| June 14, 1998 |
Vol. I, No. 8
|
Paul told Timothy, “From childhood you have known the holy Scriptures which are able to make you wise for salvation...” (2 Tim. 3:15). We cannot determine God’s will by human instincts. The prophet Jeremiah wrote long ago, “O Lord, I know the way of man is not in himself; it is not in man who walks to direct his own steps” (Jer. 10:23). Isaiah likewise affirms that we do not learn God’s will by searching our own hearts, for God says, “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts” (Isa. 55:8-9). Jeremiah further records, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked...” (Jer. 17:9). Thus it is obvious that we do not learn God’s will by searching our own hearts. How then do we know what God wants us to do?
We learn God’s will for us by studying His word, the Bible. Paul says in 1 Cor. 2:7-13 that the will of God, which had once been a mystery, was revealed or made known to him and to other inspired men in his time. When Paul, Peter, John and the other inspired men preached, they were preaching the precise words re4vealed by God. They later put these same words into written form and we have the in the writings of the New Testament.
Again, Paul says, “By revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I wrote before in a few words, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets” (Eph. 3:3-5).
Thus only by studying the Bible can we hope to know God’s will--and only by obeying it can we hope to please Him. “These are written that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing, you may have life in His name” (John 20:31).
--CRJ
Matthew chapter four and Luke chapter four both record the temptation that Jesus went through as He was about to begin His earthly ministry. John tells us in 1 John 2:16 that there are three avenues of temptation: the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These Satan used to tempt Eve in the Garden of Eden, Genesis 3:1-6. Eve noted that the forbidden fruit appealed to the appetite, it appealed to the eyes, and it appealed to the pride in its promise of worldly wisdom. By the temptation she was overcome, thus she sinned. These same three avenues of temptation were used, unsuccessfully in tempting Jesus. Satan appealed to the hunger of a Man who had fasted forty days and nights. Jesus answered, quoting Deuteronomy 8:3, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God." The devil turned to the lust of the eyes, taking our Lord up to a high mountain and inviting Him to feast His eyes on all the kingdoms that could be His by bowing to the will of Satan. This time, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 6:13, "You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve." Finally, Satan appealed to the avenue of pride: Jump off the pinnacle of the temple. God the Father will not let You be harmed. Has He not promised in Psalm 91:11-12 to protect You with angels if necessary Satan had misused Scripture in an attempt to entice God's Son to turn from God and serve the devil. He sought to get Jesus to tempt His divine Father. Once again, Jesus relied on the Scripture to answer the deceits of the devil, quoting Deuteronomy 6:16, "You shall not tempt the Lord your God." Luke says that "when the devil had ended every temptation, he departed from [Jesus] until an opportune time." (Luke 4:13). Jesus would face temptation again in the future, but for now Satan had depleted his arsenal.
Note again that Jesus faced the same three avenues of temptation that Eve faced. Eve failed because she failed to properly believe and respect the word of God. Jesus succeeded because He did rely upon and fully believe God's word. Thus it is said in Hebrews 4:15 that Jesus was "in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin."
When we face temptation, we will either face it as Eve who believed the tempter rather than her heavenly Father--or we will face it as did Jesus who knew and believed God. If we are going to successfully overcome temptation, we must study and know God's word, and fully trust Him to be true and trustworthy. This is the secret of successfully overcoming the deceits of Satan, our mortal enemy.
--CRJ
Success! What is it, and how do we achieve it? Of course, we must realize that the word does not mean the same thing to everyone. Webster says success is the “favorable termination of a venture; specifically the attainment of wealth, favor, or eminence.” So we see that success is measured by gains, by the achieving of goals.
In the business world, success is most often measured by (1) material wealth--houses, lands, automobiles, boats, bank roll, etc., and (2) by title and the power inherent therein--president, vice president, manager, etc. In the entertainment field a person’s success is measured by the first of these considerations combined with his current popularity. Taking our cue from the business and entertainment fields, most of us are likely to judge our success and that of our friends by these material standards--wealth, power, popularity, etc. But is that all there is to success?
Leroy Brownlow, in “Sermons You Can Preach,” tells about an important business meeting held in Chicago in 1923. Present were ten men from the world of business and finance who had risen far above their peers--successful men, as the world views success. Included were presidents of the world’s largest steel company, the largest utility, the New York Stock Exchange, the National City Bank, and the Bank of International Settlement, as well as a member of the cabinet of the President of the United States and four other men who were equally successful in their chosen fields of business endeavor. But 25 years later, two of those same men had served time in prison and another had died a fugitive from justice. Two more of those “successful” men had died bankrupt. Another was insane and three had committed suicide. There must be more to success than material wealth and power!
Into a world where many acclaim success to be determined almost wholly by the abundance of the things which a man possesses, comes the drastically different outlook of Jesus Christ: “One’s life does not consist in the abundance of things he possesses” (Luke 12:15). He goes on to explain, “Life is more than food, and the body more than clothing” (vs. 23). He even insists that it is sometimes advisable to forsake houses, lands, etc., in order to provide for real success, lasting success, Mark 10:29-30.
In Luke 16:19-31, the Lord told the story of two men. One was a success, the other a failure. Do we have trouble knowing which man was successful? Most folks in our society would probably be inclined to pick the wrong man--until verse 23 is read. Let it be clearly underscored that the rich man did not fail BECAUSE he was rich, but his riches MAY have been a by-product of wrong goal-setting. The poor man was not saved because he was poor. There is no virtue in poverty, nor is there necessarily sin in prosperity. But there is virtue in finding contentment with one’s lot in life, be it little or much. Material gain is not the stuff real success is made of, because material gain is temporary. Today’s success in worldly endeavors may be tomorrow’s failure.
Jesus spoke in Luke 16:11 of true riches--alluding to eternal life in heaven. Attainment of the true riches, real success, has its basis in goal setting priorities, just as the attainment of material wealth does. To go to heaven, a person must set his mind on things above, spiritual things, Col. 3:2. He may be blessed with many earthly possessions, but the treasure of his heart is a home in heaven. This is the treasure that death cannot take away from us. This is true success, offered to us and made available in Christ.
For the Israelites of his day, Joshua summed up the way to success: “This book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success” (Josh. 1:8). We live in the day of a better law with better promises and a superior Mediator, Heb. 8:6. If we will meditate upon the precious gospel of Christ and follow its guidance, the goal of heaven will be obtained. Jesus, our forerunner has gone there already to make our reservation, Heb. 6:19-20; John 14:1-3. Our success is assured. Real success. But if we by ignoring the claims of Jesus and His gospel upon us, we refuse Him who speaks from heaven, Heb. 12:25, we will miss the true riches, Matt. 16:26. With Jesus, we cannot fail. Without Him, we cannot succeed.
--CRJ