"And the LORD God said, It is
not good that the man should be alone; I will make him a help meet for
him" (Gen. 2:18).

Abigail was truly a helper to her
"churlish" (or selfish and stingy) husband, Nabal. Even though her
husband was not a good man, she interceded with David on his behalf and spared
Nabal and his sons and servants from being slaughtered. At the same time she
spared David from the shame and guilt of shedding innocent blood (1 Sam.
25:23-31). The outcome for Abigail was that she received a blessing from David
(verses 32-35) and later, after Nabal died, she became David’s wife (verses
40-42).

Sapphira, on the other hand,
failed to be a helper to her lying, hypocritical husband, Ananias. The early
Christians unselfishly sold their property and shared the proceeds with the
poor and persecuted believers (Acts 4:32-37). Ananias was one of those who
"sold a possession" and "brought a certain part and laid it at
the apostles’ feet" (Acts 5:1,2). There was nothing wrong with this in and
of itself, but Ananias pretended that he was giving the entire
proceeds from the sale to help the poor. This was hypocrisy and it was sin
(verses 2-4).

This sinful act, which brought
God’s judgment of death upon Ananias (verse 5), was bad enough. But to make
matters worse, his wife Sapphira was a party to the entire matter (verses 2,8).
As Ananias’ helper, she had a wonderful opportunity to appeal to her husband to
tell the truth. Instead, she repeated his lie—and died with him (verse 10).

"He who converts the sinner
from the error of his way shall save a soul from death, and shall hide a
multitude of sins" (Jas. 5:20).

Jerome (331-420 A.D.), the early
"church father" famed for his Latin "Vulgate" translation of
the Bible, has left an account of the aged apostle, John. The story was
presumably passed down by one of John’s disciples, Polycarp or Ignatius. John,
well past his 90th year, was "carried into a church and, unable to speak
at any length, would say, ‘Little children, love one another.’"

John was probably the youngest of
the Lord’s disciples. We think of him (and rightly so) as gentle and loving,
resembling his Master. But it was not always so. He and his brother James were
fishermen, the sons of Zebedee. But the Lord Jesus "surnamed them
Boanerges, which is, the sons of thunder" (Mark 3:17).

Without mentioning his own name,
John often described himself as the "disciple whom Jesus loved" (John
13:23; 20:2; 21:7,20) and as the one who leaned on Jesus’ bosom at the last
supper (John 13:23). He identified Himself only at the end of the Gospel
bearing his name (John 21:24).

This disciple whom we think of as
kind and forbearing wanted, along with his brother James, to "command fire
to come down from heaven and consume" a village of inhospitable
Samaritans. For this rashness, the Lord Jesus had to rebuke them (Luke
9:51-56).

John displayed his intolerance by
forbidding a man who was casting out demons in Jesus’ name. Again, the Lord had
to reprove and correct him (Luke 9:49,50). Misplaced pride and ambition caused
John and James to make a vain request of the Lord:"And James and John, the
sons of Zebedee, come unto Him, saying, Master, we would that Thou shouldest do
for us whatsoever we shall desire. And He said unto them, What would you that I
should do for you? They said unto Him, Grant unto us that we may sit, one on
Thy right hand, and the other on Thy left hand, in Thy glory" (Mark
10:35-37).

This presumption on their part
displeased the other ten disciples and they were moved with indignation against
them. The Lord told them, "To sit on My right hand, and on My left, is not
mine to give, but it shall be given to them for whom it is prepared of My
Father." He added, "Whosoever will be great among you, let him be
your minister; and whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to
give His life a ransom for many" (Matt. 20:23-28).

It was John’s nearness to the Lord
Jesus that eventually effected the change in John’s behavior and manner of
life. In an earlier age, King David wrote a psalm "in the day that the
Lord had delivered him out of the hand of all his enemies, and out of the hand
of Saul." In that psalm David praised the Lord:"Thou savest me from
violence." David recognized that not he but "The LORD thundered
from heaven … He delivered me, because He delighted in me… Thy
gentleness has made me great" (2 Sam. 22:1,3,14,20,36; Psa. 18).

 

Another "Saul" came
violently out of Tarsus, making "havoc of the church … and … breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the Lord" (Acts
8:3; 9:1). This fanatic dogmatist was also a young man. As he "beyond
measure … persecuted the church of God and wasted it" (Gal. 1:13), he
was confronted on the Damascus Road by the Lord Jesus. There Saul ("asked
for") became Paul ("little")—a new creation in Christ Jesus. He
who had been "a Pharisee, the son of a Pharisee" (Acts 23:6) was
transformed, becoming not only a disciple, but an apostle of Christ, even one
who was "not a whit behind the very chiefest apostles" (2 Cor. 11:5;
12:11).

The lesson of his namesake was not
lost on him. King Saul put his own proud, rebellious will ahead of God’s clear
command. When his disobedience was discovered, the prophet Samuel said,
"When you were little in your own sight, were you not made the head
of the tribes of Israel, and the LORD anointed you king over Israel? … Has the LORD as great delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, as in obeying
the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to
hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:17,22).

About 25 years after his
conversion, Paul recounted the experience to King Agrippa in which he "was
not disobedient unto the heavenly vision" (Acts 26:19). Paul’s
basis for exhorting the carnal Corinthians was not by his former
"threatenings," but rather beseeching "by the meekness and
gentleness of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:1).

Thus did John, a "son of
thunder," become that "disciple whom He loved" to whom
the Lord Jesus on the cross entrusted His mother (John 19:26,27). Thus did
Saul, the "persecutor" of the Lord Jesus, become "our beloved
brother Paul (2 Pet. 3:15) and "such an one as Paul the aged … a
prisoner of Jesus Christ" (Philem. 9). To John was committed the writing
of the last book of the Bible:"The things that you have seen, and the
things that are, and the things that shall be hereafter" (Rev. 1:19). To
Paul’s trust was committed the "glorious Gospel of the blessed God,"
a "chosen vessel" to bear the name of Jesus Christ "before the
Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel" (1 Tim. 1:11; Acts 9:15).

The Lord Jesus invites all who
labor and are heavy laden to come unto Him. He can transform even the chief of
sinners into a servant, not striving, but "gentle unto all men, apt to
teach, patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God
peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; and
that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken
captive by him for his will" (2 Tim. 2:24-26).

 

I know not the song of Thy praises,

Till Thou teach it, my God, to
me.

Till I hear the still voice of Thy Spirit,

 

Who speaketh for ever of Thee—

Till I hear the celestial singing,

And learn the new song of Thy
grace,

And then shall I tell forth the marvels

I learnt in Thy secret place.

Thy marvels, not mine, far surpassing

All thoughts of my heart must
they be—

I can but declare the glad tidings,

As Thou has declared them to
me.

                                          
Richard Rolle, 1349

 

Every believer on the Lord Jesus
Christ is "beloved of the Lord," just as the apostle Paul addressed
the Thessalonian saints:"But we ought to give thanks to God always for
you, brethren beloved of the Lord that God has chosen you to salvation
in sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth:whereto He has called
you by our glad tidings, to the obtaining of the glory of our Lord Jesus
Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm, and hold fast the instructions which you
have been taught, whether by word or by our letter. But our Lord Jesus Christ Himself,
and our God and Father, who has loved us, and given us eternal
consolation and good hope by grace, encourage your hearts, and establish you in
every good work and word" (2 Thess. 2:13-17, JND).

"To the praise of the glory
of His grace, wherein He has made us accepted in the Beloved"
(Eph. 1:6).

At Jerusalem, a large number of
religious leaders had gathered together in order to interrogate Peter and John,
demanding to know "by what power or by what name" these two disciples
of Jesus had healed a man born lame (Acts 3:1-9; 4:1-7).

Peter straightly answered that it
was "by the Name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom
God raised from the dead," declaring that it was by Him that the once
lame man stood before them, fully healed (4:10). Peter further declared that
salvation is in Christ alone, "for there is no other Name under heaven,
given among men, whereby we must be saved" (verse 12).

Their audience
"marveled" when they saw the boldness of Peter and John,
perceiving "that they were unlearned and ignorant men" (verse
13). Other translations use words like "illiterate,"
"unschooled," "unlettered," "uninstructed,"
"uneducated," "simple," and "home-bred." While it
may be true that these common fishermen had not received much formal schooling,
nevertheless, "THEY HAD BEEN WITH JESUS," and "who
teaches like Him?" (Job 36:22; Mark 1:22; John 8:28).

Yes, these men may have been
ignorant of many things; but they did understand the concerns of their
livelihood:the mending of nets, the navigation of their boats, and the signs
of changing weather. But their sanctimonious listeners questioned what such
uneducated men could possibly know of the profound and lofty issues of life. In
Matt. 11:25, Jesus said, "I thank Thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and
earth, because Thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast
revealed them unto babes."

Today, we cannot stand beside
Peter and John in Jerusalem and see their "boldness" that so
impressed the rulers of the Jews. But God, through the operation of the Holy
Spirit, has given us an imperishable record written by those very men. For
centuries, tributes of thanksgiving and praise have been bestowed on their
inspired language. We, too, might well marvel at the bold assurance of these
simple fishermen when we compare their words with the words of the so-called
"wise and prudent" men of the world. The words of the latter are as
"vanity and pursuit of the wind" (Eccl. 1:14; 2:11; JND) when weighed
against those words penned by the disciples of the Lord Jesus. The words of the
disciples are the words of life.

Who were those "holier than
thou" religionists that compared themselves with the apostles of the Lord?
What does Scripture say of them?

The Priests:"For the
priest’s lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the law at his mouth:
for he is the messenger of the Lord of hosts. But you are departed out of the
way; you have caused many to stumble at the law; you have corrupted the
covenant of Levi, says the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 2:7,8).

 

The Sadducees:"Then
Jesus said unto them, Take heed and beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and
of the Sadducees … for the Sadducees say that there is no resurrection,
neither angel, nor spirit" (Matt. 16:6; Acts 23:8).

The Rulers:"The kings
of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the
Lord, and against His anointed" (Psa. 2:2). "Do the rulers know
indeed that this is the very Christ?… Have any of the rulers or of the
Pharisees believed on Him?" (John 7:26,48).

The Elders:"Now the
chief priests, and the elders, and all the council, sought false witness
against Jesus, to put Him to death" (Matt. 26:59).

The Scribes:"Where is
the wise? where is the scribe? where is the disputer of this world? Has not God
made foolish the wisdom of this world?" (1 Cor. 1:20).

Following are a few samples of the
vaunted "wisdom" of this world. Devotees of "New Age"
teachings grow ecstatic over such musings as this from the Hindu:"Then
was not non-existent nor existent. There was no realm of air, no sky beyond it.
What covered in, and where? and what gave shelter? Was water there, unfathomed
depth of water?"

The fisherman, John, wrote:
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word
was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by Him;
and without Him was not anything made that was made. In Him was life; and the
life was the light of men" (John 1:1-4). The Bible’s opening statement of
Creation is unequalled in its majesty, simplicity, and clarity:"In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth" (Gen. 1:1). The inspired
account continues, describing the creative process in words that "science
falsely so called" (1 Tim. 6:20) may dispute, but never disprove.

From another branch of
"worldly wisdom," we read:"When the oneness of the totality of
things is not recognized, then ignorance as well as particularization arises,
and all phases of the defiled mind are thus developed; but the significance of
this doctrine is so extremely deep and unfathomable that it can be fully
comprehended by Buddhas and by no others" (from Asvaghosha).

"Unlearned" Peter wrote:
"We have also a more sure word of prophecy; whereunto you do well
that you take heed, as unto a light that shines in a dark place, until the day
dawn, and the Day Star arise in your hearts. Knowing this first, that no
prophecy of the Scripture is of any private interpretation [i.e., the prophet’s
own interpretation], for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man,
but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Spirit" (2 Pet.
1:19-21). For the Christian, the doctrine is "sure," and the
clear light of truth dispels the cryptic dogmas of Buddhism.

 

Unlike the usually temperate
Buddhist, the Muslim is blatantly heretical:"If the Merciful One has a
son, then am I the first to worship him … that is, Jesus the son of Mary …
God could not take to himself any son! … The Christians say that the Messiah
is the son of God; that is what they say with their mouths, imitating the
sayings of those who misbelieved before—God fight them! How they lie!" (The
Koran).

John, the beloved, wrote:"I
have not written unto you because you know not the truth, but because you know
it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus
is the Christ? He is antichrist, who denies the Father and the Son" (1
John 2:21,22).

No less an esteemed figure than
Thomas Jefferson thought it "necessary" to rewrite the New Testament.
He gave no credence to what he called "mystical faith," denying the
deity of Jesus while holding His teachings to be "on the road to true
happiness." He believed in the self-perfectibility of humanity, ultimately
leading to a perfect society. Jefferson wrote to John Adams:"In the New
Testament, there is internal evidence that parts of it have proceeded from an
extraordinary man; and that other parts are the fabric of very inferior
minds." ("Unlearned men"?)

He snipped out passages from his
King James Bible that he considered "supernatural elements," pasting
the remaining words into a blank book. The result was titled The Life and
Morals of Jesus of Nazareth, popularly known today as The Jefferson
Bible.

In the "Epistle
Dedicatory" to King James I, offered by the 47 translators of the Bible
bearing that monarch’s name, they wrote:"Things of this quality have ever
been subject to the censures of ill-meaning and discontented persons."
Further, the translators wrote of their desire to make "God’s holy Truth
to be yet more and more known unto the people, whom they [i.e., their
detractors], desire still to keep in ignorance and darkness." A
present-day example of such men described in their Dedication as "self-conceited
… who run their own ways, and give liking unto nothing but what is framed by
themselves, and hammered on their own anvil," is the so-called "Jesus
Seminar." This is a panel of 75 "experts" in such fields as
history, archaeology, linguistics, and "biblical scholarship." They
meet periodically, making a selection of words of Jesus in the Gospels. Then
they have the audacity to take a vote on which of those words were
actually spoken by the Lord! They claim that their object is to present the
"authentic Jesus" (surely a blasphemous claim)! The Bible condemns
"falsifying the Word of God" (2 Cor. 4:2, JND).

The old Quaker poet, Bernard
Barton, wrote:

 

Word of the ever-living God!

Will of His glorious Son!

Without Thee how could earth be trod,

Or heaven itself be known?

 

Lord, grant us all aright to learn

The wisdom it imparts,

 

And to its heavenly teaching turn

With simple, child-like hearts!

 

There is but one Author of the
Bible—God the Holy Spirit (2 Pet. 1:21). But He has employed human instruments
to complete that Word, which is forever settled in heaven (Psa. 119:89; Isa.
40:8). God has not only used unschooled fishermen like Peter, John, and James,
but also a few highly-educated men like Moses, instructed "in all the
wisdom of the Egyptians" (Acts 7:22) and the apostle Paul who was taught
at the feet of the great teacher, Gamaliel (Acts 22:3). God has used kings,
herdsmen, and shepherds; cupbearers, warrior, and tax-collectors. He has used
young and old, rich and poor:all working in His service to reveal to a
perishing world His Son and Saviour, the Lord Jesus Christ, the Living Word.

We do well to hide that Word in
our hearts (Rev. 19:13; Psa. 119:11).

Are you one who just lets your
life take its natural course? Do you tend to say or do whatever pops into your head?
Do you act impulsively? Do you live your life without reference to God’s will
for you?

Jesus had been in the wilderness
40 days. He had not eaten all that time. His human body needed food. Satan was
in the wilderness with Jesus, testing and tempting Him in all kinds of ways
(Luke 4:2). "If Thou be the Son of God," said the tempter,
"command that these stones be made bread" (Matt. 4:3).

Who in the world could ever
imagine there was anything wrong with Jesus providing for His food-starved
body? Besides, the suggested means of provision—turning stones into bread—would
in no way take away from or hurt any other person. So why didn’t Jesus do it?

"He answered and said, It is
written, Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out
of the mouth of God" (Matt. 4:4). Jesus did not turn stones into bread for
one simple reason:His heavenly Father had not instructed Him to do so!
Throughout His 30 plus years on earth, Jesus never once said or did
anything apart from the will of His Father. "I do always those
things that please [the Father]" (John 8:29). "I seek not My own
will, but the will of the Father who has sent Me" (John 5:30). "I
came down from  heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who
sent Me" (John 6:38). In other words, Jesus never acted
impulsively!

Jesus spent much time in prayer
(Luke 3:21; 11:1; 22:41,44). For example, He spent all night in prayer—no doubt
learning His Father’s will—just before selecting His 12 disciples (Luke
6:12-16). He never acted without first speaking to His Father.

Christ is our example (John 13:15;
Eph. 5:2,25; Phil. 2:5; 1 Pet. 2:21). The three recorded temptations of Christ
by Satan in the wilderness are examples of ways Satan tempts the followers of
Christ. Satan would love to have every Christian go through each day of his or
her life without ever thinking about the question, "What does my heavenly
Father want me to do?" Satan loves it when God’s children act impulsively
without considering the Lord’s will for them.

What are some areas in which we
act impulsively? As starters, that area in which Jesus was tested by Satan had
to do with food. We may be very religious about giving thanks every time we
eat. But how often do we even think of asking the Lord:(a) whether we
should take a second helping (because there is plenty on the table); (b)
whether we should eat certain things (especially if our doctor has told us not
to); or (c) whether we should buy certain foods when we go grocery shopping?

 

Secondly, how about our tongues?
Do we think before we speak? Do we pray before we speak? The Scriptures exhort
us, "Let every man be … slow to speak" (Jas. 1:19). Note how the
Bible refers to man’s strong natural tendency to speak impulsively, without
thinking or praying:"The tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly
evil" (Jas. 3:8).

There is a beautiful example in
the Bible of a man who was asked a question by perhaps the most powerful ruler
in the world. In that split-second before he had to answer his sovereign, this
man, Nehemiah, "prayed to the God of heaven" (Neh. 2:4).

Thirdly, how about the things we
allow into our minds through our eyes and ears? How about the ways we spend our
time? Do we commit our eyes, ears, and time to the Lord? If we get into the
habit of honestly seeking the Lord’s will in prayer before turning on the radio
or television or before surfing the Internet, we often will know instinctively
(by the witness of the Holy Spirit through our new, Christ-like nature) that
God does not want us to do it. Perhaps we purposely avoid praying about these
things because we know deep-down what God will say about them.

Before beginning to pray about the
use of our eyes, ears, and time, let us spend time in the presence of the Lord
drawing up a list of needs we see around us:family members who need our
attention; our Bible that needs to be studied; unsaved persons who need the
gospel; shut-ins who would appreciate a visit, letter, or phone call; depressed
people who need encouragement; backsliders who need to be restored to the Lord;
all the people we know who need prayer; property (our own or that of others)
that needs to be maintained or fixed up. This way, when we pray about the use
of our time, the Holy Spirit can easily direct us to attending to the needs
around us.

May the Lord help each of His own
to become more aware of our tendency to act impulsively. And may we follow the
example of Christ our Creator, Pattern, and Redeemer in reminding ourselves and
our tempter, "I must live by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of
God."

The life of faith, in its every
step, is intensely individual. No one can have faith for another, and no one
ought to intrude upon another’s path. We may encourage one another to trust God
and to strengthen each other in the Lord. But let us be careful in counseling
another to do this or that unless we discern that there is distinct faith for
it. It is a serious thing to go beyond our depth—to feel the surging of the
tide of circumstances—if our feet are not on the rock. Can you imagine Abraham
asking anyone if it would be "faith or folly" for him to leave Ur of the Chaldees? or Moses asking the advice of others as to his leaving the court of
Pharaoh? We must receive instruction from the Lord and act before Him;
otherwise it will all end in confusion and disaster. Let us act upon the maxim,
"Never go before your faith and never lag behind your conscience."

Let not the persuasive arguments
of a thousand friends induce you to do anything with a doubtful mind. 
"Whatsoever is not of faith is sin" (Rom. 14:23). Look to the Lord
for guidance in every matter. See if you can do it to His glory; if not, lay it
aside.

                    
Responding to Painful

                        
Circumstances

You may be in painful
circumstances while seeking to do the right thing before the Lord. If you
really wait on Him, He will teach you when to speak and when to keep silence.
There is danger of speaking in haste of temper rather than in a spirit of love
when replying to the godless remarks of the unconverted. Further, we must
remember that there is often far more powerful testimony in solemn and
dignified silence than in talking for talking’s sake.

                     
Acting Impulsively

Let us dread to act under mere
impulse. It is always well to be sure of every step we take—to be able to give
a "Thus saith the Lord" for whatever we do or refuse to do. Very much
damage is done to the cause of truth and godliness by impulsive acting. We
greatly value calm, deep-toned decision for Christ—a decision produced by
genuine love to His Person and profound subjection to the authority of His
Word. These things are most needful in this day of man’s will, man’s judgment,
and man’s reason.

Trust Christ and act boldly for
Him. "If your eye be single, your whole body shall be full of light"
(Matt. 6:22). But if you are looking at circumstances, weighing consequences,
or conferring with flesh and blood, your eye is not single and you will be in
darkness and perplexity.

 

"When your eye is
single," that is, when you have but one object before you,
"your whole body also is full of light; but when your eye is evil, your
body also is full of darkness. Take heed, therefore, that the light which is in
you be not darkness. If your whole body therefore be full of light, having no
part dark, the whole shall be full of light, as when the bright shining of a
candle gives you light" (Luke 11:34-36).

How striking the contrast! Instead
of stumbling on the dark mountains, the obedient soul not only has light for
his own path, but he is actually a light-bearer for others. The moral progress
in the above passage is striking. There is first the single eye—the simple,
earnest purpose of heart to go right on in the path of obedience, cost what it
may. Then the body is full of light. But there is more:"If your whole
body therefore be full of light, having no part dark"—no reserve,
no chamber of the heart kept locked up on account of friends, self-interest,
worldly ease, or anything else—"the whole shall be full of light."
Thus you become transparent, and your light shines so that others see it. Not
that you think so, for a single eye never looks at self. If I make it my object
to be a light-bearer, I shall get full of darkness and be a stumbling-block.

Finally, my dear friends, let me
entreat you to yield yourself without reserve to the Word of your Lord. Do not
allow your "friends" to stand in your way. Will your friends answer
for you before the judgment seat of Christ? Can they now fill your heart with
that sweet peace which can only be found in the path of obedience? They do not
deserve the name of friends if they stand in your way in following Christ. May
God lead you forth into that blessed sphere in which you can walk with Him, work
for Him, and find all your springs in Him! To Him we earnestly commend you.

(From Short Papers, Vol. 2,
by C. H. Mackintosh; copyright 1975 by Believers Bookshelf, Sunbury, PA; used
by permission.)