 How come David sins – and Israel gets punished for it? That is a question that came to me as I was reading 1 Chronicles 21 this morning. It is a good question to ask – and yet, as a person with leadership responsibilities in regard to my wife, my family, a church, and even a ministry at the Pregnancy Resource Center – it is a very sobering one to consider.
The quick answer to this question is simply that anyone who leads has a very large influence over those whom he leads. It is not that his sins are more wicked than others. But it is important to realize that when a leader sins – it has a greater effect because of the influence the leader has on those who are under him. David’s sin was two-fold in this chapter of 1 Chronicles. First, he numbered God’s people on his own – something only God reserves the right to do. God is the One who calls for any kind of census over His people. When that happens, there must be a ransom payment for everyone who is counted. The amount of that is a half of a shekel. That is what God commanded in Exodus 30. The LORD also spoke to Moses, saying, "When you take a census of the sons of Israel to number them, then each one of them shall give a ransom for himself to the LORD, when you number them, so that there will be no plague among them when you number them. This is what everyone who is numbered shall give: half a shekel according to the shekel of the sanctuary (the shekel is twenty gerahs), half a shekel as a contribution to the LORD. Everyone who is numbered, from twenty years old and over, shall give the contribution to the LORD. The rich shall not pay more and the poor shall not pay less than the half shekel, when you give the contribution to the LORD to make atonement for yourselves. You shall take the atonement money from the sons of Israel and shall give it for the service of the tent of meeting, that it may be a memorial for the sons of Israel before the LORD, to make atonement for yourselves." Exodus 30:11-16 What is this commandment supposed to mean? It is a very important principle having to do with how we see ourselves. God wanted every count of the people to include a ransom payment – because the only count that is truly going to matter in the end is those who are redeemed by His mercy and grace. This count was only to be done with a view to counting the “atoned ones” in Israel. Note that in this the rich and the poor are to pay alike (an illusion to God’s grace in salvation – all come on the same basis and with the same price of Christ’s blood atoning for their sins). But why would God do this? Pride. Here is the reason why such a thing was to be done. Any gathering of God’s people – whether they are a nation like Israel or even a church in the present day – has a sinful tendency to number themselves and take pride in how big that number is. We should note that the counting of the church in Acts only was mentioned in regard to those who were being saved. When God refers to a number of people in Corinth – it was only in reference to those who belonged to Him in the city (i.e. those He was going to save there). David was priding himself – and Israel was taking part in that same sin – by seeing how big they were – and it was not with a ransom payment. There was no reminder that this was God’s doing with His redeemed people. It was solely so David could know how big his army was. It should make us take a step back that even his general, Joab (not exactly known for his godliness) found the request odious in his sight. Oh, and the fact that 1 Chronicles 21:1 starts with the fact that Satan rose up and moved David to number Israel. Yeah, anything that involves being moved by Satan is going to be bad. The sin he was moving David to – PRIDE. David’s pride was mirrored in Israel – and his descent into pride only was a horrible example for them to follow. Now before you protest too loudly, consider our own nation and the example of 2 presidents (even though the number is probably beyond 2). Currently President Trump is embroiled in a controversy over an adulterous affair that allegedly took place 10 years ago. We also know that President Clinton was adulterously involved with an intern in the Oval office during his presidency. Both of their examples have been horrible to the rest of our nation. The character of those who lead us DOES matter. It DOES matter that they honor their marriage vows. It DID hurt us that they did not. When our leaders dishonor marriage in this way it lowers the view of marriage throughout our nation. This is especially true when their defense of their actions asserted that it does not matter what a man does in his personal life. That cavalier attitude toward a wedding vow – will carry over to the people as they figure that if it is OK for a president to do this – it is OK for me too. David’s sin cost Israel dearly – in spreading the same attitude of pride and disregard for seeing people in light of the atonement. The physical plague that came upon the nation mirrored the spiritual one that was growing in their hearts. What was interesting was that it ended when God came to the point where the Temple was going to be established. It ended when atonement was made – and that place was where atonement would be made again and again for centuries. It would be THE PLACE where the world would be reminded that God was going to build a people – not on the basis of national identity – but on the basis of a blood atonement. It is interesting that we were reading this on the day before we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus in 2018. What a reminder of the seriousness of sin – the fact that in Adam (the very head of our race) we have sinned. There is a plague that has come from that sin that is here even today. The wages of sin is death – it has been since Genesis 3 through 1 Chronicles 21 – and even to March 31, 2018. The same plague wreaks havoc on the nations – costing them their lives. But there is an answer – just as there was one in David’s day. In the midst of our plague – we see the place where the ultimate sacrifice was made. We see, not an altar of stones, but a cross of wood. We see a lamb – but not a lamb of the flock, but the Lamb of God slain from the foundation of the world. We see a sacrifice – not one to be made again and again – but one made once for all. We see a counting – not one where we count ourselves for the purpose of competing against one another – but a counting of every tribe, nation, people, and tongue before the throne worshipping the Lamb of God. You see the question is not, “Why was Israel punished for David’s sin?” The real question is this, “Why was Jesus Christ punished for OUR sin?” On this Resurrection Day Eve we should consider the astounding, infinite love of God that allowed His Son to be punished for our sin. Then we should lift our voices to sing the song that will echo through eternity. "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power and riches and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing." Revelation 5:12
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There are times in Scripture when God gives a quick postscript on someone’s life. That is what we have in 1 Chronicles chapter 10 – a postscript on the life of King Saul of Israel. It is actually a very good thing for us to read, because it reminds us of some very important truths upon which to build our lives. Let’s take a few moments today to learn three important truths from the postscript on Saul’s troubled life.
So Saul died for his trespass which he committed against the LORD, because of the word of the LORD which he did not keep; and also because he asked counsel of a medium, making inquiry of it, 14 and did not inquire of the LORD. Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse. 1 Chronicles 10:13-14 (NASB) First, we learn of the trespass which brought about Saul’s premature departure from this life. The word “trespass” is very telling as God begins this postscript. The word comes from the Hebrew word “maal” which means to act unfaithfully or treacherously. It is the word that the Scriptures use when referring to adultery as an act of unfaithfulness and treachery in a marriage. Saul had been very unfaithful to the Lord. The trespass is further described as not keeping the Word of Jehovah. Let’s take a deeper look at this first sin. When God speaks to us He is giving us His Word. That is not a small thing and it calls for obedience to God. Unfortunately Saul received God’s Word more as a suggestion than a command. When asked to deal with the Amalekites he decided to only destroy what he thought was evil, keeping the king as a trophy as well as everything that he though looked good enough to keep. He even figured he could use that “good stuff” to sacrifice to God. When told to wait for the prophet Samuel to offer a sacrifice before a battle, Saul started to worry about defections from his army and forced himself to offer the sacrifice. The problem there was that Saul was not to do that. This was something that only the priests were to do. Saul saw that as just an inconvenience to what needed to be done. His life is a sad story of disregarding the Word of Jehovah to do what he wanted instead. When God made it clear that David was going to replace him because of his disobedience, his response was to attempt to kill David repeatedly. “Who cares what God has said – I’m going to be king!” was his response to that news. By the end of his life his disobedience reached disastrous levels. He slaughtered an entire village of priests by proxy to be sure his own will prevailed instead of God’s will. In the end God’s will prevailed (as it always will). David became king – and God put Saul to death for his treachery. Second, we learn that Saul’s treachery toward the LORD had a second manifestation – he sought the counsel of a medium. What is amazing about this is that Saul himself had just removed all those who were involved in this occult practice from Israel. He did this because God’s Word forbids it. But that was before he found himself in a difficult situation with a large Philistine army on the other side of a battlefield. Saul was in trouble – and God was not answering him no matter what method he tried. Of course, Saul did not respond to this well, nor did he take time to consider why God would not answer. There was enough disobedience and sin to make a mountain between Saul and God. He had rejected God’s Word, rejected God’s king, and even murdered God’s servants. None of this came to mind. Instead, all Saul could think of was that he needed to have Samuel tell him what to do. Never mind that earlier he had sent soldiers to drag both Saul and David before him to answer for supposed rebellion. Never mind that many times before Samuel had spoken the Word of the Lord to him only to be ignored. Saul needed a word and he needed it now. This is what led to Saul hatching a very unwise, ungodly plan. Samuel was dead – and he still needed to hear from him. What better way to accomplish this than to get a medium and have a séance! We can bring Samuel up from the dead and get the advice and Word from God we need! This was how convoluted Saul’s reasoning had become. But then again in our day we have people consulting horoscopes and tarot cards, palm readers and other occult means to get advice. When we no longer hear from God – we have a tendency to want to hear from whoever or whatever else is out there – right? The problem for Saul was that he knew somewhere in the midst of his confusion that this was still a capital offense. He knew it because he had previously reminded all Israel of it when he threw out all the mediums earlier. This was the second reason he would soon forfeit his life. That is even what Samuel told him at the séance – if that truly was Samuel. What a reminder to us to seek God – and if things have turned silent between us and Him to do everything possible to return. Such moments are not a time to turn to a second choice – but to repent and return – to weep and grieve our sin – to seek God with prayer and fasting until there is once again an open line between us. The last thing we see here is a very sobering statement made by the LORD in this postscript. Let me reiterate it before we look at it closer. “Therefore He killed him and turned the kingdom to David the son of Jesse.” WHAT!? Did we just read that God said He killed Saul for his sin and rebellion? Yes, that is what we read. By the way, God does not apologize for this, nor does He do anything to soften the statement of this death sentence on Saul’s life. That is sobering – oh let’s be perfectly honest – it’s frightening! Some would even react by saying that “their God” would never do such a thing! But that is exactly what God did – and He continues to do it even today. When one of God’s own starts living in rebellion and continues to do so – there is a point where God will take them home. Now we should note that Saul was not killed by a lightning strike from the sky. He was killed in the battle against the Philistines. Nevertheless this passage makes it clear that God killed Saul because of his treachery. That should at least be a reminder to us that God, being sovereign, can engineer whatever is necessary to accomplish His purposes – even if His purpose is discipline on a rebellious king. Saul’s story is such a sad one. He had so much potential at the beginning of his kingdom. He was humble and responsive to God early on in his life. But his choice to do things his own way rather than God’s way led him to a very ignominious end. Having read of his life in Samuel and Chronicles, may we be reminded to avoid such choices in our lives.  The end of 2 Kings 2 has one of the most interesting events in Biblical history. It was in the time shortly after Elijah’s departure in a flaming chariot that Elisha the prophet took a journey from Jericho to Bethel. While on the way a fairly large group of young men began mocking him. Elisha looked behind him to see them and cursed them in the name of Jehovah. Considering the wickedness of Israel in that day – and their ungodly king – this kind of roving group of blasphemous young men would not be all the strange to encounter. But what happened next was strange. After Elisha’s curse, two mother bears came out of the woods and ripped up (the word means to tear something in half) 42 of those ungodly young men. When we read this – we are a little shocked at the judgment that comes so quickly and at the violence of the event.
What is going on in this passage? What was it that moved Elisha to curse the young men – and even more – what moved God to have two bears come and tear them up in this way? Well, let’s take a look at that and see why Elisha and God found the sin of these young men so unbearable. The first sin we see in this passage is that of disrespect. There was disrespect on a number of different levels. We need to remember how ungodly the nation was at this time. Idolatry was running rampant in the country – as was violence toward God’s messengers and message. The people had watched Ahab and Jezebel rule – and it was pretty well known that Jezebel was systematically killing all the prophets of God that she could find. In addition to this the people of Israel were following a false god – and thus respect and honor for the true God was at an all time low. Here, evidently, was the new prophet chosen of God – the very God who had struck their nation with a 3 and a half-year famine! Supposedly he was the heir apparent after Elijah was taken up in a flaming chariot to heaven. These young men began to mock Elisha in a very disgusting way. First of all they referred to his lack of hair by calling him “bald-head.” There are two possibilities for this name. First would be that Elisha was baldheaded by nature. Being called “baldy” is not exactly an honorable way to address the new prophet. The second was that Elisha had shaved his head to mourn his mentor as Job had done when he lost everything. If the second of these is true – it was not only disrespect of Elisha – but also a horrible lack of graciousness to someone who had lost his greatest mentor and friend. I tend to lean toward the second of these because they not only mocked him for his baldness – but also they also said, “Go up you baldhead.” The phrase “go up” was in reference to how Elijah had been taken from him. It was a mocking phrase that meant that they didn’t want Elisha around either. They reacted this way because the last thing they wanted was another prophet of Jehovah coming around and continuing to make trouble like Elijah did. “Yeah baldy – why don’t you go up too with the other guy who was such a bane to our existence.” The second sin of these young men was that of rejecting the Word of Jehovah that was already coming from Elisha to the nation. They didn’t want it when Elijah was there – and they certainly didn’t want another one of these prophets of Jehovah! These guys made their lives miserable. So there was a rejection of God in all that they were saying – of Elisha and of Elijah. Elisha simply turned his head to look back – and he cursed them in the name of Jehovah. We come from a time in history when people are squeamish about God judging and cursing people. But such things are a fact of Scripture as God has revealed Himself to us. We live in a time when we think our rights are what are most valuable and important. We have come to think that for someone to judge us is wrong in every case. Reality – at least Biblical reality thinks far different from this. God has made it clear that those who disobey the law are cursed. God had an entire ceremony when two groups of people stood on two opposite mountains. They called out not only the blessings of God upon those who obeyed – but they also called out the curses on those who disobey. God also has the authority to call actions wrong – even using words like abomination when referring to sins we commonly embrace in our day. We need to grasp that to be guilty of sin before a holy God will render us cursed if we have nothing to pay for our sin and speak on our behalf. We can furrow our brow at the thought of God judging and cursing people – but He does not dwell under our judgment – we dwell under His. When Elisha cursed them in the name of Jehovah, he was simply speaking the same thing Scripture does. God is merciful in not giving us what we truly deserve for sin. But we should remember that this was God’s newly anointed prophet. The rejection of him and of his predecessor was a very stupid and wicked thing to do. God was about to make an example that would ring in the ears of the people and warn them not to mess with Elisha. We need to remember that Elisha did not call for the bears. He simply uttered a curse – it was God’s providence that immediately afterward 2 mama bears came out and torn in half 42 of their number. It was a lesson that would long be remembered. Before we get to huffy about God doing this we might want to revisit the beginning days of the New Testament church. It was in the very early days of the church that a godly man named Barnabas sold his land and gave all the proceeds to the church. In a wicked plan to gain favor and honor – a couple named Ananias and Saphira decided they would do the same, but would keep back money for themselves. Even though they kept money for themselves, they would lie to the church and make it seem like they gave it all to the Lord! There was only one problem – God can see behind closed doors – and into dark hearts. The Holy Spirit, who had been lied to through all this, moved through Peter to confront Ananias about this – and when Peter did this – God struck him dead. Just as the men who took his body to bury it arrived back at where the church was meeting – in came Saphira – who confirmed their godless plan – and God then spoke through Peter as He struck her dead. Yep – that was pretty judgmental of God wasn’t it – except that God was absolutely just and right in doing this. The fledgling work of God was facing a serious threat – just like Elisha did through the mocking of these godless young men. God found both situations unbearable – or at least he found Ananias’ and Saphira’s unbearable. Considering what happened – we might say He found Elisha’s situation very “bear-able.” God is not mocked. We cannot reject or lie to Him without serious consequences. Just because He shows great mercy so often does not mean that His justice doesn’t exist – or that judgment of the severest kind in not in order for all who disobey Him. We praise Him for showing such incredible mercy every day. But we would be very unwise to think that His mercies mean that judgment is not coming. He is praised throughout the Psalms because He is coming to judge the earth and the peoples with equity and in truth. We would do well to remember that as we read of a group of young men who had to bear the weight of their rebellion and disrespect towards God and those who brought His message to them.  What do you do when you’ve had your quiet time, prayed, and you come away with a sense that you’ve basically gotten nothing from the Lord for the day? This is a question I wanted to tackle because it is my guess that just about every Christian has mornings like this.
First of all, let’s address this from the sin point of view. If we are in known sin from which we have yet to repent - this will be the norm. If we think we’re going to have a wonderful time alone with God when we are in conscious known sin, we are kidding ourselves. The Word of God is very clear on this matter. “If I regard wickedness in my heart, the Lord will not hear.” (Psalm 66:18) Not only will He not hear - but usually when He speaks - it will only be to deal with the area of rebellion until repentance is embraced. Something I feel the necessity of saying is that He does this because He loves us. Scripture says God disciplines those He loves. But when this is ruled out we are still left wondering why it seemed like God did not do anything at all in our time alone with Him. Second, let’s address this from the emotions point of view. We all want emotions - at least when we think that they are going to be good. But life is not a series of incredible emotions that are guaranteed every day. The emotion with which I loved my wife on my wedding day and subsequent honeymoon was a very high point in our marriage. The emotion we had at the birth of each of our six children was a high point in life. The emotions I had when I went up to preach my very first sermon to Calvary Chapel was a high point. But there have been many days as a husband, father, and pastor that were not equally as high. In fact, to wonder why every day isn’t that high, emotionally speaking, is ridiculous. I still love my wife - love my children - and love the congregation I pastor when I have average emotional days - and even when I have bad and horrible days emotionally. That is called living. Too often we paint the Christian life as one high after another - or like some kind of trip to an amusement park with thrill ride after thrill ride. That is a disservice to others on this path. A normal person has a normal range of emotions - up, down, and often - somewhat blah at times. To have a continuous high cheapens who we are to be in Christ. Jesus knew highs and lows and everything in between. To have a somewhat blah-zay time alone with God is not horrifically abnormal. This takes me to the third thing we need to consider. Third there is the matter of faithfulness. Sherie and I do not have daily earth-shattering conversations. Most days we talk - and it is fairly normal, run of the mill, how was your day honey - kind of conversations. Because there is not a rush of emotion every time we speak does not make me doubt either her love for me or my love for her. We are faithful in really emotional times - and in times when the emotions don’t run as high. One of the things we need to remember is that God wants us to be faithful to Him. Therefore, when we have a really average time alone with God, or worse, a series of those average times - do we stop making time to be alone with God? The only way to build faithfulness in a life - is for there to be times when little more than faithfulness is why we keep going. We have things we value - regardless of whether they come with daily warm fuzzies or not. I value God - and value the relationship He has given to me through Jesus Christ. Whether I leave my time alone with Him high as a kite - or feeling very “non-feeling” will have no effect on whether I will continue to seek Him in the future. I seek Him BECAUSE I love Him - and I love Him because He first loved me. He values faithfulness - therefore I, too, will value it - with Him - with my wife - with my children - and with God’s saints. Truly - valuing faithfulness helps often with reaching out to the lost - because very often I get little back in response at first when sharing the gospel. But God calls me to love them and to share His Word with them - which requires (shocker alert) faithfulness. The last (but certainly not exhaustive) matter is that of the silences of God. There are times when all seems to go silent in our spiritual lives. I’ve read many biographies of godly men and women who all testify to these times. Some call them the dark night of the soul while others refer to them as the silences of God. Whatever they are called, they are disturbing when they come. David spoke of one of these when he said these words: How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long shall I take counsel in my soul, having sorrow in my heart all the day? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? Consider and answer me, O LORD my God; Enlighten my eyes, or I will sleep the sleep of death, and my enemy will say, "I have overcome him," and my adversaries will rejoice when I am shaken. Psalm 13:1-4 The silence of God disturbed David - it spiritually freaked him out. He wondered where God was. He had a longing to see God’s face. He desired God’s counsel - and the way that God would enlighten his eyes like He previously had in days gone by. He looked at how his being shaken in his confidence in God would cause those who hate God to rejoice. Now, I have to confess that I purposely left out verses 5-6 of this Psalm. David was shaken somewhat by what he thought was God’s absence - or at least disinterest in fellowship with him. In a way I believe that this was by design. The design behind it was for David to see how futile life was without God. The design was for David to recognize that there was no other God for him but Jehovah. That threw him even more dependent and needy upon God. Such words are not written because a person is disinterested in God or had an apathy about his or her spiritual life. These are the words of the true believer who is “desperate for God!” Peter spoke such words in John 6 when he said, “Where else can we go? You alone have the words of life!” Now I’ll share the rest of Psalm 13. But I have trusted in Your lovingkindness; My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. I will sing to the LORD, Because He has dealt bountifully with me. Psalm 13:5-6 David goes from despair to trust - i.e. faith! One can almost hear him lifting these words to the heavens. “I’ve trusted your covenant-love.” Even as he lifts them there - he speaks them also to himself deep within his heart. This first phrase speaks of God’s covenant with Israel - and later His covenant with David. God made promises - and He WILL keep them. David turns from emotion to the Word. He turns from feelings to faith. I have trusted in Your promises. But next David says, “My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation” He turns from God’s promises to God’s prior works. He remembers the salvation of God - how God worked in him and he again shouts to the heavens, “I’ve trusted what You promised - and I will choose to rejoice in what You’ve done.” It is wise in our blah moments to remember the mercies and grace of God given to us in salvation. As we remember His salvation - we need to speak it to our heart - and speak it with our heart as well. Then David finishes with a song. “I will sing to Jehovah, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Please note that exclamation points are not used here. I’m glad they were not - because I believe David is not speaking from excess emotion within himself. He is speaking truth TO himself. Remember what God has both promised and done requires singing. But what if we don’t feel like singing? Sing anyway, because deep down that is probably what David was doing. He sang of how Jehovah had dealt “bountifully” with him. The word for “bountifully” is the Hebrew word “gamal” which means to recompense or to bring to a good completion. But it can also mean, “to wean.” It was this meaning that grabbed me when thinking of my dry, blah moments in my time alone with God. There are times when what God is doing is weaning us from the constant call for an emotional experience. The child who is weaning may feel that he or she is getting a raw deal. There was plenty of food and a nearness - even an intimacy with mom involved. Where has that gone? But the mother is not removing love from the child - she is preparing the child for a thousand different foods to come. We need to grasp that at times our loving Father in heaven is weaning us from the glut of “feelings” so that we can be ready for mature food. We are being moved from milk to meat. Also - when these times come - God is allowing us to do what is truly in our hearts. That can be a painful moment - if all you have in your heart is “religious obligatory practices” and not a deep love of God. In those moments many turn away from God. If this is how it is going to be - I’ll just go somewhere else! That is a statement made by someone who has yet to be ruined by God. They have been ruined by God so that nothing else satisfies except God. His silences - or even our lousy quiet times can remind us of this. I am not here to fulfill a checklist of religious obligatory practices! I am here to meet God! Since nothing but God Himself will satisfy that longing - I MUST HAVE HIM! So - you’ve finished your time alone with God. You “feel” as if nothing has happened. You wonder why? Maybe its unconfessed sin - but that is not God’s only reason from allowing such a thing in your life. He loves you and wants you weaned from “emotionally-dependent Christianity” where life is one awesome experience to the next. He also loves you and wants to build faithfulness into your life. And He may love you enough to be weaning you from such things so that you can move on from milk so that you may begin partaking of the meat of the Word. Whatever it is - let Him drive you, not away from Himself, with such difficulties. Let them drive you further into His arms - further into His promises in His Word - and further into a relationship of trust and faith in His Son.  Saul’s sin began in such an inconspicuous way. He was faced with waiting on God in a difficult situation. He was supposed to wait on Samuel to come and offer a sacrifice as the Philistines gathered. When he was forced to wait longer - he chose not to do so and “forced himself” to offer up the sacrifice. This was something only the priests of the Lord were supposed to do. The real issue though was Saul having to wait on God when things were dicey and difficult. Please understand that I know that such times are what makes a man or woman of God - and that such trials are very hard to endure. But Saul failed miserably and decided he knew best what to do - and that waiting on God didn’t make sense when something needed to be done NOW (at least in his mind this was the case).
Sin grew in Saul when he was sent to destroy the Amalekites. Here was where Saul decided in his own mind that what God had said was forbidden and needed to be eliminated seemed harsh to him. He could save what looked good to him (regardless of what God said about it) and even use it to serve God - at least what was left over when he was done using it too. His real issue here was seeing things from God’s perspective - especially what God called sin and what He forbids. Saul wanted to define sin and what is forbidden himself. That redefinition was the cause of the kingdom being torn from him just as Samuel’s garment was torn when he tried to persuade Samuel to bless him rather than discipline him. It was during this time that Saul began to watch David’s surrendered life begin to experience God’s favor. He sang to God in a way that made evil spirits run from the room. He faced down a giant who wound up face down and dead because of David’s trust in God. As this grew he looked at David first with suspicion, then with dread, then with a growing jealousy, and eventually with murderous rage. He tried every way he could to kill this godly upstart and keep himself king. He wasn’t going to wait on God to advance David - and surely Saul knew better than God who should be king and who shouldn’t be king. Interesting how our early “little sins” come back later much larger than we first estimated them to be? Saul became quite the spear thrower during that time (he threw a lot of them - he just didn’t hit anything except the wall). He threw them at David in a jealous, murderous rage. He even threw them at his own son - when he threw in his lot with this horrible usurper of kingdoms! In fact, when we see him in 1 Samuel 22 - he is standing on a high place with a physical spear in his hand - and with verbal spears that he is about to lob at David and anyone who would dare support him. “David won’t give you what I’ve given you!” he rages. “And after all I’ve done for you - none of you tells me my son made a covenant with this terrorist who lays in wait and conspires against me!” Saul works the crowd dishing out guilt like a Jewish mama working her son for something she wants. “None of you feels sorry for me,” he continues evidently making up for any lost pity by feeling very sorry for himself. That is when it happened. Saul’s decision to play with sin rather than kill it, grew to full stature as Doeg the Edomite (by the way Edom is another type of the flesh and a way that is opposed to God’s way) told him that Ahimelech had helped David with bread and Goliath’s sword. Saul snapped, calling the priests before him with Ahimelech and interrogating them about how they were complicit in David’s plot to overthrow Saul and his kingdom. Ahimelech for his part though was no patsy - he confronted the king’s sinful madness by reminding him David has not been part of some plot. He has been beneficial to the king, killing Goliath, being Saul’s son-in-law, who was elevated to captain of your personal guard (by YOU!) and who is honored in your hose. He even let Saul know he was still his servant (which by the way so was David) and then said, “ . . . your servant knows nothing at all of this whole affair.” What is so very sad is David knew nothing of it either because the only place this plot existed was in Saul’s twisted mind. The next thing Saul did I believe sealed his fate. He pronounced a death sentence upon godly Ahimelech the priest - and extended it to his entire family - women and children included. The blood then flowed like waters rushing down a stream. So virulent was Saul’s jealousy and hatred of David that even oxen, donkeys, and sheep were slaughtered. This is where sin takes us. We think we are in control of what we consider a small thing in our lives. We think it is OK for us to think of a brother or sister in Christ with jealousy and suspicion - even a little resentment - and that it will never grow. But Saul is given to us as an example of where sin takes us. I heard a Baptist preacher one say, “Sin takes you where you don’t want to go - Keeps you longer than you want to stay - And costs you more than you want to pay!” How true that is in Saul’s life as his sin - when he thought he controlled it - began to take over and it controlled him. But that is the true nature of sin. It will only grow and become ever more malignant in your life. That is why we need to be circumspect and alert to any intrusion of sin into our lives, our mindset, or our ways. It is deadly. The wise man or women knows this and avoids it at all costs - and when it is discovered repents of it immediately and completely. Once Lot separated from Abraham he moved near Sodom. He moved near those who were sinners exceedingly against the Lord - and did so for the wealth and supposed blessing of their area. But one cannot move closer to sin and not have it affect you negatively. By the time the battle of the kings takes place in Genesis 14, Lot had moved into Sodom. He soon learned that becoming a part of that community had far different results than being with godly Abraham.
Sodom and Gomorrah, we learn at the beginning of this chapter, are in bondage. What an interesting thing to learn - that they are in bondage to a king named Chedorlaomer. They had been serving him (most likely with payments of money as well) for 5 years - but decided to rebel against their bondage. They quickly learned that they did not have the power to break free from this bondage. Their lesson - a battle where they were soundly defeated - where they were taken captive - where they lost all their possessions - and where even their food supply was taken from them. The picture painted here is bleak - but it is also fascinating. Think with me for a few moments about what this meant for Sodom and its newest inhabitant, Lot. They were in bondage from which they could not deliver themselves. Their physical situation mirrored their spiritual one. They were also sinners exceedingly against the Lord - and couldn't break from that bondage either. When they tried to become free, they did not have the power to break that bondage - the same was true of their sinful condition. They lived defeated lives - hiding from their enemy - even while the enemy pillaged them. They lost everything in their defeat - all their goods and even their families. Then finally, even their daily food supply was gone as their enemy took it and left them starving and unable to respond with any viable counter-attack that promised any deliverance. Without a deliverer to come to their aid - they were dead. And in verse 12 we read these words about Lot's situation: "They also took Lot, Abram’s nephew, and his possessions and departed, for he was living in Sodom." There is a lot we can learn from Lot in all this. When you locate yourself near sin - and then move in with sin - your lot in life (no pun intended) will be the same as theirs. Regardless of all the years he followed Abraham - now Lot's future was identical to those with whom he identified. What happened to sinful Sodom - was now happening to Lot. He was in bondage. He was unable to free himself. He was defeated. He was subject to losing everything. He was now destitute. He was robbed of everything. He was facing death and slavery unless someone came to deliver him. So - before we move on to the deliverance - we should ask a few questions. Where have you moved in your life? Have you moved away from following the Lord and toward sin? Are you identifying with this world more than you are God? Are you finding that your lot in life is changing because of your new affinity with sin? You will be in the same bondage - the same slavery - the same defeat - the same loss - the same destitute condition - and even in the same death spiral with none to save. For the true Christian - to find our hearts far from the Lord - and our condition more in line with the judgment of the world has to be a shock when we finally realize it. We are children of the King and sons of the Father - and yet here we are living in a pig pen longing to eat the scraps and leftovers the pigs are eating. Oh that we would awaken by the grace of God to see our condition and realize even our Father's slaves are better off that this. Oh that repentance would overwhelm us - and we would return to our Father rather than remain shut up with the pigs any longer. Moving away from a heart for God and choosing the pig sty of this world is so very foolish. It may begin with promise of immediate gratification and a valley of abundance - but it ends in bondage, defeat, and spiritual starvation. Who will deliver us from such a fate - from our cruel bondage to the Cruel one? This must have been the thought of Lot as he stood among the captive slaves. But even as hope slipped away from him - word had reached his uncle about his situation. In a glorious type of Christ - Abraham sprung to action and gathered the all who were with him and moved to deliver his nephew. Abraham attacked Chedorlaomer and defeated him decisively - not only destroying him, but also delivering all those enslaved to him. This is what Christ Jesus does for us. We are unable to deliver ourselves from slavery to sin - but He comes and wins the victory defeating our enemy and delivering us from bondage to him. But what would be Lot's response to this wonderful deliverance? How would he respond to seeing the radical difference between the godly Abraham and the ungodly king of Sodom? Would he turn from living near the ungodly - indeed living with them - to return to the influence and nearness of the man of God? Once this whole event was over - Lot returned to Sodom and lived among them. He didn't see the incredible contrast between living among the godly and living among the ungodly. The whole deliverance was lost on him. In our next visit with him - we will see that he has not just moved near Sodom - he is settled among them. He has so identified with them that he lives among them - chooses his daughter's future husbands among them - and allows his wife to so identify with them that leaving the lifestyle and company of Sodom seems horrific to her. Oh precious saints of God - there is MUCH we should learn in a warning from Lot. There is much for us to see - and in seeing fear God and learn to hate sin as He hates it. There is nothing for us by moving closer to sin. What is promised as abundance and pleasure is only the disguise of the chains that will one day bind us and enslave us. Come out from the midst of them and be separate. Embrace holiness and shun a relationship with the sinful world. Turn from an identification with them and their lifestyles - and embrace a relationship with God that involves mortification, mercy, and ministry. Mortification as we die to sin and its lure of us away from the Lord. Mercy as we have compassion on those still entrapped and in bondage to it. Ministry as we go to them, love them, and share the only One Who can deliver them from it.  A Lot to learn in 2016 part 2 - Decisions
Lot looked around and saw that the whole plain of the Jordan toward Zoar was well watered, like the garden of the Lord, like the land of Egypt. (This was before the Lord destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.) 11 So Lot chose for himself the whole plain of the Jordan and set out toward the east. The two men parted company: 12 Abram lived in the land of Canaan, while Lot lived among the cities of the plain and pitched his tents near Sodom. 13 Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord. Genesis 13:10-13 Lot had a problem. He did not have his own walk with the Lord. Abraham interacted with God - both hearing and speaking to Him - and Lot just followed Abraham. There is a problem with this kind of living. Eventually you will have to walk on your own. What will happen then? How will you know, follow, and experience an interactive relationship with God? What will counteract your heart - which according to Scripture is deceitful and wicked. This was Lot’s problem - and as we will see in this part of, “A Lot to Learn in 2016,” it does not go well for those who follow in Lot’s steps. Abraham and his nephew Lot were both in the business of raising livestock. When you prosper in this endeavor you will eventually have problems - and they did. Their herdsmen began go quarrel over pasture land. Rather than have a growing enmity between their servants, Abraham proposed that they separate from each other so that enough pasture land would be available for their herds. This was the moment where Lot would have to make his own decisions - and the first one is indicative of a man who does not know how to follow God himself - but who relies on other people to hear God for him. Abram offers him any of the land that was before them. Lot got first choice. What he chose was the land near Sodom and Gomorrah. He chooses a place where the people were wicked and sinning greatly against the Lord. He chose on the basis of what "he" saw. Scripture says that he looked and saw that this land was “like the land of Egypt” and therefore he chose it. In Scripture, Egypt is not considered a good place to be. In addition to this - we also learn from the passage that the place Lot chooses is “near” Sodom. The problem here is that we also learn that the men of Sodom were considered “wicked exceedingly and sinners against Jehovah.” Lot’s first choice was to live by what his eyes saw and what his selfish desires wanted. He didn’t consider that by doing this he was moving closer and closer to sin. He did not consider that he would be taking his family into a place where there would no longer be Abraham’s godly influence - but the influence of exceedingly wicked sinners. Lot moved his tents as far as Sodom. The phrase used here in Hebrew means he moved “near” Sodom. There was enough in Lot to know he shouldn’t go into Sodom - so he did the next best thing - he moved near it. Here is a lesson we need to learn from Lot. What you move toward in your life - is likely what you are going to become. Having followed a godly man (Abraham) Lot now was going to have as his strongest influence, ungodly, exceedingly wicked men. If Lot had his own relationship with God he may have done this to influence those men - but we know that what he saw was their prosperity - and the “good life” and place they lived. There is going to be more - much more to this in our next installment. But . . . before we go there let’s consider something in our journey together. There is a “Lot” to learn even at this point. What drives your decisions in life? If our decisions are made with what we see with our eyes as our primary information - we will wind up in a mess. If we are seeking “the good life” as defined by the world around us - we will once again wind up in a mess. If we joyfully grab first choice in things (and don’t consider others better than ourselves - Philippians 2:1-3) and want first place - we will surely wind up in a mess. Lot’s decisions were driven by the (1) Lust of his eyes; (2) the lust of his flesh; and (3) the boastful pride of life. By the way, these three things are all defined as sin and worldliness in 1 John 2:15-17. Lot made a choice that increased the worldliness in his life - and then deceived himself by thinking that only by moving “near” sin he would be fine. These kind of choices don’t bring blessing - except in the immediate gratification of our fleshly lusts. The long-term results of these kind of decisions - are disastrous in our lives. Let me state this positively though - so you will have something to do on when making decisions. First - make decisions by wisdom, which is defined as seeing life from God’s perspective. We look at things through His Word, His Spirit, and the wisdom that comes from spiritual sight. Don’t just seek an answer - seek Him and ask Him to give you His eternal perspective on your choices. Second - make decisions in light of long-term (honestly - eternal) joy and delight. Ask yourself, what is going to last? What is going to be an eternal blessing? What will benefit me spiritually - so that I can take it with me when I leave this world? Lastly, make decisions that move away from sin - not toward it. Consider the sins of your past - and the sins God wants to deliver you from in life. Don’t move toward those things - and especially don’t think you can get nearer to them without them influencing you. If God wants you to minister to someone or minister somewhere that is one thing - because that doesn’t move you closer to sin - it moves you closer to sinners - but only for God’s purposes of leading them to Christ and influencing them for godliness and the gospel. A parallel question to this might be, “Am I moving toward influencing others - or being influenced by them?” You can move toward sinners or sinful situations if the first is true - your seeking TO influence them. But if you are going to BE INFLUENCED - you need to move toward godliness and be sure that their influence brings you closer to God. May God help us to make good, godly decisions. May we be wise and seek and desire His perspective in all things. May we be seeking eternal benefit in life rather than a quick fix high. And may we truly learn from Lot in this situation (as well as in any we face this year) that there are much better ways of decision making than the ones he chose. May God work in all of us to give us hearts that are tender and sensitive to His Word and His working in us.
This morning I read about King Josiah in my time alone with the Lord. Josiah was a godly king who decided to follow the Lord like David his many times over great grandfather. What is fascinating about this is that at the time Judah did not have a copy of the Scriptures from which to learn about the Lord. Yet Josiah went about seeking God the best he could at the time. That led him to have the temple restored and repaired. It was during that renovation of the temple area that one of the priests found a copy of God’s revelation of Himself – what we call the Word of God. When this happened it quickly rose up the ranks until Josiah Himself was able to hear God’s Word, maybe for the first time. His reaction to God’s Word was priceless and very instructive for us today. Josiah, according to God’s own rendition of this event, responded with a tender and broken heart as he listened to God’s Word. Scripture tells us that he tore his robes in grief and wept before the Lord. Here is what God sent the prophetess Huldah to say to Josiah concerning that event. But to the king of Judah who sent you to inquire of the LORD, thus you will say to him, 'Thus says the LORD God of Israel regarding the words which you have heard, "Because your heart was tender and you humbled yourself before God when you heard His words against this place and against its inhabitants, and because you humbled yourself before Me, tore your clothes and wept before Me, I truly have heard you," declares the LORD. 2 Chronicles 34:26-27 (NASB) Josiah responded to God’s Word with a tender heart. He did not respond with pride or arrogance against God – and neither did he reject God’s Word outright as he heard it. Scripture says that he humbled himself – tore his robes – and wept before God. When Josiah heard the Word he knew that Judah was in serious trouble for their rebellion against the Lord. They had disregarded God’s Law and had chosen horrific levels of disobedience to God. He knew from the words that were read to him that God did not think lightly of this rebellion and sin. In fact his own thoughts were that God’s wrath was upon them. I want to take a few minutes and reflect on Josiah’s tender heart – and how we should aspire to have one much like his. Josiah took God’s Word as a Word from God. That may seem a little redundant at first – but it is one of the signs that someone has a tender heart. Too often today there is not a respect for God’s Word. We’ve seen too much written and heard too much said that denigrates God’s Word. Too many people have the attitude that they can pick and choose what they want to be His Word – be authoritative in their lives – and then set the parts they don’t like to the side. That would have been easy for Josiah to do. He could have thought that it wasn’t his fault that things had deteriorated so badly. That was his father’s and grandfather’s doing. He just inherited this mess. He could have argued that he was just hearing the Word for the first time – and that God shouldn’t hold him accountable for everything he just heard. Josiah did not take any of those routes – because his heart was already tender toward God. He wanted to hear God – and know Him and His will. The moment such things were made known to him – he wanted to submit to it. That is the heart which is tender toward God. He acknowledged that God was the One in authority and that His place was surrender and submission to His will – another mark of those with tender hearts toward God. Josiah also responded with distress and brokenness to what he learned about the Lord. A king’s robe distinguished him from everyone else in the kingdom. This was a royal robe – and yet his first response was to tear that robe and grieve the situation that his and his kingdom’s rebellion had caused. His concern was to embrace humility and a truly broken and repentant heart before the God he and his kingdom had offended. Repentance, instant repentance, and brokenness are a sign of a tender heart before God. David did not care about his position and authority – because he knew that an infinitely more important authority had been scorned. His place was in broken, weeping repentance before God. Finally we see that David was not just concerned about what God had said through His Word – but he wanted desperately to know what God was saying NOW. He immediately sent representatives to the only known ones who could answer that question – Jeremiah and Huldah, who were the only prophets in that area at the time. Neither of these two had that great of a place within the kingdom. Huldah lived in the third quarter of Jerusalem – which was a much poorer section of the city. Her position was a common one – and yet Josiah recognized her heart for God and gift as a prophetess. Josiah wanted to know what he needed to do to remedy this situation. How could he lead Judah to return to God? This is another sign of a tender heart. The tenderhearted man or woman wants to know God right now – and lives to see Him honored and glorified. Huldah did not have a very encouraging message for Josiah. Judgment was coming and Josiah would not be able to stop it. He himself would be gathered to his people in peace – but the kingdom of Judah was going to be judged. What I find fascinating is that even with this diagnosis Josiah still sought God and did what was right and best for Judah. He returned to God with a passion and desire that was unrivaled. He not only turned to God, but endeavored to lead Judah to do the same. His life was a labor to see God’s people repent and return to Him. This is what the tenderhearted live for in their lives. Their greatest longing is for God to work not just in their hearts, but also in the lives of others as they turn to Him as well. The more I read of this tenderhearted man of God, the more I desired that same kind of work in my own heart. The more I thought about the marks of that heart – the more I saw where I lacked it in my own. Oh to be a man of God who is so tender-hearted toward the Word, toward the honor and glory of God, toward any manifestation of sin in myself or among God’s people. Oh to be a man of God who responds with a broken heart, a tear-stained face, and a life turned wholly toward God. Oh to be among a congregation of people who embrace the same things as together we seek God’s face and favor in the midst of a generation that has turned from the Lord so hard and so completely. My prayers, dearest saints, is that this will be true of me as your pastor and of each of us as we walk in these days. Josiah is not just a great example of a tender heart – but is also a wonderful example of how we should respond in a time of darkness to seeing our sins and the sins of our culture in the light of God’s Word. May He grant us that honorable work of broken hearts, tear-stained altars of prayer, and repentant, pliable, surrendered, submissive lives passionately pursuing Him. May we seek Him first, seek to see His favor return to His church, and hopefully see a revival in our church, city, state, and land.  Last week we began to answer the question, “What does God say about cussing?” It is an interesting subject considering the coarsening of our culture over the last couple of decades. But it is also a subject that can easily turn into a majoring on the minors. That is why last week we began by seeing that whatever words come out of our mouths verify what is in our hearts. God makes it clear from the Scriptures that He desires for Christ to rule our hearts. We also see that He wants the Word of God to dwell richly within us (Colossians 3) and for the Word of God not to depart from our mouth (Joshua 1:8). That is why we should honestly consider the words that we allow to flow from us as we speak. We want those words to represent Jesus Christ in a way that brings glory to God. When those words do not - it is NOT a matter of words just being words, or of a difference between the way we talk in the world versus the way we talk at church. There is definitely something in our hearts that results in this kind of language flowing from our hearts.
I want to make one important distinction before I continue this week’s article. The things I am writing here are for believers. It is of little or no value for us to convert a person’s speech without seeing them brought to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. Our purpose as believers is not to become the speech police. We are living in a post-Christian culture in the United States and it concerns me that some believers are far more interested in converting the culture than they are seeing people genuinely converted to Christ. It would be more comfortable for us if the culture followed a set of rules on speech and cussing that conformed to the Christian world view, but that would only benefit us. What we should pray and work for is to see people truly converted to Christ. Therefore as I write these things, I am writing to those who know Jesus Christ. The issues being addressed here are issues of our transformation and sanctification. We are talking about holiness - and having a life that is radically different from the world around us. We are to live lives that draw people to Christ - when they see lives of purity, godliness, and a goodness that makes them desirous of knowing why we live like we do. So please know that this is not meant to be a tirade against the prevailing culture and the world system. It is meant to be a rebuke for the church that we’ve so adopted the culture around us when it comes to our speech and words. It is also meant to be a call to return to godly, holy lives and words that will attract others to the beauty of Christ within us - all to the glory of God. One of the arguments that I hear commonly used to justify using bad language is that these are just words that “people” have turned into bad words. When that is said, it is said without a knowledge of the actual meanings of the words used - or the interesting things that are being said when using them. One of the things I learned from my parents is that most people cuss because they are either ignorant or angry. What was meant by that was this. The use of cuss words is primarily as adjectives or modifiers. Next time someone cusses around you - think about what they are actually saying. It actually is a very ignorant use of the English language. There are times when I hear someone truly unleash a string of these words that I wonder if they even know any adjectives - or if cuss words have come to replace modifiers in our current culture. The other part of that statement refers to the fact that many use this kind of language when they are angry. Their anger is expressed in using cuss words to denigrate the person or thing with which they are angry. Now, before you shrug your shoulders and wonder if I am a Bible teacher or an English teacher, let me get to my point. Cussing is a “perversion” of the English language. Each of these words are just words . . . but they are words that have a meaning to them. When we use them in the context of cussing, I can guarantee you that they are used in a way that has nothing to do with what they actually mean. Thus the one using them is speaking in a way that was described in earlier days as “perverse.” With that in mind let’s look at a few passages of Scripture. The Bible has a lot to say about those with a “perverse mouth” or who use “perverse language.” In Proverbs 6:12, we read these words, “A worthless person, a wicked man, Is the one who walks with a perverse mouth.” Here we have a person with a perverse mouth. The terms used to describe this person are that he is worthless and wicked. The word worthless is the Hebrew word “belial” which means, “good for nothing in a moral sense.” What is fascinating is this word also appears in the Greek New Testament in its Greek form as a name for the devil. This is not exactly the association I want with the words I speak. The second word, wicked, is “aven” which means trouble, sorrow, evil, and often speaks of those who pursue iniquity and sin. Therefore the one who speaks with a perverse mouth is speaking in a way that is very ungodly. In Proverbs 8:13 we read these words, "The fear of the LORD is to hate evil; Pride and arrogance and the evil way And the perverted mouth, I hate.” God is saying here what the fear of the Lord does in life. We find the usual things here of having evil, pride, arrogance, and the evil lifestyle. But at the end we find that the fear of the Lord also hates the “perverted mouth.” If we fear God we will not pervert words - or speak in a perverted way. In Proverbs 17:20 we read how the one, “who is perverted in his language” often finds with that type of speaking a habit of falling into evil. Here is the text of that verse, “He who has a crooked mind finds no good, And he who is perverted in his language falls into evil.” Speaking as one who used to talk this way often before I was saved, I can confidently say that speaking this way never led me into righteousness or toward those who love the things of God. When I spoke that way in anger I can absolutely tell you that it led to me falling into evil. Consider this - and please be honest - have you ever felt that speaking in a perverted use of language led you closer to the Lord? Proverbs 19:1 says, “Better is a poor man who walks in his integrity Than he who is perverse in speech and is a fool.” Speaking with a perverse use of language makes you look like a fool. I know the world has come to the point of valuing this kind of speech. It makes you look tough and more worldly. The opposite is true when you embrace a life of following and seeking after God. The Lord is the One I want to honor and impress - and He feels neither honored or impressed with someone who has a foul mouth. I heard of a time when a group of brothers who sought the Lord together were talking about the things of God when one of them used a cuss word in expressing himself. The whole atmosphere in the room changed - and things got awkward. It just was not appropriate. Not that there is a place where it is appropriate - because God is present in all conversations. The idea was that this was brothers speaking of their faith and wanting to help one another grow. Please understand that this was not a matter of judging the brother who spoke. I’ve often been in groups where newer believers were getting their start - and - there were times when flesh came out and growth was needed. You may hear that kind of language in the world regularly - but you hope the perverted mouth is something we want to lay aside as we grow in Christ. One last passage is Proverbs 10:31-32 which says, “The mouth of the righteous flows with wisdom, But the perverted tongue will be cut out. The lips of the righteous bring forth what is acceptable, But the mouth of the wicked what is perverted.” Here we see a contrast of the mouths of the righteous and the wicked. The wicked have perverted tongues and mouths. Their words are perverse. The righteous in contrast allow their mouths to “flow with wisdom” and to “bring forth what is acceptable.” Our goal, saints, is not to act and sound as much like the world as possible. Our goal should be to speak what is right and wise - especially among the lost. They know how their own speak and talk. We are to be different. Saints, I want you to know that it is not my desire to be your personal “Holy Spirit word monitor.” But it is my purpose to help us grow into people who first of all love the Lord and fear Him, and second of all surrender to God’s sanctifying work in our lives every day. Perverse words are not a part of God’s plan in sanctification. He wants to purify our hearts - which should result in a purifying of our speech as well. I long for all of us to be wise. It should be clear from what we’ve read again and again in God’s book of wisdom (Proverbs) that a perverse mouth is something we need to lay aside as we learn to walk closer with the Lord. May we all become people whose speech is gracious, kind, wise, and winsome - so that those who hear us speak know that there is something markedly different about our hearts. May that work give us ample opportunity to tell others about the One who changed our hearts - and in so doing - changed the way we speak as well. May God give to you a view of sin that is consistent with the one He Himself has. This week I want to talk about something our culture has all but abandoned – and that is the exceeding sinfulness of sin.
Our society is one that has downplayed the idea of sin over the years. We’ve moved from a Biblical Worldview that equates the problems in the world to the sinfulness of man, to one that is moving away from calling anything sinful. The modern age is one in which every other “ology” is turned to rather than Theology. We desperately want to blame everyone except ourselves for the maladies of our day. The sinfulness of the human heart, inherited from Adam and inherently tied to original sin in the garden, is either considered too simple or too stupid to the modern populace of the modern thinkers of our time. We prefer to solve our issues with politics, psychotherapy, and pills. Recently I have been reading The Sinfulness of Sin, by Ralph Venning, and it has been reminding me of a far more Biblical view of sin. If someone had asked me if my view of sin needed strengthening, I probably would have said no. But after reading the first few chapters of Venning’s book, I have been corrected on that matter. As God, through the pen of this able wordsmith, has addressed sin and its sinfulness, I’ve been amazed at how much my view of sin has deteriorated over the years. Let me quote from the book to help me on this point. "The works of sin are deformed and monstrously ugly, for it works disorder, confusion, and everything that is abominable. Sin may be arraigned for all the mischiefs and villainies that have been done in the world; it is the master of misrule, the author of sedition, the builder of Babel, the troubler of Israel and all mankind. So contrary is sin to the works of God, that it sought and still seeks to undo all that God does, that there might be no seed nor name, nor root left Him in all the earth . . . Sin is evil and does evil, indeed, it does nothing else.” (The Sinfulness of Sin, by Ralph Venning, pgs. 32-33) As I’ve read Venning’s book I have realized that too often such much needed descriptions of sin are usually laughed at today – and the speaker of writer is written off as some crazed “evangelist” type – or hell-fire and brimstone preacher who needs more grace and kindness in his presentation. But that is not the case with what I’ve read so far. The desire of this author is not to elicit “amens” from a Sunday morning crowd or from a evening Revival meeting. He speaks of the holiness and glory of God with glowing affirmations and does not spend his time denouncing “pet sins” of his generation. Venning is genuinely concerned that men do not grasp how pernicious and horrific sin is. That is why he writes with such passion about sin and sinfulness. One of the marvelous benefits of reading this volume is the way it is aiding me in seeing sin and utterly sinful and terrible. I am not being urged to rail against sinners whose sins grieve my sensibilities. Instead I am being led to God Himself, in whose presence sin is seen as the ultimate blight of MY OWN soul. His holiness only makes my sin that much more awful and hated – even as His grace forgives and His Spirit enables me to turn from it. One might wonder why this is important to us? Why make all this fuss over a right comprehension of sin. The problem comes from a diminished view of God that rises up in our hearts when we make our peace with something with which God will never make peace. Sin, when seen properly is an odious and disgusting thing. We want nothing to do with it and retract in horror from it in our own lives and choices. This is true at least with those who grasp how terrible sin is in God’s eyes. The practice in our current time is to make little of sin – and much of conditions we have. Our conditions are named and others are blamed for them. In the end – sin – is now repackaged as something others should feel sorry for us over. We are not held responsible for our actions, attitudes, or messes. We have a syndrome – not a sin-choice. We have a condition – not a corruption. We are battling a social disease – not a sinful decision. In renaming sin and redefining it – we absolve ourselves of responsibility and can blame everyone and everything else for what we are doing. Sin is a choice – a choice to ignore God’s Law and rebel against it. That rebellion is also against God Himself. Sin hurts us most assuredly, but much more than that, it grieves the heart of God. It incites His wrath and requires punishment. It is against the true order of things God purposed and it opposes His reign over all things at all times. But the worst thing of all is that sin falls short of the glory that God Himself is – and the glory which should characterize our lives as we are called to live for Him. May God in His mercy open our eyes to the sinfulness of sin – helping us to abhor it even as He does. May we see the malignancy of it as well as the destructive path that is portends to those who choose it. May we remember the price required to pay for it on our behalf, and thus learn to hate it and see it as the dangerous and horrific thing it is. And may we have grace to apprehend such things so that we learn to fully o embrace holiness with all that is in us – now and forevermore. |
Biblical ArticlesMost of these articles are taken from the Calvary Courier, a weekly newsletter that is sent to the folks who attend Calvary Chapel Jonesboro. Due to the response to these articles, we've decided to print some of them which proved to be very helpful to God's people at the fellowship. 
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