Warnings and Regrets

A friend tells of planning to mail a package. She clearly heard the voice of God telling her to drive on another road that she would normally take. She says she argued with Him as this made no sense to her. She took her normal route, was hit by a semi-truck and trailer and nearly killed. After a lengthy recovery, she testifies the importance of listening to God’s voice. Sometimes it WARNS of danger and refusing to listen always leaves deep regrets.

On the other hand, the difference between warnings and worry is important. Worry is internal supposing about what could happen while warnings are from an outside source, usually about what will happen. Worry accomplishes nothing, but heeding or ignoring a warning changes the course of lives.

In the OT, God’s warnings are closely connected to God’s Law. The commands to obey followed by the consequences of disobedience are many. These warnings began early, even as the commands were given to Moses:

Exodus 19:20–22. “The Lord came down on Mount Sinai, to the top of the mountain. And the Lord called Moses to the top of the mountain, and Moses went up. And the Lord said to Moses, ‘Go down and warn the people, lest they break through to the Lord to look and many of them perish. Also let the priests who come near to the Lord consecrate themselves, lest the Lord break out against them.’ ”

 Other passages say the same thing, such as Deuteronomy 8:19. “And if you forget the Lord your God and go after other gods and serve them and worship them, I solemnly warn you today that you shall surely perish.”

The NT has four verbs sometimes translated as to warn, or to testify, command with authority, admonish, or to say something in advance.

Jesus warned His disciples: Luke 12:5. “But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him!” Being fearful of ‘what will people think’ can have dire consequences — if that fear keeps me from telling them about Jesus and redemption. I ought to have more anxiety about those consequences than I do about losing favor with anyone who needs to hear the good news of salvation.

Paul warned his readers: Galatians 5:18–21. “But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.”

While salvation is for anyone no matter their sinfulness, a person who keeps on sinning cannot claim to be a Christian. God changes lives and anyone who says they believe in Jesus Christ will show it by change. If not, they need to be warned that their ‘faith’ is not biblical faith and their destiny is not what they suppose.

The book of Revelation ends with an invitation, a warning and a promise:

Revelation 22:17–20. “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price. I warn everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: if anyone adds to them, God will add to him the plagues described in this book, and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. He who testifies to these things says, ‘Surely I am coming soon.’ Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!”

At least one religious cult has rewritten the Bible so it aligns with their version of ‘faith’ and how a person can be saved (by following their organization). These verses are a warning to them, and to those who make salvation a matter of ‘being a good person’ rather than admitting sin and relying on Jesus Christ to forgive them and give them new life. God’s good news is grace, not ‘try harder.’

GAZE INTO HIS GLORY. I can testify to the importance of listening to God’s warnings. One sad lesson has been learned hard way: the less I listen, the quieter His voice — and the greater my inability to deal with those sins that He had warned me about. Regret is a very sad word.

 

Slippery slopes

Genesis 13; Nehemiah 2; Matthew 12; Acts 12

The contrast between good and evil is sometimes sharp, sometimes subtle. Those without faith in Christ can do what appears to be good but falls short of the glory of God. Those with faith in Christ can divert from the will of God into doing what seems okay at first but later realize it was a slippery slope.

In Genesis 23, Abraham and his nephew are both so prosperous that their herdsmen fight over who gets what pasture for their flocks. Abraham decides this is not good so offers Lot his choice. Lot picks what looks good. Instead of seeking the Lord and walking by faith, he walked by sight and stepped onto a slippery slope, winding up living in the sinful city of Sodom. However, Abraham trusted God and knew he would get whatever God wanted him to have.

In Nehemiah, this man was still in captivity and heard his homeland city was in a mess. He privately prayed, received permission and blessing from the king (his captor), privately checked out the condition of Jerusalem then told the people what they were going to do. It would not be easy. Two enemies protested but he replied: “The God of heaven will make us prosper, and we his servants will arise and build, but you have no portion or right or claim in Jerusalem.” (Nehemiah 2:20)

Nehemiah would go on to rebuild the city, withstanding the harassment of these enemies. His life of prayer and seeking the Lord’s will kept him off that slippery slope called fear that leads to disobedience.

Matthew tells how the Pharisees determined that living by sight was not good, nor should they be distracted from following God by the threats of enemies. But their solution was a list of rules for life. However, that list began to mess with their ability to use logic and care about people.

For example, their rules were more important than the basic human need for food, than the value of a man over an animal. They saw the goodness Jesus was doing as the activity of Satan and failed to realize that His gentle way of dealing with sinners was a fulfillment of the prophets. Their determination to do ‘faith’ by rules made them blind to His identity and blind to the reality that their own hardness of heart was at the root of their behavior.

Their rule-making lives were oblivious to the grace of God in Jesus Christ, even as He cast out demons and blessed all those who were concerned to do the will of God. Jesus told them that even a person freed from evil could not keep himself free by his own efforts or by rules. Such a person was in danger of being overtaken by much worse. He also made it clear that family relationships do not make a person right with God. They missed the point that Jesus desired mercy (inner spiritual vitality) rather than the external formality of merely following rules. Instead of trusting Him, they conspired how to destroy Him. (Matthew 12:14)

In my own life, insisting on a ‘rule’ is dangerous. It leads to self-righteousness, blindness to goodness in others, and makes me rigid and narrow-minded. Living by my rules is a terrible slippery slope, yet many Christians have a list of them and miss the joy of walking in the Spirit.

In Acts 12, the issue is glory — the desire for it. This is a departure from faith in God and easy to spot in pagans, not so much in practicing Christians. Herod (Agrippa I) killed James. When he realized this move made him popular with the Jews, he arrested Peter planning to do the same. However, his claim to fame didn’t work as the Lord sent an angel to set Peter free. Herod put to death the sentries who had guarded Peter. His desire for power and glory was at the expense of others.

In my own life, when God enables obedience, I can say so, say thank you, or pat myself on the back. Glorifying God instead of basking in compliments keeps me in place but as soon as I start reveling and thinking ‘look what I did’ (or ‘didn’t do’) the ground begins to tilt.

Too often this slope brings down pastors, entire churches, and certainly a lot of us average people. It certainly brought down King Herod. He later sat on his throne before an adoring group:

And the people were shouting, “The voice of a god, and not of a man!” Immediately an angel of the Lord struck him down, because he did not give God the glory, and he was eaten by worms and breathed his last. But the word of God increased and multiplied. (Acts 12:22–24)

Today I’m so thankful for the grace of God and for the many times He has rescued me from my own stupidity and selfishness. This is grace.

Today, hubby and I are still coughing and decided to stay home from church rather than share our germs. We went online to Scottsdale Bible Church and listened to the first part of a series on Grace by Pastor Jamie Rasmussen. I believe this is the reason God allowed us to get sick, since we rarely get colds. Rasmussen is an ordinary guy blessed by God and blessed us incredible with a message that everyone should hear. LINK