Stop Trying and Begin Trusting

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How Beautiful Heaven Must Be

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His Commandments Lead Us to Christ

Many years ago I was not unhappy that they removed the ten commandments from the schools because I said; "they're not following them anyway."

Then the Lord spoke clearly to me that the commandments were not there to follow but to show us our own sinfulness opening the door to introducing the gospel.

However, and this is a big one, most people thought we should follow them to be good people. They were living in a culture that viewed Christianity as a club we joined to become better people and the commandments would remind us what to do to accomplish that.

Then God spoke to me again through His word when He said this;

Galatians 3:24

"24 Therefore the Law has become our guardian to lead us to Christ, so that we may be justified by faith."

When I realized the commandments were given so that people would see their inability to be good and the inability to follow them, then they could repent and trust in Christ and what He did for them on the cross.

The sad thing is that even though the commandments were in the schools there were no plaques explaining the way of salvation through Jesus Christ alongside them. This was because the culture as a whole was teaching by example that we could be good by just following those commandments. It kept the children in line to be decent, but it never brought them to salvation.

They treated following the Ten Commandments the way they treated athletes for winning a ball game. You won if you followed the right path, and you could be proud of this accomplishment of being a good person and winning the game.

This mentality fostered arrogance and self-will instead of breaking the will in humility to come to Christ. It was more about societal expectations than it was about Christ. I know this because only a few years ago I asked young people in high schools if they were "Christians", their answer was which church they attended nothing about their salvation experience through faith in Christ.

Once I asked a young man why he wore the "what would Jesus do" bracelet. He said it helped him witness to others when they asked about it. He said it reminded him of the right things to do in particular circumstances and that it protected him from doing the wrong thing. This all sounds very righteous, doesn't it?

I then told him that he was assigning to that object what is the job of the Holy Spirit. Everything he said the bracelet did for him was the job of the Holy Spirit. I told him if he wanted to walk with Christ then he should throw away the bracelet and communicate with Christ in himself and trust the Holy Spirit instead of an object.

When I told this story to other believers they mocked me that I was being legalistic. When I explained to them that using a bracelet to help them with anything in life is no different from a Catholic using St. Christopher medals around their neck to protect them. It was an idol and should be discarded.

Sadly, those Christians argued with me, dismissed the discussion as foolish and as far as I know continued to promote this mentality of the bracelet. Cultural Christians are always thinking up ways to help God doing things their own way.

So many things "Christians" do today are their own idea thinking they are helping God. All they have to do is obey what God said to do and they won't need anything else except their heart and their mouths to speak the gospel to anyone. No money needed, no objects except the Bible needed, no special props, just their Christ-filled heart and their own mouths.

Mark 16:15-16

"15 And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. 16 Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned."

Our world is the one we live in all around us. There are those who are called to go to different countries to preach but most of us are called to live out our Christian lives in our own communities and speaking to others as led by the Holy Spirit. We need not seek others to know our calling, it is the Holy Spirit in us Who gives us our specific marching orders. No one but the Holy Spirit can guide us to where He wants us to go.

Galatians 3:13-14 "…13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us. For it is written: “Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.” 14 He redeemed us in order that the blessing promised to Abraham would come to the Gentiles in Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit."

Fear of Man Brings a Snare

What keeps us from witnessing Christ to the lost and remaining silent when correction is needed for the believer in Christ? The answer is simple, fear of man is the only reason we withhold what is needed with the unsaved and with those who are born again.

Why would we fear rejection from others for doing what is right? The reason is we have placed man above God. When there is no fear of God there will be fear of man.

Galatians 4:16

"16 So have I become your enemy by telling you the truth?"

We know it is the fallen nature of man that hates to be corrected.

Everyone knows the risk of correcting someone we love, that risk is that they will no longer love us. The love of many people is conditional to whether or not we express approval of all that they do and say. When we correct someone who is wrong or sinning often the response is to retaliate through continual disrespect and worse bringing in others to hate us too through gossip.

When we use the Bible to explain our concerns to those we love often we are dismissed, rejected, and even punished for our effort.

Most "Christians" today have made a god in their own image. They have such a high opinion of themselves that what they say and want towers above what God said in His Word.

Those who have elevated themselves above God by rejecting much of the Bible will not accept anyone who declares the Bible to be true by actually following it.

We are not likely to be rejected for being against abortion, or homosexuality, or transgenderism, those are widely accepted views among "evangelicals." However, bring up the subject of the permanency of marriage, one man for one woman for life without divorce or remarriage, and we find ourselves being punished and spurned and lied against for speaking the truth about this matter. Many other such things have been rejected by most Christians that are commands of God.

Many, perhaps most Christians today have been deceived in many ways claiming to believe the Bible but dismissing most of what is in it. It has become an amulet they carry around to look spiritual, even the pages have been marked inside, but the obedience is only partial obedience and rejection of the things they do not personally want to believe.

James 4:4

"4 You adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore, whoever chooses to be a friend of the world renders himself an enemy of God."

1 John 2:15-17

"Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. / For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh, the desires of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not from the Father but from the world. / The world is passing away, along with its desires; but whoever does the will of God remains forever."

Those who do not love the Bible enough to follow all of its principles do not love the brethren. Loving the brethren means our love will include often correction according to the Bible. Those who reject what God says do not love Him or the brethren.

Ephesians 4:29 says, "Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen".

We are commanded to edify one another in the Word. This edification is not praise or flattery, it is encouragement to obey God's Word.

John 13:35 "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another".

Love is when we care more about the Spiritual condition of our brothers and sisters in Christ than we do about being seen as special.

Pride Prevents Salvation

Those who are full of pride and think they know everything never listen to anyone else.

One of the hallmarks of narcissists is their propensity to judge everything, even the smallest matters that are not sin but just different from what they would do.

They will judge the kind of food you eat, the kind of car you drive, whether or not you have pictures on the wall in your house, and how many times you shop or don't shop. When the narcissist cannot find anything real to judge us about they will make something up.

This is what the devil did with God. He convinced Eve that God was doing something wrong by not allowing her to eat one fruit in a garden that was full of many different satisfying fruit she was allowed to eat. The focus of the devil was what she couldn't have not the need to be grateful for what she did have.

With narcissists if you have a flaw or trait they don't like then you are judged as all bad and treated with disrespect. If you have a trait they do like, then you are all good and treated with respect. As long as a person treats them as superior or special they are golden. Narcissists cannot see the whole person and accept the flaws with the good traits, they only see what they want to see and refuse to accept anyone who is not just like them, and in their mind, they are worthy of respect and honor.

The devil is behind the antics of the "know it alls" who can see five minutes of activity and judge an entire life based on their desired belief of the meaning of those five minutes.

Those who have very high opinions of themselves never listen to anything that is not praise of them. It is not praise we need, it is correction because life is full of flaws and mistakes that need setting right. Without correction and a proper attitude toward it there is no spiritual and emotional growth.

Those who face their own flaws, and evaluate them according to the Bible will grow in holiness. Those who only want to pretend they have no flaws and will not face their own demons will grow worse as they grow older. The longer they wait to repent the less likely they will ever repent.

It has been my personal experience that the hardest people to reach for Christ have been those who have been raised in the false modern system of "church." They have been made to feel special for being a Christian but have never been born again. They tend to camp on rules they make and misinterpret much of the Bible to fit their own idea of truth.

Those who have learned all the lingo within the church system and developed a high opinion of themselves are often arrogant and resistant to the gospel. They will hear it and claim they have salvation but there is no fruit of God's Spirit in their attitudes. There is no love for one another, just continual competition to be superior.

Galatians 5:22-23 - "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things, there is no law."

When Christ changes us into a new creation it is in response to our realization that we are wicked and need to be saved from that sinfulness, and that Christ is the only way. He changes us when we want to be changed by Him. He will not change someone who thinks they can change themselves and pretend to be good in their own effort.

The easiest people for me to converse with have been those who had never heard the gospel and were interested and fascinated by it. The didn't necessarily accept it but they were not hostile as so many "churchgoers" have been because they came thinking they were adding something to Christ, as though their decision was what got them to heaven, without any desire for Christ to change them.

There can be no salvation when a person hangs onto pride and arrogance to feel superior. Salvation comes from admitting our sinful nature and that we are unable to save ourselves. Christ paid the debt for our sin on the cross, and then rose from the dead, no man can do that for himself.

God hates pride; we must learn to hate what God hates and to love what God loves. How much do you hate pride?

Proverbs 8:13 “To fear the LORD is to hate evil; I hate pride and arrogance, evil behaviour and perverse speech.”

Proverbs 11:2 “When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom.”

Proverbs 16:5 “The LORD detests all the proud of heart. Be sure of this: They will not go unpunished.”

Proverbs 16:18 “Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall.”

James 4:6 “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.””

1 Peter 5:5 “Young men, in the same way, be submissive to those who are older. All of you, clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, because, ‘God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.'”

Luke 14:11 “For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.””

Let's remember when someone has rejected Christ and us because we belong to Christ, then we are instructed to walk away and leave them to God. Remaining with them will only mean conflict on their part and ultimately ruin our own walk with Christ.

2 Corinthians 6:17

"17 Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate,” says the Lord.

“And do not touch what is unclean;

And I will welcome you."