Third, the Bible is where we learn the will of God for our lives. We have many questions in this area. We say, “Here I am living in this particular time, in this particular place, with these particular talents. What am I to do? Which direction am I to go in? Am I to do this or that? Am I to move here or there?” We have no specific answers to these questions in the Word of God, but we do have great principles that will guide us in ninety-nine percent of the circumstances.
Third, the Bible is where we learn the will of God for our lives. We have many questions in this area. We say, “Here I am living in this particular time, in this particular place, with these particular talents. What am I to do? Which direction am I to go in? Am I to do this or that? Am I to move here or there?” We have no specific answers to these questions in the Word of God, but we do have great principles that will guide us in ninety-nine percent of the circumstances.
Over against the way of the ungodly, the psalmist sets the way of the righteous. And everything that is said to be lacking in the case of the one is present in the other. Is it true that the wicked will not stand in God’s judgment? Yes. Then, the righteous will stand; he will be justified by the work of Jesus Christ. Is it true that the wicked will be like chaff that the wind blows away? Yes. Then, the righteous will not be like chaff, but rather like grain.
The psalmist says two important things about the man who walks according to his sinful dispositions. First, the course of the wicked man is always downhill. He is caught in a downward progression. This is a very important thing to see about sin.
It is appropriate that one of our series on the great chapters of the Bible should be the first psalm, because this psalm sets before us the doctrine of the two ways and encourages us to walk in the way of the godly. Psalm 1 is also important because it points us to the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Christmas story is a great story. It is filled with paradoxes, but the paradoxes all come down to this: God has entered human life at a low level so that nobody, no matter how low or how sinful, how high or self-righteous, need be excluded. Jesus Christ is for you, whoever you are. He is the Son of God. He is the Savior. He invites you to receive Him into your heart. Won’t you do that? This is the time. It would be a pity to go through another Christmas and not receive Him.
Is there room in your heart for Jesus? If Jesus is God’s great gift to humanity, you could never have anything greater in your life than Jesus. The source of all blessing begins with receiving Him. But notice! If you do have room in your heart for Jesus, then the world is not going to have room for you.
Another related paradox comes in at this point: When Joseph and Mary came to Bethlehem, there was no place for them to stay. As a matter of fact, there was no room even in the inn. When Luke says there was no room in the inn we have to understand him to mean there was no room for them anywhere. If there had been a place, they would have gone there. When they could not even get into the inn, they ended up in the stable, and that is almost to say there was no place for them at all.
Canadian Committee of The Bible Study Hour
PO Box 24087, RPO Josephine
North Bay, ON, P1B 0C7
