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Thursday, January
24, 2008
The
Not So Great Debate
2 Timothy
2:23-26 But foolish and unlearned questions avoid, knowing that they do
gender strifes. (24) And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be
gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, (25) In meekness instructing
those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance
to the acknowledging of the truth; (26) And that they may recover
themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at
his will. (KJV)
As
Christians, those who should be imitators of Christ, we should be avoiding
foolish and unlearned questions about our faith especially from those that
are not truly seeking a closer relationship with the Lord, but rather are trying
to discredit the sacrifice the Son gave of Himself for the salvation of the
world. Secondly, no one wins an argument; the fact that you engaged in the
situation puts you in a no win outcome because you have lowered your
standards to those of the world and have entered a realm that God doesn’t
operate in. Does God need you to defend Him? When I look through the Bible
I see where He has handled things just fine; and when He decides to get His
point across He is more than capable of doing it without man’s help or
approval. The only way someone is going to recover themselves out of the
snare of the devil is when they make a choice to serve the God of love and
not some self righteous loud mouth who thinks they will be heard for their
much speaking. You want to fight and argue, go on the Jerry Springer show.
You want to serve the Lord, then quit engaging in silly dead end debates
which only breed more strife and contentions.
Matthew 6:5-7
And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they
love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets,
that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their
reward. (6) But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when
thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy
Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. (7) But when ye
pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen do: for they think that they
shall be heard for their much speaking. (KJV)
Why
all these silly debates about prayer in schools or any other public venues?
If that is not enough, then they pull out the soapbox and stand in front of
other public institutions and whine
and debate over the Ten Commandments or the lack of them. Pick your battles
folks and use some wisdom. The Bible says we are to pray without ceasing,
so until this body gives up the ghost I am free to do that no matter what
anyone else thinks or says. So why do you need an audience or a public
venue to pray in when the Bible tells us just the opposite? Are your prayers
going to be more effective if you can say them in a schoolyard or in front
of a government building? I don’t think so.
Many run around and demand their constitutional rights and ignore
the wisdom of God and His instruction on how to live in this world and to keep
oneself unspotted from it. You want to pray in public? Then you have your
reward. If you wish to receive the reward of inheritance then do what the
word of God says and avoid this foolishness and nonsense.
2 Timothy
2:3-5 Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. (4)
No man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that
he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. (5) And if a man
also strive for masteries, yet is he not crowned, except he strive
lawfully. (KJV)
Again if you
wish to receive the eternal crown of life which the Lord will give to His
people then it can only be achieved by doing it according to what the word of
God says in agreement with the law of faith. There are differences in
battles and different strategies that will allow you to be victorious, knowing
the difference and rightly discerning what is of God and what isn’t can
save you from an old fashioned behind the woodshed beating.
2 Chronicles
20:13-15 And all Judah stood before the LORD, with their little ones, their
wives, and their children. (14) Then upon Jahaziel the son of Zechariah,
the son of Benaiah, the son of Jeiel, the son of Mattaniah, a Levite of the
sons of Asaph, came the Spirit of the LORD in the midst of the
congregation; (15) And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants
of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the LORD unto you, Be
not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle
is not yours, but God's. (KJV)
The
difference in battles is simple, when you go into a situation on your own or
should I say engaging in debates because of your self righteous attitude,
you then become subject to defeat, a realm that is not a part of our Lord.
However, if you enter a situation that the Lord is leading then you already
know you are victorious; and a perfect love will cast out all fear and
doubt. Given the fact that the Lord is undefeated and no one has knocked
Him off His throne or even come close, why would someone think He needs us
to defend Him? Why would God need us to defend Him when not only is He
forever settled in heaven, so is His word?
Ephesians
6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against
principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this
world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. (KJV)
Why do you
put a physical face on a spiritual situation and end up like Paul wrote,
shadow boxing, one that beats against the air? If you spent your time in
the word of God and prayer you wouldn’t be wasting so much time in endless
foolish debates and striving over things that are not only of this world,
but you have now lowered yourself to the standard of this realm and are
fighting a losing battle on your own.
Matthew 12:18-20
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well
pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the
Gentiles. (19) He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his
voice in the streets. (20) A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking
flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. (KJV)
Matthew 12
verse 19:
[He shall not
strive ...] He shall not shout as a warrior. He shall be meek, retiring,
and peaceful. Streets were places of concourse. The meaning is, that he
should not seek publicity and popularity. (from Barnes' Notes)
The Lord
Himself is this servant that is being referred to and He set a perfect
example for all to follow. Even though the people tried to make Him a king
at one time, He knew His kingdom was not of this world but that He was sent
here to deliver a message of salvation. The more you realize that our
calling is to deliver a message of salvation in meekness and love, the less
likely you will find yourself getting caught up in a bunch of senseless not
so great debates.
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