June 23

Sometimes I want to write about things like:

Psalm 35:27 (NIV84)
27 May those who delight in my vindication
shout for joy and gladness;
may they always say, “The LORD be exalted,
who delights in the well-being of his servant.”

Yet God is my instructor and He chooses the verse that I write about. So be encouraged with the Psalm, but it is 1 Timothy that we will dive into.

1 Timothy 4:1 (NIV84)
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.

There is, within Christianity, and I suppose will always be, a current of law and rule. Clearly stated here in verse 1 it talks about abandoning faith (trust in God) and following things taught be demons which are rules, regulations, yokes, laws, handcuffs, slavery and every other adjective you can name. Paul names a few here (forbidding to marry, abstaining from certain foods), but the list goes on. The point is that people will follow demonic doctrines not because they like demons, but because they feel more “comfortable” or they seem more “meaningful” than does standing in faith (trust) with the blood of Jesus and the finished work of the cross.

There have always been prohibitions in the church and it will never cease because people LIKE them. It makes them FEEL more holy and righteous if they attain a certain level of rule keeping which they would call holiness. However, the reality is that we are not called to keep ANY rules, but to walk in the Spirit! That seems so subjective (until you understand the Word of God) so people would rather make stuff up. The only problem with that is that many times, even well meaning rules, come from the pit of hell. I am not, and neither is Paul talking about standards of conduct, otherwise we would throw out chapter 3 of 1 Timothy. What this is talking about is a righteousness that comes from conduct, and right standing with God that is earned! Some of the rules are obviously off the chart, and have nothing to do with godliness, but the other ones are so subtle that they will creep into our lives until we start trusting in our own righteousness instead of faith in God.

If you are in that trap right now, open it up and get out of it! I fall into this trap from time to time, thinking I am free until someone does something that I don’t agree with. Then I see my doctrine close up and repent. If you are not in the trap right now – be careful of the way you believe – keep it according to the Word of God and not what “seems” or “feels” right.

Proverbs 14:12 (NIV84)
12 There is a way that seems right to a man,
but in the end it leads to death.