Insightful Musings on the Scriptures

by

Raymond P. Sparre
Northwest University class of '67

Good morning, dear ones.

Becki just walked out the door to go to her Bible Study in Woodburn. Earlier we did our walk/jog on our own place in light rain. I still haven’t made it into the shower. I definitely need to get on with some important work.

Wow!—last week of the year—here we come! For us, it will include an anniversary. Not sure how to put it all together.

May you be blessed in the assembly of your day.

Love, Dad/Ray.

Makes war? Jesus, the “Prince of Peace” making war? The drama gets real bizarre to behold the Rider on the white horse with a “sharp sword” coming out of His mouth which He uses to kill people. Where does “love your enemies” (Matthew 5:4) fit into this picture? Does this picture have anything to do with Jesus’ words in Matthew 10?—“Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword” (Matthew 10:34). I won’t attempt to lace everything together, but I’ll offer a couple comments:

1. It would appear that if I fail to use the gracious provision of God’s Word as the “sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) as a weapon of offense against the enemies of my soul, then that same sword will be used against me.
2. If we have ever been given incentive to work out our salvation (Biblical worldview) with “fear and trembling” (Philippians 2:12), I think we are given it here.

A comment I heard recently from Dr. R. C. Sproul was to this effect: “Before you try to build a worldview, it is important to build a God-view.” The point is that if God is truly the Author and Sustainer of all things, then even the physical world around us must be viewed through a theological (metaphysical, God-view) lens. It makes good sense that if my perspective of this Author/Sustainer and His character are incorrect, so shall be my view of everything else.

I do believe that this passage in the form of symbolic and divine “show business” is very important in honing an accurate view of the REAL Jesus/God of the Bible. Without this kind of exposure, we may be tempted to think that the God of the Old Testament is far more harsh and demanding than the God of the New Testament—as though they are different deities. But this passage helps to demonstrate a seamless and consistent flow between the two. Read it again and see how it compares with the gentle loving Jesus/God that many prefer to embrace—to the neglect, or even rejection, of His justice and anger against deliberate sin and rebellion.

I recently made reference to Psalm 111:10 (Christmas Day). It begins by stating, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom.” I don’t think I would do any injustice to that statement by rephrasing it this way: “An accurate God-view (the fear of the Lord) is the beginning of a sound and accurate worldview.”