“To day if ye will hear his voice, harden not your heart, as in the provocation, and as in the day of temptation in the wilderness: when your fathers tempted me, proved me, and saw my work. Forty years long was I grieved with this generation, and said, It is a people that do err in their heart, and they have not known my ways: unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.” Psalm 95:7b-11

Will you enter God’s eternal rest, or are you hardening your heart against Him? God’s Word comes to you. You have it in your Bible, and it is still preached by faithful ministers; but will you hear it and believe it?

The Children of Israel heard God’s words through Moses and even directly from God Himself on Mt. Sinai. They saw God’s mighty works in Egypt, at the Red Sea and in the wilderness. But did they believe? Did they trust in the LORD God to lead and guide them, provide for them in their journeys and bring them safely into the Promised Land? The answer is, No! Again and again, they grumbled and complained. Again and again, they disobeyed the commandments of the LORD. And, when it was time to go up and take possession of the land the LORD was giving them, they doubted God’s Word to them and wanted to return to Egypt. Therefore, because of their unbelief, they did not enter into the promised rest.

Now, the Word of the LORD comes to you. It calls you to repent of your sinful ways and rebellion against the LORD and receive forgiveness and life through the shed blood of Jesus Christ, God’s own dear Son. Will you hear God’s Word? Will you acknowledge your utter sinfulness and rebelliousness before the LORD? Will you come to God and trust in Him to receive you and forgive you of all your sins because Jesus Christ, the only begotten Son of God in human flesh, fulfilled the righteous demands of God’s law for you and then bore your punishment upon the cross and rose again?

If you refuse to repent and turn to the Lord Jesus for mercy, you go astray in your heart. You do not know the way of the LORD, and you will not enter into His eternal rest! But if you humble yourself before the LORD, hear His Word and believe, you will receive of His mercy and be blessed with the eternal joys of heaven for Jesus’ sake!

LORD God, have mercy upon us and grant that we do not harden our hearts against You and the truth of Your Word. By Your Holy Spirit, grant us true repentance and faith In Jesus Christ our Savior. In His name, we pray. Amen.

“O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before his presence with thanksgiving, and make a joyful noise unto him with psalms. For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In his hand are the deep places of the earth: the strength of the hills is his also. The sea is his, and he made it: and his hands formed the dry land. O come, let us worship and bow down: let us kneel before the LORD our maker. For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand….” Psalm 95:1-7a

In Hosea 8:14, we read that “Israel hath forgotten his Maker.” They were still a religious people, but they had forgotten who the LORD God was and how to worship and serve Him.

These words are not only true of Old Testament Israel at the time of Hosea the prophet; they are true of us today. As a nation and people – even as the outward, visible church – we have forgotten our Maker and we neglect to give Him the glory and praise due unto His name.

We need to remember that “the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture” (Psalm 100:3).

In spite of man’s attempts to escape this fact, the truth still remains that the LORD (Jehovah) God of the Bible (the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Ghost) has created us and all things by His almighty word (Genesis 1-2; Nehemiah 9:6). It is He who formed us in our mothers’ wombs and gave us life (Ps. 139:13-16), and He it is who sustains our lives (cf. Psalm 145:15-16).

And, not only is He the Creator and Sustainer of all things, He gave His only begotten Son and redeemed us through the innocent sufferings and death of Christ Jesus that we might have forgiveness for all our sins and again be alive to Him and worship His name (cf. Psalm 130:7-8; John. 3:16; 1 John 4:9-10; Romans 5:8-11).

Isn’t it about time we remember our Creator; look to Him to forgive our sins for the sake of the holy life and bitter sufferings and death of the Son, Christ Jesus, and then worship and serve Him with our lives?

If we do not humbly kneel before Him now, we shall be humbled and kneel before Him on the Last Day when He executes His judgment upon all people (cf. Philippians 2:5-11; Psalm 2).

O Almighty God, our Maker and Redeemer, for the sake of Christ Jesus, our Savior, forgive us for our many sins against You, and grant that we might kneel before You and worship You both now and forevermore in heaven! Amen.

Sad to say, many churches preach popular opinion rather than preaching Christ Jesus as the only way of salvation! Instead of preaching the cross of Jesus, they preach in accord with the everchanging winds of manmade doctrine.

At Good Shepherd, we preach Christ and His cross for our salvation, and we teach and preach all that God reveals to us in His Word, the Bible!

Many church organizations and church bodies are ruled by political might when they should be ruled and governed solely by the Word of God.

It happens in local congregations and it happens in national and international church bodies. Decisions regarding doctrine, worship and mission work are determined by the group in power, whether that be a simple majority, a group of pastors or elders or a group of delegates. And whichever group has the political power wins and its favored doctrine and practice are forced upon the rest of the congregation or church body — that is, until another group gains the political might to change things.

In so many ways, congregations and church bodies are using political systems to rule and govern rather than letting God rule and govern by means of His Word, the Bible. They forget that the church is a theocracy with Christ as its head, while our civil governments are not.

While both the church and the state are ordained by God, there is a big difference in their purpose and function. The church was instituted for the eternal salvation of men. The state is for the maintenance of external righteousness and order among men in this world. The church preaches and proclaims the Word of God to bring men to faith and change hearts. The state enacts and enforces laws to curb and control men’s outward actions.

When Jesus asked the disciples who they believed Him to be, Peter replied: “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God” (Matthew 16:16); and Jesus said that, upon this truth which the Father had revealed to Peter, Jesus would “build His church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it” (v. 17-18). Jesus also said: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

On the other hand, the Scriptures say of civil government: “Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same: for he is the minister of God to thee for good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil” (Romans 13:1-4); and, “Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well” (1 Peter 2:13-14).

While the state — civil government — bears the sword to maintain order, punish evildoers and wage just wars, the church is ruled by and proclaims the Word of God.

The Bible says: “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord” (Colossians 3:16); and, “Continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; and that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works” (2 Timothy 3:14-17).

In order that men might be saved, the church has been commanded to preach the Word of God and proclaim Jesus Christ crucified as the Savior of mankind. Jesus commanded His disciples to “go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned” (Mark 16:15-16; cf. Romans 1:16-17; 10:15,17).

To maintain civil order and righteousness in this world, civil governments have been given power and responsibility to enact just laws, punish evildoers (including the use of the death penalty), and to wage just wars (1 Peter 2:13-14; Psalm 82:1-4; Genesis 9:6; Romans 13:3-4).

As Christians, we recognize from the Holy Scriptures that no one can be brought to believe the Bible’s teaching, be brought to faith in Christ Jesus or be made a member of God’s heavenly kingdom through the powers of civil government (cf. John 3:3-6; 18:11,36; 2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Ephesians 6:10-18). Nor should the church expect civil governments to require faith or demand submission to church rites and worship.

On the other hand, neither does God give to civil governments the authority to dictate to the church what it may or may not teach or how it should conduct its worship and ministry in this world. And, when civil governments depart from their God-given duties and forbid what God commands or command what God forbids, Christians must obey God rather than men even if they must suffer the earthly consequences (Acts 4:19-20; 5:29; Luke 12:4-5; Daniel 3 and 6).

As a result of this distinction between the church and the state, Christians should never substitute for the ongoing preaching of God’s Word the enactment and enforcement of laws which can only regulate one’s outward conduct. And churches should never feel they have carried out their mission if only their political and moral views are accepted by civil governments and imposed upon the people.

In fact, since the church is ruled by the Word of God, it is never a satisfactory situation when only a majority of those associated with the church holds to the Biblical truth. The Bible urges the preaching of God’s Word as God’s Word until all, by the grace of God, come to know and believe the truth.

The Bible tells us: “Now I beseech you, brethren, by the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that ye all speak the same thing, and that there be no divisions among you; but that ye be perfectly joined together in the same mind and in the same judgment” (1 Corinthians 1:10). And the Bible tells us that this is accomplished through ongoing and faithful preaching and teaching of God’s Word — not forcing people to believe (or compromising the truth) but allowing the Holy Spirit to work to create and strengthen faith in the heart which accepts all that God’s Word teaches (cf. 2 Timothy 3:14-17; 4:1ff.; Titus 1:9; Psalm 19:8; 119:105; Isaiah 55:10-11; John 6:44, 63; Romans 10:17; Ephesians 4:10-16).

My point in all this is simply to say that churches and church bodies err and come short when they seek to rule over their members (or over an earthly kingdom or nation) through the use of politics and political maneuvering and majority decisions. Such political rule can only affect outward actions. Rather, churches should faithfully preach God’s Word that God’s Spirit might change people’s hearts — bringing them to see their sinfulness and trust in their Savior and, as a fruit of that faith, to live for their God and Savior in accord with his Word.