Do I really grasp the seriousness of sin?

Ezekiel 6:1–8:18, Revelation 2:12–29, Job 33:1–7

Because Jesus died for all my sin, sliding into a lackadaisical attitude becomes a danger. When I read the OT prophets, God again reminds me of the seriousness of disobeying Him. If I should think that the God of the OT is mean and harsh, I am wrong. Sin is terrible, and if God was not merciful because of Jesus, this is the way He would deal with me.

The prophet Ezekiel was told to warn God’s people about their idolatry. He said, “. . . . Behold, I, even I, will bring a sword upon you, and I will destroy your high places. Your altars shall become desolate, and your incense altars shall be broken, and I will cast down your slain before your idols. And I will lay the dead bodies of the people of Israel before their idols, and I will scatter your bones around your altars. Wherever you dwell, the cities shall be waste and the high places ruined, so that your altars will be waste and ruined, your idols broken and destroyed, your incense altars cut down, and your works wiped out. And the slain shall fall in your midst, and you shall know that I am the Lord. Yet I will leave some of you alive. When you have among the nations some who escape the sword, and when you are scattered through the countries, then those of you who escape will remember me among the nations where they are carried captive, how I have been broken over their whoring heart that has departed from me and over their eyes that go whoring after their idols. And they will be loathsome in their own sight for the evils that they have committed, for all their abominations. And they shall know that I am the Lord. I have not said in vain that I would do this evil to them.” (Ezekiel 6:1–10)

More descriptions of destruction follow, each ending with the same phrase: “Then you will know that I am the Lord.” (Ezekiel 7:1–4) I shudder. We live in a day when idolatry is common, even though Ezekiel said, “silver and gold are not able to deliver them in the day of the wrath of the Lord. They cannot satisfy their hunger or fill their stomachs with it.” Putting money first is only one idol; there are many more “stumbling blocks of iniquity.” (Ezekiel 7:19)

All of this makes me thankful to know God, to have accepted His gracious offer of forgiveness and mercy. I feel sorrow that many people not only ignore Him, but worship money, career, achievement, pleasure, and a host of other things. Yet I also need to be careful. Idolatry is relying on anything but God, putting my trust in something else, like friends, talents, money, etc.

Job’s young friend Elihu did it. He figured that Job was being judged by God and was wrong to declare his own righteousness, yet he said, “My words declare the uprightness of my heart, and what my lips know they speak sincerely.” (Job 33:3). He was doing the same thing!

Both declared that they were right with God but there is a difference between Job and Elihu. Both are sinners, but Job believed salvation is by faith and the proof of it is obedience, not prosperity. Elihu thought otherwise.

Because my life is going well, I cannot say this proves I’m right with God. Living in prosperity and being thankful for all that abundance could be tied to the worship of God’s blessings instead of God. This is idolatry.

In Revelation, John’s letters to the churches pointed to idolatry also. One letter said, “But I have a few things against you: you have some there who hold the teaching of Balaam, who taught Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, so that they might eat food sacrificed to idols and practice sexual immorality. So also you have some who hold the teaching of the Nicolaitans.” (Revelation 2:13–17)

Another church was commended, but also warned: “But I have this against you, that you tolerate that woman Jezebel, who calls herself a prophetess and is teaching and seducing my servants to practice sexual immorality and to eat food sacrificed to idols.” (Revelation 2:19–21)

Both churches were told to repent, a warning that even those whom Christ has redeemed can fall into the sin of idolatry. In those days, idols were easier to identify than today, but I am totally convinced that if I am not adoring God and trusting Him with all my heart, I will find something or someone else to idolize in His place.

Trust and obey, for there is no other way . . .

2 Chronicles 31:1–32:33; 1 John 2:15–17; Psalm 104:16–35

We do not earn God’s favor by our obedience, but He certainly encourages it by His blessing. He knows what is good for us, something like a father who does not want his child playing in traffic. Doing what He says keeps me out of trouble and often produces unexpected results.

This happened with King Hezekiah who restored God’s temple and encouraged the people to donate towards it. They responded in great abundance and Hezekiah questioned the priests and the Levites about the enormous amount of giving. Azariah the chief priest replied, “Since they began to bring the contributions into the house of the Lord, we have eaten and had enough and have plenty left, for the Lord has blessed his people, so that we have this large amount left.” (2 Chronicles 31:9–10)

Hezekiah obeyed God by doing “what was good and right and faithful before the Lord his God. And every work that he undertook in the service of the house of God and in accordance with the law and the commandments, seeking his God, he did with all his heart, and prospered.” (2 Chronicles 31:20–21)

He also encouraged the people to do the right thing, and to trust God: “Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or dismayed before the king of Assyria and all the horde that is with him, for there are more with us than with him. With him is an arm of flesh, but with us is the Lord our God, to help us and to fight our battles.” And the people took confidence from the words of Hezekiah king of Judah. (2 Chronicles 32:7–8)

When the Assyrians attacked, the Lord sent an angel. “He cut off all the mighty warriors and commanders and officers in the camp of the king of Assyria. So he returned with shame of face to his own land. And when he came into the house of his god, some of his own sons struck him down there with the sword. So the Lord saved Hezekiah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem from the hand of Sennacherib king of Assyria and from the hand of all his enemies, and he provided for them on every side.” (2 Chronicles 32:21–22)

Hezekiah slipped a bit after that and became proud of his accomplishments, yet he “humbled himself for the pride of his heart, both he and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the wrath of the Lord did not come upon them.” (2 Chronicles 32:26)

I’m encouraged by Hezekiah, and also by the admonition of the New Testament reading. It says, “Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15–17)

Like that ancient king, I’ve known God’s blessing for obedience. His wrath? That was poured out on Christ on the Cross, which means the punishment for every sin I’ve committed was willingly borne by Jesus, my Savior. Because of what He has done for me, I can repent of my foolishness and sin, and turn to Him. He forgives and gives me His love and the desire to do His will. What a blessing to know and share in the grace of God!

May the glory of the Lord endure forever; may the Lord rejoice in his works, who looks on the earth and it trembles, who touches the mountains and they smoke! I will sing to the Lord as long as I live; I will sing praise to my God while I have being. May my meditation be pleasing to him, for I rejoice in the Lord. (Psalm 104:31–34) 

Purpose of trials . . . rewards for repentance

It seems to me that the biggest difference between the Old Testament covenant and the New Testament covenant is that in the Old Testament, the blessings of obedience were measured in physical and social prosperity, while in the New Testament, the blessings for obedience are measured by internal peace and eternal rewards.

In the days of Solomon after he finished building the temple, God spoke to him. “I have heard your prayer and have chosen this place for myself as a house of sacrifice. When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land . . . But if you turn aside and forsake my statutes and my commandments that I have set before you, and go and serve other gods and worship them, then I will pluck you up from my land that I have given you, and this house that I have consecrated for my name, I will cast out of my sight, and I will make it a proverb and a byword among all peoples. And at this house, which was exalted, everyone passing by will be astonished and say, ‘Why has the Lord done thus to this land and to this house?’ Then they will say, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers who brought them out of the land of Egypt, and laid hold on other gods and worshiped them and served them. Therefore he has brought all this disaster on them.’ ” (2 Chronicles 7:11–22)

Many Christians today will take the words of verse 14 as a promise for us, for North America. That is, if Christians will repent and pray, God will forgive (which is always true), but He will also heal our land and make our nation prosperous.

The devotional writer says this promise is a principle based on the character of God. That may be true, but interpreting Scripture by ripping a verse out of context is never wise. I agree that God blesses obedience, but His blessing can take many forms. To suppose that what He promised Solomon is a promise for believers today can give false hope.

Of course, God can give a peaceful life to anyone, but obedience is not about earning it. I can say that because the New Testament teaches that Christians can suffer for doing the right things. Obedience does not always lead to ‘the good life.’ It did not for Jesus, so why should we be exempt?

Peter said it this way: “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God’s will, than for doing evil.” (1 Peter 3:13–17)

Living in obedience to God is no guarantee that life will be without problems. Paul even said, “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted.” (2 Timothy 3:12)

However, in the problems there is a gift for those who seek the face of God. He says, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:4–7)

If I disobey God, I will suffer a lack of peace until I repent. If I obey God, that does not mean I will never suffer trials or problems, but I can have peace and joy in those trials. In fact, James tells me to joyfully receive them for they are ‘patience-developers’ that will produce maturity in me.

This is not the same as repenting and expecting prosperity. For that reason, I see that the promise made to Solomon says God is gracious, but Christians cannot expect Him to fix the problems in our land if we repent. From what the rest of the Bible says, it is far more likely that He is using the problems to help us grow up.

My greatest resource is my only resource

Randy Alcorn wrote a book called Money, Possessions and Eternity. I’m about halfway through reading it. I’m impressed with his thorough biblical research and how he ties God’s truth to human experience and attitudes. He clearly shows how money is not the root of all evil, but that, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evils” and that “it is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs” (1 Timothy 6:10).

Jesus said that no one can love both money and God. Alcorn shows how that love for money draws people away from trusting the Lord, for lovers of money think that money will supply all their needs and be the source of their happiness. This is a claim for God alone. When the prophet Jeremiah was sent to speak to those who were well off, he told them:

I spoke to you in your prosperity, but you said, ‘I will not listen.’ This has been your way from your youth, that you have not obeyed my voice. (Jeremiah 22:21)

These prosperous people would not listen to their Creator God, but they had listened to their idol god, cash in the bank. So also did Solomon, the writer of many Proverbs and the book of Ecclesiastes. He had seen prosperity. He may have been the richest man of his time, but he realized the vanity of riches. They did not give him the satisfaction he sought. He learned the hard way that staying close to God was far more important than prosperity. In his compilation of wisdom, he included these words of Agur…

Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God. (Proverbs 30:8–9)

As I reflect on these words, I think of many family members and friends who have followed the same allure. However, I cannot point fingers for I know how easy it is to fall into the trap of putting too much focus on my cash flow. As a very poor new Christian, God showed me that I didn’t have to worry about money, that He would take care of me. Now I have all that I need, even more, I know the temptations that go with prosperity. Money is far easier to spend than to earn. 

However, as Alcorn’s book says, when I die, none of my money or stuff will go into eternity with me. I can “lay up treasure in heaven” but hoarding it here is folly, as is spending it on stuff I don’t need and cannot use. 

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God, I’m thankful for Your care, but aware that I need to focus on You rather than what You do for me. When life is over, You remain as my greatest and only asset. Help me to always remember and rely on You, not on anything else.

Better than money

The prosperity gospel is not true. Television preachers and others say that if you give to God He will give back a hundredfold. God is pictured like a genie in a bottle who will grant all those who are generous with money anything they want, including financial prosperity.

Sometimes He does, but this unlimited wealth nonsense is largely a North American perversion that mocks millions of believers who live below what we would call the poverty line. The Bible is quite plain about money and about salvation. Those who come to Christ and are received into His kingdom do so to be saved from sin, not poverty. There is much in Scripture about money being a snare and a deceptive hope. We cannot serve God and money.

God lives in eternity and knows that our lives are short. We cannot take one thing from this life to the next, cash included. When we stand before Him, our hands will be empty. However, because God offers eternal life to those who trust Jesus to save them from sin, He also offers eternal blessings. Paul wrote this:

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ . . . (Ephesians 1:3)

I do experience spiritual blessings on earth, but their origin is heaven and because that is true, they are eternally mine. They will follow me from this life to the next. They are fixed, secure because God made them so.

In this life, I also experience material blessings. God is generous. He cares that His people have enough and that our needs are met. He makes promises like this one from Matthew 6:31-33,

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.

I cannot explain why some Christians have more than others, nor why He allows many to suffer and struggle at or below the poverty line. But I do know this — even if He grants money as a temporal blessing, it is merely temporal. I cannot take it with me, and even if I could, it would be useless in heaven. What good is money when the very streets I walk on will be transparent gold and the city around me will have walls made of precious stones?

The true gospel is that Jesus died for our sins, was buried, and rose again the third day. To all who believe in Him, He forgives their sin and gives eternal life. This is His very own never-ending life and it is secure. We don’t do anything to deserve it, nor can we do anything to keep it, or to get rid of it. Now that I belong to Christ, He is my security for my future on earth and for eternity. Money just cannot cut it. Whatever I have invested, or in the bank, or in my purse can fly away with wings (as the current recession proves).

In contrast, Jesus said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He came into my life and gave me His eternal life. He stays — that life stays. The blessings are about eternity and about Jesus. Even though He takes care of me very well in regard to temporary things that could change, but the spiritual blessings He gives will never change.

I am a grateful person and glad that I can trust my God. We are attending a wedding today, and I think of the vows and compare God’s commitment to me and mine to Him. It is through thick and thin, sickness and health, richer and poorer, but not until death do us part. Rather, God loves me now and until death unites us forever. Then, in a far better place, I will experience the fullness of all that He has promised to me and to His people.

Note: Those who attended my presentation yesterday gave good feedback. I was nervous but they were gracious. I’m thankful to God that I can trust any eternal results to Him.

My Hiding Place

The political situation in our country is such that I feel like running away and hiding somewhere until it gets straightened out. Three opposing parties have formed a coalition to overthrow our minority government. If this happens, and even though none of those parties garnered enough votes in themselves to lead, one of them will put their party leader into the top position. To me, this does not seem like a democracy. Not only that, the most likely next Prime Minister seems totally incompetent.

Running and hiding doesn’t help me much either, yet aside from writing letters, signing petitions, and protesting, what else can I do about it? Even though I can bring my requests to God (and we are supposed to pray for those in authority), I’m not sure if this take-over is one of those things that is in His will. It may not seem like it, but who am I to figure out what God is doing?

When I read Deuteronomy 33:27-29 this morning, God comforted me. He is my refuge. Whether or not the government is toppled and a coalition rules are under His control and I can rest in His wisdom. These verses say:

The eternal God is your refuge, and underneath are the everlasting arms; He will thrust out the enemy from before you, and will say, ‘Destroy!’ Then Israel shall dwell in safety, the fountain of Jacob alone, in a land of grain and new wine; His heavens shall also drop dew. Happy are you, O Israel! Who is like you, a people saved by the Lord, The shield of your help and the sword of your majesty! Your enemies shall submit to you, and you shall tread down their high places.

Even though this is written to the nation of Israel, it reminded me that my real enemies are not people who belong to political parties. Instead my biggest threats are but fear, self-interest, lack of trust, and the lies of Satan. No matter what people do, with God as my refuge and support I can respond to the ups and downs of life with faith, hope, a generous heart, and courage.

My reading today has a few lines that really encourage me. After saying that a soul that lives forever needs not a temporary refuge but one that is eternal, he says that “the never-dying soul wants something to stand when works and wonders cease. Doctrines, opinions, sentiments, ordinances, the good opinion of men, the applause and flattery of the creature—these are of the earth, earthy, and they fail. . . .”

Indeed they do. If I put my hope for the good of my country in a leader who seems to be a good man, I can be disappointed. If I put my hope in a political system that seems fair and without bias, I can be disappointed. If I put my hope in the good judgment of the people who live in my country, I can be disappointed. I need an anchor that is far more reliable than human beings. I know how fickle we can be; I am one of them.

Yet I also need to be careful that when putting my hope in God I am not merely hoping in one of His attributes. God is love, but will what He does always feel like my wishy-washy definition? God is fair, but will what He decides make sense to me? God is merciful but also just. Will I know what attribute He will demonstrate in each situation?

The wisdom of God is often beyond my understanding. Putting my hope in Him means trusting Him all the time. He does promise prosperity and protection from enemies, but I need to be careful that I don’t try to control the definitions. He knows what will prosper my eternal soul, which may be far more important these days than prospering my temporary body. He knows what enemies are the most danger to me, and fear could be a far worse enemy than a three-party coalition of what looks like power-hungry politicians.

God is bigger than all threatening ambitions. God is bigger than all desires to protect my standard of life. God knows what I need. He also has a bigger plan that I cannot see. However, by hiding in Him, I can be content to let Him take care of me, and tell me what to do (if anything) in this and any other situation. In fact, I am prospering and victorious when I simply trust and obey God, no matter what is going on.