Young People’s Blog

“Thou that preachest a man should not steal, dost thou steal?” (Romans. 2:21).

“Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh” (Galatians 5:16).

The world around us is very quick to point out inconsistency in a Christian. They may allow all kinds of sin and inconsistency in themselves, but deep down inside they know what is right. They expect you and me to act differently, and if what we say does not match how we act, they will quickly point it out to us.

I suppose that not one of us always acts in perfect consistency, and most of us “talk beyond our walk” to some extent. This is regrettable, but because we all still have the old sinful nature in us, we tend to do this. However, it is very important to be consistent as Christians, and to show the world that our Christianity is real. How do we do this?

According to our verse today, we must “walk in the Spirit” so that we do not “fulfil the lusts of the flesh.” The Spirit of God cannot act in us when we are indulging the old nature, nor can the old nature act when we are walking in the Spirit. If we do not grieve the Spirit of God, He will help us to act in a right way before the Lord, and before the world.

“The powers that be are ordained of God…wherefore ye must needs be subject [you must obey them]” (Romans 13:1,5).

“We ought to obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).

As I write this in February 2022, while the Covid-19 pandemic is still going on, many Christians are struggling with these two verses. On the one hand, we are told to obey the government and the laws they make; on the other hand, sometimes governments may tell us to do something that we feel is wrong. How do we make the decision?

When the book of Romans was written, Christians were under Roman rule, and the emperors were often corrupt and unreasonable. In their personal lives they were usually very wicked men. Yet Christians were told to respect and obey them. It is the same today. We are to obey the government the Lord has allowed to be in power, unless the law forces us to sin against God, and to do something against the Word of God. This usually makes the decision easy for us, and not only honors the government over us, but honors the Lord too.

“Shouldest thou help the ungodly, and love them that hate the Lord?” (2 Chronicles 19:2).

These words were said to Jehoshaphat, king of Judah, by a prophet of the Lord named Jehu. Jehoshaphat was a godly king, but he allied himself with Ahab, king of Israel, who was a most ungodly and wicked man. He had allowed the worship of idols in Israel, and it is recorded that “there was none like unto Ahab, which did sell himself to work wickedness in the sight of the Lord” (1 Kings 21:25). Yet Jehoshaphat allied himself in war with Ahab, and almost lost his life. But the Lord was gracious to Jehoshaphat, and preserved him.

Sometimes as Christians we may be tempted to join projects with those who are not Christians, perhaps thinking that we can bring them to Christ. But this never works; rather unbelievers will only drag us down to their level.

It is nice to be ready to help unbelievers if they are in trouble, and then we can share the gospel with them. But to think that we can work together with them and somehow be a good influence on them is a mistake. The Word of God tells us, “Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers” (2 Corinthians 6:14).

“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way…who bringeth wicked devices to pass” (Psalms 37:7).

Even when we are obedient to the Word of God, things do not always go smoothly in our life. The Lord tests our faith, and teaches us things through the problems He allows in our lives. But sometimes we see an unbeliever who seems to get along well, even though he is a man who “bringeth wicked devices to pass.” Then we may get discouraged, and somehow think that it does not pay to be faithful to the Lord.

But this verse tells us to wait patiently for the Lord, for He will look after us. Eventually He will also judge the wicked, but He does not always do this right away. God is a God of grace, and He is patient with wicked people, giving them a chance to repent. We should not be upset when bad people seem to do all right, and we end up with problems. Let us trust the Lord, and as our verse says, “Wait patiently for Him.”

“Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is everyone that hangeth on a tree” (Galatians 3:13).

“If a man…be put to death, and thou hang him on a tree: his body shall not remain all night upon the tree…(for he that is hanged is accursed of God)” (Deuteronomy 21:22-23).

Under the law of Moses it was considered a serious loss of dignity to hang a dead man’s body on a tree, or on anything else. It was generally done to those who had committed very serious crimes, or whom the government felt were worthy of being publicly shamed and insulted. Yet our Lord Jesus Christ took our place on that cross, for we were under a curse because of our sin and disobedience. The Lord Jesus was made a curse for us, and suffered in the most shameful way, by being crucified.

We know that the Jews intervened the same day the Lord Jesus was crucified, for although they had asked Him to be crucified, yet they still wanted to obey the Mosaic law. Accordingly, the Lord Jesus, as well as the two thieves crucified with Him, were not allowed to stay on the crosses overnight. For the Lord Jesus, His work was finished, so that you and I could be saved.

“Delight thyself also in the Lord, and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart” (Psalm 37:4).

At first glance, it might seem that this verse is a “blank check” to get whatever we want. If we just delight ourselves in the Lord, He will give us our desires. However, when we read the verse more carefully, we realize that if we delight ourselves in the Lord, our desires will be formed by Him, and we will want what He would want us to have.

It is a wonderful thing to enjoy the Lord Jesus in our hearts, for only He is able to fill our hearts. Then, that new life He has given us is displayed in our Christian walk in this world, and our desires are for the right things.

Also, God loves to give, and when we are walking in obedience to His Word, He loves to give His children what would be for their good. Then we can have contentment and peace even though there are sometimes problems along the way. Let us always remember that obedience and happiness go together!

“So the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).

When we first read this verse, it might seem strange to us. How can the first be last, and the last first? This verse is important, for it is repeated in Mark’s gospel. The Lord Jesus is stressing something we all need to learn.

Even as Christians we can want to “be somebody,” and be given a place of honor and recognition. Of course, a believer who has some gift and who uses it for the Lord may be honored for it, but to want to be important, and to work towards it, is simply pride. Sadly, there are many believers in the world today who have pushed themselves into prominent places in Christian circles, often making a lot of money, and getting a lot of praise. On the other hand, there are others who are quietly serving the Lord, not looking for any recognition in this world, and who are content to leave any reward to the Lord.

In a coming day, when the Lord hands out rewards, those who remained in the background in this world may well be first, while those who used their time and energy to have a prominent place down here may end up last. Let us be content to work quietly where the Lord places us.

“For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that shall be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).

We all suffer in this world, and especially as Christians. The Apostle Paul could tell Timothy that “all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution” (2 Timothy 3:12). In some of His final words before He went to the cross, the Lord Jesus reminded His disciples that “in the world ye shall have tribulation” (John 16:33). The suffering that some believers have gone through at various times in the history of the church has been severe indeed, for many were tortured and eventually killed. The Apostle Paul himself, who wrote today’s verse by inspiration, had suffered much for the Lord.

However, Paul realized that all this suffering, while sometimes very distressing to believers in this world, could not even be compared to the glory that shall be revealed in us. Some dear believers have given in and compromised their faith when they suffered for Christ, but when we see the glory that will be shown to us in that day, we will realize that whatever we suffered for the Lord down here was nothing in comparison. That glory will be so wonderful that no amount of suffering down here should even be put side by side with it.

“For many walk, of whom I have told you often…that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ” (Philippians 3:18).

“And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer reproach? Then is the offence of the cross ceased” (Galatians 5:11).

What does it mean to be an “enemy of the cross of Christ?” What does it mean in the Bible when it speaks of the “offence of the cross?” To be an enemy of the cross of Christ does not always mean that the person is an enemy of Christ. There are many people who are happy to know the Lord Jesus as Savior, to know that their sins are all forgiven, and that they are on their way to heaven. To be an enemy of the cross of Christ means that people do not like the reproach and suffering that are part of following a rejected Christ.

The Apostle Paul found this out when he would not bring the practices of the Jewish religion into Christianity. If he had been willing to do this, he would not have suffered as much. But God was finished with all those things—beautiful buildings, instrumental music in worship, special choirs for singing, a ritual form of service, a priesthood that came between God and the people, etc. But many Christians have brought those things back into Christianity and have brought Christianity down to the level of a worldly religion.

If we really want to follow Christ, we must recognize that He has been rejected. He died a criminal’s death on a cross, and many do not want to be connected with that. The offence of the cross is what happens when we stand apart from this world, and are willing to bear reproach for our Lord Jesus.

“Blessed be the name of God for ever and ever…He changeth the times and the seasons: He removeth kings, and setteth up kings” (Daniel 2:20-21).

I am writing this on February 6, 2022, and while this date may not be very important to some of you, it is quite significant for those in Britain and in the countries that belong to the British Commonwealth. On today’s date, Queen Elizabeth II of England has reigned for 70 years. This is quite an achievement, for she is the longest reigning British monarch. She is also one of longest reigning monarchs of all time, for the only other monarch who reigned longer, and whose dates can be verified, was Louis 16th of France. He reigned a little over 72 years.

I am old enough to remember when she became queen on February 6, 1952, and I remember having to start singing “God save the queen” every morning in school, instead of “God save the king.” Her father was King George 6th, and he died on February 6, 1952.

From our verse today, we learn that it is the Lord that places kings and queens in a position of authority, and it is He that removes them too. During the millennium, the Lord Jesus will reign for 1000 years. No one else has ever even lived that long, and no one has reigned that long. The reign of the Lord Jesus will be a wonderful time of blessing for this world.