Proverbs 29:18

“Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.”

By now, I hope that we have established that the above verse is about the proper teaching and preaching of God’s Holy Word. Even just reading the scriptures is so important, that the Devil will tempt you not to read because you don’t understand.

I had a conversation with a lady from the church I pastor this morning. She was talking about reading in the book of Luke. As she was about to read, the devil comes along and tells her, ‘you don’t understand this anyway; don’t read it.’ But she perseveres; and lo and behold, the Holy Spirit teaches her about producing fruit from a parable of Jesus’ in Luke 13:6-9. She, by the power of the Holy Spirit, was challenged to work at producing more fruit in her Christian life.

This is why it is important to read the Bible and to allow God’s Holy Spirit that lives in us to show us the truth of the scriptures. The Holy Spirit always leads us into truth, to obedience and to change. He ever lives to guide us into a deeper and more open relationship with the Lord.

We have shown and the scripture teaches that when the Word of God is read, preached and made available to the masses, it acts as a restraint against the progress of evil in a society. This is not just about Christians per se, but all peoples are restrained by the proper teaching and ready access to the Bible. This why there is such a push to remove the Bible from the public forum.

Here in the Toronto area, we have a situation where a member of the Toronto city council is trying to make it either very difficult or impossible for a church group to rent a city facility to host a church service. The push to remove the truth from the public is very, very real. You see, it is impossible to lie to people who know the truth. It is like knowing authentic currency and then coming across counterfeit currency and being able to identify it. When we have the truth of God’s word openly taught, openly and readily available to the public for consumption, then when lies come along, one is able to spot them and avoid them.

Let us take a look at a phenomenon that is happening right now; we see it in the malls, in the stores, we see it in classrooms and in very public places.

Exodus 20: 12, “Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the Lord thy God giveth thee.”

I was taught this as a child. I am commanded from the Ten Commandments to ‘honor’ my parents. To respect them, to carry their names well and to listen to them.

In the New Testament, we see Ephesians 6: 1-3, “Children, obey your parents in the Lord: for this is right. Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise; That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth.”

This adds fuel to the fire by further explaining the idea of honoring your parents. We are called to obey our parents in the Lord. I am to do what I am told. This implies submission and humility. But today we have a society that encourages kids to disobey their parents. The government has gone behind parents’ backs and provided to their children things that the parents have not consented to. Children can get contraceptives and vaccinations that the parents forbid by going around their parent’s authority through the schools. It happened to my wife and I as parents; we found out that our kids could and did get stuff at the school that we had forbidden.

There is a deliberate plan to subvert the parental authority. Many of the child protection agencies, both in the US and in Canada, have the position that the children belong to the state, not the parents. Thus, the state can subvert the parent’s authority. They can only do this because the idea that children must obey their parents and the fact that the children belong to the parents has been removed out of the public sphere. Children used to be taught, even in public schools, that they should obey their parents. I was. Now they are told that they can threaten their parents if they do something that they, the child, does not like.

The entire chain of authority has been overturned. Now, we have a society of unruly, undisciplined kids that have been unleashed on our teachers, our police forces and our society. The children have ‘cast off restraint’ since there is no revelation of the truth.

Further, we discussed some verses from Timothy, verses of instruction and clarity to the young preacher about the power of the Holy Word of God. In 2 Timothy 3: 16-17, we see these verses:

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

The Word of God is profitable. This is very important. The world system says that the Word of God is outdated, no longer relevant; but God says it is profitable.

We talked in the previous lessons about doctrine and reproof, and we have begun to talk about good works; and we will get there today as well. But if you do not think that the Word of God is profitable, then there is no desire to read it, to study it and to obey it. So, our very mind frame must be in line with the mind frame of God. Just like the lady I mentioned from this morning, she had the mindset that the Word of God is profitable; thus, when tempted not to read, she was able to resist the temptation, and God made the reading of the Book profitable to her.

I am amazed at how many of God’s people do not make even the reading of God’s Word a priority. I am not perfect, far from it, but if I go a day or so without reading the scriptures, and sadly it can happen, I get the Holy Spirit in me calling me out on it; and then I repent and read it. The Bible is profitable and valuable; it is God’s message to us, to mature us and mold us into the image of Jesus.

How do you view the Holy Word of God?

Since the resurrection of the nation of Israel in May 1948, we have been in the last days. We have seen the rise of the New World Order as a system that is subverting the sovereignty of nations, infiltrating religion and exposing compromise, trying to silence or squash true Godly churches and trying to unify the world under global strategies. Soon, either by death or by the Rapture, we are going to be giving an account of the fruit that we have produced in the life we lived after we were saved.

Last week we began to look at Romans 12:1-2 in conjunction with Proverbs 29:18 and 2 Timothy 3:16-17. We talked about giving ourselves as living sacrifices to the Lord, and we examined verses like this in Matthew 6:33:

“But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Or this one from the Gospel of Luke, Luke 9:23:

“And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

These are powerful and profitable verses that remind us that God wants us to surrender our lives. There are many who think that they would die for Jesus. But most are not living for Him. If you are not willing to be a living sacrifice, you will not be a dead one. All the people who died for the cause of Jesus Christ, first lived for Him.

Today we will explore the second part of Romans 12:1-2. Let us be reminded of the verses at hand:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

Once we have made the decision to present our bodies to Jesus for His use, we are then instructed to ‘not be conformed to this world.’

Have any of you ever made frozen lollies? You make a juice of some kind, then you pour the liquid into the molds, place a stick in them and let them freeze. The juice takes on the shape of whatever mold you put it in. The idea of being conformed is the same thing. But this is not really a physical thing; it is the mind that we are to work on. Notice that, in the next phrase, the transformation take place by the ‘renewing of the mind.’ In 1 Peter 1:15-16 we see this:

“But just as He who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do, for it is written: ‘Be holy, because I am holy.'”

As well, see 2 Corinthians 6:16-17:

“What agreement can exist between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said: ‘I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from among them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you.'”

When we think of being holy, there is an idea of being pious. Most often, that is seen in a negative connotation. But God is Holy; the word really means separated. God is separated from us; He is perfect, first of all, and this separates us, so we need to be saved through Jesus. And when we are covered in Jesus’ holiness, we can fellowship with God; He is no longer separated from us. But in a practical sense, God’s wants our way of thinking and subsequently acting to be separated from the world; we are called to be Holy. Our thoughts, our opinions and our very framework for life should be solely based on the Word of God.

Many Christians want to transform the way they act, but actions are a symptom, not a cause. First, we must change the way we think. We must stop conforming to the thought processes of the world. Let me give an example:

The world teaches that a man and woman can live together without going through a marriage process; it is all the same. But it is not; God expects there to be a marriage ceremony of some kind. Whether big or small, civil or religious, there must be a ceremony of some kind and the legal acknowledgement that they are now one person. So, a saved person who is in a relationship must reject the mindset of the world and accept God’s mindset. A young person who is being taught at school that they do not have to submit and obey Mom and Dad, must suppress these ideas with the truth of God’s word and not conform to the world philosophy.

Once we have decided to surrender our bodies, the next step is to work on not conforming to the world system. This takes self-examination; you and I need to ask questions? What does God say about this topic? What does the Bible teach about this situation? How would God have me handle this? From time management, money management, how we exist in our marriages, raise our children, what friends we have, the church we attend, and on and on we go. What must I do to stop conforming to the world? Once you make the move, the Holy Spirit will step in and assist you. He is here to guide us into all truth, thus helping us to conform to God’s holiness and not the world system. See John 16: 13-14:

“However, when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. For He will not speak on His own, but He will speak what He hears, and He will declare to you what is to come. He will glorify Me by taking from what is Mine and disclosing it to you.”

Notice it says “He will guide you into all truth.”

You and I must be willing to follow. Now we have surrendered our bodies; and as we are no longer conforming to the world, but conforming to the Word of God, we can begin the process of doing good works in our service to the Lord and be ready to face the judgment that for sure is coming our way.

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca

Proverbs 29:18, “Where there is no revelation, the people cast off restraint; But happy is he who keeps the law.”

Thanks for the responses over the past few weeks with regard to these articles/lessons. Writing these lessons challenge me as I walk with the Lord. They force me to take stock of how I love, how I live and how I serve. Thanks for the encouraging emails and for the ones that make me study harder as well.

Over the past few weeks, we have explored the above verse from Proverbs. This verse from Proverbs 29:18, as we have shown, is not a verse about ‘casting a vision,’ or about setting goals, or about anything other than the proper teaching of God’s word. You may say, Sean, you are just repeating this. I am because it has been misused over and over again; it has been taken out of the context that God intended, and that can be dangerous.

People don’t perish because of a lack of goals, or a lack of ambition or lack of something to focus on. They perish because the Word of God is not clearly and skillfully taught. We also live in a time when even in the Lord’s churches there is a lack of disciplined living. In casting off what many feel is the religious legalism of the very conservative churches, we have swung the other way; and now sin is okay. We no longer err on the side of caution, but push the envelope as to what is acceptable.

Let me offer a sad reality of what can happen when people do not have a clear, doctrinally sound and skilled revelation of the word of God. There is a large ‘church’ here in Mississauga, the city where I pastor; it runs in the thousands. Just yesterday, I was saddened to learn from transcripts of the pastor’s own words, both in lectures at seminaries and from sermons at the church, that he deems the blood sacrifice of our Lord Jesus as unnecessary for salvation. He deems that a loving God cannot be loving if death and bloodshed are needed for redemption. He completely denies the substitutionary death of Jesus for our sins.

How many people sit in this church each week, have been there for years, and yet have never heard the true Gospel? They are involved, may be teachers and leaders, but they have never been saved. Why would any seminaries have this man to lecture to their students? It is because of a lack of the proper revelation of God’s word, both on the side of the school and the students. So, let us put this in the light of the truth. It is God himself who performed the first blood sacrifice; He set the example of how our sins are covered. We see this in Genesis 3:21,

“Unto Adam also and to his wife did the Lord God make coats of skins, and clothed them.”

Adam had tried to cover their sinful shame with the leaves of a fig tree, but what was required to cover their shame and nakedness were skins, not leaves. The only way to get skins from an animal is to kill it. Something died to cover our sin (Hebrews 9:22). How many people who attend this ‘church’ will meet Jesus one day and hear the words “I never knew you.”

We paired our look at Proverbs 29:18 with 2 Timothy 3: 16-17,

“All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.”

We showed that proper revelation of God’s word contains three very important elements: doctrine (the fundamental and eternal principles of the Scriptures), reproof, and correction. (Reproof is defined as “an expression of blame or disapproval.” Correction is defined as “a change that rectifies an error or an inaccuracy.” Thus, reproof is pointing out sin and wrong; correction is then doing it the right way). And when doctrine and reproof take hold, we are then prepared to do good works.

Today, we will begin to look at the process of how we go about doing good works. We are not doing these good works to be saved, but as evidence that God is actively working in us to make the right choices and be disciplined in the way that we live amongst the lost. To be able to do that, we will need to look carefully at two very familiar verses and apply them, through the power of the Holy Spirit to our lives. Let us look at Romans 12: 1-2:

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

The great apostle Paul, in chapter 7 of Romans, tells us of the fight that happens between the Spirit of God in us and the flesh that is in its death throes. He is almost at the point of despair, and he calls out to the Lord for help. In chapter 8 we learn that we are no longer under condemnation (8:1) and that nothing can separate us from God’s love (8:38-39). In chapters 9-10 he takes off on a bit of a tangent, talking about his fellow Israelites; and in chapter 12 he jumps right in all the way along, led by the Holy Spirit; and he is pleading with us, “I beseech you.” What is it that he is beseeching us to do? The answer is found in verse 1, “that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice.”

God no longer needs or wants dead offerings anymore. What He wants are people who are dead to self and the cares of this world. People who put Him first above and beyond everything. People who seek His pleasure in all things first and not their own. We are commanded to do this all the way through the Bible.

Matthew 6:33, “But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”

Matthew 6:24, “No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Joshua 24:15, “And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell. But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.”

Psalm 143:10, “Teach me to do Your will, For You are my God; Let Your good Spirit lead me on level ground.”

Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.”

Mark 8:35, “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

Matthew 16:24-25, “Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.'”

Luke 9:23, “And he said to them all, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow me.”

I can go on and on for pages and pages, but the point is this: If you and I are to take the proper teaching of doctrine, if we are to see the fruit of proper reproof and correction in the bearing of ‘good work,’ the first step is to surrender ourselves to the Lord. Lose all sense of self and any purpose other than His. What is God’s purpose for me? No matter what it costs? No matter what I lose, no matter where it goes, no matter who goes with me, I must serve Him and Him alone. I surrender my hopes, dreams, ambitions and desires to one simple goal: what does God want? This decision will frame the way you think about everything that happens after that. Every event will simply be judged by is this God’s will or not? If it is, then it is okay no matter the outcome.

Many churches today have people who come only to see what God can give them: health, wealth and prosperity. But in truth, the path to growth in Jesus, the path to maturity is how much we can give and/or give up for Him, His causes and His Kingdom. Who will be wholly invested like Jesus was? He was wholly invested right down to His beaten body and shed blood. What about you and me? Are we sacrifices for and to Him? If not, what are we doing with the salvation that Jesus bought for us?

Look at what Paul wrote in Galatians 2:20: “The life I now live is by faith in Jesus, who gave Himself up for me.” Go and read once again Matthew 26:36-46 and see that Jesus prayed 3 times to let this cup pass; but not my will, Father, yours be done. Jesus, the man, understood the anguish and the pain He was about to suffer – but not my will, Father, yours be done. As living sacrifices, we must be willing to suffer as needed to self so that Jesus can produce in us the good works that please Him.

These are the last days; and soon, maybe sooner than you think, we will all meet Jesus face to face and give an account of our lives after salvation (2 Corinthians 5:9-10). How will our judgments go, oh Lord? Let me submitted to your will only and not mine. What about you?

“So we aspire to please Him, whether we are here in this body or away from it. For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive his due for the things done in the body, whether good or bad.”

Missionarybaptistchurch76@yahoo.ca