“Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed thereto according to thy word” (Psalm 119:9). “Thy word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against thee” (Psalm 119:11).
What shall we study and meditate on? There are many books in the world -- some are good, some are bad. This is true of sermons you can hear and read -- some are good, some are bad. We could suggest as some have that you read nothing other than the Bible. Yet being men and women in a modern world, we are not likely to limit ourselves to that, especially if we are good readers. God gave us a desire for knowledge in many areas, and we fulfill it, sometimes by reading.
Many years ago, in another state, I was asked to preach in a particular church on several different occasions. I suppose I was 39 or 40 then, and the pastor there was considerably younger than myself. I got to know him pretty well, and stayed with him and his young family each time I was in the area. He told me that he read at least one of Charles Spurgeon’s sermons every day. I said, “Very commendable. Spurgeon was a great preacher and left us a great body of work.” The pastor also put a Spurgeon sermon in his church paper each week.
The last time I was there, I met another young couple from his church that was staying in the pastor’s home until their house got repaired. They seemed like a nice couple. A short time later I got word that this pastor fell into sin with the other woman, and left his wife and two children for her. Two homes were broken up! A ministry was destroyed!
What brought about this awful situation? This minister was surely not following the teachings of Spurgeon when he did this. You can’t blame Spurgeon for this, for he was a godly man. It does show that no matter how much a person is claiming to follow sound doctrine, he can err if he is not obeying God’s word. Spurgeon preached the word. Some others he read from, like Arthur Pink, also preached the word. He read his bible regularly. But it doesn’t matter. He could have been reading John Wesley every day. Maybe J.C. Philpot; Or David Wilkerson; Or Billy Graham, or whoever. There had to be something much deeper than which ministers that he was reading. Who was influencing him? This minister himself studied and preached the word. He seemed to have good Bible knowledge. Why did he put another black mark on the cause of Christ? “But whoso committeth adultery with a woman lacketh understanding: he that doeth it destroyeth his own soul” (Proverbs 6:32). The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. We are all flesh and blood. For myself I have to say “but for the grace of God, there go I”.
There is an answer, however. Many, as James says, are only hearers (or readers), of the word .“Be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves” (James 1:22). You see, it is not enough to just hear, or read, or be religious, the word must be in the heart to cause the manifestation of doing good works. James also said
“ …To him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
This person knew. All thought him to be a true brother. God alone knows. Now he surely does not appear to be God’s chosen, unless he repents. Beloved, as the verse which I quoted at the beginning says, we must hide God’s word in our hearts. As our theme verse says, it is a lamp to guide our path. But we must be doers of the word. Remember in Ephesians, that great scripture mountaintop, it says: “ For by grace are ye saved. through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:8-10).
So many, we can sadly say, have utterly ruined their lives by taking their eyes off of Christ. We have all failed Him there, of course, and He has proved able and willing to rescue each of us. Even as He did Simon Peter when he fell into sin. But, to consistently walk with Him is the way of a true believer. As His workmanship, we are created unto good works. God has ordained that we should walk in them.
We are in troubled times in our day. This has caused many to forsake Christ instead of following Him. The eye of a saint needs to be entered on the Lord! For our nation, this is the only answer. For our state, this is the only answer. For our region this is the only answer. For or city, our town; this the only answer. There has never been another answer! All of us must know this! There is no other answer, except Jesus Christ!
Is sin tricking you? Is the flesh tempting you? Are sicknesses discouraging you? Are trials overwhelming you? Are you about to throw in the towel? Stop!! Look up!! Your redeemer is near! Satan can defeat you and I, this is sadly true. But he cannot defeat Jesus! Never! He is the King of Kings, and the Lord of Lords! He is the Alpha and the Omega! He is the Altogether Lovely! Satan may defeat you and I. We may be even allowed to be taken from this world. If we know Jesus Christ, do not let this worry you. Saved by His blood, you will never be taken from Him. Lift up you heads, for your redemption draws nigh. The Lamb of God who takes away our sin can never be defeated!
“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up: That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have eternal life” (John.3:14, 15).
Published by Charles Woodruff- email: oursong2000@yahoo.com
No comments:
Post a Comment