Slippery Slopes

Deuteronomy 12:29–14:29; 2 Corinthians 4:1–6; Psalm 36

Watching television last night, I remarked on the slippery slope of depicted immorality. Years ago, the ethics of TV kept bad language off shows and out of commercials. No more. Years ago, nudity and “adult themes” were relegated to the hours after children were put to bed. No more. Some themes were not allowed at all. No more. Now, just about anything goes.

This made me think of how easily my life can slide away from whole-heartedly following Christ to doing my own thing (which may not seem evil at first), then to being tempted to slide further into questionable stuff . . .  and then down the slope. This is why God tells me to quickly deal with sin, just as He told the Israelites to be ruthless against the enemies they encountered in their Promised Land.

“When the Lord your God cuts off before you the nations whom you go in to dispossess, and you dispossess them and dwell in their land, take care that you be not ensnared to follow them, after they have been destroyed before you, and that you do not inquire about their gods, saying, ‘How did these nations serve their gods?—that I also may do the same.’ You shall not worship the Lord your God in that way, for every abominable thing that the Lord hates they have done for their gods, for they even burn their sons and their daughters in the fire to their gods. “Everything that I command you, you shall be careful to do. You shall not add to it or take from it.” (Deuteronomy 12:29–32)

The rest of the reading warns against being sucked into idolatry by signs and wonders. They would be tested so God would “know whether you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him.”

But woe to anyone who leads them astray. Sin is serious stuff and God will deal with anyone and anything that lured them and lures me from Him. I am to “purge the evil from (my) midst.” (Deuteronomy 13:1–5)

This principle not only applies to individuals, but entire communities. If “worthless fellows” drew the inhabitants of a city to serve other gods, they were to die — as was the entire city. (Deuteronomy 13:12–16) In those OT days, God dealt with sin in judgment. He would do the same today if it were not for mercy and grace shown in the sacrifice of Jesus for sin. How do I know that? One way is that God is not striking with lightning (or asking His people to do it) those people who devise television programming that slides into smut. He has not slain those who air it when children are apt to be watching, at least not yet.

Instead, God offers grace and forgiveness through faith in His Son, and gives His people the mission or ministry of telling others about Jesus. “Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced disgraceful, underhanded ways. We refuse to practice cunning or to tamper with God’s word, but by the open statement of the truth we would commend ourselves to everyone’s conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus’ sake. For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” (2 Corinthians 4:1–6)

While we do have a responsibility to speak against evil, the true battle is a spiritual one. We need to speak out, but also pray for those involved in sin-making and greasing the slope into hell. They may be blinded by the god of this world, but the psalmist also says this about them . . .

Transgression speaks to the wicked deep in his heart; there is no fear of God before his eyes. For he flatters himself in his own eyes that his iniquity cannot be found out and hated. The words of his mouth are trouble and deceit; he has ceased to act wisely and do good. He plots trouble while on his bed; he sets himself in a way that is not good; he does not reject evil. (Psalm 36:1–4)

I cannot point my fingers. I know how easy it is to sin. For my own stability, I must ask God: “Oh, continue your steadfast love to those who know you, and your righteousness to the upright of heart! Let not the foot of arrogance come upon me, nor the hand of the wicked drive me away.” (Psalm 36:10–11)

A Complete Picture of God

Those who reject the revelation of God in the Old Testament (because they don’t like His wrath on wicked people) are missing more than they realize. Besides giving us a picture of how God hates sin (which Jesus will also do at His Second Coming), many passages describe His incredible faithfulness to His people. If He is not a God of wrath, does that mean that He is not a God of faithfulness either?

The Bible offers a cohesive description of a holy God who hates sin, but also a loving God who cares about sinners. When I read the following, I am reminded that this is the same God that promised in the New Testament that He would never leave me or forsake me.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.” “Can a woman forget her nursing child, that she should have no compassion on the son of her womb? Even these may forget, yet I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of my hands; your walls are continually before me. Your builders (or your children) make haste; your destroyers and those who laid you waste go out from you. Lift up your eyes around and see; they all gather, they come to you. As I live, declares the LORD, you shall put them all on as an ornament; you shall bind them on as a bride does. “Surely your waste and your desolate places and your devastated land — surely now you will be too narrow for your inhabitants, and those who swallowed you up will be far away. The children of your bereavement will yet say in your ears: ‘The place is too narrow for me; make room for me to dwell in.’ Then you will say in your heart: ‘Who has borne me these? I was bereaved and barren, exiled and put away, but who has brought up these? Behold, I was left alone; from where have these come?’ ” Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will lift up my hand to the nations, and raise my signal to the peoples; and they shall bring your sons in their arms, and your daughters shall be carried on their shoulders. Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers. With their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you, and lick the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD; those who wait for me shall not be put to shame.” (Isaiah 49:14–23)

God’s people felt abandoned after they turned away from God. All that they enjoyed had been destroyed and they were taken into a foreign land. Their future looked hopeless.

But God did not abandon them. He compared His love for them like a woman nursing a child. He told them they were carved into His hands and He thought about them all the time.

Not only that, He said that those who had destroyed or abandoned them would return, and the space where they lived would not be big enough to hold these who would change their minds about God. This included their sons and daughters. Those who came back would be put on as a bride adorns herself with ornaments, and all who had pulled away would bow down before God’s people.

This is the same God that I worship. He never stops loving His people. He never abandons me. Not only that, He will bring those who stray back into His kingdom. He can touch the hearts of even pagan kings so that they know He is the Lord God, the One who is worthy of their worship and homage. He can even signal them to be part of the return of my family to the fold of God.

Of course Jesus is God’s ultimate revelation of Himself to us. Even in His first coming, we see God’s hatred of sin when Christ made Himself the ultimate sacrifice for it. If God did not hate sin, He would have spared His Son yet His terrible wrath was poured out on Jesus at Calvary.

Calvary also reveals God’s love for His people — even in the same horrible death. Yes, the life of Jesus showed a loving and caring attitude toward sinners (except religious hypocrites), but it was His death for my sin that sums up both wrath and love in one incredible declaration. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). Oh that our eyes would stay open to all that God reveals about Himself!

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Oh Jesus, I know that You love sinners. But I also know that You hate sin. If You didn’t, You would not have gone to such extremes to provide a way of escape from it and from its consequences. You are the ultimate demonstration of the love of God. This love would not let Israel fall away or let them be forsaken. This love would not even let those who walked away from the fold stay away. You are totally faithful to Your people and to Your own nature.

Words like this passage from Isaiah build my confidence in You. I know that You will never forsake me. I also know that You are totally able to bring back into Your care those who turn away, even those who turn from me because I belong to You. As I pray for them, You give me confidence that one day they will also bow down and again ask for room to dwell with me in your kingdom. Nothing is impossible for You.

Has God changed?

Is the God of the Old Testament different from the God revealed in Jesus Christ? In the Old, He tells His people to destroy their enemies. In the new, Jesus tells us to love our enemies. What am I supposed to think about God as I see this dichotomy?

During the reign of Hezekiah, Sennacherib, king of Assyria attacked the fortified cities in Judah, then set his eyes on Jerusalem. Hezekiah prayed and sent servants to the prophet Isaiah for help. Isaiah told Hezekiah to not be afraid; God would deal with this enemy. He also sent this message to the king:

Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel: Because you have prayed to me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria, this is the word that the LORD has spoken concerning him: “She despises you, she scorns you — the virgin daughter of Zion; she wags her head behind you — the daughter of Jerusalem.” (Isaiah 37:21–22)

Knowing that God would take care of their enemy, His people became bold and mocked Sennacherib’s threats. This is the usual response of the human heart when “my dad is stronger than your dad” gives confidence in a conflict.

However, when Jesus came He asked for more than the usual response. In His noted Sermon on the Mount, He said . . . 

You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect. (Matthew 5:43–48)

The people in the Old Testament knew that they were supposed to love their neighbor but Jesus takes this command farther. He says that we are to love even our enemies, even those who persecute us. Anyone can love those who are lovable, but it takes the grace of God and the perfection found in Jesus Christ to love those who are set against us.

Still, the question remains. If God wants us to love our enemies, why does He destroy those who are His enemies? This is the wrong question. Instead, I need to ask this: Why does God not destroy all sinners? We shake our fist in His face and sin against Him with great defiance, yet He sends sunshine and rain. He even sent Jesus — to die for our sin!

From this sermon, Jesus makes it clear that no one can be “perfect as our heavenly Father is perfect.” Who is good to the unjust in the same way they are good to good people? Who even wants to be like this? Sin makes us want to retaliate. Our selfish hearts love to mock our enemies, particularly when God puts them down and lifts us up. Loving them is totally foreign to our nature.

Perfection is found only in Jesus Christ. “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly” (1 Peter 2:22–23).

Unless Jesus lives in my heart, I cannot be perfect, never mind perfect from the inside out as this sermon calls for. I might be able to act out some of the things Jesus calls for in an external manner, but eventually the attitude of my heart will come out.

The Old Testament shows God’s wrath on the sinfulness of human beings, even those God called to be His people. While He did tell them to destroy their enemies, it was the sinfulness that consumed these pagans. A just and holy God has every right to judge sin. That He didn’t destroy the Jews remains to be seen.

When Jesus came, He revealed the grace of God, something the Jews did not expect. They expected Him to deal with their enemies (the Romans), but instead He asked them to deal with their own sin — such as their hatred of their enemies. This knocked them on their heels. They were God’s chosen. How could this man say they were sinners in need of mercy? They didn’t want to hear that message from God so they crucified the Messenger.

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Father, Your hatred of sin has never changed. Your love of sinners has not changed either; otherwise You would have destroyed the daughters of Jerusalem for their attitude toward their enemies, the New Testament Jews for their attitude toward the Romans, and me as well – for my bad attitudes and multiplied sins. Instead, throughout history You have offered grace. Grace protected Your people in those days of old when they so often deserved wrath, and grace was revealed fully in Jesus Christ who took Your wrath on my sin and died for it. You are perfect and have not changed. You still hate sin and simply ask me to do the same.