SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 4/18/2019
9:41 AM
My Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “Intellectually
Futile”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
4:17-19
Message of the verses: “17 This I say
therefore, and affirm together with the Lord, that you walk no longer just as
the Gentiles also walk, in
the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their understanding,
excluded from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because
of the hardness of their heart; 19 and they, having become callous, have given
themselves over to sensuality, for the practice of every kind of impurity with
greediness.”
We
have been talking about the mind of the unbeliever in this section and quoted a
paragraph from MacArthur’s commentary at the end of our last SD and I pointed
out that I would begin this SD with another quote from his commentary. As I read over the last part of his
commentary on this subject of the Gentile mind I could see myself before I
became a believer, and can see others whom I know today who are not believers
and all of this has saddened me.
“Because
man’s sinfulness flows out of his reprobate mind, the transformation must begin
with the mind (v. 23 ‘and that you be renewed in the spirit of your mind,’). Christianity is cognitive (understanding it
with your mind) before it is experiential.
It is our thinking that makes us consider the gospel and our thinking
that causes us to believe the historic facts and spiritual truths of the gospel
and to receive Christ as Lord and Savior.
That is why the first step in repentance is a change of mind about
oneself, about one’s spiritual condition and about God.”
I
am not sure if I have every written about what the Greeks believed, but to them
the mind was very important as they would pride themselves in their great literature,
along with art and philosophy, politics and science. They were an advanced culture, so much that
when the Roman’s conquered them the Romans would use the Greek slaves to teach
their children. There were also many
Greek slaves who were doctors.
John
MacArthur writes “Yet Paul says that spiritually the operation of the natural
mind is futile and unproductive. Mataiotes (futility) refers to that
which fails to produce the desired result, that which never succeeds. It is therefore used as a synonym for empty,
because it amounts to nothing. The spiritual thinking and resulting life-style
of the ‘Gentiles’—here representing all the ungodly—is inevitably empty, vain,
and void of substance. The life of an unbeliever
is bound up in thinking and acting in an arena of ultimate trivia. He consumes himself in the pursuit of goals
that are purely selfish, in the accumulation of that which is temporary, and is
looking for satisfaction in that which is intrinsically deceptive and
disappointing.
“The
unregenerate person plans and resolves everything on the basis of his own
thinking. He becomes his own ultimate
authority and he follows his own thinking to its ultimate outcome of futility,
aimlessness, and meaninglessness—to the self-centered, emptiness that characterizes
our age (cf. Ps. 94:8-11; Acts 14:15; Rom. 1:21-22).”
Now
let us take a moment and think about the man who other than Jesus was probably
the smartest man who ever lived, and that was Solomon. As you read through Eccles. you will find
that Solomon tried everything to make himself happy, but in the end he wrote all
“is vanity and striving after wind.”
However as centuries have passed men go on seeking the same futile goals
in the same futile ways.” The conclusion
to Solomon’s quest comes in the last two verses of his book where we read “13 The
conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies
to every person. 14 For
God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is
good or evil.”
Spiritual meaning for my life today: “17 You therefore, beloved, knowing this
beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of
unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, 18 but grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the
day of eternity. Amen” (2 Peter 3:17-18).
My Steps of Faith for Today: I believe that a part of what Peter’s last
written words are as seen above include being humble, knowing that you have
nothing to be proud about because all that you have comes from God.
Verse that goes with our quotation from
yesterday: “For it you forgive men their
trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their
trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew
6:14-15).
4/18/2019 10:49 AM
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