Judges 17. The first appendix: Some precautionary principles before studying apostasy.Title: Judges 17. The first appendix: Some precautionary principles before studying apostasy.
Last night we learned that forgiveness of one another must be done in the way that God in Christ has forgiven us. He demands that we forgive one another without debating the weight of the sin or to whom it injured. In fact, we are to know that the injury was done to the law of God and not me or someone else, and therefore the injury was done to God alone. If you sinned against me, Jesus as a third party forgave the sin without consulting me and asking my approval. I must forgive with this in mind and leave all judgment, retribution, vengeance, or discipline in the hands of the Lord.
When love is empowered by the Spirit within the believer, all are loved, friend and enemy, because God has done it.
1Pe 3:8 To sum up, let all be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit;
1Pe 3:9 not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead; for you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing.
1Pe 3:10 For, "Let him who means to love life and see good days Refrain his tongue from evil and his lips from speaking guile.
1Pe 3:11 "And let him turn away from evil and do good; Let him seek peace and pursue it.
1Pe 3:12 "For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous, And His ears attend to their prayer, But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil."
1Pe 3:13 And who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good?
1Pe 3:14 But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. And do not fear their intimidation, and do not be troubled,
1Pe 3:15 but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts,
We have no idea why people do what they do. We have no idea why a person who has been exposed to the great truth of the word of God, casts it aside in favor of the old man and the world. Heck, we don't understand why we do the same thing at times. These are more of the mysteries of reality in which the Sovereignty of God and the free-will of man coexist.
The temptation of the flesh is to consider others in the way of the world, which is based on merit and judgment. We must continually seek the face of God and require that He help us to continually have a clean heart.
Psa 51:8 Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.
Psa 139:23-24 Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me and know my anxious thoughts; And see if there be any hurtful way in me, And lead me in the everlasting way.
The coexistence of the sovereign will of God and the free will of man will always contain many mysteries.
Let's look at one example of such a mystery. In this case we have the sovereignty of God and the free will of angels.
Dan 10:10 Then behold, a hand touched me and set me trembling on my hands and knees.
Dan 10:11 And he said to me, "O Daniel, man of high esteem, understand the words that I am about to tell you and stand upright, for I have now been sent to you." And when he had spoken this word to me, I stood up trembling.
Dan 10:12 Then he said to me, "Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words.
Dan 10:13 "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.
How is it that angels rebelled against God? How is it that they are able to prevent an elect angel from delivering God's message? It is clear that demons can affect the workings of men and create havoc in a universe that is sovereignly ruled by God.
"It (Christianity) thinks it is a civil war, a rebellion, and that we are living in a part of the universe occupied by the rebel. Enemy-occupied territory - that is what this world is. Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, you might say landed in disguise, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage." [C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity]
God's good creation has been seized by hostile, evil, cosmic forces, who have been defeated by Christ, and against whom we presently fight.
These demonic forces seek to destroy God's plan for the world and for mankind. God has allowed this faction under Satan to have a certain amount of influence in the world and in the souls of men, but God has warred against them in the person of Jesus Christ, who defeated them on the cross while simultaneously taking all our sins upon Himself and setting us free. This is the invisible war or the Angelic Conflict. The church is a weapon in the hand of God and is carrying out the war on the side of victory in the short time that Satan's army has before their final judgment. You and I have the privilege of fighting in this war.
"Some people think they can imagine a creature which was free but had no possibility of going wrong; I cannot. If a thing is free to be good it is also free to be bad. And free will is what has made evil possible. Why, then, did God give them free will? Because free will, though it makes evil possible, is also the only thing that makes possible any love or goodness or joy worth having. A world of automata - of creatures that worked like machines - would hardly be worth creating. The happiness which God designs for His higher creatures is the happiness of being freely, voluntarily united to Him and to each other in an ecstasy of love and delight compared with which the most rapturous love between a man and a woman on this earth is mere milk and water. And for that they must be free." [ibid]
We will never understand all of God's purposes, and so we leave them in God's hands and we fix our eyes on Him. He is your father, your mother, you faithful brother and friend all in one.
Psa 34:1 A Psalm of David when he feigned madness before Abimelech, who drove him away and he departed.
I will bless the Lord at all times; His praise shall continually be in my mouth.
Psa 34:2 My soul shall make its boast in the Lord; The humble shall hear it and rejoice.
Psa 34:3 O magnify the Lord with me, And let us exalt His name together.
Psa 34:4 I sought the Lord, and He answered me, And delivered me from all my fears.
Psa 34:5 They looked to Him and were radiant, And their faces shall never be ashamed.
Psa 34:6 This poor man cried and the Lord heard him, And saved him out of all his troubles.
Psa 34:7 The angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear Him, And rescues them.
Psa 34:8 O taste and see that the Lord is good; How blessed is the man who takes refuge in Him!
Psa 84:12 O Lord of hosts, How blessed is the man who trusts in Thee!
Isa 26:3 "The steadfast of mind Thou wilt keep in perfect peace, Because he trusts in Thee.
Isa 26:4 Trust in the Lord forever, For in God the Lord, we have an everlasting Rock."
"Satan put into the heads of our remote ancestors the idea that they could "be like gods" - could set up on their own as it they had created themselves - be their own masters - invent some sort of happiness for themselves outside God, apart from God. And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history - money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery - the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy." [ibid]
Carl Marx and those who followed his reasoning were sure that they found a way to fix all of this without God, and the result of their experiments have been the greatest of human disasters.
God created us, designed us. We are dependent upon Him. He is the source of our life, meaning the true life of goodness. There is no use for us to ask Him to give us a happiness and goodness that is independent from Him. It simply doesn't exist. |