The Big Picture

If anyone wants to come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? (Matthew 16:24–26)

Solomon begins his existential treatise with the question: “What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?” (Ecclesiastes 1:3) He answers the question with an answer that may surprise us with its stark, blunt reality:

All things are full of weariness; a man cannot utter it; the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing. What has been is what will be, and what has been done is what will be done, and there is nothing new under the sun. Is there a thing of which it is said, “See, this is new”? It has been already in the ages before us. There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to be among those who come after. . . . I have seen everything that is done under the sun, and behold, all is vanity and a striving after wind (Ecclesiastes 1:8–11, 14).

One of the reasons why I believe the book of Ecclesiastes is the near-perfect place to start a Bible study with someone who may know little-to-nothing about God’s word is that it dares to ask the questions that almost everyone will ask at some moment in their lives. There will be for almost everyone something that happens that serves as a catalyst for the deep, hard questions of life. Maybe the unexpected death of someone who is close them. Maybe a world event that scares them. Something happens, and we — from that moment — begin questioning almost everything.

Again, the book of Ecclesiastes as a whole observes the tragedies and injustices of life and doesn’t pretend not to see them. As a matter of fact, Solomon stares at the injustices:

Moreover, I saw under the sun that in the place of justice, even there was wickedness, and in the place of righteousness, even there was wickedness. I said in my heart, God will judge the righteous and the wicked, for there is a time for every matter and for every work. . . . If you see in a province the oppression of the poor and the violation of justice and righteousness, do not be amazed at the matter, for the high official is watched by a higher, and there are yet higher ones over them (Ecclesiastes 3:16–17; 5:8).

Solomon does not merely wax eloquent about all the things “under the sun” — whether good or bad — that he sees. He comes to a conclusion:

The Teacher searched to find appropriate expressions, and what is written here is right and truthful. Sayings from the wise are like cattle prods and well fastened nails; this masterful collection was given by one shepherd. So learn from them, my son. There is no end to the crafting of many books, and too much study wearies the body. Let the conclusion of all of these thoughts be heard: Fear God and obey his commandments, for this is what it means to be human. For God will judge every deed, along with every secret, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:10–14).

Jesus asked: What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? The word “forfeit” is a word found six times in the New Testament Greek. Three times we find the word used in quoting Jesus as we have here in Matthew 16:26 and the parallel synoptic passages of Mark 8:36; Luke 9:25. The other three times this Greek word is used are all in Paul’s letters: 1 Corinthians 3:15; 2 Corinthians 7:9 and Philippians 3:8 where we find the word translated “suffer loss.” The idea is complete loss, not just a misplacement with the potential to find what we’ve lost. Forfeiture of our soul means complete loss of our souls. What shall a man give in return for his soul?

What do any of us have that we could offer in exchange to God in return for our soul? God’s grace provides everything:

Come, everyone who thirsts, come to the waters; and he who has no money, come, buy and eat! Come, buy wine and milk without money and without price. Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labor for that which does not satisfy? Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good, and delight yourselves in rich food. . . . Seek the Lord while he may be found; call upon him while he is near; let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon (Isaiah 55:1–2, 6–7).

We should stop and think about the big picture; to consider and praise God for His immeasurable grace:

We know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. . . . What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? . . . As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us (Romans 8:28, 31–32, 36–37).

Suffering: A Sign of God's Favor

For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him,
but also to suffer for His sake (Philippians 1:29).

You may want to reread the title because it’s baffling. We don’t really think of suffering as ever being a good or beneficial thing. Suffering is suffering. Suffering is bad. Pain is bad, right? And yet we read from the apostle Paul about his own suffering and, specifically, that he was able to ask and get a direct answer from God:

Because of the surpassing greatness of the revelations, for this reason, to keep me from exalting myself, there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Concerning this I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And He has said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong (2 Corinthians 12:7–10).

The writer of Hebrews makes a similar assessment about suffering:

Consider [Jesus] who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood. And have you forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons? “My son, do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord, nor be weary when reproved by him. For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? (Hebrews 12:3–7, quoting Proverbs 3:11)

I believe we’re generally stuck in our thinking about suffering, like Job’s three friends who essentially believed that when we suffer it’s our fault—that only bad things happen to bad people. Job proves otherwise (Job 1:1, 8), as does Jesus, God’s Son. So, we’re adding to suffering unnecessarily by assigning a different motive than what God has assigned.

In his commentary on Philippians 1:29, Ralph P. Martin writes: “There is no accident in [the Philippians’] suffering, nor is it a mark of divine punishment as though God were angry with them. On the contrary, it is a sign of His favour … Not only does suffering for Christ’s sake fulfil the purpose of God for His people in the world, it comes as a gift of His grace” (p. 89). Let’s briefly consider a few passages:

When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:21–22).

We sent Timothy, our brother and God’s coworker in the gospel of Christ, to establish and exhort you in your faith, that no one be moved by these afflictions. For you yourselves know that we are destined for this. For when we were with you, we kept telling you beforehand that we were to suffer affliction, just as it has come to pass, and just as you know. For this reason, when I could bear it no longer, I sent to learn about your faith, for fear that somehow the tempter had tempted you and our labor would be in vain (1 Thessalonians 3:2–5).

Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12).

See again that Paul tells us that desiring to live godly is going to elicit persecution! As a Christian living in twenty-first century America, I struggle with these biblical revelations about suffering and glory. I’d simply rather not suffer. There’s the popular sentiment expressed by people who like exercising: “No pain, no gain.” I much prefer the sentiment expressed by people who don’t like exercising: “No pain, no pain.”

By the direction of the Holy Spirit, the apostle Paul reminds us that:

The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us (Romans 8:16–18).

Growing in Christ is going to necessitate pain in suffering. Again, the word God has given us makes it very clear that there is no glory without suffering. And suffering isn’t punishment from God, but as we read from Philippians 1:29, “For to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.”

Asking the Wrong Questions

Then the disciples came, and said to him, “Do you know that the Pharisees were offended, when they heard this saying?” But he answered, “Every plant which my heavenly Father didn’t plant will be uprooted. Leave them alone. They are blind guides of the blind. If the blind guide the blind, both will fall into a pit.”

(Matthew 15:12–14)

When it comes to the most important things in life—spiritual things (2 Corinthians 4:18)—too many ask the wrong questions. Rather than asking what makes a certain practice right (i.e., pleasing to God, see Ephesians 5:10), most are going to ask: “What’s wrong with doing _____?” It’s as if that—since they’re the ones doing the questionable things and being asked to show from the Bible where they’re getting their authority for doing those questionable things—they can’t be really questioned. Paul said, “Test all things, and hold firmly that which is good” (1 Thessalonians 5:21). 

Essentially, their motives are wrong, and so they ask the wrong questions. And the reason why their motives are wrong is because their heart is wrong—seeking to establish their own righteousness, they are unwilling to submit to God’s (Romans 10:3). For example:

Behold, a certain lawyer stood up and tested him, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the law? How do you read it?” He answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.” He said to him, “You have answered correctly. Do this, and you will live.” But he, desiring to justify himself, asked Jesus, “Who is my neighbor?” (Luke 10:25–29).

The truth has nothing to hide and if we’re sincerely wanting to please God now—glorifying Him, and seeking the eternal reward of being in His presence forever—then we must boldly ask of ourselves and others about the Scriptural reasons why we do what we do, and the way we do it: because it matters to God what and how we do His commands (1 John 5:2–3). Jesus said, “But the hour comes, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such to be his worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:23–24).

Currently there are many religiously-minded people who are doing things the way they want to do them without biblical foundations. They didn’t read from God’s word what they are practicing. Some have basically defended themselves—what they’re doing and how they’re doing it—by saying that they can’t be wrong because they’re the ones doing these things from sincere hearts. “These have indeed an appearance of wisdom in promoting self-made religion” (Colossians 2:23). I am reminded of Uzzah and the ark of God (1 Chronicles 13:5–14). Uzzah was sincerely wrong.

Now Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, each took his censer and put fire in it and laid incense on it and offered unauthorized fire before the Lord, which he had not commanded them. And fire came out from before the Lord and consumed them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said to Aaron, “This is what the Lord has said: ‘Among those who are near me I will be sanctified, and before all the people I will be glorified.’” And Aaron held his peace (Leviticus 10:1–3).

“Unauthorized fire … which he had not commanded them.” If we are open to God’s word—reading and understanding it—then we are going to find out first what it is that He wants before offering what we think or hope is pleasing (Matthew 6:33; Proverbs 2:1–10).

Again, too many are asking the wrong questions, concerned about the wrong things, and ignoring the source of the problem, which is a heart set on their own gain (Ezekiel 33:31). “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:21–22).

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us (1 John 3:18–24).

If we want to please God as true worshipers, then we must first go to His word to find what it is that He wants us to be, think, and do. “All these things my hand has made, and so all these things came to be, declares the Lord. But this is the one to whom I will look: he who is humble and contrite in spirit and trembles at my word” (Isaiah 66:2).

The Benefit and Service of Showing Up

I was glad when they said to me, 

“Let us go to the house of the Lord!” 

—David, Psalm 122:1—

Sunday! For a lot of people reading that word, they already knew they were going to be here today—it’s their developed habit, their pattern for living, their joy, and nothing short of illness or natural disaster is going to hold them back from being here with their spiritual family. Yes, there are a few who are reading these words who know they won’t be coming to worship on Sunday—there are clearly valid reasons for them to not attend worship on a given week, and we compassionately understand that God’s love for us does not waver when we’re sick or on maybe on the road or otherwise unable.

The truth is that there are a host of those who are between these two categories. They are the ones who plan to worship on Sunday, but they won’t actually gather together with others to do it. Here’s the thing: they have every intention of going. As the weekend begins, they have every intention of showing up for worship, to be encouraged and to be an encouragement. By Saturday evening they still intend to go. If we call them up, they’ll say, with all honestly, that they’re planning to be there, of seeing us come Sunday morning.

But one of the big problems is that they won’t have done much to prepare for it—to make the time to stop from their distracting activities, to remind the family to make sure they’ve got something to wear, to get to bed at a reasonable hour, to set an alarm. By the time Sunday morning rolls around and study or worship begins, they will be nowhere to be seen.

It’s these to whom we want to speak the truth in love—the many who genuinely intend to get to worship every week, but who consistently fail to show.

Some might call it a “ministry of presence”—of simply gathering with  others of like precious faith in worship to our heavenly Father on Sunday (2 Peter 1:1). This may seem like such a little thing, an almost inconsequential thing, but it matters immensely and affects us eternally. It matters that much! It’s genuinely a service, a ministry (Ephesians 4:12–16) as every part does its share. It’s a clear way of Christians serving one another in love (Galatians 5:13; Hebrews 10:24–25).

When we come together, it shouldn’t be a mere exercise of doing things that carry no actual meaning—a mere going through the motions. Our fellowship together is because of the direct connection we have with our heavenly Father: “But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin” (1 John 1:7; also read 4:7–8).

Are we committed to serving God and one another? It shows by whether or not we show up. It’s easy enough to intend to do this, but it takes loving effort and diligence in doing it. Remember what Jesus said about the wise and fool?

“Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you? Everyone who comes to me and hears my words and does them, I will show you what he is like: he is like a man building a house, who dug deep and laid the foundation on the rock. And when a flood arose, the stream broke against that house and could not shake it, because it had been well built. But the one who hears and does not do them is like a man who built a house on the ground without a foundation. When the stream broke against it, immediately it fell, and the ruin of that house was great” (Luke 6:46–49).

How else do we fulfill “one another” commands unless we’re together? (Hebrews 10:24–25; 1 Thessalonians 5:11) Every congregation (including ours) needs more commitment from those who see their presence as a wonderful contribution and a superior benefit to themselves and their spiritual family. It’s not about having to, but wanting to be here and be a part.

What Do We Lack?

And Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” Disheartened by the saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Mark 10:21–22)

The story of the rich young ruler astounds me nearly every time that I hear it or read it because this man doesn’t seem far off from the mindset of God. Quite honestly, in my own estimation of things, this man is better than me because I’m confident the Lord would say I lack more than “one thing.”

One thing.

This man had been keeping the commands of God from his youth (Mark 10:20). And Jesus does not argue with him, doesn’t hastily correct him, on this. Jesus doesn’t say, “That’s what you think!”

His going away grieving is amazing, too, isn’t it? He’s been told that he lacks one thing, but he goes away grieving. This “one thing” was big. Obviously it was big enough to keep him from following Jesus. He went away … 

If we examine ourselves as we should (2 Cor 13:5), what would we come away with? Maybe we fear self-examination, and so we don’t do it — we hope to ignore our sins long enough that they will go away on their own, or maybe even improve without us having to deal with them at all.

Or maybe we succeed in being dishonest with ourselves, and our self-examination never leads to correction. We believe we’re all right as we are, that there’s no room for improvement. This is delusional (James 1:22, 26;  1 Cor 3:18; 6:9;  Gal 6:3, 7;  2 Tim 3:12–13;  1 John 1:8).

In Greek mythology we meet a man who seems invincible. His name is Achilles. The myth is that he was dipped into the river Styx by his mother. He was immersed, except for where she was holding him: his heel. And so today, we talk about a weakness as someone’s Achilles heel.

Everyone doesn’t suffer from the same weaknesses. Some struggle with alcoholism, while others don’t ever find themselves tempted to take one drink. Some are consumed by sex, money or power. Paul urged the Corinthians, “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Cor 10:12).

“Pride goes before destruction, and a haughty spirit before a fall” (Proverbs 16:18). As an illustration of this, we will consider Matthew 26:30–35:

And when they had sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Then Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away because of me this night. For it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ But after I am raised up, I will go before you to Galilee.” Peter answered him, “Though they all fall away because of you, I will never fall away.” Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows, you will deny me three times.” Peter said to him, “Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you!” And all the disciples said the same.

We remember how tragically this ended for Peter. Thankfully, he was not consumed by self-destruction, nor his desire to repent and make things right with the Lord (see John 21:15–19). I’d suggest that in this story we find Peter’s “Achilles heel” to be over-confidence (pride) in himself.
The point of all this is for us to honestly examine ourselves in light of God’s will. If we lack knowledge of his word, then we need to step up on that immediately and prayerfully (2 Tim 2:15; 3:14—4:5;  James 1:5–8;  2 Pet 1:5–11).

It’s not just that “we know better,” but that we “do better.” James urges us to be doers of the word (James 1:22). But it’s not just about being busy, but being active in a growing faith for the edification of ourselves and our spiritual family (Eph 4:11–16;  Heb 10:24–25).

We need also to remind ourselves that we cannot serve God and mammon (Matt 6:24; also see James 4:4). Mammon could very well be wealth or money, as more recent English translations have it. But some have suggested the word mammon means anything that could serve as an idol and replace God. God wants us to serve him completely (Matt 22:34–40;  Rom 8:5–11;  Col 3:1–11).

What do we lack? Are we willing to see the spiritual obstacles for what they are, or will we continue to ignore them? Judgment is coming for us all (Heb 9:27). We can be ready on God’s terms by knowing his will, and doing it (Php 2:12–13).

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Cor 5:10).

Being Wrong Isn't the Worst Thing

For there is no distinction: for all have sinned and fall short of 

the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, 

through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 

(Romans 3:22–24)

The first word of the gospel, as the apostle Peter proclaimed it on the Day of Pentecost two millennia ago, is repent. This single word distills the gospel message into one word:

“Let all the house of Israel therefore know for certain that God has made him both Lord and Christ, this Jesus whom you crucified.” Now when they heard this they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?” And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2:36–38).

Being wrong is not the worst thing, but willfully remaining wrong is. “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries (Hebrews 10:24–27).

There’s much involved with repentance: “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death. For see what earnestness this godly grief has produced in you, but also what eagerness to clear yourselves, what indignation, what fear, what longing, what zeal, what punishment! At every point you have proved yourselves innocent in the matter” (2 Corinthians 7:9–11).

Repentance is what the first century world needed, and it’s what the twenty-first century world needs. “The times of ignorance God overlooked, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent, because he has fixed a day on which he will judge the world in righteousness by a man whom he has appointed; and of this he has given assurance to all by raising him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31).

Ignorance cannot be a proper defense against God’s perfect judgment. Paul said: “In past generations he allowed all the nations to walk in their own ways. Yet he did not leave himself without witness, for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness” (Acts 14:16–17). To the Christians in Rome, Paul wrote: “For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse” (Romans 1:18–20).

Ignorance is removed with knowledge. But it’s not merely knowing God’s will that changes us (cf. 1 Corinthians 8:1) — because if we don’t use the knowledge, it’s useless to us. “Like a lame man’s legs, which hang useless, is a proverb in the mouth of fools. … Like a dog that returns to his vomit is a fool who repeats his folly” (Proverbs 26:7, 11). The Lord of glory spoke of two different kinds of people: those who hear and do, and those who hear but refuse to change (Luke 6:46–49). James reminds us all: “Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls. But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves” (James 1:21–22).

We could summarize the point by contrasting King Saul and King David, likewise the apostles Judas and Peter. Saul and Judas did not repent (again, consider 2 Corinthians 7:10–11). But David and Peter were of the sort who, when they were confronted with their sin, admitted it and sought God’s forgiveness immediately. The point is not that David and Peter were perfect keepers of God’s laws, but again, they repented.

Jesus said, “unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” (Luke 13:1–5; see Matthew 4:17; 11:20–24; Luke 15:7, 10). Oh, that we would have a heart like David and like Peter. We’re all sinners (Romans 3:23; Galatians 3:22). The problem is when we’re content to stay in our sin (cf. 2 Peter 2:20–22; 1 Corinthians 6:9–11).

The Word of God Is Living

For the word of God is living and active, 

sharper than any two-edged sword, 

piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, 

of joints and of marrow, and discerning 

the thoughts and intentions of the heart.

—Hebrews 4:12—

Most of us have probably heard and read Hebrews 4:12 many, many times. We often look to words that are written down in some old book as definitely not living and active, let alone sharper than any two-edged sword. Their ancient words written in languages that are no longer changing because they’re no longer being used. But these words—claiming to be from the One who created us all—are life! To neglect (or make light of) these words adversely affects us now, but especially in our eternal lives.

“Give diligence to present yourself approved by God, a workman who doesn’t need to be ashamed, properly handling the Word of Truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). Are we giving diligence to the study and meditation of God’s word? Are we occasional and haphazard in our studies, or diligent and focused? Is our “diligence” only when we come together with other Christians, or are we—on our own—reading God’s word and thinking about how these words of life apply to us and daily lives?

Even Satan knows the inherent power of God’s word for saving souls—as the Lord explained the parable of the sower who sowed seed everywhere, we read: “Now the parable is this: The seed is the word of God. The ones along the path are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their hearts, so that they may not believe and be saved” (Luke 8:11–12).

One of the things the word of God provides us is a look into the past to help navigate life now. We’ve all heard variations of the following statement: “Those who don’t remember history are doomed to repeat it.” God’s word gives us an interactive series of history lessons teaching us about how our God dealt with sin: “Some men’s sins are evident, preceding them to judgment, and some also follow later. In the same way also there are good works that are obvious, and those that are otherwise can’t be hidden” (1 Timothy 5:24–25).

Now I would not have you ignorant, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; and were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea; and all ate the same spiritual food; and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of a spiritual rock that followed them, and the rock was Christ. However with most of them, God was not well pleased, for they were overthrown in the wilderness. Now these things were our examples . . . Now all these things happened to them by way of example, and they were written for our admonition, on whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands be careful that he doesn’t fall (1 Corinthians 10:1–6, 11–12).

“For whatever things were written before were written for our learning, that through perseverance and through encouragement of the Scriptures we might have hope” (Romans 15:4).

Are we willing to learn God’s lessons? How can we actually believe (because what we truly believe shows in how we’re living) that ignorance of God’s words and ways is, at all, beneficial? So then why do we maintain ignorance? Why are we not putting the time and effort into our knowledge of God’s mind as revealed to mankind through his holy apostles and prophets? (read 2 Peter 1:16–21; 3:14–18).

“This I pray, that your love may abound yet more and more in knowledge and all discernment; so that you may approve the things that are excellent; that you may be sincere and without offense to the day of Christ; being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God” (Philippians 1:9–11).

For the Father judges no one, but has given all judgment to the Son, that all may honor the Son, just as they honor the Father. Whoever does not honor the Son does not honor the Father who sent him. Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life. . . . If anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him; for I did not come to judge the world but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge; the word that I have spoken will judge him on the last day (John 5:22–24; 12:47–48).

Get into the word of God, and allow it to get into you! It’s living and active . . . discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.