PHILOSOPHIES OF EVIL

“And he said to Him, “All these things I will give You if You will fall down and worship me?” (Matt. 4:9 NKJV).

This verse is a part of the temptation scene in which Satan attempted to seduce the Lord Jesus Christ. Here Satan offered the Lord Jesus the kingdoms of the world if He would only bow down and worship Satan. From our verse, we want to note four attitudes that are associated with evil: standards, schemes, shortcuts, and secularism.

Standards - If the Lord Jesus were to accept Satan’s offer, He would have to reject holy standards and principles. Thus, this temptation says to sacrifice principle for power, position, and possessions. Satan says junk your standards in order to gain the things of the world. Evil does not like holy standards. But God does. Keep your standards at all costs.

Schemes - Satan told the Lord Jesus that he would give Him the kingdoms if He would simply worship him. What Satan said to the Lord Jesus was do evil that good may come. But this philosophy which says the end justifies the means is a corrupting philosophy. The idea that we can do evil that good may come is a mirage that has corrupted and destroyed many. No end or goal is any good if you must worship Satan (do evil) in order to gain it.

Shortcuts - This temptation told the Lord Jesus He could have the kingdoms now. God had promised them to the Lord Jesus for a later time. Evil always has shortcuts. But these shortcuts are corrupting. Evil says why wait for marriage to have sex; do it now. Why wait in work to get rich; steal and be rich now. But the devil’s shortcuts are not shortcuts to success but shortcuts to damnation.

Secularism - This temptation would have the Lord Jesus skip the cross. Evil would ignore the soul and focus only on the secular. It says skip the matter of salvation; live for the secular and ignore the spiritual. Most people are doing just that. But secularism does not do well in eternity.

(Adapted from Butler’s Daily Bible Reading 3)

Soli Deo Gloria (To God Alone Be The Glory)

Quotation of the Week

“Worldliness is simply pursuing the activities of the present life with no thought of God!”

Anonymous

Word Study

Establish

In 1 Peter 5:10 we read, “But may the God of all grace, who called us to His eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a while, perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you!” (NKJV).

Establish is the Geek word themelióō (θεμελιόω = them-el-ee-o'-o). The word means to lay a foundation or provide with a foundation. Figuratively, it refers to providing a firm basis for belief or practice. The picture conveyed by themelióō is that of a house which is so firmly fixed on a foundation that it is not moved by winds or floods or figuratively by the stormy waves of suffering or the loud roar of our adversary, the devil. Suffering will drive us to the bedrock of our faith, to our foundation which is the Lord Jesus Himself. In suffering we figure out what’s superficial in life, what’s unnecessary, and are driven to the one thing that we can build our lives on, the Lord Jesus Christ Himself.

“Fear Nots” Found in the Bible

“Say ye not, a confederacy, to all them to whom this people shall say, a confederacy; neither fear ye their fear, nor be afraid” (Isa. 8:12 KJV).

Did You Know…

According to Solomon, the main characteristic of a lazy man is that he slumbers and sleeps (Prov. 6:9-10).

Bible Quiz

According to Hebrews, whom does the Lord discipline?

**Answer to last week’s Bible Quiz: According to 2 Corinthians, how did the apostle Paul escape from Damascus? He was lowered in a basket, from a window (2 Cor. 11:33).

Names For the Lord Jesus in the Bible

“FRIEND”

"The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look, a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is justified by her children!” (Matt. 11:19 NKJV).

1. Meaning – FRIEND speaks of the Lord Jesus as the One who came to bring deliverance from a sinful lifestyle.

2. Insights – The Lord Jesus compared His generation to a group of little children sitting in the marketplaces who could not be pleased by anything. They were not satisfied with John the Baptist because he did not eat or drink, or with the Lord Jesus who did eat and drink with sinners. They said John had a demon, and they rejected the Lord Jesus as “a glutton and a winebibber, a friend of tax collectors and sinners.” Though that generation was not happy with anything, the wisdom of the approach of both John and the Lord Jesus would be proved right by the results, namely, that many people would be brought into the kingdom of God.

Did You Know – Christian History

Peter Taylor (P.T.) Forsyth was born May 12, 1848, in Aberdeen, Scotland. He was a Scottish theologian.

Forsyth was the son of a postal worker and a maid. He was raised as a member of the Black-friars Street Congregational Church. His family was devout, but not affluent. In spite of his family’s modest means, he was able to attend the university where he achieved an enviable reputation as a student.

In young adulthood, Forsyth was greatly influenced by the thought and writings of both F. D. Maurice and Albrecht Ritschl. He would have opportunity to study under Ritschl for a term at Gottingen. In his early ministry, he gained notoriety for his liberal theological views and his “loud dress and unpredictable pulpit utterances.” An early interest in critical theology made Forsyth suspect to some more orthodox Christians. However, he increasingly came to the conclusion that liberal theology failed to account adequately for the moral problem of the guilty conscience. This led him to a moral crisis which he found resolved in the atoning work of Christ. The experience helped to shape and inform a vigorous interest in the issues of holiness and atonement.

After serving in several pastorates, he was named principal of Hackney College in London in 1901, a position that allowed time for extensive writing. At least part of the reason for this move was the belief that the academic lifestyle would place less strenuous demands on his frail health than the pastorate. A practical theologian, Forsyth was strongly committed to training committed gospel ministers. Once described as “the Preachers” Theologian, his earnest desire was to see pulpits in every time and place filled with preachers who clearly and unashamedly proclaimed what he called ‘positive, evangelical theology.’

Forsyth reasserted the classic faith of the Reformation in terms appropriate to his own time, bringing the word “grace” back into protestant theology and showing anew what was meant by the sovereignty of God. While many of Forsyth’s most significant insights have largely gone ignored, not a few consider him to be among the greatest English-speaking theologians of the early twentieth century.

A Little Humor

The pastor asks his flock, “What would you like people to say when you’re in your casket?” One congregant said, “I’d like them to say I was a fine family man.” Another said, “I’d like them to say I helped people.” The third responds, “I’d like them to say, ‘Look! I think he’s moving!’”

Thought Provoking Church Sign

“No day is dark when the Son is present!”