Decoupling from the Culture

June 14, 2024

Can you imagine living in a world described in this way: “Then the LORD saw that the wickedness of man was great on the earth, and that every intent of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. The LORD was sorry that He had made man on the earth, and He was grieved in His heart.” (Genesis 6:5-6 NASB95) This was the condition of mankind just before the flood.  Mankind’s wickedness was great.  Every plan and intention of man was sinful.  Every thought in their heart was evil continually.  It had gotten so bad that God was grieved over it.  And God said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, from man to animals to creeping things and to birds of the sky; for I am sorry that I have made them.” (Genesis 6:7 NASB95)

And yet, in all of this darkness, there was one bright spot shining like a beacon.  “But Noah found favor in the eyes of the LORD.” (Genesis 6:8 NASB95) The whole world had turned against God, but Noah walked with God.  The whole world had allowed themselves to sink into depravity, but Noah kept God’s commands.  The world had closed their hearts to the teaching about God, but Noah was a preacher of righteousness. (2 Peter 2:5) “… Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time; Noah walked with God.” (Genesis 6:9b NASB95)

It seems that our world today is becoming increasingly immoral, corrupt and violent.  There is a sickness that pervades our world that is caused by sin.  Things may have not yet degenerated to where they were in Noah’s day, but it would do us well to learn from the life of Noah and imitate his faith.  Noah had to make a decision to decouple himself and his family from the debauched world he lived in.  Do you need to do the same?  This decoupling will not happen on its own.  The corrupt current of our culture will suck in anyone who does not actively paddle against it.  This corrupt current will overwhelm you and your children unless you do something about it. 

We need to resolve to walk with God!  We need to resolve in our hearts and minds that no matter what everyone else is doing, we will follow Him!  Even if everyone else is fixated on evil, we need to resolve to fix our hearts on what is good.  While everyone else fills their minds with wickedness, resolve that you and your house will fill your minds with the things of God.

I don’t know what the future holds for us, but I know one thing:  I want to find favor in the eyes of the Lord!  I want to walk with God!  Let’s renew our resolve to do just that.    

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Are You a Worker or a Believer?

February 13, 2024

Romans chapter four is a sometimes misunderstood and sometimes neglected passage of scripture in the brotherhood.  This is very unfortunate, because the truths found in this passage help us to get a better grasp of the grace of God and how we can stand in a righteous state before Him. 

The chapter begins in this way, “What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found? For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God. For what does the Scripture say? ‘ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.’ Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness…” (Romans 4:1-5 NASB95)

By looking at the life of Abraham, you and I can see how we can be justified (declared righteous) by God.  Abraham was not declared righteous by his works, but by his belief.  Because he believed God, God placed his own righteousness onto Abraham’s account.  “It was credited to him as righteousness.”  What sometimes troubles us is that Paul is contrasting “the one who works” with the one who “believes.”  This causes questions to arise in our minds.  Is Paul saying that believers don’t have to do good works?  Is he saying that obedience is not necessary to please God?  Is Paul contradicting what James said?  These are good questions that should indeed be asked.

A key to understanding this passage is to realize that Paul is not equating works with obedience.  In this passage, the one who works is the one who is attempting to earn their right standing before God.  The worker is not relying on grace but is attempting to earn God’s justification by living up to everything God has commanded.  For the one who works, justification is a matter of wages, not grace (favor).  A wage is what we earn for our work.  But to earn righteousness in the eyes of our holy and sinless God, the one who works must be flawless!  There cannot be even one sin on their account.

Standing in contrast to the worker is the one “who believes in Him who justifies the ungodly.”  The believer is one who is relying on God’s grace—not their own performance—for their justification.  The believer is not asking for wages from God, because the only thing we have earned from God is death (Romans 6:23).  The believer is “one who does not work,” but this does not mean that the believer is not obedient to God.  The believer is obedient, for true belief (faith) always strives for obedience.  This is what James tells us in James chapter two.  But the “believer”—in contrast to “the worker”—trusts in God who justifies the ungodly by His grace, rather than trusting in his own ability to earn righteousness from God as wages.

—Scott Colvin

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Whitewashed Living

November 5, 2021

Cemeteries have a certain beauty in their own way, don’t they?  They are quiet.  They have well-manicured grass and beautiful flowers.  There are many beautifully carved stone monuments scattered about the grounds.  And yet, even though cemeteries are beautiful on the surface, we don’t go there just to enjoy the afternoon or to have a picnic, do we?  That’s because we know what lies under the surface. 

Jesus made this point when talking about the scribes and Pharisees.  “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites!  For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men’s bones and all uncleanness.  So you, too, outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.” (Matthew 23:27-28 NASB) What do we learn from Jesus’ statement?  People, even Christians, can be just like a cemetery—beautiful outwardly, but full of death and decay inwardly.  The scribes and Pharisees went through the right motions.  They read and memorized the scriptures, they faithfully attended worship services, they carefully tithed all that they had, they said all the right things, and yet Jesus told them that they were dead inside!  Jesus knew what was under the surface.  It was all a veneer.  They were just like whitewashed tombs. 

You and I need to be careful that we do not fall into this way of living.  We need to be careful to surrender our inner lives completely to God.  We need to be careful that we’re not just going through the motions so that we appear righteous to others.  We can fool people with a coat of whitewash, but we can never fool Jesus.  He knows our hearts, and He wants to be Lord of our hearts.  If we will surrender our hearts to Jesus, He will make our inner selves radiant and beautiful, and that beauty will flow outwardly into our lives and make us truly beautiful in the eyes of God. 

— Scott Colvin

 

P.S. This is Scott Colvin’s first post on whiletoday.com. Check out his bio under About. I’m glad to have him joining me as a writer for this blog. — Russ Holden

            

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Posted by Scott Colvin

Hungering and Thirsting

November 3, 2017

We live in a land of plenty. Fresh, clean running water is available at the tap. Grocery stores and restaurants abound. We hunger and thirst, but our needs are fulfilled so frequently and so easily, we forget how intense these longings can be. Such was not the case for the world in which Jesus spoke these words:

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied. Matthew 5:6 ESV

People lived a subsistence life, and travel could expose you to the dangers of thirst.

Kenneth Bailey tells the story of a trip to Bir Shaytoun in his book, Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes. This famous well was located deep in the desert of southern Egypt so his expedition had to travel by camel. The temperature for the journey was 110 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade. Unfortunately, there was no shade. To make matters worse, a water bag made of goat-skin leaked all of its contents. They ran out of water.

For a day and half they pressed on to Bir Shaytoun with the guide reassuring them that the well never ran dry. Bailey was concerned that the armed guards traveling with them might commandeer the camels and leave the travelers stranded in the desert and left to die. If there was no water in the well, they would die of thirst. His mouth became so dry that it was impossible to eat. Swallowing felt like rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together. His vision became blurred. It was arduous to keep moving. He writes:

As I staggered on, my mind turned to this verse and I knew that I had never sought righteousness with the same single-minded passion that I now gave to the quest for water.

Listening to his story makes vivid the longing that living in a world of plenty may dull.

Righteousness is doing what God requires. It is upright and moral living. I long to be pure of heart, and yet I deeply sense that I have not yet arrived. Bailey comments:

The statement presupposes that righteousness is something the faithful continuously strive after. The blessed are not those who arrive but those who continue, at whatever cost, in their pilgrimage toward a more perfect righteousness.

Let us hunger and thirst after righteousness because the God of mercy and love will satisfy.

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Posted by Russell Holden

Peace LIke a River

July 5, 2013

With what are God’s requirements to be compared? Is God like a cosmic-Simon-says who is attempting to trip us up? Or is God more like a parent setting limits for the protection of his children? Listen to the instruction of Moses in Deuteronomy.

And the LORD commanded us to do all these statutes, to fear the LORD our God, for our good always, that he might preserve us alive, as we are this day. (Deuteronomy 6:24 ESV)

God is not a killjoy. His commandments are for our good, for our benefit. I’ve witnessed too many times people who rebelliously go their own way making a train wreck of their lives. Even my own experience tells me that the instructions of scripture are good for me (even when temptations want to lead me another direction). Blessings come from the path of righteousness.

Moses had warned Israel of this, but despite this warning, Israel paid for their stubbornness with the Babylonian captivity. Judgment came against them. In the midst of prophesying judgment, Isaiah pictured God’s lament that it could have been very different if they had listened.

This is what the LORD says–your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: “I am the LORD your God, who teaches you what is best for you, who directs you in the way you should go. If only you had paid attention to my commands, your peace would have been like a river, your righteousness like the waves of the sea” (Isaiah 48:17-18, NIV).

They could have had peace like a river. The land of Israel does not have many rivers. The land is semiarid with only marginal rainfall in many places. The land does have numerous wadis or dry riverbeds that flow with the runoff from the rains, but those are not constant. The image of a river is a picture of abundance. They could have had peace that was abundant and constant — peace like a river.

Righteousness could have characterized their lives so that it was like waves on the shore. Waves are rhythmical and repetitious. There is always a new wave coming to shore. Again, we see a picture of abundance. What is it like to live in a community where righteousness is the norm — a place where you expect it just like you do the next wave?

What about us? Do we stubbornly go our own way only to reap the consequences of our sinful decisions, or do we have peace like a river? Let us discover the blessings of a humble walk with God.

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Posted by Russell Holden