God's Appeal

One of the Bible verses that has always stuck with me comes from the New Testament where a woman was caught in the act of adultery. She was brought before Jesus as the villagers were about to stone her. Jesus said, “let anyone of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her”. Everyone walked away without a single stone being thrown. When all had gone, and after she realized there was no one left to accuse her, Jesus told her to “go and leave your life of sin.” I’ve always wondered how difficult that command might have been for her to carry out. It is difficult to leave a life of sin. It is difficult to change a pattern even with the help of the Holy Spirit. But that is what we are called to do. We are called to repent. We are called to get a new heart and a new spirit. God spoke through his prophet Ezekiel in Ezekiel chapter 18, verses 30 through 32, with these words:

“Therefore, O house of Israel, I will judge you, each one according to his ways, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall. Rid yourselves of all the offenses you have committed, and get a new heart and a new spirit. Why will you die, O house of Israel? For I take no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Sovereign Lord. Repent and live!

God’s words were more than a command, it was an appeal. He was telling the Israelites the same thing Jesus told the woman who was caught in the act of adultery; “repent”. Earlier, God spoke through Ezekiel to the Israelites, explaining that every person would be judged for their own sins; that a father will no longer bear the sin of their son, nor vice versa. Each person was now responsible for themselves, just as it is today. But in doing so, God appealed to his people. He said that he takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. He implored them to repent and live. I believe this appeal is still very valid today. We will be judged according to our own obedience or disobedience. Our parents can’t save us, our pastor can’t save us, and our friends can’t save us. We are responsible for ourselves. God’s appeal is that we rid ourselves of sin. It can be difficult to leave a life of sin. It can be difficult to turn away from our offenses, but it can be done. If it couldn’t, then God wouldn’t ask it of us. So I challenge you, if you are away from God, if you haven’t left your life of sin, do it today. None of us can do it on our own. But that is why Jesus sent us the Holy Spirit.

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God takes no pleasure in the death of anyone. He could’ve been referring to physical death, or he could’ve been referring to spiritual death. In either case, this kind of judgement can be avoided if we get a new heart and a new spirit as he outlined in Ezekiel. Yes, sin is enticing. But greater is he who is in you then he who is in the world. In other words, the Holy Spirit living inside of you is greater and stronger than any foothold Satan has in your life. Do you believe that today? Allow God to give you a new heart and a new spirit; a heart that seeks after him and not the desires of the flesh, and a new spirit that is broken and contrite before him; one that will allow him to mold you into the person he is calling you to be. I encourage you to heed God’s appeal. As he said, “Why will you die, I take no pleasure in the death of anyone. Repent and live!"

Good to Bad

Where do you stand when it comes to the “once saved, always saved” debate? If you’re unfamiliar with this long-standing argument, it stems from the question as to whether once someone becomes a believer, if it is possible for them to ever “lose” their salvation? Is it possible for them to turn from God; to reject him to the point of going to hell, not heaven, when they die? Very intelligent, godly, discerning believers fall on both sides of this argument. Every believer would agree that we can't earn our salvation. The Bible says that we are saved by grace through faith alone. It is a gift - the ultimate gift. But can the gift be returned? Can we turn so far from his righteous ways that we forfeit the gift? I don’t know for sure. There are strong biblical arguments on both sides. But I believe that we can reject him to the point of sending ourselves to hell. There are many verses that I could argue support this notion, and some that may seem to contradict it. But this is what God says in Ezekiel, chapter 18, verse 24:  

“But if a righteous man turns from righteousness and commits sin and does the same detestable things the wicked man does, will he live? None of the righteous things he has done will be remembered. Because of the unfaithfulness he is guilty of and because of the sins he has committed, he will die.”

My commentary explains that this is a “warning against those who knowingly and willfully turn from righteousness.” As with everything, I believe that it begins and ends with our heart. What happens when a believer in Christ decides to reject Christianity and becomes a Muslim or a Buddhist then later dies? What happens when a believer chooses to reject his faith, abandon his wife and children, and embrace a life of orgies, drugs and all manner of wickedness, then dies? These are real life examples. And I know of several others; ones where even “once saved, always saved” believing pastors struggle to find answers to those they’ve known who have died under similar circumstances. When it comes to this question, I’ve always thought it wise to err on the side of caution. I think it is better to believe that it is possible to lose our salvation and be wrong than to believe that we can’t and be wrong. As far as my life is concerned, I don’t ever want to test this question. I choose to follow Christ with all of my heart, mind, soul and strength until I die, or until he returns, and I hope you do too.

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I debated, for a while, whether I should explore this argument here. Some may argue that the “once saved, always saved” argument is fruitless; that it doesn’t matter and that we will all know the truth when we get to heaven. But if this question will determine whether some of us will get to heaven or not, it does matter. I heard one pastor say that once we are saved we are going to heaven whether we want to or not. Many ardent believers in the “once saved, always saved” argument don’t even want to consider the other side. Many may become angry, discussions can become heated, and relationships can become frayed. My desire is not to sow fear or doubt. My desire is to encourage us all to seek the Holy Spirit in discerning his word; to allow him to teach us what is true so that we can clearly, and with all confidence, share that truth with others. So I encourage you to read the Bible. Allow what you’ve been taught to be tested through the scripture. If you’re at peace with what you know the Spirit has shown you, great. But if you aren’t, and the question of “once saved, always saved” continues to elude you, press God for an answer. The answer to this question may not affect you, but it could affect someone you know who has completely turned their back on God. It may plant an added level of urgency in your prayers for their soul.

Turn and Live

In the book of Ezekiel, God explains that the sins of the father will no longer be visited on the son, and vise-versa; the sins of the son (or child), will not be counted against the parents. While doing so, God further explains that a wicked person who turns from their sins will live, and likewise a righteous person who turns to a life of wickedness will not. In Ezekiel 18:21-23 it says: 

“But if a wicked man turns away from all the sins he has committed and keeps all of my decrees and does what is just and right he will surely live; he will not die. None of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him. Because of the righteous things he has done, he will live. Do I take pleasure in the death of the wicked? Declares the Sovereign Lord. Rather, am I not pleased when they turn from their ways and live?"

The scripture goes on to say that a righteous man who turns to wickedness will die. God is calling the Israelites - and as an extension, us, - to turn from wickedness to righteousness. It helps to understand that God is patient. He says that “none of the offenses he has committed will be remembered against him”. This should give us hope. If you are new to the faith, remember that your past does not define who you are in God. It is what you do now that matters. I believe that our God is a God of the present. He really cares about what you’re doing now. Are you turning from wickedness so that you will live, or turning to wickedness which leads to death? I hope and pray that it is the former.

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I hope the portion of scripture from Ezekiel gives you hope, and not despair. It is nice to know that God’s forgiveness is absolute. His grace is abundant. So if we turn from our evil ways and obey him, we will live. But it is equally important to know that God is a jealous God. He wants our entire selves. And once we claim to be children of God, it means our death if we turn to a life of wickedness. So, I encourage you to keep the faith my brothers and sisters. And know that God cares about your relationship with him right now, more than what you’ve done in the past.

Idols of the Heart

Anytime I hear someone comparing things like watching too much TV or even something more sinister like drug addiction to the worship of idols, I take issue. Have you ever heard someone say things like “anything that you put ahead of your relationship with God is considered an idol”? Don’t get me wrong, I don’t think anything should come before our relationship with God, but comparing it to idol worship, in my opinion has always been an inaccurate comparison. The bible teaches us that idol worship was the most grievous offense that any human could commit against our Lord. Israelites worshiped statues of stone and wood as if they were literally gods themselves. It angered God to the point of him wiping out thousands of his chosen people. It angered him like no other sin could. Yet, we say that anything we put ahead of our relationship with God is equal to that? I disagree, and I’ve held strong to that belief all of my adult life and still do. Usually, idol worship is an outward expression, but there is a portion of scripture that teaches us that worshiping idols in one’s heart is just as bad as bowing down to a physical idol. It comes from Ezekiel 14:3-5 which says:

“Son of man, these men have set up idols in their hearts and put wicked stumbling blocks before their faces. Should I let them inquire of me at all? Therefore speak to them and tell them, ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: When any Israelite sets up idols in his heart and puts a wicked stumbling block before his face and then goes to a prophet, I the Lord will answer him myself in keeping with his great idolatry. I will do this to recapture the hearts of the people of Israel, who have deserted me for their idols.’”

Now some might argue that “idols in the hearts” could means anything that we put ahead of our relationship with God, but the bible is clear about what an “idol” is. My bible concordance states an idol is “anything that is worshiped instead of the true God.” It goes on to say that “In Bible times, idols were often statues of false gods made of wood, stone or metal.” And that “Idolatry is the worship of these idols.” With that in mind I believe that Ezekiel is saying that the Israelites were secretly worshipping idols in their hearts even though they didn’t physically worship an actual statue. I say all of that to express how this scripture reinforces the idea that God looks at our hearts. And even though the Israelites committed the worse sin they could commit in their hearts, God treated it as if they were physically worshiping a statue. We can’t hide anything from him. The Israelites were worshiping idols in their hearts and God could see it. Likewise, I believe that God can see the sin in our hearts even if it hasn’t manifest into physical acts of sin, and he hates them just as much.

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God knows what we think, feel and do. He knows where our allegiance is even if we don’t say it. The Israelites couldn’t hide sin from God even though it was not an outward expression of sin, and we can’t either. So, I encourage you to remember that though we can hide things from people, we can’t hide anything from God. Therefore, we need to do everything we can to make sure our hearts are pure before him.