Jehovah’s Judgments | 3. Worldliness
Judah’s elite were imitating the idolatrous cultures of the neighboring ungodly kingdoms. Why should God’s people use God’s blessings to imitate the lifestyles of those who hate God?
Judah’s elite were imitating the idolatrous cultures of the neighboring ungodly kingdoms. Why should God’s people use God’s blessings to imitate the lifestyles of those who hate God?
If I can live without God some of the time, then I can live without Him all of the time: Therefore, I don’t need Him. That is the definition of pride. If I don’t need God, then I am my own God.
Idolatry has no place in the Body of Christ. We cannot lead anyone to Christ if we do not believe in His exclusive lordship over our lives. We cannot lead anyone to faith in Christ if our faith is compromised by idolatry. We cannot be priests of God and serve another “god”.
The first step needed to walk victoriously in the abundant life God has given us is to remember, remember, remember, that we are redeemed. Sin is no longer our master.
God’s judgments, God’s corrective disciplinary actions, are not a terror to His children. When we are disciplined, we don’t lose our salvation: we don’t stop being children in the family of God, joint heirs with Jesus.
Remembering that God is our provider also means that we trust in His provision. Whether He gives us material wealth, physical health or the forgotten gift of suffering, we trust that God provides us with everything necessary for us to thrive BECAUSE He is The Good Father.
If our steps are ordered in God’s Word, we will live by God’s rules. And if we live by God’s rules, then God is our King, our Lord.
Conversely, if our steps are ordered in the world’s value-system, we will live the world’s rules. And, if we live by the world’s rules, then the world is our king, our lord.
Believers must remember that God has a plan for each of us. Therefore, while we are walking in His will there is nothing that can prevent that mission from being accomplished. God protects us so that we can accomplish His purpose for us.
Physically, a virgin birth was impossible, but spiritually it was possible: God isn’t limited by the laws of the physical universe. God is bigger than that. Mary, however, was limited and she needed God’s intervention to live out God’s will for her life.
For us to accept Jesus as Saviour we must first see Jesus as King, rightly having the authority to offer us salvation on His terms. Sin came about when man rejected God’s authority. Salvation comes about when man accepts God’s authority: when we see Jesus as our King.