God's Justice for the Defiled

(michelango's judgement)


LEV 18:24 "'Do not defile yourselves in any of these ways, because this is how the nations that I am going to drive out before you became defiled.
LEV 18:25 Even the land was defiled; so I punished it for its sin, and the land vomited out its inhabitants.
LEV 18:26 But you must keep my decrees and my laws. The native-born and the aliens living among you must not do any of these detestable things,
LEV 18:27 for all these things were done by the people who lived in the land before you, and the land became defiled.
LEV 18:28 And if you defile the land, it will vomit you out as it vomited out the nations that were before you.

Sometimes I sit and think to myself- God must be really mean and ruthless to have ordered the ISraelites to destroy such a great number of tribes and races whilst they were wandering in the wilderness. Whhilst it is reported that the journey from Egypt to the Promised Land is a mere 7 day journey, they spent 40 years blundering around in the wilderness of Sinai, a rogue tribe with awkward practices and foreign customs- and they spent most of their time "cleansing" the land in mass cullings and raiding. And yet, it was the Lord who directed them to do so. The 21st century mind might raise his voice in contempt and scrutiny of the kind of God who would direct and permit (active and passive responsibility) such carnage and godlessness. However, if we consider the evils ways of these tribes, our conditioned minds may find them more barbaric than we realise.

THe 21st century mind is wired to civilisation, which in this author's opinion, takes its roots from Judaeo-Christian principles. After all, who wrote the TEn Commandments? And why have we internalised those commandments and enshrined them in our basic legislature. Furthermore, we all recognise that lying is wrong. But it's not a law. IT's an unspoken moral law. Why is this so, if not for God's laying it down clearly in Exodus? Furthermore, why would incest be wrong? Search your heart, dear reader, and tell me if you can conceive a better explanation than its God-formed, basic principles. Incest is wrong because God says so, nothing more. This is the character of God that we recognise through the Old Testament- a God of righteousness- a wellspring of truth and morality from whom all laws, justice and virtue pour forth.

Imagine a wife-beater or an incestrous molester who preys on his innocent children and grandchildren. Imagine a generation of such incestrous criminals and beasts who would betray their marriage vows to commit adultery with a close family member. Does not your heart beat faster with rage and anger that such a moral outrage is committed? Now imagine a society of such blatent sinfulness and disregard for righteouesness and virtue, consumed by physical gratification and evil pleasures. The bible says in Jeremiah that the heart is desperately wicked and deceitful above all things- it is capable of nobility, yes, but also of the worst kinds of depravity. Look inside your hearts, my brothers and do you not see the same sins and evils that we are so quick to point out and condemn?


It was this kind of a world that God chose to destroy with the Flood. It was this kind of a city that Sodom and Gomorrah were, prompting the GOd of all Justice to destroy all trace of it.In God's dialogue with Abraham- the famous bargaining scene, we know for a faact that in Sodom and Gomorrah, He could not even find 10 good men to save the city. It was these kinds of tribes that filled the desert region, an atrocity to a holy and moral God.

Romans 8

More Than Conquerors
28And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him,[j] who[k] have been called according to his purpose. 29For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
31What, then, shall we say in response to this? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? 33Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. 34Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. 35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? 36As it is written:
"For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered."[l] 37No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,[m] neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.


Kenneth Henes

Ravi Zacharias tells in one of his books about a trip he made to Vietnam in 1971 to travel the country and preach.




Wherever he traveled for a month in Vietnam a Vietnamese man who translated for him accompanied him. They were both young, and they saw many things that shocked them, things neither of them had ever thought they would see in their entire lives. Their preaching, though, had good results, and they saw people respond to the Gospel.

After he left Vietnam, Zacharias did not see his translator again for many years. Then, one day, in 1987, sixteen years later, he received a phone call in his office. When he picked up the phone, the voice on the other end asked him if he knew who this was. Ravi immediately recognized the voice of his translator. The man asked Ravi if he had a few minutes for him to tell what had happened to him, and Ravi said he did.

After the Communists took control of the country, his translator was arrested and spent a great deal of time in prison. They tried every possible means to get him to deny his faith, all without success. He had no Bible, except for the verses he had memorized, and that helped sustain him.

Then one day, he was ordered to clean the commandant’s latrine. While he was cleaning, he found a piece of paper with writing on it that had been used for toilet paper. He noticed it was a page from the Bible. He put it in his pocket and took it back to his cell where he cleaned it off and used it for devotions. He found it was this passage from Romans 8, and the verses sustained him. He then volunteered to clean the commandant’s latrine everyday, and discovered that he was tearing pages out of a Bible to use for toilet paper. He would take them back to his cell, carefully clean them off and used them for his devotions.



Sometime later, he and some other prisoners began to plan an escape. One day, four men came to him and told him he had heard they were planning an escape and wanted to know if they could go along. They were reticent at first, after all they could have been sent there by their Communist captors to test them, but then Ravi sensed the Lord telling him they should take the men, and so they did. He said they would not have survived their escape without those men. They escaped by boat to Thailand, and at times the journey was perilous, but those four men were seasoned seamen, and they kept them all alive.

Now Ravi’s friend operates his own business in Los Angeles. He survived because God sent him a reminder that God always works for the good of those who love him and are called according to his purpose.

GOODNESS?

Luke:18:18-23 records Jesus' conversation with the "rich young ruler".
A certain ruler asked him, "Good teacher, what must I do to inherit eternal life?"
"Why do you call me good?" Jesus answered. "No one is good—except God alone. You know the commandments: 'Do not commit adultery, do not murder, do not steal, do not give false testimony, honor your father and mother.'"
"All these I have kept since I was a boy," he said.
When Jesus heard this, he said to him, "You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow me."
When he heard this, he became very sad, because he was a man of great wealth.

Why did Jesus begin his response with, "Why do you call me good?" "No one is good—except God alone.”? Is this a case of Jesus denying deity as some (Jehovah’s Witnesses e.g.) would contend? Did Jesus repudiate any claim to be God by this comment?
That is not what Jesus meant. Christ did not deny that he was “good.” He merely asked a probing question. In effect Jesus replied rhetorically: “Since only God is good, and you seem to recognize me as good, are you willing to concede that I am divine?” In other words, “If you are asking me how to get eternal life, are you willing to concede that I am qualified to answer your question?” Jesus was not denying his divine nature – he was affirming it.
Remember that last night we talked about how a “good person” is someone who is trustworthy, safe, considerate and seeks the ultimate good of others. God alone is perfectly and fully good. He is concerned not just with people’s short-term happiness, but with their long-term joy. We see this played out in verses 21-23. Remember, the guy’s initial inquiry was about how to inherit eternal life. It’s a strange question because you usually inherit wealth from wealthy relations – an inheritance is not typically something you work for so much as it is a result of being in the family. But Jesus reminds him of a select few of the ten commandments. He seems to lob the guy an easy pitch to hit by mentioning commandments in which Jesus probably knew the guy was fairly faithful. But I think it’s curious that he didn’t mention others that may have proved tougher for this rich young ruler to follow (“Have no other gods before me” and “do not covet”). Jesus then told him to do something that surfaced his violation of those neglected commands. His wealth had become an idol of security that held him back from fully trusting God and following Jesus. Had the rich ruler really trusted in the essential goodness of Jesus – that he really could guarantee “treasure in heaven” - then perhaps he would have jumped at the opportunity to give up temporary security for eternal glory. As martyr Jim Elliot once said, “He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.” There is a danger here of focusing on what one must give up, when the core issue is who we are going to follow. Are we seeking a self-help program to make our present life easier, or are we wise enough to believe Jesus when he tells us that there are far greater riches to be had for those who give up good things for the sake of the gospel (Mark 10:29-31).
It is important for us to recognize that doing good to people means that we are truthful with them about their situation. If Jesus had given this guy false hope that he had “done enough” to deserve eternal life, he would have lied to him and done him a huge disservice. Only by hearing the truth did the rich ruler have the opportunity to repent and follow Jesus – who alone has the words of eternal life (John 6:68-69, John 14:6). It reminds us that eternal life (heaven) is ultimately not a matter of place, but of person. Life with God is heaven (Col 3:1-4). To be separated from a relationship with Him is, quite literally, Hell – eternal loss, loneliness, being quarantined from of all that is good – cut off from love, provision, comfort, etc... As we seek goodness, it will sometimes require that we stand for things that are unpopular and uncomfortable to hear. Though we need to be committed to serving and caring people for people whether they believe the gospel or not, it is neither loving or good to provide people with a false sense of security by not helping them understand their spiritual condition and consider Christ. We are to “speak the truth in love” (Eph 4:15) and like, Jesus seek to be “full of grace and truth” (John 1:14).

by Steve Baker
Philadelphia Metro Director - Campus Crusade for Christ
610-316-5626

LET YOUR CONSCIENCE BE YOUR GUIDE

courtesy of Dad

Ever hear this advice from friends when you confide about struggles at work or your relationships? How about when friends ask you what to do in tough ethical situations? As a Christian, what insights can you offer?

In his book, Honesty, Morality & Conscience, Navigator president Jerry White offers these guidelines:

1. Recognize that by itself your conscience is an inadequate moral guide. The Bible acknowledges that while conscience can be good (Acts 23:1), it can also be evil (Hebrews 10:22), seared (1 Timothy 4:1,2), weak (1 Corinthians 8:9-12), or defiled (Titus 1:15). It can be uncleansed, insensitive, too tender, or misguided.

2. Thus, take steps to verify the urgings of your conscience. As you evaluate an issue or course of action, be sure to:



Examine Scripture. What commands, principles, or examples from God's Word address this issue?



Cultivate intimacy with the Holy Spirit. How is the Spirit of God, using the Word of God, speaking to me regarding this?



Seek counsel. What insights can I gain from mature, godly Christians-remembering that no one can tell me what to do and I must accept personal responsibility for my actions?



3. Respond on the basis of faith in order to have a clear conscience before God and man.



Do I need to confess something-first to God, then to others?



What restitution do I need to make to someone for what I have done?



Do I need to stop or start doing something?



What attitudes about a person or situation might I need to change?



RESPONDING TO YOUR CONSCIENCE



1. First you commit an act, say a word, think a thought, or harbor and attitude-or else you simply contemplate one of these actions

.
2. Your conscience then speaks, giving its judgment regarding the rightness or wrongness of your situation.

3. At this point, you have two options:



- Analyze the situation with your mind and take action by your will.



- Expose yourself to God's Word, His Spirit, and godly counsel. Even if the Bible does not address the issue directly, careful and consistent study of God's Word allows the Holy Spirit to instruct you. In addition, mature Christian friends can help you see your situation more objectively and offer insight from Scripture.





4. Finally, you must act on the basis of faith. As Paul wrote, "Whatever is not from faith is sin" (Romans 14:23).


Adapted from Honesty, Morality & Conscience by Jerry White. Copyright 1996 by Jerry White. Published by NavPress; used by permission.



FOOD FOR THOUGHT



Purity
But among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people (Ephesians 5:3, NIV).

Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul (1 Peter 2:11, NIV).

Honesty
Do not steal. Do not lie. Do not deceive one another (Leviticus 19:11, NIV).

So I strive always to keep my conscience clear before God and man (Acts 24:16, NIV).

A Grief Observed

Taking a stroll down the narrow, winding lanes of High, I was gradually led
to the towering heights of Magdalen. Aloft and quiet, it was fascinatingly
lonely and dignified. C.S. Lewis once stood atop that stony hill with Joy,
his wife and like a little child pointed out the magic of the spires to her.
To those who grew up trying to break the spine of the wardrobe in the
bedroom, with some childish indignation for the door to Narnia had been locked by
our protective parents, the life of Lewis is resplendent with magic. Yet it
is not the magic that mystifies, it is the sort that tickles the heart and
inspires the imagination... not the milk that blurs the tea, but the sugar
that sweetens the taste.

Joy Gersham burst into the life of a man who had known nothing but serenity
and quiet. He had baffled the world with such child-like discourse, coloured
with the intellectual propensity of an undisputable genius. He was a
British Gentleman, unused to the American forthright culture and she was the
American poet unused to the unspoken British air. Strangely, she knew his
mind and he, oddly, knew her heart. It was first a marriage of convenience
because Joy needed to stay in England and Lewis knew nothing but to be
helpful. She was in the throes of terminal cancer, but like a flash of light
that brightened the darkness, she recovered and they spent three years of
bliss. Love blossomed. I did not remember Lewis to be happier, till God
gently took her home. After that, the author of Narnia was never in a more
sorrowful disposition. Here He penned his final book, A Grief Observed, and
in the depths of feeling poured forth such anguish before the Lord of the
heavens.

I tapped my feet upon the cobbled stone pavement in contemplation as i
thought of the Lewis I admired. He wrote most of His books with assuredness
and composure, but he scarcely experienced the weight of pain until Joy and
after her he only wrote one book. I guess the purest emotion of pain and
anguish is reserved for those who truly love. A mother comprehends agony
when her child is lost and a best friend touches the floors of despair when
his good man rests. Many pretend to love, for fear of lonliness, others try
to love, for want of reciprocation. Lewis loved, and in doing so, found the
uttermost pain to be the symptom of true love.

And in his despair, he turned to God one evening in church and prayed.
There God comforted that weary pilgrim and there he discovered that only
when he loved God more than Joy, and be willing to let her go could he truly
love her. In that instance of surrender, the pain increased, but so did the
affection and so did the tears. Tugged away in that little church, that
little child loved. As i considered once more the life of Lewis, the magic
of it all mingled with pain.

Your brother
Charles