βYe do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even Godβ (John 8:41).
Societyβs anti-Bible, anti-Christian attitude is nothing new. While todayβs Bible-believing, Bible-quoting Christian is accused of βhate speechβ and βbigotry,β the βnon-narrow-mindedβ face no repercussion for their slandering of the Lord Jesus Christ and their trampling His Word under foot. Due to sin, the world is upside down, and when the Christian attempts to expose it, he or she is to blame. The world wants Romans 3:4 to read, βLet every man be true, but God a liar!β
Like the (self-righteous) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite religious participation, has no capacity to stop sin. Never become angry at the world and never let their behavior puzzle you. Sinners do nothing but sin: by nature, man literally knows nothing but sin. As Jesus said to the lost Pharisees, βYe are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will doβ (John 8:44a). What they need is not simply to stop their activity (sins); they need a new nature from God! Todayβs Scripture demonstrates the Phariseesβ willful ignorance of their sinful state.
Like the (βeducatedβ) Pharisees of old, lost mankind, despite several degrees, has no capacity to understand the Bible. The Pharisees studied their Old Testament scrolls, yet they were equivalent to todayβs average seminary graduateβyears of Bible βstudyβ and no (!) Bible understanding. Todayβs Scripture demonstrates the Phariseesβ willful ignorance of one of hundreds of Old Testament prophecies that foretold Jesus Christβs coming. They had plenty of philosophy and religion, but they had no capacity to understand and appreciate the Bible. People today do not need degrees to comprehend the Bible; they need the Spirit of God! βBut the natural [lost] man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned [judged, evaluated]β (1 Corinthians 2:14).
Let us summarize and conclude this devotional arc⦠source