Viewpoint Brief Bible Study #82 |
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JESUS calls US to be |
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The Christian religion is the worship and service of Jesus Christ. It’s not Mary we worship, but her Son. We worship neither saints, angels, a law code, nor even God’s Spirit. It’s JESUS who is to be honored. The Bible is our guide. |
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Are You (Really)
Rich?
Those who walk with God ARE really rich
Remarks below are adapted from a devotional
study by Given O. Blakely on 11/22/97, which he called
--
WHY ISN'T GOD MORE POPULAR?
Anyone who has thrown himself whole-heartedly into the work of the Lord has wrestled with the indifference of others who say they are "of Christ" -- even those who regularly attend church services. Most professed believers do not have a hearty appetite for God or the things of God. Short and infrequent gatherings are quite sufficient for them. There does not seem to be much objection to activity, so long as it is not spiritually focused, and is relatively infrequent.
Religious professionals will even offer explanations for this condition, and structure "church programs" to accommodate mediocre spiritual appetites. But the condition still concerns a great many of us. Why isn't God more popular? Oh, people say they desire Him in the crisis, or on special occasions--like weddings and funerals. But they are not asking for Him during the normalities of life. Why not? It is because they see no need of Him during those times, creedal professions notwithstanding.
Most see no connection between God and daily life, between His truth and their sustenance. Even though Scripture vividly portrays our need of Him and His great salvation, men are blind to that need. What a graphic picture is painted of those who do not walk with God. " ... at that time you were without Christ, being aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world" (Ephesians 2:12).
A cloud of absolute and total hopelessness hovers over the head of every person without a vital connection with God through Christ and by faith. Life simply cannot be lived without Divine fellowship and influence. Those who suppose that it can are simply wrong. There is not the slightest element of truth to the view that life can be lived in isolation from God.
The reason for isolation from God is spiritual blindness -- a blindness imposed upon hard hearts by Satan himself. As it is written, "But even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, whose minds the god of this age has blinded, who do not believe, lest the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine on them" (2 Corinthians 4:3,4). Notice, the condition is one of perishing! Those who are spiritually blind cannot see things of the Spirit. That is a condition that makes God unpopular, and it is a serious one, indeed! Regardless of how rich or spiritual a person thinks he is, any person without Christ is in spiritual poverty. No person in a state of spiritual poverty is at that time in a saved state.
Brief Bible Study #82 from Ray Downen. To go back to Viewpoint's first page, click < here. Or go on to Viewpoint Study #83. For Ray's concluding remarks, click HERE.
