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Psalm 37:4 is another verse that is commonly misused. This verse says “Delight thyself also in the Lord; And he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.” There are people who read this verse and think that following God and obeying God is a way to get what they want. They say that if we obey God, He has promised to give us the desires of our heart. But, is that really what this verse is teaching? Clearly, the answer is ‘NO’.

Many people wonder how they can know what God wants them to do. How can we truly know what decision God wants us to make? As I stated in an earlier post, the key to knowing God’s specific will for your life is to live in obedience to His already revealed will. Live a life of obedience to God. Or as this verse says “Delight thyself also in the Lord…” What is the result of this daily obedience and daily delighting in the Lord?

The verse teaches that God will place within us the desires that he wants us to have. This is not a human-centered verse that promises that our genie-in-the-sky (God) is there to give us what we want if we will obey Him. God does not bribe us by promising to give us whatever we want. His promise is a promise of divine guidance as the results of living in obedience to Him.

In fact, the next verse then instructs us to commit our way to the Lord. Here is the truth from this verse. As we live in obedience to God’s will; as revealed in Scripture, and as we delight in Him, He will lead and guide us by placing within us the desires that He wants us to have. Our individual responsibly is not to search for God’s will as though we were hunting Easter eggs. Our individual responsibility is to live in daily obedience to God, and trust Him to place within us the desires that He wants us to have. And as we act on those God-given desires, we will find ourselves in the center of God’s perfect will.

This is a question that has caused a lot of confusion in recent years. Many have spent hours if not days and years fighting to keep the Ten Commandments posted in schools, court houses, and other public places.  I’m not going to weigh judgment on these actions. My goal is to go to the root of the issue and answer the question that must be asked.  Are Christians still bound by the Ten Commandments?

Let’s start with what we know.  First, the Ten Commandments are part of the Old Testament Law.  Second, the Law was intended to be temporary.  This is clearly seen in Galatians 2:19, 24-25, and 4:1-2. Third, not only was the Law designed to be temporary, it has indeed ended.  This can be seen in Ephesians 2:15-16 and Colossians 2:14.  Fourth, as Christians, we are not under the Law but under Christ.  Christ fulfilled the Law (Romans 7) and freed us from it.

When we put those truths together you have the clear teaching that we are not bound by the Ten Commandments.  This is based on the truths that these Commandments were a part of the Old Testament Law that was designed to be temporary, that the Law was fulfilled by Christ, and as believers in Christ we are under Christ not the Law (including the Ten Commandments).

With that being said there is one final point that cannot be missed.  All but one of the Ten Commandments is repeated in the New Testament.  What does that mean?  It means that we are to obey those nine commandments, not because they are a part of the Ten Commandments, but because they are clear New Testament teachings.  One might wonder why only nine are repeated in the New Testament.    The one command that is not repeated as a command in the New Testament is the command concerning worshipping on the Sabbath.  This specific command was a part of the ceremonial law, the other nine were part of the moral law.

The moral law reflects the righteousness of God and since God is unchanging; His moral law is also unchanging.  That is why nine of the Ten Commandments are reiterated in the New Testament.  We are to be obedient to them, not on the basis that they are part of the Ten Commandments, but on the basis that they are clear New Testament teachings that reflect God’s moral character.

There are some surprising similarities between how the U.S. Constitution and the Bible are interpreted.  In fact, there are two interpretational mentalities that govern people’s approach to both.

In the year 2000 there was a presidential debate between George W. Bush and Al Gore. One of the issues raised in that debate centered on each candidate’s approach to the Constitution, particularly as it pertained to the selection of Supreme Court Justices.

George W. Bush said he believed that the Constitution should be interpreted in line with the author’s original intent. According to this view, the Constitution must be viewed and applied in agreement with the authors’ intended meaning. When posed with the same question, Al Gore indicated he believed that the Constitution was a living and breathing document. According to this view the interpretation of the Constitution varies depending upon the cultural circumstances. As times change, so does the meaning, interpretation, and application of the Constitution.

Unfortunately, God’s Word is also being approached with both of the above mentioned views. There are some who insist that God’s Word must be interpreted in line with the authors’ original intent. This approach says that human authors of God’s Word had an original meaning that should govern our interpretation and application of the Scriptures. There are others who contend that God’s Word is a living and breathing document (and in one sense it is, due to the Spirit of God). However, when it comes to interpretation and application of Scripture, viewing the meaning of the Bible in light of current cultural trends is very dangerous and wrong.

We should never ask ‘what does the Bible mean to me?’ The question we should ask is, ‘what was the author’s intended meaning?’ Asking ‘What does the Bible mean to me?’ indicates that one is viewing the Bible as an ever-changing document, and that its interpretation is dependent upon the ever-changing culture, as well as the ever-changing circumstances in one’s life.

Asking ‘What was the biblical authors’ intended meaning?’ indicates that one is viewing God’s Word in line with the inspired authors intended meaning and not with our desired meaning.

We can see the dangerous effects of viewing the Constitution as a living document with no regard for original intent on a daily basis in our country. As serious as those effects may be, viewing God’s Word in that same way has even more severe consequences; namely that the Truth of God’s Word, which is found in the authors’ original intent, is lost in the modern day, cultural, human-centered interpretation.

Why do bad things happen to good people? Have you ever heard anyone ask this question? It is a question that is at times asked by those who are blatantly opposed to Christianity as a way to try and prove that there is no God. It is also a question that is asked by those who are sincerely trying to discover who the God of Christianity really is. Many Christians have a difficult time answering this question. They resort to answers such as “God’s ways are higher than our ways” or “God is wiser than man.” As true as these statements may be, they do nothing to answer the posed question. So, why do bad things happen to good people?

There are several points that can be made in answering this question, but today I just want to mention one. One answer to this question is actually found in the inaccuracy of the question. We have to understand that there are no ‘good people’. Those who ask this question are making the incorrect assumption that they are good enough and deserve to avoid all bad and evil that could possibly come into their lives. They are saying that they deserve nothing but good.

The Bible is clear that there is none righteous, and that we are all sinners by nature and by choice. The best we can offer is nothing more than dirty rags. There is no such thing as good people. You may not commit murder, but you hate. You may not commit adultery, but you lust. We each have attitudes, thoughts, and motives that are direclty opposed to God. None of us can ever meet God’s perfect standard. There is no such thing as a good person…there is no one good enough to earn God’s favor.

An accurate way to word the question would be “why do bad things happen to bad people?” But where is the injustice in that? Once we acknowledge that there are no good people and when we see ourselves as God sees us, we can see the inaccuracy of the question. And that is the first step in offering a meaningful answer.

Later in the week we will answer the question, “Why do good things happen to bad people?”

Some people treat the gospel in a way that is actually a hindrance to the message of the gospel. They may not realizing that they are doing this, but the negative effect is just as damaging.  Here are a few ways this takes place.

- The Attitude About the Gospel.  It is possible to have an attitude about the gospel that stands in the way of the message of the gospel.  Remember, it is the truth that should cause division, not our attitude about it.

- Dumbing Down the Gospel.  Some people dumb down the gospel so much that it ceases to be the gospel.  The gospel is more than reading a prayer or reciting a cliché  catch-phrase.

- Americanizing the Gospel.  As David Platt said in his book Radical, ”We need to explore how much of our understanding of the gospel is American and how much is biblical.”

- Socializing the Gospel.  As much as Christians should be involved in helping the poor and feeding the starving, that is not the gospel.  Man’s primary need is spiritual, not physical.

- Gold-Plating the Gospel.  The gospel is not a prosperous, get-rich-quick scheme.  As soon as that is a focus, the true gospel has been deserted.

- The ‘Me’ Gospel.  The gospel is not about worshipping ourselves, it is about glorifying God.  Any gospel that does accomplish this purpose is not the gospel.

- A Focus on Issues instead of the Gospel.  There are some who spend so much of their time focusing on and arguing about non-important issues that the gospel is lost.  Do the people who know you best know more about your stance on insignificant issues or about your stance on the gospel?  Keep the main thing the main thing.

We need to be sure that we have a correct attitude about the gospel, we need to understand the message of the true gospel, we need to know how to communicate the gospel, and we need to recognize what the gospel is not.