Two Evils

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Jeremiah 1,2 and Matthew 20:17-34

Jeremiah is sometimes referred to as the "weeping prophet". Small wonder! Given the grave message he was to bring forth to the people.

In a scathing opening 2 chapters, Jeremiah hits home with v. 2:13 - For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

Not only have God's chosen forsaken the way of the Lord, they have went about establishing their own solutions. And to top it all off, refusing to admit any wrong doing (c.f. Jer 2:23,35)!
Such is a dangerous position that we today could still adopt and fall into, and yea, unfortunately so prevalent in today's "Christian" world at large.

We need to be careful not to go about to "establish (our) own righteousness" (Rom 10:3). No matter how sincere, how sugar coated, how "good".
Bro Patrick Swayne pointed out an excellent point in his lesson last night. Truth is, there is only ONE way, ONE Truth, ONE life. (Jhn 14:6). For all the passion and "love" and yea even "good" claimed by those who seemingly profess God, it all boils down to one thing - it only matters if you lead a good life. Which is essentially denying the very purpose of God, for us to set our affection on things above (Col 3:2), indeed, for what's worth, serving the creature rather than the Creator (c.f. Rom 1:22-25)!
Don't get me wrong, we are commanded to live righteous and godly lives and engage in good works (Gal 6:10; 2Ti 3:17; Ti 3:8, etc). We are born again for this very purpose! (Eph 2:10) Yet all but for the purpose God has commanded and not what man perceives to be good, and not letting a means become an end!

As Jeremiah reminds us at the end of the verse, the ways of man are but "broken cisterns, that can hold no water". Well did the proverb writer say, twice over! "There is a way which seemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." (Pro 14:12; 16:25)

We would all do well to shun evil ways and trust in the Fountain of the Living God, from which only comes life and everlasting thirst quenching. (c.f. Jhn 4:13,14)

in Him
Paul



--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ~ James 2:17
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? ~ James 2:20
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. ~James 2:24
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. ~ James 2:26

The Backsliders

Dear class,

Today's readings are taken from Hosea 12-14 and Matthew 20:1-16

Hosea ends with a high and hopeful note about the backsliding Israelite nation.
Previously Hosea described Israel as a "back sliding heifer" (Hos 4:16) and later in Hos 11:7 as a people "bent to backsliding".
Backsliding is slippery business! Once started, it is hard to turn back. Let's take a look at the typical profile of the backslider:

1) Look toward the world for help (Hos 7:14)
And of course, since he has chosen to forsake the Lord, the only other option is the world. Even those who still profess to "know God", but in effect deny God by their disobedience, are as those who openly deny God.

2) Hard hearted will not listen to rebuke (Hos 7:15)
Even God, through diverse means, tried to bring Israel back, the sinful nation only persisted in her ways. Such is the characteristic of backsliders who would turn a deaf ear to the most earnest pleas or the sharpest rebuke. As Jesus quoted of Isaiah in Mat 13:15, such are whose " heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed"

3) Becoming worse and worse (Hos 12:1; 13:2)
And because rebuke and pleas fall on deaf ears, backsliders often get worse and worse spiritually and drift further and further away. It's all in a vicious cycle, as Isaiah wrote of Israel taking counsel of the world instead of God and "add sin to sin".

4) "I did no wrong" (Hos 12:8)
This is often the common refrain. And the backsliders back it with the fact that they are doing well and even better in life. Some even claim a greater level of "spirituality"! The fact of the matter is, when there is no adherence to God's Will, there is no acceptance from God. If the backslider continues to be recalcitrant, God will allow these "blessings" to get in the way of him getting back.

5) Final desolation (Hos 13:15,16)
He can go ahead and mock and laugh and rejoice in his "break away", his new found "freedom", but the backslider will ultimately taste his own medicine. "For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, and stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry." (1Sa 15:23a) All of whom who practice such are destined to the lake of fire. (Rev 21:8) Christians have an even more serious and grave charge. As Peter explains in  2Pe 2:20-21 "For if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein, and overcome, the latter end is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after they have known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered unto them." And Paul issues a stern warning "For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins, But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries." (Heb 10:26,27)

Yet there is hope for the backslider. Hosea ends on a hopeful note in the concluding chapter. God is ever merciful and ever ready to heal the backsliders, if they would repent and mend their ways. Again, we observe that prevention is always better than cure! (c.f. Hos 14:9) The backslider is often one who had stood still for too long. We need to engage in an ACTIVE walk with God, always looking and pressing forward, keeping up a steady pace, which is the best way to ensure we do not fall by the wayside and start backtracking!

Let us take heed unto the examples before us, to always remain tender and contrite hearted, that should we fall, be quick to jump back on to our feet and leap out of backsliding and continue in an ever stedfast pace forward with God.

In Him
Paul


--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ~ James 2:17
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? ~ James 2:20
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. ~James 2:24
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. ~ James 2:26

For I Desired Mercy, And Not Sacrifice

Dear class,

Apologies for the long break. Hope you have been keeping up the readings on your own!

Today's readings are taken from Hosea 5-8 and Matthew 18:21-35

The passage in Hosea continues to highlight the spiritual adultery of the Israelite nation and the impending judgment.

One of the central concepts is found in Hos 6:6 - For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.
This was the exact passage that Jesus quoted in Mat 9:13 and 12:7.

In the original context, the word "mercy" seems to imply the idea of "piety", specifically toward God. And when we bring to mind the rebuke of Samuel to Saul in 1Sa 15:22, the meaning becomes all the more evident. Obedience to God is our primary objective. Only with that, can we perfectly perform what God has instructed us.
But the manner that Jesus quoted of it suggests an acceptable specific use under the umbrella concept - that of showing compassion toward others. That was the primary motivation of God towards man - love. It was because of love that God sent His Son Jesus to die for us (Jhn 3:16), because of love that the Church is established that we make be part of the body of Christ (1Co 12:12ff) , because of love that God willed for us to walk in Christ's footsteps, to be ultimately acceptable to Him (1Pe 2:21). And thus, as rendering perfect obedience as Christ did (Phi 2:5-8), we need to show compassion toward one another, yea indeed toward our "enemies" and focus on doing what's truly right before God.

However, we need to be very careful not to take God's Words out of context by nullifying acts of worship/service. Some use these verses to justify poor attendance to church services and bible study and even slammed strict observance of other worship activities as legalistic and anti-love! Of course, there is no doubt that one can go through the motions of being the "Christian" perfectly, yet have no heart in it. This is precisely where the Israelite nation was headed down to. But you see the problem was not with the sacrifice but with the attitude of the people.
The fact of the matter is, sacrifice is commanded of God (c.f. Rom 12:1; Heb 13:15, etc). The question here is not it's existence, but the motivation behind it. In an analogous way, we can see obedience and sacrifice like the proverbial horse and cart. Both are important as a manner of transport, but the only workable way is to put the horse before the cart. To do otherwise would render the system useless. Perfect sacrifice can only come out of perfect obedience. The latter is the only way that our sacrifice can be truly acceptable before God. To put our focus on sacrifice, without due regard to obedience would be like as the proverbial "putting the cart before the horse".

Let us continue to render perfect obedience to God, as patterned for us by our Lord Jesus Christ that we can present the holy, perfect and acceptable sacrifice.

The Lord bless our day ahead.

in Him
Paul


--
But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. ~ Hebrews 3:13

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. ~ James 2:17
But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? ~ James 2:20
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only. ~James 2:24
For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also. ~ James 2:26