Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, special ones.

It was a frosty foggy morning when we did our earlier walk/jog. It’s an ongoing challenge to deal with two dogs and two balls and maintain action with separation. I guess we got them both heated up, because they both dunked in the little stream at the bottom of the hill to cool off. By then I was a bit heated up too, but I had no temptation to do the dunk thing.

I have blocked myself from reading again the devotional below—for fear that I might be tempted to add something else. It’s already too long. At least it doesn’t exceed one printed page when sent to my printer.

Like I predicted, I spent time with the boom truck last evening. I was thankful that old machine ran so well after so much idleness. What was thought to be about one hour turned in to more than three.

I hope your day is productive and blessed.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Hypocrisy runs deep through the entire human race. It’s an integral part of our DNA in a fallen world—a natural component of the NATURAL SIN NATURE. That fact really is a premise of the Biblical Gospel. And if that fact is not accepted and believed, I have to conclude that there is no such thing as SALVATION, or REDEMPTION, and the whole idea of Jesus Christ dying on a cross as the Sacrifice for the SIN of the whole world is just silly—worse than silly—it would be a colossal LIE—for God Himself would be the Sovereign HYPOCRITE to so misrepresent His plan for man.

“We don’t know.” Hang on those words. Explore the psycho-spiritual meaning of those words beyond their literal meaning. I see glaring HYPOCRISY. It definitely was not a matter of their not knowing—it was simply a matter of their not wanting to go there, or even consider the validity of the Gospel message as presented by John the Baptist—they simply didn’t like what his message would do to their preferred and established comfort zone.

This track of thought is leading me to examine not only the sad mindset of RELIGION WITHOUT A HEART AFTER GOD, but also the equally-sad mindset of SECULARISM THAT EXCLUDES GOD—or the big “No one knows” rhetoric (or “You can’t know for sure”) of AGNOSTICISM. I recognize both as expressions of HYPOCRISY—because both are essentially saying, “Don’t bother me with this stuff about personally seeking God and acknowledging sin, gaining forgiveness, and repenting—with all those scare tactics about heaven and hell. Phooey! I want truth and honesty and think we should train everyone to be nice to each other, but the big worldwide conflict between religious claims and ideologies simply confirm that nobody really knows absolute truth about God. Besides, it’s clear that all those churches are stuffed full of HYPOCRITES anyway!” So, this is really great—offering a wonderful man-made hope for utopia—a bunch of HYPOCRITES HYPOCRITICALLY CONDEMNING OTHER HYPOCRITES FOR THEIR HYPOCRISY. When we really think carefully about it all, isn’t that about the way it is here on planet earth?

It’s particularly interesting to note how clear is the HYPOCRISY of AGNOSTICISM. They, with straight faces, exclaim that THEY KNOW that ONE CANNOT KNOW. So how in the world do THEY KNOW the very thing that they insist ONE CANNOT KNOW? The hypocritical discrepancies can really be quite confusing.

Do you see a principle in the way God chooses to reveal Himself to men in this exchange between Jesus and the “chief priests and the elders”? Jesus clearly chose to withhold the clear revelation of His reality and Authority from these guys who were bent on misusing that revelation. If they were so unwilling to accept the message of “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near,” He had no interest, under no obligation, to expand the revelation.

“I write these things to you who BELIEVE in the name of the Son of God so THAT YOU MAY KNOW that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).