Speaking the Truth in Love

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective

Reading through the Psalms as I’m doing now as I follow a daily Bible reading program, I’m reminded how much difficulty David faced in his adult life! It is astounding that during his life, so many were against him. Israel’s first king, King Saul, spent a good portion of the latter half of his 40 year reign.

Then they asked for a king, and God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. – Acts 13:21 ESV

It’s interesting to think that God allowed him to reign for that long even though Saul essentially rejected God’s ways. But David seems to have had more enemies than just King Saul. David was on the run from Saul and many others who sided with Saul and wanted David dead.

Psalm 139 is filled with very high thoughts that we would do well to remind ourselves.

1 O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.
5 You hem me in, behind and before,
and lay your hand upon me.
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me;
it is high; I cannot attain it.

David is astounded with the knowledge that God knew him before he was formed. God knows what David would say before the words were even formed in his brain. Such a realization causes a person who loves God to be in awe of Him.

David then wonders aloud about the fact that God is everywhere (omnipresent) and that no one can hide from Him.

7 Where shall I go from your Spirit?
Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there!
If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning
and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me,
and your right hand shall hold me.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness shall cover me,
and the light about me be night,”
12 even the darkness is not dark to you;
the night is bright as the day,
for darkness is as light with you.

Too many people today, because they do not see God and therefore can discount His existence and presence, find it easy to believe that God doesn’t notice them at all. In fact, if no God exists, how can a non-existent God see anything? Clearly, that god cannot. But the God David (and authentic Christians) worshiped was far above our highest thoughts. It was likely difficult for David to put into words. Remember, he had only a portion of the Scriptures we have now so his understanding was limited. Ours of course is still limited, but we have far more to go on than did David and his contemporaries.

Not only is David telling us that we cannot hide from God, but even if we think we are hiding from in due to physical darkness or deep inside our own thoughts, God still sees. David tells us that the darkest darkness is still light when compared with God. Nothing is hidden. Nothing is kept from God’s all-knowing ability (omniscience).

The next few verses of Psalm 139 are a complete rebuke to those who would advocate for abortion.

13 For you formed my inward parts;
you knitted me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.
Wonderful are your works;
my soul knows it very well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you,
when I was being made in secret,
intricately woven in the depths of the earth.
16 Your eyes saw my unformed substance;
in your book were written, every one of them,
the days that were formed for me,
when as yet there was none of them.

God is in charge of sewing us together. Colossians 1:17 tells us that Jesus holds everything together; “And he is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” It is no mystery how things are held together except to those who refuse to acknowledge the truth. It is like the person who continues to believe that Donald Trump colluded with the Russians when no proof of it exists and many on both sides of the aisle have denied it. Though many continued to put forth the narrative that Trump or his team colluded with Russia to bring about a Trump win, no proof of such a claim has been offered and they’ve been investigating for roughly a year, long before Trump was elected. In fact, the more they did, the more it appears that the Democrat National Convention (DNC) may have been hacked by someone but since they didn’t choose to cooperate with any federal agencies, the question then becomes why and what were they hiding?

Some people have an aversion to truth because they don’t agree with it nor do they like how truth makes them feel. In a world were people go by “feelz” instead of critical thinking, this is to be expected. However, it is never a good thing. Never, but this is what society has become in large measure.

David closes his thoughts with several verses in Psalm 139 that are classified as “imprecatory” prayers.

19 Oh that you would slay the wicked, O God!
O men of blood, depart from me!
20 They speak against you with malicious intent;
your enemies take your name in vain.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, O Lord?
And do I not loathe those who rise up against you?
22 I hate them with complete hatred;
I count them my enemies.

While we can truly appreciate the intense longing David had to rid the world of evil people, we must balance that with the reality that we still in this life because God yet wants to reach some of those people whom we understand have given themselves over to evil and evil purposes. Too often they do this solely for selfish gain.

Imprecatory prayers were the types of prayers that cried out to God for justice against wrongdoers. We want to see things taken care of and the scales of justice balanced. That won’t happen as long as evil people (people deliberately given over to evil purposes), exist and live on this earth.

On one hand, David’s prayer will be answered of course. At some point in the future, upon Jesus’ return, He will deal with Satan, the Antichrist, and the False Prophet. He will also judge the people of all nations. Only those who are authentic Christians will be allowed into the coming Millennial Kingdom. The rest? They will be secured in hell to await final judgment of the Great White Throne, which occurs following the Millennial Kingdom rule of Jesus Himself.

I think it is very difficult for Christians today (myself included) to hate the sin and love the sinner. It’s very easy to associate sin with individuals and that hatred we may have for sin can bleed over into hatred for people as well. We can become haughty, arrogant, and other things that stifle God’s love in and through us. It can happen because of so many issues that drive society today. Whether it’s LGBT identity issues, racial issues, political issues, or something else, it can be very difficult to simply live the Christian life as we sojourn thought this life. It doesn’t mean we never “choose sides” so to speak, but it also doesn’t mean we allow the issues to define us.

One day, authentic Christians will be fully defined by the same perfect character that embodies Jesus Himself. We will not be God like Him, but we will be like Him in that we will never be able to sin. Temptation will have nothing on us at all and will not be able to move us to rebel against God.

I’m looking forward to that day very much because I sometimes despair of the fact that I still sin. I’m still self-centered. I’m still not living up to my potential. I know this is temporary but it’s like trying to escape from your shadow. One day, that “shadow” will be gone forever.

The people in society now who live a life of self-obsession are lost. We need to pray for them. Surely, not all and in fact, most will reject God even at death’s door. However, we have no clue who will actually turn to God and seek His salvation, do we?

It’s easy for us to judge. It’s easy to want to pray the type of imprecatory prayer that David prayed. He can be excused because he did not have the entirety of Scripture at his disposal as we do. However, the Christian’s strength is in seeking God, in submitting ourselves to Him and allowing Him and His love for the lost work in and through us in order to reach the lost of this world. That is how He set things up and that is how He expects us to move through this world.

While speaking the truth, we must always be sure to speak it in love (Ephesians 4:15). This is the only path that leads to maturity in Christ. Yes, people who are lost and who hate God will quite possibly respond out of anger when we speak truth in love, but that is not our problem is it?

There are some terrible things happening in this world. Unfortunately, the Bible promises they will get much worse before they even start to improve and they will only truly improve when Jesus returns. Even then He will need to physically rule with a rod of iron.

In the meantime, we need to seek God as David sought Him. We need to grab onto God and never let go. We need to submit ourselves to His love and healing touch that we might be in a better position to introduce God’s salvation to those who do not have it.

Theology and Politics from a Conservative, Biblical Perspective