Posted on 06/06/2021 12:42:47 AM PDT by Pilgrim's Progress
“When thou goest, it shall lead thee; when thou sleepest, it shall keep thee; and when thou awakest, it shall talk with thee. For the commandment is a lamp; and the law is light; and reproofs of instruction are the way of life" (Proverbs 6:22-23).
People have now “graced” themselves into just doing, just behaving, anyway they want to; and to have any kind of restrictions on dress, or any kind of restrictions on behavior, or any kind of restrictions on the outrageous, “Well, that's just Pharisaical, that's just legalism!” No, that's just common sense.
The reason I say that is, because it’s talking about the commandment. That commandment leads. “. . . it shall lead thee.”
Folks, everybody must follow orders sometimes, and half of the Bible is an order either in the positive or the negative. You're constantly being admonished or exhorted to do something or to stop doing something; and what you are to do or what you're not to do, is one of the greatest guides that you have in life.
“Abstain from all appearance of evil,” well if that's true, there are places you can't go so don't go there; and when you don't go there, what happens? God has lead you, right? You have just been guided. You've been supernaturally guided, because God put in your head and heart that there are things that you can't do and there's places that you can't go. When you bite your tongue after hitting your thumb with a hammer you've just been guided. You were told to “let no filthy communication proceed out of your mouth,” and when you didn't that's a good thing, because you were guided.
When you start throwing out the commandments, and all your boundaries start being lowered so that anything goes, folks, you have lost the leadership of the Holy Spirit. It’s not the same is legalism. It's not the same as Phariseeism.
“The flesh seeks to enter every sphere of life. It has its worship as well as its lust. The worship which the flesh prompts is an abomination to God. Not all earnest and honest worship is in the Spirit. A man may be very honest and very earnest in his worship and still not have submitted himself to the guidance of the Holy Spirit in the matter, and so his worship is in the flesh. Even where there is great loyalty to the letter of the word, worship may not be “in the Spirit,” i.e., inspired and directed by Him. To worship aright we must ‘have no confidence in the flesh.’”
— R. A. Torrey, 1897
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Good stuff...thanks for the post.
FMCDH(BITS)
Another spot on proverb! Thank you as always Pilgrim and may God bless you for spreading his word EVERYDAY. I hope and pray that all is well with you.
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