August 17th 2015
Can You Keep A Secret?
1 Corinthians 2:7 (NIV)
No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
You were destined for glory, before time began. No matter how you came to be living today on this earth that God created, you were destined for glory. Paul wrote of “God’s secret wisdom” and how these secrets are made known to followers of Jesus Christ, but remain as secrets to unbelievers. If we decide to keep such secrets to ourselves, then the unbeliever will never get it, so to speak! When reading God’s Word we will understand what we are reading, but an unbeliever will not get it, and thus, learn nothing through reading it. If you, a believer, decides to not try to explain it to them, then you will have deprived them of any chance to understand and believe.
God told Ezekiel to prophesy about the destruction that was befalling the Jews, because false prophets were telling them that everything was going to be okay. In part of God’s message, God told Ezekiel that all the souls of men belong to Him. Therefore, God owns your soul! This really makes sense when you think about it, because this part of us is the part that was created in the image and likeness of God! For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:4) Remember that at this time in history the Savior had not yet come into this world, and thus, God was considered to be the Savior to believers.
Staying in the Old Testament mentality for a little longer, let us consider, that this world does not belong to us, we are just put here as caretakers not owners. The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24:1-2) Of course, this is still true today that the earth was created for mankind to reside on, which makes it our home, but not the final place of existence for our godly soul. I do not believe in fate, as I believe every human soul has a free will, and thus, we can choose what path we will take in this life. Today we know there is more water within the earth than is on top of it. So science has finally caught us with the knowledge given to us in the Bible.
Back now to the secrets that believers are entrusted with and how we should thus be viewed by unbelievers, but this is just not reality. The reality of this world is such that many people will never get it about things that seem like secrets, as many take them as just old outdated beliefs. Therefore, they do not really try to understand, and thus they remain to them to be secrets. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1) Christians have been made aware of the absolute truth, if you have studied the Bible, and allowed the Holy Spirit to direct your reading and understanding of God’s Word.
We can read about Jesus and what He taught His disciples, which now includes you, if you have accepted His grace and made Him the Savior of your immortal soul! I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 16:33, NLT) We can have peace while still on this earth because we know where our immortal soul will go when we die. We are overcomers too, once we (you) have taken on Jesus to be our personal Savior.
The religious leaders of the time when Jesus was walking on this earth as a man did not understand why Jesus was friends with people they did not associate with, because they thought they were better than them. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners".’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions." (Matthew 11:19) We need to be careful that we do not become self-centered because we have been saved by Jesus. As Jesus said He is “a friend of tax collectors and "sinners". Aren’t you glad that Jesus loves sinners? He died for us, while we were still sinners!
If you are telling someone who may be an unbeliever the positive effect that having Jesus in your life has made, remember what Jesus said about the possibilities that that person may experience from the conversation. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. (Luke 21:15-16) The first verse of this statement is very encouraging, but the second verse is not so positive. Legally in the USA yet today, we are protected by the freedom of speech laws, so we do not need to fear speaking out about our relationship with Jesus.
It seems however, that a time is coming, and may already be here, when such protection may be removed from our laws. We have seen many freedoms already being removed, such as displaying religious symbols in public areas during church observed seasons. Certain other rights have been removed, such as, prayer in schools, and offering courses of study based on the Bible in public schools. Even some Christian organizations no longer teach classes based on the Bible, or by using the Bible as a text book for the basis of the class.
Many struggle with believing that God is really the creator of all things, and this causes many to question the rest of the Bible. This is especially true of the children, even those who are attending Christian run schools. If you question the reality of how we got here and what our purpose is in God’s eyes, then we will lose faith in the rest of what we have once believed. Do we really try to give God the glory for everything or do we instead talk about and adore Mother Nature? The Bible tells to honor and give glory to God, because He created all things. "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Revelation 4:11)
God not only created all things, but He also upholds them, based on the laws He created through His control. Therefore, there is no such thing as natural law. If you believe this, then you are not expected by Jesus to keep it as a secret. Can you keep a secret? Well that is normally a good trait, but in this case that is not what God commands us to do. Go tell it on a mountain; go tell it everywhere that Jesus Christ is Lord! This may be a bad paraphrase, but you get the idea, don’t you?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
1 Corinthians 2:7 (NIV)
No, we speak of God’s secret wisdom, a wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began.
You were destined for glory, before time began. No matter how you came to be living today on this earth that God created, you were destined for glory. Paul wrote of “God’s secret wisdom” and how these secrets are made known to followers of Jesus Christ, but remain as secrets to unbelievers. If we decide to keep such secrets to ourselves, then the unbeliever will never get it, so to speak! When reading God’s Word we will understand what we are reading, but an unbeliever will not get it, and thus, learn nothing through reading it. If you, a believer, decides to not try to explain it to them, then you will have deprived them of any chance to understand and believe.
God told Ezekiel to prophesy about the destruction that was befalling the Jews, because false prophets were telling them that everything was going to be okay. In part of God’s message, God told Ezekiel that all the souls of men belong to Him. Therefore, God owns your soul! This really makes sense when you think about it, because this part of us is the part that was created in the image and likeness of God! For every living soul belongs to me, the father as well as the son—both alike belong to me. The soul who sins is the one who will die. (Ezekiel 18:4) Remember that at this time in history the Savior had not yet come into this world, and thus, God was considered to be the Savior to believers.
Staying in the Old Testament mentality for a little longer, let us consider, that this world does not belong to us, we are just put here as caretakers not owners. The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; for he founded it upon the seas and established it upon the waters. (Psalm 24:1-2) Of course, this is still true today that the earth was created for mankind to reside on, which makes it our home, but not the final place of existence for our godly soul. I do not believe in fate, as I believe every human soul has a free will, and thus, we can choose what path we will take in this life. Today we know there is more water within the earth than is on top of it. So science has finally caught us with the knowledge given to us in the Bible.
Back now to the secrets that believers are entrusted with and how we should thus be viewed by unbelievers, but this is just not reality. The reality of this world is such that many people will never get it about things that seem like secrets, as many take them as just old outdated beliefs. Therefore, they do not really try to understand, and thus they remain to them to be secrets. So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God. (1 Corinthians 4:1) Christians have been made aware of the absolute truth, if you have studied the Bible, and allowed the Holy Spirit to direct your reading and understanding of God’s Word.
We can read about Jesus and what He taught His disciples, which now includes you, if you have accepted His grace and made Him the Savior of your immortal soul! I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. (John 16:33, NLT) We can have peace while still on this earth because we know where our immortal soul will go when we die. We are overcomers too, once we (you) have taken on Jesus to be our personal Savior.
The religious leaders of the time when Jesus was walking on this earth as a man did not understand why Jesus was friends with people they did not associate with, because they thought they were better than them. The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Here is a glutton and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and "sinners".’ But wisdom is proved right by her actions." (Matthew 11:19) We need to be careful that we do not become self-centered because we have been saved by Jesus. As Jesus said He is “a friend of tax collectors and "sinners". Aren’t you glad that Jesus loves sinners? He died for us, while we were still sinners!
If you are telling someone who may be an unbeliever the positive effect that having Jesus in your life has made, remember what Jesus said about the possibilities that that person may experience from the conversation. For I will give you words and wisdom that none of your adversaries will be able to resist or contradict. You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers, relatives and friends, and they will put some of you to death. (Luke 21:15-16) The first verse of this statement is very encouraging, but the second verse is not so positive. Legally in the USA yet today, we are protected by the freedom of speech laws, so we do not need to fear speaking out about our relationship with Jesus.
It seems however, that a time is coming, and may already be here, when such protection may be removed from our laws. We have seen many freedoms already being removed, such as displaying religious symbols in public areas during church observed seasons. Certain other rights have been removed, such as, prayer in schools, and offering courses of study based on the Bible in public schools. Even some Christian organizations no longer teach classes based on the Bible, or by using the Bible as a text book for the basis of the class.
Many struggle with believing that God is really the creator of all things, and this causes many to question the rest of the Bible. This is especially true of the children, even those who are attending Christian run schools. If you question the reality of how we got here and what our purpose is in God’s eyes, then we will lose faith in the rest of what we have once believed. Do we really try to give God the glory for everything or do we instead talk about and adore Mother Nature? The Bible tells to honor and give glory to God, because He created all things. "You are worthy, our Lord and God, to receive glory and honor and power, for you created all things, and by your will they were created and have their being." (Revelation 4:11)
God not only created all things, but He also upholds them, based on the laws He created through His control. Therefore, there is no such thing as natural law. If you believe this, then you are not expected by Jesus to keep it as a secret. Can you keep a secret? Well that is normally a good trait, but in this case that is not what God commands us to do. Go tell it on a mountain; go tell it everywhere that Jesus Christ is Lord! This may be a bad paraphrase, but you get the idea, don’t you?
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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