Temptation is commonly linked to the trying of one’s faith, but “the hour of temptation” is not the typical temptation experienced by the believer. In fact, the Lord promised to “keep” the church “from the hour of temptation.” So what is this temptation to which the Lord speaks? First of all, it is connected to a specific time as indicated by the use of the word hour. Secondly, this temptation is one that is yet future as demonstrated by the phrase, “shall come.” Lastly, it is a temptation designed to “come upon all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth.” This temptation is known as Daniel’s Seventieth Week and refers to a temptation for the unsaved Jews and Gentiles during that terrible future time.
Learning how to be the right kind of steward can seem difficult, but never without reward. The Lord Jesus taught and explained His parables of stewardship. In these teachings, He presented the faithful steward receiving his reward at the time of accounting for his stewardship. The apostle Paul confessed this truth in 1 Corinthians 9:17 when he said, “if I do this thing willingly, I have a reward.” Paul knew God had a special calling upon his life and also knew he would stand before God to give account for his service. In like manner, each believer will one day stand before the Master (Jesus Christ) to give an account of his stewardship. Those who have served as good stewards will receive reward, while those who failed to do so will suffer loss (1 Corinthians 3:11-15).
A steward has the responsibility for properly caring for the possessions of another. In this capacity, he does not determine what is proper or improper; rather, the master of the house sets the standards of care for his possessions. In the parable beginning in Luke 16:1, a certain rich man (the master of the house) accused his steward of wasting his goods. The steward was told to give an account of his stewardship knowing that his irresponsible actions could soon end his stewardship. The Bible identifies the steward as “unjust” because of his unfaithfulness with the possessions of the master. The steward was not unjust because he lacked skill, but because he was not faithful.
Stewardship requires one predominant trait, that being faithfulness. People are gifted with many assorted skill sets requiring varying degrees of expertise. Yet, stewardship demands only a single element—faithfulness. The master of the house can teach his steward how to think ahead or how to deal with problems and even problem people, but the master cannot teach faithfulness. A wise master knows that his greatest need in a steward is faithfulness (Luke 12:42). In like manner, believers, as stewards of God, may be inadequately qualified for every needed task, but the importance of faithfulness must never be underestimated. No man can be a good steward if he lacks faithfulness.
The Devil despises any praise offered toward God. Men who sacrifice to God demonstrate their valuation of Him. For this reason, the Devil longs to eliminate godly sacrifices. Daniel 9:27 references a future time known as Daniel’s seventieth week when the Devil will cause the reinstituted Jewish animal sacrifices to cease. In the present age, God has clearly shown that He has no desire for man to sacrifice animals. Instead, believers offer spiritual sacrifices to God thus demonstrating their praise and declaring their love for God. Just as the Devil will one day seek to end the physical sacrifices given to the Lord by the Jewish people, he presently works hard to keep New Testament believers from offering the spiritual sacrifices of praise to God.
Men not only develop reputations among other men, but they also develop a reputation with the Lord. A wise individual seeks “favour and good understanding in the sight of God and man.” Fortunately, the path to favour in the sight of God follows the same course as that of finding favour in the sight of the right kind of men. According to Proverbs 3:1-3, these elements include remembrance of God’s law, keeping the commandments, and forsaking not mercy and truth. Before dismissing the importance of this dual favour amongst both God and man, consider that the scriptures inform us that the Lord Jesus increased in wisdom leading to an increase in “favour with God and man.”
No believer should knowingly marry an unbeliever (2 Corinthians 6:14). Additionally, the unmarried should look for other strengths and weaknesses in a prospective spouse before agreeing to marriage. Oftentimes, these strengths and weaknesses can be seen by interaction with the other’s parents. Isaac lied about Rebekah (Genesis 26:6-7) just as his father Abraham lied about Sarah (Genesis 12:10-13; Genesis 20:1-2). Solomon’s weakness for women (1 Kings 11:1) was first witnessed in his father David (2 Samuel 11:1-4). Rachel learned deception (Genesis 31:32-35) by watching her father act deceptively (Genesis 29:25). A careful observation of parents can reveal prospective problems in a future spouse.
Sin can never be flippantly disregarded. If the Lord is just, and He is, He must mete out consequences for rebellion. The biblical descriptions of the Lord’s reaction to rebellion varies from “he will be wroth” (Joshua 22:18) to “then shall the hand of the LORD be against you” (1 Samuel 12:15) to “ye shall be devoured with the sword” (Isaiah 1:20) to “I will come up into the midst of thee in a moment, and consume thee” (Exodus 33:5) to “I will purge out from among you the rebels” (Ezekiel 20:38) to “I will even send a curse upon you, and I will curse your blessings” (Malachi 2:2). Though there are variations in the response, the constant truth remains that the Lord hates rebellion and responds to the rebellion with judgment.
Rebellion thrives upon the self-will of any individual or group of individuals. It parallels stubbornness, hard-heartedness, and a stiff neck. The first use of rebellion in the Bible indicates that it is a refusal to submit to the will or authority of another (Genesis 14:4; see also 2 Kings 18:7). Sometimes, rebellion may be the refusal to go at the command of another (Deuteronomy 1:26), while at other times, it is the refusal to stay (Deuteronomy 1:43). The point is that rebellion is a refusal on the part of a person or group to submit and yield to the rule of another. It involves a conscious decision to cease from following, and though there may be times when resistance needs to be made against the world, “God forbid that we should rebel against the LORD” (Joshua 22:29).
All of today’s gadgets have caused the world to lack the basic communication skills necessary to properly function. Communication takes place through various means but is most frequently accomplished by the articulation of words between two or more people. Often in scripture, the words commune and communication are followed by the word saying which suggests that communication generally involves one person speaking to another person. The more a society or an individual experiences a breakdown in their understanding of words, the more they will experience a breakdown in communication. When the individuals within society grow up without face-to-face interaction with other people, that society will lack the ability to communicate. Ultimately, this hinders every facet of life.
