Category: Repentance

Sin Is Fatal….

Romans 6:23 (NIV)

For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Our verse today should be very familiar to us!  And I see it as a reminder … a call for repentance … for people everywhere to understand the gift of God we receive in Christ Jesus our Lord. Jesus prayed, ““Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son, that your Son may glorify you. 2 For you granted Him authority over all people that He might give eternal life to all those you have given Him. 3 Now this is eternal life: that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. 4 I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.” (Cf. John 17:1-4) Yes, eternal life is found … the salvation of God is found … in no other name given under heaven except in Jesus Christ! No longer can the world hear just a message of grace without repentance.  The “seeker sensitive” message without repentance is insufficient to bring a person to a knowledge of this Truth.

I just feel impressed that we need to focus ourselves on the fear of the Lord our God this morning!  Fear … as in reverence … reverence as in awe and wonder of His mighty power … His splendor and holiness! Perhaps, we are witnessing what the prophet have foretold: God is shaking the earth once more. (Read Haggai 2:1-9) In the midst of the Coronavirus … God is stirring up His Church … His people … to show forth His glory in this present hour!  “And the glory of this present house will be greater than the glory of the former house!”  There is a message … a message of revival! And revival begins with repentance … and repentance begins with reverence … and reverence manifests as the fear of Lord!

Deuteronomy 10:12-22 (ESV)

12 “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require of you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul, 13 and to keep the commandments and statutes of the Lord, which I am commanding you today for your good? 14 Behold, to the Lord your God belong heaven and the heaven of heavens, the earth with all that is in it. 15 Yet the Lord set His heart in love on your fathers and chose their offspring after them, you above all peoples, as you are this day. 16 Circumcise therefore the foreskin of your heart, and be no longer stubborn. 17 For the Lord your God is God of gods and Lord of lords, the great, the mighty, and the awesome God, who is not partial and takes no bribe. 18 He executes justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the sojourner, giving him food and clothing. 19 Love the sojourner, therefore, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. 20 You shall fear the Lord your God. You shall serve Him and hold fast to Him, and by His name you shall take your oaths. 21 He is your praise. He is your God, who has done for you these great and terrifying things that your eyes have seen. 22 Your fathers went down to Egypt seventy persons, and now the Lord your God has made you as numerous as the stars of heaven.

Psalm 33:6-15 (ESV)

6 By the word of the Lord the heavens were made, and by the breath of His mouth all their starry host. 7 He gathers the waters of the sea as a heap; He puts the deeps in storehouses. 8 Let all the earth fear the Lord; let all the people of the world stand in awe of (revere) Him! 9 For He spoke, and it came to be; He commanded, and it stood firm. 10 The Lord brings the counsel of the nations to nothing; He frustrates the plans of the peoples. 11 The counsel of the Lord stands forever, the plans of His heart to all generations. 12 Blessed is the nation whose God is the Lord, the people whom He has chosen as His heritage! 13 The Lord looks down from heaven; He sees all the children of man; 14 from where He sits enthroned He watches all who live on the earth – 15 He who fashions the hearts of them all and observes everything that they do.

Psalm 36:1-4 (NIV)

I have a message from God in my heart concerning the sinfulness of the wicked: There is no fear of God before their eyes. 2 In their own eyes they flatter themselves too much to detect or hate their sin. 3 The words of their mouths are wicked and deceitful; they fail to act wisely or do good. 4 Even on their beds they plot evil; they commit themselves to a sinful course and do not reject what is wrong.

Psalm 111:10 (NIV)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom; all who follow His precepts have good understanding. To Him belongs eternal praise.

Proverbs 1:7 (NIV)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge, but foolish people despise wisdom and instruction.

Proverbs 9:7 (NIV)

The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 14:26-27 (NIV)

Whoever fears the Lord has a secure fortress, and for their children it will be a refuge. 27 The fear of the Lord is a fountain of life, turning a person from the snares of death.

Proverbs 19:23 (ESV)

The fear of the Lord leads to life, and whoever has it rests satisfied;

Proverbs 23:15-18 (NIV)

15 My son, if your heart is wise, my heart too will be glad. 16 My innermost being will exult when your lips speak what is right. 17 Let not your heart envy sinners, but continue in the fear of the Lord all the day. 18 Surely there is a future, and your hope will not be cut off.

Oh, I could continue with many more Scriptures, but I think the point has been made.  Sin is fatal.  The final outcome of transgression is death. But we have a merciful and gracious God who has made provision for us!  God provided His own atoning sacrifice for us.  In His great love for us, the Father sent His only begotten Son to bring us redemption … salvation … eternal life through Him.  What God has done … His lovingkindness … His mercy and grace … is intended to lead every human soul to repentance! (Cf. Romans 2:4) As Paul affirmed, “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, completing holiness out of reverence for God.” (Cf. 2 Corinthians 7:1) Yes, we should come as we are to the throne of mercy and grace … but repentance is integral to reverence!  We must be broken … we must come before Him filled with godly sorrow. (Cf. 2 Corinthians 7:9-10) We must be buried with Jesus through baptism … born-again of the Spirit … and raised to a new life in Christ … and walk in the Spirit God gave us:

Romans 6:1-14 (ESV)

6 What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? 2 By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? 3 Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4 We were buried therefore with Him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life. 5 For if we have been united with Him in a death like His, we shall certainly be united with Him in a resurrection like His. 6 We know that our old self was crucified with Him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. 7 For one who has died has been set free from sin. 8 Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 9 We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. 10 For the death He died He died to sin, once for all, but the life He lives He lives to God. 11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Indeed, sin is not to have dominion over us. We have been justified … we have been set free … by the blood of the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world! In all reverence and fear, we are to walk in newness of life.  We are to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the Lord our God with all our heart and with all our soul, and to obey the commandments and statutes of the Lord. Holiness is not an option … for without holiness no one will see the Lord. (Cf. Hebrews 12:14) And so I pray that we will hear what the Spirit is telling us … His guidance into the truths that we need to ponder and apply to our hearts. I am convinced that we need to look to God and what He is doing in these days we have entered. A first response should be to examine ourselves. (Cf. 2 Corinthians 13:5) Indeed, the Lord knows our hearts and examines our minds. (Cf. Jeremiah 17:9-10) And so we should be alert to deception.  Let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall … for we are all subject to temptation….(Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:12-13) As the Apostle John reminds us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (Cf. 1 John 1:9)

One final thought is this passage below.  I think with shaking and stirring up, there is an application for judgment:

1 Peter 4:12-19 (NIV)

12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when His glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And, “If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?” (Cf. Proverbs 11:31) 19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.

So Now You Know!

Have a Blessed Day!

Confession and Forgiveness

Psalm 86:5

You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you.

Had a rough week … a challenging month … a time of spiritual battle when temptation has mounted a coordinated attack against you.  Were you caught off guard … unprepared … or just too weak to counter the offensive launched by the enemy? Did you finally surrender to the temptation? Unfortunately, it can happen to any of us. Our thoughts and behaviors do not always reflect the new creation that we have become in Christ. And sometimes I feel like I am a wider target when I am on top of the spiritual mountain.  Just when I think that my faith is strong and my armor secure … a struggle with temptation ensues; and sometimes I miss the way out in order to endure it. (Cf. 1 Corinthians 10:13) The Apostle James has observed this process as follows:

James 1:13-15 (NIV)

13 When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He tempt anyone; 14 but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. 15 Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

That is the process … that is how temptation is formed and sin follows in its wake! Our carnal nature … our sinful nature as human beings … can easily raise its ugly head and engage us. And I think we need to realize that not all temptation comes from outside evil forces; rather, it can stem from our own internal desires or lusts that entice us and lead us into thought patterns and behaviors that manifest themselves as sin.  I’m not talking about the obvious sins such as murder, adultery, sexual immorality, etc.  I’m speaking about the inner sins such as covetousness, envy, jealousy, malice, deceit, hypocrisy, arrogance, slander, bitterness, anger, rage, and filthy language we have been admonished to avoid.  Whether we display these behaviors in our relationships with others in overt or subtle ways, these sins are detrimental to our witness and hinder His command to love one another as Christ has loved us. As much as I want to believe that my heart is not of this world … that I have consecrated myself unto God … there are occasions that I simply fail to resist these types of inner heart issues, and I need to repent and be cleansed.

So I love the reminder of our verse today.  God is forgiving and good! God abounds in love to those who call upon Him.  That is why prayer and confession is so essential to spiritual discipline.  That is why transparency is necessary to have intimacy with the Lord Jesus. Fellowship with God requires honesty … integrity … sincerity. I am so grateful that the Apostle John articulated and shared how believers must walk in the light and in the truth.  There is no continuum between darkness and light – only one or the other.  God is light and in Him is no darkness at all!

John 1:1-5 (NKJV)

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was with God in the beginning. 3 Through Him all things were made; without Him nothing was made that has been made. 4 In Him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.

1 John 1:5-10 (NKJV)

5 This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us.

1 John 2:1-2 (NKJV)

1 My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.

Yes, John is quite forthright about confession. It is vital for us to acknowledge our sin to God when it occurs … when the Holy Spirit convicts us (Cf. John 16:8) … and to agree with God that we have fallen short of His command to be holy just as He is holy.  The writer of the Book of Hebrews addresses the need for confession:

Hebrews 4:11-16 (NKJV)

11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the Word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account. 14 Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

Yes, when we come before the throne of grace, we can apply the example of King David as recorded in Psalm 51 to better understand “how” to make our confessions before God. David demonstrated honesty.  He exhibited sorrow and repentance.  He recognized the authority and sovereignty of God to execute judgement for sin.  And He knew God would have mercy because of His great love and faithfulness.  Oh, we cannot feign anything with God.  He knows our hearts.  He knows the truth. All things, including the inclinations within our hearts, are naked and open to the eyes of Him before whom we MUST GIVE account.  Jesus knows our weaknesses … and He wants to restore us to fellowship with Him.  Confession and repentance are the first steps to reconciliation … and the sacrifices of a broken spirit – a broken and contrite heart – are the path to restoration.

Praise the Lord! Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good! For His mercy endures forever! (Cf. Psalm 106:1)

So Now You Know!

Have a Blessed Day!

Be Reconciled To God

2 Corinthians 5:17-20

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here! 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Although we have reviewed this passage in recent days, I wanted to take a fresh look at it again.  Perhaps there is something we are missing for it to come up again….

17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

This is our primary launch verse for the New Year … perhaps even for the New Decade.  The old has gone, the new is here!  We desire and pray for new creation to come and fill us … to fill the prodigal … to fill our homes … to fill our church.  We must break the old patterns and the old habits … the sin that so easily ensnares us (Cf. Hebrews 12:1) God declared that in Christ, He is doing a new thing! This is what the Lord says— “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Cf. Isaiah 43:18-19) And this shall be the message for 2020.  God will redeem and restore those who have forgotten Him … those who have wandered and become lost … those who are broken and in need of His power to heal and to save! 

 18 All this is from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 

Indeed, God has declared this year to be a year of reconciliation … for all to experience reconciliation with Him through Jesus Christ! He reconciled us who believe and gave us the ministry of reconciliation.  ALL THIS IS FROM GOD!  Forgiveness and reconciliation is His will! “For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life.For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.  (Cf. John 3:16-17)

19 that God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 

The Good News … the Gospel … is this very passage.  God is reconciling the world to Himself!   The Father is doing so through His Son … the Lord Jesus.  His will is active … perpetual … steadfast … unchanging.  God is faithful even when we fail.  His mercy endures forever!  His love endures forever! His love is unfailing! These are the truths confirmed in Scripture and fulfilled in the Son.  God has demonstrated His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Cf. Romans 5:8) Jesus bore the ultimate penalty for our sins.  Only through faith in Him is our sin not imputed against us. This is the message of reconciliation that has been committed to us. For our modern culture, perhaps the hashtags should be #redeem #reconcile #restore #resurrect #revive #rest.

20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

Indeed, we are His ambassadors because we have put on the mantle of Christ and followed Him. As I read this last verse of the passage, the thought kept coming to my mind: “Today is the day of salvation!” In 2 Corinthians 6:1-3, Paul wrote: As God’s co-workers, we urge you not to receive God’s grace in vain. For He says, “In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.” I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation. There is a sense of urgency … a sense of imminence … to the message. We implore the prodigal, the wayward, and the lost to be reconciled with the Father.  God is appealing, and that through us, to a world that has been ravaged by darkness and rebellion and unbelief.  And though people may have hardened their hearts because of the abuse, pain, rejection, bitterness, and brokenness they have experienced in this fallen and sinful world, God is still calling out to them … speaking to their inner hearts … and asking them to listen and to hear His voice.  And He says, “Do not harden your heart … just believe me!”

Hebrews 3:7-19 (NIV)

7 So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear His voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, 9 where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. 10 That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ 11 So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” (Cf. Psalm 95) 12 See to it, brothers and sisters, that none of you has a sinful, unbelieving heart that turns away from the living God. 13 But encourage one another daily, as long as it is called “Today,” so that none of you may be hardened by sin’s deceitfulness. 14 We have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original conviction firmly to the very end. 15 As has just been said: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion.” 16 Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? 17 And with whom was He angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies perished in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did God swear that they would never enter His rest if not to those who disobeyed? 19 So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief.

This is the appeal God is making through us because He committed to us the message of reconciliation.  Jesus said, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28) And so through prayer and fasting, God is preparing us.  His church will itself experience a new birth.  It will become a new creation. The old has gone, the new is here! Oh, how I pray that each of us will become obedient to this call upon our lives. All this is from God…. May each of us, “Reach One. Teach One.”  Amen.

So Know You Know!

Have a Blessed Day!

Just Between Us….

Matthew 18:15

“If your brother or sister sins, go and point out their fault, just between the two of you. If they listen to you, you have won them over.

Our passage today is one that most of us would probably rather just leave on the printed page.  No one relishes confrontation … even if it is well-meaning or intended to be constructive.  It is simply uncomfortable to most of us … and we are vulnerable to being misunderstood or accusations of being “holier than thou”.  We know that we too are sinners saved by grace.  So what gives us the right to point out the fault of another … the sin of another … when we struggle with our own issues and strongholds?

Well, let’s review this passage in a larger context to perhaps bring some clarity.  Jesus is teaching here, and He shares a parable about sheep who leave the flock and go astray. Of course, we can relate that the shepherd in this story is Jesus (that great Shepherd of the Sheep – Hebrews 13:20), and it expresses His deep concern for those who stray and need to be returned to the safety of the flock and the Shepherd.  The metaphor of sheep here indicate that He is speaking about His followers … believers.  Recall His words, “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (Cf. John 10:27).  So I think this parable should be interpreted within the framework of a believer who has strayed from the faith and the need to seek them out:

Matthew 18:12-17 (NKJV)

12 “What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? 13 And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray. 14 Even so it is not the will of your Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.  15 “Moreover if your brother or sister sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. 16 But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that ‘by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.’ 17 And if he refuses to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

I think the context of the preceding parable sheds some light on why Jesus taught us to confront a person who is strays into sin and disrupts fellowship with another believer. Jesus cares deeply for the one who loses sight and wants them to return … to be reconciled … to be restored to fellowship.  His heart is that no one should perish.  So it follows that chasing the one who sins … pursuing the one who goes astray … is an act of kindness and grace.  The purpose is not to act superior to the offender; rather, the purpose is to gain their heart for the glory of the Father!  Further, note that in the parable, the shepherd leaves the flock (gathered believers) to look for the wayward individual. Again, to me, this is a clear picture that Jesus is teaching His followers.  The concept of taking action to seek out and to return those who become lost in sin is the objective.  And so the lesson of the parable is for the Church … which I believe makes Verses 15-17 that follow connected to it.

If a brother or sister has committed an offense (sinned against you), you and I are to seek out the offender. That generally would mean that we are to confront them regarding the offense.  We are to do so privately.  If necessary, another believer or two might join you to address the matter so that truth is established over feelings and emotions. Ultimately, the sinful offense should be taken to the Church if it cannot otherwise be handled in a private manner.  Paul addresses the necessity of this process at length in 1 Corinthians 6. So, I encourage you to read the full chapter to evaluate his instruction regarding the role of the church in discipline.  Further, the context for Chapter 6 follows an exhortation from Paul in Chapter 5 – dealing with the sin of a member in the church at Corinth.  I have reprinted an excerpt for your reference below:

1 Corinthians 5:9-13 (NIV)

9 I wrote to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people— 10 not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. 11 But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who claims to be a brother or sister who is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or slanderer, a drunkard or swindler. Do not even eat with such people. 12 What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? Are you not to judge those inside? 13 God will judge those outside. Therefore, “put away the wicked person from among you.”

Therefore, it is clear that we as a body of believers must deal with the sin that occurs in and among ourselves.  It is required of us the church just as it was required of the Israelites to correct sin among ourselves for the glory of God and His Name. We need to seek the one among us who strays and restore them in love.  We need to confront the one among us who sins against the commandments of God.  I think the point that Paul is making here is that those who claim to be Christians yet live like unbelievers in the world must be confronted because of the disrespect and reproach they bring upon the name of Jesus Christ.  If believers continue to conduct themselves like unbelievers, they have not separated themselves from the world … and therefore are not truly part of the church (called out ones) they profess to be.  The “hypocrisy” provokes contempt for the Body of Christ among unbelievers … and incites those outside the church to blaspheme the name of Jesus and the holiness of God to which we have been called….

Romans 2:17-24 (NIV)

17 Now you, if you call yourself a Jew; if you rely on the law and boast in God; 18 if you know His will and approve of what is superior because you are instructed by the law; 19 if you are convinced that you are a guide for the blind, a light for those who are in the dark, 20 an instructor of the foolish, a teacher of little children, because you have in the law the embodiment of knowledge and truth— 21 you, then, who teach others, do you not teach yourself? You who preach against stealing, do you steal? 22 You who say that people should not commit adultery, do you commit adultery? You who abhor idols, do you rob temples? 23 You who boast in the law, do you dishonor God by breaking the law? 24 As it is written: “God’s name is blasphemed (profaned) among the Gentiles because of you.” (Cf. Isaiah 52:5; Ezekiel 36:20-23)

Yet, as we judge sin within the church, we are to approach our “responsibility” with the heart of God.  Yes, we are to be firm and steadfast in the truth and His revealed will.  God is holy and we are to be holy as well! But we are admonished to be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ Jesus – God forgave each of us. (Cf. Ephesians 4:32) Even those outside of the church … those in the world who live in sin and darkness … we are to engage with the same love, grace, and compassion as one seeking a sheep who has strayed. Our Lord Jesus died for us because of our sin. (Cf. Romans 5:8) He died to take away the sin of the whole world. (Cf. John 1:29) Our response to His sacrifice and atonement is to pursue the righteousness and holiness for which He died.  Let those who claim to be Christian … live worthy of that name!  And when we fail, let us gratefully receive the correction of one another in humility and in reverence for our Savior. (Cf. Ephesians 5:21) “For the sorrow that is according to the will of God produces a repentance without regret, leading to salvation, but the sorrow of the world produces death.” (Cf. 2 Corinthians 7:10)

I’m not sure how well I have articulated my thoughts here, but I hope this meditation and reflection will encourage you to read further and to study these concepts presented in the Word for yourselves.  There were numerous cross-references that I did not begin to share here due to the scope of the subject, but perhaps this start will inspire you to pursue self-discipline and holiness in your walk with Christ Jesus … considering the impact it has not only upon the church, but also the influence it has upon the culture around us.  As the Apostle Peter instructed, “Live such good lives among the pagans that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good works and glorify God in the day of visitation. (Cf. 1 Peter 2:12) I believe Jesus desires that we build fellowship within the church and relationships outside the church in order to continue His salvific work in these last days. 

So Now You Know….

Have a Blessed Day!