There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true. —Soren Kierkegaard. "…truth is true even if nobody believes it, and falsehood is false even if everybody believes it. That is why truth does not yield to opinion, fashion, numbers, office, or sincerity–it is simply true and that is the end of it" – Os Guinness, Time for Truth, pg.39. “He that takes truth for his guide, and duty for his end, may safely trust to God’s providence to lead him aright.” – Blaise Pascal. "There is but one straight course, and that is to seek truth and pursue it steadily" – George Washington letter to Edmund Randolph — 1795. We live in a “post-truth” world. According to the dictionary, “post-truth” means, “relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief.” Simply put, we now live in a culture that seems to value experience and emotion more than truth. Truth will never go away no matter how hard one might wish. Going beyond the MSM idealogical opinion/bias and their low information tabloid reality show news with a distractional superficial focus on entertainment, sensationalism, emotionalism and activist reporting – this blogs goal is to, in some small way, put a plug in the broken dam of truth and save as many as possible from the consequences—temporal and eternal. "The further a society drifts from truth, the more it will hate those who speak it." – George Orwell “There are two ways to be fooled. One is to believe what isn’t true; the other is to refuse to believe what is true.” ― Soren Kierkegaard
Christians are to make no provision for sin and moral weakness. Instead, we are to provide for our souls by “putting on” Christ. In this sermon, R.C. Sproul discusses what this looks like in everyday life.
59. But how does it help you now that you believe all this?
That I am righteous in Christ before God, and an heir of eternal life.1
1 Hab 2:4; Jn 3:36; Rom 1:17, 5:1-2
60. How are you righteous before God?
Only by true faith in Jesus Christ;1 that is, although my conscience accuses me that I have grievously sinned against all the commandments of God, have never kept any of them,2 and that I am still inclined always to all evil,3 yet God, without any merit of my own,4 out of mere grace,5 imputes to me the perfect satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ,6 as if I had never had nor committed any sin, and as if I had myself accomplished all the obedience which Christ has fulfilled for me,7 if only I accept this gift with a believing heart.8
1 Rom 3:21-28; Gal 2:16; Eph 2:8-9; Php 3:8-11; 2 Rom 3:9-10; 3 Rom 7:23; 4 Deut 9:6; Ezek 36:22; Tit 3:4-5; 5 Rom 3:24; Eph 2:8; 6 Rom 4:3-5; 2 Cor 5:17-19; 1 Jn 2:1-2; 7 Rom 4:24-25; 2 Cor 5:21; 8 Jn 3:18; Acts 16:30-31; Rom 3:22
61. Why do you say that you are righteous only by faith?
Not that I am acceptable to God on account of the worthiness of my faith; for only the satisfaction, righteousness and holiness of Christ is my righteousness before God,1 and I can receive this righteousness and make it my own only by faith.2
Be not righteous overmuch, and do not make yourself overwise; why should you destroy yourself? Be not wicked overmuch, neither be a fool; why should you die before your time?
Ecclesiastes 7:16 RSV
This must be a favorite Scripture of many, because it seems to advocate moderation in both good and evil. The Searcher seems to be saying, Do not be too righteous, and do not be too wicked either, but a little of both does not hurt. We have all heard somebody say, Religion is all right in its place, but don’t let it interfere with your pleasure. Moderation in all things, in other words.
In trying to understand this, however, we must notice carefully what the Searcher is saying. The phrase in verse 16, do not make yourself overwise, is the key to understanding the verse. In grammar this is called a reflexive pronoun; that is why the word yourself is included there. What the Searcher is really saying is, Do not be wise to yourself, do not be wise in your own eyes in regard to your righteousness.
This is a warning against self-righteousness. Self-righteousness is the attitude of people who regard themselves as righteous because of the things they do not do. That is, in my judgment, the curse of the church today. The New Testament calls this pharisaism; the Searcher rightly labels it wickedness. Wickedness is expressed not only by murder, thievery, and sexual misconduct but also by bigotry, racism, pompousness, and cold disdain; by critical, judgmental attitudes; by harsh, sarcastic words; by vengeful and vindictive actions. The evangelical prig, male or female, is a wicked person!
Not only is self-righteousness wicked, but the opposite extreme is wicked too, the Searcher goes on to say. The foolish casting off of all moral restraints, the abandoning of one’s self-discipline and going in for wild and riotous living also is wickedness.
The godly way to live is: He who fears God shall come forth from them all (Ecclesiastes 7:18 RSV). To fear God is a full-orbed truth. It means not only to respect God but also to acknowledge His presence in your life, not merely at the end of your life someday, but now. To fear God is to know that He sees all that you do and that it is His hand that sends circumstances into your life. The knowledge of God’s power, wisdom, and love and His willingness to accept you, to change you, to forgive you, to restore you, and to stand by you, are all part of fearing God. To fear God is to know how to live in the midst of the world and yet not be self-righteous, priggish, smug, and complacent. That kind of wisdom gives strength to the wise man more than ten rulers that are in a city (Ecclesiastes 7:19 RSV). It is better to learn to live that way than to have ten influential friends in high places that can bail you out!
Teach me to fear You, Lord, and lay hold of the righteousness that only You can give me through Christ.
Our security and unmindfulness of the changes we are liable to in this world.
I have put far from me the day of disaster; Amos 6:3(ESV) and in my prosperity have said, “I shall never be moved,” Psalm 30:6(ESV) as if tomorrow will be like this day, great beyond measure. Isaiah 56:12(ESV)
I have encouraged my soul to relax, to eat and drink and be merry, as if I had goods laid up for many years, when perhaps this night my soul may be required of me. Luke 12:19-20(ESV)
I have been ready to set my hope on the uncertainty of riches, more than on the living God; 1 Timothy 6:17(ESV) to say to the gold, “You are my hope,” and to the fine gold, “You are my confidence.” Job 31:24(ESV)
Our fretfulness and impatience and murmuring under our afflictions, our inordinate dejection and distrust of God and his providence.
When you have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, I have been like an untrained calf; Jeremiah 31:18(ESV) and though my own folly has brought my way to ruin, yet my heart has raged against the LORD; Proverbs 19:3(ESV) and thus, in my distress I have become yet more faithless to the LORD. 2 Chronicles 28:22(ESV)
I have either despised the LORD’s discipline or been weary of his reproof; Proverbs 3:11(ESV) and if I faint in the day of adversity, my strength is small. Proverbs 24:10(ESV)
I have said in my alarm, “I am cut off from your sight”; Psalm 31:22(ESV) and, “The LORD has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me”; Isaiah 49:14(ESV) as if God would never again be favorable, Psalm 77:7(ESV) as if he had forgotten to be gracious and had in anger shut up his compassion. This has been my infirmity. Psalm 77:9-10(ESV)
We live in a fitness-obsessed world. Everyone seems to be working out, thinking about working out, or dressing as if they just worked out. Those who aren’t are worried that they should be concerned. And while it is not bad to be concerned about our health, there is something that is worth a much greater investment.In 1 Timothy, Paul was writing to his younger disciple, Timothy, reminding him that the spiritual life is hard work. He uses physical training as an analogy, exhorting him to train to be godly (v. 7). We don’t often associate godliness with training. Someone once revealed to me that he thought if he just spent time around Christians, it would rub off on him. Paul’s counsel is the opposite. Avoid things that draw you away from God and expend effort to become more like Him. Pushing the analogy further, while the results of physical exercise have some value, the results of godliness are valuable for everything (v. 8).Godliness, or the lack thereof, touches every area of our lives. It affects our relationships. It affects our work. It affects the choices we make. With so much at stake, it should be no surprise that Paul uses words like “labor” and “strive” to describe the Christian life (v. 10). We prefer to focus on themes of rest and calm in the Christian life as we confront a frenetic world, and that is appropriate. But it is also important for us to remember that leaning in, pushing hard, and working out are also part of the Christian life.We do not train in godliness to impress others. We do it because we represent those who have placed their hope in God. Living a life of godliness shows the world that Christ is more valuable to us than anything else.
Go Deeper Do useless conversations and debates dominate your spiritual diet? How can you lean into training in godliness? What will be your area of focus this week? Extended Reading:1 Timothy
Pray with Us Lord God, guide us on the road to godliness and give us strength to persevere in faith! What a blessing it is to receive advice and help from Your precious Word.
Since the Lord is so good and so worthy to be praised, it must be for our happiness to obey him. “Blessed are they that keep judgment, and he that doeth righteousness at all times.” Multiplied are the blessednesses which must descend upon the whole company of the keepers of the way of justice, and especially upon that one rare man who at all times follows that which is right. Holiness is happiness. The way of right is the way of peace. Yet men leave this road, and prefer the paths of the destroyer. Hence the story which follows is in sad contrast with the happiness here depicted, because the way of Israel was not that of judgment and righteousness, but that of folly and iniquity. The Psalmist, while contemplating the perfections of God, was impressed with the feeling that the servants of such a being must be happy, and when he looked around and saw how the tribes of old prospered when they obeyed, and suffered when they sinned, he was still more fully assured of the truth of his conclusion. O could we but be free of sin we should be rid of sorrow! We would not only be just, but “keep judgment”; we would not be content with occasionally acting rightly, but would “do justice at all times.”
Spurgeon, C. H. (n.d.). The treasury of David: Psalms 88-110 (Vol. 4, p. 364). Marshall Brothers.
3 In view of the goodness, love, and mighty acts of the Lord, “blessed” are all those who enjoy his benefits (cf. 1:1). As in Psalm 1, the blessing is conditioned on pleasing the Lord. Here the psalmist singles out two qualities of a life of integrity—“justice” (mišpāṭ) and “right” (ṣedāqâ). The Lord expects his children to persevere in maintaining righteousness and justice (v. 3), because in so doing they establish his kingdom (cf. 15:1–5; 99:4; Isa 11:3–5; 33:15–17).
VanGemeren, W. A. (2008). Psalms. In T. Longman III & D. E. Garland (Eds.), The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Psalms (Revised Edition) (Vol. 5, p. 781). Zondervan.
Blessed are they who maintain justice, who constantly do what is right (v. 3). Those who serve this great king should show the same characteristics as he displays when it comes to matters of justice in the land. The pronouncement of a blessing upon them (for ‘blessed’ see the comment on Ps. 1:1) is really an encouragement for all to act in this way.
Harman, A. (2011). Psalms: A Mentor Commentary (Vols. 1–2, p. 762). Mentor.
106:3 — Blessed are those who keep justice, and he who does righteousness at all times! God often pairs “justice” with “righteousness.” He insists that the good things He is doing with us on the inside must work their way outside of us to bless others (Phil. 2:12).
Stanley, C. F. (2005). The Charles F. Stanley life principles Bible: New King James Version (Ps 106:3). Nelson Bibles.
Mine eyes shall be upon the faithful of the land, that they may dwell with me: he that walketh in a perfect way, he shall serve me. (Psalm 101:6)
If David spoke thus, we may be sure that the Son of David will be of the same mind. Jesus looks out for faithful men, and He fixes His eyes upon them, to observe them, to bring them forward, to encourage them, and to reward them. Let no true-hearted man think that he is overlooked; the King Himself has His eye upon him.
There are two results of this royal notice. First we read, “That they may dwell with me.” Jesus brings the faithful into His house, He sets them in His palace, He makes them His companions, He delights in their society. We must be true to our Lord, and He will then manifest Himself to us. When our faithfulness costs us most, it will be best rewarded; the more furiously men reject, the more joyfully will our Lord receive us.
Next, he says of the sincere man, “He shall serve me.” Jesus will use for His own glory those who scorn the tricks of policy and are faithful to Himself, His Word, and His cross. These shall be in His royal retinue, the honored servants of His Majesty. Communion and usefulness are the wages of faithfulness. Lord make me faithful that I may dwell with Thee and serve Thee.
Thou shalt arise, and have mercy upon Zion: for the time to favor her, yea, the set time, is come. For thy servants take pleasure in her stones, and favor the dust thereof. (Psalm 102:13-14)
Yes, our prayers for the church will be heard. The set time is come. We love the prayer meetings, and the Sunday school, and all the services of the Lord’s house. We are bound in heart to all the people of God and can truly say,
There’s not a lamb in all thy flock
I would disdain to feed
There’s not a foe before whose face
I’d fear thy cause to plead.
If this is the general feeling, we shall soon enjoy times of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. Our assemblies will be filled, saints will be revived, and sinners will be converted. This can only come of the Lord’s mercy; but it will come, and we are called upon to expect it. The time, the set time, is come. Let us bestir ourselves. Let us love every stone of our Zion, even though it may be fallen down. Let us treasure up the least truth, the least ordinance, the least believer, even though some may despise them as only so much dust. When we favor Zion, God is about to favor her. When we take pleasure in the Lord’s work, the Lord Himself will take pleasure in it.
Everyone I know is longing for rest. The teenagers in my life are worn out with studying, extracurriculars, and relational drama. The moms and grandmas are juggling everyone’s schedules while squeezing their own tasks into the margins. My coworkers are putting in extra time and marking the days until the next paid holiday. Our alarms get us up early, our to-do lists keep us up late, and each week brings a fresh set of urgent responsibilities. We are tired. The psalmist didn’t have text messaging or video calls or car repairs, but he knew the same sense of weariness that we do. “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest,” he wrote, “eating the bread of anxious toil” (Ps. 127:2). The must-dos and have-tos of life in 900 BC were just as pressing as they are in our day. But, he continued, the Lord “gives to his beloved sleep” (Ps. 127:2).
In a lifetime of “anxious toil,” we need a regular reset. Day after day, the tasks just keep coming, and while the Bible affirms the goodness of work, it also acknowledges its frustrations. “In vain” you fold the laundry and do the dishes, only to face a new pile tomorrow. “In vain” you schedule appointments and meet deadlines, only to confront an overflowing inbox next week. We need rest. Thankfully, the psalmist knew where to find it. It’s a gift from “the Lord” (Ps. 127:1). And it’s a gift particularly to his people, “his beloved” (Ps. 127:2), the ones he has redeemed. As God’s people, we look to the Lord to establish our work and relationships (Ps. 127:1, 3–5), and we look to him to give us periods of rest (Ps. 127:2).
So where can we sign up for regular rest from the hand of our gracious God? Where do we receive this gift? We receive it in the Sabbath. Psalm 127 isn’t merely a song about the daily grind and our biological need for eight hours of sleep every night. That’s a tune our unbelieving neighbors could sing without regard for the Lord. Psalm 127 is a psalm of ascent, one of the songs Old Testament believers would sing together on their way to worship. These lines about yielding our labor to the Lord and looking to him for refreshment echo the pattern of the Sabbath. They’re about more than sleep for the body; they’re about respite for the soul.
Leave your anxious toil, beloved ones, and enjoy God’s Sabbath rest.
Sabbath’s Foundations
The word Sabbath may sound curiously old-fashioned. Maybe it’s a word you associate only with Moses’s Ten Commandments or with laws governing colonial New England. It may seem like a hopelessly dated idea or a harshly Pharisaical one. But Sabbath appears throughout both the Old and New Testaments, and Sabbath observance continues to be practiced by believers throughout the world today.
What’s more, the Bible consistently presents the Sabbath as the Lord’s gift to the weary.
Simply defined, the Sabbath is one day each week that God sets aside for his redeemed people to rest from their daily work in order to worship and enjoy him.
To understand the Sabbath and how the Lord would have us observe it, we need to turn to Scripture. In a brief survey of key passages in the Bible, we’ll see that the priority of the Sabbath stretches throughout the story of redemption, from the beginning of time all the way into our eternal future.
Creation (Gen. 2:1–3)
The Christian practice of Sabbath rest has foundations that were laid long before our days of smartphones and remote work. They were laid before the time of Christ and before the time of Moses. They were laid even before “thorns and thistles” sprang up to make our work in a fallen world more toilsome and less rewarding (Gen. 3:18). Sabbath rest has its foundations in creation. On the seventh day of creation, “God finished his work that he had done, and he rested . . . from all his work that he had done” (Gen. 2:2). Having created the world and everything in it, God rested. And he established that day of rest as a sacred day of blessing going forward: “God blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation” (Gen. 2:3). Beginning with the first Sabbath in the history of the world, God and all his creation enjoyed holy rest.
Manna (Ex. 16)
In the wilderness, too, God’s people observed the Sabbath. They looked to him to order their work, their worship, and their time. He graciously provided food for them—“bread from heaven”—that they only had to collect and eat (Ex. 16:4). But even the minimal labor of scooping bread into baskets had God-given boundaries of rest: “ ‘Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, which is a Sabbath, there will be none.’ . . . So the people rested on the seventh day” (Ex. 16:26, 30). After creation and even before the law of Moses, God gave his people “a day of solemn rest” (Ex. 16:23).
Mosaic Law (Ex. 20:8–11; 31:12–17; Deut. 5:12–15)
At Sinai, when God wrote his law in stone, one of his commandments concerned rest and worship on the Sabbath: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy” (Ex. 20:8; cf. Deut. 5:12–15). This commandment has both positive and negative aspects. The people were to “remember” and “keep” the day, doing “all [their] work” on the other days, and they were to “not do any work” and require no work from others on the Sabbath (Deut. 5:8–10). Later, the Lord expanded on his Sabbath command and called it “a covenant forever” for his people to observe “throughout their generations” (Ex. 31:16). Because of the pattern of the Lord’s own day of rest at creation (Ex. 20:11), God’s people rest individually and corporately on the Sabbath from their daily work. As Christopher Watkin explains, “God’s rest [at creation] makes it clear that work is not all there is for God, and we know from Exodus 20 that he doesn’t want it to be all there is for us either.”1
Prophets (Isa. 58:13–14)
The prophets regularly speak about the Sabbath, and Isaiah has one of the most beautiful pictures of the Sabbath in all Scripture. Writing to a people snared by sin and threatened by their enemies, he offered them the joy of God’s rest:
If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure, or talking idly;
then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth. (Isa. 58:13–14)
Sabbath rest is ordained by God (“my holy day”), directed by God (“not going your own ways”), and blessed by God (“you shall take delight”). When God’s people honor him on this day, he refreshes their souls, making them “ride on the heights of the earth.”
Jesus (Matt. 12:1–14; Mark 2:23–3:6; Luke 14:1–6; John 5:1–17)
Sabbath rest isn’t just an Old Testament practice. In his earthly ministry, Jesus honored the Sabbath day, resting from his daily work and prioritizing corporate worship (Luke 4:16), and his disciples did too (Luke 23:56). He did God’s will on the Sabbath, healing and feeding people and ministering to their souls (Matt. 12:1–14; Mark 2:23–3:6; John 5:1–17). He affirmed the Sabbath’s goodness (Mark 2:27). Additionally, he declared his identity as God by calling himself “lord of the Sabbath” (Matt. 12:8). Jesus’s practice of the Sabbath was perfect, and we honor and imitate him when we delight in the day he made for us.
Sabbath rest is part of our weekly life now, and it will characterize our life in eternity too.
New Testament Church (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2; Rev. 1:10)
With Christ’s resurrection on the first day of the week, the Sabbath experienced a shift. Old Testament believers set apart the seventh day, shaping their week in light of creation; New Testament believers set apart the first day, shaping their week in light of the resurrection. “The first day of every week” (1 Cor. 16:2; cf. Acts 20:7) became the day of fellowship and worship—the Christian Sabbath—for God’s new covenant people. Even the apostle John, exiled on the island of Patmos, observed the Sabbath. He received his vision of the things to come when he set aside his ordinary tasks and was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s day” (Rev. 1:10). As God’s people celebrate Christ’s resurrection and honor his day, we receive his presence and blessing.
Sabbath’s Future
Sabbath rest is part of our weekly life now, and it will characterize our life in eternity too. In fact, our practice of Sabbath on this earth anticipates and prepares for the Sabbath to come. The author of Hebrews connects the Old Testament Sabbath with our Sabbath observance today and then points ultimately to the Sabbath rest of heaven (Heb. 4:1–13). In the new heavens and earth, believers “rest from their labors, for their deeds follow them!” (Rev. 14:13).
The trajectory of Scripture is not that the Sabbath becomes less important through redemptive history. Rather, it becomes increasingly more important until eventually it becomes all there is—that great, eternal Sabbath rest when God’s people will gather in their Lord’s near presence, cease all their earthly work, and worship him forever (Rev. 7:9–12).
Notes:
Christopher Watkin, Biblical Critical Theory: How the Bible’s Unfolding Story Makes Sense of Modern Life and Culture (Zondervan Academic, 2022), 79.
This article is adapted fromSabbath Restby Megan Hill.
Megan Hill (BA, Grove City College) is the author of several books, including Praying Together; A Place to Belong; and Meg Is Not Alone. She also serves as the managing editor for the Gospel Coalition. A pastor’s wife and a pastor’s daughter, she lives in Massachusetts with her husband and four children, where they belong to West Springfield Covenant Community Church (PCA).
Guy Waters discusses God’s original purpose for the Sabbath, how the idea of Sabbath rest recurs throughout the Old and New Testaments, and whether the Sabbath is relevant for Christians today.
The Old Testament tabernacle points us to the realities of God’s holiness, helpfulness, and heavenliness. In this message, Daniel Hyde explains how God provided the tabernacle to teach truths concerning Himself and the way He relates to His people.
It is impossible for a lesser creature to understand a more advanced one. How can anything understand something more complex and advanced than itself? For a flea to understand a dog it would have to be at least as advanced as a dog. For a dog to understand a man it would have to be at least as advanced as a man. How much greater distance is there between Creator and creature. Men can imagine what God might be like, and people have plenty of ideas about Him. Almost everyone has an opinion as to what God is or is not like, or as to whether He even exists. But man’s opinions are irrelevant, because they can never be more than speculations. By his own resources the creature cannot possibly comprehend his Creator. God’s wisdom, the truth about Him and His message for man, is a wisdom, however, not of this age, nor of the rulers of this age. Age (aiōnos) refers to a period of time, a historic age. Paul was speaking not only of the particular historical period in which he lived, but of all periods of history. All human wisdom is passing away. It is empty, futile, and comes to naught. Even the rulers (archontōn, meaning leading men, or men of authority) cannot claim it or even relate to it. Paul repeats the assertion that he is indeed speaking wisdom: but we speak God’s wisdom … the hidden wisdom. The natural man does not know and understand it, and considers it foolishness, because it is wisdom in a mystery, the hidden wisdom. Mystery (mustērion) does not refer to something strange and puzzling but to that which is held secret. God intentionally holds His wisdom a secret from natural man and his earthly wisdom (cf. Matt. 11:25; 13:10–13). But to His people, His called and perfected ones, God predestined before the ages to give His wisdom through His Son to our glory. Before time began, our heavenly Father determined to give us His saving wisdom that would lead ultimately to our eternal glorification (Rom. 8:18).
The wisdom which none of the rulers of this age has understood; for if they had understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. (2:8)
The crucifixion is proof that the rulers of this age did not have God’s wisdom. Had they understood it, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. Neither the leaders of the Jews, to whom the gospel was a stumbling block, nor the leaders of the Gentiles, to whom it was foolishness, understood God’s divine wisdom. In their ignorance of God, their willing ignorance, they executed His Son. Paul’s own testimony demonstrates that ignorance (1 Tim. 1:12–13). That is the outcome of human wisdom. In the world’s eyes, Jesus was anything but glorious; but in God’s eyes He is the very Lord of glory. Yet all of the
MacArthur, J. F., Jr. (1984). 1 Corinthians (pp. 60–61). Moody Press.
But we speak God’s wisdom in a mystery—hidden wisdom, which God predestined before all time for our glory, 8. and which none of the rulers of this age understood. For if they had understood this wisdom, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. a. Divine wisdom. The dissimilarity between the world’s wisdom and God’s wisdom is clear. In the preceding verse (v. 6), Paul mentions wisdom in negative terms; human wisdom is time-bound and leads people to frustration and eventual destruction. Here he gives a positive description: God’s wisdom is eternal and limitless. It leads people from darkness to light, salvation, and glory. Paul informs the Corinthians that he and fellow preachers declare God’s wisdom in a mystery. This is the first time the word mystery occurs in connection with wisdom. (The variant reading in verse 1 is an exception.) b. Mystery. What does Paul mean by the clause, “We speak God’s wisdom in a mystery”? The Greek verb lalein (to speak) denotes not the substance of Paul’s speech but the manner of speaking (see v. 6). The genitive case of “wisdom” points to possession, origin, and character; Paul refers to God’s wisdom. And “wisdom” is qualified by the expression in a mystery. That is, Paul does not speak a mystery; God’s wisdom is mysterious. Wisdom is a mystery and unintelligible to the unbeliever. To the believer wisdom becomes plain, for God communicates it through the gospel which the apostles preach. Paul has stated earlier that Christ is wisdom from God and thus Christ has become our wisdom (1:30). Wisdom and salvation through Christ are intimately related, for the word wisdom signifies “the wise acts of God in the salvation of man.” The process of salvation is a miracle to believers but a mystery to people who lack the Spirit of God (compare vv. 11–15). Wherever the term mystery appears in the New Testament, it usually is preceded by verbs meaning either “to reveal” or “to proclaim.” This mystery was predestined by God before the creation of this world, but he now reveals it to his people through the preaching of the gospel (see Eph. 3:3; Col. 1:26). c. Predestined. Paul next refers to “hidden wisdom, which God predestined before all time for our glory.” Wisdom that has been hidden until the present time is now revealed through the person and work of Christ. Peter discloses that the prophets were intently searching for the time and circumstances of Christ’s coming. He says that those things eventually were revealed to the believers through the preaching of the gospel and the work of the Holy Spirit (1 Peter 1:10–12). Even though this mystery of salvation is no longer hidden, it nevertheless remains something that the human mind cannot fully grasp. This mystery relates to the love of God, which is so profound that man is unable to comprehend it completely (compare Eph. 3:17–19). God in his wisdom predestined this salvation for our glory before the human race was even created. He foreordained to save the Corinthians for their own glory, a truth Paul states in a related discourse: “What if he did this to make the riches of his glory known to the objects of his mercy, whom he prepared in advance for glory?” (Rom. 9:23). God is sovereign and demonstrates his grace and mercy to his people, whom he predestined to glory. Paul could not have put the difference between worldly wisdom and divine wisdom in clearer terms. The contrast between the glory of believers and the glory of earthly rulers is telling. Writes J. B. Lightfoot, “Our glory increases, while their glory wanes.” We reflect God’s virtues and glory already in this life, but in the life to come we shall shine like jewels in his crown (see, e.g., Phil 3:21; Zech. 9:16, for the metaphor). d. Ignorance. “And which none of the rulers of this age understood.” Paul repeats the phrase the rulers of this age (v. 6). These rulers are devoid of spiritual knowledge and fail to see the significance of Christ’s kingdom on earth, which comes in answer to the believer’s petition: “Your kingdom come” (Matt. 6:10). They are unable to understand God’s rule on earth because God has not revealed to them his divine wisdom. Paul refrains from explaining the resistance of Jew and Gentile to God’s revelation in Jesus Christ. Instead he explains the ignorance of these rulers in negative terms: “For if they had understood this wisdom, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory.” Is Paul speaking only of Caiaphas, Herod Antipas, and Pilate, or is he alluding to every leader who rules without giving God the glory? The Jewish and Gentile leaders who crucified Jesus are representative of all the rulers in the world. Whoever ignores the cause of Christ takes his place with the rulers who put Jesus to death. Jesus, the Lord of glory, is the answer to the question of the psalmist: “Who is this King of glory?” (Ps. 24:8; see also Acts 7:2). He rules not only in heaven but also on earth and makes himself known through the preaching of the gospel. If the rulers of this world submit themselves to him, he blesses them and causes them to proper (Ps. 2:10–12).
Doctrinal Considerations in 2:7
God is sovereign in executing his plan to create the universe and to save mankind from sin. He destines his people for eternal glory. When Paul writes that before this earth was created, God already had formed a plan to save mankind for the glory of those whom he redeems, we stand in awe and wonder. Paul speaks of God’s wisdom that appears in a mystery. Our human minds are unable to grasp fully the importance of God’s love for sinners, because the concept before all time is too profound for us. And the glory which we receive partially in this but wholly in eternity is too wonderful for us. We confess that we cannot adequately appropriate this truth in our minds. Indeed, the doctrine of salvation, simple yet profound, can be understood only because God reveals it to us. God reveals salvation in terms of his electing grace as a truth that “must be taught wisely and carefully.”
Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953–2001). Exposition of the First Epistle to the Corinthians (Vol. 18, pp. 81–83). Baker Book House.
First Lady Melania Trump Embraces Love of Country & Family to United States Armed Forces First Lady Melania Trump shared a nostalgia-filled message about the role love letters have played in America’s military community in her remarks to military families and service members at Pope Army Airfield and Fort Bragg in North Carolina. Mrs. Trump said, “Love letters have symbolized the union of patriotism and family devotion among our soldiers for 250 years. The harmony of love of country and love of family is what makes us uniquely American. It is this very balance which strengthens our military and builds our communities.”
US military in Syria carries out 10 strikes on more than 30 ISIS targets U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) announced Saturday that it had carried out ten strikes against over 30 ISIS targets in Syria, in recent days as part of a joint military effort to “sustain relentless military pressure on remnants from the terrorist network.” CENTCOM said, from Feb. 3 – 12, its forces “struck ISIS infrastructure and weapons storage targets with precision munitions delivered by fixed-wing, rotary-wing, and unmanned aircraft.”
US reportedly prepares for extended military operations against Iran The United States has directed its military forces in the Middle East to prepare for potentially extended operations against Iran, positioning them for action should President Donald Trump order strikes on the Islamic Republic. It remains unclear whether Trump will pursue a diplomatic solution or move toward military action against the Iranian regime. Speaking to U.S. forces at a base in North Carolina on Friday, Trump said it has “been difficult to make a deal.” “Sometimes you have to have fear. That’s the only thing that really will get the situation taken care of,” Trump told the U.S. troops.
Succession rumors swirl after Khamenei sends Khomeini’s grandson to ceremony Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei was absent from a traditional annual gathering on February 9, 2026, marking the anniversary of the 1979 Islamic Revolution. In his place, he appointed Hassan Khomeini, the grandson of the Islamic Republic’s founder, Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, triggering speculation that the younger cleric could be positioning himself as a potential successor to the 86-year-old leader.
WATCH: 200,000 exiled Iranians join Reza Pahlavi for massive rally in Germany As exiled Crown Prince Reza Pahlavi addressed the Munich Security Conference, tens of thousands of Iranian opposition supporters rallied in Munich, calling for regime change and restoration of the monarchy. German police estimate over 200,000 members of the Iranian diaspora… “It is a time of choosing. I choose the Iranian people over the murderous ayatollah. It is time for him to go,” Republican senator and Trump ally Lindsey Graham told a massive crowd of Iranian protesters in Munich as he waved the pre-1979 Lion and Sun flag of Iran.
As antisemitism surges worldwide, Israel is calling Diaspora Jews to ‘come home’ – but will they? “Today, Jews are being hunted across the world,” Israel’s Foreign Minister Gideon Sa’ar said in the aftermath of the massacre, calling on Jews in Australia, Britain, France, Canada, and Belgium to “come home” to Israel. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu echoed the sentiment, urging Western governments to do more to protect Jewish citizens, while framing Israel as the only place where Jews could truly be safe.
IDF chief visits Gaza, threatens Hamas, ‘terrorists in other arenas’ Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, chief of staff of the Israel Defense Forces, conducted a situational assessment and field tour in the Rafah area in the southern Gaza Strip on Friday, during which he said that the military is “prepared to transition from a defensive posture to an offensive one,” and issued a warning to “terrorists in other arenas as well.” Zamir instructed troops to continue operating to remove threats in the area, with an emphasis on dismantling underground terrorist infrastructure, according to the IDF Spokesperson’s Unit. “The IDF is deployed along a security border—the Yellow Line—overseeing the crossings to the Gaza Strip. … For any violation, we will respond and degrade [the terrorists’] capabilities.
Rare February haze lifts as Israel braces for heat wave Heavy haze blanketing Israel on Saturday began moving eastward, with air quality gradually improving, the Israel Meteorological Service said. A noticeable improvement is expected by Sunday. Officials said the phenomenon was caused by air pressure differences between a deep low-pressure system over southern Europe — bringing winter weather and rain there — and high pressure over Israel. The contrast generated powerful winds that carried dust particles from the deserts of Libya and Egypt across the Mediterranean Sea. A heat wave is forecast for Monday, with temperatures well above seasonal norms. The western Negev is expected to be the hottest region, with highs of 33 to 34 degrees Celsius (91 to 93 Fahrenheit).
South Dakota Bill Would Make it a Felony to Disrupt a Religious Service South Dakota is taking action to protect houses of worship from violent threats and intimidation. Gov. Larry Rhoden announced the Legislature is considering SB 113, a bill that would increase the penalties against those who disrupt religious services or in any way prevent people from peacefully practicing their faith. “In recent days, religious freedom came under assault just a few hundred miles from here in the Twin Cities,” said Gov. Rhoden, referencing the incident at a Minnesota church. “That should trouble every single American. It certainly troubled me,” he added. ”So I quickly worked with legislative leadership to announce a plan to fix it. If someone decides to target a house of worship, there will be real consequences.”
Our Culture Is Tearing Itself Apart Because It Rejects Authority What strange days these are in American political and cultural life. Few American groups vie for the top spot in our crazy, overheated age more than the “anti-fascist” group Antifa. Though Antifa avoids formal organization and top-down leadership, it nonetheless organizes and articulates passionately held philosophical views. According to one affiliate: “We are in direct conflict with racism, homophobia, sexism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, transphobia . . . [We] are anti-authoritarians and anti-nationalist.”
Strong and shallow M6.4 earthquake hits near Port-Olry, Vanuatu A strong and shallow earthquake registered by the USGS as M6.4 struck near Port-Olry, Vanuatu at 02:27 UTC on February 14, 2026. The agency is reporting a depth of 10 km (6.2 miles). The EMSC is reporting M6.5 at the same depth. According to the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center (PTWC), there is no tsunami threat from this earthquake.
Richardson City Council Honors Hamas-Linked Muslim Brotherhood Leader: How Deep Does the Islamic Capture Go in Texas? On February 26, 2024, the Richardson, TX City Council honored Marwan Marouf with a proclamation for his “contributions” to the Muslim community. Today, ICE has detained Marouf, a top Dallas leader of the Muslim American Society (MAS) — and the brother-in-law of the Elashi family, convicted in the Holy Land Foundation Hamas financing case. THIS IS A VICTORY FOR TEXAS AND AMERICA – THANK YOU, TRUMP and ICE!
Germany, France Hold Secret Talks On Continental Nuclear Shield In Pivot From US Has Europe really embarked on a nuclear reset, rethinking its US-led deterrent architecture? For the first time since the Cold War, major European capitals are openly debating the need for an independent nuclear deterrent – an emerging theme on clear display this week at the Munich Security Conference.
European Official Warns That Americans Can Be Silenced By EU Online Speech Laws Europeans who face criminal charges for what they said or wrote warned that Europe’s speech laws can silence Americans as well, regardless of the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment protections. Paivi Rasanen, a member of parliament in Finland, recounted how she has been prosecuted since 2021 for quoting Bible verses to church members and on social media that questioned her church’s participation in a Gay Pride march.
UK’s Insane New Trans Guidance Says School Kids As Young As Four Can ‘Change Gender’ The UK government has issued new guidance allowing primary school children, some as young as four, to ‘socially transition’ their gender by changing their pronouns at school. The guidelines state that parents should be involved in the “vast majority” of cases where a child questions their gender, and schools should not initiate steps towards social transitioning.
Antisemitism Has Become A Feature, Not An Anomaly, Of British Society Muslim migration to the United Kingdom (UK) has made Islam the second largest religion there. Muslims outnumber Jews 13 to 1 and now threaten the fifth largest Jewish community in the world by holding attitudes like Jihad al-Shamie, who boasted, “I have killed two Jews in the name of the Islamic State,” after he attacked a UK synagogue on October 2, 2025.
Amid Tehran’s deadly crackdown, some 250,000 rally in Munich against Iranian regime The demonstration was part of a global day of action called for by Reza Pahlavi, the son of the last Shah of Persia. Pahlavi was in Germany to attend the Munich Security Conference over the weekend. The demonstration’s slogan was “Human rights and freedom for Iran. International solidarity with the Iranian people.”
Trump: Iran regime change ‘best thing that could happen’ Regime change in Iran “would be the best thing that could happen,” U.S. President Donald Trump said on Friday, a day after the Pentagon sent a second aircraft carrier group to the Middle East from Venezuela. Two U.S. officials said that a military campaign against the Islamic Republic will likely involve weeks of operations.
An eight-year-old video about pedophilia has begun recirculating on the social media platform X.
Judging by the present mood on that platform, viewers will have little sympathy for the speaker’s disposition toward pedophiles.
As one would expect, the Justice Department’s Jan. 30 release of more than 3 million files pertaining to notorious sex offender Jeffrey Epstein has triggered substantial outrage, making it even less likely than usual that the pro-pedophilia message, deleted shortly after its posting, will meet with a favorable reception.
In a TEDx talk from 2018, organized under the umbrella of the well-known TED nonprofit organization that promotes speaking events worldwide, German medical student Mirjam Heine urged her audience to treat pedophiles with empathy.
“Most of us feel discomfort when we think about pedophiles,” Heine said. “But just like pedophiles, we are not responsible for our feelings. We do not choose them.”
In other words, a pedophile’s sexual attraction to prepubescent children and your revulsion toward those pedophiles both qualify as “feelings.” Since you cannot control your feelings, and they cannot control theirs, the feelings have equal validity.
“But, we are responsible for our actions,” Heine added. “And we must make a decision. It is in our responsibility to reflect and to overcome our negative feelings about pedophiles and to treat them with the same respect we treat other people with. We should accept that pedophiles are people.”
“American AF,” an America First account on X, posted the video on Thursday.
Liberal woman claims that society needs to ACCEPT pedophiIes..
“Pedophilia is simply just another sexuaI orientation. We need to overcome our negative feelings we have towards them and treat them with respect..” 👀 pic.twitter.com/PFy7R8DCzR
Heine delivered those remarks at a TEDxUniversityofWürzburg event in Bayern, Germany, on May 5, 2018.
According to her profile in the lineup of speakers for that event, Heine “is mainly guided by the works of Prof Dr. Dr. Beier, the head of the institute for sexology and sexual medicine at the University Hospital Berlin and the prevention network ‘Kein Täter Werden’ (meaning ‘don’t offend’).”
Of course, “don’t offend” sounds more like a woke rallying cry than a proper guiding philosophy in medical research.
In fact, that helps explain why the event organizer removed the video shortly after posting it to YouTube.
“After reviewing the talk, we believe it cites research in ways that are open to serious misinterpretation,” TED wrote in a June 2018 blog. “This led some viewers to interpret the talk as an argument in favor of an illegal and harmful practice. TED would like to make clear that it does not promote pedophilia.”
The TED blog also indicated that the request to remove the video came from Heine, who feared for her safety.
“Pedophilic disorder is a mental disorder,” therapist and behavioral psychology expert Dr. Linda Mintle said. “It is one type of mental disorder in the category of paraphilias.”
Likewise, psychiatrist and brain disorder specialist Dr. Daniel Amen told CBN that pedophiles’ brain scans “look more like people who have OCD and low frontal cortex,” which diminishes their capacity for empathy.
In other words, what Heine characterized as a feeling belongs more properly in the category of mental illness.
The transgender epidemic of the last decade, for instance, illustrates the danger in prioritizing “feelings” over treatment of disorders.
Thankfully, in the current Epstein-driven climate at least, the chances that debauched elites will succeed in pushing their latest deviant ideology on the masses appears extremely remote.
Border czar Tom Homan joins ‘Fox & Friends Weekend’ to discuss the partial government shutdown, Democratic backlash against ICE, Operation Metro and unrest in Minnesota.
As Vladimir Zelensky pretends he is not losing, his citizens are increasingly rising up against forced conscription
By Tarik Cyril Amar, a historian from Germany working at Koç University, Istanbul, on Russia, Ukraine, and Eastern Europe, the history of World War II, the cultural Cold War, and the politics of memory
Ukraine’s self-declared above-election leader Vladimir Zelensky has found time to publicly share his fantasies with the only audience he cares about: the West, in particular the US, and specifically its president Donald Trump. Since it must be hard for Zelensky to get anyone’s ear in Washington nowadays – who likes a sponger returning for the zillionth time after being shown the door? – he had to do it in public. Luckily, The Atlantic was ready to help (sort of, but we’ll get to that). And yes, that would be the same Atlantic that has downplayed the Epstein monstrosities.
Unduly platformed in the Western mainstream media once again, Zelensky used a conversation with American journalist Simon Shuster to hold forth on his unyielding will to fight to the very last Ukrainian, or, really, the last one who isn’t rich and connected. Because, in Zelensky’s cozy Kiev office – nicely decorated with some of those Ukrainian unit insignia that look just like Nazi ones – Ukraine is not really losing the war. Just like Germany back then, I guess. And since Ukraine is not really losing the war in Zelensky-world, Zelensky seeks to persuade Trump that Russia can be compelled into a peace that does not correspond to the fact that, in the real world, Russia is winning the war. See? Easy! If only Donald would finally get it, too.
Yet, hyper-focused as he is on getting back into the good graces – and purse – of Washington, Zelensky is missing the fact that ordinary Ukrainians have had enough. Or, of course, he simply could not care less. Yet a fact remains a fact: Ukrainians are not only unwilling to go to the front to die, be injured, or captured in a perfectly avoidable and absolutely hopeless proxy war on behalf of the West, they are also increasingly rebellious.
Indeed, they have long been reluctant enough to produce extremely high rates of going AWOL and desertion: Since February 2022, the total number of prosecutions for both – slightly different – ways of running from the military has reached about 300,000. Since the authorities do not even have the capacity to go after all cases, this is certain to be an undercount.
Another sign of Ukrainians’ refusal to die for the Zelensky regime, its obstinacy, and its insane foreign policy is, of course, “busification.”A fairly new – and already extremely popular – term to refer to the often viciously violent manhunts by forced-recruiting gangs, who frequently shove their struggling victims into minibuses, busification is a never-ending scandal in Ukraine. It has been going on for years now, is getting worse all the time, and is running into more and more widespread and determined resistance.
Just consider a few recent facts: As Ukrainian news site Strana.ua reports, a high Ukrainian official has just had to admit that the number of official complaints submitted against the forced-recruitment gangs from the so-called TTsK offices has doubled between 2024 and 20025. (TTsK is an abbreviation for, roughly, “territorial manpower re-supply centers.”) Yet official complaints are only the tip of the iceberg. What is much more important is the rising resistance on the ground. Both the men targeted by the TTsK goons and all sorts of bystanders – family, friends, colleagues, complete strangers who happen to be present) are fighting back.
This, too, is not unprecedented: Cases of open rebellion against forced mobilization have occurred for at least two years. Last fall, for instance, a TTsK office was attacked in a provincial town in Ukraine’s usually hyper-nationalist extreme West. Apparently, even there, dying for Zelensky’s war for NATO is not popular anymore. Three months ago, in the big port city of Odessa, a crowd attacked a TTsK vehicle to free its captives.
It’s not hard to understand the main reason people fight back against being dragged off into a hopeless and useless war. But there are other reasons as well: The manhunting gangs of TTsK have an awful and richly deserved reputation for excessive violence, as even Western infowar outlet Radio Svoboda has long had to admit: some of their victims have died, that is, been killed by TTsK personnel before ever getting to see the front or even basic training (which is hardly worth the label in Ukraine). TTsK manhunters also engage in petty yet brutal crime such as kidnapping for ransom and theft. It goes without saying that the whole mess is shot through, from top to bottom, with ruthless, bloodsucking corruption. This is Ukraine, after all.
None of this abuse and the resistance it provokes has diminished. Instead, it is all getting more intense: Beatings, including so severe that they cause death, are continuing, for instance. Lawyers trying to assist the victims have their limbs broken. A state official trying to inspect a TTsK office was simply detained. You get the gist: The TTsK gangs are law unto themselves and can hardly be controlled anymore.
Yet they can be resisted. As Strana.ua reports, the escalating struggles between the forced-mobilization goons and their victims are beginning to resemble a “quiet war, but this time inside Ukraine.” Ordinary Ukrainians, and again, very much including in the often hyper-nationalist West of the country with its regional metropole Lviv, are ramping up their defense against their own authorities’ relentless death wish. Only over the last month, men in Dnepropetrovsk and Lviv pulled knives to fight back against the TTsK manhunters. Also in Lviv Region, other unwilling recruits have deployed at least one grenade and firearms to cover their escape. And so on.
Zelensky may be delusional and, as that Atlantic piece admits, “petulant.” He may also be unwilling to listen to even his own advisers, some of whom at least, we read, have finally understood that peace must be made soon or things will only get worse for Ukraine. But Ukrainians in general – despite the enormous manipulation of their media and the authoritarian suppression applied by the Zelensky regime are not only saying “no.” They are acting on it. And they are right to do so. They have been abused as cannon fodder by their “friends” from hell in the West and their own regime. Ironically, what they really need is another one of their famous “Maidans.” But this time without Western interference.
Fox News host Mark Levin details how the Democratic Party is trying to ensure it holds onto elections and the role voter ID plays on ‘Life, Liberty & Levin.’ #fox #media #breakingnews #us #usa #new #news #breaking #foxnews #marklevin #democrats #democraticparty #democrat #politics #political #politicalnews #government #elections #voting #voterid #constitution #law #freedom #america #life #liberty
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