“Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities.” (Psalm 145:5)
Jesus had a lot to say to His disciples. While He was with them He knew there was only so much they could take in. “I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). All that He wanted them to know would have to wait for the arrival of the Spirit of truth. “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth” (John 16:13).
What is Christ after when He calls us to follow Him? Our freedom from all sin, and our establishment in all righteousness. This can only happen as we are all ears for the Spirit of truth. If we are to be true men and women of God we must want ongoing reproof, correction, and instruction in righteousness. It is incumbent upon every disciple of Christ to continue in His Word. “… If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31,32)
We are on dangerous ground when we harden our heart to the voice of the Holy Spirit. “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts, as in the provocation, in the day of temptation in the wilderness: When your fathers tempted me …” (Heb. 3:7-9). To tempt God is to walk in willful disobedience while daring Him to bring judgment upon you.
The majority of people who tempt God don’t realize how close they are to the day of judgment. They may even think they are good with God. This was the condition of the people in Malachi’s day. When God wished to convict them of sin, they acted like they didn’t know what He was talking about. They were hardened to God’s honest truth. They justified their evil, and boldly proclaimed that there would be no judgment upon those who violated His law. “Ye have wearied the LORD with your words. Yet ye say, Wherein have we wearied him? When ye say, Every one that doeth evil is good in the sight of the LORD, and he delighteth in them; or, Where is the God of judgment?” (Mal. 2:17) Malachi marveled that they thought they could tempt God and get away with it. “And now we call the proud happy; yea, they that work wickedness are set up; yea, they that tempt God are even delivered” (Mal. 3:15).
When people are without ears to hear what God has to say, and stubbornly committed to their own way, God will not only let them believe what they want to believe, but He will assist them in their delusions. “… Because when I called, ye did not answer; when I spake, ye did not hear; but did evil before mine eyes, and did choose that wherein I delighted not. I also will choose their delusions, and will bring their fears upon them; because when I called, none did answer; when I spake, they did not hear: but they did evil before mine eyes, and chose that in which I delighted not” (Isaiah 66:3,4). Judgment is around the corner for those who tempt God with their continued disobedience. It may be preceded by lying signs and wonders, or a chorus of false prophets, teachers, and “friends” who cheerlead you down a path toward destruction.
When the God of judgment had enough of King Ahab’s stubbornness, He sent a lying spirit into the mouth of all the prophets. They promised the king success on the battlefield, when he was actually headed into disaster. There was one prophet who was absent from the king’s court because Ahab didn’t like what he had to say. “… But I hate him; for he doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil” (1 Kings 22:8) When the righteous try and correct the wicked, they incur wrath and hatred. “They hate him that rebuketh in the gate, and they abhor him that speaketh uprightly” (Amos 5:2)
True prophets have never been popular people. When Stephen was bold enough to speak God’s honest truth to the stiff-necked, he discovered what every true oracle of God has always experienced at their hands. “Ye stiffnecked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?” (Acts 7:51,52)
You can count on God to give you the straight up truth if you are willing to hear it. He is not a flatterer, nor a deceiver. He will not be dishonest with you. He will tell you the truth, even when it hurts. But He will do so because He loves you, and wants you to know the truth that will set you free. You may have a thousand so called friends who don’t love God and His truth enough to give you the God’s honest truth. Cherish those who will.