Category: Sin

What Happens When God Loses Patience?

2/12/2016

Behold, the word of the Lord is a reproach to them;
They have no delight in it.
Therefore I am full of the fury of the Lord.
I am weary of holding it in.
Jeremiah 6:10-11

Today I am in chapter six of Jeremiah. I have found this study fascinating because even though it is about the Jewish people and a warning from God to them that judgement was coming, I can see there are acute similarities between our world and theirs.

For the last five chapters, God has been voicing His displeasure over the wickedness of His people. He has, through Jeremiah, given them fair warning about their impending doom. This is a precedent God has set throughout history. When judgement is coming, He sends a prophet to warn the people.

But who are our prophets today? How do we receive warnings from God? We get our warnings from scripture verses like today. We get them all throughout the Bible. Our final warning being the Revelation of John. We don't have to look far to see that we are living in a world similar to Jeremiah's. Jeremiah's world was filled with the following, and sadly, our world is the same:

Oppression (the list is far too long to name the oppressed in the world today)
Violence
Wickedness
Plundering (the Hebrew word for this is shod and it means havoc, violence, destruction, devastation and ruin).
Grief (the Hebrew word for this is choliy and it means sickness). But God is not punishing people because they are physically sick, He is punishing them because they are sick in the sense that they are evil-minded.
Wounds (the Hebrew word for this is makkah, it is from the root word nakah which means to strike, smite, hit, beat, slay, kill). Our world has become so familiar with murder that one policeman on the news said recently that his county had only had 94 murders in two years. And then went on to claim he lived in a peaceful, law-abiding community! Clearly, people have become immune to violence because we are constantly subjected to it from T.V., movies and the news.
The word of the Lord is a reproach to them (today, the Bible is mocked by unbelievers and neglected by those who claim to be believers).
Everyone is given to covetousness (if any generation was a "mine, mine, mine" generation it is this one).
Everyone deals falsely from the prophet to the priest (no one is honest about the future. Instead, false teachers are giving the people good news and tickling their ears with what they want to hear. They are shouting "Revival is coming! Revival is coming!" all while refusing to acknowledge that judgement is coming as well. They are following Jeremiah 6:13-14 to a tee. They are not sharing the news that God is returning and it will be a fearsome thing).
People are stubborn
People are rebellious
They are corrupt

Is there a way we can escape judgement?

The same way that was offered to Jeremiah's people is offered to this world today.

REPENT!

Stand in the ways and see,
And ask for the old paths, where the good way is,
And walk in it;
Then you will find rest for your souls.

Jeremiah 6:16

This world is in danger because, like Jeremiah's people, the people of today refuse to heed the warnings. They refuse to repent, and instead they continue to mock God and promote immorality. There are Christians who claim to follow God, but they have so closely aligned themselves with the world it is hard to distinguish them from unbelievers. Sexual promiscuity, divorce and adultery are rampant in the church. Should we be shocked that judgement is coming?

But unlike Jeremiah's day, we have a Redeemer who came to earth to stand in the gap for us. To save us from eternal punishment. All we have to do is confess our sins and sincerely repent. Jesus is waiting for all to come to Him to be saved.

But how much longer will God contend with man?

The signs are all there. Our world is the same as Jeremiah's. Jesus said in Matthew 24:37, "But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be."

The book of Jeremiah has shown me the conditions that led to judgement in his era are present in ours. If people think God is not going to act - and soon - they are fooling themselves. We need to sound the trumpet and raise the alarm and if we look foolish in doing so, then so be it. I'd rather look a fool in warning people of their impending doom, than to stand before God ashamed that I did nothing.

Jesus' is coming soon.
What are you going to do about it?

1 Comment

Why Do the Wicked Prosper?

1/29/2016

4 Comments

I was about to finish up chapter five of Jeremiah when something caught my eye. Maybe it was because I have been feeling somewhat overwhelmed lately by all the corruption in government. The news stories I've been hearing left me asking the age old question, "Why do the wicked prosper?"

So I asked the Lord that question and he immediately showed me the verses below as well as a few more verses that have made me realize that while those in powerful positions think they can get away with anything, they really can't. Ultimately, they all will answer to God one day.

In my last post about Jeremiah, I discovered what God had to say about religious leaders who taught false doctrines and practised deceit. But the Lord wanted to answer my question about the wicked in government before I moved on and this is what He showed me:

‘For wicked men are found among My people,
They watch like fowlers lying in wait;
They set a trap,
They catch men.
‘Like a cage full of birds,
So their houses are full of deceit;
Therefore they have become great and rich.
‘They are fat, they are sleek,
They also excel in deeds of wickedness;
They do not plead the cause,
The cause of the orphan, that they may prosper;
And they do not defend the rights of the poor.
‘Shall I not punish these people?’ declares the Lord,
‘On a nation such as this
Shall I not avenge Myself?’
Jeremiah 5:26-29, NKJV

When it came time for the Israelites to be punished and taken into captivity by King Nebuchadnezzar, it is clear who was actually being punished. It wasn't the poor, the weak or those who could not defend themselves. It was those who had the power to make a change, to lead the people - the rich, the powerful, (those in government) the priests and the prophets. As 2 Kings 24:14 indicates, only the poor were left in the land after Nebuchadnezzar invaded. So the land was cleansed of the wicked.

I could write story after story about the levels of government corruption that take place all over the world today. Those in positions of power, who have the ability to do right by the people they govern, have continually abused that power. They have no fear of God, and like the verses above suggest, "they excel in deeds of wickedness".

As the days draw closer for Jesus return, those who currently hold positions of leadership in government will have much to answer for. They may not realize it yet, but their time is coming. God affirms this in Psalm 37 and He reminds us not to fret about wicked people. Jesus encouraged us to pray for them and so we should, since it is very clear that the Lord will punish them.

The wicked plots against the righteous
And gnashes at him with his teeth.
The Lord laughs at him,
For He sees his day is coming.
Psalm 37:12-13

But the salvation of the righteous is from the Lord;
He is their strength in time of trouble.
The Lord helps them and delivers them;
He delivers them from the wicked and saves them,
Because they take refuge in Him.
Psalm 37:39-40

“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 causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
Matthew 5:43-45

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Why Confession Without Repentance is Pointless

12/9/2015

1 Comment

The Lord said also to me in the days of Josiah the king: “Have you seen what backsliding Israel has done? She has gone up on every high mountain and under every green tree, and there played the harlot. And I said, after she had done all these things, ‘Return to Me.’ But she did not return. And her treacherous sister Judah saw it. Then I saw that for all the causes for which backsliding Israel had committed adultery, I had put her away and given her a certificate of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah did not fear, but went and played the harlot also. So it came to pass, through her casual harlotry, that she defiled the land and committed adultery with stones and trees. And yet for all this her treacherous sister Judah has not turned to Me with her whole heart, but in pretense,” says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:6-10, NKJV).

In the verses above we see the sin Israel committed. We also see God calling Israel to return to Him. When she didn't, her sister Judah followed her into sin. So, God cut Israel off from His presence. This is something the USA and Canada should heed. Both countries have banned God from schools, the marketplace and from the halls of government. And now apparently the U.K. has also decided that God doesn't matter and a U.K. judge is calling for Britain to be systematically de-Christianized. When you stop honouring God and remove all traces of Him from life, the end result will not be good and Israel is the perfect example of how devastating that can be.

Jeremiah 3:8 states that God had given Israel a “writ of divorce”. The word for divorce in Hebrew is kĕriythuwth and it comes from the root word karath which means to cut off. It also means to “cut a covenant”. So God is saying he is cutting his covenant with Israel. This is serious! He had sent Israel away and cut her off from Him. The nation He had called to be holy, to be an example to the world, was now so far away from God, He wanted nothing to do with them. He not only removed His hand of blessing (Jeremiah 3:3) but He removed them from His presence. This is Canada! This is the USA! Yet Judah, seeing Israel cut off from God's presence, did not fear losing their relationship with God and followed Israel into sin. This is now the U.K. and every other Christian country that has said no to God. It is every person who has said no to God. If you don't want Him in your life, He will not suffer your presence and He will remove Himself from you. But what happens when you realize your mistake? Judah pretended to repent of her disobedience and return to God. But God saw through Judah's pretense of repentance and knew it wasn't real. If confession is not followed by true repentance,God is not fooled.

In Jeremiah 3 we not only see how serious God is about sin, but how merciful and willing He is to take back those who have sinned when they repent. In fact, I would have to say that Jeremiah 3 sets a tone for all people who have failed God, fallen into sin and want to return to Him. It is clear throughout the chapter that God's desire is for His people to return to Him. However, a simple, "I'm sorry Lord I messed up, please forgive me," will not do. With confession there must be true repentance. However, sometimes our actions of disobedience come with consequences that we have to suffer through. And though Israel eventually did repent, she still needed to be entirely cleansed of her sin. Israel's flagrant sin toward God, would lead to their exile from the land. They would lose their temple and their city (Jerusalem), while they spent seventy years in Babylonian captivity. Even when we confess and repent, sin still has its consequences. So be willing to accept them.

So what do we do? How can we make ourselves right with God if we have fallen away from Him? Some Christians believe that since they accepted Jesus as their Saviour they no longer need to confess their sins or repent of them. Unfortunately, they use Jesus' saving grace like a "get out of jail free card". Believing that they are no longer accountable to God because Jesus death cleansed them of all sins - past, present and future. And while we are forgiven for all our sins, we should not expect sin to go unnoticed by God. There will always be consequences for disobedience. Loving parents do not let their children defy them or continue to do wrong. Our Heavenly Father is the same way. He loves us too much to let us live in direct defiance of Him and His Word. Those Christians who claim that they are saved by grace and therefore don't need to worry about sin are only fooling themselves. Yes, we have been saved by God's wonderful grace. But are we to take advantage of that grace? What did God ask of Israel in order for Him to accept her back into fellowship with Him?

"Only acknowledge your iniquity. That you have transgressed against the Lord your God, and have scattered your charms to alien deities under every green tree, and you have not obeyed My voice," says the Lord (Jeremiah 3:13, NKJV)

1. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR INIQUITY

Iniquity means “premeditated choice, continuing without repentance.” In other words, God wants us to acknowledge that we decided to sin and continued to do so without being sorry for it. Iniquity leads us to have no fear of God because we wilfully continue to sin in His presence. God wants us to acknowledge that we wilfully sin against Him.

2. Acknowledge your transgressions

Transgression is presumptuous sin. It means “to choose to intentionally disobey; willful trespassing.” I realize that sounds a lot like iniquity, so let me give you an example between the two. When David slept with Bathsheba and then had her husband murdered - that is iniquity. Premeditated choice. Transgression is slightly different. For example, when we lie or knowingly run a stop sign. It could be a one-time thing. Like when Samson broke his Nazarite vows by touching a dead lion (Numbers 6:1-5; Judges 14:8-9). So God wants us to acknowledge those sins we continue to partake in (iniquity) and those sins that we commit without thought (transgression).

3. acknowledge You have not obeyed God

After naming your sin for what it is (don't sugar coat it, or come to God with excuses about why you sinned) acknowledge that you have disobeyed God. You tuned His Holy Spirit out. You disregarded His commandments. You forsook His Word. You sinned. Admit it. As long as your sin goes unconfessed and you have an unrepentant heart, you are mocking God. You have (like Judah) just paid lip service to God. You have broken your fellowship with God. Yes, you are still saved through the grace of Jesus' sacrifice, but you are living in direct disobedience toward your Creator. When you harbour sin in your life, you are clinging to it more than you are to God. You are placing your love of sin over your love of God. If you continue to sin and say it doesn’t matter because you are saved by grace, you are fooling yourself and mocking God’s saving grace.

“What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it” (Romans 6:1-2)?

Did you happen to notice the main element to confession and repentance? It is acknowledging your sin. When we acknowledge our sin before God and confess how we have erred against Him it should bring us to our knees in repentance. Repentance means turning away from your sin and never doing it again. One of the greatest gifts God gave us was sacrificing His Son so that we might be saved from eternal damnation. Jesus' death resulted in our sins being forgiven - past, present and future. But our sin nature has not been taken away. We are still capable of sin. If you think you are righteous just because you have believed in Jesus as your Saviour, you are fooling yourself. Your belief in Jesus does not make you righteous. His forgiveness of your sins makes you righteous.

If you claim the title of Christian and you realize that you have not been living a God-honouring life, there is only one thing for you to do. Acknowledge your sin before God (confess it) and repent. To those of you who believe in "free grace" and feel there is no need to repeatedly confess your sins and ask for forgiveness - I will remind you that you still have a sin nature. Yes, you are forgiven, but you are still capable of sin. If you are not sinning then you shouldn't have a problem. But if you are sinning and follow it up with a flippant, "I'm forgiven, so it's okay," than my friend you are simply mocking God's grace. Like Judah, God sees right through you. Return to Him, keep the lines of communication open and do not grieve His Holy Spirit any longer. Your are forgiven for your sins - now live like you are.

1 Comment

What Does it Mean to Bind and Loose?

10/13/2015

10 Comments

Have you ever thought about your authority in Christ and what happens when you don't use it? In Matthew 16:13-19 Jesus asks the disciples who people think he is. Peter responded by saying, "You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.” Jesus was so pleased by Peter's answer that he said, "Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah, because flesh and blood did not reveal this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. I also say to you that you are Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and whatever you bind on earth shall have been bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall have been loosed in heaven.” And ever since that time this verse has been a source of confusion for many in regards to Peter and his authority within the church. Although Peter’s name in Greek means rock, Jesus was not saying that His church would be built on Peter. He was saying that the truth of what Peter had just revealed, that Jesus was the Son of the living God, is the rock upon which His church would be built. This unshakeable foundation, that Jesus is the Messiah, is what holds and binds the church together.

The translation of some of the words in Matthew 16:13-19 from English to Greek gives credence to this theory.

“Church” in Greek is translated “Eklasea,” which means “assembly.” Believers in Christ are the church. Our faith is not in Peter, but in Jesus Christ.
“Keys” in Greek is translated “Klas.” It is a metaphor to denote power and authority. If Jesus had literally given the “keys of the kingdom” to Peter, none of us would be saved, for it would be Peter’s decision alone to deny or admit us entrance to heaven. Such power and authority would never be given to one man, especially one as impulsive as Peter. This power and authority, the keys of the kingdom, was given to the body of Christ, His church.
“Bind” in Greek is translated “dĕō.” It has enormous implications for followers of Christ as it means “to forbid or prohibit.” Jesus said, “Whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven.” Again, if this authority was given to Peter alone, the other apostles would have been powerless. Indeed, anyone with a ministry today would have no power or authority from God if this verse was only talking about Peter. If we have no power or authority in Christ, then we are useless to Him.
“Loose” in Greek is translated “luo.” It means “to release from bondage.” Jesus said, “Whatever you loose on earth, will be loosed in heaven.” Spiritually speaking, who needs to be released from bondage in this world? To be set free in Christ? Those still enslaved to sin.

Even the Apostle Paul agreed that Jesus was the Rock when he said in 1 Corinthians 10:1-4, “For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ” (Emphasis mine).

Catholicism suggests only Peter had the power and authority to bind and loose, so the power to “bind” and “loose” was passed down from him to each Pope throughout history, as were the keys to the kingdom (in that the Pope alone is in charge of the church). But Scripture does not indicate this at all. And I fear that many evangelical Christians have taken the meaning behind to bind and loose out of context as well.

As followers of Christ, we have all been called to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth. If we are silent, we keep those who are “slaves to sin” in bondage. Effectively "binding" them or keeping them in their sin. If we do not share the gospel of Jesus Christ, we are shutting the door of heaven in the faces of those we meet each day. However, if we are diligent in sharing the Gospel we will see many come to Jesus. They will be "loosed" from their bonds and enter through the gates of heaven, cleansed, forgiven, and saved for all eternity. The keys to the kingdom of heaven therefore, are found in the saving grace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, but are not used unless we "turn the key" so to speak. They are not dependant upon Peter or the Pope. They are however dependent upon whether or not you will choose to open your mouth. You may be someone Jesus chooses to use today to speak to someone still in bondage. How will you respond? Will you keep them bound or set them free?

As Christians, we have always been aware that we alone must spread the saving message of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Yet it becomes more urgent when we realize that by not speaking up, we risk condemning someone to eternal damnation. At the same time, by speaking up, we have opened the gates of heaven to them. Think about it. If Jesus is building His church on the firm foundation that He is the Messiah, it is easy to see why the gates of Hades will not overcome that belief. This verse is not about Peter at all, but about Peter's belief that Jesus is the Messiah.

The keys of the kingdom of heaven therefore, are in the hands of all who call themselves disciples of Jesus. How will you use them?

10 Comments

Unlocking the Truth
of God's Word

What Happens When God Loses Patience?

Is there a way we can escape judgement?

REPENT!

But how much longer will God contend with man?

Jesus' is coming soon.
What are you going to do about it?

Why Do the Wicked Prosper?

Why Confession Without Repentance is Pointless

1. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR INIQUITY

2. Acknowledge your transgressions

3. acknowledge You have not obeyed God

What Does it Mean to Bind and Loose?

Archives

Categories

Unlocking the Truth of God's Word​

What Happens When God Loses Patience?

Is there a way we can escape judgement?

REPENT!

But how much longer will God contend with man?

Jesus' is coming soon. What are you going to do about it?

Why Do the Wicked Prosper?

Why Confession Without Repentance is Pointless

1. ACKNOWLEDGE YOUR INIQUITY

2. Acknowledge your transgressions

3. acknowledge You have not obeyed God

What Does it Mean to Bind and Loose?

Archives

Categories

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Unlocking the Truth
of God's Word

Jesus' is coming soon.
What are you going to do about it?