Month: March 2020

“Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world” (1 John 4:1).

These are times of moral and religious confusion, and it is sometimes hard to distinguish the false from the true. Our faithful Lord has tried to save us from the consequences of our own blindness by repeated warnings and many careful instructions. It will pay us to give close attention to His words.

Toward the end of the age, we are told, there shall be a time of stepped-up religious activity and frenzied expectation, growing out of the turbulent conditions prevailing among nations. The language is familiar to most Christians: ” … wars and rumours of wars … nation shall rise against nation … famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places … Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations … And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another” (Matthew 24:6-1 0).

Concurrent with this state of affairs will be a great increase in religious excitement and supernatural happenings generally. “For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many” (Matthew 24:5); “And many false prophets shall rise … ” (Matthew 24:11 ); “Then if any man shall say unto you, Lo, here is Christ, or there; believe it not. For there shall arise false Christs, and false prophets, and shall show great signs and wonders; insomuch that, if it were possible, they shall deceive the very elect” (Matthew 24:23-24).

PRAY FOR DISCERNMENT

Many Christians fear to sin against love by daring to inquire into anything that comes wearing the cloak of Christianity and breathing the name of Jesus. They dare not examine the credentials of the latest prophet to hit their town lest they be guilty of rejecting something which may be of God. They timidly remember how the Pharisees refused to accept Christ when He came, and they do not want to be caught in the same snare, so they either reserve judgment or shut their eyes and accept everything without question. This is supposed to indicate a high degree of spirituality, but in sober fact it indicates no such thing. It may indeed be evidence of the absence of the Holy Spirit.

Gullibility is not synonymous with spirituality. Faith is not a mental habit leading its possessor to open his mouth and swallow everything that has about it the colour of the supernatural. Faith keeps its heart open to whatever is of God, and rejects everything that is not of God, however wonderful it may be.

” … try the spirits … ” is a command of the Holy Spirit to the church. We may sin as certainly by approving the spurious as by rejecting the genuine, and the current habit of refusing to take sides is not the way to avoid the question. To appraise things with a heart of love, and then to act on the results is an obligation resting upon every Christian in the world, and so much the more as we see the day approaching.

How can we tell whether or not a man or a religious demonstration is of God? The answer is easy to find, but it will take courage to follow the facts as God reveals them to us.

The tests for spiritual genuineness are: First, the leader must be a good man and full of the Holy Ghost. Christianity is nothing if not moral. No tricks of theology, no demonstrations of supernatural wonders, no evidences of blind devotion on the part of the public can decide whether or not God is in the man or the movement. Every servant of Christ must be pure of heart and holy of life.

While sinless perfection is not likely to be found among even the best of men, still the leader to be trusted is the one who lives as near like Christ as possible and who knows how to repent in sorrow of heart when he sins against his Lord by any act or word. The man God honours will be humble, self-effacing, self-sacrificing, modest, clean living, free from the love of money, eager to promote the honour of God, and just as eager to disclaim any credit or praise on his own part. His financial accounts will bear inspection, his ethical standards will be high, and his personal life above reproach.

THE ACID TEST

But the test of moral goodness is not enough. Every man must submit his work to the scriptural test. It is not enough that he be able to quote from the Bible at great length or that he claim for himself great and startling experiences with God. Go back to the law and to the testimony, if he speak not according to the Word, it is because there is no light in him. We who are invited to follow him have every right, as well as a solemn obligation, to test his work according to the Word of God.

We must demand that every claimant for our confidence present a clean bill of health from the Holy Scriptures; that he do more than weave in a text occasionally, or hold up the Bible dramatically before the eyes of his hearers. His doctrines must be those of the Scriptures. The Bible must dominate his preaching. He must preach according to the Word of God.

The price of following a false guide on the desert may be death. The price of heeding wrong advice in business may be bankruptcy. The price of trusting to a quack doctor may be permanent loss of health. The price of putting confidence in a pseudo-prophet may be moral and spiritual tragedy. Let us take heed that no man deceive us.

The richest quality of love is sacrifice, and the noblest credential of any work is the spirit on the part of its members, which has laid every selfish interest down at Jesus’ feet, counting all things loss for Christ; which holds its money, its friendships, its life, all subservient to the Master’s claim, and living a dying life, at last gives life itself a willing offering to Him who gave His life for us.

In this selfish and luxurious age, it is the rarest quality to be found, but it is the most needed; and as the end approaches, and the last tribulation draws near, the age of martyrdom will reach the climax, and the tears of sorrow and the blood of sacrifice will be transformed into the jewels of the Coronation Day.

It requires a greater sacrifice sometimes to live than to die; and those who will be found one day ready to die for Christ are those whose lives are now laid down in ten thousand little tests that come to us from day to day.

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

“Only let your conversation be as it becometh the gospel of Christ: that whether I come and see you, or else be absent, I may hear of your affairs, that ye stand fast in one spirit, with one mind striving together for the faith of the gospel” (Philippians 1:27).

1. Happy is the man whose sins are forgiven.

” … Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin” (Romans 4:7 -8).

2. Happy is the man who delights in God’s Word.

“I have rejoiced in the way of thy testimonies, as much as in all riches. I will meditate in thy precepts, and have respect unto thy ways. I will delight myself in thy statutes: I will not forget thy word” (Psalm 119:14-16).

3. Happy is the man who keeps God’s commandments.

“And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him … ” (1 John 3:22-24).

4. Happy is the man who dwells in the house of the Lord.

“Blessed are they that dwell in thy house: they will be still praising thee” (Psalm 84:4).

5. Happy is the man who waits on the Lord.

” … blessed are all they that wait for him” (Isaiah 30:18); “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength … ” (Isaiah 40:31 ).

6. Happy is the man who puts his trust in the Lord.

“O LORD of hosts, blessed is the man that trusteth in thee” (Psalm 84: 12).

7. Happy is the man who has grace to endure.

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him” (James 1: 12).

“And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not” (Galatians 6:9).

Here is a promise for all God’s servants, for we all pass through times when the work seems unusually difficult, when health is perhaps below par, and when personal burdens weigh heavily upon us. It is recorded that David, in the heat of battle, waxed faint; and so it may be written of every servant of the Lord.

THE PROGRAM

We are reminded here of our program, a program of” … well doing … “, in marked contrast to the sin, strife, and selfishness in the world around us. Look at the opening verses of this chapter. The apostle is speaking of the exercise of spiritual ministries, the easing of other people’s burdens, and the communication of God’s Word – in short, the tasks to which we are still called, whether in the homeland or out on the field.

The Gospel has ever been concerned with ” … well doing … ” the lifting of the mind, the healing of the body, and the setting free of the spirit. It has found men brutal and ignorant and made them thoughtful and kind; it has lifted womanhood from degradation and oppression and sought out little children who were neglected and illtreated. Tyrants have read their condemnation in its challenge, while mankind’s greatest benefactors have been stirred to action by its precepts. Such remains our world-encompassing Christian program today.

THE PERIL

But we are also warned of our peril, “…let us not be weary … ” C. H. Spurgeon wrote to his students: “Fits of depression come over most of us … The strong are not always vigorous, the wise not always ready, the brave not always courageous, the joyous not always happy. There may be here and there men of iron, to whom wear and tear work no perceptible detriment, but surely the rust frets even these; and as for ordinary men, the Lord knows, and makes them to know, that they are but dust.”

Often today the enemy is not hostility, but sheer weariness. We see such little results, and echo the faithless word of Elisha’s servant, ” … Alas, my master! how shall we do?” (2 Kings 6:15). But Noah preached for years without a convert; Amaziah was preferred by the crowd to Amos; even our Lord’s early enthusiasts melted away. Hence, Paul’s constant and vigorous exhortations to continue, to strive, and to persevere.

THE PROMISE

In this simple, yet stimulating verse, we are given the promise, ” … in due season we shall reap … ” Of course, ” … they that be with us are more than they that be with them” (2 Kings 6:16). The mountains around us are still filled with horses and chariots of fire. Calvary in the eyes of men was a pathetic failure, but millions worldwide now know it to have been the supreme victory of God. The failure of any Christ exalting and Christ directed enterprise is an impossibility. He has pledged His Word that a spiritual harvest is certain.

To our tasks then, with fresh confidence and fresh devotion! Let the message which proclaims His great salvation be speeded forth on its all-conquering way. Jesus shall reign!

Modem Theological Trends are Making the Gospel Way a Broad Way

We who follow Christ in these perilous times are engaged in a war that has many fronts. Action ebbs in our sector, only to flare up in another, or two, or ten others. The enemy is everywhere, assuming many forms and taking at any given time whatever shape best serves his evil purposes. and he is for that reason often mistaken for a friend.

Traditionally, fighting men proudly wore the uniform of their country and could be identified as far as they could be seen. In World War II, the Nazis sometimes donned the uniforms of Allied soldiers, and thus managed to destroy some who would otherwise have been on the defensive against them. But this trick was not a Nazi invention. It dates back to that hour when the devil, in the guise of a friend won the confidence of Eve and brought about the downfall of the race.

DECEPTION- SATAN’S WEAPON

Deception has always been an effective weapon and is deadliest when used in the field of religion.

There was a time, no longer ago than the twenties and thirties, when a Christian knew, or at least could know, where he stood. The words of Christ were taken seriously. A man either was or was not a believer in New Testament doctrine. Clear, sharp categories existed. Black stood in sharp contrast to white: light was separated from darkness; it was possible to distinguish right from wrong, truth from error, a true believer from an unbeliever. Christians knew that they must forsake the world, and there was for the most part remarkable agreement about what was meant by the world. It was that simple.

But over the last score of years a quiet revolution has taken place. The whole religious picture has changed. Without denying a single doctrine of the faith, multitudes of Christians have nevertheless forsaken the faith and are as far astray as the Modernists, who were at least honest enough to repudiate the Scriptures before they began to violate them.

I have listened to certain speakers and have recognized the ingredients that went to make up their teachings. A bit of Freud, a dash of Emile Coue, a lot of watered-down humanism, tender chunks of Emersonian transcendentalism, auto-suggestion a la Dale Carnegie, and plenty of hopefulness and religious sentimentality; but nothing hard and sharp and specific. Nothing of Christ or Peter or Paul. None of the ” … Who is on the LORD’S side? … ” (Exodus 32:26) of Moses, or the” … choose you this day whom ye will serve … ” (Joshua 24: 15) of Joshua; just tender pleadings to “take Jesus and let Him solve your problems.”

If such as I here describe were cultists or liberals of one strip or another, I would say nothing more about it, but many of them are professed evangelicals. Press them and they will insist that they believe the Scriptures and accept every tenet of the historic Christian faith but The notion “that love is really all that matters” is now pretty well disseminated throughout the ranks of current evangelism, and for that reason we ought to receive everyone whose intention is right regardless of his doctrinal position, granted of course that he is ready to read the Scriptures, trust Jesus, and pray. The unregenerate listen to them teach and you are left wondering. They are building upon sand; the rock of sound theology is not under them.

The notion “that love is really all that matters” is now pretty well disseminated throughout the ranks of current evangelism, and for that reason we ought to receive everyone whose intention is right regardless of his doctrinal position, granted of course that he is ready to read the Scriptures, trust Jesus, and pray. The unregenerate sympathies of the fallen human heart adopt this foggy creed eagerly. The trouble is that the Holy Scriptures teach nothing of the kind.

The Apostle Paul warned against what he called “… profane and vain babblings … ” (1 Timothy 6:20; 2 Timothy 2: 16 ). For instance, that of Hymenaeus and Philetus, stating that their words would” … eat as doth a canker … ” (2 Timothy 2:17) and ” … overthrow the faith of some” (2 Timothy 2:8). What was their error? They merely taught a spiritual resurrection instead of a physical one.

“If a man hath the mind to get the start of other sinners and be in Hell before them,” said an old divine, “he need do no more than open his sails to the winds of heretical doctrine, and he is likely to make a short voyage to Hell; for these bring upon their maintainers a swift destruction.”

This is nearer to Paul’s view than is that of the new evangelical latitudinarians. The way of the cross is still narrow.