The 'Unnatural' Love ("The Betrayal of the Ages" Continued)

THE OUTPOURING OF GOD'S LOVE INTO THE HEARTS OF MEN (Part 1)By Robert Wurtz IITherefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. (Romans 5:1-5)Our passage begins with our justification, a foundational truth that makes the rest of the passage possible. Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Where once we were lost and without hope and God in this world, doomed to everlasting destruction and perdition, now we have been justified by faith and have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is a love that when perfected in us casts out all fear. Many people struggle with unnatural fears, but as we will learn God's unnatural love with cast our ALL fear. In times of trouble we need prespective. And that begins when we realize that no crisis can rival the condition we were in before we were saved. Nothing is remotely as fearful and troubling as to know that we were once without Christ and at enmity with God. Paul, in dealing with several issues at once is giving us a right perspective for our trials, temptations, and tribulations. He wants us to keep in mind the terrible condition God has brought us from. Not just that we were wrecking our lives, but that we were dead in trespasses and sins. He then points to the person and means by which we survive every trial. He writes, By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. The ‘whom’ is Jesus Christ and the ‘what’ is grace. We can define grace as God looking favorably towards us and helping us in a time of need (Hebrews 4:17). It is similar to the Hebrew term Shalom. We do not deserve God’s favor; it is an expression of His nature without regard to our worth. We are ‘standing’ in that grace. The phrase “this grace wherein we stand” is the means by which we have our patience (lit. perseverance). We stand firmly and safely during trials and temptations because we are upheld by the power of God; as Ephesians 6 tells us “having done all stand”. We stand as soldiers that keep their ground, not worn down by the power of the enemy. It is this recognition of God’s keeping power during trials and temptations; abilities that we know we do not possess in ourselves, that ultimately leads to the ‘hope’ that does not disappoint (KJV ‘maketh not ashamed’). God is working in us and we begin to 'see' it.

In The World Ye shall Have Tribulations (Part 2)In James 1:12 we read, Blessed is the man that endures temptation: for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. Notice that a direct connection is made between enduring temptation and loving God. The passage indicates that temptations are ultimately a ‘test’ of our love for God. This directly relates to our original passage in Romans 5. Paul writes, And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience (perseverance); And patience (perseverance), experience (character); and experience (character), hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Notice that the progression is tribulation, perseverance, character (proof), and then hope. This is a process similar to refining silver. Fire is applied and the silver is refined and if ‘approved’ (dokimos) is given the stamp of approval. Here our word for 'approval' has been translated as ‘experience’; but it means the “state of mind that has passed the test.” What test? To pass the test is evidence that we truly love God. But is the love referred to here just 'any' type of love or is it a special kind of love? We will answer that question later. Notice again James 1:12, for when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him. This seems to be the point that Paul is driving at in our text. The evidence that the 'love of God' has been shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost is that we can withstand the 'test' of our love for God when it comes. Jesus told us, In the world ye shall have tribulations. Tests of your and my love for God are going to come and come often. Will you remain loyal? Often folk want to know if they are ‘really’ saved; and the answer to that is known to a great degree by whether or not you and I are passing the ‘tests’ of our love for God when they come. Are we remaining loyal to God? Are we ‘enduring’ (abiding or persevering) in His love?

THE PROVING OF OUR LOVE (Part 3)If there arise among you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and giveth thee a sign or a wonder, And the sign or the wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto thee, saying, Let us go after other gods, which thou hast not known, and let us serve them; Thou shalt not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proveth you, to know whether ye love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. (Deut 13:1-4)To summarize what we have learned so far; it is evident that various trials are going to come to prove or 'test' our love for God. Perhaps we can take this a step farther and say that temptations come and by their coming reveal to us whether the love of God has been truly shed abroad in our hearts or not. Job is a prime example of a man who remained faithful to the Lord in spite of the firey trial which was to try him. The great accusation against the Saints from our enemy towards God is the same as Job, "Doth Job serve God for nothing?" You must bear this in mind in any trial you go through. The enemy says that we only love God because He will do us good. We serve Him for what we can gain from the relationship. His argument is that if God were to withdraw the blessings- man will withdraw His love. If you look closely at the Hebrew words for 'curse God' (as the enemy told God Job would curse Him to His face) there is an underlying meaning that Job would 'dismiss' God from His heart. Imagine the implications of such a statement, "Yea, skin for skin, touch his body and He will dismiss you from the throne of his affections." That, indeed, is a powerfully painful accusation. The enemy argued that there was a point in which Job would stop loving God with all his heart. He believed a scenerio could be created that would cause Job's love for God to collapse. Yet, this writer believes that there was something more to this relationship with God that nor the enemy or even his wife understood. Job had tasted of the love of God and that love endures all things. Since the 'love of God' (agapE) is not the same as we would generally understand love (phileo, stergos, eros) we will take a moment to define it. Vines Greek NT dictionary states that, "(agapE) Love or "the love of God" can be known only from the actions it prompts. God's love is seen in the gift of His Son (I John 4:9,10). But obviously this is not the love of complacency (self-gratification), or affection, that is, it was not drawn out by any excellency in its objects (Romans 5:8). It was an exercise of the divine will in deliberate choice, made without assignable cause save that which lies in the nature of God Himself.” (Vines) This is God’s love and it flows from His nature independent of any good thing in us. God loves because it is his nature to love. The old timers often use the term benevolence as a way of describing this love. I Corinthians 13 describes it in detail. It is the highest form of love. This agapE love is what is poured into our hearts when the Holy Spirit comes in. We as born again believers have a nature to love and keep on loving in spite of the many challenges to that love because the Holy Spirit resides in us.

THE EXPRESSION OF AGAPE LOVE (Part 4)AgapE love or ‘Christian love’ has God for its primary object. We express agapE love first of all by obedience to Christ’s commandments (John 14:15,21,23; 15:10; I John 2:5; 5:3; II John 6). A predominant attitude of ‘self-will’, that is, ‘self-pleasing’, is evidence that God’s love (agapE) is not present. God’s love, whether exercised toward the brethren, or toward men generally, is not an impulse from the feelings (as would be phileo, eros). AgapE love does not always run with the natural inclinations and affections (stergos), nor does it spend itself only upon those for whom you may have a relationship. AgapE love (God’s love) seeks the welfare of all (Romans 15:2), and works no ill to anyone (I Corinthians13:8,9,10). AgapE love seeks opportunity to do good to all men, and especially toward them that are of the household of the faith (Galatians 6:10). This is a love expressed by God causing it to rain on the just and the unjust. We get a picture of this love expressed in Matthew 5; But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.Notice what this passage says, That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect. The word for 'perfect' here is Teleios. It carries the idea of completeness. Our love should be expressed even as God expresses it. This is the thing that distinguishes true Christians from non-Christians. The appropriation of benevolence by unbelievers is hit and miss and thoroughly 'incomplete' in its distribution. If we distribute benevolence like everyone else we are no different than them. However, with the love of God (AgapE) poured out in our hearts we are enabled to distribute good-will to all as if we were 'blindfolded' to our relationship to them; good, bad, or non-existent. God's Love desires the best for everyone and does not delight in the ills of others.

THE CONSTRAINING INFLUENCE OF THE LOVE OF GOD (Part 5)In II Corinthians 3:5 we gain insight into the constraining influence of the love of God as it has been poured out in our hearts. Paul writes, We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf. (NASU) This is a powerful statement! The Greek word for ‘control’ gives us a picture like unto a narrow road walled in on both sides like a tunnel or a channel. The love of Christ would not allow Paul to turn to the right hand or the left. It was this love, poured out in His heart, that kept him 'on track' and doing what God wanted him to do. Paul is also stating that what he does is not for ‘appearance’ but is done out of the love (agapE) that’s in his heart. He did not do things to be seen. He did not do it for the praise of men. He did it because it was his new found born again nature to do it and he could not help but do it. The love of Christ was the inward motivating factor in his ministry. It was not something he had to 'force' any more than we would be motivated by love in the natural. Moreover, there was an additional truth that kept Paul thankful, even cultivating the desire to be filled and filled, over and over with God's love through the Spirit. Paul had come to the sobering conclusion that if one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all. Now we are back to our survey of the wondrous cross. John said it similarly, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. (I John 4:11)So what were these men saying? Men that had experienced the fullness of the love of God shed abroad in their hearts? They were looking through the eyes of love and were constrained to love, in spite of the circumstances. And in that fullness they were fully equipped to fulfill the two great commandments upon which hang all of the Law and the Prophets (Matthew 22:40).

AGAPE THE "UN-NATURAL" LOVE (Part 6)You will recall that we stated in an earlier section that Love worketh no ill to his neighbour; the end of that passages states, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law (Romans 13:10). The word ‘ill’ in this passage is generally translated as ‘evil’ and should be understood to mean the outworking of that selfish, murderous, destructive and hateful spirit of Satan himself. It is the opposite of agapE love and flows from the Sinful nature.Simply stated, ‘love works no injury to his neighbor.’ This is the supreme summary of the Law of Moses. The Jews had eventually codified that law into 248 "Do's" and 365 "Don'ts" (one for each day of the year), a total of 613 Commandments. But the fact is, you cannot legislate AgapE love. Reason being is that man must have the intent and spirit of the Law front and center as his objective in obeying it; and that objective is to love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and our neighbor as ourselves. When that objective is lost a host of means can be employed to carve up the Law till it is of none effect. Simply put, the Law just as well as told the people you don't really love God or your neighbor in of yourselves. You have a nature of hate and are of your father the devil. This is the reality that makes John 3:3 make sense.AgapE love will put down the emotions and constrain a person who is filled with the Holy Spirit. The Law could not do that in it was weak through the flesh. The nature of humanity is contrary to the spirit of the Law. And the Law does a wonderful job pointing that out. As we look into the perfect law of liberty, the Law that shows us a God of perfect love, who causes it to rain on the evil and the good, and we see ourselves, we see what manor of men and women we are. And apart from Christ; apart from the love of God poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit we are destined to sin, because sin is cultivated in the absence of AgapE love. Before you were born again you would defend your family to the death for the same crimes you had put your enemies to death for; why? Because your love was not perfect. You would prefer your friends and make provisions for them regardless of whether they were right or wrong. Why? Because you phileos them. You would sacrifice and sacrifice for Sin and this world to the destruction of your own life and soul, but would not as much as walk across the street for free salvation. Why? Because you sacrifice for that which you love, and you loved Sin more than your own best interest. But when you were born again you found a new love. This love was demonstrated by our Lord as He was being taken to the cross and crucified. Here we read, But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (NAS) I have chosen the NAS version because it accurately translates the Greek verb as ‘was saying’. This means that He not only said it once, but was ‘saying’ it over and over again. Had man seen such a perfect expression of love? It is certain that this had never once happened before in the history of humanity. That a man wrongfully condemned would pray forgiveness for those who were putting Him to death and mocking Him? Not after there was time for the wounds to heal and after reflection and much thought and feelings of mercy may begin to flow. Oh No! The love of Christ was in the "while we were yet..." tense (if you will). This is completely UNNATURAL LOVE. It was an expression of God’s love in the midst of tremendous trial and temptation. It was a demonstration of that same love which has been shed abroad in our heart by the Holy Spirit.

THE RENEWING OF YOUR MIND (Part 7)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. (Romans 12:2)In a previous study we looked at Romans 12:1 where Paul calls our attention to the previous 11 chapters with the term, ‘therefore’. Romans is the closest thing we have in the New Testament to a systematic theology on the subject of salvation from Sin and sins (R.B). In verse 1 of chapter 12 he draws attention to the great ‘survey’ of the cross that he had afore explained to the readers. Paul expounded upon the length and width and breadth and height of God’s plan of redemption and the tremendous sacrifice and love that God demonstrated to us while yet sinners. With chapters 1-11 as his backdrop he opens chapter 12 verse 1 with “I beseech you therefore brethren…” He closes the verse by saying, that our presentation of our bodies is our 'reasonable' service. This word in the Greek is logicos and is where we get the English word logic. He was saying, essentially, that anything ‘other’ than our full presentation of ourselves to God, in light of all He has done for us, simply would not make sense; it would defy reason. We then have the conjunction ‘and’ that couples the thoughts of verse 1 with 2. This means that the passage in verse 2 also is part of the ‘therefore’ of verse 1. He is beseeching us of two seperate things that are coupled together. The one is dependant on the other. We are 'urged' to 'present our bodies' and we are 'urged' to renew our minds. If we understand this rightly it would be as if Paul also said, “I beseech ye therefore brethren by the mercies of God… to be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…”

THIS WORLD: AT ENMITY WITH GOD (Part 8)We must begin this section by affirming God’s total enmity with this World. In I John 2:15-16 we read, “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.”There are only a relative 'handful' of occasions in which the word ‘agapE’ is not used in relationship to Christian Love (the Love of God). Our passage is one of them. Its use in I John 2 is similar to other passages where we are told that things such as, men agapE (love) darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil (John 3:19). We read in II Timothy 4:10, For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…. other ways it is used include 'love' as in one that ‘loved’ the nation of Israel (Luke 7:5) and the Pharisee’s that ‘loved’ the chief seats (Luke 11:43). Even sinners are said to ‘love’ (agapE) those who ‘love’ (agapE) them (Luke 6:32). In every case we have an incomplete 'version' of the perfect agapE love of God as described in our previous study. In the afore mentioned examples the word is used to denote a love willing to sacrifice. Truly the love of God also is one of sacrifice, but the difference is in the perfection of God’s love. The agapE of God is ‘self-less’, the ‘agapE expressed by the unsaved is ‘selfish’. We are told to love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. Then we are faced with an ‘if’ leading into John’s second thought… If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him. You cannot have the love of God shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5) and love the world at the same time. It is impossible. It is an axiom of this passage that if you love the world you do not have the love of the Father. This is a ‘one or the other’ question; it cannot have an answer of 'both'. The ‘World’ is this temporal age headed by the spirit of disobedience- bent on selfish rebellion against God. It is the domain of Satan where the expression of his nature is increasing with each passing day. The ‘things’ that are in the world are, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. These are the only three ‘tools’ in the devil’s kit (Reidhead). With these three things he has damned the race of men. They answer to the Old Testament gods that Israel stmbled over when they came into the promised land of Baal, Asteroth, and Molech. Baal represents the procurement of ‘things’. Asteroth represents ‘forbidden and illicit experience’. Molech ‘ascendancy over ones fellows’ (See Danger of third Generation Religion; P. Reidhead).

CONFORMITY TO THIS WORLD (Part 9)Be not ‘conformed’ is an interesting phrase. Paul is telling the people that there is a danger that after all God has done the effects of His work would be made void by neglecting this truth. What travesty! What an injustice? That God would take a sinner from a sinful world, forgive their sins, give him/her a new nature, pour His love in their hearts by His Spirit, put them back into the world for the purpose of their being a ‘peculiar people’ (in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation), and that person pattern their life after the world that God sent His Son to save them from. A sober mind sees this as utter madness. Be not conformed..., that is, do not 'pattern yourself' after. The word ‘conformed’ has the Greek root, sun (soon) and it means to 'walk together in union as companions.' James said it this way; 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. Those members of the church that have befriended the world are figuratively regarded as unfaithful spouses to God. Why? Because their affections have turned away from Him and have turned to this World, His enemy. This is the pure definition of whoredoms; to take the love that belongs to the one and give it to another. The enemy is always wanting to steal away our affection for God for himself. What’s the solution? But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.

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THE SPIRIT OF THE MIND (Part 10)

That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts; And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; (Ephesians 4:22, 23)

The first step in renewing the mind is to [u]believe[/u] that your mind needs to be renewed in the first place. One must believe that the Christian life demands that the entire [i]bent[/i] of one's mind be towards the will of God.

In a previous lesson we discussed how God had given man a new heart and a new spirit, but not a new ‘mind’. God, through the finished work of the cross transforms the spirit of their mind, but does not delete the whole of the [i]memory[/i] or instantly replace [i]wrong reasoning[/i]. For those who have been born again, the 'spirit of the mind' is [i]bent[/i] towards God’s will, but even this ‘bent’ needs to be continually refreshed by the Lord.

This renewal goes hand in hand with the Word of God that has the [i]effect[/i] of ‘reprogramming’ the beliefs, thinking and reasoning. Some may think that when we were born again the mind was renewed and that was [i]all[/i] we needed. Truth is, the mind must be renewed [u]perpetually[/u] in order to prevent our conformity to this world (Romans 12:2).

In a former study we also examined how God through the Apostle made his case for our [i]commitment[/i] to renewing our minds. The key here is 'commitment'. Before one will be committed, they have to ne 'convinced'. One has to be [i]completely convinced[/i] that their mind must be constantly renewed.

The old adage comes to mind, “where there is a will- there is a way.” Perhaps this is why Paul used such strong terms in Romans 12:1. The UBS Handbook states that, “There are a number of ways in which the phrase “I beseech you” may be rendered; "I strongly urge you," or "I beg of you earnestly." Once the people have a revelation of this they are more likely to take it seriously and act on it. Truly, it is life and death. Where there is a ‘will’ there is a ‘way’.

Our shortage is not the [u]means[/u] of renewing our mind, but [u]our resolve[/u] to have it renewed. If the mind is not renewed, the heart is likely to turn aside after this world and conformity to it is inevitable. Conformity and friendship are not far apart.

People take on the traits of those they befriend. This is where the concept of an ‘affected’ personality comes from. People want approval from their friends and often resort to mimicking them. Friendship with the world is no different and is expressed in [i]conformity to it[/i]. Can two walk together if they are not agreed?

Once the realization of the ramifications of befriending the world are realized and an express determination to prevent this is made, the renewal of the mind has already begun.

THE OTHER 'BESEECH THEE' OF ROMANS 12:1 (Part 11)

[u]And[/u] 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. (Romans 12:2)

In a previous study we looked at Romans 12:1 where Paul calls our attention to the previous 11 chapters with the term, ‘therefore’. Romans is the closest thing we have in the New Testament to a systematic theology on the subject of salvation from Sin and sins (R.B., soteriology). In verse 1 of chapter 12 he draws attention to the great ‘survey’ of the cross that he had afore explained to the readers. Paul expounded upon the length and width and breadth and height of God’s plan of redemption and the tremendous sacrifice and love that God demonstrated to us while yet sinners.

With chapters 1-11 as his [i]backdrop[/i] he opens chapter 12 verse 1 with [i]“I beseech you therefore brethren…”[/i] He closes the verse by saying, that our presentation of our bodies is our 'reasonable' service. This word in the Greek is [i]logicos[/i] and is where we get the English word logic. He was saying, essentially, that anything ‘other’ than our full presentation of ourselves to God, in light of all He has done for us, simply would [u]not[/u] make sense; it would [i]defy reason[/i].

We then have the conjunction ‘and’ that couples the thoughts of verse 1 with 2. This means that the passage in verse 2 also is part of the ‘therefore’ of verse 1. If we understand this rightly it would be as if Paul said, [i]“I beseech ye therefore brethren by the mercies of God… to be not conformed to this world but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind…” [/i] These are compelling words. These are words that draw our attention to what Christ has done and our right response to it.

GOD'S GREAT ENEMY (PART 12)

We must begin this section by affirming God’s total enmity with this World. In I John 2:15-16 we read;

“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.”

There are only a handful of occasions in which the word ‘agapE’ is [i]not[/i] used in relationship to Christian Love (the Love of God). Our passage is one of them and it is similar to other passages where we are told that things such as; [i]men agapE (love) darkness rather than light because their deeds are evil [/i](John 3:19). We read in II Timothy 4:10, [i]For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world…[/i]

We have to make a distinction between agapE in this sense and the love of God as described in our previous study. In the afore mentioned examples the word is used to denote a love willing to [i]sacrifice[/i]. But that does not mean the sacrifice is necessarily unconditional. A few other examples using agapE in a non-Christian love sense includes one that ‘loved’ the nation of Israel (Luke 7:5); the Pharisee’s that ‘loved’ the chief seats (Luke 11:43) and sinners that are said to ‘love’ (agapE) those who ‘love’ (agapE) them (Luke 6:32). In all of these cases there is a sacrifice and an exchange taking place.

It would seem appropriate to say, the agapE of God is ‘self-less’, the ‘agapE expressed by the unsaved is ‘selfish’. In either case, we are not to love the world whatsoever. We are not to befriend the world either. We are not just told to love [u]not[/u] the world, but [u]neither[/u] the things that are in the world. Then we are faced with an ‘if’ leading into John’s second thought… [i]If any man love the world, the love of the Father is not in him.[/i]

You cannot have the love of God shed abroad in your heart by the Holy Spirit (Romans 5) and love the world at the same time. It is impossible. It is an axiom of this passage that if you love the world you do not have the love of the Father. This is a ‘one or the other’ question; it cannot have an answer of both.

The ‘World’ is this temporal age headed by the spirit of disobedience, bent on selfish rebellion against God. It is the domain of Satan where the expression of his nature is increasing with each passing day. The ‘things’ that are in the world are, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. Paris Reidhead in his sermon "The Danger of Third Generation Religion" remarks that 'these' are the only three ‘tools’ in the devil’s kit. With these three things he has damned the race of men. By way of illustration, they answer to the Old Testament gods of Baal, Asteroth, and Molech. Baal represents the procurement of ‘things’, Asteroth represents ‘forbidden and illicit knowledge or experience’, Molech ‘ascendancy over ones fellows’. These are the three main characteristics of a secular world view. This is the nature of Satan manifest in society.

CONFORMITY TO THIS WORLD (Part 13)

Returning to our passage in Romans 12:2, [i]be not ‘conformed’[/i] is an interesting phrase. Paul seems to be telling the people that there is a danger that after all God has done the effects of His work would be made void by neglecting this truth. What travesty! What an injustice? That God would take a sinner from a sinful world, forgive their sins, give him/her a new nature, pour His love in their hearts by His Spirit, put them back into the world for the purpose of their being a ‘peculiar people’ (in the midst of a perverse and crooked generation), and that person pattern their life after the world that God sent His Son to save them from.

A [i]sober[/i] mind sees this as utter madness. Sin has a way of numbing the conscience to the reality and seriousness of their actions. [i]They are drunk but not with wine, they stagger but not with strong drink[/i]. You don't have to be intoxicated with alcohol or mind altering drugs to be 'drunk' on sin. We read, [i]Be not conformed[/i]; that is, do not pattern yourself after.

The word ‘conformed’ has the Greek root, [i]sun[/i] (soon) and it means to walk together in union as companions. Can two walk together that are not agreed? James said it this way, [i]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.[/i] Those members of the church that have befriended the world are figuratively regarded as unfaithful spouses to God. Why? Because their affections have turned away from Him and have turned to this World, His enemy. This is the pure definition of [i]whoredoms[/i]; to take the love that belongs to the one and give it to another. What’s the solution? [i]But be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind.[/i]

ONE THING THOU LACKEST (Part 14)

When you were born again you became a new creature. This was a creative miracle on the part of God in which you died to the old man (by the cross) and were raised to life as the new man (in the power of the Holy Spirit). This was a miracle every much as real as our Lord calling Lazarus from the grave or healing a blinded eye. You were emancipated from Sin (Romans 6:18-22), freed from the Law (Romans 7:1-6) and were crucified to this world and the world to you (Galatians 6:14). Your flesh has been crucified also (Galatians 5:24).

Now, as the born again, you are no longer in the flesh but in the Spirit if so be that the Holy Spirit dwells in you (Romans 8:3-9). You have received a new heart and Spirit in place of the old stony heart and the spirit of disobedience (Ezekiel 36:27, 27; Ephesians 2:2, etc.). The life that you now life is no longer you, but Christ that liveth in you (Galatians 2:20). But though you received a new heart and a new Spirit (the Holy Spirit), you did not receive a new brain. The spirit of your mind has changed, but there are many many beliefs and reasonings that God will need to 'renew' and change in order to change you into His image from Glory to Glory. People come to God with some strange and even outrageous beliefs. God takes us where we are and begins working on our minds.

THE RENOVATION OF THE MIND (Part 15)

We must always bear in mind that though we received a new heart at salvation, we did not get a new memory. We have a new affection, but we also have a memory bank ‘loaded’ with trash (as it were) from the previous owner.

I recall once that I looked at a house for purchase that was two stories and huge on the inside. The seller was asking little for the house compared to what it looked to be worth from the exterior. When I went inside the home I had never been as overwhelmed with trash and junk in all my life. I didn’t know that folk could survive under such conditions. The trash was to my knees and I was literally wading through it from room to room. The house was ‘loaded’ with the remnants of the life the former owner had lived. It seemed that when they unpackaged something, they left the packing where it fell. The smell was awful to put it mildly.

Though we have a new nature and are free from the flesh, Sin, and this world, we are loaded with memories of the past experiences we have lived out. Bad habits. Wrong reasonings. Life patterns. Memories that have an awesome and almost 'automatic' effect. Like dialing a phone by placing your hands over the numbers and not being able to recall it till your hand touched the pad- then the hand dialed it. Many such things.

Our mind is powerful. It can recall vivid color, majestic sound, distinctive scents, magnificent flavor, emotions distilled from a multitude of circumstances, and other unknown factors that we are not keen enough to realize. Many of these thoughts were the products of being drawn away by our lusts or godless emotions and were birthed with the hallmarks of our sinful condition. Put this all together and you have a 'mind's eye' that can [i]take you there[/i], either past or future. The past has a powerful effect on the present as it pertains to our minds. The vast warehouse of intricate memories both stores and manufactures new thoughts. With a wide arrangement of resources, the combinations and possibilities are almost endless. Can you see why the mind must be renewed?

FALSE RENEWAL (Part 16)

In 1993 I had been born again about 2 years and desired greatly to please the Lord. I knew that my mind needed to be renewed daily. I recall hearing a TV minister state that he was going to start a series on “Renewing The Mind” and I looked forward each day to the coming start of that series. When it started a study guide (book) was offered, so I ordered it. When it arrived it was little more than a bizarre combination of [i]prosperity[/i] proof text scriptures and positive thinking techniques. I was greatly disappointed to say the least.

I understood then that there was no abundance of believers that truly understood what it meant to ‘renew their minds.’ What disillusionment I felt when I had looked for a resource to assist me in renewing my mind to the image of Christ, and found the exact opposite in a book that would set my mind on the temporal things of this world. The book that promised to renew the mind- actually sought to conform it to this world.

In the 80’s and 90’s prosperity and positive thinking techniques gained a foothold in American Evangelicalism and laid the foundation for the apostasy and gross departure from scripture that those who think Biblically are vexed by today- from day to day. These were promoted by many televangelists that [u]influenced[/u] local preaching.

As TV preaching has gone, so has gone much of the church. This is evidenced by a sharp turn away from the scriptures and towards [i]psychology[/i] and [i]motivational[/i] preaching. The whole emphasis of the Church as a whole has shifted. The emphasis has often been on being 'positive' and 'optimistic' in exchange for Truth and Faith. Tears in the altars have dried and a whole new form of Christianity has cropped up.

Fads have come and gone and each has left their own distinctive ‘mark’. Many worldly concepts birthed in the minds of ungodly men fabricated ideas that would challenge the word of God, by using the word of God as its proof text. Ron Bailey tells of a pulpit he once saw that had a plate that none could see save the man preaching. The enscribed words were, "[b]We would see Jesus[/b]." Would to God that such a reminder would be attached to every pulpit in the world.

RAT POISON IS 90% GOOD CORN (Part 17)

The devil loves to teach Christians his subtle ways. Paul writes in Colossians 2:8, [i]Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.[/i] Imagine buying a book on ‘renewing your mind’ for the purpose of being transformed to prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God, only to find a subtle work of noxious poison designed to corrupt your thinking process with worldly reasoning. As if we need to be taught the worlds ways again or something? As if we need to set our new heart on the affections of the sinful? What it amounted to was corruption of a regenerated and renewed mind.

Though obviously well intended, it was flesh at best and demonic at worst. Popular Christian authors are increasingly promoting many of these types of teachings. “If it is bad it is bad, regardless of its origin. Christians should judge a book for its dedication to truth, not by the popularity of its author.” (A.W. Tozer) God does not respect persons as men do (Galatians 2:6). It is a sin to do so (James 2:1). We must be good Bereans and test all things from the word (Acts 17).

‘Positive thinking' as it is commonly known is one of these doctrines. Positive thinking is not the same thing as [i]faith[/i]. It is an awful counterfeit. Carlton Pearson (before he fell into Universalism) commented that Rat Poison is 90% good corn; it’s the 10% strict nine that makes it deadly. It had been good if he had heeded his own advice. It speaks of how men can quote truths for novelty sake and not realize what they are actually saying. The problem is, like mice, folk are more than willing to ignore the 10% as long as 90% is good. That seems reasonable doesn’t it? If 9 out of 10 things said seem biblical, can we ignore the 10% rife heresy? It might seem OK today, but it would not in times where Christians were discerning and confrontational towards false teachers. We should speak the truth in love, but it is [u]not[/u] love to drink down poison for fear of giving offense.

CELEBRITY PREACHERS (Part 18)

Celebrities wield tremendous power over people. If a person has appeared on TV, they have an influence unlike anyone else. Folk reason that if they are on TV, and have a following in the thousands or millions then they must be doing something right? But is that necessarily so? No! That’s the worlds reasoning corrupting minds as further evidence of need for renewal. Christian's who have somehow became popular and are now essentially 'celebrities' have the same type of influence over people. The larger the ministry- the more their teachings are implemented.

The ‘positive thinking’ type doctrines equate discernment with being [i]critical[/i] and [i]fault finding[/i]. Anyone who questions their beliefs is causing discord or disunity. This has the effect of having a security guard that turns his head rather than blowing the whistle. This is one of the most effective discernment neutralizers ever devised. People ignore the warning signs for fear of being ‘labeled’ or 'fighting against God' and 'His Anointed'. The voice of [i]reason[/i] is out and deception is in.

The NAS version of Colossians 2:8 translates a little differently; [i]See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.[/i] No-one means no-one. This passage is a prophetic word to our times.

We cannot do God’s work the world’s way. We have to do God’s work- God’s way. It is the Spirit that quickeneth, the flesh profiteth nothing. The Church in the 21st century has to reckon with one major question; either the word of God is [i]absolute[/i] or [i]obsolete[/i] (Ravenhill). Let God be true and every man a liar.