’s silence they were more at risk.

Amos 8:10-13
¹⁰And I will turn your feasts into mourning, and all your songs into lamentation; and I will bring up sackcloth upon all loins, and baldness upon every head; and I will make it as the mourning of an only son, and the end thereof as a bitter day.
¹¹Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
¹²And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.
¹³In that day shall the fair virgins and young men faint for thirst.

1Sam 3:1
¹And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision.

Even though we have the complete revelation of God in His inspired Word, the Bible, today, still we hunger for the illumination of the Holy Spirit. We need it to understand God’s Word and how to apply it to our daily life. Whether the Israelites needed the extra revelation to make up for the rest of the Bible not written yet, or we desire special understanding of God’s will for our particular circumstances, there is still a blessing to be had.

The daily application of the law, a reference to the Word of God in general, will help us carry on when there is no special direction from God. We don’t have to have a special burden from God on every thing we do. Sometimes the moving of God is accomplished by the clear commands and the principles of His Word. If we don’t feel something special from God, it doesn’t mean that something is wrong. It might just mean that He has already spoken in His Word and that should be sufficient for us to go on.

Proverbs 21:4 The fruit of arrogance

Prov 21:4
⁴An high look, and a proud heart, and the plowing of the wicked, is sin.

A high look refers to looking down on others. A proud heart refers to looking highly on self. Plowing refers to the work that is produced by the wicked. The word for sin implies the idea of condemnation and destruction. It is used elsewhere to speak of the sin offering, or that which was destined for destruction as a sacrifice. The wicked have a low opinion of others and a high opinion of self. He sows in arrogance and the fruit of his labors is tainted, doomed, and worthy only of destruction.

Rom 12:3-5
³For I say, through the grace given unto me, to every man that is among you, not to think of himself more highly than he ought to think; but to think soberly, according as God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith.
⁴For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:
⁵So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

Rom 12:9-16
⁹Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
¹⁰Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;
¹¹Not slothful in business; fervent in spirit; serving the Lord;
¹²Rejoicing in hope; patient in tribulation; continuing instant in prayer;
¹³Distributing to the necessity of saints; given to hospitality.
¹⁴Bless them which persecute you: bless, and curse not.
¹⁵Rejoice with them that do rejoice, and weep with them that weep.
¹⁶Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits.

The Gift of Repentance

2 Tim 2:24-26
²⁴And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient,
²⁵In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth;
²⁶And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will.

The reference to God giving repentance in 2 Timothy 2:24-26 seems to suggest that man does not have the ability to repent by himself. That God gives this ability to unregenerate man so that he can apply it to salvation. This would be analogous to a blind man given the ability to see.

It is not realistic to suggest that man does not have the ability to repent apart from God. The lost demonstrate repentance regularly. Pharaoh repented a number of times during the plagues upon Egypt. This is not to propose that he became saved. Only in a narrow application of the word repent does it refer to salvation. The word itself is merely a reference to a changing of the mind (such as when God repents). Man has the capacity to repent.

It seems that a different kind of repentance is offered by God in 2 Tim 2:25. Refining our understanding of repentance might lead us to say that God gives the ability to repent unto righteousness or salvation. The only way we can do this is to read into the passage something that is not there. This would require finding the principle elsewhere in Scripture.

We don’t have to go very far to discover that giving the ability to repent unto righteousness is not what is intended at all by the phrase give them repentance. There are two other passages where this is used as a figure of speech to indicate that God gives the opportunity, or room for repentance.

Acts 11:17-18
¹⁷Forasmuch then as God gave them the like gift as he did unto us, who believed on the Lord Jesus Christ; what was I, that I could withstand God?
¹⁸When they heard these things, they held their peace, and glorified God, saying, Then hath God also to the Gentiles granted repentance unto life.

Acts 5:29-31
²⁹Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men.
³⁰The God of our fathers raised up Jesus, whom ye slew and hanged on a tree.
³¹Him hath God exalted with his right hand to be a Prince and a Saviour, for to give repentance to Israel, and forgiveness of sins.

In Acts 11, granted is translated from the same word as given in 2 Timothy and Acts 5. Repentance was not merely given to some Gentiles. It was given to a whole class. Since not all Gentiles are saved, the only thing one may conclude is that, as the context shows, the opportunity for repentance was available to the Gentiles. Peter and the other Jewish members of the church became apprised of the fact that the Gentiles were able to be saved apart from any legalistic consideration.

In Acts 5, we have the same situation, only here with respect to the Jews. Not all Israel was saved as a result of being given repentance as a class. They, of course, had other times for repentance in their history. They were, as a class, being given another opportunity for repentance.

The phrase to give repentance is to be understood as a figure of speech. It is not that some new ability to repent is given, but that a new opportunity is given.

There is one more consideration to give to this passage. The scope of the intended recipients includes both lost and saved – it is given to all men. If only the saved are meant by all, then God would have to be giving repentance over and over again. If it truly includes all, then the same problem still exists. Man has the ability to repent, God gives room for repentance.

Christian Hedonism

Excellent analysis at these sites:

The Berean Christian Bible Study Resource 1
The Berean Christian Bible Study Resource 2
The Faithful Word 1 
The Faithful Word 2
The FAQs on John Piper’s Christian Hedonism

ABC’s 20/20′s Fallacies

Exposé on 2020 exposé
ABC’s 20/20 managed to violate logic at the rate of a fallacy per minute (figuratively speaking) in their “exposé” on Independent Fundamental Baptists. I leave it to a logic professor from Ambassador Baptist College with his excellent analysis to expose their irrationality (click on link above). It is such a shame that 20/20 exploited the girl who had been victimized. It is also a shame that they exploited Elizabeth Vargas as a script reader – for her sake I hope that is all she was.

Deuteronomy 14:26 – The Christian and his liquor

There is a problem with using Deuteronomy 14:23-26 as a justification for the use of alcohol. Without even going into the various words for wine that would indicate whether they are grape juice, fermented grape juice, vines, or even how juice comes out of a wine press, there is a higher standard that we should examine.

Deut 14:23-26
²³And thou shalt eat before the LORD thy God, in the place which he shall choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds and of thy flocks; that thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always.
²⁴And if the way be too long for thee, so that thou art not able to carry it; or if the place be too far from thee, which the LORD thy God shall choose to set his name there, when the LORD thy God hath blessed thee:
²⁵Then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money in thine hand, and shalt go unto the place which the LORD thy God shall choose:
²⁶And thou shalt bestow that money for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the LORD thy God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou, and thine household,

It appears that strong drink is endorsed by God. But,

Luke 10:28 Do this and live

Luke 10:25-28
²⁵And, behold, a certain lawyer stood up, and tempted him, saying, Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?²⁶He said unto him, What is written in the law? how readest thou? ²⁷And he answering said, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself.²⁸And he said unto him, Thou hast answered right: this do, and thou shalt live.

Luke 10:36-37
³⁶Which now of these three, thinkest thou, was neighbour unto him that fell among the thieves?³⁷And he said, He that shewed mercy on him. Then said Jesus unto him, Go, and do thou likewise.

Taken out of the context of the entirety of the Scripture, this passage could sound like salvation is based upon our work performance. “What shall I do to inherit eternal life?” “This do, and thou shalt live…Go, and do thou likewise.”

The problem is that we expect narrative passages to be used as an instruction manual: “Do this and this and this and this and then this happens.” Those who are familiar with Galatans 2:16 will sense right away that

The image of God

Gen 1:20-28
²⁰And God said, Let the waters bring forth abundantly the moving creature that hath life, and fowl that may fly above the earth in the open firmament of heaven.
²¹And God created great whales, and every living creature that moveth, which the waters brought forth abundantly, after their kind, and every winged fowl after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
²²And God blessed them, saying, Be fruitful, and multiply, and fill the waters in the seas, and let fowl multiply in the earth.
²³And the evening and the morning were the fifth day.
²⁴And God said, Let the earth bring forth the living creature after his kind, cattle, and creeping thing, and beast of the earth after his kind: and it was so.
²⁵And God made the beast of the earth after his kind, and cattle after their kind, and every thing that creepeth upon the earth after his kind: and God saw that it was good.
²⁶And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.
²⁷So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.
²⁸And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.

Gen 5:1-2
¹This is the book of the generations of Adam. In the day that God created man, in the likeness of God made he him;
²Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.

The image of God in man was not

Does faith come only after we are born of God?

John 3:3-7
³Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
⁴Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother’s womb, and be born?
⁵Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
⁶That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
⁷Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The common understanding of this passage is that a person becomes a saved child of God by the new birth and then he will see, or understand, the kingdom of God.

However, it has also been suggested that because of total depravity we cannot

Are you a “follower” of Jesus?

It is very much in vogue today to declare oneself to be a “follower” of Christ in the effort to be more “authentic.” Certainly following Christ and being authentic are excellent qualities. The problem I have is when the Christian culture takes it up as a fad - like WWJD, the Jabez Prayer, or 90 minutes in heaven. It is the case of tradition become sacrosanct. Describing oneself as a “follower” is only done in an effort to raise Christian consciousness above complacency. However, you soon see it develop into