“When the people saw the sign that he had done, they said, ‘This is indeed the Prophet who is to come into the world!’
“Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself.” [1]
Few of the miracles Jesus performed had a greater impact on the people of His day than did the feeding of several large groups that came to hear Him. You will have no doubt noted that one such miracle is recorded earlier. The people who witnessed the miracle Jesus performed that day decided that He must be their king. However, their purpose in seeking Him to be the one who should reign over them had nothing to do with honouring Jesus for His power over nature; rather, they were motivated by a twisted desire to be fed!
Much like many of our fellow Canadians now living in our modern welfare state, the people who were living at that time were entirely self-serving in their desires. If Jesus would not listen to what they saw as reasonable pleas, they would seize Him and force Him to become King of Judea. That way, they would always have free food. They would never have to labour again. They could just stay home, eat, and grow fat! What a life! From the outside looking in, we can certainly see the appeal.
Jesus, however, knowing their intention, responded in a most peculiar manner, peculiar to us who are accustomed to think that government can solve most, if not all, social ills. Jesus withdrew to a secret place where they could not find Him. Jesus was having none of this effort to reduce the crowd to drones living off God’s largess.
It is instructive to recall the Commandments given to mankind. You will recall that the Fourth Commandment instructs us, “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.” And it continues by instructing worshippers, “Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the LORD your God. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy” [EXODUS 20:8-11].
I understand that the emphasis of this command is on worshipping the LORD. However, we must not ignore the fact that those who worship are to engage in their labour for six out of the seven days of each week. God expects those who worship Him to be productive, to be engaged in work. Nowhere in the Word of God are we given so much as a suggestion that we are to be drones, or that we are to be dependent upon the state for our needs. To be certain, we are to be generous toward the widow and toward the orphan, expressly caring for those living among us who are vulnerable because of circumstances beyond their control; but even these can be engaged in doing something, rather than becoming utterly dependent upon the state.
We read of Tabitha, a woman who had resided in Lydda and who had died. Disciples in that city sent for Peter, and when he came, we read, “All the widows stood beside him weeping and showing tunics and other garments that Dorcas made while she was with them” [ACTS 9:39]. This widow was recognised for doing what she could and the way in which she blessed many with her labours.
The Lord GOD stated that people should be prepared to work. People were expected to be productively engaged with their bodies and with their minds. They were to work to provide for themselves and for their families. This is, of course, what the Creator had said when He confronted Adam in his fallen condition, saying,
“Because you have listened to what your wife said,
and have eaten from the tree about which I commanded you,
‘You must not eat from it,’
cursed is the ground because of you.
You’ll eat from it through pain-filled labour
for the rest of your life.
It will produce thorns and thistles for you,
and you’ll eat the plants from the meadows.
You will eat food by the sweat of your brow
until you’re buried in the ground,
because you were taken from it.
You’re made from dust
and you’ll return to dust.”
[GENESIS 3:17-19 ISV]
God never appointed us to perform mindless labour just so we could say we are busy, but He did appoint us to engage in productive labour. We are to provide for ourselves and for our family, as we are instructed when the Apostle to the Gentiles writes, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever” [1 TIMOTHY 5:8].
What is written in this first letter to Timothy amplifies what the Apostle wrote earlier in a letter sent to the Christians of Salonica. He wrote, “When we were with you, we used to give you this command: ‘If anyone is not willing to work, neither should he eat’” [2 THESSALONIANS 3:10 NET BIBLE].
And yes, we who follow the Lord Jesus are expected to be productively engaged so that we will be able to meet the needs that will confront the assembly to which we belong. We are to be ready always to reveal the benevolent heart of the Master; we are to always reveal the congregation as generous to all in need. This is the reason behind Paul’s admonition, “Let the thief no longer steal, but rather let him labor, doing honest work with his own hands, so that he may have something to share with anyone in need” [EPHESIANS 4:28]. While the Apostle specifically addressed individuals who had previously engaged in thievery, he does so by pointing to a principle that marks all Christians, which is generosity toward those in need. We are to be a generous people, and our generosity is to come from our own labours. We are not to attempt to “redistribute” what others have, but we are rather to accept the responsibility to provide relief for those in need through our own work.
These considerations will provide us with the background necessary to understand what is being revealed in the text. With this background fresh in our minds, it is time for us to look at the instruction given in the Word as the Master teaches us the reason for His coming. In this way, you and I will know why He didn’t come, and we will be able to serve Him more accurately through fulfilling His work through us.
CHRIST DID NOT COME TO REDEEM SOCIETY — Perhaps you will recall Jesus informing religious leaders who had objected to Him daring to spend time with sinners, “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” [LUKE 19:10]. Christians frequently need just such an abrupt reminder. We require a reminder such as this primarily because we labour under the illusion that society can be redeemed. Society cannot be redeemed!
I concede the possibility that we might witness a brief delay in the progressive rot that continually insinuates itself throughout society, but we will never see a reversal of the disintegration of modern society. And it is immaterial whether we are speaking about any western society or whether we are speaking of one of the oriental societies; anything that the hand of man touches tends to gravitate toward wickedness. It is the hope of even a brief reversal of the decay that marks society that leads me to pray for revival, for a divine refreshing as the Spirit of God is poured out in power on the churches of this day.
The observation of a downward spiral of mankind is certainly at odds with what became quite a popular eschatological view during the early days of the twentieth century. The movement that was known as postmillennialism was extremely popular among the churches of that earlier day. Postmillennialism held the view that society would become increasingly Christianised through the influence of the churches of our Lord until the world became so righteous that Christ would be compelled to return to assume His place as King over the earth. The doctrine became quite popular despite the warnings issued throughout the Bible informing the faithful that the world would grow ever more wicked. Ultimately, the doctrine fell out of favour as the world was torn apart by the First and the Second World Wars. Since the dark days of the Second World War, few preachers are willing to declare that the world is getting better, or that we will be so successful in evangelising the world that Christ will be compelled to return lest He should miss His opportunity to sit upon the throne in Jerusalem during the Millennial reign.
Nevertheless, it is appropriate that we who follow Christ the Lord should pray for God’s glory to be manifest through us as individuals and as a congregation. We should never imagine that God cannot reveal great power through His people nor that He can no longer stir the people of God to blessed determination to live holy lives and to declare the message of grace in our day. We should never discount the mercies of God to revive His people and to restore the Faith, however briefly, to a position of influence and power.
The power of God’s Spirit working through His people must never be underestimated. The Spirit of Christ does precisely what was promised when Jesus said, “I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged” [JOHN 16:7-11]. This is the Spirit working in your life if you are a follower of the Son of God. He is working to convict others through your life and through your witness.
The Spirit of Christ, the Helper, would empower those who follow the Risen Saviour so that they would be enabled to convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgement. He would do this through the witness that the people of God gave and through the Word which He had superintended, the Word that we know as the Bible. The Spirit of Christ still works in your life as you stand for Christ. And those who hear your testimony will react either in choler because they are convicted and hate the knowledge of their conviction, or in repentance because your testimony is received.
However, though I believe that revival will be witnessed at sundry times and in various places, I harbour no illusion that we will witness a great turning to Christ that encompasses the entire world in this day. The revivals we witness will be limited in scope and in duration. They will make an impact where they occur, but the impact will always be limited. The people of God, witnessing the Spirit of God at work, will long to see the revival touch their own hearts, and plead with God for His glory to be revealed; but the gracious work of God will find extreme resistance from the wicked of this world.
Just as the evil of nations in the Promised Land would reach a critical stage before God would give the land to His people, so the wickedness of this present world will be permitted to continue until God at last says, “Enough!” There is a day coming when God shall say, “Enough!” Anyone who imagines that God will not act, or that He is incapable of acting, only deceives himself or herself. Peter speaks of such people when he writes, “[The wicked] deliberately overlook this fact, that the heavens existed long ago, and the earth was formed out of water and through water by the word of God, and that by means of these the world that then existed was deluged with water and perished. But by the same word the heavens and earth that now exist are stored up for fire, being kept until the day of judgment and destruction of the ungodly” [2 PETER 3:5-7].
There will be a growing desire to know the will of God, but that longing will not be matched by willingness to obey what God commands. This appears to be the meaning of God’s Word through Amos.
“‘Behold, the days are coming,’ declares the Lord GOD,
‘when I will send a famine on the land—
not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water,
but of hearing the words of the LORD.
They shall wander from sea to sea,
and from north to east;
they shall run to and fro, to seek the word of the LORD,
but they shall not find it.”
[AMOS 8:11-12]
One need only review Paul’s warning that was included in his first missive to Timothy, when he writes, “Now the Spirit expressly says that in later times some will depart from the faith by devoting themselves to deceitful spirits and teachings of demons, through the insincerity of liars whose consciences are seared, who forbid marriage and require abstinence from foods that God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth. For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer” [1 TIMOTHY 4:1-5].
This dark summation of what was coming was followed by another statement of the death of society, when the Apostle wrote, “Understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” [2 TIMOTHY 3:1-5].
It will be helpful if you recall, also, that the Apostle in one of his earliest letters to be included in the canon of Scripture warned the Christians in Salonica, “Now concerning the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and our being gathered together to him, we ask you, brothers, not to be quickly shaken in mind or alarmed, either by a spirit or a spoken word, or a letter seeming to be from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one deceive you in any way. For that day will not come, unless the rebellion comes first, and the man of lawlessness is revealed, the son of destruction, who opposes and exalts himself against every so-called god or object of worship, so that he takes his seat in the temple of God, proclaiming himself to be God. Do you not remember that when I was still with you, I told you these things? And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore, God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness” [2 THESSALONIANS 2:1-12].
And preceding that warning were the words included in his first letter to those same Christians. Paul warned, “Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need to have anything written to you. For you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, ‘There is peace and security,’ then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief” [1 THESSALONIANS 5:1-4].
Society is beyond redemption, but this doesn’t give us licence to cease our witness of Christ and His mercy to any who look to Him. Our culture is beyond redemption because society is ultimately the reflection of the collective mind of the citizenry, and the collective mind of the citizenry has degenerated to an astounding degree. Undoubtedly, some will think that this assessment of contemporary culture is excessively negative; however, I’m not nearly so negative as some might imagine.
I do believe we can momentarily have an impact on society and that society can be turned to walk in the ways of the Lord, considering the will of God for a brief period. Christ did not leave us here just so we could withdraw as eremites into a darkened cave where we will watch the culture destroy itself. Jesus commanded, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age” [MATTHEW 28:19-20].
We are charged to be busy about the Master’s work, pointing the lost to life in the Son of God, baptising those who believe the Good News we declare, and discipling those who follow the Master. We must not allow ourselves to grow so pessimistic that we give up on the lost of this world. Rather, we are to continue our work of declaring the message of life as we wait for the coming of our Master.
This was the assertion delivered by the Apostle when he wrote, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” [TITUS 2:11-14].
Scripture teaches us that the preaching of Jonah did change Nineveh for a period. Though Jonah was convinced that the great city did not deserve grace, he witnessed God’s mercy as the people repented, and the judgement that was hanging over that wicked city was delayed almost two centuries. However, the natural progression of the exaltation of man over God inevitably ensured that the judgement did fall on Nineveh.
The preaching of Savonarola touched the city of Florence for a period, though eventually he would be excommunicated by the Pope and executed. For a brief period, the rot of tolerating the sins of the Popes was reversed. England responded to the preaching of Whitefield and the Wesley brothers, turning from national wreck and ruin to moral strength for a century or more. The impact of Baptist preachers, farming throughout the week and preaching the message of Christ on Sundays, ensured a righteous society on the frontier of the New World, though that influence has certainly waned in this day.
Who knows what God may yet accomplish through the righteousness of His people. If we are faithful to declare the message of grace and living holy lives to the glory of God, who can say whether we will yet turn our nation again to righteousness, thus sparing judgement for our children and even for our grandchildren. Though I am certain of the inevitable condition of western society, I know the power of God and believe that He can reverse the wicked miasma that has befallen us at this time.
I do note that society generally has a distorted perspective concerning the Faith. Whenever there is a clash between the faithful and the world, those of this dying world are quick to tell us how Christians should act. And sometimes the world is correct. Nevertheless, it is more often the case that the world holds a distorted view of how we who follow Christ should live. We do not permit the world to instruct us in how we should live. Their perception is seldom correct. What is correct is that when we live for God and for His glory, we will find ourselves in conflict with the world.
In this context, we perhaps need to remember the words of the Master Who warned, “Do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law. And a person’s enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it” [MATTHEW 10:34-39].
CHRIST CAME TO REDEEM SINFUL PEOPLE — The press of the hour compels me to hurry, but this is a message we can all get behind. Look again at the purpose of Jesus’ coming. I pointed to this earlier, but it is essential that we keep in mind that this purpose is what Jesus Himself declared. “The Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost” [LUKE 19:10]. Underscore in your mind that the purpose of Christ’s coming, the reason He was born of a virgin, the reason the Son of God took on human flesh, was so that He could present His life as a sacrifice because of our broken condition. It is essential that we keep this thought uppermost in our mind whenever we think of His coming—Jesus did not come to be a king over the nations of world, or even a king over Israel. Don’t misunderstand, Jesus is a king, but as He confessed, His Kingdom is not of this world.
Do you recall how Jesus was tempted following His baptism. Satan tempted Jesus with food when the Master was hungry following an extended fast. Then the devil tempted Jesus with societal adulation if He would only throw Himself off the temple. At last, Satan attempted to tempt the Master with power. Here is the account as Matthew provides it. “Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory. And he said to him, ‘All these I will give you, if you will fall down and worship me.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Be gone, Satan! For it is written,
“You shall worship the Lord your God
and him only shall you serve.”’”
[MATTHEW 4:8-10]
Some would dismiss Satan’s authority to make such an offer; however, note that the Master did not rebuke the devil when he boasted that the authority and the glory of this world has been delivered to him [see LUKE 4:6]. Moreover, it is important to note that Jesus testified that the devil is “the ruler of this world” [see JOHN 12:31 and JOHN 14:20]. Moreover, Paul identifies the devil as “the god of this world” [see 2 CORINTHIANS 4:4], and John says that “the whole world lies in the power of the evil one” [1 JOHN 5:19b].
Reading the accounts given in the four Gospels, it is immediately obvious that Jesus was focused on the sole purpose of presenting His life as a sacrifice; giving His life as a sacrifice was the one great purpose in coming to earth. Do not make the mistake of thinking that Jesus had another purpose in coming—He did not. Jesus will reign, but He must first make atonement for lost humanity. Jesus does reign over the hearts of those who are gathered into the Kingdom of God. But those that come into the Kingdom come because He has provided His life as a sacrifice for them. The redeemed are in a state of vital relationship with the Father because the Saviour has given His life as a sacrifice for them. And the remaining writings of the New Testament agree in this presentation.
This message is often missing from the sermons presented in these closing days of the Church Age, but Christ the Lord came at the first advent to present His life as a perfect sacrifice for sinful people. We are unable to make ourselves presentable and acceptable in the sight of the Lord God; but what we could not do, the Lord has done for us. He has taken our sin upon Himself and carried it away so that we need never be laden with that burden. This is the testimony of Isaiah when he writes,
“In love you have delivered my life
from the pit of destruction,
for you have cast all my sins
behind your back.”
[ISAIAH 38:17]
And if my sins are behind His back, He can no longer see them! That means I am free of fear because I am no longer condemned. Free at last; free at last, thank God Almighty, I’m free at last. Amen.
You may recall how Micah testifies of God’s compassion on His people,
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity
and passing over transgression
for the remnant of his inheritance?
He does not retain his anger forever,
because he delights in steadfast love.
He will again have compassion on us;
he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
You will cast all our sins
into the depths of the sea.”
[MICAH 7:18-19]
Though the words were intended for Israel, surely, they apply to us in this day.
Christ does call us to be godly; but we have no ability to be godly if we are not born from above. Christ does call us to worship; but we haven’t the capacity for worship in Spirit and in truth if we do not have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us. And the Spirit of Christ cannot dwell in us if we have not been born from above. Christ does call us to follow Him; but we haven’t strength to follow Him if we are still in our sin. Thus, our first need is to be born from above. And this is the reason for His coming. The Son of God came to deliver us from our sin, but we must receive His sacrifice in our place. This will mean that we acknowledge our need of a Saviour, confessing that we are broken, ruined sinners in need of forgiveness of our sin. We need a Saviour!
Opening his missive to the churches that were scattered throughout the Roman province of Galatia, the Apostle has written, “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen” [GALATIANS 1:3-5]. He begins by confessing that Christ our Lord gave Himself for our sins so that we could be delivered from the present evil age. That statement sets the theme for the remainder of this missive to the churches of Galatia.
Later, writing to a young minister whom he had appointed to serve in Crete, Paul would testify to the Lord’s sacrifice for fallen people, writing, “The grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” [TITUS 2:11-14].
THE MASTER REJECTS EVERY EFFORT TO FORCE THE DIVINE WILL — “Perceiving then that they were about to come and take him by force to make him king, Jesus withdrew again to the mountain by himself” [JOHN 6:15]. God will not be coerced. Jesus is Lord; and the Spirit of Christ lives within each person who has been born from above. Either the Spirit of Christ directs our life, or we are rebelling against the Saviour’s reign. God cannot bless us when we exert our own will over the divine will, and neither will He attempt to compel one who is determined to have his or her way to submit to His Divine will. If you will obey Christ, it will be because you have chosen to do so.
Such knowledge is difficult for some professing Christians to accept; they have become convinced that the Master must make concession to their wayward bent. They appear convinced that the Master must pursue them so that He can make them do what should be done. Nevertheless, He is Master, and we are not. Therefore, we must never fall into the trap of thinking that we are in control of our lives. We who are born from above have been redeemed, and we belong to the Risen Saviour.
I know that many of the promises recorded in the writings of the Prophets were given first to Israel. Nevertheless, so many of these promises are applicable to us who follow the Risen Lord. We should never treat them as some unimportant word that has no relevance to us. For instance, you may recall God speaking through Isaiah saying,
“Fear not, for I have redeemed you;
I have called you by name, you are mine.
When you pass through the waters, I will be with you;
and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you;
when you walk through fire you shall not be burned,
and the flame shall not consume you.
For I am the LORD your God.”
[ISAIAH 43:1b-3a]
Soon after delivering this promise, the Lord GOD, again promises,
“I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud
and your sins like mist;
return to me, for I have redeemed you.”
[ISAIAH 44:22]
You will notice in the passages just cited that God speaks of His view of those on whom He has shed His grace. God says, “I have redeemed you.” Therefore, you need to know that the Living God has invested His own precious love in the one who is saved. And we know that it was the love of Christ that held Him fast to the cross. As a pastor over the flock of the Lord that meets as the New Beginnings Baptist Church, I take very seriously the charge delivered to the elders at Ephesus, when the Apostle to the Gentiles admonished those men, “Pay careful attention to yourselves and to all the flock, in which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to care for the church of God, which he obtained with his own blood” [ACTS 20:28]. I know that this church, the people who meet as one body in Christ, has been purchased with the blood of Jesus, God’s own Son.
The Son of God was pinioned to that awful cross by love, and not by any nails that had been beaten into shape by the hands of man. Jesus was held fast to that tree until His lifeblood was poured out for those who should be saved. The terrifying truth is that He could have avoided death by appealing for legions of angels. When His disciples imagined that they could fight to drive away those who came to seize Him, you will recall that He stated, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels” [MATTHEW 26:53]?
The terrifying truth is that the holy armies of Heaven stood ready to obey the command of the Father, invading the earth to deliver the Prince of Glory. Had the mighty angels of Heaven responded to such an awesome call, would anyone have been spared? Nevertheless, the Saviour came that He might give His life as a sacrifice for man, just as He said at that time. “How then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so” [MATTHEW 26:54]? Jesus was born to give His life as a sacrifice for fallen people.
This is the reason the Apostle exults, “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me” [GALATIANS 2:20]. The Son of God took my sin upon Himself that I might live my life for Him.
Here is a stunning truth, the devil thought He could pervert the plan of salvation that the Master would carry out, but Satan could not turn the Saviour aside from doing the will of the Father. The people who came to compel Jesus to be king imagined they could co-opt the plan of God to redeem His fallen creation, but they were not able to impose their will on the Master. What is astonishing is that even His own disciples foolishly imagined they could defend Him and keep Him from sacrificing His life for fallen humanity, but they were acting in the flesh and not acting as those who walk by faith. Earlier, when Peter attempted to dissuade the Lord from surrendering His life as a sacrifice, Jesus had found it necessary to rebuke Peter, saying, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things of God, but on the things of man” [MATTHEW 16:23].
When Peter, and the other disciples as well, attempted to keep Jesus from going to the cross, they were thinking as mere men and not thinking as befits the mind of God. These disciples were acting as mere men, and not as those who walk with the Master. They were a hindrance to the work that God was doing. Had they somehow prevailed, they would have ensured that none of us would ever be saved. No wonder, then, that Jesus addressed Peter as “Satan!” In opposing the sacrifice of the Son of God, Peter was speaking as the devil speaks and not as God speaks. Let me point out that whenever a preacher, whenever a professing Christian, dismisses the sacrifice of Jesus as unnecessary, that person is speaking as though prompted by the devil and not by the Spirit of Christ. When anyone attempts to diminish the necessity of Jesus’ death, they reveal that they are prompted by the evil one and not by the Spirit of God.
This brings us to the interface where you meet with God, where your will intersects with God’s will. I understand that I am primarily speaking with people who are followers of the Risen Lord of Glory. In the decisions that you must make on an ongoing basis, the question arises as to whether you are seeking the will of the Saviour, or whether you are attempting to impose your own will on your life. Are you pursuing the mind of Christ, or are you thinking as mere mortals? You must not fall into the trap of thinking that merely being a church member qualifies you to act according to your will.
The thing is, you alone can answer this question. Though God knows the heart, you are responsible for how you receive the will of the Master and for whether you will accept His will over your own heart. In similar fashion, the lost who hear this message must know that they are assuredly not walking according to the will of the Saviour. Should it be that somehow you have never received the sacrifice of Christ the Lord as your own, you are still lost and under sentence of death.
Scripture warns us, “Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” [JOHN 3:18]. Later, we read in the same Book, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life; whoever does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God remains on him” [JOHN 3:36].
The Son of God died because of your sin. He was certified as dead, being buried in a borrowed tomb. However, the Good News is that Jesus did not stay dead; He conquered death, rising from the dead. He was seen as alive and interacted with those who knew Him in the flesh before He ascended into Heaven. Now, the promise of God is, “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. Believe on the Lord Jesus and be saved. Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton: Standard Bible Society, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
