EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 5/13/2025 9:44 PM
My Worship Time Focus: Focus: PT-6 “Truth: “The Test of Christian Hospitality”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: 2 John 9-13
Message of the verses: “9 Anyone
who goes too far and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have
God; the one who abides in the teaching, he has both the Father and the Son.
10 If anyone
comes to you and does not bring this teaching, do not receive him into your
house, and do not give him a greeting; 11 for the one who gives him a greeting
participates in his evil deeds.
12 Though I have many things to write to you,
I do not want to do so with paper and ink; but I hope to come to you and
speak face to face, so that your joy may be made full. 13 The children of your
chosen sister greet you.
I continue to quote from John MacArthur’s sermon in
this evening’s Spiritual Diary, and just to let you know with this SD we are just
over a third through this rather long sermon.
It is best to look at the previous Spiritual Diaries on this sermon so
that you can follow what is being taught in this sermon.
“This is the dilemma the sinner has.
He reaches out in his rational mind to that Creator he knows is there, that
moral lawgiver he knows is there, and he gropes to try find Him. And he’s not
far away because verse 28 says, “We’re actually living and moving and existing
right in His presence.”
“What do we conclude? Verse 29,
“That the divine nature is gold or silver or stone, some image formed by art
and the thought of men?” Verse 30 describes this as the times of ignorance.
Forget all that. All that religious effort going on in the epitome of human
culture in Athens, the pinnacle of Greek learning, all of that ended up in
ignorance. And verse 30 says, “God is now declaring to men that all men
everywhere must repent.” Whatever your religion, turn from it. It’s taking you
in the wrong direction. That’s the point. You have to repent of your religion.
“God isn’t going to say, “Ah, you’re
going down the right path, you’re nearly there, just another step.” He says, “Repent
of it all,” which means to turn and go the other way. You’re going entirely in
the wrong direction and you better repent because God has fixed a day in which
He will judge the world in righteousness through a man whom He has appointed
having furnished proof to all men by what? Raising Him from the dead. It was
the resurrection that proved that Jesus was the Savior. It was the resurrection
that proved He was God.
“And so what does Paul say on Mars
Hill? “Oh, you guys are doing really well.” Does he get up there and say, “Oh,
hey, guys, what’s God been saying to you lately? Has God been here before I
arrived?” He says, “Whatever
it is that you believe in, whatever your religion, repent, turn around and go
the other direction, go in the direction of that man.” And you can
believe this isn’t the whole sermon. He told them who that man was. “In the
direction of the Lord Jesus Christ who is the Savior and the judge as proven by
His resurrection from the dead.”
“We know Paul said more because
verse 32 says, “When they heard of the resurrection of the dead, they began to
sneer and others said, ‘We’ll hear you again concerning this.’ Paul went out of
their midst but some men joined him and believed” - and believed. The full
message of Christ was there and it was given. Some believed. Natural reason is
incapable, natural reason is ignorant. Natural reason is idolatrous. Natural
reason is hopeless. You have to repent of it.
“First Corinthians chapter 10 takes
it a step further. If you want to know where people get without the gospel,
this is the last word on it. First Corinthians 10:19.
Paul says, “A thing sacrificed to idols,” talking about pagans who gave their offerings
to idols, something that had gone on through the centuries. Is an idol
anything? What are you doing when you do that? What are you doing? There’s no
god there because there’s only one God. So this idol that you think is God,
like the people down at the other end of the block who bring food and put it at
the feet of the fat Buddha, who is that? There is no god Buddha, there’s only
one true and living God.
“So the thing sacrificed to that
god, what is that? Who is that god? What are they really doing? Verse 20, “I
say the things which the gentiles” - which the heathen - “sacrifice,
they sacrifice to” - whom? - “demons” - demons - “not to
God.” You can’t get there by human reason. You can’t get there by the wrong
religion. All you end up with is demons and Satan. No one comes to the true God
through human reason, no one comes to the true God through human wisdom, no one
comes to the true God through false religion, no one comes to the true God apart from the message of
the cross. Church has always known that.
“And there’s another reason why it
can’t happen. Romans 3. I keep thinking of other passages, pardon me. Romans 3:9 and 10. Well, verse 10 would be
enough, “There’s none righteous, not even one. There’s none who understands,
there’s none who seeks for God.” That’s enough, isn’t it? Whatever they’re
doing, they’re not seeking the true God. Whatever they’re learning, they don’t
understand what they need to understand. And however good they are, they’re not
good enough. So if you can’t be good enough and you can’t really understand and
you’re not really looking for the true God, why would you think God would save you?
“It’s just the opposite. They’re not
seeking God. They’ve turned aside. Even that which they knew about God, they
rejected, Romans 1. “They turned aside. Together they’ve become useless.
There’s none who does good, there’s not even one. Their throat is an open
grave. With their tongue, they keep deceiving. The poison of asps is under
their lips. Their mouth is full of cursing and bitterness. Their feet are swift
to shed blood. Destruction and misery are in their paths and the path of peace
have they not known. There’s no fear of God before their eyes.”
5/13/2025
9:54 PM
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