You can talk directly to the Lord any time you want to.  He’s always listenin’.”
              –Elmer Kelton  (Badger Boy)

    “Do not be deceived: ‘Bad company corrupts good morals.'”
              –1 Corinthians 15:33 (NASB)
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How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World

Key Verse:  “We know that we are of God, and that the whole world lies in the power of the evil one.”  –1 John 5:19 (NASB)

I want to discuss the idea of doctrine/theology a little more.  We cannot face the evils of this world without a strong theological base.  Our doctrine must be sound; it must be biblical.  Today, people do not relish the thought of theology or the preaching of doctrine.  There are two basic reasons for this:  1) it requires that we think; 2) it makes us responsible.  That is one of the reasons why hymns are rarely sung–they teach doctrine and the knowledge of doctrine makes a person responsible.  In fact, “You cannot speak about Christianity…without being doctrinal.” (Lloyd-Jones)
    To be honest, there is no such thing as an irreligious person.  Even an atheist has a doctrine.  The Christian states, “In the beginning God…” while the atheist says, “In the beginning no God…”  That is a statement of theology.  To refute doctrine is to refuse to believe in the teachings of the New Testament–it is insulting to God.  D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones states, “My sense of obedience to God compels me to discover as far as I can what He means by them [doctrines].”  Remember, and this is absolutely true, “If your doctrine is wrong, your life will be wrong.” (Lloyd-Jones)
    It is important that we first discover truth and understand what the Scriptures have to say.  People clamor, “do” but on what basis, I ask?  If practical theology precedes doctrinal theology then doctrines will be introduced to match practice that do not necessarily line up with God’s Word.
    In saying the above, we must keep in mind that doctrine is not passive.  There is the need to be involved in life with the proper knowledge of the Scripture.  We need to be careful of false doctrines, of heresy, and currently the theology of universalism.
    We are to live life; we are to live the life.  The application of living is always the outcome of doctrine.  For example, which is the river?  The water or the source?  Do we know things about God, or do we know Him?  There should be a personal acquaintance with Him for we are in Him, and He is in us (and this is not pantheism).  Test your experiences for not all experiences are true.  The real test of life is not experiences, though they may have their purpose, but how you live your life!  Keep His commandments!  “Love always manifests itself by doing what the object of its love desires.” (Lloyd-Jones)
    Failure?  It happens, but then turn to 1 John 1:9 and 1 John 2:1-2.  We have an Advocate.  In fact, we could not even begin to approach God without Christ.  Jesus understands our infirmities; He is the propitiation for He is both the high priest and the offering.

         “He is not only the propitiating sacrifice, but the propitiation itself; everything that is necessary to reconcile the sinner with God is in Jesus Christ.  He is prophet, He is priest, He is king.  He is sacrifice; it is His blood that has been shed and presented, and He has purified the heavenly tabernacle; it is all in Him.”
                   –D. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

So when you see the evil around you know that Jesus is there to take care of you for He is your Advocate and He became your propitiation.  We can be well-pleasing in His sight.  Go out and live.

The incidents of his life kept repeating themselves, move for move, fight for fight, scar for scar.”
              –Ernest Haycox  (Sundown Jim)

    “The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace.”
              –Exodus 14:14 (NKJV)
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Troublesome times are all around us.  Terror, riots, shootings and threats.  How can we possibly keep stress and fear out of our lives in today’s world.  David had Saul and his army looking for him wanting to kill him.  When Saul’s spies found where he was hiding he called out to God.  Psalm 54 is a psalm of faith and gratitude.  So often these two attributes go hand in hand:  faithfulness and thankfulness.

         1 – Save me, O God, by Your name, And vindicate me by Your strength.
         2 – Hear my prayer, O God; Give ear to the words of my mouth.
         3 – For strangers have risen up against me, And oppressors have sought after my life; They have not set God before them. Selah
         4 – Behold, God is my helper; The Lord is with those who uphold my life.
         5 – He will repay my enemies for their evil.  Cut them off in Your truth.
         6 – I will freely sacrifice to You; I will praise Your name, O Lord, for it is good.
         7 – For He has delivered me out of all trouble; And my eye has seen its desire upon my enemies. (NKJV)

    Life is not fair.  Get used to it.  When things happen; when people attack us, our response should not be vengeance but a cry for the Lord to help.  God intervened in the situation that David was facing by having the Philistines attack and Saul had to leave his pursuit of David to fight.  There was a time when Saul was seeking David that Abishai slipped into Saul’s encampment taking his spear and water jug.
    Many of our hurts come from other people, from the spitting forth of hurtful words to the actual taking of a life.  Why are people so inconsiderate, so evil.  People can be ruthless and they definitely do not portray the character of God.  Notice that David saw his problem, those who were against him, those who were trying to kill him.  However, look closely and notice that part of his focus is on God.  
    Remember, it is not wrong to be angry; it is wrong to sin.  “Anger is appropriate.  It is God’s built-in defense mechanism to rouse us from getting run over…  David places his anger in the safest place possible–God’s hands.” (George O. Wood)

         “Holy God, we praise your name,
          Lord of all, we bow before you;
          All on earth your scepter claim,
          All in heaven above adore you;
          Infinite your vast domain, everlasting is your reign.”
                 –Ignace Franz

    Do not remove your eyes from your problems, that is not realistic.  We must face the difficulties and obstacles of life.  However, also focus your eyes upon the Lord.  Recognize and believe that God is your helper.  He is the one who sustains us, who keeps us alive, who takes up our fight.  Trust in Him, believe in Him, have faith in Him, and be thankful for what He has done for you and is doing for you.

I’m never safe, but I’m always careful.”
              –David W. Bailey  (Jericho James)

    “For false christs and false prophets will arise, and will provide signs and wonders, in order to mislead, if possible, the elect. But beware; I have told you everything in advance.”
              –Mark 13:22-23(NASB)
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         “Beware of the false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly are ravenous wolves.”
                   –Matthew 7:15(NASB)

         “And He was giving orders to them, saying, ‘Watch out! Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, and the leaven of Herod.'”
                   –Mark 8:15 (NASB)

Note that this is a parenthesis or a side-bar to How to Live in a Pagan, Apostate, and Foolish World.  There are so many things I could say regarding this term, “beware.”  A book could be written.  
    I have been pondering, some, of the killing of the knife-wielding teenage girl who was shot and killed by authorities as she was threatening the lives of two other individuals.  I wonder what the cry would have been if the officer had stood by and let her stab the two others?  People aren’t interested in justice, of that I am certain.  They are only interested in their own self-serving, self-centered means and wants.  Friends–beware.
    I recall the lessons I learned, some from individuals whom I trusted, some from experience about how to behave in the wilderness.  It is vital that one beware of the weather and possible changes.  One should take care of selecting a campsite, of where to place the fire, of preparing and storing food.
    When driving there are yellow warning signs that tell us to “beware.”  Beware, slow down.  Beware, the bridge is out.  Beware, construction ahead.  Beware, falling rock, and on I could go.  All Scripture is profitable to us, but the one above from Mark tells us to beware.  Notice to whom he is referring, the religious leaders of the law, and the governmental leaders of the day.  There is a study in both of these positions, but right now concentrate on your awareness regarding those in these positions.  Beware, if any church official strays from the Word of God and urges you to follow him.  Beware, when government officials move away from the morality of God’s Word and encourage you to “woke up.”
    We should beware of doing things in which the world would say is inconsistent with our faith.  I remember in the military that we were taught to keep our equipment clean and our uniforms spotless and to wear them correctly.  Again many reasons, but one is to properly represent the unit your were attached to.  I remember my cousin and I walking down the streets of Boulder, CO in our dress uniforms back in the early 1970s after burying our Grandpa.  We were certainly aware of those around us.  F.B. Meyer states, “Estimate every action, not only as it is in itself, but as it is likely to be in its influence on others, lest you break down wholesome barriers and place them in scenes of temptation that, however harmless to you, are perilous in the extreme to them.”  Beware of those around you–do the right thing; do your proper duty.
    It is imperative that we beware of scenes and companionships that dull our spiritual life.  This can come from the subtle words of the “wolf” that speak partial truths (lies) from the pulpit, to the fellowship with bad companions.  Beware of where you find yourself; it may not be wholesome, in fact, it may be downright dangerous.  Some places are just bad testimonies, while others are out-and-out dangerous, not only to life, but also to soul.  Maybe you have found yourself in such a place and it nauseates the stomach.  If you continue to dwell in such a place you may find that your soul is being poisoned, therefore, beware of things that can poison the spiritual life.  Stay away from such places, stay away from such people!
    Even watching the news can begin to poison your soul.  When the scenes of depravity, hatred, bitterness, lies, and violence are played over and over a person can become numb, or they can even react to such things with anger, hate, or depression.  Beware!  Beware also of those who bend the truth and those who tell outright lies seeking to promote their agenda.  

         “Beware that your hearts are not easily deceived, and that you do not turn away and serve other gods, and worship them.”
                   –Deuteronomy 11:16(NASB)

Guard the truth, beware that you are not deceived.  The devil is out there with his lies and deceptions–beware as you live in this evil world.

He was the soul of honor in all the ways of his calling.  The very blue of the sky, bending evenly over all men alike, seemed to symbolize his instinct for justice.  Faithfulness and manliness were his chief traits; his standard—to be a ‘square man.’”
              –Emerson Hough

    “May the Lord repay every man for his righteousness and his faithfulness; for the Lord delivered you into my hand today, but I would not stretch out my hand against the Lord’s anointed.”
              –1 Samuel 26:23 (NKJV)
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We had an interesting missionary speaker in church last Sunday.  He and his wife are missionaries to seafarers.  In all my years I have never heard of missionaries to seafarers, but why not?  Everyone needs Jesus.  In the message he referred to the grandmother and mother of Timothy and what they passed down to Timothy, but two words caught my eye–“genuine faith.”

         “When I call to remembrance the genuine faith that is in you, which dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice, and I am persuaded is in you also.”
                   –2 Timothy 1:5 (NKJV)

Some versions translate it “sincere faith.”  The Amplified translates it this way, “sincere and unqualified faith [the surrendering of your entire self to God in Christ with confident trust in His power, wisdom and goodness.”  But what I thought about was that if there was “genuine faith,” there must also be ungenuine, fake, hypocritical faith.  
    In the Old Testament there is not a word for “faith” as it is rendered “faithfulness.”  True faith always results in the person being faithful.  Paul and Silas sang in prison and they would have done so whether they were delivered or not–that is genuine faith, being faithful in dire circumstances.  Daniel was found faithful and went into the pit with the lions.  The Hebrew children were faithful whether or not they were delivered from the fiery furnace.
    Many have tried to define “faith.”  They give definitions of the familiar verse of Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” (NKJV)  The “substance,” hmmmm.  The NASB translates it “the certainty,” while the HCSB, “the reality, the ESV, “the assurance.”

         “Now faith is the assurance (the confirmation, the title deed) of the things [we] hope for, being the proof of things [we] do not see and the conviction of their reality [faith perceiving as real fact what is not revealed to the senses].”
                   –Hebrews 11:1 (Amplified)

    One thing for sure, faith is not wishful thinking or trying to conjure up the Spirit.  Faith is assurance.  I remember many years ago I spoke at a church (notice I used the term “spoke” not “preached for I am not up to that level) and I announced that my topic for the Sunday evening service was faith.  Now that was the time of “hyper-faith” and the “blab-it-grab-it” mentality.  My message was simply this:  get up in the morning, brush your teeth, get ready for work, do all the normal things of life and no matter what happens to you that day–God is in charge.  That is faith.  Needless to say it didn’t go over so well.  Now, don’t get me wrong, there is the “gift of faith” found in 1 Corinthians 12, but I was speaking of regular ordinary faith, the kind where you sing in prison, the kind where you praise in difficulties, the kind you live your life by.
    As God is faithful so are we to be found faithful.  We are to live our lives in faithful service to Him.  We are to obey His commandments as His faithful children.  In the hard times we are to be found faithful.  In the duties of life, the great and small, we are to be found faithful.  We are longing for those words from Jesus, “well done, good and faithful.”  Faith then is living your life knowing that God is there with you.
    Paul saw “genuine faith” in Timothy.  A faith that was passed down from his mother and grandmother.  And since “grandmother” is mentioned I remember the times in which I saw my Grandma’s faith.  I remember her sitting in her rocking chair, her legs paining her so badly, where she would cry out, “Oh, my legs hurt, but my heavenly Father promised me that He would not give me more than I could bear, so I know that I can bear this.”  Faith!  Faithfulness!
    I could give more illustrations, and I’m sure you can add your own.  Be a person of faith, a person of faithfulness where when someone looks at you they see a faithful person unto the Lord.  A person steadfast in the Word–faithful.  A person that when the storms of life come, and even disasters, they are steady, always knowing that the Lord is with them–always living in faith, being faithful!