A Daily Devotional

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Godless Religion

“Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.” (2 Timothy 3:5)

Included in Paul’s graphic description of the “perilous” characteristics of the “last days” (not the church age, since the prophesied last days were still future when he wrote of them in his last epistle, 2 Timothy 3:1-3) is this warning concerning the religious leaders of the last days. They would observe the outward form (church buildings, sacraments, religious services, etc.) of “godliness” (that is, “religion”), but would reject its supernatural aspects. They would desire the trappings of religious professionalism since they would be “lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God” (v. 4).

Such specifications aptly describe the modern world of scientism and liberal theology, which pervades practically all religious denominations and overlaps with all kinds of liberal social movements (women’s liberation, gay rights, “New Age” pantheism, and others). Although these are widely diverse in structure and purpose, they all share one vital feature in common: They reject supernatural Christianity, especially literal creationism. Many liberal preachers give nominal allegiance to the teachings of Christ and the Bible, but they invariably deny the mighty power of God in special creation, as well as the great worldwide miracles of the Bible—the Flood, the dispersion, etc.

This prophecy is not given in Scripture simply as a matter of information. It contains a warning urgently needed by Bible-believing Christians who are under pressure today to compromise with humanistic liberals on this great doctrine of God’s creative power. Many have accepted the evolutionary system of “ages geology,” and this is tragic and dangerous. Instead of compromising with evolutionary naturalists and religious liberals, as many evangelicals today are inclined to do, Paul warns: “From such turn away!” HMM

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King of Tyre

“Son of man, take up a lamentation upon the king of Tyrus, and say unto him, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty.” (Ezekiel 28:12)

This prophecy against the King of Tyre is very similar to the prophecy given over a century earlier against the King of Babylon (Isaiah 14:3-28). Both are ostensibly addressed to earthly kings, yet both are impossible to apply to any mere human monarch. In both instances, it becomes obvious that an evil spirit—in fact, none other than Satan himself—had possessed the bodies of these kings. Thus, God, through Ezekiel, is here speaking primarily to Satan.

Satan had been “full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty,” but he became proud instead of thankful. “Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness: I will cast thee to the ground” (Ezekiel 28:17). He had been “the anointed cherub” on “the holy mountain of God” (v. 14), the highest of all the mighty cherubim, covering the very throne of God. But “thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire” (v. 16).

Satan, the covering cherub, had been “created” (v. 13), but he was not content to serve his Creator. When he sinned—probably refusing to believe that God was his Creator, desiring God’s throne for himself (Isaiah 14:13)—God cast him out, saying, “Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou was created, till iniquity was found in thee” (Ezekiel 28:15).

Yet, he still refuses to acknowledge God and has since persuaded multitudes of men and women to assume that they, too, can be “as gods” (Genesis 3:5). This belief can only—if they persist—result in their eternal ruin. HMM

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The True Charisma

“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord.” (Colossians 3:16)

One of the words that has come into wide use (actually misuse) is the word “charisma,” along with its derivative “charismatic.” We speak of a politician as having charisma, or a charismatic personality, for example. Another common use of “charismatic” refers to those who practice speaking in tongues. But these are not the true meanings of these words, at least not in terms of their original usage.

This latter usage, in particular, comes from the inclusion of tongues as one of the “gifts” of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1, 28). The Greek word is charisma. It does not mean “tongues,” and neither does it mean an outgoing and articulate manner. It simply means “gift,” or better, “free gift,” a classic example being Romans 6:23: “The gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”

Charisma, in turn, comes from charis, which means “grace,” and is usually so translated. For example, in the words of our text, if the “word of Christ dwell in us richly,” we shall be “singing with grace in [our] hearts.” Furthermore, just a few verses further on, we are admonished to “let your speech be always with grace” (Colossians 4:6). Then Paul concludes the Colossian epistle with: “Grace be with you. Amen” (v. 18).

Thus, true grace in our hearts will produce grace in our speech, and the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ will always be with us! This is the true charisma! A truly charismatic person is a gracious person—one to whom “God is able to make all grace abound” so that he or she, “always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:8). HMM

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Judgment

“For, lo, he that formeth the mountains, and createth the wind, and declareth unto man what is his thought, that maketh the morning darkness, and treadeth upon the high places of the earth, The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.” (Amos 4:13)

This awesome ascription of judgmental power to God is in the midst of a dire prophecy by Amos to the 10-tribe northern kingdom of Israel. He had reminded them of earlier judgments, including even that of Sodom and Gomorrah, concluding with the fearsome warning: “Prepare to meet thy God, O Israel” (Amos 4:12).

Then, in our text verse, he seems to carry them still further back in time to remind them of an even greater destruction. The great winds of the earth, like its rains, first blew over its surfaces at the time of the mighty Deluge (Genesis 8:1), and the present mountains of the earth likewise rose out of the churning waters of the Flood (Psalm 104:6-9). It was at the time of the Flood that dark clouds first obscured the sunlight that before had perpetually shown through the pre-Flood “waters which were above the firmament” (Genesis 1:7), which had then condensed and fallen to the earth in great torrents from “the windows of heaven” (Genesis 7:11).

This awful judgment had come because the antediluvians, like the Israelites, had rejected their Creator and gone after other gods (Genesis 6:5). As if to confirm that he was, indeed, referring to the great Deluge, Amos, a few verses later, exhorted the Israelites to “seek him . . . that calleth for the waters of the sea, and poureth them out upon the face of the earth” (Amos 5:8).

It is dangerous and foolish for any nation or any person to question the true God of creation. He made all things, He knows all things, and He judges all things. “The LORD, The God of hosts, is his name.” HMM

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Wonderful Things to Come

“But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)

This fantastic promise refers back to another great promise given by God to His people: “For since the beginning of the world men have not heard, nor perceived by the ear, neither hath the eye seen, O God, beside thee, what he hath prepared for him that waiteth for him” (Isaiah 64:4).

The Old Testament promise applied primarily to the nation of Israel, but its New Testament extension incorporates it in a global promise to all who love the Lord of glory, “crucified” by “the princes of this world” (1 Corinthians 2:8), the One who was also the Savior of the world.

Comparison of the two prophetic promises yields three vital truths. These things that God has prepared for His loved ones have been in view “since the beginning of the world,” and have been revealed in part by the prophets, who have been speaking also “since the world began” (Luke 1:70).

Secondly, those who “wait for him” in the Old Testament are synonymous with those who “love him” in the New. The apostle Paul joins both themes together when he says: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness . . . and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing” (2 Timothy 4:8).

Finally, we cannot even begin to comprehend the glorious things God has prepared for those who love Him and wait for Him. In some measure, the Spirit later revealed them in part through John’s eyes and ears when he saw “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven” and heard “a great voice out of heaven saying . . . God himself shall be with them, and be their God” (Revelation 21:2-3). Then our eyes shall fully see, and our ears hear, and our hearts understand the fullness of God’s love in Christ. HMM

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The Wells of Salvation

“Therefore with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation.” (Isaiah 12:3)

This beautiful verse is in the midst of a psalm of praise for God’s deliverance of His people “in that day” (v. 4)—the coming day when the Lord shall return to the earth and reign “in the midst of thee” (v. 6). Until “that day” comes, however, we can appropriate its spiritual blessings right now.

The word translated “wells” is more often translated “fountains,” denoting flowing springs of water that never run dry. It is first used at the time of the great Flood when in one “day were all the fountains of the great deep broken up” (Genesis 7:11). On that day, the primeval fountains provided by God for the perpetual supply of living waters to the inhabitants of the “very good” world He had created were cleaved open, the living waters became lethal waters, and “all that was in the dry land, died” (v. 22).

But one day another fountain was cleaved open. As Jesus died on the cross, “a spear pierced his side, and forthwith came there out blood and water” (John 19:34). At the great Feast of Tabernacles, He had cried: “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me . . . out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

The blood and water flowed together from the deep fountain opened in the Savior’s side that day, and their cleansing powers became a fountain of life to all who will drink. The waters again became living waters from a fountain that will never run dry, “a pure river of water of life . . . proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Revelation 22:1).

Then, wonder of wonders, there is not just one well, for all who believe likewise send forth “rivers of living water,” as with eternal joy, we each share with one another, forever drinking from the never-drying wells of salvation! HMM

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Thy Word Is Settled Forever

“For ever, O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.” (Psalm 119:89)

This is the central verse in the longest chapter in the longest book in the Bible, and it is surely one of the greatest verses in the Bible. It conveys the amazing news that the Word of God (which is the theme of the entire 119th Psalm) has existed from eternity past and will continue to exist forever in the future. It was eternally settled in the mind of God before the world was created, then gradually inscripturated “at sundry times and in divers manners [as God] spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets” (Hebrews 1:1).

Other verses in this psalm likewise stress the eternal validity of God’s words: “The righteousness of thy testimonies is everlasting. . . . Concerning thy testimonies, I have known of old that thou hast founded them for ever. . . . Thy word is true from the beginning: and every one of thy righteous judgments endureth for ever” (Psalm 119:144, 152, 160).

In the book of Isaiah appears a magnificent claim: “The grass withereth, the flower fadeth: but the word of our God shall stand for ever” (Isaiah 40:8). This contrast is expanded by the apostle Peter: “Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever” (1 Peter 1:23).

To guarantee this great truth beyond any further question, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself made the following tremendous claim: “Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my words shall not pass away” (Matthew 24:35). “Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18).

The entire physical universe is (literally) “passing away,” heading inexorably downhill toward ultimate death—with one exception! The words of our Bible and its glorious promises are eternal and immutable. HMM

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Prepare to Meet Thy God

“Therefore thus will I do unto thee, O Israel: and because I will do this unto thee, prepare to meet thy God, O Israel.” (Amos 4:12)

There is only one thing that everyone can know for sure. Not even death and taxes are certain, for some will never die. But “every one of us shall give account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12).

Even those who don’t believe in God, those who ridicule His Word, those who disobey His laws, those who worship false gods—everyone must some day meet God. There is no better advice than: “Prepare to meet thy God!”

If anyone should ask what God, the answer is the true God, the Creator. Not the false gods of pagan pantheism, not the natural systems and processes of evolutionism, but the one and only God of creation. He is the one who knows the thoughts of man and “maketh the morning darkness” (Amos 4:13) for all who reject or ignore Him. The word here for “darkness” is used only one other time in Scripture and is synonymous with hell—“a land of darkness, as darkness itself; and of the shadow of death, without any order, and where the light is as darkness” (Job 10:22).

In the coming judgment, “the wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God” (Psalm 9:17). The message of Amos needs to be heard in every generation: “Prepare to meet thy God!” For “the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment” (Psalm 1:5), and the judgment is sure: “It is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment,” and for those who die unprepared, “it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 9:27; 10:31).

The only way to come into His presence prepared, of course, is through Jesus Christ, who is Himself the Lord of all the hosts of heaven. HMM

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Moved with Fear

“By faith Noah, being warned of God of things not seen as yet, moved with fear, prepared an ark to the saving of his house; by the which he condemned the world, and became heir of the righteousness which is by faith.” (Hebrews 11:7)

Noah was indeed a man of mighty faith, believing God’s word even about “things not seen as yet,” preparing for a worldwide flood in a day when God had never yet even “caused it to rain upon the earth” (Genesis 2:5). Noah was “a preacher of righteousness” (2 Peter 2:5) to an unbelieving world for at least 120 years (Genesis 6:3), “while the ark was a preparing” (1 Peter 3:20), without gaining any converts except his own family.

But why would he have been “moved with fear”? Noah was surely not afraid to die! He had “walked with God” (Genesis 6:9) for 600 years (Genesis 5:32; 7:11) before the Flood, and he was certainly not afraid to die and go to meet the Lord now.

Evidently it was for “the saving of his house” that he was afraid, realizing that his own children would soon be engulfed by the awful spirit of unbelief and wickedness that pervaded the antediluvian world if they could not somehow be delivered from it. So he “prepared an ark,” and his house was saved. “Come thou and all thy house into the ark,” said the Lord, “for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation” (Genesis 7:1). Although they could easily have refused, they all chose to follow Noah.

In a like manner today, God speaks to the head of each house: “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house” (Acts 16:31). A consistent example of obedient faith set by a godly father (or mother, if necessary) almost inevitably results in his (or her) children also trusting in the Lord for salvation. Every caring parent should resolve that “as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD” (Joshua 24:15). HMM

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Shutting the Kingdom

“But woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye shut up the kingdom of heaven against men: for ye neither go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering to go in.” (Matthew 23:13)

Our Lord Jesus pronounced eight “woes” in Matthew 23 on the religious leaders of His day. This one condemns them for refusing the liberty that Christ was bringing with the new covenant.

The first “formal” message that Jesus preached was taken from the great prophecy in Isaiah 61: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised” (Luke 4:18).

Later, the apostle Paul noted that “before faith came, we were kept under the law, shut up unto the faith which should afterwards be revealed” (Galatians 3:23). These self-righteous leaders were so enamored with their positions and prestige that they refused to rejoice in the “liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free” (Galatians 5:1) and kept the prison doors of legalistic self-righteousness shut fast—even against those who were responding to the good news of the Kingdom!

It is interesting to note that Jesus condemned both groups (Pharisees and Sadducees) for the same problem. Yet they were much different in their positions. The Pharisees would be analogous to the legalists of our day and the Sadducees to the liberals. Both camps claimed belief in “inspiration” and both camps prided themselves on their knowledge of Scripture.

Their common error was distorting the truth of God with interpretations that clouded the message—thereby shutting up the doors out of unbelief that led into the “glorious liberty of the children of God” (Romans 8:21). May God keep us from such confusion. HMM III

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Greater Damnation

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye devour widows’ houses, and for a pretence make long prayer: therefore ye shall receive the greater damnation.” (Matthew 23:14)

Among the eight “woes” in Matthew 23 is this awful condemnation on religious leaders for misusing their office and misleading their followers. What they did was pretty serious, but the emphasis in the passage is on the “greater” result of their impact on many lives. James certainly had this incident in mind when he said, “My brethren, be not many masters [teachers], knowing that we shall receive the greater condemnation” (James 3:1).

Paul’s second letter to Timothy listed a series of wicked attitudes that would characterize religious leaders in the last days, warning us about the prevalent conditions. They would have a “form of godliness” but would deny “the power thereof.” Those of us who love the Lord are told to “turn away” from them, “for of this sort are they which creep into houses, and lead captive silly women laden with sins, led away with divers lusts, ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth” (2 Timothy 3:5-7).

The overriding principle is this: “For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required” (Luke 12:48). The Pharisees and Sadducees of Jesus’ day knew the Scriptures. Therefore, their hypocritical and destructive behavior received His harsh judgment.

Just so, all those who use their platform of leadership to distort truth and seek the praise of men (John 12:43)—whether in religious environs, in positions of political authority (as were the Pharisees and Sadducees), or merely the “masters” of academia—will reap “the righteous judgment of God” (Romans 2:5).

May the Lord give us the discernment to avoid “them which cause divisions and offences” (Romans 16:17). HMM III

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Double Damnation

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye compass sea and land to make one proselyte, and when he is made, ye make him twofold more the child of hell than yourselves.” (Matthew 23:15)

Among the eight “woes” in Matthew 23 is this frightening possibility that false teaching will produce double wickedness—a multiplying effect that redounds to terrible consequences. Jesus said that these self-righteous and hate-filled Pharisees were of the devil (John 8:44) and were so intent on resisting the truth that they were ready to kill if they could silence the message of liberty. Paul condemned Elymas the sorcerer as “full of all subtilty and all mischief, thou child of the devil, thou enemy of all righteousness” (Acts 13:10).

During a great revival in Iconium, “the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles, and made their minds evil affected against the brethren” (Acts 14:2). And they were not content with that. When Paul and his fellow helpers fled to Lystra, the God-hating group from Iconium followed them to Lystra and “persuaded the people, and having stoned Paul, drew him out of the city” (Acts 14:19).

Make no mistake about this issue; those who hate truth and God will turn their hate against the people of God. “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you . . . because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. . . . If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also” (John 15:18-20).

Our country has enjoyed some 250 years of liberty while centered on righteousness. But rising atheistic and secular favor has given boldness to the enemies of truth. May God grant us boldness to speak His Word (Acts 4:29) amidst “many adversaries” (1 Corinthians 16:9). HMM III

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Blind Guides

“Woe unto you, ye blind guides, which say, Whosoever shall swear by the temple, it is nothing; but whosoever shall swear by the gold of the temple, he is a debtor!” (Matthew 23:16)

The 23rd chapter of Matthew contains some harsh denunciations as Jesus delivers the eight “woes.” Even the Greek word is a bit eerie; it is pronounced “oo-ah-ee!” Can you imagine this series of stern admonitions delivered to the faces of these self-righteous manipulators of truth? “Oo-ah-ee you scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees, hypocrites!” It must have given chills to everyone there.

The blindness that Jesus was condemning has both a practical and spiritual impact. Obviously, if one does not understand simple truth, the result is going to be either embarrassing or painful. “They be blind leaders of the blind,” Jesus said. “And if the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into the ditch” (Matthew 15:14).

The great Creator of the universe knows best how to guide His creation. If we, the stewards (Genesis 1:28), do not know or understand the Creator’s instructions, we are bound to get into trouble. That “truth blindness” often results in “blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel” (Matthew 23:24).

But the greater blindness is spiritual. Peter listed attributes on how to grow in faith and gain assurance. Then he advised, “But he that lacketh these things is blind, and cannot see afar off, and hath forgotten that he was purged from his old sins” (2 Peter 1:9).

In His messages to the seven churches, Jesus warned Laodicea, “Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked” (Revelation 3:17). His counsel: “Buy of me gold . . . and white raiment . . . and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see” (Revelation 3:18). HMM III

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Weighty Matters

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of the law, judgment, mercy, and faith: these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other undone.” (Matthew 23:23)

This particular “woe” among the eight in Matthew 23 is often only partially proclaimed. Usually, sermons are delivered about the “judgment, mercy, and faith” that are indeed the “weightier matters of the law”—but Christ’s somewhat offhand remark on the responsibility to tithe is either ignored or downplayed.

Surely the legalistic and public display of “obedience” to the law is condemned by Jesus. He rebuked these same men for their desire to show their spirituality. “Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men” (Matthew 6:2). But Jesus also said in our text that they “ought . . . to have done” the tithing of their wealth.

The condemnation is that this kind of hypocrite seeks only his name in a bulletin, or a plaque on a wall, or a brick in a walkway, or a wing in a hospital or museum, and is indifferent to the quiet, background work of ministry that doles out judgment, mercy, and faith.

Jesus measures “weightier matters” this way: “I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in: Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me” (Matthew 25:35-36). “Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me” (Matthew 25:40).

If we wish to honor and please our Lord, He expects us to do both—faithful tithes and offerings, and judgment, mercy, and faith. HMM III

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Spiritual Cleanliness

“Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye make clean the outside of the cup and of the platter, but within they are full of extortion and excess.” (Matthew 23:25)

Three of the eight “woes” in Matthew 23 deal with a particular aspect of spiritual cleanliness. This one seems to emphasize personal cleanliness. The next verse amplifies the thought: “Thou blind Pharisee, cleanse first that which is within the cup and platter, that the outside of them may be clean also” (Matthew 23:26).

The emphasis is on the internal heart. The biblical principle is very clear. If our hearts are not right, our lives will not be righteous. If what is “inside” is not clean, the “outside” will never be clean. Perhaps a list of the more obvious Bible references will help refocus our commitment.

    “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
    “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” (Matthew 12:34-35).
    “Circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God” (Romans 2:29).
    “Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart” (2 Corinthians 3:3).

May our “cup and platter” be as clean as God’s holiness is able to make it and “let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter 3:4). HMM III