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The History of the De-Emphasis Of The New Birth

Compiled By Robert Wurtz II (used with permission)

Section XIII - EARLY LESSONS AND A SIMPLE DEFINITION OF SIN

Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.

James 4:17

Sin is disobedience to the revealed will of God. Our text says, “To him that knoweth to do good and doeth it not.” When one knows His Lords will and does not do it, it is sin. The question is one of ‘knowing’.

And that servant, which knew his lord’s will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Luke 12:47

I used to have a friend that had a habit of saying that “ignorance is bliss.” A.W. Tozer once pointed out the folly of this saying by reminding us that if you were ill and did something that endangered your life unknowingly you could die because of your ignorance. Ignorance is not bliss, it is dangerous. Not only that, there are things that we are responsible to know if there is a means by which we could know them.

For this they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of the water and in the water:

II Peter 3:5

Some translations say, ‘willingly forget’ or ‘put out of their minds’. The proliferation of the printed word of God leaves everyone with access to the word of God with a far greater accountability before God than those who never had access to His will. In some industrial business’ there is what is known as ‘mandatory safety meetings’ in which issues are discussed that the people are required to know. If a person chooses not to go to the meeting, they are still accountable for what was revealed in the meeting. If they get hurt as a result of not being in the meeting, there will be serious consequences for their wilfull ignorance. They ’should’ have known the new safety policy or procedure, but they chose to ignore the information (revelation).

ISRAEL was put to the test a few times early on to see if they were willing to be God’s peculiar people. God would give a general question or commandment and see if they responded rightly to it. One of those first ‘tests’ had to do with the daily collection of Manna for food. The people cried out to God and murmered for food. When God gave a commandment on how to handle the food, they transgressed. They knew their Lord’s will and did it not and to them it was sin.

I AM That I AM

The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction

Proverbs 1:7

The word for ‘beginning’ here in the Hebrew means ‘the first’; in place, time, order or rank. It is the ‘chief’ of knowledge to fear the Lord. Not only is it the starting point for knowledge and wisdom, but it remains as the highest ranking and most precious knowledge one will ever know. The word is sometimes translated as ‘firstfruits’.

Without this fear of the Lord perspective, one will never rightly understand anything about God or themselves. God is Love and God is holy. The emphasis in the 20th and 21st century has been upon God’s love. Yet, the fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge. This is God’s testimony and it is an unchanging reality.

It is important to stop and state also that It is not ‘one’ or ‘the other’ (love or holiness), it is both. To present one without the other is to misrepresent God and make a god after your own imaginations. This is the basis of certain forms of idolatry. God told Moses to tell the people when they asked what His name is, that His name is I AM THAT I AM (Exodus 3:14). “I will be what I will be.” This is such a name as checks all bold and curious inquiries concerning God, and in effect says, Ask not after my name, seeing it is beyond your comprehension (see Judges 13:18; Proverbs 30:4).

It is sufficient for us to know that God is what He is. This name makes folly of any comparison between the God of the Israel and the gods of the Egyptians and other nations. It furnished Moses and his people with a foundational truth that God would build upon as He further reveals Himself in scripture. God cannot be cast into a mold based upon what we want Him to be or even our last revelation of what He once revealed to us. He is the ‘living God’ and living means ‘river’. What is the shape of water? It is what it is and to try to form or mold it is impossible in its natural liquid form. So also, we cannot cast God into a mold of what we want Him to be or even bend Him a particular way for the sake of emphasizing a certain attribute of His. He IS what He IS.

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE FEAR OF THE LORD

Every intelligent creature owes his/her Creator due reverence. Lest we should somehow misunderstand how we ought to view God, Jesus gives a most solemn warning;

And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell

Matthew 10:28

The word ‘fear’ here is phobeo. It is strange that folk would have a phobia of heights and use the utmost caution when in on a ladder, etc., but yet have no fear of the Lord when they consider Him. When John the Revelator came before our Lord in the Revelation he fell at His feet as dead..

When I was a child, like many people, I went to church on a church bus that picked my brother and I up for church and especially, Sunday School. My Sunday School teacher was old timey holiness. This woman single handedly convinced me of the meaning of the ‘fear of the Lord’. She presented God as loving, but a God not to be trifled with either. I recall once in class making the mistake of using the slang term ‘gosh’ and it came off as I had near to take God’s name in vain. With the snap of her head pointing her warning look with me in the crosshairs she stated, “WHAT did you say?” Um, uh, um, I said ‘gosh’, I replied. “That’s DANGEROUS” she stated. And from that day to this I cannot recall ever once using God’s name in vain ‘cursingly’ as it is so often used. That look and her solumn and hollow voice went clear to my bones and into my heart. Trifling with God was a “NO NO.”

I don’t believe that it can be overstated that this all too often missing element in modern Christian education has caused untold damage and deception. The love of God is presented without a healthy balance of the fear of the Lord and the people have no concept of unwavering obedience to God. They have some strange idea that obedience is optional, because after all, God loves me unconditionally.

Modern Sunday School philosophy is to FIRST teach children that God loves them. I look at the massive exodus of youth that backslide after they acquire a car, boyfriend/girlfriend, and a job and wonder if that philosophy is right. Where is the fear of the Lord in their life? What has caused them to think that turning away from God is even an option? something, no doubt, is missing from the foundation of their knowledge of God.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 21st, 2008 at 7:49 pm and is filed under Evangelism, The Betrayal of the Ages, Theocracy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.