“you shall have no other gods before Me.”
Exodus 20:3
“…for I the Lord your God am a jealous God…”
Exodus 20:5
We are living in a “how to” age. Everywhere you look you will see a “How To” commercial or book. We have “how to’s” for losing weight, brightening teeth, making money, living longer, looking younger, etc. You name it and there is a “how to” out there for it.
The same is true in the religious realm. Reading and studying the Bible has been replaced with “how to” books and tapes. Some are very good; but there’s a mountain of error and pop-psychology being marketed under the banner of “Christian”. Most of these “how to’s” lead the readers to think that by doing specific things or following the author’s checklist of activities, you can be an instantaneous and victorious Christian. Learn to think Scripturally and you won’t be sucked into every new path that leads into the wilderness. Make Scripture your guide as to what is priority to God. Never make trifles in life serious; and, never make the serious things trifles.
However, — I have some “How To” information for you, and you probably won’t find it on any bookstore shelf. Lots of people know how to do this already and are quite good at it; but, if you’re a Christian it’s the LAST thing that you want to learn to do. My “how to” may shock you for I want to talk about how to insult God. Is it possible for a professing Christian to insult the Lord they claim to be worshiping?
A child of the Lord has three distinct characteristics: A call from the Lord; A commission by the Lord; and a commitment to the Lord. Examine yourself in these areas. I fear that many people are busy with a religion that insults God. Here’s “How to Insult God”.
First, perform religious acts without being called by the Holy Spirit through conviction of sin and regeneration of the heart. The best deeds and sacrifices are mere mockery and insult to God if done by an unregenerate heart. Man is by nature sinful and has no ability to do anything pleasing to God. Until a man sees his sinfulness, comes to repentance of his sins, and is born again by the Holy Spirit and indwelt by the Spirit of God, he cannot please God. Therefore any religious activity would be insulting to the Lord.
Second, don’t seek His guidance in your life, but work hard at a task you haven’t been commissioned by God to do. That’s insulting to God. If you have experienced the calling of the Holy Spirit in conviction, repentance and regeneration there follows a commission for every believer. The God who saves us also assigns or commissions us by a spiritual gift (or gifts) to perform certain functions in His church. Consequently, trying to perform a task you have not been called or commissioned to do is an insult to God because you would be trying to do it in your own strength. The Lord works in us to do His good pleasure and for His glory.
The third way to insult God is this; having been called by God and commissioned to a task, –don’t take it too seriously and don’t be committed to the Lord. Each believer has some common commissions: witnessing, giving, study, prayer, etc. and not to do them is insulting. However, there are special gifts given at different times in history which are individually given, (See 1 Cor 12; Rom. 12). These are given to edify the whole body of Christ; and to treat lightly the gifts of God is insulting Him.
Most of the time we give excuses rather than do what the Savior has commissioned us to do. A person’s mind is never more ingenious or his imagination more resourceful, or his will more stubborn than when concocting excuses for not doing that which is clearly what God has commissioned you to do. Are you insulting the Lord?
“I cannot, by direct moral effort, give myself new motives.
After the first few steps in the Christian life we realize that everything which really needs to be done in our souls can be done only by God.” –C.S. Lewis