Post by Christ RoseConcerned for God? Beware of Opposing Him
Some believers express concern about how the Lord feels, yet their
actions can sometimes unwittingly oppose God’s purposes. This principle
emerges clearly in the incident where Peter rebuked Jesus for predicting
His own death and resurrection. Though Peter intended to protect the
Lord from suffering, Jesus responded sharply, “Get behind me, Satan! You
are a hindrance to me. For you are not setting your mind on the things
of God, but on the things of man” (Matthew 16:23, ESV). Peter's concern
for the Lord’s well-being was rooted in human reasoning, manipulated by
Satan to prevent the cross, which was essential for mankind's salvation.
How Sincere Concern Can Oppose God’s Plan
This same error surfaces repeatedly in Scripture. Consider the example
of Uzzah, who, out of apparent concern for the holiness of God, reached
out to steady the Ark of the Covenant when the oxen stumbled. Despite
his good intention, God struck him down because touching the Ark
violated God's command (2 Samuel 6:6-7). His human reasoning, though
sincere, opposed God's established order. Likewise, the disciples tried
to protect Jesus' dignity by rebuking those who brought children to Him.
Yet Jesus corrected them, saying, “Let the children come to me; do not
hinder them” (Mark 10:14, ESV). Their misguided concern blocked God’s
desire to show His kingdom's accessibility to the humble.
Operating Under Satan’s Influence
These examples reveal a sobering reality: even believers can become
conduits of Satan's influence when they prioritize human concerns over
God's commands. When Peter urged Jesus to avoid the cross, his logic
seemed compassionate, but it undermined the very purpose of Christ’s
mission (Matthew 16:21-23). Similarly, when we deny or hide our sin,
believing it protects our spiritual image or honors God, we fall into a
subtle form of deception that opposes God’s plan for redemption and
restoration.
The Danger of Denying Our Sin
The apostle John refutes the Gnostic lie that believers do not sin. He
writes, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth
is not in us” (1 John 1:8, ESV). Claiming sinlessness contradicts God’s
Word and His ongoing work of sanctification. Instead, John instructs
believers to confess their sins, assuring us that God “is faithful and
just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all
unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9, ESV). To deny our need for confession is
to impose a human plan that undermines God’s purpose of continual grace
and cleansing.
Furthermore, Jesus teaches His disciples to pray, “Forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, ESV). This daily
acknowledgment of sin keeps us dependent on God’s grace. Refusing to
admit sin disrupts our fellowship with God and others. Jesus reinforces
this by instructing believers to forgive their brothers up to seventy
times seven if they repent (Matthew 18:21-22). This implies an ongoing
need for repentance and forgiveness, which is central to God's design
for relationships and spiritual growth.
Undermining God's Greater Purpose
By denying our sin, we not only deceive ourselves but also hinder God's
greater purpose of reconciliation and sanctification. The refusal to
acknowledge sin fosters pride, isolation, and self-righteousness, which
are tools of Satan. God’s purpose, however, is to conform us to the
image of Christ (Romans 8:29). Confession and repentance are His means
to this end. John assures us that when we sin, “we have an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1, ESV). Christ's
atoning work remains the foundation for our continual cleansing and
restoration.
Conclusion
Believers must guard against the subtle deception of thinking that
denying sin honors God. Just as Peter's concern for Jesus opposed God’s
plan for the cross, our refusal to acknowledge sin opposes God’s plan
for our sanctification. True concern for the Lord means obeying His
instructions to confess sin (1 John 1:9), seek daily forgiveness
(Matthew 6:12), and extend forgiveness to others (Matthew 18:22). In
doing so, we align with God’s purposes and reject the Gnostic lie,
embracing the ongoing work of grace through Christ’s atoning sacrifice
(1 John 2:2).
And all this doctrinal analysis (diversion) justifies this continual
sinner in continually hurting the Lord?
Do you see how they avoid the heart of the matter? Hurting the Lord!
It is all in their heads, you see, and their hearts are far from Him. If
they treated their wives like they treat the Lord, their wives would
leave them!
They don't really believe in God! They just strive be in step with their
religious beliefs about God.
In the Name of Jesus
--
God is God in all His Being. All the glory is His, for He is all glory.
Jesus is the everlasting Father, Jesus is God, Jesus is the Lord. John
10:30 I and Father are one. If you can't see that the Lord Jesus is the
everlasting Father you are not born again and can't see the Kingdom of God.
Colossians 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were
YET sinners, Christ died for us.
Jeremiah 10:23 O LORD, I know that the way of man is not in himself: it
is not in man that walketh to direct his steps.
Psalms 53:1 The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt
are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good.
Proverbs 12:15 The way of a fool is right in his own eyes: but he that
hearkeneth unto counsel is wise.
"To seek your own will is to seek your own glory."
"If God is not first in everything, He is not first in anything."
"What makes the bible the truth? The resonance (voice, the Person) of
God. When you find Him you have found the author."
"All men were born sinners. Why? Because all men were born not loving
God with all their heart, soul, and mind. An abomination. Therefore,
sin is not what you do; it is what you are."
"Compromise will condemn you."
"There are no sinners in Christ Jesus."
"My sons are born of Me. In them is no darkness at all."
"You can't learn righteousness. Haven't you had enough time already to
know that?"
"The way of truth is the testimony of life."
"I merely speak the truth, what is revealed to me, and the cards fall
where God intends."
"Nothing that is produced is produced without first being faith."
"You can only find proof of God through faith because that is how we all
live, by faith."
"It is not what you do that matters, it is how you treat Me."
"Keep going forward. Forget about the past. Lift up your head, look
ahead."
"You cannot be free, and free indeed with guilt in your heart."
"Priority is everything."
"The truth doesn't need evidence, it is evidence."
"There is no greater possession a man has than his own will, to squander
it or to place it where it truly belongs."
"An atheist is a fool who thinks truth is found in living a lie."
"Saying "prove it" [as a foundation] is merely an ignorant straw man, to
an ignorant straw man."
"Wait, rest, be still, and know."
"No man can wash his own hands!!!"
"I find this in the Christianity religions: 'Nobody's perfect' they say,
and they use that as an excuse not to do what is perfect."
"The Atheist: "They don't believe and put their faith in a Creator (the
obvious). So no evidence or proof is to be found."
"The world is the way it is because God can't compromise who He is."
"Man is not the centre of being."
"Man is incompatible with the natural world because of his sinful nature."
"And then the Lord said, "I see everything."
"Man has no greater idol than his own will."
"Where is God hiding? He isn't."
"If you don't keep all the scriptures, you can't keep any of them."
"You can't prove anything because everything depends on a person's
willingness to believe."
"Atheists are ultimately trying to be pointlessness, meaninglessness,
and purposelessness in their point, meaning, and purpose."
"The last day of creation will be the last day of time. God is always
full of hope."
"The veil of the temple was rent in twain, not so that a book could pass
through it for a sinner to play God."
"A phylactery does not a heart for God make. Not back then, and not today."
"No one in heaven is better (or higher) than what makes it heaven. Such
is the love of God."
"The definition of an atheist: a man full of bluster and bullshit in his
meaninglessness pretending he is the meaning of life."
"Free will is not power; it is the choice that I allow; that choice is
still according to my power," says the Lord.
"What does a fool do? A fool looks for a "nothing" in a "something" in
order to explain the existence of existence."
"Unless you do all because He is who He is, all your religion is in vain."
"Every man is subject to God; He judges every man, and He is reality.
What a gift in a fallen world!"
"Love MUST be a choice or it is nothing but a law!"
"Why were all men born sinners? So that God could reveal Himself, so
that we would behold the glory of God, and that we should bring forth
the glory of God"
"God does not and will not arbitrate for any man to love Him! If God
isn't everything to you, He is nothing to you where the rubber meets the
road."
"It is the unforgivable sin not to love God with all your heart, soul,
and mind. What do you have that is lasting? It is not so much being
punished; it is what you are left with."
"Love isn't worth anything without first a free will choice for God to
birth it in a man."
"The point of salvation: desperation. Anything less than that is
self-righteousness."
"A sinner is not a believer in God; a sinner is a believer in sin."
"A piece of dirt is not the promised land; that is only a reflection.
The promised land is knowing Me, says the Lord."
"It is all about God or it is all about idolatry."
"The Lord Jesus is coming soon. He has always come soon."
"There is no revolving door of self-worship in a son of God's life!"
"There is no such thing as random!"
"You can't truly love without it being with all your heart."
"No one can see God without their whole heart. Unless you can see God,
you know nothing."
"You can't learn God; God has to reveal Himself to you."
"No sinner is sinless in any way."
"Only God is life; only the Kingdom of God of His "Nature" is life."
"What you believe is just a leaning on your own understanding; faith is
a leaning on the one you have chosen to trust."
"God uses the "letter" to crucify a man and raise him from the dead."
"Not fearing God is sheer stupidity for sinners."
"Self-righteousness is any exclusion of God in your heart, because any
exclusion reveals that you think more about yourself than what you
really are."
"Atheism: "The claim that life received from itself."
"But remember this: always, absolutely always, all the glory is the
Lord's and His alone, and anyone who takes any credit for anything, you
know, instantly, he is not what he pretends to be and is a false prophet."
"That light had to bear (bears all things) the darkness for us, but that
light did not ever become darkness."
"You must reach beyond the bible that tells you about Him, and into your
daily life to find Him in Person. He's there."
"What is wrong with Christendom? False understanding based on compromise."
"It is not in man to love his enemies. And if he tries, he is walking in
a lie and trying to raise himself up to the level of God."
"God has to be quiet now; we have our bible. Well, then, who is going to
speak?"
"It is all about the Lord in His glory and whether a man loves Him with
all for who He is."
"A son of God became the bible when he was born again because the Holy
Spirit took up residence in his heart as Lord."
"The veil of the temple was not rent in twain so that a bible could pass
as God."