Friday October 28, 2011
Today's Passage: Ezekiel 18:24-32
Memory Verse: Ezekiel 18:24
It's not fair! That's what the kid on the t.v. show yelled after her parents grounded her for disobeying them. When it happened, my daughter said "Awww, that's so wrong". That, of course, sparked a family discussion.
Since grace abounds, should there be consequences for our disobedience? Is it fair to have to endure chastisment when we make the wrong choices? When we make bad choices (and get caught), we all want the same reward....FORGIVENESS. In our minds, we think if (or when) we recieve forgiveness, we should not have to deal with consequences. However, the truth is forgiveness and consequence are two different things. Forgiveness is pardon or remission. Consequence (in this case) is the immediate response to a particular event that keeps that event from being repeated. Therefore, by definition, just because we recieve forgiveness doesn't mean there shouldn't be consequences for what we've done. For instance, The girl in the t.v. show was forgiven by her parents, but the consequence for what she'd done was still relevant. How? Being forgiven will give her the second chance she'd need to do better (we've all needed that right?), but the consequence will act as a reminder that doing better is the expectation. Moral? We have to DO BETTER.
One of the great arguments in the church is the 'once saved, always saved' principle. It's supporters say once you've given your life to Jesus, His blood washes away your sins, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you "join" a church and you are in essence, saved. Whereas this stance has it's support from the word of God, it puts no emphasis on the "everyday walk with the Lord', which is the proponent's stance. To find out how God feels about it, let's of course turn to His word. Ezekiel 18:24 says "But when a righteous (saved) man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfullness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die". Enough said. We have to relieve ourselves of this mind-set that we can live by "natural" law, yet recieve "spiritual" benefits. God expects us to walk uprightly before Him everyday. And although grace and forgiveness abounds, righteous living should still be our passion. We're not perfect, so grace and forgiveness come when we have a bad outcome (i.e. saying the right thing the wrong way, or omitting something we should've been doing or saying), but we can't expect it to be applied when we "choose evil". At the sentencing phase of a murder trial, families sometimes stand before their loved-one's killer, express their feelings, and offer forgiveness. After they do, the judge still pronounces sentencing. The judge doesn't let the guilty one go free just because the family offered forgiveness. God, who is our judge, will do the same in our day of judgement. Jesus will offer us His undying forgiveness, but if we've lived lives in contrast to Him, God will pronounce judgement (depart from Me.........I know ye not). So don't be fooled. Live life out loud. Declare your faithfulness to God in the way you walk, talk, and live. He deserves it.....and so do you.
Prayer: Gracious Father we thank You for being our Redeemer. If it weren't for Your compassion, we'd still be lost. Help us now Lord God to stay on course. We don't want to just settle in the fact that You saved us. We want a relationship with You that goes beyond that. So, from now on, everything we do and say will be a reflection of the One we serve and love, in Jesus' name. Amen.
Today's Passage: Ezekiel 18:24-32
Memory Verse: Ezekiel 18:24
It's not fair! That's what the kid on the t.v. show yelled after her parents grounded her for disobeying them. When it happened, my daughter said "Awww, that's so wrong". That, of course, sparked a family discussion.
Since grace abounds, should there be consequences for our disobedience? Is it fair to have to endure chastisment when we make the wrong choices? When we make bad choices (and get caught), we all want the same reward....FORGIVENESS. In our minds, we think if (or when) we recieve forgiveness, we should not have to deal with consequences. However, the truth is forgiveness and consequence are two different things. Forgiveness is pardon or remission. Consequence (in this case) is the immediate response to a particular event that keeps that event from being repeated. Therefore, by definition, just because we recieve forgiveness doesn't mean there shouldn't be consequences for what we've done. For instance, The girl in the t.v. show was forgiven by her parents, but the consequence for what she'd done was still relevant. How? Being forgiven will give her the second chance she'd need to do better (we've all needed that right?), but the consequence will act as a reminder that doing better is the expectation. Moral? We have to DO BETTER.
One of the great arguments in the church is the 'once saved, always saved' principle. It's supporters say once you've given your life to Jesus, His blood washes away your sins, your name is written in the Lamb's Book of Life, you "join" a church and you are in essence, saved. Whereas this stance has it's support from the word of God, it puts no emphasis on the "everyday walk with the Lord', which is the proponent's stance. To find out how God feels about it, let's of course turn to His word. Ezekiel 18:24 says "But when a righteous (saved) man turns away from his righteousness and commits iniquity, and does according to all the abominations that the wicked man does, shall he live? All the righteousness which he has done shall not be remembered; because of the unfaithfullness of which he is guilty and the sin which he has committed, because of them he shall die". Enough said. We have to relieve ourselves of this mind-set that we can live by "natural" law, yet recieve "spiritual" benefits. God expects us to walk uprightly before Him everyday. And although grace and forgiveness abounds, righteous living should still be our passion. We're not perfect, so grace and forgiveness come when we have a bad outcome (i.e. saying the right thing the wrong way, or omitting something we should've been doing or saying), but we can't expect it to be applied when we "choose evil". At the sentencing phase of a murder trial, families sometimes stand before their loved-one's killer, express their feelings, and offer forgiveness. After they do, the judge still pronounces sentencing. The judge doesn't let the guilty one go free just because the family offered forgiveness. God, who is our judge, will do the same in our day of judgement. Jesus will offer us His undying forgiveness, but if we've lived lives in contrast to Him, God will pronounce judgement (depart from Me.........I know ye not). So don't be fooled. Live life out loud. Declare your faithfulness to God in the way you walk, talk, and live. He deserves it.....and so do you.
Prayer: Gracious Father we thank You for being our Redeemer. If it weren't for Your compassion, we'd still be lost. Help us now Lord God to stay on course. We don't want to just settle in the fact that You saved us. We want a relationship with You that goes beyond that. So, from now on, everything we do and say will be a reflection of the One we serve and love, in Jesus' name. Amen.
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