- Aug 10, 2006
- 14,965
- 3,831
- 74
- Country
- United States
- Faith
- Christian
- Marital Status
- Married
1 John 4:1-6 ESV
Random Thoughts?
Sometimes what seems like random things just come into my mind seemingly out of nowhere. Yesterday was one of those days, and what was coming to mind was the alma maters (anthems) from the two Junior High Schools I attended, and the one from my high school, back in the 1960s. But the only one I was remembering the lyrics for was the one from 7th grade from 1962/63. And I am not going to quote the lyrics, but I am going to mention some of the words and phrases, for it fits with this passage.
I will begin by saying that sometimes what I think are just random thoughts are actually prompted by the Lord for a reason because he is going to use them as an illustration to go along with a bible lesson, and I believe this is the case with this particular song. For this passage of Scripture is about testing the spirits, and as I read back over the lyrics to this alma mater I could see that it was filled with messages of idolatry. For the song was literally a song of praise and worship to the school, I believe.
The song began with an “all hail” to the school, followed by “we sing your praises,” and a wish for the qualities and character traits of that institution to ever be shining on our face. And then there was a prayer to God that we would be loyal to the school and that we would share in its wisdom and pride, that this is how we should live. And then there was the message that God was giving some sort of respect and honor to the school, as well, from best as I can recall and understand what the lyrics are saying.
And that brings to mind our national pledge of allegiance here in America to our nation and its government, and with a similar idolatrous message:
For a pledge is a vow or a promise or an oath, and allegiance is loyalty, devotion, fidelity, and obedience. Are we to obey our governing authorities? Yes, but with biblical exceptions and limitations and as a matter of law and not of undying loyalty and devotion. For words such as “faithfulness, devotion, allegiance, trustworthiness, fidelity, and steadfastness” are words which are to describe our relationship to God, not to man. No man and no human institution should get that kind of worship, for that is what that is.
And then, in both the alma mater from my Junior High School and the pledge of allegiance to my nation, there is the message that somehow God puts his stamp of approval on this kind of idolatry, and not just approval, but as though God honors these human institutions which are promoting idolatrous worship of themselves. And in the pledge it suggests that we are one nation under the one true God, as though our nation is a godly nation serving the one true God, and we can see that is not true.
In Context
But before I move forward with this, I want to say that we must also be careful in how we interpret the Scriptures, that we read them in their immediate context, such as the whole of the book in which they are written, and then in the context of the teachings of the New Covenant, as a whole. For Scripture passages pulled out of context can be made to say what they don’t say. And I think we talked about this a little bit within the last week, too.
For it is not verbal confessions of Jesus as having come from God alone which determine whether or not the speaker is of God or not. And this is evident when we read the Scriptures warning us about false teachers and prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing but who inwardly are ravenous wolves. So, not only will nations claim to be of God when they are not of God, but people will profess with their lips their beliefs in Jesus but not be of true faith in Christ at all.
For remember that Satan’s servants will disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. And so many of them are going to confess with their lips their belief in Jesus so that Christians will listen to them and so that they have the opportunity to insert lies into the truth in order to deceive people. And the antichrists are those who deny Jesus by how they live while many of them profess him with their lips in order to gain the trust of the people so that they can lie to them and so the people will believe their lies.
So, we can’t just go by what someone professes with their lips in the way of confessions of faith in Jesus, but what we go by is if their lifestyles match their profession. For like this says, they are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. So, we watch how they live, in practice, and we listen to what they teach, in doctrine, and we examine their practices and their teachings against the Scriptures to see if they agree with the Scriptures.
Testing the Spirits
So, going back to the alma mater and the pledge of allegiance, we need to be discerning people there, too, and we must be careful that we don’t just go along with someone or some institution because that is what we were taught as children, or because that person or that institution is in a position of rule and authority over us. We must be people who test what we hear against the Scriptures, particularly those under the New Covenant, and in context, to see if what we are being taught agrees with God’s Word.
So, above all else our loyalty and devotion and fidelity must be to God and to God alone. So, if anyone is trying to lead us to give our worship and undying and unquestioning devotion to anyone else, we must stand back and look at what the Scriptures teach, particularly on this subject of idolatry and of putting our trust in human beings. For no human being and no human institution should get our praise and worship and loyalty and devotion like we are to give to God alone.
And where we are taught to obey human authorities we obey unless what they are asking us to do contradicts God’s will for our lives, or when it becomes idolatrous, or when they command that we disobey God. For we are living in a world now where the beast is rising, I believe, and where we are going to be pressured more and more to compromise faith and convictions in order to comply with what is not of God. And so we need to be people who test everything and everyone, but against the truth of the Scriptures in their context, so that we are not led astray.
Testing the Spirits: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]
No Less
An Original Work / March 19, 2012
I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.
I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.
Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already. Little children, you are from God and have overcome them, for he who is in you is greater than he who is in the world. They are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error.
Random Thoughts?
Sometimes what seems like random things just come into my mind seemingly out of nowhere. Yesterday was one of those days, and what was coming to mind was the alma maters (anthems) from the two Junior High Schools I attended, and the one from my high school, back in the 1960s. But the only one I was remembering the lyrics for was the one from 7th grade from 1962/63. And I am not going to quote the lyrics, but I am going to mention some of the words and phrases, for it fits with this passage.
I will begin by saying that sometimes what I think are just random thoughts are actually prompted by the Lord for a reason because he is going to use them as an illustration to go along with a bible lesson, and I believe this is the case with this particular song. For this passage of Scripture is about testing the spirits, and as I read back over the lyrics to this alma mater I could see that it was filled with messages of idolatry. For the song was literally a song of praise and worship to the school, I believe.
The song began with an “all hail” to the school, followed by “we sing your praises,” and a wish for the qualities and character traits of that institution to ever be shining on our face. And then there was a prayer to God that we would be loyal to the school and that we would share in its wisdom and pride, that this is how we should live. And then there was the message that God was giving some sort of respect and honor to the school, as well, from best as I can recall and understand what the lyrics are saying.
And that brings to mind our national pledge of allegiance here in America to our nation and its government, and with a similar idolatrous message:
"I pledge allegiance to the Flag of the United States of America, and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.”
For a pledge is a vow or a promise or an oath, and allegiance is loyalty, devotion, fidelity, and obedience. Are we to obey our governing authorities? Yes, but with biblical exceptions and limitations and as a matter of law and not of undying loyalty and devotion. For words such as “faithfulness, devotion, allegiance, trustworthiness, fidelity, and steadfastness” are words which are to describe our relationship to God, not to man. No man and no human institution should get that kind of worship, for that is what that is.
And then, in both the alma mater from my Junior High School and the pledge of allegiance to my nation, there is the message that somehow God puts his stamp of approval on this kind of idolatry, and not just approval, but as though God honors these human institutions which are promoting idolatrous worship of themselves. And in the pledge it suggests that we are one nation under the one true God, as though our nation is a godly nation serving the one true God, and we can see that is not true.
In Context
But before I move forward with this, I want to say that we must also be careful in how we interpret the Scriptures, that we read them in their immediate context, such as the whole of the book in which they are written, and then in the context of the teachings of the New Covenant, as a whole. For Scripture passages pulled out of context can be made to say what they don’t say. And I think we talked about this a little bit within the last week, too.
For it is not verbal confessions of Jesus as having come from God alone which determine whether or not the speaker is of God or not. And this is evident when we read the Scriptures warning us about false teachers and prophets who come to us in sheep’s clothing but who inwardly are ravenous wolves. So, not only will nations claim to be of God when they are not of God, but people will profess with their lips their beliefs in Jesus but not be of true faith in Christ at all.
For remember that Satan’s servants will disguise themselves as servants of righteousness. And so many of them are going to confess with their lips their belief in Jesus so that Christians will listen to them and so that they have the opportunity to insert lies into the truth in order to deceive people. And the antichrists are those who deny Jesus by how they live while many of them profess him with their lips in order to gain the trust of the people so that they can lie to them and so the people will believe their lies.
So, we can’t just go by what someone professes with their lips in the way of confessions of faith in Jesus, but what we go by is if their lifestyles match their profession. For like this says, they are from the world; therefore they speak from the world, and the world listens to them. So, we watch how they live, in practice, and we listen to what they teach, in doctrine, and we examine their practices and their teachings against the Scriptures to see if they agree with the Scriptures.
Testing the Spirits
So, going back to the alma mater and the pledge of allegiance, we need to be discerning people there, too, and we must be careful that we don’t just go along with someone or some institution because that is what we were taught as children, or because that person or that institution is in a position of rule and authority over us. We must be people who test what we hear against the Scriptures, particularly those under the New Covenant, and in context, to see if what we are being taught agrees with God’s Word.
So, above all else our loyalty and devotion and fidelity must be to God and to God alone. So, if anyone is trying to lead us to give our worship and undying and unquestioning devotion to anyone else, we must stand back and look at what the Scriptures teach, particularly on this subject of idolatry and of putting our trust in human beings. For no human being and no human institution should get our praise and worship and loyalty and devotion like we are to give to God alone.
And where we are taught to obey human authorities we obey unless what they are asking us to do contradicts God’s will for our lives, or when it becomes idolatrous, or when they command that we disobey God. For we are living in a world now where the beast is rising, I believe, and where we are going to be pressured more and more to compromise faith and convictions in order to comply with what is not of God. And so we need to be people who test everything and everyone, but against the truth of the Scriptures in their context, so that we are not led astray.
Testing the Spirits: [Matthew 7:15-23; Matthew 24:11-14; John 10:1-15; 2 Corinthians 11:13-15; Philippians 3:2; 2 Peter 2:1-22; 1 Timothy 1:3-7; 1 Timothy 6:3-10; 2 Timothy 3:1-9; 1 John 4:1-6; Jude 1:1-25]
No Less
An Original Work / March 19, 2012
I can do no less than praise You,
Lord, for all You’ve done for me.
You died for my sins to save me,
So I would be set free.
I adore You! Lord, I praise You!
Jesus, Savior, King of kings!
You provided my redemption.
Your grace has pardoned me.
I can do no less than serve You.
Lord, Your witness I would be,
Telling others of Your love,
And why You died on that tree.
Tell of how You gave of Your life,
So from sin we’d be set free,
So we could worship You forever,
And live eternally.
I can do no less than love You,
Lord, for You have first loved me.
You gave of Your life so willing,
Because You cared for me.
Turn from my sin! Obey freely!
Live for You each passing day.
Read Your word, and follow Your lead,
Lord, as I humbly pray.
