September 12, 2004

Mural Worthey

Cawson Street Church of Christ

Hopewell, Virginia 23860

Introduction

Every person lives by some basic principles of life that guide him in both decisions and deeds. Often these principles are unstated and unwritten, but they are learned early and unconsciously guide us in life. Principles are so important because one sound principle of truth covers hundreds of applications. A math teacher cannot possibly cover all the applications, but if she covers the principle well the students will be able to make the application and work all the problems covered by the principle. Sometimes we call these principles rules or laws. For example, Paul said that boasting in Christianity is excluded. He asked, By what law? (Rom. 3:27.) Boasting is not excluded by a command from God, but by an understanding or principle. The principle is that if we are saved by the mercy of God and not by our good deeds, then boasting is excluded. We have nothing whereof we can boast. Understanding this one principle opens the gates to understanding many other truths in Christianity. If we misunderstand this principle, we will immediately misunderstand many other things in the faith of the Gospel.

Have you ever wondered why the Bible is so small in volume? This book covers more ground than any other book ever printed. It starts at the beginning of our world and ends with the destruction of this world. It covers the entire history of mankind from a redemptive point of view. It could be called salvation history. How does it cover so much in so small a space? Two reasons: God wrote it and principles are used. Principles are so important to grasp and believe. If they are rejected or denied, then many problems arise.

We could call the Bible’s message principles for living. It covers both our physical and spiritual lives. Jesus was a powerful teacher because of the both the content of what he preached and how he presented it in principles. What are some of the great principles of life that he taught?

Jesus once said to his followers, "Have faith in God." (Mark 11:22.) The occasion of this statement was Peter’s observance of the cursed fig tree. Peter said, "Master, behold, the fig tree which you cursed is withered away." (11:21.) Jesus replied, "That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed and be cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass, he shall have whatsoever he says. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever that you desire when you pray, believe that you receive them and you shall have them." (11:23-24.)

How important it is to have faith in God! It is the great difference among men. It is a choice that each makes in his own life. It is a principle of life that affects all else that one thinks and does. It is the great divide, the real fork in the road of life! What you choose here, choose carefully.

"Now faith is the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. For by it the elders obtained a good report. Through faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God, so that things which are seen were not made of things which do appear. . . But without faith it is impossible to please him; for he that comes to God must believe that he is and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him." (Heb. 11:1-3, 6.)

Nathaniel was impressed that the Lord knew that he was sitting under the fig tree before Philip called him to meet the Messiah. (John 1:48.) Hagar was driven away by Sarah after she was found with child by Abraham. In the wilderness by a well, she said, "Thou God seest me." (Gen. 16:13.) Sister Campbell said to her five children upon her death-bed that this thought will be "a guard against a thousand follies and against every temptation." (Memoirs, Vol. 2, 179.) Having faith in God means that we acknowledge the power of God and his presence. God is all-seeing and all-knowing. Admitting this about God is a life-changing principle. It helps us to be honest about ourselves. God knows us as we really are. God wants us to know that he knows us. Only then can we really be honest about our sins and ungodliness. But also, it gives comfort to us in life that God is near and that he has power to help us.

"Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight, but all things are naked and open unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do." (Heb. 4:13.)

"Whither shall I go from thy spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, thou are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there shall thy hand lead me and thy right hand shall hold me. If I say, Surely the darkness shall cover me, even the night shall be light about me. Yea, the darkness hides not from thee, but the night shines as the day. The darkness and the light are both alike to thee." (Psalm 139:7-12.)

"Am I a God at hand, saith the Lord, and not a God afar off? Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? Saith the Lord. Do not I fill heaven and earth? Saith the Lord." (Jer. 23:23-24.)

"The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good." (Prov. 15:3.)

Paul described the great error of the Gentile world as not desiring to retain God in their knowledge and when they knew God, they glorified him not as God. (Rom. 1:21, 28.) It is a life-changing principle and truth to acknowledge God as God. Your life will begin to unravel and self-destruct if you reject the knowledge of God. All kinds of evil will enter your life and destroy you.

Those who do not acknowledge God live by the principle, "Eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." (1 Cor. 15:32, quoted from Isaiah 22:13.) Job asked the universal question, "If a man dies, shall he live again?" (14:14.) Paul reasoned with philosophers among the Epicureans and Stoics at Mars Hill. (Acts 17:18.) Without knowing the truth of the Gospel about life, man will devise his own principles by which he lives.

Epicurus taught that the aim and end of life for every man is his own happiness, and happiness is primarily defined as pleasure. "Wherefore we call pleasure the Alpha and Omega of a blessed life. Pleasure is our first and kindred good. It is the starting-point of every choice and of every aversion, and to it we come back, inasmuch as we make feeling the rule by which to judge every good thing." (Epicurus, Letter to Menaeceus, quoted in ISBE, "Epicureans," Vol. 2, 964.) The pleasures of the mind, according to Epicurus, are more important than pleasures of the body. For happiness consists not so much in the satisfaction of desires, as in the suppression of wants and in arriving at a state of independence of all circumstances. He taught that man’s desires are various in nature: some are natural and some are groundless. Man’s aim should be to suppress all desires that are unnecessary. But in their search for meaning in life, philosophy could not answer the basic questions. What gives meaning to life? Shall man live again?

Christians live by the principle, Since life will shortly be over, we should redeem the time, (Eph. 5:16), by living soberly, righteously and godly. (Titus 2:11-15.) When James asked, "What is your life? It is even as a vapor that appears for a little time and then vanishes away," what did he mean? (James 4:13-17.) His point was that man should not plan years in advance about his work and making profits. We should always acknowledge the Lord in all that we do. "We ought to say, If the Lord will, we shall live and do this or that." Since life is short and we do not know what tomorrow may bring, Christians believe that we should live that time by faith, soberly, in view of the will of God in our lives. The wise man wrote, "Boast not thyself of tomorrow, for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth." (Prov. 27:1.)

It is not the length of life that gives meaning and purpose to life. Rather meaning is derived from faith. Faith in God comes by knowing God based upon a divine revelation. No man could know the truth except by revelation.

"And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment. So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many, and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation." (Heb. 9:27-28.)

"For we know him that hath said, Vengeance belongs to me, I will recompense, saith the Lord. And again, The Lord shall judge his people. It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Heb. 10:30-31.)

The apostle John described the Lord as sitting upon the great white throne and opening the books. The books include the Lamb’s book of life (the names of the redeemed) and the book that contains the deeds of all mankind. Each was judged according to what was written in the books. Those whose names were not written in the lamb’s book of life were cast into the lake of fire. (Rev. 20:11-15.)

Jesus taught, "Enter ye in the strait gate. For wide is the gate and narrow is the way that leads to destruction and many there be which go in thereat. Because strait is the gate and narrow is the way, which leads to life and few there be that find it." (Matt. 7:13-14.)

Think about the difference in how we live when we live by this principle. Terrorists who kill and destroy lives do not understand this truth. They mistakenly think that they will be rewarded for killing those who are not Muslims. If they die in battle, they think that they will go immediately into a pleasure-oriented, carnal-filled life. What they think about these matters affects directly their conduct of life. How differently they would live if only they had been taught better. What you believe affects your behavior.

"Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ." (1 Cor. 11:1.) "Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus." (Phil. 2:5.) "Whosoever will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." (Mark 8:34.)

Wearing the name Christian sums up the believer’s desire in life. (1 Peter 4:16, Acts 11:26.) It is a life-changing concept and principle to decide to imitate and follow Jesus Christ. There is nothing that is harmful to us in following Jesus. We obtain only good things and blessings in life by so doing. We obtain eternal life. (1 John 5:11-12.)