"Because they regard not the works of the Lord, nor the operation of His hands, He shall destroy them, and not build them up." — Psalm 28:5
We live in a day when it is not deemed "politically correct" to identify and condemn sin, or speak of coming judgment. Either because we fear the reaction of the unbelieving majority, or because we ourselves no longer really believe it, there is little emphasis, even in the churches, on the inevitable judgment of a holy God.
Scripture, of course, is not silent on the subject, as our text will illustrate, which may be one reason so many are inclined to ignore or despise the word of God. The verse before us has a twofold thrust. The first cites a condition prevailing in the human heart; the second cites the consequences of that condition.
It is of particular interest to note that the sin described here would make no headlines in today's daily news. It is not some gross or lewd conduct, violence or outrage, but something which characterizes the vast majority of mankind in such a way that we easily take it for granted. Those indicted are not immoral in the ordinary sense of the word. Their crime is simply disregard for "the works of the Lord [and] the operation of His hands." It is important to connect the indictment with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He sought to stimulate faith in Himself on the part of His detractors. For one example among many, "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him [ John 10:36-38]." He identified the works, again and again, as the signature of God.
Today, in our worship of "science, falsely so called (cf. I Tim. 6:20)," the "works of God [and] the operation of His hands" are assigned to a mindless, unproved and unprovable philosophy called "evolution." In defiance of the scriptures, men who cannot recall what they had for dinner yesterday tell us in great detail how the world began and life developed in unguided, ungoverned "natural selection" five or six billion (more or less!) years ago.
We do not often see this for what it is: sin— defiance of God and His word. Consider what this brazen philosophy and its exponents do. First, they discredit the scriptures which, time and time again assign this vast, complex and awe-inspiring creation to the handiwork of a personal God. So doing, they w rite God out of the creation script. Second, they destroy in the process the foundations of morality. If man is the accidental product of a mindless process, any conception of morality is also an evolutionary process without validating roots, and at best arbitrary. Life is devoid of meaning. Current trends in our culture illustrate this all too well.
There is a third consequence, equally solemn, stemming from this rationalism, and that is that it discredits the integrity of Jesus Christ, making Him either a liar or an idiot. Christ affirmed the existence of God and assigned Him as the first cause of all things. If that is not the way it all began, the Savior was clearly deluded. You cannot have it both ways. The sin in all of this is unbelief, clear and simple. It is as reprehensible to God as adultery, fornication, thievery and murder. Perhaps we may call it "white collar sin!"
David anticipates divine judgment on those who hold and propagate such deceit. "He shall destroy them…" That destruction is already in progress, though little recognized by the majority of mankind. "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind… [Rom. 1:28]." This side of eternity, man is never in worse straits than when God gives him up to his own devices. That is the road to self destruction. God's abandonment, however, is the the first phase of "the wrath to come." Ultimately men will stand before God and be required to give account for their rejection of the Truth. Then will they be assigned to "everlasting destruction," the awful consequence of denying or defying the truth of His word. And, "respectable sinners" will fare no better than riotous ones!
For the Lord of glory,
"Pastor" Frasier
We live in a day when it is not deemed "politically correct" to identify and condemn sin, or speak of coming judgment. Either because we fear the reaction of the unbelieving majority, or because we ourselves no longer really believe it, there is little emphasis, even in the churches, on the inevitable judgment of a holy God.
Scripture, of course, is not silent on the subject, as our text will illustrate, which may be one reason so many are inclined to ignore or despise the word of God. The verse before us has a twofold thrust. The first cites a condition prevailing in the human heart; the second cites the consequences of that condition.
It is of particular interest to note that the sin described here would make no headlines in today's daily news. It is not some gross or lewd conduct, violence or outrage, but something which characterizes the vast majority of mankind in such a way that we easily take it for granted. Those indicted are not immoral in the ordinary sense of the word. Their crime is simply disregard for "the works of the Lord [and] the operation of His hands." It is important to connect the indictment with the words of the Lord Jesus Christ when He sought to stimulate faith in Himself on the part of His detractors. For one example among many, "Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God? If I do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in him [ John 10:36-38]." He identified the works, again and again, as the signature of God.
Today, in our worship of "science, falsely so called (cf. I Tim. 6:20)," the "works of God [and] the operation of His hands" are assigned to a mindless, unproved and unprovable philosophy called "evolution." In defiance of the scriptures, men who cannot recall what they had for dinner yesterday tell us in great detail how the world began and life developed in unguided, ungoverned "natural selection" five or six billion (more or less!) years ago.
We do not often see this for what it is: sin— defiance of God and His word. Consider what this brazen philosophy and its exponents do. First, they discredit the scriptures which, time and time again assign this vast, complex and awe-inspiring creation to the handiwork of a personal God. So doing, they w rite God out of the creation script. Second, they destroy in the process the foundations of morality. If man is the accidental product of a mindless process, any conception of morality is also an evolutionary process without validating roots, and at best arbitrary. Life is devoid of meaning. Current trends in our culture illustrate this all too well.
There is a third consequence, equally solemn, stemming from this rationalism, and that is that it discredits the integrity of Jesus Christ, making Him either a liar or an idiot. Christ affirmed the existence of God and assigned Him as the first cause of all things. If that is not the way it all began, the Savior was clearly deluded. You cannot have it both ways. The sin in all of this is unbelief, clear and simple. It is as reprehensible to God as adultery, fornication, thievery and murder. Perhaps we may call it "white collar sin!"
David anticipates divine judgment on those who hold and propagate such deceit. "He shall destroy them…" That destruction is already in progress, though little recognized by the majority of mankind. "And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a reprobate mind… [Rom. 1:28]." This side of eternity, man is never in worse straits than when God gives him up to his own devices. That is the road to self destruction. God's abandonment, however, is the the first phase of "the wrath to come." Ultimately men will stand before God and be required to give account for their rejection of the Truth. Then will they be assigned to "everlasting destruction," the awful consequence of denying or defying the truth of His word. And, "respectable sinners" will fare no better than riotous ones!
For the Lord of glory,
"Pastor" Frasier
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