Christ is the basis of reality itself, and thus disentangling oneself from Him necessarily means moving further and further toward madness and pandemonium. As has been noted before, it truly is Christ or chaos and the proof is in the cultural rodeo-circus unfolding all around us. That being the case, the Church’s task remains the same, to publicly declare to a rebellious world the riches and beauty and glory of the Saviour.

…in Him all things hold together. (Colossians 1:17)
If we were to attempt to describe the world God has made in a single phrase, we might choose something along the lines of “ordered hierarchy.”
This description, by virtue of its brevity, is of course incomplete, like trying to sing four-part harmony with a single set of vocal chords. Nevertheless, it retains at least some usefulness in that it grapples with both the breadth and depth of the created order. On the one hand, it leaves room for all the billions of individual creatures that inhabit the cosmos; on the other, it gives reference to the various categories and classes that hold them all together.
Thus, describing creation as an ordered hierarchy captures both the genus and the species, the universal and the particular, the one and the many. And it does so, furthermore, while conveying the ever-important truth that there is a discernible shape and structure to the whole ensemble. Creation, in other words, is more like a symphony than a 90’s grunge band — no matter what the materialists say to the contrary.
One question this definition poses, however, is, “What is creation ordered to?” Or better, “Who is creation ordered to?” If the universe is not in fact an arbitrary cacophony of sights, sounds, and sensations, then what is the overarching purpose or theme that binds it all together? Who sits atop the hierarchy?
In answer, the New Testament rings forth with a single, resounding conclusion: all things — whether things in heaven or things on earth — exist through Christ and for Christ (Col. 1:16). Indeed, in Him “all things hold together” (Col. 1:17).
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Just as a shipwreck victim longs to feel land beneath his feet, so we long to remember the solidity and security of former times. What we need to remember, therefore, is that even when the floods rise up—even when the rivers continue their relentless pounding—the throne of Yahweh remains fixed and immovable. 

The LORD reigns… (Psalm 93:1)
Some truths break upon the soul like fire: they come quickly, with much heat and light. Others rise to our awareness more gradually, like the creeping realization that the ground is beneath your feet — and, indeed, has always been there. The truth under present consideration is this latter kind, and comes in the opening words of the ninety-third psalm: “The LORD reigns.” This, I’m sure, is a familiar observation for most — and perhaps feels a bit elementary — but that’s precisely the reason we should focus upon it. Though simple, it contains worlds of wonder.
The reality of God’s reign is treated as a brute fact throughout the entirety of the psalm. It is presented as an immovable fixture of reality comparable to the permanence of the world itself. Just as the world has been “established” and shall never be moved, so Yahweh’s throne is “established from of old” (v. 2). It, too, shall never be moved.
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As David makes clear in these verses, he is no stranger to the “secret plots” of the wicked (v. 2). He is well acquainted with those who “hold fast” to their evil purpose and talk of laying snares in secret (v. 5). But even so, he doesn’t busy himself with trying to unravel their conspiracies. Nor does he waste time trying to peer into their hidden counsels, as if his hope depended upon exposing every twist and turn of their evil machinations. Instead, David sets his heart upon the sure foundation of God’s immutable and perfect justice.

Hide me from the secret plots of the wicked, from the throng of evildoers, who whet their tongues like swords, who aim bitter words like arrows, shooting from ambush at the blameless, shooting at him suddenly and without fear. (Psalm 64:2–4)
When the human heart bumps up against a lie, and it recognizes it to be a lie, its natural response tends to be one of mistrust. When confronted by another lie, the mistrust deepens. When met by still another, followed by more, which are then sweetened with yet more falsehood, the heart’s initial mistrust quickly ferments into outright skepticism. Unable to cope with the bombardment of deceit, the person soon begins to doubt everything, until eventually the hope of ever arriving at the truth grows dangerously bleak.
This phenomenon is something akin to what many in the West have experienced ad nauseam over the last several years. Whether one points to the masking debacle, the Covid vaccine catastrophe, the “transgender” nightmare, or the sudden ubiquity of creepy, bearded weirdos with a fetish for dresses and young children, the Western mind has been sold a barrel full of steaming horse dung. It has been subjected to a near ceaseless stream of deceit and told to drink without question. Like Winston in Orwell’s 1984, we have been commanded to say that two and two make five, with all the levers of cultural and social pressure applied to procure our compliance.
But, as mentioned above, the outcome of such treatment has not been to produce a serene and glassy-eyed servility among the masses. For many, it has had the opposite effect, resulting in a pervasive and needling skepticism that now colors their entire outlook on culture, politics, and the world at large. For these folks, everything must be questioned. Nothing can be taken at face value. For who can tell how far down the lies go?
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Failure to keep the tongue in check does not simply tarnish a Christian’s reputation; it renders his whole religion worthless. Renders it useless, impotent, and devoid of force and power. In other words, an unbridled tongue takes a person’s whole public profession and divests it of potency and usefulness. Like a small leak in the hull of a magnificent ship, the tongue has the capacity to sabotage the whole vessel.

If anyone thinks he is religious and does not bridle his tongue but deceives his heart, this person’s religion is worthless. (James 1:26)
It’s no surprise that an age of unbridled passion should also be an age of unbridled speech. The tongue, after all, is the spokesman of the heart, and if the heart is allowed to roam free, it’s only natural for the tongue to follow suit. This, ultimately, is the reason underneath the various sins of the tongue we find running wild in our culture, families, and churches at present. Having “followed our hearts,” we have surrendered ourselves to the whims of feeling and desire, and thus unwittingly opened the lid to a whole host of destructive and harmful verbal vices. The heart, it turns out, is like a spigot: open it, and a “world of unrighteousness” issues forth (Js. 3:6).
Now, while the tongue’s capacity for destruction is of course a matter of interest for people and cultures generally, it is a matter of special importance for Christians. And this is because, as James warns us here, a man’s entire profession can be discredited through neglect of this one point.
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Believe in God. Believe in the power of the gospel and the glorious ministry of the Lord Jesus Christ. Put to death every inclination toward despair. Put to death every impulse toward fretful, anxious frustration. And fix your eyes upon what is ultimate and eternal: Christ Jesus, the Saviour of sinners and the Lord of the world. 

But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet. Hebrews 10:12–13
What do we do as we live in this crazy world of ours? What do we do as we see our culture falling to pieces and insanity creeping up to a fever pitch? These are the questions of our time, and they are not unimportant.
The first thing we do is we remember that the root of cultural chaos is sin. It is not, fundamentally, the Left, or progressive ideology, or young, radicalized university students, or gender ideology, though these things may be the vehicle. Rather, we remember that the fundamental thing, the engine driving all of it, is sin and rebellion against God. Sin — our sin — is the root and cause of all the mayhem and insanity in our culture at the present moment.
This point is important to bear in mind, because it means that, secondly, we can find hope, strength, and comfort in the reality that Jesus Christ is a great Saviour….
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Satan loves to trivialize and diminish the horrors of sin by cloaking it in soft, therapeutic language. He loves to deceive us into playing the victim rather than the perpetrator. Don’t fall for it, Christian. As the Scriptures testify, sin is real and there is death and hell to pay for our rebellion against God’s kindness and grace. The good news, however, and the ground upon which all our hope is founded, is that Christ is an equally real and mighty Saviour.

Then Aaron shall lay both of his hands on the head of the live goat, and confess over it all the iniquities of the sons of Israel and all their transgressions in regard to all their sins; and he shall lay them on the head of the goat and send it out into the wilderness by the hand of a man ready to do this. (Leviticus 16:21 LSB)
In our modern, over-psychologized world, the biblical concept of sin has been all but obliterated. Simply consider the way transgressions have been usurped by “struggles,” iniquities by “trauma,” guilt by “poor self-esteem,” and sins by “breakdowns” and “stress.” Indeed, if any fault is admitted on the part of the person in question (and such occasions are rare), responsibility for these faults is usually off-loaded onto some ready-made excuse like so many sacks of grain onto a Peruvian pack mule.
In other words, we moderns deeply resent the idea that we might actually bear moral culpability for our actions, and thus we are only too willing to shield ourselves from the implications of such a prospect. As Malcolm Muggeridge wisely noted, “The depravity of man is at once the most empirically verifiable reality but at the same time the most intellectually resisted fact.” We simply hate that we are sinners.
In the Scriptures, however, sin is not the kind of thing that can be done away with through the mere swapping of terms. It is not, like a stray cat or dog, something that can be renamed and domesticated. In fact, sin is startlingly objective in character, placing us under a real and equally objective state of condemnation and guilt. This is because sin in the Bible is not the mere breaking of arbitrary rules; it is personal and calculated rebellion against the infinitely good and holy God. It is open defiance against the Lord of heaven and earth, rank ingratitude toward the Giver of all grace.
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When God casts Egypt into darkness, Goshen shines with an uncanny luster (Ex. 10:23), and the same is true of the present moment. Because Christians understand something of the true nature of work — that is, because we are (hopefully) labouring for the glory of God and the good of our neighbours — we have a unique opportunity, as Paul said, to “shine as lights in the world” (Phil. 2:15). We can swing hammers, educate our children, build bridges, and weld machinery, knowing that in the Lord our labour “is not in vain” (1 Cor. 15:58). Our sweat counts for more than a paycheque.

The way of the sluggard is as a hedge of thorns, but the path of the upright is a highway. (Proverbs 15:19)
In His wisdom, God has ordained that a strange and fitting irony harass the sluggard throughout the course of his life. This “curse,” we may call it (for so it is), is not mean-spirited nor is it intended for his destruction, but it does nevertheless cling to him like a burr under the collar and cause about as much annoyance as one might expect such a thing to do. This irony, plainly stated, consists in this: that all the sluggard’s attempts to secure ease and comfort for himself, in the end, only ever produce the opposite effect. Like Wile E. Coyote’s futile pursuit of the Road Runner, the sluggard’s pursuit of ease and simplicity only results in compounding frustration. Sleep and slumber lead to poverty and destruction (Prov. 6:11), folding of the hands to misery and death (Eccl. 4:5). No matter what the sluggard does, he cannot escape his fate. His way is as a hedge of thorns, while the upright walk on an open highway (Prov. 15:19).
This, of course, is not at all what the sluggard thinks he is doing. His excuses appear eminently reasonable to his own mind. But it’s worth remembering that the final analysis will not be conducted on the basis of vague and airy notions concerning the number of lions there may or may not have been in the street (Prov. 26:13). Rather, judgment will take place upon the objective and naked reality of a life and its fruits — or lack thereof. Thus, at the end of it all, the sluggard will have nothing to hide behind and nothing to point to as a justification for his avoidance of responsibility.
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The distinction that exists between the righteous and the wicked is as wide as one side of the cosmos is from the other. The temptation is always to view it the other way, to see these parties like two disgruntled boy scouts bickering over who gets to steer the canoe. But the reality could not be more different. God has a day of reckoning that is coming, a day that will reveal the difference between the righteous and the wicked like vapour from solid earth.

And they will be Mine,” says Yahweh of hosts, “on the day that I prepare My own treasured possession, and I will spare them as a man spares his own son who serves him. (Malachi 3:17)
This text confronts us with two themes of great significance and weight: the beloved character of the redeemed on the one hand and the immovable reality of God’s wrath on the other.
With respect to the first, the prophet makes a remarkable statement concerning those who fear Yahweh, namely, that “they will be Mine” (v. 17). That is, those who fear God have the assurance that, no matter their present circumstances, they belong to Him; they are owned by Him, possessed by Him — and not as so many loose, forgotten items in a closet, but as His “treasured possession.” Thus the redeemed of God occupy a unique and elevated position in the universe. They, among all God’s creatures, can say with humble amazement — and for no work or merit of their own — that they are loved by the Almighty. As a husband loves and treasures his wife, or a king the crown that adorns his brow, so God regards His covenant people with a unique and special affection. They are His delight, His treasured possession.
But this is not all the text says. If the fear of Yahweh leads to life and peace, rebellion against Him secures disaster.
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Our world is full of competing voices. It is a cacophony of opinions, most of them false, all jostling to be given attention and credibility in the ever-shifting arena of public opinion. But there is one Voice that transcends them all. There is one Voice that rises above the rest and has the power to topple kingdoms and create worlds. And that Voice is the voice of the Almighty, the Creator of the heavens and earth, the triune God who thunders in the pages of sacred Scripture. 

All Scripture is God-breathed and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work. (2 Timothy 3:16–17)
The church has always existed in a world of competing voices. Indeed, one of Paul’s primary concerns in his second letter to Timothy is ensuring that Timothy be equipped to navigate the chaotic waters of controversy and strife. For instance, he instructs Timothy to “not dispute about words, which is useless and leads to the ruin of the hearers” (2:14) and to “refuse foolish and ignorant speculations,” since they produce quarrels (v. 23). One of the challenges facing Timothy, then, was that of managing the unwanted babbling of certain unstable voices, and to do so in a manner that would both protect the sheep and honour God.
One of the ways Paul seeks to advise Timothy regarding this matter is by reminding him of the unique character of the tool at his disposal. In contrast to the “godless and empty chatter” of his opponents (2:16), Timothy has been entrusted with the “sacred writings” (3:15), and these have a twofold ability. For one, they are able to make him “wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus,” and secondly, they are profitable for “teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be equipped, having been thoroughly equipped for every good work” (vv. 15–16).
In other words, the Scriptures are an incomparably valuable resource in the fight of faith, and the mob, no matter how loud, cannot hold a candle to them.
It’s important to note, however, that the reason Scripture possesses these qualities is because of its utterly unique and peculiar character. Like no other resource in all the world, Scripture, Paul says, is “God-breathed.”
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The insanity of the world has reached a fever pitch in recent years, but let’s not forget that the God who upholds the universe, and the God who sent His Son into the world to save sinners, is a God who delights in steadfast love. Ultimate reality, the bedrock beneath this whole terrestrial ball, is a faithful Creator who inclines toward mercy and kindness to sinners. 

Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. (Micah 7:18)
The question Micah is pondering in this passage is: “What can we expect from God in the wake of sin?” That is, what can we expect from God after we have transgressed His law? After we’ve broken His commandments? After we’ve sinned against Him and treated Him with contempt? What can we expect to receive from God in such a state? Amazingly, the answer, upon the condition of repentance and contrition, is that we can expect to find compassion and forgiveness.
Indeed, Micah says this very clearly: God will have compassion on His sinful people. He will pass over their transgression. He will pardon their iniquity. He will relinquish His anger and tread our iniquities underfoot — and not because our sins are light, fluffy inconveniences that can be set aside on a whim, but rather because God is utterly unique in His character. He is utterly unlike us or the capricious, petty gods of the nations, and thus He does not retain His anger forever or hold our sins over our heads. At the bottom of His glorious character, He delights in steadfast love.
This is the ultimate reason for our forgiveness.
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