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(Gal 1:10-12 NIV) Am I now trying to
win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were
still trying to
please men
(and women), I would not be a servant of Christ.
{11} I want you to know, brothers, that the gospel I preached is not
something that man made up. {12} I did not receive it from any man
(or woman), nor was I taught it; rather, I
received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
In today's world we often wrestle with the question:
"What is sin?"
It becomes even more complicated then that, because what
was a sin yesterday may not be a sin today. Examples are too numerous to
mention.
How does that interpretation change
over the decades, centuries, etc.? What motivates us as God's
creation to interpret things from wrong to right?
We would assume that as we move forward on our path of
faith that things would get easier in our faith, we would get a better
understanding of things or we find in our relationship with God measurable
evidence of right from wrong.
Of course we as humanity have become a lot smarter and
intelligent. We are finding new things out about the world, circumstances
and behavior, but there is one component that has been with us forever.
The component of ignorance!
Ignorance is not
"Not knowing." Ignorance is a simple state of
abandoning a fact.
In this world we were given the Word of God. Now you
would assume, that everyone who comes in contact with the Gospel would
accept the death of Jesus Christ. We could assume that once presented the
person would look over his/her life and would say that this life is full of
sin and evil. And one would assume that then the person would be willing to
repent and to do better. Not only that but one would assume that when we
present the Gospel unbelievers have to recognize that what Jesus/God did for
us is totally opposite from human thinking. He gave freely so we can have
eternal life and we do not have to earn it. In all other religion one has to
earn eternal life.
The reality that Paul had to struggle with is that many
people did and do not accept God's Word, because they remain ignorant. To be
ignorant is not dependent on intellect or culture or any other ability.
(2 Tim 3:7 NIV) always learning but never able to acknowledge
the truth.
The Gospel as the Word of God was never designed to be
brought to only those who have a received a higher education. It was brought
to us ALL as a revelation of " Truth" in a very simple form. And there is a
reason for that, because God wants all of His creation to understand His
will. Not a few, not a few selected . . . No, He wants ALL of us to
understand!
(Heb 10:26 NIV) If we deliberately keep
on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for
sins is left, {27} but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire
that will consume the enemies of God. {28} Anyone who rejected the law of
Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29}
How
much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled
the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the
covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?
We have discussed for the last two
or three Sundays the following topic in Sunday School: "What happens to a
believer, who has given his life to Christ and the believer continues to
sin?"
The answer is in what I just read to you. We will be
punished severely.
That message is not very often preached today, because it
scares people and it may scare people away.
So the convenient thing for the world in their secular
humanistic world view - and for churches with their modern theology - is to
change the meaning of "sin" and to make all of us believe that
everything is forgiven and that there is no consequence to sinful actions
when we continue to sin. These are the institutions that make us ignorant.
Or better yet they make us think that sin does not exists. WRONG!!
(1 John 2:3-6 NIV) We know that we have come to know him if
we obey his commands. {4} The man who says, "I know him," but does not do
what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. {5} But if
anyone obeys his word, God's love is truly made complete in him. This is how we
know we are in him: {6} Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus
did.
Or better yet:
(1 John 3:7-10 NIV) Dear children, do not let anyone lead you
astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as he is righteous. {8}
He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been
sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy
the devil's work. {9} No one who is born of God will continue to sin,
because God's seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been
born of God. {10} This is how we know who the children of God are and who
the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a
child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
But it is so hard . . . ! Yes brothers and sisters I
know!
(1 Cor 10:13 NIV) No temptation has seized you except what is
common to man (women). And God is faithful; he will not let you be
tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide
a way out so that you can stand up under it.
Do we understand this? God knows our desires and
temptations, but if we are faithful we make the right choice, because God
has provided us with the right choice as a way out.
This tells us that we are without excuse!
American author Walter Lippman once
said, "Evil is not the quality of things as such. It is a quality of our
relation to them. "
Although we are trapped in a
certain way by our behavior and by the things of this world, we have choices
and are commanded not to give into them.
Monkey trappers in North Africa have a
clever method of catching their prey. A number of gourds are filled with nuts
and firmly fastened to a branch of a tree. Each has a hole just large enough for
the unwary monkey to stick his forepaw into it. When the hungry animal discovers
this, he quickly grasps a handful of nuts, but the hole is too small for him to
withdraw his clenched fist. And he doesn't have enough sense to open up his hand
and let go in order to escape, so he is easily taken captive.
This is a picture of many Christians.
Sins try to keep us from a relationship of God. Evil appeals to the appetites of
the flesh which can lead to their spiritual downfall.
(1 John 2:15-17 NIV) Do not love the
world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the
Father is not in him. {16} For everything in the world--the cravings of
sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes
not from the Father but from the world. {17} The world and its desires
pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.
(James 1:15 NIV) Blessed is the man who
perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the
crown of life that God has promised to those who love him. {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 one is tempted when, by his
own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed. {15} Then, after desire
has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives
birth to death.
When the great Chrysostom was arrested
by the Roman emperor he sought to make the Greek Christian deny his faith. But
he was unsuccessful. So the emperor discussed with his advisors what they could
do to this prisoner.
"Shall I put him in a dungeon?" the
emperor asked. "No," one of his counselors replied, "For he'll be glad to go. He
longs for the quietness where he can delight in the mercies of his God."
"Then he shall be executed!" said the
emperor. "No," came the answer, "For he'll be glad to die. He declares that in
the event of death, he will be in the presence of the Lord."
"Well, what shall we do then?" the
ruler asked. The counselor replied, "There's only one thing that will cause him
pain. Make him sin. He's afraid of nothing but sin."
(Gal 1:10-12 NIV) Am I now trying to win the approval of men
(and women), or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still
trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ. {11} I want you
to know, brothers (and sisters), that the gospel I preached is not
something that man made up. {12} I did not receive it from any man, nor
was I taught it; rather, I received it by revelation from Jesus Christ.
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