Archives for November 2014

Paul’s Forgotten Last Words

November 11, 2014 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you.”
II Timothy 4:22)

Years ago I discovered a biblical truth that has changed my thinking about my life here on earth. It changed my approach to evangelism and my sharing Christianity with those to whom God leads me. It is a very foundational and simple truth; however it is a truth long neglected and seldom taught by those who claim to minister the Word of God. It is the truth of God’s Word relating to man’s creation and existence today; and that includes both the redeemed and the lost.

You may not have heard teaching about this before. I’m sure it is something about which you have wondered. You may not agree with the way I have attempted to unfold this truth; but I encourage you to read this. If you feel so led, I would appreciate your comments.

Why did Paul, in his last sentence to his son, Timothy, say, “The Lord be with your spirit. Grace be with you”? Why is it that we find so many references in the Bible to that part of both Christ and man that is called “spirit?” Please note the following biblical references:

At the angelic announcement of Christ’s incarnation: “And Mary said: ‘My soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior’” (Luke 1:46-47).
At the death of Jesus: “And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into Thy hands I commit my spirit’” (Luke 23:46).
At the martyrdom of Stephen: “And they went on stoning Stephen as he called upon the Lord and said, ‘Lord Jesus, receive my spirit!’” (Acts 7:59).
From Jesus’ teaching on the new birth: “That having been born of the flesh is flesh, and that having been born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:6).
The biblical description of Christ’s redemptive work: “So also it is written, ‘The first man, Adam, became a living soul.’ The last Adam became a life-giving spirit’” (I Corinthians 15:45).
Concerning the believer’s union with Christ: “And if Christ is in you, though the body is dead because of sin, yet the spirit is alive because of righteousness” (Romans 8:10).
Concerning the Holy Spirit’s witness to the believer: “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God” (Romans 8:16).
Concerning the Word of God in its work in the believer: “For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4:12).
The only way to worship God is by means of a quickened spirit in communion with the Holy Spirit: “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24).
Concerning the divine preservation of the believer: “Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (I Thessalonians 5:23).

These are my convictions, after over 55 years of studying the Bible:

Like the Triune God, humans are tri-parted beings, possessing body, soul, and spirit (Genesis 1:26).
When Adam and Eve rebelled against God, their spirit – having been indwelt by the Holy Spirit – became dead. Death for them was the withdrawing of the Holy Spirit, who is the life of God in action in this world (Genesis 3:3).
Every individual born into this world has a spirit. Men and women are born having a spirit that is void the presence and communion of the Holy Spirit. They are spiritually dead (Ephesians 2:1-7).
Regeneration is the instantaneous, sovereign, divine act of God, whereby the Holy Spirit quickens our spirit by becoming the Life of God in us (Titus 3:5-7).
Believers worship today in the very presence of God, where the people of God eternally live in spirit with God (Hebrews 12:22-24).

It grieves me that we, in the evangelical world, have neglected to realize and teach that we are spirit beings. Some have distorted the biblical teachings on the Holy Spirit, thus scaring off those who should be teaching the Bible’s truths. Evangelicals have marginalized the person and work of the Holy Spirit and we continue to grieve His Person, thus marginalizing His blessings in our individual, family, and corporate life of worship and service.

May the Triune God be pleased to once again visit us with revival and spiritual rejuvenation; and may the Holy Spirit continue to exalt Jesus Christ, as He builds His church in this fallen world.

Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove,
with all Thy quick’ning powers,
kindle a flame of sacred love
in these cold hearts of ours.

In vain we tune our formal songs,
in vain we strive to rise;
hosanas languish on our tongues,
and our devotion dies.

Dear Lord, and shall we ever live
at this poor dying rate,
our love so faint, so cold to Thee,
and Thine to us so great?

Come, Holy Spirit, heav’nly Dove,
with all Thy quick’ning powers,
come, shed abroad a Savior’s love
and that shall kindle ours.

Isaac Watts

May Isaac Watts’ prayer be ours today!

Separation for a Purpose

November 8, 2014 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“But when it pleased God, who separated me from my mother’s womb, and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me, that I might preach Him among the Gentiles, I did not immediately consult with flesh and blood.”

(Galatians 1:15-16 – NASB)

We get so busy we often fail to look back. We are such forward-looking people nowadays. Our culture breeds it in us. In olden days, before our time, a horse was a horse. Oh, the saddle or the carriage might have been improved; but the horse was still a horse. Today, next year’s auto models are in the showrooms before Halloween rolls around. But I think, like the Apostle Paul, we need to take time to look back.

When were we converted? What were the circumstances? Were we in high school, in college, or were we much younger? When did we fall in love and get married? Who or what were the purposes leading us in decisions we made. Did we seek and sense God’s leading, or has our life mirrored, like James declared, “just a vapor, that appears for a little while and then vanishes away?”

The Apostle, as he looked back, had the answer to life’s essence. He saw God’s purpose and stated clearly to the Galatian Christians: “God separated me from my mother’s womb and called me by His grace to reveal His Son in me.” He knew God’s purpose for his existence and he lived it out, until he was beheaded by the Romans. He had a total grasp upon the timing of his conversion and calling. He never strayed from it. Neither should we.

I think we would do well to ask ourselves, “Has anyone ever seen Jesus Christ revealed in my life?” Isn’t that what Jesus meant when He said to his disciples, “And you also shall bear witness…As my father has sent me, even so, send I you?” (John 15:27; 20:21.) It’s evident He still calls individuals for this purpose. And many, convinced of His call, faithfully witness to those who are spiritually dead, lost, and already condemned because of their unbelief.

Another, perhaps deeper question should haunt us. Have we ever desired and asked the Father and the Holy Spirit to display Jesus Christ through our mortal being to others? As we look back, to whom has Christ been revealed, as we’ve lived our lives at school, the family, the neighborhood, at work? Can anyone say one day, “Yes, it was you who showed me Jesus. I saw Him in you!”

What an awesome responsibility! What a life thrilling experience to have someone who can look back and say, “I saw Jesus in you!” Now, that deeply convicts and challenges me. If you ask God to use you as a witness for Christ, be ready to live Him before them, answer their questions, bear their burdens, and love them with the love that the Father gave you in Christ before you were ever conceived. I challenge you to think about that for a while.

And I challenge you because I know that each blood-bought saint of God may be asked this question: “I called you and sent you. What did you do?”

“Two little lines I heard one day,
Traveling along life’s busy way;
Bringing conviction to my heart,
And from my mind would not depart;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, yes only one,
Soon will its fleeting hours be done;
Then, in ‘that day’ my Lord to meet,
And stand before His Judgment seat;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, the still small voice,
Gently pleads for a better choice
Bidding me selfish aims to leave,
And to God’s holy will to cleave;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.

Only one life, a few brief years,
Each with its burdens, hopes, and fears;
Each with its days I must fulfill,
Living for self or in His will;
Only one life, ’twill soon be past,
Only what’s done for Christ will last.”
C. T. Studd

The Curse of Postmodernism

November 1, 2014 by Beryl Smith Leave a Comment

“For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; and will turn away their ears from the truth, and will turn aside to fables.” (2 Timothy 4:3-4)

That time came and continues to this day. Each generation has those who succumbed to the enticement of the new and novel in religious belief. In Protestantism, it started in earnest for the generation of the 1920s and 30s with the coming of what was called “modernism.”

Modernism isn’t something modern. It can be simply defined as the ideology of not believing what the Bible says. For more liberal churchmen and seminary scholars, to be modern was to adopt the theological critics “more advanced” views of the veracity and sufficiency of the Bible. The Bible was simply not inspired verbally. It was full of inconsistencies and errors, newly discovered by the more elite. These views created a battleground with those who held to the inspiration and inerrancy of the Scriptures.

In our generation modernism was traded in for a more “sophisticated” and avant-garde term: “Postmodernism.” This term can be easily defined and traced to its source: the Garden of Eden. Post modernism is simply a repeat of the oldest question addressed to our first parents: “Hath God said?” That is, is what is recorded in the Bible really accurate, or has it been distorted in some way? Is it archaic and not sufficient to satisfy the cravings of our more technological world? Surely we have better ideas. We are better educated and have so many scholars who reject such dogmatic ideas like the record that God created the whole universe out of nothing by His commands uttered in six days!

To the postmodern mind, there is no such thing as “absolute truth.” Truth is something each successive generation decides and defines for itself. After all, isn’t the idea of truth relative to one’s time and culture?

Well, you can swallow the lies of postmodern thinkers and educators, if you want. But I won’t. I’ll stick with God’s own word, as uttered through His prophet Isaiah:

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts; nor are your ways My ways,” declares the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return there without watering the earth, and making it bear and sprout, and furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; so will My word be which goes forth from My mouth; it will not return to Me empty, without accomplishing what I desire, and without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:8-11)

If you want to stick with the prattle of today’s postmodern thinkers and writers, go ahead. Adam and Eve believed the lies of the Tempter, look where it got them – and all of us. Personally, I’ll stick with the words taught to me and those believed by my forebears – Puritans who left England for a land where they could hold to the Truths of God’s Word. I think they were probably inspired by such men as Martin Luther, who proclaimed,

“Feelings come and feelings go,
And feelings are deceiving;
My warrant is the Word of God–
Naught else is worth believing.

Though all my heart should feel condemned
For want of some sweet token,
There is One greater than my heart
Whose Word cannot be broken.

I’ll trust in God’s unchanging Word
Till soul and body sever,
For, though all things shall pass away,
His word shall stand forever!”

In order to truly be postmodern, you need to be pre-modern. Get back to Eden. See how the curse of postmodernism had its origin in the rebellion and lies of the one still deceiving people to doubt and deny the absolute truth of God’s Word, the Holy Bible.