Standing on Whose Promises?

In spite of the economic disaster we are facing, compounded by a presidential election that offers no hope for a substantive change in the way our country is governed, many professing Christians express confidence that “God will see them through.” I’m seldom in a position to carry the discussion further, nor would it be particularly productive if I did. These folks are believing God for things He did not promise. Theirs is a mushy, emotional reliance on a god of their own making, rather than the God revealed in the pages of Scripture.

A radical conclusion, you may say. A quick read of Deuteronomy (the O.T. book that Jesus quoted from the most)reveals that God is very clear about the behaviors He will bless and those He won’t. Unjust weights and measures (inflationary economy), sacrificing to idols (leaving the education of children to the authority and teaching of the State), failure to respect the holiness of covenant marriage (homosexual marriage) have been all but ignored by modern man, as well as the majority of professing Christians. Why should any believer who has systematically ignored (deliberately or otherwise) God’s Word have any reason to suppose he would receive blessing from God?

A very frightening passage of Scripture is found in Matthew 7:19-23:

Every tree that bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire.
Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven.
Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works?
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

We live in an age of preaching and pew sitting where many violate the first commandment by allowing or adhering to standards of worship that are not Biblical. Many give lip service to the Bible, but in actuality live their lives as though there is no God or Word of God telling us how to worship and obey.

That is why the primary focus of the newly formed Chalcedon Teacher Training Institute is to get participants on sure footing when it comes to bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Without the perspective that every area of life and thought is and needs to be under the authority of God and His Word, there is no significant way to maneuver through the perils of any age, let alone the times in which we are living.

Matthew 7 concludes:

Therefore whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock.
And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand:
And the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it.
And it came to pass, when Jesus had ended these sayings, the people were astonished at his doctrine:
For he taught them as one having authority, and not as the scribes.

It’s time for those of us entrusted with stewarding the lives of our children to respond in deliberate obedience to the One who spoke authoritatively, and abandon the empty promises of the world, no matter how piously they are presented.

Won’t you join me and my friends at the Chalcedon Teacher Training Institute as we study and discuss Rushdoony’s Institutes of Biblical Law in an effort to be faithful in our callings in these difficult times? Contact me at lessons.learned@yahoo.com.