Is The Word Becoming Flesh? (4)

  

There is one final verse in Proverbs that I’ve asked us to consider in respect to obeying the Law of God, the Word of God:

 

“Where there is no vision, the people are unrestrained, but happy is he who keeps the law.” Proverbs 29:18.

 

Many of us may be familiar with an older English translation that reads, “Where there is no vision, the people perish…” Since an unrestrained people will perish in their lawlessness and profligacy, I can work with either translation.

 

What I want us to see is the place that keeping the law has in this verse. What does keeping the Word of God have to do with vision? Better yet, what does keeping the Law have to do with godly vision? There are many visions in the world, many visions in history, but not all visions are godly visions, not all visions are holy visions. In fact, I submit that only those visions birthed in obedience to the Law of God are visions that are godly, visions that are worth pursuing, visions that we ought to share with others.

 

Those who are perishing have visions, those who are unrestrained have visions – visions of power, sex, possessions, authority, fame; the devil has visions, the leaders of this world have visions – but only those who keep the Word of God, the Law of God, have visions that can provide direction, deliverance, and true destiny for people.

 

In 2 Thessalonians 2:7 Paul writes of “the mystery of lawlessness.” O dear friends, lawlessness is a wicked and hideous mystery beyond the pale of our understanding and full comprehension; but we can be certain of this, that is it rooted in Satan and is working its way in the world through the antichrist, the “man of lawlessness” (2 Thessalonians 2:1-17; 1 John 2:15 – 18)) and that people, including those in the professing church, are rejecting the “love of the truth.”

 

Just as there is the Man of Righteousness, the Body of Christ (1 Cor. 12:12; Eph. 4:11 – 16); so there is the “man of lawlessness” – the kingdoms of this world, all the kingdoms of this world (Psalm 2; Daniel 2), with lawlessness becoming ever so deeply ingrained in the people of the earth. (Please understand, when we speak of “lawlessness” that this encompasses all areas of life; political, moral, spiritual/religious – and their subsets; elections, government from the top down, entertainment, sports, family life, business, science, education, the judiciary, relations among nations and peoples, congregations, denominations, seminaries, universities – lawlessness touches every fiber of life and only Jesus Christ can protect us from it).

 

Now tell me, what greater apostasy can we imagine (2 Thess. 2:3) than the professing people of God imbibing the lawlessness of Satan, a lawlessness that reaches back long before human history, but that was introduced to us in Eden?

 

What a contrast to the Christ of the Cross and the Cross of Christ; our Lord who was obedient to death on the Cross, our Lord who did not seek His own will or His own “rights” or His own prerogatives; but rather submitted Himself to the will of the Father and laid down His life for us.

 

O my dear friends, there may be many visions out there, but only vision born of obedience to the Law of God is enduing vision in Jesus Christ.

 

We cannot drink of the Lord’s Table and that of demons. We cannot eat the Bread of Christ and the bread of demons. (1 Cor. 10:14 – 22). We are not to be bound together with unbelievers; “for what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness?” (2 Cor. 6:14). “Or what harmony has Christ with Belial?” (2 Cor. 6:16). “Or what agreement has the temple of God with idols?” (2 Cor. 6:16).

 

We see much of the professing church descending into lawlessness. Let us be clear, the fact that so many professing Christians drink from the cup of the lawlessness means that we were already living lives of disobedience prior to certain events of the past few years (such as rejecting the image of God; living as we want, rather than in the holiness of Jesus Christ, in entertainment, sexuality, materialism, business practices; not investing ourselves – no matter the cost – in how our children (including at universities) are educated; not caring for the poor and needy), we had already substituted idols for the Holy Lamb Jesus Christ. It is not, I hope, too late for us to repent and become people of obedience to Jesus Christ. Our society needs us to be faithful to Jesus Christ, not to political agendas, not to so-called constitutional “rights” (as if a man or woman who belongs to Jesus Christ has “rights” – that is nonsense – we are the property of Another).

 

And if you are offended, how can that be? How can we be offended when someone implores us to take up our cross, deny ourselves, and follow Jesus Christ…and Him alone? (Mark 8:34ff).

 

Hebrews 13:13 – 14; 2 Timothy 4:1 – 4

 

Much love in our Lord Jesus Christ,

 

Bob Withers