WHAT DO YOU THINK?

by Darwin Hunter

Man is a rational being, and God has appealed to his intellect in the Scriptures. He counseled His people in Isaiah 1:18 (NKJV) “Come now, and let us reason together, “Says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, They shall be as white as snow; Though they are red like crimson; They shall be as wooL.” God appealed to His sinful people to THINK about their condition before Him, and to turn to Him for the forgiveness which was needed. Before a man will even turn to God he must be taught, and he must learn, his true spiritual condition. He must know he is lost, and desire to be saved. The only way that can happen is through teaching. As we have often said; “Religion is taught, not caught.” Jesus said in John 6:44-45 (NKJV) “No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, ‘And they shall all be taught by God. ‘Therefore everyone who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.”

By His teaching, Jesus always appealed to man’s intellect. He asked His hearers such questions as, “But what do you think?” (Matthew 21:28), and then taught them the parable of The Two Sons to help the Jews think about their condition. The Lord asked the Pharisees on another occasion, “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” (Matthew 22:42). And then, He reasoned with them from Psalms 110:1 concerning the Deity of the Messiah.

The most vital issue of life is what man thinks. The Bible rightly appeals to man’s thought processes. “As a man thinketh in his heart, so is he” (Proverbs 23:7, KJV). A person cannot think wrong, and do right. A person who thinks in error about the nature of the Christ, will not obey Him. One who feeds his mind on perversion and evil will practice what he thinks (Matthew 15:18-20). To overcome bad living, one must be taught to think pure and wholesome thoughts (Philippians 4:8).

So, friend, what do you think? It is one of the greatest questions of life Christ did not ask, “How do you feel?” He asked, “What do you think? “True religion instructs us (Titus 2:11ff;James 1:27), and through the teaching of the truth changes us from within, “purifying our hearts by faith” (Acts 15:9). As we spiritually mature, we act less and less on impulse, or on changing emotions, and more on how God instructs us to think. The result is that we act on what we have been taught is right, and not on changeable human feelings. The “blessed man” of Psalms 1 is the man who “delights in the law of the Lord” and “meditates” in it! (Psalms 1:1-3). He spends his time reflecting on God’s inspired thoughts, and predictably, he brings forth good fruit, and prospers! The key to your life is to think right so you can do right. This, in turn, will produce good feelings!