“The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is He served by human hands, as though He needed anything, since He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” Acts 17:24,25
Devotional Thought For The Day
One of the problems we have in teaching people, as the apostle Paul did, about “Jesus and the resurrection” [Acts 17:18], is that many people no longer accept that “God made the world and everything in it” or that “He Himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” The consequence of this lack of understanding, pressed into the thinking of so many people through the theory of evolution which dominates modern education [and also by false religions], is the loss of moral compass. If there is no God Who is “Lord of heaven and earth” then there are no moral imperatives – we can discount and discard all teachings regarding morality, whether found in Holy Scripture [the Bible] or other writings. Likewise, if there are no moral imperatives then there are no “sins,” no violations of a Supreme Being’s laws or accountability to Him, and hence no need for forgiveness, atonement, redemption, or salvation. There is no “salvation” – only life in this world and death, the return of the elements forming and used by our bodies to their more basic state. So any message about “Jesus and the resurrection” is considered pure nonsense. Obviously, within this “intellectual” or philosophical context the Bible is little more than a historical curiosity, only a witness of what ancient and primitive people once superstitiously believed.
When such thinking intrudes into the life of the church, so that churches espouse evolutionary thinking and disregard the Bible as God’s Word, as pure truth, and as authoritative for our thinking, believing, and behaving, the message of the church changes drastically. With no absolute morality, there is no real sin, and thus no need for “Jesus and the resurrection.” Any notions of mankind’s “salvation” evaporate and disappear. Jesus ends up being presented as little more than a subjectively and emotionally valued example of pacifism, acceptance, “love,” and good will. Of course, most of His actual teaching and the conflict He was engaged in has to be erased from the message – as He is “re-visioned” and re-invented. Thus the church mirrors the unbelieving culture, and actually buttresses the unbelief, immorality, vanity, futility, and hopelessness of modern people. Quite a difference from the Scriptural description of the ministry of Jesus and His apostles, and the ministry of the early church, the ministry of the many Christians who gave up possessions and life itself to challenge and confront this same spiritual and moral ignorance of the unbelievers of their time. They alone, Jesus and the early church, were the founders of Christianity – and if we are to consider ourselves “Christians,” perhaps we might want to actually be what they were. Ah, but this means being counter-cultural, highly unpopular, perhaps even persecuted and divested of possessions and life itself – for the message of “Jesus and the resurrection.”
This is not that difficult if we have and hold to “the God who made the world and everything in it,” the “Lord of heaven and earth,” the only True and Living God Who “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” We then understand that mankind is not the arbiter of truth, nor the “god” of our own destiny, the determiner of a paltry and meaningless existence and fate. We understand that He is God, and that He is not “served by human hands” as though He needed anything from us. Rather, He serves us – with all of the gifts of creation, and most importantly with blessings of real and genuine love, those of “Jesus and the resurrection,” the forgiveness, redemption, and salvation that we so truly and desperately need because of our real and dreadful sin. There is an inkling of this truth and reality in virtually every human heart and mind – though we are trained to use our intellect to dispute it and shout it down, which serves and frees our desires for various sins, whether selfishness, greed, lust, gluttony, or pride. However, it is impossible for any of this indulgence of sin to silence the inner emptiness and the sense that we exist for some greater and more meaningful destiny – unless our desire for sin leads us to hatred of God and denial of His existence. Such hatred can fill the emptiness and become our destiny and true being – as it does in sociopaths.
So let the church beware of the influence of unbelieving culture, philosophy, and pseudo-intellectualism – and where it inexorably leads. Let us each beware as well, and understand that Christianity has always battled against this darkness with the message of “Jesus and the resurrection.” Foundational to the realities of our blessed redemption and salvation is the reality of God “who made the world and everything in it,” Who is “Lord of heaven and earth,” and Who “gives to all mankind life and breath and everything.” God is love, and eternally blessed are all who receive His life and love through faith in Jesus and the resurrection. They are filled not only with the blessings of God’s creation, but also with all the re-creating and renewing blessings of His Word. This is the real and true life and ministry of the church – and it will always exist in the world.
Prayer For The Day
Dear Lord Jesus Christ, help us to see and understand that Your Word, Your people, Your church have always battled against the darkness of this world – those who deny Your existence, Your love, Your prerogatives, and Your authority. Strengthen us in our resolve to remain faithful to You, and fill us with the blessings of Your light and love. Preserve Your true church in these latter days against all who oppose it, and especially against all who would corrupt it. Preserve us in faith, love, and joy. Amen.