“Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and testing Him asked that He would show them a sign from heaven. He answered and said to them, When it is evening you say, It will be fair weather, for the sky is red, and in the morning, it will be foul weather today, for the sky is red and threatening. Hypocrites! You know how to discern the face of the sky, but you cannot discern the signs of the times.’’ (Matthew 16:1-3)
The job of a weatherman has to be challenging, at times disappointing and at other times rewarding. When they attempt to interpret all the data they can amass to predict the next day’s weather, good or bad, sometimes they get it right. There are other times when they don’t. No thanks.
Why would Jesus even mention the weather in this text? The answer can be found in the response He gave when asked by the leaders of the people for a “sign.” He tells them they have already been provided with abundant proof of the source of His authority which would have included His many miracles and authoritative teachings. But they refused to interpret the evidence accurately and precisely!
These folks could examine the living evidence in God’s world that He created and draw valid conclusions, but they just wouldn’t examine the evidence He was presenting daily. The problem can be firmly placed on the hearts of those who were inquiring and testing Him. You see, He tells them how well they could interpret the sky in discerning any upcoming weather, but they could not or would not interpret the “signs of the times.”
The culture we live in today urges more tolerance, patience and even compromise whether it is in business, politics, the family structure and sadly among God’s people and respect for the authority of God’s Word and what it says along with what it does not say! Has a worldly view of life preempted God’s view of life?
Are we relinquishing the principles of truth and rightness in God’s eyes when it comes to our personal lives? Are we relinquishing the principles of truth and rightness in God’s eyes when it comes to morals, ethics, marriage, family, work, recreation? Are we relinquishing the principles of truth and rightness in God’s eyes when it comes to the church, her beauty outlined in the New Testament as the “pillar and support of the truth” for a softened, more casual approach that will be more appealing to the world?
Reverence for God and His majesty is not to be some sort of a casual, kumbaya service and lifestyle that makes us feel good and better about ourselves. It’s about acknowledging the greatness, majesty, grace, love and longsuffering of our great God!
Humility of heart, repentance over sin, our need for God’s grace and mercy, recognition of my own unworthiness while at the same time acknowledging I am now a child of the King and part of a special people are qualities needed today, tomorrow and every day thereafter God gives us to live!
From Genesis to Revelation, we should be coming to understand that God’s thoughts and ways (Isaiah 55:8, 9) are opposite to those of this world and man, not any man, has the right to water down or soften His truths for any purpose. A child of God, a Christian, should feel absolutely no need to apologize for truth and what is right in the eyes of our loving God!
The Bible just does not teach … no matter how hard men may try to adapt it … that:
- There are numerous ways to please God!
- That each of these ways originating with men is just as good as another!
- That the opinions and want-to(s) of men are on equality with God’s Word!
What the Bible does teach from Genesis to Revelation is that any thought or way that does not find its origin from the Lord is simply wrong! The discerning mind that has been educated in the ways of God’s Word will look closely, measure wisely and choose deliberately and carefully to walk in “the light of God’s Word.” And they will be satisfied with what He says!
Please remember: There is only one God and there is only one way to live …His way! Weather people, watchers, spotters, etc. have an important role to play in life, godly-minded people have an even greater role to play … that of “living soberly, righteously and godly in this present world.”
Bill Fairchild, Jr.
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