| Whatsoever
Things Are True
by Dan Coburn Pastor, Emmanuel Baptist Church pastordan@mtida.net Everyone wants to have a good report or standing with God. Many are satisfied that they do, when they really don't. "Oh preacher, that's so judgmental". Perhaps, but in order to identify the status of our relationship with God, we must first understand another word that we have all but expelled from our vocabulary. That word is SIN. What is sin, and how does God see it? What do you think Sin is? Is it just doing something wrong? Does attitude or intention have any bearing on it? What if the outcome is desirable? Do you rationalize as most do, and say in your heart of hearts: "It's just me, It's my body, I'm not hurting anyone else. It's nobody's business but mine." Then do you chase that with a double shot of: "You have certainly sinned too, so who are you to point out my sin?". If I haven't lost you already, take a deep breath, as we turn the Spiritual Switch and look at it (sin) from God's perspective. It really isn't that difficult to do. In Romans 1, God discloses why His wrath will be (or is being) poured out on mankind. In vs 21-23 we read: "Because that, when they knew God, they glorified him not as God, neither were thankful, but became vain in their imaginations, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Professing themselves to be wise, they became fools, And changed (or exchanged) the glory of uncorruptible God into an image made like to corruptible man, and to birds, and four footed beasts, and creepy things." Stay with me; Man was made in God's ----- image. Romans 3:23 is a very familiar passage which for some, is a Wimp Clause in that they use it as a "gotcha" verse absolving them of any responsibility. "For all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God." "Well then; if we all sin, and God being fair, I am Okie Dokie right?" Not so much. All "fall", present tense. And how do we fall, sin or fall short? by settling for the lesser image, man or more to the point, me. I am created, but I (left to my own devices) choose me over the original Jesus who is the "expressed image of God" and was not created - John 1 and Colo. 1. This is no less pathetic than the Golden Calf episode in Exodus. So who does that? "All". When? If I hate my brother, I am guilty of murder. If I look on a woman in lust, I have committed adultery in my heart. A better question than - "How bad can I be and still make it to heaven?" might be "When do I not sin?" And we have been settling since the beginning. In Gen. 3, Adam and Eve bought the bill of goods this way. "In the day ye eat thereof," Satan told her: "then your eyes shall be opened, and ye shall be as gods," That was the first Great Exchange. They settled for themselves over God, and we have been guilty of it ever since. "I want to be my own man. I won't bow to anyone. I'll pull myself up by my own bootstraps". Let me tell you about another Great Exchange. One where "He (God) made him (Jesus) to become sin for us, in order that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" - 2nd Cor. 5:21 There you have it. Stop settling for a distant second, and cling for all you are worth to the Alpha and Omega, who was and is before all things. In the end, it will be less about how bad you sinned, or how often, but have you participated in The Great Exchange? Halleluiah what a Savior. |
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