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Look at the resume of the one who is our Saviour from sin.

He comes from God. This is the same God who “at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets.” Not only this He spoke in these later days by His Son.

Now who is His Son?

• He is the one whom God “appointed heir of all things.”
• He is the one “by whom also he (God) made the worlds.”
• He is the one who is the “brightness of His glory.”
• He is the “express image of his person.”
• He is the same one who is “upholding all things by the word of his power.”
• He is the one who “by himself purged our sins,
• He is the one who when “by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.”

This list only is the beginning of a long discussion in Hebrews 1.

And some people say that faith is blind. There is no substance nor evidence. The revelation of this truth is plainly put in the Word of God. And it is not the evidence of any single person but was provided through the instrumentality and witness of many.

We have not the evidence so sure regarding anything else in all of history.

While many would want to blur the differences between godliness and ungodliness, the Scriptures allow for no such thing. Those who say otherwise are full of twisted thinking and pervert truth.

The godly man will do the following:

• Be subject to principalities and powers
• obey magistrates
• Be ready to every good work
• speak evil of no man
• be no brawlers
• be gentle, showing meekness unto all men

The ungodly man will be known by being:

• foolish
• disobedient
• deceived
• serving divers lusts and pleasures
• living in malice and envy
• hateful
• hating one another

Now check the characteristics of your life against the above. How will those around you see you? Do you act like a Christian or not? If you cannot be as the godly man, do not be surprised. It means you need to turn to your Creator, receive the salvation which has been provided you in Christ Jesus, and enter into the washing of regeneration and the renewing of the Holy Ghost. Only then will the change take place. All your “good works will not help you. There is only one way of salvation. When you submit to that way, salvation from sin and death will be within your grasp.

Reference: Titus 3:1-7

Return to the home page of http:CampusPastor.com for more detail in the right column under “Learning God’s Provision…”

“…God;  Who hath saved us, and called us with an holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before the world began,..” 2 Timothy 1:8-9

Observations:

• It is God who saves us, not we ourselves.
• We are called with purpose and according to a standard – a holy calling.
• We do not set the standard and our own works have no qualifying value in making us worthy before God.
• God does things according to His purpose and so should we be concerned with doing things according to His purpose.
• We do not deserve any placing or position or status because of who we are. All that we obtain is by reason of  unmerited favor which we receive from God and should be appreciated from this point of view and provision with great thankfulness.
• The plan for this is not a response to who we are, what we do, or how we think. It was developed and put in place before the world began. So we ought not the think more highly of ourselves than we ought to think.

The big question is are we respectful,  appreciative, and responsive to the sovereignty of God or are we in rebellion?

Students and the general public still need to be wary. There are a lot of buyer beware issues out there that need to be addressed. This is a link to an article which hits really close to home.

http://www.worldmag.com/articles/16399

Have you considered that there are multitudes of people who have spent decades of their lives collecting piles of observations. This data is stored in their brains, stuffed into filing cabinets, loaded onto hard drives and disks, piled in boxes, placed onto shelves, piled on table tops, hidden behind closet doors, and found toppling out of the corners of offices and storage rooms. All of this comes from individual observations and are collections of organized teams who track others to learn from their experiences.

This alone cannot be classified as either information or knowledge.

Consider others who have attended the universities of the world. They have attended lectures of noted academics who speak great and swelling words about all the data they have collected. They discuss with great dexterity their interpretation of it all. Those who are students then matriculate. Some do so maybe with great honors and advanced degrees. They go on to write a multitude of articles and books on various matters. The may travel and lecture and receive the praise of many distinguished personages, forums, and agencies.

All of this does not yet establish that they have attained to either information or knowledge.

It is not amazing that with all of this they suffer awful depression as they enter old age and realize that they have never risen above the status of the silly and the fool. They realize that they do not even yet know what is the source of knowledge. They do not perceive the purpose of knowledge. They do not even know how to use knowledge. What they thought was good was shown to them that in eternity to be the source of great evil.

Empty Information

Is this not the epitome of great emptiness? Is it not vanity? Does this not help explain why as many college level students observe and perceive emptiness of life and purpose? Is this not cause for many students contemplate suicide? Collegiate years and old age are the periods in life in which people do contemplate taking their lives. The young because they see no usefulness or value to life. The aged because they recognize that they have labored for empty reasons and they despair. The Bible is very clear about the reasons for making man and reasons for his service which are rewarded. But without knowledge, all is vanity.

Knowledge and information presume a moral base, according to Webster’s early dictionary. This is not an amoral matter as some might be want to think. Knowledge is irrevocably founded upon an individual’s acknowledgment of and fear of God, the Creator of All. It is the moral relationship of information and knowledge and the God which makes it all possible for one to perceive purpose and the usefulness of knowledge. One cannot organize the data of observation and experiences without knowing its purpose or moral significance. Its relationship to the Creator God and His created universe is primary to understanding.

As there is a difference between a cultured grape and a wild grape, oh so sour; there is a difference between a Christian and the unsaved people. You will know Christians by their fruit. This means the church you attend, your faithfulness to your church, whether you regularly read you Bible, whether you practice what you learn in your reading, what you watch on TV, listen to, laugh at, say, where you go,.. If your fruit does not look like, taste like, smell like, sound like, or act like a Christian, others can justly presume that the profession you make about being a Christian is false and even that you may be a pagan.

Practical Application:

If you are going to call yourself a Christian, then determine to act like one. If you don’t seriously intend to do so or will not do so, don’t call yourself a Christian. “Even a child is known by his doings, whether his work be pure and whether it be right”  (Proverbs 20:11).”

A key characteristic of a non Christian is that they do not the truth. Secondly, they don’t know the truth. And They cannot discern the truth.

Considering all of this, it is a sad commentary for our country when it turns to a secular direction. Because even our legal and court system becomes corrupt and unable to distinguish right from wrong, truth from untruth, and justice from injustice.

So if a Christian does not distinguish himself as a Christian, the world has no point of reference to discern good from bad. The salt of the Christian then loses its savor.

When we need advice, where should we turn for this advice?

The first place is the Scriptures. Because the Scriptures have been given to us by the Almighty, Eternal, Omniscient Creator. It is always relevant, always true and unchanging. Sometimes we get the wrong notion that the Bible is old and therefore outdated, old fashioned, and lacking in usefulness in our day. But the truths of our eternal God never grow out of fashion nor usefulness because they manifest His character.

A second place to go to obtain advice might be our brothers and sisters in Christ. As we consider advice from them, we need to be sure that they hold to the ultimate standard in giving advice. This means that they are well studied in the Scriptures. The advice they give needs to come out of the scriptures as it is literally understood. Their advice cannot contradict Scriptures. It is never right to do wrong. Whatsoever is not of faith is sin. (Romans 14:23) The foundation of faith is the evidence of the sure Word of God. (Romans 10:17)

It is always wrong to try to found righteous decisions upon the advice of the atheist, the heathen, the idolater, or any unbeliever. These sources or persons do not have knowledge concerning right things to do. In fact they technically have no knowledge at all. (Proverbs 1:7;  Proverbs 2:1-9) All they can share with you are observations and experiences. But because they fear not God they cannot put form or shape to these observations and experiences. One necessary form is that of righteousness. Another is perspective. They do not know right paths and are ever stumbling in the darkness of sin.

For a Christian to give advice which is questionable, or contrary to direct statements of Scripture is also a grievous thing. (1John 2:10)  A spiritual person should be able to discern between the spirits and to know when others might be leading them the wrong way. (1 John 4:1) The big question to ask is would God make this same decision? If not, then we ought not make that decision either. One of the most common errors today is to imply that something is right because other “Christians” do it. All this needs to be measured and quantified by what the Scriptures actually say and teach. Yes Paul the apostle called disciples to be “followers of me.” But the condition is “even as I am of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 4:16; 11:1)  But be aware that “for many walk…are the enemies of the cross of Christ:) (Philippians 3:17-18)

So the call is to be perfect minded in Christ Jesus. Make right decisions. Make those decisions because they agree with Christ. Do not fall from the place of blessing. Know your decision is correct because you fear God above all else.

God is one who not only created this world and all that is in it, but He designed patterns and ways by which the occupants – you and me – may find purpose, blessing, fulfillment, occupation, and peace.

Now has come a time when so much seems to be in turmoil. We have wars, economic collapse, earthquakes, storms and heat, unemployment, fears, family turmoil,…  It just seems to keep coming. To the general public there seems to come the question, “Why us?”

Proverbs 1:25  “But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:”

In all the communities I have seen, there is a rejection of God’s ways which seems to have no end. Even for those who show a superficial show of religion, the seriousness of really believing God is at a low ebb.

How many people can you point out who seriously understand that they should totally depend upon God for their daily living? How many show that they are in total subjection to their Creator? How many spend real time in reading their Bible regularly with the intent that they will conform their lives to what they learn? How many go to church to humble their hearts in the true thankfulness of worship of the Lord God Almighty? How many consult about the pleasure of God before entering into new activities or seek knowledge that the activities they now participate in are in total conformity to the will of God?

Is it any wonder then that God’s response is:

“I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh;  When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you.  Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:   For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD:   They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.   Therefore shall they eat of the fruit of their own way, and be filled with their own devices.” (Proverbs 1:26 – 31)

Could it not be that even when they acknowledge the Lord, that they do it not in sincerity of repentance but rather with an expectation of “deserving relief”? Could it be that they still care not to fall in subjection to His will but would rather remain in the liberty of their own wicked devices? They know not from where real liberty comes because they are ignorant of the Word of God (most likely by their own choice and/or neglect).

Oh, they are likely to be most quick to blame God! But who is there that will take responsibility for their own waywardness and return to the Lord for the real sustenance of their need?

Return to: http://CampusPastor.com

Campus Pastor Stephen Haasch

Piano lessons should be for learning the rules of music. Breaking those rules does not make for better or sweeter music.

Bible study is for learning the rules of God for instilling a holy life. The breaking of the rules of God makes for discord, discontent, distraction, and sorrow in one’s life.

Are you attending a church which teaches respect and skill in learning the will of God through the Word of God?

“…that in all things He might have the preeminence.’ (Colossians 1:17) Are you making Jesus first in all your decisions, actions – your very life? In a literal sense, this decision is a decision of life and death. As you sin, remember that God is not mocked. He is a living and eternal God. Your response to His will, will be responded to appropriately. He is a just God, meeting out what you deserve in eternity and hopefully not sooner. To count as small the death of Jesus on the cross for your sin is offensive to the ultimate. He did it to enable you to be redeemed from your due judgment. That is love.