When men choose to reject the truth, God tends to withhold further truth from them. The result is spiritual and intellectual darkness.
Christians frequently find it difficult to consistently make their practice align with their position in Christ. The saints of God are positionally blameless in Christ, but practically, each believer must strive daily to “be blameless and harmless . . . in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation.” In this world, believers represent the Lord as sons of God. As such, they should “do all things without murmurings and disputings.” Why is this so very important? The importance points to the fact that believers are to “shine as lights in the world.” It is imperative that every believer strives daily to live a godly life and preserves a godly testimony in a world that has little to no knowledge of God (Matthew 5:16).
For the most part, David’s reputation is one to be admired. That reputation as a servant of God and of Saul was established by his pattern of godly behaviour. According to scripture, David’s “name was much set by.” Why? Because he “behaved himself more wisely than all the servants of Saul.” The way in which David conducted himself even during times of extreme adversity caused the people of God to speak of him often and he became elevated in their minds and hearts. David moved ahead of Saul in popularity not by eloquent speeches of self-aggrandizement, but merely because he allowed God to use his good behaviour to gain a godly reputation among the people. In similar fashion, men today are still not going to develop good reputations apart from the right behavior.
Rebels are sometimes known as loners. Today’s scripture says that this trait can be attributed to their desire to keep their distance from righteousness. Many who would be identified by these terms do not disassociate from sin or sinners. Instead, they disassociate from truth and righteousness. Righteous thoughts and words have been known to melt the hard heart. They penetrate the rocky soil and begin to break down pride and rebellion. In order for a rebel to remain in his rebellion, he must keep a distance between himself and the truth. The very concepts of righteousness and rebellion refuse to coexist. Hence the battle rages: as the Lord works to draw man’s attention to righteousness, the Devil fights to keep man’s distance from it.
Few people would readily admit to trusting in lies; however, any individual placing his trust in something outside of the words of God is in danger of doing so. Through the prophet Jeremiah, the Lord warned His people of this danger on numerous occasions (Jeremiah 7:4, 8; Jeremiah 13:25; Jeremiah 29:31). Even today, people all over the world choose to bow down to idols and images, thinking these creations of wood, stone, or metal can assist them in some way. Other people who would never think to bow to an idol place their trust in education or something similar. Unfortunately, there are going to be multitudes sorely disappointed for they have unwittingly placed their trust in the lies of this world.
To trust in someone or something involves an act of the will. The focus of this trust is something that each individual must personally decide. David expressed as much when he said, “Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will remember the name of the LORD our God” (Psalm 20:7). David identified a few of the many things upon which one might trust. The Bible also refers to those who trust in vanity (Isaiah 59:4), others in lies (Jeremiah 7:8), and still others in riches (1 Timothy 6:17). Interestingly, the Lord does not force any individual to trust in Him, nor is anyone ever forced to trust in the things of this world. It is important to point out that one’s trust cannot be divided. An individual cannot simultaneously trust in vanity, riches, or lies while trusting in the Lord.
