Tag Archives: Godless

God’s Law Of Sowing & Reaping

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God Is Not Mocked

I grew up convinced that my parents had eyes in the back of their heads! You too? Or, they had a spy reporting back to them every time I disobeyed; because I never got away with anything! The Apostle Paul sets the record straight:  “Do not be deceived, God is not mocked; for whatever a man sows, that he will also reap. For he who sows to his flesh will of the flesh reap corruption, but he who sows to the Spirit will of the Spirit reap everlasting life” Galatians 6:7-8.  So, it wasn’t my parents! It was an all-knowing, omnipresent God who knew everything about me; and in His Providence, made sure that my sins were exposed. 

The Time Lapse Between Sowing & Harvest

And Paul says that God will NOT be mocked!  The word “mocked” literally means “to turn up one’s nose.” We can’t turn up our noses at God and live a life contrary to His Word without facing the consequences. We won’t get away with it! There’s always a time lapse between the time of sowing & the time of reaping. In the spring, the farmer is out sowing seed in the fields; but, harvest can be 6 months away! Don’t be deceived! You may have sown a seed. You may have acted sinfully. You may think you got away with it; but, the harvest is still coming in! Or, perhaps you’re a follower of Jesus who is troubled by the godless individuals around you who seem to get away with their sins. Remember the time lapse between planting & harvest!

God Will Right All Wrongs

In time, God will right all wrongs:  “…vengeance belongs to Me; I will repay, says the Lord” Romans 12:19.  The “Law of Sowing & Reaping” assures a harvest of corruption for the one who sows everything to the flesh; for the one who is consumed with this present temporal life; and, has little to no regard for the eternal! They’re placing time deposits in all the stuff that will one day pass away. They have no treasure being stored up in heaven because everything they’ve sown will only produce a harvest here in this life! And what is produced is a harvest of corruption, However, for the one who sows to the Holy Spirit, the Apostle Paul says that the “Law of Sowing & Reaping” produces a harvest of everlasting life. We sow to the Spirit as we plant a new affection for God. It’s an intentional pursuit of Him! It’s overriding the desires of our flesh with the desires of a new heart He gives us at salvation! It’s fleeing those lusts, of the flesh, as the Holy Spirit directs & empowers us! We only experience genuine happiness in our holiness; as we obey God’s Word! His commands are meant to protect us from sins harmful harvest!

Sowing To The Spirit

We sow to the Spirit when we say “YES”, on purpose, to everything that will strengthen Holy Spirit-inspired desires in us! We repent of sin quickly as the Spirit points it out to us! Sowing to the Spirit means turning our back on the lies about God— changing our minds by intentionally filling them with the truth about God! Sowing to the Spirit means we submit to those things that God uses to strengthen His Work, of Grace, in our hearts! God uses the Scriptures to prepare the soil, of our hearts, to sow to the Spirit! God uses prayer to prepare our hearts for sowing seed to His Spirit! He also uses worship to convince us God is better than anything our flesh offers & He uses the local church to keep us accountable for spiritual decisions we’ve made. When all is said and done, God gets the glory for the changes, in our life, because it was by His Spirit that they happened! Sins harvest always includes guilt & shame. Sowing to the Spirit produces joy!

Why We Preach The Gospel!

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-It Remedies The Needs Of The Nations!

Over the last couple of posts we’ve mentioned that only as the church returns to the mission that Jesus gave her— to preach the Gospel & make disciples; only then will the church become relevant in the world once again! According to the Apostle Paul’s 1st chapter of his letter to the Church of Rome, we note several reasons why it’s necessary to preach the Gospel. First, because it remedies the needs of every nation: “We have received grace and apostleship through Him (Jesus),” Paul writes, “to bring about the obedience of faith among all the nations, on behalf of His name” (1:5).  All the ills of every nation are healed by the Good News of Jesus’ Gospel. Through Jesus, we receive grace to take the Gospel to the nations.

-We Have Supernatural Support!

In context, Paul is saying that grace is the supernatural “support” that Jesus gives us to carry out the commission that He’s given us. Grace is not just supernatural in the way that a totally depraved soul comes to salvation. Grace is also God’s supernatural “gift” of support that He gives us to do the ministry He’s called us to do. The biggest need of our nation is not to place the 10 Commandments in front of every courthouse. It’s not to overturn Roe v. Wade (although we pray that it would be overturned). Those types of issues are just symptomatic of a deeper spiritual problem. Our nation needs to obey the Gospel! Our nation needs to repent of our sin & come to Jesus for salvation. That’s why we must preach the Gospel. That’s how we see our nation change—by making 1 disciple at a time! 

-It Remedies The Needs Of The Godless!

And then, we preach the Gospel not only because it remedies the needs of every nation; but because it remedies the needs of the godless. Have you ever assumed that the lost are perfectly content & happy in their sin? That they wouldn’t be interested in the Gospel if we shared it with them; because they love their sin too much? I have! It’s a mistake to make that assumption! Oh, they may have initially been tempted by the fun sin promised. But, sin turns into a cruel slave master. It enslaves our friends and loved ones! The sin that started as fun becomes an addiction; and, they turn to treatment centers & counseling because their lives & their families are ruined! The Gospel of Jesus Christ remedies that.

-Jesus Is The Answer & The Solution!

Whatever the question, Jesus is the answer! Whatever the problem, Jesus is the solution! Jesus is the solution to everyone’s sin problem. His sacrifice on the cross appeased the wrath of God toward our sin. Look at what God’s Spirit inspired the Apostle Paul to write next: “For God’s wrath is revealed from heaven against all godlessness and unrighteousness of people who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth” (v.18). Sin has its own built-in wrath. It creates pain in people’s lives, and they often become open to the Gospel because of it.

-God Delivered Them Over!

We also preach the Gospel because it remedies the needs of the sexually impure. “Therefore God delivered them over in the cravings of their hearts to sexual impurity,” Paul continues, “so that their bodies were degraded among themselves… For even their females exchanged natural sexual relations for unnatural ones. The males in the same way also left natural relations with females and were inflamed in their lust for one another. Males committed shameless acts with males and received in their own persons the appropriate penalty of their error” (1:24-27). If you’ve ever tried to help someone caught in the trap of sexual sin, it’s extremely painful to watch. Their lifestyle of sexual sin came about because they “…exchanged the truth of God for a lie…” We live in an incredibly confused world sexually speaking; and, the carnage is piling up! Only God has the answer for true sexual satisfaction because He created sex!