Evil on Every Side
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Save, O Lord, for the godly one is gone;
for the faithful have vanished from among the children of man.
Everyone utters lies to his neighbor;
with flattering lips and a double heart they speak.
Ps 1:
The Faithful Have Vanished
The Faithful Have Vanished
It certainly feels this way at times.
But 73% of Americans identify as Christians!
But wait…
What does it mean to be a Christian?
Barna uses several of these to identify key faith groups in America, including “born again Christians,” “evangelical Christians” and those who are “Bible-minded.” The largest of these groups are born again Christians, which make up roughly one-third of the population (35%). These individuals have made a personal commitment to Jesus Christ that is still important in their life today and believe that, when they die, they will go to heaven because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. The next largest group are those considered Bible-minded, who make up about one-quarter of the population (23%). They believe the Bible is accurate in all the principles it teaches and have read the Scriptures within the past week. Finally, the small (7%) but influential group of evangelicals are those who meet the born again criteria plus seven other conditions (detailed below), which are made up of a set of doctrinal views that touch on topics like evangelism, Satan, biblical inerrancy and salvation. - https://www.barna.com/research/state-church-2016/
Evangelical Christian: Meet the born again criteria plus seven other conditions. These conditions include saying their faith is very important in their life today; believing they have a personal responsibility to share their religious beliefs about Christ with non-Christians; believing that Satan exists; believing that Jesus Christ lived a sinless life on earth; asserting that the Bible is accurate in all that it teaches; believing that eternal salvation is possible only through grace, not works; and describing God as the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect deity who created the universe and still rules it today. Being classified as an evangelical is not dependent upon church attendance or the denominational affiliation of the church attended. Respondents were not asked to describe themselves as “evangelical.”
Evangelical Christian: 1) Faith is important to life today. 2) Responsibility to share the Gospel. 3) Satan exists. 4) Jesus was sinless. 5) Bible is accurate. 6) Salvation is through faith, not works. 7) God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect Creator & Ruler of the universe.
Evangelical Christian: 1) Faith is important to life today. 2) Responsibility to share the Gospel. 3) Satan exists. 4) Jesus was sinless. 5) Bible is accurate. 6) Salvation is through faith, not works. 7) God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect Creator & Ruler of the universe.
This is not a high bar.
1) Faith is important to life today. 2) Responsibility to share the Gospel. 3) Satan exists. 4) Jesus was sinless. 5) Bible is accurate. 6) Salvation is through faith, not works. 7) God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect Creator & Ruler of the universe.
1) Faith is important to life today. 2) Responsibility to share the Gospel. 3) Satan exists. 4) Jesus was sinless. 5) Bible is accurate. 6) Salvation is through faith, not works. 7) God is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect Creator & Ruler of the universe.
May the Lord cut off all flattering lips,
the tongue that makes great boasts,
those who say, “With our tongue we will prevail,
our lips are with us; who is master over us?”
The Tongue that Makes Great Boasts
The Tongue that Makes Great Boasts
Why do people boast and brag?
Because they feel insufficient.
Putting others down and raising themselves up.
The Gospel removes the need for boasting and the ability to boast.
But God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise; God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong; God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.”
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
Words matter.
God’s Word is powerful.
As those made in the image of God, our words are powerful as well.
To hurt and to heal.
To heal.
To curse and to pray.
but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father, and with it we curse people who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. My brothers, these things ought not to be so.
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person. For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.
Do you not see that whatever goes into the mouth passes into the stomach and is expelled? But what comes out of the mouth proceeds from the heart, and this defiles a person.
Psalm 12:
“Because the poor are plundered, because the needy groan,
I will now arise,” says the Lord;
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
The words of the Lord are pure words,
like silver refined in a furnace on the ground,
purified seven times.
Pure Words
Pure Words
God responds to the needs of the oppressed.
“I will now arise” - God takes action.
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
“Save” (from v.1) and “safety” are different forms of the same Hebrew word used in this passage.’
The Word of God is powerful.
For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
“The words of the Lord are pure” in contrast with the words of men.
You, O Lord, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
“I will now arise” - God takes action.
English Standard Version Psalm 12
You, O LORD, will keep them;
you will guard us from this generation forever.
8 On every side the wicked prowl,
as vileness is exalted among the children of man.
“I will place him in the safety for which he longs.”
Guard Us from this Generation
Guard Us from this Generation
God will keep and guard a remnant.
“Save” (from v.1) and “safety” are different forms of the same Hebrew word used in this passage.’
Moses before Pharoah:
And God sent me before you to preserve for you a remnant on earth, and to keep alive for you many survivors.
“At that time, declares the Lord, I will be the God of all the clans of Israel, and they shall be my people.”
Thus says the Lord:
“The people who survived the sword
found grace in the wilderness;
when Israel sought for rest,
the Lord appeared to him from far away.
I have loved you with an everlasting love;
therefore I have continued my faithfulness to you.
Again I will build you, and you shall be built,
O virgin Israel!
Again you shall adorn yourself with tambourines
and shall go forth in the dance of the merrymakers.
Again you shall plant vineyards
on the mountains of Samaria;
the planters shall plant
and shall enjoy the fruit.
For there shall be a day when watchmen will call
in the hill country of Ephraim:
‘Arise, and let us go up to Zion,
to the Lord our God.’ ”
For thus says the Lord:
“Sing aloud with gladness for Jacob,
and raise shouts for the chief of the nations;
proclaim, give praise, and say,
‘O Lord, save your people,
the remnant of Israel.’
After they finished speaking, James replied, “Brothers, listen to me. Simeon has related how God first visited the Gentiles, to take from them a people for his name. And with this the words of the prophets agree, just as it is written,
“ ‘After this I will return,
and I will rebuild the tent of David that has fallen;
I will rebuild its ruins,
and I will restore it,
that the remnant of mankind may seek the Lord,
and all the Gentiles who are called by my name,
says the Lord, who makes these things known from of old.’
God has always kept a remnant and he always will, even to this day.
On every side the wicked prowl.
What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us?
This is a message of God’s protection of His people.
Vileness is exalted among men.
But we can be a light in the darkness.
“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.
