Tag Archives: Moral

We’re Gifted For His Glory

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Why Does God Seek Glory?

I find that the subject of “God’s Glory” tends to provoke more questions than it does answers. How do we bring glory to God? And, why does God seek glory? Why is it okay for God to bring glory to Himself, but it’s condemned as pride if we seek personal glory? The wrong answers to those questions could prove deadly! The life and death of a king named Herod Agrippa provide a shocking illustration for us. One day, as he was dressed in his royal robes and seated on his throne, he began to speak; and, “The assembled people began to shout, ‘It’s the voice of a god and not of a man!’ At once an angel of the Lord struck him because he did not give the glory to God, and he became infected with worms and died.”

He Did Not Give God The Glory

Herod Agrippa died, it says, “…because he did not give God the glory…” He did not redirect the praise to God, and it cost him his life!  God hates pride because it’s man’s attempt to steal glory from Him! Pride credits self for our accomplishments and discredits God, who actually gave us everything we have, including our gifts and talents! Perhaps, like me, you were required to read Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales in school, or at least parts of it! One story included a vain rooster named Chanticleer, who prided himself on all his accomplishments. He was most proud of the fact that his crowing caused the sun to rise each morning—every morning he crowed, and every morning the sun rose, making him quite proud!

What Have You Been Crowing About?

One morning, however, Chanticleer overslept, and when he awoke, he was shocked to find that the sun was already up, and it happened without any help from him! When he realized that he could no longer take credit for the rising of the sun, he declared, ‘If by my crowing I cannot bring in the dawn, then by my crowing I can celebrate its coming.’ This begs the question—’What accomplishments in your life have you been crowing about?’ The moral of Chanticleer’s story is that his pride-filled ‘crowing’ wasn’t accomplishing what he thought it was. He had deceived himself! But there’s a second moral to the story—when faced with the truth, he humbled himself & celebrated the sunrise though he had nothing to do with it.

We Take Too Much Credit

There’s much we can learn from Chanticleer’s story, isn’t there? We’re tempted to take way too much credit or glory for our own accomplishments, aren’t we? But it’s God who created us! It’s God who’s given us our intellect, our talents, and our gifts! It’s God who gives us life and the ability to make decisions! It’s God who regenerates us and raises us up from our spiritual death and gives us life in Christ. We can share in the process! But we’d better not crow about it like we’ve done the work! God brings glory to Himself for our spiritual growth—or sanctification—because He’s the One who does it! “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who is working in you, enabling you both to desire and to work out His good purpose” (Philippians 2:12). God does the work in us! He enables us! Give Him the glory for it!

Your Good Works May Offend God

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Jesus’ Sacrificial Act

Being a disciple of Jesus does not begin with something we do; but, with something Jesus has already done! When Jesus went to the cross, He redeemed our relationship with the Father that was broken by our sin against Him! By Jesus’ death on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sins that we should have paid so that the Father would be just to grant us forgiveness, grace, mercy & love.  By Jesus’ sacrificial act, He made a way for the Father to adopt us into His family when we accept the work of His Son & His payment on our behalf. 

Quit Trying To Earn God’s Favor

But Jesus’ work, on our behalf is only effective when we quit trying to work our way into the Father’s favor! We must accept God’s offer of salvation through Christ alone by grace alone; and, cast aside any hope that our good deeds might impress the Father.  Can you see how offensive it is to God when we try to make ourselves presentable to Him? We trample on His Son’s sacrifice when we try to impress God with our “perceived” good deeds! We spit in His face & tell Him His Son’s work on the cross wasn’t good enough; that, we need to “add” our own.

What God Requires

What God requires of us is nothing more than humility & brokenness, along with a confession that we’re not worthy & incapable of ever becoming worthy of the salvation He offers us! What we need is a new start; a new beginning; a new birth! “You MUST be born again,” Jesus said. He was referencing a “SPIRITUAL” birth. Your “physical” birth makes you a citizen of this world; but, only your “spiritual” birth can make you a citizen of heaven! That becomes your new identity! You’re no longer a citizen of this world; rather, Scripture calls you a “temporary resident” here! Your citizenship is heaven! And, that’s where we have to begin when we start a conversation about “spiritual growth.”

Your Identity In Christ

You have to be sure of your identity— in Christ— before you can ever hope to mature as a disciple of Christ. That is what Paul said happens at the moment of faith. Here’s how the Amplified Bible expands on the meaning of Paul’s words:  “Therefore if anyone is in Christ [that is, grafted in, joined to Him by faith in Him as Savior], he is a new creature [reborn and renewed by the Holy Spirit]; the old things [the previous moral and spiritual condition] have passed away. Behold, all things have become new [because spiritual awakening brings a new life]” (2 Corinthians 5:17) 

You’re Not The Old You

If you’re a believer; or, a disciple of Jesus, you’re no longer that OLD you. You’ve become; and, are becoming the NEW you— the spiritually born-again you! And, one day God will finish the work He began in you that day you were converted— that’s the coming day of your “glorification”! Until that day, God will be at work in you, sanctifying you. That’s a big word— SANCTIFICATION— but, break it down to its simplest form & it’s the process by which God makes you more like Jesus and less like you! He does that, in part, by revealing to us our sin, convincing us to forsake it, and, empowering us to overcome it! The Apostle Paul summarized it well for the Church of Philippi when he wrote:  “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6. What God started at your salvation; and He continues to do in your sanctification, He will complete at your glorification!

Careless Worship!

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-God Confronts Carless Worship!

In recent posts, we’ve identified spiritual drift as a relational stumbling block between God and His people, Israel. They were guilty of slowly moving away from authentic worship as they became skeptical of God’s love and faithfulness toward them! Their spiritual drift became evident as their worship became more and more casual! And, what God’s word reveals, in the book of Malachi, is that He will confront us when we become careless about our worship.

-Spiritual Drift Is Subtle!

From the opening chapter, Israel’s priests had become guilty of despising God’s name by the way they handled the sacrifices in the temple (v.8).  They whined that going to the temple to worship had become a nuisance (v.13-14). It had gotten “in the way” of the rest of their lives! Sound at all familiar? Be careful church! It’s a subtle drift! We can try and justify our decisions not to be in a Small Group; or, not to have our kids in Sunday School; or, not to go to Sunday School ourselves as adults; or, become careless about being the worship service at the start; or, our unwillingness to minister & serve others! But, God tells Israel that it’s because they failed to see & feel the greatness of God that they’d become careless, casual; and, calloused in their worship.

-A Heart In Love With The Creation!

Careless worship is the by-product of a heart more in love with the creation than the Creator! If you fail to see God’s greatness, then all the stuff money buys becomes more impressive to you. A flashlight is pretty cool until you see the sun! You’ll ooh & aah over July 4th fireworks until you experience thunder & lightning! Once you’ve tasted the Creator, the creation is no longer that thrilling! If you’re bored with God, it’s because you haven’t felt the greatness and the weight of Who He is! You need more time with Him in His word; not, less! Your kids need more time in family worship; more time in Sunday School and AWANA; not, less! You need more time with God’s people in a Small Group; more exposure to what God’s doing in other people’s lives; or, the world will tantalize you; and, you’ll find yourself in a slow spiritual drift away from God.

-The Need To Stand In Awe Of God!

Through Malachi, God shows us that He will confront God’s people when they become indifferent to truth (2:1-9). God calls out the priests, of Malachi’s day, for failing to speak the truth; and, He calls out the people for failing to keep the priests accountable to God’s word. God points to Levi, Israel’s first priest, as the example to follow. Levi stood in awe of God; and, the people sought to be instructed by him from God’s word. God testified that Levi “…revered Me and stood in awe of My Name… he walked with Me.” There’s an indifference, across our nation, toward God’s word! And, incredibly, the church is equally guilty!

-Indifference Toward God’s Word!

Even those who profess to follow Jesus have become indifferent to reading from their Bibles, claiming not to have time to read it regularly! But, the same individuals spend hours on HULU, Facebook & Netflix. Many of us have become numb to the spiritual drift of our souls as we entertain ourselves to death! The American church has become complicit in the spiritual apathy of our nation!  Rather than vibrant lives of faith that are impacted dynamically by God’s indwelling Holy Spirit, many in the church have fallen into “moralistic deism” instead of the Gospel. If you’re good enough; if you keep the checklist of moral behavior then God will love you & bless you! That’s moralism; but, it’s not dynamic salvation in Christ! It’s no wonder that we live in a day of spiritual “deconstruction”; whereby, many are walking away from the Church. We desperately need genuine revival among God’s people in the church! God help us!

Death By Neglect!

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-Don’t Neglect Your Spiritual Life!

In my last post I referred to a great revival that God brought about, in Israel, under the leadership of an 8-year old king named Josiah (2 Kings 22).  Only God can spread revival, through an entire nation, by using an 8-year old boy! And, in the reforms, which King Josiah incorporated, it’s clear that neglect had been the cause of Israel’s spiritual death.  Genuine revival is evidenced when God’s people no longer neglect meeting together! Josiah was concerned with repairing Israel’s temple (v.3).  The temple was the place where God’s people gathered together to worship Him & offer sacrifices to Him!

-Signs Of Revival!

But, the temple reflected the moral condition of the nation! It had been neglected; and, rundown! It had fallen into a state of disrepair as the people had quit coming together for worship. So, one of the 1st signs of revival, in the faith community, is a renewed zeal for coming together! It is recognizing that it’s impossible to live out the Christian life in isolation from other believers! That’s something we struggle with here in the west, don’t we? We’ve been taught that the Christian life is an individual thing! It’s NOT! God’s people have always been a “community”; from, Israel, as a nation, to the local church today! In fact, it’s absolutely impossible to even live out & obey the more than 60 “one another” or “each other” commands, in Scripture, apart from a Christian community! So, when Josiah “…began to seek God…” the place of worship became a necessity once again (2 Chronicles 34:3). 

-Don’t Neglect The Word Of God!

For those of us who are part of the Morningside Bible Church community, that’s “big church” on Sunday mornings; and, “small group” gatherings throughout the week! We need each other to effectively live out the Christian life! To speak truth into one another! To hold each other accountable! Meeting together matters! There was a 2nd sign of revival under King Josiah— the nation no longer neglected the Word of God! The text reads, “Hilkiah the high priest told Shaphan the court secretary, ‘I have found the book of the law in the Lord’s temple,’ and he gave the book to Shaphan, who read it… Then Shaphan the court secretary told the king, ‘Hilkiah the priest has given me a book,’ and Shaphan read it in the presence of the king” (vs.8,10).  In the repairing of the temple, they uncovered a copy of the book of the Law. That’s a reference to Moses’ writings; or, the 1st five books of the Old Testament. 

-Proper Response To God’s Word!

And, notice the king’s response: “When the king heard the words of the book of the law, he tore his clothes. Then he commanded Hilkiah the priest, Ahikam son of Shaphan, Achbor son of Micaiah, Shaphan the court secretary, and the king’s servant Asaiah: ‘Go and inquire of the Lord for me, the people, and all Judah about the instruction in this book that has been found. For great is the Lord’s wrath that is kindled against us because our ancestors have not obeyed the words of this book in order to do everything written about us’” (vs.11-13). As the book, of God’s law, was read to him, Josiah realized how far the nation had drifted from the Lord. His shock points to the fact that the people had been unfamiliar with it for a long time! Again, I’m afraid that this is so relevant to our own nation & the church here in the West. So many sermons have become little more than the reading of a “token” Scripture verse misused to support our human efforts through self-help strategies! Josiah said, “Go inquire of the Lord.” And, so must we!

Thank You God For Pain!

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-Enslaved By Our Idols!

Did you know that God will allow our idols to enslave us in order to drive us back to Himself? It’s true! In the Old Testament book of Judges, it says that God, “…sold Israel to their enemies around them, and they could no longer resist their enemies. Whenever the Israelites went out, the Lord was against them and brought disaster on them, just as He had promised and sworn to them. So they suffered greatly” (2:14).  You may find that disturbing that “…the Lord was against them”; and, that He “…brought disaster on them.” Or, perhaps you can relate! Have you ever felt like God was against you & that He was bringing disaster into your life? Well, He might be! But, if He is, it’s only temporary & He means to use the disaster to encourage you to repent, over your sin, and return to the Lord!

-All Idols Are Frauds!

That’s what He did with Israel! He meant to show them that their idols were all frauds! That the idols that they bowed down to would never satisfy or deliver them! Only God can satisfy and deliver! We see the pattern in the next chapter of Judges:  “The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight; they forgot the Lord their God and worshiped the Baals and the Asherahs. The Lord’s anger burned against Israel, and He sold them to Cushan-rishathaim…” (3:7).  When their idols failed to deliver, v.9 says, “Then the Israelites cried out to the Lord. So the Lord raised up Othniel…as a deliverer to save the Israelites.”  So, from an application standpoint, we need to look at pain & struggles differently!

-Ask God To Reveal Your Idols!

Some times, we need to thank God for pain! When you’re facing difficulties, in life, ask God to reveal any idols that you may be depending on— money, health, education, leisure, etc.— and, confess it as sin if you’re guilty! And, then, turn back to the Lord! It’s His goodness that leads us to repentance! Otherwise, when we fail to repent, God’s absence from His rightful place in our life can lead to shocking moral depravity! There’s a story, in Judges 19-21, that is one of the most unbelievable in all of Scripture.  A Levite, who was supposed to be a religious leader in Israel, has a concubine! Do you know what a concubine is? She’s someone who voluntarily enslaves & sells herself to a man primarily for sexual pleasure— kind of a “friend with benefits” as has been popularized in our own immoral culture! So this Levite has broken some of the clear commands that God had given Israel, through Moses, way before they even entered Canaan land. The concubine didn’t have an equal status as a wife; so, when she got angry, with her situation, she left the Levite & went home to her parents. After awhile, he goes to see her, they make up and return home!

-Shocking Moral Depravity!

On the way home, they spend the night in an Israelite city. The text says, “…perverted men of the city surrounded the house…and demanded of the owner that he, ‘Bring out the man who came to your house so we can have sex with him” (19:22). When they couldn’t  have the Levite, they took his concubine, raped & abused her all night, leaving her for dead! So, the Levite took her home, cut her up into 12 pieces & sent her body parts throughout the 12 territories of Israel! Shocking, right? I can’t even come up with an English word that adequately describes that story! God doesn’t sugar-coat the atrocities that sinful men are capable of! God’s absence from our lives; or, from the conscience of a nation, can lead to shocking moral depravity. Let’s learn to be thankful when God interrupts our sin with some pain to get our attention! And, then, let’s confess our idols as sin and repent!

The Moral Relativism Problem!

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–Doing What’s Best In Your Own Eyes!

The deadliest accident in aviation history occurred on March 27, 1977, when 2 Boeing 747 passenger jets collided on the runway of Tenerife North Airport on Tenerife, one of the Canary Islands. There were 583 total fatalities. The crash left behind many unanswered questions. It was a foggy day; and, the pilots, of the 2 planes, could not see each other. But, for some inexplicable reason, one of the pilots began his takeoff without clearance from the control tower. The other plane was in the way & he was unable to avoid it; so, 583 people died! Every pilot is taught one very basic lesson at the beginning of their training— in an air traffic control zone, you NEVER do what seems best in your own eyes! You always do what the control tower tells you to do.

-Acting On Your Own Can Be Disastrous!

The reason is simple & obvious— the controller knows things you can’t possible know or see. They have more accurate information & a better perspective to guide the plane safely to its destination. Acting on your own can be disastrous! While that seems like an obvious principle for aviation, it ought to be an equally obvious principle for living out your life. Our Creator God ought to be our control tower! Unfortunately, we live in dark times. Our country & the world appear to be stuck in a dark moral vacuum where no one seems to believe that there are moral absolutes of right and wrong anymore. People are committed to a philosophy of “moral relativism”; which, simply means everyone does that which is right in their own eyes. 

-Losing Your Spiritual Compass!

The Old Testament book of Judges offers us a vivid picture of what happens when a society does what’s right in their own eyes & it reads like the daily paper or nightly news in our own country.  Judges unpacks the story of a spiritually deteriorating nation; and, provides us an example of what our own lives will become if we fall away from God’s Word & lose our spiritual compass. Look at how the book begins:  “The people worshiped the Lord throughout Joshua’s lifetime and during the lifetimes of the elders who outlived Joshua… after them another generation rose up who did not know the Lord or the works He had done for Israel. The Israelites did what was evil in the Lord’s sight. They worshiped the Baals and abandoned the Lord, the God of their fathers… they went after other gods from the surrounding peoples and bowed down to them. They infuriated the Lord” Judges 2:7-14.

-The Beginnings Of Apostasy!

For Israel, the apostasy began slowly as it always does! Sin always seems harmless when we’re just looking at something that’s enticing; but, the look leads to partaking; and, then a commitment to hiding the sin! To wearing a mask & pretending we’re not guilty! Sin’s most effective strategy against us is to gradually introduce small compromises, sinking us into moral collapse. I had a Bible College professor who used to say, “You don’t just wake up one day & say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna kill somebody today!’ You don’t just wake up one day & say, ‘Hey, I’m gonna sleep with someone I’m not married to.’” Sin takes over gradually. A small compromise here & a bit more there! Before Achan coveted & stole he began to calculate the possibility of how he could get away with it (Joshua 7). The compromise began in his heart; and, it was gradual. He failed to take those 1st thoughts captive & denounce them; and, because he didn’t control them, they eventually controlled him! Let the sin take control & then you begin to justify it! That’s the sin talking!

Missing The Mark!

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-Why Do We Have A Moral Conscience?

The theory of “evolution” has no explanation for why man has a moral conscience. This makes us different from the animal kingdom; and, Genesis— the 1st book of the Bible— explains that God dignifies man by creating him distinct from the animals! We are NOT part of the animal kingdom. Animals were created, separate from man, with “instinct”! We were created, by God, with a moral “conscience.” He created us with the capacity to make moral decisions.

-God’s First Command!

Shortly after creating Adam & Eve, God showed them around the Garden of Eden; and, look at ch. 2, v.16, where it says,  “And the Lord God commanded the man, ‘You are free to eat from any tree of the garden, but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for on the day you eat from it, you will certainly die.’” This is the 1st recorded command, of God, in the Bible.  So, “…in the beginning…” there was LAW! As Creator God, He rules over His creation! He made us to be moral agents who are responsible TO HIM! And, notice that there were severe consequences for disobeying God’s command.

-God’s Generosity!

From the beginning, of creation, we see that God is a generous God! He gives great FREEDOM— “…you are FREE to eat from ANY TREE in the Garden…”; but, FREEDOM always has limitations— ”…but you MUST NOT eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil…” God commanded! The “freedoms” God gave vastly outnumbered the “restrictions.” But Adam wasn’t content to humbly submit to a good, gracious, benevolent God, was he? He wanted to be in control! So, in the beginning, of Genesis, we’re also introduced to humanity’s 1st sin.

-Sin Misses The Mark!

That word “sin” literally means to “miss the mark.” Hunters would aim at their prey; and, if they missed, would say, “I sinned!” When Adam & Eve disobeyed, they “sinned” and missed God’s “mark”, which was obedience.  Look at how Satan’s tempting words:  “…God knows that when you eat it your eyes will be opened and you will be LIKE GOD…” The temptation was that they could “…be like God…” They could be in control! Satan was casting doubt on God’s goodness! God was holding out on them, he implied! That was the temptation; and, they took the bait!

-Sin’s Consequences!

And, that’s where we see the consequences, for their indiscretion, executed! God judges them guilty, for their sin! He follows through! Right from the beginning, we see judgment for sin. Because He alone is God and Creator, He has the right to govern His creation as He determines! Adam & Eve had to give an account of their sin to God. The N.T. book of Hebrews says, “No creature is hidden from Him, but all things are naked and exposed to the eyes of Him to whom we must give an account” Heb. 4:13.  Every man, woman, boy & girl, from the beginning of time, must stand before God & give an account to Him! “So then, each of us will give an account of himself to God” Rom 14:12. But, thank God, He forgives every sin when we come to Him in repentance & faith in Jesus’ work on the cross!