Going through life as a mindless heathen is a terrible life strategy.
It results in a chaotic, superfluous existence that ends in a brief stint in hell and, ultimately, being thrown into the Lake of Fire for all eternity.
As we descend even more deeply into the Days of Noah and Lot, I watch numerous shows that bemoan the ‘loneliness epidemic,’ the death of marriage, and the nightmare that the dating scene has become. Watching a bunch of lunkheads attempt to navigate a fallen world without faith is depressing.
None of this is necessary. Too many of this generation have conformed to the pattern of this world and lack the faith to extricate themselves from the despair they find themselves in. They need to renew their minds and release themselves from the hedonism that has them bound.
This is where applied theology comes in.
God loves us and has initiated a plan to ensure that those who love him do not find themselves without hope. This plan is very easy to understand and to implement unless you are arrogant and narcissistic.
So don’t be those things.
When we apply theology to our lives, we begin with what is of first importance.
Salvation is a simple process. Once you hear that Christ died for our sins, you should be cut to the heart, believe it, and confess it. Believing the Gospel is as simple as believing two plus two equals four.
It’s only five words.
Everyone knows the Gospel is true. It is an actual historical event, and those who reject it do so, not because it is untenable, but because they have hardened their hearts against the Lord.
Once you believe the Gospel, God gives you the gift of faith. This faith is your “pearl of great price.” It is your “hidden treasure” that God places in your soul. Once placed, God no longer judges you based on the sinfulness of your soul, but on the perfect faith that he placed within you.
Of course, it is God who grants us repentance of sins, so false confessions of faith in the Gospel are not going to fly.
Salvation occurs in two parts:
- We receive the gift of faith and are saved by God’s Grace Through faith.
- We are commanded to remain in the faith, never to abandon it, until we enter eternity.
Once we receive the gift of faith, that is when we get to work. We are to:
- …continue in the faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the Gospel (Colossians 1:23).
- Work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12).
To assist us in remaining in the faith, there are two primary things we are commanded to do:
- Be baptized and born again by water and the Spirit (John 3:5).
- Partake of the Lord’s supper regularly as an act of remembrance of Christ’s sacrifice for our sins (John 6:56).
As you work out your salvation, God will work in you to will and to act according to his good purpose (Philippians 2:13). This is extremely important because your life will be driven by divine providence rather than your being abandoned by God to your own self-indulgent understanding of the world.
And no one should want to navigate this hostile world without divine guidance.
To assist you in your work, God has provided numerous other devices to guide you through the perils of life. We nurture our faith by:
- Finding a pastor who preaches the Gospel, and a church body that can guide and educate you.
- Praying to your Father in heaven.
- Reading your Bible through the lens of the Gospel because it is the Word of God (Jesus is the Word of God). The Scriptures testify about Jesus (John 5:39).
- Daily repentance of sins.
You are now prepared to develop the most important aspects of being a man or woman of God. Through your gift of faith:
- You will begin to understand the true nature of Love and how to express it.
- You will learn to discern Truth.
- You will learn to behave Righteously.
Once you reach adulthood (18), if you are a man, your two primary challenges are:
- To find your profession and work hard to create resources.
- To find your mate who honors the moral law of God.
If you are a woman (18), your challenges are to:
- Find a Godly man who can provide the resources you will need to build a family and a home.
- Obey God’s mandate to be fruitful and multiply.
Finding a spouse should come naturally unless one of two conditions exist:
- You are Godless and your mind has been invaded by aberrant philosophies such as feminism or unrealistic expectations (as found on social media).
- You do not understand that fornication is a sin that causes cognitive distortions (sociopathy) that weaken or ruin relationships.
For a man to find his profession, he will want to be successful. Success is where hard work and opportunity intersect. If a man is working hard, no matter what his profession is, he will be able to recognize opportunities as they arise.
If a man is not working hard, he should learn from the ant:
“Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise! It has no commander, no overseer or ruler, yet it stores its provisions in summer and gathers its food for harvest. How long will you lie there, you sluggard? A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest—and poverty will come on you like a bandit and scarcity like an armed man” (Proverbs 6:6-11).
If economic conditions are poor, continue to work until they improve. Remember, there was a period called “The Great Depression” that was far worse than anything we are experiencing now.
And people kept on working.
For men, once you have found your profession, then it is time to secure a mate.
It is a man’s responsibility to create the resources that his wife will use to make a home for him and their children. A good wife possesses the following traits:
- She confesses that Christ died for our sins.
- She is humble and not obsessed with material things.
- She obeys and supports her husband.
- She honors God’s moral law and keeps herself pure for her husband (she repents of her sins and stops sinning if she loses her purity).
- She dresses modestly.
- She makes prudent decisions and uses her husband’s resources wisely.
- She is appalled at the idea of having a septum ring and purple hair.
In this day and time, it is difficult to find a woman of character, so a man must be discerning. When a man finds a woman he is attracted to, and she is attracted to him, he courts her in a Godly fashion.
If she is not a Christian, he teaches her the Gospel, and if she receives it, he proceeds with courtship. As the head of the relationship, he teaches her what his expectations are for their relationship.
He then evaluates her faith. The best way to assess a woman’s faith, or anyone’s faith, is to discern if she stands on God’s moral law. Asking her about such sins as homosexuality and abortion are excellent topics to evaluate her faith. If she shows disdain for God’s moral law, then she will show disdain for God.
And eventually, she will show disdain for you.
If she does not like a man’s expectations or finds him boring, the man cuts off the pursuit and moves on. If he persists in his pursuit even though there is no evidence of repentance, he will only bring himself a life of misery (and poverty after she rakes him over the coals in divorce court).
Once married, a man and his wife become one flesh and live by the primary tenets of a Christian relationship. Those tenets are:
- Wives: Submit to your husband as to the Lord.
- Husbands: Love your wives as Christ loves the church, and sanctify her.
The most important person on the planet is your spouse. If you lose sight of that, there will be discord in the family.
The husband is the spiritual head of the relationship. It is his responsibility to ensure that his family is raised in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. He should not exasperate his children by being cruel or oppressive.
His love is guided by the Gospel.
The Gospel is the light of the world. You can shine it on any subject or person to discern if that person is bent on good or evil. This is done by always asking yourself, when someone attempts to influence you spiritually, “What does what you are saying have to do with the fact that Christ died for our sins?”
This question will instantly illuminate what you are hearing to help you determine if a religious or spiritual statement is true.
For instance, you can shine this light on any pastor by listening to his sermons to determine if he is a true purveyor of God’s word or a false teacher. There are two things that should be illumined when you shine the light of the Gospel on a pastor:
- Does he preach about Jesus, who was God in human flesh, or does he preach about you in every way except calling you to repent?
- Does he take a strong stand on God’s moral law and issue the call for repentance?
When a pastor justifies sins such as abortion, homosexuality, gay marriage, transgenderism, fornication, adultery, and social justice, he identifies himself as a false teacher.
Have nothing to do with him.
And there is no such thing as a female pastor. If you are sitting in a church with a female pastor, you are being ignored by God.
Get out.
Any pastor who justifies sin robs the sinner of the opportunity to repent and will be held accountable when he stands before the Lord in judgment. Paul stated that God will visit ‘woe’ on pastors who are ashamed of the Gospel.
Finally, the gift of faith teaches us to behave righteously. We avoid drunkenness, pornography, and fornication because God expects us to be a strong witness to the world.
And we cannot be a witness to the world if we are acting like mindless heathen.
As our family grows, we teach our children the word of God. We instruct them on the commands and decrees of God so that they live long and productive lives.
When we raise our children, we simply follow the Biblical instructions that God has given us:
- Love your children by giving of your time, knowledge, and emotional resources.
- Teach your children the moral law of God (Deuteronomy 6)
- Discipline your children (Proverbs 13:24).
- Provide your children with age-appropriate autonomy (Ephesians 6:4; Colossians 3:21).
The God of peace will be with everyone who puts into practice what they have learned and received from the Apostle Paul (Philippians 4:9).
And there you have it. Faith simplifies our existence.
You be faithful and obedient, and God does all the work.
After God gives you the gift of faith, God will then guide you through this process. You will overcome every obstacle as difficulties that seem insurmountable one day evaporate not long after. God will also place people in your life to help you advance his will, which is in your best interest, and to overcome impossible obstacles.
If you use the faith that God gave you.
If you abandon your faith, you are lost in this world and the next (Hebrews 6:4-8).
So don’t do that.
It is a wonderful arrangement, and it works every time it’s tried.