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“So you must live as God’s obedient children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of living to satisfy your own desires. You didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy.”

- 1 Peter 1:14-15

 

Set in His ways

Set in His ways

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“He’s set in his ways.” This phrase is often said about men of a certain age, a polite way of saying that one is stubborn. But if we change the possessive pronoun “his” from the subject of the sentence to instead, another person, Jesus Christ, the phrase takes on a whole new meaning. “He’s set in His ways.” Put another way, “Bob is set in Jesus’ ways.” Now that is something we can all strive to have said about us. 

“Then he said to the crowd, ‘If any of you wants to be my follower, you must give up your own way, take up your cross daily, and follow me. If you try to hang on to your life, you will lose it. But if you give up your life for my sake, you will save it.’” (Luke 9:23-24)

I can’t remember ever hearing this verse in church. I’ve heard many invitations to come and follow Jesus, but I can’t remember ever hearing a pastor say that if you want to follow Jesus, you must give up your own way. I suppose it’s not exactly appealing; after all, who wants to give up their way? Who wants to lose their life, their way of doing things? However, the implication of not teaching these words of Jesus is catastrophic, as it will fill churches with people who think they can follow Christ and still do things their own way. To be set in Jesus’ ways is to stand firm upon His teachings, the Word of God.

“For the word of God is alive and powerful. It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword, cutting between soul and spirit, between joint and marrow. It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires.” (Hebrews 4:12)

Now this world will tell us that the Bible is an old, out of date book, and that Christian beliefs might have worked a hundred years ago or more but they are out of date today. If you don’t have a solid foundation for your faith, you may end up agreeing with this lie. This world is pushing this message now more than ever, claiming, in the name of love, that a man can be a woman and a woman can be a man and men can have sexual relationships with other men and women with other women. The Bible calls these detestable acts; our world calls it love. The Christian must stand on the Truth of the Bible. We know that “God is love” (1 John 4:8) and it is He who sets the laws and put the universe in motion. He decides how gender and sexuality work, not us. The Word of God may not be popular sometimes but Truth isn’t always popular; it’s uncomfortable, it’s convicting, and people don’t like being convicted.

“‘What sorrow awaits those who argue with their Creator. Does a clay pot argue with its maker? Does the clay dispute with the one who shapes it, saying, ‘Stop, you’re doing it wrong!’ Does the pot exclaim, ‘How clumsy can you be?’” (Isaiah 45:9)

This is a great example of how applicable the Bible still is for our world today. A verse written over 2,700 years ago so perfectly echoes what is happening with gender identity and sexual identity in this country in 2019. A bunch of pots arguing with the potter. After all, “I was born the wrong gender” isn’t much different than “Stop, you’re doing it wrong!”

“Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth.” (Ephesians 4:14)

This world will tell us that the Bible is out of date, but we know God’s word is eternal. Lies will fall apart and break down at some point; new ideas will fade and be replaced by even newer ideas—but Truth is timeless. As Christians, we need to be mature and stand firm on the Truth of the Word of God, not tossed about by changing ideas, lies, or pressures from this world. Set in His ways? Let it be a resounding yes. 

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.

—Redeemed

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