This study is not intended to just impart what I perceive to be an accurate perspective of the times, but to address how to discern the times. One of the most important gifts we can have in these times is discernment, which is something I am persuaded that God wants to give to every true disciple. The Lord has also given us simple, clear instructions on how we can grow in this gift. Without it we will be increasingly subject to deception in the times to come. With it the world and our own purpose in it will become less and less confusing and more and more clear.
Going back to the study which revealed that nearly 65 percent of Americans considered themselves to be born again, and yet only 3 percent had a biblical worldview, a basic question has to be the following: “Where do we derive our view of the world?” Can we say that it is from God’s perspective, or is it from the media, or the opinion of others we’ve listened to, or just our own opinions? Is it a mishmash combination of these?
Most seem to have a worldview that is a combination of all the above, with one source being dominant. The proud will think their own perspective is the most accurate of all, or at least most of the time, according to the degree of pride they have. The insecure will tend to mostly believe the source that seems the most authoritative or strong. So we must ask another ultimate question: “Is our worldview accurate?” Do we see the world the way that it really is, or is our vision skewed? If so, how do we attain clarity? How do we recognize the truth?
The purpose of the Great Commission was to make disciples, not just converts. Being a true Christian is to be a disciple and student of Christ, who seeks to see the world from His perspective, and to be a light to the world by speaking and living His truth. Even though we all “see in part,” and “know in part,” (see I Corinthians 13:9), if we are on the path of life, it will be a path of increasing illumination and clarity because, as we are told in Proverbs 4:18, “the path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, that shines brighter and brighter until the full day.” If we are on the path of the righteous, or the right path, there will be increasing clarity in our lives and on our paths.
If we really believe that God is God, a most basic devotion of our lives should be the pursuit of knowing Him and His ways. If we believe that He created the world, then it is apparent that no one can know it better than He does. If we really believe that He is God, then we will be devoted to seeking His perspective of the world and our own lives, or we would be possibly the most basic of all fools. Certainly a barometer of our faith should be our devotion to learning of Him and from Him.
We are also promised by God that if we seek Him, we will find Him. If we seek His truth, we will find it. Possibly everyone wants the truth, but not many want it enough to actually seek it. Our devotion to truth will be reflected by the degree of this devotion.
If the statistics are accurate that 65 percent of Americans consider themselves to be born again, but only 3 percent have a biblical worldview, something is obviously seriously awry. Either the 65 percent are deceived, or the church in America is doing a terrible job of making disciples. Though that may be true, there is another likely reason for this we need to consider. It is very likely that the actual percentage of Americans who are born again is much smaller than the number who think they are. Many have been made to think that if they raised their hand in the back of a crowd when asked if they wanted to be born again are born again. The truth of whether they really are is in the fruit of their lives. If they have been truly born again, then their lives would have radically changed, which is what the term implies.
A good case could be made that those who are truly born again are the 3 percent, not the 65 percent. However, it is possible that many more actually had a born-again experience, but without anyone to disciple them, they have not matured much since nor had their minds transformed or renewed, and therefore there is little change in their lives. They are like infants born into the world and left to raise themselves. Not many are going to make it that way.
The Bible truly is the Word of God for man, and I think everyone who is truly born again knows this because the Holy Spirit immediately starts to lead them to the truth. However, just as the devil tempted Adam and Eve by first attacking what God had said, the first attack of the devil on possibly every new believer is still: “Did God really say that?” His main strategy to cause followers of God to stumble is to get them to question what God has said. The devil will throw every argument devised over the last six thousand years to turn mankind away from God. He will hit us with many other issues such as: Why are there are so many different interpretations of the Bible, not to mention different translations? (I have forty versions on my computer.) It takes an uncommon desire to know the truth to push through all of this. This is a major factor that we are told is a requirement for knowing the truth—it is not just by receiving truth that we are saved, but having a “love for the truth” (see II Thessalonians 2:10). Those who have a true love for truth will never quit.
If we really love God, we will want to please Him, serve Him, and do His will. It is to the degree that we love Him that we will have these devotions. Jesus stated in John 7:17, "If anyone is willing to do His will, he will know of the teaching, whether it is of God or whether I speak from Myself.” The most basic factor determining whether we will be able to discern truth is the willingness to do God’s will and to be obedient to the truth.
For this reason, those who come to the Lord by any other door but the cross may actually believe that Jesus is the Messiah and that He made atonement for us at the cross, but even the demons know that, and that alone will not save us. The atonement was prophesied by the Passover, and just as it would not have done Israel any good to know that the Passover would save them, they had to actually partake of it and the blood had to be applied to their doors. The same is true for us. To believe that the atonement was needed, but to not apply it to our lives is likewise a tragic delusion.
True disciples will be known by their devotion to their teachers. All Christians have other interests and other vocations, but if the primary interest and devotion of our lives is not to know and follow Jesus, then we have been duped into a pseudo-Christian life and have let the other pursuits become idols that displace Him as our main affection.
It is unlikely that any who have such devotion and read material such as this Word for the Week would fall into that category. With all who truly love Him, there should be a devotion to know Him better, follow Him more closely, and to do His will. If we do this, we will become more and more like Him, and we can be used more and more to do the works that He did. True disciples will have a primary drive in their lives to hear on that great Judgment Day, “Well done, good and faithful servant” (see Matthew 25:21 NIV).