What kind of men are we?  That was the question I had to ask myself after reading a couple of things today.  The first was a quote by John Stuart Mill.  He wrote the following about war,

     "War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degrading state of moral and patriotic
     feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. A man who has nothing for which he is willing to
     fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance
     of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself."   - John Stuart Mill - 


When I read this I honestly wondered about myself.  In light of what we face as a nation, can I say that I am not guilty of a certain "moral and patriotic decay" that shies away from the war for the very soul of our nation at present?  There is a battle for the soul of the United States and it rages every day.  Some would have us move toward being a nation that is based upon a philosophy of Socialism where the state becomes the caretaker of all within it.  We are walking in that direction and fast destroying the once great nation given to us by God and our forefathers.  It is said that Socialism only works until the government runs out of other people's money to spend.  That is quickly coming upon us each day that we do not rise up to the moral, social, political, and spiritual battles that surround us.  

Let me better define the war of which I speak.  It is my hope that it will never descend into a war of weapons where the outcome is dependent upon which army destroys the other.  But at present it is a war of ideas.  A war that is fought with words and actions based upon those ideas.  There is a greatly decayed moral state in America that must be addressed if we are going to survive as a nation.  Nations fall not because of conquerors who fight from without - but because of moral decay and destruction within.  We must first stand against the moral decay that is rotting us from the inside out.  That means fighting the battles that rage in our flesh.  It means once again valuing honesty, integrity, honor, hard work, faithfulness, and a host of other character traits which are far more often mocked by our godless society than glorified.  It also means recapturing our homes as the primary place where education takes place.  It is in the home where morals and godly character must be taught.  More than this it is where moral character must be displayed by fathers.

Such an endeavor will mean that we have to fight and war against some things.  I will list several here.  Please understand that we can either realize war is what MUST take place against these things - or we will lose.  We can either fight in this war - or remain one of Mill's miserable creatures who live only for their own safety, security, and comfort.  If we do, we will have to rely on other, more godly and principled men to maintain our freedom.  My concern is that there are not many such men left in this hour - possible not enough to stem the tide of moral decay and political tyranny.

First, we must fight and war against our own pacivity men!  It is the easiest thing to start out days at the mercy of the clock.  What I mean by this is that we get up so late that we do not have time to get quiet and meet with God.  We must awaken early enough to spend time with Him - both in reading God's Word and in praying for ourselves, our family, and our nation.  This is where is HAS to start.  Men, we need to war against the moral decay in ourselves.  If we do not, we will have nothing of substance to give in the war that rages all around us. 

Second, we must war for our marriages and our homes.  I ask a simple question men.  What is the state of your relationship with your wife?  Do you cherish her?  Do you nourish her with the Word?  Are we patterning for our children and those around us a delight in God's institution of marriage?  One of the most blighting scourges that is rotting our nation from within in the state of marriage and family in our land.  We can either decry it and weep on the devastated landscape around us - or - we can begin to labor to restore the ancient foundations by loving our wives and loving our children.  And that being said, what is the state of your role as "father?"  Do YOU inspire your children with your lifestyle - and with your regular teaching.  If we do not want a "nanny-state" we must then take on the rearing of our children and not leave it to the state and to the educational system.  Do you speak to your children of the morals they should embrace?  Even more - do you yourself display them to your children?

Third, we must fight and war against the rule and reign of entertainment in our lives.  I have nothing against entertainment - unless our devotion to it outstrips our devotion to God, our family, God's church, and our country.  Too often we sit and decay simply by allowing the entertainment industry to speak to us - then for us in our homes.  Think of their values men.  Think of what you've seen and heard on television and in movies.  Then realize that they not only reflect the moral decline in our nation - the urge it to continue to new heights.  

Lastly, are you warring for godly leaders in our land.  I find it disturbing that over and over again we are told that morals in a man do not matter when it comes to electing our officials.  A man can stand and say that he wants to lead our nation - indeed take an oath to do so - when he has not even honored his oath and covenant to his wife!  Such men should be questioned much about these things.  I understand that we all need God's grace - but do we not have men among us willing to run - who have not cheated on their wives . . . while being an elected official of our land.  The Democrats defend President Clinton while he commits adultery in the White House - and the Republicans now defend Newt Gingrich while he does the same in the position of Speaker of the House.  We must fight for principled men to lead us.  If neither party is willing to put up such men should we not so war against them with our words, our financial contributions, and our direct involvement until such men are put forward?  We will not see change - godly, moral, principled change - until we demand it.

Men, I know this has been a long article - and I also know that many of us suffer from moral as well as family and patriotic failures of our past.  But there truly will not be change until we passionately seek it.  May we not be the pathetic, overindulged, and unwilling miserable creatures that John Stuart Mill described above.  May we instead be the men who are willing to war against the culture - war against our own self-indulgence - and war for the reviving our our own hearts, marriages, families, churches, and nation.  There are some things worth dying for in life.  So I ask once again, "What kind of men are we?"

May God give us grace to be able to silence the slander of fools who speak out against our brothers and sisters in Christ.   I am about to write some very controversial words—so you might want to prepare yourself—or—set this article down or put it in the trash now.  If you have not done that, let’s proceed and talk about the sin of gossip and slander.  For several weeks we’ve been looking at the seven  “I wills” of the godly man in Psalm 101.  This week’s article deals with how the godly man handles slander and gossip.  These things one and the same because gossip spreads information to everyone except the person with whom they have the problem.  They may even be spreading accurate information, but since it is not being used to reconcile with or confront the person involved, it is destructive.  We’ve all be unfortunate enough to watch relationships damaged badly by this kind of thing.  Some of us have even watched entire churches torn apart because people did not go directly to the person with whom they were offended. 

How does the godly man handle slander and gossip?  Psalm 101:5 says this, “Whoever secretly slanders his neighbor, him will I destroy.”  The word “destroy” here is a little unfortunate in its translation.  What is being destroyed in the Hebrew is the actual slander of gossip.  The word means to silence someone.  Therefore the godly man, when hearing slander of someone or gossip about them silences the speaker from going on about the situation.  

I remember a very godly man who taught me about slander and gossip saying that when he began to hear one brother speak against another—or share an offence, he would listen for a few moments until he could speak.  He did this out of respect for the person speaking to him.  Then he would say something like this, “I know that this hurt you or was offensive, but biblically you should not be sharing this with me.  You should be meeting with him—sharing it with him—and seeking to either reconcile the situation or offer rebuke if he is clearly sinning.”  After saying this he would offer to get the two men together and help them work out their problems.  If the brother would continue to try to tell him more about the offence at that point he would again politely, yet firmly say that he was not the one needing to hear this.  He would reiterate the biblical truth he did before while adding that he did not want to hear any more unless it was in the other party in the offence.  What he was doing was silencing the slander and gossip.  But he was doing much more.  He was offering an opportunity for reconciliation and healing to take place.  He was healing a breach that had happened in the body of Christ—and was grieving the Holy Spirit.  These are the actions of a godly man who has made the commitment, “I will know no evil.”  May God help each of us to be such a man.

For a couple of weeks now we have been looking at Psalm 101 and the godly man.  This week I want to do an overview of this Psalm and bring out a key trait of the godly man.  In Psalm 101 we see a pattern that is important for us if we desire to be godly.  Note throughout the Psalm you see David stating, “I will” over and over again.  He actually makes this statement about 7 different things in this chapter.  I call these 7 things “The Seven I wills of a Godly Man.”  Before we are done with the articles on this Psalm we will look at all 7 of them.  But for this week we need to get the idea of what David is doing here.

A godly man rejects a passive life—and chooses to actively pursue his relationship with God, as well as actively    oppose and renounce evil in his life.  This is an example that we do not need to miss because it highlights something that is not being emphasized in our day.  Men need to reject passivity and accept the role of leadership in their homes and in society. There is no place where this is needed more than in the area of spiritual leadership and development.  If you will note, the seven “I wills” of a godly man have to do with moral and spiritual choices.  Too many men grow up thinking that church, God, and spirituality are the stuff of women—and that their mothers and wives will take care of that area.  But this is wrong and diametrically opposed to what we see in Scripture.

God desires for a man to grow up, lay aside his toys.  Paul describes this in 1 Corinthians 13:11 when he writes the following words, “When I was a child, I used to speak like a child, think like a child, reason like a child; when I became a man, I did away with childish things.”  Paul wrote this in the context of defining what love really is.  When you read this chapter you realize that love is a choice, not a feeling.  Love is a choice to deny yourself, die to what you want at the time, and live for the benefit of someone else.  The “Seven I Will’s” of a Godly Man” are choices.  They are choices that require men to die to themselves—and die to their passivity about things in life.  They choose instead to pursue a path of godliness, holiness, and love of God first, in their own lives, and then in their family.  In order to do this, many men will have to put down the toys of their youth—and begin to live for God—and then live the life of a servant of God and serve their family.  You cannot do this when you are too busy playing with man-toys like video games, fantasy football teams, and other things that dominate your time.  You will have to “do away with childish things” and give yourself to choosing  to love others.  A great start is to act on every character trait mentioned in 1 Corinthians 13—and apply it in your relationship with your wife, children, co-workers, friends, fellow church-members, and neighbors.

Guys, God has a role and the purpose for us to fulfill.  We live in a time when MEN are needed desperately in our homes, in our churches, and in our society.  Too often we have made our wives and other women fill a role God meant for us to fill.  Let us rise up from in front of the television or the computer—and become the godly men we were meant to be.  Let us be like David and make some rock-hard “I wills” in life—make choices that will make an eternal difference!

     May the Lord give you the same attitude He has when it comes to sin and wickedness.  For the past couple of weeks we have been looking at the commitments of a godly man. This week we will look at Psalm 101:4.  Here we read of a declaration by the godly man. "A perverse heart shall depart from me; I will know no evil." Let's take a closer look at this powerful declaration and learn of this commitment of the godly man.

     The godly man is committed to watching over his heart, making sure that it is in not becoming perverse.  The Hebrew word is "iqqesh" which means to be perverse or crooked.  This word speaks of a perverting of religious truth that speaks to our morals. It describes someone who twists truth so as to redefine morals. This downward redefinition makes evil and     godlessness far more acceptable.  When this kind of perversion of truth happens, a society will be gradually dumbed down concerning biblical moral standards. The godly man departs from this kind of perverse heart. He wants to have such perversity leave, go away, or turn aside from him. This kind of intense statement cannot be toned down - or we will lose the seriousness of it. The godly man wants nothing to do with the kind of perversity and deception that attempts to change godly morals. He sees such a step for the complete evil that it is.

     Moral degradation abounds in our society - and has been for over 50 years.  It has been championed since the fall - with varying degrees of success. We guard against it is by guarding our hearts. Israel tried to keep itself from sin - but it  only resulted in the Pharisaic self-righteousness of Jesus' generation. They had ample laws to try to guard the people from sin, but laws alone will not accomplish this feat. There has to be a guarding of the heart on an individual basis for us to be delivered from evil. One must call upon the Lord - and ask Him to protect our hearts from such things. There must be a grace oriented change, not just dedication to stricter laws and rules.

     The godly man makes a strong commitment. He states that he will know no evil. The word “know” here is the Hebrew word "yada." This word means to know something relationally and experientially. There is no way that we can be free from any influence of evil. That would require us leaving this world. But when evil presents itself, we can refuse to learn more. We can refuse to experience evil or weigh whether we will choose it or not. The mind of the godly man is made up - because the Word of God guides him. He will NOT know any evil experientially. He will not embrace a relationship with evil where he seeks to understand it better. His commitment and his heart is steadfast. He will know no evil - period!

Do you have the heart of a godly man? Do you have deep within you a bedrock of commitment NOT to listen to anything that will seek to pervert God's ways and God's Word? Are you standing with a heart and a head that says, "I will know no evil?" This is the heart of a godly man - therefore it is also his commitment too. He will not bend on this - for he knows that compromise with evil is how the truth is perverted - and sin raises its ugly head in his life. He chooses a strong stand here because anything less than a strong stand will most likely become a place where the wicked one will enter and eventually gain a stronghold. As committed as you are to Jesus - so also be committed to departing from perversity that mannifests itself in a twisting of the truth. Do this and you will also, in dependence on the Spirit and the Word, know no evil.                   

I wanted to take a one week break in the midst of this series of articles to ask a simple question.  That question is this, "Are you fighting?"  That may seem like an interesting question to ask - but it is very applicable to the battle of being a godly man.  Let me quote a pamphlet with that same title, Are You Fighting? which was written by J. C. Ryle.  

"There are thousands of men and women who go to churches and chapels every Sunday and call themselves Christians . . . but you never see any 'fight' about their religion!  Of spiritual strife, and exertion, and conflict, and self-denial, and watching, and warring they know literally nothing at all.  Such Christianity may satisfy man, and those who say anything against it may be thought very hard and uncharitable; but it certainly is not the Christianity of the Bible.  It is not the religion which the Lord Jesus founded, and His apostles preached.  True Christianity is a 'fight.'"

As we've walked through Psalm 101 we've seen some pretty strong language used.  One might even say that this language is the language of conflict - of battle - of war.  My answer to this is simple - IT IS!  Our fight is perennially one against the flesh, the world, and the devil.  These three are our main enemies - and if we are not engaged in a fight with them - we are most likely enslaved by them.  One thing the Bible promises to us is that these enemies will not be idle.  They are constantly looking for ways to make inroads in our lives.  They want to set up beach heads that will serve as launching pads for further incursions into our lives morally and spiritually.  What I am trying to say is that if we are not having any "fight" in our religion - we are losing a battle of which we not even aware.

Raging all around us currently is a war currently for the souls of the men of our nation.  The main front of that battle is for the menl of the church.  But even that front has multiple avenues where we are being attacked.  Let me mention a few (and please know that in no way is this seeking to be an exhaustive list).  

#1 - Guys . . . are you fighting with your eyes?  I know this is a battle that seems to rage everywhere you go.  From the grocery store where they put immoral magazines right at the checkout lines (and no I am not referring to Playboy, but to the women's magazines and tabloids in saying this - anyone want to argue with me biblically on this point?) to the television, to movies, to the way that women dress in our society, the battle is raging.  But guys, we need to fight with our eyes - by turning them away from lust.  Jesus put it this way, "if you right eye makes you stumble - rip it out and throw it from you."  That sounds like a fight to me?  But are we fighting?  May God grant us grace to battle the lust of the eyes daily.  I know that it is tough - and that at times we grow weak - but we cannot give in to the immorality of the world - the lust of our own flesh - or the lure of the devil in this.  We need to FIGHT!  

#2 - Guys . . . are you fighting with your mind?  This is closely related to the first - but it is important.  What is filling your mind?  The world will offer you a smorgesboard of things to fill your mind - and none of them will draw you closer to Christ - or encourage you to walk in His ways.  Our flesh will rise up and fight getting into the Word - but do it anyway.  With younger men this battle rages through the world of games - both on game consoles and on the internet.  The amount of time that is wasted by our young men in this pursuits is monumental.  Hours upon hours are spend filling our minds with worthless quests into an electronic world that provides escape from the real world.  The frightening part of all this is that these escapes are from reality - and from the real issues of manhood that should be wrestled with at this age.  To bring this up, I realize, is to possibly alienate myself from a whole younger generation.  But unless someone says something - we are going to either delay an entire generation from becoming real men - or - lose them altogether.  We need to fight for our minds.

#3 - Guys . . . are you fighting for your morals?  Here is a third area where we are being destroyed by the world, devil , and the flesh.  I am speaking about pornography and gratifying our flesh.  Recently I went to a sight that helps men get free from these things - and saw that they have had over 320,000 clients come to their site for help.  According to their reasoning - this represents about 1 in 10 of the men in the church who struggle with these sins.  If that is accurate - we have a problem in our country.  There is reason to believe that somewhere in the rage of 3 million men, IN THE CHURCH, have these problems.  I am not saying this to make you feel condemned, but rather to call all of us to action.  If we are not free - we need to be - as soon as possible.  Once we get free - we need to continue to FIGHT - not just for ourselves - but for our brothers in Christ as well.  

#4 - Guys . . . are you fighting for your integrity?  This goes beyond the battle in our minds - to the battle for our daily actions in our jobs, our homes, our churches, and anywhere else we walk.  This is the fight to take what we learn from the Word and make it a part of our lifestyles.  Here is the reason why so much is falling apart in our society - a lack of integrity.  Every scandal at its core happened because someone somewhere did not maintain their integrity.  When you multiply that times over 350 million Americans - you are going to have serious problems.  Are you willing to fight for integrity - even when your competitor does not?  Are you and I willing to trust the Lord to prosper and keep us afloat - even if we do not cut corners and "cook the books" for our benefit?  The worst crisis we face as a nation is not financial.  Our worst problems are not healthcare, jobs, or security.  Our key crisis is one of integrity.  Without men of integrity our nation will not continue to stand.    Will you be one of the first to embrace God's call to integrity - and fight for it even though many other men around you will not?  

These are just four areas where the battle rages - or should be raging.  What is sad is that many shun the fight.  They just want a comfortable life - one without difficulties or the struggles it takes to "fight the good fight of faith" the Bible presents to us.  But as long as we remain on a fallen earth - filled with fallen people - who do fallen things - and who promote fallen lifestyles - there is going to be a fight.  So hear me brothers as I seek to encourage you today!

Brothers in Christ . . . we are called to be MEN OF GOD!  We are called out of this present darkness into His glorious light to embrace the conflict that WILL begin the moment we are saved.  We are not perfect - but we are in the process where God is perfecting us!  We are not sinless - but oh how we are called to both hate and battle sin in our lives.  We are called to put on the armor of God - daily putting each piece on so that we can stand - and after we have fought to the last ounce of strength which God provides - to keep on standing!  We cannot afford to quit!  We cannot afford to be lazy and undisciplined!  We fight for our families!  We fight for our children - esepecially our sons, who are watching and begging us to be men they can follow!  We fight for the church - the bride of our Lord - the pillar of truth - and the manifestation of God's grace - and the place where the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ should shine forth the brightest!  

But in this hour, my blessed brothers, we are fighting for our lives!  The devil and his world system feel they are on the brink of victory.  They flex their muscles through the media and government thinking that they will win the day.  We face onslaught after onslaught - attack after attack - and battle after battle.  They fight us personally in our minds - relationally in our homes and churches - and morally in our national discourse.  But like those who have stood in what seemed like impossible battles - we stand.  Like the 300 Spartans who stood alone against the invaders who landed on their shores - we stand against hordes of those who fight against our God and against His Word.  But know this, brothers, we will stand.  We will stand upon the Word of God that has faced countless attacks and yet stands firm as the revelation of God.  We will stand upon the grace of God in the gospel that has won millions upon millions in every generation - under every form of government - in every trial - and under every type of oppression.  Finally, we will stand with our Lord Jesus Christ - Who has vanquished sin, death, and hell by His cross.  Who has stood strong against the attack of every false prophet, every false philosophy, every false religion, and every falsehood the devil has thrown at Him.  We will stand in Him knowing that He has won the victory - not just at the end of the age - but He has won the victory in every generation.  Now is not the time for us to faint.  Now is the time for us to FIGHT!  

     May the Lord grant you grace as you are a “man of integrity” within your own home.  We continue this week in our look at the man of integrity from Psalm 101.  This week we are going to focus on what a man of integrity “looks at” within his home.  The Psalmist states the following about his desire to be a man of integrity—one who “gives heed to the blameless way.”  He says at the beginning of verse 3, “I will set no worthless thing before my eyes.”  Let’s take a look today at what it means to have the sight of the blameless way in our eyes. 

     The word “worthless” here is from the Hebrew word “beliyyaal” which has as its most basic meaning that of utter worthlessness.  The word always has a very strong moral component to it and therefore has the idea of wickedness and something that is good for nothing at all.  In the Septuagint (the Greek version of the Old Testament) this word was used as a personal name for Satan.  Those who were of the most corrupt and godless character were called, “sons of beliyyaal,” and were seen as being in rebellion against God’s moral authority.  Therefore the blameless man who seeks to maintain integrity in his home is careful not to put anything that is morally worthless and base before his eyes.  Note also that he does this by making strong choices against it.  He has a will SET in God’s direction—a will that is SET according to God’s moral compass and the Word of God.  This will not be easy in our society.  It requires hard choices—and choices that may seem legalistic to others around you.

     How do we live this way then?  How do we live as men who do not want to set any morally worthless thing before our eyes?  First, we must set the Word of God before our eyes—for through His Word God will begin clearly defining what is and is not morally worthless.  Here are a few.  In the Old Testament we are told not to look upon the nakedness of    anyone other than our wife—and that is to be done in the marriage bed as a holy thing.  Well, that pretty much rules out R-rated movies (and for that matter a large number of PG-13 rated ones where the nakedness of others is paraded   before us on a regular basis.)  Then there is the passage in Ephesians that says, “. . . And there must be no filthiness and silly talk or coarse jesting, which are not fitting . . . “  Filthiness is defined by the Amplified Bible as obscenity or   indecency.”  So, all things which are in these categories are out as well.  I hate to say it, but this pretty much rules out probably 90-95% of what is on television and what is in the movie theaters.  Here is where we will hear the accusations of legalism come out.  But those who do this miss that Scripture tells us that it is the “grace of God that teaches to say no to ungodliness.” 

     Let me ask a question at this point about the moral sloppiness that is based on this “non-teaching” grace of today.  Where has it led us?  How is it morally in the church today?  Has the practice of being lenient with our eyes brought great blessing to our marriages?  Has it blessed us with great moral fiber and steadfastness?  The eyes are the windows into our souls.  What we allow to pass through them has the ability to bless us—or torture us with temptation and unnecessary trials.  A man who desires to be blameless and maintain integrity in his home will guard his eyes, and make sure that he places NOTHING worthless before them.  This is part and parcel of why he continues as a blameless man.

     This morning I was reading in my quiet time in the book of Psalms.  Today’s chapter was Psalm 101.  As I read this psalm of David, I was so blessed because this Psalm deals with how a father should walk within his own home.  David begins the psalm with a statement of commitment to the Lord.  He says, “I will give heed to the blameless way.”  Here he is declaring that his life is dedicated to living before God blamelessly and holy.  Then he makes his second declaration as he says, “I will walk within my house in the integrity of my heart.”  The two words “integrity” and “blameless” are interchangeable in Hebrew.  Thus, as David makes his commitment before God, it is one that states that he wants to walk blameless and in the highest integrity possible.  But how does one do this?  The rest of this Psalm explains this to us as we see the other commitments that come with a desire to walk in one’s house in integrity and blamelessness.  What I’d like to do for a few weeks is to look at the commitments that are necessary for a man of God to be what God desires for him to be within his home. 

     The first commitment is what I mentioned above.  A man of God needs to commit to a life of integrity within the home.  He needs to come to God and ask the Lord to work in his heart so that he is blameless   before the Lord and before his wife and children.  But who defines this “walk of integrity?“  That is answered by David in the statement he makes immediately after making this commitment.  After he says that he will give heed to the blameless way he makes a request.  That request is this, “When will You come to me?”  In saying this, David is saying two things.  First, he is committing to “giving heed” to the blameless way.  The word here speaks of discernment that is gained from listening to another.  Therefore what David commits to is to listen to someone.  This one he listens to will help him discern how to walk in life—blamelessly.  Who is this person?  David makes that clear to us when he says, “When will You come to me?”  The “You” in this verse is Jehovah God.

     To be a man of integrity and blamelessness is to be a man who daily listens to God.  To be the godly man of integrity in your home, you will need to meet with God regularly.  As you fellowship with God you will be taught how to discern between what is good and what is evil.  You will know the right way to walk—and be warned against paths that will hinder you.  They are the paths filled with roots and stumbling blocks that trip you up.  Men, spend time with God each day—seeking Him—reading His Word—talking with Him so that you begin to learn the way of integrity.  This will help you be the man of integrity your family needs within your home.  As you face the trials, temptations, and difficult decisions to be that man—may your request each day be this, “Lord, when will You come to me, teach me, strengthen me, guide me, and enable me to be a blameless man?”

     God led Paul to write to Timothy the following statement, “First of all, then, I urge that entreaties and prayers, petitions and thanksgivings, be made on behalf of all men,  for kings and all who are in authority, so that we may lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.  (1 Timothy 2:1-3, NASB)  It is one that we need to heed—especially in light of the current problems that we are facing as a nation—and the way that our leadership is choosing to lead us in the midst of them.

     As a nation, we are facing difficult times.  It is during those times that a leader has the greatest opportunity to lead.  It was during such times that we watched great leaders like Winston Churchill rise to lead in extraordinary ways.  It was in those times that the greatest leaders led their people to pull together and face the problems they faced with a unified front.  Unfortunately for us—our current leadership is not following their lead.  Instead of pulling our nation together—they are pitting one group against another for their own selfish interests.  What I am referring to is our current president’s practice of encouraging class warfare in light of the crises we face.  Jesus told us that a house divided against itself will not stand.  I can only hope that our current administration will read these words and cease fanning the flames of social conflict in our land.

     There is a conscious effort by President Obama to pit the rich against the poor.  In the midst of growing unrest, he and others in the Democrat party are encouraging protests that are attempting to further increase this growing rift in our nation.  Whether or not you agree with his economics—one thing is certain—this will not turn out well in the end. 

     There were two revolutions in the 1700’s that radically changed the politics of our world.  One was the American Revolution.  It’s purpose was to spread freedom.  The other was the French Revolution, which was supposed to be about freedom, but which degenerated into class warfare in the end.  One led to what is arguably the greatest spread of freedom in history—while the other wound up shedding copious amounts of blood as well as precipitating a period of chaos ending in a totalitarian state that severely limited freedom. 

     Why do we need to pray?  Because if we continue on this path of pitting one against another “within” our society    economically, it will only be a matter of time and political desperation until the next step will be pitting one race against another.  The leaders who today want to divide us on financial lines—will in the near future step up their rhetoric to    divide us on racial lines.  If you think things are problematic now with the encouragement of class warfare—wait until they begin encouraging racial conflict as well.  We need to pray for wisdom to prevail—and—we need to do all we can as the church to heal these divides—not further encourage them.  This is why I urge you to follow the admonition of Paul to young Timothy.  It is a time for us to pray—and pray diligently for cooler, wiser heads to prevail in the halls of leadership.                

     May God give you the gift of knowing that every day He gives you may be your last to live for His glory.  What I wrote may not seem to you like that great of a gift, but whether you realize it or not, it is a wonderful gift.  Too often we think we have decades left—years and years to live—and unfortunately that often makes us take for granted something as wonderful as today.  I cannot even number the times I’ve been bored during a day—and spent the majority of that precious day saying over and over again how bored I am.  In the process I’ve wasted a day that God gave me for His purposes and for His glory.

     The Scriptures tell me that each day is from the Lord.  Psalm 118:24 tells us that every day we see another sunrise we can say, “This is the day that the Lord has made, let us rejoice and be glad in it.”  We can also learn a few other things about our lives as a result of this verse.  If God made this day He has purposes for giving it to us.  We also learn from Matthew 6:33-34 that in this day we are to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all the other things (food and clothing specifically) will be added to us.  We are not to worry about tomorrow, for each day itself has enough trouble of its own.  James adds to this by reminding us in chapter 4:5 of his letter that we should say, “If the Lord wills, we will do this or that.”  Now, seeing what the Scripture says, let’s draw a few conclusions. 

     First, we need to see every day as a gift from God.  If you are alive—God has a reason for you to be.  If you are alive—be thankful.  If you are alive—live purposefully.  Rejoice and be glad in the gift of this day and let the whole world know that you receive it as a marvelous gift from God Himself!  Second, we need to spend every day seeking God’s kingdom and glory.  Actually Scripture says these are the two things we should seek FIRST every day.  Ask yourself whether you are submitted to God as King and His Kingdom as your primary focus.  Ask yourself whether this day is for “your glory” or “His.”  Third, we need to view every day as God’s.  God gave us this day—therefore what we do in it should be a matter of knowing what He wills.  If the Lord wills, we will do what we planned this day—making certain that what we plan has been planned in His presence and in submission to His Spirit and His Word.

     Every new day we receive is a gift.  An honest appraisal of this would tell us that all we can really guarantee is how we live today.  Oh, dear saints—spend every day this week well—for God’s glory!

     May God bless you this week and continue to show you the extremities of His grace—and its true effects on your standing before God.  Last week I began to deal with the subject of the “extremities of the grace of God.”  This week I want to continue commenting on this topic by addressing what exactly happened to us the moment that we received the grace of God when God revealed Himself through the Gospel of Jesus Christ.  What       happened in that moment is so important in helping us grasp what our relationship is to God and what God is seeking to do in our lives after we receive His grace.

     One of the clearest passages that describe for us what happened when we received God’s grace is found in Romans chapter 3.  It reads, “But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus.”  (Rom. 3:21-24 —NASB)  Here is what this passage is telling us.  Note the section of this verse I’ve highlighted.  This section speaks of us being “JUSTIFIED” as a gift by His grace . . .” 

     It is vitally important that we understand what this word “justified” actually means.  The reason for this is that some of the current preaching of today does not accurately define this word.  The word “justified” is the Greek word “dikaioo” and it means, “to declare righteous.”  This means when God did a “justifying” work at the point where He saved us.  So what does that mean?  It means that God, as an act of pure grace, declared us righteous in His sight. 

     According to 2 Corinthians 5:21 the “amount” of righteousness we receive is equal to the total righteousness of Jesus Christ Himself.  This passage says that He made Him who knew no sin (only Jesus fits that bill) was made sin on our behalf—so that we might become the righteousness of Christ in Him.  This is astounding—because what it says is that God in a single historical act (at the moment of us receiving His grace) gave to us the very righteousness of Christ—so that in His sight we are just as righteous as Jesus Himself. 

     Some might argue that this verse says that we might “become” as righteous as Jesus—meaning this is a process (requiring growth and continued obedience).  Nothing could be further from the truth.  The word “become” here (ginoami) is a punctiliar aorist Greek verb.  This speaks of a single act in the past.  Thus we see here that Scripture tells us that in a single moment—the very moment of our salvation—we were declared just as righteous as Jesus by a gift of God’s grace.  Truly this is an astounding thing—the extreme of God revealed to us is that by grace—we stand in God’s sight—just as righteous as Jesus Christ Himself.  None of this is due to our performance—but is a gift given to us by God Himself—pure, unadulterated, undeserved grace poured out on the most unworthy of creatures by its Creator, Who alone paid the full price for sin by the death of His Son on the cross.  This, dear ones of God, is given to us at our salvation—in a moment when we repent and put our faith in what Jesus accomplished by His death, burial, and resurrection.  Marvel saints . . . marvel at the extremities of God’s grace—and the glorious results in your standing before a Holy God!