Ephesians 5:5 So be careful how you live. Don’t live like fools, but like those who are wise.16 Make the most of every opportunity in these evil days.17 Don’t act thoughtlessly, but understand what the Lord wants you to do.
So many new believers were never told what to do next after they were born again. A new believer now has a spiritual life and then they have to figure out what to do next. In verse 17 of the above scripture, Paul says don't act thoughtlessly. Another word for thoughtlessly is aimlessly and a life that has no direction is a life that will follow any direction. I believe this lack of helping people find God's will for their life is what has caused so much confusion in churches today. Confusion, in that we build traditions and directions that are not what God wants. Those directions seem good, but they aren't the best. When we follow God's will we are following the very 'best" direction possible. We don't "settle" or use terms like "that is good enough." Don't believe I am saying we are to become people who are perfectionists, because that life usually causes a pride problem. If we look deeper into the above scripture we see that God does have a plan, and that plan is the best plan possible.
The above verse 15 says to not live like fools, but like those who are wise. In Matthew 7 Jesus gives us a vivid example of following the wise will of God where He says 24 “Anyone who listens to my teaching and follows it is wise, like a person who builds a house on solid rock. That foundation is held together by the chief cornerstone, Jesus Christ, our Savior. It is a foundation that will not fail and fall apart in tough times. So many churches have built their ministry on humanistic reasoning. It may seem good, but the foundation is not sure, and eternal. Humanism is so prevalent in our church world that it now prevails as the absolute way of doing things. Here is a definition of Humanism - Humanism is a philosophical stance that emphasizes the potential and agency of human beings, individually and socially. It considers human beings as the starting point for serious moral and philosophical inquiry. The meaning of the term humanism has fluctuated according to the successive intellectual movements which have identified with it.
I believe we should differ from what humanism teaches and insert God's Word as our standard of living. An easy example of the failure of Christians in humanism is the worldly way in which we do church in the first place. We think that a church is only a church when it meets in a building called a church building. Of course, we need a place to meet and Jesus always tried to protect the synagogue as a place of prayer. Consider this, we are the church wherever we go. Outreach with the gospel to a lost and dying world is not building-centered, but life centered. Paul wrote to the church in Colossae in chapter 3:17 And whatever you do or say, do it as a representative of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through him to God the Father.
We live to give away this gospel that is in our life. To give it away and live that vibrant life of reaching others is "who we are" and it is our purpose. Why? Because it is the will of God! Which means it is the best way for us to live. THE BEST WAY!! If you don't quite believe it is the best way then you might want to read the following words of Jesus in Matthew 7:21 “Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. I sense in these words very adamant words about following the will of God.
A thinking person might "consider" weighing heavily what we say and do when it comes to the will of God and reject the humanism that is so prevalent and come back to the Word of God ONLY! If the leaders of our country would embrace the 100% wisdom from God's Word we would be a whole lot better nation. But if we as believers just "dabble" in God's will the problem of weak churches will only continue, because the very basis for our lives is built on sinking sand and not the solid Word of God. Follow God's will and not the will of every thought that comes to mind. You find God's will through His Word, through prayer, and through interaction with other believers who are also seeking God's will. There is power in fellowship as scripture states Matthew 18:20 For where two or three gather together as my followers, I am there among them.”
The Pilgrimage Continues...
David Warren