Some Thoughts on FRIENDSHIP — From an INTROVERT! ENEMIES of God!? (Part 2)

None of us likes to be told that we enter life as ENEMIES of God! But that’s the testimony of Scripture. True, every person is a creation of God and is made in the image of God. But as we saw in our previous post, CREATION does not equal REDEMPTION.

I’ve been studying Ephesians 2 recently and here is what we learn about our B.C. (before Christ) condition:

There are two, and only two, categories of human beings: (1) those who are by nature (and practice) belong to their father, the devil (Jn. 8:41; Acts 13:10), and (2) those who by conversion and redemption are now children of God (Jn. 1:12; I Jn. 3:10).

We dare not waffle on the truth of CONVERSION.  I heard of a very cautious clergyman in Detroit who once challenged his congregation with these words: “Dearly beloved, unless you repent of your sins in a measure, and become converted in a degree, you will, I regret to say, be damned to a more or less extent.” Biblical conversion moves one out of the category of enemy into the category of child, redeemed by the finished work of the Lord Jesus.

Let’s not leave those verses in Ephesians 2 too quickly. Notice some of the awful statements about our pre-conversion condition: “dead in your transgressions and sins”; you “followed the ways of this world”; you were “by nature deserving of wrath”; etc. Those expressions are the death-nail to human pride. When one says, “Yes, Lord, that is indeed my condition,” he or she is on the fast track to forgiveness and fellowship with God. And conversion leads to FRIENDSHIP WITH GOD!

 

 

Some Thoughts on FRIENDSHIP — From an INTROVERT! ENEMIES of God!? (Part 1)

What must it mean to be called a “friend of God”? If our view of God is low, then that expression means very little. But if we think of God as the Almighty Creator of the heavens and the earth, the One who sent His own Son to die for our sins, the One who grants us the very next breath of air in our lungs, then becoming His friend has to be the greatest gift one could ever have!

Atheism, of course, tells us that God isn’t real and any “relationship” with Him is pure self-deception. Militant atheists sometimes express their disapproval with posters like this one:

“But,” some might say, “doesn’t God love everybody? Aren’t all people friends of God? Don’t we come into the world as friends of God?”

Great questions! Here’s what the Bible teaches: Before conversion, we were not friends, but enemies of God! Romans 5:10 says, “For if, while we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life!”

There is no spiritual neutrality, no religious Switzerland. We come into this world as wrath-deserving sinners who begin to practice our rebellion as soon as possible! Yes, we are children of God in the sense of CREATION. But creation does not equal REDEMPTION! The Apostle Paul calls his listeners on Mars Hill “the offspring of God,” but then calls them to repent and believe in Jesus! (Acts 17).

(to be continued)

 

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord: Psalm 140

Psalm 140

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ Rescue me, Lord, from evildoers;
    protect me from the violent,
² who devise evil plans in their hearts
    and stir up war every day.
³ They make their tongues as sharp as a serpent’s;
    the poison of vipers is on their lips.

⁴ Keep me safe, Lord, from the hands of the wicked;
    protect me from the violent,
    who devise ways to trip my feet.
⁵ The arrogant have hidden a snare for me;
    they have spread out the cords of their net
    and have set traps for me along my path.

⁶ I say to the Lord, “You are my God.”
    Hear, Lord, my cry for mercy.
⁷ Sovereign Lord, my strong deliverer,
    you shield my head in the day of battle.
⁸ Do not grant the wicked their desires, Lord;
    do not let their plans succeed.

⁹ Those who surround me proudly rear their heads;
    may the mischief of their lips engulf them.
¹⁰ May burning coals fall on them;
    may they be thrown into the fire,
    into miry pits, never to rise.
¹¹ May slanderers not be established in the land;
    may disaster hunt down the violent.

¹² I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor
    and upholds the cause of the needy.
¹³ Surely the righteous will praise your name,
    and the upright will live in your presence.

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 119): Part 20

ר Resh

¹⁵³ Look on my suffering and deliver me,
    for I have not forgotten your law.
¹⁵⁴ Defend my cause and redeem me;
    preserve my life according to your promise.
¹⁵⁵ Salvation is far from the wicked,
    for they do not seek out your decrees.
¹⁵⁶ Your compassion, Lord, is great;
    preserve my life according to your laws.
¹⁵⁷ Many are the foes who persecute me,
    but I have not turned from your statutes.
¹⁵⁸ I look on the faithless with loathing,
    for they do not obey your word.
¹⁵⁹ See how I love your precepts;
    preserve my life, Lord, in accordance with your love.
¹⁶⁰ All your words are true;
    all your righteous laws are eternal.

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 68)

Psalm 68

For the director of music. Of David. A psalm. A song.

¹ May God arise, may his enemies be scattered;
    may his foes flee before him.
² May you blow them away like smoke—
    as wax melts before the fire,
    may the wicked perish before God.
³ But may the righteous be glad
    and rejoice before God;
    may they be happy and joyful.

⁴ Sing to God, sing in praise of his name,
    extol him who rides on the clouds;
    rejoice before him—his name is the Lord.
⁵ A father to the fatherless, a defender of widows,
    is God in his holy dwelling.
⁶ God sets the lonely in families,
    he leads out the prisoners with singing;
    but the rebellious live in a sun-scorched land.

⁷ When you, God, went out before your people,
    when you marched through the wilderness,
⁸ the earth shook, the heavens poured down rain,
    before God, the One of Sinai,
    before God, the God of Israel.
⁹ You gave abundant showers, O God;
    you refreshed your weary inheritance.
¹⁰ Your people settled in it,
    and from your bounty, God, you provided for the poor.

¹¹ The Lord announces the word,
    and the women who proclaim it are a mighty throng:
¹² “Kings and armies flee in haste;
    the women at home divide the plunder.
¹³ Even while you sleep among the sheep pens,
    the wings of my dove are sheathed with silver,
    its feathers with shining gold.”
¹⁴ When the Almighty scattered the kings in the land,
    it was like snow fallen on Mount Zalmon.

¹⁵ Mount Bashan, majestic mountain,
    Mount Bashan, rugged mountain,
¹⁶ why gaze in envy, you rugged mountain,
    at the mountain where God chooses to reign,
    where the Lord himself will dwell forever?
¹⁷ The chariots of God are tens of thousands
    and thousands of thousands;
    the Lord has come from Sinai into his sanctuary.
¹⁸ When you ascended on high,
    you took many captives;
    you received gifts from people,
even from the rebellious—
    that you, Lord God, might dwell there.

¹⁹ Praise be to the Lord, to God our Savior,
    who daily bears our burdens.
²⁰ Our God is a God who saves;
    from the Sovereign Lord comes escape from death.
²¹ Surely God will crush the heads of his enemies,
    the hairy crowns of those who go on in their sins.
²² The Lord says, “I will bring them from Bashan;
    I will bring them from the depths of the sea,
²³ that your feet may wade in the blood of your foes,
    while the tongues of your dogs have their share.”

²⁴ Your procession, God, has come into view,
    the procession of my God and King into the sanctuary.
²⁵ In front are the singers, after them the musicians;
    with them are the young women playing the timbrels.
²⁶ Praise God in the great congregation;
    praise the Lord in the assembly of Israel.
²⁷ There is the little tribe of Benjamin, leading them,
    there the great throng of Judah’s princes,
    and there the princes of Zebulun and of Naphtali.

²⁸ Summon your power, God;
    show us your strength, our God, as you have done before.
²⁹ Because of your temple at Jerusalem
    kings will bring you gifts.
³⁰ Rebuke the beast among the reeds,
    the herd of bulls among the calves of the nations.
Humbled, may the beast bring bars of silver.
    Scatter the nations who delight in war.
³¹ Envoys will come from Egypt;
    Cush will submit herself to God.

³² Sing to God, you kingdoms of the earth,
    sing praise to the Lord,
³³ to him who rides across the highest heavens, the ancient heavens,
    who thunders with mighty voice.
³⁴ Proclaim the power of God,
    whose majesty is over Israel,
    whose power is in the heavens.
³⁵ You, God, are awesome in your sanctuary;
    the God of Israel gives power and strength to his people.

Praise be to God!

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 55)

Psalm 55

For the director of music. With stringed instruments. A maskil of David.

¹ Listen to my prayer, O God,
    do not ignore my plea;
²     hear me and answer me.
My thoughts trouble me and I am distraught
³     because of what my enemy is saying,
    because of the threats of the wicked;
for they bring down suffering on me
    and assail me in their anger.

⁴ My heart is in anguish within me;
    the terrors of death have fallen on me.
⁵ Fear and trembling have beset me;
    horror has overwhelmed me.
⁶ I said, “Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!
    I would fly away and be at rest.
⁷ I would flee far away
    and stay in the desert;
⁸ I would hurry to my place of shelter,
    far from the tempest and storm.”

⁹ Lord, confuse the wicked, confound their words,
    for I see violence and strife in the city.
¹⁰ Day and night they prowl about on its walls;
    malice and abuse are within it.
¹¹ Destructive forces are at work in the city;
    threats and lies never leave its streets.

¹² If an enemy were insulting me,
    I could endure it;
if a foe were rising against me,
    I could hide.
¹³ But it is you, a man like myself,
    my companion, my close friend,
¹⁴ with whom I once enjoyed sweet fellowship
    at the house of God,
as we walked about
    among the worshipers.

¹⁵ Let death take my enemies by surprise;
    let them go down alive to the realm of the dead,
    for evil finds lodging among them.

¹⁶ As for me, I call to God,
    and the Lord saves me.
¹⁷ Evening, morning and noon
    I cry out in distress,
    and he hears my voice.
¹⁸ He rescues me unharmed
    from the battle waged against me,
    even though many oppose me.
¹⁹ God, who is enthroned from of old,
    who does not change—
he will hear them and humble them,
    because they have no fear of God.

²⁰ My companion attacks his friends;
    he violates his covenant.
²¹ His talk is smooth as butter,
    yet war is in his heart;
his words are more soothing than oil,
    yet they are drawn swords.

²² Cast your cares on the Lord
    and he will sustain you;
he will never let
    the righteous be shaken.
²³ But you, God, will bring down the wicked
    into the pit of decay;
the bloodthirsty and deceitful
    will not live out half their days.

But as for me, I trust in you.

 

Psalms of the Salter: Some Thoughts on Really Living for the Lord (Psalm 41)

Psalm 41

For the director of music. A psalm of David.

¹ Blessed are those who have regard for the weak;
    the Lord delivers them in times of trouble.
² The Lord protects and preserves them—
    they are counted among the blessed in the land—
    he does not give them over to the desire of their foes.
³ The Lord sustains them on their sickbed
    and restores them from their bed of illness.

⁴ I said, “Have mercy on me, Lord;
    heal me, for I have sinned against you.”
⁵ My enemies say of me in malice,
    “When will he die and his name perish?”
⁶ When one of them comes to see me,
    he speaks falsely, while his heart gathers slander;
    then he goes out and spreads it around.

⁷ All my enemies whisper together against me;
    they imagine the worst for me, saying,
⁸ “A vile disease has afflicted him;
    he will never get up from the place where he lies.”
⁹ Even my close friend,
    someone I trusted,
one who shared my bread,
    has turned against me.

¹⁰ But may you have mercy on me, Lord;
    raise me up, that I may repay them.
¹¹ I know that you are pleased with me,
    for my enemy does not triumph over me.
¹² Because of my integrity you uphold me
    and set me in your presence forever.

¹³ Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel,
    from everlasting to everlasting.
Amen and Amen.