|
 When
Micaiah was told to prophesy those things which would please the
King of Israel, he answered "As Jehovah liveth, what
Jehovah saith unto me, that will I speak" (1 Ki. 22:14)-
Isaiah refused to listen to the people when urged to
"prophesy not right things, speak unto us smooth
things" he was a spokesman for God (Is.
30:10). And Joshua, standing before the nation of Israel,
declared "As for me and my house, we will serve
Jehovah" (Josh. 24:15).
These
men, and others, serve to remind us of a characteristic of true
followers of God. It is a trait portrayed by such men as John
the Baptizer and Stephen who lost their lives for speaking
the truth. Peter, who declared, "we must obey God rather
than men" (Acts 5:29), also possessed this characteristic
as did Paul, who wrote, "we also believe, and therefore
also we speak" (2 Cor. 4:13). The characteristic I refer to
is conviction.
Conviction,
a characteristic once prevalent among Christians and our nation,
is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. We are told by
"scholars" of our day that there is no absolute truth,
particularly in the religious and moral realm. We are urged to
adopt a philosophy that replaces "thus saith the Lord"
with "it's right if you think it's right." It is a
philosophy which exalts man and places him in the realm of
determining truth; of dictating what is right or wrong. And the
results are far from beneficial.
In
the area of child-rearing, parents are urged to keep spiritual
and moral training to a minimum much better, say the
| |
psychologists, to let children
"decide for themselves" when they are old enough.
Teenagers are advised to engage in pre-marital sex only "if
it's right for them." Some marriage counselors encourage
extra marital relationships to "strengthen' marriages. And
if it doesn't work out, couples can always get a divorce if
that's what they want. Even in the realm of religion, the Bible
is referred to as "a suggested way of life
and this is the heart of the entire problem.
Many
in our nation are filled with anguish and overcome with despair
because they have lost the standard; the ideal set forth for man
by his Creator. No longer is the Bible regarded as "the
way." The result millions are deceived into adopting
this "do your own thing" philosophy. They trod down
the great, wide way of the world; seeking happiness where nobody
ever found happiness. And after futile attempts to "find
their own way," they end up disappointed and LOST
realizing too late that "the way of man is not in himself;
it is not in man that walketh to direct his own steps"
(Jer. 10:23).
If
we look again to the example of godly men in the scriptures, see
that their convictions were not based on
subjective feelings (what they thought was right). They
knew of the "way which seemeth right unto man, but the end
thereof are the ways of death" (Prov. 16:25). Likewise
if our convictions are to be pleasing God, they must be based on
the only source of truth, His word. K.0'Banion
[Previous
Article] [Next
Article]
|
