This Week's Focus Passage

‘We take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord.’

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Focus Passage: 2 Corinthians 8:21

‘We take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord.’

We should strive to hold it in our memory that The eyes of Jehovah are in every place, keeping watch upon the evil and the good. We may teach and preach the omniscience of our God; what good is that if we do not bear it in mind? And perhaps, even more, bear it upon our hearts. God has told us that He has covenanted to put His fear in our hearts that we may not depart from Him. [Jeremiah 32:40] An important aspect of that fear is the knowledge that He sees everything that we do. An inspired psalm-singer, a man after God’s own heart expressed this, in Psalm 139, in unsurpassable language, when he wrote;

Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there. If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me. —vss. 7-10

Zechariah speaks of this omniscience when he has said, in 4:10, these are the eyes of Jehovah, which run to and fro through the whole earth. So that, to return to the words of Paul in his second letter to the church at Corinth, he reminds us that all things are naked and laid open before the eyes of him with whom we have to do.—Hebrews 4:13.

But the church, being left here by Christ, the Head of His Church, has not only to be concerned about the eyes of God, but here in 2 Corinthians Paul teaches that we are to be mindful not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. Our God, Paul says, the Holy Spirit says, that He would have us to be mindful that it is not only God who sees us, but many men, women, and children also. There is a real sense in which the eyes of men, mankind being so numerous unless we are cast away alone upon some Pacific island, run to and fro through the whole earth. Our Savior would have us to be mindful that we are His representatives here on earth. The things that we say and do, or fail to say or do, are going to be taken notice of by other persons. This can, and often does, and rightfully so, become instrumental in the formation of an opinion in their thoughts; an opinion of the Lord these folk serve; i.e. if we are unloving, our Master must be unloving, and so on. If you are cut off by a vehicle on highway with a business logo on the door, this can leave an impression in your thoughts about that business. We are not to misrepresent our heavenly Father.

This is the same thought contained in Paul’s words to those in the church at Rome. In 12:17, the Apostle to the Gentiles wrote, Render to no man evil for evil. Take thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. In conjunction with the innate natural inclination when mistreated to ‘not get mad, but get even,’ Paul here admonishes us otherwise. He exhorts us to Render to no man evil for evil. This is a taking thought for things honorable in the sight of all men. It is no surprise whatever when a person is dealt an unkind or unfriendly blow of some sort; it is no surprise when that person renders evil for evil. It is commonly expected. But what is not the commonly expected response is when there is no response at all. Paul has continued by encouraging us if it be possible, as much as in you lieth, be at peace with all men. This will ultimately be honorable in the sight of men; and God will be honored and His name magnified.

We remember the sad history of Judas Iscariot and the betrayal of our Lord Jesus Christ by this disciple. It is very plain in that history that the temptation which this disciple succumbed to was that of avarice; he was the one among the disciples who, according to John 12:6 was a thief, and having the bag took away what was put therein. It follows naturally, we should say, that it would be for a price of money that Judas would betray his Master. But have we ever considered how this may have affected the reputation of the disciples? If it were common knowledge that one of them was a thief; that one of them actually took for himself that which was put in the bag for the ‘church,’ if we can put it that way, how might this have brought dishonor in the sight of men to the ministry? What great dishonor came down upon the church in the 1980’s televangelism scandals? The PTL Club’s acronym for ‘Praise the Lord,’ was sarcastically suggested to truly mean ‘Pass the Loot.’ How many believers were accosted by unbelievers suggesting that this was proof that Christians are all hypocrites? This only enforces the words of the apostle, under our present consideration, that we take thought for things honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. This is of a sufficient enough concern for our jealous God that He would make a parallel reference of this matter even concerning His only-begotten Son. In the second chapter of Luke, we may read of the growth of the God-man. In verse 40, we are informed that:

The child grew, and waxed strong, filled with wisdom: and the grace of God was upon him.

This truth is extended in the fifty-second verse, when we are told:

And Jesus advanced in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.

This would seem to be a demonstration that God has great concern for the perception of men toward His Son. And Paul is saying that we ought to have concern also for the perception that we give to men of those that belong to the Son.

Proverbs 3:3-4 exhorts the child of God, in this same train of thought, when we are told, and I offer minor paraphrastic additions to make a point:

Let not kindness and truth forsake thee: Bind kindness and truth about thy neck; Write kindness and truth upon the tablet of thy heart: So shalt thou find favor and good understanding in the sight of God and man.

May we not forsake kindness and truth as we represent Him who is mercy and truth met together; righteousness and peace kissing in Him?

David Farmer, elder

Fellowship Bible Church

1 Comment

David, your 5/15 blog was so interesting, Pat and I listened to it twice (using Acrobat reader to listen to it). Thanks for sharing your insight!
P.S. I left my comment here because the "Leave a Comment" field was missing on the 5/15 blog.
Have a blessed day!

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