1 Peter 3:13
13 And [kai] who [tis] is he that will harm [kakoo]
you [humas], if [ean] ye be [ginomai] followers [mimetes] of that which is good [agathos]? KJV-Interlinear
13 And who is there to harm you
if you prove zealous for what is good? NASB
Peter has previously quoted
Psalm 34, and then continues with a question.
If you pursue the details of the psalm, then who can stop you, who can
bring harm to you?And the inference
here is simply this, What harm can you suffer if you comply with the
requirements of Psalm 34?What is the
real cost to you?
And the quick answer
is, None. There is no real cost to
anyone, no cost of any kind, whatsoever, to those who pursue and comply with
Gods mandates.There is only gain.
But when people read or
hear these requirements, then they become defensive. They wish to think about it for a while. They begin to disagree with the
interpretation.They begin to build up
their arguments as to why they should not fall under these obligations, or that
they do not apply to them.
And that is why most
people do not advance in their spiritual lives.
Just as Jobs friends
came up with arguments and opinions galore, most of which were totally out of
left field and unrelated to the facts at hand, so too, people who simply do not
want to comply with Gods mandates, comes up with their own arguments, which to
them, seem more than reasonable. After all, God is not here to counter their
disagreement.
But then, doctrine is
here, and rational thought is here, and most folks know, deep down inside of
them, that they have responsibilities and obligations, but they simply do not
want to do them.One excuse becomes two,
and then the whole realm of Bible doctrine becomes easier to compromise and
transform into whatever a person wants it to be.
And that is the
objective of arrogance.Selfishness is
the result of not wanting to do what God demands, but doing what you want to
do, or not doing what you do not want to do.
And the question asked
here is, What is the real cost to you?
Seeing that God
provides you with everything and you provide yourself with nothing. Hummm!
Did you give yourself life?Did
you choose the time in history in which you were going to be born? Can you control the weather, or the economy,
or anything in life?Can you force or
persuade anyone to do whatever it is that you want?
And the answer is, No.
Jesus Christ controls
history.He placed you into history,
just as He placed every detail of your life into history along with you and everyone
else.
How did humanity
survive for so many thousands of years without antibiotics or a simply
bandaid?For that matter, how did
humanity survive without grocery store deli s, a television, a cell phone, a
microwave, or an mp3 player?
You may read, or listen
to, or learn Bible doctrine, but it is the Holy Spirit within you, that makes
all of the spiritual ingredients function.
You cannot control the beating of your own heart, but it is Jesus
Christ, who put together the biological functions that keep your heart beating.
So, if it is God who
provides you with everything, and He does, then where is the danger in
complying with His mandates?Where is
the disadvantage of pursuing truth?
Where is your argument that justifies your non-compliance? What is it that you can have that is better,
than that which God provides?
Truth overwhelms all
other opinions, and yet the world s populations will reject it, without
blinking an eye.
Isa. 50:9
9 Behold, the Lord God
helps Me; Who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a
garment; The moth will eat them. NASB
Rejecting God and embracing
the world, makes you the victim of the moth, and the moth is virtually nothing. So what would that make you?
Previous Page
|
Table of Contents
|
Next Page |
