Tag Archives: no excuse

“IT WON’T HAPPEN TO ME!”

Christian Life, ,

Romans 2:1, 3 NLT
[1] “You may think you can condemn such people, but you are just as bad, and you have no excuse! When you say they are wicked and should be punished, you are condemning yourself, for you who judge others do these very same things….
[3] Since you judge others for doing these things, why do you think you can avoid God’s judgment when you do the same things?”

Having exposed the wickedness of ungodly Gentiles, Paul turns to the Jews. They were smug in their belief that they were safe from God’s wrath because they were His chosen people, blessed and protected by the knowledge of His covenant.

In the main, the Jews were just as ungodly as the Gentiles. Their history was littered with accusation, condemnation and judgment for their idolatry and its effects on them.

Paul reminds them again, in case they had forgotten,

Romans 2:6-8 NLT
[6] “He will judge everyone according to what they have done… [7] He will give eternal life to those who keep on doing good, seeking after the glory and honor and immortality that God offers. [8] But he will pour out his anger and wrath on those who live for themselves, who refuse to obey the truth and instead live lives of wickedness.”

Possession of God’s Word and the blessings of His covenant are no guarantee that His people will escape His judgment. There is only one criterion for safety, lives that are in line with His instructions.

Obedience to God’s Word is not the way to be saved from God’s wrath. Salvation is by faith in Jesus alone, by God’s grace, but… the evidence that we have been saved from sin is in our attitude to sin.

If we think that we can continue in sin because God forgives, we are making a grave mistake. The attitude, “It won’t happen to me!” clearly shows that we have misunderstood grace.

Grace is free but not cheap. God’s grace towards us cost Jesus His life in the cruellest and most painful way. Grace cost the Father the agony of watching His Son die at His own hand.

Romans 8:32 NLT
[32] “Since he did not spare even his own Son but gave him up for us all…”

To treat the grace of God as cheap is to belittle Jesus to the lowest of the low.

If anything, God’s children should be elevating the worth of Jesus to the highest of the high by hating and fleeing from sin as the most abhorrent of all human behaviour.

The cross is God’s unembellished declaration of His attitude to sin, anything that contradicts God’s holy and righteous attributes. He cannot abide sin. His plan of salvation takes care of every effect of sin on people; alienation from God, pollution of our souls, the power to drag us into hell…all these and more that separate us from God and His plans for a godly family od sons and daughters like His Son.

If we trifle with sin in any way, thinking that small deviations from God’s holiness don’t matter, we are in serious danger of losing our way. Paul was emphatic, writing to believers, that those who deliberately practise sin in any form will not inherit God’s kingdom.

Philippians 3:17-18 NLT
[17] “Dear brothers and sisters, pattern your lives after mine, and learn from those who follow our example. [18] For I have told you often before, and I say it again with tears in my eyes, that there are many whose conduct shows they are really enemies of the cross of Christ.”

Galatians 5:19, 21 NLT
[19]”When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures…
[21] envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.”

Are we to live lives of sinless perfection, then? Impossible! As long as we are in these bodies, we will always wrestle with temptation and easily fall into sin. There is an ongoing war between our flesh and the Spirit in us.

However, if we do sin, and we will, inadvertently, God has provided a solution.

We have an advocate…

1 John 2:1-2 NLT
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

… and we have a way out…

1 John 1:8-9 NLT
[8]” If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. [9] But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

Paul reminds the Roman readers that the cross of Jesus has a powerful effect on believers if they understand what the death of Jesus means in their lives. It’s not only about forgiveness. It’s about a new life and a new way of living.

Romans 6:1-4 NLT
[1] “Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? [2] Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? [3] Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? [4] For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.”

In conclusion, our attitude to sin and righteousness are clear evidence of our standing in grace.

Romans 5:1-2 NIV
[1]”Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, [2] through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God.”

What is Paul saying?

Our faith in Jesus, if it is genuine, has changed our standing before God from sin and condemnation to grace and God’s power. We have a permanent standing in God’s grace that enables us to recognise and stand against sin.

Romans 6:14 NIV
[14] “For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace.”

However, God’s grace is only for those who are humble enough to admit they are wrong. The attitude, “It won’t happen to me!” will disqualify me from the grace I need to overcome temptation and sin.

James 4:6-8 NIV
[6] “But he gives us more grace. That is why Scripture says: “God opposes the proud but shows favor to the humble.” [7] Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. [8] Come near to God and he will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

“It won’t happen to me”? Yes it will, unless you access God’s grace by confession, forgiveness, and humble trust in God to keep you from sin.

“WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM!”

Bible Study, ,

“WE ARE NOT LIKE THEM!”

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on someone else for, at whatever point you judge another, you are condemning yourself because you who pass judgment do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere human being, pass judgment on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? Or do you show contempt for the riches of His kindness, forbearance and patience, not realising that God’s kindness is intended to lead you to repentance? But because of your stubbornness and your unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against the day of God’s wrath, when His righteous judgment will be revealed.” Romans 2:1-5.

So, who is Paul talking to now? Again, he highlighted people’s behaviour, not their clan or category. His words can apply to anyone in any religious group who acts like this.

The first group of people he indicted was the group who refused to acknowledge the true God. Instead, they created gods for themselves who would sanction their evil behaviour because their gods were just like them regardless of what they looked like. They were religious alright, but their “religion” was invented to suit them.

The second group was equally religious, but this lot, (obviously the Jews), claimed to worship God. The problem this time was not so much who they worshipped but what they thought and said about the idolaters. “We are not like them. We don’t worship idols. We worship the one true God.” They had had their experience of idolatry. It cost them their land, their temple and the indignity and suffering of exile in Babylon for almost two generations. They were fiercely loyal to their God, to a fault.

However, they were so contemptuous of non-Jews that they would have nothing to do with them. They regarded them in the same category as dogs simply because they were not Jews. Jesus came in for a great deal of criticism because He refused to bow to their arrogant attitudes. He interacted with anyone who had a need and anyone who came to Him.

“But, wait a minute,” said Paul. “You who are so contemptuous of idol-worshippers and sexually promiscuous people, what is your behaviour like behind closed doors?” They were quick to point fingers at others, but three fingers were pointing back at them. Even if they were not worshipping idols in public, they were guilty of a far worse form of idolatry – they worshipped themselves. They had set themselves up as the standard for right and wrong. They measured themselves against themselves and found themselves not guilty and everyone else guilty.

Once again, just like the idol worshippers whom they so despise, people who practise religion, that is, any belief system that attempts to reach the deity by self-effort, be it God or any god invented by human imagination, are equally guilty of failing to acknowledge God or give thanks to Him. Instead, they acknowledge themselves and set up their own system of so-called worship, using rules and ritual to reach their god.

Even believers in Jesus can be guilty of this form of idolatry. This was the issue Paul battled in his letter to the Galatians upon which Romans is based. The Judaisers were adding their bit to the good news about Jesus. His sacrificial death was not enough to save Gentiles, so they said. Gentiles needed to be circumcised to gain entry to Judaism first. Jesus plus! They thought they knew better than God.

“Jesus plus” is still being peddled today; Jesus plus the baptism of the Holy Spirit; Jesus plus tongues; Jesus plus baptism; Jesus plus good works; Jesus plus self-inflicted punishment; Jesus plus discipline, etc. None of these extras add to the efficacy of His death to rescue and redeem guilty sinners.

The problem with those who treat offenders with contempt and judge them by their standards is that their heart attitude is far more heinous in God’s eyes than the things they judge in others. It was pride that brought Lucifer down. Pride excludes people from grace. Pride blinds our eyes to the goodness of God, the very thing that should bring us to repentance.

Strangely enough, accusation and condemnation do not bring us to repentance. They only drive us into guilt or defensiveness. It is the kindness and mercy of God towards us that makes us change our mind about Him and draws us to Him. There is only wrath for us until we realise just how good God really is.

Acknowledgement

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Great Gifts – Great Responsibilities

Christian Life, , , ,

GREAT GIFTS – GREAT RESPONSIBILITIES

“‘The servant who knows what his master wants and ignores it, or insolently does whatever he pleases, will be thoroughly thrashed. But if he does a poor job through ignorance, he’ll get off with a slap on the hand. Great gifts mean great responsibilities; greater gifts, greater responsibilities.'” Luke 12:47-48 (The Message).

There is something terribly wrong in the world today. God is glaringly absent, ignored or treated as though He does not exist. Read a glossy magazine, listen to the radio, watch the TV; it’s all the same. People’s gifts and talents are flaunted as if they were solely responsible for acquiring them.

No-one can use the excuse that he or she does not know where they got their gifts because the Bible assures us that everyone knows God. Romans 1:20, 21 – “For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities – His eternal power and divine nature – have been clearly seen, having been understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse. For although they knew God, they neither glorified Him as God nor gave thanks to Him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened.”

Everyone has been entrusted with something to manage for the Master until He returns, some more and some less, but the attitude is often that these gifts are for us to exploit for our own benefit and advantage. Whether it be beauty, art, music, drama, or any less visible ability, the motive is the same, either money or fame or both. Whatever the reason, it’s all about ‘me’. It’s the ‘evil eye’ at work again, the greedy and selfish nature in control.

There are at least three things that this way of thinking either forgets or ignores: God’s glory, God’s purpose and our future destiny. The manager in Jesus’ story is a glaring example. He was either deliberately rebellious, or irresponsibly ignorant. Neither is an excuse for failing to carry out the master’s requirements. His selfishness cancelled out wisdom. He was living for the moment and forgetting that the master would return.

Tragically, because self dominates, his attitude was even more serious; the greater the gift, the greater the garnering of wealth and popularity for himself. But God looks at it differently; the greater the gift, the greater the responsibility. God gives us gifts firstly so that we can show Him off. Every gift, talent and ability we have is to be honed and used as a witness to what kind of God He is. God is infinitely beautiful, kind and generous and one of the ways He reveals His beauty is through us.

Secondly, God gives us gifts to get the work of His kingdom done on earth. There are a myriad ways in which the things He enables us to do bring, reveal and explain His government on earth. In God’s system there is order, harmony, purpose, beauty, generosity, mercy, compassion, etc., and these are accomplished through the gifts He has given us. To use them to enhance ourselves is to abuse them and to abort His plan on earth.

Thirdly, there is no way God will let us get away with rebellion or irresponsibility. Jesus will come back. He has promised. He will call us to account. He said so. His justice will be absolutely just because He gives us the choice regarding our future. Whatever we choose in this life He will confirm in the next. Our Romans passage makes it very clear. “Furthermore, since they did not think it worthwhile to retain the knowledge of God, He gave them over to a depraved mind, to do what ought not to be done.” Romans 1:28 (NIV).

And so Jesus’ warning is a serious one. The ‘thrashing’ unfaithful managers receive will be eternal and so will be the loss, too terrible to imagine, including the loss of the very position He had destined us to occupy in His eternal dominion had we been faithful.