One does not have to read much Bible before finding that God is completely worthy of man’s trust. The Lord preserved Noah and his family from a worldwide flood. God gave Abraham and Sarah a son long after it was thought to be physically possible. The Lord delivered the Israelites from Egypt and led them through a barren wilderness, providing their every need on the way to the land of Canaan. The Lord gave David a great victory when he faced the giant Goliath. God sent His only begotten Son to die on the cross for the sins of the world. He brought His Son out of the grave and now hears that Son as He intercedes on behalf of believers. No wonder David said, “they that know thy name will put their trust in thee.”
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.
Our passage tells us that God is not in all the thoughts of the wicked (Psalm 10:4). It also points out that the thoughts of the wicked “are thoughts of iniquity” (Isaiah 59:7). Obviously, the wicked despise the Lord in their thoughts, but the Lord also despises the thoughts of the wicked. This is why we are told that “The thoughts of the wicked are an abomination to the LORD” (Proverbs 15:26). King David, whom God called “a man after mine own heart” (Acts 13:22), added that the thoughts of the wicked were against him for evil (Psalm 56:5). These wicked thoughts are based upon pride (Psalm 10:4). Conversely, a man yielded to the Lord desires to bring “into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ” (2 Corinthians 10:5).
If asked concerning the origin of thoughts, the average person would swiftly respond with “the mind” or some similar answer. This is not, however, the emphasis of scripture. Overwhelmingly, scripture indicates that thoughts proceed from the heart. This does not mean the beating organ within one’s chest since the scriptures use “heart” in a different manner. When God brought judgment in the days of Noah, He saw that the thoughts of man’s “heart was only evil continually” (Genesis 6:5). In Matthew 15:19, the Bible says, “For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” In Luke 24:38, the Lord Jesus asked the disciples, “why do thoughts arise in your hearts?” When one’s thoughts are not according to God’s will, it is a matter of the heart not being right with God.
Throughout history, various motives have moved men to sing unto the Lord. Some men sang as a testimony of some specific thing God had done for them (Exodus 15:1; Psalm 126:1-2). Others sang in order to teach truths set forth in the word of God (Colossians 3:16; Psalm 101:1). Some even sang songs that would testify against them in times of disobedience (Deuteronomy 31:19). Though some things have changed throughout history, God’s people still should sing songs of personal testimony like My Jesus, I Love Thee; songs that teach like Holy and Reverend Is the Name; and songs that witness against disobedience like He Was Not Willing.
God gave us the Bible to serve as our final authority in all matters of faith and practice. This certainly includes the types of songs that should be sung. In fact, the Bible contains an entire book of songs, the Book of Psalms. According to Colossians 3:16, the psalms is only one of three categories of songs to be sung by New Testament believers. Basically, psalms are scriptures set to musick, hymns are doctrinal songs speaking specifically of the Lord, and spiritual songs deal with the Christian life and practice. A diligent study of history yields evidence that God’s people have been singing songs from each of these categories since the church’s inception.
Separation is scriptural under a variety of different scenarios. Most commonly, believers understand that they are to separate from unbelievers (2 Corinthians 6:14). This does not imply that believers should not witness to the lost but that there should be no “fellowship” between the two. The Bible also indicates that there are times in which one believer should separate from another believer. Most often, this happens because of the propagation of false doctrine (Romans 16:17-18; 2 Thessalonians 3:6) or immoral practices (1 Corinthians 5:11). However, there may also be instances when believers separate for the purpose of furthering the work of God (Galatians 2:6-9).
Self-examination serves as a tool for man to use to find out who and what he is. Though some preachers suggest that believers should never question their own salvation experience, the scripture encourages self-examination. If there are doubts, believers should certainly ask questions concerning the basis for their salvation. Was it based upon one’s feelings or solely upon the scriptures? They should ask what they did in order to be saved. Did they join a church, do some penitent work, or did they call upon the name of the Lord Jesus Christ by faith as dictated by the scriptures? They should ask about the effects of their salvation. Have they seen a change of heart, or are they the same that they were before trusting Christ as Saviour?
The apostle Paul knew that there would be times when Timothy, as a minister of the gospel, would have to rebuke or correct others. However, Timothy was not to rebuke others on a whim. In fact, Paul specifically laid out two premises which Timothy’s rebuke should follow: “with all longsuffering and doctrine.” Timothy was to rebuke others while suffering with them for a long time, thus longsuffering. He was to exhibit grace by offering others the opportunity to rectify their areas of failure. At the same time, he was to rebuke others with sound doctrine and not simply based upon mere opinion. This was going to be even more necessary as some would begin to depart from sound doctrine and practice (2 Timothy 4:3-4).
Historically, most believers did not have the option of searching the scriptures every day. In fact, local bodies of believers might have had only one copy of the scriptures or a portion of the scriptures that could be read only when the believers came together to worship the Lord. As time progressed, more and more copies of the scriptures began to circulate. In Acts chapter 17, the Bereans were declared to be noble because they searched the scriptures on a daily basis. Perhaps they each had copies, or they met at a place of worship and studied together, but either way, they were commended for their faithfulness to delve into God’s word. Now, as the Bible is readily available, believers should be more faithful than any previous generation to daily search of the scriptures.
