Pastor’s Blog 8.29.18
Principles; they are what they are. I was watching an old rerun of the “Rifleman”, the western series shot in the 50’s and early 60’s, and the star Lucas MCcain, was about to put his life on the line to speak the truth at an outlaw’s court hearing. The town Doctor, and many of his friends, were telling him he was crazy to risk his own life for something he could just walk away from. He answered the town Doctor and said “this is about a principle of doing what is right.”
The Doctor responded, “sometimes principles need to be changed so a man don’t get himself killed”.
“If it could be changed it would no longer be a principle would it?” MCcain responded.
A principle is an irrefutable law, not a law of convenience. It is a standard of truth, a measurement of motive if you will. Principles are rarely convenient and are self sacrificial by nature. They cause us to live by a standard rather than changing standards to live. John Ruthorford said it best in his classic book on leadership, “Character matters”. “When a society’s values become quality of life, instead of life itself, the only really valuable people are those who pander to culture’s lusts or provide it’s needs.”
This would be the mindset of a “Christian who is pro-choice”. I know many Christians who continue to vote for a liberal pro-choice government because they truly have been converted to this cultural mindset. They don’t lay down their lives for the principles of Christ, they lay down the principles of Christ for the quality of their lives!
Hebrews 5:12-14 “Spiritual Immaturity 12 For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. 13 For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. 14 But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” NKJV
Hebrews says “those who by reason of use have trained themselves to recognize good and evil. In other words, living by the principles, further trains us to live this way and to recognize when we are not! The old saying in the world is- “use it or lose it”. One can primarily do the same with God’s principles. They don’t use them, but they do lose them. God’s principles are the opposite of our human nature! That is why I said principles are self-sacrificial by nature.
2 Peter 1:5-11 “But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” NKJV
Interesting that Peter said the first thing we need to add to our faith is virtue, or character, which is a strict adherence to God’s laws of living. Adherence to God’s laws of living: living according to the principles of God, not changing them to fit our culture, but submitting to them regardless, even at a sacrificial cost.
Holy Spirit, convict us all of any area of our lives where we are not adhering to Your principles. Our hearts are to obey! AMEN!
Be blessed!Thanks,
- Date - August 29, 2018
- Author - David Chisholm
