We are continuing to hammer away
on the meaning of the last verse in the passage of 2 Tim. 3:1-7. This
passage deals with perilous times in the last days. A telling
characteristic of the deceivers and the deceived is that they are “ever
learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.”
In this article we want to focus on how participation helps us come to
the knowledge of the truth.
First, consider the following
three statements together: (1)I hear, I forget. (2)I see, I remember.
(3)I do, I understand! Do you see what is implied? We can listen and
observe and increase our knowledge, but there is something about
experience that takes knowledge to a higher level called
understanding. That is why participation is so critical to our coming
to the knowledge of the truth.
The second idea is that
participation often brings us to an “AHA!
Mom
ent.” This is the moment when we come to understand what someone
else has been trying to tell us. Here is my own personal example: Once
for my birthday my dad gave me a tool like I’d never used before. I
thanked him for it, but honestly didn’t know what I’d do with it.
A few years later I was working on my truck and needed something to
remove a stuck part. After digging through all my tools, that tool
that Dad gave me years before was the one that worked. All of a sudden
I thought, “AHA! That’s what that tool was for!” This is exactly
what participation will do for us. After a while of putting God’s
ideas to work in our lives, we’ll come to the “AHA!
Mom
ent” that these ideas really work! Imagine that.
Observations
About Participation
Abraham’s test was to act:
In Gen 22:10-12 we find the conclusion of the test of Abraham’s fear
of God. God had asked Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac as a burnt
offering. Abraham went so far as to bind Isaac, lay him on the wood on
the altar, and take the knife in his hand to slay his son. Then the
angel of the Lord stopped him. The angel’s words are very revealing,
“now I know that you fear God.”
It was Abraham’s actions – his participation – that truly
revealed his fear and obedience of God.
Israel’s
test of bread:
While wandering between
Egypt
and Canaan, the children of
Israel
complained about the hunger. God said he would give them bread, but
only to gather what they would each eat one day at a time until the
sixth day. Then they would gather twice as much because there would be
no bread given on the seventh day. God said he was rationing bread to
them this way to “prove” them (Ex. 16:4). What a subtle, yet
powerful, test of participation! Imagine hungry people being given
access to an unlimited amount of food, yet being told to only gather
one day’s portion at a time. They had to trust that God would
deliver the bread the next day, just like we all have to do even now
– trust God to deliver each day.
Not all participation involves
action:
I imagine you are getting the idea that participation means we’ve
got to get out and do something. Yes, but that is not all it means.
Sometimes it means not doing something, as in not being
excessively worried. In Phil 4:6 we are told to “Be careful for
nothing…” This does not mean to be without concern, but to be
without excessive worry and anxiety. To actively obey, that is to
participate in, this doctrine we must not do the worrying thing. Yet
how many Christians talk about worry, as if it’s to their credit to
be worried?
Not all action is sanctified
participation:
In Mat. 15:8,9 Jesus tells of those who were actively participating in
worshipping him, but in the wrong way. They were even teaching, but it
was the commandments of men instead of the commandments of God. So
Jesus clearly leaves us an example that we must participate correctly
as his servants to do him, or us, any good.
Sometimes
Participation Means Not Doing
Consider the following examples
which show again that sometimes the stronger participation means not
actively participating in something that is wrong.
We are to withdraw from the
disorderly:
2 Thes. 3:6 gives a hard test to those who would like to please and
fellowship everybody. This verse tells us to “withdraw from every
brother that walks disorderly.” It’s hard enough for most people
to participate in evangelizing and winning souls, but this
participation in withdrawing is even harder. A person would surely
need to be educated and have meditated much before they try to
participate in this requirement.
We are not to company with the
disobedient:
2 Thes. 3:14 again speaks of active participation in
non-participation. This time the command is not to company with one
who did not obey Paul’s epistle. Again, it takes a high level of
participation and truly to have come to the knowledge of the truth to
purposely not be a friend to a misbehaving brother. But we must
realize it’s for his, and our, own good in the long run.
We are to put off bad things in
our own selves:
This one is very personal to each of us. In Col. 3:5-10 we are given
two lists of things in which we are not to participate. The first list
is of “big” obvious sins, like fornication, uncleanness,
covetousness, etc. The second list is more subtle, more private,
containing things like anger, malice, not being completely truthful,
etc. These are things a person might hide in his heart, or at least
think he has them hidden. The harder test of participation here may be
in not doing the bad, private things.
All
Participation Must Be Worthy
Of course, participation does
mainly imply doing something, so we must make sure that what we commit
our time and talents to do is worthy. Let’s see what the scriptures
say.
Our walk must be worthy of God:
1 Thes. 2:11-12 gives Paul’s exhortation, as a father to his
children, to “walk worthy of God.” So while we are pitiful humans and
nothing compared to the wonder of God, yet we can still choose to do
Godly things. In this respect we can participate in worldly things in
a way that will give God the glory, so that our actions are worthy.
Our walk must be worthy of the
Lord:
Study the context of Col. 1:9-10 and you will see that the term Lord
refers to Jesus Christ and not God. So this verse tells us we can and
must walk worthy of the one that came to earth, devoted himself to
teaching, suffered the rejection of those he came to save, then
sacrificed himself on the cross. How can we walk worthy of that? Only
by participating in this life in everything we think and do as with
the mind of Christ (Phil. 2:5). If we sit back and say we can’t,
then we are right. But if we stand up and say with God’s grace I
can, then we will!
Our walk is to be honest even
toward outsiders:
In 1 Thes. 4:11-12 we are exhorted to “walk
honestly toward them that are without.” In everything we do and
say in this world, realize that participation in this life as a
Christian is the ultimate end in itself and not just some sort of lip
service while we pursue the excitement of our hobbies.
We
Must Participate To Learn
Let’s consider the way even
Jesus and Paul learned, and close with an exhortation to ourselves.
Christ learned obedience through
his suffering:
Heb. 5:8 gives a principle that is hard for me to comprehend. This
teaches us that we will have to suffer to learn, also. But we will
only learn if we fully participate in our suffering, both physically
and mentally, to learn our lessons.
Paul learned to be content
through bad experiences:
Paul endured many hardships, but through them all he learned how to be
content (Phil. 4:11-13). Money, health, and family bring periods of
contentment, but sufferings will bring contentment that will go with
us to the grave. What would Paul have learned if he had not
participated in his suffering – if he had avoided them or bitterly
complained while enduring? Nothing worthwhile, and probably would have
only added to the misery of his companions.
We learn through our
tribulations:
If Jesus Christ, the Son of God, had to suffer to learn, and if Paul,
the divinely appointed and inspired apostle, had to suffer to learn,
then how could we think we will come to the knowledge of the truth
without our own suffering? In Rom 5:3-5 Paul predicts human
tribulations, and gives us the proper attitude of participation. We
must participate with the attitude of glorying in our tribulations.
Whining and complaining about our tribulations will not inspire but
make those around us make those around us miserable.
I pray that you will study the
thoughts of this article and embrace them. It is my utmost desire that
each of you will experience an “AHA!
Mom
ent” in coming to the knowledge of the truth and then participate in
spreading the good news so someone you love can have their “AHA!
moment,” too!
Question:
What does it mean when the Bible tells us that God resists the proud
and gives grace to the humble?
ANSWER: The passage
alluded to is found in I Peter 5:5. This verse is a segment of a
larger portion of scripture that must also be considered in order to
effectively understand the great magnitude of the statement and its
import in our Christian life. In I Peter 5:5-7 we read,
“Likewise
you younger people, submit yourselves to your elders. Yes, all of you
be submissive to one another, and be clothed with humility, for God
resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore humble
yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due
time, casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you.” (NKJV)
It is interesting that Peter
includes the statement under consideration with an admonition to
submit to those older as well as to one another, and ultimately to
God. The reason that such occurs is that one who is prideful will not
submit to anyone but self!
The subject of humility is not a
very popular one today. In order to be humble we must esteem others
greater than self. This concept is opposed by pride. Pride is the idea
that it is self that matters and not others. Sin is hostile to God and
always seeks to promote self by removing God and His will and placing
oneself upon the throne. This is what God resists and opposes while
accepting those of humble spirit.
We will begin by pointing out
that this passage shows us that humility is absolutely essential to
living the Christian life. A close examination of the passage reveals
three things that indicate the seriousness of possessing humility.
The first is where the younger
are admonished to submit themselves to the elder. The concept of
submission conveys the meaning to obey or subordinate oneself to
another. This cannot be accomplished without humility. In order to
submit to another, one must be humble toward the one to which they
submit.
The second place humility comes
in is in the command given to all, that we clothe ourselves with
humility. This means that we possess a lowly mind esteeming others
better than ourselves.
The third instance is the plain
command to humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God. We must be
lowly when we deal with the Great God of heaven.
The main point of these three
verses is that humility is the center of the Christian life. It is a
defining characteristic of being a child of God.
Further analysis also shows that
there are several reasons that humility is a necessary trait.
The first is that God is opposed
to the proud. By “the proud” the scripture means one who considers
themselves above others, including God.
We also note that God gives grace
to the humble. Grace is unmerited favor and the statement shows it is
only given to those who understand their place.
The third thing to note is that
when we are humble God will exalt us at the proper time. Those who
seek to exalt self will never be exalted while those who humble
themselves will be exalted!
The fourth reason that humility
plays such an important part of the Christian life is that it is the
key to God’s help. When we are humble in our hearts God allows us to
cast all our care upon Him because He cares for us.
The question that should concern
us is “Are we clothed with humility or are we lifted up with
pride?” Since sin is so deceitful and it is possible to be prideful
and not realize it, we believe it is important to examine ourselves
and see which best describes us. In an article read recently we came
across some defining traits associated with pride. We will adopt these
here in the form of questions that the reader can answer.
Are
you self-satisfied? Prideful people are. When we are driven by a
desire to have our way and when we have it we have great
contentment. Thus we are seeking our own satisfaction. This is an
indicator of pride.
Do
you value self-sufficiency and self-reliance? Both of these sound
like wonderful things. In fact our society esteems both. But for
the child of God we are to only find sufficiency in God. He is the
one upon whom we must rely.
Do
you value instruction from others? Prideful people resent any
instruction about matters. They feel that they do not need advice
or counsel from others and are actually offended when reproved.
Do
you obey or are you insubordinate? Do you find yourself saying
things like “I know that I should… But”? Are there things
you know you need to change but haven’t? If so, then you are
prideful seeking your own will and not God’s.
Do
you like receiving honor and praise? Do you do things for the
accolade of men? This is another sign of pride.
Do
you trust in God or do you think that your situation is to be
handled solely by you? Pride cannot trust God for anything. One of
the great causes of anxiety is pride. We get anxious because we
want to be in control and are not but we do not trust God to
deliver either!
As we can see God truly resists
those of proud spirits and receives those that are humble. This
passage on humility is followed by the exhortation that we “Be
sober, be vigilant, because your adversary the devil walks about like
a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour.”(I Pet. 5:8 NKJV)
It is interesting that after a
discussion on pride and humility that we are warned of the devil’s
activity. Pride is the invitation to the devil to take our hearts.
Satan has from the beginning sought to turn man from God by having us
turn our attention upon ourselves. In short, it is all about me!
Satan has done his work well. But
here in the midst of the darkness is a passage that shines forth as
the sun calling us to turn from self and turn to God. To resist the
prideful spirit that wars against the soul. Let us each humble
ourselves in His sight!
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