The Invitation/ Prepared/ Maturing in Christ

Security Guards For Your Faith

2 Tim 3:16 March 1, 1998

Relying mainly on the King James Version of the Bible, I rarely use the many and varied translations that I have purchased over the years. I do own a copy of James Moffatt’s Bible and in it I came across the adjacent sentence from 2 Timothy. That particular wording seemed to express perfectly an idea that I had hid in my heart for some time. Some of the most profound guards of my faith have been provided by the following scriptures.

The first of these scriptures came to me after my son had previously taught on Romans 14 and the wonderful freedom we have in the area of faith. In that chapter and elsewhere in the Epistles, the Apostle Paul emphasizes certain matters, especially truths of faith that we need to be “fully persuaded” about. I know from 2 Tim 3:16 that “All scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness…” I certainly believe that important truth with all my heart. But when my son read from Romans 14:23 “…for whatsoever is not of faith is sin”, I realized that that scriptural reality would be especially helpful, not just to memorize, but to get a hold of fully and make it an integral part of both my being and my living. At the time I was pondering the implications of this foundational verse I was employed by the security department of a local company. Naturally, I was very “security conscious” because of my job. Perhaps that influence helped me view this and other scriptures in a different light. But I know that the Lord used both our study of Romans 14 and my current job to make me appreciate more fully the wonderful protective power of God’s almighty Word! I knew that if I could truly apprehend and be able to act on the simple, but profound, reality expressed in Romans 14:23, then I’d be delivered from and securely protected against innumerable plans and projects that appeared to be sound but, because they were not of faith, would be not only displeasing to God but would, in fact, be an offense against Him. That one scripture verse has helped me sort out and discard both obviously sinful matters as well as many apparently good things that are prompted not by faith, but by my own flesh.

Another verse that has weighed on my heart and has kept coming back to me over the years is taken from Psalm 49. Actually, verses 12 and 20 in that unique psalm addressed to all the inhabitants of the world, says just about the same thing: “Man being in honor and understandeth not, abideth not; he is like the beasts that perish”. Those words, directly from the Holy Ghost, have done more to inspire and incite me to share the Gospel with every person that I possibly can more than any other incentive. Those verses so strongly, but simply, express the true plight of unsaved humanity. These solemn words are a powerful stimulus for me to preach the Gospel, not only through this writing but also to anyone I personally encounter who I discern the Lord has prepared to receive. The “understandeth not” of verse 20 is not knowing Jesus! It implies not having the revelation that He suffered and died to atone for my sins personally, to wash them away and to fill me with the Holy Ghost. All those who are related to me; those who I call friends and neighbors; all who are in any way associated with me – I don’t want them to be without that understanding!

Proverbs 12:10 has spared me a lot of grief, disillusionment and multiplied disappointments. The Word here informs us: “… the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel”. From God’s viewpoint “wickedness” certainly admits of degrees, but here “the wicked” refers to all those still under the curse of fallen nature and still sentenced to the condemnation of the law. From the purely natural perspective we tend to separate people into “good people” and “bad people” according as we estimate they will either do us good or cause us harm. God sees things quite differently. Our Lord Jesus taught this measure of God’s goodness to the rich young man who called Him “Good Master”. The Master pointedly replied: “Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God…” (see Matt 19:16/Mk 10:17/Lk 18:19). As Christians we ought to know beyond doubt, be fully persuaded, that all the truly good things in this life are associated with and come from Him, His Son, the Holy Ghost, and only those people and things the Blessed Trinity uses to bestow blessings and benefits upon us. All others should at least be suspect. The point is, only God knows what is genuinely good and what we really need. We should be cautious of people and things that merely appear good. At best the so-called good people and excellent things can provide us only with what we might want. God alone can arrange for us to obtain what we actually need and by that fulfill the deepest desires of our hearts.

Satan is a formidable foe. His devices for evil should never be underestimated. God’s Word informs us that we need not be ignorant of his plots and plans (see 2 Cor 2:11). The Lord informs us: “… greater is he that is in us than he that is in the world” 1 John 4:4. But the revelation of Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all else and desperately wicked” provides a perfectly balanced insight to our focus on spiritual enemies. This guardian statement is a vigilant sentinel against the fallacy of the frequently quoted accusation: “the devil made me do it!” Just as we should be loathe to get entangled in the restless activities of unbelievers who strive and strain, plot and plan to seek and enjoy the ever elusive “good life”, so we should understand that the source of much evil is an unconverted heart that is sick unto death. And, let it be added, Christians who are more concerned about what they put into their bodies than what proceeds out of their hearts and mouths are not in line with the sentiments of their Savior. “And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Do ye not perceive, that whatsoever thing from without entereth into the man, it cannot defile him: Because it entereth not into the heart, but into the belly … that which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: All these evil things come from within, and defile the man”. Mark 7:18-23

The final scriptural security guard I’d like to consider for now comes from Luke’s Gospel, chapter 16, verse 15. The biblical context is important for our Lord has just related to His disciples the parable of the unjust steward. In His follow-up to the story the Lord Jesus contrasts the unrighteous mammon (reliance on money and wealth) with the true spiritual riches. He concludes by warning that “No servant can serve two masters… ye cannot serve God and mammon” Luke 16:13. Now the Pharisees who overheard all this, being covetous, began to deride Jesus. His reply to them contains that portion in the verse that I would like to highlight. “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.” Luke 16:15 In Jim Bakker’s prison story, I WAS WRONG, the most powerful and telling chapter is the 48th, which repeats the title of the book. It took the loss of his fame, reputation, material possessions and savings as well as the breakup of his family and loss of his personal freedom to bring him to the realization that he had been consumed by the love of money. He wrote; “I often preached a prosperity message”, he writes, “at Heritage USA and on our PTL television programs. But when I began to study the Scriptures in depth while in prison, something I am embarrassed and ashamed to admit that I rarely took time to do at PTL, I was distressed at what I discovered. I realized that for years I helped propagate an imposter, not a true gospel, but a gospel that stated ‘God wants you to be rich’. Christians are ‘King’s kids’, as I often put it. And shouldn’t the King’s kids have the best the world has to offer? The more I studied the Bible, however, I had to admit that the prosperity message did not line up with the tenor of Scripture. My heart was crushed to think that I led so many people astray. I was appalled that I could have been so wrong, and I was deeply grateful that God had not struck me dead as a false prophet!” (I WAS WRONG, p. 394).

How cautious we must be not to get entangled in schemes that only appear to be good. How discerning we must be in the area of faith, lest we presume we’re building on the solid rock of “the faith of God” when all the while our foundation is nothing more than the slippery sand of presumption. What a danger and what deep disillusionment follows when we equate the highly esteemed accomplishments of man with the preferences that God values and honors! As I write this article, the winter Olympics are being played out at Nagano in Japan. On the opening day, the first questions out of the mouth of a stateside anchorman to his television colleague across the Pacific were: “How’s the security over there? Is it tight enough to prevent a tragedy?” We are living in tense times that require strict vigilance. I’ve mentioned just five separate Bible verses that can aid us “in keeping the great securities of your faith intact”. The Scriptures are full of many more solid, reassuring truths that stand watch over the precious deposit of faith given to us. Besides the eight Beatitudes connected with the Sermon on the Mount, there are also seven separate blessings sprinkled throughout the gospels. The promise from Luke 12:37 is most pertinent to our present subject: “Blessed are those servants, whom the lord when he comes shall find watching: verily I say unto you, that he shall gird himself, and make them to sit down to meat, and will come forth and serve them.” Let us all be more scripturally vigilant. For this is one blessing we surely won’t want to miss!