The will of God

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free”—John 8:32

As I survey the realm of religion today, I am impressed to learn that there does exist a vast number of people who claim to believe in and follow the true and living God. At the same time I am amazed at all of the conflicting doctrines being taught, believed and practiced by that vast number of people. I suppose that there are a lot of people who want to be a disciple of Jesus but few of them have come to the knowledge that in order to do so they must be willing to do his will in all things, not their own (John 14:15, 15:14, Heb. 5:8-9, Matt. 7:20-23, 2 Thess. 1:7-9, 2 John 9). It is the truth of God that will free man from the bondage of sin. His truth will free man from the false philosophies, theories and doctrines that permeate the realm of religion. The doctrines of men do nothing more than entangle a man in a vicious web of deceit that will one day have disastrous results (Gal. 3:1, 1 John 4:1). We will never have the unity among believers that Jesus prayed for (John 17:20-23) and that Paul pled for (1 Cor. 1:10) until men are willing to submit without reservation to the will of God in all things letting him mold their thoughts, fill their hearts and guide their lives. It is then, and only then, that his truth will set men free.

My friends we must also consider our own selves in this matter. I am sure that each of you could name any number of issues that confront the church today. No doubt Islam would be mentioned along with atheism as well as the false teachings of denominationalism. Certainly, those are issues that should concern us but from my heart I believe the greatest danger faced by the church today comes not from any of those things but rather from those of us who occupy the pew Sunday after Sunday. We are witnessing many departures from God’s truth today. This is based in part on the desire to be like other people, to be like the world around us. We don’t want to be left out so we will say and do things contrary to his truths. God’s people cannot be like others, like the world (James 4:4, 1 John 2:15-17, 1 Peter 2:9-10). If we are not different, then we are the same as. The desire to cater to the ways of this world is one of the strongest temptations we will encounter each day of our lives. It is this desire that so often leads to compromising the truth of God’s word. Sacrificing the truth on the altar of public opinion will eternally condemn us. The truth will set us free but in order to remain free we must stand firm on that truth until the day we die.

The Greek orator, Demosthenes said it so well, “The easiest thing in the world is self-deceit; for every man believes what he wishes, though the reality is often different”. The moment we supplant God’s will with our beliefs, our desires, we will find our selves on dangerous ground (Heb. 2:1, 3:12-13) We must take heed lest by our manner of life and speech we bring reproach upon the Lord, His church or His word (Judges 17:6, Isa. 5:20, Col. 3:17). Yes, the truth can and will set you and I free but only if we learn it and live by it.

Charles Hicks