Scripture says we are to walk by faith. What does that mean? It doesn’t mean to live giving acknowledgement to the idea of God, but rather to live, not according to our own wisdom but by the word of God. To walk by faith is a great testimony to anyone. It is not always easy, particularly in the early stages because it involves going against accepted wisdom and herd instinct.
There is a word that is used as a sentence connector (connecting particle) that sums up the against the tide idea. That word is nevertheless. There are a couple of all-purpose Greek words (alla and de) that can be translated in different ways, the context being the decider as to which word would best be used. On occasion in the New Testament they are translated as nevertheless, meaning in spite of that; however; yet. The word is used to describe doing or thinking something despite evidence or reasons as to why we shouldn’t.
It can be a foolish thing – to act contrary to sound advice. 1 Sam. 8:11-19 records the occasion when Samuel warned the nation of Israel of the cost of having a king and all that he said came to pass. But, it can be the right thing to reject contemporary wisdom! In an age where obedience to God’s laws is regarded as foolishness, or at best, optional, it would be good for us to consider the nature of God’s laws. In Deut. 6:24; 10:12,13 God told Israel that His laws are for our good – always. Many years later things weren’t going so well for Israel – they were in captivity because of their disobedience. In Jeremiah 29 we have a copy of a letter written by Jeremiah on behalf of God to the captives in Babylon. In vs. 10,11 God says After seventy years are accomplished at Babylon I will visit you and perform my good toward you in causing you to return to this place. For I know the thoughts that I think toward you…thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. In 32:39-41 he reiterates a blessed future for the returning exiles…….yes I will rejoice over them to do them good, and I will plant them in the land assuredly with my whole heart and with my whole soul.
God operates out of a disposition of love toward man. If God is angry it is a righteous and just anger and even then it is restrained (Lam. 3:22). So His responses are crafted in infinite wisdom for the blessing of His people. But appearances may suggest that this is not so – Jer. 12:1; Ps.37:35; 73:3 relate to this and men call into question the rightness of God’s goodness. We may also question the rightness of His laws. A survey of a cross-section of youth found that 57% agreed that God established the limits for humankind and acting in conflict with His laws has negative consequences for people. Yet MOST DO NOT APPLY THAT BELIEF TO THEIR OWN BEHAVIOUR! Why?
We might assume they are liars, or naive, suckers for temptation and peer pressure, or they are exceptions to the rule or lack understanding. But in trying to do right there can be disappointment – “what has truth done for me lately?” “What evidence is there that moral standards apply to me in a practical way?” The broken homes they come from seem to be proof that these things don’t work. Understand this. God’s commands are not true because they are beneficial. They ARE beneficial, but that doesn’t make them true. If that is the premise then if God’s laws aren’t seen to be beneficial then we would conclude they are not true. If satisfying the sinful lusts of the flesh is seen to be beneficial (at least in the short term which most look at) then that becomes true.
In mathematics I learned that 2X10=20 – helps me check my change at the shop etc. But 2X10=20 is not true because I use it and get something out of it – it’s right because it’s right – it reflects certain mathematical laws and reflect reality. It’s true whether I know it or not or benefit from it or not! Laws reflect the reality of God. God has laws against murder because God is the author and preserver of life. He legislates against lying because He is true. We are not to hate others because God is love. We are not to steal because God is honest. We are not to fornicate because God is pure. This is important in other ways too. It makes God dependable. He is a rock. Josh McDowell was speaking to a Muslim in Africa. The Muslim said “Your concept of God is not my concept of Allah. Allah is all-powerful. Allah’s powers can allow him to do anything”. McDowell asked, “Can Allah lie and cheat?” “Sure – Allah can do all things. He is not limited like your God. If he wants to love, he loves. If he wants to hate, he hates. Allah is all-powerful.”
“Could Allah punish you for something you did even if it were good?”
“If Allah did not like it, he would punish me”
“Then you don’t always know how Allah might respond, do you?”
The Muslim thought for a moment: “No, I don’t always know what he would do – but I do know Allah is all-powerful!”
McDowell concluded “You see, if I served Allah, I would be serving him out of fear. If he exercised the power to do wrong as well as right, simply because he desired to, he would be punishing me from his own selfish desires. That would be a dreadful motivation from which to serve God, because I would never know what angered him. You see, I serve God out of love. God, being holy and perfect and almighty, is worthy of my fear, but because I know he is a loving God who always acts consistently with his nature, I can serve him out of love too. I always know what angers God and I always know what pleases him.”
God is consistent and His laws are consistent with His nature and what He says is right because it is right. In a world where everything is not right there is conflict when one tries to do right. Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego understood this (cf. Dan. 3:16-18). They didn’t think “We’ll serve God if it is convenient, if it goes our way, or if it works out right”. They didn’t protest and say “God’s commands are beneficial and so nothing bad can happen to us”.
Life in a world dominated by Satan is going to have challenges. To do right is sometimes going to cost us. Going good will sometimes be repaid with evil.We see that mirrored in the physical world just as in the behavioural world. We build a shelter and it serves us well – but maybe a cyclone comes and destroys it. Does that mean we don’t build a shelter anymore? That would be foolish. But this world is such that we have to learn we are not in control and we can’t build a cocoon around us (cf. Job 1:10). But like Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, Job knew that what is right is right because God is right and bad things can happen to good people. As his world fell apart and it seemed that there was no benefit in serving God he nevertheless committed himself to follow God. Many years later Jesus would do the same (Matt.26:39), and in 2 Tim. 1:8,12 it is evident that Paul knew his circumstances weren’t the measuring stick of all things.
The challenges of life are many-fold. Lk 5:4,5 God asks us to do things that are right because they are right. 1 Cor. 15:58; 2 Tim. 4:2. Seems like the evidence points the other way and discouragement follows, But if we only do what we feel like doing we may end up doing very little and be judged as lazy and slothful servants.
When we look at our world, available physical evidence all points in one direction . Our existence here is very tenuous. We ride on a sea of molten lava, whose heat and power we catch a glimpse of when volcanoes blow their tops. Robert Jastrow wrote a book Until the Sun Dies in which he talked about the continuous depletion of the energy of the sun and its eventual demise and the extinction of life on earth. Bertrand Russell said all the labours of the ages, all the devotion, all the inspiration, all the noon-day brightness of human genius, are destined to extinction in the vast death of the universe. The apostle Peter affirms what science has deducted – 2 Pet.3:12 but then the next verse begins with nevertheless – it is not the end!
Not a moan of resignation and despair but a cry of victory and hope! The world may grab the moment of pleasure believing eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow we die and that’s all she wrote folks. The world may say there is no percentage in serving God – nevertheless, this is the victory that has overcome the world – even our faith.