Grace Thoughts
GraceLife Thoughts: Love and Wrath (Part 10)
Have you ever heard of the ‘Cafeteria Bible?’ That’s what a man named Marcion developed in the early 2nd century AD and what U.S. President Thomas Jefferson built in the early part of the 19th century. They both chose to keep the parts of the Bible they liked and throw out what they didn’t.
Even though neither of those ‘Bibles’ are the preferred versions among most ‘evangelical’ Christians today, there’s not much difference in how people ‘use’ God’s Word. Today’s Christians may carry a full translation of the Bible (or have it available on an ‘app’), but they often read only what suits their personal belief system and lifestyle. I think they’ve forgotten what Jesus told the devil – ‘It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’ Or what we read in Proverbs 30 – ‘Every word of God is pure.’
Notice the word ‘every’ in both the Old and New Testaments. ‘Every’ Word of God is pure. ‘Every’ Word that God speaks is our spiritual ‘bread.’ Not only do many Christians not read ‘every’ Word of God, they often don’t know how to use the words they do read. They don’t know how to do what the Apostle Paul told Timothy to do with the Bible – ‘rightly dividing the word of truth’ (2 Timothy 2:15). That simply means ‘handling God’s Word correctly.’
Many modern Christians are not drawn to the Old Testament because they don’t like the God of the Old Testament – just like Marcion. They view God as too mean, too angry, too vengeful, too jealous, not loving or kind. Many Christians struggle with the God they read about in the Old Testament and the Jesus they read about in the New Testament. While most Christians don’t remove the Old Testament or portions of the New Testament from their Bibles, many ‘handle’ their Bibles (or ‘apps’) as if some things God says aren’t important or don’t matter.
Other people, like President Jefferson, don’t buy into the miracles of Jesus. They prefer to view Him as a type of ancient ‘guru’ or ‘holy man’ who told some cool stories about living a ‘moral’ life. Interestingly, Thomas Jefferson called his 84-page ‘Bible’ – ‘The Life and Morals of Jesus of Nazareth.’
Heresy for Breakfast?
I’m trying to be nice here by saying that ‘Christians’ who don’t like the God of the Old Testament or don’t believe in the miracles of Jesus (e.g. Virgin Birth, Healing the sick, Raising the dead, His own Resurrection from the dead, His Ascension into Heaven, etc.) are ‘just wrong.’
Being less nice – if you don’t believe in the miracles of Jesus, you are ‘eating heresy for breakfast.’ You are starting every day on the wrong ‘spiritual’ foot. Your ‘theology’ (beliefs about God) don’t match what God has already revealed about Himself in His Word. If you don’t like the God of the Old Testament because you think He’s a ‘meanie,’ then that’s what you think about Jesus Christ – because Jesus is the Son of God. You can’t divide Jesus from the God of the Old Testament if you ‘rightly divide the word of truth.’ In fact, you are actually ‘mangling’ the Word of God.
Why am I saying things that may ‘offend’ my brothers and sisters in Christ? Because they need to be ‘offended’ – not by me, but by the Truth of God’s Word. We need to ‘wake up!’
Do not be deceived: ‘Evil company corrupts good habits.’ Awake to righteousness, and do not sin; for some do not have the knowledge of God. I speak this to your shame. 1 Corinthians 15:33-35
For it is shameful even to speak of those things which are done by them in secret. But all things that are exposed are made manifest by the light, for whatever makes manifest is light. Therefore He says: ‘Awake, you who sleep, Arise from the dead, And Christ will give you light.’ See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Ephesians 5:12-16
At War
We are ‘way past’ the days of playing nice in Christianity – trying not to be offensive, trying not to make unbelievers or people who think they are believers ‘uncomfortable.’ We are AT WAR!
Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Ephesians 6:10-13
For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6
If you think you’re alone in this battle, think again. Jesus fought it first –
Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, being tempted for forty days by the devil. And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry. Luke 4:1-2
Jesus fought the devil face to face. The devil eventually entered into the traitor Judas Iscariot, which led to Christ’s death on the Cross. However, it was that death that provides our ‘justification.’ Christ’s resurrection from the dead provides our ‘glorification.’ If you don’t believe that, please think again. You are not following the direct guidance of Christ following His encounter with the devil –
The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel. Mark 1:15
‘Repent, and believe in the gospel.’ That’s where our battle begins. Once we ‘repent’ (change your mind) and ‘believe’ in the Gospel of Christ (His ‘good news’), then we have a new enemy and find ourselves in a new war. Be prepared to fight. Look at Ephesians 6 and 2 Corinthians 10 again. Look at it like a warrior in the middle of a war, not as a bystander watching other people fight. If you are a Christian, you are in the middle of a spiritual war.
Manual of War
The human race has been ‘at war’ since Genesis 3. That’s why ignoring the Old Testament is both ridiculous and dangerous. If you don’t understand what God says and does in the Old Testament, you have just missed out on the a major part of your ‘education’ in spiritual warfare.
It is in the Old Testament that we learn how to ‘love’ even as we ‘fight.’ That’s the theme of this study – ‘Love and Wrath.’ God’s angry and we need to be angry about what makes Him angry. We also need to learn from God that He is ‘merciful, compassionate, forgiving.’ Even in the midst of ‘wrath,’ we learn that God is ‘love.’ If you shy away from the Old Testament, you’ll miss that. Don’t do that. Embrace the Old Testament, even as you do the New Testament, and learn from God.
Also study the various ‘characters’ of the Old Testament. Watch as they wrestle with many of the same things we wrestle with in life. See how they worked through their struggles with God’s guidance. What people in the Old Testament learned about God and life is what we need to learn.
Whether you’ve been in the military or not, you probably have an idea of how wars are fought. Warriors (e.g. soldiers, sailors, etc) are trained in accordance with rules and principles of warfare. That includes knowing your weapons and following the direction of your leaders. Who is the leader of the Church? Jesus Christ –
I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. Matthew 16:18
Who did Jesus select to assist Him in leadership of the Church?
Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ Himself being the chief cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord, in whom you also are being built together for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit. Ephesians 2:19-22
By what process did God prepare the manual for spiritual warfare?
God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds; who being the brightness of His glory and the express image of His person, and upholding all things by the word of His power, when He had by Himself purged our sins, sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become so much better than the angels, as He has by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they. Hebrews 1:1-4
What is the process that warriors must follow in order to be successful in battle?
You therefore must endure hardship as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No one engaged in warfare entangles himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who enlisted him as a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3-4
If you are a Christian but have become ‘entangled’ with the affairs of ‘this life,’ you will not succeed. You will not ‘please’ God who ‘enlisted’ you as a ‘soldier.’ No one ‘engaged in warfare’ should do that. To lose ‘focus’ is to lose the ‘battle.’ How do we keep ourselves from becoming entangled with the affairs of this life?
But in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay, some for honor and some for dishonor. Therefore if anyone cleanses himself from the latter, he will be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work. Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife. And a servant of the Lord must not quarrel but be gentle to all, able to teach, patient, in humility correcting those who are in opposition, if God perhaps will grant them repentance, so that they may know the truth, and that they may come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, having been taken captive by him to do his will. 2 Timothy 2:20-26
There is a process to fighting spiritual battles and winning. We find it throughout the Old and New Testaments –
- be a vessel for honor, sanctified and useful for the Master, prepared for every good work
- flee youthful lusts
- pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace
- avoid foolish and ignorant disputes
- don’t quarrel
- be gentle to all
- be able to teach
- be patient
- be humble
- correct those who are in opposition
All of the wars you see Israel fighting in the Old Testament? Don’t skip over them – study them slowly and thoroughly. What spiritual principles do we have from God about how to defeat the enemy? What can we learn from Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Joseph, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon, and other spiritual leaders in the Old Testament that will help us in our lives today? Did those men make mistakes? Absolutely! Did they learn important lessons from those mistakes. Some did. Some didn’t. Can we learn from that? Yes, we can and must.
To follow the ‘lead’ of people like Marcion and Thomas Jefferson by throwing out much of God’s Word is to set ourselves up for spiritual defeat. We cannot win the ‘war’ if we do not follow the ‘full manual’ of God – the Old and New Testaments.
[Podcast version of this study coming soon.]
Confidence in Leadership
It’s important in warfare of any kind that soldiers ‘trust’ their leaders. They need ‘confidence’ in leadership. How does that work? We’ll see in Part Eleven of our study.
Scripture taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
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Founder & Director of GraceLife Ministries View all posts by gracelifethoughts
