Isaiah 1:18, Romans 1:18-20, 1 Peter 3:15, Acts 1:8-11, Proverbs 3:5, Acts 17:11

Summary: The Lord Jesus told His followers to go out and preach the Gospel to every living creature (Mark 16:15). That means using Scripture, thought, reason, and logic under the guidance of the Holy Spirit to show people the need to turn to Christ for salvation.

In today’s butchery of the English language, where emojis are used more than words to share information and ideas, I think that it is time for all of us to get off the machines for a few moments and learn something from the great men of God whose counsel and wisdom have been forgotten. We have allowed the “old paths” (Jeremiah 6:16) of trusted teachings on the deep things of God to be neglected in favor of nonsense that fills most pulpits today and starves the people of the meat of the Word.

One of the signs on the old path that directs us, if we are willing to go down that route, is toward the seriousness of eternity and the destiny of those who are lost in sin, walking around in the dark when it comes to peace with God and the assurance of salvation. Those “old paths” include learning about how the Sovereign LORD expects us to use the gifts and talents He gave us to warn people about the state of their eternal souls. One of the tools which He has given us is the use of reasoning to direct the lost away from the cliff leading to death and instead toward the Savior who offers true rest and peace (Isaiah 1:18; Matthew 11:28-30; John 10:28-30).

I want to use a forgotten word that describes the use of reason as a method of winning souls for the glory of God. The word is “expostulation,” and even I had to consult an online dictionary to see what it meant. This word was used for the title of a collection of evangelistic sermon outlines from days past when the church was actually serious about the Great Commission.

Expostulation is defined as “reasoning with someone in opposition to their conduct. It is pressing upon a person the reason or arguments against the impropriety of their conduct, calling for, in some cases, information that will bring about a change in conduct” (Webster’s 1828 Online Dictionary).

Take a good look at this definition. It flies in the face of modern society’s attitude of “true for you but not for me,” or “Don’t judge,” or to “not have your religion shoved down our throats,” desiring instead to be left alone and contented with their idea of how the world works.

We are not to be intimidated by people and their objections when we try to present the Gospel. We are not fighting them but the powers of spiritual darkness that cover them (Ephesians 6:12). Expostulation starts with fervent prayer that the Spirit of God will rebuke and cast away all wicked spiritual blocks before we reason with people about the condition of their souls. This fancy term is not the exclusive property of pastors, scholars, or anyone with a list of degrees behind their name. We all have the ability to reason with someone. We just need to get out of our respective comfort zones or away from any feelings of inadequacy and stop allowing our fears to be our counselors.

What I want to do is to show you how to use biblically based reasoning and the development of our minds (Romans 12:1-2) for the kingdom of heaven.

The Old Testament prophet Isaiah used “expostulation” (750 B.C) when he warned the nation of Israel that their “worship” of the LORD had become fraudulent, empty, ritualistic, and spiritually dead, going through the motions, and God was sick of it (Isaiah 1:11-15). Isaiah referred to Israel’s attitude towards God as being no better than the perversions of Sodom (Genesis 19:24-25). His preaching hit them hard, with the goal of drawing them back to the gracious mercy of God. Isaiah’s preaching, like all true biblical preaching, dealt with the condition of the people’s sins and the need to repent before the LORD. He called on Israel to talk with the LORD in a rational manner about where they stood with Him:

“Come, and let us reason together,” says the LORD. Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (1:18).

Scripture tells us to exercise our minds, develop logical and rational thinking, and discipline ourselves to learn the word of God and have the mind of Christ (Romans 8:5; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5; 1 Peter 4:1), which means that we develop an attitude of compassion towards the state of the lost as He did (Matthew 9:35-36) and that you trust in God to see that compassion turned into action. That also means you surrender to His Sovereign will. You cannot and should not do anything for the LORD without being willing to crucify your flesh and leave your ego out of the picture (Romans 6:6).

Authentic reasoning goes hand in hand with faith in God (Proverbs 3:5; Romans 1:17; Galatians 3:11). We trust God in spite of the circumstances and difficulties that face us, whatever the situation. This is not what skeptics call “blind faith,” which the Bible never condones or approves. The Bible says that faith is “the substance of things hoped for; the evidence of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1). It is believing in something unseen for which we have good reason.

When Paul explained the Gospel to the Bereans, they afterward searched the Scriptures to see if what he was teaching lined up with what had been written, using the power of reason and thought along with their faith in the LORD and His word to be further enriched and educated in the things of God and in the Lord Jesus’ work of salvation.

The fact that He has risen has renewed my mind and empowered my faith. His promises of redemption for my soul, body, and mind were made real through His death, burial, and resurrection (1 Corinthians 15:1-19). The mind of God conceived the plan of salvation before the foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4). The heart of God brought forth the Person who would carry out that plan. His Divine and only Begotten Son gave His life to save our wicked, foolish souls (John 3:16). Such a plan goes against the sinful and worldly reasoning of the world (1 Corinthians 1:18-25), but it is the only plan God has chosen and implemented, and He has not changed His mind to suit our fickle and finite opinions.

The cross of Christ is God’s weapon that destroys worldly thought and shows the way to the promise of salvation and the joy of eternity with Him.

donaldwhitchard@gmail.com

www.realitycityreverend.com

www.youtube.com/@realitycityreview

 

Matthew 23:27 “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness.”

No one likes to be called a hypocrite, but let’s be real for a moment, shall we? The plain fact of the matter is that everyone can be a hypocrite at times and in one way or another! Now that it can be said that we can all be hypocrites sometimes, let’s delve into the attitudes and behaviors of both the lost and saved people we come in contact with throughout our lives.

Oftentimes, the mindset is that lost people are the rude, unfriendly, inconsiderate and unkind ones, while the saved people are the nicer, friendlier, more thoughtful and considerate ones. From a biblical standpoint, this aspect should ring true, but when it comes to many of our real-life interactions and experiences, the truth, more often than not, seems to be somewhat of the opposite!

Why did Jesus call the Pharisees whitewashed tombs in Matthew 23:27? | GotQuestions.org

As of this writing, I have 2 unsaved friends/acquaintances, one of whom I have known for a long time and another who I have just met in recent months. Then, there are several ‘Christian’ families, friends, and acquaintances who we have known for longer than that and who should be relied on for not being more hypocritical but… (Insert mind-blown emoticon face).

Therefore, you wanna know who are the ones that reach out on their own, who reciprocate emails, gifts, and cards, who let us know that they’re thinking of us too, who invite us to places, and the list of considerations goes on…. It sure isn’t the latter group; I’ll tell ya that!

You wanna guess who are the ones that give unsolicited opinions, advice, and condemnations concerning tough life situations, who show lack of support and instead start online arguments and fights, who go around doing ‘smear campaigns’ to try and make one feel bad about things they cannot help or control, and who don’t reciprocate in sending cards, letters, gifts, and the list of inconsiderateness goes on…. It, more often than not, hasn’t been the former group; I’ll tell ya that too!

Just recently, we were at a car lot trying to purchase a new vehicle, and the dealer there was so open, honest, friendly, and upfront and really tried to help us with everything, so I assumed him to be a Christian. To that, he went on to tell us that he did not believe in ‘hellfire and brimstone but that he believed it is all about being good to people.’ My heart sank…. Once again, the idea that ‘it’s all about being a good person’ is the mindset that seems to prevail in this modern-day culture! (((Sigh)))

There’s a saying that ‘there will be a lot of bad people in heaven and a lot of good people in hell.’ I think what that could mean from one perspective is that the ‘nicer people’ to us in this life will end up in hell because they, unfortunately, trusted in their own good works, and the ‘not so nice people’ to us in this life will end up in heaven because they, fortunately, trusted in Jesus instead!

I don’t want either group to end up in hell, but unless they get this one thing straight, they will! We cannot ever be a ‘good enough person’ by what we do or don’t do to enter into heaven! It is by God’s grace through faith that we are saved and that not of ourselves, so no one can boast!

Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”

We can’t do enough good stuff, be nice to enough people, give enough money, and the list of good works can go on and on! It is only by what Jesus did on the cross to save us; only His blood can wash away our sins, only by His righteousness and holiness, not ours! Please wake up… especially those who think otherwise!

What is the meaning of Ephesians 2:8–9? | GotQuestions.org

Speaking of ‘whitewashed tombs,’ ever since we moved down to this part of the state, we’ve noticed it being ‘spiritually darker’ around here than from where we moved. From seeing young people at the supermarket with Baphomet and pentagram tattoos on their necks, arms and legs, to a young man walking down the street with a jacket that reads on the back, ‘You keep on praying and I’ll keep on evolving,’ to witchcraft/taxidermy/apothecary antique shops downtown, to churches that we’ve visited once or twice and subsequently decided not to go back, which held ‘Ecumenical bible studies,’ and another with a current sign by the highway which blasts, ‘Global Christmas’ (one that will be held there next weekend, by the way)! Umm… talk about being ‘full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness’! Mortifying, isn’t it?!

(Paraphrasing one late comedian, “We can’t do Jack Squat!”) Seriously, we can’t or don’t even amount to a ‘hill of beans or jack squat’ in and of ourselves or through our own merit; we all need Jesus and His righteousness! For even Jesus said, “I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing” (John 15:5).

Now, not all the lost are ‘particularly nicer’ than the saved…. Just in recent weeks, during an online meeting for families dealing with estrangement, one person quoted in the comment section that ‘religion shouldn’t be allowed to come in the way of relationships.’ To that, I’d like to say that for a true believer, it is ‘not about religion but about relationship’!

(Anonymous Quote: ‘Religion’ is a man in church thinking about going fishing, and ‘Relationship’ is a man going fishing thinking about God.)

Therefore, being a Christian becomes who you are, and you can’t just stop being who you are! If family members choose to reject you because of that, then it is not your fault, for even Jesus said that “You will be hated by all men for my name’s sake” (Matthew 10:22). He also said, “Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34).

What did Jesus mean by coming to bring a sword in Matthew 10:34-36? | GotQuestions.org

Just recently, an example of a ‘toxic hypocrite’ came to me in a dream. In this dream were some people who had a house on a septic system but, for some reason, did not have their tank cleaned out for many years! Along came a visitor to their house for a few days, and, subsequently, one thing led to another. Somehow, this visitor was blamed for the whole septic tank stinking!

The moral of the story/dream is that these people were ‘toxic hypocrites’ because they refused to acknowledge or own up to their long-term accumulation to the septic system’s contents but instead chose to blame the many years’ worth of sludge, goo, grime, filth, and fumes on the visitor’s measly few days of contributions! Umm… talk about ‘major toxic hypocrites’!

Matthew 7:3-5 “Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.”

This is why Jesus did not hold back when it came to admonishing the ‘hypocritical Pharisees,’ and He will not hold back on Judgment Day at the Great White Throne Judgment either! Even for us at the Bema Seat Judgment, may we not be found wanting, but instead, may we be found ‘faithful and true’ just as Jesus is faithful and true!

May we also be graced with hearing these words from our Savior’s lips, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant: thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will make thee ruler over many things: enter thou into the joy of thy lord” (Matthew 25:21).

May we always strive to be the ‘lesser hypocrite’ in all aspects of our lives by asking God to help us in all that we say and do every single day in Jesus Christ’s Name! Because, remember, without Jesus, we can do nothing!

Until next time… Maranatha!

Sincerely & In Christ,

Candy Austin

(I have no Accolades….
I am just a Nobody
trying to tell Everybody
about Somebody who
can save Anybody!)

https://youtu.be/_wCTQdmXkUg

My Mission is to be ‘Salt and Light’ to a lost and dying world.
To be an Ambassador for Jesus Christ.
All for Him and His Glory!