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of chapter six, which speaks within and addressing these three, which are the world of the flesh, which the curse of his brow against his name, that raised his brows against the warfare that we wage against the world, recognizing, acknowledging error, correcting it with the truth of God's word.
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That's what spiritual warfare is. And so when we speak of the world as a spiritual enemy of the
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Christian, we're speaking of the influence upon us of the culture of this fallen world, with its ideas, values, practices that are in opposition to the will of God.
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And so, you know, every Sunday morning, every time you pick up the Bible, basically you're engaging in spiritual warfare.
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You're asking God to help that word reveal ignorance, error, and correct that, as the scriptures declare.
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And so we introduce the first enemy, which is the fallen world, or other worldliness, and the danger that it poses to us.
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And we pointed out, we've already pointed out how the scriptures use the term world in a variety of ways. Thinking as the fallen world thinks is natural to us.
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We are naturally worldly. We were born into this world as worldlings.
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It's the normal way we think. And therefore, worldliness is natural to us, normal for us, worldly ways of thinking, valuing, evaluating things, people, events, our own selves.
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Oftentimes, just a knee -jerk reaction is a worldly reaction. And for, when you read the scriptures, and you're instructed, sometimes the scriptures tell us to do just the opposite of what it seems like we ought to do naturally.
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Isn't that what we just read in Luke chapter six? Jesus was instructing his disciples to do things that just don't seem to make sense.
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Why, if you followed his instruction, we think, naturally, we're gonna be ones who are abused and never get anywhere in this world.
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But there's a wisdom in it. We're worldly, we think as worldlings do. And again, the world is the culture, with its ideas, values, practices of the world, that's supposed and contrary to the will and the ways of the
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Lord. And so it's from the world that we need our minds transformed.
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And again, Romans 12, one and two speak about this spiritual warfare with regard to the world as largely in the realm of the understanding of truth.
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Paul wrote, I beseech you, therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, wholly acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
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And do not be conformed to this world. There it is, okay. And the
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Greek text is literally, stop being conformed to the world. The idea is we're already conformed to the world, stop it.
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And how do you stop it? Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. See, you have to correct error, ignorance, inform ignorance, correct error, so that you may prove or validate, demonstrate what is that good and acceptable, perfect will of God.
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And so here we see clearly that spiritual warfare, respecting the world, is largely in our thinking, our understanding of the truth and its application.
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And we can see how this is the case clearly, say in 2 Corinthians chapter 10. And here
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Paul, this classic passage, talking about spiritual warfare. For though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh.
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For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal or fleshly, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds.
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That's what we're in the business of doing, pulling down strongholds. These are wrong ways of thinking that we just kind of fall back on, depend upon, and we'll fight to defend.
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We're in the business of pulling those down. Casting down arguments. And every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, every high thing would be error, falsehood.
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And bring in every thought, there you have the mind, bring every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.
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By the way, this passage also shows it's not only in the realm of what we believe, but it's how we live out that understanding, isn't it?
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Paul talks about disobedience here. And so it's an application of our thinking.
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Our thinking must be made right so that our behavior might be right. That's the end. We correct and inform our understanding so that our lives might be obedient to Christ, correcting and condemning all disobedience that might have before characterized us.
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That's the nature of spiritual warfare. Now in discussing the problem of worldliness in the last couple of weeks, we've attempted to identify or address some more definite or specific aspects of worldliness that are set forth in the scriptures.
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And so we've already addressed the importance of living under human authority, which doesn't come natural to us.
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Just observe the toddlers. It doesn't come natural to them, does it? You have to deal with it and train them.
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Secondly, the importance of denying self and one's personal rights. Fallen people demand their rights.
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They think they have rights, for one thing. No, the Lord makes it clear and it's where we have responsibilities to serve, not to be served.
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And that's how the Lord Jesus was. He served rather than demanded to be served.
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And then thirdly, the importance of valuing godly character rather than outward show or pretense or appearance.
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We addressed that last Lord's Day. Today we wanted to address the importance of fearing God rather than man.
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This is an aspect of worldliness that each and every one of us deal with, the fear of man.
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And it needs to be corrected. We need to, and the only way you can really deal or address the fear of man, it cannot be eradicated,
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I don't believe. The only way you can really deal with the fear of man is to develop a greater fear of God than you have the fear of man.
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That's, in my thinking, that's the only way you can really address it. Let's begin our consideration of this matter by reading two passages of scripture in which the importance of fearing
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God is set forth as at the heart of our Christian profession in life. First is in the
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Epistle to the Hebrews. We're gonna get to Mark 6 here in a little bit. But the first is in the Epistle to the Hebrews. And here, the nature of the
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Christian life is set forth in terms of our journey to our promised homeland, a journey in which we serve
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God with godly fear. And so the writer penned these words to Christians.
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Say that you do not refuse him who speaks. He's talking about speaking through the scripture. For if they did not escape who refused him who spoke on earth, talking about people under the law of Moses, much more shall we not escape if we turn away from him who speaks from heaven, the
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Lord speaking from heaven, whose voice then shook the earth, but now he's promised yet saying, yet once more
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I shake not only the earth but heaven too. You think it was bad back at Mount Sinai? Just wait, see what's coming.
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And now this yet once more indicates the removal of those things that are being shaken as of things that are made that the things which cannot be shaken may remain.
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The writer of the Hebrews, true faith is centered in things that you can't see rather than things that are seen.
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Things that are future rather than things that are present. And he's emphasizing the nature or the object of our faith.
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Therefore, verse 28, since we're receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, see that's enduring, that'll last, let us have grace by which we may serve
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God acceptably with reverence and there it is, godly fear. Christians live out their
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Christian lives with reverence and godly fear. And then the reason is given by the writer of the
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Hebrews and he's writing to Christians here, for our God is a consuming fire. That puts a little bit of the fear of God in you, doesn't it, if you read it rightly?
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But this is exactly what he's saying, he's writing to Christians. So here we see that our entire
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Christian life is to be characterized as service with reverence and godly fear. In other words, we're to be characterized by the fear of God, as the
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Bible defines that. Another passage we can consider, a second passage is 2
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Corinthians 6, 11, through the first verse of chapter seven, which is the same context.
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Sometimes our chapter divisions are not placed in the best of places. And here
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Paul is admonishing the Christians in the church at Corinth, do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers, for what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness?
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None, those are rhetorical questions, obviously demanding the answer none or no.
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What communion has light with darkness? None. What accordance or agreement is there between Christ and Belial, the devil himself?
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What part has a believer with an unbeliever? What common ground is there? What agreement has the temple of God with idols?
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For you are the temple of God, he declares to the church of Corinth. As God has said, and then he calls upon the
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Old Testament, I will dwell in them and walk among them, I will be their God and they should be my people, covenant language.
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And therefore, since this is the case, therefore, come out from among them and be separate, says the
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Lord, do not touch what is unclean, and I will receive you. I will be a father to you, and you should be my sons and daughters, says the
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Lord Almighty. And then verse one of chapter seven reads, therefore, in other words, out of a conclusion of this, having these promises, beloved, what promises?
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That God will manifest himself as a father to us and care for us and receive us.
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Having these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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So how do you perfect, how do you become more like Christ? It's within the realm, the arena of the fear of God.
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If you don't have the fear of God, you're not going to become a holy person, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
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And so perhaps we could distill and express the principle embodied in these words in this way. It is the will of God that we be motivated and that we act with the desire of gaining
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God's approval. And that's basically what the fear of God is. I want God's approval of my life.
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Rather than man's approval, that would be the fear of man. In short, we should live in the fear of God.
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We should desire above all things, may God be pleased with my thoughts, my attitudes, my actions.
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And of course we lament because it's not that so for so much of the time. And so Paul exhorted the
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Christians living in this wicked city of Corinth not to maintain unwholesome associations with unbelievers.
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He urged his believers to separate themselves from unbelievers. Now please understand, this was not a total disassociation from unbelievers.
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So to have no contact or interact with them. Paul would have repudiated the whole idea of the
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Qumran community we were talking about in the Sunday school hour. They saw Jerusalem, the temple so corrupt, these 30 to 200
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Essenes went down there by the Dead Sea and lived in their little remote community shielding themselves from all those wicked people up there in Jerusalem.
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Paul would have repudiated that idea. No, no, no, you don't separate yourself totally from unbelievers so as to have no contact or interaction with them.
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Why the Lord Jesus himself is described as a friend of sinners. That's one of the great scandals of the early
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Christian church. How can your Jesus be a friend of sinners?
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They just did not register in the Jewish mind. And the other one was how can this
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Jesus be your Messiah and die that terrible death on the cross? And of course they turned both things around as a noble trait of Jesus, right?
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Rather than a scandal. Paul had once written a letter to the
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Church of Corinth, an uninspired letter. We don't have that letter in our possession. We have no copy.
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And apparently when the Corinthian church received that first letter that Paul wrote, they misunderstood what he was saying.
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They thought he was telling them to separate themselves physically from all non -Christians.
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And so he wrote 1 Corinthians, which is the first letter we have. It was actually at least his second letter that he wrote to the church.
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The first inspired one we have, of course, in the New Testament. And he wrote, you misunderstood me.
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That's not what I intended at all. And we read of him referring to this earlier letter, or epistle in 1
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Corinthians 5, 9 -11. I wrote to you in my epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people.
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Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world. See, you need to be mixing it up with them,
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Paul is basically saying, or with the covetous, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world, which is an impossibility.
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I never intended that. You misunderstood me. But now I've written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother.
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In other words, anybody claiming to be a Christian who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or extortioner, not even to eat with such a person.
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You're not to have Christian fellowship with the professing Christian who lives in a way that's in conflict with the
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Christian faith, in contradiction to the Christian faith. And so Paul had not instructed them to completely disassociate with unbelievers, but they were not to be so close in their relationships with unbelievers that they were influenced by them to assume and embrace the worldliness in their thought and practice.
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If their closest friends were unbelievers, they would tend to stray from God and embrace worldly ways of thinking and acting.
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And later in the same epistle, Paul wrote, "'Be not deceived, evil companionships corrupt good morals.'"
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You become like the people you run with. Christians are to be separate from unholy things and unholy people if they desire for their holy
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God to draw close to them. That's what Paul declared in 2 Corinthians. Separate from them,
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God says, "'I'll come to you and manifest myself. "'Until and unless you do, I'm not coming "'and manifesting myself to you in a fatherly way.'"
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Well, apparently these Christians in this church had failed to follow Paul's instruction and admonition in his first epistle, so he felt need, inspired by the
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Holy Spirit, of course, to address the matter more directly here in 2 Corinthians 6.
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And again, if we look at 2 Corinthians 7, 1, we see how we are to strive to be holy.
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Therefore, having these promises, the ones we just read about God's pleasure to manifest himself to them, "'Beloved, let us cleanse ourselves "'from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, "'perfecting holiness.'"
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Again, how is it done? In what realm or arena? In the fear of the law.
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So how then are we to strive to be holy, cleansing ourselves from sin? We're to strive to live in the fear of God, and this will result in holiness.
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How does this principle counter worldliness? The world doesn't fear God in the sense that it's to be experienced by the children of God.
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We read of the condition of the sinful world in Romans 3 .10 through 18, and the last statement in that list sums up the plight of the world.
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"'There is no fear of God before their eyes.'" They're not chiefly concerned about pleasing
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God, the true God. And so our lives are to be governed by the fear of God.
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The fear of God is a characteristic of godly people. The fear of God is foundational to a life before God.
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We read in Ecclesiastes 12 .13, "'Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter.'" Solomon was summing up the whole matter as he observed life and assessed it in a spiritual manner.
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"'Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter, "'fear God and keep his commandments.'"
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If you feared God, as you and I should fear God, I could pretty much sit back and say, they're gonna be okay.
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I remember my dear friend, Doug Moore, who's with the Lord now, he and his brother. I remember so many things
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Doug told me. I don't know why, he's the most memorable person I've ever met, as far as my ability to quote him. He and his brother, both born in Arkansas, a layman in the church.
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Each one of them weighed 13 pounds at birth. You can imagine. But Doug was converted in his later 10 teen years, and I think at a revival meeting or something.
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And then he got very sick. He couldn't be in church for a couple of weeks. So the pastor came to his home, check up on him.
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And he found Doug reading his Bible. He said, I knew it was okay. You know, he feared
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God, was reading the Bible, he knew he was gonna be okay. He had the fear of God.
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Godly people are ones who fear God. God said to Abraham, when he was about to offer his son,
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Isaac, lay not your hand upon the boy, neither do anything unto him, for now I know that you fear
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God, seeing you have not withheld your son, your only son from me. The most important thing in Abraham's life was to fear
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God. That is, he desired God's approval above anything else.
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Even the life of his son was secondary to his desire to please
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God. We read in Acts 10, one, the description of a Roman centurion, Cornelius, whom
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Peter proclaimed salvation through Jesus Christ. There was a certain man of Caesarea called Cornelius, a centurion of the band called the
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Italian band, a devout man, one that feared God with all his house. The Lord was dealing with this man, and Peter came and preached the gospel to him, but already he had this intense desire to know
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God and please God. He was praying to that end. God sent Peter with the gospel to him.
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Indeed, all Christians are to fear God. The apostle Peter wrote, honor all people, love the brotherhood, fear
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God, honor the king. Again, what is it then to fear
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God? My definition, to fear God is to have your foremost desire to please
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God and be approved of him in all areas of your life. That's the bottom line.
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Well, whereas the fear of God is a characteristic of all Christians, if they're thinking rightly.
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The fear of man, rather than the fear of God, is a general characteristic of unconverted people.
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It's almost a universal trait. Of all unconverted people, they have a fear of man, rather than the fear, a biblical fear of God.
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What is it to fear man? Well, the fear of man is present when we are more concerned, and we desire more greatly to gain man's approval, rather than God's approval.
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The person who's driven by the fear of man longs to be popular. He desires the fame, perhaps, the approval, the envy of others.
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This is what drives him. He's in competition with others. He wants to look better, have more possessions, have more toys, more, he wants to elevate himself in the eyes of others, the estimation of others.
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He cares little for the things of God, because the world regards the things of God as dull and foolishness.
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Back in my wild and, you know, days of my youth, when
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I was a drunk and an atheist, you know, Christianity is for old women, children, and weak men.
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I mean, that was my, you know, my assessment of Christianity. Everybody knew that.
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Driven by the fear of man, no fear of God before their eyes, is what Paul said, again, in Romans.
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The unsaved man cares little for the things of God. The world regards the pursuit of God as an indication of weakness, and he wants none of that.
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I'm a man, tough, strong, I don't need him. Well, Christians are not to order their lives, whether in their speech, their dress, or their actions, with the primary concern of being accepted by others, regarded as popular by their peers, or respected by their competitors.
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If we live in that manner, we place ourselves in spiritual danger. The world will have gained a great tactical victory over us, for the person who's driven by the fear of man will eventually be undone, for it's written, the fear of man brings a snare.
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Snare would be a loop of rope, maybe set on a rock, to catch an unsuspecting bird. Come down, eat part of the food, and then the fowler snatches him in the snare.
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The fear of man brings a snare. He doesn't see it coming, he doesn't see his downfall coming, but it's gonna happen.
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The Lord Jesus taught his disciples that they should not live with the fear of man, but rather be moved by a fear of God.
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Fear not them which kill the body, which are not able to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both body and soul in hell.
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That's who you should fear. There are even some who apparently are claimed, or thought they believed on Jesus.
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It wasn't true faith, because they were still governed by the fear of man. They denied him by their silence.
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We read in John 12, nevertheless many, even of the authorities, Jewish authorities, believed in him, but for fear of the
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Pharisees, they did not confess it. You can't be a
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Christian unless you confess it. We confess it in baptism, we confess it to others too. They were afraid of being put out of the synagogue, for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
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There you have the fear of man and the fear of God set against each other. Well, in order to understand better the fear of God and how it contrasts with the fear of man, let's consider two examples, two men, one a
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God -fearer and the other who feared man. I love this passage.
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I preached on it back in 2011, so it's been seven years plus, but I embellished it as I went back through it, studied it through, and it's just a wonderful parallel.
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The two Pharisees contrasted, compared contrast with one another in the Gospels. King Herod, very important figure in Palestine, an appointed ruler of Rome, he was king of Galilee, puppet king of Rome over Galilee, and then we read of John the
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Baptist, whom Jesus declared to be the greatest man ever born of woman. John was a preparer of the coming king of Israel, and these two men, again, may be compared and contrasted.
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John lived according to the fear of God. Herod lived according to the fear of man.
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Two different men. King Herod was a worldly man. John was a man of God.
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Herod, although he was king over Galilee, he was driven by fear of others about him, what they thought about him, and this was because his primary focus was being unaccepted and approved by others, even though he was king.
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Although Herod was a king, he was governed by the fear of man. John was only a preacher, but he was governed by the fear of God.
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John feared no man. Now, he was a bold man, a man of courage, and so here we have the account in Mark 6.
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We're gonna read verses 14 through 20. Now, King Herod heard of him, that would be he heard of Jesus, for his name had become well known, and he said,
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John the Baptist is risen from the dead, therefore these powers are at work in him. He'd already had
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John killed, and now he hears of Jesus. Others said it's Elijah, referring to Jesus.
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Others said it's the prophet, or one like the prophets, but when Herod heard it, he said, no, this is not
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God, whom I beheaded. He'd been raised from the dead. For Herod himself had sent and laid hold of John, bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother
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Philip's wife, for he had married her. Because John had said to Herod, it's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife.
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And therefore Herodias held against him, wanted to kill him, but she could not.
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And then verse 20 is very fascinating. For Herod feared John. He had the fear of man, and he feared
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John, knowing that he was a just and holy man, and he heretic to John.
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And when he heard him, Herod did many things. Amazing. And Herod heard him gladly.
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He listened to John. Amazing. So Herod was a man who was the puppet king of Rome, installed over the region of Galilee.
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And history records the Jews hated Herod. He was an Edomian. He wasn't even regarded as a full
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Jew, half Jew from Edomia. Even though this man had been quite generous to the
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Jews in order to curry their favor. He was an evil, ruthless man.
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He was an ambitious man. He obtained his kingdom after he traveled to Rome and secured that from Caesar.
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One of Jesus's parables is probably alluding to that. Man going into a far country to receive a kingdom and then returning.
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But we read that King Herod was governed by what he perceived others thought about him.
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He was governed by the fear of man. Herod was a man who was governed by the fear of man.
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But in contrast, we read of John, who was a man who desired that God's kingdom would be advanced.
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John was afraid of nobody. The only fear he knew was the fear of God.
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And as a result of that godly fear, he feared no man. He preached the word of God to all.
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The same boldness which led him to rebuke the common people and their teachers led him to defy directly, even
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King Herod. It's not lawful for you to have your brother's wife preaching to him one of the commandments.
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John counted it his business not to speak of sin in generals, but in particulars. He touched
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Herod at his most tender place, struck his favorite sin, and exposed to Herod his lust openly.
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And although Herod sinned openly and everybody knew it, no one dared denounce Herod's sin openly, nobody that is except John, because John wasn't afraid of man.
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He told Herod to his face, it's not lawful for you to take to yourself your brother's wife. And so as a result,
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Herod above all the sins that he had done threw John into prison. After Herod imprisoned
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John, Herod became a prisoner to John's preaching. Apparently after John was jailed,
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John continued preaching while in jail. And apparently when John preached in jail,
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Herod would go to listen to him. We read in Mark 6, 17, when
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Herod heard him, he did many things and heard him gladly. That wasn't just one occasion. He listened to John's preaching.
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Now we may find ourselves as Christians forced to deal and work with people like Herod. We find ourselves in places or positions where we're forced to interact with unbelievers who are not indifferent to the things of God, but antagonistic toward them and therefore antagonistic toward you.
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And you perhaps wish that you didn't have to work with them. Might be a neighbor, fellow worker, supervisor, maybe even a spouse.
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Perhaps we feel ourselves like John was, a prisoner. But you know who was the real prisoner? Herod. They're the ones who are truly imprisoned.
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We think they're causing grief to us and they are, but in reality, it's reciprocal, isn't it?
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They can't be too happy with us. When we're forced to live in their proximity, they are forced to live in ours.
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And as a result, they're confronted by our words and our speech, our lifestyle, which repudiates them and rebukes them.
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Even though you're not intending it, they take it that way and they get angry. Sometimes it results in them being converted to God.
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Thank God for that, but not always. When Herod imprisoned John, Herod became imprisoned to John's preaching.
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For Herod's imprisonment of John didn't silence John's words. Rather, they became more frequent, more direct, more personal.
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And so again, Mark 620, Herod feared John. Knowing he was a just man, he was a holy man, observed him, and when he heard him, he did many things and heard him gladly.
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That is Herod listening to John. Hourly, John was bound, but was truly free.
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Hourly, Herod was free, but he was truly bound. John was not afraid of King Herod, but King Herod was very fearful of John.
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We read it, for Herod feared John, the fear of men.
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Again, Herod was a despot. As long as he did not upset Rome, he was free to do as he pleased. And on the one hand, we might think in a worldly way, a man like that isn't very fearful.
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But in reality, Herod feared everybody, even though he was in that position.
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On the other hand, we might think John being imprisoned at the mercy of such a capricious tyrant might be fearful, but John was fearless.
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John was fearless and Herod was fearful. That's the two outcomes of being governed by the fear of man and being governed by the fear of God.
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It's the one who seeks to honor God and is thoroughly convinced of God's truth, who seeks to be honored by God rather than man.
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This is the one who will be fearless before man, if he's thinking rightly.
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Herod sought his own honor among men, therefore he was very concerned at what others thought of him. He was driven by the fear of man.
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John sought no honor among men. He sought for the honor of the Lord Jesus to increase and his own honor to decrease if that would bring it about.
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And yet though John sought no honor from men, he had the honor of men. For again, Herod feared
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John. John had Herod's honor, didn't he? And of course,
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John had Jesus's honor. No man ever born a woman was greater than John. Herod was a great monarch.
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John was but a poor preacher. As one once said, I think this was Spurgeon, John was more royal than royal
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Herod. The king of kings honored John, but this
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Herod, a would -be king of kings, also honors John. Everybody honored John, even his enemies.
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Do not be surprised if those to whom you've been imprisoned are also fearful of you. They will be if you show yourself to be unconcerned about impressing others and exalting yourself in their estimation.
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Be true, be direct, be true to God, be strong, be of good courage. Seek to bring honor to Christ.
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And although others about you may not admit it to you or even to themselves, they'll honor you.
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Perhaps they have been to you. I wish I had that kind of courage. But they have no source for it because every one of us has the fear of men, every one of us.
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But the Christian who's thinking rightly has a greater fear of God that overcomes the fear of man.
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Now, Herod, even though he was an extremely wicked man, nevertheless, had some good traits, and we read of them in Mark 6, 20.
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Again, we read this, Herod feared John. He knew that John was a just and holy man.
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He observed John, and when he heard John, he did many things and heard him gladly. Let's just break these down a little bit.
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First, we see King Herod respected justice and holiness in a man. Herod had no justice or holiness in his own character, but he admired it in John.
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But this is a good trait of Herod. He admired these qualities. Again, even when they don't exhibit these qualities in themselves, they might admire it,
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Satan, you. Some have so defiled themselves with sin that they despise goodness and ridicule justice.
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Herod did not digress that far. He respected these qualities. And there may be some non -Christians who highly regard these qualities, and that's a good quality.
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Secondly, we see Herod admired the man in whom he saw these qualities. He admired John. Again, verse 20.
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Herod feared John, knowing he was a just man, holy man, and he protected him. One English translation translates it.
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This Herod, who would later have John beheaded, provided a measure of protection for John for a time.
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Herodias, Herod's wife, was a vengeful woman. She didn't like what
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John was telling Herod. She desired John to be put to death, but Herod protected
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John from her, apparently, for a time. For Herod admired John. There are those about us who respect us, who may appreciate us as Christians, think highly of our convictions, may even desire our company.
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But where they might respect us, they'll have nothing to do with our faith. They might surprise us by even coming to our defense.
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You've probably had that happen. We really don't know what to think of it when they do. Kind of surprised by it.
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It might cause us to be hopeful for their case. Some today, if they saw
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Herod doing those things, oh, Herod must be converted. I mean, they've so lowered the standards of Christianity.
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They see a few positive things in a sinful man, and they say, hey, he must be a Christian. Not so. The King James Version, by the way, says instead of protecting him, it says that Herod observed him.
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Just as Herod did with John, these people may be watching us. Perhaps they're curious and interested. And I tell you what the world is very capable of doing, and they're very keen on doing.
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The world, even though we're in a post -Christian world, the world still knows enough about Christianity that they know how you and I ought to live.
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And so they can spot hypocrisy just as clear as day.
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And they're looking for it many times. In order to discredit you, discredit your witness. Perhaps to justify their non -commitment by finding some inconsistency in us.
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And you look at, pardon enough, any of us, and you'll find it. There's a strange love -hatred kind of association with these people.
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Like Herod, they don't know what to make of you. They don't know what to do about you. You find yourself having to interact, sometimes respond to them.
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Irrational outbursts. I think of King Saul and David. David didn't know whether to duck, or play his instrument for King Saul.
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It was either love or hate. Saul was either throwing a spear at him, or approving of David.
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It was just a strange relationship. Herod admired John. But again,
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John was a rebuke to him, and so their relationship must have been a stormy one. But third, there was a third good trait about Herod.
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We read that King Herod listened to John, and heard him gladly. Unconverted people can listen to the word of God, and hear it gladly.
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The New American Standard Version reads, he used to enjoy listening to John. He liked
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John's preaching. And this is a good quality, is it not? To enjoy hearing the word of God preached.
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Enjoy having conversations about the word of God. I can't imagine he'd talk with John. But just because someone listens to you, and may seem to endorse enthusiastically what you say, doesn't make him a
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Christian. Our Lord described some hearers of the word, who are lost, and yet they seem to receive the word gladly.
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And they even believe for a while. But they're not true Christians. Because they only believe for a while.
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Herod heard the word of God, and he liked what he heard. There was something about John and his style that appealed to Herod.
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And sometimes you or I might have a strong influence upon others, and they may conform, it would seem, to us, and respond to us, and our instruction, and our example.
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But it's short -lived, because it's not a work of grace. But rather, they see these qualities, they admire them, they desire them for themselves, but they're not looking to Christ.
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There's one further good point about Herod. We read that Herod did many things. He repented of some sins.
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Probably did a number of good things. This was not a man who disregarded all of what
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John had to say. He made some changes in his life. He righted a few wrongs, perhaps. Perhaps performed some charitable acts.
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Maybe he reformed some of his attitudes and actions. Somebody once told me, he says, "'I think you and your church have put a lot of people "'back into the
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Catholic Church in this area, "'and other churches in the area.'" And I wouldn't doubt that's the case.
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I've had people tell me that, by the way, directly. But again, partial repentance is no repentance.
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Picking and choosing which teachings of Scripture to accept, selecting some principles to follow is not salvation.
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Do not delude yourself that somehow doing things, even many things like Herod, will result in acquittal at the judgment seat.
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No, coming to Christ, there's a transformation that takes place. John Bunyan.
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I was reminded yesterday as I was working through this of John Bunyan and his own testimony of how he was converted.
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He was a wild man in Bedford, England. Back in the 1600s.
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And he, of course, was converted. He ended up writing Pilgrim's Progress, among so many other books.
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I'm reading John Owen's book now, probably one of the greatest theologians of church history. He said,
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I would trade all my education, all my knowledge if I could preach the Word of God like John Bunyan.
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And Bunyan was put in jail for preaching, of course, and he wrote Pilgrim's Progress. But he wrote a biography, spiritual biography, entitled
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Grace Abounding to the Chief of Sinners. It was his testimony. And he described how he had been this real flagrant sinner in the community, but then he underwent this moral transformation where he became a very stellar citizen in the community, but he was still unconverted.
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But everybody thought he was a Christian. This is a wonderful account of, and I just pulled out two sections.
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Before he actually was converted, and then after the fact. Or actually the event that brought true conversion.
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And so we're on page 80 of your notes if you happen to have it in front of you. But quickly after this, he's talking about this time of renovation that took place.
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I fell in company with one poor man that made profession of religion, who, as I then thought, did talk pleasantly of the
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Scriptures and of the matters of religion. Wherefore, falling into some love and liking to what he said,
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I betook me to my Bible and began to take great pleasure in reading, but especially with the historical part thereof.
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For as Paul's epistles and Scriptures of that nature, I could not away with them. It didn't make sense to him.
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He didn't understand them. Being as yet but ignorant, either of the corruptions of my nature or the want or the need and worth of Jesus Christ to save me.
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And wherefore, I fell to some outward reformation, both in my words and life. He had a foul mouth.
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And did set the commandments before me for my way to heaven, which commandments I also did strive to keep.
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And as I thought, did keep them pretty well sometimes. And then I should have comfort, yet now and then should break one and so afflict my conscience.
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But then I should repent and say I was sorry for it and promise God to do better next time and there get help again.
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For then, I thought, I pleased God as well as any man in England. In other words, when he humbled himself and acknowledged his sin.
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And thus I continued about a year. All which time our neighbors did take me to be a very godly man.
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A new and religious man. And did marvel much to see such a great and famous alteration in my life and manners.
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And indeed so it was. Though yet I knew not Christ, nor grace, nor faith, nor hope.
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And truly as I have well seen since, had then died my state had been most fearful.
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Well, this I say continued about 12 month or so. But I say my neighbors were amazed at this my great conversion.
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From prodigious profaneness to something like a moral life. And truly so they well might.
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For this my conversion was as great as for Tom of Bedlam to become a sober man. And now therefore they began to praise, to commend and to speak well of me.
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Both to my face and behind my back. And now I was as they said become godly.
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And now I was become a right honest man. But oh when I understood that these were their words and opinions of men it pleased me mighty well.
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Fear of man. For though as yet I was nothing but a poor painted hypocrite.
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Yet I loved to be talked of as one that was truly godly. I was proud of my godliness.
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And indeed I did all I did either to be seen of or to be well spoken of by man. Herod did many things.
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And thus I continued for about 12 month or more. Well how was Bunyan converted?
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But upon a day the good providence of God did cast me to Bedford and to work on my calling. He was a tinker, a pair of pots and kettles.
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One of the streets of that town I came where there were three or four poor women sitting at a door in the sun. Talking about the things of God.
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And being now willing to hear them discourse I drew near to hear what they said. For I was now a brisk talker also myself in the matters of religion.
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But now I may say I heard but I understood not. For they were far above out of my reach.
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For their talk was about a new birth. The work of God in their hearts. Also how they were convinced of their miserable state by nature.
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They talked how God had visited their souls with his love in the Lord Jesus. And with what words and promises they had been refreshed, comforted, and supported against the temptations of the devil.
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And moreover they reasoned of the suggestions and temptations of Satan in particular. And told each other by which they had been afflicted.
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And how they were borne up under his assaults. They also discoursed of their own wretchedness of heart.
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Of their unbelief and did condemn, slight and abhor their own righteousness as filthy and insufficient to them any good.
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And methought they spake as if joy did make them speak. They spake with such pleasantness of scripture language.
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With such appearance of grace in all they said that they were to me as if they had found a new world.
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As if they were people that dwelt alone and were not to be reckoned among their neighbors. And at this
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I felt my own heart begin to shake. As mistrusting my condition to be not. For I saw that in all my thoughts about religion and salvation the new birth did never enter into my mind.
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Neither knew I the comfort of the word and promise. Nor the deceitfulness and treachery of my own wicked heart.
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As for secret thoughts I took no notice of them. Neither did I understand what Satan's temptations were.
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Nor how they were to be withstood and resisted. And thus therefore when I had heard and considered what they said.
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I left them and went about my employment again. But their talk and discourse went with me.
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Also my heart would tarry with them. For I was greatly affected with their words. Both because of by them
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I was convinced that I wanted or needed the true tokens of a truly godly man.
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And also because by them, those words, I was convinced of the happy and blessed condition of him that was such a one.
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And so hypocrisy is what characterized him. He was outwardly conforming to a measure of righteousness.
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And he was quite pleased and proud. And was really happy when people commented about what a righteous man he had become.
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Well, let's return to King Herod. We just have a couple minutes here, but we can rather quickly.
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Herod doing many things, actually only condemned him further, didn't it? For in doing these things he was acknowledging the truth was known to him.
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And therefore his guilt will be aggravated on the day of judgment. And again, all these qualities, they were good qualities in that sense.
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But sadly, Herod had some serious flaws that reveal his true character. First, although he looked at John, he never looked at John's master,
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Jesus Christ. John always pointed beyond himself, didn't he? Behold the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world.
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He always pointed to Jesus. Herod didn't see Jesus, didn't look to Jesus.
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And so Herod was sort of a follower of John, never a follower of Jesus. We're to be witnesses for Christ, but sometimes people do not see past us.
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And that's a shame. It's not our fault. Any more than Herod's nearsightedness was John's fault.
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We need to try and discern people's motivations. And this is what
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Christians are to do by the way, with respect to their children. We know that our children when they are young will tend to believe the things that we believe.
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They'll follow us because we follow Jesus. And that's good. But as our children grow, we desire to see them increasingly follow
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Jesus himself rather than follow us as we follow Jesus. And so as you children get older, we
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Christian parents begin to look for signs that you are indeed following Jesus because you fear him, you fear
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God, you wanna please him. This especially comes to the forefront in teen years.
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Say even when you're with other Christian teens, you do the Christian things. And we begin to wonder, are you following Jesus because your friends are doing so?
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Or are you following Jesus because you love him and you know him? In other words, are you following Christ out of a fear of God?
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Or are you following Christ out of a fear of man? Simply because your parents have and do and those around you do.
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Are you seeking Christ, him alone, him principally? Would you be following Christ even if you had no friends that did so?
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Even if your parents didn't do so, would you be following Christ? Herod didn't.
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Secondly, we see that although Herod had respected John's goodness, he had none of his own, no goodness in his heart.
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The Lord Jesus called Herod that fox. He was a scheming, cunning, crafty animal taking advantage of others.
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Herod will pray with you, read the Bible with you, sing hymns with you, speak of spiritual things with you. And yet in the next hour, they'll do the same with the crowd down at the bar.
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And then thirdly, although Herod listened to John's words, he apparently never heard them as the word of God. He was impressed by John, how bold John is.
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He didn't see God speaking to him, but John speaking to him. And lastly, again, although Herod feared
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John, Herod did not fear God, obviously. And so we read what happened,
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Mark 6, 21 through 29. Then an opportune day came when
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Herod on his birthday gave a feast for his nobles, the high officers, the chief men of Galilee. And when
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Herodias' daughter herself came in and danced and pleased Herod and those who sat with him, the king said to the girl, ask me whatever you want,
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I will give it to you. He also swore to her in front of the others, whatever you ask of me,
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I will give you up to half my kingdom. So she went out and said to her mother, what shall I ask?
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And she said, the head of John the Baptist. Immediately she came in and with haste to the king and asked, saying,
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I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter. And the king was exceedingly sorry.
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And yet because of the oath and because of those who sat with him, he did not refuse her. He was governed by the fear of man.
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He was concerned about what they would think of him. And immediately the king sent an executioner and commanded his head to be brought.
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He went and beheaded John in prison, brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl. And the girl gave it to her mother.
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And when his disciples heard of it, they came and took away his corpse and laid it in a tomb. John was the
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Elijah to come. Elijah, you know, had his Jezebel who sought to kill him and John had his
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Herodias. So Herod slew John, the preacher whom he once respected. What's his name?
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The reformer of Zurich, Switzerland. Name slips my mind.
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Pardon me. Zwingli, thank you. He had a group of friends as young men.
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They had Bible studies together. He taught them to read Greek. And yet Zwingli later on, because he advocated infant baptism, these friends of his for years going to Bible study, taught them
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Greek, came to embrace believers' baptism. Zwingli had them rowed out into the river, chained and thrown into the river and drowned.
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Zwingli, who is often lauded as this great reformer, was a murderer in reality.