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So Moses told Aaron all the words
of the Lord -- Exodus 4:28
The necessity of accurately speaking (heralding) God's message is taught throughout Scripture, from Genesis to Revelation. In Revelation 22:18, there is a warning to those who would add or take away from God's Word. Even the way we present His truth can transform it into a man-centered religion instead of a God-centered, God-glorifying message.
In Genesis chapter 3, we read about Adam and Eve choosing to rebel against God. Then they hid from God and chose not to seek Him. God sought Adam and Eve, He came looking for them, and He called them out. If we are going to present the truth of God's Word, here is a clear fact to be accepted, God seeks men, men do not seek God of their own volition. This is the glory of the God-centered religion of the Bible.
In Psalm 14 we read about the natural condition of man, there is none who does good or seeks after God. Psalm 53:1-3 is basically a repeat of 14. Then in Romans 3:10- 18 we read, "There is none who seeks after God, no not one." Now why would God have this recorded in His Word three times? Because this is a foundational truth if we are to understand who we are, who God is, and our relationship to Him. We are the ones with a problem, He is the One with a solution.
In John 1:11 it says, "He came to His own, but His own received Him not." He was a Jew and the Jewish people rejected Him. But there is a double truth here, He came to humanity and all men rejected Him. When Adam and Eve fell in the garden, their entire being was affected (corrupted) by sin. For the natural man (as he comes from the womb), choosing to serve God is no longer an act of free will or a free choice.
I Corinthians 2:14 says, "But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolish to him, nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Ephesians 2:1 helps us to understand the condition of the natural man. From the womb, every human being is prone to sin, running from God, and unwilling to seek Him.
Our hope must be outside of ourselves, our help must come from our Creator. Our salvation must be a God-centered, grace-oriented solution. This type of theology affects the growth of the local church, and also God's blessing on it. For God to pour out His blessings on a church, it must be presenting the truth God gave in His Word. Do you have a man-centered, or God-centered religion?
Contact the author at: (thoughtsonword@gmail.com) if you have any comments or questions.
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Lyndon Stimeling, of Richfield, has been writing about faith and family for many years. He has self-published four books, Common Thoughts on The Word in 2016, Eye of a Needle in 2017, Common Thoughts on The Word II in 2019 and A Bridge Between in 2023. He has also had articles published in The Coming Home Journal and local newspapers and has written a children's book.