LHM Devotion - August 6, 2018 - Suggested Improvements

Daily Devotions from Lutheran Hour Ministries

"Suggested Improvements"

Aug. 6, 2018

Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

~ Romans 5:1 (ESV)

In His warning about the last times, Jesus talked about how He will

1. take those who have had faith in Him as their Savior and Lord into an eternity of joy;

2. send those who have no such faith into everlasting fire.

To human experts, armed with human wisdom, those are fightin' words.

In rebuttal to the Lord, unbelievers respond, "We don't think there is such a person as god. And, if there is a god, who can tell who that god really is? Is he one of the deities of world's religions? Is He a deity invented and promoted by an overactive human imagination? Is he a deity which has resulted exclusively from humankind's desire to make the Lord in our own incomplete, corrupt, human image?"

What is most amazing, almost astounding, is that 2,000 years ago, the New Testament predicted what these human experts would say. On that list would be things like the following:

* They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even deny the sovereign Lord who bought them.

* Many will follow their shameful ways; these teachers will exploit believers with stories they have made up.

* Bold and arrogant are these men -- not afraid to slander celestial beings; these men blaspheme in matters they do not understand.

* They are like brute beasts, creatures of instinct. They will be paid back with harm for the harm they have done in the last days. They will say, "Where is this 'coming' (god) promised? Ever since our fathers died, everything goes on as it has since the beginning of creation" (see 2 Peter 3:4).

Could there be a more accurate rendering of these experts and their opinions? It is when experts elevate human wisdom over godly fact that they become foolish.

In the 1800s, when atheist Robert Ingersoll was delivering his lectures against Christ and the Bible, he usually spoke to large crowds. At one meeting, he dramatically took out his watch and said, "I'll give God a chance to prove He exists and that He is almighty. I challenge Him to strike me dead within five minutes!"

There was silence. People became uneasy. Some left the hall; one woman fainted.

At the end of the allocated time, Ingersoll proclaimed, "See! There is no God. I am still very much alive!"

In a discussion after the lecture, a young man concluded, "Well, Ingersoll certainly proved something tonight!"

A young lady, replying to the remark, said, "He did. He showed that God isn't taking orders from unbelievers today."

Truly, we are saved because the Lord set His salvation plan into motion after our original ancestors sabotaged the perfection God gave us. Yes, the Lord made the plan, and His Son carried it out. Perfectly, completely, Jesus did all that was necessary to give us forgiveness and life eternal. And if humans think they can improve on the Lord's plan, they should, by all means try. Then, when they have failed, they should listen to the Holy Spirit who is ready to give them the only Name under heaven which saves: Jesus Christ.

THE PRAYER: Dear Lord, there are many people who think they could improve on Your plan of salvation. Give them a dose of humility and bring them to the cross and the blood-bought salvation Jesus offers. In His Name I pray. Amen.

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In His warning about the last times, Jesus talked about how He will...