Provoked By The Foolishness

Demonic Religious Image

A Gargoyle on the Cathedral of Notre Dame, Paris, France"The fool has said in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good." (Psalm 14:1)

"The fool has said in his heart, 'There is no God." They are corrupt, they have committed abominable deeds; There is no one who does good." (Psalm 14:1)

Of all the nations worldwide, no nation besides Israel can be clearly understood as being chosen by God. One of the most challenging things to understand is how God can choose a nation, and that nation appears to be just like all the other nations, as if God does not select them.

"But Jeshurun grew fat and kicked-- You are grown fat, thick, and sleek-- Then he forsook God who made him, And scorned the Rock of his salvation. "They made Him jealous with strange [gods]; With abominations they provoked Him to anger. "They sacrificed to demons who were not God, to gods whom they have not known, New [gods] who came lately, whom your fathers did not dread. "You neglected the Rock who begot you, and forgot the God who gave you birth. "The LORD saw [this], and spurned [them] because of the provocation of His sons and daughters. "Then He said, 'I will hide My face from them, I will see what their end [shall be]; For they are a perverse generation, Sons in whom is no faithfulness. They have made Me jealous with [what] is not God; They have provoked Me to anger with their idols. So I will make them jealous with [those who] are not a people; I will provoke them to anger with a foolish nation. " (Deuteronomy 32:16-21)

Why would a religious institution place such a demonic image on its building?

Provoked By The Foolishness Of Idols

Of all the nations worldwide, no nation besides Israel can be so clearly understood as being chosen by God. One of the most challenging things to understand is how God can choose a nation, and that nation appears to be just like all the other nations, as if God does not select them.

God rescued Israel from their slavery in Egypt, gave them the Ten Commandments, His law, and the Sacramental system that pointed to the coming of the Messiah, the covenants, and the promises. Nevertheless, the people, as seen through Moses' prophesies above, chose to reject the God of their salvation and serve idols instead.

Provoked By The Foolishness Of Strange gods Or Demons

As the generations multiplied, as the context of Deuteronomy 32:16-21 suggests, the people sank deeper in their sins and the blindness they created. If the world only knew how much influence demons wield over a world controlled by sin. Paul tells us in 2 Corinthians 4:3,4 just what kind of blindness Satan can hold over the people he blinds. "And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." The greatest blindness of all is the kind that keeps people from seeing the truth about salvation. Because people cannot comprehend the good news of salvation, neither can they understand how genuine salvation can be distinguished from empty religions.

One of the chief ways of distinguishing genuine salvation is in verse 6, "For God, who said, 'Light shall shine out of darkness,' is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ." All false religions have one thing in common: there is no light shining out of the darkness, no repentance from sin, and most importantly, no knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.

Provoked By The Foolishness Of Anger By A Foolish Nation

From Deuteronomy 32, we understand that God is provoked by the foolishness of idolatry, false gods, and it became worse as future generations become even more steeped in darkness, ignorance, and demonic blindness. The religion given to the Hebrews, now known as Israel, was a salvation to a people by God's sovereign choice, as it began with Abram. Abram was from the land of Ur, a people that gave themselves to idols. However, Abram was renamed Abraham because of his God-given faith. Abraham was not a man without flaws, but his faith, like that of all the heroes found in the letter to the Hebrews, was a faith that brought him all the way to the other side. One of the key elements of authentic faith is perseverance. Just as authentic faith leads people to the Light of God, guiding them throughout their lives, even if they continue to sin, but their sin is repented of as they continue to grow in the grace of God.

There is individual faith and there is institutional religion. The problem that few people want to hear is the downside to institutions. The Church of Jesus Christ has an organization, but you can be sure of several things: The Church is not just an organization. Jesus' will is to be a part of every aspect of church life. Jesus is not separate from His people because His physical presence is in heaven. The Holy Spirit desires to bring Jesus into every part of His people's group life. Christ, through the Holy Spirit, desires revival (the life of Christ) to be constantly poured into the souls of His people. It is Christ's Spirit, will, leading, gifts, and direction that make Jesus the head of His people. Prayer, the study of God's Word by all, and walking in the Light (transparency with one another), as found in 1 John 1, makes Jesus the head of His people, not an institution.

Humanism can copy an authentic Christianity but it's not.

False religion can mimique the true very closely, which in the end will ony lead to hearing the words, "I never knew you, depart from Me."