Foundations of Faith
WHERE HAVE WE COME FROM AND WHERE ARE WE GOING?
As you read this you will have lived through the first two months of a brand new millennium. Perhaps this “new beginning” is good time to review what we have covered in the first seven years of GROWING and see what remains to be covered.
Major topics covered include:
1. The authority and divine inspiration of the Scriptures.
2. The attributes of God.
3. The Holy Trinity.
4. The deity, eternal Sonship, and sinlessness of Christ; evidences for the resurrection of Christ.
5. The Person and work of the Holy Spirit.
6. God’s created beings:Satan, demons, angels, man.
7. Sin, atonement, way of salvation, blessings of salvation, eternal security.
8. Baptism.
9. Law and grace.
10. The Church.
11. Spiritual gifts, serving the Lord.
12. Prayer, worship, praise, thanksgiving.
We still have some major topics to cover, including the beginning of time (creation of the universe), the end of time (second coming of Christ, great tribulation, and millennial reign of Christ), and eternity (heaven and hell). Before we go there, however, we will devote the next few issues (possibly into 2001) to Biblical teaching about the Christian life:living sacrificially, knowing and doing God’s will, living holy lives, not loving the world, the two natures, getting the victory over sin, and-in keeping with the name of this publication-growing spiritually.
PRESENTING OUR BODIES A LIVING SACRIFICE
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world:but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1,2).
In Apr99-Jul99 we discussed serving the Lord, and in Feb00 worshiping the Lord. The word “service” in Rom. 12:1 combines these two ideas. It is a special word that is sometimes translated “service” (Matt. 4:10; Rom. 9:4; Heb. 9:1,6; Rev. 22:3) and other times “worship” (Acts 24:14; Phil. 3:3; Heb. 10:2). It is always used in connection with worshipful service for the Lord.
This service involves sacrifice:”present your bodies [that is, our whole being] a living sacrifice.” This service also involves doing the “good, and acceptable, and perfect will” of our Lord and Master. Christians are to carry out this service every moment of every day, in all situations and circumstances.
In the Old Testament, the children of Israel showed their devotion to the LORD by offering animal sacrifices. As Christians, we do this by presenting our “bodies a living sacrifice.” Let us give examples of how we can do this in a variety of settings.
At home. We can sacrifice our desire for independence by being obedient to those whom God has put over us-our parents (Eph. 6:1; Col. 3:20).
At school. We can sacrifice a bit of our outer beauty by dressing modestly so that members of the opposite sex will be attracted to us more for our inner beauty and moral character than our physical appearance (1 Tim. 2:9; 1 Pet. 3:3,4) . (After all, wouldn’t you prefer a lifetime marriage partner who shares your spiritual ideals and love for the Lord than one who is only attracted to your teenage face and body?)
At work. We can sacrifice our tendency to oversleep and be lazy by always arriving at work on time, not abusing sick leave, putting in a full day’s work, and not “goofing off” when the boss is away (Col. 3:22.23).
At play. We can sacrifice our obsessive desire to win by not trying to bend the rules, not arguing with the umpire or referee, not getting angry when a call doesn’t go our way or when we lose the game, and by complimenting players on the opposing team for playing well (Eph. 4:31,32; 1 Pet. 5:5,6).
At the assembly. We can sacrifice our desire to be heard, to be in control, and to have our opinions accepted (Phil. 2:3; 3:16; 2 Tim. 2:24; 3 John 9).
KNOWING AND DOING GOD’S WILL (I)
As noted above, being a worshipful servant of God also involves proving “what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:2). “Prove” in this verse is a word that is used of gold and other precious metals being tested in the fire to reveal degree of purity. God tests us believers in many ways to see if we will respond by going our way and doing what we want to do (Isa. 53:6) or by seeking and doing what He wants us to do. When we pass the test we have “proven” (or demonstrated our obedience to) God’s good and perfect will.
Let us now look at Scriptural principles for knowing the will of God. There are five main points I wish to make in laying the foundations for knowing His will:(1) God wants us to know His will; (2) God has a specific will for each of His children; (3) God has certain criteria that we must satisfy before we can know His will; (4) we must actively seek God’s will; and (5) we must allow the Holy Spirit liberty to communicate His will to us.
1. God wants us to know His will. The apostle Paul prayed for the saints in Colosse that they “might be filled with the knowledge of His will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding” (Col. 1:9). (See Assignment 3)
2. God has a specific will for each of His children. Some have suggested that God does not have a specific will for His people beyond the general principles and guidelines given in His Holy Word. However, I do not believe Scripture bears this out. When Abraham sent his servant to get a wife for his son Isaac from among his relatives, the Lord definitely led him to a specific woman-Rebekah (Gen. 24:14-27). When Joshua prepared to go to battle against Jericho, the Lord had a very specific battle plan for him to follow (Josh. 6). (See Assignment 4)
Running the Race
Assignment 3: Write out verses in Ephesians 5, Colossians 4, and Hebrews 13 that show that God wants us to know His will.
Assignment 4: Write out verses in 2 Samuel 5, John 11, and Acts 8 to show that God’s will is specific.