The Heaton File

They have forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness. (2 Peter 2:15)

There Is A Right Way

False doctrine is as old as the earth. Satan first approached Eve challenging the word of God. The devil convinced the woman that she had the right to change the will of the Lord because she deserved so much more. How could God allow her to eat of every tree of the garden but one? This was not fair, and through the deceptive lie of human wisdom, Satan convinced Adam and Eve to choose their own way. The results were disastrous. Sin destroyed the relationship of God and man and cast the world into the darkness of rebellion. Satan continues to deceive the hearts of men by suggesting there is no such thing as false doctrine and false teachers. In a world of acceptance, declaring one group right and another group wrong is viewed as judgmental and condemning, and ironically considered wrong. To suggest there is such a thing as false doctrine is denied. And Satan continues to add minions to his cause.

Peter faces a world filled with false doctrine, not just in the Roman world of paganism, but within the body of Christ itself. In his final letter, the apostle affirms the need to give the diligence to add to faith characters of steel required to refute those who would follow a false way. He was a witness of Christ and saw the Lord transfigured on the mountain along with James and John. The word of God was not fables created by human wisdom but declared by the mouth of God through the Holy Spirit. Within the first four decades of the early church, false doctrine had crept into the church, destroying the faith of many. Peter addresses the poison of false teachers and their destructive heresies by declaring there is a right way and there is a wrong way. False teachers and their followers had forsaken the right way and followed the ways of Old Testament prophets like Balaam. The son of Beor had been dead for nearly two thousand years, but his pattern of falsehood continued to destroy the people of God.

The psalmist of old declared he hated every false way. From the beginning of time, the gospel of two has always been determined by the path of righteousness and the road to ruin. At the coronation of Saul, Samuel told the new king that he would teach him the good and right way. There is a path that is straight, and there is a right road. Righteousness is found on the straight path and the right road established by the word of God. The world listens more to the path of dishonesty, lies, deception, and unrighteousness. Jesus said it is a broad path that leads to destruction, and many follow this road. There are two ways a man can follow. Peter declared there is a right way, and those who are false teachers follow a wrong way.

In a world of acceptance, it is hard to convince people there is a right way. Religion has become so desensitized to error no one is wrong. In the past five hundred years, multiple faiths have begun because of false doctrine propagated by the ultimate apostasy, the Roman Catholic Church. The Holy Spirit gave the Bible to the world to show all men the right way. There is one church, one Lord, one faith, one God, one Spirit, one hope, and one baptism. If there is one church, why are there so many churches? If the Methodist church is not found in the Bible, is it the right way or the wrong way? What about the Baptist, Lutheran, Episcopalian, Nazarene, Jehovah’s Witness, Mormon, or Presbyterian? Are they the right way or the wrong way? If a man teaches a doctrine of salvation not found in the word of God, is it the right way or the wrong way? Even among those of the body of Christ, acceptance of other churches is becoming more prevalent. God only has one way.

A sign on the outside of a building does not make a group the right way. A pattern of New Testament discipleship is what determines whether someone is right or wrong. Jesus only died for one church, and there is only one covenant God has with those who have followed the right pattern of obedience. Jesus told the multitudes that being religious did not qualify a man as saved. Doing the will of the Father is the only way a man can find the right path. There is a way that seems right, but the end is a disaster. Following the right way takes a right heart to do the right things in accordance with the right message. The question must be asked: are you right?

So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. If a son asks for bread from any father among you, will he give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent instead of a fish? Or if he asks for an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him! (Luke 11:9-13)

Ask, Seek, Knock, And Receive

The greatest joy of being a child of God is the blessings received from the hand of the divine Father. Some great fathers have exemplified noble characters of love, courage, wisdom, and protection but all fathers are failed men. They try to be the best fathers and yet fail from time to time. Jesus tells His disciples the heavenly Father gives immense blessings without partiality. Three principles mark the need of the child, and three principles declare the glory of the Father. The child of God must ask, seek, and knock to receive the blessings of the Father. In turn, the Father will answer, will deliver, and will open His storehouse of blessings upon His child. What is remarkable about the heavenly Father is He knows what the child needs, but the child must first ask, seek, and knock. There is a need for the child to learn dependence on the Father to receive the blessings.

Asking for the blessings of God can only come through the knowledge of the word of God. Someone said that prayer is pleading the promises of God and that no prayer can be answered if God did not promise it. Praying to the Father comes from knowing what to ask and how to ask for His divine blessings. The more a man spends in the word of God, the more he will seek the divine will. Asking requires knowledge. It creates in the heart a daily desire to seek the favor of God in every part of life. Nothing is left to chance or circumstance. The prayerful life of a child of God is filled with asking. When God hears the pleas of His children, He will give the child what they need. His blessings will not come if the child does not ask. God is faithful to answer every prayer of His children. No prayers are left unanswered.

Seeking God through prayer is an active part of a spiritual life. When a person is seeking something, they actively pursue with vigor what they desire. What they desire is not hidden in a place that cannot be found but rather, it is in an area that requires diligence with faith. Seeking the will of God is the pattern of a praying life as a man asks for the blessings of God. The Lord promised to feed the sparrow, but He did not promise to bring it to the nest. The child of God must live a seeking life to find those blessings promised by God. When a child strives for the promises of the Divine, he will find more than he could have imagined. Seeking the blessings of God will be rewarded with the open arms of the Father granting the desires of His child.

Knocking on a door suggests a need to enter. When Jesus knocks on the door, the handle is always on the inside. He can stand at the door and knock, but it needs the faithful heart of God’s child to open it from the inside. In the teaching of Jesus, the door will not be open unless the child of God knocks on the door. All the eternal blessings of God await inside the door of the heavenly storehouse abounding with the eternal measures of divine love, compassion, forgiveness, mercy, and grace. None of these will have any value unless the child knocks on the door. The joy of living for the Lord is to know that when He hears a knock at the door, He will open the door. He knows the names of His children, and He willingly opens wide the door of His grace to let His children come in. Knock, and the door opens.

Jesus concludes His teaching by comparing what earthly fathers will do for their children and how the heavenly Father will bless His children. If an earthly father seeks the betterment and good of his children, how much more will the Father in heaven? God will not answer prayers with stones, serpents, or scorpions. Even an earthly father would not do such a thing for his children. The heavenly Father gives His children bread, fish, and an egg to sustain them and fill them. Jesus is teaching that God will bless His children with everything they need in abundance. God answers every prayer in the manner He sees fit, and it is the right and just thing that is offered.

A child of God should never doubt the power of their prayers. When they ask, seek, and knock, the Father will answer, give, and open – without exception. If anything is lacking, it will only come from the heart of little faith. Jesus extols the virtues of the heavenly Father is immeasurable. Let no day go by when the heart is not asking, seeking, and knocking, and the blessings will flow like a mountain stream from the throne of God. How much more will the heavenly Father give than the incredible blessings from His holy hand. Thank God for His blessings.

So He told a parable to those who were invited, when He noted how they chose the best places, saying to them: “When you are invited by anyone to a wedding feast, do not sit down in the best place, lest one more honorable than you be invited by him; and he who invited you and him come and say to you, ‘Give place to this man,’ and then you begin with shame to take the lowest place. But when you are invited, go and sit down in the lowest place, so that when he who invited you comes he may say to you, ‘Friend, go up higher.’ Then you will have glory in the presence of those who sit at the table with you. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 14:7-11)

Seeking The Best Seats

Benjamin Franklin said of pride, “To be proud of virtue is to poison yourself with the antidote.” One of the hardest lessons for men to learn is they are created out of dust and exalting self-opinion, and worth above all others is finding nothing more than sanctified dust. The creation of the world should remind man the mosquito was created before him. Pride is an insidious disease that fills the heart of man with seeds of self-destruction. The angels are amused that man seeks to exalt himself above his station. Reinhold Niebuhr remarked, “Man falls into pride when he seeks to raise his contingent existence to unconditional significance.” Jesus warned against a prideful heart and taught His disciples a timely parable when He observed how men sought the best seats.

It is an honorable thing to be invited to a wedding feast. The festivities surrounding the bride and groom and the happiness of their union is enjoyed by so many. All the preparations are made for a great feast, and invitations are sent. People arrive to enjoy the marriage occasion, but pride fills the heart when men seek the best seats in the house without being asked. Immediately arriving at the feast, men would go up the best seats in the house with a proud and arrogant stride. Then, a man of great honor arrives, and the host comes and asks the man sitting in the best seat to step down and give his seat to the other man. Shame fills the heart of the presumptuous guest, and his disgrace humbles him. Pride has a way of exalting shame in the heart and actions of those induced by its charm.

Jesus warns against pride. He said it would be better to arrive at the feast and seek the lower seats so that the host may come and ask the man to sit at a higher place in time. Instead of pride bringing shame at the man’s arrogance, glory is shown for the one seeking the lower place first and then exalted before others. Pride begins with presumption. Humility starts with servitude. Seeking to elevate self above others will end in shame. Having a humble heart will be rewarded with glory. Pride seeks the exaltation of self. Humility begins with a lowly spirit and remains until called. The heart of a servant knows his place before all men and does not try to exalt above measure his worth.

There is no one greater than God, so what value is there for a man to fill himself with pride? Nothing that a man will accomplish will compare to the universe of God’s power. When humanity sought to build a tower to the heavens in the plain of the land of Shinar, the Lord confused the languages and forever established the habitation of man. Nations rise and fall at the will of the Lord. History is filled with the bones of tyrants and despots who sought to rule the world and lost everything. Wealth did not keep men from dying. The pride of human wisdom is an exercise in futility. Humility is the greatest attribute a man can possess, for he knows he is nothing more than an unprofitable servant. Jesus Christ, the Son of God, humbled Himself in obedience to the Father.

And while the crowds were thickly gathered together, He began to say, “This is an evil generation. It seeks a sign, and no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah the prophet. For as Jonah became a sign to the Ninevites, so also the Son of Man will be to this generation. The queen of the South will rise up in the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them, for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon; and indeed a greater than Solomon is here. The men of Nineveh will rise up in the judgment with this generation and condemn it, for they repented at the preaching of Jonah; and indeed a greater than Jonah is here. (Luke 11:29-32)

A Greater Than Jonah Is Here

Michael Packard has a whale of a story to tell about the day he was swallowed by a humpback whale while lobster diving off the coast of Cape Cod. Without warning, the whale engulfed Packard but then forced him out of his mouth about forty seconds later. He survived with minor injuries and a great story to tell his grandchildren. In 1891, James Bartley was swallowed by a sperm whale after the whale attacked their boat during a whaling expedition off the Falkland Islands. A few days later, he was found inside the whale, still clinging to life when the whale was killed. None of these stories match what happened to a preacher from Gath Hepher named Jonah, the son of Amittai. The Old Testament book of Jonah tells the amazing story of the preacher sent to the heathen city of Nineveh to preach, who tried to run away from God. Punished for his disobedience, Jonah was swallowed by a huge fish (the type of fish is unknown) and kept three days fully conscious of where he was. While in the belly of the big fish, Jonah prayed, and the Lord delivered him after three days.

Some doubt the story of Jonah, but to do so means that Jesus is a liar. The Son of God told the story of Jonah as an object lesson for the validity of holy writ and concerning what would happen in the life of Jesus Himself. Matthew and Luke record the words of Jesus, paralleling the three days Jonah spent in the fish’s belly to the Lord’s own entombment in the grave. Nicodemus and Joseph of Arimathea took the body of Jesus from the cross and put Him in a new tomb hewn out of rock. Three days later, Jesus rose from the dead. As Jonah was in the belly of the fish for three days, so the Son of Man remained three days in the tomb. He rose on the third day so that He would not see corruption fulfilling the prophecy of David. As the Lord delivered Jonah from the watery grave of the sea, so the Father delivered His only Begotten Son from the tomb of Hades.

The people surrounding Jesus were not convinced He was the Son of God. They sought visible evidence to clear their clouded minds. Jesus tells them the sign of Jonah will prove His divinity as the prophet preached to a rebellious and wicked generation, so will the Son of God preach to a rebellious Israel and perverse generation. After Jonah went to the city of Nineveh, the people repented in sackcloth and ashes. One hundred and twenty thousand persons turned to God at the preaching of Jonah. A greater than Jonah came among the people of God, and they refused to listen. Jonah was displeased the Lord did not destroy Nineveh, but the people did not have hatred toward the prophet. Jesus did not come to destroy but to save, and yet the people killed Him. A greater than Jonah had come to earth, and His mission was the salvation of all humanity.

Jonah was a story of grace, mercy, truth, sacrifice, and repentance. The story of Jesus is the same. God delivered Jonah from the darkness of the deep, and He delivered His Son from the depths of Hades to show all men the greatest story is found in Jesus. Charles Bartley and Michael Packard have a remarkable story to tell. Their story pales compared to when a man obeys the gospel of Jesus Christ and is baptized into Christ for the remission of sins. Rising out of the waters of baptism is the greatest story. Sins are washed away. A covenant of grace is given between God and an obedient heart. Nothing can match the wonder of that story.

And it happened, as He spoke these things, that a certain woman from the crowd raised her voice and said to Him, “Blessed is the womb that bore You, and the breasts which nursed You!” But He said, “More than that, blessed are those who hear the word of God and keep it!” (Luke 11:27-28)

Hear The Word And Obey The Word

It takes the heart of a mother to know the value of a faithful son. Throughout the wisdom literature, young men are admonished to honor their mothers, not forsake the law of their mothers, never despise their mother, and never bring grief to the heart of the one who bore them into the world. The death penalty was imposed upon those who cursed their mothers. A mother’s heart sees the beauty of a good son who honors God and honors the family. As Jesus was defending Himself against the charges of the scribes and Pharisees accusing Him of casting out demons by Beelzebub, a woman in the crowd was struck by the demeanor of Mary’s son with His clarity and boldness against His accusers. It was not her place to speak, but her heart was overwhelmed with respect for a mother’s son as she listened to Jesus. She cried out, “God bless your mother—the womb from which you came and the breasts that nursed you!”

Jesus loved His mother very much and owed such a debt of gratitude to her. There existed between the two a special bond that no one could understand. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit into the womb of a virgin, and Mary carried Jesus for nine months as a normal pregnancy. On that night in Bethlehem, she gave birth to the Son of God, and the angels broke forth in heavenly wonder and praise. There were many things that Mary kept in her heart as she watched her little boy grow to manhood. Simeon had warned the mother of Jesus that a sword would pierce through her soul. Jesus was obedient to His mother and grew in stature, increasing in wisdom and favor of God and men. Other children were born to Mary, and Jesus had half-brothers and sisters. When Jesus began His ministry, Mary was there. At the cross where Jesus was treated so contemptuously as a common criminal, the mother of the Son of God stood by without uttering a word. With the eternal weight of sin bearing down upon Jesus, He takes a moment to tell His mother He loves her and begs John to care for her. Jesus loved His mother.

The woman in the crowd was right to seek blessings on the woman who bore Jesus into the world. Jesus was not insensitive to her remark and was not disrespecting His mother. What Jesus wanted the woman and others to understand was the greatest blessings were found in those who would hear the word of God and keep it. The Jewish leaders had charged Jesus with casting out demons by Beelzebub. This blasphemy of the Holy Spirit was unforgivable. There was a time and place to honor mothers who bore faithful sons, but a crisis filled the land with hypocrisy, hatred, and envy from the scribes and Pharisees seeking to kill Jesus. What the multitudes needed to understand was God demanded obedience to His word above all things. It was important to honor mothers, but the man who hears the word of God and obeys it was the true blessing. Salvation comes from hearing the word of God and keeping the commands of the Lord.

Hearing the word of God is not enough. Keeping the word requires obedience. Salvation cannot be found in faith alone or hearing the word alone. Believing Jesus is the Son of God is a part of salvation, but this belief alone will not save a man. The will of the Father must be kept, obeyed, and followed according to the word of God. It is easy to say one believes in Jesus and never follows His word. The woman from the crowd was good to say nice things about the mother of Jesus but being a good mother or having a good son is not where salvation can be found. Truth must be heard and obeyed. The greatest blessing a man can possess is the salvation of his soul. Hear it and keep it.

He who hears you hears Me, he who rejects you rejects Me, and he who rejects Me rejects Him who sent Me. (Luke 10:16)

Rejecting God

The gospel of two is very clear: either a man believes in the word God, or he does not believe. Eternal consequences come with the decision a man makes whether to accept the word of God as truth or to call it a fable, myth, or a cleverly devised scheme of men. Everything hinges upon accepting God as real or that He was created by the delusions of human wisdom. The majority of humanity rejects the story of Jesus because it is too fanciful for human understanding. Few believe the Bible to be authoritative. Among so-called Bible believers are found those who deny the miracles of the Bible, the ancient stories of scripture, and the teachings of Jesus. Reading the Bible becomes a flea market exercise of selecting which parts are appealing while rejecting anything contrary to modern philosophy and lifestyle. Piecemealing the word of God is the standard means of explaining the Bible. The conclusion is the many ways men reject God.

Jesus plainly taught to reject Him was to reject the Father. One cannot be dismissed without the rejection of the other. Whatever Jesus taught came from the Father. Accepting the teachings of Jesus meant the listener accepted the word of God as truth. All that Jesus said and did was in keeping with the will of the Father. The danger for the souls of men came from those who challenged the teachings of Jesus, denied the miracles of Jesus, and refused to submit to the teachings of Jesus. In so doing, they questioned God, denied God, and refused to submit to God. There is no fine line between the two. Rejecting Jesus had consequences of eternal damnation. This rejection went much further than the relationship between Jesus and God.

The Lord appointed seventy men to go out two by two into every city and place where He Himself was about to go, teaching, preaching, and showing the power of God. The Lord warned the seventy that many would reject them and not receive them. Jesus highlighted the cities of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum as problem areas in the ministry of the seventy. What the Lord wanted the seventy to understand is that when men rejected them, they rejected Jesus and by rejecting Jesus, rejected God. That is the pattern of divine authority. When a man preaches the word of God and the multitudes reject the teaching, they reject Jesus and reject God. It is necessary for those who teach the gospel to know rejection comes from hearts refusing to submit to God. If a man teaches the necessity of water baptism and refuses to obey, they have rejected the gospel, the Lord Jesus Christ, and the Father. Woe to them on the final day.

The requirement of preaching the truth is to proclaim only what is written by the finger of God. Anything more is blasphemy, and anything less is blasphemy. The word of God is settled in heaven, and the whims of men will not change it. Responsible upon every man is to teach the word of God as it is written. If a man rejects the word, they reject God. It is a serious matter to follow God’s word and teach what is written as truth. Anything less is to reject God. Failing to believe what is written is rejecting God. Rejecting God will end in the rejection of the divine judge when eternity opens its wide doors as all men are separated like sheep and goats.

Now the man from whom the demons had departed begged Him that he might be with Him. But Jesus sent him away, saying, “Return to your own house, and tell what great things God has done for you.” And he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. (Luke 8:38-39)

Giving Honor To God

The healing of the man from Gadarene was a powerful testimony to the human tragedy of sin, the compassion of Jesus, and the power of the word of God. Jesus arrived in the country of the Gadarenes opposite Galilee and immediately was met by a man from the city who had demons for a long time. The possession of the man was intense as the unclean spirit had often seized the man and, driven by the demons, forced the man to dwell among the rocks in the wilderness. Nothing could bind the man as he tore off chains and shackles with ease. Day and night he wandered among the burial caves and in the hills, howling and cutting himself with sharp stones. His life was total misery and heartache.

When Jesus arrived at the country of the Gadarenes, the possessed man met Jesus and fell down before Him worshipping Him. Jesus commanded the unclean spirit to come out of the man. He asked the demon his name, and the unclean spirit replied, “My name is Legion; for we are many.” Begging the Lord not to cast him into the abyss, the demon begged Jesus to cast him into a herd of swine feeding on the mountain. Jesus permitted the evil spirit to leave the man and enter the swine, who ran violently down the steep place into the lake and drowned. When the people of the city came to see what had happened, they found the demon-possessed man sitting at the feet of Jesus, clothed and in his right mind. This frightened the people, and they begged Jesus to leave their shores. As Jesus was leaving, the formerly demon-possessed man begged the Lord to allow him to accompany the group, but Jesus had other plans for the man. He told him to go home and tell everyone what great things the Father had done for him. With great joy, the man went his way, proclaiming throughout the whole region what great things Jesus had done for him.

Jesus told the man to say to his friends, neighbors, and family what great things God had done for him and how He had compassion on him. Mark records the man began to proclaim in Decapolis all that Jesus had done for him, and Luke says he went his way and proclaimed throughout the whole city what great things Jesus had done for him. Telling what great things God has done and all things Jesus has done is the same story, identical message, and brings glory to the Divine. Jesus had healed the man through the power of the Holy Spirit and the authority of God, the Father. Showing the saving power of Jesus gives glory to the Father and inclusively brings honor to the Godhead of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Throughout the ministry of Jesus, the Son of God gave praise and honor to His Father. Every word came from the Father. The miracles were manifestations of the Father’s power, and every prayer offered by the Son was given to the Father in humble obedience. What a man saw in Jesus was the Father because the Son had become the image of the Father. The Son wanted the world to see the Father. Jesus told the man from Gadarene to preach the Father, and the man obeyed Jesus when he preached the Son. To reject Jesus is to reject God. Obeying the Father is obeying the Son. The two are inseparable. A child of God should reflect the Father’s image in every part of life so the world can see the Divine character of the Father. The imagery of a Christian’s life should be so full of the Father the world can only see the light of truth, righteousness, holiness, godliness, and humility in the picture of Jesus Christ living through the lives of obedient servants. What the world sees in my life should be Jesus Christ so the world can know God. If a man preached the story of my life, who would they preach? Let the light of Christ fill my life so that all men can see God.

That we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting. (Ephesians 4:14)

No Longer Children

A child’s heart can easily be persuaded to believe a lie. Without the maturity of knowledge, a story can allow an innocent heart accept a cleverly told falsehood. This may not mean a bad thing in the child’s world, as childhood stories often are based on creative fantasies that fill the mind with imagination. The warning of the apostle Paul is the danger of spiritual children being led away with the imaginations of Satan’s lies that have eternal consequences. This is the greater danger when those born into Christ never grow in spiritual discernment and maturity. Paul warns the brethren not to be immature like children who can easily be swayed with any new teaching or doctrine. A child can be influenced and tricked into believing lies so clever they sound like the truth. The child of God must protect themselves from such dangers.

Knowledge is power, and it takes time and energy to equip the mind with the word of God. The power of Satan is immense, seeking on every turn to trick the soul of man into believing a lie. When the serpent came to Eve in the garden, his first words were dishonest to the command of God. He convinced Eve that God did not mean what He said and that she and Adam deserved to eat the forbidden fruit. Satan did not force or compel Adam and Eve to disobey God. He merely suggested they disregard the will of God and enjoy what was forbidden. The devil tricked them, and they immediately discovered his scheme was a lie, but it was too late. Shame, guilt, and the burden of sin had overshadowed them, and they hid from the presence of God.

The church’s work is to equip its members with the necessary tools to be edified, increase in knowledge, and fortify their souls against the wiles of the devil. God has put the tools required to build a wall of defense around his children, but these defenses will have no value if the individual does not implement those plans in his life. The Christian should always seek ways to grow in Christ so they will not be like a child in the knowledge of God’s word. There are many doctrines that stand against the truth of God’s word. If a Christian is not diligent in their knowledge of the Bible, they will easily be tossed about with every wind of doctrine. This is where apostasy plants its seed. Ignorance is the vast field of Satan’s farm where he tends the hearts of those who do not know the word of God. Any trickery of men filled with the devil’s lies will become what a person believes to their destruction. Is that not why there are so many churches and why so many different faiths?

Children are expected to grow, and when this does not happen, concerned parents seek medical advice to correct the problem. In the church of Christ, the only infants and babies in the church should be newborns. However, there is a large population of older Christians by virtue of how long they have been in the kingdom of Christ that are still unlearned, ignorant, and feeding on soy milk. They have no substance, depth of knowledge and are so unlearned in scripture; they are unable to find a chapter and verse in the Bible. These poor souls are fertile ground for the devil’s deceptions who seek people who are still childlike in heart and mind that he can fill with the deceptions of his lies—grown adults in the kingdom with minds of a child.

Paul warns the Ephesians to grow up in the knowledge of Jesus Christ. Children must grow in maturity to become productive citizens of the church of God. Unity of faith comes from a knowledge of the Son of God to a perfect man. The measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ is when a man says he will no longer be a child tossed to and fro by every wind of doctrine. He will spend the time filling his heart with the word of God, leading his family and others to the redemption found in Jesus Christ. Truth stands upon the hearts of those men and women who grow each day to be stronger and bolder in proclaiming the Lord Jesus Christ. Satan is not afraid of children of God who remain infants. He is terrified of children who have grown up to be mature, responsible, and capable teachers of the word.

Therefore thus will I do to you, O Israel; because I will do this to you, prepare to meet your God, O Israel!” For behold, He who forms mountains, and creates the wind, who declares to man what his thought is, and makes the morning darkness, who treads the high places of the earth—the Lord God of hosts is His name. (Amos 4:12-13)

When Nations Do Not Listen To God

In the days of Jeroboam II, Israel experienced a period of social, economic, and cultural revival that brought unprecedented prosperity to the northern tribes of Israel. It was a false sense of security that settled over the nation because, in less than forty years, Assyria would destroy Samaria and take the people of the ten tribes captive. A sheepherder from Tekoa came to warn the people of the impending doom if they did not repent. Throughout the previous one hundred and seventy years, the Lord had sent His prophets to turn the hearts of the people back to Him, but without success. Every king that reigned over the northern tribes was wicked without exception. There was little hope as the hearts of the nation had turned to idolatry. With prosperity filling the land under Jeroboam, there was no urgency to turn to the Lord.

God sent His prophets to preach a message of repentance, but the Lord had also taken an active role in punishing the nation through His power. He had brought famine, drought, pestilence, plague, and destruction against Israel. In all their cities, the Lord took away their bread. He withheld the rain from the land. When there were still three months left to harvest, God made it rain in one city and withheld rain in another. In some places, it never rained, and the crops failed. People wandered from place to place, seeking water. Their gardens, vineyards, fig-trees, and olive groves were destroyed with blight and mildew, and locusts. Some cities were destroyed without cause. In all of these things, the people did not return to the Lord. No matter what the Lord brought against the people, their hearts would not turn to Him.

There comes a time in the heart of a man when repentance is impossible. As a nation, Israel had turned entirely away from righteousness, truth, holiness, and the desire to follow the word of God. When a nation turns its heart away from God, refusing to repent, judgment awaits. The cry of Amos was for Israel to prepare to meet their God. The Lord God of Hosts is His name, and He was coming with the firebrand of divine judgment. Assyria completely destroyed the northern tribes leaving no trace of their existence except in the seeds of the Samaritans, who were a mixed breed of Assyrians and Israelites. The Lord God brought the kings of Assyria against His own people as punishment for their refusal to repent. Amos warned the people to repent, and they did not listen. Israel was doomed.

The judgment of God against Israel demonstrated His will among the nations. As Creator, the Lord is the one who forms the mountains, creates the wind, and reveals His thoughts to mankind. He turns the light of dawn into darkness and treads on the heights of the earth. There is no excuse for any nation to reject the workings of the Lord among them. While the events of Israel and the prophecies of Amos are nearly three thousand years old, the message of the Lord working among the nations remains. He continues to show Himself to the world as the Lord God of Hosts. Throughout history, the Lord has revealed Himself to nations as He did to Israel but to no avail. In times of national crisis, momentary feelings of religious fervor rise to the surface but never last. When the tragedy of 911 struck the United States, an immediate response of consciousness arose in the hearts of many people. Sadly, it did not last. With the pandemic of COVID-19, the world has seen the tragedy of disease that could have turned many hearts to God. Sadly, again, it has not happened.

National and world events should be markers of time to show the power and glory of the Lord God. Sin has brought the misery of disease, natural disaster, and death upon all mankind, but the hope to overcome comes only through the will of the Lord. Tragedy should not drive men away from God but draw them closer. In the case of Israel, it did little to change their hearts. For the southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin, captivity came because of their rebellion but a remnant of faithful returned. The wrath of God brought repentance. Return to the Lord and seek Him. He is the only answer to face the trials and hardships of life. Nations turn to the Lord when the hearts of their people turn to the Lord. When men do not seek the Lord, the nation is destroyed. As the spirit of the American people goes, so goes the nation.

“Is it lawful for us to pay taxes to Caesar or not?” But He perceived their craftiness and said to them, “Why do you test Me? Show Me a denarius. Whose image and inscription does it have?” They answered and said, “Caesar’s.” And He said to them, “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” (Luke 20:22-25)

Serving God Or Serving Caesar

The chief priests and scribes tried vainly to trap Jesus in some philosophical, religious, or moral question to prove He was not the Son of God. They sent spies among His disciples pretending to be righteous, seeking some proof of deceit. On one occasion, they challenged Jesus about allegiance to the Roman government and allegiance to God. Using taxes as the framework of their question, the critics of the Lord wanted to know if God’s people should pay taxes to the Roman government. Jesus perceived their craftiness and trickery and, taking a Roman coin, used the image of Caesar to answer that all things that are owed to the government are to be given, but all things required of God are His.

The answer of rendering to Caesar the things belonging to Caesar and to God the things that are God’s was not a new teaching. Joseph lived in the pagan world of Egypt and gave allegiance to all things Egyptian except his devotion to God. Daniel, Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were four young men thrust into the ungodly world of the Babylonians when Israel was taken captive. Throughout their life in the Babylonian culture, they obeyed the laws of the land until those laws came in conflict with the law of God. Hananiah, Mishael, and Azariah were thrown into a fiery furnace when they refused to obey the king’s law, and Daniel was cast into a den of lions for disobeying government policy. They rendered to ‘Caesar’ the things that belong to Caesar, but they held true to their obedience to the law of God first and foremost.

It is easy to fall into the trap of civil obedience at the expense of spiritual directives. Everyone wants to be a law-abiding citizen without repercussions of disobeying civil law. The Bible commends the people of God to honor the king, pray for the rulers, and be subject to the government’s will. As the scribes and Pharisees tried to trap Jesus, the challenge to obedience to God is a decision the Christian must make about answering the mandates of our changing world. A year ago, the country was shut down by the power of government. State governments began to ban the assembling of churches, including making the singing of songs against the law. Fear spread across the land as confusion filled the hearts of the people of God. The United States Centers for Disease and Prevention, a federal agency of the national public health, began to mandate, monitor, and manage the lives of 329 million Americans. If the CDC again takes the country back to the early part of 2020 with its directives, how will the church react?

Peter and John were arrested for preaching Jesus and His resurrection. When questioned by the Jewish leaders and warned not to teach in the name of Jesus, the two apostles declared their obedience to the law of Caesar when required, but they would follow the word of God foremost. Later, when the twelve apostles were arrested for teaching in the name of Jesus, they answered they must obey God rather than men. A clear line was drawn they would not shun from doing the will of God – even in the face of a government decree that forbade them from doing so. The twelve apostles were not civil anarchists or rebels, but men of God devoted to following the divine precepts of Jesus Christ above the mandates of men. Their faith in God fortified their conflict.

Rendering to Caesar the things belonging to Caesar is a noble example of Christian duty. This cannot be at the expense or denial of what God has commanded His church to do. There must be faith in the providence of God to care for His children even when it puts the child of God at odds against the government. Faith comes from serving the Lord and His word; not the CDC, White House, or Supreme Court of the United States. The church will be tested. Let the child of God find in the fires of trial the courage to stand for truth, righteousness, and obedience to the will of the Lord God. What’s the worst that can happen? If we die, is that not joy? Lord, come quickly.