Thursday, April 27, 2017

Stiff Necks against the Truth


        The true and living God is not hiding.  Truth is not elusive.  Men claim to want the truth, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and actions speak louder than words.  From Plato to philosophers of the present day men have searched for the truth, especially ultimate truths (like origins and purpose of life).  Through the different philosophies there is one common thread through them all, man is the measure of truth.  Rationalism assumes man's mind is the measure of all.  Empiricism, that man's observation is the measure.  Existentialism claims man's experiences as the measure.  And the current modern mysticism has every man doing what is right in his own eyes and truth is ever subjective.  Through the centuries of Western philosophy men have espoused a certain philosophy, that philosophy has reigned for a time, then pronounced incapable of the answers men seek, and eventually replaced by something different.  Through all the successive waves of philosophies men are drowning in their endeavour because they are swimming in the same ocean, the ocean of the assumption of man's supremacy--that man is the measure of truth--that the answers men seek are found in ourselves.

God reveals to us in His Word, The Bible...

"He [God Almighty] is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he."  (Deuteronomy 32:4)

"This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all." (1John 1:5)

GOD IS LIGHT AND IN HIM IS NO DARKNESS AT ALL.

GOD IS TRUTH.
GOD IS THE MEASURE OF TRUTH
The GOD of the BIBLE is the TRUE GOD.

        If you are to know truth you must know, first, about God, but more, you must know God Himself.  Again, mankind's track record in seeking truth demonstrates that men will take any road except the one that leads to God.  Are you seeking God like a thief seeks a policeman?

        The prophet Jeremiah ( as per the Old Testament portion of the Bible) prophesied to the people of Israel in the city of Jerusalem and surrounding area (Judah) in the 6th Century B.C..  It was the time leading up to, and through, the siege of Jerusalem by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and the subsequent deportation and captivity of the Israelites to Babylon.  God had told the people that Nebuchadnezzar was coming, Jerusalem would be destroyed, including the Temple, and that they would be carried away into captivity for seventy years--very specific.  They refused to turn from their sin and listen to God.  They gathered false prophets to say what everyone wanted to hear.  They fashioned their politics to gloss over the situation and encourage people that all was well.  They tried to shut Jeremiah up.

Finally, God, through Jeremiah, said...

"Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon this city and upon all her towns all the evil that I have pronounced against it, because they have hardened their necks, that they might not hear my words."  (Jeremiah 19:15)

THEY HAVE HARDENED THEIR NECKS,
THAT THEY MIGHT NOT HEAR MY WORDS.

        Men have not changed over time in their opposition to God.  "They hardened their necks"--this is a very graphic depiction of unyielding stubbornness.  We have all done it.  We are mad, stubborn and we turn our heads away with a stiffened neck, which is a physical expression of an inward rebellion and hatred.  A stiff-necked person is a person that is unyielding.

        They set their hearts against God so "that they might not hear" God's words--so that they might not know the truth.  The auxiliary verb "might" means, having power, to be able.  They were able to hear but refused.  Their ears were fine.  Their understanding was fine.  They listened to Jeremiah speak/preach publically.

      The unyielding heart of the lost sinner cannot always be seen by looking on a person's appearance.  Consider...

THE DETERMINED ATHEIST:    Such a person has hardened their neck against the truth of the existence of God.  Read Romans 1:18-32.

THE DETERMINED PAGAN:    Such has heard, but has hardened his heart against the God of righteousness and truth, the Judge of all men.  He serves the gods of his pride, passions, and fears.  See Philippians 3:18-19.

THE DETERMINED MORALIST:    Such has heard and hardened his heart against the righteousness of Christ Jesus, and goes about to establish his own righteousness.  See Romans 10:1-4.

THE DETERMINED RELIGIONIST/POP-CHRISTIAN:    This one has hardened his heart against the absolute authority of the Word of God and the Spirit of God to bring them to true repentance and saving faith in Christ Jesus.  See Acts 7:51; 2Timothy 3:1-7.

        Will you allow me to be a friend to you and warn you?  When you are hardened against God that you must be the god of your life you are destined to destruction in your lie because...

NO LIE IS OF THE TRUTH.
GOD IS REAL.
GOD IS THE RIGHTEOUS JUDGE.
GOD HAS SPOKEN.
GOD HAS REVEALED HIS LOVE FOR YOU.
GOD MUST DO JUSTICE TO ALL REBELS AGAINST HIM.

Dear soul, won't you seek God?!  There is mercy and eternal life in God's Son, Christ Jesus.

    The Lord Jesus Christ proclaimed...

"I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me."
(John 14:6)