One of our fundamental spiritual challenges is that we want God to do something new, but we are pretty content on doing the same old thing. Our temptation is always to follow the familiar and feel comfortable in going along with the crowd. It is simply too easy to go with the flow. If we desire God to change our circumstances without us changing, we will always stay with the status quo. But if we ask God for new wine, we will need a new wineskin!
“But new wine must be put into fresh wineskins.” Luke 5:38 ESV
Change means overcoming inertia.
Change means being intentional.
Change is a choice with small steps of obedience in the right direction.
Most of us get stuck spiritually because we keep doing and saying the same things while expecting different results, or while the culture has long passed us by.
I have noticed this when I converse with people who I knew from past years, whether they are from church, Bible studies, or others outside the church. They are saying the same things they said 20 years ago. Often, they are simply repeating the same answers they’ve always had. They say things like:
“God is in control”
“Just trust Jesus…we know how it all works out in the end.”
“The rapture is coming soon and that will settle everything.”
“It’s all about Jesus.”
“Trust Jesus and don’t worry about the culture.”
But we must both learn and voice God’s answers to the new challenges we face.
Usually people are simply busy attempting to navigate life with their jobs, kids, entertainment, sickness, and the myriad of the other challenges and opportunities of life. Most never study to show themselves approved. (1 Timothy 2:15), or in some cases, they choose not to carve out the time it takes to become equipped biblically to face the challenges. They rest on their spiritual laurels, trust their local church to feed them, and have stayed with the familiar things they have learned and experienced in the past.
If you know me, I think it is vital to understand our past and learn from it.
From the point of our repentance (Matthew 4:17), the Lord God desires faith (James 2:14) and followership (Matthew 4:19), so that we can grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
“But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”– 2 Peter 3:18 ESV
We are to be consistently adding to the expansion of our walk of obedience. Below is a set of verses that are essential for the consistent and progressive development of our faith. As you muse over these verses, jot down areas you desire to improve in.
4 And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires. 5 In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with moral excellence, and moral excellence with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with patient endurance, and patient endurance with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love for everyone. 8 The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins. 10 So, dear brothers and sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called and chosen. Do these things, and you will never fall away. – 2 Peter 1:4-10 NLT
In the book of Amos there is an intriguing set of verses which speak of changing by coming back to the Lord:
4 Now this is what the LORD says to the family of Israel: “Come back to me and live! 5 Don’t worship at the pagan altars at Bethel; don’t go to the shrines at Gilgal or Beersheba. For the people of Gilgal will be dragged off into exile, and the people of Bethel will be reduced to nothing.” 6 Come back to the LORD and live! Otherwise, he will roar through Israel like a fire, devouring you completely. Your gods in Bethel won’t be able to quench the flames.” — Amos 5:4-6 NLT
Seek Me and Live;
Do not seek Bethel,
Do not go to Gilgal,
Do not journey to Beersheba….
Seek the Lord and live.
Bethel is the place where Jacob had his life-changing dream. He built an altar and made a vow to God (Genesis 28:10-17). Gilgal is the place where the Israelites camped after God miraculously parted the Jordan River and they stepped foot into the Promised Land for the first time (Joshua 4:19).
It only took one night to get Israel out of Egypt,
but it took forty years to get Egypt out of Israel.
Gilgal marks the spot where God rolled away their reproach (Joshua 5:9). Beersheba is the place where Abraham made a treaty with Abimelech and called on the Lord (Genesis 21:22 ff). His son Isaac dug a well and built an altar there.
All three held special significance. They were scared landmarks in Israel’s spiritual journey. So why would God tell them not to seek Him there? One answer: God does not want us to live in, or depend upon the past and our past redemptive experiences. We must learn from the past, and marvel at past grace:
“ …for I will speak to you in a parable. I will teach you hidden lessons from our past.”—Psalm 78:2 NLT
We must be propelled, however, to grasp and embrace the new grace offered today.
“The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; 23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
— Lamentations 3:22, 23 ESV
And for sure we are not to treat the grace of God as something trite:
“As God’s partners, we beg you not to accept this marvelous gift of God’s kindness [grace] and then ignore it.”–2 Corinthians 6:1 NLT
We ought to understand what God is teaching us personally “try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord. [Ephesians 5:10 ESV] and what is taking place in our culture and in the public square.
2 “He [Christ] replied, “You know the saying, ‘Red sky at night means fair weather tomorrow; 3 red skies in the morning means foul weather all day.’ You know how to interpret the weather signs in the sky, but you don’t know how to interpret the signs of the times! –- Matthew 16:2-3 NLT
In addition to interpreting the present, we must be able to dismantle false ideologies which are present in every time period. A most powerful portion of Scripture, 2 Corinthians 10:4-6, admonishes us to do just that:
4 We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. 5 We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 6 And after you have become fully obedient, we will punish everyone who remains disobedient.”– 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 NLT
Historically, the verses above have been interpreted and applied on a personal level. “Take every thought captive” actually means we ought to be taking false ideologies and philosophies captive and putting them under the scrutiny of the Word of God. “Strongholds” are fortified arguments and “reasonings” (high sounding arguments) are general categories of philosophies which oppose the Scriptures, or “Sound Doctrine” (teaching). These reasonings, which are hostile arguments against Christ, ought to be refuted. If we don’t confront them, after a period of time, they become entrenched in the broader culture. Things like evolution, abortion, homosexuality, and presently, transgenderism. We will not stop them from permeating the public square, but we can at least prevent our fellow Christians from being deceived.
“See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.”– Colossians 2:8 NASB
We must wrestle with them and make them submit to the authority of God’s Word. We ought to refute every prideful pretense raised up against the truth. We can defend and contend for the knowledge of the Christian faith!
Pressing Forward
13 “No, dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it, but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, 14 I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us.” – Philippians 3:13-14 NLT
I love the phrase “I press on.” One of the significant emphases of the Christian walk is to be on the offensive. To be moving forward by following the assertive lead of the Holy Spirit.
“Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.” – Galatians 5:25 NLT
In basketball there are two ways to play defense. You can sit back in a half-court defense and let the other team come to you. It’s a defensive way of playing the game. It’s playing not to lose. In football, it’s called prevent defense. Then there is an offensive form of defense—the full-court press. You force the issue. You don’t let the game come to you…you take it to them.
Sometimes the church is content playing a prevent defense while God is calling for a full-court press.
I think that is the message of Matthew 11:12 and Luke 16:16.
“From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”– Matthew 11:12 NASB
“The Law and the Prophets [were proclaimed] until John; since that time the gospel of the kingdom of God has been preached, and everyone is forcing his way into it.” – Luke 16:16 NASB
The verses above are important to read in unison. A principle of hermeneutics (how to study the Bible) is attempting to interpret a passage of Scripture in light of another passage of scripture.
From the time he began his preaching ministry, John the Baptist evoked a strong reaction. Having been imprisoned already, John ultimately fell victim to Herod’s savagery… But the Kingdom of God can never be subdued or opposed by human violence. Notice that where Matthew says, “the violent take it by force,” Luke has, “everyone is forcing his way into it.”
So, the sense of this verse may be rendered this way: The Kingdom presses ahead relentlessly, and only the relentless press their way into it.” Here again, Christ is magnifying the difficulty of entering the kingdom of God.
“Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. 14 “For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.” – Matthew 7:13-14
There was a time in church history where people were persuaded to follow Christ. Clearly easy-believism has it grips on Christendom.
“And he was reasoning in the synagogue every Sabbath and trying to persuade Jews and Greeks.” – Acts 18:4 NASB
It takes force and tenacity to advance God’s will if we are proclaiming the true Good News of the Kingdom. Inevitably a reaction, and even hostility, will arise when people are presented and confronted with the terms of what it means to follow our Lord Jesus Christ. The question is: will people have a strong resolve to follow Christ? Please avail yourself to an article I wrote on my blog titled, Masculine Traits Needed to Influence the Church, from April 14, 2021. In this article I list 19 biblical masculine traits with the exhortation to embrace them within ourselves and in the church at large.
So … Now What?
#1 From a biblical perspective, let me take stab at succinctly refuting each of the dominate false ideologies controlling the public square
Homosexuality and Lesbianism
All love is learned, and all dysfunctional love is learned. When men and women forget the God of the Bible, they forget who they are.
21 Yes, they knew God, but they wouldn’t worship him as God or even give him thanks. And they began to think up foolish ideas of what God was like. As a result, their minds became dark and confused. 26“That is why God abandoned them to their shameful desires. Even the women turned against the natural way to have sex and instead indulged in sex with each other. 27 And the men, instead of having normal sexual relations with women, burned with lust for each other. Men did shameful things with other men, and as a result of this sin, they suffered within themselves the penalty they deserved.” – Romans 1:21; 26-27 NLT
Abortion
Life (the baby) begins at conception and that baby is a person at conception.
A human:
“You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body and knit me together in my mother’s womb.” – Psalm 139:13 NLT
A Person:
“I knew you before I formed you in your mother’s womb. Before you were born, I set you apart and appointed you as my prophet to the nations.” – Jeremiah 1:5 NLT
Transgenderism
Our sex is determined by our physical biology, and not by an assertion or claims to have another identity.
“So, God created human beings in his own image. In the image of God, he created them; male and female he created them.” – Genesis 1:27 NLT
“Know ye that the LORD he [is] God: [it is] he [that] hath made us, and not we ourselves; [we are] his people, and the sheep of his pasture. – Psalm 100:3 KJV
Evolution:
Chaos, mutations, and matter have never been proven to create order, complexity, or design. The existence of a transcendent Creator is confirmed in the most basic principles discovered in science. The Law of Causality, that no effect can be greater than its cause, is basic in all scientific investigation and human experience.
“In the beginning (time) God created the heaven (space) and the earth (matter or the elements).”– Genesis 1:1 KJV
Now I encourage you to take a stab at defending the truth
about each of these false philosophies.
#2 If you desire to change what is stopping you then what can you do to overcome the inertia to keep you back?
A few examples might help: A. Increase your reading of solid biblically based books. Here are a few of my recent favorites: Love Thy Body, and Total Truth, by Nancy R. Pearcey. All In, by Mark Batterson. The Master Plan of Evangelism, and The Master Plan of Discipleship, by Robert E. Coleman. A Toxic New Religion and Why Social Justice is not Biblical Justice, by Scott D. Allen, and Fault Lines, by Voddie T. Baucham Jr. B. List two points of resistance and name two incremental steps of obedience you will take to overcome this resistance. C. Find 2-3 people who you will begin to disciple. Using the books by Coleman are a great place to start!
Changing with you,
Dale