A Life Of Praise

I sometimes ask myself if true praise should not be expressed more sincerely and frequently in our daily lives. In our cynical, cold, crass and critical word, could it be that we have lost the true art of praise and worship? So many times it seems so difficult for the people of God to come together and worship and praise Him just for worship's sake. For that matter, it seems nearly impossible to persuade His people not to forsake the assembling of themselves together in these last days.

Oh yes. We too can still mouth the proper words, but some attempts at true worship and praise seem to be increasingly elusive, empty and void. Other attempts seem to have become more crass entertainment than reverent and respectful worship. Could it be because we have forgotten our real purpose in life? The very essence and rationale for our continued existence? Have we forgotten and abandoned the principle voiced by the prophet Isaiah when he said, "Even everyone that is called by My name: for I have created him for My glory.” Have we forgotten that we are created for the praise and glory of God day by day? Some of our ancestors said it like this, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."

If this is the case, then the Christian's life should be one long never ending song of praise to God. Whatever he does or wherever he goes and in whatever circumstance he finds himself, he is to praise God with his life and being. Just what part of our life should be praise? A small part? A significant part? A large part? No! Praise is to be our life. In the praise life, there is no room for carping, complaining or criticism. Any expressed dissatisfaction with the life God has given us is an indictment of God's provision for us. In whatever state we are in we are to be content. In everything we are to give thanks for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning us. An unknown author grandly caught the attitude and philosophy of the life of praise with the following versem:

The Divine Weaver

My life is but a weaving, Between my Lord and me;

I cannot choose the colors, He worketh steadily.

Oft times He weaveth sorrow, And I in foolish pride,

Forget that He seeth the upper, and I the under side.

Not till the loom is silent. And the shuttles cease to fly,

Shall God unroll the canvass, And explain the reason why.

The dark threads are as needful, In the Weaver's skilful hand,

As the threads of gold and silver, In the pattern He has planned.

- Author Unknown

Why Preach The Gospel?

Why preach the gospel? For those in the fellowship of the saints in a Bible-believing and Bible-preaching church, this question might seem overly simplistic or simply redundant. But even in Paul's day there were those who had already strayed from the basic task given to His churches of preaching the gospel. Paul wrote to the church at Galatia about this problem.

Our world is daily bombarded with a variety of gospels. Some preach a social gospel. A gospel that is focused upon the social ills of our culture. This gospel is based upon the false concept that life in the here and now is what really matters. After all, they contend, those who believe in hell, judgment and life beyond the grave, are just wistful dreamers looking for the panacea of pie in the sky by and by.

Others preach a revolutionary gospel. A gospel that advocates violent change at the end of a gun barrel. This is an egalitarian gospel. Strangely equating real happiness with the concept of everyone possessing an equal amount of material goods, no matter how little each might have. During the cold war era much of the budget of ungodly ecumenical groups was expended in support of revolutionary movements in Central and South America, Africa and Asia. Movements dedicated to the violent overthrow of governments to achieve change. The fall of the Berlin wall made it obvious that this gospel just doesn't work. Those who might be puzzled by the position of the present pope on social issues, need look no further than his nurturing in the revolutionary gospel prevalent in Latin America in his earlier days.

Some preach a gospel of humanism. This gospel begins with the false premise that man is innately good. That he has within him a tiny spark of divinity. A bit of judicious fanning will bring out the divine. The spark will then flame into a roaring collective fire that will ultimately bring about a materialistic utopia on the earth. It doesn't take an academic or scholar to observe the practical failure of such a theory in our world today.

There are those who are more Biblically based who preach a good works gospel. A gospel of working one's way to heaven through the keeping of God's laws, observing rituals and liturgies and ultimately establishing their self-righteousness . Some of the most popular preaching today is focused upon yet another gospel. One might term this the feel good gospel. This gospel presents the basic proposition involved in the power of the positive. This gospel emphasizes the value of an individual. It proposes that if people can be given a positive self-image, then all will be well with them and the world. It ignores many of God's eternal moral absolutes such as, sin, repentance and all negatives. The power of this gospel is in positive thinking and positive preaching.

Why is the true gospel of real repentance and absolute faith not often preached in the power and boldness of God today? Perhaps there is fear of scorn and ridicule or loss of popularity. Such neglect only emphasizes the urgency we should attach to the preaching of the true gospel.

God Or Caesar

In the battle between our Judeo-Christian culture and secular humanism the lines of battle are clearly drawn and the issues of freedom are crystal clear. But it does not seem many Christians are aware of the ramifications of this ongoing struggle.   Just what are the Biblical parameters that should govern and guide godly Christian behavior in our contemporary culture? Just how do we apply general Biblical principles and particular precedents to the specifics of our daily dilemmas? Just where do we draw that fine line of distinction between obeying God and/or Caesar? Has the distinction between legitimate laws, legislative tyranny and bureaucratic authoritarianism been so blurred and obscured that good and brave men hesitate, vacillate, and sincerely mistake compromising collusion for commendable cooperation and craven cringing for cautious courage?

What does the example of such great men as Daniel, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego say to us in our circumstance  today? Is their unwavering obedience to a prior claim of the law of God and their subsequent refusal to obey the law of their land to be equated at all to the prior claim of the law of God today that we rear and educate our children in the way of God and protect them in the battle for their minds from the evils of secular humanists? Does our commission and imperative to promulgate God's Word, especially in our families and Churches, encompass the concept that our children belong to us rather than the state?   To God rather than to Caesar?   There are those in places of power today who seem to sincerely believe that Caesar has the prior claim!

Can we justify refusal to obey unjust and tyrannical laws and unjust bureaucratic degrees, standing on the same ground Peter and John occupied when they defied authority and cried, "It`is better to obey God than man," when they were denied the right and freedom to proclaim and teach the. Word of God?  Or does the mere fact that a law has been duly passed by a Parliament or promulgated by a bureaucrat make it sacred and sacrosanct and deny Christians the right of legal and orderly challenge lest they be accused of refusal to submit to ordained authority? In the dichotomy of God versus Caesar today, how do we render unto both their lawful and scriptural due?

Although specific answers would be as difficult and varied as the circumstances demanding  a response, it is obvious that the concerned and committed Christian citizen must re-examine his orientation and motives and do his utmost to ensure he responds as his fathers in the faith have responded throughout the ages.   Christian citizens must not be intimidated by governmental authority or authorities.

Surely even in our politically correct, post-modern culture  today there are certain things over which the state is not absolutely sovereign. There must be certain circumstances that not only justify, but demand,  a Christian citizen's resistance of tyrannical laws and regulations. There must be a time when we must rise up and cry out, "Enough!" This much we know, Caesar is not sovereign over God, His Church, His Gospel, or the spiritual life and ministry of His people. Caesar is not sovereign over the Christian's family or Christian parents as they seek to rear their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.