“God is not the author of confusion, but of peace…[We must refuse to live a life of chaos and confusion because of our pride and selfishness FOR…] God resists [allows disorder or chaos to] the proud and gives grace [the desire and power to do his will] to the humble…” (1 Corin. 14:33) (1 Peter 5:5-7)
Since God is not the author of confusion, who is? Jesus said:“…Whenever Satan speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies.” (John 8:44) The problem that causes men to be confused and teach so many different things is the lack of proper study. Paul told Timothy, “Study earnestly to present yourself APPROVED TO GOD, accurately handling the Word of Truth.” (2 Tim. 2:15) To study is to put forth the effort and be diligent in a prayerful investigation of the Word of God, realizing that we are dealing with the greatest book which has ever been written! If one can accurately handle the word of truth, he can just as well wrongly handle it, and many seem to do a lot of wrongly handling! Properly studying the Bible is hard work. And many people don’t like hard work. So, how do we know? Jesus said: “Anyone who chooses TO DO THE WILL OF GOD will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own.” (John 7:17) And remember, “ALL SCRIPTURE IS GOD–BREATHED, and is useful for training us TO DO WHAT IS RIGHT.” (2 Tim. 3:16-17)
DO GOD’S WILL AND PRAYERFULLY STUDY HIS WORD…
-Bill Stockham