I came across this old Facebook post from just a year ago (first published on 18 October 2021), so thought I would put it here. In that post, I was sharing another post by someone who had shared part of the story of Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego found in Daniel 3. So here now is the post in question:
This is one of my favourite stories in the Bible, especially in the current day and age.
The background: Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had passed a law saying that everyone in his empire had to bow down to a giant idol when music was played. In short, this was a GOVERNMENT MANDATE. Failure to comply with this mandate would mean being thrown into a fiery furnace to be burned alive.
For three young Hebrew men who loved God, however, this law presented a little problem. You see, the law was in direct conflict with the First and Second Commandments. So they faced a rather disagreeable dilemma. They could either obey God and face certain death in the fiery furnace, or obey the evil law and avoid the furnace, but sin against God by worshipping a god other than Him and bowing to a graven image.
Well, they chose to obey God - to honour Him even though it appeared to mean the end of their lives. They refused to comply with the wicked mandate. It is particularly important to note that they knew exactly what the price of noncompliance was - but they were prepared to pay it.
In the end, God honoured those courageous young men for their faith and obedience to Him, and miraculously delivered them from the fiery furnace, teaching Nebuchadnezzar a lesson in the process. However, they knew that He could have chosen to let them be martyred, and they were still willing to give their lives rather than comply with an immoral law.
A key takeaway for Christians is this: when you stand with Christ and take His side rather than the world’s side about something, there will often be a price to pay. It may not involve being burned alive (although for many Christians of the past, it did), but it could entail something like loss of a job or relationship, maybe even the loss of your freedom for a time. But if you stand strong and don’t give in, then one way or another, God will honour your faith and resolve.
Even for non-Christians, there is a worthwhile lesson here. Which is simply that if you want to stand for what is right (or what you believe is right), there will almost certainly be a price to pay. For example, if you want to stand against the vaccine mandates, you may have to accept some tough consequences like losing your job or losing some everyday freedoms. But if you truly believe in your cause, then you should be ready to pay that price. In the case of this story, all it took was three men taking a stand to get an unjust law overturned. If you’re willing to stick to your guns, regardless of the cost, then you too can make a difference, maybe even more than you might think.
I would add that these three men "hated" their lives. They were prepared to lose their lives for the Lord rather than betray Him by bowing down to an idol. As I said in the post, many people who take this type of stand DO lose their lives. But in this case, God miraculously delivered them. He greatly blessed and rewarded their faith. Since they were willing to lose their lives, they gained them back.
While it's not exactly the same thing, I know two Christian people who both faced losing their jobs because they refused to take the COVID-19 vaccine. They decided to stand on their convictions and not allow themselves to be forced to get it. Rather than give in to the mandate to save their jobs like so many others were doing, they chose to put their faith in God to take care of their future. Now, many people in this situation have indeed lost their jobs (very unjustly, I might add). But God rewarded the faith of these two saints. One of them was allowed to work from home for about four months. This agreement was reached about two weeks before she was due to have her job terminated. She was allowed back into the office in early May. At the time of writing, she is still in the same job. The other Christian, a young man, was about two weeks away from losing his job when the company he was working for dropped its vaccine mandate. Consequently, he is still working there to this day.
So you see, God continues to reward courageous faith in the present day, just as He rewarded it in Bible times. I hope this will encourage anyone reading this to have faith in God (if indeed you are saved) and not give in to fear.
A couple of months or so ago, I came across another old post in my Facebook memories that I thought was worth sharing. I wrote it on 12 June 2015, and it has to do with the Hebrew Roots Movement and other Judaising sects or cults that have a legalistic focus on the Old Testament Law. I shall now quote the post below and then follow up with a few additional comments.
Earlier in the week, I addressed the somewhat thorny topic of Israel and antisemitism. In this post however, I'd like to reflect a little on the opposite extreme that is just as dangerous in many ways, maybe even more so. And that is Hebrew Roots, Judaising and suchlike. Judaising of course involves going back under the Law, including Sabbath keeping. (The Seventh Day Adventists are a classic example of Judaising.) The Hebrew Roots movement goes even further though and has people adopting Jewish dress, Jewish customs and using the Hebrew name of Jesus (Yeshua, although some also say Yashua).
Now as I said earlier, it is very important for us to have a right understanding of Israel and the Jews, and their place in Biblical history and prophecy. (This is not a salvation issue - you can be saved and still have some wrong notions about Israel and the Jews initially, but if the Holy Spirit is in you, He will surely correct you over time. Nonetheless it is still something that is vitally important to understand.) However, that does NOT mean that we have to become de facto Jews ourselves! (I heard a podcast a while back that said most real Jews have little time for the Hebrew Roots Movement - they regard it as Gentiles playing at being Jews, and I reckon that pretty well nails it.) There is no requirement in the Bible for us to adopt the laws and customs of the Old Testament. Nor are we required to call Jesus by His Hebrew name. If we were supposed to do that, then God would have made it plain in His Word. But over and over in Acts for instance, we see the apostles preaching Jesus, not Yeshua. It is the name of Jesus Christ that makes the devils tremble, and by which we can be saved.
The Bible is clear that when we are saved, we are under grace and not law. However, we should certainly not discount the Old Testament Law out of hand. It has three parts to it (triune like God Himself), each with its own particular purpose:
1) The moral Law shows us that we are sinners in need of a Saviour. It shows us all the ways that we have sinned and come short of the glory of God. That is why this aspect of the Law needs to be preached hard to proud and unrepentant sinners, to break up the fallow ground of their hearts.
2) The civil Law, while only applicable to Israel, has some useful general principles of justice, and also shows us God's absolute hatred for sin, especially those kinds He calls an abomination.
3) The ceremonial Law, again only required for Israel to practise, points to Christ, with everything about it foreshadowing His ultimate sacrifice on the cross. By studying the ceremonial Law, we can gain a deeper appreciation for what the Lord Jesus Christ did at Calvary, especially when we consider all the ways He fulfilled it.
So the Law is certainly a very important part of the Bible, but we are not required to live under it, because Christ has redeemed us from its curse and from all the burdens it would place on us. Attempting to keep the Law in all its points is the ultimate in works salvation. (We should certainly obey the New Testament commandments though, some of which repeat the moral Law. Not to be saved or stay saved though, but because we ARE saved and out of love for the Lord who saved us.) And trying to live like a Jew, especially when you are not one, is completely unnecessary at best, and a road to legalism and bondage at worst. Avoid this extreme then every bit as much as antisemitism. The best way to love the Jewish people, at the end of the day, is to give them the Gospel!
Like the Facebook post I reproduced here in June, I have not edited this one other than to fix a solitary typo. It is otherwise exactly as I wrote it seven years ago.
Recently I did a study of Colossians, and in the second chapter of that epistle, I came across this rather important little passage:
"Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ." (Colossians 2:16-17)
Some people take Verse 16 to mean that we shouldn't let anyone judge us for things like celebrating Easter and Christmas ("holyday" is where we get the word "holiday" from). However, the next verse makes it clear that it is only the Jewish ceremonies and feasts prescribed in the Old Testament being referred to. These ceremonies are "a shadow of things to come", or as I wrote in my old Facebook post, they foreshadow Christ and His sacrifice on the cross. Christmas and Easter, on the other hand, are not a shadow of anything. They are Catholic inventions incorporating a wide range of pagan traditions, many (or even most) of which are based in witchcraft. So these are not good things for Christians to be celebrating, and anyone speaking against these holidays is NOT in violation of Colossians 2:16, nor should anyone use this verse as an excuse to justify celebrating them. (The problems with Christmas and Easter are a discussion for another day. Right now, the main point I want to stress is that they are not shadows of anything to come, whereas the old Jewish ceremonies stipulated in the Old Testament ARE such shadows. So the verse is dealing with old Jewish traditions and has nothing to do with modern so-called Christian holidays.)
The very first Christians were Jews, and from Acts 10 onwards, Gentiles (non-Jews) began to be converted in large numbers as well. The Jewish converts had been raised to observe the Mosaic Law, including keeping the Sabbath, celebrating Passover and so on. Even though they no longer had to do this, old habits died hard for some of them. There were also some (either immature believers or false teachers) who tried to persuade the Gentile converts to observe these old ceremonies as well. Indeed, sometimes they tried to make the Gentile converts feel like they were not proper Christians, or that they were at best inferior Christians somehow, if they didn't keep all the old ceremonies. This is the true context of the above verses. Paul was quite simply telling the members of the Colossian church that they should not let anyone make them feel bad for not eating or drinking in a "kosher" way, or observing Passover and similar feasts, or keeping the Sabbath (note that last one in particular). In NOT doing such things, they were doing nothing wrong. Those old ceremonies were just a shadow pointing to Christ. Because of what and Who they represent, they are good for us to study, but there is otherwise no need to partake in them.
Nowadays, there are still people (such as Hebrew Roots practitioners and Seventh Day Adventists, among others) who insist we should keep the Sabbath and/or observe other Old Testament rituals. Like the Gentile Christians of New Testament times, we should not let such people judge us when we ignore these ceremonies, for it is they who are in the wrong by trying to make people go back under the bondage of the Law. That is the application of the Colossians passage above. Again, it has nothing to do with celebrating modern-day "Christian" holidays. People who want to keep the Sabbath and other parts of the Old Testament Law are really just trying to save themselves by works, which cannot be done. They are moreover making the exact same error that the unbelieving Jews of Paul's day did (and which the unsaved Jews of today also make):
"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to
establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto
the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth." (Romans 10:1-4)
When you try to establish your own righteousness through works, you are not submitting to the righteousness of God (repentance and faith in Jesus Christ, which results in salvation by GRACE and not works). Many people who are into keeping the Sabbath and suchlike are often very zealous, but their zeal is not according to right knowledge or understanding of the Scriptures. Trying to keep the Old Testament Law is just setting yourself up for failure:
"For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if
thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a
transgressor of the law." (James 2:10-11)
This ties in with what I wrote in the Facebook post above: "Attempting to keep the Law in all its points is the ultimate in works salvation". You only have to break one law, one time, to be a sinner. So you could keep the Sabbath faithfully for your entire life, yet if you tell a lie or steal something, or break any other moral commandment, you become a sinner and guilty before God. No amount of good works that you do, or ceremonies that you observe, can make any difference to your liability for your sins. That is why you need to repent of your sins (be deeply sorry to God for them and have grief over them) and put your faith in Jesus Christ and His finished work on the cross to be saved.
However, if you try to keep the Law, you make Christ of no effect in your life. Paul explains this to the Galatians using the example of circumcision (which was required for baby boys born as Jews and also required for people wanting to convert to Judaism in Old Testament times - some false teachers in Paul's day were insisting that Christian men should be circumcised to be saved; see Acts 15:1 for instance):
"Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage. Behold, I Paul say unto you, that if ye be circumcised, Christ shall profit you nothing. For I testify again to every man that is circumcised, that he is a debtor to do the whole law. Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace. For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love." (Galatians 5:1-6)
Now if you happen to be someone who was circumcised for a genuine medical reason (because that can happen), or your parents circumcised you as a baby (which you obviously had no control over), then be assured that this passage does not apply to you. It is talking about professing Christians who did it because they thought they had to obey some or all of the Old Testament Law. So Paul is pointing out that if you submit to that rite, then you're submitting to the entire Law and thereby putting yourself in a yoke of bondage. Notice that being "fallen from grace" has NOTHING to do with "losing salvation". The point is rather that if you are trying to be justified by the Law, you are rejecting salvation by grace, which requires only repentance and faith. So this is the sense in which you can be "fallen from grace". Observing the old Jewish rituals is another form of bondage, as Paul points out in the previous chapter of Galatians:
"But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how
turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire
again to be in bondage? Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years." (Galatians 4:9-10)
Going back to Colossians 2, he also says:
"Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world,
why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances, (Touch not; taste not; handle not; Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men?" (Colossians 2:20-22)
Some of the points made in these last two passages could actually apply to modern holidays, because they are based on the doctrines and commandments of men, coming as they do from Catholicism and not the Bible, and can often put people in bondage (such as the obligation people feel to give presents at Christmas - if you're doing that because you feel you have to, you're in bondage). But the main focus is still on the old Jewish ceremonies. Christ did away with all those things on the cross, and He did something else rather important too (which I alluded to in the Facebook post above):
"For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus
Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith." (Galatians 3:10-14)
So these Hebrew Roots and Seventh Day Adventist types, and others who believe that Christians need to do works of the Law, are not only putting themselves and those they influence in bondage, but are also under the curse of the very law that they think will save them! But no one can be justified by the Law, a point also made in Galatians 2:16, "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the
faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we
might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the
law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified". It really couldn't be much clearer. Obeying the Old Testament Law, including keeping the Sabbath and keeping other ceremonies and rituals, WILL NOT JUSTIFY YOU. Only through repentance and faith in Jesus Christ can you be justified. If keeping the Sabbath, celebrating Passover and so on were so necessary for Christians, why did the apostles not command the early church to do those things? Instead, they only gave them four simple rules:
"But there rose up certain of the sect of the Pharisees which believed,
saying, That it was needful to circumcise them, and to command them to keep the law of Moses." (Acts 15:5 - Hebrew Roots right here, except these were Jewish converts who were either not born again or immature in their faith)
"Now therefore why tempt ye God, to put a yoke upon the neck of the
disciples, which neither our fathers nor we were able to bear?" (Acts 15:10 - a great point made by Peter; those who want to make Christians keep the law of Moses today are putting the same unbearable yoke on them)
"Wherefore my sentence is, that we trouble not them, which from among the Gentiles are turned to God: But that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollutions of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood." (Acts 15:19-20 - and here are the four rules, proposed by James)
"For it seemed good to the Holy Ghost, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things; That ye abstain from meats offered to idols, and from blood, and from
things strangled, and from fornication: from which if ye keep
yourselves, ye shall do well. Fare ye well." (Acts 15:28-29 - the rules are repeated in a letter to the early churches)
So the four rules were made in response to some Jewish converts who were insisting that Christians should be circumcised and keep the Old Testament Law, just like those in the Hebrew Roots Movement and other legalistic cults do today. The early Gentile converts were instructed simply to abstain from idolatry (which is repeatedly warned against elsewhere in the New Testament), fornication (also repeatedly warned against in the NT), eating anything with blood in it (are you Catholics who think that transubstantiation turns the wine in your Mass into the literal blood of Christ taking note?) or eating anything strangled. They were not required to observe any old ceremonies or traditions.
Peter also dabbled in a little Judaising and had to be soundly rebuked by Paul for it. I think that reproof is a good point on which to wrap this post up. Those who adhere to the Hebrew Roots Movement and similar groups are trying to compel Gentiles (and remember most of them are Gentiles themselves) to live like the Jews. To do so however is to not walk uprightly according to the truth of the Gospel. It is legalism at its absolute worst, putting people under bondage. So Paul's rebuke to Peter applies to modern-day legalists as well. When we are born again, we are made free from all that. Note that we do not have liberty to sin (that's what we're saved from, and besides, sin puts us under bondage too), but we don't need to observe any Old Testament rituals. Rather, all we need to do is focus on loving God and others. That is what we are truly set free to do when we're saved.
"But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles:
but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them
which were of the circumcision. And the other Jews dissembled likewise with him; insomuch that Barnabas also was carried away with their dissimulation. But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them
all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not
as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the
Jews?" (Galatians 2:10-14)
In my Facebook memories yesterday, I came across this old post that I wrote on 10 June 2015, back when I was just a young kid of 42. Sometimes when I look at things I wrote in the past, I cringe and wonder what I was possibly thinking, but this seemed rather good - in fact, I decided it was worth sharing here. I quote it below, and then I will follow up with one or two additional comments at the end. As you will see, this post is mainly directed at Christian men, but hopefully any ladies reading this will also be edified by it.
We learn something of God's order in 1 Corinthians 11:3, "But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God." Much emphasis is placed in Christian circles on the middle declaration, "the head of the woman is the man". This is understandable in many ways due to the current feminism-dominated culture where you have all these Jezebels running around trying to dominate men and pretty much take charge of everything, and where you have marriages in which the woman acts as the head of the home while the man submits to her will. Such marriages exist not only in the world, but within the church too, so it certainly important to remind people of what God's order actually is.
However, as needful as it is to remember that middle statement, sometimes too much emphasis can be placed on it. In my observation, very little attention is paid to the first declaration, "the head of every man is Christ". So that is what I would like to dwell on a little in this post.
Now although this verse has to do with the marital relationship, it goes without saying that Christ is as much the Head of the single man as He is the married one. Jesus is Lord, and as such He is the Head of a man when that man gets saved. That means, fellas (and ladies too, obviously, but I'm aiming this post mainly at my fellow-men) that your life should be lived according to His will and His direction. It is something I have to remind myself of regularly, because I am all too inclined sometimes to make like Frank SIN-atra and "do it my way". (That sure worked out well for Frankie. If he ever breaks out into "I Did It My Way" in Hell, you can be sure that he now sings it as a lament rather than a boast.) Everything you do should be done as Christ directs. There should be no leaning on your own understanding, no trusting in your own heart. Ever. (Easier said than done, obviously, but that is nonetheless how it ought to be, all the time.) To bring in the third declaration of this verse, Christ submitted to His head, God the Father, at all times. "For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me." (John 6:38) We no longer exist to do our own will, but the will of Christ, our Head.
It is much the same for married men, but of course you guys have the additional responsibility of leading your home. And - this is really, really important - that leadership should be done in accordance with Christ's will. You follow His orders and you will also answer to Him someday on how you led your home. The way NOT to lead your home is to do it the SIN-atra way. It's not a matter of "I know best, my way or the highway, honey". That's not Christlike headship or leadership. Frankly, such a brand of "leadership" amounts to little more than bullying. Of course, you don't go in the "Yes, dear, no dear, anything you say dear" direction either, because that's completely flipping God's order around.
Real headship and leadership, chaps, goes like this: "The Word of God says thus and thus concerning this matter, and the Lord would have us do this, so we will follow what He says". See, it's not "This is how I think it should be done", but "this is how the Lord would have it to be done". And when you lead like that, it will be so much easier for your wives (assuming they are godly and walking in the Spirit) to submit to you as to Christ. Because if you are fully submitted to Christ's will, then by submitting to you, they are yielding to His will as well. But if you have that "I'll do it my way" mentality, your wife may still submit in obedience to the Word (although no wife should submit to anything unlawful), but it won't be nearly so easy or pleasant, and there will invariably be tension and strife somewhere along the line, much of which will be your fault because you've chosen to make yourself the head of you rather than Christ. But hey, if you want a failed or at least unhappy marriage, go ahead and follow Mr SIN-atra's lead.
I hope you married fellows don't think I have spoken out of turn as one who is still single and not yet acquainted with the trials and challenges of married life. But the Lord has put this on my heart for some reason - probably mainly to do with how He wants me to live my own life, now and in the future (whatever that may hold). Still, I hope it's helpful to my single and married male friends alike. And I would like to close with this somewhat challenging thought for those of you who have tied the knot: if your marriage is not going as well as you would like, could it be that the central problem is you're not recognising Christ as your Head? Could it be that you're trying to do it the SIN-atra way instead of God's way? Start submitting to Christ as your Head, and it just might make a pretty amazing difference to not only your marriage, but your whole family situation generally.
So there you have it. I have not edited the post in any way, except to format the Scripture quotes the way I like to do on this blog. I have also added italics in one sentence. It is otherwise exactly as I wrote it and shared it to Facebook seven years ago. At the time I wrote it, there was a young lady I was rather keen on and so thoughts of marriage and how to be the head of my home that God wants me to be were rather prominent in my mind. (It later transpired that she believed several serious heresies and wouldn't hear correction about them, so that didn't end well.) I therefore believe that I wrote it in part for myself. However, there may have been other motives. I know some of the Christian men I was friends with at the time with had a few questionable attitudes, so I might have also been tackling them a bit.
Nowadays, the Lord has blessed me greatly by bringing a wonderful and very godly Christian lady into my life whom I hope to be able to marry someday. (I think she shares that hope, but there are one or two complicating factors that I won't go into here. All I will say is that I am in earnest daily prayer and trusting in God to direct my course, and hers, and work things out according to His will, and that I have exhorted her to do likewise. Also, my current friendship with her is bringing forth a lot of good fruit in our lives, which confirms to me that it is part of God's plan for both of us at this time, even if it doesn't culminate in marriage later on.) So this subject has come to the forefront of my mind again. It was thus rather good timing that I came across this old Facebook post. Even if the Lord ultimately has plans other than marriage for this lovely lady and me, it is still worth writing this now for the benefit of anyone who might need it now or in the future. Indeed, even though everything turned to custard with that other woman in the end, I'm still glad I wrote the Facebook post back then.
I note that I wrote "Jesus is Lord" in that post. However, something I learned recently is that the specific phrase, "Jesus is Lord" does not appear in the King James Bible. But the phrase "Jesus is THE Lord" does appear once: "Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost." (1 Corinthians 12:3) The definite article is important, because it stresses that Jesus is the one and only Lord, whereas the common modern expression, "Jesus is Lord", is actually a little vague (perhaps that's why many false converts have no problem saying it, or putting bumper stickers on their car with this message). So I'm going to correct myself slightly on that point.
Where I agree with myself from seven years ago most strongly is where I said that leading a home should involve searching the Word of God and following its guidance. Now of course, there are matters that the Bible is silent about. For example, if you're trying to figure out what colour your kitchen should be, you won't find any specific instruction in God's Word about that. (At least, I'm not aware of any.) But even with something like that, there are still some Biblical principles that could be applied, at least in terms of how you discuss it and figure out a solution if there is a strong difference of opinion. Another point I would add here is that men should focus on obeying the commandments for husbands. Let your wife focus on obeying the commandments for wives (or women generally). Don't endlessly quote Ephesians 5:22 or Colossians 3:18 to her (she more than likely knows them by heart anyway). A lot of marital strife, from my (admittedly limited) observation, comes about because men and women both tend to point the finger at each other and say, "You should be doing this and that," or "That's YOUR fault" rather than pointing at themselves and saying, "You know, I need to improve in this area". "For if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged." (1 Corinthians 11:31) So if your marriage is going through some hard times, guys, take a look at yourself first and deal with the beams in your own eye before worrying about any motes in your wife's eye. Focus on your own sins first. Ideally, she will do likewise. (To any ladies reading, you should examine yourselves as your husband hopefully examines himself.) Look at where you have come up short on obeying the commandments for husbands, repent before both God and your wife, and focus on obeying Him better in future.
Something else I would add now is that both husbands and wives ought to have a servant mindset. The Lord Jesus Christ is our model for this. Consider how he washed His disciples' feet - one of the dirtiest, meanest jobs a servant in those days could do. But in no way did this diminish His authority or standing as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. The thing is, nobody made Jesus do that. He did that willingly. He performed that act of service - as He performed all acts of service throughout His life - in love. "For, brethren, ye have been called unto liberty; only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another." (Galatians 5:13) While this verse in Galatians is directed at the church, it certainly applies to husbands and wives as well. A Christian wife should both submit to her husband and serve him in love - and that love should be both for Christ and her husband. However, a Christian husband should likewise serve his wife in love. If Christ is truly your head, then He will show you ways to do that. Being the head of your home does not mean you can laze around in your easy chair while shouting in a stentorian voice, "Woman! Fetch my slippers!" or "Hurry up with the dinner!" or whatever. (You should be speaking to your wife much more gently and respectfully than that.) The fact is that the more power and authority you have, the more you should seek to serve. "And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all." (Mark 10:44) However, serving doesn't mean being subservient. As I wrote seven years ago, if you're in "Yes dear, no dear" mode, you're doing it wrong. (Likewise, ladies, there is a difference between Biblically submitting to your husband and being subservient to him. If he's dominating you, he's not exercising godly authority, but abusing it.) What it does mean, fundamentally, is willingly doing something in love. Here's a simple example. Maybe your wife is tired after a long day, but there is yet more to do. You do some of the tasks that might normally be in her domain (for instance, maybe you tidy the dishes or do a little vacuum cleaning) or help her out with them. She doesn't ask or demand that you do it - you see a need and take it on yourself as an act of loving service at a time when she needs a break or at least some relief. Doing something like that doesn't make you any less of a man, or diminish your status as head of the home. In fact, performing acts of loving service of this nature makes you MORE of a man, really. Even just working to provide for your family is an act of service, when you think about it.
One last point I'd like to make is that Biblical charity should underlie everything you do. This applies to both husbands and wives, of course. "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." (1 Corinthians 13:13) "Let all your things be done with charity." (1 Corinthians 16:14 - notice that ALL there.) "And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness." (Colossians 3:14) "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned" (1 Timothy 1:5 - note here that charity is chiefly the result of three things, all of which are only possible when you are born again). Ultimately, everything that I've been talking about, both in the old Facebook post and subsequent remarks in this blog post, comes back to that. The godly lady now in my life exercises much of this kind of charity towards me, and I seek to do the same for her, which I think is one reason why we are both being so blessed by our friendship right now. Indeed, if the Lord makes it possible for us to marry someday, I want this charity that we now practise to be one of the cornerstones of the life we lead together. Men, if you really want to be the head of your home that God wants for you to be, then make a practice of being charitable to your wife (because the Biblical commandments for husbands are based on that anyway). Wives, you should also practise charity to your husbands - it goes both ways. Study 1 Corinthians 13 thoroughly to learn more about how to do this.
If you have an hour or so to spare, I highly recommend this video that was recently released by Nate Marino of Sound the Battle Cry Ministries. He does a thorough Biblical study of the husband's duty towards his wife. (He's planning a video on the wife's duty towards her husband as well.) Every Christian man who is married, or at least thinking about being married, should watch it. So I will end this post by leaving you with Nate's teaching below.
If you have a couple of hours to spare, please watch this video by Nate Marino of Sound the Battle Cry Ministries. He does an excellent and very thorough job of documenting the history of child sacrifice and abortion since Biblical times, and its consistent association with paganism and witchcraft.
I also highly recommend the following article by Chris Johnson:
What the video and article both clearly show is that abortion is not merely a political issue. It's not a simple question of "a woman's right to choose" (like anyone should have the right to murder their own baby!). Abortion is, in reality, a spiritual issue. To put it bluntly, abortion is the Devil's work. Satan and his army of devils are directly behind it. As John 8:44 makes clear, he has been a murderer from the beginning. He inspired Cain to murder Abel (see 1 John 3:12). That was the very first murder, and he has inspired every murder since then. So he is behind every murder of a child, including the murders that take place through abortion and child sacrifice:
"Yea, they sacrificed their sons and their daughters unto devils, And shed innocent blood, even the blood of their sons and of
their daughters, whom they sacrificed unto the idols of Canaan: and the
land was polluted with blood." (Psalm 106:37-38)
"But I say, that the things which the Gentiles sacrifice, they
sacrifice to devils, and not to God: and I would not that ye should have
fellowship with devils." (1 Corinthians 10:20)
God condemns such practices unequivocally:
"For the children of Judah have done evil in my sight, saith the LORD:
they have set their abominations in the house which is called by my
name, to pollute it. And they have built the high places of Tophet, which is in the valley of the son of Hinnom, to burn their sons and their daughters in the fire; which I commanded them not, neither came it into my heart." (Jeremiah 7:30-31)
"Because they have forsaken me, and have estranged this place, and have
burned incense in it unto other gods, whom neither they nor their
fathers have known, nor the kings of Judah, and have filled this place
with the blood of innocents; They have built also the high places of Baal, to burn their sons with fire for burnt offerings unto Baal, which I commanded not, nor spake it, neither came it into my mind" (Jeremiah 19:4-5)
Abortion is thus the Devil's baby, so to speak. When people forsake God, they adopt the Devil's ways and philosophies pretty quickly. And just as many ancient lands were filled with the blood of innocents, abortion clinics are being filled with that same innocent blood today. (Don't think God won't judge all this killing either - something that Nate Marino clearly shows is that God has ALWAYS judged the large-scale murder of infants sooner or later.) But it's nothing new. This abhorrent practice has been going on for millennia, and the entire kingdom of darkness is heavily invested in it. In his video, Nate Marino gives examples from Bible times, Carthage, the Aztec civilisation, the ancient Celts and Germanic peoples, Renaissance France and the 20th Century, clearly showing how this practice has carried on through the centuries. People have been sacrificing their children to pagan gods for thousands of years in order to gain good fortune, power and so on. It's no different today. Now obviously, not every woman who has an abortion is consciously performing a sacrifice to a pagan deity (although there are witches today, and Satanists too, who do this very thing, and some particularly evil women even deliberately get pregnant in order to have a sacrificial abortion later, as both Mr Marino and Mr Johnson clearly show). But they are still very often sacrificing their children on the altar of convenience (because for them, having a child is just "too inconvenient"). They are frequently sacrificing them to save money too (because hey, kids cost money, what with their pesky need for food, clothing and suchlike). In other words, even if they are merely trying to "fix a problem", they are still really performing a sacrifice, and their motives are essentially the same as people who quite intentionally sacrifice children and babies to idols - a selfish desire for material gain or some other worldly advantage. Moreover, whether they want to admit it or not, the same spirit is inspiring them to have their babies murdered in abortion clinics that inspired other people in times past to sacrifice their children to idols.
What Nate Marino's video in particular brings out is that there is an entire demonic spiritual thread that runs through the practices of abortion and child sacrifice (which are more directly linked than you might think) right through time. Not only that, but other practices like prostitution, sodomy (aka homosexuality) and other forms of fornication are closely linked to abortion, and thus part of the same demonic thread. Fertility cults (which still exist today among some pagans and witches) encouraged both sexual promiscuity and child sacrifice (indeed, sex and human sacrifice represent the two sides of the "Goddess" beloved by many feminists - her sensual side is used to lure people into worshipping her, but then she eventually demands blood sacrifices to keep her happy).
The recent leak of a document from the US Supreme Court suggesting that the wicked Roe vs. Wade ruling of 1973 might be overturned (thereby giving power back to the states to make their own abortion laws) has sparked great anger among the supporters and promoters of murdering unborn children (because in reality, that is what these "pro-choice" people are - what they really want is the "right" to slaughter babies in the womb). There have already been some quite violent protests (not that the mainstream media shows the violence - although they'd be all over it if any pro-life marchers decided to turn violent). If the ruling is indeed overturned, expect more violence to follow. This is not normal anger that we're seeing among American abortion proponents right now. It is, in fact, demonic rage. As I said before, this is not a mere political issue. It's a spiritual issue - but more than that, this is an issue particularly dear to the Devil's wicked heart. A lot of his power in this world comes from human sacrifice - and in particular, the sacrifice of unborn babies or infants. There are few things that Satan likes better than the shedding of innocent blood - and what blood is more innocent than that of a baby? So you can be sure that he will fight this one tooth and nail, which is why we are likely to see a lot of ugly scenes in the coming months, and also deception on a grand scale, especially from the mainstream media and feminist movement (because as John 8:44 also teaches us, the Devil is the father of lies).
So what can Christians do as the battle over abortion heats up once again in America (and maybe in other parts of the world)? Well, it's important to remember this:
"For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities,
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Ephesians 6:12)
Our battle is not against the Left (though it is primarily the Left that promotes abortion), or the feminist movement, or the doctors who practise abortion, or any other flesh-and-blood people (an important point brought out in Chris Johnson's article). This is a fight directly against the forces of darkness. In fact, Christians battle these exact same forces every day over all kinds of things. For example, every time you face a temptation and overcome it with God's help, you're fighting a spiritual battle. When you preach the Gospel to someone, or even just give them a tract, that's a form of spiritual warfare too. However, the abortion fight is a particularly heavy-duty one, and it's important to use the right weapons:
"For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strong holds;)" (2 Corinthians 10:3-4)
Going on protest marches and waving picket signs is carnal warfare and will accomplish little. In spiritual warfare, you need to use spiritual weapons, and two in particular are key:
"And he said unto them, This kind can come forth by nothing, but by prayer and fasting." (Mark 9:29)
When Jesus says "this kind", He is referring to particularly powerful evil spirits, and some of the most wicked and powerful devils at Satan's disposal are involved in the modern abortion movement. However, they can still be defeated by Christians who humble themselves before God, submit to Him and pray against the wickedness of abortion. When you fast, or how much you do it, is up to you, but if you really want to see some progress made against abortion, you should do it at some stage. But this is also undoubtedly an issue for which you need to pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17). Remember that we can do nothing without Christ (who has authority over all creatures, good and bad). Try to win this battle in your own strength, and you'll fail spectacularly. So remember:
"I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5)
The other side of that:
"I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me." (Philippians 4:13)
A final thought: those who forsake God tend to favour, if not directly practise, abortion (and sooner or later, child sacrifice as part of pagan worship). However, those who fear God will always respect the sanctity of life, even if the government itself tells them to murder children. So if you call yourself a Christian and support abortion, you should do some serious examination of your heart and ask yourself whose side you're really on. I'll leave you with this account of two midwives who refused to participate in what some are now calling "after-birth abortion" (but in reality, it's just infanticide):
"And the king of Egypt spake to the Hebrew midwives, of which the name of the one was Shiphrah, and the name of the other Puah: And he said, When ye do the office of a midwife to the Hebrew women, and see them upon the stools; if it be a son, then ye shall kill him: but if it be a daughter, then she shall live. But the midwives feared God, and did not as the king of Egypt commanded them, but saved the men children alive." (Exodus 1:15-17) And note Verse 20 as well: "Therefore God dealt well with the midwives: and the people multiplied, and waxed very mighty." Fear God and stand against the wickedness of abortion!
UPDATE (19/10/22): While I stand by everything I wrote above, something I neglected to say, but which I think is important to add, is that abortion does a great deal of harm (especially emotional and spiritual harm, but sometimes physical harm as well) to women. It is natural for those of us who take a pro-life position to focus on the innocent and defenseless baby in the womb. In doing so, however, we can sometimes forget about the mothers of aborted babies. It is also important to say that not every woman who has an abortion is a callous feminist lacking natural affection. Many women who have had abortions actually wanted to keep their babies, but were coerced or severely pressured by their parents, boyfriends or other adults. So they ended up having an abortion to placate the people who were putting so much pressure on them. (Such people will also face severe judgement from God someday.) Now, there was still sin involved in that these women gave in to the fear of man. But most of them probably weren't Christians at the time in any case. Other women weren't necessarily pressured, but were still manipulated in some way. This is not to negate those women's responsibility for their sin, because it was still ultimately their decision, but nevertheless I want to make it clear that a lot of abortions happen in these sorts of circumstances. To pressure or coerce a woman into having an abortion is a very wicked thing to do. There is always an evil motive - covering up sin, laziness, fear of what others think and so on. In short, the people who pressure a woman into having an abortion are not concerned for that woman (who may be a fairly young girl in some cases), but themselves. They are acting out of complete self-interest.
Recently I have been watching a series of videos on YouTube called "I Regret My Abortion", in which various women share their experience of abortion, the evil consequences it had in their lives and the deep regret they have over it now. As far as I can tell, they are all Christians (or profess to be). So they have come to repentance over their past sin. But even before they became Christians, many of them felt a very deep grief over what they had done. Abortion affected their lives far more than they ever thought that it would. All of them suffered considerable emotional pain. Many of them were pressured into it, although there were some who had wanted to "solve a problem" at the time. All in all, these videos are quite eye-opening. Some of them are extremely moving. But they very clearly show the kind of evil fruit that abortion produces in the lives of the women who have it. I think that most women, unless their conscience is completely seared and they are past feeling, would have similar post-abortion outcomes to the women in these videos. So not only is abortion responsible for the senseless slaughter of innocent babies in the womb, but it is causing untold damage to most women who have it. And this really shows what a lie the feminists are telling when they claim that it's "liberating"!
A final point I would like to address in this little update is that sometimes men who get involved with a woman who had an abortion at an earlier stage of her life will have to face this at some point in the relationship. If you're a Christian man who has strong pro-life views, and a woman you care deeply about reveals that she once had an abortion, how do you handle that? Well, the most important thing to look for when this revelation is made is REPENTANCE. Is the woman repentant over her past sin? Does she now have godly sorrow for it? If she does indeed have that, and she has confessed her sin to God, then He has forgiven her. And if God has forgiven her, then you had better not hold it against her. If you condemn her and cast her aside when God has forgiven her sin, then you are acting wickedly. You are pridefully saying that you know better than God, and that you have more authority to judge the matter than He does. God forgives us when we repent, and we should also forgive others when they repent. So the right approach to take to a woman who is repentant over her abortion is to have COMPASSION. That doesn't mean that you have to condone her sin. God forgives us, but He never condones any of our sins. It's OK to acknowledge the plain truth that the abortion was a sin. The fact is though, she will probably still be facing struggles (like emotional pain), so you need to treat her gently and help her through that. Show her the same grace and mercy that God showed you when you repented. I might add that you should also do this with any other serious past sin that a woman you love might confess to you.
On the other hand, if the woman is NOT repentant, and is making excuses trying to justify her sin, it may just be time to end the relationship. At the very least, some rebuke and reproof would be warranted. That doesn't mean you have to behave like a jerk, though. Don't get all puffed up and self-righteous. You should still treat her with as much charity as possible under the circumstances. But if you are pro-life and she is unapologetically pro-abortion, with no regret or remorse over her own past sin, she is very probably not saved and you are facing an unequal yoke. While it would of course be painful to break up in such a situation, especially if you have been seeing her for a while, you will save yourself (and her) much worse pain later on. Sometimes, the pain of such a breakup might lead the lady to repentance as God honours your obedience in avoiding that unequal yoke. It's not guaranteed, but it can happen. (Should you be married to the woman in question though, I certainly don't recommend that you divorce her! You should still make your position clear, and if she decides to divorce you because of it, well OK. That's her call. But otherwise, you should battle through as best you can.) In conclusion, never condone the sin of abortion, but forgive it if there is clear repentance. To a greater or lesser degree, women may suffer the consequences of an abortion all their lives, and you don't need to add any more to their already deep pain.
After four quite solid months of working on this blog, I have rather shamefully neglected it for some nine months. I've been busy with a lot of translation work that the Lord has blessed me with, and also been quite heavily involved in the Creation Liberty Evangelism forum and church. My personal life has also got a little interesting lately. Anyway, one of the things I have never been happy about when starting the blog was its name. The name of the blog was simply a Scripture reference. However, I have now hit upon a new and hopefully more memorable name. After doing some research to ensure I wasn't inadvertently copying anyone else's blog name, I have decided to rename this blog to Not Conformed.
The verse that has inspired the new name is Romans 12:2, which states: "And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God."
Christians are not meant to conform to the world. A couple of other passages show us that God and the world don't mix:
"Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the
world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the
world is the enemy of God." (James 4:4)
"Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the
lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of
the world. And the world passeth away, and the lust thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever." (1 John 2:15-17)
The closer I get to God, the more I find that I am not conforming to the world. Indeed, there is much already in this blog that does not conform to the world. For example, the world says that homosexuals are "born that way" and that we should give them some sort of special treatment because of that. I agree with what the Bible says: that it is sin, that people who commit the sin choose it (so it's not inherent), and that it is against God's natural design for the body. Therefore, I do not conform to the world's position, but God's.
The world also wants us to believe that men who think they're women really are women, and that women believing themselves to be men actually are men. It would have us believe that men can get pregnant (a "pregnant man" is still a biological woman). I agree with the Bible that people dressing in the clothing of the opposite gender are an abomination to God (Deuteronomy 22:5) and that God has created everyone male and female. Once a man, always a man. Once a woman, always a woman - no matter how you want to dress or what weird things you want to do to your body to make yourself appear more like the opposite gender. Once again, I do not conform to the world on this point.
The world says that women should have the right to choose whether to let their unborn children live. A baby in the womb is supposedly a mere "foetus" and bunch of cells. But I believe that life begins at conception, and that an unborn child is just that: a CHILD. (This isn't just in the Bible either - millions of ultrasound scans now serve as additional witnesses to the truth of an unborn baby's humanity.) As such, to kill it in an abortion is murder, for that is the shedding of innocent blood. Even if a woman is raped (undoubtedly a horrible crime), it's not acceptable to kill an innocent baby for the crime that its father committed. (How about executing the rapist instead? The feminists ought to get right behind that one.) In my absolute conviction that abortion is murder and one of the most wicked things anyone can do, and that moreover God judges it severely in due time, I do not conform to the world.
The world says we should believe in evolution, whereby everything magically evolved over millions of years after some mysterious "big bang". I believe the Bible when it says that God created the entire world in six literal days and nights. So when it comes to the origins of life, I do not conform to the world.
The world claims that there are many paths that lead to God, whereas I believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to God. The world also says that truth is relative, whereas I believe that truth is absolute, and that God's Word is truth (John 17:17). Here too then, I do not conform to this world.
The world reckons that climate change will cause its end. I agree with the Bible that there will always be summer and winter, and cold and heat for as long as the world exists, and that when it DOES end, it will be in the manner prophesied in the Book of Revelation. Moreover, I am firmly of the view that man-made climate change is largely, if not entirely, a hoax. So on this matter too, I do not conform to this world.
And while the Bible does not specifically prohibit vaccines, the world sure seems to love them, especially this newfangled COVID-19 vaccine. So much so that they want to force people to have them against their will in some places. I do not agree with such coercion. Nor am I convinced that the COVID-19 vaccine is much good at all. So in my position on vaccines, especially the COVID-19 ones, I do not conform to this world.
The reason I do not conform to this world on this and other matters is because I seek to obey the Bible, which is my final authority for all faith and practice. The world hates the Bible, so in my very love for God's Word, I once more do not conform to it. The Bible is renewing my mind from years of brainwashing by the mainstream media and other forms of popular entertainment. And it is transforming me - into someone who is, in the eyes of the world, a nonconformist. The more obedient you are to God and His Word, the more you too will become someone who, like me and like this blog, is "Not Conformed" to this world - its values, customs and teachings. In my first new post after this one, I will elaborate more on what true Biblical nonconformity is, especially where it concerns government mandates and the like. So keep an eye out for that soon.
For today's Pride Month post, I am going to do something slightly different and use two passages, albeit from the same book of the Bible (specifically, the Book of Daniel). The Bible reveals that the pride of great leaders like kings, queens, presidents, prime ministers and so on can bring them down. In the case of Nebuchadnezzar, one of the great kings of ancient Babylon, the fall that resulted from his pride was spectacular indeed. He lost his sanity for a while, although it was then restored to him. When you witness the lunacy that is now part and parcel of daily life (such as people being censured for stating basic biological facts or using standard phrases like "Ladies and gentlemen"), it seems like the pride of people today is being judged in a somewhat similar fashion. Anyway, the first passage I am going to quote is an observation by Nebuchadnezzar after he got his sanity back, then some follow-up remarks by Daniel when he was addressing Belshazzar, the successor to Nebuchadnezzar.
"Now I Nebuchadnezzar praise and extol and honour the King of heaven, all whose works are truth, and his ways judgment: and those that walk in pride he is able to abase." (Daniel 4:37)
"O thou king, the most high God gave Nebuchadnezzar thy father a kingdom, and majesty, and glory, and honour: And for the majesty that he gave him, all people, nations, and
languages, trembled and feared before him: whom he would he slew; and
whom he would he kept alive; and whom he would he set up; and whom he
would he put down. But when his heart was lifted up, and his mind hardened in pride, he was
deposed from his kingly throne, and they took his glory from him: And he was driven from the sons of men; and his heart was made like the beasts, and his dwelling was
with the wild asses: they fed him with grass like oxen, and his body
was wet with the dew of heaven; till he knew that the most high God
ruled in the kingdom of men, and that he appointeth over it whomsoever he will." (Daniel 5:18-21)
Let's have a look at what Nebuchadnezzar said. Notice that he speaks of "those who walk in pride". When the Bible talks of "walking in" something, it means doing it habitually. If you are literally walking, you are moving along steadily in a particular direction. You may not be moving very fast, but you're progressing steadily all the same. There are a number of Scriptures that command us to walk in God's ways or His statutes. Conversely, the lost are said to "leave the paths of uprightness, to walk in the ways of darkness" (Proverbs 2:13). Somebody walking in pride is just constantly proud, and pride governs everything they do - their hopes and dreams, how they interact with others, how they view God, how they see their sin (or more often, don't see it) and so on. They think very highly of themselves, and often have a low opinion of those around them (including those they flatter). Nebuchadnezzar was certainly someone who used to walk in pride. So much so that he had a large statue built (of himself I think) and made it a law of the land that everyone should worship it! But God humbled him by causing him to lose his sanity for a period of time, and when he recovered again, he was a changed man. The same God who could humble a king as powerful and arrogant and Nebuchadnezzar can humble anyone who "gets too big for their boots". Indeed, there were other proud people in the Bible who were humbled by God in a variety of ways, and some of them (like Haman, Jezebel and one of the Herods) died humiliating deaths.When you are ruled by your pride rather than by God's Spirit, you are heading for a very great fall.
The second passage makes it clear that pride, like other sins, stems from the heart. Nebuchadnezzar's heart was "lifted up". James says, "Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up." (James 4:10) But people who walk in pride lift themselves up in their hearts. See also how pride is a sin of the mind. Proud people tend to have their minds full of high and lofty thoughts. Indeed, let's have a look at the state of Nebuchadnezzar's mind when it was hardened in pride: "The king spake, and said, Is not this great Babylon, that I have built
for the house of the kingdom by the might of my power, and for the
honour of my majesty?" (Daniel 4:30) See how Nebuchadnezzar's focus was entirely on himself. This is how it is with proud people. As Christians, however, we learn not to entertain such lofty thoughts: "Casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself
against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought
to the obedience of Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5) But those who walk in pride do not want to cast down lofty imaginations that exalt themselves against God. On the contrary, they entertain them and act upon them. But take note, the God who can humble kings, presidents or other great leaders who become excessively proud can also humble you. However, because He is gracious, he gives you some time to repent. But you don't know how long it might be before He decides to humble you, or when your appointed time to die comes. Right now, in your pride, you may think you are invincible, but it is often those who feel the most untouchable who are ripe for the hardest falls. So before God humbles you (and one way or another, it will happen someday), humble yourself before Him in repentance and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation. You may still say, "Never!", but the day will come when the knees of even the most unrepentant proud people will bow to Christ and confess Him as Lord. So make wise use of the time God has given you now to get right with him, because you never know what tomorrow will bring.
For today's Pride Month study, I am going back to the Old Testament, and specifically, the Book of Proverbs (which is my favourite book of the Bible - I just love all the pearls of wisdom it contains. Don't get me wrong, I love the whole Bible, but Proverbs is a book I am particularly fond of). Here it comes:
"When pride cometh, then cometh shame: but with the lowly is wisdom." (Proverbs 11:2)
A major reason why shame tends to follow pride is that pride tends to make people do stupid and foolish things. For example, a person's pride may make them think that they can drive recklessly without consequences - until they crash and injure or kill themselves. Or perhaps they might fall for a con because in their pride, they thought they couldn't be deceived (con artists can sometimes play up to vanity as well). Another way in which pride may cause shame is if somebody boasts about something and then the opposite happens. For example, in the 1970s English cricket captain Tony Grieg (who later became a commentator on Australia's Channel 9) bragged that he would make the touring West Indian team "grovel". The West Indies went on to win every Test of the series. By the last game, Grieg himself was "grovelling" to the West Indian supporters in the crowd! So at least he took his embarrassment with good grace, but the fact remains that in his pride, he made a fool of himself and was comprehensively humbled. Many false preachers, especially in the Charismatic movement, have made decidedly boastful "prophecies" and then been exposed as charlatans when they did not come to pass. Another example of pride preceding shame is when a person talks up their righteousness and then gets exposed as an adulterer or some such. For example, a few years ago in New Zealand we had a party called the Christian Heritage Party. It went through a few leaders, but its last leader before it broke up was Graham Capill. He was a great moral campaigner and once stirred up popular anger by calling homosexuals perverts. While this description was actually correct, Capill was subsequently exposed as a child abuser and convicted on several counts. So he was a pervert himself, just a different kind. Before his fall, there was a self-righteous air about him that was evidence of pride in his heart, and that pride certainly resulted in great shame for him.
One way in which pride has come before shame in my own life is that sometimes, I have had a tendency to be a "sore loser" in competitive situations. Instead of being gracious in defeat, sometimes I have behave petulantly. The core reason for this was pride, and specifically, wounded pride. And often on such occasions, I would be reprimanded (rightly so!), and thereby would feel ashamed and come down off my high horse. The point is though that pride motivated that disagreeable behaviour on my part and led to shame when people got angry with me (with complete justification). There have been times too when I have corrected somebody only to discover that I had misunderstood them or misread their comment. In my pride, I thought they just weren't very bright and needed my "wisdom", but I ended up looking the fool I was acting like.
Speaking of wisdom, notice who has it in this verse. Not the proud, but the LOWLY. The "lowly" are quite simply those who are humble in spirit. When people are humble (which comes after repentance of sins towards God), He graciously grants them wisdom. The lowly know what their limits are, and when to keep quiet. If they do speak up, they know how to speak with grace, even though some of what they say may be seasoned with salt. The lowly may sometimes be mocked by the proud, but they will never experience the shame that always follows pride sooner or later. The world might set great store by pride, but the wisdom that the lowly can obtain is of far greater value. In fact, in God's eyes, pride has no value at all. Solomon understood the value of true godly wisdom, and I'll close this post with his counsel about it:
"Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee." (Proverbs 4:5-9)
