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Christian Chronicles, December 2003 - Volume 7, Issue 96

| The Editor's Pen | Perspectives | Mid-East Update | Fruit of the Vine |  Philosophy & Theology |
| The Wise Decision for Life's Journey | Wisdom is a Woman | The Fear of the Lord | Wisdom & Integrity |
| In Much Wisdom is Much Grief |

The Editor's Pen

 The rooster that crows the loudest is usually the bantam of the barnyard. Unsaved folks tend to view born again Christians with a certain respect, usually for reasons that they do not really understand. There is that about the Christian that is like the wind (see John 3:8). We, of course, know that it is the indwelling Spirit of God that they “sense.” Those who reach some measure of spiritual maturity are sometimes thought to be wise, and it is right that they should be so considered. Nevertheless, it is vital, if there is to be any real wisdom in them, that they recognize that they are no wiser in and of themselves than the least of the unsaved. Our wisdom is “in Christ” (1 Cor 4:10). There is a serenity that the wisdom of God produces that is unparalleled among the unsaved. There is a strength of faith that results in a certain unflappability that those who depend upon worldly wisdom cannot attain. But that strength is not the strength of character that the Christian has developed on his own, but it is the strength of Christ Himself, who also indwells the believer. The less mature Christian often assumes that he has progressed further than he has in his growth and development. This, because the least among Christians surely is vastly more gifted than the most gifted unsaved person. But as we grow we learn that the more we know, the bigger the Word of God becomes. There is wisdom. It is not in ourselves, but what wisdom we possess is God’s and not our own.    

Perspectives

...to God, alone wise, be glory through Jesus Christ forever. Amen

(Rom 16:27)

 Jesus, as He was about to send His disciples out to evangelize Israel, said to them, “Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves. Therefore be wise as serpents and harmless as doves” (Mt 10:16). While He was speaking to His Jewish disciples of their ministry to the twelve tribes of Israel, there is a principle here that ought to apply to the Christian’s evangelization of the world. We certainly are sheep, sent out into an increasingly wicked world to preach to sinners and saints the marvelous Gospel of God’s grace. “Wise as serpents, harmless as doves;” this is how we are to conduct our ambassadorships to Earth, preaching the word of reconciliation. Also in Matthew, Jesus asks, “Who then is a faithful and wise servant…” (24:45). Luke records the question thus: “Who then is that faithful and wise steward?” (12:42). We are to be not only faithful, but also wise. One cannot be faithless and be wise. Neither can one be truly faithful without an overarching wisdom.

Wisdom resides in God alone, as seen in the opening verses above, and it is only as we are filled with the Spirit of God that we have any wisdom at all aside from worldly wisdom, which is only foolishness (1 Cor 1:19-20). While the parable of the five wise and the five foolish virgins deals with Israel’s preparedness to meet her returning Savior, there is again an application of principle to the Church. Oil is clearly a symbol of the Holy Spirit. The five wise virgins had their lamps filled with oil, and the five foolish virgins had none. We are the virgin bride of Christ, and some of us will be wise and some will not. Some will worship and serve God, being filled with the Spirit, and some will worship and serve the flesh. That such is the case is obvious if one but looks around at the Christians that he knows. In fact, sometimes we walk in the flesh and sometimes we walk in the Spirit, and sometimes our lamps are filled to the brim with “oil,” and sometimes they are not. If anyone could walk spiritually all the time, then he would be wise in and of himself, but this is not the case. We are not wise, but we do have the mind of Christ (1 Cor 2:16), and He is wise.

Paul said that we should not be wise in our own opinion (Rom 11:25), but that we are wise in Christ (1 Cor 4:10). There are those whom the world considers wise indeed, and whom the world honors for that supposed wisdom. They are worldly-wise, but Paul plainly declares that their thoughts are futile, or vain (1 Cor 3:18-20). Those whom the world considers wise must become fools if they are to find real wisdom. Furthermore, Paul said that he considered himself a wise master builder (1 Cor 3:10). The context shows that Paul found wisdom in preaching Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. There is but one foundation for any real wisdom, and that foundation is not found beneath the national treasury or among the halls of government. It is not found parading itself before the world, but its foundation is at Calvary, beneath the cross.

Yes, we not only may, but must, be wise. James tells us that if we would be wise, then we would commune with God, and while doing so, would ask for wisdom, which He distributes liberally to all who ask with faith (1:5-6a). And so, we have come full circle. There is no wisdom without faith, and faith does not find accord with worldly reason. The wise steward will realize that he is but a steward of the wisdom of God and, left to his own devices, would follow worldly reason to his own destruction and shame. But faith more often leads away from that which makes earthly sense, causing God’s servants to have to depend upon Him for all their resources and for every scrap of wisdom that He gives them. David said (Ps 27:14), “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!” A wise man said recently, “Where there is urgency, there is usually a faithless heart.” And that is true. If we would be wise and faithful servants, good stewards of both the Word and the resources of God, we would wait always on the Lord. We are only wise when we recognize that we can do nothing of ourselves, but that it is Christ who strengthens us, body, soul and spirit, and in whose mind alone is found wisdom and honor and riches that will not fade away when the elements of Earth shall melt with fervent heat. The wise servants, the faithful stewards; these will wait on the Lord, and then will act in accordance with His Word, keeping their priorities straight and true, seeking that coming Day.

Mid-East Update

Activity appears to be increasing in the Middle East. Israel is in the early stages of a divisive political scene. The current administration, under Ariel Sharon, continues to build what is called a fence, separating the Palestinian sectors from the Jewish. However, this fence, or wall, cuts well into the area that is considered by many to be Palestinian land. Of course, we know that all of the land is Israel’s forever, but the world does not see it that way. Both sides speak of concessions, but even as they speak, they continue the policies that lead to prolonging the conflict. The security fence is one of the greatest hindrances to negotiations between the two sides, and international pressure is being brought to bear upon Israel to halt construction and begin removing the barrier. Israel insists that it needs the barrier in order to prevent suicide bombings. The common perception is that Sharon intends to make that wall the border between Israel and Palestine, and the discussions are heating up.

A senior member of Islamic Jihad, one of the two most important of the terrorist groups active in Israel, has indicated that it would be willing to agree to a cease fire for as long as one year as a spur to negotiations toward a peaceful settlement of the issues leading to a Palestinian state. At the same time, Islamic Jihad published a proclamation that calls for the release of all Palestinian prisoners held in Israel, cessation of settlement activity, an end to targeted killings, and the dismantling of the security fence. The group is calling for renewed terror attacks inside Israel as a means of fighting against what it calls the Israeli “occupation” of Palestinian land.

The other group, Hamas, has rejected any comprehensive truce, calling for a halt to attacks only inside the “Green Line,” formerly called the Armistice Line of 1949, which separates Gaza and the West Bank from land given to Israel by the United Nations in 1948. In other words, they will not attack Israel on Palestinian territory, but only in Israel. Hmm… Palestinian sources indicated on Friday, December 5, 2003, that even if a cease fire were agreed upon, it might be implemented without being officially declared or announced.

On another front, the political factions in Israel are haggling over a peace proposal negotiated between unelected Israeli and Palestinian representatives in Geneva. The international community has given its stamp of approval to the proposal, but Ariel Sharon has rejected it altogether, saying that only the elected government of Israel has the authority to negotiate with anyone concerning national issues. Sharon was indignant over a meeting between U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell and Yossi Beilin and Yasser Abed Rabbo, the two architects of the Geneva peace plan. He issued several public statements calling on President Bush to refuse to allow his representatives to meet with the unauthorized negotiators, claiming that any such meeting would undermine Israeli sovereignty. However, the meeting took place in Washington, D.C., on Friday, December 5, 2003. The meeting lasted about forty minutes, and was followed by a meeting between Beilin, Rabbo, and Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations. Sharon considers both meetings to be a personal affront that can only serve to damage him in the polls in Israel and elsewhere. Secretary Powell said that “it was a very good meeting.” He said that the Geneva Initiative, as it is now called, does not interfere with, but only complements the U.S. Road Map for Peace which shall continue “to have primacy.” Yossi Beilin is a former Israeli Justice Minister. Anti-Defamation League national director Abe Foxman, last month, called Annan's intervention "arrogance which borders on disrespect for the Jewish state."

Syria, while claiming that is “committed to peace,” has put its armed forces on alert in order to prepare for an attack by Israel. Israel indicates that it would indeed strike Syria again if further terrorist activity originates in Syria. Damascus believes that Israel wishes to attack Syria for domestic political reasons that have nothing to do with any alleged terrorist activities. President Bashar Assad of Syria seems to be doing what so many of the actors on the Middle Eastern stage do with regularity, saying one thing while doing another; calling for peace while carrying out activities that will ensure that no negotiations will end with an agreement that will make peace with Israel. Yet, we know that there will be a treaty eventually, but that it will fail miserably.

Fruit of the Vine

Paul said, “For I determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ, and Him crucified.” He also said, “For no other foundation can anyone lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.”

He made both statements in the first three chapters of his first letter to the church at Corinth. As always, Paul deals with many issues in those few chapters, but looming large among them is the notion of the wisdom of God as opposed to the wisdom of the world.

We cannot blindly sympathize with the unsaved, but we must always remember that it is not our testimony that leads anyone to the Lord, but He Himself enlightens them through the agency of His Word. The active agent in all genuine ministry is not the one who preaches, teaches or admonishes. Oh, no! The active agent in all of Christian ministry is the Word of God. If we would be wise master builders, like Paul, then when we go out to minister, if we would be fruitful, we would understand that it is God who gives the increase. We become wise and fruitful servants as active stewards of the Word of God, which has been entrusted to our safekeeping (see 1 Tim 6:20) and faithful use.

The only wisdom that the unsaved soul needs to learn is the wisdom of God at Calvary. And he does not learn this by the words of the preacher, but by the Word of God. Let us be prepared to serve our God!   

Philosophy & Theology

The movement in the multicultural school of philosophy toward some form of universalism or humanism seeks to achieve its lofty goal through the agency of man. The globalization process has been underway for some time now, and continues to spread among intelligentsia. Seeking unity among men is certainly the most noble work that a man can do, at least from a worldly, human, or rational perspective - this pursuit of virtue and harmony. The highest aim among earthly men is universal love, where every member of society does by nature those things that love demands, each preferring all others to himself. For love is not a thing that is felt; it is a thing which must be done. It is an attitude and a way of life, not an emotion. The goal of philosophy today is the noblest goal among men. That it is a futile attempt is irrelevant to the fact that the goal itself is a noble one.

There is a school of (so-called) Christian theology also that holds to this view, but it is the most liberal of schools. Many of the more sacerdotal (or, hierarchical) among Christian groups and denominations hold to this view that is also espoused by many modern philosophers. Liberal theology, not universally, but widely, teaches that mankind will continue to improve and perfect itself until it has reached such a state of moral and social evolution where a Utopian state will become possible. Among these, some hold that Christ will return after an extended reign of peace on Earth, which time of peace is ordered and orchestrated through the wisdom and the agency of man. These are the Post-millennialists. Other liberal groups hold that Christ never returns to the Earth, but that man, who was given dominion over the Earth, will evolve his way off the Earth, and fill the heavens with his presence, his justice and his wisdom.

Lofty goals indeed! Man seems to be climbing ever-upward in his tireless endeavorings to attain them. Social order is in an accelerating state of flux world-wide. Humanity's thinkers and religionists are seeking desperately to turn the direction of the race from a pathway of anarchy, hatred and self-absorption onto that Utopian road. What they are finding when they leave the isolation of their various cerebral enclaves is that most of the world only pays lip-service to harmony and social justice, even as they each seek their own good and not their neighbor's. The faster the world advances, the farther behind fall the philosophers and liberal theologians. That greedy beast that lurks in the heart of “everyman” is baring his teeth, snarling inwardly at his neighbors, and planning whatever rise to prominence he can gain for himself. All he asks is an honest advantage. Well, an advantage anyway. Those who inhabit the ivory towers of academia are right to desire peace and goodwill among men, but are rather naïve in supposing that they will ever tame that sin-tarnished rebellion that lurks in the heart of us all. Liberal theologians and philosophers persist in their efforts and, while they might be applauded for their desire, they ought to be chastened for thinking that they are wiser than the devil and able to change the direction in which he has steered the human race.

However, there is another school of thought, one that most urbane and erudite men, the educated strata of academia, tend to shy away from as somehow less legitimate. The first two schools of thought, briefly described above, are based upon reason. They are rational. The third is not reason-based, but faith-based, and thus, is largely ignored. It is dismissed with the suggestion that, "There are many interpretations of the Scriptures, and how is one to choose between them?"

There is a distinction, however, that separates the conservatives from the liberals: Conservatives do not "interpret" the Scriptures. The Scriptures speak for themselves. Conservatives do not attempt to make the Bible say anything other than what the plain rules of grammar and usage demand. There is no symbol or allegory in the Bible which is not interpreted by the Scriptures themselves, so that man is not left to his own devices in that regard. The position of the conservatives is in agreement with reality where social issues are concerned. Thinkers like to envision a perfect world, without examining the present state objectively. Lofty visions, and admirable, but far distant from the present reality. It is an unbridgeable distance.

Furthermore, there is broad unanimity among conservatives concerning the vast body of doctrine. Every doctrine harmonizes with every other doctrine, and conservatives find harmony in their understanding. The broad diversity of interpretations spoken of above is indeed pervasive among the liberals, but it does not exist in the conservative school. There are differences among conservative theologians, but those are mostly on issues about which the Bible is not clear, often prophetic details which will become more clear as the time of their fulfillment draws near. If the Bible is taken to mean what it says, then interpretation becomes unnecessary, and conflicting views are reduced dramatically.

Thus, the conservatives do not deserve to be shunted aside with all the other religionists. Here is the difference: Both religionists and philosophers address these social and ethical issues from the perspective of men seeking to establish on the Earth that order which they know in their hearts is right. In their hearts, they would stir the seas of humanity into a higher level of awareness, where all men look outwardly at their fellows instead of inwardly, seeking their own dark desires. Conservative theologians, on the other hand, understand that, as God declares simply, "There is none good; no, not one" (Rom 3:10, 12). Conservatives agree in principle with the goals of the cerebral crowd. Who would not desire universal harmony? The difference is in the routes that the thinkers and the conservative theologians travel toward that end.

As the "rationalists" seek a path to universal justice and harmony among men through reason, the conservative branch of theology exposes a scenario described in that ancient volume, the Bible, which declares plainly that man will not achieve social justice or harmony by any effort he may exert. It will be found first and only in the government of the Sovereign God. Every civilization that has arisen in history has failed or is failing. This world society that the thinkers are trying to develop will not succeed. Indeed, it will not get off the ground except in the minds of academicians. It has not gotten off the ground despite the efforts of many of the most “intelligent” men and women on Earth.

Nevertheless, that such an end as universal love and harmony actually is attainable is clear, for it is equally plainly stated in the Scriptures that such a Utopian state will eventually exist on the Earth: man will not achieve it, but a Man will. Everywhere the Bible makes the statement concerning men that, "They reasoned among themselves...", "they" were shown to be erroneous in their plans and schemes. Social justice will not come through the agency of fallen man, but through the sovereignty of One who is capable of ruling effectively and fairly. The Bible clearly describes His return to the Earth, and great detail is provided concerning His reign as King of kings and Lord of lords. Such notions are dismissed as pie in the sky by rational men. These are men who deny the plain statements of the Scriptures in favor of their own ideas, wills and whims, and it remains to be seen whose pie is at what altitude. It should not be too long before the pie is found at about face level.

The Bible also predicted two thousand years ago that this would be the attitude and stance of both the rationalists and the religionists just prior to the judgments that precede the Second Advent of the King (see 1 Tim 4:1-10; 2 Tim 3:1-7). The proof of the Scriptures is in the fulfillment of their prophecies. Only a small fraction of the total number of prophecies in the Bible remain to be fulfilled. All the others have already been fulfilled completely, and perfectly accurately. Why does anyone suppose that the few prophecies that remain will not be fulfilled every bit as accurately? The objective circumstances that obtain in the world today are precisely what the Bible predicted they would be, from geo-politics to social order and value systems, as well as theologically. Thus, while the aspirations of the thinkers and religionists seem to be falling farther away from their aims with every passing generation, the understanding of conservative theologians is being more and more surely confirmed every passing day. It only takes an honest and thoughtful examination of the affairs of man today to come to the understanding that God knew what He was talking about. Philosophy has produced good things over the millennia, in terms of government and economics, but it has utterly failed in the endeavor to make man a better creature than the sinner he is.

It is a noble thing for thoughtful men to pursue such a goal as universal harmony and love, but it is a futile work. On the streets of the world, far below the hallowed halls of academia, beats the heart of a race of men still thoughtless of anyone but themselves. Avarice stalks the avenues of Earth. It is not Utopia that is growing in the heart of the man on the street, but a blossoming depravity. Around the world, racial tensions are not easing, but growing. Christianity versus Islam, Arabs versus the Jews; every ethnicity in the world has someone to look down upon, to be superior to, to hate. The scale of the greed that rages in the breasts of men is monumental, exposed in the great corporate scandals that have rocked the American private sector. Children killing children. Children killing adults, and adults killing their own children. Overt and covert sexual innuendoes in practically every televised image, the promotion of unfettered and unrestrained violence in children's programming.

Yes, it is futile at best, and self-deceptive at least, for the liberal theologian and the reformist philosopher to suppose that society is moving toward the goal of universal harmony. While outwardly, both express optimism about their philosophical prospects, in the pits of their stomachs they must feel that persistent tug that tells them they are swimming against a stronger current, without the strength of the salmon, whenever they consider the matter quietly and honestly. They must know in their hearts that the goal is high, but the effort is vain.

Such a Utopian state will certainly emerge, and will be sustained perfectly for a millennium, but it will not be brought about through the agency of man. Rather, it will be the product of the rule of one Man. Throughout all of his history, mankind has sought through reason to glorify himself. The Bible does not do that. Fallen Man has no glory. We truly are shameful creatures, with our secret prides and prejudices, resentments, rebellions and temptations. No, the Bible does not give glory to man, but to God alone, as it should be. Who would want a lesser God than that? Give us a God who is not in any way vulnerable to anything, and we will be secure in Him. Our God needs to be a big God, one who is capable of exercising absolute sovereignty everywhere. We need a God who is bigger than time, and wiser than the reasonings of man. Such a God we already have!

It will be when the God-Man establishes His reign on the Earth that mankind will reach the glorious estate in which he lives in harmony with himself. Until then, our outward show will increase in supposed glory (it will one day be our shame—see Phil 3:19-20), even as the heart of the inner man grows increasingly threatening and depraved. That is not what the philosophers or liberal theologians want to see or hear, but that is the reality of the world. What candid mind can deny it? It is also the reality of the Word of God. At the end of the day, God does not have to reconcile Himself to man’s reason, but man must reconcile Himself to the fact that God’s Word remains supreme in all that it proclaims and prophesies.

Theologically, those who seek to turn the tides of morality and justice throughout the world and reach that harmonious state through their own efforts must necessarily deny the scenario detailed in the Bible, for the Bible knows nothing of the upward evolution of man. It teaches the precise opposite. Thus, those who hold that man will get better and better make themselves the enemies of God, seeking to usurp the place that He has declared openly is his own. Their motives might be clean, but their methods are rebellious. They would wrest sovereignty from the King of kings, dividing the spoils among themselves. It will not obtain. And the poor would suffer throughout all the ages, for there would be less restraining spirit than there is today to hold the rich and powerful in check. Clearly, that is the path the Earth is treading today, and has been throughout those ages already past. We should not be surprised to find that it is so.

Those who do not have the universal humanist heart and mind, who do not seek a global community, are considered by those who do have such a mind and heart to be unenlightened and parochial, narrow-minded and naive. The word “Fundamentalist” has become an epithet that is used to cast aspersions on those who hold the Word of God sacrosanct. However, if the Bible is the Word of God, then it is man that must have it wrong. His reasonings have led him to his own glory, when he has none, instead of to the glory of God. There is naiveté, a child-like supposition that our wisdom is greater than the wisdom of Him who sits in authority. When Christ ascends the throne in Jerusalem, His glory will rise above that city like the sun itself, and righteousness will fall down like showers of rain, and spring up like grass. Then there will be harmony, and there will be no question in anyone's heart or mind as to where the peace and harmony originated. If enlightenment is to be found in the breast of man, it will not originate in his own reason, but in the Light of the world, illuminating mankind through His Word.

The best that man can do has turned out to be the civilization from which Antichrist shall arise. He is very likely already crouched in the curtains, just off the stage of world history, preparatory to his subtle entrance. He will be seen as a peacemaker, a man determined to create a better world order. He will seek to do it non-violently, but will carry his empty bow as a reminder to all that no one can make war with him. A commercial giant, a military marvel, a carefully-cloaked self interest; ah, the leader of this empire will arise from his lethargy and simplicity and become very sinister and ignominiously subtle. And the harlot that is apostate Christendom will lift her skirts and entice men everywhere to herself with words of love and lust, until the world agrees upon a universal religious system that defiles every one of its adherents by denying the Word of God. It has already largely done that. We have seen in the Scriptures that Paul said two millennia ago that apostasy would characterize the Earth. And does it not? If you have a preacher who is not afraid to preach the true Gospel today, you are blessed far beyond what you may think, for there are many, many areas in this nation and around the world where the Gospel cannot be found except in small study groups.

That which restrains the evil beast in Man is declared to be the Spirit of God. The Bible says that He will remove Himself from that role, freeing all the demons that drive every evil in the hearts of men. Anarchy? Terror? Destruction? Men will kill one another for a can of peas in those days, and we are rapidly approaching them. At the end of seven years of this sort of tribulation (and much, much more), then Christ will return to the Earth to take by force that throne that He allowed men to deny Him in His First Advent.

The salient event that causes the Spirit to unleash those demons is declared to be the ratification in the Jewish government of a treaty that establishes some sort of comprehensive Middle East peace. These prophecies are ancient, and yet are unfolding before our very eyes today, though few wish to see or know them. Man is slouching toward the brink of the ages, blindly, carelessly, foolishly. He does not want to know these things because it instills a great fear in him that he finds uncomfortable. Not only does he not want to know them, he actively wants not to know them. Like the athlete who has played beyond his prime, mankind is growing fat and self-absorbed, and that top-heavy fool is about to be toppled. Thy Kingdom come! Your will be done!

No, those who would deny the conservative theologian's understanding of the state of the world and its prospects are found in the unenviable position of attempting to reconcile their futile hopes with a reality that does not allow a shred of the hope they need to sustain them, even while it firmly and unquestionably establishes the rectitude of the conservative theologian. The former have plans and ideas and ideals, but the latter has facts on the ground, physical evidence, social evidence, political evidence to sustain him in his impregnable fortress of faith. Furthermore, the conservative has the unerring and unending Word of Almighty God to uplift him and give him assurance that what we see in the world today is precisely as it must be if the purposes of God are to be accomplished.

Philosophy, in and of itself, is not a bad thing. But, if it denies the Word of God, then it becomes the work of the devil. There are Christian philosophers out there in the great Somewhere, and they loudly proclaim the Gospel, confounding the wisdom of men. The conflict between conservative theology and humanist philosophy has raged and will rage until the fires are extinguished. The word, “philosophy,” has its origin in two Latin words that together mean “the love of wisdom.” However, there are two kinds of wisdom—worldly wisdom and Godly wisdom. And what do the Scriptures say? “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but fools despise wisdom and instruction” (Prov 1:7). Those who truly love wisdom are those who seek their wisdom where it may be found. Those who seek it elsewhere are like the Athenians whose altar proclaimed, “To the Unknown God” (Acts 17:23).       

The Wise Decision for Life's Journey

There are several Greek words used for wisdom, wise, and prudence in the New Testament according to W. E. Vine. Of all the words Phronesis and Sophia seem to be the words used most often. While Sophia is the insight into the true nature of things, Phronesis is the ability to discern modes of action with a view to their results.

We may also use the Latin meaning of decision to help us understand the wisdom that God intended for us to use. The word “decision” is of interesting derivation. The de is a Latin prefix meaning “away”, while the cis is a Latin root meaning “cut.” The ion is a Latin suffix meaning “the act of.” A “decision,” then, is the act of cutting away one choice from all other possible choices. What is decided upon is singled out or isolated from everything else.

Making the right decisions is not always easy. First, you have to know what is right. Second, you have to desire to do what is right. Furthermore, your desire must be strong enough to cause you to act without fearing the consequences.

Decisions are very important because they determine destiny.

“Life is a journey.” Popular culture holds this statement as a way of expressing the ever-changing landscape of our existence. Some clarify the statement further by expressing the conviction that God gives each of us separate paths within the journey. This is the very core of being an individual… a separate path. Both statements, “life is a journey” and the one concerning separate paths, fail to disclose even a hint of destination. They are equally vague concerning beginning points. I am convinced that the beginning and ending points are not missing or unknown; they are assumed.

The assumption is inherent in the following assertion: “This is my life, and I will live it as I please.” Clearly, many people, if not most people, believe that life’s journey is lived between their birth and their death. This explains their interest in religion. Eternity in heaven would be like winning the ultimate grand prize…endless bonus years. However, it is important for the Church to reject the basic assumption that “this is my life.” The following scriptures stand in contradiction to this assertion:

“I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me, and gave Himself for me.” (Gal 2:20)

“Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.” (1 Cor. 6:19,20)

“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life shall lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake shall find it.” (Matthew 16:24,25)

Christians are people who have recognized their being dead and have submitted themselves to God in Christ as the only One who is life (John 14:6). They have no claim to a journey of their own. If they are found in Christ, then their beginning and ending is hidden in Christ…”For you have died and your life is hidden with Christ in God.” (Col. 3:3) Most Christians are very happy to have their past hidden; they are comforted by the promise of God’s presence today; however, they seem hesitant to relinquish their immediate future to God.

What has developed among many Christians is a theology that says that no sooner than we commit our lives to God, God returns them to us to be used as we discern God’s direction. Strangely, the discernment of some Christians of God’s will for their lives looks remarkably like the pattern of this world’s culture. There is little evidence of the radical love of Jesus, and nothing resembling the life of the Church described in the Book of Acts. After two thousand years of God’s presence in Christ or in Christ’s body (the Church), we continue to wait for the realization of God’s kingdom, foreshadowed in the Old Testament prophets, present in Jesus, declared by the apostles, and longed for by all of creation.

The Church is lost in our culture. We aimlessly wait for our bonus years in heaven. We have too few shared convictions concerning life in Christ, and display no apparent urgency to identify any. We have creeds and faith statements; many are contradictory to one another; no one seems to notice or to care. Our arms are filled with convictional road maps, but our hearts appear to be empty. Convictions are the beliefs by which we really live. For instance, my creed is “all that I have belongs to God,” but the conviction by which I really live is “what is mine is mine.” We are living out our true convictions, but many of them are contrary to the Kingdom of God, as found in Christ and recorded in the Scriptures.

The following are some modest recommendations for the wise decision for life’s journey. First, we humbly recognize that we are not the “logos” of God (John 1:1). This means all convictions are held by faith, and may need to be revised as we mature in faith. Second, we affirm together that the Bible is a faithful witness of God’s activity and revelation. Or course, this still leaves us with the command to study the Bible (2 Tim 2:15). This leads to a third suggestion for affirmation. Let us affirm together that when we assemble together in the name of Christ (and according to His purpose) we can be confident that God is present among us for the purpose of discernment. Fourth, let us recognize such an endeavor calls for the wisdom of God. This wisdom is available when we ask in faith (James 1:5-8). Finally, let us display an urgency which manifests that we are about God’s business and not our own.

Editor’s Note: Some thoughts used in this articles were from a church bulletin (church name not known).

Wisdom is a Woman

Sorry, Gentlemen; it’s true. Yes, Ladies, sit a bit straighter and gaze more directly at your husbands. When one reads the Book of Proverbs, everywhere that wisdom is personified, she is a woman. “Wisdom calls aloud outside; She raises her voice…” (1:20). “If you seek her as silver…” (2:4). “Get wisdom...Do not forsake her…” (4:5a, 6a). “Say to wisdom, ‘you are my sister…’” (7:4). “Does not wisdom cry out, and understanding lift up her voice?” (8:1). “Wisdom has built her house…” (9:1a). And so forth.

God is not arbitrary when He declares wisdom to be a woman. Not at all. He has a specific purpose in mind, and a very good reason indeed. Woman is a type of the Church (Gen 24:16; 2 Cor 11:2; Eph 5:25-32), the virgin bride of the Lamb. Christians, unlike any other type of human being, are indwelt all the time by the Holy Spirit. All of the wisdom of God resides in every Christian. Not only is woman a type of the Church, but marriage itself is a type of the relationship between Christ and the Church (Jn 3:29; Eph 5:25-32; Rev 19:6-8). It is said of the Church that “we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor 2:16). In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge (Col 2:2-3). Since Christ indwells every Christian, there is on deposit in the Church, if you will, all of the knowledge and wisdom in all of creation and beyond. How wonderful it will be to experience the expanded facility to draw upon those treasuries as redeemed and glorified children of God in our eternal estate. While we lack the capacity to do that individually today in full, there is in the body of Christ the complete wisdom of God. In our sinful, fallen state, even though we are saved, it is not possible for us to contain in our consciousness the fullness of the wisdom of God, but one day that wisdom will be unlocked. It is said that man uses less than one percent of his brain’s power to reason and understand. Very likely, when the truth is unfolded on that glad Day, we will find that what we used in our temporal lives amounts to only the very tiniest fraction of one percent.

The bride of Christ; is she a man, and what does that mean? It means that everything that the Bible has to say to women, it also says to every born again man; for he is a part, a member, of the body and bride of Christ. If a man would learn to walk wisely, he will study what the Bible has to say to women. He will study the role of the wife in relationship to her husband in order to understand how his relationship to Christ is to be fashioned. Listen, fellows, it takes far greater virtue, patience and wisdom in this world to be a wife than it does to be a husband. It takes a wisdom that accepts willingly a position that is subordinate to her husband’s, not because she is somehow “less” than her husband, but because she portrays the role of the bride in relationship to Christ. If a wife is not subordinate to her husband, then the Church ought not be subordinate to Christ. And, Gentlemen, if a husband is to properly relate to his wife, then he must consider how Christ relates to him. Would you be wise? Would you be fruitful? Then understand that wives are not inferior because they are subordinate. Wisdom is a woman, and every Christian man would do very well indeed to understand that, and to seek for himself (by asking His heavenly Father) that wisdom that is ascribed to women, that he might learn to be humble. The bride of Christ is a woman, but she is composed of men and women. Let us subordinate ourselves to Him, and let us learn to love our wives as Christ also loves the Church. There is wisdom.

The Fear of the Lord

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Ps 111:10; Prov 9:10). Solomon also said, “Wisdom is the principle thing; therefore, get wisdom, and in all your getting, get understanding” (Prov. 4:7). If wisdom is the principle thing, and if it springs from the fount of the fear of the Lord, then it behooves every Christian to have such a healthy fear.

There are 26 words that are translated “fear” in the Scriptures. However, only one word in the Hebrew and one word in Greek is ever used in the context of the fear of the Lord. That word does not mean “terror,” but it means “a reverential awe.” There is a sense, though, in which that reverential awe must lead to a healthy respect for the potential ramifications and repercussions that spring from unwise actions. That is, wise actions lead to blessing in this life and reward in the eternal state, and unwise actions lead to chastening today and loss of reward later. This is why wisdom is the principle thing. It has its effects both now and eternally, and it is God who manages and delivers those effects.

Wisdom is the right use of knowledge. It is acting upon truth in truthful ways. It is recognizing the greater spiritual realities in a physical world. It is acting upon eternal principles in a temporal world. Wisdom involves an understanding, however finite, of who God is, however infinite, and coming to grips with the realities of how He has made us and what truly benefits us and what does not. It may honestly be said that wisdom grows as our knowledge of God increases, and as our knowledge of God increases, that reverential awe becomes less of fear and more of hope.

The Bible has much to say about the fear of the Lord , among which are: “it is clean, enduring forever” (Ps 19:9); when you have it you will find the knowledge of God (Prov. 2:5); to have it is to hate evil (Prov 8:13); it prolongs life (Prov. 10:27); in it there is strong confidence (Prov. 14:26); it is a fountain of life (Prov. 14:27); it is the instruction of wisdom (Prov. 15:33); by it, one departs from evil (Prov. 16:6); it leads to life (Prov. 19:23); by it are riches and honor and life (Prov. 22:4); and, finally, the fear of the Lord is God’s treasure (Isa. 33:6). Let us find the beginning of wisdom therein! 

Wisdom & Integrity 

Keep sound wisdom and discretion
So they will be life to your soul
And grace to your neck.
Then you will walk safely in your way,
And your foot will not stumble.
When you lie down,
You will not be afraid;
Yes, you will lie down
And your sleep will be sweet.

(Prov. 3: 21b-24)

A wise person walks daily in such a fashion that he is able to let the light of truth illuminate his actions without fear of discovery. Another proverb says, “He who walks with integrity walks securely, but he who perverts his way will become known” (10:9). Verses eight and ten of that chapter say that a prating fool will fall. “Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Prov 16:18).

There is no wisdom at all where there is no integrity. The person who lies, cheats, steals, misrepresents, falsely accuses, or in any other way seeks to deceive is always found out in the end. That person is short-sighted, seeking momentary advantage at the risk of long term ruin. There is an arrogance in such activities that leads to discovery and destruction.

We are instructed not to be conformed to this world, but to be transformed by the renewing of our minds, so that we can prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God (Rom 12:2). How often do we pray, “Thy will be done…” and then immediately go about the business of doing our own wills. We seek conformity with our desires, and not with the will of God. This also is arrogance, and it always leads to a fall.

A renewed mind is one that does not admit into its life those things that are produced by folly. It is a mind that is attuned to God, and not to fleshly, temporal lusts and pride. It is a mind that is not conformed to worldly principles, but is conformed to the will of God as expressed in His Word. It is a mind that stands on principle more than on profit. It is a mind that is at peace with both man and God. A renewed mind is filled with the Spirit of God, not driven by the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eye or the pride of life (see 1 Jn 2:15-17). It is a mind that focuses on things above, not on things on the earth (Col 3:2). A renewed mind is one that is oriented to things that are eternal, and not things that are temporal. It will deny itself whatever earthly things it must in order to accomplish heavenly ends.

The person who walks with a renewed mind will walk with integrity, refusing to compromise sound principles, knowing that real profit is found in the will of God and not in worldly reasonings. Here is wisdom: The fear of the Lord is its beginning, and integrity is its end. The man who has both is rich beyond any earthly measure.

In Much Wisdom is Much Grief 

Or so the Preacher says in Ecclesiastes 1:18. Of course, we all know that Solomon wrote this book from the standpoint of human wisdom. It is written from an earthly perspective, and presents a temporal view of life and its issues.

In a sense, however, what Solomon wrote is true. We often do become wiser through trials and tribulations. Paul said that tribulation works patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope. All of those things are components of wisdom.

In another sense, however, he is wrong. Wisdom may be gained without suffering or grief. God was wise before He created the universe, and He surely had not grieved before Lucifer, the fallen angels, and then man sinned. Even wisdom that is gained through suffering does not become wisdom until one learns to rejoice in the midst of circumstances in which the unwise grieve. That is, it requires wisdom, real wisdom, for a person to rejoice amid great crises, but there is wisdom in the fear of the Lord, and in the faith that is necessary to understand that He has written all of our days even long before we were born (Ps 139:16).

Wisdom does not reside in fear and grief, but in trusting God to light our paths and then to guide our feet upon them. Wisdom is using experience to learn that we can always stand upon that Rock, hidden in our fortress of defense (see Ps 31:2). Let us grieve if we must, but let us learn to rejoice, for there also is wisdom.  

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