Bruce Collins, Evangelist

Mathew 12:25 And Jesus knew their thoughts. . .
Psalm 94:11 The LORD knoweth the thoughts of man, that they are vanity (futile).
Psalm 44:20-21 If we have forgotten the name of our God, or stretched out our hands to a strange god; Shall not God search this out? for he knoweth the secrets of the heart.

Abraham Lincoln is supposed to have said, “You can fool some of the people all of the time, and all of the people some of the time, but you cannot fool all of the people all of the time”. No matter how hard we try, we cannot fool God any of the time. The Lord knew the thoughts of the religious hypocrites who were taking counsel to destroy Him in Matthew 12. He also knows our thoughts. This is very searching.

He knows that our thoughts are futile. Most of us think that we are the center of the universe and we intend to make sure that others know it. We want to make a great name for ourselves and do great things so that people will remember us. The King who likely was the wisest apart from the Lord and who likely accomplished the most as far as this world is concerned was King Solomon. Yet, his conclusion as to earthly achievements is found in Ecclesiastes 2:11, “Then I looked on all the works that my hands had wrought, and on the labour that I had laboured to do: and, behold, all was vanity and vexation of spirit, and there was no profit under the sun.”

God knows all about us and He knows that there are many people who claim to be Christians so that they can be influential in churches and in their circles in society who don’t have a clue as to Who God is. I am convinced that there are pastors in some churches who do not believe in God let alone trust in Christ. But they like the “job” that they have been hired to do. But, I have been impressed recently with fact that no matter how clever we may be in fooling others, God knows.

The Lord was generally fairly kind in the way he confronted sin in the Bible. There was a woman taken in adultery in John 8 that He could have been hard on because she had been caught in the act of sinning. But instead He treated her with respect while still rebuking her sin. He did the same thing for a Samaritan woman in John 4. He forgave a thief on the cross that had been criticizing Him. But he was harsh when it came to hypocrites. In Matthew 23, eight times He pronounces a woe on hypocritical leaders and teachers. I think He was saying, “Alas, you don’t know the sorrows that are coming because of your hypocrisy.”

Yes, it is easy to convince others we are Christians and that our motives are pure so that we can get the futile things that we want in this world, but if we are not Christians and our motives are not pure, the Lord knows. There is still only one way to please God and that is to trust in His Son who is the sin bearer. The Bible says that we need to be born again, and that we are born again when we receive His Son by believing on Him (John 1:12-13). This isn’t a game that we play in order to get those in our religious circles to accept us, this is a heart matter between us and God. And God knows whether we really have confidence in His Son and whether we really have been delivered from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 1:10). The Jesus who knew the thoughts of the religious hypocrites who were trying to destroy Him in Matthew 12, also knows our thoughts. So when the question is asked, “What think ye of Christ?” (Matthew 22:43), we may as well be honest. Because the Lord knows.

Bruce Collins