Page 62 - Job

warnings that I see.
Now remember, from Colossians 1:28, it says: “We proclaim Him,
admonishing every man.” God has never called me or any man to
preach warnings. God has never called me or any man to preach the
promises of God. We proclaim Him, promising. We proclaim Him,
admonishing. I am not going to just give you a bunch of warnings. I am
going to proclaim Christ, warning every man. There is a big difference
there because one way puts too much of the responsibility on me and you.
As we struggle to stay Christ-centered, seek Him alone and obey His
voice, we agree with all that He is doing. The Holy Spirit of God convicts
people of their sin not us. So, I call attention to that because I do not
want you to get your eyes on warnings. I want to present warnings, but in
a Christ-centered way.
The first warning is this. Beware of half-truths. You see, they said true
things, but they did not preach the truth. The truth is a person. “I am
the Way, the Truth and the Life”. When you go through this section you
will find a lot of true things, but these men were not preaching the truth.
This is the age old story. When man fell in the Garden of Eden, he fell
under the influence of a half-truth. Satan did not tell the whole story; he
left something out. “Ye shall be as gods, knowing good and evil.”
That is what Satan said. Here is what he did not say. Ye shall be as gods
and know good, but as men you won’t be able to perform it. You shall
know evil, but not be able to refrain from it. He did not tell them that part.
He just said you will know good and evil. He did not tell them about the
horrible struggle this knowledge would bring to them and then ultimately
to us.
God’s people have suffered through the years with half-truths. Was there
any element of truth in their philosophy – suffering is caused by sin? Sure,
there’s truth in that. In at least two aspects it is true. Number one, all
suffering is indirectly caused by sin. You see, if Adam and Eve had never
sinned, there would be no suffering on the earth. So it is foundationally
caused by sin. They were right, but only caused by sin indirectly. The
fact is, much suffering is caused by the law of sowing and reaping. It is
the great doctrine of chastening. God disciplines His children. Not
punishment, but training. Not because you have done something, but in
order to instruct and to teach. The worst lie is the unbalanced truth.
Standing on thin ice you are convinced is thick enough to hold you.

The second warning I see from this negative section is a warning against
arguing. Especially, violent argument. And, boy, they got violent! Do not
waste time trying to cause a prejudiced mind to understand something.

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