From “Morning and Evening” by C. H. Spurgeon

“Who of God is made unto us wisdom.”- 1Co_1:30

Man’s intellect seeks after rest, and by nature seeks it apart from the Lord Jesus Christ. Men of education are apt, even when converted, to look upon the simplicities of the cross of Christ with an eye too little reverent and loving. They are snared in the old net in which the Grecians were taken, and have a hankering to mix philosophy with revelation. The temptation with a man of refined thought and high education is to depart from the simple truth of Christ crucified, and to invent, as the term is, a more intellectual doctrine. This led the early Christian churches into Gnosticism, and bewitched them with all sorts of heresies. This is the root of Neology, and the other fine things which in days gone by were so fashionable in Germany, and are now so ensnaring to certain classes of divines. Whoever you are, good reader, and whatever your education may be, if you be the Lord’s, be assured you will find no rest in philosophizing divinity. You may receive this dogma of one great thinker, or that dream of another profound reasoner, but what the chaff is to the wheat, that will these be to the pure word of God. All that reason, when best guided, can find out is but the A B C of truth, and even that lacks certainty, while in Christ Jesus there is treasured up all the fulness of wisdom and knowledge. All attempts on the part of Christians to be content with systems such as Unitarian and Broad-church thinkers would approve of, must fail; true heirs of heaven must come back to the grandly simple reality which makes the ploughboy’s eye flash with joy, and gladens the pious pauper’s heart-”Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners.” Jesus satisfies the most elevated intellect when he is believingly received, but apart from him the mind of the regenerate discovers no rest. “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge.” “A good understanding have all they that do his commandments.”

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A Thought on Truth and Hypocrisy

Sometimes, we as Christians, and just people in general, have a hard time accepting the truth.  We can see it, even know it, and yet still refuse to live by and accept it.  We live in a world that likes to tell us that we can live according to our own truth, that we can make it up as we go along, or that we can just pick out the parts of it we like, and leave the rest of it.  All of these things are ways of rationalizing our behavior.  The American Heritage Dictionary defines the word rationalize as:To devise self-satisfying but incorrect reasons for (one’s behavior).  That’s a fancy, intellectual way of saying, that we just plain flat-out lie to ourselves.  Some people become so good at it, they don’t even recognize that they’re doing it.  Imagine living in a whole world full of people who are all telling themselves lies so that they can feel self-satisfied with their behavior…

Christians aren’t above this kind of behavior either, sad to say, and it’s because they’re not, that we have had to live with the world’s accusation that the church, the body of Christ, is filled with hypocrisy, and that many of us are hypocrites.  In the ancient Greek theater, a hypocrite was one who wore a mask while playing a part on a stage in which he would imitate the walk, talk, and behavior typical of a character being played.  It’s where we get the modern term “actor” from.  In essence, he would be a religious fraud.  I won’t deny that there are hypocrites in the church, but then there are hypocrites in the world, too.

Truth and hypocrisy go about as well together as peanut butter and sauerkraut, a striped blouse and polka-dot skirt, white wine at a tailgate party…. you know what I mean.  Yet, so many people, both in and out of church, in the world, mix and match, and combine, all sorts of things, and come up with some of the most  comical, nonsensical,  and inane conclusions about their own lives and the lives of others, and the world we live in that well… just defy understanding.  Not only that, but it’s in the combining, the mixing and matching, of things that don’t go together that have given birth to some of the most perverted ideas and philosophies we see in the world around us.

Some people might roll their eyes, when I say that there’s such a thing as “spiritual blindness,” but I know there is.  I know this as well as I know that there is darkness and light, right and wrong, good and bad.  I know that some things can’t exist together side by side, and that there are some things you can’t bring together because by their very natures they are in direct opposition to each other.  The fact that people can believe that they can involve themselves with the filth of this world, and yet be a part of God’s Kingdom just goes to show that many people are indeed “spiritually blind.”

Hypocrisy is a form of “spiritual blindness” in that it allows people to look at other people through the eyes of  condemnation and judgment, often to the point of damnation, with no thought or ability to look at oneself, and is a complete denial of the truth of God’s Word which is the only real truth.  The fact is that we must make a choice between living for truth or living for ourselves.

Truth, real truth, destroys hypocrisy….

 

From “Faith’s Checkbook” by C. H. Spurgeon

“God Above Human Philosophy ” – 1Co_1:19

This verse is a threatening so far as the worldly wise are concerned, but to the simple believer it is a promise. The professedly learned are forever trying to bring to nothing the faith of the humble believer, but they fail in their attempts. Their arguments break down, their theories fall under their own weight, their deep-laid plots discover themselves before their purpose is accomplished. The old gospel is not extinct yet, nor will it be while the LORD liveth. If it could have been exterminated, it would have perished from off the earth long ago.

We cannot destroy the wisdom of the wise, nor need we attempt it, for the work is in far better hands. The LORD Himself says, “I will,” and He never resolves in vain. Twice does He in this verse declare His purpose, and we may rest assured that He will not turn aside from it.

What clean work the LORD makes of philosophy and “modern thought” when He puts His hand to it! He brings the fine appearance down to nothing; He utterly destroys the wood, hay, and stubble. It is written that so it shall be, and so shall it be. LORD, make short work of it. Amen, and amen.

A Thought on JoeDan Done Did Good Here…oh, yeah…(Re-blogged from “quotes and notes and opinions”)

The following is a link to a video that  I think is mostly offensive to those who have a hard time dealing with the truth.  I don’t like the subtitle “Christians Can’t Vote Democrat” because I’m not sure all democrats feel the same way just as not all republicans feel the same way even though they may vote along their party line.  I’m willing to give “democrats” the benefit of the doubt, and think that surely not all of them feel or act in the way that the “democrats” in this film are characterized.  The ones that are in this film are accurately portrayed in my opinion; not so much by their philosophy (though imo despicable), but rather by their actions…..

The truth is that “Christianity” is under attack, and anyone who thinks otherwise is deliberately and intentionally sticking their heads in the sand.  That’s the truth!  There’s a lot of people in this country and the world over that call themselves “Christians,” who have no more business calling themselves “Christians” or “followers of Christ” than a crocodile does wearing a tutu.  In case you didn’t know, “Christianity” is considered a philosophy just like “Marxism” or “Capitalism.”  Just because you like or relate to one more than another doesn’t necessarily make you a proponent or follower of one.

This is especially true of “Christianity.”  Of all philosophies, “Christianity” has given more to the world and people at large than any other, and don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.  Yes, it’s true “Christianity” has it’s fair share of blood split all over it’s hallowed halls, storied people, and diverse lands, but don’t think even for a single second that true – I said TRUE – “Christians” had anything whatsoever to do with it.  “Christianity” can be used and taken advantage of just like “Capitalism” can, and in today’s world both of them are being abused in obscene, horrific ways by a corrupt and evil people who will do anything to discredit them.

Let me ask you some tough questions?  Who are you?  What are you?  Do you claim to be a “Christian?”  “Are you a “follower of Jesus Christ?”  How do you know?  What’s even more important is do the people around you know you’re a “Christian?”  I know these are tough questions, but they’re not nearly as hard as this last one is, “How have you defined being a Christian for those around you with your life?”  There’s a difference between the last two just so you know…..

Let me close with this observation.  Notice I said observation, and this is in no wise intended to be a judgment of anyone, but just what I said, an observation.  Barak Obama, Nancy Pelosi, Mit Romney, Sara Palin, Joe Bidden, John Kerry, John McCain, Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and a whole host of other politicians have all said or say that they’re “Christians.”  I’m not saying that any of them are or aren’t, but isn’t it amazing when you look at the distinctions between them?

In truth, there’s only one way to know whether you’re a “Christian” or not.  There is a way to know, and for others to know, too.  If you’re truly a “Christian” you know, and if you’re not…..Well, you need to find out……