The little proverb quoted at the beginning of this passage
was wrongly applied then and frequently is today as well. ‘The fathers have eaten sour grapes, and the
children's teeth are set on edge’ was never intended to mean that we are judged
not as individuals but are condemned or justified on the basis of what our
ancestors have done. That is a
misapplication of the words the Lord wrote in the Decalogue (Exodus 20.5) - "I,
the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the
fathers to the third and fourth generations of those who hate me." We are
and always have been responsible for our own sins. What parents model for children as acceptable
or righteous behavior tends to be copied but we are all responsible for truth
no matter what our parents taught us.
This is not a change in the law for the Lord to say this, judgment is
always personal. The message is clear
and simple, the message of John the Baptist, turn and live, repent of sin, not
your parents or your ancestors’ sin, your own.
The hard part is make yourself a new heart and a new spirit. I am thankful that work is His to do.
It is important that we be sanctified in the truth. Truth is a valuable and scarce commodity in
the world. We were intended to know the
Lord, plain and simple, but we don’t. We
have fallen so far that when He walked among us and displayed His power and
authority, we didn’t know or recognize Him and put Him to death. Jesus gathered a few men to Himself and
managed to keep most of the ones the Father gave Him. He knew this is a dangerous world, knew it
better than even we know it because He didn’t acclimate or accommodate Himself
in any way to preserve His life. The
truth He revealed is meant to make us fearless.
If we know the truth we can live as He did, without compromise, because
we know that ultimately we will live forever.
Better is one day in Your courts than a thousand elsewhere!
Can we help in the process of making a new heart and a new
spirit? The answer is yes, we can
cooperate with the work of God in our lives and be a part of the process of
renovation. Paul here tells two women to
agree in the Lord even thought it seems that the preferred path is the natural
one, disagreement. We have to choose the
more difficult way, the less natural way.
We have to make up our minds to rejoice in all things, to be reasonable
in all things, to not be anxious. The peace
of God is a gift but we enable ourselves to receive peace if we determine to
not be anxious, peace is on top of the lack of anxiety. One of the things we can do to cultivate the
virtues of righteousness is to set our minds on the things Paul commends here, things
that are true, honorable, just, pure, lovely, commendable, excellent and worthy
of praise. As we set our minds on these
things we will find them turning from those things which lead to temptation and
sin.
You are my rock and my
fortress;
and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
and for your name's sake you lead me and guide me;
you take me out of the net they have hidden for me,
for you are my refuge.
Into your hand I commit my spirit;
you have redeemed me, O LORD, faithful God.
No comments:
Post a Comment