I wonder if we even care? I mean, He is the sovereign God of all creation, the giver of all life, the holiest of all that is holy, the mightiest of all that is mighty. He is just and righteous and pure. Yet, we will sit on our self-erected thrones and declare that we, yes we, mere mortal, created man, know better than He. Where have we gained such arrogance? Where have we gleaned such rebellion? In our sinful nature, I daresay, but how arrogant is man to think that he can tell God what is and is not to be? How arrogant are we to dare come before a holy God with our demands and our ultimatums? Where is our reverent wonder? Where is our holy fear? He is God.
How have we fallen so far as to forget the price our sin has cost Him? How have we become so prideful to limit the cost of Jesus' blood to mere verbal acknowledgment? Under the doctrine of grace, we have done exactly what Paul warned us about and created our very own license to engage in sin and rebellion. We preach soft words and speak soft encouragement and turn a blind eye, excusing not only our own sin, but the sins of our fellow laborers as well.
It is no wonder that Christian is a bad word among the unsaved, no wonder that our youth fall away as soon as they are able, no wonder that sin abounds and churches fail, when we have decided that a holy, set-apart, consecrated life for God is not what we want, but rather the freedom to remain sinning while still going to heaven.
Will we? Will we stand before Him and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. The race has been won. You have finished strong. Enter in." or rather, will we hear, "Depart from Me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you."? I tremble to think it will be the latter, due to grace being taught incorrectly, embraced wrongly, and used to shelter sin within the very house of God.
Do we even know who He is? I daresay that by our very words and deeds we show that we do not know Him. Thus, does He know us? Draw near to Him, turn aside from wishy-washy dedication, from excusing habits and sins, for embracing satan, and face fully the holiness of the sovereign, mighty and just God of all creation, fall on your knees, fall on your face, and cry out for mercy. Repent, turn and follow Christ. That is the only way to be a Christian, to be a disciple, to be Christ-like.
How have we fallen so far as to forget the price our sin has cost Him? How have we become so prideful to limit the cost of Jesus' blood to mere verbal acknowledgment? Under the doctrine of grace, we have done exactly what Paul warned us about and created our very own license to engage in sin and rebellion. We preach soft words and speak soft encouragement and turn a blind eye, excusing not only our own sin, but the sins of our fellow laborers as well.
It is no wonder that Christian is a bad word among the unsaved, no wonder that our youth fall away as soon as they are able, no wonder that sin abounds and churches fail, when we have decided that a holy, set-apart, consecrated life for God is not what we want, but rather the freedom to remain sinning while still going to heaven.
Will we? Will we stand before Him and hear, "Well done, good and faithful servant. The race has been won. You have finished strong. Enter in." or rather, will we hear, "Depart from Me, you worker of iniquity, for I never knew you."? I tremble to think it will be the latter, due to grace being taught incorrectly, embraced wrongly, and used to shelter sin within the very house of God.
Do we even know who He is? I daresay that by our very words and deeds we show that we do not know Him. Thus, does He know us? Draw near to Him, turn aside from wishy-washy dedication, from excusing habits and sins, for embracing satan, and face fully the holiness of the sovereign, mighty and just God of all creation, fall on your knees, fall on your face, and cry out for mercy. Repent, turn and follow Christ. That is the only way to be a Christian, to be a disciple, to be Christ-like.
This is something God has pressed on me the last two days. I am weary of living a mediocre Christian life. I want to fully return to the holy fear of the one true God, the sovereign Creator and my beloved Savior, Jesus Christ. I have been treading a dangerous line, putting a white beard on Him and calling Him Daddy. Though He is my Father, He is first and foremost a just, holy and jealous God. How can I have forgotten who He is? I wonder if I ever fully knew...