“That by testing you may be able to discern the will of God…” Romans 12:2
If there’s a crisis of faith in America it means that there’s a crisis in biblical discernment. In other words, a good many Christians ignore or are confused about what the Bible says about life. So, let’s look at the issue. Let’s get to the bottom of what it means to live biblically in a fallen world.
First, as our verse shows, we’re called to test everything. The life of faith doesn’t mean mindless drifting. It’s not a life of emotion – though intense emotions are present in the Christian life (see Psalms). The Christian life is one of faithfulness to the standard of the Word of the Lord. It’s this standard that’s to be our guide in all things. The principles of Scripture – and only the principles of Scripture – are to be our foundation. To waffle on this point, is to be faithless; it’s to be a cheater.
Second, going to church and “cleaning up your life” isn’t the Christian life. No where in Scripture are we told dress a certain way or speak using our “inside voice” and all that. That’s cultural conformity masquerading as biblical living. Instead, we’re told to present our bodies as a living sacrifice. We’re told to resist conformity to the world and be transformed by the renewal of our minds. To be born again isn’t to be a Christian doofus…that’s fideistic and superstitious. Biblical religion involves the mind’s renewal. It includes faith in Christ, which requires knowledge and that knowledge is to be founded in the Word.
Third, the Christian is called to a life of warfare. We aren’t on a cruise ship, sipping iced-tea. We’re on a battle ship, sailing through the often rough waters of sin, waging intense battle with the forces that would separate us from Him. How exactly is this war fought? In the mind! When the Serpent first appears in Scripture his attack is a subtle one. At least we think it’s subtle. He asks, did God really say? That this seems innocuous to us is evidence of our radically fallen nature.
To wit, the Samurai were so proud of their honor that the slightest offense to it could result in a death sentence. Their sword skills are legendary. They could draw the katana, attack, and have it back in its sheath with the same ease as a politician can tell a lie. If they told you they were going to do something, that was the end of it. Their word was final. If they said they’d do something and then you asked if they promised, they’d kill you for it. Seriously. Your head would be rolling around on the floor before you knew what hit you. Why? Because you questioned their honor.
But everyday people do this, and far worse, to God. Even Christians.
For example, Jesus said, “all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Me…(Matthew 28:18-20).” But Satan comes asking the question, “did God really say?” Or, “if you’re the Son of God…”. The mark of Satanic attack is, therefore, the questioning of God’s Word. Today, we see his assault with the question of authority. The minute you hear, “well, you can’t bring Christianity/Scripture into it,” you know who’s behind it.
Because the Enemy is the Father of lies and a liar from the beginning (John 8:44) we should expect to be under the assault of deceit.
To question God’s Word is to question His authority and truthfulness. To question these is to renounce Him as Lord. There’s no middle ground. He’s either Lord or liar. When a man/woman gets married they swear an oath of faithfulness. To cheat on your spouse is, plain and simple, adultery. To become a Christian is to become wed to Jesus Christ – to be His bride. Marriage is a picture of what the church and believer are to Christ. Our faithfulness is wedded to the fact that we believe Him and His Word. The Samurai would immediately execute anyone who dared question their honor. They didn’t fear death, but dishonor. Likewise, the Christian should fear God…and we should love Him so passionately that the thought of dishonoring Him means that we gladly “dishonor” the world that impugns Him. Today’s Christians think nothing of dishonoring the Lord Jesus Christ but fear the slightest rebuke from His enemies.
The faithful Christian life is the one that’s completely in love with His Word. To love Jesus but not His Word is like loving your spouse but never wanting to spend time with them. The faithful Christian life requires the faithful mind too. A mind that’s neutral to the principles of Scripture is an adulterous mind. Fidelity to the Word of God is the mark of faith, not emotion. Emotion will flow from our love of God, yes, but it won’t be the foundation of it.
To this end Christians should be both faithful to His Word and logical. More and more we should grow in our love of the truth and conformity to it. When coming to an impasse, or one of those forks in the road that life’s famous for, our minds should learn to think Scripturally. An illogical Christian is either an immature one or not a Christian at all. Why? Because to be illogical is to be against the truth. Since Jesus is the Truth, anything that’s not true is part of the kingdom that opposes Him.
Like any good training for combat, we must be ready to face the tactics/techniques of the Enemy. Since the Enemy is a liar and lies/deceit are his primary weapon, our minds, sharpened by the wisdom of the Word, must be ready to meet him on the field of battle. To be ambivalent in this battle is the mark of cowardice or treason. Fidelity to the Word of the Lord and the commitment to lean upon it with our whole heart (Proverb 3:4-5; Psalm 119), without reservation or exception, is our calling. To live with one foot in His church and one foot in the world is a horrific act of disobedience.
Evidence of how bad this is impacting the American church is that an article like this will strike the tentative and faltering as too harsh. Hemming and hawing, keeping our options open…those are the marks of the modern men. Proclamation like this one will go taste bitter. The temptation will be to spit it out. Here’s the issue at hand. This is it. Are we more afraid of being offensive to the world that calls our Savior a liar and tells Him, the sovereign God, to go sit in a corner like a good little boy, to keep our religion out of the affairs of the adults, or are we faithful to Him? To be hesitant is to be torn between your girlfriend and your wife. The existence of the rift at all proves that the heart isn’t faithful.
Nor is this unloving. What is more unloving that faithlessness? Watch how subtle the Enemy is. He’s got us thinking that standing on the absolutism of the gospel – that is, telling people about both sin and Christ, both rebellion and grace – is unloving. What can be more loving than fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ and the faithful devotion to His holy principles? He didn’t call us to be popular. He called us to be like Him and we can only do that through complete and total surrender to His Word. There’s simply no other way.
Thus, let us “come out of Babylon.” Let us renew our commitment to Him by falling unhesitatingly upon His Word. Our Rock and Redeemer calls us to be faithful. He calls us His bride. Let us shine, shine, shine, in the blazing white robes of righteousness He’s dressed us in. Let His love for us reflect back to Him and all others. Let us be faithful wives to our Husband. Let us no longer flirt with – and especially never sleep with – the world.
How is this done in practice?
On every matter we must learn to ask: what category of life does this issue fall into and what does the Bible say about it? Remember, there’s no area of life over which Jesus Christ isn’t Lord. If there’s an area that’s “neutral” or separate in any way, immune from His Lordship, then that area must be God or co-god with Him. Don’t be fooled. Test everything, brothers and sisters. Every fact of life fits into a category Scripture has defined. Renew your mind daily. Wash it in Scripture. Wash it in humble and exultant prayer. Ask the Lord in prayer to “wash your feet” of the grime and dirt of this world’s ways. Ask and you will receive. Ask for faithfulness. Ask for wisdom. Ask for the precious jewel of knowing Him in a dark age.
Delight yourself in Him and He’ll open up your heart to unimaginable treasures you never knew existed (Psalm 37:4). Ask to know and apply His Word for it is the fountain of life and there’s no gift comparable to it.
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