Man Has His Values Confused

It is very evident that in our society, man has his values confused. What often seems valuable to many is not really valuable at all. Men put a great price-tag on pleasure, money or prominence. Men value wealth, satisfaction of the physical desires and attention from their peers. If they secure this, they think of themselves as successful. But these pass with time.

It is righteousness that is lasting and truly valuable. The greatest of all man’s needs is to be made righteous. In the absolute, God is righteous. But Christ was sent from God to make men righteous. Paul stated: “For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous” (Romans 5:19). It is God’s desire to have all men become righteous, but without Christ’s sacrifice, man could never have been righteous. The Bible says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God,” (Ephesians 2:8). The eternal God knows man’s needs and God has supplied the greatest need of all and that is salvation through Jesus Christ.

Man was not born in sin, but men of accountable age do sin. Men do not inherit their sins as they do the color of their hair. Yet, being sinners, man’s greatest need is salvation. Since man cannot save himself, he must have a savior. God in His infinite love and grace has provided man’s salvation through Jesus Christ (John 3:16). Why? Because God was not willing that man should perish, but have eternal life. At great expense God fulfilled His promise to send Christ into the world as our savior. Almost two thousand years ago, Christ died on the cross for our sins. Thanks be to God for His love and mercy! 

Our Spiritual Need is Greater Than Our Physical Need

“What is the greatest need that we have?” We may answer that our greatest need is economic stability or political integrity. We may answer that our greatest need is financial security, or better health. And while all of those things are desirable, our greatest need, regardless of the economic or political situation, is salvation from sin, for sin is the greatest enemy of mankind. Sin is the greatest enemy of man because it is the enemy that can destroy a good life here, and cause us to be eternally separated from God. It is a most troublesome thought to think of a ruined life in this world, but it is even worse to think of an eternity in hell. I am glad I serve a God that anticipated the greatest benefit of man, the salvation from sin. Since sin separates one from God (Isaiah 59:1-2), our great need is reconciliation to God, or salvation from sin. Only Jesus can save us.

God has made two dispositions of sin. First, if not forgiven, sin brings death to the sinner. This is justice. The Bible says “the soul that sinneth, it shall die.” Also, “the wages of sin is death.” Secondly, God can and does forgive sins. Man cannot live above sin, and man cannot save himself, so he is entirely at the mercy of God for forgiveness. Christ died on the cross for our sins, and had he not done this, we would all be doomed to death, for no other person could have died for our sins. But God promised salvation UNCONDITIONALLY, but salvation is conditional. Jesus said, “He who believes and is baptized will be saved....” (Mark 16:16).

Apostasy

Apostasy? What is apostasy? To some this word may sound strange and may not have meaning. But let us first assign a meaning to this word and then we will understand how serious apostasy is. Webster's New World Dictionary defines apostasy as: "an abandoning of what one believed in, as a faith, etc." Now do you see how serious this word is? The Lord's church is suffering today because of individuals that have abandoned their faith in God and slipped back into worldliness. Peter says "For if after they have escaped the defilements of the world by the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, the last state has become worse for them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn away from the holy commandment delivered to them" (2 Peter 20-21). These are some strong words delivered by the apostle Peter! God is very displeased with anyone that accepts his commandments one day and then throws them into the wind the next. Individuals that do this will be lost eternally. James says "My beloved brethren, if any among you strays from the truth, and one turns him back, let him know that he who turns a sinner from the error of his way will save his soul from death, and will cover a multitude of sins" (James 5:19-20). God takes apostasy very seriously and so should we because our soul is at stake!

If apostasy wasn't a real problem then it would not be addressed so often in the word of God. There are different types of apostasy. The Hebrew writer says "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins," (Hebrews 10:26). Apostasy usually comes about as a result of an individual who willfully strays from God's word but we can also see that apostasy can come in other ways such as deceptiveness. "But evil men and impostors will proceed from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived" (2 Timothy 3:13).

Apostasy is known by other terms such as "shipwreck" as Paul points out to young Timothy in 1 Timothy 1:19. It is also described as a "falling away" in Hebrews 6:6. James refers to individuals that slip into apostasy as "erring" (James 5:19). As we see various terms associated with this word apostasy - one thing is for certain and that is "one has abandoned their faith in God!"

Now that we know what apostasy is, we need to find out what causes this awful thing to happen to God's children. In today's society there is an endless list of things that can cause someone to turn away from God because their faith is not as strong as it should be. False teachers that are on the television networks and around every corner are being fueled by Satan himself to cause you to fall away from God. Jesus talks about the false prophet in Matthew 24:11 when he says; "...many false prophets will arise, and will mislead many". This is just one cause that will confront the Christian on a day to day basis. There are many, many others such as; the love of this world (2 Timothy 4:10), ignorance (Romans 10:3), carelessness (1 Corinthians 10:12), discouragements (Matthew 24:12), temptations of all kinds (Luke 8:13), developing an attitude of "unbelief" (1 Timothy 1:19), impure hearts (1 Timothy 1:5-6), and the lack of a good conscience before God (1 Timothy 1:19), just to name a few.

But there is a remedy for apostasy and that is to repent and turn back to God's way before it is everlastingly too late (Revelation 2:5)! As Christians, if we would concentrate on adding the Christian characteristics to our lives, then we would not be so easily swayed into apostasy from one form or another. Read 2 Peter 1:5-10 and add these characteristics to your life. Apostasy is real and can happen to anyone that has a weak faith and isn't growing in the ways of Christ!

Hearing the Word of God

Jesus went about His ministry speaking in parables. It says in Mark 4:34 “But without a parable He did not speak to them.” Jesus spoke in parables so that they could more easily understand what He was trying to say to the people. One parable that Jesus spoke about concerns “the sower.” This parable is found in Mark 4:3-20 and in Matthew 13:18-23. In Mark’s account of this parable Jesus said: “Listen! Behold, a sower went out to sow. And it happened, as he sowed, that some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds of the air came and devoured it. Some fell on stony ground, where it did not have much earth; and immediately it sprang up because it had no depth of earth. But when the sun was up it was scorched, and because it had no root it withered away. And some seed fell among thorns; and the thorns grew up and choked it, and it yielded no crop. But other seed fell on good ground and yielded a crop that sprang up, increased and produced: some thirtyfold, some sixty, and some a hundred.” (Mark 4:3-8). Of all the parables that Jesus told, this one in particular really cuts to the heart of why man does not always respond to the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Christ. Jesus points out to us that there are four kinds of hearers in the world. You and I are one of these kind. So which one are we? The one we are depends on what we do with the Word of God once we have heard it. Assuming that each of us has heard God’s Word, now let’s see where we stand in relationship to this parable that Jesus told.

Are We Shallow?

As the Word of God is sown or preached, and we hear the Word, do we immediately let Satan come along and lead us back into sin and the ways of the world? Some are very shallow, allowing Satan to immediately get his grips back in them. The Word that they heard quickly leaves them as they again become servants of Satan and not the Lord Jesus (Mark 4:15).

Are We Rootless?

Again as God’s Word is taught are we like the seed that fell on the stony ground? Did we receive God’s Word with great gladness of heart and get excited about it for just a short time, only to see it quickly fade away? If this is so, then we are “rootless!” When tribulation and persecution comes our way we quickly succumb to the pressures of having to uphold the Word of God and we immediately stumble away. There are many who have eagerly received the Word of God, got excited about it for a short time but then drifted back into the world, letting Satan take command and control of their life! Individuals like this are simply rootless!

Are We Entangled?

This is where I believe most people are today. They are entangled with the affairs of this world and not the affairs of God. Jesus said that this type of person is the one that is likened to the thorny ground. The Word of God is heard but the cares of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things choke out the Word to the extent that no fruit can ever be realized. Many today are entangled in the affairs of the world because they neglect the first commandment that Jesus taught and that is to “love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength” (Mark 12:30). When we do not truly love God with all of our inner being then certainly the cares of the world and the lusts of it will take over and we will become entangled with them.

Are We Fruitful?

The one who hears the Word of God, accepts it, and bears fruit because of it, is the one that will inherit eternal salvation (Hebrews 5:9). We must make sure that our ground (heart) is fertile, always ready and willing to receive God’s Word and DO what He asks of us! Let us all long for a fertile heart, and be anxious to bear fruit.