I Have Spoken In Proverbs

Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you. 

For everyone that asks receives, and he that seeks finds, and to him that knocks, it shall be opened. Mat. 7:7-8.

Unanswered Prayer

Poetry

In the previous post, we learned that there are different kinds of poetry.

The Jewish peers of Christ had a style of poetry in which the meaning of lines which did not necessarily follow each other needed to have a continuity.  In 7:7 and 7:8 we have another example of that kind of a poem. 

Perhaps they should be read like this:

Ask, and it shall be given to you; For everyone that asks receives.

seek, and you shall find; he that seeks finds
knock, and it shall be opened to you; to him that knocks, it shall be opened. 

Proverbs

Someone has said that ... Proverbs should be called ... Probablys.  It is the nature of a proverb to generally be right, but if it isn't, no one should be very surprised.

We think of the many prayers which we have prayed which have not been answered; we recall the times we have searched for an answer and never found it; many are the times we have knocked at heaven's door and the door did not open. Then we recall these words of Christ and start to wonder if the Bible can be trusted.

Admittedly, I did not find even one commentary that follows my line of reasoning.  They all insist that, because Christ spoke these words they must mean what we understand them to mean.   Some say that God answers every prayer but sometimes He says no to our requests.  I say that that belief is just closing our minds to the real facts!

However, let's not close our eyes to facts.  Here is an example.  A wonderful 12-year-old girl is diagnosed with cancer and immediately the parents turn to prayer.  There is nothing casual or superficial about their prayers; how could there be.  Their daughter is all they think about; they ask the church to pray for their daughter's recovery but the precious child dies anyway!  There was nothing wrong with all those prayers - they just were not answered!

The argument is made that the results were best for all concerned and that perhaps the parents will learn to follow Christ more closely because of it.  This may be true but it does not change the fact that the prayers were not answered.

This does not make Christ a liar, it only shows that He was quoting some everyday proverbs.  In another situation Christ said, These things have I spoken unto you in proverbs: but the time cometh, when I shall no more speak unto you in proverbs. John 16:25 KJV.   

It would take a lot of pressure off of the Bible if we did not worship it as an infallible god.

Narrow Is The Gate

Enter in through the narrow gate; because wide is the gate, and broad is the way which leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in through it. 
How narrow the gate, and confined the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it! Mat 7:12-14

Consequently, by their fruits you shall know them. 

Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Mat 7:20-21

There is a "fine line" between working to earn our salvation and accepting the idea that we can be redeemed simply by believing that Christ died for us.  

We can see that regardless of how dedicatedly we work we will still fall short of the requirements that Jehovah demands.  Even Mother Terrassa and others in her category of self-denial did not do enough to wash their souls clean of the natural inborn guilt.  They still needed to accept the fact that it was Christ's death that made their salvation possible.

On the other hand, there are many who insist that all they have to do is believe that Christ died for them and voila, they are set for heaven and they can live any way they want to.  This depressing fact is seen far too often in the lives of those who live for fleshly pleasures and then, when something goes wrong they come running to Christ for help.

Christ and the other New Testament teachers do not allow for that kind of thinking at all.  Paul wrote: work out your own salvation (we must work at our salvation) with fear and trembling. Phil. 2:12.  Christ stated the matter just as clearly: Consequently, by their fruits you shall know them. Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. Mat 7:20-21.  Our lifestyle will show which path we are on.

There are many in the evangelical group who seem to have captured the right balance between works and faith and they are teaching that "fine line".  

To enter the Christian religion one must believe that Christ's death and resurrection are all that one needs to have the inborn sins removed.  According to Christ, there are not a variety of ways of getting to meet His Father.  He said I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6. 

Unfortunately, being "born again" and having Jehovah's breath invade us still leaves us with a desire to please ourselves.  That is why Paul wrote if we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Galatians 5:25.  These are two separate, but intertwined elements of the Christian life.  Surrendering ourselves to Christ, to live as He would have us live, is an act of the will and of practice.  It does not happen automatically!

If anyone is seriously wondering what the Christian life should look like, there are two lists ready for the reading.  

Note that those lists do not include things like:

• Women must wear a doily on their head to pray
• When we fold our hands to pray, the thumbs must point upward
• You must pray at certain times of the day
• You must not eat red meat on Friday

Remember, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Gal 5:18. However, you are certainly not free to do whatever you might feel like.

Now the works of the flesh (things to avoid) ... are: 

• adultery, 
• fornication, 
• immorality, 
• lewdness, 
• idolatry, 
• sorcery, 
• hatred, 
• contentions, 
• jealousies, 
• outbursts of wrath, 
• selfish ambitions, 
• dissensions, 
• factions, 
• envies, 
• murders, 
• drinking bouts, 
• revelries, 
• and the like.    

But the fruit of the Spirit is: 

• love, 
• joy, 
• peace, 
• longsuffering, 
• kindness, 
• goodness, 
• faithfulness, 
• gentleness, 
• self-control. 

those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts.  Galatians 5:19-24.